A Twinkle Of Emotions
Chapter 2: Hogwarts And Snape
Looking over the kitchen table where her son sat reading away at a children's brook she obtained for him just the other day. Naruto remained glued to the book, blue eyes scanning the text with fascination shinning through his gaze. Smiling at her child, Minerva flicked her wand to the side before clasping the large pot with its lid. Studying the crackling fire, she nodded slowly then turned over to Naruto leaning down and planting a kiss on Naruto's forehead, she smiled even more when he giggled at her sudden display of affection.
"Mom, why did they accept gifts from Death?" Naruto asked curiosity appearing on his visage. Beckoning to his book, he pointed a finger on the text.
Eyeing the text, Minerva immediately recognized the story, 'The Tale of the Three Brothers' was exceedingly popular among younger wizards and witches. It taught its readers about morals, due to its educational qualities it was shared to many children before it was published in 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' an accumulation of stories published by Chelf Press. Taking a seat next to Naruto, Minerva took the book from his hands and hummed thoughtfully, feeling the cheerful young child lean into her, Minerva gave her child a second kiss.
"Well, Death was tricking the brothers. He was angry that they managed to cheat him and he gave them gifts. The first two brothers were too arrogant but the third brother was smart enough to ask for a gift that would shield him from Death. Because of this all children should learn to be more humble and wise, Naruto." Minerva said spotting the spark of realization light up his visage, chuckling mirthfully at the boys epiphany bringing him closer to her, "Now, clean up dinner is almost ready."
"But mom~!" Naruto complained his smile shifting into an adorable pout, "Can I keep reading? I want to be the smartest wizard in all of Hogwarts like you were, please~?"
"You are a tricky little fox aren't you?" Minerva asked.
"Yep!" Naruto responded giggling at her words.
Hearing the loud ringing of the boiler over the fireplace, Minerva walked over to the now ready water and wrapped the handle with a cloth before bringing it on the counter. She had been teaching Naruto some basic forms of magic, more specifically how to control his abnormal skill in wandless magic, the boy seemed to display unnatural amounts of skill. At one point she had caught him turning his rubber ducky into a sword, Naruto's explanation only made her less inclined to bring him to the Muggle World. He read a story about a sword wielding wizard and he seemingly fell in love with the dangerous weapon Naruto even repurposed his shampoo bottle into a would be sword if she did not stop him on time.
It was not because she did not trust Naruto, heavens no. Dumbledore informed her of his inability to control his magic, something which placed his lineage as a wizard at risk. If an incident happened he would potentially defy the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, that would simply be disastrous. Such actions would place Naruto or any wizard at the mercy of the International Confederation of Wizards, though he yearned to explore his surroundings Minerva denied his every request fearful of the consequences.
She simply could not lose him.
"Now, please set up the tables Naruto." Minerva said heading over to the pot and checking on the food cooking before the fire.
Wordlessly picking two plates from the kitchen, Naruto quickly set them up on the small table only for Minerva to stop him, "For three today, Naruto. We have a guest coming over."
"Is it Dumbledore?" Naruto asked obviously excited at the prospect of another wizard dining with them.
"No, but he is a very close friend of Dumbledore's. His name is Severus Snape, he is the current Potions Master at Hogwarts. He will be the one taking care of you tomorrow when I head to the Ministry for some business" Minerva responded seeing the fascination escape Naruto's lips in a excited 'woah'. She had been called by the Ministry for her yearly check up as an Animagus witch, "I thought it would be a wonderful idea to get you two acquainted before tomorrow."
"Is he super powerful like gramps?" Naruto whispered aloud.
"Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you, you will address Albus with his name not 'gramps'."
"But he likes it when I call him that."
Even if calling Albus Dumbledore the Supreme Mugwump and Grand Sorcerer, 'gramps' seemed disrespectful to many but much to Minerva's dismay Albus liked it. The elderly Headmaster merely chuckled at the nickname and allowed Naruto to call him so, disregarding the fact his name demanded unimaginable respect. Though she found the name informal, Minerva could not help but agree how fitting the name was to Albus. With more frequented visits from Albus, he treated Naruto as a surrogate grandson. He would shower Naruto with books and other trinkets as gifts, it got to the point where she had two bookcases installed for the amount of copies her son received.
Before Minerva could respond, the soft rhythmic knocks filled the room. Muttering slightly, she placed the pot down and turned to Naruto, "Naruto could you answer the door please?"
Nodding and speeding away, Naruto was upon the door in a matter of seconds. Swinging the door open and smiling broadly at the new arrival, Naruto was greeted with an undying indifference. Standing like a sentry, the dark haired man looked imposing to Naruto with his cold gaze bearing down on the boy, the dark robes he wore did not help lighten his appearance much either. Though dark and imposing, the blonde child only smiled in anticipation regardless of the man's appearance.
"Hi! I'm Naruto." Naruto greeted waving at the man who remained impassive to the greeting, "Are you the super strong wizard gramps trusts?"
Pausing to look at the boy, Snape blinked a little before deciding to humor Naruto, "Yes, I am the wizard Dumbledore has spoken of."
"Ah, welcome to my home Severus. I'm sure you and Naruto have met, now come along you two dinner is ready." Minerva said interrupting the conversation before it had the chance to develop. Beckoning for them to sit, Minerva began serving dinner to her now seated guest and son. Once everyone had a serving on their plate, the matriarch of the house raised her fork and began working on her pork, "Severus, has Albus spoken to you about tomorrow?"
"Yes, Dumbledore informed me about my task to watch the boy while you attend to the Ministry." Snape replied expertly slicing a piece of pork and placing it in his mouth. Turning to his assignment, the former Death Eater watched as Naruto happily dug into his food unaware of the conversation being held overhead.
"That is good, he may be small but he is very fast. Try to keep an eye on him, Severus my child is a very curious individual." Minerva said almost pleadingly as she ruffled Naruto's growing hair.
"It should be fine, I will be spending most of my day in my office working on some potions."
Just how much trouble could a single boy be?
It had only been the first hour he spent with Naruto and Snape could already feel the headache awaiting him. Even deep down in the dungeons where his office rested, the boy only seemed interested in fleeting curiosities which created more problems for him as a whole. Looking at his current project, Snape tried for the love of Lily to concentrate but the constant questions streaming from Naruto simply made it impossible. Massaging his temples to fight back his growing annoyance, Snape frantically searched for anything to distract the boy. Spotting some books and scrolls laying on his desk, the Potions Master carried them to Naruto and dropped them carelessly.
"Read all of these and write a paper about what you managed to learn from them." Snape declared pointing to the cabinet not a foot away, "Ink and paper are in that cabinet."
"That sounds boring though." Naruto whined crossing his arms and pouting up a storm.
"Did you not say you wanted to surpass Dumbledore?" Snape asked catching Naruto's attention, receiving a soundless nod he continued, "Dumbledore was an outstanding wizard in his younger years, he could already cast impressive spells for his age. In order to surpass him you must better yourself, I have gathered various books and scrolls on Potions. They will prepare you for future courses here in Hogwarts so you can an amazing wizard like Dumbledore himself."
"Okay! I'll do it" Naruto shouted.
Giving himself a pat on the back, Snape nearly smiled at the thought of Naruto doing something other than annoying him. Returning to his previous potion, he looked over the gathered ingredients and grabbed a pitch of salt. Carefully dropping the ingredient into the caldron, Snape nodded in satisfaction as his potion began changing in color. Awaiting for the bubbling potion to settle, Snape turned to his latest headache and watched as he swiftly jotted down notes from his gathered work. Mildly fascinated by the boy's work, the Potions Master walked over to the cabinet and began rummaging through its contents. Spotting Naruto's detailed notes Snape could not help but be impressed by his capabilities, as expected of Minerva McgGonagall's son.
"How goes your studies, boy?" Snape finally asked hinting to Naruto's minor frustration over the book on Runes.
"It's fine, I just don't understand how gramps and the old people used Runes like this." Naruto replied receiving an unimpressed look from Snape.
Nodding a moment later, Snape turned toward his previous work and walked over, "I will check on you once I finished my Potions for the day."
"Right." Naruto muttered offhandedly too absorbed in his study to even bother giving the older wizard a proper response.
Hogwarts was nothing new to Naruto, he had been present in the large school for most of his life. His mother at times could not schedule a sitter and thus he was taken to the large castle where Minerva and Dumbledore took turns watching him. He spent most of his time in Dumbledore's office or Minerva's away from the students, hell not many Professors even knew about his existence. Minerva and Dumbledore were both tight lipped about him in general only giving away his existence to their most trusted friends.
While Naruto stayed within Hogwarts for some time now, he never had the opportunity to explore the massive castle. With Snape preoccupied by his Potions, it gave him the perfect chance to escape the office sheltered within the Hogwarts Dungeons. Scribbling the last of his assignment, Naruto smiled as he watched Snape mutter to himself his attention clearly drawn to the large caldron. Slipping out of his seat, Naruto took a tentative step forward Snape immediately turned around his cold glare resting on the boy.
"Are you done with your work?" Snape asked his brows narrowing at the lack of a response.
"Uh, y-yeah!" Naruto responded quickly grabbing the papers he spent the last few hours writing. Feeling the uneven stack of papers being snatched out of his hands, the blonde stood there silently as Snape read through his work. For what seemed like hours rather than minutes, Naruto stood there his visage contorted into minor worry at the unchanging gaze the Potions Master held.
Though he allowed no emotions to cross his visage, Snape was impressed by the boy. He had not realized the difficult material he presented Naruto until now, the work was made for Fifth Years yet it seemed the young McGongall grasped the basics and amplified on what he knew with the new information the books and scrolls provided. Nevertheless, he hid his minor smirk and handed the papers back to Naruto, "Let us go."
"Where are we going?" Naruto questioned aloud.
"Tell me Naruto, do you have any interest in potions?"
"I don't know much about it, but, I do have a few books at home about the subject."
Nodding at the response, Snape ignored the looks he received from many students and gave them an uninviting scowl dispersing their groups rather efficiently, "You managed to decipher the workings of an Amortentia Cure Potion a skill not many your age possess. It is taught in my Sixth Year classes even then my less than knowledgeable students seem to lack any understanding of it. I'm... Impressed."
Blinking at the words, Naruto beamed at the praise and smiled widely ignoring the eye roll Snape sent his way. They were quick to reach their destination as Snape guided Naruto to the Great Hall where food was currently being served to the various students of all houses. Taking his seat at the front of the Great Hall where Dumbledore and every Professor sat, Snape offered Naruto the seat next to him. Even though the duo silently made their way in, students eyed them from afar curious about their presence.
"Eat now boy, I have a class to teach in an hour. I will have you spending that time with Dumbledore, is that clear?" Snape questioned.
"Yep!" Naruto chirped digging into the serving of food placed on his plate.
Their lunch went on undisturbed and eventless, with both wizards full on food Snape began stalking out of the hall once again guided Naruto through a maze of halls and staircases. Finally they arrived at the entrance leading to Dumbledore's office, leading Naruto in and knocking on the Headmaster's door the two heard a simple 'come in' did as told. Walking in, Naruto smiled at the sight of Dumbledore running up to him and hopping at the aging wizard. Dumbledore chuckled mirthfully as he returned the hug smiling at the boy he came to call his surrogate grandson.
"How are you my boy?" Dumbledore asked holding Naruto close.
"I'm fine, mom is with the Ministry for today. So Snape took care of me." Naruto said babbling on about his day describing every detail.
While many would have tuned the boy out, Dumbledore listened carefully smiling the entire time. No matter how hyperactive the boy acted, Dumbledore loved him enough to listen even if his descriptions were unnecessarily long. It seemed even in his busy schedule as Hogwarts Headmaster he always found time to spend with the boy enjoying his company with a delightful smile he wore for Naruto. Nodding to Snape who left without another word, Dumbledore continued to hold Naruto as he finally finished off his long, extremely detailed report of his day.
"Now, what do you want to do now?" Dumbledore asked ignoring his previously attended paperwork in order to focus his attention on Naruto, a welcomed distraction indeed.
"Mom said I shouldn't cause too much trouble for you. She said you were busy with some meeting with other wizards." Naruto answered shrugging his shoulders slightly.
Nodding at the words Dumbledore smiled at the boy as he pondered the current situation, he was meeting with some wizards who were keeping an eye on young Harry. Spending most of his time working with the Ministry to flesh out the abnormal amount of silence from Death Eaters, perhaps they truly were gone with the news of Voldemort's demise. Though the mighty wizard wanted to believe in that comment he knew they were bidding their time possibly attempting to revive their fallen master in the shadows.
"Well, I just finished my duties how about a stroll around Diagon Alley?" Dumbledore suggested smiling at the excitement dancing across the young boy's face.
"How about we visit Flourish and Blotts?" Naruto asked giddily hopping off Dumbledore.
"You're just like your mother." Dumbledore mused brandishing his wand and ruffled Naruto's hair at the smile he wielded.
Chapter End
A/N: Hey guys I just finished my tests and here is my late addition to one of my stories, as some of you know baxterthegreat just copied more stories and I would like to address that. Anyways, guys just stop reading and reviewing for his stories, it only drives him to do more don't give him the attention he wants for so badly just ignore him and he will go away.