Disclaimer: I do not own either works, they belong to their respective creators/writers. I only gain writing experience from this.
Summary: An overused plot with a twist: Join us as Naruto discovers his lost family in the world of wizards, wherein discovery of being from the Elemental Lands could mean experimentation and death. The careful game of manipulation and deceit begins as ninja infiltrate the wizarding world, only to find out what home really means.
A/N: I have literally had half of this written for over a year. I do not know why, but this has been so difficult to write. I have ideas planned out but I just am struggling to write them down. *sigh* Anyways, thank you to anyone who has continued read this fic. Much love, depressedchildren
Chapter 12: Uchiha Whisperer
Naruto left the dungeons feeling like his head might explode—well, that was an exaggeration, but he certainly felt overwhelmed. It reminded him a bit of those times at the Academy when the chuunin instructors were going over material they had covered while Naruto had been kicked out. That bastard's uncle tried to get other students to explain things Naruto and some muggle-raised kids were missing, but it just sort of overwhelmed Naruto. Frankly, this was a lot like cooking and the only thing Naruto had ever really cooked was ramen. Not that Naruto had the patience to even cook that; most of the time he wouldn't let the noodles cook long enough. How was he supposed to wait patiently for all these potion stuffs?
Naruto scrubbed his face in frustration as he trudged out of the dungeons. He'd need help from Sasuke or maybe see if that bastard's uncle would help him one-on-one. Nah, that'd probably do something to his mean teacher image.
Naruto and the other Hufflepuff boys went to their dorm and began to put away their school things. "Did anyone else get confused during Potions?" Naruto asked as he flopped onto his bed.
"Yeah," Justin responded immediately. "What does it matter if we turn the potion clockwise or anticlockwise?"
Ernie gave a put upon sigh as he sat down on Naruto's shut trunk. "Because there's magic in it. Don't your remember Professor Flitwick talking about wand movements. Clockwise movements tend to evoke positive properties, while anticlockwise movements are negative or reverse things."
"Why would that apply to potions then?" Naruto asked with his brow scrunched up.
Ernie opened his mouth to respond but then shrugged. Wayne plopped down on Naruto's bed to join the conversation. "I reckon the magic in the ingredients react a lot like wand movements do. I bet we could ask an upper year and they'd know for sure," Wayne offered.
"The prefects are all really busy and those after fifth year are always studying, I don't think they'd appreciate us asking a bunch of questions," Justin mumbled.
"Hey, what about that Diggory guy?" Naruto suggested. "He's always nice and he's an upper year." The rest of the boys shrugged.
"I can go check the common room," Ernie offered as he got up from his temporary perch and left the dorm room.
"Hey, Nathan, there is that know-it-all girl you're friends with, right?" Wayne spoke up. "Do you think she could help us with potions?"
Naruto nodded but he couldn't help but feel confused. "You say 'know-it-all' like that's a bad thing," he accused.
Wayne flushed slightly in indignation. "Well it is when she's always rubbing it in other people's faces."
"What?" Naruto exclaimed and pulled a face. "She doesn't rub it in!"
Justin frowned slightly. "I don't know, Nathan, she always has this tone—like, she's superior or something."
Naruto opened his mouth to deny this but paused. She did have that same kind of tone Sasuke would sometimes get back in the academy when he had to explain something in class that he thought was obvious. It would piss Naruto off back then, and it still pissed him off a bit when the bastard did it now. But Hermione wasn't like that, at least Naruto didn't think she meant to be.
"Okay, but I don't think she means to do it," Naruto defended his friend. "She just knows lots of stuff and expects the rest of us to know it too." He shrugged a little while Wayne and Justin gave him looks.
Ernie returned to the dorm not long after. "It looks like Mr. Diggory's still in classes, but there's a second year study group working in the common room. We could do some homework with them—ask questions about the stuff we don't understand," Ernie suggested. The other boys looked to each other before responding—Naruto shrugged, Justin looked thoughtful, and Wayne nodded.
Once relocated to the common room, Naruto worked on his Charms homework with his housemates. He was sprawled across the plush yellow carpet arranged in the middle of the main seating area. A few other kids joined him on the floor, though they tended to work with their legs crossed under them rather than laying down. Other students were curled up on the puffy yellow and black chairs and couches. The second year students gave the first year students insight and time passed by quickly. Before long, they were all packing things up and heading for the Great Hall.
Naruto looked around the Gryffindor table for his cousin and his other Gryffindor friends but none of them were there. Across the hall, Sasuke was already seated at the Syltherin table and looked to be in one of his "leave-me-alone" moods, so Naruto shrugged and sat down with his housemates.
Wayne was telling a story about a time his parents took him to a music festival. It was sort of fascinating. Naruto didn't realize whole celebrations could be set up around music—sure music was an important part to celebrations but not the main reason for celebrating. Wayne was just explaining how the festivals would take up acres and people had to wear galoshes when Harry and Ron came into the great hall.
Naruto immediately turned to his cousin and waved energetically, Wayne made a disappointed noise that Naruto didn't hear since he was already out of his seat and heading toward the brunette.
Ron greeted Naruto excitedly in return but Harry seemed lost in thought—he had this sort of furrow to his brow. "What's with Harry?" Naruto whispered to Ron as the two Gryffindors walked further into the Great Hall.
"I dunno, he's been like that since he saw the Gringott's article. We were at Hagrid's, you see, and he had this Daily Prophet clipping," Ron explained with a shrug. Despite being next to them, Harry didn't seem to hear them or perhaps he just wasn't paying attention to their conversation.
"Huh, weird," Naruto replied with a shrug though he still eyed his cousin with a little concern. "Well, Wayne was just telling us about these things called Music Festivals. It sounds so cool!" Naruto began herding them over to the Hufflepuff table and the other Hufflepuffs made room.
Naruto got Wayne to explain what music festivals were for Ron and how he and his family had to camp like muggles, though with one magical parent they could set up expansion charms. When Ron looked bewildered, Justin explained how muggles camp and how the tents aren't bigger on the inside.
During the conversation, Harry was quiet and seemed to be thinking about things. It kind of made Naruto think of times Sasuke would just brood alone with his thoughts. Perhaps part way through dinner, Naruto saw Hermione come in. He stood up and smiled at the girl while gesturing for her to come over. She started to head in his direction then shook her head and sat alone at the Gryffindor table—well not alone like Sasuke was alone, but alone like Harry was being. She sat down beside that Lavender girl who was talking with that one girl, P-something. Naruto was still trying to remember everyone's names.
Wayne, Ernie, and Ron were now animatedly talking about an upcoming quidditch game and were explaining to Justin the long-standing rivalry between the teams. Naruto took this moment to lean into his cousin's personal space.
"Hey Harry, d'you wanna talk about whatever you're thinking of?"
Harry made a non-committal sound and Naruto sighed before looking off in the distance. Besides Ron, everyone was being all broody and it was no fun!
Naruto perked up as an idea came to him and he began to smile a bit deviously. "Come on, Harry, talk to me before I gotta prank you," Naruto coaxed while deftly grabbing the salt and pepper shakers.
That got his cousin's attention. Harry frowned, "You'd prank me?" he asked. He almost looked betrayed. Naruto paused in emptying out the salt shaker.
"I prank everyone, especially when they're being broody. Do you not like pranks?"
Harry just looked away. "I didn't think you'd prank me," he said quietly, and Naruto scrunched up his face.
"What? Of course I would."
Harry definitely looked betrayed and even hurt now. Naruto frowned and was about to ask what was wrong when Harry asked Ron why he liked whichever quidditch team they were talking about. Naruto almost huffed but joined the quidditch conversation as well.
Harry couldn't help but feel tricked and even betrayed. He thought he finally had a cousin who would be nice to him, but no. Nathan said he'd prank Harry like he had those Slytherin boys and it would just be more bullying. And why was Nathan even going to do that? Was it because Harry wasn't paying attention to him—that was exactly what Dudley would do! He felt so stupid for thinking he finally had family that would treat him right.
Harry maintained friendly conversation with the other boys at the Hufflepuff table, but he just wanted to finish dinner already. He had so much to think about, especially after seeing that newspaper clipping. Hagrid had been avoiding his eyes when Harry mentioned how the robbery happened the same day they were there. It was like Hagrid knew something but wasn't going to talk about it!
Did the robbery happen while they were at Gringotts? But whatever vault was broken into had already been emptied. So, had Hagrid emptied it? What was that small package Hagrid picked up—he said it was important Hogwarts business. If it was the same vault that the dark witch or wizard was after, did that mean they'd be coming to Hogwarts?
"I'm feeling tired," Harry announced after losing track of the conversation.
"Oh, d'you want me to walk with you up to your dorm?" Nathan offered, but Harry just gave a smile and shook his head.
"That's alright, Nathan. I can make it on my own." He briefly looked over to Ron to see if the boy would be joining him, but he and that Ernie boy were arguing about the Chuddley Cannons. Harry just waved goodbye to Nathan and left the Great Hall.
He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up about the new cousin. Just because the wizarding world thought he was special didn't change anything—he was just a freak to his family and always would be.
Once he got to the Gryffindor dormitory, Harry trudged up the stairs and collapsed onto his bed and hid his face in his pillow. He didn't want to think about Nathan anymore, or how disappointed he felt. Harry should have known. It was clear Nathan and Samuel were best friends, so why did he think that he could have a family member he was friends with. Why had he hoped Nathan would defend him like he had Samuel that first night?
So instead of dwelling on how he was doomed to have mean blonde cousins, Harry focused on the mystery before him. Who broke into Gringott's and for what? Did Hagrid empty the vault? What was Hagrid not telling him?
…
Saturday morning came far too swiftly for Harry's liking. The sun was already out and there was a slightly humid quality to the dorm. Ron was still snoring away, but Dean and Seamus were up. Harry quickly got dressed and went down to the Great Hall with them.
Perhaps half the student body was present at this time, which made sense since there weren't any classes today. Fred and George were already at the table, same with Percy and Hermione. Most of the other students were upper years Harry didn't know. Harry recognized a few of the Hufflepuff first years sitting at their table, but Nathan wasn't down yet. Part of Harry felt a little relieved by that; he didn't want to be bullied or made fun of in front of the whole school.
Across the hall, Harry spotted Samuel sitting alone, but didn't wave to the boy. It seemed pretty clear to Harry that the Slytherin only wanted to be around him if Nathan was there too. Samuel was just being nice to Harry because he thought Nathan would like it.
Morosely, Harry picked at his food. He had hoped to make friends here, but so far he only had a real friend in Ron. Sure, Nathan had been friendly the first week but he clearly realized Harry was a freak and needed to be bullied. It was Dudley all over again.
Seamus was asking Dean about football—a recurring conversation for the two boys—when mail arrived. Two owls brought a brown paper wrapped box to Dean, and Hedwig fluttered down with a letter for Harry. Actually, Hedwig had delivered three letters that had been wrapped together with twine. One letter was addressed to Nathan, another to Harry, and the last to both of them.
"Yes! My mum sent my football!" Dean exclaimed after opening his package. "We should play later today," he told Harry and Seamus.
"I suppose we could," Seamus replied with a crooked smile. "See if this football is as good as you say it is," the boy teased Dean.
"Trust me, it is!"
Harry smiled and brushed Hedwig's beak before giving her some food while Seamus replied to Dean with more teasing.
Dean ignored the other boy as he picked up the football and set it in his lap. He was now looking at the other items in the package. Harry just fed and petted Hedwig who preened at the attention.
Dean pulled a few pieces of paper out of the box and laughed a little. "My little brothers made some cards," he announced and began to show Harry and Seamus the childish drawings of what must be Dean and his brothers playing football. Harry couldn't help but smile at the little cards.
"Oh, and my mum packed some biscuits too," Dean said as he pulled up a plastic gallon sized zip-lock bag with rather beaten up shortbread biscuits in it. He immediately opened the bag and offered some to Harry and Seamus.
Harry ducked his head and mumbled a thank you as he accepted one. He nibbled at the biscuit while looking at the letters sent to him. Hedwig was eating at more of the bacon on his plate.
"What mail did you get, Harry?" Seamus asked before taking a bite of his own biscuit. "Hey, these are pretty good. Did your mum make these?" he asked Dean.
Dean laughed and shook his head. "No, my mum can't bake to save her life. She bought these at the store." The boys laughed a little over this and Harry chuckled a little too. Aunt Petunia sometimes got store-bought biscuits but still passed them off as her own creation.
"So, Harry, what did you get?" Dean repeated Seamus' question.
"Nathan and I wrote to his guardian and he sent some letters in reply." Harry stared at the letters and fingered the edge of the envelope addressed to him.
"Well, looks like one's addressed to you, are you going to open it?" Dean prompted.
Harry continued to worry with the envelope before composing himself and opening the envelope. If Remus had written separate letters to him and Nathan, then it was probably alright to open his separate from Nathan.
Dear Harry,
As I wrote in the letter to both of you, I am happy to hear you were sorted into Gryffindor. Your mum, dad, and I were sorted there too. I think James carved his initials into the tile by the bathroom vanity our first year, maybe you can find them?
I wasn't sure if you two would want separate letters or a joint one, so I (obviously) wrote both. I remember James would write joint letters to his parents and sometimes wanted separate letters in response, but not always. Please let me know if you have a preference.
I've asked most of my questions in the other letter so I won't repeat them here, but I want to you to know Harry: if you have any questions about your parents or their time at Hogwarts, I would be more than happy to tell you about them.
I hope the first week of classes went well.
Sincerely, Remus Lupin
Harry reread the letter a few times. He wondered with whom his father wrote joint letters, but he also wondered if he could find his father's initials in the first year Gryffindor boy's bathroom. He was still thinking this over while Dean began to explain how a football was not a quaffle to Seamus.
Harry jumped when an arm landed on his shoulder. It was immediately followed by Nathan practically yelling, "Hiya Harry! Did you sleep alright?"
The blonde had already situated himself next to Harry at the expense of an upper year who had been pushed over into a girl he was sitting next to. Nathan grabbed some bacon off a platter in the center and began to eat it before his eyes alighted on the envelopes. Hedwig bristled at the blonde's presence and moved almost protectively in front of Harry.
"Oh, Remus wrote back," Nathan said and began to grab the one addressed to him. Hedwig nipped at his fingers. "Ow, hey! I don't mean you any harm," he practically yelled to the bird—then again, Nathan's voice level seemed to default at a yell. Hedwig bristled again and eyed Nathan down.
Nathan huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why do animals always hate me," he grumbled. "Stupid furball," he muttered while glaring at his person.
"Hedwig doesn't have fur," Harry pointed out as he eyed his cousin a little warily. Nathan briefly went pale before he began laughing and rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah, yeah, I uh, wasn't talking about her. Besides, she's supper smart, aren't you Hedwig," the blonde cooed. Hedwig snapped at him and then turned her beak up and away from him.
Harry shifted a little awkwardly and then handed over Nathan's letter. The blonde practically beamed. "Thanks, Harry!" He pocketed the letter and then gestured to the one addressed to both of them. "Did you wanna read that together?"
"Uh, sure." Harry didn't sound too convincing to himself, but Nathan didn't seem to notice and was now tearing open the letter. It read:
Dear Harry and Nathan,
Congratulations on your sorting! Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are two of the best houses to get sorted into. I'm happy and proud for both of you.
I'm also glad to hear you didn't get into too much trouble, Nathan. Harry, you may want to watch your cousin and reign him in before he does too much damage. [Nathan chuckled at this and nudged Harry playfully.]
I know you've had your first day of classes, but by the time this letter gets to you both, I imagine you'll be done with the first week. So, what are your thoughts? Do you have a favorite class yet, or is it still too early to tell? Has Professor Binns been exorcized yet? Who am I kidding, Professor Binns will be teaching there until the school shuts down. [Harry laughed a little at the joke along with Nathan.]
But in all seriousness, please let me know how you two are doing and if there are any questions you have for me; be they about Hogwarts, classes, or anything else.
Take care, both of you, and don't get into too much trouble.
Sincerely, Remus Lupin
"He already knows me so well," Nathan chuckled.
"He knows you like to prank people?" Harry asked—was Mr. Lupin just letting Nathan do as he pleased like Uncle Vernon would Dudley? Harry's stomach sank.
"Well yeah, I pranked him a few times but he got me back," Nathan announced with a fond smile. "He turned my hair pink for a week, it was awesome!"
Harry frowned slightly. "You didn't mind it?"
"Nope. It was all in good fun. That's what pranks should be about—unless of course it's to take care of mean jerks." Nathan's expression got a bit serious as he glared over at some of the upper year Slytherins.
"So…last night, when you said you'd prank me…?" Harry trailed off feeling self-conscious.
Nathan blinked and looked over at him confused. "What? Did you think I was gonna be mean about it?" Harry looked away from the blonde almost guiltily. "Harry, I'd never do something mean to you—funny, sure, but I'd expect you to get me back."
"What exactly does that mean? Why do you even prank people?" Harry couldn't stop from asking with a touch of defensiveness.
Nathan gave him a mischievous smile. "Sometimes people take themselves too seriously," he stated confidently. "So, you just gotta make 'em laugh, ya know? Sure, I started pranking to get back at mean teachers and matrons, but then I saw how it cheered up some of the other kids they were picking on. Plus…" Nathan looked a little shyly at the table. "People couldn't ignore me when I did pranks."
Harry furrowed his brow in confusion and a bit hurt. "So you were going to prank me because I was ignoring you?" That was definitely something Dudley would do.
Nathan looked up at him with wide eyes. "What? No! I was gonna prank you because you were being all broody like the bastard. Usually when I try and prank him he stops being broody, so I figured that might work for you too." Nathan shrugged and then grabbed a piece of toast to act as a vehicle for eating scrambled eggs.
Harry wanted to ask Nathan what exactly he thought of as pranks, but Ron joined them and began asking them how long they had been up and what the letters were about. Of course, Ron's attention was quickly grabbed by Dean's football and, like Seamus, he said it looked almost like a quaffle. Thus the boys were soon roped into another argument on what exactly football was, and that just because there were geometric patterns on the ball did not make it the same as a quaffle.
Once everyone had ate their fill, the first years began to file out of the Great Hall and out to the grounds. Nathan ran up to Samuel who was also heading outside with his book bag. The blonde slung an arm over the dark-haired boy's shoulders, but it was quickly shrugged off. Samuel then sped off to a tree and began to climb it. Nathan shook his head but wandered back to Harry and Ron.
"What's his problem?" Ron asked, gesturing toward the tree Samuel climbed.
"He's just in one of his moods," the blonde explained with a shrug. "Hey, let's play some football."
Harry had played football a few times during recess but when he did better than Dudley he got bullied. Speaking of bullying, Harry was still apprehensive about his new cousin's fondness for pranking. Sure, the blonde said he didn't do it to be mean but to have fun, but Harry had been on the receiving end of many "pranks." They were only ever fun for Dudley and his friends.
Regardless, the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff boys found an open space. A few of the first years had brought down their book bags, and so they used those to make goal posts. They then had to explain for the tenth time how exactly to play football for Ron and Seamus—and a few other wizarding-raised kids who wanted to join them.
Hermione sat outside and watched the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor boys play football. She wanted to join them like she had the tag game, but Hermione remembered the girls from primary school would make fun of other girls for playing football with the boys. She knew Pavarti and Lavender were both wizarding raised, so they probably wouldn't make fun of her for joining the boys, but at the same time…
Hermione worried her lip as she looked around her. Several other girls from the other houses were watching the boys play, and a few second and third year muggle-raised boys joined the first years in their game. The boys were also really good—way more coordinated than she ever could be—so even if she did get up the nerve to play...well, she'd just make a fool of herself and everyone was already making fun of her for her hair and habits. Part of Hermione had hoped Nathan might notice her sitting out and rope her into the game or even forgo the game to be with her, but he was too engrossed in the scrimmage.
As more boys joined the game, more groups lined the outside of the make-shift field. Ron's older brothers, Fred and George, even began narrating the game but clearly didn't know how football was played. This just caused the players to laugh. Hermione couldn't help but laugh a little too.
"String-bean kicks the circular quaffle back to freckles for no reason"—there was a reason Dean kicked the ball back to that second year Gryffindor; Nathan was charging and about to swipe the ball from him. Hermione may not have ever been one to watch or enjoy sports, but her father did and she tried to watch the occasional game with him to bond. She could probably announce this game more accurately than those twins, but she didn't think she could make everyone laugh or cheer like those two could.
It was getting louder and louder as more students began to pause and watch the increasing pool of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor boys play. It was clear some sort of House Pride was at stake since the bystanders were cheering for their respective house or house allies.
Nathan suddenly broke away with the football and began dribbling it down the field and toward the second year Gryffindor goalie. One kick and the ball clearly went between the goalie's legs. "Goal!" Justin yelled as Nathan did a little victory lap.
Dean grabbed the ball from the goalie and jogged to the center of the make-shift field. An upper year Gryffindor nodded to him and gestured for Dean to do the kick-off. Pavarti and Lavender were cheering for Dean even though they seemed to barely know the rules. She supposed it was simple enough to grasp, but they hadn't gone over to her to ask about it. In fact, no one had come near her.
Hermione swallowed and closed her book. She then quickly put it in her bag and stood up. She shouldn't be wasting time out here; she had homework to do and things to study.
Down in the dungeons, Jiraiya was knocking on the Uchiha's workroom door. "I am busy, Jiraiya," the Uchiha drawled from the other side.
"You promised to run," the sennin replied. "You agreed to help with project, so help."
The Uchiha groaned on the other side of the door before said door swung violently open. "Fine!" the Uchiha exclaimed as he cast a few stasis spells on the cauldrons in his work room. "But if I am late to tend to my potions, so help me, I will—"
"Come on, Brat!" Jiraiya interrupted the Uchiha and began pushing him out of the workroom and down the dungeon hallways. It was all a show for the portraits, elves, and anything else watching. Severus Snape could not seem too eager to go running with his eccentric colleague.
As they got closer to the Great Hall, both men could see groups of students talking excitedly with one another before rushing into the Great Hall or rushing outside. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and regarded the younger man who only shook his head—as if to say "don't bother."
When they exited the castle and started to make their way towards the lake and grassy mall beside it, they saw a rather large grouping of students, and even some faculty. There were cheers and yells. Jiraiya quickly pulled the Uchiha over to the other faculty.
"What is happening?" Jiraiya asked as he peered between the crowd. He could feel Naruto's
chakra and that it was occasionally spiking from exertion and excitement, but he wasn't sure what was going on.
The stern woman, McGonagall, replied first. "One of my first years brought a football with him to school and convinced his fellow year mates to play. It has seemed to rope in most of the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor students."
"Football…" Jiraiya began slowly. That sounded familiar.
"It's a muggle game," the Uchiha explained with disdain—another act for those around him.
"Yes, it is, but it is quite thrilling. It might not be as chaotic as Quidditch, but there certainly is an appeal to it!" the small professor, Flitwick, squeaked.
"At least they are bonding with each other," the matronly professor, Sprout, added with a pleased smile. However, she and McGonagall were giving each other looks and would occasionally tense when the ball got too close to their house's respective goals.
"Ah, well, we will leave you to the game," Jiraiya announced. He'd get a better view of the players when they moved toward the Forbidden Forest, and from there he could assess some of his possible combat training applicants.
"Oh, Severus, you're out enjoying the weather?" Sprout asked when she looked away from the game; however, her attention was drawn back by the exclamations from the students.
"We are going on run," Jiraiya announced loudly and with his most obnoxious smile. He could feel the Uchiha glaring at him.
"A run," the Uchiha corrected, "and only because I am curious how your research is coming a long."
Jiraiya laughed and clapped the Uchiha on the shoulder, the younger man quickly shoved it off. The other faculty were now regarding the Uchiha and blinking.
"Research?" McGonagall asked as she finally turned away from the game. Flitwick was already next to them and staring up at them with wide eyes.
"Ah yes," Jiraiya began while rubbing the back of his neck. "I am studying if ah…one can augment, yes?" he paused to make sure he had the right term. The Uchiha nodded in annoyance. "Yes, augment body with magic."
The faculty all gave him alarmed looks. "But that's—"
"He theorizes that if one builds up their muscle or exerts themselves physically to the point magic seeps in naturally, that it might prevent the petrification."
"Most fascinating," Flitwick breathed. "I would love to see your notes, and Poppy is sure to be interested as well."
"Yes, of course," Jiraiya agreed to the little man's request. "But, time for run before Brat changes mind."
"I will hex you," the Uchiha growled.
"Just try, Brat!" Jiraiya yelled before slapping the Uchiha on the back and running off.
"Severus, we are role-models, remember," McGonagall commented.
"I am aware," the Uchiha hissed before transfiguring his robes into muggle athletic wear and chasing after Jiraiya.
Jiraiya made sure to be slightly ahead of the Uchiha who was snarling behind him—looking for all the world like this was torture. Once they were on the far side of the lake and there were no other people around they started to run in pace with each other.
"I have conversed with Quirrel. He follows recommended cur-cur—eto, what is the word—"
"Curriculum"
"Yes, curriculum for the years, but he is behind recommended pace," Jiraiya remarked—his language far more stilted than he would have liked.
"Mr. Prince told me the class was an utter joke. Even if he covers the material, he doesn't explain the nuances or theory. Most magical raised know this information, but the muggle-raised…" the Uchiha trailed off and shook his head.
"You said he taught Muggle Studies? Did he show…disdain for muggle then?"
"He wouldn't have been hired if he did, but Muggle Studies is notorious for being taught from the perspective that muggles are simple and less evolved."
Jiraiya snorted at that before shaking his head. "So…unintentional then? Not malice." The Uchiha hummed in response as if that was a possibility. Jiraiya nodded his head thoughtfully before continuing. "I pass—will pass along note: muggle-raised may not…be familiar with theory." His tongue still stumbled over the foreign vowels, but he felt he was growing more proficient.
"You certainly could, but Quirrel might take that the wrong way, being a former Ravenclaw, he prides himself on knowing everything." The Uchiha's tone made Jiraiya laugh.
"Fair enough." They continued in companionable silence for a minute or so before Jiraiya brought up his next concern. "How are protections for rare artifact?"
The Uchiha sighed. "The core faculty have provided challenges, but I fear they will not be enough if the dark wizard or witch is clever enough. Of course, that is assuming they can get past the wards."
"Hogwarts' wards?" the toad sage asked for clarification while emphasizing the plural suffix. The Uchiha nodded, so Jiraiya continued "Wouldn't wizard be able to get through?"
"During the war with Grindlewald, Hogwarts added anti-apparition wards among others so that there would only be two entry points. One is the front gates and the other is the Hogsmeade gates."
"It is like invisible wall with entry point, but any enemy could jump wall unless guards patrol."
The Uchiha hummed and tilted his head slightly. "Hogwarts' wards are their own patrol, but yes, theoretically anyone could apparate at other points and walk through the wards, but look at what surrounds the castle."
Jiraiya made a cursory look before nodding in understanding. "Forbidden Forest and Black Lake are patrol. Then, Hogsmeade to other side, the school would have whole town to protect students. Clever… but still danger to students."
"Considering how little funding legislatures put toward schooling, it is more cost effective than having aurors patrolling." The Uchiha paused before continuing, "Besides, the Headmaster keeps his relationships strong with the kinder folk in those protections." To further make his point, the Uchiha nodded toward the giant squid's tentacle that splashed above the water.
"Very well, so getting into Hogwarts would be challenge, and once done…enemy would need to figure out third floor corridor is where artifact is kept."
"Exactly, but being in a school full of teenagers, we have to anticipate some foolhardy kids getting in and thus the protections should slow down students but not harm them too much." The Uchiha sighed again. "Honestly, the biggest protection for this artifact is the school itself and the rest is a last resort meant to slow the intruder down."
"But for acc-acom—what is the word?"
"Accomplished?"
"Yes. For accomplished dark wizard, defense would not stop them," the sage frowned as he said this. "It would be safer to seal artifact away. Third floor corridor could be to mislead intruder while actual artifact is kept safe elsewhere."
"That would require sealing the artifact in an extra-dimensional plane, otherwise the witch or wizard could locate it within the castle easily enough."
The men mulled over the possibilities as they continued their run.
After some time, Jiraiya spoke up again slowly. "There is little to be done then. Until there is evidence of intruder in school, there is no better way to protect artifact without endangering students further," Jiraiya deduced.
The Uchiha sighed heavily. "Exactly, so while it is ill-advised to use the school to protect a valuable artifact, the precautions set in place are sufficient for the time being. It also does not hurt that most dark witches and wizards fear the Headmaster."
"So we wait and keep brats from corridor, then." Jiraiya finally announced and the Uchiha nodded his head solemnly.
"The Headmaster has set up alarm spells, but I will see if I can covertly add a few of my own"the younger man said while looking ahead. They were coming around toward the boat house and the man nodded his head toward it. "There are bound to be students skulking about, we should get back into our act."
"Fine."
They stopped their conversation and made it seem like they were actually exerting effort with this run. As they got closer, Jiraiya saw a few students gawking from the boathouse. A glare from the potions master kept the kids from saying anything, but they still stared as their professors run by.
"How many laps would appear normal?" Jiraiya asked in Japanese lest the kids could hear them.
The Uchiha shot him a look for switching back to Japanese but relented since this would be somewhat sensitive. "One," he replied tersely. "Most aren't conditioned to run this much, nor at the pace we've been keeping."
"Five laps would barely be a warm-up," the sage could not help but lament.
"And that would clue anyone into our ancestry, now start speaking English," the younger man hissed.
Jiraiya huffed and made sure to look slightly winded as they came back toward the now dispersing crowd of students. The football game must have ended. They were too far away to make out much detail, but Jiraiya noticed two bird's nest of blonde and brown hair. It seemed Shima's son and Naruto were getting along still. He smiled and just kept going. Or at least, he was going to until the Uchiha spoke up.
"For the love of Merlin, stop already!" the man yelled before falling onto his back—his chest heaving. Ah, right, there were faculty members and students watching them. Jiraiya slowed and brought his arms up over his head as he walked back to the Uchiha.
"Mah, you need to stand or you will get stitch."
"Go die," the Uchiha panted as he remained splayed out on the grass. "We did a lap, that should be enough for your cursed project."
"No, you must exert self! One more lap, come on!"
The Uchiha groaned and made a show of staggering to his feet. "I hate you," he panted out before he started to jog with Jiraiya. He also made sure to give any students watching a glare. They would probably run a quarter of the lake this time while moving slower and with more obvious exertion. Hopefully they could pull this off without raising suspicion. Perhaps Severus should see if the Room of Requirements could make a better training area?
…
Ron groaned when he felt someone shaking his arm. "I don' wanna wake up," he whined before burrowing his head further into his pillow. His limbs had that floaty sore feeling he only got from playing gnome tossing during the spring infestation. It was sort of rewarding but also signified how hard he had worked, so he really just wanted to sleep in.
"Ron, you already slept past breakfast," Harry said with a fond sort of exasperated tone. "You're going to miss lunch too."
What? He slept through breakfast, and was about to sleep through lunch?! Ron shot straight up and nearly hit heads with Harry in the process. Fortunately his friend jerked back in time. "Why didn't you wake me up!?" Ron accused as he hurriedly got out of bed.
Harry blinked and then frowned slightly. "I figured you'd wake up like you had yesterday," he said with his arms crossed over his chest.
Ron felt his cheeks flush. He'd only gotten up when he had yesterday because Percy barged into the first year dorm. "Right, well…" Ron trailed off as he tried to put on his every-day robes and nearly tripped.
"You didn't wake up on your own yesterday, did you?" Harry asked slowly with almost a smile on his face. Ron could feel his ears growing hot as he looked anywhere but at Harry. He heard the boy chuckle a little and it was a bit infectious.
"I guess I should learn how to set an alarm spell," Ron said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.
"I've been using this old watch of Dudley's to keep track. Don't you hear it go off?" Harry asked as he gestured to his wrist. Ron's eyes widened and he zeroed in on the weird device.
"What are these bits? What are they made out of? That's not glass is it or metal?"
"It's plastic," Harry deadpanned and Ron gave him a nonplussed look. "Uh, well plastic is this material used a lot. It can be clear like glass, or hard like metal, or flexible like uh…a twig?" Harry scratched the side of his face.
"Huh, that's so strange." Ron couldn't wrap his head around the idea. "How's it work?" He should probably take notes for his Dad about all this.
Harry shifted slightly before shrugging and gesturing for them to head down for lunch. On the way, Harry tried to explain it, but it still baffled Ron. How did something keep track of time without tracking the progression of the stars and moon? It didn't even calculate it on its own like most watches, it just used some standard set of time determined by other muggles and it all synced up that way.
By the time the boys reached the Great Hall, which was pretty full of milling students, Harry was flailing as he tried to describe things, and Ron was confused. Finally they sat down at the Gryffindor table only to find Nathan already sitting there across from that bossy girl, Hermione.
"Oh, hey Harry!" Nathan greeted with a big smile before turning it to Ron. "Hey Ron. I didn't see you at breakfast? Did you sleep in?" Ron felt his blush returning at the innocent question and so quickly distracted himself from answering by stuffing some food into his mouth as he sat down. Nathan laughed a little before gesturing to Hermione.
"So, like I was telling Hermione, the Bastard talked with his uncle last night and got lots of information on what Professor Squirrel's been trying to teach us. He wants to go over it with us after lunch. Also, he has a few more meditations to practice for occlumency."
Ron scowled down at his now full plate of food. "I don't know why you hang out with that jerk."
Nathan blinked. "'Cause he's my friend."
"Yeah, just your friend," Harry mumbled beside him. Hermione made a noise of confirmation and Ron nodded his head.
Nathan frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" Was he really that clueless?
"Nathan, we tried to spend time with him without you but he just…" Harry trailed off so Ron opted to continue for him.
"He completely ignored us and wanted nothing to do with us. Plus, he ignored you yesterday too! I don't think he's really your friend. I mean, why isn't he over here with us today?"
Nathan blinked a few times before regarding each of them seriously. "Samuel is a jerk, yeah, but he's my friend and he's trying to be friends with each of you too."
"Then why did he climb a tree rather than talk to me?" Hermione asked hurt.
"To get away from talking," the blonde answered like it was obvious.
"Exactly, that's not friendly! It's rude!" Ron pointed out.
Nathan's eyes widened like he just understood what they were getting at. "Oh!" He laughed a little. "I used to think that made him a jerk and mean too, but it's just how he is."
"Doesn't sound like a good friend to have," Ron groused.
Nathan smiled and shook his head. "That's 'cause you don't know him. See, Samuel has a hard time being around a lot of people. He's used to being alone, so when there's a lot of people he gets quiet and tired. He doesn't really like talking either, he prefers to listen. I used to think that made him a jerk but I get it now."
The bossy girl tilted her head to one side. "He's an introvert?" she asked and Ron had no idea what that meant. Nathan frowned for a moment so that know-it-all explained the word. "My parents told me introverts are people who 'recharge' by being alone and get 'drained' being around a lot of people."
The blonde contemplated the words for a moment before nodding his head. "Yeah, that sounds right. The bastard gets all grouchy and annoyed when he has to be around a lot of people, especially if he has to talk. But if he spends some time alone he gets better. He's really good one-on-one, but in big groups it gets hard. Plus, he doesn't like talking all that much. It's best to just sit with him when he needs his alone time."
Hermione made a sound like she understood and nodded he head. "So when he said he didn't want to talk to me, he wasn't telling me to go away but to just to sit with him." She seemed to cheer up at this.
Ron scowled. "It still doesn't sound like he's that good of a friend," he mumbled.
"Trust me he is, you just gotta get used to his bastardy-ness," Nathan said. Harry looked at him contemplatively while Ron was still skeptical.
Nathan grabbed some more food from the platters at the center of the table before picking back up what he'd been talking about. "So, like I was saying, the Bastard was thinking of meeting in…" the blonde paused and looked down on his wrist where Ron noticed he too had a plastic watch thing "thirty minutes in the library. Or ya know, we could find some abandoned classroom or something." Nathan shrugged and began shoveling food into his mouth.
"The library would let us look up things we don't understand," the know-it-all suggested, and Ron frowned. Why was she butting into this?
"Alright then!" Nathan cheered before swallowing what he'd been eating.
"Nathan!" the know-it-all chided, "You shouldn't talk with your mouth full! It's very rude."
Ron snorted and purposely stuffed his mouth with some food when the busy-haired girl turned to him with an eyebrow raised. "What?" he asked with his mouth full. The girl made a disgusted noise and looked away. Nathan gave Ron playful smile while chuckling. Harry shook his head.
Seamus and Dean were starting to come into the Great Hall along with the first year Hufflepuff boys. Seamus gestured for Wayne and Justin to join them at the Gryffindor lunch table. The boys' faces were all flushed from exertion and Ron spotted Dean holding his football under his arm.
"You guys played another game without us!?" Nathan asked almost offended.
Justin gave him an apologetic smile, but it was Dean who responded, "You were talking with your Slytherin friend."
"See! Dean get's it!" Ron said around more food.
"I get what?" Dean asked now that he and the other boys were seated. A few upper years gave them looks but vacated the table since they were finished with their lunches.
"He thinks Samuel's not friendly," Nathan said with a sigh.
"Well…" Seamus began as he shared a look with Dean.
"He's not very approachable," Wayne stated, and Ron nodded his head adamantly in agreement.
"He does glare a lot," Harry added almost sheepishly.
"Well yeah," Nathan said deadpan. "Have you seen his Uncle?" That got a surprised laugh out fo most of the first years. "It's hereda-something."
"Hereditary" the know-it-all corrected while stifling a smile and trying to look reproachful. "You shouldn't talk about professors like that, Nathan."
"Well, at least I didn't repeat what pervy-professor said," Nathan said which caused Ron to choke on his food. Harry was blushing and the know-it-all looked confused along with the others. Nathan smacked Ron's back and dislodged the food but it definitely smarted.
"Wait, who's this?" Justin asked.
"The new professor with the big hair," Nathan said while pointing to said professor. "He said the bastard's uncle has a stick up his butt and needs to—"
"Nathan!" "Don't repeat it!" "Stop!" Hermione, Harry, and Ron interrupted the blonde at the same time. Ron was sure his face matched his hair. Nathan just laughed and shrugged before taking a bite of his own food.
The other boys at the table were laughing uneasily before Seamus spoke up and changed topics. "Did you see Snape and the new teacher running around the lake yesterday? I didn't know anyone could run that much and still be standing afterwards."
"I didn't see them running," Ron commented while Nathan had his head tilted to one side like he was thinking.
"I'm pretty sure we ran that much when we all played tag—or at least one lap around the lake," Nathan said while Harry said:
"You were playing keeper on the far side of the field so it would have been hard to see them—Wait, you think we ran a lap around the lake?" Harry was now turned to face Nathan as what the blonde had been saying at the same time as him caught up to him.
"Well yeah, I think so. We can go do a run around the lake if don't believe me?" Nathan seemed far too excited for that and Ron's leg muscles ached just thinking about it. The other boys at the table paled a little.
"I think I've done enough running for one day!" Wayne exclaimed while Justin nodded empathically.
"Yeah, I'm out too," Dean said with a shake of his head.
Nathan just shrugged and Harry laughed a little. "What do you think Harry? D'you wanna go running with me after we finish reviewing the notes for Squirrels' class?" the blonde asked around a mouthful. The know-it-all made a disapproving noise at the table manners.
"Wait, did you just call Professor Quirrel, Squirrel?" Wayne asked in disbelief.
Nathan beamed and nodded. He would have likely gone on to list all the nicknames he made for the different professors but Dean piped up. "What do you mean you're reviewing notes? How could anyone take notes in that class?"
"Oh! The bastard met with his uncle last night and got some notes on what we were supposed to learn. We're gonna review them after lunch. You wanna join us?" the blonde offered.
Seamus looked incredulous, "Why would our potions professor know anything about Defense against the Dark Arts?"
"'Cause he's a really good duelist and has wanted to teach defense for forever—at least that's what the bastard says."
"Wait, he wants to be the defense professor?" Harry asked almost alarmed. Nathan just nodded.
"Yeah, Fred and George know about that too, but it's also rumored that he knows about defense against the dark arts because he knows the dark arts," Ron shared conspiratorially.
"The Headmaster wouldn't hire someone who uses the Dark Arts," the know-it-all stated confidently in that haughty tone. Ron felt his face flush in a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
"Are you calling my brothers liars?" he challenged
The Hufflepuffs at the table immediately tried to calm things down but Ron just scowled at the bushy haired girl who refused to back down.
Harry coughed slightly to get their attention. His focus was behind Nathan where Samuel was apparently standing. "Hello Samuel," Harry greeted the other boy.
He just nodded in return. "Are you all done eating?" he asked. "Lunch is almost over."
"Wah! Really?" Nathan exclaimed before literally shoveling what was on his plate into his face. Ron's stomach growled and he quickly followed suit. The other boys at the table continued eating at a more sedate pace.
Samuel scoffed. "Figures," he said before sitting down beside the blonde Hufflepuff much to the distaste of an upper year Gryffindor. He set his elbows on the table and rested his check on one hand as he waited for Nathan to finish eating.
There was an awkward silence. Justin nervously cleared his throat "Uh, Nathan was saying you got notes from Professor Snape on the Defense lectures from this week?"
Samuel nodded.
"Oh," Justin said when the dark-haired boy didn't say anymore. Nathan shook his head and rolled his eyes before elbowing Samuel.
"What?" the Slytherin asked and the blonde Hufflepuff made some sort of look that caused the dark-haired boy to sigh.
"Obviously, you're all welcome to join us," Samuel said with a one armed shrug.
"R-really?" Wayne asked. Seamus and Dean were looking intently at the Slytherin.
"Of course. Quirrel is an abysmal teacher," the dark-haired boy deadpanned.
Ron choked on his food as he tried not to laugh. Harry managed to disguise his own laughter behind a cough, while the rest of the first years around them looked stunned.
"But why would you help us?" Seamus asked with his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Why wouldn't I?" Samuel asked in return with an eyebrow raised. An awkward silence followed the question, though Harry, Hermione, and Nathan were silent in confusion while the rest of the table were silent for another reason.
Samuel furrowed his brow "…Is this because I'm in Slytherin?" he asked. Ron just stared at his plate and the tension in the silence grew. It was answer enough.
Samuel snorted and shook his head, his hands were now folded on top of the table. "You're all as short sighted as my housemates," he commented almost incredulously. Ron looked over sharply at the Slytherin. "Who's to say what any of us might become in the future? Any of you could be the next Prime Minister or whatever the magical equivalent is. Why burn bridges now, why let our houses dictate anything?"
Nathan swallowed and added, "Yeah, it's stupid to turn away friends just 'cause they got sorted into a different house."
The other Hufflepuffs at the table nodded in agreement but before anything more could be said the platters of food at the tables disappeared and all that remained was whatever food was already on the student plates. Lunch was over.
"Neh, Dobe, I'm going to head up to the library and secure a table." The Slytherin stood up from the table and began to walk toward the Great Hall doors before he paused. "Should I get a big table?" he asked while clearly looking to Seamus, Justin, Wayne, and Dean.
"You guys are gonna join us, aren't you?" Nathan asked, which had Justin and Wayne nodding. Nathan turned a big smile from his housemates to Samuel who nodded.
"Hermione, you're done with lunch, right?" He asked the busy-haired girl. She perked up and nodded. Samuel then made a beckoning motion with his head and the girl rapidly got up from the table and the two left the Great Hall.
"See, Samuel's not such a bad guy. You just gotta give him time when he's in a mood!" Nathan said cheerfully and Ron was finding it harder to disagree with him.
TBC