Remember the Name

A Naruto x Harry Potter Crossover

By

EvilFuzzy9

"Of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction."

- Excerpt from the introduction to Magick Moste Evile

A/N: This chapter was a lot easier to type than the previous one, in part probably due to the fact that a lot of the first part is grafted from the Pensieve scene in chapter twenty-three of Half-Blood Prince, 'Horcruxes'. Of course, I also wrote plenty of original material (inasmuch as any fanfic can be "original") as well, both interspersed and added on. As a result, this chapter is extra, extra long.

Also, I think I did an alright job of showing just how dangerous Riddle's charm can be against those who aren't prepared to defend against it, and it helps that the books repeatedly describe him as being very handsome in his youth. And the idea for the enchanted voice thing came from Saruman in Lord of the Rings.

Also, also, as a warning, this chapter contains a single instance of the F-word.

Omoi, Karui, and Samui looked around at their changed surroundings when they landed, their expressions a mixture of awe and disbelief. Judging by their surroundings they were somewhere in Hogwarts, or a similar place.

Looking around, they saw a much younger Slughorn sitting in a winged armchair, his feet resting on a cushion. He looked to have a small glass of wine in one hand, and the other one was sifting through a box of what looked like some sort of candy. His hair was thick, shiny, and straw-colored, and he looked to be quite merry.

"You weren't kidding..." Omoi muttered, speaking to a grim-faced Dumbledore as he looked around the room at the half dozen teenage boys who were sitting around the younger, but still portly as ever, Slughorn. "It really is like looking into the past."

"Yeah. It's strange to see Professor Slughorn looking so... young..." Samui said, even as her eyes alighted not on the red-faced potions master, but on the face of an exceptionally handsome, black-haired young man.

Karui, following Samui's line of sight, beheld the confident young man, idly noting the important-looking, black and gold ring glinting on his finger in the back of her mind even as she gave a wolf whistle.

"Nice," she said, humming appreciatively at the sight of the handsome student, who appeared to be the leader of all the other ones, if the admiring looks he was getting from them was any indication. "That one's pretty cute."

Had she looked at Dumbledore at that moment, she would have seen a curious look almost like a blend of pity and regret pass over his face, before he schooled it into a carefully blank expression. But she didn't, and so she didn't.

Samui nodded in agreement, her cheeks slightly pink as she almost shyly said, "Definitely... I certainly wouldn't mind being assigned to seduce him."

Omoi groaned silently, rolling his eyes as he pretended to gag. His female teammates ignored him, however, Karui giggling in a rather perverted manner as her eyes ran up and down the young man's frame, eagerly assessing his features. Her face was also rather red as she shot her platonic girlfriend a sly grin.

"Heh heh... I'd do a whole lot more than seduce him, if you know what I mean..." she whispered suggestively as she waggled her eyebrows, before trailing off as she noticed the young man beginning to speak.

"Sir, is it true that Professor Merrythought is retiring?" the handsome young man asked the younger Professor Slughorn in English.

"Tom, Tom, if I knew I couldn't tell you!" said Slughorn in response, wagging his finger reprovingly at the boy, though winking at the same time. "I must say, I'd like to know where you get your information, boy, more knowledgeable than half the staff, you are."

Tom smiled; the other boys laughed and cast him admiring looks. Karui giggled, and even Samui cracked a grin. Omoi was seeming slightly suspicious, though, as he looked at Tom and scowled at him distrustfully. He wasn't noticed by the boy, of course, seeing as how he was merely a memory.

"What with your uncanny ability to know things you shouldn't," Slughorn continued, "and your careful flattery of the people who matter — thank you for the pineapple, by the way, you're quite right, it is my favorite — "

Several of the boys tittered again, Karui and Samui uncharacteristically joining in, though Dumbledore sighed sadly and Omoi glared darkly at Tom.

" — I confidently expect you to rise to Minister of Magic within twenty years — fifteen if you keep sending me pineapple, I have excellent contacts at the Ministry."

Tom merely smiled as the other boys laughed again. Omoi, still suspicious of the handsome young man, noticed that despite not being the eldest of the group, they all seemed to look up to Tom, like he was their leader.

He scowled, something niggling at the back of his mind, telling him that he should know who this boy was who had so easily charmed his teammates despite being just a memory acting out a predetermined role.

"I don't think politics would suit me, sir," Tom said when the laughter had died down, "I don't have the right kind of background, for one thing."

A couple of the boys around him smirked at each other, as though sharing a private joke. Omoi's scowl deepened as he saw Samui and Karui tittering like a pair of schoolgirls, stars in their eyes as they stared almost worshipfully at Tom.

"Nonsense," said Slughorn briskly, "couldn't be plainer you come from decent Wizarding stock, abilities like yours. No, you'll go far, Tom, I've never been wrong about a student yet."

The small golden clock standing on Slughorn's desk behind him chimed, startling Omoi and marking the hour as eleven, which caused the jolly professor to look around. Karui and Samui, who were standing next to Omoi, blinked and started, slowly shaking their heads as though emerging from a long, deep sleep. They stared blearily at the handsome, black-haired Tom, confusion evident on their faces.

"Good gracious," Slughorn exclaimed, pulling the pair's attention off of Tom and onto him, "is it that time already? You'd better get going, boys, or we'll all be in trouble. Lestrange, I want your essay by tomorrow or it's detention. Same goes for you, Avery."

As the boys began to file out of the room one by one, Samui and Karui turned to face Dumbledore.

"...what the hell just happened?" Karui asked Dumbledore bluntly, mouth gaping slightly as she shot wary glances over at Tom. "One minute we're just talking about how cute that guy is, and then the next thing I know we're acting like a couple of civilian schoolgirls... What the hell."

Dumbledore gave the two a slightly sad, slightly condescending smile, blue eyes twinkling as he seemed to peer not at but through them. Karui shivered at the feeling, and Samui could not help reflexively throwing up her mental defenses as she felt the headmaster brush the surface of her mind with Legilimency.

"I believe," the elderly wizard said slowly, "that you have just felt the effects of young Tom's Glamor, which attracted you and weakened your resistance to the enchanting powers of his voice... It was a common tactic of his, in those days."

Samui's eyes widened as he looked cautiously over at Tom. "Do you mean... his voice has some sort of compulsion magic attached to it...? Who on earth is he...?"

"Perhaps something like that," Dumbledore answered cryptically, pointedly ignoring the question of the boy's identity.

The pair scowled slightly, but returned their attention to the young man who had now approached Slughorn, eying him curiously yet cautiously.

"Look sharp, Tom," said Slughorn, "you don't want to be caught out of bed out of hours, and you a prefect..."

"Sir, I wanted to ask you something," Tom said. The ninja present noticed that his expression seemed to be strangely guarded beneath his casual façade.

"Ask away, then, m'boy, ask away..." said Slughorn somewhat absently.

"Sir, I wondered what you know about... about Horcruxes?"

The members of Team Samui were at a loss for what Tom was talking about, but the brief look on Slughorn's face gave them the impression that this was not something the man had expected or wanted to hear. He quickly appeared to regain his equilibrium, however, though Samui got the impression that the man was still caught off balance.

"Project for Defense Against the Dark Arts, is it?" Slughorn remarked shakily, thick fingers absentmindedly caressing the stem of his wine glass as he stared at Tom in a manner which suggested that he knew perfectly well that this was not schoolwork.

"Not exactly, sir," said Riddle, "I came across the term while reading and I didn't fully understand it."

Slughorn looked decidedly uncomfortable, fidgeting nervously as he said, "No... well... you be hard-pushed to find a book at Hogwarts that'll give you details on Horcruxes, Tom, that's very Dark stuff, very Dark indeed."

Dumbledore's expression darkened slightly, and Omoi felt a sense of foreboding. This situation, while fairly innocuous at first glance, was seeming very ominous. The boy Tom's behavior... something about it was suspicious. Very suspicious. And asking one of his teachers for details on what was apparently a Dark, forbidden art did not make the circumstances any less portentous.

"But you obviously know all about them, sir? I mean, a wizard like you — sorry, I mean, if you can't tell me, obviously — I just knew if anyone could tell me, you could — so I just thought I'd ask —"

Samui eyed Tom appraisingly. Hesitancy, casual tone, careful flattery, all of it timed precisely, none of it overdone... It was clear to her that this boy was a master of getting what he wanted out of people. Samui doubted she could do much better herself, and she was a kunoichi specialized in infiltration and information gathering. This boy was good – too good – and he obviously wanted this information very, very much.

"Well," said Slughorn, not looking at Tom, but instead fiddling with the ribbon on top his box of candy – pineapple, he'd called it – eyes boring holes into the box as he plainly refused to meet his student's eyes, "well, it can't hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so that you understand the term. A Horcrux is the word for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul."

The members of Team Samui, to a man, were bewildered and baffled by this explanation, though they felt uneasy about where this topic of discussion seemed to be going. Tom seemed to be similarly befuddled by Slughorn's explanation, as he shortly said, "I don't quite understand how that works, though, sir."

His voice was very carefully controlled as he spoke, but Omoi and Samui could detect an underlying current of excitement, and even Karui could tell that Tom had more on his mind than just what he was showing.

"Well, you split your soul, you see," Slughorn explained, "and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for that part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But of course, existence in such a form..." His face crumpled up, and his voice seemed hoarse as he said, "... few would want it, Tom, very few. Death would be preferable."

The members of Team Samui shivered as Slughorn's words sank in. Splitting the soul... forcibly binding oneself to the mortal plane... it sounded like the worst sort of kinjutsu. That such a thing could even be possible boggled their minds. They knew there were jutsu and artifacts which could affect the substance of the soul, but still...

And the look of hunger on Tom's face was now readily apparent. He could not conceal his greed any longer, and the intensity of his expression was simply frightening.

"How do you split your soul?"

"Well," said Slughorn uncomfortably, "you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature."

"But how do you do it?" Tom asked again, eagerness evident in his darkly glinting eyes.

"By an act of evil — the supreme act of evil," Slughorn explained,"By committing murder. Killing rips the soul apart. The wizard intent upon creating a Horcrux would use the damage to his advantage: He would encase the torn portion — "

"Encase?" Tom interrupted, "But how — ?"

"There is a spell, do not ask me, I don't know!" said Slughorn, shaking his head. "Do I look as though I have tried it — do I look like a killer?"

"No, sir, of course not," Tom said quickly, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to offend..."

"Not at all, not at all, not offended," Slughorn said gruffly. "It's natural to feel some curiosity about these things... Wizards of a certain caliber have always been drawn to that aspect of magic..."

"Yes, sir," Tom said. "What I don't understand, though — just out of curiosity — I mean, would one Horcrux be much use? Can you only split your soul once? Wouldn't it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces, I mean, for instance, isn't seven the most powerfully magical number, wouldn't seven — "

"Merlin's beard, Tom!" Slughorn yelped. "Seven! Isn't it bad enough to think of killing one person? And in any case... bad enough to divide the soul... but to rip it into seven pieces..."

The potions master now looked deeply disturbed, looking at Tom as though he had never seen the boy plainly before, and it was clear that he was now seriously regretting entering into this conversation at all.

"Of course," he muttered, "this is all hypothetical, what we're discussing, isn't it? All academic..."

"Yes, sir, of course," Tom agreed a little too quickly.

"But all the same, Tom... keep it quiet, what I've told — that's to say, what we've discussed. People wouldn't like to think we've been chatting about Horcruxes. It's a banned subject at Hogwarts, you know... Dumbledore's particularly fierce about it..."

"I won't say a word, sir," Tom promised, and then he left, but not before the members of Team Samui caught a glimpse of the expression on his face. It was a look of wild happiness, a disturbingly dark smile that, rather than enhancing his appearance, somehow made him look less human, less handsome, and caused Samui and Karui to wonder how they could have ever thought the boy attractive. Surely such a mad and darkly perverse look of glee did not belong on a face so handsome and fair, and yet it seemed as though they were getting a truer glimpse of the boy's nature than they had at any other point in the conversation.

And as the members of Team Samui contemplated the implications of what they had just seen, they were so preoccupied with their thoughts that they did not even notice when the world around them dissolved, and they landed back in the cluttered first floor study at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.

"That..." Omoi muttered, shivering. His face was pale, and his eyes were wide as saucers. He looked haunted, like someone who had watched a horrific and gruesome accident unfold before their eyes. "That guy... who was he...? Asking about stuff like that..."

"That's classic missing nin..." said Karui, biting her lip thoughtfully. "Asking about such a horrible forbidden technique is so..." She shook her head, worrying at her bandanna-styled forehead protector. "...That kind of kid is sure to go bad."

"But that memory must have been from a long time ago," Omoi added. "I mean, look at how much younger Slughorn looked... I'd say it must have happened, like, forty or even fifty years ago. That kid would be an old man by now."

Karui blinked.

"That's right," she said contemplatively, "He did look a lot younger... and if that Tom kid is still alive, he must be something like..."

She trailed off, her eyes widening in shock and horror.

"No... no way..." she whispered. "No — fucking — way. He... he can't be..."

"And yet..." Samui murmured, "he must be. It would only make sense... He... that boy was Tom... Tom, as in... Tom Marvolo Riddle... wasn't he?" she said, shooting a shrewd look a Dumbledore, who nodded morosely.

"Lamentably," said the aged headmaster, "yes."

Karui gagged, seeming to be choking on her own tongue. Her face was green, and she looked decidedly ill.

"He's... no way, don't tell me... I was... I was... oh god... nasty... freaking gross... I was checking out that... that Vorumo-yarō — !"

"Yeah..." Samui muttered, looking paler than usual. "Totally uncool."

Omoi shook his head.

"Yeah, yeah, Voldemort used to be good looking," he said impatiently, "But we've got more serious stuff than that to talk about, such as whether or not really did use that Horcrux technique..."

Karui frowned at this. She still looked to be unsettled by the matter of Riddle's once dashing good looks, but she knew serious business when she saw it.

"That's a good point..." she muttered. "If he did use it, then..."

"Then it's no wonder he was able to return from death," Samui concluded, "if death it was..."

She gave Dumbledore a carefully measured, inquiring look. The headmaster met her gaze, eyes twinkling, and nodded his head.

"Indeed he did," said Dumbledore. "I have no doubt that he did as much. As a matter of fact, I have been certain of it ever since the incident in young Harry's second year at Hogwarts."

"The Chamber of Secrets incident, correct?" said Omoi neutrally.

"Correct," said Dumbledore. "It was the diary which Harry brought to me, the diary which once belonged to the very same Tom Marvolo Riddle whom you saw within that memory, the diary which had been possessing young Ginevra Weasley, that led me to believe beyond any shadow of a doubt..."

Karui's eyes flashed darkly. "That diary... so it was a Horcrux?"

Dumbledore did not say anything, but he did not need to.

"And what Riddle said in that memory..." said Omoi cautiously, "about splitting one's soul into seven... You don't think he really — ?"

"He most definitely intended to," said Dumbledore grimly, "even if he did not manage to do so before he was reduced to a mere shade when attempting to kill Harry those thirteen years ago. I feel he had meant, with the murder of Harry, to make the sixth and final Horcrux... I am certain he had been reserving the creation of Horcruxes for important murders."

Samui eyed him curiously.

"Does this have anything to do with that so-called prophecy in the Hall of Mysteries?" she inquired shrewdly.

"Perhaps," Dumbledore answered cryptically, his eyes twinkling in that infuriatingly superior manner of his. "But there is nothing 'so-called' about that prophecy – I can personally attest to its authenticity, though I will not say anything further."

"Perhaps," said Samui, intentionally mimicking the headmaster, "But I, for one, do not put any store in such things. I believe that people make their own fate."

"That," Dumbledore said pleasantly, "is at least one thing the two of us have in common, then."

Samui and her team eyed him curiously at this, but he said no more on that matter, so they soon turned their attention to other things.

"I suppose there's a reason you wanted to tell us all of this?" Omoi said at length.

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "If there is to be any hope of vanquishing Voldemort once and for all, we must first deal with every last one of his Horcruxes."

"And you want us to do that? To destroy them?" Karui asked.

Dumbledore shook his head.

"No," he said, "Not entirely... I intend to assist you as much as I can in the matter, and I believe there may be other ways of eliminating the Horcruxes than simply destroying them – which would be a most difficult task, due to the powerful Dark magic that binds them."

"How so?" Samui asked.

"Extracting a soul from an object into which it has been sealed, or severing the bonds which tie the Horcruxes to what remains of Voldemort's soul, or even isolating the pieces of soul entirely within another plane of space-time..." Dumbledore said, eying the members of Team Samui gravely, "with the magic taught at Hogwarts, such things would be difficult if not completely impossible... but with certain of the arts taught within your homeland, such things would be a very real option."

Omoi's eyes widened, briefly glancing over at Karui as he said, "Ehh...? You don't mean... like sealing?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore, "and that is part of the reason I have chosen to have Miss Karui working at Hogwarts for the time being. Her talents for such arts, as you have told me before, are exceptional, and I cannot in good conscience allow her life to be put at unnecessary risk. You understand this, I presume?"

"Yes, we do," Samui replied, even as Karui shot her a mutinous glare. "Omoi and myself are, at present, more expendable than her — don't look so offended!" she said in response to the dismayed look that crossed Dumbledore's face at her comment. "It is the truth, and we are proud Cloud shinobi. We are not cowards. We do not flinch away from such things."

She gave Dumbledore an even, measured look.

"If we die in the course of accomplishing the mission you have given us," she said frankly, "then we shall die honorably. To give everything in the name of our people and our village is our pride as shinobi. Our families would need not mourn us, so neither should you."

And that was that.

TTFN and R&R!

— – - ō Ō ū ¥ ❤ • ™

translation notes:

"kinjutsu" - forbidden art