Castle Guards
Castle Guards
By Ammie Hawk
Disclaimer: I can't lay a claim on almost anything at the moment, except maybe my computer.
AN: I have to say I'm impressed with how fast this chapter flew from my head to my hands. But then again I've been planning for this one since the beginning so it isn't all that hard to imagine.
Okay, so the Apparation question is still open, I've only had one person comment on it. Should I put in multiple stops on the way from England to Japan or just have them arrive in Japan?
Also the lemon is planned for the Christmas break so if anyone could help out it would be much appreciated. (I'd get down on my knees and beg, but I don't think anyone would see me.) If not, I'll just wing it and hope for the best.
Oh and once again, using parts of the books.
Alright that's all I have to say at the moment, so on with the show.
"Japanese"
Chapter 15: Old Friends and New Allies
Naruto ran all the way to the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office with Harry firmly in his arms. Harry felt as though the panic inside him might spill over at any moment; he was so glad Naruto was taking him to Dumbledore so quickly. Mr. Weasley was bleeding as they walked/ran, and what if those fangs (Harry tried hard not to think "my fangs") had been poisonous?
"Don't worry, Harry, we'll get there in time," Naruto reassured him. "Move aside you damn thing!" he yelled at the gargoyle.
The gargoyle sprang to life and leapt aside; the wall behind it split in two to reveal a stone staircase that was moving continuously upward like a spiral escalator. But the blonde paid no heed to this fact and took the steps three at a time.
"I love the fact that I don't need a stupid password," he muttered quietly.
Though it was now well past midnight, there were voices coming from inside the room, a positive babble of them. It sounded as though Dumbledore was entertaining at least a dozen people.
Naruto didn't bother to knock, but kicked the door open and the voices ceased abruptly as though someone had switched them all off.
The room was in half darkness; the strange silver instruments standing on tables were silent and still rather than whirring and emitting puffs of smoke as they usually did. The portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses covering the walls were all snoozing in their frames. Behind the door, a magnificent red-and-gold bird the size of a swan dozed on its perch with its head under its wing.
"Oh, it's you, Naruto… and… ah."
Dumbledore was sitting in a high-backed chair behind his desk; he leaned forward into the pool of candlelight illuminating the papers laid out before him. He was wearing a magnificently embroidered purple-and-gold dressing gown over a snowy-white nightshirt, but seemed wide awake, his penetrating light-blue eyes fixed intently on the shinobi.
"Harry had a vision and you need to hear about it," Naruto said quickly, setting Harry down on his feet and motioning for him to explain.
At that moment, McGonagall knocked on the door and led a pale Ron into the room. Dumbledore nodded at them.
"Go ahead," the headmaster waved for Harry to begin.
"I… well, I was asleep…." said Harry and even in his terror and his desperation to make Dumbledore understand he felt slightly irritated that the headmaster was not looking at him, but examining his own interlocking fingers. "But it wasn't an ordinary dream… it was real…. I saw it happen…." He took a deep breath, "Ron's dad—Mr. Weasley—has been attacked by a giant snake."
The words seemed to reverberate in the air after he had said them, slightly ridiculously, even comic. There was a pause in which Dumbledore leaned back and stared meditatively at the ceiling. Ron looked from Harry to Dumbledore, white-faced and shocked.
"How did you see this?" Dumbledore asked quietly, still not looking at Harry.
"Well… I don't know," said Harry, rather angrily—what did it matter? "Inside my head, I suppose—"
"You misunderstand me," said Dumbledore, still in the same calm tone. "I mean… can you remember—er—where you were positioned as you watched this attack happen? Were you perhaps standing beside the victim, or else looking down on the scene from above?"
This was such a curious question that Harry gaped at Dumbledore; it was almost as though he knew…
"I was the snake," he said. "I saw it all from the snake's point of view…."
Nobody else spoke for a moment, then Dumbledore, now looking at Ron, who was still whey-faced, said in a new and sharper voice, "Is Arthur seriously injured?"
"Yes," said Harry emphatically—why were they all so slow on the uptake, did they not realize how much a person bled when fangs that long pierced their side? And why could Dumbledore not do him the courtesy of looking at him? And why the hell was Naruto now so calm, leaning against the door with his arms crossed and his face blank?
But Dumbledore stood up so quickly that Harry jumped, and addressed one of the old portraits hanging very near the ceiling.
"Everard?" he said sharply. "And you too, Dilys!"
A sallow-faced wizard with short, black bangs and an elderly witch with long silver ringlets in the frame beside him, both of whom seemed to have been in the deepest of sleeps, opened their eyes immediately.
"You were listening?" said Dumbledore.
The wizard nodded, the witch said, "Naturally."
"The man has red hair and glasses," said Dumbledore. Everard, you will need to raise the alarm, make sure he is found by the right people—"
Both nodded and moved sideways out of their frames, but instead of emerging in neighboring pictures (as usually happened at Hogwarts), neither reappeared; one frame now contained nothing but a backdrop of dark curtain, the other a handsome leather armchair. Harry noticed that many of the other headmasters and mistresses on the walls, though snoring and drooling most convincingly, kept sneaking peeks at him under their eyelids, and he suddenly understood who had been talking when they had come in.
"Everard and Dilys were two of Hogwarts's most celebrated Heads," Dumbledore said, now sweeping around Harry, Ron, and Professor McGonagall, Naruto had moved over to the wall and was now examining the portraits critically, and approaching the magnificent sleeping bird on his perch beside the door. "Their renown is such that both have portraits hanging in other important Wizarding institutions. As they are free to move between their own portraits they can tell us what may be happening elsewhere…."
"But Mr. Weasley could be anywhere!" said Harry.
"Please sit down, all four of you," said Dumbledore, as though Harry had not spoken. "Everard and Dilys may not be back for several minutes…. Professor McGonagall, if you could draw up extra chairs…"
Professor McGonagall pulled her wand from the pocket of her dressing gown and waved it; four chairs appeared out of thin air, straight-backed and wooden, quite unlike the comfortable chintz armchairs that Dumbledore had conjured back at Harry's hearing. Harry sat down, watching Dumbledore over his shoulder. Dumbledore was now stroking Fawkes's plumed golden head with one finger. The phoenix awoke immediately. He stretched his beautiful head high and observed Dumbledore through bright, dark eyes.
"We will need," said Dumbledore very quietly to the bird, "a warning."
There was a flash of fire and the phoenix had gone.
Dumbledore now swooped down upon one of the fragile silver instruments whose function Harry had never known, carried it over to his desk, sat down facing them again, and tapped it gently with the tip of his wand.
Naruto, who was still inspecting the portraits, turned suddenly and narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore, "Can I commission a portrait to be made? Like these?"
The headmaster looked up from the image provided by the strange instrument and stared at the ninja curiously, "We already have one connected to your village, why?"
"Cause I'd like to fucking talk to Lady Tsunade, duh," blue eyes rolled in annoyance.
"I'm not sure who has the other portrait at the moment, but here," Dumbledore pulled a much smaller frame from a drawer in his desk and handed it to the ANBU.
Naruto took it and stared at the blonde figure that was sleeping in the frame. He had spiky blonde hair and a rather young face, and Naruto could've sworn he looked familiar for some reason but he couldn't put his finger on it. He shook his head and prodded the picture with his finger and the person in it immediately woke.
"Who are you and what do you want?" the portrait asked, instantly alert, telling Naruto he was a ninja.
"You're the Fourth," Naruto said in disbelief, realizing where he'd seen this ninja before.
"I know who I am," the portrait smirked, "now it is only polite to tell me who you are."
"ANBU captain, Uzumaki Naruto," he inclined his head in a semblance of a bow.
"Uzumaki Naruto, huh? I don't know you," the Yondaime shook his head. "How do I know you are telling the truth?"
Naruto turned his back on the other occupants of the room, who weren't paying attention to him anyway, and began searching his pockets, but found nothing.
"Damn it, I forgot," he ran his free hand through his hair. "I don't have my forehead protector anymore, I gave it to someone as cover, but of course you don't know who I am, you died the day I was born."
"Fine," the portrait sighed, "I'll be right back, I'm going to confirm your identity."
The Fourth disappeared from the frame and the younger blonde turned his attention back to the room, where Everard had just reappeared in his portrait, panting slightly.
"Dumbledore!"
"What news?" said Dumbledore at once.
"I yelled until someone came running," said the wizard, who was now mopping his brow on the curtain behind him, "said I heard something moving downstairs—they weren't sure whether to believe me but went down to check—you know there are no portraits down there to watch from. Anyway, they didn't find anything."
"What?!" everyone looked at the portrait confused and alarmed.
"He has to be there," Dumbledore muttered under his breath.
At that moment, the silver-ringletted witch had reappeared in her picture too; she sank, coughing, into her armchair and said, "He was brought in immediately following the attack, they were already working on him when I got there. Apparently, two teens brought him in, foreigners."
"Who were these two teens?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
"I didn't catch any names, but I saw them as they were trying to make themselves understood," Dilys shook her head. "There was a brown haired boy and girl, they had nothing spectacular about them, except their hairstyles, I had never seen the like: the boy's was pulled into a high spiked ponytail and the girl had duel buns on either side of the top of her head and they spoke not a word of English, the Healers were looking for a translator."
"Shika and TenTen?" Naruto muttered in quiet disbelief, but no one heard him.
Before he could question the portrait lady further, the figure returned to the portrait in his hands.
"Well, it appears you are who you say," he shook his head in annoyance. "I just had a very long chat with an old friend about you. Did you really learn the Rasengan in three days?"
"Jiraiya," Naruto rolled his eyes in exasperation. "And yes, I did. Now can you tell that pervy sage to take your portrait to Lady Tsunade, I need to have a word with her."
As the portrait emptied again, the door burst open once more and the other seven shinobi entered the office, followed by the remaining Weasleys. Dumbledore had been doing things around the room, and Naruto was loathe to admit he had missed it in his concentration on his conversation with the Fourth Hokage.
"Harry—what's going on?" asked Ginny, who looked frightened. "They say you saw Dad hurt—"
"Your father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix," said Dumbledore before Harry could speak. "He has been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I am sending you back to Sirius's house, which is much more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there."
"How're we going?" said Fred, looking shaken. "Floo powder?"
"No," said Dumbledore, "Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey." He indicated the old kettle lying innocently on his desk. "We are just waiting for Phineas Nigellus to report back…. I wish to be sure that the coast is clear before sending you—"
There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor.
"It is Fawkes's warning," said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell. "She must know you're out of your beds…. Minerva, go and head her off—tell her any story—"
Professor McGonagall was gone in a swish of tartan. He then turned to study the assembled shinobi.
"I need some of you to accompany them," he said quietly. "You three," he indicated the Sand siblings, "I want you to stay here, as there will only be one student remaining here. I'll say there was an emergency back in the Leaf and the other six had to return home early. You will join them once the holidays start."
"Hai," the three siblings nodded and went out the door.
"He says he'll be delighted," said a bored voice behind Dumbledore; the wizard called Phineas had reappeared in front of his Slytherin banner. "My great-great-grandson has always had odd taste n houseguests…."
"Come here, then," Dumbledore said to Harry, the Weasleys, and the remaining shinobi. "And quickly, before anyone else joins us…"
Harry and the others gathered around Dumbledore's desk.
"You have all used a Portkey before?" asked Dumbledore, and they nodded, each reaching out to touch some part of the blackened kettle. "Good. On the count of three then… one… two…"
Naruto was watching the wizards around him in some trepidation, what were they getting themselves into now? They didn't sign up for this. Then again, when did a mission ever go as planned? He almost chuckled until he noticed a strange expression cross Harry's face, and for a moment, thought the young wizard wanted to kill Dumbledore.
"…three."
There was a powerful jerk behind their navels, the ground vanished from beneath their feet, their hands were glued to the kettle; they were all banging into each other as all sped forward in a swirl of colors and a rush of wind, the kettle pulling them onward and then—
Their feet touched the ground, and only the shinobi managed to keep their feet as the kettle clattered to the ground and somewhere close at hand a voice said, "Back again, the blood traitor brats, is it true their father's dying…?"
"OUT!" roared a second voice.
They had arrived in the gloomy basement kitchen of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. The only sources of light were the fire and one guttering candle, which illuminated the remains of a solitary supper. Kreature was disappearing through the door to the hall, looking back at them malevolently as he hitched up his loincloth; Sirius was hurrying toward them all, looking anxious. He was unshaven and still in his day clothes; there was also a slightly Mundungus-like whiff of stale drink about him.
"What's going on?" he said, stretching out a hand to help Ginny up. "Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured—You six," he indicated the shinobi and motioning for them to head out the door, "are in the same rooms you were in last time, though you now have an extra person each, two for the girls."
"So they are here?" Naruto eyed the Animagus warily. "Shikamaru and TenTen are here?"
"As well as Ino, Choji, and Hinata," Sirius nodded. "Though that's about all I can get out of them before I can't understand them anymore, but they had a letter from Dumbledore so I couldn't turn them away."
"You don't happen to know that translation spell, the one Dumbledore put on us, do you?" Sakura asked curiously.
"I didn't even think about that, they just showed up today," Sirius shrugged. "I'll do that in the morning, I think they're sleeping at the moment."
"Unlikely," Neji scoffed. "Isn't that right, cousin?"
"Hello, brother," a girl with shoulder length black hair and silver eyes, exactly like Neji's, entered the kitchen, followed closely by a long haired blonde girl and a chubby redheaded boy.
"Hey guys, Billboard Brow," Ino smiled at them.
"Naruto," Choji nodded at the ANBU captain. "Shika and TenTen should be back soon, and they'll report what they've been up to."
"Why are you guys here?" the blonde asked curiously.
"Lady Tsunade sent us," Ino shrugged. "She said you guys had some time off from school and could probably use a familiar face… or five."
At that moment, Sirius shouted, they had been so busy catching up, they hadn't heard the conversation going on around them.
"Your father knew what he was getting into, and he won't thank you for messing things up for the Order!" said Sirius angrily in his turn. "This is how it is—this is why you're not in the Order—you don't understand—there are things worth dying for!"
"Easy for you to say, stuck here!" bellowed Fred. "I don't see you risking your neck!"
"Shut up!" Naruto glared at Fred, causing all the wizards to look at him strangely. "You have no right talking to him like that! I know you're fucking upset about your dad, but don't you dare start telling someone off for following orders! Your dad wouldn't have gone if he didn't understand the risk involved. As it is, he's safe, he's being treated at the hospital as we speak. Now just shut your mouths, sit down, and, if I even think you're breathing funny, I'll hang you to the ceiling by your wrists."
"Damn, Naruto," Choji chuckled slightly. "I have no idea what you just said, but that sounded scary."
"Oh, here," Sirius pulled his wand and aimed it at the three shinobi in the doorway.
"What was that?" Ino asked confused, as she felt the strange sensation of water washing over her.
"He put a translating spell on you, so you can understand what's going on," Sakura explained to her friend. "So tell me Ino-pig, how are things going with you?"
"Good," she said evasively, but wouldn't meet the pinkette's eyes. "Anyway, who are the brats?"
"Who are you calling brats?" Fred asked, scandalized at the blonde beauty before him. "We're at least two years older than you."
"That's Fred Weasley," Kiba supplied. "The one beside him is his identical twin, George, you can tell the difference if you watch closely. The other redheaded boy is Ron, their younger brother, the girl is their sister, Ginny, and the raven there is Harry Potter, no relation what-so-ever."
"So where's Gaara and the others?" Choji asked. "We were told they were here."
"They stayed at school, we've got a village emergency," Naruto chuckled slightly. "Or at least that's what everyone will think when we get back. The old snake bastard hasn't been acting up has he?"
"Not recently," Choji shrugged. "All's quiet on that front."
"N-Naruto," Hinata piped up, eyeing the wizards at the table with some trepidation, "I-I don't think this is the appropriate place to discuss this."
"Right," the blonde smiled sheepishly. "We'll talk later."
The shinobi settled down around the table with the wizards and waited.
And then, at ten past five in the morning by Ron's watch, the kitchen door swung open and Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen, followed by two other teens. She was extremely pale, but when they all turned to look at her, Fred, Ron, and Harry half-rising from their chairs, she gave a wan smile.
"He's going to be all right," she said, her voice weak with tiredness. "He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now, he's going to take the morning off work."
Fred fell back into his chair with his hands over his face. George and Ginny got up, walked swiftly over to their mother, and hugged her. Ron gave a very shaky laugh and downed the rest of his butterbeer in one.
"Shika!" Naruto jumped up, ran over to one of the teens standing behind Mrs. Weasley, and launched himself at him in a fierce hug.
"Troublesome," he muttered as he caught the hyper blonde. "When did you last sleep Naruto?"
"Um…" the Kyuubi vessel bit his lip nervously.
"Too long," the one called Shika rolled his eyes, and then addressed the other shinobi. "Doesn't anyone make sure he gets enough sleep?"
"We've kinda been having some problems," Kiba scratched his neck sheepishly. "I honestly didn't think he was having trouble sleeping."
"Not that you would have noticed anyway," Shino shook his head. "You never paid much attention to his sleeping habits in the past."
"Whoa, bug boy," Ino did a double take. "You're not wearing your glasses."
Shino reached into his pocket, pulled out his shades, and slipped them onto his face.
"Way to go, Ino," Kiba shook his head. "Now I can't know when he's watching me. I've loved this year so far, he hasn't been able to stare at me without me knowing it's him."
"Shika, Shika, Shika," Naruto tugged on the brunette's ponytail, "guess what?"
"You're going to bed, Naruto," the lazy teen sighed.
"No," he shook his head, "I'm going out with Neji, and I'm not going to bed, we're going to see Mr. Weasley late, so you're not either."
"That's all right, dear," Mrs. Weasley looked over at him. "There's still plenty of time till then, you go get some sleep."
Shikamaru, still holding Naruto, walked out of the room. The wizards watched them go in some confusion, while the shinobi smiled at the pair, though Neji's looked a bit strained.
"He'll have him asleep in five minutes," Choji chuckled, munching on the breakfast Sirius had placed on the table.
"Bet ya it'll be two," Kiba shook his head. "Honestly, with Shika, he'll be out faster than when he's been training for twenty-four hours straight."
"What power does Shika have over him?" Ginny asked curiously from her mother's arms.
"Shikamaru is the laziest person in our village," Sakura shook her head. "He probably even beats his father for laziness, and he can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, anywhere. He and Naruto used to fall asleep in school all the time. Hey TenTen, how're you doing?" she greeted the other teen who had entered with Mrs. Weasley.
"I'm good Sakura," the brunette kunoichi smiled. "So Neji, is what he said true?"
"Yes," the pale eyed teen nodded.
"Neji?" Hinata looked at him in shock.
"We'll talk later, Hinata," he said quietly and she nodded.
"Congratulations, Nej," his former teammate smiled. "Wait till Lee and Gai-sensei fing out, they'll go on about if forever."
"Good thing I won't be around to hear about it when they first find out about it then," he shuddered slightly at the thought of his other former teammate and sensei.
"Oh, they'll corner you when you get back, don't worry," she smiled evilly at him. "By the way, where's Kankuro?"
"He stayed at the school with Gaara and Temari," Sakura supplied. "Dumbledore said it would be better if all of us didn't disappear at once."
"Uzumaki Naruto?" a voice called from under the table. "Damn it, where is that brat? He said he wanted to get in contact with Tsunade and now he's not here."
Everyone glanced under the table and saw a small framed portrait sitting under the seat Naruto had occupied. Harry leaned over and picked it up. The portrait looked at him and said something he couldn't understand. He looked at the shinobi for help and Neji reached out his hand. Harry gladly handed it over.
"Naruto has gone to bed, I am Hyuuga Neji, his lieutenant, what does Lady Tsunade have to say?"
"She said to tell that brat that he better have a good reason for disturbing her," the portrait grinned. "And if he doesn't she'll knock him into the next country. Oh, and to expect some friendly faces for the holidays."
"You couldn't have told us that earlier?" the Hyuuga rolled his eyes.
"Nope," the Hokage's grin got, if possible, even bigger. "And tell him from me, I'm sorry, Jiraiya filled me in on his past, I never meant to ruin his life."
"I'll be sure to let you tell him later, after he wakes up, maybe he'll even let you speak with Kyuubi." Neji said, an evil smirk gracing his features.
8888888
Everyone but Harry spent the rest of the morning sleeping, and as predicted, when the shinobi entered their room, Shikamaru and Naruto were curled up together on one of the beds, sleeping soundly. Neji felt a pang of jealousy as he watched the pair, he knew it was irrational because there was nothing going on between the two housemates, but he couldn't help it.
Their trunks arrived from Hogwarts while they were eating lunch, so they could dress as Muggles for the trip to St. Mungo's. The shinobi put on their normal clothes and waited for the wizards. Tonks and Mad-Eye turned up to escort them across London, though the shinobi thought it odd, but then again, they were undercover.
They took the underground to the very heart of London. They all followed Tonks up the escalator, Moody clunking along at the back of the group, his bowler tilted low and one gnarled hand stuck in between the buttons of his coat, clutching his wand.
"Not far from here," grunted Moody as they stepped out into the wintry air on a broad store-lined street packed with Christmas shoppers. He pushed Harry a little ahead of him and stumped along just behind; Harry knew his eye was rolling in all directions under the tilted hat. "Wasn't easy to find a good location for a hospital. Nowhere in Diagon Alley was big enough and we couldn't have it underground like the Ministry—unhealthy. In the end they managed to get hold of a building up here. Theory was sick wizards could come and go and just blend in with the crowd…."
He seized Harry's shoulder to prevent them being separated by a gaggle of shoppers plainly intent on nothing but making it into a nearby shop full of electrical gadgets.
"Here we go," said Moody a moment later.
They had arrived outside a large, old-fashioned, red brick department store called Purge and Dowse Ltd. The place had a shabby, miserable air; the window displays consisted of a few chipped dummies with their wigs askew, standing at random and modeling fashions at least ten years out of date. Large signs on all the dusty doors read CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT. Harry distinctly heard a large woman laden with plastic shopping bags say to her friend as they passed, "It's never open, that place…."
"Right," said Tonks, beckoning them forward to a window displaying nothing but a particularly ugly female dummy whose false eye-lashes were hanging off and who was modeling a green nylon pinafore dress. "Everybody ready?"
They nodded, clustering around her; Moody gave Harry another shove between the shoulder blades to urge him forward and Tonks leaned close to the glass, looking up at the very ugly dummy and said, her breath steaming up the glass, "Wotcher… We're here to see Arthur Weasley."
The shinobi watched in apparent disinterest as the dummy gave a tiny nod, beckoned its jointed finger, and Tonks had seized Ginny and Mrs. Weasley by the elbows, stepped right through the glass and vanished.
Fred, George, and Ron stepped after them; quickly followed by Kiba, Shino, Neji, Hinata, and TenTen.
"What are you five still doing out here?" Moody growled at the remaining shinobi.
Naruto met his visible eye with a cold glare, "My job, fucking bastard."
Shikamaru and Sakura each grabbed one of his arms and almost dragged him through the opening with Ino and Choji following. They arrived in what seemed to be a crowded reception area where rows of witches and wizards sat upon rickety wooden chairs, some looking perfectly normal and perusing out-of-date copies of Witch Weekly, others sporting gruesome disfigurements such as elephant trunks or extra heads sticking out of their chests. The room was scarcely less quiet than the street outside, for many of the patients were making peculiar noises. A sweaty-faced witch in the center of the front row, who was fanning herself vigorously with a copy of the Daily Prophet, kept letting off a high-pitched whistle as steam came pouring out of her mouth, and a grubby-looking warlock in the corner clanged like a bell every time he moved, and with every clang his head vibrated horribly, so that he had to seize himself by the ears and hold it steady.
Witches and wizards in lime-green robes were walking up and down the rows, asking questions and making notes on clipboards like Umbridge's. Harry noticed the emblem embroidered on their chests: a wand and a bone, crossed.
"Are they doctors?" he asked Ron quietly.
"Doctors?" said Ron, looking startled. "Those Muggle nutters that cut people up? Nah, they're Healers."
Harry suddenly noticed the new blonde girl looking slightly queasy, with her eyes closed and her hand delicately covering her mouth, as if by doing so she would stop herself from being sick.
"Hey," he placed a hand on her shoulder, "are you okay? Do you need to see a Healer?"
His question drew the attention of the other members of their group. Choji stepped to her side and pulled her into a one armed embrace. Sakura was immediately at their side, shoving Harry out of the way.
"What's wrong, Ino-pig?" she asked worriedly, instantly in medic mode.
Ino just shook her head, not trusting herself to say anything. Choji looked up at the pink haired medic, a small smile pulling at his lips.
"She'll be fine," he said quietly, pulling her even closer. "She just needs to sit down and it would probably be best if we left this room. She doesn't do well with injuries and things at the moment."
"What's wrong with her, Choji?" the medic's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Over here!" called Mrs. Weasley over the renewed clanging of the warlock in the corner, and they followed her to the queue in front of a plump blonde witch seated at a desk marked INQUIRES. The wall behind her was covered in notices and posters saying things like A CLEAN CAULDRON KEEPS POTIONS FROM BECOMING POISONS and ANTIDOTES ARE ANTI-DON'TS UNLESS APPROVED BY A QUALIFIED HEALER.
There was also a large portrait of a witch with long silver ringlets that was labeled
DILYS DERWENT
ST. MUNGO'S HEALER 1722-1741
HEADMISTRESS OF HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY, 1741-1768
Dilys was eying the Weasley party closely as though counting them; when Harry caught her eye she gave a tiny wink, walked sideways out of her portrait, and vanished.
"Ino, are you sure you're alright?" Naruto finally asked. "You don't look so good."
Mrs. Weasley finally noticed the girl's state.
"Oh dear, you don't look well at all," she moved over and placed her hand on Ino's forehead, pushing aside her long bangs. "Well, you don't have a fever, but if you're feeling nauseous maybe we can get one of the Healers to get a potion for you."
Pale blue eyes snapped open and she shook her head, "No," she croaked slightly. "I'll be fine."
"Here," Shikamaru pulled a bottle from his belt and handed it to her. "Troublesome woman."
She took the water bottle gratefully and began sipping at it. Choji was now rubbing soothing circles on her back.
"Feeling better now?" he asked quietly. "Sorry I didn't think about bringing one. I've got some crackers though."
"I'm fine," she smiled slightly at the redhead beside her, and then turned to Shikamaru, handing him back the bottle. "Thank you, Shika."
"Whatever," he took the bottle and put it back on his belt before shoving his hands into his pockets.
Mrs. Weasley moved forward to the desk.
"Hello," she said. "My husband, Arthur Weasley, was supposed to be moved to a different ward this morning, could you tell us—"
"Arthur Weasley?" said the witch, running her fingers down a long list in front of her. "Yes, first floor, second door on the right. Dai Llewellyn ward."
"Thank you," said Mrs. Weasley. "Come on, you lot."
They followed her through the double doors and along the narrow corridor beyond, which was lined with more portraits of famous Healers and lit by crystal bubbles full of candles that floated up on the ceiling, like giant soapsuds. More witches and wizards in lime-green robes walked in and out of the doors they passed; a foul-smelling yellow gas wafted into the passageway as they passed one door, which caused Choji to tighten his hold on Ino and hurry her onward as she looked sick again, and every now and then they heard distant wailing. They climbed a flight of stairs and entered the "Creature-Induced Injuries" corridor, where the second door on the right bore the words "DANGEROUS" DAI LLEWELLYN WARD: SERIOUS BITES. Underneath it was a card in a brass holder on which had been handwritten Healer-in-Charge: Hippocrates Smethwyck, Trainee Healer: Augustus Pye.
"We'll wait outside, Molly," Tonks said. "Arthur won't want too many visitors at once…. It ought to be just the family first."
Mad-Eye growled his approval of this idea and set himself with his back against the corridor wall, his magical eye spinning in all directions. The shinobi made their way to the other side of the narrow hallway and pushed Ino into the lone chair sitting there, while the others took up spots similar to Moody's. Harry drew back too, but Mrs. Weasley reached out a hand and pushed him through the door, saying, "Don't be silly, Harry, Arthur wants to thank you…."
As soon as they disappeared, Sakura squatted down in front of her friend and gave her a piercing look, "Now that we're relatively alone, tell me what's going on Ino. You are a medic, a hospital shouldn't bother you, and it hasn't in the past, in fact you tried to save Asuma-sensei."
"I'm fine, really, Billboard Brow," she chuckled slightly, trying to brush her off. "I just wasn't ready for all this, though I'm not sure why, it is a hospital after all."
"Ino Akamichi you will tell me right this instant, as your superior and a medic, I'm ordering you to tell me what's going on."
"She's pregnant," Choji supplied, slipping his arm around his wife's shoulders.
"Oh!" green eyes widened in surprise. "I'm sorry for snapping, congratulations!"
She leaned forward and enveloped her friend in a fierce, yet surprisingly gentle, hug.
"It's alright Billboard Brow," Ino smiled, returning the hug. "You're not the top medic for nothing, I'd be more surprised if you let it drop."
"A-hem," Moody cleared his throat and said quietly, "Sorry to interrupt, but I don't trust you lot. Dumbledore may like you, but I don't. How is it that two of you happened to be at the Ministry last night, and why are all of you still accompanying us around town?"
"I'd like to know that as well," Tonks gave them a suspicious look.
"Alasor, Nymphradora," Naruto stepped forward and bowed to the two Aurors. "We are not obligated to answer any of your questions. However, I don't want you watching over our every action," here he paused and looked at the other shinobi. "So I'm making a command decision here. But before I tell you anything, could I ask you to put up some privacy spells, allowing no one to overhear us?"
In response, Moody pulled his wand and muttered a few spells in all directions, a bit miffed that this kid was calling him by his first name. Tonks, on the other hand, was furious at the fact that he had said her full name. Moody motioned for Naruto to continue.
"Do you remember what you said before we got on the train, Alastor?" the blonde asked, tilting his head to the side almost innocently. "About the Hidden Ninja Villages?"
Moody nodded once.
"Good," Naruto beamed, "that makes my explanation simple. We are shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, our companions back at the school are from the Village Hidden in the Sand, Dumbledore hired us to watch over Potter, Granger, and the Weasleys while at school. As for why these two were at the Ministry," he indicated Shikamaru and TenTen, "I have no clue, they just arrived, but I'm not going to complain since they managed to bring Arthur to the hospital before things got really serious."
"How do we know you are telling the truth?" Tonks asked, more curious now.
Naruto nodded at the others, who all pulled out their forehead protectors and showed them to the two Aurors.
"These are our ninja headbands," the blonde explained. "The symbol notes what village we are from. This is my passport," he handed a small leaflet over to Moody. "It's in Japanese, but it tells name, rank, and village."
Moody seemed to accept these explanations, "All right, but why be so secret about it? Dumbledore won't even tell the Order who you are, or you're purpose for being here."
"That's just discretion on his part," the kitsune vessel shook his head. "We are undercover, he doesn't want anyone to know he hired ninja to help protect his students. And it wouldn't be a good idea if a lot of people suddenly knew of the Hidden Villages, or the simple fact that I'm here, considering Voldemort has already tried to get some support from our enemies."
"How do you know that?" Tonks asked in some surprise, she hadn't even heard about this.
"We are good at our job, Tonks," Naruto smirked. "In fact, all but four of us are of the elite ninja of our village, and Gaara is actually the Kazekage, the highest ranking ninja of his."
"So, Dumbledore didn't just brush off my suggestion of trying to find the Hidden Ninja Villages?" Moody muttered quietly.
"He was probably in contact with us before you mentioned it," Sakura said quietly, since she was the only one who knew how long this mission had been in the works. "He contacted our Hokage in June, saying he had a year-long mission he would like to hire some shinobi for. He had specific requirements for the shinobi he wanted so she had to wait until the squad she wanted was available."
"And they say I'm paranoid," Moody chuckled slightly. "That old coot!"
Just then the door opened and Harry and the Weasley children trooped back into the corridor. Quicker than the eye could see, the shinobi had their headbands safely tucked away and Naruto had his passport back in his pocket. Mad-Eye and Tonks went in and closed the door of the ward behind them. Fred raised his eyebrows.
"Fine," he said coolly, rummaging in his pockets, "be like that. Don't tell us anything."
"Looking for these?" said George, holding out what looked like a tangle of flesh-colored string.
"You read my mind," said Fred, grinning. "Let's see if St. Mungo's puts Imperturbable Charms on its ward doors, shall we?"
He and George disentangled the string and separated five Extendable Ears from each other. Fred and George hand them around. Harry hesitated to take one.
"Go on, Harry, take it! You saved Dad's life, if anyone's got the right to eavesdrop on him it's you…. Sorry guys," George glanced over his shoulder at the shinobi, "we don't have enough for you, I'm sure you understand."
The shinobi just waved them off, not needing the wizard devices to hear what was being said in the ward.
Grinning in spite of himself, Harry took the end of the string and inserted it into his ear as the twins had done.
"Okay, go!" said Fred.
The flesh-colored strings wriggled like long skinny worms, then snaked under the door. For a few seconds Harry could hear nothing, then he heard Tonks whispering as clearly as though she were standing right beside him.
"…they searched the whole area but they couldn't find the snake anywhere, it just seemed to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur…. But You-Know-Who can't have expected a snake to get in, can he?"
"I reckon he sent it as a lookout," growled Moody, "'cause he's not had any luck so far, has he? No, I reckon he's trying to get a clearer picture of what he's facing and if Arthur hadn't been there the beast would've had much more time to look around. So Potter says he saw it all happen?"
"Yes," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded rather uneasy. "You know, Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this…."
"Yeah, well," said Moody, "there's something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that."
"Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning," whispered Mrs. Weasley.
"'Course he's worried," growled Moody. "The boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake…. Obviously, Potter doesn't realize what that means, but if You-Know-Who's possessing him—"
Harry pulled the Extendable Ear out of his own, his heart hammering very fast and heat rushing up his face. He looked around at the others. The Weasleys were all staring at him, the strings still trailing from their ears, looking suddenly fearful. The shinobi, however, were mostly still apparently minding their own business and not really looking at him, all except Naruto, who smiled slightly and shook his head slowly.
Ammie: Okay, so as I said before I was surprised at how fast this came out. I won't promise that this will always be the case, because then I know I'd be lying. Anyway, I hope you like it, I wasn't too impressed with it at first, but then as I continued, I rather liked it. So please continue telling me what you think, I always enjoy it, makes me smile and brightens my whole day.