The first time they talk to each other is on the Quidditch pitch.
It's third year, and he's a Slytherin chaser with a year of experience. She, on the other hand, is a freshly recruited seeker for Ravenclaw, small and lithe. The match has just ended, 250-100 in favor of Slytherin, and the pitch is near empty — except for the both of them. Her teammates have already left, but not before giving her pats on her shoulder and murmurs of 'next time'. Well, at least they're good enough not to blame her too much. His team was not so generous— after congratulating him and shrugging at his refusal to attend their after-party, they left with the declaration that the snitch was repelled by her forehead and her mudblood heritage.
In the back of his mind, he recollects what little information about her that he knows: Haruno Sakura, muggleborn, same year, odd (and strangely natural) pink hair. Fairly intelligent. They share Herbology and Potions, wherein she can be found sitting next to Yamanaka. As though sensing his thoughts, she turns to him, downward expression emphasised with a sigh. "You're waiting to mock me too, are you?"
Sasuke surprises her (as well as himself) by shaking his head and saying "Why didn't you grab it?" Her reply is swift, "Excuse me?"
He narrows his eyes. "You had the snitch, didn't you? It was at an arm's length from you, and you just weren't confident enough to take it."
Sakura purses her lips, shakes her head, and exits the field without a word. Her blue Quidditch robes (clashing so awfully with her hair) billow behind her dramatically.
Naruto's waiting for him at the castle's entrance, his foot tapping impatiently. "What took you so long, asshole? Does it always take you an hour to properly bask in your glory?" Sasuke gives him an unimpressed stare, bonks him on the head, and walks ahead, ignoring his loud protestations.
Sasuke notices her more often after that. He notices how she always ties her hair during Potions, and how she grinds her daisy roots instead of chopping them. The green of her shrinking solution is brighter than his, almost like the green of her eyes. He notices how she preens when Professor Anko awards Ravenclaw five points, and when Professor Kabuto praises her for her progress with dittany extraction. Most of all, he notices how she sometimes looks over her shoulder in the direction of his desk.
He nods at her one day. In response, she blushes furiously, the tips of her hair turn red, and she promptly turns back and hides her face behind an upside-down book. Next to him, Suigetsu grins and his eyebrows dance suggestively. He mutters an 'ow' when Sasuke lifts his wand and singes his left eyebrow off.
In her next match, she catches the snitch and defeats Hufflepuff by a hundred teammates give her tight, sweaty hugs, and Yamanaka does a small victory dance in the stands. Instead of the winning team, all eyes instantly shift to the part-Veela blonde. Sasuke's eyes stay on Sakura. He decides that she looks cute even when she's scowling at her best friend. He immediately tosses the thought out of his head.
The Ravenclaws rush back to their common room to celebrate. Sakura's cheeks are flushed, and her hair is windblown, its tips slowly turning a rich blue. She scans the crowd, eyes landing on him, and waves at him. Sasuke nods stiffly, and her smile only widens. Embarrassed, he looks away. He's glad his housemates have already left.
A day after Christmas break, Sasuke encounters Sakura in the corridor leading to the Great Hall. She's on her way to the Ravenclaw tower, a piece of toast in one hand and an Arithmancy textbook in other. She smiles on seeing him, as she always does, and tries to wave. And drops her toast in the process. Sasuke shakes his head in what he thinks is exasperation, and enters the Great Hall.
Slytherin loses to Gryffindor—Naruto's head is just too big to let the quaffle in, Sasuke supposes—as does Hufflepuff. Classes continue, and Sasuke is commended by Iruka when he casts the perfect Riddikulus.
Ravenclaw manages to beat Gryffindor, but on an extremely low margin. They really need to change their chasers. Gryffindor manages to win the House Cup. Naruto maintains an extremely self-satisfied grin the entire month. Sasuke maintains the habit of hexing Naruto's eyebrows off whenever he tries to brag.
On a fresh spring Friday, Sakura approaches him Potion as he's stashing his ingredients away.
"Hey, Sasuke." She's smiling nervously and clutching at hem of her sweater. "There's a Hogsmeade trip this weekend, if you remember." The tips of her hair are reddening again.
Sasuke knows what she's about to say next. And he almost agrees. He almost utters yes, before he remembers his father. Sakura's a muggleborn. While his father has never shown open disdain towards muggleborns, he wouldn't approve if Sasuke were to go out with Sakura. And he has strived so much to impress him over the years, hasn't he? He wouldn't waste all that effort in favour of a girl, no matter how pretty.
Sakura continues, "And we've been studying so hard these days! Maybe a break would be great. Do you think we, I mean, you and I could—"
"I'm sorry," Sasuke interrupts her, "but I'm not into dating right now."
"Oh," Sakura's hair turns normal again, "I understand." She smiles, except the smile is painfully fake. "I reckon I'll see you around, then?" She takes a step back.
She's out of the room before he can reply. The already cold Potions classroom now feels positively chilly. In the following months, he feels her eyes on him whenever they're in the same room. As spring draws to an end, she stops acknowledging him.
Finals take place. Finals end. Itachi smiles when Sasuke shows him his report with its multiple Os, and tells him he's proud. His Headboy badge glimmers in the sunlight.
Father owls him, writing that while his scores are acceptable, he should work on improving those Es his Herbology and Ancient Runes. Perhaps you could ask for Itachi's help? Itachi's had Outstanding OWLs in all his subjects, after all. I'm sure his NEWTs will be the same. Sasuke casts an incendio on the letter. He does keep the homegrown tomatoes Mother sends him, though.
Itachi's due to graduate at the top of his batch. The Ministry's already hired him, even though his results haven't been declared yet. Before leaving for his high-ranking Law Enforcement job, he pulls Sasuke aside at Hogsmeade station and drops confessions upon him like dungbombs.
("The hat was going to place me in Hufflepuff. I requested Slytherin instead"
"What?"
"I'm not coming back home, I'm renting a flat in Diagon Alley."
"Wait, why?"
"Once I complete four years in DMLE, I plan to take a teaching job at Hogwarts. I'm sorry, Sasuke, but in doing so I lay the responsibility of handling the Uchiha estates and businesses upon your shoulders."
"Excuse me?")
Itachi sighs, "I know it's all hard to take in at once," "Oh, do you?" "but I really needed to let it out. With Shisui in Egypt and Izumi in Albania, you're my only confidante, Sasuke. I'm only allowing myself this indulgence because I know you would want to be the family head. But just speak the word, and I will abandon everything to get back on track—"
"Itachi, shut up." Sasuke massaged his temples. "I think the Ministry's waiting for you. You'd better leave." Meeting his brother's eyes, he adds, "I need time to think. I'll owl you later" Itachi nods, disapparates with a crack.
On the train back home, he hogs an entire compartment to himself, and thinks of the multiple ways he could explain why Itachi isn't with him. The frequent thoughts about Sakura, her perfect scores, her current feelings, and her peculiar hair are firmly pushed away. The ride back home feels endless.
I've always wanted to read a sasusaku fic set in the Hogwarts-verse. But except for a couple fluffy one shots, I never quite found a good one, and so here I am. Should I continue?
P. S. Constructive criticism is welcome