Haruno Sakura and the War of Two Worlds

By Inner Self

Haha, I do love you guys. It's just, I have to scheme. I'm a reader myself, and I know it's SO difficult to get an audience if one is below the 50 reviews bar.

Chapter 8: "Dreams and Memories"

… … … … …

"Uchiha Itachi!"

She had been scanning the Iron Village with Pakkun when she caught a glance of red clouds and ebony locks massed in a low ponytail. She sped off in the direction, carefully concealing her chakra. She passed through an alleyway and tripped over a lazily piled mess of crates. "Shit," she cursed. The missing-nin, most likely an Akatsuki underling and THE Uchiha Itachi at best, took off running and vaulted over the alley fence. Sakura's chakra flared into the soles of her feet, and she raced after him. He flew off into the woods, a battleground with low possibility of civilian casualties, as well as an easy retreat.

He led her into a clearing and stopped. Sakura didn't take the bait. She leapt into the tree canopy, trying to plan some way to contain him and alert Team 7. She pulled a flare out of her bag and a match. She struck the match against the tree. Somehow, from his twelve meter distance, he knew what she planned to do.

"That is unnecessary, Sakura-san," he said. Instantaneously, he reappeared on the same tree she perched on. Startled, Sakura dropped the match. No time to send the flare, she decided to attack. If she hit a vital point, she could heal him before he bled out. At least that was her plan. She led an offensive through the canopy and Itachi dodged blow by blow. Staring at his shoulder, Sakura had no idea if his Sharingan was activated or not, but she couldn't keep up her senseless attack very long. Her chakra punch was a good reflex, but to restrain an opponent like Itachi, she needed her chakra scalpels. If she gained some distance to perform the seals, she could end up losing him. But she'd never capture the target at this rate. She needed her paralyzing jutsu. She also needed to bring down the forest to upset his footing.

'That's what I'll do,' she finalized in her head. "Perform the seals for a scalpel in one hand. Bring down the forest and strike when he falls.'

She leapt away from the canopy and into the clearing..

"Sakura-san, let's talk," he called out from the distance.

She performed the seals.

"I want to talk about Sasuke."

She growled, "You Have NO RIGHT!"

She launched her attack. She slammed a fist into the ground. The forest groaned, all its trees uprooted and crashed into the floor. Chakra flared in the soles of her feet and she dashed to his position. She moved her scalpel hand in a slicing motion toward his back, so to be sure not to miss. He would be a momentary paraplegic. She saw his head turn, smirk gracing his irritating lips. She growled.

And froze.

Before she realized where she was, his own little world, she was immersed in a vision of the time during the mission to rescue Gaara. They'd met. They'd talked. She'd thought she was a goner, but he had spared her. Now she would have the chance to learn why. Confidantly, Sakura performed the seals to free herself from the genjutsu. She'd seen it once. Now she could break it. It washed away like something cold trickling down her back.

"Now will you listen?"

She scrunched up her nose and pursed her lips suspiciously and stared him down. "You have one minute."

"Madara wants me dead. You as well."

'Well, that certainly disn't take long,' she thought. Astonished, she stammered. "Me? Out of all the people he wants to kill… me?"

"He wants to kill Naruto, but he wants you out of the picture. Out of Naruto's life…and out of Sasuke's. He wants the kyuubi. He wants my eyes. I know of a safe place. If I save you, you have to do something for me."

"I don't need saving. I'd gladly die for my country!" she snapped.

"Go into hiding. For me. For your country."

"No."

Itachi sighed. He moved a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "Alright. No. Then do something else for me. Please, Haruno-san." He met her eye to eye. She stood her ground. He didn't manipulate her mind. She didn't relax her guard. Did he truly want an alliance?

"Why should I trust you?"

"Look beyond the past. I want Madara dead. That should be enough to form an alliance for now. I have another favor to ask. Hide me."

"Hide you? I like living in Konoha, outside of bars, thank-you very much."

"I learned a jutsu a long time ago that can separate body and mind. It requires a willing host. I would owe you my life if you did this for me. I have already hidden my body."

"How are you here? I have never seen a kagebunshin last this long." she asked, flabbergasted.

"I'm using a vessel, like last time we met. Hide my mind. I am asking you to host my mind. I will sleep until the time is right. I will lead you to my body. I will be a great ally to you in the coming war. I just want Madara dead."

Sakura ground her teeth. This was unbelievable. Inconsievable. That THE Uchiha Itachi was striking a deal with her. He could have killed her that day two years ago, but he found the urge to ask HER to save him, so to speak. To safekeep his life for an indefinite amount of time.

"We will work together to see Madara dead. You will be a hero, just as Naruto is to the people of Konoha."

Sakura bit her lip. "So I just go on living with you in my head or what?"

"If you are ever in trouble, I should be able to aid you. My Mangekyou is more than a weapon. I will give you my mind and chakra for safekeeping. You will release my body from its stasis when the time comes."

Itachi offered his hand. She trailed her gaze from his hand, to the pale underside of his forearm, all the way up to his unwavering onyx orbs. She placed her hand in his, and they shook.

"I planned an encounter with your friend Naruto as well. I exchanged some of my power for some of his. It is possible you will be able to use some of Naruto's power. Back to our deal. The seal is simple. Your cooperation is important. Please relax."

Sakura forced the tenseness out of her shoulder. She fought with herself for a few minutes. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them. He drew a couple of hand seals she recognized. "But that's kagebunshin."

"Sasuke is expecting a fight. That will require another vessel. A kagebunshin absorbed by a fallen body, that's all this jutsu requires." The dopple-ganger 'poofed' into existence and seated itself on the fallen trunk of an uprooted tree. Itachi formed another set of seals. Again nothing miraculous happened. Sakura was getting impatient and started wanting to pull out of her decision.

"Relax," Uchiha Itachi reiterated. He placed his hands gently on her shoulders to steady himself. Sakura caught the glint of his canines as he said it. She thought it weird, but it made more sense when he bit down on her neck.

She pulled back in shock, too much shock to feel the pain. She felt around her neck and found a moist patch where her blood dribbled out of the wound. Immediately she was reminded of Orochimaru. The Itachi that was standing right in front of her began fall. Her body absorbed the energy from the chakra-laden corpse as it turned to ash. Next she was seeing visions of his life, but they were too fast to extract any information. Sakura felt faint at the intensity of the merging. Her knees gave out. She heard the doppleganger's voice, faint and muddled say, "Obliviate temporamentalis," or something to that extent. Then her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

… … … … …

"OH MY GOD!" Sakura woke with the epiphany of her lifetime.

Pansy threw a pillow at her head. "Do shut up. Some of us care about our beauty sleep," she mumbled grumpily enough for Sakura to hear.

Paying no attention to her, Sakura threw on her uniform and robes and dashed across the room to the closed door of the loo. She tried to open it. Locked.

"I'm busy. Hold on," replied Daphne on the other side. Sakura tugged out her wand.

"Sorry, it's urgent. Alohamora!"

The girl screamed. She was a spectacle to be seen, enchanted curlers in her hair and cucumbers covering her eyes, trying not to let anything touch her freshly painted nails as Sakura jostled the witch out of the quaint bathroom and slammed the door shut. Sakura whipped up the collar of her nightshirt and fussed over her neck in the mirror. She leaned in. "It's there!" she gasped, eyes wide with surprise. There it was, the mark. Two white bumps of scarred tissue, slightly lighter than her already pale complexion. Sakura could make out the spiraled three-tomoe pattern like the one Orochimaru had bestowed on Sasuke. Having seen enough, Sakura ran out of the bathroom.

"Bathroom is all yours, Daphne!" Sakura announced to the bewildered, irate witch as she dashed out to throw some clothes on. She then ran out the dorm, up to the common room and secret entrance, heading for the breakfast hall. She needed a private confidance with Dumbledore or Snape immediately. Sakura made a conscious effort not to band the grand doors to the breakfast hall as she sauntered down the middle aisle to the head table.

Dumbledore was joking with McGonagall when she approached, fists clenched to still herself.

"Yes, Miss Haruno, is there something you'd like to discuss? Care to walk with me to my office?"

'Oh, God, I must really look transparent,' she thought, stilling her features.

The walk was long and boring and quiet. She was dying to tell her epiphany to somebody, well, that she trusted could not use it against her. She thought back to her entrance. Thankfully, the High Inquisi-toad taught only one class on Mondays and reserved the right to catch up on her sleep. As if she did anything strenuous in her position of power. Sakura would have been in for a fun little 'chat' with the Toad had karma not been kind to her.

She sighed with relief. 'Shinobi rule no. 38: Learn from mistakes; don't wallow in them.'

Sakura seated herself in one of the sofas by the Headmaster's fireplace. It wasn't lit, but the stone was decorated magnificently and was pleasing to trail along with her eyes. The Headmaster appeared behind the sofa she occupied and handed her a cup of tea. She gladly accepted it. He waved his wand and the tea platter trailed behind him as he found a comfortable place to sit, a wing backed plush chair. He waved his wand again, and the tea tray set on the tea table.

"Is Professor Snape going to listen in?"

"Do you want me to fetch him?"

Sakura shook her head. "He has classes to teach, but I'd like to hear his opinion when he can make time."

"What's this all about, Miss Haruno?" he gently asked. And she told him everything about the dream she'd had. He did his best to piece together mechanics of her "magic" as she blurted the story, going a mile a minute, rather than interrupt the delicate tale in her attempt to make sense of it. When she finished, she waited nervously for his opinion.

Professor Dumbledore lifted a brow. "I can tell you want an answer, Miss Haruno, but I do not fully understand the question."

"Do you think it's real? The dream?"

"You mentioned a dream before the one you received tonight. One that was to alert you of this one. It is very likely that your mind is telling you the truth. Something like this cannot be conjured up unless there is evidence of one stray, random imagining. It all appears solid enough."

"What about the end? I heard his double murmur a spell before going off to battle his brother. How could that be possible?"

Professor Dumbledore offered a question to answer hers. "Well, you are here, are you not?"

No more advice to be given, Sakura nodded, thanked the man, and stood up leave. "Oh, another thing. I forgot to mention it yesterday when I got back, but Lucius Malfoy is harboring a dark artifact.

"I know. It is common knowledge to our Order members and a small part of the Wizarding World. No matter how many times the Ministry obtains a warrant to search his home, the officials will always end up empty handed. But thank-you for the information."

"So if he were to find out I told you, he'd have no qualms with me since its nearly common knowledge?"

"No worries, my dear. He has bigger secrets to keep him on his toes. I'll tell Severus of our discussion."

… … … … …

Sakura had been thinking of the dark artifact the whole week she got back. Sakura sighed. She should have been able to put it out of her thoughts. She had bigger problems. Like the information she had on Uchiha Itachi, and the fact that maybe somehow he was being kept alive. And that she could be harboring him, against her current knowledge.

Alas, she did think of the artifact. She had a few nights where she tossed and turned, dreaming of the power she could gain from it. Before she would awake, a little voice in her head would insist, "It is a lovely diadem, but you need not look further than inside you for the power you seek."

'That's right,' she agreed to herself one day as she laid on her bed, scanning but not paying attention to her potions manual. 'Enough of this nonsense. I don't need that rusty old thing. It's just messing with my head…,' She yelped. "Could Itachi be messing with my head?" She got up and went to the loo mirror. She peered into it. She focused on seeing Itachi. Nothing happened. She sighed. Whether it was a dream or reality, she wouldn't know until some indefinite time in the future. She returned to her room and packed up for double Potions.

… … … … …

Naruto stood in a crater the size of Konoha. The size of the former, glorious Konoha. Pein had attacked months after Naruto attended the funeral of a precious friend and heard convincing rumors of Sasuke's death. He didn't want to believe any of it. He had refused to be a pessimist all his life. Naruto undertook a journey to learn the sage hermit ways and push himself to achieve his hokage dream, and he came back to ruins. His optimistic shell came so close to cracking. Akatsuki kept beating down his morale. His new-found sage mode ability strained under the prowess of Pein and his blood limit wielding clones. He drained himself. He felt that spark of defeat. Then Hinata threw herself into the fight, but Pein smacked her out of the way. She was knocked unconscious, bleeding out at Naruto's feet, and the beast within him awoke.

… … … … …

"I bet you can't be partners with mudblood Granger and survive," Draco whispered to Sakura as they waited for Professor Snape to enter the Room in his usual, brooding fashion.

Sakura whispered back, "same goes for you and Potter. You two need counseling."

Draco huffed. "After you."

"Yeah, well, you're on," Sakura smirked. She'd have better luck. After all, Hermione and Sakura didn't classify themselves as enemies anymore.

Professor Snape walked into the room at precisely 1:59 P.M. and whipped out his want, giving it a swish in the direction of the chalkboard. The instructions for the day spelled on in his spiky, cursive scrawl. "As I have told you dunderheads before, wands are to stay away from the workspaces. You may begin. Find a partner."

Draco whispered to Goyle, "That's your cue. Go grab Weasley."

Sakura went up and got the ingredients. She hauled them to Neville's workspace just as he had made his way to the crowded ingredient cabinet. "Hello, Granger."

"What are you doing?"

"Saving you the trouble of double checking Longbottom's potion. It's a one-time offer and I'm not taking no for an answer. He can partner with Pansy. He'll enjoy her company. I'm positive."

When Neville returned, Hermione gave him an apologetic look, not willing to rock the boat in Snape's class and land them both in detention. Sakura went to work on the potion. Neville went to hunt down a partner. Harry made a stint about Draco and his partnership. Professor Snape glared at the two before directing his acid tongue at Potter. "Don't want the Golden Boy failing potions, do we? I suppose the Aurors except anyone these days. Ten points from Gryffindor now get to work!"

Harry's temper flared, but Hermione nudged him to bottle it down. It was going to be a long double potions. Five minutes later, Hermione and Sakura were already at each others throats. "No, I told you, we need to cut them exactly three millimeters apart," she whispered harshly.

"I'm telling you, the angle assures that the root properties are absorbed with the maximum efficiency," Sakura argued sotto voce. "If done my way, you don't have to nit-pick the widths. Just turn it and cut diagonally."

Hermione glared at her, trying to will her bossiness into effect. Sakura sighed and looked to how Draco was handling the trial worse than death. Surprisingly, Harry and Draco were doing their best to ignore each other. Draco would do one step and Harry would take over the next.

Sakura blew a hair out of her face as she eyeballed them. 'They must have figured their potion is bound to come out shit. I bet they just want to survive the class period. Good thinking, underachievers.'

Hermione tried to take advantage of Sakura's stray thought by dumping her roots into the cauldron. Sakura reflexively slapped her hands out of the way. "I told you not to do that!" she hissed in her own imperial tone. "You can't be positive of the measurements! That's why I said to use the diagonal method! It's the most efficient."

"Look, Haruno, the book says to cut 3mm vertically," said Hermione in her harshest whisper available.

"It's a children's book. It has simple and easy instructions," Sakura continued the whispered argument, "to ensure we don't blow up our cauldrons. Even then, Longbottom exceeds the publisher's expectations of dunderheadedness." Sakura rolled her eyes all-knowingly.

Hermione pursed her lips. "There's nothing wrong with adding a few more roots." And she dropped. Them. In.

For a second, Sakura couldn't see straight. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO DROP THE FUCKING ROOTS IN!"

"Holy shit, Sakura," said Pansy from the other side of the room, jaw-dropping comically, probably reliving her own fight with the girl earlier that year.

Sakura's head pounded. She placed a chakra-laden hand to her head to try to make the pressure ebb, but she couldn't concentrate long enough to summon her chakra. "God, Hermione, can't. you. Listen. To. Anyone. But youself?" She growled out as the pain escalated. Sakura closed her eyes. Hermione snapped and yelled back, "I can be bossy at times. So what? At least I will admit it!" The whole class turned to eavesdrop on their quarrel. "You're just a stuck up Slytherin who thinks she's always right, just because Professor Snape feels the urge to give YOU All The House POINTS!"

Sakura tried to control herself. She reeled in her chakra, but the urge to push Hermione boiled in her system. The girl slammed into Seamus who slammed into his best friend, Dean Thomas, who smacked into the wall. The other two collided with Dean's desk, and knocked it into the empty one next to Harry as they fell. Everything happened so quickly that Professor Snape had no time to cast a pillow charm for Dean. He passed out when the back of his head met stone wall, and Sakura followed when her body relented to the searing, hot pain at the back of her skull. Professor Snape ordered Ron, Harry, and Draco to run their friends to the infirmary as he disappeared their spilled, unstable concoctions.

… … … … …

Dean Thomas suffered a concussion, ironically, at the hands of the pink-haired healer. Madam Pomfrey hurriedly assigned their friends beds, stabilized Dean and reset Hermione's arm and three of Finnigan's fingers and wrist. Professor Dumbledore arrived just at Ron, Harry, and Draco began to relay the details to Madam Pomfrey. "I just want to say, Madam Poppy," Draco plead, "that I have never seen Sakura go off like that."

Harry and Ron reluctantly added, so that their potion maker didn't get expelled, that they hadn't either. "She just sort of…flipped," Ron said, adding in a shrugg. Harry agreed with a simple, eloquent "Yeah."

Professor Dumbledore examined the bed occupants. "If that is all, you may run along to your next class. Ten points to each of you for assisting Professor Snape with this unexpected mishap."

When Sakura awoke, she could still feel the slight pounding of a persistent headache. She let her chakra well up in her hand and placed it to her temples. She let the soothing chakra work for a few minutes, then she sighed in relief. Professor Dumbledore sat aside her bed. He cleared his throat. She sat up immediately to take note of where she was-the Hospital Wing.

"How long have I been here?" she asked.

"Oh, I'd say two hours. I came back to check on the four of you. You should be impressed to know young Draco maintained Mobilicorpus on you and Mr. Finnigan up three flights of stairs."

"Wow… I felt awful. What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Ron gawked from across the wing. "You went stark-raving mad, off your bloody rocker!" Hermione and Finnigan had been discharged as soon as they woke. The healing magic on their fractures would work over night. Dean had yet to wake up. Madam Pomfrey decided to let him sleep for 24 hours or until he woke on his own.

"I remember arguing with Hermione. She was being a twat. I guess I was, too. I was just so angry. I'm so sorry, Hermione."

Hermione frowned guiltily. "Apology accepted… and I'm sorry, too. I could have handled the situation better, rather than add to it."

"Miss Haruno, why were you angry with Miss Granger?" he asked kindly.

Sakura frowned, trying to remember. "Because she… I don't know."

"Perhaps we can discuss this later with your Head of House," he said in a voice that said he was helping her.

She felt better knowing the tone in his reprimand was understanding. They'd work a punishment out, she guessed, but she doubted she'd be expelled. "Is Professor Snape disappointed with me?"

"He is bewildered. We all are, from what I heard of the students' reactions. I will talk to you some more later. In the mean time, if I were you, I'd consider consequences. You can start with Mr. Thomas, who has lapsed into a stress-induced coma."

Professor Dumbledore left her guessing the fate of Dean Thomas. She rushed to his side, worrying that she'd caused some irreparable damage. The Gryffindor Trio and Seamus, luckily, allowed her to redeam herself. When Sakura finished running diagnostics on his head and spinal column, she sighed, deeply relieved.

"His skull was cracked, but it was a minor fracture, and no more damage was done," Hermione said, the Gryffindors having known all along. Sakura frowned. Professor Dumbledore's little scare couldn't have been planned better, even if the students were in on it.

"Thank Kami-sama," she sighed. She let her soothing chakra run over the crack at the back of Dean's skull. She turned to his best friend. "Finnigan," she said sincerely, "can you tell him that I'm sorry as soon as he wakes up?"

Seamus wasn't in much of a generous mood after what she did, even if she couldn't explain it. Sakura's shoulders slumped and she stared at the floor, wallowing in shame. This is what she deserved for breaking her medic oath.

"I will," Seamus begrudgingly agreed.

Her gaze popped up to his. She felt like crying, but she did her best to hold her composure. "Thank-you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry everyone. I have no idea what happened."

The Gryffindors ended up forgiving her. Sakura was quiet when she left them. She was quiet through the rest of her classes. She was quiet throughout dinner that night when she had no homework to keep her occupied. She had breached her medic oath. The Pansy situation had been a little different. Pansy started that fight. So Sakura couldn't shake her funk and decided to visit the Potions lab. She'd find some medicinal potions to brew.

… … … … …

Sakura finished just as Professor Snape discovered her.

"Merlin all mighty, it is almost ten o' clock. I'd expect research at this hour possible, but grunt work can be done at a more suitable time.

"Professor Snape. Oh, the Headmaster told me to come to you for my punishment. I'm sorry. I've been distracted ever since… since my…" She frowned in thought, trying once again to remember what went on in double potions.

"Your temper tantrum?" he offered.

"Yes," she replied in a small voice.

"It was unexpected. You looked possessed."

Sakura froze.

"It's a figure of speech around here. Demon possessions are rare among magical humans."

"Has Professor Dumbledore told you about my dream?"

"He said I should hear from you," Professor Snape said. He walked over to his desk and pulled out his leather chair. He moved it to the front of his desk and asked her to pull a chair over.

"Miss Haruno, have you ever heard of Legilimency?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"It is a magical art that allows the practitioner to see another's memories."

"So you'd be able to see my dream, and I wouldn't have to fumble through my explanation? Wait. You said the art you to see memories. What if all I had was a vivid dream?"

"Then I will be fooled. If you believe it is a memory, if it looks everything a memory should, then I will see it," he answered.

"What do I have to do?" she asked with a sense of déjà vu.

"Draw up the memory to the forefront of your mind and relax."

Sakura wanted to roll her eyes. Oh how that was becoming her least favorite word.

Professor Snape took half an hour to review the memory. Finally, he pulled out and declared, "It looks sound. The end part helps to reinforce it. The temporary obliviation charm does exist, but it is hardly ever used. Wizards prefer the more permanent version. Did you find the scar?"

"Yes, sir. It's an easy to miss scar; just two tiny, white bumps. I had to know I was looking for it before I found it. It's almost as if Uchiha Itachi tried to heal the bite wound before running off to fight his brother."

"Do you think he lied to you, Miss Haruno? I do not believe you were yourself today."

"I don't think so. It was a raw emotion, and the Uchiha Itachi I recall was cold and calculating. Still, he must not have told me everything when I accepted his deal."

"Report to Professor Dumbledore or myself if you start feeling not quite yourself. You may keep your dreams private."

"Thank-you for your help, Professor Snape. Have a good night's sleep."

… … … … …

Sakura felt restless in her sleep. Her body tossed and turned more than what could be considered normal. She mumbled incoherencies. She made petulant noises.

Sakura. I didn't think that would happen. I don't know why it happened. Luckily, you passed out.

Oh, yeah, uber lucky.

You could have killed someone. You haven't regained full control over yourself, but you should be fine come morning. I can sense you tossing and turning in your sleep. You usually sleep like the dead.

Stalker. Who are you?

You know who I am.

A stalker.

Focus, Sakura. I need you to meditate every morning. Focus on me. Then I will be able to counsel you on my whereabouts. If you ever feel out of control again, focus on me. I'll lend you my power.

… … … … …

"ITACHI!" she exclaimed. Pansy didn't throw a pillow this time. In fact, Sakura was the only one in the dorm. She rushed to dress. "Great, Itachi, you made me late! Oh, great, now I'm talking to myself /slash/ an imaginary dead guy. How's that for meditating?" She quickly brushed her teeth in the loo, pulling back the collar of her nightshirt, leaning close to the mirror, toothbrush hanging out of her mouth to glare suspiciously at the tiny puncture wounds.

"There's nothing wrong with being in denial," she said aloud. "Does this mean I have to take showers blindfolded? Am I going to start getting answers when I talk to myself?"

She sighed again and hurried off to class, breakfast already over.

Sakura wanted to tell Professor Dumbledore of her new dream that evening, but he was nowhere to be found. She took her trick coin from her pocket and asked the Trio if they had seen him. He'd fled. Umbridge was to be announced as the Headmistress at dinner for those who missed breakfast.

'I was at lunch. Is there nothing dramatic about announcements at lunch?' Sakura rolled her eyes.

So the Toad became Head Toad, and the DA gained a greater following of the student body, with the exclusion of course of Sakura and the other Slytherins. Sakura could see their point though. It was difficult to discern which Slytherins were fully self-serving, which had a vendetta against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, etc. The easiest Slytherins to recruit, Sakura confessed to herself, were the ones who were not allowed out for Hogsmeade weekends yet. And they were simply too young to get involved in a war. By Wizarding standards, they were babies.

'I was a baby at that age,' she thought disheartened.

Sakura had started training religiously again, but ishe'd moved into the Forbidden Forest. She hoped to get a feel for a battle in the Wizarding World, but mostly she wanted to get away from the Room of Requirement. In all likelihood, Itachi could have been controlling her boggart just as much as the Room. If he were real, she added mentally. 'Oh, Kami-sama, he is real, isn't he?' she groaned. She was starting to come around to the idea.

March was a frenzy for her. She had neglected her studies (and Draco) so much for fear her kunoichi skills were getting rusty. She felt like she was being pulled on a medieval torture device a.k.a. the muggle laffy taffy machine, so she had heard Charity Burbage refer to it. Sakura thought her a remarkably different sort of eccentric pureblood.

In early April, Sakura stopped avoiding the Room of Requirement. Traveling to the Forbidden Forest was eating up precious minutes. That and the Room would morph into a locker room if she needed to shower. Sakura quit making potions for the Gryffindors. Hermione understood, what with Sakura being a new student and the O.W.L.s being around the corner. Hermione offered to study with her, but Sakura told her that they couldn't be seen together. Hermione had forgotten and sadly accepted it as fact.

Itachi never failed to be a constant imaginary sparring partner. Sometimes it was Neji, sometimes Lee, and so forth. Her hits never made contact, but it was more practical than the log puppet drills. The Room traded off scenery suggestions. It was always forest, and the trees were always massive. Yet, when the boggart chose, the room always changed into the same scenery. It had the same backdrop, the same stream flowing South under one of the fattest tree Sakura could ever imagine. Random illusions of centaurs, giants, and vampires popped into the sparring matches every now and then. To distract her. Then the image of her opponent's foot would pass through her midsection and she'd realize she'd lost her focus. And she'd try harder, learn, and grow. Her sparring partner never talked. It was in April that Sakura started meditating and opening her mind to its highly probably guest.

It was also in April that Fred and George Weasley abandoned their schooling with a grand fairwell fireworks display. They'd planned it to happen during dinner. Thankfully, Sakura had gotten hungry and decided to eat a hot meal rather than run to the kitchens at a late hour. What they created was simply brilliant. It reminded her of Naruto, but it left the distinct air of a Weasley jest. The genius use of charm work, for example, and how the fireworks were able to keep up their Chinese dragon imitation for ten whole minutes before burning out in Umbridge's new office.

Sakura pulled a few all nighters the week before Dead Week. She paced herself the rest of her remaining time, knowing she'd fail if she didn't have the material down by now. On May 12th, she faced her first trial, the Defense final. The next week would be another and another the next week. It would continue as such until the last day of school on June 24th. She thought it extremely impractical.

Everyone seemed to be busy or on a different work schedule. She trained in the Room of Requirement when she wasn't brushing up for finals. Sakura didn't feel like training one Thursday afternoon. Sakura laid down for a midday nap on one of the common room sofas. She wasn't disturbed until seven o' clock, when Draco roused her for dinner. They ate and chatted. Sakura got caught up with his affairs in the Inquisitorial Squad. She would have joined, or so she told Draco, but she was kept busy providing Professor Snape with a second pair of hands. He understood of course. "On the bright side," she had once remarked truthfully, "it gives you quality time with your other friends and keeps Pansy out of my hair."

"They're so loud and obnoxious," he responded when no one was paying attention.

"I am, too."

"Yeah, but you know how to shut up when I tell you to without getting your feelings hurt."

"I told you. I'll get my revenge someday."

And so he and she followed their own endeavors. After dinner, they had a game of exploding snap. It lasted until the ten. Sakura and Draco had a test the next morning, as did all other fifth year Slytherins. They were about to pack up the game when Daphne and Millicent came jogging through the portrait. "Hey, Draco! We have an urgent task from the Headmistress!" shouted Pansy indignantly. The common room was quite empty. Everyone else was passed out in bed. Divination was the next day at eight, and nothing Trelawney taught them was going to help. So everyone crammed and passed out. Sakura had decided she could live with a Troll in Divination.

"What is it," Draco drawled with the hint of an impending yawn and stretched his arms lazily over his head.

Daphne grinned. "You're going to love this. Potter and his friends have been caught by the Headmistress. She's interrogating them right now with only Crabbe and Goyle to guard the door."

Draco, jubilant in his twisted little way, sneered, "Potter's finally going to get the punishment he deserves for meddling and pushing his Golden Boy status."

He and the Slytherin girls chucked a handful of powder each into the flames and cackled, "Headmistress's office", stepping into the flames when they flashed emerald green. As soon as they were gone, Sakura raced to the portrait. The trick coin in her robes pocket warmed: Our friend is in trouble at the Ministry. Distract the professors, especially... and then the message cut off. Sakura had no idea what to prepare for. She doubled back to her room and grabbed her shinobi gear and threw it on her bed. She pulled on her kunoichi medic uniform and combat boots. She shrunk some dittany vials and added them to her medic kit. She strapped the kit and a kodachi to her back. She wrapped herself in her least expensive robe, easy to discard if it became a hindrance. She stuck some throwing knives in her boots and strapped a shuriken holster to her thigh. Lastly, she shunk the broom bestowed by Narcissa Malfoy and put it in her robes pocket. She was prepared for anything.

'What do you imagine will happen tonight?' she lightly probed for the voice in her head as she ran to the potions lab in search of the professor. She received no answer. She bumped into the potions master as she turned the corner to the potions lab.

Professor Snape skipped formalities and commanded tersely, "Take this bottle of veritaserum up to Umbridge. She's in the Defense office. Try to keep Potter in the castle. If he leaves the castle, he'll be headed for the Ministry, the Department of Mysteries. Follow. I need to contact Albus." Never mind explaining how he knew, Professor Snape rushed through the wards to what she suspected was his dormitory.

Sakura dashed up the Grand Staircase. With a burst of chakra, she flipped onto a wall of portraits and ran it to the seventh floor, where she turned her world right side up and scaled the stairs to the DADA tower. She did not find the Dumbledore's Army officers, but the Inquisitorial Squad members lay at her feet. Umbridge also was M.I.A. The fire place was alight. She found some floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. "Professor Snape's quarters!" she demanded. The fireplace glowed green. She yelled into it, "They are gone. Must hurry to catch a trail and follow them!"

She disconnected the floo. She was turning to go when the flames lit up again. "Harry? Harry?" some man called on the other side, becoming increasingly frantic. "He's alright," she lied to the man. She didn't need more people getting tangled up in the fiasco. The man must not have believed her. She ran out of the tower as his voice bellowed behind her.

… … … … …

OMG I just realized something about the next chapter. It's the magic number nine! Till next time in chapter nine: "Magic Number Nine".

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