An extensive knowledge of the anime/manga series isn't necessary to enjoy this story as it is set in Harry Potter's world and will focus on that timeline. All necessary knowledge of the series will be included in the story that follows. I hope you will enjoy it!

Summary: Sakura dies unexpectedly and Xiao Lang's cousin Zhen Li – a 1st year student at Hogwarts – becomes the next cardcaptor. While in Diagon Alley she meets Harry, changing his fate and hers as in the two become friends, perhaps more. Harry becomes Zhen's ally in capturing and protecting the Clow Cards. Zhen in turn helps Harry to discover the true power of the Chosen One, power he never would have believed he could possess, as he faces Sirius Black, the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and the Dark Lord himself. However, both are unaware that the mysterious sorceress hunting Zhen has joined forces with the Dark Lord, making Harry's task even more difficult. With two of the most powerful magical beings in existence as their adversaries and an unparalleled darkness rising Zhen and Harry struggle to sort friend from foe in a world where friends are enemies and enemies are friends. A wrong choice could mean their death.

Author's note: I know there are some of you waiting for an update on my LOTR's story, but I'm finding that in order to begin writing regularly again I need to start exploring some of the ideas that have been cluttering up my mind. I haven't forgotten, I promise. To those unfamiliar to my other stories... WELCOME! I hope you will enjoy my newest undertaking! And on a personal note, I may not update as swiftly as some, but I have yet to abandon a project once started and will update as soon as my health-related problems permit.

Best wishes and welcome,

Sierra

Prologue: In Good Company

"I'm telling you Black is a menace! Azkaban ought to have done away with him years ago. If anything happens to Potter there will be an uproar the likes of which we haven't seen since the days of you-know-who!"

Albus Dumbledore might have been amused to see the Minister of Magic in such a state of sheer panic if that panic wasn't related to a certain green-eyed boy, one Harry Potter. Or if he could have convinced himself that the man was more concerned with Harry's safety than the political backlash of letting the boy-who-lived come to harm.

Cornelius Fudge had come directly to Hogwarts after securing Harry at the Leaky Cauldron just after five this morning and having listened to the man's ravings for the past two hours had done nothing to sooth Dumbledore's already worn nerves. Not that he wasn't in agreement. Having Sirius Black loose and destined for places unknown was not good. Not good at all.

However, having spent the night scouring the known world for one of his students, ill with worry and grief, had done little for his patience. He hadn't slept in thirty-seven hours. The sun was now well up over the Scottish vales surrounding the castle. He wanted nothing more than a mug of hot chocolate piled with marshmallows and his bed.

"Harry will be quite safe at the Leaky Cauldron, Cornelius," he stated evenly, interrupting the man's continued diatribe midstream as he lifted his bowed head and met the minister's bulging eyes. "At least as safe as he will be anywhere else, with perhaps the exception of this castle."

The stout man huffed and slouched deeper into the navy armchair Albus had produced when this conversation began.

"The boy should be under the protection of Aurors at all times," Fudge insisted, his rounded chin jutting defiantly toward the elder wizard. "We thought it was impossible for anyone to escape Azkaban and yet Black's done it. No telling what he might do to a young boy."

"Indeed, there isn't," Albus agreed, removing his glasses and pressing his thin fingers against his weighted eyelids. "Yet surrounding him with Aurors will only lead Sirius right to him. We don't even know if he's aware of Harry's location and as such I suggest we leave Harry be for the moment. In a few weeks he will be here under the protection of me and my staff. Until then we shall have to trust him to forces greater than ourselves."

"As we did his parents?" Albus stiffened at the Minister's barely veiled insult, straightening himself in his chair and rolling his shoulders as if a blow had just been landed between them. "We merely gave that madman the opportunity he needed to deliver them to the Dark Lord. It was foolish to trust such a scoundrel with their protection."

Albus set his teeth firmly and stood, placing his spectacles on the bridge of his nose with more force than was necessary as he turned to face his unwelcome guest.

"Wishing to change the past and seeking to place blame will get us nowhere, Cornelius," Albus reminded sternly as with a flick of his wrist, his chair disappeared, "and I'm sure after last night you must be exhausted. Perhaps we might continue this conversation after you've had some rest."

He was playing to the man's ego, well-aware that the Minister's search had begun and ended at the Leaky Cauldron, but it worked. With a nod and great yawn, the suddenly weary minister stood.

"Quite right, Albus, quite right. It's been a trying night and I'm sure I'll be needed to solve some other calamity before lunch."

Albus fought mightily to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching upward as he passed the Minister his pin-striped cloak, leading him toward the door.

"Indeed, Minister. I trust you can find your own way out?"

"Yes, yes, of course, Albus, good day."

Albus watched until the man entered the revolving staircase and then shut the door, resting his back against it as he sighed deeply. Word of Harry's disappearance had come late last evening and the hours until word of his finding had seemed interminably long. Yet finding the boy had done little to ease Albus' concern. It was not enough that Voldemort's servants were seeking to bring about the boy's end, now he had to contend with a deranged wizard of great skill and even greater cunning. Not to mention that Albus himself was now forced to face the guilt that had haunted him since the death of the Potters.

Sirius Black. As a schoolboy he'd been a troublemaker to be sure, but a murderer? Albus still found it difficult to believe, although he wasn't sure if his difficultly stemmed from Sirius' character or his own guilt and feelings of betrayal. He had trusted Sirius. The man had been a member of the Order, trusted with the lives and secrets of many, and had proven to be the exception to the foul darkness that tainted the Black family bloodline. He had been James' closest and most trusted friend. Could they all have been so fooled? All the evidence told him that they had been and in his heart Albus wept as he opened the door and with great weariness, began the journey down the spiral staircase to the main castle.

"Albus."

He paused, registering the grinding click of the gargoyle locking in place behind him as he turned to the sound of the voice, startled when he collided with Minerva McGonagall. He chuckled, reaching out to steady the woman in front of him.

"I was hoping to run into you on my way to the kitchens Miverva, but not in such a literal fashion." He felt his teasing smile slip as the woman lifted her ashen face to meet his gaze. His grip on her thin shoulders tightened reflexively. "What's wrong?"

"You need to read these." Albus took the two parchments she held out to him. "The second arrived last evening, but with all the confusion of Mister Potter's disappearance I didn't get to it until just before dawn. By the time I realized what it was, you were already in your meeting with the Minister. I came as soon as Filius told me the he'd left."

Albus watched from the corner of his eye as Minerva wrapped her arms around herself tightly, shivering in spite of her tartan bathrobe and knitted slippers. Her dark hair was draped across her right shoulder in a neatly tied braid and she fiddled with the end as her eyes flicked from his face to the letters in his hand. The shadows under her pale eyes told him she hadn't slept and though she'd never admit it, he knew her sleepless night was because of Harry's disappearance. He'd known her long enough to see through her stern decorum to the soft heart that held deep love and fierce protectiveness for every student that passed through Hogwarts' gates.

"This is just a standard reply to our offer of enrolment," he stated as he finished the first letter. He paused. "Zhen Li. Is she any relation to Lian Li?"

Minerva nodded.

"Her daughter and it is the second letter that most concerns me."

Albus nodded slipping the first letter into the deep pocket of his maroon robes and nearly dropping the second at the sight of the seal, that of the Li Clan. The handwriting was different from the child that had written the first letter and he felt a slight wariness as he began to read.

Salutations to those concerned,

As you have been made aware, the offer made by your school for Miss Zhen Li to attend has been accepted.

However, while the council will permit Miss Li to attend, there are certain things of which you must be aware. First, Miss Li's attendance is conditional. She must be permitted to continue to train in the traditional arts and magics of the Li clan. Second, I feel I must warn you that allowing Miss Li to attend could be dangerous to you and your students.

For generations our clan has been tasked with the protection of powerful magics created by one of our ancestors, Clow Reed – a name I would guess is familiar even to wizards of the west. It was Clow Reed who accomplished what all had previously thought impossible – combining the magics of east and west – and in doing so, he created magics unrivalled in power and promise in the form of the Clow Cards.

Upon his death our clan was charged with preventing the Clow Cards from falling into the wrong hands and we have done so. The cards were placed under the mastery of a young girl named Sakura Kinimoto nine years ago and as such she became a sorceress of unparalleled power, able to protect the cards from those who might seek to use them for dark purpose.

Having married a member of this Clan, she became a Li, a sacred protector of the magics Clow Reed forged. But such protection was not to last. Sakura Li died seven months ago from a prolonged illness meaning that the cards are once again without a master, both dangerous and vulnerable to any who might seek to wield them.

This may seem unimportant to you given your own concerns with the escape of Sirius Black and the increasing activity of the remnants of Voldemort's followers, but it is more important than you know. Zhen Li has been chosen as the next capdcaptor and as such is tasked with finding and sealing the Clow Cards like Sakura before her. Because of this Zhen is in grave danger and this danger – both from the cards and those who seek to claim them for themselves – may follow her to Hogwarts.

It is not the intention of the Li clan to prevent Zhen from attending, but we would be negligent if we were to send her without making you aware of the dangers her presence may bring. We cannot protect her there. Nor can we protect those around her.

Selfishly I must admit that my motives are not purely those that my position as the head of the Li Clan dictates. Zhen is my niece, and having been raised in my household, is as precious to me as my own children. I fear for her safety if I and my children are not there to protect her.

As such I would like to arrange a meeting between your headmaster and my sister Lian before classes begin so that Zhen's time at Hogwarts can be discussed. Lian and Zhen will be staying with Zhen's grandparents Sylvia and Hayward Parish in England two weeks before classes begin. All further communications should be directed to them.

Regards,

Yelan Li

Minerva had watched the lines of Albus' aged face deepen as his blue eyes flicked back and forth behind his gold-rimmed spectacles. She could only wonder at what he was thinking as he read the letter for a second time and a third. Her own mind was whirling.

Her knowledge of eastern magic such as was practiced in Asia was decidedly limited, but she had heard of Clow Reed. His father had been a British wizard after all. What most concerned her were the Clow Cards. She had never heard of them, but if what this woman Yelan had written in her letter was true they were powerful and dangerous. How could they let this girl attend knowing the danger she would be bringing with her?

The sound of hushed voices caught her attention and she looked to the end of the hall. Filius Flitwick stood, gesturing earnestly as he commented on the great fortune and relief of having found Harry Potter before Black. Severus Snape's apathetic agreement barely hid his loathing for the boy as he stalked past the diminutive professor to the stairs to the Great Hall. Filius seemed unbothered by Severus' chronically sour countenance, waving to the petulant man as he stepped into a nearby classroom.

Minerva stared at the empty hallway long after her fellow professors had left it, reminded of the previous night's events and the source of their concern. Sirius Black. The man was a deranged killer, a follower of the Dark Lord and he was after Harry Potter who in three weeks time, would be here at this school with all of the other Hogwarts students. Few things could be more dangerous to the students of Hogwarts and yet it had never occurred to her that Harry shouldn't come. In fact, before reading the letter from Yelan Li she'd been on her way to demand Dumbledore let her go and get him from the Leaky Cauldron and bring him here until the start of the school year.

How was this young girl Zhen any different? It was no more her fault that she had been chosen to seal and defend these dangerous cards than it was Harry's that his parents' murderer had escaped from prison. Minerva felt her heart squeeze. The poor girl was probably terrified and without the protection of her family, she would be defenceless. She felt her eyes water at the thought of that little girl fighting such dangerous magics alone. She needed protection and with Albus Dumbledore as headmaster there were few places safer in the world than Hogwarts castle.

Beside her Albus sighed, his shoulders sagging as he finally slid the second letter into his pocket and looked at her with weary blue eyes. Impulsively, she reached out, laying her hand on his forearm.

"Albus?"

"It seems Mister Potter will be in good company when it comes to attracting danger this year," he mused.

Minerva nodded in agreement.

"I only wonder if our students can survive it."

Albus chuckled quietly, squeezing her hands briefly, his eyes twinkling knowingly.

"Perhaps, Minerva, perhaps it will be the best thing for them." Minerva blinked, startled by his sudden optimism. She watched, bewildered as the elder wizard made his way toward the kitchens, mumbling to himself. "I wonder if they have any of the multicoloured marshmallows. Yes, those ones really are my favourite. Such flavour."

Minerva shook her head, smiling slightly and wishing she could know what went on inside his mind. She trusted him implicitly and was comforted by his assurances, but Albus Dumbledore would ever be a mystery.

To be continued...

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