Pridian Moon

Nearly six months after the sacrifice of the Yondaime and the sealing of the Kyuubi, the newly reinstated Sandaime of Konoha is worried. After signing a shaky treaty with its neighboring countries, Konoha is safe for the time being and finally out of wartime. How long the peace will last, no one knows, but Sandaime has a decision to make all the same. One of his best operatives is being hunted by a merciless traitor, while the shadows of his own home drive him slowly mad. Sandaime knows the only way to keep this operative safe is to send him far away, to a land of wizards and dragons and magic.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto" or anything therein. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Nor do I own Harry Potter or anything therein; all rights belong to J.K. Rowling.

Warnings: This fic contains violence, swearing, and dark themes/thoughts. If any of that offends you, do the smart thing and don't read.

Author's Note: Yep. Another Kakashi story. I'm afraid I'm rather addicted to them. Anyhow, this is a mildly AU story. It contains non-canon wars and conflicts of the Naruto-verse, and although I have attempted not to deviate dramatically from the Harry Potter canon, some changes to the plot are necessary. But I'm sure you don't mind. Finally, although this story is set in the Harry Potter world, it is primarily a Kakashi-centric fic dealing with his struggles and conflicts, however, I have attempted to balance this by not stealing center stage from Harry Potter characters where it is due. Also, beware of flagrant Kakashi-Gaiden spoilers.

Read and review, please and thank you!

Chapter 1: Sandaime's Request

Albus Dumbledore smiled at the parchment in his hands, unable to conceal his delight. It had been more than a year since his old friend in the Far East had written; he was beginning to worry that he was dead, and his village destroyed. The last letter had been grim indeed, with much talk of war and killing and rumors of a deadly shadow descending upon Konoha. The aged headmaster's fingers ran across the green wax seal, inscribed with the symbol of Konoha, and he hoped that this time the news would be slightly happier. He spread the parchment out across his desk and began to read his old friend's correspondence:

My dear friend Albus:

How are you? I do hope you and your most excellent school is faring well.

My, my, it has been quite awhile, hasn't it? Has it already been so long? I'm beginning to lose track of time, I suppose. I'm getting far too old for this job. Yes, I am indeed still puttering about in this office of Hokage, my young replacement tragically met with his demise only months after taking the position. The demon Kyuubi of the Nine Tails attacked our village and my replacement gave his life in order to seal the monster inside his own newborn son. It was a catastrophe, of course, the village will take years to heal, and we have all lost a great man and an excellent Hokage.

But alas. I've already gotten off topic. You'll be happy to learn that just weeks ago I signed a peace treaty with our rival nations, though I doubt the peace will hold for long. My shinobi don't quite know what to do with themselves now that peace has been restored to Konoha. Many of them have been fighting all their lives. Sometimes I think a whole generation has been lost to this war. But they're happy, finally. Finally I can see joy in this village, after so many years of war. The younger ones don't realize that it probably won't last long, and I don't have the heart to tell them.

I'll get to the point, I suppose. I have a favor to ask of you, Albus. Surely you remember the betrayal of Konoha by my old student, Orochimaru? I don't recall whether or not I mentioned this, but he has had an intense interest in one of my younger operatives for many years now. This particular young man was the Yondaime's own protégé, and while the Yondaime was alive he and I put much effort into protecting the boy from my former pupil's grasps. But now that Yondaime is dead, Orochimaru has once again taken up active pursuit of the boy, and I can assure you that his capture of this boy would be disastrous for both him and for Konoha. I have done my best to keep him where my student wouldn't find him, but just last week he was very nearly captured by Orochimaru's forces at the border of Rain and Fire, and if it had been a solo mission I can't imagine where he would be now.

Please do not feel pressured, but I don't know where else to turn. He is anything but safe in Konoha, and I can't put him on long-distance missions forever. If you were to take the boy into your school, he could provide excellent services as a bodyguard or even as an assistant teacher in certain areas. His skills are exceptional, and he learns very quickly. Five or six weeks of remedial tutoring should be enough to boost him to a fourth-year level in magic. His English is very good as well; he speaks fluently with hardly a trace of an accent. I have enclosed the boy's complete profile and information.

Again, please do not feel obligated to do this. It is simply a request, no more.

-Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha-no-Gakure

P.S. There is one other reason for this plea. Life has not been kind to this boy, and with the recent death of his mentor he has sunken into deep despair. I believe that this village is slowly killing him, Albus, as melodramatic as that may sound. As with all the people of Konoha, I hold the boy very close to my heart, and I can't bear to see him drowning in his own memories. I have reason to believe that if he stays in Konoha, he will eventually sink into madness and lose his will to live. I've seen it happen far too many times to let it happen again.

I am sorry to have made you suffer through this dreadfully depressing letter, and that I have no particularly happy news to bear, but alas, this is the world we live in.

Albus closed the letter carefully, curiosity growing within him. He already knew his answer would be "yes," even before he read the report on his new transfer student. But even so he opened up the significantly thicker secondary parcel and scanned the first page. He was taken aback when he saw the picture: it was of a silver-haired child wearing a warrior's uniform. His face was completely concealed by a fearful mask that resembled a grinning wolf, the fangs and face streaked with red and outlined with black over stark white. Dumbledore pulled his eyes away from the picture and began to read.

Name: Hatake Kakashi
Identification number: 1409211
Fieldname: Wolf
Age: 14 years 7 months

Service Profile
Rank: Jounin
ANBU, Secondary Squad Captain, Hunter Division
Bloodline Ability(s): Hatake White Chakra
Uchiha Sharingan see sections History; Abilities for information
Area(s) of Expertise: Assassination, Reconnaissance, Sabotage

Affiliations
Relatives: Hatake Sakumo (father, deceased)
Ansori Makoto (mother, deceased)
Genin Team— Squad 9: Uzumaki Arashi (deceased)
Uchiha Obito (deceased); Mansori Rin (deceased)
Chuunin Long-Duration Mission Squad: 12C see Konoha mission records
Sehiro Tenchi; Hyuuga Tsagi; Yuuichi Yuki (deceased); Inuzaka Kaemon (deceased)

Dumbledore could barely believe his eyes as he continued to read. As he made his way down the long list marked "Affiliations" almost half the names listed had the label "deceased" written next to them. He spent the better part of an hour reading the entire report, even the part called "Mental Health," which screamed accusations of depression, survivor's guilt complex, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, emotional retardation and more…dear Merlin. He felt his aged heartstrings painfully jerked when he read the History section. The boy had endured a childhood he could not imagine taking place outside of Shinobi lands.

'What am I inviting into my school?' Dumbledore wondered as he wrote a simple note on another piece of parchment.

Dear Sarutobi:

Of course I'll take your boy. He'll be in good hands.

This year, Hogwarts has been granted the distinct honor of hosting the Triwizard Tournaments, after so long. Perhaps the boy would be interested in participating? The decision is entirely at your discretion, of course, but remember that although the Triwizard Tournaments are immensely dangerous for a young wizard, I believe that even your youngest of shinobi have faced and overcome greater dangers. It will be challenging and dangerous, but in my experience such a challenge can do nothing but good things for a lost child.

-Yours, Albus Dumbledore

P.S. There have been disturbing signs of Voldemort's impending return. Harry Potter has been in increasing danger, and perhaps Kakashi would be useful as a guard. Not full-time, of course, but the very presence of a skilled shinobi could prove extremely useful.

He sealed the message and sent it away on the same owl that had sent it with no time for second thoughts.