Mission: Hoguwatsu
A Naruto & Harry Potter Crossover
By: GoldenDragonClouds

Chapter 6: The Hogwarts Express

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, nor do I own Harry Potter

Kudos go to all my reviewers, but this time especially to:
angelofdeath8254, gardensigernumbli, Helloagain (anonymous), and vampireluver96
for getting that AVPM reference right! The proper quote (for those of you who are wondering) is:

[Cedric: "Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders!"
Dumbledore: "What the hell, is a Hufflepuff?"]

Yeah, I got confused with that quote too, until I actually saw A Very Potter Musical. It's hilarious and well worth the time.

Previously in Mission: Hoguwatsu

McGonagall handed her a sheet containing a timetable, marked clearly in both English and in Japanese writing... correction, crammed with both English and Japanese writing...

"Here's your schedule, Miss Long."

Tenten gulped.

Three weeks and a half later and Tenten found herself in need of a break. She was having four years' worth of studies crammed in her brain in the course of almost four weeks, and honestly she was having a lot of trouble with spellwork. Mainly because spellwork required immense concentration, understanding and, well, good pronunciation.

She really needed to work on that.

There were several classes that Tenten felt comfortable learning, however.

Study of Ancient Runes was basically a study of old written code, so that was alright. Tenten approached it just like she did the Konoha's Chunin written code, and the tutoring sessions were actually going well. Arithmacy she hadn't gone so deeply into yet, but it was a form of fortune telling using numbers, or so she was told, so Tenten was having fun approaching yet another aspect of her hobby(1).

She had actually been looking forward to learning Divinations, but apparently no one really believed in telling the future here, just like back in Konoha. The big giant of a man, "Call me Hagrid," had tried to get her to switch classes to the Care of Magical Creatures "before you regret it." Tenten had adamantly refused, even when McGonagall had frowned and "Tch!"-ed when learning of Tenten's choice. The sensei couldn't tutor her presently because she was "indisposed," whatever that meant, and Tenten thanked her stars and cards that she already knew about half of the contents of the three-year curriculum that the Divinations class at Hogwarts offered.

Herbology lessons were fun, but Tenten suspected that not even Ino, the resident botanist of Konoha's rookies, would have enjoyed digging up screaming roots(2) and picking pus-filled fruits(3), just two of the many strange things one had to do to care for the many strange plants of Professor "call me Pomona when the students aren't here" Sprout's greenhouses.

Astronomy was simple enough as well. All Konoha Chunin were required to know the heavens in case they got lost without a compass - and although the stars were at slightly different positions at Hogwarts, Tenten grasped the basics quickly enough. All she needed to learn was the different names for the stars she was already familiar with.

The History of Magic teacher was "indisposed for the summer" as well, so Tenten took the liberty to take that time to read up as many magical history books as she could… not that it was many. This language barrier was really getting on her nerves.

Even Potions was simple enough once one understood the theory. And Tenten decided that she liked Severus, the Potions Professor. Severus Snape, whom she now called Severus, as she heard McGonagall call him, just to annoy him. He was kind of like Neji, in some weird way she couldn't quite describe. Perhaps it was an angst-filled past, but she had no way to know if that was true. Well, it was painfully obvious that the man was a genius when it came to brewing those… potions, as they were called. Even Tsunade-sama herself would have been jealous at the kinds of cures Severus could make.

No, it was Transfigurations, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts that Tenten was having trouble in. And that wasn't going to end until her pronunciation got better, so probably not for a long time. One of her earlier Defense Against the Dark Arts tutoring sessions went as follows:

"Exusperiamusu!"

"No, no, Expelliarmus!"

"Esperiamusu!"

"Ex-spell-i-arm-us!"

"Es-spe-ri-a-musu!"

Tenten had sighed in frustration when Lupin, the "temporary" teacher, shook his head yet again to indicate that her pronunciation was wrong… again.

Lupin sighed. "Before we attempt any wand work, we need to work on your pronunciation."

"Yes… Purofesa Lupinu."

"No, no, I'm not a professor. Call me Remus."

Tenten nodded. "Rimusu."

Remus stopped, turning to look at Tenten.

"Tenten, how did you learn English?"

Tenten shrugged. "I reading book and I using dictionary. Nihon, iie, Japon-English-Japon dictionary help much me."

"No wonder…" Remus muttered.

After that, Remus had her memorizing spells and practicing her English, teaching her nothing more than theory in her lessons. He had apparently told McGonagall and Flitwick, because the next day, they started doing the same. Well, for Transfiguration the theory behind the magic was still eluding her understanding - and Tenten wanted to grasp the idea completely before trying anything out. McGonagall fully agreed, hence the drills on not only the theory of Transfiguration but also of the English language.

It was humiliating at first and Professor Dumbledore even offered to give her Japanese spell books instead of her watching her continue to struggle with the English language, but Tenten had adamantly refused and soldiered on in true Team Gai fashion. Only two weeks after her arrival had Tenten given in to the professors' joint insisting and asked for textbooks in the Japanese language. Lee and Gai might have disapproved, but Tenten found she didn't really care. 'Have them try being unproductive for an entire week,' she scoffed.

But those things aside, Tenten discovered that she rather liked Hogwarts. Granted, the quietness would only last only until the students came back, but it was nice, taking a break from the norm. By norm here she meant the shinobi life, but she knew she was starting to get out of practice.

Without hours upon hours of practice every day, there was no possible way she would stay in shape. Maybe she should be running around the school. A hundred laps a day. Like what Gai made them do during her Genin days, except Hogwarts was much smaller than the village of Konohagakure.

Now that she thought about it, she missed Konoha a lot. Three weeks by herself away from the village had heightened her sense of loneliness, no matter how friendly the professors (and house elves and ghosts!) had been to her. She looked at the food on her breakfast table- toast, french toast, sugar-coated cereals, cookies, pancakes, jam, syrup, butter, waffles… ugh, there was nothing healthy here. Maybe she should ask Professor Dumbledore where the kitchens were… she didn't know how the wizards here stayed healthy.

Tenten was still picking at her food when a familiar creature, namely, Fanny, who Tenten now knew to call "house elf" and not summon creature, appeared in front of her with a 'crack.' Almost as if on cue, Fanny immediately began to titter about the "tiny amounts of food Miss is eating, it's not healthy, Miss," but apparently she had endured enough of Tenten's death threats to stop curtsying at every turn.

Used to the house elf's antics, Tenten stood up from the conjured table to retrieve her books, bag, and wand from atop her bed(4). She had fastened her cloak - she remembered to call it that after the first week here - and had been about to open the door of the dorm room when Fanny called to her again.

"Miss?"

Tenten turned to the house elf expectantly, rolling her eyes when Fanny forgot - again - and curtsied.

"Miss Long, miss, Professor Dumbledore is wanting you in his office, miss."

Tenten stopped, frowned, and stalked over to the calendar on her bedside table. Ah. Not only was it a Saturday, but also the thirtieth day of the eighth month. Two days before term started. Review day.

Tenten groaned.

The first day of the ninth month, or, September, as the English people called it, found Tenten in a most peculiar place, a magical train station called Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Something close to a genjutsu, or a transportation jutsu, had been placed on a barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten in the King's Cross Station in London, England, allowing those with 'magical' abilities to pass through the solid barrier onto a much more old fashioned platform, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Currently, Tenten was trying to decide which compartment in which to sit in, as she had an hour before the train left which meant many compartments were empty. She finally chose a compartment near the end of the train, setting her trunk on the rack above her and getting comfortable in her seat, leaning on the window. She initially hadn't seen the point of getting out of the school only to ride a train back once more, nor had she seen the point of packing a trunk to bring with her. However, the meeting she had had with Dumbledore two days previously had convinced her otherwise.

The train ride, like the Sorting, was apparently a tradition all Hogwarts students were to go through, no matter where they had come from. The trunk ensured her status as a student, apparently, and as a kunoichi training in infiltration and stealth as part of her Weapons Mistress career(5), Tenten couldn't pass up on a chance to practice blending into the crowd. Hence the witches robes she wore that weren't even part of her uniform. According to Professor McGonagall, students usually changed into their uniforms during the train ride.

Tenten stretched her limbs and curled up in her seat, throwing a travel robe on top of herself like a blanket. She would take a nap for an hour, just until the train left, she thought to herself, before being lulled into sleep by the pitter-patter of raindrops against the window.

Tenten's eyes snapped open at the sound of laughter. Somehow, while she was still sleeping, the compartment had been filled with other students that looked moderately her age. They were mostly boys, but there was a bushy-haired and slightly buck-teethed girl amongst them. Said girl was the first to notice her move.

"Oh! She's awake!"

The boys stopped laughing to look over at her.

Tenten blinked, trying to decide what time it was. It was dark outside the window and the lights were lit inside the compartment, but if it was really the time it seemed to be, the train would already have reached Hogwarts.

So instead, she looked at the students around her.

"Hello," she said cautiously, and noted that all five boys and one girl seemed surprised at her accent. Tenten cleared her throat, taking off the travel robe and sitting up straight.

"I… ah, Tenten Long, exchange student from Konoha Institute of Magic. You are?"

"I didn't know Hogwarts accepted exchange students," one of the boys said, confused, "I'm Seamus Finnigan though, nice to meet you I suppose." He offered his hand and Tenten took it, smiling cautiously.

"Oh honestly," the bushy-haired girl said, apparently exasperated, "the last exchange student Hogwarts accepted was also from the Konoha Institute of Magic, and that was in 1972." She then turned to Tenten.

"I'm Hermione Granger. The one next to Seamus is Dean Thomas, that's Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, and Harry… Potter." Hermione concluded, looking uncertain.

Tenten, sensing that a sense of awkwardness could settle if she didn't say anything, blurted out, "I from Japan." The red-headed boy, Ron, was it? suddenly seemed interested.

"Do you know your Quidditch teams?" he asked enthusiastically, "I heard Lithuania only narrowly won against the Japanese team this summer…" he trailed off, a question in the air. Fortunately, Tenten had been drilled through certain terms and events that the professors were sure other students would ask her about.

"Konoha not close to Toyohashi, but, yes, sad, and, Ireland win Tournament, no?" she said, and the boys burst into chatter, attempting to relieve the entirety of the Quidditch World Cup finals match. Tenten watched on amusedly; it was as if she was watching Lee telling her about another all out spar he had had with one of the other Konoha-11, except now there were four boys shouting instead. Hermione, on the other hand, huffed and turned to a textbook, soon pulling out her wand to apparently practice a spell.

One of the boys, a round-faced one, moaned. "Gran didn't want to go," he said miserably. "Wouldn't buy tickets. It sounded amazing though."

"It was," said Ron, the red-head. "Look at this, Neville…"

He reached into his trunk for a bit, pulling out a miniature person.

"Oh wow," Neville said, and Tenten frowned. Was she missing something?

"Who?" she asked, and Ron looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Who? Who? Only Viktor Krum, the youngest professional Seeker on a National Quidditch team! And we saw him right up close, too!" Ron gloated, "We were in the Top Box - me and my family and Harry - "

"For the first and last time in your life, Weasley." a snide voice reminding her much of Neji before their first Chunin Exams said aloud, interrupting their conversation. A blonde boy stood in the doorway, flanked by two huge boys behind him. Tenten had the distinct impression that the two weren't just friends, but more like bodyguards.

"Don't remember asking you to join us, Malfoy," said Harry coolly.

"Weasley… what is that?" said the blonde boy, pointing at a frilly looking robe-thing on the seat opposite of where Tenten was sitting. Ron flushed and grabbed the robe, but the blonde snatched it out of his hands.

"Look!" he said gleefully, holding the robe up to show the two behind him. "Weasley, you weren't thinking of wearing these, were you? I mean, I know you must be excited to bring glory to the family name, but this is a bit too much, even for the special event. Perhaps you could buy some decent robes if you won…"

"What are you talking about?" Ron snapped, his face red and fuming. The blonde boy only smirked.

"You don't know? Ha ha! You don't know!" he crowed, "You've got two family members at the Ministry and you don't know? My father told me about it ages ago, perhaps your father's a bit too… junior, to know about such things…"

Ron's face had turned a dark red and his friends were fuming. Even Hermione had lowered her book to glare at the blonde boy. Tenten, seeing that a fight was eminent, decided to step in.

"You father work ministry?" she asked, smiling pleasantly at the blonde boy. Ron and his friends looked incredulous. "Hello, my name Tenten Long. I am… one year exchange student from Konoha Institute of Magic. You are?"

The blonde boy was taken aback, perhaps just having noticed her, but his lips soon curled into a smirk.

"Malfoy," he said, simpering. "Draco Malfoy."

"Dureiko Marufoi, ne?" Tenten tried out. She nodded then paused, a sympathetic look flitting onto her face. "You is poor boy, Marufoi-san," she looked down, shaking her head. "Dureiko, sound like name of girl. I know girl named Reiko… poor boy. I feel you sorry."

Neville and Hermione looked scandalized while Ron, Harry, Dean, and Seamus howled with laughter.

Draco, face red, turned on his heel and stormed away, muttering about rudeness, the two giant boys following him in his wake. The other boys were now rolling on the floor of the compartment, and Hermione and Neville looked condescendingly at Tenten.

"What?" Tenten asked, tilting her head. "Marufoi-san look like girl too!"

The boys only laughed harder, and Tenten smirked to herself. Confrontation avoided.

"You're a Ravenclaw?" Ron sputtered when it came time for them to change into their school robes. His face donned an incredulous expression at Tenten's bemused nod. "Blimey, I thought- after the way you flipped off Malfoy…"

"What year are you in, anyway?"

"How have you been sorted already?"

Seamus and Hermione's voices sounded simultaneously, and they had to repeat their questions to a much confused Tenten for her to understand.

"Uh, when finish transfer, sorting hat in professor no office." Tenten uttered out with some difficulty, evidently not having used such words before. "I am fifth year," she concluded with more confidence with before.

Ron snickered. "A fifth-year Asian Ravenclaw, eh?" He nudged Harry on the ribs, and Harry promptly blushed.

"Shut up!" he hissed.

Neville looked slightly nervous, but Seamus and Dean started teasing Harry and even Hermione looked curious as to who had captured Harry's attention as such. Tenten leant back and enjoyed the sight. She'd have to find a way to write to her friends back home; she'd just found Hogwarts' resident Hinata.

The five of them continued pestering Harry and in Seamus and Dean's cases, ribbing him with apparently dirty jokes that Tenten couldn't understand and left Hermione and Neville appalled, until the train arrived at Hogsmeade station. They stepped out into torrents of rain.

As they ran, Tenten shouted to Hermione. "Where we going?"

"Towards the horseless carriages! They carry us to Hogwarts!" Hermione shouted back, but when they reached the carriages, Tenten saw that they weren't horseless at all.

"Horseless?" she muttered out loud, staring at the mysterious creatures in front of her. They were horses, alright, but they were bony, black, and had a reptilian look to them. Not to mention their wings - bat's wings, they looked like - and giant, staring, Hyuuga-looking pupil-less eyes. Tenten suppressed a shiver. Hyuuga eyes always seemed to stare through your soul. No, she was not going to think about home, not now...

She started. Neville had tapped her on the shoulder. "Can you see them too?" he whispered.

"Yes… horseless?" she only repeated, not quite knowing how to formulate this into a question.

"Not everyone can see them," Neville explained, but left it at that. He motioned for Tenten to follow him into a carriage. Taking one last look at the mysterious skeletal creatures, she climbed into the dark interior of the carriage, in which Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville already were sitting.

It wasn't until later that night that Tenten slapped her forehead as she was reviewing her notes before the start of classes the next day. Of course! How could she have forgotten Harry Potter, none other than the boy known as the only survivor of the Killing Curse!

She was such an idiot!

(1) Tenten's hobbies, according to the Naruto Character Guidebooks, is fortune telling and researching.
(2), (3) Let's see if you HP fans can guess the names of the plants related to these activities here. We all learned about them in Herbology class!
(4) She's eating in her dorm room, not the Great Hall.
(5) I've always seen Tenten as an infiltration sort, despite her sensei and teammates being, well, noticeable. She is, after all, a Weapons Mistress, and it's only logical that shinobi of her kind take on more subtle missions that Ninjutsu or Taijutsu specialists cannot do.

BOLD lettering indicates quotes taken directly from Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire.

Author's Note:

Good news: I have gone through all of my remaining handwritten notes and have recovered a lot of what I planned out previous to my computer's destruction.
Bad news: All of that is not all of what I had previously written and therefore the storyline may change slightly from the direction I was going , maybe it's not bad news; the real bad news is that I have no idea when the next chapter will be up.
Sincere and heartfelt thank yous to everyone who reviewed and kept me motivated for this story! I can't believe it's nearly a year since I started writing it!
Thank you all and I shall try my best to finish the next chapter quickly. Until next time!

Ja Ne,
~Golden

P.S.: Tell me if you want omakes and/or outtakes. I do have quite a lot… omake suggestions will gladly be taken as well! :)

P.P.S.: I expect that there will be no beginning of the year feast in my story. That particular take allows far too many cliché scenes in any given such chapter.