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Votes:
Itachi: 22
Deidara: 6
Draco: 4
Sasori: 3
Harry: 3
Fred: 2
George: 2
Lupin: 1
Madara: 1
Hidan: 1
Ron: 1
"We've arrived at Hogwarts!"
That one excited exclamation delivered an extra load of realization to the four shinobi. The seriousness of their mission was finally sinking in and they shared a glance. All four ninja understood each other, even without having to delve into one another's minds with their thought-sharing bond that all Akatsuki members wielded. The last thing they needed was more stress.
And, as Kami-sama would have it, that was exactly what they got. Karma was a real bitch.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Lupin all stood. The Akatsuki, in turn, copied their movement. Ron slid open the door - which Lupin had closed after their encounter with the Dementor - and they all waited as a crowd of witches and wizards exited the train. The eight stood for a good ten minutes as student after student squeezed by, some snapping and hissing at each other to 'move the bloody hell out of the way'.
Inner Sakura blinked dumbly and her outer swore that she saw a gigantic question mark above her head as she pondered the meaning of 'bloody hell'. She eventually settled upon an equality of Itachi replaying the Uchiha Massacre in someone's mind via Tsukuyomi.
Once a gap finally opened up amongst the flood of students, they jumped out of their compartment. Sakura glanced back to make sure Lupin had managed to make it out, but the wizard had disappeared.
What the - where did he go?
Sakura frowned slightly and turned back to face the front of the massive train. Itachi's sharp eye caught her expression, and she sensed him looking at her. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and flickered it back towards the direction they had come from. The Uchiha got the hint and glanced - unnoticeable to the untrained, A.K.A. wizard, eye - over his shoulder. His eyes narrowed slightly as he obviously saw what Sakura had. Or rather, saw what should have been there but wasn't. He turned his head inches forward back to its original position, eyes narrowing invisibly in deep thought.
Sakura and Itachi had a deep understanding. They were both geniuses, and preferred to speak with very few words. Because of this shared preference, Sakura was quick to understand what the Uchiha meant by 'hn'. Both were quiet and both were dangerous.
Today, however, Sakura's wish of silence and peace would not be met.
Karma wasn't just a bitch. Karma was a pissy bitch.
The four shinobi made their way to the front of the train, pausing every few seconds to glare at a student that 'shoved them and will soon go missing'. However, as soon as Hogwarts came into view, their minds drew a blank. The school was huge. Sakura could have sworn that it was a castle – one larger than the castle belonging to the leader of her home village, Kazahana Koyuki-hime.
And suddenly everything passed in a blur.
Sakura wasn't sure what happened next, but all of a sudden she and the other three Akatsuki were standing in front of a cart being pulled by a strange creature. The four shinobi studied the animal in shock, curiosity getting the better of them, and completely ignored the wizard (and witch) trio. The creature was horse-like and had large bony wings. It was very skinny and had a thin ebony coat. If Sakura was being honest with herself, she would have said that the thing looked dead.
"What...is it, yeah?" Deidara whispered, his blue eyes wide. For half a second, he considered uncovering his left eye to see if it was genjutsu.
"I have no idea," Sakura murmured. "Itachi? Have you seen anything like this before?"
"Hn." Surprisingly, all three Akatsuki understood.
"Kisame? What about you?"
He blinked, almost daring to touch the creature.
"Do I look like I've seen this ugly thing before?"
"Is it dead, yeah?" Deidara asked, voicing their inner thoughts.
"I'm not sure," Sakura admitted. She frowned. The medic could sense a life force in the animal, but it was dark and foggy. As much as she hated to admit it, the thing reminded her of a ghost.
The trio finally decided to break in.
"Our carriages always pull themselves," Hermione voiced, obviously trying not to annoy them too much.
The four shinobi paused and glanced at her.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, yet again acting as the spokesperson.
"The carriages pull themselves," Ron cut in, repeating Hermione's statement. "They always have. We think one of the professors put a charm on them."
The Akatsuki members shared a look.
"But...they're not pulling themselves, yeah," Deidara objected.
"Of course they are," Harry said. "There's nothing there pulling them, so they must being doing it alone." Sakura's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"On the contrary, Harry-san, there is something there," she murmured.
"No there isn't," Ron disagreed.
"Yeah, there is," Kisame argued, frowning. "Can't you see it?"
"It looks like a dead horse, yeah," Deidara exclaimed in confusion. "How can you not see it, yeah?"
This time, Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other in confusion.
"But there isn't anything there," Hermione said, trying to reason with them. "This is our third year at Hogwarts, and there's never been anything pulling the carriages. Why would there be now?"
Sakura's confused frown deepened.
What is it?
Dunno. Maybe it's some kind of demon?
No, it'd be huge. Besides, that boy in Suna has the Ichibi.
But this doesn't have tail AT ALL. It could be...I don't know, a no-tailed demon?
But then why are there more than one?
Sure enough, a quick glance around confirmed Sakura's thoughts. There were countless carts that brought the students up to the school, and each of them was being pulled by one of the creatures.
So strange...
It was only then that Sakura realized the others had been talking.
"-ust too blind to see them, yeah!" Deidara growled, glaring at Hermione.
"Well, excuse me!" the brunette huffed back. "I have twenty-twenty vision, thank you very much!"
That one drew the shinobi up short.
What does 'twenty-twenty vision' mean?
I have no clue. Maybe it means that she can only see things in twenty different colors?
But then why is it called 'twenty-twenty'? Wouldn't it just be 'twenty'?
Good question. Maybe it means that she can see forty different colors.
But it could just be called 'forty vision'.
Then maybe she sees two thousand twenty colors.
True. But why not call it 'two-thousand-twenty vision' instead of 'twenty-twenty vision'?
Maybe because it's shorter.
Ah. I see.
With a frown, Sakura discovered that her companions had been speaking again.
"-ans that I don't need glasses," Hermione explained. "Like Harry."
Oh. Sakura didn't say anything; what could she say?
'Oh, thank you very much. Medic-nin usually probe the veins behind our eyes with chakra to see if they're taking damage. That's how we find out if we need glasses. By the way, you don't know what a 'medic-nin' and 'chakra' are, do you? Well, I should probably start off by telling you that we're all ninja from another dimension.'
Yeah, that would go well. Sakura didn't even want to imagine what the wizards' reactions would be.
'Is something troubling you?'
The sudden intrusion to her mind startled the rosette.
'Itachi? What is it?'
Their thought-sharing bond had been opened.
'You seem distracted. Do you sense an enemy?'
Of course. That's all he thinks about.
'No. Just thinking.'
'Ah.'
Neither Akatsuki member replied.
Suddenly, something caught Sakura's eye. Or rather, she noticed something that was supposed to be there.
"The other carriages are already gone," she blurted out before she could think.
The other six looked up in surprise and, sure enough, what Sakura had said was true.
"We need to go," Hermione stated, echoing everyone's thoughts. Sakura faintly noted that the brunette didn't seem as annoying as she had before.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed onto the cart, soon followed by the shinobi. The dead-looking creature made a snorting sound from deep in its throat and trotted at a moderate pace towards the school. The ninja were once again captured by the school's allure, completely forgetting about the horse-thing.
Deidara drew in a quiet breath through his nose. He could have sworn that the school was a mile wide. With a playful frown tugging at the corners of his lips, the blond opened the mental bond with the other three Akatsuki members. Surprisingly, the bond was becoming harder and harder to manage.
'Why can't our base look like that, yeah?'
'Because Pein-sana is an ass and wanted to have a gigantic metal carving of himself to live in.'
Deidara nearly snorted aloud at Sakura's retort.
'Why would you want to live in a castle?' Kisame scrunched up his nose. 'It's too...old. And too damn ugly.'
Sakura was unable to stifle a quiet snort, while Deidara bit his lip to keep from grinning.
"Something wrong?" Harry asked. Sakura shook her head. Kisame, however, decided to answer.
"Your school looks like a castle," He grunted.
"So?" Ron replied. "It's bloody brilliant, isn't it?"
"It's ugly," Kisame deadpanned. Deidara snickered and Sakura smacked a hand to her face. Itachi felt a familiar sense of annoyance rising in him.
"Wh-what?" Ron stammered.
"Hogwarts isn't ugly!" Hermione protested.
"Of course it isn't, yeah," Deidara agreed. "Kisame here is just being a tight-ass, yeah."
Sakura accidentally let out a rather loud snort and Itachi sighed quietly.
"What the bloody hell what that?" Ron laughed, amusement ringing clearly in his heavily-accented voice. Sakura's face suddenly went completely blank, all traces of laughing gone.
"What was that, Ron-san?"
Deidara quickly scooted away, attempting (and failing) to be discreet. Ron blinked in confusion.
"What?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"
Sakura shot him a bright obviously-fake smile that sent chills up Deidara's spine.
Whoa, she's PISSED, yeah.
"I would prefer you to refrain from making comments about the sounds I make," was the rosette's sickeningly-sweet reply. Kisame flinched.
"Um...alright," Ron mumbled awkwardly, not really understanding the danger he was currently in. Hermione and Harry exchanged confused looks, while Deidara held in a sigh of relief.
At least she didn't blow up, yeah. His lips twitched as he fought a dry smile. Heh, no pun intended, yeah.
The rest of the short ride was utterly silent. The Akatsuki didn't even bother communicating mentally. It was over far too early for Sakura's taste; she enjoyed watching the stars as their carriage rolled along.
The seven were soon deposited in front of Hogwarts, and the shinobi once again realized just how large the school was. It was amazing.
The Akatsuki members followed the three wizards – and witch – into the school, relieved to find a good-sized group of other students waiting in front of a large door.
"-ryone prepared?" a witch – in her late forties to early fifties at most – questioned. "Very well then. Let us enter the Great Hall."
She turned and pushed the doors open. Sakura, Deidara, Itachi, and Kisame were suddenly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the students. Sakura's ears rang painfully and she winced, her sensitive shinobi hearing quickly becoming a disadvantage. Judging by the others' expression – minus Itachi –, they felt the same. The professor refaced the crowd of students, frowning when she spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She beckoned them forward with a small wave of her hand.
"What do the three of you believe you are doing?" she demanded, fixing them with a stern gaze. "You are supposed to already be in the Great Hall with all the rest of the returning students. This group is First Years only."
The trio offered her sheepish smiles of embarrassment.
"You see, Professor McGonagall, we kind of got held up on the wagon," Harry murmured. "We're sorry." She sighed.
"Yes, well, just see to it that it doesn't happen again," Professor McGonagall scolded. The three nodded. "Take your seats then."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried to their seats at the Gryffindor table, earning a few giggles here and there. McGonagall motioned for the First Years to follow her, casting a knowing glance at the four shinobi. They sent her tiny nods of confirmation.
Sakura tried to open the mental connection, but, shockingly, failed. She tried again. Nothing.
Great. she thought dryly. It must be because we're in a different dimension. The only thing supporting the thought-sharing bond is Pein-sama's jutsu, and we're about as far away from him as possible.
Well, that's just perfect. Inner Sakura muttered sarcastically.
With a quiet sigh, Sakura spoke to her comrades in their native language.
"Pein-sama's jutsu no longer has any affect," she whispered. They seemed surprised.
"Seriously, yeah?" Deidara asked softly, unheard by the non-shinobi ears.
The blond and Kisame both made a frustrated face. Apparently, they had attempted – and failed – to establish and utilize the bond.
"We will deal with that matter later," Itachi murmured, drawing their attention. "First, we must continue the mission. I believe McGonagall-san wishes to speak with us once we are away from the students."
"I thought so, as well," Sakura agreed. "Right now, however, I do not believe it is wise to speak so openly."
The other three nodded. They silently agreed to refrain from speaking out loud until they were free of witnesses. The less the students knew, the better.
The shinobis' attention was directed to the front as Professor McGonagall began speaking.
"I will now begin the sorting," she announced.
"Sorting?" Sakura mumbled. Deidara shrugged.
"Abigail Acevedo," she called.
A young girl with shoulder-length brown hair and glasses came forward. She sat on the seat beside McGonagall, who in turn placed an old pointed hat on her head. To the Akatsuki members' shock, the hat began to speak.
"Very loyal," it murmured. "Fairly bright, I see. Very well. Huffelpuff!"
Cheering erupted at a table of students, most of them being female. The young witch smiled and hopped off the seat as McGonagall removed the hat. She took her seat close to the end of the table.
The ninja shared a look. This was something they obviously hadn't expected.
"Collin Ackerdore."
Another student, this time a young wizard, copied the girl before him. He sank onto the seat and the hat spoke again.
"Ah, this one is quite intelligent," it rasped. "Not to brave, though." A few snickers and giggles echoed in the hall, and the boy turned bright red.
With a bored yawn, Sakura turned to her companions.
"This is pointless," she grumbled. "Who cares if they sit at one table or another?"
A faint shout of, "Ravenclaw!" was heard, but they ignored it.
Deidara nodded in agreement. "It'll take too long, yeah," he muttered. "There's a lot of students to be 'sorted', yeah." Kisame sighed.
"Do we really have to stand here the entire time?" Kisame complained. "There's nothing to do."
"You're just pissy 'cause there's no Kiri-nin to kill." Kisame grinned slightly at Sakura.
"You know me well, kitten."
Just as Deidara had predicted, the sorting took a very long time. Throughout the entire time, the four ninja sighed and stood impatiently.
"Timothy Zwatsky," Professor McGonagall called.
Finally, the last boy walked up. He was tall and meek with dark hair and glasses. Sakura pinned him as the type to stutter. He sat down shakily, jumping slightly and squeaking when the hat began talking. He blushed in embarrassment.
"Quite the smart one, I see," the sorting hat said. "It appears that you spend most of your time working on homework. I know just where to put you. Ravenclaw!"
The table cheered (some more enthusiastic than others) and the boy took his seat awkwardly. A few students glanced back at the four remaining curiously.
"Now, everyone," McGonagall began again. "We have four new students with us this year. Professor Dumbledore?" The Headmaster nodded, and she continued. "They are not first years." The Great Hall was suddenly alive with curious and jealous cries. "Silence!" All talking immediately ceased. McGonagall cleared her throat and spoke once more. "These four students are participating in an exchange program. They will be attending Hogwarts for this year only"- she held up her hand to silence the murmurs-"and they are to be treated as you would your closest friends. Hogwarts is excepting them this year in order to strengthen ties with a Witchcraft and Wizardry school located in Japan. If all goes according to plan, there will be great effects."
"But, Professor," a boy suddenly spoke up, standing by his seat at the Ravenclaw table. "If they are from Japan, how will we communicate with them?"
A few murmurs of agreement echoed his question, but it was quiet when McGonagall raised her hand again.
"They have participated in classes that teach the English language," she lied smoothly. "They are able to speak our language fluently, so there is no need to be concerned."
"Where is the school in Japan?" a girl from the Slytherin table questioned.
"It's whereabouts are unknown, other than being in Japan," the professor said firmly, shooting down any other questions with a hard look. "In Japan, it is tradition to call someone by their last name before their first. To honor this, these students will be called in alphabetical order according to their first names in place of their last."
The four Akatsuki members glanced at one another, mentally preparing themselves.
"First up, Dee-day-ray...I apologize, but your last name is not listed." Deidara flinched at the pronunciation of his name. Kisame snorted.
All eyes were on Deidara as he approached Professor McGonagall.
"My name is pronounced 'Deidara Katsu', yeah," he grumbled under his breath.
"I'm terribly sorry," the witch apologized. She announced it to the crowd of students. "Deidara Katsu." A few snickered, seeing as his name sounded completely different from how she had originally said it.
Deidara paused before sitting. He eyed the hat warily as it was placed on his head. The hat seemed to lift it's non-existent head in surprise.
"What's this?" it croaked. "You are quite different from my usual batch." The hat hesitated for a moment as it delved into Deidara's mind. "Ah, you're quite strong, and your intelligence is fair. Very brave; in fact, you seem to be a bit reckless." Giggles from blushing girls sounded, most of them being from the Huffelpuff table. "You enjoy adventure...hm, Gryffindor!"
Very loud clapping and whistles came from the table at which Harry, Ron, and Hermione were seated. McGonagall removed the hat and Deidara stood, glancing at the table uncertainly.
"Take at seat at the applauding table," she explained quietly.
Deidara gave a short, stiff nod and walked to the table. He sat four seats from Harry, facing the far wall. McGonagall continued.
"Eye-tay-chee Uh-chee-hay."
Sakura noticed the Uchiha's eyes twitch and snickered. Kisame chuckled quietly. He strolled to the front silently, earning a few gasps and girlish giggles.
"How do you pronounce you name, young man?" McGonagall asked.
"Itachi Uchiha."
She frowned slightly, almost as if embarrassed for her horrible pronunciation of Japanese names. "Itachi Uchiha." Yet again, snickers sounded.
The hat was placed on his head and, once again, it seemed surprised.
"Another rather odd one," it mumbled. "I'm quite enjoying myself, I must say. Ah, yes. You are a very intelligent young man, yet you don't seem to interact with others very well. Hm, with those circumstance, you could fit into both Ravenclaw and Slytherin." A few sighs of disappointment were heard from the Huffelpuff and Gryffindor tables. "Your emotions are in strictly in check, I see, and you don't appear to have a single shred of fear buried anywhere in your subconscious. Come to think of it, there are nearly no emotions what so ever in your subconscious inner mind. You have much power, though your heart doesn't seem too cold."
Kisame snorted in disbelief and Deidara snickered, biting his lip. Sakura, however, understood the hat's meaning. Itachi had once told her about a mission he had received from the Konoha elders many years previous, when he was still a part of his home village. She had been shocked beyond belief to discover that he didn't kill his clan out of cruelty, but rather because of orders. Sakura had been close to killing his younger brother, Sasuke, but Itachi asked her not to. When she confronted him about it afterwards, he had revealed everything to her. Sakura the remaining Konoha elders, and Itachi himself were the only ones who knew the truth.
"Therefore...Ravenclaw!"
The cheering was extremely loud, fueled mostly by many feminine screams of joy. McGonagall lifted the hat from his head, not even a single black strand of hair shifting. The eldest Uchiha stood and made his way emotionlessly to the Ravenclaw table.
"Kai-say-mee Hoh-shai-gay-kee." Laughter sounded at the sound of his last name, and Kisame scowled.
He made stalked to the front, annoyance coming off him in waves as he ignored Sakura's smirk behind him. The shark-nin didn't wait for McGonagall to ask.
"Kisame Hoshigaki," he muttered.
"My apologies." She faced the students. "Kisame Hoshigaki." The snickers were louder than before.
The hat rested lightly on Kisame's spiky hair, not completely touching his head.
"You're a bit different from the other two," the hat began. "Not nearly as bright, but loyal enough." Laughter ensued and Kisame glared at nothing in particular. "Now, now, there's no need to be upset. Your loyalty is your strongest attribute. Huffelpuff!"
Huffelpuff?!? he thought in disgust. What kind of name in 'Huffelpuff'?!? And why am Ithe one stuck in it?!?
With a low growl, the tall shinobi trudged to the Huffelpuff table, following the cheering.
"And last, but not least, Say-kuh-ray Hay-ruh-no."
Sakura twitched, her nose wrinkling slightly on the left side. Deidara coughed to hide a laugh, and a smirk twitched on Kisame's frowning lips. She walked almost too quickly to McGonagall, spitting out her own name stiffly.
"Sakura Haruno."
Professor McGonagall seemed a bit startled at Sakura's behavior, but announced it to the students nonetheless.
"Sakura Haruno."
The rosette sat and willed the hat to make haste as it was lowered onto her head. Sakura scowled furiously at it slid right over her eyes and stopped on her nose, a vein threatening to pop on her forehead as laughs and snickers echoed. The wizards and witches seemed to be laughing a lot, lately.
Deidara, however, neither snickered or snorted. He burst into full-blown laughter. Kisame choked on his own breath and coughed out a few throaty chuckles; even Itachi failed to stifle an amused smirk. Sakura wrenched the hat up, setting it back a little so that it wouldn't fall over her face.
Deidara is DEAD!!
KYYYAAA!! I'LL KICK HIS SKINNY LITTLE ASS!! I'LL TEACH HIM TO LAUGH AT US!!!
The hat let out what sounded like an amused laugh, and all noise stopped in the Great Hall.
"Well, well, it appears that you have quite the temper," it said, the hat's tone deep and raspy. Deidara snorted.
That's an understatement, yeah.
"However, you are extremely bright," the hat continued. "I would even venture so far as to call you a genius. Much like your Ravenclaw friend." Sakura cut her eyes momentarily at Itachi. "Very powerful and very respectable; in fact, you seem to be fearless. Your inner subconscious, however, is full of many negative emotions. Definitely not Huffelpuff."
A few disappointed whispers of, "darn" and "aw, man" came from said table.
"You have a very large amount of anger and dark thoughts located deep inside of your mind, and I must say that it is a bit startling, to say the least." Sakura's eyes darkened and narrowed, and she sent the sorting hat a dangerous glare. "Now, now. Has the saying 'violence is never the answer' been introduced to you?" Sakura's eyes narrowed even further, waves of murderous intentions flowing from her. Inner Sakura was in a fit. "Apparently not."
AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!! Hurry UUUP!!
"Yes, very well. Just calm down." The hat seemed to take a steadying breath. "Hm, your temper is much too unstable for Huffelpuff, and you are obviously not calm enough for Ravenclaw. Gryffindor might be pushing it. Very well, then, Slytherin!"
Everyone was stunned. The Slytherin table exploded into applause, while the other tables – mainly the Gryffindor table – were too shocked to clap. Deidara's mouth fell open and Kisame raised an eyebrow.
Kitten won't be too happy about this. She hates all things that relate to snakes, especially Orochimaru.
Itachi simply remained silent, though he seemed a bit too emotionless. Sakura stood quickly, almost growling at Professor McGonagall when the witch didn't remove the hat fast enough for her taste. The professors seemed the most shocked of all, though. A man with greasy black hair and pale skin locked his eyes on Sakura, almost as if trying to judge her abilities and worth.
Sakura walked silently to the Slytherin table, looking every bit as emotionless as Itachi. Only the Akatsuki members could tell that she was furious. Apparently, the sorting hat had poked it's head (or hat) too far into her private memories that she wished to keep secret. The only thing that kept her from ripping it to shreds was the fact that the hat hadn't said anything about her memories.
She sat stiffly beside a boy with slicked-back white-blond hair. Talking bubbled in the Great Hall, almost all of it centered around the shinobi. Dumbledore stood and gestured for them to stop. It was suddenly silent.
Dumbledore smiled warmly.