Chapter 56: 4-4: Leadup

Disclaimer: Being neither British nor Japanese, it should therefore come as no surprise that I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto, nor anything from their respective franchises.

As he had the past two years, Iruka helped Harry 'meet up with' the Grangers on Platform 9 3/4. After all, there wouldn't be much point to hiding where Harry was living only to have him arrive at the platform every year in the same company.

Now the students were settling in for the Welcoming Feast, most of them fairly wet from the raging thunderstorm outside. He had to admit, there was something spectacular about watching the roiling purple-black clouds, forking lightning, and torrential rain through the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall while remaining comfortably warm and dry. This would probably be scant comfort to the incoming First Years taking the long way up; by the time they reached the castle, they'd probably be "drookit", as Minerva put it.

When the new crop of students arrived, they all looked like they'd missed the boats and swum across the lake. Hagrid would later relate that one of them actually had gone for a bit of a swim, falling out of his boat before being helped back in by his classmates and the Giant Squid. Given the fact that the child in question was the younger brother of Colin Creevey and seemed to share the older boy's practically Naruto-level manic energy, he probably went overboard because he just couldn't sit still.

All the extra water didn't seem to bother the Sorting Hat, and soon Hogwarts's newest class was seated among the four House tables. Once everyone had eaten their fill and the remains of the feast had been magicked away, Albus stood to give his usual start-of-term announcements. His standard cautions (banned objects, Forbidden Forest is forbidden, etc.) were related to the student body, much of which promptly ignored them. The announcement that there would be no Inter-House Quidditch Cup certainly shocked them, but the Headmaster was interrupted before could describe the competition that would be taking its place.

Thunder echoed in the Great Hall, painfully loud even through the stone walls and closed windows, and the Hall's doors slammed open. Standing in the doorway was a figure leaning on a walking staff, their features hidden beneath a long black hooded cloak. Just after another bolt of lightning illuminated him for all to see, the newcomer pulled back his hood to reveal the scarred visage of Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody to those not half-blinded by the flash. Hogwarts's newest Professor began stomping his way towards the Head Table, shocking students with their first good look at his scarred and maimed face on the next lightning strike.

Approaching Albus, he shook the Headmaster's hand as the two exchanged low words - probably a sign and countersign, given Moody's paranoia - before making his way to the vacant seat among the faculty. "May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher?" Albus said, smiling as if nothing were out of the ordinary, "Professor Moody."

Iruka clapped for his newest colleague, but Hagrid and the Headmaster were the only others to do so, the rest of the staff and students too shocked by either Moody's arrival or his appearance to do more than stare as the man tucked into his dinner.

"Certainly knows how to make an entrance," Iruka said lowly to Minerva as the students began to speak animatedly amongst themselves again.

The Deputy Headmistress just snorted. "Alastor has always had something of a flair for the dramatic," she replied diplomatically.

Albus quickly reclaimed the students' attention, and after Minerva interrupted a digression about a joke he'd heard recently proceeded to explain the basics of the Triwizard Tournament. A lot of the students were clearly excited about the competition, and more than one looked eager to try for the thousand-Galleon prize, though Iruka was pleased to see S.E.N. wearing looks of thoughtful caution.

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The students were piling into the Great Hall for dinner the next day when Iruka arrived at what looked like the tail end of one of Draco Malfoy's habitual bouts of verbal diarrhea, directed as usual at Harry his friends. The chuunin only caught "-blown herself up again lately?" directed at Luna, but it wasn't hard to guess that his current point of attack was Pandora's accident.

"How about your mum, Malfoy?" Harry cut in, "She gotten any unexpected baths recently? Then again, with you and Lucius around, she probably washes five times a day to get the slime off."

"Don't you dare insult my family, Potter." The young Slytherin's pale face was stormy.

"Keep your fat mouth shut, then," said Harry, turning away. He clearly wasn't unaware of his surroundings, though, shifting sideways as Malfoy drew his wand.

Surprisingly, the green-clad Fourth Year was able to cast whatever it was without an incantation. A white curse shot past Harry's head with a loud BANG, prompting screams from the crowd of students nearby. Professor Moody, who'd just arrived on the scene, instantly had is own wand out, and with another BANG had transfigured Malfoy into an albino ferret.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!" bellowed the scarred ex-Auror, before turning to Harry's group and the rest of the students. "Anybody hit? Everyone have someone else check you too," he called as he made his way over, "just in case he got one of you and you're just not feelin' it."

This, predictably, led to a brief susurration of panic among the children, all of whom were looking over their own bodies and those of their friends for any sign that Malfoy's curse had connected. A few of the older ones were particularly thorough, especially with their boyfriend or girlfriend. After half a minute of this, the consensus seemed to be that the current-ferret had thankfully managed to miss the entire crowd with his cast.

As the students began to calm, Moody stopped Crabbe from carrying off his presently-fuzzy classmate, and moved towards the Slytherin troublemakers. Malfoy squeaked in fright and tried to dash for the dungeons, but another jab of the Professor's wand had him propelled into the air. Gravity reasserted its hold, as usual, and the ferret fell back to the stone floor with a smack, only to bounce back up into the air as if from a trampoline.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned. Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do..." As the Defense Professor spoke, Malfoy kept bouncing, rising higher each time and beginning to squeak in distress. "Never - do - that - again -" Moody continued, punctuating each word with another bounce as the white ferret tumbled and spun in a vain attempt to somehow stop the impromptu flying lesson.

The spectacle was soon brought to an end by Minerva's arrival, though Iruka had to fight desperately to hold his laughter in when Moody answered the witch's question about what he was doing with "Teaching." The Deputy Headmistress quickly had the ferret reverted to human form; Malfoy was dizzy, disoriented, disheveled, discombobulated, and generally displeased, but other than the damage to his pride was technically unharmed.

Though the boy in question was dragged off to his Head of House by Professor Moody, before dinner had ended virtually every student in the castle had heard the tale of Draco Malfoy, the Amazing Bouncing Ferret.

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It took a couple of days, but eventually Iruka was able to catch the Weasley twins alone on a free period.

"Messrs. Weasley and Weasley, do you have a moment?"

"I'm sure we could spare a moment," "maybe even two." "What's on your mind," "Professor?"

"I noticed at the Sorting Feast how... disappointed you both were about the lack of Quidditch this year. Professor McGonagall wasn't happy either when she found out, but unfortunately the Ministry has decided that the staff will be too busy with the Tournament to also run the Quidditch Cup." The chuunin eyed the twin terrors, whose expressions quickly cycled from confusion through realization and landing on anger, proving that they were far smarter than their grades would suggest. "All that said," he continued, "it's no business of ours what students get up to on their free time, so long as nobody gets hurt and no rules are broken. It wouldn't surprise me at all if an enterprising group of students decided to arrange something to entertain themselves and others in between the Tasks, maybe as a way to make friends with those from Beaxbatons and Durmstrang."

When a young Naruto had worn a particular grin, the Academy staff tended to get worried. Seeing it in stereo... Iruka was just glad this particular bit of mischief wasn't going to be aimed at him.

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Midafternoon that Thursday, Iruka received an unexpected visit from a pale and clearly shaken student.

"Neville?" the chuunin asked in surprise, "What happened?"

The teen walked woodenly over to the chair he often occupied, while Iruka stepped around his desk to his own seat. A wave of the Professor's wand set the teapot to heating up.

"Defense class," the young Gryffindor said after a few moments, "Moody did a lesson on the Unforgiveable Curses. He didn't just talk about them, either, he... he had some spiders, and..."

"And he demonstrated all three Unforgiveables on them," Iruka finished. "That was... incredibly insensitive of him, especially since he probably worked with your parents. At the very least, there's no way he didn't know what one of those curses cost you." The chuunin also suspected that he'd be seeing Harry sooner rather than later, but wouldn't be at all surprised if the raven-haired teen had prioritized his friend over himself.

"It was just..." Neville choked out, "seeing that spider, knowing what he was doing to it, knowing people did that to my mum and dad..."

Iruka let him talk. Maybe a trained counselor might have known what to say, but really, what could you say to something like this? If there were words that could heal such a deep, old scar that had been ripped open so suddenly, he didn't know them. All he could do was listen and share what comfort he could.

It was the better part of an hour later that an emotionally exhausted Neville left his sensei's office to find the rest of S.E.N. waiting for him with sad, caring smiles. No words were exchanged, simply hugs from the girls and a clasp of the shoulder from Harry, before the group moved off.

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Harry arrived that evening, and as soon as the office door closed behind him his mask fell away to reveal the turmoil underneath. Again the student talked and the teacher listened, though in this case the fact that Harry remembered his parents' deaths meant that the reminder was much more direct. On the other hand, repeated Dementor exposure the previous year had numbed him somewhat to the memories, lessening their impact somewhat. Either way, Iruka had a bit more he could say, given his background's greater similarity to Harry's than Neville's.

Heading back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry clearly did not expect to find his friends gathered outside Iruka's office. His surprise, combined with hints of triumph from Ginny, exasperation from Hermione, and wryness from Neville, made it clear that he'd tried (and failed) to give them all the slip. Three hugs and a shoulder-clasp later, they departed.

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Unsurprisingly, the Tournament was another major topic of conversation at the next full S.E.N. meeting.

"I've been reading about it since the announcement," said Hermione, prompting fond 'of course you have' eye rolls from Harry, Neville, and Ginny. "It's a good thing they're restricting it to adult witches and wizards, and taking precautions besides. Loads of people have died competing, and even some that weren't Champions have been hurt. In the last Tournament, in 1792, the Heads of all three schools were injured when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on a rampage. It's all in-"

"Hogwarts: A History" the entire group chorused with fond, joking smiles.

Hermione huffed indignantly. "As I was saying, this time the Tournament should hopefully be much safer."

"It's as safe as the Headmaster could make it," Iruka demurred, "though the tasks are still going to be at least somewhat dangerous. If I thought it would do any good, I'd ask you to remind people how nasty it could get, but I've worked with children and teenagers long enough to know how little effect that would likely have."

"How are they choosing the Champions?" Luna asked. Her silvery eyes held none of their usual dreaminess, focusing on her sensei with her keen mind visibly running full-tilt.

"We're not supposed to say," he replied, "but what I can say is that I'll be standing by to make sure that nobody is entered against their wishes. That reminds me, Harry, would you mind if I borrowed the Marauder's Map from the evening of October 30th to after the Halloween Feast?"

"Um... sure, I guess. I know I can trust you with it, after all." Harry was nonplussed. The rest of Iruka's students looked mostly confused, though Luna showed clear relief.

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In late September, word came that Sirius Black had made his first trip out from St. Mungo's, a brief visit to Remus's cottage just to enjoy some fresh air and open, natural spaces. A week later, the two Marauders had gone to Hogsmeade for some shopping and to give Black the opportunity to acclimate to larger groups of people again, though from Remus's account all the notoriety had brought back a bit of the old Sirius, someone who reveled in attention almost as much as a young Naruto.

Their third excursion had been to the old home of the Black family in London, to determine how much and what kind of work would be needed to bring it back to habitability after years of vacancy and neglect, and to possibly check the family library in search of the spells needed to progress work on new copies of the Marauder's Map. This trip was less successful than the previous two: The Black townhouse was not only unfit for human habitation, it was barely even safe to step through the door. While the family's house-elf Kreacher was still alive, he had apparently been badly neglecting his duties in the absence of a master or mistress beyond the portrait of Walburga Black, who was apparently quite insane.

This neglect, coupled with the large quantities of Dark magic saturating the house, meant that it was not only filthy but also infested with numerous magical pests and riddled with curses. Neither wizard wanted to venture too deeply inside without backup, and it had been decided that Black would engage the services of professional cursebreakers and specialists in magical pest removal to scour the building top to bottom before he began renovations. It would be expensive, but between his inheritance and compensation from the Ministry he'd have plenty left to renovate the home after it was cleared and still live comfortably without needing to work.

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Term continued largely uneventfully through September and into October. Weekends saw an unusual number of pickup Quidditch matches, much to the delight of several staff members. If the weather was good enough, it wasn't odd to see a Professor or two marking papers or preparing lessons while sitting in the stands.

Slytherin was less well-represented than the other three Houses, but there were certainly a few fliers in green and silver; interestingly, none had been members of the official House team the previous year, the only such team not seen on the pitch. This was probably because, when the usual Slytherin players had shown up to some of the earlier games and gone into some of their usual dirty play, they were quickly ordered off the pitch by the spectating Professors. Because these weren't official games, the Quidditch rules were more relaxed but the Hogwarts rules were in full force. Roughing up fellow students in front of a staff member was certainly not approved behavior. Since there really wasn't anything to be gained, the offending players decided their time was better spent elsewhere.

Except Draco Malfoy.

The blonde bully continued to show up and demand to be placed as Seeker, particularly in any match with Harry on the other side. After a couple of games, his constant sneering, sniping, and generally bad behavior put his teammates off enough that soon nobody would pick him for their team. This left him to sulk in the stands, muttering about his father and glaring furiously at anyone and everyone outside his little retinue.

Back on the pitch, without the pressure of an official Quidditch Cup to win and no effect on the House Cup standings for score, most of the pickup games were noticeably friendlier and less aggressively competitive than usual, even between players from Slytherin and Gryffindor. Students were having more frequent friendly interactions with those from other Houses, and by late October there'd been a slight but definite dip in the number of inter-House incidents (other than those perpetrated by Malfoy and those in his orbit). Divisions built up over nearly a millennium of separation and acrimony weren't going to be brought down in a week, a month, a year, or probably even a generation, but all of Hogwarts' staff were grateful for the improvement in discipline, especially with visitors coming.

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In the last week of October, Iruka learned from his students that the Fourth-Year Defense classes had been subjected to the Imperius Curse. Of all the children in Harry's class, only Harry had been able to throw the curse off entirely by the end of the lesson. Neville and Hermione had managed some resistance, enough that they wouldn't pass for normal, but even that had required repeated exposure. Apparently being subjected to the Imperius enough could train one's resistance, something Iruka resolved to ask Moody about when the opportunity arose.

First, though, he had questions and both hoped and expected that Albus had answers. This was why he was once again entering the Headmaster's Office.

"Ah, Iruka," the elder wizard greeted him, "do come in. Given the timing of your visit, I'm guessing that you've just heard about Alastor's most recent lesson for the Fourth-Years?"

A bit of tension left Iruka at that query. "So he did have permission for that, then? We don't have to worry about Aurors showing up to drag the latest Defense Professor out before even Halloween?"

"Indeed he did", Albus said with a reassuring smile. "Given the level of success he achieved during his career, his old department at the Ministry was quite willing to accommodate his request."

"That explains the 'how'," the chuunin replied, "and anyone who knows the man can guess the 'why' from his angle. Now the question is, what was your reason for allowing it? Everything I've seen shows that you try your hardest to shield the children from the uglier parts of the world, to let them be young and carefree while they can. Why- of course... Snape's darkening Mark, Harry's dream, the riot and Dark Mark at the World Cup... you're worried something's coming."

The Headmaster nodded tiredly. "When a person has seen and experienced enough, they tend to develop a sort of sense for such things, a feel for the flows and patterns of events in the world. I look at the signs you described, and I am far more than worried. While I have long suspected that Lord Voldemort would return, I had hoped that there would be more time to prepare, especially in young Harry's case. Given the looming potential threat, it is necessary that the older students learn as much as Alastor can teach them about surviving an attack from Dark wizards. His lessons on the Unforgiveables may be harsh, but if we are very fortunate they may be shocking enough to some of the more sheltered children from - shall we say 'certain old families'? - to help them realize that becoming a Death Eater might not be as wonderful as they have previously imagined. If even one child chooses a better path in life, I would count that a success."

"The best victories are the ones where you don't have to fight," Iruka agreed.

Defense Teacher Omake

Source: BabylonRanger on AO3

Teacher: Rita Skeeter

Reason for Leaving: Caught in a spiderweb

A/N: "Drookit" means "soaked to the skin" in Scots Gaelic. Just a little tidbit picked up from reading Harry Crow.

Normally I loathe contriving ways to force events back onto canon rails (along with fics that do so), but I just couldn't bear to not include Draco Malfoy the Incredible Bouncing Ferret. Let's justify it by saying the little twerp would have antagonized Harry regardless - after all, he'd pretty much gone without for the whole summer, so he was probably really pent-up, and... and the Harry/Draco shippers just checked out. I could have probably phrased that better.

A bit more quoting from and paraphrasing of the book than I like this chapter, but similar characters in similar circumstances are likely to say similar things. Don't worry, things should start going further off the rails very shortly.

Fic Recommendation: "Snowstorm" by ImaginaryNumber - a Burn Notice / Person of Interest crossover, where the Miami crew end up in New York and trouble comes with them.

Posted 21 April 2019

Current WIP Chapter: 72