Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

I never realized that it's been about one year since I last updated. Procrastination at its very, very finest…

Credits to Sara21 for some of the ideas in this chapter from her review…last year. Anyways, thank you, Sara21!

I was going to finish the final battle in one chapter but decided to split it into two parts.

Recall that in the previous chapter (Chapter 16), school has already ended, and the summer holidays had already begun.

Enjoy!

Xo-xo-xo

Chapter 17

By: En Taiho

Harry's birthday, July 31st, passed by without any major celebrations as they were still planning for hopefully the war's end. Harry had informed Tom of his experiences throughout his sixth year regarding his magic and heightened senses. Tom had shown no concern however, asserting that it was only natural for a powerful wizard to feel like that once their 17th birthday was arriving soon.

Ron and Hermione had remained in their respective homes, Harry having told them that he, Naruto, and Sasuke could not hold a party and that they were currently unavailable. They did not risk telling them that they were at the Riddle Manor, let alone that they were at the Dark headquarters. His friends had understood his meaning. As Harry had also requested them not to reply as someone could trace the owl, he received no gifts from neither of them as well. Nonetheless, Harry knew that they had the presents ready for him the next time he saw them but was not concerned about obtaining them or not. He just wanted to keep to his word and decision and not involve any of his Gryffindor friends in the final battle, if he could help it.

Xo-xo-xo

On another of their strategies meeting, the prominent figures of the Dark side, excluding Severus, as he was continuing to be on the Light side and therefore had to stay with Dumbledore, gathered in the bowels of Riddle Manor. Unfortunately, they could not Severus because of Dumbledore's irritating extra precautions of not allowing any contact between his followers and the outside world. They only knew that he was gathering his forces in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry had lost count of how many meetings similar to this one. They had just so many over the summer. As usual, Tom sat at the head of the table, Harry at his right side with Draco beside the Boy-Who-Lived. Lucius sat on the Dark Lord's left along with Narcissa. Naruto and Sasuke were seated beside Draco. But there was a new one amongst them.

"Professor McGonagall, how delightful for you to join us this evening." Tom nodded graciously at the older witch sitting erectly next to Narcissa. She had been debriefed on the battle plans that they had devised so far upon her arrival.

"Yes, quite," the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts replied, slightly stiff as it was her first time personally coming to the Dark headquarters. "I apologize for not being able to contribute much since the school year has ended. Albus was quite adamant in not letting any of the staff out of Hogwarts and kept a particularly close watch on all of us. I barely managed to convince him to permit us to go on our rightfully-deserving holidays. He believes me to be at home."

"Did you acquire any useful information?" Lucius asked.

"Not very much, I'm afraid. Dumbledore also prevented the staff from knowing anything. All I can tell you is that he is gathering his army in Hogwarts and has strengthened the barriers around the school with the aid of other significant Light followers."

"Thank you, Professor," Tom directed at the witch.

McGonagall smiled, her nervousness from before disappearing. "Mr. Riddle, you seem not to have lost your manners despite the time that has passed since I was your teacher."

Tom's lips twitched into a small smile. "For you as well, Professor."

"Oh yes, McGonagall-san, Sasuke and I have been meaning to ask you, now that you're no longer at Hogwarts," Naruto interrupted with a serious expression. "At first, I was against it when Sasuke first suggested this idea. Our leader had after all given us the mission of helping to defeat the enemy as the top ANBU, but Sasuke realized that we should call for back-up from Konoha, especially since we know that Kabuto is here in this world."

"True, true," McGonagall agreed. "I will call Ms. Tsunade."

"Is it possible to do that now?" Tom inquired curiously, sharp blue eyes regarding his previous professor. "I would like to see how it is done, how you contact another world."

McGonagall allowed herself a quiet laugh. "That curiosity of yours has not faded, I see. Then I shall call Konoha now."

The group waited in anticipation as the Deputy Headmistress stood up and pulled out her wand. Stepping away from the long table, she spoke in a low tone, lips moving rapidly as if they moved on their own. Naruto strained to hear what she was chanting and when he did, he glanced at Sasuke beside him with surprise in cerulean eyes. Sasuke's brows furrowed. McGonagall was speaking in both Latin and Japanese, alternating between the two languages. Halfway through her long string of words, the witch took out a scroll, unfurling it till the end reached just above the ground. Her wand was pointed at the centre of an unrecognizable seal of mysterious symbols and kanji. Ancient Rune symbols were intermingled with the black ink. McGonagall completed her chant by drawing the Konoha leaf symbol on the paper with a wizard magic stream of light. She then laid down the scroll flat on the ground, and a wispy twirl of smoky light emitted from the seal, which evolved into a large circle in the air. On it, Tsunade's face morphed into view.

Naruto jumped up from his seat and ran around the table to join McGonagall, Sasuke following closely behind at a slower pace. Harry and the Slytherins watched carefully from their spots.

"Obaa-chan!" the blonde ANBU shouted excitedly.

"Hold on, gaki, I need to get my communication necklace," Tsunade said in Japanese to everyone's ears. "I wasn't expecting a call from you so soon." She disappeared from the shimmering circle temporarily before she returned. "All right," Tsunade sighed, now in English in the wizards' and witches' ears. "So what's up?"

"Oi, baabaa, I gave you such a happy greeting," Naruto pouted, "and you didn't respond."

"Hokage-sama," Sasuke said, nodding at the older woman, as his own form of greeting.

"Good evening, Ms. Tsunade," McGonagall said politely. Harry, Draco, Tom, Lucius, and Narcissa had risen from their seats in the background as a courtesy for the ANBU's leader.

"Good evening," Tsunade replied. She waved a hand casually at the wizards and witches. "No need to be so formal." Her brown eyes seemed to drift through the gathered people but with careful scrutiny at each. She eventually came to Naruto and Sasuke beside the Deputy Headmistress.

"Oi yourself, gaki," the Hokage grinned. "It would've been rude if we talked in a foreign language in front of our client and her companions."

Naruto stuck out his tongue at the older woman. Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow at his partner's antics before he took a step closer to the projected image.

"Hokage-sama, how is the Sound village?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes marginally. "Nothing out of the ordinary has been reported. What's happening?"

Sasuke gave a succinct report on their situation and informed her as well of Kabuto's presence in the wizarding world. "Therefore, we would like to request for back-up, should anything go awry. And hopefully if it doesn't, then it would be helpful to have more shinobi here to fight in the wizarding war."

Tsunade contemplated the dark-haired ANBU attentively. "I never would have thought that Kabuto could have gotten his hands on a transportation device, let alone associate with Dumbledore-san. But I'm afraid that I cannot send any more shinobi."

Naruto's mouth tightened. "Why not? Is there something going on in Konoha that shinobi are needed? Another battle? A new enemy?"

"Fortunately, no. But it is risky to send a large number of shinobi to help fight. Otherwise, there is the risk of exposing the existence of shinobi as well as the shinobi world to the wizarding and muggle worlds. We absolutely cannot let that happen." Tsunade's tone softened. "Besides, I have every confidence that there is nothing that you two cannot handle. Naruto, you fought that army of 300,000 ninja, and Sasuke, you defeated many of the powerful Akatsuki members."

Harry refrained from letting his jaw drop.

"Oh, which reminds me," Tsunade continued, "who knows of us?"

"On our side, that would include the six wizards in this room: McGonagall-san, Tom-san, Lucius-san, Narcissa-san, Harry, and Draco," Naruto responded.

Sasuke went on for the blonde, "There are also the Dark's spy, Professor Snape, and Harry's two best friends, Ron and Hermione."

"For the enemy's side, as far as we know, there is only Dumbledore because of Kabuto," Naruto said darkly. "Thus, ten wizards in total."

The Fifth Hokage's eyes were unreadable. "Not a bad amount." She crossed her arms suddenly and sat back in her chair. "Naruto, Sasuke, you are forbidden to use jutsus in the open when this final battle occurs. You must keep a low profile as shinobi."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"If I may," Tom spoke up, "I can assure you that no one else in my army will discover your ANBU's identities."

Tsunade nodded seriously. "I am grateful for that, Tom-san. Well then, I wish you all the best of luck and hope for safe returns to your homes." She turned her attention to the Deputy Headmistress. "McGonagall-san, I will see you again when it is time to send Naruto and Sasuke back home."

"Hopefully, that will be soon."

"Yes, I agree." Tsunade's image fizzed at the edges. "This jutsu-spell cannot last for much longer. Naruto, Sasuke, do your best and come back soon."

The two ANBU saluted their Hokage as the circular shimmer faded into nothingness. The room was left with a solemn atmosphere, the possibilities that could happen in the war heavy on their minds.

"Professor." Tom's smooth voice cut into the silence. "How did you come into contact with the shinobi world? I have never seen anything like what is on that scroll."

McGonagall rolled up the said scroll and tucked it back deep into her robes. "It was quite some years back, twenty or twenty-five years ago, I can't remember."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. That was a very long time ago. He glanced up at the ANBU. Judging from Naruto and Sasuke's silence and their inquisitive looks, they did not know the story either.

"I was in my summer cottage in the mountains one summer when a strange man approached me. He was like no one I had ever seen before." McGonagall's stern features seemed to lessen as she recalled that day in her younger years. "I sensed that he was no muggle. His magic felt foreign and unlike any wizard I've ever met. At that time, Voldemort was still at large." Because McGonagall knew the schemes involving Dumbledore and Nagini, she no longer feared speaking the Dark Lord's name.

Tom indicated for the professor to continue.

"So, since Voldemort was still very much active," McGonagall sighed regrettably, "I did not treat the newcomer well when he greeted me, especially with his unknown magic aura. He was very gracious and patient however, and eventually he persuaded me that he was from another world and came in peace. He sat down at the tea table that I had set up outside of my cottage, where I'd been before he had appeared.

"Well, I wanted to see some concrete evidence to prove his story. That's when a strange blue shimmering light but also akin to flames—chakra, though I didn't know at the time—surrounded him and seemed to pour out of his entire being. He took a few kunai, threw them swiftly at a tree across the lake that my cottage faced, and the number of them suddenly multiplied in mid-air out of nowhere. Then he promptly disappeared, only to come into view on the other side in less than a heartbeat, deflecting all of the kunai with another in one hand."

Sasuke had an awfully strong hunch on who this mystery man was. Naruto did as well, and he felt both queasy and hopeful.

Harry was completely intrigued with the older witch's tale, while Draco was thinking more along the lines that McGonagall appeared younger and, disturbingly, like a dreamy fangirl. The blonde Slytherin shivered. She was his Transfiguration professor and the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, for Merlin's sake. Nonetheless, the change was a bit amusing.

"Then the most startling and amazing thing happened," McGonagall went on, now oblivious to her audience as she was emerged in the memory. "He walked on the lake's surface back to where I was. It was unbelievable."

Lucius raised an eyebrow at the reminiscent witch, but his wife, understanding his intentions, rested a hand on his lap and shook her head subtly. "Don't interrupt, dear. It is my first time seeing Minerva like this. Isn't it sweet? Let her be."

McGonagall did not hear Narcissa's whispers. "I invited him for tea. Oh, what a youngster I was. He asked many questions about this world. When he heard about Voldemort and the ongoing war, he became melancholy. It was because there was one as well in his own world, he said."

Naruto calculated quickly that it had to be during the Third Shinobi World War.

"He also said that he could try and help our fight, but that he therefore needed more information about wizarding magic. It is fortunate that he truly had no ill intentions for I believed him back then. I helped him locate a good library and he stayed in there, researching day and night for a week. I went back to my cottage; he'd promised he would come back when he was finished whatever he needed to find out. And when he did, he was grinning victoriously, holding the very scroll that I used earlier. He taught me the necessary chants and told me that it could be used to contact his village in his world, should I and this world wish for any assistance. He thanked me, saying that he had learnt countless things, but it was time for him to return. His village and team needed him back in his world, and away he walked, slowly. The wind loved him and shook the leaves from the trees to swirl around in the wake of his presence, and I could only watch his back growing smaller and smaller till it faded into the shadows of the forest."

Naruto was almost too afraid to ask. "What did he look like?" he whispered quietly.

McGonagall glanced at the young ANBU thoughtfully. "He had blonde hair and light blue eyes, but he was no European. That's why I found his appearance strange at first. You actually look very much like him, now that you have brought it up."

Naruto gulped. "His name?" he almost rasped, his voice roughened from longing expectation. Sasuke grabbed a hold of his partner's hand and rubbed it reassuringly with one thumb.

"He never did tell me his full name." McGonagall tapped her chin. "But he did tell me to call him…'Minato.'"

Naruto, who had been leaning back his chair on its two back legs, promptly fell out his seat. Sasuke was almost pulled down with him with their hands still grasped, but managed to keep his balance.

Tom pierced the blonde shinobi with searching eyes. "You know him?"

"He was my father and the Fourth Hokage of Konoha," Naruto replied softly once he'd gotten up and dusted himself off.

Draco frowned. "'Was?'" Harry elbowed him in the ribs, but Naruto only sighed. "He died shortly after I was born."

McGonagall brought her hands up to her mouth in shock. Sasuke's action of putting an arm around the blonde's shoulders softened her reaction, and she smiled, albeit with a tinge of sadness. "But he grew up to be a great wizard since he became the Fourth Hokage."

Naruto nodded solemnly. "Aa."

Xo-xo-xo

It was 2 a.m., and Naruto and Sasuke tucked themselves into the one spacious bed they now shared at Riddle Manor. Tom, the shinobi, and the others had discussed final plans the entire rest of the evening after McGonagall's story to the wee hours of the morning. Their first moves will be at the end of next week.

"It makes sense that the Yondaime was the one who came to this world and even created that seal, which is a fascinating mixture of both a jutsu and a spell," Sasuke pondered out loud, sliding his arm under Naruto's head.

"Aa, Ero-Sennin has always said that my father liked to experiment around to invent new jutsus, such as the Rasengan. He was probably trying out some new Time-Space technique, since, I'm assuming, by then he'd already developed the Jikukan Kekkai (Time-Space Barrier) and definitely the Hiraishin no Jutsu."

Sasuke snorted. "Speaking of which, the Yondaime was sure a show-off in front of McGonagall-san," he teased lightly, "going so far to use the Hiraishin no Jutsu that earned him the title as the Yellow Flash." The Uchiha brought his other arm to encircle Naruto, pulling the blonde close to him, breathing in the dobe's familiar scent. "Still, he was a master of Time-Space and Transportation jutsus."

Xo-xo-xo

One week later…

McGonagall imposed her authority as the Deputy Headmistress on the gargoyle grimly guarding Dumbledore's office. The old man himself was down in the Great Hall with the other members of the Order of the Phoenix as a few of them, McGonagall included, were instructed to relay the bare necessities of the information regarding the Order's decision to strike the Dark side tomorrow. Severus was amongst the ones who stayed in the Hall, charged with stalling Albus if ever he were to head toward his office.

McGonagall smiled satisfied, as she finally managed to slip past the wards without much trouble, which were designed to keep foreigners—such as Naruto and Sasuke, and even Kabuto—and unauthorized personnel, and were put up by Albus as an extra precaution when school had ended.

She strolled purposefully towards the cabinet storing the Pensieve. However, her hands froze on the handle when the voice of Phineas Nigellus Black cackled mischievously and victoriously, as if he'd caught a child stealing cookies in the kitchen. "It's about time, Minerva."

Surprised, McGonagall turned swiftly around. "Phineas, you were not sleeping?" She had bet on the paintings to be napping as they usually did at this time of day.

The former Headmaster sneered. "So I can miss this wonderful opportunity to witness you finally taking a stand and the very beginning of the old fool's fall? I'd rather not."

The long-faced previous Headmistress beside him yawned delicately. "Phineas, must you be so loud? Some of us trying to sleep here."

"Oh, Eoessa, my dear." Phineas' eyes even as a painting positively gleamed. "I'm so sorry to disturb you from your beauty sleep, but surely you don't want to doze through this grandiose scene." He gestured to McGonagall now standing stiffly in front of the unopened cabinet.

The past Headmistress gasped. "Minerva!" She turned to Phineas' portrait from her frame. "Shouldn't we wake the others? Quentin has been waiting for something interesting and extraordinary to happen here."

Phineas snorted. "Let the gramps and grans sleep. I could at last gloat to that stubborn Quentin so he would hand over that pack of Every Flavour Cigars he's been hoarding for years. Anyways, we could tell them when they wake up and—" he glanced briefly at Minerva—"of course, when Albus is absent from the office."

McGonagall gaped. The paintings were against Albus! "How…? Why…?"

Headmistress Eoessa grinned behind her fluttering fan. "Oh we know, sweetheart. Albus has done many activities in this room. Now, hurry on, go do what you have to do before he comes up here."

McGonagall looked thankfully at Phineas and Eoessa before pulling open the cabinet doors with one whoosh. Unconsciously holding her breath, she grasped the Pensieve with both hands. Fortunately, she did not lift it yet because Phineas suddenly broke the silence again, causing her to jump visibly.

"That phoenix has been staring at you for the entire time."

Sure enough, Fawkes was fixing intelligent, glistening eyes on the intruding witch with a mysterious tilt of its fine, fiery head. Then without warning, it opened its grand sweeping wings and flew elegantly towards McGonagall. The witch tensed in anticipation of an attack but it did not do so. Instead, the bright phoenix circled widely around McGonagall's head, its long, richly plumed tail feathers waving in the air.

"Hurry up!" Phineas hissed urgently.

Nodding firmly, McGonagall grabbed the Pensieve carefully and held the large basin to her chest tightly. Fawkes immediately swooped in on her. Once its talons closed lightly around the cloth on McGonagall's shoulder as not to pierce flesh, phoenix and witch disappeared in a burst of orange flames.

They reappeared seconds later on the edge of Little Hangleton. McGonagall dared not touch the perched magical bird, even after she freed her hands by shrinking the Pensieve. Fawkes took off from her shoulders, still silent.

"Thank you, Fawkes," McGonagall said with surprised wonder.

The phoenix dipped its head in acknowledgement and then vanished.

Meticulously covering the small Pensieve with a lid in order to prevent memories from spilling out, the Deputy Headmistress carefully put it into her pocket, taking out in exchange a brass button.

Tapping the large, flat button with her wand, a brief message magically etched itself on the smooth surface: MM here. With its limited space, only short letters and abbreviations were used to communicate to the other wizards and witches of the Dark army, Tom and Lucius included, who were waiting in the Portkey hub in an inconspicuous clearing in the overgrown forest surrounding Little Hangleton. Now the Dark army was updated on the current steps of their plan, and Tom and Lucius would not attack her when she approached the warded hub, thinking the intrusion into their barriers an enemy.

"I have shocking but good news," McGonagall said, the instant she handed the shrunken Pensieve to Tom. "We have the previous Headmasters' and Headmistress' support, as well as that of Fawkes. The phoenix brought me here from Dumbledore's office, saving me the trouble of having to leave Hogwarts grounds to Apparate."

"Brilliant." Tom tucked the little basin safely into his robes.

Fishing out a similar brass button as McGonagall's from before, the Dark Lord pressed down hard on its flat surface with two fingers. When he released the pressure, "In TMR's hands. Go." wrote itself on the button. He didn't risk exposing what exactly was in his hands, considering that every Death Eater possessed one of these communication devices. He stretched with casual flair, albeit with a dangerous glint in blue eyes, and a full smirk pulled at his lips in anticipation. "Now we wait for thirty minutes. The Ministry will never know what struck them."

Flashback

Tom spread out a wide blank parchment on the meeting table. He tapped his wand on the paper four times, corresponding to the four significant places shimmering into existence on the parchment: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with the nearby Forbidden Forest, Little Hangleton and its own nearby woods, Diagon Alley, and the main Ministry building.

"To summarize then…" He circled the Forbidden Forest with the tip of his wand. "Professor McGonagall, you will return to the school as an Order member. When the Order is all meeting together, Naruto and Sasuke will transport the Dark army just outside of the Hogwarts barriers in the Forbidden Forest, since Severus has managed to inform us of the centaurs' neutrality in the war despite Dumbledore's attempts to recruit them, and Harry's successful negotiations with Firenze and the other clans that we are merely grouping temporarily on their territory's borders. This way, neither Dumbledore nor the Ministry will be able to track us, and the Apparition sounds will not alert the Light of our presence nearby." Tom nodded at Harry listening carefully on one side of the table. "With your refreshed powers from your recent birthday, you along with Draco will set up a spell around the Dark army to prevent them from being seen." He turned his attention to the shinobi. "Naruto and Sasuke will be in charge of hiding each aura to avoid being sensed or detected." The Dark Lord cast his eyes upon the map again. "This process will take a few hours. I don't want any of you to hurry, risking recklessness and mistakes. No one should be able to discover the Dark army surrounding Hogwarts." The young wizards and shinobi nodded in solemn understanding.

Tom directed his wand to one of the towers of the castle. "Professor McGonagall, once you have the go, which will be given by the warming-up of the button, you will go up to Dumbledore's office and steal the old crone's Pensieve."

The Deputy Headmistress patted her chest in confirmation, the area where the brass button resided in a hidden deep pocket.

Draco and the other graduated sixth-year Slytherins had come up with the brilliant idea of using a similar communication device as Dumbledore's Army in fifth year. It had been during the meeting that Draco and his friends had called together, while Naruto was assigned reconnaissance missions, and Harry and Sasuke were helping out at Riddle Manor in early to mid-July. The Slytherins had been collecting and buying brass buttons since that meeting, and spelling each and every one of them. They were then all distributed to the Death Eaters and various Dark wizards, many of whom had travelled from around the world to join the final battle.

"Professor, you will signal Lucius and I when you have Apparated just outside Little Hangleton, and will pass over the Pensieve here." Tom pointed at a minuscule white square amongst the green of the trees by the town—a Portkey hub. "Narcissa, you and the agreed fourth- to seventh-year Slytherins are already on standby at Diagon Alley. Once Lucius and I have the Pensieve, I will send out the message on those buttons. You will then lead the Slytherins on a public youth protest on the streets." Tom traced an imaginary line from the Ministry of Magic to Diagon Alley. "We'll give them half an hour. As the majority of the Aurors and Unspeakables are already in Hogwarts with Dumbledore, according to Severus, the remaining ones will be sent to put the demonstration under control, thereby falling for our distraction." He punctuated the last word with a sharp flick of his wand on the picture of Diagon Alley.

"Subsequently, Lucius and I will infiltrate into the Ministry." Tom looked over at the Malfoy patriarch. "We'll go into the central news room and pick out the more enlightening memories of Albus Dumbledore, airing it as the only channel that wizards and witches around Britain can watch. Fortunately, we still have several spies in the Ministry who have not come to the Dark headquarters to help rid of any…obstacles."

Lucius sneered. "I expect Fudge will be one of those obstacles. The coward hasn't taken one step out of his office since the ambush"—he wrinkled his nose in disgust—"earlier this summer."

"And Dumbledore's manipulations will be revealed to the country," Harry smirked.

"Exactly." Tom moved his wand tip to Hogwarts again. "The coot will find out sooner or later. He'd want to exact revenge, stop the airing, or something to that extent. Before he does though, Harry, you will lead the Dark army, lying in wait around Hogwarts, to attack the Light headquarters.

"Dumbledore would of course want to hide the TV's news from the Light army, and that's when Severus steps in."

End Flashback

End of Chapter

Xo-xo-xo

A/N: I don't know if the wizarding world really has TVs or not, but we'll pretend for the sake of this fanfic that they do. They'll be magically-powered since I believe that they lack electricity.

Next chapter will be coming, hopefully soon, now that I know what I'm going to write.

Thank you for sticking around!