Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She flopped down the hallways, shivering and ears twitching at every noise in a castle full of magic, moving staircases, and sleeptalking paintings. What she was doing was incredibly stupid, that fact was not lost on her. Sakura had never done anything so wrong - well - nothing so blatantly wrong before at Hogwarts. She’d done most of this before, going to steal books, but the end goal was different, and the location. Not to mention she was using her animagus form to do it, her illegal animagus form since she’d never registered. 

She blamed Professor Yuhi for being a magpie animagus. The idea that Sakura could have flown high above the clouds, dipping her feet as she flew over a lake, had been too promising not to try. 

It had made her own animagus form a disappointment to be honest. Silky fur, soft whiskers, and a snuffling little nose had greeted her in the bathroom mirror and that is where all cuteness ended. The blood red eyes were attention grabbers, unnerving even her. Her obnoxious size had her filling up the entire bowl of the sink and then some, like a puddle off-white pinkish water. Her mother had likened her to a full load of white laundry tossed in with one red sock. She weighed in at a little over 9 kilograms. Her long ears had drooped as she continued her inspection. No flying for her. No fast speed of a cheetah or horse or even a cat. Instead she was an albino, giant, fat rabbit. A Flemish Giant Rabbit to be exact.

Her mother adored her, unaware that what she’d done was illegal and way too young for her to accomplish. She’d been honest with them about the important bits, like the transformation and how she’d be unable to speak for a month.

Her father, “Well now you can pull yourself out of a hat, wouldn’t that be a great trick.” 

Her muggle parents still didn’t quite understand magic. However, her father’s words had helped her remember to be human and she’d transformed back in his arms to his absolute delight. She took advantage of their ease with magic. Diving into things her other friends would not be allowed to even consider because of who their parents were.

But it was all magic. It was part of her. Why deny any part of it? Why not learn all there was to know? (More importantly, why was registration required? That was Nazi-like.)

She’d been placed in Ravenclaw for her quest for knowledge. It had broken her heart a bit; all of the friends she’d met on the train had all been separated. 

The hat had looked at Naruto and screamed Hufflepuff. When Naruto had pouted, Headmaster Namakazi, Naruto’s father, had laughed so hard he’d knocked over a goblet of pumpkin juice. Sasuke would have gone to Slytherin with little to no fanfare had his older cousin in Gryffindor not whooped and cheered the loudest. 

She’d looked on from the Ravenclaw table, envious of both houses her new friends had gone to; hoping she’d be able to make new friends on her own. 

But there were barely any sorted to Ravenclaw that year, or to any house. The only friend she made was Shikamaru, the others in her year and house were old purebloods. They sneered at her when she’d offered her hand to shake. 

“War,” Shikamaru told her once they sat on the plush blue couches. “There was a war between the different magic communities. Many died. Right now we are in a tentative peace.” His lips had twisted down, “We’ll likely be trained to fight should that peace collapse. The most casualties in the last war were school-age children. They would have had children our age, it's why our class size is so small compared to others.” 

He hadn’t been lying. She’d looked up the numbers and the newspapers. Then looked up the names and faces in past year books. If she were honest, the part inside her that had been so excited about magic died there. The contract she’d signed for registration with a blood quill, signing her life away for the duration of school to receive free magical training, had new meaning. She’d be a child soldier. 

Because none of her Ravenclaw peers had actually met her before school, they didn’t notice any change or shift in her. Sure she was poring over books, but didn’t all Ravenclaws do that? 

No, not like she did. Sakura had been an outgoing girl, shy and smart yes, but outgoing; enjoying the outdoors instead of locked in a library.

She read everything from theory, charms, and countercurses that she could get her hands on. That was why she was failing potions; not because she couldn’t brew but because she tended to almost fall asleep when doing so. 

That was how she spent her first three years. Then at the end of third year, the tournament happened. When the bodies of two dead champions were pulled from the water... Hell broke loose. At least politically. Shikamaru’s words bounced in her head. 

That summer she’d changed herself into a rabbit. War meant that registration of animagus would be lenient or not observed. Had it been a year earlier, she’d have been happy as a rabbit, not that she’d have tried. Now though, it was only a risk.

She wasn’t quiet or thin, indistinguishable, fast, nor had the ability to fly. Instead, she flopped. She was a giant flopping rabbit with white-ish fur and blood red eyes that were incredibly sensitive to light. 

But, in the early morning hours, when dusk had not even broken over the land and there was no one else afoot, her form was just quiet enough, just fast enough, just agile enough to move through the halls and get to the library. She had Neji, the Ravenclaw fifth-year prefect, to thank for knowing the rounds schedules. During his potions tutoring she got access to his schedule that helpfully marked everyone else’s, too. 

Yesterday, a council of Konoha had been called; war loomed on the horizon.

Today, as she promised herself many years ago should this happen, she’d learn the dark arts. At least understand them. Every newspaper clipping had discussed how ill-prepared the others had been, trained only in light magic. Not that Hogwarts didn’t train in dark magic eventually, but sixth year was so far away. She’d be expected to fight regardless of that training. 

She promised herself she wouldn’t be a number. 

Naruto was getting special training from his father in ward magic. And Sasuke. Well. The hissing conversations between Naruto and Sasuke when they studied together by the lake suggested Sasuke might already understand the Dark Arts too well. But she hadn’t dared to ask Sasuke. For one, he’d brooded for days after. For another, she hadn’t wanted his perspective.

If it was one thing Sakura had learned, it was that every teacher at Hogwarts had a very skewed perspective of magic and its limitations. Such as the idea that young students couldn’t learn to become animagi. But that was all they ever had, opinions and ideas. The scientific method and principles she’d learned at an early age in grade school were not known to the main society of wizards. Everything was instinct, even potions. You knew or you didn’t. You felt or you didn’t. You said the words or you didn’t. 

Stupid.

They weren’t using their heads. Not even other Ravenclaws. Even Shikamaru, the half-blood genius, was too lazy. 

The other muggle-borns were busy shedding their skin of the modern world and embracing the victorianish era they’d stepped into. Candle light, quills and cloaks. But not her. Most of her summers she kept with her muggle family and learned just the same as she would via online platforms. If only they had such in the wizarding world. Instead everything was in books, close guarded and controlled. Knowledge labeled with age restrictions. Inaccessible due to a good looking, golden haired headmaster warding the restricted section from human students. What? Naruto had a nice looking dad and Sasuke had a hot older brother. Shoot her. She could confess such thoughts in her own mind. 

But the key in Namikaze’s warding - Human. 

She hopped into the library, the brazier not even lighting at her passing in animal form. She paused at the entrance, nose to the air. A sweet minty scent overwhelmed the typical dusty and old leathery library. She sniffed again. Madam Hara must have reapplied a refreshing charm or perfume. Yuck. Hara applying perfume implied impressing someone. Sakura would rather not consider the old library hag wanting to woo anyone. Sakura sprung with a little more pep in her step to the restricted section to escape the thoughts of Madam Hara at Puddifoots. 

She paused at the gate. This would be the moment of truth. She took a deep breath then let it out. Her plush body was just squishy enough to slide through the bars of the restricted section gate. No ward stopped her. Success!

Behind the closed gate, she sprung more lively to the row in which her prey rested. Well. Ok. Carrot rested. A left turn, a right. And there, the aisle she needed. 

She sniffed the dust as she rested on her haunches, sneezed and then stretched to read the titles and authors. 

Uchiha… Uchiha… 

Ah! There, Madara. 

Her paw landed on the spine. 

“An Introduction to Magick Moste Dark,” a voice spoke from behind her. 

Her heart rammed in her throat. No, almost up it, almost exploding in the cavity that held it. Her entire being was frozen in place, ears completely stiff too, no turning and looking. 

“Not the typical literature one would expect a sweet little rabbit to indulge in.” 

Half her instinct screamed to remain still, blend in. But there was no blending in. Not in a pile of books.

The second instinct kicked in then. Flee!

To be honest, she’d never run faster, even as a human. She wasn’t just running but bounding, her body in perfect rhythm with her bunny soul. It would have been enjoyable had she not been having a heart attack in the process.

She ran left around a bookcase, right around another. Towards the gate. She breathed in-out and rammed through the bars. Her pace quickened further in the open area. She beelined to the doorway out of the library. 

Light shot far above her head, arching, stretching until its glow engulfed the entrance. The doors began to close.

 She increased her speed, heart long gone. Her throat ached, fear bubbling under her skin wanting to explode. 

Sakura was fast, but not fast enough. 

The doors shut completely, a moment before she reached them. She attempted to stop, switch direction, but the flooring against her footpads made her slide instead. Her feet then went under her and she toppled into the closed doorway. Her twenty pound body slammed into the door frame with a loud thump.

She straightened quickly. She’d assess damage later. 

The clicking of shoes sounded against the tiles of the library behind her. She glanced. No one. Good, then he wouldn’t see where she hid. 

She bolted to the closest shelf and ducked under, sucking in her gut to get into the crawl space. Except, well. Not all of her went under. 

Oh no. She squirmed and wiggled. Her fat bunny butt was stuck! 

She spun and twisted perpendicular to the opening, but even with forepaws straggling to be free, her behind was not. 

The footsteps sounded louder. Well, hopefully it wasn’t too much of her ass. She shuffled her forepaws back under, her ears tucked under them. Goodness, she had less draping parts as a human. At least in this position, she’d know when he walked past or stopped. 

A brazier lit, casting the shadow of a human figure upon the tile. 

She gulped. 

The moment of truth was here. 

The steps paused at the entrance to the aisle. 

She had been only kidding herself, of course. More than likely, most of her off-white bunny butt was stuck out there for him to see. Her legs were long and stuck out there, too. 

She made another effort to scamper and propel herself forward. Nope. Nothing. She was firmly in place. 

It felt like forever; moments were hours.

Finally the shadow moved, becoming bigger then smaller. 

Long black hair touched the floor first, and then a face appeared. Eyes peered upon her with curiosity. Itachi. Itachi Uchiha. The Itachi Uchiha. Ravenclaw Seeker, top student, sixth year prefect, perfect — Sakura would be flushing if she weren’t an animal. Of all the people to catch her, it had to be him. 

Itachi was amazing, cool, calm, collected and well - maybe, just maybe, if Sasuke were one hundred miles away with his ears stuffed with cotton she might confess that she was just like all the other girls in Ravenclaw tower, absolutely smitten with him. 

 She was going to get caught out of bed, in the restricted section, looking up a book from the most well known dark wizard of several centuries, whom Itachi likely spoke with on a cadence during summers. Not to mention, she was also going to get caught as an illegal animagus. War hadn’t been declared yet!

The young man then lowered his hands to the floor and laid upon them and continued his stare at her. 

And she. Well she continued her staring as well. 

His hair was loose, something she’d never seen. Untied, sprawling, almost alive. 

“Hello little rabbit.” 

Little. Little? 

Honestly, if she’d been little this hiding thing would have gone a lot better. 

“Are you going to come out and play?” 

Uh. That would have to be a no. For many reasons. One, she was very much stuck. Two, she still did not want to get caught. 

His wand appeared from his sleeve. “Lumos,” he uttered with the wand not pointed at her or himself, but straight ahead. 

She blinked away at the brightness anyway. These eyes were the worst. 

“What demonic red eyes you have.” 

Well, no, they weren’t ‘demonic.’ She turned her head to meet his gaze as he’d moved his wand light away only to see he was inspecting her bottom. AH!

“And your fur is semi-pink, dyed in the blood of your victims perhaps?” 

Well, someone’s imagination got a hold of them at night. 

His hand moved away from his wand then, and his fingers grazed the bottom pad of her left foot. 

She twitched and kicked, but she was still very stuck. 

Itachi chuckled. “You’re a very cute little rabbit.”

He turned his face to her again. A smile upon his lips. 

She’d never seen him smile. 

Not even when he caught a snitch. 

Not when he’d review the grade scores on the notice board and saw his name at the top.

Not when he read and finished the many thick tomes in his chair beside the fireplace in the tower. 

But, his smile was amazing. 

It was like him. Soft, gentle, calm and his eye crinkles - adorable. He even had a single dimple on the left corner of his lips.

No one would believe her should she even speak of this. Well, actually - if she got expelled and locked in prison she wouldn’t be able to speak with anyone.

“You,” Itachi said slowly. “Are adorably stuck.” 

He tugged at her foot again.

She wiggled and thumped her leg back at him. 

His smile grew larger, two dimples now. So in awe, it took her two seconds to register his next words.“So adorably stuck.” 

He chuckled again, much lower than he had before. No longer was the smile gentle. Now it was wicked. Very wicked.

Chapter Text

He tugged again upon her foot. 

In horror, she didn’t even kick back. Itachi could be cruel. 

Not even Sasuke thought Itachi was anything but sweet and nice, ‘not a real Uchiha by any measure.’ 

Lies. 

At no response, his fingers trailed up her leg to the haunch of her thigh and scratched as if tickling her. She kicked back on that one. 

Itachi was evil. 

“Should I help you?” Itachi asked, “Do you need help?”

Tickle. 

She kicked again. Dammit! 

“Do you need help, little one?” 

Tickle. 

She kicked and kicked and kicked. 

“Ah, is that a yes? If you promise not to run away, I’ll help.” 

She stilled. 

“See, there’s a good bunny.” 

He moved then, sitting upon the floor behind her where she could only see his shadow. Then large hands were upon her, around her waist and haunches. 

Well, a lot more of her didn’t fit than she thought. 

She felt a tiny tug. Then a hard one. 

“You are in a predicament.” 

The tug became more forceful and it felt like her waist was going to come off and she’d be half a rabbit soon. She let out a squeal and pop, she was free. 

Well, free from the shelf. Instead she’d plopped into Itachi’s lap, taking up pretty much all of it. Oh, why couldn’t she have been a cute, tiny, little bunny?

She looked up; he looked down. 

Her whiskers wiggled as she took a breath. The clean, sweet smell of mint and flowers had been him. She pressed a paw to his chest and sniffed some more. Sakura sniffed up his neck and into his hair. Not just mint, but peppermint. Not just flowers, but gardenias. Her favorite.

His chest rumbled as he chuckled and she dropped back down in surprise, body tense and ready to bolt. Her human side however, quickly overcame the animal. She just sniffed up Itachi Uchiha. She was in the Itachi Uchiha’s lap. 

Goodness he was a sight, this close up. His hair untamed by a tie and draping about him. And goodness what a position. His hands were placed just on her thighs. Oh goodness, gracious of— 

He let go of her haunches, and gently raised a hand. Her animal instincts once again reacted to movement, but instead of grabbing at her, he left his hand curled with knuckles towards her. The animal relaxed just enough to lean forward and sniff. 

Her whiskers pressed against his skin. 

He moved so very slowly and the tips of his fingers pressed against her muzzle and then made their way to her head. 

Then behind her ears, oh what a wonderful place for them to go. Her eyes closed as he got the right spot. Her right foot thumped. 

He laughed openly at her, leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

“You are the cutest thing I’ve seen in a very long time.” He leaned back up, nose touching hers.

AHHH! So close to a real kiss.

“So tell me, why would something so precious be interested in the dark arts, hm?”

RUN!

She tried to make an escape, but he was faster this time around. Wand in hand, she got half a leap in air and then just floated there, frozen. 

His hand once again scratched her ear. 

“Now, now, our deal had been going so well. The dark arts are not a normal thing to be interested in and I must confess, my great uncle’s introduction to it really only makes sense to someone familiar with the arts already. He’s not very good at introducing anything, let alone seducing a light magic user.” Itachi touched her nose with the tip of his finger. “I wouldn’t want you to be put off. It's a very complicated piece.” 

Complicated? Put off? Everyone referenced it in other books as the go-to resource; that Madara’s work was true to the essence of the dark arts. She wasn’t like all the other fourth years; she was already reading college textbooks and learning everything from literature to computer science from Coursera — passing all the classes she’d taken in the summer and earning several certificates to boot. 

His wand twisted and she hovered to the ground until her body was released from the spell. 

She immediately stood on her hind legs, cheeks puffing at his belittlement of her. 

“Oh, did I insult you?” Itachi asked. 

The non-confrontational bunny instincts rescinded deep inside as she puffed her chest like a human, hoping her eyes did look demonic.

“I meant nothing cruel by it.” 

Sure. 

“I only wished to suggest better reading material. Perhaps ‘A Loose Depiction of Magick and all the Arts’ by our very own headmaster.” He pointed down the aisle, “It's right there, aisle thirteen.”  

She turned her head to the side, nose in the air. She’d already read it. 

“Hm? No?” He considered her.

“How about ‘The Darken Soul: What Makes Evil Different from Dark and How to Defend Yourself’ by Hashirama?” He pointed behind him with his thumb. “Aisle thirty-four.” 

She stuck her nose even higher and sniffed. She’d read that, too. She’d practically devoured everything on spell magic and craft in the non-restricted section last year, not to mention both Namikaze’s and Hashirama’s work were required reading for fifth years; she'd finished those by year 2. 

“No, again? Has Professor Hatake already covered those in your DA class or perhaps we covered it last year sitting in the same room?”

She stiffened. Uh-oh. He was trying to discern her age.  

“Ah, I see. Yes, I myself was just grabbing further reading for our term paper on the principles around magical discipline. Although, I can say with confidence that Madara isn’t half as disciplined as he makes himself sound. He’s an indulgent person.” 

Well, now he thought she was a sixth year. Great. 

“Perhaps we can work on our term paper together? I was thinking of pulling the text of ‘Life in Self-Exile’ by Tsunade, myself.” 

She leveled him with a stare. Who was Tsunade? Well. It would throw off the scent, wouldn’t it? Or would it? 

“In terms of discipline, the healing sannin is the best. I’ve seen her work in person. Her magic is so controlled, she can heal without uttering a spell for it. Even when faced with the darkest of curses.”

Healing magic. Now, that would be useful, especially in war. People were bound to get hurt. But she’d already memorized the majority of healing spells in the general library — what would it mean to not have to worry about the right spell for attaching a tendon versus removing a curse? Or was it just the woman knew how to silently cast?

“Shall we?” Itachi motioned towards the leather armchair in the corner. 

She shook herself. Ok, she’d learn them both. Dark magic and healing magic. The best defense was a good offense, and if that failed, having a backup plan when she got hit. 

 He moved first, sitting upon the chair without the typical grace he had in the tower. Instead his ettique was lost, and he sat crossed-legged. His wand twisted and a book flew into his hands. It was thin, much thinner than the tome she’d been wanting to pull from the shelves. 

He patted his leg. “Coming?” 

Well, that was quite the invitation. Bunny instinct of self-preservation was thrown to the wolves with that. 

With a hop and a bound she almost made it onto the armchair. Instead only the top most part of her body made it and the heavier bottom half felt like it tugged with a force greater than gravity. She scrambled to stay upon the chair arm, in fact her bottom feet touched the ground, but she had no claws and her paws slipped on the smooth leather. She attempted to bound with her back feet but still couldn’t scramble up and over.

It was mortifying.

Itachi laughed, grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, and once again she found herself in his lap. Well, the book was in his lap, she was actually tucked into his side, his arm thrown around her and fingers on her ears. She nestled into the warmth. With her head laying on his leg she could read the text. 

“Comfy?” he asked. 

She lifted her head and looked up at his face, his smile small and sweet. She could stare at it all day. But that would be creepy wouldn’t it? She gave a yawn and turned back to the text and rested her head down. She kicked her foot a bit. If he offered, well she would make herself comfy. Thank you. 

“Let me know when you’ve read the page,” Itachi chuckled, fingers returning to her head. 

It wasn’t really a book, not in terms of theory or learning. Instead it was a journal kept by a witch who’d imposed herself in exile of her homeland, traveling to foreign countries and learning different healing magic. Seeing if there might have been a way to save her younger brother had she known better. 

Sakura shoved at Itachi’s hand each time she finished a page. He read faster than her, always turning the page and not taking any longer. 

By the end, Tsunade had found a way. But of course, her brother had long since passed away. The journey, more sorrowful than happy. 

The story itself was a treasure trove of techniques and daily living. Itachi had been right, the woman was disciplined, but not in the way a muggle would define it. 

For starters, Tsunade had been incarcerated for both drunkenness and gambling and continued to be so even at the end of the book. But how she treated her magic, now that was fascinating. Every morning she rose before daybreak to meditate on spells, even with a piercing hangover. Then, when the sun shone upon her in the morning rays, she cast those spells. Healing. Light magic. At least in some sense. 

Every night, right before dusk, she did something similar. Focusing on healing curse magic. ‘For one must understand the darkness to cure it.’

She kept a routine, an inner resolve within her that Sakura reflected was close to her own. Tsunade wasn’t as self-centered as Sakura though, her desire still to save her brother and others. Sakura just wanted to live to see the next day. 

They made quick work of the thin journal. But what it lacked in length it made up for in content. Dawn had not yet broken, twilight just beginning by the time they finished and Itachi casted a tempus. 

When he closed the book, Sakura jumped down to let him up, for midst reading she’d shifted again to get comfortable and had ended up sprawled across him, diagonal and sideways. He was very good at stomach scratches. 10/10 would sit on him again. 

She flushed. Now that she thought about it, the idea he’d been petting her underbelly had a lot of inappropriate tones. Not that said rabbit had cared. Or really Sakura if she were willing to be honest.

“Well, thank you for your company, little rabbit,” Itachi said. “But it is time we take our leave.” 

He opened the giant oak doors, relocked them by the wall such that the library remained open to all. When he headed towards the tower, she waved an ear in goodbye, before turning down the other corridor. 

For one, she didn’t want him to know she was Ravenclaw, too. For another, she still needed to get that book. 

She flopped at an amble pace until she turned down the corridor. There she waited, counting each breath until sixty. Then she peeked around the corner, pressing half her face against the cold stone wall to be as small as possible. 

Itachi was gone. Good. 

She flopped back to the library. With war on the horizon she’d little choice. She’d read the book, decide if dark magic warranted any further delving and if not, she’d focus on healing. Regardless though, she’d begin Tsunade’s nightly rituals, morning ones too if she returned to the dorm at a reasonable hour. 

She made her way back to the restricted section, slipped through the bars with ease and hurried to the shelf. She poked at the book with her paw; it came a bit free but budged no more. Sakura made another attempt, she wanted it out to see if it would scream. She heard some books here did that. Nothing. 

She was just about to become human, take her chances, yank it out and stuff the book into her bag, when a voice sounded behind her.

“You’re a sneaky one.” 

She bolted, but hands got her first. She was scooped up and held by her shoulders before the glowing red eyes of Itachi Uchiha, his bloodline magic memorizing and seeing all. She’d seen Sasuke use it to memorize books. Every muggle thing in her screamed at the sight of them looking at her, though. She wriggled and squirmed, trying to use all twenty pounds of fat to get him to put her down. She even tried to bite. But he held firm. 

“You realize, books such as those are monitored with spells. You pull it from the shelf, every teacher here will know you have it. You don’t know the spell to undo it, that is obvious.” 

She froze in her movement. 

Itachi smiled, “They’ll start asking questions. Primarily how did you bypass the anti-student wards Minato set up around the gates edge. At best, they’ll consider you a warding expert. At worst though… Have you registered your animagus form, my friend?” 

Her paws quivered. 

Oh no.

He moved her closer to his body and wrapped an arm around her to alleviate her dangling weight.

She looked up at him. What would he do? Turn her in? 

His voice dropped to a whisper. “There is more than one copy at Hogwarts. Do you know the right people though?” He released his firm grip, just cradled her gently as his smile crept larger.

Her head cocked, she closed her eyes trying to think of anyone she knew who had any inkling for the dark. Not really. Kakashi had laid down the law early. Dark Magic practitioners without his mentoring would be punished. They weren’t allowed to study it until sixth or later, not at all if Kakashi determined they were unfit. The dark required a certain temperament.

Sixth or seventh? Who did she know that was a sixth year?

No one really. Well, Kisame in Hufflepuff, who was absolutely terrifying. She knew him from her muggle neighborhood. They went to the same dojo, although she was in the higher-level classes. Likely because he didn’t memorize poomsaes . 

In general, he was a gangster and they acknowledged each other with head nods. Usually he was too busy pounding the face of some other thug behind an alley to make conversation. They’d barely spoken to one another. Minus of course, this last time they’d ridden the same bus together to get to King’s Crossing. Normally her parents took her, but sadly Auntie Kaede had gotten sick. 

“So what, you're a… ,” Kisame had tapped his chin, “Fourth year?” 

“Yeah,” she’d smiled. 

“Sixth for me. One more and I’m out of there. Sheesh, the magickal weirdness is too backwards for me.”

She’d actually been relieved. “I was starting to think I was crazy.” 

And they’d laughed together after. Talking about everything weird, especially the lack of pens and binders. Parchment, really? It was refreshing and reassuring that someone else had come to the same conclusion as her. 

So Dark Magic could be his thing. And being as he’d little reverence for muggle law let alone magical one, he’d probably be someone safe to trust. But he was a muggle-born, which put him at a disadvantage. While he might have bought a copy in Knockturn Alley, he didn’t seem like the studious type. A big giant book like this one he’d probably use as a door stop or hit someone with. Not really his weapon of choice, but it would make do like the lid of the garbage can she’d seen him use once. 

Who else? 

Oh. 

She opened her eyes, pressed a paw upon Itachi’s shoulder and booped his nose with her own. 

Itachi was an Uchiha. He had said ‘great uncle.’ He was insinuating he had it. Duh.

His grin turned wicked like he was playing with her foot again. “I suppose you’d be permitted to use my copy, but,” he initiated nose touches this time. “It must never leave my dormitory unless carried by my person.”

Even his breath was minty. Wait? What? 

His grip tightened and this time he carried her towards the tower with him.

Her heart pounded, not exactly from fear. Was he offering for her to be in his room?

The door didn’t even finish asking its riddle before Itachi said, “quill.” Then he stepped through the opening. He didn’t pause, walking right up and into the sixth year boys dormitory. 

She trembled. She’d actually been in Hufflepuff's male dormitory before, but only during waking hours. Itachi hadn’t even hesitated though, in they went. 

The differences were apparent even at the blue curtains. The shared room didn’t have clothes everywhere, dirty or clean. Instead there were books. Books in corners, books on shelves, books under beds, books on chairs. And paper, scrolls and quills scattered everywhere. A single tabby cat raised its head out of a black cauldron, perched upon a pile of more books, to greet them, green eyes glittering in the dying moonlight. It gave a lazy yawn before going back to sleep. 

In fact there was only one bed and desk in the entire dormitory that didn’t have an unorganized and messy library atmosphere and that is where Itachi took her. 

His small area was neat, books only on the shelves along with a picture frame. Only a closed inkwell and quill upon the top of the desk. He placed Sakura upon the tabletop. A good thing it was clear, for she took up the entire surface. 

Sakura blinked at the picture upon the shelf above her. Itachi was carrying his younger brother on his back, a smile on his face, Sasuke asleep until they got closer. Then the child bolted awake and almost toppled Itachi over with panic. 

Awww. 

Itachi pulled out his trunk and unbuckled the latches. 

She peeked down and over his shoulder. Well, that explained Itachi’s neatness. His entire trunk was a library, more books than those in this very room! The expansion charm looked to go far beyond what she could observe. Most of the books had no writing on their spines; instead they were in worn leathers of various dull hues of green, red and brown. He used his wand to accio a large volume without speaking and then closed the lid.  

Sakura sat up on the desk, whiskers twitching in anticipation. 

But instead of setting the book on the desk—not that there was a room left with her sitting on it unless he squashed her with it—he instead opened his bedside curtain, sat and then laid back. Book in his lap, he patted the spot next to him.  

Innerly she’d die later, book time. 

She looked several times, butt bunching up ready for the leap. Well. She made an attempt. But her aim… it really had more to do with being a rabbit. Depth perception was a tricky thing in this form. She wasn’t this clumsy as a human. In fact, she made a damn good beater in quidditch pickup matches. Needless to say, she missed. 

Before she could clatter upon the ground, thump and wake the other males in the room, Itachi whispered a spell and used his wand to levitate her to the bed. 

Her ears drooped. So embarrassing. 

But he set her down by his leg and then canceled the spell. 

She was at his hip in an instant, nose opening the book. 

“Yes, yes, it's just a book, don’t get so excited.” 

“Please don’t talk to your dick, Itachi. Nobody wants you to be weirder. Just wank and move on. Quietly. Please.” 

Sakura bolted up, forelimbs in the air, ears twitching trying to place both the sound and where it had come from. One of the beds obviously. But which one?

Itachi flicked his wand and uttered a silencing spell, but he didn’t shut the curtains. 

In the pale light from the full moon from the window beside the bed, she could see a hint of flush upon his cheeks. “Apologies for Sasori’s crassness.” 

He opened the book, and began to flip the page to the introduction when she pounced on his hand. She put all her weight down to stop him, while also leaning her head closer so she could read the cursive hand writing on the inside cover. 

‘You are as light as dawn, Itachi. I suspect no words will ever convince you to dive into the depths of your soul and navigate the cavern without a lamp, but you’d make such a powerful dark wizard I am compelled to try. - With love, Madara’

Madara had hand gifted his nephew this book. The actual author. Being that it was Madara’s book, would that be narcissistic or sweet?

Sakura retracted her head and weight, then nudged Itachi’s hand with her muzzle. 

“Ah yes, you are going to do this all night aren’t you.” 

She laid back down beside him, propping her head upon his stomach. She kicked with her foot. 

He turned the page to the introduction. 

Except, it wasn’t just an introduction. The same cursive writing could be found in the top heading space. It was more of the same, that Itachi would make an excellent dark wizard should he choose to be one. If Itachi had any questions, whatsoever, Madara would take personal time from work to help him on his journey. 

So it was sweet. Aww.

As time went on though, the handwritten notes elaborated on each page in the book. They were clarifications, footnotes, other books to look into or personal experiences from Madara’s life. 

Amazing. 

So much better than the copy in the library. 

Madara had handwritten annotations in this book entirely for Itachi, to convince him. 

The contents even without the notes were fascinating and with the personal touch, she could barely stop reading. 

Around chapter five, just when it was diving into the practicality of spells, she kicked Itachi’s side but no more page turns occurred. 

She turned to glare but stopped and blinked instead. 

Itachi was asleep. 

She made an attempt to turn the page herself, but triggered movement from her sleepy host. Who then proceeded to mistake her for a stuffed animal. She found herself grabbed and tugged away from the book and then her large haunch used as a pillow for Itachi’s cheek. 

A sleeping Itachi was a bit of a sight. 

His stress lines seemed to disappear. His lax face, softer. Less of a man and more of a child. 

She turned her head away from the sight, feeling just a bit guilty. Well, she herself was also tired. She gave a yawn. Maybe she’d meditate on some spells like Tsunade and if she fell asleep… Well, Itachi’s bed was pretty comfy as was the warmth from his hands and cheek.

She hadn’t planned for this, but well, this was quite nice. What was the saying, never look a gift horse in the mouth? Every other girl in Ravenclaw Tower would die for this moment. 

As she closed her eyes, she pondered dark magic. The whispers of shadows. The cavern of one’s soul. What made dark magic work and how it differed from the light. Were they truly entity-like, as Madara suggested? Could one heal with dark magic? Cellularly speaking, UV rays were damaging to cells but vitamin D was restorative to the body. Darkness like in a sensory deprivation tank was used for treating a variety of ailments and was also considered restorative. Studies were showing that the human circadian rhythm was a part of a healthy, balanced life. Was there such a thing as balanced magic? Must one choose a focus between light and dark? Could light spells be used with more power during daylight and dark, at dusk? So many questions and no answers.

She was jealous of Itachi. He had someone offer to take time to answer all of his questions.  Repeatedly, Madara would circle a passage and write: Ask me about this and I can give more details . 

Sakura Haruno, though, had no one in the magical community. No one she could trust. Not with dark magic, not with her animagus ability. 

Even with Itachi’s cheek pressed to her outer thigh, she felt alone. Just as alone as the night she’d spent staring into the flames in the common room after reading the newspaper clippings of the last war, contemplating her name written in blood that bound her to the will of a country.

Chapter Text

“What do you know, you do sleep, Itachi. Here I was, thinking you were just a demon that didn’t and in the middle of the night you plot ways to take our souls to hell.” 

Sakura blinked open her eyes into the brown solemn gaze of a redhead. 

What, what? Sakura brushed a paw forward realizing immediately she was still in her rabbit form and the warmth that encased her belonged to Itachi. 

The young adult before her made a sour expression, “Of course, it makes perfect sense you’d only sleep with a giant fat demon rabbit.” He stood back and crossed his arms. 

Hey! That was rude!

Itachi lifted his head off of her back, his black hair falling upon her face and eyes. 

She sneezed and pawed at it. 

He pulled his hair away. “Good morning, Sasori.” 

“What’s with the hare?” Sasori asked, not bothering with formalities.

“It's my familiar,” Itachi said, and then without batting an eye. “I summoned it in the Forbidden Forest from the very pits of darkness.” 

“Are rabbits allowed as familiars?” Sasori’s eyes narrowed in thought. “I know the Hyuga’s have peacocks, but rabbits?” 

“When they’ve been summoned from the great beyond,” Itachi said, deadpanning. “Yes.”

 Sasori looked between her and Itachi before shrugging. “Well, does it do anything interesting?” 

Itachi leaned back on his elbow. “It reads, and takes souls to hell. No plotting needed anymore. I can get some well earned rest.” 

Sasori didn’t even crack a smile. “I see. Well. Great being roommates with you.”

“The pleasure is always mine, Sasori,” This time Itachi did smile, his most wicked foot tickling one. 

 “Now I have to watch out for a rabbit and you. I wondered how sixth year could get worse than our O.W.L. Year.”

“I do enjoy raising the bar.” 

Sakura would have been cracking up laughing had she been human. Or flushing, at the petting Itachi was now giving her ears with his spare hand. Probably both if she were honest. Her teeth clicked together as she purred; his fingers rubbed the tips of her ears. Ahh, just right.

“If it does anything to me, I’ll feed it poison.” 

A chill went up Sakura’s back. Ok, maybe Sasori wasn’t joking? 

“I never said I wanted your soul.”

“Oh?”

“First years, the fresher the better.” 

Sasori tilted his head to the side. “I suppose I could see that.” 

“The rabbit will make it easier to lure them.” 

“Not with those eyes, nobody will take the bait.” 

“Bait for what?” Another male asked. 

Sakura immediately recognized him by the amount of rivets in his face. Although she flushed when realizing it wasn’t just his face that had metal piercings, but his breasts and stomach too. Muggle-born as well.

Kisame had greeted the guy in a very big hug when he’d seen him at King’s Crossing at the beginning of the school year. Said guy had not returned it. Had that made him more or less gangster than Kisame? Sakura hadn’t been sure. But the black clothing, he’d been a goth right? Maybe that was it. 

“Soul sucking,” Itachi answered on Sasori’s behalf, still keeping his face completely flat and expressionless. “This rabbit will help lure in the first years, Yahiko.” 

The man crouched by the bed. 

“You’re not going to get any muggle-borns. It looks like a giant version of the Black Beast of Arrgh,” Yahiko smiled and then laughed at his own humor. 

Sakura also wanted to laugh. Well at least someone here had humor and was a muggle-born. If only her own year hadn’t discounted their heritage. Maybe she should be looking to the upper years. They seemed much more confident in themselves than her peers. Perhaps her peers would get it in a few years?

“I’m sorry, what?” 

“A muggle thing. Not sure you’ll ever understand even if you wanted to.” 

Sakura couldn't help herself, she lunged at Yahiko, as if to go for his throat. 

The man caught her, of course, but her weight threw him off and they were both then on the floor. She booped his nose.

He let out a laugh, rough and heavy. “Just like the fucking thing. Shit, Itachi. As if you needed something to be more terrifying.”

“It's a rabbit. It's cute.”

“Like hell it's cute,” Sasori uttered.

Hey!

“It’s the Beast of Arrgh,”  Yahiko laughed. “Oh, Konan is going to love this. She’ll want to make it part of the Akatsuki. Nagato will have a fit.” 

Akatsuki? She’d never heard such a term before. Sakura hopped off the bare-chested man, flushing as she considered just what she’d done and the nakedskin she’d just touched. Oops. She looked to Itachi for an answer about the Akatsuki. Was it a magical term? 

Itachi peered over the bed. His brows touched his forehead. He looked so confused and perplexed, likely still considering the Monty Python reference. Ugh, purebloods. No pop culture allowed.

She looked around her, noticing again the bare chest, and mostly bare legs of Yahiko. She could feel her face warming. Sasori was dressed more presentably, in a flannel night dress. Pureblood too, then. 

Well if they were up, they were bound to get dressed. It was time she took her leave before she saw even more skin. 

With a nod of her head to them, she hopped out the door. The good thing with being an animal was that the doors were automatic instead of requiring actual human intervention. The best, really. Why they weren’t automatic for humans was a bit odd if one thought about it. 

Off she went, down the stairs of the dormitory. It was still early, no one was in the main room. The breaking dawn casted light upon the common room in a golden hue. Well, meditation first. Then she’d take a nice long nap. Thankfully it was the weekend. 

She looked behind her. No one emerged. She hopped up the stairs quickly to the girls dormitory. Once inside, she reached her bed without stirring any of the other occupants. She climbed the stairs made of books that she’d left just for this purpose. Once on top of the last step she jumped into the opening in the blue velvet curtains. Once safely inside, she transformed. A moment later she brushed back the curtains, yawned as if she’d just awoken and then sat cross legged on the sill facing east. She greeted the rise of the sun with her thoughts on the light. 

At breakfast, the owls dropped more bad news upon the table. 

The headmaster left after reading the paper, but not before shoving it into Kakashi’s hands and whispering something in his ear. The rest of the staff read their own copies with solemn faces. Most of the students seemed unbothered by the news, not even having a subscription to the Daily Prophet. But those that did from magical households reacted. Neji stalked off to the Hufflepuff table to speak with the Hyuga clan heiress. Itachi closed his eyes, wincing as if in pain. Muggle-borns, though, had breezed through the convention decisions, not understanding the impact. How many had not read the contract they’d signed? Did they know that if war was declared, they’d be the ones on the battle front?

She needed to finish that book. 

Thus far, dark magic hadn’t sounded too difficult. Oddly metaphorical, and sensual; but not hard. 

Neji tutored her that afternoon in potions. And while he was busy digging through his things, she scanned the prefect schedule like normal, paying attention to names. 

 Itachi had a night shift that ended thirty minutes past midnight. Konan was the Hufflepuff prefect. Nagato was a Slytherin one. Interesting. All sixth years, perhaps they were just closer than her year.

Sakura sighed. She’d hoped her year would be close, too, but instead the only real friends she had were Naruto, Sasuke, and sometimes Ino. Recently though, Ino had been more focused on how she looked rather than what she learned. It drove Sakura insane. But Ino was a pureblood, her father part of the Auror Corps. Ino got special training from her father, she was confident in her skill. All of her magical friends seemed to be. Well, all her friends had something to fall back on, at least in the magical world. 

Sakura had her family, and the muggle world. Sakura even polished her muggle skills. She could almost get a degree with all the college credits she’d earned through online platforms. 

Once seventh year came, she’d probably leave just like Kisame. Get out. But she wouldn’t be able to do that, not for a few more years. The contract she’d signed meant if war came, she must fight for Hogwarts. 

She shook her head, dislodging such thoughts. 

Focus on the book. 

At midnight, Sakura exited her dormitory as a bunny, taking care to be quiet. No one. Good. Ravenclaws were predictable regarding bedtime. 

She hopped down to the main floor and made her way to the chair Itachi typically sat in. She didn’t jump into it, but instead curled up on her feet and waited in front of the cooling embers of the fire. 

Another thing about animals. A human would trigger the fireplace to burn brightly; but animals, not a change. 

Sakura lowered her head to her paws and awaited Itachi’s return. 

She had no way to tell time, but while she waited she made her mind busy. She contemplated the few dark spells she knew of. The famous three curses. Well, were they dark? They couldn’t be light. To torture, kill and dominate were of the darkest of nature. Kakashi had quizzed them on the words and their intent, but had never dived deeper. Where had they been classified in the spectrum of magic? Was there a spectrum? Obviously they were illegal outside of wartime, but were they super dark, kinda dark, neutral? Well - those spells were probably super dark. Not to mention, her quest to find neutral had ended in defeat. Madam Hara had scoffed at her. 

But there must be a spectrum, right? Everything had a spectrum, be it difficulty or even the visual spectrum. There was not just black and white in the world. That meant there was something in the middle. What about a tripping jinx? Where would it fall?

The portrait hole opened. Itachi and Ouka, the female prefect, stepped through. She bid Itachi goodnight with a flirtatious shoulder squeeze and wink. 

Sakura tensed at the interaction; Itachi did pretty much nothing, just gave a smile and bid her farewell. 

Itachi’s gaze fell to Sakura then. 

And then, so did Ouka’s following Itachi’s interest. Her eyes lit up.

“Oh, look at the rabbit! Isn’t it cute?” 

Oh no. 

Sakura didn’t want to like Ouka, especially not after seeing the closeness she had to the number one most wanted male in Ravenclaw Tower. But Ouka was as sweet as all the other interactions Sakura had had with her. The young woman walked slowly, kneeled and stretched out a hand, being considerate in her movements. 

Sakura gave just one quick nose blow out and in. Sweat. Well, Ouka had been patrolling the dungeons according to Neji’s chart, which meant she’d had to go up and down stairs. 

Ouka took the sniff as a sign to pet. Those blue manicured nails got her just right and her leg thumped on its own accord. 

“Feel this fur, Itachi, it's so soft.” Ouka then leaned in and sniffed. 

Sakura stiffened. What did the lady just do?  Right next to her ass. 

“It even smells like roses. Whose familiar do you think this is?” Ouka asked, scratching more and sniffing less. 

“Mine.”

Ouka stopped her scratching and turned. “What?” 

“The rabbit is my familiar. I recently acquired her.” Itachi studied Sakura and then turned his attention to Ouka.“She was injured and I nursed her back to health. She’s very loyal.”

Itachi walked over, kneeled down and then gave Sakura a pointed look, “And needy. If she doesn’t get read bedtime stories she won’t go to sleep.” 

Ouka placed her palm to her heart. “Oh, that is so sweet, Itachi. Your kindness never ceases to amaze me.” 

Sakura could practically see the hearts coming from Ouka’s eyes. Way to milk the situation, Itachi. Sakura’s whiskers twitched. 

“What's her name?” Ouka asked. 

Itachi gave Sakura another pointed look, which Sakura felt herself returning. How had he not planned on that question coming from Ouka’s mouth? 

“Bunny.” 

Ouka’s hand dropped, yeah not so cute. Glad to know the great Itachi was not so perfect in the naming department. But oh, no. It hadn’t actually worked. The female prefect’s smile got even larger. She lowered herself more and touched her mouth to Sakura’s forehead to give a kiss. 

Sakura shrunk away from the maroon lipstick covered lips. She had no idea how to get that off white fur, but it probably would be a giant pain. 

“Well it's nice to meet you, Bunny-boo.” 

“Just Bunny.” Itachi was losing points by the second with Ouka, but Sakura was quite thankful for the correction. 

“Ah yes, well, ok.” Ouka straightened. “I’m glad you finally have a familiar, Itachi. One that you really connect with. Bunny seems very sweet.” 

“I grow fonder by the day. The fact that Bunny knows my schedule so quickly must show how close she is to me.” A glare followed that.

Ruh-roh. Sakura looked away from Itachi. Well, maybe she’d overstepped her bounds. But Itachi had said the book could not leave his room. How else was she supposed to read it? 

“Awwww.”

Ugh. Even Sakura in human form would have picked up on the fact that ‘Bunny’ was most definitely in trouble just by the tone Itachi had just used. How oblivious was Ouka? 

“Have a good night, Ouka,” Itachi said softly, “It's time for Bunny and I to get to bed. I’ve some reading to do, it seems.” 

“Of course, sorry,” Ouka quickly got off her hands and knees. “Night, night, Bunny. Goodnight, Itachi. Sweet dreams.” The ‘sweet’ was pronounced in the lowest and sultrest tone Sakura had ever heard. 

Sakura was then promptly scooped into Itachi’s arms, and he gave a groan as he got back to his feet. “I think you’re heavier today than you were yesterday.” 

Sakura kicked him.

“Let’s have a chat about my schedule.” 

It was a one sided conversation really. Itachi silenced his bed and then berated her. 

“By lunch, everyone will know you as my familiar. That means if you get into anything, like the restricted section again, it will come back to me. Not to mention, word will reach my mother by tomorrow evening,” Itachi glared. “She’ll send Shisui after me to get a picture.” 

Well, she’d forgotten about Ouka. And Ouka wouldn’t have noticed her if Itachi hadn’t practically screamed ‘look over there!’ with his stare. Itachi hadn’t even needed to claim her. What was with that! But she had to confess, sending Shisui after anyone seemed like quite the punishment. 

The seventh year Gryffindor Head Boy was loud and obnoxious; Sasuke avoided him like the plague. Everytime Sasuke didn’t escape in time, he got his cheek pinched and embarrassing stories told about his diaper changes to onlookers. 

She drooped her ears, as if she really took his words to heart and then looked up at him, trying to widen her eyes to look as innocent as possible. She snuffled her nose.

“You don’t care,” Itachi said, “You just want to read the book.” 

At the word book her ears perked. 

His glare deepened. 

No, Sakura! Her ears re-drooped immediately. Sad bunny. Be sad bunny. 

With a sigh, Itachi leaned against his headboard and looked down at her. 

“Fine.” He reached a hand to his desk and pulled the book from it.

Book! 

Sakura hopped to Itachi’s side and got cozy beside him, propping her head on his hip. 

“One chapter. That is it.” 

Sakura turned and gave a good long blink in understanding.

She got two out of Itachi; five kicks to get him to do it though. 

He didn’t let her leave after, either. Instead he wrapped a hand around and once again dragged her up and used her haunch as a pillow. He was lucky she didn’t have to fart. What was wrong with humans and wanting to put their heads so close to the tush. Sure, she had large thighs, but they couldn’t be that comfortable. 

But, it was Itachi Uchiha. That pleased the human. The internal rabbit instincts were happy with the safe location. So with a yawn, she let herself enjoy the warmth and fell asleep to Itachi’s even breaths. 

She woke before dawn, Sasori’s trod to the bathroom loud to her sensitive ears. She gently moved away from Itachi so as to not wake him, then left. Carefully scanning the room multiple times, she then made her way to her dormitory to begin her new morning meditation ritual. 

Itachi had been wrong about one thing. It didn’t take until lunch for the whole school to learn of his familiar. Nor did Mikoto need to sick Shisui upon Itachi’s person - Shisui needed no such request. 

Sakura was more than a table away when Shisui slammed his hands down upon the Ravenclaw table beside Itachi. “Where’s Bunny? I’ve got to meet Bunny. I heard it's bigger than eight cats put together.”

Hey! That was mean! She was like two or three cats in size. Maybe four.

Itachi took some time in responding to the outburst as he held a cup of tea to his lips. He took a sip. “No.” 

“Why not?” 

Itachi sat down the teacup. “Because you are loud and that terrifies any animal.” 

“I can be quiet,” Shisui whisper-yelled. 

“No.” 

Shisui pouted and his eyes, well Shisui could give really good puppy dog eyes. Sakura would have given in.

“No.” 

By lunch, an owl swooped in dropping a large package for Itachi. He unwrapped a camera at the table. Itachi gave a sigh as the quidditch captain next to him laughed. 

Looked like word had reached his mother. 

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose. 

Itachi’s night shift was the same all week, so around the same time Sakura hopped down the stairs of her dormitory, being just as careful as before. No one was present. She sniffed the air. No strong cologne or scent. 

Instead of waiting at the fireplace where one could be seen from the opening, Sakura hopped up and into Itachi’s armchair. She didn’t want to get pets from Ouka, as nice as her nails were. 

Only one chapter tonight, she promised herself. She had potions in the morning and Neji was going to kill her if she failed another practical. 

What she hadn’t planned on was Shisui. 

The door opened; Sakura tucked her ears and waited patiently for Itachi and Ouka to bid each other farewell. But no conversation came. No Itachi. 

Instead another Uchiha graced the common room, one wearing a red and gold tie. 

He hadn’t yet noticed her, his gaze on the stairs to the sixth year dormitories. 

Shisui didn’t even turn around, he just sat in the chair. The chair she was fully occupying, because laying down, she flattened into the circumference of several cats, but less than eight! 

Shisui was heavy. 

She let out a gasp of pain and kicked.

Shisui bolted up and turned around. Immediately he was on his knees in front of the chair. “Oh no, oh no. I am so sorry.”

He reached for her head and she squished herself as far away as possible from his hand. 

He froze. “Sorry.” 

He dropped his hand to the couch cushion; Sakura relaxed slightly. 

“You are just as precious as Ouka said. No wonder Itachi’s so taken with you.”

Sakura flushed. Wait. Itachi was taken with her? Err, well. Bunny, her? Since Itachi had never acknowledged her real existence, she’d take what she could get. 

“Mikoto is going to have a field day with you. This is great news, a good distraction from the sour diplomacy; it sounds like war is a sure thing at this point.” 

War? Sakura rested her chin on top of his knuckles. Go on. Nobody talked about it, at least not openly. Just in whispers. Just in magical circles, everyone shut up when a muggle-born like her came by. As if it wouldn’t impact them. But the truth was, it would. Maybe that is why they shut up. They knew muggle-borns would just be cannon fodder.  

He fingered underneath her chin, eyes stern. 

“Things are going to shit, little bunny. They are going to ask Itachi to lead in battle, I just know it.” Shisui sighed and turned slightly so that he was sitting on the floor with his back against the legs of the armchair. He rested his head on his shoulder as he looked into the fire. “He’s not ready. He’s not ready to fight. Not ready to kill. They ask too much of him already. I’m so worried. Why couldn’t Madara have named me as clan heir?”

He turned his gaze to Sakura. 

“But you’ll bring him some joy, yeah? Make sure he doesn’t get too down?”

She didn't really know what she could do, but she nodded. 

He tickled her chin, “You are a smart one.” He moved his hand to the top of her head. 

She didn’t care for the weight of his hand and she shifted back to her corner. 

“I’m sorry little bunny. But you are soft. Ouka wasn’t kidding.” 

The door opened.

Shisui’s head bolted up then, neck craning to look around the other side of the chair. 

Sakura heard voices. 

Shisui put a finger to his lips and then used his wand without uttering a word, vanished from sight. 

At least for a second. 

Sakura narrowed her gaze. It was a lot like invisibility in Halo games she played with her cousin. The second he moved, it gave away his position. She might not have depth perception, but she could clearly see his outline. He backed up to the fireplace mantel and stood there waiting.

Then it was like he was gone. Interesting…  

Itachi and Ouka bid each other good night. 

Itachi paused by the fireplace. Had he seen the movement too? 

“Aww, no Bunny tonight, Itachi?” Ouka crooned. 

Ugh. That was pitchy to Sakura’s sensitive ears. 

Itachi turned to look back at Ouka over the armchair, and then his eyes caught sight of Sakura’s form.

His lips tilted up, just a fraction. “Looks like she just found a more comfy place than the floor.” 

“Oh,” Ouka’s footsteps returned to the main floor and soon Sakura was looking up and into the woman’s brown eyes. “Aww. Someone was taking it easy.” 

Pet. Pet. Stroke.

Sniff. Sniff. Sniff.

Ugh. She was glad she bathed tonight. Now that people were smelling her, she was going to have to get more careful about it. 

“She smells so good.”

Good, old fashioned, muggle deodorant would do that. It was a ‘Secret.’  

Sakura looked up at Itachi, hoping he could read the ‘Save me’ look on her face. 

He was smiling instead. Likely enjoying the torture Sakura was enduring of someone smelling so close to her behind. Come on, people! Well, maybe payback. With a flush she remembered sniffing Itachi up. 

Movement then caught Sakura’s eyes. Shisui was on the move, walking closer. 

Sakura fluffed her fur, sat up and thumped her back feet. The humans didn’t react. 

Shisui inched closer. Sakura opened her mouth and well… Tried to growl. 

What really came out of her mouth sounded like a mix between a sneeze and a raspberry. 

Ouka at least stopped sniffing her. “Uh oh, is she sick?”

“I’m not sure.” The smile was gone from Itachi’s face. 

Shisui was close. Look, Itachi! Nothing ever good came from Shisui sneaking up on anyone. Last time he’d thrown Sasuke in the lake. 

She thumped her back foot and she blew again. 

They all just looked more confused. 

Shisui was at Itachi’s shoulder then. Not waiting for whatever prank to befall Itachi, Sakura leapt at the invisible figure, like she had Yahiko this morning. 

He dodged, and she clattered to the ground. She whipped back around and lunged again. He dodged, moving more towards the inner of the room and away from Itachi. 

“What is she doing?” Lunge. 

“I’ve no idea.” Dodge.

“Maybe she needs to go potty.” Lunge. 

Dodge. “Could be.” 

Shisui was now right to the side of a coffee table. Perfect, he wasn’t keeping track of his surroundings. 

She changed the direction of her approach, making it such that he’d be more likely to go to his right. 

He didn’t disappoint. He slammed right into the table, toppling it over. Everything on it, the books and coasters, crashed on the ground to be followed by the loud thump of Shisui hitting the floor. 

“Shit. Ouch.”

Sakura pounced onto his stomach, the soft gut portion. 

“Oof.” 

Itachi had his wand out and was canceling the invisibility within a second, red eyes glowing in the room brighter than the fire roaring behind him. 

It took a long moment, but then – 

“Shisui,” both Itachi and Ouka sounded exasperated. 

Itachi lowered his wand.  

Shisui had his hands up and open. “Itachi, good evening. How is your night going?” Shisui scratched the back of his head sheepishly. 

Sakura took a hop onto the chest muscles and then blew a raspberry in Shisui’s face. 

Shisui pointed a finger, “Hey, I thought we had a deal. I said keep quiet. Don’t you know what shush means.” 

She blew another one. All bets were off if he was going to prank. 

A strange chortling noise came behind her causing her to turn. 

Itachi was leaning over, hand wrapped around his stomach. At first she thought that Itachi was sick but then he looked back up, and his smile was wider than she’d ever seen, wider than when he’d been evil to her. And the noise was his laughter. 

Ouka, Shisui and Sakura stared dumbfounded at the sight. It was Shisui who recovered first. 

“You’ve quite a tenacious and loyal defender,” Shisui said with a smile and then he started laughing too. 

Ouka followed soon after. And then Sakura blew another raspberry, which only caused Itachi to gasp for breath between his fits of laughter. 

That night, once all had recovered, she got five chapters out of Itachi. It turned out, blowing raspberries would cause him to chuckle which woke him up, which meant more reading time. 

Needless to say, she failed the potion’s practical. 

Neji shot a stinging hex at her.

Chapter Text

On Monday night, Itachi didn’t go to bed. Instead once Ouka had finished giving pets to Sakura’s head, while cooing and begging for sneezes, Itachi scooped Sakura up and walked her out of the common room and back into the halls of Hogwarts.. 

She struggled a bit, until he hissed, “My mother requires pictures. This is your own fault.” 

Oh. Well, ok, maybe a bit confused now. What did pictures entail? 

He went to the seventh floor, made several passes, until a door appeared.

 A door? Secret room! So cool. 

In, they went. 

The room had a striking resemblance to the Ravenclaw common room. But instead of blue and bronze, it was scarlet and black. The room almost looked oppressive and dark, if not for the roaring fire and the sofas and armchairs looking far more lush and comfortable than the ones in the tower. The majority of seats were already taken, and the bustling noise of quiet conversations made for a cozy atmosphere that differed greatly from the black looming walls that seemed like a cavern. 

Sakura blinked. Kisame was there, sitting in an armchair across from Yahiko who sat on the left side of a sofa. Next to Yahiko was a Slytherin prefect, his arm tossed on both sides of the couch. Next to him, a blue haired female. Hufflepuff prefect. Konan perhaps? 

But the room wasn’t just full of prefects. Sasori was there, in a discussion with both a white haired Gryffindor and two Slytherins over a coffee table where newspapers were strewn about. The moving images from the Daily Prophet amongst others she hadn’t heard of. But it was clear what exactly was being discussed. Politics. War. An impending doom was upon them all. 

“You bring the camera?” Itachi asked. 

Kisame looked up with a wolfish grin, his smile spread so far that his teeth showed. “I did indeed. I also brought a hat, but it looks too small.” 

Kisame pulled out an old fashioned camera and a magician hat from under his armchair. 

Oh, boy. Kisame had her dad’s humor. 

Itachi raised a brow. “A hat?” 

Immediately, Sakura knew exactly who had familiarity with the muggle world from the ones that laughed. Everyone on the sofa burst into giggles. Kisame had a shit-eating grin. But that was it. The others looked just as confused as Itachi. 

“Muggle humor when it comes to rabbits,” Kisame provided as he got out of his chair. He left the hat upside down by the foot of his armchair and took the camera with him. “Take a seat, Kakuzu already has the potion for making the pictures. We’ll have it in a couple hours.” 

So old school. All Sakura needed was to grab her phone from upstairs and take a shot. Why did wizards have to make it all so complicated? She was a bit surprised that Kisame wasn’t saying much on it, given how much he’d talked about the backwardness of wizards.

Itachi took a seat and Sakura tilted her ears back as he didn’t let go. 

“Oh come on, Itachi, you look so stiff. Your mom’s gonna think we didn’t do the potion right. Just act… well not normal, but you know. Interact with the rabbit. I dunno, pet it or something.” 

Itachi managed to shift her weight so he’d one hand free and gave one long stroke. 

“Uh, no. I promised your mom for ten galleons I’d get something good.” 

Itachi sat her down on his lap and his hands went to the armrest. His nails dug into the sides. “Look, just take the picture, guaranteed anything will do for her.” 

Sakura looked over Itachi’s knee at the hat. She wasn’t that big. She’d fit. For sure.

“All I’m saying is—”

She hopped down and into the hat. Flash. 

Well, maybe more like crushed the corners of it. She didn’t ‘quite’ fit. Ok, more accurately, she hadn’t fit at all. But, it had been a rather small hat, that's all. A child’s hat. Probably from a child’s magician kit. 

Kisame bellowed out a laugh. “A good lie has elements of truth.” 

Itachi propped a chin on one hand as he leaned over his armrest to look at her. 

“You’re too big.” 

Rude! She stood up, forelimbs reaching up to the arm rest. She did her best rabbit glare at the smirk on his face. 

He leaned further down as if to boop her nose with his own. Not on her watch.

Flash. 

She raspberried. 

Flash.

Itachi, of course, started chuckling away at the noise.

She wiggled her way towards the seat and attempted to jump up and onto his leg and lap. 

Flash.

She didn’t quite make it and he had to pull her up by her armpits. 

“You got all that, Kisame?” Konan asked. 

Itachi let out a sigh. 

“I did indeed. Found yourself quite the cute animagus, Itachi.” 

“Animagus?” Yahiko asked. “I thought it was his familiar.” 

“Definitely an animagus,” Kisame said, lowering the camera. “Or I know a witch just like her that lives in my neighborhood.” 

Sakura bolted up. What? What did that mean, 'just like her.’ She wasn’t anything like this as a human! 

Kisame laughed and put the camera down on the table shared by Sasori and his fellows before turning back to Sakura. 

“No worries, chubby bunny, I ain’t no snitch. Nobody here is either, prefects included of course.” 

“Really, the giant ass rabbit is a human?” The gryffindor asked. 

Mean!

“Yes,” Itachi said, “but there is no need for such crass language Hidan.” 

“Piss off, Itachi. You are such an uppity bitch.” 

“So you think you know who it is?” Itachi asked, ignoring the white-haired young man glaring at him.  

“Pretty obvious,” Kisame yawned. 

“Really, which one of our classmates do you think?”

Kisame grinned in response. “What makes you think it's one of our classmates?”

“350 words per minute on average and they read all of our textbooks for DA last year. They are currently working on a term paper for magical discipline.” 

Itachi knew how fast she read. That was… oddly enlightening, last time she got tested before Hogwarts she’d been at 300 words a minute. 

“Well my bet is it's not one of our classmates.” 

“That leaves the majority of this school, odds are too much in your favor,” Yahiko said. “Should we start a pool, Kakuzu?”

“Done. Everyone picks a year, 10 galleons in. I’d like nothing more than to take the few coins Kisame just earned.” 

“Sixth year, just like us,” Itachi said without hesitation.

“Seventh year,” Konan said. Nagato took the same number as her. 

Everyone then began placing their bets, mostly keeping with Itachi, or going one year lower. 

“Teacher,” Hidan said, “It's a teacher wanting to sit in Itachi’s lap. Nothing like a good teacher’s pet relationship but in reverse. I’m willing to bet our muggle studies professor is kinky like that.” 

Itachi glared; Sakura felt warm. Maybe she was spending a bit too much time in Itachi’s lap. 

Kisame went last. “Fourth year.” 

Everyone snorted and laughed. Sakura sweated, feet feeling itchy. 

“An animagus in fourth year, no way. You are out of your fucking mind,” Hidan laughed, smacking the table. 

“Not while I’m working,” Kakuzu hissed as he poured a potion into a bowl. 

“Looking back it was a convenient case of bronchitis,” Kisame said.  “Too convenient.” 

“Of what?” Sasori asked. 

“She goes to my dojo. She passed off her silence as a medical muggle condition.” 

“Dojo?” 

Kisame rolled his eyes and sighed. “It's like a dueling club, but physical fighting instead of spell fire. She’s got a 2 nd degree pooma .”

“Pooma?”

Kisame sighed again, “It’s like a ranking system and she’s well ahead of me.” 

Had Kisame really been paying that much attention to her? “Also she’s pretty much got a college degree, everyone in the neighborhood knows that. Her dad owns the local grocer and boasts every chance he gets. He's a super chill dude, though.” Her dad was talking about her, to every customer!?

“College degree?”

“Higher education, like what you’d do after this place.”

“Apprentice? Mastery?”

“Yeah, that.” 

“I call that a load of bullshit,” Hidan said. “That giant ass hare is Professor Anko. She’s the one leering at Itachi all the time.” 

“So what is it? The winner? Let’s settle it,” Sasori said, pulling out his wand. “My bet is that it's a demon from hell.” 

Sakura gulped and bolted from Itachi’s lap. 

She was in her jamjams! Boy shorts, braless, thin t-shirt. It would be the sight of the magcialborns’ life with their proper, high class, sheltered existence. Not to mention she still didn’t want to get caught. 

They didn’t have evidence, nothing on her. 

Out, she needed out!

And then her prayer was answered. The door to the room appeared right in front of her and when it opened, she bolted out into the hallway and hopped down the stairs taking three at a time before crash landing into a column. She scrambled to her feet and raced down a corridor. It took her all the way to the end to realize no one was chasing her. Breathing a sigh of relief she took a hidden passageway to the Ravenclaw Tower. The best thing about being an animal is she didn’t have to answer any riddle at the door. When she entered she sniffed the air and peered about the room. No one. Good. 

She sprung into bed that night and curled under the covers. Once she turned human, she sprawled out and attempted to get comfy. 

No luck, sleeping as a rabbit was much easier than sleeping as a human. She tossed and turned, heart still thrumming as she realized how close she’d come to getting caught. She didn’t want to go to prison. She might trust Itachi, he’d kept quiet thus far, and Kisame, goodness knew the dirt she had on him, but the others were unknown. 

The next day she almost fell asleep during lunch. But then she blinked rapidly when she found Sasuke claiming the seat next to her and then Naruto loudly crashed into the place on the other side. 

“Good afternoon?” Sakura asked. The expressions on both of their faces were… misplaced to say the least. Naruto’s was more normal, in that typically Naruto did have a mischievous look upon him. Sasuke’s however, it was a strange sight indeed. 

Sasuke pulled a thin square piece of paper from his pocket and slid it to her. 

It was a moving picture. 

It was a moving picture of her fat bunny bottom, climbing quite happily into Itachi Uchiha’s lap and Itachi being quite happy himself about the whole thing, laughing as he pulled her up.  

Oh no. They knew. 

“I can ex—” 

“We need intel, Sakura,” Naruto said, leaning in with a whisper. 

Wait. “Intel?” 

“Yes. And access to the tower to see Bunny-boo.” 

Oh. Oooh. Ok, she was in the clear. But with that look on Naruto’s face. Hell no. 

She turned to Sasuke. “What’s this about?” 

“We just want to see my brother’s familiar.” Sasuke motioned once more to the bobtail and haunches, taking up most of the frame. Such a bad angle.

“No.”

Sasuke and Naruto blinked in surprise, likely from the venom in her tone. 

But what if they found out who she was? What if anyone did? She’d be the laughingstock of the school, especially if there were pictures of her fluffy butt floating around! (Not to mention prison.)

“Look,” Sakura lowered her voice, “I’ve heard that Bunny is really shy. That’s why no one sees her in the common room. Even if I got you in, you wouldn’t see her.” 

Neither of the boys looked like they bought her story. 

Nor would her story work on anyone else. 

And Naruto and Sasuke managed to get into the tower just by following Shikamaru through the portrait hole that evening. 

The pictures must have circulated everywhere in just a single day. The common room was bustling, mostly with older students on the quidditch teams and female populace. Itachi was a favorite amongst many houses.

Itachi, in his usual armchair trying to write an essay, looked ill amused at the commotion and shot death glares at the Hufflepuff on the couch across the way. 

Kisame would smile wickedly back before turning to the crowd around him. And then Sakura noticed exactly what Kisame was doing. He was selling the pictures! The monster. 

 She weaved through the crowd and up into her dormitory. Well, there’d be no Bunnying tonight or ever. She crashed on her bed, wished for less magic in the air so she could listen to music from her phone, and fell asleep attempting to meditate on the dark spells she’d learned.

Surprisingly, or not, the common room continued to be crowded, even past curfew. Thus, early bed, thus Sakura did incredibly well on her Potions exams. In fact, Neji had questioned whether or not she’d cheated. She hadn’t! She just had gotten a good night's sleep. 

His response. He was going to start slipping sleeping draught in her pumpkin juice at night. 

On Saturday morning, she woke before dawn. She forced herself out of bed and curled up in the window sill and watched the world in twilight. She thought of healing, and sleep, the natural rhythm of the human’s cycle. What she wouldn’t do for some scientific papers on the topic. Not to mention the ability to read the next chapter of Itachi’s book. It was going to cover curses, counters and healing. How was she supposed to read it now?

Sakura’s head bolted back, almost slamming into the stones. She bit her lip. Well, she did know where the other copy was. 

She threw meditation out the window, metaphorically. She dressed quickly but quietly, pulling on a thick sweater, late October almost November guaranteed the hallways were chilly. 

It had been busy last night in the common room, but were people still around? Surely not right? Just in case, she’d slip out of the common room door as a human and then turn into a rabbit in some empty classroom. She’d read the book in the library as an animal, avoid the spell on the book, and then transform back in some other classroom. Solid plan. Heck, once it got light, maybe she’d walk to the corner of the forbidden forest where there was internet reception and call her mom too. She shoved her phone in her pocket. Off she went. 

She slipped out the door with ease, eyes peeled for anyone that might be in the room. Nobody. Good. All clear. She gave several loud sniffs, freezing in place after realizing what she’d done. Crap. Well no one had been around to hear it. Or more importantly, question why a human would do that to the air. Thankfully. 

Onward, post-haste. 

It was fairly easy, once she got to the fourth floor, she found an empty classroom to transform in. And then, to the library! 

She flopped her way to the entrance, ears twitching for any sound, but none came. In the library, came the familiar leathery scent of old spines mixed with adolescent B.O. She was in the clear! With ease she squeezed through the grates of the restricted section and came upon the shelf, she knew exactly which one now. 

Her paw, almost, just barely, right there — 

“You are persistent and predictable, aren't you?”

Ahhh!

She bolted, only to find herself floating in air and facing Itachi, and running, going nowhere. Goodness this little bunny heart. Did this man know that a bunny could die from startlement!?

The red eyes observed her in the darkness before she floated into his arms. 

 He cradled her and looked down as he canceled the spell. 

Quick. Look innocent. 

She attempted large eyes and flattened her ears. 

“Book.” 

Her ears perked. Dammit! 

He chuckled and gave her haunch a squeeze. 

Hey! That was practically ass grabbing. Oh wait... Itachi grabbed her ass. Well, the majority of the female population would kill for that. Sakura felt a bit warm now and opened her mouth to take a breath. Yuck. Ok, well Itachi was the B.O. Well, she no longer felt warm now.  

“My, my just what am I going to do with you?” He asked, his wicked smile firmly in place. “I think you ought to be punished for coming back to the restricted section after getting so many warnings.”

Wait. What? Punishment! 

She drooped her ears, widened her eyes, and attempted to look as pitiful as possible. Sakura snuffled the hand upon her head. Don’t tell the headmaster, please. 

He positioned her on his left arm, freeing his right and withdrew his wand from his sleeve. He tapped Madara’s book several times. A blue glow emanated from it. He tucked his wand away and then pulled the tome from the shelf. 

He showed it to her.

Was he going to spank her with it? That was a bit kinky. Her ears went back a bit further. While that might float some people’s boats… that was a big ass book to be doing it with. Couldn’t he have picked Tsunade’s little pamphlet instead?

“You see this?” he asked. His wicked smile, still in place. 

Warily she gave a nod. Maybe it would be a light tap. 

Slowly he slid the book into his bookbag. Odd. 

She looked back up in confusion. 

His sharingan red eyes stared back at her. “Well, it's mine now.” 

Rage pumped its way around her bunny body. Her ears vibrated in place. Her front paws swung in the air back and forth as if running, her entire frame wiggling on his arm. Her nose flared.

His dimples deepened. “Guess I’ll be seeing my familiar around more often, no?” 

That son of a bitch. 

She let loose a raspberry, louder than any before.