Chapter 6: Dark Forces Among Us
Naruto, Ron, Hermione, and the others were heading to the castle. But the question remains as to where Harry was. "Do you think he's alright? I mean we haven't found him anywhere around here," Hermione stated. "Who knows? But I hope he's ok, cause the last time I saw him he just vanished from us, after leaving the lunch meeting with Slughorn," Naruto stated. "I wonder where he is though?" Ron asked. Little did they know that Harry was still in the train, lying motionless. For Harry, he was in excruciating pain since he's bleeding from the nose due to Draco kicking him there. In his mind he knew he screwed up real bad, as his plan backfired. Never before did he extremely hate Malfoy with a passion, to the point where he wanted some cold hard revenge. He tried to break free from the bind, even though he was petrified as he needed to get off quickly before the train left.
He even tried to summon his wand that fell from his hand, as if he were some Jedi who decided to use the force to grab their lightsaber if they dropped it at a far distance. But it never worked, as he was motionless and soundless. Luckily he was saved by a friend, who happened to have stumbled here. It was Luna Lovegood, as she used some spell to blow away the Invisibility Cloak, while also freeing him from the Petrificus Totalus spell. "Luna, thank god you were here. How did you know where I was?" he asked, sounding glad that she freed him as he got up. "Wrackspurts, your head's full of them," she said, as she took off her enchanted glasses. "Right…" he said, taking a quick breath, as Luna offered him a handkerchief to clean the blood dripping out of his nose. He takes it and thanks her, who nodded of course. "Anyways let's get out of here," Harry stated, as the two left the train, with their personal belongings with them.
As the two were walking, they decided to make some conversation on the way. "Sorry if I made you miss the carriages, by the way, Luna," he said, feeling bad for her. "That's alright. It was like being with a friend," she said, as it seems she was alright with what happened. "Well, I am your friend, Luna," Harry stated. "That's nice," she said, as the two arrived at the entrance to see Professor Flitwick waiting for them. "Oh, about time. I've been looking all over for you two," Flitwick said, as he checked the list. "Names?" he asked, as Harry was surprised. "Professor, you've known me for five years," Harry stated. "No exceptions, Potter," Flitwick stated, giving Harry the look. "Who are those people?" Luna asked, pointing at the two. Flitwick explained that they were Aurors, sent here for security details.
There was an argument going on between Malfoy and Filch regarding some item, until Snape vouches for him. As Malfoy grabbed his item, which was a walking stick btw, he looked at Harry and smirked. "Nice face, Potter," he taunted, before going away. "Would you like me to fix it for you?" Luna asked, as she brought out her wand. "Personally, I think you look a bit more devil may care this way, but…it's up to you," she stated. Harry was skeptical, "Erm, have you ever fixed a nose before?" He stated this, as he didn't want a situation he dubbed the Lockhart in reference to what happened in his second year, when Gilderoy Lockhart made him lose his bones, instead of fixing it. "No, but I have done several toes," she said nonchalantly. "How different are they really?" she asked, as Harry snickered, finding it to be funny. "Erm…ok, yeah. Give it a go," he said, as she performed the spell. "Episkey," she said, as Harry's nose was brought back in place. "Aghhh, fuck! Fucking shit, oh god!" Harry cried in pain, as he yelled some obscenities due to the pain he's feeling, much to the amusement of Luna. Soon the pain went away, as Harry touched his nose. "How do I look?" he asked, wanting her input. "Exceptionally ordinary," she said, sounding content. "Brilliant," he said, sighing a breath of relief, before the two continued on with their walk to the school.
With Naruto and the Others
Naruto and his friends were at the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast. As they were eating, they were still wondering where Harry was. "Don't worry, he'll be here in a minute," Ron said, eating his slice of pie, with not a care in the world, as the others just looked at him with a 'really' look. "Will you stop eating, your best friend is missing," Hermione said, as she hit Ron in the head with some parchment. "Oi, turn around you lunatic," Ron said, as Hermione turned around to see Harry looking a little worse for wear. "He's covered in blood again, why is he always covered in blood?" Ginny asked, as the others took a closer look at him. "Looks like it's his own this time," Ron stated, as Harry sat down. "Where have you been?" Hermione asked. "What the hell happened to your face?" Naruto asked. "I'll tell you guys later, so what did I miss?" Harry asked, as he took a sip from his goblet. "Well you missed the sorting," Hermione explained. "Hat say anything interesting?" asked Harry, taking a piece of treacle tart. "More of the same, really . . . advising us all to unite in the face of our enemies, you know."
Soon Dumbledore came to the podium, grabbing everyone's attention. "Very best of evenings to you all," he said, as everybody looked at Dumbledore with silence permeating the room. "First off, let me introduce the newest member of our staff: Horace Slughorn," he said, as Slughorn stood up and waved at everyone, while everybody clapped for him. "Professor Slughorn er to say he's agreed to resume his old post as Potions master. Meanwhile the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts will be taken by Professor Snape," he stated. Everybody except the Slytherins didn't clap, as they hated Snape for his behavior and bias towards students from different houses, other than his own. "As you know, each and every one of you was searched upon your arrival here tonight and you have the right to know why." It was a good thing Naruto sealed most of his equipment which were his weapons and ninja tools, otherwise there would have been a lot of questioning.
"Once there was a young man like you, who sat in this very hall. Walked this castle's corridors, step hundred rooms. He seemed to all the world a student like any other. His name…Tom Riddle." Harry, Naruto, and Ginny curled their faces in disgust, as they knew that name and who that person was ever since the Chamber of Secrets incident. "Today of course, he's known all over the world by another name, which is why as I stand looking out upon you all tonight. I'm reminded of a sobering fact. Every day, every hour, this very minute perhaps, dark forces attempt to penetrate these castle walls. But in the end, their greatest weapon…is you." Everybody was serious, as this was no laughing matter as dark days were approaching quickly. "Just something to think about. Now, off to bed. Pip pip!" Dumbledore finished, as everybody got up and were ready to head to their dorms as tomorrow was the start of a brand new day. "Well…that was cheerful," Ron stated, as he and Hermione noticed that both Harry and Naruto were in deep thought. As the two were walking to the dorm, Naruto had a massive headache. "Agh!" he grunted, as he fell to his knees. But it wasn't just a headache as Naruto keeps getting strange visions almost as if it was a premonition for what was going to come. From his visions, he sees Hogwarts burning, a golden man with nine orbs surrounding him as he fights a dark calamity, and lastly a duel that will decide the fate of both worlds. The visions were hazy as it all went so fast, as he heard voices calling out to him. "Naruto! Naruto!" Harry and the others yelled, trying to wake up the blond. "Huh, wait, what?! What's wrong?!" the blond asked frantically. "Naruto calm down. Just take a deep breath, ok. Just calm down," Hermione stated, as Naruto took some deep breaths, to calm himself. "Are you ok? You just collapsed on your knees, almost hyperventilating." The others nodded, "Yeah mate, it looked almost as if you were afraid or in pain," Ron stated. "I…I…I don't know anymore. I just had a headache and I had this vision, it was almost as if it was a warning. Look it's fine guys, I'll just go to bed, I guess I was just tired that's all. See you guys tomorrow!" Naruto said, as he rushed to bed. The others looked pretty worried for Naruto, but they didn't want to pry so they headed off to bed. As Naruto slept, he had these thoughts, 'What do those visions mean? It was almost as if it was real. None of this makes sense,' he thought, trying to get some sleep.