A

A.N.: I finished the 9th chapter, which means you guys get the 7th! Don't you just love me? The number of people who have my story on alert surprises me. It's good to know you guys actually like this story. I was asked if the couples are set for this story. For my main characters… yes. I have a general idea of what I want to happen. I have ideas for parts of my plot… the problem is filling the space between these ideas with interesting words.

As always I'll say the usual. Sailor Moon and Harry Potter aren't mine… Flames will be used for s'mores… All other reviews welcome… even criticism. You know… general stuff.

Also as a last note, people are wondering what Usagi's dress for the masquerade looks like. I have a general picture on my photobucket account.

The link is:

i126./albums/p116/Jasmine4842/role play/s-5.jpg

On to the story!

Chapter 7

The day of the masquerade came and everyone was chatting excitedly. Usagi still hadn't seen the finished dress but Setsuna still wouldn't allow Usagi in her room.

Finally Usagi went to bathe and get ready. She spent as long as she could in the water without wrinkling. She had found the tap that gave the water a subtle lavender scent and she let the hot water relax her tired muscles.

"I don't think you want to fall asleep in the bath," Haruka laughed, "I hear there's a ghost around here who haunts the bathroom she died in and spends most of her time in the U-bend of a toilet."

"Charming," Usagi rolled her eyes.

"I see those girls didn't try cutting too much off again," Haruka said leaning on the doorframe.

"No they let it longer than before but they said it needed to be shorter than what it was," Usagi shrugged. Her shampoo and conditioner lasted longer when her hair was a shorter length.

"Come out when you're done," Michiru called from the living room.

Haruka left while Usagi donned her under things and a robe. Usagi came out into the living room and steam danced off her skin.

"I figured I could get you ready before we put the dress on," Michiru smiled, "Haruka has no makeup sense at all…"

"There is no sense in makeup," Haruka said flippantly, "Not on this face anyway."

A knock came from the portrait hole. Haruka let Ginny and Hermione in.

"I said they could get ready here," Usagi explained, "Is that alright?"

Michiru nodded and said, "Does anyone need their hair done?"

"Michiru is a great hair stylist," Usagi smiled.

Pretty soon everyone had her hair and makeup done. All that was left was carefully getting dressed. Haruka and Michiru disappeared into their room and Usagi led the girls to hers. Setsuna had laid the dress on Usagi's bed. It was more beautiful than when she first saw it.

"Wow Usagi," Ginny breathed amazed, "You look like Cinderella."

Setsuna had made the dress shorter in the front and made some other tweaks to it to make it look amazing. Usagi looked in the mirror and felt her breath catch in her throat.

Michiru had applied glitter around Usagi's eyes making them stand out even more than before. The girls were wrong, she didn't look like Cinderella. She was her mother, Queen Serenity.

p/p

Everyone met in the living room to admire each other's costumes. Ginny had dressed up in a blue medieval-style dress. Her hair cascaded around her face in fiery ringlets. Hermione wore a dress in the same style but in a green color. Hermione's hair was in an elegant French braid.

"We look like Cinderella's court," Ginny giggled. Usagi shook her head.

"I don't need a court," she said.

"Then that means we got all dressed up for nothing?" Setsuna's amused voice said. Usagi turned and saw all four of her Senshi in medieval clothes. Haruka wore a man's costume and the others wore gowns. Haruka was dressed in gold, Michiru in her sea green, Hotaru in a deep purple and Setsuna in black. Its seemed they thought they were still her court after all.

"Well let us go then," Usagi said. She looked at Ginny and Hermione with a knowing eye, "Aren't you guys supposed to be meeting your dates."

Hermione and Ginny blushed. "Why don't you have a date Usagi?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah I hear you were asked by quite a few people but turned them all down," Ginny nodded.

"I don't need a knight in shining armor tonight," Usagi said airily, "I'm just dancing."

p/p

"Wow," Ron shook his head, "Hermione looks spectacular."

"Ginny does too," Harry blinked. He almost didn't recognize her. He looked at Ron, "You sure you're okay with this?"

Ron clapped Harry on the back, "Sure I'm sure. You know how many of us will come after you to beat the snot out of you if you treat her badly."

Harry smiled wryly, "And here I was thinking you trusted me."

"She's my little sister mate," Ron, "I don't trust her with anybody."

"Hi boys," Usagi said smiling widely. She scanned them up and down. It looked as though everyone in their little group had decided a medieval theme on their own.

"Well… Shall we?" Usagi asked motioning to the doors. Ron offered his arm to Hermione. She took it and they walked in. The others looked stunned at Ron's manners. Usagi hid a smile as Harry and Ginny and Haruka and Michiru did the same. Hotaru grabbed Setsuna's hand.

Suddenly Usagi noticed everyone had a partner except her. Despite what she said to the girls, she was feeling a little lonely. Just as she was about to follow everyone, someone offered her an arm. Orion smiled at Usagi as he waited for her to take his arm.

"It would be my honor to escort you inside," Orion said with all the pomp of a rich lord. Usagi giggled and grabbed onto his arm.

Hermione waved Usagi over to the table where they sat. Michiru, Haruka and Setsuna had to sit at the head table for dinner. Then after that they were free to roam around. The few students who didn't wish to participate in the event, had eaten dinner before. The house tables had been removed and there were small circular tables scattered throughout the hall.

After the dinner was over, most of the tables were pushed back so there was room to dance. A band that was unfamiliar to Usagi began to play and everyone began dancing.

"May I have this dance milady?" Orion said with a playful smile on his face. He held a hand out to Usagi.

"Of course," Usagi said mimicking his grand manner. She tapped into her memories of the Silver Millennium to help her dance. She didn't remember much, but she knew enough to where she wasn't stepping on Orion's feet.

p/p

"You can feel it too can't you?" Setsuna said to the others in Japanese. Her eyes were on Orion and Usagi spinning around the floor.

"There's something familiar about him. Something I can't quite…" Michiru said.

"Remember the last time Serenity looked like this?" Haruka said a little sadly, "It was a night like this."

Michiru put her hand on Haruka's, "This one will turn out better. I'm sure of it."

Haruka sighed, "The wind is troubled. Something is going to happen. Something big."

Michiru nodded, "I can feel it in the waters."

"Whatever happens," Setsuna said not taking her eyes off Usagi, "We will be there for our Princess."

p/p

Usagi was lost in the moment. Orion danced with confidence and the ease of lost of practice. He dipped her suddenly and she found herself looking into his eyes.

'Those eyes,' Usagi sighed, 'his warmth. Its just like Endymion.'

Usagi felt herself crash back to Earth, 'Endymion?' She looked at him scrutinizing, but the feeling disappeared.

The dance ended and Usagi excused herself.

"Is that the dress you bought from Gladrags?" Lavender and Parvati cornered Usagi near the punch bowl.

Usagi nodded, "Yeah. Setsuna, uh, Professor Meioh, made a few changes to it."

"Meioh?" Parvati said slowly, "Setsuna Meioh?"

"Yeah," Usagi said not getting what she was trying to say.

Parvati pulled a magazine out of her purse. She flipped through it and stopped.

"What's she doing?" Usagi asked.

"A new and promising designer by the name of Setsuna Meioh has appeared recently on the scene," Lavender read over Parvati's shoulder, "No one has seen this elusive artist. But she has sent sketches to some of the most famous design studios and they have all said she has pure talent."

Usagi smiled. Setsuna wasn't giving up on her dream after all. She felt warm all over. She borrowed the magazine, rushed over to Setsuna and gave her a big hug.

"You're amazing," she said proudly.

"What are you talking about?" Setsuna asked puzzled.

Usagi shook her head and showed her the magazine article. Setsuna's eyes went wide.

"I just sent them in to be reviewed," she said, "I had asked someone to give me pointers on some of my sketches."

"Apparently they liked it so much, they sent it along to other studios," Michiru smiled, "Congratulations Sets."

The Guardian of Time actually seemed speechless. She opened her mouth but no words came out.

"We must record this," Haruka teased, "Setsuna? Speechless? This is a priceless moment."

Setsuna closed her mouth and glared. The others laughed and congratulated her.

"U-Usagi?" a nervous voice behind Usagi made her turn.

"Hi Neville," Usagi smiled warmly.

"Would you- that is would you care to dance?" Neville said still looking nervous.

Usagi smiled. She saw a group of Hufflepuff boys looking their way and snickering. Usagi got the feeling they had dared him to do it. He looked so miserable and Usagi knew he had very little confidence, so she agreed.

Neville was a pretty good dancer, he only stepped on her feet once, and it was Usagi's fault anyway. To finish the dance, Usagi gave Neville a kiss on the cheek in front of the Hufflepuff boys. Neville went red and Usagi whispered in his ear, "I think Luna might like to dance."

Neville flicked his eyes over to Luna hopefully. Luna was dressed as a Fae. She had somehow added a point to her ears and she wore a flowing costume that made her look very pretty.

Usagi gave Neville a little shove in her direction and went to sit down. She grabbed a bottle of water and brought it to a table at the edge of the dance floor. Ginny and Harry looked like they were having a great time. Hermione and Ron were in the very center of the dance floor and Hermione had given Ron a very quick kiss. Ron's face grew red, all the way to the tips of his ears. Usagi shook her head and laughed.

A boy Usagi had never met asked her to dance. She accepted it smiling. It was a vigorous dance, which make Usagi warm. She felt someone take her away from her partner. The boy didn't seem to notice and the dance continued.

"Hello milord," Usagi smiled. She didn't get a reaction out of him. He looked distracted and apprehensive.

"Usagi I need to speak with you," Orion said looking around.

'Good the others are distracted,' he thought.

"Would you like to go outside?" Orion asked.

Usagi didn't think she heard him correctly. Another dancer grabbed her before she could answer and they were swept apart.

"Well look who it is," a familiar voice said. Usagi looked at her dance partner. There was no mistaking the platinum blonde hair.

"Can I help you?" she asked Draco.

"I was just thinking we got off to a bad start," Draco said, "Now that I see you properly, I can tell there isn't an ounce of Mudblood in you."

Usagi could feel Draco pulling her closer as she was trying to push him away. Getting angry, she grabbed a finger of the hand that was groping her backside. Slowly she bent it back until it was almost touching the back of his hand.

"Keep your hands off me or last time will seem like you were wrestling with a harmless puppy," Usagi warned. She let his finger go and walked away. She stalked over to where Setsuna was sitting and plopped herself into a seat next to her.

"Having fun yet?" Setsuna teased.

"Loads," Usagi mumbled, "I've just had a baka feel up my backside."

Setsuna rolled her eyes, "What did you do?"

"Nothing why do you think I did anything?" Usagi asked trying to look innocent.

"You can't expect me to believe that. I know what you and Haruka have been doing Saturday afternoons," Setsuna looked at her sternly.

"Okay so maybe I did something," Usagi admitted, "I didn't hurt him too much." Setsuna still looked at her, "I only almost broke his finger."

Setsuna smiled, "Good. Then we won't have to speak of this to Haruka right?"

Usagi intensely disliked Draco but she didn't want him to have to face Haruka's wrath. She shuddered at the thought of it and quickly nodded.

Usagi went and got a water bottle from the snack table. She gulped half of it down before she stopped. She screwed the lid back on and looked around. She caught Orion's eyes and he began walking over. Someone handed him a mask. Orion smiled and put it on. He faced Usagi and Usagi felt numb with shock.

'He… it can't be,' Usagi thought panicking. She thought about it and it all made sense. 'None of the Senshi have seen him since I left. Orion shows up at the same time as I did. He says he's from America. Mamoru went to study there. He speaks Japanese. He calls my hair odangos. Those eyes… that warmth…'

"Hi Usagi," Orion smiled.

Usagi smiled weakly back. Her mind was still listing all the things that pointed to the obvious.

'He always seems to be there whenever Haruka or the others aren't around. He was trying to get close to me. He was trying to get the Crystal.'

"Are you feeling okay?" Orion asked.

Usagi shook her head, "Not really." She looked around for Haruka or Michiru or Setsuna. She would have settled for Snape at this point. She couldn't find anyway to escape.

"That talk I spoke of earlier?" Orion said being persistent, "I would still like that to happen. Would you like to go outside for a little? A little fresh air might clear your head.

Usagi shook her head again, "I don't feel too well. I think it was something I ate."

"Would you like me to escort you back to the dormitory?"

'So you can kill me without witnesses?' Usagi thought, 'I'm not making it that easy.' She shook her head, "Setsuna said she'd take me back if I still wasn't feeling well. Thank you though."

The look on Orion's face was very disappointed. He saw Haruka coming and made an excuse to leave.

"Hey Usagi," Haruka said, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah," Usagi said. She began formulating a plan in her head. She looked around for Hermione. She spotted her talking to a few Ravenclaws.

"May I borrow Hermione for a moment?" Usagi asked. Hermione went with her with a questioning look on her face.

"Can you do me a favor?" Usagi asked, "And not ask questions about it?"

'This was probably the wrong person to ask if you don't want questions,' Usagi told herself, 'Too late now. Plus Hermione is going to take this seriously and not goof off like Ron would. Harry and Ginny are nowhere to be found so she's my only chance.'

"I guess," Hermione said looking suspicious.

"Can you keep an eye on Orion?" Usagi said spotting him. He was still wearing that stupid mask, "If he goes outside let Hotaru know okay?"

"Sure," Hermione sounded like she wanted to ask questions but she held her tongue. Usagi left her and she scanned the crowd looking for him. She soon spotted him and she kept him in her line of sight.

Usagi approached 'Orion' and let him sweep her up in the dance. They danced through one song and 'Orion' started to lead her towards the door. Usagi went, knowing Hermione had things under control.

p/p

Harry kissed Ginny softly. She felt a warmth spread over her skin and she knew she was blushing. Ginny found that even though it was beginning to get cold with the onset of autumn, she felt no chill.

"I'm going to go get us some drinks," Harry said. Ginny could see that he too was blushing. Unable to say a word, she nodded. No sooner had Harry left, than Usagi and some guy passed. They exited the Entrance Hall through the front door.

"Who was that guy?" Ginny asked herself out loud. A mask covered his face, making it impossible to tell.

Ginny had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Sending a quick mental apology to Harry, she followed the two outside.

p/p

Hermione stood on tiptoe. She had lost sight of Orion and Usagi wasn't anywhere. Someone turned her and asked, "Where's Usagi?"

"I think she went outside," she said absently.

p/p

Usagi let Orion lead her a bit away from the castle before she stopped.

"Where are we going?" Usagi asked, "Mamoru stop playing games I've known its you."

Mamoru turned and smiled, "You caught me." He took off his mask and squeezed Usagi's arm.

"That hurts," Usagi growled. She used the move she had done on Malfoy just enough so that it caused him enough pain to force him to release her arm.

"What do you want?" Usagi said trying to buy time until the Outers appeared.

"What I've always wanted Usagi," Mamoru said grabbing for her again.

p/p

Hermione approached Professor Kaioh, "Usagi asked me to watch Orion and I lost sight of him and I can't find her either."

"Did she say why she wanted you to watch him?" the teacher asked looking down at the worried teen.

"No but she wanted me to tell Hotaru when he went outside. I think he might have gone outside and she might have followed? She said it was important and she asked me not to ask questions." Hermione hoped nothing bad was happening, but she couldn't help but fear her friend was in danger.

p/p

Ginny watched as Usagi and a man spoke in rapid Japanese. She could tell by the way they acted that they knew each other, and she could tell Usagi was scared.

The man lunged for Usagi. She skirted away but slipped. The man was standing above her about to do something very nasty.

With many years practice of dealing with six older brothers, Ginny used all of her strength to tackle the man. They both went down. Usagi scrambled up.

"Ginny," Usagi said helping her friend to her feet, "You should have stayed inside."

"Who is this?" Ginny asked.

"I'm an old friend of Usagi's from Japan," Mamoru said trying to be charming.

"With friends like you, I'm sure she has no need for enemies," Ginny said, "I'm Usagi's friend now. She has no need of you."

"She needs me more than you know little girl. You don't know the secrets that lay behind that pretty face," Mamoru laughed, "You don't know who she really is. Ask her who she really is, who her mother is. Ask her about Chibi-Usa."

The name rang a bell for Ginny. She had heard Usagi murmuring that name before.

"You aren't fit to say her name," Usagi cried running at him. She planted a solid punch in his stomach. Mamoru flinched a little but grabbed Usagi and held her so she couldn't escape.

"Go back inside little girl," Mamoru said, "This is between me and her." He turned his back on Ginny to talk to Usagi.

Ginny took a flying leap and landed on his back. She began pulling at his hair and ears. Mamoru shook her off, making her land on the hard ground.

"Ginny," Usagi tried to twist to see her friend. She couldn't move very much. Usagi leaned forward and stepped on Mamoru's toes. Then she threw her head back into his face. He loosened his grip enough for her to slip out of reach.

"Ow," Usagi said rubbing her head, "It doesn't hurt like that in the movies.

Mamoru clutched his nose in pain. He staggered for a little then shook his head.

"You'll pay for that," Mamoru snarled pulling a red rose out of his pocket. Usagi flinched at seeing the rose. He was going to use his symbol of love to kill her? "But your friend will first." He threw the rose at Ginny's unconscious form.

Usagi reached out a hand, "NO!!" The rose stopped midair and dissolved. Usagi, who had never done wandless magic before, felt completely drained. She slumped over to the ground.

"There's no one here to save you," Mamoru smiled. He drew another rose from his pocket and threw it.

A swift hand grabbed it out of the air just before it hit Usagi. Usagi looked up to see who saved her.

"Orion?" she said weakly. Before passing out she whispered, "You aren't Mamoru?"

p/p

Comet Moon: I really enjoyed reading your review. As a reward, I'm going to be sending you a preview of a future chapter. It's not anything that will give away and twists hopefully. But it is something you might enjoy.

Silver Moonlight-81: I'm glad to know I have you all riveted.

LL ( ) : Thank you again for another review. Like I said, it's always nice to know people are enjoying what I write.

SailorVengeance19: The pairings I'm willing to admit to at this point are probably obvious. Harry/Ginny, and Ron/Hermione. Other than that you have to go along with the rest of them. Sorry.

Neokstar: You can write out his name. It's not a swear word yet. And I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with this chapter.

Wolfprincess09: I have included a picture of the general idea of the dress. I got it off the Internet so it's not exact. But I'm glad you asked. You were the only one.