Castle Guards
Castle Guards
By Ammie Hawk
Disclaimer: If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.
AN: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, I've lost my bounce board. In case you're wondering that's a person who I can bounce ideas off of and have them tell me yes or no. If anyone is interested in this position, just let me know and I will get in touch. And I'll apologize now, this chapter is kinda angsty, though it does lighten up at the end, there's not even any fluff in this chapter, or at least not between our two favorites anyway.
I have also decided who I'm putting with Gaara. He is going to be with Shikamaru, thank you to everyone who gave an opinion, and I have risen to the occasion and will gladly accept the challenge.
I need another opinion though, I haven't decided about Draco Malfoy, should he be good or bad? That will affect how he interacts with Harry and the ninja throughout this story.
Still using bits of HP:OotP.
Alright, enough of my ramblings, on with the story.
"Blah" Japanese
'Blah' thoughts
"Blah" Kyuubi
Chapter 7: Gaara's Wisdom
After reaching the tower, Naruto headed to his bed. He drew the curtains to avoid being interrupted and practically threw himself down on the soft mattress.
'What was that about?' he beat his fist into his pillow.
"What do you think it was, kit?" Kyuubi chuckled. "Neji kissed you, and you liked it, admit it."
'No one asked for your opinion, stupid fox.'
"When has that mattered before?" the fox countered.
'True,' Naruto grumbled. 'So what am I supposed to do now?'
"Well," Kyuubi's voice turned mischievous, "you could always go over and do it again."
'It was a diversionary tactic,' the blonde sighed. 'He didn't mean anything by it, as you could tell by his reaction to Malfoy when he called us boyfriends.'
"You keep telling yourself that, kit."
'What's that supposed to mean?' he asked confused.
"Look underneath the underneath," Kyuubi cooed, curling up for sleep.
'Have you been spending time with Kakashi again?'
"Only when you do, kit," the fox yawned hugely and closed his eyes.
'Hey Kyu?' Naruto yawned.
"What, kit?" he asked sleepily.
'Move over,' the blonde crawled through the bars and curled up next to the demon.
The fox smirked as he wrapped his long tails around his kit protectively.
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Not wanting to make his captain more uncomfortable than he probably already was, Neji waited in the common room till he was sure Naruto would be asleep, and then made his way up the stairs. He tried to avoid his fellow shinobi as they were sure to ask him what was wrong with the blonde, and he managed quite nicely until Kiba cornered him as he was preparing for bed.
"Hey, Nej," the dog ninja said quietly, "what's up with Naruto? He didn't even stay for the party downstairs."
"How should I know?" the pale eyed teen snapped. "I'm not his keeper."
"Could've fooled me," Kiba chuckled, leaning against Neji's bedpost. "Shit, you know more about what he does than Shikamaru, and he fucking lives with him. Did something happen in detention? I mean Harry looked upset, did they get into a fight?"
"They fought at the beginning of the week," Neji shrugged. "From what I know they haven't spoken to one another since."
"Okay," Kiba nodded. "Did you two have a fight?"
Neji turned and glared at the dog lover, "No."
"Don't think that glare will work on me," the other shook his head. "I'm dating Shino, not to mention I have to put up with Hiashi every time I go see Hinata."
Without lowering his glare, Neji pulled the curtains on his bed and disappeared from view.
"If you need to talk, Nej, we're here for you ya know," Kiba sighed and left the room.
As soon as he heard the door click, Neji lay on his back and looked up at the curtains, his hands folded behind his head. He didn't want to talk with anyone at the moment, or at least no one but Naruto. He wanted to explain what happened, but could he?
'What was I thinking?' Neji berated himself. 'I kissed him. I kissed Naruto, my friend, my captain, the future Hokage! He's going to hate me now.'
'But he kissed back,' his mind countered.
'That doesn't mean anything, he was just playing along,' the brunette sighed. 'It could've been anyone that was coming toward us, for all we knew it could've been a teacher, and we couldn't get in trouble for wandering around at night. And then that look in his eyes… No, don't think about that. He looked so utterly helpless, so vulnerable, so… Stop it!'
With a determined move, he sat up. He couldn't just sit here, or he'd do something else he would regret. He activated his Byakugan and quickly scanned the room, making sure no one had entered while he'd been distracted. When he saw no one, he got up and dressed in his training clothes. He then made his way over to the window and out of the tower.
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Draco Malfoy sat in the Slytherin common room late into the night, long after everyone else had gone to bed, even his two faithful cronies. He couldn't stop thinking about what he had seen between the two new students. True, he knew that some guys ended up together in a romantic relationship, he'd just never seen it so obvious before. And strangely enough, it didn't bother him at all. Well that wasn't true, every time he replayed the scene in his head he felt a tightening in his groin. And the look he'd seen in the blonde's eyes afterward… Damn, he wanted to elicit that response from someone.
The Slytherin had always assumed he'd end up with one of the girls from his house, like Pansy Parkinson, who was practically throwing herself at his feet at every turn. But he'd never had this sensation around any of them before. He began going through all the Slytherin girls in his head, picturing the blonde's response on each of their faces, but it did nothing for him. Then he started on some of the guys he knew, just to see if he could get any reaction from his body. To his surprise it worked, on certain people. He had to face the facts: He, Draco Malfoy, was gay. Not that he'd ever tell a soul about it though.
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Harry was the first to awake in his dormitory next morning. He lay for a moment watching dust swirl in the chink of sunlight falling through the gap in his four-poster's hangings and savored the thought that it was Saturday. The first week of term seemed to have dragged on forever, like one gigantic History of Magic lesson.
Judging by the sleepy silence and the freshly minted look of that beam of sunlight, it was just after daybreak. He pulled open the curtains around his bed, got up, and started to dress. The only sound apart from the distant twittering of birds was the slow, deep breathing of his fellow Gryffindors. He opened his schoolbag carefully, pulled out parchment and quill and headed out of the dormitory for the common room.
Making straight for his favorite squashy armchair beside the now extinct fire, Harry settled himself down comfortably and unrolled his parchment while looking around the room. The detritus of crumpled-up bits of parchment, old Gobstones, empty ingredient jars, and candy wrappers that usually covered the common room at the end of each day was gone, as were all Hermione's elf hats. Wondering vaguely how many elves had now been set free whether they wanted to be or not, Harry uncorked his ink bottle, dipped his quill into it, and then held it suspended an inch above the smooth yellowish surface of his parchment, thinking hard…. But after a minute or so he found himself staring into the empty grate, at a complete loss for what to say.
"Difficulties, Potter?" a calm voice came from behind him.
Harry whirled around in his seat and spotted the person standing just inside the window, a huge, strange shaped thing strapped to his back. The glare of the sun, made it almost impossible to distinguish who it was. The figure shifted slightly, causing the thing on his back to cast his face into shadow, revealing his features to the wizard, right down to the dark rings around his pale green eyes and the red tattoo on his forehead.
"Gaara, what are you doing down here?" the wizard asked incredulously.
"This is where I spend most of my nights," the Kazekage shrugged. "At least until that thing shows up to clean and then I go to the roof."
"So you really don't sleep do you?" Harry said more to himself than to the other.
Gaara just shook his head. He walked over to where the wizard was seated and removed the gourd from his back, leaning it against the wall next to him. He turned his impassive stare on Harry, who shrank back in his chair slightly at the scrutiny.
He worked up his courage and said, "Hey Gaara, can I ask you a few questions?"
The redhead nodded almost imperceptibly as he took a seat next to Harry.
"Well, after our first detention, Naruto said something to me, well he kind of yelled it actually," Harry began.
"You got Naruto to yell at you?" A non existent brow rose in surprise. "Seeing as you don't know Uchiha, I'd say you were complaining about the difficulties of your life. Am I correct?"
"How did you know?" the wizard looked at him in shock.
"There are only two reasons Naruto yells at someone," Gaara shrugged, "if they slander one of his friends or his beliefs, or think they have problems bigger than they actually do. Your beliefs are very similar to his, you don't know all his friends and the ones you know you like, and that leaves only one choice."
"So you know him pretty well?" Harry asked.
"He was my first friend," his lip began twitching in the semblance of a smile, "after I was on the receiving end of one of his yelling sprees."
"Anyway," the brunette shook his head, "he said that if I could beat your story, then he'd listen to my complaints. I don't even think I could beat his, but then again, I don't think I got the whole story."
"You never will," Gaara sighed. "But I suppose you want a part of mine?"
"If you don't mind," Harry bit his lip expectantly.
"Very well," the Kazekage settled back in his chair and steepled his hands in front of him. "All my life people hated me, called me a monster, when I discovered why, I lived with my uncle because my father didn't want me."
"Why?" Harry interrupted, not understanding how any parent couldn't want their child.
"He blamed me for my mother's death," jade eyes closed as he continued. "I believe I was five when I asked my uncle why things were like that. He told me it didn't matter what others said, he loved me, my mother loved me, and that was all that mattered. He lied. That same night he tried to kill me, on my father's orders. He told me he hated me and everyone blamed me for my mother's death, and that she didn't love me, she hated me too. He blew himself up trying to kill me. That night I decided I lived only for myself, I loved only myself." His hand raised and traced the tattoo on his forehead. "The assassination attempts continued for several years, until my father lost so many men he decided I would be better off as a weapon. That was my life until I met Naruto and things changed."
"Damn," Harry swore quietly, marveling at how the redhead could talk so calmly about something like that. "He was right, I have no reason to complain. At least all they're doing is talking trash about me. Kankuro was right."
"Everyone has the right to complain," Gaara cocked his head to the side. "Just realize your woes may pale in comparison to others and that you are not the only one out there who has suffered. Naruto is a great man, he hates to see others suffer, and while his life may not have been easy, he managed to not end up like me. Do you know why, Potter?"
"No," he shook his head.
"He had people who cared about him, friends," a ghost of a smile graced the pale features of the Kazekage. "Keep your friends close Harry, for they can save you from a life of misery."
"Wow, thanks Gaara," Harry chuckled slightly. "I agree with you, my friends have made my life so much better than it was before I started school. It's not such a lonely place anymore, and for that I'm grateful. Thanks for talking with me, Gaara."
The wizard reached out to grasp the redhead's hand, but he withdrew it before that happened.
"No, I will not hurt you, Harry Potter," he stood up and grabbed the strap of his gourd. "Thank you, Harry Potter, for taking the time and asking me, I would be happy to consider you one of my friends."
Without a backward glance, he headed up the stairs to the dormitory. Harry sat quite motionless for a while, gazing into the fireplace, contemplating the redhead's words, then finally coming to a decision, he dipped his quill into the ink bottle once more and set it resolutely upon the parchment.
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"Morning," Harry said brightly to Ron, Hermione, and the shinobi, joining them at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.
The ninja waved at him vaguely in response but continued talking as if he hadn't just interrupted them.
"So Shino, do you have everything set for today?" the blond ANBU asked, looking at the bug shinobi.
"Yes, captain," Shino nodded.
"Good," Naruto smiled. "Dumbledore has assured me that he feels the weekends not spent in Hogsmeade are ours for the taking, but I still plan on keeping tabs on our charges. Now does anyone have any suggestions as to where we should train for the day?"
"What about the forest?" Kankuro suggested. "Dumbledore basically gave us permission to use it, as students aren't allowed in there."
"It doesn't look all that imposing, honestly," Kiba shrugged, blushing slightly. "But then again I just barely made it into the trees. But if we go far enough in, we should be able to use our jutsus without bringing suspicion."
"Sounds like a good plan," Naruto rubbed his hands together. "Before we go off and train, how is everyone keeping up on their homework?"
"Shouldn't we be asking you that question, Naruto?" Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Naw, thanks to Neji," he blushed faintly as he said his lieutenant's name, but no one seemed to notice, "I've managed to keep up."
"I've had Shino on my back about me keeping up," Kiba grinned.
Everyone else indicated that they had in fact been keeping up with their studies.
"So, guys," Hermione interrupted their private conversation, "what are you going to do today?"
"I think we're going to explore the grounds today," Naruto answered nonchalantly. "We haven't actually got to see them all yet."
"Just don't go into the forest," the witch admonished quietly. "It's full of all sorts of dangerous things."
"Yeah," Ron leaned over her to address the ninja, "like giant spiders."
"We'll keep that in mind," blue eyes rolled as he shared a look with his companions. "What about you, what are you three doing today?"
"Harry and I have Quidditch practice later," Ron shrugged, "and I have no idea what Hermione's going to do."
"I'm planning on spending time in the library," she sighed in annoyance at Ron. "I'm trying to figure out some information on something I feel is important. Hey, maybe you guys could help me?" she looked at them hopefully.
"What would you like help with?" asked Neji, hoping that if it was something he could do he would get out of training for the day. Not that he didn't want to train, he just needed some distance between himself and his blonde captain.
"Well," she leaned in and motioned the shinobi closer, "I've been trying to discover more information on the hidden ninja communities. They are supposedly located in a remote area of Japan, maybe you guys have heard something about them? The five main villages are Konoha, Suna, Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo. The scroll I got from the library is terribly vague."
"Leaf, Sand, Rock, Mist, and Cloud, hmm? Sorry, we can't help you," Gaara said firmly, causing all the shinobi to lean back with blank faces, which caused the witch's eyes to narrow suspiciously.
After breakfast the shinobi left the Great Hall and made their way to the Forbidden Forest, stealthily of course. Once they deemed they were far enough away from prying eyes, they paired off. Kiba and Shino were of course the first two paired together as they had always trained together, having been on the same team since they became Genin. Temari decided to give Kankuro a break and train with him, so he didn't have to face their younger brother in combat, mock or not. Sakura looked between the three remaining boys and decided her best bet would be Neji, as the other two were practically powerhouses, which left Naruto to spar with Gaara, not that either of them minded in the least. Naruto was actually glad that he wasn't sparing with his long haired lieutenant.
They had been training for almost an hour when Neji spotted something with his Byakugan. He motioned for Sakura to halt their spar and turned to the Kazekage and his captain.
"Something approaches," he said, no trace of emotion in his voice as he met the blue eyes of the demon vessel for the first time that day.
"Well, what is it?" Naruto asked, sending two kunai out to halt the other spars in the clearing.
"I'm not sure," the brunette shook his head.
"To the trees," Gaara tossed his head in the direction of the treetops.
Without another word, all eight of them were concealed among the foliage. A moment later, Neji's something appeared. Was it a horse, or a man? It looked to be a combination of both, from the waist up it looked like a man with white blonde hair, but waist down was the palomino body of a horse.
"Don't stop on my account," the creature looked to the trees, smiling vaguely.
Naruto and Gaara dropped from their perches. They stood before the creature, eyeing him warily. The creature looked back at them, his smile never wavering.
"What are you?" the blonde asked tactlessly, as usual.
"I am a centaur," the creature said softly. "You may call me Firenze."
"Naruto Uzumaki," he shrugged.
"Gaara."
"Will your friends not come down and join you?" Firenze asked, tilting his head to the side.
Naruto brought his hand down in a swift slash, and the other six joined them on the forest floor. The blonde made the introductions.
"I would warn you foals not to wander this far into the forest," the centaur shook his head, "but from what I have seen, you are no foals."
"Foals?" Naruto's brow scrunched together in confusion.
"Foals are young horses, kit," Kyuubi filled in helpfully. "It's like me calling you kit, only he basically said you weren't kits."
"Of course we're not," the blonde answered out loud, though the shinobi all recognized the signs of him speaking with his inner demon. "Hell, all of us are legally adults (1)."
"Only where we come from, Naruto," Sakura reminded him gently.
"You should leave, before others come," said Firenze suddenly. "My fellow centaurs are not as understanding of humans as I."
"Thanks Firenze," Kiba grinned at the horse man, taking a liking to him, "we'll probably be seeing ya around."
On their way back to the castle, Naruto slowed his pace and lagged behind the others, hoping to lose them for a bit to think. Unfortunately for him, Gaara noticed his friend's behavior and matched his pace to fall in step with the blonde. Once the others were out of earshot, the redhead turned and studied his companion closely, effectively halting their progress toward the castle.
"Talk to me, Naruto," the Kazekage commanded quietly, knowing something was on the Leaf ANBU's mind.
"Promise you won't laugh," the blonde asked quietly.
"Do I ever?" Gaara countered, lifting a non existent brow curiously.
"No, I guess you don't," he chuckled softly. "Okay then, honestly, I think Kyu's making me feel things I shouldn't."
"What type of things?" the redhead asked.
"Feelings for another person," Naruto answered vaguely.
"Impossible," Gaara shook his head. "I know from experience. Mind telling me who this person is? You know I won't judge you."
"Well," the blonde sighed, "something happened last night with Neji."
Gaara remained silent, waiting for his friend to get to the point in his own time.
"He wanted to talk to me about what was going on with me and Harry, and then he sensed someone coming, and… and he kissed me."
"I see," the Kazekage nodded encouragingly. "And Kyuubi?"
"Kyuubi has been rather forward about his feelings for Neji in the past week," Naruto ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "He's threatened to do some really embarrassing things to him."
"Naruto," Gaara reached out and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder, "know that no matter what the demon inside you feels toward another, he cannot make you feel anything that is not already there. Trust me, if it had been up to Shukaku I would've bedded Kankuro on numerous occasions."
"Shu liked Kankuro?" he gaped at the former demon vessel.
"Indeed," the redhead nodded slightly. "But I never acted on it, because I didn't feel the same. However, if you find your lieutenant to be appealing, I don't see what the problem is."
"Of course you wouldn't," Naruto chuckled. "Gaara, I can't just, as you put it, bed Neji. One, I'm not you, and two, I don't know if he feels the same way. Last night, I froze, I don't know why he kissed me but he did, but I think he only did it to save us from getting in trouble."
A smirk graced the pale features of the Kazekage, "Naruto, the fact that he kissed you speaks for itself. You may have froze up, but I have never heard of the formidable Hyuuga prodigy freezing up in the face of a tense situation, he may have acted on impulse, as that reaction is highly unusual, otherwise he would've just grabbed you and either transported away or hid. As an ally of your village, I am kept informed of the outcome of all but the most classified of missions (2). You will learn all this when you begin your training."
"You know I haven't heard you talk this much in a long time," Naruto cocked his head to the side, looking at his friend in wonder. "And I'll keep what you said in mind, though from what I can tell, Neji's pretty upset about what happened. He won't even look at me."
"Hn," the redhead grunted, choosing not to comment on the latter part of Naruto's speech. "It seems to be a good day for talking, as Harry got me to talk with him this morning."
"Oh, he did," the blonde smiled. "I'm glad, I wondered if he would take the time to talk with you, I guess I should forgive him for what he said then. At least he's not wallowing in self-pity anymore."
"You have a funny way of teaching lessons, Naruto," Gaara smirked again.
At that moment they heard arguing coming their way. They turned and saw Ron and Harry coming toward them on their way to the castle, followed by Malfoy and his goons. Malfoy was taunting the Gryffindors and the two shinobi could tell that Potter was about to lose his temper. As if on cue, Harry raised his wand and pointed it directly at the blonde wizard, as the Slytherin did the same.
"Time to intervene?" Naruto looked expectantly at the Kazekage, who nodded in agreement.
In a movement that none of the wizards saw, Naruto had grabbed Harry's wand hand and pointed it to the sky, as Gaara grabbed Malfoy's and mimicked the motion. The three other wizards looked at the two shinobi, wondering if they should step in and help their respective friends.
"Leave," the Kazekage snapped, in a tone that demanded obedience.
Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle hastened away with many backward glances, but didn't want to anger the stoic redhead. Gaara removed Malfoy's wand from his grasp and held it loosely in his hand. Naruto did the same with Harry.
"Let me go, you freaks," Malfoy sneered. "Just be grateful, Potty, that these two freaky friends of yours stepped in."
"I don't need their help, Malfoy, not against a slimy Slytherin git like you," Harry snapped back.
"Enough," Gaara said quietly, but it was enough for the wizards to stop the next words coming from their mouths. "I have no doubt you are both more than capable of demeaning each other. However, this spat ends now. Now kiss and make up."
"Wh-what?" both wizards looked at him as if he was out of his mind.
Gaara just crossed his arms over his chest, staring them down. Naruto shook his head in disbelief, but knew better than to cross the redhead when he was like this.
"You'd better do it," Naruto gave Harry a shove forward. "Gaara can get pretty mean when he's not obeyed."
The two wizards approached each other slowly, their eyes darting fearfully in Gaara's direction. As they closed the distance, they seemed more reluctant to follow orders, neither wanting to be the first into action.
"Let's get this over with, Potter," Malfoy sneered, pulling Harry forward by his robes and planting his lips against the Gryffindor's.
They parted after a few moments, both of them rubbing their mouths comically, as if it would help erase what had just happened. Gaara nodded and handed Malfoy his wand back.
"Now get up to the castle, and no more fighting, or you'll have to do it again," said the Kazekage in all seriousness.
Naruto handed Harry his wand and both wizards sprinted up to the castle, trying to get away from the crazy redhead behind them. As soon as they were far enough away, Naruto doubled up in a fit of hysterical laughter.
"What was that about?" he choked out, trying to gain control.
Gaara shrugged, "That is how we settle arguments in our house."
"Really?" the blonde sobered immediately. "Why?"
"I don't know," the Kazekage's brow furrowed in thought. "Temari started it after she realize I wouldn't kill Kankuro during our arguments. It works though, if we are forced to kiss then we don't fight for several weeks, knowing that if we do we'll have to relive the experience. It works with all three of us, except when we're all arguing together then no one tells us to kiss and make up, those arguments can go on for days."
"That's too funny," Naruto started chuckling again. "Anyway, you think those two will not argue for quite some time now?"
"I'm not sure," he shrugged. "At least if they do, they'll make sure I'm not around first."
The two of them made their way up to the castle and joined the others in the Great Hall for lunch.
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The rest of that day and the next passed rather uneventfully. The shinobi were hesitant to head back into the forest since Firenze's warning. Not that they wouldn't try later, they just didn't feel like pressing their luck so soon after being caught in the first place.
Apparently, or at least to Naruto, Harry hadn't mentioned his punishment for arguing with Malfoy in front of Gaara, as his friends weren't yelling at the Kazekage. Not that the blonde minded at all, he was just glad he was there to witness it, that had been funny as hell and had completely taken his mind off his depressing thoughts on his lieutenant.
Neji, however, was still pondering what his next course of action should be. Should he talk with his captain about it or just ignore it as Naruto seemed to be doing. He wasn't sure if talking would accomplish anything but more awkwardness, but he couldn't ignore it. So he was left to fret about it on his own.
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Later that night, Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat in the common room, the first two still working on their homework. Hermione finally grabbed their essays and began correcting them.
It was now past midnight and the common room was deserted but for the three of them and Crookshanks, or so they thought. None of them noticed the three shinobi sitting on the ceiling above them.
Suddenly Harry slid to the floor in front of the fire. Naruto, Gaara, and Temari watched closely as the three students talked to the head of a man they recognized as Sirius Black. When he finally disappeared, Hermione sat back in her chair, motioning for the two boys to follow suit.
"Have either of you noticed something odd about the transfer students?" she asked quietly.
"Like what, Hermione?" Ron looked at her confused. "I mean they all have something strange about them, don't they? I mean there's Neji's eyes which make him look like he's blind, Gaara's sleep habit or rather lack thereof, Naruto's weird zoning out and the fact that he's seen You-Know-Who, Kiba and his dog, Shino, well he's just weird, Kankuro and his torture thing, I don't know about the two girls, they seem alright."
"Sakura and Temari are strange in their own right," Hermione shook her head. "But no, that's not what I meant. I meant like yesterday when I asked them about the hidden ninja communities, they all got a strange look on their face when Gaara said they couldn't help, like he was their leader or something."
"Gaara's scary," Ron shuddered.
"Yeah, even Naruto says so," Harry shrugged and then barely repressed a shudder. "Do you know what he made me do yesterday?"
"What?" the other two looked at him curiously, while up on the ceiling Naruto quickly covered his mouth to stop his laughter.
"You remember the fight he and Naruto interrupted between me and Malfoy?" he looked at Ron, who nodded. "Well as soon as you were gone he told us off and then made us kiss to make up."
Temari's eyes flew to her younger brother in question.
"You're not serious, mate?" Ron asked scandalized.
"Yeah, I am," Harry nodded. "He said 'Now kiss and make up.' And he forced us to do it to, with Naruto's help of course."
"That's just sick and wrong, mate, I feel for ya," Ron made a face.
"He's used to getting his way," Hermione said thoughtfully. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this. You know, before this year, Hogwarts has never had a transfer student, never. There's something strange about that, and the fact that they stayed at Headquarters before coming to school."
"So are you saying we shouldn't befriend them?" Harry asked confused. "Cause if it comes right down to it, they support the cause, and believe that Voldemort is back."
"I'm not saying that at all," Hermione shook her head. "Quite the opposite in fact, keep them in your confidence, gain their trust and see if you can find anything out about them."
"You think they might be spies of some sort?" Ron whispered.
"I don't know," she sighed. "But there's definitely something off about them and I want to know what it is."
1. In any story that I write for Naruto they come of age at fifteen, since the mortality rate of ninja is so high.
2. I don't think that's how it actually works but I'm gonna go with it cause I want to, and since Gaara's so close to Naruto and owes Konoha a life debt basically.
Ammie: I'm sorry if this chapter is kinda off, but as I stated earlier, I don't have my bounce board any more so I'm the only one who's imputing into the story at the moment. And I'm trying to break away from the book to some extent, especially with Malfoy. But as I stated earlier that is still up in the air and I value your opinion on that matter.
Thank you to Star-cat271191 for catching my mistaking foul for foal, but it has been corrected now.