CAUGHT IN THE STORM

Summary: HPxCCS, HBP-compliant Sakura and Syaoran have been invited to England by Eriol for a vacation. Things suddenly spin wildly out of control and they find themselves embroiled in a decades-old conflict as the Second War escalates and spills over in the Muggle world.

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor Card Captor Sakura belongs to me. They belong to JK Rowling and CLAMP, respectively. I borrow for my own amusement.

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Sakura dreamed.

There were three people in the room.

One—a boy who looked to be around her age, with jet-black hair, messy like Syaoran's. They parted so she could see the outline of a jagged scar. His eyes were green and expressive, much like hers. He sat on the floor, unmoving, with a face chiseled by shock.

There was an old man on the floor, repeating the words, "Severus… please…" over and over and over. His long beard seemed to drag his head to the floor with its weight.

The last man was in black, breathing heavily. His pale skin shone with sweat. He grasped a long, thin stick in his extended hand. He looked as if he were in great pain.

In a moment, he shouted two words and then there was only green light. A rushing of wings. In her ears, she could hear screams.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry! Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead—"

"Kill the spare!"

"Have mercy… have mercy…"

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"... now approaching Heathrow Airport. Please make sure that your seatbelts are securely fastened and your cellular phones turned off until the plane has reached a complete stop. It has been a pleasure serving all of you and we hope to see you again very soon. Have a pleasant stay at London."

Sakura stirred uneasily from her sleep. "Are we there yet?" she mumbled to Syaoran.

"Almost," Syaoran replied, patting his girlfriend of many years. "Come on, you can sleep at Hiiragizawa's house later."

"Eriol." Sakura corrected almost immediately.

"Whatev--Eriol it is, then," he said hastily. "Let's go. We should beat the crowd."

Sakura returned to her dream, wondering who the green-eyed boy must be and what that green light meant, and got up in a daze. Syaoran steered her out of the airplane and through the airport. One of the advantages of being friends of the reincarnation of Clow Reed was that they got first-class tickets, which also meant they got their bags after only a few minutes of waiting. Well, at least he's good for something, Syaoran thought, amused, and was promptly shaken out of his musings when the couple before them moved and it was his and Sakura's turn. He offered their passports to the officer, who began typing down information rapidly.

"Well, everything seems to be in order," the officer grinned under his moustache. He handed Syaoran back the passports. "Welcome to London, Mr. Li, Ms. Kinomoto."

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"Oooh, I can't wait to see Sakura-chan and Li-kun again! It's been a long time since I saw anyone from Japan." Nakuru expressed jovially, standing behind Eriol who was carefully perusing the headline of the newspaper.

"I can safely say that's true for all of us," her master replied, smiling a bit. "Although, given these recent happenings, I wonder whether I should have postponed this visit until next year."

"Yes, they are rather ominous," Spinel Sun remarked, glancing at the front page from Eriol's left shoulder. "Hurricane in Newquay, unexplainable murders left and right, mysterious fog even in daylight, waking nightmares that puzzle psychologists--rather like the events of earlier this year, except they've escalated into a dangerous frequency over the weeks."

"I'd like to think that these are just coincidences," Eriol said, "but as you said, ominous indeed."

"Oh, stuff it, you two," Nakuru berated. "We haven't seen Sakura and Li-kun in years. You shouldn't make this visit uncomfortable for them!"

Tense atmosphere broken, Eriol smiled. "You're right, Nakuru. Ah, I do believe that's them."

"Oooh, where?"

"Over there by the doors. They look a bit lost."

The couple in question did indeed look confused. The tall, brown-haired man scanned the vicinity for their escort who was currently hidden behind his newspaper, smiling mischievously. His girlfriend, a petite young lady dressed in a modest pink dress, drank in her first sight of London with wide, emerald eyes.

"Well, shall we?"

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"You must understand, Minerva, that the position is open to no one else," the man told the older woman gently. He was a tired man with sandy brown hair and amber eyes in robes that must have seen better days. In spite of his obvious exhaustion, he spoke with much conviction. "The Order is in shambles. We need a leader, and that leader is you."

The woman smiled ruefully. Her face was starting to wrinkle and her lips betrayed long years that were without cause for joy. "It seems so long ago when I was the one offering you advice, Remus. My answer is still no. Why not Alastor?"

"Mad-Eye is what his name betrays. I've heard from old veterans that he was quite the war leader in his day but those days are long gone. If he takes the reins, we would spend our days training like Aurors until the Dark Lord comes knocking on our door and we blast him out of existence. The kind of leadership Moody offers is not what we need."

Minerva sighed. "I will think about it."

It was Remus' time to smile sadly. "There is no thinking about it, Minerva. You don't have a choice. There really is no one else."

She pursed her lips, anger flashing in her eyes. "You can't just--" she started, then stopped to assess the situation. The Dark Lord was gaining power everywhere, the raids on important families, attacks in Muggle London, deaths of magical children, deaths of influential Ministry officials, the Order of the Phoenix in disarray without a leader... "Very well. I see your point," she conceded in clipped tones.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't give me any of that, Remus. I have been neglecting my responsibilities." Minerva said. "What do you propose we do about Hogwarts?"

Lupin managed a small grin. "Now, that's what I'm talking about. We'd have to bring that topic up before the whole Order."

"I cannot manage being the leader of the Order and Headmistress at the same time. Not to mention that I've lost my deputy headmaster to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," she added darkly. "I believe that Hogwarts should be closed next school year. We could probably turn it into headquarters. The wards are more powerful there."

"A good point. We should set up an Order meeting, preferably in two days, if that's amenable to you."

"Two days would be fine."

Remus nodded and flicked his wand. A wolf Patronus emerged before him with its head raised for confirmation. He bent towards it and said, "Order meeting on Wednesday, Grimmauld Place." The wolf let out a small whimper then leapt away. "I'll Floo the others."

"Thank you, Remus."

"No problem. Then there's the pressing matter of what to do with Harry."

Minerva's countenance darkened. "That boy is too reckless for his own good. Well, I think that Moody's paranoia should be handy in tempering his rashness. Merlin, taking walks at night without supervision... Apparating!"

"I'll tell Moody that he has a new apprentice, then?" Remus chuckled.

"Please do."

Remus bowed and Disapparated with a crack!

She closed her eyes and rubbed small circles on her forehead. Damn you, Albus, why did you have to die?

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Note:

Well. Caught in the Storm is really just some random plot bunny that morphed. I think everyone's tired of the CCS-squad-goes-to-Hogwarts plot (heck, I tried that in 2002?). It's been a long time since I've written anything substantial, so any constructive criticism is welcome. I wrote this on the wing since the only copy I had of it was in the other laptop which conveniently died. I had a better summary in that copy too. This one is just… sad. And by the way, I've forgotten how the flight system works so I would appreciate any help there.