Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Since When Are There Two Potters? ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: Same as always. In other words, I don't own them!
Everyone seems to say they are heading for Konoha and that the group that passed them was Kakashi and team. Sasuke is only 11 remember, they didn't graduate till they were 12! Sorry to disappoint!
 
Chapter 10
 
 
Harry froze for a second before pushing Sasuke behind himself. Deep emerald eyes scanned their surroundings warily even as he ignored the sound of his brother gagging. Harry held off summoning his sword for the moment but began gathering magic, ready to attack or defend at a split seconds notice.
 
“Sasuke, shield.” He snapped and the pre-teen managed a nod before closing his eyes and chanting. Harry waited until the shimmering field snapped into place around his brother before approaching the bodies, at least what was left of them. Even Harry was now fighting his gag reflex, yes he had lived through the war but there were still things that turned his stomach and seeing three children ripped and burnt to death was one of them. He sighed and knelt beside the remains, picking up a melted and warped piece of metal, the cloth band long gone.
“Shit.” He hissed under his breath. The metal was still incredibly hot making him thankful for the fingerless dragonhide gloves he was wearing. He stood up, still scanning their surroundings.
 
“Aniki?” Sasuke whispered, dark eyes scanning restlessly and senses extended.
 
“I don't know, stay on guard.” Harry swore and threw up a shield even as he placed himself between his brother and the incoming attack. The massive fireball slammed into his shield and faded from existence. Harry glared in the direction of their unseen attacker and gathered his magic but held back, he didn't want to do anything that would bring too much attention to them. He smiled slightly as he heard Sasuke chanting softly and then their attacker screamed, stumbling blindly from the trees. And suddenly they were surrounded. Harry moved closer to Sasuke and smiled slightly as he felt the boys shield expand to protect them both.
 
“Ideas?” The younger asked, dark eyes narrowed in concentration and anger.
 
“Hand.” Harry ordered and Sasuke obeyed without thought. As soon as his fingers closed on his brothers Harry apparated blindly.
 
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Sasuke fell flat on his backside as they reappeared somewhere new. He scrambled to his feet as Harry dropped to his knees.
 
“Nii-san!” Sasuke knelt beside his brother and gripped his shoulder. Harry smiled at him tiredly.
 
“I'm fine kiddo.” Harry reassured him and stood up, looking around.
 
“Where are we?” Sasuke asked, trying to hide his nervousness.
 
“We're still on the continent.” Harry closed his eyes and focused. He winced slightly as he felt Hedwig's anger at being left behind but her location at least let him know how far they had travelled.
“And a long way from where we were, Hedwig is not impressed.” Sasuke nodded and they looked around at the terrain, it was different to the lush forest they had been in before. The land was far more exposed and there was a strong wind blowing. Harry quickly dug out warmer jackets for the both of them and slipped his own on.
“Come on, we better get a move on since we're back at square one now.” Sasuke nodded and followed his brother, thoughts going back to what they had seen. He shuddered slightly at the memories. How could someone do that to another person? He frowned as he remembered the friendly way the merchant had greeted them as they had passed and the warm smile the girl had given him and now the five were dead. He felt his throat close up and then a warm hand was resting on his shoulder. He didn't resist as he was pulled into a comforting embrace.
“It's okay Sasuke-kun, cry for them.” So he did, hiding his face in Harry's shirt. The whole time Harry simply held him gently, letting him cry as much as he needed to.
 
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Harry tightened his grip on Sasuke's shoulder briefly as they approached the gates before moving in front of him. Sasuke watched silently as Harry showed the forged papers proving they were travellers to the guards. Harry had copied them from a merchant they had seen the day before and then altered them to fit. The guards nodded and let them in with no trouble. He looked around the village, memorising as much as he could while they walked. He calmly followed his brother into a hotel, smiling slightly at the thought of a proper bed. He stayed quiet as Harry thoroughly warded the room, only moving to one of the beds when his brother was finished.
 
“Get some sleep kiddo. We'll talk in the morning.” Sasuke nodded and got ready for bed, noticing that Harry didn't.
 
Harry waited until Sasuke was asleep before slipping from the room to wander the village. He snorted at that, it was too big to be a village in his mind. And why name a village Cloud? Then again the country was called Lightning so it was obviously normal to them. He stopped at a small restaurant and went in to eat and think. Cloud was one of the `hidden' villages, that he had gleamed from another travellers mind. And a hidden village meant Shinobi. He sighed and sipped his water. He honestly didn't know what to do to find Sasuke's family; they could belong to any village. He could go to the village's leader and explain but something held him back from that so he decided to follow his instincts, they had the annoying habit of being correct ninety nine percent of the time.
 
“You look troubled.” Harry was jerked out of his thoughts by the soft comment. He looked up to see a woman around his own age with dark eyes and hair standing over him. She was dressed in what appeared to be the typical clothes for Cloud Shinobi and had a headband on with the metal plate.
 
“Maybe.” He answered, cautious about her.
 
“My name's Maya. I haven't seen you here before.”
 
“Harry. I just arrived this evening.” Realising he wouldn't be getting rid of Maya any time soon he indicated for her to sit in the chair opposite him.
 
“Really, where are you from?”
 
“Everywhere really. My parents were travelling before I was born so I've never had a stationary home.” Harry lied easily, he couldn't tell the truth after all.
 
“Sounds interesting. Are you still travelling with them?” She accepted a glass of water from the waiter and sipped it. Harry smiled sadly.
 
“No, they died a long time ago. It's just my brother and me now.”
 
“Oh, I'm sorry.” She frowned slightly, worried she'd upset Harry but he just smiled again.
 
“You didn't know.” He ate some more food.
“So, you're a ninja?”
 
“A jounin as a matter of fact.”
 
“Sounds interesting. Do you enjoy your life?”
 
“Most of the time. Why? You're a little old for the Academy.” They both laughed.
 
“My brother, he's shown some interest in the Shinobi life. I'm not to sure myself but I won't hold him back if it's what he really wants.”
 
“How old is he?” Maya asked, they could always use more Shinobi after all.
 
“Eleven. Well, nearly twelve. He has some basic hand to hand training that he's picked up along the way.” Harry shrugged.
 
“He's still young enough then. You'd have to become citizens first though and once he graduated he couldn't go back to your life of travel.” Harry listened intently and then nodded.
“If you want I could talk to him, tell him more about what it means to be Shinobi.”
 
“You're being awfully helpful to someone you've only just met and know nearly nothing about.”
 
“True but maybe I'm just being friendly. Then again I could be suspicious of strangers and wanting to make sure you're not spies.” She stated and Harry studied her closely before smiling slightly. He had the feeling that Maya could easily become a friend, if they stayed.
 
“How about we meet up for breakfast and you and Sasuke can meet and talk?” He offered.
 
“Sounds good.” They made arrangements and Harry returned to the hotel to sleep.
 
Maya watched as he entered the hotel and smiled as she spotted movement in one of the rooms a few minutes later. He seemed genuine and was polite and nice. She smiled slightly, she didn't usually make friends with civilians but she had the feeling that Harry would be the exception, if he stayed. She had seen the old pain and loneliness in his eyes even though he tried to hide it and knew that settling down could help him heal. She was looking forward to meeting his little brother in the morning.
 
TBC…
Maya will pop up now and then for a bit. Pulled her name out of thin air, I hate coming up with names for characters!