You're Not Snape
Chapter 11: You're Not Snape
Naruto-
Naruto had been sleeping peacefully. Kakashi-sensei was on on guard, so Naruto knew nothing bad would happen, but he woke when he heard Kakashi-sensei and Gai-san talking.
Gai-san said, “My friend, no one wants Sasuke’s to fail. Yes, my Cell has it’s duty if that happens, but we don’t want it to happen. We are all on the same side. We all want Sasuke to succeed and complete this mission without incident. We aren’t enemies. Is that what’s been bothering you all night?”
“I never want to be your enemy.” Kakashi-sensei’s voice was subdued. “But... Sasuke’s eyes were burned. His face was covered with blisters and his eyes... his sharigan... if his eyes are damaged beyond repair and he loses his sharigan then he loses his value. The Hokage made it very clear - she spared his life because of his sharigan. If he loses the sharigan... is that a failure? Does he fail the mission? Does he die if he goes blind?”
Naruto’s eyes flew open with alarm.
“Kakashi, the Hokage ordered that if Sasuke forsakes the mission and makes an attempt to rejoin Orochimaru or shows clear signs that he is a danger to the village, he is to be killed. A wound taken in the course of a mission is not a betrayal. It never once crossed my mind to eliminate him when he was injured.”
“I hope the Hokage feels the same if we return to the village and Sasuke’s too injured to fight. If she decides he has no value... I need a walk. I’ll be back in a bit.”
When Kakashi-sensei had gone, Gai-san and Neji spoke for a bit and Naruto listened right up until Neji suggested that Sasuke couldn’t be trusted. Naruto had known - they'd all known - what would happen to Sasuke if he failed. That didn't mean Naruto had to like it or that he would just stand back and let it happen. He’d almost exploded.
Sasuke had made a mistake. Yes, it was a really huge mistake, but a mistake. And what gave everyone the right to treat him like dirt? Like none of them had ever made a mistake in their lives! Naruto had never met a single person who was perfect - except Iruka - and Sasuke was as good as a brother to Naruto. He was family. It wasn’t fair that the whole village was set against him. He’d paid for what he’d done and he had suffered at the hands of Orochimaru more than anyone, if his nightmares were anything to judge by. Naruto didn’t really know what Orochimaru had done to Sasuke, only that it must have been awful. Iruka and Kakashi-sensei had whispered conversations about Sasuke’s nightmares, but when Naruto had asked about what had happened to Sasuke, Sasuke had gone pale and Iruka would tell Naruto that Sasuke would talk about it when he was ready, but not to bother him. Naruto had gotten the message loud and clear that whatever had been done to Sasuke had been so awful that it had injured Sasuke in a way no one wanted to talk about. Naturally, Naruto’s protective instincts had flared up and he felt a desperate need to defend Sasuke against anyone who might want to hurt him.
Unable to hold his emotions in check any longer, Naruto abruptly sat up and growled at Neji, “Stupid Neji!” Naruto pushed himself up and sat on his knees. "Who are YOU to call Sasuke 'not stable'?” He looked at Gai. “Where did Kakashi-sensei go?"
"That way," Gai pointed in the general direction Kakashi had gone. "Don't be angry with Neji. We all must do our duty to the village. He acts on the orders of the Hokage."
"Yeah? His orders suck eggs," Naruto told Gai and Neji before setting off in the direction he'd seen Kakashi-sensei go.
Naruto had gone some distance, always just a short distance behind Kakashi-sensei, when he felt that something was wrong. The air was wrong. A heavy fog was spreading quickly through the trees. Naruto coughed and stopped running. There was a strange taste in his mouth. He licked his lips and spat to get rid of the taste but it didn't work. The taste of copper and something foul was coating the inside of his mouth, sliding down his throat like viscous blood.
Deep inside Naruto, the demon Kyuubi, stirred. Naruto could feel Kyuubi's power reach out. Stubbornly, Naruto did his best to suppress Kyuubi's power. It was one of his worst fears. He had nightmares that one day Kyuubi would become powerful enough to fully take over and Naruto would be the one imprisoned in his own mind while the demon used his body for whatever it pleased.
Kyuubi pushed harder, sending its red chakra to Naruto's mouth and lungs. Naruto had the definite impression that Kyuubi was telling him not to be foolish. It would heal him; Kyuubi had done it many times in the past.
‘Leave me alone!’ Naruto rubbed at his itching eyes. ‘I don't need you. I can do this myself! I'm strong enough without you!’
No sooner than he'd thought it, that Naruto was suddenly light headed. He gripped the sides of his head as his ears started to ring. There was amusement and anger that wasn't his. Kyuubi's presence, the forceful pushing, vanished. There was a moment when Naruto felt off-balance. Kyuubi's power was gone, completely pulled into the prison that kept Kyuubi away sealed inside Naruto. Naruto steadied himself, but just as the dizziness left him, agony hit.
His lungs felt like they were filled with fire. The pain was so intense that he lost his balance on the tree branch and fell.
The fall wasn't bad, except that landing made Naruto inadvertently draw in a deep breath. His eyes watered. His hands were shaking. Naruto tried to stand, but the pain started to flow through his arms and legs. He had to try twice before he could make it to his feet. Just as he started to head back to base, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. The painful mist was coming from that way, he was sure. It was coming from the direction Kakashi-sensei had gone. Naruto swallowed hard and grimaced. He clenched his teeth and ran to find Kakashi-sensei. He didn't get far. No more than fifty yards had passed before Naruto could go no further.
The thick fog was everywhere and it felt like it was going right into his chest. Naruto clutched at his throat. He tried not to breathe, but that didn't stop the pain. It was everywhere. Pulsing inside every part of his body. In so much pain that he could barely see for the stars dancing in front of his eyes, Naruto sank to the ground. He was shaking and couldn't stop. No matter how hard he tried, his whole body kept trembling so violently that he thought he'd never stop.
Then, Kakashi-sensei was in front of him.
Naruto felt ashamed of how he was unable to control the shaking. "Can't stop," Naruto said, hoarsely. "Hurts. Everything hurts."
"I know. Don't speak." Kakashi-sensei picked Naruto up like he was a baby and leapt into the trees, carrying him back to base.
Being carried in such a way was strange. He did have any memories of being carried like that, but he felt perfectly safe. As he was carried, Naruto felt the world grow distant. Sounds seemed to fade and darkness closed in until the only thing Naruto could see was Kakashi-sensei's gray hair and even that soon vanished into nothing.
Kyuubi was rattling its chains.
Naruto stood in the corridors of his mind. It was a dark, unhappy place. He felt cold. The darkness in his mind was a terrible thing, a blackness that frightened Naruto. From that darkness he heard the scratching of Kyuubi's claws and the grinding of the fox demon's terrible teeth.
Slowly, cautiously, Naruto moved towards the darkness. Naruto's breath caught in his throat. His blood ran cold. "Hey. Hey, fox! What's going on? What's happening?"
"What is happening is that we are in pain and you are so foolish that you will not allow me to stop the pain. Come closer, kit."
Naruto didn't want to. He didn't want to get any closer to Kyuubi than he had to. Still, he moved into the darkness until the massive bars of Kyuubi’s prison came into sight and Naruto trembled at the vision of Kyuubi's fearsome eyes watching him. "What's happening to me? Why does it hurt so badly?"
"Burnt blood. Ruined, wasted blood. A group of humans killed a spider and used it’s blood to create a potion that perfumed the air with a noxious poison and you breathed that poison in simply because you were concerned for your sensei." The fearful eyes glared at Naruto, even as Kyuubi let out a laugh. "And you do not need me." The massive eyes were wider than Naruto remembered them being. The grinning maw was no longer grinning, but tight and unhappy. "I am not all-powerful. Demons do die. If you wished our death, there are less painful ways than this slow burning."
Naruto stared and got angry. He put one arm around himself, holding his opposite arm. "I'm not trying to kill either of us. I just… I just don't NEED you. Don't you understand?"
"Understand what? Pride? No. I am not burdened with such a human failing. I can make you stronger than any human could dream to become and you refuse. Do you see how it is? Without me, you are weak. You are just another human fluttering towards death. If you would see what we can do, together, your life could be so much more interesting."
That was the whole trouble. Naruto DID know that Kyuubi could be a great advantage. He DID understand that with Kyuubi, he was stronger than anyone with the possible exception of Gaara, who, like Naruto, had a demon living inside him. But Neji was strong without a demon's aid. Tsunade was strong without a demon. So was Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke was strong. If they could be strong and respected without the help of a demon, then Naruto knew he could, too. He didn't want to rely on Kyuubi's strength. "I'm not weak. I'm just as strong as… "
"And there lies your misconception," Kyuubi purred. "You are not an 'I'."
"What?"
"There is no 'I' between us. We are one."
"I'm not a demon. I'm me!"
"Nor am I a human, but we are both one. There is no separating us. From the moment of your birth and my downfall, we have been one. A combined being. Our minds… our bodies… we are not truly separate. I will not have your pride endanger our life. The ruined blood of the spider weakens you, it is meant to kill. It befouls us. Taints our blood." Kyuubi let out a great roar and Naruto felt the demon’s anger surge through him. Kyuubi clawed at the floor making it shake and sent Naruto to his knees.
Naruto covered his ears with his hands to block out the nightmarish sound of Kyuubi's fury. "Why are you doing this? I'm not trying to kill you! I just… I can be strong without you. It's not like you're always helping out. What about when I was sick? Iruka-sensei said I almost died. You can heal every little scratch I have, but you'll let a stupid germ kill me?"
Kyuubi's mouth curved back into a smile, showing off its sword-like teeth. "You were being stubborn then, as well. Perhaps I allowed the fever to run too long. You seem to have forgotten our little… discussion. Regardless, it seems you've made up your mind to be stubborn. Enjoy your pride and suffer alone."
Naruto was pushed roughly away from Kyuubi…
...
...
…
Sakura-chan was dragging her finger around his lips. She smiled softly. "It's about time you woke up. Kakashi-sensei told me everything. I've got the blisters around your mouth mostly taken care of. Where else hurts?"
Naruto tried to raise a hand to his mouth. He could barely move. "Everything. My throat… lungs, mostly."
Over Sakura's shoulder, Naruto could see Gai and Kakashi-sensei. Kakashi-sensei's back was to Naruto and, strangely enough, his mask was off. Kakashi-sensei shook the mask out as he spoke to Gai. It seemed odd to hear Kakashi-sensei's voice without it being muffled by the mask. "I don't know how or why, but that mist will be a good weapon, if they manage to refine the potion. As it is, it's too dangerous to use. It just goes everywhere without direction. They're a threat to the school - and to us."
"It is a good thing you were wearing this." Gai took the mask from Kakashi-sensei and raised it to his face. He breathed deeply before he said, "I don't smell anything. You can put it back on."
Kakashi-sensei snatched the mask from Gai. "Thanks. Next time, think before you do that. If it had any of that stuff lingering on it… "
"Then you would have found out and you would have known not to put it on. Haruno-san, how is Uzumaki-san?" Gai stepped around Kakashi-sensei to speak to Sakura.
As soon as Gai had left him, Kakashi-sensei tied his mask back on. When he turned around, his face was covered just as it always was. Naruto wondered why Gai got to see Kakashi-sensei's face, but no one else was allowed to. Was even Iruka barred from seeing Kakashi-sensei's face?
"He'll be fine, as near as I can tell. It was close, though. There's something in his blood, but I believe it will fade given time." Sakura did what she could for Naruto, cleaning the burns around his mouth and nose and giving him a dose of a painkiller as well as some soothing touches of her hands. When she was done, she half-way turned to look at Kakashi-sensei and Gai. "He'll heal, but only because he wasn't exposed too long. Any longer and he'd be dead. Whatever that stuff is, it's bad."
Kakashi-sensei nodded. "We knew there was trouble here. That's why the mission ranking was so high. How do you feel, Naruto? Can you continue?"
"Yes, sir." Naruto croaked out the words quickly. "Where is everyone? Tenten and Neji were here when I left."
Sakura smiled. "Neji went exploring, again. When Tenten told me what had happened, Neji was already under the school looking around. Just lay still. Oh!" She turned again to Kakashi-sensei. "Almost forgot. On my way here, I saw a carriage approaching the school. You remember that road we saw? It was there, pulled by half-a-dozen fancy white horses. Might want to have Sasuke keep an eye out."
Hogwarts-
Sasuke-
In the bitter, gusting wind, Sasuke sat on the high bleachers that surrounded the Quidditch pitch. Just a day after the incident with Boggart, he had learned a good deal from Malfoy-san, but his mind was almost entirely on his Cell. He’d had no news of what had happened to Naruto since Sakura had left to tend him. Was he hurt very badly? Was he dead?
‘What if he is dead? What would I tell Iruka-sensei? What do I do without Naruto?’
The thought of Naruto being dead, completely out of Sasuke’s life, was nearly unbearable. He just couldn’t imagine it. If Sakura died... if Kakashi-sensei died... Iruka-sensei... Sasuke knew he wouldn’t be able to stand losing any of them.
After he'd left his meeting with Sakura, Tenten, and Neji, Sasuke had managed to find Malfoy-san alone in his dorm room. Malfoy-san lay on his bed, looking up at the bright green canopy. The obsession with House colors mystified Sasuke. Malfoy-san was smiling with his hands draped over his chest. Several discarded textbooks lay on the floor around his bed. "What do you want, Snape?"
"Information."
Malfoy-san laughed and turned his head enough to look at Sasuke. "What else? Close the door and ask away. What information, exactly, do you want?"
Sasuke didn't move into the room, but he did close the door as Malfoy-san had told him to. "Tell me exactly what Voldemort wants."
Malfoy-san frowned. "Funny. I thought I had. Ah, well." He told Sasuke, in detail, the plans of Voldemort. He told Sasuke about the man's intractable position that only those of pureblood should be allowed any power at all. He told Sasuke how the man he called 'lord' was poised to begin a civil war, not with the government, but with the headmaster of Hogwarts.
"He's a visionary. He knows how things should be and he knows how to get it done!" Malfoy-san spoke with such passion that Sasuke didn't doubt the boy's absolute belief in Voldemort.
The next day, classes had been canceled for the Quidditch game. Sasuke didn't mind. It just meant there was less chance of being discovered if he wasn't expected to do lessons. Sasuke had around his throat a scarf he'd found in Snape-san's marvelous bag and a heavy cloak. No one sat near him, but that was all the better for observation. With a small spy-glass that everyone seemed to have, Sasuke would be able to watch the game as well as the other students. He could even see those boys, the Marauders, on the opposite side of the pitch.
‘They,’ he decided, ‘are as big a hazard to Hogwarts as Malfoy-san.’
Such easily amused children. Such cruel children.
If he, or any shinobi, were to behave as those boys did they would be sure to face their deaths. Shinobi weren't known for their sense of humor. At the very least, they would have a formal reprimand from the Hokage. At their age, they would have been treated as adults in Konohagakure and their pranks would be crimes at worst and embarrassing to the rest of the village at best.
Sasuke focused his spy-glass on Black-san and his bright, smiling face. Black-san said something to one of the others and they all laughed. Sasuke imagined any of them facing Zabuza-san, and he almost laughed. Zabuza-san would not take kindly to pranks of any kind.
"Are you going to actually do anything to them or just stare?" Malfoy-san slid into the seat next to Sasuke and smirked at him. Sasuke wondered if the other boy did it on purpose or if the smug smirks were just natural. "You've been staring at them for ten minutes. Have they done something?"
Sasuke lowered the spy-glass. "Nothing I can't handle."
"Have you planned anything for your revenge, yet?" Malfoy-san ran a hand over his hair to smooth it. "Leave it too long and they won't remember what they're being punished for. Gryffindors don't have notoriously long memories."
"I'm working on something." Actually, Sasuke didn't plan any revenge at all. It wasn't his business. Anything that had happened to Snape-san would be avenged when he returned. "Are you going to be late for your game?"
Malfoy-san held up a broom. "I plan to make an entrance." He was dressed in the uniform of the Slytherin Quidditch players with his hair tied into a braid. "Your uncle's here. You didn't say he was coming. Were you expecting him?"
Sasuke looked up at the sky. Clear and bright without a cloud, it was a perfect winter afternoon. "I don't tell you everything." Sasuke wondered if he should have known. Snape-san had been afraid that they'd been sent by his uncle to kill him. The relationship couldn't have been too close. "Is he looking for me?"
"He's always looking for you. He was trying to get into the Slytherin House when I saw him. Seemed to think he was owed the password by virtue of him being your uncle." Malfoy-san laughed. "Your mother’s family, the Prince’s, have always been in Ravenclaw, correct? I seem to remember mother telling me that. You haven't told him how Slytherin's operate, then? No. I don't suppose you would have." He leaned back and looked up at the sky. He managed to look imperiously relaxed. "Your last visit to the Ministry might have gotten his attention. Then again, maybe he somehow heard about what happened to you in DADA yesterday. Everyone's talking about it." He looked at Sasuke shrewdly. "It was quite the display, I hear."
"Quite."
Malfoy-san shrugged. "Just be careful. Now, you're valuable. The Dark Lord is very interested in your talent with potions." With that, he stood, mounted his broom and easily soared down to the pitch just as the Slytherin team was coming out. His grand entrance did cause a stir of cheering from the Slytherin stands as he made wild loops in the air before joining his team.
During the Quidditch game, Sasuke stayed quietly in the back row of the insanely huge bleachers and paid close attention. The whole game opened up another security flaw. Flying. Broomsticks could fly directly over the school. Students could fly away. People could fly in. Spells or carelessness could knock students off their brooms. There were so many things that could go wrong.
The game had taken several hours and Sasuke was freezing by the time people started leaving the stands. He'd sat with his arms inside the robes he wore for warmth and let his hands brush across all the lumpy pockets with the little vials of potions. He was curious, of course. What things had Snape-san thought important enough to carry everywhere? Despite his curiosity, Sasuke hadn't experimented. Not even once. He hadn't dared to so much as unstopped one of the vials after glancing through Snape-san's potion's textbook. There were potions that could do terrible things to people. More terrible than just killing them.
Quidditch was interesting, to say the least. Sasuke had never seen a game like it. The game itself wasn't a harmless children's game, nor was it training. Sasuke didn't understand it. It was a violent, brutal game but from what he'd heard around the school, there was no purpose to it other than enjoyment.
Malfoy-san commanded the Slytherin team sternly to victory. When it was over he marched off, leading his sweating, panting team with his head held high and looking as if he hadn't so much as breathed deeply.
‘He's a leader,’ Sasuke thought. ‘He leads his team and his House. He follows this Voldemort. Therefore… he will lead his House to Voldemort. He may lead others. Perhaps not all, but many people admire him. They will listen to him - he's a good speaker.’
"Hey," Tenten's whisper drew Sasuke's attention. He didn't look down to where her voice was coming from below the bleachers or speak back. "Those boys we got the map and the cloak from are headed your way. I saw them get one of those bat things from the Ravenclaw team."
"Don't interfere." It wouldn't be the first time he'd been threatened, though it would be the first time he allowed himself to be beaten in the interests of a mission.
Once Sasuke made the long walk down the bleacher stairs to the ground, most everyone had gone back into the school. At the bottom of the stairs, Potter-san, Pettigrew-san, and Black-san were waiting for him.
"Where are they?" Potter-san demanded. "We've thought about it and you have to be the one to blame. Then again, you're always the one to blame, aren't you? Can't keep your sticky fingers off other people's things."
Sasuke kept walking as if he would go right passed them. "Where's what?"
Black-san grabbed Sasuke's arm and pulled him to a stop. "Don't give us that! Where did you hide them? The cloak and the map. You stole them!"
Sasuke blinked as innocently as he possibly could. "Did I really? Maybe you should inform the headmaster. I'm sure he'll be pleased to help you recover your stolen items. Just as pleased as he will be to know that you have them in the first place."
Black-san wrenched Sasuke's arm and threw him to the ground. Sasuke started to get to his feet, but Potter-san bludgeoned him in the stomach with the bat. The two beat him. It was embarrassing. Sasuke had never been beaten by two such weak people. He could have easily torn them apart, given how slow and untrained they were. The whole fight was pathetic. If it weren't for the mission, he would have rolled his eyes, laughed at them, and been on his way. As it was, he yelled and swore, making deliberately clumsy efforts to reach the wand hidden in his robe. Pettigrew-san got down on the ground near Sasuke and seized his hair. He pulled for all that he was worth and managed to yank out a chunk of hair while he giggled.
Some of the vials in Snape-san's robes broke. Sasuke could feel the potions leaking though his clothes. There was some minor burning and some itching, but nothing too terrible. He hoped there would be nothing explosive in the little pockets.
Sasuke didn't fight back, at first. It didn't really hurt all that much. Why, Haku had done far more damage. Sweet tempered, fatal Haku who had impaled Sasuke with a thousand needles. Sasuke had survived Haku and he would certainly survive these amateurs.
Black-san kicked Sasuke till he rolled into a fetal position and covered his head with his arms. They spit on him and Pettigrew-san kicked him in the head, once. All the while they demanded to know where he'd hidden the map and the cloak.
Sasuke was bearing it well until Potter-san took hold of his robes. Sasuke feared that the ink markings Kakashi-sensei had drawn on him might be seen and decided that it was a good time to do as Snape-san would do.
He lashed out and kicked Potter-san in the crotch.
It was a low-blow, but effective. Potter-san was stunned enough to drop the bat, which Sasuke grabbed before it hit the ground. He swung around and hit Black-san in the knee.
The victory was short lived.
Potter-san had his wand raised. He growled, "Where are they?"
Sasuke dropped the bat. He hadn't even gotten to his feet. "And if I don't tell you? You'll do what?"
There was a long, drawn-out silence.
Potter-san's hand didn't shake. "I'll make sure you can never show your nose in civilized company again. You crawling worm. You took them. You must have!"
"I repeat - what do you intend to do?"
"I'll kill you!"
"Strong words," Sasuke muttered. He looked closely at Potter-san. He was sweating and flushed from the fight. His wand trembled just a bit and his eyes weren't as intense as they should have been if he were that close to killing. ‘He's never taken a life. I don't believe he has it in him.’ "Come on, then. It's not like I have much to lose." Sasuke wiped a hand across his mouth and it came away bloody. "I want to know if you can kill."
Potter-san let out a strangled yell. "I'll find them if I have to turn Slytherin dorm inside out! You've probably got them on you right now, haven't you? They're valuable. You can't just leave them laying around. Well? Where? Where are they?!" He moved forward with his hands raised, but stopped suddenly. Potter-san paled and stepped back. The attackers all did. "Hagrid…. "
Sasuke looked over his shoulder cautiously and saw the mountain of a man glaring angrily down at the Marauders. "What's going on? You three up to something? What have you done?"
"Nothing," Black-san said, quickly. "Nothing at all. We were just off. See you later." He and Potter-san took Pettigrew-san's arms and they limped away as quickly as they could.
"I told you not to interfere," Sasuke said, without turning. He stood up and watched the trio escape.
"I don't remember agreeing. You just let me do my job." Tenten, as Hagrid-san, looked at her massive hands and smiled. She pushed up the sleeve of Hagrid-san's coat and patted the hairy arm. "I feel like a bear."
Their conversation was interrupted by Lupin-san. He stepped out from behind one of the massive pillars that held up the bleachers and stared at them. He didn't look well. His face was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. His clothes were rumpled and torn. There were tiny cuts on his hands and his face. He frowned at Sasuke. "Who are you?"
Sasuke's mind froze. He stared at Lupin's serious hazel eyes and knew it wasn't another prank on Snape-san. He was serious. He knew. "Have you lost your memory, Lupin? How sad. Better go visit the Hospital Wing."
Lupin didn't flinch. "You aren't Snape. I know you aren't." He turned his eyes to Hagrid. He inhaled through his nose. "And you aren't Hagrid. Who are you?"
Sasuke frowned, but was saved from answering.
"Mister Lupin!" Madam Ratian called out sharply. She strode purposefully across the lawn from the school until she was next to Lupin-san. "What do you think you're doing out of the Hospital Wing? You were told not to go anywhere. I had thought you were responsible enough that I could take my eyes off you for a few minutes. This irresponsible behavior is just not like you."
"I was just talking," Lupin-san didn't look away from Sasuke until Madam Ratian took hold of his shoulder and then he smiled sweetly at her. "Please, forgive me for running off. It was important."
She smiled down on him. "Of course. I'm sure it was. Really, you must take more care of your health. It's the first night of… " She trailed off and looked sharply at Sasuke. She slowly looked him up and down. "Have you been in a fight? Again? Mister Snape, you had best find a hobby other than fighting. Now, Mister Lupin, you should come back and get some rest. You've had a hard night."
Lupin-san looked torn. In the end, he acquiesced and walked away with Madam Ratian though his hands were clenching and unclenching in agitation.
"He heard us," Sasuke told Tenten. "I'm sure he heard our conversation. How was he quiet enough that we didn't hear him? He's not trained. I'm sure he doesn't move like a shinobi."
"No matter how he did it, we've got a problem." There was a puff of smoke and Tenten stood where Hagrid had been. She frowned after Lupin-san. "That's too close. How does he know? I'm sure you haven't done anything to give yourself away. You've only been in contact with him a few times and no one else has noticed that you're an impostor. This changes things." She faced Sasuke with narrowed eyes and tapped her fingers against her thigh. "Can you take care of yourself for a little while on your own?"
"Yes. Why?"
She looked at Lupin-san still walking with Madam Ratian, then at the Forbidden Forest. "I need to speak with Gai-sensei."
She was gone, then, and Sasuke was left alone. He supposed that he ought to go to the Hospital Wing, but he wouldn't. The injuries were minor. Instead, he would go to Snape-san's room and treat his wounds himself. He never made it.
On the steps of Hogwarts, there was a grinning man. He was tall and striking with bright eyes and dark blonde hair. He was dressed well with polished shoes and a dark blue waistcoat. "Good afternoon, Severus." The man spoke with a strong, confident voice. He looked Sasuke up and down, taking in the darkening bruises and the blood. "My… you do seem to have had a hard day."
Sasuke just stared.
The man reached out to touch Sasuke's face, but Sasuke stepped back. The man said, "You haven't changed, I see. Still, this is a warmer greeting than I'd expected. Especially considering your visit to the Ministry earlier this week. Again. What would that be? Your fourth try? When will you learn? It won't work. They'll never believe you."
A rough hand seized Sasuke's shoulder and pull him backwards so forcefully that he literally flew off his feet until he slammed into what felt like a solid wall. It wasn’t a wall he’d hit, but Hagrid-san. He had pulled Sasuke away from the stranger and Sasuke’s back had crashed into Hagrid-san. Sasuke looked up to find Hagrid-san glaring hatefully from under his bushy eyebrows at the stranger. It really was Hagrid-san, not Tenten's doppelganger.
"You'd best get yourself checked in with the Headmaster," Hagrid-san grumbled. "Visitors aren't to be talking with the students unless they've been approved by the Headmaster."
"Surely, this is an exception. I'm his family."
Hagrid-san's face turned almost purple with anger. He patted Sasuke’s shoulder, reassuringly. "Family, eh? No exceptions. You just go on and see the Headmaster, Mister Prince." Without waiting for a reply, Hagrid-san wrapped his arm around Sasuke's shoulders and pulled him away, guiding Sasuke firmly away from Mister Prince and towards his little round home.
To be continued…