DISCLAMER- I do not own Harry Potter or The Labyrinth. I do own Haruki, Anastasia, and Victor.
She closed her eyes waiting for the impact but it never came. Instead she felt something warm brush against her waist and arm, supporting her.
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Sarah opened her eyes, seeing people walk past, some glancing her way. She felt the blood rise to her cheeks, and turned to her rescuer embarrassed. He was very handsome, with black hair and for some reason orange eyes; his irises were outlined heavily in black, and under his lids were bruise-like, as if he'd been awake for days. His face was quite feminine for a boy but it suited him, and his body was very slim, he looked fragile. He most certainly had a lot of muscles; however he was shaking as if he was under a lot of pressure and couldn't stand much longer. Altogether he looked handsome, but sick.
She had completely forgotten to thank him; she was too busy gawking at him. This seemed to amuse him in a way, because he was trying to hold back a chuckle and said kindly, "You okay?" she was on her own two feet now, though he looked cautious, as if he was afraid she'd tip over. The brunette blushed an even deeper shade of red, and she finally spoke, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you."
She stared to walk away, a bit embarrassed about her clumsiness. "Hey, wait up!" he called. But she didn't even need to slow down; he was already by her side. "I don't know your name." he stated smiling, but out of breath.
She smirked, "Why would you want to know that?" looking over her to her right side where he was keeping his pace even with hers which seemed a bit difficult.
"I thought that was obvious. So I know what to call you." He replied confidently.
They were at an entrance for the train and the pale boy helped her up onto the first stair which was a bit higher then most, but she could have easily done it herself. Once on the train he asked again, "What may I call you?"
She shook her head and let out a small laugh, "It's Sarah, Sarah Williams." If she was looking behind her, she would have seen him smile; an eerie smirk was more like it. However she was not looking at him, she was looking for a free compartment. They were a bit early so she found one quickly that was empty.
She sat down in the seat closest to the window. The boy paused at the doorway of the compartment, "It's nice to meet you, Sarah. I'm Haruki, and I'm dreadfully sorry but I have things to attend to." He said sincerely. She gazed at him confused, and asked curiously, "Do you not go to this school?"
He laughed, which, oddly enough, sounded like music. "I go to Hogwarts, well I am now. Anyway, I see you later, okay?" and before she could answer he was gone.
She looked out the window, not really looking, just dazing and viewing the colors stream by. There were no objects, or people… just the colors. She seemed to do this a lot. She had a way of looking at things from a different perspective. Perhaps she was just odd that way, but it sure was relaxing. She didn't know how long she was doing that, maybe a half-hour or so. What knocked her out of her daydreaming and color gazing was actually the loss of colors outside the window. Less people crowed the platform, because the train was about to leave.
Sarah sighed and pulled out her new kitten, Loki, from his carriage. He was a black cat with white paws and stomach and bright green eyes. Loki was still small enough to fit in her two palms comfortably. Once he was settled on her lap contentedly, Sarah took out a book. It was just a book from a muggle store called 'Borders' about vampires, which she had bought a few years prior. The cover was worn and tearing but the words were as legible as the day she had purchased it. As she turned the page her brown hair fell from behind her ears gently causing Loki into a playful mood. He swatted with his tiny white paw causing Sarah to laugh and purposely hold her hair out for his enjoyment.
In mid-play, a knock sounded at the slid door of the compartment. Sarah got up and slid the door open. "Uh, hi." Said a small pixie-like girl with the most pleasant voice she had even heard. The girl had short black hair that had a slight curl at the bottom, ending at her shoulders and was decorated with a green headband. She also had an extremely fair skin tone. She, in addition, was clearly Japanese, or at least had an Asian background. Her ears were pierced multiple times with silver hoops and various charms.
"Hi" Sarah replied, her voice seemed hoarse compared to the petite girl in front of her. The girl smiled shyly, "All the other compartments were full, and I was wondering if I could join you?" The girl's politeness was not artificial, and strangely captivating. Sarah genially grinned, and said, "Why, of course! Come in."
The black haired girl walked in gracefully when she saw the cat. "Aww," she sighed happily and went to pet the black and white cat. "What's its name?"
Sarah sat beside the kitten and replied, "Loki."
The girl giggled and stated, "Well, that's just asking for mischief, isn't it." Sarah laughed, too, and said, "What's life without a little mischief?"
"Boring," answered the girl, then she put her hand out for a handshake and Sarah took it, her hand was freezing almost stone on a cold winter day. The girl introduced herself, "I'm Anastasia, but you can call me Ana- 's shorter."
"Sarah." She responded, pulling her hand away from Anastasia's cold one, "Well have a seat" Anastasia sat down on the opposite side of Sarah.
A few seconds later the door slid open and a boy with dark brown, shoulder length hair, gray eyes, and a slim frame burst in. He was a bit out of breath and he was laughing with a grin on his face, he looked at the two girls and asked, "Uh, may I hide here?" the two girls nodded confused, "good. Thanks." He walked around in the little compartment, his eyes locked at the gap between the floor and the seat. "Perfect." he muttered, and he slipped in the opening beneath Sarah's seat.
Sarah gave a questioning look to Anastasia, and she looked just as confused. Just then the door slid open a second time. This time it was a female… with a pink beard and fiery red hair, and boy did she look pissed. "Have you seen Sirius?" she tried to smile but it looked forced and concentrated. "Who?" Sarah and Anastasia asked in unison.
The bearded girl sighed and said, "Well, if you see him, take him to me." With that she left the compartment. Anastasia said quietly, "Um, that was—weird."
The dark haired boy came out of the gap and grinned, "Thank you, girls. My name's Sirius, don't let the name confuse you though." He stood confidently. Sarah knew why though, he was incredibly handsome. That much was obvious. His hair was like feathers, and his shape was slender. He was wearing a dress shirt with at least three or four of his buttons undone so his chest was visible, fitting black pants, and a balled up maroon and gold tie in his pocket which overflowed so the thin material hung over the side.
Anastasia interrupted Sarah's gawking indifferently, "That's what I figured. You know, a pink bearded lady was looking for you."
"Yes, speaking of that, can I stay here for a bit?" he asked kindheartedly, that's when he saw the kitten, "Aww, such a cute cat!" He caressed the kitten's cheek with one finger softly, but Loki countered and bit his finger. "Oww!" he complained, "It bit me! The evil little thing bit me!" Sarah and Anastasia burst out laughing at him. Sirius fake pouted which only made the two girls laugh even more.
Sarah, who was still giggling, picked up Loki and placed him in her lap. She petted the kitten soft fur and whispered, "Why'd you do that, Loki?" she scratched behind his ears and the kitten purred loudly.
"So what houses are you two in?" Sirius asked looking up from his dented finger. Anastasia answered first, "I'm new here." A lock of black hair that was longer then the rest that was behind her ear slid to the front of her face and she impatiently pushed it back into place.
"What's a 'house'?" Sarah asked puzzled, both Anastasia and Sirius looked at her strangely. "What?" Sarah questioned timidly, "I'm new, too."
Sirius answered, though his face was in disbelief. "Didn't you have House or heard of them at your old school?" by the look on Sarah's face he could tell she had no idea what he was on about, "Well at Hogwarts there are four different houses. Sort'a like teams, but you do practically everything with them. You have classes together, sit at the same table and share dormitories with them. You don't want t' be in Slytherin though, full of dark magic, they are. There's also Hufflepuff, Ravencalw, and the best of them all is Gryffindor. I myself am a Gryffindor." He said confidently.
"How do they know what house you belong to?" Sarah asked. Sirius opened his mouth to talk but Anastasia was already speaking, "A hat." Sarah raised her eyebrows. He looked at her and asked, "How do you know that?"
She pulled out a huge brown and worn book labeled; Hogwarts: A History. "I read." And she gave a warm smile. He gave a playfully disgusted look and rolled his eyes, "Not another Moony!" Sarah laughed and picked up her book from before and asked, "What's wrong with loving books?"
Sirius groaned and whined, "It's so boring!"
Sarah rolled her eyes, "Then what do you do in your free time?"
He laughed causing his dimples to appear. Then he raised his eyebrows crossing his arms, "You saw Lily." Sarah and Anastasia looked at each other incredulous. "The pink bearded lady?" Sarah questioned. Sirius nodded haughtily.
"You give people brightly colored facial hair?" Anastasia asked sarcastically. He gave an uneven grin, "Sometimes."
The compartment door slid open for the fourth time. This boy looked the same age, sixteen or so, with untidy black hair that stuck out in every direction that was humanly possible. He had hazel eyes that were outlined with thin frame glasses which were steadied on his straight nose.
"There you are. Lily's looking for you." The boy said playfully but Sarah could feel jealously behind these words. Sirius laughed flashing a toothy smile, "That's why I'm in here, James. Is she still mad?"
James came farther into the compartment causing the door to close behind him. He was still smiling as he said, "Remus took the spell off so she's not hairy anymore, so that cooled her off. Although I think she might be planning to give you number 23."
Sirius sighed, while the two girls looked at James, confused. "Number 23 means a long lecture and the silent treatment. We've memorized her punishing habits and numbered them." He explained smugly.
"That's going to be annoying." Sirius grumbled, "Why isn't she mad at you?" James ruffled Sirius's hair good-humoredly, while smiling he replied in an obvious but happy tone, "'Cause mine hit the target. She was so freaked out by the pink beard she didn't even notice I got Malfoy." Sirius flattened and fluffed out his hair carefully, making the few pieces that stuck out from James's hand go back to their places, "Yeah well if she wasn't in the way, she wouldn't have facial hair." Sirius laughed, "Imagine Snivellus with an obnoxiously pink beard!"
James joined Sirius's laughter. As the laughter died James said to his friend seriously, "You should go see Lily now. If you wait she'll lecture you all through-out the feast, and trust me, you of all people should know, you'll lose your appetite." He paused, "But first," he smiled brightly, "you must introduce me to your friends."
Sirius opened his mouth to introduce the two girls however shut it, realizing he never asked for their names. His face scrunched in thought for a few seconds more to be sure his mind wasn't just drawing a blank and finally he replied, "Uh—actually I don't know." He gave a nervous smirk.
All laughed except Sirius who was fixing his hair, again. Sarah caught her breath sooner then Anastasia and answered for Sirius, "I'm Sarah and t his is Anastasia." pointing at the black haired girl. Anastasia quickly added, "Call me Ana."
"Alright Sarah and Ana. I'm sorry but I must take Sirius before Lily does something rash." He grabbed Sirius's upper arm to pull him up. "Oh, you might want to change into your robes now, won't be too much longer to Hogwarts."
Haruki staggered across the hallway in the train, almost tripping a few times. He felt so cold, but he was sweating. As quickly as possible for him he went into a small bathroom that resided in the corner of the train cart. Pulling the door open and closed again he locked it. He fell over and instinctively grabbed the metallic sink but it burned through his skin like molten fire, he instantly let go causing him to fall on the ground hitting his head on the toilet.
While holding his now burned hand with his opposite he muttered angrily and pathetically, "Stupid metal. Stupid toilet." His head was throbbing, as was his hand. Even before his head encountered the toilet seat he was dizzy. The pain from his hand and his head overtook him and everything around him went black.
Haruki had no idea how long he was out, but he was glad there was a lock on the door. His cerebellum ached and his hand felt like it was on fire and he couldn't put it out. He rasied his head from the floor only to let it fall back down onto the ceramic tile floor. He groaned, pulling his good hand to head caressing the sore spot. "Well, at least my cerebellum still works."
The black haired boy listened carefully and heard a few girls giggle and he could hear a few males talking about something about a snitch. Apparently they had not arrived at Hogwarts yet. His luck was beginning to turn.
He forced himself up into a sitting position, supporting his own head with his good hand. Then he created his first crystal ball in days. The crystal had a green tint, like they always did, and was about the size of a muggle tennis ball. He could feel the warmth of the magic flow through to his finger tips the pain in his hand and head faded, slowly-- but it was getting somewhere.
Playing with the crystal between his hands, it was getting difficult to even hold the sphere. He used this crystal to ease the pain in his head but gently pushing the crystal where he had hit it. Gradually it mended into his head and the pain was gone immediately. The pain concentrated to his burned hand and he sighed, "Of course. Of all the materials for sinks and Hogwarts has to have metal ones!" He knew he could not mend that injury; one of the few things Fae could not tolerate was any type of metal. Not even the strongest metal could heal it… it could only heal in time. Fortunately, the Fae race were quick healers.
Haruki created yet another crystal out of midair and like all his others had a green tint. This time he materialized the crystal into a pair of black gloves. He put them on carefully over his impaired hand first, then on his other hand. He got up and steadied his balance using the sink, this time it didn't burn but he could feel the heat through his gloves.
He looked into the mirror over the sink and moaned seeing his ears were pointed and he hissed, "Victor didn't mention my ears coming back!" Haruki made another crystal ball and pushed it to his ear, however it did not dissolve into his skin like it was meant to. "Huh?" he pushed the crystal more and with as much power as he had, which wasn't much at all at the moment, but it did not disintegrate into his ashen skin. When his head started to ache from the pressure he gave up and decided to try something else. Crushing the magic crystal in his hand, creating green glitter to escape and flutter about the enclosed room.
He had to do a lot of heavy crystal magic or even Fae mind powers to be back to normal. But what could he do in such a small space, and without being noticed? He looked into the rectangular mirror and saw just how orange his eyes were, they were almost glowing. Haruki closed his eyes firmly not wanting to see himself looking so pitiful. He opened them slowly, this time looking more closely at his image. His eyes were starting to bruise up from the compacted magic flowing through his veins.
"Damn." He cursed, and then created one of his crystals. He decided to get changed for school since it couldn't be too much longer until they reached Hogwarts. Haruki threw the crystal into the air and the moment it touched the top of his hair it disintegrated, and he was now wearing a standard set of Hogwarts uni-house robes.
He looked into the mirror again and noticed the bruises under his eyes became lighter, healthier. He smirked, but that didn't last long because he didn't know what else he could do. After a few seconds he decided to clean and decorate the bathroom until he was back to his 'normal mortal' state.
He made multiple crystals at a time, throwing one at the toilet, another at mirror and automatically they became cleaner. The toilet was now a brilliant shade of white; the mirror no longer had dirt spots and looked as if it wasn't glass at all. He continued with the cleaning. Not one germ had a chance of living when he was through with the room.
Since his figure wasn't back to normal quite yet he made more crystals and re-colored the floor, walls and anything else that resided in the room. Then he restocked the toilet paper and paper towels with his crystal powers. Once he felt strong enough again, he looked into the mirror again.
This time Haruki's eyes were a deep shade of brown, and the bruise like shadows were gone, leaving no trace of existence. His ears were also rounded once more. He gave a toothy smile showing his sharp—almost fang like—teeth.
A knock sounded at the door, startling him. "Hello? Is anyone in there?" a muffled female voice asked. "Yeah," he replied cautiously, "Um, I'll be out on a sec'"
Haruki created a new green tinted crystal and threw it causing the whole room to go back to its original color scheme. He sighed, fixing his hair with his gloved hands, and then slid the door open. He smiled politely at the girl; she was younger, perhaps twelve years old in mortal terms. She sighed, "'bout time. We'll be at Hogwarts any minute now!" she was holding her robes closely; apparently she was waiting to get changed. She went through the door way swiftly.
The boy thought it to be too late to look for a compartment so he stayed out in the passage gazing out the window. Two boys around age sixteen came out of the compartment right behind Haruki, and so the boy turned to see them quickly. One had dark brown, shoulder length hair and gray eyes. While the other had sandy colored hair with a few different shades, and pale orange eyes with shadows under them. His eyes reminded Haruki of himself just few moments ago.
He turned back to his window, grasping his burned hand tightly to stop its consistent throbbing. "She didn't have to throw the book at me." The dark haired boy said incredulous. Then the other voice replied, his voice was weaker and a bit hoarse, "Serves you right though, Sirius, you did give her a beard that was pink and then when you apologized, you insulted her." He said indifferent, "Only you—and James—can make her turn to violence. She doesn't even throw inanimate objects at known Death Eaters." Sirius laughed, as did the other boy.
"Sure was funny though, wasn't it, Remus?" The sandy colored hair boy named Remus laughed amiably.
A/N: please review… I like to know what my readers think and they really do make me want to write more, and better. In general, it makes me happy I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!! I'll put the next one up as soon as possible!!