Disclaimer:I don't own both Naruto and Harry Potter.
Enjoy:
Chapter 5
The champions' quarrel (チャンピオンの口論 )
" Harry Potter."
" Was this supposed to happen?" Obito muttered to Kakashi, who shrugged.
" I swear, that boy must've had a Kekkei Genkai that attracts unwanted attention. Amazing his ego isn't so high like Fukaku's or Hiashi's yet." Kakashi said.
" This just makes our job harder, doesn't it…" Obito said. Both boys gave a sigh as they saw Dumbledore's signal to follow him into the room; the old man was probably going to increase their workload.
Joy.
Harry stumbled into the room where all the champions were gathered. His mind reeled. This wasn't supposed to happen! It was freakin' unbelievable! It was a mistake. A very BIG mistake. And no one even knows what had created it in the first place.
Three heads turned to look at him the moment he entered the room. " What is it?" Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons' champion asked, sounding a bit peeved at being disturbed. " Do zey want us back in ze hall?"
Harry couldn't unstick his tongue. He didn't know how to reply her. ' Urm, actually, I'm the FOURTH champion.' Right. That sounded extremely ridiculous. Thus, he just stood there, opening and closing his mouth, thinking of a way to politely explain himself and making it sound plausible at the same time. Which was an unachievable task. No words coherent enough to be comprehended came out of his mouth.
So to the real champions, he actually resembled a gaping goldfish, staring at them with big, big eyes. It was unnerving. The large, round glasses that the Boy Wonder wore didn't really help his image much.
The awkward silence whereby everyone in the room was staring at each other was broken by the ever-so-energetic Ludo Bagman, where came bursting into the room, slamming the door back with a loud bang, making everyone wince at the loud noise. The said man who was practically bouncing on his heels headed straight towards Harry and clamped one of his hands tightly over poor Harry's shoulders.
" Absolutely extraordinary!" Ludo exclaimed, turning around to address the three confused looking champions. " Gentlemen…and lady, may I introduce- incredible though it may seem- the fourth Triwizard Champion?" He announced with great aplomb. If Ludo was waiting a large amount of noise, or clapping for that matter, none came.
Immediately, three pairs of eyes zoomed and focused sharply onto him. Harry felt as if he was standing on a stage wearing only his underpants and having a spotlight shine down on him. Finally, Fleur clicked her tongue, drawing back all attention to her and saving Harry from his discomfiture.
Tossing back her glossy mane, which looked glossier than ever under the lighting of the flames from the fireplace in the room, Fleur Delacour smiled back at Bagman. " Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman. Hahaha."
" Yeah, 'cause I aren't laughing." Krum muttered. His voice rang out loudly throughout the confined room, room however. He had the decency to flush a bit, though slightly, at his previous words.
Cedirc, who was still looking confused, eased up a bit at those words, apparently convinced himself that this was all a very well placed gag. " Well, it was a pretty good try, sir." He smiled politely at Bagman.
" Joke?" Bagman repeated, looking shocked at the champions' thoughts. " Nononono, this isn't a joke! Harry Potter's name really came out of the Goblet!" He said, phrasing each word of his sentence carefully and slowly, as though he was talking to a toddler.
" But-But…" Cedric looked from Bagman to Harry, then to Bagman again. " This must be a mistake-"
" That is correct." Fleur said firmly. " Zis is definitely a mistake. A boy as young as 'im should not be competing-"
" I'm not young-" Harry began protesting, but was cut off by Bagman.
" But since Harry's name came out of the Goblet, mistake or not, he will just have to participate with the best of his ability-" This time, Bagman was cut off by the door opening with another loud bang. Everybody who was in the room winced again.
Six more occupants added themselves into the room- Dumbledore, Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Crouch, McGonagall and lastly, Snape. With a flick of McGonagall's wand, the door snapped shut with a snap. Shadows in the room flickered under the dim lighting. And everyone one immediately pounced on the Boy Who Lived. Not literally, though. Verbally.
Madame Maxime drew herself to full height-, which was a very scary and dangerous thing to do in a small room such as this; the tip of her head actually brushed against the chandeliers which here dangling above, making it shake wobbly and perilously. Thankfully, the hot dripping candle wax did not fall onto any of them, or worse, light up Madame Maxime's head with its flames.
" What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?" She said crossly, pointing an opal-laden finger at Harry. Harry suddenly felt like he was a very dirty and offending dirt rag.
" This is the third time in…" Dumbledore glanced at his pocket watch. " Twenty hours, four minutes and fifteen seconds did someone say that to me." He said gravely. " Has that line become your opening line?"
" This is no time for jokes, Dumbledore!" Karkaroff snarled, though the corner of his lips twitched slightly. " I thought that only one champion for a school is allowed. And standing right now, in font of our eyes is Hogwart's second champion, and he's underage to boot!"
" Zis is absolutely unacceptable, Dumbly-dorr!" Madame Maxime said, just a furious as the Drumstrang headmaster. " We 'ad expected a fair and just involvement from you, otherwise we wouldn't 'ave joined!"
" And not only is this your second champion, the twit you have is also under-age!" Karkaroff added immediately after Maxime finished her rant. Harry twitched at the word 'twit'. " Do you know how many eager underage students I have back in my school who are waiting to get into this tournament?"
" You don't have to go around blaming Dumbledore, Karkaroff." Snape spoke up from the corner of the room, silkily. " I assure you, this is all Potter's fault. As far as I know, Potter has been crossing lines ever since he got here-"
" Keep quiet, Severus, you're making things worse." McGonagall snapped at her colleague. She turned back to the three squabbling headmasters and engaged the two irate ones in a heated debate on what is right and what is wrong. …Oops, that turned out a little…weird….
And thus, the debate went on, and on, and on…Harry answered a few questions on his part before the adults decided that he wasn't being to helpful with his answers and ignored him. So Harry went to stand with the rest of the other champions, looking lost and forlorn.
All the champions- official and unofficial- simply stood at the sidelines as they watched the adults duke it out. In the middle of it, Mad-Eye Moody entered the room, limping, and creating a bigger mess out of things than before. The topic had suddenly switched to how the Goblet was duped, and then about how a very powerful person was trying to assassinate Harry. …Right. Like we all didn't know about that before. Good job, Moody.
Finally, Dumbledore decided to open his mouth and wrap things up. " How this situation arouse, we do not know." He said firmly. " But what we do know is that all our champions need their beauty sleep, and that both Cedric and Harry will have no choice but to compete."
" Ah, but Dumbly-dorr-" Madame Maxime began, but was cut off by Dumbledore. Apparently, the old wizard had enough of the useless squabbling, and had decided to conclude the entire affair.
" My dear Madame Maxime, if you have another alternative, then I would be more than delighted to hear it." Madame Maxime however, did not say anything, but chose to glare at him instead. Karkaroff did the same. Dumbledore serenely continued his speech, seemingly immune to their glares. " I have however, another alternative. May I speak?"
" …Sure. No problem." Karkaroff said through clenched teeth. " Speak all you want. Are you going to suggest that Hogwarts should have yet another champion, or that you'll have clues given to aid the brat? Or that the two Hogwarts champions-"
" Actually, I was thinking that each of the champions should have a guide of their own. Courtesy of Hogwarts, of course." Dumbledore said blandly.
" –Split the prize money and- what?" Karkaroff broke off and looked at Dumbledore.
" Minato." Dumbledore spoke sharply. The said jonin immediately appeared, crouched down obediently on one knee, at Dumbledore's side. " Hai."
" Gosh, stop doing that!" Bagman cried, clutching his heart. " Appearing out of thin air like that without a sound…I have a weak heart you know."
"You all remember Minato, I'm sure?" Dumbledore said politely. Everyone in the room gave affirmative grunts. Some just nodded tensely, too shock to produce much noise.
"…And what are you going to do with him?" Karkaroff said, looking interested now.
" Minato here has three students. I propose lending each one to a champion. They can guide them through each task. Aid them. And also, throughout the task, protect them at the same time if anything goes awry." Dumbledore said pleasantly. " How does that sound?"
" Three students? So will the Harry brat be without one?" Karkaroff said thoughtfully. " That sounds like a plan."
" Actually, I was thinking of getting another one for Harry himself." Dumbledore said. " And I assure you, I'll get someone of the same level. And to equal things out, Harry's guide will only protect him during his task. He will not be there to aid him." Dumbledore turned to Minato. " I will discuss the payment details with out later. That is alright with you, right?"
" Of course, Dumbledore-sama." Minato said smoothly.
" Excellent." Dumbledore beamed. He turned to the rest. " Any problems with you?"
" No. It is a brilliant idea." Karkaroff muttered. Madame Maxime grudgingly nodded her approval.
" But of course, zere will be limit as to how much zis…guards can 'elp ze champions, is there right?" She said doubtfully.
" That is correct." Dumbledore said cheerfully. He turned to crouch. " I was hoping that Barty would set the limit yourself. And you could explain the first task to our champions while you're at it."
Mr. Crouch seemed to have come out of a deep reverie. " …Yes, " He said. " I think that aid will be acceptable if all champions have one of equal standard each and that the headmasters are willing. Yes…that should be fine."
" …Very good." Dumbledore said. " And their limits, if you please…"
" …Limits?" Crouch repeated, a frown on his face. There was a long pause. Everyone stared at him and waited for him to continue. Finally, he spoke up again. " I would think that the only limit is that the guards would not be able to partake in any fights, or aid his or her champion physically, unless the champion himself or herself is in danger of dying. And that they would not be able to totally help his or her champion solve the clue, only being able to offer hints or advice."
" Meaning that the appointed guard is nothing but for show?" Karkaroff said appalled. " If they can't help out…physically, then what are they for? We might as well give each of the champions a talking hat each instead!"
" Don't say that, Karkaroff." Dumbledore said pleasantly. " If you look on the brighter side, the guards are very experienced when it comes down to strategies and planning, so I'd say that that's a start itself. They might even suggest what the champions should train on. And better yet, Harry's guard won't even have enough time to offer tips to him, having only arrive the day before the task commences. And with each task, his guard will change, so its no use trying to send letters back and forth during the intervals."
Harry's heart dropped at that. Dumbledore is only making his life worse!
" Well…" Madame Maxime said. " It zis a deal then, Dumbly-dorr. May we have a look at zey guards?"
" Of course you may." Dumbledore said. He turned to the stone-like jonin. The jonin had been so quiet during the entire discussion that everyone else almost forgot that he was there. One might even mistake him as a statue, or a wall decoration. " Minato?"
Minato nodded. " Kakashi, Rin, Obito. Show yourselves." Immediately, three figures dropped down from- Harry looked up- the ceiling?!- Gracefully landed lightly on the carpeted floor and crouched down low behind Minato, in a similar position as the jonin was in.
" Well, here they are." Dumbledore said cheerfully, turning to the adults. " How do you find them?"
" Stop freakin' doing that!" Bagman cried. " Of all the bloody places you could emerge from- a flowerpot or under a carpet- don't drop from the ceiling!"
" Zat was childish." Fleur snorted.
" I thought it was kind of cool, actually." Cedric said sheepishly. Krum grunted.
" Well?" Karkaroff demanded. " Introduce yourselves."
" Dumbledore-sama?" One of the students, the only girl in the group, everyone noted, inquired.
" My apologies, Karkaroff." Dumbledore said to the Drumstrang headmaster. " They only listen to me." He turned back to the waiting Shinobis. " You may speak."
" Rin at your service." The girl said simply, giving a short bow.
" Kakashi." One of the boys- who had white hair- spoke up next, repeating the formers actions.
" Obito." The last boy said, repeating his teammates' actions, though with a bit more verve then them.
" Well Maxime, Karkaroff?" Dumbldore said pleasantly. " Pick your choice. I'll take the remaining one- don't worry, I'm flexible."
" Then I'll take ze middle one." Madame Maxime said graciously. " The one with ze funny 'air."
Karkaroff shrugged. " The other boy's fine with me. Yeah. That one with a durian head. I'm not particularly choosy."
" Then Cedric will go with Rin." Dumbledore said pleasantly. He turned to the last champion. " Harry, I'll get one more for you later. You'll meet him…or her, the day before you get your task, is that alright?"
" Yes." Harry mumbled. He was kind of depressed, actually. The other champions did have an edge over him. And he didn't want to go into the Tournament in the first place. He didn't really have a choice of his own, did he? It's always 'Harry, do this' and 'Harry, do that'. Harry seethed silently inside. Bah!
" Wait, don't go to bed yet! Barty, the first task's rules!" Bagman exclaimed. " How could you forget them? The rules, old man!"
Harry, together with the other champions, listened fervently as Mr. Crouch explained to them the rules, hoping to get some sort of clue…a hint that will guide them…but there was none. Crouch did not reveal anything in particular about the task. Harry decided there and then that he was doomed to be last. As an embarrassment to the whole school.
Everyone hurriedly dispersed after that, eager to plot out their evil sabotaging plans or otherwise get some good sleep. Crouch looked as though he needed some badly- the man looked like he could drop dead on his feet at any given moment.
Just as Harry was about to exit himself together with Cedirc, Dumbledore called out to him. " Harry, a moment of your time, if you please."
Harry looked uncertainly at Cedric. The latter gave a nonchalant shrug and a halfhearted attempt at a smile- at least, what looked like a smile- which he took as a go ahead. He gave an apologetic glance before heading back into the dingy, poorly lighted room.
Since most of the people left already, the room's occupants had dwindled from a good sixteen to only eight, counting Harry himself. Dumbledore's weird guards (who had abandoned their previous positions and were standing straight now), Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, and Dumbledore. Snape apparently left too, in all his uncontained, oily anger.
'Well, good for him' Harry thought bitterly. He had a good hunch that Dumbledore was now going to question him thoroughly. " Sir, I don't want-" Harry began, trying to explain himself again, but was cut short as Dumbledore held up his hand to signal silence.
Dumbledore smiled at Harry. " I understand what you're trying to say, Harry, but nothing can ever change the fact that your name did came out of the Goblet. Thus, I have assigned them-" He waved his hand towards the shinobis "-to ensure your safety."
" Them?" Harry goggled. " B-but they're-"
" People are not limited only to one job, Harry. That's why there's something called multi-tasking." Dumbledore said, winking at him. Harry wondered how the old man managed to guess what he was trying to say every single time. It kind of irked him out.
" They are an exceptional group of foreign wizards from Asia, specializing in protection, and I hired them to take care of any dangers from this school." Dumbledore continued. " I had a hunch that this Triwizard Tournament business will not go as smoothly as expected…and I was right, straight from the beginning of it all."
" Why me?" Harry mumbled. " Why is it always me?"
" It's not your fault Harry, but people always seem to misunderstand the concept on how the curse backfired on Voldermort. They seem to think it was your power that drove the Dark Lord back." Dumbledore said.
" And a very stupid misconception it was too." Mad-eye added.
" Yes, thank you, Alastor." Dumbledore said, pointedly hinting that the other should let Dumbledore do all the talking. Moody did as he was told, though a bit grudgingly. " Now as I was saying, you are not to blame for this incident. We cannot stop it from happening altogether, but we can, at the most, prevent the worst of it from happening."
" With the guards?" Harry asked hopefully.
" They will- at least one of them- keep watch over you twenty four seven." Dumbldore said. " They are, however, prohibited to telling you any hints, advice, guides- whatever- they know about the oncoming Triwizard tasks. Their job is just ensuring your safety. You, in turn, is not suppose ask them for help or guidance. Do you understand?" Dumbledore asked.
Harry nodded an affirmative. Dumbledore continued. " And there is one more thing I must make myself clear with." He paused, staring briefly Harry with serious clear blue eyes before continuing. " You must keep the real identity of your guards a secret, especially from the other champions." He paused as he pondered over something for a while before snapping back to Harry. " But you may tell Miss Granger and Mr. Weasely if you want to, as long as they too agree not to tell anyone else."
" What? But sir, they-" Harry began, but Dumbledore interrupted him.
" Kakashi, Rin and Obito will be posting as students." Dumbledore said. " Transfer students from Asia. They will be able to keep a closer distance within you. You will keep their real identities a secret."
" But their-"
" You think Dumbledore-sama's stupid?" The black haired guard said, sounding irritated. " We're all fourteen. So we'll all be in the same year, and same class as you." He paused, and then gave a glance at the man- Minato-Harry recalled. " Besides Minato-sensei, that is."
" Obito, play nice with your new friend." Minato chided. Harry could tell that the blond haired man was smiling beneath his mask. He turned and nodded at Harry as the black hair boy- Obito- grunted and crossed his arms huffily. " They'll meet you in class for lessons tomorrow." He said kindly.
" S'allright." Harry mumbled to Dumbledore. The last thing he had ever wanted was guards trailing after him. He had a good dose of the experience last year, and to say that it was pleasant wasn't the most truthful thing. " Honestly, I can take care of myself. I don't need bodyguards."
" Says you." Obito snorted. " The old man already paid us, so we'll just have to stick close to you for the entire year, whether you like it or not."
Harry bristled. He drew himself to full height- which isn't saying much, since he isn't as high as Madame Maxime. " You're the same age as me." He shot. " I can take care of myself just as much as you can."
" I doubt it." Obito said, a hint of boredom had just entered his voice.
" You-"
" If that is all, you can save your greeting for tomorrow." Dumbledore smiled. " The teachers know of they're presence, so you don't have to worry about that. I'm sure you want a good night's sleep now, Harry."
" Obito, look at what you did. You scared him away." The only girl, Rin (if Harry remembered correctly) scolded her teammate. The remaining boy, Kakashi (leaving that name the only one left), snorted something like 'dumbass'.
It did not go unnoticed by Obito however. " Like you're the one to talk," Obito glowered at Kakashi, all hint of ennui gone now. " You were agreeing with me just a split second ago, mister funny hair."
Now it was Kakashi's turn to scowl. " You are supposed to learn how to put up with these kind of people. Cooperation and tolerance with the clients is essential for the success of the mission." Kakashi paused. " Durian head."
" Guys, shut up." Rin said as Obito opened his mouth to retort. " Act, you know, nice in front of your client. Good first impressions and all."
Both boys rolled their eyes at her at that. " Yes, miss leftover."
" Leftover?" Rin repeated, incredulous. She rolled up her sleeves, readying a fist. " That's it. No more nice pretenses. I'll show you who exactly are the abandoned ones here." She snapped. The two boys did not cower like Harry thought they would (or rather, should) but welcome the challenge instead, sliding into their usual defensive pose as a reply.
" Okay guys. You've all been teammates for … four years already, act nicely towards each other, okay?" Minato sighed. " Be good children and listen to your sensei when he tells you to."
" Shut up, Mina-chan-sensei." The three of them said simultaneously. But nevertheless, they all relaxed and got back into their usual positions obediently.
" You're all going to do ten laps around the entire castle as morning exercise tomorrow." Minato said irritably, giving Obito's ear a hard twist. His angry demeanor vanished, to be replaced with a kind yet slightly exasperated expression as he turned to look at Harry. " We'll reintroduce ourselves- properly- when we meet you tomorrow."
" O-Okay." Harry said, not sure of what to say next, or rather what to make of their previous conversation. That sounded so childish, but at the same time, very human. He decided that he should just end it right here and now before another squabble could start." I-I'll just make a move then." Saying so, he hurriedly- and rather clumsily- exited the room, eager to get back to his own comfortable dormitory, for a fitful good night's sleep. Maybe after a short recount of the day's weird happenings with Hermione and Ron. Because, after all, today had been a very long day. A veeeeeery long and weird day.
He didn't know that it could get longer the moment he stepped foot into the Gryffindor common room. But contrary to that, it actually did.
" So what do you think of him?" Dumbledore asked the shinobis. " Interesting, I presume?"
" I think he's a prat." Obito said hotly.
" …Besides him being a prat then." Dumbledore said.
" I find him alright. Nothing too extraordinary. Plain. Simple." Rin said.
" May I change the subject to another one which is much more…pressing?" Kakashi asked, frowning his brow. " The current one kind of sickens me, to tell you the truth."
" You may." Dumbledore said. " Though I must say, tonight's events are very unpredicted."
" Totally out of the blue." Kakashi agreed dryly. " Since when did we agree that we'll be aids for the other champions as well?"
" I was wondering when you'd bring that matter up." Dumbledore sighed wearily. He surveyed the shinobis. " You will not accept it then?"
" No, but-" Obito began but was cut of by Minato.
" Of course we'll accept it, Dumbledore-sama." Minato said firmly. " As long as you make the necessary agreements and payments with Hokage-sama, then it is absolutely fine with us."
" Sensei, what are you-" Rin began, wide-eyed and staring at her mentor. As did the other two.
" We need the money." Minato told his bewildered team tightly. He sighed, and then turned to face Dumbledore. " Hokage-sama clearly trusts you, so I'm sure he wouldn't object if I tell you this, but the others-" Minato broke off and gave a weary glance at the two other teachers in the room.
" Very well." Dumbledore inclined his head slightly. " Minerva- Moody, if you would please excuse us for a few minutes…"
" Of course, Dumbledore." McGonagall said curtly, as she immediately headed out of the room, half-pushing Mad-eye Moody out along with her- the latter seemed reluctant to leave the conversation. The large doors closed with a snap and Dumbledore immediately placed several charms over it to prevent people from ears dropping- or for Moody's case- peeping.
" You may speak now." Dumbledore said at last.
" Yeah, why can't we reject the mission?" Obito grunted.
" It's because of the war, isn't it, sensei?' Kakashi spoke up quietly. " The war that is going to break out between Konoha, Iwa and Kumo."
" How did you know about that?" Rin asked. " I thought you said that ears dropping was below you and undignified?"
" It couldn't help the fact that I am a shinobi." Kakashi snorted. " Things like these don't just go off unnoticed. I heard that Konoha has raised the bounty for several S-class Kumo and Iwa-nins."
" …You just be joking!" Obito gave an uneasy laugh. "At a time like this, where Konoha's just regrouping itself from the second war? It's just not-"
" Kakashi is right, Obito." Minato said quietly, silencing both Rin and Obito. The features on their faces only displayed pure shock, even under their masks', while Kakashi's remained unreadable. Minato sighed ruefully. " Jiraiya-sensei even said that it might be the start of the Third Great Shinobi war."
" …The… Third…?" Obito whispered. " At a time like this? Why?"
" There is no 'why'." Minato said. " We are shinobi. Battle, assassination missions and war are essential to carry on this live hood. As long as we are around, cheap pretences and meaningless treaties or exchanges are worthless. We exist to fight- to kill."
" Yeah, but-" Rin protested.
" You know that yourself, Rin." Kakashi said. " Shinobi like us live for wars. We are tools. Weapons. What good is a weapon in a time of peace? If war didn't exist, we will only be placed on the shelf, abandoned, and left to rust."
" So you're saying that war is a good thing?" Obito asked bitterly. His voice sounded choked. " That the fact that Iwa and Kumo are planning war against us is the greatest miracle that could have ever had happened to Konoha?"
" I'm not saying that war is good, Obito." Minato said. He smiled at the young Uchiha, ruffling up the boy's spiky black hair affectionately. " But the life of shinobi is never about peace and joy and stuff like that. That's why we'll accept the mission." The jonin turned to Dumbledore. " Konoha needs a lot of funds right now. Even if it's only a little amount, even a penny- I'll do it. If it can help in the protection of Konoha, then I'll willingly accept it."
" Konoha is lucky to have someone as dedicated as you in their ranks." Dumbledore smiled. " I doubt that I can do anything much for your people in the war though. Besides adding more missions into your workload, that is. If there is anything which I could help you with…"
" That is more than enough." Minato said truthfully. " Though it's true that we need more money more than ever, it's also a fact that Konoha is a proud village. We do not accept anything more than generous. And I think you also have your hands tied up yourself too, Dumbledore-sama. With all this Triwizard business and the Potter kid."
" Indeed." Dumbledore laughed. " I will arrange the mission details with your Hokage then. You'll have a lot of stuff to be doing tomorrow, so I suggest that you'll sleep in early tonight?"
" Okay." Minato said, ushering his students out of the room and back into the now empty hall. " We'll take out leave then."
All four were gone with a few hand seals and a poof of smoke.
Author's notes:
Pretty useless chapter. All talk and no action at all…GOMENASAI! IT HAD TO BE DONE! I promise I'll give you much more exciting scenes for the next one, so stay tuned. It had a bit of Harry bashing. Sorry. Couldn't resist. Not too much of team Minato over here, eh? Sad...
And can you guys please show signs that there are actually people reading this thing? Garrh. At least favorite or alert it if you don't want to review. Or tell me how I should improve on it if you hate a particular part of the fic. I had absolutely no motivation to write after what you did to me for the last chapter. Maybe that's why this one took so long to come out. Hehe.
…Ja for now. Hope you await the next chapter.
