A/N: I'm trying to keep this story as tight as possible. All changes to HP Chamber of Secrets canon should be direct results of the Hokage and Orochimaru entering the picture. Of course, those changes will completely transform the plot line, but please call me on any canon errors that you think might not be intentional, or if anyone seems out of character.
Now back to business. Hokage meets Hogsmeade, and merry hell ensues.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.
Chapter 1: The Hokage Gets a Job
Everything was calm and peaceful in Hogsmeade village. The students were home for the summer holidays, giving the shopkeepers and locals a little room to breathe. Most of the shops were closed, though a few kept reduced summer hours. The only place that seemed unaffected by the lack of students was the Hog's Head, whose normal crowd generally didn't include students anyway.
If school had been in session, the unconscious man materializing in the middle of the street would not have gone unnoticed. As it was, the old man—he was sixty if he was a day—remained in the street for almost an hour without attracting any attention. He looked very out of place amid the quaint cottages and shops, with his sword, close-fitting black armor, and skull-cap.
At three in the afternoon, a shabby-looking wizard in tattered robes came out of the Hog's Head. He raised a hand to shade his eyes from the afternoon sun, and swayed in a way that suggested he'd had a few tumblers of firewhiskey. When he saw the unconscious form in the road, his jaw dropped.
He hurried to the man's side, weaving a little bit before reaching him. He held his finger against the man's neck, and nodded to himself when he felt a pulse.
"Still alive, 'sgood. They'd probably blame me if he wasn't, just fer bein' in the wrong place at the wrong time."
A soft exhalation, and a flutter of eyelids. The man began to stir.
"Tha's it, buddy," the wizard crooned, as if he was coaxing a puppy or a baby. "Time to wake up. You're safe with old Mundungus, never fear."
The Third Hokage opened his eyes groggily, his head aching abominably and every muscle in his body sore. A shifty-looking man kneeled over him. His breath smelled of alcohol.
"What… what happened?"
"I think that's for you to tell me," his observer said with a roguish wink. "Seeing as how we just met. Mundungus Fletcher, at'cher service."
He held out his hand, which Hiruzen didn't take because his hands were busy massaging his temples. There was something he was forgetting, but his mind was so foggy…
The pain rang like a bell in his head, interrupting his thoughts several times before he could get them in order.
"Where am I?"
"You're in Hogsmeade, old feller. Oldest wizarding village in the world, and all that tripe."
He was speaking gibberish as far as Hiruzen was concerned. Mundungus looked down at him curiously, his eyes narrowing with the effort of concentration.
"Wait a tic…" he said, with the air of someone who has made a tremendous discovery, "you're an Asian chap, aren't you?"
Hiruzen just stared at him blankly. Mundungus nodded, looking delighted with himself.
"Of course, that explains it! Why you're not wearing robes like a decent person, and why ya don't know your way around. Just got in from the East, have ya?"
This Mundungus wasn't making any sense at all, but Hiruzen decided to ignore him and concentrate on regaining his feet. Mundungus lent him a hand, pulling him up while chattering at full speed the entire time.
"Wait until I tell the boys at the pub! I bet they've never met an Asian wizard before. I wonder what kind of price that there armor would fetch in Diagon Alley? I bet there's people as would pay a pretty penny for authentic Asian wizardwear…"
Closing his eyes, and wishing he could close his ears as well, Hiruzen tried to clear his mind. There was something wrong, some danger… his body was telling him to beware of a threat.
Then it hit him. Orochimaru!
Hiruzen jumped away from Mundungus, reaching for his staff that was no longer there. Where was Orochimaru? He had just summoned the First and Second Hokage, though Hiruzen had managed to prevent the Fourth from appearing. He had been losing, unable to stand against two of his predecessors together. Then an ear-splitting crash, and a blinding flash, and then… he was here. Wherever here was.
Mundungus was flinching away from him, taken off guard by the speed with which he had moved. The Hokage kept scanning the area, alert for any sign of Orochimaru.
After overcoming his surprise, Mundungus moved toward Hiruzen again. The movement brought his attention back to the moment, and he focused on the shifty wizard.
"I have dire news," he said, trying to communicate his urgency to the strange man. "Your village is in danger. Please bring me to your Kage."
Mundungus hiccupped, then laughed. "Kage? Wassat? Sounds like a kind of drink. Hey," he broke off, looking at Hiruzen with speculation. "You look like you could use a drink. Let's go have a topper!"
He tried to put one arm around the Hokage's shoulder, which Hiruzen shrugged off in disgust. The man was obviously drunk. Whatever kind of village this was, its inhabitants clearly knew nothing of discipline or danger. Orochimaru would cut through them like a scythe through hay.
Hiruzen started to walk away, but then reconsidered. He was a stranger in an unknown village, with no knowledge of the customs or procedures. Just from the strange robes worn by the man who'd found him, he could already tell he was going to stick out. Maybe it would be better to stay with Mundungus, at least until he found someone better placed to heed his warning.
"Why not," he said to Mundungus. "Lead on."
A tavern or inn would be the best place to find information, and with any luck his native guide would find a bottle to drown in and leave Hiruzen alone.
"Righto," said an ecstatic Mundungus. "To the Three Broomsticks! I'd take you to the Hog's Head, but," he winked at the Hokage conspiratorially, "Aberforth won't let me back in today. Said I'd already had enough. What cheek!"
Still mumbling under his breath about "Aberforth," Mundugus led Hiruzen to a cozy-looking building with a sign that featured three broomsticks and a frothy mug.
Mundungus headed straight to the bar, where a remarkably pretty woman was drying out a mug with a cloth.
"Hallo, Rosmerta," Mundungus said breezily. "Two firewhiskies, there's a dear."
Rosmerta wrinkled her cute nose at him.
"I know you better than that, Mundungus. It's two to one they just kicked you out of the Hog's Head. You'll have a butterbeer, and if you make any fuss I'll call Aberforth over here."
The man's face drooped miserably, but he didn't protest.
"Who's your friend?" Rosmerta regarded Hiruzen with polite interest.
"Ah," Mundungus said importantly, "this here's my friend… erm…" He looked at the Hokage. "Never did get your name, friend."
"I am called Sarutobi Hiruzen." He directed a smile towards Rosmerta without acknowledging Mundungus. It felt strange giving his full name to these strangers and not having them recognize it. He had been Hokage so long he almost didn't use his name at all. Not having people bowing to him and calling him "Hokage-sama" was sort of… refreshing.
"Right, one firewhisky for my friend Sarutobi," Mundungus resumed his possessive introduction.
Hiruzen rolled his eyes, which caused Rosmerta to hide a smile behind her hand. She got a glass down from a cupboard and poured a few fingers of a dark liquor, which she then handed to the Hokage. Mundungus got a mug full of a foamy liquid, which Hiruzen guessed must be non-alcoholic.
He took a small sip of his drink, sighing in appreciation as the fiery drink warmed him all the way down to his belly. This was so much better than a fight to the death with Orochimaru.
"Sarutobi's from out East, you know," Mundungus said to Rosmerta (Hiruzen decided not to point out that Hiruzen was his given name—Sarutobi would answer just as well, and he wasn't sure he wanted to be on a first-name basis with Mundungus). "Very different customs they've got over there, as you can probably tell from the outfit. Fetch a pretty price, it would."
He nodded sagely, while Rosmerta shot him a stern glance.
"Don't you dare go taking the clothes off the backs of strangers, Mundungus Fletcher! I won't stand for it, and Albus won't either! Watch out for this one," Rosmerta added to Hiruzen, "he'd sell his own mother if he thought he could get a few galleons for her."
Hiruzen nodded, ignoring Mundungus' outraged cry, but he wasn't particularly worried. Untrustworthy Mundungus might be, but Hiruzen wasn't so over the hill that he couldn't deal with someone so obviously incompetent.
"So," Rosmerta began, obviously curious about her exotic guest, "what brings you into Hogsmeade?"
"I don't know," Hiruzen replied honestly. "I was fighting an evil ninja when we got caught in an explosion. I woke up here."
Mundungus choked on his butterbeer, sending foam spraying out over the counter.
"Fighting an evil what? Pull the other one!" He started laughing uproariously.
"I assure you I'm telling the absolute truth," Hiruzen said. This was going to be difficult. How could anyone react like that to ninja, of all things? How did they keep their village safe without shinobi to guard it? For Hogsmeade was too obviously prosperous to be without protection.
"I'm sure you are," Rosmerta hastened to assure him. "Don't mind Mundungus."
"That brings me to my main reason for entering your tavern, Rosmerta-san." The tavern mistress looked so taken aback by the polite address that Hiruzen immediately decided to drop honorifics. There was no need to stand out more than he absolutely needed to.
"I need to find whoever is in charge of your village, to tell him or her of the threat posed by Orochimaru. However I got here, he must surely have come as well, which means everyone is in grave danger. He can change bodies at will, and won't hesitate to kill anyone in his way."
Rosmerta looked horrified, while Mundungus had a stupid half-grin on his face. He obviously thought the Hokage was spinning wild tales.
"Hogsmeade is just a tiny village," Rosmerta said after a moment, "and we don't have a leader, per se. But you might talk to Dumbledore, I mean, Albus Dumbledore. He's the strongest wizard you'll find anywhere, so he's the one to tell about this Ori… orum…"
"Orochimaru," Hiruzen corrected gently. "Where can I find Professor Dumbledore?"
"He'll be up at the castle," Rosmerta said. "It's just down the road, you can't miss it."
A castle! Finally, something good about this strange place. A fortified defensive position, ruled by a leader of good reputation. Maybe all was not lost.
Hiruzen had also taken note of the word "wizard," which he hoped would turn out to be the warrior caste around here. He prayed this Albus Dumbledore was truly powerful, or else Hiruzen would be alone against Orochimaru. And he already knew how that fight was likely to end. It was only thanks to the barrier collapsing that Hiruzen wasn't already dead, and he wasn't likely to forget it.
"Many thanks, Lady Rosmerta. I apologize, but I must excuse myself. Nothing must delay my news."
Rosmerta nodded faintly, and Hiruzen walked out, leaving his glass on the counter. He didn't have any money, and it wouldn't have been the right kind anyway; besides, Mundungus had ordered for him so it was fitting that he pay. Hiruzen didn't feel bad—what money Mundungus had he no doubt only used to keep himself happily drunk.
The Hokage set off along a well-trod dirt road, which wound between inns and shops to open up into a green field. In the distance he could see the castle Rosmerta mentioned, spires seeming to pierce the sky. He walked at a sedate pace toward the castle, intending to use the time to gather his thoughts.
It was clear he was nowhere on the continent. Shinobi and samurai were the only military forces in any of the villages, but the only potential military force here seemed to be these wizards. Moreover, the Hokage would definitely have remembered a village called "Hogsmeade" if he had ever seen it on a map. That meant one of two things: one, he was somewhere far away on the other side of the world, in a part of the world unknown to the Land of Fire; or two, the blast of energy created by the imploding barrier had ripped a hole in the fabric of reality, and he was currently in a different world altogether. The more he thought about it, the more likely the second possibility seemed, even though he told himself it was impossible.
But he wondered. The Kyuubi's chakra was rumored to be able to warp reality. Was it so much of a stretch to believe that reality could tear entirely?
And then there was the First Hokage's journal, which was kept in the vault with Konoha's most valuable scrolls. It talked of a "great journey," during which he encountered "marvels never seen on this earth." Hiruzen had dismissed it as a figure of speech, perhaps self-important bluster. But maybe the First really had travelled to an alternate reality. Hiruzen hoped so, because that meant that it was possible to return.
The castle appeared before the Hokage, a large staircase leading up to the most enormous doors he had ever seen. The castle dwarfed his own tower, for a second making him small and insignificant.
Hiruzen walked up to the doors and paused, not wanting to simply barge in. He rapped on the oak with his sword hilt, hoping the sound would be loud enough to alert someone. He didn't see guards patrolling the walls, which disconcerted him. What was to stop enemies from scaling the walls?
"Hail the castle!" he called out in a carrying voice. "I seek safe passage!"
The doors swung inward, and Hiruzen came face-to-face with the strangest creature he had ever seen. It was barely waist-high, and had large, floppy ears. A rag was wrapped its midriff. It stared back at the Hokage with eyes as big and round as saucers.
"How can Belby help, sir?"
Hiruzen barely kept from gaping. Was this world home to monsters? But then, it seemed smart enough. And it was obviously some kind of servant, so the ruler here trusted it. Hiruzen would do the same.
"I'm here to meet with the wizard Albus Dumbledore," he said, watching the creature warily.
It bowed low, the tips of its oversized ears hitting the floor.
"Follow Belby, sir. Belby will take you to Dumbledore."
The Hokage followed closely where the creature led, through a long hall and up a staircase so grand it would have moved a daimyo to tears. Though awed by the splendor, Hiruzen couldn't help but notice that—besides Belby—he had still not glimpsed a single other person in the castle.
It was easily large enough to house Konoha's entire shinobi force, yet the halls were empty and devoid of life. Had there been some terrible plague which had decimated the population? Perhaps the occupants of the castle were at war? Or maybe, Hiruzen reflected, this Albus Dumbledore was incredibly vain, and held court alone in this castle, attended by monsters and creatures from fairy tales.
As the Hokage followed his diminutive guide through the narrower hallways on the second floor, he began to feel as though someone was watching him. It was like an itch he couldn't scratch, right between his shoulder blades, and it only grew stronger as he walked on. Then, in the corner of his eye, he caught a tiny movement, the merest glint of light flashing off of steel.
His instincts kicked in immediately, and he leapt to the side, turning in midair to face the threat. Two kunai were already in the air by the time he'd drawn his sword from its scabbard. The kunai flew straight and true, and buried themselves halfway to the hilt in their target.
Hiruzen stared, dumbstruck. His kunai had hit a painting of a knight, clad in gleaming silver plate mail and wielding a hand-and-a-half sword. His first kunai had hit the visor, and the second had struck right where the little knight's heart would be.
"I say," the knight exclaimed, "bad show! I have to live here, you know! Some people have no consideration for one's home…"
Hiruzen looked around in wonder, realizing that his sense of being watched came from the paintings lining the hall. They moved back and forth, sometimes even leaving a frame entirely and appearing in a different one. It was… disconcerting, to say the least.
Belby looked at him as if he'd sprouted an extra head.
"If sir is done punishing the painting, Belby will lead sir to Dumbledore now," the elf said.
He tore his eyes away from the paintings reluctantly. He had a mission.
The creature led him onto another set of stairs, this set a good deal smaller than the one in the entrance hall. There was a rumbling sound, and Hiruzen realized that the staircase itself was actually moving, detaching itself from the landing and heading for another landing one floor up.
For what was probably not going to be the last time that day, Sarutobi Hiruzen caught himself gaping like a dumbstruck genin.
There was no visible machinery operating the stairs, just as he could have sworn there was nothing in the paintings but actual paint. It was just too fantastical. It couldn't be real!
…Of course! How could he have missed it before? None of this was real! He was in a waking dream, caught in a genjutsu so subtle he hadn't even noticed it working. Was this Orochimaru's doing? No, his former student did not have this kind of imagination. If Orochimaru had had him in his power, there would be no fairy tale creatures or moving pictures in his daydreams. There would be blood, and pain. There would be innocent people suffering.
But if not Orochimaru, then who? Was it some secret weapon that Suna had been keeping?
Wait. Suna began the invasion by making everyone fall asleep with an area effect genjutsu. That must be it! He was trapped in a false sleep, a web of lies drawn tight around his own mind.
Well, he knew how to deal with genjutsu. He was the Professor, twice Hokage of Konoha and one of the strongest shinobi alive. No paltry, mass-produced sleep genjutsu could hold him.
Sarutobi gathered his chakra to a point behind his navel, reveling in the feeling of power that always accompanied this exercise. Then he suppressed his chakra, cutting himself off from it completely. Everything grew duller, muddier. Colors, scents, sounds—all seemed washed out, less vivid than before. But the hallway he was walking through, the walking pictures, the moving staircase; they were all still there.
Damn. So much for this being a genjutsu. Hiruzen reopened himself to his chakra, sighing with the relief only felt by an addict after withdrawal.
Well, the simplest explanations often were the right ones, after all. No matter how utterly impossible they seemed. Like it or not, he was trapped in an alternate dimension.
His guide stopped in front of a stone gargoyle, roughly the height of a man.
"Licorice wand," said Belby.
The gargoyle stepped aside. Hiruzen watched it with fatalistic stoicism. What was one more moving gargoyle, in this hall of wonders?
"This is being the Headmaster's study, sir. He is waiting for you. Belby is going now, sir."
And with another low bow, Belby disappeared with a crack.
Well, the Hokage thought, impressed. That was a jonin level Body Displacement. Perhaps the ninja arts are not as alien to this land as I thought.
He walked up the stairs, which ended abruptly in front of a door. He was about to knock, but a voice came from inside when his hand was only inches from the wood.
"Come in, please."
The Hokage entered. Was this how first time genin felt when they entered his own study to receive their missions? A little nervous, a little excited?
Inside Hiruzen got his first look at Albus Dumbledore.
His first impression was that the man was too old to be truly powerful. Hiruzen knew he himself was past his prime, but he was still fit and able to fight. This man was even older than he was, and frail. His long, white beard argued that he'd never been in combat at all. Hiruzen almost despaired, thinking that Orochimaru would find no worthy adversary here.
But then he looked closer into Dumbledore's face. The man's eyes twinkled at him, hinting at things long hidden from sight. There were dark depths in those eyes, depths which spoke of many lifetimes' worth of experience. Here was a man whose past haunted him, whose shoulders were bowed with a terrible burden. His was not the strength of the lion, all muscle and speed and ferocity. His was the strength of the willow, the strength that digs down deep into the earth, bending with the wind but never giving ground.
Hiruzen looked at Albus Dumbledore, and it was as if he was looking at himself.
"I heard from Belby that there was a man in a funny hat and armor approaching the castle. I worried she might have been into the firewhiskey, but here you are. Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am the Headmaster here, Albus Dumbledore."
He held out his hand, and the Hokage was pleasantly surprised by the firm strength of his handshake.
"My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen. I was told you are the most powerful person in these parts, and so I came to you to warn you. Earlier today, I was locked in a battle to the death with my former student. He led an attack on my village, and even now my brave comrades may be dying to protect the villagers. Somehow the two of us were transported here, and we did not arrive together. Somewhere, I am sure, Orochimaru lies in waiting, gathering his strength to finish me before returning home."
Dumbledore followed all this without any apparent reaction, but at the final statement he raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"And where is your home?" he asked shrewdly. "I have some passing familiarity with Eastern wizarding culture, and it seems to me that your attire does not resemble any of the Eastern styles. In fact, it's quite unlike anything I have ever seen before."
Hiruzen paused for a second. Could he trust Dumbledore with his secret? Would the Headmaster even believe him? But looking into his eyes, he doubted he could shock this man no matter what he told him.
"I'm still trying to figure out what happened to me," Hiruzen began slowly, "but I'm becoming more and more convinced that I'm in the wrong reality."
Dumbledore only nodded, as if he met dimension-traveling warriors every day. But then, perhaps he did. It might explain some of the fantastic things Hiruzen had already witnessed around the castle.
"Let me see if I have everything correct," Dumbledore said. "You and your student were transported here, somehow, and now you need to find him before he finds you."
"That's exactly it. It won't be easy, though. Orochimaru is a skilled ninja. There are perhaps only two or three in my own world who could hope to match him. He can take over bodies at will, giving him perfect disguises and even a kind of immortality. He has most likely already found a place to hide, until he knows enough about your world to lay his own plans."
Dumbledore steepled his fingers together, looking pensive.
"Then, perhaps, it might be a good idea for you to do the same. Would you object to staying at Hogwarts while you find your feet?"
"I can't afford to lose any time in searching for Orochimaru. Every second I waste might mean another of my comrades dead. I have a duty to the village of Konoha which I cannot shirk."
"Ah yes, you were transported here in the middle of a battle. I'm sorry for your village, I'm sure you are suffering greatly. But I believe staying at Hogwarts is still your best option. I am not without influence in the Wizarding world, and I have many contacts of my own. As soon as Orochimaru reveals himself, rest assured, I will be among the first to know. And as for your other problem …" Dumbledore coughed modestly. "There is no wizard in Britain with a greater chance of discovering a way to return you to your village and dimension."
Hiruzen thought over his options, and realized they were rather limited. As much as he wanted to strike out immediately in search of Orochimaru, traveling blindly would leave everything up to dumb luck. That was unacceptable. What Dumbledore offered was the best he was going to get, and the man himself would be an excellent guide to learning about this world.
"That may be the best solution," Hiruzen said finally. "I thank you for your hospitality. With luck I will not impose on you for long."
"Not at all, not at all. If it weren't for your poor village I would urge you to stay forever. I am quite fond of magical puzzles, and you are the most perplexing one I have found in a long while."
Dumbledore smiled at Hiruzen, who nodded agreement. His position was piquing his own curiosity, but with the pressing matters of the Konoha Invasion and Orochimaru at large, he most likely wouldn't get a chance to satisfy it.
"The problem is that, while we pray it is not, your stay here may be of some duration. Therefore it will be necessary to devise a reason for you to be here, one that no one will question. However, I do have an idea, and on the whole I believe it will work out rather well."
Hiruzen waited expectantly.
"Tell me, are you a wizard? That is, do you possess magical powers? I sense power from you, but I thought I should make sure."
"Ah, so that is what wizard means? That you have magical powers?"
"That's the general definition, yes."
"Of a kind," Sarutobi responded. "I am versed in the ninja arts of ninjutsu and genjutsu. To one not born with the aptitude, these arts are as unattainable as the stars."
"I see," Dumbledore mused. His eyes lit up with a fierce curiosity, though his voice remained mild. "Would it be too forward to ask for a demonstration?"
"Not at all," Hiruzen responded. "Much of what we shinobi can do is simply physical training, but there are a few things only shinobi can do."
He made a series of hand seals, and two shadow clones popped into existence on either side of him. A few more hand seals, and each clone produced a fireball, which they then let dissipate.
Dumbledore clapped politely.
"That is… simply fascinating. I could spend a lifetime studying the differences between our style of magic and yours, and count that life well spent. Would you mind answering more questions, some time at a later date?"
"Of course. Might I see something of what you can do?"
Inside Hiruzen was smiling, and he thought Dumbledore might be too. They were like a couple of Academy students, playing "who's got the best jutsu?"
Dumbledore pulled out a slender stick and gave it a gentle flick. His desk morphed into a lion, giving a convincing roar. Another flick of his wand and the lion became a desk again.
"Do all wizards need wands to perform magic?" asked Hiruzen curiously.
"Not technically, but for all intents and purposes the answer is yes. But before I get carried away talking shop, let me finish telling you my idea. Now that I've seen your abilities, I am sure it will work."
"What do you have in mind?"
"As I mentioned before, this is a school for teaching young witches and wizards. I recently filled the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, but I am less than happy with his qualifications. However, because of several difficulties I have been unable to come up with any viable alternatives."
He smiled at Hiruzen disarmingly. "Until you."
Hiruzen did not share his confidence.
"Are you forgetting that I know nothing about your magic? What could I teach these children?"
"Exactly what the subject says, defending against the Dark Arts. And from your description of Orochimaru, I believe you are more than qualified in that area. The remainder of the summer will be enough time for me to teach you everything you'll need to know. I give all of the professors here a lot of freedom with regards to their teaching methods, and it hasn't steered me wrong yet."
Dumbledore looked sheepish for a second.
"Well, except for last year, when it was discovered that one Professor was actually playing host to an evil spirit. Ah well, we are none of us perfect."
The Hokage decided he'd let that one slide.
Truth to tell, he was liking this proposition more and more. Not for nothing was he called "The Professor" by those who knew him. He loved knowledge for its own sake, and teaching was a joy to him. That had only made it worse for him when his student used the knowledge he'd been given to wreak havoc and destruction.
But now, years later, he had a chance to make amends for his past mistake. He could make allies here, and wait for Orochimaru to resurface, all while teaching children how to fight against evil. Perhaps his situation wasn't that bad at all.
Hold on, Konoha, he thought fervently. I'm coming as fast as I can.
To Dumbledore he said, "I would be honored to accept the post, Headmaster."
Dumbledore waved his hand airily.
"Please, call me Albus."
"Thank you, Albus. My given name is Hiruzen, and I'd be honored if you would use it as well."
"Very good. I'll call Belby back here, she can get you settled in your new quarters. Tomorrow we can start your magical education. I'll send an owl to Gilderoy Lockhart right away, to inform him that his services are no longer necessary."
The two shook hands once again, Dumbledore's eyes twinkling merrily from behind his half-moon spectacles.
Just like that, everything was settled. The Professor was going back to school.
A/N: I'll probably never finish a chapter this fast again, so don't expect another update tomorrow. Tune in next time to figure out what Orochimaru's been up to, as well as getting the first and only glimpse of poor Lockhart in this story. Sorry buddy, but you're the weakest link.