Author's Note
All right, before we begin the chapter, I've decided that—to avoid any confusion regarding certain abilities some characters will display—I'll briefly explain them before each chapter. There won't be many—one or two per chapter—but here are the first ones:
Soul Sight — An innate ability of the elves that allows them to perceive the true form of any living being. Their vision pierces through all illusions or transformations, whether magical or physical, because it beholds the essence of the soul—the only part of existence that cannot be altered. For that reason, elves can recognize a person even if they change their appearance through potions, metamorphosis, or spells.
Tongue of the Depths — A natural gift of the merfolk that allows them to communicate in any language with complete precision, both in speech and comprehension. Their voice instinctively adapts to the sounds and accents of each tongue, enabling them to express themselves without the slightest trace of foreign accent or phonetic error. This is why Naruto speaks every language of both the magical and non-magical worlds with perfect fluency.
Now then, let's move on to the chapter.
Chapter 5: The Hogwarts Express
—September 1st, Hogwarts Express—
Naruto had truly done everything he could to avoid coming. Hell, he had even tried to bribe Charlie into convincing his father that it was a very bad idea, but in the end, he hadn't managed to change his father's mind and was forced to accept his fate: going to study at a backward school in the most culturally and socially outdated country in the entire magical world.
Although, at least, he could take some small comfort in the fact that he hadn't come alone.
"I still can't believe your father actually let you come with such a flimsy excuse," said Naruto, genuinely unable to believe that Poseidon—being as overprotective of his daughter as he was—had really allowed her to be away from his side for eleven months a year with the pretext Juvia had given him.
"It was not excuse… nyet. Juvia told truth," she retorted with a frown. "Juvia make life of stupid blond miserable, da. Until he learn respect his betters."
She crossed her arms in an offended gesture, puffing her cheeks. In her eyes, the idea that her malchik didn't understand the importance of family honor was almost insulting.
And the truth was, she had only agreed to come study—or, rather, live for ten months in an old, dark, and damp castle in the north of Scotland—for one sole reason: to make the life of that bastard son of Lord Malfoy a living hell.
Because, of course, she loved Naruto very much… or at least she thought she did. She was eleven, after all; she still wasn't entirely sure what it meant to love someone romantically. But still, the point was that, no matter how much she cared for her friend, she wasn't going to spend ten months in the worst weather in the world just to keep him company. No—the only real reason she had come was revenge.
"Although, of course… you better be chosen for same house as Juvia," she said, pointing at him with her finger. "Juvia nyet spend ten months alone in country full of stupid people, ponyal?" she added, poking him insistently in the chest.
After all, it was true that she hadn't come for him, but for her revenge; still, it was also true that, despite everything, she was very fond of him and wanted to spend as much time together as possible.
"Get sorted into a decent house and everything will be fine," said Naruto as he gently took Juvia's hand.
"Omh…" was all Juvia could say, not quite understanding what he meant by that.
"Lockser, Udgard… which one do you think goes first?" asked Naruto, one perfectly groomed eyebrow slightly arched. The "L" came before the "U"—everyone knew that.
"Juvia… still have problems with Latin alphabet, da," admitted Juvia with a faint blush coloring her pale cheeks. In her defense, the alphabet of her homeland had thirty-three letters—seven more than the Latin one.
"We'll work on your languages during the school year," said Naruto with a sigh. He had forgotten that, unlike him—who could instinctively speak and understand any language in the world due to his nature—Juvia had to learn them the old-fashioned way. Of course, there were magical methods to learn them within a few minutes, but one of the disadvantages of being noble was that their families were so absurdly wealthy they often had no idea what to spend their fortunes on. As such, they would pay ridiculous sums to private tutors to teach all sorts of things—languages included. In other words, they were so disgustingly rich that, instead of paying for the express method (which was relatively cheap), nobles would spend hundreds of Galleons a year just so their children could learn a foreign tongue.
His father often complained that he couldn't boast about that sort of thing with him or with Wendy, since both were half-merfolk.
"Aren't we supposed to study… and take revenge on stupid blond?" asked Juvia, tilting her head slightly in confusion.
"First of all, your issues with him are your own—leave me out of it," said Naruto, drawing a very clear line. He wasn't about to get dragged into a bloody feud just because Juvia wanted him to. Sure, he had defended her honor during their shopping trip by breaking the idiot's nose, but he wasn't about to join her war of vengeance… at least not until it became absolutely necessary. "And second… I looked at their curriculum; it's so outdated we could literally pass with our eyes closed and without ever attending class."
"That not good, da," commented Juvia. Whether she was referring to the fact that Naruto wouldn't help with her revenge or to the pitiful state of the school was something only she knew.
Naruto simply shrugged, his expression saying, "What do you expect me to do about it?"
After that, the two children fell silent for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, until—without warning—Juvia stood up, smoothed her trousers, and flashed Naruto a bright smile.
"Well, Juvia go find stupid blond, ponyal?" she said cheerfully, fully aware that Naruto would end up following her; after all, his options were to stay there alone and die of boredom… or accompany her on her righteous crusade for revenge.
XxxxX
"I can't believe he's really not in any of the cars we've checked so far," complained Juvia, childishly stomping her foot against the floor of the carriage.
"I can't believe you actually dragged me through the entire damn train," grumbled Naruto, still unable to comprehend why he had chosen to follow his friend on her ridiculous search mission instead of staying in their compartment and waiting for her return. "Damn puppy eyes," he muttered under his breath; he had never been able to say no to those eyes.
"Oh, stop complaining. Only back cars left, and train fully searched, da," said Juvia as she stepped into the second-to-last carriage—where, to her great satisfaction (from a frankly rather twisted point of view), they finally found their target.
A target who seemed to be accompanied by two half-troll boys—if their looks and smell were any indication—harassing someone inside one of the compartments… which, for Juvia, was exactly what the doctor had ordered. After all, there was nothing like putting a pompous count in his place by teaching him some manners in front of the rabble.
Unfortunately, the moment they got within a meter of him—close enough to hear what was being said—they understood the situation. It wasn't anything particularly dramatic: apparently, Harry Potter, the famous "Boy Who Lived" of Great Britain, was in that compartment. Well, they would have to introduce themselves; after all, even if the boy was of lower social standing than they were, he was still a national hero, and it was always useful to maintain good relations with such figures. National heroes were magnets for scandals, even more so than nobles themselves.
A few seconds later, Malfoy introduced himself in the most unnecessarily pompous and theatrical way possible: "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." That alone was enough to make Juvia stifle a laugh; she was about to let it out when, suddenly, someone committed the gravest of social sins—a muffled chuckle following an introduction. The most flagrant display of disrespect imaginable.
Malfoy, of course, took offense and straightened up in front of the redhead accompanying Potter in the compartment."Find my name amusing, do you? I don't need to ask for yours. Secondhand robes, red hair, and more children than you can afford… you must be a Weasley," he sneered, glaring at the orange-haired boy for several long seconds until the latter shrank under his gaze, which seemed to satisfy him.
"You'll soon learn, Potter, that there are families better than others… I can help you with that," Malfoy declared, extending his hand.
That was when Juvia remembered why she had come."Juvia not believe someone like you good person to teach that, Malfoy," she said firmly, her thick accent rolling her r's noticeably.
And with those words, without even realizing it, she had just saved Harry Potter—the savior of the British magical world—from earning himself an utterly unnecessary enemy.
For before Potter could reply with what would likely have been another equally grave insult, Malfoy went pale. With a movement so fast that Juvia was surprised he didn't slip, he spun on his heel to look straight into the blue eyes of the Grand Duchess of the Kingdom of Russia—the very same girl who had broken his nose after he insulted her, and the same one who had gotten him into deep trouble with his mother, who had screamed at him for three days straight over his "shortsightedness" in failing to recognize the blatantly obvious emblem of a royal house on the girl's clothes.
Realizing there was nothing he could possibly say that wouldn't offend a girl he had already insulted, yet too proud to remain completely silent, Malfoy's mind failed to choose between either course and instead began to babble incoherently, a few intelligible words lost among a stream of nonsense.
Which, of course, was music to Juvia's ears, as she thoroughly enjoyed his public humiliation."Исчезни, червь (Ischezni, cherv' — Begone, worm)," said Juvia with a smile that made it clear she knew he wouldn't understand her—but also that she didn't care, and that if he didn't obey, he would regret it dearly.
And so, not wishing to offend the girl any further, Malfoy simply left with his tail between his legs… metaphorically speaking, of course.
"Happy now?" asked Naruto dryly, giving his friend a look that screamed, I can't believe you just did that.
"Juvia always happy, da," she replied with a proud smile. It wasn't really true—she was not a morning person and was always grumpy whenever she had to wake up before ten—but that was beside the point.
"That was… brilliant," said a soft voice, just loud enough for both children of royal houses to return to reality and turn their attention to the other occupants of the compartment.
"Well, not the kind of gratitude Juvia expect, but suppose it works," said Juvia with a smile, extending her hand for Harry to kiss its back… only for him to shake it awkwardly instead. Apparently, the oversized and threadbare clothes weren't a fashion statement but rather a reflection of his upbringing. Oh well—he was still a celebrity, so she wouldn't criticize his atrocious manners.
"Why would I thank you?" asked Harry, gesturing for the two newcomers to enter and sit in his compartment—something neither of them did.
"You have very poor manners, you know that?" said Naruto dryly, making Harry open his mouth to retort—only for Naruto to silence him with a raised hand. He really wasn't in the mood for a childish argument right now.
"Naruto right, Heir Potter," Juvia interjected sternly. "First, you not invite people you not know to sit with you—especially not if first thing you see from them is childish and petty display like Juvia just show, da," she added, giving Naruto a quick jab in the ribs when he was about to comment on what she had just admitted. "And second… if Juvia not distract Malfoy, you say something like 'I can figure it out myself,' yes?"
Harry simply nodded, not entirely sure how she had guessed that he would have said exactly that if not for her intervention, but recognizing that she was right—he absolutely would have.
"That would have been social suicide for you," Juvia continued, her thick accent unsoftened. "Maybe Malfoy small idiot, da, but still noble. His family could make life very difficult."
"There's no such thing as nobility anymore," said Harry. He knew that for a fact; nobility had long since turned into little more than public figures rather than true holders of power.
"Oy Bozhe, on obrechyon (Oh God, he's doomed)," murmured Juvia, once again in a language neither of the two British boys could understand. Then she turned to her companion.
"Let's go back to our compartment," she said, slipping her hand through Naruto's arm. "We'll see you at the Sorting, Heir Potter… weasel."
"It's Weasley," Ron corrected softly. Even he wasn't foolish enough to shout or insult a member of a noble house far higher than the Malfoys—though he was certain his father would love to hear about it when he told him later.
A short while later, both noble children left, leaving behind a very confused, indignant, and, above all, slightly irritated Harry. He had no idea what that girl had said, but he was fairly sure it had been some kind of insult.
"Harry," Ron called to his new friend, who quickly turned to look at him. "It's not worth picking that fight."
What Ron really meant was "Don't mess with them or you'll regret it," but he softened the words to keep Harry from getting any bright ideas about standing up to them. He didn't know why, but something told him this was going to be a very, very long year.
End of Chapter.
Well, another chapter has come to an end. What did you think? I'll be reading your comments.