Castle Guards
Castle Guards
By Ammie Hawk
Disclaimer: Ever look in the mirror and think you see someone else staring back at you? Well I haven't so I guess I'm not J.K. Rowling.
AN: Sorry this took so long. I was going to go in a whole other direction with this chapter, but ended up backing myself into a nice little corner, so I decided to just change it. I hope it all makes sense, I ended up piecing the two parts together so some of it might just seem like random drabble.
Anyway, I've gotten so many suggestions on who to put with Itachi, but amazingly enough, none for Sasuke. However, with so many suggestions, I decided to narrow things down a bit and give the ones I've gotten and you guys can vote on them. If anyone has more suggestions let me know and I'll put them up in the next chapter to vote on.
Itachi/Neville
Itachi/Ginny
Itachi/George
Sasuke/George
Itachi/Hinata
Hinata/Ginny
George/Hinata
Anyway, enough of that, on with the show.
"Kyuubi"
"Japanese"
Chapter 19: Smoke and Mirrors
The next day, Naruto woke to the sun streaming in his face. He frowned slightly but didn't open his eyes. That hadn't happened since they started this mission, he'd always pulled the curtains on his bed, so why was the sun trying to blind him this morning?
"Could be your lieutenant forgot to pull the hangings last night, kit," Kyuubi suggested with a slight chuckle. "But then again, you can't count on him for everything, now can you?"
'What are you talking about, Kyu?' the blonde groaned sleepily, his brain still muddled from having just woken up.
"Well, one would think, when sharing a bed with someone," the fox laughed, "said person would remember it in the morning. I know for a fact you weren't drunk last night, so you have no excuse, kit."
'What are you on about, you damn fox?' Naruto shifted slightly trying to fall back to sleep. 'I haven't had anyone share my bed since….'
"Neji!" he sat up with a start.
"What is it?" the brunette sat up as well, instantly on the alert.
Naruto's cry roused the other occupants of the room as well, Neville even fell out of his bed in shock. The other shinobi looked over at the pair curiously.
"Eh," he chuckled nervously, scratching his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, guys, I don't do mornings well."
Kiba looked from his captain to the lieutenant and back again. Finally a grin broke across his face as he realized what was going on.
"You forgot, didn't you?" he laughed. "You forgot Neji was in bed with you. What? Was he that bad?"
"You have no room to talk, mutt," the blonde glared at him. "I seem to recall Hinata telling me abut screaming the night you first wound up in Shino's arms, and it wasn't in pleasure. I do believe she said something along the lines of 'What the fuck, Shino? You can't just hold a guy while he sleeps!'"
"Point to Naruto," Shino smirked from his boyfriend's side. "You did say that Kiba."
"Can we please talk about something else?" Ron's face was a deep crimson. "Some of us don't really want to hear about you guys getting it on."
"Pervert," Kiba chuckled, sharing a sidelong glance with Naruto. "We never said anything about our sex lives, well, I may have mentioned that Neji might be a bad lay but hey."
"Could you kindly remove your mind from the gutter, Kiba?" Neji said, slipping from Naruto's bed. "Not all of us are as perverted as you are. And for your information, nothing happened last night aside from sleeping."
"So you're telling me," the shaggy haired brunette shook his head in disbelief, "that you got the day off yesterday, took your boyfriend off, to god only knows where, and didn't get laid?"
By this point, Naruto was a brilliant shade of pink and was fidgeting with his blankets nervously. Harry took pity on the blonde and glared at the canine ninja.
"Look, Kiba, some times," he gave a longsuffering sigh, "people just want to feel secure. It's not always about sex you know. They just want to know that there is someone out there who will be there for them, even in sleep."
"See, I'm not the only one," Naruto stuck his tongue out at the dog ninja. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to shower."
As soon as the blonde disappeared, the shaggy-haired brunette turned his attention back to Harry, who gulped at the look in the shinobi's eye.
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When Harry finally made his way down to breakfast, with the shinobi following with smug looks once again, he wasn't in the best of moods to say the least. Kiba had decided that, since it was another day without classes, Harry needed another makeover. Not only had the idiots dressed him up like a doll, again, but Kiba even attacked his hair with one of those strange knives they always seemed to have on them. His hair was now a good three inches shorter and stuck up in every direction; it almost looked like Kiba's. The only saving grace about the whole thing was the strip of leather around his forehead which, thankfully, covered his scar.
Thankfully, or at least in Harry's opinion, no one seemed to notice their entrance into the Great Hall this morning. It did help that he looked so much like the shinobi that no one cared to notice that there was one more in their midst. When he reached the Gryffindor table, he sank gratefully down next to his female best friend.
"What?!" Sakura hissed at the male shinobi from across the table, drawing Hermione's attention away from her book. "You gave him another makeover?"
"I don't know, Sakura," Temari eyed Harry critically. "I say he looks pretty good. Not as good as yesterday, but better than before at least."
"He looks like Kiba!" the medic screeched at her girlfriend.
It was true, Harry looked like a raven haired version of the dog ninja, since the only thing they could find that didn't look hideous on him was one of Kiba's outfits.
"And what's wrong with looking like me?" the shinobi in question asked. "I think it's nice. We're practically twins now."
"The color's all wrong for him," Sakura rolled her eyes. "The dark grey makes him look washed out. And let me guess, he can't take off the jacket because all you gave him to wear under it was a net shirt."
Kiba bowed his head sheepishly.
"Men, honestly," the pinkette sighed in frustration. "You were in a dorm full of boys, couldn't you have gotten him an outfit from Dean or Seamus?"
"They're taller than he is," Kiba pointed out. "They wouldn't have fit right. It's bad enough that his own clothes are huge, he didn't need to tie on someone else's. Mine happened to be one of the better ones we pulled out. Or would you rather have him looking like Neji or Naruto?"
"Oh my god," Hermione interrupted, shaking her head. "Here."
She waved her wand and Harry's jacket turned a dark forest green. Then she gave him the once over, a strange look entering her eyes.
"The hair is no good," she clicked her tongue. "I mean, it is an improvement over what he had before, but it's still not right. May I Harry? I've been studying a spell recently and have been dying to try it out."
"Um… sure?" he said uneasily.
Hermione beamed at him and did a complex series of movements with her wand, muttering something under her breath. A moment later, Harry felt a tingling on his scalp and his hair began growing. When it reached his shoulders, Hermione waved her wand again and the sensation stopped.
"There!" she beamed proudly, producing a mirror for Harry to look in. "Let me just pull it back and we'll be good."
Harry watched her work in the mirror. She tied his now long hair at the base of his neck. He had to admit, it didn't look half bad, at least it was manageable now.
"We'll have to go shopping sometime, Harry," the brunette witch said when she sat back down. "We need to find you your own look, you can't keep wearing their clothes you know."
Harry gaped at her. Hermione never acted like this, this was something he expected from people like Lavender and Parvati, but not the sensible Hermione Granger.
"Ooh, can I come too?" Ginny asked from Hermione's other side. "That sounds like so much fun."
As the two girls buried themselves in plans for Harry's new look. Harry, himself, shook his head and turned to the other people around him.
"So what are you guys planning for today?" he asked as he finally began eating his breakfast.
"Naruto and I are going somewhere to study, it is far too noisy in the common room, and he is starting to fall behind," Neji shrugged, sending Gaara a look saying not to argue with him, as the blonde pouted.
"I'm gonna take Akamaru outside," Kiba grinned. "He hasn't been out to play in ages. Shino, you coming with us?"
The bug ninja nodded once in affirmation before continuing to eat.
"Temari and I are going to the library to do some extra reading for Transfiguration and Defense," Sakura shrugged absently.
"What about you guys?" Harry turned to Gaara and Kankuro.
"I ain't got nothing planned," Kankuro shrugged. "I'll probably just hang around the common room."
Gaara just gave an almost imperceptible shrug and remained silent.
Harry noted that all of them played their roles well. If his guess was correct about who was guarding whom, then Kiba and Shino would be keeping an eye on the Weasley twins as they prowled the grounds; Sakura and Temari would be in the same place as Hermione; and Kankuro would be keeping an eye on Ron in the common room as he struggled through his homework; Gaara would, no doubt, be tailing him. The only ones that didn't make any sense was Neji and Naruto, but he reminded himself that they were dating and that they apparently had the weekend off, if Kiba's comment that morning was anything to go by.
As he predicted, after breakfast, Kiba and Shino followed the twins out of the castle, while the four girls made their way to the library, Hermione and Ginny still discussing a new wardrobe for him, and Kankuro and Ron headed up to Gryffindor tower together. Naruto and Neji disappeared with their book bags off to some undisclosed location and he just hoped to god he wouldn't stumble on their 'study' session.
Harry got up from his seat and headed out of the Great Hall. For once he didn't notice all the people staring at him, as his attention was focused on watching the Kazekage out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, Gaara had gotten up shortly after he did and was following him inconspicuously.
He decided to have a bit of fun with his shinobi guard, so as soon as they were out of sight of others, he began wandering the castle, taking any shortcut or hidden passage he could think of. Finally, after about half an hour, and not a sign of the redhead anywhere, Harry began feeling pretty good about his ability to slip away. That was until Gaara landed in front of him, how Harry wasn't sure.
"Harry," the Kazekage said in his patented monotone, "the point of our letting you keep the memories of who we are, is to make our job easier. Stop trying to ditch me."
"Fine," Harry rolled his eyes, he had been having fun, a rare thing for him nowadays.
They continued on for a few minutes. As they were passing an unused classroom, a hand shot out and pulled Harry inside. Gaara made to grab him but found that he had no control over his own movements. Before the brunette disappeared, he turned frightened eyes on his supposed guard, who was just standing there, and wondered briefly if the redhead had been lying to him about protecting him.
"You might want to think about getting better protection, Potter?" a drawling voice whispered in his ear as the door snapped closed.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry sighed, turning to his captor. "And you know if you wanted to talk, all you had to do was ask. Ron, Hermione, and I are not opposed to setting up meetings with you anymore."
"But I didn't want your two sidekicks along this time," Malfoy smirked, taking a step forward, which caused Harry to take one back. "Besides, do you honestly think your 'guards' would've let you out of their sight for a private meeting with me?"
"Probably not," Harry shrugged, taking another step back. "They don't seem to like you very much."
"True," the blonde shrugged noncommittally. "Naruto said I reminded him of a traitor he knew. It also didn't help when I tried to force him to do something he didn't want."
"What could that have been, I wonder?" Harry said thoughtfully, taking another step away from his one time rival. "Possibly dragging him into a deserted classroom and taking advantage of him? Sounds really familiar somehow."
"Yeah, about that," Malfoy ran his hand through his hair, pausing in his pursuit of the Gryffindor, "I'm not stupid, nor do I particularly want to push the limits of the Kazekage of Suna, so the next move is yours. But damn it all, Harry, don't expect me to take no for an answer."
"I can't give you a definite answer, Draco," Harry shook his head sadly. "I just had a disastrous date with Cho yesterday…"
"So that's why you were all dressed up?" a blonde brow shot up curiously. "I bet she didn't even notice. She's not right for you, Harry."
"Oh, and you are?" the brunette countered. "Come on, Draco, we both know that we've never gotten along in the past. How could anything work between us?"
"I'm willing to give it a try," Malfoy took another step forward, causing Harry to back up into the wall. "Are you too scared to try, Harry?"
"I'm not scared," Harry's eyes hardened at the insinuation.
"Good," Draco closed the distance between them and claimed the Gryffindor's lips with his own.
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Outside the classroom, Gaara's eyes closed in frustration. He had walked Harry into a trap, how could he have been so stupid. He was supposed to be the best shinobi in his village, and he was on a mission, how could he have failed?
"Don't beat yourself up, Gaara," a voice came from a small alcove beside the door Harry had just been dragged into. "Harry's fine. Draco just wanted a private word with him. I saw no harm in it."
"You wouldn't, Shikamaru," Gaara frowned, recognizing now what was wrong with him. "You don't know Malfoy."
"Contrary to popular belief," Shikamaru replied quietly, "I haven't been sleeping in all my classes. I just take the time to keep an eye on my charge instead of the lesson. I've seen the way he watches Harry, and I've noticed something about him. True, he may be a selfish, stuck-up bastard half the time, but when it comes to something like this, he'd throw it all away to get on Harry's good side."
"He forced himself on Naruto," the redhead stated calmly, hoping to get the shadow wielder on his side.
"Yeah, he told me about that," the other said. "But he won't try that again in a hurry. Quite frankly, he knows you're guarding Harry and he's terrified of you. Not that I blame him, you are rather intimidating when you want to be. Now, if I let you go will you not do the troublesome thing and rush in there and disrupt them?"
Gaara nodded once. He wouldn't rush in there but he would do some old fashioned snooping and make sure that Harry was alright.
"Good," Shikamaru stepped out of the shadows and Gaara felt himself regain control of his body. "Now, let's see if they're behaving themselves, or not, whatever works."
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Apart from a dream that Harry had, the next couple of weeks went by in the same fashion. That was until late one evening when there was a loud commotion coming from the entrance hall. Naruto and Gaara had been on duty, waiting at Snape's door till Harry finished his Occlumancy lessons, when they heard a woman scream. They waited in the shadows until both Snape and Harry made their way up to the entrance hall. The pair slipped in among the students till they found their fellow shinobi, standing a little ways behind their respective charges, whispering furiously.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked quietly.
Professor Trelawney was standing in the middle of the entrance hall with her wand in one hand and an empty sherry bottle in the other, looking utterly mad. Her hair was sticking up on end, her glasses were lopsided so that one eye was magnified more than the other; her innumerable shawls and scarves were trailing haphazardly from her shoulders, giving the impression that she was falling apart at the seams. Two large trunks lay on the floor beside her, one of them upside down; it looked very much as though it had been thrown down the stairs after her. Professor Trelawney was staring, apparently terrified, at something Naruto could not see but that seemed to be standing at the foot of the stairs.
"Umbridge," Neji whispered in his captain's ear. "Apparently, she's trying to fire Trelawney."
"No!" the Divination teacher shrieked. "NO! This cannot be happening…. It cannot… I refuse to accept it!"
"You didn't realize this was coming?" said a high girlish voice, sounding callously amused, and then through a gap in the crowd, Naruto saw Umbridge standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable you would be sacked?"
Naruto drowned out the rest of the conversation, his eyes flickering to red in his rage. How could that woman be so heartless? How could she humiliate another person like that? This was inexcusable. True, Trelawney probably did deserve to be sacked, but not publicly humiliated.
"Naruto, calm down," Gaara's voice in his ear, and a strong grip on his arm, pulled him back to himself. "Watch."
The oak front doors had swung open. Students beside them scuttled out of the way as Dumbledore appeared in the entrance. The shinobi barely contained their smirks as the old man put that upstart in her place. A few minutes later, all of them smiled as they recognized the centaur that had interrupted their first training session in the Forbidden Forest.
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The next Divination class was held in classroom eleven. Classroom eleven was situated in the ground-floor corridor leading off the entrance hall on the opposite side to the Great Hall. When the shinobi entered behind Ron and Harry, they found themselves right in the middle of a forest clearing, similar to the one Firenze had found them sparring in.
"Awesome," Kiba exclaimed, Akamaru's head poking out of the front of his robes. "Wonder if he'd let us use this room?"
"Possibly," Shino shrugged.
The classroom floor had become springily mossy and trees were growing out of it; their leafy branches fanned across the ceiling and windows, so that the room was full of slanting shafts of soft, dappled, green light. The students who had already arrived were sitting on the earthy floor with their backs resting against tree trunks or boulders, arms wrapped around their knees or folded tightly across their chests, looking rather nervous. In the middle of the room, where there were no trees, stood Firenze.
"Harry Potter," he said, holding out a hand when Harry entered, nodding in the shinobi's direction.
The shinobi all gathered in front of the centaur, seating themselves close, hoping to have a moment with him without being interrupted.
When the door was closed and the last student had sat down upon a tree stump beside the wastepaper basket, Firenze gestured around the room.
"Professor Dumbledore has kindly arranged this classroom for us," said Firenze, when everyone had settled down, "in imitation of my natural habitat. I would have preferred to teach you in the Forbidden Forest, which was—until Monday—my home… but this is not possible."
"Please—er—sir—" said Parvati breathlessly, raising her hand, "why not? We've been in there with Hagrid, we're not frightened!"
"It is not a question of your bravery," said Firenze, "but of my position. I can no longer return to the forest. My herd has banished me."
"Herd?" said Lavender in a confused voice. "What—oh!" Comprehension dawned on her face. "There are more of you?" she said, stunned.
"Did Hagrid breed you, like the thestrals?" asked Dean eagerly.
Firenze turned his head very slowly to face Dean, who seemed to realize at once that he had said something very offensive.
"I didn't—I meant—sorry," he finished in a hushed voice.
"Centaurs are not the servants or playthings of humans," said Firenze quietly. There was a pause, in which all the shinobi shared a smirk, then Parvati raised her hand again.
"Please, sir… why have the other centaurs banished you?"
"Because I have agreed to work for Professor Dumbledore," said Firenze. "They see this as a betrayal of our kind."
"Bakas," Naruto grumbled. "Why would they banish you for something as trivial as that? I mean, it's not like you were handing yourself over to your worst enemy to become his slave or something. Now something like that, I could understand, hell, I've lived through something similar."
"Naruto," Gaara and Neji said together, each giving him a piercing look.
"Let us begin," said Firenze. He swished his long palomino tail, raised his hand toward the leafy canopy overhead and lowered it slowly, and as he did so, the light in the room dimmed, so that they now seemed to be sitting in a forest clearing by twilight, and stars emerged upon the ceiling. There were oohs and gasps, and Ron said audibly, "Blimey!"
"Lie back upon the floor," said Firenze in his calm voice, "and observe the heavens. Here is written, for those who can see, the fortune of our races."
Harry stretched out on his back and gazed upward at the ceiling. Kiba and Shino were lying next to each other, with their heads almost touching, like they did this on a regular basis. Gaara didn't lie down, but tilted his head up, one knee bend, supporting his arm. Naruto settled himself on Neji's stomach, while the Hyuuga's fingers idly danced through his blonde spikes. Kankuro was leaning back on his elbows next to his brother.
"I know that you have learned the names of the planets and their moons in Astronomy," said Firenze's calm voice, "and that you have mapped the stars' progress through the heavens. Centaurs have unraveled the mysteries of these movements over centuries. Our findings teach us that the future may be glimpsed in the sky above us…."
"Professor Trelawney did Astrology with us!" said Parvati excitedly, raising her hand in front of her so that it stuck up in the air as she lay on her back. "Mars causes accidents and burns and things like that, and when it makes an angle to Saturn, like now"—she drew a right angle in the air above her—"that means that people need to be extra careful when handling hot things—"
"That," said Firenze calmly, "is human nonsense."
Parvati's hand fell limply to her side.
"Trivial burns, tiny human accidents," said Firenze, as his hooves thudded over the mossy floor. "These are of no more significance than the scurrying of ants to the wide universe, and are unaffected by planetary movements."
"Professor Trelawney—" began Parvati, in a hurt and indignant voice.
"—is a human," said Firenze simply. "And is therefore blinkered and fettered by the limitations of your kind."
"Sibyll Trelawney may have Seen, I do not know," continued Firenze, "but she wastes her time, in the main, on the self-flattering nonsense humans call fortune-telling. I, however, am here to explain the wisdom of centaurs, which is impersonal and impartial. We watch the skies for the great tides of evil or change that are sometimes marked there. It may take ten years to be sure of what we are seeing."
Firenze pointed to the red star directly above Harry.
"Natsuhiboshi," Naruto smiled slightly, his voice quiet but still managing to carry quite well. "Sumaru called it that, said it looked after him."
The centaur continued on as if he hadn't heard the shinobi, "In the past decade, the indications have been that Wizard-kind is living through nothing more than a brief calm between two wars. Mars, bringer of battle, shines brightly above us, suggesting that the fight must break out again soon. How soon, centaurs may attempt to divine by the burning of certain herbs and leaves, by the observation of fume and flame…."
They did indeed burn sage and mallowsweet there on the classroom floor, and Firenze told them to look for certain shapes and symbols in the pungent fumes, but he seemed perfectly unconcerned that not one of them could see any of the signs he described, telling them that humans were hardly ever good at this, that it took centaurs years and years to become competent, and finished by telling them that it was foolish to put too much faith in such things anyway, because even centaurs sometimes read them wrongly.
"Um, sir," Naruto spoke up at the end of his speech, "um, I think I see something, but I could be wrong."
"What do you think you see?" the centaur asked calmly, kneeling down next to the blonde.
"Well," Naruto pointed at the smoke swirling before him, "I think I see fox tails."
"How many do you see?" Firenze's unblinking gaze swiveled to the blonde, away from the smoke.
"Eight? No, nine," Naruto nodded firmly. "Nine tails…." He trailed off and his eyes widened slightly in disbelief, it couldn't be.
"That sign has not been seen for over sixteen years," Firenze said quietly. "It is a wonder that you can see it at all. Even the centaurs didn't know what that meant."
The blonde paled considerably at his words, his breath coming in uneven gasps. It was all a coincidence. It had to be. He didn't believe in this Divination crap anyway, right? He would probably associate anything to the damn fox.
"Breathe, kit, breathe," speak of the devil.
"I-I can't," Naruto choked out, causing everyone around him to give him curious looks.
"Kit, listen to me," Kyuubi said gently, or as gently as a demon can. "Nothing is going to happen, I'm trapped in here remember? And even if there was a way for me to escape, do you think I'd attack your village again?"
"N-no," he stuttered, still hyperventilating.
"See, nothing to fear," the fox soothed. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, kit. Breaking this seal would kill you, I wouldn't allow that to happen."
With Kyuubi and Neji's help, Naruto regained control of himself just as the bell rang. When he heard it, he all but fled the room, hoping to avoid any questions that could possibly come his way.
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March gave way to April and things seemed to go from bad to worse. No one seemed to bother Naruto about his apparent revelation within the smoke, but it didn't stop the worried looks he received from his fellow shinobi. Sakura, Temari, and Shikamaru had been filled in about the event, but they all knew better than to question him.
The blonde seemed to withdraw into himself and only Gaara seemed to understand why. The pair of them were often seen talking quietly wherever they happened to be. Neji tried to be supportive of his boyfriend, but Naruto didn't seem to want him near, except at night when he would cry himself to sleep in the Hyuuga's arms.
It wasn't until a relatively calm D.A. meeting that any of them got any answers from the ANBU captain. Neji had finally had enough of the blonde's silence and decided he was going to get some answers.
"Naruto," Neji went over and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend while everyone else was paying attention to what Harry was saying about Patronuses. "What's wrong? Please talk to me."
"I'm scared Neji," the blonde whimpered slightly. "I mean, I know that what I saw could mean anything, but I can't help but think something bad's going to happen."
"Naruto," the brunette's hold tightened slightly, "we all know about the fox, it's nothing we haven't heard before. You're worrying about something you shouldn't. You know the Fourth's seal will hold, Jiraiya assured you it was safe."
"I know, but think about it Nej," Naruto shook his head sadly, "sixteen years ago the centaurs saw it. That's when Kyu attacked. What if the seal breaks and he comes back? I can't control him if he's not locked up."
"If that happens," Neji placed a kiss on his temple, "we will all work together and stop the demon. Try not to worry about it."
"Hey," Harry made his way over to the gathered shinobi. "I know you guys don't really want to do some of this stuff, but couldn't you at least try? Come on, Naruto, please?"
"Alright," blue eyes rolled in mock annoyance, a smile pulling at the edges of his mouth. Neji's words had made him feel better.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his 'wand'. Harry gave him an encouraging smile, reminding him to think of something happy. He closed his eyes, focusing his chakra into his hand and through the stick, imagining it forming an animal shape.
"Kit!" Kyuubi growled in warning.
"Expecto Patronum!" he called clearly.
A red light shot out of the 'wand' and everyone within the vicinity took a step back. Naruto screamed in pain, his free arm curling around his stomach, but the light kept coming. Neji tried to take a step forward, but Gaara held him back, his eyes focused on the swirling chakra before the blonde.
"Do you see it, Neji?" the Kazekage asked quietly. "Look into the chakra."
The Hyuuga turned and focused his attention on the red chakra, where a shape was taking form. A large animal appeared before it started to shrink. At the same moment, an animalistic cry filled the room, blending and contrasting with Naruto's pained screams. The wizarding students all covered their ears at the sound, while the shinobi watched in fearful amazement at what was happening. And then, as soon as it had started, it ended and silence filled the room, only broken by the labored breathing of the two individuals in the center of the circle.
A red haired man now stood before Naruto, panting with his head bowed as if recovering from some major ordeal, his hair obscuring his face like a curtain of blood. Suddenly, his head shot up and piercing yellow eyes locked on the first person they could, which just happened to be Harry. A growl escaped the man's throat before he turned from the wizard and fell to his knees beside the blonde shinobi.
"Kit," his deep voice echoed throughout the room. "Kit, come on, you have to wake up. I can still feel you, you're not dead. Wake up, Kit!"
Before anyone could say anything in response, the door of the Room of Requirement opened and then closed again; Harry looked around to see who had entered, but there did not seem to be anybody there. It was a few moments before he realized that the people close to the door had shifted slightly. Next thing he knew, something was tugging at his robes somewhere near his knee. He looked down and saw, to his very great astonishment, Dobby the house-elf peering up at him from beneath his usual eight hats.
With the tension somewhat broken, the shinobi gathered around their fallen comrade and the new man.
"Kyuubi?" Gaara questioned the man quietly.
"Gaara," the man sneered. "He needs help, we need to get him out of here. You owe him your life, Sabaku no Gaara, now let me through, he could die."
Kyuubi gathered the blonde in his arms and hurried to the door, knocking the stunned students out of his way in the process. He ran down the corridor until he was stopped in his tracks by several raised wands.
"Get out of my way," he snapped at the woman standing in his way, this was the one who had tried to hurt his kit at the beginning of the year, but he'd deal with her later.
"Who are you?" Umbridge asked sharply, and then her eyes fell on Naruto's limp figure in the man's arms. "And what have you done to Mr. Uzumaki?"
"Nothing," he growled, "but if you don't get out of my way, I'll blame you for his death."
Naruto whimpered at the demon's tone and tried to move within the man's hold. Umbridge's eyes narrowed dangerously but she didn't let them pass.
"He'll be fine," she waved dismissively. "You will both come with me."
A moment later, Malfoy brought Harry over to where they were and she ushered them toward the Headmaster's office, after sending off her posse. They were at the stone gargoyle within minutes.
"Fizzing Whizbee," sang Umbridge, and the stone gargoyle jumped aside, the wall behind split open, and they ascended the moving stone staircase. They reached the polished door with the griffin knocker, but Umbridge did not bother to knock, she strode straight inside, still holding tight to Harry with her wand pointed menacingly at Kyuubi's back.
The office was full of people. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his expression serene, the tips of his long fingers together. Professor McGonagall stood rigidly beside him, her face extremely tense. Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, was rocking backward and forward on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation. Kingsley Shacklebolt and a tough-looking wizard Harry did not recognize with very short, wiry hair were positioned on either side of the door like guards, and the freckled, bespectacled form of Percy Weasley hovered excitedly beside the wall, a quill and a heavy scroll of parchment in his hands, apparently poised to take notes.
"Dumbledore," Kyuubi growled as soon as he was pushed forward, "Naruto needs help, and this woman is denying him that. If Tsunade hears about this, she won't be happy."
"No, I don't suppose she would be," Dumbledore nodded slightly. "Professor Umbridge, was there a particular reason why you denied medical aid to young Mr. Uzumaki?"
"I don't know that man," she smiled sweetly. "I couldn't have him running around the school on his own."
Fudge looked uncomfortable for a moment before addressing the demon, "And who are you, sir? Do you have permission to be on Hogwarts' premises?"
"I have every right to visit my child," Kyuubi smirked slightly. "And if you continue to deny him what he needs, I shall see this institution raised to the ground, as well as the whole of wizarding Britain."
"Is that a threat?" Umbridge snapped shrilly, raising her wand.
"No you worthless toad, it's a promise," the demon leveled her with a cold glare. "You may have a tentative peace with our nation, but allow my kit to die while in your country and all hell will break loose."
"Mr. Uzumaki that won't be necessary," Fudge said quickly, rightly fearing the man before him. "Please, take your son to the infirmary. There has obviously been a misunderstanding in bringing you up here."
"Obviously," with a final glare, the redhead turned on his heel and left the office.
--
Ammie: Okay, please don't kill me for the way Naruto was acting there at the end. Try to imagine if you will that someone told you your worst fear would come to life sometime very soon and that's about how Naruto was.
Also, Harry's makeover is going to continue for several more chapters with the girls finally getting a say.