Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J. K. Rowling; Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I am neither, unfortunately.

Author's Note: Thanks to all those who have taken the time to review! You're all awesome. Your opinions, ideas, and questions are much appreciated. Please continue to provide me with concrit.

Thanks again to Audrey, my beta reader (who I just realized you probably ought to know is dragonmaiden08 on author of The Guards, a Naruto/Harry Potter WIP that my story is aspiring to be as good as).

Uzumaki Naruto and the Goblet of Fire

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Chapter Four: Departure

For five weeks school had been in session, and for five weeks Tsunade had been wondering when she ought to announce to that Konoha was participating in the Triwizard Tournament. Shizune continually pestered her about it, saying that it was best to tell them sooner rather than later, and muttering something about how ripping the Band-Aid off quickly was more painless; but, Tsunade, being a pureblood, didn't know what a Band-Aid was, so she'd simply shook her head at her assistant and insisted she would tell the students when the time was right.

The right time, it turned out, was a fortnight before she and the eligible students were set to leave for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It wasn't that she'd been afraid to make the announcement. What was there to fear? It had just been that Tsunade had known that, once word about the Tournament was out, she would be bombarded not only by faculty, wondering how things would be run, but by students, demanding to know more than she particularly felt like telling them.

There was one student in particular whose reaction she dreaded. Uzumaki Naruto, of course, would make a spectacle of himself, something that was no longer acceptable. Naruto was going to become a part of Konoha's staff next year (she'd even been giving some thought to giving him her position in the near future), and behaving like a child reflected poorly on the school.

Tsunade was fond of the boy, she had to admit. At first, it was because he reminded her so much of those she had loved and lost, but, gradually, she had come to admire Naruto for himself. He was so strong-willed and temperamental, but he had a fiery spirit like none she had ever seen. Offering him a position at Konoha had seemed like natural step, now that he was graduating; perhaps because, since the moment she had known Naruto, she had been keenly aware of his desire to be Headmaster.

Nevertheless, the Fifth was also aware of the fact that Naruto had a lot of growing up to do before he would be ready to replace her. It was true that he had already grown tremendously. Nevertheless, he was still so young, both in age and maturity. He wasn't ready for such responsibility just yet.

But he was going to be a professor—moreover, he was going to be teaching children he had gone to school with only one year before. And, for that reason, Tsunade prayed that Naruto would be able to control his nearly irrepressible dramatic flair just this once.

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Attendance was mandatory, Kakashi had told them, when he mentioned that the Headmistress was calling all of the students together in the same large clearing that the Second Years had been sorted in. With his one visible eye twinkling, he'd added, "She also said to be punctual, but that might not've been directed to you three."

Sitting cross-legged beside the rest of the Seventh Years on the soft grass, Sasuke surreptitiously let his eyes wander across the small crowd of students and staff. Kakashi was nowhere in sight. Holding back a sigh, Sasuke noticed that he wasn't in the least surprised. After all, Kakashi was as well known for his tardiness as he was for his brilliance, even in the face of the Fifth's threats.

As a matter of fact, Sasuke quickly gathered that Kakashi's absence had also been noted by Tsunade. She was scanning the crowd, eyes sharp, with her hands planted firmly on either hip and her lips pursed, uncommonly beautiful in her fury.

"Professor Tsunade looks angry, doesn't she?" Sakura murmured beside the Uchiha, following his gaze. "Training's going to be grueling later," she added matter-of-factly, no hint of complaint in her voice.

Once again, Sasuke found himself surprised by her lack of grumbling or whining; Sakura's maturity continued to startle him. Every now and then it would dawn on him that she was no longer the little girl with a crush on him, and each time it was like an epiphany.

Though he would never admit it, Sasuke was also very proud of his other teammate (when he was not feeling contemptuous of Naruto's stupidity or jealous of his strength). However, it was apparent to anyone that Naruto's power was immense, and, although it pained Sasuke to acknowledge it (even just within his own mind), it was also true that, with more training, Naruto would have little trouble becoming the strongest wielder of wandless magic anyone had ever seen.

Of course, Sasuke told himself, Naruto had the added advantage of the Kyuubi.

It had been fairly easy for Sasuke to deduce what had been sealed inside of his friend, once he had recognized the signs for what they were. And though he was reasonably certain that they too were aware, Sasuke had never dared say anything to Sakura or Kakashi regarding his realization; and, naturally, he hadn't breathed a word of it to Naruto. It was, after all, Naruto's business, and Sasuke knew that he had no right to pry. Besides, he understood wanting to keep things to oneself.

"Hey," the blonde boy said suddenly, and, much to Sasuke's annoyance, poking the Uchiha on the shoulder and pulling him from his reverie. "Do you know what this is about?" Naruto inclined his head toward where Tsunade and the rest of the professors (except Kakashi, who was still conspicuously absent) were gathered.

"How the hell should I know?" replied Sasuke lazily. He glanced at the girl to his right, then at Naruto, to his left. "Ask her."

"Well?" Naruto questioned, sounding expectant.

Tiredly, Sakura said, running a hand through her short hair, "I don't know anything. Professor Tsunade has been working day and night on something lately, but I don't know what it is."

"You didn't ask?"

"No, Naruto, I didn't. Don't sound so scandalized. It wasn't any of my business, after all," Sakura responded firmly, but Sasuke couldn't miss the faint trace of curiosity lingering in her words. She'd wanted to ask, but propriety kept her from doing so.

It really was amazing how different she was from he and Naruto. They wouldn't hesitate to ask their mentors anything they wanted to, whether it was proper or not; Naruto, in particular, seemed completely unconcerned by manners and politeness, regularly calling Jiraya a pervert—and worse—both to the legendary wizard's face and behind his back.

But Sakura was not that way, had never been that way, in fact. Rule-abiding and respectful, that was simply how Sakura was.

As Tsunade began to speak over the chattering students, Sasuke turned his attention to the Headmistress. She was smiling brightly as she addressed her congregation. "Students," she said in a mild voice. "At the beginning of this summer, Konoha Academy received a letter from the British Ministry of Magic. Our school was invited to participate in the legendary Triwizard Tournament this year, to be held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The students began to buzz with confusion. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, choosing to remain silent and wait for the Headmistress to finish her speech.

"The Tournament first began as a way for three of the European schools of magic to meet and compete in a series of events for the glory, as well as a cash prize. For over a century, however, the Tournament has not been held. Only recently, the Ministry of Magic decided to attempt to reinstate it. One of the traditional three schools declined, and we are to fill their spot.

"I will accompany all students who will be seventeen years and older by the thirtieth of October to Hogwarts, where we will stay for the greater portion of the year. One of these students will be chosen as our school's champion to represent us in the tournament."

Sasuke heard Sakura gasp softly. "We're leaving?" she mumbled in disbelief.

Tsunade continued, "Those students not chosen will remain at Hogwarts with the champion, and you'll be expected to cheer whoever is chosen on." In a confident voice, she added, "Remember, we want to win this thing."

The Headmistress continued speaking, lowering her voice by a few decibels, so that Sasuke could no longer hear her over the din of protesting students, exclaiming over the supposed injustice of the age restriction and pointing jealously toward the Seventh Years.

"It's our last year," said Sakura, clutching onto the sleeve of Sasuke's robe. "How can we be leaving?" She looked imploringly to the boy, who responded only by determinedly ignoring her.

"Everyone!" Tsunade's voice was very loud as she brought the students back to attention, her patience clearly wearing thin. "I'll repeat: Those students eligible to enter the tournament, immediately make your way to the dining hall, where I'll go into more detail as to what will be happening. If anyone has any questions at a later date, don't hesitate to ask myself; Professor Iruka, who will be my temporary replacement; or your cell leader. Dismissed."

As the other students began slowly dispersing, breaking off into small, gossiping clusters of boys and girls, Sasuke got to his feet, brushing the dirt from his robes as he did so. With a glance to make sure Naruto and Sakura were following, he swiftly made his way across the grounds and into the main building, cutting straight to the dining hall as Tsunade had instructed.

All of this had been done without a word to either of his teammates, although the two of them were certainly not hesitating to carry on a conversation, their words laced with astonishment and excitement—and, in Sakura's case, worry. Sasuke tuned them out easily; after all, over the years, he'd had plenty of practice doing just that.

Sasuke had to admit that his interest had also been piqued by Tsunade's short announcement, and, as he took a sat on one of the rigid-backed wooden chairs that had been arranged in a few uneven rows in the dining hall, he murmured to himself, "A school champion, huh?"

"Look, Sasuke—it's Professor Kakashi," Sakura whispered, abruptly ending the discussion she'd been having with Naruto. She pointed toward the elite wizard, who was engaged in conversation with Iruka, standing a few meters off from where the eligible students had been gathered.

"Guess he decided to show up after all. Bet the old woman told him off," said Naruto in a loud, amused voice, but his laughter broke off when Kakashi abruptly swung his gaze toward the trio and raised two fingers in greeting, his eyebrow cocked knowingly.

Sasuke snorted. "You're an idiot, Naruto. He can obviously hear you."

"And how many times have I told you not to call Professor Tsunade 'old woman'?" scolded Sakura, rolling her eyes at the blonde boy. "Honestly, she's going to be your boss next year—you've got to learn to show her a little respect."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naruto replied noncommittally. Sasuke had to resist the urge to snort again.

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Tsunade swept into the medium-sized room, an aggravated expression on her face as she walked past the plain oak tables and dusty tapestries. In such a plain room, she stood out, with her expensively exquisite—and daringly low-cut—robes, which brushed against the floor as she moved. Finally, she came to a full halt before the small group of students, folding her arms across her generous bust as she surveyed them.

"Not many of you, are there?" she stated, eyes sweeping across the familiar faces. "Let's see. Yes, all of you are Seventh Years, too." Glancing to Iruka, she said, "Do you have the class list for Seventh Year?" Catching sight of Kakashi, she added in a clipped tone, "I'll speak with you later."

Iruka dug through a bag he had with him, withdrawing a sheet of parchment. He handed over the class roster, glancing from Tsunade to Kakashi in concern. Kakashi merely smiled blithely and took a seat, thumbing through the pages of Make-Out Paradise.

"Thank you," Tsunade said, looking down at the parchment. To the students, she said, "Please say 'here' when I call your name. Aburame Shino."

"Here," said a voice solemnly. Tsunade's eyes sought out the speaker from the group. Quickly, she spotted him, his eyes hidden behind the lenses of his black sunglasses.

"Ah, Shino, right." She made a mark beside his name. "Akimichi Choji."

A chubby boy with wild hair said, "Here," but his words were muffled by the chips he was munching on.

"Haruno Sakura."

"Here, Professor," Sakura replied promptly.

Tsunade smiled at the girl. "Sakura, good. Now…Hyuuga Hinata?" There were several seconds of silence, before Tsunade repeated, "Hyuuga Hinata?"

Finally, Shino said, "She isn't seventeen."

"Oh. Really?" Tsunade looked to Hinata's cousin, Neji, for confirmation. "Is that right?"

In an even voice, Neji confirmed, "Her birthday is in December."

Furrowing her brow, Tsunade sighed. "Okay, then." She scribbled a note to herself in the margin beside Hinata's name. "Hyuuga Neji….obviously here. Inuzuka Kiba?"

"Here," the boy said, his response emphasized by a loud yap from his dog, Akamaru.

"Nara Shikamaru."

"Here."

"Rock Lee."

"Here!"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Here."

"Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade tried to hold back her cringe at what was coming.

"I'm here!" the familiar voice announced loudly, jumping to his feet. However, that was all he did, and Tsunade smiled faintly to herself at his restraint.

"Now…Yamanaka Ino."

"Here."

Tsunade put a mark by the final name. "Great. Now, did I miss anyone?"

"You didn't call my name, Professor," said a tall girl—the oldest of all of the students, in fact—with her dark hair pulled into two buns. She was standing, one hand raised in question.

"Oh, Tenten," exclaimed the Headmistress. "I'm sorry. I must've just overlooked your name. Ah, yes, here it is." Carefully, she put a mark by the name. "Anyone else? Good." Tsunade folded the paper and slipped it into her robes.

"Now, I suppose you're all wondering exactly what this Triwizard Tournament is. As I said, it is a competition between three wizarding schools. From each school, an impartial judge will choose a single champion." Tsunade could already see the glowing light of excitement in Naruto's eyes. "That champion will compete in a series of tasks against the champions from the other schools, and one winner will be determined.

"All of you are eligible to be considered for the Tournament. However, you must remember that, if chosen, you can't back out." Tsunade noticed Sakura raising her hand hesitantly. "Yes?" she said, pointing to her apprentice.

With a wavering voice, Sakura asked, "What about training and lessons? How are we supposed to learn at another school?"

Tsunade nodded. "I understand your concern, Sakura, but don't worry. I myself will be overseeing everyone's training, as your respective cell leaders need to stay behind to help run the school in my absence. All of you will, of course, be excused from final exams."

"Great!" Naruto cried happily.

"We'll be arriving at Hogwarts on October 30, and we won't return until the very end of the school year, so don't pack lightly. And don't forget to bring your dress robes. Any other questions?"

"Will we still have a graduation ceremony?" It was Sakura again, still looking a little hopeless.

With a soft smile, Tsunade said, "Yes. We'll be back in time for a graduation ceremony. Don't worry; you and Sasuke will still get the chance to fight over the valedictorian spot."

Sakura blushed faintly and looked away.

"Okay, anything else? No? Okay, will one of Hyuuga Hinata's teammates please fetch her for me?" Kiba volunteered, exiting the room, with his dog trailing behind him. "Good. Everyone, you're dismissed."

At this final word, the students erupted in noise, filling the dining hall with noise, despite how few of them there really were. Loudest of all was Naruto, proudly boasting that he would be Konoha's champion no matter what.

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"Kakashi, while I'm waiting for Miss Hyuuga, maybe you'd like to have a word with me?"

Kakashi blinked up at the imperious Headmistress, considered her words for a moment, and then, closing his book, agreed, "Alright."

There was a nervous cough from Iruka, who was still in the room. The other two glanced at him as he said, "Right, I'll just…" before slipping away to check on the First Years, who he imagined were already running wild.

Neither Kakashi nor Tsunade made any move to speak. Finally, with a groan of exhaustion, Tsunade harangued, "I understand that promptness is not exactly one of your strengths, and, honestly, I don't really mind that you didn't show up at my announcement today. However, I'm worried about how much I can depend on you during these next few months. Iruka's going to be overworked, and I need the rest of the staff to help him, and if you can't even find the time to show up to a short instructional meeting, how do I know that you're going to find time to show up when he really needs it?"

"I was going to come to the meeting," Kakashi explained gently. "However, I've been spending the past few weeks trying to get into contact with Jiraya, and I only just succeeded in doing so a few minutes before the announcement was going to take place. I prioritized."

"Jiraya?" Tsunade questioned, forgetting her irritation with the genius.

"You know, Naruto plans on entering the Tournament."

Tsunade laughed. "I know. I heard. Are you honestly surprised by this?"

Kakashi put his hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it tiredly. "No, but, if he's chosen—and, let's face it, in all likelihood, he will be—he will use a new technique Jiraya taught him this summer."

"Why is that a problem?"

Sighing, the younger of the two felt himself frown. "This technique, Naruto demonstrated it for me, as well as Sasuke and Sakura. It harnesses the power of the Kyuubi, uses the fox-demon's chakra as a weapon, in fact. No, it's more than that. It gives the Kyuubi some control over Naruto's body."

Tsunade let out a small gasp of surprise.

"According to Jiraya, he only taught Naruto the technique in the event that an emergency happened, and Naruto had no other choice. But I'm afraid Naruto, in his quest to win, won't hesitate to use it again, when it's not necessary. What Naruto demonstrated was only a fraction of the actual technique—the full technique would be too powerful for Naruto to handle for too long."

"How dangerous is it, Kakashi?" demanded Tsunade, trying to think past her own shock.

Kakashi shrugged. "I don't know, even Jiraya doesn't know. If you want my best guess, I'd say it's potentially deadly, both to others and to Naruto himself."

Letting this information sink in, Tsunade was silent for a moment. Then, she assured Kakashi, "I'll take care of it." Under her breath, she muttered, "I'm going to kill Jiraya."

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There had always been an unfathomable amount of insecurity within Hyuuga Hinata, and everyone seemed aware of it. She'd always been weak, in everyone's eyes, even her own. There were many others more suitable to the role of Konoha's champion than she. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed by the fact that she would not be allowed to join her classmates at Hogwarts School.

She was the youngest of her year, and would not meet the age restriction by the end of October, and, for that reason, would spend her final year at Konoha on her own, without her teammates, cousin, or Uzumaki Naruto.

A blush rose to her cheeks as she thought about the blue-eyed boy. For as long as she could remember, she had admired him—admired his confidence, his pride, his ambition. And he had shown her so much kindness. Her pale face grew even redder.

"Hinata!" a voice called, snapping the Hyuuga from her thoughts. "Hinata, there you are. I should've figured you'd be here," Kiba was saying, a bright smile on his face. "You always like the quiet of the library."

Hinata looked up at her teammate, slight confusion on her face. "I-is the meeting with Professor Tsunade over?"

"Yeah," Kiba said, dropping into the seat next to Hinata's. "She sent me to get you."

"Wh-what for?"

Kiba shrugged. "Well, since you're the only Seventh Year not old enough to enter the Tournament…I bet it has something to do with that." Akamaru barked in agreement.

Hinata stood and began gathering her books, but Kiba said, "Don't worry about it. Go see the Headmistress. I'll take your stuff back to your room, alright?"

"Thanks," responded Hinata shyly, setting the books back down. "See you later."

"Bye!"

The walk from the library to the dining hall was fairly short, and Hinata made the trip in only a few minutes. She hesitated at the closed double-doors, not sure whether she should enter or knock. Just as she resolved to knock, the doors swung open, and Professor Kakashi quickly strode past her, not even seeming to notice that she was there.

Professor Tsunade caught a glimpse of Hinata, fist still poised in the air, ready to knock, and called to her, "Hinata! Come here, please."

Hinata slowly approached the Headmistress. "Professor," she greeted softly when she stood before the older woman, nervously touching the tips of her forefingers together.

"Hinata, your teammates and your cousin tell me that you won't be eligible to participate in the Tournament. Is that right?" Professor Tsunade was looking down at the dark-haired girl, a gentle expression on her face.

"Y-yes, ma'am."

The Fifth lay a hand on Hinata's shoulder, and the girl squeaked with surprise. "Are you aware that you are the only Seventh Year in this predicament?"

Biting her lip, Hinata nodded.

"It seems cruel to just leave you behind, when all of your classmates will be gone. I'm sure Kurenai is willing to continue instructing you, however, I first wanted to ask if you would prefer to accompany everyone to Hogwarts. The only stipulation I have is that you don't attempt to enter yourself into the Triwizard Tournament."

"Really?" Hinata glanced up at the Headmistress, unable to hide her happiness.

Tsunade nodded. "Just don't mention that you're underage to anyone from the other schools, and there should be no problem. Is that what you'd like to do then?"

"Yes," replied Hinata, a soft smile forming.

"Okay. Then be sure to be packed by October 30. It's going to be a hell of a time."

Author's Note:

You may have noticed that my preview for this chapter can't actually be found in this chapter! That's because this chapter went through a few major rewrites until I got it so that I was satisfied with it (though not happy with it, of course, because I never am).

And, yes, I'm still screwing around with the formatting. It's still irritating me.

By the way, I absolutely hate writing Tsunade. She keeps coming off as a bitch when I write her. Except in the last scene, at which point, she does a complete 180. Not much of a fan of writing Hinata or Sasuke or, really, anyone but Sakura, for that matter. For some reason, I like writing Sakura. Unfortunately, there are several other characters that I've kind of got to include, even if I'm bad at writing them.

Next time:

It's the Harry Potter gang's turn to show up. Hermione explains the basic principles behind wandless magic for her poor, uninformed friends.

Hermione sighed, her usual preparation for entering into a lecture. "From what I've read," she began, looking at her friends with a serious expression, "wandless magic is all based around the idea of chakra."