章 18: Chapter 22: 1-12: Dragon
Disclaimer: Being neither British nor Japanese, it should therefore come as no surprise that I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto, nor anything from their respective franchises.
The winter break ended, the students returned, and lessons (of various kinds) resumed. Iruka warned Hermione and Neville about the Mirror of Erised, though neither he nor Harry mentioned what it had shown them. They also explained about Harry's new cloak, which at Iruka's urging he kept with him at all times; invisibility is a good way to get away from a hostile situation, after all, and the cloak did nobody any good sitting at the bottom of Harry's trunk.
Minerva had favored Iruka with a wistful smile when he asked after photos and stories of James and Lily Potter. Between the two of them, they spoke to the other current staff of Hogwarts (minus Filch) that had been there long enough to have seen James and Lily as students, and sent out quite a few owls to former professors and schoolmates. So far, there had only been a trickle of responses, though Hagrid had begun inviting Harry and his friends over much more often to tell tales of the Potters and Longbottoms during their Hogwarts years. Filius and the Headmaster had both stated their desire to help, but needed more time to put their contributions together.
Harry's only other prompt response had been from Professor Emeritus Horace Slughorn, who had taught Potions prior to Professor Snape, and had Lily Evans as part of his so-called 'Slug Club' - a school club he led composed of students he saw as having exceptional potential or influence (according to Minerva, 'Sluggy' liked to act as an influence broker, connecting people in exchange for gifts and favors). Those photos sent by the former Potions Professor were all from past Slug Club meetings and events, and all included at least Slughorn himself as well as a young Lily. Iruka noted that the man's letter was also careful to point out the other important people pictured in each photograph, a reminder of the connections available through him. He advised Harry to stay in contact with Slughorn, but avoid promising anything without running it by an adult first; having a good relationship with someone that well-connected could be useful, while a bad relationship could cause a lot of trouble. As a side effect of that contact, Slughorn had begun writing to Iruka as well, clearly interested in connecting with a person of note (and thus potential importance).
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It was mid-January, and S.E.N. were going through their usual group lessons in the Come-and-Go Room. "As Hermione figured out a few weeks ago," Iruka spoke, "much of what I'm teaching you is combat-related, even if it can be used for other things as well. Arguably more important than how to fight, though, is when to fight, much of which boils down to why. People fight for a lot of different reasons - money, love, power, honor, redemption, hate, and more - they all motivate people to fight. If you even consider fighting, make sure you know why you're going to fight, since that tells you what your goal should be, and what is or isn't worth doing to reach it. For example, in a battle to capture a city, you could certainly kill a lot of enemy soldiers by burning the city to the ground, but you'd have destroyed the very thing you were fighting to gain, so it wouldn't really be much of a victory, would it? There's an old proverb, 'Sacrificing an empire to win a battle is no victory; ending a battle to save an empire is no defeat.' You win a fight, a battle, or a war by achieving whatever goal you were fighting to reach, so having and clearly remembering your goal is vital."
All three children seemed to ponder his words for the better part of a minute, before Hermione spoke up. "Why do you fight, Sensei?"
Talk about your loaded questions... The stock Academy lecture on duty and loyalty to the village wasn't exactly applicable here. Iruka took a few moments to gather his thoughts before responding. "In Konoha, we have a philosophy we call the Will of Fire. There's no single way of describing it, since each person interprets it in their own way, but at its core it's about bonds. It treats the entire village like one big family, all caring for and protecting each other. The Third Hokage felt that this was why our ninja could push themselves to extraordinary lengths. As the Seventh puts it, it's when protecting someone precious to you that you can be truly strong; the Sixth's favorite saying is 'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.' Ever since our village was founded, Konoha has looked for its shinobi to care for each other and for the village, and to fight to protect those they care about."
He could see Hermione listening with rapt attention, always absorbing knowledge like a sponge. The boys, though they were still listening, were clearly distracted. Both were likely remembering the fact that their parents had fallen after fighting against Voldemort and his followers for years. In the wake of the Mirror of Erised, Harry had described a recurring nightmare that Iruka suspected might be built at least partly of fragments of memory of Voldemort's attack. Both he and Neville were likely using this discussion to better understand what led their families down that path.
"When you're fighting for yourself, for personal gain, there's only so far you'll be willing to go. If things get to difficult or too painful, you'll give up or look for another way. Fighting for someone precious to you, though..." Memories of the Kyuubi's attack on the village, of Naruto's unorthodox graduation, of Pain's assault flashed through his mind. "Even when you're so tired you're about to drop, when you're so scared you want to cry, when you're so hurt you can barely stand, when you know you're completely outmatched and have no chance - if you're protecting someone or something truly precious to you, you'll keep fighting with everything you have, no matter what."
The quartet's exercises continued in silence for a while after that, all four deep in their own thoughts.
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A couple of weeks later, Iruka heard of an incident in which Draco Malfoy had cursed Neville in the hallways, locking his legs together. Madam Pince had thankfully had no trouble applying the countercurse when the young Gryffindor hopped his way into her domain, and the incident had been reported to Minerva. Unfortunately, with no witnesses, it was Neville's word against those of Malfoy and his two bodyguards, so no official action could be taken, but both Iruka and Minerva had begun keeping a discreet eye on the pale Slytherin to watch for similar behavior, and he had apparently already lost several House Points for messing around in Transfiguration class. Though Professor Snape had objected, Minerva's sterling reputation for being stern but fair combined with Malfoy's reputation for misbehavior to leave him with little ground to stand on.
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The next real bit of insanity came at the beginning of April, as a familiar trio of first-years knocked urgently on Iruka's door.
"Hagrid's got a dragon egg in his hut!"
Iruka blinked. "I'm sorry, but I could swear I just heard you say that Hagrid has a dragon's egg..."
Harry nodded. "He says he won it off somebody in a card game, and now he's trying to hatch it in his hut."
"His wooden hut?" If he'd been wearing his hitai-ate, Iruka's eyebrows would be hidden by this point.
A round of nods. "Hagrid could get in a lot of trouble if anybody finds out, and that's assuming the dragon doesn't hurt anybody or cause any damage." Hermione was in full rules-lecture mode. "The Headmaster would probably be forced to sack him, and he might even end up arrested!"
Given the gamekeeper's obvious non-human heritage, Iruka would put money on arrest, conviction, and a harsh sentence. Even free, Hagrid would undoubtedly struggle, as he had no wand-use rights and had lived at Hogwarts his entire adult life. With a stained reputation and limited skills, job prospects would be slim for the large, kind man.
Several minutes of not-obviously-hurried walking later, Iruka stood in Hagrid's hut, which was currently trying to imitate a sauna, with three students behind him that would have been much more winded a few months earlier. He could clearly spot the large, black egg in the middle of the blazing hearth; he supposed that a species that breathed flames must incubate its eggs a bit hotter than other reptiles. "Hagrid," he asked the giddy gamekeeper, "where, how did you get that?"
"Down at the Hog's Head, won it at cards a couple nights back. Always wanted a dragon, for years an' years, now I'll be hatchin' one here in my own hut!"
Iruka took a deep breath before continuing; this was going to be one of those conversations. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't dragons breathe fire?"
"Yep, should be quite a sight, eh?"
"You do recall that wood is flammable? Wood including the wooden hut we're standing in?"
Hagrid paused. "Er... Well y'see..."
"I also seem to remember reading that dragons can grow to be several stories tall, and that hatchlings grow very quickly, which begs the question of how long you'd be able to hide this illegal, fire-breathing creature in a wooden building that it will rapidly outgrow?"
There was something mildly disturbing about seeing a middle-aged man well over three meters tall acting like a child caught sneaking sweets. "I didn't think o' that... But what can I do with it now? It'll die 'less somebody takes care of it!"
Iruka wracked his brain for every bit of information he knew about dragons, which unfortunately wasn't much, but something struck him. "Charlie Weasley - I remember hearing he'd gotten a job at a dragon reserve in Romania. We could probably see about sending the egg or the hatchling there or to another reserve, we just need to make sure it's all kept quiet." He thought further. "Here's the story - you won that dragon egg off whoever it was because you knew it belonged in a reserve, and you're taking care of it here until arrangements can be made to get it somewhere it will be safe and legal. We should all be thankful such an honest, upstanding citizen got hold of it - who knows what could have happened if someone less decent had ended up with something so dangerous? I'll go speak with the Headmaster - he should be able to make arrangements to have the egg transferred and make sure there's no trouble over this."
Hagrid beamed at him. "That's awful nice of yeh, Iruka, and a good idea too. Dumbledore'll make sure it's all nice an' legal, and this little one can be with its own kind." He smiled wistfully down at the egg. "Jus' wish I coulda' seen it hatchin', maybe taken care of it for a while, but sooner's better."
After calling Flippy to deliver a quick and discreet message asking the Headmaster to visit Hagrid's hut as soon as he could, Iruka turned back to his host. "So, what kind of person walks around carrying a dragon's egg?"
"Didn't get a good look at the bloke, ter be honest." Hagrid seemed to be thinking hard. "Kept 'is cloak on the whole time, an' the hood up too. Not that unusual at the Hog's Head, ter be honest - yeh get all kinds in there, interesting crowd some nights."
Iruka's alarm bells were now ringing loudly: A mysterious, anonymous stranger just so happens to carry the highly illegal item that would most interest Hagrid into the pub where the friendly (if rather naive) gamekeeper is drinking, and puts it up as a wager over cards? The odds of this being an innocent (or as innocent as dragon smuggling can be) coincidence were so vanishingly small as to be readily ignored. "So, did you just play cards, or did you talk?"
As Hagrid's tale of drinking and discussion followed, the chuunin couldn't help but wince inwardly at how easily the large man had been manipulated into divulging the key to bypassing his protection on the Stone. Then he winced outwardly when he realized that his three students had also heard about the large dog's susceptibility to music. He'd have to remind them to be careful later.
Around this time a polite knocking sounded at the door, and Hagrid soon welcomed Headmaster Dumbledore into his sweltering and increasingly-crowded hut. He showed surprise at the heat, before his eyes locked on the roaring fire and widened slightly at the sight of the egg. "Ah," he addressed Iruka, "I see why you called me here so urgently. Dare I ask, Hagrid, how you came to be in possession of a Norwegian Ridgeback egg?"
The gamekeeper's guests were again treated to a recounting of a night of mead, cards, and talk. Dumbledore asked several more detailed questions, skillfully probing to determine as much as he could about the mysterious stranger and how much information had been leaked. Unfortunately, there simply wasn't much to learn that Iruka didn't already know. As the friendly interrogation wound down, the chuunin described the idea he'd had regarding sending the egg to a reserve and the explanation they could give as to why Hagrid had it in the first place.
The Headmaster smiled proudly at Iruka. "A splendid idea! The explanation you suggest is particularly clever since it is in fact essentially true, even if it requires a certain... creative interpretation of some details. I shall owl my contacts and begin making the necessary arrangements and preparations. In the meantime Hagrid, once certain legalities have been covered, would you object to Professor Kettleburn stopping by to examine the egg? Should time and circumstances permit, perhaps he might even be able to show it to his N.E.W.T.-level Care of Magical Creatures classes?"
Once Professor Dumbledore had received Hagrid's agreement and gratitude, the five guests left for the castle, collectively sighing in relief as they stepped out into the far more comfortable air outside. The Headmaster performed a few quick freshening charms on everyone, to tide them over until they could more properly bathe and change into fresh robes. "I must say, Professor Umino, that you handled that quite well; I take it that these three were the ones to alert you to Hagrid's acquisition?" Iruka nodded. "Well then, each of you take five points for your responsibility and discretion. I should hope that I don't need to ask you all to remain quiet regarding this matter?" All three gave affirming nods. "Excellent. I must also remind you that, even with the information you've overheard today, you should still steer clear of the forbidden corridor. Don't look so surprised - I could tell by your expressions earlier that you are somehow already familiar with Fluffy. I cannot stress enough that that corridor is forbidden, and contains dangers beyond a rather large guard dog. You would all do well to stay well away from it." This time, the nods were distinctly enthusiastic. "Splendid! Then we shall speak on this no more. So tell me, how are you three enjoying your first year here at Hogwarts?"
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Within a few days the egg had been picked up by a pair of dragon handlers, its eventual destination a Norwegian dragon reserve where the hatchling could live in its natural habitat and among its own species. Hagrid's eyes were suspiciously moist as he gently placed the egg into the handlers' heated carrying case.
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Iruka stared despondently at the paper in front of him. He'd conferred with Pandora and with his colleagues at Hogwarts, checked and rechecked his arithmentic calculations, and tried every variation and permutation he could think of. It all led to the same result, a result he had spent the past week and a half trying to deny, but now he had to face facts. As Shinobi Maxim #79 stated: 'Deceiving your enemy is often an effective strategy; deceiving your ally is sometimes an unfortunate necessity; deceiving yourself is never a good idea.'
Pandora's concept was workable. If there was any good news, it was that their work had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were on their way to developing a new method of magical fast-transit. Unfortunately, they had also conclusively proven that this method required properly constructed and charged rune circles at both ends. Unless someone back in Konoha somehow managed to craft the exactly correct destination array and charge it with magic, he currently had no means of returning home.
It was ironic in a way, he reflected, that now both his and Harry's visions in the Mirror of Erised were of an impossible dream. Thinking of Harry, though, reminded Iruka of the students he had here in Britain, the friends he had made, and the life he was slowly building for himself. If he couldn't return home, he decided, then he would have to make a home here. Pulling out a quill, inkwell, and parchment, he began drafting a letter to Headmaster Dumbledore to express his interest in making his position at Hogwarts a longer-term one.
A/N: Yes, Sluggy wants to add Iruka as one of his contacts; he's the one bringing a new, previously-unknown magical technique after all. And yes, ninjas share a proverb with Klingons. The Shinobi Maxim is my own addition to The Seventy Maxims of Maximally-Effective Mercenaries by Howard Taylor (author of the webcomic Schlock Mercenary, which is easily one of the best hard-sci-fi space operas I've ever read).
Also, Happy New Year!
Fic Recommendation: "Make a Wish" by Rorschach's Blot - It's long and somewhat cracky, but a fun ride; starts out as 'Harry has things go crazy well' and grows into something more.
Published 31 December 2017
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