Naruto and the Goblet of Fire--Chapter 5
Title: Naruto and the Goblet of Fire
Author: Reidluver
Fandom: Harry Potter, Naruto
Pairing/Characters: (main) Kakashi, Naruto, Gaara, Harry, Ron, Hermione
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Timeline is before Shippuden, during 4th year at Hogwarts
Summary: Unwillingly brought into a strange world, trying to hide your secrets, being there during a tournament that hasn't been held in over a century, and oh, having the most powerful wizard seeking you for your power. Simple? I think not.
Chapter 5: Pranks, Visitors, and Scars
It had been a while since the shinobi's arrival and they had been formally accepted into Hogwarts. People enjoyed Naruto's kind and loud personality, as well as Gaara's contrasting aloof and silent attitude. Kakashi had also become a common sight in their Care of Magical Creatures class and was always interested in learning new spells and finding out about the wizard world. He could be found reading various books from the library after he had learned how to read English fluently without the aid of a translation spell.
Near the end of October the whole school was in a buzz about the arrival of the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang,. Everyone had theories about how they would arrive, resulting in no one participating in their lessons which ultimately led to the teachers giving up at trying to control them.
"Why are these people so important?" Naruto asked. Everyone was outside the castle awaiting the arrival of the other schools.
"They're here for the Triwizard Tournament, my friend," George said, resting on elbow on the blond's head. He and his twin had taken a special liking to the boy, mainly because he seemed to share their appreciation for pranks. Naruto's most notable prank had been on the potions master, Severus Snape.
"Don't worry, Naruto," Harry said. Naruto was still fuming about how he had been belittled and informed he was 'an overactive child who relied on making a fool of himself in an attempt to warrant attention' by their least favorite teacher. "Believe me, he does it to everyone."
Naruto just growled. "He can't say stuff like that about me! I'll make him regret it!"
"Really?" Fred asked, joining them at the table they were currently using to study.
"And how do you intend on doing that?" George added.
"I don't know, but I will!"
George smirked in a way the other wizards only knew meant trouble. "How about a prank then? I dare you to pull off a prank against Professor Snape in front of the whole school."
"Absolutely not!" Hermione protested, shaking a finger at him. "Don't listen to them, Naruto. There is no way you could pull a prank on Professor Snape and get away with it."
"Well, I guess if you're too chicken, I suppose you don't have to do it," Fred sighed dramatically, to which George imitated a chicken, flapping his bent arms behind him and clucked tauntingly.
Naruto grinned. "Just you watch; I'll go do it right now! I am not afraid of anything!" he said, punching his fist into the air. "Except ghosts," he added, barely above a whisper, yet Gaara heard. The redhead's lips quirked in a shadow of a smile as he remembered their first encounter with the Gryffindor ghost and returned to his homework.
"Naruto, sto-" Unfortunately for Hermione, he had already stood up and was mentally checking all the amazing pranks he had pulled in his last thirteen years. Not surprisingly, there were enough ideas to fill a few books; growing up completely by yourself could do that to you.
After a brief minute of consideration he grinned in a way oddly reminiscent of a fox and swung his legs over the bench, crouched down, and said quietly, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The Weasley twins and all who had never seen the jutsu before gasped in amazement at the clone who was crouched like he was. Naruto placed a hand on the clone's head and said, "Henge!" to which the clone transformed into an orange fox that wagged its tail playfully.
Everyone watched with anticipation as Naruto pet the fox and it playfully bit his hand. "Now go," he whispered.
The fox nodded and ran off, jumping from table to table, grinning at each student and allowing himself to be pet by some girls before scampering off. After a while, Snape looked up from his desk and noticed the fox running around and interrupting study hall.
He angrily stormed over to the table where the fox was currently being cooed at by a group of first-year girls, and pointed his wand at it. However, before Snape could utter a spell, the fox grinned mischievously at him before disappearing. Startled, the Potions master spun on his heels, only to discover the fox a few feet behind him, wagging its bushy tail innocently.
Utterly perplexed, Severus shook his head as if to clear it and aimed his wand again. The fox sprinted to the left, and soon the Potions Master was involved in a game of tag with the fox who was easily avoiding capture. The Great Hall rang with laughter as Snape tried to catch the fox that would get just close enough and then disappear in another location, playfully nipping at the man's feet.
Suddenly it seemed as if Snape was having trouble moving, and the fox began running around the professor so fast it became an orange blur, then the fox broke off. The Potions Master swayed slightly, his arms locked firmly at his side as if there were invisible bonds holding them there. He tried to free himself frantically as students fell off the benches, overcome with laughter.
The fox let out a loud yip and ran towards Severus. It jumped in the air a few feet in front of him and gracefully ran into his chest paws first, setting him off balance. There was a resounding thud as the reserved teacher fell on his rear.
If it were possible, the laughter intensified, especially when the fox took a small bow and vacated the room. After a few minutes of struggling, Professor Snape freed himself from the bonds and discovered that they were extremely thin, yet sturdy wires that could only be seen when light reflected off them.
In an effort to regain his dignity, he stood up and walked over to the table where Naruto and the rest were, and performed a quick flick of his wand. All the table's occupants' wands glowed and vibrated for a second before becoming lifeless again.
Furious, he cleared his throat. "You are dismissed," he said as malevolently as he could before exiting himself.
Once he was out of earshot, everyone turned to Hermione.
"Oi! What did he do, Hermione?" Naruto demanded.
"He was checking our wands to see who used a transformation spell against him. It's no question as to why he checked ours, but now that he has no evidence that any of us did it, Snape can't do anything except fail those he believes did it." Hermione sighed. She narrowed her eyes at Naruto. "You're lucky you can do wandless magic, or you would have been in big trouble."
The blond just grinned and placed his hands behind his head. He was soon harassed by Fred, George, Harry, Ron, and others about how amazing he was, and told that he just pulled the greatest prank ever.
Gaara just shook his head in amazement. When Naruto's transformed clone bit his palm, it was really grabbing hold of some shinobi string.
He had to admit-Naruto was, in some ways, a complete genius.
After that incident, the twins had unofficially adopted Naruto as their apprentice, teaching him their ways and learning some of his own, to which the others were slightly fearful, especially Kakashi. From what he had heard about the Weasley twins from snippets of conversation he picked up here and there from other teachers, it wouldn't end well. The villagers had better watch out when they returned.
"What's the Triwizard Tournament?" Gaara inquired with mild curiosity.
"What? You don't know what it is?" Ron said. At Gaara's expression he grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, guess not."
"Well, let me shed some light for you poor, misguided souls," Fred announced dramatically. "It's the most amazing event in school history! One person is chosen from each school who is considered worthy, and they compete in three tasks," (he held up three fingers for emphasis), "where the champion with the most points is the winner of the Triwizard Cup and a thousand galleons prize!"
"Sadly," George sighed, "there's an age limit of 17, so yours truly and his partner in crime are unable to be selected."
"However, the most thrilling part of it is that people have died in this tournament!" Fred added, intending to spook the shinobi. "This is the first time it's been run in over a century, all because of the death toll!" Instead of appearing impressed, each of the shinobi gave him a skeptical look.
"They've had it canceled for 100 years because of a death toll?" Gaara said with a hint of disappointment and disgust in his voice.
"That's stupid," Naruto said. All surrounding wizards turned to face the shinobi, appalled at their response.
"H-How can you say that?" Hermione said. "People dying is nothing to joke so lightly about!"
Naruto snorted. "If you ask me, this whole tournament seems stupid. An age limit of 17, and adjusting it so that you don't die? It's all rather ridiculous."
"Oh, yeah?" Seamus said. "Well, who says you have any right to say anything about it?"
"Where we come from, we have an event similar to yours, with three tasks. However, this is a test held every six months for genin to become chuunin, which is the second rank for shinobi. It is a test of bravery, will, determination, and skill," Kakashi began, lifting his gaze from a wizard book.
"And it's done in three person teams, and there is no age limit!" Naruto added excitedly. "You could die at any time during the chuunin exams if you aren't careful, and many have. But I didn't," he said proudly, puffing out his chest. "In fact, I beat the crap out of Neji in the final stage of the exam! He couldn't even move! And I would have become a chuunin, if we weren't attacked . . . " His gaze shifted over to Gaara nervously, who gave a small shrug.
"You can retake the exam until you eventually reach the level of chuunin," Gaara continued. "And yes, there are people who die. Each year about a fifth of the people who try out die."
"Well . . . there has to be an age limit!" Seamus protested, stumbling for a counterargument. "If as many people die as you say, then it's not like they let toddlers participate, right?"
"I don't know about toddlers, but whenever a genin is considered worthy enough, they are able to compete! Kakashi-sensei was just six when he completed his chuunin exam, and he passed!" Everyone's mouths dropped open and they all stared at the silver-haired jounin to confirm the fact, which he did with a lazy nod of his head.
Before anyone could say anything else on the matter, their attention was torn to the skies where a bunch of first-years were shrieking and pointing. Everyone gasped as the strange object was revealed to be a gigantic carriage pulled by flying horses, completely entranced by their beauty.
When Madame Maxime stepped out of the carriage, the three shinobi were blown away by her size; they had thought Hagrid was big! She was as large as three Jiraiyas put together!
Before they could recover from that shock, an enormous ship of the water, as large as one of the Hokage monumental heads. The Konoha shinobi had seen a fair amount of ships during their lifetime, but they had never seen one that size.
Gaara was simply baffled. Living in Suna his whole life, he had never lived near a body of water, and consequently had never seen a ship before. It was very impressive, to say the least.
A little while later, all the students eagerly took their seats in the Grand Hall, with Ron going ecstatic about Krum and going on about Quidditch, to which Naruto expressed his desire to learn how to fly on a broomstick.
"Sure, Naruto. I could teach you, if you want," Harry said. To be honest, he was itching to fly on his Firebolt. With the tournament being held this year, all Quidditch games had been canceled, much to his chagrin. The team had been talking about having practices just to keep themselves in shape for the upcoming year.
"When can we start?" Naruto started to bounce in his seat.
Harry smiled at the blond's enthusiasm. "Maybe tomorrow," he said. "If you want, I'll lend you some of my Quidditch books so you can read them."
Naruto beamed and bounced even more, causing Gaara to put a firm grip on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Naruto," he said. The boy nodded sheepishly and firmly sat down, waiting for Dumbledore to speak like everyone else.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and-most particularly-guests," he began, beaming at everyone. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable." A beautiful girl off to their right at the other table snorted.
"No one's making you stay!" Hermione whispered.
Naruto turned his attention to the girl Hermione was talking to and noticed another girl nearby who was the smallest from Beauxbatons. She sighed as if she were bored and then turned to Naruto. He flashed the girl his infamous smile which she returned and waved to him happily.
"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," Dumbledore continued. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"
Dinner ensued with talk about veela, Bagman, Crouch, and Percy. Naruto noticed that Harry kept sneaking glances at a certain dark-haired girl who was seated next to the girl Ron was ogling over, and a sly grin appeared on his face. He knew what that look was. Once the feast was over, Dumbledore began the introductions.
" . . . Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts," he explained. "And I'm pleased to announce that Kakashi Hatake has agreed to serve as security during the three tasks in case anything goes wrong to ensure that the contestants are safe."
Many heads snapped towards the jounin who was seated besides the gamekeeper, who gave a slight nod of confirmation.
" . . . Now, I think it is time for bed. Goodnight to you all." As soon as Dumbledore ceased speaking, the Great Hall erupted in excited chatter about who would enter their name in the goblet, who would try, and what the newcomers were like.
As they approached the door, Naruto noticed the strange looking man who arrived on the ship come at the same time, fussing over one of his students. Harry stopped and let him go first, and after muttering a quick thanks, the man frowned and faced Harry. Once his gaze rested upon his forehead, the man gasped and his students did the same, some even pointing at him.
"Yeah, that's Harry Potter," Moody growled behind them, limping as he did so. For some reason his appearance made all the color fade from the man's face.
"You!" Gaara could tell the man didn't care for Moody, and to be honest, he didn't either. He had never forgiven the Professor for pulling that stunt against him in Defense Against the Dark Arts. If it wasn't so informative and intriguing, he would have quit the class like he did with Divination.
"Me," Mad-Eye said grimly. "And unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway." Karkaroff seemed to weigh his options, then made up his mind and stormed off with his students close behind him.
Back in the common room, Naruto decided it was time to confront Harry about why he was treated differently than others.
"Uh, Harry? What did Moody mean by you being the only one to survive the killing curse?" Naruto bit his lip and glanced around the room before leaning in and whispering, "Do you have a demon inside you, too?"
Gaara found himself leaning in as well, eager to understand the meaning of his scar. Was it a mark of who he was, like Gaara's was of him?
The three wizards stared at the shinobi with bewildered looks on their faces. They had been expecting questions about Harry's past, but to think he had a demon inside of him?
"Um, no. I don't know anything about a demon, but there is a reason why I have this scar and survived that curse," Harry began. He sighed and then sat back against the couch. It was going to be a rather long story, so he might as well get comfortable. Besides, he predicted that it would be even longer than usual with Naruto interrupting all the time, which proved to be true.
"So, your mother sacrificed herself to save you?" Naruto asked Harry nodded.
"According to Dumbledore, it is her love that seemed to act as a shield against Voldemort," (Ron winced) "and he isn't able to touch me."
Gaara frowned. Love? Why is it always love? This love they talk about seems to be stronger than I originally thought. How can it be so powerful?
"So, that mark is a symbol of her love for you?" Gaara wondered aloud.
Harry looked startled and touched his scar. "I . . . never really thought of it that way," he mumbled. In all honesty, he regarded it as a testament of the curse that killed his parents, an evil symbol that warranted stares and glances from anyone he met; something to be hated. Gaara's remark now made him think of the scar in a whole new light.
Gaara unconsciously touched the kanji on his forehead, fingering each stroke the sand made upon him all those years ago; that he made on himself.
"So, why do you have that tattoo?" Harry said quickly, eager to change the subject.
The redhead was silent for a minute or two before he answered. "I got it when I was six, and I made it myself, with my sand," (some sand emerged from his robes and he played with it, causing it to circle around his left hand) "when I learned what my name meant." Everyone held their breath, waiting for more, but once Gaara turned to face them all, they could see that was all he was going to share with them at the moment.
Hermione was itching to learn more, but had enough experience with boys to know that when they didn't want to talk about something, they weren't going to open up no matter what you did. So, she decided to change the subject.
"Where were you guys yesterday before dinner?"
Naruto appeared thoughtful for a moment, then his face lit up. "We were training with Kakashi-sensei!"
"Training? Where?" Ron asked, having never seen them train near the grounds.
"In this forest by Hagrid's house. It's amazing! There are so many trees-and different animals, too! Of course, it's not as impressive as the Forest of Death, but-"
"Wait! You've been in the Forbidden Forest!" Ron said, his voice suddenly an octave higher.
"I guess, if that's what you call it. But anyway, there are so many-"
"You're not allowed in there, which is why it's called 'Forbidden'," Hermione said.
"Well we didn't know." Naruto sighed. "But why is it forbidden? It's not all that dangerous or scary."
"How far have you gone in?" Ron said, clearly distressed. "Deeper into the forest there are gigantic spiders and werewolves, and-"
"Well, I don't know what a werewolf is," Naruto said, "but I do remember seeing these HUGE spiders a few days ago! We were finding a new place to practice and these spiders came out of nowhere and attacked us. I used my shadow clones while Gaara used his sand to fight them, and once Kakashi used his Chidori on one and killed it, they all ran away." He frowned. "They left before I could use my Rasengan," he added wistfully.
The three wizards stared at them with their mouth's open in amazement and astonishment. For a moment it looked like they were about to protest, but then they gave up. These shinobi were so different it was hard to deal with at times.
"Well," Ron finally said after a long pause, "If I ever go into the Forbidden Forest again, I'll want to take you guys with me."
"You can come tomorrow!" Naruto suggested. "We practice everyday! We could even teach you some jutsu-"
"I-I think we're okay," Ron said quickly, holding his hands in front of him. "Maybe later."
Naruto pouted for a minute, then shrugged it off, instead indulging himself in a large yawn that for some reason made Harry think of Crookshanks.
"What, tired already?" Kakashi smirked, suddenly appearing besides the blond and startling the three wizards.
"Of course not, Kakashi-sen-sensei," Naruto assured sleepily. "I'm j-just . . . just . . . a little sleepy."
Kakashi rolled his eye. "Whatever. It might be a good idea for everyone to go to bed," he suggested with a tone that left no room for argument. They all complied, and as Harry fell asleep in his bed he found himself dreaming about being the Triwizard champion.
Once everyone had left, Gaara turned to the fire, ready to spend another sleepless night by himself. It was becoming harder than ever to concentrate because he felt . . . homesick. (That was the correct term, right?) He had never gone this long without his siblings before. Of course, he usually stayed in his room or on the roof when he wasn't training, but he always knew they were nearby.
He longed for the jokes Kankuro played on their older sister, for Temari chasing him down and beating the puppet-master with her fan, and just the assurance that he had a real family. He had never really noticed it before, but now that he was spending time away from them he found himself missing them terribly.
"So how do you play this game?"
Gaara snapped his attention from the fire to the couch behind him, where the jounin was sitting, examining the wizard's chess board. Gaara just stared at him blankly, too startled to respond.
Kakashi smiled, gesturing to the chair across from him. "Would you teach me?"
Still surprised, Gaara simply nodded and made his way to the opposite chair.
"To get them to move, you call out their name and which quadrant you want them to go. The pieces are pawns, rooks, bishops, knights . . . "
And so the next three hours passed by without Gaara even noticing, getting caught up in teaching the jounin the fascinating wizard's game and playing round after round after round.
When the earliest indications of dawn were visible, Kakashi stretched and stood up. "Well, I have to help Hagrid with his classes later today, so I should get a little rest. Do you mind playing a few games once a week? This is a very practical strategic game. Maybe we should teach Naruto how to play so he gets better at tactics."
The redhead bit his lip for a second and nodded, seeming to be involved in an internal debate. Kakashi smiled and turned to go upstairs, but was stopped when Gaara ran forward and gave the man a Lee-speed hug.
When the startled jounin spun around he saw Gaara a few feet behind him, absolute embarrassment etched on his face, clearly regretting what he had done. After a brief second of consideration, Kakashi smiled and put his hand on the Jinchuuriki's head, ruffling it up the way Minato-sensei would always do to him.
"See you at breakfast, Gaara."
As the genin sat back down on the chair, a calm and relaxing feeling washed over him, erasing the feeling of loneliness he had experienced earlier. Unknown to him. a warm smile had stretched across his face.
Malfoy is Naruto's next target.
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Author: Reidluver
Fandom: Harry Potter, Naruto
Pairing/Characters: (main) Kakashi, Naruto, Gaara, Harry, Ron, Hermione
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Timeline is before Shippuden, during 4th year at Hogwarts
Summary: Unwillingly brought into a strange world, trying to hide your secrets, being there during a tournament that hasn't been held in over a century, and oh, having the most powerful wizard seeking you for your power. Simple? I think not.
Chapter 5: Pranks, Visitors, and Scars
It had been a while since the shinobi's arrival and they had been formally accepted into Hogwarts. People enjoyed Naruto's kind and loud personality, as well as Gaara's contrasting aloof and silent attitude. Kakashi had also become a common sight in their Care of Magical Creatures class and was always interested in learning new spells and finding out about the wizard world. He could be found reading various books from the library after he had learned how to read English fluently without the aid of a translation spell.
Near the end of October the whole school was in a buzz about the arrival of the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang,. Everyone had theories about how they would arrive, resulting in no one participating in their lessons which ultimately led to the teachers giving up at trying to control them.
"Why are these people so important?" Naruto asked. Everyone was outside the castle awaiting the arrival of the other schools.
"They're here for the Triwizard Tournament, my friend," George said, resting on elbow on the blond's head. He and his twin had taken a special liking to the boy, mainly because he seemed to share their appreciation for pranks. Naruto's most notable prank had been on the potions master, Severus Snape.
"Don't worry, Naruto," Harry said. Naruto was still fuming about how he had been belittled and informed he was 'an overactive child who relied on making a fool of himself in an attempt to warrant attention' by their least favorite teacher. "Believe me, he does it to everyone."
Naruto just growled. "He can't say stuff like that about me! I'll make him regret it!"
"Really?" Fred asked, joining them at the table they were currently using to study.
"And how do you intend on doing that?" George added.
"I don't know, but I will!"
George smirked in a way the other wizards only knew meant trouble. "How about a prank then? I dare you to pull off a prank against Professor Snape in front of the whole school."
"Absolutely not!" Hermione protested, shaking a finger at him. "Don't listen to them, Naruto. There is no way you could pull a prank on Professor Snape and get away with it."
"Well, I guess if you're too chicken, I suppose you don't have to do it," Fred sighed dramatically, to which George imitated a chicken, flapping his bent arms behind him and clucked tauntingly.
Naruto grinned. "Just you watch; I'll go do it right now! I am not afraid of anything!" he said, punching his fist into the air. "Except ghosts," he added, barely above a whisper, yet Gaara heard. The redhead's lips quirked in a shadow of a smile as he remembered their first encounter with the Gryffindor ghost and returned to his homework.
"Naruto, sto-" Unfortunately for Hermione, he had already stood up and was mentally checking all the amazing pranks he had pulled in his last thirteen years. Not surprisingly, there were enough ideas to fill a few books; growing up completely by yourself could do that to you.
After a brief minute of consideration he grinned in a way oddly reminiscent of a fox and swung his legs over the bench, crouched down, and said quietly, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The Weasley twins and all who had never seen the jutsu before gasped in amazement at the clone who was crouched like he was. Naruto placed a hand on the clone's head and said, "Henge!" to which the clone transformed into an orange fox that wagged its tail playfully.
Everyone watched with anticipation as Naruto pet the fox and it playfully bit his hand. "Now go," he whispered.
The fox nodded and ran off, jumping from table to table, grinning at each student and allowing himself to be pet by some girls before scampering off. After a while, Snape looked up from his desk and noticed the fox running around and interrupting study hall.
He angrily stormed over to the table where the fox was currently being cooed at by a group of first-year girls, and pointed his wand at it. However, before Snape could utter a spell, the fox grinned mischievously at him before disappearing. Startled, the Potions master spun on his heels, only to discover the fox a few feet behind him, wagging its bushy tail innocently.
Utterly perplexed, Severus shook his head as if to clear it and aimed his wand again. The fox sprinted to the left, and soon the Potions Master was involved in a game of tag with the fox who was easily avoiding capture. The Great Hall rang with laughter as Snape tried to catch the fox that would get just close enough and then disappear in another location, playfully nipping at the man's feet.
Suddenly it seemed as if Snape was having trouble moving, and the fox began running around the professor so fast it became an orange blur, then the fox broke off. The Potions Master swayed slightly, his arms locked firmly at his side as if there were invisible bonds holding them there. He tried to free himself frantically as students fell off the benches, overcome with laughter.
The fox let out a loud yip and ran towards Severus. It jumped in the air a few feet in front of him and gracefully ran into his chest paws first, setting him off balance. There was a resounding thud as the reserved teacher fell on his rear.
If it were possible, the laughter intensified, especially when the fox took a small bow and vacated the room. After a few minutes of struggling, Professor Snape freed himself from the bonds and discovered that they were extremely thin, yet sturdy wires that could only be seen when light reflected off them.
In an effort to regain his dignity, he stood up and walked over to the table where Naruto and the rest were, and performed a quick flick of his wand. All the table's occupants' wands glowed and vibrated for a second before becoming lifeless again.
Furious, he cleared his throat. "You are dismissed," he said as malevolently as he could before exiting himself.
Once he was out of earshot, everyone turned to Hermione.
"Oi! What did he do, Hermione?" Naruto demanded.
"He was checking our wands to see who used a transformation spell against him. It's no question as to why he checked ours, but now that he has no evidence that any of us did it, Snape can't do anything except fail those he believes did it." Hermione sighed. She narrowed her eyes at Naruto. "You're lucky you can do wandless magic, or you would have been in big trouble."
The blond just grinned and placed his hands behind his head. He was soon harassed by Fred, George, Harry, Ron, and others about how amazing he was, and told that he just pulled the greatest prank ever.
Gaara just shook his head in amazement. When Naruto's transformed clone bit his palm, it was really grabbing hold of some shinobi string.
He had to admit-Naruto was, in some ways, a complete genius.
After that incident, the twins had unofficially adopted Naruto as their apprentice, teaching him their ways and learning some of his own, to which the others were slightly fearful, especially Kakashi. From what he had heard about the Weasley twins from snippets of conversation he picked up here and there from other teachers, it wouldn't end well. The villagers had better watch out when they returned.
"What's the Triwizard Tournament?" Gaara inquired with mild curiosity.
"What? You don't know what it is?" Ron said. At Gaara's expression he grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, guess not."
"Well, let me shed some light for you poor, misguided souls," Fred announced dramatically. "It's the most amazing event in school history! One person is chosen from each school who is considered worthy, and they compete in three tasks," (he held up three fingers for emphasis), "where the champion with the most points is the winner of the Triwizard Cup and a thousand galleons prize!"
"Sadly," George sighed, "there's an age limit of 17, so yours truly and his partner in crime are unable to be selected."
"However, the most thrilling part of it is that people have died in this tournament!" Fred added, intending to spook the shinobi. "This is the first time it's been run in over a century, all because of the death toll!" Instead of appearing impressed, each of the shinobi gave him a skeptical look.
"They've had it canceled for 100 years because of a death toll?" Gaara said with a hint of disappointment and disgust in his voice.
"That's stupid," Naruto said. All surrounding wizards turned to face the shinobi, appalled at their response.
"H-How can you say that?" Hermione said. "People dying is nothing to joke so lightly about!"
Naruto snorted. "If you ask me, this whole tournament seems stupid. An age limit of 17, and adjusting it so that you don't die? It's all rather ridiculous."
"Oh, yeah?" Seamus said. "Well, who says you have any right to say anything about it?"
"Where we come from, we have an event similar to yours, with three tasks. However, this is a test held every six months for genin to become chuunin, which is the second rank for shinobi. It is a test of bravery, will, determination, and skill," Kakashi began, lifting his gaze from a wizard book.
"And it's done in three person teams, and there is no age limit!" Naruto added excitedly. "You could die at any time during the chuunin exams if you aren't careful, and many have. But I didn't," he said proudly, puffing out his chest. "In fact, I beat the crap out of Neji in the final stage of the exam! He couldn't even move! And I would have become a chuunin, if we weren't attacked . . . " His gaze shifted over to Gaara nervously, who gave a small shrug.
"You can retake the exam until you eventually reach the level of chuunin," Gaara continued. "And yes, there are people who die. Each year about a fifth of the people who try out die."
"Well . . . there has to be an age limit!" Seamus protested, stumbling for a counterargument. "If as many people die as you say, then it's not like they let toddlers participate, right?"
"I don't know about toddlers, but whenever a genin is considered worthy enough, they are able to compete! Kakashi-sensei was just six when he completed his chuunin exam, and he passed!" Everyone's mouths dropped open and they all stared at the silver-haired jounin to confirm the fact, which he did with a lazy nod of his head.
Before anyone could say anything else on the matter, their attention was torn to the skies where a bunch of first-years were shrieking and pointing. Everyone gasped as the strange object was revealed to be a gigantic carriage pulled by flying horses, completely entranced by their beauty.
When Madame Maxime stepped out of the carriage, the three shinobi were blown away by her size; they had thought Hagrid was big! She was as large as three Jiraiyas put together!
Before they could recover from that shock, an enormous ship of the water, as large as one of the Hokage monumental heads. The Konoha shinobi had seen a fair amount of ships during their lifetime, but they had never seen one that size.
Gaara was simply baffled. Living in Suna his whole life, he had never lived near a body of water, and consequently had never seen a ship before. It was very impressive, to say the least.
A little while later, all the students eagerly took their seats in the Grand Hall, with Ron going ecstatic about Krum and going on about Quidditch, to which Naruto expressed his desire to learn how to fly on a broomstick.
"Sure, Naruto. I could teach you, if you want," Harry said. To be honest, he was itching to fly on his Firebolt. With the tournament being held this year, all Quidditch games had been canceled, much to his chagrin. The team had been talking about having practices just to keep themselves in shape for the upcoming year.
"When can we start?" Naruto started to bounce in his seat.
Harry smiled at the blond's enthusiasm. "Maybe tomorrow," he said. "If you want, I'll lend you some of my Quidditch books so you can read them."
Naruto beamed and bounced even more, causing Gaara to put a firm grip on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Naruto," he said. The boy nodded sheepishly and firmly sat down, waiting for Dumbledore to speak like everyone else.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and-most particularly-guests," he began, beaming at everyone. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable." A beautiful girl off to their right at the other table snorted.
"No one's making you stay!" Hermione whispered.
Naruto turned his attention to the girl Hermione was talking to and noticed another girl nearby who was the smallest from Beauxbatons. She sighed as if she were bored and then turned to Naruto. He flashed the girl his infamous smile which she returned and waved to him happily.
"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," Dumbledore continued. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"
Dinner ensued with talk about veela, Bagman, Crouch, and Percy. Naruto noticed that Harry kept sneaking glances at a certain dark-haired girl who was seated next to the girl Ron was ogling over, and a sly grin appeared on his face. He knew what that look was. Once the feast was over, Dumbledore began the introductions.
" . . . Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts," he explained. "And I'm pleased to announce that Kakashi Hatake has agreed to serve as security during the three tasks in case anything goes wrong to ensure that the contestants are safe."
Many heads snapped towards the jounin who was seated besides the gamekeeper, who gave a slight nod of confirmation.
" . . . Now, I think it is time for bed. Goodnight to you all." As soon as Dumbledore ceased speaking, the Great Hall erupted in excited chatter about who would enter their name in the goblet, who would try, and what the newcomers were like.
As they approached the door, Naruto noticed the strange looking man who arrived on the ship come at the same time, fussing over one of his students. Harry stopped and let him go first, and after muttering a quick thanks, the man frowned and faced Harry. Once his gaze rested upon his forehead, the man gasped and his students did the same, some even pointing at him.
"Yeah, that's Harry Potter," Moody growled behind them, limping as he did so. For some reason his appearance made all the color fade from the man's face.
"You!" Gaara could tell the man didn't care for Moody, and to be honest, he didn't either. He had never forgiven the Professor for pulling that stunt against him in Defense Against the Dark Arts. If it wasn't so informative and intriguing, he would have quit the class like he did with Divination.
"Me," Mad-Eye said grimly. "And unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway." Karkaroff seemed to weigh his options, then made up his mind and stormed off with his students close behind him.
Back in the common room, Naruto decided it was time to confront Harry about why he was treated differently than others.
"Uh, Harry? What did Moody mean by you being the only one to survive the killing curse?" Naruto bit his lip and glanced around the room before leaning in and whispering, "Do you have a demon inside you, too?"
Gaara found himself leaning in as well, eager to understand the meaning of his scar. Was it a mark of who he was, like Gaara's was of him?
The three wizards stared at the shinobi with bewildered looks on their faces. They had been expecting questions about Harry's past, but to think he had a demon inside of him?
"Um, no. I don't know anything about a demon, but there is a reason why I have this scar and survived that curse," Harry began. He sighed and then sat back against the couch. It was going to be a rather long story, so he might as well get comfortable. Besides, he predicted that it would be even longer than usual with Naruto interrupting all the time, which proved to be true.
"So, your mother sacrificed herself to save you?" Naruto asked Harry nodded.
"According to Dumbledore, it is her love that seemed to act as a shield against Voldemort," (Ron winced) "and he isn't able to touch me."
Gaara frowned. Love? Why is it always love? This love they talk about seems to be stronger than I originally thought. How can it be so powerful?
"So, that mark is a symbol of her love for you?" Gaara wondered aloud.
Harry looked startled and touched his scar. "I . . . never really thought of it that way," he mumbled. In all honesty, he regarded it as a testament of the curse that killed his parents, an evil symbol that warranted stares and glances from anyone he met; something to be hated. Gaara's remark now made him think of the scar in a whole new light.
Gaara unconsciously touched the kanji on his forehead, fingering each stroke the sand made upon him all those years ago; that he made on himself.
"So, why do you have that tattoo?" Harry said quickly, eager to change the subject.
The redhead was silent for a minute or two before he answered. "I got it when I was six, and I made it myself, with my sand," (some sand emerged from his robes and he played with it, causing it to circle around his left hand) "when I learned what my name meant." Everyone held their breath, waiting for more, but once Gaara turned to face them all, they could see that was all he was going to share with them at the moment.
Hermione was itching to learn more, but had enough experience with boys to know that when they didn't want to talk about something, they weren't going to open up no matter what you did. So, she decided to change the subject.
"Where were you guys yesterday before dinner?"
Naruto appeared thoughtful for a moment, then his face lit up. "We were training with Kakashi-sensei!"
"Training? Where?" Ron asked, having never seen them train near the grounds.
"In this forest by Hagrid's house. It's amazing! There are so many trees-and different animals, too! Of course, it's not as impressive as the Forest of Death, but-"
"Wait! You've been in the Forbidden Forest!" Ron said, his voice suddenly an octave higher.
"I guess, if that's what you call it. But anyway, there are so many-"
"You're not allowed in there, which is why it's called 'Forbidden'," Hermione said.
"Well we didn't know." Naruto sighed. "But why is it forbidden? It's not all that dangerous or scary."
"How far have you gone in?" Ron said, clearly distressed. "Deeper into the forest there are gigantic spiders and werewolves, and-"
"Well, I don't know what a werewolf is," Naruto said, "but I do remember seeing these HUGE spiders a few days ago! We were finding a new place to practice and these spiders came out of nowhere and attacked us. I used my shadow clones while Gaara used his sand to fight them, and once Kakashi used his Chidori on one and killed it, they all ran away." He frowned. "They left before I could use my Rasengan," he added wistfully.
The three wizards stared at them with their mouth's open in amazement and astonishment. For a moment it looked like they were about to protest, but then they gave up. These shinobi were so different it was hard to deal with at times.
"Well," Ron finally said after a long pause, "If I ever go into the Forbidden Forest again, I'll want to take you guys with me."
"You can come tomorrow!" Naruto suggested. "We practice everyday! We could even teach you some jutsu-"
"I-I think we're okay," Ron said quickly, holding his hands in front of him. "Maybe later."
Naruto pouted for a minute, then shrugged it off, instead indulging himself in a large yawn that for some reason made Harry think of Crookshanks.
"What, tired already?" Kakashi smirked, suddenly appearing besides the blond and startling the three wizards.
"Of course not, Kakashi-sen-sensei," Naruto assured sleepily. "I'm j-just . . . just . . . a little sleepy."
Kakashi rolled his eye. "Whatever. It might be a good idea for everyone to go to bed," he suggested with a tone that left no room for argument. They all complied, and as Harry fell asleep in his bed he found himself dreaming about being the Triwizard champion.
Once everyone had left, Gaara turned to the fire, ready to spend another sleepless night by himself. It was becoming harder than ever to concentrate because he felt . . . homesick. (That was the correct term, right?) He had never gone this long without his siblings before. Of course, he usually stayed in his room or on the roof when he wasn't training, but he always knew they were nearby.
He longed for the jokes Kankuro played on their older sister, for Temari chasing him down and beating the puppet-master with her fan, and just the assurance that he had a real family. He had never really noticed it before, but now that he was spending time away from them he found himself missing them terribly.
"So how do you play this game?"
Gaara snapped his attention from the fire to the couch behind him, where the jounin was sitting, examining the wizard's chess board. Gaara just stared at him blankly, too startled to respond.
Kakashi smiled, gesturing to the chair across from him. "Would you teach me?"
Still surprised, Gaara simply nodded and made his way to the opposite chair.
"To get them to move, you call out their name and which quadrant you want them to go. The pieces are pawns, rooks, bishops, knights . . . "
And so the next three hours passed by without Gaara even noticing, getting caught up in teaching the jounin the fascinating wizard's game and playing round after round after round.
When the earliest indications of dawn were visible, Kakashi stretched and stood up. "Well, I have to help Hagrid with his classes later today, so I should get a little rest. Do you mind playing a few games once a week? This is a very practical strategic game. Maybe we should teach Naruto how to play so he gets better at tactics."
The redhead bit his lip for a second and nodded, seeming to be involved in an internal debate. Kakashi smiled and turned to go upstairs, but was stopped when Gaara ran forward and gave the man a Lee-speed hug.
When the startled jounin spun around he saw Gaara a few feet behind him, absolute embarrassment etched on his face, clearly regretting what he had done. After a brief second of consideration, Kakashi smiled and put his hand on the Jinchuuriki's head, ruffling it up the way Minato-sensei would always do to him.
"See you at breakfast, Gaara."
As the genin sat back down on the chair, a calm and relaxing feeling washed over him, erasing the feeling of loneliness he had experienced earlier. Unknown to him. a warm smile had stretched across his face.
Malfoy is Naruto's next target.
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