Chapter 3- Face to Face
It was morning when Naruto finally emerged from the forest. There were people already waiting for him here, Headmaster Dumbledore had been called and he was standing with Kettleburn and Snape, all three of them looked worried.
"Good morning," Naruto greeted them as he approached.
"Where in Merlin's name were you?" Kettleburn demanded in a stern tone. "We already checked the forest once and were about to head in again!"
"I found something," Naruto interrupted before the professor could say anything else. He wasn't even slightest bit bothered by the Professor's angry/concerned words. "It's something weird." he added.
"What did you see, Mr. Uzumaki?" Professor Dumbledore asked in a much calmer voice than Kettleburn.
"I'm...not really sure. What are dark wizards?" He asked first instead of giving them the answer. Old man Kettleburn had told him last night that they were looking for a dark wizard or witch, he wanted to make sure exactly what it was that he saw.
The adults were thrown for a bit of a loop by his question. Snape and Kettleburn looked at each other hoping the other would answer. But they were saved the trouble by Dumbledore, "They are wizards who practice dark magic, which is primarily focused on hurting others."
"And how do they look?" Naruto asked.
Dumbledore gave him a curious look, "Even if they are dark wizard, they look the same as any other wizard."
Naruto pursed his lips for a second and then told them about his encounter with that thing he saw last night. He described it in detail but left out the part where he trapped the creature in his Four Pillar Trap.
"So what do you think it was? Was it really a dark wizard or did I just discover a new species of magical creatures?" Naruto saw the headmaster and greasy guy exchange a look.
"I still can't picture what you described," Kettleburn said with a shake of his head.
Naruto looked at the others and they seemed to be in the same boat. He immediately pulled an empty scroll from his pocket, "I can draw a picture for you."
The headmaster conjured a desk and a chair for him. It took him less than five minutes to draw a rough sketch of the intruder. He made sure to draw all the recognisable details, the red animal-like eyes, the fleshless skull, bony fingers and most of the body hidden by a cloak. When he finished the drawing, he paid close attention to the headmaster and the greasy guy.
To his credit, the headmaster's face gave nothing away but greasy guy's eyes noticeably widened.
"That's—" the potions master began but the headmaster cut him off.
"Yes, I fear so too." His voice was quite.
"But how's this possible?!" The greasy guy exclaimed in frustration.
"You've known for quite a while Severus, that lord Voldemort was never truly gone."
Naruto saw Kettleburn visibly flinch. "This... Voldemort you speak of, is it the same one that killed Four Eyes' parents?"
"Don't say his name!" Kettleburn warned him.
Naruto looked at the old man in confusion.
Dumbledore chuckled, "Relax Silvanus, fear of the name increases the fear of the thing itself. Mr. Uzumaki is a wise young man to realise that." The headmaster praised.
"More like he doesn't know any better," the greasy guy muttered.
Fear? Wise? What the hell were these geezers talking about?! Now Naruto was thrown for a loop. He didn't know saying someone's name was such a big deal! And given his habit of forgetting names, was he really wise?
"Was it?" Naruto asked again.
"Yes, I'm afraid so," the headmaster said.
"You said he collapsed on himself and vanished with a pop?" Kettleburn asked Naruto.
"Yes, Sir."
Kettleburn sighed. "You must have found him well outside of school grounds then, for him to be able to apparate."
"I tried to track him afterwards, professor." Naruto began to explain that he didn't slack off in his job. "But he was nowhere to be found. I even set up a trap near a herd of unicorns!"
All three adults just looked at him for a couple of seconds.
"...Sometimes I don't know what to make of you," Kettleburn shook his head. "Laid a trap for You-Know-Who!" He muttered, making the headmaster chuckle.
"It's alright Mr. Uzumaki. When he vanished, lord Voldemort could have been to the other side of the country for all we know. You must not blame yourself."
Kettleburn was outraged, "'Must not blame yourself', Albus? The boy went after the dark lord himself! I—"
"Professor!" Naruto interrupted the old man again. "It wasn't like he was very strong. Or fast for that matter. You should have seen him, he barely looked anything human. I mistook him for a creature, for fuck's sake. I don't think he could have hurt anyone even if he wanted to." Naruto shook his head. "I think he was barely clinging to his life."
"Barely but stubbornly." Dumbledore provided.
Kettleburn sighed, "Blood of Unicorn can do that, it'll tether one's life to the mortal world even if it's at a great cost. He must be really desperate to resort to that."
"What do you mean, professor?"
"Unicorn blood saves your life, even if you are standing at death's door, but the rest of your life will be cursed. For you have selfishly slain something so pure."
"That's why he didn't die from lightning! The blood of Unicorn must still be in effect." Naruto muttered under his breath, his guess was confirmed.
"What was that?" The greasy guy looked at him suspiciously.
"I was wondering if there's any way to track this apparate-thing?" Naruto asked without missing a beat.
"Alas, there isn't. Apparation is a magical mode of transport that can not be traced." It was the headmaster who answered.
"I think he'll be back," Naruto thought out loud.
"Beg your pardon?" The greasy guy leaned towards him. Naruto met his gaze.
"Like I already told you professor, he looked really weak. If he needs unicorn blood to survive then unless there is another herd of unicorns somwhere else I think he will come back."
This was Naruto's area of expertise— thinking like the one you're hunting. Be it an enemy ninja or a dark wizard, if you know their motive, it's easy to predict their next move. His sensei had drilled it in his head after all. On the battlefield he had a habit of jumping in headfirst but that didn't mean he left his brain behind to do so.
"This is the only place in Britain where unicorns live," Kettleburn shared his knowledge with others.
"That's good, we can lay a trap for him then. He surprised me last night when he escaped but I'm sure we can get him next time!"
Dumbledore chuckled at his enthusiasm, "Relax Mr. Uzumaki, you have already done more than enough. We shall handle it from here."
"But sir, I know I can help. My toads are first class trackers and they are wickedly fast as well! If we can stop him from using that apparate-thing then he's done for!"
"He's right, Albus." Kettleburn backed him up. "Even if I loath the idea of putting a child in danger, his toads have found You-Know-Who once already. And if we can get him when he's weak, it'll save us so much trouble."
Dumbledore gave him a calculating look, "That maybe so, but we can not have Mr. Uzumaki ignore his education to pursue dark wizards. He's too young for this kind of thing."
"I won't ignore my studies, professor." Naruto ignored the latter half of Dumbledore's sentense. He really really wanted to catch this guy, the fact that the dark wizard slipped away from his fingers did not sit well with him. He felt like he had failed Four Eyes somehow.
"There aren't many classes in one day, I have loads of free time on my hand. And I'm already used to working at nights, a few hours of patrol every night won't affect my performance in class, I promise."
"Be that as it may, young man but this a very powerful dark wizard we are talking about here. We can not, in good conscious, let you go after him." Dumbledore told him, "Even in his weakened state, lord Voldemort remains one of the most powerful wizards in history."
"But—"
"No buts, Mr. Uzumaki. This isn't a child's play, you should focus on your studies and let us handle the situation from here. You have done wonderfully so far." Dumbledore words had a tone of finality to them.
Frankly, Naruto didn't blame the old man for not listening to him. From their perspective he was just a twelve year old kid. He debated if he should show them some of his jutsu to make his case but realised that there was no need, he could just slip out of the castle at night on his own. If he caught the bastard, they'll let his rule breaking slide; and if he didnt, well then no one has to know he left the castle at all, now did they?
"Yes professor, I understand. Have a good day." Naruto bowed to his teachers and headed towards the castle.
"It's a good thing Hagrid retrieved the stone when he did, won't you say Severus?" Dumbledore said once both Kettleburn and Naruto were out of earshot.
"It feels like everything is happening so fast, professor. The fact that Potter started attending school this year can not be a mere coincidence. The dark lord will surely try to hurt the boy if he gets the chance."
Dumbledore smiled, "That's big 'If', Severus. But I don't think Harry is in any immediate danger, certainly not when Lily continues to protect her son even from beyond the grave. But still, keep an eye out for him, won't you?"
"Yes, Professor." Snape replied through gritted teeth.
Harry was sitting at a lone table in the library furiously going through a large a tome titled 'Intermediate Charms', besides that there were several other books lying open in front of him. Most of them were Charms' books and a couple of them were even Defence Against Dark Arts books. He had been at them for quite a while now.
The morning after he made that bet against Naruto, Harry had woken up at an ungodly hour and headed for the library, determined to find the spell that let the blonde stand on water. He didn't find anything even remotely close on the first day so he returned the day after that. And the one after that. It had been a month since he had been scouring the Charms section but he still wasn't any closer to his goal than he was on his first day. But still, he was there everyday for at least an hour or so before the classes began, it had become his routine now.
Also he had noticed something about himself, after Naruto had pointed out; his mind did have a tendency to wander. When he was searching for Naruto's spell, he came across many other interesting ones. And he couldn't help but make a note of them in his notebook to practice later at his leisure. It was safe to say he was very deep in the rabbit hole that was Charms, with one spell making him curious by mentioning another similar one, then he'd go check that out only to find a small mention of another interesting spell. It was a cycle.
First he'd thought that Naruto had used an Ice Jinx and stood on a block of ice that was just under the water surface. It was in their first year syllabus after all. But blonde had told him that wasn't the case. Still, the Ice Jinx led him to Blue Flames charm, Levitation charm led to Hovering charm and so on; he was led by the spells like a horse by a carrot. It wasted his time when he was looking for a specific spell, but he didn't really mind it. Harry loved magic!
This was how Hermione and her friends Lily and Sophie found him, his nose buried in a book and writing notes in his notebook.
Lily tapped him on his shoulder to get his attention, "You might wanna pack your books or you'll be late for Potions." she told him.
That was the last thing Harry wanted, to give Snape an excuse to be mean to him and take away points. Not that the potions master ever needed any excuse. "Oh, thank you for reminding me!" Harry said to Lily as he packed his belongings.
The four of them walked out of the library together. Even after a month, Harry only knew these girls by their names, he'd never actually spoken to any of them before. From what he knew, all three were muggleborns and had formed an early friendship because of their common backgrounds when they arrived at Hogwarts.
"What were you reading?" Hermione asked him.
"Oh I was just looking up some Charms." Harry answered.
"For the essay?"
"No, I finished that last night. It was something else, sort of like a side project."
Sophie smiled at him, "My, how diligent! You know, Hermione is quite jealous of you."
"No, I'm not! God, Sophie—" Hermione made to grab Sophie to stop her from saying anything else but the redhead dodged her and used both Harry and Lily as human shields.
"Ah ah, Granger, did your parents not teach you that lying is wrong?" even Lily joined in.
Harry watched the playful teasing of friends with a smile, "Why is she jealous?" he asked.
"I'm not, Harry. She's clearly lying," Hermione tried to defend herself but the blush on her face gave her away.
"Not only you," Sophie continued undeterred, "You remember our first practical lesson of transfiguration? She was also jealous of that boy from Slytherin. But we heard that he cheated—"
"He didn't. Naruto really succeeded on his first attempt!" Harry was quick to defend his friend.
The girl blinked at him for a second but shook her head, "Anyway, we heard he cheated," she corrected herself. "So Hermione didn't really mind it. But in the next lecture you turned the match into a perfect needle while Hermione's was still a little rough. And same thing happened when transfiguring the mice into snuffboxes. Her snuffbox had very cute rodent ears."
Harry chuckled, "That's it? I was expecting something a bit more when you told me she's jealous."
Hermione was making a point to ignore her traitor of a friend as they talked. She stuck close to Lily who hadn't betrayed her to a boy.
"Ah, but you see, our little Hermione here fancies herself the best student of our year. Turns out you are the best at transfiguration and not her."
Harry shrugged, "If it makes you feel any better, Hermione, I had help." He addressed the girl for the first time. "And It was easier since we had a spell to work with this time."
Sophie scoffed, "The Professor's teaching you privately then, Potter?"
"Not professor, Naruto gave me some helpful advice."
"That blonde Slytherin boy?" Lily asked.
"But you were the first one to turn the mouse into a snuffbox," Hermione said, confusion was written all over her face.
"And it was a pretty one too, professor McGonagall showed the whole class!" Lily added.
Harry laughed at the memory that came with their words, "That's because he accidently fell asleep during the class. I have no idea how professor McGonagall didn't notice."
Their chatter died down as they entered the Potions classroom. Slytherins were all already there, Harry noticed. Naruto was at his workstation, alone. The girl he used to work with hadn't sat with him since Naruto pulled that prank a month ago. She was the type to hold a grudge, Harry assumed.
"Hey," Harry said to get his attention as he joined Naruto.
"Stay after the class, I have something important to tell you."
Harry was a bit taken aback by how serious he sounded. "Alright, but what's it about?"
"Voldemort." Naruto answered, subtle as a wrecking ball.
Harry's eyes widened a fraction. Before he could ask anything else, Snape snooped in the classroom like an agitated bat. The potions master waved his wand and the complicated instructions for Wiggenweld Potion appeared on the blackboard.
"Today we shall brew the Wiggenweld potion," Snape began in his usually drawling tone. "It replenishes stamina, boosts strength, heals injuries and cures the effects of Sleeping Draught and Draught of Living Death. Despite it's usefulness, It's a very simple potion but for your simple minds it'll the most difficult concoction you will brew this year," he said the last part looking at Gryffindors. "Do try and make as few errors as possible, that's the most I can ask of you dunderheads."
Harry barely registered Snape's usual insults, his mind was still trying to process the name drop. What did Naruto know? What did he want to talk about?
"I'll go get the ingredients, put the water to boil in the meantime," Naruto told him and left for the cupboards.
When Naruto got back with his hands full of potion ingredients—Dittany, Moly, Unicorn horn, stewed mandrake, Wiggenweld tree bark and a dozen others— Harry was still standing there. His mind running a thousand thoughts a seconds.
Naruto put all the ingredients on the table, he was a little confused as to why Harry hadn't started the fire. He slapped Harry lightly on his cheek but it was enough to leave a bit of a sting.
"Focus," Naruto said simply. "I think it was a bad idea to tell you anything before the class began. We can't afford to get this potion wrong."
Harry forced himself out of his thoughts. Whatever it was he would have to wait just until lunch time to know. He didn't spend the last month learning to concentrate, just to get shaken by that murderer's name.
"You're right," Harry said. "Why did you get live salamanders?" He asked when he noticed that Naruto had brought the animals themselves instead of their blood, unlike everyone else.
"Fresher the blood, better the result, the instructions said." Naruto told him and together they began to brew their potion.
In a cauldron full of boiling mineral water, crushed Wiggenweld tree bark was added, that was the base of Wiggenweld potion. Naruto was making precise cuts at the neck of salamanders and draining the blood with absolute precision and without showing anything other than dutiful obedience of instructions. He didn't show disgust or hesitation at having to kill the salamanders. Harry wondered if he had practice.
There were seventeen ingredients in total and they were supposed to add a few drops of blood with every ingredient and switching between clockwise and anti-clockwise stirring after each step.
The potion itself was interesting one, it changed colour after each successful step—from red to green to blue to yellow to purple and so on. Wrong colour after a step meant you got that particular step wrong, Get one step wrong and the whole potion is botched. It was fun! In an anxiety inducing kind of way.
Harry was in charge of stirring and adding the precise drops of blood while Naruto handled the rest of the ingredients. By the end of the class, their potion was the perfect turquoise colour as was required.
A couple of tables away, a pair of Slytherin girls were standing on their toes to get a peak at Naruto and Harry's cauldron.
"Merlin, it's the perfect shade!" Sally frowned. Then she looked at her own potion, it was a shade lighter than what was required.
"Must be the fresh salamander blood," Daphne replied with a frown of her own.
"I don't mind the result then, not if I have to kill those poor salamanders," Sally made a face.
Daphne raised a blonde eyebrow at her friend, "Where do you think this blood came from?"
"By myself I mean," Sally cleared. "I don't want to kill those salamanders by my own hands, that's just disgusting. By the way, why didn't you go brew with him? You'd have gotten better result than with me."
Daphne shook her head, "Not until the prat apologizes." She said firmly.
Sally sighed as she slung her bag over her shoulders, "So, never then?" Sally knew Naruto would have apologized by now if he was even slightest bit sorry.
Daphne just shook her head.
"He doesn't seem to miss you though." Sally looked over where Naruto was labeling the phials. "He brewed alone until today and now he got Potter to join him."
Naruto passed them without even sparing a glance. He put his phial in front of Snape but instead of leaving, he just stood there.
"Do you need something, Mr. Uzumaki?" Snape asked in a slightly annoyed voice.
"Is my potion acceptable, sir?" Naruto asked.
Snape glanced at his potion, "It is the right colour, yes." The words seemed to pain him somehow.
"I was in the forest last night, as you know. It didn't affect my work."
"Still you won't be allowed in the forest. I do not have the authority to overturn the headmaster's decision." Snape said in a dismissive tone, even if the boy was in his house, it didn't mean he was willing to hear pointless argument. Especially about the situation at hand. "Take my advice and stay away from the forest, if you value your life that is." His voice made it clear that he wanted to discuss it no further.
Naruto looked like he was about to argue but deflated, "...I understand. Thank you, sir." He said and left the dungeons.
Harry was waiting for him outside.
"Naruto, What's going on?" Harry tried to keep the uneasiness from showing but his voice betrayed him.
"Come with me," Naruto said and Harry jogged to keep pace.
They found an empty classroom on the second floor, Harry entered after Naruto and closed the door, guessing the need for privacy.
"Okay, you're freaking me out right now." Harry said.
Naruto's expression was undecipherable, "Voldemort was in the Forbidden Forest last night," he told Harry without any preamble.
Harry was rendered speechless. He didn't know how to process that information.
"You told me he killed your parents, right?"
Harry managed a terse nod, unable keep away the anger that came with the words he was hearing.
"I thought you'd want to know. I only have rumours and some common knowledge to go on so I don't know exactly what happened ten years ago, but somehow this Voldemort dude is more spirit than a man now. And desperate besides," Naruto told him.
"H-How? How do you know this?"
Naruto sat down on a bench and patted the seat next to him, "Someone's been killing unicorns in the forest so old man Kettleburn, Hagrid and I went to investigate," here Naruto paused and scratched the back of his neck. "Actually I saw someone kill a unicorn a month ago when I went for a stroll in the forest."
Harry didn't know whether to be impressed or be worried his friend's recklessness. "Why didn't you say something then?"
"Like I said, that guy is more spirit and anything human. I thought it was just some creature that hunted unicorns, that's how disfigured he was." Naruto shrugged.
"But why is he hunting unicorns?"
"Unicorn blood keeps the drinker alive but at a terrible cost, I don't know what that cost is exactly but it sounds pretty bad by how everyone was talking about it." Here Naruto paused and looked at Harry for a moment. "Can I ask you a question? It's a bit personal."
Harry nodded.
"Do you know why that guy killed your parents?"
Harry thought about it for a moment, "Hagrid said that this Voldemort went as dark as one could go. And there was a war, my parents fought against him so he went after them."
Naruto scratched his chin in thought, "I've heard that you were responsible for his destruction last time?"
"I don't know about that. I was one year old baby, I don't know what happened that day." Harry's mood was getting worse the longer they talked about it. So Naruto clapped his hand on his shoulder in show of sympathy.
"Either way, I think if he was as bad as you're saying then he might be holding a grudge."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying he might come for you."
Again, Harry had nothing to say in response. He knew Naruto was right, of course, but knowing the man responsible for making you an orphan was coming after you was a heavy thought.
"Be careful, okay?" Naruto said after a pause. "Don't wander around by yourself if you can avoid it. That Voldemort might be weakened but he still has his magic."
Harry nodded, "Don't worry, I'm not an idiot. And shouldn't you be telling this stuff to Dumbledore?" The way Hagrid was talking about the headmaster, Harry thought Dumbledore wouldn't let anything come close to him. Not in the castle, at least. 'Safest place in the world', Hagrid had said.
"He was the first person I told this morning. I asked to go back to lay some traps for the bastard but the teachers denied me permission, said it would get in the way of my studies." His tone made it clear what he thought of that particular notion.
"Is that why you told me we couldn't afford to get the potion wrong today? To show them wandering around at night doesn't affect you?"
Naruto nodded, "I would have liked to have permission but looks like I'll just have to sneak out of the castle."
Actually Naruto just asked the professors to give the sense that he wouldn't leave the castle without permission. If they thought him as an obedient student, it was less likely that they would suspect him of sneaking off on his own.
"No, absolutely not! The forest is too dangerous even without a killer on the loose." For the first time in his life Harry had made friends and he was determined not to loose them. Even if he had to save them from their own recklessness.
"Relax, there's nothing in that forest that can hurt me," Naruto said. "I almost caught the bastard last night."
Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Y-You did?"
"Well, it was Mr. Gamariki that trapped him, but yes."
"Who's Mr. Gamariki?"
"He's one of my toads, I'll introduce you someday."
Harry looked at him, "You're going to go in the forest no matter what, aren't you?" he saw the determination in Naruto's eyes.
The blonde nodded.
"I'm coming with you then."
Naruto hmm'ed. "I thought you might want to confront the guy who killed your parents."
Harry looked at Naruto. Was that approval in his eyes? "When are we leaving then?"
"There's no guarantee that he will return tonight," Naruto said. "He was injured pretty badly yesterday...But then again there's no guarantee that he won't return either."
"When are we leaving then?" Harry asked again. Impatient at this point.
"There's no point in wandering the forest all night unless he's there. You'll just be staying up for no good reason."
"But—"
"I not denying you," Naruto interrupted Harry's protest. "You can stay in your dorm, I'll call you when I find our intruder."
Harry was confused, "I don't understand."
Naruto reached in his bag and pulled out a scroll and a brush. "I have a method of transporting you directly from your dorm room to wherever I am," he said.
Harry watched Naruto draw a circle made up of intricate symbols, from the center of the circle, six radial lines made up of similar looking letters were drawn. In the centre, there was a single large character. He had no idea what those symbols meant, he'd never seen anything like that before. It all looked so foreign to him. When Naruto was done, the patterns looked weirdly intriguing, enchanting even.
Then Naruto began making the hand signs, his hands moved so fast, all Harry saw was blurs. Naruto put his hand on the the scroll and the ink glowed blue for a second. At this point, Harry and no idea what was happening anymore.
"Give me your hand," Naruto said.
Harry saw there was suddenly a weird looking knife in his hand. He reluctantly extended his left hand. Naruto nicked his thumb with the knife and blood flowed, Harry managed not to wince or make a face, he was proud of that. Naruto let a few drops fall in the centre of the circle and then put his own hand once again on the scroll. And once again the ink glowed blue.
"Alright it's done," Naruto said as he pocketed the scroll.
"Um, what's done?"
"Oh right, that was a summoning scroll. Now I can teleport you near me anytime I want," Naruto explained.
"Where did you learn that?! And more importantly, when can you teach me?"
Naruto chuckled, "Someday. It's...uh..really complicated technique. And delicate besides." No point telling him he can't learn but still, no use dowsing his curiosity either, Naruto thought.
Harry looked like he had more questions but he sensed Naruto's hesitation so decided to let it go for now. "Alright. So I just stay in my dorm and you'll summon me if you find him?"
"That's the plan," Naruto nodded. "I figured you'd have some questions at least." Lord knew Naruto would have a thing or two to say if he was in Harry's position.
After classes that day, Naruto went to the library and combed through the shelves for books on magical methods of transport. He found a huge tome that promised to be useful. If he wanted to catch that bastard he'd have to prevent him from escaping like last time. He wondered if there was any way of stopping someone from teleporting, or apparating as they called it. The book mentioned many methods of magical transport, simple brooms, the Knight Bus, Floo Network, Portkeys and after that was mentioned the method Naruto was looking for, Apparition.
The book mentioned no way of tracking the destination but it did mention a charm that prevented someone from apparating in or disapparating from an area. Naruto noted down the incantation—'Tilemetafora Periorismos' and the complicated wand movement. The book said it was a 'NEWT level spell', whatever the hell that meant.
He arrived back in the common room just before curfew. He had already sent a few clones on patrol, to keep an eye on the intruder in case he comes back and gather some information on him. Even if he couldn't catch the guy just yet, at least he'd be able to stop him from killing the unicorns.
It was already Halloween when Naruto realised that maybe he should have paid attention to what 'NEWT level' actually meant. The theory behind the spell was complicated to say the least, it had taken him embarrassingly long time to understand the spell in it's entirety. Seriously, people shouldn't use so many long and complicated words in one paragraph! The jerk who wrote the book probably thought it would make sound extra smart. Would it have killed him to explain it in human terms?!
In other words, he was having trouble with the spell, mostly with understanding the theory. On top of that, he had no way of testing out if he had successfully cast the spell. How could he? He didn't know how to apparate! Without a test, he was just shooting in the dark.
But that was fine, even if he had botched the spell he had found some alternative spells to immobilise a target, no longer would he have to rely on his lightning jutsu. No answering awkward questions for this guy!
"—then I found the snitch but Wood said I also have to disrupt the chasers too. And let me tell you it's not as easy as it sounds, I almost slammed into Katie more than once. Almost took a bludger to the head too." Harry was describing his latest training session to his friend. He had been recruited to the Gryffindor Quidditch team after try-outs, which were compulsary for everyone in their house by the order of their captain, even first years were given permission to join with some string pulling from old McGonagall.
They were both coming from the last lecture of the day, being let off early since it was Halloween and all the staff was busy decorating the castle with pumpkins, skeletons and other spooky things.
"I don't know dude it sounds way too easy," Naruto replied carelessly to what Harry thought was a very impressive story of his latest exploits on the Quidditch field.
"Sour grapes?" Harry teased. "No need to be jealous you know, you can always try for Slytherin team next year."
"Please, if I played that stupid game the match would be over like this*" Naruto snapped his fingers.
Harry smirked, "Really? Why don't we have a little one on one competition then? Let's see if you can back up your big words!"
Naruto stopped walking, "Shut up."
"Already backing out? Honestly, I didn't expect—"
"Four Eyes, shut up for a moment, will you?"
At those words Harry looked at Naruto, gone was the aloof, playful expression he had a minute ago; Naruto looked tense like he was expecting someone to jump out of the shadows and attack him.
"Listen," Naruto said and Harry perked up his ears.
"I don't hear anything," Harry whispered.
Naruto pressed his ear to the wall and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, Naruto abruptly ran towards the classroom down the hall. Harry ran after him. Naruto stopped in front of a classrooms and pressed his ear to the door. Harry did the same. His eyes widened when he heard muffled screams of a man. There was another voice, Harry couldn't make out any words but the tone sounded threatening.
Naruto tapped him on his shoulder, "Wands out," he whispered and took a couple of step back.
Harry had his wand in his hand the next second and he took a couple of steps away from the door.
Naruto took a calming breath and kicked the door hard. The door stood no chance as it was blasted off the hinges. Both of them rushed inside the classroom.
"You!" Naruto said as soon as he saw the hovering thing.
The hovering thing wasn't pleased to see him however and growled as soon as it saw him and Harry. "Avada Kedavra!" The thing fired a green spell at Harry but Naruto pushed him out of the way.
"Avada Kedavra!" Came another shout but Naruto moved both of them out of way of the green spell. The skull thing was relentless as it kept firing the same spell over and over; none hit the target however. Naruto was a little bit faster to move them out of the way everytime.
Harry didn't know what the hell was going on at this point. The cloak thing just kept attacking them and professor Quirrell was on the floor whimpering in pain.
"Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived," the thing stopped firing spells at them for a second to speak to Harry. Probably got tired of not hitting the target. Still he had an ugly smile on his face. "It's a pleasure to meet you after such a long time."
At those words, Harry realised exactly who this creepy person was, the description he heard from Naruto came to mind. Harry's fear gave way to anger and he said, "Voldemort, the Wanker Who Didn't Die. Can't say it's a pleasure to see your ugly face so soon."
Naruto was impressed. That was a good one.
Voldemort grit his teeth at the cheek. "So you know who I am. I'm surprised the old fool Dumbledore told you about me."
"Fool are you, to walk in Hogwarts when Dumbledore is still here." Harry replied and pointed his wand at the dark wizard. "And in your condition no less. I'd be checking in a hospital if I were you."
Naruto almost laughed out at this point. He was already slowly moving them both towards the door to block the most obvious exit route. There was an open window but Naruto was already preparing his next move to block that one too, his one hand was subtly making handsigns for one of his most dangerous techniques while at the same time the anti-apparition spell was at the tip of his tongue, just in case.
Harry's words were doing a good job of frustrating Voldemort and it showed in his next words.
"Such courage and defiance in the face of death, truly a Gryffindor you are, as expected of a child of James and Lily. It's a shame they both died so young."
That was a cheap blow. Bloody wanker. As expected, Harry's face turned red in anger after hearing that but still Voldemort kept taunting him.
"Don't look so sad, child, I can tell you your parents died a quick death. Your father at least, your mother however kept begging me for mercy." Voldemort sported a nasty smile, having successfully managed to rile up an 11 year old boy.
Harry was gripping his wand so hard, his knuckles were white. Naruto feared Harry might do something stupid like lunging at Voldemort, which was clearly the intention of the dark wizard. So Naruto fired a spell at him, which was blocked almost lazily.
"You didn't forget about me, did you? I should be insulted." He asked with a smile.
Voldemort looked at him, clearly trying to jog his memory. So Naruto decided to help him.
"I'm the one who electrocuted you, remember? When you were preying on that poor Unicorn?"
Realisation dawned on Voldemort's face, which was quickly replaced by anger at the reminder of his humiliation.
"Wow, I'm surprised you didn't see my face that night. I was pretty sure you did. But then again you were very busy getting electrocuted, so I don't blame you." Naruto taunted Voldemort. His jutsu was ready, just one more sign and Voldemort was trapped.
To his credit, Voldemort composed himself.
"Ah yes, how can I forget! Such skill you showed that night to almost capture lord Voldemort of all people. Tell me child, what is your name?"
Naruto snorted at the poor attempt at manipulation. "Man you must really be desperate huh? Two first year kids are standing before you and you are resorting to mind games. What, can't hit a moving target anymore? Did Four Eyes really fuck you up that badly all those years ago?"
It must have taken every ounce of Voldemort's self control to not rise to the bait. "This is where you are mistaken, child. For I can kill you two any time I wish. But that would be such a waste, don't you think? One uses such unique magic and the other managed to survive a killing curse."
Voldemort turned his attention towards Harry, "Have you never wondered, how did a one year old babe manage to do that?"
Naruto's preparation were already complete, Voldemort didnt know it but he was already trapped. So Naruto decided to humor him for a little while by listening to a desperate man ramble on.
"For you see Harry, only someone with tremendous amount of darkness in him could have achieved such a feat."
Harry grit his teeth, his anger once again rising. "You don't know what you are talking about."
"Oh, but I do. Surely you have heard that lord Voldemort delved the deepest in secrets of dark magic? I know it like the back of my hand. And when I look at you, I see great potential. Potential to be the next great Dark Lord. Join me Harry, I can give you all this world has to offer, strength, wealth, knowledge, everything."
"Stupify." Was Harry's response. "I'll never join the likes of you!"
"Foolish child." Voldemort said as he lazily parried away the stunning charm.
Harry was about to fire another spell but Naruto's voice stopped him.
"That's enough , Four Eyes. Thank you for distracting him for me." Naruto said as he snatched the wand out of Voldemort's skeletal hand like it was nothing. The speed at which he moved, neither Voldemort nor Harry saw what happened. One second Voldemort had his wand and then he didn't.
"Tilemetafora Periorismos," Naruto cast the spell.
"NO!" Came the scream from the downed professor as he lunged towards Naruto, attempting to take back the wand for his master.
Naruto kicked the defense professor in the nuts and down he went, crying in incredible pain and clutching his destroyed balls. Naruto quickly jabbed his pressure point and the defence professor fell unconscious.
Naruto was confused for a moment but soon he understood the situation, "One of your men?" he asked.
Voldemort, seeing as he was at a complete disadvantage, made for the open the window. But suddenly pinkish red flesh covered the exit and spread to every wall, floor and even ceiling of the classroom.
"You are not going anywhere," Naruto said as he snapped the wand he took from Voldemort. "You are in the stomach of the great fire toad of mount Myoboku. A man is yet to be born that can break out of here. In a few hours you'll be digested and become toad poop on the side of road somewhere." He said as he put the nastiest grin he could muster.
Voldemort tried to apparate out of there, just to fail painfully.
"Relax, there's nothing you can do. I already cast the anti-apparition spell, remember?"
"That's bloody brilliant!" Harry said from the side, his eyes wide as saucers.
Voldemort laughed maniacally. "You think a simple spell like this can stop me?" He turned towards the wall and began to transfigure the flesh of the toad to create a door.
Naruto's eyes widened. "Shit."
That was the flaw in his otherwise brilliant plan. Wandless magic. And apparently the flesh of the great fire toad wasn't immune to magic. But thankfully it wasn't exactly easy to transfigure either, since it was doing pretty good job of holding against the magic, with just a vague outline of a door visible.
"Incedio," Naruto cast the fire spell and the dark wizard was lit up like a torch. But only for a brief second.
The fire died down as Voldemort mutter a counter spell.
"Stupify," Harry didn't let him rest as his spell hit the spectre dead in the chest. Voldemort stopped moving for a second but was soon free of the effect of the spell. He was moving closer to the two boys.
"Petrificus Totalus."
"Incendio."
"Stupify."
They both kept firing the spells with little effect. Voldemort was able to nullify the effects of the spells of two first years without a wand and without any difficulty.
Voldemort would fire some of the nastiest curses in arsenal but Naruto was fast enough that neither him nor Harry got hit even once. Even without a wand, Voldemort was dangerous. Naruto was hesitant to engage in close combat since he didn't want to fall prey to some nasty protective curse that would activate at touch. His knowledge in magical arts was very limited after all. He didn't want to risk it. So he kept firing spell after spell from a distance. And thus the two sides were at a stalemate.
And it didn't look like it was about to break anytime soon. Furthermore, if he waited for Voldemort to be digested, both he and Four Eyes would be digested with him. He would have to get out of the stomach but also make sure Voldemort couldn't just transfigure his way of out.
The second he took to think proved costly, as Voldemort cast a area effect paralysis spell. Both young wizards were frozen in place and Naruto's eyes widened comically in alarm as he saw Voldemort lunge at Harry. When he got close to the boy, Voldemort looked him dead in the eye, "Alas, I can't use the killing curse without a wand but no matter, that just means you'll have to die a more painful death, young Potter." He said as he started muttering a curse.
Harry felt like his whole body was on fire, his screams filled the stomach of the toad. Naruto had no plans to watch an innocent kid die in front of him however. He closed his eyes and huge amount of chakra began to fill his body until he glowed blue. The effect of whatever spell he was under was vanishing by the second.
Voldemort was alerted by the pressure and he stopped muttering the curse to look at Naruto whose cold blue eyes were glaring murder at him. Knowing he had no time to waste, Voldemort resorted to crudest and most basic method of murder. He wrapped his skeletal hands around Harry's neck as began to choke the life out of him.
Naruto flexed even more of his chakra in a effort to break free of the spell but it was slow going.
A second later, Voldemort's screams reached his ears.
Huh?!
How did that happen?!
Naruto watched as Voldemort's hands began to burn away as the dark lord was forced let go of Harry. Voldemort backed away from the young wizard, screaming in mortal agony and fear in his snake like red eyes.
The effect of the spell on both Harry and Naruto vanished.
"Don't let him get away Four Eyes!" Naruto yelled and Harry lunged, grabbing Voldemort by the face.
Voldemort tried to shake him off to no avail. While being burnt and in unimaginable pain, he couldn't cast any spell from his prodigious arsenal. Harry had a firm grab of him as more and more of Voldemort was burning away. Harry did not let go until every last part of Voldemort had burnt and turned to ash, even his robes. Only then did Harry let himself slump on the floor made of flesh. His breathing was heavy, his clothes drenched in sweat and his whole body felt hot, like he was in an oven or something.
The ordeal had taken a lot out of him and Harry was finding it hard to keep his eyes open. He thought he heard Naruto call his name but the alure of sleep felt much too great to refuse. So he closed his eyes and let himself fall face first on the fleshy floor.
Naruto knelt beside the young wizard. "I'm so glad I didn't touch that Voldemort." He said. He had been shocked way too many times by lightning style shadow clones to ever make physical contact with anything suspicious.
That being said, he was wary of touching Harry too. He had no plans of being turned to ash anytime soon. So Naruto created a shadow clone, the clone touched Harry's forehead. The clone didn't burn away. That was a relief. Harry had some sort of protective spell on him, that much was clear to him. Maybe it only activate if you had bad intentions? Or maybe it activates only when some specific people interact with him? Like a certain murderer with a grudge against him?
In any case, Naruto realised that he hadn't even scratched the surface pandora's box that was magic. Until he learns more about how wizard and dark wizards fight, he was going to be careful about making physical contact with shady people.
That was for later, right now he had to get Harry to a medic. While the protective spell didn't activate for him, his clone still felt very high fever on Harry. The clone lifted Harry and dashed out of the classroom, Naruto having already released the trapping jutsu.
With Harry on his way to the Hospital wing, Naruto turned his attention to the unconscious professor.
'What is the deal with this guy?'
He had clearly heard screams from this guy, so he was pretty sure he was being attacked by Voldemort.
'Then why did he jump at me?'
Mind control? Most likely. But he wasn't 100% sure. The professor looked genuinely angry and scared. Ah what the hell, let the authorities deal with it. In the meantime-
"Petrificus Totalus."
That oughta keep the man there until the professors arrive. His clone had dispelled itself, Harry was under the care of Madam Pomfrey. Now to alert the staff. Naruto locked the door of the classroom behind him and ran down the hallways to find a teacher. It was close to evening so everyone was probably in the great hall so that's where Naruto headed. He ran as fast as a civilian his age would be capable of and arrived in the great hall a few minutes later.
As expected, the great hall was half full with students and a few teachers were busy with completing the decorations. He spotted the tiny charms professor hanging skeletons from the ceiling, McGonagall was helping him. And Greasy guy was enchanting the suits of armor to spout threats to anyone who passes by. Naruto chose to talk to him first.
"Hey, professor?" Naruto said to get his attention.
The Potions master stopped his work and turned around to face him. "What..is it Mr. Uzumaki?" He asked in his usual drawl.
"It's an emergency." Naruto said, not wanting to mention Voldemort's name since other students were around.
That got Snape's attention, fear and surprise was clear on his face. "What kind of emergency?" He managed to keep his tone even.
Still his voice was carried to nearby students and they fell silent watch the incoming drama, even if they didn't hear the start of the conversation.
"No time to explain, come with me." Naruto said and dashed the way he came from.
Snape's hurried footsteps followed him to the classroom. The unconscious Quirrell, a broken wand and a small pile of ash in the middle of the otherwise empty room made him raise his brow.
"What happened to professor Quirrell, Mr. Uzumaki?" Snape asked. He wasn't very concerned about the well being of the defence professor since he suspected the stuttering simpleton was working for lord Voldemort. But still the situation didn't leave him any choice but to inquire.
"Me and Four Eyes were passing through when we heard muffled screams and some threats being muttered." Naruto looked at Snape. "It was Voldemort."
Snape flinched. "The dark lord was here?!"
Naruto nodded. "He was torturing turban guy, I think. Four Eyes and I rushed in and he attacked us, his spells never hit for some reason." Naruto didn't mention that he was fast enough that he could have dodged those spells in his sleep.
"Turban guy," Naruto pointed at the fallen professor with his foot. "attacked us for some reason, mind control or not I dunno, so I kicked him in the nuts and cast a full body bind curse on hm."
With those word, Snape's doubts were confirmed. Quirrell was working working for the dark lord.
"Then Voldemort got really angry and lunged at Four Eyes. But something weird happened when he touched Four Eyes."
"What happened when the dark lord touched Mr. Potter?" Snape asked him, he had a clue but wanted to confirm it beyond a shadow of a doubt.
"He started burning away and kept burning until he was...that," He pointed the small pile of ash. "It looked like Four Eyes had some protective spell on him and it activated the moment that wanker touched him." Naruto looked at Snape when he said that. The Potions Master neither confirmed nor denied his guess.
"And where's Mr. Potter now?" Snape asked the important question instead of unaswering his implied one.
"In the hospital wing," Naruto told him. "He fainted after Voldemort died so I took him there. Then I came to find a teacher."
Snape thanked his lucky stars that the boy had the common sense to tend to Potter first. He pointed his wand at Quirrell and cast a counter spell. Quirrell didn't wake despite that, probably took one too many cruciatus, Snape thought.
Naruto noticed that he didn't need any incantation or wand movement for the spell, he filed that information away for later.
"Stay here," Snape ordered him. "I'll go get professor Dumbledore." He said as he cast the full body bind curse on Quirrell. And a stunner for good measure. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
When he was alone in the classroom, Naruto crouched near the unconscious professor. He was about ninety percent sure turban was working for Voldemort. The remaining ten percent was reserved for some really powerful mind controlling spell he didn't know about yet. He knew there were genjutsu to make someone essentially a human puppet. And magic was really really versatile. Even he knew that.
Besides that, Four Eyes had a really powerful spell on him. He had a mass murderer after him, so it made sense. Question was who cast it? Headmaster? Some other professor? Some ministry official? Was it common for wizards to have that sort of protective echantments? Is that why wizards duel from afar?
Naruto decided to be safe and not to make contact with anyone, even accidently, just in case. Magic was awesome. And dangerous.
Greasy guy and the headmaster stormed in the room after a few minutes, both huffing and out of breath.
"Headmaster," Naruto nodded his head in form of greeting.
The old professor took in his surroundings. "Mr. Uzumaki," The headmaster said, smiling at him. "Professor Snape told me what happened, you and Mr. Potter have done a great service to wizards all over Britain."
"It's not a big deal sir, it was Four Eyes that did most of the work and finished off Voldemort, I just gave support a little." Technically the truth. He just had sharp ears and was faster than spells, that's all. At least, that's what he thought of the situation himself.
Dumbledore chuckled, "Supporting a friend in face of such danger is still very admirable." He said.
Naruto didn't say anything else. He only nodded. 'Such danger' was nothing to him, he had been in a lot of life or death situation already, he knew better than to say that aloud though.
"Severus, Veritaserum please." The headmaster said.
The Greasy Guy placed a small vial with a clear liquid in it on Dumbledore's palm.
"What's that, sir?" Naruto asked.
"A very powerful truth serum," Snape answered. "Three drops and it can make anyone sing like a canary."
Naruto nodded in understanding. A bit surprised that wizards also had truth serum. Back home, the Intelligence department had truth serum at their disposal, it got the job done most of the time but it wasn't fullproof. There were ways to beat it, one of them being genjutsu walls in one's mind like the one's his sensei placed on him. He wondered if this Veritaserum would work on him. Nah, he had utmost confidence in his sensei's abilities, that man was a genius in every sense of the word.
"Are we confirming if he was working for Voldemort?" Naruto asked.
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes. I have already called the Auror office but I think we should get some answers before they arrive and save them some trouble." He said as he forced three drops down the unconscious man's throat. The headmaster pointed his wand at Quirrell and he opened his eyes, still unable to move though.
"What's an embarrassing thing you don't want anyone to find out about you?" Dumbledore asked in a way of testing the Veritaserum.
"I like to wear women's clothes when no one is around." Quirrell said in a monotone.
"I think it works," Naruto deadpanned.
Dumbledore chuckled, "Yes, I doubt professor Quirrell would admit to such a thing without Veritaserum."
"Or under a cruciatus." Snape added.
"Or under a cruciatus," Dumbledore agreed with a sigh. "Were you working for lord Voldemort?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"For power." Quirrell answered. "So no one would ever laugh at me again."
"Insecurities, huh?" Naruto asked to no one in particular. It did not escape his notice that Headmaster directly asked him if he was working for Voldemort and not 'Why did you attack Mr. Uzumaki?'. So Dumbledore and possibly others already suspected him of working for Voldemort. Good to know.
Still Snape answered, "Yes, young Quirinus Quirrell was quite the gifted student with special talent for theory of defensive magic. But he was feeble of body."
"So he got bullied and people made fun of him?" Naruto tried to fill in the blanks.
"Afraid so." Dumbledore amswered. "How did you come in contact with lord Voldemort?"
"On my year-long sabbatical, I went to find the dark lord because I was curious about what happened to him. And I wanted to be the wizard who tracked him down when no one else could. Not the death eaters and not aurors, but me. My effort bore fruit for I came across the dark lord in a forest in Albania."
"What did you do when you came face to face with lord Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked.
"The dark lord was weakened. A shadow of his former self, closer to death, than to life." Quirrell spoke. "So I thought maybe I could kill him and become the wizard that defeated the strongest dark wizard of all time."
"How are you alive?" Snape asked, a little surprised that someone could attack the dark lord and walk away with their life.
"I was useful to the dark lord," Quirrell said. "When I stupidly attempted to kill him, lord Voldemort quickly humbled me and showed me true power. He promised me that power if I would serve him."
"Serve him how?" Dumbledore asked.
"By helping him get his body back of course. And by killing the one responsible for his downfall."
"Four Eyes." Naruto also crouched in front of Quirrell. "How were you going to get his body back? Unicorn blood?"
"That was just a temporary measure until I could find a way to get the philosopher's stone."
"And where's this philosopher's stone?" Naruto asked before either Snape or Dumbledore could stop him.
"Third floor corridor, all the teachers put up their own defences for it."
Just then professor McGonagall barged in the classroom. "Albus, the aurors are here."
The headmaster stood up. "I think we should leave this matter in the capable hands of madan Bones," He said. "Mr. Uzumaki, why don't you go and get some rest? You have been through a terrible ordeal."
Naruto read the words as, 'Leave the questions from aurors to me.' He didn't mind one bit. "Alright." He said and left the room.
Thank you for reading! Have a nice day!
A/N- I'll to stop here since the chapter is getting way too long, think of this as first part of a really big chapter. A bit of warning, from this point on this story will mainly focus on two friends hanging out at a magical boarding school. There will be as little canon as possible. And since a lot of you are asking I'd like to mention that this story is not slash. Obviously this is not canon Naruto, I've made some changes to his background for this story, those changes will be explained later.
Also I'd like to thank you all for such nice words on previous chapters. Advice is always welcome. See you soon!