We're On Your Side
Chapter 9: We're on Your Side
Rubeus Hagrid-
In his search for Severus, Rubeus had asked around the school, of course, but no one had seen the boy. Not a single student or professor had seen him. When midday rolled around, Rubeus had gone to the Great Hall where he ate lunch with the professors at the Head Table, but there was no sign of Severus at the Slytherin table. He looked carefully at every student at the Slytherin table, but where Severus usually sat at young Malfoy's side, there was an empty spot.
Throughout lunch, Malfoy kept glancing at that spot angrily.
Rubeus looked across the room at the Gryffindor table and saw the group of boys who were always bothering Severus. They were talking and eating without a care in the world. Rubeus wasn't fool enough to think they were as innocent as they looked, but at least they were all there which meant they weren't off pestering Severus about something. Finally, he turned to Madam Ratian and asked her if Severus were in the Hospital Wing, again.
"Thank goodness, no! For once he's not there." She happily turned back to her meal.
Rubeus felt a worrisome knot twist in his stomach and he knew, as sure as anything, that something was very wrong.
Now, Rubeus was the first one to admit that he wasn’t very smart. Enough people had told him that throughout his life, that he had long-ago accepted the fact that he would never be as smart as most people. He was good enough for keeping the grounds of the school tidy and doing the heavy-lifting work that no one else wanted to bother with, but that was about all. Despite his remarkable lack of intelligence, he knew - he was dead certain - that something was very, very wrong. So he did what he normally did in bad situations and went to someone smarter than himself. He stood from his place and moved down the table to stand at the headmaster's side.
"Sir? Begging your pardon?"
"Yes?" The headmaster smiled gently at Rubeus.
"It's about one of the students, sir. Severus Snape."
The headmaster's smile dimmed somewhat. "And what sort of mischief has young Mister Snape gotten himself into this time?"
"No mischief, sir. I'm a mite worried, though. Haven't seen him since the greenhouse fire."
"Well… it was only an hour or so ago. He can't have gone far." He shook his head, regretfully. "Professor Shell has told me about Mister Snape's inexcusable behavior. I expect Mister Snape wanted some time alone. Don't fret." He, like Madam Ratian, turned back to his meal.
"But… but sir! He was doused with Vulcan Tears!" Rubeus told him, angrily. "Didn't Professor Shell tell you that? He should be in the Hospital Wing! They said he was hurt."
"Mister Snape has quite the talent when it comes to hiding. He's been found in the most interesting places. I'm sure he's somewhere quite close, just waiting out the heat, as it were. He'll turn up sooner or later." And the headmaster turned back to his conversation, clearly dismissing Rubeus.
Rubeus went to the Slytherin House and asked after Severus, but the tapestry of the Baroness told him that Severus hadn't gone into Slytherin House all day. Nor was he in the library, the spare potions lab, or anywhere else in the school.
Rubeus neglected his chores in favor of walking the grounds, searching. The weather had turned unexpectedly warm and rather than snow, rain fell. It was cold and steady, but still Rubeus searched. He thought he knew most of Severus' hiding places, but the boy was nowhere to be found. He even went so far as to go down to Hogsmead and search the shops, but there was still no Severus. By the time he returned to his hut, the sun had long since set and the worry in Rubeus’ stomach had changed to fear. He sat in his hut, pulling on his beard, while Ol' Man whined and put his head on Rubeus' lap.
Not in the school.
Not on school grounds.
Not in Hogsmead.
It left only one possibility and that thought tightened the knot in Rubeus' stomach. The Forbidden Forest.
‘He wouldn’t go there! He’s too smart to go out there alone. He'd have asked me to go with him if he needed something out there. What could he have wanted? If he just wanted to be alone, he'd have come here. He knows he's welcomed. He knows I wouldn't turn him away.’ Rubeus drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. He could hear the steady sound of the rain outside; there was no sign of it letting up. A raw chill in the air added to Rubeus’ worry for Severus.‘But... he’s nowhere else.’
Rubeus sprang to his feet and took his coat off the hook by the door and pulled on his high boots. He took a lantern and lit it with his umbrella. He thought about asking the headmaster for help, but almost laughed at the idea.
‘As if any of them can help me out there.’
Wizards or no, Rubeus knew they would just as likely hinder him as help in the Forbidden Forest. Besides, as soon as someone reported Severus missing from his dorm at curfew, Rubeus was certain the headmaster would send out a search party of his own.
He left his hut with Ol' Man at his side and started towards the Forbidden Forest with the lantern as his only light.
Hours later-
The rain still fell heavily, cold and dreary. It was pitched black but for the meager light of his lantern. Ol' Man was tired, but determinedly kept going, sniffing at the ground, but apparently finding no trail. Rubeus pulled his hat further down over his eyes and cupped a hand around his mouth. "Severus!"
There was no answer. There hadn't been an answer all night.
"Severus!" The sun would be rising, shortly, and Rubeus was starting to lose hope.
‘Dead. He could be dead. Little mite like himself would be a mouthful for some of the critters around here. It’s raining. A cold rain in the middle of winter... the lad’s so skinny, he’s got no fat to keep him warm - he might have taken a chill in this rain and got himself a fever.’
Ol' Man barked, then, and with a burst of energy he bolted into the darkness.
"'Ere! Wait!" Rubeus started to follow Ol' Man, but paused when he heard a splash. Then another splash. Another. A young boy’s curse and Ol' Man's happy barking.
Hagrid's face broke into a broad grin and he hurried as quickly as he could to where the sound had come from. There were several large rivers running though the Forbidden Forest, but luckily it was only one of the smaller streams that Severus had found.
With his head bowed and his hands outstretched in front of him, Severus was trying to make his way through the river while Ol' Man, too sensible to go in the water, stood on the riverbank and barked as loudly as he could, as if he were calling Severus to safety. Severus stumbled, again, then stood slowly while muttering swears to himself the whole time. He was wet right through and must have been freezing cold.
"Severus, don't you move," Rubeus called. He wanted to cry with happiness. "I'm coming for you."
Sasuke-
Naruto was complaining and Sasuke wished he wouldn't. "He'll freeze to death in that water!" They'd been carefully following the groundskeeper though the forest since he'd entered, looking for the best place for Sasuke to be 'found' by Hagrid-san and his hound. It was Kakashi-sensei who decided upon the river, much to Naruto's displeasure.
"Hagrid-san will hear Sasuke flailing about…"
"Flailing…?" Sasuke muttered, irritably.
"Yes, flailing about. You'll splash around as much as you can so he'll be sure not to miss you. If you were to just stumble across his path, he must be suspicious. You're injured, after all. He thinks you're lost and in trouble and, therefore, you will be found - lost and in trouble. Don't worry, you'll only be in there for a minute. Make yourself look as pitiful as possible."
Sasuke nodded and did as he was told, led to the river by Naruto. Sasuke didn't start fumbling around until he heard Naruto dash back up the tree where the Cells would watch for Hagrid-san. As Kakashi-sensei had predicted, it hadn't taken long. The hound arrived first, then Hagrid-san was calling out for Severus. Sasuke froze when he heard the voice calling to him. He'd never been so cold in all his life. The school uniforms were completely inadequate, he decided. The robe was soaked right through. He was shaking furiously and the water that reached to his knees was unbearably cold. He was tired and his face still hurt.
He wanted the mission to be over.
‘Selfish,’ Sasuke reprimanded himself. ‘Can't take a little discomfort. Spoiled… selfish… weak.’
There was a splashing so loud that Sasuke thought an elephant might have been dropped into the little river and he started, stepping back a pace but managed not to slip on the slimy rocks under his feet. Hagrid-san's large hand landed on his arm and Sasuke - without thinking - jerked away. That time, he did fall - deliberately - and was chest deep in icy water so cold that it stole his breath for a moment. Sasuke barked, "Don't touch me!"
"Easy now," Hagrid-san's deep, rumbling voice was persistent. The water moved around Sasuke, giving him warning that the man was getting closer. "It's me. Only me."
Words meant to be comforting only made Sasuke's heart race faster, but he forced his body to relax. He was shinobi. There was no fear that would stop his mission.
"I know it's you. I'm not stupid." Sasuke ground out the words and forced himself not to fight as he was lifted out of the water. He wanted to kick the man in the face and run. He wanted to heat the air in his lungs and breathe fire to make the man let him go. He didn't. He let the man hold him even though he felt trapped by the arms.
Big arms.
Huge, hairy arms.
Arms that held him like he was a baby.
Arms that felt like steel.
He didn't speak while Hagrid-san carried him, but he did listen to the man's soft words. It didn't help distract him. Orochimaru had held him, too. His arm’s been entirely different - thin and hairless - but it didn’t seem to matter as Sasuke’s memories surged to the forefront of his mind.
"Mine." Orochimaru held him tightly and whispered. "Don't struggle. Don't fight me."
"You're shaking," Hagrid-san tightened his arms around Sasuke.
Sasuke closed his eyes and wished the whiteness would leave his sight. He'd give anything for color or even the darkness of having his eyes closed. "Let me walk. I'm not an invalid."
"'Course you're not. Just a little cold and tired, I'll warrant. Don't you worry about nothing. I'll take care of you."
"I want my Cell," Sasuke had muttered.
Orochimaru answered, "You don't need them. I'll take care of you."
Rubeus Hagrid-
Rubeus hurried back to his hut as quickly as he could. Little Severus wasn't built for retaining heat. He tried to ignore the way Severus stiffened when he'd lifted him out of the stream. Severus wasn't afraid of him. He'd never been afraid of Rubeus. It must be the stress that was making him act so strangely. "You're being awfully quiet," Rubeus commented as he held Severus a little tighter.
"Thinking," Severus replied, quietly. He kept his head bowed and his hands balled into fists on his lap.
Awkwardly, Rubeus shifted himself until he could partially wrap his coat over Severus' legs. "We're almost back. I'll take you right to the Hospital Wing and everything will be fine. Madam Ratian will set everything right. Eh?" He paused when Severus turned his face away. "What's wrong?"
"Must you to take me to her? She doesn't like me."
Rubeus sighed. He'd heard the complaint before and agreed that it was true. He'd heard enough rumors among the staff of Hogwarts to know what people thought of Severus. "She's good at what she does. You won't have so much as a scar in an hour or so."
"… my eyes? Can my eyes be saved?"
Rubeus's eyes widened, but he kept walking. He knew for a fact that Severus knew all about Vulcan Tears. Nearly three weeks ago, Severus had spent a whole morning telling Rubeus about what he'd learned in Herbology including the effects of being splashed on a person. He knew that it was completely curable. "They'll be just fine. Why, I could cure you myself. All it needs is that burn salve from the Hospital Wing. It's the same stuff I was going to put on your foot." He chewed on his lip, worried. "Did you hit your head while you were out here?" There were all kinds of plants and animals in the Forbidden Forest that would affect a human's ability to think and none of them were good.
"No. I'm just cold."
Ah! Rubeus cursed himself. He knew it was cold, but it must feel unbearably cold for Severus who didn't have the mass to keep himself warm and who was still wet. Muttering vilely under his breath at his own stupidity, Rubeus stopped and set Severus on the ground.
"What are you doing?" Severus asked sharply, his whole body tensing.
"I'm a fool. A right old fool." Rubeus shrugged off his heavy coat and looked at Severus - a pitiful sight, indeed. "No wonder you're confused and forgetful. Get those wet clothes off." He put a hand on Severus' back and grabbed a handful of wet robes, but Severus jumped away so suddenly that Rubeus could only stare in shock.
"Don't touch me!" Severus hissed. He was on his feet and stared in Rubeus' general direction and hunched down slightly, as if he would fight. "Don't ever touch me!"
The hurt Rubeus felt wasn't easily brushed aside. He knew Severus had reasons for not trusting people, but he'd thought that Severus trusted him. "You know I won't hurt you."
"I am not an invalid. I do not need to be undressed like an infant! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!" He stepped backwards while he spoke. "I can survive in wet clothes. Thank you very much, all the same." He took another step backwards. "You're making a lot of fuss over nothing. It's only a burn."
Rubeus resisted the urge to box Severus' ears. "A burn that covers most of your face and has blinded you. You've been out all night wandering around, in the freezing rain. You're still limping so I know you haven't let that foot get taken care of. You're likely to pass out any minute for all I know."
Severus was stubborn. "I'm standing, aren't I?"
"Yes, but I don't know how." Rubeus rubbed his face with his hands. "If you'd take those wet clothes off, you'd get warm faster. I wasn't going to drag you back to school in your birthday suit, you know. I've got my coat to wrap you in and it's warmer than anything. Got a fur lining and everything."
Severus shifted from foot to foot, uneasily, and his hands went to the collar of his robe. "I'll stay as I am."
"Sev…"
"I said, I'll stay as I am. I will also walk." Severus turned his face away from Rubeus. "You'll be better able to defend us without being burdened down." Severus reluctantly permitted Rubeus to put his coat over the boy's shoulders and, even more reluctantly, took hold of Rubeus' arm and allowed himself to be guided through the forest. They walked silently until they reached the edge.
They left the forest and came out almost directly behind Rubeus' hut. It was better, Rubeus decided, to take Severus there and let him rest by the fire before taking another ten minutes to walk to the Hospital Wing.
He settled Severus into a chair by the hearth and cast a spell from his umbrella to light the fire. "You sit right by the fire." He rushed to get a heavy quilt from his bed and covered Severus with it until there was nothing showing by the boy's face. "How are you doing? Maybe I should have run you straight to the Hospital Wing, instead…"
"No," Severus kept his face towards the fire and what terrible things the fire's light did to his scarred face! He looked terrible. "You said you could fix my eyes. You said you had the medicine." Severus turned his face towards Rubeus and blinked. "You heal me."
Rubeus gaped. "I don't think that's a good idea, lad. I'm not a healer."
"I don't want to have that woman looking at me. You do it."
Rubeus put a hand to the back of his head and thought. He couldn't think of a reason not to do it. He knew Madam Ratian and Severus didn't get along and he knew that Severus wouldn't want anyone seeing him in such bad shape. "All right, then. Let me get it."
The salve was white and kept in a plain clay jar. Rubeus scooped a large portion of the salve onto his fingers and told Severus, "Make sure to keep your eyes open. I don't suppose this is going to feel very good."
Sakura-
Sitting, again, on the top of the round house, Sakura waited and scolded herself. ‘Can't even heal my own Cellmate! Training for months with Tsunade-sama and I can't even heal a burn! That's it! I'll study twice as hard when I get home. Double lessons!’ She should have been able to heal Sasuke. There was no excuse for her ignorance, no reason to forgive herself. Because of her, Sasuke had suffered.
It was true that she knew nothing of the sharigan and that would make any healing dangerous, but that didn't lessen her guilt.
‘I have TWO Cellmates with sharigan. Why didn't I think? I should have asked Tsunade-sama about the sharigan specifically. What else am I forgetting? What if something happens to Kakashi-sensei's eyes, next time? What about Kyuubi?’
The thought of Naruto's demon, sleeping within him, made Sakura shudder. She was frightened of Kyuubi, but any sensible person would be. Naruto was frightened of Kyuubi and he'd lived with it his whole life. Maybe that was why he was frightened.
‘Can it affect his health? What if I try healing him and something goes wrong? What if my power affects something of Kyuubi's power and it hurts Naruto? I have to study harder. There have to be answers somewhere.’
Contrary to what most of her classmates at the Academy had thought, Sakura didn't especially enjoy studying, but she did understand the necessity. Whenever Iruka-sensei had assigned research in this or that, she had known that the information could one day save or end lives. It was serious business, so she'd always prided herself on the fact that she always knew the answer.
This time she didn't know.
Inside the little house, Sakura could hear Hagrid-san and Sasuke moving around and talking. The windows were all closed against the cold, but she could hear them well enough. "You'll need warming up," Hagrid-san told Sasuke. "A hot bath is just the thing."
"I'm tired, not dirty."
"I won't have you arguing. Get yourself to the bathroom. Come on."
They moved into an adjacent room and Sakura followed, moving to a spot on the roof just over a window of the room they were now in.
"The water's nice and hot, now. I'll be in the other room getting something ready to eat. Make sure not to get that stuff on your face wet." The door opened then closed.
She waited.
Hagrid-san wouldn't hurt Sasuke, she hoped. He seemed to be a gentle man, but she had been deceived before. Kabuto - Orochimaru's right hand man - sprang to mind. It was possible that this man was little more than an actor as clever as Kabuto. She hated Kabuto worse than any of Orochimaru's other minions. She'd trusted Kabuto and he'd betrayed them, playing them all for fools while he'd watched Sasuke for his master.
"Are you coming in or not?"
Sakura smiled. She leaned over the edge of the roof and pulled open the window, then slipped into the room with Sasuke. He was still dressed in his wet clothes with one hand on the metal bathtub and there was heavy white cream covering most of his face. It stopped just under his nose and above his mouth. "How does that stuff feel?"
"Cold, but the pain has already stopped. Hagrid-san told me I must keep it on all day and all night."
She helped him to undressed and get into the large bathtub without hurting himself and it struck her, as she wrung out his wet clothes, that she'd always thought seeing Sasuke naked would be more exciting. She still loved him. Even if, one day, she married and started a family outside her Cell, Sakura believed that part of her would always love Sasuke. Things had changed, though. For one, Sakura had done a bit of growing up.
Sasuke needed people he could trust, people who would defend him and stand at his side. He needed friends - not romance. That was just what Sakura would give him.
They sat together while Sasuke soaked and Sakura helped by drying his clothes out. When they were done and Sasuke had redressed, Sakura sat behind him on the floor and re-oiled his hair.
"It's only been a couple of days, but what's your opinion of this place?" Sakura asked, smoothing Sasuke's hair down like she'd seen Maito-san do.
"There are large security faults, but they have a lot of power." He paused on that word. "They could easily fix the faults once we've pointed them out. I don't think this place is safe, though. I can see several students dying a year, if not more."
"That's just the life of the poor kid you're imitating. Everyone else seems safe enough."
"I don't think so. If he dies, they'll find someone else to torment. This is definitely an unhealthy environment. They should have set sparring time with a supervisor to ease tensions instead of allowing little grudges and personality clashes to escalate into secret wars. I thought Tenten was staying with me during the days."
"It’s only just dawn, now, and Tenten needed rest. She'll be back in a few hours." Sakura hoped the hours passed slowly and that Tenten overslept. She knew Tenten was an accomplished kunoichi, a master with weapons of all kinds, but Sakura wanted to know Sasuke was safe and for that she needed one of her own Cell to be watching over him.
"What's everyone else doing?"
"Naruto and Hyuuga-san want to get into the school and have a look around tonight. Hyuuga-san said there are a lot of passages and some kind of huge snake sleeping beneath the school. I think he wants to find it."
"A snake?"
"Don't worry. No matter how big it is, Naruto can summons his frogs if there's any real trouble." When she had finished with his hair and helped him to his feet Sakura backed away and shook her head. She'd failed him in so many ways. "Then again, a giant snake might try to eat Naruto's frogs. It's good that he has Hyuuga-san to help him. I wouldn't want him going down there without back-up."
Sasuke walked away from Sakura, dragging his hand against the wall to keep himself from falling. "If Hyuuga-san tries to kill me, stay out of it."
Sakura nearly choked at the abrupt order. "What?"
"Hyuuga-san has said that he will try to kill me if I betray the mission. I won't. I swear I won't do anything to deliberately endanger the mission. But, if something happens, don't get in his way."
Sakura frowned. "Are you asking me to let you die?"
"No. I'm asking you not to get killed. I'm afraid that… just don't put yourself in front of him. I can take care of myself."
She managed a smile, though she knew Sasuke couldn't see it. "Do you really think so little of Naruto and myself and Kakashi-sensei, that you think we'd just sit back and watch you get yourself killed?"
"Hyuuga-san won't do anything unless I…"
"Doesn't matter." Sakura shook her head and had no doubts in her mind. "No matter what you do, you're part of my Cell. If you assassinate the Hokage, if you burn Konohagakure to the ground, or if you do anything else so remarkably stupid - I'm on your side. No, I will not sit by and let you get attacked. We're a team. Deal with it."
Sasuke was quiet for a moment. "Loyalty to the village and to the Hokage come before loyalty to one's Cell."
"I didn't say you'd get my full support if you told me you wanted to go back to Orochimaru." Sakura ignored Sasuke's flinch. "If you tried to do act against the Hokage or endangered the village, we would stop you. Naruto and Kakashi-sensei and I would stop you. But, I am on your side. We're on your side. We only want you to be safe and happy and healthy. I will not just stand around and let you get killed.”
If his face hadn't been covered in that white stuff, Sakura might have been able to see what effect her words had on Sasuke.
"You done in there, Severus?" Hagrid-san rapped on the bathroom door.
Sakura whispered, "I'll be around."
Sasuke nodded and spoke loudly, "Give me a moment, Mister Hagrid. I'm getting dressed."
Before he'd finished speaking, Sakura had slipped back out the window and onto the roof. A few minutes later, she heard,
"You look a mite warmer," Hagrid-san said, approvingly. "You'll stay here for the rest of the day and tonight. I've already spoken with your head of house and he says it's just fine. Your professors all know you've been hurt so you've got the day off from classes. If you don't mind, that is. I didn't think you'd want to spend another day in the Hospital Wing and…"
"I don't mind. It's quieter, here."
Sakura listened to Sasuke make small talk with Hagrid-san and she listened while Hagrid-san got a place ready for Sasuke to sleep. When the little house grew quiet, Sakura slipped back into the bathroom window and crept downstairs. Sasuke was still in a large chair by the fireplace. It wasn't likely that he was asleep, but she couldn't tell. The groundskeeper, undoubtedly exhausted by his night-long search, was fast asleep in another chair with the hound, Ol' Man, sleeping at his feet. The large hound lifted its head and looked at Sakura. It sniffed at the air, then lay its head again and fell back to sleep.
Sakura watched the room for a moment, approved of the solid lock on the front door and the small, defensible windows, then moved to find herself a comfortable vantage point. The open rafters were the most obvious place. As she settled herself in she brooded over Sasuke's unreasonable request.
‘He might as well ask me to watch while he cut his own throat! If he has any sense, he won't ask Naruto and - preserve us! - he won't say anything to Kakashi-sensei!’
Naruto would react badly to the request and might take it upon himself to confront Hyuuga-san and that would only lead to trouble. Kakashi-sensei, who'd already lost one Cell, would take the request even worse.
‘No matter what crime he might commit,’ Sakura thought, fiercely. ‘Sasuke is ours. We lost him once, we won't lose him again!’
The next day-
Sasuke-
It was early when Hagrid-san told Sasuke to hold still so the salve could be wiped off his face. Sasuke sat in the chair he'd slept in and knew the groundskeeper was in front of him. There was a warm, wet cloth on his face and water dripped down his chin and neck.
"Keep your eyes open. It's not nice, but it's gotta be done." The massive hand took hold of Sasuke's chin and held him still while the wet cloth was wiped over his face.
The maddening white that had covered his vision like a snow storm went dark the moment water washed into his eyes. Gray leaked into the darkness, then color. The colors slowly solidified into shapes while Sasuke held his breath until he saw a hairy face and worried, black eyes.
"There!" Hagrid-san smiled warmly and sat back, dropping the wet cloth on the floor. "Good as new, from where I sit. How does it look from your side?"
"Perfect." Sasuke blinked and looked around. It was as if nothing had happened. There was no pain, no burning, nothing to show he'd been injured much less blinded. Sasuke felt light-headed with relief.
‘Still a good tool for the village. Still useful.’
"One more thing to take care of." Hagrid-san retrieved a jar from the fireplace mantle and scooped out a fingerful of the salve from the jar. "This is just what I used on your face last night. Featherhead that I am, I didn't think to do this last night. I was so worried about your face that I didn't think of your foot. This time, you will use it. That foot of yours must look terrible by now."
Sasuke blinked. He'd forgotten the injury Kakashi-sensei had done to his foot. It was only a little pain and just didn't seem important. Obviously, it was important to Hagrid-san. Sasuke toed off his shoe and held up his foot. He sat still while Hagrid-san smeared the medicine on the sole of his foot. At once, the pain was gone. "Thank you."
Hagrid-san beamed and nodded. He wiped his hands on the towel and stood from where he'd been kneeling. "I'll fix you up some breakfast before you set out. You'll need your energy today. It's Wednesday."
The day meant nothing to Sasuke. He'd begun the infiltration only to be almost immediately wounded and spent the rest of that day and night with his Cell in the forest. The next day, Tuesday, he’d spent with Hagrid-san and the following night. Thus far, his mission was a resounding failure. He couldn't learn anything unless he was with the students.
Hagrid-san moved away from Sasuke and busied himself at his stove while he spoke, tossing this and that into a pan on the stove until the man's home was filled with wonderful, mouth-watering smell of ham, bacon, and potatoes. "I saw a boggart once, myself. Nasty things. You'll need your strength."
"Boggart?"
"Isn't that what you said you were doing today? Sorry, I thought you said Wednesday was the boggart in Defense class and Thursday was that big Potions exam. Did I get it wrong, again?"
Of course. Sasuke could have kicked himself. He had heard one of the teachers talking about a thing called a boggart. Careless shinobi got themselves killed. "No, Mister Hagrid. You're right. All this… excitement has me a little confused, I guess. I'll be ready for the boggart."
The boggart - the manifestation of one's greatest fear.
Sasuke swallowed hard. There were so many fears to chose from.
To be continued…