~The Effects of a Boggart~

~ A Naruto and Harry Potter Fanfiction

~ A/N: Hey, starting a new story here. Looked at the 1,000 + Naruto & Harry Potter crossovers and found only one story with an actual NarutoXGinny pairing (If it's a crossover, give it a crossover pairing!)… and that was under 10K words (No offense to the author) so I decided to try my hand at writing a NarutoXGinny fic. I live in America, so the extent of British slang and common phrases is pretty much whatever I gleam from Harry Potter and Doctor Who XD. Also, the meaning of the story's name will become clear in later chapters :P Hope it turns out well ^_^

~Chapter 1~

As the first droplets of rain descended from the darkening sky, two boys gazed across a battle-torn valley, neither's resolve wavering under the onslaught of wounds, emotions, and – soon – weather.

A dark-haired boy, clad in a blue shirt with his clan symbol on the back and off-white shorts, gazed across the chasm at his rival – a blonde-haired boy about the same age garbed in his signature orange jumpsuit. The two hand-shaped wings sprouting from his back began preparing to lift his weight as he charged his most powerful ninjutsu—the Chidori.

The blonde-haired boy, noticing this, began preparing his counter—the Rasengan. Using the tail formed from the power of the cloak of chakra surrounding him, he slingshotted himself across the valley towards his opponent.

The two clashed in mid-air, pushing as much power as they were able to into their respective attacks. A sphere of intense energy formed around the two as they collided, the light drizzle transforming into a downpour. The two boys, their attacks nullified, stood suspended in the sphere of energy, gazing at each other with something similar to remorse.

"Sasuke…" the blonde haired youth spoke quietly. "I wish it hadn't come to this. comrades shouldn't fight… not like this."

"Naruto… we aren't comrades anymore. We stopped being comrades the moment I left Konoha." He didn't want to kill his friend, but if it came to it, he would. He needed the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

As the ball of energy began to dissipate, there was a bright flash of lightning and a boom of thunder before the sphere split in two.

The half containing Sasuke continued to dissipate, and as it did, he began to see what had happened. It looked like something out of a work of fiction. The lightning, by chance, had hit the sphere of energy surrounding them, but it had veered away from Sasuke and passed through Naruto's chest. The reaction between the two was bizzare.

The lightning had just… stopped. That was the only way Sasuke could describe it. The lightning was frozen in the sky, trailing down and into the sphere, stopping as it hit Naruto's chest.

The sphere, not influenced by Sasuke's tainted chakra anymore, began changing from bright purple to a crimson red. Sasuke's eyes widened.

The lightning was… moving! The lightning looked like it was seeping down into the sphere of energy, and Sasuke was proven right as the bolt of electricity got smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the sphere entirely.

The ball of energy began disappearing. It wasn't moving, it wasn't dissipating… it was disappearing. That couldn't be good. Sasuke took one last look at his friend before he vanished completely. Was he dead? Had he been transported somewhere? Sasuke could only theorize.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Sasuke decided it was time to leave. He dashed off towards Oto, Orochimaru, and – hopefully – more power.

/~{~(~)~}~\

Harry Potter was having an average day. It had started out pretty good, with the new year at Hogwarts starting, but had quickly gone downhill on the Hogwart Express. What Professor Lupin had explained was a dementor had approached Harry after the train had broken down. It had felt like all of the happiness he contained was being forcibly sucked out of him, leaving only the bad memories. Most contained Snape, Malfoy, the Dursleys, or Voldemort in some way or another.

Lupin had driven off the foul creature with a spell Harry didn't know, but really wanted to learn. He didn't like them. Not at all.

Then, Draco Malfoy had taunted him about the confrontation. Something about him just made Harry want to hex him everytime he saw him… maybe he should find out how to cast the Bat Bogey Hex that Ginny had become so infamous for?

Just as he and Hermione had been entering the Great Hall for the sorting ceremony, Professor McGonagall had pulled them aside to talk to Hermione about her schedule, and he had missed the sorting ceremony.

At least now he'd be able to eat. He looked at the piles of food spread across the table and almost drooled. He could already taste all of the wonderous things he had missed out on.

A deafening boom, not unlike an explosion, echoed throughout the great hall and a bright flash of light forced everyone to flinch away and shield their eyes. Many people screamed, and Harry could only wonder what had happened. Was Hogwarts under attack?

When he reopened his eyes, he was stunned. In the middle of the Great Hall, between the house tables and the head table where the faculty and staff were seated, was a large crimson red ball, floating in the air. Electricity and sparks sporadically jumped off of it, some arcing back into the sphere, while others jumped out at the students and faculty.

Others were openly gaping at the spectacle, and several of the professors had jumped up and gotten their wands out. It was obvious that this hadn't been planned by any of the staff. Even Dumbledore looked a little concerned, though one could only tell by the furrowing of his brow and the slight crease in his mouth.

The sphere of energy seemed to be getting calmer, there wasn't anymore elctricity and it seemed to be getting smaller.

Then, the sphere exploded outwards in a burst of electricity and what looked like flames the same crimson red that the sphere had been, leaving only a three foot deep crater and a blob of crimson energy behind. Those closest to the sphere shielded themselves, but didn't seem to be injured in any way, though some of the more caring professors quickly scurried down to check on the students.

They were stopped, however, when the blob of energy started moving. It formed itself into the shape of a person, more specifically a human. Several people screamed once again as another flash of light and a thunderous boom echoed throughout the Great Hall once more. When Harry opened his eyes again, the blob of energy was no more.

In it's place was a boy. The boy – for that was what he had to be, as he looked almost the same age as Harry – fell at least thirty feet to the stone floor, and did not move.

Harry was actually worried. Usually, when something strange happened, it had something to do with Voldemort or one of his lackeys, but this didn't seem like something Voldemort would do, it was too flashy, attracted too much attention to be one of Voldemort's schemes.

Lupin was the first to approach the boy. He had his wand out as a precaution, but didn't seemed to be as concerned about an attack as he was about the boy's health. When he was close enough to see the boy in detail, he cried out in shock and what seemed like concern. Lupin quickly kneeled next to the boy and checked for a pulse.

"Get Madame Pomfrey, his pulse is faint!" He said urgently to Dumbledore as Professor McGonagall and many of the studnts tried to get close enough to see the boy. Harry couldn't see the boy, so he didn't know what had him so worried.

"Do not worry, Remus, I have already notified Poppy and she should be on her way." He said calmly.

As if on que, Madame Pomfrey burst through the doors of the Great Hall, strong-armed her way through the crowd of students and immediately rushed to his side to check on his condition. When she saw the boy she gasped. The boy was lying in the center of a crater. What she saw made her wonder how he was still breathing. Several others around the crater gasped as she ripped his jumpsuit open and stared at the massive hole in his chest. It must have been at least six inches in diameter! Several of the more weak willed spectators looked like they would be sick as the stench of burnt flesh and the sight of the large cavity in his chest gained their attention.

Without a word, she performed as many first aid spells – though they didn't seem to have as much of an affect as they should've on the boy – as she could to help stop the blood flow from the parts of the wound that weren't cauterized and cast a levitation charm to carry him to the Hospital Ward.

Dumbledore apologized to the students, politely asking them to continue eating as he exited the Great Hall to follow her, his stride must slower than the nurse's worried and rushed one.

Everyone who had crowded around the spectacle returned to their seats in a daze – Harry, Ron, and Hermione among those who sat back down. Harry and Ron immediately began an intense conversation about the strange newcomer and his wounds.

"Who do you think that was? Could it have something to do with You-Know-Who?" Ron began excitedly, reducing his voice to a barely audible whisper as he mentioned the renowned dark wizard.

"I don't think so," Harry responded. "Voldemort," He ignored the wince from Ron, "Wouldn't have done something so flashy. He isn't the kind of person who wants to attract attention to his plans." Harry explained.

"But did you see that hole in his chest? That was huge! He has to be an Auror or something." He exclaimed incredulously.

"I don't know, that wound didn't look like it was magical in nature…" Harry thought out loud.

Hermione wasn't paying attention to their ongoing conversation. "I wonder what happened to him?" She said, more to herself than to the two boys yapping away across the table from her. "How did he get here, and how did he get those wounds? Moreover, how did he survive them?" She pondered incredulously.

"Maybe he's a really powerful wizard!" Hermione shook herself from her thoughts as a familiar redhead sat next to her. Ginny Weasley wasn't the most outgoing girl, but she was a lot more comfortable around other girls, namely Hermione because she wasn't the gossiping type and always listened to her problems. Hermione knew she had a crush on Harry, and it had started to disappear the previous year, but it had been renewed when Harry had saved her from the Chamber of Secrets.

They began discussing the newcomer and his condition, continuing on for almost an hour before the welcoming feast was over and the prefects led the disorganized first years to their common rooms. The two started towards the Griffindor Common Room, Harry and Ron joining them as they left, still in intense conversation.

"Hey, do you think Dumbledore would let us go see how he's doing?" After several minutes, Ginny's hopeful thoughts broke into their conversation.

"I don't know if that's a good idea…" Hermione started. "We shouldn't be walking around the castle after curfew. And we've no idea which side he's on. He could be a dark wizard." She said sternly.

"Well, you don't have to come if you don't want to, but I'm curious too, so I'm going. Besides, Dumbledore won't punish anyone on the first day of the year unless they do something really bad." Ron said just as stubbornly. That combined with the pleading 'puppy dog eyes' look Ginny was giving her made her give in rather quickly.

"Oh, alright… I might as well go to keep you out of trouble." She said reluctantly. Ron could just infuriate her sometimes!

"You coming, mate?" Ron offered to Harry.

"Sure, why not." Harry replied with a shrug.

And with that, they broke off the main hallway and made their way across the castle to the Hospital Ward.

/~{~(~)~}~\

Poppy Pomfrey was amazed. In all her years of working in the Hospital Ward at Hogwarts, she had never encountered a spectacle as unique as the boy lying in one of her hospital beds. She had checked his wounds once again as she laid him down, and was shocked to see that the previously six inch wide hole in his chest had gotten much smaller. Unreasonably so. It must have been three inches narrower! How could a wound that large heal so quickly? She stared at it for several seconds before she realized the she could actually see it's progress. She could watch the hole in his chest get smaller and smaller by the second.

She shooker her head in disbelief. The boy was not normal that much was certain. She proceeded to perform her usual checkup, but quickly stopped as they were giving her bizzare results. She tried once again, getting completely different, yet just as bizzare results. One last try confirmed that her diagnostic spells didn't give any reliable feedback.

Dumbledore strolled through the door midway through her last checkup, looking slightly concerned for the boy's well-being.

"How is he doing Poppy?" Dumbledore asked with a sigh.

"I have no idea how he's still breathing, Albus. When he appeared in the Great Hall he had a six-inch wide hole in his chest that passed through both of his lungs and even part of his heart. By all means, he should've been dead by the time I arrived in the room." She said grimly. This seemed to pique Dumbledore's interest, but he didn't say anything.

"What really amazes me is how fast he's healing," She continued. "The hole in his chest is closing so fast that you can watch it if you concentrate hard enough, and his pulse is only getting stronger. None of my diagnostic spells are working on him, either, so I won't know if there's any internal damage or bleeding. At the rate he's healing though, I don't think it matters much." She finished, fussing over the form of the young boy. When her diagnostics failed once again, she took a seat next to the bed and gazed at the mysterious figure before her. The hole in his chest was almost gone by now, that was something good.

"I can't help but wonder what he went through to receive wounds like that…" She near whispered. The boy amazed her, that was for certain, and with the way he was healing, he wouldn't even need any help, but she couldn't help but be worried.

Naruto on the other hand felt like shit. That was really all he could think of at the moment. His entire body was in pain, but his chest felt like Sasuke had shoved another Chidori through his chest, only it hurt a lot more. He could feel the Kyūbi's chakra accelerating his regeneration, but it was taking a while. After several moments his sense of touch came back partially and he would've cried out in pain if he had been able to, but his body seemed to be frozen and wouldn't respond.

After a couple minutes (or were they seconds?), the pain lessened a great deal and he was able gather that he was lying on something soft, most likely a bed. Was he back in Konoha?

His sense of hearing was the next to come back, as he picked out the faint sounds of voices near him. From what he could tell, there were two others in the room, a man and a woman, but he couldn't understand them yet, they were muffled.

He was able to discern the sound of a door opening and several other voices entering the room before his senses came back completely. The feeling of pain in his chest suddenly worsened… considerably. He arched his back and let out an ear-shattering roar of agony before tumbling off the bed and opening his eyes. He heard a few screams – both female – and got to his hands and knees, looking over the low bed he had been laying on at the other occupants of the room and trying to ignore the pain in his chest, which was steadily lessening, though only a little at a time.

There were six people. One elderly man, who radiated an aura of calm and serene, and a not-so-elderly-but-still-old woman who was sitting next to the bed he had been laying on. He assumed these were the two he had heard before, as the other four were positioned near the door.

There were four people who looked about the same age as him, maybe a little younger. Two girls and two boys. The two boys each had some sort of wooden stick out and pointed at him, presumably weapons of some sort judging from the looks they were giving him. Did they really think that wooden sticks would do anything? The two girls were the ones who had screamed. A bushy-haired brunette, who was in the process of getting a wooden stick out (seriously? Sticks?), and a redhead, who looked more concerned for his health than suspicious of him, though it was definitely there.

One thing was certain: Naruto was definitely not in Konoha. He had never seen anyone like these six in Konoha, they were all wearing robes of some kind, and he hadn't seen any stone buildings. Also, judging by the view out the window, they were pretty high up. The only structure that tall was the Hokage Tower, and he definitely wasn't there.

As such, Naruto was cautious of the other occupants. When the older man moved towards him, he jumped up and whipped out a kunai from his leg pocket, brandishing it in a reverse grip and telling the man to keep his distance.

They looked at him like he was crazy. The old woman said something that sounded like jibberish to the man, and he nodded his head. They must have communicated, perhaps a different language?

The old man raised his wooden stick and Naruto got into a ready stance, just in case the old man was stronger than he looked.

The man just raised his other hand in a calming motion and then held his hands up in the universal 'I'm not looking for trouble' gesture. Naruto lowered his guard a little but still gave the man a cautious look – deception was fairly common in Naruto's line of work.

The man raised his wooden stick again, said something in the foreign language, and Naruto felt a tingle go up and down his body. He raised his kunai again, alerting the other two boys in the room and causing them to brandish their strange weapons and the two girls to shrink back a little.

"What was that? What did you just do to me?" Naruto nearly shouted, brandishing his kunai at the old man who was pointing his wooden weapon at him. His eyes widened and he blinked when he spoke in the same language that the man had moments ago and was able to understand himself.

"Yes, yes, that's much better," The man mumbled to himself. "Now we'll be able to communicate without any trouble." The man said to Naruto calmly. Naruto still held his kunai up, not trusting any of the other occupants of the room.

"How can we understand him, Proffesor Dumbledore?" The readheaded girl said quietly. She seemed intimidated by Naruto.

"I cast a translation spell on him so that we could communicate. He appeared to be speaking some form of Japanese though, so any words that do not have an equivalent in English will remain untranslated," The man – now identified as Dumbledore (What kind of a name was that?) – replied.

A translator spell? He could only assume from the context that that translated one language into another language so that others could understand him, but what the hell was he talking about? All he did was wave a stick around and mumble something!

Actually, when he thought about it, ninja could make a few handsigns and spew out a fireball or hold lightning in their hands, so who's to say these people couldn't do something just as crazy?

"I am Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry… but you may call me Dumbledore." Dumbledore said.

Holy shit. That was a long name! What the hell was a Mugwump? School of Witchcraft and Wizardry… well that explained the whole 'wooden sticks' thing, they must be their wands or something of that nature, he had read fairytales with witches and wizards when he was a child.

"Next to me is Madame Pomfrey, the matron of the school and the one who took you here when you arrived… and you did arrive rather spectacularly, I might add." He said with a misceivious look and a twinkle in his eye.

That made Naruto remember what had happened at the Valley of the End. He and Sasuke had clashed, there was a bright flash and a huge boom, and then… he was here. That was all he could remember. He put it out of his mind for the moment. There were more important things at hand.

"And behind me," Dumbledore continued. "are four of our promising young students." He smiled at the four near the door. "Come forward and introduce yourselves, don't be shy." He said with that same twinkle he had seen earlier.

One of the boys came forward first, a redheaded one. He and the younger girl must have been related, the likeness was uncanny.

"I'm Ron Weasley, nice to meet you." He said, holding his hand out. He seemed guarded, as was Naruto, and he still had his wand out in his other hand, but he seemed willing to try a peaceful option. Apparently Dumbledore had a lot of authority. Either that or they trusted him greatly.

Naruto holstered his kunai – though he kept his leg pouch unclasped, just in case – and took Ron's hand and shook it firmly. "Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you too." He said with one of his cheerful smiles. The boy seemed to relax a little as he did so, and the second boy came up next, in the same manner as Ron.

"Harry Potter, nice to make your aquaintance." He shooked hands with this boy as well and smiled once again before looking past at the two girls still near the door. The brunette looked a little apprehensive about approaching him, and the redheaded girl looked a little shy.

"Well come on, I'm not going to bite!" He said with another smile. The redhead seemed to gather some confidence at this and approached him before holding out her hand. "My name is Ginny Weasley," She said. So they were related. "I'm Ron's little sister."

He took her hand and shook it. "Pleasure to meet you." She beamed. So much for being shy.

The brunette was the last to approach him, but she didn't seem to trust him entirely. Still, she approached him and stuck out her hand like the others. "I'm Hermione Granger."

He shook her hand and smiled once more, which seemed to relax her a little, but she still seemed cautious. The other three were a bit more relaxed, though they still seemed a little on guard.

Madame Pomfrey seemed ready to burst as they finished introductions. When the last word was uttered, she gestured from Naruto to the bed.

"Now that that's out of the way, lie down! That yell wasn't a very pleasant one and I need to make sure you haven't worsened your wounds." She practically ordered.

Naruto hesitantly got onto the bed. The matron fussed over him for several seconds and waved her wand a few times before frowning. "Well, my diagnostic spells still aren't working… Something is interfering and it can't get to your magical signature."

Magical signature? What was that?

She opened the rip in his jumpsuit a little and gazed at his chest, making Naruto feel slightly uncomfortable. The redheaded girl blushed and looked away quickly, getting a chuckle from Dumbledore. The other three kids stared at him wide-eyed, as Madame Pomfrey sighed.

"Just as I thought, the wound in your chest is almost completely gone, all that's left is a scar over your heart. Though I don't remember the wound being so close to it…" She trailed off. At that, the redhead turned and took a peek at Naruto, her eyes widening along with the others as they all saw his woundless chest that only an hour ago had a six inch hole in it.

"Actually…" Naruto started. "That scar is from something else," He said a little hesistantly.

The younger occupants of the room gave him surprised looks.

"In any case, your regenerative capabilities are amazing." She said, giving him a curious look.

"Yeah, well…" Naruto started with a grim look. "I'm not entirely normal."

"That much is certain," The matron replied. "Do you mind explaining?" She said, giving him an expectant look.

"I'd… really rather not…" He said quietly. The matron looked ready to protest when Dumbledore broke in.

"You don't have to tell us your secrets if you don't wish to. Poppy, does he have your permission to leave?" He asked, earning a grateful look from Naruto.

"Well… if the wound in his chest healed that fast, anything else should've been healed by now, but I don't feel comfortable letting him out just yet. I'd like him to stay in the hospital ward tonight." She responded.

"Very well then," Dumbledore said with a nod. "Now that that's out of the way, what are your four doing up here this late? You're supposed to be in your common rooms." He said to the four pre-teens gathered at the foot of Naruto's bed, another miscievious twinkle in his eye.

Ginny rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "It was kinda my idea Professor Dumbledore…" She said with a nervous chuckle. "I wanted to see how he was doing. I was kinda worried about him…"

That made Naruto blink. A complete stranger was worried about him? Dumbledore chuckled again.

"Well, in any case, I think it's about time you got back to the Griffindor Common Room," He suggested.

The four exited the room, closing the door just as Dumbledore turned to Naruto.

"Now then, mister Uzumaki… I believe we have some things to discuss…" He said, leaving no illusion that Naruto had a choice.

"Yeah, yeah, old man, just sit down, this might take a while…"

Dumbledore chuckled once again and took a seat next to the bed, Madame Pomfrey listening intently as he began his story.

/~{~(~)~}~\

"What do you think Dumbledore will do with Naruto?" Ginny whispered to the others on their way back to the Griffindor Common Room. She seemed kind of excited. The mysterious boy didn't seem all that bad to her, though Hermione seemed convinced that he was evil, or something. Thankfully, the two boys in the group didn't seem to dislike him… they seemed more indifferent than anything else.

"I'm not so sure what to think of him… we still don't know if he's a dark wizard or not." Hermione said stubbornly.

"Well, Dumbledore seems to trust him, so I'll give him a chance." Harry replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, he seems like a good enough guy." Ron added, causing Hermione to give the two a slight glare. She still didn't trust him, but if Dumbledore said it was OK, then she'd just have to deal with it.

They gave the Fat Lady the password and proceeded into their respective dorms, ready for a good nights sleep after the events of the last few hours.

/~{~(~)~}~\

"So let me get this straight… I'm in a place, where the magical populace hides from the non-magical populace, and wizards and witches use magic to solve their daily problems," Naruto said, getting a nod from Dumbledore. "You're the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where people all over the country of Britain go to develop their magical skills," Another nod. "And you've never heard of the Elemental Countries or The Leaf Village, you've never seen a ninja, and you've never seen ninjutsu," Yet another nod.

Naruto had just finished a rough explanation of his life, (Well, most of it. The Kyūbi was a touchy subject that he had skirted around, though if Dumbledore noticed, he thankfully didn't say anything) and had received a rough explanation about the wizarding world from Dumbledore in return, as well as a description of how he had entered this world – which Naruto had to say, sounded kind of badass.

Whatever had happened at the Valley of the End must have transported him to another world or another dimension or something like that, because there was no way he was still in the Elemental Countries.

"Well, since you seem to be stuck here, I believe we should make the best of the situation. I can allow you to attend several of our classes if you wish, though you may not be able to perform any magic at the moment, seeing as you do not have a wand… though you say that you perform these 'jutsu' using only hand seals?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Yeah, the hand seals are used to channel chakra into certain shapes or molds in order to make it easier to perform jutsu. If you get good enough at it you don't need to make as many handseals, sometimes none at all, but that's a lot harder. I can only do that with a few jutsu." He said, grinning and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Well… in that case you may be able to perform some magic without a wand, though we will still need to get you a wand – that is, if you can perform magic at all." Dumbledore said, getting Naruto's hopes up slightly. "If you don't have any objections, would you mind giving me a demonstration of these jutsu you have?" He asked politely.

"Sure, but you'll need to show me some magic afterwards!" Naruto said excitedly, enticing a chuckle from both Dumbledore and the matron who had been silent for the most part.

He moved to the middle of the room – for more space – and made a couple hand signs, calling out 'Henge!' before a puff of smoke engulfed him, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Dumbledore and a concerned look from Pomfrey.

When the smoke cleared, Dumbledore's eyes widened and Pomfrey did a double take. In Naruto's place was an exact replica of Dumbledore, robes, wand, beard, half-moon spectacles and all.

"Wha-what?" Pomfrey managed to stutter out. They was another poof of smoke and when it cleared a widely grinning Naruto could be seen standing there once again.

"Remarkable…" Dumbledore said quietly. "It's seems similar to a Polyjuice potion in nature, but is much faster…" Upon seeing Naruto's confused look, he elaborated. "A Polyjuice potion is a potion that – with a sample of someones DNA, such as a hair – transforms the drinker to look exactly like that person, down to their DNA and magical signature. It only works for one hour, however, and takes about a month to brew." This earned an understanding nod from Naruto. The Henge was much more practical for everday or on-the-fly use.

"Well, the henge is kinda like that, but it doesn't copy DNA, it just copies appearance. Anyone with enough skill can detect it and see through it, though that's pretty unlikely if there are no ninja here." Naruto said with a sheepish grin. "OK, next one!" He said excitedly, earning a silent nod from Dumbledore.

He made a few more handseals, calling out 'Kawarimi!' and suddenly Dumbledore was standing where Naruto had been. Pomfrey almost thought that it was the same as the first until she realized that Naruto was now standing next to her instead of Dumbledore.

"My word, these jutsu could certainly be useful," Dumbledore said wonderously, getting a prideful smile from Naruto.

"That was the Kawarimi, a replacement technique that lets a ninja switch places with an object or person," He said, reciting the description from the academy. "You can switch with any object, but objects that are similar in size and shape are much easier to switch with. If you think that's cool, just wait until you see the next one!" He nearly yelled in excitement. Showing off to people was fun!

He and Dumbledore switch places – normally this time – and Naruto made a single handsign before calling out 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!' and creating another, much, much larger puff of smoke that engulfed the whole room.

Dumbledore Scourgified the air, causing most of the smoke to vanish, only to widen his eyes in actual shock, his calm façade broken for a second. Pomfrey actually cried out in shock as she looked around to see the entire room was filled with Naruto's!

"What's wrong?" They all said in unison, a smug grin on each face.

"W-what are these?" Dumbledore said, recovering from his shock slightly. "Illusions?"

"Nope!" The copies once again said in unison. A single Naruto stepped through the crowd to speak to the two. "They're solid clones! The Kage Bunshin lets me create clones of myself that can physically interact with whatever's around them." He said, several of the clones proving his point by poking Dumbledore and laughing.

The clones then disappeared in puffs of smoke, and Dumbledore was forced to Scourgify the room again. When the smoke cleared a single Naruto was once again standing in the middle of the room, a wide smile on his face.

"So? What did you think? I've got two more, but they're a lot more destructive and you'd probably need to rebuild part of the castle if I performed them here." He said, nearly bursting with anticipation.

"Those are certainly very unique and powerful techniques, Naruto, even more so than many of the spells that exist in the wizarding world. The ability to clone oneself has been sought out for centuries by various wizards and witches." He praised the boy.

"So are you going to show me some magic now?" Naruto questioned in excitement.

"Unfortunately, the hour is getting late. I know I promised to show you some magic, but you will be attending several classes tomorrow – that is, if you choose to. We will have to arrange to meet sometime and see if you can perform magic, and if I can perform these jutsu. If either of us can, the results could be… extraordinary." Dumbledore said with actual regret at not being able to demonstrate magic to the boy.

"I will give you a schedule for several of the lower years' classes and descriptions of what the classes will entail, and you can decide which classes you will attend. For now, you will sleep in the Hospital Ward, but you can decide if you want to sleep in one of the House Common Rooms at a later date. Now then, have a good night." He said with a nod of the head before heading out the door to – presumably – sleep.

Pomfrey immediately started fussing over Naruto, trying to get him into a hospital bed and to sleep. Naruto complied, slightly irritated but strangely content that someone actually cared enough to fuss over his health. The only people who had ever seemed to care that much were the Hokage, Iruka, the Teuchi's, and perhaps Kakashi-sensei, and an almost complete stranger so concerned about his health made him… happy? He wasn't sure how to describe it. Thoughts of his now un-reachable home, however, put a damper on his mood, which didn't go unnoticed by Pomfrey, who tried to comfort him by putting a hand on his shoulder before leaving for her own bed.

It was good to know someone cared.

Naruto closed his eyes, already dreaming of the amazing things he'd learn the next day.

/~{~(~)~}~\

Original Post ~ 2/14/12 ~ 6,147 words

Edited Post ~ 2/23/12 ~ 6,472 words

~A/N: Well, there's the first chapter! Several parts were a little forced, so I hope they came out right. Not entirely sure how much I'll work on this, just decided to get the first chpater out to see what people think. If people like it, I'll work on it more :P Reviews are appreciated!