Chapter 13

Sakura's fingers thrummed upon the pages of the book before her, the flowery scrawl inducing a minor headache. She'd already spent several days on the Potions Properties Encyclopedia Collection, which had an entry for each species of newt - absolutely nothing about the staleness of newt eyes but tails – oh, there were pages and pages concerning those. Having finished that, she then took to nature journals and potioneering observations. Of course, the wizarding world literally photocopied – err wand copied? – the text and images. The font was an illegible cursive and smeared due to what was probably a sweaty hand. It couldn't be so challenging to bring a dict-a-quill on one's journey into the Congo - because the tent, larger than a one-studio apartment in London based on the dimensions, had enough room.

No, this wizard had painstakingly drawn and written everything by hand. They'd even used an ink bottle when on walkabouts! An ink bottle they then proceeded to splash on every other page when they'd been jostled on their journey. Perhaps between collecting fungi samples and being attacked by an overly large, vicious, non-magical, barking white-tailed ferret. (A mongoose - Sakura had deduced from the drawn image - assuming the large teeth were an exaggeration. Otherwise, it was a magical mongoose to fit those canines in that mouth.)

Sakura sighed and rubbed at her temples. Her quest proved fruitless, and the book was absolutely useless. Thus far, the only thing it had happened upon was the age of moss and how the magical properties changed whilst attempting to dry it in a humid environment… an environment like a rainforest.

She'd already gone through her extracurricular reading on magical properties of common ingredients twice and learned nothing new, but she was tempted to return to it. Sadly, the only age-related content there had been about fermentation. Itachi had said the newt eyes had been stale, not fermented. Stale… Yuck, was he inferring if he snacked on one, it wouldn't have a 'classic pop' like a potato chip?

Sakura scrunched her nose in distaste and shut the book. Well, with that final thought, it was time to stop researching before she got so bored that she'd be tempted to do her own testing – as disgusting as it might be. No. It was Friday evening, almost time for curfew. It was time to call it quits.

Itachi had even let her go early with a reminder to meet him at 1 am in the common room, yet here she was… in the library, glaring at a potions journal.

"Are you looking for something in particular?"

Sakura raised her head to find Sasori, 6th year Ravenclaw, staring down at her, eyes upon the book.

"I-yes," Sakura stuttered, rising to her feet. Had they ever acknowledged each other's presence before? No, not outside of her being a 'demon rabbit*'. "Do you know a lot about potions?"

Sasori's lips didn't shift; instead, his stare remained even. "Seeing as the current Potions Professor is my grandmother, yes, one could say I have some knowledge about potions. What question do you have?"

Sakura winced. Damn, she just had to put her foot in her mouth, didn't she? She'd always thought Professor Chiyo was some sort of hybrid hag that hadn't procreated… well, now she had that image in her head. Sakura forced herself to look back at Sasori, but his expression didn't change. Was he really not angry?

"Your question?" he asked, a tone of impatience leaking out.

Sakura immediately scrambled. "Right! If you use stale newt eyes in a potion, how do you correct the potion?"

Sasori gave a slow blink.

A minute definitely passed, then two.

Maybe he didn't know –

"Frankly, it depends on the potion and its uses. To account for stale newt eyes in something like a Bibridge potion, one would add seafoam; for Skelligrow you'd need to add a hint of pepper; for Lacewing Tonic you'd need some snake skin; for Boil Cure, it's just there for scent – really no need to correct at all; for Snap Draught some bee wings; for –"

Sakura's eyes widened, and she couldn't stop her mouth from opening. "Wait a moment," she held up her hands, "I'm not really seeing a rhyme or reason here."

Sasori's eyes narrowed. "I'm not reciting poetry, and everything I've said has perfect reasoning. You must understand what the newt eyes are actually doing in the potion… I would recommend reading this–"

His wand flew from his holster, and with a flick, a book soared into his outstretched hand. The book was her 4th year potions guide. Within a few moments, sitting before her was the page she'd stared at for three hours yesterday.

His wand pointed to the picture depicting a jar of newt eyes and the properties of newt eyes.

"I've read this." She motioned down at the page. "How does that explain what happens when they are dried out?"

"Clearly," his wand tapped at the bulleted list, "the properties change."

"To what, though!" Sakura cried in frustration.

Sasori heaved a sigh, "It only takes common sense. Newt eyes represent the element water in the Bibridge potion. If it dries out and gets a bit stale, it isn't fully representing water anymore. Seafoam," Sasori flicked through the manual and, motioned at its properties and tapped at the elemental properties: water.

"Why seafoam, why not go with," Sakura motioned randomly to another water element, "goldfish lungs."

"You would kill someone," His wand smarted the page under the word acidic. "That would counteract with mouse skin and goat's milk in the potion."

"Seawater is alkaline," Sakura whispered, her knees shaking, and she sat back down. It was like a light bulb clicked on in her head. "You're using this like a thesaurus or more like a property matrix."

Sakura quickly began going through the pages. "In a Mothmouth potion, I'd–" she paused on a page and then flipped back and forth between two others. "I'd need to use squished recluse spiders."

"Or troll mucus," Sasori said. "Troll mucus would be the cheaper ingredient to use. With a recluse spider, you may also get the side effect of spitting out webs and moths. It would defeat the purpose of watching the things fly away from you since they'd be trapped. Although, I bet Kakuzu would enjoy that. Maybe I'll make that alteration next time."

Most of Sasori's words were like background noise. She'd guessed right, kind of right, which was just as good as right, right? She stood suddenly, almost smashing into Sasori's jaw.

She whipped around. "Thank you!" She almost pounced and hugged him, but the cold gaze staring at her made her freeze in her actions. Her hands dropped to her sides, and she felt the heat rush her face. Right. Pureblood. No touching. "How would you determine how much to correct the issue?"

"Time and understanding… To be honest, correcting the potion afterward is much more difficult than correcting the ingredient upfront. Stale newt eyes, for the most part, can be partially corrected with fresh hydration and a bit of protein to increase the nutritive value. Most recipes only call for a teaspoon or less, so if it's common newt eyes, just stick 'em in your mouth for a bit until you feel the slime accumulate and taste sour. Good as fresh. No need to even strain the saliva. It will usually work unless you've been eating or drinking within the last hour or have an oral affliction."

Sakura could feel the bile rise in the back of her throat. Gross!

Sasori pulled a pocket watch from his pocket, and his lips twisted downward. With a flick of his wrist, he returned the book to the shelves. "I have to go, but have a good evening."

"Yes, you too. Oh, and thank you again!"

He gave a nod in acknowledgment and left her there.

With a skip in her step, Sakura made her way out of the library and towards Ravenclaw Tower. She threw up a shielding protego spell with trained ease when she crossed into the common room, blocking two stinging hexes. The second-years were just predictable at this point, and her golden bubble now surrounded her and then some. She stuck her tongue out like a child when she passed their scowling faces. Humming with happiness, she continued up the staircase to her dorm room to get ready for bed. She needed to get some shut-eye before meeting with Itachi at 1 am.

Sakura dressed in muggle jeggings and a sweater so she wouldn't disturb her roommates when she got up for a midnight escapade. And if luck would have it, if she could prove to Itachi that she'd solved this little newt problem, he would let her read to her heart's content. Whether or not she'd be given ear pets was a toss-up now that he knew she was a human, but maybe, if she stared at him long enough and stretched an ear in his direction, his instinct would kick in, and she would have one less itch to worry about.

After her silent spell alarm buzzed her away, she grabbed her bookbag, crept to the bathroom and verified on the way everyone was asleep. In the bathroom, she transformed and then slipped out of the dorm room. The fire was still lit in the common room, which meant someone was up. She huddled in the shadows of the staircase as she went down, nose sniffing the air and ears on the alert.

She kept her eyes on the center of the common room, quickly scanning. No one. Strange. She turned the staircase corner to head out when she ran right into a shoe. She would have bolted had she not immediately recognized the figure.

Itachi stared down at her. "You are not very sneaky."

She could sneak just fine!

"Come on," he said, motioning her to follow him as he left the Tower.

She didn't have to be sneaky if she were with a prefect, right? She hopped behind him, attempting to keep pace with his long strides.

"Normally, I'd go to the Room of Many Things as there'd be more places to hide you. But Madara would likely question going up so many flights of stairs to converse." Itachi told her as they walked down the tower's stairs and to the 2nd-floor corridor.

Room of Many Things? What was that?

Sakura leaped, and head smacked into his leg. Stop! What's the Room of Many Things?

Itachi stopped, but only to scratch her head. "Don't worry, I won't make you run up all those stairs. I'm not Kisame."

Ugh. That hadn't been the question. Sakura grumbled but accepted the pets.

He took a left and made a beeline for the end of the corridor with a dead-end. A gallant knight on a green tapestry braced for combat stared them down. What was Itachi – Gah! Behind the tapestry was a door! A secret classroom!

"This way," Itachi said, motioning for her to follow him.

She zoomed in through the opening, unable to contain her excitement. A secret room! Just like the one upstairs. Wait, had the room upstairs been the Room of Many Things? It wasn't full of 'things', just some furniture and an over-the-top fireplace. Maybe there were more secret rooms? She raced around the small space to fully explore it. A couple of desks, but most of them had been moved off to the side where an empty bookcase existed. There were a couple of plants in the windows. They seemed to be doing well. She sniffed at the white, pale leaves. She'd never seen such plants before, and they hadn't been in her field guide. They didn't smell like anything but earth.

She let her nose continue to snuffle when she stiffened at a new scent.

Vanilla? Her head tilted to the side in confusion. Everything else was pretty dusty. Why did this corner of the room smell like a freshly baked cake with yummy ice cream? She inched closer and closer towards the scent.

Her head smashed into something that she couldn't see!

With a squeak, Sakura bolted back. She blew a loud raspberry. Quick! Itachi! Student out of bed, get 'em!

She glanced at Itachi. The useless boy was just standing there. The figure moved forward, and Sakura could clearly see the outline. She bolted to Itachi's feet before shuffling her butt, ready to start pouncing.

But she didn't have to do anything. The spell got canceled by the caster.

"Hello, Itachi and Bunny," Konan, the Hufflepuff prefect, greeted. Konan reached out a hand towards Sakura and softly petted her head. "Looks like Shisui was right — the rabbit seems to be able to sense disillusioned people. Not a bad skill to have. Although, I think she might have sniffed me out like a bloodhound."

Konan stood and sniffed the hem of her robe. "I wonder what I smell like?"

"You could ask her," Itachi suggested.

What! Sakura whipped around and growled at Itachi. Had he just given her away! Itachi might trust Konan, but Sakura knew nothing about her. Konan could turn her in, and she'd go to prison. At the sound of a clicking behind her, Sakura turned back around, but the girl was no longer there.

Instead, a crane peered down at her.

Sakura scooted away. While she probably beat the bird in girth and weight, it was taller, and the beak looked like it could do some damage.

The bird stretched down its neck, head sideways, yellow eyes observing her.

Konan was an animagus, too? Tentatively Sakura stretched forward until her nose snuffled Konan's beak. She smelled no longer like vanilla, more like a stinky old pond ripe with algae. Sakura quickly turned her head to sneeze.

When she turned back, Konan had returned to being human. She sat cross-legged on the floor. She opened up her hands as she spoke. "I'm not registered either."

Was it a trap? She looked into Konan's face, trying to discern a lie.

Sakura glanced at Itachi. He didn't look the least bit surprised at Konan's transformation. It clicked for Sakura then, Itachi must have known Konan was in a similar situation and he'd wanted them to meet.

After another moment of hesitation, Sakura transformed as well.

"What do I smell like?" Konan asked, a small smile forming on her lips.

Sakura returned it. "You smell like vanilla."

Konan then let out a soft laugh, "My deodorant gave me away?"

Sakura laughed as well. So she was a muggleborn too? How awesome! "Yes, I didn't smell it immediately, only when I got closer."

"How interesting. Well," Konan extended her hand, "My name is Konan. It's nice to meet you."

Sakura took it. "I'm Sakura. Nice to meet you too!"

Konan's gaze then drifted up to Itachi and she gave a wink, not letting go of Sakura's hand. "You're so cute. No wonder Itachi is so taken with you."

Wait. What?

Itachi's hand smashed her head down. Hey! Ow! That hurt.

"Don't tease her, Konan."

Sakura struggled to raise her head. Come on! She wasn't a rabbit right now, Itachi. Get off! Head pets are no-nos as a human. Finally, she escaped by ducking off to the left.

Konan's grin had grown to encompass her eyes. "You mean don't tease you?"

Teasing? Sakura didn't have much time for even a thought as Itachi found her head again and applied more weight. Gah! "Stop it!"

"It's not appreciated," Itachi continued the conversation with Konan, ignoring Sakura verbally as he continued to harass her physically.

"Oh, but I appreciate it," Konan said. "You need to have your feathers ruffled every so often."

Konan got to her feet, smiling down at both Itachi and Sakura. "Well, I think I've seen enough. The vote will be on Wednesday. Make sure to bring Sakura." And with that, she left the room.

Only then did Itachi push Sakura's head forward to where she almost smashed her nose into the wood flooring.

"Hey!" Sakura complained, but Konan's words sank in. "What did she mean, what vote?"

"The Akatsuki will take a vote and determine whether or not you can join our number."

"Akatsuki?"

"You met some of them before. In the Room of Many Things."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, thinking back to whom she'd seen. That must have been the room. Konan had been on the couch with several others. There'd been Sasori and Kisame? The others she really hadn't known, all upper years.

"But what is it? What is the Akatsuki?"

"Think of it as a private club."

Sakura bit her lip. "Private clubs are against school regulation."

Itachi's expression became blank. "Really, tell me more."

Sakura opened her mouth and shut it again. He was deadpanning. She puffed her cheeks. He was a prefect. He obviously knew he was breaking the rules. "Why a private club?"

Itachi gave a sigh. "Because people ruin things. Take, for instance, the dueling club. It got shut down before you even started school because the Gryffindors and Slytherins went all out and destroyed the warding on the Great Hall floor."

Sakura's lips twisted down. She'd completely forgotten there had been a dueling club or that Itachi had probably had a chance to participate.

"In truth, we're just like-minded individuals. Most of us are friends."

Most? You'd think if they were hanging out, they would all be friends. "Why should I join?" Especially if not everyone was friendly.

"Why wouldn't you? We're all upper years and you could use us for homework help."

That was a good point. Why wouldn't she be interested in joining a group of mostly older members? Professor Hatake probably had taught them Dark Magic, and hence, she could use them as resources!

"Oh, you've changed your mind?" Itachi asked.

Sakura blushed. Was she really so obvious to read? Is that how Itachi knew the exact words to say? But surely the upper years probably wouldn't like having someone pesky like her around. "Why do you want me to join?"

"The fact you learned to become an animagus on your own so young shows magical talent, and you have an unquenchable desire to learn something you ought not. You'll fit right in."

Sakura tilted her head. Trying to understand exactly what he was implying, her gaze landed on the door Konan had walked out of. "You planned this introduction with Konan, why?"

"Kisame and my votes have little sway. Konan can get majority approval. She also wanted to meet you. Shisui gushed about your ability to see through spells the other day, much like the Sharingan allows my family to see cursed artifacts. It isn't an animagus thing. Konan can't see through a disillusioned person. She spent all night trying. I suspect she will want to understand why you can see through it."

"I can't really see someone under it if they are still. If they walk, though, the light shifts a bit."

"Hmm," Itachi said, "I suspect she'll still want to try to understand it... But we should probably focus on finding a good hiding spot in this room so you don't attract my uncle's attention. You won't be able to get past him with a mere disillusion spell." Itachi motioned around the small space.

The options were pretty limited. In fact, they were almost non-existent.

Sakura opened the cupboard. The shelves were full of a bunch of old-school supplies.

With a few quick spells, Itachi had all the items from the bottom shelf flowing to the bookshelves, making the room a bit more crowded but at least the cupboard more empty.

"Do you think you'll fit?" He asked.

Sakura scoffed. "What do you mean, do I think I'll fit?"

"It's a bit small of a cubbyhole," he pointed.

Sakura sucked in her breath and once more was on all fours sniffing and sneezing at dust. She jumped onto the shelf and sat. This was awkward. She didn't have enough space to turn around, so all Itachi got to look at was her white floofy butt. She wiggled, attempting to squeeze in some more. If she could just -

Itachi tried to shut the door.

Oof! Hey! That almost broke her nose. She squealed in panic.

"The door won't even close."

Thanks, Mr. Obvious.

She backed out of the shelf, returned to human form, and glared. "I just need to be able to sit up, that's all." She moved some of the books from the shelf above. Then, she pulled out her wand and used a cutting spell to remove the shelf board. There! Enough space for her to sit up on her haunches, with her ears down, of course.

She tested it.

"Are you going to be able to sit like that the entire time?" Itachi asked sounding doubtful.

Sakura puffed her chest and gave a stout nod. She lept from the hole and back to the floor with two legs. She had a much more important question. "How am I going to get the door to close or am I going to look like a doll the entire time.?"

Itachi turned his attention to the door frame and began muttering to himself. He then pulled out some chalk and started drawing runes inside the door. He activated his bloodline magic, eyes glowing red in the darkroom as he opened and closed the door.

Looking for what Sakura didn't know and when she opened her mouth to ask, he held up a hand to silence her.

He then finished drawing the runes and traced his wand upon the letterings on the outside of several circles. He moved away and shut the door, red eyes staring at where his markings were on the other side. "I don't think he'll see them," he said under his breath. "I'll keep him turned the other way."

He opened the door again and backed away.

Creak. The door closed on its own.

Cool! Sakura opened the door herself, eyeing the runes. She hadn't even covered any of these in her class.

As if sensing her question, Itachi spoke, "They'll cover these in sixth year."

Creak. Close.

"Perfect." She opened the door and then, within a second, hopped in. Plenty of time to get situated, and then she was in the dark. She steadied her breathing. Unlike her peers, the darkness had never been that scary especially in an enclosed space like a room. In fact, in childhood she hid in the closet in every hide-and-seek match she'd ever had with her dad. She'd been a bit predictable although her dad had always pretended otherwise. Now, things in the dark were scary – including spiders. But they'd just cleaned the cabinet. So, all she'd have to do was not sneeze.

Itachi opened the door for her, letting back in the light.

She stared up at him.

"All set?" he asked.

She nodded and sprung down from the cabinet to his feet before transforming. "It will work."

"Good, let's finish the rounds," Itachi said, heading for the door, "and maybe I'll let you read a chapter of the book."

Sakura saw her avenue for attack. She looped an arm around Itachi's and tugged him back. "I figured out how to fix the potion. "

Itachi raised a brow, "Is that so? Did you figure it out on your own?"

A flush crept upon her cheeks. "Well… mostly."

"Ah, so you would be the younger year Sasori mentioned taking an interest in stale newt eyes."

"What–" Sakura sputtered, "How – were you spying on me?"

Itachi covered his chuckle with a cough. "Spying, no. Sasori is my roommate. We do speak on occasion. Here, I thought you would research yourself instead of cheating."

"I figured it out on my own, though!" Sakura declared. "Did he tell you that?"

"He told me a 4th year had figured out a way to web moths in a Mothmouth potion so that instead of tickling your throat on the way up, they crawl like worms, and then you are forced to spit them out - and even then, they'd likely cling to your lips. He thinks it might be a good form of torture instead of light-hearted fun. Enough recluse, and you might even end up suffocating the victim." Itachi's lips twisted up into a tormenting smile. "By figuring it out, is that what you meant?"

Sakura shut her open mouth and swallowed, almost feeling a tickling sensation. Is that really what it would have done?

Itachi poked her forehead and pulled himself from her grip. "Seems like you're due for just a chapter. The spider recluse was at least a step in the right direction. Let's go."

During the hallway walk, Sakura kept her spirits up because at least she would get one chapter, not as much as she wanted… But maybe she could motivate – kick – Itachi into doing one or two more.

She did have a newfound interest in what Itachi did with the prefect rounds too. If, by some sheer chance, she actually got to be a prefect, she'd be doing this duty as well. She attentively sniffed and poked her head in corners and around hallways, but no one was out of bed. What a bunch of do-gooders. She wanted to see how Itachi would handle finding someone he didn't know.

"Exam season," Itachi said as if sensing her intent. "Come closer to winter break. There will be a lot more people in the halls."

Sakura's ears perked. Fun!

Once patrol finished, Sakura got a good nail scratching by Ouka as she and Itachi discussed a warding technique they had to write a paper on. And then, Ouka bid them farewell.

Itachi stared down at Sakura for a moment before he gave a sigh. "One chapter," he stated firmly.

FINALLY! Sakura practically clawed up his leg before bouncing off of him and up the stairs. She hopped at the top of the stairs, waiting for him to climb them. Book time, book time!

She didn't even wait for an invite. She sprung into his bed, back legs thumping with impatience.

Itachi raised a finger to his lips.

Oops, right he had roommates. She pointed with her nose at Itachi's desk, where she spied the volume.

He quickly cast a silencing charm over the bed and then picked up the book. He motioned with his hand for her to scoot and let him in.

She did as he bid, kind-of. Her excitement got the best of her, and even before he laid down, she was pawing to get to the book and thus attempting to climb up his chest.

He pressed a hand to her head to partially shove her away as he got comfortable, and then he opened the volume, flicking through the pages until he came to the last section they'd read together. She curled up on his side with her bottom half, but the majority of her chest and head rested upon his abdomen so she could read.

He tried to turn the page, but she swatted his hand with a paw and leaned in close to read the handwriting covering the page. This copy was just so much better!

He chuckled, "You are crazy."

She huffed at him and settled in more, shifting to get comfortable. Still staring at the book, she stretched an ear towards him.

And just like that, ear rubs returned.

She got to read a chapter and a half. Either Itachi had forgotten his stance of just one, or based on the fact he'd stopped scratching her – he'd fallen asleep and had barely noticed the chapter change.

Eventually, though, he did wake up enough to realize they'd been reading for too long. "That's enough, get some sleep," he murmured.

She inched further upon his chest to reach the closed book. But not quick enough. She was picked up and, like before, used like a pillow. Stuck with a head on her rump!

At some point, they were going to have to have a talk about personal space. Now that he knew who she was, the idea of letting a fart go horrified her. In fact, as she lay there, red eyes bright and open, she tried very, very hard to not pay attention to her intestines. Why had she opted for so many mashed potatoes for dinner? Things were getting squirrely down there.

Did she sleep? No.

Did she fart? Yes.

Thankfully, it was just a quiet 'tssh.' But it was difficult to know how deadly it was. With her sensitive nose, it seemed terrible. Like vomit-inducing bad.

But instead of waking up, Itachi turned over in his sleep.

Whew. Embarrassment avoided.

Now, it was time to make her escape before more gas did. Except.

"Not so fast."

Sakura's head bolted up, peeking over a stack of books, whiskers twitching.

Sasori had pulled back his curtains. His eyes stared at her, almost through her, almost without expression. His gaze went from her to the book clearly visible on the bed. It had fallen off his lap when he'd used her as a pillow.

"You're reading about the Dark Arts," Sasori stated rather than asking.

Her ears trembled. Uh oh.

"You can't be a demon then," he concluded, his body remaining perfectly still.

Whew. Well, at least he wasn't going to go for his wand and attempt to dispel her form.

"But," Sasori said, "You are incredibly smelly. The dorm really stinks."

Gah! She bolted for the door, ears tucked. The anxiety at getting caught made her already jittery intestines even looser. Tsh. Tsh. Tsh. At each leap and bound it took to get the door. No!

The door couldn't open fast enough. She flew down the steps of the boys' dormitory until she got to the living space, where she took several deep breaths.

She tucked her ears under her paws as she shuddered. How embarrassing to be caught farting!