Harry Potter, Naruto 1. Chapter 1

**_So, hello everyone. I have decided to get myself into a load of mess: write an ENGLISH Harry Potter-Naruto CROSSOVER. Yeah, I know, but I really wanted to try. So reviews and constructive criticism are welcome, since I'll surely be needing them if I want to evolve. I'm not using a beta since I want to see if my writing is worth anything without one so I apologise if I missed errors and you are welcome to tell me about them. :)_**

**_**Hope you'll enjoy.**_**

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><p>Sitting in her uncomfortable, yet imposing chair, Tsunade let out a long sigh. Blue eyes trained on her office's window, she slowly reached for one of her drawers containing a hidden stash of sake. She didn't usually drink when working – at least not since the end of the war – but the constant chitter caused by her subordinates running around gave her a headache. And left her in a foul mood that only alcohol could lighten. Opening the bottle, she took a gulp before putting it back in place with yet another sigh. She could hear the shouting from the village below, civilians and shinobi alike working on the reconstruction of their once thriving home. It was a very slow process. She knew it couldn't be helped, for Konoha had been almost completely destroyed, yet she still felt somewhat irked that they had done so little thus far. After all, almost a year had passed since that terrible event.<p>

When Uchiha Madara had announced the Fourth Shinobi War, all the Hidden Villages had allied to bring him down. They didn't, however, expect to be faced with an army force twice the size of their own and the resurrection of their fallen elite shinobi. That was how she had found herself face to face with her lost love. Team 10 with their former leader, Asuma and the Kazekage, Gaara, with his late father. Those encounters had left quite a bitter taste for every concerned party. And though the war had been won, the losses had been numerous and heavy. Tsunade had lost her closest friend and first apprentice, Shizune. And though she would've gladly sunk in self-pity for losing yet another dear friend, the village needed more than ever a strong, leading figure to look up to. So she gathered her broken heart and put up a strong façade. It wasn't like she was the only one who lost precious people to her. All around her was despair and sadness. Broken women, empty men. Her Anbu forces had been practically destroyed, she had lost half her Jônin and parents were more averse than ever to send their children to become Genin, for fear of losing them. The losses have pushed her to take drastic measures. Shinobi were promoted prematurely, Chûnin becoming Jônin without proper examination and training. Genin taking the places of Chûnin, while the Jônin worked for foreign warlords to try and bring some funds to the village. She hadn't seen most of them for months. And for those that weren't off in distant lands, they were either wounded, under special care for psychological damage or had resigned. She overworked her men and she hated it. But there was no other choice.

A small knock was heard on the door of her office. The Hokage Tower had been one of the first buildings to have been repaired – alongside the hospital – for it was a symbol of leadership and hope in these somber times. The Hokage asked her visitor to enter. Yamanaka Ino appeared, head slightly bowed, with some of the blonde bangs that weren't in her tight bun, surrounding her pale face. When she looked up, the busty Sannin couldn't withhold another tired sigh. The poor girl looked exhausted, eyes rimmed with black circles and her once splendid skin an almost greyish color. She had also lost more weight, though this time wasn't because one of her silly diets. The young kunoichi smoothed her black skirt and looked expectantly at her leader.

''I need you to summon Sakura, Shino, Shikamaru and Anko for me.'' said Tsunade, eyes glued on the petite kunoichi's form. ''When they arrive, send them in one by one.''

''Yes, Hokage-sama.'' came the distant reply, before she left the office.

Ino had been some of the Shinobi most hit by war. Her father had lost his life during the battles and her mother died in the destruction of their village, leaving the sixteen-year-old alone and lost. Her ''reunion'' with her ex-Sensei hadn't helped either, pushing her to want to quit her life as a kunoichi. Tsunade would have none of it though, knowing that deep down, the girl would regret it even more if she gave up. So they had an agreement: Ino would take a temporary leave from her duties as a ninja and would work as her assistant. She knew this way the girl would see her comrades every day and feel less lonely.

Though the Yamanaka heir was not the only one in such a situation. She had only reinstated Hyûga Neji as an active Jonin, after his nervous breakdown eight months ago. Never in the world would she have thought him to be in such a state after learning of his cousin's situation. Hyûga Hinata was officially in coma, ever since the end of the war. No one really knew how it happened, just that she was found unconscious under the dead form of Hatake Kakashi, who seemed to have tried to protect her from... something. And though she was in no life-threatening situation, she still hadn't woken up, leaving her friends and family devastated. Inuzuka Kiba hadn't spoken one word ever since her retrieval and Aburame Shino had thrown himself wholly in long-duration missions.

The unofficial break-up of Team 10 also had it's toll on the members. Shikamaru seemed grumpier than ever and Chôji less outspoken and shier around their only female teammate. Currently ex-teammate.

''Shishou, you called for me?'' asked a small voice from the door, after a discrete, yet determined knock.

''Yes, Sakura. Come in.'' came the tired answer of the blonde Hokage, eyes turning one last time towards the sun setting behind her back, before resting them on the pink-haired young woman in front of her.

Of all her Shinobi, she seemed to have been the least affected physically. She had neither lost, or gained weight nor did she look less healthy than she was before the war. To an untrained eye, the girl seemed perfectly fine. But the older woman could see the tiredness and lack of vitality in her eyes. Though she smiled as often as before, it lacked it's usual glee. Her emerald eyes which used to burn with strength, determination and ambition now seemed hollow. Her movements were more sluggish than before. She also seemed to have developped a few unwanted and unwelcome habits. Such as tardiness, a tendency of disrespect towards superiors and a certain disregard to her own safety. And Tsunade knew very well why, though her apprentice didn't seem to notice. She was picking up her late teammates quirks. She had after all watched her two friends battle to death, unable to save any one of them. And just like that, they had yet again left her behind. When she came back to Konoha, she was promoted to Jônin, alongside Shikamaru, Chôji, Tenten, Lee, Kiba and Shino and had taken on quite a few missions before her master actually found out she wasn't as stable as she seemed to be. After one particular mission whence she came back half-dead and Tsunade had pulled an all-nighter to keep her alive, the Hokage had decided to put her in charge of the hospital. She got back on active duty four months later, when the Sannin was sure she had strongly diminished her suicidal tendencies.

Now she stood in font of her, rigid, legs slightly spread and rooted to the ground, hands clasped behind her back. Her green eyes were focused on her master, brows creased and waiting for her orders.

''I suppose you know that ever since the war, the Hidden Villages' leaders have started sending their men out of the countries to bring back more money for the reconstructions?''. It was more a statement than a question.

Sakura nodded, silently urging her Shishou to continue.

''Well it seems all my more experienced Jônin are away and I have received outside requests. That's why I called you and the others here.''

''Will we be forming a unit for a mission?'' asked Sakura, not certain as to why she was alone in the office in that case.

''No. I have too many demands and too few men to spare. Each one of you will have their own mission to accomplish.'' explained the blonde, fingers clenching and unclenching around a parchment. ''Yours is A-rank and you'll be leaving tomorrow before dawn. It's a guard mission. You will be a young boy's guard during your stay in that foreign country.''

''A-rank? For the guard of a simple boy?'' came the incredulous question.

''It's not that simple, Sakura. You'll have to infiltrate the boy's school and keep an eye on him, whilst hiding your origin and purpose.''

''Surely that still doesn't earn such a high ranking?'' And she knew she was right. Ever since the end of the war, the rankings had gone a notch higher. So what constituted an A-rank mission today, was almost as difficult as an S-rank before the war.

Life had become harder ever since then. There was less and less food, the animals having been killed durng the fights and the fields burnt. The number of criminals had increased and it actually was dangerous to just step out of one's village, let alone travel. The roads were swarming with thieves, assassins, traitors and fugitives ready to attack any passerby likely to have some valuable objects with them.

''There is a dark menace looming over their country and the boy seems to be a key in stopping it. It is your job to keep him alive and unscathed, no matter what.'' Tsunade said, though she couldn't help the small smile forming on her lips. The girl might be suicidal, but she was still sharp. ''Though you were right, there is another reason behind it. You see, we were given quite a fair amount of money for this mission and it was only the first instalment. It would be... convenient if we could form an alliance of sorts with these people.''

''So it's a diplomatic mission under the cover of a guard one?''

Another smile graced the lips of the Sannin. The girl caught on fast.

''Yes, but not only. You see, it would be rather un-beneficial for us if other Shinobi found this trail...'' she carefully explained.

''And my job would be to keep said Shinobi away.'' concluded the pinkette.

''Indeed.''

The two women regarded each other in silence. There was no need to specify what had to be done if said ninja insisted on snooping around nonetheless. When Tsunade was sure her student had understood, she threw the parchment to her. Sakura caught it and it promptly disappeared in her hip-pouch.

''As I said, you are to leave before dawn and travel to the borders of the Fire Nation. There you will be met with our client – or possibly one of his envoys – who'll take you to where you need be. additional informations are in the scroll.'' concluded the busty blonde. ''Sakura, please be careful. You're on your own, so don't do anything reckless.''

The kunoichi glanced at her master. She seemed more tired than ever and it was almost as if her true age showed through her rejuvenating jutsu. Sakura knew how hard this was for her. Contrary to the other Shinobi of Konoha, Tsunade hadn't had the least time to mourn. She had to take her place as leader straight away and lead her people, help them rebuild their lives and homes. She barely slept, what with surveying the reconstruction during the day and working on papers at night. Sakura couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her outside her office. She didn't even go to the hospital anymore.

''Don't worry Shishou, I'll be okay.'' she said with a smile, knowing fully that her master didn't need another headache. ''Maybe you should rest a bit Shishou. Ask Shikaku-san to take over for a day.''

''As if he needed even more work. Now go on your merry little way and don't forget to send a report every month! And send me in thet lazy Shikamaru. He's in so much trouble if he dared fall asleep!'' grumbled the blonde, shooing her pupil.

Sakura left with a short chuckle. At least she hadn't lost her impatience. She was also quite sure she saw the older woman's hand inch towards that famous sake-filled drawer. And here she thought she had stopped!

''Shikamaru, Tsunade-sama is asking for you.''

''How troublesome...''

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><p>When her alarm clock went off at around 4:30, Sakura was really tempted to just smash it. But she couldn't afford a new one. She was happy she even had one! Slowly rising and giving a sour look at the night view from her window, she trudged towards the bathroom. Flicking the lights on, she didn't give a second look to her sleepy reflection, before standing under the shower.<p>

Twenty minutes later, she was ready and marching out the door of her minuscule appartement. It was a whole appartement complex, located south of Konoha – near its exit – built specially for the Shinobi. It was quite strategically located, for it made it easier to get to the Hokage Tower or the gate in a small amount of time. And since her neighbours were mostly comrades, it helped not feeling lonely. Even though they hardly saw each other with all the work they had...

Sakura calmly walked to the gates, enjoying the morning breeze on her face. It was nearing the end of August and though the mornings weren't yet cold, they lacked that stuffy hotness of the summer days. Passing the lookout at the entrance of the gates, Sakura waved once at the guard on duty. He nodded in answer but seemed too tired to move more than that. The kunoichi knew how he felt. There was nothing worse – or more boring – than being on guard duty for a whole night.

Once at a respectable distance from the village, she jumped in the trees, setting off towards the borderline. She risked a last glance behind her, eyes setting on the Hokage Mountain. She always felt that if the monument was the last thing she saw whilst leaving the village, she was sure to come back alive. And while it had worked for her, she wished it also had for the others.

Skipping through the trees in the silent night, she couldn't stop her mind from wandering off. She could still remember that one fight. Contrary to what everyone had thought, Naruto hadn't defeated Madara by himself. When she had seen him arrive on the battlefield and wipeout most of their ennemies, she had been more than relieved to see him. But then he took off. Nobody quite knew where – being busy at that time with either their standig foes or fallen comrades – but she had a feeling it was towards one of the two Uchihas. So without even considering her options, she followed him. Oh, she knew she wouldn't stand a chance against any one of them, but she'd be damned before she let down her teammates again. She'd go even if the only thing she could do was provide her medical assistance at the end of the battle. So she mindlessly followed.

When she at last caught up, Naruto had already been shouting at someone for some time. Hidden a few hundred meters from them, behind a tall oak, she tried tuning in on what was being said. Even from that distance she noticed every head lift when she arrived, but no one made any move. She mustn't had been threatening enough to make them care about her presence. Holding back a huff of irritation, she listened on.

As soon as the fight had started, she had to crouch low to avoid beeing pushed back by the waves of chakra. The energy was so strong it prickled at her senses and she felt as tough it were burning her skin. Hairs standing on edge, she forced herself to keep watching. It had been the most amazing fight she'd ever seen. But Naruto seemed to be having a hard time. Before she could even contemplate interfering, another person jumped in the fight, separating the two Shinobi. Eyes wide as saucers, Sakura stared at the newcomer: Uchiha Sasuke. To her utter shock, her ex-teammate turned towards her best friend and extended his arm. The blonde boy incredulously started at the stretched hand, before grabbing it with a grin. They both stood and faced Madara, who seemed as shocked as she was – not that she could be sure though, with that mask covering his entire face.

The fight went on for a long time, longer than she'd ever seen a fight last. Yet slowly but surely, Sasuke and Naruto where beginning to have the upper hand. Excitement started bubbling in her chest. If they won this, the war would be over and Sasuke might even come back. Their team would be reunited again after all these years!

Her bubble burst fairly fast though, just after seeing Sasuke collapse without any apparent reason. She was torn between running there and checking on him and staying where she was, so as not to impede on the ongoing fight. So she stood her ground and watched how, a now enraged, Naruto relentlessly attacked Madara. And when she saw said Uchiha fly away – curtesy of one of Naruto's Rasengans – she at last showed herself, dashing to her two friends, eyes glued to the fallen ennemy to make sure he didn't stand up anytime soon. He never did. It was only when she arrived next to them that she noticed the long sword lodged in the Kyûbi-vessel's chest. Sasuke's sword. Gaping, the kunoichi looked from one boy to the other. Naruto offered a weak smile and added a small ''Madara'' before collapsing to the ground. She instantly started closing the wound. Naruto silently urged her to forget about him and look after Sasuke.

''Shut up, Naruto. You used up all of Kyûbi's chakra, you can't heal yourself alone! I'll take care of you and then Sasuke.'' she said with a no-nonsense tone.

When the wound was closed, she started pumping chakra into his heart with one hand, the other one reaching for Sasuke's chest. She didn't know what had happened to him, only that his heart was failing him. Palms hovering over her friends' hearts, she relentlessly tried making their vital organs function on their own again. Somewhere deep down, she knew her efforts were futile. Naruto's wound was fatal and even though she sort of stitched up his heart, it wouldn't be enough. Not without the Kyûbi helping, anyway. As for Sasuke, she just couldn't figure out for the life of her what was wrong with him.

Slowly, she was nearing the limits of her chakra reserve. The one temporarily enhanced with two soldier pills. She felt a hand grab her wrist and looked down into Sasuke's onyx orbs. He gently shook his head though didn't have enough strength to move her hand away. Ignoring him, she shook off his hand and went on. Her gaze was suddenly turned towards her other teammate who had called her.

''Let us be... Sakura-chan... you know we're... done for...'' he said through deep inspirations, offering her but a shadow of his once reassuring and lively grin.

''No,'' came her determined answer, ''I've lost my team once, it won't happen again! Now that we're finally together, I won't let you abandon me again!''

Tears started streaming down her cheeks, but her chakra control never once wavered even if it did become weaker. She was starting to feel dizzy. She knew that if she went on longer, she'd probably die of chakra-exhaustion. For the first time in her life, she didn't seem to care. At least if she died, she'd join her teammates in the afterlife...

''It's okay, Sakura-chan... you know we love you... it's okay.'' soothed Naruto, both hands gripping her wrists. Sasuke did the same on her other side and after all these years, that familiar smirk that she missed so much graced his lips.

Then suddenly, her hands were wrenched from their places and she stumbled back a bit. She didn't expect them to still have some force left. Furiously wiping her tears away, she stumbled back to them, readying herself to start all over again. She couldn't save them, but maybe she could keep them alive until help came. Reaching out, she prepared chakra in both her hands, just to feel herself land face-first on the ground between her boys. She wanted to get up, but the darkness was oh-so appealing. If she could at least grab their hands...

When she woke up, it was two weeks later in a hospital bed. Nurses all around her were running from left to right, seeming tired, grouchy and messy. One of them had seen her wake up and rushed over to give her a glass of water. She didn't need to ask, she found the answer to her question in her despondent look. Naruto and Sasuke were dead. She was left behind... again. Burrowing her face in her pillow, she waited for the tears to come. But they didn't. Ever since the end of the war, she hadn't shed one tear because even though she tried, they wouldn't come. The boys seemed to have taken that part of her with them...

Jumping from a branch to another, she almost fell, slipping on moss she didn't notice was there. That happened a lot. She didn't have suicidal tendencies like most of her compatriotes thought. She was merely distracted. Her thoughts were constantly on her fallen teammates and her Sensei. The one guy she was sure would live through it all. But he hadn't. He had given his life to save Hinata. When she had first heard about it, she couldn't suppress the blame that grew inside her. It was _her fault_ she had lost the last member of her team. Her Sensei who usually survived any battle and who, she had been sure, would've outlived them all. But these thoughts were gone as soon as they had appeared and when she was strong enough to go around the hospital, she went to her bedfoot and apologised. The girl hadn't done anything wrong. So she stayed with her all night, mourning the death of her friends.

Shaking her head of these negative reminiscences, she concentrated on the road and mission ahead of her. She needed to get to the border at sunrise and meet this guy who'd take her who-knew-where for a protection/infiltration/diplomatic mission. The ''additional'' informations in the scroll – as her Shishou had called them – weren't a tad bit helpful. All she received were a short biography of her charge and a photograph of him and his friends, to make it easier to recognize. And a password for the envoy. The rest of the details, read the scroll, will be given in due time by their client. Oh how she loved being held in the dark!

Nearing the border, she reached for a shawl in her hip-pouch, concealing her bright hair under it. She just didn't feel like being a flashy target for enemy nins and was even less tempted to be recognized as the famous Hokage/Sannin's apprentice. Verifying her holster were secure on both her thighs, she sprinted forward. A few more meters and she'd be there.

Senses on high alert, she finally broke through the thick forest – only to be assaulted by a shower of shuriken. Cursing herself for having missed enemy presence, she threw herself on her side, sliding on the rough floor before coming to halt. She flexed her gloved fingers, ready to beat the annoying troublemaker into oblivion. She didn't have to wait long before a scrawny nin jumped towards her, swinging a rather un-sharp looking blade at her. She easily deflected before delivering a well-aimed punch to his gut. The nin flew a few meters, before crashing into a tree and remaining inert on the floor. Throwing her leg around her, she kicked another one in the head. The third one was taken down by a few shuriken of her own. The nin were slow, inattentive and didn't seem to care for their companions. She could guess they were homeless men, out in the wild for who knew how long, famished and exhausted. Her taking five of them down in less than a minute just proved her theory.

When no one else seemed to want to attack her, she straightened, wiping off the dirt from her clothes. That's when she felt someone observing her. Hardened green eyes scanned her surroundings, before landing on the shape of a man a few hundred meters from her. He was still and stood – she quickly noticed – right where the invisible border of her village's territory was. Was it this man she was looking for? Right hand never leaving the hilt of her tanto, she slowly approached him.

''Who are you and what business do you have here?'' she slowly asked the unmoving figure before her.

''The strenght of the eagle makes him the ruler of the skies,'' said the muffled feminine voice of the stranger.

''and the phoenix's immortality its guardian.'' finished the bemused kunoichi as she covered the last steps that separated her of her liaison.

She didn't expect her man to actually be a woman. Nor to see her so oddly dressed. But what shocked her the most was her hair colour – purple and as unusual as her own.

''You're the Hokage's envoy? But you're only a kid!'' came the surprised voice of her client.

''I can hold my own.'' It seemed she wasn't the only one stunned. ''Haruno Sakura. Please call me Sakura.''

''Nymphadora Tonks, but I'd rather you only use Tonks. You speak English quite well, Sakura.''

''Thank you.'' was her only answer. Foreign languages were on the program in the Academy, but only a few chose to study them – Sakura being one of those people.

''Well then, how about we get going? The others are quite impatient to see you. Boy, will they be shocked!'' laughed the young woman, handing an old boot towards her. ''Grab this.''

Eyeing the object suspiciously, Sakura did as instructed. She suddenly felt her legs rip off the ground, turning wildly, and had to close her eyes to push away the urge to throw up. When her feet hit the ground again, she staggered but didn't fall. Calming her insides for a few seconds, she opened her emerald eyes and looked at the older woman. She seemed slightly impressed and almost proud. She turned, throwing the boot in a nearby trash can.

''Come on, we got a long day ahead of us. Hope you have a good memory 'cause there'll be lots of names to remember!'' came the cheerful voice of Tonks, as Sakura quickly caught up with her.

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><p>Sakura was calmly sipping the tea she had been given upon her arrival, desperately trying to remember all the names. She hadn't been expecting to meet so many people. When Tonks had led her through the door of a tall yet weirdly built house – she was still wondering exactly how it managed to stand – , they were greeted by a plump little redheaded woman. Molly Weasley. She ushered them inside, but not before exchanging a password of sorts with Tonks. They were then brought into a kitchen, where stood and sat a whole bunch of other people. Mr. Weasley – as ginger as his wife Mrs Weasley – sat the nearest from her and had gotten up to greet her with a bright yet perplexed smile. Tonks had definitely been right about people being shocked about her. Most seemed utterly speechless though she did see a few that seemed displeased. A small and old-looking man with greyish hair and mismatched eyes, one of them blue and spinning crazily before settling on her, and a tall thin man, with longer black hair and black robes. Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody and Severus Snape, she later learned. Among the others, there was another redhead, Bill Weasley (the Weasley couple's son, Sakura had intellegently concluded) with a blond woman of baffling beauty at her side, Fleur Delacour (the kunoichi felt a pang of jealousy when watching her). And finally, there was another man, Remus Lupin, who worried Sakura quite a bit with his abnormal paleness and sickly figure. She silently noted that Tonks deflated a bit at her side when the man had directed his gaze towards them. When she looked up at the woman, she was shocked to see her hair had seemed to go from bright purple to mousy brown. The woman gave her a weak smile before telling her she'd explain later and veering towards the only unoccupied chair – at the middle of the table.<p>

So there she sat, between these weird people who had explained their situation and were currently gauging her reaction. Sighing and taking another sip of her tea, she finally put it down.

''So you're telling you're wizards and witches. You perfom magic thanks to your sticks called wands and you're part of a secret organisation called the Order of the Phoenix who fights against a dangerous murderer called Lord Voldemort. Am I missing anything?''

''That's quite right. Do you still have difficulties believing it?'' asked pleasantly Lupin.

She pretty much had received proof of their story when her cup came in the room floating, but that didn't mean she had already digested the news. They were magicians! The real deal. She was almost tempted to ask if they could get a bunny out of their hats, but the sour look the Snape and Moody guys were giving her dissuaded her from doing so.

''No. I think it's okay.'' she finally answered. ''Though I would need specifics for my mission. I was only instructed to watch over and protect Harry Potter, who seems to be your hidden weapon against your Dark Lord. What do I have to protect him against and for how long?''

''Well...'' had started Lupin, but was quickly interrupted by Snape.

''Before we discuss any of it, we need information on you.'' he coldly said, piercing black eyes on her. ''Why is it we were sent a child for such an important matter?''

''I'm no child! I am a fully grown and well-trained shinobi!'' ground out Sakura, emerald eyes furiously narrowing.

''Now, now, no need to fight.'' soothed Mrs Weasley. ''Though I am a bit worried myself. This is a dangerous work you've been assigned and you do seem quite young. Exactly how old are you dear?''

''Seventeen. And I have been considered an adult ever since I was twelve''.

Well sort of. Most shinobi became independent after their graduation. Even if they were separated in groups, it was only so they would evolve and become stronger, so they could fare on their own in the outside world. And her vision of the world had changed since her mission with Team 7 in the Land of Waves. She had learned about life and it's difficulties. About real fights and death. She had come back from that mission less naïve and it only continued that way with time. Though she was far from being considered a 'seasoned-shinobi', she had seen her fair share of horror and survived plenty of battles. She was far from being a child, now.

''That still doesn't make you an adult, Sakura.'' calmly added Lupin.

''Then pray share your concerns so I can dispel them for you.'' she bit out. Her temper was starting to get the better of her, what with everyone looking at her like they would at a little girl.

''Kid, we're at the brink of war here, not on a playground. We didn't hire a babysitter but a warrior, capable of defending his life and that of three others! Now how about you contact that leader of yours and tell her she send us a _real_ ninja!'' barked Moody, indignation written all over his face.

The kunoichi slowly stood from her chair, eyes glowering fiercely. She gripped the edge of the table so as not to punch through it and opened her mouth to speak. It had been years since anybody had doubted her skills and disrespected her so much.

''I am a _respected _and _high-ranked_ kunoichi of Konoha. I have rightfully earned my title and rank by fighting in the name of my village.'' she spoke, voice laced with poison. ''I have seen and fought as many fights as any of you. I _will not_ be treated so lowly. And I am the apprentice of «that leader of mine» as you called her and she would be overly affronted if you sent me back without a second thought. I doubt you need any more conflicts than you already have.''

Her outburst was followed by silence, Mrs Weasley setting a calming hand on Moody's shoulder, urging him to relent and sit down. Sakura swept her eyes over the room once, before also settling back down with a satisfied expression. She crossed her arms on her chest and silently dared anyone to challenge her again. Her inner-self started bugging her by saying she had over-reacted, but she ignored the persisting and annoying voice inside her head.

''We still need information.'' said Snape after a while. When her gaze snapped towards him, he gave her an unimpressed look and took on a lecturing tone. ''Surely you have a specific use in your hometown. Or do you simply run around fighting whoever crosses your path?''

She arched a pink eyebrow at him.

''I am a Jônin. The highest rank of ninja in our system, just below the position of Kage – the leader of the village. I am also a medic and an illusion specialist. I prefer hand-to-hand and close combat though.'' she calmly asnwered, making sure she didn't divulge more than necessary. They need not know that they had their own secret service organisation – the Anbu – that were higher ranked and stronger than regular Jônin. Nor did they need to know why she preferred close combat. Yet.

The wizards all went silent, seemingly storing the information she had given them.

''Medic is good. Harry and the others always get in trouble and hurt.'' mumbled Lupin. ''How fast do you heal?''

''Depends on the injury. If it's on the surface, mere minutes. And I don't leave scars.'' she added proudly. She had her own reputation in Konoha because of that and women usually came to her when hurt. Not that Tsunade or Shizune couldn't do it too, they just didn't have the time or patience to work more just for that.

There was a long silence, everyone seemingly deep in their thoughts. Sakura, arms still crossed, was waiting for any more questions. They had pretty much gotten off the wrong foot, what with her little loss of patience and angry outburst, but she was willing to remedy to said error. A good and pacific relationship was benefic for both her village and her, seeing as she'd be staying for some time.

''Oh, we almost forgot!'' exclaimed Lupin. ''We still need to brief you on your mission!''

The young kunoichi just nodded, waiting for his explanations. She was to infiltrate Hogworts as a special exchange student from Japan, who had already completed her studies in her hometown and was currently an apprentice of one of the school teachers. She'd be awarded the same privileges as a Headgirl (not that she knew what that was) and the same obligations as the teachers. Meaning she'd give some particular lessons, supervise classes whilst in their study period and would patrol around the school. Her living quarters would be next to the Gryffindor House, so she could keep an eye on and be close to Harry. She was forbidden to physically harm and/or attack any students, though she could take away house points if they were behaving wrong.

''So no traps where someone might get hurt.'' it was a rather rhetorical question, that she asked nonetheless.

''Merlin forbid, no!'' cried out Mrs Weasley, horror painted all over her face.

''Not all traps are deadly,'' she shrugged. ''some are actually useful against little sneaks. They just hang around a bit by their legs...''

Seeing the disbelieving looks she was given, she abandoned the idea. Well they hadn't said anything about genjutsu traps, so she'd use those. God how she loved being a ninja and going around rules without really breaking them! Her little smirk didn't go unnoticed by the Weasley matriarch, who narrowed her eyes at the pinkette, but before she could say anything, her husband caught everyone's attention.

''We still need a superior for you.'' he said. ''A teacher who'll play the part of your master.''

''Well it obviously needs to be someone from the order. That leaves either Minerva, Hagrid or Severus.'' concluded Lupin.

''It has to be believable, Remus. She doesn't do magic, so we can forget Transfiguration and Minerva.'' Moody barked from his corner. ''How do you fare with animals, girl?''

''I _don't_. I'm a medic, I was taught only how to look out for humans... and humanoids, I suppose.'' she allowed, furrowing her brows. If it was a vet' they needed, they should've hired Inuzuka Hana, Kiba's older sister.

''She could work for Poppy...''

''We said someone from the _Order_, Nymphadora!''

''How many times do I have to tell you _not _to call me that, Mad-Eye!''

''What about Potions?'' Everyone suddenly turned towards Bill as if he were crazy. The boy shrugged, muttering it was as good a proposition as any.

''I think I could manage that. Quite well actually.''

It was her turn to be stared at. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the almost impreceptible lift in Snape's eyebrow and belatedly realised just who would be her supervisor if she accepted Potions. Suddenly, she was interested in learning to be a vet'.

''Have you ever brewed potions?'' drawled the darkly dressed man.

''Not really... But I'm good at making poisons and antidotes. As well as ointments and other medical beverages.'' for a second there, she had almost stuttered. Was she actually being impressed by this guy? Sure he had that dangerous aura around him, but why would that scare her?

''You do know it's not the same thing, girl?'' came the biting retort.

''The concept is! You'll just have to teach me enough to make it look credible. And if I have to demonstrate skills, I'll just make one of my confections.'' the total lack of faith this man was showing her was infuriating.

_'Give a girl her chance before you bite her head off!' _came her inner-selfs voice.

'_Shut up!'_

_'Hey, I was supportive here, you ingrate!'_

Oblivious to her inner debate, Mr Weasley happily clapped his hands, saying the matter was concluded and invited all of the present company to have lunch with his family. Sakura's eyes shot up at the news and was readying herself to join them – she hadn't eaten since the night before, afterall – when a large hand on her shoulder stopped her. Looking up, she was met with her new supervisor's cold stare.

''We're leaving.'' was all he said, before turning around, his robes billowing behind him.

''What? Why? What about lunch? And where are we going?'' she followed him, shooting one last regretful glance towards the now fully decorated table. Oh, that chicken looked absolutely divine!

She noticed other members of the Order leaving too, some of them waving at her. She smiled back, grabbing her pack and following Snape towards... was that the chimney?

''For someone who is so adamant about being an adult, you behave like a child.'' he took out a handful of some powder from a bowl above the chimney. He showed her the powder and started explaining. ''Step in the chimney, say the name of the destination, Hogwarts in this case, and throw this around you.

He soon demonstrated, leaving in a green explosion. Eyes wide as saucers, she turned around and was met with the encouraging gazes of the Weasley family. For a second, she considered staying and sharing their meal. Deciding against it – no need to anger the forever angry and brooding professor more than it was necessary – she stepped inside the chimney as well, astounded that the flames weren't burning her at all.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Voilà, chapter one finished. Care to share your opinions? I suppose I'll continue writing even if you don't, but it's more encouraging if you do. :b<em>**

**_I also want to apologise for the updates (which will most likely be sporadic), but because I wanted opinions on this story before writing it altogether, I have only this chapter yet. Sadly, I'm a slow and lazy writer (Shikamaru and I match so well, even though I'm a Gaara admirer) and it's especially difficult now that I'm trying to write in English. But I'll try my best to update as often as possible (I do have a few weeks holidays). ^^_**

**_So, review? No? My sister makes the best muffins ever... Okay, no bribing. *leaves* ;)_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**First of all, I'd like to apologise for the late update. Not trying to find excuses, but just so you know, it takes me about 7 days to just write a chapter and then I need several more to correct it. So yeah, it's a bit slow... I was also told that some words don't make sense sometimes and to that, all I have to say is it's because I probably missed them and because in French, they have a different meaning then in English (false friends we call them). I try to be extra careful with them, but I sometimes don't notice them. Also, in the first chapter, I made a mistake and I'd like to thank the reviewer that brought my attention to it: Tsunade's eyes are brown, not blue. My bad! :b**_

_**On another note, I saw the last Harry Potter movie, Deathly Hallows part 2, yesterday and I really liked it! It's just so sad knowing that there won't be anymore of those... Harry Potter saga is officially over. :( Well, maybe not for us fanfiction writers! ;)**_

_**I'd also like to thank all of you who have reviewed the story, it was heart-warming and those who favorited and put it in their alert list. Thank you all! ^-^**_

_**And last but not least (far from it actually) I'd like to thank **_**DemonKittyAngel**_**, who helped me a lot in my portraying of Snape (without her, he'd be less believable and WAY too nice). I'm really glad I can rely on you for the rest of my fic, too! :D**_

_**Before I forget, I'll just mention that I use **italic** for the thoughts and bold italic when Sakura speaks Japanese (it's usually written, but I'd like to avoid misunderstandings).**_

_**Now, I'll stop my rambling and let you read on, hoping you'll enjoy it and that your wait was worthwhile! Enjoy! ;)**_

* * *

><p>Setting up wasn't as difficult as she had imagined it would be. Shortly after her arrival, Snape had told her the basics about the castle, and had introduced her to the rest of the professor corps. Except for Hagrid and Minerva Mcgonagall, the others didn't know about the truth of her stay, being told the same story the students would be. Her supervisor hadn't bothered showing her around the castle, only informing her about the whereabouts of her quarters. He had left her to her own devices after that, telling her to meet him in his office a week from her arrival.<p>

So she currently had seven days to wander about the castle – a _real_ one, with towers, secret passageways (she found one of those by accident), tapestries and huge grounds; she still couldn't believe her eyes – and get to know about its layout and secrets. Now if only the staircases could stop moving and trying to get her lost!

The first place Sakura visited when abandoned by Snape was the library. She needed to get to know the most about this strange world, after all, if she intended to be credible. And that's how Professor Dumbledore had found her, with 'Hogwarts, A History' in her lap, pink strands falling in her eyes, brows creased in concentration. The old wizard coughed discreetly to get her attention and no sooner was she on her feet. Guilt flickered through her emerald eyes, ashamed she had been caught unaware of her surroundings.

''Good afternoon, dear,'' said the aging man, ''I hope you are well settled and finding your stay amongst us pleasant.''

''Yes, thank you, Sir.'' she answered, a little bit too stiffly. ''It is a very impressive school you have.''

Blue eyes shimmered in a friendly manner, so like those of her deceased best friend. Her heart twisted with pain. ''It is, isn't it?'' he said. ''But I forgot my manners. My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts.''

Sakura straightened a bit more at hearing those words. This was the man who had hired her. ''Pleased to meet you, Sir. I am Sakura Haruno, Kunoichi of the Leaf and at your orders.'' she bowed politely.

''Such a young girl, barely an adult.'' a sad smile adorned the Headmaster's lips. ''Please Miss Haruno, do try to make your stay as pleasant as possible. You needn't make every day a mission.''

Flicking one of her rebel strands behind her ear, Sakura peered curiously at the wizard. It was the first time she had been asked, almost told, to act casually on a mission, as in _be _casual, not _pretend_. The man was intruiging, that was the least she could say. He had long grey hear, with a beard to match it in color and length, a pair of half-moon shaped glasses and midnight-colored robes. His blue eyes twinkled amicably and he was constantly smiling. For any onlooker, he seemed like a nice old man. But she could feel something else within him. He was powerful, very much so. His magic, though fainter than a chakra signature, still prickled at her senses. Her mind supplied her with one word when considering this man: _beware_. Schooling her features, she clasped her hands behind her back and locked gazes with the old man. She would show him that she acknowledged his power and the potential danger he might represent, but she wouldn't cower before him. She wouldn't defy him, but would still stand her ground. His smile visibly stretched and he nooded to himself.

He turned to leave, robes lightly billowing behind him. ''I won't be holding you up any longer then, Miss Haruno.'' he warmly said. ''You are welcome to join the professors and myself for dinner at eight o'clock.''

Once out of sight, the pinkette let herself fall in her chair, fingers massaging her forehead. _This is going to be a long mission! _She was already tired just thinking about it. She really hoped there wouldn't be anymore wizards like him, otherwise it would be hard letting her guard down.

_Why in Heaven's name do you want to let your guard down? You're in unknown territory, with unidentified ennemies!_ came her inner's scolding.

_Shut up. Why are you even here? I thought I was rid of you!_

_Thought you'd be feeling lonely without me. Besides, that supervisor of yours seems to be on the same level as the Headmaster._

_Go away. Leave me alone._

Sakura rose from her chair, taking her book with her. How ridiculous was it to be speaking to her own self, anyway? But she had to admit there was a point in what her inner had said – no, what _she_ had said. Now that she thought about it, Snape also had powerful magic. How could she not have noticed before? Sure, it wasn't as powerful as Dumbledore's, but it was still significant. That explained why she had been intimidated when they first met... Well, now she had one more thing to add to her to-do list: learn to identify the teachers by their magic, so they couldn't sneak up on her like Dumbledore had.

* * *

><p>Dinner had been in a huge room which, she concluded, would gather all the students during mealtimes. For now, there was only one big table for the professors and her. Sakura didn't know what should astound her more: the bewitched ceiling that reflected the outside weather or the food that appeared from seemingly nowhere in front of her. She only snapped out of her stupor when she heard a laughter on her right side. A long-haired, blond woman looked at her, mirth in her bright eyes. Charity Burbage, Professor of Muggle Studies, the kunoichi remembered.<p>

''You didn't have magical ceilings in your school?'' she asked in a smooth voice, chin resting in her left hand.

''Oh, uh, no, we didn't,'' the rosette hesitated '' and neither did the food... pop out from nowhere.''

''Oh, that's the houselves' doing. '' came the kind reply, followed by an incredulous look when the girl didn't seem to know what those were.

''Well, you see... Our community is a bit different from yours.'' Sakura explained, becoming nervous once every eye at the table was on her. Snape seemed disinterested, though his black eyes were warning, McGonagall had her lips in a thin line, disapproval written all over her face and Dumbledore seemed genuinely interested. _Yeah, sure, don't even try distracting them or veering the conversation elsewhere. Thanks for the help, traitors!_

Taking a deep breath, she started her story, trying to be as honest as possible, without revealing too much about their society. She told them how they were schooled till the age of twelve, after that, they were separated in groups of three and one teacher would be responsible for their further uprbringing. That each team had little jobs to accomplish, wich were mainly helping out people, and they had sort of tests to see if they evolved. When asked when they were finished with their schooling, she answered that it was when they passed on a higher level. She decided that instead of using their rank names, she'd use numbers. Academy students were level 0, Genin 1, Chûnin 2 and Jônin 3, while Hokage was the equivalent of Headmaster and Minister. That least bit of information seemed to interest more than one, seeing as that meant that in Sakura's society, politics and education were one.

''So what, uh, level are you then, dear?'' asked Pomona Sprout, Professor of Herbology and a small, grey-haired woman.

''Three. I've finished my schooling.''

''And that means you're ready to go out and work in the society. At barely seventeen nonetheless.'' came the pensive response of Septima Vector, Professor of Arithmancy. ''And you chose Potions as your specialisation. May I ask why?''

Sakura took a moment to think about that. Really, had she been given a chance to choose, she would've assisted Poppy Pomfrey, the strict yet kind looking school nurse. It was, after all, her field of expertise.

''The woman I look up to was a very talented person in Potions. I've decided to follow in her steps.'' came the decided reply.

The professors seemed satisfied with her answers for they all turned back to their meal, chatting amongst themselves. The kunoichi was lucky enough to finish her dinner without further questions. And really, it was for the best, since Snape and McGonagall looked both ready to give her a tell-off for running her big mouth. She shot both of them a glare. She could handle herself, besides, they all knew from the start that she'd have to divulge a least bit of information if she wanted to be accepted and remain unsuspected during her stay.

She excused herself at the end of dinner, leaving the professors to enjoy some conversation around their cups of coffee or tea. 'Hogwarts, A History' was waiting for her in her room, and she had some catching up to do about enchanted ceilings and houselves.

* * *

><p>The Wizarding World was on a completely different level than the Shinobi one. Sakura just couldn't get enough of all the novelties and eccentricities that surrounded her. On her way back from dinner, she had crossed paths with a ghost – a real, see-through, floating <em>dead<em> person! Her first reaction had been to shriek and run away, hiding behind a nearby statue. Yes, she might be a kunoichi and used to seeing dead people, but honestly, seeing them _come back_ wasn't on the job description, so no one could really hold her moment of cowardice against her. The gost, in all its grey and pale splendor, had only raised an eyebrow at her, silently floating in one place. When she had mustered up enough courage, she came out from behind her statue and weakly introduced herself. At that, he smiled and said he was Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower (she would later learn that the students affectionately called him Nearly Headless Nick, much to his displeasure). He had courteously bowed at her – to which she responded in kind – and his head suddenly fell to the side, only held by a few plasma-strings. The kunoichi had stared on with morbid fascination, wondering if her healing chakra could have effect on a an intangible creature like him. His replacing his head had interrupted her daydreamings and had earned him, much to his satisfaction, an impressed gasp from the pinkette. They had then walked on, conversing pleasantly.

And that was how she had gotten here. Their conversation had at some point veered in the direction of houselves and Sir Nicholas had mentioned in passing about a portrait and a secret entrance towards the kitchen. The teenager had, of course, jumped on the occasion to learn more about the subject and was now faced with a huge painting, representing an enormous bowl of fruit. She studied it for a bit, snorting at her own enthousiasm to get here as fast as possible. Really, this place was starting to make her childish. She'd been here for barely a day and had already shown blatant curiousity and astonishement to the world surrounding her, fear towards creatures she wasn't used to meeting and excitement at the chance of seeing something new. For a moment, she considered having been reverted to her twelve-year-old self. She discreetly smoothed her hands over her figure, making sure it wasn't true. Sighing, she let her arms fall and turned around, heading back to her quarters. She would blame this slip in control on her fatigue. Tomorrow, she'd do better and be much more calm and collected about all this situation.

_But before going to bed and thinking about the future, a nice hot bubble-bath in that luxurious prefect bathroom sounds really nice._ she clicked her tongue in appreciation. _Oh yeah, how I missed those. Definitely welcome!_

* * *

><p>The next morning had caught her yet again in front of the kitchen's entry. After her satisfactory – and decidedly very long – bubble-bath, she had went back to her room to study her book. It's history had been more than intriguing and she had found it fascinating to read. Sure it had considerably decreased the hours dedicated to her sleep, but then again, it was so much more instructive! And sometimes between her putting the now finished book down and lying down to sleep, she had decided to uncover as many of the castle's mysteries as she could. It would be a good exercise to keep her senses acute, and an entertaining experience. She stared pensively up at the paiting, readying herself to open the secret passageway. No, her presence here wasn't due to excitement and impatience on her part, she reasoned, it was a platonic and strictly scientific curiosity. Yes, that was it exactly. Now to tickle the pear...<p>

Barely stepping one foot in the kitchen, she was swarmed by an army of small people, their height only reaching up to her navel. She moved back, overwhelmed by their sheer number and physical appearance. All of them were small, with thin limbs and huge, bat-like ears and long noses. Dozens of gazes fixed themselves on her for a moment, before turning back to their work. A few of them remained by her side, looking up at the rosette with big, round eyes that slightly resembled those of Lee.

''How can house-elves be of service to Miss, Miss?'' asked the closest one, a male with mismatched clothes and green, tennis-ball shaped eyes.

Right, she hadn't thought about that. She came on impulse and hadn't even come up with a plan. So she decided to throw out the next intelligent thought that crossed her mind. ''Um... hi.'' _Smooth, Sakura._

''Good morning, Miss.'' came the patient reply of the little humanoid. The others around him started leaving, seeing as she didn't seem to have come with a specific purpose.

''Well, you see... I'm Sakura and I'm new here. I was walking around the castle and thought I'd might come and introduce myself.'' _Good one Sakura, now you seem perfectly normal and well-behaved!_

The general reaction proved her otherwise. Most of them slowed their work – some even stopping – ears stretched towards her and she even got a few curious glances thrown in her direction. What had she done wrong, she wondered.

''Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Sakura. Dobby's name is Dobby.'' came the enthusiastic answer of the small elf next to her. He looked like the only one that didn't think she was beeing weird. ''Do not mind house-elves reaction, Miss, '' he added, noticing her unsure expression. ''house-elves only finds it unusual to be greeted by Masters when they comes to school.''

Sakura stared at him for a moment, unable to form coherent thoughts. She didn't know what was weirder, his bizarre way of speaking or him referring to students and teachers as 'Masters', as if they were some kind of slaves. She was still a bit unclear on the subject of house-elves, she'd need to look it up in the library.

''Does Miss desire anything? Dobby and house-elves is ready to help.'' he said, looking positively impatient to sprint and accomplish her wishes. The others resumed their activities, but Sakura could still see most ears turned towards her.

''Could I perhaps... if it isn't too much to aks, is it possible I have ramen for breakfast?''

She could've kicked herself. While wanting not to look like a complete idiot in front of these small creatures, she blurted out the first idea that crossed her mind. Really, she could be such a Naruto sometimes. _No, no sad thoughts! Now is not the time to be miserable!_ she scolded.

''Right away, Miss. If Miss Sakura wants ramen for her breakfast, she'll have ramen!'' the elf joyfully exclaimed. ''Should house-elves also make ramen for lunch and dinner?''

''Oh, no. No thank you! I just felt like having ramen this morning.'' Lies. ''Thank you very much for your kindness. I will leave now, I don't want to bother.''

Dobby looked absolutely horrified at that idea. ''Miss isn't a bother! Miss can come anytime, she is always welcome!''

''Oh, thank you... Dobby. It was nice meeting you. Well I got some studying to do, so I'll go.'' she waved unsurely, backing up towards the door.

The elf bowed and she automatically did the same, earning her yet another round of glances. ''Dobby was glad to help. Good day, Miss Sakura.''

Once outside the kitchen, she leaned against the nearest wall. That had certainly been, ah, an interesting experience. One she might not reiterate right away. The house-elves had seemed nice enough, but that servant-like feeling they exuded made her uncomfortable, even though they didn't seem to mind. Parting with the wall, she headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.

_Yes, for ramen. Because you couldn't ask for anything normal, you idiot._ Came the familiar voice of her inner, followed by one of her sighs.

* * *

><p>''You're late, Sakura.'' were the words that greeted her that morning.<p>

''Yes, and I deeply apologise. You see, i got lost and...''

''How could you get lost? You pass the Entry Hall three times a day, while going for food!'' Aurora Sinistra, the dark-skinned and haired Astronomy teacher looked disbelievingly at her.

''Well...''

''And why do you come up with unbelievable excuses every time?'' Septima Vector, looked half-irritated, half-amused.

''But...''

''Ladies, that's quite enough! We should leave, lest Sakura be late for her appointment with Severus this evening.'' interrupted the short grey-haired Flying instructor, Rolanda Hooch, hands on her hips.

The kunoichi sighed, eyeing the female professors gathered around her. It hadn't taken long to befriend them and the teachers, though older than her, warmly welcomed her in their circle. She had found their company as enjoyable as it was instructive. They had stayed up late quite a few times at one of their quarters, hot cups of tea in their laps, discussing magic, teaching, students and some of the more subtle, strictly feminine subjects – like men. And today, they had decided to show her around Hogsmeade, a small village near the school, that was the students favorite place to go when authorized.

Rolanda herded Septima and Aurora out the gate, ignoring the two witches protests and their voiced complaints about not getting their questions answered. Charity Burbage followed closely behind, a small smile on her lips. Sakura made to move, when a warm hand landed on her shoulder. Turning her head, she locked gazes with Pomona Sprout's kind chocolate eyes.

''Are you okay?'' was all she asked.

Sakura nodded and walked after the four other women. ''Just slept in is all.'' Pomona wordlessly accompanied her, both of them catching up to the other professors.

The pinkette smiled and asked them to lead the way. She couldn't tell them the reason of her tardiness had been her staring at the crumpled picture of Team 7 on her bedside. She had taken it with her on all of her longer and more difficult missions. It made her feel, even if only a bit, like she wasn't alone. That her friends and second family were always with her, wherever she went. And if usually she refused to look at it, sometimes she couldn't help herself. And then she'd end up remembering and not moving for hours. Like this morning...

''Sakura, are you listening?'' Rolanda's impatient voice interrupted her thoughts.

''Sorry.'' came the embarassed reply.

''It's okay, dear. You still are a teenager afterall. It's normal history doesn't interest you that much yet.'' Charity chuckled good-naturedly.

Rolanda frowned, a slight pout forming on her sharp features. ''That's still not reason enough to ignore someone who's talking to you.'' she grumbled, earning her a round of laughs and a friendly tap on the back, curtesy of Pomona.

''Let's skip the history then, you can read about that at the library. We'll just roughly go through the more important and useful shops.'' said Septima. ''There's _Dogweed and Deathcap_, a herbology shop that might come in handy, when Pomona can't help you out. We also have Galdrag's Wizardwear for clothes. Um... there's Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, they sell some of the best quills of the country. Tomes and Scrolls, a bookshop, Zonko's joke shop, though I hear the Weasley twins want to open up a store here too, Merlin protect us all. Up the hill there is the Shirieking Shack, folks here believe it's haunted, though no noise has been heard from it for years. We mustn't forget Honeydukes, the local sweets shop and the students favorite gathering place. They come back from here with enough stocks to pass the winter.''

''Oh, and don't forget the Three Broomsticks!'' chipped in Charity. ''How 'bout we go have a drink? Rosmerta'll surely want to meet Sakura.''

The other witches nodded enthusiastically and they all hurried towards the pub. The interior was crowded and a bit smoky, but had a welcoming side to it. Sakura followed the older women to the barn where they were soon greeted by a tall and beautiful lady, with long, curly blond hair. She smiled warmly.

''The usual, ladies?'' she asked, her voice rich and smooth.

''Yes, please, Rosmerta. And a Butterbeer for Sakura here.''

''Right away.'' The drinks appeared soon enough before their owners, the pinkette carefully sipping hers. It was odd, but she didn't dislike it. She preferred it to pumpkin juice, anyway. The blonde owner scrutinized her for a few moments, before starting her interrogation. She was answered by Rolanda between gulps of her bigger-than-normal glass of Firewhiskey.

''She's Severus' apprentice. Came all the way from Japan, she did.''

''Really?'' she seemed impressed. ''And why Hogwarts? Surely you must've heard of Severus'... uh, reputation...''

At the kunoichi's raised eyebrow, Rosmerta suddenly started spluttering. ''I didn't want to demean him. It's just he doesn't have the nicest of personalities. Has been that way ever since he was a student...''.

''I can't really judge him, we're not that familiar yet.'' It was the pub's owner's turn to raise her brow. ''One of my superiors told me he was the best to learn from, so...'' she left her sentence hang, everybody knowing the rest. At least grosso modo.

''Though I'm still curious as to why he accepted.'' intervened Aurora, chewing on the cherry of her Party Punch. ''No offence Sakura, but he never seemed like the type to get an apprentice.''

They all looked expectantly at her, but were fast disappointed when all she did wa shrug and admit she didn't know either. It wasn't entirely true, but wasn't false either. Afterall, he could have easily refused her and told her to make do with what she knew of animals, but had instead accepted picking her as a false apprentice. Maybe she'd ask once evening came, during their appointment.

''Nah, what I really want to know, well actually us – and please don't be offended, Sakura, dear, '' carefully started Charity, after a long sip from her Sherry, ''is about your hair.''

There was a moment of silence, where everyone waited to see if she'd get angry and start yelling at them, or feel offended and just leave them to continue her Hogsmeade tour by herself. Instead, the teenager just sighed and dropped her gaze on her Butterbeer. She knew that subject would come up sooner or later and for the moment, was amazed they'd held it in for almost a week.

''It's as natural as it gets. I did have a few pink-haired ancestors in the family, but most were redheads, like my mom. Dad's hair was almost snom-white, so I guess I got this color from the combination of the two.'' Thinking of her parents brought a lump to her throat, forcing her to drink some of her beverage in an effort to make it go away.

''And you never thought of dying it? I mean, it draws the eye. Doesn't the staring bother you?'' Pomona asked, casting her a glance before returning to stare at the mesmerizing shades of her Daisyroot Draught.

''You get used to it after all these years. And I'm actually proud of it's color, it's my family inheritage.'' was the simple answer.

The witches pensively nodded and there was an instant of silence between them. They were all absorbed in their thoughts, Rosmerta distantly wiping a glass. Sakura wasn't sure what brought about this change in the atmosphere, but it wasn't uncomfortable. They usually spent their time babbling and barely ever remained silent. It was... comforting in a manner. An amicable absence of talk, a companionable silence... very soon to be interrupted by an energetic Pomona.

''So how about some sweets? I've been dying to go to Honeydukes, ever since we got here!'' she exclaimed, ignoring the muffled groans of her friends and the amused look of the blonde owner.

''By all means, then, let's go! Mustn't miss out on the new flavors of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans!'' Rolanda sarcastically added, standing up nonetheless.

''Oh, I'd rather buy Chocolate Cauldrons.'' the plump witch distractedly answered, unfazed by her colleague's words.

Rolanda rolled her eyes and left the inn after paying for her drink. The other witches did the same, following them outside. Sakura stayed a bit behind while they strode towards the store, barely a few buildings away. She had to admit she was having fun. After the war back at home, everyone had been morose and people barely talked to each other anymore. Though she understood the impossibility of cheerfulness in their situation, she still disagreed with the lack of will to socialise. Closing oneself off and shying away from others wasn't the solution and hindered the reconstruction of a a healthy and functional society.

At the beginning, when she was getting to know the school professors, she had felt guilty for the fleeting joyful sentiments that were born inside of her. But slowly, she had come to accept them. She knew that an effective shinobi was one unhindered by feelings. And hers – the ones of self-pity, loneliness and longing of her deceased friends – were holding her back. Though she couldn't, and wouldn't, ever be free on them, she could compensate with the happier ones to get to a balance. This mission could turn into a nightmare at any moment and she needed to be stable and strong. So if it took a few nice memories to keep herself straight, then guilt be damned, she'd have a few good times!

* * *

><p>Sakura stood in front of the massive wooden door, hands hanging limply by her sides. She was late, though only by five minutes, and she knew this man wouldn't take it as lightly as his colleagues did. Slowly, she raised her arm and rapped lightly against the door, all the time cursing her stupid need to neatly put away everything she had bought during her trip in Hogsmeade. <em>You could've done it after your session!<em> She chided herself. The deep baritone of her supervisor resounded, beckoning her to enter. So she did, stopping a few feet away from his imposing desk, standing at attention. He was leaning over some paperwork, one hand clutching a quill, the other against his forehead, probably to prevent his longer black hair from covering his sight. At her entry, he put his quill down and intertwined his fingers in front of his face, dark eyes trained on her. She was suddenly hit by how much his eyes resembled those of her first love and she visibly recoiled. If he noticed – which she was sure he did, his keen eyes never leaving her – he didn't react and continued his scrutiny.

"You're late." he stated, disapproval underlying his words. _Of course it would, what were you __expecting?_ She knew apologizing wouldn't change a thing about her situation, but did so anyway, just for the form.

He suddenly waved towards a place behind her and turning, she noticed a table set up with a cauldron and different ingredients around it. There was an open door in the back of the room and she guessed it was where he stored all of his potions' ingredients.

"Brew." he commanded, and she briskly made her way towards the cauldron. She shouldn't be so affected by his orders, really. She blamed it on years of receiving and obeying them.

Sakura laid her hip-pouch on the table and started emptying its contents. Since her arrival, she hadn't really used it for storing weapons, but more as a stocking place for the map she was making of the castle and the notebook that held the information she'd gathered about the school – momentarily containing some of her own concoctions. Not that she was unarmed. Below the sand colored cloak she sometimes wore, her holsters were still firmly attached to her thighs and still very full. Professor McGonagall had asked her to kindly wear them in a less noticeable place once the students arrived.

The wizard had silently approached her, carefully eyeing her actions, as if he was expecting a sudden and inexplicable explosion. Once finished, she reattached the pouch and threw her cloak on a nearby chair. She still wore her sleeveless red tank-top, black spandex shorts under her purple medical skirt and knee-high combat boots, in spite of the castle's chilly temperatures. She felt way more comfortable in her fighting gear. She used her headband to tie her pink strands in a ponytail, readying herself for work.

Under the strict stare of her supervisor, she lifted a small phial filled with a purple-ish substance.

"This is a poison I've encountered once." she vaguely explained, showing it to him. "It's very strong, and its purpose is to paralyze the victim and slowly kill him. Three days if no antidote is administered. And this," she pulled out another phial '' is the antidote. I haven't really had time to work on it, so the effects are still a bit slow. I'd need a few more hours and I could perfect it, so it'd barely take an hour to heal the poisoned.''

He said nothing, staring at the liquid. She didn't mind him coming to know about this particular poison, since it was one her and other medic-nins were already acquainted with and knew how to treat. The poison used by Sasori of Akatsuki on Kankuro, Chiyo and herself.

She frowned, emerald locking on his still concentrated onyx when his silence became too prolonged. For an instant, she thought she'd seen interest spark in his eyes, but it disappeared as soon as it appeared and she decided to dismiss this thought. ''Sir?'' she silently asked.

He suddenly straightened and flipped his black coat – _What's with him and theatricality?_ – cold glare fixing itself on her. She unconsciously stiffened, as if readying herself for an attack. Which indeed came, but not physically.

"And I suppose this was meant to impress." he said, almost sneering. "A poison designed by another and an antidote only half-done. How useless."

The kunoichi shot him a nasty look, barely holding back her retort. _Well not all of us have the time to stay hidden in a lab in some dark dungeon and calmly work on potions!_ Her inner self raged._ Some of us actually save lives!_ She knew very well she was unfair to the man and he didn't only stay hidden, but his remark stung. She knew she was a failure on many levels and didn't need any reminding.

Fighting to keep the hurt off her face and out of her voice, she haughtily replied. "Well give me some time and it'll be done to your satisfaction!" The last word tainted with sarcasm.

He gave her a condescending look, not even bothering to answer her. Oh, now she just wanted to hurt him. He slowly made his way towards his desk and once seated, ordered her to make the strongest wound-healing ointment she could because he would judge her abilities on that. She was granted access to his personal stock – as long as she gave him a detailed list of all the ingredients she had used up – and the time necessary to finish her assignment. Grumbling, the pinkette got to work.

It had taken her about an hour to finish the ointment. He had tested it on his person, on a small cut inside his left palm. It healed visibly, in mere seconds. The kunoichi had proudly looked at his raised eyebrow, the only indication of his surprise. He had asked for her strongest ointment after all, it's quick effect not being an extraordinary feat, though she still let a satisfied smile grace her lips. He morosely stored the small container away, sending her on her merry way, but not before barking after her to come back the next day at five in the afternoon. They would be having five-hour long Potions session for the two weeks to come, until the beginning of the new school term.

* * *

><p>"Are you really this incompetent, girl, or is this just to get on my nerves?" had been the question she'd gotten for the last three days, with only slight modifications to it, so as not to make it too repetitive.<p>

The kunoichi stared at her cauldron, wondering what she might've done wrong. She was supposed to make a Boil-Cure Potion and had at last nailed all the ingredients – even adding porcupine quills after taking it off the fire, so her cauldron wouldn't melt (she learnt that on her second try when some of it got on her arm and he skin erupted in boils) – and the brewing. Now her mixture proudly sat in its container, light-red colored. She had been on this potion for three days, and though it grated on her nerves that it had taken so long, she had been sure that this time, she had been successful. Apparently, she was wrong. _Again._

"Exactly what part of the instructions don't you get?" Snape hissed behind her. "It should be _pink_, not red. One would think it is a color you are familiar with."

She threw him a murderous glare. Ever since her arrival, he had taken it to heart to make at least one insulting comment about her hair and take a jab at her abilities every time he could. Him looming over her while she worked didn't really bother her, she knew he was only trying to pressure her – unsuccessfully, might she add – but the insults were over the top and totally unhelpful. Especially because they solely seemed to be meant to ridicule, not aid.

"To think I believed you could actually understand the difficulty of Potions." he said. "But it does seem you Shinobi are meant for barbaric fights and killing, rather than subtle arts, requiring some basic knowledge and common sense."

"I would be faring better if you actually spoke to help me and not waste your breath insulting my skills!" she snapped, emerald eyes furiously turning towards his charcoal ones. "You said yourself that to brew, the potioneer needed to infuse his magic into the ingredients and the mixing. I have no magic, only chakra, so I obviously can't work the same way your students do. We should be looking for a way to make this work!"

"And here I thought you were a competent, high-ranked Shinobi." he casually said, before sneering, his voice turning ice-cold. "There is no _we_ here, girl. My job is to make you believable in front of the students and other professors. There will be no bonding or mutual understanding in this class. I will prepare you and when I'm done, you are to never disturb me again."

With that he turned, black robes theatrically billowing behind him, and disappeared in the storage room. The kunoichi restrained a frustrated growl, hands smoothing out her purple medical apron, and went on to the next cauldron, starting her potion all over again. Oh, how she wished she could punch the man through a few concrete walls. She just couldn't stand his haughty, despising attitude.

She could tell he'd been through more than he'd ever admit to. It was written all over him, his gestures, his posture, his expressions, but mostly in his eyes. Those dark orbs spoke of pain, loss, betrayal, loneliness and more. She had seen that look in the eyes of many, the first being Sasuke. When she was a child, she had found that attractive in the young Uchiha, it gave him a 'deeply tormented' kind of aura, adding to his mysterious and brooding charm. Now she knew better. She was pretty sure some of those same traits could be seen in her own eyes, most of the time.

_But that still doesn't give him the right to treat me this way! It's not like it's my fault and he needs to take it out on me! _She angrily thought, crushing the snake fangs with more force than necessary. _You just wait Severus Snape, I'm so going to get back at you!_

* * *

><p>''I can't take it anymore!'' came the muffled cry, once the pinkette had theatrically thrown herself on Charity's sofa, face buried in her pillows. The witch laughed good-naturedly, tapping her shoulder in a friendly manner.<p>

''Severus wearing you down, dear?'' she asked, mirth still present in her voice.

''Wouldn't be surprising. I'm exhausted after exchanging formalities with him!'' exclaimed Aurora, holding up Sakura's tea for her.

''More like frozen.'' snickered Rolanda, while their youngest friend sipped at her tea.

''Now, now, be nice ladies. Severus has it hard too, we shouldn't be so rough with him.'' came Pomona's light lecture, to which she was awarded a few incredulous stares.

''Oh, yes, it must be hard beeing so mean all the time. Surely dear Severus must want a day or two off, to merrily go pick daisies for a Daisyroot Draught with us!'' scoffed Septima.

Pomona just huffed, throwing her hands up in defeat, while they all listened to the kunoichi's complaints. It wasn't like any of them had a particular problem with the Potions Master – he was so distant and closed-off they didn't know each other on more than a professional level –, but they were a bit put off by his behavior. Besides, their innocent remarks on him could hardly be considered vexing, especially by the professional-offender he was.

''Eighteen times? You redid the Boil-Cure Potion _eighteen times_? Oh, dear Merlin!'' Rolanda seemed stricken. ''That's almost worst than every detention he ever gave out!''

''That's only because you are exceptionnally bad at Potions.'' Aurora interfered, sending a smirk towards her friend and receiving a glare in exchange.

From then onwards, the conversation shifted to what were the witches worst subjects when they had been at school and Sakura took advantage of it to make herself more comfortable on the sofa. They would usually meet up all together, every two days like this, chatting and having fun. It was, she discovered, an effective way of taking her mind off her potions troubles and the overly strict and demanding man. She knew these meeting would become sparser once school began, so she intended to make the most out of it now. Not to mention these women knew a big deal about the school, students and the situation in the Wizarding World, so they were a precious source of information.

''What about you, Sakura? What was your worst subject?''

''Oh, um...''

* * *

><p><em>To unit 012601. From superior <em>_002302. Send current status and report. Await further details at 19:00 hours, local time. Usual delivery way. End._

Chewing on a mouthful of chicken wing, Sakura re-read the message in order to memorise it. It was short, but contained every information she needed. Glancing at the watch she had bought during her last visit in Hogsmeade, she noted she had less than ten minutes to finish dinner. Slowly, she stretched her arm, approaching the note towards the nearest candle, then dropping it in an empty plate once it caught fire. She ignored the curious looks sent in her direction and set out to her living space. She knew the sender and knew the letter wouldn't be late.

It took her a few minutes to get to her living room and by the time she sat down in the armchair next to the fire, a loud pop resounded next to her. Turning her head, she smiled at the small version of the summon looking up to her, letter attached to it's back.

_**''Good evening, Katsuyu-sama.''**_ she said in her native tongue, taking the letter while the small slug greeted her back. _**''Please, make yourself comfortable.''**_

_Sakura._

_If you're reading this letter, then Katsuyu got to you safely and confirmed one of my assumptions: that summons can link our world to that of Wizards's. But other than that, I'd like to hear from you. It's been thirteen days without news, so I'm thinking nothing worth mentioning happened. Or that you died. It better not be the latter or you'll be in great trouble!_ Sakura chuckled at that. How could her mentor punish her if she was dead, anyway? _So yes, I'm expecting a detailed report on the mission from you, but a letter about how you're faring would be welcome._

_There's nothing much to say about Konoha, since nothing changed since your departure. Though we should consider ourselves lucky that we haven't been attacked yet. Your comrades are doing well, most of them are away on long-duration missions like yourself. I'll have to properly thank all of you when you get back, you guys are among our highest contributors in reconstructing the village. Sadly, Hinata still hasn't woken up and Ino still refuses to get back on duty, but she is asking me about you and told me to pass on her greetings. Well, that's done. I'm doing fine too, just so you don't worry and yes, I do take time to rest, so don't even try scolding me, little pest!_

_Also, Sakura, don't overwork yourself. Take your time, accomplish the mission at a normal pace and please look out. You're on your own, so don't pull Uchiha/Uzumaki/Hatake stunts when there's nobody to back you up!_

_Take care, kid, I'll be waiting for your return. We'll go drink a couple of cups of sake when you get back, like the responsible, adult women we are. Send your reply back with Katsuyu and use one of your summons to message me. The hawk that bought you the coded note'll bring me one of yours back, so don't forget to write one, you know we need them for the dumb archives (I swear I have no idea how those damn notes haven't been the downfall of at least one Shinobi nation. It's free information on our combattants, for Heaven's sake!)._

_Tsunade._

She gently folded the letter and went to store in the drawer of her bedside table, next to the crumpled Team 7 picture, three miniature ragdolls, a small fan-shaped necklace, a battered blue Konoha headband, a black mask and a book. Taking a quill and a parchment on her way back, she started answering her master's letter right away.

_**''Here's the answer, Katsuyu-sama. Thank you for bringing news of home.''**_ she said, a small smile forming on her lips. **_''The note has already been sent with the messenger-hawk.''_**

_**''Very well. Take care of yourself, Sakura-chan. Tsunade-hime is really worried about you, she'll be happy to know you're fine.''**_ verifying her cargo, the slug bowed once in the kunoichi's direction, before disappearing with the same pop that had accompanied her arrival.

Relaxing in her armchair, Sakura looked into the fire, thoughts wandering. She was happy to know her friends were as okay as they could be and that her village was in no immediate danger. She had barely left her world for two weeks, yet it seemed like she had been away for months. She was homesick, but most of all, she still felt guilty. Her fellow Shinobi's missions were sure to be thrice as hard as hers, with equally as much unknown factors and much more danger. Actually, she could almost consider her stay here as a paid holiday. Earlier, she had been complaining about her Potions Master and even though the man was a pain in the neck, he could be considered as someone kind in comparison to whom her comrades met on daily basis. She haid a place to stay, was fed three times a day, had the luxury of bathing daily and even enough spare time to bond with the locals. Her life was ridiculously easy and she was ashamed of it.

Bending forwards, she took her head in her hands and closed her eyes. Exactly what had she done since her arrival here? A map of the school, a few informations, and a few Boil-Cure Potions. Pathetic. It was all pathetic. _She_ was pathetic! Her friends were fighting, exhausting themselves on missions and suffering of malnutrition while she went _shopping_ and _sight-seeing_. Suddenly standing up, she let out a frustrated cry and kicked her armchair into the nearest wall, leaving a big dent in it. She started pacing. She needed to pull herself together and start doing something. She'd need to put up more traps around the border of the school and check on the already installed ones. Set up some genjutsu alarms around the four dorms, to make sure she'd be notified by any suspicious nocturnal trips on the students' part. Find a training spot, she couldn't afford beeing lulled into a sense of false security. But where? The Forbidden Forest would've been ideal, but the Headmaster had said it was off grounds. She wasn't sure if he was trying to protect her or the local fauna.

Collapsing on the sofa behind her, she tiredly rubbed at her temples. She was in dire need of a strong drink and an attentive ear. She called out his name in a sigh, and almost instantly a sonorous pop was heard.

''Miss called Dobby?''

''Yes, I'm sorry for bothering you. Could you perhaps bring me a bottle of sake and lend me your ear for some time?''

The elf cast a questioning glance on the half-destroyed chair and the mark in the wall, before nodding vigorously and disappearing, just to come back with her drink. He set it on the small table in front of her and cautiously sat down in a chair near her.

''Dobby will listen. Miss tell Dobby her problems and Dobby will help if Dobby can. Nobody else will know of the Miss' problems, Dobby swears.'' came the half curious, half excited response, as he opened his bat-like ears wide.

Sakura chuckled, taking a gulp of her sake, and started freeing her shoulders of some of her burden.

* * *

><p>It was finally done. In her still hot cauldron proudly boiled the gold-like potion. Sakura raised her eyes to meet those of her sour professor, her expression smug, while small, goldfish-like droplets leapt over her Felix Felicis from time to time. She folded her arms, waiting for his praise, which – to her disappointment – never came. Snape simply bent over, his cold stare scanning the mixture in front of him. The kunoichi knew that there was nothing wrong with her potion this time. It had taken her a few days to understand how she needed to infuse her chakra in brewing, but once she grasped the concept, the rest became relatively easy. After all, she was a natural when it came to chakra-control.<p>

Straightening, he took a few phials to bottle her liquid luck up. There was enough for four doses, of which he gave her one that she silently accepted, a bit hurt by his indifference. She knew the man never praised, but for once, she had at least expected _some kind_ of acknowledgement of her abilities, especially after it had taken her only two tries to complete a brew of this difficulty. But she didn't even get a nod for her efforts. Morosely packing her stuff, she stalked towards the door, mentally preparing herself to destroy some Snape-shaped training dummies when he stopped her. Turning around, she glared at him, only receiving a blank stare in return.

"Our daily lessons stop here. From now, you'll only come here twice a week, on Saturday and Sunday, same hour, to make this apprenticeship believable." he started, voice emotionless.

For a second, she imagined him with his black hair short, wearing a black shirt that left his mid-riff exposed and waving a brush in her direction, like Sai would. She quickly shook the disturbing, and almost sickening, idea away.

"What will I do the rest of the time?" both of them knew she wasn't referring to the obvious 'keep an eye on Harry Potter' answer.

"The Headmaster has an assignment for you. You'll be informed during dinner." That surprised her. Why dinner? If it was a mission related to her Shinobi status, surely he wouldn't talk about it in the open, so then what else could it be about?

He waved a hand in her direction, effectively cutting her off before she could voice her thoughts. She was about to persist nonetheless, but he interrupted her again.

"Dismissed, kunoichi!" was his biting command.

Sakura huffed and twirled around, leaving the room. Childish satisfaction filled her when she heard the door slamming behind her. There would surely be a few cracks in his thick, wooden door.

_Good_, she venomously thought and decided to double the number of Snape-dummies to be destroyed during her training/venting session.

* * *

><p>Harry walked silently besides the gloomy Tonks. She had saved him from a few complications when she found him in one of the train's compartments, immobilized by Malfoy's <em>Petrificus Totalus<em>. He had been ashamed to be found in that position, awkwardly hunched and hidden underneath his Invisibility Cloak, but now he just felt lost, not knowing what to say to the seemingly depressed Auror. She was wearing long, dark robes, her hair still a mousy-brown color and lacking that bubbly and cheerful smile of hers. He should've talked to her, reassure her that Sirius' death wasn't her fault, but he simply couldn't. The death of his godfather was still a painful topic. So they trudged wordlessly on in the dark.

Only now, when he wasn't riding the carriages, did he notice how long the trip to the castle actually was. Relief flooded him when they arrived at the gate, topped by a pair of winged boars. He was tired, he was hungry and the morose Metamorphmagus was making him feel ill at ease. They stopped a few feet away of the gate and waited, the young wizard considering wall-climbing if someone didn't come to fetch him soon.

A figure appeared on the road then, a lantern in hand, approaching fast. It wore what seemed to be like a brown cloak, hood pulled and hiding it's features. The person streched a small and pale hand, gently touching the gate that loudly started to open. The figure stepped aside to grant Harry entrance, and turned it's unseen face towards the Auror.

''He's in good hands, Tonks, don't worry.'' was all it said, a slight accent – that the teenager couldn't quite place – tinting its words.

Tonks simply nodded and turned to leave, the gate closing as loudly as it had opened behind her. The figure turned around, beckoning Harry to follow it. He was around half a head taller than it, he noted. Only when they were halfway at the castle did it pull the hood down, revealing a mop of pink locks, much to the wizard's surprise. He hadn't thought anyone other than Tonks would have such a flashy hairstyle. The young woman, around his age he realised, turned stunningly green eyes towards him and smiled. She was decidedly of asian descent, though he wasn't sure he'd ever heard of pink-haired, green-eyed Japanese or Chinese people. Except in comic books. But most of all, it was the hint of sadness in her expression that he noticed. Her smile might've been genuine, but her eyes seemed sorrowful and her traits tired.

''My name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura. I'm from Japan and the new apprentice of Professor Snape.'' she said in a soothing and calm voice.

Harry was about to greet her and introduce himself as well, but suddenly halted, shock written all over his face. ''Snape?'' he asked, incredulous.

''You dislike him.'' she stated, more than asked, a knowing smile on her lips.

''That's nicely put.'' came the bitter retort.

''He does have... uh... issues.'' she conceded, eyes never leaving their destination. She threw a glance behind her and continued walking, shoulders a bit tense.

At his disbelieving look, she chuckled once and patted him on the shoulder. ''Okay, so he can be a pain. But don't we all have our rough times?''

Harry grumbled something along the lines of ''Then he never takes a break from it!'' earning him another round of laughing from the young woman. She seemed nice, though he couldn't yet decide if he would like her or not. She was the greasy git's apprentice after all, so there must be something shady about her, otherwise he wouldn't have taken her in.

Once they arrived in front of the Entrance Hall, she stopped making him do the same thing. He cast her a questioning glance, but all she did was untie the front of her cloak and pull it off in one swift motion.

''Put this on. You're not wearing your school robes, so it might be problematic. And there's blood all over you, it would create a ruckus.'' she explained, then reached in a sort of pouch on her backside, giving him a tissue. ''You should also wipe it off your face. Is your nose hurting?''

''No Tonks healed it.'' he answered, taking the cloak and tissue from her. ''Thanks.''

''Don't mention it.'' her eyes were fixed on his face, closely examining him, thumb and index finger catching his chin so she could turn his head around at will.

When satisfied with her examination, she continued towards the castle, Harry letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He slipped the cloak on and followed her, noting that it didn't bear any particular smell, as he would've expected from a woman's clothing. They walked on, silently entering together the Great Hall. Every eyes in the room turned towards them, resting longer on the pinkette before finally settling on him. He squirmed a bit under their stares, he still didn't like it. He felt the girl nudge him and turned to meet her comforting smile, nodding for him to go take his seat. That he did, accelerating a bit when he arrived near the Gryffindor table, where his friends welcomed him.

''What happened to you?'' Hermione worriedly inquired. ''We never saw you get off the train.''

''I'll explain later.'' Harry said, noticing that a few of his classmates were trying to eavesdrop.

''And who's she?'' Ron asked, briefly pointing at the teachers table.

Harry looked up to see Sakura sitting between Professor Sprout, who was animatedly chatting with Professor Burbage, and Snape, who pretended like she wasn't even there. She suddenly lifted her head and locked gazes with him, sending him a friendly smile, before turning to answer the Herbology teacher's question.

''Sakura Haruno. She's from Japan and Snape's apprentice.'' he answered.

Dean looked at him like he'd grown a second head, Neville almost fell out of his seat, Seamus chocked on his Pumpkin Juice and Ron looked like he'd never be able to close his mouth again.

''Oh stop it, you're exaggerating!'' came Hermione's irritated reply. ''It's not like the end of the world!''

Ron straightened and shot her a bemused look. ''Are you serious? I mean, it's the greasy git! The dungeon's bat! Dark, hateful, despicable Snape!'' he exclaimed, arms flailing. ''And she's... well, she's _pink_!''

Their classmates vigorously nodded at that, but the witch only rolled her eyes, deciding to drop the subject.

''I'm more interested in knowing if she's allowed to dress like that.'' said Ginny, eyes glued to the pinkette, who now seemed to be the topic of every conversation in the dining room, if the looks she was getting were any indication. ''Isn't her outfit a bit too... racy?''

They turned their heads towards her at that. She was wearing a sleeveless, red tank-top and Harry was pretty sure he had seen a pair of black spandex pants that stopped just above her knees, leaving just an inch of skin visible between it and the black boots she was wearing. She also had a sort of purple skirt above the pants. He didn't see anything particular about her outfit, only her arms were bare. Surely that didn't count as 'racy'. He voiced his thoughts.

''But aren't those pants too tight?'' the only Weasley girl insisted. ''And the boots, they're...''

''Sexy.'' finished Seamus, bending a bit to get a better view under the table.

''She has nice legs.''

''... daring.'' said Ginny in a clipped voice, shooting a few glares at the peeping males around her.

''Well, Professor McGonagall seems to agree.'' Neville off-handedly added. Indeed, their Head of House was sending disapproving looks towards the pinkette, though she seemed oblivious to them.

Harry felt a bit guilty at that, knowing it was partly his fault she was getting saucy or venomous looks from the other students. He should give her cloak back as soon as possible. The room went silent when Dumbledore stood up, drawing everyone's attention on himself.

''Welcome to all our new students, and welcome back to the old ones!'' he said, hands spread wide. One of them was a black-ish, deathly color. Murmurs raised in the Great Hall, but he soon dismissed them, assuring them it was nothing. He continued his welcome speech that, as usual, only garnered the attention of half of the present audience.

''... and I am felicitous to announce the return of my old and dear colleague, Horace Slughorn,'' the Headmaster went on. ''who will resume his place as Professor of Potions.''

The Great Hall broke out in animated chatter at that, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw looking anxiously at one another, whilst most Slytherins just smirked.

''As for the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts, it shall be occupied by none other than Severus Snape.'' came the dreaded confirmation. There was another moment of loud commotion, before Dumbledore waved for silence, getting it, albeit with more difficulty than before. Indignation couldn't even begin to describe Harry's feelings, especially when seeing the smug looks on the Slytherins' faces, clapping for their Head of House. The man just waved his hand in thanks, though Harry didn't miss the flash of satisfaction that passed his face.

''And last, but not least, there will be a new obligated course for every year.'' the aging wizard continued, after making sure the students were listening again to him. Groans were heard between them, even before he had the time to finish. ''It will be a lesson based on the confection of medicinal beverages and brews, taught apart from the Potions class, by Miss Sakura Haruno, the apprentice of Professor Snape.''

The woman in question looked up at the Headmaster, then at her mentor, slightly surprised, but was ignored by both. When a few uncertain and tentative applauses were heard, she rose and bowed respectfully, before settling back down, Professors Sprout and Burbage warmly congratulating her.

''She's going to _teach_ us?'' Hermione shrieked. ''But she's too young! She looks barely older than we do! And apprentices _never _teach before at least five years!''

Nobody ansered her outburst, pensively staring at either her, Sakura, or the food that had just appeared on the table. Being taught by someone that could pass as their schoolmate was uncommon, to say the least. Though Harry could feel anticipation worming itself in the pit of his stomach. He was curious as to what kind of teacher she'd be – especially since she was Snape's protégée, well sort-of – and what she'd teach them. Confection of medicinal beverages and brews? Exactly how was that any different from Potions? And why was the pinkette's course tied to that of Snape's and not Slughorn, their new Potions Master?

The young wizard's lips curled upwards in a mischievous smirk. Maybe his year wouldn't be as dark as he had expected it would be, now that he was planning to learn more about the girl and his hated professor's relationship. Too caught up in his plotting, he didn't even notice the worried and exasperated looks Ron and Hermione respectively threw his way.

* * *

><p><em><strong>So, that's that. How was it? Made it longer since yall have had to wait for it (plus I didn't want to finish it before the Harry Potter gang arrived), but was it any good? Sorry if Harry &amp; co came so late, but I found it necessary for Sakura to learn at least a bit about Hogwarts and magic before she was confronted with her charge. But they will be very present starting chapter 3! :)<strong>_

_**I know some of you might find it a bit, well weird that Sakura goes into teaching at her age, but I wanted a different approach to her role. She isn't quite a teacher, nor is she a student. I want her to be somewhere in the middle. Also, my sister pointed out that the house elfs might not know about japanese food and drinks and I arbitrarily decided they do. Because they're just that good! :b**_

_**One more thing before I let you go. There will probably not be anymore updates until mid-September. I'm leaving today for holidays and won't be back till the beginning of August (no Internet or computer where I'm going), after which, I have work and make-up exams from 22 August till the beginning of September. Eight of them (six I failed, two I wasn't satisfied with) and they're pretty big (and difficult). So I won't have time to continue. I am terribly sorry. But once uni starts again, I'll have time to write and post regularly, so that should make it up. :D**_

_**Thank you all for your support and for reading, hope you enjoyed the story. A review, perhaps? ;)**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know I deserve a kick in the behind for updating only now, even though I promised it for mid-September. I tried writing as often as possible, but I only have a few hours to do so every Friday evening. We've gotten a REALLY bad timetable at uni, my average day starts at 8am and ends at 7pm (not counting the hour of train to get to and come home from college! _T_T_)_****_. And we have around 5 translations to do every week and it's only getting worse. So yeah, my life sucks for the time being. Not to mention I'm learning Japanese, a two-hours course every Thursday (I'm there till 9pm) and have hip hop classes on Saturdays, so it's really hard to find time to work and write. Once again, I'm sorry. :(_**

**_As for the story, my beta seems to be as busy as I am (if not more), so I didn't want to trouble her with this too, meaning you'll have to read a non-betaed chappy. Still, I hope you'll enjoy, so I'll stop my rant._**

**_Also, I usually forget the disclaimer because it's pretty obvious to me that Naruto is Kishimoto's work and Harry Potter is Rowling's, so it's needless to say that I don't own them and only use the characters for personal amusement and to entertain my readers._**

**_Enjoy! :D_**

* * *

><p>Sakura restlessly paced the quiet room, fiddling with her hands. A class for herself? A <em>class<em>? Her, _teaching_? She didn't have the qualifications required to teach! Sure she had taught her best friend, Naruto, a few tricks to better manipulate chakra and genjutsu-related stuff, but that didn't make her ready for teaching. Not to mention, she didn't really have good references teacher-wise. Sure her Sensei and Mentor had helped her a lot and she had learnt much from them, but they weren't exactly what one called 'model instructors'. Her Sensei was always late, had little value for his own safety and swindler tendecies, often disrespected authority not to mention he read _porn_ while _training _his students! As for her Mentor, well she was short-tempered, a tad bit violent and destructive, drank a lot (okay, so she never did that whilst training and teaching her, but still!), was pretty lazy when it came to her duties and gambled. A lot! And they both liked to give out death threats. Surely it would be unhealthy for the young wizards and witches if she behaved like them...

_'Yeah, and imagine what you'd look like if you wandered the halls with Icha Icha in one hand, a cup of sake in the other and the newest lotto draw under your arm!'_ her inner voice cackled at the idea, but the kunoichi wasn't in a joking mood.

A sudden swishing noise was heard and she skillfully deflected the wooden knife thrown her way, and shot back a kunai of her own, catching the target dead in its center. The dummy disappeared in a 'poof' of smoke. Instantly two others appeared, Sakura's kunai reaching the first one in the head, while she destroyed the second one with her bare fists. She had been shown this room a few days earlier by Dobby, telling her this was the 'Room of Requirement' and did she need anything, she just had to walk in a circle three times in front of the wall focusing intently on what she wanted, then the Room would materialise with what she had asked for. That was how she had gotten this room to be her training field, popping out random targets and throwing harmless, but still a bit painful when coming in contact with her, weapons towards her. The room was perfect for practicing taijutsu and keeping her fit and alert. She couldn't infuse chakra in her punches and kicks, nor use ninjutsu, in fear of destroying or irreparably damaging the Room. She made up for that as much as she could by devoting a few hours daily to meditating and chakra moulding. She refused to be caught off guards, though the Headmaster's little ''surprise'' had skillfully blown her resolution away. And she hadn't even had the occasion of questioning him or her supervisor about this decision. Her first lesson was the next day, with her target's class nonetheless, and she had no idea of what to teach them. And her being barely a year older, would they even pay attention?

_Why is it always me?_ She groaned in frustration, destroying a few more targets, this time shaped as Dumbledore and Snape.

* * *

><p>As a means of teaching her, Snape had ordered that she come attend one of his classes. He might not have taught Potions this year, he was still her mentor and had the obligation of guiding her. Thus she had gone to his Defence Against the Dark Arts class, ten minutes late mind you, to learn how to hold a course. And barely an hour after, she was expected to teach herself. She was sure Snape enjoyed it when she was put in impossible situations like this, he just seemed to have that kind of wicked sense of humor.<p>

"You're late, Haruno." was his disdainful greeting when she entered the gloomy room.

The blinds had been closed and there were several images hanging from the walls, representing disfigured people. Students gazed curiously at her, waiting for her reply and his reaction towards it. She ignored them, focusing on the man leaning against his desk.

"I'm sorry, Sir." she said, trying to pacify him.

It would be stupid and useless to rile him up. Not to mention tiring, so she just sat down in one of the unoccupied seats at the back of the class. Snape went on with his teaching, not even bothering to explain her presence to the teenagers, who still sent her curious glances. Harry was one of the few who was outright staring and she nodded once. She wasn't sure yet how to get close to him without it beeing obvious or suspicious, so for the time being, she opted for the open-yet-not-too-friendly attitude. He smiled back awkwardly before quickly looking away. Turning her attention back to Snape, she caught the end of his explanation about nonverbal spells and his order for students to pair up and practice disarming and shielding. Sakura observed them with quite some interest. It was the first time she saw wizards and witches her age performing magic and she ws curious about their level. Most students cheated, mumbling the spells. The first one to succeed was Hermione Granger, Harry's Muggleborn female best friend and considered the brightest witch of her generation, at least from what she had read in the mission file. She had mastered it in about ten minutes time, though it hadn't earned her a single word of praise from Snape. In fact, she had been completely ignored. Behind her uncaring façade, Sakura saw a flash of hurt. The pinkette could understand her feelings. Originating from a non-wizarding environment, she must've been trying very hard to gain acknowledgement and acception from the wizards – especially the Professors – and Snape beeing the hardest to please would've been the number one "Professor to satisfy" on her list.

Harry, on the other hand, received the man's entire attention quite early during the practice. The Potions Master had stopped at Harry's and Ronald Weasley's – the Pureblood best friend of her charge – table. The latter was having a hard time casting his spell, turning violet from the effort and from trying to keep his lips sealed. Harry was waiting for the spell, wand at the ready.

"Pathetic, Weasley." Snape said, after a few moments of observation. "Let me show you how it's done."

He threw his spell so fast that Harry seemed to move on instinct alone, and shouting out a clear and strong "Protego", effectively stopping the hex. However, the shield was so strong, that Snape was pushed backwards, stumbling against the table behind him. Everybody went silent, all eyes trained on the pair facing each other.

"Do you remember today's subject, Potter?" he asked, tone icy.

"Yes." was the terse reply.

"Yes, Sir."

"No need to call me 'sir', Professor." Harry said, looking surprised once he finished.

It seemeded like he hadn't thought the words through before saying them out loud. Without meaning to, a laugh escaped Sakura's lips and Snape's ire immediatly focused on her.

"Are you having fun, Haruno?" he hissed.

"Sorry Sir, but it was a rather good comeback." she admitted, trying to look remorseful.

The narrowing of his eyes were her only warning, before his hand moved with incredible speed and a flash of light was thrown her way. She pushed herself out of its way, cursing as she landed a few feet away from the half-destroyed chair that she had been occupying mere seconds ago. She stared at the man, baffled.

"You attacked me!" she accused, right hand clenching into a fist.

Snape put his wand away and turned his back on her. "Potter, detention on Saturday. I will not tolerate impertinence, even from the so-called 'Chosen One'!" he said, before adressing Sakura, not even deigning to look at her. "As for you, you'll have an extra lesson tonight, consisting in the cleaning up of this classroom. You shall not be privileged either, just because you are my apprentice."

With that, he resumed class, ignoring both her and Harry. Her anger didn't diminish, even once the class was over. For the first time since they had started working together, she wanted to hurt him. Main him, even. His occasional jabs and constant criticism were bearable, if irritating. But this time, he had tried to hex her and who knew what would've happened had she not dodged the spell. She stood until the end of class, fury emanating from her and earning her wary glances from the students. The man had seemed to have forgotten who he was dealing with exactly. She was beeing compliant for the mission's sake, but that didn't mean he had the right to abuse her.

At the end of class, once all the students had stormed out, she slowly approached him. He was sitting in his chair, reorganising some documents and didn't even look up to her when she stopped in front of his desk.

"What was that about?" she demanded, hands folded over her chest, so he wouldn't notice they were trembling from restrained anger.

"Discipline. You seem to severely lack it." he answered, mirroring her posture. He looked almost smug.

"So you attacked me? What would've happened if I hadn't avoided it?"

"A trip to the infirmary." he deadpanned.

Sakura's fist came in contact with the desk, destroying it. Snape's mask of impassibility was briefly replaced by astonishment, his black eyes meeting her narrowed green ones. They seemed darker now that they were clouded by fury. She looked deadly, her fist glowing with a faint blue aura, posture tense. As if she were to pounce on him any minute and dismantle him. Which he was sure she'd do, looking as predatorial as she did. His hand inched closer to his wand, but she stopped him by seizing his wrist with crushing force.

"Never point your wand at me again." she warned, almost growling. "Ever."

With that, she let him go and stormed out of the room, not once looking back. He swallowed thickly, clutching his painful wrist and foreseeing the bruise that would adorn it by the next day. He hadn't expected this reaction. For the first time since her arrival, Severus had been shown a part of what made her the deadly weapon she and her kind were known to be. He had seen the Shinobi in her and had felt the killing intent, one which he thought he'd only ever associate with the Dark Lord. Coming from this young girl... it didn't suit her.

* * *

><p>Draco was impatiently drumming his fingers on the desk, the class chattering all around him. They were in the dungeons, for once heavily illuminated now that the blinds were open, for their first class and <em>she <em>was _late_. Their lesson should have started fifteen minutes ago and their teacher was still nowhere around. When they had gotten here, the useless Gryffindors already present, the door was open and they had entered, just to find the class empty.

"Where is that bloody useless woman?" he hissed in irritation, right hand hitting his desk. He had better things to do with his time!

He heard Potty and Weasel snickering and immediatly turned his glare on them. Potter straightened at that, haughtily looking his way. "Why are you all restless, Malfoy?" he spat, saying his name as if it were the most disgusting word in existence. ''Got some shady business to attend to?''

"That's none of your concern, now is it Potter?" the blonde Slytherin sneered. "Not all of us have the luxury of being 'The Chosen One' and worshipped, even though we never did anything remarkable!"

"True. Some are too busy trying to get their worthless fathers out of Azkaban!" retorted Pothead, looking smug.

Grinding his teeth, Draco grabbed his wand and pointed it towards the other wizard. Potter did the same. They were intently staring at each other now, a group of students forming around them with shocked or anticipating expressions.

"You leave my father out of this, Potter!"

"Going to stand up for yourself, now that daddy's not around anymore?"

"At least mine's still alive! But don't worry, I'm sure you'll get to see yours soon enough!"

They both looked at each other with profound hate and were about to hex the other into oblivion, when a strong, commading voice interrupted them. "Put the damn wands away unless you want me to stick 'em up your noses!"

Sakura Haruno stood at the entrance of the class, hands folded and emerald eyes ablaze. She had changed her earlier outfit, now wearing black trackpants instead of her skirt and shorts, a pair of open-toed sandals and what seemed like a long-sleeved, mesh shirt under her red top. Her pink hair was loosely framing her angry face. She stalked towards the two wizards and though barely reached up to their cheekbones, threw them deadly glares.

"Put the wands away!" she reiterated, stressing each word. The two teenagers grudgingly obliged, though they didn't leave the other out of sight.

After ordering them to sit down, the pinkette strolled up to her desk and her eyes swept over the tense class. She pointed Lavender Brown out.

"Your name. And tell me what happened." she commanded. A little calmer, Draco silently noted that she seemed used to giving out orders and them being obeyed.

"Lavender Brown, Professor. And, well Harry and Malfoy got into a fight." the Gryffindor explained.

"Don't call me that, I haven't earned the title. Call me teacher or miss or anything else. And I think I _saw_ that they were fighting." she snapped. "Tell me the reason." seeing her hesitation, her gaze hardened and she added in a cool voice, "If you want to loose a hella lot of points and get into detention because you refused to cooperate, then keep your mouth shut. Otherwise speak!"

Brown trembled slightly, looking around her for help. Draco scoffed inwardly. So much for the famous Gryffindor bravery!

"Well... um, I didn't see or hear everything... " she unsurely started "but they mostly fought about their families. Harry pointed out Malfoy's dad was in prison and Malfoy said Harry's dad was dead and that... he would be joining him soon..."

Once she was done, she threw a scared glance at Draco, who was by then seething, and hurriedly buried her head in her palms, not yet daring to sit down, in case the rosette had something to add.

"Sit, Miss Brown. Now about the two of you," she said, voice dangerously low. "both of you have earned yourself a week detention and twenty points each. There will be _no_ fighting in this class. Actually, you are forbidden to draw your wands unless it is strictly necessary, or I tell you to do so. If you fail to do as you're told, I will _confiscate_ them. Understood?"

The class stared at her as if she were crazy. And maybe she was. _Who in their right minds deprives a wizard of his most valuable object?_ Malfoy thought, horrified. Had he been a lesser man, he was sure his mouth would be unbecomingly hanging open, like the Weasel's.

Haruno looked satisfied by the impression she had made and smiled widely at them, clapping once in her hands.

"It's about time we started the lesson, you made us loose a great amount of time!" she said, pointing an accusing finger on Potter then Draco, which earned her a few incredulous glances.

She seemed to notice and raised her hand to scratch at a point behind her head, smiling sheepishly. "Oh, come on, I wasn't that late!" she exclaimed. "Plus it's so easy to get lost in this place."

She became serious once again and turned towards the blackboard, chalk in hand. She scribbled the letters MC; AMOC under each other, then proceeded to explain the meaning of each.

"'Medical Class; Antidote, Medicine and Ointment Confection' will be this course's name." she explained, business-like. "I will teach you how to make mixtures that might one day save your lives, as well as how to identify and counter the most basic of poisons. Though resembling your Potions class, there will be differences, mostly because the mixtures I will teach you to make will not require use of magic, will be faster to make and the effects will be different."

Her features suddenly darkened, her stare turning icy and distant. Almost like a robot, she continued. "Your world is on the brink of war, times are uncertain and dangerous. Most of you aren't prepared for the fights, might never be. Others are simply not meant to be fighters. In any case, you need to know how to heal yourself and those that matter, even if it's only basic knowledge." she looked down at the classe, some shuddering when they locked gazes with her. Draco felt uncomfortable when their eyes met and they seemed to linger longer on him. Her words fell to a whisper. "Be prepared."

She cheered up yet again – the tenseness in the room disappearing as if it hadn't been there in the first place – and told them to start copying the ingredients she'll dictate, for the first ointment they'd ever make, designed to heal minor cuts. They silently worked on their respective concoctions, while she monitored them, smile never leaving her lips, the same way as the uneasy feeling never left Draco. At the end of class, she ushered them out, reminding him and Potter to be at her quarters at 8 o'clock sharp for the detention. On his way out, the blonde could hear the mutterings of his classmates about their new teacher.

"She's scary." said Thomas, glancing back at her, while his dumb friends energetically nodded. "What the hell was that chill anyway? Felt like the Ice Age!"

They left in a hurry, happy to leave the pinkette and her mood-swings behind. Draco heard the Golden Trio arriving behind him and slowed down a bit, curious about their reactions.

"I told you she was unusual." Scarhead said.

"More like crazy." Weasel butted in, but was ignored.

"I don't know... She seemed conflicted. And her cheerfulness and smiles... don't you think they seemed a bit fake?" the Mudblood asked, deep in thought. "Maybe she's just troubled. You should leave her alone, Harry."

"She has issues, not troubles!" the redhead said, but went unnoticed again.

"As if! I'll find out who she is and what she's really doing here. You said it yourself, Hermione, that it isn't normal for an apprentice who just started out to teach!" Pothead persisted. "Besides, something must be special, or at least different if _Snape_ decided to take her in!"

The three of them passed by Draco, Crabbe and Goyle, not even noticing them. So he wasn't the only one to think something wasn't right about their teacher. He had felt... pressured by her presence, especially when she stopped to take a look at his ointment. He was now sure it was because of her magical aura, though it looked like nobody else had realised it yet. Not even Granger and that left him feeling smug. Even if she had seen other aspects, personality-wise, surely due to her being a woman, with all that sixth sense and empathy shite. Though the Mudblood was a disgrace to all wizards and witches around, Draco sometimes wished Pansy could be as intelligent and perceptive as her. Why was he the only one surrounded by useless idiots?

He sighed and continued walking, Crabbe and Goyle flanking him on both sides, scaring off younger students. Her aura was suffocating to say the least. And for some odd reason, he had felt as if she was holding back, trying to mask it. But was that even possible? It could be an explanation and something Dumbledore and Snape used too, seeing as it was impossible any of them could be dominated in magic by a child like that Haruno. Because for the time beeing, he had never felt such a strong magical signature. He was tempted to investigate about her himself, but he had more urgent matters to attend to. Matters entrusted to him by a very powerful and dangerous person. More so than some child-teacher.

* * *

><p>Sakura was pacing in her living-room, worriedly glancing at the watch every minute. It was 7:30, the Potter and Malfoy kids would be there in about half an hour and she still hadn't decided on a punishment for them. When she had entered the classroom that afternoon and saw them in each other's face, wands drawn, she had panicked. Well, maybe not <em>panicked<em> per se, but she had been taken aback. So she did what her teammates usually did when taken by surprise: she dived in head-on and tried to overtake them. Luckily, she had been successful and the fight didn't break out, in which case she would've been in a heap of trouble. She didn't have the slightest idea as to how to handle two fighting wizards and that revelation had a bitter taste. Sooner or later, she'd have to face a few of them, but she had yet to actually see them fight. She had dodged Snape's attack earlier, but that was just one man and in a non-hostile environment. On a battlefield it would be different and she wasn't prepared for it.

"You really should stop shattering your furniture, especially since you're incapable of repairing it yourself!" a smooth voice said behind her, once the chair fell to pieces in one of the room's corners.

She swirled around, kunai in hand, even more furious since she hadn't felt any presence before. She soon found the source and her eyes narrowed. A frame she had assumed abandoned by its owner was now occupied by a young man, that seemed barely older than her, with dark hair framing his thin face, small pearl-colored eyes and an aquiline nose. His almost white skin heavily contrasted with his hair and the painting's dark background.

"Who are you?" the kunoichi demanded, voice barely a hiss.

"A girl your age and status should watch her speech when adressing elders!" reprimanded the protrait, furrowing his thin eyebrows. "I am Ailanthus Spore, direct descendant of Professor Dame Phyllida Spore, second Headmaster of Hogwarts and renown Herbologist and author of the «One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi»."

"Is that why you wear a plants name?" Sakura off-handedly commented, ignoring his indignant expression. "Not a very flattering one either, might I add. _Ailanthus altissima_, I suppose? Mostly known for its skin irritant characteristics and an invasive tendency. Fast-growing yet short-lived, though it has several medical uses and is very effective for mental diseases."

"You seem to know your plants, but really, try avoiding that know-it-all air, men dislike that trait in women. It makes them less desirable."

"Excuse me?" the pinkette spluttered, blinking rapidly.

It had been the first time since her arrival that a portrait had ever made such statements. Most of them being of noble heritage, their speech was controlled and behavior exemplary.

"Do close your mouth little girl, you look like a gaping fish. Funny, yet not a pretty sight." he added, mischief twinkling in his eyes. "But now for more serious matters, do share your worries. You must be quite troubled if you started destroying the furniture. Again."

Composing herself, Sakura threw him a dirty look. So the guy had been there all the time, listening to her small tantrums and now decided to come out to hear some funny stories? Though she would've loved to just blow him off, her more practical side pointed out that with him being a Professor's descendant, he might be able to help with her student dilemma. She sat down on her couch, elbows resting on her knees, hands folded under her chin and looked up at the interested portrait.

* * *

><p>When Malfoy and her charge came, she was sitting behind a small desk – specifically moved there for the detention –, fingers crossed and an annoyed expression on her pale face. Her discussion with Ailanthus hadn't gone as planned, on the contrary it had been mostly about him constantly jabbing at her feminity and her doing her best not to bite his head off. So now she was not only clueless as to how to punish the boys but also angry. Why didn't things <em>ever<em> go smoothly when she was involved? Grumbling when a knock came on her door, she barked out to the boys to come in. They obeyed, both looking a bit wary of her, and headed towards the two chairs and the table she had set up for them.

"Actually, I've got a better idea." she suddenly said after a prolonged silence. "Potter, take your chair and go in the corner near the chimney. Malfoy, you do the same, right next to the library."

She took out some paperwork and started scribbling on it, the boys looking at her oddly from their new posts. A sly grin spread on her lips and she told them without a second glance: "And now, you contemplate. Reflect on you earlier behavior until I decide that you can leave."

They spent about an hour in silence, Sakura running over some of her medical manuscripts written in her mother-tongue and adding comments or correcting errors. Even a medic-nin of her caliber had lots more to learn and would only become worthy of her mentor when she herself designed an incredible or unique remedy. Malfoy and Harry had spent that time either watching her or glaring at each other, thourougly annoyed with their current predicament. Cleaning the dungeons would have been more entertaining than sitting and doing absolutely nothing.

After Harry's nth sigh and Malfoy starting to fidget again on his seat, she slowly looked up, a small smirk on her lips. Like with most of her students during her class, she had closely observed them both and knew they were up to something. Harry openly scrutinized her yet tended to avoid her eyes when they met, while Malfoy seemed unfocused and dazed, sometimes frowning and cursing when he missed a ingredient for the ointment. He was the only one who had done his ointment twice to succeed and knowing from Snape he was quite talented in Potions, it was definitely odd. So she had come to the conclusion that what Harry was hiding had to do with her – assumption confirmed when she heard him talking about her with his friends – and that whatever Malfoy was hiding troubled him and even slightly scared him. Harry's little quest for truth, she could handle and ignore to an extent. After all, she had been on spying missions before and if she could deceive highly trained Shinobi, she could surely fool a sixteen-year-old wizard, right? Malfoy, on the other hand, she'd have to look into his actions once she free. From her time in the library, she had gathered information about Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, and knew the Malfoy family to have been associated with him in his days of prime. If what he was doing was of any danger to Hogwarts and more importantly Harry, perhaps even involving the Dark Lord, she'd have to take drastic measures. Capture, interrogation... elimination. She glanced at the blond-haired boy, irritably biting the inside of his lower lip. She then turned towards Harry, who had been yet again intently watching her – subtlety wasn't his forte, obviously – and for the first time felt the familiar pang in her heart that she hadn't felt for all these years. She'd rather not kill any of these kids while on her stay...

With a weary sigh she stood, grabbing both boys' attention. "Detention's over." she said, voice sounding too tired for a girl her age. "You can go. I hope you've learnt something while sitting here, because the next time I catch you fighting, it'll be worse. Good night and I will see you tomorrow, same time, same place."

They both left in silence, Harry hurrying out of the room, surely to tell about what he had learnt about her (which was hopefully nothing) to his friends, while Malfoy glared at her one last time, for good measure.

Once the door had shut behind them, Sakura collapsed on her chair. She sent Ailanthus away before he could comment and massaged her temples. She was exhausted and it wasn't because of her busy schedule. It was because she was homesick. The mission had barely started yet she wanted to go home already. She was lonely. She missed her friends and her mentor, and would even prefer living in her dull apartment with only cold water to shower with, a simple bed, a nightstand and a small table as furniture if it meant being in familiar surroundings. She would gladly lend her monstruous strenght for reconstruction and her medical skills to help heal the wounded and the ill, if only she could be with the ones who had survived the war with her and lick their mutual wounds.

She brought her hands to her eyes, rubbing them. She could feel the well-known sting in her eyes but still knew that those long-awaited and liberating tears wouldn't fall. Where had her carlessness, empathy and innocence gone?

"I'm going to bed." she announced to nobody in particular, leaving the room unaware of Ailanthus' thoughtful gaze on her back. She knew she wouldn't get any sleep that night, and if she did, she'd be plagued by the nightmares of her past, of wars and important people dying without her being able to help them.

* * *

><p><strong><em>So, that's it for now. I konw it's shorter than the others, but it seemed like a good place to stop. I dislike cliff-hangers, so I usually don't want to give them to my readers either! :b<em>**

**_Some people told me in the earlier chapter that the word "plot" used for Harry planning made him sound evil. It wasn't my intention, I wanted him to look mostly like a kid up to no good._**

**_I've also realised that my writing might sound a bit American-ish, whereas this story takes place in Britain. I'm sorry for that, but I don't really know how to make it different. For Sakura, in my mind, it's okay to sound like that, but I can't seem to make the Harry Potter characters sound British. Since I was a kid, I've always heard American English and no matter how hard my teachers tried, British never stuck. So if you have any ideas of how I could improve in that area, do share! :)_**

**_Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to update soon, see you then! ;)  
><em>**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Happy New Year people, it's now past midnight, here in Belgium! :D Hope everyone'll have a wonderful new year! Kisses to all! :)**_

_**So first of all, I'd like to apologise for the time it took to update. I know I suck. But at least, here it is and I hope you'll accept this chappie as my asking for forgiveness and a little Christmas & New Year's gift, as well as the last chapter for 2011.**_

_**My poor beta is still pretty much over-worked, so this one's un-betaed too. I did my best in trying to correct my mistakes myself, hope I haven't overlooked too many! :(**_

**_I'll stop my blabbing here, seeing as I've noticed many tend not to read author's notes... :b_**

**_Disclaimer: Don't own either Harry Potter, nor Naruto (and it's a good thing, I think, otherwise I'm pretty sure I would've messed quite alot with both! :b)_**

**_Ejoy! ;)_**

* * *

><p>A soft swish-like noise was her only signal as she jumped aside, deflecting the kunai that was soon followed by dozen others, embedding themselves in the bush where she was hiding mere seconds ago. She threw a shuriken in the attack's direction, knowing it would be useless, and tried to find another hiding place so she could put a strategy in place. She was currently cursing her hot-headedness and rash actions. Had she thought it through a bit before acting, she wouldn't be in this mess.<p>

_Flashback:_

_Sakura was sitting in the armchair – the last intact one that was still left in her living-room –, sipping a peppermint tea and hoping she'd sleep better than the previous night. Her day had gone by pretty well, teaching only first and second years, who seemed too impressed by her to even open their mouths. It seemed that the story of her cutting the sixth years down to size had gone around school and students were now more cautious around her. Good._

_Putting her cup down, she was about to go take a shower before a loud pop was heard and the room was filled with smoke. The kunoichi instinctively gripped one of her hidden kunai albeit knowing what was happening. When the smoke cleared, Katsuyu stood in front of her, eyeing the weapon._

_**"****Hello Sakura-chan. Why so tense? You didn't have a weapon last time we met...****"** she observed._

_**"I apologise, Katsuyu-sama, it was a reflex. I'm a bit tired."** the rosette said, twirling the kunai once around her finger before putting it away. **"What brings you here? Is everthing alright back home?"**_

_Although it was nice to be able to converse in her mother tongue once in a while, the kunoichi always dreaded her mentor's summon's arrival, hoping she would never bring bad news. No news was good news, right? Well either that, or that the messenger was already dead._

_The slug put an end to her musings with her answer, sounding serious. **"There has been a breech in the barrier."**_

_**"Huh?" **came the teenager's intelligent reply, so she elaborated. **"Breech? In what barrier?"**_

_**"After you have left for your mission, Tsunade-hime put a team together to investigate about this country and the means of communication. The wizards have been the first to contact us, using magic to move. The search team have found out that there was a thin barrier of sorts separating our world from theirs and hundreds others, with places where it was thinner, allowing us to travel."**_

_**"So you're saying I'm not on another continent or something like that of which Shinobi had no prior knowledge of, but I'm in a completely different world? How is that even possible?"**_

_The slug remained silent for some time before displaying a look of defeat. **"I am not entirely sure, but I doubt that is exact. It would seem we all live in the same world, but there are barriers of sorts that separate those who do not belong together. I apologise for not knowing more."**_

_**"Oh, uh, no... I didn't mean it like that... I... excuse me Katsuyu-sama, I didn't mean it like that."** Sakura stuttered, suddenly feeling guilty._

_The big-hearted and kind summon always did her best to please, serve and protect those close to her and her mistress and often times blamed herself for failures or mistakes, even if she wasn't at fault._

_**"So, um... when you say there was a breech, you mean that someone got through?" **she was now trying to distract her. **"If so, how come we know?"**_

_**"Tsunade-hime has assigned the remaining active Yamanakas to constantly watch the barrier. With their over-developed mental techniques, they are the only ones that can locate it and can somehow link with it. And one of them recently reported he had felt a tear in it and had found a breech. It is near the border of Fire Country, around where you had your meeting with our client's envoy." **Katsuyu explained, seeming hesitant from time to time. **"The tear is now under guard but we are unsure wether anyone got through or not."**_

_**"So Shisho wants me to take a look at the matter. Very well. Do we have any information about where any hypothetical intruder might've ended up, had he crossed?"**_

_**"Probably not far from where you arrived the first time. In a similar environment as the one they left."**_

_**"Thank you, Katsuyu-sama. Please inform Shisho I'll be departing shortly and I'll contact her as soon as I found out more."**_

_**"Very well. Be careful, Sakura-chan."**_

_It had taken her some time to find the place. She had asked Snape to lend her his chimney so she could travel all the way to the Weasley home and had gotten access to it, but not without the man demanding for her reasons, to which she evasively answered that it was mission-linked and thus confidential. Once there, she had told a shocked Molly the same thing, before setting out to find a place that looked like the Konoha border: the meeting of forest and mountains._

_When she arrived at the nearest forest, she instantly knew it was the right place. Though there was no mountain, she found the plain in front of the wood to be unusually rocky and more importantly, there was a forgotten shuriken embedded in the ground, near a rock. Gathering her courage, she checked her weapons and equipment one last time before entering._

_End of flashback_

She crouched silently on a tree branch, hidden by the thick canopy. Her opponent was of the worst type she could encounter: a long-range combattant, whereas she was more of the short to mid range sort. Not to mention he was a weapon's specialist. She was currently regretting not having sparred more often with Tenten... A huge spear flew her way, catching her off-guard. Clutching her wounded left arm, she glared at the cackling man a few feet away from her, heaps of weapons around him waiting to be put to use. He was a short and thin man, with beady black eyes, going bald and a mask hiding half his face. His clothes were mostly torn but from their looks, he must've been a middle to high ranked ex-Stone nin.

"Come now, little girl. If you stop fighting and quietly surrender, I'll be nice to you." he said, tone greasy and self-important.

The kunoichi huffed, sending healing chakra to her arm, the enemy nin's eyes widening at the sight. Medics were a rare occurrence after the war, ever since Madara and his troops launched a surprise attack on the Logistical Support and Medical Division, exterminating most of them. It was a well-known fact that when one encountered a medic-nin the first move would be to try and recruit them or take them them by force if they refused.

"You! What's a medic doing here?" the man exclaimed, gaping.

Sakura ignored him, sending two shuriken his way that he parried with one of his bigger blades. The kunoichi used that moment of innatention of his to create a clone, that she left behind, while she tried sneaking up on him. If she could get close enough to punch him just once, she'd win the fight and even have him for interrogation. However, before she could even get halfway around him, she was showered by a multitude of knives. Barely had she warded them off when a huge iron ball covered in spikes rolled her way, crushing every tree and rock on its path. Having no other choice, the pinkette gathered chakra in her right hand, praying she'd find a way to hit between the immense needles that could still pierce through her chakra-covered fist. When the dust cleared, she noticed the man stading in place, his weapons scattered all around him, looking dumbstruck. Checking herself, she found the bandana she had used to hide her hair with torn on the ground, her short pink hair flapping around her face. It seemed the guy had put two and two together and discovered her identity...

Forming a few handsigns, she smacked her palm on the ground, the soil under his feet coming to life and wrapping around his legs, all the way up to his calves. Before he could move, she was at his side, sticking two fingers à la Hyûga in his arms, numbing them with her own chakra. She then took out her tantô, holding it against his jugular, eyes feral.

"Speak!" she ordered in an icy tone. "Who are you and why are you here?"

"I'm Katô. Ex-Chûnin of Iwagakure exiled for having defected during the war." he said, gulping when the cold blade grazed his skin. "We found a passage to this place. There was no war and destruction here, so we thought, why not come here and make it our new house?"

"We?"

"Yeah, we're a troop of exilees from different countries."

"How many, what's your aim and who is your leader? I want details. Or do you not value your life?" the kunoichi snapped.

Katô just let out a humorless laugh. "What is there to value in our lives? Those who aren't dead live miserably. We have to steal and kill to try to stay alive for a day more!" Seeing his words had no effect on the teenager, he sighed, shortly followed by a hiss of pain when his bindings seemed to tighten around him.

"We're about twenty. All Chûnin or Jônin rank, exiled for different reasons." he explained, deciding it was better than being crushed to death. "Our leader is from Otogakure and he's the strongest. Might even be on your level, girly. We don't know his name but he calls himself Korose, dunno why. He wants to build a city for the rejected, one strong enough to oppose the Hidden Villages."

"Is revenge what he's looking for? Use this city of his to attack the other villages?"

"Dunno. Ask him. We put down camp a few miles into the forest until we know more about this place and its resources."

Sakura remained silent, mulling over the information she received. From what she had mostly heard, these people seemed to be a threat to Konoha and probably the other villages. She'd have to get more information about them and the only way was by infiltrating their camp.

She glanced once at the man, his insect-like eyes staring at her with curiosity and anticipation. Was he expecting to leave here alive?

* * *

><p>When she stepped out of Snape's chimney again, she received the same look from Snape as she did from Molly, shriek and worry excluded, naturally. Molly had been fast in preparing a medical kit to heal any wounds but found none, despite the teenager's torn and blood-covered clothes. She had gently reassured her and requested permission to use the floo to get back to the castle. In Hogwarts, she was received by a silent Potions Master, seated in a nearby armchair, hands folded in front of his face and coal eyes trained on her. She straigthened while discreetly trying to dust her medical skirt off. She knew she must've been looking miserable, with her left arm still bloodied, her red top sliced open on her abdomen and her crumpled skirt. Not to mention the little branches, leaves and rocks she was adorned with.<p>

"Well?" he asked, voice cool as if he were adressing one of his idiotic first year students. Sakura pretended not to understand and barely lifted an eyebrow in questioning.

"Why everyone is so adamant about your incredible intelligence is a mystery to me, especially with the daily displays of your stupidity."

"I had a job to accomplish for my village." the pinkette hissed, piqued. "A _secret_ one."

"You are supposed to serve only Dumbledore and Hogwarts during your stay here." he deadpanned. "How did you even get in contact with your village leader?"

"Regardless of my mission, I am still under my Leader's command and can accept side missions if they endanger both my actual job and my hometown."

"What was the nature of this threat?"

"Not authorized to disclose that information, Sir." she smirked, though the man in front of her didn't seem affected. _When was he ever?_

"Very well. Dismissed." Snape stood up, preparing to leave the room, while Sakura stared incredulously at him.

He _never_ backed off from their little verbal spars and always won them. So why was he letting her go this time? She approached the dungeon door, eyes never leaving his form. Now that she was paying attention she could see the slight sagging of his shoulders. He looked exhausted and a bit restless. Did he seem even more haunted than he usually was? She stopped dead in her tracks and took a few steps towards him.

"Sir, is everything alright?" she asked, concerned with his current state.

"Don't touch me!" the man snapped, slapping her extended hand away. He glared at her, voice dripping with disdain. "Did I not tell you to leave?"

"Sir, I..."

"Out!"

Sakura stared blankly at the wooden door that had been slammed in her face, wondering if it was better to leave the man be or break in and force him to submit to her inspection. Did he lose weight or was it her imagination?

* * *

><p>"You're late... Merlin's beard, what happened to you?"<p>

_"Great, just great. I forgot I had detention with these two and took my time getting rid of the traces from the fight!"_

"Don't ask, just get in." she growled, sending the Slytherin a dark look.

The two teenagers silently followed her inside, their gazes boring holes in her back. How was she going to explain? She ordered them, a little too harshly, to sit down, all the while cursing her beginner's mistake. Malfoy and Potter both sat in silence, eyes never leaving her figure. The first one seemed surprised and curious, the latter more suspicious. She longingly glanced towards her room, which connected to a small bathroom, already imagining herself under the warm and calming spray of her shower.

_"You don't even deserve a shower, just a good old punch for being so damn stupid!"_ her innerself grumbled. _"A few more of these and might as well tell the whole school the truth!"_

"Um, Miss? Wouldn't it be better to go see Madam Pomfrey?" Harry cautiously asked, ignoring Malfoy's warning look. "There seems to be a lot of blood..."

"No need to worry, I have already been tended to. Besides, it's just a scratch from a fall, nothing serious." the pinkette answered, naively hoping they'd believe the obvious lie. They blankly stared back at her, but said nothing more. "Today you'll be only writing. I want a complete description of what got you into this fight, why you reacted the way you did and why you consider your reaction as 'justified'. You can leave as soon as you're ready. I'll tidy up in the meantime, so please behave."

Sakura could hear all that was happening in the other room while getting ready. They hadn't said anything in the first five minutes, but once she had gotten out of her shower, they started talking.

"Why did you have to bring up the blood, Potter?" Malfoy hissed, his quill still furiously scratching against the parchment – it seemed he wanted out as fast as possible.

"What do you mean?" Harry had stopped writing.

"Don't play dumb with me! Your intentions were as clear as Longbottom's test results after Professor Snape's examination!"

"Really pretty comparison, Malfoy, but I don't know what you're talking about."

"Not everyone is as dense as you are. She's sharp and she's dangerous, so if you plan on dying soon, do it when I'm not here."

"Why are we even discussing this?"

Nothing more was said after that and only the pen's craping could be heard. The kunoichi waited a few more minutes before entering the living-room and sitting down behind her desk. Both wizards ignored her, focused on their assignment.

* * *

><p>Why had he even bothered trying to warn Pothead was beyond him. Maybe it had been an after effect of seeing her covered in blood and dirt, as if she had come from sort of battlefield that startled him. Or that empty look in her eyes, replaced by a sudden surge of anger and almost killing intent upon seeing them, before it was hidden behind a mask of mild irritation. He didn't think all that anger was directed towards them, but it still remained fearsome. When in her presence, he always felt like a helpless prey watched be a bloodlust-filled predator. He'd been trying to stay away from her as much as he could, but their daily detentions didn't help, nor did Scarhead with his constant need of testing her patience. The cretin had no survival instinct whatsoever.<p>

The Slytherin stopped on top of the stairs, bending his head forward to check his surroundings. Satisfied, he walked down the deserted hallway. The Room of Requirement was only a floor away. He had found the cabinet rather easily, only it was in need of more mending that he had first thought. He would need weeks before even imagining sending an inanimate object through it, let alone a living creature.

"Don't you think it's a bit late to be out admiring the castle's nocturnal beauty?" he didn't need to turn around to know who was behind him, the accent helped him recognise the person.

Though how could he have missed her when first inspecting the hallway and why he hadn't heard her approach remained a mystery. Unwillingly turning around, he locked gazes with the pastel-haired teacher. She was wearing trackpants and a long-sleeved shirt, all black. If it weren't for her exotic hair color, her shining emeralds and pale skin, she would have almost blended into the the castle's darkness. Hand on her right hip and balancing her weight on only one leg, she continued watching him, a tiny smile on her lips. For an instant he found her beautiful. Not strinkingly so, the type that many men would think of as 'drop-dead gorgeous', but of a more humble sort. She was smaller than the girls surrounding him, yet fitter and leaner. She had a nice figure even if she wasn't very curvy and her traits were rounder, not as angular as that of his western companions. The castle's lighting gave her an out-of-this-world type of aura that made her seem deadly, yet also added to her beauty. He chased away these thoughts as soon as they appeared especially after noticing the slight furrowing of her brows. So he had missed something.

"Why are you here? Surely what you have to do can be done in broad daylight, when you don't risk getting into trouble?" she repeated.

Draco stayed silent, his eyes darting off from her to the hallway behind him. He was so close, could he get away if he started running right now?

"I simply went out for a walk." he said, shoulders sagging. There would be no repairing done tonight. He irritably massaged his forehead, passing her by.

He heard her wordlessly follow him and they walked back to the dungeons in silence. She seemed calm for once, almost peaceful, with her hands in her pockets and eyes observing her surroundings. When they arrived, he entered the common room without a look back and not even answering her "You'd better not wander around anymore, I won't be this nice next time!".

He'd try again in a few days and wouldn't get caught anymore.

* * *

><p>When Hermione arrived for breakfast, the first thing that hit her was her two best friends excitedly leaning towards each other and speaking in hushed tones. No matter how hard she tried, the only word that came to mind when seeing them was <em>gossiping<em>. Being the proud male specimens they were, they sure did that an abnormally lot of times... Sighing, she headed towards them, mentally prepared for her share. And Harry sure didn't disappoint, for as soon as she was seated he bent over, a victorious gleam in his eyes.

"Yesterday, Sakura came in late." he proudly announced.

"So?" Ron eyed her, looking almost offended at her lack of reaction.

"So, she obviously hadn't been in before Harry arrived!" he said, but was awarded with an uninterested look.

"She came about twenty minutes late and when she did arrive, she was covered in blood!" Harry explained, stressing the last word. This tweaked the witch's interest.

"How so?"

"I don't know anything. I tried asking her, but she didn't say much about it. Claimed she fell. As if that was possible... I've seen injuries and those were definitely remains of cuts, as if someone had attacked her. Not to mention she was pretty dirty, with dust and leaves all over her."

"Mm... you think she ventured inot the Forbidden Forest?" the redhead stuffed a piece of toast in his mouth, curiously blinking at the two others.

They both shrugged, Harry reaching for some marmalade and Hermione chancing a glance towards the teacher's table. Sakura didn't seem any different from the other days, chattering away with Professor Sprout, but some minor details did hit her. Madam Pomfrey seemed completely oblivious towards the pinkette and that struck her as odd. Despite her distant and somewhat cold exterior, the woman was quite caring, more so with her colleagues, so surely she wouldn't seem so unconcerned. Or she should at least have thrown some inquisitive glances towards the younger woman who most likely hadn't told her how she had gotten the injuries? Professor Snape, on the other hand, did look her way more than once, confirming her suspicions about Sakura not telling him much about what happened either, yet still a bit suprised that she had talked to him about it in the first place. She was the secretive type it seemed, and Hermione was slowly starting to think that _maybe_ Harry was right and there was more to this story than some let on. She was broken out of her thoughts when her chocolate-colored eyes met those of her pink-haired teacher's, who slightly frowned at being stared at for such a long time. Hermione embarrassedly ducked her head, pretending to search for something in her bag. When she looked up again, Sakura was still watching her, expressionless. The brown-haired teenager averted her eyes once again, asking Harry to pass her some eggs.

"I'm not sure if it's a good idea to snoop around, Harry." she added once she was sure Sakura wasn't focused on her anymore.

"I actually think it is. The other day, Malfoy almost admitted to being scared of her and even you seem unsettled. Don't you find it weird? What if she's affiliated to Voldemort?"

"And what if we find out she really is? Oh, Harry, you can't just jump head-on in every unusual situation! You could end up badly hurt!" she rationalised, destroying the eggs on her plate.

"Calm down Hermione, everything will be fine. Whatever we find out, Harry will surely go tell Dumbledore, right mate?" Ron said, setting a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Very well, but promise me you _will_ tell him, Harry."

"Of course I will Hermione, don't get so worked up."

The young witch flashed him a relieved smile and pushed her egg puree away, snatching her bag from the ground and motioning towards the two boys to get ready for class. While leaving the room, she risked another glance towards the teachers' table between her brown locks, noting that Sakura had indeed watched them leave.

* * *

><p>After a long discussion that evening, the Golden Trio had decided on a plan of action. Before doing anything rash, they needed more information about their new "teacher". They would all have to pay close attention to her during classes – for the first time in his life, Harry lamented that his detention was actually over – and lunch, maybe even try to "spy" on her while she was walking about in the castle. Ron suggested that Harry get in a fight with Malfoy again so he could get punished, but his clever idea only earned him a smack over the head from Hermione.<p>

That being decided, Harry pulled out the Marauder's Map, silently murmuring "_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_", green orbs scanning it. Students were all in their dormitories by then, making it easier for him to find the person he was looking for. He almost instantly spotted Malfoy's little dot, leaving the dungeons. With his new obsession about Sakura, he had almost forgotten about his Malfoy-related suspicions. '_What if they work together?_' he thought, suddenly even more excited. Sakura's dot was on the ground floor, but it went in the opposite direction of Malfoy, much to the bespectacled boy's disappointment. He watched Malfoy climb floor after floor and when he reached the third one, Harry noted Sakura was there too. He found it odd, considering she had been going towards the dungeons earlier. When he looked closer, the dot's color seemed to be different, somewhat a brighter color. That's when he noticed her name again, one floor above. Rubbing his eyes, he looked again. To his astonishment, there was a dot with Sakura's name on every floor. He staid silent and unmoving, foxed. How was that even possible? Was something wrong with the map? Hurriedly getting out of bed, the young wizard pulled a dressing gown on, covered himself with the Invisibility Cloak and silently left the room, Ron loudly snoring behind him.

Harry barely rounded a corner that he noticed the pink-haired young woman, walking the same way he did, back turned to him. He remained still, hoping she'd leave fast so he could go downstairs. He glanced at the map, seeing Malfoy reach the sixth floor, the other Sakura – whose dot was the only one the same color as his and the Slytherin's – nearing his position. Harry silently walked forward, getting closer and closer to the staircase, when the Sakura in front of him suddenly turned around, her shining emeralds instantly zeroing in on him. He immediatly stopped, holding back his breath. Had he been found out? But how? They both stared at each other, at least Harry did, the pinkette looking into nothingness, before she turned around and walked away, mumbling a clear "Students shouldn't be out of bed at this time of night, unless they wish to get into trouble."

When he arrived halfway down the stairs, he was once again stopped by Sakura's voice, just beneath him. He crouched under the Cloak, looking underneath him.

"Malfoy, this is the third time this week!" came her exasperated exclamation. "Do you _enjoy_ getting caught and losing points?"

Malfoy remained silent, tightly holding on to his wand and glaring at her.

"What exactly do I need to do for you to remain in bed?" she continued, before her voice took on a more serious tone. "What are you up to?"

The Slytherin still didn't answer and both started a wordless staring contest, Sakura resting her weight on a leg, arms crossed and Malfoy stiff. The rosette was the first to break the silence.

"Whatever you're doing stop." she said, Harry picking up an underlying threat in her voice. She was getting angry.

"It's none of your business!" the blonde finally grumbled, teeth grinding against each other.

"It actually is, especially if it endangers this school and it's students. Yourself included." she bit out, eyes narrowing when he scoffed.

Her right hand flew out at an incredible speed, Harry barely seeing it and almost sure she'd slap him. She grabbed the younger boy's collar, pulling him closer to her face and glaring at him. Despite his struggles, Malfoy couldn't get free. When he stopped moving, the teacher forcibly turned him towards the window, her left hand pointing outside. Harry had to crouch lower to try and see what she was showing the Slytherin.

"See those little lights that come and go? That's wizards trying – and for now, thankfully, failing – to get into the castle. Dark wizards, the type that want to hurt everybody here. And don't be so sure you're an exception." at his surprised look, she dryly chuckled. "Yes, I did some research on you and your family's history. Just because your father in a supporter, don't think you're safe. Especially since I heard he seriously messed up this summer."

Malfoy started thrashing again, one hand gripping the one she held him with, the other trying to push her away. She didn't budge.

"Don't you dare speak of my father! You know nothing, you outsider!" he spat, hair disheveled and eyes bruning with fury.

Sakura's free hand grabbed his, pealing it away from her wrist. "Same goes for you, kid. Don't go around assuming I know nothing." she hissed, expression turning dark. "I'm trying to get a point across that thick head of yours!"

Suddenly straigthening, Sakura let go of the blonde's collar, tightly grabbing his arm. "We're going to my office." she said, voice commanding. "As for you, up there on your stairs, you better be back in your dorm, unless you also wish to have a detention. Until then, fifteen points from Gryffindor for wandering about at night."

With that, she whirled around, dragging a displeased and unwilling Slytherin behind her. Harry watched them leave, baffled. She had known _again_ that he was there and even knew his house. How she did that was beyond him, but now he had more pressing matters on his mind. He needed to get back to the tower and sort out the information he just received. Hermione and Ron would be in for quite some surprise tomorrow!

Making sure he was entirely covered by the cloak, he silently strutted back, a warm bed and a long night of thinking awaiting him.

* * *

><p>She was angry, <em>extremely<em> angry. The blonde Slytherin seated in front of her refused to speak, sulking. She had been pacing around for five minutes trying to calm herself and wondering when was the last time she lost control of her emotions like this. Malfoy was getting on her nerves with his refusal to take any advice and his disregard towards his own safety. '_How can someone be this stupid!_' she fumed. And Potter, why the hell did he also have to be outside of bed and listening in on other people's conversations? When she had first sensed him, she let him be, more preoccupied with Malfoy, and thinking he'd have at least some common sense and not eavesdrop. Obviously not. Now here she stood, with a Potter knowing too much and a stubborn, mute Malfoy.

Taking in a calming breath, she turned towards him, trying to keep her temper in check. "I know you are trying to let the Death Eaters inside and I'm pretty sure it's an order from Voldemort." she stated, ignoring his wince at her saying his name. "What I'd like to know is why. For personal glory? To redeem the honor your father lost? To save your own life or that of someone else?"

At his prolonged silence, she sighed, approaching him and crouching in front of him. She reached out, gently taking hold of his chin and turning his face towards hers, looking into his tired grey eyes. She could see fear inside of them, humiliation, loss and loneliness. It was terrible how he reminded her of Sasuke when he was young, her feelings of anger and exasperation replaced with protectiveness. In spite of what people said and thought, she had always been a caring person, her medical training only increasing that aspect of her personality as well as her need to heal and mend others.

She took hold of him, hands on his cheeks to stop him from turning away. "Let me help you. Tell me." she whispered, her eyes never leaving his. He looked defiantly at her, but still couldn't break free.

"Is what you're fighting for worth it? Fighting without a goal will only lead to failure." she continued, her thumb soothingly carressing his cheek. "And don't do it alone. If you need help, ask for it. Surround yourself with trustworthy people. Friends. They can help and protect you."

She suddenly let go of him, returning back to her desk and leaning against it. Her features hardened again and when she spoke, her voice had lost all empathy and friendliness.

"You can go now, Malfoy. Directly to your dorm, don't let me catch you out of bed again. Also, expect an hour long detention every Saturday morning for the upcoming month. I'll also take thirty points from Slytherin. Now go."

When he had left, she waited a few moments before slowly walking towards her bedroom and dropping herself on her bed, drained. This mission was more mentally exhausting than she had expected it to be. Taking out her team's picture from the nightstand's drawer, she clutched it to her heart and curled up. Something needed to be done, because she wasn't ready to go through another war. She couldn't watch children die again and inoccent students turn into hardened fighters. Because when your heart that you believed dead, cold and empty started to feel again, it only hurt worse. She couldn't let them go through what she and her friends did. These children weren't even trained to _see_ dead people, let alone _kill_ any...

* * *

><p>When Harry excitedly shaked him awake that morning, Ron knew that the brunette had slipped out of their dorm the night before. <em>Without<em> him, he thought, slightly hurt and still dazed from his amazing dream in which he had won the Quidditch Cup and was swarmed with an army of girls admiring his talent, Hermione blushing in the background when he triumphantly smiled and waved the trophy at her. Barely had he climbed out of bed and started getting changed than his best friend was already recounting his late night adventure. Ron didn't point out that if Harry didn't wait for Hermione, he'd have to tell the story twice. Then again, maybe he'd be more awake by then and would catch more than just a few prepositions. With sluggish movements, he went to wash his face after which he absentmindedly packed his bag for the day, before remembering it was actually Saturday and they didn't have any lessons. That explained why Seamus was still sound asleep. Throwing him an envious glance, Ron trudged after Harry, who was still happily blabbing away. They met up with Hermione in the common room, who then led them to the Great Hall, halting Harry's story-telling in the meantime.

With a nice cup of coffee and a few toasts in his stomach, the youngest Weasley boy was finally functional and intently listening to his friend, already buttering his stomach's next offering.

"So... you think they're... working together, or something of the... sorts?" he asked, interrupted by some furious chewing, in an attempt to empty his mouth.

"Doesn't sound like it, at least from what you said, Harry." Hermione threw the redhead a disgusted look, slightly scooting away from him. "It seems more like she wants to help him..."

"To do what? Clearly Death Eaters are trying to get into Hogwarts... I think Malfoy wants to get the in."

"Harry! That's a very serious accusation! We can't be sure!"

"Hermione, what Sakura said last night is more than enough indication of it! It couldn't be clearer if Malfoy came out and confessed to it himself!"

"She never said it out loud, did she? She only thinks Malfoy is up to something that might harm him and is trying to dissuade him." Hermione replied hotly, looking outraged. "You can't go around accusing people!"

"It's Malfoy we're talkinig about here..."

"Exactly! We all know he is a mean git, but he isn't evil! Do you really think he has the guts to let an army of Death Eaters into school? It's like Sakura said, he could get himself into heaps of trouble!"

"Still!"

As the two of them continued bickering, Ron slowly got bored and tuned them out, silently eating away and inconspicuously looking towards the Slytherin table behind him. The ferret seemed to be in a cranky mood, snapping at everybody around him who dared to look at him. He was playing with the food on his plate, looking paler than usual and a little haggard, occasionally glancing at the teacher's table. When Ron did the same, he saw Sakura smiling at Sprout who seemed to be telling her a joke, before she turned away and silently asked Snape something, receiving an almost unnoticeable nod in return. Whe she herself looked up, her eyes met Malfoy's and her smile disappeared, features turning grave. The Slytherin just glared at her and re-occupied himself with his food. A few second later, he looked back at the table again. So there really was something going on between them.

Turning back towards his friends, he would've liked to ask what their thoughts were on the matter, but was met with an upset silence. Harry and Hermione had obviously finished their discussion, but not quite positively, both avoiding each other and sulking. Ron sighed and filled up his plate: he would need energy to deal with the two of them...

And people said he was immature!

* * *

><p><strong>I have finished this chappie, the last one for this year! Hooray! :D<strong>

**It has an awful filler feeling to it and though there are some important stuff already going on in it, it pretty much was a filler. You see, my dad – who was in charge of emptying the book bag we took on holiday this summer – kind of _misplaced_ my Harry Potter & The Halfblood Prince, which had ALL my notes for the story. So I have to make do with what I currently have and remember, all the while still searching for it! :/**

**Well, anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and will continue reading the next ones and supporting me throughout next year, too! I'll be in your care for another year. :]**

**Also, everybody: HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR! **

**If maybe you could leave some reviews, it would be a positive point for this new year that I'll begin with exams! T_T**


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Harry Potter, Naruto, Adventure, Friendship