Chapter five
Chapter five
“There is no law yet in place that says this court’s job is to discipline Harry for every bit of magic he has ever performed. He has been charged with a specific offense and he has presented his defense. All he and I can do now is to await your sentence.” Dumbledore-sama’s voice echoed in the courtroom where Harry’s trial was being held.
Naruto was a bit confused, but also very suspicious. From what Dumble-sama had told him, he already knew that their Ministry didn’t particularly like Harry; however, this much conflict over something he gathered was not that uncommon –under aged magic or whatever they called it- was proof enough.
They also did not want the old professor there, Naruto guessed, if the sudden change for the time of the hearing and the ministers furious face upon his entry accounted for anything. They didn’t want any interference.
There were a lot of words that were frequently used that the shinobi didn’t understand –he’d have to ask about dementors later- so he opted for analyzing the plum robed witches and wizards around the room.
The Minister of magic himself was a bit of an underwhelming sight, compared to what Naruto had pictured in his mind.
He had expected the leader of the wizarding world to have the air of authority and respect the Kages back home had; even the Tsuchikage who barely reached Naruto’s thigh in height and rivaled Dumbledore-sama in age, could silence a hall just with his presence.
Fudge definitely looked old enough to have the experience; however, him losing his temper with every word Dumble-sama spoke and going red in the face definitely made him look like an angry child who was being denied of something.
Naruto couldn’t even bring himself to look at the woman (?) who was sitting next to the minister. Even though she had dark robes on, he could still see the horrible shade of pink she wore underneath. Her face; Naruto felt ashamed for a moment because he thought she looked like his toad summons from mount Myoboku, then quickly shook his head.
He would never disrespect his toads like that again.
The woman gave off wicked vibes, and Naruto had learnt to trust his instincts long ago. He would have to keep an eye on her if he had the misfortune of meeting her again.
He didn’t dare think about her shrill voice again, so he quickly started analyzing the situation.
The Ministry was clearly attacking the boy he was supposed to protect, trying to take away his credibility and stop him from going to the school where Dumbledore had the power. Naruto wasn’t exactly sure why yet, but he figured it had something to do with this Voldemort figure coming back.
Why were they so afraid of one man, and denied his return so vehemently?
Naruto, more than most people, could understand the pure power and terror one man could invoke into the hearts of even the toughest warriors.
He had met Uchiha Madara, after all.
But these people refused to even consider the possibility that the man they feared might be back, which was horrible strategizing in the shinobi’s book.
How would they prepare to fight him if they didn’t even acknowledge his return?
He was understanding the reason behind this odd mission he was assigned to a bit more as he listened in on the hearing. Harry would be this dark wizards first target if he was truly back, and having an unknown ally protecting him would be a useful tool for Dumbledore. This was why the old geezer had trusted him so easily, Naruto figured. He was taking a risk.
Some movements caught his eye and he brought his attention back to the room.
They had asked for a vote, and he was relieved to see the majority were in favor of Potter.
The old professor strode out the door without a look behind him, leaving an uncertain boy still sitting in the middle of the room staring at his back. Naruto contemplated going down and talking to Potter, but he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to reveal his jutsu just yet. Dumbledore-sama had kindly asked him to refrain from revealing his nature as a shinobi for now, so he stayed where he was and only followed the boy when he went out to greet Mr. Weasley.
Harry Potter could not be more relieved. He could still hear his heart hammering against his chest, his toes still a little numb from stress. But he was so, so relieved.
He would be going back to Hogwarts.
He was going back home.
He watched as the wizards who had just decided his fate slowly trickled out of the room. He was a little hurt that Dumbledore hadn’t waited to talked to him –or even looked at him, for Merlin’s sake- but he didn’t want to think about that now.
Mr. Weasley congratulated him thoroughly as they walked back to the elevator; however, their good mood was cut short as they had the pleasure of running into Lucius Malfoy.
Him and the Minister were standing at the edge of a dark corridor, whispering quietly –and not suspiciously at all.
They broke off mid-conversation and turned towards him.
Malfoy senior was a tall man with sleek blonde hair that was tied back into a low ponytail, and a pointed, pale face.
The encounter did not go well; last time Harry had looked into those pale grey eyes had been at the cemetery where Cedric had died, in the circle of Death Eaters. He couldn’t believe this man could roam the Ministry so freely after what Harry had told Fudge about Lucius’ true loyalties; though with the way they denied the events he shouldn’t be surprised.
He stormed off into the lift, half listening to Mr. Weasley explain how Malfoy exploited the Ministry with his wealth. Thinking about Cedric’s death was not easy for him.
The doors slid open and they stepped out into the now much less crowded Atrium. They had walked straight past the golden fountain before Harry remembered something.
His eyes widened as he stopped in his tracks.
“Where the hell is Uzumaki?”
Mr. Weasley visibly paled.
“Hey, hey, Potter-san; you really should pay more attention to your surroundings ya know!”
Harry would have shrieked if it was socially acceptable to do so in the Ministry of Magic.
He whirled around and was met with the absolutely unmissable orange of Uzumaki’s clothes.
“Where were you?” Harry exclaimed. He was certain the boy hadn’t been with them on the way to the hearing, and he was definitely not there on their way back.
Uzumaki had the nerve to smile innocently.
“I’ve been with you the whole time. That’s my job now, remember?”
It was as if he was intentionally trying to piss Harry off. It was infuriating.
The head of the formidable Weasley clan led them back to the grimy old place. Upon arrival, Naruto was pleasantly surprised to see everyone celebrating Harry’s clearance, with Mrs. Weasley having prepared lunch and the twins (which Naruto could only tell apart by scent) and the Weasley girl doing a weird ritualistic dance while chanting “He got off! He got off!”
It was a nice change of atmosphere, Naruto thought. Everyone had been so serious and glum the past few days, he was about to go mad. He already got enough serious and glum from Uchiha.
He felt a tug on his sleeve, and his hand instinctively went to his kunai pouch on his thigh. Thankfully he stopped just in time as he processed the red hair and the words Potters freckled friend spoke.
“C’mon mate. Moms made delicious food; she asked me to get you too.”
Naruto didn’t need to be told twice.
The food was indeed delicious; a lot greasier than he was used to, but that was fine by him. What he didn’t like was the distrusting looks the people around the table kept shooting at him.
He could almost feel it coming before Harry’s godfather even opened his mouth.
“So, Naruto. Didn’t they ask for your wand for examination in the ministry?”
“Nope; they must’ve not noticed me slip by, they were so busy gawking at Harry,” he replied with a grin.
The man’s eyes narrowed, obviously not believing him, so Naruto spoke up again before the man could.
“Say, say, Potter-san. Why was Dumbledore-sama ignoring you at the hearing?”
He could immediately see the effect of his words on Potters body. His jaw locked, shoulders stiffened and his knuckles turned white around the knife he was cutting his meat with. Body language was universal, and Naruto could clearly feel anger radiating off the boy’s body. What was up with him anyway?
Remus Lupin jumped to his feet before Harry could murder the boy.
“Naruto, Harry. I have some boxes I need to bring up from the basement; however, unfortunately it seems the previous owners have charmed them so I can’t levitate them.
Would you two please help me move them after lunch?”
Remus could feel the Orders glares on his back.
“Not with him!”
“Sure!”
Harry and Naruto answered simultaneously.
“Great! meet me at the base of the stairs in twenty minutes then.” Remus smiled calmly, sitting down and going back to his food and ignoring Harry’s venomous glare.
He had noticed the not-so-subtle tension between Harry and the boy. Remus himself still wasn’t sure what to feel about Naruto; he was unknown to them, and the werewolf hadn’t missed how little the shinobi revealed of himself.
But, again, Remus wasn’t a fool, and he knew Dumbledore certainly wasn’t either. He could feel the blonde boy was powerful; in a very unfamiliar and mysterious way, but still powerful. Something about the boy set the wolf in him on edge, but even he had to admit Naruto’s bright personality had grown on him a bit.
So he decided that he would give the two boys a chance to spend time together; maybe that would help Harry lower his guards towards the shinobi, even if slightly. They couldn’t always be fighting if they were to spend the year together.
Harry Potter was tired of feeling angry. It seemed like that was the only emotion he felt nowadays; angry with the Dursley’s, with his friends, with the Order, with Dumbledore. Angry with the boy he didn’t even know.
He was exhausted. Why couldn’t they just tell him what was going on for once?
This whole secrecy had always ended badly; didn’t they learn anything from the past?
He didn’t even have the energy to look angry while he waited for Uzumaki to show up after lunch. It didn’t mean he wasn’t though.
Why was he late anyway?
“Isn’t Naruto here yet?” he heard Lupin as he approached him.
Harry opened his mouth to say no, he is not here and Harry had already been waiting for a few minutes and-
“Sorry, sorry!” Naruto’s voice chirped from behind him, “I had to find my headband.”
Harry glanced at the headband wrapped around the boy’s forehead. He’d already seen him wear it a few times, but Harry hadn’t really paid attention to it. He tried to make out what the swirly symbol on it was. Was that a leaf?
“Alright, now that both of you are here I will say this once.” Remus looked at them sharply, “be extremely cautious with the boxes; they contain magical tools and artifacts that might be of use to the Order, but also could be potentially harmful if not handled with care.”
Naruto’s eyes widened with excitement while Harry’s face soured.
He was not looking forward to this.
As they descended down into the basement, Harry could tell it hadn’t been cleaned in years. It was dark and dusty, and he could see shelves lining the walls and..
So, it turned out, Lupin had lied.
There weren’t just a few boxes in the basement. There were dozens of them.
Harry turned to look at the other boy to see if he shared his distress; To his surprise, he only saw determination.
“Alright!” Naruto said, a bit too loud, “let’s do this.” His grin was annoying Harry; how could someone be so excited about menial labor?
He sighed and walked over to the closest box and got ready to lift.
Harry had never disliked his favorite former defense against the dark arts teacher as much as he did at that exact moment.
These boxes were heavy.
Harry cursed silently as he struggled to keep his balance as he lifted the first box; this was going to be torture.
He looked over at Naruto, hoping that seeing him suffer a little too would make Harry feel better about himself.
The boy was carrying not one box, but three boxes stacked on top of each other; and he was already halfway up the stairs.
Harry gaped. How was that even possible? It shouldn’t even be possible to keep balance with the way the boy had stacked up those boxes like jenga pieces, never mind the weight!
If possible, Harry disliked the boy a little bit more then.
They must be lighter boxes than his own boxes. That would be the only explanation. Lighter boxes.
After what seemed like forever (although it was probably a few minutes) Harry was exhausted.
His limbs were on fire, his back ached and he was panting. How come he got all the heavy boxes and Naruto all the light ones? It was just his rotten luck.
He couldn’t take it anymore.
“Please,” he panted out, “let’s take a short break.”
He sat down on the dusty floor unceremoniously.
Naruto looked confused for a moment, but then he shrugged and sat across him on the floor.
A few seconds passed.
“Who are you, really?” Harry blurted out.
The other boy’s eyebrows furrowed and he hesitated for a moment.
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you here? I don’t buy into that whole protecting me story. You’re the same age as me,” Harry snapped.
He just wanted some answers, man.
“I’m not the same as you, Potter-san. Please have more trust in my abilities to protect you,” Naruto replied softly.
“Why do you wear that headband?”
Naruto seemed surprised at his unrelated question.
“It’s.. it’s special to me. It represents my home.”
“And where is your home?”
More hesitation.
“It’s far away from here.” That was the enlightening answer Naruto came up with.
Harry’s temper wasn’t taking this conversation well. He wanted to scream.
“Just tell me already!” he cried, “why is everyone so against sharing things with me?”
“I can’t tell you yet, alright? It’s a part of my contract with Dumble-sama.”
Did he just call professor Dumbledore Dumble-sama?
What was up with those weird things he said after names anyway?
Harry was getting impatient.
“Where did Dumbledore even find you?”
“He-”
Everything happened so fast Harry had trouble comprehending it.
There was a loud squeaking noise, and in an instant Harry was roughly shoved away; Naruto stood where he had been only a second ago, holding the huge shelf that had been attached to the wall above Harry’s head on his shoulders.
Harry’s heart was racing; how had he moved so fast? He had been sitting at least a few feet away from Harry, it should be impossible to cross that distance and catch the shelf and push him out of the way in barely a second!
“Are you okay Potter-san?”
That snapped Harry back to reality. He had been staring at the boy with stunned eyes, he realized.
That boy had just potentially saved his life.
Naruto was thankful to the man Harry had kept cursing under his breath. He hadn’t gotten to do anything physical since he got here, and even if it was just moving boxes he still appreciated the movement he got. The job reminded him of the D-rank missions they used to take on as a genin team, before Sasuke had left the village.
It had also been kind of fun watching Harry struggle with the boxes.
Didn’t these magicians get any sort of exercise at all?
He didn’t appreciate Harry pressing him for answers about who he was, but he could understand why the boy would act the way he did.
It only made Naruto more determined to befriend the boy.
Over the next few days, Harry seemed to soften a bit towards him. Naruto suspected it had something to do with the little incident down in the basement; but it was a start, and he would take it.
They would leave in the morning for the school, and it seemed all of the wizard children had left packing for the last possible moment; it was easy to say that it was a chaotic night.
Everything Naruto had to his name in this world consisted of his clothes and the kunai pouch which held a few kunai, shuriken and some sealing scrolls.
Oh and also the stuff the old man had given him for school, but he had no idea what to do with half of them so he just left them alone; so he didn’t really need to pack anything.
He lay on his bed, tuning out the loud voices from downstairs.
Getting to Hogwarts would be the first real step in his journey to go back home.
Shinobi didn’t need nearly as much sleep as civilians; but Naruto decided a good night’s sleep couldn’t hurt while he had the chance.
He drifted off to sleep, thinking about a certain pale skinned boy.
“Mudbloods! Scum! Vile creatures of dirt!”
Naruto groaned. He was sick and tired of waking up to the screaming painting every morning.
He got up groggily; he could already hear the wizards up and about, so he put on his jacket and picked up the trunk and bags Dumbledore-sama had given him and left the attic.
“…better hurry up; mom’s going ballistic, saying we’re gonna be late,” he heard Ron Weasley’s voice on his way down.
After about half an hour, they were almost ready to leave the house when one of the first things that had truly surprised Naruto in the wizards’ world happened.
Potter’s godfather –Sirius- turned into a dog.
This was nothing like what Kiba, or members from the Inuzuka clan did; he used no magic, no jutsu, nothing.
Just straight up. Turned into a dog.
Naruto was fascinated; he resisted the urge to ask the man –dog- if he had any connections to the Inuzuka; and he followed them out into the street.
It took around twenty minutes to get to the train station –apparently train is what the long moving metal boxes are called- by foot; nothing really happened on the way except Sirius scaring a few cats for Potters entertainment, but Naruto was still very much mesmerized by the city.
He was sure the wizards were messing with him when they told him to run through a wall.
He was shocked to find out they weren’t.
As he emerged from the other side of the wall, his eyes widened. It was as if he was in another dimension altogether; the platform was packed with people, mostly students saying their last goodbyes to their parents. There were cages with weird animals –some he couldn’t even identify- inside them, and a huge red train released sooty steam into the air.
It was truly a magical sight.
He was so engrossed by what he was seeing he almost let Potter crash into him from behind. Almost.
Once everyone was there, they started making their way towards the train.
“Nice dog, Harry!” a boy with dark skin and hair like Killer Bee called out.
Damn, Naruto missed that guy.
Finally, after what seemed like forever of the wizards saying their goodbyes –the only one to say it to Naruto had been Mrs. Weasley- they boarded the train and the figures on the platform blurred away.
Naruto was still not used to the sensation, so he sent a little chakra to his feet to keep more steady.
“Shall we go find a compartment, then?” Potter asked his friends.
They both looked incredibly guilty.
“Er..”
“Well.. um.. Ron and I are supposed to go into the prefect carriage,” Hermione mumbled while looking anywhere but at her friend.
“Oh,” Harry said flatly, “right. Fine”
“I don’t think we have to be there for the whole trip though,” Hermione added hurriedly.
“It’s fine Hermione. I’ll.. I’ll just find a compartment with Naruto then.” Harry didn’t sound happy about that, but Naruto got the feeling it wasn’t because of him this time.
He was being uncharacteristically quiet, so he spoke up.
“Yeah! We will find the best place to sit, and we’ll even save you seats for when you come back ya know!”
Hermione’s spirits lifted a bit and she smiled appreciatively at him before they left.
Naruto and Harry walked down the corridor, peering through the glass-paneled doors into the compartments they passed, which were already full.
Naruto could not help noticing that a lot of the kids stared at Potter with great interest; some of them even nudged their friends to point him out and whisper about him.
He frowned. He knew their newspaper had been publishing a lot of bad things about the boy, but he hadn’t expected it to be to this extent.
In one of the last compartments, there seemed to be some empty seats. Naruto looked in from the window; there was a dirty-blonde girl staring out the window, and a round-faced blonde boy struggling to hold a… was that a toad?
Naruto opened the compartment door without a second thought and entered.
The girl barely glanced at him while the boy looked shocked.
“Ah!” the boy yelped as the toad jumped out of his hands and started bouncing around the compartment.
The shinobi caught the toad –midair- effortlessly, and after only a moment of analyzing it with wonder offered it back to the startled boy.
“Tha-thank you,” the boy said shakily with wide eyes. His gaze landed on Potter and he seemed to brighten up. “Hi, Harry.”
“Hey Neville. Mind if we sit here?” Potter was already struggling to put his trunk and owl cage in what Naruto assumed was the luggage rack.
“Feel free.” Neville nodded.
Naruto helped Potter with his luggage, which got an annoyed huff out of the boy, then proceeded to put his own stuff up and took a seat.
The round faced boy was staring at Naruto with curious, wide eyes.
“Um.. I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Are- are you in our year?” he asked nervously.
Thanks to Dumble-sama, Naruto had practiced his answers perfectly.
“No; this is actually my first year in Hogwarts. I am a transfer student from east Asia. I will be a fifth year.” He lied smoothly. He didn’t miss the dirty look Potter shot him; guess the boy didn’t like lies.
If possible, Neville’s eyes got even wider.
“I’ve never heard of a foreign transfer student; I’m Neville Longbottom,” he extended a damp hand. Naruto took it without hesitation and grinned.
“My name is Naruto Uzumaki, the way you people say it. I like your toad, Neville.”
Harry Potter watched Uzumaki and Neville hold a very serious conversation about toads.
It was disturbing, so he turned to the girl who was still staring out her window. She looked vaguely familiar –a Ravenclaw, maybe- but Harry didn’t know her name.
The more he looked at her though, he couldn’t tell whether she or the conversation about toads were weirder.
“Hi,” he said tentatively.
She looked at him with pale eyes.
“Hello. I’m Luna Lovegood,” she said in a dreamy voice, as if she wasn’t really here, “and you’re Harry Potter.”
Harry was taken aback.
“I know I am” he replied.
She nodded, then pulled out a magazine from behind her and started reading it upside down.
Toads, Harry decided, was the better option here; so he turned back to Uzumaki and Neville.
He had turned back just in time to see a plant Neville had been showing the other boy explode.
Liquid squirted from every boil on the plant, thick, stinking, dark green jets of it; they hit the ceiling, the windows, and spattered Luna Lovegood’s magazine.
Harry, who hadn’t had any time to react, received a face full.
“S-sorry,” Neville gasped. “I haven’t tried that before.. Didn’t realize it would be quite so… Don’t worry, though, Stinksap’s not poisonous,” he added nervously, as Harry spat a mouthful onto the floor.
The only person who did not have a drop of pus on them was Uzumaki, who had suddenly disappeared and reappeared in the furthest corner of the compartment.
Again, how the fuck had he done that?
At that precise moment, the door to the compartment opened.
“Oh.. hello Harry.” Cho Chang’s voice came through. “bad time?”
It was then that Harry wished the pus had been poisonous.
After Cho very quickly closed the door again, Harry slumped back in his seat. He glared at Uzumaki, who cleaned his seat next to Neville and sat down.
Wasn’t he supposed to be protecting him?
Why was Harry the one covered in stinksap in this situation?
He was so ready for this train ride to be over.
After Luna Lovegood made all the mess disappear with the spell scourgify, it took Ron and Hermione almost an hour to show up and share the brilliant news that Malfoy had also been elected Prefect.
This ride just couldn’t get any better, could it?
Wrong.
The door to their compartment door slid open for the third time.
The sight of Draco Malfoy smirking from between his lackeys was not at all pleasant to him.
“What?” he said aggressively, before Malfoy could open his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Uzumaki shift in his seat.
“Manners, Potter, or I’ll have to give you a detention,” drawled Malfoy, looking as ferret-y as possible, “You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments.”
“Yeah,” said Harry, “but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone.”
Harry’s friends laughed in the compartment; Malfoy snarled at him.
“Tell me, how does it feel to be second best to Weasley, Potter?”
Uzumaki abruptly stood up.
“That’s enough, ya know. Leave.”
Malfoy took a startled step back, seemingly not noticing him before.
He scowled and turned his attention to the new student.
“And who might you be?”
“I’m a new student; please leave.”
Harry was surprised by Naruto’s tone. He didn’t remember hearing the boy this serious before; it sent chills down Harry’s back.
Malfoy seemed to sense it too, because he narrowed his eyes and took another half a step back.
“Hogwarts rarely has new students at your age,” He said slowly. “anyway, if I were you, I wouldn’t surround myself with mudbloods and losers like this bunch. Crabbe, Goyle, come on.” And with one last malicious look at Harry, he slammed the door shut and left.
The change in Naruto’s demeanor was instantaneous. A second ago, he looked like he was ready to beat that ferret into a pulp; now he was chuckling awkwardly and rubbing the back of his neck as he sat down next to Neville and asked to pet his toad.
A look around the wide eyes around him told him he wasn’t the only one who noticed.