Hello, again!
To get it out of the way, for the moment, Snape will stay pretty much exactly like in canon. Main tweaks are whenever he and Naruto have a solid encounter. Otherwise, for the time being, he staying off to the side until I figure out what exactly I plan on doing with him. Although I most certainly won't let him get away with berating Harry and Co.
In the mean time, I'll be letting Naruto in on the situation with Sirius. Granted, he would've noticed in other people's hearts, but he'll see the discrepancies in the story after he meets with Remus and Snape, and then take an interest in the issue himself.
Lastly, since it seems that the chapters can't seem to keep the underlined parts underlined, I just be forgoing it except for the chapter title. No use continuing with futility.
Bold and Italicized is in a different language to the main language.
Don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.
The truth is much stranger than fiction
Malfoy didn't reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning, when the Slytherins and Gryffindors were halfway through double Potions. He swaggered into the dungeon, his head covered in bandages, acting, in Harry's opinion, as though he were the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.
"How is it, Draco?" simpered Pansy Parkinson. "Does it hurt much?"
"If you want the truth, then ask me." said Naruto, having just arrived from a previous engagement. "If not, then return to your work. Mavoy, get to work, and don't use your fake wound as an excuse."
"You're not the boss of me." Malfoy sneered at him, unintentionally revealing to the class that Naruto was indeed correct in the remaining damage was nonexistant.
"Someone has to." said Naruto as he ripped the bandages from Malfoy's head, showing a completely healed head.
"Settle down, settle down," said Professor Snape idly.
Harry and Ron scoled at each other; Snape wouldn't have said "settle down" if they'd walked in late, he'd have gien them detention. But Malfoy had always been able to get away with anything in Snape's classes; Snape was head of Slytherin House, and generally favored his own students above all others. They were glad that Naruto wasn't about to let the same happen again.
They were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution. Malfoy attempted to set up his cauldron right next to Harry and Ron, but Naruto picked him up and dropped on the other side of the room, where Crabbe and Goyle were.
"And what gives you the right to harass my students?" asked Snape neutrally.
"Either they, and you, follow the rules," responded Naruto, "or drop out. Bullies don't belong."
Without waiting for any sort of reply, Naruto turned to Harry and say to him "Hands out. Both of you."
After the two boys complied, albeit hesitantly, Naruto took a deep breath and then breathed out a blast of steam that had cleaned their hands.
"Proper hygiene helps," explained Naruto. "doesn't matter if it's for food, potions, or life."
Harry understood what Naruto was talking about, remembering his time at the Dursleys preparing their meals, while the blond directed a similar blast over the cauldrons, tools, and the other students. After he was done, Naruto saw that no one else was moving, frozen in surprise about what he just did.
Snapping his fingers at them, he said "You're here to learn, not stare."
Rebooting their minds, the class set to work on the lesson, with Naruto observing idly on the process. In the meantime, Malfoy was grumbling about the blond interfering with him, saying "My father will hear about this."
"If you have time to complain, you have time to work." Naruto said, hearing him from the other side of the room. "So work!"
Snape wisely decided to keep silent, knowing that it wasn't in his best interest to interfere himself.
A few cauldrons, away, Neville was in trouble. Neville regularly went to pieces in Potions lessons; it was his worst subject and his great fear of Professor Snape made things ten times worse. His potion, which was supposed to be a bright, acid green, had turned –
"Orange, Longbottom," said Snape, ladling some up and allowing it to splash back into the cauldron, so that everyone could see. "Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"
Neville was pink and trembling. He looked as though he was on the verge of tears.
"Please, sir," said Hermione, "please, I could help Neville put it right-"
"Have you considered actually doing your job?" Naruto cut in, "You're expecting masters, and got kids."
"Remind me, again," Hinata idly said, popping up. "Why is this guy an actual teacher?"
"Dumb-door wanted to keep his spy close at hand, and this was the best bet in doing that." said Naruto.
"Completely risking an entire country because he couldn't let go of the past, or believe that someone is actually not as good as he currently is." Hinata finished before groaning. "And you've had problems with the Civilian Council. That place has practically no one competent in power, except maybe the Amelia Bones person that keeps on showing up in some of their hearts."
"At least Jade is now at a competent enough level for me to find and talk to Bones,leaving her for a bit. Granted, she's still working on conditioning for later, but she's done it enough times to keep it as a routine thing. Talk to you later, love, needed back here." said Naruto before returning his attention back to the classroom, where Harry was attempting to get his attention. "Yes?"
"You okay? You kind of zoned out a bit there." said Harry.
"Yeah, nothing brought it up for discussion yet." said Naruto, "You recall me talking about Hinata?"
After Harry nodded, he continued his explanation. "I can speak to her in my head."
"Hey!" Snape said, reminding the two that they were still in the Potions classroom, "Are you two done? Get out of my class, and that goes for you too, Miss Granger."
Turning, the two boys noticed Hermione finish packing her bag, which was full to bursting.
I thought that I had sent her with Ron. Thought Harry, perplexed.
Sigh. Figures that Dumb-door would be dumb enough to give a kid the ability to manipulate time without any real restraints. Thought Naruto, groaning a bit. He then grabbed Hermione's bag and directed her out the door, Harry following.
Once they were away from the classroom, Naruto pushed Hermione's bag into Harry's hands, grabbed the girl's shoulders, and asked in a cold voice "Just why exactly did you agree to risk your very existence just to take extra classes?"
While Harry was shocked at what he just did, Hermione was scared. Naruto had discovered her secret, and was demanding her reasoning for it. And the way he 'asked,' made her unable to say anything except the truth. Or at least try to.
"I don't know!" she said, eyes starting to water, "I don't know. I just...I wanted to..."
"You didn't want to be seen as useless?" Naruto asked, although it sounded more like a statement than a question, "And you decided on doing something that would've destroyed you, without realizing the consequences."
Understanding just what he was saying, Hermione broke down in his arms, dangerously close to risking her very existence. Naruto merely held her in his arms, while Harry awkwardly patted her on the back. A few minutes later, Hermione finally calmed down, and just in time for them to make it in time for their next class.
Professor Lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. They all sat down, took out their books, quills, and parchment, and were talking when he finally entered the room. Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old briefcase on the teacher's desk. He was as shabby as ever but looked healthier than he had on the train, as though he had had a few square meals.
"Good afternoon," he said. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."
A few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their books. They had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts before, unless you counted the memorable class last year when their old teacher had brought a cageful of pixies and set them loose.
"Right then," said Professor Lupin, when everyone was ready. "If you'd follow me."
Puzzled but interested, the class got to its feet and followed Professor Lupin out of the classroom. He led them along the deserted corridor and around a corner, where the first thing they saw was Peeves the Poltergeist, who was floating upside down in midair and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum.
Peeves didn't look up until Professor Lupin was two feet away; then he wiggled his curly-toed feet and broke into song.
"Loony, loopy Lupin," Peeves sang. "Loony, loopy Lupin, loony, loopy Lupin -"
Rude and unmanageable as he almost always was, Peeves usually showed some respect toward the teachers. Everyone looked quickly at Professor Lupin to see how he would take this; to their surprise, he was still smiling.
"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves," he said pleasantly. "Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms."
Filch was the Hogwarts caretaker, a bad-tempered, failed wizrad who wagged a constant war against the students and, indeed, Peeves. However Peeves paid no attention to Professor Lupin's words, except to blow a loud wet raspberry.
"I got this." piped up Naruto, walking forward. Grabbing hold of the doorknob, he focused, melting it into molten slag in his hand. Ignoring the burning in his hand, he threw the mess into Peeves' face, sending him careening down the corridor and away from them.
"Lupin," said Naruto, turning to the watching class. "If you don't mind?"
Professor Lupin was one of the quicker people Naruto met that recomposed himself after seeing something beyond anything before. Flicking his wand, he repaired the door, then turned to his students and said "Shall we proceed?"
They set off again, the class looking at Naruto with increased respect, awe, and some fear. Professor Lupin led them down a second corridor and stopped, right outside the staffroom door.
"Inside, please," said Professor Lupin, opening it and standing back.
The staffroom, a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs, was empty except for one teacher. Professor Snape was sitting in a low armchair, and he looked around as the class filed in. His eyes were glittering and there was a nasty sneer playing around his mouth. As Professor Lupin came in and made to close the door behind him, Snape said, "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this."
He got to his feet and strode past the class, his black robes billowing behind him. At the doorway he turned on his heel and said, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."
"And you using your head instead of your nose." quipped Naruto, earning a few chuckles and snickers from the others in the class.
Professor Lupin had raised his eyebrows.
"I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation," he said, "and I am sure he will perform it admirably."
Neville's face went crimson from the praise. Snape's lip curled, but he left shutting the door with a snap.
"Now, then," said Professor Lupin, beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers kept their spare robes. As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the ward robe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.
"Nothing to worry about," said Professor Lupin calmly because a few people had jumped backward in alarm. "There's a boggart in there."
Most people seemed to feel that this was something to worry about. Neville gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror, and Seamus Finnigan eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively.
"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks – I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice."
"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?"
Hermione put up her hand.
"It's a shape-shifter," she said. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."
"Couldn't have put it better myself," Professor Lupin, and Hermione glowed. "So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears."
"This means," said Professor Lupin, choosing to ignore Neville's small sputter of terror, "that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"
Trying to answer a question with Hermione next to him, bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet with her hand in the air, was very off-putting, but Harry had a go.
"Er – because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?"
"Precisely," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione put her hand down, looking a little disappointed. "It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a boggart make that very mistake – tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening."
"The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requites force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing."
"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please...riddikulus!"
"Riddikulus!" said the class together.
"Good," said Professor Lupin. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville."
The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Neville, who walked forward as though he were heading for the gallows.
"Right, Neville," said Professor Lupin. "First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"
Neville's lips moved, but no noise came out.
"Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," said Professor Lupin cheerfully.
Neville looked around rather willdly, as though begging someone to help him, then said, in barely more than a whisper, "Professor Snape."
Nearly everyone laughed. Even Neville grinned apologetically. Professor Lupin, however, looked thoughtful.
"Professor Snape...hmmm...Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"
"Er – yes," said Neville nervously. "But – I don't want the boggart to turn into her either."
"No, non, you misunderstand me," said Professor Lupin, now smiling. "I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?"
Neville looked startled, but said, "Well...always the same hat. A tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. And a long dress...green, normally...and sometimes a fox-fur scarf."
"And a handbag?" prompted Professor Lupin.
"A big red one," said Neville.
"Right then," said Professor Lupin. "Can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in you mind's eye?"
"Yes," said Neville uncertainly, plainly wondering what was coming next.
"When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape," said Lupin. "And you will raise your wand – thus – and cry 'Riddikulus' – and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag."
There was a great shout of laughter. The wardrobe wobbled more violently.
"If Neville is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn," said Professor Lupin. "I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical..."
The room went quiet. Harry thought...What scared him most in the world?
His first thought was Lord Voldemort – a Voldemort returned to full strength. But before he had even started to plan a possible counterattack on a boggart-Voldemort, a horrible image came floating to the surface of his mind...
A rotting, glistening hand, slithering back beneath a black cloak...a long, rattling breath from an unseen mouth...then a cold so penetrating it felt like drowning...
Harry shivered, then looked around, hoping no one had noticed. Many people had their eyes shut tight. Ron was muttering to himself, "Take its legs off." Harry was sure he knew what that was about. Ron's greatest fear was spiders.
However, to Harry's embarrassment and slight anger, Naruto placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and said "You'll be after me. Lupin wouldn't quite allow you to face it either way." That greatly confused Harry, but Naruto didn't speak further.
"Everyone ready?" said Professor Lupin.
Harry felt a lurch of fear. He wasn't ready. How could you make a dementor less frightening? But he didn't want to ask for more time; everyone else was nodding and rolling up their sleeves.
"Neville, we're going to back away," said Professor Lupin. "Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward...Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot-"
They all retreated, backed against the walls, leaving Neville alone beside the wardrobe. He looked pale and frightened, but he had pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand ready.
"On the count of three, Neville," said Professor Lupin, who was pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. "One – two – three – now!"
A jet of sparks shot from the end of Professor Lupin's wand and hit the doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. Hook-nosed and menacing, Professor Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at Neville.
Neville backed away, his wand up, mouthing wordlessly. Snape was bearing down upon him, reaching inside his robes.
"R-r-riddikulus!" squeaked Neville.
Threre was a noise like a whip crack. Snape stumbled; he was wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag.
Just what the hell is this?! Neville's grandmother has even WORSE tastes than Gai and Lee! And that's saying something. Thought Naruto, startled at the exact look of what Neville had described his grandmother usually wore.
There was a roar of laughter; the boggart paused, confused, and Professor Lupin shouted, "Parvati! Forward!"
Parvati walked forward, her face set. Snape rounded on her. There was another crack, and where he had stood was a blood-stained, bandaged mummy; its sightless face was turned to Parvati and it began to walk toward her very slowly, dragging its feet, its stiff arms rising-
"Riddikulus!" cried Parvati.
A bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet; it became entangled, fell face forward, and its head rolled off.
Naruto sweat-dropped a bit at this. Okay, these people are seriously messed up in the head.
"Seamus!" roared Professor Lupin.
Seamus darted past Parvati.
Crack! Where the mummy had been was a woman with floor-length black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged face – a banshee. She opened her mouth wide and an unearthly sound filled the room, a long, wailing shriek that made the hair on Harry's head stand on end-
The next two things anyone knew was Naruto standing where the creature once did, and a sizable hole in the far wall leading to outside.
"I wasn't about to hear another banshee." said Naruto. "Let alone a real one."
"What do you mean by that?" Hermione couldn't help but ask.
Naruto just simply said two words, but they were enough to explain just he meant to most of them. "Fangirls."
Harry remembered a conversation he had with Naruto a couple of days before, and fangirls were brought up.
"Fangirls. Bloodsuckers, banshees. Incredibly stupid and loud. Can make virtually anyone want to die to get away from them. Especially in a pack."
He shuddered a bit, understanding how scary fangirls really were if they were practically banshees like Naruto described. Thankfully, for him, he wasn't the only one that shuddered, but they were few in number compared to the amount of people who were still reeling at what Naruto had just did: knock a banshee through magically-enhanced stone. It was a few minutes before even Professor Lupin got his act together.
"Okay!" he said, clapping his hands together. "Well done, everyone, quite an...intriguing lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me...to be handed in on Monday. That will be all. Also, five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the boggart...and five to Hermione."
Talking animatedly, the class left the staffroom. Harry, however, was feeling a bit doubtful about his training under Naruto, as well as a little excited. Would it be even remotely possible for him to come even close to that kind of power? On a side note, why did Naruto stop him from facing the boggart, and why did he say that Professor Lupin would've done the same? Was it because he'd seen Harry collapse on the train, and thought he wasn't up to much? Had he thought Harry would pass out again?
But one thing was certain. Naruto was starting to feel familiar. Harry just couldn't quite figure out why.
"He thought it would've become the Dork Lord for you," explained Naruto. "instead of a dementor. Also, Harry, I'm not going to be here this evening. I have need to speak to someone away from here. Take this in the meantime, to progress. Good job in molding chakra yesterday, by the way."
Despite the age Harry was, he was pretty proficient in learning the ways of chakra and shinobi, even with a jump start from Naruto. Naruto decided on progressing his training by adding the leaf exercise to learn control. He would then proceed further from that point.
"Okay." said Harry. "Take care."
Naruto smiled. "You too." And with that, Naruto left. His destination: Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Ministry of Magic.
If what I saw in Lupin's heart in particular, Black was framed. Thought Naruto as he ran to the Ministry. I'm not about to let an innocent man, even a perverted one, be sent back to prison!
Pathetic. Naruto mentally said to himself as he looked around from the shadows inside the Ministry hallways, searching for Amelia. But with all the people moving about, it wasn't as easy as just running into her. At least until he came across someone who knew that she was still in her office. And upon arriving in said office, he instantly could tell that Amelia Bones wasn't someone he would want to mess with, completely disregarding his weariness around women.
Even though he didn't really know of the origins, her robes were essentially the magically version of a marine blue female Naval Officer with a monocle. Her 'officer jacket' was somewhat draped across her shoulders, indicating her status as a person of power, but also showing that she isn't above conversing with simple friends while working.
But Naruto didn't come there to just look at the woman. He had a task to complete, and proceeded to do so by using his power to seal off the room before showing himself to her.
"Amelia Bones." he said, getting her attention as he walked forward. "We need to talk."
Hoped you like what I did with Snape. Even if he ends up on Naruto's side, he's still pretty mean-spirited, to put it lightly. Also, the part with Amelia is just really to help keep things in order, because by that time Naruto would've definitely figured out the truth about Sirius Black and the Potters. He'll just need to take care of a few things first before getting Black free completely.
Until next time. Please let me know what you think.