The more skeptical professors —Snape, McGonagall, Umbridge, and Sinistra— were cautious about these 'ninjas.'

They had reason to be suspicious. After all, nobody had actually seen a genuine ninja since 1541. The young group could be easily telling a lie, so they can easily slip by their defenses.

However, Professor Dumbledore extended to them the benefit of doubt: He welcomed them with open arms.

"Welcome, welcome! Please make yourselves comfortable at any of the tables you see fit."

Naruto and the rest looked at their advisor. At times like this, it's best to seek the next favorable move from a trusted source of intelligence. Which, in this case, was Shikamaru.

Shikamaru just sighed in weariness. Now that they were far away from the Shinobi war and the adrenaline had faded away, he was back to his lazy old self.

"Troublesome...let's just split into our squads and sit at each of the tables. That way we can interact with these wizards."

They all nodded at him in confirmation and followed his instructions.

Team 7, along with Sai, took the Gryffindor table. Team 10 took nervous Ravenclaw, Team 8 took jittery Hufflepuff, and Team Gai took the hostile Slytherin table.

Dumbledore stood up and swept open his arms, "Tuck in!" then sat back down in his throne-like chair.

Sasuke and all other ninjas were confused.

Tuck in into what exactly?

That question was soon answered when a 'explosion' of food happened right in front of them.

Neji, Sasuke, and Sai respectively all backflipped onto the Hufflepuff table; food, plates, forks, spoons, and knives all clattered to the floor. Kiba let out a doggish-like bark of surprise. Tenten surrounded herself with 122 different types of weapons, all sharpened and ready to skewer someone in a instant. Hinata had immediately jumped out of her seat, in a ready position to use her Gentle Fist. Naruto and Sakura jumped far away from the food, far enough to land on the other side of the Great Hall. Ino and Shikamaru just raised a eyebrow at the food that suddenly appeared onto the empty plates. Choji was a bit startled at first then just shrugged. Magic food; he was just glad they had meat. Shino didn't even react; he just sat at the Hufflepuff table impassively without even a flinch. Lee, well, he just grabbed the nearest chicken wing and started eating it as if this was a normal occurrence for him everyday.

The wizards started and caused quite the clamor.

The Golden Trio's jaws all fell open at this. Surely it wasn't this surprising?

People who had the courage to sit by Tenten immediately had their wands up and ready to Stun her. The Hufflepuffs almost had a heart attack when the three ninjas all of a sudden landed on their tables. When Kiba yelped, some Gryffindors fell off their chairs in surpirse. The Slytherins all stared where Naruto and Sakura were now. It was like they Apparated. Dare they say it? It was like they flew in a instant. All the teachers, except for Umbridge who had also almost had heart attack (too bad she didn't die though), contemplated these superhuman-like ninjas.

Acrobatics, instant protection, quick reflexes...it seems that this small display was a tiny preview from their vast skill set.

Shikamaru shook his head, "Naruto and Sakura, come back here. Neji, Sasuke, and Sai, get down from the table. You're scaring them. Kiba...don't yelp. (He pouted a bit.) Hinata, no need for the Gentle Fist now. And Tenten, 'kai' those weapons back into your scrolls, please. You almost skewered someone."

Tenten made a Tiger sign and her weapons poofed back into her scrolls.

Neji, Sasuke, and Sai all jumped back down off the Hufflepuff table, trying to regain some of their lost dignity. To think that the rogue-nin, the Hyuuga prodigy, and the former Root member would be scared of food? If this got out, they would never live this down. The three boys most unlikely to ally themselves with the other made a truce to never tell.

Naruto and Sakura sheepishly walked back over to the Gryffindor table and sat back down in their seats.

Naruto, trying to replace the lost mood of celebrity, attempted to find his favorite food: ramen.

When he found none, he yelled out discontentedly, "Hey! Where's the ramen?"

Mid-yell, a bowl of miso ramen appeared right in front of his surprised face.

Naruto slammed shut his mouth and as Dumbledore had earlier said, ''tucked in.''

Sasuke and Sakura witnessed the appearance of Naruto's favorite dish appear and gazed at their plates.

Sasuke said to his plate skeptically, "Rice balls...with tomatoes."

His request appeared and he, with no comment, started to consume it at a languid pace.

The other ninjas quickly followed Naruto's and Sasuke's earlier actions.

Neji requested, "Soba noodles with herring, please."

Tenten wanted, "Chinese buns and some sesame dumplings."

Shino leaned forward a bit, "Winter melon and wild-herb salad."

Kiba considered all of his favorite dishes and choosed the most chewiest, "Beef jerky for me and some bones for Akamaru." When it appeared per his request, he gave the bones for Akamaru to gnaw on and tore into his large serving of jerky. Later on, he relented and tried some of the chicken that was conveniently placed in front of his seat. he discovered the deep-fried chicken was his new favorite food.

Sai said, "Some momen tofu, if you don't mind." His hard tofu appeared and he, without a word like Sasuke, started eating it.

When Choji saw what happened, he said eagerly to his plate not caring if he looked stupid, "Grilled meat." He salivated when it appeared and kept requesting more when he finished a serving.

Hinata simply said, "Sweet red bean soup and some cinnamon rolls, p-please."

Ino flicked back her long ponytail and went straight to dessert, "Custard pudding." (Later on, she wanted cherry tomatoes.)

Having been slouching for the last few moments, Shikamaru straightened just a bit and said, "Miso-cooked mackerel and sukonbu(vinegar-flavored kelp)."

Sakura said to her plate, "Shiratama anmitsu." (a mix of mochi, agar, bean jam, and fruit)

Lee youthfully appealed to his plate, "THE CURRY OF LIFE!" Rice smothered by bright-red curry sauce appeared on the plate. Neji's and Tenten's eyes teared up at the shining sauce—growing up still hadn't affected their reaction to the bright red curry plate.

The Golden Trio observed what seemed to be each of the ninjas' favorite food dishes.

All were light on the stomach, as if even during eating they were tense and ready to fight.

Does 'heavy' food really affect one's ability to fight, wondered Hermione.

If she ever gets the chance to ask the ninjas this particular question, this one would be first.

With that, she went back to feasting with the rest of her fifth-year classmates while Ron went back to stuffing his mouth full.

Harry was already eating. But that didn't mean the ninjas were out of his mind yet. He was just really hungry from all of that excitement.