Chibiusa was the one who spotted the creature. Scurrying quicker than a mouse it weaved through hall after hall on its knobby little legs, clad in some dirty, unidentifiable garbs. The thing sported eyes larger than they'd ever seen on such a small living being, and long bony fingers that curled around the stone corners as it peeked to make sure the coast was clear.
For some reason or other, the cotton candy haired child felt the two of them should follow this strange entity. So now Hotaru found herself being dragged onward by the enthusiastic Chibiusa.
Around the next corner, they nearly skidded with the abrupt stop. Hotaru gasped for air, thankful of the reprieve, and watched with her companion as the little creature approached a large painting of a bowl of fruit. Reaching out one of its oddly long fingers, it tickled the pear just barely within reach. The two gasped as the frame swung forward. The tiny one was gone before they could blink.
"Chibi, I don't think we should," the obsidian haired girl began as Chibiusa pulled her toward the painting. She did not heed her warning, and stood in front of the colorful fruit, her face contorted in concentration. Slowly, she reached her finger out and mimicked the move she'd seen moments before. Instantly the painting jumped forward, and she ducked behind it, leaving Hotaru no choice but to follow.
"Oh!" The two girls stood rigid as the frame shut behind them, eyes wide at the stretch of new world that stood before them. Chibiusa grabbed Hotaru's hand, tugging it and pointing like an excited kid in a candy store. "Hotaru, isn't it wonderful? What are they?"
"I don't know," she responded, shaking her head. A smile of amusement danced over her lips. Suddenly, the creatures running to and fro around the large kitchen finally noticed them, and several came rushing around the girls' knees.
A flurry of things happened at once. Chibiusa and Hotaru found out that the mysterious beings were actually house elves, bent on serving their master's every will. They learned that this large group kept Hogwarts tidy and prepared all the meals for those that attended. Then they were pressed to eat and drink, being shoved into seats and supplied almost instantly with plates of delicious looking food and mugs of drinks.
"Wow, this is so neat," the ruby eyed teenager declared, promptly digging into her food. Sometimes her similarities to Usagi were unnerving. Hotaru spun her fork in between her fingers distractedly, deciding those might not be the exact words she would use to describe their present situation. Several house elves stood around their table, oversized eyes twinkling excessively in the light as they stared the two down.
The painting across the room swung open again. House elves shifted and turned to see who else may be joining them. Indigo eyes looked up at the sudden hush in the room, and the metal fork clattered against her plate loudly. This successfully distracted Chibiusa from the sip she was about to take from her mug, and when she saw the source of the commotion, her hands went slack. The glass fell and shattered into a million dripping wet pieces against the floor.
Now house elves scurried around, grabbing up mops, brooms, dust pans, gloves. They formed an effective cleaning squad and the mess was gone quicker than either girl could relocate their voice box.
Finally, it was Chibiusa who choked out, "Setsuna?" The garnet eyed woman inclined her head in a positive answer, smiling slightly, sadly. Tears flooded the pigtailed girl's eyes as she jerked from her seat and sprinted for her, almost bowling her over with a hug. Hotaru remained rooted to her chair, shocked beyond words. "I'm so happy to see you."
"Thank goodness someone is," Setsuna replied softly, wrapping her arms around the younger girl in return. The two held each other, relishing in their reunion, no words being spoken. Then Hotaru regained her senses, rose, and joined them. House elves bustled around them, continuing their duties.
Setsuna found that the thing she had feared, the one thing she had been running from all this time, had been the thing she needed most of all.
Chibiusa felt the piece of her that had been missing, an empty, gaping hole in her heart, suddenly snap into place. Then and there she was whole again.
And Hotaru? Hotaru was redeemed at last.
xXx
"I'm a horrible person." Usagi spoke softly to the person who walked in after she heard the door close softly behind them. She leaned next to the window, her eyes set on the stretch of wilderness beyond Hogwarts grounds.
"Well, the rest of us are damned then." The other person joked, and Usagi knew instantly it was Minako. When her fellow blonde didn't respond, didn't return the joke with one of her own, Minako's lips tightened into a thin line. A solemn expression overtook her usual playfulness. "Usagi, what happened?"
"Setsuna came back." The pigtailed woman shook with her grief, induced by the garnet eyed woman, and her anger at herself for being so petty and weak. Swiping at her tears in frustration, she started when Minako's hand touched her shoulder and fell into her sister's comforting embrace. "Mina, I don't even think it's about her anymore."
"Then what is it about, Usa?" Minako inquired softly. It was strange for her, being on this side of the comforting when it came to Usagi. Usagi had insecurities, fears, heartache that she talked out, but Minako could count on one hand the times her sister had cried in her presence.
"It's me. What happened to me? Where's the person who would have forgiven Setsuna? Where's the woman who might have smiled and been happy and shared in the reunion?" She sobbed, clinging to Minako for support. Tears stung at her eyes now as the weight of Usagi's sorrow pressed upon her heart. "Did she die with Mamoru? Am I bitter now?"
Minako finally pulled away, and cupped her sister's face in her hands, thumbing away the tears. She stared into the older woman's face, her stormy blue eyes so full of confusion and pain. Collecting her words, she drew in a breath to steady her own emotion.
"Usagi," she began gently, "you are not bitter. It's true that you've endured so much in the past few years. You've stood strong during all of it, carried your pain, and Chibiusa's." Pausing, she made sure she held Usagi's gaze completely. "Yet I don't feel any hate in your heart. You're a bit more jaded now, and you're a lot more guarded, but you are not bitter. Understand?"
"Yes, yes," Usagi enveloped Minako in a hug once more, squeezing her as tightly as she could. "You are the best sister I could ever ask for, Mina. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Not much, that's for sure." Minako pulled away, grinning, as the door opened again. Makoto was the one to walk in, and she started at the sight of both of the blondes, the pigtailed one wiping hastily at her eyes and smiling.
"I wanted to talk to you," the brunette said, quietly. "If it's a bad time--"
"No, it's not. Minako was just leaving, right?" Usagi turned toward her sibling, who nodded once and left, sending one curious glance back at the two women. The door shut with a soft click, and Makoto walked past Usagi to take a place by the window. When she turned, she found that Makoto held the same troubled expression she had not long before. "What's wrong, Makoto?"
"Usagi, you remember...well, of course you do, it wasn't very long ago. Neither of us wanted to be here, right?" Both stood silent after the question, but she didn't respond, unsure if it was rhetorical or not. Then Makoto asked the real question. "Do you still feel that way?"
"Well, some things are different now." Usagi walked over and stood opposite Makoto at the window, staring out over the Forbidden Forest. "I still don't like the situation. I don't like that we've all been coerced into fighting Voldemort. I suppose, though, that it was inevitable we would be facing him. Plus, some good things have come out of it. Why do you ask?"
"What," Makoto paused. Usagi knew what was coming, but she was worried because Makoto rarely hesitated, even when it came to her emotions. "What if those you considered enemies, suddenly you're not so sure anymore."
The blonde reached out, her fingers brushing the other woman's arm. She felt inclined to touch her, because of the look in her eyes, like Makoto was simply drifting away. Her green eyes turned to her, finally, grasped in reality once more.
"You know that neither I, nor any of us would hold it against you. In fact, the Makoto I know wouldn't even bother seeking the approval of others. So I'm going to say what I think you came to hear." Usagi took a breath, and said, "Go with your heart. Trust in what you're feeling and forget about what we are, what we stand for."
"I can't do that," Makoto said throatily, unable to fully mask her emotion. "This is what we've lived for, what we've fought for all this time, Usagi."
"For what, Makoto? Because there was nothing else, because of who we are we had nothing else." The blonde placed her hands on the taller girl's shoulders, forced her to look at her again. "Nothing else matters but your happiness. I chose love once." Makoto winced, but Usagi just smiled. "I'll never regret it. You won't regret it, I promise."
The brunette threw her arms around the petite woman, and Usagi comforted her, held her tightly in an embrace. It was the comfort she had come looking for. "Thank you, Usagi."
xXx
"This is actually good," Rei commented between sips of butterbeer, trying to sound less pleased than she actually was. The warmth spread all the way to her fingertips, alleviating the chill that had reached her outside. Sirius said nothing in return, just sipped his mug and watching the crowds of the Three Broomsticks. Setting her mug back on the table, she followed his gaze to the strangers passing by. "It's weird for me, being around so many people."
Again she found herself pierced by his grey eyes. When he wasn't joking, grinning, Sirius had the most penetrating gaze. Why did I even say that?
"You talk to phoenixes?" Rei tilted her head slightly, onyx waves of hair falling over her shoulder, trying to determine the cause of that question. Very slowly she nodded, tense without really knowing why. Sirius took a long swig from his mug and wiped at his mouth distractedly. "What's that like? I mean, what do they talk about?"
Rei could have taken that offensively, received it as scorn, but when they looked at each other, she didn't. Though it would've been consistent with her temper, something in his expression told her that he was genuinely curious. At least not mocking her like so many others.
"You might be surprised. I think they understand humans better than we do ourselves," her intense violet eyes roved over his face, gauging a reaction, waiting. Maybe this was more a test than anything. He chuckled as he watched the butterbeer in his glass swirl. Her expression darkened, she moved to the offensive quickly.
"Actually that's pretty easy to believe." Sirius glanced up, a read between the lines sort of smile on his face. Rei's words caught in her throat and she gripped both hands around her mug, dropping her gaze to the table. A moment of silence passed before he spoke again. "What are you thinking?"
"That you're quite...unexpected." Rei looked up again, her eyes narrowed in thought. "Every time I think I've figured you out, you say the exact opposite thing than I expected." At his expression, she couldn't help but smile, even if slightly. "Don't worry, it's a good thing. I have a habit of expecting the worst, especially in men."
Her jaw dropped open and she flushed in embarrassment as Sirius laughed, deep and throaty. Did I really say that? My God. If she had her way, she would be bashing her head against the table at the moment. Why was she acting like Usagi, just blurting everything in her head without thinking?
"If it makes you feel any better, I probably would have lived up to those expectations at one time." Rei was distracted from her humiliation by this statement, observing how Sirius looked away again, nostalgic. She remembered what Usagi had told her once, in one of those moments when the wiser, more jaded woman showed through the blonde visage.
Just because they aren't like you and me, Rei, doesn't mean that they don't have their own sadness, their own burdens to bear. As they left the Three Broomsticks and walked through the shops, Rei reluctantly smiled at his jokes, his charm, but all the while wondered what burdens and sadness Sirius was hiding behind that handsome grin.
xXx
Ami knocked softly on the entrance before her, shifting gently from foot to foot, nervous. The deep voice called out for her to enter, she exhaled, and did so, closing the door gently behind her. The dark haired professor neglected to glance up at his company as he looked over the papers on his desk. Slowly she walked forward until she reached him, and cleared her throat softly.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you," he looked up suddenly, apparently prepared to tell off a student, but stopped when he noticed her. More anxious than ever, she could feel her cheeks start to heat, and pushed herself onward. "I realized that I was rude to you before. I didn't even introduce myself. I...I'm Ami."
She stuck her hand out, over the desk, trying to ignore the fact that it was shaking slightly. His dark eyes looked from the pale hand in front of him to her face. "Severus," he offered, shaking her hand briefly, but his dark eyes remained on her face. "Though, we were introduced while meeting with Dumbledore."
"I know," Ami nodded, a bit jerkily, "but that doesn't really count, since it was generalized and we didn't speak to each other." She was babbling, embarrassed and nervous, mentally questioning her sanity in deciding to do this. "Anyway, I wanted to say thank you again for letting me sit in on your class and, um," it happened; she froze.
Severus raised an eyebrow as the blue haired woman worked her mouth like a fish, trying to say something. "Just spit it out."
"Could you teach me?" Ami buried her face in her hands, her face turning a dangerous hue of red. When she gained her bearings, she went on, "I mean, could you teach me about potions? Like I said, I never went to a wizarding school and I, well, I was just curious." She finally made eye contact with him again, imploring, "You certainly don't have to."
Well certainly. Severus was heavily inclined to refuse, but before he spoke he considered what he was passing up. All the ungrateful adolescents that passed through his classroom not giving an inkling of a care to what they were learning, and here before him, a woman who never had that chance. A woman eager to learn, striving for knowledge.
"You come to my first class every morning. If you prove you're competent enough, I'll consider it." A smile lit up her face, turning her nervous expression into a glowing sun of happiness. He had never seen anyone so excited at the prospect of class.
"Thank you so much, Severus. You won't regret it, I promise." When she left, the room instantly dimmed.
xXx
"Setsuna, it is good to see you." Michiru breathed as she hugged the woman tightly, afraid she would simply disappear from her arms. Sure, Haruka and her had lead Setsuna to Usagi immediately. But they had been silent the whole way, the shock was so great.
But it had set in. Setsuna was home.
"Same for you, Michiru, Haruka. I heard about the merpeople. I'm so sorry; you must have been so hurt." The garnet eyed woman did not miss the slight wince the teal haired woman tried to mask, or the way Haruka's fists clenched at her sides.
"It's alright." Michiru pulled away, holding Setsuna at an arm's length, trying not to even blink should she vanish. "I've moved passed it for the time being. It pales in comparison to my happiness now that you're back. I can already see the change in Hotaru and Chibiusa."
Setsuna had to cover her own wince at that, but she did so gracefully. Neither woman noticed. They quieted for a bit, so many things to say but none coming forth immediately. Then Setsuna turned to the sandy blonde and asked, "What about you? Michiru and I are pretty useless in assistance to this campaign but--"
"Stop," Haruka cut her off, jaw clenched. The anger drained away from her features swiftly as it appeared, and she closed her eyes, trying to block the poisonous thoughts out. "You know very well that I relinquished my right to my abilities long ago in exchange to be with Michiru." Reaching out, she placed her hand on her lover's elbow, "I don't regret that."
"I know, Haruka, but have you even tried? Do you even know if you've really lost your Language?" Setsuna prodded gently, knowing her words had to be painfully cutting through the little insecurity that Haruka held. The prideful woman looked scorned, but Michiru moved closer and entwined Haruka's hand in both of hers.
"Setsuna is right, Haruka. Maybe it's time." Haruka pulled the smaller, petite woman to her and buried her face in the crook of her neck. Michiru held her without question, comforting her until she muttered the affirmative into her shoulder.
xXx
Hello all! I apologize for the, um, three month hiatus. This chapter is actually shorter than I intended, but enough happened, so I feel its okay. Let's play the guessing game and see if anyone can guess Haruka's creature. ;D I considered several options, but I always came back to my original instinct. It's just so perfect to me. Anyway, if you're bad at guessing like I am, you'll find out next chapter!
I sincerely hope you enjoyed, and please, review!
♥SachiNyoko♥
