Chương 12: Chapter 16: 1-6: Game On
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.
Iruka was sitting in his office, adding the latest updates to his increasingly long report. He'd first begun writing a log of the events surrounding his unexpected trip, and his observations at his destination, a few days after Pandora Lovegood's recovery. There were actually two versions: One was written in a cipher used by the allied forces during the Fourth Great War, designed to act as something of a primer on this new world/nation/society in case any other ninja ended up here after Iruka either made it home or died. The other, encrypted more deeply in a code he only had clearance to know because of his administrative work in Konoha's government, was far more thorough. It contained a complete record of his experiences and observations, as well as his research and the theories he'd come up with regarding the relationship between magic and chakra. Both versions were kept in storage scrolls, along with stacks of books and other items obtained locally (beginning with instructional materials for learning English). While there was no telling if either report would ever reach a fellow shinobi, he owed it to anyone that might follow in the future to leave a record for them, and to Konoha to tell them everything he reasonably could.
Given the arrangements Iruka had made with Madam Longbottom the previous day, it was no surprise to the chuunin when he heard a timid knock on his office door during the first years' free period on Friday afternoon. Sealing up and setting aside his work, he called for his visitor to enter. His expectations were confirmed as Neville Longbottom hesitantly stepped through the door.
"My Gran - that is, Madam Longbottom - owled me that I should come and talk to you this afternoon, Professor." The first-year was clearly uncertain as to the reason behind his grandmother's instruction, and equally clearly did not expect that reason to be good for him.
Iruka smiled warmly, trying to reassure his somewhat frightened student, and waved towards the chairs in front of his desk. "Please, take a seat." After Neville complied, he stepped around to the other chair and summoned over the tea set, pouring each of them a cup. "I spoke to her yesterday because I wanted to get her permission to teach you some things beyond the Sealing Arts. Outside of Professor Sprout (who has nothing but praise for your work in herbology), the other staff said that you've been struggling a bit with their classes." Neville's face fell at this, and his gaze turned towards the bottom of his teacup. "Personally, I think that you have a lot of potential, and that what I have to teach you should help you better realize that potential." Now the young Gryffindor's eyes snapped to his teacher's, showing a riot of emotion and clearly searching for signs of sarcasm or deceit.
"You've been told so many times that you're a squib, or at best a weak wizard, that some part of you has started to believe it. Magic is heavily influenced by our emotions, our focus, our will, and our belief. The more you believe, the more you know that your spell is going to work, the better the chances are that it will work. I suspect that the damage done to your self-confidence may be one of the biggest things getting in your way, but I'm hoping that learning something new, something that almost nobody else in Britain can do, will help you realize how capable you really are. Learning additional ways to protect yourself won't hurt, either. Some of the exercises I plan to teach you will also help boost your memory and your ability to focus in difficult conditions. On top of all that, I can't be totally sure, but I strongly suspect that some of the exercises will help grow your magical strength." He didn't think Neville would yet appreciate the added confidence boost that could come a few years down the line when the physical component of the exercises (or rather the physique they produced) would likely start drawing appreciative looks from his schoolmates.
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The rest of Neville's visit had gone much like Harry's had. Neville had required slightly more explanation of Iruka's otherworldly origins (offered up as a token of trust, to encourage the boy to eventually open up in return), and while he had shown greater difficulty in beginning the meditation exercise, seemed far more comfortable once he reached his meditative state.
Two down, one to go.
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Anyone that bothered to look could see that Harry Potter was very obviously nervous at breakfast on Saturday. Iruka could only assume that this was due to the fact that his first ever Quidditch game would be taking place in a few hours. As much as he loved flying, Harry had confessed, the thought of having to perform in front of so many people was more than a little terrifying. This was one place where Harry was the complete opposite of Naruto: Where the latter had been ignored and thus done anything and everything to get attention, the former had been conditioned to associate drawing attention with being punished and thus avoided the spotlight as much as possible (which at Hogwarts was unfortunately little, given his celebrity status). Still, the young wizard had commented, at least with Quidditch any praise would be for his deeds, rather than his parents' sacrifice.
At the game itself, Iruka elected to sit with the other teachers in attendance. He was seated between Babs and Pomona Sprout and behind Filius Flitwick, with Minerva busy in the commentator's box riding herd on Lee Jordan (a friend of the Weasley twins, and nearly their equal in mischief). Charlie Weasley had explained the rules of the game while teaching him to fly, but this would be the first time the shinobi would get to see the game actually played. Now he was engaged in a discussion with those around him on whether the point value of the Golden Snitch should be adjusted up or down based on the level of play (something Pomona favored), or perhaps based at least in part on the points the successful Seeker's team had already scored (the position taken by Filius and by Septima Vector). Iruka was just advocating for the team captains to negotiate or bid on the Snitch's value before each game based on their assessments of the two teams when Mr. Jordan announced the entry of the teams.
The Slytherin team's strategy left Iruka distinctly unimpressed; it was neither ambitious nor cunning to rely on large players, brute force, and dirty play rather than actual skill, talent, and strategy. Gryffindor, on the other hand, was far more impressive: Their Keeper was a veteran player with a lot of skill, their Chasers were both talented and well-coordinated, and the Weasley Twins seemed to function as a single person in two places. As for Harry, from the moment he kicked off the ground even Iruka's inexperienced eye could tell how effortless his flying was, and how totally at home the boy was in the air. Lee Jordan, meanwhile, continued to provide a colorful play-by-play while attempting to drive his Head of House to distraction and getting more than a few chuckles from those spectators not wearing Slytherin green. Overall, the chuunin felt that the gameplay was interesting but he wondered if there were any real safeguards against the rather obvious dangers of high-speed impacts and long falls.
Shortly after a particularly shameless foul against Harry by Slytherin's captain, Iruka felt a spike of sakki from behind him on his left, strong enough to put him instantly on high alert. A surreptitious glance around identified the source as Professor Quirrell, but judging by the turbaned man's skyward gaze, its target was one of the players. Which player was soon made clear as Harry's broom began to jerk and buck wildly, as if trying to throw him off. At the height his student was flying, Iruka knew that even most ninja wouldn't survive that drop. Even as he watched, his mind racing, the broom weaved and zigzagged its way higher and higher, its movements becoming increasingly violent as it went. Another longer glance at Quirrell showed that he was staring fixedly at Harry, and Iruka realized that the man wasn't blinking - this gave him an idea.
Hiding his hands in his lap, Iruka flashed through a series of hand signs while molding water-natured chakra. Soon, tendrils of mist began to fill the stands as his kirigakure no jutsu took hold. He hoped he was right in his guess that Quirrell needed unbroken eye contact to maintain his attack.
Just as the mist started seriously thickening, however, a sharp gust of wind blasted it away. Iruka looked around for the source, but at least half the adults around him had their wands out by now. He could only presume that one of them wanted to keep their view of the pitch clear in case they needed to try and save Harry from a fall. Redoubling his efforts, Iruka poured his chakra into the jutsu, coalescing the mist again, this time at a speed that was blatantly unnatural. Despite his efforts to break Quirrell's line of sight, the wind arose again and dispersed his mist. While he didn't want to draw the clearly murderous professor's attention just yet, nor show more of his abilities than was necessary, the ninja was rapidly reaching the point of taking more overt action.
It was as he was gathering his chakra for his strongest disorientating genjutsu that Iruka saw Quirrell suddenly pitch forward into the next row of seats, before Professor Snape's robes suddenly caught fire. Spotting a small figure with bushy brown hair scooping blue flames into a jar, he knew that his upcoming discussion with Ms. Granger would be interesting.
Gazing up once more showed that Harry's broom was back to normal, and he was now entering into a steep dive that ended as he tumbled off his broom onto the pitch, looking as if he were about to be sick. What emerged from the young Gryffindor's mouth, however, was a small golden ball, which was promptly held up in triumph. Iruka found himself raising his opinion of the boy once again: If he was able to resume play that quickly and effectively so soon after nearly suffering a fatal mishap, his focus and determination had to be impressive indeed.
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After confirming that Harry was unharmed, Iruka made his way to the Headmaster's office as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself or appearing to hurry.
"Headmaster Dumbledore," he began as soon as he had confirmed they were alone in the room, "I strongly suspect that Professor Quirrell just made an attempt on Harry Potter's life."
To an untrained civilian, Dumbledore's response would have shown mild surprise and little else. Iruka could see that behind that mask, the man's mind was working full-speed. "May I enquire as to what happened, and why you believe Quirinus to be responsible?"
With a grim nod, Iruka assumed a parade-rest stance before reporting. "While watching today's Quidditch match from the teachers' box, I sensed an alarming spike of..." he frowned. "There is no direct English translation. We call it 'sakki' - you could translate it as 'bloodlust', 'intent to kill', 'murderous intent', or something along those lines. It isn't hate, more the emotion of a predator focused on killing its prey, though the two emotions can certainly occur together."
"Regardless, I sensed an intense amount of sakki from nearby, and found that it seemed to be coming from Professor Quirrell, who was staring at Mr. Potter. Within seconds, Mr. Potter's broom began to malfunction, its movements becoming increasingly erratic and violent, as if it were trying to throw him off. Given how high above the pitch he had been flying, and the fact that the broom began to ascend further during this event, an unchecked fall would have almost certainly been fatal."
"Noticing that Quirrell was maintaining unblinking eye contact with his target," Iruka continued, "I attempted to break his line of sight using a technique from my homeland to call up a dense fog. Unfortunately, another presumably well-meaning member of staff repeatedly used a wind spell to disperse my mist. I was just considering taking more direct and overt action when a third party intervened, knocking Quirrell over and disrupting his attack. As soon as this occurred, Mr. Potter's broom returned to normal, and he was able to catch the Snitch and end the game in his team's favor, returning to the relative safety of the ground in the process."
Headmaster Dumbledore was silent for several moments, clearly mulling over Iruka's account. "I had already begun to suspect that all was not right with Quirinus," he said finally, "after the events of Tuesday night. It was most strange for him to flee in terror from a troll, as he had previously shown a great deal of talent at handling the creatures. A lone troll should have been no trouble for him to direct in a safe direction, and yet he ran screaming into the Great Hall. With your report of today's events, I am now certain that Quirinus has malicious intentions, and given whom he targeted today, his sympathies likely lie with those of a Darker persuasion. Our problem now is proof; without it, we cannot hope to see Quirinus incarcerated or otherwise rendered harmless, but we currently have no more than our own experiences and some deeply suspicious occurrences. Were we to attempt to remove him at this juncture, he would undoubtedly be found innocent of any wrongdoing, and would return warier, angrier, and possibly more desperate - things that would make the task of stopping him more difficult while greatly increasing the potential danger to our students. Much as it pains me, I am afraid that for now we shall have to pretend ignorance while remaining subtly watchful. I would ask you to continue to monitor the situation, but refrain from acting openly against Quirinus unless he poses an immediate threat. For anything else, report to me as quickly as you can without arousing suspicion. I too will keep watch over him as my duties allow, as will certain others, and with luck we will soon have the proof that we need to thwart whatever nefarious plans he may have and ensure that he no longer poses a threat to the innocent."
At Iruka's answering nod, the Headmaster smiled brightly. "Excellent! And while we the subject of Tuesday evening is raised, I feel that I should thank you, both for retrieving Ms. Granger and for your decisive action in preventing me from making a rather dangerous mistake. My ill-considered instructions were based on longstanding Hogwarts emergency protocols, which call for securing the students inside their Houses, but which I have now amended to account for situations in which it would be wiser to guard the students at their current location. You may well have saved student lives, both that night and during potential future incidents."
Iruka relaxed at this, and returned a small smile of his own. "Thank you, Headmaster. All schools in Konoha have comparable emergency protocols, and we staff are trained to carry them out efficiently and safely. We also conduct occasional emergency drills, simulating various forms of emergency in order to teach the students how to respond. Perhaps similar drills could be designed for Hogwarts?"
Professor Dumbledore's grin grew even wider. "It would certainly make directing the students easier during an emergency if they already had some idea of what to do. I shall raise the matter at the next staff meeting, and hope we may prevail upon your experience to help the rest of us design these drills and a plan for conducting them. Such policy changes are thankfully the purview of Hogwarts' staff, and do not require input nor approval from the Board of Governors; as with any such body, one can be certain of encountering objections to even the most obviously sensible of proposals."
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After Professor Umino left, Albus again reflected on the traveler. His bearing while delivering his report was again clearly military, once more suggesting experience as a professional soldier. Albus was beginning to suspect that this 'academy' at which the man had previously taught was a military training school. Also, although he was reasonably certain that everything the Professor had said was accurate, there were also clear omissions and evasions woven into his account: He had mentioned a 'technique' from his homeland, but had not elaborated, and whatever it was didn't particularly sound like one of his seals; he also didn't identify the "third party" whose intervention resolved the situation. Once more it seemed as if every answer about the visiting Seals teacher simply led to more questions - a mystery Albus would be quite enjoying were it not for the fact that it was intertwined with another matter that was endangering his students...
A/N: Now, given that the students are all sequestered in the Great Hall two years later, it's likely that the policy change Dumbledore is crediting Iruka for inspiring would have happened anyway, but they certainly don't know that. I probably won't be showing the staff meeting where they plan out the new emergency policies or any of the emergency drills, since to be honest they'd be fairly boring and not advance the plot or characters any.
To a guest reviewer on the previous chapter: I'm glad you enjoyed it, but I'm afraid I'm happily married already ;)
Fic Recommendation: "Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Seventh Safeguard" by Charlotte Ann Kent - a brilliant HP/Sherlock Holmes crossover, in which Holmes' brilliant mind is applied to the problem of the horcrux hunt. What makes this particular fic so special is that it's written in the style of Doyle's stories, which adds so much flavor and ambiance.
Posted 19 November 2017
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