[EDITED 2017] Any serious reviews about this story won't be read or responded to. It's very old, very bad, and I honestly do not recommend reading, so if you get offended by this, it's your own damn fault. I already had several reviewers legitimately complain and scream at me, and God knows how many times I've rolled my eyes. I'm tired and this fic is dead to me for all I care.

I'm keeping this story here for the lols.

"What's the mission?" a teen in a fox mask asked, his voice quiet. The Fifth Hokage looked at him sharply.

"A guarding mission," Tsunade said. "Can't tell you any more, just wait for the others to arrive."

"Hai."

Seven poofs were heard, and when the cloud of smoke cleared, ANBU ninja stood erect and in a line, silent. A second later, there was a swirl of sand, and the Kazekage appeared.

"Fox, Slug, Raccoon, Cat, Dragon, Hawk, Stag, Wolf, Dove, you are all here because I have a mission request, and I believe you are the best candidates," Tsunade said. She turned to Raccoon. "Are you alright with leaving Suna with Kankuro as acting Kazekage?"

"Yes," Raccoon replied softly. Tsunade nodded.

"Alright, the mission briefing," she said. "In the wizarding dimension, a wizard by the name of Dumbledore Albus has sent me a mission request to send about six to ten high level ninja to guard his school. A dangerous wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort has risen to power once again, and is threatening the wizarding dimension.

"Your job is to guard the school, as well as protect a boy named Harry Potter, who is prophesized to bring down Voldemort and restore peace. You must keep the boy safe, because if he dies, Voldemort will rule the wizarding world, and it won't be long before he hears of other dimensions. He may even come to the Ninja Continent, and we can't risk that. We are all still recovering from our losses from the Fourth Shinobi World War.

"You are to remain in full ANBU gear; I do not exactly wish for you to unmask yourselves, but if you really want to, you can take them off only after you have been at Hogwarts for six months. This is a mission that will last a year. It has been a while since the wizarding dimension has contacted us, and so you will all represent the Ninja Continent, and I expect you to do your best. Is that clear?"

Tsunade eyed the nine shinobi, who gave her stiff nods.

"Do you accept this mission?"

One by one, they all said, "I accept".

"Good," Tsunade said. "Fox is captain for this mission. Go and pack; you all have exactly one hour before you have to leave. Don't you dare be late!"

"Guards?" Harry repeated. "Guards? I don't need guards!"

"Calm down, Harry," Sirius Black, his godfather said. "Let us explain."

Harry Potter had just arrived at number twelve, Grimmauld Place. After a heated one-sided shouting match upstairs with Ron and Hermione, they had all gone down to dinner after the meeting was finished. At the table, Sirius had just told Harry about the ninja guards.

"Voldemort has risen, Harry," Lupin said quietly. "And he's after you; you need all the protection you can get."

"But, guards?" Harry said furiously. "I can take care of myself!"

"I'm sure you can," Sirius said. "But Dumbledore wants this, Harry."

Before he could say another word, there was a whizzing noise, and suddenly, nine strange people appeared into their midst.

"Kami-sama, nani gada?" (1)

"Watashi wa kanjite byoki ni sukoshi."

"Are mo ga kokodesu ka?"

"Hai."

"Dare mo ga itaidesu ka?"

"Koko de, kuraianto gadesu ka?

"Karera wa daredesu ka?"

The foreign language exchanged by these people was quiet and brisk. They stepped into the light to find about half a dozen wands trained on them.

"Nani?" one of them whispered. Harry had his wand pointed at them as well.

"Death Eaters," he hissed.

"Calm down people," a voice growled. Mad-Eye Moody stumped into the room. "These are the ninja guards."

"What?" Sirius asked, flabbergasted. "They look like Death Eaters! Are you sure they're not in league with Voldemort?"

"Look carefully at them," Moody growled. Harry stared, and found that he was right. Their masks were in the shape of snarling animals, and they wore black clothes and grey armour. A few carried scrolls, they all had some kind of sword tied to their backs and one of them had a type of gourd strapped to his back.

"What are they saying?" Wolf asked, his feral eyes trained steadily on the wizard in front of them, the one with a strange whizzing blue eye.

Fox stepped forward.

"Dumbledore," he said clearly, hoping that they would understand. To his relief, understanding shone brightly in the wizards' and witches' eyes.

Moody pulled out his wand, and the ninja tensed. Hawk flashed behind him, a kunai to his neck. The watching wizards gasped and re-pointed their wands at him.

"What are you doing?" Hawk hissed. Of course, Moody didn't understand what was said, but he got the gist of it.

"Relax," Moody said in badly pronounced Japanese, "I am simply casting a spell over you so you can understand us."

Hawk slowly took the kunai away from his neck. Moody took that as a confirmation to proceed, and with a few muttered words, he cast the spell over them.

"Can you understand us now?" Moody asked.

"Yes," Fox said.

"This spell enables you to speak and understand English, as well as retaining your Japanese," Moody said.

Harry couldn't take his eyes off the ninja. The speed in which Hawk moved behind Moody was unbelievable.

"Bloody hell," Ron whispered. "They're the ones guarding you?"

Hermione was staring at them with a shocked look on her face. Apparently she was more worried about the weapons they carried and how they used them.

"This is your charge," Moody grunted, jabbing a finger at Harry. "I believe your leader has briefed you on the rest of your… er, mission?"

"Yes," Fox said coolly. He turned his face towards Harry, and the boy didn't like the way his eyes probed him, sizing him up. Those eyes… they were cold, much too cold. Finally, they were turned away.

"My name is Fox. I am captain." Fox had blonde hair, and from what Harry could see of his eyes, they were sky blue.

"Raccoon." Raccoon had blood red hair and jade green eyes.

"Slug." Slug, strangely, had pastel pink hair and emerald green eyes.

"Cat." She had long blue hair with bangs that framed her masks and curiously pearly coloured eyes that had no pupils.

"Dragon." Dragon had chocolate brown eyes and brown hair that was tied in two twin buns on either side of her head.

"Hawk." Hawk had long coffee brown hair and the same eyes as Cat.

"Stag." His black hair was tied up in a ponytail that greatly resembled a pineapple.

"Wolf." Wolf had spiky brown hair and slitted eyes. By his side was an enormous white dog. "This is Akamaru."

"Dove." Dove was a blonde girl whose hair was tied up in a high ponytail with a long fringe that covered half of her mask. She had sapphire eyes.

"My name is Moody," the ex Auror growled.

"Remus Lupin."

"Tonks."

"Sirius Black."

"… Harry Potter."

"Ron Weasley."

"Hermione Granger."

"Molly Weasley."

"Arthur Weasley."

"Bill Weasley."

"You will meet the rest of the Order members later," Moody said. The ninja said nothing.

"I'll, erm, show you to your rooms, shall I?" Mrs Weasley said hastily as silence descended upon them. "There you can get unpacked, and… and everything."

Harry realised that the shinobi were only carrying packs, and wondered how those backpacks could equip them with everything they needed for a year.

"Come on…"

The ninja left the room, and when they did, it seemed as though the temperature rose up a little again.

"I don't like them," Harry said to Ron and Hermione. "Did you see their eyes?"

The other two nodded, not being able to say what they saw, because it could not really be put into words without it sounding strange.

Their eyes were filled with too much darkness. They were bottomless, empty, and they frightened Harry.

Raccoon sighed on his bed, his green eyes staring up at the ceiling.

The house reeked of decay and misuse, and Raccoon didn't like it. He decided to read the mission scroll given to them before they left to keep his mind off things, such as his hidden worry over Temari and Kankuro back in Suna. There was a knock on his door, and Slug opened it.

"Raccoon, dinner is ready," she said. "Come down."

Raccoon slipped off his bed and joined the pink haired girl.

"What do you think of Potter-san?" he asked as they walked down the stairs. Slug shrugged her shoulders.

"He seems a little… childish? Dove probed into the mind of Granger-san and Weasley-san and found out that just before we arrived, Potter-san shouted at his friends because he felt left out," Slug said. "And I know that it's an invasion of their privacy," she added, catching Raccoon's look, "but it's for the mission."

"Yeah," Raccoon murmured. "I know."

Dinner was awkward.

Normally the wizards and witches were extremely chatty and liked to laugh a lot, but in the presence of the ninja, it seemed as though a blanket of silence fell on top of them and no one was willing to lift it off.

Raccoon stared at the food on his plate, and then lifted his mask slightly so that nothing more than his mouth was showing. A second later, the meal vanished. Those who were watching him almost choked on their food. Raccoon replaced the mask again and sat there.

Why isn't anyone talking? Raccoon wondered. Are they all normally this quiet?

"When does the school term start?" Cat asked into the silence, having finished her food as well. The magical folk, having heard her voice for the first time, were surprised to hear how sweet it sounded.

"About a month or so," Hermione said. "It starts on the first of September."

No one talked after that, and when everyone had finished, they all just stared at one another.

"Nearly time for bed, I think," said Mrs Weasley, standing up to clear the dishes.

"Not just yet, Molly," said Sirius, pushing away his empty plate and turning to look at Harry. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would to start asking questions about Voldemort."

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. Where seconds before it had been awkwardly silent, it was now alert, even tense. A frisson had one around the table at the mention of Voldemort's name. Lupin, who had been about to take a sip of wine, lowered his goblet slowly, looking wary.

"I did!" said Harry indignantly. "I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so -"

"And they're quite right," said Mrs Weasley. "You're too young."

She was sitting bolt upright in her chair, her fists clenched on its arms, her face livid.

"Since when does someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" asked Sirius. "Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen-"

"Hang on!" interrupted George loudly.

"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" said Fred angrily.

"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a stinking thing!" said George.

"You're too young, you're not in the Order," said Fred, in a high pitched voice that sounded uncannily like his mother's. "Harry's not even of age!"

"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," said Sirius calmly, "that's your parents' decision. Harry, on the other hand –"

"It's not up to you to decide what's good for Harry!" said Mrs Weasley sharply. The expression on her normally kind face looked dangerous. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"

"Which bit?" Sirius asked politely, but with the air of a man readying himself for a fight.

"The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know," said Mrs Weasley, placing a heavy emphasis on the last three words.

"I don't intend to tell him more than he needs to know, Molly," said Sirius. "But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back he has more right than most to –"

"He's not a member of the Order of the Phoenix!" said Mrs Weasley. "He's only fifteen and –"

"And he's dealt with as much as most in the Order," said Sirius, "and more than some."

"No one's denying what he's done!" said Mrs Weasley, her voice rising, her fists trembling on the arms of her chair. "But he's still –"

"He's not a child!" said Sirius impatiently.

"He's not an adult either!" said Mrs Weasley.

She was about to continue before a cough broke the two of them out of their glaring contest.

"We're still here," Stag drawled.

"So tell me, what has Potter-san done to be treated this uniquely?" Wolf asked, his voice mocking. "After all, you two are even fighting over him, and he seems to receive special treatment, allowing him to get information from you guys while his friends stay in the dark."

Harry bristled at the way Wolf worded his sentences. It was as if he was scorning him.

The other people at the table seem to jerk in surprise as well.

"Let's start the highly coloured life story of Harry Potter, shall we?" Dove said, her voice sarcastic. "After all, we need to know about our charge and the world he lives in, don't we?"

The magical folk hesitated and glanced at each other, and the finally to Harry.

"Alright," Harry said.

"Fifteen years ago, a wizard by the name of Voldemort reigned supreme," Sirius said. "He terrified the wits out of the wizarding world, and everyone feared him. His name was known everywhere, but people did not speak it out loud; they treated it like a taboo. They still do, even now.

"Voldemort came for Harry's parents when Harry was a baby. He killed his father, James Potter, and his mother, Lily Potter. When he tried to kill Harry, he couldn't, for some reason. The spell backfired onto him, and he was left powerless and fled. Harry then became known as 'The Boy Who Lived'."

"I lived with my aunt, uncle and cousin," Harry said, taking up the story. "They… didn't like me. When I was eleven, I was admitted into Hogwarts. In my first year, I faced Voldemort for the first time. He had entered the body of a teacher, and tried to kill me. I got away.

"In my second year, Voldemort released the Basilisk in our school. It petrified a few students. I killed it.

"In my third year, I found out that Sirius was my godfather.

"In my fourth year, I got entered into the Triwizard Tournament. During the third task, I was transported to a graveyard. There, Voldemort gained his own body. He had risen again. There, a fellow champion named Cedric Diggory was killed."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"You know, I was only joking," Dove said wryly. "I didn't exactly want to hear your life story."

(A/N I'll let you imagine how embarrassed Harry was feeling after she said that)

"So… you've only seen one death?" Dragon asked.

"Yeah," Harry said. The way she said it… was unsettling. It was as though she was almost disappointed to find that he had only seen one person die.

"Oh," Dragon said.

"Okay Harry… what do you want to know?" Sirius asked, trying to draw them all back to the subject at hand. Mrs Weasley, still angry, sent Ginny off to bed.

"Where's Voldemort?" Harry said, ignoring the renewed shudders and winces at the name. "What's he doing? I've been trying to watch the Muggle news, and there hasn't been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything."

"That's because there haven't been any funny deaths yet," said Sirius, "not as far as we know, anyway… and we know quite a lot."

"More than he thinks we do, anyway," said Lupin.

"How come he's stopped killing people?" Harry asked. He knew Voldemort had murdered more than once in the last year alone.

"Because he doesn't want to draw attention to himself," said Sirius. "It would have been too dangerous for him. His comeback didn't come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. He messed it up."

"Or rather, you messed it up for him," said Lupin, with a satisfied smile.

"How?" Harry asked perplexed.

"You weren't supposed to survive!" said Sirius. "Nobody apart from his Death Eaters was supposed to know he'd come back. But you survived to bear witness."

"And the last person he wanted to alert to his return the moment he got back was Dumbledore," said Lupin. "And you made sure Dumbledore knew at once."

"How has that helped?" Harry asked.

"Are you kidding?" said Bill incredulously. "Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of!"

"They don't say his name, so they say You-Know-Who instead?" Raccoon muttered to Fox.

The ninja had sat there in silence as they gave Harry more and more information, looking on stonily.

"That's enough!"

Mrs Weasley spoke from the shadows beside the door. Her arms were crossed and she looked furious.

"I want you in bed, now. All of you," she added, looking around at Fred, George, Ron and Hermione.

"You can't boss us –" Fred began.

"Watch me," snarled Mrs Weasley. She was trembling slightly as she looked at Sirius. "You've given Harry plenty of information. Anymore and you might just as well induct him into the Order straightaway."

"Why not?" said Harry quickly. "I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight."

"Hell no."

It was not Mrs Weasley who spoke this time, but Fox. Harry glared at the guard.

"From what I've heard, this is dangerous for the likes of you," Fox said softly, his eyes steely. "You believe you can fight? You haven't even finished your schooling yet, and you want to join an organization against one of the greatest wizards in your world? I don't think so. You have no idea what the world is like outside. And if you join, we're going to have an even harder time watching your back."

"Too troublesome," Stag muttered.

"I think they're right, Harry," Lupin said. "There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you… I think Molly's right, Sirius. We've said enough."

Sirius half-shrugged back but did not argue. Mrs Weasley beckoned imperiously to her sons and Hermione. One by one they stood up and Harry, recognizing defeat, followed suit.

Mrs Weasley followed them upstairs looking grim.

"I want you all to go straight to bed, no talking," she said as they reached the first landing.

"All right, Ron, Harry," said Mrs Weasley on the second landing, pointing them into their bedroom. "Off to bed with you."

Mrs Weasley closed the door behind Harry with a sharp snap. Ron changed and turned off the light. Harry climbed into bed.

"Anyway," Ron said, "what d'you reckon?"

Harry didn't need to ask what Ron meant."Well, they didn't tell us much we couldn't have guessed, did they?" he said. He was about to continue, when suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck started to rise; there was another presence in the room.

"Stop talking," whispered a voice out of the gloom. Harry and Ron tried not to yelp as they spotted Raccoon standing at the foot of their beds. His mask stood out from the black. It was a little eerie to see a raccoon floating around in the darkness.

When Raccoon was sure that Harry and Ron would not talk again, he vanished. Ron's wide eyes stared from his bed to Harry's.

They dared not talk again, and it wasn't long before Harry fell asleep.

The shinobi stayed downstairs after their charge and his friends had gone to bed. Raccoon had gone up once to check on them, and then returned.

"Fox, have you received word from Hokage-sama about the Akatsuki?" Wolf asked. Fox shook his head.

"No. Besides, it's too soon," Fox said.

"Fox, they're after you," Slug said, her voice cool, but there was a tiny trace of worry in her voice.

"They don't know about the different dimensions," Stag said. "So it might take a while for the Akatsuki to realise that Fox isn't even on the Ninja Continent anymore."

"Right now, we have to worry over this Voldemort," Cat said quietly.

"We haven't even met our client yet," Dove said, her soft voice laced with annoyance.

"I'm sure we will," Dragon said, "either during our stay here or at the school."

"I hear the kids talking," Hawk said coldly. "Should I go shut them up?"

"Go ahead," Fox said with a sigh. "Alright, the rest of you please go to sleep. I'll watch the house tonight."

After quiet murmurs from his team, Fox was left alone in the sitting room. The other wizards and witches had all left already or gone to bed.

There you go, Chapter One. How did I go?

(1)

"What was that?"

"I feel a little sick."

"Is everybody here?"

"Yes."

"Is anyone hurt?"

"Where's the client?"

"Who are they?"

I Google Translate-ed this and I apologise if the wording is a little incorrect. I know Google Translate is kinda dodgy.

I'm pretty sure a lot of people have been turned off by the first chapter. If so, I thank you all for reading this far. If not... well, thanks for reading as well!