Naruto and the Goblet of Fire--Chapter 6
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 6: The Triwizard Tournament
The next morning at breakfast there was a large crowd gathered around the Goblet of Fire, and everyone watched as student after student entered their name.
Not before long, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan burst into the Great Hall, boasting about how they had just taken an Aging Potion and were now able to enter their names. Despite Hermione's protests, the twins stepped forward to drop their names in together. Naruto smirked and got closer, eager to see what transpired next.
There was brief pause where everyone thought it had worked, with Fred and George slapping each other's backs in victory, but then they were suddenly thrown out of the circle by some invisible explosive force, and immediately sprouted long white beards to rivals even Professor Dumbledore's.
Naruto stared at the bearded twins with awe. He stepped forward and tentatively touched the levitating circle but was thrown back as well. His beard quickly caught up to the twins' size, and they stood there, laughing at each other while the rest of the students joined in.
Hermione sighed. Why was she not surprised?
"I did warn you," Dumbledore chuckled as he made his way over to the three troublemakers. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything as fine as yours."
And so, Fred, George, and Naruto were accompanied by Lee Jordan as they made their way to the hospital wing, comparing each other's beards and laughing some more.
"It's nice to see Naruto has made some friends who share his affinity for pranks," Kakashi mused, coming up to join the three wizards and Gaara. "Though I suppose growing a beard wasn't part of his intentions."
Harry and Ron snorted. "I think that goes both ways," Ron said. "Other than Lee, no one else has been able to catch up with Fred and George. Seems like Naruto is their apprentice." They all spent a few more moments talking before getting up and deciding to leave now that the fun was over.
"Well, I promised to meet up with Hagrid after breakfast," Kakashi said when they left the Great Hal. He gave a lazy salute to the group of four before disappearing. By now the three wizards were accustomed to the way the jounin was fast enough to vanish before their very eyes, but a few Hufflepuff first-years weren't, and they nearly fainted from the sight of it.
"Might as well go down, too," Harry said. "We haven't paid him a visit yet."
"Okay," Ron agreed, "just as long as he doesn't ask us to donate a few fingers to the skrewts."
"I just realized-I haven't asked Hagrid to join S.P.E.W. yet!" Hermione said. "Wait for me, will you, while I nip upstairs and get the badges?"
"Does she . . . always act this enthusiastic?" Gaara asked as they watched her retreating form.
Ron snorted. "You bet. If she gets motivated about something, you can be rest assured that she won't stop until she has done everything humanely possible, and then some. By the way, I'd watch out if I were you," he added in a more serious tone.
Gaara blinked and gave Ron a confused stare. "Why?"
"From what I've seen, she seems to think that you and your mates are some sort of psy-ki-atric-"
"Psychiatric," Harry corrected him with a taunting smirk. Ron rolled his eyes.
"Fine, psychiatric nutcases, and she's more than likely going to do something about it."
"Why would she do something about it?" Gaara still didn't understand what Ron was getting at. Sure, he was a mentally unstable murderer before, but he was doing better now. Naruto was loud and obnoxious but very kind, while Kakashi was mysterious and slightly threatening especially with his reputation, but from what he had seen, as every bit as kind and comforting as a real father would be.
"Well," Ron said, scratching the back of his neck, wondering how to put it. "You see, in our world, even the Muggle world, kids your age and younger don't usually go on missions to kill people or know how to handle weapons like you do."
"She thinks that you have been robbed of your childhood or normal development or something," Harry added.
The redhead gave a noise dangerously close to a snort and nodded slowly. "Well, she's got that right. Most shinobi don't have what you'd call a normal upbringing." Especially Naruto and me. "But we're doing fine," he said. "What could she want to change?"
Harry and Ron exchanged looks, seeing that Gaara didn't have a clue about how strange and different the three were. "Just-make sure to watch yourself around her, okay?"
Gaara shrugged and as soon as Hermione joined them they made their way to Hagrid's hut.
"'Bout time!" said Hagrid, when he'd flung open the door. "Thought you lot'd forgotten where I live!"
"We've been really busy, Hag-" Hermione started to say, but then stopped dead when she took in Hagrid's appearance.
Standing in the doorway was Hagrid, but he was wearing a very hairy, brown suit, with a checked yellow-and-orange tie, but the worst was his hair. Apparently, he had tried to tame his hair with what suspiciously appeared to be axle grease, slicked into two bunches in the back. Kakashi could be seen in the corner by Fang, trying to conceal his mirth at the four students' shocked faces.
"So, uh, getting ready for the feast, Hagrid?" Hermione managed to force out when she found her voice.
The half-giant beamed. "So yeh noticed? What do yeh think?"
"Really nice," the three wizards blurted out quickly. Gaara just gave a slight nod of feigned approval.
"Well come on in, come on in," he ordered happily, shooing them in through the doorway. "Where's Naruto?" he asked once Gaara stepped into the house.
"He joined Fred and George in trying to confuse the Age line and wound up getting a beard. He's in the hospital wing right now," Hermione explained with an indignant tone in her voice.
Hagrid threw his head back and laughed. "Really? Figures. Can' trick ol' Dumbledore now can they?"
Once they all sat down, the four wizards began to immediately discuss what they thought would happen in the Tournament. Gaara sat aloof, mentally shaking his head at the pathetic ideas the wizards came up with. Seriously, how could meeting up with a person who was half-man, half-wolf be scary? Half-man, half-demon would be more frightening. Maybe he and Naruto should enter the tournament as an obstacle. Just imagine the terrified looks on their faces, he thought with an uncharacteristic, sadistic glee. Perhaps Shukaku's influence wasn't completely eradicated as Gaara thought.
He quickly squashed the idea and shook his head as if to dislodge the image from his memory. Kakashi glanced over to him in concern.
"What is it, Gaara?" he asked in Japanese.
"It's . . . nothing," Gaara said as he schooled his expression back into one of neutrality. This wasn't acceptable! With the lack of missions and fighting lately Gaara could feel himself growing restless. He was no longer controlled by Shukaku's bloodthirsty urges, but it seemed like the peaceful, sedentary lifestyle was starting to have an affect on him.
"Okay," Kakashi said, but he didn't look entirely convinced. Turning back to the conversation, the two shinobi noticed the wizards were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even notice the two foreigners had spoken in their native tongue. The jounin wondered briefly if it was even necessary.
". . . but Kakashi knows," Hagrid taunted, bringing the shinobi's attention to the discussion. "We're makin' plans on when ter meet the participants in the firs' task," he said with a wink, as if he and the copy ninja were sharing a very important secret.
This only made the wizards turn to Kakashi and bombard him with questions, but he shook his head and looked at Hagrid, who was evidently enjoying this as much as he was. Kakashi smirked. Kids were so easy (and fun) to mess with.
Once the interrogation calmed down, everyone "ate" lunch at Hagrid's, if you call mixing the food around and bringing microscopic pieces to your mouth eating. Then Hermione tried to entice Kakashi and Hagrid to join S.P.E.W., both of whom who flat out refused. Slightly dejected, Hermione and the rest of the group headed up to the castle at dinner time, eager for the feast-and the announcement of the school champions-to start.
Everyone met up with Naruto, Fred, and George upon entering the Great Hall. Naruto was yelling and waving his arms around, pointing to the seats beside him, saying, "We saved some seats for you!" which Kakashi quickly put an end to by suddenly appearing at his side and covering his mouth, much to everyone's relief. Hagrid had abandoned them outside his hut, choosing instead to walk Madame Maxime to the feast, leaving them all alone to try and contain their laughter at the sight of them.
The Halloween feast was only somewhat enjoyed by the wizards, mainly because they were too anxious to find out who the champions would be, but the shinobi who couldn't really care less about the childish tournament fully enjoyed the exquisite meal, wanting to try all the new foods.
"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," Dumbledore began. "I estimate that it requires one more minute." Then he went on to explain what the champions were to do when their name was called. When he was finished, the Great Hall was completely silent, many not daring to breathe.
Suddenly the flames inside the goblet turned red, and a charred piece of parchment burst forth, only to be caught delicately by the aged professor, who proudly announced, "The champion for Durmstrang . . . will be Viktor Krum!"
Everyone erupted in cheers, and the two shinobi noticed that the boy who stood up was the one that older man had been fussing over the other day. He certainly looked like a champion. He could even pass for a shinobi by build alone.
Then Fleur Delacour was called for Beauxbatons (Ron ogled after her as she went up, as well as some other boys, but Gaara was at a total loss as to why), and Cedric Diggory for Hogwarts. The three shinobi winced in pain at the roar and pandemonium that ensued once Cedric's name was called, covering their sensitive ears in an effort to dull the noise.
Once it ceased, Dumbledore said, "Excellent! Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-" The three shinobi sensed the power of the goblet before it even turned red, and knew that this could not be good.
The same silence that had occurred before the naming of the champions had begun was back, only this time it was so strained that everyone felt uneasy, and even Naruto didn't have trouble keeping still. He may be a knuckle-headed ninja, but he had a very nagging feeling that this was the start of something very dangerous. It was as if needles were pricking his very skin and his senses suddenly went on high alert, as if they could locate the danger better if they tried.
"Harry Potter."
The air was so thick with confusion, anger, and hatred that the three shinobi could almost taste it; felt as if they would drown in it. Kakashi's ears perked at the slight sense of real killer intent, but with all these other emotions swimming around and clouding his senses, he couldn't pinpoint who it was coming from.
Harry was completely frozen, unable to comprehend that it was his name that Dumbledore had read off. Everyone was staring at him, even Hermione and Ron.
"I didn't put my name in," Harry said. "You know I didn't." But neither of them looked like they believed him, they just stared back at him blankly.
"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore called again. "Harry! Up here, if you please!" It sounded as if he were caught between feeling furious or afraid.
When Harry still didn't move, Hermione gave him a slight push, and suddenly Kakashi was at his side. Startled, Harry glanced up at the jounin who had a firm grip on his shoulder. It looked as if the jounin was distracted, maybe sick even.
"I-I," Harry stammered. Kakashi turned to him, looking as if he was doing everything in his power to stand upright.
"Come on," he whispered gruffly, pulling him to his feet. "It's best that we get you out of here." Nodding slightly, Harry allowed himself to be half-dragged to the door the other champions had entered through.
Once inside and out of sight, Kakashi's grip loosened and once they came to a fireplace in a room lined with pictures of witches and wizards, he let go of Harry and leaned against it, his breathing a little heavier than normal.
Curious as to the man's strange behavior, Harry croaked, "What's wrong?"
The jounin lifted one lazy eye in his direction and gave a weak smile. "We shinobi, are . . . trained in the ability to sense emotions. It usually doesn't overwhelm us, but in cases where there are a large group of people experiencing similar, strong emotions, it proves very difficult to concentrate. Because of our lifestyle it's very rare to be in such a large group like in the Great Hall, especially with so many emotionally driven children," he said, but as he talked Harry noticed he was slowly getting his strength back.
"This was the only way for me to politely leave before becoming too overwhelmed," he said with a full smile, pushing himself off the edge of the fireplace and walking towards him.
"So, do you think . . . I-"
Kakashi shook his head. "No. The only emotions I'm sensing from you are confusion and more confusion. While it's true that some can mask their emotions so well the even the most accomplished of jounin can't sense their feelings, I highly doubt a young wizard like yourself would be capable of doing that."
He put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulders. "If you really put your name in there it would have been a feat for you not to grow a beard, and you would be feeling pretty smug right about now."
While Harry was in the process of whether or not to take Kakashi's statement as an insult or a compliment, the room was suddenly flooded with the other three champions, the headmasters, the overseers of the tournament, and some teachers, which, regrettably, included Snape. Kakashi quickly took his hand off Harry's shoulders and took a few steps backwards.
The Boy Who Lived calmly waited as Bagman explained the situation to everyone, while emotions ran from shocked and confused to anger and incredulity in varying degrees.
"Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, surprisingly calm despite the situation. Harry was rather grateful for that..
"No," Harry said, willing everyone to believe him, which sadly, only consisted about five of them.
"Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?" the Professor asked again, ignoring the silent snort from Snape.
"No," Harry said vehemently.
This only resulted in another uproar of people calling him a liar and demanding a recount, which ended once Mr. Crouch announced that according to the rules that there were now four champions.
Towards the end of the argument, Mad-Eye Moody made his appearance.
"Maybe someone's hoping Potter is going to die for it," Moody growled. Harry froze at the implication. Did someone put his name in the goblet to make him die? Well, he could think of a hundred people, but somehow one person's name kept floating to the top a little bit more than the others.
"You seem to have given this a great deal of thought, Mad-Eye," Karkaroff said coldly.
"There are those who'll turn innocent occasions to their advantage," Moody retorted just as harshly. "It's my job to think the way Dark wizards do, Karkaroff-as you ought to remember . . . "
"Alastor!" Dumbledore warned. However, Harry didn't have long to dwell on the accusation Moody's statement implied. He had other matters to think about.
"How this situation arose, we do not know," the headmaster continued, addressing everyone in the room. "It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. Both Cedric and Harry have been chosen to compete in the Tournament." Once that was clear, Dumbledore turned the time over to Mr. Crouch to explain the first task.
After that was finished, Harry was left to follow the others out of the room. While passing Kakashi, the jounin whispered, "Once you leave, get out of sight. Hide yourself and I'll be right after you. I will accompany you to the common room." Puzzled by the statement, Harry nonetheless obeyed, saying good-bye to Cedric once they were out of earshot of the room, and hide himself in a dark corner, feeling slightly foolish.
"How can this be happening?" Professor McGonagall asked to no one in particular. The only ones left in the room were herself, Snape, Moody, Dumbledore, and Kakashi.
"I do not know Minerva," the headmaster sighed, rubbing his temples wearily. "What do you think, Kakashi?" The jounin stepped forward and held out his hand for the charred parchment that contained Harry's name. Once it was placed in his hand, he held it up to his face and sniffed slightly.
After a few minutes pause, he shook his head. "Potter didn't write this, it's not his scent."
"And what makes you think you can smell his scent?" Snape spat. The jounin turned to him patiently, locking eyes with the Potion's master.
"Most of the people from where I come from have sensing capabilities far beyond that of an average human," he explained calmly. "My sense of smell is only rivaled by the Inuzuka clan, and I can assuredly say without a doubt, that this is not Harry Potter's scent."
"Do you know whose it is then?" McGonagall asked, not entirely sure if she believed it herself, but she had seen enough strange things from these foreigners that she couldn't doubt him.
Kakashi sighed. "I cannot say. It is a smell that I haven't encountered yet at this school. Even then this scent is very faint, which could mean one of two things, either the one who wrote this did it a long time ago which would leave a small trace of the original scent, or it was done by a person capable of hiding their scent. With the latter, I hardly doubt it, because the only one's capable of doing so are very skilled shinobi where I came from, and the chance that there are others like me here is almost nonexistent.
"However, the chance that this was done such a long time ago that there was only a trace of the original scent left behind is also highly improbable, seeing as how someone had to have just recently entered this parchment into the goblet, and there would be a stronger scent. Clearly, the reason behind it has to be with something I have never encountered before, which, considering this is a brand new world for me, highly probable."
McGonagall and Snape simply stared at the jounin, clearly taken back by the wisdom and sheer genius behind his argument, which he undoubtedly came up with in the past few seconds. Snape was infuriated by being outsmarted by a man who was still a child, in his mind anyway.
Dumbledore, however, looked impressed at the conclusion. "Very good, very good," he mused. "Could I ask that you stay on the lookout for this scent? If you ever come across it, be sure to inform me."
The copy ninja nodded, pocketing the slip of parchment into one of his pockets. "If I ever encounter it, I will be sure to incapacitate the individual and bring him to you immediately." The ease at which he spoke of capturing the culprit behind the strange occurrence set the Potions and Transfiguration teachers on edge.
"Do you agree, Alastor?" The DADA teacher appeared slightly startled at finally being addressed in the conversation, but he quickly recovered and gruffly nodded.
"Don't see any problems with that," he agreed. "Just better keep an eye out for Potter."
"Naturally," Dumbledore said with a smile. Turning to Kakashi he turned serious. "Since you seem to have-experience in these matters, would it be too much to ask for your help again? Only this time keep an eye out for Harry, making sure he doesn't get into too much trouble? I daresay he's become somewhat of an attraction for these things." The jounin nodded.
"It would be my pleasure," he said with a small bow. "Just think of it as a way for me to show my appreciation for your hospitality." Seeing as how their discussion was over, Snape, McGonagall, and Moody turned to leave.
"Oh, and Dumbledore-sama," Kakashi whispered as he passed the headmaster. "I have reason to believe that what Professor Moody said was correct. I also have the ability to detect emotions-albeit faintly-and there was definite killer intent in the Great Hall when Harry's name was called. I was unable to pinpoint the location with all the other emotions, but I have reason to believe the one behind entering Harry's name and the one with the killer intent are one and the same."
"Ah, I see," Dumbledore whispered softly. "Then it's true."
"I will also be on the lookout for the one behind that emotion," Kakashi assured him, before saying good-bye. If either of the two hadn't been so focused on their conversation, they might have noticed that a certain man's shoulders tensed at what Kakashi had unveiled and slightly panicked before realizing that he would have to be very careful with his proceedings in the future. But, he noted with slight glee, Lord Voldemort might find this new information very useful.
The older foreigner needed to be taken care of though.
Harry was about to give into the thought that Kakashi had abandoned him when the jounin appeared in front of him and nudged his head in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.
"So, what's going on?" Harry asked, trying to appear casual as he fell in sync with the jounin.
"It seems as if there may truly be a more sinister reason behind your name being put in the goblet."
"Let me guess," the boy asked sarcastically, "Dumbledore asked you to protect me?" Kakashi was slightly taken aback by Harry's promptness on the issue, then smirked.
"I take it you have experience in these matters?"
The young wizard snorted. "Since I was born. I seem to be a homing beacon for trouble."
Seeing how there was more depth and meaning to what Harry said, Kakashi asked, "Since I don't need to hide the fact that I am keeping watch over you, would it be too personal to ask why you seem to be a very special wizard in this world?"
"Why not? Everyone else knows the story, and I'd rather you knew the true version rather than one others might tell you." And so, their journey to the common room consisted of a very watered down version of his dealings with Voldemort.
When the Fat Lady opened the door, Harry and Kakashi were almost blown backwards by the noise. Inside was the whole Gryffindor House, full of students cheering and trying to shake his hand, give him sweets, or talk to him.
"You should've told us you'd entered!"
"How did you do it without getting a beard? Brilliant!"
"Oh if it couldn't be me, at least it's a Gryffindor-"
"We've got food, Harry, come and have some-"
Harry turned desperately to Kakashi and pleaded with his eyes for the jounin to help him escape this. The silver-haired ninja chuckled softly, placed a firm hand on Harry's shoulder and held up the other in a hand seal, then disappeared in his signature white puff of smoke. There was silence for a moment, then everyone started cheering.
"Did you see that?"
"I thought you couldn't Apparate on school grounds?"
"No you idiot, didn't you see that smoke? There isn't any smoke when you Apparate-"
"I wanna learn how to do that!"
Once they arrived on the top of the boys' dormitory stairs, Harry was in a slight daze from being transported, then shook his head and scanned their surroundings before breathing, "Ho-How did you do that?"
"Just one of my jutsu."
"Do you think you could teach me that sometime?" he asked hopefully. Goodness knows how many times something like that could come in handy for the young wizard.
Kakashi chuckled. "Maybe. However, I think it's time to go to bed. You've had a rough night."
"That's an understatement," Harry muttered under his breath before obeying the command. Sadly, what he would find in his dormitory did little to lift his spirits, instead proving to be the beginning of a very, very long nightmare.
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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 6: The Triwizard Tournament
The next morning at breakfast there was a large crowd gathered around the Goblet of Fire, and everyone watched as student after student entered their name.
Not before long, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan burst into the Great Hall, boasting about how they had just taken an Aging Potion and were now able to enter their names. Despite Hermione's protests, the twins stepped forward to drop their names in together. Naruto smirked and got closer, eager to see what transpired next.
There was brief pause where everyone thought it had worked, with Fred and George slapping each other's backs in victory, but then they were suddenly thrown out of the circle by some invisible explosive force, and immediately sprouted long white beards to rivals even Professor Dumbledore's.
Naruto stared at the bearded twins with awe. He stepped forward and tentatively touched the levitating circle but was thrown back as well. His beard quickly caught up to the twins' size, and they stood there, laughing at each other while the rest of the students joined in.
Hermione sighed. Why was she not surprised?
"I did warn you," Dumbledore chuckled as he made his way over to the three troublemakers. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything as fine as yours."
And so, Fred, George, and Naruto were accompanied by Lee Jordan as they made their way to the hospital wing, comparing each other's beards and laughing some more.
"It's nice to see Naruto has made some friends who share his affinity for pranks," Kakashi mused, coming up to join the three wizards and Gaara. "Though I suppose growing a beard wasn't part of his intentions."
Harry and Ron snorted. "I think that goes both ways," Ron said. "Other than Lee, no one else has been able to catch up with Fred and George. Seems like Naruto is their apprentice." They all spent a few more moments talking before getting up and deciding to leave now that the fun was over.
"Well, I promised to meet up with Hagrid after breakfast," Kakashi said when they left the Great Hal. He gave a lazy salute to the group of four before disappearing. By now the three wizards were accustomed to the way the jounin was fast enough to vanish before their very eyes, but a few Hufflepuff first-years weren't, and they nearly fainted from the sight of it.
"Might as well go down, too," Harry said. "We haven't paid him a visit yet."
"Okay," Ron agreed, "just as long as he doesn't ask us to donate a few fingers to the skrewts."
"I just realized-I haven't asked Hagrid to join S.P.E.W. yet!" Hermione said. "Wait for me, will you, while I nip upstairs and get the badges?"
"Does she . . . always act this enthusiastic?" Gaara asked as they watched her retreating form.
Ron snorted. "You bet. If she gets motivated about something, you can be rest assured that she won't stop until she has done everything humanely possible, and then some. By the way, I'd watch out if I were you," he added in a more serious tone.
Gaara blinked and gave Ron a confused stare. "Why?"
"From what I've seen, she seems to think that you and your mates are some sort of psy-ki-atric-"
"Psychiatric," Harry corrected him with a taunting smirk. Ron rolled his eyes.
"Fine, psychiatric nutcases, and she's more than likely going to do something about it."
"Why would she do something about it?" Gaara still didn't understand what Ron was getting at. Sure, he was a mentally unstable murderer before, but he was doing better now. Naruto was loud and obnoxious but very kind, while Kakashi was mysterious and slightly threatening especially with his reputation, but from what he had seen, as every bit as kind and comforting as a real father would be.
"Well," Ron said, scratching the back of his neck, wondering how to put it. "You see, in our world, even the Muggle world, kids your age and younger don't usually go on missions to kill people or know how to handle weapons like you do."
"She thinks that you have been robbed of your childhood or normal development or something," Harry added.
The redhead gave a noise dangerously close to a snort and nodded slowly. "Well, she's got that right. Most shinobi don't have what you'd call a normal upbringing." Especially Naruto and me. "But we're doing fine," he said. "What could she want to change?"
Harry and Ron exchanged looks, seeing that Gaara didn't have a clue about how strange and different the three were. "Just-make sure to watch yourself around her, okay?"
Gaara shrugged and as soon as Hermione joined them they made their way to Hagrid's hut.
"'Bout time!" said Hagrid, when he'd flung open the door. "Thought you lot'd forgotten where I live!"
"We've been really busy, Hag-" Hermione started to say, but then stopped dead when she took in Hagrid's appearance.
Standing in the doorway was Hagrid, but he was wearing a very hairy, brown suit, with a checked yellow-and-orange tie, but the worst was his hair. Apparently, he had tried to tame his hair with what suspiciously appeared to be axle grease, slicked into two bunches in the back. Kakashi could be seen in the corner by Fang, trying to conceal his mirth at the four students' shocked faces.
"So, uh, getting ready for the feast, Hagrid?" Hermione managed to force out when she found her voice.
The half-giant beamed. "So yeh noticed? What do yeh think?"
"Really nice," the three wizards blurted out quickly. Gaara just gave a slight nod of feigned approval.
"Well come on in, come on in," he ordered happily, shooing them in through the doorway. "Where's Naruto?" he asked once Gaara stepped into the house.
"He joined Fred and George in trying to confuse the Age line and wound up getting a beard. He's in the hospital wing right now," Hermione explained with an indignant tone in her voice.
Hagrid threw his head back and laughed. "Really? Figures. Can' trick ol' Dumbledore now can they?"
Once they all sat down, the four wizards began to immediately discuss what they thought would happen in the Tournament. Gaara sat aloof, mentally shaking his head at the pathetic ideas the wizards came up with. Seriously, how could meeting up with a person who was half-man, half-wolf be scary? Half-man, half-demon would be more frightening. Maybe he and Naruto should enter the tournament as an obstacle. Just imagine the terrified looks on their faces, he thought with an uncharacteristic, sadistic glee. Perhaps Shukaku's influence wasn't completely eradicated as Gaara thought.
He quickly squashed the idea and shook his head as if to dislodge the image from his memory. Kakashi glanced over to him in concern.
"What is it, Gaara?" he asked in Japanese.
"It's . . . nothing," Gaara said as he schooled his expression back into one of neutrality. This wasn't acceptable! With the lack of missions and fighting lately Gaara could feel himself growing restless. He was no longer controlled by Shukaku's bloodthirsty urges, but it seemed like the peaceful, sedentary lifestyle was starting to have an affect on him.
"Okay," Kakashi said, but he didn't look entirely convinced. Turning back to the conversation, the two shinobi noticed the wizards were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even notice the two foreigners had spoken in their native tongue. The jounin wondered briefly if it was even necessary.
". . . but Kakashi knows," Hagrid taunted, bringing the shinobi's attention to the discussion. "We're makin' plans on when ter meet the participants in the firs' task," he said with a wink, as if he and the copy ninja were sharing a very important secret.
This only made the wizards turn to Kakashi and bombard him with questions, but he shook his head and looked at Hagrid, who was evidently enjoying this as much as he was. Kakashi smirked. Kids were so easy (and fun) to mess with.
Once the interrogation calmed down, everyone "ate" lunch at Hagrid's, if you call mixing the food around and bringing microscopic pieces to your mouth eating. Then Hermione tried to entice Kakashi and Hagrid to join S.P.E.W., both of whom who flat out refused. Slightly dejected, Hermione and the rest of the group headed up to the castle at dinner time, eager for the feast-and the announcement of the school champions-to start.
Everyone met up with Naruto, Fred, and George upon entering the Great Hall. Naruto was yelling and waving his arms around, pointing to the seats beside him, saying, "We saved some seats for you!" which Kakashi quickly put an end to by suddenly appearing at his side and covering his mouth, much to everyone's relief. Hagrid had abandoned them outside his hut, choosing instead to walk Madame Maxime to the feast, leaving them all alone to try and contain their laughter at the sight of them.
The Halloween feast was only somewhat enjoyed by the wizards, mainly because they were too anxious to find out who the champions would be, but the shinobi who couldn't really care less about the childish tournament fully enjoyed the exquisite meal, wanting to try all the new foods.
"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," Dumbledore began. "I estimate that it requires one more minute." Then he went on to explain what the champions were to do when their name was called. When he was finished, the Great Hall was completely silent, many not daring to breathe.
Suddenly the flames inside the goblet turned red, and a charred piece of parchment burst forth, only to be caught delicately by the aged professor, who proudly announced, "The champion for Durmstrang . . . will be Viktor Krum!"
Everyone erupted in cheers, and the two shinobi noticed that the boy who stood up was the one that older man had been fussing over the other day. He certainly looked like a champion. He could even pass for a shinobi by build alone.
Then Fleur Delacour was called for Beauxbatons (Ron ogled after her as she went up, as well as some other boys, but Gaara was at a total loss as to why), and Cedric Diggory for Hogwarts. The three shinobi winced in pain at the roar and pandemonium that ensued once Cedric's name was called, covering their sensitive ears in an effort to dull the noise.
Once it ceased, Dumbledore said, "Excellent! Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-" The three shinobi sensed the power of the goblet before it even turned red, and knew that this could not be good.
The same silence that had occurred before the naming of the champions had begun was back, only this time it was so strained that everyone felt uneasy, and even Naruto didn't have trouble keeping still. He may be a knuckle-headed ninja, but he had a very nagging feeling that this was the start of something very dangerous. It was as if needles were pricking his very skin and his senses suddenly went on high alert, as if they could locate the danger better if they tried.
"Harry Potter."
The air was so thick with confusion, anger, and hatred that the three shinobi could almost taste it; felt as if they would drown in it. Kakashi's ears perked at the slight sense of real killer intent, but with all these other emotions swimming around and clouding his senses, he couldn't pinpoint who it was coming from.
Harry was completely frozen, unable to comprehend that it was his name that Dumbledore had read off. Everyone was staring at him, even Hermione and Ron.
"I didn't put my name in," Harry said. "You know I didn't." But neither of them looked like they believed him, they just stared back at him blankly.
"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore called again. "Harry! Up here, if you please!" It sounded as if he were caught between feeling furious or afraid.
When Harry still didn't move, Hermione gave him a slight push, and suddenly Kakashi was at his side. Startled, Harry glanced up at the jounin who had a firm grip on his shoulder. It looked as if the jounin was distracted, maybe sick even.
"I-I," Harry stammered. Kakashi turned to him, looking as if he was doing everything in his power to stand upright.
"Come on," he whispered gruffly, pulling him to his feet. "It's best that we get you out of here." Nodding slightly, Harry allowed himself to be half-dragged to the door the other champions had entered through.
Once inside and out of sight, Kakashi's grip loosened and once they came to a fireplace in a room lined with pictures of witches and wizards, he let go of Harry and leaned against it, his breathing a little heavier than normal.
Curious as to the man's strange behavior, Harry croaked, "What's wrong?"
The jounin lifted one lazy eye in his direction and gave a weak smile. "We shinobi, are . . . trained in the ability to sense emotions. It usually doesn't overwhelm us, but in cases where there are a large group of people experiencing similar, strong emotions, it proves very difficult to concentrate. Because of our lifestyle it's very rare to be in such a large group like in the Great Hall, especially with so many emotionally driven children," he said, but as he talked Harry noticed he was slowly getting his strength back.
"This was the only way for me to politely leave before becoming too overwhelmed," he said with a full smile, pushing himself off the edge of the fireplace and walking towards him.
"So, do you think . . . I-"
Kakashi shook his head. "No. The only emotions I'm sensing from you are confusion and more confusion. While it's true that some can mask their emotions so well the even the most accomplished of jounin can't sense their feelings, I highly doubt a young wizard like yourself would be capable of doing that."
He put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulders. "If you really put your name in there it would have been a feat for you not to grow a beard, and you would be feeling pretty smug right about now."
While Harry was in the process of whether or not to take Kakashi's statement as an insult or a compliment, the room was suddenly flooded with the other three champions, the headmasters, the overseers of the tournament, and some teachers, which, regrettably, included Snape. Kakashi quickly took his hand off Harry's shoulders and took a few steps backwards.
The Boy Who Lived calmly waited as Bagman explained the situation to everyone, while emotions ran from shocked and confused to anger and incredulity in varying degrees.
"Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, surprisingly calm despite the situation. Harry was rather grateful for that..
"No," Harry said, willing everyone to believe him, which sadly, only consisted about five of them.
"Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?" the Professor asked again, ignoring the silent snort from Snape.
"No," Harry said vehemently.
This only resulted in another uproar of people calling him a liar and demanding a recount, which ended once Mr. Crouch announced that according to the rules that there were now four champions.
Towards the end of the argument, Mad-Eye Moody made his appearance.
"Maybe someone's hoping Potter is going to die for it," Moody growled. Harry froze at the implication. Did someone put his name in the goblet to make him die? Well, he could think of a hundred people, but somehow one person's name kept floating to the top a little bit more than the others.
"You seem to have given this a great deal of thought, Mad-Eye," Karkaroff said coldly.
"There are those who'll turn innocent occasions to their advantage," Moody retorted just as harshly. "It's my job to think the way Dark wizards do, Karkaroff-as you ought to remember . . . "
"Alastor!" Dumbledore warned. However, Harry didn't have long to dwell on the accusation Moody's statement implied. He had other matters to think about.
"How this situation arose, we do not know," the headmaster continued, addressing everyone in the room. "It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. Both Cedric and Harry have been chosen to compete in the Tournament." Once that was clear, Dumbledore turned the time over to Mr. Crouch to explain the first task.
After that was finished, Harry was left to follow the others out of the room. While passing Kakashi, the jounin whispered, "Once you leave, get out of sight. Hide yourself and I'll be right after you. I will accompany you to the common room." Puzzled by the statement, Harry nonetheless obeyed, saying good-bye to Cedric once they were out of earshot of the room, and hide himself in a dark corner, feeling slightly foolish.
"How can this be happening?" Professor McGonagall asked to no one in particular. The only ones left in the room were herself, Snape, Moody, Dumbledore, and Kakashi.
"I do not know Minerva," the headmaster sighed, rubbing his temples wearily. "What do you think, Kakashi?" The jounin stepped forward and held out his hand for the charred parchment that contained Harry's name. Once it was placed in his hand, he held it up to his face and sniffed slightly.
After a few minutes pause, he shook his head. "Potter didn't write this, it's not his scent."
"And what makes you think you can smell his scent?" Snape spat. The jounin turned to him patiently, locking eyes with the Potion's master.
"Most of the people from where I come from have sensing capabilities far beyond that of an average human," he explained calmly. "My sense of smell is only rivaled by the Inuzuka clan, and I can assuredly say without a doubt, that this is not Harry Potter's scent."
"Do you know whose it is then?" McGonagall asked, not entirely sure if she believed it herself, but she had seen enough strange things from these foreigners that she couldn't doubt him.
Kakashi sighed. "I cannot say. It is a smell that I haven't encountered yet at this school. Even then this scent is very faint, which could mean one of two things, either the one who wrote this did it a long time ago which would leave a small trace of the original scent, or it was done by a person capable of hiding their scent. With the latter, I hardly doubt it, because the only one's capable of doing so are very skilled shinobi where I came from, and the chance that there are others like me here is almost nonexistent.
"However, the chance that this was done such a long time ago that there was only a trace of the original scent left behind is also highly improbable, seeing as how someone had to have just recently entered this parchment into the goblet, and there would be a stronger scent. Clearly, the reason behind it has to be with something I have never encountered before, which, considering this is a brand new world for me, highly probable."
McGonagall and Snape simply stared at the jounin, clearly taken back by the wisdom and sheer genius behind his argument, which he undoubtedly came up with in the past few seconds. Snape was infuriated by being outsmarted by a man who was still a child, in his mind anyway.
Dumbledore, however, looked impressed at the conclusion. "Very good, very good," he mused. "Could I ask that you stay on the lookout for this scent? If you ever come across it, be sure to inform me."
The copy ninja nodded, pocketing the slip of parchment into one of his pockets. "If I ever encounter it, I will be sure to incapacitate the individual and bring him to you immediately." The ease at which he spoke of capturing the culprit behind the strange occurrence set the Potions and Transfiguration teachers on edge.
"Do you agree, Alastor?" The DADA teacher appeared slightly startled at finally being addressed in the conversation, but he quickly recovered and gruffly nodded.
"Don't see any problems with that," he agreed. "Just better keep an eye out for Potter."
"Naturally," Dumbledore said with a smile. Turning to Kakashi he turned serious. "Since you seem to have-experience in these matters, would it be too much to ask for your help again? Only this time keep an eye out for Harry, making sure he doesn't get into too much trouble? I daresay he's become somewhat of an attraction for these things." The jounin nodded.
"It would be my pleasure," he said with a small bow. "Just think of it as a way for me to show my appreciation for your hospitality." Seeing as how their discussion was over, Snape, McGonagall, and Moody turned to leave.
"Oh, and Dumbledore-sama," Kakashi whispered as he passed the headmaster. "I have reason to believe that what Professor Moody said was correct. I also have the ability to detect emotions-albeit faintly-and there was definite killer intent in the Great Hall when Harry's name was called. I was unable to pinpoint the location with all the other emotions, but I have reason to believe the one behind entering Harry's name and the one with the killer intent are one and the same."
"Ah, I see," Dumbledore whispered softly. "Then it's true."
"I will also be on the lookout for the one behind that emotion," Kakashi assured him, before saying good-bye. If either of the two hadn't been so focused on their conversation, they might have noticed that a certain man's shoulders tensed at what Kakashi had unveiled and slightly panicked before realizing that he would have to be very careful with his proceedings in the future. But, he noted with slight glee, Lord Voldemort might find this new information very useful.
The older foreigner needed to be taken care of though.
Harry was about to give into the thought that Kakashi had abandoned him when the jounin appeared in front of him and nudged his head in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.
"So, what's going on?" Harry asked, trying to appear casual as he fell in sync with the jounin.
"It seems as if there may truly be a more sinister reason behind your name being put in the goblet."
"Let me guess," the boy asked sarcastically, "Dumbledore asked you to protect me?" Kakashi was slightly taken aback by Harry's promptness on the issue, then smirked.
"I take it you have experience in these matters?"
The young wizard snorted. "Since I was born. I seem to be a homing beacon for trouble."
Seeing how there was more depth and meaning to what Harry said, Kakashi asked, "Since I don't need to hide the fact that I am keeping watch over you, would it be too personal to ask why you seem to be a very special wizard in this world?"
"Why not? Everyone else knows the story, and I'd rather you knew the true version rather than one others might tell you." And so, their journey to the common room consisted of a very watered down version of his dealings with Voldemort.
When the Fat Lady opened the door, Harry and Kakashi were almost blown backwards by the noise. Inside was the whole Gryffindor House, full of students cheering and trying to shake his hand, give him sweets, or talk to him.
"You should've told us you'd entered!"
"How did you do it without getting a beard? Brilliant!"
"Oh if it couldn't be me, at least it's a Gryffindor-"
"We've got food, Harry, come and have some-"
Harry turned desperately to Kakashi and pleaded with his eyes for the jounin to help him escape this. The silver-haired ninja chuckled softly, placed a firm hand on Harry's shoulder and held up the other in a hand seal, then disappeared in his signature white puff of smoke. There was silence for a moment, then everyone started cheering.
"Did you see that?"
"I thought you couldn't Apparate on school grounds?"
"No you idiot, didn't you see that smoke? There isn't any smoke when you Apparate-"
"I wanna learn how to do that!"
Once they arrived on the top of the boys' dormitory stairs, Harry was in a slight daze from being transported, then shook his head and scanned their surroundings before breathing, "Ho-How did you do that?"
"Just one of my jutsu."
"Do you think you could teach me that sometime?" he asked hopefully. Goodness knows how many times something like that could come in handy for the young wizard.
Kakashi chuckled. "Maybe. However, I think it's time to go to bed. You've had a rough night."
"That's an understatement," Harry muttered under his breath before obeying the command. Sadly, what he would find in his dormitory did little to lift his spirits, instead proving to be the beginning of a very, very long nightmare.
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