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Sakura set her books down on the small table at the back corner of the library and then set her bag down on the chair next to her shoulders finally relaxing after taking so many books around with her during the day. She pushed her pink hair over her shoulder and then adjusted her robes before digging through her bag and pulling out parchment and quills, her inkpot following soon after, setting up her workstation in the small alcove-tucked corner that she had come to learn about in her first year. It was tucked into the back of the library, hidden behind shelves of Potions and History books and was usually the quietest place she could find to study. 

WIth it being the year after their OWLS, their NEWTS not too far away, and her being as much of a swot as she was, she knew better than to slack off in her work and study habits. Even if it was the first week of classes and not yet dinnertime, the last of the afternoon’s rays falling onto her books from the nearby window with a view onto the ground leading to the greenhouses. 

Naruto might be obsessed with Quidditch, and Ino would no doubt roll her eyes and tell her she should spend her Friday afternoons doing something other than studying, but Sakura wouldn’t budge. It was hard enough for her to adjust to wizarding life let alone grasp and understand the innate nuances of magic because of her muggleborn heritage. Despite Sakura’s childhood friendship with Ino that had introduced her to magic early, Sakura had always known from the time she was six years old that she was different from her peers at Hogwarts who had grown up in magic. She still remembered Shikamaru’s confusion  as she was enchanted by the thought of real fairies and realizing it meant she would always be a step behind her peers. And that this would always put her a step behind her classmates. 

It didn’t matter that she was the brightest witch of her age, that she had scored some of the most impressive set of Outstandings Hogwarts had seen in generations last year on her OWLS. She was Muggleborn. 

She was an outsider. 

While there were those like Naruto who readily embraced her despite her differences, and Ino who taught her what she was missing, there were many more who didn’t think twice about pointing out her differences to her. She’d gotten over most of the prejudice, and according to what she’d read in Hogwarts a History what she faced now was better than what her previous generation had faced. 

They’d faced a fucking war in Hogwarts held by a megalomaniac who was obsessed with blood purity after all. 

Shaking her head, Sakura decided to start her work again. Instead, when she heard a throat clear, Sakura looked up, and her eyes widened as she saw Kakashi Hatake standing by her table. He was dressed in school robes just like her, and she didn’t believe what she was seeing.

Sakura never paid attention to Hatake because they never really had a reason to interact. Part of it was school rivalry: he was a Slytherin and she was a Gryffindor, and whatever interaction they had was limited to classroom banter or him looking away as his friends gave her spiteful glares. Another reason was that their friends were miles apart. She was friends with the families and heirs of families who made up the more accepting of muggleborns faction, while Hatake hung out with the Uchiha. 

And the Uchiha were nothing if not Slytherin purebloods who could put the Blacks to shame with their attitude. 

To some Uchiha, even breathing the same air as a Muggleborn was considered foul. 

Sasuke said it often enough to her for her to know what the majority of his family thought of people like her. 

To be fair, there were Uchiha who weren’t the bigoted assholes that the rest of the purebloods were, but the rest of their family, mostly the Slytherins, were the reason she hid in the library and forced herself to study hard. They couldn’t dismiss a Muggleborn who was smart could they? They’d tried to snuff out Hermione Granger and now she was the Minister of Magic. Sakura wanted one day for her to be the same. 

“Haruno,” Hatake stated, catching her attention to his face and posture. He was leaning against the nearby row of shelves, robes neatly pressed, the ever-present mask secure on his face. He looked so at ease with himself, in a way Sakura wanted to be, and practically screamed Pureblood with the way he stood: tall, assured, and distant. 

Hatake was, to be fair, mostly civil to her. He’d never insulted her or outright bullied her though he had a terrible time of ignoring it even if he was in the vicinity.. But, she was still confused as to his presence here because he had never, not once in their five years of being peers, spoken to her outside of required class times. 

“Hatake,” she greeted back, pushing her parchment to the side and straightening. Her hand was itching for her wand, and she moved to grab it, palming it in her hand. It never hurt to be prepared.

“You’re in Potions with me.” 

Sakura raised a brow, wondering where Hatake was going with this. She wished she could read his face, but the damned mask he always wore did a great job at hiding most of his emotions. 

“I want to pass…” He paused, his hands clenching and unclenching before he sighed, his voice coming out carefully as though it was a struggle for him to get the words out. “I need to pass Potions to become an Auror. I need an O in that NEWT and Professor Senju is a hard taskmaster.” 

Sakura stared at him in shock.

It was no secret that Sakura had, sometime after third year, had become a Potions Protege. And it definitely hadn’t escaped Professor Senju’s notice. The professor constantly challenged Sakura, and Sakura rose to meet whatever new challenge was thrown at her. But to hear someone like Hatake openly acknowledge it was new. 

And she had a sudden feeling she knew where this was heading, even if she was having trouble believing what her rational, calculating mind was leading her towards. 

“I’m not sure how I can help you,” Sakura hedged, blinking her green eyes and fidgeting in her seat. “I can tell you Professor Senju likes hard work and creativity if you’re looking for pointers, but that’s about it.” 

Hatake looked away for a moment before taking the step closer to the table. He then set his bag down on it and pulled out a chair. He didn’t take a seat and drummed his fingers on the table as his eyes flashed with all the thoughts going through his head. Finally, he took a seat at the table. 

“Haruno,” he said, holding out a hand towards her, “let’s study together this year.” 

Sakura blinked. 

“Study together?” 

“Yes,” Hatake’s eyes crinkled at the corners, and Sakura took a moment to pinch her leg because surely she was hallucinating. Was Hatake smiling at her? 

“But…” she stammered, “why?” 

She wanted to ask a lot more. Why now, why here, why her? But, she decided to hold off on those questions now, biting her tongue lest she keep going. 

“You’re smart,” Hatake began, “and I’d be a fool not to have taken notice of it. You’ve also got more than two brain cells which I can’t say is the same for half of my yearmates.” He leaned back in the chair and casually twirled his wand around in his hand. “I’m not stupid Haruno, and I’ve learned from the past. You may not be the next Hermione Granger, but you’re going to be an amazing witch in the future. I figure it wouldn’t hurt to work with you, and pass Potions with an O.” 

Sakura felt a flush climb up her cheeks at the casual compliment coming from Hatake. She’d heard it of course, from others like Professors Senju and Jiraiya and even Headmistress McGonagall and her friends. She had heard them call her smart and talented and the brightest witch of her age. But hearing it from someone like Kakashi was different. He wasn’t an Uchiha, but he was close enough to the same family who constantly looked down at her and reminded her she was an outsider. It felt like she was finally being validated as a witch when she heard his words because it was the first time a Slytherin Pureblood had taken the time to acknowledge her intellect. It felt like she was finally being acknowledged by the people who’d always ridiculed her inside the walls of Hogwarts. 

She took a deep breath, her mind going through various scenarios. It could be that Hatake was genuine. Or it could be that Hatake was just trying to use her. If he was, she wasn’t too worried. She was best friends with Ino who had a scary vindictive streak and an amazing repertoire of hexes, a lot of which she had taught Sakura. Hatake wouldn’t know what hit him if he double crossed her.

“Fine,” Sakura said after weighing the pros and cons. “We can study together. I’m going over Runes now, and I’ll start Arithmancy next.” 

Hatake’s eyes crinkled at the corners again, and he set down his wand. He reached into his bag, pulling out some textbooks, parchment, quills, and an inkpot. 

“Thanks Haruno.”

After that first Friday meeting, Sakura wasn’t sure whether to make anything of Hatake’s request. She’d been busy the rest of the weekend anyway with Ino and Naruto hogging her attention and being called in by Madam Patil and Madam Shizune to learn some healing spells in the hospital wing kept her busy on Sunday. 

Monday, she retired to the library after dinner because she wanted some peace and quiet after the weekend. Finding her table—the one at the back near the Potions and History sections, tucked in a small alcove that was next to a window overlooking the path to the greenhouses—she finally set her bag down and decided to work. She’d barely taken a seat however when the chair across from hers was being pulled out, and Hatake was nodding a greeting to her as he took a seat.

She blinked. Honestly, she’d wondered if the thing with Hatake was something she’d made up in her mind. Seeing him here again surprised her. 

He seemed to register the confusion on her face as he stopped in the process of opening a reference book on Known Magical Creatures of the British Waters —the subject of the DADA essay due on Friday. Sakura cleared her throat and took a seat, trying not to notice his stare as she looked over her own reference book and essay for Charms. It was a futile effort however because she could feel his dark gray eyes boring into hers. 

“You didn’t think I’d come today.”

Sakura squeaked and startled, nearly spilling her inkpot. She righted it quickly, peeking through her lashes at Hatake who had an expression of boredom on his face as he leant an elbow on the library table and pillowed his head on his hand. She decided to bite the bullet and just answer him, mustering up some of that courage that Gryffindor was known for. 

“I’ve never really had a study partner before,” she stated, meeting his eyes. “It’s a bit… different is all.” 

Hatake watched her for a long moment before he nodded. “Well, get used to it Haruno, I’m not leaving anytime soon.” 

He turned his attention back to his work then. Sakura fidgeted for a long moment, her eyes trained on him across the table. Finally, she shook her head, causing her pink hair to fly into her face. Grumbling, she secured it back with a scrunchie and pulled the Charms textbook closer to her. 

They studied in silence until he asked her a question or two on how best to counteract grindylows and kelpies, jotting down her suggestions on parchment each time and chiming in with his own thoughts. She in turn asked him if he had chosen a topic for the Charms spell they were to spend the term researching. The result had led into an interesting discussion on whether Charms could be used defensively and led to one of the liveliest debates Sakura had since she’d started at Hogwarts. She’d made some headway into her essay, not nearly as much as she’d like, but she decided that maybe Hatake wasn’t the worst study partner. 

So, when he asked if she’d study again tomorrow as they packed up, she accepted his invitation eagerly.

And if maybe, on the way to Gryffindor Tower she had a smile on her face: well no one was around to ask too much about it, were they? 

Tuesday followed a similar routine though the subject was Potions and Sakura knew she had to leave early for Prefect rounds. She stretched and set her bag down on the table before moving away to the section with the Potions materials. Professor Senju had been terrible today because someone had discovered and moved her sake stash again, which meant she’d been easier to tick off than usual. And it meant when Naruto ticked her off, she’d demanded an assignment to give her 2 feet of parchment by next Tuesday on how one potions ingredient combined with Billywig Stings made an effective poison antidote. The catch was, she never told her students where to start looking for these ingredients. 

Since that essay was due in one week, Sakura knew she had to look into completing the assignment now before everyone else took the research books later in the week. At least, she mused, as she scanned the shelves in front of her, she had a head start. Her Potions knowledge meant she’d at least narrowed down the list of ingredients, and she’d always wanted to research one in particular anyway. 

She was so lost in scanning the shelves that when she heard Hatake’s voice, she turned around so quickly she banged her elbow against the adjoining shelf. 

“Fire seeds?” 

“Shite Hatake, do you know it’s not nice to sneak up on someone?” Sakura hissed, nursing her elbow. Hatake simply shrugged, casting a glance at her elbow for a moment. He took a step closer, peering down at her reddening skin. 

“I’ve got some bruise-healing paste in my bag. It’ll help with that.” He turned his masked face to the shelves she was perusing. “Fire seeds though? I didn’t think you’d go for the obvious.” 

Sakura opened her mouth to retort, then stopped, catching the glint in his eye that she’d seen yesterday when they’d discussed Charms theory. Was Hatake goading her? But for what? Did he want to have an honest discussion like yesterday or was he teasing her? 

She peered up at the shelf again. While there was a book on fire seeds there, her eye wasn’t caught on it. Rather, it was caught on the one next to it: Everyday Potions Ingredients. She’d stumbled across the book her first year at Hogwarts and had honestly been startled by how many everyday things could be used in a variety of ways to make different potions. One of her particular favorites was the recipe for a potion that used grass and ginger mixed with some poppy seeds and pepper to create a milder version of the pepper-up potion that worked in the same way lozenges worked in the Muggle world. 

Her favorite part of the book though was the section on honey, which was the ingredient she’d chosen to focus on for her Potions assignment. 

The pinkette turned, angling up on her toes to pull down the book she’d been wanting: Bees and their Uses, and the one next to it—the much loved tome of Everyday Potions Ingredients which she had practically memorized. Hatake watched her curiously, eyebrows rising as he saw her book of choice. He didn’t say anything as she cracked open the book on bees and skimmed through the chapter titles to see if it would be of any use. She sighed, putting it away and deciding to move on to look into books related to flowers. 

“Haruno?” 

Looking up at him, Sakura noticed that Hatake appeared genuinely curious now. He eyed the book in her hands carefully. With his arms crossed and his lazy stature, Sakura suddenly realized what Ino meant by her comments about Hatake being fit. She’d always known Hatake was easy on the eyes but the casual stance he sported and the way his broad chest was emphasized by his open robes really drove the point home. Realizing her eyes had been drawn to his chest, Sakura looked up quickly, cheeks pinking slightly. 

“Honey!” She squeaked holding the book of Everyday Potions Ingredients in front of her like it was a shield. 

“Honey?” Hatake tilted his head to the right as he considered what she said. He frowned. “It makes Potions taste better right?” 

Sakura blinked. “What?” 

Hatake frowned. “I said it makes Potions taste better, Haruno. Surely, you can’t base your paper off that.” 

Sakura stared at Hatake for a few more moments before she laughed. “How did you make it to your Sixth year?” she asked with genuine confusion coating her face. “You know what, ignore that, and instead follow me. If I’d known your Potions knowledge was so rudimentary, I would have started your study of that subject earlier.” 

She pushed past Hatake and made her way back to her table, not surprised to see Hatake’s materials there. Thunking the book she had in her hands onto the table, she waited for Hatake to catch up. When he did, she turned the book around and flipped through the pages from memory until she found the chapter she wanted. 

“Honey, Hatake,” she finally said, pulling away from him and taking a seat across from him. “You should read up on it, I think you’ll be surprised.” 

She pulled out some parchment and quills, not bothering with an inkpot because hers had been knocked over in History of Magic by Choji. Hopefully the self-inking quill Ino gave would do the job. As she got ready to begin drafting an outline for her essay, she didn’t notice Hatake watching her carefully. 

Wednesday evening Sakura studied alone. Hatake had Quidditch practice: he’d told her so yesterday. It was quiet and different and while she’d been used to it for years, she could admit that a small part of her did miss Hatake’s presence despite having only studied with him for two days. 

Eventually, she gave up and went to her common room. 

She repeated the same on Thursday, and on Friday Tenten dragged her away after dinner to play and gossip in the common room meaning she missed studying in the library that day too. Idly, she wondered if Hatake was in the library and waiting for her to study with him if he was. They hadn’t really made a schedule of sorts or any set plans to meet up, so it wasn’t as though she should feel guilty about it. Though, a part of her did, and she stamped it down, blocking that thought in the back of her mind because she shouldn’t need to worry about Hatake and his study habits. 

With the weekend spent with friends, the next time she saw Hatake was the following Monday, in Arithmancy. She was the only Gryfinndor in class and usually paired up with Shikamaru because he was one of the few familiar faces she knew. Today however, she was surprised when another student set down his books next to hers when she took a seat. Confused, her eyes turned to Hatake who was taking Shikamaru’s usual seat. Shikamaru ambled in, his eyes rising at the sight of Sakura’s new deskmate. He said nothing however as he walked towards where Hatake usually sat, next to Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke scowled and glared at Shikamaru but didn’t say anything. 

“Hatake?” Sakura asked as the Slytherin made himself comfortable. “Um, what are you doing sitting here?” 

Hatake looked up at her. “Take a seat, Haruno. Everyone’s staring.” 

Sakura took a look around the class and indeed she was the subject of all the stares. The Ravenclaws were the first to look away, the Hufflepuffs were the next, though not without whispering to each other. The Slytherins didn’t act like they were paying attention, but Sakura knew they were just biding their time. Still, she was annoyed as she realized Hatake’s actions meant she would be the subject of Hogwarts gossip fodder for the next few days. 

Hatake had all but ignored her for their first five years together. And he had never left Sasuke Uchiha’s side. This sudden out of character moment would be whispered about the school soon because it was so out of character for the Slytherin who usually never interacted with anyone outside his house.

She took a seat but not before shooting Hatake an annoyed glare. 

“What the hell are you doing?” 

Hatake leaned an elbow on the table in a lazy manner that was oddly reminiscent of Shikamaru. “I told you Haruno, I want to pass with O’s this year. Studying with you is the best way to do so. That Charms Essay we worked on together: Flitwick said it was the best essay I’d ever written for him.” 

He turned his attention back to the front, where Professor Vector and her teaching assistant Professor Zabini began to get the class started. Deciding that she wasn’t going to get more of an answer from him now, Sakura ignored him and pulled out her own note taking materials. She’d figure out what Hatake was playing at later, for now she’d just ignore it. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Kakashi’s motives were purely academic, it was just odd for him to act like this solely for academic purposes. Surely, if all he wanted was a study partner in Arithmancy too they could have discussed that in the library. 

Hatake didn’t leave her after that though. He sat next to her in Herbology, walked with her to their morning classes, and only left her side after lunch for afternoon classes. She ignored the stares from some of her peers, the glares coming from some of the Uchiha at the Slytherin table as well, and focused instead on her food and classes for the rest of the day. Ino sidled up to her in Runes, a parchment on the desk before Sakura even sat down with the words: What’s going on Forehead? Heather Brown was telling everyone who’d listen in Hufflepuff that Hatake was flirting with you this morning. Was he? written in clear writing. 

Sakura scribbled a note telling Ino she didn’t know and that she’d let her friend know more if she did learn. Ino was unhappy but let it slide. Still, it left an uneasy feeling in Sakura’s stomach. What was Hatake doing? She’d agreed to study with him in the library, but that didn’t explain the sudden change in attitude. After being ignored by him for five years, his sudden want to be in her proximity was unnerving. Especially when it was obvious the other students noticed and came up with their own conclusions. 

At the rate this was going, by dinner the Hogwarts gossip circuit would have everyone believe Hatake had been pining after her, and she’d finally agreed on a date. She was already known as the swotty muggleborn and didn’t want to now be known as the swotty muggleborn who “tamed” the elusive Kakashi Hatake. Ino and Naruto tried to protect her from the worst of the sneers and name calling, but Sakura still heard her fair share in the hallways. She didn’t want to imagine what words she’d be called if any rumors began to go around regarding her and Hatake. 

With all of this frustration ebbing in her, and the intrusive and unwanted questions from quite a few of her housemates about the status of her and Hatake’s relationship, she was angry, annoyed and completely unprepared for the sight of Hatake stretching on the back legs of a chair, nonchalant and relaxed when she arrived at her table in the library. She was not happy to see him especially when it was his out of character actions that had her so flustered. 

The pinkette stormed over and slammed her hands down on the table. “What the fuck are you playing at Kakashi? It’s not enough that I’ve been taunted for being a muggleborn all these years? Now you want to what… make fun of the muggleborn? Laugh at her behind her back after you dump her tragically after she so easily fell for your charms? Or claim you have no idea why you’ve been acting this way and then make everyone think I drugged you?” She took a breath and continued. “Because I have barely existed in your life for five years except as that swotty Gryfinndor classmate but now you suddenly want to act like we’re friends and have everyone questioning everything I do. Do you know how many people asked me today if I had done something to you to make you interested in me? DO YOU?”  

Hatake scowled, his eyes hardening. The chair he was on came back to rest on all fours, and he frowned. Sakura sensed a shift in the air, but she didn’t care as she continued her glare at Hatake waiting for his answer. 

“Do not put words in my mouth, Haruno.” 

Sakura scoffed, leaning back, her stance still angry. “It’s not like it isn’t the truth!” Hatake’s face contorted into a grimace, but Sakura didn’t care, plowing on ahead with anger fueling her words. “What? Offended now? Like I’ve been for the past five years of my schooling? Fuck off. You’ve never cared before and ignored me until the time was right and you could use me for your so called perfect grades. So forgive me if I don’t believe you weren’t trying to pull something on me today because the way I see it, you just want an excuse and to pin the blame on me when you’re caught studying with a muggleborn.” 

Hatake’s glare lightened, though it didn’t go away entirely. Sakura realized she didn’t care though. She should have known better than to feel special for once that  someone of that uppercrust Pureblood society had noticed her and acknowledged her for her smarts. Hatake was using her. She was only good enough when she could help him pass his classes with high marks. She would never be good enough to actually be caught outside the library’s special alcove with him because of course, he would have to find some excuse. 

She hated those uppercrust Slytherin purebloods and their inability to treat her as anything other than an inferior being.

Sakura straightened her bag and turned around to leave the library. She’d only made it a few steps when she heard a chair move and Hatake made it to her side. Ignoring him, she made to walk away, but Hatake moved to step in front of her. He scowled. 

“You really think so lowly of me, Haruno? That I would use you as some scapegoat and make up some lie when someone asks why I am around you?”

Sakura’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I do Hatake. And you know why? Cause every time those purebloods you hung out with called me names or made fun of my heritage, or called me an outsider who didn’t and shouldn’t belong in Hogwarts, guess who stood by and did nothing? You, that’s who.”

With those parting words, she pushed past Hatake and left. 

He stared at her retreating back with a look of regret and shame on his face that she never saw. 

Sakura pretended that she wasn’t upset when Hatake didn’t look at her the next day. She pretended that it didn’t hurt when she passed Sasuke and Karin in the hall and the two Slytherins smirked at her. She did notice Hatake was no longer with them, but ignored that as Ino came to her side, keeping her company in the hallway and shooing away the worst of the gossip-hungry students who wanted to know about the sudden break-up in a relationship that never even started. 

“I don’t think Hatake really meant anything bad by what he was doing,” Ino said as the two of them sat in an unused classroom near the seventh floor at the end of the day. “Maybe he really is just trying to get good grades? His dad was one of the best Aurors you know. Died after the Second War when they were rounding up the wizards who escaped You-Know-Who. The rumor is he killed himself after a mission went sour and his team died trying to capture Dolohov. And well, the Sacred 28 and some of the other Purebloods never accepted his death as an honorable one because of that. So I think Hatake feels like he has to make up for it by being a better Auror than his father.” 

Sakura frowned, legs swinging from a desk. “That’s stupid.” 

To be honest, Sakura really didn’t think it was stupid. She could understand a little why Kakashi felt like he had to work hard to try so hard to be a “better wizard” than his father, but she didn’t think he was going about it the right way. She didn’t know a lot about mental health in the Wizarding World, but the few times she’d asked Madam Shizune and Madam Patil about it, they had little to offer her about mind healing, as it was called. If Kakashi really wanted to fix the Hatake reputation, maybe he should also look at how to help wixen who were struggling mentally like his father. 

She didn’t fault his want to be better, she just thought, it wasn’t the best motivator. 

Ino sighed. “I never said it wasn’t. But, it’s what the man is wired to think.” 

Sakura narrowed her eyes and hopped off the desk to come stand next to her friend a few seats away. She grabbed Ino’s fidgeting hands and stilled them. Ino met her eyes, but they were clouded, and Sakura could tell her friend was occluding. 

“Ino,” Sakura began, a niggling feeling entering her mind when the natural legilimens kept averting her gaze, “when did you dig through his mind?” 

Ino looked down at the floor, confirming Sakura’s suspicion about how she knew all this information about Hatake. She didn’t pull her hands away from Sakura though, and Sakura took that as a sign that Ino would spill just as she had always done when it came to Sakura and secrets. Sakura just had to wait for her friend to talk. 

“It was in third year. That time when I was trying to get Sasuke to take me to Hogsmeade.” Ino looked up, and while the natural legilimens was now carefully occluding, Sakura could tell that it was difficult for her to speak because this was obviously something that Ino deeply regretted. “I was a stupid stupid girl, desperate for that Uchiha to notice me, and I partnered with Hatake for some classes just to get closer to Sasuke and see if Hatake knew anything to get me closer to Sasuke.” Ino laughed, though it was dry and hollow. “I just…papa had trained me but I wasn’t really good at regulating it or training properly with my occlumency. So, it was really easy to muck around his mind and find out things.” 

“Ino,” Sakura sighed and squeezed her friends’ fingers. “You shouldn’t have done that. Nor should you have told me what you found out.” She let go of Ino’s hands and moved back to the desk. “I think it’s still stupid what he’s doing and why he’s doing it because I think he could do more if he really did care. But, I can’t really say I’m one to talk can I? I mean, look at me, I’m a know-it-all swot because I need to prove myself to the Uchiha and the other stupid purebloods.”

Ino looked back up at Sakura, a small smile on her face. “Yeah, we’re both idiots aren’t we? And Hatake is too.” 

Sakura shrugged, neither confirming nor disagreeing with what Ino was saying. “So, what do I do? I still don’t like Hatake, and I don’t know what he wants to do.” 

Ino shrugged her shoulders. “Why not just study with him? I don’t think he really wants to do more than that.” 

Sakura bit her lip. “You’re sure about this, Ino?”

Ino shook her head. “Not really, but well, what’s there to lose?” Seeing Sakura’s skeptical gaze, Ino continued. “Look, I know it was difficult because Heather Brown can’t keep any information to herself and makes things worse by exaggerating, but you know the truth and Hatake knows the truth. Who cares if people gossip, Sakura? Honestly, if they believe those rumors they’re idiots. No offense, but you and Hatake barely know each other. Going from that to dating is just absurd. You’re crazy intelligent, and if Hatake is acknowledging that and can keep up with your brain, which even Shikamaru says is hard to keep up with at times, then why would you give that up?” 

Sakura debated on Ino’s words for a minute before she agreed. What was there to lose? She’d gain a study partner and someone who could maybe keep up with her intellectually like Ino said. It wouldn’t hurt to see what might come out of this odd study partnership because the few times they had met before had been nice, enjoyable even. She didn’t have to explain herself or be careful with how she spoke to avoid confusing the people she was studying with. 

Maybe she could try this studying thing with Hatake. 

And maybe she could try extending an olive branch to Kakashi to start things off on the right foot?  

That change meant Sakura took a seat next to Hatake in DADA the next day. He was confused, especially when Naruto took a seat on his other side, leaning forward and asking Sakura why she’d chosen this seat today. From behind them, Sasuke and Karin scoffed as they saw Sakura and Naruto take their seats. 

“You’re in our seats Haruno, Dead-last.” 

Sakura ignored Sasuke, but Naruto looked like he was about to engage Sasuke in a fight again. Preparing to step out of the crossfire, Sakura leaned back in her chair, surprised when Hatake leaned forward to engage Sasuke. He leveled Sasuke with a glare. 

“I can choose my own seatmates, Sasuke.” 

There was a pause and the room quieted. Hatake had never spoken back to his peers like this, let alone the Uchiha for whom he seemed to always be a shadow. Sakura didn’t know the extent of their relationship, but she had wondered why Kakashi was close to Sasuke. 

Speaking of Sasuke, the Slytherin’s eyes narrowed, and he sneered down at Hatake. 

“Bumming it, are you now Kakashi? My father will hear about this!” 

“And there’s nothing he can do now about it,” Kakashi stated, his wand held tight in his hand and a smirk on his face. “It’s September 15 today.” 

The importance of the date was lost on Sakura, but not so much on some of her peers. Some of them tittered, others gasped. For Sasuke though, the anger on his face became obvious. It surprised her.

“You no longer have our protection then Kakashi. Now that you’re of age.” 

Hatake shrugged his shoulders. “I have Shisui.” He leveled a glare at Sasuke and continued, eyes narrowing. “And Itachi.” 

Sasuke absolutely seethed at the mention of his brother, whom Sakura remembered from when she was a first year. He’d been head boy then and was the one who had introduced her to the special corner of the library she now called home. She’d never forget the moment she caught him and the Ravenclaw prefect Shisui Uchiha making out when she was a first year. They’d developed an exchange of secrets as a result.

She still occasionally exchanged owls with the two of them, and it was a secret she’d kept from everyone, Ino included. She didn’t know that Kakashi knew Itachi and Shisui as well. But then again, she should have guessed with how close Kakashi was to Sasuke’s family.

Sasuke raised his wand but before he could hex Kakashi with it, the wand flew from his hands and into the hands of Professor Jiraiya who had silently cast a wandless Expelliarmus on him. The Professor acted as though nothing was amiss when he walked down the aisle to his desk. He looked pointedly at Sasuke and Karin who hurried to a seat across the room from where Sakura sat with Hatake and Naruto. Jiraiya threw Sasuke’s wand back at him and then grinned as he faced the class. 

“Well, today’s class will be interesting.” Professor Jiraiya stated, acting as though he hadn’t just stopped a fight. He crossed his arms as he leant against his desk. “Now, while I appreciate all of you taking seats and fighting over seating arrangements, I’m afraid that they’re about to change.” He held up a hand to quell the whispers that were undoubtedly starting. 

“Everyone stand up and go to the far sides of the room.” When no one stood, Professor Jiraiya sighed and waved his wand at the first row of desks. Immediately, the two three-person desks split into three two-person desks. Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You lot stay seated where you are, I like these pairs. The rest of you though, get up!” 

The students didn’t need to be told a third time. Sakura walked over to stand next to Naruto, tapping his shoulder and catching his attention. She jerked her head towards Jiraiya then raised a brow asking Naruto what his godfather was doing. Naruto shrugged his shoulders and turned back to face the DADA professor who was now calling out assignments and pairs as he continued splitting the desks. 

Sakura didn’t pay attention to any of the names until it was her turn. When she met Professor Jiraiya’s gaze, he looked at her with keen eyes before an amused smile lit his face. Sakura didn’t know the DADA Professor as well as she did Tsunade, but she knew that the grin on his face did not bode well for her. 

And she hated that she was right when she heard the next words come out of his mouth. 

“You Ms. Haruno, I think you’d be perfect with Mr. Hatake.” He pointed to a two-person table on the far right. “Go ahead you two, take a seat.” 

Sakura bit her lip but nodded, marching over to the table and setting her materials down roughly. She’d agreed to try to extend an olive branch to Hatake, but damn it, this was too fast! Hatake followed her shortly after, pulling out his own chair and slipping into it with an air of nonchalance that she envied. They sat there silently until all the pairs were given and Professor Jiraiya cleared his throat again. 

“Right,” Jiraiya clapped his hands and smiled at the class. “Now that we’re all seated, I can begin. First, say hello to your partner in DADA for the rest of the year. And then,” he waved at the blackboard where a sudden flurry of writing appeared. “Why don’t you all discuss your research topic with your partner.” 

Sakura stared at the writing on the wall, refusing to look at the Slytherin seated next to her as she tried to get her thoughts together. Professor Jiraiya made eye contact with her and winked, causing her to grit her teeth. It was one thing for her to accept being Hatake’s study partner. It was another to be forced into it. 

“Is working with me that bad?” 

Startled at Hatake’s whisper, Sakura finally turned to stare at him.

“What?”

“I said, is working with me that bad, Haruno? I’m sure if it’s impossible for you we can ask Professor Jiraiya to switch partners.” 

Sakura’s angry expression faltered. “No, no. I’m sorry. I just…” she looked back up front at the DADA Professor whose attention was caught on some parchments laying on his desk. “I’m not a big fan of being forced to do things.”

Hatake smirked. “I couldn’t tell.” 

Sakura was a little surprised to see him teasing her, but she found that she didn’t mind it. It was a welcome change from their last encounter, and now that her perception of him wasn’t hindered by his closeness with Sasuke, she was able to hear the amusement in his tone. She looked down at the desk for a moment, picking up her quill and twirling it in her hands. If they were going to be partners, she realized, she should probably go forward and apologize and maybe ask if he wanted to be study partners again. Especially when Kakashi was being kind considering what she had accused him of in the library. 

“I’m sorry.” 

There was a beat of silence and then, “Sorry?” Hatake asked. 

She raised an eyebrow at Hatake, trying to see if he was teasing her again. But he wasn’t. His face showed genuine confusion. Now, she was embarrassed, and cleared her throat hoping to not fumble her way through her apology again. 

“I’m sorry,” she started again, this time meeting his eyes, “for saying what I did in the library. I shouldn’t have made those accusations against you.” 

Hatake frowned, and it was his turn to look away. “But you’re right.” He stared at the blackboard as he continued speaking, his voice taking on a serious tone. “I did nothing. I should have at least stopped them from harassing you or bullying you, but I did nothing.” 

Sakura bit her lip, trying to make a decision.

“Let’s start over,” she finally stated. Taking a deep breath, she held out her hand. “I’m Sakura Haruno, it’s nice to meet you Kakashi Hatake.” 

Kakashi turned to Sakura. He stared at her hand for a long moment and then nodded, taking it in his and giving it a firm shake. 

“Nice to meet you Haruno.” 

They spent the rest of the class debating on the research topic and finally made plans to meet later in the library to discuss the topic just as DADA ended. As Sakura packed up her bag to meet Naruto, waiting to walk with her to the greenhouses, Kakashi spoke up. 

“Is after dinner okay? To meet up in the library?” 

Sakura pushed her bag onto her shoulder and smiled. “Yeah, after dinner is fine.” 

Sakura found Kakashi at the table in the library when she made her way there after dinner. He had his feet kicked up on the table and was wandlessly playing with a set of quills and levitating them in the air. She watched him for a moment, a bit jealous of his effortless use of magic, before walking closer, making some noise as she did so. Hatake stopped his playing, straightening quickly when he saw her. 

Sakura scoffed, rolling her eyes. 

“You didn’t have to do that. I am friends with Naruto. You can relax around me.” 

Hatake didn’t say anything for a moment, but his stance eased just a bit, the stiff set to his shoulders disappearing. He watched her set down her materials and slowly pulled his own out of his bag as she sat down across from him.

“Let’s start with the Defence assignment,” Sakura stated. 

Kakashi blinked and then nodded. “Straight to work then?” 

Sakura looked up at him, strands of her pink hair falling in her face. She pushed them back with a huff and rolled her eyes at Kakashi. They were in a library, what else should they do but research and homework? She promptly told him that and he smirked which she found equal parts infuriating and funny. 

“Ever heard of relaxing, Haruno?” Hatake said, picking up the DADA Textbook. At Sakura’s glare he picked up some parchment and a quill. “Okay sorry, let’s get started shall we? But, what are we going to do for our project? Jiraiya, the old geezer, wants us to research charms and their uses as defensive spells: pick one and strengthen it then show how it’s effective. What do we choose?” 

“The patronus.” Sakura replied quickly, delving into the section in their book on it. 

Hatake scoffed and she looked up at him. 

“What?” she asked.

“Everyone in our bloody class will pick that Haruno. I thought you had more smarts than that.” Hatake leaned closer towards her across the table. “I thought you liked intellectual challenges?” 

Sakura scowled. If there was one thing she was proud of, it was her intelligence. It led to her being called a swot and made fun of on many occasions, but she was smart, and she knew it. Being challenged on it rankled at her. 

“And do you have any better ideas, then?” She hissed, mindful of Madam Lee’s command of the library. She was worse than Madam Pince who’d finally retired last year. 

“I do, actually.” Kakashi leaned back against the chair, balancing it on two legs. “I thought of doing a study on how first year charms can be applied in battle. Simple, but effective and not showy. It catches your opponent off guard hearing something so simple and yet, if you channel and use the spell properly, it can gain you the advantage.” 

Sakura had a thoughtful frown on her face and looked down at her textbook trying to remember the litany of first year charms they’d learned. How would a Wingardium Leviosa or an Alohomora help in the middle of a battle? 

“How would those help in a battle?” 

Kakashi sat his chair back down on all four legs. “You haven’t heard the rumors? About that troll during Harry Potter’s first year?” 

Sakura pushed some of her hair behind her ears. “It’s just a rumor, though, isn’t it? I mean, a troll being defeated by a Wingardium?” 

Kakashi hesitated and then cleared his throat. “My dad worked under Head Auror Potter. He came over once or twice when I was little and would tell me stories.” Kakashi shrugged his shoulders at Sakura’s surprise. “He told me that the troll incident in his first year at Hogwarts actually happened.” 

Sakura opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. “You met Harry Potter?” She leaned forward eagerly. “Did you meet Minister Granger too?” 

Kakashi raised a brow. “No, Haruno. Or at least, she never came to visit,” he lied, " I know Head Auror Potter did though because they said my dad was one of the best curse breakers the Ministry had. They worked together a lot.” 

“That’s nice.” Sakura muttered. “And sorry, just…” she looked down at the table. “Minister Granger is my hero. I don’t want to go into politics like her, but what she’s done for the Wizarding World, what she’s taught people…it’s inspiring.” 

There was silence for a moment as both of them digested Sakura’s words. It was Kakashi who finally broke it. 

“I don’t…I met her  at family events when I was a child,” Kakashi stated, backtracking and looking at the library table as he told her the truth, “back when my mum was alive and Uncle Theodore would come over to visit with her. She was…kind, and she and mum were friends I think.” 

To be honest, Kakashi didn’t know a lot about his mother. She was a pure blooded witch from the Continent, a cousin of the Minister’s husband: Theodore Nott. So, until his mother died, the Notts would come over for Christmas. The last time had been when he was four, the year before his mother died. His father had died soon after and with his godfather Obito dead, his custody was given to the Uchiha’s. 

He remembered the visits then to the rooms in the Ministry reserved for wixen adoption and family matters. The elderly witch who had been assigned to him had tried to find family to take him in and did try to find the best possible situation for him. She had listened to his Uncle Theodore and Aunt Hermione’s argument about family ties, but also considered that the Uchiha had a better one: the Hatake’s will had asked that custody be given to the Uchiha’s first and then other family if the Uchiha’s were unable to take him in. 

And the Uchiha’s, a family that prided their status as good purebloods , had promptly agreed to the request in the will. After all, it would look quite uncouth if they turned away a good pureblood wizard child in desperate need of a loving home. 

To be honest Kakashi didn’t mind being raised by them, but he was glad he was free now of their influence. Mikoto may not have preached the pureblood ideology that her husband’s family espoused, but it didn’t mean she could stop it or change it. Having to constantly navigate dinners where thinly veiled comments about the beneficial nature of some of the Dark Lord’s ideologies were commonplace and considered proper political talk was tiring. When some of those comments degraded the woman who he considered Aunt, one who was extremely intelligent and powerful, he had to often bite his tongue and practice occlumency before he hexed Great Uncle Madara. 

Of course, there was also the tension and palpable distrust whenever Kakashi entered a room. He was, after all, an outsider to the Uchiha, someone that couldn’t be trusted with any of their secrets. It meant he often hid around corners, ducked behind doors, and became adept at embodying the concept of children should not be seen or heard. 

Now that he was of age, it meant he could breathe again. And maybe, he mused, looking at the witch across from him who was still staring at him in excitement, it wouldn’t hurt to reach out to the only family he had left besides sending them a courtesy greeting card for special occasions. He’d always wanted to get to know them, but he had never had a reason to speak to them because he had never known what to say. 

A child after all couldn’t ask his Uncle to take him away from someone just because they wanted him to. 

Sakura leaned back, clearing her throat, and snapping Kakashi’s attention back to her. “I’m sorry,” she apologized with a small blush on her cheeks,  “I didn’t mean to lean into your space like that.” She pulled some parchment close to her and picked up a quill. “Let’s start making a list of charms we learned in first year and then figuring out if there are defensive uses for them.” She paused before writing. “Didn’t Jiraiya-sensei tell us we could seek guidance from other professors or experts?” 

Kakashi, who was in the middle of making his own list, stopped and moved his quill to the side to avoid it blotting his parchment. 

“What are you thinking in that big brain of yours, Haruno?” 

Sakura ignored the teasing and put her own quill aside. “Just… what you said about Head Auror Potter and his stories, I’m wondering about whether, maybe not him, but someone else like Itachi or Shisui could give us pointers.” 

Kakashi blinked. “You know Itachi and Shisui Uchiha?” 

Sakura hesitated answering as she stared at the Slytherin across from her. She hadn’t really kept her relationship with the older Uchiha’s a secret. A quick perusal of her mail or even a quick look at the owls who delivered her letters would be enough to see who delivered letters to her. But she supposed the regular Hogwarts student wouldn’t necessarily be snooping at her owl mail. 

“I’ve been friends with them since my first year,” Sakura answered. “They helped me learn about wizarding society and navigating Hogwarts. They even showed me this special corner of the library.” 

Kakashi didn’t say anything, but he did narrow his eyes thoughtfully. Then, he pulled the parchment and quill closer to him again and began writing. Sakura watched him carefully, wondering if she was supposed to say anything or start her own research. She stared for a bit longer, and then picked up her quill to start writing the list of charms. 

A few minutes into doing so, she heard shuffling and a piece of parchment was roughly thrust into her vision. Pulling away, she moved her own parchment aside to look at Kakashi’s and read what it said. Her eyes widened as she saw it was a letter to… Uncle Theodore? 

“You’re writing to your Uncle? Just who is…” she stopped as she realized something. “Is your Uncle Theodore Nott? As in one of the world’s best curse breakers Theodore Nott? The husband of the Minister?” 

Of course she’d realized that earlier. But she’d just assumed he was distantly related to the Minister, in the way most of the elite purebloods were all connected somewhere in their family trees. She hadn’t realized how close Kakashi was to them until she’d read his letter. 

Kakashi flushed, rubbing a hand at the back of his head as his ears reddened. “Jiraiya never did tell us who to use as a reference and well, I figure if anyone knows anything about how to adapt spells it might be him? I’m not as close to Head Auror Potter, but I think Uncle Theodore might help us.” 

Sakura read the letter again, and gave it back to Kakashi. “Uh, that’s kind of you Hatake. I don’t know if he might be able to help us, but it’s worth a try. I can write to Itachi and Shisui too. But they’re busy being Aurors, and I think they’re caught up with a really important case so I don’t know if I’ll reach them as easily.” 

She handed the letter back to him and then hesitated before handing him her own parchment as well. “I made a tentative list of the charms I remember from first through third year. I know you said first year, but a lot of the ones we learned up until third year are the basic ones. So, I thought we could take a look at these and narrow it down to which are helpful.” 

Kakashi looked at the parchment and tapped his wand at it, duplicating her list. He then rolled it up and put it away in his bag. “Thanks Haruno, I’ll go through it this week. And if Uncle Theodore gets back to me, I guess I’ll let you know.” 

He pulled out another textbook, eyes crinkling at the corners which Sakura took as a sign he might be smiling under his mask.. “Speaking of Charms, want to work on that assignment we have due soon?”

Uncle Theodore it turned out was quite fond of young Kakashi whom he had heard a lot about from his children and the Uchiha’s at the ministry. He gave them a resource book to use and to Sakura’s surprise, he’d even gotten his wife, the Minister herself, to give them some advice on how some of the less advanced charms could be useful in a battle.

“The Wingardium Leviosa charm was really used to knock out a troll?” Sakura exclaimed about three weeks later when Kakashi shared a letter with her. “But that means it wasn’t just a rumor.” 

Kakashi smirked. “I told you it wasn’t.” Sakura rolled her eyes as she pushed the letter back to him. 

“Yes yes you did, Hatake, now let’s move on shall we? I’ve made a sheet here and we can just start adding to it with a list of uses for the spells. I’ve already started here, so…” she trailed off as she heard some laughter and looked up at Kakashi. “What?” 

“You’re quite organized aren’t you?” 

“I am but I fail to see why that’s funny?” 

“Not funny,” Kakashi clarified, “you’re just so into it that you haven’t noticed it’s almost time for curfew and those Prefect patrols of yours.” He stopped as he heard Madame Lee’s footsteps. “And speaking of, it really does look like it’s time for curfew and your patrols Haruno. Let’s call it a night and meet up again on Saturday?” 

Sakura frowned as she packed up her materials, having heard the librarian too. “You’re not going to Hogsmeade?” 

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. “Not really. Never have found a reason to.” 

Sakura narrowed her eyes. “You have one now,” she announced suddenly, startling Kakashi. “You’re going to Hogsmeade with me to study how Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes uses charms in their products. I read in the History of the Second Voldemort War by Cho Chang that some of their products were used in the War by both sides. Maybe we can get some ideas from their products.”

Kakashi stared at her for a long moment and then leaned forward on his elbows, one brow raised. “Are you asking me out, Sa-ku-ra?” 

Sakura flushed at his pronunciation of her given name, not realizing just how much it affected her to hear him say it. She waved her hand at him. “What are you saying?” 

He leaned closer, brows relaxing and eyes crinkling at the corners in a sign he was amused. “You me and Hogsmeade. A date.” 

Sakura shuffled some papers around, then pushed her quill to the side and resumed packing up. She was too flustered to talk right now. And annoyed at what Kakashi said.

He had proven he wasn’t the same as the Uchiha’s he was with, the same as the purebloods in his house. But, it didn’t mean Sakura didn’t question his motivations. The rumors that started when he’d been friendy had been bad. How much worse could they get if they really did go on a date? 

She didn’t want to find out. 

Not when he was likely just saying this to rile her up and stand her up in Hogsmeade.  

“You’re leaving?” 

She nodded, angrily shoving parchment into her bag and ignoring the crumpled way it collapsed in there. Ignoring her ink bottle, she jammed her quills in the bag as well and made her way out of the library. A few minutes later, she heard footsteps behind her. 

“Haruno!”

Sakura faltered in her steps, but kept going. “Haruno! Sakura! Wait! I’m sorry, okay?” 

Hearing her first name again, she faltered in her steps. This was enough for Kakashi to quickly walk around her and block her path. She tried to look at his face but his eyes were distant. She’d seen that look before on Ino enough times to know what it meant: he was occluding. 

“I…I’ve never really been to Hogsmeade with anyone on my own.” Kakashi stated. He looked away and at the ground, and his stance turned different, inwards. “I didn’t mean to offend you, I just…” 

Sakura watched him struggle with words and bit her lip as she took in his words. Six years at Hogwarts, and Kakashi Hatake, the one the girls at Hogwarts had gossiped about, had never had someone go with him to Hogsmeade. She thought of his friendships and school life and suddenly saw everything in a new light. And with that a daring new resolve took over. 

“Let’s go on a date then.” 

Kakashi’s head whipped up comically fast and he stared at her in confusion. “Wha…what?” 

“A date, this Saturday, you and me, in Hogsmeade.” Sakura repeated. She decided to channel some of that stupid foolhardy Gryfinndor bravery her house was known for and plowed on heedless of Kakashi’s stupefied expression. 

“I don’t need a date at Madam Puddifoot’s,” she made a face at that, “but I do expect a good time and for you to make an effort.” She blushed. “See you in a few days.” 

Chapter Text

Saturday couldn’t come fast enough for Kakashi, but it also didn’t come slowly enough at the same time. He was a mess at Quidditch practice on Thursday, and the Slytherin Team Captain Monatgue had asked him to get his head back in the game by the next practice on Sunday. Kakashi winced as he limped off, having suffered a bruising hit from a bludger right in his shins because he hadn’t paid attention and dodged in time. It wasn’t enough to see Madame Shizune in the Hospital Wing, but it was enough to see Karin, who always came out to watch Sasuke at their practices. 

Karin wasn’t kind about healing him nor was she as good as Madame Shizune. The limp lasted into Friday, and when Tsunade remarked about it in Potions, Kakashi regretfully limped into the Hospital Wing around lunchtime. He didn’t expect to see Sakura there, with her back turned to him, but her pink hair making her easily distinguishable. She had told him she was studying to be a healer, but he hadn’t realized that might involve hands-on training at the Hospital Wing. For a moment, he stood by the open door, not sure if he wanted to go in or not. 

Slowly, he shifted his stance and a pained grunt escaped him as one of his leg muscles cramped causing Sakura to turn around. Kakashi stood there, not sure how to approach her or talk to her. Did he treat her like he normally did? Was he supposed to treat her differently now that they had agreed on a date? He hated not knowing. 

“Kakashi?” Sakura asked. 

Kakashi startled at her use of his given name, and he would have said something else, but the cramp in his leg was getting worse so he decided to just limp painfully into the room and sit down on the first empty bed. Or try to anyway. Sakura noticed, walking over and helping him up, for which he gave a nod of thanks, a full on flush taking over his cheeks and staining the tips of his ears red. 

“What happened?” 

“Quidditch accident,” Kakashi admitted, “rogue bludger.” 

Sakura raised a brow at his words but didn’t say anything else as she pulled out her wand and ran what Kakashi knew was a diagnostic charm. He watched her deft movements with the wand, always in awe at her flawless control of her magic. After the spell took effect, he watched her frown, then grumble in frustration when she couldn’t figure out what she was reading. 

Her brows furrowed and her bright green eyes narrowed as she tried to narrow down the jumble of words and numbers she was seeing. She pushed her hair behind her ears in an action that Kakashi knew came from her frustration, and for a brief moment, Kakashi wanted to be the one to do that for her. Idly, he wondered if it was as soft as it looked. 

When Sakura bit her lip and crossed her arms, Kakashi found his eyes drawn to her face. She was always so expressive, and he liked that about her. When she finally sighed, he knew that she had reached a problem she couldn’t solve, especially when she stomped off towards Madame Shizune’s office. 

The matron came out quickly, and her eyes widened as she saw the results of the diagnostic spell. She sighed, and turned to Sakura.

“He’ll be fine. Mr. Hatake simply needs a muscle relaxer. Whoever healed him did a good job with mending the bruise and making sure there was no lasting damage but forgot about the muscle strain underneath.” The matron smiled at Kakashi. “I’m giving you a muscle relaxer Mr. Hatake. You are to take it and sleep off the strain here tonight.”

When Kakashi opened his mouth to protest, she snapped him a sharp look. Kakashi knew what that meant. He’d been on the receiving end of it from Madame Shizune’s mentor long enough to know when to stop. Madame Pomfrey had no qualms about keeping you in the Hospital Wing until you listened to her. He had a feeling her mentee wasn’t too far off from doing the same and could see he would lose any fight with her about his stay in the Hospital Wing.  

“Sakura,” Madame Shizune stated, “why don’t you grab the Muscle Relaxer for me and then go on to your afternoon classes.” When Sakura didn’t move immediately, Madame Shizune eyed the two curiously. “You can visit him after your classes, dear if you’re so worried,” she continued. 

Sakura’s eyes widened and as Kakashi watched a small pink hue appeared on her cheeks. It matched the color of her hair, and Kakashi thought she looked pretty with that healthy blush. He watched her scamper off, and then realized that Madame Shizune was looking at him oddly. 

“What?” He asked, harsher than he intended. 

The matron didn’t say anything for a moment. She simply regarded him and then nodded to herself. “Before I give you the potion Mr. Hatake, I must inform you that as you are still a Hogwarts student despite being of age, we must inform your guardians that you are in the Hospital Wing. Would you like me to owl Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha?” 

Kakashi paled. 

Not the Uchihas.

He’d just gotten away from them. 

Madame Shizune noticed, and her eyes narrowed. “Is there someone else you would like me to inform?” She asked. 

Kakashi clenched the bedsheets of the hospital bed. Who could he ask? He had no real family except for the Minister of Magic and his Uncle Theodore. He didn’t like the Uchiha’s but they had fed him and taken care of him all these years. But…

“Your mother,” Madame Shizune started, interrupting his thoughts, “was a friend of mine when we did the healing course together at Saint Mungo’s.” Her voice grew softer, kind, and Kakashi looked up at the matron who was smiling at him softly. “She was quite close to her cousin, you know? They were like siblings sometimes. I think your Uncle Theodore wouldn’t mind receiving an owl from Hogwarts.” 

Kakashi hesitated for a long moment. Was this what he wanted? He hated the Uchiha’s but was it enough to bother one of the best curse breakers in the world and husband of the Minister of Magic? 

Maybe though, he thought, it wouldn’t hurt to rekindle a relationship with the last family he had left. His Uncle had already proven he was willing and open to communicate based on the fact he’d replied to Kakashi’s owls about the DADA Project. Surely, this meant that his Uncle might be open to communicating with him, maybe even for other matters besides schoolwork. 

“Okay.” 

Sakura appeared a moment after he spoke, holding out a potions vial. Madame Shizune shooed her out, and once she left handed Kakashi the correct dosage. She waited until he took it, then spoke. 

“I’ll owl Mr. Nott now. You should rest Mr. Hatake.”

When Kakashi woke up a while later, he blinked as hushed voices sounded to his left. They were further off which meant whoever was speaking was at least a few beds away from him. He blinked once again to get some clarity and tried to turn his head to see who it was. 

“Oh, don’t bother.” 

Startled, Kakashi turned to his right where the grinning face of Theodore Nott came into view. He stared, shocked. He had never been visited by the Uchiha’s when he had been injured in the hospital wing before, not even after that incident in third year when a bludger had broken his legs. But, his Uncle Theodore, a man Kakashi had only seen in passing a few times in his youth had shown up when Madame Shizune owled him. 

“A bit of a surprise, I know,” Theodore stated, brown hair falling into his blue eyes. “But I was having lunch with Hermione when the owl came, and she insisted.” Theodore’s grin grew. “And well, you can’t say no to the Minister of Magic can you? Especially when she’s your wife.” 

“Theo?” One of the voices to Kakashi’s left grew louder. “Is he awake?” 

Kakashi watched his uncle wave a hand and a few moments later the Minister of Magic herself, his aunt, came to stand by his side. She reached out, then paused, hand hovering in the air as though afraid to touch. Kakashi wondered what she had planned on doing. He didn’t have to wonder long though, because a moment later, the hand moved again, and pushed some hair off his forehead. It fell back and his aunt made a frustrated sound. 

“Your hair is worse than Harry’s I swear!” 

He didn’t know what to say to that so he just watched everything quietly. His uncle moved his eyes away from Kakashi to stare over Kakashi’s head. “Are you just going to stand there Ms. Haruno?” 

Kakashi’s eyes widened and he turned his head back to the left where he immediately spotted the pink-haired Gryfindor. She blushed again, but smiled at him and waved shyly before walking over. Her eyes gave him a quick once over. 

“Hey, Kakashi.” 

“Sakura.” 

Kakashi wasn’t sure of what to say. 

He had friends, yes, but the last person to visit him in the Hospital had been Tenzo. Tenzo who had graduated a few years ago and became Unspeakable Yamato shortly thereafter. He didn’t know why Sakura was here or why she had been talking with the Minister of all people, but he knew that he liked it. And he wasn’t sure why and whether that meant anything. 

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Sakura stated, her hands wringing together. “Um, and forget about tomorrow, if you’re injured, I don’t want you to stress your injury.”

Kakashi frowned, not liking her words. “No.” 

The word came out of his mouth before he could stop to think about what he was saying. He swallowed and then continued, deciding to plow on regardless. Something told him he would regret it if he avoided Sakura tomorrow. 

“I’ll meet you at the Entrance Hall. I’ll wait for you.” 

“Oh!” Sakura gasped softly before a smile came over her face. “Okay. Yeah, okay. That’s um…good yeah.” She nodded again, and then backed away, before turning away and making her way out of the Hospital Wing. Kakashi watched her go and then turned back to the other occupants of the Hospital Wing, embarrassed to have forgotten their presence.

“A date?” Uncle Theodore asked, one brow raised. Kakashi felt the tips of his ears turn red as he nodded. Uncle Theodore nudged his wife. “Ah, remember those days?” 

His Aunt scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Remember? Maybe you had fun dates in Hogsmeade, Theo, but I was always the swot and saving Harry remember? I don’t think I ever went on a date to Hogsmeade.” 

“I thought you were with Mclaggen in Madame Puddifoot’s sixth year?” 

His aunt shook her head. “It was Slughorn’s Party. I swear all that curse breaking has muddled your brains.” She turned to Kakashi with a serious look. “Don’t make that your career, please. Between him,” she pointed to her husband, “and Harry being head Auror let alone the Minister job, I can barely handle the stress and worry. I don’t want to worry about you too. Not now, after we just got to know you again.” 

Kakashi blinked, his eyes watering. He turned away for a moment to occlude, not wanting to have his family see him get emotional. It was his uncle who reached out this time, squeezing his shoulder. 

“Hermione, love, why don’t you ask Shizune if we can get three trays up here? Maybe we can get to know Kakashi a bit more over dinner.” 

Kakashi’s aunt and uncle stayed for dinner. And before they left, Uncle Theodore, (or Uncle Theo as he preferred to be called) gave him some guidance for his date tomorrow. Kakashi was grateful for it, and when Aunt Hermione tried to get him to promise to owl more frequently, it didn’t take him long to agree. He watched them go after they wished him goodnight and tried to blink back tears that night as his walls fell down after he stopped occluding. 

When he woke up the next morning, he was too late for breakfast. Madame Shizune was there however, and promptly called an elf to serve him something as she ran a diagnostic charm on him again to check he was fine. Once satisfied, she shooed him out of the Hospital Wing. 

“You have forty minutes until the Hogsmeade visit starts,” she warned him on his way out. “Hurry or you’ll be late.” 

Kakashi didn’t need to be told twice. He used every shortcut he knew to make it to the dungeons in record time and then tore through the portrait hole, making a beeline for his dorm. Some of the other Slytherins looked at him, but mostly went back to their work. At this time on a Saturday, the only students in the Common Room were either too tired to care what Kakashi was doing or were too involved in their studies to notice. 

Tearing open his trunk, Kakashi pushed aside his uniforms, scowling until he found what he wanted: a navy Oxford and some khakis. He’d bought it at Shisui’s insistence, to wear to the Uchiha’s graduation party during the summer. Unless the Quidditch had bulked him up too much, it should still fit. He shook it out, running his wand over it to smooth out wrinkles and then did the same to his pants. A quick Tempus had him muttering a swear as he ran into the bathroom adjoining the dorm for a quick shower and to brush his teeth. 

With ten minutes to go until the visit started, Kakashi stepped out of the shower. Some of his dormmates had come back and were getting ready. They watched curiously as Kakashi got dressed, and Kakashi was immensely grateful that they didn’t ask anything. It was likely due to the fact that Sasuke wasn’t around. 

Dressed in three minutes and drying his hair, but refusing to tame it because that was a lost cause, Kakashi pulled out his mask. He slipped it on his face, after debating for a minute on whether to wear it, and then stepped out of the dorm and made his way upstairs to the Entrance Hall where the line for Hogsmeade was starting to form. 

He spotted Sakura easily enough. She wore a pair of comfortable looking jeans and a bright green jumper that matched her eyes with a long trench coat to ward off some of the early October chill in the Scottish highlands at this time of year. Her friend Ino Yamanaka raised a brow as she trudged by with her own date: Sai, but Sakura just waved and her friend shrugged her off. Next to her, he wondered if he was dressed properly in his Oxford which was tucked smartly into his khakis with one of his best cloaks tossed over the ensemble. 

Uncle Theodore had recommended the outfit and his Aunt Hermione had agreed though she had lamented that this was the only outfit he seemed to have that she deemed acceptable. 

But was it enough for a date?

Sakura’s eyes finally met his across the Entrance Hall and they did a once over of him before resting on his face again. She smiled shyly, wringing her hands again, and Kakashi suddenly relaxed. She was nervous too. That made this a bit more…bearable? 

Walking over, he came to stand by her. 

“Hello Sakura,” he started, “you…you look nice.” 

Inwardly, he winced. Both his aunt and uncle had told him to compliment Hermione, but he was quite sure they did not mean for him to say such a terrible compliment. 

“You clean up nice yourself,” Sakura answered. She pointed to the crowd of students. “Should we join them?” 

Kakashi nodded and the two joined the crowd of students. A few heads turned to look at them, before whispers broke out and Kakashi suddenly found himself the center of attention. He ducked his head and ignored them, but he could tell Sakura felt uncomfortable especially when she moved closer to him. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and grabbed her hand. 

He didn’t remember a lot from his childhood, nor did he know a lot about romance, with him only getting a crash course in dating the day before. But, he thought Sakura might find it comforting. Not that he knew anything about what he was doing though. 

And it seemed he didn’t. Sakura jerked away as though hit by a stinking jinx and Kakashi frowned clearly thinking he had misread the situation. However a second later, she moved closer to him again and grabbed his hand. 

“Sorry,” Sakura whispered as they approached Professor Jiraiya who raised a brow at them. He checked their names off the list, and they walked down the path. “I just uh…wasn’t expecting that.” 

Kakashi scoffed. “You’re the one who asked me out though aren’t you?” 

Sakura rolled her eyes and when she spoke, her tone was petulant. “Well considering you’ve never been on a date at all, I’m surprised.” 

Kakashi’s ears flushed red. He wouldn’t admit to her that he’d had a crash course last night. And that he was likely to owl Uncle Theo again later for more help. He may not know what he was doing, but he didn’t want to act like a newborn baby thestral which hadn’t yet learned to walk. 

The walk to Hogsmeade was quiet and while they garnered a few more stares, they ignored them as they made their way into the village where their peers quickly found new distractions. Sakura led Kakashi with a tug on his hand to the WWW first because that was where they had originally planned to visit. She let go of Kakashi’s hand as soon as they walked in but not before telling him she had owled the founder who had agreed to come talk to her today. 

Left alone, Kakashi stood awkwardly for a moment before deciding to do the research Sakura had suggested they come for. He was checking out the bruise healing paste and debating buying some more for himself when Sakura appeared with a red-haired man in tow. A man who Kakashi distinctly recognized as George Weasley. 

“Kakashi!” Sakura ran towards him, yelling his name loud enough that a few heads turned. Kakashi ducked his head, hating the attention and wishing Sakura was a bit quieter.

“Kakashi!” She exclaimed once she got closer. “I know what to do for our defence project! And Mr. Weasley agreed to help us by experimenting with us.”

Kakashi nearly dropped the bruise healing paste in his hand. “What?” 

“Protean Charms!” Sakura continued before looking around. “Oh come on, let’s go to the Three Broomsticks and talk!” She grabbed his hand and dragged Kakashi out, bruise paste and all into the street. He turned to see George Weasley following them.

“Mr. Weasley,” he managed, “I have payment in my pocket. Sakura, let go for a second would you? I’m shoplifting in front of the owner!” 

Sakura stopped abruptly and Kakashi had to swerve to keep from running into her. Behind them George Weasley laughed and laid a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder. 

“Don’t fret about it lad,” George stated, grinning. “Consider it even because I plan to work with you two on the charms and then see if I can’t get you two to invest into the business.” He let go of Kakashi’s shoulder and turned to Sakura. “Now, Ms. Haruno, it was a pleasure talking to you. You remind me of someone actually, bit of a swot herself and now Minister of Magic.” He winked at Sakura. “I’ll let you two go, I think I’ve crashed enough of your date. Why don’t you owl me instead and we’ll find time to meet?”

He walked away, and Sakura watched him go with a pensive look. 

Kakashi stood there, not sure what to do. Eventually, he settled for clearing his throat. “Um, do you want to go to one of the other shops? It’s a bit too early for lunch.” 

Sakura turned back to face him, her pink hair flying into her face from a small breeze. She pushed it back and stared at him for a long moment. He fidgeted, pocketing the bruise paste and trying to figure out what she was thinking. 

“Sakura?” he finally hedged when the silence got too long. 

His first date, and he was making a right mess of things. 

“I’m sorry,” she finally stated, taking a half step closer. “I’m the one who invited you on a date, and I’m the one who kind of ignored you on it.” She looked down at her feet. “To be honest, I’ve only ever been on one Hogsmeade date and that was with Naruto when we were Third years so um, I’m not sure what to do either.” 

Kakashi silently digested that information as he tried to think of what to say in response. He thought of what Uncle Theo said, but right now all he could remember was jumbled nonsense. A reminder of what Aunt Hermione said came to mind, and he hesitated before deciding to propose their next venue. 

“What about Bibliophilia?” 

“Bibliophilia?” Sakura asked, looking up at him again. 

“Shisui showed it to me this summer,” Kakashi explained. “He said it’s based on a Muggle bookstore chain and they have beverages downstairs and a place to read while you can browse books. I thought…” Kakashi cleared his throat which had suddenly gone dry, “I thought we could maybe go there? It’s quiet and I think you’d like it.” 

“Oh.” She thought it over for a moment, and Kakashi held his breath to hear what she would say. “Um, yeah, sure. That sounds good.” 

Relieved that he’d made the right choice, Kakashi led the way towards Bibliophilia. Luckily for them the store wasn’t too far away. When they walked in a man greeted them with a smile. He had a senbon in his mouth and spoke around it.

“Hello. Welcome to Bibliophilia! If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.” 

Sakura and Kakashi nodded and made their way to the stacks of books. Sakura stared in awe and sighed, nudging Kakashi with an elbow. 

“Okay,” she murmured. “You win.” 

Kakashi frowned. “This isn’t a game of who is better, Sakura.” 

Sakura smiled. “I know, but you have to admit this is a nice place for a date. Especially for the two of us?” She hesitated. “But um…a date is supposed to be where two people get to know each other and um, we haven’t really done that or talked so…” 

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. “Honestly, I think we’re doing that already. But if you want, maybe we can grab a book to read together and talk in between reading?” 

He had suggested this place on a whim because Aunt Hermione had mentioned jokingly that most of the dates she’d been on with Uncle Theo had been in libraries. Sakura was more than books and her studious nature. She was brilliant at Potions and fearless (like a true Gryfinndor). But she was also at home and comfortable in places that were inviting.

And usually the places she found most inviting were places with books. 

Or at least he thought so. 

He didn’t really know too much about her now that he thought about it. 

Well, he knew that she liked to sit at a particular table in the back corner of the library to work and that she always played with her pink locks when frustrated. He knew that she had a terrible habit of biting her lip when she had to think twice or harder about something. He knew that she always wore her robes properly, her Gryffindor tie sitting prim and proper. He knew that she hated self-inking quills, but admired their versatility. 

But none of these were things about her. 

He didn’t know what made Sakura Sakura. Why did she like libraries, that table he’d seen her at in particular? How was she so confident in herself that she owled people like George Weasley or casually spoke to the Minister of Magic? What made her tick; what motivated her? He wanted to know all of these things and more. 

He wouldn’t be able to get through all of them in one day, but maybe, he could try.  

“What if instead we got some drinks and talked and then went book browsing?” Sakura asked as she looked 

Kakashi thought about Sakura’s suggestion. He didn’t necessarily think it was a bad idea. And he was suddenly very glad that he’d apparently made a good choice. 

They grabbed some drinks: tea for him and something called a cappuccino for Sakura. By the time they got drinks, most tables were occupied but there was a small unclaimed couch in the corner. They took a seat there. 

“So,” Kakashi started, searching for a conversation topic and finally settling on her upbringing. “How did you find out that you were a witch and what was it like when you found out? I know you said it was hard for you to fit in, but what’s it like growing up without magic and then learning about it?” 

Sakura coughed as she took a sip of her drink but waved away his attempts at apologizing. “No no, I was just surprised.” She took another sip of her cappuccino and then started speaking. 

Kakashi learned of what the Muggle World was like, of how Sakura had been dreadful her first few weeks at Hogwarts despite her friendship with Ino because she didn’t understand some of the basics like why a wixen didn’t let their wand leave their person, and how most of the Hogwarts students already knew of one another and had friends and cliques ready because they had grown up with their peers. He learned of how etiquette and manners were different, how Sakura sometimes longed for food and often lugged a huge box of Muggle treats back with her whenever she came back from the Holidays. He learned of Muggle legends that were real stories to him, and he nearly spit out his second cup of tea when she explained how the barrier around Loch Ness had fallen a few times and the Muggles had seen what they dubbed a “monster” but which was actually an extremely large kelpie. 

He in turn told her of what it was like growing up in the Wizarding World, and what it was like to be raised in a traditional wizarding family. He spoke of remembering his first broom with his father, of how he’d been to the same Loch Ness Sakura described as a child and marveling at the size of the Kelpie. He told her of how he’d grown up secretly idolizing his Uncle Theo and how he wasn’t sure of whether he wanted to be an Auror or a curse breaker. He spoke of how he’d seen the thestrals at Hogwarts since his first year and how Mikoto Uchiha was a kind, if traditional, pure blood woman who didn’t espouse the same anti-Muggleborn views of her family, but whose agency was stifled. He spoke of taking potions as a child when sick and being just as awed by Hogwarts as she was, albeit less surprised at some of the things such as moving staircases and talking portraits. 

By the time their hunger made them stop talking, it was nearing mid-afternoon and Kakashi cast a quick Tempus, blanching at the time.

“We haven’t eaten all day,” he said standing up. “I think the rush at the Three Broomsticks will have died down by now, if you want to grab a bite.” 

They ate a quick meal at the long-established pub and by the time they had to head back to the castle, Kakashi had to admit, he’d had a better time with Sakura than he had hoped for. Hesitating when they made it to the Entrance Hall, Kakashi wondered what to say. He didn’t know if it was right to ask Sakura on another date. He enjoyed his time with her, but was that enough for another date?  

He hoped Uncle Theo really did mean he wouldn’t mind the extra letters. 

“I had a good time today Kakashi,” Sakura said before they split to go to their House tables. “And well, I guess I’ll see you…” 

“Tomorrow!” Kakashi stated suddenly. Sakura stared at him confused so he explained. “I have practice tomorrow but maybe before that we can meet up?” 

Sakura smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that.” She saw Ino waving at her.. “See you tomorrow.” 

She stepped back a bit and was halfway towards turning away, when she stopped. Instead, Sakura turned back with a determined glint in her eyes and she took a deep breath. She stepped closer to him, coming nearer than before. Kakashi could now count her eyelashes, see the freckles that dotted her nose. He felt his breath catch at their proximity, especially when her eyes darted to his lips. 

Sakura stood on her tiptoes and leaned over. A quick, featherlight kiss ghosted his cheek over his mask, her lips leaving a soft tingling in their wake. He resisted the urge to raise his hand to touch the place her lips had kissed, as he watched her carefully. This had been unexpected.

But it was welcome. 

“I had a good time today with you Kakashi,” Sakura whispered, smiling and blushing. She stepped away from him, this time actually turning to make her way to her house table. As she did, she added some parting words. “I wouldn’t mind another date with you again.” 

Kakashi smiled under his mask. Yeah, he thought, he would like it too.