Chapter 7: Letters, Fire, and Hidden Power[Privet Drive – Harry's Arc]
[Privet Drive – Harry's Arc]
It started with a letter.
A plain envelope. Creamy parchment. No return address.But the writing — elegant, green ink — had his full name:
Mr. H. PotterCupboard under the stairs4 Privet Drive
Harry held it like it might explode. He barely had time to stare before Uncle Vernon snatched it from his hands with an angry grunt.
"WHAT is this nonsense?!"
Harry never got to see inside.
But the next day — another letter came.
And another.
And another.
Each addressed to him.
Under the stairs. Upstairs. Even in the bathroom.
Mr. H. Potter, Floor tile 3, next to the broken sink pipe.
Vernon went full-blown banshee. Nailed the mail slot shut. Screamed at the postman. Burned one letter in the fireplace while laughing.
Harry didn't laugh.
Dratini didn't either.
He coiled protectively around Harry's neck at night, occasionally flicking his tail like he knew something wasn't right.
The day letters flew through the chimney in a blizzard of paper, Dudley screamed and ran. Harry ducked, caught one — only for a small flame to burst from Dratini's nose and accidentally incinerate it.
"NOOOO!" Harry yelled. "That was the only one I had!"
Dratini looked sheepish.
"Prrr…?"
Vernon tackled him like a rugby player.
That night, they fled to a shack on a rock in the middle of the sea.
"No post here," Vernon muttered, barricading the door.
Harry sat in the corner, hugging Dratini, trying to be brave.
Thunder roared.
And at exactly midnight…
BANG!
The door shook on its hinges.
Someone had arrived.
[Konoha – Naruto's Arc]
Naruto flopped on the ground, panting, limbs spread out like a starfish.
"That was the worst henge transformation I've ever done…"
Vulpix padded up and dropped a stick on his chest.
"Vul!"
"Stick? Really?"
She nodded, serious.
Kurama floated down onto a nearby rock. "She's telling you to stop being a lazy brat and use the stick."
Naruto stared. "Wait... to practice chakra control?"
Kurama snorted. "To whack yourself every time you screw up. I suggested it."
Naruto groaned.
But he did it.
Vulpix watched as he tried balancing the stick on his head while molding chakra — and promptly fell face-first into the mud.
Again.
And again.
And again.
[Later That Week]
Iruka-sensei stood in front of the class, eyebrows raised.
"Alright class, time for the physical trials. Naruto, I don't want any interruptions this—"
BOOM.
A massive gust of wind launched the training dummy 20 feet backward.
Everyone turned to see Naruto — sweaty, grinning, Vulpix standing beside him like she absolutely did nothing wrong.
Kurama was sitting on his head like a crown again, yawning.
Naruto grinned. "Uh… new chakra technique?"
Iruka squinted. "Was that your chakra?"
"…Yes?"(It was not.)
Still, the blast impressed even Sasuke.
Iruka pulled Naruto aside later. "You're still rough with jutsu… but your chakra output has doubled. What changed?"
Naruto grinned. "I got friends now."
[That Evening – Naruto's Apartment]
He sat on the roof, Vulpix curled on his lap, Kurama glowing beside him.
Naruto whispered to the sky, "I'm gonna pass. I'm gonna become a genin. I swear."
Vulpix stirred. Kurama said nothing.
But in the air… something shifted.
The beginning of change.
[The Shop – Jake's Interlude]
Jake was sipping void espresso and floating upside down.
Two massive screens lit the shop — one showing Harry screaming as letters rained down, the other showing Naruto getting face-planted into mud for the sixth time.
Arceus appeared, holding a clipboard of sparkly destiny reports.
"…So. Dratini burned the Hogwarts letter?"
Jake cackled. "MY BOY DID A WAR CRIME BY ACCIDENT."
Alphamon slurped his void ramen. "Naruto's gonna give that fox a complex. I swear."
Jake hit pause and zoomed in on Vernon's terrified face mid-letter storm.
"I'm framing this. This is art."
Arceus looked at the charts. "They're close. Both of them. Emotional thresholds are rising. Growth is kicking in."
Jake sighed, arms behind his head.
"Let's give them one more push. Just enough to make things interesting."
He smirked.
"And maybe give Vernon another wall to crash into."