A/N: Let me take a moment to address something a few readers have brought up; namely, Orochimaru's selection of Lucius as the first person in the Potterverse to receive the Curse Seal. It is true that Orochimaru is selective, and it's also true that most people die after receiving the seal (which is why he's selective), but that definitely doesn't rule Lucius out. Orochimaru has done his research, and knows that Lucius was once a follower of Voldemort. Since Lucius still possesses wealth and power post-Voldemort, Orochimaru was impressed by Lucius' ability to swing with life's punches and come out on top. And even though the chapter ended before we found out, I'll give you a spoiler: Lucius survives. As far as I'm concerned he's one of the most dangerous and powerful Dark wizards in canon, and definitely capable of living through the ordeal of receiving the Curse Seal. Think of Lucius as Orochimaru's new Kabuto – a boot-licking scumbag who's going to take any opportunity to grab power for himself.

That's definitely enough from me, so on with the story. In this very short chapter my two favorite professors are going to sit back and have nice chat, about life, magic, and a green-eyed boy with a tragic destiny.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter

Chapter 4: The Professors At Tea

Once the day's lessons were over, Hiruzen packed up a few loose papers and headed back to his quarters. If he got right to work, there would be enough time before dinner to grade the essays he'd assigned the N.E.W.T students. If he could pull that off, he'd have the entire weekend free.

It was strange, and yet liberating, to have nothing more pressing on his plate than correcting essays. Hiruzen found that he enjoyed the paperwork in his new job much more than he ever had as the Third Hokage. It wasn't surprising, though, since behind every sheaf of paper on the Hokage's desk were the lives of men and women. While the Third Hokage often ordered young people to their deaths, Professor Sarutobi was only concerned with improving their minds. He had all the satisfaction of teaching, with none of the burden of responsibility. If it wasn't for the threat of Orochimaru, Hiruzen would have thought that teaching at Hogwarts was the retirement of his dreams. But the Snake Sannin was a threat that he couldn't ignore, which was why a free weekend did not mean relaxation for Hiruzen. No, a free weekend meant strengthening the castle's defenses, connecting with Professor Dumbledore's contacts, and preparing himself for the inevitable rematch against his one-time student.

Upon arriving at the entrance to his quarters, Hiruzen noticed a white envelope affixed to the door with a Permanent Sticking Charm. It was weak enough that it faded when he tugged gently at the envelope. The letter contained in the envelope was just a few words written in Professor Dumbledore's elegant, looping scrawl.

Dear Professor Sarutobi,

I would be honored if you could spare some time this afternoon for tea in my office. I'm looking forward to hearing about your first week at Hogwarts.

Yours sincerely,

Albus

I guess I won't be grading those papers after all, Hiruzen thought wryly. Not that he was too upset; he'd been meaning to catch up with Professor Dumbledore, but had been preoccupied with all of the (admittedly enjoyable) time-consuming duties that accompanied teaching. It would be a good idea to find out what the Headmaster had discovered about Orochimaru. And on an even more basic level, Hiruzen was looking forward to a conversation with a man whom he had started to respect almost as much as his own sensei.

After depositing his stack of papers on the desk in his office, the Third left for Dumbledore's study. While passing through the halls, Hiruzen couldn't help but feel strengthened by the sight of so many determined young witches and wizards walking here and there. Though no one in this universe had heard of the Will of Fire, Hiruzen could feel it in the air around him. This school was a place to be cherished and protected, a place where the next generation of magic-users would learn how to use their powers responsibly. Hiruzen would never allow Orochimaru to get his poisonous hooks into these children.

Hiruzen reached the gargoyles that guarded the staircase to Dumbledore's study. "Lemon drop," he said, watching with bemusement as the gargoyles stepped aside. No matter how many times he saw it, it never got old.

Professor Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, bent over a sheaf of papers. Hiruzen sympathized. When the Headmaster heard the door close he looked up, his eyes twinkling at his colleague.

"So glad you could make it! Please, come in. There's tea and biscuits, and an assortment of a few of my favorite sweets."

Hiruzen inclined his head politely, and took a seat in one of two comfortable armchairs positioned next to an elegant wooden table, on top of which was placed tea and a tray of snacks. The armchairs hadn't been there last time Hiruzen had visited the Headmaster, which meant they must have been transfigured. Hiruzen still couldn't believe the control which wizards in this world exerted over their surroundings. To think that one could transform an inanimate object into a living thing, and vice versa, with nothing more than a flick of a wand! It was truly astonishing.

Hiruzen poured tea into two china cups, politely filling Dumbledore's before his own. The Headmaster left his desk and sat down in the second armchair, letting out a contented sigh as he sank into the comfortable cushion. He helped himself to a pale, white bean, which Hiruzen knew must be a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor bean. He still couldn't understand the attraction of a sweet that only rarely tasted like something a rational person would want to eat.

"Thank you for the invitation," Hiruzen began. "I've been looking forward to meeting with you again, though I'm afraid the students have been keeping me busy."

Dumbledore cocked his head to one side, obviously interested. "How are you doing? What are your thoughts following your first week of classes here?"

Sarutobi sipped his tea, savoring the flavor. English tea was quite different from what he was used to, but he found it was quite satisfying. "That's rather a difficult question, Albus. I'm experiencing quite a bit of culture shock. Where I come from, the kind of abilities that you take for granted would have been prized as military assets of the greatest importance. The lack of discipline I see in even the most talented seventh-year students is very disturbing to me. At the same time, the greatest wish of my predecessors as well as myself has always been a peaceful society. So what I perceive as a shocking state of vulnerability is also what I've always wished that Konoha could have been."

Dumbledore nodded seriously. "Perhaps we are peaceful now, but I agree with you that we are vulnerable. The magical world has become complacent, willing itself to forget about the horrors of war. Anything you can do to prepare these children for what they might have to face will be a great service to our world."

"I'm doing my best," Hiruzen replied. "I believe that the younger students, in particular, are proving receptive to the lessons I most want to teach. They have the most flexible approach to thinking about their own magic, so they don't resist when I try to shake up their preconceptions. Some of the older students are unwilling to reevaluate what they think they know about magic."

After disposing of an oatmeal cookie, Professor Dumbledore turned once again to face Hiruzen. "Speaking of the younger students, what do you think of the second-year Gryffindors?"

Hiruzen shot a shrewd glance at Dumbledore, who tried and failed to maintain his disinterested façade.

"All of the second-year Gryffindors? Or do you mean Harry Potter?"

Dumbledore sipped his tea before sighing ruefully. "You've been busy, I see."

"I simply thought it was strange for a boy to have a lightning-shaped scar. A little research was enough to find out everything I could possibly want to know about the Boy Who Lived."

Hiruzen paused, watching Dumbledore to ascertain the effects of his next words. "Everything, that is, except for what he's actually like. The boy himself, and not his image."

He could see Dumbledore's eyes fill with understanding, and a startling amount of sadness. "Yes, Harry's life has not been easy. But in spite of the neglect he survived when growing up, in spite of the notoriety he's had to deal with since entering the Wizarding World, he has remained the pure-hearted, courageous boy I always hoped he could be."

"Nothing I have seen contradicts that evaluation," Hiruzen answered. "He is fairly quiet, and a little more serious than his yearmates. He has seen suffering, I could tell that easily enough."

The sad twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes reappeared. "Just last year he survived a second attempt by Lord Voldemort to kill him. Despite all of my efforts to the contrary, fate seems determined to target this poor boy."

Hiruzen was silent for a moment, thinking of another boy marked by fate. In his mind's eye Naruto appeared, his bright smile shining just as clearly as it ever had in reality. He could almost hear the brash genin demanding a C-rank mission, or declaring that he would one day become Hokage. Watching Naruto grow, both as a shinobi and a kind, loving individual, had been simultaneously the most rewarding and heart-breaking experiences of Hiruzen's life. Rewarding because Naruto always justified Hiruzen's faith in the young boy. Heart-breaking because Minato's son should never have had to face such hardships in the first place.

"I can see you care a lot for Harry," Hiruzen said after a while. "I promise you I'll watch out for him, as much as if he was my own son. I won't stand by helplessly while a child carries a burden too heavy for one set of shoulders. Not again."

"You sound like you've experienced something like this before."

Hiruzen shared Naruto's story with Professor Dumbledore, telling all of the details, not holding back any of his regrets. When he was done he felt relieved, as if sharing his guilt and grief had lessened them. Dumbledore looked very thoughtful, staring at his tea cup as if it held the answers to impossible questions.

"I wonder…" Dumbledore began, looking up to meet Hiruzen's eyes. "Our worlds seem so different, yet at the same time so alike. You and I both know the shame of having a student betray everything we hold dear. And this Naruto of yours seems much like Harry: alone from birth, alive through the grace of a parent's love, yet marked by an evil no one should have to face alone."

"You're right," Hiruzen agreed. He put down his teacup and steepled his hands together underneath his chin. "In many ways our respective worlds mirror each other."

Dumbledore shifted a little in his armchair, looking up for a second at the ceiling. "Do you think our worlds are linked in some deeper way than distance? That we are two sides of the same coin, sharing a pattern and perhaps even a destiny?"

"Perhaps," Hiruzen replied. "But the coin must have more than two sides, for surely there are other worlds out there. Completely apart, yet separated by a screen thinner than a butterfly's wing."

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes seeing past the wooden ceiling and into eternity.

"No matter what the differences, we are linked by the same passions. The same love and the same hatred, tying us together and splitting us apart. The same patterns spin themselves out again and again, all simply variations on a grander theme. But are the extraordinary similarities between your world and mine the norm? Or is there something more linking us, making our realities like two matching socks in a pair?"

"What would that make me?" Hiruzen asked with a wry smile. "A loose thread?"

Dumbledore stopped looking at the ceiling, and popped a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor bean in his mouth before responding. "Perhaps. Yet I think that analogy doesn't quite do you justice. You are a fuse, waiting only for a spark before you set our world on fire."

"Oh dear," Hiruzen said, "I should hope not. I don't want to be the instrument of any more suffering, in any world."

Dumbledore shook his head in polite denial. "In principle I agree. But fire can be cleansing. It can be a herald of rebirth."

The Headmaster got out of his armchair and walked over to a metal stand next to a bookshelf. He removed a cloth, revealing a birdcage housing the most unusual creature Hiruzen had ever seen. It was a magnificent bird, its plumage a rich mixture of red and orange, though the colors weren't quite as vibrant as Hiruzen thought they should be.

"This is a phoenix," Dumbledore said. "His name is Fawkes, and he's an old friend of mine. At the end of a phoenix's life it gets old, and its feathers lose their luster. But when a phoenix dies, it bursts into flame, and a new phoenix is born amidst the ashes."

Dumbledore sat back down in his armchair, regarding Hiruzen with a grave expression. "I think our world is heading toward a time of fire. It is my earnest hope that with your help, that fire will bring new life."

After wordlessly requesting Dumbledore's permission, Hiruzen lit his pipe and sent a few smoke rings spiraling upward. "I have more experience with rebuilding what is broken than I care to remember. But then, so do you. You guided the Wizarding world into its present era of peace after Voldemort's fall, and I rebuilt my village after its near destruction by the Nine-Tailed Fox. If we work together, we can create a peace so strong that nothing can threaten it. And if we do our job right, these young witches and wizards will never have to know the dangers we've faced."

Dumbledore refilled both of their cups with tea, and lifted his own for a toast. "To a brighter future!"

The Third Hokage returned the toast before lifting his pipe to his mouth once again.

The two old men sat in companionable silence, feeling a unity of purpose that bound them together with ties stronger than steel, ties that breached the gulf between worlds.