Because I feel this is super amazing. This is the eighth chapter of Magic Of Ninja, and it is a total of eight thousand eight hundred and eighty eight words, excluding this little bit. HOW SUPER COOL IS THAT?

Harry's detentions went by uneventfully for the rest of the week. He thought that Umbridge would be angry about the ninja interruption, but it was the complete opposite. She was giddy. Smugness just oozed out of her, and it had Harry thoroughly scared. He time with her lasted two hours every night and it was spent cleaning up the classrooms on the second floor. There was no torture, no more lines and no sign of her doing anything other than being a teacher punishing a misbehaving student.

In fact the entire week had been unremarkable. There had been no pranks pulled by the Weasley twins, no clashes between Slytherin and Gryffindor and the ninja were nowhere to be seen. After a couple of days of the guards silently appearing out of thin air to confiscate forbidden items and wands that some of the braver students decided to use, the entire school body had gotten the message and disobedience in the school was at a record low. Not that any of the fifth graders had anytime to misbehave.

The professors had given them enough homework to keep even the most serious of students up until the wee hours of the morning. Even Hermione, dedicated fan of extra school work, was having trouble keeping up with all that her teacher's asked of her. And she loved it. So much so that they didn't have another opportunity to talk about the ninja or their mysteries the entire week.

Friday night came, and Harry once again found himself outside of Umbridge's office. He was feeling more than his usual amount of depression at being here. The try-outs for the Gryffindor keeper were going to start in half an hour and he would be stuck wasting his time cleaning out classrooms that would have been cleaned by house elves anyway. He instantly felt the rage of Hermione at that thought and shivered.

He lifted his hand to knock on the door, only to stop as her heard voices coming from the room. Someone was in there with Umbridge. Not thinking twice about it, he lowered his hand and pressed his ear to door. It sounded like there were only three people and one of them was the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Are you sure they are the real thing, Delores?" A smooth voice said urgently.

"I am, sir. Dumbledore said so at the Feast and from what they have done in just a mere week, I have no doubt they are the real thing," came the sickly sweet voice of Umbridge.

"Damn that Dumbledore! How did he even manage to contact them! This is clearly an attempt to usurp me!" Blustered a man. Harry had heard that voice before, it sounded exactly like the Minister of Magic. "We must send them back to where they came from; they have no business in this world!"

"Wait a moment Minister," came the smooth voice, confirming Harry's guess at the identity of the man in the room. "What if we managed to get them on our side? You've heard from Delores that they are not to be taken lightly. Why, if you had their legendary strength under control, no one would ever think of doubting your position. Just think of the Prophet headline! "Minister conquers ninja threat!" Or "Minister discovers new magic entity" Maybe even "Minister controls power of ninja" The possibilities are endless sir."

"Lucious, you genius! But what do we do about Dumbledore?"

"Well Minister," the man now identified and recognised by Harry as Lucious Malfoy started, "I have a plan -" The voices stopped as the sound of a cat meowing got their attention. Harry stepped back from the door just as it opened, revealing an angry Umbridge.

"Potter! What are you doing outside my door?!" She demanded, her pudgy face flushed red with rage. Harry tried his best innocent and bewildered expression.

"Professor? I'm here for my detention… its five o'clock?"

Umbridge opened her mouth in surprise. Her rage vanishing instantly. Harry sighed inwardly with relief, she didn't notice his eavesdropping. The professor whirled around a looked at a clock, it showed five. With her back turned, it gave Harry a chance to look around her office. It was empty save for the wall filled with cat plates and the fire crackling merrily off to the side. Where had the Minister and Lucious gone? His wondering was cut short when Umbridge turned her attention back to him.

"Never mind about your detention tonight Potter, I am much too busy at the moment to spend my precious time teaching you right and wrong." Harry couldn't believe his ears, she was letting him off? "No, no. You have learned enough at this time. Besides, tomorrow should give you reason enough to stay out of trouble." She said happily. Harry turned cold, whatever made Umbridge this happy could only mean trouble for him.

"Um, Professor? What is going to happen tomorrow?" He asked cautiously. Umbridge's smile just widened.

"Oh, never you mind, dear. You'll find out soon enough." And with that ominous message, she pushed Harry out of her office and closed the door with a smart snap. Harry just stared blankly at the smooth wood in front of him. It didn't take long before something important occurred to him…

He could now go and attend the Keeper try-outs. All that was left in the spot Harry was once occupying was dust.

…

"Sakura! I got the scroll!" Naruto yelled happily. He raced to where she stood waiting, along with Kakashi, Sai and Jiraiya. They had paused their training trip when word reached them that Tsunade had discovered the location of Orochimaru's new hideout where he was keeping the Uchiha. For two months they had searched, teaming up with Sai and another jounin named Yamamoto when Kakashi was unavailable. "Now we finally know where Sasuke is! We can get him back!"

"Oh Naruto, is it the real thing this time?" She asked excitedly as he reached them. "We've been searching for almost a year now."

"Believe it! Now I can knock some sense into the teme and he'll come back!" Naruto grinned.

"Mah, mah, Naruto, keep calm. First we have to get back to the village and let the Fifth know. Then we can make a plan to get Sasuke back." Kakashi interrupted, knowing if he didn't stop the excitement now, he wouldn't be able to later.

"Let it go Kakashi, let them have their moment," Jiraiya said putting his hand on the lightning user's shoulder.

Naruto looked up at his sensei, feeling crestfallen at the reproval. But seeing his one visible eye crinkle up in a smile, he knew the jounin was just as happy as they were.

Naruto turned to Sai, the newest member of their team looked lost. The blonde could see he was happy for them, but he could also see the ink manipulator felt left out. Naruto smiled and slung an arm around the uncomfortable Root-nin.

"Just wait, Sai! You'll be able to meet Sasuke soon! He may be a giant pain in the ass, but he's great. We can be a full team seven! With Yamamoto sensei too!"

Sai looked into the smiling face of his teammate and felt an overwhelming sense of relief and gratitude. He was not going to lose this bond he had with his new friends. He was still going to be included. He smiled, not one of the fake, disarming ones he had read about, but a true smile.

Naruto gaped at Sai as he smiled a real smile, before grinning back. They were all in such great moods. Everything was looking up. He had his friends and he was on his way to saving Sasuke. Finally, everything could go back to normal.

That's what he thought before blood splattered over his face and he saw the sword bursting through Sai's chest, lightning crackling over the blade. Naruto stared, willing the stunned Sai to turn to black, for any sign that the person impaled on the wickedly sharp katana was in fact one of the crafty Root nins ink-clones. Blood dribble out from between Sai's lips and his dark eyes, finally starting to get that twinkle of emotion, dulled as the life left them. It was that moment that reality crashed into the jinchuuriki.

Deep, rumbling laughter rolled throughout the clearing and Naruto felt himself let go as his world turned red.

"Taicho!" Neji said urgently, shaking the ANBU captain's shoulder. He had been watching over his leader as he slept, sensing something was off. And he was glad he did. A few minutes ago the normally still ANBU started flinching in his sleep. When he felt dark chakra rising, he knew he had to wake him up.

Naruto moaned, eyes fluttering open. Light sweat dampened his brow, and he panted for breath. Before either could say anything, Shikamaru and Kakashi appeared by their side.

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto didn't need to ask how they knew. He didn't have the best team for nothing.

"I had a nightmare," the Jinchuuriki deadpanned. Kakashi's posture stiffened. "Yes Dog. Same as Grimmauld Place."

"Feel like sharing taicho?" Shikamaru asked, reading between the lines and knowing he was missing out on something.

"It's nothing, who is tailing the target?"

"We left clones with instructions to disperse if they come across anything." Shikamaru reported instantly. Shadow clones were a giant drain on their chakra, but when they sensed something wrong with their captain, the decision was an easy one.

"Ne, taicho, you should tell them." Kakashi said in that easy way of his. Once his had confirmed his ex-student's safety, he had reverted by to relaxed ninja he was known for.

"It is not necessary to the mission Dog." Naruto stated coldly. He was not one to share personal information. Yes, he trusted the three people here more than anyone. Well except baa-chan and Iruka, but history had shown that people he thought are his closest friends are the ones to betray you. The less they knew about him, the less they had to use against him.

Kakashi looked at the blonde. Despite the emotionless mask the next Hokage had employed, the Sharingan user still knew exactly what was going through his mind. Immeasurable sadness fell upon him as he realised he did not know what to do or say to make his student feel better. He laughed sardonically inside his mind, had he ever known?

It's moments like these that the damage can really be seen, thought Shikamaru as he observed the two men. Kakashi looked as if the world was weighing upon his shoulders, making him seem as if he were twice his age. Naruto just stared at the dog masked ANBU, eyes cold and face blank of any emotion. It was the face of any successful ninja on a dangerous mission, but on Naruto, it just seemed so… wrong. Some of Shikamaru's fondest memories were of Naruto, blue eyes sparkling and a wide, mischievous grin. Pranking Iruka at the academy, eating ramen so fast it was like he was inhaling it, determinedly believing in his friends until they shoved a fist through his chest. That Naruto was so pure, so determined to see the good in everybody.

This Naruto was the complete opposite. He had allowed darkness to taint his view on the world, seeing only the evil in people and never trusting in their good. This Naruto was hard, and there wasn't a moment where Shikamaru didn't curse the Uchiha and Haruno for causing it.

Kakashi stirred, as if finally deciding what to say. "It is necessary if it interferes with the mission." Naruto's eyes narrowed as Kakashi kept going, as if the glare gave him encouragement. "If this keeps happening, your team will keep coming to your aid when they sense your fluctuating chakra. And if this keeps happening, you will not be getting enough rest to ensure you stay in prime battle condition which will then put us at a disadvantage when we encounter more enemies. We do not have the resources to constantly check up on you or cover you in battle whilst we complete the mission. Taicho," he added for good measure. He was pretty sure it didn't matter though. Naruto was staring at him with rage he had rarely seen on his face. Usually when he looked this angry, there was a lot of collateral damage.

"I agree with Dog,' Shikamaru said. Naruto turned and focused his glare on the Nara.

"I as well, taicho." Neji added. He had been silent since waking his troubled captain.

"Are you saying that I am incapable of completing this mission?" Naruto demanded.

"No, taicho. There is no point getting angry. It is a fact, you must tell your team."

Naruto fumed. His team were questioning him. They were meant to follow his lead, not tell him what he should do. Indignation rose within him. How dare they presume to tell him what to do! He would need to show them respect, to show them how to address their captain. Not just their captain, their next Hokage!

But as he glared at the three people who watched him, he felt his rage deflating. His team had never ganged up on him before about something. They never push for him to tell them his personal demons. And honestly, he had the best team there was. If they thought it was something they needed to know, then they probably needed to know it.

As his reasoning overpowered his emotions, he felt frustration replace the rage. Frustration that wasn't his. Naruto frowned. The fox was starting to effect his emotions, not just when he was sleeping, but when he was awake. He was getting more powerful. He had to tell his team.

"The Kyuubi is trying something and I'm not sure what it is."

Instantly all of his team were tense. The Kyuubi was at the centre of the war, whenever there was something that had anything to do with it, bad things happened on an enormous scale.

"What is happening?" Asked Shikamaru.

"I'm not sure. He is influencing my dreams, showing me my past over and over. Whenever I relive it, my emotions get stronger, and I think he is feeding off the hate as now my emotions when I wake are even getting effected."

"What happened in Grimmauld Place?"

"Chidori and Sakura Blossom."

"And just now?"

"Sai."

Kakashi winced. He did not know Sasuke's replacement long, but in the short time he was with them, he had become as much a part of the team as any of them. Plus is gave them great insight into Danzo's doings. Once Jiraiya had removed the seal on his tongue of course.

"Has he talked to you at all?" Shikamaru continued.

"No. Every time I go and see him, he just laughs. And trust me; laughter from him is a very bad thing."'

The room was silent as they all processed the new information. If the Kyuubi was getting stronger the Kage had to know.

"I will inform the Kage." Shikamaru said. "Taicho, we need to keep an eye on this. Please inform us when the situation develops."

"Very well." Naruto agreed.

"So this means we need to add another player to the game. The Kyuubi is most definitely going to manipulate the situation to his advantage. It's Kyuubi vs. Everyone." Neji added.

"I think it would be worth investigating what this world has on our world. They may know things that we do not that could potentially change the war." Shikamaru stated.

"You mean information on the Sage?"

"Hai. If we are to believe the bedtime story we found before, chakra and magic are related. We could weaponize their spells to give us an advantage. That vanishing spell the target is practicing for one. You can't even sense the snail's presence." Shikamaru said

"That's a good idea. But we need to investigate what the effects are, and their side effects." Neji cautioned

"Did we find out where the Granger girl got that book?" Naruto asked.

"The Librarian. Seems she is a powerful witch who just has an unhealthy attachment to books. She has a teleportation device that allows her to retrieve and store books throughout the world. She has access to almost any book in existence." Kakashi informed them.

"Is she in the habit of retrieving these books for the student body?" Shikamaru inquired. It would be problematic if more than a handful of students got it in their mind to discover all their secrets.

"No, just the Granger girl. Her dedication to books and homework has made her friends with the Librarian, who is known to dislike the students." Kakashi reassured the Nara.

"And she will tell all she knows to Potter. It has been one week. Have the little rebels made any plans or progress?" Naruto asked.

"No. They have been too focused on that 'Quiddich' game as well as the paper work the senseis give them." Neji answered smoothly.

"Yes, and they practice on Saturdays, which is tomorrow taicho."

"Have you all seen that 'game'?" His team nodded. "Good, I have a book here with all the rules. We will watch the practice tomorrow as well as patrol the field they play on… over. My clones will remain in the castle, one in each room and a couple patrolling the corridors. They'll also watch the lake and the forest,"

"What about classes?" Neji asked. Of course the proper Hyuuga was confused by the strange timetable.

"On the last two days of the week, they have no classes. They call these 'weekends'. Saturday is the sixth day of the week."

"Saturday? Where do they get these weird names from?" Naruto muttered. Unfortunately for him, Kakashi heard.

"It's interesting taicho. Saturday is named after the Roman god Saturn. Rome was an ancient civilisation in this world that once ruled most of the land. It was named Saturn's day and then shortened as the world evolved."

"And that's interesting how?" Naruto asked edgily. For some reason his ex-sensei seemed really into the topic

"Well Saturday is named after a Roman god, right? But Thursday, the fourth day of the week, is named after the Norse god Thor. It was originally Thor's day, but once again it got merged into one word. The Norse was a small culture dating to before the Roman empire."

"What are you getting at?" Shikamaru lazily asked.

"Well it's just their language is comprised of a lot of others. Very little of their society is pure English. It's like… it's like…" Kakashi struggled to find a way to word what he was trying to say.

"It's like the English language mugs other languages and cultures in back allies and rifles through their pockets for loose vocabulary and names because they can't think of their own." Naruto said flatly.

"Eloquently put taicho," Neji said as Shikamaru lost himself to laughter. Naruto certainly had a way of putting things.

'But don't you get it taicho?" Kakashi pressed

"Get what?"

"Everything we have learned about these English, from their culture, to their magic, to their vocabulary, it all points to one fact."

"And that fact is?"

"They're lazy."

The room was silent as they each thought about what the dog masked ANBU had said.

"Their language mainly consists of Latin, an ancient language in this world, mixed in with elements of other older cultures." Kakashi continued, "They can't even create their own words. Half their traditions come from foreign countries."

"It's true," Shikamaru said finally. "All of their spells are created to make mundane tasks quicker and easier. I bet my shogi board that 'Vanishing spell' was created to clean messes."

"Transfiguration, changing things to suit your needs." Neji inputted

"Charms, spelling objects to do your bidding" Naruto theorized

"Potions has a little creativity." Shikamaru said.

"And Defence Against the Dark Arts" Naruto conceded. "These were created to conquer. I bet during any sort of warfare, they rely on these two subjects, and in times of peace they use the others."

"These kids will never have to work hard in their lives as long as they have magic." Kakashi grumbled

"They're spoilt." Shikamaru summarized.

"No wonder they're such a pain to look after." Naruto sighed. "Dog, have you gained anymore information from our guests?"

"No taicho. None of the eight teams of assassins sent know anything about Voldemort. They didn't even know about each other, which is why when the fourth and fifth teams stumbled upon each other, they started fighting."

"Fun for us though. They decided to fight in the middle of the Forest. We got to see what those centaurs are capable of." Shikamaru drawled lazily. "You isolate them or take their bow away, they are pretty much defenceless. The rely too much on each other. Teamwork is good, but you must be proficient at solo combat to truly be an effective player."

"This is not shogi Deer." Neji sighed.

"Same rules, same strategy." Shikamaru shrugged. "With such failure, taicho, they are bound to up their pawns strength. We might see a few rooks soon, maybe even a knight."

"You are thinking like a shinobi Deer." Naruto said. Shikamaru nodded, before freezing and cursing. "Glad you see it. These are not ninja. These are wizards. They will not send a stronger opponent. This Voldemort guy stinks just like Orochimaru. I bet they use the same tactics, and we all know Orochimaru does not deserve the title ninja, let alone Kage," Naruto growled. "No, his next move will be to try and overwhelm us. He will send all the pawns he can. Then he will send the rooks."

"What's the plan for tomorrow?" Neji asked. Naruto nodded to Kakashi.

"We will supervise the Quiddich training, as well as map out the grounds." Kakashi informed the rest of the Alpha squad. "We are all to be at the training ground so we can accustom ourselves to the game. The try-outs they held were quite… unsettling. After which we will summarize our findings and report back to you taicho."

"Good. I'll track the Umbridge woman too. She's doing something and I can't find out what."

"Has she upgraded her security?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes. I can't sneak clones in anymore. She has some sort of screening process that disperses them upon entry. And whenever I hitch a ride in there on her clothes, she sends out a pulse of magic or something that disrupts my clone's chakra. Best I can do is listening in from outside, and she is in contact with the Minister." Naruto said, frustrated. "I would know more, but she caught Potter eavesdropping today and since then I can't hear a word. She probably cast some sort of jutsu around the room to stop sound escaping"

"Any idea on what is going to happen?" Neji asked

"All I know is it is going to happen tomorrow."

…

A squeal of pain rang through the barren room as a small rat of a man was flung across it. Peter Pettigrew didn't stand up, choosing instead to remain prone on the floor. He did rearrange himself so he was bowing at the figure that towered above him.

"I am sorry My Lord. All mercenaries sent to Hogwarts have failed."

"How many did you send?" A cold voice asked.

"Nine groups in total My Lord." Pettigrew answered, fear making his voice wobble.

"I see. So Dumbledore has some protection for the school does he?"

"I do not know My Lord." Whispered the rat man. He had a second of dread before pain blasted into him, making him fall back against the wall behind him.

"Did I say you could speak?!" The cold voice demanded in rage. Pettigrew's body began to shake as his fear became uncontrollable. "And why do you not know? Is that not your job? You fail me Peter. I do not tolerate failure!"

"Forgive me My Lord!" Pettigrew pleaded. Desperation making his voice squeak just like the rodent his Animagus form took.

"You are fortunate I have other followers who succeed where you fail," his master said dangerously. The ratty man quailed as the thought his master did not deem him useful enough to live, dashed across his mind.

"I-I have a plan, My Lord!"

"Oh?"

"I-In a months' time, it will be the first Quiddich match of the year! Since there was no tournament last year, I'm certain everybody will be training as much as they can! And with how concerned about the school teams are about their practices being monitored, Potter will be isolated in an out of the way place with only a few wizards with him! Any protection Dumbledore has for the school won't be at the pitch!"

Silence met Pettigrew's plan as his master thought about it. Soon, dark laughter fill the room as his master enjoyed a joke only he was privy to.

"Oh dear Peter, you are useful after all" He said softly. Pettigrew felt a spindly hand place itself on his shoulder and the small ratty man looked up. Red eyes with cat like slits for pupils pinned him in his place. A mouth with no lips was stretched into a smile that looked horrendous in the chalk white, skull-like face.

"I have a different plan." Lord Voldemort whispered to his terrified minion.

….

Harry was the first awake the next morning. He lay in his bed, savouring the fact it was Saturday and he had no more detentions. The only thing on his agenda today was Quiddich practice in the afternoon. No classes, no professors, no lectures about OWLs…. Harry loved Saturdays.

And what made today even better, Ron was now an official member of the Gryffindor team. He knew it was luck that got Ron in. If the other two players who had flown better than him didn't have other clubs or were not so annoying, Ron wouldn't be on the team. But he was, and Harry couldn't be happier. Just wait till they beat Malfoy!

A wave of uneasiness went through him as he remembered Umbridge's smiling face and foreboding words. She said something was happening today, and anything that made that ugly toad of a woman happy was definitely not good for them. His previous euphoria over a glorious Saturday was forgotten as he brooded about the subject. He never got a chance to discuss it with Hermione and Ron with the party for Ron last night. Deciding he would talk to them over breakfast, he got up.

Pulling his curtains apart, Harry nearly fell off his bed in laughter and instantly his bad mood was gone. His dorm mates were sprawled all over the room, looking as if they had passed out on the way to bed. Ron was half dressed and lay on the floor next to his trunk, clothes spilled everywhere. Neville had for some reason fallen asleep on top of his trunk, and was curled up in a ball. If he moved a centimetre, he wouldn't be on there very long. Last night's celebrations had gone for a long while.

Still chuckling, Harry kicked Ron awake.

"Wassup Harry?" He mumbled, still groggy from sleep.

"C'mon, breakfast. Hermione will be waiting for us."

"Five more minutes…" Ron moaned, rolling over on the floor. Harry sighed before looking around. He grinned when he found what he was searching for.

"Ron, it's time to get up." He said, a warning tone entering his voice.

"I'll catch up or… something," Ron yawned.

"Last chance,"

"Let me sleep!"

With no more warning, Harry upended the jug of water above his sleepy best friend. He was still smiling hugely as the chilly water hit Ron's face. He was even smiling as he ran out of the dormitory, dodging various objects thrown at him by all of his dorm mates who had woken by the oh so manly squeal Ron had emitted when the water covered him.

Hermione eyed him suspiciously as he came into the common room, hearing the furious roars behind him.

"What happened?" She asked. Harry just walked past her, still smiling.

"Ron wouldn't wake up." He replied happily. "Let's go, he'll catch up once he's dry. I want to get there before all the sausages go."

"What do you mean 'once he's dry'?!" Hermione demanded. Harry shrugged and headed to the portrait entrance.

Ron met them at the Gryffindor table about five minutes later, grumbling the whole way. Harry just grinned. It had been a while since he was in such a good mood. Even the glares and not-so-hush gossip from the other students couldn't dampen his spirits. Unlike Ron. He giggled to himself at his own pun. Dampen, get it? Ron and Hermione looked at him like he had grown a second head. He didn't blame them; he had not been in this good a mood all year. He ignored them both in favour of grabbing a plate of bacon.

Breakfast past in companionable silence, each of them distracted with their own thoughts. Only when the morning post arrived did they speak.

"Anything interesting?" Ron asked mouth full of toast as Hermione paid the owl dropping off the newspaper. She looked apprehensively at Harry before opening it. Since the first day she hadn't brought out a newspaper in front of him because of his reaction. Harry shrugged. He understood the reasoning behind her wanting to read the mail, didn't mean he had to like it.

Smiling, Hermione unfolded the paper and gasped at the headline. Instantly Harry and Ron leaned in to read it.

HAS DUMBLEDORE GONE SENILE? DANGER AT HOGWARTS

Recent actions made by the Hogwarts Headmaster have had many a concerned witch and wizard questioning the stability of the once powerful wizard. None more so than his recent desire to hire bodyguards for the school. What bodyguards you may ask? Well dear readers, it seems as though Albus Dumbledore has somehow summoned ninja to serve him.

Yes, devoted subscribers, ninjas. Many did not believe in the once bed-time story characters to exist. Placing their existence in the same category as heliopaths and the like. But we have first-hand witness accounts to the presence of the mysterious ninja guards. And let us tell you, they do not give the students a feeling of being protected.

"At the Welcoming Feast when they introduced themselves, they did this spell where it froze our entire body. I couldn't move a finger" This statement was given by a Slytherin Student in regards to the first night of his fifth year at Hogwarts.

"They appear out of nowhere, no sound or anything. They can't Aparate on the grounds can they?" Another student asks in fear in regards to the ninja's strange abilities. We have kept the identities of our sources anonymous as the ninja have remained secretive and unwilling to part with any information about their origins. Who knows what they would do to innocent children who want the public to know about their fear?

We at the Daily Prophet strive to deliver to our readers all they deserve to know and as such, we have investigated what is known about these ninja mysteries. On page seven is a detailed collaboration from our top reporters with all information about what we know on the ninja people.

As our faithful readers will remember, the last time Hogwarts deemed it necessary to employ protection for the supposedly safest place in magical Britain, was two years ago when notorious mass murderer Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. What could be so dangerous as to summon ninja to the school? Dumbledore claims it is due to the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, a fact which the Ministry strongly denies.

"The safety and security of its people is the Ministry of Magic's highest priority" Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge said when asked to comment on Dumbledore's actions. "We have no reason to believe such a threat that is known for publicly terrorizing the community has indeed risen from the dead. The only eye witness report came from a poor fourteen year old boy who was traumatized in a dangerous tournament when seeing his fellow competitor die in the process of participating. Since then, there has been no other proof that the terror the Ministry triumphed over fifteen years ago has indeed returned."

Concerns over the goings-on at Hogwarts have escalated in past years, with worried parents voicing out against the eccentric decisions the once Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederate of Wizards has made. The historic wizarding school is known for its independence from the government but our sources hint at change that is coming in response to concerned parents.

Is Dumbledore losing his touch? Is he fit to be in charge of our children's education and futures? Survey on Page 12

The trio sat stunned, before each of them exploding.

"What the bloody hell? I bet Malfoy was that fifth grade boy!"

"How can they say that about Dumbledore?"

"That's what Umbridge was talking about!"

Ron and Hermione turned to Harry. "What do you mean? What was she talking about?" Hermione asked.

"I was going to tell you guys last night, but forgot with the party and everything. Last night when I went to my detention I overheard Umbridge talking to the Minister and Malfoy's dad. They were talking about how to control the ninja, but then she opened the door and I couldn't hear anymore. But before she sent me away, she said that something was going to happen today. Something that will make me not misbehave anymore."

"What could it be?" Ron wondered, his face scrunched up as he thought hard.

"I have no idea, but she was smiling. Whatever makes her smile, I don't like." Harry growled. His good mood evaporating quicker than ice under a heating spell.

"Well whatever it is, no point worrying about it. Hey Harry, wanna go to the pitch early and warm up?" Ron asked eagerly. Harry nodded, Quiddich was something he could enjoy regardless of what was going on.

"But you guys! This could be something serious! Plus the amount of homework you two have is astronomical! Not to mention, don't you want to read what the Prophet has to say about the ninjas?" Hermione questioned. Boys and their sports.

"That's why we got you Hermione! You know we aren't good at this thinking stuff! Plus we have practice later on anyway. We can talk about what she's up to at dinner, and then do our homework after. Sound good? Ok, catch you later!" Not giving her a chance to reply, the two boys dashed off before she could lecture them more about homework. Enemy plans just made Harry's head hurt. Some time on his Firebolt will make him think clearer, he decided.

…

"Change of plans, Deer you stay with the Granger girl. See what she does after reading the paper thing."

"Hai taicho."

"Dove, any change in border surveillance?"

"Negative, taicho."

"Good. My clones will take over now. We will henge into birds to follow the two as there are no places to hide on the way to the training ground."

"Hai taicho."

"Move out,"

…

Practice with Ron went by great. Harry was no Chaser and only managed to score a couple of goals against Ron as they flew around the pitch. He felt a small amount of disappointment at himself, before remembering that Ron's job was to guard the goals well, and if Harry had actually scored well, they would be in trouble. Spirits lifting, they continued until it was time for lunch. After which they returned, completely ignored by Hermione who was buried in books and parchment, numerous copies of the Daily Prophet strewn about her. Her hair was frazzled and her entire aura screamed frustration. If they had paid more attention to their surroundings, they would have seen the Deer masked ninja, hidden in the shadows, chuckling to himself in amusement.

When they returned to the Quiddich Pitch, all of their team-mates bar their new captain were in the changing room.

"All right, Ron?" George asked of his little brother, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Yeah," Ron replied quietly. He had slowly withdrawn into himself as practice drew nearer, the good mood and confidence at their practice this morning vaporizing.

"Ready to show us all up, Ickle Prefect?" said Fred, slightly malicious grin on his face.

"Shut up" Ron said, trying on his uniform for the first time. It fit him quite well, considering it was Oliver Wood's.

"Ok everyone!" Angela announced as she emerged from the captain office. "Let's get started. Fred, George; you guys get the ball crate. Also, there are some spectators with us today. Just ignore them and focus on the practice."

Harry felt dread weigh down in his stomach. He bet his Firebolt he knew who the spectators were. He glanced over to Ron who had gone pale. Looks like Ron had the same suspicion he did.

Sure enough, when they left the changing room, they were greeted by the cat calls and jeers from the Slytherin Quiddich team, as well as various other Slytherin members. Harry glared at them with undisguised hate. Ron remained silent as he walked past.

Mounting his broom and kicking off the ground, he rose into the air, relishing the way the wind felt against his face. As he levelled with the height of the goal posts, he noticed something different than his time with Ron.

Standing on the tips of three of the stands were the ninja. Their outfits making them shadowy, but their masks shining in the sunlight. As the rest of The Gryffindor team joined him in the air, they also noticed the silent watchers.

"Isn't there one missing?" Whispered Katie, a Chaser on their team.

"Why do you think they're here?" Alicia, another Chaser, asked.

"Maybe they're here to watch?" Angelia said slowly. "I don't think they would have seen a Quiddich match before." Nodding to herself, she turned her back to the ninja to face her team. Harry was impressed at her bravery, he wasn't sure he'd be able to put his back to them. 'Ok team, let's see what we got. First, the whole team will practice passing. Yes, even you three Harry, George and Fred. You don't handle the Quaffle, but the skill comes in handy and it will help build teamwork. Right, let's do this." She zoomed off and slowly, the team followed her. Harry glanced back at the ninja. How were they able to stand on the tip of the stand? He thought. Some sort of levitation charm?

All thoughts of the ninja were driven from his mind as he realized how terrible Ron was with an audience. The Slytherins had quietened when they saw the ninja on the stands, but realizing they weren't there to punish or control them, they resumed their jeers and insults. Most of which were directed at Ron. After ten minutes of Quaffle passing, and dropping, Angela sent Harry and the twin to get the Snitch and Bludger.

As they landed, Harry heard the muttering Fred and George were saying under their breath.

"Silly gits,"

"Needs to ignore it,"

"Never gets clumsy when we tease him,"

"Going to send the Bludger their way if they don't shut up,"

Harry smiled at the brotherly affection. He stood by the crate and waited for the whistle. Hearing it, they let the Snitch and Bludger fly. From then on, he barely knew what the rest of his team was doing. The Slytherin cat calls just a hum in the wind that blew past him as he weaved in and out of Chasers and Beaters.

Shortly into the practice though, the whistle sounded and Harry pulled around to see what the problem was.

"Ron, you're not fending the middle post!" Angela yelled. It was true. He had drifted to the left, leaving the other two rings completely undefended. The Slytherins cheered at the stop and at the failure. Angela flew up and talked with Ron over his positioning. Harry couldn't tell which was a brighter red, the Quaffle or Ron's face.

Angela sounded the whistle again, and Harry zoomed off, searching for the Snitch. Seconds later he became aware of a Bludger following him. Quickly looking around he found Fred, the Beater of the game. He changed his direction and flew towards him, Bludger still following.

Fred saw him coming and prepared his bat. Harry grinned at him as he flew past. Fred tightened his grip and swung. A sound smack sounded and the ball was flung into the other direction. Harry returned to searching for the Snitch.

Not for long

The Bludger was back and Harry felt cold. Bludgers were not meant to focus on one player; they lock on to the closest player and try to knock them off. This was exactly like second year when Dobby hexed the ball to follow only Harry until he was severely injured. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Fred flying to meet him, a frown on his face. Harry turned sharply and rocketed towards him. "Get Angela to stop!" Fred yelled before flying forward and meeting the bludger.

"Be careful!" Harry called back. He wasn't sure if Fred heard him or not, as he had already engaged the rouge Bludger. Harry searched for Angela.

The rest of the team hadn't noticed so far. Katie and Alicia were battling for possession with the captain watching. Ron had his eyes on the Quaffle and had ignored everything else. George was covering Angela. Harry flew to the Gryffindor captain.

'Harry! What are you doing? Go find the Snitch!" Angela demanded of him as he drew near her.

"Angela, stop practice!"

"Why? What's going on?"

"Rogue Bludger!" Harry yelled, before flying away. Angela stared at the space he once occupied, now filled by the heavy grey ball. Her eyes widened as the ball flew towards her; she had no time to react, no time to dodge.

It didn't matter as the Bludger swerved and followed Harry.

"Just what we need." Angela muttered. "Everyone down! Practice is over!"

"What's going on?" Ron asked.

"There's another Bludger after Harry. Everyone down and out the way. George, grab your bat. Help Fred try to keep it away from him. Alicia, go and get Professor McGonagall."

Harry was unaware of the goings on of everyone else. His entire world had narrowed to a point. And that point was to fly. He circled, twirled, looped and zigzagged, none of it work. The ball remained on his tail, and slowly closed in. Harry leaned over the handle of his broomstick, urging the Firebolt to go faster. He narrowly avoided Fred. He heard the smack of the bat hitting the Bludger. He felt a few seconds of relief, before the tell-tale whoosh signalled the heavy ball's return. He veered to the left and led the Bludger past George who had somehow gotten a bat and was glaring at the Rogue Quiddich equipment hell bent on pulverising Harry. His efforts to stop it did no better than Fred's.

Harry was panicking now. A professor wouldn't get there in time to stop it before it caught up to Harry. Was he going to have to let the thing smash into him before it would stop? He supposed he could cast a Protego charm to protect himself… protect… He glanced around; the sun gleamed off the bone white masks of the shadowy ninja, still perched on top of the stands opposite the Slytherin crowd, who had gone silent as the situation dawned on them.

He didn't think twice about it. He aimed his broom towards Fox, the closest one, and rocketed towards him. The Bludger following close behind.

Naruto watched as Harry flew directly towards him. So the grey ball following the boy was not a part of the training after all. Stupid magical game. They didn't know whether the captain of the squad had decided to practice dodging ability or not, so they just watched. But now as the rest of the Gryffindor team descended it appeared that there was an assassination attempt in progress.

As the boy neared him, Naruto noticed something. The Bludger had changed in its trajectory. It was only slight, a few centimetres at most, but the ball had moved to the left of the boy. It had changed it target from Harry, to him.

Great

Naruto fell forward. He heard the screams of the crowd watching and saw the shocked face of Potter, but it didn't matter. He fell, face first, hurtling towards the ground. Bright patterns of the colourful stands blurred in his vision but his focus was entirely pinpointed on the earth that was rushing towards him. He flipped in a somersault before he smashed into the grass, and using chakra enhanced legs, he pushed of the ground running.

Harry hovered in mid-air, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Fox just took a suicide dive off the top of one of the stands. On top of that, the Bludger was now following after him. And then, instead of splattering on the ground, the ninja did a flip and ran off like it was nothing, hexed Bludger still pelting after him. The ground where he had landed now had a small crater decorating it. Now Harry was watching as the ninja ran inhumanly fast around the pitch, dodging, ducking, zig-zagging, trying to shake the stubborn Quiddich equipment.

"Harry!" he turned and saw Fred and George flying up to meet him.

"You alright?" One of the twins asked when they drew level with him. Both of them were panting and Harry could see their arms trembling slightly. They must have put all of their effort into hitting the Bludger when it was after Harry.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry answered, warm with the knowledge of their friendship.

"So now it's after the ninja huh?" The other twin asked. "Reckon we should help?"

"Nah, they're meant to be all powerful. They should be able to handle a little thing like a rogue Bludger."

"Plus they stopped our business experiments."

"And they're getting in the way of our justice against the professors."

"They'll be fine," The twins finished together. Harry grinned, but felt a twinge of guilt. He did lead the Bludger to him, maybe he should help?

"Mendokusai as Deer would say," A voice said. The three turned, only to see a black shape leap from the stand they were drifting near, towards them.

"Wha -" George didn't finish as his Beater's bat was taken from his hand. The now identified dog masked ninja, dropped to the ground at frightening speed, and before copying what his teammate did and flipping before landing. Though he did not run off, he remained in his position, in the centre of another small crater.

"What do you reckon he's doing?" Harry asked the twins. They shrugged, as unsure as he was.

"Wait! Look at Fox!" Fred pointed. Harry looked. The leader of the ninja had turned sharply and was heading towards his teammate, who had pulled the bat behind his head, and faced the oncoming duo.

"They're going to hit it?"

"But we tried that and it did nothing."

The three watched as Fox got closer, Bludger still hot on his tail. He passed his teammate and stopped. He turned and trotted next to the dog masked one. The taller ninja nodded at something Fox said, and the Beater's bat started to glow a soft blue. The Bludger came level to the two guards. The dog masked ninja swung.

CRACK

The Bludger flew in the other direction; the bat fell to the ground in pieces. Fred and George stared in open mouthed amazement as the Bludger was smashed clear of the grounds. It was Harry that saw the problem and flew towards his guardians.

"You idiots!" He yelled. The two masks snapped in his direction and he felt a moment of pure terror as he remembered these guys could and probably would kill him in a second. But adrenaline overpowered the fear and he kept going. "You just hit it into the school! It could hurt other people!"

"We were aiming to destroy it," the dog masked ninja replied.

"You can't destroy a Bludger," Fred said as he joined them, his twin beside him.

"Yeah, there are heaps of charms and spells in it to make it as strong as possible." George added

"So it is full of magic?" Fox asked, his head tilted to the side.

"Duh! And now it is probably running through the school!" Harry yelled.

"It is locked onto our chakra, it will be back. Dove!" Fox snapped. The third ninja materialised by the other two.

"Hai taicho."

"It's full of magic. Your Gentle Fist would be the best option to destroy it. I would rather not pull out any ninjutsu in front of spectators. Especially since the castor is here watching."

"Mah, so this is a test then. Either by Dumbledore, Umbridge or a Slytherin."

"And it's using some kind spell that doesn't leave chakra strings we can cut with our kunai."

"It has returned taicho."

And it had. Harry was lost as the ninja started conversing in a language that was not English. He heard the Wesley twin's cursing the fact they didn't know a translator spell and vowing to learn one. But his attention had been taken by the spectators. The Slytherin crowd was pointing in the direction Dog had hit and the sure enough, the bludger was speeding towards them. The ninja's stopped talking and the dove masked one stepped forward.

Silence fell over the pitch as the ninja went forward to meet the Bludger. Stopping in the middle of the field, he fell into a strange position. Harry assumed it was some kind of martial arts stance, but in the few action movies he had been allowed to see, he had never seen anything like this. Both of his legs were bent, making him look like he was going to sit down, but his legs were spread wide, lowering his centre of gravity. One arm was out in front of his body and pointing down, whilst the other was opposite it, pointing upwards. Both were straight. Like he was asking a woman's permission to dance. But what stood out the most was the blue light surrounding his hands.

The Bludger neared the solitary ninja. It happened so fast, Harry was sure who ever was blinking at the time would have missed it. The Dove masked ninja let it get so close it seemed as if it would hit the porcelain mask that covered his face. Then, faster than he could follow, the man moved. Spinning his body and impaling his fist into the solid, grey ball.

The Bludger exploded. Shrapnel flying everywhere as the impact of the ninja's fist smashed into it. He felt his mouth open in disbelief as the once hexed object blew apart. He had been hit by those things before. They were dense, they were solid and they couldn't be blown apart by normal people. Fred and George were right; they didn't need their help at all. The sound of clapping broke through his shock.

"Well now, I hurried out here when I heard we had a rogue Bludger, but it seems my worries were quite misplaced. Wouldn't you agree Delores?"

"Oh yes, Headmaster. Some concerned students alerted me to some trouble on the pitch and as a representative of the Ministry, I couldn't let it slide."

Dumbledore and Umbridge approached the small group, the rest of the Gryffindor team and Slytherins following. Harry didn't notice the ninja's stiffening, but he could feel their glares as they saw the two Hogwarts professors. Then it clicked. Someone had to have hexed the Bludger, and that someone had to be there. Harry wasn't the target, the ninja were. But why? To see what they would do? To get them out the way? He could see Umbridge doing that since they interfered with her detentions. But Dumbledore wouldn't do that.

Would he?