Chapter 16: Assault on the Great Hall
There was an echoing thud as several spells hit the door to the Great Hall at once. The stalemate toppled and the wizards inside of the hall who supported the migration let their spells fly. However, they were met with some serious magical resistance on the opposing side and the ninja hardly had to dodge. Hermione threw up protective spells and banished flying objects as if she did it in her sleep.
Harry and Cedric revisited their spell re-direction formations which they hadn't used since the war. The pair had found that most wizards were very weakly trained at fighting multiple opponents especially from multiple directions. They remembered Guy's defense lessons when the ninja would sneak up behind them and attack from there as well. Since most wizards were used to dueling and only paying attention to one enemy at a time, they took advantage of this.
Cedric, who was the much faster caster, threw spell after spell both at opponents in front of him and throwing some sideways in Harry's direction. Harry would then redirect Cedric's spells with a weak shield charm of his own invention. The opposing wizard would shield themselves from Cedric's straight-on spells but wouldn't see the one coming from Harry's direction. Meanwhile, Harry could cast one spell for every two of Cedric's and throw his own in when he had time. This created a rapid-fire effect that they had perfected over the years. It was nearly impossible to stand up against.
Some wizards didn't fight at all but instead panicked, getting hit every so often by a spell from one side or another. Screams rang out as several delegates went down, stunned or bound. Meanwhile the boom boom boom of the assault on the Great Hall door echoed overtop of the din.
"Not in my school you don't," Jones growled, raising his wand like a sword. He cast one last glance at the ninja before trusting them with his back. The Headmaster of Hogwarts strode toward the splintering door, robes billowing out around him. "Professor Longbottom, seal the hall," he called without looking back.
With a wave of his wand, Neville closed and locked all of the remaining doors that led into the Great Hall. There was a sudden rise in panic as spell after spell slammed into the sealed main entrance. Many of the delegates attempted to flee as they saw their exits cut off.
"He's trapping us in here to die," one cried.
"Luna where are you?!" Draco shouted, finally giving in and openly calling for her. He waded through the tide of cloaks flowing past him toward the blocked exits. The Ravenclaw was nowhere to be found.
"Cedric, get behind me," Kurenai cried as the great doors began to splinter dangerously. She pulled a kunai from somewhere and held the handle between her teeth while she weaved signs.
Professor Jones paused in his incantations on the door to weave another protection spell. The gamble did not pay off. The moment he let up pressure the doors to the Great Hall burst open with the combined blast of the spells coming from outside. Wizards flooded in, showering them all with unfriendly spells.
Cedric turned to face the new sea of spells but Kurenai stepped in his way. He leaned to the other side but she shifted appropriately to shield him. He even tried angling his wand around her but he couldn't get a clear shot. The screams around him made his heart pound and a bit of his frustration slipped through.
"Damn it Kurenai," Cedric ground out. He stepped up to her, grabbing her arm, and pulling her to the side so that she was out of his line of fire. Gray eyes narrowed, Cedric shot off too stunning spells in succession, taking out two wizards who'd just entered the hall. Kurenai looked up at him, shocked. Not taking his eyes off of the door he said, "you weren't the only one in a war." He fully stepped up to stand at her side, wand at the ready.
Magical delegates were either fleeing out the felled hall door to join their allies or grouping together in any cover afforded by the meeting tables. The British Minister of Magic was attempting to organize his people but the terror was too widespread. Several wizards, Ambassador Paddock and Kerensky among them, rushed out. They sent spells behind them as they retreated. These were blocked by an indignant Professor Jones who stunned several people on their way out. With a gesture of his wand, the shattered door flew back into place, reforming at lightning speed. A fresh onslaught of spells threatened to smash the door anew but, like water leveling itself after a disturbance, the door reformed as fast as it splintered. Headmaster Jones's wand was in constant motion, eyes glued to the door he was desperate to maintain.
Everyone paused when the Sixth Hokage's voice cut through the din. Even Kurenai's eyes were torn away from Cedric at Kakashi's call.
"Stone," several ninja in red snapped to attention, "help Professor Jones reinforce the doors…if you can." Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. His calm voice and joking tone were light in the darkness of the chaos.
Mischievous smiles appeared. "You bet we can Lord Sixth." They ran to the splintering and once again closed doors and stood next to Professor Jones. The Headmaster was crossing his wand far out in front of him, slowly, backward and forward, while facing the refitted door that just barely seemed to be holding on. His eyes were squinted closed in concentration as he muttered his incantation. The Stone ninja began to weave seals and pulled up slabs of stone to block the door. At any other time the Headmaster would have fretted at them for disturbing the spells that were worked into every stone at Hogwarts. However, he had no time for that now and focused on the task at hand.
"Mist," several sets of eyes focused on the Hokage, "collect the delegates and keep them safe. Don't let the wizards catch you off guard." This was met with several nods and some scurrying.
"Sand: recon. I need to know what's going on out there. Don't get lost, don't be seen." This was met with quiet smiles and swift departures.
"Lightning: coordinate with the wizards who are still here. They'll be providing cover." Kakashi turned and looked at the spellbound Greyford.
The wizard nodded slowly in agreement. He grabbed the nearest ministry employee and started yelling in the man's face to be heard over the diminishing racket.
"And if one of the wizards tries to betray us," Kakashi glanced at his orange-clad student.
Naruto nodded, the look on his face calm but stern. The blond sat down, concentrating and closing his eyes.
"Just the ninja in here please," Kakashi reminded, "don't give Gaara's people away."
The Hokage was answered by an absentminded nod from Naruto and the blond began to glow orange. In answer, orange chakra enveloped every ninja in the Great Hall. Kurama's chakra quickly went to work, filling them up and protecting them.
Having seen to this, Kakashi turned to his student's wife. "Hinata, please make sure Luna is safe for me?" The kunoichi nodded and, after casting a quick look at her husband, hurried off across the hall.
Draco attempted to protest, his anxiety making his voice higher than normal. "We don't know where Luna is!"
"Hinata does," Kakashi said calmly. "Luna was right to hide herself, a true Ravenclaw."
Draco opened his mouth and closed it again in exasperation.
The remaining magical delegates were brought back to the center of the room, shaken but ready for a fight. The Leaf ninja remained by their Hokage's side, awaiting their orders. Meanwhile, Naruto made several clones and they all sat down cross-legged with him on the floor and closed their eyes.
"Now's not the time for meditation!" A witch screamed hysterically.
A Lightning kunoichi smirked. "Don't worry, he's not."
At this Kakashi turned and saw what his sensei's son was doing. "Do you think sage chakra is really necessary in this situation?"
Naruto simply grunted, remembering the way that that wizard had held his wife. Suddenly, decision made, Naruto opened his eyes and stood up, his clones dispersing. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this change in tactic when Naruto very clearly said, "let them in."
The Headmaster turned and looked at the blond ninja. His wand and other hand were both out in front of him as if he were holding the door closed by pushing at the air. "You can't be serious?" He looked at Kakashi and Kakashi was looking at Naruto.
After a moment, as if something had passed between sensei and student, the Hokage looked up, "do as he says." Even as he said this, Kakashi removed his Hokage cloak and tossed it to Guy, who hadn't left his side. "Hang onto this for me, would you Guy?" Kakashi got into a defensive stance and waited, letting his limbs hang loose. He was expecting a fight.
Guy held the cloak thoughtfully the way Kakashi had presented it, with the title facing the door. He raised an eyebrow, "I won't need the protection of your cloak during this encounter Kakashi." Naruto's chakra cloaks were quite enough protection as it was.
"Hm?" Kakashi replied absentmindedly, his stance and focus on the door belying his bored tone. "I just didn't want it to get dirty; who knows what Naruto will do next?"
Guy grinned despite his exasperation. Still protecting your teammates after all these years?
"There isn't going to be a fight sensei," Naruto said confidently, his face set. "This ends now."
Professor Jones instructed the Stone ninja to withdraw from the door. Seeing them reach a safe distance he allowed their defenses to fall, retreating himself. The doors to the Great Hall were obliterated almost instantaneously.
Enemy wizards and witches barged into the Great Hall only to stop mid-charge. They were met by a gargantuan orange fox with an obscene amount of flicking tails. The magic of the room hummed as Naruto and Kurama's combined chakra filled it. The floating candles, which produced light in the hall in all types of weather, drifted aside to make way for the fox's giant head and shoulders. Kurama gazed down at the attacking wizards with a grin that looked less than benevolent. One wizard fainted immediately while others raised their quaking wand hands to point at him. Whether they pointed out of intent to cast a spell or out of shock was unclear.
At the orange-incarnate beast's feet stood Naruto, arms crossed. It took them awhile but eventually the terrified wizards' eyes were drawn down to the ninja standing across from them. Naruto made a mental note to work on his battlefield presence. "This is Kurama," Naruto introduced with a hand gesture. His voice was strong and carried across the expanse of the silent hall. "He's one of nine of his kind in our world. I happen to be friends with all of them."
Kurama chuckled with mirth but the way the blood rushed from the wizard's faces, it must have seemed like anything but.
"The Lord Sixth Hokage has tried very hard to be patient with you. He has tried to politely tell you that you do not want war with us. I am telling you now that it is his benevolence that is keeping our forces from razing this place to the ground.
"You threatened my pregnant wife who came here only wanting peace," a couple of the wizards looked shocked and then suddenly guilty. "I am telling you this because I want you to understand exactly how I feel about you at this moment." Several wizards shifted in place. "I do not want to fight you. But peaceful relations with you are not high on my priority list right now you know? That's too bad too because I think that's the opposite of what my sensei intended when he brought me here."
Professor Jones frowned, casting his eyes to the stones of the Great Hall floor.
"So let's put our hostility away and talk, talk like we should have been doing this entire time. Not as you would speak to people you intend to conquer, but as possible friends. You really don't want me as anything else." As Kurama withdrew back into Naruto and the orange cloaks began to fade, Kakashi stepped up to Naruto's side. Whispering out of the side of his mouth, Naruto said, "how was that sensei?"
Several wizards looked at Naruto as if their brains were shorting out. Once Kurama was gone, they unconsciously bunched together, no one speaking, just staring at the ninja who stood against them. For once, there was no muttering or side-conversing going on.
Kakashi snorted behind his mask. "Forceful, but effective." His eyes crinkled into a smile. He felt like he hadn't smiled in days.
"Well you tiptoeing around the issue wasn't getting the point across," Naruto ribbed.
Kakashi cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Should I have slit a few throats during our sparring demonstration? Blasted holes through their chests? Burnt them to a crisp? And here I thought we'd been improving on your diplomatic skills."
"Well you could have thrown them across the field," Naruto theorized.
The hypothetical scenarios that were quickly spinning out of control were interrupted by the Sand ninja returning to the hall.
"Sand ninja reporting in. We-" The leader of the group looked around in dismay at the subdued wizards and relaxed delegates.
"-Honestly didn't think it'd end that quickly," another one of them ended lamely.
Author's Notes: I'm going to be on vacation for the next week so if my responses are a little slow, that's why.
I've also taken on betaing for DimiGex's Altered Reality. If you're looking for yet another (because there's no way you've only read just this one) Kakashi-centric story, check it out!
My betaing duties will not be interfering with this story as it is nearly finished. As always, I appreciate your reviews!