Chapter 7: Halloween: A Past Revealed
"Hello" – Normal Speech
'Hello' – Normal Thought
"Hello" – Non-Human Speech
'Hello' – Non-Human Thought
DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I do not own the rights to the Harry Potter or Naruto franchises. Nor do I own the rights to Hogwarts Mystery. Wish I did though.
A few days after their run-in with the dog on the third floor, Josh awoke to find that Naruto's bed was empty. After getting dressed he went down to the common room and met Hermione. "You haven't seen Naruto, have you?" Josh asked. "No," Hermione replied. "Weird," Josh said, "Maybe we'll see him in class," As the day went on, Naruto still had not been to a single class. "You think he's in the hospital wing?" Josh asked Hermione, "Harry suggested he might be there, but there was no sign of him," "I hope he's okay. Wherever he is." Hermione replied. At their last class that day, Josh and the others went over to the professor, who informed them that Naruto was excused from the day's lessons by Dumbledore.
Shortly after dinner, the four were sitting in the common room when Naruto climbed in through the portrait hole. "Hey Naru," Josh said, "We've been wondering about you all day. Are you alright?" Hermione asked. Naruto then explained that today, October 10, was his birthday. He went on to explain that while he was born, he also lost his parents that day. And that due to past experience back home in Konoha, he wished to celebrate it alone. Hermione put her hand on his shoulder and told him, "Like I told you on our first day here, you aren't alone anymore. You have us now," She turned to the other boys, "Right guys?" They all nodded with reassuring grins. "Thanks, guys," Naruto said, gratefully. "Well, since it's your birthday, why not make it better? Here, I managed to convince Fred and George to sneak food out of the kitchen, just in case you didn't show up to dinner," They enjoyed their small meal, and this would go into the books as Naruto's first, and best birthday he ever had.
That weekend Harry and Oliver walked out onto the quidditch pitch to go over some of the practical rules and to show him the hands-on experience of the gameplay. "Quidditch is easy enough," Oliver began as he opened the chest they carried onto the field, "McGonagall and I have already told you the rules, now we will show you what you need to do. Before we do that though, remind me of the rules, positions, and balls used in this game," "Sure," Harry said, "Each team has seven players: one keeper, two beaters, three chasers, and one seeker. The chasers and keeper deal with the quaffle," he said as he pointed to the red ball, "The chasers try to score it into the hoops on either side to get awarded 10 points a goal. The keeper tries to prevent that from happening." Oliver motioned to continue, "The beaters use these," Harry said as he picked up a small club and pointed it to the black rattling balls fastened in the chest, "To hit those bludgers to the other team and knock them off their brooms," He then picked up a tiny golden ball, "The seeker, me, has to catch the snitch before the other team's seeker does. The snitch is worth 150 points to catch since it's so fast and tough to see."
Oliver looked impressed. "Very good, Potter. Now, we would practice with the snitch, but it's dark and we don't want to lose it. So here are some golf balls. I'm going to throw them, and your job is to catch as many as you can," They flew into the air with their brooms and Oliver threw the golf balls in every direction he could. Harry caught every single one. "I think we're gonna take the cup this year," Oliver told Harry, who smiled as Oliver praised his skill.
We now find the Gryffindors in charms class. The subject: make an object fly. "Does everyone have their feathers?" Professor Flitwick asked. Everyone raised their feathers into the air. "Wonderful," He said, "Now, the incantation for this particular objective is wingardium leviosa. And don't forget the wand movement, swish and flick," Everyone divided into pairs and set to work making their feathers fly, or at least attempt to. Josh, Naruto, and Harry had little to no trouble getting their feathers off the table. Ron, however, was another story. "Wingardium leviosa!" he yelled, as he began waving his wand around. "Stop it, Ron. You're going to take someone's eye out. Besides, you're saying it wrong. LeviOsa, not leviosaa," Hermione said. "You do it then if you're so clever," Ron snapped back. "Fine," Hermione said as she lifted her wand, "Wingardium leviosa," the feather in front of her started to fly up into the air toward the ceiling. Ron looked on in anger. "Well done! Everyone look here. Ms. Granger has done it," Professor Flitwick said. Just then an explosion sounded in the room. Seamus' feather had blown up in his face, causing his face and robes to be covered in soot and dust. "I think we're going to need another feather, Professor," Harry said.
After class, the boys were walking through the courtyard as they listened to Ron ranting, "It's leviOsa, not leviosaaa. She's a nightmare. Honestly, no wonder she hasn't got any friends," Some agreed. While Harry Naruto, Josh, and Neville stayed silent. Harry felt someone aggressively bump into his shoulder running past him. He turned quickly enough to see Hermione running away and was sure he saw tears. "I think she heard you, Ron," he said, sounding rather disappointed. "If what you say is true then what are we to her?" piped Naruto, as he sped off after her. "He is right, you know. We are her friends, aren't we?" Josh asked Ron. He then turned and headed off after Naruto.
"I can never thank you enough for the kindness you've shown me, Hermione. You're my best friend," he heard as he neared the girl's bathroom. He reached Naruto when he heard Hermione's reply, "Naruto, can I be left alone for a bit?" Josh replied before Naruto could, "Take all the time you need, Hermione. Just know we're here for you if you need us," Hermione was shocked to hear Josh's voice, "Thank you, guys" was all she said. "Come on, Naru. We're going to be late for the next class," Josh said. They turned and set off to class.
That night, everyone was sitting at the Great Hall enjoying the Halloween feast. However, Harry, Naruto, and Josh noticed someone wasn't there. "Where's Hermione?" Harry asked. Neville spoke as he gulped down some candy, "Parvati Patil said that she wouldn't come out of the girl's bathroom, she said that she's been in there all afternoon crying…" he explained. Harry and Josh shared a look of disappointment at Ron, who turned to see Naruto, who had a dark look on his face. "Hey, I said I was sorry," Ron retorts. "Apologize to Hermione, not me you idiot, and you better do so, you wouldn't like what I have in store with you, and I never go back on my word when I say you wouldn't like it," Naruto said rather darkly. Ron looked rather pale hearing that.
Suddenly, Professor Quirrell burst into the hall. "TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! T-TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!" he yelled out frantically as everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. "Thought you ought to know," he said weakly, before promptly fainting. Soon everyone screamed and as they started to panic, Dumbledore got up from his seat, "SILENCE!" he bellowed, and everyone stopped. "Everyone please do not panic; Now, prefects will lead their houses back to their dormitories, and teachers will follow me to the dungeons," he said. Soon every prefect from their respective houses led them away to the dorms. "Gryffindors, keep up please, and stay alert!" Percy started, leading his house back to the dormitory. "How'd a troll get in?" Harry asked. "Not by itself, trolls are really stupid, probably someone's playing a prank" Ron replied. Naruto and Josh pulled both Harry and Ron to the side.
"What?" Ron questioned. "Hermione. She doesn't know!" he said and ran, Josh hot on his heels. Harry quickly followed them, with Ron trying to keep up. They ran through the dark corridors of the castle, and as they ran through the corridor they stopped to hide as they found a silhouette of the troll dragging its club as the troll entered a room. "The troll's going into the girl's bathroom" Ron warned. "Hermione's in there!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran into the bathroom.
Hermione walked out of the stall after crying for some time. As she washed her hands, she stopped when she heard a grunting noise. She turned to see a troll standing there; she gasped and backed up to a stall in fear. The troll used its club and smashed through the stalls. "Someone help!" She cried as the boys arrived just in time. The troll kept smashing through the remaining stalls. "Hey pea brain!" Ron shouted as he threw a piece of wood at the troll's head, getting its attention.
Hermione used the distraction to run from the broken stall and hide under a sink, but the troll noticed and proceeded to break through them. "Hermione!" Naruto called out to her as he brought out his wand, "Vermillious!" he yelled out as he shot red sparks at the troll. The beast covered its face from the sparks, grunting in pain. Hermione ran out and into Naruto's arms, and the five began to make a run for it. The troll was about to swing at them when all of a sudden, a barrage of red sparks staggered the troll. Harry, Ron, Josh, and Hermione look to see what happened. Naruto shot the barrage of sparks. Josh seemed to notice a slight change in Naruto's appearance. His hair looked a bit wilder than usual, his nails and teeth sharper, his whisker marks feral, and his eyes red and slit. Naruto glared at the troll with rage and readied his wand, which seemed to be glowing through its gem at the bottom of the handle as if it were amplifying his magic mixed with his chakra. "Vermillious!" he shouted, firing multiple red sparks, making the troll grunt in pain. Harry bravely, but rather stupidly, decided to jump onto the back of the troll. His wand, which he held in his hand when he jumped, was now sticking out of the troll's nose. The troll howled in anger and began to flail around to try and hit Harry. Suddenly, a whistling sound was heard (Think the whistling sound from "The Anomaly" in Spiderman ATSV but slow it down), as the ground seemed to move on its own and grip both of the troll's legs. The others looked to see Josh, glowing in a strange aura holding both arms up in the troll's direction. What was even stranger was that in the center of his chest was a glowing white circle. "Ron-" he yelled as the troll was swinging its arms blindly, trying to break free and get at Harry. "Swish and flick-" he continued. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron said as the club the troll was holding levitated away from his hand. The troll looks up only to have the club slam his head hard, knocking the troll out and rendering the troll unconscious. Naruto seemed back to normal after the dust was clear, and Josh's aura faded as quickly as it came. "Are you ok, Josh?" Hermione asked. "Yea. I'm fine." He replied "But forget about me. How's the troll? We didn't kill it, did we?" "I don't think so, just unconscious," Harry said, stowing his wand away after wiping it clean. "You sure you're ok, Josh? What was that aura?" Harry asked as he put away his wand. "I'm fine, guys, trust me," Josh replied "As for what that was, I'll tell you later. We have company," he continued as he looked toward the door of the bathroom.
Just then, McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell arrive at the scene looking shocked. "Oh! Oh, my goodness! E-Explain yourselves, the lot of you!" McGonagall demanded. Hermione interrupted before any of the boys could say anything to defend themselves, "It was my fault, Professor McGonagall," All eyes turned to her in shock, "I went looking for the troll, I read about them, and I thought I could handle it… but I was wrong, if they hadn't come and found me… I'd probably be dead," she half lied. McGonagall shook her head in disbelief, "Be that as it may… it was an extremely foolish thing to do, Ms. Granger" she said, "I would've expected much more rational behavior on your part. Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your serious lack of judgment," she says as she turns to the three boys. "As for you four gentlemen… I just hope you realize how fortunate you are, not many students let alone first years can take on a full-grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale, five points… will be added to each of you for sheer dumb luck" she states as she leaves with Snape. "Perhaps you ought to go… m-might wake-up, heh," Quirrell said as the students left. The troll moaned, frightening the timid teacher.
As the four were walking back to the common room, Ron began apologizing to Hermione, "Hermione, look I'm sorry for what I said earlier today and it's my fault for almost getting you killed in the first place," he said. Hermione smiled and accepted the apology. She then turned to Josh, "So, are you going to tell us what that was back there?" They all looked expectantly at him to figure out the cause of the aura. "I was actually hoping you would forget. I'll tell you when we get to the common room," Josh replied.
They got into the empty common room and made their way to the fire. Josh remained standing while the others sat on the sofa and armchairs. "Alright, where do you want me to start?" He asked them. "From the beginning seems best," Harry responded. Josh took a breath, and began, "As you know, I'm from another world. A world different from yours, filled with magic. Wizards, witches, warlocks, sorcerers, alchemists, conjurers, and mages made up the different sects and clans of my world. I was born a mage," "Wait," Hermione interrupted, "You're a mage?! Does Professor Dumbledore…" "Know?" Josh finished, "Yeah, he knows. I told him the first day I met him," He continued, "Mages excel in different types of magic; elemental, illusion, conjuring, summoning, energy projection, and telepathy to list a few. Those who are the high masters of their respective clans are called "Sages". Two sages are selected from each clan. My father, Benjamin, was one of them. The sages are basically the ruling government. But they also had a second job; to protect Bara's heir." "Protect who?" they asked, "Bara's heir," Josh repeated, "The story behind Bara's forming is not so well known. Some of it I don't really remember. What is known is that Bara was part of a greater power known as "The Pillar". It's unknown when the pillar arrived. The sages were charged with protecting the pillar, as well as learning its secrets and wisdom. About 2000 years ago, one of the sages lost his mind and sought to keep the power for himself. In doing this, he split the power in two, one half absorbed within himself. The other was called Bara and was absorbed into another sage. These two pieces of power granted the "heirs" to them an amplification of their abilities. This created a clash between the two sages. Who fought an epic battle for supremacy. Every so often when Bara's heir nears his or her death, Bara will enter a phase known as "Selection". During this phase, Bara would select its next heir. It would select its next heir based on the order of the clans that I have given you. Wizards were first and mages were last. This would take place in the appropriately dubbed "Selection Hall". The most recent selection was going to select a mage. I was the one chosen. After that, well, you know the rest,"
The four sat in silence as they pondered what they had just heard. Hermione then spoke up, "So you're telling us that what we saw was this power?" "That's right," Josh replied. "And the thing that killed your world is after this power?" Harry asked, "Also yes," Josh answered. "Whoa," said Ron, amazed and slightly fearful, "You got that right," said Naruto, "but this doesn't change anything from what we told you on our first day here; we're going to help you take this guy down. We're your friends, and we're going to help, whatever it takes," Josh smiled. "Back at you, guys,"
They decided to call it a night and head to sleep. As they were about to go to their respective dorms, Hermione called Naruto for a moment. "What's up?" asked Naruto when he was hugged by Hermione. "Thank you… for coming to save me" she whispered. Naruto blushed at the moment but smiled softly "It's ok…that's what friends are for. After all, you are very precious to me," he said. The brunette looks at him "Really?" she asks. "Yep, I make this vow that I'll protect the ones I hold dear to my heart no matter what… believe it," he said. The brunette smiled at his words and nodded. The two wished each other good night, and as Naruto entered his dorm, he saw Harry, Josh, and Ron giving him a knowing smirk. Naruto, seeing Ron smirking, decided to retort "Just because you apologized to Hermione, it doesn't mean that you're getting away that easily," Ron, looking like he's seen a ghost said "N-now let's be rational here mate, surely you wouldn't do it to me?" he asked. Naruto simply grinned even wider, as Ron gulped in fear, while Harry and Josh shook their heads in an amused fashion. The next day, Ron and a couple of other boys who made fun of Hermione ran down the hallway covered in orange paint and glitter as everybody laughed at them.