August 9, 1988
England, Cokeworth, Spinner's End, Severus Snape's House
It seemed that when the front door clicked softly shut, my new sensei finally realized just how thoroughly he had been maneuvered into 'teaching an eight-year-old boy for more than twenty days'. Aunt Petunia and I had bluffed him and rushed him before he could think. Had she given him even two minutes to consider it, there was no chance I would still be here.
I sensed several emotions from Severus Snape: confusion, annoyance, and irritation. Uh-oh. I needed to establish myself as a reasonable child who would cause far fewer problems than he had already imagined.
"I'm sorry it turned out this way, sir," I said quietly. "Could you please show me around the house and tell me where I may and may not go? I wouldn't want to cause trouble for either of us."
At my words, he turned his whole body toward me and narrowed his black eyes suspiciously. Ah, if I had eyes like that in this life, I would look exactly like Sasuke. Even my hairstyle had changed a little during the past week. The hair on top remained a short, spiky 'hedgehog' as before, but the front had grown slightly longer. Far too quickly for normal hair, in fact. Perhaps one day I would be able to use hair techniques like Jiraiya? I would have to investigate and observe that too. It might be a manifestation of magic. When I first looked at myself, I had realized there was very little of Uzumaki Naruto in this body, but looking like an Uchiha was entirely possible.
Since yesterday, I had decided to stop wearing glasses and concentrate on training my perception. My vision was 'tunnel-like' anyway, with almost nothing visible at the sides, and the lenses made the periphery blur even more. I had also spent the entire week performing special eye exercises I had once seen Sasuke use to develop his Sharingan and relieve strain in his eyes. I had decided they certainly could not hurt; I needed to strengthen and train my eyes too. It seemed I could see slightly better than when I first entered Harry's body, at least in dim light. Apparently, my pupils reacted sluggishly and remained dilated, which only gave clear vision at a certain distance. So when we left for Cokeworth, I happily abandoned the hated visual crutches on the little cabinet in the cupboard beneath the stairs. Once I learned to feed chakra to my eyes, I would not have to worry about it at all...
But first, I needed to understand magic.
"Come," Snape-sensei interrupted my thoughts.
I rose from the bench and followed him. The house's layout was generally similar to the Dursleys'. From the sitting room, we entered a kitchen slightly smaller than my relatives', and a little untidy. The stove was not very clean. For some reason, I could not find a refrigerator. Perhaps wizards used something like cooling cupboards based on fūinjutsu? I had made seals like that myself. They were useful during missions, especially when traveling somewhere in the Land of Wind. I still remembered Gaara's face when, on the second day of a journey through the desert, I pulled ice cream from my pack and shared it with him. I think that shocked him more than his own death and resurrection. Yes, never underestimate an Uzumaki.
We continued. There was no cupboard beneath the stairs here; instead, shelves for books had been built into the space. Huh. Where was I supposed to sleep, then?
"That is the bathroom," Snape-sensei said, indicating one of the doors. "If you want to wash, the water must be heated. There is only a wood-fired boiler here. I heat the water with magic... In any case, call me."
"Understood." I nodded.
Konoha also had a peculiar water system, and hot water was strictly rationed. In principle, if you warmed your body by circulating chakra, you could wash calmly in an icy stream. That was dangerous on a mission if the enemy had sensors, though. I had suffered too until I installed a water-heating seal for myself... I wondered whether seals worked here. In theory, they should. I had used chakra without difficulty during my previous visit. Seals required chakra-conductive paper, special ink that absorbed chakra, and, naturally, a fūinjutsu master. Perhaps magic would work as a substitute? First, however, I had to understand how this magic functioned.
Beside the bathroom was a door leading to a basement laboratory. I was strictly forbidden to go down there. Snape-sensei did not rely on words alone; he waved his wand, and I felt something restrictive and locking fly from the piece of wood.
"Did you place some kind of magical lock on it?" I asked. "This place feels different now..."
Snape gave a quiet scoff, and goosebumps the size of fists ran down my back. He was so much like an Uchiha. Even the smell seemed similar. Sasuke had washed with herbal shampoo and pine soap, and Snape-sensei also smelled of something plant-based. Damn it, I was becoming far too emotional. I hoped I would not burst into tears like a little child. Too much had happened... It was terrifying even to think that somewhere, back in my world, Sasuke no longer existed.
"What is wrong with you?" I flinched when he touched me and lifted my head by the chin. I stepped back.
"I'm sorry, sir. You simply remind me of a friend. He is no longer with us. But I am not going to stand here sniveling, and it will not interfere with my studies."
"I see..." was all he said, and we continued the tour.
There were three rooms on the second floor. One was a bedroom. The second, the largest, was something between a library and a study. A few more movements of his wand placed additional restriction charms on the books I was not allowed to read.
The third room was the smallest, with a sloping ceiling that reminded me of my cupboard. A small, sagging sofa stood beneath the slope. There were also two empty shelves and a desk.
"This was my childhood bedroom. You will stay here," Sensei said.
I placed my thin school backpack on the sofa. From the Dursleys' house, I had brought a change of underwear, spare socks, and one more shirt, along with a thick notebook and a pencil. I intended to write down my lessons.
"We will begin after lunch," Snape-sensei decided. "Are you hungry?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but I am almost always hungry," I reported, lowering my gaze to the floor. "Feeding me is rather expensive. Don't let my thinness deceive you; I truly eat a great deal. But I will repay you by helping around the house. I know how to do many things."
Sensei made a strange sound, and for a moment I thought that was it: he would send me straight back to the Dursleys and tell them to find some other fool. Still, I had needed to warn him. I could not demand money from the bank because, in theory, I was not supposed to know the money existed. My little speech was also an attempt to discover whether the Potter family had an account at the institution run by terrifying dwarfs. Who knew whether he would take the bait? Perhaps Sensei would later concern himself with providing my family enough money to feed me. Harry had said there was 'a huge pile of money', but the opinion of someone who had never really dealt with money and had spent it only on textbooks and sweets had to be treated cautiously.
It turned out that Sensei was merely trying not to laugh aloud. He had taken pity on the poor orphan.
"Come. Let us see this legendary appetite."
We returned to the kitchen. We passed through the bathroom first and washed our hands there. I had already learned that the sink needed to be plugged, which earned me an approving glance.
After placing a kettle on the stove, Sensei approached one of the cupboards. I immediately suspected it was some kind of fūin-refrigerator. I was right. He removed butter, half a loaf of wheat bread, and a piece of rolled pork resembling the meat old man Teuchi added to my favorite ramen, except that this one was nearly square in cross-section, probably to match the bread. Ah, there would be no ramen in this foggy country unless I cooked it myself...
"We'll have tea and sandwiches," Snape-sensei said. "Slice the bread and meat. Can you manage?"
"How thick should the slices be?" I tested the knife's balance with pleasure and examined its well-sharpened edge.
"Bread: half an inch. Pork: a quarter inch," he answered with his back turned. "Since you are always hungry, I suppose I will make eggs as well."
He gave me a doubtful look. Four eggs flew from the same cupboard and began sizzling deliciously in a pan a moment later.
I measured the ingredients with my eyes. It was fortunate that I had already memorized the local units of length and weight.
"The bread will make nine slices, but there is only enough pork for eight. Should I cut the bread slightly thicker or the pork slightly thinner?" I asked.
"Is that so?" Sensei looked at me closely again. "Let me see."
He examined my dilemma.
"Make more sandwiches," he decided with a scoff and a shake of his head. "You have a good eye."
Thirteen years of weapon throwing, calligraphy, and martial arts had not gone to waste, even after I had ended up in such a useless, half-blind little body. Still, I was persistent. I would deal with it.
I spread butter on the bread and assembled the sandwiches. A mug of tea and half the eggs floated toward me. Some shinobi could do something similar. Puppet masters from Suna, for example, attached chakra threads to objects and manipulated them as weapons. Those objects had to conduct chakra well, however, like specially prepared wood or metal. Sasori, a missing-nin puppeteer from the 'Akatsuki' organization whose members had hunted me for years, had used shinobi corpses as puppets. He certainly had no problems with chakra conductivity...
"Yes, now I see that you were not exaggerating," Sensei interrupted my thoughts.
I realized that all the food was gone. It had been delicious, and I was almost full.
I quickly cleared the table, washed the dishes, and dried them while Snape-sensei watched me. I could feel him evaluating me. I had better not make a fool of myself. I hoped I had not chewed noisily. I did not think I had, and I had eaten neatly. I carefully touched my cheeks. No crumbs, no butter.
"Come." My teacher rose abruptly, as though he had finally reached a decision. "I will show you several exercises."
Unable to suppress a pleased smile, I followed him.
"This may seem dull and uninteresting, but try nonetheless," Sensei said when we returned to 'my' room. He waved his wand, and the desk moved to the center. Then he produced a box of matches. "Your task is to affect a match. Levitation—the flight of objects—is generally easiest. All it requires is an effort of will. You may also try to ignite it, break it, or perhaps change its color. Focus on the object, feel your magic, and direct it toward the match. Think about what you want to do. Concentration and intent are all that matter. This is your assignment until lunch."
He scattered the contents of the large matchbox across the table.
"Try."
"Yes, sir." I nodded, studying the latest obstacle on my road to becoming the greatest wizard alive.