Castle Guards
Castle Guards
By Ammie Hawk
Disclaimer: As if I haven't said it enough already, I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter, I just love them both to death.
AN: I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter out. I had a bit of a block as to what to do with the classes. Also I argued with myself for several days as to whether or not I should put a lemon in this chapter, but I finally decided I wouldn't. If ya'll want a lemon in the next chapter or so let me know (except between Neji and Naruto, I am going to do that lemon much later) and I'll be happy to do it, but at this point I figured I'd wait.
On another note, I would like you, the audience, to help me figure something out, I'm currently debating on who should get together with Gaara. At the moment I've got him briefly with an OC, Neji's sister to be exact, who will not have a huge role in this story but will in the sequel. Yes I've already got a sequel planned. But I've also recently considered putting him with Shikamaru. I know that's a really strange pairing but I would make it work. If you have any other suggestions let me know, or pick from the two I have. And just so you know I have most of the pairings decided and I'm not gonna break up another pair to put with him, Shika being the exception. I won't say who I've got together at this point it'll ruin parts of this story and the sequel.
Before I forget there were a couple of questions from reviewers that I thought I should address here. The first of which is why Kakashi and Iruka are there and what would happen to them when Hagrid came back. Well to answer that question, they're in there cause I love those two, they are my favorite senseis, and they are at the castle as actual guards of the school and when Hagrid comes back they'll move to Hogsmeade and guard from there, Dumbledore just doesn't want people to know he's hired ninja to work for him.
The second is concerning the shinobi's wands. Most of it is explained in this chapter but I didn't go into too much detail. The wands they have are just sticks made to look like wands, since they don't actually use magic. They channel their chakra through them and produce the same results as magic though. Dumbledore gave them to the shinobi with the rest of their supplies since he already knew this little tidbit of information.
Well, enough of my ramblings, on to the real reason you're all here.
"Blah" Japanese
'Blah' Thoughts
"Blah" Kyuubi
Chapter 6: Detentions and Fights
Naruto made his way to the Great Hall. He hated that he'd had to get in trouble like that, not to mention that he gave away vital information to a potential enemy. He sat down at the Gryffindor table and began piling food on his plate, not really paying attention to what he grabbed.
"I'm impressed Naruto," a voice said behind him, "getting into trouble already."
"Leave me alone, Kakashi," the blonde sighed, not looking up at his former sensei.
"What? No excuse for what happened today?" the masked ninja shook his head sadly. "I can actually say I'm surprised at you. I didn't think you'd want this experience to be like your academy days."
"It's not like I wanted to get in trouble," snapped Naruto. "I had to do it, I do have a job to do."
"Alright, alright," Kakashi held up his hands, trying to placate the blonde. "I'll drop it for now, just be a bit more careful."
"Fine, Kakashi," blue eyes rolled in frustration.
Naruto ate a few bites and then pushed his plate away from himself, not feeling hungry at all. He waited until he saw Neji and the other shinobi enter the Hall, and then made his excuses and went up to Gryffindor Tower. He sat in the shadows and started thinking about his first day in this wizarding school. So far things weren't going his way. He had gotten on the wrong side of two teachers in one day, made a fool of himself in his very first class, and that was only the beginning. He was starting to dread this mission.
He had just bowed his head to begin a form of meditation Jiraiya had taught him, when he heard the portrait hole open. He glanced up to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter. They didn't see him as they took the three chairs closest to the fire. He listened in on their conversation unashamedly. But something at the end grabbed his attention like nothing else could.
"Don't start arguing again," said Harry wearily, as Ron opened his mouth to retaliate. "Can't we just…."
"You're right, Harry, we shouldn't argue," Hermione shook her head. "Besides, I wanted to discuss something with the two of you before we're interrupted."
Both boys looked at her curiously.
"Remember what Moody said on the platform yesterday about those hidden ninja villages?" she asked quietly, causing Naruto to lean in a bit to hear better.
"Yeah, what about them?" asked Ron, not seeing the relevance of the conversation.
"Well, I've been thinking," she bit her lip. "What if they actually existed? What if we could make contact with them and gain support for the cause?"
"You heard Moody," Harry sighed. "They're basically a myth. No one knows if they actually exist."
"No one thought the Chamber of Secrets existed either," retorted Hermione. "Anyway, I went to the library today."
"Big surprise there," Ron rolled his eyes.
"Well, I talked to Madam Pince about it, and she said the only thing they had on that subject was in the restricted section," Hermione gave them each a pointed look. "If I can get the book on it, we might be able to find them."
"Don't you think Dumbledore would've thought about that already?" said Ron incredulously.
"Not if he thinks it's a myth," she sighed in frustration. "Anyway, I'm going tomorrow to check it out, Professor Vector already gave me permission. We'll know more then."
Harry sighed, deciding to change the subject, "Let's just do that homework, get it out of the way…."
Naruto decided it was now safe to make his presence known. He walked over to them and cleared his throat.
"Oh, Naruto, we didn't see you," Hermione shook her head.
"I noticed," he smirked. "Anyway, I was wondering if I could ask you guys a few questions."
"Sure," Harry shrugged, remembering how the shinobi had stood up to Umbridge with him.
"Are all the teachers here asses or did I just get lucky on the first day?" he sat down on the floor before the fire.
"You just got lucky," Ron chuckled. "I tried to warn you this morning."
"Damn," Naruto sighed. "I was hoping I was just wrong. Anyway, why do people not believe that Voldemort is back? I mean, yeah, he's trying to keep out of sight, but if you know where to look you can find him. Shit, I did."
"About that," Hermione bit her lip. "How did you meet up with You-Know-Who?"
"Long story," he shrugged. "But I did see him and I think he's an ass."
"Wow, I've never heard anyone talk so flippantly about You-Know-Who before," Ron looked impressed.
"Anyway, another question," the blonde smiled faintly. "Harry, what has the Ministry done to you since you admitted you saw Voldemort return?"
"Well besides encouraging the Daily Prophet to lie about me," Harry sighed, "they tried to have me expelled before school started. And now Umbridge is here to make my life a living nightmare, I'm sure."
"Oh, I see," Naruto nodded. "So can I join you guys in doing some homework, I would wait for Neji but he's probably got something else to do."
"Sure," Harry shrugged.
They collected their schoolbags from a corner and returned to their respective seats. People were coming back from dinner now. Harry kept his face averted from the portrait hole, but could still sense the stares he was attracting.
"Shall we do Snape's stuff first?" said Ron, dipping his quill into his ink. "The properties… of moonstone… and its uses… in potion-making…" he muttered, writing the words across the top of his parchment as he spoke them. "There." He underlined the title, then looked up expectantly at Hermione.
"You know," Naruto threw his quill back in his bag. "I'm not in the mood to do homework, can you guys point me to the kitchen. I need something to eat."
"We just had dinner," Hermione shook her head. "Surely you can't still be hungry."
"Actually, I didn't eat," he shrugged. "And if you can't tell me how to get to the kitchen, I'll find my own way, though it could take awhile."
"Here Naruto," Neji threw down a small pouch as he passed the blonde.
He opened it revealing a rather nice portion of food and smiled up at the brunette, "Thanks Nej."
"So what happened in McGonagall's office?" Neji asked quietly.
"I got detention with Umbridge for a week," the blonde shrugged. "So did Harry. It's gonna suck, but you know how things work."
Neji nodded and sat down beside his captain and looked at the other three, "So are you starting on homework?"
Before anyone could answer him, Hermione stood up and crossed the room. She began telling off Fred and George for something that neither Neji nor Naruto cared about at that moment. Shortly there after, both Hermione and Harry headed up to their respective beds.
"So Neji," Naruto began as he finished the food, "wanna help me with my homework? I'll never finish it on time, or at all, if I don't get some help."
"Sometimes I wonder about you, Naruto," the brunette smirked as he began pulling books out of his own bag.
They finished all they could of their homework and then headed up to their dormitory.
8888888
The next day Kiba was the first shinobi to wake, aside from Gaara who hadn't slept, because he had to take Akamaru outside for his morning walk. He wandered around aimlessly for awhile, letting Akamaru do as he pleased, until he spotted the Forbidden Forest and decided to go check it out. He had just entered the tree line when a voice caused him to stop in his tracks.
"The headmaster said students weren't allowed in here."
"Well, I just got curious," Kiba smirked as he faced the person behind him.
"And here I thought that was a cat quality," the other smirked.
Kiba growled and pounced on the other teen, effectively pinning him to the ground.
"Feeling playful this morning, are we, Kiba?" said Shino, making no attempt to free himself from the dog ninja's grasp even though the ground was wet from the rain and scattered drops were falling through the canopy of trees.
"Always," Kiba grinned.
He leaned forward and captured the bug ninja's lips with his own in a searing kiss, which Shino returned fervently. Shino quickly took control of the kiss, forcing his tongue into the other's mouth and flipping them so he was now on top.
Kiba moaned slightly, reveling in the feel of his lover's embrace.
8888888 AN: there is no time skip here, it's the same morning.
The following day dawned just as leaden and rainy as the previous one. The ninja followed their charges down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
"But on the bright side, no Snape today," said Ron bracingly.
The shinobi had no clue what he was referring to but kept that to themselves as they ate and reviewed their schedules for the day. It appeared that they all had the same classes today.
Double Charms was succeeded by double Transfiguration. Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall both spent the first fifteen minutes of their lessons lecturing the class on the importance of O.W.L.s.
"What you must remember," said little Professor Flitwick squeakily, perched as ever on a pile of books so that he could see over the top of his desk, "is that these examinations may influence your futures for many years to come! If you have not already given serious thought to your careers, now is the time to do so."
This caused all the shinobi to smirk, as they already had the careers they wanted, or close enough.
"And in the meantime, I'm afraid, we shall be working harder than ever to ensure that you all do yourselves justice!"
They then spent more than an hour reviewing Summoning Charms, which according to Professor Flitwick were bound to come up in their O.W.L.
"Can you believe these people summon things with this tiny little stick?" Naruto whispered to Temari, who he was working with today.
"I can't see how they could summon any animals though, without signing the contract," she whispered back. "And without the use of seals this is going to be difficult."
"I know," he shook his head.
"Try focusing your chakra through the 'wand'," Neji suggested quietly. "To explain it best, it is similar to what I do with my Gentle Fist, just force chakra through the wood and attach it to the thing you want to summon to you. And of course say the words required, just to make it look convincing."
"And what are you three muttering about over here?" Flitwick asked, coming over to the three shinobi.
"Nothing important, sir," Neji bowed his head respectfully and flicked his wand toward the pillows they were summoning. "Accio."
He caught the pillow deftly with his other hand and handed it to the diminutive professor.
"Very impressive," Flitwick squeaked.
Neji just shrugged and went back to the task at hand.
Flitwick rounded off the lesson by setting them their largest amount of Charms homework ever.
It was the same, if not worse, in Transfiguration.
"You cannot pass an O.W.L.," said Professor McGonagall grimly, "without serious application, practice, and study. I see no reason why everybody in this class should not achieve an O.W.L. in Transfiguration as long as they put in the work." Neville made a sad little disbelieving noise. "Yes, you too, Longbottom," said Professor McGonagall. "There is nothing wrong with your work except lack of confidence. So… today we are starting Vanishing Spells. These are easier than Conjuring Spells, which you would not usually attempt until N.E.W.T. level, but they are still among the most difficult magic you will be tested on in your O.W.L."
She was quite right; Harry found the Vanishing Spell horribly difficult. By the end of a double period, neither he nor Ron had managed to vanish the snails on which they were practicing, though Ron said hopefully that he thought his looked a bit paler. They were happy to note that most of the shinobi, who had seemed quite adept in their other classes, were also having some difficulty. Hermione, on the other hand, successfully vanished her snail on the third attempt, earning her a ten-point bonus for Gryffindor from Professor McGonagall.
"Excuse me, Uzumaki," she said as she passed his table. "Do you find this lesson to be a waste of your time, or do you simply not understand the concept of the spell?"
"Huh?" he looked at her confused.
"You have sat her for the past half an hour and done nothing," her lips thinned dangerously.
"Well, yeah," he shook his head. "Of course I've had nothing to do for half an hour, I completed the task."
"I beg your pardon?" half the class was now looking at the blonde shinobi.
"Yeah, as soon as you gave us the damn slug, I 'Vanished' it," Naruto rolled his eyes. "It wasn't that difficult. Of course, having to get rid of evidence all the time does help with that. And that thing was so small it only took about a minute."
"Prove it," McGonagall grabbed another snail and placed it in front of the blonde.
He glanced at it for a moment and then flicked his wand. The snail disappeared in an instant. From his right, Neji smirked at the cockiness of his captain.
'Of course Naruto would get this spell,' he thought humorously. 'As squad leader he is in charge of disposing of any trace of our existence in an area.'
"That, Uzumaki, is the best Vanishing Spell I have ever seen," she gave him a half smile. "Take ten points for Gryffindor. I am glad to see that you learned your lesson yesterday and have started applying yourself to your studies."
Naruto just shrugged. He and Hermione were the only people not given homework; everybody else was told to practice the spell overnight, ready for a fresh attempt on their snails the following afternoon.
Now panicking slightly about the amount of homework they had to do, Harry and Ron spent their lunch hour in the library looking up the uses of moonstones in potion-making. Naruto and Neji worked at a nearby table on Flitwick's homework, while Gaara sat at another table with his arms crossed just staring at the two wizards.
Still angry about Ron's slur on her woolly hats, Hermione did not join them. She came into the library but didn't stop to talk with Ron or Harry as she made her way to the librarian's desk and handed Madam Pince a note. Temari sauntered in and sat with her brother.
"We have a problem," she said quietly, Gaara cocked his head slightly to show he was listening. "Hermione is digging into the Hidden Ninja Community. She just came here to retrieve the only book the library has on the subject. If she figures out what we are, the mission is compromised."
"No, it won't be," the Kazekage shook his head a fraction of an inch, his eyes never leaving Ron. "Any reports this wizarding community has on us will be incomplete at best. It is the ninja way."
"Of course," the blonde kunoichi nodded and made to get up as Hermione left the library, slipping the scroll into her backpack as she went.
By the time they reached Care of Magical Creatures in the afternoon, Harry's head was aching again.
The day had become cool and breezy, and, as they walked down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid's cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they felt the occasional drop of rain on their faces. Professor Grubbly-Plank stood waiting for the class some ten yards from Hagrid's front door, a long trestle table in front of her laden with many twigs. As Harry, Ron, and the shinobi reached her, a loud shout of laughter sounded behind them; turning, they saw Draco Malfoy striding toward them, surrounded by his usual gang of Slytherin cronies. He had clearly just said something highly amusing, because Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, and the rest continued to snigger heartily as they gathered around the trestle table. Judging by the fact that all of them kept looking over at Harry, he and the shinobi were able to guess the subject of the joke without too much difficulty.
"Everyone here?" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank, once all the Slytherins and Gryffindors had arrived. "Let's crack on then—who can tell me what these things are called?"
She indicated the heap of twigs in front of her. Hermione's hand shot into the air. Behind her back, Malfoy did a buck-toothed imitation of her jumping up and down in eagerness to answer a question, which caused Sakura to crack her knuckles menacingly. Pansy Parkinson gave a shriek of laughter that turned almost at once into a scream, as the twigs on the table leapt into the air and revealed themselves to be what looked like tiny pixieish creatures made of wood, each with knobbly brown arms and legs, two twiglike fingers at the end of each hand, and a funny, flat, barklike face in which a pair of beetle-brown eyes glittered.
"Oooooh!" said Parvati and Lavender, thoroughly irritating Harry.
"Kindly keep your voices down, girls!" said Professor Grubbly-Plank sharply, scattering a handful of what looked like brown rice among the stick-creatures, who immediately fell upon the food, which caused Shino to cringe slightly and close his eyes. "So—anyone know the names of these creatures? Miss Granger?"
"Bowtruckles," said Hermione. "They're tree-guardians, usually live in wand-trees."
"Five points to Gryffindor," said Professor Grubbly-Plank. "Yes, these are bowtruckles and, as Miss Granger rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?"
"Wood lice," said Hermione promptly, which explained why what Harry had taken for grains of brown rice were moving. "But fairy eggs if they can get them."
"Good girl, take another five points. So whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of wood lice ready to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will gouge out human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs. So if you'd like to gather closer, take a few wood lice and a bowtruckle—I have enough here for one between three—you can study them more closely. I want a sketch from each of you with all body parts labeled by the end of the lesson."
The class surged forward around the trestle table. The shinobi decided to make their groups before going after one of the strange little creatures on the table. Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari formed one group, while Sakura joined Shino and Kiba, leaving Naruto and Neji to find one of the wizards to join them, finally ending up with Neville Longbottom.
Sakura grabbed a bowtruckle for their group as Shino gathered a small amount of wood lice.
"Are you alright, Shino?" the medic asked quietly, once she was sure all the other groups were working and not paying them any heed. "You looked almost sick a moment ago."
"I'm fine," he shook his head. "It was the bugs, it hurt my ears."
"I see," she nodded in understanding. "We don't have to feed any to ours, I can bind it with chakra till we're done."
"It is the way of things," he shrugged. "Some things have to die for others to live."
"Then I'll grab a headache draught after class to ease the pain," she smiled slightly.
"Thank you, Sakura," he nodded, letting the small creatures in his hand free on the ground.
Over at the Sand siblings' group things were not going well. Kankuro had grabbed a large handful of the bugs but even at that the bowtruckle wouldn't hold still. Finally, Gaara reached out and grabbed it, so the others could do the assignment. The bowtruckle didn't like that one bit, and tried to sink razor sharp fingers into his hand, which caused his sand to jump into action.
"Mr. Sabaku!" Grubbly-Plank snapped, as the bowtruckle was reduced to splinters. "I said nothing of killing the poor creatures. Five points from Gryffindor, and you will now have detention until you can properly take care of one without killing it."
Green eyes locked on the professor in an impassive stare. Much could be said for Professor Grubbly-Plank when she didn't look away or cower from the gaze. The Kazekage nodded slightly and went back to work, copying off his sister's paper.
When the bell rang, the shinobi followed their charges to the greenhouses. Sakura pulled a small scroll out of her bag and surreptitiously did a few hand signs and pulled it open and a small vial fell into her hand, which she handed to Shino.
To nobody's surprise, Professor Sprout started their lesson by lecturing them about the importance of O.W.L.s. Then she set them up trimming something or other around the greenhouse. Naruto got in trouble and lost Gryffindor another five points when he tried to trim the Venomous Tentacula instead of what they were actually supposed to be doing.
After class, Naruto followed Harry to the Great Hall to eat before their detention with Umbridge. Harry was stopped by a very angry Angelina Johnson but Naruto didn't stick around to hear what she had to say as he was exceedingly hungry.
At five to five Harry and Naruto bade the others good-bye and set off for Umbridge's office on the third floor. When Harry knocked on the door she said, "Come in," in a sugary voice. He entered cautiously, looking around. Naruto, however, just sauntered in with his hands in his pockets, looking bored.
The surfaces of the office had all be draped in lacy covers and cloths. There were several vases full of dried flowers, each residing on its own doily, and on one of the walls was a collection of ornamental plates, each decorated with a large technicolored kitten wearing a different bow around its neck. These were so foul that Harry stared at them, transfixed, until Professor Umbridge spoke again.
"Good evening, Mr. Potter, Mr. Uzumaki."
Harry started and looked around. He had not noticed her at first because she was wearing a luridly flowered set of robes that blended only too well with the tablecloth on the desk behind her. He noticed however, that Naruto didn't look at all surprised.
"Evening," they said stiffly.
"Well, sit down," she said, pointing toward two small tables draped in lace beside each she had drawn up a straight-backed chair. A piece of blank parchment lay on the tables, apparently waiting for them.
Naruto sat down but Harry didn't. The blonde sighed and waited for the idiotic boy and the stupid professor to finish talking so he could get finished with whatever they were supposed to be doing in this damned detention. Finally, Harry looked away from her, dropped his schoolbag beside his straight-backed chair, and sat down.
"There," said Umbridge sweetly, "we're getting better at controlling our temper already, aren't we? Now, you are going to be doing some lines for me, Mr. Potter, Mr. Uzumaki. No, not with your quill," she added, as Harry bent down to open his bag. "You're going to be using a rather special one of mine. Here you are."
She handed them each a long, thin black quill with an unusually sharp point.
"I want you to write 'I must not tell lies,'" she told them softly.
"How many times?" Harry asked, with a creditable imitation of politeness.
"Oh, as long as it takes for the message to sink in," said Umbridge sweetly. "Off you go."
She moved over to her desk, sat down, and bent over a stack of parchment that looked like essays for marking. Harry raised the sharp black quill and then realized what was missing.
"You haven't given us any ink," he said.
"Oh, you won't need ink," said Professor Umbridge with the merest suggestion of a laugh in her voice.
"You understand what she's saying, right kit?" Kyuubi asked.
'Yeah, I get it, I can smell the blood on the quill,' he sighed audibly as he set the quill to the parchment. 'I get to use my own blood for this stupid detention. Hey, Kyu, wanna have a bit of fun with this stupid toad?'
"Way ahead of you, kit," the fox gave a huge grin and focused his chakra into Naruto's right hand.
The blonde ANBU was used to pain, and the quill was nothing compared to cutting his own hand open with a kunai, so he just shrugged it off. He almost chuckled, however, when Harry let out a gasp of pain, this boy was so weak if that hurt him, though he had to commend him when he refused to tell Umbridge that he was in pain from her stupid quill.
'Hey, Kyu, what do you think of the school so far?' Naruto asked bored, as his hand continued to scratch out the lines he was supposed to be writing.
"It's nothing like I thought it would be," the fox replied thoughtfully. "I mean I've always known about magic, but the way these wizards use it is quite impressive."
'Yeah, I agree,' the blonde sighed inwardly. 'I thought that I wouldn't learn anything this year, but if nothing else I'm learning better chakra control. I just wish I could use hand signs instead of the stupid stick Dumbledore gave us, it's so troublesome.'
"You've been spending way too much time with Shikamaru, kit," Kyuubi chuckled.
'That I can't help, and you know it,' Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Come here," Umbridge interrupted their conversation.
He and Harry stood up and approached the desk with the toadlike woman sitting behind it.
"Hands," she said.
They each extended their right hands. She took Harry's in her own first.
"Tut, tut, I don't seem to have made much of an impression yet," she said smiling, and then took Naruto's hand and scowled as it looked the same as it always had. "Well, we'll just have to try again tomorrow evening, won't we? You may go."
They left her office without a word. The school was quite deserted; it was surely past midnight. They walked slowly up the corridor.
"Can you believe her?" Harry grumbled, rubbing the back of his hand.
"It wasn't that bad," Naruto rolled his eyes.
Harry gave him an incredulous look, "I just wish everyone would leave me alone. I mean this is so stupid, writing lines cause she doesn't want to see the truth. I hate it that everyone keeps talking about me behind my back."
This pushed Naruto over the edge, "Listen punk, I don't want to hear about your petty little woes, okay? So what if a few people talk about you behind your back? Try having an entire village shun you since the day you were born, just cause the leader of your village decided he would make you the 'savior' of the village. Be glad that most people revere you as a hero, I was supposed to be, but instead I was cast out, rocks thrown at me, parents would usher their kids away from me, and that's nothing compared to the whispers that followed me around most everywhere. I didn't even know why until I was twelve years old. And you know what, my life was peachy compared to Gaara's. If you can beat his story, then you can come whining to me."
Once he was finished he stalked off, leaving a stunned Harry in his wake.
8888888
The rest of the week passed by slowly for Naruto, but finally Friday came and that meant the last of his detentions. He, unlike Harry, had managed to keep up with all his homework, thanks to Neji of course.
He noticed something odd happen to Harry at the end of detention on Friday, but decided not to press the boy for answers. In truth, they hadn't talked since the blonde had blown up after their first detention. But Naruto wasn't going to be the one to break the silence, he was too proud for that. Fuck, he'd managed to not talk to Sasuke for days when they were mad at each other.
As they left Umbridge's office, Neji was waiting for them outside. The brunette eyed the pair curiously, and raised an eyebrow in question to his captain, who shook his head, signaling he didn't want to talk about it.
"Naruto, I wondered if you might accompany me, I have to go to the dungeons to retrieve my Potions book." Neji invented, hoping to get the blonde alone for a moment to talk.
Naruto gave a pointed look at Harry, but Neji just shrugged. "Sure, why now," he finally gave in and let the wizard get further away from them.
"He'll be fine," Neji reassured him as they turned and headed in the opposite direction. "He will head straight for the common room, and I've already told Shino to keep an eye on him for us. We need to talk."
"What about, Nej?" the blonde asked curiously.
"First off, why are you and Harry not speaking to one another?"
"He really pissed me off after our first detention," Naruto sighed. "He was complaining about how hard it's been for him this year."
"Well, from his perspective it has been difficult," Neji pointed out logically.
"That doesn't mean I want to hear about it, Nej!" he threw up his hands in frustration.
"I know," the brunette laid a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder. "I was just trying to point out that Harry isn't like you."
"Was that all, Nej?" Naruto asked in annoyance. "Cause if it was, then you're wasting my time."
"No, it wasn't all," Neji continued on as if his captain's ire didn't bother him at all. "I also wondered what you had planned for our first training session, as the weekend is upon us."
"I don't know," the blonde shrugged. "I figured we'd find someplace secluded, one where hopefully no one would bother looking for us, and we'd all just figure out our own training regimes again. And if anyone wants to spar, that's okay too, just as long as no one gets seriously hurt, cause that would cause problems."
"I see your…" the brunette cut off suddenly. "Someone's coming."
Blue eyes met silver, the former pleading with the other for a solution as to how they could avoid a confrontation with whoever it was. The look was too much for poor Neji. Without thinking, he reached out, grabbed Naruto's shoulders, and pinned him against the wall, capturing the blonde's lips with his own. Naruto's eyes went wide for a moment and then slowly drifted closed, as he returned the kiss, his hands snaking their way into Neji's long mane of hair.
"Way to go, kit," Kyuubi chuckled.
"What the hell!" a voice snarled behind them.
Neji pulled slowly away from his captain and turned to the pale blonde who had instigated this moment in the first place, mentally berating himself for his impulsiveness. Naruto, on the other hand, was slightly dazed from the affect Neji had on him, and the mental images Kyuubi kept sending him.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" the brunette asked calmly, as if he hadn't just been caught in a compromising position with his surperior.
"I was just going to get a snack from the kitchen," replied the Slytherin, "but I think I just lost my appetite. Damn queers."
"What did you say?" Naruto snapped out of his daze and glared at the other blonde.
"Come, Naruto," Neji grabbed his hand and began dragging him away before he injured the wizard. "You should get to bed. It has been a long day for you."
"Yeah, go put your boyfriend to bed," sneered Malfoy. "I'm sure he'd get lost trying to find his own way back to your dormitory anyway."
Naruto lunged, but he wasn't quick enough, Neji reached the Slytherin first. He grabbed him by the front of his robes and lifted him off his feet.
"I would suggest that you keep your comments to yourself, boy, or I'll give you a lesson you'll not soon forget."
Malfoy's pale eyes showed fear and Neji smirked, releasing him. The wizard turned and ran back the way he had come, leaving the two shinobi alone. They didn't speak or even look at each other the whole way up to Gryffindor Tower, but both knew that something had changed between them, whether good or bad, they would have to wait and see.
8888888
Up in the common room, Harry had just sat down with Hermione, ignoring the party around him, anxious to tell her about what happened in Umbridge's office.
"Listen, Hermione, I was just up in Umbridge's office and she touched my arm…"
Hermione listened closely. When Harry had finished she said slowly, "You're worried that You-Know-Who's controlling her like he controlled Quirrell?"
"Well," said Harry, dropping his voice, "it's a possibility, isn't it?"
"I suppose so," said Hermione, though she sounded unconvinced. "But I don't think he can be possessing her the way he possessed Quirrell, I mean, he's properly alive again now, isn't he, he's got his own body, he wouldn't need to share someone else's. He could have her under the Imperius Curse, I suppose…."
Harry watched Fred, George, Kiba, and Lee Jordan juggling empty butterbeer bottles for a moment. Then Hermione said, "But last year your scar hurt when nobody was touching you, and didn't Dumbledore say it had to do with what You-Know-Who was feeling at the time? I mean, maybe this hasn't got anything to do with Umbridge at all, maybe it's just coincidence it happened while you were with her?"
"She's evil," said Harry flatly. "Twisted."
"She's horrible, yes, but… Harry, I think you ought to tell Dumbledore your scar hurt."
It was the second time in two days he had been advised to go to Dumbledore and his answer to Hermione was just the same as his answer to Ron.
"I'm not bothering him with this. Like you just said, it's not a big deal. It's been hurting on and off all summer—it was just a bit worse tonight, that's all—"
"Harry, I'm sure Dumbledore would want to be bothered by this—"
"Yeah," said Harry, before he could stop himself, "that's the only bit of me Dumbledore cares about, isn't it, my scar?"
"Don't say that, it's not true!"
"I think I'll write and tell Sirius about it, see what he thinks—"
"Harry, you can't put something like that in a letter!" said Hermione, looking alarmed. "Don't you remember, Moody told us to be careful what we put in writing! We just can't guarantee owls aren't being intercepted anymore!"
"All right, all right, I won't tell him, then!" said Harry irritably.
"On a lighter note," Hermione changed the subject, "I got that scroll from the library the other day, and I've been reading it. I have to admit it's a bit vague."
"What are you going on about now?" Harry sighed.
"The hidden ninja," she rolled her eyes in annoyance at him not keeping up. "Anyway, I think there might be some form of concealing charm on the scroll. It keeps skipping things and it only shows the names of people who are reported dead. It's frustrating, and I've tried several spells to see if I could remove whatever is keeping me from reading it all, but it doesn't work. But I've found out quite a bit of interesting facts. Like the fact that there are five main villages, and they are all led by what is known as a kage, which is the highest ranking ninja. Then there are six smaller villages."
"As interesting as this is," Harry got to his feet. "I'm going to bed. Tell Ron for me, will you?"
AN: And there you have it, the next chapter. I think I've almost reached the point where I can cut more out of the book but I'm still not too convinced. The stage is being set though. Thanks for reading. Please review, it makes me smile and want to write so much more.