บท 3: Chapter 7: 0-7: Sealed Deal
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.
Text inside «» is in Japanese.
Feeling increasingly like a freeloader, Iruka considered how he might better contribute to the Lovegood household. Most of his skills were either language-dependant (such as teaching) or not the kind of thing his hosts would likely need or approve of (such as killing). Finally, he realized one thing that could provide some value to his hosts - seals. He had already made some use of his moderate fuuinjutsu skills since his arrival, keeping any weapons not carried on his person inside a storage scroll (which he often still carried on him) to avoid awkward questions like "what are all these knives for?". It was a very versatile discipline, with many non-combat applications; the big question was whether any of those applications would be of use to people here.
«Xeno-san, could you help me with something? It's a bit of an experiment, but I can virtually guarantee that it's safe; the worst that should even be able to happen is nothing.» He had prepared a Light Generating Seal, one of the most basic seals taught to beginners both because of its simplicity and the fact that it was virtually impossible to cause a catastrophic malfunction if the creator was even remotely competent.
«Of course, Iruka-san, what can I do for you?» Xeno could clearly tell that this was a serious matter, as his guest had taken to using English as much as possible to get in extra practice.
«I need you to try channeling a small amount of magic into this diagram,» he replied, indicating the charging node on the seal, «right there. I want to see if a wizard can make use of it without special training.»
Xeno nodded, drawing his wand, and placed the tip on the charging node. After a moment's concentration, the central formation of the seal began to emit a faint teal glow. It would seem that 'magic' had at least something in common with yin-heavy chakra: One of the other major uses of this seal was as a training tool, to show how the chakra used was balanced. Yin chakra would tint the light blue, while yang would tint it red. The shade he saw was unusual, and he thought back to reports of other colors. Jinchuuriki and other individuals with anomalous chakra could produce atypical shades, something Naruto had helped him confirm - including that sage chakra lit the seal green! This teal light might be an indicator that magic drew from both the user's spiritual energy and the energy of nature, which would explain why some locations were described as being stronger magically, if they had high concentrations of natural energy. Satisfied by his new discoveries, Iruka thanked his host and indicated that he could stop.
«I might need to tweak things slightly to account for the differences,» he explained, briefly lighting the seal with his own chakra to demonstrate, «but it appears to be workable. If all goes well, I may be able to produce something useful for you and your family, or even versions that could be sold to make up for the cost of my stay here.»
Xeno briefly adopted the fond, exasperated smile that he often wore when Iruka talked about paying him back. Clearly he didn't feel it was necessary, but was willing to humor his guest to spare the man's dignity. His look of curiosity soon returned, however. «May I ask what this diagram is? Some of the marks look like kanji or kana, but I can only read a couple of symbols, and I've never seen anything like it.»
«This is a seal, specifically a standard basic light seal,» Iruka explained. «Fuuinjutsu can produce a number of useful effects, really limited mainly by the skill of the person drawing the seals. I'm far from a master of the discipline, but I can handle a few common tasks like storing items, locking doors or containers, reinforcing objects, and creating barriers, among other things. What I need now is to determine what, if anything, would be useful to you or others, and make sure it all can work fully with magic.»
For the next two hours, Iruka described and demonstrated a number of different seals, all civilian-cleared, and discussed their possible uses with his host. In the end, it was agreed that Iruka would provide his hosts with a small supply of storage seals, apply reinforcement seals to the Rook's walls and floors, and place fire-sealing scrolls in accessible locations for use in emergencies. In addition, Xeno and Pandora would show some of these seals to friends and neighbors to sound them out on the potential demand, and possibly begin generating a market. Xeno warned, though, that British wizards and witches were generally very conservative and not particularly fond of novelty, so demand would likely be low, especially at first.
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Three days later, a fierce-looking eagle owl swooped in through the Lovegoods' kitchen window and deposited a letter in front of Iruka before immediately departing. "It would appear you have mail, Iruka-san," Xeno commented with ill-concealed amusement at his guest's bewildered expression. Shaking off his surprise, Iruka broke the wax seal on the letter and found it to be written in Japanese:
«Umino Iruka:
It has come to my attention that you are offering for sale a number of magical devices of unique character. The descriptions I have heard suggest that your products may be of use to Gringotts. As such, I invite you to meet with myself and other Gringotts representatives here at the bank at 1PM on Monday 24th April. If you do not wish to meet, or if this time is unacceptable, please notify me by owl no later than close of business tomorrow.
Bring such materials as you will require to demonstrate these "seals" you offer for sale. You may also bring one advisor of your choice if desired. Inform a teller that you have an appointment with me.
Yours in Profit,
Keddrok, Vice-Chief of Acquisitions, Gringotts Bank, London»
Iruka's eyes rose as he read. "Xeno, are you free Monday afternoon? It would appear that Gringotts may be interested in purchasing some seals." He handed the letter to his host.
"I can certainly make the time. This could be quite the opportunity for you. Of course, between now and Monday we'll have to do our best to brush up on goblin culture; goblins are proud beings, easily offended and extremely slow to forgive. While I very much doubt that we can get them to like you, a disdainful tolerance should be quite doable, and more than enough for a workable business relationship."
Unlike the lead-up to the party at the Burrow, Xeno was studying almost as much as he was teaching. While he had vaults at Gringotts himself, he had never attempted to do business directly with the goblins outside of normal banking functions. As with the language lesson, Pandora and Luna enthusiastically joined in.
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That Monday, a deal was struck to supply Gringotts with various seals on a regular basis. Neither human was an experienced business negotiator, and dealing with another species made it even harder on them, though Iruka's training was enough to pick up a couple of tells. While he was certain that he could have gotten a significantly better deal, Iruka was satisfied with the money he would be receiving, as it more than paid for his room and board (he'd done some cost research in advance). Agreement reached, all parties signed the magically-binding contract that ensured Iruka would uphold his end and Gringotts wouldn't try to resell or reverse-engineer any of his seals without his explicit permission.
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Five weeks after his unexpected arrival in the Lovegoods' living room, Iruka had mastered the English language enough that further use of the Libation would no longer help. To celebrate, on the afternoon of the day that his last dose wore off, Xeno took Iruka to Diagon Alley to purchase a wand. This would also be Iruka's first purchase with Galleons he had earned through selling his seals. Even after hearing about and working with them for weeks, his logical mind still balked at the conversion rates between Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts.
The interior of Ollivander's Wands was lit only dimly through the dingy windows, and dust lay on many surfaces. Despite the room itself being two stories tall, it still seemed very closed-in, which was little helped by the dark woods used throughout the shop or the still air in which the ringing of the bell over the door seemed far louder than it had any right to be. Shelves of narrow boxes seemed to cover every wall from floor to ceiling, with the sole openings being the doors and window present in the room and the stairs which led to a catwalk-type balcony. A small counter and till stood beside the foot of the stairs, and a very worn and flimsy-looking chair sat forlornly in a corner.
Sensing a nearby presence, Iruka turned to look just as a man stepped forward. The proprietor of the shop was an older man, with wispy grey hair and large silvery-grey eyes not entirely unlike Xeno's and Luna's. He also had a slight pouting expression, as if annoyed that he had been noticed so quickly, but it lasted only a moment before transforming into a look of curiosity and enthusiasm. He glanced first to Xeno. "Ah, Xenophilius Lovegood, hornbeam and unicorn tail hair, thirteen inches." Turning back to Iruka, he queried, "and who might you be? Trouble with your wand, or coming for a new one?"
"Umino Iruka. I actually have never owned a wand before." Iruka responded somewhat uncomfortably.
"Hmm... The name is unfamiliar, and yet you are far too old to be a new Muggleborn about to start at Hogwarts. I take it you are a recent arrival in Britain?"
"That's right." Iruka proceeded to give a brief summary of the cover story he and Xeno had agreed upon for his origins.
"Fascinating! I have certainly never matched anyone from your country before, so this should be an interesting endeavor! Please, hold up your wand arm." An almost childlike glee had overtaken the man, and he pulled a long tape measure with silver markings from his pocket and began to measure various dimensions on Iruka's body. After the first few, Ollivander walked away while the tape continued to measure spans of increasing strangeness as he puttered about the shelves. It was when it attempted to measure a particularly delicate part of his anatomy that the chuunin's hand snapped down and snatched it from the air. Xeno, meanwhile, was calmly standing and watching with a look of bemusement.
"Every Ollivander wand is made of the finest-quality wand woods," Ollivander explained as he searched, "with a core of either dragon heartstring, unicorn hair, or phoenix feather. No two wands are exactly alike just as no two witches or wizards are exactly alike, though there was that pair of twins last April... Anyway, the key is finding a proper match. The wand chooses the wizard, you know, not the other way around. Better that way, too - I cannot tell you how many times I've dealt with irate customers who purchased an ill-matched wand from some other wandmaker because they thought they knew better how to pick. Bah! No surprise that they got poor results, and not just because some of those wands were good for little more than kindling."
Finally, after several minutes, the wandmaker returned with an armful of boxes which he deposited on the counter before opening one and handing its contents to Iruka, handle-first. "Try this one. English Oak and phoenix feather, ten and one-quarter inches, flexible." Iruka grasped the wand, uncertain of what to do. "Just give it a wave," the man instructed. Doing as he was told, Iruka was startled by the cacophonous cries of seagulls. "No, no, that won't do. This one, Acacia and unicorn hair, twelve inches exactly, whippy." This second wand began billowing steam from the handle. "Not to worry," Ollivander assured him as he snatched the wand from his hand and replaced it with another, "Maple and dragon heartstring, eleven and three-quarters, firm." His third attempted wand match very clearly did not choose Iruka, and demonstrated this by leaping out of his hand and bouncing off Xeno's forehead.
So things went, with Ollivander trying wand after wand, sometimes barely letting them touch Iruka's hand before snatching them away again. Those that weren't snatched away either did little to nothing or had... unpredictable results. Surprisingly, the wandsmith seemed happier and happier as each wand rejected his customer; perhaps he didn't get that much business, and this was his form of on-the-job entertainment? That would certainly put some of the more comical wand reactions in a new light.
It took about twenty-five minutes for Iruka to find the wand for him. Eleven inches, beech wood with unicorn hair, described by Ollivander as "springy". As soon as the chuunin's hand closed around it, he could feel a rush of chakra down his arm, and a warm feeling flowing back, as if the wand were connecting itself directly to his coils. "Marvelous!" Ollivander exclaimed, "I should have tried beech sooner, really, if you've been staying with Xenophilius. Regardless, that will be seven galleons for the wand." He waved his own wand (Iruka noted that the wood seemed to match that in Xeno's wand) and the various boxes flew back to find vacant spots in the shelves. "Will there be anything else, while you're here?"
Iruka left with his new wand in a wrist holster for easier access, a jar of polish and a pamphlet on proper wand care in his pockets, and a resolution to look up wand lore when he got the chance.
A/N: A response to a guest review of chapter 6 - that's coming up next chapter.
From Pottermore: "The true match for a beech wand will be, if young, wise beyond his or her years, and if full-grown, rich in understanding and experience. Beech wands perform very weakly for the narrow-minded and intolerant." Iruka had to be more broad-minded than his peers to be one of the first to see Naruto for who he truly was rather than as an embodiment of the fox.
"My own wand is made of hornbeam, and so it is with all due modesty that I state that hornbeam selects for its life mate the talented witch or wizard with a single, pure passion, which some might call obsession (though I prefer the term 'vision'), which will almost always be realised." That sounded like a good match for Xeno as well.
I did write a scene of the meeting in Gringotts, but upon review it wasn't honestly very interesting and just dragged the pacing down. It's still saved, and might make an appearance in some kind of deleted scenes / omakes posting.
I know some might have expected Iruka to end up with cherry, given the Japanese associations, but it's stated as being a particularly powerful wand wood and Iruka is not going to be a particularly powerful wizard. This, of course, leads me to the questions of magic vs. chakra and wizards vs. ninja, how they relate, etc. Because there won't be any explicit explanations given in-story, I'll describe here how I'm modeling things mentally. This isn't a full, detailed explanation because I frankly didn't feel like crafting a consistent linking mechanic between the two systems when it just won't matter to the story, so it's going to be a bit vague in spots:
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Magic utilizes both the mage's spiritual energy and something at least very similar to natural energy. Wizarding Earth's natural energy has more of a magical flavor to it, giving it a degree of intelligence and life, and changing its behavior somewhat. That's not to say that a sage couldn't use senjutsu there, but they might experience some strange side-effects and/or challenges. Thousands of years of use as magic have further cemented the magical side of that world's natural energy, almost domesticating it in a way. The natural energy of the Elemental Nations is wilder and more primal, with much less magic in it.
Growing up in what is effectively a low-magic world stunts the growth of magical ability in children. On the other hand, the active cultivation of their chakra means that even children that would otherwise have been Squibs (or possibly even Muggles, who knows?) can develop their spiritual energy enough to connect somewhat with magic if they go somewhere it's plentiful enough. People with strong spiritual energy (such as the Uchiha clan) would almost certainly be magical even without ninja training. Consider the degree to which the more powerful sharingan / rinnegan users can warp reality - they've advanced enough that a bit of magic is leaking into their ninjutsu. The low magical development and lack of ambient magic is why we don't see accidental magic from shinobi children.
On the flip side, wizarding children could be trained into highly capable shinobi, but only if their training started young enough. The way I'm working it, part of the reason for ninjas' superhuman physical abilities (which we clearly see Naruto using before he's learned to channel chakra to just part of his body) is that the training regime alters their physical development. Training, medicines, and other practices change the way their body grows, enhancing it greatly. Thus, the more growing a person has done before they start their training and prep, the less of a boost they'll get. Because of this, the late start that those wizarding children Iruka teaches will get is going to prevent them from becoming super-OP shinobi. My intent is that, for the most part, they'll be around high genin or low chuunin level by the end of the story, if you count their magic.
Fic recommendation: "Potter's Protector" by mjimeyg - the first in a series of four progressive crossover fics, this one begins with Xander Harris (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) being brought to Hogwarts to take care of Harry. Things get complicated and wacky hijinks ensue. Definitely has some very Whedon-esque humor in it.
Posted 16 July 2017
Updated (A/N only) 30 July 2017: Added fic recommendation
Updated (A/N only) 15 September 2017: Noted different quotes for Japanese speech
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