Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter.

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The Magician

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Naruto tucked her blonde hair behind an ear, she should not have let Sakura convince her to get bangs, even though they were longer, they were a constant annoyance, like right now, once again, it was in her way and all she did was tilt her head to the side to get a better look. She huffed and tucked the blonde hair behind her ear, again, to not obstruct the view of the little street act that captivated almost everyone around her.

She had seen street acts before, of people that called themselves magicians and performing magic tricks for people to get a few ryuu to buy themselves something to eat. But with her skills and profession as a ninja, it unfortunately ruined all the acts, because she could see the slight of hand, she could see the card thrown up a loose sleeve, she could see the simple use of chakra to pull a rabbit out of a hat ─ which was hidden in a genjutsu inside the hat to begin with. She must say that when she was younger, she was quite fascinated by the whole thing, but once she became a ninja, and of course travelling with a sometimes inebriated Jiraiya, well, the magic disappeared once the man started telling her all the tricks and taught her how to dispel a simple genjutsu. She smiled when she saw the fascination and heard the awe of the children that were in front of her.

Birds flew from the tip of the stick ─ which amused Naruto greatly, she had never seen anyone do any tricks with a wand before, like in those books ─ chirping away as they flew high in the sky before quickly turning into butterflies, the man was definitely talented in genjutsu. But from the feel of his reserves and the look of him, though fit, he wasn't a ninja.

If only she could have been a little ignorant a little longer. Magic tricks were fun to watch, when she still believed in magic.

"Now for my final trick." The man with his grey blue eyes, stared at everyone in the crowd with all seriousness, a playful smile on his lips that promised a lot of things that Jiraiya would have been proud of if he were here to see it ─ Naruto could spot a playboy a mile away and this guy was truly a charmer, probably why he was so successful with all the ladies in the crowd. "I know you will be tempted, but please, don't take me home."

He winked at them all, and when those blue grey eyes landed on her, well, she couldn't help the blush that spread on her cheeks. He smiled cheekily, and with a last wink, and a laugh that was too appealing, the man turned and a big black dog jumped in place, tail wagging happily behind it, barking at the people happily as they clapped and cheered at the act.

Naruto couldn't help her own laughter as a sign hung around the dog's neck: Take me home please.

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"Did you enjoy the show?"

He sat beside her, his eyes were more grey silver under the dimmer lights of the bar, but they still held that same muted mirth behind them, and of course there was that easy smile hanging on his lips that was just confident, like the rest of his body. And if Naruto was any other girl, like Ino or even Sakura ─ with Sasuke away, leaving her behind with no promise, well she tended to have uninhibited fun, which Naruto didn't really judge her for, they were ninja and life was a little short sometimes ─ she would have indulged in the promise that were held in those eyes, but she sadly wasn't like that. But she could have fun, entertain him for a little while with a few drinks and bit of conversation.

"It was fun." Naruto sipped at her drink, body turned towards him, mirroring his own which was positioned towards her. She never noticed, from the distance she was from him earlier, that the man was quite broad and taller than her ─ okay in all honesty, anyone was taller than her.

"But..." The man held his drink at the tips of his fingers as he took a sip of the liquid gold liquor, eyes never leaving hers.

Naruto leaned towards him, the man reciprocating without a missed beat, his eyes playfully conspiratorial. "Well I stopped believing in magic."

The man's dark hair had fallen across his eyes, it was messy, but Naruto didn't find it hindering his good looks at all, it honestly added to his appeal, she could imagine that even the royally stuck up Hanabi ─ it wasn't really her fault, she was raised with the elders whispering in her ear, their prejudices, she was learning to get out of the habit ─ would find him to be attractive to a Hyuuga. His smile was still on his lips, "A ninja then?"

Naruto nodded her head, an orange hair clip was now secured in place on her head, so she didn't have to brush her bangs back every time she moved her head. "Unfortunately I can see through all your tricks."

He chuckled, and it was a sound that definitely told a story of broken hearts left behind in his past. "I hate to say this to women, but you're wrong."

"Really?"

"I'm pretty sure none of you can do what I do."

"Is that so?" Naruto crossed her arms before her, it was easy to play his game, a duplicate smile on her lips as she raised a brow at him in challenge.

She refused to lift a hand when he had brought his own up slowly towards her, his eyes now a stormy blue grey, conveying his harmlessness. His rough fingers ghosted along the side of her neck, tracing alongside the silver chain of the necklace that Tsunade had given her a long time ago. He gently held the green crystal in his hand, bringing it up in front of her eyes, before closing her hand, and in an act that she knew he didn't really need to do, he drew close towards her, never turning his eyes away from her and blew onto his closed hand. Necklace gone once he opened it up again.

"Where did it go?"

"Magic."

"It better not be broken or lost, that was really important to me."

"Where do you think I put it?"

Naruto, even through her annoyance ─ though the man was harmless to her, and she could always get it back if she used a little force and maybe a threat, but he was just a civillian with a few tricks. "You just want me to frisk you."

His lips parted and a deep laugh escaped them, the kind that sent a delightful tingle through her, if it weren't the fact that the man took her necklace away. "I think it's you who want to frisk me."

Naruto pursed her lips to the side and subtly did a quick dispel of genjutsu, and seeing as the necklace didn't turn back up, she gave the man a stern glare before bringing her hands on his person, ignoring his smirk when she started to feel him through his clothes. Though Naruto didn't venture anywhere below his waist.

"Where is it?"

He smiled at her innocently, his hands up in the air, to show that he was doing nothing with them. "It has always been on you sweetheart."

Naruto narrowed her eyes on him, before looking down and indeed the necklace was on her. "Genjutsu."

"I'm pretty sure you tried to dispel that earlier, but it's magic."

She wasn't convinced. The man didn't need to know that she wasn't very talented when it came to genjutsu, she might not have used enough chakra to overpower his talent with the art. He wouldn't be a successful magician if a passing ninja could just dispel his tricks quickly.

The man brought his hands together on the bar top, his hands playing with a couple of napkins strewn about, and she was curious as to what he was working on to try to convince her once again that magic was real. She watched as his surprisingly nimble fingers folded the paper into an intricate design of a dog ─ the man must be fond of dogs.

She wondered if that was all, and she must not have hidden her expression very well, because the man just smirked at her knowingly ─ the man was too handsome for his own good.

He held it in his hands, shielding it from her, before opening it back again and a tiny puppy was in his hands, alive, and yapping away cutely like any new born pup. It wasn't new, she had seen Sai do tricks with ink and turning them into life, but this puppy, that was bouncing around on the bar counter, miniature in size, but definitely bigger than what it was as paper, was nothing like what Sai could do. It had fur and everything, very soft under her touch.

"Magic."

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Magic?

More like too charming to the point that he could distract you and convince you to take your clothes off ─ well he wasn't really a bad guy, and all that was partly her idea as well. The guy's charm though was off the charts, if Sakura had met him, she would definitely forget about Sasuke. Anko might be convinced to be in a monogamous relationship.

That would definitely be a magic trick.

Naruto turned to look at the man ─ Sirius, learned it only after he wanted her to scream his name ─ that shared the bed with her. She couldn't believe that even in his sleep he was attractive to her, still had that same pull ─ maybe she had just lived without for too long. Naruto looked around the room, quietly and gingerly leaving the bed with the grace of a seasoned ninja. She searched the room thoroughly and there definitely was no sign of her clothing anywhere. Where the hell did he put it away? She quickly cast a 'kai' hoping to dispel whatever genjutsu he had used to hide her clothing from her, but there was nothing. Even with the amount of chakra she used in it, there was no sign of her clothing anywhere, and the puppy was still on the floor in her shoes, sleeping soundly.

"Fuck it." Naruto fished out the man's clothing from where it was partially tucked under the bed, and after some contemplation ─ and it really was a losing battle, the pup had yawned cutely at her before going back to sleep ─ she took the small puppy in her hand and shunshined away from the hotel.

She had a schedule to follow.

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Sadly, if she were to really admit it, no one would have noticed that the Land of Whirlpool disappeared if she didn't have the sudden urge to visit where her mother grew up, and possibly go through the rubble and find anything that was hidden away secretly and protected behind seals.

So that's where Naruto Uzumaki found herself now.

Standing on the coast at the edge of the Land of Fire, staring off into the distance towards the direction where the map indicated where the Land of Whirlpool resided, only to look at an unobstructed view of the horizon. And with what the map indicated, she shouldn't have had a clear view of the horizon, not be able to admire the reflection of the orange tinted sky on the still ocean waters ─ which is ludicrous because whirlpools should have littered the water surface like a trap.

She brought her hands in front of her, fingers arranged to a familiar seal, and with an intense, and definitely uncapped release of chakra, she tried to dispel the illusion. But there was nothing, and there continued to be nothing.

There was a fear that crept up from inside her, a fear that came from a truth learned after surviving a long and treacherous war.

"Well, shit."

She never was articulate.

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I wanted a little bit of love between Naruto and Sirius.