A/N this is my first HP/Naruto fanfiction. Please be gentle. This fanfic is set during the sixth book in Harry Potter and a year after the start of Shipuuden in the Narutoverse. And no I dont own any part of either Naruto or Harry Potter in any way, shape or form. Wish I did, but I dont

terms:

baka: idiot

dobe: dead last

obaa: granny

-san: Mr/Mrs

-sama: Lord/Lady

-chan: diminutive, used for close friends or addressing a younger person or females

-sensei: teacher

-kun: used for teenage males

chokuto: Sasuke's sword

hitai-ate: forehead protector.

Chapter 1: ANBU Assembled

Hokage complex

Shizune walked along the main hall of the Hokage complex, her arms wrapped around a manila folder, the most recent client wanting to hire shinobi for a special mission. Shizune reached for the doorknob on Tsunade-sama's door. Shizune hesitated a moment, bracing herself for the verbal onslaught she was about to receive from the Godaime Hokage. As usual, Tsunade-sama was sprawled over her desk, not one but two empty sake bottles on their side. Shizune shook the Hokage's shoulder, and dodged the fist that went wild as Tsunade lurched into consciousness. When Tsunade-sama stared blearily at her assistant, Shizune offered the manila folder up. Tsunade cleared her eyes and quickly scanned the request. Her aspect brightened almost immediately, when she saw who the applicant was. "My my, it has been years since I've seen Dumbledore Albus. Hrmm... looks like he wants some additional security for his school, and a student there. Potter Harry." Tsunade thought for a moment then brightened visibly. "This would be a perfect mission for the new ANBU squad."

Shizune concentrated for a moment, then recited, "ANBU Squad 012, Hyuuga Neji, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura. Passed the ANBU trials two months ago. Newest ANBU squad. Untested."

"Well I think this would be a perfect test of their abilities, don't you think Shizune?"

"Well, I suppose so Tsunade-sama."

"Alright then, bring them in."

Naruto's apartment

WHAM WHAM WHAM. "NARUTO, GET YOUR LAZY BUTT UP NOW!" Sakura shouted at the door. Beyond the portal, she could hear a muffled whump, like someone had violently fallen out of bed. Sakura heard the slightly softer thumping of Naruto running to the door. "Sakura, what are you doing here so early?"

"Early Naruto? Its 11:30."

"Shit I'm sorry Sakura-chan. I must have missed my alarm."

"Well obviously you baka. Get dressed. We're going to be late for Tsunade-sama's briefing."

Naruto had run back into his apartment, leaving the door open, so Sakura stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Sakura snorted and shook her head in mild amusement. Naruto was seventeen already, but he still cleaned up like an eleven year old. Naruto walked out of his room clad in his ANBU uniform instead of the orange sleep shirt and pants with the cat nightcap. He wore a black, long sleeved undershirt and pants, with his gray steel chest- and backplate. Naruto stood in the hallway for a moment slipping the three quarter-inch thick steel trauma plate over his heart in a pocket in the shirt underneath his breastplate. As he strode forward Naruto pulled on his arm guards and steel backed gloves, inscribed with the Konoha leaf insignia, and finally the shinobi sandals every ninja wore, these colored black. Naruto frowned looking around.

"Dammit where is my mask and ninjato..." He muttered as he rifled through the chaos of his living room. Sakura merely sighed. He may not look it, but in actuality, Uzumaki Naruto was probably the most powerful Leaf-nin in Konhagakure. In terms of sheer unadulterated power that was. With a triumphant cry, Naruto flung a pair of virulent orange pants aside and picked up his mask and sword. Grinning like a madman he held up to to items and said "see Sakura-chan, I found them."

Judging from the scabbard, his ninjato appeared to be a tachi, single edged, slightly curved blade approximately thirty inches long. In reality, it was a shorter katana, about four inches shorter than it appeared to be. This was trick, designed to mislead an opponent into believing that it would take a second or two longer to draw than it actually would. And in a swordfight,a second or two was a long time. Plus, one could stick all kinds of nasty surprises in that extra four inches of empty scabbard.

Sakura rolled her eyes replying, "whatever baka. We're going to have to really run now to make the briefing." Without another word, they both slipped on their masks, slipping into their identities as the best trained assassins in Konoha.

Back at the Hokage complex

"Where is Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan?" Tsunade addressed the room at general. She stared at each of the masked shinobi, vaguely irritated that she couldn't cow them anymore with merely a stern glare. After a moment, the shinobi in the middle responded, "Sakura-san went to retrieve Naruto-san, Hokage-sama. I'm sure Sakura-san will be here any minute." And as if by magic, the delinquent duo flew through the open window, disturbing the tabby cat sunning itself on the ledge. After a moment when Sakura had recovered, she grabbed Naruto by the nape of his neck, and bent them both parallel to the floor. "Hokage-sama, please accept our apologies for holding you up. Right Naruto," she gasped, giving said shinobi a none-too-gentle shake. "Ah, yes Hokage-sama, please forgive us."

Tsunade leaned forward, looking over her steepled fingers, glaring at the two. But instead of throwing something heavy, she merely remarked "Kakashi is wearing off on you Naruto." Even though she couldn't actually see his face, Tsunade knew he was blushing furiously. "Anyway, I have called you here for your first mission as ANBU." She paused for a moment, letting her gaze sweep over the newly formed ANBU squad. Naruto, with the fox face painted in crimson, Sakura, sakura petals in pink, Sasuke, snake painted in a dark purple, and the squad leader Neji, his tiger face in black. Tsunade held her hand out and Shizune laid a stack of folders on her palm. Tsunade then proceeded to distribute the folders to the masked shinobi.

"I have selected your team to go on a long term mission in England. The client has asked for a squad of highly skilled Leaf-nin. You will have two separate jobs, the first of which is security. Your primary objective for this is to protect three students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry named Potter Harry, Granger Hermione and Weasley Ronald. Your secondary objective is to provide security and protection to the rest of the students and faculty on the grounds and whenever they leave. In there you will find your mission parameters, including subject profiles, complete blueprints of the castle, including numerous hidden passages, and grounds layout. The client has also requested that we send an instructor for a new wandless self defense course. The dark wizard named Voldemort knows about us, having been in contact with Orochimaru for a number of years, so it is safe to assume that he will know about you, and something of your capabilities. He may know Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan and Sasuke-kun, as you three have been the most frustration to Orochimaru, and if Voldemort decides to act on this intelligence, things will get far more complicated. Any questions or suggestions?"

Sasuke looked up from the manila folder in his hand. "Hokage-sama, you cant be serious. You're going to send us on a year-long babysitting mission. There is no way that this is a mission worthy of this squad."

"Believe it or not Sasuke-kun, but this is an S-ranked mission. The success of this mission may decide the fate of Europe entire," Tsunade shot back.

"I don't believe you. This has to be a prank." Sasuke offered the folder back to the Hokage. "Now give us our real mission."

Tsunade slammed a fist down on the desk, sending a single large crack down the length of the solid oak. "You will accept this mission without any qualms, or you will be confined to a prison cell for the remainder of your natural life for betraying Konoha. Right Sasuke-kun?" Tsunade waited until Sasuke gave the barest hint of a nod before continuing.

Sasuke had been forcibly returned to Konohagakure about ten months ago after assassinating both his former master Orochimaru and his brother Uchiha Itachi. Sasuke had been ready to continue as a missing-nin, never thinking of returning to his birthplace, but Naruto, Sakura and Sai had quite forcefully returned their former comrade. The Orochimaru-trained Sasuke was a much different person from before he left. While he had been cold and distant before, he did occasionally thaw out. But now the only person he really treated as human was Naruto.

Sakura interjected, "Sasuke-kun does have a point Tsunade-sensei. We are supposed to guard a whole school of people who think that they can make objects fly by waving a stick around?"

"Yes you are. And it is not the hocus-pocus mumbo-jumbo that you seem to think it is. Their magic is merely the mental portion of chakra used, without being mixed with your stamina. While they can cast magic without a wand, it is a very rough and unfocused form. The wand provides the focus outlet for the energy, much like our hand seals, and the waving mixes the raw mental power with physical energy to balance the magic out. And before you ask Naruto, I know all this because I am a close friend of the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Now, anyone ELSE have a problem with this mission?" making it abundantly clear that Tsunade was running short on patience and wanted to move on to the next portion of the meeting.

"Yes Hokage-sama. I would like to request an addition to the team," Neji replied from behind his tiger mask.

"And who would that be Neji-kun?"

"Hyuuga Hinata-sama."

"And why would that be, if I may ask?"

"Since Voldemort nor Orochimaru have any knowledge of her, she can act with impunity, because anything she is likely to do is doubtful to raise this Voldemort's ire more than anyone else, and certainly less then Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun or Sakura-san might. Hinata-sama can act as a liaison between us and the wizards if necessary. Also having at least one member who is not part of ANBU, could improve relations between us and the wizards and bring a measure of trust. Finally, Hinata-sama has developed a highly useful defensive variant of the Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin ), Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō (Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.)"

"You seem to have this thought out Neji-kun. Very well then, Shizune, add Hinata-san to the team roster. Anything else? No? Well then it is time to meet your client." Suddenly the cat leaped from the windowsill to the floor between the Hokage and Squad 012. With a swirl of light and shadow, the cat transformed into a matronly old lady.

Turning to the Hokage, the cat-turned-woman nodded her head and introduced herself in perfect Japanese. "I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Professor Dumbledore was not able to make it here in time, so he sent me as his representative." Still looking at the Hokage, McGonagall continued without missing a beat. "I assume it is safe to say that you are Hokage Tsunade." Tsunade nodded. Turning around, McGonagall paused a moment, studying the animal decorated, white masked ninja.

While each ninja wore the same armor, each individual had added something or changed something to suit their personal tastes. The first one in line with the tiger painted on his mask, had a strange robe wound around his waist, extending to just below his knees. A pair of very odd looking gloves were tucked behind his belt. The gloves looked normal enough at first glance, but a closer inspection revealed that there appeared to be veins of some sort threaded through the cloth. He was also the only one whose hair was longer than neck length, cut to his waist. The next one in line, this one with what appeared to be pink flower petals floating on her mask, had a white circle crest on her chest plate. This one wore had a pair of heavy steel gauntlets tucked behind her belt. The fox masked ninja wore a what appeared to be a circle of clay on his left shoulder, inscribed with a spiral and two red tipped pieces of wood attached to each side. Fox-mask had a two handed sword slung across his back with the hilt sticking up behind his left shoulder. His sword had a slight S-curve to it, with the hilt curved in towards the wielder, and the blade curving the opposite way. The last ninja in line wore a very peculiar piece of rope tied around his waist. It was purple and about wrist thick. It encircled the mans waist twice and then ended in a knot with only one loop, the end of the rope dangling loose to his knee. The snake-masked fellow had attached his chokuto to the rope presumably, so that it was at waist level and perpendicular to his spine.

Tsunade gestured toward the ninja behind the Englishwoman. "This is ANBU Squad 012. They are the ones I have assigned to your request. Four of the five are here now. The final member is not an ANBU operative and will join up later."

"I cant really say much about your team name, it doesn't matter. If you would be so kind as to remove your masks please, I would appreciate it. I cannot approve of guards whose faces I have never seen."

Waiting for Tsunade to nod, signalling her permission, the four shinobi untied the strips of cloth that held their ANBU masks on and carefully lowered them. When McGonagall had seen their faces, she let out a horrified gasp. Whirling to the Hokage, the Englishwoman demanded, "Lady Hokage, you cannot be serious about sending us this team. Why, they are all children." As one, the ninjas in question stiffened with the sole exception of Sasuke.

Naruto stepped to the fore and spoke. "Hey listen obaa-san, we are not children. We have been trained from the age of six to kill. We have risked our lives countless times to protect our nation, friends and allies. I cant remember how many times we have stared death down while protecting people just like you. Just because it is done a different way in your country, does not make it better. So if you are going to insult us by calling us children, you can go find someone else to protect your precious school. We are the best that anyone has to offer."

Tsunade grinned. "Naruto-kun speaks the truth McGonagall-san. Squad 012 is the best we have to offer. Not one member of this squad is anything less than a genius. Squad Leader Hyuuga is one of the youngest ninja to achieve the rank of Jonin. Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke made Chunin after a being Genin for little more than a year. Uzumaki Naruto admittedly is only a Genin, but only because of special circumstances. He easily has Chunin, if not Jonin skill. In fact, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, and Sakura-chan are referred to as the San Akuma Happa, the Three Demons of the Leaf, and are among the strongest shinobi ever to be born here. If you prefer, I can arrange for an older squad to be sent, but they will not be able to afford your school the protection that Squad 012 can."

Still apprehensive, McGonagall looked somewhat mollified. "No, this team is fine. Its just a shock thats all." Taking a deep breath, McGonagall steadied her nerves and asked her next question. "What are your names, if I may ask. I cannot refer to you as just ninjas one through four."

"ANBU Squad 012 Leader Hyuuga Neji" Neji barked.

"ANBU Squad 012 Medic Haruno Sakura" Sakura continued.

"ANBU Squad 012 Intelligence Specialist Uchiha Sasuke" stated Sasuke

"ANBU Squad 012 Advanced Combat Specialist Uzumaki Naruto, the most powerful ninja in Konoha, and Rokudaime Hokage," Naruto exclaimed.

"Shut up baka," Sakura grunted as she punched down on Naruto's head.

"Immature as always dobe," Sasuke sighed, shaking his head.

Without a word between themselves they simultaneously put their masks back on.

McGonagall looked quite shocked by the parade grounds quality of the teenagers responses. Still taken aback, McGonagall replied "well I see that you know what you are doing. Are there any questions?"

"Yes McGonagall-sensei. How are we going to communicate with the students at your school. You seem to speak Japanese fluently, but we cannot speak English," Neji inquired.

"Not a problem. If you could each hand me your, ah, --forehead protectors, I believe they're called?-- for a moment please. I am simply going to cast a translation spell on your forehead protectors so that you can communicate effectively with other people in English." She drew a long stick from a pocket. The four Leaf-nin slowly untied the inscribed strips of metal from underneath the white porcelain visors and stacked them in her hand. The witch then placed her wand on the topmost headband and called in a clear voice, "Translus Englus." With that the hitai-ate glowed green for a moment then faded. She repeated the process on the remaining three masks, handing them back to thair owners as she enchanted them."Now all you have to do is concentrate slightly and anyone listening will hear you speaking English. By the way,"McGonagall took a small slip of paper from her pocket. Offering it to the ninja, Neji took it. "These are your instructions to get to Hogwarts. A portkey has been set up for two days from now to take you to London. From there you will board the Hogwarts Express and and meet me on the platform at the school. I will have further instructions for you there."

When McGonagall had finished her spiel, Naruto asked, "Portkey? What is that?"

"You don't use portkeys for long distance travel? Well it is an object that when you hold it it will teleport you to a predetermined location."

"How does it work?" Naruto asked, unable to restrain his curiosity.

"What is the extent of your knowledge of magic?"

"Well nonexistent, really. Until just a few minutes ago, I thought it was just make-believe and fairy tales."

"Well, suffice to say that any object can become a portkey, when the Portus spell has been cast upon it."

"If there is nothing else..." Tsunade trailed off.

"Yes Hokage-sama." Neji interrupted. "Since we are guarding a school, I assume that room and board will be provided for us, is there any mission-specific equipment or special considerations we need to make?"

"There is no mission-specific equipment, but just keep in mind that the students that you are guarding have had no ninja training, so in the event that you have to fight, treat them like any other noncombatant principle."

"Noncombatant? Aren't these guys supposed to be wizards?" Sakura queried.

McGonagall clarified stating, "Hogwarts teaches very little offensive magic, mostly being limited to shield charms, stunning spells and the like. The most aggressive magic that you are referring to is by and large unknown by the vast majority of the wizarding community. The most aggressive spells themselves have been outlawed from usage."

"Well, I guess it cant be too much worse than any other escort mission I guess," Naruto replied, tilting his head to one side.

"Anything else, Squad 012?"She waited a moment for the ANBU arrayed before her to each give a negative before continuing. "ANBU, dismissed." The ninja leaped out of the open window so fast that to Professor McGonagall's they appeared to just vanish. She then turned back to the Hokage, clearly wanting to question her further about the recently departed shinobi.

Tsunade smiled and preempted the iron-haired womans question by asserting "I realize that you doubt that those four are most certainly more than capable to handle your request,"

McGonagall glanced out the window. "I certainly hope they are. If you will excuse me, I will take my leave. If you have any concerns, you know how to contact me."

Squad 012 leaped from roof to roof, following the street below, until they came to an intersection. Neji halted, raising a fist. Turning his three squadmates, he told them "we have two days to prepare for this mission. Have everything packed and ready at the main gate at noon two days hence. I will brief Hinata-sama on our mission myself. Consider yourselves at liberty until then." Without a further word, Neji jumped off and landed on another house in the direction of the Hyuuga complex. Before Sasuke could do the same, Sakura put a hand on his shoulder holding him back.

"You were very quiet back there Sasuke-kun. Is there anything bothering you?"

"No. Its just that there is nothing that I need to ask that someone else didn't ask."

"Well, ok, if you say so. See you later then?"

"Maybe." Sasuke left Sakura standing there as he headed home.

Edit: minor grammer changes, added the a few conversational lines