[Fic] -- IWoT chapter 11
There was an owl for him this morning. While this was not a common occurrence, he should have realized that someone would want to contact him from home.
Especially now that Kakashi’s been missing for a few days…
The bird landed in front of him with grace and he mildly noted that it wasn’t really an owl. Someone had used a genjutsu to make it look like one. Shinobi, after all, preferred to use diurnal animals when the sun was up.
He took the small package from the carrier and sent it on its way. He was pleased to note that the bird disappeared in a puff of smoke like any other summon once it was away from the prying eyes of others.
At least they were smart enough for that.
Turning his attention back towards the box in his hands, he tried to discern what was in it without catching his Housemates’ attentions. Settling for actually opening the package, he was somewhat surprised to see another box and a small piece of parchment.
It read something along the lines of: “For your eyes only.” On the backside were indistinguishable scribbles that he couldn’t make out at all.
Going on a whim, Sasuke decided to do a little experiment and excused himself from his table. He then jogged to the nearest deserted place and activated his Sharingan.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
---
In Way of Trouble - Again…
Chapter 11: “He did WHAT?”
By Hikagi
---
Sakura blinked in astonishment.
“Run that by me again?”
Sasuke scowled a little before repeating his words. “Apparently the Fifth wants us to continue training.”
She blinked again. “But how? We’re not anywhere near Konoha, and I don’t see how they’re going to-”
“Read it.” He shoved the parchment in her hands. Sakura’s eyebrows raised a notch by the time she was done.
“What on ear-?”
“My thoughts exactly.”
This time it was Sakura who scowled.
“What is she thinking?”
Sasuke shrugged. “I don’t know, but we have to wait until Naruto gets here with Shikamaru to discuss this further.”
And as if on cue, the Slytherin showed up with his Hufflepuff friend in tow, bouncing merrily across the school grounds.
“Yo, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme! What’s so important that we’re skipping class?” he grinned. As per usual, Naruto was full of energy while Shikamaru’s face was twisted in a permanent frown.
“This is troublesome. We’re fortunate that it was only History of Magic, otherwise the teachers would be on our asses by now.”
“Maa, maa,” Naruto said in a sly voice. “Get used to it, Shikamaru. If the rest of the school year goes along nicely, then we’ll be skipping many more classes thanks to a few kage-bushin from yours truly!”
Shikamaru sighed and brought a hand to his forehead and Sakura cleared her throat to get their attentions.
“Ahem. Anyway, Naruto. The reason why we’re holding an emergency meeting was because of something that came along.” She handed them the paper in her hands. “Read it.”
He humored her by pretending to go over the paper when a few words caught his attention. Doing a double take, his eyes zoomed over the (thankfully simplified into hiragana when it applied for his benefit) sentences until his mouth caught up with the rest of his brain.
“The hell?”
“That’s what we were thinking as well.”
Naruto re-read the parchment a few more times to make sure that he’d read it correctly the first time. “Pervert-sensei’s going to keep working with me while I’m here? How’s he going to do that?”
“That’s what I’d like to know as well,” Shikamaru said. “It says here that the three of you are going to be practicing specialized jutsu. And while I’m somewhat relieved that I’m not included in any of this, I can’t help but feel a little left out and curious.”
“Why isn’t Shikamaru undergoing training?”
“Probably because the only person he could gain any benefit from is his own dad.”
“Ah. Is that so…”
The shinobi pondered on this for a little while.
“So… What do we do now? They haven’t even told us how this was going to happen, and I don’t see how Tsunade-sama or Jiraya-san can afford to take the time off to come train us here.”
“Hey, if that Baabaa can make it look like the passage of time doesn’t affect her, I’m sure she’ll find a way so that distance doesn’t either.”
“Naruto no baka!”
There was a punch, and Naruto’s head sported a new bump in seconds.
“How about if we just see what’s in the other box?” They all turned to look at Sasuke. “What? Was I the only person thinking that?”
---
There was a rumor going around that Hogwart’s DADA curse wasn’t just limited to the DADA position. Whispers were being exchanged in the usual fashion, but at least they weren’t centered around him this time around.
“That Hatake-person Dumbledore found this year… I heard that he hasn’t shown up in a while.”
“Oh? You’ve seen him after his initial introduction? What’s this now, becoming the stalker of unusual things, Samantha dear?”
“Of course, Krissy darling! Sometimes he helps clean the hallways with Filch or Hagrid with feeding the Magical Creatures.”
“It figures. Just when I think that the day might not be so bad after all, you guys end up stirring up some trouble again. Only you would follow up on something like that. And you shouldn’t encourage her in any way.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Aww, but it’s fun to gossip like this!”
“Honestly… You two just like to get on Elizabeth’s nerves.”
“Lighten up a little, Maddie. We were only jesting.”
“Yes, but your jests tend to leave poor Lizzy on the verge of insanity.”
“Ouch! Your words wound me, Madeline.”
“Oh Sammy, don’t die on us now!”
“Never, my friend. I have many more rumors to share before I leave this earth!”
“Gah! Why do I put up with you two?”
“Maybe because we’re stuck in the same House?”
“Arg!”
“Relax, Liz. Kris and Sam are doing this on purpose by now.”
“But all jokes aside, I am serious about Hatake. It’s just that no one’s seen much of him since the Beginning of Term Feast. Well, with the exception of probably me and a few others…”
“Hey, you guys…What if he’s working for You-Know-Who?”
“Working for You-Know-Who? Are you serious, Kris? How can a guy like that be working for an evil dark lord?”
“But doesn’t it strike you as odd, that in the most recent Death Eater attack, You-Know-Who has managed to gather more recruits? I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s joined His forces.”
“Oh Kris, you’re getting worked up about nothing.”
“That’s a laugh! Who wants to make a bet to see if he’s got a mark on his left arm? Anyone?”
“Sam, I’m being serious here. I wouldn’t put it past him, with the way that he’s covering his face all the time.”
“Really? He doesn’t seem like the type to me, going from what Sam’s said about him. I’ve also heard from other sources that he’s almost as much of a Squib as Filch is fabled to be. I’ve never seen him with a wand or anything, and he seems to do all of his chores the Muggle way…”
“Are you sure, Liz? But with hair that color, it has to be an illusion or charm of some sort. There’s no way a person of his age can be greying-”
“Really? What if his parents just accidentally dropped him in a potion when he was a baby?”
“Sam! You make it sound like they dropped him on his head or something!”
“Now, now - you know I didn’t mean it that way…”
“Seriously. You two had better not be getting funny ideas…”
“And you should know better by now than to try to stop them when they’re worked up about some ridiculous notion, Liz.”
“You would think so too… Oh drat, I left one of my books back in my dorm. You can go on ahead without me, Maddie. Just make sure that the other two don’t get lost or something - I wouldn’t put it past them…”
Harry shivered slightly as he walked down the hallways, trying to ignore all the voices that his ears picked up. Everything was louder than usual, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why.
The intern who was supposed to be helping Filch out in his work hadn’t shown up one day, and that was right after Harry had woken from a particularly nasty nightmare. He wasn’t sure if Hatake was involved or not, but he wasn’t going to go asking around.
Harry pushed past the group of girls who were ‘quietly’ gossiping loud enough for him to hear in order to get to his Common Room.
He saw a pink head in the crowds and changed his mind. He wasn’t a close friend of Haruno, but Hermione seemed to get along with her nicely. Still, if it meant that he might get a few leads and possibly clues to something potentially dangerous, then it couldn’t hurt to try.
“Hey. Sakura Haruno, was it?”
Sakura turned to meet him. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Um, yeah. What do you know about the intern? You seem to have come from the same place, if what Dumbledore implied was correct…”
“Oh. Something like that. We’ve known him for only a few months before we came here…”
---
The box couldn’t be opened. It was as simple as that.
“Okay, there goes what ever was in that direction.”
“Not yet, not yet! I haven’t tried blasting it apart with chakra yet! Maybe if I gather enough in my palms and re-”
Naruto abruptly stopped talking as he focused in on something that only he could hear by slightly tilting his head in one direction. Sakura became a little nervous at the blond’s uncharacteristic silence.
“What’s wrong, Naruto?”
“Ah. It seems like the Potter-kid heard some rumors about Kakashi-sensei.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. He approached the kage-bushin that looks like you.”
Sakura blinked in confusion. “How do you know something like that?”
“Eh? Simple! My bushin tell me what’s going on in here.” He pointed to his head.
Sakura shook her own in disbelief. Leave it to Naruto to continuously surprise you even without him knowing it. Bushin weren’t supposed to be capable of relaying messages back to that degree while currently being engaged in various activities. Usually they only sent across vague emotions or impressions - verbal (or mental) communication from that distance was nearly impossible. Plus most of the information relay happened when the technique was released (unless the magic surrounding Hogwarts somehow strengthened chakra pathways in exchange for disabling technology...).
Just the fact that his bushin were able to last that long without having the caster at a close range was a feat in itself. And how had he managed to pull off their personalities when he created clones for the rest of them as well? Come to think of it, how did he handle information coming from four outer sources (supposing that the clones could send information) at the same time? Did he realize that he was doing something nearly impossible? Did he even know that kage-bushin sent information back after being released?
Sakura spared her teammate a glance as he sat staring at the box, scratching his head. 'Probably not...'
And while Sakura pondered alone in her thoughts, Shikamaru drifted off into a state of slumber against a tree without his teammates noticing.
“Wait a second… What if this was ‘for your eyes only’ again? Maybe they’ll have instructions somewhere else that can only be read by your bloodlimit.”
“I was going to say the same thing, dobe. Sharingan!”
Sasuke made quick work of the box shortly after, and less than half a minute later, the genin were staring at its contents. It was a bit of a disappointment, because the package had been of decent size - not too big where it was difficult to hide, but not small either. But instead of it containing weapons and material like what Naruto had been anticipating, there was only a single item within.
It was a scroll.
“Open it.”
She recognized what was written on the scroll immediately. It was a summons, much like the ones in the Chuunin Exam, but Sakura wasn’t sure if it was going to work in the same wa-
Poof!
And Jiraya emerged from the smoke.
“Whoa, Pervert-sensei! How the h-”
“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”
“Dobe, shut up.”
“Nyah, nyah. Make me, teme.”
“Naruto, close your trap unless you want me to do it for you!”
Naruto immediately quieted as Sakura brandished her fist in a threatening manner. Kyuubi’s healing factor or no, Sakura’s punches hurt like nothing else. And he wasn’t sure if the Nine Tails could bring him back to full health if she decided to be scary at an inopportune moment.
Sometime during it all, Shikamaru had woken up do to the noise. Upon seeing a legendary sennin in their midst, he decided to join in with the rest of his fellow shinobi, seeing as the Sannin might have some useful information available.
“Okay,” Jiraya continued as they sat down in a circle. “I’m on a time-limit before the human summoning jutsu wears out, so I’ll make this quick. As you should now know, we have plans to further your education while you’re still away. Tsunade-hime has received the news that Kakashi’s been missing for a while, so we will take that into our considerations.”
They all nodded, and Jiraya took the cue to keep talking.
“Naruto, you will still be training under me. Sakura, under Tsunade. Shikamaru, since you’ve already made it to the rank of Chuunin, I’m afraid that we can’t spare any resources. We can give you a few things to work on, but those won’t be like the others’ - you’ll understand what I mean later. Plus I hear that you’re smart enough to take care of yourself.”
Shikamaru gave a bored nod of understanding.
Sasuke, on the other hand, was not pleased. “What about me?”
“Well… Um, that’s where Kakashi would have come in, but at this point, we have little other options left to us. He would have been your ideal instructor because of his Sharingan eye, but I think we have someone in mind that would help as well.”
Sasuke waited.
“It’s a touchy subject, but she was once Orochimaru’s student before the traitor defected.”
“So?”
“What I’m saying is that she received the curse seal too. Her name’s Mitarashi Anko, and she’s going to supervise you in the arts that Orochimaru taught her.”
Sasuke’s eyes showed that he wasn’t sure about this decision, but he gave no other indication that he was against his new instructor.
“Now, first thing’s first. We can’t communicate to you through human summoning scrolls all the time in case there’s a battle, so use a regular summoning jutsu to get messages across. They’re more reliable than owls any day, and no one can intercept them, and they don’t take days to reach you. Damn England is too far away for us to use the stupid birds all the time anyway. Naruto, you already know how to do this. What about you, Sakura?”
“Tsunade-sama was more concerned about medical jutsu than summoning ones.”
“Understandable.” Jiraya then turned to Sasuke. “And when Anko gets here, she’ll be teaching you the basics of summoning snakes.”
“Understood.”
“Now, I suppose you’re all wondering just how you’ll be receiving training, yes?” They nodded. “Well, I have a few scrolls here that should - dammit, where did I put them?”
Jiraya looked around in his pockets in a semi-comical way, but couldn’t find what he was searching for.
“Oi, Naruto, my time’s almost up. I think I left the scrolls in the Hokage’s office when you guys summoned me. I’m going to hand it to Gamakichi when I get back, so make sure you summon him two minutes after I leave, got it?”
“Ossu!”
“Sore de, jaa!”
Jiraya then poofed out of existence, leaving behind nothing but an empty scroll. The ink had disappeared as soon as the jutsu took place, but Sasuke used a small katon jutsu to get rid of the evidence anyway.
Naruto waited for the allotted amount of time before he bit into his thumb and made a few hand seals. “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”
There was another puff of smoke as a small frog-like animal wearing a dark vest was called forth. Gamakichi waved at the shinobi in front of him.
“Yo, Naruto-bro! Jiraya’s told me what’s going on and gave me these.” The toad handed the blond genin four or five scrolls. “Well, gotta go! Old man Jiraya told me to be quick so that he can talk to me afterwards. Call me again if something comes up!”
---
As it turned out, they were to undergo a special type of jutsu that had been adapted thanks to a few unnamed individuals. Originally, it had been a kinjutsu used in the Interrogation Squad for questioning captured enemies, but Tsunade had managed to persuade one of her friends to twist it so that it didn’t hurt the people it was performed upon.
It was very similar to the Mangekyou Sharingan’s Tsukiyomi in the sense that it trapped the victim in a genjutsu based on the creator’s whims. However, unlike the Tsukiyomi, the revised edition of the jutsu did not make one relive seventy-two hours of their worst nightmares, but instead made the participant undergo a scenario that the creator had intended.
Sakura had a feeling that Sasuke would be uncomfortable by the matter, but he was doing a good job of hiding it.
One downside was that it couldn’t handle the strain of the seventy-two hour limit, and was instead reduced down to eight hours at the most. And upside was that since this version required the participant to be unconscious, that time limit didn’t really matter. The jutsu did not strain their bodies in any way, so the genin would theoretically not be too tired to attend classes the next morning.
By what the scrolls had read, Jiraya’s appearance was a one-time thing only, because it was too difficult to use summonings like that all of the time, especially during a crisis. They were to summon animals (Naruto would be the go-between until Sasuke and Sakura could summon by themselves) carrying instructionary scrolls.
Each new scroll would contain recorded information accumulated by their respective teachers so that the genin could, in a sense, learn how to perform a jutsu during their sleep. The theory and lessons would vary between them based on their teachers’ specific teachings, and Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were taught how to undo the protective seals placed on the scrolls in the first set of instructions left behind.
They found that the scrolls recorded their instructors’ personalities, mannerisms and etcetera down so that each scroll contained exactly one jutsu. Actually performing the skill was another matter. They were to do physical training to improve on their own since the kinjutsu couldn’t help them develop the skills in their sleep. There was only so much a genjutsu-induced training session could do, after all.
Naruto had been excited up to the point where he found out that he would still have to go to school on top of the mission, night lessons, and training all at the same time. In the end, it meant that they were essentially ‘attending school’ nearly twenty-four hours a day. Sasuke, however, didn’t seem a bit phased.
“We have our work cut out for us.”
Sakura couldn’t help but nod in agreement.
---
A few weeks passed by quickly. So quickly, in fact, that Sakura had a hard time remembering that this was all still part of her mission. The nightly training sessions had been mentally taxing on top of all the homework and studies piled one after the other. Add to the fact that they were patrolling the borders of the school grounds whenever possible, didn’t make her a very happy camper.
Right now, Naruto and Shikamaru were the ones in the Forbidden Forest, keeping watch. They had come to the agreement that there should always be at least one person outside at any given time. Before, Kakashi had used an excuse to help Hagrid to help with the shifts in order for them to get adjusted to the school, but that option was no longer available anymore.
At least Naruto’s proficiency with his kage-bushin was consistently able to cover for them when they were not attending classes (sometimes they even took good enough notes, to their surprise) to the point where Sakura, Sasuke and Shikamaru trusted him with their not-quite wands. It was a frustrating deal to have to try to imitate what their classmates were doing when they were limited to only a few basic spells. Kakashi would have been able to tweak their fake wands further to help along with their studies, but he wasn’t to be found since a long while ago.
Silently, Sakura wondered what had become of their original jounin-sensei, but that thought passed quickly as the professor’s voice continued lecturing on.
“Now that we have concluded reading and studying the chapter about the magical and physical properties of a unicorn, we can now move on to the dragons…”
Sakura started writing down notes when something flickered at the edge of her senses. The feeling passed and was replaced by a source of chakra directly behind her. “I have something to share with you,” a voice whispered into her ears.
Seeing that no one else noticed anything wrong in the room, Sakura concluded that the person was using some kind of jutsu to remain hidden or communicate to her privately. Taking a yawning stretch backwards in her seat, she whispered back while pretending to be paying attention to the lecture being given.
“First off, as you all should very well know from the Triwizarding Tournament a few years ago, dragons come with a pair of leather wings that allow it flight and mobility.”
“What did you find out?”
“Another basic fact is that they have claws and sharp teeth, very much like the Muggle stories of Beowulf, Sleeping Beauty, and the legends of Camelot. They can also breathe a hellish sort of fire by mixing a chemical that is produced by special glands located in their throats.”
“Tomorrow afternoon after the Quidditch match. Be at Hagrid’s hut. Doesn’t matter if you’re alone or not, but the first is preferable.”
“It is quite obvious that dragons differ vastly from yesterday’s unicorns. This is evident in the way they produce magic to protect themselves against intruders and predators. For instance, the majority of dragons today have tough, nearly impenetrable scales that deflects most jinxes and hexes…”
“What’s the occasion?” she said while continuing to write down her notes, summarizing what the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was lecturing. Magical properties of a dragon and a unicorn differ in way they survive in wild. First tends to be offensive while second prefers being defensive.
“I’ve been tipped off that something ominous is lurking about the forest. It might be hostile.”
Neither considered as Dark Creatures; being covered in class because of ways their blood can be used in curses and dark spells… See yesterday’s notes to see uses of Unicorn’s blood.
“Gotcha. I’ll be there, but I don’t know if I can shake off my chaperone without looking conspicuous.”
It is well-known fact that current Headmaster discovered the 12 usages of Dragon Blood. Not all of them can be classified under healing or restoration categories; some are very destructive.
“That’s fine. We’ll find a way to make sure she doesn’t notice. Even if she does, it doesn’t matter.”
But purity concentration percentage required for usage is too high so availability of products using DB is limited.
“Roger.”
Demand keeps suppliers going though, so Ministry has placed a limit on the quota of Dragons being hunted. Same as Unicorns but for different reasons; at least Dragons can defend themselves against hunters.
“Oh, and the teacher’s just called your name. The answer’s that one theory by Richardson regarding the usage of magical implements to try to raise endangered species in captivity.”
Sakura calmly raised her head from her piece of parchment and cleared her throat, silently thanking her informant for at least paying attention to the teacher. It was one thing to copy things down while paying attention elsewhere, and it was another to actually absorb that information at the same time.
“The answer, Professor, is Alfred Richardson’s Theory of Captivity that states that it is possible to bred and raise a magical beast in a contained or specified area so that it reaches its maximum state of potency while…”
---
“What could possibly go wrong?” Ron asked as Harry climbed into bed that Friday night. “I mean, we’re going up against the Hufflepuffs!”
“Exactly,” Harry said as he placed his glasses on his nightstand. “They’ve got a lot of new faces this year. I don’t know what they’re planning on doing, or even if they’ll use the same old tricks and strategies from before.”
Harry knew that Ron was right, especially if he was getting worked up about how the Hufflepuffs could have managed to come up with something to throw the Gryffindors off. It would be one thing if they were going to go up against the Slytherins, but…
“But they even got one of the international students to join! Dad says that Japan has even less space and more Muggles than England, so most of their schools don’t even have their own Quidditch Teams. I bet he’s never ridden on a broom before!”
“But still,” Harry stated, “I don’t want to take any chances. We have to be on the lookout for him tomorrow and make sure that he doesn’t have any tricks up his sleeve.”
“Tricks. Tricks? These are the Hufflepuffs we’re talking about! They’re not the type to play tricks on anyone.”
“I said I’m not going to take any chances.”
Ron gave Harry a pointed look.
“Mate, have you seen them practice? We’ll have this match made in a jiffy. With our superior chasers and fantastic goalie,” he said, puffing up a little at his self-proclaimed title, “we’ll score more goals than they can count. Plus it’ll be a nice extra bonus for the Quidditch House Cup after you catch that Snitch.”
“I’m not too sure about that, Ron.”
“Oh, bugger off. You’re just not used to my goal keeping skills yet.”
“What skills?”
Ron glared at his best friend.
“Very funny. Ha ha ha.”
Harry took on an over-concerned, mocking voice.
“I’m just worried about your over-inflated ego. It might suddenly pop tomorrow in front of a large group of people, thus rendering you incapable of flying in the windy conditions of November.”
“I’m touched that you care so much for me,” Ron replied back, using the same tone of voice. “Really, if I had known that you felt that way, I would have made sure that I didn’t eat your last Chocolate Frogs the other day.”
“So it was you!”
“Goodnight Harry!” Ron hastily said as he dove under the covers as a pillow landed where his head had been just a second ago.
‘It’s times like these,’ Harry thought with a smile on his face as he summoned back his pillow and the lights in the room dimmed, ‘that I miss The Twins…’
---
The crowds were cheering so loudly that it was almost impossible to hear anything over the steady drone of screams. With the wind nipping at their faces, the Quidditch players soared in the cloudy skies, flying so nimbly that they looked more like they were performing a dance ritual than playing a serious game of hot potato in the air.
“And Weasley takes the ball and SCORES! Another ten points to Gryffindor!”
…Well, as serious as it ever was going to get at this point.
Shikamaru cursed under his breath. They were an hour into the game and Gryffindor was leading by a good hundred points, making the score 50-150. Way to go for looking pathetic in front of a crowd. It didn’t help that those fifteen goals were due to his lack of skills as a goalie either.
A chaser gave him a sympathetic look as if saying that he understood. If he recalled correctly, the other boy had been last year’s goalie and hadn’t done too well either. True, he had blocked quite a number of shots, but every time he figured out what their next move would be, his control over the broom would slip, causing him to momentarily lose focus, allowing the other team to score.
If he had been in any other position, it wouldn’t have looked so bad. But as a goalie, and in the position as an international student, he couldn’t have the luxury of ordering his other players around. The way their strategies had been arranged could all be summed up as this: try to get the Quaffle and give it to Smith.
But Smith wasn’t the greatest flyer ever. Sure, his aim was superb and his intercepting skills were unbeatable, but he had a tendency to veer too much to the right when flying for the goals. The other two chasers, Franklin and Myers were considerably better, but lacked the upper body strength to shoot goals from the distance Smith was able to throw from.
The Beaters were doing a fair job so far. None of the members on their team had sustained too much damage, but Connors would have been a much better Seeker than their current one. Williams wasn’t too bad, but she lacked the viciousness that was needed in order to fend off the Bludgers. She didn’t seem to have the heart to aim them towards the other team, and instead sent them flying harmlessly elsewhere.
Shikamaru spotted something coming at him and quickly turned his broom so that it faced in the same direction. He recognized it as the same girl who had scored against him eight out of the fifteen times the Quaffle had gone through his hoops. A shrill whistle blew just as the score bell rang at the same time.
“Time out!” Madam Hooch called out, placing her arms in a ‘T’ to make her statement clear to all the people in the skies and audience stands.
Shikamaru wondered why a break was called right now when it seemed that everything seemed to be going just fine. But Madam Hooch’s call was made clear as soon as he touched the ground and joined the rest of his teammates.
The captain was out of commission. And that one guy, Myers, who had helped hold the tryouts wasn’t fairing too well either. Neither of them could fly spectacularly at this point, and the other players were at a loss for what to do. Substitutes on the basis of injury were pretty common, from what Shikamaru had heard. Other than injury, the only other time he recalled subs ever being mentioned in Quidditch were when the original players needed sleep because the games had started to drag on for over a day. But substitutes or not, they were lacking a Team Captain and their Sub-Captain seemed to be unwilling to take charge.
“What do we do?”
When he saw that no one would volunteer as being leader, he decided that winning the game was more important than his comfort level for the time being. After all, wasn’t leading a platoon part of his duties as a chuunin?
“How troublesome,” he grumbled. Then clearing his throat, he caught the attention of the rest of his team. “Everyone, listen up. If no one else is going to take charge, then I have a suggestion.”
After a few, quick moments of huddling together, they dispersed their makeshift circle and took to their brooms. Madam Hooch gave the all-clear signal and all the players took to the skies again.
“Are you sure about that though?” Williams asked while they kicked off for the second time that day. “I mean, you’ve told us that you’ve never played Quidditch before.”
“I haven’t. But I’ve noticed a few things that would improve our game significantly.”
“But will that help?” she pressed, still just a little bit nervous at their sudden change in plans.
“Just trust me. I have the perfect strategy for that.”
---
There were murmurs in the stands when the time-out seemed to take longer than usual. After trying to peer over other people’s heads unsuccessfully, Naruto flopped back down in his seat, grumbling. He hated being shorter than the rest of his peers, even though he was using a jutsu to make him seem taller than his original size. Malfoy seemed to have noticed his discomfort.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I just want to see how Shikamaru is going to kick their asses,” Naruto said as-a-matter-of-factly, rocking back and forth in his seat in anticipation.
“Your international friend? That’s highly unlikely… But all of us,” the boy made a motion to the rest of the Slytherins, “would like to see those arrogant fools find their place every once in a while. Sometimes their egos get a little too big to bear.”
Just then, the announcer picked up his amplifier again and started talking into the microphone.
“Well folks, it looks like there’s a slight change in the line up order. It seems like Nara is taking over as temporary captain for the Hufflepuffs. Conners is the new Seeker, Chase and Franklin are the Beaters, Williams, as well as substitutes Paige and Whittle are the Chasers. Unfortunately, the captain is still out cold from a well-aimed Bludger, so that means that the Hufflepuffs get a foal shot at the goal. Good luck keeping goal, Weasley!”
---
Something was stirring in his bones. Perhaps it was the way the situation was handling itself, or the way their hopes weren’t completely dashed just yet, but he was compelled to call another meeting. Urging his broom to straighten itself, Shikamaru made motions to Madam Hooch that he wanted a break.
“Time out!” Madam Hooch’s whistle blew again.
All the players landed once again, this time not as panicked or anxious as the last time they had touched down.
“We’re in good shape,” Shikamaru began. “No pressure, Connors. Just keep looking for the Snitch. You’re doing a good job by keeping on Potter’s tail. Make sure you don’t fall for his feints though. Excellent flying, Smith. It’s improved greatly during this game. Keep on doing what I told you before, remember those tips, and don’t let Weasley get the better of you.”
After pointing out a few more things that would help improve everyone’s games, Shikamaru was ready to call the end of their break. But Williams was still badgering him.
“But we’re still behind, Nara,” she persisted. “Catching the Snitch right now would be a big relief.”
“We’re only behind by eighty points,” he explained calmly. “Don’t lose hope just yet. If we keep going at this rate, then we’ll catch up to them soon enough. Just stick to the plan and wait for my signal.”
“I don’t know about this…” They remounted their brooms, handles gripped tightly in their hands.
The whistle blew again, and Shikamaru took off into the sky.
“Just trust me…”
---
Shikamaru caught sight of something golden flying around near the centerline on the ground. Making a motion towards one of the Chasers, he flew out of the goal post area. The signaled player met him halfway.
“You know what to do, Williams,” he called out.
Williams nodded before giving Shikamaru the all-go and flying off to the goalie position. She looked like she was ready to tear the closest opponent to shreds with her fierce determination to not screw up.
Shikamaru then took off, flying towards Smith. When he was close enough, he called out and caught the other boy’s attention.
“We’re going in for the kill,” Shikamaru motioned, pointing backwards at where Williams was stationed.
Smith also nodded before flying off towards the goalie area as well. By now, it seemed that some of the audience members noticed that something strange was going on.
“It seems that Nara and Williams have traded places for the time being!” came the commentary from the stands. “This has never been done before in Hogwarts, but it doesn’t violate any of the rules stated in the book. Well, I suppose that the Hufflepuffs think that that will help even out their score a little. Madam Hooch seems to be okay with this sudden change…”
After hearing this, the rest of Shikamaru’s team noticed that someone else was indeed in guarding their posts. They caught each others’ eye before racing off with a sudden burst of energy. The Gryffindor players seemed to be startled at the transformed Hufflepuffs who had before seemed so defeated and beat down.
“Connors! It’s time to end this!” Shikamaru commanded. The Seeker looked towards where the temporary captain was pointing, and saw the Snitch. He started to dive, and Potter saw this as well and followed in hot pursuit of the Hufflepuff.
The Snitch quickly sped off, almost too fast for his eyes to follow. It blinked into view a few seconds later near one of the audience stands. Connors and Potter were almost neck-to-neck, but the Firebolt lived up to its name as being the topnotch brand of the year. Potter soon took the lead, but Connors didn’t give up just yet.
Seeing the Seekers go at it gave the other players more energy and adrenaline as the Quaffle was being tossed here and there at a more frantic pace. As soon as a Gryffindor got anywhere close to the goal post, Williams raced forward and blocked the offending Chaser before he or she could score. If said Chaser managed to bypass that line of defense, then Smith moved in and stole the Quaffle from the other player. Then using his throwing power, made sure to pass the red ball to a teammate who could out-fly the nearby Gryffindors.
This new style of play threw off some of the pure or half-bloods who were confused by the offensive goal keeper, and some on the other side even stopped to watch the spectacle. Taking this opportunity, Paige and Whittle made more passes at the Gryffindor Goal Keep, Weasley, who was having a harder time than the rest of his teammates at the new tactics.
Shikamaru had taken in the fact that the majority of the Hufflepuffs, while having attended Hogwarts for a number of years, had been raised in the Muggle world and were more familiar with European football than the sport of Quidditch. They understood offensive and defensive tactics as Goalie, Defender, Mid-fielder, and Forward more than their positions as Chaser, Beater, Seeker and Goal Keep. In fact, Shikamaru was also more familiar and partial with the Muggle sport than the Wizarding one. At least then he wouldn’t have had to leave the ground at such an early hour this morning…
Shikamaru snapped out of his thoughts as he kept following Connor’s frenzied trail. The Snitch was darting away as if it sensed the two Seekers close behind. If the chase lasted for a prolonged period of time, then Potter and his superior broom would have the advantage with each passing second. Shikamaru saw the direction they were headed at, and making a quick decision, he speedily flew towards one of his Beaters.
“Chase!”
Chase fended off a Bludger that had almost run into a fellow teammate who was currently holding the Quaffle. The chuunin lost no time communicating what he wanted. Screw explanations; they simply didn’t have the luxury for that.
“Chase, give me your bat. Paige, hand me the Quaffle.”
“Why?” came the simultaneous responses.
“Just do it!”
Shikamaru, after having received said objects, then started flying towards the goalie, ignoring the shouts and cries of exclamation. They were nothing more than annoying noises anyhow.
“WHAT is Nara DOING?” came the amplified voice from the stands. The crowd’s attention suddenly shifted from the spectacular race between the Seekers towards the international student. Spectators started pointing at the chuunin who was making a beeline for his own goals. All the while, the object of attention was only focusing on one thing.
Williams’ eyes locked with Shikamaru like a deer caught in headlights. They seemed to scream, “Just what the hell are you doing? This wasn’t part of your plan!” Smith also sat in the air, frozen in place as his supposed temp captain came charging straight at them.
Shikamaru threw the Quaffle into the air and reeled his arm back to swing the bat.
Shikamaru tried to project the words, ‘Just trust me,’ as he followed through his motions. Williams got the message and Smith seemed to have understood because they dove out of the ball’s path and let their fellow Hufflepuff have his way.
“Checkmate,” he whispered into the wind as the Quaffle flew into the goal post and a ding was heard, announcing that the Gryffindors had earned another ten points. The Lions were now ahead by a marginal twenty. Another ding rang merely seconds later, signaling that the Snitch had been caught. There was a startled collective gasp as the audience watched one of the players lose their grip and fall from their broom…
Shikamaru smirked in spite of his current tired state.
To Be Continued…
---
Author’s Notes:
As always, I claim insanity. There are a lot of things that I know are wrong or inconsistent. I am also taking a few liberties with Quidditch and the class schedules for Hogwarts. Sometimes if I try too hard to keep it strictly canon, I only serve to confuse and write myself into a corner. And that bit about the dragons and unicorns (as well as that god-awful Quidditch strategy) was made up - I have no idea if any of it is actually true, but my fingers took me in a direction that I had not intended. Oh, and if you haven’t noticed already, I like making up OC’s when I don’t know how to carry out a particular scene. All of the Hufflepuff Quidditch players were made up, as were the girls who were gossiping in the hallway. The shinobi from chapter nine were also (unimportant) OC’s. They might, however, make another appearance depending on how the story goes (hint, hint).
I cut out a lot of stuff and decided to put them in the next chapter because it was starting to get too long. Rest assured, I will explain what happened in the Quidditch match - that has been decided since before I even finished this chapter. And because the majority of this story will be told from the shinobi’s point of view, I’m afraid that finding out Hogwart’s side of the story will be limited. I’m sorry that I didn’t include more aspects of Harry Potter in, but it’s a tad bit too late to go back and add all of that without having to strain my creative juices.
If I mistranslated or misunderstood something, please tell me in as neutral of a wording possible. It is very easy to take offense at something that wasn’t supposed to be harsh just because of a few misplaced words that have negative connotations. Sometimes people end up sounding arrogant or stuck up when they really had good intentions in the first place. Out of personal experience, please choose your words carefully.
Also, I created a forum for discussing a variety of topics related to IWoTA. Please feel free to drop a line, and I’ll try to answer your questions right away given the limited amount of time I can spend online. Hopefully questions will be posted there instead of in the reviews because I cannot answer the reviews in a way where other readers can access my responses. By raising issues in the forums, I will have a catalogue of them and essentially be able to address concerns and such so that other people’s similar questions can all be checked off at the same time.
If you want to throw out your speculations, do so in the forums. I love hearing all the ideas people get. They inspire me to keep writing and fuel me with things I should include in the next chapters.
Go visit my profile for news flashes and links to fanart and spoilers!
Yatsuka Hikagi
2006.X.01