Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the Harry Potter series.
Author's Note: Sorry for taking so horribly long! I had a website design that I was commissioned. I promise next update will be sooner!
A shadow puppet does not have a will, a mind, or a face.
It is
solid darkness, dancing to the whim of the puppeteer.
A
remarkable resemblance to the perfect ninja, really.
Shadow Play
Act II
Scene i
(In a brightly illuminated store labelled Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, A plump witch is busily pulling at hems and pinning up sleeves while a young blonde teen is standing on a tool, fidgeting. A few feet away, two other teens are waiting patiently with a wizard. The wizard's threadbare attire seems to bother the witch greatly; she continues to glance towards the poor state of the robes and once almost flicks her wand in his direction before she catches herself in time. The man doesn't seem to mind. Instead, he quietly looks out the window of the store, observing the bustling street--and decidedly ignoring the loud comments from the teen that is currently being fitted.)
"Hey, hey, Sasuke, Sakura-chan! How do I look?" Naruto grinned as he rolled his shoulders back, puffing out his chest.
"Shut up, idiot. You're making the pins on your shoulder fall off." Sasuke interjected acerbically. Madam Malkin didn't seem all too pleased at the choice of words, but she sighed and nodded.
"He's right, dear. You'll look a lot more handsome if you have sleeves of matching lengths."
Sasuke looked away from the fitting stool as a deflated Naruto grumbled, and instead studied the street outside, trying to catch snippets of conversation filtering through the wooden door.
"--and then, the goblin pulled out a spear!"
"--two Galleons for a single unicorn hair, its unbelievable--"
"--a broomstick? Can I? Please mum--"
It had been only a day since Remus had briefed them on the wizarding world and convinced the team to allow him to perform a 'spell' on them, so that they could understand 'English'. The jumble of new words had given all of them a headache for a while, and it was still difficult for them to flick the mental switch required to alternate the spoken language. Thus, until they all have gotten used to it, team 7 decided to speak in English in order to practice--although they didn't seem to need any with the spell. Still, it fascinated Sasuke to hear and feel the smooth syllables of English that seemed to melt into one another.
"Looks a lot like the ANBU uniform we're trying to earn, doesn't it, Sasuke-kun."
The black-haired teen jerked his head at the interruption of his thoughts and followed Sakura's glance back to the robes that Naruto was wriggling in.
"Without the hood and the white mask," he noted distractedly. Here, Remus gave him sharp glance, causing Sasuke to raise a brow. However, since the man soon returned to staring out into the street, he dismissed it and smirked as Naruto began his heartfelt whine again.
"Sakura-chaaaan--"
"Naruto, I agree with Sasuke-kun, you know. You should stay still."
The blonde ninja pouted. Sakura glared back. The witch attending Naruto gave a disapproving sigh and patted her charge on the back.
"And you're done, dear. You three can pick up your robes tomorrow evening."
The blonde eagerly jumped off the stool and shrugged his robe off. It fell into a dark puddle of cloth and pins on the dusty floor and the Madam Malkin glared irritably. However, Naruto was already dashing out to the streets with his hands fisted in excitement and an enthusiastic gleam in his blue eyes. Sakura let out a frustrated sigh and Remus smiled wanly; Sasuke just slid his hands into his pockets and followed without a word, carrying only the slightest expression of disdain.
"So, so, where are we going next, Mr. Lupin?" Naruto's loud voice caused several passers-by to stare and Sasuke to scowl; the moron had never excelled in stealth. And yes, Remus had notified them that here, the surname was spoken last. Sasuke had not complained, but privately had thought it silly; ancestry was more important than oneself, after all.
Remus ran fatigued fingers through his greying hair while checking his list. "Er, Ollivander's will be our last stop. We already have your other school supplies ready."
Sakura looked up in interest. "Oh, are we getting the 'wands' that you use for juts--no, spells?" Sasuke also tilted his head towards the wizard, listening with care.
"Yes, Ms. Haruno. Best makers of wands in England. It's down this street--"
"Alright! Let's go Sakura-chan!"
Half-way down the street, Sakura tore off Naruto's grip on her wrist and swung a fist in the direction of his head. The young ninja dodged with surprising nimbleness and laughed as he slid inside the small dusty store that was their final destination. Sasuke trailed after the pair with Remus, an amused smirk gracing his lips. Yes, it was definitely a smirk, not a smile.
Act II
Scene ii
(The store is eerily quiet. The only source of illumination is the wan sunlight filtering through the narrow, grimy windows placed high up in the walls. Four individuals stand near the entrance, oddly subdued, while shimmering dust swirls up from the floor in a mesmerizing dance, protesting the trespassers. Somewhere, from the midst of innumerable narrow boxes, a shrivelled old man steps forward into the pale light, his large unblinking eyes sweeping over the younger three of the four. He nods.)
"Ah yes, the boys Albus told me about, hmm? Good to see you, Remus. Twelve-inch, birch with unicorn's hair. One of the loveliest I've ever made, if I remember correctly."
Naruto blinked, surprised, as their guide nodded with a smile. Did the old man remember every single wand he sold? His blue eyes landed on the wizened shopkeeper, awe mingled with suspicion. Naruto had been determined to not let anything surprise him since the moment he let his jaw drop at his first sight of Diagon Alley, pouring through the retreating bricks of what had seemed like a solid wall; however, this shop was... something else. The moment he had stepped in, escaping Sakura's wrath, he felt the chatter of the streets disappear into soothing silence. And there was something heavy in the air that prevented him from commenting the oddity to his team mate--well, from her expression, she had noticed anyway.
"Well now, ladies first. Hold out the arm you use to write with, if you please."
Sakura seemed startled, but she stepped forward bravely and raised her right arm. She didn't even yelp when measuring tapes flew out from a small metal box and began various measurements on her body. Only when they began curling around her torso to measure her chest did she smack it out of the way with a glare. Naruto winced in empathy, despite the fact that they were inanimate--well, maybe not quite--objects. He knew how that felt.
"Oh, yes, enough of that." With the old man's command, the tapes fluttered to the floor, lifeless. "Give this one a wave, Ms. Haruno. Thirteen inches. A thousand year old oak with a phoenix tail feather. Quite solid with a fair bit of power."
The kunoichi reached out to take the slender stick in her hands, but the moment it touched her fingers, the shopkeeper jerked it away with a 'tsk' and instantly pulled out another one.
"Ten and a quarter inches. Supple maple and a core of dragon heartstrings. Lovely creation. If you could--"
This one was also snatched out of Sakura's hands the moment she twitched her wrist.
"How about this one? A bit thick, eleven inches. Birchwood and--hmph." The wand was again flicked out of her grip.
The young woman began to eye the old man suspiciously as he rummaged for the next wand.
"Ah, this. Twelve inches. Flexible willow with a feather from a temperamental hen. Tried to peck my eyes out, that one. Should be good for precise charm work."
This time, Ollivander didn't stop Sakura from taking the wand. Instead, he watched anxiously as she swung the wand, and when swirling little pink sparks lighted the room, he crowed triumphantly.
"Ah, beautiful! I get better at this every time. Now then, Mr. Uchiha. There, no need to look so grumpy; give us a smile." Naruto barely contained a snicker behind a raised hand. He'd never seen Sasuke even remotely close to smiling. Smirking, maybe. Or even a little 'heh', when he was in an astoundingly good mood. But the Great Uchiha Sasuke never smiled.
The dark-haired teen took a quite a bit more tries than Sakura before he settled with 'thirteen inches, solid ebony, firm. Heartstrings from a Chinese Fireball.' A Fireball. Naruto snickered again. Now who would've thought?
"Mr. Uzumaki?"
"Took you long enough Sasuke!"
When Naruto strutted up to Mr. Ollivander with a flourish, the old man eyed him with some amusement. Then, with a moment of thought, he flipped open the cardboard lid of the nearest box and extracted the delicate-looking wand, offering it to the teen. The blonde frowned slightly.
"Hey, old man. Aren't you going to measure me like you did with Sakura-chan and Sasuke?" Ollivander only smiled.
Miffed, Naruto took the slender stick--surprisingly warm and surprisingly... girly--and twirled it like he would a kunai. Much to his surprise, little puffs of orange flame sprouted from the tip, floating soothingly in the dusty air before sputtering out.
"Ah, thought so. Ten inches, made from a sapling oak. The core came from a wonderful golden filly. She was quite the feisty one." The old wand maker chuckled. Naruto stared at his wand. Filly. Wasn't that like a baby horse? A female baby horse?
"Whaaaat!"
The moment the four stepped outside the store after paying the bill, Naruto's team mates burst out in laughter; Sakura in her clear, sweet giggle and Sasuke in his trademark mocking snigger. Even Remus had a smile tugging at his tired thin lips. The blonde's face became a brilliant crimson.
"Hey, hey! Stop laughing! I bet my stick can break yours any day!"
When the laughing didn't stop, Naruto angrily pulled out his new wand from his kunai holster. Ignoring one pink-haired ninja's protests, he then turned on Sasuke with his hand raised to stab the blunt end of the fragile stick into the smirking face of his rival. The Uchiha didn't lose a moment and quickly twisted up his own wand to parry the blow.
"Too slow and too obvious, idiot." The smirk gained in strength.
Just as the blonde managed to free his wand and stabbed at the other's side with a growl, the battered door of the wand-maker's store slammed open with a sudden gust of wind. At the sudden force, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all froze and snapped their attention to the store at the same time. When Mr. Ollivander stormed out of the entrance a moment later, he looked nothing like the thin, almost fragile shopkeeper Naruto had yelled at just a moment ago.
His threadbare grey robes somehow deepened into a menacing black that billowed out behind him, and his grey hair danced wildly, almost crackling with unseen energy. His previously vapid, silvery eyes were now sharp, piercing steel and their murderous gaze impaled the two offending boys. Naruto felt a sudden chill. There was some serious killing intent in those eyes. The blonde almost expected an attack, but the old man instead turned to an appalled Remus Lupin and fixed him with the same icy glare.
"Remus! You better teach these brats proper respect for their wands! Never in all these years have I seen such insolence!"
With those words, the shopkeeper stomped his way back to his dusty sanctuary, still growling and hmph-ing under his breath. When the wooden door closed behind him with a soft click, Remus ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh and turned towards the two males who decidedly looked shell-shocked.
"Well," Remus began with a feeble smile. "I was instructed to teach some basic magic anyway. Er, this way..."
The wizard's charges nodded silently and followed.
Act II
Scene iii
(The room is one of the most spacious in the weather-beaten Leaky Cauldron. Several large windows lining the wall provide a wealth of sunlight, which spills into the room, warming the wooden floorboards. If one looks closely, cobwebs can be seen clinging to the more shadowy corners, but if anything, it only adds to the homely atmosphere of the lodging. Currently, the four beds have been pushed to one corner of the room, leaving a large open space in the middle where four people now stand, each in various poses of concentration.)
"Reparo!"
Sakura felt a minute amount of chakra flow from her coil system to the wand, and watched in fascination as the broken shards of ceramics shuddered then knitted together, reforming the once-broken dish. She reached out to run her fingers over the seamless, smooth surface of the creamy white plate and once again marvelled at the convenience of the spell.
"It works almost like a healing jutsu, only it takes a lot less effort and only a fraction of chakra! I definitely think this 'wand' is acting as an amplifier." Sakura caressed her wand with an affectionate gaze. "It's amazing how our world never invented something like this..." She stroked a finger down the smooth wood--
"Sakura," a cool voice suddenly interrupted the kunoichi from her reverie. When she turned to the direction of the voice, a raven-haired teen was watching her from his station in front of a dust bunny, a small furrow of frustration growing between his brows. Near him was Naruto, also frowning in concentration as he jabbed at his own dust mote with a booming, 'Wingardium Leviosa!' It barely twitched. Sakura couldn't help but snicker a bit as Remus sighed and repeated his demonstration.
From the beginning, Sakura experienced very little trouble in mimicking the exact wrist movements and the specific inflections of the magical words that were perquisite for a successful charm--they were almost nothing compared to the fine chakra control required to perform even a chuuin-level healing jutsu. However, Naruto and Sasuke always twitched their wand at exactly the wrong place or slurred syllables together in such a way that the spell failed completely.
"Sakura," the pale teen repeated. "Can you step outside with me for a moment?"
Sakura tilted her head in curiosity and glanced at Naruto and Remus. They seemed rather occupied with a sudden flame that had erupted on the collection of dust motes. She looked back to Sasuke with a suppressed grin and nodded.
When they were outside in the hallway with the door safely closed behind them, Sakura turned towards Sasuke, her expression expecting. She had long ago abandoned her crush in favour of a more enduring friendship, but...
"So, Sasuke-kun?"
To her surprise, the young man cast his gaze down, locks of jet black hair veiling his expression--was that a faint flush? However, soon, his eyes came back up, and Sakura saw that they were imbued in the bright crimson of the Sharingan.
"Ah, Sakura, could you do that spell that we're learning?" The ninja spoke almost guiltily, refusing to meet her gaze. A sly smile slowly replaced the look of surprise on Sakura's face.
"Sasuke-kun! I never knew you'd be one to cheat like that!" She teased with a laugh. Immediately, Sasuke frowned.
"It isn't cheating, it's--"
"Yes, yes, it's using every advantage you have to get ahead. Shinobi saying number 48, I know." Her mocking expression softened slightly. "I was only second to you back in the Academy... although you probably wouldn't remember."
Sakura was surprised at the bitterness lacing her own voice.
There was a moment of uneasy silence.
However, before Sasuke could speak or react to her words, Sakura turned away abruptly and swished her wand at a stray pebble that had escaped the housekeeping service. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Her wrist movements were probably more pronounced than what was really needed. And she spoke the spell a bit too loudly, she thought. The charm still worked marvellously, however, and Sakura sighed internally in relief as the pebble lazily floated up into the air and bobbed obediently at eye level. She grinned over her shoulder at her team mate, who nodded gruffly and allowed red to drain away from his eyes. He then quickly went back inside after muttering a 'thanks', not quite meeting her eyes. And Sakura knew the 'thanks' wasn't just for her spell.
Shortly, a muffled, 'Wingardium Leviosa!' floated out from the door. Sakura could almost see the triumphant smirk that followed as well as Naruto's baffled expression.
"Wha--what--? Sasuke, how did you--? Just a second ago--"
The moment Sakura stepped back inside the room with a stifled giggle, Naruto's confused blue eyes flicked to meet her amused green ones. Then, his jaw dropped as slow comprehension dawned on his face. He spluttered.
"Sasuke bastard! How dare you use--" The blonde stopped at Sasuke's sharp glare. He spluttered some more. Sakura tossed a sympathetic glance at Naruto as he grudgingly settled into muttering about 'the cheating bastard' instead. Remus looked bemused, but wisely seemed to decide not to comment. Instead, he turned his attention back to Naruto, whose wand movements had become rather violent.
"You have to swish the wand gently because any jerky movements cause the charm to fail. Same with the spell words. Think smooth--here, like this. Wingardium Leviosa!"
The dust mote that had refused to budge under Naruto's vicious efforts, danced to life under the wizard's ministrations. Sasuke, his mote still floating in the air, shot a superior smirk at the frustrated blonde, who in turn glared back with a look that bespoke of torture and painful death. Sakura resolutely suppressed a bubbling laughter and swished her wand at another piece of broken china. All was good.
Act II
Scene iv
(The sunlight is slanting at a different angle now and its touch is bordering on crimson. By the messy state of the room, it seems to be a week or two since its occupants first entered. The reduced light and its red hue deepens previously existing shadows and casts new ones, giving the room--now complete with scorch marks and an orange tree growing in a corner--a rather eerie atmosphere. Two beds lie abandoned in a dusty corner, but the other two have been pulled out to catch the last of the dying sunlight. Quiet conversation rises from the people sitting on the beds--the oldest on one, and the younger three on the other, facing him.)
"...so with Lord Voldemort, you can see why we're particularly concerned over Harry Potter."
Sakura--loveable, ever-diligent Sakura--looked up from her note-taking and tilted her head to ease the cricks in her neck. Normally, he would offer her a massage--probably earning a smack to the head--but over the course of years, even Naruto had learned the wisdom of paying attention during a business discussion.
"Heeeh, I see. Accio orange!"
But then again, he had a different definition of 'attention' than most people.
Blithely ignoring the contempt on Sasuke's face and the I-will-kill-you-dead expression of Sakura, Naruto dug his nails in his fruit to peel it, causing a pleasant scent of citrus to permeate the musty air.
"Magical orange looks pretty good, doesn't it?" Though ramen was infinitely better, of course. Still, Naruto bit enthusiastically into the tangy flesh and lapped up some of the dribbling juice.
"Mm. So anyway, are we getting a map or anythin' of this Hogwarts place?"
Remus' lips curved up in some inner amusement at the question, but he soon sobered up enough to draw his wand and mutter a spell, at which shimmering gold threads unravelled from the tip to draw out an extremely complicated blueprint. Sasuke immediately frowned as though the warm golden glow had violently insulted his pride.
"You hired only three to cover such an expansive castle? Even if all of us patrol simultaneously for the entire night, we can't effectively defend such an area."
The wizard only smiled mildly at the teenager's cold assessment and flicked his wand again, withdrawing the glowing threads.
"Ah, Mr. Lupin--" Sakura looked up from her sketching with a protest, but Remus quickly stilled her with a reassuring wave and a wider smile.
"No need for that Ms. Haruno. We'll have maps in a more convenient form ready for you before you set off to Hogwarts. As for your question, Mr. Uchiha, I'm sure you'll be satisfied once you see these maps."
Sasuke wore a blank expression which Naruto clearly deciphered as 'I don't think so idiot', but he didn't further pursue the topic--probably because the idiot in question was now admiring and complementing Sakura's deft sketch work. Naruto leaned towards Sasuke to whisper near his ear.
"I can always make a bunch of kage bunshin, remember?" When he saw that Remus was occupied, Sasuke turned slightly towards Naruto to whisper back.
"Idiot, if you do that you'll be completely drained of chakra after a week or two. And that means you'll die."
When Sasuke looked away to find out just what was so captivating about Sakura's sketches, Naruto grinned widely. If he wasn't mistaken, that acidly spoken whisper had been tender caring and concern in Sasuke-ese. Aww, he cared.
A smile still playing on his lips, he joined Sasuke and Remus, if only to make Sakura blush into an even deeper shade of red. Sakura-chan was so cute when she blushed. When Naruto shared this very important and completely serious observation with everyone, Sakura punched him square in the cheek, which sent him flying into the opposite wall. In the midst of Remus' surprised shout, a pounding headache, and what was probably a cracked rib, a single thought wavered faintly in the blonde ninja's mind.
Aww, she cared too.
+Questions+
a) Do you think the characters are in character? If not, why?
b) What do you think about each scene's length? Too short/long? Why?
c) Do you agree with the individual magic-learning abilities of each character? If no, why not?
d) Did you enjoy the reading?
Remember! Reviews keep the author-monster happy and writing.