Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

KAIRI

Minka Windfall was a weird girl with weird name and weird interests. Her hair was too bright and eyes too light. Those were the fact agreed by all the children at the Downton Orphanage.

Minka had been six when she’d arrived after her parents had died in a car crash. Specifically, by a truck slamming onto their car while Minka herself had been at school. As she’d had no other relatives alive (her uncle Mikael had died years ago) she’d been taken to the orphanage. And faced the cruelty of children and dismissiveness of the caretakers.

Despite everything that others deemed weird in her, only Minka knew what truly set her apart from others.

Reincarnation.

She had been five (once more) when she’d remembered her previous life as Namikaze Kairi. But unlike the first time, this time she remembered everything with startling clarity. Her family and friends. Every single detail that had happened in her life until death and everything that could’ve happened according to her Archive. She didn’t have Archive anymore though. This wasn’t Naruto-world anymore, she didn’t need the Archive. Yet… its absence was weird. As Kairi she’d been so used to be able to cheat her way through information and double check things.

But… she did remember stuff she’d read as Katie in her first life. With the Archive not weighting down on her and… taking space on the memory drive, there was more space for Katie’s old interests.

Like Harry Potter books that she’d read and reread so, so many times.

And thus… while Minka still had chakra, the presence of magic did not take her by surprise despite her finding herself at Earth once more.

The one year with Aiko and Carl Windfall with Minka’s memories intact was the best of her lifetime. Of this lifetime at least.

And then it all came crashing down. Children were cruel. They mocked her looks. They tried to take her things. They ripped whatever drawings and writings she made to remember her previous lives. They deliberately excluded her from games and retaliated with violence if Minka went to complain.

Minka couldn’t fight back. They were civilians. Kids. While cruel, they didn’t deserve reaction that a battle-hardened kunoichi would inflict on them. Kairi might not have killed if not necessary but she was still a trained killer and had taken enjoyment from fighting and job completed successfully. She’d been good at killing.

So as Minka she rather deployed Kairi’s other skills. Fading to background, observing people and – most importantly – avoiding more distinction from other kids. And if that meant deliberately walking like a civilian and making a bit of noise, stumbling occasionally like a child in the midst of growth spurt and in general being very un-shinobi-like, then so be it.

It was almost two years of torment before her savior came.

Otus Cheatwood. It was an odd but apt and ironic name. Just like Minka’s own. They met at school first. Otus was a new student after he moved to live with his grandmother and some people teased him for not having parents and for having to wear an eyepatch to correct problems with his vision. But the boy didn’t care. He just laughed and moved away from the people that teased him. He had a charisma even for an eight-year-old and soon people stopped malicious attacks against him. Though befriend anyone he did not.

Minka had been in a slump for the past weeks when they talked for the first time. She’d had hard time drawing people and thus had defaulted into buildings and maps. Kairi had been better a those and had made many, many additions to her mission reports with the help of her architectural knowledge and environment visualization.

And it just happened that during the lunch she’d had one of her notebooks open with the picture of the Hokage Mountain with its five heads when Otus had decided to sit on the same table than her. He’d usually rotated where he sat daily and this time it had been Minka’s turn.

“Hey, mind if I sit here?” The boy had grinned, his visible right eye crinkling as he already set down the lunch tray.

“Go ahead.” Minka shrugged and continued eating. She went to close her notebook when Otus had slapped his hand on hers, thus pinning it down and keeping the notebook open. The boy tilted his head, black hair flopping to the side. His dark eye widened in surprise, then narrowed in thought and finally softened in nostalgia. Not that Minka saw any of this. She’d tensed. Her shoulders were drawn tight and she mentally readied herself for a disparaging remark that were so common nowadays.

“You draw pretty well.” Was not expected. Minka’s head snapped up at Otus who now let go of her hand and sat down opposite her.

“T-Thanks.”

“Do you have more? Can I see?” The boy continued.

“I have some… Not here though…” It was not even a lie. Most of her notebooks were still in the classroom. This one she had with her since it contained part of her homework as well and she’d wanted to reread it. While English Primary school was easy for her due her first life and also because of her second one, Minka enjoyed taking things slow and studying properly. Even if it didn’t show in her grades.

In the end Minka didn’t manage to show Otus more of her drawings before the school ended. And once it did, she hurried out in order to get to library before her tormentors would catch up with her. They didn’t dare to do anything at school where teachers watched but road to the orphanage was like a gauntlet for Minka. Hiding at library and thus lengthening her time of respite (because the headcount at orphanage was done at dinner time and at curfew) just a bit more.

She didn’t get to library. A hand reached out from between school buildings and grabbed onto her backpack, pulling her into the gap. The gap was only four feet wide but nearly fifteen feet long, making it a perfect ambush and hiding spot for primary schoolers. Now, if Minka had been thinking like shinobi, she would’ve ditched her bag as soon as she felt the pull. Heck, she would’ve sensed the ill intent and avoided walking past the gap. But Minka was sentimental eight-year-old who clung to her past and had had her things stolen before. So she held tight onto her backpack even as she stumbled backwards and was pushed onto concrete.

Then the kicking and hitting started. The usual slurs were thrown. Weirdo. Freak. Jap. Loser. Squinty-eye. Nerd. Know-it-all. Teacher’s pet. Bastard.

And so, so much more.

How did the saying go? Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will rip you apart? Or something like that. For Minka… the words didn’t hurt that much, though the repetition of them during the past years had started wearing on her. The hits though were very real to her. And because she hadn’t been using her chakra, she couldn’t even reinforce her own body against the hits.

But she remained quiet. She shielded most vulnerable parts of her body and let out a whimper only when her backpack was again roughly grabbed and the kids tried to pry it off her.

Then…

“What do you think you are doing?!”

Otus was there.

OBITO

When Obito had been crushed under the rocks, he hadn’t expected to ever wake up again. After saving Kakashi and having Rin transplant his Sharingan on the idiot, he had been prepared for slow death beneath the rocks. Death which had been speeded up by the explosion beneath him and the shifting rocks crushing him even more.

Obito did not expect to wake up again, being three years old and see his father levitating things around the house. He did not expect to find impressions and memories of the world he’d left behind but through eyes of a Suna kunoichi. Or knowledge of a possible world where he’d survived and then been brainwashed by his evil ancestor to collect bijuus which had him even attacking and killing Minato-sensei and Kushina-san.

Looking at the possible world where he’d lived and become the evil of all evil missing-nin and then at the world where he’d died and the Suna-kunoichi (apparently Minato-sensei’s niece) had lived and witnessed, it was easy for Obito say which one he preferred more. Because waging war with all nations and then casting a massive genjutsu on the moon, what the hell? Yes, Obito was devastated to know Rin had died but that had been her choice and shitty circumstances but Obito’s counterpart was insane with thinking that world where Rin lived was the only real one and thus destroying the fake world where she died was a must. Even if there had been more differences than just his own death between the worlds, Obito definitely liked their own world more.

But Obito knew how Namikaze Kairi had died. Had seen her in a fight and yell at Bakashi when the man’s students had been against a god and the idiot tried to use Kamui to get them to safety. (Don’t get him wrong, Obito admired Kakashi and was proud of him coming through trauma and mastering even the Mangekyou Sharingan but still…) Obito had seen Kairi reach out and maybe just barely brushing her fingers against the back of Kakashi’s vest. And then it had been dark.

Inspecting Kairi’s memories had told him why he had tagged along as well. Apparently Kairi’s cousin from Hidden Rock (Obito cringed at the messy Namikaze family situation. Being in different villages must not have been easy. Even the Uchiha clan wasn’t this complicated!) had been part of the team guarding Kannabi Bridge and she had blown up tunnels beneath the base, thus killing him and then for some morbid reason sealed his body in a scroll and later given to Kairi.

What the hell?

And Kairi had hold onto the scroll and Obito inside it in the case she needed to bargain with Konoha one day. And thus Obito had been with Kairi on the day she and the current incarnation of team seven had died. And Kairi’s mental shenanigans, her knowledge of the alternate timeline had been dumped on Obito, thus giving him his memories of his life and knowledge of the two parallel worlds.

It was messed up but Obito – now Otus Cheatwood – made do with it. He assimilated the information and then began exploring the new world carefully. He trained his body like he used to, learnt the local language and checked out to see if there was something similar to common that Konohan’s had spoken. Once finding Japanese, he’d promptly learnt that too. Otus did a lot of things to distract himself from what ifs and could’ve beens. And that included investigating the buzzing energy in the air and people that was not chakra. The energy that both of his parents used in the house.

Investigating it was easier than he’d thought. He simply needed to watch and place some good questions at good moments.

They called the energy magic. Noctus and Athena Cheatwood were both magicals and half-blood and thus part of wizarding world. Noctus worked at Ministry of Magic at the Department of Magical Disasters while Athena was a shop assistant at Flourish and Blotts bookshop at Diagon Alley.

Otus liked this new world. There was no war anymore. Ironically the civil war had ended a year before he’d awakened his memories. His death had been at the end of war and apparently so was his new life as well. But with the war over, Noctus and Athena dared to take Otus to see places they worked at and other sights of magical side of Britain.

It included Godric’s Hollow.

There was a war memorial turning into statue of family of three. There was a house looking like it had exploded and a placard set before it to remind people of the tragedy that led to victory. There were fresh flowers brought to graves of James and Lily Potter. While it might’ve not been age appropriate site to visit for a child as young as Otus was at the time, he appreciated his new parents taking him.

Otus did not want Harry Potter books that were glorifying the kid wizard’s exploits while the boy savior was still in nappies. They were unrealistic even in Otus’s own Konoha-bred views and considering that in this new world the age of majority was at seventeen and Hogwarts schooling started at age eleven… Yeah. Wizards were stupid.

Athena wasn’t too fond of the books herself either even if they sold quickly and thus brought money to them. But profiting from a minor and making money from something born out of tragedy was a line she didn’t like crossing. But her boss was apparently adamant about continuing to sell those books.

And so went the years. In peace. Otus trained his body and bemoaned the lack of sparring partner. He learnt more about his new world – both magical and muggle side – and occasionally wondered if the others who’d died with Kairi were in this world as well. If Kairi was in this world. Because if she was… then they could talk. About everything but especially about that alternate timeline. And why they were tied together.

And of course, he experimented with his magic. Levitating things was fun! Setting things on fire was too.

Otus was seven when his noticed that his left eye sometimes became unfocused. It was the eye that Rin had removed and given to Kakashi and thus it hadn’t been in his… body when the weird dimension altering-reincarnation thingy had happened.

It hadn’t bothered Otus at first but soon enough doing homework for muggle primary school became a pain. So he told his parents.

Noctus took him to see a muggle optician at first and it was concluded that Otus suffered from astigmatism. He was told to wear an eye patch and come to regular check-ups. It could be possible that he’d need glasses when he was older but it was also possible that the problem would fix itself.

Mere months after that Athena and Noctus died when some insurgents caused an explosion at Diagon Alley. Otus went to live with his grandmother Iris.

Grandmother Iris was Noctus’s mother. She was a witch too. She worked as an independent seamstress in the muggle world. Otus had to leave his old friends behind and change schools but while mourning his parents, he didn’t really care. Especially when it all led to him finding Kairi.

Minka Windfall. Weird girl with weird name. Hair too bright and eyes too light. That’s what everyone said about him. But Obito saw Kairi in her. Not immediately. The girl disappeared to the background and was very un-shinobi-like with everything she did. But then through coincidence Otus got to see her drawings that had other children mocking her. Hokage Mountain with five heads instead of the three Obito had witnessed in his lifetime. He was sure then. Minka was Kairi. And he needed to talk with her.

Otus didn’t get his chance during school hours. But he did hear whispers about ambushing her. He just didn’t know where ‘the gap’ was. But maybe he’d find it soon.

He was late. Otus stared at Minka’s bruised arms and scratched face. Her tired eyes and her entire body oozing exhaustion. Otus glared at the offenders. Their protests and disparaging remarks about Minka became white noise as Otus charged.

He fought the kids. (They were kids, why they were so cruel?) It had been five against Minka. Otus knew that Minka could’ve fought them off but hadn’t. He knew that infiltration specialists needed to sometimes sacrifice their pride and physical skills in order to maintain their cover but… he couldn’t understand why Minka chose to do nothing. It wasn’t until one of the kids tried to attack Otus’s blind side that she finally acted.

It was quick. It was efficient. Otus’s might’ve been disguising his skills into street brawl but Minka didn’t bother. She thrust the heel of her palm to the underside of the kid’s jaw and then grabbed his arm and tripping him, slammed him to the ground.

Quick, efficient and brutal. And Otus could see how just shifting her weight a bit when doing the pinning, she could easy choke the kid.

Ah. So that it was.

Kairi had not only been after information when doing her missions. She was an assassin too. While Obito had killed too in his shorter life, killing had never been as a primary mission objective for him. Kairi in the other hand had been a honed weapon and lived until nineteen. She had deeply ingrained instincts and she didn’t want accidentally kill someone. And that could happen unless she intentionally stopped herself from acting.

“Come.” All the offenders were down now. Otus reached towards Minka but didn’t touch her yet. Shakily, she reached back and allowed him to pull her up and lead her towards a nearby park.

“Who are you?” She asked when they were finally in the midst of trees.

“I’m the one you carried around for years. I saw both timelines you knew about and your knowledge breathed a life to me in this life as well.” Otus replied. Minka stared at him from beneath her blonde bangs. Her green eyes were indecipherable. But she seemed to get it, if the way she swallowed and looked away was any indication.

“… Uchiha Obito.”

“Yep.” Otus chirped. “Nice to meet you, Namikaze Kairi.”

“Same…”

It clicked. They knew the same things. They shared the past. They were alike in different ways. Two pieces of the same broken mirror.

Rin had pulled Obito up and supported him in his life. Now it was Otus’s turn to pay that kindness forward and thus honor her sacrifice.

Kairi had been whole and supported others in her life. Now it was Minka’s turn to be supported and get rewarded for her patience.

Chapter Text

KAIRI

Minka did not expect to find Obito of all people in this world. She definitely didn’t expect him reincarnating being due her carrying his body scroll with her ever since Reika had given him to her and then him assimilating things from her archive. Though that certainly explained the lightness she’d felt.

They were tied together. And this was Obito from the world she’d lived in, even if he also knew what canon Obito had done.

“May I call you Tobi despite what that other you did?” She asked him.

“May I call you Mina even if that’d fit better your uncle?” He asked her back.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Tobi and Mina. Otus and Minka. Obito and Kairi.

They’d watch each other’s backs. Obito would help Kairi train. Otus would protect Minka. Tobi would keep Mina in a leash. He was strong enough for that.

School life became better and Minka found herself sharing lunches and breaks with Otus. He was good company. Insightful and mature yet refreshingly childish at times too. And from him Minka found out more about the world they were in and thus could conclude where they were.

Explaining it to Otus required him to know something else about her though.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve reincarnated.” Minka admitted one day when they were sitting in a library. “The previous world was my second life and because of my first life, I knew the alternate timeline.”

“So… You were sort of sage back then?” Otus tilted his head again. Very owl-like. Like his name was.

“No. I simply read books.” Minka reached for the nearby bookshelf and plucked a Famous Five book. “You’ve probably read these. Every English kid has read these books.”

“Yeah. Granny Iris has about all of them in her shelf.”

“Have you ever wondered how you’d act if you were in the situations like the protagonists? Or how you’d talk to them, how you’d meet them… How you could make the story better… while knowing it is a story?” Minka smiled pensively. She remembered very well those times when she picked any story and then imagined herself alongside the main characters, adventuring. “My second life was like that. I knew that world. I’d read Naruto’s story. It was a limited world view so it didn’t affect me much when I was there as Kairi… Sunagakure is so different from Konoha and because I wasn’t at Konoha I didn’t need to worry about Danzou or Itachi. My only worry was my family and friends and the tiny blood connection I had to Naruto. And as I lived my life I could see more and more changes there…”

“And this world is the same then?” Otus guessed. Minka couldn’t read his thoughts from his face so she just nodded.

“Yes. Seven books of Harry Potter’s life, depicting his seven years of schooling at Hogwarts.”

“And even if it’s just a story that you know, it’s real life here and thus changes can happen.”

“Yes. And if team seven and some others are here as well, things might happen. Especially…”

“Yeah?”

“I always had a hunch… but I never confirmed it. But I think Nara Shikako was like me. A reincarnate that knew Naruto’s story. And she was in the middle of everything, part of team seven and all, causing butterflies so…” Minka gave a helpless shrug.

“So if she is here and knows Harry Potter’s story as well… then she might be doing changes.”

“Yes.” It was weird. Deferring to Otus. Technically he was younger than Minka since Obito had died at thirteen and Kairi at nineteen but at the same time… Otus and awakened his memories two years prior to her. He had advantage with the time he had actually trained his body as well as head start with practical knowledge of magical world.

“Well…” Otus leant back in his chair. “It’s nineteen-eighty-five, October. Little Savior is only five years old now and won’t be coming to Hogwarts for a while. We could try and see how he is doing… But before that we need your skills up to scratch.”

“And we need to go to Hogwarts and scout the environment and climate.” Minka added. “Political climate I mean. He was a subject of a prophesy about a Dark Lord downfall. I don’t know if the prophecy has already been fulfilled or not but when Voldemort comes back, people will expect Harry to take care of it.”

“That’s messed up.”

“I know.”

OBITO

After establishing the base line of where each of them stood and where they were, it was time to train with Minka. Not train her but train with her. Because while she had not been using her chakra and had not strengthened her body, she still had her reflexes and knowledge. And the efficiency in her movements was familiar. Though how could it be? She’d been from Sand… right?

“My father was good at dissecting ninjutsu and taijutsu after seeing them in action. Sometimes only once was enough.” Minka began. “His jounin sensei was killed in front of him and his team mates. Granted, it was a war but it still left a lasting impression on him. And he began dissecting the taijutsu style he saw and adapting it to his own use. Later he taught it to me and my genin teammates. Koto especially took well to it.”

“…The one who killed your father’s sensei was White Fang, wasn’t it?” No wonder it was familiar. Obito had used to go against Kakashi almost daily basis. And while Kakashi had added his own flare to it, it wasted no movement. And now Minka did the same by adding Sand basic and Fuukatsu style that took into account the weight of a tessen at her back. Well, familiarity was not bad. But eventually they both would need to diversify their opponents. But not yet. The present was good enough.

Minka progressed fast. She began standing her own ground even at orphanage. And at school Otus was there to stop her from going too far. And as she gained control of her own body and abilities once more, she also got back trust to her own instincts.

(Otus was proud.)

Watching her use Shunpo at the park where they trained was a marvel as well. Air was her domain. There was no point where she could not dodge. And magic added certain weightlessness and grace to her movements. She was beauty, she was grace… And she could definitely kick her bullies in the face.

And while Minka trained to reach a good baseline, she also helped Otus to improve his own skills. Obito might’ve been a chuunin when he died and could keep up with Kakashi while sparring (but always losing) but he’d been at the bottom of the Academy rankings and never really had a chance to improve properly. Otus grimaced mentally while remembering the number eighteen that his scores had been at Kairi’s Archive.

Next year, once Otus and Minka were both confident enough on their current skills and had scoured through magical information, they had come to the conclusion that some of Obito’s Sharingan abilities might be found in Otus now too.

“Kamui is dangerous. Especially because the eye that remained with you is the short-range one.” Minka mused. “But it would also be incredibly useful.”

“It’s a versatile skill.” Otus admitted. Even after these years his left eye remained weak and he preferred keeping it covered, but it probably meant that there was no long-range Kamui in that one.

“And we won’t know what’s possible in this world unless we try to break the limit.”

With that determination, they headed for park once more and began experimenting.

KAIRI

Exploring magical world was interesting and fun. Iris Cheatwood took both Minka and Otus with her when she went shopping at Diagon Alley and thus introduced Minka properly to magical world. The few bouts of accidental magic had more than ensured that Minka was a muggleborn witch and thus deserving guidance. And after Otus had told Iris – without Minka knowing – how she was treated at the orphanage, the old woman was planning on adopting the girl.

Minka was oblivious to that all and just grateful that she was allowed the make the spare room of Cheatwood residence her own safe haven. And if the room had more of her things than the shared room at orphanage, then so be it.

With Iris’s guidance and under her watchful the two children were able to experiment with their magic as well. The old woman was of the opinion of getting used to their own magic and gaining some semblance of control but not forcing it to do anything.

“Wandless magic is at anyone’s grasp if they bother to learn and don’t get used to wands as a crutch. Wands are good precision tools having some tricks up to your sleeves is a good way to surprise your opponents.” Iris explained. In a way that was very shinobi-like thinking: “Learning about all elemental affinities is important even if you can’t do their techniques. If you can, even a low grade one, keep that a trump card to change the course of battle.” Or something like that. And she wasn’t even phased when she saw the kids once sitting in the ceiling, upside down. Just reminded them not to leave smudges there and that they would be cleaning it all if they messed up.

Magic was fun. Minka liked levitating things. Otus liked setting things on fire. Changing color on things was nice. Learning about actual spells was useful. And while Otus wasn’t the most avid reader, he was definitely interested in brainstorming the usage of different spells in shinobi fights.

Then the school decided that all kids needed to attend some after school club. Those were run twice a week to allocate as many different options as possible. And some specifically geared towards either boys or girls were placed on the time slots. Minka had narrowed her eyes at the schedule when seeing it. It was an obvious attempt to separate girls and boys. An attempt to separate her and Otus.

The teachers and other adults had been whispering how their codependence was bad for them but Minka didn’t care. Otus didn’t care. They were one mind in two bodies. Sometimes literally. And as long as Iris didn’t disapprove, everything was fine.

In the end Minka signed them up for formal dancing. Because dancers used their bodies differently from athletes and it was a good way to keep in shape without attracting raised eyebrows. And without hindering their growth. Otus grumbled at that a bit but agreed in the end. He could see the merit in step sequences and exercise. As well as learning to the synchronize their actions with each other. They’d become a combat pair after all. They needed to know how to work around each other even if they had no opponents to spar against.

Year 1988 was important. In the spring they got their Hogwarts letters. Minka had been adopted last autumn to Cheatwood family though still kept her name. And thus the mess of getting the orphanage involved to magic (though covertly) was neatly avoided. Likewise, with her registered to be living in a magical household also had her sidestepped as a muggleborn, meaning that no professor came to explain and introduce her to the magical world. There was a note in her letter though about having a scholarship account set for her as it was for all magical orphans with no inheritable accounts.

Wizards were nosy bastards to have found that out. And Minka wagered that the reason why Tom Riddle had been on scholarship was because the Gaunts were so dirt poor they didn’t have any accounts open at Gringotts anymore. And that there were no such things as Founder Vaults anymore. Any such things were long since assimilated to their descendants’ accounts.

Otus and Minka were sitting in his room, reading their letters. They preferred to wear muggle clothing as it was closer in style to things worn in their previous life even if most materials weren’t as stretchy. And as they were of the same size, Minka kept borrowing stuff from Otus. They had a long time past lost count which of the hoodies and jeans were his or hers. Even now, Minka had black hoodie and birth yellow skirt with black tights while Otus had light green hoodie and black capris. But who cared? They didn’t. And Iris didn’t care as long as they dressed weather appropriately.

“It’s definitely a magic quill that writes these.” Otus mused, comparing their letters. His eye patch was off for once. While he didn’t have a Sharingan exactly anymore, he had still retained the photographic memory and certain reading of tells when it came to people and body language.

Plus his touch-based Kamui which they’d recently perfected as well for safe usage. It made going to places much easier. And the box-filled alter space wasn’t that unnerving in Minka’s opinion.

“Completely identical then?” Minka mused, handing over her letter and reaching at the Daily Prophet. Huh, the campaign going on about granting Sirius Black a fair trial was still going strong. When they’d seen the news about the topic for the first time, Minka and Otus had both pondered if they could take it as a proof of team seven existing in this world as well. They were for now in conclusion of not counting the kunai yet. But things did indicate on interference.

“We could go to ministry and take a look around.” Otus stated, like reading Minka’s thoughts. He did that a lot.

Minka tilted her head. It could be a good idea.

“Maybe a next week.” She agreed slowly. “What do you want to do this weekend by the way? We won’t be getting our school stuffs yet in any case.”

“Is there anything going at cinema?” Otus tossed their letters on his desk and flopped backwards.

“I think they are showing the Star Wars trilogy again.”

“Space ninjas!”

Yeah, Otus was a fan. And Minka had to admit, it was nice to see the original trilogy on the big screen as well. And refresh her memory on them. It was such a long time since Katie had watched those movies.

“Entire trilogy in one day?” Iris poked her head in. “Count me in.”

Okay, that was weekend plans finalized. Next, they’d need to find information about Ministry’s structure for spy purposes.

Chapter Text

OBITO

It was surprisingly easy to get information on Ministry’s different department and their placements in the building. Minka provided the location of the visitor’s entrance that told the approximate location of the Ministry’s halls. And Granny Iris was great help in educating Otus about the building itself. Her late husband, grandpa Acadius Cheatwood had been part of Deparment of Magical Transportation and thus Iris had visited him a lot. And since Noctus used to work for Ministry as well, that added on to the information available.

There was maps about the placement of the offices left from Noctus! As he’d worked for Magical Disasters, he had needed to know the Ministry like the backs of his hands.

And now the maps would be very useful for Otus and Minka.

“Sirius is in holding cells which are found in the same floor than Department of Magical Law Enforcement.” Minka pointed the section of several square blocks, ten by ten feet in size in reality.

“Do you want to come with on the first trip?” Otus asked.

“Yes.” Minka nodded resolutely. “There is no way I’m letting you go alone.”

“Okay. Tomorrow then.” It was the date agreed.

“Tomorrow.”

Otus took a deep breath and held out his hands. Minka took them without hesitation. The trust she showed him was encouraging even when Otus himself was uncertain about using Kamui. While they’d perfected its use it was still a power that he only knew through Kairi’s Archive.

Concentrating both chakra and magic around his eyes, Otus mentally reached for his alter space.

And they were there. Easy, painless, not-vertigo inducing. It might’ve looked like water going down the drain but it definitely didn’t feel like it.

Then Otus reached for real space. For underground near the visitor’s entrance. He mentally felt around until there was enough space for them to materialize in. In the meanwhile, Minka had weaved through the hand seals of Transparent Escape Technique with the help of Otus’s left hand. The transparency fell upon them both.

Otus did not care much for the technique. It reminded him too strongly about Camouflage Technique that the Rock ninja had used to kidnap Rin and wound Kakashi. The ninja that Obito had killed then, awakening his Sharingan.

But this was Minka. He trusted her. Otus took a deep breath once more and moved them to real space.

“Correct floor.” Minka murmured and pulled him to the side, out of the way of the witches and wizards bustling about. From the shouts and sounds going on…

“I think they got the rat…” Otus whispered back. They weaved around the adults present and unashamedly listened in on conversations around. Two kids had found the rat, Peter Pettigrew.

Minka tugged his hand and led him towards desks near interview rooms where they flattened themselves into an empty nook between a potted plant and an alcove it was placed in. There was a man sitting on a chair by one of the desks with a little girl next to him. They were waiting. Otus pressed closer to Minka and angled his head so that he could keep the pair in his field of vision while being able to whisper to her ear.

“Ih that her? The Nara girl?” He asked, omitting S-sound as it’d be too sharp in the partially quiet room.

Minka nodded, not phased about the fact their bodies were basically molded together. Her green eyes were wide as she took in the girl who was apparently downplaying the potential danger she had been in while the man – Lysander – kept worrying.

“Different?”

Shake. Minka frowned a bit and then turned to speak.

“Don’t know why people worry about her. Never did.” She explained. “Never thought herself child.”

The girl on the chair, doodling and her brown hair plaited down her back, twitched and secretly glanced around. Minka pursed her lips in discomfort and Otus held his breath. Shikako Nara had been a chakra sensor, right? He activated Kamui and let their physical bodies slip into alter space. There was still a shape of them concealed but chakra traces were gone. They were a void. And in a world without chakra, such thing was unnoticeable. Minka had theorized that Tobi had never needed to be a void truly because he usually just opened enough space to spy with his eye and while fighting, he was visible presence that simply couldn’t be touched. And that nature chakra had possibly covered the absence of a person.

A door to interview room opened and an Auror stepped out with a dark-haired boy with him. The Nara girl relaxed.

Sylvanus and Katherine. Those were the names of the children. They looked so young. Otus watched them leave with Lysander and once they were gone, he brought himself and Kairi back to real space fully.

“Ninja through and through.” He mused.

“Sorry…” Minka muttered, embarrassed about her slip.

“It’s okay.” Otus comforted her. Then he noticed that her eyes were trained on some other spot in the room. “What is it?”

Minka silently pointed at one of the Aurors in the room, working at the desk but shoulders tense. Then she tapped her forehead twice.

Oh. Another ninja then?

Otus traced a spiral to the back of Minka’s hand with his thumb. She gave a slow nod. Probably from Konoha then but she was not sure. Understandable. Otus trained his eyes at the man. There was something familiar in him but not much… This was the trouble of dying young and not knowing what his peers looked like as adults. While Minka’s problem was not having been Konohan.

“Follow?”

Nod.

They settled on waiting until the man moved.

KAIRI

The mysterious shinobi as auror worked a bit on the desk, going through papers and probably double-checking facts before moving. He had been tense ever since seeing Shikako – Katherine – and thus probably had worked with her closely. Kairi had not known much of Konoha’s teams and had not cared to find out as she’d been busy with her own missions. But there was one thing that had reached even Suna. How Land of Hotsprings became Land of Ashes. While there was no proof that Shikako had been there, Kairi had had a hunch that the Nara girl had been investigating it. Because canon story and Hidan. So something must have happened. And as the spare of Nara clan, there was no way they’d send Shikako alone that far, even if she’d been TokuJo at the time.

While there was other missions with disastrous results, Land of Ashes had undoubtedly involved Jashin, a god. Team seven and Kairi had died while facing Pein, a man wielding god’s power.

Minka was thus willing to bet that this man was Shikako’s partner from Land of Ashes mission and had died there. Working on guesswork like this was annoying though.

The auror – Alan Boscastle read on his name plague on the desk – headed for another one of the interview rooms.

The following conversation was… interesting.

Shikabane-hime, Gelel, the silence binding seal and dementor ward… If there had been any doubt about Shikako’s interference thus far, it had been dispelled now.

And auror Boscastle’s reaction to ‘Gelel was a god she encountered’… The sheer panic in his chakra was palpable. Minka could feel Otus tensing against her. When they followed the man at the storage cupboard and listened to him trying to steady his breaths.

“He died. He died and he thinks Shikako died as well.” Minka concluded. While Boscastle was collecting himself, the pair went through the reports of the incident regarding finding the rat and thus found the full names of the children. Katherine Darby and Sylvanus Urien.

“Let’s go.” Otus pulled her hand and they left to go back home.

“Knowing their names and acknowledging that our names are weird references to our past lives, might help figuring out who Boscastle is.” Minka stated when they were lying on Otus’s bed, hands still clasped together. A dictionary laid between them.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Darby means a forest full of deer.” Minka quirked a smile. “Appropriate for Nara. While Urien means privileged birth which fits Uchiha well.”

“Not to mention that the first letters of Sylvanus Urien match Sasuke Uchiha as well.” Otus pointed out.

“That’s true as well.” Minka nodded. “Windfall means things blown over by wind and I used to be Namikaze… Cheatwood might be a way to write Chitwood but it is also a refence to Mokuton in our case. And we kept first letters of our first name as well.”

“So Alan Boscastle is something A-beginning first name while family name should have castle – shiro – in it.”

“Most likely.”

“A… Shiro…” Otus frowned and Minka really wanted to press a thumb between his eyes to smooth the creases appearing there. “Aoba Yamashiro is the only one that I can figure to fit. He was a couple of years older than I and had very good memory for ciphers.”

“Then it’s possibly him. He worked for intelligence after all.” Minka agreed. “Should we do something about this knowledge?”

“If we meet him properly, maybe.”

“Okay.”

Iris had gotten the idea in her head that if they were going to buy new things for their upcoming first year at Hogwarts, then they should first go through their old things to see if there was anything that they wanted to get rid of. As the school had eased on them after the exams and shortened the days, Minka and Otus had long afternoons now without doing anything specific. Especially when Sirius’s case was progressing on snail pace.

Minka hadn’t owned much in the first place originally but there were some clothes that had gotten too small for her. Same with Otus. There were also some old books that they could sell. Muggle ones at the fair for used stuff while outdated magical books could be given to Diagon Alley’s second-hand store. They paid nice little sum of pocket money to them if the books were in good condition.

And they were. They might’ve been Otus’s parents’ old school books but they hadn’t really been used in years aside from Minka and Otus educating themselves about different spells. Since they would be getting new books, the old ones could be sold.

(and because they were doodle and smudge free, they didn’t even have much sentimental value to either Otus or Iris. They had much other things to remember Athena and Noctus by.)

“We might get a discount at Madam Malkin’s and Flourish and Blotts.” Otus stated when they packed books to boxes and got ready for trip to the alley.

“Because of your mother?” Minka asked.

“Yeah. And granny Iris used to work for Malkin’s before opening her own shop.”

Iris hand sew everything. All the rips and holes. All new dresses and trousers she fixed to fit them properly but had room for growth. She knitted and weaved. She had even made Otus jacket looking a bit like the one his counterpart had used for Fourth Shinobi War. Though the collar was similar to the one Obito had used as a child.

Minka loved the scarves and skirts she got from her. Granny Iris was after Otus the best that had happened to her. She was full of love and energy. Very caring but had no-nonsense attitude. Muggleborn who had blended well to wizarding world without forgetting her roots.

“Sounds good.” Discounts were always good. While Minka had her own scholarship money, she didn’t know yet how much it actually was. And Irish was basically a single parent of two currently. Her clothing shop catered to both muggle and magical customers but with muggle clothing business mostly industrialized and with Madam Malkin’s and Twilfitt and Tattling pulling in customers by being better known at magical side… Yeah, discounts were good.

Diagon Alley was bustling with activity as usual but this time coming there had a purpose. Minka was excited. Otus was too but it was Minka who gushed about things to him.

“I’m just so happy to finally go to Hogwarts. I remember dreaming about getting the letter ever since I read the books.” She explained quietly, for the nth time during the past months. While she’d expressed her interest in magic in the past years as well and fascination with the world the were in now, it had really only sunk into her properly that she was going to Hogwarts a bit before the letters itself had arrived in May.

“I’m glad you get to live your dream.” Otus grinned back.

“Thank you!” Minka beamed back.

“Come on, kids. Don’t get lost. We need to go to Gringotts first.” Iris called from the front.

“Yes, granny Iris!” The two chorused back, linking their hands and hurrying after the old woman dressed in twilight blue robes.

The cart ride in Gringotts was exhilarating. And for two former shinobi it was child’s play. Fun but not really stomach turning. Minka was happy to have her own money to use at shops for school supplies though she had a feeling she’d need to collect some muggle money to be converted to galleons so she would buy things outside the list as well without visibly denting her new account. Who knew how closely they watched it?

The school robes were first. Plain black robes. Very uniform. Minka sighed mentally from uniform to uniform. Even their primary school had had mandated uniforms and gym clothes to use. Well, hopefully at Hogwarts she’d have a chance to alter her appearance a bit. Granny Iris had already promised to help her to grow her bangs away during the summer. At the orphanage all girls had polka cut hair. While Minka hadn’t minded the length, the bangs annoyed her. Especially with her having some waviness in her hair this time around.

Otus had hard time not fidgeting while the fitting was going on with all the needles around. Minka could sympathize. It was indeed disconcerting for shinobi to allow strangers so close with sharp objects. But they both bore with it and were very relieved to get out of the shop once everything was done.

Books were next. All required books from the list as well as some supplementary reading. Updated version about ingredient preparation was a must.

“I think I want to check out Waterstones for fantasy books.” Minka mused. Had Terry Pratchett published any of his books yet? Katie had had never had a chance to read his books but now Minka was tempted to give them a chance and preferably a glance as well.

“If we are not terribly exhausted, I’ll consider it.” Iris replied.

“Thank you.”

Ollivander’s was an unnerving visit. Minka could see that Otus was tempted to scratch at his left eye with all the ambient magic in the air. She didn’t feel like lingering in the shop either. Thankfully, Ollivander seemed to sense their discomfort and impatience and thus didn’t dawdle too much. In the end Minka got Beech wand with unicorn hair and Otus got Cedar with Phoenix feather. Very fitting matches in her opinion.

The rest of the supplies were gathered in short order and then the robes fetched from Malkin’s. In the end they were too tired to stop by Waterstones and thus headed straight home.

A few days later the trial date for Sirius was announced.

OBITO

While wizards and most likely the team seven as well were distracted by Sirius’s trial, Otus and Minka took a chance to visit Harry. They’d spied on the boy before a couple of times after perfecting Kamui but not before. Lancaster was on the other side of England from Surrey after all.

They found the seven-year-old boy – too small for his age – at a park, practicing levitation with leaves. Otus felt Minka squeeze his hand almost painfully.

“Should we show ourselves to him?” He asked her.

“Maybe… But not have him talk about us to Shikako and others before we properly introduce ourselves.” Minka replied. Otus considered the condition for a moment before a smile spread on his face. “I think it’s time Tobi and Mina did their first entrance to the world.”

Minka blinked at him, tilted her head, considering…

“Sure.”

HARRY

Harry had been doing the leaf tag levitation exercises to distract himself. He had heard from Shikako that his godfather’s trial was today. Harry was nervous. He really wanted Sirius to get free and come and get him away from Dursleys. He also wanted Shikako and Sasuke and Naruto with him. They were the best friends he ever could’ve asked for.

“That looks fun! Can we join?” A voice spoke from above him. Harry looked up. There was a boy and girl sitting up there. The boy had black hair and black eyes and was dressed in dark colors. The girl was his opposite. Light hair and light eyes and dressed in light colors. They were both pale but the girl seemed to be a bit tanner. The boy was grinning at Harry while the girl just watched.

“Who are you?” Harry asked in wonder. They looked so… strange, in the shadows of the leaves, up on the branches. Even Shikako had looked normal though she was a bit strange as well.

“I’m Tobi, this is Mina.” The boy spoke. “You are very good at making leaves fly. Have you done that a lot?”

“Yeah. I play and train with my friends a lot.” Harry replied. He watched the girl – Mina – look at Tobi silently and then tilt her head. Tobi shared a moment of silence and then he look back at Harry.

“We have done levitating stuff as well. Shall we compete?” Tobi asked then.

“Sure.” They seemed nice. Maybe they knew Shikako and Sasuke and Naruto as well. Maybe Harry could be friends with these two as well.

Tobi jumped first down from the tree and then waited for Mina. The girl pushed herself off and gently floated down. She gave a quick smile at Harry when seeing his awe but didn’t say anything. Tobi held out six leaves to them.

“Okay, who can levitate two leaves on separate hands?”

Harry had fun. Tobi and Mina were both great even if they were very different from Shikako and Sasuke and Naruto.

When it was Harry’s time to get back to Dursleys, Tobi and Mina bid him goodbye and promised to come and see him when they could – but not too soon. Then they vanished up to the branches and when Harry tried to look where they went, he couldn’t see them.

Next day Shikako appeared to tell that Sirius was free now but needed see doctor first before coming and getting Harry. In his excitement over good news, Harry completely forgot to mention Tobi and Mina to her.

(But in hindsight, that was good.)

Chapter Text

OBITO

One, two, three… One, two, three…

Otus counted the rhythm given in the music before the actual dancing part begun. As the one dancing the male parts, it was up to him to lead. During the dancing club lessons he and Minka hadn’t switched parts but when practicing at home, they had.

“Think it as infiltration practice.” Minka had smiled when she’d taken the lead in the dance for the first time. It was a good idea. Minka’s ideas were always good. And this way they’d learn both sets of the steps.

While they’d finished primary school and thus didn’t have dancing club anymore, Otus and Minka had continued practicing. They knew the basics of many dance styles and thus could now build on their own to different songs. Today, Minka had chosen the Second Waltz by Dmitri Shostakovich. It was beautiful.

The melody started and Otus took the first step forwards. Minka stepped backwards. Forward with right foot, backward with left foot. One, two, three… One, two, three… Soothing rhythm. It was very calming over all.

Sometimes Otus woke up to could’ve beens and what ifs. Thinking about the horrors his alterself had done and he always found himself so, so grateful that the Namikaze cousins had existed in his world and that Reika had finished him off before that creepy Zetsu thing could retrieve his half-dead ass from beneath the rocks. And he was grateful that no matter how weird it might’ve been and how traumatized Reika was over her first kill, she’d taken and sealed his body and given him to Kairi and that he had now this chance to life a new life with Minka.

And usually when Otus woke up, Minka followed and found her way to him. Iris had long since stopped trying to separate them during those nights. She didn’t ask questions what woke him up and why he couldn’t tell her. She just trusted Minka make it better. Iris acknowledged that Otus and Minka’s relationship was weird and they were strangely attached to each other but she didn’t try to get between them. There were some examples of magical bonds beneficial to both parties after all.

But usually during the days after such nights Minka chose a calm and soothing song for them to dance to, with Otus leading, for him to gain back some control. Thus this waltz.

Minka smiled softly at him as they twirled. She didn’t speak much. Considering how sharp tongue and sarcastic humor she’d possessed as Kairi, it was a bit jarring for Otus and he feared to know how much damage those people at orphanage had actually done to her. Deliberate crippling of herself had already been bad enough and with the lack of accidental magic bouts at first, Otus had been fearing she’d become an obscurial. That was not the case though, Iris had been quick to sooth Otus’s worries back then and later made sure that no such worrying terms were in the books he’d read until he fully understood them. Sweet but infuriating thought.

But Minka was still silent, properly talking only to Otus and Iris. And to school teachers when she absolutely had to.

“Do you think we’ll make new friends at Hogwarts?” Otus asked the girl.

“Maybe. I hope so certainly.” She replied. “But no one will ever replace you.”

“Of course not. No one is as handsome and fun as I.” He playfully boasted back.

Minka chuckled at that and Otus reveled in the way her eyes crinkled in mirth and corners of her mouth drew up. She deserved the world really.

Sirius had been exonerated weeks ago. Harry had been taken to Black Manor. Otus had spied on the ward applying process that allowed Harry to leave Dursleys while still having his mother’s protection. A quick trip to Ministry had ensured that they’d know the location of the Black Manor where Harry and Sirius currently resided at. Minka had only known about the Black townhouse in London that she doubted that Sirius would ever return to if he really, really didn’t have to.

“We should visit Harry, shouldn’t we?” Otus mused.

“Probably yes.” Minka agreed. And she once more took his hand without hesitation. While Otus’s confidence in using Kamui had grown, it was still heartwarming.

They found Harry with Sirius, exploring the manor. They hadn’t bothered with Transparency technique even if they’d left they physicality behind to alter space. Minka twitched her fingers and Pas de Deux by Piotr Tchaikovsky began to play around them. Otus took the lead once more while Minka weaved magic around them in a way that they seemed see-through. They had no magical presence here and thus they seemed only little more like ghosts to anyone (portraits) that might see them.

Pas de Deux was very slow song that only added to the mystique around them. It was part of the ballet and thus traditional steps did not fit it but they could improvise. Otus paid no heed to the whispering portraits that made the message spread throughout the manor. He just watched Minka’s closed eyes and her hair pinned up. They were both dressed in formal clothes, for Otus it was black dressrobes while for Minka it was long deep blue silk dress.

They twirled to the music and Otus could hear steps approaching. Three people. Probably the adults of the house: Arcturus Black, Sirius Black and the butler Halton. Possibly Harry too since as a child his foot steps would be quieter. And he had been getting training from the team seven so he possibly could walk quietly anyways.

Otus sensed when the adults appeared from different directions of the hallway crossing, he and Minka were dancing at. Minka let out a soft hum when they came within the music sphere. Otus led them through a couple of more twirls before bringing them to stop. He looked surreptitiously at Harry and brought a finger to his lips.

“Shh…” He shushed at everyone. It was a message for Harry to keep quiet about them but at the same time it was a ‘mystic message from beyond’ for the adults. Or something. Otus gave a soft squeeze at Minka’s waist and she turned them invisible and thus for Otus to whisk away.

SIRIUS

Sirius wanted to let out a whimper. First Shikabane-hime and her companions as well as the insanity accompanying them. (Like horcruxes and combat training) Now these two spirits. Was this a warning? But for what? Well, at least these two didn’t try to pass as normal children.

“Grandfather, did your wards notice them coming?” Sirius asked Arcturus.

“No. They had no magicial presence and thus were undetected.” Lord Black replied, hand gripping his cane.

“I think they don’t want Shikako to know about them…” Harry said quietly, frowning. Sirius whipped his head to look at his godson.

“What do you mean?” Arcturus frowned down at the boy.

“They visited me once. Sirius’s trial was going then. We played with leaves but they have never visited again even though they promised. And Shikako and Sasuke and Naruto have been around a lot.”

“What are their names?” Sirius asked gently.

“The boy is Tobi and the girl is Mina. They are good at disappearing.”

Well, that was not worrying at all. But if they could get in to Black Manor’s wards… who knew what other abilities they had especially given that they looked older than the other three. Sirius could only hope that while they were bound to keep Shikabane-hime’s secrets, they weren’t obliged to reveal other secrets to her.

Maybe finding such loophole wouldn’t anger her.

KAIRI

Time crawled forward but that time was well spent in going through new books and making notes. Otus still wasn’t too fond of theoretical work but Minka persuaded him to do things now so at Hogwarts they’d have time for something else. With much grumbling he agreed.

One bright July night, they were on the roof of their home, watching starts through their new telescope when Minka remembered something.

“Harry’s eighth birthday is soon.”

“Really?” Otus blinked.

“The last of July.”

“In two weeks then.”

“We should get him a present.”

“That sounds good.”

And thus they began planning a suitable present for a young boy. It took the entire week. First to come up with the idea and then hunting down all the needed supplies for it. Needed and suitable supplies. They’d not do anything half-heartedly.

Minka wiped her hands to a towel and inspected her work. Painting with enamel was hard but after several botched attempts, she finally succeeded.

“Your tenacity must be admired.” Otus stated, awe in his voice, while he compared her work to the photo she’d had as model. Photo of Lily and James Potter.

“Thank you. Now it must dry.” Minka smiled. She had to admit she was a bit proud of this piece. Using the brushes with miniscule amount of hair had been hard and had almost cramped Minka’s hand but it was finally done. The couple had found themselves inside the locket now. Now the only thing left was attaching the locked to a braided leather strap with some glass beads woven in so it’d make a bracelet. And of course, delivering the gift.

“I’ll go take this photo back to its owner.” Otus picked up the photo. “You rest now.”

“Sure. Have a safe trip, Tobi.”

“Always, Mina.”

Minka sat on a tree, watching the party happening on the Black Manor’s grounds. Otus was leaving their present on Harry’s bed in the meanwhile.

This wasn’t the first time Minka was watching people. In the past month she and Otus had been spying on Harry and team seven several times. They only let Harry spot them briefly before vanishing, reminding him that they hadn’t abandoned him. With team seven, Minka and Otus remained void so they couldn’t be detected either by chakra sensor Shikako nor magic analyzer Sasuke. Watching eight-year-olds gang up on Alastor Moody at Urien Mansion was hilarious though.

But now it was Harry’s day. They were having a picnic. Sirius had his motorbike with which he took the children on rides. Harry was laughing and smiling freely, enjoying himself. It made Minka feel happy for him but a bit melancholic all the same. She really wanted to join him. But she needed to stay hidden from team seven…

 When the other reincarnates were distracted by talking to Lupin, she twitched her fingers and guided a melody of The Blue Danube to the boy’s ears. Air was her domain also for other purposes than just levitation. Harry’s head perked up and he looked around. The team seven seemed to tense at that, sensing foreign magic and thus glanced about the yard. But Harry was the only one that spotted Minka. She smiled, bringing a finger to her lips and then waving at him.

“Happy Birthday, Harry!” Minka whispered, her voice only heard by Harry through her magic.

Just then, Otus arrived back on the branch she occupied and after waving at Harry, he whisked them both away.

SHIKAKO

She was worried. There had been some foreign magic at Black Manor’s grounds and attaching itself to Harry for a moment. The boy seemed to know what it was but wasn’t talking. For it seemed that there were no adverse effects on him but Shikako couldn’t be sure.

Then there was a mysterious package left on Harry’s bed. Obviously, a birthday present but Shikako couldn’t help but check it for magic. There were two traces of magic but no spells used or found on it. But how had it been left at Black Manor then? Because if there was some mysterious gift-giver (other than Dumbledore who did not know where Harry was now) then what were their intentions?

Well, at least Harry liked his gift. The bracelet fit him well and the straps seemed to be adjustable.

This still worried her a lot. And neither Naruto or Sasuke seemed to have any ideas as to what was going on.

Three weeks later Shikako was right to have been worried.

They’d been training on the yard with Sirius ‘supervising’ when Sasuke had suddenly stopped and turned around. Between the trees was a girl. Older than their physical age but tiny. Taller but thin. Sort of… Shikako hesitated to use the word but fae-like. She was taking tiny steps back and forth while moving a fan with two tails in her right hand. Graceful and slow movements. And her magic was the same that had touched Harry on the boy’s birthday.

And Harry knew her.

“Mina…” The boy whispered as the girl twirled around like a ballerina.

“You know her?” Naruto asked. Behind them Sirius had gone stiff. Did he know the girl as well.

“Yeah. Mina is a friend. She has visited me a lot but she doesn’t talk.” Harry smiled, like there was nothing wrong with having such… strange acquaintanceship. Though maybe he didn’t, considering how he’d gotten to know Shikako.

The girl – Mina – angled her body towards Harry and extended her hand. Shikako had no time to process the motion and implications before Harry had already hurried towards the girl. He took the girl’s hand…

“Long time no see, Mina! Is Tobi here too?” The boy was asking the girl.

“Harry, don’t!” Sasuke shouted, his eyes detecting the building up magic, but he was too late.

Mina twisted her fan sharply, creating a blast of wind around the pair before they were gone.

“Harry!” Sirius yelled in anguish.

“Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.” A new voice stated from the direction where Mina had just stood. “I just needed him out of the way for this conversation.”

A dark-haired boy stepped out of the shadows. Shikako took in his coat and her blood froze. Harry had been asking after ‘Tobi’.

“What do you want?” Shikako asked. She wanted to be openly hostile. This was the person that targeted Naruto. This was the person who’d released Kyuubi. This was the person who created Akatsuki and killed numerous people and had been prepared to manipulate Sasuke to join Akatsuki as well. But at the same time Shikako realized that she was outclassed still. She might’ve been jounin back home but here she was at disadvantage. Not to mention that Tobi seemed older and thus had head start on magical things. And all the knowledge from living so long as Madara.

“I wanted to talk.” Tobi replied simply, smirking. He wasn’t wearing a mask but that didn’t really matter as this was a new world and Shikako definitely didn’t recognize his face from anywhere. Though the spiky Uchiha hair was still there. “I’ve been keeping an eye on things after all.”

“You couldn’t get Naruto last time so now you are after Harry.” Shikako concluded. Sirius gasped.

“Is that true?” The animagus demanded.

“Actually no.” Tobi glanced at the man briefly but then eyeing Shikako in disdain. “For someone who has the spoiler list of this world, you certainly jump to conclusions.”

Spoiler…

“I mean… I can see that you did some good before with your cheat codes but aren’t you reaching a bit?”

Did he mean…? Did he know that she’d been a ‘seer’ in previous life as well?

“Oi, what are you talking about?” Naruto – bless him – interrupted.

“A jinchuuriki, an Uchiha and a sage blessed. You certainly made an interesting combo. Though you could’ve been more efficient as well if you hadn’t relied on faulty information.” Tobi continued. Shikako grabbed onto that mistaken conclusion and found her voice once more.

“You say that as if you were one of blessed as well. You can’t know what I know.” He could not. Please tell her he did not.

“True… I didn’t know. But Mina did. And she told me.”

“Mina…” That girl from before that lured Harry away. “She was blessed as well?”

“No, she simply read a lot and knew how one world ended. She loved books you know. She memorized everything from them, even at the cost of her own self.” Tobi shrugged nonchalantly, like it was no big deal.

Books… No way…

“But you were different, weren’t you? You knew things but forgot a lot as well. You kept your own identity throughout your lives.”

This was so much worse. Tobi knew she had learnt about the previous world from books and he had access to someone who’d lived the same world yet had much broader knowledge of it.

“So what? At least I kept the name I was given at birth. I certainly can’t imagine the great Madara Uchiha going by such silly name as Tobi and making a clown out of yourself.” Wait, that was not what she intended to say. Shikako felt around for magic and soon found some having grabbed onto her throat. She dispelled it, glaring at the man before her. Sasuke was still next to her when hearing the name of his clan’s former leader but he was ready to spring to action. Naruto was close to losing a temper but his head was tilted thoughtfully. Tobi only looked at her flatly, like he hadn’t just planted words in her mouth and compelled them out. While Shikako didn’t doubt that those words had in some form existed in her mind, she had still more self-restraint than that to actually say them.

“You have always been such an interesting contradiction. Crippling anxiety and paranoia combined with incredible arrogance. No sense of self in comparison to others.” Tobi stated then looked away and reached for air. Mina and Harry stepped onto the grass and Harry greeted Tobi excitedly.

Mina in the other hand looked at team seven quizzically. There was something familiar in her but Shikako couldn’t really put a finger on it… But if Mina had really lived in the previous world then she had either been a civilian or from some other village. Because Shikako did not recognize her as Konoha ninja.

“Are you going to still visit?” Harry was currently asking Tobi while the man/boy smiled indulgently at him.

“Don’t you dare.” Shikako hissed. “You are not welcome here, Madara.”

But Tobi – Madara just ignored her.

“We’ll see, Harry. There are some things that Mina and I need to do but we’ll try. And now you have your friends visiting you without fear of discovery, right?”

“That’s true. We can play a lot more now!”

Then the trio bid goodbyes, like it was normal for them and Madara looked straight at Naruto before leaving.

“I think you’ll find that not all things are like they seem. You have been taught to look underneath the underneath, right?”

And he and Mina were gone.

NARUTO

Shikako had been really scared when Harry had disappeared with the weird girl and the Tobi guy appeared. The guy apparently knew Shikako had been a seer and he had been an enemy at their old world even if they’d never encountered each other. Revelation that he was Madara Uchiha had certainly shook Sasuke but Naruto…

Kyuubi disagreed with the information. He said that he’d met Madara twice (and been controlled by him both of those times) and this guy’s chakra wasn’t the same at all. The weird boy was an Uchiha but not Madara.

But Shikako was scared of him anyways because he was called Tobi. And she knew things that Tobi could’ve done.

When Harry had been put to sleep and Sirius had confessed that Tobi and Mina had visited manor before and had disappeared and appeared without any magical trace on all those times, team seven had gathered at Sasuke’s home and started talking about the strange pair. Well, Sasuke had interrogated Shikako about Tobi’s skills and potential threat level in their last life.

“He released Kurama on Konoha on October 10^th.” Shikako confessed quietly and Naruto had to speak up.

“Madara maybe did but this guy here is not him. Kurama said so.”

“What?”

“How could that be?” Sasuke frowned. Shikako bit her lip. It seemed that she was thinking really hard the conversation and whatever information Tobi guy had revealed accidentally or on purpose.

“He implied many times that my information was not complete…” Shikako said. “It’s possible that I did not see as far as… that Mina but then… who was he? Or her for that matter?”

The trio fell into silence as they tried to match a face or a version of a name to someone they’d known from their previous life.

It didn’t work and they had to admit defeat.

“He didn’t seem malicious though.” Naruto said. “Maybe we don’t need to worry.”

“Even if he isn’t Madara, he still used the name Tobi. And Tobi was the shadow leader of Akatsuki, even higher than Pein in hierarchy though he pretended to be the newest recruit.” Shikako rebutted. “And this Mina is a complete unknown. Who knows how he is manipulating her.”

“We need to keep an eye out on Harry. He doesn’t seem to think them dangerous.” Sasuke agreed. “And when you tried to warn Tobi off, the magic from the girl was blanketing his ears again so I doubt he heard your displeasure over them.”

That… was worrying.

Chapter Text

ARCTURUS

Knowing that the two beings that visited earlier in the summer were actually in the odds with Shikabane-hime was worrying and unnerving. Sirius had been quite pale when conveying the information to Arcturus. Both how the male spirit – Tobi – had acted towards Shikabane-hime, as well as Shikabane-hime’s reaction to him. Mina was still mysterious as she’d apparently not talked this time either but had spirited Harry away from the grounds.

Lord Black dearly hoped that his home would not end up in cross fire between the spirits.

“She drove them away then?” Arcturus asked.

“Not exactly… More like she warned them off but Tobi… or Madara as she called him, did not seem to take her seriously.” Sirius explained.

“That’s…”

“He is probably quite the bit stronger than her, to dismiss her like that.” Cassiopeia mused. “What it means for Harry then, to have attention of two powerful spirits interested in him though… It’s hard to say.”

“Mina seems to defer to Tobi when making decisions even though it was implied that she is the one seeing future. Tobi did imply that she ‘lost her own self’ in order to remember everything about future” Sirius recalled. “But when it comes to Shikako and her companions, they appear to be equal to each other. And Shikako presumably kept her ‘own self’ despite receiving visions of future.”

The three Black contemplated implications of that.

“How did Shikabane-hime react when she heard we’d seen Tobi and Mina before?” Arcturus asked.

“Upset and worried for Harry but… didn’t seem to hold it against us.”

“That’s a relief.”

Yes, it was.

OBITO

They were leaving for Hogwarts soon. Otus was excited. Minka was too. They’d finally have proper teachers to instruct them in magic and chance to experience a magical environment in daily basis.

Minka had already packed all her stuff. Even though it was at least two nights until September 1^st. Otus had packed some… Or more like he hadn’t bothered to unpack some things from when they’d been bought from Diagon Alley. He and Minka had same stuff so why should they unpack everything from both of them?

So now he was tracking down stray socks and errant books from around the house. Granny Iris had refused to spell them all from their hiding places for him to pack. Apparently, it grew character to get a handle of your own possessions and their locations.

Minka in the other hand was sitting on the sofa in the sitting room and reading Daily Prophet. She was chuckling at some article there.

“What is it?” Otus asked her. He kneeled next to the sofa and reached beneath it. Almost… Almost… Aha! Found the quill!

“Last year’s graduate student from Durmstrang appeared on dueling circuit once more and trounced the opposition. The writer was this article is very disgruntled.” Minka grinned. She really delighted reading obviously biased articles. As long as they weren’t written by Rita Skeeter or other paparazzi who added lies to their texts.

“The same guy than last time then?”

“Yeah, Karel Sedlák. Czech, about nineteen years old. For someone so young, he is quite good.” Minka mused.

“I could be interesting to see a proper wizard duel. And then we’d know what to expect from the future fights.” Otus suggested.

“True. And even though we’ll be going to Hogwarts, we can always leave if needed to see some of the duels.” Minka agreed, turning page. “Oh, apparently Fudge is still in hot water after the whole mess with Sirius’s imprisonment. Crouch is in Azkaban already but somehow Fudge is still wading through this… sludge.

“You’d think they’d sack him.” Otus had learnt a lot about different government methods past years at primary school. It was interesting how many different power structures there was compared to their old world where Hokage had the ultimate power and was chosen based on power and reputation and the previous Hokage recommending them. And the spot of a Daimyo was inheritable.

“They might hold premature elections… But even those need preparations to be made. A lot of those… at least with muggle governments. All the candidates hold campaigns on why they should be chosen… But I suppose Minister is chosen quicker.”

Like the Nara would say, troublesome.

September 1^st dawned bright and early. Otus woke up to Minka cuddling him and basked in her warmth. At Hogwarts they’d be separated by dorms if not even by Houses. Otus didn’t want that. Didn’t want to be separated from Minka.

He turned on his side and drew her closer. Just a few more minutes…

“Up! Up you both lazybutts! We are going to be late if you don’t get up now!” Iris snatched the covers away. Otus and Minka both startled and sat up, only to end up on the floor in a tangle of limbs. So embarrassing… So much for elite ninja gracefulness…

“I thought with Knight Bus, we’ll get there in no time.” Otus grumbled.

“Knight Bus is quick but it’s also unreliable with timing. Who knows how many stops we’ll go through before reaching King’s Cross? No one!” The old woman retorted. “Now, up! Breakfast is ready downstairs. One of you goes to eat while the other washes. Quicker the better and then neither of you will hoard the bathroom.”

In the end Minka was ushered to shower and wash her hair first so she’d have time to dry it while eating, so Otus drudged into the kitchen. And almost teared up when seeing the breakfast spread. Granny Iris had gone above and beyond with it.

“You two have grown so much.” Iris was speaking while retrieving the tea kettle. “Starting schooling at Hogwarts is the next big step in any young witch’s and wizard’s life. Seven years at Hogwarts… It’s quite isolated from outer world no matter how much you keep in contact via owl post so those years around your peers and professors will define you greatly.”

Otus let her speak while taking a seat at the table and pondering what should he start with.

“Eat properly, Otus. The train might leave at eleven but you won’t be at Hogsmeade until six and travel to Hogwarts plus sorting will take easily another hour before the feast. They sell sweets during the journey but that is no way fulfilling lunch.”

“Yes, granny.” Otus reached for eggs and bacon. They were something good and basic but not something to be eaten every day. Too heavy start of the day.

“So we are sort of having a brunch?” Minka appeared to the kitchen, drying her hair to a towel and taking her own seat.

“Indeed.” Iris poured tea for them all. “I already told Otus but let’s remind you as well, Minka. Years at Hogwarts will define you. Where you are sorted will create a filter that others will view you through. Who you associate with will dictate your future opportunities. How you do in your studies will have professors creating expectations and what electives you pick next year for your third one, will already guide your options for occupation. So be mindful.”

“Sounds so elitist.” Minka bit into a toast with a scoff.

“Sadly true. But it is a boarding school with a lot of scions of pureblood houses, both noble and not.” Iris finally took a seat herself as well. “And they’ve been raised to etiquette and the importance of networking impressed in their minds.”

“That’s… old-fashioned.” Otus mused.

“But that’s wizarding culture.”

They ate while tossing around ideas and idly talking about this and that. Simply enjoying the moment together before they’d be separated for the next three and half months.

At the end Otus was ushered to take his shower in turn while Iris started doing Minka’s hair. Some French braids at the right side of her head, pulling her hair away but letting the left side hang free. Otus liked that style the most and had asked Iris to teach him how to do it on Minka as well.

Iris waved down the Knight Bus and the family of three with two shrunken trunks in tow boarded.

The ride was bumpy.

And comparatively long.

It seemed like there was no rhyme or reason as to in which order people were picked up or left off.

But thankfully they made it.

With some time to spare even.

“Finally over.” Otus groaned, slumping forward and leaning his hands against his knees. No amount of shinobi training or Kamui usage had prepared him for magical travel. Floo was already bad enough but this… this was the worst.

“Well, thankfully we don’t need to do that in daily basis.” Iris said, dusting herself off and taking the lead. “Come on you two, clock is ticking and I don’t want any surprises to stall us.”

“Is that likely to happen?” Minka asked, apparently unruffled from the journey. Well, considering that she needed to bypass her sense of direction in order to use Shunpo effectively, the bumpiness hadn’t fazed her much.

“One can never know. Why, in my fourth year there was an explosion near the portal so we all needed to be taken to nearest floo points or side-along apparated to Hogwarts.”

Iris led the two to the portal between the platforms nine and ten.

“Off you go, I’ll follow right behind.”

Otus grasped Minka’s hand and with a gentle tug from the girl, they ran towards the brick pillar.

KAIRI

Minka knew it wasn’t solid wall to anyone but non-magicals. She knew it but she couldn’t help but feel… unsure. So she pulled on Otus before she could hesitate and trusted him to guide her through and if needed, to Kamui them to the other side.

And Otus did. He led her through the solid-looking portal and to the bustling wizarding platform of Nine and Three Quarters. The bright red steam engine that pulled the Hogwarts Express puffed smoke and steam already.

“Let’s not dawdle.” Iris appeared behind them and bustled them towards the midway of the train. “There should still be seats left.”

It was ten to eleven.

There were indeed free carriages left. Minka and Otus dragged their unshrunk trunks to one and then came back to the platform. Iris hugged the two preteen tightly.

“Have a great year you two. Don’t forget to write and remember to study diligently but mostly just enjoy yourselves.” The old woman whispered.

“Of course, granny Iris.” Minka smiled softly. “I’ll make sure Otus studies.”

“And I’ll keep Minka out of trouble.” Otus continued.

“Good kids.” Irish pecked them both on the forehead. There was a whistle on the platform. “Go on. Good luck.”

Minka and Otus got comfortable on their seats, sitting opposite each other. They threw their bags next to them while trunks were already lifted on the luggage rack. There was no one else in their compartment. Yet.

There was another whistle on the platform and the locomotive started puffing more smoke. Minka reached to open the window and the two of them leant out to wave at Iris. The train was moving and the student onboard were shouting last minute farewells to their family members. There were waving hands and fluttering handkerchiefs. The train sped up, leaving the platform behind and then turning around a corner.

Only then did they sit back down. Minka leant back on her seat, while Otus leant forward in order to see better the flashing scenery.

“Trains are pretty amazing.” Otus spoke up.

“That’s true. They are useful for travelling. Smooth, quick, comfortable…” Minka agreed.

“There were no trains in our previous world.”

“Not exactly true… There were some at Yuki no Kuni. It was known as Haru no Kuni in your time.”

“I see…”

“Different countries developed differently and based on different values. Yuki no Kuni had no shinobi so they figured out other ways to defend themselves. They mined metals and figured out auto mechanics I think… And then there was Sora no Kuni… They had shinobi but they had also some was flying technology…” Those were all only in the movies but in their previous world, they’d existed as well so…

“I really like trains anyways. Much better than Knight Bus and Flooing.” Otus decided.

“They maybe faster but there isn’t much comfort in using them.” Minka shrugged. “I’m just glad that we haven’t needed to apparate yet to anywhere.”

“You mentioned once something about squeezing sensation…”

“That’s how it was described in the books.”

“Hmm… well, I have no need for apparition because I have Kamui. And I can take you where needed as well.” Otus smiled.

“Thank you.” Minka smiled back. “But it might be useful to learn it eventually. If for nothing else but keeping up appearances.”

“That’s true too.”

A short silence fell, during which Minka rummaged her bag for a book. She had packed some of her fantasy books with her and was currently in the middle of Sourcery by Terry Pratchett. And her hunch had been right, they were very good books and entertaining to read. Iris had promised to buy and send her the next book, to be published in November, as well.

“Have you thought about the Houses yet?” Otus spoke up then. Minka stopped in midmotion but sat up then and calmly opened her book.

“Some. They are quite stereotypical though so I might just let the Sorting hat place me wherever most suitable.”

“…Even if you could ask to be placed in the same house than me?” His voice was small and Minka couldn’t help but look up.

“Tobi…”

“I don’t want us to be separated. Adults have been trying to keep us apart and you hear what granny Irish said about Hogwarts. The house will define you. And there is huge competition between the houses. And…”

“Tobi, we don’t have to obey them.” The blond girl interrupted before he really got going and managed to drive himself to panic. “We might be placed in different houses but that doesn’t mean we’ll be separate. We can circumvent so much with our magic and shinobi skills. You got Kamui. I got Shunpo. We’ll be fine and we don’t need others dictating our opinions on the houses.”

“I know… But… why couldn’t you ask… It wouldn’t be that hard, right?” So this was the real matter then… Otus was concerned over Minka deliberately leaving an opportunity unused and thus knowingly leaving him.

Minka looked out of the window.

“Despite what people think… The Sorting hat does not sort you in the house of which qualities you embody most. It places you where it feels you will thrive the best. Some people may be groomed since birth to aim for certain houses and display certain qualities but there are also people who are quite straight forward. Thus quick sortings. But then there are more complex individuals.” Hatstalls they were called. “Those that are unsure about themselves and try for what’s expected of them. Those that display qualitied equally. That’s when choices and deeper introspection come to play. And the Hat tries to place you where you are able to grow as a person and offers best opportunities to you.”

“And we are different.” Otus murmured, eyes downcast.

“We are same but not alike. Our situations and origins might be the same but our values are not. Our strengths are not.” Minka corrected. “And I think it will make both of us good to be a bit apart. I need to… I…” She swallowed. “I know I have my issues… but I can’t hide behind you forever. That’s why I want to let the Hat decide without influencing its decision.”

“I see…”

There was a knock on the door and it slip open.

“Something from the trolley, dears?”

Minka spent the rest of the trip sitting next to Otus and leaning against him. The boy was upset even if he understood her reasoning.

“I’m sorry…” She whispered.

“It’s… It’s okay.” He replied. Minka took his hand and laced their fingers together.

It was dark when the train finally stopped at the station. Minka and Otus had changed into their robes in silence. While the trip hadn’t been uncomfortable after the conversation about houses… it had been unusually silent.

The sky was cloudy but thankfully it wasn’t raining. Or too windy.

“Firs’-years! Firs’-years this way!” A lantern rocked in the darkness, held aloft by Hagrid. Otus blinked at the giant of a man, slightly bewildered but didn’t remark it otherwise. While Hagrid may have been a first person of that size they saw in this life, in the previous life it wasn’t that unusual to see tall and large people. Though none of them might’ve been naturally as tall as Hagrid, there was still the Akimichi who had their multi-size jutsu. But in general Hagrid’s height was nothing too weird.

The other first years around them disagreed if the whispering and gasps were anything to go by.

“’round the corner yeh’ll see firs’ sight o’ Hogwarts!”

Both Otus and Minka gasped.

“It’s beautiful!” Minka whispered.

“So many towers…” Otus admired.

“That’d be a wonderful place to climb around.”

“And play tag.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Me neither.”

They snickered together and squeezed their linked fingers.

At the edge of the lake, was a row of boats waiting for the students.

“No more’n four to a boat!” Hagrid instructed. Minka and Otus took a boat to themselves and were joined by a nervous girl and a disinterested boy. Once all the boats were boarded, they nudged forward to glide across the lake by Hagrid’s command.

It was a magical moment.

They got ashore on the opposite bank and then took a trip via slippery stone chairs towards the front doors. Minka kept an eye on the shadowy nooks at the rocks and considering Otus’s tense shoulders and death grip on her hand, she knew he also could point out the numerous ambush spots and hiding places that any good shinobi could take an advantage of.

Thus arriving at the giant door was a relief even if the torches lighting the area made it a target as well as making seeing into the darkness harder.

Wizards were so impractical and Minka was only now starting to properly see it.

Professor McGonagall was there to greet the new first years and lead them to a side chamber near the Great Hall.

“Everything is so big…” Minka said, looking around in the Entrance Hall on the way there.

“True… So… Grandiose.” Otus licked his lips nervously, looking at the decorations and archways that’d provide hiding places as well.

“Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-the-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you’re here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of the house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.” McGonagall spoke. “The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with most points is awarded a House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.”

Minka could see Otus frowning at the speech. She was skeptical as well. The sheer foundation for peer-pressure that McGonagall laid down here… amazing. Almost as good as the propaganda spewed at Shinobi School.

“The Sorting Ceremony will take a place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.” And the Deputy Headmistress left them to the chamber.

Then the ghosts appeared. Minka and Otus both tensed and jumped to cover each other’s backs but then didn’t go for weapons yet. They were blanketed by children from all sides and panicking them and causing chaos was the last thing they needed.

But thankfully Hogwarts ghosts weren’t malicious, just curious and a bit mischievous fi the way they kept spooking first years every year was any indication. Minka slowly relaxed and grasped Otus’s hand again as McGonagall returned to fetch the children.

The Great Hall was magnificent. While Minka had expected some splendor after the descriptions in the books and the visuals at the movies, it was still a sight to see. Floating candles, enchanted ceiling, archways stretching high and hidden by the enchantment. Fire in the fireplaces, long tables full of students (but not too full considering the war losses), golden plates and goblets, long hanging tapestries hanging behind the professors’s table…

“I think I like this place…” Otus whispered to Minka.

“Me too.” She squeezed his hand.

McGonagall came to a stop in front of the professors’ table, next to a stool with the Sorting Hat on it.

And the Hat began to sing. For a hat it sang surprisingly well. The rhyming was lacking sometimes but in general… An okay song. Gave the barebone descriptions on the house qualities and all. Once the song was over, the students and professors alike clapped while the new first years were left staring at the enchanted garment.

“That was weird.” Otus muttered to Minka. She nodded in agreement and was about to reply but just the McGonagall unfurled the scroll of parchment she had.

“When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted.” The woman instructed. “Emeric Aldric!”

And so it began.

Emeric went to Ravenclaw, Lucian Bole to Slytherin…

“Otus Cheatwood!” With a last squeeze of their hands, they let go and Otus walked up to the stool…

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

And there he went. Minka met his eyes as Otus was heading towards his house table. She offered a small smile which he returned.

Clearwater, Derrick, Dunn, Haywood… So many people in between. Minka too the opportunity to look around and see who of the canon characters she could recognize.

Okay, red hair was easy. The brick red shade was found only on three boys in Gryffindor table. William, Charles and Percy Weasley. A boy with sandy-brown hair about Percy’s age was sitting there too and Minka could wager he was Oliver Wood. Weird to think of him only as a second year student and not the driven Quidditch-obsessed Captain he was initially in the books introduced as.

She turned to look at Hufflepuff table where Otus was sitting and tentatively talking with an older girl with bright violet hair. That must be Tonks then.

Somewhere in the Ravenclaw table Penelope Clearwater had just taken a seat (surprise since Minka had been sure she was on the same year with Percy) and somewhere in the Slytherin table were parts of the Quidditch team. But Minka had no hopes of recognizing them.

“Minka Windfall!”

Ah, it was her turn now. Finally. There was only two people aside from her left. Minka absently brushed down her robes and then approached the stool. She sat down and let McGonagall place the Sorting Hat on her head. It was one big hat, falling in front of her eyes and almost covering her nose as well. Minka was glad it didn’t.

“Now… What do we have here?” A voice said inside her head. It was weird. The hat was there but didn’t feel of anything. Some fanfictions described it as probing and poking at mental shields but really… He was barely there.

“Plenty of courage and loyalty. Not lacking intelligence or cunning either. It has been a while since I had such an interesting student to be sorted.”

Was the hat like Ollivander in the terms of enjoying difficult customers…

“But yes, I think I know exactly where to place you…”

Glad to know you had a clear view of her personality.

“Heh, you are welcome newly appointed… SLYTHERIN!”

The hat was lifted from her head. The green-clad table was politely clapping but Minka’s eyes were only for Otus. The boy was steadily looking back at her but quirked a smile then.

All was well.

Minka got up from the stool and walked to the Slytherin table her head held high.

We are the same yet not alike.

Chapter Text

R L IN NEA

Despite being a second-year student, Linnea Moray still felt like she had no fully adjusted to living in wizarding world and attending Hogwarts. She was technically muggleborn but at the same time… not.

Linnea did not remember much of her life with her blood family. But during the war something had happened in the family and she’d been rescued by Sìne Moray. Technically it was a kidnapping but no one had come after them. No one had come after them either when Sìne rescued a muggle held by some off-shoot Death Eater fanatics. That had been after the war and the men holding Mikael Windfall had not been marked and probably had never even seen Voldemort in person, but nonetheless, they’d supported his ideals and kidnapped several magicless scions of squib lines… for testing as they still held onto their original family names.

But it was when they all were together that they remembered. Linnea remembered the date vividly: 5^th of May 1982.

“Sensei? Kushina-san?”

It had been overwhelming to say the least. Linnea/Rin had been desperately been grabbing at the front of her shirt, convinced that Kakashi’s arm was still through it. Sìne/Kushina was weeping for the lost chance with her son and joy of being reunited with Minato. And Mikael… Minato…

He’d been still weak from the torture and testing he’d gone through. All in the name of insane purebloods who wanted to disprove the theory of muggleborns being descended from squiblines. It had probably awakened some form of power within him as soon after all the glass in the house blew and Minato was out of cold once more.

They’d spent the next week huddled together and only leaving the bed for toilet, food or washing. Otherwise they stuck together, talked, read books, slept and simply basked in each other’s presence.

When they all were emotionally stable enough and Minato healed enough (magic was so miraculous, and so different from chakra healing), they finally settled to talk about important things. About what had happened after Rin’s death (suicide). About the general existence of magic. About Kushina’s vigilantism during and after wartime. About Minato’s own family… here and before.

“You had brothers?” Kushina gaped at her once husband.

“I forgot them when mother died and Jiraiya-sensei brought me to Konoha. I was young…” Minato scratched the back of his head and looked away, ashamed.

“Do you have any idea who they could’ve been then?” Rin asked.

“I think… Arashi-nii might’ve been the Rock ninja coming to fetch the last member of the guard team of Kannabi Bridge. He looked similar enough to me…”

“That explosion girl?” Rin shivered at the mention of the disastrous mission. While she might’ve been under interrogation genjutsu most of the time, she still remembered when she went under that there were two men and one girl in the team. Plus the man Minato-sensei had killed earlier. When Kakashi and Obito had come to rescue her, they’d killed the two men while the girl was missing by the time Rin had been released from the genjutsu. The cave had crumbled then. First with Obito getting trapped, and then once Rin and Kakashi were up, the ground beneath had given in, burying Obito completely. That was when Rock enforcements had arrived and Kakashi had fainted and Minato-sensei had saved them thanks to his special kunai he’d given to Kakashi. And yes, Rin faintly remembered on of the Rock ninja carrying the explosion girl and turning his back to his comrades being felled down… Probably in order to get the girl to safety.

“Yes… And Kaito-nii… I think we might’ve met him during one of our missions on your genin-years. His comrade nearly attacked Kakashi.”

“Oh, that couple!” The woman with reddish brown hair and a paper fan, and the man with hightail hidden by a hood, restraining the woman and a whispered conversation revealing their sensei having been killed by the White Fang. They had been dressed as civilians and in the end the man had bodily carried the woman away from them. That seemed to be a pattern with the brothers really.

“What about your family in this life then?” Kushina took the whistling teapot from the stove and poured cups for them.

“I think Carl might’ve been Kaito… Aiko probably was the kunoichi with him back then. Minka…”

“Do you think Minka could’ve been their daughter in their previous life, too?” Rin had wondered.

And had wondered for years… Through Mikael and Sìne getting married. Through witnessing Mikael’s anguish over letting his family believe he was dead and finding out Minka being orphaned. Through the arrival of her Hogwarts letter and first year of schooling.

“Minka Windfall!”

Until the sorting. Linnea’s head snapped up to look at the girl called up to the sorting hat. Blond hair… and similar eyes though green to sensei.

Maybe… they could reconnect now? With Minka being a witch for sure there’d be no need to tip-toe around the Statue of Secrecy.

“Slytherin!”

Huh… Interesting. Linnea followed intently as Minka made her way to the green-clad table. The blonde girl made eye contact with someone in Hufflepuff before turning to watch Professor Dumbledore. The sorting was wrapping up.

“No Weasleys this year then?” Linnea grinned at Percy Weasley who was sitting next to her. The boy huffed.

Thankfully not. I’ve managed to escape the twins once more and intend to fully enjoy this year of quiet before chaos arrives here as well.” He replied.

“Ah… Fred and George, was it? Good to have a warning. Especially since Bill won’t be here next year.”

The seventh year Prefect and Head Boy looked up at the mention of his name. The aspiring curse breaker had been talking with the third Weasley currently sat on the table, Charlie, and Ben Cooper about… well, probably the cursed vault adventures they had last year with Olivia Green, Rowan Khanna and various other fifth years across the houses. But Green was the most notorious one. Everyone knew about Jacob Green’s expulsion about eight years ago and according to the rumor mill Olivia was following in his footsteps. And dragging about half of her year mates with her. Personally, Linnea just hoped this year would be quieter and no curses upon general student population would befall. She’d thankfully avoided the sleepwalking curse last year…

“Ah, I doubt I could too much rein them in, even if I were here.” Bill smiled. “Fred and George love to be contrary no matter who is disciplining them.”

“But at least they marginally listen to you more.” Percy protested. “I’m too close to their age for them to take me seriously and Charlie just enables them.”

“Yes, and you did see what they did to my badge last summer when it arrived.”

“What did they do?” Linnea leant forwards. What could two ten-year-olds – no matter how talented and chaotic – possibly do?

“Snatched it and glued it on a back of a gnome before tossing it over the fence. Mum was near apoplectic for that.”

Linnea grimaced. That was… extreme…

“Well, congratulations on your new rank anyways. I know you’ll show good example to others.”

“Thanks! And Charlie got his challenge as well as the new Gryffindor Prefect. Mum was ecstatic for that.”

But then, instead of Dumbledore, McGonagall was the one to give a speech. Hmm… What was going on with the Headmaster…

“Welcome back to Hogwarts. The Headmaster is attending to business elsewhere so he has asked me to deliver this year’s welcoming speech.” The deputy headmistress began. “In recent years, we have been distracted by nonsense, and obsessed with threats both imagined and real… No longer. Hogwarts is a place of learning, and it is our duty as students and teachers to respect and defend its purpose. First-year students are embarking on a journey to become the best witches and wizards they can be. Fifth-year students will be taking the O.W.L. examinations, which are critical to success in subsequent years…”

Charlie Weasley leant in at that.

“Why do I think that is aimed at Olivia?” He grinned, nodding at Ravenclaw table where Olivia Green, the infamous cursebreaker wannabe and new prefect was sitting in.

“Seventh-year students will take their N.E.W.T.s, determining whether they succeed in the pursuit of their desired career.”

Bill grinned sheepishly.

“The staff is here to help you, including our new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, Professor Rakepick.”

“So, they hired her then.” Linnea mused. “I wonder how good she’ll be in an actual classroom setting.”

“Yeah… She was quite capable when teaching spells to just the five of us…” Bill pondered. “I hope she’ll be capable of explaining the theory as well.”

“Please focus on your studies and realize that this year will determine the course of your wizarding career. And please, enjoy the feast.” McGonagall concluded.

As if I wasn’t stressed enough for my N.E.W.T.s…” Bill groused as Olivia Green approached the Gryffindor table. Linnea hadn’t really formed an opinion on the older girl yet. Stubborn, driven, determined, smart… but also easily led around by Rowan Khanna and Penny Haywood. Occasionally provoked by Merula Snyde of Slytherin house… with varying success. She was a Quidditch star, playing Beater last year and apparently Chaser the year before that. Ravenclaw had won the cup on both of those years and Erika Rath of Slytherin had sworn revenge. Time would tell if she’d get that.

So Linnea only half-heartedly listened Olivia arranging study date with Weasley brothers and instead kept an eye on Minka Windfall. Her… step-cousin, right?

OTUS

The feast drew to an end and then was time to make their way to the common rooms. Otus reluctantly cast one last glance on Minka before following the prefects Diego Caplan and Penny Haywood back to the Entrance Hall and then to the basement level.

“The Hufflepuff house is for those loyal and hard-working. Though we have a reputation of being left-overs, that is simply not true. Just because we don’t have clear cut demands of being especially brave or smart or cunning, doesn’t mean we are any less. It just means we have more room to grow and find out who we really are.” Caplan explained.

“Now…” Haywood clapped her hands together as they convened outside a pile of barrels. Midsized, stacked on top of each other and for all appearances looked like merely storage of some foodstuff for kitchens… which were located just around corner. “Technically, our common room is the easiest to get to. We don’t require a changeable password that is easily overheard or riddling doorknocker who lets anyone smart enough through. However, our entrance is hidden and situated in a manner that just because someone can hear what we do… They cannot see the right combination without being seen themselves.”

“Meaning that in all the years Hogwarts has been teaching students, no non-Hufflepuffs ever has gotten into our common room.” Caplan concluded proudly and turning towards the barrels, he drew his wand. “Now watch.”

Otus watched in amazement as the prefect just tapped one of the barrels in rhythm. Hel-ga Huf-fle-puff. Tap-tap Ta-ta-tap. Easy. Simple. Yet secure as Otus could conclude himself as well. There were no hiding spots that allowed people to see which barrel was used and thus simply knowing the rhythm would no help them in. of course, if someone could be invisible, they could follow and spy the entrance but that didn’t seem a usual skill among students. But among civilians, who could even suspect this barrel stack being the one guarding one fourth of the student population.

Caplan and Haywood led the first-years in through the barrel lid-door to warmly lit basement room. It was homey. Warm and welcoming, like granma Iris’s home… or Minato-sensei and Kushina-neesan’s house… There was a row of low windows circling the room near the ceiling. The main color of the upholstery was yellow and black but they weren’t jarringly intense shades. The walls were light brown, tiled and had some wooden structuring in them as well. There were plants everywhere! In pots, in planting benches, in boxes… So many of them yet not so much that they’d stifle the space.

Yes, Otus decided. He really liked this place.

“The boys’ dormitories are on the left.” Caplan gestured.

“And the girls’ will be on the right.” Haywood added. “I’m sure you are all excited but exhausted of the travel, suspense over sorting and then eating heartily. So we’ll take you to your rooms where your trunks are waiting for you. Tomorrow Diego and I will be waking you up at seven o’clock and take you to breakfast where you’ll receive your schedules from our Head of House, Professor Sprout. After breakfast we’ll come here to get our books for first lessons and we’ll then guide you there.”

“If you have any questions, feel free to ask Penny and I, or any other Prefects you see and recognize from these badges.” Caplan tapped the small shield-shaped badge on his lapel. It had black edges and yellow background and a slip of black went horizontally across it with the word ‘PREFECT’ written on it in gold. “It’s our duty to answer your questions and thus help you acclimate to life at Hogwarts.”

The door behind them opened again and plump little witch with dirt all over her robes blustered in.

“Ah, thank you Miss Haywood, Mr. Caplan for looking after my new badgers.” The witch smiled, giving a nod at the two fifth-years, her grey fly-away hair swaying with the motion. “I’m Professor Pomona Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff House and Master of Herbology. It’s very nice to see you here with us and I’m sure that during the next few weeks we’ll get to know each other quite well. I will be teaching you Herbology for the next five years and two more on top of that if you wish to pursue that direction of studies. My office is just by the Greenhouses which you’ll see tomorrow either during classes or during school tour. My quarters, if you need me at night time, have an entrance in the hallway when you continue the corridor further down. I will always have an open ear for any worries you might have and everything will be confidential unless it will directly threaten health or safety of yourself or any other student. But even then everything will be handled with discretion so you don’t need to be afraid of your secrets being exposed publicly. We badgers look after our own.”

That sounded good. Hufflepuff was so welcoming house. Otus was sure he’d be fine even without Minka though he still desperately wished she’d be here with him. Hopefully, she’d have good time with her own house too…

MINKA

Minka wasn’t really having good time. It wasn’t that bad… yet. She was just one of the new first-years among others. But because their group was so small – three girls and four boys – there exactly wasn’t much mass to blend in with. Many knew each other already, if not by face, then by name. Derrick and Bole – Beaters in the Quidditch team – were just on Minka’s left, discussing Quidditch teams. It was a conversation that had probably started in train, continued at the table and then resumed all the way to the dungeons. Wonder if they’d even paid any attention to the route.

The Prefect leading the first-years was Liz Tuttle. There was no male prefect in Slytherin this year. Partly because of small pool of students, partly because Barnaby Lee was not all there in memory or logic.

Listening to the conversation and gossip in the house table during the feast, had told Minka many things. Most of the current drama going on in Hogwarts largely centered about Olivia Green and rest of the fifth years. What Minka could glean about the situation, Green was basically 80’s equivalent of Harry Potter in the manner of trouble, curiousity, infamy and self-appointed saving the day missions. And Merula Snyde was the Draco Malfoy to her.

Password to common room was Sacred Twenty-Eight. Minka barely refrained from making a face at it. Speech about Slytherin’s greatness and betterness in regards other houses but not to a bigoted degree. Tuttle apparently was more interested in learning about magical creatures than to pay attention to blood purity. Boys to the left, girls to the right. Head of House was the Potions’ Master, Professor Snape, tomorrow Liz would take the firsties together to the breakfast and later ensure they’d get to their first class safely. It was stressed that Slytherins should provide a united front and all internal disputes would be handled within common room. No Slytherin firstie should go around walking alone because that’s just stupid and would provide an ample target for upper years from other houses because prejudices go both ways.

Minka had a feeling she’d just disregard that last rule.

Professor Snape then swooped in, made a short and terse speech about point system, his own office hours and general conduct as Slytherin student outside the dungeons. He also gave a stern glare at Merula Snyde and reminded her of staying out of cursed vault business – like she should’ve the past four years as well – and then he swopped out.

“Alright, up to beds. It’s late already and I’m sure you all want to settle in.” Liz clapped a couple of times and then ushered the firsties up. First girls and then the boys. Minka cast a one last glance at the common room. It wasn’t as dark as it had been in the movie. The view to the lake was actually fascinating, and the tiles on the walls weren’t dark green but grey. Not to mention that the lamps could apparently be altered to be different colors but their default was pale yellow that wouldn’t strain eyes.

The dormitory had three four-poster beds with dark green curtains and bed covers. Her trunk was placed by the right-most bed, with pajamas already laid out. Perspective of the elves. Minka changed quietly into her pajamas while the other two girls – Ann Vaisey and Henriette Rosier – chatted on the background.

“Hey, what was your name again?” Vaisey then asked Minka. Well, she’d been last Slytherin to the sorted though not the last student in general. There had been a Gryffindor and Hufflepuff after her.

“Minka Windfall.”

“Huh… your name does sound magical… But I don’t remember any Pureblood family by the name Windfall.” Rosier mused, scrutinizing Minka up and down while the blonde girl was unravelling her braids.

“Well, I’m an orphan and the few years I had with my parents… I don’t remember then using magic but they could’ve also been in hiding from war. My uncle disappeared and died during the war years so…”

“Did you inherit vaults then?” Vaisey asked. Wow, insensitive much?

“I’m on scholarship actually so at least Ministry records don’t show me having close enough relation for a possible Head of House to be contacted… Maybe I should go to Gringotts for inheritance test during Winter Hols…” Minka mused. That could probably be for the best. At least in order to ensure her survival in Slytherin.

“But you still might be a mudblood?” Rosier looked down on her nose at Minka, like suddenly smelling something bad.

“Hettie!” Vaisey gasped. “You shouldn’t use that word!”

“I use it as it deserves to be used. You better not come to our side of the room.”

“Oh, no worries. I have no intention to entertain your silly notions of superiority.” Minka chuckled.

“WHAT?!”

“As far as I’m concerned, you are just a little girl who hasn’t realized how big the world actually is. A squabble like this…” Minka gestured between them. “…Is quite underneath my notice.”

“How dare you…” Rosier hissed, taking a step forward.

“Well, you better stay on your side of the room as well. Wouldn’t want to get some mud on your shoes, right?” Minka drew her wand and then traced lines on the floor, splitting the room to three equal-sized sections and leaving a path for Vaisey to use between Rosier and Minka’s sections so she’d get to the door without crossing the borders. The lines shined gold against the dark wood flooring and Minka was quite satisfied with the result.

“Uh… is this really necessary?” Vaisey asked, looking between Minka and Rosier.

“Quite so, I believe. Just so neither of our belongings get sabotaged. Good night.” And with that she turned around and climbed to bed. Drawing her curtains and noting the silencing charms in them, Minka let out a deep sigh.

She bet that by tomorrow lunch the entire house would know about her ‘uncertain’ blood status. Should she try and do some research on possible Windfall family in the library?