"You're not forgetting anything, right, hon?"

Eleven-year old Ochako bounces with her luggage cart, bright-eyed and fairly vibrating with excitement.

"No, Mama! I have everything: my wand, my books, spare notebooks, everything!"

As they pass through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, her mother pulls her to the side. The scarlet train is everything she ever dreamed of, gleaming and puffing white steam, just like in her mother's stories of her time in Hufflepuff House. The woman puts her hands on her shoulders, smoothing out her daughter's cardigan and squeezing her arms in reassurance.

"I'm sorry your dad couldn't come with us today, but..."

"He has work, I know! Papa is working really hard, so I've got to, too."

Her mother cups her cheek and smiles tenderly before scooping the girl up in a tight hug.

"We love you, Ochako."

She grips her mother's jacket and buries her face in the fabric on her shoulder.

He's never been on the Platform before so he's understandably surprised by the hordes of people and bright red train when his mother grabs his arm and apparates them there. He tugs at the collar of his cloak, wearing his school robes already. His Slytherin mother had tried to charm her house logo onto his uniform, but Katsuki had argued with her for hours over his sorting.

It wasn't for her to decide, but him. And that stupid Hat.

His father had watched from the sidelines then, only offhandedly saying that Katsuki wouldn't do poorly in his house of Ravenclaw. The eleven-year old just stalked off. He'd go where he fit best, not where someone thought he should go.

He ruffles blonde spikes and storms up to the train, ignoring his mother's parting advice and threats to be good at school. When he turns an eye back over his shoulder, his dad is waving, other hand draped over his mom's shoulder. Mizuki Bakugou is leaning on her husband, but grinning in his direction. He lets out an amused breath and boards the train.

As children are wont to do, bragging and prying begin early at Hogwarts. Already, Ochako has been questioned twelve times on her blood status or house she thinks she'll be in. Regardless of what she says, the offender always shoehorns her into Hufflepuff since she seems 'sweet' or 'fragile'. She has nothing against her mother's house, quite the contrary, but she doesn't think it suits her. Ochako isn't sure what suits her at all.

Done trying to talk to people who only want to guess where she'll end up, she sticks to the fringes of the students waiting in the entry hall. A slip of yellow catches her attention and she sees a boy being given a wide berth. His expression is grumpy and when a little boy with dark hair approaches him, he snaps out at him. The whispers around her say things like, 'Bakugou heir,' 'thinks he's hot stuff,' and 'definitely a Snake.' Before she can have time to contemplate, the Headmistress is calling them into the Great Hall.

"Asui, Tsuyu!" The only girl who did not judge her by the basis of house or blood hops up to the stool. After a few moments, the hat calls out 'Hufflepuff!' Maybe it wouldn't be bad to end up there, after all.

A few names pass that don't catch her interest. Then the blonde boy is called up. He still looks angry, but Ochako wonders if he isn't just being defensive because of what the others were saying. When he glares at someone on his way up and that person covers their mouth, she guesses he doesn't like being pigeon-holed either.

After three minutes on his head, the upper classmen around them start muttering about hat stalls. The boy is sitting hunched over on the stool, arms crossed and the brim far down and hiding his face. Then, the hat's voice rings through the hall.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The hall is silent as he pushes off the stool and walks to his table.

After the next name is called, the spell is broken and the mood returns. 'Iida, Tenya' becomes a Ravenclaw, 'Kirishima, Eijirou' goes to Hufflepuff, and 'Midoriya, Izuku,' the boy that approached Bakugou, is sent to Ravenclaw as well after another near hat stall. Then her name is called.

"Oh yes, a nice mind, moldable and eager… interesting, very interesting… So young yet focused. Helping your family is an admirable goal, but the means you would go to… well, very eager as I said. Certainly brave with wit, but I think I know just where someone of your ambition should go."

The hat is stuffy and heavy, twisting on her head. She presses her fingers together in reassurance. Regardless of what the hat said, she would not let that determine her success. She had to make that herself.

"Oh certainly you belong to… SLYTHERIN!"

Ochako's first year is rather lonely. No one in her house seems interested in talking to her, but if that means she gets a study table to herself in the common room, she's okay with that. She's here to study and become the best witch possible, after all. Her partner in most classes is whoever ends up last or someone from another house and Ochako doesn't mind that either. Once or twice she's even ended up with Bakugou in Transfiguration and though nothing was said except spells, it's better than someone asking how a half-blood got into Slytherin or what dark secrets she must have been hiding to turn into a Snake.

She looked so innocent, you know?

So Ochako's first year is filled with hardening her edges and taking pleasure from little things like flying class and advancing her charms work. She was able to do simple charmwork with smaller wand movement and muttering under her breath instead of fully vocalizing the spells now. Her latest test had been on Bakugou, actually.

Someone had tampered with his uniform, changing the colors of his tie and his emblem to what she could only guess was Slytherin's. Though Ochako held no particular love for her housemates or what others thought of her house, she did feel indignant that someone deigned to think it was an insult to be marked with green and silver. He had obviously changed the colors back, though they weren't quite the right shade of gold, but the emblem is what she wanted to try.

So as they all packed up from their Defense lesson, she surreptitiously points her wand his direction. A small flick and twist, syllables passing over her lips, and the snake with legs and a mane stretches into a lion and the gold stitching brightens. Bakugou's expression doesn't change and he doesn't look her way, oblivious to her spellwork as he walks out of the classroom.

Her housemates give her a small berth when she smirks and laughs to herself a little in congratulations.

Summer had passed too quickly. Katsuki presses his head against the glass of the compartment window, wishing he was back out in the field behind his home, with a Potions book and his broom under the blue summer sky. Another year with these dumbasses who still thought it funny to charm his uniform different colors until he hexed them. That method hadn't lasted very long when they'd complained to the school nurse about how they couldn't stop the bats from flying out of their noses.

In the end, he got in trouble though he was the one being troubled.

Certainly, a fair few of his peers ran around in the same circles as his family did. And maybe he was getting his just deserts for past behavior that his mother always scolded him on, but he was a better wizard, a better potioneer, a better flier. So wasn't it just the truth?

Katsuki had just closed his eyes when the door slides open. His head snaps towards the door, only to meet eyes with the current pariah of the Slytherin house. Her surprise melts away and she stutters a greeting, offering that everywhere else is too full. He imagines there were places to sit, but no one had acquiesced to her staying. He slouches back into his seat and she lifts her huge trunk onto the rack with ease.

He must have eyed her funny because she starts talking again. "It's a featherweight charm! My mom cast it before I left, but it will wear off before we get to school… but, um, I know how to do them, too. So I can show you once we get there..?"

Featherweights are something they wouldn't learn until this year, if he remembered the table of contents for their Charms book correctly. So he grunts and nods. Doesn't hurt to get a head start.

He's brimming with energy, excited but apprehensive. It's only been two weeks since tryouts and though he completely outflew his competition, the feeling that the others don't want him on the team boils in his stomach. He'll just have to show them that he can win by catching the snitch as fast as possible. He's only twelve, but that just means he's lighter than his competition- he heard that the Slytherin team's Seeker is a sixth year.

He's swathed in red and gold as he flies onto the pitch. The roar of the crowd fills him to the brim with pride and confidence. They probably aren't cheering for him in particular, but that will all change once he shows them he can be the hero. Green and silver blurs streak in front of them as they all take their starting positions. One body is smaller than the others and he's shocked to see the girl from the train on a broom, clutching a beater's bat.

She looks so fragile and slightly petrified that he calls out to her after the whistle blows.

"If you're gonna give up, you'd better do it now! We'll crush your team and show no mercy!"

Her eyes widen and then harden. Then she's lying flat on her broom and whips past him by a hair's breadth. It sets him into a flat spin and he dips to right himself and shoot up higher for a better vantage point. His sharp eyes flick around the pitch as the chasers swap points below. The Slytherin Seeker is at his altitude and just inside his blind spot.

He doesn't have time to think about it when a glint of gold shines below, near one of the Slytherin goal posts. After gaging the volley of the Quaffle, he dives. He can tell the older Seeker is behind him even with the wind whistling in his ear. Just a little further and he'll have it. He'll show his team he's reliable and that he can win.

Two more inches from his outstretched hand..!

From nowhere, a force like a rampaging hippogriff glances off his back and shoulder. Katsuki nearly loses control of his broom, clutching it with one hand and an ankle wrapped around the tail. The bludger has already done its job though; the Slytherin Seeker streaks past him and the roar from the green robed section is deafening. His back and shoulder are throbbing in pain and he sees stars as he looks for the source. Above him is that girl.

She mock-salutes him with the beater's bat as her teammates nod at her before circling around their Seeker in celebration. Definitely not fragile.

Bakugou is here again. Ochako nibbles on the toast she asked the house elves for as she takes her broom off her shoulder. The sun is only just peeking above the horizon and this is the fourth time this week she's run into him on the pitch, practicing. As she finishes her pre-breakfast breakfast, she watches as he goes through the same set of aerodynamic tricks she's seen all week.

He's working on his agility and timing, combining spins and barrel rolls with sharp dives, pulling up when he gets too close to the ground. Today he's trying most of this with only one hand on the broom. That same serious look on his face.

Ochako drops her bag and mounts her broom, kicking off the ground easily. Her first few laps are just to savor the crisp morning air, letting her lungs prickle with the first signs of winter. She'd forgone a warming charm in favor of an old sweatshirt from her father, worn and soft. Once she gets into her routines, she forgets about the blonde boy entirely.

Red and huffing with exertion, she pauses in the face of the fully risen sun. The gold light is warm on her flushed skin. Movement catches her eye and she sees Bakugou throwing several golfballs into the air before zooming after them. They don't go very far, so she imagines the exercise is easy on him. She watches once more before touching her wand.

Charms has always been her strong point and the levitation spell was one of the first they learned after color changing. Pulling her wand out of the holster strapped to her arm, she casts just as he throws the balls. When they don't fall in the trajectory he expects, Bakugou stops and watches as they float around him.

When she giggles a little, his attention snaps to her. He's at her altitude before she can blink.

"Uraraka."

"Good morning, Bakugou."

He stares intently at her and her wand for a moment while she waits for him to tell her off or whatever it is he's going to do.

"Can you make them go faster?"

Somehow she never expected that he might actually be appreciative of an opportunity to improve. She also did not expect the next words out of her mouth to take her down the path that was building before them.

"Of course."

Morning Quidditch practice turned into talking about Quidditch when they ended up partnered in class. Uraraka was an avid fan of the Harpies, which he could respect, though Puddlemere was clearly the best team in the League. She never brought up how she'd almost knocked him off his broom in their first face off, so he kept quiet, too. Her charmwork had greatly improved his reaction to moving targets and he'd come up with an idea to help her with arm strength by making the practice bludgers heavier and putting a motion arresting charm on the bat. She'd have to swing harder, correctly, to be able to hit and direct the bludger.

He figured it was only fair to trade such a thing when she was helping him.

They had potions together this year and he found that she had not had a good partner (or a consistent one) all first year. With the odd number of classmates, they paired up without saying much of anything, to the shock of all their classmates. The potions master just raised an eyebrow and let them continue about their work.

They ended up with the highest grade in the class and that was how Uraraka ended up following him to the library. The improvement in his Charms work over the next month was not negligible, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

His housemates still mostly ignored him, but now and then a foolish one (not brave, but foolish) would appear and tease him about her. When that kid ended up running to the infirmary with a bloody nose, he just gathered his books up and walked to class. He sank into the seat next to Uraraka with a heavy thud, but she seemed unfazed. And he appreciated it.

"No library for me tonight."

"You should stop getting in trouble."

He leans forward, arms crossed on the desk, glaring at her. Uraraka doesn't even flinch anymore after the five months of their acquaintance.

"What? Was I wrong? You have detention tonight, right?"

Despite their efforts, Ravenclaw wins the Quidditch cup that year.

She had written him three times that summer. Ochako hadn't really expected any response, but she had gotten a short reply to her first one.

I picked Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Astronomy. You'd better be as good at Astronomy as you said you were.

KB

Star-gazing was her favorite hobby and her father often took her out to the countryside to watch meteor showers and track satellites. He'd even gotten her a telescope for Christmas last year that her mother had shrunk and packed with her school supplies. Ochako had needled Bakugou to pick Astronomy over the free period he otherwise would have had the last month of school and in her first letter.

She arrives at the Platform by herself, pulling her feather light trunk behind her and pushing through the crowd of parents kissing their kids goodbye to the train. A familiar head of blonde hair steps up onto the train and she yells out.

"Bakugou!"

He and several people around her stop at her shout, but he waits as she squeezes through the last group of people. She grins widely at his predictably grumpy face. He glares at something behind her and grabs her trunk handle, pulling it up.

"Hurry the hell up; I have a compartment."

She's not sure when it started, but Ochako finds herself having breakfast at the Gryffindor table. This only exacerbates the issue with her housemates, though most have taken to just ignoring her. The only classmate that bothers her now is a sixth year named Himiko, but Ochako finds that so long as she doesn't stick around the common room or wander the corridors near the dungeon in the evening, she can avoid the creepy girl.

Honestly, she probably just came back in from their morning extra Quidditch practice and sat with him out of habit. Or at least that what's she's going to blame it on. Either way, there's no rule that they have to sit at one table or another and there's plenty of space when she's the only one who can apparently handle Bakugou's crankiness.

Astronomy has been so much fun so far. Their next lesson isn't until Thursday, but Ochako is already thinking about it. The differences between her telescope (Muggle-made) and the school telescopes are fascinating.

"What are you going all cross-eyed over?" Bakugou cuts into her thoughts.

"Well, I was thinking about how the school's telescopes automatically focus on whatever you're pointing it at and how they can track movement. My telescope isn't magic so it doesn't do that."

"So it's actually starry-eyed then, huh?"

She blinks. Did he-?

"Did you… just make a joke?" His fork clatters back onto the plate of eggs and bacon, extra crispy. His eyes widen in disbelief and anger while his cheeks flush.

"I can make fucking jokes, Uraraka! What, you think I can't be funny or something?!"

There's a beat while she stares at his tense shoulders and hair that's practically sparking with magical irritation. And then she just laughs.

"No, no, I just wasn't expecting it." She stuffs her mouth with some fruit before he can reply.

That night, he follows her up to the Astronomy tower and she teaches him how to use a muggle telescope as a sort of apology.

Third year is filled with early morning practice, trips to the Astronomy tower, studying… and giggling girls. Katsuki is tired of random girls coming up to ask him to go to Hogsmeade with them. He has zero interest in any of them or in their twittering. Especially since most of them are scared off by his glare anyway.

He goes by himself, intending to swing through the book store for another potions book and sweet shop for some spicy chocolate. When he runs into Uraraka wrapped in a green and silver scarf up to her nose, he ends up in the Three Broomsticks with a spiced Butterbeer.

The place is packed as he'd expect with Hogwarts students. Some girls in Gryffindor are sizing up Uraraka and he's uncomfortable. One downs her Butterbeer and slams it on the table before approaching.

"Hi Katsuki, I was wondering if I could ask you-"

"No."

"-a question. Would you want to go to-"

"No."

"-Madame Puddifoot's with me?"

"Do you not understand the word no?" Uraraka snorts into her hand at his retort, quickly pulling her drink away from her face. He wants to smirk, but he also wants to make it very clear that he's answering in the negative to this girl he doesn't even remember the name of.

"Well-" the girl glances at Uraraka, taking in the small bit of foam on her cheek and how her shoulders are shaking with silent laughter. "I just thought… you know what, whatever."

She stalks away and he leans back as Uraraka presses her head into the table, laughter echoing into the floor. When she lifts her head, she pretends to wipe away a tear and sniffs.

"Oh, at least give the girl a chance to speak, Katsuki."

They both freeze when she says his name. They've been calling each other by last names since they started their weird friendship in second year. It hadn't ever occurred to call each other by their first names.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I just…"

He opens his mouth to say something, though he isn't sure what, when a new body appears and leans over his shoulder.

"Hey, can we sit with you guys? Everywhere else is full."

A red-headed boy and a girl with long straight black hair stand in front of their table. Their silence is taken as acceptance and the boy slips into the booth next to Katsuki while the girl sits next to Uraraka.

"I'm Eijirou Kirishima and this is Tsuyu Asui, but she'll probably tell you to just call her Tsuyu." Katsuki shakes his offered hand and glances over at Uraraka who is greeting Asui.

"Katsuki Bakugou. That's Ochako Uraraka."

"Nice to meet you!"

Somehow after that afternoon with Butterbeer and a noisy atmosphere, Ochako gains the friendship of Tsuyu and Eijirou. Their study sessions move to a larger table and she finds that Tsuyu is best at Herbology and Eijirou at Transfiguration. Early morning flights around the pitch and trips to the Astronomy tower remain between herself and Bakugou.

She's still embarrassed that she called him by his first name without permission, but he hasn't brought it up again. So it must have been okay, since he knew she was teasing.

Muggle telescope packed up and in the case slung over her shoulder, she walks to rendezvous with the boy in question for a trip up the tower. Pluto and Neptune with finally in range! She stops short when she finds that he is not alone in the hallway leading to the Astronomy tower.

"How many times are you assholes going to fucking bother me about this?"

"You take Ochako Uraraka up to the tower a whole lot, don't you? So how far have you gotten?"

"Shut the fuck up. You don't know what you're talking about."

"You said it's for Astronomy class, but we know better. I wonder if she'd go up there with me, huh?"

"You'd better get the hell out of here before I make you."

"Oooh so scary…"

Ochako draws in a breath. She's unsure why this is happening, but it needs to stop, before Bakugou actually blows his top and gets in trouble again. She steps around the corner to find an upperclassman hovering over Bakugou with a slimy grin on his face.

"Hi there, Ochako, gonna go 'watch some stars'?"

She puts on her best unimpressed face as she glances at him. "Actually, Pluto and Neptune are out tonight." Bakugou steps next to her, taking the telescope off her shoulder in a clear attempt to step between her and the upperclassman. "Though I doubt you'd know that, since you probably only pay attention to Uranus."

She turns on her heel to walk up the stairs. There's silence behind her for the three steps it takes to regain her composure enough to face him again. Her face is probably still flushed from making such a lewd crack at the boy.

"And don't call me 'Ochako.' C'mon, Katsuki, the moon will be down soon."

She can hear the brutal amusement in his voice when he answers.

"Sure thing, Ochako."

He's suspicious when Ochako comes to him the first weekend of class in their fourth year about a new flying move she learned over the summer. She hadn't mentioned anything about it in their letters over the summer, though he had talked about flying a fair bit. Two other red flags were raised when she said she wanted to show him that night.

"You're free, right?"

"Well, yeah, we don't have homework yet, but…" What was it that was setting him on edge?

"But what? So you can meet me at the pitch at 8!" Her smile is a bit too benign and eyes twinkling in a way that was knowing. He doesn't want to back down, though, so he just nods. She grins wider and waves as she dashes off to Charms.

Eijirou nudges him with an elbow and waggles his eyebrows as they head to Hufflepuff-Gryffindor joint Transfiguration. He pushes him in the shoulder and rolls his eyes. Eijirou falls over on Tsuyu and pretends to need her help to get to class. Katsuki just shakes his head and smirks.

Katsuki stands with his hands in his sweatshirt pockets, broom leaning on the bleachers. He's watched Ochako perform a calculated dive at least five times and aside from the heart-stopping moment where he thought she'd fallen off her broom, he doesn't understand how this is a 'new move.' She floats over to him, face pink from the wind.

"You don't get it, yet?"

"No. It just looks like you're falling off your broom."

"That's not all that there is to it." Her head tilts and her expression is similar to the one from this morning, too benign to be entirely truthful. He pouts a little, unsure of her behavior. She sighs and touches down next to him. "I guess you just won't be able to learn this one…"

"I'd learn it if you'd fucking tell me what it is!"

"With you, it'd be easier to show you… probably." His heart skips a beat with the way she looks at him over her shoulder, but he puts it down to the irritation at being told he isn't a good student.

"You did show me, like five fucking times!" She tilts her head at him and remounts her broom, a little further forward than she normally would.

"There's only one other way to show you, then." She holds his gaze for a second as the galleon drops. She's waiting, just barely hovering, with barely enough space for him on the back of her Nimbus 2001. She faces away and he stares at the back of her head and the broom. Katsuki swallows once and the broom bounces a little under his weight.

If he leans forward or breathes too deep, his chest will touch her back. His hands are hovering, not knowing where is safe to touch. He bites his lip and settles for gripping the tied bristles on the tail of the broom as she takes off. They're climbing higher into cooler air, but Katsuki feels flush as he tries to ignore how his knees press into the underside of Ochako's thighs. He's pretty sure they're higher than she had been going before and he looks out over the castle and lake, trying to find a distraction.

The hood of Ochako's sweatshirt brushes against him as she twists a little to look at him. Her smile is soft in a way he isn't sure he's seen before, but twists up to crinkle her eyes.

"You might want to hold onto my waist."

His hands move without really thinking as he questions why, then it feels like the bottom of his stomach drops out.

The hands that were tentative on her waist wind all the way around her to crush her to his chest. Their free fall feels far longer than it is and while his Gryffindor bravery curbs his urge to scream and yell, it doesn't stop the palpitations their drop from so high causes. He can feel Ochako laughing through her back as he tucks himself around her. She still has her grip on the broom and, as the dark ground rises to meet them, she gives a commanding tug on the stem.

As she regains control, he feels her speak and her voice carries thinly on the wind.

Katsuki doesn't let her go, though he lightens his grip. He sighs as the broom flies slower, resting his chin on her shoulder. She shakes with another laugh.

"So did you get it?"

He hums. I like you, Katsuki. The wind is cool on his face and the night is clear as they loop around the pitch.

"I think so… Yeah."

"Good."

She leans back as they slow down further, making random patterns in the air. He adjusts to keep his hold around her and his chin in its new favorite place on her shoulder, cheek pressing lightly against her neck.

"Yeah. Good."

"So it's you then, huh?"

Ochako's dad is a little intimidating. Katsuki doesn't know if it's because the man is a muggle or not, and he therefore has no idea what methods or lengths he'll go to for his daughter, but the construction site manager eyes him thoroughly as Ochako looks on apologetically.

"Yes sir. I'm Katsuki Bakugou."

"How old are you, Katsuki Bakugou?"

"Papa!"

"I turned fifteen last month, sir."

The tall man's stoic face breaks into a grin and he ruffles Katsuki's hair roughly. Katsuki resists the urge to push the hand away.

"Cut it out with the 'sir.' You just make sure you take good care of my girl, got it?" Ochako squeaks in protest, red in the face and tugging on her dad's sleeve. The smile on the man's face doesn't leave, but his voice darkens just enough to send a shudder down Katsuki's spine. "If you make her cry, we'll have… problems."

He just nods as they walk away, Ochako mouthing apologies and waving goodbye.

"She's cute."

He jumps at his mother's voice right behind him.

"Don't fucking scare me like that!"

She just clicks her tongue and grabs him by the ear. "Such language. C'mere, you're gonna tell me everything you should have been writing home about this year."

The student body at large has finally stopped commenting on her sitting at the Gryffindor table. Of course, that was probably more because Eijirou and Tsuyu decided to sit with them more regularly than anything else. OWLs were this year and they kept their study group up to stay on top of their games. If Ochako got anything less than an O on her Charms OWL, she just might cry.

She looks up from the textbook in her lap, trying to figure out where her friends were in conversation. Tsuyu is spreading jam on her toast watching amusedly the exchange between Eijirou and Katuski.

"I asked Tsuyu last week and she said yes to going with me. What about you?"

Ah. The Yule Ball. That was tonight, wasn't it? She'd almost forgotten with the workload increase. Her mother had sent her a dress… Ochako nearly went back to her books when Katsuki spoke.

"Well, that's a stupid question. Ochako."

"What?"

Katsuki didn't even look over, still speaking to Eijirou. "Who else would I go with? I mean it's kinda stupid, but even I'm not gonna go by myself." Eijirou and Tsuyu's eyes both flick to her.

Teeth grinding a little, she snaps her book shut. "Oh? This is news to me, Katsuki."

"What? Why? Doesn't it make sense that we'd go together?"

"You never mentioned it. Nor asked."

"Wha- ask? You're my girlfriend, dammit!"

"Consent's important, you idiot! You still need to ask; maybe I didn't even want to go!"

"Well, will you go with me to the fucking party or not, Ochako?!"

"When you ask me like that, how could I possibly say no?!"

"Dammit, just say you'll go with me!"

"Did you just order me to go with you, Katsuki?"

He's gripping his hair in frustration and her breath is heavy as she stands. She's pretty sure they've garnered the attention of the whole hall with their yelling. At least one professor is standing at the head table, getting ready to intervene.

"Shit, Ochako, I want to go with you because otherwise it's a waste of my fucking time!"

She inhales sharply, the oxygen a bit heady in that quantity as she grabs her books.

"Can't have you wasting your precious time then- you'd better not be late!"

She sees a split second of his confusion before spinning on her heel and storming out and away from the professor coming down the aisle. Her stupid boyfriend calls out after her.

"Fine!"

"Fine!" she yells over her shoulder, nearly at the door.

"In front of the library at seven! Don't you dare ditch me!"

Ochako slams the door to the Hall with one final, "FINE!"

He's scrubbing his face with his hands in anxiety as he leans against the wall outside the library. Of course she would have wanted him to ask. He checks the time, cringing when it reads 7:09. He wouldn't be surprised if she did stand him up at this point. She would never be this late.

As he pushes himself off the wall, the sound of bare feet slapping on stone connects with his eardrums. Katsuki turns to see Ochako running down the hallway, lilac dress hitched up to allow movement and heels clutched in one hand.

"Sorry I'm late!"

He turns and steps towards her before she can slow down and slips his hands around her waist. Katsuki leans down to kiss Ochako and as he pulls her closer, he can feel the rushing of her pulse through their chests. Her shoes tap against his head as she slips her arms around his neck.

"No, I should apologize. Will you go to the dance with me?"

Their foreheads are pressed together and she laughs.

"I guess I will. Hold on a moment." She slips out of his arms to lean against the wall as she slips a shoe on. Biting his lip, he moves toward her again and takes the second shoe out of her hand. He kneels and her hands move to hold his shoulders for balance. He squeezes her ankle before standing to really take in her appearance.

The light purple dress is pleated, falling at her knees with a belt of the same fabric bowed to the side of her waist. Her hair is coiled up, but some pieces are curled and loose from running. He tries to suppress a grin, but fails as he pulls out his wand, pointing it at his tie. It changes from black to a deeper purple and the handkerchief in his pocket to the lilac of her dress. She just smiles as she tucks her hand into the crook of his elbow. They take their time getting to the dance.

He knew from their letters that she had gotten the scores she wanted on the OWLs so he isn't too surprised when he has to catch her when she calls his name at the Platform and launches herself into his arms. Katsuki spins her around to avoid falling over and when he puts her down, her million watt smile is turned on his parents who butt in to say hello. Eijirou pops up at his shoulder, throwing a friendly arm around his shoulder, Tsuyu in tow. The 'Huffle-couple' as Ochako's taken to teasing them since last year's Yule wave to some other friends as they board the train.

They board the train and Ochako never lets go of his hand.

Clad in the red and gold of his house, he rushes to the hospital wing with two Hufflepuffs in tow. The seventh year Slytherin captain and her Head of House are at the end of the only occupied bed. He ignores them both, tossing his broom on the nearest empty bed and leaning over the green uniformed girl on the cot.

"I see she is in good hands. We shall take our leave," the professor drawls, jerking his head at the captain. The seventh year just locks eyes with Katsuki and gives a firm nod.

The nurse arrives in the moment they leave, the tray in her hands filled with several cups of potions. She eyes the new visitors and the way Katsuki's gloved hand is clenched into the sheets near Ochako's hand.

"Miss Uraraka has a broken arm and leg; the other arm, Mister Bakugou." His hand takes her uninjured one in an instant. "She's been coming in and out of consciousness. If she wakes before I return, get her to take this to prepare her bones for mending and then the pain potion. I will be back shortly to stitch those fractures back together."

They all wait in silence for a few minutes until Ochako groans. Her eyelids flutter, fingers flexing against his hand. She twitches in pain as she wakes and Tsuyu is on the other side of the bed, picking up the first potion cup. When Ochako downs it, making a face at the taste, she turns back to Katsuki.

"Game?"

"You lost." She winces, but he isn't sure if it's from the potion or because SLytherin lost. "I didn't see you get-"

"Katsuki was super cool when he caught the snitch!" Eijirou interjects.

"Yeah, he was going to be carried back by his team, but when he heard you got hit right before he caught it, he got on his broom and flew out of the arena," Tsuyu adds.

Eijirou chuckles, "I imagine he'll get off detention this time. Even though he did scream some obscenities while trying to make room to take off."

Ochako tries to laugh, but wheezes instead. Half a smile moves her mouth as she watches him. "Wish I could have seen Katsuki be cool… for once."

"Hey-!"

The nurse cuts him off, pushing the second pain potion in Ochako's face. She squeezes his hand as her bones are stitched back together.

"I'm always cool dammit."

"Not as cool as me."

His friends' laughter rings in his ears.

If Ochako thought their study habits were intense for their OWLs, she must have been crazy. Her trips to the kitchens to get coffee and hot cocoa have increased dramatically and on occasion, the librarian would allow them to lock up. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone on a date with Katsuki or even spent time with him without being in class or studying for their NEWTs.

Eijirou and Tsuyu were taking the night off to join in a Hufflepuff house activity somewhere in the castle so tonight was a good night to take a break. The chimes ring the half hour and she grabs Katsuki's wrist to see the hour is eleven. When she releases his hand, he just drags it back to his side of the table, still writing notes and flipping pages.

Making up her mind, she starts packing. He doesn't look up even when she stands, hunched over his runework. She hums and walks around the table, taking his shoulders into her hands and kneading. The effect is immediate as he leans back and groans in appreciation. She continues a few moments before slipping her hands up to cup his chin and tilt his head back to look up at her.

"Let's get out of here."

He grips her hand briefly and then starts collating his paper, spelling his books into his bag. He takes hers too as she leads them from the empty library, padding silently through the halls under her best notice-me-not charm, combined with a type of disillusionment.

When they slip up the stairs to the Astronomy tower, she sighs in relief that no one else is there and he asks if she had brought her telescope. The night is clear and would be perfect for star-gazing.

"No, I thought we might just use our eyes to look at something other than runes and experiments and studies."

He puts their bags down and casts a warming charm on each of them before laying out his cloak on the ground. They lay back and watch the stars twinkle overhead. As an afterthought, she charms the cloak to cushion them and they float a scant inch above the ground. Ochako tucks herself into his side, watching his face.

"I thought you wanted to look at the stars."

She smiles and shifts to lean on his chest. His hand runs along her back and up her shoulder blade. "Hmm, maybe." He cups her head and they're kissing. Her stress and tiredness melts away at the strike of midnight, warm in his arms. The leftover tension in Katsuki falls apart under her hands and kisses. They don't make it back to their dorms that night, content to just trade kisses and touches under the moon's eye.

He's still a grumpy person with a short fuse, but it's gotten longer and easier to defuse when Ochako is there. He's still more absorbed in himself than interested in what others are doing and he's definitely still an asshole. Yet Ochako pulls him out of himself in the sneakiest ways, knowing just how to manipulate that temper into something useful.

He supposes that's a big reason she was sorted into Slytherin. The other being her ambition to give back to her parents, to make them proud of her and not have to worry about anything.

Katsuki wonders if his bravery comes in the form of not giving up, or giving his all to the pursuits he finds worthwhile. Ochako tells him his sheer nerve could probably get him anywhere he wants to go. Well, right now, as they graduate, he works up the nerve to pursue a path he thinks is far more than just worthwhile.

He pulls her away from their parents who are chatting amicably amongst themselves. Over Ochako's head, he sees her father glance at him, a small smile and nod on the older man's face. The graduation ceremony was on school property so he pulls them into the bleachers of the pitch, where they set their bags and equipment for six years.

"Katsuki, what is it?" He bites the inside of his cheek, running his thumbs over her knuckles.

Before he loses that nerve, he helps her sit and kneels before her.

"We haven't talked about what we'll do much after school is over, but I want us to stay together."

When his hands reach for a pocket, hers fly to her mouth. "Are you p-proposing?"

"Eh?! What-no. Shit, no, I'm not."

"Oh, okay, I mean, you got down on one knee and started saying things like that so-"

"I mean I want to-"

"EH? But we're so young!"

"-exactly. This is… well." He deposits the necklace in her hands, a thin silver chain with a simple band on it. "This is a promise."

Ochako turns the band over, running a finger along smooth metal. She looks up and he clasps his hands over hers, closing them over the silver.

"I want to stay with you, Ochako. I… please put that ring on when you're ready."

"That could be years…"

"I know."

"It could be never."

"So long as you don't try to give it back to me."

She leans in closer, pressing her forehead to his.

"I won't." Their kiss is chaste and gentle, but lingering. When they part, she lets out a laugh. She holds out the chain. "Would you?"

"Hey, I thought I told you not to give this back!" He laughs even as he takes it from her hands and clips it around her neck. They walk hand in hand out of the arena.

"Good to know I don't have to make all the first moves, you sorry excuse for a Lion!"

"At least I don't have to use underhanded methods like a Snake…"

"Really, the nerve of you!" She smiles cheekily as they come into view of the celebration party. "I mean how else was I supposed to get my hands on you?"

Her comment is punctuated with a firm grope to his backside. He yelps and dashes after her as she laughs all the way to their friends and family, ready with congratulations.

Thus completes my Kacchako Week! I honestly can't believe I was able to do all of the prompts. Especially since the AU one was longer than the rest combined! Thanks for reading along with me and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. Please review and tell me your favorite part!

PS. Don't forget to check out my other prompts from this week as well as the accompanying art on my art blog happyfanart. :)