Chapter 4: Tailing a Ferret
Throughout the remainder of the Summer holiday, Naruto and his friends were just spending time at the Burrow doing as many things as possible as they could. Harry spent most of his days playing two sided Quidditch, with Hermione serving as the referee as she held no interest in playing whatsoever. Surprisingly the blond was pretty good, despite not playing for the school. Whenever they didn't play, they feast like kings when it came to dinner. They also celebrated Harry's sixteenth birthday and everybody was there celebrating with Harry. But despite the good things that were happening, days were getting pretty dark as more news was coming out regarding the fact that people are winding up as missing and some of them being found dead by the Death Eaters.
Soon the letters and booklists arrived and in one of the letters a badge was sent specifically to Harry. Harry was surprised when he found out that he had been made Quidditch Captain. "That gives you equal status with prefects!" cried Hermione happily. "You can use our special bathroom now and everything!" Everybody else congratulated Harry, as he was still surprised by this move. When all was said and done, the kids along with the adults decided to go to Diagon Alley to get their stuff for the new year. Soon they arrived at the location, as they saw that Hagrid was beaming at them. "Harry!" he boomed, sweeping Harry into a bone-crushing hug the moment Harry had stepped out of the car. "Hey Hagrid, nice to see you and all, but mind letting me go?" Harry said, struggling for some air, despite being glad to see the half giant. Hagrid lets go as he embarrassingly chuckles, "Sorry bout that Harry," he said. "What are you doing here, where are the Aurors?" Naruto asked. See, the Ministry wanted ter send a bunch o' Aurors, but Dumbledore said I'd do," said Hagrid proudly, throwing out his chest and tucking his thumbs into his pockets. "Let's get goin' then — after yeh, Molly, Arthur —"
Everybody entered the Leaky Cauldron, only to see that it was empty, with the exception of the bartender, Tom. After a few greetings, they soon came to the room showing the brick wall, which was the secret entrance to Diagon Alley. When they entered Diagon Alley, let's just say that it was pretty depressing. Gone were the days where the streets were colorful and packed, as the area was looking rather cold and empty. Only a few people were in the area, but even then they weren't interested in any conversation whatsoever, as people were paranoid and looking over their shoulders. Posters of the Death Eaters were posted on the walls, windows boarded up, missing people posters, you name it. "Holy shit…things really are bad, huh?" Naruto said, as the others nodded, still looking shocked. The group decided to split up by having the adults do the bookshopping and while the kids go with Hagrid.
The kids followed Hagrid, and as they followed the half giant, Naruto noticed someone was up on the rooftops. It was Itachi, as he was dressed in his anbu uniform, watching over them like a silent guardian. Naruto assumed that Hagrid already knew about Itachi through Dumbledore telling the half giant about him, so that is why he is currently there. He looked at Itachi and silently nodded, as Itachi nodded before vanishing like a crow. They arrived at the first shop, which was Madam Malkin's. Hagrid stood guard, as the four entered the shop. But they encountered a nasty surprise, as Draco Malfoy was there getting his clothes fitted. He looks at the mirror to see the four, as he curls in disgust. "If you're wondering what the smell is, Mother, a Mudblood just walked in," said Draco Malfoy. "I don't think there's any need for language like that!" said Madam Malkin, scurrying out from behind the clothes rack holding a tape measure and a wand. "And I don't want wands drawn in my shop either!" she added hastily, for a glance toward the door had shown her Harry and Ron both standing there with their wands out and pointing at Malfoy. Hermione, who was standing slightly behind them, whispered, "No, don't, honestly, it's not worth it. . . ."
"Guys lets not do anything hasty, wouldn't want the blond ferret here to spout out some nonsense to his mommy and daddy about how he got his little ass beaten by the chosen one," Naruto said, as he insulted Draco, who seethed. Madam Malkin tried to stop this situation, until Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mom, came by. "Put those away," she said coldly to Harry and Ron. "If you attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you ever do." But Harry wasn't having it, as he decided to add more fuel to the flame. Things were getting quite tense, as Narcissa Malfoy smiled unpleasantly. "I see that being Dumbledore's favorite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you." Harry looked mockingly all around the shop. "Wow . . . look at that . . . he's not here now! So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser husband!"
Ron and Naruto laughed, as Draco tried to deck Harry, but instead stumbled to the floor, making the other boys laugh even harder. "Don't you dare talk to my mother like that, Potter!" Malfoy snarled. "You know Malfoy, I always wondered how did your father get to be in You-Know-Who's inner circle? Was he his best friend? His confidant? No…was it something more, which if discovered would've been frowned upon by many who see your father as a family man. I mean I have no problems with your father being the dark lord's personal butt buddy, but what would your poor dear mother think if she were to see this rather disturbing rumor to be true," Naruto coldly mocked, as he insulted Draco by insinuating that his father was Voldemort's personal sex pet. Draco was really pissed off, as Naruto and his friends and even Madam Malkin laughed at the Malfoys. "Let's leave Draco, now I know the kind of scum that shops here. . . . We'll do better at Twilfitt and Tattings," Narcissa Malfoy said, as she looked at Naruto and Hermione with disgust. The two left, not before Naruto decided to add one last roast to the flame. "Bye bitches, don't let a snake bite you two in the ass on the way out or on second thought maybe you two should, after all Lucius did love a certain snake biting him in the ass!" Naruto retorted, as the Malfoys seethed in anger, leaving the store.
Soon the four got their dress robes fitted and left the store, not before Naruto decided to pay the owner extra, as a way to thank her for all the service despite what happened earlier with his group and the Malfoys. "Got ev'rything?" asked Hagrid brightly when they reappeared at his side. "Just about," said Harry. "Did you see the Malfoys?" Hagrid nodded, but it seemed that he didn't care about them. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny appeared, all clutching heavy packages of books. "Everyone all right?" said Mrs. Weasley. "Got your robes? Right then, we can pop in at the Apothecary and Eeylops on the way to Fred and George's — stick close, now. . . ."
They went to both stores and got what they needed, before heading on to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The shop was interesting as it was a joke shop, set up by the Weasley twins. On the outside of the store, showed a built in statue of one of the twins tipping his hat off, which occasionally shows a rabbit. But the inside of the store was where things were really exciting as the place had a lively atmosphere. "Step up, step up! We've got fainting fancies, nosebleed nougat and just in time for school, puking pastilles!" the twins announced. A kid was looking at something, when the twins came by, "Into the cauldron handsome!" they said in unison. There were many things in the shop, heck there was even a puppet of Professor Umbridge that was being moved with magic of course, as the puppet was saying quotes from the professor herself. Naruto was checking out some of the shelves and he saw that they were selling fox masks and plushies of him, when he was disguised as the Fox during the fifth year. "Ah I see you're checking out the Fox section," Fred said, coming up to Naruto. "Trust us, these have been bestsellers around the summer. We even ran out of stock, when people kept buying merchandise based off of the Fox," George stated, as Naruto nodded, knowing that the two kept his identity a secret.
"Peruvian instant darkness powder…" Harry read aloud. "A real money spinner, that one!" one of the twins explained. "Handy if you need to make a quick getaway," the other finished. The twins turned to see that Hermione and Ginny were looking at a pink vial. "Helloooo, ladies!" the twins said, as the girls turned to see the twins. "Love potions, eh? Yeah, they really do work! Then again, the way we hear it sis, you're doing just fine on your own!" they said. "Meaning?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you not currently dating Dean Thomas?" one of them asked. "It's none of your business…" Ginny said, before walking away. With Ron, he was examining one of the items, before going to Fred and George. "How much for this?" he asked, as they turned to him. "Five Galleons," they said in unison. "How much for me?" Ron asked. "Five Galleons," they repeated. "I'm your brother," Ron said, trying to bargain. "Ten Galleons," they shrugged, looking rather smug about it, before going to another customer. Ron was miffed, before he decided to leave. "Come on, let's go," he said, as the others snickered at him. They began to leave, not before Lavender called out towards the redhead. "Hi Ron," she said, as Ron blushed. "Hi…" he said, before leaving, as Lavender kept looking at him.
"So what did you guys get?" Naruto asked, as he showed them what he got, which was a decoy detonator. Harry got himself some Peruvian instant darkness powder, while Hermione stated that she got nothing, but secretly she got a plushy of Naruto when he was disguised as the fox. As they were talking, Harry noticed that Draco was alone, as he had looked around before turning to wherever he was heading off to. "I wonder where he's going?" Harry said to himself, as they too noticed that Draco was there, before he left. "Let's follow him," Harry stated, as they decided to tail Malfoy. They were tailing Malfoy, while keeping to the shadows to avoid detection. Naruto stuck with the rooftops, as Harry and his friends were underneath an invisible cloak. From how it went, Draco was in Knockturn Alley, as he entered a shop called Borgin and Burkes. Harry, Ron, and Hermione used extendable ears, while Naruto used a pair of binoculars to see what was going on, as he hid in the rooftops. The four were listening in and watching the conversation in their own way, as it looked as if something serious was happening. Soon Draco leaves, as the owner starts looking a lot more worried. "I wonder what all that was about?" Ron asked, as Naruto rejoined them. "I'm not so sure guys, but whatever it is…it's best if I check it out by myself," Naruto stated, as the others looked shocked. "Don't worry I can take care of myself, you guys go on ahead," Naruto said, as he put on a dark cloak with a hood. The others were reluctant, but soon they nodded and allowed him to do the investigation.
Naruto, wearing his hooded cloak, enters the shop, as the owner looks at him suspiciously. But the blond didn't care, as he browsed the shop, when he came across an item of interest. "Is there something I can help you with?" the owner asked coldly. "Yeah there is…how much for that blade over there?" he asked, pointing at a blade that was on display. The blade was black, as the handle was red, along with the sword's accents. Now the sword was designed like scimitar, but it looked rather futuristic, if not sci-fi like, as there were signs of rivets and mechanical gun bolts, almost as if it was a gunblade(basically Lightning's gunblade: the blazefire saber from Final Fantasy XIII). "Ah I see you're interested in the Enforcer. It was a pretty recent invention made by some Norwegian wizard. Sold it to me, as nobody wanted the blade, though it seemed to be made through the use of dark magic. Honestly if you want it, I'll give it to ya, though it is pretty expensive," he said. "How much?" Naruto asked. "One and a half thousand Galleons," he stated, before Naruto dropped a load of galleons through some money pouch he summoned. The owner was in shock by how much Naruto gave him, but he smirked greedily taking the Galleons, but that didn't stop him from looking pretty worried. "Is something wrong?" Naruto asked. "N-No nothing is wrong," the owner said looking around with paranoia. Then he coldly looks at Naruto, "Out," he said sharply. "Get out!" Naruto leaves with the blade he bought, but he wasn't alone as Itachi hid in the shadows and using his Sharingan, he went through the mind of the owner and got news of everything that happened between him and Draco.
"Naruto, did you find anything and what's with the sword?" Harry asked, as the others looked at the newly purchased gunblade. Naruto looks around, "Let's talk somewhere privately," he said. The four found a place to talk privately and luckily Itachi was there waiting for them. "Hello guys," he said, greeting them, as they greeted him back. "Itachi, what did you find on the owner and his conversation with Draco?" Naruto asked. Itachi fills him and everybody in on the details and needless to say it was shocking. "So Draco was planning something, but what could it mean?" Harry said to himself, as the others thought about it. They soon asked Naruto about the blade, to which he said that he got it because it somehow interested him along with him wanting to improve the sword through fuinjutsu and enchantments, which seemed reasonable. When that was all over, the four left to go reunite with the others, while Itachi continued with his rooftop patrols.
Note: Hey guys so I just saw some comment regarding whether the other Jinchurikis beside Gaara should be here and the answer is no as I don't plan for them to appear in this story, also another comment regarding how Naruto pays for the house, remember Naruto is pretty loaded when it comes to his inheritance, along with the fact that his godfather's books are bestsellers in the muggle and wizarding world so he gets royalties based on the fact that his godfather was the one who wrote those books.