"C'mon, Tadashi!" The taller brunet pulled at his arm and let go. The boy ran up the hill, seemingly dashing towards the stars. "You have to hurry! You'll miss it!"

Tadashi's legs moved faster, quickly dodging tree branches and roots as he ran. "Okay! I'm coming!" He wiped a bead of cold sweat off of his forehead and watched the boy in front of him accelerate. He was like a rocket on lift off, rushing in the cold night air. The trees were only brown and green blurs, and hints of yellow and red were starting to form on the small leaves. The specks of stars dusted the night sky beautifully. It was a sight Tadashi would love to gaze at every night. The other boy turned his head and called out for him. Tadashi grinned. "I'm hurrying!"

The boy stopped at the top of the hill. He looked back at the running figure of his friend and lit up like the stars in the sky. It was probably the last time he would see him. There was no way he would make this last moment a sad one. "Look!"

Tadashi stepped one last time towards the boy and gazed at the sight before him. He let out a soft gasp of awe when the lights flickered and danced in the scene. The other boy grinned. "I knew you'd like it! You always liked looking at cities at night!" His grin widened.

With a smile, Tadashi turned his head to his friend. The other boy noticed flashes of reflected light in his eyes. "Thanks, Takuro!" Tadashi sat down on the grass and waited for Takuro to follow. His friend placed himself next to Tadashi. The moist grass rustled in between the boys' fingers.

"I'm glad you liked it," Takuro said. He looked towards the sky. Small blinking red lights flew in certain directions. He laid down on his back with his hands supporting his head. "This is the only thing I'll get to remember you by."

Tadashi looked down in confusion and soft sadness. "What do you mean?"

Takuro sat up and took something out of his jacket pocket. "Mom made it for me, but she had other materials left. I told her to make one for you." He held an earring out for Tadashi. "You might think it's girly, but-"

The boy shook his head and graciously took the earring from Takuro. "It's nice. I just don't know where I'll keep it."

"I'm getting my right ear pierced," Takuro explained. "But I understand if you wouldn't want to do that."

"It sounds painful..." Tadashi mumbled. "And my classmates might make fun of me for it."

Takuro's brows furrowed. "You don't have to wear it! Those guys are just jerks."

Tadashi smiled brightly and held the earring to his left ear. Takuro cocked his head to one side curiously. "That's exactly why I want to wear it."

Off in the distance, a train whistled by and Takuro's gaze slowly turned to the landscape before them. "I have to go now. Dad said we have to leave early tomorrow to get back home." He stood up and brushed his jeans before heading down the hill opposite of which the two came from. Tadashi's mouth was opened slightly; he was looking for words to say.

"Oh, I forgot!" Takuro turned right before he could disappear and pointed to his earring. "Mom said that the engraving means that you'll be protected at all times." He smiled one last time before adding his last sentence. "Bye, Tadashi."

The earring spun between Tadashi's fingertips, and a bittersweet smile lingered on his lips. "I'll see you again someday." He got up and walked back down from where he came. He studied the earring carefully as he walked down the hill a few steps. Tadashi looked back at Takuro, but he was already gone. A small hollow formed in his chest and he kept on moving down the hill, flipping the earring over in his fingers gently.

"I'm home, Mom!" Tadashi shouted out. He ran up the stairs and inwardly groaned when he heard his mother call for him to meet her in the kitchen. The mother gestured to a letter on the counter and spoke.

"It's for you."

Tadashi read the address. His brows confusedly pinched together and he flipped the envelope over a few times. "Who'd be writing to me?"

"Who knows?" his mother replied. "I didn't even look; I just saw your name on it."

The boy spoke up. "It says that it's from... Hogwarts?" He didn't notice his mother's head snap to attention. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. What does that mean?" Instantly, the envelope was grabbed out of his hands. He opened his mouth to retort, but bit back.

"It's them..." his mother whispered faintly. Her face started to pale and she glanced at her son. "I'll read it myself."

Tadashi frowned. "But it's mine."

"And I'm your mother," she responded. "I will answer the letter." She turned away from the boiling meat and made her way to the stairs. Tadashi felt a bit frustrated.

"Who wrote it?"

"No one, Tadashi."

The boy huffed softly. He would go to bed early today. The rest of the night looked really bad. He walked up the creaking stairs towards his room. His eyes subconsciously flickered towards his mother's room and saw her pace in the area. It was a habit she had that Tadashi picked up himself. Tadashi shrugged the matter off as much as he could and sent himself to bed. Hopefully tomorrow won't be as bad.

That night, Tadashi was having a dream. It was a strangely pleasant one. He was in a train car, it seemed, and the sun was shining brightly on his left side. The warmth of the yellow sun filled him with happiness and content.

Other than the warm sun, the beautiful blue sky was dusted with small fuzzy-looking clouds. One in particular looked like a broomstick flying in the air. Trees lined the path of the trails in a neat fashion and waved around slightly in the soft breeze outside of the train. Tadashi turned his attention to a moving figure in front of him. The boy, he observed, had brunet mess atop his head and wore a quirky grin. Tadashi realized that the boy was Takuro and felt a smile form on his lips.

Takuro then opened his mouth to speak and pointed to himself.

"See! I'm wearing it."

Tadashi was confused for a moment, then remembered the earring. His eyes flickered to Takuro's right ear. A silver stud with a shallow engraving in it was pierced into Takuro's earlobe. Tadashi's smile widened at the sight of the earring. He reached to his left ear and felt a cold stud on his earlobe.

"You're wearing it, too!" Takuro pointed to Tadashi's ear.

That was how the dream was remembered to end. Tadashi woke up to the sound of his alarm clock and his hand slapped it until the sound stopped. He sat at the edge of his bed and yawned, thinking about the dream. He definitely remembered something else happening towards the end of his dream, but he couldn't grasp the thought completely. There were flashes of color, he remembered, like black, orange, and yellow in the corner of his right eye—towards the windowed door of the compartment.

Tadashi then shrugged the dream off and walked to the kitchen. He smelled the whiffs of warm eggs and bacon as he descended the stairs and shuffled up to the breakfast table.

"'Morning," he mumbled to his wake mother.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked. She placed a plate of food in front of her son as she heard him hum back a response.

Feeling strangely bold, Tadashi spoke up about the letter. "What happened to the letter?" His mother stopped in her tracks and looked back at him.

"I..." she trailed off, "I'm still thinking about..." She suddenly sighed. Tadashi's mother wiped her hands on her apron and reached for the letter on the counter. "Read it."

Tadashi took the letter from his mother's warm hands and unfolded it, a curious look beaming on his face. The paper felt thick and ancient in his hands. He could see black, intricate ink in the inside of the folds. He skipped the first few lines indicating a name and position down to the message.

Dear Mr. Yamaguchi,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Tadashi snapped his head at his mother. "What is this?"

"It's a magic school for wizards and witches," she explained, lips tight.

He furrowed his brows. "But we're not magic. It doesn't exist." She shook her head.

"Magic is everywhere."

"So," Tadashi continued softly, "I'm going here? To a magic school?" His mother took the pause he granted as a sign to respond, but Tadashi suddenly started again. "Will I be?" His eyes were confused. He cocked his head to ponder the idea. There was no way he was magic. Even if he was, there was no way you would find him in a school with no one he knew. It was too scary. He probably couldn't even go back home unless it was a break, or if it was an emergency. He couldn't go.

I'm normal, Tadashi thought. I'm normal. I can't go; I'm normal. He looked at his mother with hope. She wouldn't let him, right?

"You have to go."

"Mom!" he cried. "Why? Why can't I just go to a normal school?"

"If you stay," she answered, "you might become..." She sighed, and tried to explain from the start. "If you're a wizard, then you have to go to Hogwarts, unless you want people wondering what's going on with you."

"I can keep it a secret!" Tadashi begged.

"Magic isn't something that is mastered easily," she countered. "You could accidentally make things disappear or move. Or-" She stopped. "Or hurt someone."

"I won't!" Tadashi whined. "I promise I can keep it under control!" He was starting to shake all over, trying to convince her that he shouldn't go. As if he didn't care about the letter before.

"Tadashi," she said in the most soothing voice she could muster, kneeling in front of him "I know it's difficult. I know it's scary. But you have to remember that there are other kids like you out there who are going to that school. Kids who come from normal parents. They're probably scared, too."

"But-"

"It'll be tough, but you have to go through with it. Besides," she brushed a strand of hair out of her son's face and smiled softly, "didn't Takuro say that the earring would protect you?"

Tadashi reddened. "I didn't tell you about that..." His mother laughed and picked the letter out of his fingers.

"A real mom knows about those kinds of things, Tadashi." She stood up and winked. Tadashi felt heat rise in his face and hands. None of this was fair.

But he would still go through with it for his mother.

AN: UGHhh... I can't believe myself... I really shouldn't be writing so many multichapter fics while in school. (Sobs incoherently) Anyways, I hoped you liked it! Have a cookie!

Like I said, I'll be in school, so please please PLEASE be patient. I really like this idea as much as all of my other ideas so I WILL write just not very frequently.