Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 3

Hiro sat on the floor of his hotel room, meditating. His Occlumency was basically back at the basics, protections shredded, he was lucky he hadn't had to be around Snape or Dumbledore alone since coming back or they could have seen everything. Considering he was planning a few murders; he needed his protections to be strong. He also had another appointment with Gringotts and would have to control his temper should they prove reluctant to believe him. The goblins had made strong allies last time…until Zetsu had destroyed their caverns. He and Sasuke had honed their sword skills with their battlemasters and had come to respect them. But now he was a scrawny fourteen-year-old whom the Ministry had already begun a smear campaign against, they could work fast when it suited them.

He longed to head for Konoha, but he couldn't, not yet. He missed Sasuke so much but at their current ages dating could be problematic, at least until Sasuke graduated…or had he already done that? It had been so long since there'd been a graduating class that it was hard to remember the dates. When the whole world is ending, remembering if it's November or April isn't important.

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Obito was…concerned about Sasuke. In trying to fix things with his team from the start, he may have actually made them worse, isolating himself further which was not good. it didn't take a genius to realise that for all Sasuke had held himself apart since the massacre, he needed people around him. Hiro had helped heal that, helped him relearn to let people in so the sooner he got there the better. Hopefully, he could help pull Team 7 together again. His link to Umino would help with Kakashi and Naruto, Sakura would be the difficulty. They needed Team 7 at their best and the sooner the better.

He wasn't sure what to think of the idea that Naruto had died in the same fight he had, but that his body had continued on with Kurama in control. It's what Naruto had wanted and it made sense but it must have been hard for all of them to deal with. Naruto had been Sasuke's best friend and now to be so distant from his younger self. Ugh, he was not a therapist!

"Think you can manage a Chidori?" he asked, and Sasuke blinked, frowning before his eyes widened slightly.

"The seal?"

Obito nodded. The sooner that was dealt with the better and since his body was the one from this time, it should be there.

"I'll try," Sasuke promised. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes to help him focus.

Obito braced himself, fighting the urge to move as flickers of electricity sparked over Sasuke's hand. It faded and then came back, then faded again, Sasuke obviously struggling. It made sense, by the time he trained for the Chidori the first time, he'd been a genin for months, his chakra stores were lower at the moment, but they only needed one good hit and he didn't have to have the Sharingan active at the same time since Obito would stay still…he would! Was it the seal trying to make him move or just human instinct to not take what should be a fatal blow?

He closed his eyes, considering, and then choked back a cry of pain, nerves screaming as they were hit by lightning, choking briefly on blood. Huh…guess he managed. He felt his legs buckle, Sasuke try to brace him, coughing even as he felt his healing kick in. Sasuke couldn't hold him but he slowed his fall, getting him sitting against something as he struggled to breath.

"Obito. Come on, answer me," Sasuke's voice faded in and he blinked, looking up at the boy. When had he laid down? "Back with me?" Sasuke asked, concern visible in his eyes….

"Turn off," he mumbled, and Sasuke sat back in relief, Sharingan fading.

"I thought…" Sasuke took a shaky breath even as Obito pushed himself back up into a sitting position. His mind might be an adults…but his body was still a child, that would change his reactions some.

"Thanks kid," he smirked, and Sasuke shot him a glare.

"I don't have the Rinnegan anymore, or if I do, I can't activate it."

"Makes sense, this body hasn't died and received the Sage's power. And even if you've kept the eye, you're chakra levels are too low," Obito had never seen his 'cousin' so weak. He hadn't been around Konoha at this point in the original time…had he? No, he was pretty sure he hadn't. He'd known Sasuke after his time with Orochimaru…and how to get him to those levels without the curse seal? "We've got planning to do and fast," he grimaced, and Sasuke nodded.

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Kakashi slouched in front of the memorial. Well, he had a team now and he just knew Obito was laughing at him somewhere. The dynamic though was not what he'd been expecting. What the hell had Sasuke said or done before he got there that had alienated the other two so badly? He'd give them time to sort it out themselves during training since he'd be working on teamwork. If they didn't work things out though, he'd have to do something. Wonderful.

He didn't want to involve Iruka but he might have to. Iruka was the closest person to Naruto outside the Hokage, maybe he could find out what had happened. Speaking of, he should be going unless he wanted to be really late and make Iruka mad. He was hot when he was mad but get him too angry and Kakashi would be sleeping alone at home for a week, that would not be fun.

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Sakura curled up on her bed feeling utterly miserable. How…how could Sasuke-kun say those horrible things? Didn't he understand, she loved him, of course she was grown up! And she didn't have to train, not like how the boys did, it was their job to protect their female teammate on missions. She'd never get a good husband if she trained like they did, that's why they had separate classes for some things too.

But…what did he mean he'd never date a girl? Well, Mum said boys matured slower so maybe he was still at the point of thinking girls had germs and he just needed some more time to start feeling that way? Yes, that made sense. She'd just have to wait a while for him to start realising that girls were more than teammates who had germs. And he hadn't meant to be mean, he just wasn't good at expressing himself yet.

It had been wrong of her to treat him like that, to actually side with Naruto. Ugh. Why had she ever thought that was a good idea. No, she'd back off a little with Sasuke-kun, until he was ready to start noticing girls, and she'd stay away from Naruto.

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Naruto glared at his noodles, not even being treated by Iruka-sensei cheering him up.

"It can't be that bad Naruto, your team passed."

"No thanks to that bastard," he growled.

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Iruka blinked, staring at Naruto in surprise. Yeah, he wasn't always very polite in describing people but that was hardly his fault. But bastard… "Sasuke?" he asked carefully, and Naruto stabbed his Ramen with his chopsticks. Definitely Sasuke then. "Come on, tell me what happened," he coaxed, and then it all spilled out.

Iruka listened quietly, letting Naruto vent. He was actually surprised by Sasuke's words, if Naruto was reporting them correctly and he had the feeling he was. "Naruto…I know you don't want to hear it, and the way he said it was wrong…but Sasuke does have some good points."

"What?!" Naruto shot him a betrayed look.

"It is a failing of the Academy system unfortunately," he admitted softly. "We simply don't have the time or staff to truly expose you to the truth of shinobi life and many, especially the girls, go into it with very wrong ideas. I know a lot of the girls in your class were there solely looking for a husband among the clan heirs. Shinobi work isn't saving princesses Naruto. It's a very hard and dangerous life. Sakura is very smart and those marks gave her top Kunoichi but her physical skills are severely lacking, partially because she diets like a civilian to watch her weight when she should actually be eating more. That should have been brought up in Kunoichi class though. Honestly, if Hinata wasn't so shy, she would be the best Kunoichi in your class."

"Hinata?" he scrunched his nose up and Iruka wondered if he even knew who she was.

"And Naruto, he was right about the way you treat Sakura, it is very similar to how she treats him. And both are wrong."

"But…"

"You haven't had a father or brother to teach you how to approach a girl, it's not your fault. You've seen the girls in class and how they try to get Sasuke's attention and you've mimicked them." And he should have seen it before. He was going to have to talk to Kakashi about the team dynamic, despite their agreement to not discuss Team 7. They were Kakashi's students now, not his, but none of this was in their files and he needed to know.

"Iruka-sensei's right, Naruto-kun," Ayame spoke up kindly from behind the counter where she was washing dishes. "Girls don't want boys yelling about dates and asking them over and over. It is polite to ask once and then if the girl says no, to stop."

"But…" Naruto looked so bewildered.

"And that is where Sakura and the other girls are wrong in how they treat Sasuke too. He has shown no interest in their attempts to get him to date them, so they should have backed off," Iruka explained, shooting her a thankful look, it was going to be a long night. He hoped Kakashi would forgive him for missing their da…ah, there he was, checking up on him.

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"There's no sign of Potter anywhere," Alastor growled, arms crossed as his fake eye continually scanned their surroundings. The House of Black was in major need of renovations and a battalion of curse breakers. He didn't trust the place or the creepy house elf. "According to the family he never appeared on the platform but he was seen going through the barrier by the Weasley's and Granger. If he's been in the Alley then it was before we realised he was missing or he's been using the Floo and his Cloak."

"I see…" Albus stared into the distance. "It is imperative he is found and returned to his relatives for the wards, he knows this too. Has Hedwig been seen?"

"No, and I sent a letter headmaster but it was returned," Lupin offered. He was a good, steady wizard, despite his affliction. A pity he'd come under suspicion last time when it hadn't been him at all but Pettigrew who was the spy. Just went to prove how prejudiced even their side could be.

"He'll reach out to his friends or Sirius if given the chance. He knows where the Burrow is too."

"Is it possible he's run away? He was under tremendous pressure this year, then the Minister refused to believe him and frankly, those relatives," Kingsley shook his head. "Many teenagers would need a break from less."

He was with Kingsley there; something was very off in that house. He didn't like it at all. But there was nothing obvious for them to bring to someone's attention and with the smear campaign Fudge had started it might actually make things worse.

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Hiro stood and bowed politely, recognising two of the goblins who had entered the room. He'd trained and fought beside them once after all, and now they were strangers. He was really getting tired of that. But of all those within the Wizarding Worlds, the goblins, centaurs, and house elves were the only ones who still remembered her in their oldest stories and knew she could return one day. He wasn't going to admit to time travel, but he knew enough of the plans that should currently be in the works and being assumed as a seer wouldn't be too bad. Technically, he'd had visions at this age…would he still get those? He hadn't thought of that.

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Sirius wasn't as worried as the others. Of course he was worried, Harry was his godson, but the kid had proven to have a good head on his shoulders and the way he'd jumped at living with a stranger he'd spent a year thinking wanted him dead…well, he could read between the lines. And he had his suspicions on Harry being forced to compete, if he was right and Harry had worked it out, things were likely to get very interesting.

Hogwarts had been an escape for him but for Harry it was turning into something worse. If he packed up and left England to finish his schooling elsewhere, Sirius wouldn't blame him at all. If he'd gone straight to Gringotts from the station then no one would have caught him. he'd send a letter to his account manager, see if there'd been any movement of the Potter accounts. Maybe he'd find out where Harry was and join him.

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Sasuke collapsed in bed, exhausted. He definitely had nowhere near the stamina he was used to. Obito had warned him against overdoing it, and he was right, ending up in the hospital would slow his growth more than being careful. They had some basic, flexible, plans in place at least.

They'd agreed for him to avoid Orochimaru if at all possible, yes the Seal and his training had given him a boost. But there were other ways that weren't so dangerous or that would separate him from his team. Obito was also going to begin attempting to steer Nagato away from the Moon plan, though Sasuke doubted how much luck he'd have. Madara was currently dead so the biggest threat was Zetsu and other than the Killing Curse, they had no idea how to deal with him so they may have to wait for Hiro…of course if he was Harry then they'd have to fight to convince him to cast that particular spell on anything.

He was not looking forward to training in the morning - teamwork, and D Ranks, wonderful. He would have to remind himself that killing or using the Sharingan on clients was wrong. He couldn't do anything to bring suspicion on himself from the Sandaime or worse, Danzō.

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Harry fingered the vial in his pocket as he spotted his target. It was time to end Lucius' influence over the Ministry. Draco was underaged which would leave Narcissa in control, she might be a Blood Purist but she had more sense than her husband and son combined. A weak henge was more than enough to hide his identity and then he just bumped into the man in passing. Within seconds the screaming began, but there was no cure for Basilisk venom unless a phoenix happened to be passing by.

One target down, one step closer to leaving.

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Kakashi really didn't know what to think of his team. He knew Iruka had explained some things to Naruto which explained why he was a bit more subdued. Sakura had apparently forgiven Sasuke and backed off a bit on the whole throwing herself at him which was nice. And Sasuke seemed a little thrown by their change in attitude, but he was reaching out to them. That was good, he hadn't learnt that lesson until it was too late and he didn't want Sasuke to learn the same way.

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Hermione stared at the headline in shock. Lucious Malfoy was dead. And not just dead…killed by basilisk venom. That sent her thoughts immediately to second year, but that was crazy, Harry was the only one who could open the way down and it'd been two years since he killed the one there so the body would have decomposed by now. But…no, Harry would never.

And then another known Death Eater and another died in the same way.

TBC…

Yeah, Harry's being a bit cold but he's very focused on handling the DE's he can get to and then getting to Konoha to start truly prepping to stop Zetsu's plans and to find out if Sasuke came back with him.

And if someone had just talked to Sakura and Naruto about appropriate ways of asking for dates and stuff, things could have been better between them earlier. Which then leaves poor Sasuke a little bewildered and shocked that they seem to have listened to him. Naruto has listened since it was him, Iruka and Ayame, adults he actually trusts. Sakura's still a fangirl but thinks he's still in the girls have cooties stage so is now waiting.