Here's the next chapter! I hope you'll enjoy it!

Edit: Thanks to my beta!

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The castle was crawling with rumors, and they only got worse as time went on. Soon, a girl from Hufflepuff was claiming Black could turn into a potted plant. Of course, Itachi then asked if he was a potted plant, how could he get into the castle on his own? His question went unanswered.

Apparently, others had caught sight of the ANBU as he left the castle, so rumors were circulating about him as well. Of course, they didn't know it was Itachi, so theories about the man wearing the black and white outfit with a mask were freely told to him. He was almost insulted with what was being told about him. A loveless old man who had a good nose for detecting while he lived in a room above the Hogshead tavern, waiting desperately on Dumbledore's orders? Please. At least his own 'It's a tracker' always stuck.

The Fat Lady had been replaced by, to his annoyance, Sir Cadogan. He changed the password very often, and constantly challenged people to duels. Itachi accepted once, but due to the fact the picture and he couldn't physically interact, it was called a draw.

Another annoyance was Percy Weasley. He followed their group around like an overprotective, arrogant porlock. Harry—and Ron and Hermione agreed with him—assumed Mrs. Weasley was the reason for this.

Harry revealed to Itachi one evening after a very tiring practice—Itachi was pleasantly surprised to find that Quidditch was very physically requiring, however still a far cry from ninja training—that he was very happy that the teachers hadn't tried to get him to stop coming, or have a teacher baby sit him for the training. Itachi knew it was only because he was there, but he didn't say that.

The weather steadily got worse as the days went on, and Itachi was impressed with how well the Gryffindor team went on, ignoring the weather. However, unwelcome news came the day before their match, on their final training session.

"We're not playing Slytherin! Flint's just been to see me. We're playing Hufflepuff instead." Oliver snarled to them as they sat in the locker rooms, the rain pounding outside.

"Why?"

"Flint's excuse is that their Seeker's arm's still injured. But it's obvious why they're doing it. Don't want to play in this weather. Think it'll damage their chances..."

"..."

"Don't worry, Itachi. We don't blame you. It could have been worse had you not shoved him out of the way, the arrogant git. Well... maybe if he had been killed off..."

"There's nothing wrong with Malfoy's arm!" said Harry furiously. "He's faking it!"

"I know that, but we can't prove it. And we've been practicing all those moves assuming we're playing Slytherin, and instead it's Hufflepuff, and their style's quite different. They've got a new Captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory—"

Itachi perked up hearing the name, placing a face to it, and understood why the girls on the team suddenly giggled, though the Wood seemed confused. "What?"

"He's that tall, good-looking one, isn't he? Oh, don't worry, Itachi, we still hold a place for you in our hearts." Angelina reached over and patted his arm when she noticed an expression on his face.

"Strong and silent," Katie added, causing them to start giggling again. Itachi may be a prodigy, but he probably will never understand the female mind.

"He's only silent because he's too thick to string two words—"

"Actually," Itachi said, cutting off Fred. "I met him on the train while coming to Hogwarts. He was very polite, and is certainly not stupid."

Fred scowled over at him, but turned back to his captain. "I don't know why you're worried, Oliver, Hufflepuff is a pushover. Last time we played them, Harry caught the Snitch in about five minutes, remember?"

"We were playing in completely different conditions! Diggory's put a very strong side together! He's an excellent Seeker! I was afraid you'd take it like this! We mustn't relax! We must keep our focus! Slytherin is trying to wrong-foot us! We must win!" Itachi was the only one who didn't edge away from the now bug-eyed Wood.

"Oliver, calm down!" Fred nearly shouted, looking scared. "We're taking Hufflepuff very seriously. Seriously."

"Itachi!" Wood turned to him, "You'll be playing Seeker this training session, Harry needs to practice against someone. Now let's get to work!"

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Itachi had no problems, even though he didn't much care for the sport, listening to Wood talk about Quidditch. During practice. But, when the third time he came up to the group to give little tips while between classes, the ANBU finally lost patience with him and snagged Harry by the elbow, forcing them at a jog to get to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They only barely made it in time, but they didn't go to their seats because of what, or more acutely who, they saw.

"Sit down, Potter, Uchiha." Snape said from the desk, but when Itachi attempted to drag his charge away, he was shrugged off.

"Where's Professor Lupin?"

"He says he is feeling too ill to teach today, I believe I told you to sit down?" The man replied, a twisted smile on his face.

"Glaring at him won't make Professor Lupin appear, Harry." Itachi said into the boy's ear. "Sit down before he abuses his powers as a teacher."

Finally removing the death glare, Harry listened to him and they both went to their seats. Itachi immediately started writing in a scroll, skilled hand writing out easily while he paid little attention to the conversation around him. Finishing surprisingly quickly, he rolled the parchment up, and raised his hand.

The entire class went quiet, staring at him, and Snape had no choice but to stop berating Hermione for attempting to tell him what they covered and call on him. "What is it, Uchiha?"

"The records you're wanting are on the desk, sir. Under the tank." His parchment had disappeared, and indeed, there was one sitting harmlessly on the desk, poking out from under the tank that had held the Grindylow.

Snape snatched the paper forcefully, opening it to see Lupin's curly writing, having a neat little timeline on it. Snape's face got redder and redder, and he crumpled up the paper. "That was nothing but trash, now get out your books and turn to page," He forcefully opened his own book and flipped to the very back. "Three hundred and ninety-four. We'll be studying werewolves today."

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly, knowing exactly what he was doing. But he did what he could, and Snape still squirmed out of it.

"Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?"

"The werewolf differs from a true wolf in the obvious way that it turns human at the end of the full moon. Another point is the sheer violent nature a werewolf possesses towards humans in particular. Wolves tend to avoid humans, if possible." Itachi spoke quietly, ignoring the way Hermione scowled over at him for answering instead of her.

"Five points from Gryffindor for speaking out of turn, Uchiha. You will only speak when called upon." The class immediately reacted negatively.

Itachi quickly jerked down Ron, who had made to shout at the teacher. "The best retaliations are the ones they do not expect." He whispered into his ear. "Wait until the opportune moment." Ron scowled, but otherwise listened to him and didn't do anything.

The rest of the class was spent in utter silence, writing down notes from the book as Snape prowled. Team Six was quick to gather their things and leave at the bell, waiting until they were out of ear shot before bursting out in a torrent against Snape, the arrogant bastard, who does he think he is?

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Itachi instantly threw the kunai, waking up from his sleep when the felt a difference in the room. Peeves zoomed out, cursing at him as the blade lodged itself into the wall where he had appeared through.

He glanced at his clock, and saw it turn four thirty as he watched it. The howling winds, tremendous claps of thunder, and the groans of the trees echoed through the room, but they were natural sounds his body tuned out. However, he was awake now, only a little while until he would normally get up, so he decided to train a little more then usual today. He was getting flabby. He changed into his training wear, like usual, not adding anything because of the weather. He was just removing the kunai from the wall when he turned to see Harry sleepily look at him while putting on his glasses.

"What time is it?" He mumbled, squinting about the room.

"Too early for you to be up," Itachi replied. He walked around back to his spot in the room. No point in doing the stretches outside. He was a ninja, but he wasn't stupid.

"Ugh, it's not even five yet..." Harry moaned, waiting a minute more in complete silence before sliding out of bed. "With this storm, I'd never get back to sleep. What are you doing up?"

Harry and the others didn't know about his morning routine, as by the time they woke up, he was already in the bathroom taking a shower, at least.

"I'm keeping in shape. I do not wish to go back to my school and be run ragged."

Harry frowned over at him, putting on his shirt. "But it's not just raining, Itachi, it's a thunderstorm. You could get sick from being out there."

"Are your Quidditch games canceled because of the weather?"

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging. "Point taken."

Itachi, finished with his stretches, calmly went out the door after putting his 'security' on his trunk. It wouldn't do him good if his dorm mates got curious and found his uniform, now.

Itachi trained himself hard, using the minimal visibility to its full extent, pulling complex moves and jutsu he hadn't risked doing in a while. He was panting by the time he made his way back up to the tower to shower and change into dry clothes. He wasn't slowing—probably due to his routine and the strenuous training practices Wood made him do—but he wasn't improving either, which was almost worse. He nodded to Harry, who was sitting in the common room in front of the fire, before taking his shower.

He was dressed as the others started to wake up, and accompanied Harry down for breakfast.

"Why do you always say that?" Harry said, food almost to his mouth as he looked at Itachi.

"Itadakimasu? That is a word that expresses gratitude to the ones who prepared the food, and for the things that were scarified to make the food. Oats for bread, corn, meat, all were alive at one point, and must be thanked or suffer the wrath of the gods." He replied evenly, chopsticks—he refused to use forks, to Team Six's annoyance—taking up a piece of his eggs and popping them into his mouth.

"Well then, Ita-da-key-mass!" Harry pronounced slowly and began eating his own food. "Don't want vengeful gods after me, especially today."

The rest of the team showed up and sat around them, discussing, of course, the upcoming match. Eventually they excused themselves and made their way to the locker rooms. As Itachi was technically a "replacement" he wasn't allowed to follow them, for which he was glad.

He was, again, seemingly the only one wise enough to put on his heavy, semi-waterproof winter cloak before leaving the castle, choosing a particularly good spot on the very most edge of one of the Gryffindor's Quidditch towers corners. He set up his very large umbrella, holding it in place and protecting it from the fierce winds with some spells he copied. Spells were for comfort, jutsu were for killing, he reasoned.

Ron and Hermione joined him a little while later, soaked and extremely grateful for the (slight) protection from the rain. They chatted slightly, but quieted when the red and yellow robed students came out.

Itachi sat still and impassive, eyes either scanning the ground from his vantage point or locked on Harry's rain blurred form. The shower hindered his normal eyes, but he didn't dare activate his sharingan. There were far too many people around who, with a quick glance, could see his eyes.

The team was doing remarkably well, especially the Chasers. Itachi was best at being the Keeper, his keen eyes and quick reflexes being quite a challenge to the girls. They had to come up with some tricky methods to get by him, and it was paying off as they scored again and again. Soon, Madam Hooch—a woman with bird like yellow eyes—shrilled her whistle for a time out and Hermione hastily excused herself.

But soon she was back, and the game started again, Harry notably better at flying. Resolved to ask what she did later, he went back to his duty, scanning and watching.

Itachi frowned as his dark eyes watched Harry, who was peering at something in another column's stand and caused his broom to drop a bit. He glanced over, saw nothing, but knowing something had been there. He flipped his hood on over his head, stood up and walked towards the edge of his column, watching as Harry streaked at his fastest to where Cedric was rising to catch the glimmer of gold.

And then he felt it, crawling across him, a sickening cold as the crowd dimmed in silence. His eyes snapped downwards, squinting to see Dementors—hundreds of them—gliding into the center of the field. He snarled, pushing away the feeling, red eyes jerking to Harry, recalling that he had fainted with one Dementor. To his alarm, Harry began to fall.

Quickly, he jumped over the ledge, hood flapping off his head, adding chakra to his feet as he bolted down, forming seals as he went. He had to get rid of the Dementors first, for they seemed to have an abnormal fixation on Harry, their hooded heads peering directly up to him.

He slammed his hand onto the dirt ground as he approached them, calling out his jutsu. "Doton Kekkai: Doroudoumu!" (Earth technique, clay barrier) The ground around the creatures shook slightly, before jolting up into existence, covering them and blocking them off in a mound of dirt. The abnormal hush died away slightly, the biting cold leaving, but not by much. Itachi didn't waste any time as Harry had fallen completely off his broom now, running full speed up the new earth dome for added height. Jumping with a burst of chakra, he shot off to intercept Harry, catching the unconscious boy. The force which they collided in air sent them plummeting towards one of the towers, so Itachi twisted his body so that he would hit it and not Harry. Sure enough, Itachi bit back on the burst of pain as his back crashed into the wooden structure before beginning to fall straight down. Not being an ANBU for nothing, he shot out with one hand and added chakra to it so it'd slow their decent to the muddy ground despite the alarming pain he felt along his back. It shouldn't be hurting that much.

Nearly to the ground, he released his hand, and clasped it around Harry and rotated so he'd take the brunt of the fall when they surely landed, his mind clouding over. His last sensation was landing with a sickening thud onto the ground, Harry's weight pressing on his chest.

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"Lucky the ground was so soft." A voice broke through his muddled mind, dragging him from the recesses he had been in.

"I thought he was dead for certain."

"Will he be ok too?"

"Amazing what he did, wasn't it?"

"Saved his life."

"Hey, I think he's awake!"

Harry groaned, his whole body ached, as though he'd been beaten senseless and then kicked a few more times for added measure. He opened his eyes, his vision swimming, until it focused as he fumbled to put on his glasses to see the whole Quidditch team, though they looked like mud wrestlers fresh out of a tournament, and his two best friends, looking like they had swum here.

Where 'here' was suddenly came to him, and he sat up with a wince. He was in the hospital wing, and as he thought for the 'why', his mind suddenly filled with the horrible sensation of screaming, biting cold, a woman's pleas, and cruel, all encompassing laughter— "Harry!" Fred breathed, looking very pale from what he could tell under the mud. "How are you feeling?"

"What happened?" He asked instead, looking from face to face. He remembered the snitch, then the Dementors, then biting cold, then falling...

"You fell off," Fred replied, "Must have been what, twenty meters?"

"Luckily Itachi was there."

"Yeah, without him you probably would have died."

"Where is Itachi?" He asked, noticing the silent boy that seemed too mature for his own good, and was always unruffled, was not around his bed. He always seemed to be there, stopping him from doing something stupid, giving him advise on some homework, or just giving him some silent company, and Harry would be very surprised if he was not right at his side waiting to tell him off for being weak, so where was he? He was weird, with his strange habits and personality, but his absence was suddenly extremely noticeable, and Harry berated himself for not noticing sooner.

The group got really quiet, looking around at each other, before Hermione and Ron parted, revealing that Itachi lay in the next bed over.

His top was bare except for white gauze wrapped around his chest. He looked pale, even for him, his black hair hanging limply in starch contrast around his sleeping face. His handsome features were smoothed in sleep, his normally beautiful black eyes closed off to the world. He was very tone, more tone then a thirteen year old had a right to be, but still he didn't look abnormal. But lying in the bed, not moving except for his breathing, he suddenly seemed very frail. 'He's just a kid, like me...' Harry's mind reminded him, as though he'd forgotten.

"He was bleeding so much," Hermione said in a shaking voice, looking over as well. "He's under a sleeping potion, because of the pain. Madam Pomfrey said when he crashed into the Quidditch tower's wooden frame, the skin on his back was torn off."

"What?" His eyebrows furrowed, and the others glanced between each other before relenting and telling him exactly what happened.

He felt extremely saddened by the fact they lost—he caused them to loose, even though the Chasers had scored a lot so it wasn't by much, even with the snitch being caught by Cedric—but it was pushed aside in awe when they said what happened with Itachi.

Itachi somehow enclosed the Dementors in dirt, before somehow jumping high enough to catch him while he was falling. He maneuvered to take the impacts, but before they landed on the ground, he somehow slowed himself down, too far away from any of the teachers for them to help. The dirt tomb had broken down then from the efforts of its captives, and the newly arrived Dumbledore shot some silvery stuff at them, causing them to promptly leave. He then conjured some stretches and put Harry and Itachi on them, running them to the hospital wing.

"We all thought you two were..." Hermione trailed off, after the team had left, being shooed away by Madam Pomfrey.

Harry was hardly listening, instead looking over to where Itachi lay, not waking from their talking. He never really saw him sleeping before...

"Did... anyone get my Nimbus?" He asked, breaking the silence that had settled around them.

His friends shared a glance, before Ron slowly reached down, and put a small bag on his bed. "I'm sorry, Harry... But it hit the Whomping willow."

"Professor Flitwick brought it before you woke."

Harry felt his eyes water, his finally beaten broomstick the straw that broke the camel's back.

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MDF: How was my interpretation of the Quidditch scene? Believable?