Deal

A/N: The game is afoot. This chapter is mostly on Albus' reaction to the welcoming feast. More student interaction is in the next chapter.

Again special thanks to White Angelf Auralon and Miriam1 for their great editing skills. They are the best!

Disclaimer: See chapter 1. Reviews are welcome, flames aren't.

Chapter 9

Albus tiredly walked into his office once the Welcoming Feast was finally over. The meal had been long as well as frustrating. Young Harry was not what his was expecting or what Arabella had reported. What in Merlin's name happened? Who actually raised him?

Although, the name Namikaze did sounded familiar. Where did he hear that name before? Sometimes it was troublesome to have that many positions to his name. Sorting information for each one could be a hassle. Well, once he had the time, he would consult his pensieve. It was a true blessing that the school owned one that was located in the headmaster's office.

It was actually one thing he didn't bother telling the other teachers. He let them assume that the fabulous magical device was his personal possession without ever truly claiming it. He liked how just not denying certain assumptions raised their impression of him. After all, pensieves were very hard to create and the knowledge of how to do it, was believed lost. The remaining ones were priceless treasures. Curiously, Armando Dippet, his predecessor, didn't know what the device that he had stored in the back of his cupboard was. Thus, the other teachers didn't realize that Albus Dumbledore hadn't brought it to Hogwarts, just found it when he took over the position as headmaster.

Right now, the aged headmaster wasn't looking forward to the staff meeting he had called for tonight. He would much rather sort his thoughts first, but certain things had to be done before the classes started again. He couldn't afford taking the time to puzzle out who exactly Namikaze was. He had to wait until his heads of houses were done bedding down their charges in their respective houses, but still, he needed answers to how this happened.

According to what the lad said during the feast, Harry Potter doesn't exist, except in the stories and articles that he, Albus Dumbledore, had allowed to be printed to calm the demands on knowing the life of their young savior from the wizarding public. He did nothing to curve their interest or false assumptions. It was all to the 'greater good,' after all.

He had wanted Harry to be ignorant of his place in the Wizarding World and had hoped to keep Harry humble and willing to follow his lead. The lad needed to follow the headmaster's lead if the Wizarding World were to survive the upcoming war. He greatly disliked a new factor being introduced to his plans. Especially as this factor seemed to have meddles for a long time already, without him ever being informed about it. That was truly an unpleasant surprise.

An hour later, his senior staff finally wandered in. Severus Snape, head of Slytherin, took the seat furthest on the left, next to him Filius Flitwick, head of Ravenclaw took his seat. Then Pomona Sprout, head of Hufflepuff followed, and last Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor and deputy headmistress finished the line. The look on her face promised a verbal beating.

On Albus' desk was a tray with several empty glasses and a tall bottle of Ogden's Finest. However, there were several fingers width missing. An empty glass sat in front of the Headmaster.

"I told ye Albus, ye ol' bampot!" They were the worst muggles ever!" Minerva started in after she had downed a shot of fire-whiskey.

"Now Minerva... "

"No Albus! I won't hear of it. I saw a copy of Lily's personal will. She left it with the goblins to keep you from interfering. She had a feeling that she couldn't trust you to do the right thing! She did not trust you!" the Scottish professor hissed at him.

"You sealed the Potter wills?" Pomona asked.

Albus nodded. "I thought it best for security reason. Back in 1981, after the tragic deaths of James and Lily, too many Death Eaters were still running around; I just wanted to keep Harry safe."

"Safe!? Leaving him on a door step in winter is what you call safe!?" Minerva shrieked, "I remember that night. I told you those muggles were bad, but you ignored me. Not to mention that it was already quite cold. I don't know what possessed me to allow you to leave the baby on the doorstep. Probably I wasn't thinking straight after the shock of hearing the confirmation that James and Lily had died!"

"You kept assuring me he would be fine. You lied to me!" Severus Snape, one of the most hated professors in Hogwarts, interjected.

"According to Lily's will, it stated that under no circumstances her boy was to be given over to her squib sister!" Minerva informed them, not at all calming down. She poured herself another shot. "That woman never cared for Lily after she attended Hogwarts! Lily was afraid of what that porker of a husband her sister married would do to her son, if he ever got his hands on him. AND you just had to interfere! You had to play your games, ye ol' bampot! Now, thanks to you, he has lost his name and his inheritance!"

"I thought it best that he be raised away from the notoriety," a slightly drunk Albus informed them, "Besides I was able to tie Lily's blood protection into wards surrounding Harry where his blood family lived. I had Arabella Figg watching him. Her reports... "

"And you thought the boy would be safe with … with that harridan Petunia Evans?" Professor Snape sneered, still glaring down at the headmaster, "She hated Lily when she couldn't attend Hogwarts. She was so jealous of Lily that she would revile Lily every chance she got. Even when we were still children, before Lily and I started Hogwarts, she would call Lily a freak. You... You decided ...! You knew more than Lily on where to place her precious son! You senile old fool!"

A flushed Albus looked abashed as he stroked his beard. "I had hoped that Petunia would overcome her feelings for Lily and raise Harry right."

"Not hardly, ye ol' gutter snipe!" Minerva snorted. "You can thank Minato Namikaze for taking Harry away from Petunia a month after he was placed there by us. By then, according to what he showed me – Harry had developed a severe case of diaper rash, he was sitting in his own waste locked in the cupboard under the stairs next to the cleaning supplies. Mr. Namikaze has the photos to confirm that fifteen-months-old Harry hadn't been properly fed or bathed since you left him there. You left him there! With those monsters!"

Severus growled as Albus hid his face in his hands.

"Mr. Namikaze told me when I visited him that the magical adoption happened when Harry was seven," she continued on growing more and more angry. She poured herself another shot. Her anger burning off the alcohol as she continued to berate her boss.

"Harry wanted to be a true part of their family," she informed them, "The man was able to get his own son away from child abusers the year before. According to him, both boys adored each other and as a true magical Christmas Wish, they wanted to be real brothers. And Magic bonded them. Yes! Albus, accidental magic at its finest on Christmas and you know what that means. Whatever you have planned for that boy you can forget it! Minato Namikaze won't allow it!"

Professor Flitwick, a diminutive wizard nodded. "I quite agree with you Minerva. That wizard is one person you don't want to anger."

"What's so special about him?" asked Pomona. She tried to recall if she had taught him in class.

"Well, he's a foreigner to begin with, and home-schooled with his magic," Filius told them, "He came to the UK several years ago. He was found actually, if what I was told by Lily Potter is true. The poor man had been exiled from his home. He had just lost his wife in child-birth and had to leave his newborn son behind to be raised by his former teacher and friends. He worried that they would just put him in an orphanage instead. Thankfully, he was able to do a secret mission and retrieved him. The boy would be about the same age as Harry Potter.

"And Albus?" the Charm's Professor continued, "The man's a natural leader and warrior. With the help and patronage of James Potter, Minato rose through the ranks of the aurors. I know for a fact that he has a mastery in Runes and DADA. Not even I could best him in the dueling rink."

"I see," Albus commented, stroking his beard. The alcohol was slowly draining from his system, allowing him to think more clearly.

Filius looked over at the headmaster. "I wouldn't try any of your games with him, Albus. He will not appreciate them. He will come after you, and you'll never know until it's too late. Because of what happened with James and Lily, he sees you as a manipulative old man that has too many positions to be healthy."

"How did you know this Filius?" asked Pomona.

"My kin. Mr. Namikaze even voluntarily went into the Pit. He called it the closest thing he could find to the training level he was used to from his home. I was invited to watch that bout. He won and the three goblins he faced never laid a blade on him," came the answer, "The goblins accord him the highest honors and will do anything he asks without fees."

Severus added. "I may hate Potter and the Marauders, but Minato Namikaze frightens even me. I can't even read him."

"Is he a dark wizard?" Albus asked as he started to make some plans, but Minerva pounded her fist on his desk, rattling the emptied glasses and the almost emptied bottle, breaking his concentration. He looked at her in shock, not being used to her acting this strongly. He was used to her allowing him to act on his plans at the school, even if she sometimes disagreed with him.

"Albus! Enough!" she demanded. "He's not a dark wizard, you ol' fusspot. He works at the Ministry as a Rune master and a hit wizard."

"He is, however, a killer," Severus commented, "You just have to look into his eyes to see it. I would say he is much more dangerous than the Dark Lord in his way."

"Is he a danger to Harry?"

Everyone glared at their clueless boss.

Filius snorted again. "Are you senile? No Albus. And I would agree with Severus in his impression of Mr. Namikaze. If given reason, Minato Namikaze will take any action he deems necessary to protect the ones he cares for. And for him that will be his sons. I wouldn't want to be in You-Know-Who's shoes should he try going after Haru Namikaze a second time. After all, even you have understood that there are worse things than death."

Albus wasn't convinced and the staff meeting broke up not long afterwards. Albus felt he still had a chance to get back some control over the situation. But his staff clearly didn't seem inclined to support him in returning Harry Potter under his control to guide him towards his destiny. He really needed to look through his memories to find out as much as possible about Minato Namikaze.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Minato looked into the boy's bedroom and at the empty bunk-beds. He didn't like that they were away from him, from their home, where he could protect them properly. He hoped he prepared them well for the year to come. He didn't doubt that they could deal with any kind of normal occurrence, but with magic involved, things were different. Especially considering that the headmaster of Hogwarts was Albus Dumbledore.

He wasn't too sure what that crafty old wizard had in store for them. And he was sure that he had plans for Haru, which consequently would draw Naruto in as well. Simply because he would never stand by and allow for his brother to be hurt. Maybe he should give the man a warning.

He frowned at the thought. Dumbledore somewhat reminded him of the more hard-headed leaders from the Elemental Nations he had faced. Perhaps he should treat him like them. They only understood one language as well. The one of subtle threats and demonstrations of his power.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Haru hated Hogwarts. Ever since the sorting and the outing of his birth name a few days ago, people had been staring at him funny. He and Naruto would walk into a classroom and conversation would stop. It was weirding them out. These other children here were all stupid in his opinion. He should knew best what his name was, not to mention how his life had been so far.

He was ready to return home. Naruto as well.

With his sensitive hearing he was hearing rumor after rumor. The current one was they were soul-mates. Both he and his little brother were gay. EWWWW! That was so gross! They were brothers. They were family, dattebayo!

The redhead in their dorm, one Ron Weasley, was the worst of the lot. The gaki could not get it through what should be a brain that Haru Namikaze would not answer to any form of his old name. What the hell was so difficult to understand.

For some reason, Ronald Weasley had convinced himself that he was Haru's best mate. Even if Haru hadn't exchanged more than a few words with him, as his attitude sat totally wrong with him. Haru hated people that thought they could tell him what to do, how he should behave and so on. General manners were one thing. Their dad had made sure they knew those well. But other things like hating all Slytherins just for being sorted into that house, because Ron believed that they were all dark wizards, or that Haru shouldn't talk to other people really got on their last nerve.

Finally, having enough, Naruto started pranking the boy, much to his older brothers' amusement.

"But you are Harry Potter!" Ron Weasley shouted one night, "You're the Boy Who Lived! You even have the scar!"

Haru shrugged. "As I said repeatedly, the Harry Potter in those books is fiction! Nothing more! He only existed as a fairy tale, made up to satisfy the public good. I'm Haru Namikaze. Get over yourself! I will NOT say this again! I will not answer to any form of that name!"

It didn't help when that rude bushy-haired girl from the train started in. She had read all those books about Harry Potter. "But he is listed in the most famous wizards of all time. I read about his story in Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Modern Magical History!"

"Maybe," Naruto commented as he finished his snack, "but Haru is my brother, magic says so –ttebayo. We are magically adopted brothers and if he doesn't want to be this Harry Potter, what's it to you?"

No one really could argue with that, although many did try.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Minerva looked up from her paperwork to a house elf popping in. The past week has been a nightmare. Thankfully, most of the professors had taken to calling the lad Haru Namikaze as he refused to answer to his old name no matter the amount of points taken off or detentions. It was confusing. At least, she, as deputy headmistress, could adjust the point system that one professor seems to be abusing, yet again.

Not to mention that she had to smooth over the indignation that Haru refused to attend the given detentions time and again. He had told her, when she asked him what had happened, that he had made it clear what his name was. It was his legal name, granted to him by Magic itself. If the teachers couldn't accept that, it was their problem, not his. He wouldn't accept detention for simply pointing out their mistake. He hadn't been rude, even if they had been, he hadn't broken any rules, and therefore he refused to be unjustly punished for it. And no matter what the headmaster ruled, the boy wouldn't follow.

And Minerva knew that if this continued, the only thing they would achieve was driving the boy out of Hogwarts. There were other options for studying magic after all in the world. The Namikaze family didn't depend on Hogwarts to get the two brothers educated.

"Professor Kitty!" a house elf announced, "A wizard is being at the gate. He wishes to speak with you."

"Who is it? Muffy?"

"Says he's Mr. Nami... Nami…" came the answer. "Sorry Professor Kitty but Muffy cannot say name."

Minerva laid down her quill and pinched the bridge of her nose. Why was she not surprised? She had expected this visit sooner or later. Simply because there was no way that Haru and Naruto wouldn't write to their father about the way things were going at Hogwarts. And they had a lot of grief to share with him.

The meeting between Minato and the Headmaster might prove to be interesting to watch, in her opinion. Wild kneazles could not drag her from witnessing it. Perhaps he would get it through Albus thick skull that he should leave the Namikaze boys alone and he had lost his right to have any say in the life of Haru.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Minato never raised his voice, but simply smiled calmly at the old wizard. If anyone from the Leaf had witnessed this meeting, he would know that the Fourth Hokage was very pissed. It was when he smiled that smile with cold blue eyes that he was ready to gut his enemy. It was not a matter of if, but a matter of when. Even James and Sirius had learned, eventually, to not cross Minato when he smiled that smile.

He showed the headmaster a copy of Lily's will and then the Goblin-stamped photos of an eighteen months old Harry after he rescued him from his aunt.

"Imagine my surprise that the Child Services did not have a file on Haru," Minato informed the old headmaster, "According to the laws – of both the wizarding and muggle world– all orphans that are placed with a new family must have a file. But my adoptive son didn't. Why is that?"

Albus Dumbledore's argument died when he saw the evidence. His plans of removing Harry from this man's custody also died. He had kept Harry's placement in the Muggle World a secret to protect the boy. If the WCS got involved and with this evidence, he would never regain custody again.

The headmaster thought of obliviation, but one look at that cold smile and knew that he would be dead before he could pull his wand.

"But my dear boy..." Albus started to say only for Minato to pull out a strange looking wand.

"This is my only warning," Minato said as he threw the iron forked wand to a spot between two portraits.

The occupants of said portrays shouted in fear as the tri-pronged kunai embedded itself into the stone wall across from the headmaster's desk.

"Haru is now my son. Magic bonded him to me as his father. I've trained and raised him. You never once, as his supposed magical guardian, visited him in all the years he has lived with me. Very telling don't you think? This is your only warning, Dumbledore-san. Leave my sons alone. They have written to me about the things they experienced during the time they have been here so far, and I'm not impressed at all. You will also want to pass on a warning to your staff. If they don't treat my sons professionally, as can be expected of a Professor at Hogwarts, they will deal with me. And that is a promise."

Minato made a strange hand gesture and he was gone in a flash of yellow.

Albus and Minerva stood stunned.

"You canna't apparate out of Hogwarts!" Minerva shouted to the empty space where Minato Namikaze had stood.

Albus frowned. That wasn't apparating, but something much more frightening. He looked over at the handle of the wand embedded into the wall. How did he do that?

0o0oo0o0o0o0

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting. Weather, holidays, miscommunications galore. I really miss Frau. She knew how to write Minvera's scottish brogue better than me. See my profile for my personal rant on reviews.

Until next time. – GF