Family Affair

Chapter 2 Here I am, this is me

Taiko entered her mother's office. "Sorry mom. I slept in." Taiko said, shyly. One did not talk back to the headmistress, even one that was your mother. Then she saw the pictures that had been set up on the funeral altar. "DAD!" Taiko cried, scooping up the picture of her father and looking at it in wonderment. It was framed in black, in the frame that indicated the subject was dead.

Here I am- This is me

There's no where else on earth I'd rather be

Here I am- its just me and you

And tonight we make our dreams come true.

It was then that Taiko noticed the other pictures. The first of them contained a woman with bright red hair and emerald green eyes. The second contained a man with messy black hair, like her father's, and blue eyes. The last one contained a man with black hair, tanned skin, and black eyes that seemed to be laughing. "Who are all of these, mom, were they friends of yours?" Taiko asked.

"They were. The woman is Lilly. The man with blue eyes and messy black hair is her husband and your father's friend, James. The third one is their friend Sirius Black..."

It's a new world- It's a new start

It's alive with the beating of young hearts

It's a new day- it's a new plan

I've been waiting for you

Here I am

"HE'S DEAD???" Taiko demanded. "The one who got us a dementor body guard standing outside our gates??"

"Yes he is, and he turned out to be innocent." Her mother said calmly. "Now, I wanted to talk to you, sit."

Taiko sat, holding her father's picture to her chest as if it might shatter any second. "So what is it that's so important that it could keep me from the Quidditch finals?" Taiko asked, arching a skeptical eyebrow.

Here we are- We've just begun

And after all this time- our time has come

Ya here we are- still going strong

Right here in the place where we belong

"I have decided, to send you on an exchange trip to England next year." Taiko's mother said, ruffling the papers on her desk. "Your brother and your Aunts Ginger, Sappho, Hikaru, and Natura are going with you."

"No." Taiko stated. "I'm not going."

"You don't have a choice in the matter." Taiko's mother said edgily.

"I'm NOT going!!!" Taiko snarled.

"Taiko, you'll be going to Hogwarts!" Sappho told her. "Do you know how good that is?"

"I don't care, there are things more important that a good resume!" Like telling Belili how I feel about her, Taiko thought.

Here I am- Next to you

And suddenly the world is all brand new

Here I am- where I'm gonna stay

Now there's nothin' standin in our way

"Taiko, you are the descendant of one of the four Hogwarts founders! Its our family Tradition to return for one year!" Aunt Hikaru yelled back.

"I don't care! That's always been your problem! You never worried about me! You never cared how I feel when you dragged me out here from Kyoto! You never cared about how lonely it was to start in a new place where nobody even speaks the same language as you!" Taiko shouted. "All you cared about is grades! Achievements! Things that look good on your public record! Things that help your reputation!" Taiko shouted at her Aunts, completely ignoring the old man that was watching.

"Taiko," Taiko's mother closed her eyes. "I know its been hard without your father, but I'm doing the best I can for your sake!"

"Never. You never did things for my sake." Taiko snarled. "Otherwise you wouldn't have dragged me away from Roshimban Mahogakku, away from Dragon Castle. You wouldn't be shoving me away now..." Taiko had tears in her eyes.

"Taiko." Her mother ignored her. "This is Professor Dumbledore, Head Master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Hi." Taiko growled, slouching into the chair.

Taiko knew that she couldn't win...

Here I am- This is me...

~later~

"You're going WHERE??" Oji demanded. "You're going where???" His voice broke.

"Away." Taiko grunted, turning back to her divination homework. /That stupid Professor Hecate. She knew about the exchange trip./

"Taiko." Belili said softly. She hugged Taiko. "I'll miss you so much."

Taiko knew she wouldn't be going back. She sobbed into Belili's shoulder.

"Shh... don't cry..." Belili said softly. "Remember our song?" She sang comfortingly to Taiko.

"I hear the wind call your name

It calls me back home again

It sparks up the fire- a flame that still burns

Oh its to you I will always return."

Belili stroked Taiko's hair comfortingly. "Come on Taiko. Sing with me."

"I still feel your breath on my skin

I hear your voice deep within

The sound of my lover- a feeling so strong

Its to you... I will always belong."

The days after that seemed to pass in a blur. Taiko won second place in the annual Defense Against the Dark Arts Club Tournament, Belili earned third, Oji earned first. They earned Valkire Dormitory the Inter Dorm Championship Cup. But later, it was so hard to remember those final days at Salem.

Now I know its true

My every road leads to you

And in the hour of darknes darling

Your light gets me through

Taiko held those words as a Talisman against the pain of parting. And finally, they stood in the circle. The buses waited to take the children back home. Oji and his older brother Aleser, Ishtar, Rei, and the twins, Miya and Zaki each bade her good bye. They gave her gifts and flours. The twins gave her a singing photo album of her and her friends. But it was Belili's farewell that hurt the most.

Wanna swim in your river- be warmed by your sun

Bathe in your waters- cos you are the one

I can't stand the distance- I can't dream alone

I can't wait to see you- I'm on my way home

"By Taiko... I... I wanted to tell you how much you mean to me..." Belili sobbed. "I'll always remember you... promise me you'll never forget."

"I promise Belili."

"Talon swear?" Belili asked.

Oh, I hear the wind call your name

The sound that leads me home again

They curled their fingers together so that it resembled an eagle's talon. "Eagle high, eagle low, wheel and scream and away we go! Eagles one, eagles all, we both answer eagle's call." They chanted in unison.

Taiko ran after the bus as fast as she could. When it exited the school ground, Taiko kicked off on her broom, executing a Disillusionment charm to hide her from wary muggles. She followed the bus into the sunset, and only returned when it was dark, and prepared to leave the place that she had called her home for three years.

It sparks up the fire- a flame that still burns

Oh its to you- I will always return...