Ok....so next chapter....

Also...to those who read the last chapter: Thank you. To those of you who added this to your favorites or story alerts...thank you even more.

Thanks to FallenHope-Angel, PaddysGal, (everyone hope her computer gets fixed), cardinaru25, and Jaycee81196 for being the most amazing reviewers ever.....

so....this didn't beg to be written.....but it did ask nicely....and it brought me chicken ramen and chocolate...so it got written fairly easily.

Though...well...remember that camp I was off to last time....well..it was horse camp...and we were in a show....was told to drop my stirups....Teddy my horse got spooked...started galloping....I still lacked stirups....he turned sharply, I flew, I landed, and I now have a fractured tailbone and a compression fracture in my vertabrae. So...I'm now medicated...on a lot of aleeve....cause they won't give me meds that actually do stuff. So I'm kinda loopy.

But you guys get the chappie...so it's all good....si?

I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto. I'm not rich like J.K.R. And I'm not king of random plot stuff like Kishi (seriously...anyone see the new chapter...it was...wow.)

so umm yeah...enjoy the party. (we now have ramen and treacle fudge)

Oh...I dedicate this chapter, to aGecko-chica-chan and Terra-kun, for being awesome and keeping me company while I wrote this.

thoughts

japanese

'silent communication'

Sasuke groaned to himself, as the blond boy that was supposed to be following him, once more ran off, intent on exploring in some room or another, or talking to a portrait, or a ghost or doing something equally annoying. "Naruto, you God damned idiot. Get your bloody ass back here."

The blond turned to him, and cocked an eyebrow, "Butbutbut....the people in the painting have alcohol...and they're actually....getting...drunk. How is that possible????"

Sighing, Sasuke grabbed the blond idiots arm, dragging him away from the portrait, and waiting for the staircase they needed to get back in place. Admittedly, he would normally be a little calmer, a little nicer, but, he was stressed. Any normal person would think it was the 2 foot long essays for Transfiguration and Potions, or that it was because he'd found two half dead boys that day. But no, it wasn't just that, that had barely anything to do with it.

It was Naruto himself. Something about the boy, instantly got on his nerves. They seemed to be like fire and ice, day and night. He wondered if it'd be possible for this to work, without blowing up a classroom or the grounds.

Then, there was the thing that truly agrivated Sasuke was the boy from his memories. Something about Naruto was so much like him, and yet, so damn different. The boy from his memories was smaller than Naruto, less muscled, more broad. Something in his eyes showed someone with a fierce kind of determination, but also held the hint of a reckless boy, a prankster.

Naruto was different. Aside from his curiosity about the castle, he'd struck Sasuke as cautious. He'd entered the boys dorms behind Sasuke, and had tensed up the minute he'd seen Dean. When they were in public, he spoke carefully, he'd revealed no real information about himself when questioned by the Gryffindors in the common room, and evaded those questions he couldn't give an answer to, he'd considered every word he'd spoken to them. When Sasuke had mentioned Harry's map, Naruto had looked interested, but there was no hint of a prankster in his eyes, but another look, one Sasuke couldn't recognize.

Then there was the main difference, their eyes, one feature that couldn't change in this way. The boy Sasuke remembered had bright cerulean eyes. Naruto's eyes were completely different, instead of the shining blue, they were daraker, and despite Sasuke's shock, they held hints of a crimson light. The oddest part, was that his eyes were closer to an animals than a humans, they seemed to absorb light, instead of reflecting it back.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they made it to the Great Hall. Instantly, Sasuke was glad he had good reflexes, he just barely managed to grab the back of Naruto's robes, seconds before he tried to take off towards the Ravenclaw table. Naruto sighed, glaring at Sasuke. "What the hell, teme? I'm gunna go sit with Shino. Come on, let me go."

Sasuke shook his head, guiding Naruto to the Gryffindor table. "You sit with the other Gryffindors, not the Ravenclaws. If you want to talk to him, we can find him later, but not now..." He pushed Naruto into an empty seat, before sitting next to Ginny. "Naruto....meet people. People....meet Naruto."

Ginny rolled her eyes, smacking Sasuke on the back of the head as she did so. "There's only the two of us....you can give proper introductions you know." She informed him, before grinning at Naruto, "I'm Ginny Weasly, if you see the only other Weasly in the school, ignore his pig-headed ass."

Sasuke exchanged a glance with Harry, who'd sat down across from them during the 'introductions', rolling his eyes. "Fine then, if I must do this properly." He gestured to Harry, "This is Harry Potter, the Chosen-boy-who-can't-be-killed, defeater of Moldybutt the dark lord, blahblahblah, he's special like that....yeah."

Harry gave Sasuke a look, clearly less than thrilled. "Did you really have to do that?"

"Better me with humor, than someone like a not-so-thrilled Slytherin, or a far-to-grateful first year." Sasuke retorted easily "I don't fill the story with fluff, I tell it how it is."

The conversation was cut off as McGonagall stood at the head table. She began to inform the students of a danger lurking in the forbidden forest, that there was something with the possibility to kill nearby, and that it was currently more dangerous that it had been previously. Her voice was stern, a sharp contrast to the lightness of Dumbledore's voice, and Sasuke still felt a small pang of anguish, missing the old headmaster.

Soon enough however, the mini-speech had ended, and food had appeared. Naruto's reaction had been amusing, his face lighting up like a small child's on Christmas day, as he gasped in shock. The shock had lasted about ten seconds, before he'd filled his plate with food, eating so quickly, Sasuke swore he inhaled the food.

After about five minutes, Naruto stopped, and for a moment, Sasuke wondered if the blond was full. Instead, he merely pursed his lips, asking a simple question. "Where the hell's the ramen?"

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Ramen? You mean that crap in a cup muggles eat? That's like...freeze dried noodles and vegetables?"

Naruto shook his head, "No...that's not the good kind. The good kind is the stuff that's made fresh. Like how Teuchi-san and Ayame-chan make it. It's really good....and sometimes, they give out freebies....They...are...amazing."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, pressing his thumb to his temple, as his head throbbed lightly. For a moment, he swore concern flashed through Naruto's red-blue eyes. "Oi, you okay, Sasuke?" A tan hand moved towards him, resting lightly on his elbow. Sasuke swore softly, his head pulsing once more, before he managed to get his body under control, ignore the pain that had formed. "Yeah....just a headache. Used to get them a lot....They've mostly gone away though."

Naruto nodded, though a slightest frown still lingered on his features. Sasuke sighed slightly, something didn't want the boy to worry, but still, he couldn't exactly let anyone else know that. "Yeah, didn't you hear me, you idiot. I'm fine..."

Sasuke and Naruto had just left the Great Hall, when Naruto bolted forward. Sasuke reaction time, slowed by the pain, wasn't nearly fast enough, and the blond boy escaped, though thankfully, he merely crossed to where a girl (he recognized her as Lexi, from the DA, one of the only Ravenclaw's deemed as bold as Luna, she was also as odd as Luna, but in a different way. She'd had several ideas to help torment the death eaters in the castle, get students away, and she'd been able to pull off tricks that only Sasuke had the skill to.)

Nearing them, Sauske was greated with the sound of Naruto talking rapidly, his words a mixture of japanese and english, though it stopped as Sasuke neared. The blond boy grinned at Sasuke, though it didn't completely reach his eyes, and grabbed his arm, presenting him to his friend, the other boy from the forest.

The boy bowed his head slightly in greeting, "A pleasure to meet you. It must take patience, most people can't deal with Naruto right away." The slightest of smiles pulled at one corner of the dark haired boy's lips, though his voice remained neutral as he spoke. "I've been told you are the one who helped us. I thank you." A pause filled the air between them for a moment, his voice had become grave, and soft, tinged with a seriousness Sasuke had only heard from survivors of the war. "We owe you our lives. My name is Shino Aburame."

Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement of the other's thanks. "I did what any of us would do. I spent last year trying to save lives, I don't plan to stop because it's over. It's nice to meet you , Shino. I'm Sasuke Pagano" Even as he spoke, his head gave another throb. The sound of his name sounded almost wrong, suddenly it didn't seem to represent him. He pushed the thought aside, blaming it on the pain. "I hope you're adjusting well to the school."

"Yes, fairly well." Came the reply, almost an informal tone of diplomacy noticable in his tone, "I must admit some of my....housemembers seem odd however..."

"Odd?"

"They pass judgement on insignificant things." Came the reply, "They treat people who act differently like they're wrong. Where I come from, when you live together, work together, die together-something I know that happened here- differences are put aside. You live with it. You do everything you can for your comrads."

Sasuke raised a brow, those words sounded so familiar, yet he couldn't place it. "I agree." he said softly, "But most people don't. Who were they going after Lexi? You or Luna?"

The girl rolled her eyes, "They mostly leave Lune alone, she was like....co-leader with Ginny and Neville last year. Me on the other hand....well...we couldn't let anyone know I did the diry work with you..."

"Dirty work?" That was Naruto, his voice oddly soft, curious.

Sasuke nodded, giving a hallow laugh. "We had to keep our leaders from getting in to much trouble. We had a constant supply of polyjuice potion though. We'd sneak in as them, to the dungeons, a tower, wherever. Hex the hell outta the death eaters, and run. Or we'd sneak nifflers, the occasional Malaclaw, pixies....anything....into the Death eaters rooms....or Snapes too. So much fun. Those were the days. Course...we always had to go seperatly. To much danger together."

Lexi nodded, hazel eyes holding a glint of mischief. "I feel bad about tormenting Professor Snape though. He really didn't deserve it. He really was on our side."

Sasuke nodded, feeling a wave of remorse. "You're right...If only we'd known.....but then.....things would have changed...wouldn't they?"

"Mmm...." The girl agreed, "Life would be different, Harry wouldn't have known, we could all be dead....he was truly a brave man."

"He should have been in Gryffindor...."

"They weren't his people..." Lexi murmured, resting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Even the bravest of us aren't Gryffindors. Even Luna....God knows what she did last year, what she endured in that manor. But she isn't a Gryffindor. She's to cautious, you tend to be reckless, and she'd never truly fit in there. Snape would be the same way. They really aren't his kind of people. He was to cunning, to calculating. That's why he was the spy in the first place."

Sasuke sighed softly, "That's it....its far to early in the year for being depressed. We're finally free, we've got new people. Even Dray's on the right side now....I've got a winning bet of thirty Galleons he's with Harry by easter. Weasle and Granger have stopped annoying Harry. Life is good." He turned to the two new arrivals, and Lexi, grinning. "Who's up for a mini-party in the room of requirement. If you and him," He motioned to Lexi and Shino, "are going to be together as much as Naruto and I. Well....we're going to need to know each other well enough to tolerate each other....I stole Harry's cloak on the way out.....and you've never been caught anywhere, Lexi. With or without company. We'll get back in one peice. Let's get started." His grin grew, and the throbbing headache faded.

Naruto laughed, "Hell yeah! Pary with Sasuke!"

Sasuke sighed, Naruto's gaze met Shino's for one long moment, and he swore, they were communicating. It was odd, he envied them, or rather, Shino. He wondered, and maybe, hoped. That he could be that close to someone.

So.....this.....was written...while medicated. So if there are any problems, tell me and I'll correct them......but otherwise...hope you enjoyed it!

Remember...constructive critism is appreciated. I accept Anonymous reviews. And all reviewers are awesome and loved

Hope you enjoyed the story and see you soon ^_^

and remember.....reviews are like painkillers....they make life better...and they're addicting.

~CP