"So... how was everyone's first night?" Dumbledore asked the gathered heads of house. It was early in the morning, shortly before breakfast, as Dumbledore was doing his usual first day meeting to see how the students were adjusting and whether or not there were any problems that had arisen already.

  "The Weasley twins introduced the first years to their particular brand of comedy, I do believe they enjoyed the show, though I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are tired today." McGonagall replied, causing Dumbledore to chuckle at bit at the Weasley twin's antics.

  "My puffs seem to be settling in nicely. A few first years had to be calmed down, as they were found crying in their beds, though it's to be expected, as there is generally a high number of children that miss their homes." Professor Sprout answered, causing Dumbledore and the other teachers to nod in agreement.

  "My Claws are settling in nicely. I didn't have any issues; it seems most of the first years are just eager to start learning and performing magic." Professor Flitwick replied with a smile, he generally had few problems with Ravenclaw house as most of them were quiet individuals who rarely got into scuffles with each other, or if they did then they made sure to handle it without him knowing.

  “There was a bit of a power struggle within Slytherin House. Two Seventh years had to be escorted to see Poppy, due to the injuries they sustained. The prefects informed me that a duel had occurred, between the two older boys, and a first year. Young miss Uzumaki. She defeated the two of them, each individually.” Snape informed them, earning surprise and disbelief from his fellow professors.

  “A first year you say. She bested two Seventh years? How is that possible?” Flitwick inquired.

  “The first boy she banished into a wall, the second she dueled ever so briefly showing remarkable skill for one so young. He suffered a laceration on his arm. The two boys will be fine, nothing more long lasting than the wounds to their prides. These fights were handled properly as duels, though I will be having a word with them about unregulated duels on the grounds.” Snape explained to them.

  “Still, a child with such skill, that’s hard to believe.” Sprout uttered.

  “She carries a staff.” Snape added.

  “A staff?” McGonagall returned, blinking in surprise and sharing a look with Dumbledore.

  “So she is the one. I had heard from Ollivander that one of our students this year would be arriving with a staff. He hoped to give me time to make sure our texts of staff movements were still available. It seems miss Uzumaki would be the one he was talking about.” Dumbledore hummed.

  “The only person I can think of who has the kind of magical power to use a staff would be you, headmaster. To think, a child of all things, a first year, would already have one…” Flitwick spoke.

  “She comes from the Elemental Nations. Likely of Shinobi descent.” Dumbledore spoke, drawing surprise from his fellows.

  “A shinobi? Here?” McGonagall responded.

  “Are you sure, headmaster?” Snape inquired.

  “The Uzumaki and the Uchiha, two famous clans from the Elemental Nations. The Uchiha were from Konoha, but were wiped out a few years ago by the boy Itachi Uchiha. A terrible massacre from what I hear. Some say he went insane. The only survivor of that brutal attack was his younger brother, according to the stories I’ve heard. The Uzumaki though, they hail from their own nation. They were an ally of Konoha. The two groups sharing a strong relationship. The Uzumaki were wiped out some years ago, by the other hidden villages. If this girl truly is of Uzumaki and Uchiha descent, than she is one of the last of two very powerful and ancient bloodlines.” Dumbledore explained to them. The old man had held close ties to the Hidden Leaf village for many years. Befriending the Third Hokage, and learning much in regards to the history of that ancient magical peoples during his correspondence with the previous leader of the Hidden Leaf. He maintained a good relationship with the current Hokage, someone he considered a friend, so he knew of certain problems and issues that had plagued the village in recent years, and in the past.

  “If that’s true, she is certainly far from home.” Flitwick noted with a careful hum.

  “She has indeed come a long way. This is probably one of the few places in the world she could feel safe to use those names. We are almost literally on the opposite side of the world from the Elemental Nations. At least separated by two whole continents.” Dumbledore agreed.

  “What will you do, headmaster? Will you reach out to the Hidden Leaf and inform them of this development?” Snape inquired.

  “No, Severus, I don’t believe I will. As far as we know, she has no connection to the Hidden Leaf outside of her lineage, and I would hate to endanger the girl or any of the other children here by revealing her presence. A psychopath who is still very much at large, wiped out all of the Uchiha, save for his younger brother, who he’s said to have violently tortured before fleeing the Hidden Leaf. Without knowing Itachi Uchiha’s reasons for wiping out his own family, I do believe it’s in the best interests of young Riley, to keep her presence here a secret. That goes even more so, for her connection to the Uzumaki. The stories are varied and prone to being misremembered, but the one I’ve heard repeatedly was that the Uzumaki were a clan to be feared. One that was so much so, that it took an alliance between four of the five great Hidden Villages, to wipe them out. No Severus, I will not be reaching out to them, or revealing her to them. She is under our care, and I shan't endanger the lives of any of my students in such a manner. Our world already has enough peril, to add to it by involving ninja… well let’s just say I’ve never approved of their use of children as soldiers, and even the best of them, in the Leaf, are still prone to committing that atrocious act.” Dumbledore explained to them all, earning several nods of agreement and acceptance from his faculty, especially Snape.

  It was something he had taken from his time in service to the Dark Lord. While the dark Lord wouldn't hesitate to torture a man in the most violent of ways, he would never harm an innocent child unless it was absolutely necessary, and he would never stand for hurting children needlessly.

  People could say whatever they wanted to about the Dark Lord, but one thing the Dark Lord never did, was torture a child. Nor would he ever allow his Death Eaters to do it. In Lord Voldemort's eyes, all magical blood was precious, and the magical blood of innocents like children was to never be harmed. If a child had to be killed, then it was to be done without pain, if any Death Eater was learned to have been torturing children, the Dark Lord would turn that pain on the perpetrator of such violence, a thousand-fold.

  There were only a few who would try to temp the dark lord, and their ends were not dignified or painless. Children were only to be killed if they were suffering from grievous injury and were going to die anyway, or only in extreme circumstances.

  The Shinobi’s use of children as soldiers was a gut-churning reality of their world, one made even worse off by the realization that the Shinobi allowed for, and even encouraged more than that. Young boys and girls, burdened with charm or good looks would often be trained in the art of seduction for the purpose of information gathering or blackmail. Certain groups of shinobi were more than happy to pimp out children, their own children as a matter of fact, in order to further the goals of the organization.

  It was enough to make one scoff when muggleborns would complain about fifteen or sixteen being too young to be considered an adult in the magical world. In Britain at least, once you completed your OWLs you were technically able to become an adult and could become emancipated or claim a lordship. Some thought that was way too young, almost barbaric some would say. They really didn’t know anything. They had no clue just how bad this world could get, and Shinobi, for their part, played a big role in the worst of it.

  And for that reason, among many others, people gave the Shinobi an enormously wide birth.

  “Severus, if you would please, go and fetch young miss Uzumaki, so that we may address this situation. Thought they did capitulate, and the duel did take place at the observation of the Head Girl, thus satisfying our standards for inter-school duels, we should still express interest in keeping such situations to a minimum, and avoiding any long term harm to our students. Miss Uzumaki will only grow stronger, and more talented as the years go on, it’s best to discourage such things on school grounds before someone is permanently maimed.” Dumbledore instructed, earning a nod from the Potions Master who swiftly departed to go and retrieve her.

  Snape entered into his common room finding a handful of students already getting ready. Thankfully the mess had been cleared from the previous night, though it was still on the students minds, as many stood in quiet discussions over this recent change in the power dynamic of the house.

  "Is Miss Uzumaki still in her room?" Snape inquired to one of the prefects as they passed him. The girl nodded, and pointed towards the girls dorm.

  After locating her room, he knocked.

  “Come in.” He heard from the other side.

  He entered, and came upon an interesting sight. Riley sat at the desk in her room, her gaze focused on a paper set out before her, gently, purposefully she held a brush and drew upon it. Markings in Japanese, that Snape couldn’t decipher. Her movements though were deliberate, and extremely elegant, as if she had done such exercises hundreds of times.

  He could admire her patience and precision. Though a much different art, potion’s making, required such focus and patience, a skill often found lacking in most children.

  “Have you come to punish me for last night?” Riley inquired, without looking up from her work.

  “No. Your duel was conducted in the presence of the Head Girl, one of only two others outside of the staff, who may officiate duels on school grounds. With that in mind, Hogwarts discourages the act of dueling to the point of causing harm. The headmaster wishes to address this situation and discourage further acts of violence, accepted or not.” Snape responded to her.

  “As is his job. A dressing down then. Fair enough.” Riley stated thoughtfully, as she finished the final brush stroke and set the tool aside. She rose to her feet, correcting her glasses as she did. “Lead the way, professor.”

  Snape nodded, and gestured for her to follow. As they made their way through the castle towards the Headmaster’s office, Snape couldn’t help but wonder as to the situation he’d found himself in. Never would he have imagined a shinobi, or at least one of shinobi heritage attending Hogwarts. Snape himself had a bad history with shinobi. during his time in school his best friend Lily Evans, a girl he cared very deeply about, had befriended and started writing to a blonde-haired shinobi whom she had met while he had been visiting Dumbledore alongside one of his village leaders. He and Lily started to hang out and when he left, she wrote to him. Snape got jealous and a little later he and Lily got into a fight, and he called her a name he shouldn't have. She was so angry that it looked like their fight might become physical, but then suddenly a bright yellow flash of light appeared, and that blonde haired ninja materialized next to her. He asked if she was alright, and what had happened to cause her to feel so much anger. She told him what Snape had said, and that caused him to shoot a glare at Snape that could have peeled flesh from bone. The blonde ninja then told her that Snape was just a pathetic nobody, whom wasn't worth her time. Lily agreed and he and her never spoke again.

  Ever since then, Snape had hated that blonde ninja, who later became world famous and killed so many of his friends in the last war. During the previous wizarding war, in it’s final months, allies from the Hidden Leaf village had come to Britain to hunt and kill the Death Eaters. These shinobi had been hired by Barty Crouch Sr. and at the behest of the Wizengamot hunted for Lord Voldemort. Had it not been for the fact that Lily Evans had married Minato Namikaze, they never would have gotten a deal good enough to hire those shinobi, nor would Minato himself have come to Britain to thin out the numbers of Voldemort’s followers.

  Snape had always hated that man, and he always would. This girl though, wasn’t him. He wasn’t even sure if she came from the Elemental Nations or not. She was descended from Shinobi, but how much she knew of them, of their ways, he didn’t know.

  Eventually the two made it to the Headmaster’s office and Snape led Riley inside.

  McGonagall still remained though the other two heads of house had departed as breakfast was beginning.

  “Miss Uzumaki, I understand there was a spot of trouble last night.” Dumbledore spoke as they entered.

  “A disagreement headmaster, nothing more.” Riley responded as she stood before the old man’s desk.

  “May I ask what about?” Dumbledore inquired, curiously.

  “The older students thought it best we do as they do. I disagreed. Shenanigans ensued.” Riley responded, letting out a light chuckle at her own wit. She could feel both Madara and Kurama roll their eyes at her response which only served to further her amusement.

  “Why was it that you disagreed with following the lead of the older students? As your seniors surely they know a bit about navigating this new experience. Not to say one should completely adhere to the direction of their elders, eventually we must all break free and find our own path, but still.” Dumbledore hummed.

  “House Slytherin is viewed as corrupt, and evil by the other houses. They see us as dark. I assume such assumptions are not entirely baseless, and have likely been encouraged to some degree by those that came before me. I simply disagree that one’s house should determine what kind of person they are, through and through. The Founders were considered some of the greatest magicals to have ever lived, and that certainly included Salazar Slytherin. All four of them founded this school, not three of them. I can only assume it was his desire as well to teach and share knowledge with the next generation, and to encourage cooperation between witches and wizards of all walks of life, just as he had cooperated with Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. At some point peoples views of House Slytherin took on this negativity, and I hold no desire to adhere to it. The older students have accepted it. Following them, would have led us to accepting it as well. If you accept your circumstances, nothing ever changes. If House Slytherin wishes to be seen as different, it must first be different.” Riley explained her logic, earning surprise and wonderment from the two professors as they pondered her logic.

  “Well that is certainly true. We cannot help how others view us, only to work towards changing. How they view us, will always be theirs to decide, but if we wish for them to see us as something different, as you said, we must first be different. I can understand your desire to break free from such labels. It is a shame that so many have been labeled in such a way, many through no fault of their own. I fear such negative labels have spread beyond the confines of Slytherin house. It is a problem that plagues our school, I will admit.” Dumbledore admitted, approving of her desires, and admiring her wisdom in this regard.

  “I cannot help the other houses, but I can help my own. It will be mine, for the next seven years, and I will carry this connection to it, for the rest of my days. I wish to make the best of it, and to be the best that I can be.” Riley stated.

  “I am curious, why you care. You are not from these lands. Is it simply a matter of pride then, to escape these labels.” Snape inquired.

  “This land has become my home. Britain is where I’ve chosen to settle, Professor. I may have only just arrived, but this is my home now. Though you are right in that it is a matter of pride. I am the last of my clan. The last Uzumaki. I am emancipated, the lord of the clan. I am it’s leader, and it falls on me to restore it.” She admitted, earning further surprise from the two men at hearing that. Not only was she descended from this ancient and powerful clan, but she was it’s leader, and emancipated? Neither had expected that.

  Hearing that, both now understood, this wasn’t just personal, it was political. If her goal was to restore her clan here in Britain, then first she had to earn the gravitas and political power needed to do so. Seizing power in Slytherin house, and working to change it’s reputation would go a long way in ensuring her classmates, present and future would know of her, and remember her name.

  If she was talented enough to take down two seventh year boys in battle already, than Dumbledore had little doubt in his mind that he was standing before an eventual prefect, and likely the future Head Girl.

  He sat back in his chair, a clever smile playing on his face.

  “Were you born in the Elemental Nations?” Dumbledore asked.

  “No. I was born in Japan. Just outside of Osaka. I was raised by my uncle. He told me a lot about the Elemental Nations, about my clan. We moved to France a couple years ago, and then recently I came here. He helped me claim the Uzumaki clan lordship.” Riley answered, offering a lie as to where she was born.

  “I see. I was simply curious. I myself have been to the Elemental Nations on a few occasions.” Dumbledore expressed, Riley feigned interest, reacting with curiosity despite the fact that she already knew that.

  “Oh? I’d like to ask you about that sometime. I’ve always liked hearing about it. The land… not so much the people.” Riley responded, giving a bit of a sour note at the end, for the two men to read into. They no doubt already held negative views on the nature of Shinobi, so she felt it best to reflect that belief as well.

  “Ah, when we have time, I’m sure you’d find some of it quite interesting. Back to the point of the matter though. I do not disagree with your reasoning, in fact, I encourage your goal. I would hope that one day, we all can look past such things as House loyalty, see one another for who we are, rather than where we come from. With that being said, I must ask that we keep such acts of aggression to a minimum. Duels here at Hogwarts are highly discouraged, and may only be conducted under the observation of the faculty, or the Head Boy or Girl. All other acts are considered an infraction and you will be punished for breaking the rules.” Dumbledore explained to her, repeating some of what Snape had told her. Riley nodded in acceptance.

  “The Head Girl, miss McCormitt, informed me that both parties agreed to fight, before the fighting commenced, that falls into the category of an official duel, though she did stress that neither of you cleared it with her, but she was there to witness it.” Snape stated.

  “For now, we will lay the matter to rest, but as I said, please keep the acts of violence to a minimum. Outside of this school duels are a fair and acceptable means of settling problems, but here at Hogwarts, we prefer to use our words, and to avoid any needless harm befalling any of our students. Pursue your goal to the fullest but do so within the confines of the rules we have established here. Do so, and you’ll have no fear of a repeat of these discussions.” Dumbledore said to her, earning a nod of acceptance from Riley, once more.

  “I will endeavor to do my best, Headmaster. I cannot promise I wont come to blows with someone else, as I’m sure you know, change comes with growing pains, and I’m sure tensions will rise because of it, but I will do what I can to avoid an altercation, or bringing my fellow student to harm. I certainly don’t want to risk permanently hurting anyone.” Riley responded diplomatically.

  “That is acceptable. We cannot know the future, only to endeavor to do what we can.” Dumbledore hummed in agreement.

  “True. Was there anything else, Headmaster?” Riley asked him.

  “Yes, I understand that you carry a staff.” Dumbledore inquired.

  Riley nodded and removed her staff. It was small, appearing like a wand to both men, but she gave it a swirl and it returned to it’s normal size.

  “Ah, impressive. We will need to ensure you have access to the proper materials to learn how to use it.” Dumbledore said.

  “I would appreciate that, headmaster.” Riley replied to him.

  “Good. Now, I believe we are finished here. Breakfast has already begun, so you’ll want to hurry, and get your fill. Good luck on your first day.” Dumbeldore expressed.

  “Sir.” Riley nodded, offering the same to her head of house before standing to leave. She made her way down to the great hall and found her way over to her new friends. The older kids eyed her with unease, while the younger ones seemed to marvel at her. She sat between Draco and Pansy and set about gathering her breakfast.

  "So how are you guys this wonderful morning?" Riley asked cheerfully.

  "How can you act like that?" Pansy asked after a moment.

  "Act like what?" Riley asked innocently.

  "Like nothing has happened. I mean... you beat up two seventh years. The whole house is talking about it. I'm sure the other houses will know about what you did soon enough." Pansy explained.

  "Let them talk. It's not like I'm ashamed of what I did or anything." Riley replied with a shrug.

  “How did you even do that?” Pansy questioned her.

  “I learned how to fight when I was younger. That’s really all there is to it. The difference between knowing and not knowing. It doesn’t matter if they’re bigger, or older, if you don’t know how to fight, you’re probably gonna lose to someone who does.” Riley answered.

  "You really showed them who's boss. All of the upper years are scared of you now." Draco whispered to her.

  “Hmm… can’t say I blame them. Not everyday you get schooled by a first year.” Riley chuckled to herself.

  A few moments passed before Snape came by with everyone's schedules. The next few minutes were full of discussions of what classes they’d be going to and who they were sharing those classes with.

  Eventually they were all ushered out of the Great Hall, the time had come for Riley’s first class at Hogwarts. Transfiguration, with the Gryffindors.

  She entered and sat next to Draco, who seemed to be wondering where the teacher was. Riley saw a cat sitting at the front desk and noticed how it was observing the students as they entered. It eventually noticed her gaze and returned her stare. A smile crept across Riley’s face as she finally looked away. She had heard of this ability, shape-shifters. Animagus, they were called. People who learned the ability to transform into animals.

  Finally, the moment for the official time for class to start, passed. A few moments after it did, two Gryffindors came running into the room. One was a dark-skinned boy, and the other was the redhead, who made Riley lose her appetite the night prior.

  "See, I told you she wouldn't find out." The red head stated, while trying to regain his breath.

  The cat on the table meowed and then transformed into Professor McGonagall. "It seems you two are late."

  "Um... sorry. We got lost." the Dark-skinned boy stated.

  "Yeah, this bloody castle is huge." The red head agreed.

  "Then perhaps you should have found a map." McGonagall stated impatiently as she ushered the two boys to sit down.

  The Slytherin students giggled as both boys grumbled and took their seats. With that, McGonagall began the lesson for the day. Riley listened diligently as McGonagall began giving her lesson. She started with explaining what Transfiguration was, and the fundamentals to it. Eventually it came time for their first practical lesson.

  McGonagall handed out a bunch of matches and instructed them to transform them into needles.

  Riley followed the instructions, and succeeded in her first attempt, smiling proudly, as she pulled it off with her staff in wand form. She repeated the process a few times, practicing turning it back and forth.

  Eventually McGonagall passed her and took notice of her repeated successes.

  “Miss Uzumaki, that is quite impressive, getting it down so quickly. Five points to Slytherin.” McGonagall said to her.

  “Thanks professor.” Riley replied, as she repeated the effort one more time.

  “If you would like, you may move to the side and begin practicing this exercise with your staff.” McGonagall offered, earning a nod from Riley. She quickly rose and moved to the side of the class room. The sight of her staff earning some curiosity from the Gryffindors. McGonagall took the moment to inform the class that a staff was indicative of one’s magical powers. Usually they were only seen in older witches and wizards, though most who could use them, chose not too as they were already skilled in the use of a wand, relearning magic through the use of a staff was a level of difficulty, most weren’t willing to undergo later on in life.

  The students found this of interest, and a few of them kept glancing at Riley for the rest of the glass.

  Their next class went basically the same, with Riley first learning her lessons with her wand, and then learning to use her staff.

  Her DADA class with professor Quirrel was an interesting one. Riley took notice of how nervous the man seemed to be. Rumor had it that a vampire attack in Romania had left him rather spooked, but for some reason, Riley didn’t quite buy it. There was something about his nervous stutter that seemed more like an act to her. The question though, was why? Why bother trying to fool people? She didn’t know, and frankly didn’t care. Her interest remained on learning.

  She enjoyed her classes, especially potions. The very nature of potions walked hand in hand with fuinjutsu and the applications for it, for a shinobi, were limitless. She took to it with gusto, absorbing everything Snape had to teach them. She also learned that Snape was Draco’s Godfather, and friend of his family, which she found interesting.

  The only downside with potions was she shared it with the Gryffindors, who liked to fool around or stop listening to Snape’s instructions which led to all sorts of shenanigans. More than once over the coming days she would notice someone make a mistake that led to their potion coming out wrong, or even worse, exploding in the cauldron, sending burning hot liquid all over the room. Snape was fast enough on most occasions to shield the students from the worst of it, and skilled enough at healing, both in magic and with potions to immediately treat minor burns or injuries.

  Noticing this, Riley took to making sure her own friends weren’t messing around, and would speak up if she noticed them making mistakes that could lead to them getting hurt. She didn’t protect them from failure, but the last thing she wanted was for any of them to have burning liquid explode into their face, potentially blinding them. Even if it would only be for a few hours, no one deserved that kind of pain for a simple mistake.

  Snape took to rewarding her with points whenever she would would speak up, and in the case of the Gryffindors, she would often speak with Snape when she noticed dangerous mistakes. Again he rewarded her for her diligence, being one of the first of the teachers to really take notice of just how keen her observational skills were.

  Aside from Potions and Transfiguration with the Gryffindors, she had charms with the Ravenclaws, where she got to see Hermione, whom she formed a rivalry with, the two of them being the most studious from their respective year, though Daphne was also close competition for Riley. Meanwhile she had Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, so she saw Neville there. He was great at Herbology and really took to it, so Riley took the time to ask questions from him if she didn’t understand something, and she encouraged her friends to as well, if they needed help.

  A couple of weeks went by, and Riley was enjoying herself. Learning and growing, and forming deeper friendships. Already she found herself always hanging out with Draco. The two just clicked together, always bouncing off each other, when it came to their wit.

  It was Halloween night and they were all in the Great Hall when the doors burst open, and Quirrel came running in.

  “Tr-Troll in the Dungeons! Th-thought you sh-should know!” He shouted before feinting.

  Panic quickly spread through the room.

  “Alright Prefects, please guide your houses to their common rooms. Slytherins please report to the library.” Dumbledore stated to calm the masses.

  The groups began to move, organizing and preparing to head out. Riley kept with her friends, intent on protecting them. She also began scanning the other houses, making sure Hermione and Neville were also present. She spotted Neville but not Hermione.

  “Hey, where’s Hermione?” She asked a few Ravenclaws as they passed by her.

  “Last I heard she was in the girl’s bathroom. Someone said they heard her crying in there.” They responded.

  A moment later and she was gone, Draco was the first to notice her sudden disappearance, calling out to her, drawing further attention to her absence.

  Riley discreetly made several Shadow Clones and sent them out to each of the girl’s bathrooms, since she didn’t know which one Hermione had last been seen in.

  A few moments passed when one of her clones popped, and she received the information on it’s location, having spotted the troll heading into one of the bathrooms. Riley quickly made her way there, hearing a scream, right as she made it to the hallway containing the bathroom.

  “Hermione!” Riley worried in panic as she rushed to the doorway.

  She found the troll advancing on the cowering girl, a massive club in hand, ready to squish her.

  “HEY!” Riley shouted, drawing her staff, and launching a Reducto at the creature’s enormous back.

  A small chunk of flesh erupted from it’s lower back and it let out a grunt of pain as it turned to face her.

  This would be the second Troll she’d faced in her lifetime. These creatures had magically resilient flesh that weakened the effects of any spell that struck them. They were rather simple creatures, lacking much in the way of higher intelligence. They were strong though, easily able to rip a human being to pieces or crush them if they got close enough.

  Riley backed away from the troll, leading it out into the hall as it stalked towards her.

  Once out into the hall, it raised it’s club over it’s head.

  Riley knew she could bring it down with her shinobi skills, or even place it under an illusion with her Sharingan, but such methods might reveal her true nature, and she was enjoying having that kept a secret, so she was confined to using just her magical talent. With that in mind, a plan formed.

  She stabbed her staff forward, releasing a powerful Reducto, that struck the troll’s overhead arm in the wrist.

  Blood and flesh erupted, as it’s flesh, muscles and tendons were torn open by the curse. The Troll roared in pain, it’s hand coming open, releasing it’s massive club, which fell onto it’s head with a loud thud, momentarily discombobulating the giant creature.

  It stumbled backwards, clutching at both it’s wrist and head, as it tried to shake off the pain. Seeing it’s club on the ground, the next part of her plan formed. She shot forward and drove her foot hard into the club, splintering part of the end of it, breaking a large piece off of the handle. She kicked away the broken piece and levitated the club into the air, the handle to the club, now made just a bit thinner, aimed directly at the creatures chest. Summoning forth a great deal of strength, she banished the levitated club, straight at the creature.

  It shot forward with an ear splitting crack, punching deep into the troll’s chest.

  The creature stumbled back, now impaled center-right of it’s chest, and slumped against the wall. Blood erupted from it’s mouth, and it convulsed a few times.

  Riley watched it intently as it died, waiting for it’s life to end before she took her eyes off of it.

  For a long while she watched as it died, a realization touching at her mind that this had been her first kill in months. Her time here at school had felt so very different from the life she was used to living. No killing, no real fighting for her life. Just living and growing, acting like the child that she was. Yet in an instant, the killer reemerged. Even contained in the false visage of the schoolgirl she pretended to be, her lethality yet remained.

  Several long moments passed as it drowned in it’s own blood. It took time for the creature to die, and a small part of Riley actually felt sorry for it. In it’s final moments, she took pity on it and activated her Sharingan. Lowering her glasses to reveal her blood-red eyes, she caught it’s gaze, and put it to sleep. Allowing the creature to die peacefully, without having to suffer further.

  Trolls may have been stupid, and man-eaters, but that didn’t mean the creature deserved to suffer. A part of her wondered if perhaps she shouldn’t have tried that to begin with. Put the creature to sleep with an illusion. Even if it did spark questions, she could have come up with a lie. Though perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to keep adding more lies to her story. Lies had a bad way of coming to light eventually, and the more complex she made this house of cards of hers, the easier it would be for it to come toppling down. No, it was better this way. Better that they believed her to just be of Shinobi descent rather than her actually being a Shinobi.

  She heard the troll stop breathing, and a few moments later, it’s heart stopped beating as well, as it finished bleeding out. Moving past it, she entered into the girl’s bathroom. Hermione was curled up under a sink, cowering in fear, half-frozen in shock.

  Riley knelt over her, and tried to get her back, help her out of this stupor.

  “Hermione, it’s okay, it’s over.” Riley whispered to her, setting her staff to the side, she tried to get Hermione to look at her, all the while checking to see if she was injured.

  It took a few moments before their eyes met, Riley’s gaze having returned to normal, hidden behind her round spectacles.

  “Hey there, are you okay, are you hurt?” Riley asked her.

  “Riley?” Hermione whispered, blinking several times as she recognized her.

  “Hey… yeah it’s me. Are you okay?” Riley asked again.

  She was suddenly engulfed by a tearful hug as Hermione through her arms around her.

  For a moment, Riley froze. She had grown use to physical contact around the Delacours, and with Remus, but with others, she hadn’t yet experienced it. She still wasn’t the best at it, but she couldn’t deny that she enjoyed a good hug, and she knew that Hermione must feel relieved at having survived, so she allowed it, and even returned the hug for a moment, before carefully separating her from her friend.

  “I thought… I…” Hermione began, but Riley offered her a smile and shook her head.

  “Don’t think about it. It’s over. You’re alright, you’re alive. The troll can’t hurt you anymore.” Riley reassured her.

  “What happened to it?” Hermione asked, glancing towards the doorway where part of it’s arm could be seen filling some of the open space.

  “It’s dead. I killed it.” Riley replied.

  “It’s dead…” Hermione repeated, almost as if the notion of that monstrous creature being dead was an entirely foreign concept, like something that big and strong being dead, wasn’t possible.

  The two heard words coming from the hallway, and soon spotted several of the teachers stepping around the body of the troll to examine it.

  “In here!” Riley called out to them, drawing McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape into the bathroom.

  “Miss Uzumaki, Miss Granger, what are you two doing here?” McGonagall questioned as she approached.

  “Hermione wasn’t in the Great Hall to hear the warning about the troll so I went looking for her. Found it here trying to hurt her so I lured it out there and dealt with it.” Riley responded, picking up her staff and helping Hermione to her feet as she did.

  “You did this?” Flitwick questioned with disbelief and amazement.

  “It was gonna squish Hermione, I did what I had to.” Riley responded. The teachers stared at her for several long moments, as if seeing her for the first time.

  After a couple of seconds, McGonagall was able to regain her bearings and turn her attention to Hermione. “Miss Granger, are you alright, are you hurt?”

  “I’m fine, professor. It think I might have a bruise or two, but otherwise, I’m not hurt.” Hermione replied as she glanced over her body, checking to see if she had any injuries.

  “It would seem that Gryffindor House may have lost out by losing you to Slytherin. Rushing headlong into danger to rescue your fellow student, I cannot help but admire your courage.” Came the voice of Dumbledore, as he appeared in the doorway, behind him was Quirrel who was eyeing the body of the troll with unease and disbelief.

  “Headmaster.” Riley greeted the old man with a nod as he approached.

  “Though I wish death had not been needed this night, I am happy to see that you both are alright.” Dumbledore expressed.

  “A part of me wonders if perhaps I could have come up with something else, but ultimately, I can’t change what happened. I killed it, and I have to live with that. What I wanna know is how it got in here. Are trolls native to this area?” Riley expressed, but turned her question to the adults.

  “Some can be found in the Forbidden Forest, though they rarely venture so close to the grounds.” McGonagall expressed.

  “Yes… this is indeed strange. We will have to search the castle and find whatever breech allowed it inside. For now, I think it best the two of you return to your dorm rooms. You’ve had enough excitement for tonight I’m sure. And miss Uzumaki, should the need arise, and you wish to talk about what happened here to tonight, please know that my door is open. Death is not an easy thing to deal with, as justifiable as we may be able to convince ourselves it can be, there will always be a part of us that wonders, what if, and if another way could have been found. Do not let it burden you, but if you feel such things creeping up, do not hesitate to come speak with me, or any of the professors for that matter. We all have dealt with tragedy, and the harshness that life sometimes forces upon us. Do not let it fester.” Dumbledore offered to her, earning a soft smile from Riley.

  “If it comes to that, than you’ll be the first to know professor. Thank you.” Riley offered kindly in return.

  “Come, children. I will escort you back to your dorms. We will see miss Granger to her fellows and then gather the rest of the Slytherins to return them to the dungeons.” McGonagall informed the two girls.

  “Before you depart miss Granger, I am curious, what led you to being here away from the other students?” Dumbledore inquired.

  “Uh… it’s nothing…” Hermione blinked, and looked away, embarrassed.

  “Hermione, what happened?” Riley asked, pinning her with a serious look.

  “It’s- it’s stupid.” Hermione uttered, blushing a bit, not liking all of their attention being on her.

  “I’ll decide that. What happened?” Riley questioned again, her tone firm.

  “One of the Gryffindor first years called me a name, and said I had no friends. It brought up bad memories of being back in my old school, so I came here to... be alone." Hermione replied sounding embarrassed by the cause of her predicament.

  "Which student was it?" McGonagall asked, looking furious that one of her lions had caused a fellow student so much pain and put her in this situation.

  "Some red haired boy. His face got really red when I answered a question that he couldn't." Hermione replied.

  "That Weasley brat? The newest addition." Snape commented off to the side.

  "Yes indeed... well I'm sure that had he known what tonight would have brought, he would have never said the things that he did. With that being said," Dumbledore began before turning to McGonagall, "I expect the boy to receive a stern talking to, along with having him apologize and a deduction of points from Gryffindor. I will leave the number up to you Minerva, when you finish reprimanding the boy."

  "Of course, Headmaster. I will see to it in the morning. Now... come along children." McGonagall replied before addressing the children.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Both nodded and followed after her. They headed to the Ravenclaw common room first to drop off Hermione.

  "I want to thank you for rescuing me. It was the bravest thing anyone has ever done for me." Hermione told Riley, before giving her a hug which Riley once more accepted.

  "What are friends for Hermione? Now go get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast. Oh, and don’t listen to that dummy Weasley. You have friends Hermione. I'm sure Draco and the others will be happy to see that you’re alright." Riley commented with a smile.

  Hermione was quiet for a moment, a soft smile playing at her lips. After a few moments she nodded in acceptance of her friend’s words. She was let into the common room where she was immediately assailed with questions from the other Claws. Meanwhile Riley followed after McGonagall as they traveled to the library.

  The two arrived at the entrance to the library where McGonagall turned to face her.

  "I have only three things to say before you join with your classmates. That was very foolish what you did, it was incredibly brave, and I am very proud of you." McGonagall told her which caused Riley to smile and blush a little. She was still getting use to receiving praise for her actions, it was something she’d gone her whole life without, so getting it now was a foreign thing, and yet it felt good.

  "Thanks. I'll see you in class tomorrow professor." Riley replied, getting a nod of agreement from McGonagall, Riley turned and entered into the library to rejoin her housemates, McGonagall following behind her.

  Much like Hermione, Riley was questioned by them, but she kept quiet while McGonagall informed them the threat had been dealt with and that they were safe to return to their rooms.

  The troop returned to the Slytherin dorms where Riley was once more questioned about where she went, and what had happened.

  Riley explained to her friends that she went looking for Hermione, found the troll attempting to attack her in the girl’s bathroom, so she lured it away and killed it.

  Her friends were largely in disbelief because well, trolls were huge, and powerful. Dumb as hell, but that was besides the point.

  “Is Hermione okay?” Was the first question Draco asked after hearing what happened. Riley was happy to hear him ask.

  “Yeah… she’s fine. A little spooked, but otherwise, she’s alright.” Riley responded. Her friends were happy to hear that, but then began the questioning of how she could of killed that troll. She answered honestly. Simply telling them how she did it. The older students listened in, and were mesmerized by the tale which would later be confirmed by the prefects, and the head girl.

  The next day the school was abuzz with news of Riley's adventure. Most of the older Slytherin were now assured of their official stance of not messing with Riley, and a bunch of the younger kids were now calling her a hero for saving Hermione’s life. Dumbledore addressed the matter, and awarded Slytherin house fifty points for Riley’s act of heroism which gave them a huge lead and all but guaranteed they were likely to win the House cup at the end of the year. This earned her quite the positive adoration from her housemates.

  The Gryffindors weren't especially happy as they had lost twenty points for the actions of one of their own. While one particular Gryffindor wasn't having a very good time of it. Ron Weasley had approached Hermione and grumbled out an apology, which she then made him repeat louder, causing his face to redden, as he angrily repeated his apology before storming off. He also received a week of detention with Filch.

  Riley remained the talk of the school for many weeks, and during that time she continued with her lessons. Every few days she would receive a letter from Fleur, Riley was quickly developing an excitement for when she would receive these letters. The flirtatious element that grew in their correspondence didn’t go unnoticed by Riley, and she grew ever more excited for the day they saw each other again.

  Though the flirting was noticeable, the two discussed a great many things, including how their schooling was going, and Riley’s current adventures at Hogwarts. Fleur was one of her only friends that knew of her secret identity as Null though even she didn’t know the whole truth about Riley. Who she really was. She knew about her being a shinobi, and the leader of the Uzumaki clan, but who she had been before all of that, still remained a mystery even from the person she was arguably closest with, that didn’t live inside her body.

  Fleur did express that her allure was growing more powerful, and would probably be much more noticeable when they met again, and she was a bit worried about how it would affect Riley. Normally a Veela’s allure was more targeted towards men, but it all had to do with the Veela’s own desires, as well as the sexuality of the person viewing it. If Fleur preferred girls, and the girl she was after, also preferred girls, than there was a real chance that they could be affected by it.

  Riley wasn’t worried. If anything, she took it as a challenge, to overcome it, and keep treating Fleur like the person she was, which she knew her friend would appreciate.

  Time passed and eventually the Yule holidays rolled around. Riley had been busy over the weeks, continuing to learn in magic, slowly but surely pulling away from the other first years as she gobbled up every drop of knowledge her teachers could provide. She rose to the top of her class in almost every subject, only being the definitive second in Herbology after Neville, and tied for first with Daphne in Potions. She was also second in History of Magic, after Hermione. She was top of her class in the practical sides of magic, Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was also first in Astrology class.

  In her free time she was often with her friends, hanging out, or while they were busy with homework, Riley would sneak off to quiet parts of the castle, or even out in the Forbidden Forest, to practice her skills as a shinobi, keeping her skills sharp, and slowly returning her focus to learning new techniques and abilities.

  With the Yule Holidays, came the Yule break, which would see the students sent home for a few days. Riley intended to make the most of her trip home for the holidays by returning to France to see Fleur and the Delacours with Remus.

  "So, what are you doing for the break?" Draco asked as he, and Riley were hanging out in the main hall waiting to be dismissed to leave for break.

  "I'm actually off to France to meet with some friends and spend some time with them." Riley replied with a thoughtful smile.

  "Oh? Who're you going to meet?" Draco asked.

  “My friends Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour. I spent some time with them before coming to Hogwarts. We’re pretty close.” Riley answered.

  “Delacour, where have I heard that name before?” Draco hummed thoughtfully.

  “Probably their father, Jean Delacour, he’s the head of the DMLE in France, the Chief Auror.” Riley offered.

  “Oh! That’s right. Huh… well, my family will be holding our annual ball at our estate, if you find yourself back in country, you’re more than welcome to attend.” Draco provided.

  “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks! Let’s get going, it looks like they’re ready to release us.” Riley noted as she saw McGonagall enter the hall and draw everyone’s attention telling them that the train had arrived.

  During the train ride home, Riley felt her excitement begin to build as she imagined seeing Fleur again. She knew she had feelings for her, and that Fleur liked her in return. She just hoped things weren’t awkward when they met, despite clearing the air with their letters, things were left a bit weird at their last meeting due to Fleur’s sudden kiss.

  Riley just hoped she could muster the courage to return that affection when she saw her again.

  Her friends took note of her excitement, as she did theirs. After arriving at the station they said their goodbyes and she met up with Remus.

  They stayed the night in London, and in the morning portkeyed to France and made their way to Chateau Delacour where they were welcomed warmly by the Delacours.

  Gabrielle made it to Riley first, flying into her arms with a warm hug.

  “Riley! It’s so good to see you again! How was Hogwarts? How are you classes? What are people saying about the troll?” On and on the little Veela rattled off questions, which only served to make Riley smile.

  While she was answering, Fleur arrived, the beaming smile she wore which quickly turned shy when their eyes met, melted Riley’s heart. Once she was able to pull herself from Gabrielle, she shared a warm hug with Fleur.

  “Hello Riley. It is good to see you again.” Fleur whispered in her ear.

  “It’s good to see you too, Fleur. I’ve missed you. Missed all of you, really.” Riley said as she pulled back.

  “Come, lunch is almost ready.” Apolline welcomed the two.

  Riley spent the day with the Delacours talking about her time in Hogwarts and hearing how Fleur’s school year was going, which reasonably had less excitement than Riley’s.

  That night, Riley found herself sitting on Fleur’s bed, watching the snow fall outside of her bedroom window.

  She could feel her heart pounding as she waited on Fleur. A few minutes passed when Fleur entered the room. She nervously crossed it and sat beside Riley, the two finally have some time alone.

  Riley felt her anticipation grow as she struggled to speak, Fleur was right next to her, close enough to feel the warmth from her body. It took every ounce of her courage to turn and face her and when she did, Fleur met her gaze, staring back with a bashful smile.

  Finally, it came, Fleur started to say something, and as she did, Riley couldn’t help but react.

  In a quick movement she brought her lips to Fleur’s. Just a quick peck on the lips, but it certainly got the message across.

  Fleur blinked, her smile growing.

  “Will you be my girlfriend?” Riley asked.

  Fleur stared back at her for moment, inflating as she filled with joy.

  “Of course I will!” She replied, pulling Riley into a hug, which she returned.

  The two held one another for a bit before separating though they remained in each other’s arms.

  “I’ve been waiting to ask that for months.” Riley admitted.

  “So have I.” Fleur also admitted.

  “Sorry I didn’t say anything before, I couldn’t find the words.” Riley offered.

  “It is alright. I could not either. That’s why I kissed you. No words could sum up what I was feeling.” Fleur responded blushing lightly as she did.

  Riley smiled back, and the two laid back on the bed, both feeling a weight lift off of them, as they were finally able to acknowledge their feelings towards one another and address it.

  “I have liked you for a long time Riley. Since we first met, in truth. You saved my life, and since that moment, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. My knight in shining armor!” Fleur admitted, turning her head to face Riley, who did the same.

  “I can’t really say when it happened. I just knew when I thought about it, that I really liked you. Stuff like love… I’ve never really dealt with it before. This is all new to me.” Riley offered in response.

  “Me too. I have never had a girlfriend before. I hope I will not disappoint.” Fleur said to her, her tone playful and inviting.

  Riley giggled, and smiled at her. “I hope I don’t either. I’ve never really had feelings like this for someone else. It’s all so new and mysterious.”

  “Well then, we will have to work together to navigate it.” Fleur offered, giving Riley her hand, which Riley gladly took, offering her new girlfriend a nod of affirmation.

  With that, Fleur leaned in, and the two shared another kiss, allowing their bond to continue to grow.

  For the next few days, Riley and Remus remained at the Delacour household, enjoying Christmas. It was quickly picked up on by the rest of the family that Riley and Fleur were spending a lot more time with one another.

  Eventually Fleur was pulled aside by her mother who questioned her on it, and she revealed the truth. Apolline was overjoyed to hear it, having suspected her daughter’s attraction towards Riley for a long time. She didn’t hesitate to share the truth with the other adults when it came up again. They were happy for them. Remus knew how much Riley cared for Fleur and was happy that she’d found a partner, someone she wanted to be with. The Delacours had known Riley for a while now, and knew she was a good person, and someone who’d protect their daughter through thick and thin. They knew the two would look out for each other.

  It was their last day before Riley had to return to England that Fleur chose to address a topic she knew they needed to discuss.

  Riley sat beside her, the two alone in Fleur’s room, she could sense that there was something Fleur wanted to talk about.

  “What’s wrong?” Riley asked.

  “Nozing. Nozing is wrong. It is just, somezing zat we need to talk about. I remember you telling me how you wanted to rebuild your clan, and that one of the reasons you chose to settle in Britain was because it would be easier to take multiple partners to speed up zat process. I wanted to talk about zat.” Fleur explained.

  Riley took in a long breath and nodded. She took a moment to think on what she should say. Finally, words started taking form.

  “Fleur… I know what I said… but these last few days, they’ve been great. I want to restore my clan, and numbers are needed to do that, but I’m willing to focus on other means. I like you. I really do. If you want it to just be you and I, then I think I can make that work.” Riley expressed, honestly willing to forgo the idea of polygamy in order to keep her new relationship with Fleur.

  “Zat means ze world to me Riley. Were it possible, I would give you ze family you desire. I would be happy to make a big family wiz you. But I cannot.” Fleur admitted, earning a curious look from Riley.

  “Why not?” Riley asked her.

  “We Veela do not have many babies. We are known as sexual creatures, and we certainly enjoy doing zat a lot, but we do not get pregnant very easily.” Fleur began to explain, causing Riley to blush a bit at the mention of sex.

  “Veela are only fertile for around four days out of ze year. Our ovulation cycles are about six monzs. If we are not fertilized on zose days, we cannot get pregnant. It is… also difficult to track our cycles. Because of how long zey are, the actual days of fertility can move by as much as two or zree weeks. No real indications as to ze days eizer. We are known to be quite a bit more aroused during our fertility, and for a human that might stand out, but we Veela already have a high sex drive. If a human woman’s sex drive sits around a six, zen a Veela is a ten. During out fertility days, that may be a twelve. It’s just hard to tell. We are very devoted to our partners, and can be quite needy regularly. Spotting ze difference is not so easy. Zere is also the issue that pregnancy is not guaranteed. It is somezing like a one in eight chance, if we procreate on zose days. And like I said, it only lasts two days. Without knowing ze days, life can easily get in ze way. Just because we become more aroused does not mean we are immune to being tired, or distracted by ozer events in life. My mama and papa are usually all over each ozer. Ze number of times I have almost walked in on zem is to high to count. You may have noticed Gabby and I announce ourselves quite often, or call out to zem instead of just going to look. It is gross. But I am happy for zem. Happy zey are still so close. My papa has four brozers and a sister. I have many, many cousins. My mama also loves children. She would be happy if she got pregnant again. It just doesn’t happen easily. Zey have been togezer since zey were teens, and zey only have ze two of us. Mama has only been pregnant twice in her life.” Fleur explained the situation, gifting Riley a deeper look into Veela biology.

  “Huh…” Riley uttered as she took that all in.

  “You see… if I could give you what you wanted, I would be more zen happy to try and convince you to make it just us. However… I do not even know if I will be able to give you one. Let alone more. Veela are not overly fertile creatures. What I wanted to talk about was my willingness in you finding ozer partners. Veela can be quite possessive but I zink I can manage it, just so long as I am treated fairly.” Fleur admitted to her.

  “Well of course. I wouldn’t think of being disrespectful or underhanded. I’d want all of my partners to be happy, and have a respectable opinion of each other. I wouldn’t want them fighting or trying to compete for my attention.” Riley responded, getting a nod from Fleur.

  “How many were you zinking?” Fleur asked.

  “I don’t know. Three, I guess. Seems reasonable. Logically if I could get at least one child from each of you, that would give the Uzumaki a good starting point to begin recovering, and hell, maybe there’s other Uzumaki still alive out there that I can find and bring into the clan, which will help our numbers recover. But yeah, three seems a good starting point. Maybe I’ll find more then that, but threes what I’ll aim for right now.” Riley answered honestly.

  “Zree… okay. If you find anozer girl and start dating her, I would like to meet her early on. Not too early, just sometime after you decide to take ze relationship furzer. Zat way, we can get to know each ozer, outside of meeting after you and she are already close. Hopefully zat will reduce ze chance of infighting or jealousy.” Fleur suggested.

  “Good thinking.” Riley nodded in agreement.

  “Good. I am happy we were able to address zis. I know zis means a lot to you, to rebuild your clan, and I want to help you do it. I like ze idea of being a mozer some day. Unfortunately, I cannot give you what you want, not as needed. Do not worry though, it does not upset me. I knew long before we started dating, what your intentions were, and I am at peace wiz it. I just want us to be open in our communications. So we know how we feel.” Fleur explained.

  “Yeah. I certainly appreciate it. If there’s ever anything you need to talk about, or want to address, don’t hesitate to bring it up. I want us to work, and I know that takes work, so never be afraid to tell me if something is wrong, or if there’s something we need to talk about because I want us to work. I really like you Fleur, and I want this to last. Hopefully for a lifetime.” Riley responded to her, causing Fleur to smile.

  “I like you too, Riley. I cannot imagine myself with anyone else.” Fleur admitted, still smiling.

  Riley returned the smile, and moved closer, allowing Fleur to wrap an arm around her, an action that Riley mimicked. The two made lovey eyes at each other for several long moments before sharing a kiss.

  They continued to chat, long into the night, and at some point, laid back on Fleur’s bed, continuing to talk to one another. They chatted about life, their beliefs and desires. More and more, Riley found herself approaching true honesty with her girlfriend. She felt like she could tell her anything, and Fleur would still accept her.

  She held back though. Her paranoia as a shinobi, kept her in check. Despite her feelings, despite her desire to be open and honest with her newfound love, that fear of letting someone in, letting someone see her for who she truly was, it kept her in check. Fleur was one of the few friends she had, who knew of her secret identity as Null, an identity that was much truer to the real Riley, than the parts of herself she chose to show to her friends.

  She was a shinobi, a warrior, a killer. Fighting wasn’t just what she was good at, it was who she was. It was how she expressed herself. It was how she was raised by Madara. Talking with her fists, was the only completely honest way she knew how to communicate. It wasn’t something she showed others. Only a few people knew how dangerous she truly was.

  Still. Despite holding back, she still felt a sense of comfort and peace with Fleur that she’d never felt with anyone before. Not since Naruko had she ever felt so close to another person. When they were little, the twins were nearly inseparable. Almost like two sides of the same coin. Riley felt that same level of connection, beginning to manifest with Fleur.

  Though Riley kept her secrets, still she kept talking. Long into the night the two talked, on and on until, much to Riley’s own surprise, she found her eyes opening.

  Light drifted in from the morning sunrise, Fleur’s beautiful slumbering face, filling her view.

  Riley sat there, dumbfounded for many long minutes, as she slowly came to realize that she’d fallen asleep with Fleur.

  Again, not since Naruko had she ever shared a bed with someone else. When the twins were very young, they would often fall asleep holding on to one another. Not since those days had Riley ever felt safe or comfortable enough to fall into such a deep sleep with another person nearby.

  She was a shinobi, and a particularly paranoid one at that. Riley slept as a shinobi did, on the very edge of slumber, where the slightest sound, the mildest shift in the air, could wake her up.

  Riley always slept with her back to the wall, again as most shinobi often did. Yet here she was, laying in the open on Fleur’s bed, which sat in the middle of the wall, open to the whole room.

  A chuckle from Madara broke her out of her disbelief and wonderment. Her reaction was a lot like his own when such a thing had first happened to him. While she laid there, he regaled her of his own experience with such things. How he’d never felt that comfortable with other people, not even his various lovers, or flings over the years. He never fell into a deep sleep around others, never let his guard down around people. His sleep was always just barely on the razor’s edge. Where even the slightest disruption of his partners rhythmic breathing could wake him. It wasn’t until he’d married Kaguya that it had finally happened.

  It took years, even with her, but it happened. One day, seemingly out of nowhere, after a night of love and comfort, and communication that was no different that many like it in the past, he found himself waking to the light of day, feeling Kaguya gently tracing his chest with her finger.

  He chuckled to himself as he recalled how he’d shot up, momentarily confused by the light, believing it to be an attack of some kind, only to recognize the rising sun.

  For him, it had been decades, almost thirty years, since he’d fallen into such a deep and comfortable sleep.

  Kaguya seemed to understand his reaction without needing an explanation. She merely smiled at him and pulled him back down onto the bed, resting her head on his chest and continuing to trace one of the scars along his pectoral.

  Riley listed to the story, taking it in. She loved hearing stories about Madara, and her Grandmother, especially stories of them together. Madara had enough tact to romanticize any of the gross stuff, so the stories always seemed so much more intimate, and meaningful. She also liked hearing how much alike her and her grandfather were. She respected him a lot, and deeply admired him. A lot of her own personality was shaped by his.

  It didn’t take Riley long to settle, and once she did, she found herself admiring Fleur’s sleeping face. It was the perfect opportunity to finally mesmerize every feature. Despite it being one of her favorite parts of Fleur’s face, it was good that her eyes were shut. They always had a tendency to draw Riley’s gaze to them, so having them closed right now, allowed her to really look at her girlfriend, and memorize every perfection, every imperfection, every line and curve.

  After a few moments, a playful mischievous thought descended on Riley. Grinning, she reached out and started pinching Fleur’s cheeks, making her purse her lips. Riley began giggling as Fleur slowly awoke. She blinked a few times as she took in Riley’s presence and recognized what she was doing.

  She pulled away, as Riley broke down into laughter, Fleur sat up and glared at her girlfriend, pursing her lips in frustration. Seeing her making that face, caused Riley to laugh further. It was moment before Fleur realized why Riley was laughing. She was now making the same face Riley had been making her make, unaided. She blushed, and fought to control her face, which only served to make Riley laugh harder, as she took notice of Fleur’s struggle to not purse her lips when frustrated.

  After a few moments, Fleur finally lost her composure and pushed Riley back onto the bed. She then got to her feet and stormed over to the window to try and correct her features.

  Riley laid on the bed giggling for a few more moments before sitting up. Fleur slowly turned to face her, glaring all the while.

  “Are you done messing wiz me?” Fleur questioned.

  “Nah. I can picture a lifetime of this.” Riley replied, grinning.

  Fleur smiled at that, and crossed the distance between them to sit next to Riley.

  “Your cute when you’re angry.” Riley teased.

  “I am always cute Riley.” Fleur pouted, gaining a grin from Riley in the process.

  The two remained together for a while, talking, bonding, just enjoying each other’s presence. Eventually they’d be called down for breakfast, their day allowed to progress as normal.

  Unfortunately, the time would come and Riley had to return to Hogwarts. Saying goodbye to the Delacours was difficult, especially saying her farewells to her new girlfriend, but she swore she’d write to her the moment she got back, and that she’d see them all again during the summer.

  Fleur gave her a long farewell kiss, before hugging her, promising to write as well. With that, Riley and Remus returned to England, and soon Riley was off returning to Hogwarts.

  The train ride back was full of talk from her friends, reminiscing about their holiday plans. Riley listened in but was surprisingly quiet in regards to her own adventures. Instead, when asked, she simply smiled fondling, and kept it to herself. Her friends picked up on something having happened, and Riley had obviously enjoyed it, but none of them knew what it could be.

  Only Draco really knew that she’d gone to spend time with a friend over the break, so he guessed it probably had something to do with that.

  Back in Hogwarts, Riley continued her studies and continued climbing the social latter. She would help the kids in her school year with their schoolwork, not just those in her own house, this helped endear her to them, and gave her the opportunity to refine her understanding of these lessons. It was Madara who’d once said to her that the true measure of your mastery of a subject was your ability to teach it to another, so Riley took the time to help any of the other kids who wanted it. This helped earn her a reputation around school, and made acquaintances within her year.

  It was several weeks into her return when Hermione informed Riley that she’d overheard Ron Weasley and another boy discussing how they’d discovered a Cerberus in the third floor corridor, the one that had been labeled off limits to the students this year.

  She shared this with her group of friends who discussed what it could mean and why such a dangerous creature would be hiding inside the school. It was Draco who pointed out that Cerberus were often used as guard dogs, and it was likely something was being hidden there and the Cerberus was keeping it safe.

  Riley and her friends were naturally curious, though none wanted to risk getting eaten, or in Riley’s case, risk getting into trouble and messing with something that had nothing to do with her. It was Daphne who emphasized to the group just how powerful Cerberus were, having magical resilient skin, and a ferocious hunger. They were incredibly dangerous, even skilled witches and wizards had to be careful dealing with them, so it would be wise for them to just forget about it.

  Riley agreed with her, she didn’t want any of them risking themselves by going near that creature, so she downplayed her own curiosity and warned them against trying anything, just to make sure no one let curiosity get the better of them.

  The following weeks she kept on with her lessons, and spending time with her friends. She wrote to Fleur and the Delacours often, even sending a few letters to Remus every so often to make sure he was doing alright. She kept her skills focused, and sharp by training in the Forbidden Forest. There she would practice her ninjutsu, and other shinobi skills. To keep her stealth skills sharp she’d often stalk the creatures of the forest or spy on the Centaurs just to keep her abilities in tip-top shape. She fully intended to return to bounty hunting, over the summer break, and after what happened the last time she’d made a misstep, she knew to be prepared and keep her skills sharp.

  One part of her shinobi training that she could easily perform in the castle was continuing to learn the sealing arts. The massive hoard of knowledge held by the Uzumaki Clan was more than one person could reasonably learn in a lifetime, but Riley was committed to learning as much as she could. She kept to seals that were safer, or involved concepts she already knew, and continued to add more to her roster of abilities. She eventually learned a special seal that could copy written documents from one medium to another. This technique was devised to help the Uzumaki clan in intelligence gathering info as it allowed them to quickly copy a large amount of information to their own scrolls or books, while leaving the original documents behind. They could then review the gathered information at their leisure and the victims of the theft would never even know the info had been stolen since the original documents were still in their place.

  While she had intended to use this ability to aid in her own information gathering missions, as well as expanding her services to stealing information for payment, it was Madara who pointed out that she could actually use this ability on the books in the library. Though he didn’t outright say it, his intention was for her to use it on books from the Restricted Section, so she could learn of the deeper mysteries of magic, again at her leisure. Though it could also be used just on regular books, since their were limited copies of certain texts, and Madam Pince was a hawk in regards to where her books went, and how long they were checked out for. So copying that information to blank books, meant Riley could have those text for her own personal use, without having to worry about the librarian tracking her movements whenever she had to loan out a book or two.

  This became a new hobby of hers, and eventually, she came upon Madara’s actual intention with the idea, on her own, and began discreetly sneaking into the restricted section to copy the books within. It was a slow process, though Riley was methodical with it. She knew she likely wasn’t ready yet to begin studying those secrets so instead she just picked a section, and started copying every single book it contained. Her only limit to this process was the number of blank scrolls or books she could get her hands on, and the ability to perform the sealing technique, as it did require a small ritual for each copied document, which could take a few minutes to set up. With the help of a few Shadow Clones it went quickly, but even still, there was hundreds upon hundreds of books just in the restricted section alone, this process would likely take her a few years, but Riley wasn’t worried. The idea that she’d have all of these documents for her own personal use after leaving Hogwarts, or during private training, was well worth the investment of her time, plus it helped with her skills as a shinobi, infiltrating the restricted section, working around the older students or teachers coming or going to avoid being caught, it was useful training. The only downside was that she hardly took time to read more than the title of a book before copying it so she never really knew if she’d gotten anything good for her efforts.

  She settled on just the training as making the effort worth it, to keep her spirits up.

  When she wasn’t studying, training, hanging out with her friends, or stealing the entire library and hiding the copies in her trunk, Riley was exploring the castle and the grounds. Her new home was a magical place, and she had long ago come to love its mystery and majesty.

  The end of the year and final exams began approaching, and while Riley’s friends were busy focusing on their studies, Riley found herself continuing to explore the underbelly of Hogwarts. There were so many secret pathways, and magically hidden routes, and finding them was an absolute joy for Riley who used her Sharingan to scan the magic of the castle and find places where it concentrated in unnatural ways, there she would examine and experiment and find hidden paths to other parts of the castle or ways that led out onto the grounds. It was incredibly fun.

  During a break she sat alone in a dark room, having an internal chat with grandfather and Kurama when the sound of footfalls caught her ears. In the dark silence of the underbelly of Hogwarts, the noise was almost like gunshots to her ears. She rose to her feet, immediately on alert, her curiosity peaked. She slid into the shadows and waited to see who it was coming this way.

  Professor Quirell came bursting into the chamber, his eyes flickering about, wand drawn, a Lumos lit up the tip of his wand, casting the blackness of the chamber in a bright blue glow. Shadows danced around the large room, ancient wooden tables and chairs, a half rotted bookcase, hanging chains, and old statues and standing rusted suits of armor, all cast darkness into the recesses of the room, and Riley moved with these shadows, hiding just out of the sight of the DADA professor as she watched him curiously.

  “It’s here… it has to be here.” Quirell spoke aloud and to himself. He crossed the room, over to an alcove in the far wall nestled half behind a cobweb covered statue. Riley knew that a secret doorway was located there, which it seemed that Quirell was trying to find.

  He seemed hurried, breathless, like he’d run all the way here. His movements were quick, on the verge of frantic.

  “Where. Where. Where. Where.” He rattled on to himself as he searched about the area.

  Riley was about to step out and reveal herself, when another voiced pierced the darkness.

  “Settle yourself! We are so close now. Settle.” Quirell seemed to shudder at the voice, freezing for a moment. At the sound of it, Riley also froze. It seemed to come from Quirell himself, yet he was reacting as if he hadn’t been the one to say it.

  “Yes… yes… it’s around here though… right around here.” Quirell took a breath and seemed to calm down a bit.

  Riley blinked several times in confusion before a look of concern flitted onto her face. Her Sharingan sprung to live and she was surprised by what she saw.

  A mass of dark and powerful energy radiated from the back of Quirell’s head. It appeared almost attached to him. His own energy was being drained into this foreign one, which seemed several times more powerful than the DADA professor. The two magics were entirely different though, they couldn’t possibly be from the same person. Either Quirell was possessed by something, physically, magically, or spiritually, or her was a Jinchuriki, those were the only explanations that Riley could come up with.

  “Professor.” Riley spoke quietly, after drawing her wand.

  He turned in a panic, his eyes searching the darkness for her until he spotted the blood red glow of her Sharingan.

  “You… what are you… how did you…” Quirell began blinking rapidly at the sight of her.

  “Something’s wrong with you.” She said to him. “Something is attached to you.”

  Quirell blinked several more times, his panic seemingly growing before an eerie calm seemed to descend on him.

  “You truly are remarkably bright.” He spoke, no sign of his typical stutter.

  Riley stared at him for a moment, she saw before he moved what he was about to do. She saw his magic move, saw his body move, all thanks to the predictive powers of the Sharingan.

  “Wai…!” A voice began to speak, but it was cut off.

  “Avada Kadavra!” The green light of the Killing Curse lit up the darkness of the room, but Riley was already moving by the time he began making the motion for the spell.

  It lanced in her direction, striking and melting through a suit of ancient armor. In an instant she was gone, vanishing into the shadows of the room.

  Quirell blinked several times at the swiftness of her movement. For a moment his calm was broken, he then made another move, slamming the doorway on the far side of the room shut to prevent her from sneaking out.

  Riley heard him magically lock it as he began to move through the room looking for her.

  “I am sorry for this. Truly I am. I don’t know why you’re down here, but I can’t have you giving me away. This doesn’t have to be painful. I don’t want it to be. Please come out… this will only be worse for you if you don’t.” Quirell spoke as he moved through the room, searching the darkness for her. He knew enough to be on guard, she’d killed a troll on her own, he knew how powerful she was, and how skilled she could be.

  Unfortunately for the DADA professor, he didn’t know everything about her.

  “That was exciting professor. The Killing Curse, right off the bat. Never would have expected it from you. Let me guess… you’re the one who let the troll in back during Halloween?” Riley’s voice emerged from the darkness. Quirell turned to it’s source, but found nothing but old furniture and dusty stands.

  “What makes you say that?” Quirell questioned as he continued moving through the room, a growing sense of unease building within his gut. He knew as much as the other teachers about her. He knew she had shinobi heritage, that she actually had remarkable shinobi heritage, and though she claimed to have been raised in Japan, it was likely that she’d had some training in their ways. Just how much was the question he was concerned about right now.

  She was still just a child, nothing more than a little girl, but those eyes… those blood red eyes…

  “The Third Floor Corridor. There’s a Cerberus guarding something there. I don’t know what it is, but I think I’m starting to understand who it was meant to guard against.” Riley continuing the speak from the darkness. Quirell spun to face the source of the noise, this time fire off a powerful blasting curse that send tables, a chair, and a few stands scattering into the darkness, some splintering apart. This cleared away some of the clutter in the room, but it didn’t reveal Riley to him.

  “It guarded something that I needed.” Quirell agreed, his eyes flickering about as sweat built upon his face and poured down his brow.

  “Reasonable. Now you have it, and you’re willing to kill to cover your tracks. If I may inquire, what’s worth killing me for?” Riley again questioned, and again Quirell sent a spell in the direction of her voice, again scattering the clutter in the room, but revealing no sign of her.

  “The Philosopher’s Stone. Have you heard of it? Truly a remarkable work of magic. Worth more than you could possibly imagine.” Quirell answered honestly, beginning to think of a better plan since this obviously wasn’t working. He slowly began moving towards one of the far walls, intent on following it to a corner and putting his back to it, limiting her avenues of attack.

  “A Philosopher's Stone? Like the immortality, turning lead into gold kind of stone? Wow… I never would have guessed. Okay… fair enough. I’d kill for that. I’ve killed for less. Like… way less. That’s basically infinite money right there.” Riley chuckled in the darkness. Quirell blinked at that, feeling his throat go dry. What did she mean she’d killed for less?

  “That troll wasn’t your first kill, Ms. Uzumaki?” Quirell spoke, as he got closer and closer to the wall.

  “Far from it. You could fill a graveyard with my body count, and that’s not an exaggeration. A literal, graveyard.” She responded, sounding almost amused.

  A cold chill washed over the DADA professor. He felt the sweat start to sting at his eyes, despite the chill of the dungeon. He was starting to panic and he knew it. He’d been in danger before, faced threats that could kill him. He knew that panic well, and he was feeling it now. A man faced with a predator.

  With a growl he sent loose another spell into the darkness, again he struck nothing as his back finally reached the wall.

  He was about to start moving towards the corner when a chuckle caught his ears. It came from directly above him.

  Lifting his gaze, he caught sight of her blood red eyes staring down at him. She stood there, knelt several feet above him on the wall, somehow sticking to it. He turned and tried to raise his wand, but she made a motion with her arms, moving them upwards and over her head as she smiled down at him. He felt a sharp pain lance through his neck and his feet lift off the ground.

  His wand dropped from his fingers as he rose into the air, his hands shot towards his neck, his fingers clawing at a razor thin pain that dug into his flesh. Something was there, something small, digging into the soft flesh of his neck, drawing blood, and holding him aloft.

  With his wand now dropped, his Lumos had faded, leaving the only light visible to be the dim glow of her blood red eyes, staring down at him from above.

  She was holding him up, easily taking his full weight as she hung him with ninja wire. He kicked at the air, trying desperately to get free. One of his hands even tried reaching above him, where he could actually feel the wire pulled taught from her grip. He could do nothing to it, nothing but cut his hand on the razor thin but incredibly strong wire.

  Riley watched as the light left the man’s eyes. From the moment he’d tried to kill her, any thought to avoiding harming him, or causing lasting damage vanished. Again, she had to take a moment to recognize how easily this came to her. Ending life. It was such a simple thing.

  A full minute passed by. Quirell’s face had turned purple, blood drained from where the wire dug into his neck. Riley shook her head and dropped him to the ground. She leaped from the wall, landing a few feet away from the body. She turned to face it, watching as the dark power latched onto the back of his head, slowly began to suffuse into his body.

  She watched, as the body began to animate, Quirell remained motionless, as if playing dead, but she could see the magic filling him up.

  “I know you’re still in there.” Riley spoke, training her wand on the man.

  “Ah, worth a try.” Came the mysterious voice from earlier.

  Quirell slowly rose to his feet, picking up his wand as he did. He turned to face her, his bloodshot eyes, still frozen in horror as they stared in her general direction. He lifted his hands, and slowly undid the turban he wore, letting it fall to the wayside, he then turned around, revealing the source of the voice.

  The face of a man was growing from the back of Quirell’s head. Riley reeled back in disgust, blinking several times in surprise.

  “Fuck! What the hell are you?” She questioned with disgust.

  “Those eyes… it’s been a long time since I’ve seen eyes like that. I would love to explain things, but unfortunately, I cannot. This has taken to long, and I must escape before they catch up. Let me pass, and I will see you rewarded for it.” The face spoke, seemingly able to control Quirell’s body like it was it’s own, albeit in reverse since it was on the back of his head.

  “Sorry, but I can’t let you escape with an artifact as powerful as the Philosopher’s Stone. No idea what you want it for, but I can only imagine something nefarious.” Riley responded, having regained her composure from the disgusting sight.

  “Do you know who I am, child?” The face questioned her.

  “Not a clue.” Riley answered honestly.

  “Voldemort, that is who I am. Leader of the Dark, heir to Salazar Slytherin. With this stone, I will see to my revival. I cannot allow you to impede me on my quest.” The Dark Lord revealed to her.

  “Voldemort. Still alive… I had wondered if you’d ever show up again.” Riley spoke, a dark shadow passing over her face, as her Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyou.

  “You suspected my survival? My you truly are remarkably bright miss Uzumaki. You would do well as my ally. You came to this country to establish yourself, rebuild your clan, did you not. I can aid in that endeavor.” Voldemort offered to her.

  “I may have interest in such an offer, were it not for the fact that you’ve already tried to kill me. I don’t take attempts on my life, lying down.” Riley responded darkly.

  “Ah, but that was Quirell, not I. I would have preferred speaking to you first, and if it came to a fight, disabling you. Knowledge of my actions was inconsequential at this venture. So long as you couldn’t impede or pursue, that would have been good enough. Quirell for all of his benefits, was far to cruel and paranoid.” Voldemort responded, attempting to appease her.

  “That’s not the attempt I’m talking about. You don’t remember me, do you?” Riley questioned him, a cruel smile dancing onto her face.

  Voldemort stared at her for several long moments, confusion obvious. He blinked several times, before realization seemed to dawn on him.

  “This way!” A voice cut through the silence, as dim light colored the sealed door.

  A sudden rattle of the door surprised both of them, though it remained magically locked. It seems Voldemort’s pursuers had caught up to him.

  Taking advantage of his surprise and the fact that he couldn’t attack as easily with the way his body was oriented, Riley launched a powerful Reducto right at the body’s center mass. Voldemort seemed to catch sight of it, but made no move to block the incoming attack.

  The body was nearly ripped in two, as his chest exploded in a shower of gore.

  He flew back against the wall and collapsed to the ground.

  The face, on the back of Quirell’s head began to vanish, sinking back into the regular shape of a skull.

  Riley quickly advanced on the fallen body, as she heard the pursuers preparing to unlock the door.

  She gave the corpse just a brief moment of observation before she quickly dug her hand into it’s pockets. A smile spread across her face as she felt the Stone in her grasp, pulling it free, she rose, ready to hide herself from those in pursuit and sneak away with her prize, and the knowledge that she’d killed the Dark Lord.

  A shadow passed over her, and before she realized what was happening everything went dark.

  --

  In her mind’s eyes, a vision played out. She found herself standing naked before a floating sword. This blade, it was her sword, floating in the pure darkness around her.

  Standing before her, with it’s back facing her, was a multi-winged figure. Abyss black wings, stretched out into the darkness, their depths filled with the light of the cosmos. Dim twinkling light, like that of the stars, was the only distinction other than blackness within them. They framed what appeared to be jet black hair. The figure was tall, and draped in black robes, over them, ornate, red shinobi battle-armor. Upon it’s head, a crown of horns could be seen, further adding to the intrigue and mystique of this creature.

  The figure did not turn to face her. It kept it’s back to her, staring off into the darkness of the void. At the edges of her vision, Riley could see movement. Shifting darkness in the void. Glowing eyes filling it’s blackness. Eyes of red, and blue, and green, and yellow. More colors revealed themselves, as twin orbs of light stared at her from the darkness, their gaze piercing into her naked flesh, straight down to her very soul. It was a violating gaze, one that seemed impossible to hide anything from.

  A pulse echoed through the void. A deep thrumming that sounded almost like a heartbeat. As it did, a dim red glow emerged from her sword, casting some light onto the darkness.

  “Sooooonnnn…” Came a voice from the shadows all around her. Another pulse, a greater light, revealing the eyes in the darkness.

  These eyes belonged to hundreds of eel-like serpents. Riley’s eyes flew about as another pulse lit up the army of creatures better. Countless serpents, of different shapes, hung in the darkness, their bodies stretching unseen into the void.

  She felt her fear boil in her gut, felt helpless for the first time in years.

  With another pulse, the dim reflection of nine titanic beings shown in her vision. Shapeless things, of color. Red, orange, blue, green, yellow, indigo, violet, black and white. Things that her mind couldn’t comprehend were there, staring down at her from within the depths of the darkness.

  A final pulse. A final deafening noise.

  “Soon…” The dark voice spoke once more.

  ---

  “Wake Up!” Kurama snapped at her, causing Riley’s eyes to fly open.

  She found herself staring up at the familiar ceiling of her bedroom.

  “Wh-What happened?” Riley questioned, blinking as she sat up, her body soaked in sweat.

  In her hands she held her wand, and the Philosopher’s Stone, but had no memory of how she’d gotten there.

  “We have a bit of a problem.” Madara spoke, unamused.

  “What?” Her mind still reeling from the dream.

  “Narumi Namikaze… it’s a pleasure to see you again.” Came the familiar voice of the Dark Lord.

  Riley blinked several times as a feeling of dread washed over her.

  “No…” She groaned as a realization washed over her, the dream momentarily forgotten as a new sense of worry flooded into her.

  “Yes/Yes.” Madara and Kurama responded.

  “You jumped into my body, you fucking prick!” Riley snapped as she shot out bed.

  “Such language.” Voldemort hummed.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!? Kurama why haven’t you eaten this guy’s soul?” Riley growled, angry, annoyed, and more than a little afraid of having the Dark Lord’s spirit nesting in her body.

  “I fully intended on it, but the other guy wont let me. While you were out, he woke up and stopped me from eating this puny little human’s soul. Said something about him being useful, and to let you decide how to handle it. Then he fucked off back to sleep. Guy really knows how to insert himself at the worst moment and then fuck off into the abyss of your soul. Kind of annoying really.” Kurama explained to her. Riley blinked at that, momentarily remembering the dream. Was that the ‘other guy’s’ voice that she’d heard in the darkness.

  “For it’s intervention, I am most grateful.” Voldemort hummed with amusement.

  “What the fuck do you want? How did I make it back to my room? What happened down in that chamber?” Riley questioned.

  “When my spirit leaped into your body, it knocked you unconscious. I intended to simply play the passed out victim and let the staff make up their own story until you regained consciousness and we had the opportunity to chat. Strangely though, your body began acting, almost on it’s own. You began moving, and used your ocular powers to teleport away just before the door was opened. You dropped us all here in what I assume is your bedroom, and then clocked out again.” Voldemort explained to her.

  “Pretty much, yeah.” Madara agreed.

  “Yeah, kind of like what happened last time your were knocked out, how you dragged yourself all the way back to France and then stood over Fleur for like an hour before going to sleep. Weird kind of autopilot.” Kurama added in.

  “As for what I want, the answer is simple, I want to talk. Especially now that I know who you really are. I am curious though, before we begin, are you really the Lord of the Uzumaki Clan?” Voldemort inquired.

  “Yeah, I am. What’s it to you?” Riley responded as she folded her arms over her chest and focused on her inner head space.

  With a bit of concentration she found herself standing before Kurama’s cage. There floating before her was the ghostly apparition of Lord Voldemort, which greeted her with an incline of the head, Madara’s own incorporeal spirit residing unseen, somewhere nearby.

  “As I offered before, if it’s station you seek here in Britain, I can help you acquire it. The Uzumaki are a legendary clan from the Elemental Nations, known to those with even a passing knowledge of those lands. Having such a powerful clan reestablish itself in Britain would be a huge boon for the country on the political and magical stages, not even mentioning the military might the Nine Tails Jinchuriki could bring.” Voldemort expressed.

  “Well it makes sense, but I’m curious, given what the shinobi did to your movement during the first Wizarding War, I’d think you’d despise my kind.” Riley wondered, not correcting him on the nature of her status as a Jinchuriki, or how that was slowly changing.

  “I’ve grown beyond such gross generalizations. I can despise the individuals, but never the whole. My love for all things magical simply doesn’t allow it.” Voldemort responded. “You have no reason to believe this, but I am happy that you survived. I’ve always despised the harming of children, especially magical children to whom our future relies upon. Were it not for the overwhelming threat that your father and the Hidden Leaf provided, I would have never considered such an option. It is why I went there myself that day. I would not, and could not place the burden of such an act onto another. For my people, my cause, my beliefs, I was, and am, willing to do whatever it takes, but I still have my morals. My attack against you was never malicious, nor have I held any ill will towards your marvelous reversal of my attempt which left me in this state.”

  Riley blinked at his words, surprised by that admission.

  “Professor Quirell didn’t seem to share in such beliefs. He went for the kill right away.” She noted.

  “Indeed. Far from the best of my followers, and always consumed by paranoia and anger. He would not have been my first option, and were it possible for me to take full control against his will, I would have stopped him, however, once he had begun, it was best not to distract him, in the hopes that we could escape.” Voldemort admitted.

  “Fair enough. I guess at that point you’ve got no other option than to carry on and hope for the best. No point in second guessing when your life is in immediate danger.” Riley conceded, acknowledging that she’d likely have just gone with it, in the same scenario. That had happened to her several times in her life. Doing one thing out of instinct, or just as a reaction, and then later wondering if she couldn’t have tried something else. Like during her fight against the troll earlier in the year.

  “So you want to offer me position here in Britain, forgive me, but how in the hell can you offer that? You’re basically a ghost, and your movement is broken. The other side won.” Riley questioned after a moment of thought.

  “And what is it you want, in exchange for such an offer?” Madara added in.

  “The Light did not win, they merely survived. They won no victories over my side, they merely outlasted us. A victory in itself, but far from something worth taking an abundance of pride in. My following remains strong here in Britain, with many preparing for my eventual return. I have ensured in my years in exile, that my followers have heard whispers and seen signs that our time was coming again. They are separate, leaderless, moving of their own accord, but they are still moving, and soon, I will reveal myself to them once more and we can begin consolidating our power to prepare for the next uprising.” Voldemort began to explain to her. Riley listened patiently, though she had no basis to believe or refute his claim. At the moment she had no ties to the political world here in Britain so what went on behind closed doors was anyone’s guess.

  “Each year that goes by, the threat to our way of life, grows. The muggles, their technology continues to flourish, gifting them abilities that can rival or surpass what we can accomplish with magic. Each year we must crawl deeper into the shadows to hide from them, forgoing more of our powers, and abilities, allowing the divide between our two peoples to widen. Our enemy, our true enemy, outnumbers us a thousand to one, and that difference will only expand. Out of fear, paranoia, and delusions, our people continue to limit themselves. Those of pure blood look to inbreeding to consolidate their power, which only serves to weaken them genetically, they cling to power, and to ancient traditions, unable to see the threat for what it is. They direct their hatred towards the Muggleborns, not realizing the reality of the threat. Our world, the magical world, is on the brink of collapse. It isn’t an isolated incident. All it will take is one. One muggleborn. One child with the right mind, or the right connections. Parents who can’t be controlled, or a child to willful to be broken by the system. Only one, and suddenly our existence is revealed to the world. The moment that happens, humanity will do what it has always done, and try to seize our power for themselves, and because they cannot wield magic on their own, the only way for them to control it, is to own us. The best case scenario is one where we are relegated to interment camps, and wielded as tools by the muggle world for the rest of our days. Living as servants and slaves. The worst case scenario is the realization that they can never fully control us, and thus, never mitigate the threat we pose, and they choose to wipe us all out. I do not hate muggleborns for their blood status, I don’t hate them at all, really. I just recognize that they are likely going to be the ones to destroy the Statute of Secrecy. I see these things, I recognize them. It is for these reasons, I do what I must do. I must prepare our people, prepare our world for that day. To defeat the muggles, and ensure our freedom. Britain is just a first step, but it is home. It is for these reasons, that I have built my movement, and why I have encouraged the aggression of my people, because that day will come when we must fight for our survival, and they must be ready for it. I hate that we must sharpen our teeth against each other, but I am a practical man. If fighting is going to happen regardless, we best get the most out of it.” Voldemort explained to her.

  Riley was surprised. Surprised by how impassioned the man was. She could feel how much this meant to him, how it worried him. In her minds eye, she saw Konoha, the Civilian Council. Merchants, and landowners, normal people, muggles. Always butting heads with the Clan Leaders, always trying to direct and control the actions of the Hokage. The Council of Konoha was never more than an advisory group yet somewhere in their history, they’d began grasping onto to actual power. Riley could remember how they had their own shinobi guards, how they walked around all high and mighty, despite being ordinary humans.

  It wasn’t something that Riley understood. Growing up under Madara’s tutelage, she was raised on the belief the might makes right. That the strongest got to decide what was right and wrong. That was the human experience. That’s how it had always been. The strongest made the rules, the strongest guided civilization. Madara had explained it to her that power was not will, it was the phenomenon of physically making things happen. Those who could make things happen, they had power. They were powerful. A merchant lord, could make things happen. He had money, influence, control, and it gave him power, but all of that power relied on other people. It relied on those weaker than him, kowtowing to the perception of his power. For a human being, there was no difference in their individual powers. All humans, sat at about the same level of power. The wealthiest businessmen in the world, could be cut down with a knife wielded by a homeless vagrant. Take the most physically fit humans in the world, and the weakest, put them in a circle, give each one a gun, and tell them to kill one another, their abilities only barely effect their chances of survival. Humans, because of their technology, were largely on an even playing field when it came to independent power. No one man could singularly wield much more than another, they relied on each other to amass more power.

  Magicals were different though. Madara and Hashirama were perfect examples. Madara was the second strongest shinobi to have ever lived, and his rival, the only man who could defeat him, the man who stood as his opposite, in terms of their beliefs, still fought him on his own. Both men, despite their differing philosophies, fought each other alone. It was their singular power, their own strength, that made them legends, that made them monsters. People didn’t fear Hashirama Senju because he was the leader of the Senju Clan, or the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, they feared him because he was the God of the Shinobi, a man who could slaughter entire armies as easily as heal them. A one-man terror that not even the Tailed Beasts could compete with. It was the same for Madara. No one cared that he was the leader of the Uchiha Clan. That point was far outweighed by the fact that he was the only man who could face Hashirama Senju in a one-on-one battle and survive.

  Magicals had the ability to do things, that muggles could only dream of, and they had the potential to do it on their own. One magical, one great magical being, could reshape the entire world. Magicals and muggles couldn’t be compared. Muggles had to rely on each other to amass further power. Magicals had the ability to grow into the realm of the gods, if they had the right ambition, and drive. Even a weakling shinobi, could wipe out a squad of some of the best muggle soldiers in the world.

  Voldemort was right. If the muggle world knew of the magical one, it would either seek to control it, like the civilians in Konoha, or destroy it outright. The muggles strength was in their numbers and technology, both of which grew with each passing day. Eventually, in fact, most likely, already, they would have the power to destroy the magical world. That was something Riley certainly couldn’t stand for. The magical world included her. Her friends. Her lover. There was no argument as to where she fell in that conflict.

  “How do you intend to stop them?” Riley asked him.

  “I don’t know.” Voldemort answered honestly, much to Riley’s surprise.

  “You don’t know? After all this time, all your planning and work, and you don’t have anything yet?” She questioned with disbelief.

  “I’ve had many ideas, all untested, and unproven. None of those ideas, included the possibility of you. You change things, open the doorway to possibilities I would have never considered.” Voldemort explained to her.

  “How?” Riley asked him.

  “Tell me… those eyes of yours, those ringed eyes that I saw before you destroyed me… are they the eyes of god? The Rinnegan?” Voldemort questioned.

  Riley was silent for a moment, understanding dawning on her. “They are.”

  “You have the eyes of the founder of magic. The Sage of the Six Paths. You are a Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails. You are the leader of the Uzumaki Clan. All of these things on their own, add elements to this equation that weren’t there before. All of them in one person, that… that puts a piece on the board who’s value cannot be quantified.” Voldemort pointed out.

  “You seek to control her.” Madara noted.

  “I would prefer to work with her, towards a common goal. I will not deny my intention to use her power for my benefit, but I am not so naive to believe such a boon is without cost, hence my earlier offer to aid her in establishing her clan here in Britain.” Voldemort responded.

  “You should know my intention is not just to restore my clan, but to carry it to new heights, the kind of thing you only hear about in stories and ancient legends. Its my goal, my ambition to see my clan rise to a level without comparison. That isn’t exactly the most amenable goal involving subservience to another.” Riley made note.

  “Lucky for me then, I have no desire to rule.” Voldemort replied.

  “You don’t?” Riley questioned, surprised.

  “Ruling was only ever a means to an end. If I could see our world to it’s proper salvation, see it safe and secured, I would happily turn to more personal pursuits. The study of ancient knowledge, and magical secrets, and sharing such knowledge with others. I never wished for this. Never wanted to find myself in such a role, I’d always seen myself as a teacher. In fact, I once applied to become the DADA professor here at Hogwarts when I was younger. Teaching others, showing them the scope of magic, and it’s possibilities, that is where my heart truly lays. It was a dream though, a desire on a far off shore. Not until our world is safe can I allow myself to be so selfish. I wish I could. I wish I could be that man, and live a simpler life, but I cannot. The things I’ve seen and felt, have spurred me to action, and I cannot stop now. I know what is coming, and though I recognize the scope of this intrusion, I could not pass up the opportunity to speak with you, and convince you to aid our cause. This isn’t about light or dark, blood purity, or anything like that. This is a struggle against the inevitable. A great conflict is coming. I see it ending only one way. War. And we are not in a position to survive it. Scattered, divided, leaderless, the magical world will fall and all of our hopes and dreams will die with it. So I ask you, Riley Uzumaki, will you fight for this world of ours, can we set aside the conflicts of our past and work towards a brighter future together?” Voldemort implored her.

  Riley was silent for a long moment as she thought on that. She knew he was right, she knew that one day, the secret would get out, and due to her abilities, due to her becoming a Tailed Beast, she would live long enough to see it. So… the question was, did she join forces with the Dark Lord, one of the most terrifying and powerful wizards of all time, or did she proceed on her own?

  The lone wolf path, like Madara, or the path of cooperation, like Hashirama?

  What would her grandmother do? The one who led the Uzumaki to become one of the most feared clans in history. The Uzumaki were famous for their power. It was theirs though. The clans. The clan was not bound by blood, but by loyalty. Those brought to Uzushiogakure became members of the Uzumaki clan. Even Madara, was once welcomed as one of their own. An Uzumaki by marriage, and by loyalty. The strength of muggles lie in their unity and technology. Magicals didn’t need these things to have power, but that didn’t mean they should forgo them. All avenues of power should be exploited. Power in ones self, power in ones people. Power in all it’s forms. Power… the ability to make things happen.

  In order for her dream to become a reality, this world of theirs had to survive, and if Voldemort’s fears were valid, than each day was a gamble, and one day, they’d lose. One day, the dice would fall on Snake Eyes, and the Statute of Secrecy would fall. When that time came, they had to be ready. To face the onslaught that would arise. Riley was a realist, but she tended to lean more towards pessimism when it came to her enemies. There was likely to be war. It was a war they weren’t yet ready for. They needed to unite. That was the first step. Once the collective powers of the magical world were united under a single banner, than they could take the next step.

  “What would you have of me, Lord Voldemort. My help, what would that entail?” Riley asked him.

  “The Philosopher’s Stone, is but the first step, leading to my revival. I would have you help me return to physical form. In the meantime, I will take you on as my apprentice, and teach you all I know of magic. We will be allies in this. The restoration of your clan, the unification of all magical peoples. Your potential is limitless, and I would see it cultivated to it’s fullest. In the meantime I will help you locate the resources needed to bring me back, and when the time is right, I will take my leave of your body, and we will begin moving against the Ministry and the Wizengamot.” Voldemort answered.

  Riley took that in, a pang of excitement at the offer to teach her in the ways of magic, but there was one last thing she needed to address, a point that she wanted to put out there, just so it wasn’t a surprise later on.

  “You know that one day, people will realize who I am. My family will learn of my ascension here, and see through this new name and title. When that happens Minato and the Leaf will come for Britain again.” Riley pointed out.

  “I am aware. Do you intend to fight them?” Voldemort questioned in response.

  “I will never return to that village. If they come after me, I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them all.” Riley responded.

  “Than we are of like minds. If the Leaf chooses to return to Britain, then we shall be ready. You are not alone in this.” Voldemort assured her.

  “Very well then. Lord Voldemort, I will accept your offer, and I’ll help you return to physical form. Perhaps together, we can ensure our worlds survival, and the safety of all that we hold dear.” Riley said to him, making her choice to join forces with the Dark Lord.

  “And I accept you as my student, Riley Uzumaki. I will teach you what I know, and help see you to your fullest potential in magic. While it is just us, please, call me Tom.” Voldemort responded.

  With that, the deal was made, the pact sealed. Riley’s course, her path for the future began to take shape. This alliance with the Dark Lord would open many doorway for her, and from it, a means of beginning to see her dream realized.

  The Uzumaki Clan, would be restored, and she would rise to become greater than any who came before her. One day, the magical world would reveal itself, and when that day came, she’d be ready to protect all that she held dear. No matter what the muggles had, or what they tried to throw at them, she’d beat it. She had no other choice but to win.

  For a brief moment, she recalled the strange dream she’d had, the strange vision, that she didn’t understand. There was meaning there. Something profound, something revealing, but she didn’t yet understand it. Perhaps by expanding her understanding of magic, by receiving this training from Voldemort, she’d finally start to understand the nature of this power that lay within her. The nature of the unknown demon, and those things, that watched her from the shadows.

  One day, she’d understand. For now though, for now it was time to focus on what she could currently grasp. To learn and grow.

  Her path now set with this alliance, it was time for her to take her first steps towards rebuilding her clan.

  -To Be Continued-

  Alright, there’s chapter nine for you guys. Some major changes here. Lots going on. I condensed about three chapters into one, removing the chapter where we first met Kurama since that already happened, and bringing the events of the First year together quite nicely, I think.

  Riley has a new guest living inside of her, one that will better help her learn the nature of magic and the political world of Britain. In the original I just kind of had her be a horcrux and have her learn Voldemort’s power from that, which was fine on it’s own but it just kind of gave her his knowledge to learn from. It was just a tool, and that was it. Going this route allows for the two to form a closer bond, and cooperate with one another and give Riley another teacher that can help mold her.

  Now having Voldemort living inside of her for a time will certainly shake up the events of Second year, and possibly more, if it carries on beyond that. So we’ll have to see what comes of it. Hope you all enjoy, I love the feedback I’ve been getting, and I’m definitely enjoying this rewrite. Hope you all enjoy it too. Until the next time. Later!