"Sasuke."
Naruto could feel his heart trying to explode out of his chest as a mantra of 'stupid, stupid, stupid' ran through his head. He'd known there was something off about her but he had been too preoccupied with his new environment and trying to get home. Harry had said all their Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers had been weird so he'd brushed it off as paranoia.
Now he knew better.
Sasuke tilted his head, a mockingly friendly gesture. "I must admit you had us worried when you were sent to the boy's bedroom instead of me. Turns out it's easier to get a place here then we'd planned. At least I didn't have to play the poor blind boy for months on end." He looked up, as if thinking. "It wasn't all that bad pretending to be a girl either. I can see why you kept doing it when we were children."
Naruto couldn't help the new growl that escaped his lips. The old Sasuke had rubbed him the wrong way but this one was worse.
Making sure Harry was still in a defendable position he forced a grin onto his lips. It was hard to achieve and hollow as a tree with termites but it was a part of this persona. "Didn't get enough last time we fought Sasuke? I would have thought once Orochipedo didn't want your body anymore you'd go off somewhere to sulk."
Sasuke's expression hardened, voice soft and deadly. "Did you think I was actually going to let such a person take over my body?"
"And what would you have done to stop him?" Naruto yelled back, all pretences gone. All these years Naruto had refused to let go. The promise he had made to Sakura, he had held it so close because he didn't want to admit that he had lost his best friend. That Sasuke wasn't going to come back and that even if he did, it was much too late. The village would have him killed for all his crimes. "I'm not sorry I took away what he wanted. I don't want you to disappear, no matter how much of a jerk you've become!"
To this Sasuke said nothing. His sightless eyes met Naruto's and as unnerving as it was he couldn't bring himself to pull away. Their stalemate lasted what seemed like forever but was actually only seconds then Naruto blinked and the spell was broken.
"Harry," He shot over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off Sasuke, though not meeting his gaze again either, "Go find Sakura and help her kick some butt."
Harry hesitated, obviously not wanting to leave but also wanting to join the brawl outside.
"This is my fight, go join your own." Naruto added and that had the wizard turn and run out the door.
Sasuke didn't even pretend to be going after him like he'd probably been ordered to. Instead he shifted into a more regimented battle stance and a familiar smirk tilted his features. "I've been waiting for this. Today I'm going to repay the favour you so charitably bestowed upon me a year ago and then some."
Naruto had no doubt that Sasuke was still quite the accomplished ninja. They didn't call him a genius for nothing and finding a way around his blindness had probably been something that had taken him a few months to perfect. Naruto had a few ideas how, including tracing chakra, but he couldn't rightly counter any of these without hindering himself.
Naruto took his own stance, withdrawing weapons and keeping them at the ready. The room was very large but he still had his worries about its welfare. "Bring it on." He said and at last they moved in to attack.
XXOO
Outside was chaos. Aurors from ministry had arrived as well as the Konoha Ninja, turning it into a true brawl. Harry had to use all the skills Naruto had taught him to dodge, duck and just generally survive his trip through the battle. Shields had been thrown up to protect the wizards on both sides. The ninja had the decided advantage with their speed but with them on both sides, it evened out the balance of power with Ninja protecting Wizards and vice versa when Magic spells were thrown.
Sakura was beside him before he'd even spotted her in the crowd. She stood with her back to his, lashing out at a Dark Wizard that had staggered too close. He went down and didn't get back up. Harry refused to think about that. Instead he threw a spell at Ninja who was looking to attack one of theirs from behind. His opponent was blasted in mid-air, thrown far off into the crowd so Harry couldn't see what became of him.
"What took you so long?" Sakura asked, not turning to look at him. She continued to fight off anyone who came too close while she spoke.
"Sas-" Harry cut himself off, not entirely sure if it was a good idea to tell her. "Professor Hino attacked Naruto." He settled for instead. It wasn't a lie; it just wasn't all the truth.
Unfortunately Sakura was a smart girl, probably too smart. "What were you going to say?" Even if he couldn't see her face, he could hear the danger in her voice. It was clear she wasn't going to take anything less than the whole truth from him right now. One didn't mess with Sakura on a normal day, it stood to reason that during a battle it was doubly so.
Sakura was gone before Harry could even get Sasuke's name out completely. He risked a glance over his shoulder when he felt the wind of her departure and was glad for it. Harry dodges the punch aimed at his head then back flipped to avoid a series of explosion tagged kunai which activated several meters away, heat washing over him and screams of anguish echoing over the battle cries.
XXOO
Naruto landed in a crouch, taking a moment to catch his breath. True to form, Sasuke had worked out a way around his disability, though Naruto had yet to work out how. It did have something to do with the Sharingan; perhaps that still worked to a degree since the eyes weren't gone, just unable to see.
It was no time to lament not using a more drastic method to blind his friend. Sasuke hadn't just summoned thousands of Kage Bunshin like Naruto had. The Uchiha hadn't even broken a sweat. He sprang forward again, and they locked Kunai, exchanging a series of blows until both their weapons were knocked away.
Again they sprang apart, but it wasn't for long. Sasuke skidded across the floor until he could stop his backward momentum. Naruto didn't wait for him to instigate the next strike. Sasuke ducked, trying to sweep his legs from underneath him. Naruto dodged but Sasuke flipped himself into a handstand, kicking up and making contact with the blonde's ankle. Thankfully it didn't do any lasting damage, but if did disrupt his landing. Naruto sprawled on the floor, sliding along the well polished wood on his back.
There was no turn system in a real fight. Sasuke didn't wait for him to get up. Naruto wasn't able to recover before Sasuke was on him again, landing a kick to his stomach. It was all Naruto could do to roll out of the way before the youth crushed his arm.
Winded, Naruto stumbled to his feet as the chirping began. His head snapped up and eyes widened. Blue lightening filled his vision – there was no time to move out of the way.
Sasuke slammed into the wall, the Chidori exploding and practically devastating the room. It would have compromised the integrity of the whole castle had it not been a magical building; then again the earlier explosions would have taken care of the place already had it been normal.
Sakura stood panting, not lowering the fist she'd used to slam Sasuke out of his attack. Naruto didn't allow himself to be distracted. He got himself back into a defensive stance before glancing at Sakura; she had tears in her eyes, shaking.
Sasuke was standing already, taking his time and trusting his former teammates not to attack while he did. He was right. Neither of them wanted Sasuke dead and it was two against one here. As strong as Sasuke was, he couldn't hold up against both of them.
Belatedly Naruto realized he should have taken out his wand and spelled Sasuke into a full body bind or something. Alas he'd fallen back into old habits against Sasuke. Perhaps he'd romanticized the idea of fighting Sasuke after so many times. It had to be a fair fight. Besides, Sasuke hadn't used his wand either.
Standing now, Sasuke's red eyes stared unblinkingly at them both for long moments before he reached into the pouch at his hip for something. The air seemed to warp around him, contorting his figure.
"SASUKE!" Sakura yelled, but she was too late. Sasuke was gone.
The sounds of the battle outside broke whatever held them in place. Sakura sniffed and wiped at her eyes. "We have to get out there and help." She said, a slight hitch to her voice quickly evening out. There was a fight to be had and there were many lives at stake.
Naruto clasped her shoulder briefly and nodded before they both ran to join the fray outside.
XXOO
Harry could hardly catch his breath. Bodies littered the ground and he'd almost tripped over them a few times. The smell of burnt flesh, smoke and blood coated his mouth, nostrils and throat until he was sure that was all he'd ever smell again. There was no grass left. Fire and feet had seen to that. The edge of the forbidden forest was ablaze, though whatever magic had seeped into the trees over the centuries seemed to keep it from spreading any further into the trees.
The good news was their side seemed to be winning. The enemy was being driven back down the slope, giving the 'good guys' the advantage. Harry was still being bombarded by attacks. No doubt people knew to target him. He had managed to find Neji, Lee, and Hinata; the latter now fighting back to back with him. Neji and Lee seemed to work better individually anyway.
There was a loud 'poof' somewhere nearby and Harry noticed a few of Naruto's clones. No doubt there was more scattered around the battle field. He had to wonder what had happened with Sasuke, since Naruto was obviously still alive, but that would have to wait for later.
There was another explosion then. It ripped through the grounds, killing and injuring many on both sides of the battle. Through the smoke and fire, Harry saw a figure – no, two figures. His scar began to burn but he stood his ground. Calls for a retreat from the enemy were ignored as his world narrowed to those two people walking towards him through the chaos.
"Harry Potter." The hiss was familiar, seemed to vibrate through his very soul and set his teeth on edge. Harry grit them, hand clenching around his wand until he reminded himself to not hold so hard.
"Tom Riddle." He replied, perhaps a little foolishly. He would not let Voldemort get the best of him. He would get any advantage he could.
His scar began to burn hotter, blinding the eye closest to it. Still Harry didn't reach up to touch it, or stir from his ready stance. He could not give either of these men an opening.
Orochimaru chuckled, the sound just as snakelike as his own Snake bastard's. "So this is your Harry Potter? He seems a little scrawny for the saviour of the Wizarding world."
"Your culture uses children as weapons; I hardly think you can comment." The smirk that crossed Voldemort's impossibly thin lips was sickening. "Besides, it was his mother who defeated me. This boy cannot hurt me while I am at my full strength."
There were no openings, no instant in their casual banter that either let down their guard. The pain increased even more until it was a struggle to keep even one of his eyes open or not double over and scream. It was so frustrating, infuriating that the other man… no, monster, had this power over him.
A thought came to him. Wasn't their connection both ways? Taking a deep breath Harry concentrated, glaring at Voldemort as he strolled casually towards him, as if he was in no rush. His body shook with the effort but, even just for a moment, the monster paused, flinched. The victory was short-lived. Both snake men sped up, as if noticing that their troops had gone, that soon the masses of remaining ninja and magic folk would descend on them once they noticed too.
Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. Orochimaru and Voldemort stopped. Harry risked a look behind him. Naruto stood there, along with the other Konoha ninja. Behind them were a good portion of Wizards, including the teachers, Dumbledore and several other ninja he didn't recognize. It was a large group and it wasn't everyone left. People were coming up from behind, trying to block them in.
It was as useless to try and stop the evil pair as it was to stop Sasuke. Knowing when to retreat was as much a part of a good tactician as any other part of war. That didn't stop a few of the crowd from trying. Several projectiles and even a few people threw themselves forward, encountering only empty space.
Harry just sighed in relief, though now that the impending threat of death was mostly gone, his stomach protested and he doubled over to heave up whatever he had yet to digest. Someone held his hair out of his face and guided him back inside, away from the carnage. Inside he found that it was Hinata. When she saw he was able to walk on his own, she blushed, smiled and went back outside, presumably to help with the casualties.
Naruto had walked them in and took charge of him now, leading him into the great hall to push him down onto a bench. Harry couldn't help but laugh at that lop sided grin, so out of place beneath the blood and grime covering the blonde's face. "You don't have to pretend with me." Harry said, still tasting bile on his tongue. He needed some water.
Naruto laughed back, looking up at the normal, overcast sky reflected in the roof for a long time before looking back to Harry with the same expression. "I'm not."