OH MY GOD! Please forgive me! I know, I know. It's been months! But I couldn't figure out how to continue but alas, I knew I couldn't stop just right there and so...ta-da! Please, please forgive me! Hehehe...
Disclaimer: I will never own Naruto or Harry Potter or Hunger Games or 39 Clues or...You know what, I give up.
Please enjoy.
Chapter 9: Here comes Rita Skeeter and the Fire of Naruto Uzumaki!
Uchiha Sasuke often wondered how he had gotten himself in a mess such as this. Should I explain? I'm betting that I should. You see, the black-haired boy was having his usual share of peace and quiet when Professor McGonagall decided to drop by with a request of needing a favour from the young Uchiha: Pick up Potter for the Wand Weighing Ceremony.
It wasn't necessary for both him and Naruto to turn up for the ceremony since they were doing 'wandless magic' but because there was an interview for the Daily Prophet on the Triwizard Tournament Chosen Champions, they had to turn up. (Though everyone knows that Sasuke would just escape it.)
But alas, a request from their host, was a request after all. How could he decline? And it was also due to the fact that the young-but-already-a-clan-leader-boy realised that he was under a certain blond Hokage's field of vision and the next thing you know, he, along with the rest of the shinobi that came to Hogwarts, were standing in front of the dungeon doors of the infamous Professor Snape's potion class.
"So," Naruto put on a big grin. "Who's up for knocking first?" That question had resulted the blond to have his face burnt by the fury of his friends' glares. "Okay, okay, geez, I was just trying to lighten up the tension here!"
"You know what," Kiba spoke up. "This might have been exciting at first but as the clock ticks by...I'm starting to feel a little creeped out by the doom and gloom feeling I'm getting."
"Or maybe that's just the glare Temari's giving you for putting salt into her morning tea you're getting," Kankuro sniggered. Kiba knocked him over the head with an angry mumble of 'stupid cat-ears' under his breath.
"Let's just shut up and knock on this door before Potter misses his ceremony, alright?" Neji suggested, glaring at the two troublemakers before a heated arguement between them broke out. "Uchiha, please knock, or I'll have you knock by force."
"Are you threatening me, Hyuuga?" Sasuke activated his Sharingan and glared hotly at the white-eyed boy.
"No, I'm merely giving you a choice, as an educated and polite Hyuuga would," Neji smirked. "Now, knock unless you want to hear Naruto whine to you until he dies."
With a scowl, Sasuke glared at the grinning blond who had accepted Neji's oh-so-brilliant 'suggestion' before knocking heavily on the doors. There was no answer and Sasuke attempted to knock for a second time when the door swiftly opened and Sasuke's fist met with a firm chest. Oops.
A few giggles and sniggers escaped his companions' mouths and the Uchiha supressed the urge to Mangekyo them to next Monday. Tilting his head slightly upwards, Uchiha Sasuke faced Severus Snape and he hurriedly remove his hand from the older Wizard's chest.
"What, may I ask, do you need, Mr. Uchiha?" Snape scowled, grunting at him.
"Professor McGonagall requested us to escort Potter to the Wand Weighing Ceremony. Seeing that we have free time and since Professor Dumbledore has offered us such warm and friendly welcomes, it'd do well for us guests to accomplish some simple request one host asks of us. Don't you think so too, Professor Snape?" Sasuke responded with his 'politician-clan-leader-self' kicking in.
The Potion's master felt his left eye twitched in annoyance as he removed himself from the doorway, allowing the shinobis to have a good view of the classroom. It was only a matter of time, admiring the different ingredients, cauldrons and students working on their potion, that they spotted Harry amongst a few other Gryffindors, working on his own potion.
"Hey Harry!" Naruto grinned again and waved at the bespectacle black head. Students started to whisper to their friends, some- with the shinobis' chakra-enhanced hearing- were grumbling about how unfair it was that it was always Potter who had gotten the spotlight; while some were ogling the guys that stood not far behind Naruto, and the blond himself.
"Potter!" Snape hissed, getting the attention back to himself. "You are needed for the ceremony. Leave your things here and come back once you're done-"
"Hey, teme, didn't McGonagall mention that he'll be missing a few classes 'cause of the ceremony? So that just initiated that he has to bring his bags with him, right?" Naruto innocently, and loudly for that matter, asked Sasuke.
"I think she did, didn't she?" Sasuke played along. "Ah, oops, must have slipped my mind-"
"Alright Potter, take your stuff and get out of my face!" Snape barked, glaring at the foreigners. "And take your friends with you!"
"Yes, sir," Harry hurriedly packed his stuff with Sakura and Ino's help and they hightailed out of the dungeons in one breath.
"Oh, and Professor Snape?" Kiba turned back and looked at said teacher. "I think that cauldron's going to blow. Ja!" The Inuzuka laughed out loud as he heard Snape jumping over to Goyle's cauldron to clear the smoking potion away.
"You guys are insane!" Harry burst between laughters and wiped the tears that leaked out of the corner of his eyes.
"We just wanted to get him back for underestimating us the other day," Neji nodded his head with a 'serves-him-right' look.
Kiba snickered. " Did you see his face? Haha! Priceless!"
"Wish we got it off from that camera boy's camera!" Kankuro high-fived the dog-lover before holding their stomachs in laughters again. Temari shook her head and sighed deeply.
"Alright, you guys go do your things," Naruto addressed them and they fell silent. " Sasuke and I will bring Harry to the ceremony and we'll return after it ends," he took one sweep across the faces of his subordinates and changed to their mothertongue. "Patrol the classes again, keep watch, make sure nothing like the Goblet happens again. Neji, Shino I want you two to stay close to the room where the ceremony will be held at. If anything happens, both of you will be back-up, understand?"
"Hai!" They answered and dismissed themselves.
"Hey, can you guys teach me some Japanese?" Harry piped up. Naruto flicked him across the forehead and tsked at the 14 year old.
"Not until when we think you're getting better in your training," Naruto chuckled. "Now, let's hurry, we don't want to be late."
And with that, they hurried across the grounds to where the Wand Weighing Ceremony was held. Upon opening the two large doors, Naruto sent both Neji and Shino a look of warning before trailing behind Sasuke, Harry right in between the both of them.
They were the last ones there. Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion was having a friendly chat with Mr. Bagshot. They were currently standing in the middle of the room. The other schools' champions: Fleur Delacor and Viktor Krum were just awkwardly adjusting to the different people in the room, constantly getting a few smiles from the other elders.
And then, came Rita Skeeter.
In just a blink, the champions found themselves pressed against each other, due to the constricted space, in a dark room. Rita reappeared from the- only- entrance of the cupboard room, and smirked eeriely.
"Hi, Rita Skeeter, writer for the Daily Prophet," she greeted then paused when she caught them catching sight of her quill that was writing on its own. "Ignore the quill. Now, here's the thing- I hope you're comfy in this small room, gives off a more personal feeling- you know the Daily Prophet, we know the Daily Prophet but it's you that we don't know. So, let's do a little confession here, alright?"
Blank looks were all that answered her.
"So, Harry, I'll ask you first since you're the youngest: How did you get your name into the Goblet? I bet the readers would be dying to know that. At the age of 12-"
"-14, actually-"
"-whatever. At the age of 14, you are already trying to win your betters. What do you have to say for that?"
"I'm not trying to win my betters! I was clearly framed for this. I didn't put my name in the Goblet. It just spewed out my name!" Harry cried out.
"Tsk, tsk," Rita shook her head. "I understand that it's quite a burdern to have the spotlight and all, considering that you are the Boy-who-lived and what not, but seriously, tell us, how does it feel being the youngest champion in the competition to the death? What would your parents say, if they were ever alive? Would they be disappointed? Or would they be proud that their son had gotten in the Triwizard Tournament?"
"Of course Harry's parents would be proud," Naruto snarled, gently pushing Harry behind him so to protect the boy from the ugly blond woman's sharp tongue. "And may I remind you as Harry did, that he did not put his name in the Goblet. Someone framed him and according to Mr Crouch, Harry had no choice but to be included in this game. Do you think he wanted it? No. Do you think he did it for the fame and glory? No. Do you think he did it to live up to his dead parents? No! He did it because he had no choice!"
"Now, now, Mr. Uzumaki," Rita folded her arms across her chest. "You are a foreign wizard and one of the extra chosen champions like Harry is. Tell me your feelings. Are you and Harry close? How did you become friends? Would you help him in anyway in the tournament. Say if you have to kill him- maybe in the tournament, I don't know- but would you do it?"
Naruto stood there baffled. This...this woman was clearly not listening to him or them for any of that matter!
"Listen here, lady," the blond snarled. "I don't give a damn of who you are, a writer from this Daily Prophet? But I know one thing and that you are stepping out of the line. You are crossing our personal boundaries and we can sue you for that."
"You can't touch me, Mr Uzumaki. The editor of the Daily Prophet won't allow that. But let's get back to the topic, shall we?" She put up a fake smile and asked away again. "So, Mr. Uzumaki. Are your parents well? What did they say about your getting chosen for the tournament? Were they proud when they perhaps wrote back to you about it? Or were they concern? Tell me more about your background. I bet the readers would love to know more about you."
Naruto blew a fuse.
The 'parents' subject was a sensitive issue to Naruto because he had none. And the only time he had met them, he had limited time to even talk to them. It was a miracle, actually, having to find out that your father was one of the bravest man in his village and his mother was like any mother he had ever wished for: Proud, loving and caring. So when Rita started insulting Harry's parents by reviving their deaths to him. Naruto felt pissed. And when Rita started to ask him about his parents...his anger sky-rocketed.
"Naruto, let's just get out of here-" Sasuke placed his hand on his Hokage's arm and tried to calm him but Naruto was far from being calm already.
"My parents are dead, Miss Skeeter. If the word 'death' means anything to you and that blasted quill of yours behind you at all. They can't be disappointed or be proud, just like any other parents in the world can. And we wouldn't know if they would at all, right? And just a quick question: Are you human at all? Do you feel no compassion? Harry has to face the person who murdered his family in his mind. He has to constantly reminded that he lived because of his parents. Why can't you let him live a peaceful life? Is that so hard to give?"
"I was just asking for-"
"And I gave you my answer. But if you were human at all, you'd have respected us from the start."
"My job, Mr. Uzumaki is to get the juice for the readers."
"And my job, Miss Skeeter, is to make sure no one hurts my friend." Naruto snapped. He took one step closer to the woman and felt her taking a step back. "Because then they'll have to deal with me. So when you ask the next question, you better think wisely or I'll definitely be unforgiving. And I'm betting that Mr Krum and Miss Delacour has no objections to the 'privacy-please' sign."
"No," the two said foreign students shook their heads in agreement to Naruto.
"Professor Dumbledore would definitely hear about this," Cedric spoke.
Rita started spewing out mumbles and mutters of words that they couldn't catch until the small wooden entrance to the small cupboard burst opened. They turned and found Hyuuga Neji and Aburame Shino standing there. Professor Dumbledore stood a little ways behind them with a soft twinkle in his eyes.
But that was not what concerned Naruto. What concerned him was Neji and Shino knocking down the door. Sasuke suspected that they were worried because of the spike of the Kyuubi's chakra they felt earlier due to Naruto's anger and quickly reassured them.
"It's fine. He was just a little pissed off."
"That's not it, but that would probably be the reason why the both of you didn't feel it," Neji explained. "A group of Anbus has breeched Hogwarts. We felt them coming through the Forbidden Forest. Their identity is till unknown but we know that they are well-trained assasins."
"How did they breech the castle?" Naruto growled, coming out of the cupboard, pushing past the blond woman.
Before Neji could explain his well-thought theory, a poof and Sakura appeared. Her sudden appearance had definitely frightened the wizards in the room. And her teleportation had caused a light bulb to turn on in Harry's head. Didn't Hermione said that no one could apparate within the castle?
"Naruto, I'm reporting from Gaara and his group. They are currently facing off the assasins and are trying to hold them back before they reach too deep into the castle. Shiyo and Nana took the need to evacuate the elders to a safer place with the teachers as protection. And from what Gaara told me, there were 8 Anbu Hunter nins," reported Sakura.
"Damn it," Naruto cursed under his breath. Then he spoke again with his voice filled with command and authority. "Sakura, you will go assist Gaara before I get there. Neji, take Shino and scout the whole castle if there are any more hunter nins hiding. Pick Kiba up along the way. Make sure you search the place, thouroughly. Understood?"
"Hai!" And with that, Sakura, Neji and Shino ran out of the room, obeying their Hokage.
"Professor Dumbledore, there...is a breech within the school grounds. More will be explained later on but do not worry. Everything is currently under control. We will take care of this situation for it is our fault that they slip past our nets. We will deal with them now and I hope you can help keep this incident quiet. Excuse us, please."
And Naruto left the room with Sasuke hot on his tail.
They ran searching for Gaara and Sakura's chakra and found themselves coming to a turn towards the back of the Greenhouse. Sand was practically littered everywhere. And when they both found them, there was one nin still alive and tied up in iron chains, infused with chakra though he was barely concious.
"Gaara," Naruto politely greeted Suna's Godaime Kazekage. "We should interrogate him."
"That's what I was thinking," replied the red-headed Kazekage. "But we better bring him to another place- Wouldn't want the students to come see the mess."
"Alright, you go teleport him to Dumbledore's office and wait there. Sakura, you go fetch Inoichi, Shikaku, Ibiki, Anko and Hiashi for me. Tell Shiyo and Nana to be on their guards with the others."
"Okay. Shall I send them straight to Dumbledore's office?"
"Yes, please. Thank you." and the pink haired kunoichi disappeared out of sight. Gaara called upon his sand and teleported both him and the unconcious Anbu to Professor Dumbledore's room. Naruto scanned around the place for any suspicious looking thing and when he found none, he looked at Ino and Lee who had fought the hunter nins with Gaara. They were wounded but Ino was bleeding a little more at the side.
"You're bleeding Ino," Naruto inspected the wound from a distance before speaking again. "Lee, bring her to Sakura to get healed. Until then, Ino, take it easy. Alright? I wouldn't want Gaara to have my head."
Two tints of pink appeared on the wounded blond's cheek. "T-T-There's nothing going on between me and Gaara!"
"Who are seriously trying to convince, Ino?" Naruto's lips quirked up a little and he sent them on their way before the smile fell. He turned to Sasuke. "We should go see to that guy now."
"Wait, Naruto," Sasuke took ahold of his Hokage's arm and stared down into the clear pools of cerulean blue eyes. "Are you sure you're alright? What Skeeter said..."
"What Skeeter said is unimportant. I should have known better than to let my anger get the better of me," Naruto shook his head as he sighed. "Sorry if I worried you, teme."
"Dobe," Sasuke snorted. "For all I know, what you've done all your life is to worry me."
Naruto let out a light chuckle at that. "Whatever that makes you sleep at night, teme. We should go do our thing now."
"Yeah, yeah, we should," Sasuke nodded in agreement. "Just, Naruto...whatever it is next time, just remember that we're here. You don't have to face the world alone, you know. There's always you, me and us. We'll be there, whether you like it or not. We'll be here," Sasuke pressed a hand to the blond's chest. "Whether we're here or not."
"I know, Sasuke, I know."
There you have it. Though, I had a little trouble in the middle. If you have the problem figured out, please feel free to press the button down there that says 'Review'. But even if you don't, the button is always welcome to be clicked on! Thank you! :)
Signing off,
Uchiha Shiyo
