140A/N: My first foray into fanfiction in over 10 years. There will not be any set schedule for updates, but I have set one goal for myself: get past the 4th chapter hump. I have historically never been able to get past it and my ADHD wins in me putting whatever I was working on hold. This time around, I've done more storyboarding and will follow the general framework of the HP series. Some changes to the timeline: Hogwarts starts at 14 instead of 11. This should be apparent as to why. If you don't understand why, don't worry, it'll become clear.
Summary: What happens when the Boy-Who-Lived meets The Cursed One? One is trying to actively face his destiny and survive. The other is actively fighting fate to make his own. They'll need to help each other if either of them wants any chance at making their dream come true.
Pairings: Harry/Ginny/Luna, Naruto/Hermione/Daphne/multiple flings, Ron/Lavender
Chapter 1: The Cursed - Part 1
To say that Harry Potter was a lucky person would be a lie. Here he was at 16 starting up his 3rd year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and already he had a few brushes with death. After leaving his aunt and uncle's house in a fit of righteous rage, he had encountered a large black dog – an omen known as a Grimm. His escape from the Grimm was expedited with the arrival of the Knight Bus, an apparent form of magical transportation for wizarding kind. Needless to say, while the trip was fairly uneventful all things considered, he had felt in peril several times before he arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and was able to lay his head down to rest thanks to a generous contribution for the Minister for Magic: Cornelius Fudge. He spent the rest of his summer in the Leaky Cauldron, venturing into Diagon Alley and experiencing a major hub of the wizarding world for an extended time and getting to absorb the culture outside of his schooling. He had purchased all of his next years' required books and supplies, and had even done something that would make Hermione proud – started studying ahead!
While staying at the Leaky Cauldron and in Diagon Alley, he had caught a glimpse of a strange individual on more than one occasion. He stood out compared to the rest of the patrons as he wore muggle clothing, but fairly fashionably – much as he and Hermione did, having been raised in the muggle world for the first 13 years of their lives. He appeared to be about his age, but was taller than himself by a few inches. He knew himself to be 5'9" and the young man had to be at least an even 6'0". While not completely out of the norm, his other features added to the air about him. He was muscled, more so than a normal 16-year-old, but not overly so. Combine his build with his height and he cast quite the imposing figure.
His hair was sun-kissed blonde, almost yellow. Whether that could be claimed as natural or not, he wasn't sure. He wore his hair in an untamed growth of spikes that reminded him of a hedgehog. Despite his hair being a few inches in length, it defied gravity. Harry's own hair was fairly shaggy and untamed as well, but it didn't even try to defy the natural order of the world. Faint whisker-like markings were on either side of his face. Birthmarks, perhaps? But how did they get so straight and symmetrical? The most startling thing about the individual was his eyes, however. They were cerulean, and they glowed. That was definitely not natural. He only knew this however because he had seen him once without the ever-present sunglasses that he wore. That piece of fashion alone made Harry think this bloke was from the States.
Despite the attention-drawing appearance, he mostly tried to stay to himself. The air about him seemed a bit melancholic. Harry respected the air about him and decided that he would keep to himself as well.
As the end of the summer holidays arrived, Harry was met by both of his best friends and their families. Catching up with them both, he got to hear in-person about their trips – Hermione's to France, and Ron's to Egypt. They also all collected their last-minute items that they wanted to get. One of which was a cat that Hermione had to have, which she affectionately named Crookshanks. Ron did not appreciate the cat as from the get-go the cat seemed to have a fatal attraction to Ron's old pet rat, Scabbers. And while Ron over the last few years had complained about his old rat, that didn't mean he wished death upon the small creature. More than once Harry attempted to broach the subject of the strange teen, however he couldn't find him again, he decided that he would wait until the morning and their train ride to bring him up.
The next morning saw the trio of students searching for a cabin aboard the Hogwarts Express. After a weird send off by Arthur Weasley, warning the trio - but especially Harry - not to search for the escaped Sirius Black, the three found themselves as some of the last to be seated. After searching for an unoccupied cabin which was a fruitless endeavor, the found a minimally-occupied one. Two individuals in a normally 8-person cabin. Both were sat by the window, and both were sound asleep. The first was a man in what appeared to be his mid-late 30s. His clothing looked well-worn, and he was using his coat as a make-shift blanket. He was sat back in his seat, upright and using the decorative padding on the walls as his pillow.
The other figure was the teen that Harry had encountered in the Leaky Cauldron. Unlike his sleeping counterpart, he was slouched down in his seat. His mouth drooped open and light snores could be heard coming from his lips. The sunglasses in their place obscured if he was faking it. In contrast to the last time that Harry had seen him, he was now adorned in Hogwarts attire, it was however missing the trimming and crest of any of the houses. As the trio decided that this would be their best bet for seating on their trip, they entered the cabin. Ron posted up on the seats beside the older sleeping wizard. Hermione and Harry sat on the opposite side, with Harry sitting closer to the door, and Hermione sitting between him and the sleeping student.
Hermione was the first to notice that Harry seemed a bit apprehensive and decided to address it, "What's wrong, Harry?"
"Nothing's wrong, it's just… That sleeping student," he gestured across himself and Hermione, drawing hers and Ron's attention to him, "I saw him during my stay at the Leaky Cauldron. He's peculiar."
His best friends sized the sleeping boy up, not seeing a whole lot to support Harry's claim. "How so?" his red-headed best friend asked, turning back to Harry, after having deemed the boy not worthy of his time.
"I'm not exactly sure how to express it, but he… He just stood out," Harry grasped at straws. "Despite me being around him for four weeks, I never heard him speak, never saw him do much more than walk about Diagon Alley or eat at the Cauldron. He seemed to keep his distance from everyone around him and was sad all the time."
Hermione listened to her friend's words as she kept on sizing the young man up. Her opinion on his features were that they were very pleasing to her. He had a strong jaw line, and a defined nose. She was very intrigued by his whisker markings since she was a fan of cats. She was just as shocked as Harry about his hair – both the color and style. "Sure he looks a little unique, but that's most of the wizarding world. And we don't know his story, so we can't judge his mood either."
Harry held up his hands in a placating manner as Hermione turned back to the two boys. "Hey, I agree, I'm just stating my observations of the last 4 weeks. Oh!" he interjected his own statement. "I just remembered because I only saw it once, but his eyes glow."
Now that caught the other two's attention. "Glow?" Ron asked, his face screwed up in confusion.
"I think it's why he wears those sunglasses. So the muggles can't see it."
"What do you mean his eyes glow?" Hermione said as she turned back to the sleeping young man, attempting to see for herself if Harry's claim is real.
"Just like I said, his eyes glow. They're blue and they glow a bright cerulean."
"Bloody hell. What do you think would cause that?" Ron asked, but dipped his voice lower as he realized they had gotten a bit loud as the man next to him shifted in his sleep, indicating he wasn't fully asleep anymore.
Hermione, ever the bookworm was the first to speak up, her tone hushed as well, "There are a few different reasons that could be the case. He could have glamoured his eyes, it could be the result of a curse, a spell back-fire, it could even be hereditary."
All three lapsed into a contemplative silence for a few moments, only to be broken out of it by Ron, "Guess we'll have to wait until he wakes up to ask him then."
"Don't be rude, Ronald," Hermione chastised.
The three then switched topics from their cabin-mate for the trip. They turned to more mundane topics. When the trolley came around, they purchased a bunch of junk food to split between them to hopefully make the trip go by faster. Eventually when they were about an hour from Hogsmeade the topic changed to the hottest discussion topic: Sirius Black. Over hushed tones they discussed the escaped prisoner, Ron and Hermione providing Harry with more insight. Their discussion was interrupted as the Hogwarts Express started to noticeably slow down and the brakes squealed in protest, attempting to halt its forward momentum.
"We can't be at Hogsmeade already," Hermione remarked as she attempted to glance out of the windows towards the front of the train, but she wasn't able to as she didn't want to disturb the two still-sleeping cabin mates. Harry and Ron shared a look before they opened the cabin door and looked out into the hall, noticing other heads poking out of the other compartments looking just as confused. As the Hogwarts express finally screeched to a full stop and the sound of the air brakes letting their pressure out signified that they were at a complete stop. Withdrawing back into their cabin the three shared a look between them. A silent conversation, with Ron dissenting and shaking his head that it is a bad idea had Harry and Hermione start to rise to their feet only to stop, frozen in place. An unsettling air started to pervade through the train car. And with it, an intense cold that started to frost up the windows came with it.
The trio looked at each other as they heard the sound of the exterior doors open. Ron's face was a rictus of fear, staring at Hermione and Harry. Harry swallowed stiffly and leaned back out the still open compartment door, looking both ways down the middle aisle of the train car. As he looked at the end of the aisle, he noted that none of the other compartments were opened any longer. Just as he was about to turn away and report his observations to his friends, his eyes saw a long, decayed-looking hand reach from where the exit of the train was and grasp a handrail. Harry immediately drew back into the compartment, and almost slammed the door shut in fear. He scooted down the bench seat away from the door, bumping into Hermione, who also scooted closer to the sleeping teen. Ron did the same on his side, following their movements away from the door.
Hermione and Ron looked to Harry for an explanation, but he was not forthcoming as he stared at the door and shook his head minorly as if trying to tell whatever it was that he saw that he didn't want any trouble. All three watched through the glass partitions as a towering shadow started to make its way down the aisle slowly. Ron's breathing became louder as he started to almost hyperventilate as they watched this dark shadow come even with their compartment and start to pass. As it was passing, Harry felt a stabbing pain from his scar and clenched his jaw and closed one eye in pain. He saw the shadow stop, and it appeared that it turned to face their cabin. That theory proved true as it reversed course and came to their cabin door.
The trio of friends watched in horror as the handle for the latch jiggled a little before whatever it was on the other side pushed the handle down, releasing the latch and allowing it to pull the door open. As the door slid to the side the trio were greeted with the sight of what they would learn shortly as a Dementor. An ancient, evil creature that served as the wardens and jailers of the wizarding prison Azkaban. It didn't stand on the ground, but it did brace its upper body on either side of the cabin doorway as it leaned in to survey the occupants. As soon as the shrouded face landed on Harry, the intense pain in his scar throbbed again. The pain was so great that he could only watch in horror as the Dementor came closer and closer, it's decayed right hand reaching out to touch him. Hermione gripped his shoulders tighter, not willing to let him go despite her eyes being fixed, unblinkingly and even more pale than she normally is.
As the pain in Harry's head reached its crescendo and it appeared that he Dementor was about to kiss him, movement exploded in the cabin. Both previously sleeping occupants were now in motion. The man behind Ron was halfway through drawing his wand, the start of a spell on his lips, his eyes serious in their gaze. However, that was still slow compared to the other student. Hermione didn't blink, but she saw him appear between her and Harry and the Dementor. And it was not a spell on his lips, or a wand in his hand that met the Dementor.
"Begone, foul creature!" his voice a gravelly baritone that carried over the cabin as from his closed fist that was barreling toward the Dementor a bright light surrounded it and a shining nine-tailed fox erupted out and latched onto the neck of the Dementor with its jaw and forcibly carried it away from the-boy-who-lived and back into the aisle of the train car. The otherworldly shriek of pain and fear of the Dementor was the last thing that Harry heard before he passed out.
It was only for a few minutes that Harry was out, but upon waking, he found himself on the floor of their cabin, his head propped up by the wadded up coat that the older man had been using as his blanket. He was also being examined by said man. He could see Ron and Hermione both looking down at him in shock, and the side profile of the unnamed student standing out in the aisle of the train as he could feel the train rumbling to start moving again.
"Easy now, Harry, that was quite the ordeal you just went through," the older man said. He reached out to the pile of leftover junk food and grabbed some chocolate, before unwrapping it and pressing it into his hand. "Here, eat this chocolate it'll help."
Following the advice of the older man, he took a bite and almost immediately he started to feel warmth spread back to his limbs and the throbbing in his head started to ease. He started to get back up, helped by the unnamed man and Hermione back into his seat. "How do you know my name?"
An amused smirk and small chuckle escaped the man's lips, "Everyone my age knows who Harry Potter is." The man swapped spots with Ron, so he could sit and face Harry. He looked like he was about to speak when the unnamed student came back into the compartment, sliding the door closed behind him.
"That's one hell of a way to wake up," his gravelly baritone carried into the compartment. It was then that they all noticed that he didn't have an English accent, nor Irish. He had an American accent. He moved back over to his spot on the other side of Hermione and sat down heavily, a sigh escaping his lips. "Not much sense to go back to sleep." His covered eyes surveyed the other 4 occupants of the cabin. "Y'all okay? No one was hurt because of that evil thing were ya?"
"N-no, I don't believe so," the unnamed man spoke up uncertainly at the boisterous American in their midst.
"Awesome. So who're all of you?" he asked as he turned his head to survey everyone, who all had their eyes fixed on him.
"Ah, forgive our manners," the adult said clearing his throat. "I'm Remus Lupin, soon to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts this year. Pleased to make your acquaintance," he held out his hand for a handshake, which was eagerly accepted.
"Nice to meet ya! My name's Naruto Uzumaki," the now-named Naruto grinned before surveying the other occupants.
"Ron Weasley," Ron said, holding his hand out and was surprised by how strong of a grip the foreigner had.
"Nice to meet you, Ron."
"Harry Potter," Harry said holding his hand out, and getting the same handshake. "Thanks for the save back there."
"No worries, Harry. Least I could do," the blonde scratched the back of his head with his unoccupied hand as they broke the handshake.
Finally, the last occupant made their introduction, "Hermione Granger, nice to meet you." As with the men, she also received a handshake, but she was surprised by how gentle it was, despite the rough, callused hands that he possessed.
"The pleasure is all mine," he smiled back, releasing her hand.
"Was that wandless and incantation-less magic that you performed just now?" Hermione asked. "And is your name Chinese?"
Naruto just chuckled with a grin. He reached to his face and pulled the sunglasses off his face and held them in his right hand. He opened his eyes showing off that tell-tale feature. Harry had been right, his eyes did glow! They were also faintly almond-shaped, indicative of an East-Asian heritage. "Close, it's actually Japanese. And yes, your observations were right," he said as the sunglasses in his hand just disappeared, banished to his trunk."
The trio were stunned speechless, and Lupin was surprised as well. "That's incredible. Incantation-less magic isn't unheard of, and neither is wandless magic. But to do both, and at your age. You must truly be a prodigy of magic."
"Haha! Nah, nothing of the sort. I just work super hard to learn it! I've been practicing magic since I was four after all!" Naruto grinned.
"Four?!" was the shocked shout of the trio.
"That shouldn't be possible," Lupin said stunned. "There's restrictions on magic by all magical governing bodies. You can only start learning magic at the age that your government allows. For us in England, that's fourteen. I'm pretty sure that it's the same in the States as well."
Naruto nodded in agreement. "You're absolutely right, but I didn't grow up in the States alone. I grew up in Japan and went to school in the States. Over there, they start schooling at seven. But if you're from a prominent family, your folks can start teaching you whenever they want. That's kind of the same in the States as well, but that also depends on the state, and even then local ordinance… It's complicated over there, y'know!"
This stunned the English residents. And one let his disbelief and frustration be known. "Well, it sounds like the Ministry is giving us the shaft," the sole redhead intoned.
"Don't be so crass, Ron!" Hermione scolded. "Though, I can't help but agree to an extent. It would make sense that your parents should be able to instruct you in the privacy of their own homes without the government stepping in."
"It works out great, in my opinion! I will say that the testing standards in Japan are brutal though! Plus they're very stringent on their rules. You can get expelled for some of the most stupid reasons, let me tell ya," Naruto crossed his arms with an annoyed look on his face.
"So, why are you coming to Hogwarts then? And why do you speak with an American accent if you grew up in Japan?" Harry asked.
"And not to be rude," Ron jumped in, "but you don't really look Japanese."
Hermione was appalled by the rudeness of her best friends and turned to Naruto. "I am so sorry for these dunderheads' manners. Harry was raised by his aunt and uncle who were not supportive, but despite Molly's best attempts, her son seems to have grown up feral."
"Oy!" Ron cried indignantly.
Naruto just held back his laughter, albeit poorly. "No offense taken. You'd be surprised how often that gets brought up. Well, that and my eyes."
Hermione blushed a bit since that was her major point of curiosity. "I was intrigued by that as well," she mumbled out.
"It's a bit of a long story, you'll need a bit of my history for it to make sense. But I only share that story with my friends," he stated with a flippant hand gesture that ended with him pointing in a random direction. "So I gotta ask. You guys wanna be my friends?"
They were shocked at the blasé way of asking them to be his friends. The trio looked at each other before Harry as the respondent just chuckled, "Sure, we'd love to be your friends."
Naruto smiled at making his first official friends in England. "Well, alright. Get comfy, it's gonna take a while."
End Chapter 1
A/N: Slight cliffhanger here. Next chapter will be a lot of exposition, summarization, and a general look into the history of Naruto that I have created. Before I go, I want to explain a concept that I came up with.
Since I'm essentially doing a non-ninja Naruto, I had to come up with something that separates him from the normal witches and wizards. And that is a concept I'm calling physical casting. It's a thing that a lot of the Japanese wizarding families learn to practice. Reason being is that in my world Japan's witches and wizards do a lot of work in the muggle world and mostly against mythical creatures and spirits. Therefore to make their job easier, they extensively practice wandless magic and instead incorporate it into martial arts. Most of them can only cast through their hands, and generally only their dominant hand. However, there are some out there that are a bit more adept. I'm going to be taking A LOT of liberties with the Japanese wizarding world as well as the American side as well. There will be some deus ex machina-esque things that hopefully don't turn you off from the experience as a whole.
Lastly, I won't be doing any bashing or things of that nature, to me that's immaturity. And authors like myself, who have been here for years and still do it – pretty sure we can all name some that we're sick of seeing posting that kind of thing all the time – really tend to tick me off. There are authors on this site that get thousands of reviews and I don't understand it. They write the same versions of their MCs every. Single. Time. Anyhoos, I'll get down off my soapbox. I'll see you in the next chapter.