disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor Harry Potter.


ii.

Uchiha Sasuke did not talk to Haruno Sakura until three years later.

It wasn't that he didn't see her around. With her bright pink hair, who wouldn't notice her? And sure, they had classes together, but he was Slytherin and she was Gryffindor, and though everyone knew both houses had a (perhaps a little less than) friendly rivalry, a rivalry was still a rivalry, and speaking to your rivals were generally frowned upon.

Not that he wanted to speak to her, no. He was the Uchiha Sasuke, the legacy of a long line of talented wizards and witches to ever grace the presence of Hogwarts. People lined up to talk to him, not the other way around, and most certainly not for whimsical (smartcutepretty) girls with pink hair and eyes the colour of freshly cut grass.

Sasuke pondered the girl for a moment. She was sitting a mere three tables away, and he had long since finished his potions assignment for the class (as usual, and as expected), though he did notice that she seemed to have done the same. Sasuke admitted freely to himself that the past two years could have only been good to her. The Haruno Sakura sitting three tables away from him was no longer the one he remembered from three years ago, the awkward adolescent with the too-large forehead who couldn't stand up for herself on the Express. The Haruno Sakura now looked almost like one of those of Mother's prized china dolls—she had grown into her large forehead, and her porcelain features made her look so fragile, so breakable.

Except she wasn't. The Haruno Sakura now could cast a curse on any attackers in the blink of an eye (her skills in dueling were almost as good as his), give anyone a nasty bruise that seemed to last for months with a fist (he swore he'd seen her push one of Ravenclaw's Beaters off his broomstick after a particularly nasty Bludger to her best friend's face), and singlehandedly win at least fifty points for Gryffindor in every single class she took (Sasuke would occasionally wonder why in the name ofMerlin this girl was in Gryffindor—she was most definitely way too smart to be lumped together with the house full of reckless idiots) and every single Quidditch game she played in (Haruno Sakura's prowess as a Chaser was unrivalled, even by his own excellent team).

Haruno Sakura was different. Haruno Sakura was grown up.

Uchiha Sasuke perhapskindofsortofreally liked it.

.

It was one chilly morning in September when their paths crossed again.

Sasuke had woken up at six in the morning, much too early for a Sunday. The sun hadn't risen yet, and everyone in the entire common room was most probably still asleep, but Sasuke—Sasuke felt alert. Too alert to go back to sleep. He retrieved his Firebolt from his enchanted trunk, and silently got dressed before trudging out of the common room, broomstick in hand.

Sasuke loved flying. And that was precisely what he was going to do. He had mentally listed out a chart of vigorous flying maneuvers and things to do for his impromptu personal training session. Sasuke knew that he was an excellent Seeker (heck, the other students and even some professors claimed him to be one of the best Seekers in Hogwarts history), but Sasuke believed in constant improvement, and he worked towards it.

It was to his utter surprise when he already found someone there, already up in the air on what he could identify as the latest Nimbus broomstick, albeit in an decidedly ostensible shade of pink. Sasuke knew only one person with a customized pink broomstick, and that was—

"Hey, Sasuke."

A girl with bubblegum pink hair and eyes so bright he swore they glowed against the faint light of the rising sun.

"Haruno."

She giggled, and he made a mental note of how nice her voice sounded when she was laughing. "Just Sakura, please. It's not like we're strangers."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. Sure, they had met each other before, maybe even exchanged around five words, but that was it. If they weren't strangers, then what were they? Acquaintances? Sakura appeared to notice his discomfort, and Sasuke thought he saw a small blush dusting her (porcelain) cheek.

"W-well, I've always seen you as my friend, but umm… I'm sorry if I overstepped any boundaries? I—"

"Hn. Friends." It wasn't an outright declaration (Sasuke didn't do loud, or, heaven forbid, tactless), but it was as much as a confirmation that Sakura needed. She smiled then, and edged closer to him in midair.

"Well, Sasuke… did you come here to fly, too? Want to join me?"

"Aa." He mounted his Firebolt, and kicked off the ground, rising a few feet higher above Sakura. She grinned widely, and sped off towards the posts. Sasuke took a moment to take in how the rising sun illuminated her features, and then started in her direction.

Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura forged their first real bond in their fourth year.


notes. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/favorited/followed this story! There's no happier thing for an author than knowing someone out there is enjoying their work. :)