Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 14

Sasuke forced himself to walk to avoid being kicked out by the staff. He found the right door and opened it to find his brother sitting beside Kakashi-sensei's bed. He'd just gotten out of the hospital; he wasn't meant to be back in it!

Harry looked up and offered a tired smile. "Hey kiddo."

Sasuke walked over and looked down at the bed. "What happened?"

"Probably classified," his brother admitted, pulling him into a hug and Sasuke let him. He knew most guys his age didn't do the hug thing, but he did, especially with his brother. Aunt Hermione and Luna had told him that physical affection was part of being a kid and that Harry's Aunt and Uncle hadn't give it. He'd never met them and was glad he never would. And after…after what He'd done to him…he always felt safe in his nii-san's arms.

When Harry let go Sasuke moved to sit on the other visitor chair.

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"You wanted to see me Sandaime-sama?" Harry asked politely, easily hiding his annoyance at being summoned from Kakashi's side.

Sasuke had willingly taken his brother's place at the man's side with Sakura hovering nearby and that was the only reason Harry had agreed to leave even for a few moments. Naruto was not going to be happy to hear their sensei had ended up in the hospital again while he was away from the village.

"Come in Potter-san. The medic-nin have made their report," Sarutobi told him as Harry walked further into his office.

"And?"

"And there is nothing they can do."

That got an angry growl form the wizard.

"However, there is someone who can. My old student Tsunade who Jiraiya and Naruto have gone to find. What worries me though is that Kisame and Itachi may find them first."

"Give me coordinates and I'll meet up with them. For that distance I'd rather only have to take one other person along," Harry agreed, knowing what the Hokage was asking. It was a good thing he and Sasuke had wandered so much, it meant he knew a lot of the continent and surrounding islands.

"I've sent for Gai already since you've fought together before and he knows how to fight against a Sharingan user. Which brings me to another topic. What did you do to Itachi?"

Harry sighed and finally sat down. "I ripped through his mind. I was a little...upset over what he'd done to Kakashi and so I attacked back. If he's going to attack other people's minds then he should expect to be treated the same way," Harry all but spat out.

"You ripped through his mind? Did you get any information?" Sarutobi sat forward eagerly and Harry nodded.

"His whole life but it's just a jumble, it'll take me a while to sort it out." Harry shrugged and Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully. Harry rolled his eyes as the door slammed open to admit Gai in all his green glory. "Going now."

Before Gai could speak Harry grabbed his arm and apparated, the last thing he heard was Sarutobi bursting into laughter.

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It felt good to laugh but he sobered quickly. His village had been infiltrated, again, and one of his best men incapacitated. He looked at the map that Potter had created for him, wondering what the original had been like. They were already working to repair the damage caused by the invasion, now they needed to overhaul security. If Akatsuki had gotten their hands on Naruto… he just hoped Potter and Gai found Tsunade before any of their enemies did.

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Harry absently steadied Gai as they appeared on a deserted street, the reason for it being deserted instantly apparent.

"So who does the slug belong to?" Harry asked while Gai stared in awe at the three boss summons.

"Tsunade," Gai answered, and Harry nodded, taking off at a run for the fight.

As soon as they got close enough Harry hissed a warning and Manda vanished. Orochimaru turned to him in rage and attacked.

Harry summoned his sword and easily blocked the snake sannins' blow. He apparated behind him and launched his own attack, sending a silent cutting curse at the man's neck which was dodged but he managed a glancing blow with his sword. Orochimaru backed off slightly as blood darkened his pants from the thigh cut.

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"Who is that?" Tsunade called to her old teammate who grinned.

"Potter Harry, adopted father of Uchiha Sasuke," he answered, enjoying her shock as he dropped down to deal with Kabuto.

"And Kakashi-sensei's boyfriend, sort of," Naruto yelled from where Shizune was healing him.

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"Naruto!" Harry yelled without taking his eyes off his opponent.

"Oops," the blond offered.

"Speaking of Kakashi, mind going to Konoha and waking him up? Uchiha Itachi did something to him," Harry yelled, annoying Orochimaru further since he was able to hold a conversation and fight him.

"Um, okay?" Tsunade was completely lost and put off by the strange young man and didn't actually realise what she'd agreed to till she heard Naruto cheering.

"You won't live to see Konoha again," Orochimaru threatened, finally managing to draw blood and then smirking victoriously.

"Let me guess, poisoned blade?" Harry asked, stepping back to examine the wound since Orochimaru seemed to think the fight was over.

"Of course."

"Hm, problem with that. See you mix Basilisk venom and phoenix tears with the human bloodstream and you know what you get?" Harry smirked and apparated right behind the sannin. "Immunity to all poisons and venom," he hissed in the snakelike man's ear, releasing a bolt of pure magic only to swear as the body dissolved. "Damn it!"

With his master gone Kabuto also vanished.

"Harry-sensei!" Naruto grinned and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Don't repeat that kid. You okay?" He sheathed his sword as the blonde bounded over to hug him.

"Shizune patched me up, see?" He showed Harry the tears in his clothes were the wound had been and Harry nodded.

"You alright Harry?" Jiraiya asked as he joined them.

"Bit tired," he shrugged, absently rubbing at the wound Orochimaru had given him.

"Let me see that!"

He tensed but then allowed the blond woman to inspect his arm. A few hand signs later and there was no sign he'd ever been injured aside from the drying blood on his sleeve.

"Thanks."

"I am a medic-nin. Now what was that you were saying about the Hatake brat?"

Harry muffled a laugh at her description of Kakashi. "Uchiha Itachi did something to him and the medics at the hospital can do nothing. Sandaime-sama would like you to help him," Harry explained.

Tsunade frowned but she was trapped by green eyes promising pain if she said no and the wide pleading blue eyes of a teenager she already held a grudging respect for.

"Alright," she responded and watched as the strange young shinobi relaxed.

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Gai listened, feeling a bit unneeded but better that really, considering who had been involved. He still wasn't entirely sure what he thought of Potter, but Kakashi obviously thought highly of him. In fact, if he wasn't mistaken, his eternal rival may finally have found love!

Of course, Orochimaru had once again escaped which was not good but not something they could deal with at the moment.

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"I've never heard of a Potter clan, is your family civilian?" Shizune asked as they walked back to Konoha.

"Not exactly. I'm not trained as a shinobi, Sarutobi just didn't want me ending up a casualty of friendly fire and he needed someone who had a hope of controlling Naruto's team after Kakashi was injured during the Chūnin exams. My adopted son is on his team as well."

"So are you a samurai then? I saw you using a sword," Shizune asked, confused.

Tsunade was listening intently even as she argued with Naruto.

"Do you know anything of the lands outside the Elemental Countries?" Harry asked and Tsunade sucked in a breath, waiting to hear more.

"Not really."

"I was born in a country called England. When I was fifteen I found Sasuke on my doorstep. I adopted him after a thorough search for his family. After the war we came here in search of his family only to find they are all dead, but one."

"You're a wizard," Tsunade stated and Harry turned to her, nodding in answer.

"You know about Harry-sensei?" Naruto asked and Tsunade nodded.

"My grandfather, the Shodai Hokage knew of them. He met one called Dumbledoor or something."

"Dumbledore?" Harry asked tightly and she nodded. "He was still alive last I knew though in prison for a rather long list of crimes."

She frowned in thought at that, her grandfather had been friends with the eccentric wizard and yet Harry it seemed had been enemies with him. But it had been many years since the two had known each other so maybe the wizard had changed?

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Naruto grinned as the Hokage monument came into view, relieved to finally be home again. He really need to talk to Kakashi-sensei about getting hurt so much! It didn't just upset them, but it upset Harry-sensei as well. At least Baa-chan had agreed to come back and help him.

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Kakashi slowly opened his eyes and smiled as the first thing he saw was worried green eyes. "Yo," he croaked and was happy when Harry smiled.

"Stupid ninja, you're going to give me grey hair," Harry mock growled, gripping Kakashi's hand tightly.

"Sorry. Would probably make you look distinguished thought." He was surprised to hear a woman laugh at his comment.

"Brat. Considering he fought Itachi and Orochimaru to make sure I would heal you; I'd give him a break."

Kakashi looked over to see Tsunade standing behind his bed. And then he realised what she'd said. "You fought."

Harry put a finger to his lips. "I'm fine and Itachi learnt a rather valuable lesson."

"Oh?"

"He's not the only one who can screw with others minds. He's probably still got a headache from what I did." Harry shrugged and Kakashi relaxed.

"Now that you're up I'm going to check in on some other patients. I'll leave his care in your hands Potter-san. Make sure he rests and doesn't end up back in here again for at least two weeks."

"Yes ma'am." Harry mock saluted with a grin as she left. As soon as she was gone Kakashi found his mask down around his neck and Harry's lips attached to his. "I thought I was going to lose you and it scared me," Harry admitted when he finally pulled back.

"I have no plans to go anywhere," Kakashi tried to reassure him and Harry laughed softly.

"No one ever does. I'm taking you home." Harry wrapped his arms around him and then they vanished.

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Sakura rushed into the room only to find it empty. She blinked but then sighed and simply leapt out the window. She'd heard Harry-sensei and Naruto had brought a healer for Kakashi-sensei so if his bed was empty then he had to be better and home with Harry-sensei. And wow…she blushed at the thought.

Should she visit or would she be interrupting?

"Sakura-chan!"

She stopped and saw Naruto waving her down, Sasuke beside him. She turned and joined them.

"Join us for lunch?" Sasuke suggested and she nodded, not surprised when they headed for the Ramen stand.

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Harry splashed water over his face, shaking off the remains of the nightmare. He'd been expecting the backlash from his attack on Itachi, but it was worse than he'd thought. He was suddenly glad for his upbringing, the Dursley's may have been bad and Hogwarts not that much better, but at least he'd had some support.

"Harry?" A concerned voice called, and he turned to see Kakashi leaning in the doorway, dressed in simple sleeping pants.

"I'm okay," he answered, turning the taps off and drying his face off. Harry moved closer and Kakashi wrapped his arms around his waist. Harry rested his forehead on Kakashi's shoulder and accepted the comfort.

"I heard you screaming from down the hall," Kakashi told him and Harry shrugged slightly.

"Nightmares that aren't mine. Side effect from ripping through Itachi's mind."

"You're getting Itachi's nightmares? Harry..."

"I'll be okay Kakashi, I can handle nightmares," Harry soothed and Kakashi nodded slowly, relaxing his grip a bit. "Would you...could you stay with me tonight?" Harry asked softly and Kakashi had to think. He had never actually shared a bed with someone for the night before. "It's fine." Harry started to pull away and Kakashi tightened his grip.

"It's not that Harry. I've never spent the night in the same bed as someone. I'm worried about how I'll react to movement or anything in the night," Kakashi told him and Harry looked up with a smile.

"So I sleep with my wand in hand. I trust you Kakashi."

"Okay," he agreed after a moment.

Harry smiled and led Kakashi down the hall to his own room.

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"Sleep better?" Harry opened his eyes and smiled up at Kakashi who was leaning up on one elbow and watching him.

"Yeah. No more dreams that I can remember at least," Harry answered, leaning up to give Kakashi a soft kiss. "I'm going to be spending the day meditating, trying to sort his memories out. Do you want to stay here or have me drop you off somewhere for the day?" Harry asked and Kakashi thought about.

"I'll stay in, might need someone to watch your back or help wake you up."

Harry smiled and got up. "I'll make breakfast, why don't you grab a shower?"

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Kakashi looked up from his book to stare at Harry. The wizard was sitting on the ground, body relaxed, and eyes closed, he'd been like that nearly all day. Kakashi was worried about him, he knew Harry had seen war but having Itachi's memories on top of that? It was no surprise that Harry had had nightmares the last few nights. The only upside to the whole thing was maybe Harry could find some useful intel amongst everything.

He smiled as Harry shook his head and his eyes opened. Green soon locked onto him and Harry got up, walking over to give him a soft kiss.

"You okay now?" Kakashi asked and Harry nodded.

"All sorted and stored away. I'm going to need to talk to Sandaime at some point about a few things, nothing urgent though. How about some lunch?"

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Harry sighed as he came out his mind. He was done with Itachi's memories and what he'd found… he did not like this Shimura Danzō at all. He'd gone over his leaders' head to order the murder of an entire clan! Why hadn't Sarutobi done more to punish him?

Akatsuki was another major concern, one he would not dream of trying to tackle on his own, not when he couldn't manage to take out Orochimaru who had once been one of the 'weaker' members. But Itachi himself? He'd tagged him and Kisame with trackers and at the moment they were separated, the perfect opportunity to confront him.

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"We need to talk Itachi-san."

The missing-nin spun to see the stranger who had attacked him in Konoha. He tried to go for a weapon but found he couldn't move.

"Relax, if I was going to kill you, you'd already be dead. How's your head?" Curious green eyes observed him and Itachi wondered how he was supposed to answer if he couldn't move but decided to try anyway.

"Fine." He was surprised he managed to speak.

"Liar. But then again you lie about a great many things, don't you? The real reason behind the massacre, your joining Akatsuki, shall I continue?"

"Who are you? How do you know that?"

"Simple, when I tore through your mind I also copied your memories. Trust me, it's an unwanted side effect. My nightmares are bad enough without yours on top of them. As for whom I am, Potter Harry. Adopted father of one Uchiha Sasuke."

Itachi felt himself go pale. Was it possible? Could his little brother actually be alive. "You lie. Sasuke is dead."

Itachi did his best to glare at the man in front of him who sighed and then locked eyes with his. Itachi tried to look away as he felt another mind against his but this time the intrusion was gentle. And then the world around him changed. He watched as the man, now a boy, opened a door to find Sasuke on his doorstep, watched his baby brother slowly grow up and become a shinobi of Konoha. Then the images were gone, and he was staring into understanding green eyes.

"They told me he was dead in an accident."

"They may have believed he was Itachi."

"He hates me." Itachi sank back as he suddenly regained the ability to move.

"No, he has no reason to hate you or like you. He doesn't remember you or your clan and I raised him to never believe what he is told about someone without knowing them. Should I explain to him what I have learned of you?"

"No. He is safe in Konoha, if he were to learn the truth..."

"He would still be safe in Konoha. The council has been made aware that they should not cross me," Potter gave an amused smirk and Itachi wondered what the older man had done. "It is your choice of course, unless your decision puts him in danger at some point and then I will act. But Sasuke can handle the truth."

"I would like to see him," Itachi admitted softly, and Potter smiled.

"Team 7 has a mission to one of the small border towns in a few days." He handed over a scroll with directions. "I haven't said anything to anyone else so stay out of sight of the others." With that Potter vanished.

Itachi stared at the directions…Kisame wasn't expecting him for a few days. He'd heard the rumours of an Uchiha when they'd been in Konoha but had dismissed them, now he had another chance to see his baby brother.

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Kakashi watched Harry pack, worried. He hated his team taking a mission out of the village without him but even with Tsunade herself healing him, she had refused to clear him for missions just yet.

"We'll be okay," Harry told him, looking over at him.

"I hate the team going without me," he admitted. He talked more with Harry than he had anyone since the Fourth had died but he knew that he had to talk if he wanted Harry to stay.

"If it comes down to it, I've made sure they each have an emergency portkey and I've had Sasuke working on large area shields and area affect spells on top of the jutsu he's been learning. He left his packing and wrapped his arms around Kakashi, leaning in to kiss him. "I'll bring them home safe, it's a low rank courier mission.

"Don't forget, Akatsuki is out there hunting for Naruto," he warned.

"I know."

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Harry smiled to himself as he felt a familiar presence, so Itachi had decided to check in on his little brother, good. The team remained oblivious to the missing-nin's presence; the only reason Harry knew was due to the tracker. The presence remained all through the mission and when things, as they inevitably did, went wrong several of the thugs suddenly disappeared when they started to target Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at Harry in wonder but he just gave a small, secretive smile and his adoptive son just shook his head in annoyance. Once they were done they kept going until nightfall before making camp. Once Naruto and Sakura were asleep, Harry set up more wards just to be safe, before leading Sasuke away.

"What's going on nii-san, that wasn't me and it wasn't you."

"No, it was the person standing behind you," Harry answered, and then teen spun, freezing as he saw the older version of himself standing there, minus the red and black cloud cloak.

Sasuke swallowed and then took half a step forward, unsure. "Harry-nii-san?" Sasuke asked and Harry smiled softly.

"It's okay Sasuke." Harry gave him a gentle push forward, and Itachi was nearly knocked over by the dark haired missile that slammed into him and refused to let go.

Shocked the older Uchiha managed to rest a gentle hand on his siblings head.

"Itachi-nii-san?" Sasuke asked quietly, tilting his head back to stare up at his brother who nodded, icy mask softening for his brother.

"I missed you Sasuke-kun," was the very soft answer. Neither noticed Harry slipping away.

TBC…