ADRENALINE: Yeah, hi!
SCION: I'm Sacred Scion, and this is Artificial Adrenaline.
ADRENALINE: And we're the authors of this story, Across the Expanses of Time. It's our first fanfiction, so please be kind and review!
SCION: We're big Harry Potter fans, and we also like some anime -- which is why this is going to be a crossover!
ADRENALINE: The first chapter's a little short, but more chapters in the future may be longer.
SCION: Or they may be just as short! We don't know.
ADRENALINE: But please review anyway.
SCION: We'll be sad if you don't, and you don't want to make Adrenaline sad! Not pretty.
ADRENALINE: Oh, by the way, this fic is in three books, and the first one is called Tres Fatales.
SCION: We hope you enjoy it!
ADRENALINE: (And review)
SCION: (Shut up about that already)
Across the Expanses of Time
Tres Fatales
Chapter 1: Sakura's Quest
Sakura ran through the halls of Hogwarts, dodging other students and statues. She was almost late for her meeting with the headmaster, since she'd been busy playing Exploding Snap in the common room and has completely lost track of time.
It was almost the end of Sakura's fifth year. Today was her sixteenth birthday, and she thought that had something to do with why Professor Potter had summoned her to his office. She wondered what he wanted to talk to her about. It was exciting to think about having a personal conversation with the headmaster of her school, especially when the headmaster was such a famous wizard -- the one who'd defeated Lord Voldemort, the most evil of all dark wizards!
"Hey, where are you going, Sakura?" asked her friend Albus.
"To see your dad!" she called back, almost tripping as she spun to answer him, and then stumbled onward without stopping.
Being a Metamorphmagus, right now Sakura's hair was bright green with darker green stripes and neon blue tips. She had it in a layered style all the way down to her lower back, with long bangs that fell across her eyes, which right now were also neon blue. She knew the colors clashed with her Gryffindor orange and red tie, but she didn't care.
She got to the hallway with the statues that guarded the headmaster's office. Professor Potter had sent her the password in the summons to come talk to him, so she said it: "Buckbeak!" And the statues hopped out of the way and allowed her to ascend the staircase.
"Ah, Sakura, come in," Professor Potter greeted her as she poked her head through the door. "Come in and sit down."
Sakura looked around in amazement at all the marveous things decorating the headmaster's office. She almost couldn't believe she was really here, but she did as he said and sat down across from where he sat at his desk. "What did you want to talk to me about, headmaster?"
"Something very important." His voice was serious, but his expression wasn't worried, so Sakura also wasn't worried -- yet. "Today is your sixteenth birthday, isn't it?"
"That's right," she said. She couldn't believe the headmaster knew her birthday!
He nodded. "We decided to wait until this day to tell you the things I'm about to tell you because we wanted to make sure you were old enough to handle the news."
"Is it... is it about my parents?" she wondered hesitantly. She was an orphan, after all, and had always been curious.
"It might have something to do with them," Professor Potter said, his handsome green eyes kind. She remember belatedly that he was also an orphan, and felt a sudden, unexpected sense of connection with him. "The same day you were delivered to the orphanage anonymously as a baby," he went on, "my wife Ginny delivered a prophecy."
"Wow, your wife's a seer?" Sakura broke in, impressed.
"It's the only prophecy she's ever spoken," the headmaster said. "We didn't even know she had the ability until she said it. Luckily, I was able to write down what she said and save it. Once you were admitted to this school, I realized that the prophecy pertains to you." As he'd said this, he'd withdrawn a paper from his desk, and now pushed it across to Sakura.
Heart beating rather fast, though she didn't think she should really be feeling nervous about this, Sakura pulled the paper to her and read the following:
The transforming orphan child of the cherry's blossom is not alone in her great destiny; the two other parts to her whole are hidden elsewhere in time in the land of her birth, and must be reunited with her to protect the future we all share.
Now Sakura's heart was beating with excitement rather than nervousness. "It is about me!" she exclaimed.
The headmaster smiled. "Your name refers to the blossom of the cherry trees in Japan, doesn't it?"
"That's right!"
"And you're both a Metamorphmagus and an Animagus. I think it's pretty clear."
"But what does it mean when it talks about the 'two other parts to my whole?'"
"We have an idea about that as well," the professor replied. "You see, at the same time my wife was speaking the prophecy, three wands appeared out of nowhere in her hand. They all match, but they weren't made by any wandmaker we know of. One of them is the wand you've used since you entered this school."
Sakura pulled out her wand and stared at it. It was long and plain, the hard dark brown wood accented only by three rivets near the larger end engraved in metallic red. "So there are two more like this?" she said in surprise.
Looking up, she found to her further surprise that the headmaster was already holding them out to her. She took them, and was amazed to find that they did indeed resemble hers almost exactly. The only differences were the rivets: those on the second were purple, and those on the last were gold. "But where did they come from?" she wondered aloud.
"We have no idea. No spells we've cast have been able to trace them, but they obviously have something to do with the prophecy."
Sakura's mouth dropped open as her eyes widened. "Do you think..." she began breathlessly, looking up at the headmaster again. "Do you think I have twins somewhere? Somewhere in time, like the prophecy said, back in Japan? That we're triplets, and these wands are for us?"
Professor Potter smiled approvingly as he nodded. "That's how I interpreted the prophecy and the arrival of the wands myself," he said. "It might not be the correct interpretation, but it certainly seems to fit."
Sakura jumped up. "Then I've got to find them!" she cried. "If I have sisters or brothers out there somewhere, I need to know who they are! Maybe we could even find out who our parents are too!"
The headmaster nodded again. "I hope you can find them. Especially if there's something in the future you need to protect."
Pausing briefly in her excitement, Sakura pondered this. "I wonder what that means."
"Prophecies are hard things to understand," he replied with a shake of his head. "I should know." And he grinned at her.
She grinned right back. "Thanks so much, headmaster," she said.
"Sakura," he called after her as she turned to run off.
"Yes?" she wondered, looking back briefly.
"Do try to be back before next school year starts," he grinned.
She gave him a thumbs-up and was out the door.