I got lost on the road of life. But then I found this signboard with directions! I followed the directions for days until I realised that the sign was upside down! so I went back fixed the sign and finally got back! I'm awesome!

Anyway, sorry bout the delay...it's exam season, so a bit sluggish here. Anyways enjoy!

Disclaimer: don't own anything. 'Nuff said.

The Leaky Cauldron was quiet. It was not something that Tom the bartender really got used to.. After the rush that lasted from the middle of July to its end aka the great 'Hogwarts Rush', Diagon Alley experienced a lull of such bizarre proportions that it was impossible to believe that the magical population of a city shopped here. It was just so plain odd to see the commercial sector look like a ghost town, not that any ghost found fit to haunt the alley. But it was disquieting...especially for several shopkeepers, who found no logic in why even the normal customers stayed away after the 'Hogwarts Rush'. Of course, that somebody actually applied logic here is another matter.

The pub, rather, his pub was quite an important place, and Tom felt that as the one place that practically every magical human in Britain had surely gone to, at least once(not even Hogwarts could claim that) meant that he should have at least some company in here all the time. He felt that to have the place so empty and lifeless was decidedly ill fitting. Not that he'd ever admit that. He considered this place as just that important. Barkeeps after all have secret opinions, just like everyone else.

No, he decided what he really wanted was excitement, something extraordinary that just livened up the place from its current tomb like atmosphere, like what had drawn him to this place and this quiet work, to meet new people, to greet old ones, to...

A black cloaked, but otherwise nondescript man walked in, waved casually at him and was gone to the back. Then ten seconds later, an identical black nondescript man walked over and went to the back. It might have been said they were twins, but the way he walked was identical to that of his predecessor. And just as he was about to write it off as idle day dreaming, a third one walked in and repeated the actions of his predecessors. The scary thing was, Tom didn't know that face(and he never forgot a face), they walked in such a way that it might as well have been a magical photograph, and well, the dark cloak was even now just striking him as having resembled the ones death eaters used.

Tom straightened up, walked to the back and opened a bottle of Ogden's finest. He was definitely going to need this more than anyone else. "To hell with excitement!" was the last anyone would have heard, if the cauldron had customers.

Harry watched Tom's actions carefully, from his place on the bar stool. Then he took out a paper scroll, and carefully wrote out his observations for the test in the strokes that were characteristically Japanese. It was really to be expected. But then, he had pulled a minor genjutsu in the bookstore and nobody had been any wiser. It was rash and he had momentarily forgotten about the test, which he had just conducted. It was a good thing too. He could only imagine what would happen if his genjutsu was discovered, or worse they were ineffective. Now it was still not a very conclusive experiment. He still didn't know if the more powerful wizards/witches, of the ilk of the dark lord and Dumbledore were immune to the illusions that he was by now bandying about less and less frequently. He still didn't have the absolute control, that he imagined he would eventually develop. He was growing, his chakra was growing and all the control exercises he did was meant to let him keep up with his growth rate. If the disparity got much larger, he wouldn't be able to cast any genjutsu – a most frightening thought.

As he walked into the alley, he was struck with how dull the place looked right now. Unaware that he had been channeling Tom, he created six shadow clones and henged them into nondescript wizards and witches. Well, henge was not the word really. He called it the shadow jacket. A chakra construct that, mimicked a shadow clones matrix onto his skin. It was a solid form, and because it drew chakra from his own coils(or that of the shadow clone using it), it was not dispelled so easily. And for his clones, that meant that their forms would be dispelled only if the main structure of the clone dispelled, ie with a death blow. Such a useful innovation that.

The disguised clones already knew what they were supposed to do, so they left, to explore the alley more thoroughly. Harry himself headed to Gringotts. He had money to manage.

The activity that took place at the entrance of Diagon Alley, did not go entirely unnoticed. There was after all one old man who had been monitoring what he thought of as a mysterious energy signature at a distance. So it was quite a shock for Takeda, who was meditating to feel an enormous surge of that energy so close by, probably just next door in Diagon. It was time to see what exactly this 'source' was.

He turned to the other two in the room, who were looking at him curiously. "Prepare yourselves, we must be off. Tell the others". And so they were off.

A few minutes later, five Japanese shinobi sat crouched on the roof of the weapons store, in formation. They all were in 'pursuit' configuration, minimal weaponry and armor, used for scouting, tracking and of course pursuit. They could all sense it somewhat, the distinct twinge of the mysterious energies that their senses existed. At the same time, what they were feeling was not something they had felt before. If they absolutely had to describe it, they might have called it sorcery's creepy cousin. It was quite overwhelming for a second though, as they got used to it. It was not hostile, but it did seem to have a warning inside. They prepared for battle.

Takeda looked at the ninja behind him out of the corner of his eyes. They were not fresh rookies. They already had a good service record before they were even considered for duty outside the eastern territories, never mind the long term outpost in London. They were assassins and warriors. Whatever the situation they would be able to deal with it more efficiently than he could, if he needed it. For now, they would content themselves to observing the what or who that was causing this...disturbance.

When they got the nod from Takeda that they were waiting for, they took off. The first part would be to check all the places as quickly as possible. On the second run, they would actively try to sense if anyone in their assigned area had the feel that they were looking out for. Then they would converge on the place where they had discovered the anomaly. That was basically the gist of what they were attempting to do. It was borrowed from that of a search and retrieve mission, but it was not like they had a standard operating procedure concerning anomalies.

In ten minutes one had locked on to an ordinary looking wizard who seemed to be looking at the wares of an apothecary with a great deal of boredom. Following protocol, he immediately called in the others. When they got there,he did seem to do a slight bit of shifting, something that only Takeda noticed. So, to see what they could find, he tried the diplomatic approach.

Harry's clone was not sure what to do. He could literally feel the people who were watching him, a slight ticklishness that was present only when he was being scrutinized by someone that he couldn't see directly. But what really raised his curiosity was the fact that they were on surrounding rooftops and seemed to be quite different from the wizarding folk he had seen so far. For a start, they were leaking killing intent. Secondly, they were on the rooftops. They were all tense, from the way their abnormally large chakra signatures(at least, compared to the rest of humanity he had seen) were flaring, much like his did when he was in the 'zone' so to speak. He himself was a clone, so he had no problem sacrificing himself if necessary by exploding, or going on a kamikaze run. But attacking first in a situation which he did not know the entire circumstances of, could be disastrous. Especially considering that not only did he not know how skilled these people were in combat, he was not sure how he could hold off all five of them as well, and at the same time, there was no surety if the original was also being tracked/followed. And in any case, revealing any of his capabilities without his having expressly planned for it was a very bad idea. He knew very well how important even the smallest amount of information could be used against you. And even if they would have no way to connect anything with 'Harry Potter', the very knowledge that such abilities exist was a dangerous prospect. And who knew if these people were just curious because he was here on an otherwise dead day? After all, they were quite skilled at hiding, much like a ninja ought be really...

That thought brought the clones thoughts to a halt. It couldn't be ninja...could it? He had specifically looked for any mention of them and had hit a brick wall. There was practically nothing on Japan. For all he knew, there might not have been any magical people in Japan. But there was. A book on quidditch, which seemed to be some sort of insanely popular sport ('played on brooms! Honestly...') mentioned that "... The small and intensely private wizarding community in Japan fields a national team, which has won...", which only really told him that Japan had an isolationist community, which was not really odd considering the quirks he noticed in the rest of the magical world. And he still didn't know if there were ninja or not.

But the possibility that these were ninja, and that too ones that could use magic was disquieting. He had no information, and that made this dangerous all on its own. And then he noticed that one of them was moving towards him. A quick glance told him the new individual was a somewhat old man, and was wearing otherwise unremarkable wizarding wear. But he was clearly oriental, with piercing eyes and leaking sporadic bursts of unfocused killing intent. Harry wondered for a bit if they had means to magically alter their appearance, a charm or transfiguration of some sort, but then shelved the thought. It didn't really change the immediate situation. 'So they want to talk' he mused.

Takeda observed his target as he moved closer to the store. The man inside was clearly looking at him, and seemed quite curious at him as well. He wondered for a brief instant if all hell really would break loose. But he stifled the thought. Negotiation began with a firm belief that you yourself held the cards. It was time to see if he really did have them.

Takeda decided to go for the casual approach. They worked best when the other fellow was neutral or at the very least not-openly-hostile. So, he took a deep breath and approached the stranger.

"Ah, good afternoon sir, I was wondering if you might join me in a bit of friendly conversation?"

'Interesting choice of words' Harry's clone thought. He also noted a lack of accent in his words-the old man sounded like an excited BBC newscaster. 'Maybe he really isn't Japanese?'

"Of course! But if I may enquire, what shall we talk about? I mean, this is the first time I' met you... And I do not even know your name..."

"Yes yes, you make a good point. My name is Takeda Suzuki. I have a few minor questions that I'm sure you can answer for me..."

Suzuki was the name he used on infiltration missions into the 'normal' world. In Hakumei, you didn't have a clan name. Hakumei was the only family there was. Especially considering a good deal of them were orphans.

Harry nodded and smiled. "I see. And my name is Anakin Skywalker. So shall we go outside then? The fumes of an apothecary can be quite distracting."

"Indeed."

Takeda and Harry(clone) walked quietly and at a very sedate pace towards what Harry vaguely realized was Knockturn alley. The clone surmised that it was going to be quite interesting to see what kind of shops existed here. He hadn't gone to Knockturn, preferring to go there when it was crowded. Though, he did note that even on this day, when Diagon was for all intents and purposes empty, the clone noted that Knockturn still had a visible population in the alley here. Apparently, whatever seemed to freeze Diagon had not affected Knockturn much. Or it could be that the adage that crime never sleeps applied to the magical world as well. But it also afforded cover. So, clone as he was, he flared his chakra, telling his creator, wherever he was that his clone was in a situation that necessitated the presence of he original. It felt good that he had already practiced with clones for scenarios like these.

Takeda blinked when he once more felt that mysterious energy, this time rising from his companion and washing right through him. It was a signal or a warning, he realized. But who could he be signaling? Takeda suddenly regretted not letting his team continue to sweep the alley. If there were more of...them out there, he really needed to know. He was a ninja, a master of information gathering. And here he was having made a rookie mistake, one he had consciously let pass. He noticed that the rather plain wizard he was guiding was looking at him, only he was looking ahead and most certainly not at him. But somehow he knew that the man was staring right into his very soul. He shook his head, relieved when the feeling disappeared, confirming that it was merely his imagination. Harry on the other hand, had a different line of thought. 'so, he can resist minor genjutsu that are not focused directly on him...I wonder how far his apparent immunity will extend.'

The clone however sensed that Harry was heading towards him at him and was very close. And almost immediately felt the tug that meant that he was the target of a kawarimi, a replacement jutsu. Seeing that he really had no other purpose, the clone dispelled himself, sending his memories into the head of his creator.

Harry staggered momentarily. The clone data had hit him right as he was finishing the jutsu and was now giving him a dull throb that from experience, he knew took half a minute to disappear, though it was only because the clone had been forced to do a lot of independent thought. It made the incoming information that much more important to assimilate and analyze, so the brain went a bit sluggish at that point. His new "friend" Takeda Suzuki however tensed ever so slightly. It was not unknown to have someone attack you when all the warning you had was something as minor as (what appeared to be) a headache or a simple tripping motion.

"Are you all right Mr Skywalker? You look a bit dazed?"

Harry smiled. "Its nothing. Just a mere headache, nothing to worry about. May I know where we shall be holding our minor conversation?"

Takeda nodded."I own an establishment in Knockturn, one that deals in eastern blades. Its more of a family relic than anything else these days"

Harry nodded. It was actually a reasonable answer. It wasn't out of place in the midst of the other crazy tidbits all around him. Though, even a 5 year old would have caught on to the very very odd way this "meeting" had gone. Well, he would soon be seeing soon for himself. Idly, he tracked the other four who were still following him(or was it the old man?) on the rooftops. They were doing it quickly and quietly, moving without drawing any attention to themselves at all. Harry was reasonably impressed. At least this lent credence to the theory that they were ninja. This was going to be very interesting, or very dangerous.

The shop was ironically quite similar to what Harry expected. There was a sign, so faded that he couldn't see what was written on it. There was a glass display that was quite full of swords and daggers, at least 20 of them all unsheathed for the world to see. When Takeda led him inside, he found the same gloomy tones that pervaded the rest of the alley. He mentally shook himself. He sat by the door and waited for his 'guide' to speak. While normally he would not have even considered going into an unknown building, especially with the hint of danger that was there, he was truly curious. And he also had the explosive tag equivalent of a directional charge on the door. Any funny business and the old man would be left with a bigger entrance than he would have preferred.

Takeda looked at his guest with a smile. He was actually surprised to see that the man had come straight in with no regard for a trap. His confidence meant he either had a foolproof method of escape or he was very stupid. And considering that he had some sort of mysterious power at his disposal, he was not particularly sure which he would prefer. Malfoy, was a predictable entity with known abilities, linear thought patterns and a very limited set of probable actions to a given situation. This one was none of those. He decided to take the first step.

"So Mr. Skywalker, I hope you can clear some things for me?"

Harry nodded. "Ask away, and I shall answer as much as possible"

Takeda smiled. "You see, a half hour ago, I was sitting in my shop here and I was quite shocked to feel this very mysterious energy from close by. I couldn't help but be curious, so I went in search of what or who was responsible. That's how I found you actually. Could you please tell me what I felt was?"

Harry was unsure if he was supposed to be banging his head on the wall or just plain shocked. Who went for direct in situations like these?('and what do you call a situation like this I wonder?') honestly? Not that he showed it of course. He was way too careful for that. But then again, you could never really be sure...

Takeda, who was completely focused on finding a reaction, found none. And while he would have preferred some reaction, this lack of reaction was as much of a response as any But then again, this was the look of someone who had seen the play before and was merely waiting for the play to end so he could go home. Takeda felt his heart rate rise just that bit. This was after all how he had felt in his first missions more than three decades ago. Yes, this was what diplomacy was all about, war of the words, and yet more a poker game than a duel.

Harry of course, had no idea what his absolute lack of reaction(all holes had been plugged with his henge) was generating in the mind of his host. He was simply considering what to tell this man, since it was obvious that he had to give him something. He had no idea if the four outside were merely bodyguards or actually here to get at himself. There was no margin for error in a five to one fight, especially with no information about the enemy. No, this was a battle of words and wills, and he would have to win without exposing any of his cards. This was now negotiation by proxy. The best lie however, is 10% truth and 90% misdirection.

"So you can detect it? I was unaware that there were any humans on this planet who could sense such alien energies"

It might have been a totally innocent statement if Harry had not used perfectly cultured Japanese. As such, Takeda had already displayed open shock at that.

"Who are you?" Takeda was now quite off balance. He was not really thinking to his best ability at this point. His whisper though had not been meant to be heard.

"I? I am a ninja. The question I would like answered is, Who are you?"

(A/N: mind you, this last sentence sounds a whole lot cooler when its in Japanese and the words gets drawn out)

Takeda steeled himself. A ninja was not actually a very strange thing, even in these parts. Every year, rookies were sent on fact finding missions to countries with no permanent ninja outposts. It was not only an easy mission to accomplish, it helped the new person get that first look at how to do missions in general. Things like reports, proper behavior, acclimatisation to new cultures, and the other almost subconscious things that they needed to develop. Indeed, every clan worth their salt had ninja all over the place. Besides, nobody wanted a repeat of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where two clans were wiped out, without a soul being aware until it was too late. The fires of Amaterasu burned all too bright that day.

The other disquieting issue was that every other clan worth informing had been politely informed that Hakumei had set up base in England, in a 'so please try not to interfere, thank you very much!' kind of way. It was inconceivable that if this was a shinobi, he would not know who he was. Takeda of the Snow was quite well known, not to mention any ninja here would have been informed about the outpost and its commander in case they had a cause for distress. Ninja clans were quite cooperative in those matters, at least on foreign soil. They were one of a kind after all.

That made this a rogue shinobi, a nukenin. And he knew of none that were still alive. They were hunted down mercilessly after all. And the prospect of a nukenin with any kind of power, especially the unknown kind was very very wrong. Not to mention, he could not comprehend how such a new ability could be kept under wraps to be developed to the stage this fellow was actively using it without any bother.

"Are you nukenin? Which clan are you from? And why do you not know who I am then?" Takeda fired away, keeping one hand on the hidden blade that he carried, a tanto that was easily one of his best weapons, especially in enclosed spaces like his shop. All ninja were profficient in close quarters combat.

Harry laughed. He waved his hands in a manner at once placating and non threatening and mirthfully replied, in English, "Nukenin? Good heavens no! I'm merely someone who doesn't really belong in this world...So you really are ninja! I must admit, I was disappointed when I couldn't find any mention of ninja in the mediocre books here. Why the very idea! I'm quite glad I met you, Suzuki Takeda, whatever your real name is. I am glad I found you or is it vice versa? And thank you for telling me about detecting me, I shall be more careful in the future. And tell your friends that they ought to be a bit more careful about concealing themselves. It won't do to get found out that easily. Sayonara Takeda san, We must meet up again sometime!" and then, just like that, he vanished.

Takeda blinked. He had not expected to have things end in this manner at all. Never mind having his 'guest' disappear without leaving any trace as to how he accomplished that. It was down right annoying. Though, he did admit internally that he was a bit relieved all the same. He didn't really want a high profile battle, as this might just have turned out, just as he was setting up base. He shook himself, signaling the men outside and summoned them in. There was no reason to keep them out. He had a bit of thinking to do.

Harry on the other hand was in an even more stressed out state. He was not sure if he could count on getting away with a battle-less escape the next time. there were too many unknowns to make any sort of accurate prediction. It was bad enough that he had gone into the situation without a bit more forethought. He could have made a clone, summoned an already created one, run. Anything was better than having jumped in head first. For now he was counting his blessings that these new age ninja were a bit susceptible to genjutsu. otherwise, they would have clearly noticed him running, as if the very hounds of hell pursued him.

It would only be hours later that both combatants would realize exactly how ridiculous their conversation should have sounded to anyone else. Thinking too much had meant that they were behaving very little like the ordinary people they were trying to portray.

Harry however felt that he had accomplished a great deal. He had asked for, and was given his vault key by McGonogall when he had gone home from Diagon last time. This meant that he had been able to access his vault freely and without any trouble whatsoever. He had also taken the time to read up on what constituted goblin finance.

He was utterly unimpressed. However, he did note that there was a lot of measures the goblins had taken the effort to improve their ability to do commerce with the non-magical world. They even had a dummy bank through which money could be freely routed to and from the muggle worlds, at a price of course. It was through this that Harry was going to act.

Harry had capital. Plenty of it. This meant that he had a means of creating money from what he already had. In the words of J.R.R Tolkien, gold breeds gold. And the non magical world seemed to have plenty of areas which seemed to do nothing but growth(*cough*computers*cough*). It was, he decided, time to do some investing. It was a really good thing, that the great Daniel had recommended a guy that was very good at what he did. It was also very convenient that Harry was very adept at not being a fool off. Whatever Richards might have said, if this new guy tried anything, Harry would take the pain to make sure that he would never try anything again. He already had one person who had "seen the light" thanks to him, and he didn't mind setting a confirmed thief to rights, if he was one of course.

As Harry got home though, he resolved to get himself a proper weapon. Suddenly his wind chakra channeling, seal reinforced bokken and pilfered kitchen knives seemed so much more inadequate. It was time to find a blacksmith. Or at the very least, a sword. So he opened his aunts yellow pages, looking for something that was useful. And lo and behold! His attention was caught by the most beautiful box he had ever seen, a listing for reproduced blades(as opposed to replica). With a gleam in his eye, he reached for the phone...

In the mean time, one of the ninja who had been part of the London base had been sent of to personally report to headquarters. In other words, it was something that could not be said in mere words on paper.

The report as delivered was fairly straight forward. The ninja, Taka, an excellent tracker, reported everything that had occurred, to warrant this personal report, namely the unknown nin. A transcript of the conversations, and a basic overview of the chronology of events were given. And finally, he gave the other more ordinary information that would have been part of the regular report. At the end, he bowed out and retired for the day..

Hayate, the leader of Hakumei as it were, had looked over his man critically. As a rule, he hated personal reports. They tended to reduce the strength of a forward outpost and by proxy, weakened them, especially when said outposts had just five men to start with. Assaults on ninja outposts by opportunistic sorcerers had reinforced his view that the best report was the one that was encrypted and on paper. But he couldn't deny the fact that this was quite a spanner in the works. The unknown always tend to stab you from behind. There were exactly 34 missions he had undertaken that confirmed that fact. There were also 7 bodies from these missions that had driven it into his skull that there was nothing more indicative of disaster than an unknown entity. And as far as unknown entities went, this was one of the least defined.

There were several things that he had noted as of importance. Firstly, there was an unknown energy/power/ability at work that was apparently the exact one that his lieutenant, Takeda had failed to track. Secondly, this person had somehow managed to disappear from a closed building while being monitored by five of his best ninja, one of them the third best tracker in the entire ninja population of Japan. It was inconceivable, simply inconceivable. Especially considering that he did not use any ninja ability that they had ever seen before. At the same time, he had remarked on the four who were following them, though it could not be said from when he had known. It was entirely possible that the stumble he had displayed was merely shock at finding himself followed.

The man, who called himself "Skywalker" seemed to have no clue about ninja. The name itself was odd. It had taken Takeda a full day before he had figured out that the name had been taken out of a mundane 'science fiction' movie. What business did this self proclaimed ninja have to associate with mundanes? Was he a long term plant that had gone 'native'? However that still didn't explain the new kind of power...

And that would have still meant knowledge of ninja. But that was apparently not the case. In fact, he seemed to be quite pleased at the fact that ninja existed. A magic user(why else was he in that alley?), who spoke Japanese quite fluently and had not heard of the present day ninja? It was as worthy of research as the power he wielded. On the other hand, he had said that he didn't belong in this world. What world was he talking about? Ninja? Magical? Wizarding(in particular)? Or even the planet(as the word really ought to mean)? There was definitely a whole lot of uneasy blanks to be filled here. But onto matters that could be solved...

"Taka-"

"Yes Hayate sama!"

"Tell Takeda that he will need to look out for seven of ours who will soon be there to reinforce his position. I will also be sending Tetsuya along with the others for his assigned mission. Inform that Englishman that he will need to make the arrangements. As for the other matter, take full precautions. And make sure that nobody goes out to look for our latest guest. I trust the sensors that we have been supplied with will be more than up to the task. And London is now on full arsenal. So make sure that anybody outside is in full combat gear. Finally, you and Kenji are now going to scout that forest in Scotland next to that school. You will be the ones to keep an eye on that headmaster. That's all for now". And then he made a shooing motion, sending his soldier hurtling out of the room. It seemed that plans would have to wait.

A week before school started, Lucius Malfoy was duly informed of the fact that his associates required his help to enroll a Japanese wizard into Hogwarts. As a member of the board, he had the capability to request such a thing of the headmaster, who he knew wouldn't mind a foreign wizard taking his classes. Lucius had once had a very irrational dream in which Dumbledore was more of a dark lord than his master could ever hope to be. Ironically, this same stupid thought had helped him deal with the old coot much better, while also making him more and more warier. But in any case, this was not something he could put off, so he flooed into the headmasters office right after his letter was received.

"Lucius! I was not aware you would be dropping in at this time, is there something the matter?"

Lucius nearly gagged at the sigtht and then straightened to 'full pureblood mode' which was what a muggleborn might have called the imposing transition. It was time to repay another of his latest debts. And he was not above grovelling, even if it was said 'a Malfoy never bows'. He had done plenty of it in front of his master back in the day.

"Headmaster, I was just made aware that a relative of a Japanese friend of mine has expressed a desire that their son study in Hogwarts. As they are somebody I am quite close to, I was hoping that you could enroll him, even if its this late. Call it a personal favor to me, if you must, headmaster."

Albus Dumbledore could scarcely keep himself from gaping. The most influential pureblood (and death eater) in England had just begged him for a personal favor. And before he could even offer a lemon drop in return no less! The cogs in his head however, were already turning. He weighed the offer mentally. If this was a favor that would cover a show of support on the next pro muggle wizengamot bill. Besides, this person, whoever they were, was very important. Deciding instantly that somebody who had such a hold on this man needed to be watched, he smiled and nodded. This was an opportunity, one with a humbled Malfoy to boot.

"Of course Lucius! I wouldn't dream of denying anyone the opportunity to study in this fine castle. Can you tell me how old this boy is? it will take a little change in the normal ceremony if he is older than eleven..."

"Eleven, headmaster. Just eleven. I imagine he will get along fine with Draco."

There was something off when Lucius said this, and Dumbledore filed it away for later.

"Excellent! Excellent! I will do the needful. So if you could kindly give me a name?"

Dumbledore raised his spectacles, waiting for the revelation of the name of he who was above Malfoy, he whose father caused a Malfoy to beg.

"The boys name is Tetsuya Watanabe, the nephew of Shizuka Watanabe, the Japanese national seeker"

At least, Dumbledore was somewhat prepared for the jaw dropping revelation this time around this time around...

Kings Cross was a very busy place. And on this day, come September, was especially filled with the weird and asinine. Well it had to be if entire families of cross dressers turned out in droves and kept disappearing right in front of your eyes. So it was perhaps a good thing for the ordinary folk of London that there was a very vague enchantment that kept the 'regulars' distracted from the candidate for a magic trick that was happening right around them.

And Harry Potter sauntered through the place looking like...somebody absolutely normal. He had a t shirt and a pair of jeans and walked through the barrier to 9¾ without a care in the world. And he didn't, because he was a clone. The real Harry was already inside, and simply observing, as he had been doing for three hours now. And there was still an hour to go before the train was due to depart. It was all in all a very interesting wait, considering that he was standing still for three hours now. He was devouring the sights that were the average Joe wizard and Jane witch. And nothing said infiltration better than average.

There were a lot of blondes. That was one thing he noticed. Platinum blond, yellow blond, dirty blond, not nearly blond enough...he was one of the rare non blondes in the equation. He also noticed that there was a family with 'head on fire' red hair, which if nothing else was entertaining to see. Harry was also taking mental notes on what people were chatting about. Nothing made you fit in more than the informed opinion. And you didn't even have to know much. Spout an opinion, any opinion among 'fellow believers' and you get immediately elevated to the status of friend/comrade. It worked for soccer, and practically every other team sport, so it was a guaranteed universally effective tactic. And it might even work with that crazy sport they played on 'brooms'.

And then his thought were interrupted, by the sight of a old man who was leading a boy into the platform. It might have been nothing to bother with, but then both of them were looking at everyone quite speculatively, assessing for threats when on the outside, they looked like a grandfather here to see grandson off. The larger than normal chakra and the sporadic, unfocussed killing intent was also quite the tip off. As was the obvious oriental faces and specifically, the face of somebody he had been introduced to very recently as Suzuki Takeda. Harry simply up and went, towards them, sharpening his senses by that much. As he neared, he recognized the wisps of rapid Japanese being spoken, quietly. He also noticed that they had noticed him, but didn't pay attention because frankly, even if you did know Japanese, this conversation was going too fast for normal people to comprehend.

" - and you are to keep up daily contact as ordered. Taka will be there to relay anything of importance that you discover. Make sure to keep your head down. You have been instructed to go into Hufflepuff. And remember to maintain an accent. It wouldn't do to lose your cover on your first mission!"

"Of course Takeda sama. And what shall we do about this peasant who is so inconveniently eavesdropping on us?"

"Nothing. If he proves to be-"

That sentence never got completed because Harry at that moment decided that there was enough people to cover his reunion. He didn't think that any ninja would try to force a battle in a civilian area, especially if they didn't want their cover blown, as this conversation was hinting. He decided to take the plunge.

"Ohayo Takeda san! Why do you talk of me like this behind my back? And after you invited me into your store too! Why, I'm insulted! Its like you don't think much of me!"

The two Japanese fellows looked dumbstruck, though it was only because Harry was looking for the signs, the little twitches that betrayed their internal turmoils that he noticed at all. For some reason, he just knew this impromptu scheme was better off if he sounded insane.

Tetsuya, the boy was shocked. This was the man who had caused the ruckus at the outpost? This frail looking man was in command of mysterious power that had been able to evade the eagle eyes of Taka? It had to be a joke. Then again, he shouldn't really have been able to understand what the two ninja were saying, even if he was fluent in the language. They were talking faster than was humanly possible (literally), at least for normal humans. There had to be some mistake. He tensed a little, prepared to do whatever was necessary. But first, he had to see how Takeda reacted. He was the senior ninja, and a negotiator to boot. For now, he was better off following the older mans lead.

Takeda on the other hand didn't seem to be concerned, but that was a lie. He was quite wary. Even if this was the same "Skywalker" he had talked to, there was no way that he should know of the two of them being here. Was there a leak? Was this man an enemy? There was no way that the same guy could be here the first time that he had stepped out of the shop after that incident. No it couldn't be coincidence either. Could it?

"What do you want, san? Can I not send off my family to school? Why must you plague me so?"

Harry flared a bit of chakra. He had been careful to constantly conceal his chakra signature after that day and knew that the only way they could be sure this was him was if they sensed it for themselves.

The feeling was there for but a second, and both ninja caught it. There was no doubt that this was the same power that had been encountered that day. But why was he here anyway?

"I assume that I have cleared your doubt of who I am. I am not here to fight you. I do not wish to fight you. I want to learn more about the ninja of this world. I don't care if you are here to invade the country or not, as long as you leave me alone. And if you send an assassin to school, I wont complain, unless it directly affects me in any way. I just came here to bid you good day. Surely the great Suzuki san is not averse to that?"

The last part was in quite the mocking tone.

Takeda was not sure what to make of all this, so he merely snorted lightly as a response. He relaxed a bit, even if not by much. And following his cue, the boy also relaxed his guard, by moving his hand an inch more away from a hidden wakizashi.

"Relax! I'm unarmed see?" and Harry waved his hands up and down at his sides, for effect.

That didn't do much. Though he did get another snort for his troubles.

"Fine! I can see when I'm not wanted! Fat lot of good you blokes are! Ninja indeed..."

The mysterious ninja visibly pouted. And with that, Takeda and his comrade was once again treated to the sight of a disappearing act that used that power.

"Takeda san! Is he gone?"

Tetsuya was quite unsure as to exactly what he should be doing. This whole thing was a bit...unreal. And the way this guy was going all relaxed and seemingly unguarded over known ninja was rubbing him entirely wrong. He felt quite glad that he was leaving and would not be stuck writing another reality bending report to Hayate sama. Who knew how their leader would react to this...this incident?

Takeda sighed and relaxed. He felt reasonably sure the man was gone so he turned to the child beside him.

"Tetsuya kun, if you ever meet him again, flee. It does not matter if he is on the brink of death. Simply flee. I once read that only the truly strong can remain eccentric and still live to fight. And somebody as unsound as him even I would not care to face. For now, we will let him be, as ordered. But if he shows up at Hogwarts, retreat and tell Taka. That's an order."

Tetsuya nodded and kept still. If there was something about this guy that freaked out Takeda, he wouldn't dare try his luck. But then, his young blood yearned for battle, to test his mettle, to defeat any opponent he fought. If it came down to it, would he truly run?

There was nothing more to be said. The two parted with a nod, and Tetsuya headed for the train. This was his mission. He would not be caught distracted from the very beginning.

Harry was also walking into the train at the same time. His clone was acting as the "real" Harry, a decoy, while he himself became a nameless child who could rest undisturbed. He wondered if his clone would really be in a situation of any sort but shook himself. People wouldn't really remember something that happened when he was one right? And if he was in a history book, it meant that people tended to forget you exist, right?

Harry's clone cursed himself. Why? He was surrounded by admiring fan-people who were incessantly chattering away at him. He now understood why Sasuke was always brooding. One word and the whole lot would mob him. It was like watching a tripped landmine. The slightest movement could trigger something worse than a detonation.

It was annoying him so much that he was half tempted to blow himself up. Though, he supposed it was a good thing that a clone would dispel only after a killing blow. With all the touching, pinching and handshaking, (not to mention all the weird noises these people were making) he was undergoing, it was a wonder why he still hadn't. His eye twitched as yet another male admirer, this one with red hair came waltzing in and looked at him awestruck. "Blimey! It really is him isn't he..."

Harry's eye was almost seizing. He wasn't sure how much more he could take of this. But then, a devious thought presented itself. If he dispelled, his memories (read every second of current nightmare) would be experienced by his cruel creator (read himself) who had sent him into the wolves den. It was such a pleasant thought, perhaps even better than inflicting a thousand years of pain on his originals rear... Harry wouldn't notice till later just how weird his shadow clones were starting to turn out.

A/N :The Japanese seeker mentioned was the one that was supposedly there in 1994, took it from the harry potter wiki.

And I'm very much happy that Harry is finally heading to Hogwarts! My writing muscle seems to have an ingrained resistance to getting to that point, but I've crossed that river now...

Hope you like the chapter, and where the story is heading. I've mainly focused on the oc's this time, because this will be the frame work by which they will behave in the future. OK so its not a great framework, but hey! Gotta start somewhere...

Your reviews are appreciated. Most of the time, they help me keep up my motivation and also give me ideas I can focus on. And while I cant use some of the more innovative ideas some of you have given, purely because they clash with what I've already planned or have written, it still serves to keep me thinking. So thank you, and keep 'em coming!

I sometimes wish I could write an omake or two, just for the heck of it. But sadly, my 'serious' writing tends to jump in and make my attempts look really really sad... if any of you can think up a good one, I'll post it next chapter!

That's all for now! And as always,

PLEASE REVIEW!