Chapter 1
After the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton students were announced, Dumbledore motioned for everyone to be quiet again. As the cheering subsided, everyone listened to his next announcement. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat quietly at the Gryffindor table.
“As you all know, historically only these three schools have competed in the Triwizard Tournament. However, we have been speaking with our colleagues overseas in Japan about starting an exchange program. Therefore as a show of our goodwill towards them, we have invited students from Konohagakure, The Hidden Leaf Village, to participate in the Triwizard Tournament alongside us this year. Please welcome the students of Konoha!”
A hush fell over the hall and Harry craned his neck to see the students of the Hidden Leaf Village as they entered at the far end of the hall. They were all dressed very differently than the dress code at Hogwarts. None of them wore robes. In fact, they didn’t seem to have a school uniform at all. He couldn’t see any wands, but many of them were armed with knives and other weapons.
At first, no one clapped. Then someone (Harry couldn’t tell who, but he guessed it was Hagrid) started a slow clap that echoed across the hall. People started joining in and eventually everyone in the hall was clapping and cheering.
Introduction
Once the clapping had subsided, Dumbledore spoke again. “In honor of our guests from Konoha, we have prepared a feast of Japanese delicacies, including sushi, ramen, and rice bowls. Please enjoy the food and get to know your fellow wizards from across the globe.” With that, he strode out of the hall.
The sound of clattering utensils and excited chatter soon filled the hall. Excitement and hunger filled Harry’s belly as he now took in the food in front of him. He had never eaten sushi before, and excitedly took several pieces onto his plate.
“They don’t look much like wizards to me,” Ron said from beside him. “No wands, but about a ton of knives.”
“You don’t look much like a wizard either,” Hermione shot back from across the table.
Ron groaned. “Oh, shut up. I only meant—”
“Both of you, quiet!” Harry motioned for both of them to stop talking as three Konoha students approached their table.
The girl at the front of the group had long blonde hair and wore a matching purple skirt and top. “Mind if we sit here?” She smiled at the three of them. Maybe Harry imagined it, but it seemed like her eyes lingered on him a little longer than the others.
“Of course!” He replied without waiting for Ron or Hermione’s approval. “There’s plenty of room.” He slid down the bench to make room. He bumped into Ron while doing so, and Ron made a disapproving grunt, but moved down the bench as well. Harry motioned to Hermione to do the same.
The girl and one of the boys sat next to Hermione, while the other boy sat next to Ron and Harry. The girl introduced herself as Ino, and the two boys as Shikamaru and Choji. Shikamaru barely spoke and looked like he was about to fall asleep. Choji was friendlier, but far more interested in the food than the conversation.
Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji shared what their life was like in Konoha, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione talked about their adventures at Hogwards over the last few years.
“Wait, so you don’t use wands at all?” Ron asked incredulously after Ino recounted a battle her team had recently won.
Ino shook her head. “No, I’d never even heard of a ninja using a wand until I met you all.”
Harry blinked. “Sorry, a what?”
Ino looked as confused as Harry felt. “A ninja… using a wand?”
Wait, what? “But we aren’t ninjas,” Harry said, bewildered. “We’re wizards, like you.”
Shikamaru badly covered up a laugh with a cough, his first contribution to the conversation. It was actually the first sign in 20 minutes that he was even awake.
Choji shook his head and smiled politely. “We’re not wizards, Harry.”
Ron nudged Harry. “See, this is exactly what I said, they don’t look like wizards!” he whispered.
Harry still felt a little lost, and it must have shown on his face, because Hermione sighed and added, “They’re not a wizard school, they’re a ninja school.”
Harry’s mouth fell open. “Ninjas?” he repeated incredulously.
Ino shrugged and brushed her long hair out of her face. “Is it any harder to believe than wizards?” she asked.
Harry wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He had a million questions, but also a lot of things made sense now. They didn’t have wands or wear robes. Not that a wizard had to wear robes, but even the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton schools had a uniform. These Hidden Leaf students looked like they could wear whatever they wanted, from Ino’s all-purple outfit to a girl dressed in red, and a boy dressed in bright yellow and orange.
None of those colors looked ideal for blending in anywhere (not to mention the wild hairstyles and colors) but Harry tried not to judge. Maybe they weren’t that kind of ninja. But they didn’t do any magic at all? How were they going to participate in the tournament if they couldn’t do magic? But Harry was sure Dumbledore wouldn’t have invited them if he didn’t think they could hold their own.
Harry returned to the conversation from his deep thoughts to find that everyone else seemed to have moved on. Choji was focused on the rice bowl in front of him. Ron was asking Ino a stupid question about how they got all the way to Britain from Japan, while Shikamaru and Hermione seemed to have found a common interest in some obscure nonfiction author and were quietly discussing its implications for society.
“...but it was my first time on a plane, of course,” Ino was saying. “We usually avoid that kind of thing.”
“What, airplanes?” Ron asked, dumbfounded.
She laughed and tossed her hair. “I guess we just prefer to walk, if we can.” Even though Ron was asking stupid questions, Ino seemed to be enjoying being the center of attention.
“So you’ve never been out of the country?” Ron continued.
“I guess not until now. If I couldn’t walk there, I’ve probably never been!” Ino grinned.
To be fair to Ron, Ino’s answers were a little baffling. They must still travel by car though, right? Harry didn’t want to ask and seem stupid again, but leave it to Ron to say exactly what he was thinking.
“But you must have cars, right?”
This time, it was Choji who answered. He had finally finished his rice bowl and could direct his attention to the conversation. “Nope, no cars!”
“What about roads then?”
“Roads for walking, sure!” Choji replied. He paused for a moment. “We do have boats, though.”
Harry couldn't help himself any longer. “What about broomsticks? Do you have those?” He interjected.
Choji turned his body to face Harry as he answered. “Like for cleaning? Sure.”
“What he means to ask is whether you ride broomsticks. Or do you have another means of flight?” Hermione added. Her comment was probably meant to be helpful but it sounded a little snide.
That question got even Shikamaru to lift his head off the table. He and the other two ninjas looked at each other, clearly a bit baffled by the question. “Not really,” Ino said. “I guess a few really strong ninjas have abilities that let them fly, but… no, not most of us.”
“Yeah, like Ino said, mostly we just walk.” Choji said.
Harry shifted in his seat. Their way of life was so different from what he had expected. That didn't mean it was wrong, he supposed, but it would take some getting used to.
The group talked a little longer about some of the differences between ninja school and wizard school. Harry couldn't believe at some points just how different things were for them. Instead of being sorted into four houses with others who had similar traits to you, ninjas were divided into teams of three. Each member of the team had different skills and were meant to complement each other in battle. That was another thing - ninjas did a lot of battling compared to Harry and his friends. It was pretty normal for even young teenage ninjas to go on dangerous missions, to fight and even kill enemies.
Harry shivered as he imagined Ino and her team fighting death eaters with some of the weapons they were carrying. He wondered if their “normal” weapons would even work on death eaters.
They would probably all be in different houses if they were sorted that way, Harry thought. Ino would clearly end up in Gryffindor with Harry, Ron, and Hermione (and he wasn't just saying that because he wanted her to be a Gryffindor). He'd bet anything that the gentle, thoughtful Choji would be a Hufflepuff. And he didn't have a good read on Shikamaru yet - the boy had barely contributed more than the occasional grunt to the conversation - but he figured Ravenclaw or Slytherin.
Harry wondered at how people who were so different from one another could get along. If he was forced to team up with a Slytherin, could he? It would depend on the Slytherin, he supposed. If it was someone like Malfoy, there was no way. But a few Slytherins he found tolerable.
Ino was clearly the “leader” of this group, but Harry wasn't sure if that was a choice the group had made or if she'd been put in charge by her teachers. Harry liked how confident she was.
Harry realized he'd gotten lost in his own head again and refocused on the conversation. Ino was asking Ron and Hermione about life as a wizard.
“...and there are regular people who don't know magic exists?” Ino was asking.
Hermione nodded. “Muggles. Until I received my letter, I thought witches and wizards were just from stories.”
“But some people come from families where all of you are wizards, right?” Ino asked.
It was Ron's turn to answer now. “Like my family. Everyone in my family’s a witch or wizard.”
“And sometimes you have weird cases like Harry, who's technically from a wizard family but was raised by muggles.” Hermione added. “It's kind of a whole thing.”
Ino raised an eyebrow and looked over at Harry. “Oh?” She said, like she expected him to say more.
Harry cringed a little. He hadn't wanted to get into his family or the whole Chosen One thing, and inevitably his gender, just yet. “Yeah, it's a little confusing.” He laughed and hoped that his non-explanation would be enough for her. Weirdly he didn't want to be Harry Potter, Chosen One to the Konoha ninjas just yet. He wanted to be Just Harry.
