You can ignore this part.
I recently found out that you get upadate notification even if I just correct some mistakes. So, sorry about that. When I posted this chapter yesterday, I was awake only with the help of caffeine so I didn't realise a few errors had escaped my sight. Today I corrected all the mistakes I could find. Also, someone asked in comments if this is a slash story. It's not. There will be romance later in the story when Harry and Naruto are older and they are both straight in this story. Someone wrote an entire paragraph as review in French, I had a lot of fun translating that, thank you stranger! One reader pointed out that I have been writing Mr. as mr. wrongly all this time. I corrected that too, lol. And Thank you for your encouraging words, I really appreciate it! Helpful suggestions are always welcome. You can PM me if don't want to leave a review, I don't mind either way.
Chapter 2- Intruder in the Forest
"Hey, Professor?" Naruto asked as he followed the professor on a small trail into the forbidden forest.
"What is it?"
"Why me?" Naruto asked the question that had been bugging him for a while. At first, he had decided not to look gift horse in the mouth but his curiosity just wouldn't let him sit still.
"What do you mean 'why you'?"
"I mean why did you pick me? I'm sure there are hundreds of kids older, smarter and more experienced than me at this subject. I mean I don't even have 'Care of Magical Creatures' until third year, so why did you pick me to assist you?"
The professor chuckled as he ducked under a low branch. "It doesn't make much sense when you put it like that, does it? Well, I could have picked any of older students, that's true but I want someone who truly loves magical creatures and not a bookworm who only studies them to get good grades. You understand what I'm saying?"
"I think so...Is there really no one who enjoys working with animals?"
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" The professor gave him a toothy grin. "It's difficult to fathom really. You'd think kids would line up to even see magical beasts, to learn more about them; I mean each one is more magnificent than the other! How could you not be excited about them?!"
The old professor spoke with so much passion, it was contagious.
"Unicorns and Thestrals and Hippogriffs and Dragons...I swear you'll never get tired of them! But young students would rather be playing Exploding Snap with friends and when they get a bit older, their brains can't think of anything other than girls."
"If you say so, professor."
Kettleburn sighed, "Does that answer your question?"
Naruto thought about it for a couple of seconds, "Not really, no."
"Straightforward, I like that. It was because of Mr. Gama to tell you the truth, in part at least." He finally admitted.
Naruto had a suspicion it was something like that, also he felt a bit better that the professor hadn't tried to lie to him. The old man beat around the bush a little but at least he was honest in the end. Naruto appreciated that.
"I'm guessing Mr. Gama can do a lot more than just fight," Professor said.
Naruto knew it wasn't a guess but a deduction born of years of experience with magical beasts.
"It's okay, you don't have to answer, I'm sure you have your reasons to keep secrets." Kettleburn told him.
It was a pathological habit really. Naruto managed a small answer, "Yes," he admitted.
"In that case, I hope one day you'll share those secrets with someone you trust." Kettleburn looked over his shoulder and smiled at him. It wasn't a toothy grin Naruto was beginning to expect from the old man, it was a kind of grandfatherly smile that would make you want to smile in return. Naruto didn't.
"I hope so too." Naruto muttered under his breath, looking at his feet.
If Kettleburn heard, he didn't act like it. They walked a little distance in silence after that.
"Can you at least tell me about that ritual of yours? I admit it's nothing like anything I've ever seen before and you didn't even use your wand or anything. It's got me really curious." The professor asked after a while.
"...It's called a summoning ritual, the toads taught me. They created a contract with me when I first met mr. Gama. As per the contract, I can summon the toads by using my blood as an offering, Toads have their own brand of magic so they can tell immediately when the ritual is being performed and they transport to my location almost instantly, wherever I am." Naruto was proud of his bullshitting skills.
"And those hand gestures?"
"Part of the ritual."
"What would happen if I perform the ritual? Would the toads come to me as well?"
"No. The ritual is only the trigger, you have to have a contract with them first."
"Ah thats disappointing!"
It had been a while since they were walking. At this point, the forest was getting a lot denser with the canopy blocking most of sunlight, the light was barely touching the ground. It wouldn't have taken as long but Kettleburn had only one good leg, the second one was a prosthetic, just like one of his arm.
"You are an orphan?" The professor asked him out of the blue.
"Yes." Naruto knew, the professor already knew that.
"Filius told me he found you living in an abandoned warehouse."
Naruto detected something akin to worry from the old man's tone. "It was only temporary until I could find a real house."
"Why don't you live in an orphanage?"
"I lived in one for a while...I...um..hated it there."
Thankfully the professor detected how awkward the situation had become so he dropped the subject. They walked in silence after that.
"Here we are!" Kettleburn removed his backpack and dropped it to the ground when they reached a particularly big tree.
Naruto looked around him. They were standing under a very large Oak tree. This part of the forest was no different from the last mile they had walked. There was not a single animal in sight, let alone a magical one. "Okay, but where's 'here' exactly?" Naruto was a little confused.
"This tree!" Kettleburn slapped the trunk of the Oak tree, "This is our location!"
Naruto looked at the tree closely. He walked around it to get a better look, it looked like any other ordinary tree. Naruto couldn't find anything interesting about it. Was he missing something? Had his deduction skills deteriorated so rapidly in just six months?! That thought was horrifying! His sensei would kick his ass if he found out!
"I'm sorry, old man. But I don't see anything here. They are no birds or anything on the branches either!"
Kettleburn laughed at him like he had told the funniest joke in the world. Naruto wondered if he could get away with murder. Nah, too many people saw me coming here with the geezer!
"Hang on," Kettleburn said when he was done laughing. The old man cupped his good hand around his mouth and made a weird noise. "Look up that branch!" The professor told him.
Naruto's eyes followed his finger, he saw that some twigs were peeling away from the branch. Now, he was no botanist but even he knew an Oak shouldn't do that. "Why are there small twigs on that branch?"
"Finally noticed, have you? They are not twigs."
"Then what are they?"
"You'll see in a minute," Kettleburn conjured a large wooden log. "Hand me the can of wood lices."
Naruto removed a large can from his backpack. The professor opened the lid and poured the lices on the log and took a couple of steps back. Naruto copied him. In just a few seconds the twigs he saw earlier were peeling off the branches and dropped to the ground. Now that he got a closer look, Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. They were alive! They looked like stick figures a toddler would draw in his sketchbook; long hands with only two finger on each, two brown eyes and a small mouth, but they were very much alive! The stick figures dashed towards the log and quickly began munching on the wood lices.
Kettleburn smiled at his reaction, "They are Bowtruckles! Beautiful, aren't they?"
"Bowtruckles?" Naruto crouched down near the log to get a closer look at the tiny creatures.
"Yes, they are today's topic for my OWL students."
"Owl?" Naruto asked as he put some lices in his hand and offered them to a small bowtruckle. It was probably just a baby, without any any fear it came towards him and sat in his open palm to eat the delicious bugs.
Kettleburn smiled at him, "Ordinary Wizarding Level, you'll sit them in your fifth year. Very important for your career." The professor pointed his wand at the log and floated it in front of them. They both began their journey back.
"Bowtruckles look quite harmless but don't be deceived by their small stature and cute looks," Kettleburn began talking about the creatures while walking. Naruto still had his bowtruckle in his hand. "They are vicious when provoked. Even the big predators stay away from their tree. If you threaten them or their home, the whole branch will target you, most of them will try to gauge your eyes out."
"Branch?"
"A group of bowtruckles is called a branch," Kettleburn cleared. "Like most animals, Bowtruckles are only dangerous to humans when they feel threatened, foolish wizards underestimate them because of their size and pay the price with their eyes! For bowtruckles are very fast you see, and they are very skilled at dodging spells. But even so, usually they are very peaceful creatures. And they are dead useful!"
The bowtruckle in his palm had finished all the lices and was looking at Naruto expectantly. Naruto smiled and poured more lices for the little guy.
"They are called 'a thief's best friend'," Kettleburn continued his lecture.
"Thief's best friend?"
"They can pick almost any lock in the world with those sharp fingers. Even muggles have a myth about them!"
"A myth? Can't muggles see them?"
"Normally, no. They are experts at camouflage! You didn't notice them at first either, did you?" Kettleburn asked rhetorically. "Somehow someone must have noticed their presense and the myth began. It's mostly in Slavic countries, but it's known as the myth of 'Rashnovik plant'. According to Slavic people, it's a magical herb that can unlock any secrets or uncover any treasure."
Naruto whistled, "There must be a very high demand for them, then!"
"It's a myth, mr. Uzumaki. And a muggle one at that. It's true they can pick most locks but they can't uncover any treasures, that part's completely untrue. You want nifflers to find treasures." The professor told him. "But there are people who take myths more seriously than others. I have heard that there were many expeditions to find this mythical herb."
"Did they find anything?"
Kettleburn chuckled, "No. Not for the lack of effort mind you. But bowtruckles are native to western England and southern Germany, and there's only one colony in Norway as far as I'm aware. They only live in trees whose wood is suitable to make wands, you see."
Naruto was listening to every word with rapt attention, his focus was completely on the professor's words. "Really?" He exclaimed in wonder. Who would have thought the stick figures would be so fascinating?! The more he listened, the more he was impressed with the tiny creatures.
"Yeah, I have heard that old Ollivander only uses wood from Bowtruckle trees."
"But isn't that dangerous? I mean, won't these bowtruckles attack him? You said they attack when you threaten their tree."
"That's why you offer them wood lices or fairy eggs as distraction!"
"And take the wood when they are busy eating!" Naruto nodded.
"You know, they say a bowtruckle was the first wand?"
Naruto giggled. He imagined waving the tiny creature around and trying to cast a spell.
Kettleburn also laughed, "Yeah, the story goes, 'when wizardkind didn't have wands, one adventurous young man accidently cast a spell while holding a bowtruckle in his hand. The spell worked a lot more efficiently while doing so and the young man crafted the first wand out of a corpse of a Bowtruckle'." Old professor turned to him, "A word of advice, don't cast a spell with a bowtruckle in hand. A lot of people have tried to recreate the story. Fools. They got bleeding fingers for their troubles!"
Naruto laughed at the story. In just one trek he'd learnt so much! The small lecture had ignited a bonfire of curiosity in him. And Naruto kept thinking about the bowtruckles even when he got back to the castle. He kept wondering about what other fascinating creatures lived in the forest even when he was in the dungeons for potions lecture. His mind just wouldn't budge from the topic.
That blonde girl had sat with him again in class but they weren't assigned anything to brew today so they just had to sit in silence. Snape taught them about the individual ingredients of the Cure for Boils potion and they spent the whole lecture taking notes. Those that couldn't manage to brew the potion properly last time were told to brew it again in addition to taking notes. Given that he had already written the same things in his essay, it was positively boring and he had given up halfway through. Naruto was first one out of the dungeons as soon as the lecture was over.
Today was the first practical lesson of transfiguration. Naruto was again sitting in the second last seat by the window. His gaze naturally drifted towards the forest, just one unassuming tree had showed him such wonderful creatures. Naruto kept wondering what else he might find there, he decided to check out the forest later that night. While he hoped to do so after he had finished exploring the castle, it was taking longer than he had expected and he knew his feet would drag him to the forest by themselves if his curiosity wasn't sated.
"'Morning!" Harry greeted him when he sat next to him.
"Good morning." Naruto replied, still not taking his eyes away from window.
"What are you looking at?" Harry asked, trying to look at what Naruto was watching so intently.
"The forest."
Harry followed Naruto's gaze and saw nothing but lush greenery. "Anything in particular?"
"No. I'm just wondering what kinds of creatures live in that forest."
"Don't even think about wandering in there mate!" Harry warned him before Naruto's thoughts could go any further. He had a pretty good guess where Naruto's thoughts were headed. "Fred and George told me werewolves, vampires and hags and all sorts of dark creatures live in the forbidden forest." Harry shuddered at the thought of entering the woods and immediately being surrounded by bloodthirsty vampires and hungry werewolves.
"But there are also Unicorns, Hippogriffs and Thestrals too." Naruto argued, he was never afraid of things like that.
"What are Hippogriffs?"
"I have no idea."
Harry had an amused smile on his face. "Then why'd you bring it up?"
"It's something professor Kettleburn told me, they are supposed to be really awesome half eagle, half horse creatures."
"That does sound awesome." Harry imagined what a Hippogriff would look like, his imagination had painted a wonderful picture for him, a horse with huge wings of an eagle, like a pegasus.
When the class began Professor McGonagall did not waste any time on theory, since they had already spent the entire first lecture for that. Today, everyone was given a match and they were told to turn it into a needle.
Naruto saw that bushy haired girl's right hand was straight up in the air, "Professor, is there a spell for that?" She asked.
"I was getting to that. For simple transfigurations there is no spell, nor is there any particular wand movement for you to follow. For this, you have to rely on your focus, concentration and your magic to complete the task." McGonagall told them. "Point your wand at the match and hold it firmly, do not wiggle or let it shake, that is very important. Picture a needle very clearly in your mind and try to turn the match into a needle. I know the instructions are a little vague but this is something you'll have to learn by doing it."
Again, the bushy haired girl raised her hand.
"Yes, miss Granger?"
'So her name is Ginger! Good to know.' Naruto was getting tired of referring to her as 'that bushy haired girl'.
"What about the Transfiguration alphabet, professor? You told us it'll be useful in learning the subject."
Naruto agreed with Ginger. He spent a lot of effort in trying to learn the complex alphabet so he'd very much like if it were of some use.
"Transfiguration alphabet is useful in more complex transfigurations, mostly in conjuration-vanishment and untransfiguration, we'll learn it's uses in due time." McGonagall explained and the girl's hand stayed down this time. Apparently she had no more questions.
The class turned their attention back towards the assigned match. Students had their wand pointed at it and were glaring at the object. As if trying to intimidate it into turning into a needle. For Naruto, it was a comical sight to see. These kids reminded him of himself when he was six and his sensei had just taken him under his wing.
Naruto was good at concentration now but that wasn't always the case. He had always had an hyperactive mind, so learning to concentrate hadn't come easy to him. Most things didn't. But he had learnt and he had been reaping rewards ever since.
Like now, it took him less than a minute to convert the match into a needle. He was careful to use as little magic as possible to avoid unnecessary fluctuations. He didn't want a repeat of what happened in Herbology. Thankfully, magic was a lot easier to handle than chakra so it wasn't that much of a problem to regulate the flow. It did require a little getting used to it though.
He channeled the tiniest amount of magic possible and worked his way up until he saw the result. Which wasn't very long.
This was a piece of cake compared to a transformation jutsu. Which was a lot more complicated and difficult. Both this transfiguration and transformation jutsu needed attention to detail (a lot of attention to detail in case of the jutsu), only difference being that he was using magic this time instead of chakra. Basic principle was the same.
"How the hell did you manage it on first try?!" Harry yelled in whisper, his voice was laced with frustration. His own match had only managed to change it's colour to silver in some places. Otherwise it was unchanged.
"Calm your mind. Try to get all other thoughts out of your mind and picture a needle very clearly, as detailed as possible." Naruto told him.
"You don't think I tried that?" Harry deadpanned.
"...Then I don't know what to tell you other than focus better."
"Thanks a lot, genius!" Harry spat out and turned his attention back to the task at hand.
Naruto had an amused smile on his face, "Okay fine." He said and Harry's attention was immediately back on him like a switch had been flipped. "Naruto-sensei will teach you his secrets and make you an expert at focusing on random crap!"
Harry smiled, "Hai sensei!" he exclaimed.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at him.
"I saw it in a movie once," Harry explained.
"Alright. Close your eyes, all four of 'em."
Harry scowled but did as asked. He liked it better when Naruto gave nicknames to other people.
"Hold your wand close to your chest and focus on the magic coursing through your body."
Harry's face was contorted when he was trying to focus on his magic, "I can't find it!" He said in frustration after a couple of minute of trying without results.
"Don't be so impatient. It is very faint but it's still there. Try to remember the feeling you got when you first held your wand, try to remember the pleasant warmth," Naruto had no trouble locating the feeling because he had years of practice accessing his energy already. It might be a little difficult for Harry though.
Harry closed his eyes once again. He felt Naruto's finger touch his closed hand that held the wand.
"Start here," he heard Naruto say, "And then follow it."
Harry shifted all his attention to his hand, trying to find even the slightest bit of warmth there. It was a lot of harder than he imagined. Even more so because of the cool air from that damned window! Just when he was feeling like he was getting something, the wind was undoing his hard work! Still, Harry did not open his eyes. He was determined to find that warmth.
Harry's focus kept breaking by even the slightest of noise from the other students. It was really hard to focus in such a noisy room. But he kept trying even if success felt a long way off.
"Okay that's enough," Naruto slapped his shoulder lightly to get him to open his eyes.
"Why did you do that?!" Harry's voice was a bit louder than he intended. And sure enough McGonagall heard him.
"Is there a problem, Mr. Potter?" She asked and walked towards their desk.
"No, professor." Harry and Naruto both answered at the same time.
"I assume you both were hard at work then?" She asked them in an accusatory tone.
"Er yes, professor," Harry replied, looking dejectedly at his match that was still more wood than silver.
McGonagall saw his match, "No need to look so down Potter, that's a very good first attempt. I never expected any of you to actually turn the match into a needle on your first day. Most students take a week at least to complete this task." The professor's tone was comforting but it didn't have the desired effect on Harry's spirit. On the contrary, Harry looked even more dejected than before.
"He did it on his first try." He told McGonagall with a voice barely above whisper and his thumb pointed directly at Naruto's chest.
As soon as she heard that McGonagall's eyes widened in surprise. "May I see your match, Mr. Uzumaki?" She asked.
Naruto handed her the shiny needle.
McGonagall brought it close to her eye to examine, she saw it was perfectly smooth silver coloured needle with a very sharp point at one end and a small hole at the other. She smiled widely, clearly very happy with what she saw. "Congratulations Mr. Uzumaki! You are the first student to turn the match into a perfect needle on your first day," She showed him a rare smile. "Not even I had managed such a thorough job on my first day. Ten points." She announced and showed the needle to the whole class, praising him all the while.
Naruto's face was slightly red from all the praise and he had to make a conscious effort not to scratch the back of his head. He didn't know what to do with all these positive emotions he was suddenly feeling! Most he'd received from his sensei was an 'eye smile' or a pat on the head if he had done something spectacular. His sensei wasn't very expressive person, so Naruto always felt those small gestures were the greatest praise he could receive because he knew that was the best his sensei was capable of. He wasn't used to hearing praise from anyone else other than his sensei, so it was a little overwhelming.
Naturally, he didn't know how to handle it so he did only thing that came to his mind, he began to stare at his feet, effectively hiding his blush from his fellow students. In doing so, he missed the surprised and shocked looks on their faces.
When the class ended, no one else had managed to turn their match into a needle like him. Ginger had come closest, all of her match was silver and 'rather pointy' as McGonagall had said and Harry's match was more silver than wood but still it was more a match than a needle.
"If you hadn't broken my concentration, I would have found my magic!" Harry told him when they were walking to the great hall together after the class. Naruto was looking forward with his hands in his pockets while Harry was trying to glare a hole in the side of his face. Harry wasn't even looking ahead of him to see where he was going, completely focused on making his displeasure known as he was.
"No, you wouldn't have. Focus is a lot harder than it sounds, I know that from first hand experience. Especially in a noisy environment like our class."
"...I was *this close!" Harry emphasized his point by gesturing with his index finger and thumb. He chose to completely ignore what Naruto had said.
Naruto let out a loud sigh, "Okay, I get it. Meet me at the lake at five. We'll have nice atmosphere there."
Harry's mood did a complete one-eighty, "You should have said that sooner, I'll see you there!" He beamed and dashed towards the Gryffindor tower.
Naruto on the other hand went to the kitchen. It had been a while since he had tasted ramen. Today was the day to change that, even if he had to make it himself!
"That filthy mudblood! Who the hell does he think he is!" Malfoy was whining at lunch to anyone who would listen. Apparently he was not happy that someone his age was better than him, a pureblood, at magic. "I reckon he cheated somehow, I can guarantee it!"
"Okay, first off, you don't even know if he really is a mudblood. And second, what makes you think he cheated? We didn't even know about today's lesson until McGonagall gave us the matches." Zabini said with a mouth full of chicken, spraying bits of food with every word.
His neighbours made disgusted faces at him but he didn't seem to have noticed.
"I know he is a mudblood!" Malfoy snapped at Zabini. His voice managed to draw the attention of Daphne and Sally Smith who were engaged in their own hushed conversation.
"Back on the train, he didn't even know what a half-blood was! And he was dressed like a muggle, so I am certain he is a mudblood." Malfoy added in a much lower voice this time. So only his friends could hear him. He very conveniently forgot to address the second part of Zabini's question.
"Can we not talk about mudbloods while eating?" Theodore Nott said with obvious disgust in his voice, "We have flying class after lunch and I'll need my strength."
The mention of flying class put a wide grin on Malfoy's face.
"What's so funny?" Zabini asked.
"I can't wait for flying class! I bet that whiskered freak won't know which end of the broom to sit on!" Malfoy said with much cheerful tone. It had the desired effect of drawing out laughter and further mockery of their absent housemate. Naturally their discussion turned from flying to Quidditch.
A few seats away Daphne rolled her eyes. "Boys," she muttered.
"Urgh tell me about it!" Sally added, "Since the school started only things I've heard them talk about are Quidditch and that Uzumaki boy."
"Oh he's not so bad," Daphne defended her potions partner.
"Oh really? Weren't you the one complaining about 'that rude boy' last night? Or did I mistake some random girl for my best friend?" Sally asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well yes, he is rude, no question about that. But he is also good at potions. And very gifted in transfiguration too, apparently." She felt no shame in giving due credit to someone who deserved it.
"You don't think he cheated? The other boys clearly think so," Sally said looking at the said boys who were knee deep in argument about upcoming Tornados versus Harpies match. Draco wasn't a big fan of Tornados apparently, neither did he want the Harpies to win.
Daphne scoffed, "The boys are just jealous. Do you really think a first-year could fool professor McGonagall?" she asked rhetorically.
Sally shrugged, "Maybe not. He's your friend apparently so you'd know about this the best."
Daphne snorted, "Friend? And him? We haven't even talked to each other properly yet. He's one of those broody silent types."
"Yeah, what's up with that anyway? Does he think everyone here is beneath him or something?"
"Dunno. He seems to get along fine with Potter." Daphne had finished her lunch so she got up to leave for the flying class.
Sally fell in beside her, she had a mischievous grin on her face. "How do you know? Are you stalking him?" She asked.
"As if!" Daphne defended herself far too quickly, "It's called observation, Sally. He always sits with Potter in class and they talk freely by the looks of it." She added in a much calmer tone.
"If you say so." her friend shrugged.
Sally thankfully let the subject go. Daphne knew she would have been teased mercilessly if Sally was in the mood.
"Come on, let's stroll by the lake." Daphne said and the two friends exited the great hall.
At two in the afternoon, students had already gathered at training grounds by the Greenhouses. Broomsticks were lined up in two neat rows and Slytherins and Gryffindors stood opposite to each other.
Unlike other subjects, there was no theory for flying, nor did madam Hooch give any introduction. They were simply told they were going learn how to fly on a broom. Only reason the subject was taught because flying was awesome! And Naruto loved that fact.
Even as a first-year you weren't required to attend this class, you were free to skip flying if you so chose. But everyone was there at training grounds and most of them looked very eager. Except for Ginger and the fat kid from Gryffindor, they looked positively terrified.
"Stand to the left side of broom and hold your right palm open above it," Madam Hooch instructed. "In a firm tone and with feelings say, 'Up'."
Most students didn't succeed on first try but there were a few who manged to get their broom to fly up in their hands. Harry was the first to achieve so, Malfoy and Naruto were close behind. After that Nott, Zabini, Seamus, Dean, Daphne, Sally and Lily Moon managed it without much difficulty as well. Madam Hooch had to give some advice to others who were having a hard time with the task.
Malfoy had already mounted his broom and was looking very smug as watched the rest of them. The Gryffindors laughed loudly when madam Hooch walked up to him and corrected Malfoy's technique and told him he'd been doing it wrong for years.
They had to stand nearly fifteen minutes like that till everyone was caught up.
"Now, mount your broom and kick the ground hard. Go up a few feets before getting back down gently. Tilt the handle of your broom downwards for that. Your balance is very important for this." The instructor's voice rang in the training grounds.
Naruto did not like the idea of sitting on a broom at all. But everyone else had mounted their's and Hooch was looking at him expectantly. Naruto had no choice but thankfully his brilliant mind came up with a genius solution for this. He let go of his broom and it hovered in front of him, albeit shakily. Naruto jumped up and stood on the handle of the broom.
One...Two...Three...
"Mr. Uzumaki, what in Merlin's name are you doing!" The instructor yelled at him.
"Er is there a problem, Professor?" Naruto scratched the back of his head. Everyone was looking at him, half of them with awe, rest with amused smiles and the professor with a horrified expression on her face.
"Yes! Standing like that is very dangerous!" She snapped at him. She was livid she had to point that out. Honestly, this Slytherin was worse than any Gryffindor. "You'll fall off and die if you don't sit a broom properly!"
Malfoy smirked from his position, "Told you, he wouldn't know how to sit a broom!" he whispered to Zabini. Apparently he was quick to forget his own very recent embarrassment.
"But sitting on a broom like that looks really uncomfortable." Naruto defended his stance, "Besides, I can balance myself just fine like this. I won't fall off."
Well, he was standing rather comfortably on the broom with no visible effort, like he was standing on solid ground. But madam Hooch was having none of it, "The brooms have cushioning charms on them, Mr. Uzumaki!" Her patience was running thin. "If you don't follow my instructions, I'll have no choice but to ban you from my class." She threatened.
Naruto considered her words. He liked the idea of flying and if there were really cushioning charms...He gently prodded the sitting area with his right foot. About half feet above the wooden stick his foot touched something soft and invisible. Understanding donned on his face. He hopped down and sat on the broom like a normal person. His classmates were sniggering at his antics.
"Kick the ground hard to lift off, hover for a few seconds and tilt the handle downward to get back to ground." She reiterated and blew her whistle loudly.
Everyone followed the instructions and rose in the air. Now that he knew his family jewels were safe, Naruto decided he liked flying. It was a nice feeling.
It was time to get down but Naruto saw that the chubby kid from Gryffindor had lost his balance. And along with it, his control of the broom. Instead of coming down, he went higher. The broom was making erratic, jerky motions and the kid's horrendous balance wasn't helping any. The instructor was franticly asking, yelling at him to get down but it was of no use. The broom was now flying towards Defence against Dark Arts tower.
The broom bumped once, twice from the tower and the kid finally lost his balance and began his free fall from at least a hundred feet. Naruto looked at their instructor who was very much still in panic and didn't look like she was going to do anything. So Naruto pointed his wand at ground below the falling boy and cast the softening charm. Thanks to the charm, instead of breaking his bones, the ground bounced him back up. This repeated a couple of times, Naruto saw that the charm would keep at it like that. So he ran towards the boy. Naruto jumped and caught him in midair easily. He didn't need the bouncy ground's help in jumping up and catching the kid. He had angled his jump so when he came down, he would land outside the area effected by the softening charm. Like every ninja, the habit of helping people was ingrained in him from a young age.
"You okay?" Naruto asked.
"Y-Yes," the boy answered in a shaky voice.
When Naruto brought him back to the group, the kid received an earful for his 'reckless flying' and Naruto was awarded five pointed for his quick thinking. No one had thought twice about how he was able to casually jump fifty feet in the air, they all just assumed it was due to the trampoline-like ground. Rest of the time passed rather quietly after that.
It was four thirty when the class ended. Flying was a lot of fun. And time flied when everyone was having fun. Naruto had chosen not to return to the castle just yet. It was beautiful day outside, so he had decided to wait for Harry by the lake.
He was in his usual spot, his robes were lying in a messy pile beside him, and he had an intense look of concentration on his face. The reason was because he had tip of wand in the lake and he was trying charm the water into forming tiny Naruto water clones. He wasn't having much luck with that.
He managed to get the water to rise up in small bubbles and even formed spherical shape a couple of times but it looked nowhere near even slightly humanoid. Let alone a clone. The fluctuations of his wand were not helping either. The wand was constantly going back and forth between too little output and blasting the water in his face. But Naruto was more stubborn than his wand was moody, he just kept at it.
"Are you even human?" He heard a soft bell like voice from behind him.
Without missing a beat he replied, "Jury is still out on that one." Only after he had spoken, Naruto turned around to see who it was that had decided to disturb him, he had sensed her coming already, of course. It was that brunette from his class, the one that was always with Greengrass. What was her name again?!
The girl raised her eyebrow at his answer and Naruto scowled at her.
"Don't scowl, especially at a girl, it's rude!" She chastised him.
Naruto's face softened. He realised it was rather rude of him, "Sorry. What do want, um...uh..."
"Sally. Sally Smith."
"What do you want Sally Smith?"
"I want to know how you jumped that high?" The girl asked and sat down beside him without even asking.
Now who's being rude!
"Softening charm, I cast it on the ground." Naruto replied and went back to trying to make tiny clones out of water.
"And it let you handle Longbottom as if he were made of cotton?"
Man she's persistent!
"I'm strong." Naruto answered simply. "Isn't your friend lonely by herself?" He tried to divert the girl's attention away from nosy questions.
Sally looked over her shoulder, Daphne was still standing at a distance and was pretending to be invisible by the looks of it. Sally waved her over, "Daphne! Come over here, he's worried about you!"
Naruto scowled at her again and the girl just laughed.
"Didn't I just tell you not to scowl at a girl?! It's very rude." She even pointed a finger at him this time to emphasise her point.
"Is that why you came here? To teach me manners?"
"Pfft I have no interest in doing something so troublesome. This is a nice spot and I'm not going to wait for you to leave to enjoy this beautiful scenery."
Naruto didn't say anything else. Daphne had arrived by this point and she copied them by sitting down and putting her feet in the water.
Suddenly, Naruto got the urge to pull a prank on his classmate. It was her own fault being nosy.
"Do you want to see something cool?" He asked the girls.
Both girls nodded at him.
"Its a new spell I've been practicing," Naruto rose up to his feet and motioned for the girls to get up as well. He pointed his wand at himself and made a really complicated movement with it. Then he jumped in the lake.
Both girls had their jaws dropped open when instead of sinking in, he just stood on the water surface as if it were solid ground. Then he pointed the wand at the girls and repeated the wand movement.
"Hop in!" He beckoned them. "You are unsinkable now, no matter what you do you won't sink. See," Naruto emphasised the point by jumping twice.
The girls looked at him, Naruto was standing there with his hands in his pockets and an expectant look on his face. They both stood up, took a step back and jumped. But instead of standing on the water like Naruto, they both sunk in the water. It was a couple of seconds until they realised they had been pranked. But when they did realise, both girls let out a string of sentenses so colourful, it made Naruto blush.
The girls helped each other out of the water, still yelling at him in their rather creative language, and stomped off towards the castle.
This was the scene Harry witnessed when he arrived.
"What happened?" He asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"They fell in the lake," Naruto told him, he too had a small smile on his face. "You wanna see something cool?" Naruto asked him.
"Yeah sure," Harry agreed immediately.
Naruto once again pulled out his wand and made some complicated movements with it but in reality he was just circulating chakra within him, not unlike the first stage of the Rasengan but only within. The chakra control trick calmed the ripples on the surface of the lake, starting at the soles of his feet. Next second, the surface of the entire lake looked like a crystal clear mirror. Harry looked down and stared at his very clear reflection in amazement. He could see the bright green eyes staring back and the eternally messy black hair, he could see the clouds as if he were looking straight up at the sky and he could even count the birds that were flying above his head.
"That's so cool!"
"Come on!" Naruto motioned him forward. "The surface is solid now." Naruto proved his point by stomping his foot on the lake. There were a couple of small ripples but those died down quickly. Harry looked convinced and Naruto had to use all his self control not to start laughing.
A moment later Harry too jumped in the lake, lord bless his pure and gullible heart and Naruto couldn't control it any longer. He burst out laughing. "It's even funnier the second time!" he roared.
In the back of his mind he realised it had been a long time since he had laughed so openly. He had forgotten how fun it was to prank people.
When he realised what had happened, Harry also used some very colourful words in reference to Naruto. He wasn't as creative as the girls though, but he still had a lot to say. In the back of his mind, Harry realised that even if Naruto pulled a prank on him, he liked it. It was fun. Not like Dudley and his 'pranks' when he destroyed things and blamed it on him. So wasn't really mad at Naruto, not at all.
Naruto pulled him out of the water and put him on the wooden platform.
"I swear I'll get you back for this!" Harry promised, wringing the water out of his robes.
"It's your own fault for falling for such an obvious trick. I mean you saw the girls, didn't you?"
Harry blushed in embarrassment, "But how are you standing on water like that?!" Who would blame him for believing that the water surface was solid?
Naruto shrugged, "Magic."
"Yeah, I figured out that part by myself, funnily enough. I mean what spell are you using?" Why the hell did he have to be so secretive about a spell anyway?!
Naruto smiled at him, "Why don't you find out?"
"Oh ho, is that a challenge?" Let it be known that a Gryffindor never turns down a challenge, even if it's about something as mundane as finding out information about a spell.
"I guess so," Naruto was amused at this turn of event, "I'll give you one year to find out about what spell I used."
"And what do I get if I succeed before that?"
"50 galleons." Naruto replied instantly.
"Deal." Harry quickly agreed and they shook hands. "Before that though, I wanna find my magic." Harry reminded Naruto of the original purpose of their meet up.
"Yeah, sit down," Harry did so. "Take out your wand and close your eyes. Focus at the point of contact between your hand and wand. Now give it a wave."
Harry waved his wand and red sparks shot out of it.
"Did you feel anything?"
"Yes but it was too quick!" Harry scowled.
Naruto hmm'ed, "Do you read?"
Harry was a little confused at the random question, "Sometimes."
"Have you ever got lost in a book so much that the surroundings vanished from your mind? Like nothing else existed in the world but the book and you?"
"Yes," Harry knew that feeling very well. He wasn't the most studious person but there were some books that had that effect on him.
"That kind of concentration and focus is what we're looking for here," Naruto told him. "Try again."
Again and again and again Harry kept making sparks with his wand and focusing as best as he could but trying to catch the fleeting warmth before it disappeared was insanely hard. He kept at it long after the sun had set.
Finally Naruto had to force him to get up, "Okay, clearly this is going to take some time. I guess jumping to that step was probably a bad idea, I have another step before that. Kinda like a shortcut if you wanna get good at transfiguration quickly."
Harry tilted his head, "Am I really that bad at it?" he asked, his words did not manage to hide his disappointment.
"No, it's nothing like that," Naruto quickly assured him. "It's true learning to access magic consciously would help you in all spells but I thought if you had some success with transfiguration first, it would give you a morale boost."
Harry was relieved to hear that, "But don't the adults always caution us against taking shortcuts?"
Naruto nodded, "Yes, there are some things where shortcuts do us more harm than good but if positives outweigh the negatives, what's the harm in it? And I can guarantee there's nothing negative about what I'm about to tell you. It's not even a shortcut really."
"Okay then, let's try it."
"Close your eyes," Naruto told him again, this time for a different reason, "I'm going to ask you a few simple questions, I want you to answer them as quickly as possible, okay?"
"Alright, ask away!"
"What colour is my shirt?"
"Blue."
"Be more specific."
"Dark blue."
Naruto nodded, "What's written on it?"
"Uh north wind?"
"Are you telling me or are you asking me?"
"North wind," Harry said with more conviction this time.
"What colour are my pants?"
"Light blue jeans."
"Am I wearing shoes or sandals?"
"Neither. I saw your sandals beside your robes earlier."
Naruto smiled, "Which finger am I wearing my ring on?"
"Uhh...um...it's...uh..."
"Which arm do I have bandages wrapped on? Right or left?"
"It's...uh...left. No, right!"
"You can open your eyes now."
Harry opened his eyes and saw Naruto was showing him both his hands, there was no ring or bandages on them.
"Those were trick questions," Harry accused.
"Obviously. Do you see the problem?"
"Yeah, I should have known you wouldn't wear jewelry."
Naruto chuckled, "Well yes but that's not what I meant. You see, when we look at something, our mind tends to subconsciously ignore small details that we think are irrelevant or unimportant. And when we can longer see that thing, our brain cannot imagine those details on it's own." He had also received similar lecture from his sensei when he was younger.
Harry nodded, "Okay, so...what you're saying...is...what is it you're saying?"
"When you were told to picture a needle in your mind, what do you imagine it to be?"
"I imagine a tiny, sharp metallic object with a small hole at one end."
"That is more or less what a needle is, but when you're transfiguring a match into one, exactly how long do you want it to be? What about the hole? What's it shape? Circular or oval? How sharp is the point?"
Harry got in a deep think, "I feel like an idiot!" he said after a few moments, who would have thought he was ignoring so much details in a simple, stupid object like that?!
"You are not an idiot," Naruto shook his head. "You have what my sensei calls an hyperactive mind. That means it's a bit difficult for you to focus on something for too long. And in your haste, you forget some details." Naruto told him, he had gotten a similar lecture of his own multiple times. He scratched the wooden plank he was sitting on with his first finger and removed a splinter. He twirled it between his first finger and thumb, "Every spell has three components."
"Wand movement, incantation and intent," Harry said instantly, he remembered reading that very clearly.
"Yes, saying the incantation helps the intent, that what the book says. But in transfiguration there's no incantation to begin with and for this task there's no wand movement either."
Harry's eyes shown with realisation, "So all we have is intent!"
Naruto nodded, "That's right, five points to Gryffindor!"
Harry and Naruto both chuckled.
"Take this and try to turn it into a needle. This time, imagine exactly how long do you want your needle to be, the size of the small hole, the smoothness of the metal, everything. Don't leave even the tiniest detail out." Naruto told him.
Harry took the splinter from Naruto's hand and set it down. He pointed his wand at it and imagined his needle to be of exact same size as the splinter, he imagined a small oval shaped hole at one end and a sharp point at the other. He imagined the smooth and shiny texture of the metal.
He began at one end and worked his way to the other. In under five minutes he watched the rough brown wooden splinter turn into a shiny metallic needle. It was tempting to began cheering as soon as the wood started to turn but he held it in, he did not want to be distracted and screw it up.
"I DID IT!!!" Harry yelled when he finally succeeded.
Naruto smiled and clapped him on the shoulder, "Congratulations, Four-eyes! That was good work!"
"It feels awesome!" Harry was grinning from ear to ear. "Come on pick some more splinters!" Harry did not want it to be a fluke. He made Naruto pick out ten more splinters and only after he had successfully turned them all into needles, he was satisfied.
"Come, I'm getting hungry now," Naruto stood up and stretched his hands above his head, it was easily well past six at this point.
Harry decided to call it a day for now as well. "Thanks," he told Naruto when they were walking back to the castle. "For helping me."
"Don't mention it."
"What about the other thing?" Harry asked.
"What other thing?"
"That focusing thing?"
"Oh yeah, that. You can keep practicing that on your own, if you can access magic consciously and learn to regulate it's flow, most spells will be a piece of cake. I'm sure you'll get it soon." Honestly, it was hard, especially for someone like Harry who had a hyperactive mind, much like himself. But he suspected Harry would succeed soon, given how quickly he turned the splinter into a needle.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Neville told me to thank you on his behalf." Harry said suddenly when they were near the doors of the castle.
"Who's Neville?"
"The guy that fell from the broom in flying class? Honestly, you talked so much about focus and attention to details earlier, can't you even remember simple names?" Harry asked incredulously.
Naruto shrugged, "I pay attention to important things."
Harry shook his head in amusement, "You are unbelievable!"
"...I do wear jewelry, by the way."
Harry immediately turned on him, a wide smile was on his face, " Really?"
Naruto nodded, "A locket."
"Huh, who would've thought?"
They parted ways in great hall, Naruto headed to Slytherin table and Harry went to the Gryffindor tower to change out of his still wet clothes.
After dinner, instead of going to the dungeons, Naruto headed out of the castle once again. He was headed straight for the forbidden forest. When he was on the edge of the woods he made a shadow clone and sent it back in his stead, in case someone became curious of his whereabouts, he did not want to answer awkward questions. When that part was taken care of, Naruto dashed into the forest.
Leaves crunched beneath his feet as he ran at breakneck speeds, ducking under low branches and jumping over hedges and bushes. He ran until he was so deep in the forest that he couldn't see a clear path anymore. Here, Naruto stopped and took in his surroundings. He could hear the chirping of insects and rustling of trees, and an occasional howl of wolves and cries of foxes.
Naruto smiled, it felt good to be back in a forest, even if he couldn't see a thing. Naruto, by no means was a sensor but his hearing and sense of smell wasn't too shabby. Not as good as his sensei's but still better than most. Naruto closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the forest. In the midst of all the sounds, Naruto clearly heard the sound of running water. He jumped onto a high branch of the nearest tree and headed in that direction. So far he hadn't seen any magical creatures and a water source seemed like a good place to find some.
It took him no time at all to reach the small creek, he stopped on a branch a safe distance away when he noticed some snow white animals in the water. They were small, only about three feet tall, Llama-like creatures and most of their height was due to their long necks. Even if their body was like a Llama, they had duck like webbed feet and comically huge blue eyes that shone like will-o-wisps. They looked like something out of a cartoon! Their cries were something between a quack of a duck and meow of a cat. Naruto noticed one of them was about a feet more taller than the rest, probably the mother of the group.
The smaller ones, children were ducking under the water and coming up a few seconds later. One or two times, they managed to catch fish in their mouths. Naruto saw them swallow the fish whole. He also noticed that these creatures had the ability to teleport. Because one of the children disappeared with a soft pop and reappeared on it's siblings back. Only to fall in the water when the sibling vanished with a soft pop of it's own. Naruto watched the peaceful creatures play with a soft smile on his face.
All of a sudden all the noise in the forest died down, Naruto noticed it immediately. His eyes became sharper and a kunai slid into his hand automatically. In front of him, the creatures who were so far having the time of their lives, teleported away, probably to safety. Without making noise, Naruto hid himself in the trees and scanned his surroundings. He was not aware of all the creatures that lived in the forest but he did know one thing; when all noise suddenly dies down in a forest, there's always something behind it. And usually that 'something' turns out to be 'something bad'.
Blue eyes kept scanning the surroundings but he wasn't having any luck in finding whatever that was out there. Then, out of corner of his eye, Naruto saw a shadowy figure move through the trees, hovering a few feet above the ground. Naruto put his sensei's lessons on stealth to good use and followed the figure. When he got closer, Naruto got a good look at whatever this creature- thing was. It looked more a cloak than anything humanoid, or beast-like for that matter. Whatever it was, it barely had any form but Naruto clearly made out a shape of a skull.
Naruto followed the cloak-skull thing for a good while. It was looking for something, that much was clear. He found out what, soon after that. They were at a small clearing and a white horse was standing there. A magnificent stallion with a gleaming white coat that seemed to have a shine of its own and golden hooves. But even more interesting thing about it was the horn on it's forehead. A unicorn! Naruto realised.
The shadowy thing did something and the unicorn froze for a little while. Which was enough for the cloaked creature to pounce on it. Sound of skin being torn reached Naruto's ears. It was a sad sight to see such a beautiful animal die. Who am I to meddle with natural order of things? Naruto returned back to the castle soon after that. He had several questions on his mind that he would like to get some answers for.
Hogwarts quickly fell in their schedule, days seemed like blurs to students and weeks somehow managed to merge together. And in the blink of an eye it was tenth of October. Naruto woke up on his birthday in a sour mood. Unlike most other 12 year olds, Naruto hated his birthday. But it wasn't like he hated his birthday because he hated his life or anything asinine like that, it just happened to be the day his hero died. Who would like a day like that?
His eyes went to the large poster on the wall, lord fourth's kind face and gentle smile was the first thing he saw every morning when he woke up. He had bought the poster when he was just five years old. Money was tight back then and the poster was really expensive but he'd have gladly starved himself if it meant he got his hero's poster.
Naruto shifted his gaze upwards at ceiling and his somber mood became a little bit better. There was a poster on the ceiling as well, from this poster, Princess Gale smiled at him.
Naruto let out a yawn, "Good morning, Princess!" he greeted a poster. His first and only crush said nothing back. Naruto set aside the body pillow and got up to start his day.
His room was neat, even with his habit of making a mess of his living space. Thank god for those elves! But a couple of books were still open on his desk from last night. Even after more than month's digging up books about various creatures, he had no clue what that creature in the forest was. He was sure old man Kettleburn would know but he couldn't just ask him outright, now could he? The old man would know immediately that he'd been sneaking off into the forest for this past month. That would promt an unnecessary interrogation, he'd very much like to avoid that. He had not seen that thing after that first time, so he didn't have a lot of information to work with, except it fed on unicorns. It was something like a side project for him.
Naruto changed into suitable clothes for his morning training and descended down to the common room. There was no one here, which wasn't surprising since it wasn't even five in the morning yet. He went out to the grounds to work his body into exhaustion. Everyday it was like a battle against his own ungodly stamina. Can I tire myself before breakfast today? Naruto wondered. It definitely would be a first for him.
Harry woke bleary eyed at six thirty in the morning today. His dorm mates were still sound asleep, and the room was filled with snores from Seamus and Ron. It was another nice day, with plenty of sunlight and crisp, cool air. He yawned loudly and went to the window. Morning view from Gryffindor tower was always breathtaking. He could the trees of forbidden forest gently swaying with the morning breeze, Hagrid working in the pumpkin patch and at the edge of his vision, the Whomping Willow, which was busy whomping...something? That was odd. It looked like someone was there. Some unfortunate fool had probably walked close to the murderous tree. Harry felt sorry for the poor soul.
He fished his telescope from his trunk to see who it was. So he would at least have the name to report to the teachers. When he looked through the telescope though, he saw the familiar shock of very recognisable blonde hair. Naruto! Suddenly Harry was a lot more worried than a few moments ago.
His worry seemed to be unfounded though, when he looked closer he saw that Naruto was dodging and weaving through the attacking branches with apparent ease. His hands were tucked in his pockets and he didn't looked phased at all. Even with his hands in his pockets, Naruto was flipping through the air, ducking under sweeping branches and at one point he even stuck to a branch upside down! All done with such balance, grace and elegance that it would put any olympic gymnast to shame. Harry knew at this point, that Naruto had not accidently walked in the range of the tree. His eyes widened when Naruto flicked away a thick branch with the back of his hand.
"Wow! Look at him go!" He muttered in amazement. "Malfoy's lucky Naruto has a chill personality." Harry chuckled.
"Are you peeping on girls?" He heard Dean ask but Harry did not take his eye away from the telescope.
"Come take a look at this!" Harry waved his friend over.
Dean dashed over instantly, "Must be someone really pretty if she managed to get Mr. Potter's attention!" He muttered and snatched the telescope from Harry's hands.
"Wow! Look at him go!" He repeated Harry's earlier words. He was almost disappointment there was no pretty girl at the other end of the telescope but the breathtaking acrobatic display was the next best thing, Dean decided.
"Isn't that the Slytherin bloke you hang out with, Harry?"
"Yeah, he's Naruto."
"He should compete in the olympics! He'd definitely bag a gold for Britain." Dean unknowingly voiced Harry's earlier thought. "Man, I would brag about it nonstop if I was that good!"
Harry chuckled, "Naruto is not one for bragging." And he knew there were a lot of things Naruto had to brag about.
"He's leaving," Dean said with small disappointment and handed the telescope back to Harry. "Does he do this everyday?"
Harry shrugged, "Dunno. First time I've seen it too."
"Man, it's a shame that bloke's in Slytherin!" Dean shook his head. Harry wholeheartedly agreed. The blonde almost made him regret not letting the Hat put him in Slytherin. Almost.
"Yeah, he's fun to be around," Harry said watching the blonde wander back towards the castle.
In the evening, Naruto walked towards Hagrid's hut to meet with Professor Kettleburn. When he arrived at the pumpkin patch, he saw Hagrid and the professor were talking in a very hushed tone and with very serious faces.
"Good evening," Naruto announced himself.
"Ah Naruto!" Kettleburn put on a fake smile, "I guess miss Farley didn't reach you in time."
"What for?" he asked.
"Well, it's a nice day, I thought you'd like a day off!" the professor clapped him on the shoulder.
Now, Naruto was really curious. "What's the matter, professor?" he asked bluntly. His tone made it clear that he was not fooled by the simple excuse.
Kettleburn sighed, "We going to investigate in the forest, it's dangerous in there."
"Someone's been killing unicorns!" Hagrid quickly chimed in. "It's been twice in a fortnight now!"
Naruto acted surprised, "I'll come with you."
"No, no, absolutely not. It's dangerous where we are going!" Kettleburn's tone was a bit higher.
"But I go with you everyday. And besides, I can call mr. Gama if I need help," Naruto argued his case.
Kettleburn thought about it for a few seconds. Then he nodded, "If mr. Gama is with you...alright, but call him first."
So Naruto did. Kettleburn, Hagrid, Naruto, Fang and mr. Gama headed into the forest to find the killer of unicorns.
"So...what are we looking for? Werewolves? Vampires?" Naruto asked, feigning ignorance.
"No werewolf or vampire is fast enough ter catch a unicorn," Hagrid spoke up immediately. He had a crossbow in his hand. "Unicorns are peaceful creatures but they have very powerful magic."
"Our guess is, it's some dark wizard or witch," professor told him bluntly.
Naruto wondered how the professor would take it if he told him about that ghost-cloak-skull thing. "Couldn't it be some creature instead?" he asked.
"There's nothing in there that could hurt a unicorn mr. Uzumaki," Kettleburn told him.
"So there's an intruder then?"
"Yes," kettleburn nodded.
Suddenly Naruto felt bad about not saying anything about what he saw in the forest. It wasn't some natural order of predator and prey, that cloak-thing was some asshole, killing those beautiful creatures for his own gain.
"There, professor!" Hagrid said, pointing at a spot a few feet to their right. He lifted his lamp higher and silvery liquid shone in the faint light.
Naruto and Kettleburn took out their wands and cast a Lumos. Kettleburn bent down and inspected the liquid on the ground, "Unicorn blood," he declared. "It's still fresh."
"We'll have ter find him," Hagrid said. "He might still be alive."
"Yes, We'll split up to cover more ground. Mr. Uzumaki take mr. Gama with you, if you find the unicorn, shoot up green sparks, got it?"
"Yes, sir." Naruto replied and went on ahead. Kettleburn and Hagrid took two other paths.
Mr. Gama gave a loud croak when they were good enough distance away.
"Yes, you can go home now, Mr. Gama. I can handle it from here." Naruto told the toad and it dispelled itself. He jumped on a tree for a better vantage point. Naruto began to scan his surroundings for any possible signs of a scumbag. So far he didn't find any. Naruto went in deeper in the forest, closer to the spot where he found the unicorn the first time.
Naruto put his hands in a cross ram seal. "Multi shadow clone justu!" Another ten identical versions of himself surrounded him. They all scattered in ten different directions. He was going to find that thing tonight, no matter what! After all it was his ignorance that let the incidents go unreported for so long.
One clone made made it's way near a small creek, there was a pack of wolves here but no unicorn. Another clone found foxes, one managed to stumble across a group of pitch black skeleton like horses with wings, they looked fascinating but he didn't have time to stop and admire those horses. Other clones found a myriad of other creatures as well, from Hippogriffs and Acromantulas to tiny fairies. Each time he was tempted to stop and observe these fantastic beasts but he had a job to do. He was in the zone, and when he was stealthy, not even these magical creatures knew when he went near them.
It was well past midnight when he finally managed to find a trail. One of his clones found hoof prints. The clone followed the trail and managed to locate a lone unicorn drinking water from a small pond. It didn't look injured, Naruto sighed in relief. He hid himself in the branches with a good vantage point. And waited.
The unicorn had no appointments by the looks of it. It was lazily grazing on the berries from the bushes around the pond. Which was good. It might have been a little hard to protect the unicorn and catch that prick if the animal was in mood for a run.
Half an hour passed in relative silence, then Naruto heard before he saw the movement. His hands flashed through the hand signs before he even turned.
'Ram- Boar- Dog- Bird- Hare: Lightning Style- Four Pillar Trap!'
Four huge pillars of rock erupted around the cloaked figure and trapped it in a net of lighting. The figure was electrocuted and gave out an inhumane screech. The unicorn ran away at the first sign of trouble. The shadow clone dropped down from the tree and approached his jutsu to get a better look at the scumbag. In his mind, Naruto thanked his sensei for teaching him lightning release on top of his primary element.
The trapped thing was more spirit than a body, with disfigured face that only had skin and no flesh, blood red eyes and bony hands and fingers.
"Who the hell are you?" Naruto asked but the figure gave no answer. It just continued to screech because of the lightning. It wasn't even looking at him. A shinobi could have saved himself from electrocution if he had wind or lighting elements but not something like this. Naruto wondered if whoever this was would die from a his jutsu, he didn't look like he was dying, even with all the lightning.
Probably because of the unicorn blood!
Naruto vaguely remembered reading about healing properties of it. It was clearly in no condition to talk and Naruto didn't want to risk letting it get away by dropping his jutsu. But if the professors saw his jutsu, it would bring a lot of questions that he knew he wouldn't want to answer. He was walking on thin ice with his fabricated stories already!
Hmm, What to do?!
Naruto scratched his head but no answer came. He didn't have any jutsu or spell that could paralyse that thing in an inconspicuous manner. Getting help in this condition was out of question.
What to do? What to do?
"If you had read the book Sensei gave you, this wouldn't have been happening! You could have sealed that thing!"
A really annoying and unhelpful part of his mind reminded him. Naruto quickly smothered that voice. It wasn't his fault the seals were complicated! But that annoying voice did give him an idea.
The clone bit it's finger and his hands flashed through very familiar signs. In a puff of smoke a green toad appeared in front of him. It had red lipstick and was wearing a very big purple bow.
"Hey Mr. Gamariki!" Naruto greeted the toad.
"Umm I thought Jiraiya honey had summoned me, but oh well..." the flamboyant toad sighed.
'Don't look disappointed, you bastard!' Naruto screamed in his mind.
"Uh yeah, right. I need your help sealing this thing, Mr. Gamariki." Naruto asked in a polite tone. Gamariki had a habit of taking offence where none was in sight and he was one of the best toads at sealing jutsu so Naruto was on his best behaviour.
"What have you gotten yourself into? I was told you were off the grid." Gamariki asked with a flutter of his eyelashes.
"It's a...long story and I don't have enough time right now. So please, can you help me this time?" Naruto clapped his hands together to emphasize his request.
"Oh well, I guess I have to help you. You signed the sacred contract after all."
"Thank you very much!" Relief filled Naruto.
While all this was happening, the figure had lost it's voice and was just writhing in agony instead of screaming.
Mr. Gamariki hopped closer to get a better look, "What is it anyway?"
"Some sorta half human spectre, I suppose," Naruto replied. "I can't say for sure!"
"Is it alive?"
"Uh I think so?" Naruto replied uncertainly.
Mr. Gamariki turned on him, "Did you not learn anything about sealing jutsu, boy?" he asked in a stern tone Naruto would have expected from McGonagall.
"I learnt a little bit." Naruto answered shakily, suddenly vary of his own summon.
"If it's even part human, then I can't seal it. My knowledge in the sealing arts is not that advanced." Gamariki shook his head.
Naruto expected a tongue lashing but Mr. Gamariki's tone was softer than he expected.
"But I still have to immobilise that thing, you know."
"You have that part already covered from the looks of it," Gamariki replied. "Four Pillar Trap? It's a good one. Very effective." the toad nodded it's appreciation.
"Thank you. But I can't let the people see that. They don't know that I'm a ninja and I'd rather keep it that way."
"What do you want from me, then?"
"I have to hand this guy over to the authorities, since he's not dead yet. Do you have any other way to trap him?" Naruto asked.
"I do have one such technique but I'll have to stick around for that. Those people will see me."
"That's okay," Naruto quickly reassured his summon. "They already met Mr. Gama so it's fine. I told them toads are magical and help me out from time to time."
Gamariki raised an eyebrow at him, "The explanation to that is another long story, I presume?"
"Er yeah." Naruto scratched the back of his neck.
"Very well then," Gamariki made a snake and ox sign and pointed his open palm towards the trapped spectre. "Drop your jutsu."
Naruto did so. The stone pillars sank back into the ground and before the figure could fall to the ground, it was trapped in a sphere of water.
'The water prison jutsu!' Naruto almost smacked his forehead for not thinking about it first. Mr. Gama could have done that and he wouldn't have to deal with Gamariki's attitude.
"I can't hop around with a jutsu in my hand so we'll have walk," Gamariki told him. "Lead the way."
Naruto lit up the tip of his wand and began his journey back to the castle.
After five minutes of walking at a really slow pace (on Gamariki's order), the toad whispered to get his attention, "It's waking up."
Naruto looked over his shoulder, "Yeah, just hold on. It'll take a while to get out of this forest. Even if he wakes up we'll just have to-" Naruto's words died in his mouth as he realised that despite the pretty good shock from his jutsu, the thing wasn't completely incapacitated and after gaining any semblance of consciousness, it was trying to get away. Naruto watched the thing struggle for a little bit then all of a sudden, the whole being seemed like it collapsed on itself around it's stomach and vanished right in front of their eyes with a very loud pop.
"Shit!" Naruto cursed.
"What just happened?" Gamariki asked with a tilt of his head.
"The bastard escaped!" Naruto gritted out. "I'm sorry for troubling you Mr. Gamariki but you can go home now."
Without even saying goodbye, the toad vanished from the spot and clone dispelled itself.
A couple of miles away, the original Naruto got the memories of everything that happened.
A loud "Fuck!" was the original's response.
Thank you for reading!
-After School-
Naruto the Explorer- The First Day
Twin troublemakers of Hogwarts, Fred and George roamed the castle after curfew like they owned the place. Using shortcuts behind tapestries and hidden corridors, they made it down to the third corridor without being seen by anyone.
They took special care to avoid those pitiful, disgusting and vile creatures that roamed the school's corridors at night-- the prefects!
Blergh!
'May the lord condemn those enemies of all things fun to the deepest, darkest and most boring pits of ministry offices for all their lives!' Both brothers prayed.
That aside, Dumbledore had said something really fun in his little speech. Something about the most awesome challenge on the third floor or something (translation for non-troublemakers - 'most gruesome death'). Anyway that's why they were here, walking past the charms corridor and the trophy room and towards the suspicious looking door. The sound of three pairs of footsteps was the only thing audible in the long, empty corridors as two handsome, courageous and brilliant brothers made their way to conquer Dumbledore's challenge.
Wait- three pairs of footsteps?! Fred and George looked at each other in alarm. Had they been caught? After two amazing years as undisputed kings of fun, was this going to be how they fall?!
Even wondering things like that, their feet didn't stop. They wouldn't stop, not when there was a challenge in sight and a prank to be pulled. Even if it meant death!
Abruptly, they both stopped. And turned around faster than Dunbledore's eyes could twinkle. They pointed their wand at- at empty corridor? There was no one there. Both brothers sighed loudly and resumed their march. Thinking it was only their imagination.
Wearing determination and resolve on their faces, three pairs of shoes walked towards the closed door at the end of the hallway.
"RICTUSEMPRA/ LOCOMOTOR WIBBLY!!" Twin shouts rang in the empty corridors as the twins once again spun around and shot the powerful spells at the evil pursuer. But once again, they hit nothing but air. The villain had managed to escape the wrath of the tickling charm and Jelly-leg jinx.
The twins turned around slowly and resumed their original mission, their faces set in grim determination. But internally, worrying thoughts plagued them. Was it Peeves?
No, they'd checked already and the poltergeist was in Astronomy tower. He couldn't have gotten here so quickly. Or stealthily.
Filch?
Pfft, the senile fool would have charged at them screaming bloody murder! Besides, there was a distinct lack of meows for it to be Filch. So, it was someone new then! At long last, a challenger had appeared to dethrone them. Or so they hoped. Poor fool. That'd be the last thing he or she'd ever attempt to do before his or her untimely end! Before they get caught and get expelled!
Fred and George were immune to such silly nonsense, ever since they had retrieved their trusty map from that Ogre's cave.
George slowly but carefully reached in his pocket and removed the old parchment. Fred tapped it with his wand and muttered, 'I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good!" It was said barely louder than a whisper. But they still heard a snort from behind as a response.
The twins didn't bother to turn around this time, they'd find out the identity of the villain soon enough. One by one, names appeared on the map of the castle. The brothers quickly found two dots with their names. And behind them was a single dot, 'Naruto Uzumaki', it said.
Their faces broke into identical grins.
"Well well well, if it ain't the invisible-"
They didn't give their pursuer the chance to escape while they were in the middle of an awesome dialogue. They both abruptly turned with pointed their wands. But once again, they saw no one behind them.
"Looks like a firstie got his hands on an invisibility cloak, eh Fred?" George smiled looking at an empty spot a few feet off the ground.
Fred looked down at the map. The dot was behind them now. To the other side. Without a warning Fred turned around and quickly shot another spell at their challenger, "Calvorio!" he yelled.
"What- Locomotor Mortis!" George was half a second behind his brother.
"You're lucky we missed, or otherwise we'd be looking at a slithering, bald-"
"George, look at the map!" Fred interrupted his brother.
Now the 'Naruto Uzumaki' was behind them. Again.
In French accent- A few minutes later-
The brothers were both supporting each other to stand on their feet. They would fire a spell at one side, then look at their map, turn around and fire a spell at this side.
It went on for a little while. In the end, they were left huffing and barely able to stand. Then, George looked at the map, the vile name of 'Naruto Uzumaki' was nowhere near them. His face broke into a wide grin, his brother saw the map and donned an identical expression on his face. Their enemy had given up and ran away from the battle, the twins decided.
They both raised their wands at the empty corridor, "Yeah you better run!!" they yelled in unison.
I know there are a lot of stories with this premise so thank you for clicking on this one! Have a nice day!