Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Summary: NaruHPxover. McGonagall suspects that Harry Potter is working together with Voldemort, so she requests for the best ANBU to go undercover as students and find out the truth: Naruto and Sasuke. But as the year progresses, is Voldemort the true enemy? NS,HD

Pairings: Naruto+Sasuke, Harry+Draco

Naruto x Harry Potter is one of my favourite crossovers. So I thought I'll start one of my own. By the way, it's my first fanfic.

Enjoy!

Xo-xo-xo

Chapter 1

By: En Taiho

Near the training grounds, Naruto was currently dozing on a tree branch, his hands behind his head. Although napping, he could still sense the aura coming his way and immediately recognized it as his teammate's. He soon after heard a soft thump as the person lightly took off from a branch. As soon as it was close enough, he could faintly smell his scent.

Naruto cracked open an eye as Sasuke approached him. "What's up?" he asked.

Sasuke was in front of him now. "Hokage-sama calls for us both."

Naruto nodded and stood. "Another mission, eh? It's been a while since we've been assigned a mission together," he commented casually as they headed to the Hokage Tower together.

An "Hn" was the only reply.

Xo-xo-xo

Naruto and Sasuke stood in front of Tsunade who was seated behind her desk that was mounted with papers on either side. No wonder the baa-chan constantly complained about all the paperwork. As always, Shizune was beside the desk, except this time she was holding two folders and a small wooden box about the size of a thick novel.

"Hey, baa-chan," Naruto beamed, dropping his serious façade as soon as the four of them were alone in the room. "Got another mission for us?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Yes, gaki, what'd you expect?"

Naruto grinned. "I dunno, maybe free ramen?"

Sasuke scoffed. "You're such a dobe."

"Teme," the blonde growled.

Before the argument could escalate, Tsunade interrupted. "Yeah, yeah, we know you love each other" –two glares were sent her way. "Anyways, the mission is S-ranked, for the length of one year, a mission suited for the best ANBU in Konoha and you two look about the right age to top it all off," she continued over interlaced fingers, ignoring the menacing stares still directed at her. "Here are the details." She nodded at Shizune, who handed the boys the folders she had been holding.

Instantly, Naruto and Sasuke returned to their serious expressions, and in unison, they opened the folders and quickly scanned the contents. "In summary, you'll be going into another world: the wizarding world. But be warned, they use magic, not jutsus, and wands to channel them instead of hand seals. You'll be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, undercover as Hogwarts students transferred from Japan; they're in England. There befriend Harry Potter, a boy who's particularly significant in the war that that world is in. The client, Minerva McGonagall, vice-headmistress of the School, suspects that Potter-san, though not evil, is working with the supposed enemy, Voldemort. She secretly requested for two shinobis to find out what Potter-san is up to and help him defeat the enemy, whoever that will turn out to be. Standard mission rules apply."

Naruto and Sasuke nodded slightly. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

All shinobis were required to memorize and know what the standard mission rules are:

Never mention what the mission is and why it is assigned to or around others, except with the Hokage and your partner(s) in the mission, unless you have the client's permission and/or you are discussing with the client.

Never reveal the fact it is a mission to your charge or any others if you are to guard, protect, spy on, escort, and/or do what your mission(s) is to your protégé, let it be person, place, animal, creature, and/or thing, without the client's permission.

If anything goes wrong during the mission, you are to try to the best of your ability to accomplish the mission successfully.

You are never to reveal Konohagakure's secrets and confidential information during your mission unless permission is granted by the Hokage or you deem the revelation is absolutely necessary.

Tsunade continued, "There'll be an escort to guide you when you first arrive there by the name of Xiomara Hooch, one of the professors at Hogwarts. Try to blend in."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Oh, and they speak English, not Japanese," she added.

"Yeah, so…?" Naruto prompted.

"So…" the Hokage rummaged around in the top right drawer of her desk. She brought out a pair of identical silver necklaces made of many small chains linked to one another; from each necklace hung a long thin piece of silver, which resembled the shape of the minerals of the Yondaime's necklace. "These will automatically translate their English to be Japanese to your ears, and your Japanese will be heard as English by the people there. Now you can fluently communicate them. And the same applies with reading and writing. If you really want to speak in Japanese and others will hear it as that as well, it's possible. Just think you want to. And when you say jutsus, it'll still Japanese for everyone's ears." She tossed them their own respective necklace.

Naruto caught it swiftly and held up the dangling piece before his face. "Whoa, baa-chan, how'd you get it to do those kinds of things?"

Tsunade smiled. "It's not all me. McGonagall-san also helped out with her witch magic. Remember, English reads and writes from left to right." She paused for a few seconds in case there were any more questions. When it was silent, she clapped her hands together and commanded, "Now get your things and weapons ready, and meet back here in twenty minutes."

"Hai." With that, the two boys poofed off to their respective homes to do as ordered.

After exactly the given time, Naruto and Sasuke were found back in the Hokage's office. Shizune opened the mysterious box to reveal a quill, which instantly started to glow a foreign magical blue, a little different than their colour of chakra. "Touch the feather at exactly the right time and you'll be transported to the wizarding world," Shizune had instructed earlier. The two ANBU did as told and found themselves pulled in with the last words from the Hokage echoing in their ears: "Be careful, Naruto, Sasuke."

Xo-xo-xo

Naruto and Sasuke saw cement ground rushing forward to meet them, but before it could, both of them flipped in mid-air and gracefully landed on their feet.

The both of them hadn't brought their Konoha hitai-ate as they were supposed to be undercover. They wore the traditional shinobi attire, so unfortunately they looked out of place from all the other people dressed in normal modern clothes.

"Whoa, where is this?" Naruto breathed.

"Ah, are you two the ninjas from Japan?" a female voice sounded from behind them. They whipped around, their hands placed on the kunais attached to their thighs.

"Yes, we are," Sasuke said cautiously, eyeing the hawk-eyed woman before them.

"Well then, I'm Xiomara Hooch," she held out a hand.

Relaxing a bit but still tense and alert, Sasuke took it. "Uchiha Sasuke."

Hooch nodded and turned to the other ninja. Naruto and she shook hands as well. "Uzumaki Naruto."

Answering the blonde's previous question, Hooch gestured around them and announced, "Welcome to London. Here are the lists of supplies we will be buying for school." She gave them each an envelope. "You can take a look at that later when we're in Diagon Alley. Come, follow me, I guess I'll be showing you two around." She strolled towards a pub the two shinobis had never really noticed before. An old sign hung outside: "The Leaky Cauldron."

"Ah, good afternoon, Madam Hooch," the owner of the pub called out behind the counter when they entered.

"Good afternoon, Tom," she acknowledged. Hooch then led the shinobis to the back exit of the pub to see a brick wall before them. Bringing out a polished stick, the flying instructor tapped the certain bricks in the correct order. Immediately, to Naruto's and Sasuke's hidden surprise, the bricks began to move by themselves and shifted to two separate sides to create an entrance into a bustling street known as Diagon Alley. The trio entered the crowd and walked directly to the bank, Gringotts, to retrieve some money. Naruto and Sasuke too, though he'll never admit it, tried hard not to stare at the goblins, and in turn the goblins tried not to stare at the foreign young men. They took their own pouches of wizard money from the vault labeled as "Konoha," since after all McGonagall, having deposited the money they'll need during their time in the wizarding world beforehand, had no idea who will be sent.

Shortly after, they entered a clothing department, after first buying a trunk for each. The two ANBU bought necessary amounts of clothing needed during their mission, which wasn't very much for they will be wearing the Hogwarts uniform most of the time. They changed into their new chosen attire and sealed their shinobi clothes into a scroll that also contained their ANBU uniforms; they carried around this everywhere. Naruto wore a black t-shirt and orange pants decorated with a fiery red around the bottom, while Sasuke donned on a navy blue t-shirt along with black jeans. The communication chain necklaces hung underneath their shirts and in Naruto's case with Tsunade's necklace as well. Kunai were attached to one thigh while two or three scrolls, one of them containing their shinobi and ANBU uniforms, were attached to the other thigh, but a simple genjutsu was used to conceal them. Their ANBU tattoos were also hidden under a genjutsu with clean white bandages around that area as an extra protection.

Next stop was Flourish and Blotts for book-shopping. Naruto and Sasuke each bought their own books mentioned in their school supplies' list and also a few books that caught their interest and will help them expand their knowledge of wizard magic. Subsequently, they headed to buy their pets. Naruto got a Barn Owl he decided to name "Hakuun," meaning "white clouds," while Sasuke got a Grey Owl he called "Hitotachi," meaning "stroke of sword." "Hmm, interesting names," Hooch had remarked when they had chosen their owls' names.

As they made their way through the crowd to Madam Malkins', the professor asked curiously, "So you learned you were wizards when you were in Japan?"

"You can say that," Naruto replied vaguely.

When they arrived at Madam Malkins', Hooch dropped the subject and volunteered to take care of their supplies outside while the two boys were to be fitted for their Hogwarts robes. They acquiesced and stepped into the store.

A lady rushed over and scrutinized them up and down. "Never seen you two before," she commented. "But you look too mature to be in first year at Hogwarts."

"No, we're going to be in 6th year," Sasuke answered. "Transferred," he added at the questioning look she gave him. She nodded, satisfied. "Seat yourself onto those stools please and just wait a moment." Naruto and Sasuke were tense as the lady and another took the appropriate measurements needed. They didn't like the strangers so close and felt too vulnerable for their own liking. At last, the measurements were finished. Each of them was given their own set of neatly folded robes. With a "thanks," Naruto and Sasuke left the shop to join Madam Hooch outside.

"Now off to buy your Potions stuff," the hawk-eyed woman announced and marched off with Naruto and Sasuke carrying their baggage following behind.

Approximately two hours later, they only needed to buy one more thing. "Ah, a wand," Hooch smiled. "Getting a wand is always the most exciting part," she helpfully informed them. Together, Naruto and Sasuke entered Ollivander's store, leaving their possessions to Hooch again.

An old man with thin wispy hair slowly walked towards them. He smiled gently. "Ah, more young people getting their wands. I'm Ollivander. Pleasure to meet you. Now who's first?" Naruto gave a mock bow to Sasuke and said politely with a tinge of sarcasm, "Ladies first, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared the famous Uchiha glare at his partner and snorted softly. "Of course I'm first. You're the dobe, dead last in everything including this." He smirked as Naruto came up with a lame counterattack, "Whatever, you're still the girl, teme."

Sasuke said a final "dobe" before he turned his attention back onto the old man. "My name's Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke," he greeted impassively. He started with his first name so the wand maker will know which one was the first name and which one was the last name, since after all in English, first names were always placed in front.

Ollivander nodded and scurried off amongst the dusty shelves muttering, "Hmm, I think I know just the one." He came back with a brown leather case and opened it. Giving the wand to Sasuke, he told him to just swish his wand hand. The young man did and nothing happened. Sasuke frowned as he set down the wand onto the desk, while Ollivander shook his head and scurried off again. Was it because he was used to using chakra and jutsus? But it turned out not so because the next wand he swished made several sheets of papers fly up from the old man's desk to scatter around on the floor.

"Ah, not this one either," the wand maker murmured as he bustled around until he found another case, this one an onyx colour. However, this swish made fire erupt from the tip of the wand to swirl around its holder. "Yes, yes! That's the one for you, Mr. Uchiha!" the old man grinned in glee as he always did when a wand chose its owner. He recited the details of the wand, which Sasuke and Naruto weren't paying much attention to, considering they were staring at the stick in Sasuke's hand. 'How can this thin stick do that?' were the thoughts running through both of their minds.

For Naruto, once he introduced himself the same way as Sasuke, he tried a few wands as well before the chosen wand was revealed. Instead of fire, Naruto's wand created gusts of wind to whirl around him, ruffling his blond hair. "Oh, fantastic!" Again, the two shinobis didn't pay attention to what the old man said after that for now it was Naruto's wand they were currently staring at, albeit they did recall when they were back in Konoha, something about both of the wands being around 9 inches long made of a plant of some sort with a magical core or whatever. Anyways, they purchased the wands and stored them into their pockets.

Once outside, they requested to buy a sort of handy container for their wand as they felt it wasn't really safe to put the magical sticks into their pockets. Hooch suggested a wand holster, so off they went and bought themselves each a high-quality dragon hide wand holster holding their own respective wand clasped around their main arm, in this case, the right arm for both ANBU. But while they were at these kinds of stores, Naruto and Sasuke thought it'd be sensible to buy another holster, this one for weapons for the other arm. As the wands and weapons were to be placed under the forearm in a sort of sheath, the outer covering of the holsters provided protection for their forearms, like their ANBU arm bracers. Finally, they were finished their shopping as soon as they exited that last store.

By way of Apparating, Hooch escorted them to the Three Broomsticks where they met the inn owner, a middle-aged woman named Rosmerta. They will be staying there for the three weeks left of summer holiday. The flying instructor informed them she'll be at Hogwarts and will come back for them during the early morning the day that school began to guide them to Platform 9 ¾, for it was natural of students to travel to Hogwarts by way of its Express.

As soon as Naruto and Sasuke were left alone in their shared room, Naruto claimed the bed located at the right of the door, leaving no choice but for Sasuke to have the left bed. They positioned their own trunks at the foot of their beds. Naruto sighed and flopped onto the sheets. "Phew, that was some shopping! There are the most bizarre things here, and the wand! The wand's definitely the most weird." He shook his head disbelievingly and glanced at Hakuun in her cage on top of his trunk. He got up and opened the cage door. The Barn Owl blinked once before flying out and landing on Naruto's shoulders. Naruto grinned and petted her lightly on the head. "Hey, Hakuun," he said softly.

"Oi, Usuratonkachi." Sasuke's voice cut into the peaceful meeting. "Remember what Hokage-sama said about the wand?" His Grey Owl then hooted indignantly at being the only owl in the room to be neglected, even if he was the only other owl in the room. Sasuke looked over at Hitotachi, his eyes expressionless, which stared back at him with his big golden eyes.

This time it was Naruto who interrupted. "Yes, I do remember. Wands are like hand seals." When no reply came since Sasuke and Hitotachi were still apparently staring at each other, Naruto, who was absently scratching the sides of his owl, said, "Oh, come on, Sasuke. Just bring Hitotachi out already. You're being mean."

Sasuke turned and raised an eyebrow at Naruto's words. "Mean? How am I being mean, dobe?"

Naruto shrugged, which caused Hakuun to flap her wings a few times to keep her balance. "You're not letting him out."

"I was going to do that, dobe. Show a little more patience; you're an ANBU."

Naruto smiled. "I am. I just couldn't stand you bullying your owl like that."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Instead, he reached over from his seat on his bed and managed to open the cage. Hitotachi immediately hopped out and flew over to land on Sasuke's shoulder as well. In these positions, Naruto and Sasuke discussed with each other their opinions and observations of the wizarding world so far. It was strange but exciting. They hadn't spotted any Death Eaters during their time in Diagon Alley. Death Eaters' descriptions had been included in the folders. Profiles of each had been conveniently given. The rest of the afternoon till dinner was spent reading and studying the contents, including information and pictures, in their folders. At dinner, they let their owls hunt and then went downstairs to eat their meal in the inn. Naruto and Sasuke chose to sit in an isolated corner away from other customers. They didn't feel like conversing with other wizards and witches just yet.

Tired from the Portkey transportation, the excitement of the day, and the shopping at Diagon Alley, the two shinobis went to bed early.

The next morning, Naruto and Sasuke decided to spend the rest of the summer reading and learning wizard magic and what they'll be taught at Hogwarts. They studied the textbooks and also the books they'd bought for their own use, which explained about the magic core within every wizard and witch, how the magic works, how to channel your magic through your wand, etc. It was pretty easy to understand since they already knew the concepts of chakra, which was in a way similar. To practice the spells and charms they'd memorized from the spell books, they headed over to the Forbidden Forest near Hogsmeade. There they'll train in magic, mastering most of the spells, and sometimes dueling each other.

History of Magic was a subject neither boy was interested in, so they didn't even bother to carry on the matter after reading the first chapter. Potions was impossible to practice as they were inexperienced and had no idea which ingredients to use and what order to put in, let alone recognizing the ingredients themselves. But they did skim over the contents of the textbook and at least tried to understand.

Transfiguration was an okay subject to learn, considering it was related to the Henge no jutsu in its own way. However, Herbology was another subject they didn't touch at all because of the fact they were completely engrossed in wand magic and spells, so very much so that they even went to back to Flourish and Blotts' to purchase more books of their liking. With their superb memory and sometimes sniffing here and there, Naruto and Sasuke found their way back to the bookstore by themselves, where they bought more books about spells and a very interesting topic, Dark magic.

As their knowledge expanded, they discovered that they were able to perform magic because they were 17 years old, though 6th years were supposed to be 16. It didn't matter; their appearance looked about the right age, like Tsunade had mentioned. No one would ever know. And the fact that they weren't registered in the records of the Ministry of Magic helped…a lot.

By the day before school started, Naruto and Sasuke were stocked up in the knowledge of magic and their charge, Harry Potter, also known as the Boy-Who-Lived. They'd read up on what happened that fateful tragic night and the events leading right up into now. They had agreed to use magic during lessons and to use jutsus secretly.

As promised, Xiomara Hooch returned to pick them up. They went through Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron back to muggle London where Naruto and Sasuke had first arrived in this alien world. She led them to King's Cross Station, gave them their separate tickets, and bid farewell to them at the bridge that led to the platforms.

"You can find your own way," she winked before walking away.

Naruto and Sasuke stared blankly after her back and turned around to face the platforms again, in one hand holding the cart they'd gotten from the Station to carry their trunk and owl cages and in the other their ticket.

"Come on, dobe, let's go find this Platform 9¾," Sasuke let out an indiscernible sigh, and the ANBU proceeded to push their trolley to be sensibly arranged between Platforms 9 and 10.

"Hey, Sasuke, can you sense it?" Naruto asked as they looked around them.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, it's coming from there." His head inclined slightly to the brick wall between the ones with the signs saying 9 and 10. Therefore, they weren't entirely surprised when a group of redheads and a bushy-haired girl came along, and the girl by the name of Hermione as they overheard charged right through the barrier with her trolley to disappear into it. Naruto whistled lowly under his breath. "I wonder if there's a Genjutsu on that."

"Usuratonkachi, it's probably a Disillusionment Charm or a bunch of complex spells mixed together," Sasuke corrected.

Naruto pouted. "Same thing."

Sasuke smirked.

Suddenly, the two undercover students heard one of the redheads call out, "Harry! Harry, over here!" A skinny boy with messy black hair, bright emerald green eyes, and round glasses jogged towards the redhead family. "Hey, Ron," they heard him say.

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke. "I guess that's our charge. Let's go."

Xo-xo-xo

Harry was glad to see the Weasleys again. It'd been another horrible summer with the Dursley's. Molly absolutely crushed him with her hug. "Harry dear, we've missed you. How was your summer?"

Harry managed to choke out. "The usual, Mrs. Weasley." She looked down at him sympathetically and finally let go.

Fred and George both clapped him on the back simultaneously.

"'ello, Harry."

"It's been another swell summer…"

"Y'know, with our business…"

"We owe you a lot…"

Harry laughed. "Glad to see your business is still faring well. Besides, how many times do I have to tell you? You guys don't owe me anything." Thankfully, Molly was too busy straightening Ron's tie to listen to the conversation; she still didn't know it was Harry who'd given the twins the money to start their own joke shop.

Ginny walked up towards him, pushing her own trolley. "Hi, Harry."

"Hi, Ginny." Harry had rejected her when she'd finally confessed her feelings last year and explained he viewed her as a sister. Sooner or later, she realized that her feelings of love towards Harry were actually the feelings she felt for her own brothers.

"You just missed 'Mione, mate," Ron said, "She went through the moment before you came."

"Really? Then we should–"

A voice interrupted the reunion between Harry and the Weasleys. "Excuse me, is that where you can get to Platform 9¾?" Harry turned around to see two foreign teens, one of them pointing towards the barrier. Both of them were of average height and had lean muscles rippling faintly under the Hogwarts robes. One sported silky blond hair with cerulean orbs sparkling happily but in a slightly mysterious way at the same time. The other was more enigmatic and serious with soft dark hair and cool expressionless eyes.

Molly looked at them kindly. "Yes, it is. Are you two boys in first year?" Harry doubted it; they didn't look that young.

The blond shook his head. "No, ma'am, we're in sixth year."

Harry and Ron's brows furrowed slightly. 'Sixth year?' Harry thought confusedly. 'But I've never seen them around before.'

At her son's and his friend's perplexed looks, Molly asked curiously, "Really? I don't ever recall seeing the two of you in the past."

"We transferred from Japan last month," Naruto reasoned.

'Ah,' a dawn of understanding surfaced in Harry and the Weasleys, 'that explains things.'

"Well, this is what you do –," Molly explained to the foreigners how to get through the barrier. "–just take your trolley and run straight through the wall. Don't worry, you won't slam into it."

The pair of teens nodded. No one could tell what was going through their heads. "I'll go first, dobe," Sasuke sneered, somewhat teasingly.

"Che."

Positioning his trolley directly in front of the barrier, the raven-haired boy ran towards it smoothly and disappeared in a blink.

"My turn," announced Naruto and proceeded after his partner.

Harry and Ron exchanged questioning looks. "Come on, we haven't got all day," Fred reprimanded and charged. George followed his twin's example with the rest of the group right behind him.

There was another reunion, this time between the Golden Trio on the magical side of the train station. Spotting them just a few minutes after she arrived at King's Cross Station, Hermione had joined the Weasleys. The two Japanese teens stood off to the side, watching the three friends talk about their summers. Harry could see them out of the corner of his eye and broke off the conversation. He gestured to them to come over and they complied.

Hermione gazed at them suspiciously as they approached. "Who are they?"

"Transfers from Japan," Ron answered for Harry.

"You called us over?" asked Naruto as soon as he and Sasuke had reached them.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "I never caught your names."

"Ah, yes, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Sasuke, Uchicha Sasuke," the other said coolly. Harry mentally noted that this was the first time the raven-haired boy had spoken to him or any one else other than his comrade.

"I'm Harry Potter. These are my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."

Naruto nodded politely. "Nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you too," was the automatic response of Ron and Hermione.

After getting a good close look at the foreigners, Hermione noticed something strange on the one named Naruto. "What are those lines on your face? Not to be rude or anything," she added quickly.

"Oh these?" a hand reached up to touch one of the whiskers. "They're birthmarks."

The wizards and witch bought the explanation and soon veered off the subject of Naruto's scars.

Xo-xo-xo

Naruto and Sasuke walked alongside Harry as the Golden Trio headed towards the scarlet train, the Hogwarts Express. The shinobis hadn't said any more about themselves after the introductions. They listened carefully to what Harry discussed with his best friends and observed his expressions and tones and his friends' too.

Harry was quite filled with angst due to the loss of his godfather, a Sirius Black, just last year. And according to him, it was his entire fault. His summers weren't exactly the greatest either. They were loaded with abusing and malnutrition caused by his relatives. The burden of saving the world as the "Boy-Who-Lived" always bore down upon his shoulders. Somehow, Harry Potter managed not to slip into depression. Naruto believed it was because he had found his precious people, the same thing that had happened to Naruto as well. It was those people who made his life not seem worthless, who truly cared for him, like Iruka-sensei, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-baachan, Ero-sennin, and the Rookie 9. With the support and love from his precious people, Naruto was able to survive the weight of being a Jinchuuriki, of being scorned and hated. Harry, though he'd not suffered as much as the Uzumaki, was probably not some depressed brat also because of his precious people. The two ANBU could tell that Harry really loved and cared for his precious people.

Ron was an enthusiastic person, who seemed like he could be awed easily. He was pretty out-going and stubborn. But he complained many times during the converse about having hand-me-downs from his older brothers. Also, it seemed that sometimes he just couldn't accept certain things. Otherwise, he was a loyal friend. 'And an annoying prat,' Sasuke thought smugly, using the word the redhead had used only a few minutes ago to describe Percy.

Hermione was the girl with all the brains. She was the bookworm, reading and researching, and filled with lots of book knowledge. Naruto and Sasuke predicted her magic and skills in battles weren't good when it came to real fighting though. 'Kind of like Sakura,' the ninjas thought somewhat dryly.

Xo-xo-xo

With ease, Naruto and Sasuke lifted their trunks into the top shelf inside the last compartment of the Hogwarts Express, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione had more difficulty, much more difficulty. As the shinobis were making sure their trunks wouldn't fall off, the Golden Trio were heaving Hermione's trunk first with their combined strength. They shared an amused look before giving a helping hand to lift Harry's and Ron's trunks, since the friends had managed to haul the girl's case up on the shelf.

Everyone sat down in the compartment with a sigh, excluding Sasuke, who sat down with more grace. Harry thought dimly of Malfoy but shooed it away. A more pressing matter to be worrying about was the fact that the foreigners hadn't gasped and pointed at the Boy-Who-Lived, and ooh-ed and aah-ed over his scar. It was quite refreshing and again Harry reflected on the first time he had met Malfoy, back in Madam Malkins' when they were both being measured and fitted for their Hogwarts robes before their first year at Hogwarts started. Malfoy had talked with him casually, like with any normal person. Now that he thought about it, Malfoy was the second person who didn't do the irritating gasps and points, the first respectively being Hagrid. He had accepted him as a fellow Hogwarts student and chatted with him. He hadn't talked with him and then went off squealing and shouting he'd spoken to the famous Harry Potter. But then again he couldn't possibly ever imagine Malfoy squealing like some obsessed fan girl. Harry chuckled to himself quietly at the image and was snapped out of his reverie when Ron, who was sitting at the right of him near the compartment door, nudged him and asked, "What're you laughing about, mate?"

"Huh?" Harry turned to face a quizzical Ron. "Oh, sorry, I was just zoned out there for a second."

Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes. "Well, yes, that's quite obvious." Harry flushed the faintest of pinks. When Hermione saw that small change, she smiled and punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Oh, Harry, I was only kidding."

Naruto and Sasuke were sitting across from the Trio and watched the friendly exchanges and laughs. It was like this throughout the whole journey to Hogwarts with occasional breaks for food and sweets. And sometimes all five of them would chat with each other. None of the wizards or the witch noticed how if the topic was changed to be about the ANBU, Naruto and Sasuke smoothly and surreptitiously steered the conversation's topic away from themselves.

Xo-xo-xo

As the Express was nearing Hogwarts, Hermione reminded the other members of the Golden Trio to change into their uniforms. They did, leaving Naruto and Sasuke, who were already dressed properly, alone in the compartment.

"So, what do you think of Harry Potter?" Sasuke turned his head the slightest bit to eye Naruto.

His companion shrugged. "He's a nice guy, been through tough times, if you know what I mean, but still alive and content enough now, other than the death of his godfather part."

"Hn, I agree."

"They're kind of like Team 7, don't you think?"

"I'm not Ron though," Sasuke growled.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Whoever said you were Ron?"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto fully. "You're like Harry. Sakura's like Hermione. Who else but for me to be like Ron? Che, the annoying baka."

Naruto chuckled. "Heh, that's funny…"

The Uchiha switched on his legendary glare. But before either could utter another word, Harry, Hermione, and Ron returned wearing their robes.

Xo-xo-xo

Upon the arrival at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the evening, the population got off the train to be met by an immense black castle lit up in many places like tiny stars.

"Whoa, that's some school," Naruto stated.

'Home sweet home.' Harry smiled as the group of five along with other second to seventh year students headed up towards a line of dark carriages. The first years were being rounded up by Hagrid and taken to the school by boat over the lake.

"I know! Isn't it wicked!" Ron gushed.

Sasuke wasn't at all impressed by Ron's actions right then. But when had he ever been impressed by the redhead? Never so far and never will.

As the gang neared the carriage they would ride in, Naruto and Sasuke could see some ghostly creature that resembled a winged horse attached to the front. "What is that?" asked Naruto, indicating at the beast.

"You can see them?" Harry asked curiously in turn.

"Yes, are we not supposed to?" Sasuke drawled, daring him to say something wrong.

"Well, only people who have seen 'Death' could see the Thestrals," Harry replied curtly.

"Okay, problem solved," interrupted Naruto cheerily. "Let's get on." And he hopped onto the carriage seat. His face unreadable, Sasuke sat down beside him. The Golden Trio climbed up after the shinobis, sitting down across from them, their seating arrangement exactly the same as on the Hogwarts Express.

Xo-xo-xo

A mass of young people streamed into the Great Hall with the first years waiting at the front to be Sorted into one of the four Houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. The two ANBU remained just outside of the Great Hall, beside the open entrance doors. As expected, a teacher made her way towards them –a strict looking woman with small thin spectacles and brown hair tied into a tight bun. When she reached them, she spoke lowly, "You are?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uchiha Sasuke."

She nodded satisfactorily. "Good. Welcome. Just sit with Harry in Gryffindor. I look forward to talking to each other again," she said succinctly. With that, she turned abruptly and strolled back into the Hall, to the Head Table. Then Naruto and Sasuke joined the crowd and blended back into the student body. As instructed, they seated themselves beside Harry.

Harry directed a quizzical frown at them. "You're in Gryffindor?"

"But the Sortings haven't even started yet," Hermione protested.

"You'll see," was the only reply.

Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School, stood from his place at the centre of the Head Table. Instantaneously, the chatter and noise died down as everybody waited patiently to hear what the Headmaster had to say. His aura was quite powerful, Naruto noted.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, first years, and for the others, welcome back. Before I list off the basic rules as usual, we shall do the Sortings first." He nodded at Minerva, giving her the signal to begin. The green-dressed woman positioned herself just behind the stool with the Sorting Hat. As normal, the Hat broke into song. When it was finished, McGonagall opened a scroll and started to name each first year.

"Antoine, Christine."

A timid girl stepped up and sat nervously on the stool. McGonagall placed the ancient Hat on top of her head. One second later, it shouted, "Hufflepuff!"

The smiling girl hopped off and skipped towards the applauding Hufflepuff table.

"Batisson, Murry."

The Hat was put on his head…

"Gryffindor!"

Now it was the Gryffindors who erupted into cheers and yells. The moments-before-nervous boy jogged towards his House, grinning from ear to ear.

One by one, the first years were Sorted. When at last it was finished, McGonagall returned to her spot and Dumbledore once again stood. The excited and welcoming conversations quieted.

"There is one more thing to note before I continue. Two new sixth-year students have transferred from Japan to join us here. They are in Gryffindor, as Professor McGonagall assured me that was the most suitable House for them. With that said and done, I would like to introduce Mr. Filch, the caretaker. He told me to remind all of you that the Forbidden Forest is strictly prohibited. And also it's an honour to have Professor Lupin to come back as our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor again." –a haggard but smiling man waved from his seat. "Now let the feasts begin!" Dumbledore spread out his arms professionally and countless mouth-watering food dishes appeared on every table.

Ron immediately grabbed a chicken drumstick and began devouring it greedily, while his other hand reached for a bun.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "Watch your manners!"

Sasuke mentally agreed.

"You the transfers?" a boy on the other side of Harry asked the shinobis.

"Yes."

"I'm Seamus Finnegan. Pleasure to meet you."

As if a bomb had exploded, the people who heard this important piece of information commenced on introducing themselves. Amongst the noise, Naruto and Sasuke heard only bits and pieces.

"'m Dean Thomas. I –"

"–'ow's it like in Japan?"

"Gryffindor? Were you already Sorted back where –"

"–name is Neville –"

"–know any advanced spells?"

"Is You-Know-Who reigning there too? I heard –"

That last bit caught the interest of Sasuke. "You-Know-Who?"

Noticing something was fishy about that too, Naruto played along. "Who's that?"

The boy whom they believed was Dean Thomas widened his eyes. "You don't know? His followers call him the Dark Lord. He's evil, a murderer." Shudders went through the ones who were listening.

"Oh, you mean Voldemort?" Naruto inquired obliviously.

This time gasps were heard. A frightful Neville whispered, "You just said his name."

Naruto blinked. Had he made a mistake? However he was saved when Harry cut in. "It's no big deal if someone said his name. Besides, he may not be evil."

"Are you kidding?" Ron asked in disbelief through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Well, he's a little crazy, that's all."

"A little crazy?! He's an insane madman!" Murmurs of agreement followed the statement.

Harry didn't even bother to answer and continued to eat his meal. All the while, Naruto and Sasuke secretly observed their charge. Their client suspected him to be working with Voldemort and wanted them to discover the truth. This conversation provided an inkling of hints that Harry Potter certainly did associate somewhat with the Dark Lord and not as enemies.

End of Chapter

Xo-xo-xo

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