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Osamu sees his expression the next day at their first lesson and sighs, "Don't make it weird, idiot."

Atsumu barely listens to him, watching the same tall boy from last night walk in with his brown haired cousin and a smaller girl trailing after him. Osamu pinches his arm. Atsumu smiles at Sakusa, chirping a good morning when he's within ear shot.

Sakusa scowls. That summarizes how the rest of their first year goes.

2

Come second year, he's the one scowling.

"Who the hell is he?" Atsumu grumbles to Osamu.

As international students, arriving to catch the Hogwarts Express is somewhat of an ordeal every year. The Ministry of Education has set up special Portkeys located in all major cities that would bring them straight to Platform 9 and 3/4. For Atsumu and Osamu, this meant stuffing their mother's tiny Acura with their large trunks to Osaka Station, unloading and sneaking around to the back of the building where they slip through an unassuming door to their first Portkey, arriving in Tokyo Station in an unmarked utility room where a larger Portkey (this year was a mop) laid waiting.

The seconds years buzzed with concern. Sakusa and a few others were still missing. When Komori and Sanna stumbled through the station panting, muttering about how they were hindered by construction, they were alarmed when Sakusa wasn't there.

"We thought he was with you?" Atsumu asked.

Komori gaped, "What? No, he said he was going to meet—"

"We're here!" Sakusa kicked down the door, pink in the face as he dragged his luggage after him. An older student is following him, a fellow Hufflepuff that Atsumu saw in hallways as everyone crowded together to make room for their hands. Not a second later, the Portkey yanked them around the navel.

Sakusa had boarded the train with the older student, muttering something about shortcuts and unreliable train attendants to Sanna and Komori as Komori gave Atsumu a helpless shrug and a wave that meant I'll see you later? They took a compartment to themselves and Atsumu and Osamu were yanked into Kita's compartment, already half full from several Ravenclaws and Slytherins.

Despite reassurances from Aran that Ushijima is a family friend, Atsumu still bristles. He bristles as he watches the first years get sorted, bristles when he snaps at Yahaba for being too slow at passing the food and even gets a frown from Head Boy Meian and Slytherin Prefect Alisa sitting a few seats down.

With their friend group established, Atsumu is even more irked when he starts the term listening to Sakusa talk about Ushijima all day long through Double Potions. Ushijima this, Ushijima that. 

Ushijima can go to hell in his humble opinion.

Perhaps the saving grace is the fact that Atsumu and Osamu had gotten a broom over the summer. It's still a hand me down, but still a good broom nonetheless, carefully maintained over the years. Sakusa invites them to fly after dinner a month into the fall semester.

For all Sakusa is posh, wearing shirts and pants that are obviously tailored and having new textbooks every year, he isn't afraid to play dirty, tackling Atsumu into muddy areas on the field to steal the Quaffle and only making a big show of how much mud there are in his shoes after it rains. Spending the weekends flying and playing two on two with Sanna switching in every now and then became their favorite pasttime.

And perhaps that's how their friendship ends: Sakusa asking Atsumu if Ushijima could join them.

"Think we can practice the Body Blow next time?" Atsumu grins, happily skipping through the mud ahead of Osamu and Komori, who are lagging behind as they carry the heavy case of Quaffle balls back towards the shed. It's raining softly, the sort that stays throughout the entire day and makes everything feel like they can never dry.

"I was gonna ask—" Sakusa says, lifting his broom to tsk at a splatter of mud that had gotten on his footrest, "Ugh, gross."

"Your tolerance for dirt is super short, you know."

"I have to clean it."

"So do I! Do you know how much more mud I have on mine than you?"

"I was gonna ask," Sakusa continues, sneaking Atsumu a look. He's wearing a black three-quarter zip sweater with kangaroo pockets and track pants with vertical lines running down the sides and as always, neon green shoes that he wears any chance he gets outside of class time, "If Wakatoshi could join us next week?"

"Who's Wakatoshi?" Atsumu frowns.

"Ushijima," Sakusa absently says, going back to picking the frozen mud off his footrest and grimacing.

Atsumu stops. Behind him, he can hear Osamu and Komori chat about the newest ONE OK ROCK album, and how he must convert Komori to listen to more non-magical bands when Komori is scoffing and telling him that three out of four members of BTS are actually wizards. Sakusa is still walking ahead of him.

Then he stops, frowning, "Miya? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" He shakes, "How about the fact that you're so obsessed with that guy you talk about him all day long and are replacing us with him? Weekends are our time together!"

Sakusa glares, "If you didn't want him to join you could just say no, you know."

"Of course I don't want him to join! He looks dumber than a rock! What's he gonna bring to the table?"

Sakusa gapes, "His father plays for the Toyohashi Tengus and the Japanese National Team! Wakatoshi-kun's the Hufflepuff Keeper!"

The argument that BTS is half a wizarding boy band stops behind him. Atsumu is very painfully aware of the fact that he knows Osamu is subtly shaking his head behind him, telling him to shut the fuck up before he messes things up further.

"I don't care," Atsumu growls, "In fact, if you want to play with him then go right ahead."

Multiple expressions flit across Sakusa's face. Atsumu knows he has a reputation for being cold in their year but he's actually expressive once you get to know him, seeing rage, hurt, shock, disappointment pass like a too-quick flash of moving pictures before Sakusa's face steels.

"Fine."

"Fine!"

He strides away, walking up to the castle and telling Peeves to fuck off as it sings a tune about Sakusa and his height. From the edge of the pitch, Atsumu pants like he'd just sprinted from one end of the school to the other, not realizing that Osamu's shaking him until his brother takes two of his freezing hands and cups his face.

"Tsumu," Osamu mumbles. He's dabbing his cheek. Atsumu ducks his head down, hiding his face from Komori so he doesn't see the stray few tears that escaped.

"I'll see you two at dinner." 

Komori yells after him, asking where he's going as Atsumu runs straight for the dungeons.

3

"You're not gonna make it awkward, right?"

"Of course I'm not!"

Sanna gives him a flat look, adjusting the strap of her bookbag as the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins make their way to Ancient Runes. Third year brings change with electives and Hogsmeade trips. Atsumu's excited to see it even though he's caught glimpses of wizarding shops in Osaka by wandering around the side streets, catching a sign that shifts just so when he looks at it long enough.

Even if he mourned the loss of Sakusa after their fight, he's glad that he's still friends with most of his Hufflepuff classmates. Komori continued to send him letters throughout the summer via owl and Sanna gave him her phone number when she said goodbye at Tokyo Station, linking arms with her younger sister and mother as they waved and disappeared into the crowd of tourists. He's made new friends too, studying in the library with Akaashi from Ravenclaw, Bokuto from Gryffindor, who happen to play Keeper for his team, Oikawa and Iwaizumi, childhood friends from Miyagi, and by extension, majority of the third and fourth years in Ravenclaw and the older students in the Slytherin house that he's avoided due to sheer intimidation.

So what if he saw Sakusa and Ushijima kiss when they met each other on the train platform? Sakusa's not any of his business anymore, they're not even on speaking terms unless Sanna, Komori or Osamu are around for buffer.

"He's gonna make it awkward," Suna sighs from his other side. He's chewing on a piece of toast Osamu nabbed for him because he overslept.

Atsumu makes a face as his brother fixes Suna's green tie for him, "You guys are gross."

"Don't be a hater," Osamu sticks his tongue out, which Suna chimed in agreement.

"Real mature."

"Guys," Sanna sighs, "Not now."

The three of them shut up, entering Professor Weasley's class. Professor Babbling, their actual teacher, is on a sabbatical this year so Percy Weasley is covering and taking a break from his Ministry job. He admits that he hasn't had much experience teaching in classrooms, but class passes relatively quickly. 

Atsumu doesn't look towards the left hand side of the classroom where Sakusa is sitting next to Komori. If his classmates sense anything strange, they keep it to themselves.

It's simple. He doesn't bother acknowledging Sakusa's presence unless he needs to, in which case if he does, he does so politely. Sakusa does the same. They came to this conclusion without talking during second year when Sanna showed up to class with her eyes puffy and red-rimmed with tears, gripping a letter from home saying how her little sister had been hit by a drunk driver and is in critical care. Sanna, who usually filled in the silences between the three of them better than Osamu or Komori, is suddenly the one that needed them, so Sakusa and Atsumu began to talk again, asking to pass the dagger in Potions politely or taking Sanna out for a walk around the Black Lake so she's not cooped up in the Astronomy tower with tears coming down her face.

In fact, Sanna will be happy to note that he and Sakusa managed to not kill each other during Potions where Professor Malfoy separated them into partners to work on the Antidote to Uncommon Poisons. Atsumu could feel the second-hand stress from Komori and Sanna standing several feet away that he scoffed and muttered under his breath, "As if we're going to blow the dungeon up."

"I don't know, Miya," Sakusa says quietly, "I think that'd be pretty entertaining."

He looks up, halfway done with grinding the Graphorn Horn. There's a twitchy, nervous air around Sakusa. He's not smiling, but he's not glaring murderously at him either.

"You egging me on, Omi-kun?"

"Depends on whether you're a chicken."

Atsumu laughs, resuming to grinding his ingredients, "I don't fancy detention even if he's my Head of House thanks. You're welcome to it though."

When he looks back, Sakusa is smiling to himself, adjusting the flame beneath their cauldron as Sanna and Komori let out comical sighs of relief.

4

Fourth year comes and Atsumu and Osamu make it into the Slytherin team as first line Beaters. Oikawa grins happily, ruffling his hair and claiming to everyone on the team how great his underclassmen are before gathering them all together and declaring war against Gryffindor and Iwa-chan's group.

They're not the only ones who make the team. Sakusa makes it into the team as a Chaser and Atsumu casually sees him getting on and off his broom as Slytherin and Hufflepuff exchange pitch hours. Komori makes it into the second line up as a Keeper and Aran joins Atsumu and Osamu for pick-up Quidditch on Wednesdays if they're not swamped.

When Slytherin beat their first game against Ravenclaw, Atsumu's popularity skyrocketed overnight.

"Tell your fangirls to back off," Sanna huffs, sitting down at the Slytherin table after dinner. The dishes have disappeared and the table is a free-for-all, books open on every surface as houses mingle, "I was accosted in the bathrooms and one of them asked if we were dating, to which I told her I respect myself too much for that."

"Wow," Atsumu growls, hearing Suna and Osamu cackle next to him, "You're a real friend, thanks."

"What's a girl gotta do to wash her hands in peace?" She checks her nails, strawberry pink with the tips painted white, "By the way, I'd watch out if Bianca Poirier from Ravenclaw offers you anything. She said she laced it with Love Potion but I don't think she's that smart since they're now regulated thanks to Hermoine Granger."

Sanna is a big fan of Hermoine Granger. Atsumu's never heard of her until Sanna rambled on for five hours about her in one passing when her little sister was hospitalized and he and Sakusa needed a way to cheer her up. Just like how Atsumu hero worshiped Meian Shugo for making it into the Japanese National Team, she does the same.

"Gross," Osamu wrinkles his nose.

"Shouldn't you report that?" Suna asks Sanna.

Sanna makes a face, uncertain, "Should I? What if the Prefects come back to me saying that I can't make any unclaimed statements? It's not like they can search her room, and people do this all the time, trying to spike drinks and food."

Dinner, which had been very delicious, sits heavily in Atsumu's stomach. He begins taking shortcuts to his classes to avoid the hordes of fangirls that are dogging his every step.

In fact, it's in this instance of hiding that he bumps into a third year Gryffindor wandering around his special hiding spot. Not wanting his cover to be blown and pressured from the voices of girls chasing after him, he yanks the person behind a tapestry and hopes the curtains are long enough that their shoes don't stick out.

"Atsumu-san?!"

"Shh!" He frowns, "Shou-kun, you suck at keeping your voice down."

"That's a lot, coming from you," Hinata says warily, "Didn't you have a screaming match with that Hufflepuff girl the other say?"

Atsumu shrinks, "Sanna is really scary when she's mad, alright?"

"Anyway, what are you doing?—" Hinata asks, flinching when three sets of voices are whispering to each other on the other side of the tapestry. His eyes widen into plates as Atsumu mimes zipping his mouth shut, suddenly cold and sweating.

"Did you see where he went?"

"I could've sworn he turned down this hallway...."

"God damn it, we keep losing him!"

"It's okay Bianca, he'll have to ask you for the Christmas Ball. We'll get him one of these days," The girls' voices fade and eventually, Atsumu mutters Homenum Revelio under his breath before yanking the curtain away.

"God, I can't get an ounce of peace here," He adjusts his bags, catching Hinata staring at his broom, "Sorry for yanking you, Shou-kun, but I'd be late if they caught me."

Hinata ends up falling in line with him as they head for the Entrance Hall, "What's a Christmas Ball?"

"Oh, uh, it's a dance for the older students. Professor Weasley should've told the Gryffindors already unless he's planning to do it tonight," Atsumu summarizes, "From what I know, fourth years and above are invited. It's hosted the night before winter break starts."

"That's too bad, I usually go back to Japan on the early Portkey."

"I sometimes stay behind. It's kind of nice being alone in the castle," He goes on to tell Hinata how he and Osamu stayed behind during their second year to keep Sanna company for three days before the professors gotten a hold of someone at the Ministry of Magic (come to think of it, maybe it was Professor Weasley who spoke to Miss Granger, which would explain Sanna's mad adoration) to organize a last minute international Portkey straight to Tokyo General Hospital.

Before he knows it, they're at the front of the school already. Atsumu apologizes for taking Hinata with him when he's brushed off with a smile that makes his face heat. Hinata waves him goodbye and Atsumu stands for a long time inside before slapping his cheeks and shaking his head.

In Potions, he asks Sakusa, "So who arranged Sanna's international Portkey?"

Sakusa gives him an odd look, "Granger," He says, implying a duh at the end of it.

"Oh," He adds several sprigs of lavender into their Calming Draught and watches as Sakusa stirs the ladle with the tip of his wand, "Right."

"Worrying a bit too late about her sister," Sakusa jibes him, "You know she's fine right? My sister took care of her in the Magical Ward."

"Your sister got her Healer license?"

"With flying colors," Atsumu smiles at the snotty tone. Sakusa gives him a quick smile, "She did. Last summer in fact. And she got married in August."

"Whoa, congratulations to her! What about Takumi?" The Sakusas have three heirs. From what Atsumu remembered, Takumi has been evading everyone his mother and father introduced to him, saying he's too young to be tied down.

Sakusa snickers, "He left on an international trip several weeks ago without telling my parents. He sent Wakatoshi and I a postcard the other day from Almaty."

"And your parents are okay with that?"

"No, but it's not like they know where he is."

"How loyal."

"What can I say? He saved me in the past a couple of times," Sakusa smirks before catching Atsumu's hands, "Hey, careful, not too much peppermint oil."

Atsumu sticks with writing the essay while their brew bubbles, leaving the technical aspects to Sakusa as Professor Malfoy wanders around the classroom like a pale ghost. The tense atmosphere in second and third year has all but disappeared and he really enjoys having Sakusa around as a friend again.

"So are you and Ushijima going to the Ball?"

Sakusa shakes his head, "Nah. It's not my thing," He looks distracted, but before Atsumu can point it out, he gives a devious smirk to him, "But I heard there's a lot of girls that want to go with you."

"Ugh! Not you too!"

5

"They broke up," Komori tells him as Atsumu hops off the horseless carriages, following the line of students going up the castle. He's sun-kissed from Okinawa and Atsumu bugs his eyes out, gawking and pointing to a second carriage coming up consisting of Sakusa, Sanna, Yachi and Matsukawa, all wearing their Hufflepuff ties already like the good students they are. There's a yell and a pink-haired Ravenclaw tackles Matsukawa around the waist.

"Are you serious?" Atsumu asks, ignoring the scene of Oikawa and Iwaizumi running after Hanamaki and Oikawa asking Sanna what moisturizer she's wearing because she's glowing. "What? Why? When???"

"I don't know the details yet, he didn't come with us to Okinawa," Komori hisses, "But be sensitive, yeah?"

Atsumu nods, already losing track of his brother and Suna who stepped off the carriages before him. Their group breaks off into pairs and trios and Atsumu lines himself up next to Sakusa who seems to have grown taller again.

"Hey."

"Hey," Sakusa monotonously greets, looking up and looking back down before he takes a double take, "What the hell is that on your head?"

Atsumu rolls his eyes, "It's hair dye, Omi. Or to be more specific, it's bleach."

"You look like an egg yolk."

"Everyone on the train said I look handsome."

Sanna snorts, twisting her head from where she's walking next to Kiyoko and Yachi, "Don't lie! I told him he looked like an egg too, Sakusa!"

"Ay, shut up!" Atsumu scowls, "Anyway, Sakusa, the Head Boy said don't forget to shepherd the first years to the dorms after the feast is over."

He wondered if the badge that fell out of his letter was a mistake. His mother, overjoyed, asked if he wanted anything and Atsumu said it'd be nice if she could get him and Osamu both an upgraded broom. 

"Yeah," Sakusa mumbles. He slips away towards the Hufflepuff table like the Bloody Baron and didn't say anything when a petrified first year smacked into him. Atsumu vigilantly watched him for the next few weeks, signing up for patrols with him to the amusement of Kita (fellow Prefect) and Osamu. Sakusa hadn't said anything by the time Atsumu's birthday rolled around in October.

"He just sleeps in his bed all day long," Komori frets, munching on a packet of sugar quills Matsukawa smuggled from Hogsmeade. They're totally not meeting up behind Sakusa's back in the kitchens when he's standing around in the rain for Hufflepuff tryouts, "And he hasn't said anything to me!"

Osamu doesn't seem too worried, "Have you considered that maybe he doesn't want to talk about it?"

"Kiyoomi always tells me stuff!"

"Maybe he doesn't want to, not like you guys are twelve anymore."

Atsumu glares, patting Komori's shoulder, "Don't be a jerk, Samu."

"Do you realize the irony of you saying that to me?"

Suna, the evident peace maker when Sanna is not around, hums, pulls out his phone, "Anyone know who Tendou is?"

"Isn't he that... weird Ravenclaw? I think Akaashi pointed him out once in the Great Hall," Osamu says, "Why?"

"Apparently to my gossip network that's who he's dating. They live in the same city."

"True love is DEAD," Komori bawls, "Kiyoomi and Ushijima have known each other since they were in the playpen together!" At the same time Osamu tells Suna to stop joking around and that his gossip network is made up of Konoha, Suzumeda and Shirofuku, older Ravenclaws who are friends with Bokuto and by extension, Akaashi.

Somehow, their meeting about Sakusa's broken heart turned into Komori's broken heart that his best friend since age five has stopped telling him his feelings. Atsumu has only managed to convince Komori that Sakusa will tell him when he's ready when two people who looked like they've stepped out of a pool appear at the kitchen door.

Sanna beams, "I made it! Seeker!"

There's a pause and then they're all cheering around her and transfiguring stools into towels. Atsumu tells her that he's going to take her down no matter what and she promises to bring Hufflepuff closer to the Cup, ribbing him as they pass around Butterbeer (also from Matsukawa) until it's dinner time. 

Atsumu and Sakusa bid everyone goodbye in the Great Hall to start patrolling. It's mostly walking around and ordering younger students to bed or reminding older students that they have curfew in a few hours. They've finished taking a lap around the Astronomy Tower, aimlessly chatting about the upcoming OWLs and pressure from professors to do well when Sakusa lets out a giant sigh.

"...That's a giant sigh, Omi-kun. Don't tell me you're not prepared for OWLs."

"Don't be stupid, Miya, of course I am," He stops. They're walking back to the castle now through the shortcut in the courtyard. Sakusa has charmed blue-bell flames in a jar they can each hold to keep themselves warm, "I'm just surprised no one's outright asked me what happened."

Atsumu pauses, "I think we were all waiting to see when you're to talk about it."

"I see."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about, right? Other than that he doesn't like me as much as I like him," When Atsumu gapes at him, Sakusa shrugs and smiles, "What? Isn't that how it usually goes? You find that you don't like them that much or they like you too much?"

Atsumu frowns at his feet, remembering when they were younger and how upset he was that Sakusa wanted Ushijima to join their pick-up game of Quidditch and how many times he caught them holding hands during Atsumu's games and during dinners, "I thought you guys were gonna be endgame."

"...I thought so too," Sakusa kicks over a stone, hearing it clatter on the opposite wall, "But whatever, it didn't work out. His other friend confessed and Wakatoshi realized he likes him more."

"That's—" Atsumu actually sees red, breathing puffing out in the cold air like an enraged dragon, "That's such a shitty way to find out! What the fuck does Tendou have that you don't have?!"

"Well—"

"That was rhetorical, don't answer that!"

Sakusa raises a brow, watching Atsumu stomp back inside the castle, "I was going to say I didn't mind—"

"He broke your heart!" Atsumu howls.

Sakusa snaps, "I'm taking points off you if you don't shut up right now," His face is red from a combination of embarrassment and anger.

"He broke your heart!"

"It's not like he meant to!"

"Are you defending him?"

"Yes!"

"I can't believe you," Atsumu scowls, walking towards the dungeons. Their steps echo as they sink deeper and deeper into the bowels of the school. Many students found the darkness gloomy and scary but to Atsumu, it's nice and peaceful, "I'd smack him well into next Sunday if he knows what's good for him. He's dating Tendou now?"

"Yes."

"Fuckwad," Atsumu mutters under his breath. Sakusa actually punches him, "Ow! What was that for?"

"Here I am thinking you might be the easiest to tell out of my friends. Clearly, I'm wrong."

Atsumu frowns, "Of course Sanna and Komori would go rabid on your behalf."

"I'd rather they don't, thanks," Sakusa looks uncomfortable, "Look, it's bad enough that people are wondering what happened but I don't need my house to take sides. People break up all the time. Just because Wakatoshi moved on quickly doesn't mean he cheated."

"He didn't, right?"

"He didn't," Sakusa confirms flatly, "Like I said, he realized his feelings very quickly when Tendou confessed."

Atsumu sneers, peeking into the classrooms with his wand tip lit to make sure no students are hiding inside avoiding curfew, "More reason to flatten Ravenclaw into smithereens. You're too good for him anyway, Ushijima's blind," When he hears a squeak, he rips open the door of a hall closet Professor Malfoy uses to store extra ingredients to glare at several second year Slytherins, "Twenty points off each of you."

Three of them gawk at him, "What?! You're sabotaging our house!"

"Twenty-five! And I can make it back in one Quidditch game. Now scram before I bump it up to thirty!"

The trio grumble, stumbling in the direction of the Slytherin common room as Atsumu sticks his wand inside to make sure no one is left hiding before shutting the door. Sakusa trails after him in amusement as Atsumu complains about kids doing whatever they want, "It's not like you've never snuck out before."

"Yeah, but at least I don't get caught."

"You're a terrible example."

"Yet I'm still Prefect," He sings, climbing back up to ground level and yawning. It's past two now, "Have a good sleep, Omi-kun."

Sakusa cocks his head curiously at him, leaning in. Atsumu freezes like a prey animal before Sakusa leans back, holding a leaf pinched between his finger and thumb.

"This was in your hair."

"O-Oh."

Sakusa turns around, "Night. Make sure you sleep or else I'll push you off your broom tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Atsumu parrots, "What's tomorrow?"

A raise of an eyebrow. Even though Atsumu's already halfway down the steps and Sakusa's heading for the kitchens, he can still hear him loud and clear.

"Sunday morning pick-up Quidditch, right?"

5 ½

In the summer before sixth year started, Atsumu spent several weeks walking around Osaka and picking Komori and one very bright, very neon-clad Sakusa up from Osaka Station, the latter not understanding why Atsumu looked at his clothes and burst out cackling. 

"I'm told this is what Muggles wear!"

"No one would wear those! You look like a walking stop light!"

It came to his attention on the train ride back to London after their OWLs that Sakusa rarely wandered into Muggle Tokyo. Naturally, Atsumu made it his mission to take the due to ramen shops and arcades, watching gleefully as Sakusa cheats his way into getting a stuffed Pikachu from a claw machine by murmuring incantations under his breath.

"You're so easy to please," Atsumu laughed after showing him how the map on his phone worked. Sakusa only glared.

When their OWLs came, Atsumu's mother took them all to a revolving sushi restaurant per Sanna's request not because she had never seen one, but because she knew the conveyor belt system would amaze Sakusa.

"He's so easy to please," She gleefully says. Atsumu nods, both of them rubbing shoulders as Atsumu's mother cheerfully handed Sakusa a capsule toy from the raffle they won, "Have you shown him how water fountains work?"

Atsumu slapped his forehead, "Holy crap you're a genius!"

As payment for being a tour guide to two pureblood wizards and a half-blood witch who only tagged along for shits and giggles, Atsumu, Osamu and Suna were invited by Sakusa's family to their summer villa in the Swiss motherfucking Alps.

"What the hell," Atsumu gawks, taking his hand off the Portkey (the long hand of a grandfather clock) as the Sakusas begin heading for the three story wooden lodge behind him. The mountains and valleys in front of him are incredible, "Is this a green screen? Are those real cows?! Is that the Toblerone mountain?!!"

"You're embarrassing me," Sakusa hisses, dragging him along. He pulls out his shrunken luggage and sets it inside the mud room, expanding it to its original size with a tap of his wand, "It's just a vacation home."

"Oh god, you're rich rich."

"That sentence isn't even grammatically correct—"

Sanna wanders by, already holding a flute of something bubbly. At Atsumu's wide eyes, she says, "It's sparkling juice," Then, "Oh, are you just realizing how rich rich Sakusa is? I went through the same thing at first."

"We're comfortable," Sakusa stiffly says.

"That's what all rich people say!" Atsumu and Osamu say in tandem. Suna is too busy to follow the conversation, snapping at the scenery outside with his phone. Sakusa pinches the bridge of his nose like he has a headache.

"Sorry for our small lodge," Hitomi, Sakusa's older sister says, walking forward with a tray of juice in similar glasses floating behind her. Her voice is warm and she possesses none of Sakusa's Dementor-like qualities, namely the glaring and dark aura that Atsumu was attracted to in first year, "I know you usually go to the mountains to ski but there are wonderful hikes and you can have a picnic next to the lakes. We're just outside of Zurich so maybe you can go down and listen to the symphony? There's farmer markets on weekends too."

Atsumu forgot they invited him here for an entire month. He's suddenly giddy with excitement, wanting to do everything and anything, but he's yanked by Sakusa to his room, "Unpack first and then we'll talk on what to do."

"But the cows! I want to see the Toblerone mountain!"

"I don't know what you're talking about but unpack!" Sakusa commands, yanking the door shut, "Now!"

6

One month flew by in a blink of an eye and the next thing Atsumu knows, he's standing on the Platform of 9 and 3/4, herding muggle-borns into the train and assuring their families that they'll be able to write and chatting to Hinata's younger sister about Charms and how small Professor Flitwick is as the train blows its whistle. From there, he patrols the train, passing Sakusa, Oikawa, Iwaizumi (Head Boy), Yachi, Kiyoko and the other Prefects.

"Your hair is so blond," Oikawa sings, fluttering his fingers as they step out of the Prefects' carriage. They're the first ones off the train. Iwaizumi is already sighing, dragging his friend with a loose choke hold towards the line of horseless carriages and yelling for first years to go towards a different line up, "Love it! Tell me about the mountains later!"

"Hurry up, Shittykawa!"

"Will do," Atsumu waves before running away from a horde of girls excited for Quidditch tryouts. While the Slytherin team is by far the one with the largest pool of fans, it comes with a con of managing girls who only want autographs and shriek when their brooms go any speed faster than a butterfly. 

He's preparing himself to beat them off with a very practiced, very scary smile when an irritated voice cuts in.

"No hovering, go line up for the carriages."

"Omi!" Atsumu spins, relieved that the girls have vanished into thin air with petulant expressions, "My hero."

Sakusa makes a face. His skin has returned to its normal color faster than Atsumu, who still carries a farmer's tan under his robes, "Come on, let's herd them together and get into a carriage."

Having perfect Os from his previous OWLs, he now qualifies for all NEWT classes. Since the classes sizes are smaller, instead of two houses sharing the same professor, all NEWT students are crammed into one room. There's a week where he and Sakusa execute the strongest love potion of all, Amortentia, with flying colors and are treated to Professor's Malfoy's rare smile as he places the cauldron under a strong magical barrier to show other students for a week.

Before Malfoy discards it, they're all lounging and playing a game of Exploding Kittens when Sanna wanders up to it, sniffing at the spiral fumes with a smile, "It smells really good. What do you smell, Atsumu?"

He closes his eyes, amusing her and taking a deep whiff, "Um. Fresh rice.... something warm and sweet.... and fall leaves."

She pulls a vial from under her sleeve, face sly, "Is it this?"

Atsumu peers at the opaque liquid before sniffing it lightly, "Yeah! Yeah, it is, what is it?"

She snickers, tucking the bottle away as the bell rings, "Not telling!"

He loses her in the middle of the lunch crowd and sulks. He hates it when she hides shit from him. He's committing to sending an army of ankle-snapping origami turtles into the Hufflepuff dorms when Suna slumps and rests his head on his shoulder.

"Uh, I'm not Samu."

"I know, Samu's talking with Malfoy."

Atsumu is alarmed, "About what?"

Suna sighs, "His career change."

The happy-go-lucky bubble that he carried with him since the start of summer pops and Atsumu begins to have nightmares of the future, so much that Madam Pomfrey told him to get a mouth guard from London by owl-order if he can't stop his teeth from grinding because there's no potion for that until he causes damage to his molars. What is he going to do? 

"Didn't you plan this with Professor Malfoy last year?" Sakusa frowns, both of them lagging behind on a sunny Sunday morning. Komori and Suna won the two on two and Sakusa dove expertly on top of a Bludger, pinning it to the ground before shimmying his way to the case. 

Their group of pick-up quidditch had grown to have twelve people, perfect for a full team without Seekers. It's not only fun, but Atsumu uses it as practice to pick at Akaashi's brain. He hasn't forgotten about his promise to steamroll Ravenclaw flat for Sakusa.

"I did, but I don't really want to work for the Japanese Ministry of Magic."

Sakusa scowls at him, "That's such a waste of his time."

"I didn't know what I could do! It's not like I know what I'll like! Wizarding schools are so weird," Atsumu grumbles, "After graduation they just toss you into the world and expect you to land on your feet. At least with the non-magical folk we have universities and vocational schools."

"...I guess we don't call it that but we do have something similar. After graduation you can train under a Master, like Potions for example. That's how Malfoy got this position."

"You know his family?"

"Somewhat," Sakusa vaguely says, "He trained in France under a Potions Master there before Slughorn retired. He probably didn't tell you because going straight into the Ministry is a cakewalk," He looks up from pinning the Bludger in place, face sweaty as he squints against the sun, "So what do you want to do?"

"...I don't know."

Sakusa gives him a look, "Better think about that."

"Wait, do you know what you want to do?"

"Of course," Sakusa flips his bangs annoyingly. Hitomi had shown him how to do his hair over the summer and he's sporting a very nice side parting that makes him a million times more handsome, not that Atsumu's looking. He sticks his nose up, "I plan for my future unlike you."

"You—"

"I want to play for the National Team."

Atsumu blinks, "Oh, like professional Quidditch?" Sakusa nods, "Oh. That's... wow, yeah I can see that. What team?"

"Osaka Occamies, they've won the Emperor's Cup five years in a row now. That's where Meian is playing."

"Whoa! Head Boy Meian? Shit, I didn't know he's right next door."

"That's why I told you to pay more attention to the wizarding community!" Sakusa is positively foaming, "Do you know what I'd do to be able to walk to an Occamy game without flying into Osaka or taking a packed shinkansen? You live right by the stadium!"

"How did it turn into you yelling at me?" Atsumu raises his hands up, "We're talking about my future here, you're supposed to feel sorry for me!"

"All I feel is rage!" Sakusa snaps.

A burst of laughter separates them, Sanna howling as she jogs to them with a picnic basket straining behind her, "Hey! Hurry up, we're supposed to meet everyone by the lake."

"Oi, Sanna, you still haven't told me what was in the bottle!"

Sanna eeps and sprints away. Atsumu abandons Sakusa to hop on his broom, chasing her until she Accios her broom and they spend the next fifteen minutes doing barrel rolls in the sky to avoid each other. When Atsumu gives up because he's spent an entire morning chasing Akaashi and his motley team of chasers, Sanna whoops victory and touches down on the grass, zooming for a cheese sandwich as she dives between Kiyoko and Tanaka.

"Hey, Chen," Tanaka grumbles, "Watch it."

Sanna sticks her tongue out at him, resting her head on Kiyoko's lap smugly. For a Hufflepuff she sure can inspire Atsumu to rage.

The rest of the school year passes in the same fashion as it did previously, with Atsumu struggling to keep his eyes peeled as he juggles school work, patrols and Quidditch. He also meets with Professor Malfoy, who takes his change in career with a casual shrug and fires off letters to various teams in Japan that might be interested in scouting Atsumu.

"You're not angry?"

"People often change their minds many times. And even after getting their 'dream career', they'll change it again and again," Malfoy says, leaning against his desk as he rolls his sleeves up. There's a smudged tattoo on his forearm, the ink blurred. Atsumu wonders what it is, "It's nothing to feel sorry over."

"Alright."

Atsumu hibernates throughout winter break, reclaiming all the sleep he's lost during the past year. Whereas Sakusa normally returns home for break, he's staying in the castle this year, shrugging and saying how he wouldn't get any quality sleep if he's home. Atsumu doesn't mind, finding great relish to have his friend back after Ushijima took so much of his time away during second, third and most of fourth year. They had snowball fights and skated around the Black Lake when it froze over with the group of students who stayed behind.