Okay, I want to thank all the people who have reviewed: Silver Wolves Bane, blueinu, Saka Salrin, Chibi Strawberry, Aaah-Chaa, and grumpywinter. Thanks a lot guys!

Here you go! This takes place right after the shinobi left the dungeon.

Chapter 2: Surprises and Supplies

The peculiar group wound their way through the school and the three shinobi were in awe of how seemingly endless it appeared to be. Coming out of the dungeons had been rather uneventful, but when they started up the first set of stairs, Naruto yelped in surprise when a portrait asked him where he was from.

Of course, the blond had no idea what the portrait was asking him; all he cared about was the fact that it was speaking to him. As he jumped behind Kakashi, Gaara sent out his sand to surround the moving picture for questioning, only to discover that he no longer had his sand with him.

Slightly put out, Gaara simply glared at the oddly dressed man who quickly vacated his portrait as fast as he could, furious for feeling so helpless. His sand had been with him ever since he could remember, and even though he had used it to murder innocent victims before he learned that there was more to life than killing, it still left him experiencing a deep sense of loneliness. He would have to find some sand at this "Hogwarts" and begin to mold his chakra into it.

Dumbledore's eye twinkled as he held back laughter and explained to the ninja that here at Hogwarts there were surprises around every corner, but they had nothing to fear. With that said, the three shinobi were able to hold back their surprise at encountering suits of armor also capable of speech and staircases that liked to change. However, Naruto was not prepared for what lay in store at the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

They were walking along while Dumbledore calmly informed them about the different houses at Hogwarts, how they worked together, and how classes were carried out, when Nearly Headless Nick appeared from behind a wall. He was rambling on about how he heard a rumor that there were foreigners inside Hogwarts. Naruto froze, his eyes bulged to an amazing size, knees trembling, and beads of sweat poured down his face as his whole frame shook like he was experiencing a seizure. Kakashi gulped, recalling all too well of Naruto's great fear of ghosts, realizing that this would not go over well.

When Sir Nicholas turned to face Naruto, the young shinobi let out a shriek that reverberated throughout the entire school and onto the grounds. Even Hagrid's dog, Fang, whined at the noise. After about a minute of screaming, Naruto began running up the closest wall in a desperate attempt to escape one of his worst fears. Dumbledore was amazed at the display; he had never seen anyone run up a wall on all fours before. Perhaps these visitors had more surprises up their sleeves than he originally believed.

With a sigh Kakashi sprinted up the wall after him, uncovering his left eye in the process. When his frightened pupil swung around to face him, he unveiled his Sharingan and put Naruto to sleep. A few seconds later Kakashi landed softly on the ground with an unconscious Naruto tucked under his arm.

"Please continue," he apologized. "He'll wake up soon enough."

Dumbledore nodded, kindly excused himself from Sir Nicholas, and muttered the password, "Canary Cream." The winged creature before him to rotate upwards, revealing a spiral staircase. Gaara eyed the retreating ghost warily, not particularly fond of ghosts either.

Inside Dumbledore's office, Naruto slowly woke up, and after being assured that there were no more ghosts (at least in the room) he calmly stood between Gaara and Kakashi in front of Dumbledore's desk. As they examined the strange room with curiosity, an old woman dressed in a dark green dress, black hat with a crooked tip, and small glasses burst through the door.

"Albus! Is it true?" she asked in alarm. Then her gaze rested on the three ninjas in front of her and she gasped, resting her hand on her chest. She turned slowly to the headmaster.

"How could they have possibly come here?" she inquired, a little more calmly.

"I do not know, Minerva," he answered with a shake of his head. "But I trust that Severus will—" At that second the door burst open a second time. "Ah," he finished.

"Headmaster," Snape began, lowering his head slightly, "I believe we shall find that the answer lies within Mr. Longbottom's cauldron."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, yes of course. But first, I believe we must help our guests here be better able to understand what's going on." At that he stepped out from behind his desk and drifted towards the fidgety trio.

Naruto's hand kept drifting over to his weapons pouch and Gaara appeared to be flexing his fingers in irritation at the absence of his sand. Listening to a language they didn't know in a strange magical place was unnerving. Kakashi was the only one who appeared to be relaxed, but he kept surveying the room, anticipating all possible courses of escape should the situation require it.

"There is a spell I can do that will act as a translator, so you can communicate with the rest of us, and they can communicate with you," Dumbledore began in their language. He examined all three for a moment. "May I see your, um . . ." He gestured to their foreheads.

"Our Hitai-ates, forehead protectors," Kakashi informed him.

Dumbledore nodded, "If you let me see your Hitai-ates, then I can put the spell on it. And you can still speak in your own language when you take them off, or concentrate very hard when you wear them," he added when Naruto opened his mouth in protest.

The three shinobi were relieved. It was highly unlikely that they would have the time to discard them if they were in trouble so they could fight properly. Their jutsu probably wouldn't work if they spoke this other language.

When Dumbledore extended his hand they relinquished their symbols of ninja rank. Gaara did so easily, not all that attached to his village, Naruto did so reluctantly because it was the one Iruka-sensei gave him, and Kakashi was hesitant as well. After being cursed with that scar on his left eye for over a decade he was used to stares, but that didn't mean he necessarily enjoyed them.

He groaned mentally as he untied the cloth. If Dumbledore was surprised he showed no inclination, however the other wizards in the room weren't as skilled at concealing emotions. The green witch let out a small gasp as she looked at him with pitying eyes, the greasy man in black with an abnormally large nose cocked his eyebrows in surprise, and the young one who carried a black pot whimpered slightly, although Kakashi surmised that it was due more to the fact that he was dragged to this strange room by the dark-haired wizard.

The old man laid each Hitai-ate in his hand, then withdrew a long stick and aimed it at the cloths, muttering a long string of words underneath his breath and moving the stick in a circle. Once he was finished there was a flash of blue light and the spell was completed.

With a smile, Dumbledore handed back the Hitai-ates, and once the ninja placed them in their appropriate places they experienced a tingling sensation that lasted for a few seconds.

"Now let me see that cauldron of yours, Neville." As the headmaster inspected the pot, he turned to Snape. "What potion did you have them make, Severus?"

"The Akáidelian Potion, headmaster." Dumbledore appeared thoughtful for a moment, stroking his white beard absentmindedly.

"Were you all summoned here, or was it one particular person?" he inquired of the shocked ninjas, who were amazed at the fact that they could understand everyone speaking now.

"It was me," Gaara said simply. The headmaster examined the redhead for a moment before taking out his wand and pointed it into his other hand.

"Arenous," he mumbled. Suddenly a red static discharge burst from the wand tip into Dumbledore's hand, and sand appeared as if falling from an hourglass. Once it was finished, he held out the hand of sand to Gaara.

"Can you do anything with this?"

Kakashi was amazed at how the stick created sand out of nowhere, and decided that he would have to copy the movements of these wizards and their sticks with his Sharingan someday.

Gaara frowned at the sand, then nodded and extended his hand palm up where Dumbledore deposited the minuscule grains. The Suna shinobi covered them with his other hand and closed his eyes in concentration, molding his chakra into it. The wizards were shocked when blue energy surrounded his cupped hands, vibrating with life.

After a minute or so Gaara opened his eyes and unfolded his hands, palms facing the old man with spectacles and commanded the sand to circle around him in thin lines.

Neville's eyes widened in astonishment as well as Snape and McGonagall, while Dumbledore chuckled. After making his point, Gaara summoned the sand back to him and attached it to his right hand like a glove. Even though it was a small amount, he was at least properly armed now.

"I see my suspicions were correct. You see, the Akáidelian Potion is used to transform any substance it touches into sand," Dumbledore explained, "which can be very useful depending on your situation. It seems that Neville," (he gestured to the fidgety boy to his left) "made a few errors in his preparation and instead of harboring the ability to transform sand, it summoned a person capable of controlling it."

Dumbledore then gave them a pitying glance. "The only problem is that I have no idea whether you three were summoned from another dimension or another place in time."

"You mean we won't be able to go back home?" Naruto said, clearly distraught.

"Albus Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of our time," McGonagall assured them. "If there is a way to send you back, he will find it."

Dumbledore waved off the compliment. "Yes, yes. I will put all my efforts into achieving any means to send you back to your home, but for now you are guests at our school and may learn magic alongside your pupils if you wish, to keep you from being bored. It appears that you have some magical potential—"

"Chakra," Naruto corrected him, before he could stop himself.

"What you call chakra," Dumbledore continued, "so I see no reason in not being able to give you permission to learn. Our gamekeeper Hagrid will take you to Diagon Alley to purchase supplies, and he should actually be here any minute."

As if on cue, the steel doors reverberated three solid knocks, and Dumbledore bade him enter. Naruto gasped at the sight of the large man. His face was obscured by a shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard. He wore a large brown cloak with many pockets, and his beady eyes shone out like black beetles.

"What'd yeh need me fer, Professor Dumbledore?" he asked.

"Ah, just who I wanted to see." He gestured to the shinobi. "Through an unfortunate accident, they have been summoned to our school, and until we discover where they belong, they shall stay at Hogwarts, and they would appreciate it if you would take them to Diagon Alley." Hagrid glanced at the strange group of people before nodding his agreement.

"Now, if you excuse us, Severus, I believe you have a class to run, and Neville, you have more classes to attend." The greasy man vacated the office with a tiny glance over his shoulder, while Neville turned to the headmaster.

"I-I'm sorry for causing so much trouble," he muttered, not meeting the headmaster's eyes.

"It's all right Neville, you didn't mean to," Dumbledore said. Then he placed his hands on Neville's shoulders and whispered so that only Neville could hear, "I must say though, that summoning three people from across time and space like that is something only a great and powerful wizard can accomplish. Your parents would be proud." Then he winked and sent Neville on his way.

The poor boy stood there for a moment, then when it sunk in that Dumbledore called him a great wizard, blushed with embarrassment and his eyes watered. He quickly shuffled to the door.

"Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone what happened here," Dumbledore called after Neville. "Now Hagrid, here are the items you need to get them. . ."

Naruto turned to Gaara. "Do you think we'll ever get home?" he wondered fearfully. All his hard work and effort he had put into his short thirteen years of life were all for the dream of becoming Hokage. If he never went home, what would he do with the rest of his life?

His friend simply shrugged. "Dumbledore seems to have great power, so he might be able to send us home. If a mere student could bring us here, I'm sure he'd be able to send us back."

"Besides," Kakashi interjected. "Think of this as a mission, a Reconnaissance mission."

Naruto squinted. "Recon—ai—sence?"

His sensei chuckled. "It means that you gather as much information about the enemy or a new area as you can to see if it's dangerous or not. While we stay here we can learn all about this magic and use it to our advantage when we go back home. This information we have could prove valuable should we encounter enemies with their same power, and to maybe developing a new jutsu." His student's mood rapidly changed from depressed to excited in a matter of seconds.

"A new jutsu? All by myself? Maybe I could make the greatest jutsu ever that's only worthy of a Hokage!" As the two attempted to calm the rambunctious child, Professor McGonagall was observing them and listening in on their conversation.

"Right." Dumbledore clapped his hands, signaling to the three that he was finished with Hagrid. "You will travel to Diagon Alley by Floo Powder."

Naruto smirked. "Floo Powder? What kind of name is that?" he whispered to Gaara. The redhead had to agree, it was rather strange name.

"Hagrid, if you may show our guests?" Dumbledore said. He gestured to a wide fireplace behind them and to their right.

"O'course." Dumbledore performed a quick flick of his wand and the fireplace mantle shot up, adding quite a few more feet.

They watched curiously as the large man grabbed a handful of a very fine powder, stepped into the enlarged fireplace, and yelled, "Diagon Alley!" He then threw the powder down and became enveloped in powerful green flames, vanishing as the fire did.

There was silence as they pondered this new method of travel, before Naruto bellowed, "You can travel by fire? I wanna go next!" The method of travel was quite appealing, but the other two were more suspicious. How would you avoid getting burned? Was this the wizard's way of getting rid of them? Were the kind words spoken to them from before used to lull them into a false sense of security? Those wizards had been speaking in another language before they were able to understand just what was being discussed.

Before Kakashi could stop him, Naruto jumped into the fireplace and repeated the process. He disappeared in powerful flames that consumed his body.

Kakashi swung around to face Dumbledore with a skeptic look on his face. "This is not a trick?"

The old man shook his head. "This is the fastest and most efficient way for you to travel such a long distance, and I assure you that Naruto is all right." The copy ninja figured all he could do was trust the old man, yet before he could follow Naruto, Gaara was already in the fireplace and had just finished the incantation. As soon as the flames disappeared, Kakashi followed suit.

Once his view of Dumbledore's office disappeared, Kakashi felt himself being sucked through a small hole. He was spinning so fast he started to feel a little nauseous but then suddenly everything stopped and his feet landed on cold tile. He stumbled out of the fireplace and noticed Gaara and Naruto were experiencing the same nausea he was.

"Don' worry," Hagrid chuckled. "After a while yeh get used ter it." The shinobi only grunted in reply. "Follow me."

The new room they found themselves in was a dark and shabby place. It was obviously a bar with a few customers quietly drinking and smoking. The bald and toothless bartender smiled at them. When he noticed Hagrid he walked over to them while wiping the inside of a glass.

After glancing at his three guests with a curious eye, the bartender sighed. "Here on Hogwarts business again, I presume?" Hagrid nodded.

"Don' worry Tom, I'll come back 'nother time." As they turned to follow Hagrid, Kakashi noticed all the customers turn and face them. Some sputtered in their drinks at the sight, and Kakashi sighed. Was this going to happen wherever they went? It's not like they were dressed that strangely, right?

"Why are we in such a small room, Hagrid?" Naruto piped up once they entered a closet of some sort with a large, red brick wall on one side.

"Won't be small fer long." Hagrid pulled out a pink umbrella and muttered to himself. "Three up . . . two across . . . Stand back." After tapping a brick three times with the tip of his umbrella, it quivered, then wriggled, and a small hole in the middle grew wider and wider until there was an archway that even Hagrid could fit through easily.

The three shinobi gazed in awe at the brightly colored shops that adorned the cobbled street. Each found themselves wishing they could read the signs that hung over each shop, yet from the displays in the windows, one could make a fair assessment. There were cauldrons similar to what the Neville boy carried, a library, a various assortment of owls, candy shops, and one that displayed odd brooms like they were valuable.

"Hagrid! Hagrid!" Naruto tugged on the man's cloak sleeve and pointed to a shop. "Why is there a store for brooms?"

Hagrid frowned but once he saw where Naruto was pointing let out a cheerful laugh. "Those aren' just any brooms," he said, "Wizards use them ter fly, an' play Quidditch—"

"FLY?" Naruto squealed. "That's so cool! I wanna fly!"

Hagrid chuckled. "Maybe at the school we can get yeh ter try a school broom later."

"Yeah! I can't wait!" Hagrid smiled as the blond jumped up and down. He then turned to face the redhead that was evidently trying to conceal his amazement at everything in Diagon Alley; giving off the impression that he was bored. Hagrid had been around enough kids to know differently though. Shifting his gaze to Kakashi, Hagrid noted that he seemed the most comfortable. His hands were stuck in his pockets and glanced from shop to shop curiously as they made their way down the narrow street.

"Hey, Hagrid? What's that?" Naruto was pointed to a large white building.

"Ah, Gringotts. A wizard's bank run by goblins and protected by dragons. I had a dragon once, you know," he muttered nostalgically.

Everyone looked at him in alarm.

"Real dragons?" Gaara asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Yep. But ther really magnificent creatures, nuthin' ter worry about," Hagrid said. Gaara scowled and muttered something about not being scared.

"Well, this is where yeh get yer wands. I've got ter go ter the bank, so I'll catch up with yeh in a little bit." With that he bade them goodbye and left them in front of a green shop with gold lettering. They entered silently and found themselves in a dimly lit room that had some chairs, a desk, and then rows and rows of thin boxes piled as high as the ceiling.

"Good afternoon," welcomed a soft voice. The ninja turned around to see an elderly man with silver eyes peeking behind one of the rows of boxes. If he found their appearance odd, he didn't show it.

"Hold out your wand arm," he ordered calmly, pulling out a tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. When he was met with confused stares, he added, "The one you write with."

They each held out their right arm and gasped in amazement as the tape measure began taking measurements on its own. When it was finished, the man nodded and walked over to the boxes.

"My name is Mr. Ollivander," he announced politely as he rummaged through them.

"Naruto!"

"Gaara."

"Kakashi." He kept his composure neutral, but Mr. Ollivander could tell these visitors were most unusual. The energy they harnessed was in a more complicated and complex pattern throughout their body than wizards. The implications of their power excited him. He hadn't felt this giddy since the day the young Mr. Harry Potter came into his shop.

"Here you go young man," Ollivander announced, carrying an oak colored wand to the boy in orange. "Eleven inches. Oak. Very sturdy. Give it a slight flick of the wrist, releasing some of your magic—"

"Chakra," the boy corrected.

"Chakra into it." Quite peculiar.

Naruto eagerly grasped the wand and charged it with so much chakra it glowed blue then exploded in a shower of blue sparks. Naruto yelped as his sleeve was singed.

"How about this?" Mr. Ollivander suggested sadly. He never had a customer blow up his precious wands before. Having a wand not work was exciting because it presented a challenge, but in all those instances the wand was still intact. "Just make sure to put a little bit of your chakra into it."

Naruto grinned sheepishly and controlled the amount of chakra he put into the next wand. As he slashed it down, it let out a shower of red and gold sparks, to which Mr. Ollivander nodded.

"Very good. That was ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy." Then he turned to Gaara, who was more controlled than Naruto with his use of the wands.

A few minutes later they were finished with their selection; Gaara with a nine inch willow and unicorn hair wand, and Kakashi with an eleven inch yew and phoenix feather. Just then Hagrid burst through the doors, and after saying hello to Mr. Ollivander, paid for the wands and led them out the door.

Very powerful people, Mr. Ollivander thought to himself as they left. Very powerful indeed.

"Hagrid," Kakashi protested. "We don't want to put you at an inconvenience—" The half-giant waved him off.

"Don' worry. Hogwarts has a fund fer students who can' afford materials. Besides, it's the least we can do fer bringin' yeh here against yer will." With that said, they continued on to purchase the rest of the supplies.

By the time they were gratefully back at Hogwarts (Floo Powder quickly became their least favorite method of travel) it was past dinnertime.

"Tomorrow you will be sorted into a house," Dumbledore said. "It will be only Naruto and Gaara though. I'm sorry Kakashi, but you are too old for our program. You may, however, study in the library, practice skills on your own, attend classes alongside them, or anything else that will be suitable.

"Until you are sorted, we have some beds available in the hospital wing. I'm sorry to say that we normally don't have guests here at Hogwarts," Dumbledore apologized, "but once the two of you are sorted we will have arrangements made for all of you."

At the infirmary, Dumbledore pointed to a dish on one of the trays. "This will keep refilling itself with sandwiches until you are full. This is pumpkin juice," he said, pointing to a jug that sat next to three silver goblets, "and I daresay it is a favorite among students. Goodnight."

Silently, the three ninja ate their full of sandwiches (Naruto eating the most despite the fact that he complained about there not being any ramen) and Kakashi and Naruto settled down peacefully on their own cots. Gaara sighed and sat down on another, fiddling around with the small amount of sand he now possessed.

There were times when he really hated not being able to sleep.

As a note, Naruto's wand was one Harry tried out in the first book, Gaara's was a slight alteration of Lily Potter's wand, and Kakashi's is a slight alteration of Voldemort's wand, whose wand was thirteen-and-a-half inches.