Moonlight War
Chapter 2
Train Ride to Hogwarts
Upon leaving Gringottts, Michiru-mama, Haruka-papa, and I walked down the street. Because the bank was conveniently located on the far end of the street, we were able to walk down the road easily. We entered all the shops, buying everything that Dumbledore-sensei's letter said I'd need for the coming school year, as well as a pet cat that seemed unnaturally interested in me. I named it Saturn, because something about it reminded me of the planet I was destined to rule. It seemed to be an enigma of dark and light, just like the power of Silence, which was Saturn's power.
"Ne, Michiru-mama, isn't Saturn-chan cute?" I asked, for about the twentieth time since we left the shop.
"Yes, Hotaru-chan. Now, if you're done fawning over the cat…" Michiru-mama replied, somewhat annoyed, so I stopped pestering her about Saturn-chan.
There were only two things left on the list: a wand, and a cauldron. However, because it was lunch time, we went into a food market that had opened recently there, and bought sandwiches, since it would be wasted time to go into the Leaky Cauldron for lunch.
That's when I spotted the boy from Madam Malkin's. He just happened to be sitting next to an empty table, so I asked Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama if we could sit there.
"Hello," I said to the boy, attracting his attention.
"Excuse me, but… Do I know you?" he asked.
"Probably not, but, knowing me, it's possible." I replied, and received a reproaching glare from Haruka-papa. She was warning me that I was getting too close to revealing that I was Sailor Saturn.
"Anyway, my name's Harry. Harry Potter." He said.
"Ah, is that so? My name's Hotaru Tomoe."
"Erm, are you from another country, Hotaru? Because you have an accent."
"Yes, I'm from Japan." I replied, and Harry-san seemed slightly surprised. "Something wrong, Harry-san?"
"N – No, Hotaru. I've just never met someone from Japan." He replied, somewhat unconvincingly, though I decided not to press the issue any further.
"Erm, Harry-san, are you going to Hogwarts?" I asked, wanting to change the subject.
"Yes, are you?" he asked.
"I am as well. Can you tell anything about it?" I asked.
"Well, Hogwarts was created by four world-renowned wizards and witches: Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. As such, there are four Houses, each named after their founder. I am in Gryffindor house, as are my two friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
"Each year, there is an inter-house competition. If you break a school rule that does not warrant expulsion, such as taking a midnight stroll, or get on a teacher's bad side, you can lose house points. If you do something good, such as win at Quidditch, get a difficult question correct, or perform a rare feet, you can gain house points." He said.
"Quidditch?" I asked. This was a term I remember overhearing while strolling through Diagon Alley, though I didn't know what it meant.
"It's a very popular wizarding sport. It's played on broomsticks. Each team has a Keeper, five Chasers, two Beaters, and a Seeker. The Chasers play the Quaffle, a large red ball, and try to score into one of three enemy hoops, which the Keeper defends. The Beaters play Bludgers, which are small, hard balls that try to knock players off their broomsticks. The Beaters can use a bat to knock the Bludgers away from themselves and any of their teammates. The Seeker, however, has the most important job. He has to catch the Golden Snitch, a small, golden, winged ball that flies around very quickly. I'm the Gryffindor Seeker, or, at least, I think I am."
"You think you are? What do you mean?"
"Well, last year, the Ministry of Magic tried to get myself and Dumbledore to stop saying that Voldemort, a very evil wizard, has come back. They sent a representative to Hogwarts and gradually gave her more power, until she could override the decisions of everyone except Dumbledore. Once, I got mad at Draco Malfoy, a spoiled boy that's in my year, but in Slytherin house, after a Quidditch match because he insulted Ron's parents for not being rich like his family. I decided to attack him in what Professor McGonagall said was an "exhibition of Muggle dueling". Professor McGonagall wanted to give me detention, but Umbridge, the Ministry's representative, gave me a lifetime ban. I'm not sure if Dumbledore's going to pardon me, though Ron's sister, Ginny, thinks so."
"That Draco Malfoy sounds revolting. I think I'm going to avoid him at Hogwarts."
"That would be a good idea, Hotaru. So, how are your parents?"
"My father's in the hospital. My mother died when my father, who was a scientist, accidentally blew up his lab. Currently, I live with Michiru-mama, Haruka-papa, and Setsuna-mama."
"Hang on, you have two foster mothers?"
"Well, technically I have three, but Haruka-papa's so masculine that I call her a 'papa'."
"Erm, would Michiru and Haruka be…"
"Yes."
"Excuse me, Hotaru-chan, but we'd better finish getting your school supplies." Michiru-mama said.
"Yes, you're right, Michiru-mama." I replied. "Harry, you're staying at the Leaky Cauldron, right? Why don't we meet in the bar area?"
"How did you-? Sure thing, 'Taru. You can meet Ron and Hermione there. They're staying at the Leaky Cauldron as well." Harry replied.
Michiru-mama, Haruka-papa, and I walked across the street from the food market to a shop named Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 B.C. It was an old, dusty shop, one that Mako-chan would've gone out of her way to clean, Usagi-chan ignored, and Rei-chan hated. There were stacks of what I guessed were wands on dusty shelves.
Suddenly, an old man with puffy white hair rolled out from behind a shelf. He seemed preoccupied with sorting the wands, but he turned to face us.
"Ah, I wondered if you would ever come, Ms. Tomoe, it's been far too long a time for it to be normal." He said, which got me rather confused. How did he know I would come, when even Setsuna-mama didn't know I was a witch?
"You have hit the nail on the head, Ollivander-sama. The problem is time." Michiru-mama said.
"I see… Anyway, Ms. Tomoe, hold out your wand arm while I take your measurements." He ordered, and took out a ruler, which promptly began measuring dimensions that I couldn't figure out the purpose of. He also didn't seem to be watching the ruler, which made it even more peculiar. Of course, the fact that the ruler was measuring on it's own was strange as well.
He handed me a wand, which he said was made out of birch with a unicorn hair core. I waved it, causing an ink bottle on his desk to break.
"Apparently not," he said, snatching the wand away and handing me another. "Maple hair, phoenix tail feather, ten inches, supple. Give it a wave."
I tried to wave it, and a stack of wands fell to the wand. Again, he replaced the wand in my hand with a different wand. This was repeated eight times, until he gave me a wand which was "willow, werewolf fur, ten inches, flexible" that had a symbol carved into it, which looked vaguely like the symbol of my guardian planet, Saturn.
The moment the wand touched my hand, I felt a warm glow and a wind. This gave Mr. Ollivander what he wanted, and I paid for the wand, feeling rather confused.
"Now we must head for the last place, for a pewter cauldron." Haruka-papa said, and we did, buying a fairly large pewter cauldron that seemed to be of good quality ("We can't have the princess of Saturn using substandard equipment!" Michiru-mama has whispered to us.) and did not seem to be too heavy for me to carry.
After that, we headed to the Leaky Cauldron, where I waited in the bar for Harry to arrive. Twice, I was offered "butterbeer" by what looked like a hag, but I denied it, settling for a glass of pumpkin juice, which seemed to at least be non-alcoholic.
A few hours later, I saw Harry walk in with a boy that had red, short hair, as well as a girl with bushy brown hair. I waved to make sure that Harry saw me, and he began walking towards me.
"Hey, 'Taru." Harry said. "Ron, Hermione, this is Hotaru Tomoe. Hotaru, this is Ron and Hermione."
"Pleased to meet you." I replied, bowing. This was met by a giggle from Ron and a look of understanding from Hermione.
"Hotaru, you don't need to bow. We're not in Japan." Hermione said gently.
"Ah. I didn't know that the custom was different." I said.
We spent a few more hours talking about the wizarding world, including the concept of pure-bloods, half-bloods, and Muggle-born wizards. I learned that many pure-blood wizard families, such as the Malfoy family, thought that they were superior to wizards with Muggle blood. That's when the door opened, and a sullen-faced blond walked into the Leaky Cauldron. I heard Harry and Ron groan.
"Who's that?" I asked.
"That's Draco Malfoy." Harry said.
"Great, just great." I said. To my horror, I saw Malfoy begin to walk towards me.
"If it isn't Potter, Weasley, and Granger. And who is this? Surely she's not with you, Granger? Or you, Weasley?" he sneered.
"Well, I guess you're Draco Malfoy." I said. "I've heard a lot about you, and none of it's pleasant. However, I have to warn you, Malfoy. I will not allow you to insult me, as I am sure you will after you learn that I am Muggle-born. The last person to make that mistake wound up in the hospital." Upon these words, I let the symbol of Saturn briefly flash on my forehead. Immediately, Malfoy ran off in fear.
"Wow, 'Taru, I didn't expect that." Harry said, clearly approving of the way I dealt with Malfoy, though Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa wouldn't agree with it.
"Is that so, Harry-san?" I asked, laughing.
"Ron, it's time for bed!" a female voice called out from the stairs.
"Ah, no… It's my mum." Ron said, before joining his mom, a short, plump lady with the same red hair that Ron had.
"I'd like to meet her." I said.
"Haruka and Michiru did, Hotaru." Hermione said.
"Hey, 'Taru, was it true, what you told Malfoy, that the last person to insult you ended up in the hospital?" Harry asked.
"Well, it is, but he didn't get hurt because of me. He fell down the stairs a month after he insulted me, when he was far away from me." I replied. This caused Harry and Ron to laugh.
"Well, I have to go to bed. I'll see you on the train, 'Taru. We'll be in compartment nine." Harry said.
"Right, Harry-san." I said.
I walked to my room at the Leaky Cauldron, a small room. I was in the same room as Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa.
The next morning, we had breakfast with the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione, and then went to King's Cross together.
"Hmm… My ticket says platform nine and three-quarters, but it doesn't seem to exist." I said.
"You see the wall between platforms nine and ten? You have to run straight at it. You'll end up on the platform. Do that inconspicuously. I'll go first, to show you." Harry said, and took off full-speed at the wall. Just when it seemed he would crash, he vanished.
Then, Ron and Hermione went, followed by Ginny, and then followed by myself and the elder Weasleys. Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa had stayed at the station, since they couldn't pass through the barrier, and they also needed to get back to Tokyo to inform Setsuna-mama about my safe departure.
The Hogwarts Express stood on the tracks, long and majestic. It looked like a huge animal, perhaps a snake. I placed my luggage into a compartment, and walked into the train, heading for compartment nine.
Upon entering the compartment, I found everyone except Hermione and Ron there.
"Where are Hermione and Ron?" I asked.
"Ah, they're prefects, students chosen to help teachers maintain order at Hogwarts. They'll just meet with the professors and other prefects, and then come here." Harry replied.
"I understand. Thanks, Harry."
"Erm, why are you saying 'thanks'?"
"Well, it's just that I had few friends even back home. I was always looked down on as a freak because I could heal people. Strange things always happened to me. Like the time where I accidentally killed my goldfish. Kaolinite, my caretaker and father's lab partner, was teasing me about the goldfish, so I got mad and threw the fish bowl at her."
"I see… Anyway, I really hope that you're in Gryffindor, Hotaru."
"Why so? From what I can tell, houses are just like groups, they can be left."
"That's incorrect, Tomoe," a cold, sneering voice came from behind me. I turned to find the voice of…
Draco Malfoy. "How do you know my name, Malfoy?"
"That's simple. You have more wizard blood than you yourself know. Your great-great-grandfather was a wizard, and he made quite a name for himself protecting Dumbledore from a group of demons. You look similar to him, at least in the case of your hair. However, you ought to watch yourself. I will be watching your every move, no matter if you become a Gryffindor, Slytherin, or even a Hufflepuff." Malfoy said.
"Well, I thank you for the warning, Mr. Draco Malfoy, but I think I can decide for myself what I should do." I replied.
"Oh, touchy one, aren't you? Well, just keep my warning in mind. I will not hesitate to even put you in detention if you become a Slytherin." Malfoy said, walking off.
"That git!" Harry said. While I didn't know what a git was, I figured it wasn't something polite considering that he hadn't said it in Malfoy's presence.
"Don't worry, I'm used to such people by now." I said.
"That doesn't make it right."
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the front of the train. I quickly opened my compartment, and saw what looked like a lizard standing on two legs harassing the students.
"Harry, protect Ginny. There's something I have to do." I ordered. Thankfully, he listened without question.
I ran into the bathroom, careful not to get hit by acid globs flying at me. Then, I whipped out my communicator. "Saturn calling Uranus or Neptune."
"This is Uranus responding. Go on, Hotaru-chan." Haruka-papa said over the communicator.
"There's a youma on the Hogwarts Express. I'm in the bathroom right now. Request permission to transform."
"Granted, Hotaru-chan. Be careful. If you need any more help, ask." To this, I simply nodded.
I focused on releasing Sailor Saturn's power, and, in a moment, I was dressed in a white-and-blue sailor fuku with a black ribbon, blue-and-white high boots, and white-and-blue gloves. In my hand appeared my Silence Glaive.
Feeling much more confident, I burst out of the bathroom, glaive drawn.
"Ah, so you've finally revealed yourself, Messiah, Repti!" the youma said, and shot an acid glob at me.
"Silence Wall!" I yelled, performing a horizontal slash. A wall had formed, causing the acid glob to explode.
Then I ran full-out at it, but got hit by a second acid glob which burned through part of my clothes. I was also blown back into the wall.
The monster began advancing towards me, extending it's nails to a length of about three inches.
"Stupefy!" I heard a voice yell. I turned around, and Harry was aiming for the youma with his wand.
"Harry, no! Stay back!" I yelled, but too late. The monster was charging at Harry, who, in his hurry to avoid it, ended up tripping over the hem of his robes. It was on top of him in an instant, scratching every inch of him it could reach.
I charged at him and did a diagonal slash to the youma's stomach. It died, apparently, since it turned into dust. Then I lost consciousness.
A/N: I hope this chapter didn't seem overly dramatized.