Notes on the Story Concerning:
1) Language
i. Naruto's English is not good; please bear with him as he tries so hard to communicate with his classmates.
ii. This is spoken Japanese! said the author, hoping everyone understands.
iii. Language also depends on the POV. In Harry's POV, Japanese will either be written in romaji, in brackets or just not understood. However, if the POV is Kakashi, Japanese will be in regular quotes and English simply not understood unless they are wearing translation necklaces. Thankfully,d everyone will be wearing a translation necklace at one point so the communication is fluid and understandable to everyone. While I dip in and out of characters' heads, I tend to either have one character as reference point or completely go omniscient.
iv. If I had to be truly realistic about it, Japanese spoken in the Hidden Continent would be different from Japanese spoken in Japan because they've been isolated for the 500/1000-ish years, so there has to divergence in language and accent. But for the sake of simplicity and because I don't understand enough (or ANY) of Japanese linguistics to account for the difference, let's say they are the same so the translation necklace creators are not too troubled by a completely new Japanese dialect.
2) Original Characters
There is a whole slew of OCs in this story. I try to make them supplement what I needed in the story, though there are a handful that plays a key role in the plot. I've been told they're not obnoxious or overtake the story, and I'm confident that the main story with the canon characters are intriguing enough to keep you all distracted from the OCs.
3) Canon Materials
A) Harry Potter: All seven books are included. I do cherry pick what I want from the books, movies, Pottermore and even from the games to fill this story out. The only material that I have left out is the Cursed Child stuff, because I have no need for that dreadful fanfiction (the irony!).
B) For Naruto, the timeline veers off right after the Team 7 confrontation at the bridge in the Land of Iron. Although it doesn't affect this story, I also completely disregard all light novel drivel and that horrid fanfiction Boruto.
The Hidden Continent
(Formerly Telos)
Abstracted
(Yet another) Note from author
Hi. If this is your first time ever reading this story, please skip this entire note and read on. Your fresh-faced innocence is greatly appreciated and I thank you for your interest. If you are one of those people who have wondered when the fuck yours truly was going to get off of her ass and update in the last decade—this is for you:
I should apologize but saying sorry seems weak. This is revised, yet not completed. I fully intend on finishing it and to update at least every month, hopefully every 2 weeks. I recommend that you reread it from Chapter 1, because there were A LOT of changes that may be confusing later on if you skip it.
I changed things to be more more canon-compliant, but the Naruto story was forced to become slightly AU, because in the original, Naruto didn't attend Hogwarts, obviously. In conclusion, this revision, while definitely not perfect, is better. This is NOT a rewrite, which would seriously taken me longer and would have driven me crazy. I am hemmed in by some of the major plot decisions I made years ago, good and bad. Mostly bad.
If you are a returning reader and you are still reading it, please let me thank you. I welcome you cussing me out. I have had a lot of people PM me here and on tumblr. It was just too bad by the time some of those people PMed me on tumblr I had left that site because I'm a restless person who can't stay in one place, even online. Your dedication is astonishing and Naruto-level. Note that I have read every single request to continue this story while trying to figure out why anyone would go through the trouble. I was seriously baffled. I have a myriad of reasons that I did not continue, but know none of your words fell on deaf ears. I was surprised to find myself feeling guilty that I wasn't updating. You should all thank that one Bijuu Counting Song that set my nostalgia on fire and had me rewatching the entire series, sans some of the fillers, again. From Episode 1 to Shippuden 500. Naruto's singing voice was so unbearably adorable that it convinced me to revisit these fanfiction I furiously wrote years ago.
Chapter 15-17 is new stuff as well! So you're all getting four new chapters!
Yours truly,
A Terrible Fanfiction Author Looking to Atone for her Writing Sins
P.S. I've deleted my old author's notes because they were overzealous and irritating. I will also be taking
1
Hogwarts
Harry was on the doorstep of the groundskeeper's hut when the characteristic explosion from a blast-ended skrewt made him pause. Decades ago, when he was a fresh faced thirteen-year-old boy, he had been on the receiving end of too many first degree burns for this sound to bring back any warm memories. Searing flesh burning hot memories, maybe, but not warm. Hagrid had tried so hard to make them lovable, but Hagrid could love a sentient foul-mouthed wart if it came down to it. That was just the person he was.
He heard another explosion. A panicked, unfamiliar voice cried out, "Hagrid! Couch! Fire!"
"Don' stand there then—git some water and put it out!" Hagrid's booming voice answered.
Harry wondered how serious the fire was, but found himself more curious over the unfamiliar voice. It was young, slightly husky, and possessed a strong Asian accent. Harry knocked on the door. For too long a stretch of time no one answered, so he knocked again, feeling just the slightest concern. What if the fire was serious? Before he could go barging in with wand pointed and aguamenti on the tip of his tongue, the door flung open and Hagrid's familiar form fill out the entire door frame.
"Harry!" he exclaimed, brightly, "Why! Didn't know yeh were comin'! Shoulda told me! Come in come in!" He ushered Harry inside. "Jus' put the skrewts back into their crates. Some of'em escaped after...er…never mind. Sorry, the living room is a bit…uh…" He looked around his living room, which, Harry noted, looked exactly like someone had just been wrangling with blast-ended skrewts. The upturned furniture and floor cluttered with knickknacks were rivaled by the handful of charred, still-smoking spots on the wood flooring.
"Skrewts, huh?" asked Harry with an airy smile.
"You remember?"
"How could I forget?"
Hagrid smiled sheepishly. In the last two decades, the only thing that changed about Hagrid was the color of his hair and beard, which now sported streaks of white and gray. His expression was still as unassuming and as warm as ever.
"Sit, I'll get to git somethin' ta drink. What do ya want, Harry?"
"Just tea is fine, Hagrid, thanks." Harry sat down one on the couches, carefully pushing the clutter away to make a small spot for himself. He looked around, wondering where the owner of the unfamiliar voice was. His curiosity was satisfied when a blond teenager came bursting through the backdoor just seconds later, shouting in that same, husky, accented and exceedingly energetic voice, "Hagrid! Done with feeding thestrals! Let's—" He cut off when he saw Harry, and at first gave him a strange, confused look. Harry returned the gaze likewise. The boy looked no older than sixteen, with sun-kissed blond hair that had to be more unruly than his own. His bright blue eyes were clear and possessed a startling vivacity. What drew Harry's curiosity were the three horizontal marks on each of the boy's cheeks. They looked like whisker marks. He wondered if they were scars, but the marks looked to be far too neat and deliberate to be scars.
"Ah! Visitor!" the boy said, his face breaking into a sunny smile, "You are?"
"Harry Potter," he answered, which was received with an enthusiastic, "'Boy who lived?" from the boy.
Harry cringed at the epithet and nodded. "Guess so."
"You hero!" he exclaimed, blue eyes shimmering with awe, "Hagrid tell me everything! You beat evil wizard and save everyone!"
Harry had, over the years, learned to take the praise without the indignity of flushing and sputtering in modesty. "It's not as heroic as it sounds. It wasn't just me." He cleared his throat. "And what is your name?"
"Hmmm…" The boy pursed his lips and squinted his eyes. He was thinking. Harry frowned; who had to think about their own name? "Er…name is…er…Ugal!"
Harry couldn't help but think he made the name up on the spot.
"What ya changin' names again, boy?" came Hagrid's voice. The half giant ambled into the room carrying a tray of tea and food.
"Nat's weird," the boy whined, "Hmm…but don't like Ugal either!"
"We went over this already! We're stickin' with Nat!" Hagrid chided, shaking his head, "Kid chooses a new name every hour. We all call him Nat, so you can call him that too." He set down the tray on the table after clearing it with a sweep of an arm and handed Harry his tea.
"Don't like Nat!" the boy shouted and muttered something he couldn't understand. It took Harry awhile to realize that he was speaking in another language. "James say Nat is a bug. Annoying bug."
"That's gnat with a 'g'," Hagrid said with roll of his eyes, "They just sound alike." The boy, however, seemed confused and unconvinced.
Harry looked between the two of them, feeling very lost. Hagrid picked up on this: "The kid's got uh…memory problem. Amnesia, s'what it's called. Can't remember a thing, not even his name, and he won't settle on a new one either. I think he's gone through what…15 names…but everyone else sticks with Nat, so…there ya go."
"Amnesia?" said Harry, his brows arching. He looked at the boy who was now biting his nails with so much concentration it made Harry want to laugh.
"Yup," said Hagrid, "As you've probably figured out, he's not exactly English. Spoke mostly Japanese when I took him in."
"Japanese?" repeated Harry in surprise, "How did he end up here?"
"Long story actually," Hagrid replied as Nat sat on the couch next to Hagrid and grabbed a cookie from the tray, "Luna."
Harry blinked, puzzled. "Luna?"
"She was in Japan last summer and picked him up there," said Hagrid, with a shrug.
Harry nodded, waiting for him to go on.
"Uh, well, the boy had seen a thestral an' Luna figured he was magical," Hagrid added.
"Luna just picked him up from Japan and dropped him here?" Harry asked incredulously, "Did she adopt him?" Harry thought Luna would have told him big news like that.
"Not exactly," Hagrid answered, "He's a ward of the school fer now. Luna brought'im to me at the beginning of this term, January, before classes started, so it was jus' me and'im for a while."
"What happened to him?" Harry asked, looking at Nat, who was now nibbling on the rock cakes. Another part of Harry's mind amazed that the kid was eating them without losing a tooth.
"Well…" Hagrid glanced at Nat, "No idea. He can see thestrals, so yeh can guess something not good happened to him. No one in Japan claimed him and there was nowhere else that would accept him." Hagrid paused, a look of disappointment passed over him as he threw a glance at Nat. "Luna said every place refused him." But Luna Scamander nee Lovegood, of course, was always accepting.
Harry looked at the boy with sympathy. "Why did no one want him?"
"Luna was a bit vague about it. Somethin' 'bout bad luck and foxes."
"I like fox," Nat piped in, "But I like dragons more. Hagrid promise to see dragon. Ah! Harry Potter!" The boy pointed at him with revelatory excitement. "You fought dragon and win!"
"That was a long time ago, Nat," said Harry, "You can just call me Harry, or Mr. Potter. Whichever."
Naruto seemed to not hear him at all. With oblivious cheerfulness, he exclaimed, "Hagrid promise to see dragon with me."
"I did no such thing!" Hagrid said, while Nat just laughed, brushing off the scolding. Hagrid cleared his throat and turned his attention back to Harry. "Anyways, Luna even offered to pay for him, which—amazin' in me opinion—but they refused. So, she brought him back here ter Hogwarts."
Nat seemed to perk up at the word Hogwarts, "Hogwarts awesome! Moving stairs, ghosts…whoosh! Talking pictures! Wands too!" He took out his own wand and waved it around proudly, "I—" He pointed the wand to his chest, making Harry cringe,"—Wizard!" The broad, sunny grin that accompanied the declaration made Harry chuckle, and he was relieved when the boy dropped the wand to his side.
"His English is developin'," Hagrid said, chuckling at the boy's enthusiasm, "He's not doin' all that bad in his classes either. Especially in charms…I heard from ol' Flitwick—yeah…the man's still teachin'—that Nat here's got an awful amount of magical energy in him, though that accent of his doesn't help." Nat beamed at the comment. "For now, Hogwarts pay for his books an' stuff. In return he helps me out 'round the grounds. Pretty decent…idiot sometimes, air headed, but stubborn and eager."
"James say I should use spell for talking English but Hagrid say—"
"No spell," Hagrid finished sternly, "Yeh need ta learn the language!"
"James?" Harry asked, curious, "Do you mean James Potter? You're friends with him?"
Nat nodded, answering, "Good friends!"
"Well, considerin' yer boys like to come down here a lot they gotten along well with Nat," Hagrid explained.
"We play quidditch," Nat put in, excitedly, "They teach."
"Yeah?" said Hagrid, "I heard'em sayin' you played the last night game."
"Yeah! We won! Raven lost."
"Ravenclaw," Hagrid corrected, patiently.
"Ravenclaw," repeated Nat, his eyes narrowed, as if he was trying to physically brand the name into his head, "Ravenclaw lost."
"What position did ya play?" Hagrid asked.
"Hm, hitting black ball. Beater?"
"Uh-huh," said Hagrid, "Beater. Fits ya. All power and energy. Y'know, Harry was a seeker for Gryffindor."
"Hmmm, finding gold ball boring," said Nat, eyes squinted, "Me, I protect my team." He hit his chest proudly and grinned.
Harry watched the exchange with amusement. Hagrid was one of the kindest men he knew, caring for beasts that others would run away from. His patience, which had a surprisingly paternal touch, was perfect for an unwanted orphan who couldn't speak English. Harry could only imagine the horror and loneliness of Nat's situation, and he was glad that he had Hagrid to care for him.
"Hagrid! I go eat dinner at Hogwarts?" Nat's voice cut into Harry's thought. The boy jumped to his feet, "Better food than here!"
"Yeah yeah, yeh ungrateful brat," Hagrid said, dismissing the boy with a wave of his hand, "Keep outta trouble, ya hear me?" Nat shot Hagrid a big grin, ran to the door, waved to them and said to Harry, "Bye Harry Potter! Come eat at Hogwarts! Better than Hagrid!"
"Shuddup you!" Hagrid chided, though he was smiling and shaking his head, "Go on an' eat!" Nat was already gone by then.
"Can't sit still, that one," Hagrid muttered, sighing. He turned to Harry and asked, "So, Harry, yer all set up in the castle?"
"Yeah, I am, haven't seen the Headmaster though."
"Professor Veralong said you might not make it with everythin' goin' on."
Harry shrugged. "This is the last time I'll be seeing the kids. I might be too busy when they get out for summer."
"Japan huh?" said Hagrid with a thoughtful nod, "So it's really happening?"
Harry nodded.
Hagrid made an astonished sound. "Was it really them?" he asked, "What'd they call'em—The Hidden Continents? Of Japan?"
"Whether or not it can be Of Japan is up for debate. But they do seem to use the language."
"What'd they want?"
Harry smiled weakly. "Just what you read in the Prophet. I really can't say much more than that, Hagrid…"
Hagrid laughed. " 'Course not."
"Truth is, we're not entirely sure either."
"Prophet said somethin' about a war in their land."
Harry nodded, "Yeah. Bad enough to come out of a thousand year isolation to ask for help."
"That doesn't sound good."
Harry smiled at the innocent assessment. "It's quite literally a once in millennium opportunity. The Ministry is all fired. The whole world wizarding world is. The purebloods are predictably enthralled with the idea of finally making contact with a whole continent of purely magical folks."
"Are they?" Hagrid asked, "That's true?"
"So the stories say."
Chuckling, Hagrid added, "Must be something. So a meeting's happening, I hear?"
"Yeah. An international conference is being coordinated. I'm going with the Minister. Hermione and Ron will also be joining me. Hermione, well, she's Hermione...giddy as a school girl about this. Ron's back on the auror circuit as my partner, so he'll be with me."
Hagrid chuckled, "So, the ole gang's back together, eh? Well, give'em Japanese a good dose of the boy who lived!"
Laughing, Harry plopped in five cubes of sugar into his tea. "Hagrid," he said, grinning, "I'm way past the point of being called 'boy'."
The Potter-Weasley Clan was a force in the Halls of Hogwarts. If not for the combined power of their famous names, then for their close-knit relationships and their sheer number. To hurt one was to draw the wrath of the Clan, unless, of course, it was one of their one. Like now, congregated for dinner in the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table, Lily Luna Potter was passionately defending her cousin Hugo from her older brother James' teasing because Hugo Granger-Weasley just about failed the latest Transfiguration exam. This did much damage to Hugo's already waning confidence, especially in the shadow of his brilliant mother and sister.
"James, it's not like you did any better!" said Rose Granger-Weasley, giving her cousin a threatening look, "Oh believe me, I know! I heard Aunt Ginny talking to mum about how worried she was about you!"
Lily and Hugo snickered at this, drawing an irritated glare from James. "It wasn't as bad," James persisted, "Plus, I didn't have someone like you tutoring me like he does!"
"I'm amazed how you can insult and compliment in the samesentence, James," said Jill Shelser, the Gryffindor prefect, warned James. She was sitting across from him, and flicked a piece of pie crust at him. "Picking on first years is really unool, James."
"I'm sorry I'm not as cool and smart and perfect as the favorite prefect Jill Shelser," James mumbled, returning a piece of boiled carrot for the pie crust.
"I'm glad you noticed," Jill mumbled nonchalantly, narrowing her eyes at the foreign vegetable on her plate, "Do I have to tell you to eat your vegetables too?"
"Carrots are gross," James insisted.
Rose went on comforting her brother, which only seemed to make everything worse. Hugo reddened and tried to avoid her eye contact while throwing saddened looks at James. It was obvious to anyone that the boy idolized his older cousin, and taking a direct hit from his object of admiration deflated his ego even more than usual. Little Lily having to defend him did not help the matter.
This was the scene, fraught with teenaged drama, that Nat locked onto when he arrived at the Great Hall.
Hugo spotted him first: "Oi, look, there's Nat! Hey Nat, over here!"
Nat's blue eyes lit up and he sprinted towards the group, drawing giggles and greetings from the tables around him.
"Hugo!" Nat exclaimed, taking a seat by the boy, "Hungry!"
"You look it," Lily said, "Have you and Hagrid been handling the skrewts?"
"Skrewts?" Nat repeated, taking time to link the name to the monstrous lobsters, "Yeah. Burn everything!" He reached for a chicken leg and hungrily bit into it.
James snorted. "That's quite normal for Hagrid isn't it?"
"Ah!" Nat exclaimed, as if he just saw James for the first time, "Harry Potter!"
James sighed exasperatedly. "Not you too! I may look somewhat like my father, but that doesn't mean I am him! Look, my eye color's different! It's Al who looks more like him!"
"No no," Nat said, shaking his head, "I…see…Harry Potter!"
"What, you saw dad?" asked Lily, surprised, "Where was he?"
"At Hagrid," Nat explained, now wolfing down a piece of steak and kidney pie.
"Pfft, seriously?" James grumbled, "At least he could have sent us an owl if he was coming to visit!"
"He did," said Lily, throwing her brother an exasperated look, "Remember? He's supposed to guest lecturer."
"Yeah, but mum said he might not make it because of all the stuff happening in Japan," said James.
"Maybe he's here just to visit before he leaves," said Rose, "Nat, did he say he was staying to lecture?"
Nat shrugged, piling more food onto and his plate. "He beat evil wizard," he muttered, enviously.
"Yeah yeah, we've heard all about that," James mumbled, "And where is Al, anyways?" He looked around at the entrance end of the Slytherin table, where his brother could often be found hanging about with Malfoy.
"I saw him go up early," Jill answered, "Said he had a history essay to finish that was due tomorrow."
"Oh that procrastinator…" Rose said, shaking her head, "We were assigned that essay a month a go!"
"Unlike you, dear Rose," said James in a sweet voice, "Most people aren't type A, bookworm know-it-alls."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Rose retorted.
"Hey, Nat!" an energetic new voice joined them. A tall, tan teenager with dark, curly hair patted Nat on the back, "How's it going?"
Nat smiled and greeted, "Gerry! Eat!"
"Of course, I'm starving!" Gerry exclaimed, taking the empty seat on the other side of Nat, "Hey, Nat, I swear to you you'll get a place in the house team next year! Preston is leaving so a place for a beater is open! Also, there's the night game against Hufflepuff tonight. You playing?"
Nat nodded. "Yup! I'm beater tonight!"
"Gerry, you can't promise a place on the team without try-outs," Jill reprimanded, "A lot of people are hoping to make the team too!"
"But did you see Nat hit that bludger the last time night game?" asked Hugo, "It went faster than a bludger hit by Gregory of the Chudley Cannons! Who can beat that? He's got it for sure! He might be able to go pro!"
"Even I can hit a bludger faster than Gergory from the Chudley Cannons," James laughed, "You got Uncle Ron's bad taste in teams!"
"Do not!" Hugo protested.
"Chudley Cannon?" repeated Nat slowly, trying out the foreign word.
"A terrible quidditch team," said James, confidently, "Haven't been to the World Cup since what…nineteen-uh…"
"James, before you go picking on the Cannons, show up to practice on time," Gerry said, grinning.
"Not my fault Professor Jollivitch decided I needed to clean extra trophies in the room," James grumbled.
"Pretty sure it is your fault," Rose said, "That dung bomb didn't throw itself on the Patterson last week."
Nat was also familiar with this event as he had been a willing participant in the job. He smiled fondly at the memory and not so fondly at the extra chores he had been assigned with Hagrid as punishment. Only time would tell if having to wrangle blast-ended skrewts would deter him from future dung bombings.
"Exactly," Gerry agreed, "You're so lucky to have such a smart little cousin, James."
"Don't you start," warned James as Gerry cackled.
"Oi, Nat was in on it too," James pointed out. He lightly slapped Nat's arm. "Hey, don't leave me hangin', mate."
"Don't pick on him," Jill warned.
"Jill, seriously, you don't have to defend him all the time!" James snapped, "He's not a baby. Are you a baby, Nat?"
"Baby?" Nat repeated. He squinted his eyes, translating the word. "Ah, baby. No. I'm teen-age." He grinned, proud of his vocabulary use.
James smirked. "Yeah you are. And in no way was that picking on him. We were both in on it, right?"
"With dungbomb?" Nat said, a grin spreading across his face, recalling the incident with fondness, "Perfect aim."
"Perfect aim," James repeated, looking smug. He had taught Nat this phrase during the act itself and had become a sort of an inside joke between them. Gerry snorted into the pumpkin juice he was drinking. Lily giggled and Hugo looked impressed.
"You're a terrible influence," said Rose.
Jill sighed and turned her attention to their newest immigrant Gryffindor, "Nat, are you going to sleep in the dorms tonight?"
Nat nodded enthusiastically, shoving meat into his mouth, "Skrewt burned my bed at Hagrid."
"That's tough," said Gerry, offhandedly, taking a bite of a chicken leg, "I'd be pissed if a skrewt burned my bed."
"I'd be pissed if anything burned my bed," James added.
"Nat, the password is 'Barkwith Tuba'," said Jill, ignoring the boys, "Remember that."
"Barrlkwit Tooba," tried Nat, nodding.
Jill smiled serenely. "Close enough."
"You know," said James, pensively, "I do think we should cast a translation charm on him."
"No," Rose said disapprovingly, "If you do that now, Nat'll forget all of his English and depend on the charm! Besides, Hagrid and Professor Veralong wants him to learn to speak English the normal way."
"But it'll be better for him," James pointed out, "I mean, would certainly help him be able to pronounce some spells! Really, 'Rerashio' doesn't quite cut it!"
Nat laughed as James mimed Nat's previous failed attempt at the spell. He took out his wand, exclaiming, "Can do now! Watch!"
"Don't you try that spell here," Jill warned, but it was too late—"Relrashio!" Because he had been pointing his wand upwards, a jet of red spark went flying into the air, drawing shouts and squeals of surprise. The jet went high up in the air, just a few feet from singeing the magical ceilings of the castle, which was sporting a clear, moonlit night.
"Nat!" Jill reprimanded while James exclaimed, "Bloody Awesome!"
"See!" Nat said, smiling triumphantly, "I—" He paused, searching for the right word. He decided to take after James, "Bloody Awesome!"
"Look, he just improved his pronunciation just a little bit," said James, excitedly, "And see how well that spell works! Wonders from the blip he got before! Come on, a translation spell would solve everything."
"Potters! Weasleys!" an authoritative voice snapped, making all of them freeze momentarily. James looked around to see the very familiar face of Professor Dune, glaring down at them. The professor's thin face was overtaken by a pair of ridiculous shiny, square spectacles. With his rather pouty lips, longish dark hair and straight nose, he would have been quite attractive if he gained 10 pounds, and traded in his glasses for a Geriwald's Quick Daily Eye Correction, or at least opted for a frame that didn't give him the look of a bug. "Was that Nat?" he asked, eying the blond. Nat smiled innocently at Professor Dune at the mention of his name.
"Yes," Rose answered promptly, "But James encouraged him."
"Hey—" James started to protest, but the professor interrupted him, "James, stop picking on—"
"I'm not picking on anyone," James insisted in frustratiom, "Nat, was I picking on you?"
Nat shook his head, "But, professor…I do 'relrashio' now! I am bloody awesome!"
"Yes yes, but that is not a spell to try during dinner with a lot of people around!" Professor Dune scolded, "James, you should know this!"
"Why am I always the one who gets yelled at?" asked James, irritably, "I wasn't even the one who cast the spell! Jill, you should yell at Jill! Shouldn't the Prefect be responsible? It happened right in front of her."
"You suggested it," Lily pointed out, smiling. Jill said nothing, fighting to keep her face straight.
"Thanks for the help Lily," James muttered dryly.
"I don't want any more trouble from you lot," Professor Dune sighed, "James, Jill, Gerry, don't you three have a transfiguration practical tomorrow? And Hugo, from the look of your last score, I'd say you better think about fitting in more study hours. And Nat—"
Nat looked up at his name. "Ano…me?"
"Yes, you," the professor said pointedly, "You have extra tutorial tomorrow with me and Miss Katsumata. Please do not forget like you did last week."
"Ahhh…Katsumata-senpai…" Nat mumbled at the thought of the strict, no nonsense Ravenclaw Head Girl and her superior knowledge of everything. It was thanks to her strict tutoring that he knew as much English as he did, but he didn't see any reason why he had to learn more kanji. Her reading assignments were ridiculous, and he was always happy to let them be toys from the many monsters of Hagrid.
With a final glare of a warning, the good professor left the group, leaving them staring at their food.
"Katsumata treating you alright?" James asked, "How is she?"
"Great!" Nat replied, "She is…eto…"
"Real swotty, yeah?" James provided with an impish grin.
"Swotty?" Nat repeated, confused.
"It means Katsumata really likes to read and study," said Gerry.
"Like Jill?" said Nat, brightening with understanding.
"Yup!" Gerry answered, grinning.
James cackled and shook his head. "Jill, Nat just called you a swot."
Jill narrowed her eyes at all three boys. "Your stupidity is infectious, James."
"Anyways," Rose started, clearing her throat, "What we were saying before…Nat'll learn and adjust. His success now just tells us he doesn't need a translation charm. Right Nat?"
Nat nodded. "Right!"
"Nat, did you even understand what she said?" asked James suspiciously.
"Yeah? She say…no need magic 'cause I awesome!"
"Close," said Rose, "Besides, I was thinking, we can help him by studying the way the Japanese do magic! It'll certainly be very fascinating, I never quite thought out about learning non-Latin based verbal magic before…"
"Good luck with that," James muttered, annoyed, "And I still think it's weird that he has blond hair and blue eyes."
Nat blinked, puzzled, touched his hair and tried to look at it although it was too short for him to see anything. He looked at James and asked, "Weird?"
"Yeah, why would it be weird?" asked Gerry.
"Well, what kind of blond hair blue eyed person only knows how to speak Japanese?" asked James, "I look more Asian than he does."
"Well, maybe he was born and raised there," said Rose, "It's like a Japanese person being born and raised in England who can't speak Japanese, except with Nat, it's reverse. I would say like Katsumata, but she's trilingual so it's…not relevant." The Ravenclaw head girl was a formidable academic force.
"Like Penelope Chang," Lily added, "She doesn't speak a word of mandarin, she said. Drives her mad to go to Chinese school. Her mum is always nagging at her about it."
Jill nodded. "So in conclusion, it's not weird." She gave Nat a reassuring smile, "Not weird." Nat returned the smile and nodded.
"Hmm…does that mean Nat's real name will actually be Japanese?" asked Hugo.
"Who knows," said James.
"Do you know anything about Japanese magic?" Rose asked Nat, eagerly.
Nat looked to be considering the question, his eyes narrowed, his expression solemn, as if recalling unpleasant memories. Then he shrugged and shook his head.
"You could always read about it," said James, "S'not like you're a stranger to books, Rosie."
"You could make do to be more familiar with them, James," Jill muttered.
"Oi, what is with everyone today?" James huffed, stabbing the carrots on his plate.
Nat became noticeably quieter, at least until the end of dinner and a game of friendly night Quidditch between the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors had him running out to the pitch with his friends. He really had no time to feel sad at Hogwarts.
Professor Veralong was a highly competent wizard in his mid sixties. He had a sweet, trustworthy face with sharp gray eyes and a fuzzy, graying beard that made him look like an endearing grandpa. His smile was warm and welcoming, and his countenance was so laid back and free that some parents expressed some worry over his lax policy when dealing with students. Some more conservative parents were wary of his hippie past and attitude that he sometimes impressed on the young minds. He only insisted he was open minded and recommended better music—"Jimi Hendrix may have been a muggle, but he created music so magical he should be registered as a wizard…" and so on. He had been appointed to his post due to his sheer experience in running a place as large as Hogwarts, his friendship with McGonagall and his ability to handle the most stressful things with a dazed smile.
Presently, he was dozing off behind his desk when knock on the door jerked him awake. Grumbling sleepily, he answered, "Come in."
The door opened and the very familiar image of Harry Potter—the ever messy dark hair, glasses, and thunderbolt scar and all—greeted him.
"Ah Harry!" the professor said, "Come in! I was waiting for you!"
Harry smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, Headmaster, I was bit longer at Hagrid's than I thought I would be."
"Ah, it's not a problem," Veralong assured him, waving his hands, "I was just catching up on some reading. Do sit down, Harry."
Harry took the chair in front of the Headmaster's desk.
"Some tea?" asked Veralong. Harry shook his head. His stomach was still working the rock cakes and the many cups of tea that washed them down his throat.
"You must be excited about Japan," Veralong said as he poured a cup of Darjeeling tea for Harry.
"Who isn't?" asked Harry.
Veralong chuckled, "Some of the professors here are as giddy as children. Even old Binns showed some life for once. I heard there was one hundred percent attention paid to him when he started talking about the historical relationship with the magical folks from the Japanese Hidden Countries. There wasn't much to say, obviously, so he went off about the History of Magical Japan, and well—that just sent everyone back to sleep."
Harry grinned. "You know something is interesting if Professor Binns gets any attention besides from the usual overachievers." Teenage-age Hermione flashed in his mind. Veralong let out a hearty chortled, nodding in agreement.
"Do tell me the whole story, Harry, if you don't mind? To be suddenly contacted by a xenophobic magical community…how exactly did that play out?"
"I wasn't the one to get the message, obviously," said Harry, "The Minister did, who first thought it was some sort of prank."
Veralong chuckled knowingly, "Not surprising."
"But, the Department of International Magical Cooperation took a closer look at it, and within two weeks it was confirmed authentic."
"I can only imagine the bubbling excitement in the ministry then…"
"Yeah, the attempt to keep it secret failed terribly. Word was out before we knew it."
"I trust the proper amount of caution is being exercised now."
Harry nodded.
"Do you know much about the Hidden Continents, Harry?"
Harry looked down at his teacup and slowly shook his head. "From what I gather, they can use magic without wands, and they've been isolated from us for almost a millenium. Most people didn't even think they were real."
"Yes, that's usually the story."
"Hermione told me they were a war torn continent. Constant battles and warfare." Harry paused, his expression grim. Veralong regarded him patiently; he sensed the worried thoughts stirring haphazardly in Harry's mind. When it seemed obvious that Harry meant to keep those thoughts to himself, Veralong let out a small, inaudible sigh and changed the topic:
"Indeed. Well, Harry, I expect you are all set for lectures?"
"I am."
"Should I get your children to come see you?" the Headmaster asked.
Harry shook his head. "I'll surprise them in the morning. Not sure if James will be too thrilled." He remembered all those summers he attempted to help James on his transfiguration work, and the chaos that ensued when the boy decided it wasn't cool to be taught by his father. Even if his father was the famous Harry Potter who had fended off Voldemort repeatedly, finally defeating him at an age just two years older than James was now.
Harry cleared his throat, frowning slightly at the thought of teaching. He had not done a guest lecture at Hogwarts since James had entered the school.
"Oh, by the way, Harry, you might be happy to know that Luna Scamander will be visiting in a couple of days."
"Is she? Guest lecturing too?"
"No no. She's coming to check up on a student."
"Do you meant Nat?" Harry guessed.
"Yes. I suppose you met him at Hagrid's."
Harry thought back to the teenager bursting with energy at every word. "Yes, I did."
"She's very concerned about him."
Harry nodded. "It's awful, what happened to him. What do you plan to do with him? Keep him at Hogwarts? Will you be sending him to an orphanage?"
Veralong appeared pensive. "Luna and I are planning to discuss his future. In fact, your opinion might be useful in the matter."
"Why is that?"
"Well, the boy is most likely an orphan."
Veralong didn't need to say any more. Harry frowned and nodded. "I'll see what I can do."
Nat loved Quidditch.
When Luna first brought him to Hogwarts, the language barrier had made him nervous about his future here. In Japan, even when he actually understood what people were saying, everything was still so difficult. Strangers shot him suspicious looks as if accusing him of some crime. He wasn't sure whether or not he committed any crimes but Luna insisted that he had not. He wasn't so sure of that either—after all, he really had no idea about anything. His mind was a frustrating, numbing blank. It was empty, and at times, he felt that emptiness all the way to his bones.
He was told that he had amnesia, and he supposed it was true because he couldn't remember his own name or what amnesia was. For the longest time, he was just the boy in both languages. The foxes called him ko-gitsune, and Luna had translated it to temporarily call him Kit. Neither name felt right and Luna admitted that perhaps he should take a name that wasn't related to foxes. It was when he was preparing to leave Japan with Luna that he had the brilliant idea to keep changing his name until he found one that felt right. There was no reason for him to choose one and stick with it, after all. Luna, in all her strange glory, thought there was nothing wrong with him trying out different names until he could find one that fit. During their time together, before she would address him, she would casually ask, "What's your name now?" And he'd gleefully answer with some random term he had taken a liking to. It would drive her husband, Rolf, crazy.
The problem was that he had no idea what could or couldn't be a name in English. For instance, his first pick was Chocolate Orange Ramen, both things he really liked. But it was too long and, according Luna, a tad silly. After listening to the Scamender twins read The Tales of Beedle the Bard, he decided that he really liked the knight Sir Luckless from The Fountain of Fair Fortune. He had spent several days in London introducing himself as Sir Luckless to wizardfolk and muggles alike. This had earned him a lot of odd looks, but expressions of concern for his sanity was far better than those cold, accusing glares he received in Japan. It hurt him that his own people thought he was untrustworthy. That is, if they were his people at all. He looked different from most Japanese people and they thought his looks were odd too. They called him gaijin, shaking their heads and mumbling kitsune-tsuki. No one knew what to make of him, not even the kitsunes. He had briefly considered that he wasn't Japanese at all. When he arrived in London, he had been excited to find that there were a lot of blond, blue eyed people—people who looked like him. He had considered that perhaps he was British, but he could not speak a word of English. In the end, even he didn't know what to make of himself.
Somehow, through trial and error, he had arrive at Nat—short, easy, and embraced by other people. At Hogwarts, it proved difficult to keep changing his name, and Nat just caught on. It sounded half right, so he didn't mind. He kept it but kept a lookout for that perfect name.
Nat's memories of the kitsunes were vague. He had only been half conscious during the time he spent in the den, sleeping, healing, though from what he had no idea. He didn't even remember his own injuries, but the foxes of the Hokkaido Den had apparently described them to Luna and the others in great detail, as if cataloguing all the things Nat had to be grateful for. Nat was grateful, he really was, but he also knew they were the reason why the Japanese shunned him. Kitsune-tsuki, he heard them whisper over and over again. Those whisker marks. The foxes must have created him for their own plans. He'll bring calamity. He'll bring misfortune.
Don't listen to them, Luna always told him.
Hogwarts was different. In the beginning, he understood very little of those English words. Everyone spoke too fast or too differently. No one, save for Katsumata-senpai, understood what he was saying either. But none of that had matter because when the talking hat decided that he was a Gryffindor, an entire table of strangers had erupted into cheers and welcomed him to their table. Elation ballooned in him when he understood that he was being accepted without suspicion. Without question. Hogwarts welcomed him with open arms, and he rushed headlong into its embrace.
The students had thought his whisker marks were strange but forgot about it the next second and instead taught him how to play exploding snap. They had no idea what a kitsune was and didn't seem to care, only concerned with the next exams or trip to Hogsmeade, where they gleefully watched him try acid pops.
Everything was better at Hogwarts, especially out on the Quidditch Pitch.
The friendly evening games at Hogwarts were a chance for non-team members to get a chance to play quidditch. James coached the Gryffindor team and at times took these games just as seriously as, if not more seriously, than actual House games. His ambition was a double-edged sword: on the one hand, it meant that the untrained Gryffindor players were usually whipped into shape and won more games than their competition. On the other hand, James kept forgetting that these games were supposed to be fun and inclusive and had to be reminded to tone it down every so often by the Head Girls and Boys who received complaints of James' frightening intensity.
Tonight, it was Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor, and Nat was given a beater's bat. James called him his secret weapon, though Nat's ability was no secret among the students. Nat whooped, jumped onto one of the school broom and took off.
James played Keeper, though his position on the real team was Chaser. Penelope Chang, Bhuni Lee, and Iola Nismith were the Chasers for the evening. Nat's fellow Beater-in-crime was Ursula Coppermain, a burly athletic girl who looked like she could knock out Nat in one move. He had great admiration for her because he had once seen her knock out a bully with a punch to the gut. He gave her a thumbs up as she whizzed by him. Hugo had begged his cousin to let him try to play seeker just once, and tonight was his chance. The young Weasley shivered with excitement as he flew out onto the pitch with the other players
The game was fast paced and brutal; wands were out and tied to the broom with the lumos spell activated to light their path in the waning daylight. Nat chased the black bludgers with utter glee, forcing his broom up and down and sideways. His body was pliable and strong; he was agile and quick on his broom, once or twice hopping onto his feet to leap over an incoming player to prevent a collision, or hanging off one knee to just reach a bludger about to take out a teammate. The audience roared when ever he did one of these acrobatic stunts, and James would come up to him and yell, while laughing, "You bloody show off!"
Halfway through the game, with Gryffindor leading by 50 points, Nat had managed to hit a bludger away from Penelope Chang as she attempted to score a goal. Nat's hits were infamously fast and hard, and this bludger headed straight for one of the Hufflepuff Chasers, Demelza Doge. The fifth year had no time to react as the bludger smashed her left shoulder. With a terrified shriek, she was knocked off her broom.
Somewhere inside Nat, an odd instinct kicked in at the sound of the scream. Before he knew what was he doing, he had leapt off his own broom in Doge's direction. He was familiar with the sensation of falling. He instinctively changed his body conformation to increase his speed to catch up to her, lengthening his body, pulling his limbs back into a straight line.
When he caught up to Doge mid-air, he wrapped his arms around her, rolled around so that she above him and his body would break her fall. He closed his eyes and braced for impact, but the impact never came. Instead, a soft, warm tingling sensation surrounded him like a blanket. The acceleration that should have given him at least some form of whiplash turned into a gentle bounce. He opened his eyes and found himself hovering several feet above the ground. Theodosia Nott, the Slytherin Head Girl, was walking out onto the Pitch with her wand pointed at them, calmly easing them to the ground. Demelza Doge had fainted during the fall. Nat thanked the Head Girl, who only nodded and escorted the unconscious Doge to the hospital wing. A replacement chaser was called out onto the pitch, and the game continued.
In the end, Gryffindors won by a 70 point margin, even though Hugo lost the snitch. As the players and the audience made their way back to the castle, Nat found himself crowded by a gaggle of house mates and friends.
"Oi, hero," James teased, playfully shoving him from behind, "Were you planning on breaking that fall with your body? You are a bloody mad idiot, you know that?"
"Theodosia Nott was there to take care of any accidents like that," said Iola, "You didn't need to do all that!"
"I thought it was really brave of him," Ursula insisted.
"Yeah!" Bhuni Lee agreed, "That was brilliant!"
Nat only laughed sheepishly at the praise, rubbing the back of his neck. He only understood half of what people were saying to him, but none of it sounded terrible.
"Still," said Hugo, "Nat was pretty cool! He did all those tricks on the broom!"
"Yeah, where did you learn to do that?" James asked, "Are you sure you never played Quidditch before you came here?"
"Don't remember," said Nat, shrugging.
"Oi, what if he's like a famous Japanese Quidditch player who got injured and then lost all of his memories?" Hugo theorized with gasp.
"I'm pretty sure the Japanese team would have known if one of their players was missing," said Gerry.
"How do you stay on the broom while standing?" asked James, remembering that feat with awe, "I've tried it but I have terrible balance."
"He ended up breaking his nose twice trying it too!" Gerry added.
"Piss off, Ger," James grumbled.
Nat shrugged. "I say—feet, stay on broom. I send magic to feet and bam!—stick!"
"So…what spell is that?" asked Gerry, dumbfounded.
"Hm, no spell. No…words…no…uhhh…"
"Incantation?" said Penelope.
"Yeah yeah! Incantation. No incantation. More…ano…" He couldn't find the word. He tapped his temple, thinking. "I do without doing it…"
The students around him looked at each other, puzzled.
"Well that is so helpful," James deadpanned.
Nat tried again: "I don't think…I just…do…"
"Like instinct," offered Iola. Nat had not heard that word before, so he shrugged and accepted it.
"Instinct?" Gerry repeated, brows furrowed, "Huh, Hugo may be right. Are you sure you're not some long lost Japanese Quidditch player?"
"Nah, Nat's just a Quidditch genius," James said, laughing and ruffling his friend's blond hair, making it even more unruly than before, "That's it, Ger, Nat's our new beater for next year. It's decided! Whaddya say, Nat?"
"Yatta!" Nat cried out happily.
"We're gonna win all the games next year," added Gerry, "The house cup is ours!"
There was an explosion of agreement from the Gryffindors. The Hufflepuffs called out with playful jeers. Someone set off filibusters' fireworks, filling the night sky with red and gold sparks and smoke. Some portion of the crowd began singing the Hogwarts Song, while the other, in voices louder and more obnoxious, sang the refrain from a popular ballad by part-vampire singing sensation Adrasteia d'Art. Since Nat knew neither, he only laughed and enjoyed the company of his friends.
Updated Author's Commentary:
1) A note on dates and the Trio's job:
When I started and started to revise this story, I did not know that by 2019 Hermione was already Minister of Magic. Nor did I know that Harry was already Head of Magical Law Enforcement. If I had known this, I could have had Hermione go with Harry and Ron. This story takes place in 2020-2021 since Al is 14 now and he was 11 in 2017. As such, with a 1-2 year difference, I didn't feel like redoing this entire story so I'm going to take the liberty to shift the canon years in Harry Potter a bit. Hermione will become Minister of Magic after the events of this story, and Harry will become the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. Now, he is Head Auror. I also pulled Ron out of retirement purely for nostalgic reasons and let him be Harry's auror partner. I would not be able to pull him into the story without making him auror. It needed to be Harry, Ron and Hermione. Maybe Ron re-retires after this incident.
2) Extra Stuff
I combined the first and second chapter because there was no reason not to.
This time around, Harry is more tightlipped, as befitting a Head Auror going on a super groundbreaking historical event.
ALSO, in the original, Harry just lol took four days off during a super important international event time to teach Hogwarts. Now, he does the guest lectures because he was supposed to do it anyways and decided not to cancel the plans, which is cool of him.
QUIDDITCH. That is new. I always thought it would be too gimmicky (not that this ENTIRE story isn't gimmicky at all, right?) to have Naruto play quidditch. I had originally planned on adding it later, but things were just happening too fast and I just forgot. The best place to put it, tonally, was in this chapter. Naruto's natural mode of behavior is set to HERO when not set to LOVABLE IDIOT, so of course he saves Doge. His instincts to protect people doesn't get erased by the memory trope. I bet Doge's got a crush on him now. Aww, that's cute. I bet lots of girls have a crush on Nat/Naruto. I mean, in here, he's this mysterious tragic boy with bright blue eyes and sunshine hair with the sweetest smile. He's heroic and friends with the Potter-Weasley clan. And he's great at Quidditch. What's not to like? Naruto's always been freaking adorable (at least to me) in the original and shippuden. Both his parents are gorgeous, so I'm gonna say he grows into his hotness, a bona fide late bloomer (anything post ch 699 does not exist, especially that terrible hair cut).
OC List - Just in case, 'cause I get confused too
Students
Jill Shelser - 6th year, Gryffindor, Prefect, James' Friend
Gerald (Gerry, Ger) Patil - 6th year, Gryffindor, Chaser, James' Friend
Anne Katsumata - 7th year, Ravenclaw, Head Girl, Naruto's English Tutor
George Deer - 7th Year, Gryffindor, Head Boy, Naruto's Roommate
Regina Cirrus - 7th year, Gryffindor, Head Girl
Demelza Doge - 5th year, Hufflepuff Bhuni Lee - 3rd year, Gryffindor
Iola Nismith - 4th year, Gryffindor
Ursula Coppermain - 4th year, Gryffindor
Theodosia Nott - 7th Year, Slytherin Head Girl Leda Spinnet - 6th year, Keeper
Francis Jordan - 7th year, Beater
Belinda Switch and Belinda Winstersnap - Gryffindor, 6th year, the Party Twins
Hogwarts Staff
Darren Reed - Muggle Studies Professor
Julian Gardner - Earth Magic Professor
Neri Baxter - Professor of Runes
Caleb Dune - Transfiguration Professor Kelliswath - DADA Professor
Headmaster Veralong - Headmaster
Non students (No ministry affiliation)
Manami - Translator for the British Party
Aldous Slughorn - Horace Slughorn's father
Ryusuke Takeda - From the Brotherhood of the Sage, of the Takeda Clan
Fumiko Fujiwara - Friend of Manami, owner of Hoshiko, of the old Fujiwara Clan
Roland Lewis - Magical Historian, specializing in Japanese history
Haruki Muira - Magical Historian, specializing in Japanese history, especially of ancient history concerning the fabled Hidden Continent
British Ministry of Magic
Ellen Clearwater - Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation (IMC)
Cadmus Jorkins - Deputy Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation (IMC), nephew of Bertha Jorkins
Augustus Meadowes - Head of the Department of Magical Transportation (DoMT)
Ilara Greengrass - Chief of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol (MLEP)
Harold Parkinson - Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (MLE)
Relena Diggle - Head of Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures (RCMC)
Jarvis Abbot - Deputy Head Auror
Visiting Party (Foreign Ministries)
Japanese MoM
Minister Jiro Kurosawa - Minister of Magic of Japan
American (MACUSA)
President Chief of Aurors - Patrick Hensley Janine Rivercross