3,450 words without either AN, sweet!
I think we all know what chapter this is (if you don't, look at the chapter title). Remember, this was my original plan, and you guys agreed with me via poll. If you don't like the house he's in, wait a few chapters to see how it goes before flaming about it.
Now that you know what Naruto's Patronus is, I want to request a Book Cover. This cover will have Naruto in Sage mode facing front. His robes will be half wizard (left side, no House tie or crest. Now that you know, you can make it the right side so that we can see the House Crest), and half Sage (right side unless you're flipping it to have the House crest, the huge scroll he carries can cross both sides of his clothing). In his hand on the wizard side is the wand (clearly the wand and not a kunai. Use textures, make it thinner, and round it's edges off), pointed upwards and slightly over his back, where a large Patronus version of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Ronintoadin sits/stands with it's stripes pronounced in Kyubi-red and it's plants blue/white/silver as well. In his other hand is a Rasengan with a similar appearance to Lucario's fully charged Aura Sphere, but with more glowing mist coming off of it and a little smaller (now you see where I got the term Aura from, as well as the mist thing from chapter 1?). The background can be either Konoha's Hokage Mountain or Hogwarts (I don't care if your choice is in a perfectly fine or in a semi-destroyed/under-attack state).
If you can make the above book cover, please PM me or Review me to let me know you've STARTED DRAWING IT. I can't draw that well, so I want another person to tackle this. Even if it's a friend of yours who likes HP and Naruto, tell them about this and ask if they can draw it. You can then upload a picture via camera or scanner, or send me a link if it is a computer image.
Admins, if I have too much 'original text' in a chapter, please give me a warning review/PM with said chapter, and please give me 12 hours to alter it. This will let me remove the questionable material without having to email your support to find out what was wrong and wait a few hours for a response, just to edit the one paragraph that got this story removed.
Once Naruto and his friends got off the Hogwarts Express, it was after dark and misty. It gave the outdoor station an eerie feel, especially since it wasn't well lit. After looking around, he saw a bunch of kids around the age of eleven forming what might pass as a line. At the front of it was an old lady, calling out "First Years and Transfer Student, line up over here please!" It took Naruto a second to realize that he was the Transfer Student, since he hadn't gone to school at Hogwarts and was obviously above the age of a normal First Year. Saying goodbye to Harry and the others, Naruto joined this professor's batch of students.
After waiting to make sure all Firsties were there, as well as Naruto, the professor lead them towards the lake. While they were waiting for the boats to be loaded, Naruto noticed some men hiding on the rocks, seeming to cast a spell on every student who climbed into a boat. At first, Naruto wondered what they were doing, then realized they must be placing the Trace on new students. When Naruto climbed into a boat, he saw a wand pointed at him. Go ahead and do it, Naruto thought, It'll just wear off within two months anyway.
The boat-ride was boring, so Naruto decided to practice gathering and releasing Sage Mode. While he was in Sage Mode, Naruto saw many wonders underneath the surface of the lake. He saw Grindylows catching small fish within the seaweed, Ugly Merfolk guarding and wandering their city, and a lone merchild rising to see the boats. While still in Sage Mode, Naruto leaned over to see her with his own eyes. When compared to adults, this little mergirl was pretty. She had smooth, dark hair and a nice face. When Naruto waved at her, she was startled, but quickly waved back with a webbed hand. When she swam closer to see the boy with eye markings better, Naruto felt something big approach both the boats and the girl. Without thinking, Naruto jumped into the water, dove below the startled girl, and got ready to defend her.
The big thing was a huge giant squid! Remembering he was underwater, Naruto quickly made Shadow Clones wasting as little air as possible. When there were twenty Narutos around, the Squid attacked. The NaruClones warded the tentacles off by first using thrown Kunai, then wrestled with each tentacle. However, they were losing to the giant beast in his home turf, or would that be surf, and were easily popped. When it was down to just one Naruto between the squid and the mergirl, more Merfolk joined the fight. While they fought back the beast using their spears, the mergirl swam up to Naruto. When she saw that he was running out of air, and fast, she kissed him. At first blushing, and a little squeamish about the texture of her skin, Naruto quickly felt that she was giving him air! After his breath was restored, Naruto smiled at her, letting her know he was okay and grateful. Soon, two Merfolk swam up and gave her a hug. One of them, apparently female, swam her down to their city. The other, a male with a fancy necklace, turned to the suicidal boy. "Thank you, for saving my daughter," was all that was said before he too returned to the deep.
When Naruto returned to the world of the air-breathers, everybody was in shock. He was under for over a minute, and came up like it wasn't even ten seconds! The professor's boat turned around and helped Naruto in. "Merlin's Beard! What were you doing down there?"
"A little mermaid girl was in trouble. I dove down and held off a giant squid until the cavalry arrived. The girl kissed me to give me some air, and then a big merman with a big necklace with a blue seashell told me thanks."
"A merman with a blue seashell?" the professor exclaimed. "That is only worn by the leader of the merfolk."
"So, I just kissed a princess? ... Nice!"
While the students were whispering about what they just heard, Naruto looked where the boats were heading. After they went around a bend, Naruto saw Hogwarts. And what a sight it was to behold! Sitting on the edge of a cliff, it's many floors were lit with flickering candlelight. The towers loomed majestically against the dark sky and the stars. Soon, they were making their way under the castle, off the boats, and outside what the professor called The Great Hall.
There, she gave a long, boring speech about Hogwarts, the houses, the point system, and a few other things. When she finished, she entered the Hall. During the next few tense minutes, Naruto picked up on Firsties wondering about various classes, the moving paintings, the ghost that spooked Naruto, and of course, about the Blond diver. Finally, the woman Naruto recognized as Professor McGonagall opened the doors and led the students up to the front of the Hall.
There, she explained how the Sorting Ceremony would occur, and the Hat gave a song about the four founders (which they learned about in the hall), his role to sort them, and how they needed to be united. With that, the Sorting started. Naruto, getting bored, started to twiddle with his fingers. After all the Firsties were sorted, and Naruto worrying he had missed his name, McGonagall continued to hold the Sorting Hat and the list. "This year, a Transfer Student will be placed among the Fifth Years. Uzumaki, Naruto."
Since Naruto was the only one still standing, the whole Hall got a good look at him. Naruto heard many whispered words. "Isn't that the boy who appeared during the Triwizard Tournament?" "Look at those scars on his cheeks." "He's the boy who jumped off the boats to save the mermaid princess from a giant squid." "Have we ever had a transfer student before? Where's he from?" "He looks older than fifteen. Why's he being sorted there? Is he that dumb?"
But all those voices were muffled out when the Hat was placed upon his head. A few seconds later, the Hat fell off and onto Naruto's lap. While the students tried to find out what happened, Naruto realized that something similar happened with Fusion training. Knowing that, Naruto turned inward, and stood before the cage.
'What's the big idea Kyuubi? I need him to see my mind in order to be Sorted!'
"There's no way, boy, that I'll let anyone see me like this, trapped in a gutter you call a brain."
'Insults aside, let him in! If he gets this far, I won't let him come down here, I promise.'
"... Very well. But you'd better not invite him, or anyone else, down here!"
Returning to the real world, Naruto placed the Hat himself onto his head. Whispering, Naruto spoke to the Hat. "I'm sorry about that. I had to get you permission to enter. It's alright now. Just don't go too far in this time."
"Interesting defenses", mused the Hat, "Normally, when I Sort a student, I look into the wizard's subconsciousness to see what drives them. This method is more reliable and faster. However, once I entered yours, I found myself in catacombs. That takes an advanced mind, to turn your subconscious into a place rather than empty space, and few students have such a mind before starting school. However, I didn't have a chance to look around before a large roar forced me out and off of your head. In order to Sort you, I'll have to look into your memories rather than your subconsciousness. Do I have your permission to view all your memories?"
"Yes," Naruto whispered as softly as he could.
"Don't worry about talking out loud. I can still hear your conscious thoughts." With that, the Hat fell silent.
After getting over the shock of the Hat falling off a student's head, the four houses waited for the Hat to bellow out which house this strange boy would be in. A few minutes passed, and the students started wondering what was taking so long. Usually, the Hat would be whispering in the student's ear by this point. Five minutes of silence was going strong, this boy was pulling off a Hatstall! But still, the Hat was silent. Then, six full minutes after being placed on his head, and staying there, they saw the Hat start to whisper.
"Interesting. Very interesting," the Hat told Naruto, "You've got battle instincts and you use everything you can to win in unique and creative ways, like a Ravenclaw of battles. However, your years in the Academy prove you don't belong there. You've got courage, no doubt about that, but I feel that Gryffindor isn't right for you. But where to put you... You have strong instincts to protect your friends, but I had sensed a strong split personality during my brief time in your subconsciousness."
'A split personality?' Naruto asked, fearful he meant the Kyuubi, 'of what?'
"Don't worry, it's not the... how did you put it... 'blasted fuzzball' that kicked me out of your mind. But this personality is repressed really well. He's full of your anger and distrust at the villagers who shunned you and beat you every year. If you want to control the Kyuubi, you'll have to overcome these emotions and your split personality.
"Now, as to your house. You've got a strong sense of cunning and deception, and it shows in your battle strategies. Resourcefulness also shows in your battles, using yourself as a secret weapon against Zabuza. You strive to reach any goal you set, you have some high goals, and you have utmost determination to surpass those goals. Also, like Iruka said, your pranks were not out of spite, but attention-seeking, as was your dream of becoming Hokage. You want to be known, famous, admired. Yes, you are the purest child who has ever been Sorted into that house, and I'm honored to sort you into... SLYTHERIN!"
The hall erupted into scattered cheers. Slytherin table was the loudest, seeing as the previous record for a Hatstall, around 5 minutes and 40 seconds, was broken by Naruto's almost seven and a half minutes. However, Draco, who was standing at the table but trying not to look that way, was furious. How could he punish the boy now? He was in his own house, and Malfoy didn't want to lose house points. The rest of the houses had some polite applause, but it wasn't done by any of the First Years who saw him dive into the lake.
Gryffindor table was surprising. Most of the house was clapping, but people could see that the Weasleys and the Golden Trio were not among them. The Weasley twins stood up and yelled "Traitor! The Prank War is on, Weasley Triplet!" This made the whole Hall silent, fearing what kind of person Naruto was to be a prankster Slytherin the notorious Weasley Twins called 'Triplet'. Most of the other Weasleys were shocked, but quickly accepted it, based on his training to be a ninja.
The Golden Trio were the most shocked of all. "Bloody hell," Ron swore, "right when I thought he might be a good guy, he turns out to be an evil Slytherin."
"That's not true," Hermione told him, "If he was an outright evil boy, the Hat wouldn't have taken so long to put him in there."
"But still, he's there to stay. In a house that will corrupt him past being just a killer."
"Believe what you want," Hermione told him, "But I'm going to spend time with him. He became our friend before being Sorted, he's still our friend now. Nothing about him has changed."
"As will I," Harry promised, "Besides, many classes are paired between Gryffindor and Slytherin. You won't be able to avoid him even if you wanted to."
After sitting down, Naruto saw the Sorting Hat get put away, and Dumbledore stand up. Oh great, another boring speech. Naruto thought to himself. "To our newcomers," said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, "welcome! To our old friends, welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!" That is what I call a speech! I like it!
After those words were spoken, many platters of food appeared in front of Naruto. Looking around, Naruto saw only greasy food he didn't recognize or like. Turning to the Slytherin next to him, Naruto whispered "Hey, when will they bring out the ramen? You can't have a feast without ramen!"
The boy looked at Naruto like he'd gone loony. "What is ramen?"
Those three words shocked Naruto worse than anything. After two months cooped up in a room that served stale food, the no-ramen meals at the Order HQ, then a months of bugs and wild animals during his training with Pa, was he now going to a school that didn't have ramen? Or worse, this whole universe didn't have ramen at all?!
Everyone around Naruto was shocked at the change. Naruto started crying and moaning while emitting pulses of energy, almost like accidental magic. However, these pulses somehow spread his emotions of ultimate sorrow. The pulses started to twist the metal of the glasses or even shatter them. Then, the most lowly wail came out of Naruto's mouth as he looks upwards at the ceiling. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"CUT THE DRAMATICS NARUTO-BOY AND EAT YOUR RAMEN!" When the student body looked around to see who said this, they didn't expect a talking bipedal toad at the teacher's table who was looking straight at Naruto.
"Eh?" Naruto said, opening his eyes a fraction. He then sniffed once. Then twice. Could it be... Naruto looked down. It is! Sitting on his plate was a large bowl of Miso Ramen! With a flurry of motion unlike any the Slytherins have seen, and they have made jokes about Ron, Naruto ate all the noodles and drank all the steaming liquid there is. "Thank you Pa!"
"You're welcome Naruto-boy, but you're only getting one bowl every night. So learn to eat other things!"
Once Naruto put his bowl back on the table, completely cleaned out, it sunk into the plate and out of sight. Naruto saw that his plate had obscured a little wrapped sweet. Could this be dango? Naruto was about to put it in his mouth when he remembered something Harry said. 'Well, they have been working on candies to make you ill, but I don't know about anything else.' Looking over at the Gryffindor table, he saw Fred and George looking at him expectantly. Yep, this must be one of them. I wonder what it'll do... Seeing him put it back onto his plate, the twins looked down and continued to eat their meals. Seeing his chance, Naruto split the candy in two, aimed, and threw both candies towards their open mouths. Surprised at the weird intrusion, the twins swallowed, then quickly fainted. When the boy next to them tried to wake them, the twins continued snoozing. It wasn't until they were lifted up to be taken to the hospital wing that they started recovering. Score: Naruto 1, twins 0. What would those have done if one of them got the full candy? Anyway, what else is edible around here...
After everyone was done eating and the Hall got noisy, Dumbledore stood up for another speech. "Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices. First Years and Transfer Students ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students, and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too." Sound like the Forest of Death, maybe I can get a pass to visit every once in a while.
"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door." I'd better check out that list, it may give me a great idea for a prank!
"We have had three changes in staffing this year. We are delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." A new teacher... WAIT! I know her!
"This teacher actually looks competent, unlike the last few," Malfoy said, a few seats down from Naruto. "Even if she looks like a toad."
"Nope," Naruto spoke up, "She doesn't. I know, I've been around many toads. She looks more like a Pink Blimp, or somebody you'll find in an orphanage that likes to punish little girls."
"Either way, she likely won't last til the end of the school year."
"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked.
"Because, blondie, the Potter group drove out all the others. The first one was destroyed, the second was wiped of his memories, the third was revealed to be a werewolf, and last year's..."
"I know last year's. He was a Death Eater revealed by Harry and myself."
Malfoy would have responded, but a 'hem hem' drew everyone's attention. Surprised by it as well, Dumbledore got off the podium and gave Professor Umbridge the floor. "Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." After another fit of fake coughs, she continued. "Well, it is lovely to be here at Hogwarts, and to see your happy little faces looking up at me!" Looking around, Naruto only saw a few smiles on the faces of Slytherins, but even most of them didn't like being addressed like someone not even Academy age. "I am looking forward to getting to know you all! I'm sure we'll be very good friends!" Seriously, she should stick to torturing girls in orphanages.
After coughing again, she got to the point, but Naruto tuned it out. She's likely the plant the Order mentioned. This should be about how the Ministry is going to invade and take over Hogwarts. When she finally closed her mouth and stopped coughing, Dumbledore started clapping, which pressured the teachers then a few students to join him.
Dumbledore then returned to the front and center, where he continued where he'd been cut off. "Thank you very much Professor Umbridge. We also would like to introduce our substitute teacher for Care of Magical Creatures, Professor Grubbly-plank." The professor that led the Firsties on the boats got a bigger applause than Umbridge ever did, and she took a bow. "I would also like to announce a new course that is being considered for addition to our curriculum yearly. Chakra, a new, optional class with be taught by Professor Fukasaku." At this, Pa hopped onto the edge of the table in front of his seat, nodded his head, then sat back down. He had less applause than Grubbly-plank. "Since this class is optional, you'll have to sign up for it. The sing up sheets will be in your dormitories. Quidditch tryouts are going to be held within the next few weeks. Each House has a different day and time scheduled, so make sure to check with your Prefects or Quidditch Captains for the information. Now that everything important has been said, lets head off to our dormitories and rest for classes tomorrow."
After placing the Sorting Hat on his post in his office, Dumbledore addressed him. "What did you think about the boy, Naruto?"
"Now Albus, you know I can't reveal any secrets to you about those who I sort. However, since he wants to return to Konoha, I'll tell you something not personal to him."
"And what would that be?"
"He has a strong mind, and can enter his subconsciousness, which has the appearance of a sewer. I've only seen a location for a subconsciousness twice before, and both of them seemed to be referenced in Naruto's forgotten memories of school history."
And that's the Sorting Ceremony. So, how many of you guessed right?
Admins, if I have too much 'original text' in a chapter, please give me a warning review/PM with said chapter, and please give me 12 hours to alter it. This will let me remove the questionable material without having to email your support to find out what was wrong and wait a few hours for a response, just to edit the one paragraph that got this story removed.
Review Critiques:
I don't know how the Merfolk live. I made that up for chapter filler, and may or may not bring it up again later.
Yes, Naruto won't be resorted. Deal with it. I didn't want him in Gryffindor, he seemed to belong in either Slytherin or Hufflepuff, and Slytherin has more written classes paired with Gryffindor.
Peace out, and sorry for the upcoming wait!
AnonymousGX