*A thank you to sydni for betaing this for me*

Chapter 7

Gripping the form in his hand tightly, Sasuke made his way to the apartment. Inside him, both excitement and nervousness were bubbling. The Chunin Exams were a perfect chance for him to prove himself, however...

He gripped the form even tighter to the point that it was starting to get crinkled by his hand when he thought about what Harry may or may not say about him doing the exams. He knew he should be more worried about the exams. After all, it was, no doubt, going to be a lot harder than anything he (or the others) have done before, but the idea that he may, even a little, disappoint Harry unnerved him to the point that he didn't even want to bring up the topic to Harry, and hope that Harry wouldn't notice him take the exams. Sasuke actually laughed out loud at that. As if that would ever happen.

Sooner than he thought, he ended up in front of the door to the apartment. Taking a deep breath, he unlocked the door and went inside. Immediately, he located Harry sitting at the kitchen table reading another village newsletter. Despite his nervousness, Sasuke grinned a little. Knowing Harry was just mentally ripping the paper apart, Sasuke entered the kitchen, and sat down across from Harry. Blinking, Harry stared at him.

"When did you come in?" Harry asked. Sasuke stared at him. He didn't notice his presence?

"Just now," Sasuke said, glancing down at the newsletter. Something caught his eye, and he immediately reached out and picked it up. Examining the now identified ring, he fingered the insignia and the crack of the dark stone. It looked familiar. "Is this yours?" Harry, who had been crumbling up the newsletter, looked at Sasuke's hand, and widened his eyes.

"It is," Harry said slowly. "I forgot I had taken it off." Sasuke held out the ring, and Harry immediately grabbed it, and placed it on his finger. When Harry still looked a little distracted, Sasuke cleared his throat. When Harry looked at him, he held up the form. Harry stayed silent as he read the form. Sasuke mentally counted down to when Harry would start saying something, but as the minutes were ticking by, Harry stayed silent. Sasuke wondered if he should clear his throat again, when Harry finally looked away from the form to look at Sasuke.

"Do you want to take the exam?" Harry asked. Sasuke stared at him. Did he hear right?

"I do," Sasuke slowly responded. Harry's expression was blank, so Sasuke had no idea what he was thinking. "But I know I'm not fully ready," Sasuke added. He saw a corner of Harry's lips turn up a little, and Sasuke felt some of the tension let up. "We did do a lot of difficult things, but this will, by far, be one of the hardest things we do," Sasuke continued, "but even so, I want to try. I know Naruto also wants to do it, and..." Sasuke drifted off. He didn't actually know what Sakura wanted to do.

"In order to be eligible, you have to be in a group of three," Harry said, looking directly into Sasuke's eyes which widened momentarily. "Would you force her?"

"No," Sasuke said, knowing exactly what Harry was talking about. Harry smiled a bit more, and Sasuke relaxed even more, and tentatively smiled back at Harry. Harry wasn't angry or upset with him. Harry started to frown a little when he looked over the form again.

"July 1st... That's really cutting it close," he muttered to himself. "That is nowhere near enough time for you guys to prepare," he continued. Sasuke kept his mouth shut as Harry continued to mumble under his breath. "What the hell was Hatake thinking?!" Harry suddenly shouted, startling Sasuke. "He should have told you earlier if he was going to nominate you guys for the exam."

"Maybe he didn't know it going to take place here in the Leaf Village until recently," Sasuke suggested. Harry snorted.

"Yeah right. Events like this are planned years beforehand, like the World Cup and the muggle Olympics."

"The what?" Harry waved away Sasuke's question.

"Never mind. Just know that these events are planned beforehand so the host has time to prepare," Harry explained. Sasuke began to frown a little as well. Kakashi had to have known, so why didn't he mention it at least a little earlier. Sasuke knew that it was the truth when he told Harry that he wasn't ready, and even a few extra days could have been helpful. There wasn't enough time for Kakashi to teach them anything, if he was even going to. Sasuke moved the form so that it was out of his immediate reach. There was a likely chance that he wouldn't be able to get another form if he destroyed this one in his frustration.

"Do you think there is anything Kakashi-sensei can teach us before the exam?" Sasuke asked. Harry slowly shook his head.

"The only thing you have time for would be going over the basics…" Harry trailed off, and had a faraway look in his eyes. After a few moments, Harry looked back at Sasuke with a thoughtful expression. "Follow me," he said, standing up quickly. Sasuke blinked and when he registered what Harry had said, Harry was already out the door. Jumping to his feet, Sasuke raced after Harry, who hadn't even slowed down a bit. After a few minutes of walking, it was plain to Sasuke where they going.

Entering the gate into the compound, Sasuke stayed close to Harry and focused on his back. The emptiness of the place made everything seem cold and Sasuke couldn't hold back a shiver. Going deeper into the compound, Harry didn't look like he was stopping anytime soon, and Sasuke gave in and looked around a little. A certain building made him freeze.

In the temple under the seventh tatami mat─

"Sasuke?" Sasuke looked back at Harry who was standing some distance away down the path. Sasuke mentally shook himself, and ran towards Harry. It was only when he reached Harry that he recognized where he had stopped. It had been many years since he had last seen the building. Even now, the building looked like it was in ruins. Last time, however, the interior looked like a regular house. Sasuke glanced at Harry, who smiled at him a little, before he headed toward the ruined building. When Sasuke followed Harry inside, he was shocked to see that the inside was in ruins also. Harry kept moving, so Sasuke didn't waste time examining the area. Carefully stepping over rotting and ruined furniture, Harry and Sasuke paused outside a door located towards the back part of the building. Harry slowly opened the door, and Sasuke shivered at the blast of cold air that seemed to pass him. Already slightly unnerved by being surrounded by ruins in the abandoned compound, it didn't help that the space beyond the door was pitch black.

"Do you want to wait here for me?" Sasuke glared at Harry.

"I'm going with you," he said stubbornly. Harry gave a small laugh and held out his hand. Sasuke glared at him, the cold feeling abated slightly.

"I'm not a─" Harry laughed again.

"I'm not patronizing you," he said soothingly. "You actually need to hold onto me to get through the door." Sasuke gave him a skeptical look, and made his way through the doorway. Moments later, Sasuke was nursing a bruised nose, and was glaring at Harry who was trying to not laugh. Harry held out his hand again, and this time, without complaint, Sasuke allowed Harry to pull him through the pitch black doorway. Sasuke still couldn't see anything, but Harry seemed to know where he was going, and when they started to descend, Sasuke realized they were going down a flight of stairs.

Wondering how Harry could see where they were going, Sasuke tightened his grip on Harry's hand. When it felt that they were no longer going down, Harry slowed down, and let go of Sasuke's hand. When Harry flickered out of sight, Sasuke opened his mouth to yell, but almost at once, Harry came into view, along with an entire room. Letting the words die in his throat, Sasuke turned around, expecting to see a set of stairs, but when he only saw a wall, Sasuke slowly turned back to Harry, who was on the other side of the room. When Sasuke made to follow him, Harry held out a hand.

"Don't move," he said softly. Sasuke stilled. Harry crouched down to what appears to be a trunk. However, from Sasuke's position, he couldn't see what was inside. A quick look around the room revealed that the room was empty save for the trunk. There wasn't even an exit. The ceiling, floor, and the four walls were all bare except for a small torch on each of the walls. Feeling unnerved again, Sasuke went back to watching Harry, who then stood up, and walked back to Sasuke. Sasuke immediately caught sight of the scroll that was in his hand, but before he could comment about it, Harry grabbed his arm, and soon enough, they were back in the ruined house. Taking a deep breath to get rid of the taste of stale air, Sasuke backed away from the now closed door.

"Can we go back now?" Sasuke asked. Harry nodded. Sasuke didn't fully calm down until they reached the apartment.

"I apologize," Harry said, looking at Sasuke in concern. Sasuke was breathing heavily as though he just ran a marathon. "I thought you could handle that place…" Sasuke had half a mind to question Harry about that room, but Sasuke would rather not think about the room. Instead, his sight fell upon the scroll. Harry wordlessly handed it over. "When you get a chance, look it over. It's the only thing I can think of to help you." Sasuke looked at Harry quickly.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"For a few hours," Harry said, patting him on the head. Sasuke watched Harry leave the apartment. Setting the scroll onto the kitchen table, Sasuke quickly broke the small seal and unwound it open. With widening eyes, Sasuke took in the different instructions for various fire techniques. Who had written all of this? The handwriting was vaguely familiar, but Sasuke decided to put that thought aside in favor of devouring the contents of the scroll.

Hours later, when Harry returned, Sasuke was still at the table in the same position immersed in the scroll. Over the next few days, it was hard pressed to get Sasuke away from the scroll. With so much information written, Sasuke wondered why it had been put away and hidden. It was a good resource about at least a couple of chunin exams, and Sasuke had considered sharing it with Naruto and Sakura. However, when Harry brought up that specific question the next day, Sasuke immediately refused.

He had no idea why, but he wasn't going to let them touch it, not when it had been written by one of his clan members, because without a doubt, he recognized the handwriting. He had seen it before. He just couldn't pin point whose it was. Harry's handwriting was slightly messy (though readable), and the person who had written the scroll had very neat, controlled handwriting. Everything had been noted, all diagrams explained, and every move and jutsu listed had situational uses listed along with pros and cons.

••••••

"Good luck," Harry said, giving Sasuke a hug. He held him for a few moments longer than usual, but Sasuke didn't say anything. "If at any point you feel overwhelmed–"

"I know," Sasuke deadpanned. "If I'm still able to, I should drop out and try again next time." Sasuke had already mentally decided that he would see this through to the end, but there was no point in letting Harry know. He would just needlessly worry. Harry was giving him an odd look again, and Sasuke felt his annoyance disappear a little. "I'll be fine," Sasuke said in what he hoped was a reassuring voice. He tried smiling, and started to grin when Harry began to smile a little. After another (slightly more suffocating) hug, Harry let Sasuke leave. Realizing that he was behind schedule, he started to jog towards the bridge where the three of them agreed to meet up.

Finally spotting them, Sasuke slowed down. Reaching them, they all looked at each other before wordlessly coming to a decision. They started to silently head towards the academy. They weren't going to wait for Kakashi.

The entire way, no one, not even Naruto, said a word. They entered the building and headed towards the room listed on the form. A commotion up ahead made them stop.

"What the..." Sakura muttered, breaking the silence. Naruto looked up ahead, curious. Around the classroom that they were supposed to meet, there was a crowd of students trying to get through, while two others were blocking the entrance. Sasuke glanced at the door number and discretely pulled out the form that had the meeting room number and glanced back.

"Do you guys see something off?" Sasuke muttered. Naruto gave him a blank look, but Sakura was frowning. Her eyebrows furrowed, and a moment later, when her eyes widened, Sasuke knew she realized.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, thankfully keeping his voice down. Sasuke stared at Sakura, who got the hint, and whispered to Naruto about the illusion placed on the room number showing that it was the correct room when in fact, it was the wrong one. Sasuke wondered why they even got tricked in the first place; it should have been obvious that they were on the wrong floor.

"Should we say something?" Sakura asked. Before Sasuke could say anything, Naruto shouted out. Sasuke blinked and just noticed that the two guarding the door were beating some of the others up. Naruto moved forward to intervene.

"Naruto's got it," Sasuke said. Naruto began to confront the two at the door and announced that they were at the wrong place, before one of them moved to attack him. Before Sasuke could even move, one of the kids that had apparently been beat up earlier got in between them and easily blocked their attacks. Gaping at the guy in the green suit, Sasuke barely heard the teammate of the guy reprimand him for giving himself away. He only snapped back to attention when he noticed the guy in the green suit trying to flirt with Sakura. Pitying her, he let Naruto deal with that situation while he took in their new (possible) opponent. Recognizing him as a Hyuga, they made eye contact for a moment.

Deciding that they wasted enough time here as it was, Sasuke broke off the eye contact, and motioned for Sakura and Naruto to follow him. Ignoring the others that were staring at them, they made their way up to the right floor (while side-stepping a confrontation with the green guy who announced himself to be Rock Lee).

When reaching the correct room, they were surprised to see Kakashi waiting for them. After mentioning that to qualify, all three of them had to show up, Kakashi wished them all good luck, and they entered the room.

Finding himself to be pacing again, Harry forced himself to stop and sit down. He wasn't worried. He was confident that Sasuke and his team would get past the first part of the exam. It was the easier part after all, and he knew Sasuke practically devoured the scroll Harry dug up. Considering whom it was from, he should have made a better attempt at storing it better. He briefly considered hunting down some sort of alcohol, but the ones he found here were never able to match good old fire whiskey.

Sighing for the umpteenth time, Harry put his head down, and once again reassured himself that Sasuke was going to be fine. It was just some sort of information thing. It changed every time of course, but from what he could remember from what the past Uchihas that had taken the exams (he was bored and had nothing to do but to eavesdrop), they all had something to do with information, whether it was somehow getting it, hiding it, or even decrypting it. If he recalled correctly, Itachi's had been decrypting information and the second part had been, basically, an elaborate version of muggle tag using that information (not that anyone ever called it that out loud, but he did overhear Itachi complain to a toddler Sasuke about it, not that Sasuke actually knew what he was talking about).

While he was on that line of thought, maybe he should have gotten the other scroll too while he was in that building. Itachi didn't waste his time for nothing making them after all. That way, he wouldn't have to go back to that building that was his other prison before the scroll.

Harry smiled a little at the thought of little Itachi. During his first (and only) chunin exam, he had been so nervous that he was shaking and stayed awake all night. It had been funny and adorable, but also sobering considering that he was only a kid. He was just a child, and he had to go through so much; had to do so much. Even though Harry acknowledged that he himself had a shitty childhood, it was nothing compared to what Itachi and even Sasuke had to deal with. At the very least, even if he couldn't help Itachi, there was still Sasuke. While Itachi tried to protect him from afar, Harry would do his best to protect him here.

Sighing once again, Harry put his head down on the kitchen table, and softly fingered his ring.

Harry must have (once again) fallen asleep at the table, because the next thing he knew was that a grinning Sasuke was shaking him awake.

"I take it things went well," Harry said sleepily, massaging some kinks out of his neck from falling asleep at the table. Sasuke just continued to grin. "Well?" Harry said, raising an eyebrow. That was all Sasuke needed to launch into detail about what happened.

"... so with that, they told us to report tomorrow at the 44th training grounds," Sasuke finished. Harry frowned.

"I could've sworn that was the Forest of Death," Harry said. Sasuke groaned.

"Sounds like a harmless place." Harry laughed.

"Lovely place indeed," Harry said.

"And the second part is going to be much harder than the first part," Sasuke said. "According to what was written in the scroll, most exams follow a similar format. A few of the exams mentioned that the second part would be a survival one. Another had the exam be a retrieval, one where you had to find something, and another was one where the genins had to safely deliver information to another group," Sasuke explained. "So I guess since it's taking place in the forest, it's going to be survival...?" Harry nodded.

"Probably something else too," Harry added. "Too much of a waste if they didn't do anything else."

"That makes sense." Sasuke paused and fidgeted slightly. Harry patiently waited for him to speak. "Is there another part to the scroll?" he asked in what he thought was an offhandedly manner. Harry hid his grin.

"Yes, there is." Sasuke waited for him to elaborate.

"And...?" Sasuke prompted.

"It's back in the room." When Sasuke hesitated, Harry knew he noticed how he had reacted to that place. "Don't worry though," Harry reassured, "I'll get it out for you before you come back." Sasuke smiled back gratefully.

"Thank you." Harry was able to only hold back for a few moments, before he squished Sasuke into a hug. At this point, it happened to Sasuke enough that he knew he would be freed faster if he didn't struggle.

"Since we have an idea what the test will be tomorrow, I think you should pack the necessities," Harry said when he let go. Sasuke nodded, and the two of them, for the next hour, began to discuss what Sasuke would and wouldn't need, with Harry, once in awhile, accidentally getting them off topic and, for a time, was cleaning and organizing instead of packing.

"H-How did Itachi's chunin exam go?" Sasuke asked out of the blue. Harry paused in his reorganizing.

"He passed on his first try, but if you're asking if he was a shaking nervous wreck right before it, then yes." Harry grinned at the incredulous look on Sasuke's face.

"Really?" Harry nodded.

"Couldn't even fall asleep the night before," Harry added. Sasuke still looked stunned.

"How was his second part of the exam?"

"It was information retrieval."

"That's it?" Sasuke said. Harry nodded.

"Well, it was a unique take on it." Sasuke looked thoughtful.

"It wasn't by chance some crazy version of tag, was it?" Harry snorted. He didn't know that was exactly how Itachi had described it. Harry looked at the supplies that they put together for Sasuke.

"Harry, I think you went a bit overboard," Sasuke said slowly. There were about three bags on the floor filled heavily to the point where the bags couldn't even close.

"Let's unpack and repack━"

"How about you leave this to me?" Sasuke said quickly. Harry sighed and nodded, and wished that he had Hermione's beaded bag, with modifications of course. He wouldn't be caught dead with a girl's beaded purple purse in public.

The next morning, Sasuke was forced into Harry's crushing arms again. Once Harry let go, Sasuke tried to subtly take deep breaths, but Harry pretended to ignore it.

"You'll be fine. Just calm down, and do whatever you want in the meantime."

One good luck later, Sasuke (with his much lighter and subtler pack), was on his way to meet with up with the others.

As soon as he was out of sight, Harry shut the door, but continued to stare at it. He knew Sasuke was rather intuitive, and was bound to figure out who had written that scroll, but he seemed calm about it. Sure, he had been awkward when he was asking questions, but he was still a lot calmer than Harry thought he would be. Harry assumed that this meant Sasuke wasn't as angry at Itachi as he had been in the past. That was good; kind of sudden, but good.

Stepping away from the door, Harry absentmindedly cleaned up after the packing they did last night. To be perfectly honest, he was feeling both uneasy and guilty (disregarding the constant anger and annoyance at his own situation). He couldn't even pinpoint what it was that was causing it. He checked up on Itachi, who was doing as fine as someone in his position could be. Sasuke was happy as can be, and is about to do the second part of the chunin exam in the infamous forest of death, but Harry was both confident and slightly worried that he'll be injured, but he also knew that wasn't the cause of uneasiness.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. What was the issue then? At times like this, he wished that there was someone else who knew of his existence. Pausing, he stared at the ring on his hand. Did he have enough magic stored up yet?

It's been awhile since I updated... I was working all summer and the past semester I was busy... Sorry about that ^_^'''

(Holy S**T, over a hundred reviews?! You guys are all amazing! I'm so sorry for not replying TT_TT I've been busy and stuff keeps coming up and I'm horrible I know OTL)

((I'm not sure what's been happening, but my writing is starting to get weird (in a bad way), so sorry if it seems bad... I'll try to figure out what's wrong and try and fix it... and work on my other issues as one reviewer pointed out, thank you so much for that ^_^ I never noticed them OTL))

(((I currently have a poll up about my other one/two-shots and which ones you guys are interested in me doing another chapter for)))