Naruto and the Goblet of Fire--Chapter 9
Title: Naruto and the Goblet of Fire
Author: Reidluver
Fandom: Harry Potter, Naruto
Pairing/Characters: 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 9: Butterbeer, Dragons, and Sirius
"This place is amazing!" Naruto yelled happily, spinning around to try and look at all the shops at once.
Hermione smirked. "At least with him around I won't look like an idiot talking to myself if I want to talk to you," she snapped at Harry.
He rolled his eyes. "Hermione, you know what would happen if I showed myself! People would bombard me with questions or throw tissues at me, all because of what that-" (he paused for a second and quickly jumped out of the way of someone who ran past them) "devil woman wrote about me," he finished in a whisper. He had a more colorful word in mind but couldn't say it in front of Hermione.
"How about we meet up with Ron over by-"
"No."
She sighed in frustration, pulling a strand of hair behind her head and threw up her shoulders in defeat. "Fine! Have it your way!"
"Hermione! Hermione!" Naruto exclaimed, suddenly appeared inches from her face, causing the girl to shriek in surprise and fall backwards into an unprepared Harry who quickly pushed her back up, worried about anyone seeing the strange sight.
"Wha-what is it, Naruto?" she asked calmly, trying to regain her composure.
"Can we go there?" he pleaded, pointing to an inviting shop that many people were entering and exiting. "It has brooms like in Quidditch!"
Harry chuckled. Naruto didn't know how to read English, but he was able to decipher the meaning behind the three broomsticks bundled together next to the sign.
"That's an excellent idea, Naruto," Hermione said happily. "A tall glass of butterbeer is just what we need."
Naruto frowned for a second then shook his finger motherly at them. "Even where I come from, you're not allowed to have sake until you're at least 15 years old, although Ero-sennin did tell me Tsunade broke that rule a million times over," he added in an undertone to himself.
The two wizards stared at him for a second in bewilderment before Hermione sighed. "It's not real beer, that's just the name for it. Butterbeer is one of the most popular drinks around here, and you'll find out why once you try one. By the way, how old was this-Tsunade when she started drinking sake?" she added as an afterthought as they made their way into the warm shop, the tantalizing aromas rushing over them.
"Ero-sennin guessed around twelve," Naruto said with a smirk, glancing at everything around him while still focusing on the conversation. "She's been a drunk ever since and I've had to throw water on her every once and a while, with the help of Shizune. It's tough work at times, but at first she had a reason to, with all her precious people dying and all, but now that she's Hokage it's a little better for her so she doesn't do it as much-"
As Naruto began to ramble on and on about the drunken lady, Harry paid attention to Hermione's face and noticed her dismay at hearing such a story and he found himself wincing at the look in her eye. The wizard swore that if she could, his friend would make sure Naruto and his friends never went home, insisting that they receive a better upbringing and then maybe even go over to where they came from and try to save all the murderous and drunken twelve-year-olds.
"Uh, Hermione?" he whispered, trying to distract her from the ideas no doubt formulating in her mind. "The drinks?"
She blinked. "Oh, right." She lightly tapped Naruto's shoulder and gestured for him to follow her to the counter to receive their drinks. Seeing how crowded it was, Harry didn't dare follow, so instead he tried to search for an open table.
To his discomfort, he spotted Ron sitting with Fred, George, Lee Jordan, and Gaara, who appeared to be quite fascinated by the butterbeer and was drinking it contentedly, as if it was the most amazing thing he had ever come across. Resisting the urge to hit Ron or spill his drink, he sniggered at the thought of Gaara becoming addicted to butterbeer. He wondered if it would have any sort of effect on the strange shinobi.
Suddenly he spotted Kakashi sitting by himself at a table, a glass of butterbeer to the side and a large book in front of him. Harry had always seen him with his nose in a book, and was puzzled as to why. He probably reads more than Hermione! Has he read the whole library yet?
The jounin suddenly glanced up, as if he could hear Harry's thoughts, and seemed to zero in on him. He raised his visible eyebrow and then gestured over to the table. Harry quickly turned around to see who he was pointing to, and when there was no one, stared back at the shinobi who appeared to sigh for a moment.
Very carefully Kakashi lifted up his headband and slowly opened his eyelid, revealing the Sharingan underneath, meeting Harry's eyes perfectly. The boy shuddered slightly, still wary of that eye and realized that he most likely was able to see him, or at least sense him like Gaara did. Does that eye see through invisible cloaks?
Harry quickly maneuvered around the different tables to find a seat to Kakashi's right, who calmly covered his disfigured eye and focused his attention back to his reading.
"Didn't want anyone to know you were here, ne?" he asked quietly, not even taking his gaze off the book. Harry could have sworn the jounin was smiling underneath that mask.
"Exactly."
"Wouldn't blame you. Your wizard abilities still fascinate me, creating a cloak that's invisible? That's a type of jutsu people in my world would kill for."
Harry found himself not doubting Kakashi's words one bit. "So, what are you doing here?" he asked, eager to divert the topic of the conversation from death, which the shinobi talked about with too much ease for Harry's comfort.
"Just wanted to check out the town for anything crucial to your predicament," he said casually. "While inspecting the different shops, I overheard some students discussing this place, and going on and on about how great this butterbeer tasted, so I decided to come taste it for myself. It wasn't what I expected, but it's quite good. There's even a small hint of sake taste in it."
Harry's eyes widened. Sake? But from how Naruto described it, sake is like alcohol! He hastily sought out Madame Rosmerta and stared. What else is in our drinks?
Kakashi frowned, sensing his discomfort. "You know what sake is then?"
"Yeah, Naruto was talking about some Tsunade lady when he thought butterbeer was actual beer."
"Don't worry, the taste isn't alcohol, it's just the flavoring that makes sake so enjoyable. In our world sake is alcohol with some flavoring to it, because so many shinobi complained about how the stench of alcohol would give them away after drinking it if they tried to go on a mission, so a new ingredient was added to disguise the smell. It does give a slight sense of euphoria though, which is probably why you all enjoy it so much, but you won't suffer any side effects like if you drank sake."
"Harry?" Hermione whispered quietly, staring at the spot opposite of Kakashi, two butterbeers in her hand.
"Over here," he muttered. Upon hearing his voice she sighed in relief.
"I told you," Naruto sulked, pulling a chair back and taking a drink of his butterbeer.
Hermione blushed in embarrassment. "I-I just didn't think it was possible," she tried to say in defense. The blond rolled his eyes and returned to his butterbeer, clearly enjoying it.
"What are you doing here, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto decided to ask instead.
"Just scouting out the village," he replied calmly, pausing for a second in his reading to smile at his student. Despite what Kakashi told him earlier, Harry also had a sinking feeling that the jounin was also keeping an eye on him, just like Dumbledore had told him to do.
He clenched the glass of butterbeer Hermione had slipped to him underneath his cloak tightly as he took a sip. Why do I always have to be babied and looked after? He liked Kakashi, but the fact that he was on orders to watch him still angered the wizard.
"So you were able to sense Harry too, Kakashi?" Hermione asked.
He nodded. "You'll find that our abilities allow us to do many things you wouldn't be able to believe, Ms. Granger." He paused for a second. "Just like I can tell you that Hagrid and Professor Moody are about to enter."
All three children directed their attention to the front door, where surprisingly enough, the large, bulky frame of Hagrid entered, followed by the hobbling Mad-Eye.
Hermione's mouth was slightly open, amazed that she found herself again bested by her lack of knowledge in the capabilities of the foreigners.
They watched as the duo made their way to the counter where Hagrid ordered an enormous tankard of who knows what, while Moody preferred to drink from his hip flask, much to Rosmerta's annoyance.
Harry knew better though. Moody simply believed it was safer to drink from his own hip flask than trust anyone else, due to the fact that he was so paranoid about some Dark Wizard poisoning his drink. As the two talked, Harry noticed in confusion how Moody's swiveling eye seemed to focus in on Gaara (who appeared to be drinking his second butterbeer) and then it spun around so fast it made his head hurt until it zeroed in on them.
The Auror whispered something to Hagrid who glanced up suddenly and turned his attention to their table and broke out in a grin. Before long they both made their way over.
"All right Hermione? Naruto? Kakashi?" said Hagrid loudly. The three nodded.
"Nice cloak, Potter," Moody wheezed.
"So you can see me, too?" Harry sighed. Mad-Eye appeared confused for a moment, then glanced at Kakashi and grinned, but not before Naruto noticed the strange glint in the man's eye.
Hagrid was simply beaming, not able to see Harry himself but impressed with the fact that he was there anyway. As Moody began to leave with a quick nod of his head, Hagrid leaned forward as if to glance at Kakashi's book and threw a quick nervous glance at Kakashi.
"Harry, meet me tonight at midnight at me cabin. Wear that cloak." With another uneasy glance at Kakashi he straightened up and said loudly. "Nice ter see yeh all again," with a wink before departing after Moody.
"Why would he want to see me at midnight?" Harry wondered aloud.
"He does?" Hermione said, looking startled. "What could he possibly want to show you?" she gasped. "It probably isn't a good idea, you know. It might make you late for your appointment," she hissed in an undertone, not daring to say Sirius's name in front of the shinobi.
Harry's eyes widened as he realized she was right, then came across another sinking thought, one that he would have to discuss without the shinobi around.
"I-if you'll excuse us, we have something personal . . . to discuss," he said nervously, not quite sure how to get away from them politely.
Kakashi nodded, still engrossed in the book, acting as if he didn't find their behavior peculiar at all, while Naruto peered at them warily.
"Yeah, um-sorry for having to leave you two, but we have to get going," Hermione finished, just as nervously. After a small awkward pause the two hastily exited, with Harry keeping watch over the shinobi, just in case they decided to follow them.
Once they were gone Kakashi closed A Brief History of Notable Dragons and leaned forward, speaking in a low voice. "Listen carefully Naruto, because I'll need you to give these instructions to Gaara as well. Tonight we need to . . . ."
"Is the coast clear?" Hermione muttered, pretending to rub her hands together and blow on them.
Harry nodded. "Don't worry about getting back, I won't be gone long. Now, the thing we have to worry about is Gaara. Sirius said to meet him by the fire at 1am, and he never sleeps!"
She gasped as she realized what Harry was getting at. "This is terrible! How can we distract him? It's not like I could invite him to come do something. Maybe you could ask-"
"No!" He was seriously getting fed up with Hermione's constant attempts to repair his and Ron's friendship for them. "We just need to figure out another way to make sure he's not in the Gryffindor tower when Sirius arrives . . . "
Come half past eleven, Harry was astonished at his luck. Gaara had left with Kakashi around ten to help him out with something, and Naruto had gone to bed early, suffering the downfall of his sugar high he had achieved from the butterbeer he had drank earlier. It was not a pretty sight, Naruto on a sugar high. He was immensely grateful when the blond decided to go to bed.
And so, with a slight sense of trepidation mixed in with his amazement, Harry made his way to Hagrid's cabin, and knocked on the door, the action of which was followed immediately by Fang's howls.
"You there, Harry?" Hagrid whispered upon opening the door, peering through the dark.
"Yeah."
A couple minutes later Harry was incredibly confused, wondering why Hagrid had seemed to completely forget him and was escorting (he shuddered a little at the strange sight) Madame Maxime around the perimeter of the forest, but all was forgotten when they were out of sight of the castle.
He simply couldn't believe his eyes.
Dragons.
Standing before him were enormous, ferocious-looking dragons tethered to a large enclosure, spewing torrents of fire from their nostrils and fanged mouths, clearly not pleased with their current predicament. There was a flurry of men rushing about trying to calm the beasts, and Harry was at a loss to how they were able to contain them.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Harry glanced off towards his left where a tree had been lit on fire and was startled as a large column of water came out of the lake towards the tree, effectively suffocating the fire, leaving behind a charred stump in its wake. He noticed Kakashi standing with his back to the group, clearly there to prevent the dragons from burning down the castle grounds.
"Sabaku SouShu!" Turning to his right, Harry noticed Gaara there as well, surrounding a burning bush with his sand and crushing it, effectively smothering the flames.
So this is what Kakashi wanted him to do. Suddenly he remembered how the shinobi could sense his presence and how Kakashi could even see him with that freaky eye of his, and ducked behind a bush, then after further observance of the shinobi concluded that they had enough on their hands to notice he was there.
However, he did have to leave soon if he wanted to make his meeting with Sirius.
As he rushed into the common room a while later, Harry noticed with relief that there was no one there, and Hermione didn't have to use any Dungbombs to clear it out. The smell would have put a damper on his reunion with his beloved godfather. He put his cloak down on the couch, slightly perturbed by the revelation that Ron had known about the dragons without telling him, and the mere fact that the first task had to do with dragons! How was he supposed to maneuver around a dragon with everyone looking?
With a sigh Harry turned his direction to the fireplace and nearly had a heart attack at Sirius's head floating in midair. After overcoming his initial fright, he calmed down and began to have a pleasant conversation with his godfather, despite the foreboding topic they discussed.
It was ended abruptly when Harry heard someone coming down the stairs. Afraid it was Naruto, Harry reluctantly told his godfather to leave, then waited in anticipation for whoever was coming downstairs. To his dismay, it only turned out to be Ron.
After chucking a badge up to his friend and storming off, Harry fell into an uneasy sleep, with Ron coming up a little after.
Once the common room was silent again, Naruto let out a deep breath and emerged from the wall, having previously merged with it, earth style. Kakashi had spent the rest of the day once Harry and Ron had left, teaching him the jutsu.
As he panted from the chakra drain, Naruto chuckled gleefully at his success. He couldn't believe it! Kakashi had been thoroughly impressed with his progress, being able to learn quite an advanced skill in so short a time.
His sensei had figured something was up between Harry and Hermione and made a clone henged into a dog follow them secretly as they left, learning that Harry was going to be meeting some strange man at one in the morning, and they were worried about Gaara overseeing the encounter. He informed Naruto that he guessed Hagrid wanted to show Harry the dragons, reason being that he had been asked to assist the dragon keepers that night.
Because it was his duty to make sure Harry was safe and nothing went wrong, he had instructed Naruto to oversee the exchange, while Gaara assisted him in containing the dragons with his sand. The genin was quite pleased that his sensei had entrusted such an important task to him, and while he wished he could have the chance to see the dragons, he knew that he was better suited for the task he had been given. Besides, Kakashi told him that he needed to work on his stealth anyway.
"Mission completed!" he congratulated himself. His face fell slightly though, as he recalled the previous incident between Harry and Ron. After Harry had run past the redhead, Ron stood there for a few moments, completely stunned, then picked up the badge that had collided with his forehead, rubbing it gingerly.
In frustration he tossed it into the fire where Sirius's face had previously been (Naruto was still amazed how that had happened, and wished he had a better view of the head, but there was no way he could move without being seen) where it blew up in flames. Once the flames died down Ron kicked the couch angrily, tears welling up in his eyes and he collapsed on his favorite chair in defeat, staring off into space in despair.
He looked so sad that Naruto resisted the urge to go over and cheer him up, but that would only cause more problems; in fact, he might even give Ron a heart attack, because he was sure these wizards had never seen anyone merge with a wall before.
Finally the sullen boy left the common room and trudged back upstairs, just as Naruto was about to release the jutsu, seeing as hoit took a lot of chakra and he had just barely learned it.
He reached behind a picture frame on the nearest coffee table and pulled out a small glass of butterbeer that he had placed there before Harry returned and happily started drinking it as he waited for Kakashi and Gaara to return.
When the two shinobi finally did return, their arrival was welcomed with Naruto's sleeping form strewn across the couch, a glass of almost finished butterbeer held loosely in his hand across his chest, with the remains slowly dripping onto his shirt.
Gaara sighed and brought out his wand, effectively cleaning his friend's shirt. Kakashi chuckled at the sight and gently lifted the genin into his arms.
"I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what happened." Gaara nodded and threw away the bottle while Kakashi carefully carried his exhausted student to bed. As he watched the sleeping form of the boy, he sighed at the prospect of being pounced on the moment Naruto got up, the youth demanding for information about the dragons. He knew the boy really wanted to see them, but it was better for him to learn that new jutsu and know his sensei entrusted him with such responsibility.
The jounin couldn't explain why, but this particular student always made him want to make the genin happy, because it was difficult to see Naruto without that signature smile on his face, an exact replica of his father's, Kakashi's beloved sensei.
"Sweet dreams, Naruto," he whispered.
Before Harry knew it, it was the day before the 1st task, and he had no idea what to do. He had just told Cedric about the dragons, and was frightened when Moody asked him to follow him, fully prepared to be reprimanded. And so, it was with utter surprise that he learned Moody somewhat "congratulated" him, and then gave him a little advice on what to do.
He needed Hermione, that much was certain. In order to "play to his strength" he needed her help in learning how to perfect his Summoning Charm-by tomorrow.
His search led him to the courtyard, where there was a wide open space surrounded by open halls with rooms on one side and pillars opposite of them leading into the clearing.
Harry groaned as he found Hermione, for among the crowd she was with (Gaara, Naruto, Fred, and George) Ron was there as well. Harry still hadn't forgiven him for not telling him about the dragons.
There will be time for that later, he reasoned.
"Hermione!" he called out, ignoring the angry scowl on Ron's face.
"What is it?" she asked, raising her eyebrow in bewilderment at his hurried appearance, wondering if something was wrong.
"I've got to ask you-"
"Oi! Foreigners!" Harry spun around to notice one of his least favorite people behind him, a smug look pasted on his pale face.
Gaara and Naruto scowled and faced the blond boy. Naruto with his hands behind his head and eyes in narrow slits and Gaara with his arms folded, neither of them in the mood for dealing with Draco at the moment. Harry sighed and wondered what the boy had in store for them this time.
Malfoy snickered and walked to the door closest to him, placing his hand on the door handle with his wand directed at it.
"Alohomora," he whispered before swinging the door open. As soon as it opened he jumped out of the way and the shinobi realized all too late that this was not going to be good.
A pale hand reached out of the shadows, followed by an arm, then purple eyes and short, yellow hair
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Author: Reidluver
Fandom: Harry Potter, Naruto
Pairing/Characters: 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 9: Butterbeer, Dragons, and Sirius
"This place is amazing!" Naruto yelled happily, spinning around to try and look at all the shops at once.
Hermione smirked. "At least with him around I won't look like an idiot talking to myself if I want to talk to you," she snapped at Harry.
He rolled his eyes. "Hermione, you know what would happen if I showed myself! People would bombard me with questions or throw tissues at me, all because of what that-" (he paused for a second and quickly jumped out of the way of someone who ran past them) "devil woman wrote about me," he finished in a whisper. He had a more colorful word in mind but couldn't say it in front of Hermione.
"How about we meet up with Ron over by-"
"No."
She sighed in frustration, pulling a strand of hair behind her head and threw up her shoulders in defeat. "Fine! Have it your way!"
"Hermione! Hermione!" Naruto exclaimed, suddenly appeared inches from her face, causing the girl to shriek in surprise and fall backwards into an unprepared Harry who quickly pushed her back up, worried about anyone seeing the strange sight.
"Wha-what is it, Naruto?" she asked calmly, trying to regain her composure.
"Can we go there?" he pleaded, pointing to an inviting shop that many people were entering and exiting. "It has brooms like in Quidditch!"
Harry chuckled. Naruto didn't know how to read English, but he was able to decipher the meaning behind the three broomsticks bundled together next to the sign.
"That's an excellent idea, Naruto," Hermione said happily. "A tall glass of butterbeer is just what we need."
Naruto frowned for a second then shook his finger motherly at them. "Even where I come from, you're not allowed to have sake until you're at least 15 years old, although Ero-sennin did tell me Tsunade broke that rule a million times over," he added in an undertone to himself.
The two wizards stared at him for a second in bewilderment before Hermione sighed. "It's not real beer, that's just the name for it. Butterbeer is one of the most popular drinks around here, and you'll find out why once you try one. By the way, how old was this-Tsunade when she started drinking sake?" she added as an afterthought as they made their way into the warm shop, the tantalizing aromas rushing over them.
"Ero-sennin guessed around twelve," Naruto said with a smirk, glancing at everything around him while still focusing on the conversation. "She's been a drunk ever since and I've had to throw water on her every once and a while, with the help of Shizune. It's tough work at times, but at first she had a reason to, with all her precious people dying and all, but now that she's Hokage it's a little better for her so she doesn't do it as much-"
As Naruto began to ramble on and on about the drunken lady, Harry paid attention to Hermione's face and noticed her dismay at hearing such a story and he found himself wincing at the look in her eye. The wizard swore that if she could, his friend would make sure Naruto and his friends never went home, insisting that they receive a better upbringing and then maybe even go over to where they came from and try to save all the murderous and drunken twelve-year-olds.
"Uh, Hermione?" he whispered, trying to distract her from the ideas no doubt formulating in her mind. "The drinks?"
She blinked. "Oh, right." She lightly tapped Naruto's shoulder and gestured for him to follow her to the counter to receive their drinks. Seeing how crowded it was, Harry didn't dare follow, so instead he tried to search for an open table.
To his discomfort, he spotted Ron sitting with Fred, George, Lee Jordan, and Gaara, who appeared to be quite fascinated by the butterbeer and was drinking it contentedly, as if it was the most amazing thing he had ever come across. Resisting the urge to hit Ron or spill his drink, he sniggered at the thought of Gaara becoming addicted to butterbeer. He wondered if it would have any sort of effect on the strange shinobi.
Suddenly he spotted Kakashi sitting by himself at a table, a glass of butterbeer to the side and a large book in front of him. Harry had always seen him with his nose in a book, and was puzzled as to why. He probably reads more than Hermione! Has he read the whole library yet?
The jounin suddenly glanced up, as if he could hear Harry's thoughts, and seemed to zero in on him. He raised his visible eyebrow and then gestured over to the table. Harry quickly turned around to see who he was pointing to, and when there was no one, stared back at the shinobi who appeared to sigh for a moment.
Very carefully Kakashi lifted up his headband and slowly opened his eyelid, revealing the Sharingan underneath, meeting Harry's eyes perfectly. The boy shuddered slightly, still wary of that eye and realized that he most likely was able to see him, or at least sense him like Gaara did. Does that eye see through invisible cloaks?
Harry quickly maneuvered around the different tables to find a seat to Kakashi's right, who calmly covered his disfigured eye and focused his attention back to his reading.
"Didn't want anyone to know you were here, ne?" he asked quietly, not even taking his gaze off the book. Harry could have sworn the jounin was smiling underneath that mask.
"Exactly."
"Wouldn't blame you. Your wizard abilities still fascinate me, creating a cloak that's invisible? That's a type of jutsu people in my world would kill for."
Harry found himself not doubting Kakashi's words one bit. "So, what are you doing here?" he asked, eager to divert the topic of the conversation from death, which the shinobi talked about with too much ease for Harry's comfort.
"Just wanted to check out the town for anything crucial to your predicament," he said casually. "While inspecting the different shops, I overheard some students discussing this place, and going on and on about how great this butterbeer tasted, so I decided to come taste it for myself. It wasn't what I expected, but it's quite good. There's even a small hint of sake taste in it."
Harry's eyes widened. Sake? But from how Naruto described it, sake is like alcohol! He hastily sought out Madame Rosmerta and stared. What else is in our drinks?
Kakashi frowned, sensing his discomfort. "You know what sake is then?"
"Yeah, Naruto was talking about some Tsunade lady when he thought butterbeer was actual beer."
"Don't worry, the taste isn't alcohol, it's just the flavoring that makes sake so enjoyable. In our world sake is alcohol with some flavoring to it, because so many shinobi complained about how the stench of alcohol would give them away after drinking it if they tried to go on a mission, so a new ingredient was added to disguise the smell. It does give a slight sense of euphoria though, which is probably why you all enjoy it so much, but you won't suffer any side effects like if you drank sake."
"Harry?" Hermione whispered quietly, staring at the spot opposite of Kakashi, two butterbeers in her hand.
"Over here," he muttered. Upon hearing his voice she sighed in relief.
"I told you," Naruto sulked, pulling a chair back and taking a drink of his butterbeer.
Hermione blushed in embarrassment. "I-I just didn't think it was possible," she tried to say in defense. The blond rolled his eyes and returned to his butterbeer, clearly enjoying it.
"What are you doing here, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto decided to ask instead.
"Just scouting out the village," he replied calmly, pausing for a second in his reading to smile at his student. Despite what Kakashi told him earlier, Harry also had a sinking feeling that the jounin was also keeping an eye on him, just like Dumbledore had told him to do.
He clenched the glass of butterbeer Hermione had slipped to him underneath his cloak tightly as he took a sip. Why do I always have to be babied and looked after? He liked Kakashi, but the fact that he was on orders to watch him still angered the wizard.
"So you were able to sense Harry too, Kakashi?" Hermione asked.
He nodded. "You'll find that our abilities allow us to do many things you wouldn't be able to believe, Ms. Granger." He paused for a second. "Just like I can tell you that Hagrid and Professor Moody are about to enter."
All three children directed their attention to the front door, where surprisingly enough, the large, bulky frame of Hagrid entered, followed by the hobbling Mad-Eye.
Hermione's mouth was slightly open, amazed that she found herself again bested by her lack of knowledge in the capabilities of the foreigners.
They watched as the duo made their way to the counter where Hagrid ordered an enormous tankard of who knows what, while Moody preferred to drink from his hip flask, much to Rosmerta's annoyance.
Harry knew better though. Moody simply believed it was safer to drink from his own hip flask than trust anyone else, due to the fact that he was so paranoid about some Dark Wizard poisoning his drink. As the two talked, Harry noticed in confusion how Moody's swiveling eye seemed to focus in on Gaara (who appeared to be drinking his second butterbeer) and then it spun around so fast it made his head hurt until it zeroed in on them.
The Auror whispered something to Hagrid who glanced up suddenly and turned his attention to their table and broke out in a grin. Before long they both made their way over.
"All right Hermione? Naruto? Kakashi?" said Hagrid loudly. The three nodded.
"Nice cloak, Potter," Moody wheezed.
"So you can see me, too?" Harry sighed. Mad-Eye appeared confused for a moment, then glanced at Kakashi and grinned, but not before Naruto noticed the strange glint in the man's eye.
Hagrid was simply beaming, not able to see Harry himself but impressed with the fact that he was there anyway. As Moody began to leave with a quick nod of his head, Hagrid leaned forward as if to glance at Kakashi's book and threw a quick nervous glance at Kakashi.
"Harry, meet me tonight at midnight at me cabin. Wear that cloak." With another uneasy glance at Kakashi he straightened up and said loudly. "Nice ter see yeh all again," with a wink before departing after Moody.
"Why would he want to see me at midnight?" Harry wondered aloud.
"He does?" Hermione said, looking startled. "What could he possibly want to show you?" she gasped. "It probably isn't a good idea, you know. It might make you late for your appointment," she hissed in an undertone, not daring to say Sirius's name in front of the shinobi.
Harry's eyes widened as he realized she was right, then came across another sinking thought, one that he would have to discuss without the shinobi around.
"I-if you'll excuse us, we have something personal . . . to discuss," he said nervously, not quite sure how to get away from them politely.
Kakashi nodded, still engrossed in the book, acting as if he didn't find their behavior peculiar at all, while Naruto peered at them warily.
"Yeah, um-sorry for having to leave you two, but we have to get going," Hermione finished, just as nervously. After a small awkward pause the two hastily exited, with Harry keeping watch over the shinobi, just in case they decided to follow them.
Once they were gone Kakashi closed A Brief History of Notable Dragons and leaned forward, speaking in a low voice. "Listen carefully Naruto, because I'll need you to give these instructions to Gaara as well. Tonight we need to . . . ."
"Is the coast clear?" Hermione muttered, pretending to rub her hands together and blow on them.
Harry nodded. "Don't worry about getting back, I won't be gone long. Now, the thing we have to worry about is Gaara. Sirius said to meet him by the fire at 1am, and he never sleeps!"
She gasped as she realized what Harry was getting at. "This is terrible! How can we distract him? It's not like I could invite him to come do something. Maybe you could ask-"
"No!" He was seriously getting fed up with Hermione's constant attempts to repair his and Ron's friendship for them. "We just need to figure out another way to make sure he's not in the Gryffindor tower when Sirius arrives . . . "
Come half past eleven, Harry was astonished at his luck. Gaara had left with Kakashi around ten to help him out with something, and Naruto had gone to bed early, suffering the downfall of his sugar high he had achieved from the butterbeer he had drank earlier. It was not a pretty sight, Naruto on a sugar high. He was immensely grateful when the blond decided to go to bed.
And so, with a slight sense of trepidation mixed in with his amazement, Harry made his way to Hagrid's cabin, and knocked on the door, the action of which was followed immediately by Fang's howls.
"You there, Harry?" Hagrid whispered upon opening the door, peering through the dark.
"Yeah."
A couple minutes later Harry was incredibly confused, wondering why Hagrid had seemed to completely forget him and was escorting (he shuddered a little at the strange sight) Madame Maxime around the perimeter of the forest, but all was forgotten when they were out of sight of the castle.
He simply couldn't believe his eyes.
Dragons.
Standing before him were enormous, ferocious-looking dragons tethered to a large enclosure, spewing torrents of fire from their nostrils and fanged mouths, clearly not pleased with their current predicament. There was a flurry of men rushing about trying to calm the beasts, and Harry was at a loss to how they were able to contain them.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Harry glanced off towards his left where a tree had been lit on fire and was startled as a large column of water came out of the lake towards the tree, effectively suffocating the fire, leaving behind a charred stump in its wake. He noticed Kakashi standing with his back to the group, clearly there to prevent the dragons from burning down the castle grounds.
"Sabaku SouShu!" Turning to his right, Harry noticed Gaara there as well, surrounding a burning bush with his sand and crushing it, effectively smothering the flames.
So this is what Kakashi wanted him to do. Suddenly he remembered how the shinobi could sense his presence and how Kakashi could even see him with that freaky eye of his, and ducked behind a bush, then after further observance of the shinobi concluded that they had enough on their hands to notice he was there.
However, he did have to leave soon if he wanted to make his meeting with Sirius.
As he rushed into the common room a while later, Harry noticed with relief that there was no one there, and Hermione didn't have to use any Dungbombs to clear it out. The smell would have put a damper on his reunion with his beloved godfather. He put his cloak down on the couch, slightly perturbed by the revelation that Ron had known about the dragons without telling him, and the mere fact that the first task had to do with dragons! How was he supposed to maneuver around a dragon with everyone looking?
With a sigh Harry turned his direction to the fireplace and nearly had a heart attack at Sirius's head floating in midair. After overcoming his initial fright, he calmed down and began to have a pleasant conversation with his godfather, despite the foreboding topic they discussed.
It was ended abruptly when Harry heard someone coming down the stairs. Afraid it was Naruto, Harry reluctantly told his godfather to leave, then waited in anticipation for whoever was coming downstairs. To his dismay, it only turned out to be Ron.
After chucking a badge up to his friend and storming off, Harry fell into an uneasy sleep, with Ron coming up a little after.
Once the common room was silent again, Naruto let out a deep breath and emerged from the wall, having previously merged with it, earth style. Kakashi had spent the rest of the day once Harry and Ron had left, teaching him the jutsu.
As he panted from the chakra drain, Naruto chuckled gleefully at his success. He couldn't believe it! Kakashi had been thoroughly impressed with his progress, being able to learn quite an advanced skill in so short a time.
His sensei had figured something was up between Harry and Hermione and made a clone henged into a dog follow them secretly as they left, learning that Harry was going to be meeting some strange man at one in the morning, and they were worried about Gaara overseeing the encounter. He informed Naruto that he guessed Hagrid wanted to show Harry the dragons, reason being that he had been asked to assist the dragon keepers that night.
Because it was his duty to make sure Harry was safe and nothing went wrong, he had instructed Naruto to oversee the exchange, while Gaara assisted him in containing the dragons with his sand. The genin was quite pleased that his sensei had entrusted such an important task to him, and while he wished he could have the chance to see the dragons, he knew that he was better suited for the task he had been given. Besides, Kakashi told him that he needed to work on his stealth anyway.
"Mission completed!" he congratulated himself. His face fell slightly though, as he recalled the previous incident between Harry and Ron. After Harry had run past the redhead, Ron stood there for a few moments, completely stunned, then picked up the badge that had collided with his forehead, rubbing it gingerly.
In frustration he tossed it into the fire where Sirius's face had previously been (Naruto was still amazed how that had happened, and wished he had a better view of the head, but there was no way he could move without being seen) where it blew up in flames. Once the flames died down Ron kicked the couch angrily, tears welling up in his eyes and he collapsed on his favorite chair in defeat, staring off into space in despair.
He looked so sad that Naruto resisted the urge to go over and cheer him up, but that would only cause more problems; in fact, he might even give Ron a heart attack, because he was sure these wizards had never seen anyone merge with a wall before.
Finally the sullen boy left the common room and trudged back upstairs, just as Naruto was about to release the jutsu, seeing as hoit took a lot of chakra and he had just barely learned it.
He reached behind a picture frame on the nearest coffee table and pulled out a small glass of butterbeer that he had placed there before Harry returned and happily started drinking it as he waited for Kakashi and Gaara to return.
When the two shinobi finally did return, their arrival was welcomed with Naruto's sleeping form strewn across the couch, a glass of almost finished butterbeer held loosely in his hand across his chest, with the remains slowly dripping onto his shirt.
Gaara sighed and brought out his wand, effectively cleaning his friend's shirt. Kakashi chuckled at the sight and gently lifted the genin into his arms.
"I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what happened." Gaara nodded and threw away the bottle while Kakashi carefully carried his exhausted student to bed. As he watched the sleeping form of the boy, he sighed at the prospect of being pounced on the moment Naruto got up, the youth demanding for information about the dragons. He knew the boy really wanted to see them, but it was better for him to learn that new jutsu and know his sensei entrusted him with such responsibility.
The jounin couldn't explain why, but this particular student always made him want to make the genin happy, because it was difficult to see Naruto without that signature smile on his face, an exact replica of his father's, Kakashi's beloved sensei.
"Sweet dreams, Naruto," he whispered.
Before Harry knew it, it was the day before the 1st task, and he had no idea what to do. He had just told Cedric about the dragons, and was frightened when Moody asked him to follow him, fully prepared to be reprimanded. And so, it was with utter surprise that he learned Moody somewhat "congratulated" him, and then gave him a little advice on what to do.
He needed Hermione, that much was certain. In order to "play to his strength" he needed her help in learning how to perfect his Summoning Charm-by tomorrow.
His search led him to the courtyard, where there was a wide open space surrounded by open halls with rooms on one side and pillars opposite of them leading into the clearing.
Harry groaned as he found Hermione, for among the crowd she was with (Gaara, Naruto, Fred, and George) Ron was there as well. Harry still hadn't forgiven him for not telling him about the dragons.
There will be time for that later, he reasoned.
"Hermione!" he called out, ignoring the angry scowl on Ron's face.
"What is it?" she asked, raising her eyebrow in bewilderment at his hurried appearance, wondering if something was wrong.
"I've got to ask you-"
"Oi! Foreigners!" Harry spun around to notice one of his least favorite people behind him, a smug look pasted on his pale face.
Gaara and Naruto scowled and faced the blond boy. Naruto with his hands behind his head and eyes in narrow slits and Gaara with his arms folded, neither of them in the mood for dealing with Draco at the moment. Harry sighed and wondered what the boy had in store for them this time.
Malfoy snickered and walked to the door closest to him, placing his hand on the door handle with his wand directed at it.
"Alohomora," he whispered before swinging the door open. As soon as it opened he jumped out of the way and the shinobi realized all too late that this was not going to be good.
A pale hand reached out of the shadows, followed by an arm, then purple eyes and short, yellow hair
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