861A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! Question: Which story should I update next? Answer in the reviews!
The three fifth years huddled tightly underneath the invisibility coat, a small prayer at the tip of Hermione's tongue as she hoped that their feet would stay at least slightly covered by the cloth. Slowly the trio made their way through the castle, climbing down the tower and into the darkened dungeons.
"Where's her office located?" Ron asked in just above a whisper, carefully having checked the map to make sure that there was no one near.
Hermione grimaced, "According to the map, it's near the Slytherin dungeons."
Harry nodded, "It's just down the hall from Professor Snape's office. In one of my detentions, she remarked just how 'wonderful it was to be so near her precious Sevvy.'"
Ron's face contorted into one of disgust, "How can she even stand that man?"
Harry frowned, "Well, if she really is a you-know-what, then it wouldn't surprise me if they really were all this chummy."
"Have you guys ever thought that maybe she actually likes Professor Snape?" Hermione questioned softly.
Ron snorted, "There's nothing likable about that slimy git."
"I don't know," Harry grimaced, "Her fiancé reminds me a lot of Snape. Perhaps she just actually likes being friends with the man."
"Well, we're going to find out rather soon," Hermione hissed.
Fairly quickly, they had already arrived at her office. Ducking into a narrow hallway, Hermione asked, "Where does the map say she and her friends are?"
Harry opened the map quickly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of her nose and scanning the contents, "Naruto Uzumaki is in the Forbidden Forrest. So are Professor Snape, Shikamaru Nara and Sasuke Uchiha. I assume those are her coworkers."
Ron blinked, "What are they possibly doing there?"
Harry shrugged, "I don't know, but this is the perfect time to search her office. We need to hurry before she gets back."
Hermione shrugged off the coat, before taking the initiative. With a simple alohamora, the door opened with a slight creak. The office was meticulously neat, the tables and chairs all lined up in perfect symmetry. On her desk was multiple piles of paperwork, as well as an alarmingly large pile of letters. Harry grimaced as he saw the deceivingly harmless stack of envelopes.
"Those are the marriage proposals I've been replying to," he explained once he noticed the confused glances shot to him.
Ron approached the desk, flipping through the paperwork that littered the top. As he read through the contents, his brow furrowed in confusion, "A recipe for linguine? A tale of a rogue fox? Instructions for constructing a gingerbread house? This is all junk!"
Now, if Ron or any of the Golden Trio members were ninjas, they might have noticed a small, inconspicuous seal that was neatly drawn in the corner of each page. However since none of the three were seal-masters, they had no way of knowing that each page was sealed from their curious gaze.
"That doesn't make any sense," Hermione muttered, grabbing the pages out of her friends hands.
Harry ignored the two, focused on rifling through the drawers. Five minutes passed in silence. "There's nothing here," Harry announced dejectedly.
"Of course there isn't," Hermione frowned, "Maybe she really is innocent."
"Or maybe she's just good at covering her trail," Ron interjected.
"Or maybe," A growling, low and menacing voice interrupted them, "I don't keep anything of importance on my desk that any idiot could get to."
The three turned to look at the doorway, where the angered countenance of Naruto Uzumaki stood. Sweat covered her forehead, her eyes glaring at the three with her arms crossed.
Hermione started, "Professor Uzumaki! We were just—"
"Breaking into my office and rifling through my personal affects to find some evidence of my supposed evil," Naruto stated candidly.
Ron gulped, "I can explain—"
"You don't need to Mr. Weasley," Naruto responded, casually walking into her office as if there was nothing amiss, "I heard it all. My question for you all is simple: Did you really think I didn't have some kind of ward set up to allow me to know if someone entered my office?"
She silently thanked Severus for teaching her the word 'ward'. She wouldn't know where to even begin explaining sealing to the three.
Harry twitched, "Professor, we were only trying to discover your true allegiance."
Naruto quirked a brow, "And instead of asking me, you decided to break into my office, invade my privacy, and make a mess of my carefully organized documents? If my own word of innocence was not enough, surely you would have believed the word of your esteemed Headmaster?"
When silence answered her, she let out a cruel smirk,"Oh, well I suppose that makes sense. After all, Headmaster Dumbledore believes Severus to be a loyal member of the Order. But you three are so much smarter than your own Headmaster, the one who defeated Grindelwald, that you all know for a fact that Severus is evil. After all, he's a Slytherin who doesn't smile, that just reeks of Death Eater. I suppose Headmaster Dumbledore might have his own reasoning for trusting Severus that he hasn't yet told you, but that doesn't matter. For the three members of the Golden Trio are always right."
The three flushed in shame as Naruto continued her sarcastic drawl, "And obviously, as a friend of Severus's and a stranger to you all, I must be a Death Eater too! So since the Headmasters word couldn't be trusted, nor mine, it only made sense for you all to break into my office and invade the private property of your teacher. Did I get that all right?"
Harry opened his mouth, "Professor, I—"
Naruto raised a hand, effectively silencing the boy, "I. Don't. Care. I don't care to listen to whatever excuse you can come up with. I don't care to sit here and watch you scramble for the right words. You know why you did this, I know why you did this, let us not pretend otherwise. It's a waste of time."
Harry nodded his head solemnly, his eyes not leaving the floor. He had, in his own way, respected the blond. She had saved him from what was sure to be a horrid detention with the pink toad, and he repaid her act of kindness by obliterating her trust in him, "We're sorry Professor."
Naruto huffed, "I'm sure you are. 50 point from Gryffindor. Each. And I will see all of you in detention for the next few months. I believe till the end of the term to be fair. Any complaints?"
"No Professor," They answered monotonously.
"Good. Now get out of my sight."
The Gryffindor's hurried out of the room before they provoked any more of her ire. Naruto slumped into her chair dejectedly, an uncharacteristic frown marring her beautiful features.
"Was all of that strictly necessary?" Sasuke asked with a drawl as her friends walked into the room.
"Unfortunately," Naruto answered, "They need to learn sooner rather than later to stop poking their noses in other peoples business. If they keep up their foolish behavior, someone will get killed."
"Naruto has a point," Shikamaru spoke, "She might have just saved them some unnecessary trauma. They must learn to trust their superiors. As a comparison, it would be like one of us not listening or trusting our Hokage, or a genin defying their jonin. It's a quick way to their own graves."
"Ugh this sucks!" Naruto cried.
"Why exactly?" Sasuke asked, "You knew this was coming."
Naruto threw her fiancé a glare, "Well obviously I knew it was coming. Between the suspicious looks the three would shoot me, and their not-so-quiet conversations in both my class and the great hall, there was no doubt in my mind it was going to be soon. I just wish they freaking waited a week!"
"Do I want to know why?" Sasuke asked once more.
Naruto grumbled, "I owe Sevvy 50 galleons."
Severus snorted as he cockily counted out the galleons that Naruto had haphazardly thrown onto his desk. The blond ninja was scowling as she slumped into her seat, her eye twitching as she gazed at the money she had lost.
"One more week. One more fucking week and it would have been me smugly counting the money!" Naruto growled.
The elder wizard quirked a brow, "You're angry about losing money?"
"Duh."
"You're angry about losing money, yet you don't care about the fact that three of your students grievously broke your privacy and trust?" Snape questioned.
"Nah I knew it was going to happen," Naruto admitted, "You warned me about the possibility weeks ago. I just had a little more faith in their patience."
Severus chuckled, "And that was your first mistake: believing the trio to have any form of patience or common sense of decency."
Naruto rolled her eyes, "Anyways, I don't completely blame them for their actions. I am a stranger in the midst of war. Being paranoid is a good instinct to have."
Severus took a sip of his tea, "Then why berate them?"
"They needed to learn their lesson," Naruto explained, "In a time of war, there is nothing more important than trust. And that includes trust in the chain of command. During our Fourth Shinobi War, we would have never won if the frontlines doubted me or my commands for even a second. There had to be perfect trust in our abilities and teammates, it is the single most important factor. Harry, Ron and Hermione are still young, that is true, but they cannot afford to stay ignorant. After all, when I was their age I was almost single handily fighting an enemy that had killed most of my superiors. Although, in hindsight I am a rather special case. But if they keep insisting on inserting themselves into this war, then they have to learn how to trust others outside of their little trio. Otherwise, who knows what could happen?"
Snape nodded, "It is a good lesson to learn. My own job as spy would be a lot easier if those three would just learn how to trust me. I really don't have the time to worry about both The Dark Lord doubting me, and making sure that the three idiots don't accidentally get in my way."
"In a way, I'm glad that they decided to check up on me, It gave me the opportunity to drill into them just how stupid and idiotic their actions were. They just couldn't have fucking waited one more damn week?"
"No, I don't think they could."
Naruto grumbled angrily, "I'm going to make those kids pay."
Snape sweat dropped, "Please don't tell me you mean it literally. As much as I despise those Gryffindors, I do believe it is unethical to make them give you money."
Naruto blinked, "What are you talking about? I just mean that I'm going to make them work off those 50 galleons that they made me lose."
"And how, exactly, do you plan on doing this?" Snape asked.
Naruto grinned evilly, "Oh, you'll see."
Draco Malfoy felt a grin crawl onto his pale features as he gazed into the countenances of his fellow Slytherins. The majority of his house were gathered in the common room, watching as Draco addressed the masses, "Are we all clear on our mission?"
A fourth year spoke up, "By doing this, we are practically displaying our allegiance for this foreigner. Are you certain this is the right move?"
"We are certain," Adrian Pucey spoke up from his seat besides the silver haired heir, "Professor Uzumaki is by far the best choice. She cares for Slytherins, and is a close friend to our Head of House. It is only natural to follow her."
Malfoy cleared just throat, "Umbridge will have us believe that she is the best choice to follow. As a previous member of our house, she will try to convince us to help her attain more political power within the school. She is an idiot, and a disgrace to our wonderful house."
Pucey continued, "As long as we refuse to give her the power she craves, she will never have the backing of the school. A piece of paper detailing her powers means nothing in this castle; not without allies."
"If we refuse to bend to her will, refuse her the allies she foolishly believes that she already has, then we will reclaim the power that she has tried to take from us," Draco explained, "The entire castle already stands against her. It is, after much thought and debate, in our best interest to side with the rest of our peers. Having Umbridge in power will only cause unnecessary mayhem. She is a horrid defense teacher, and a ghastly witch. I for one would prefer the werewolf from third year over this poor excuse of an instructor!"
The majority of the students gasped. Adrian continued, "Professor Uzumaki has come up with a far better solution. A way to keep Slytherin on top, and out of the claws of the pink toad. You all know your mission. Let us remind the castle what a wizard could do when they have the proper ambition."
Lunch that day was a regular affair. The students were overly jovial, the teachers overly exhausted. One thing, however, stood out. At the staff table, where one could usually find the Slytherin Head of House trading quips with his ridiculously attractive and younger friend, found the table empty of both.
Harry frowned as he realized that both were conveniently absent, "Professors Uzumaki and Snape both aren't here. I wonder why…"
Hermione shot her friend a glare, "That is the exact attitude that got us into this mess in the first place!"
Harry grimaced, "I know, I know. It's none of our business."
Ron sighed, dejectedly taking a bite out of his food, "Professor Uzumaki really didn't pull her punches last night, did she?"
"No, she didn't," Harry agreed, "Not that I blame her. We did break into her office and rifle through her stuff."
"I can't believe we were caught," Ron lamented, "We were so careful about checking the map!"
"Professor Uzumaki told us last night that she had a ward set up for her office," Hermione reminded them, "She must have felt the wards being broken and immediately ran to the office. We were there for quite a while."
Harry nodded, "She… she said quite a lot last night, didn't she?"
Ron frowned, "You don't suppose she was right, do you? About Professor Snape and stuff?"
Hermione sighed, "I think it's time for us to admit that she might have been completely in the right. About everything. We have no reason to doubt Professor Snape, other than Sirius's schoolboy dislike of him and our own disposition towards anyone associated with Slytherin."
"And what about that stuff about trusting Headmaster Dumbledore?" Ron asked quietly.
"Well, I suppose she's right about that too," Harry answered, "I'll be the first to admit that I might have a slight problem with authority—"
"Slight?" Ron snorted.
Harry threw a glare at his friend before continuing, "But Professor Dumbledore is a lot more knowledgeable than us about this type of thing. He's been in the frontlines of two other wars. Maybe we need to trust a little bit more in the adults."
Hermione nodded in agreement, "Harry's right. Every time we thought we knew better, especially about Professor Snape, we turned out to be wrong. Remember when we thought Professor Snape was trying to kill Harry in our first year, when he was only trying to protect him? Or that time in third year when we knocked him out when he was actually just trying to save us from someone he thought was a serial killer?"
Harry winced, "We haven't been exactly fair to him, have we?"
"No, we haven't," Hermione said, "But hopefully it's not too late to try."
Meanwhile, as the Golden Trio were coming to terms about their actions the night before, Sasuke hugged his fiancé tightly, drawing her lithe body into his chest. "Don't forget to write."
Naruto rolled her eyes, "I doubt that I could forget. I do love you, Teme."
Sasuke smirked, "I love you two."
Shikamaru sighed, "Are you finished yet? We do have places to be."
Sasuke frowned, lowering his voice so that only Naruto could hear, "10 galleons says that Temari had threatened him if he took too long."
"Not even I'm idiotic enough to take that bet."
With a snort, Sasuke released his fiancé, "I'll see you in a few months, Dobe."
Naruto grinned, "Well you better train hard! I wiped the floor with you last night."
Sasuke's eye twitched, "A fluke, I assure you."
The blond laughed, "Sure Sasuke, whatever helps you sleep at night."
Albus smiled kindly, approaching the foreign ninjas, "The portkey is about to activate. Hold on tightly now."
Shikamaru and Sasuke gripped the rusty keychain tightly, saying their final goodbyes before disappearing. Naruto's grin turned solemn, "I'm really going to miss those two."
Severus sighed, "They'll be back before you know it. Now come on, there is a lot of work to be done."
Naruto's eyes twinkled at the reminder. This was going to be epic.
Hermione gulped as she and her friends entered the office they had broken into just the night before. Their enigmatic Professor was no where to be seen; Unfortunately the same could not be said for the fair-haired Slytherin scowling from his seat in the front of the room.
"Well well well, if it isn't the Golden Trio," Malfoy taunted cruelly, a smirk growing steadily, "Did the perfect prefects finally get caught past curfew?"
Harry bristled, "Shut up, Malfoy!"
Draco's eyes widened in faux shock, "And here I thought that had finally learned his lesson about that sharp tongue of his. How much detention did you score this time? Another week? A month perhaps?"
Hermione scowled, "Leave us alone, Malfoy."
Draco laughed, "Oh poor little Granger, having to survive the big bad snake. Tell me: what did you three manage to do to get yourselves in detention? Hide a werewolf in your common room?"
Ron, always quick with his wand, was the first to draw the weapon, "Shut up, Malfoy. Or I'll make you."
"That will be another 50 points from Gryffindor for threatening another student," Naruto drawled as she walked calmly into the room, "Honestly, aren't you three tired of losing your house points?"
Draco let out a sharp laugh, "Wait. You three are to thank for Slytherin's now substantial lead for the house cup? Well, on behalf of the snakes, you have our sincerest gratitude."
"Draco, knock it out before I decide to even the points out."
Malfoy was quick to disguise his humor, "My apologies, Professor."
Naruto stifled her own smirk at the scene. The pale boy was really just too amusing at times, "Draco, the twins are running a little behind at the moment. Have you started on that task that we discussed last time?"
A slow, evil grin spread on his face, "Of course Professor. Phase one is already in motion."
Naruto nodded sharply, "Perfect. Keep me updated on the situation as it progresses."
"Of course, Professor."
"We're here!" The twins called in sync as they fell through the doorway.
"And with a whole five seconds to spare!" Fred announced with a proud grin.
"Say Gred?" George asked with amusement.
"Yes Forge?"
"Isn't that our darling little brother over there?"
"Why I do believe it is. And look— his friends are there to join him."
"Gasp! You don't think our dear prefect of a brother received detention, now do you?"
"Well I wouldn't dare assume! It's come coincidence though, especially with the huge dip our house points took last night."
"What an eerie coincidence."
Ron blushed red, his nose scrunched in embarrassment, "Would you two shut up already?"
Fred's eyes widened, "Well brother, I do believe mother would love to receive word about this new development."
"Well brother, I do believe you're right!"
"Unless," The twins spoke in sync, their mischievous smiles directed at their youngest brother, "We can be convinced to keep our mouths shut."
Ron sputtered, "What? That's blackmail!"
The twins shared a look, before simultaneously shrugging and answering, "We don't care."
"Boys," Naruto called, "Stop trying to extort your brother and start planning. You do have a detention to suffer."
The twins nodded, before ignoring their fellow housemates and sitting on either side of the lone Slytherin. The three wedding planners quickly got to work, shifting through the ever-present binder and discussing with pure seriousness the proper shade of floral lace.
Ron and Hermione, who had never been around to witness the harmonious exchange of the members of the two opposing houses, couldn't help but let their jaws drop in shock. With a shrug, Harry spoke, "You get used to it. They're ridiculously efficient at this."
The orange loving blond then let her gaze settle on the three Gryffindors, "Now, as for you three, I have something a little different in mind. Harry, you can continue your previous task, I obviously have no patience for those letters."
Harry stifled a groan as he stood up to grab the letters, as well as the necessary stationary. Seeing that Harry had begun his task, she continued, "Now as for Hermione, you can serve your detention by figuring out these forms for me."
The blond passed a large stack of papers to the intelligent witch, who after scanning their contents, could not help but let out an incredulous gasp, "You want me to file your taxes for you?!"
Naruto nodded calmly, as if she has seen nothing wrong in giving her student the task, "I hate figuring out my own finances, and I surely don't want to pay an accountant. So you can do them instead."
"There must be at least 500 pages of finance in here!"
Naruto shrugged uncaringly, "I spend a lot."
Hermione had a little trouble picking her jaw off the floor, "Um… Professor? Why exactly is there the currency equivalent to almost 100,000 pounds in 'public destruction' listed here under the deductibles? For this year alone?!"
Naruto waved her off as she settled into her chair, her eyes never straying from her orange covered book, "Mere semantics. Less questioning, more filing."
Hermione nodded silently, taking a seat as she attempted to figure out exactly how many times her Professor must have been dropped on her head as a baby.
"Now as for you, Mr. Weasley," Naruto continued, "I doubt you have your brothers flair for design, but I've heard you were quite the strategist. Good."
Naruto tossed a small book at the boy, who had barely caught it before it hit him right on the head, "Shogi for Beginners?"
Naruto nodded, "It's almost like chess. Anyways, your job is to memorize the rules, then spend the rest of your time coming up with a brilliant unbeatable strategy."
Ron blinked. He blinked again. "What?"
Naruto sighed as she explained, "That bastard Shikamaru always enjoys challenging me to a game. Since I'm a slight bit competitive, we tend to bet large amounts of money. I can't even begin to count just how much money I have lost to him over the years."
Hermione mumbled, "That explains the 'Nara Fucking Cheats' line, at least."
Ignoring the witch, Naruto continued, "Anyways, I have come to realization that if I ever want to win my money back, I need to come up with an unbeatable strategy! But I'm a little too busy not caring, so you can do it for me instead."
Ron sat down wordlessly, his gaze going back and forth between his attractive Professor and the books she had given him. Naruto quirked a brow, "Well? Are you going to start or are you going to keep staring at me?"
Ron gulped as he opened the book, reading the contents and infusing them all into his memory. Professor Uzumaki was terrifying, the last thing he wanted to do was to paint an even larger target on his back.
With a grin, the ninja watched as each child set upon their individually assigned task. At this rate, Naruto would have earned back the money she lost in no time!
