Disclaimer: blah blah blah
It was dead late into the night or way too early in the morning for three Lis to be sitting in one of the more isolated, nevertheless magnificent rooms in the mansion that was hopefully far away from prying ears.
The latest addition to the family was shifting uneasily, which was a rare occurrence itself.
There were many things that could rile the sorceress yet only a handful could silence her.
Apparently, her cousin-in-law was in one of her famous tempers and she did not seem to be getting placated anytime soon.
Immediately after the one way trip from England, the family doctor was summoned to attend to Meiling, which was in some ways a bad thing as the number of people getting a whiff of their plans of interfering with wizarding affairs was swelling. Sakura was positive that news was somehow bound to leak from the lowest levels, even though they were sworn to secrecy which equates to death in the most severe cases.
Despite doctor's orders, Meiling, with her eyes flashing angrily, stubbornly refused to retire for the night and demanded in a not so polite way for explanations, lest her verbal facilities decided to act at the wrong place and time.
Sakura wisely shut her mouth and let Xiao Lang do the talking. After all, he was supposed to be an excellent diplomat who faced numerous demanding parties in his line, quelling his cousin's anger should be rather easy.
He seemed to be doing fine, recounting actual facts since the start of this entire situation.
However, they did not count the fact that when Meiling was in a foul mood, she was not only demanding but unreasonable as well.
"My dearest cousin and cousin-in-law," Meiling spoke, sarcasm dripping from every word, "we have been educated, repeatedly I must emphasize, that sorcerers never interfere with wizarding affairs!"
"Meiling, they need our help."
"Don't they always?" Meiling snorted, "The root of their problems is caused by their own kind. Just look at their government, going round catching a substitute sorceress as their scapegoat! You should just leave them to deal with their own problems. They deserve it."
"In short," Meiling continued ranting, "they don't fancy us and we don't find them entirely peachy."
On second thought, Meiling was not unreasonable, if not perfectly logical. It was them that deviated from the social norms and plunged into the fray, breaking all tradition that had been standing for decades, even centuries.
Then again, the couple had considered and reviewed their options repeatedly before making their decision. They were not going to back down now.
"And you," Meiling's angry gaze fell onto her cousin-in-law, "should be the one who is dead against an alliance with them!"
"That's precisely the point. Sakura has suffered much at their hands, hence her decision carries much weight."
For the first time in hours, the room plunged into tensed silence as Meiling could not form a coherent rebuttal. Excessive stress accumulating to dangerous levels, her face turned a deeper shade of red as she released a frustrated sigh, demanding an explanation from Sakura.
"The wizarding world is still worth saving."
Meiling stared.
"That's it?"
The Li heiress nodded, eyes reflecting overwhelming emotions, refusing to elaborate.
Meiling shut her eyes and slumped against the backrest, all while cursing the Li family for carrying out their training too well. It would be fruitless to extract anything further.
"Whatever." Meiling declared, folding her arms stiffly, " Do whatever you want, I don't really care anymore."
A jubilant expression blossomed on Sakura's countenance as she held Meiling's hands tightly, expressing her gratitude for understanding their difficult position.
"Chotto. That still does not mean that I support both of you. Besides, there are still lots of shit that you two need to -"
The black haired girl was interrupted by an embrace, her anger to dissipate immediately. Meiling's visage softened, returning the hug. Ever since the death of her family, Sakura's bubbly personality was almost erased. In addition, those grueling trainings she had received these past few years had enclave her emotions, cheery moods replaced by a strict attitude that was required of every heiress.
"You shouldn't worry about it Meiling." Sakura muffled voice reassured her, "I've sent Kero in my stead so it shouldn't be a problem."
"I still think that's was a wrong decision." Xiao Lang muttered as he ruffled his hair, "You should have sent Yue instead."
"Mou Xiao Lang. You 're still prejudiced against Kero aren't you? There are times when he is responsible too."
The young leader scoffed as he recalled a particularly bad memory, "Like the time he emptied the entire kitchen and drove the elders crazy?"
A disaster struck the Li household nearly a year ago, on a scale so unimaginably huge, it left the household without food for an entire day.
And that was saying something.
By the time the couple arrived, the kitchen was in a state of disarray. The kitchen crew flashed code red, with many tearing down the halls to send an urgent order for another batch of food. Others were trying to salvage whatever that could be saved, attempting to spruce up their disgraceful looking kitchen to some sort of respectable state.
The culprit was sitting on one of the many counters, busily stuffing his face with left over dessert, ignorant of the mess it had made.
Flashback
"Kero." Sakura asked in a strangled tone, "Do you realize what you have done?"
Her guardian looked up from his bowl, mouth occupied, bread pudding adorning his round face.
" I vas wwwwwwwwwweeeaalliii hunwee Sakura!" Kero whined incoherently, spraying bread pudding all over the already soiled counter. Satisfied with his given explanation, Kero was about to return to his gorging when he felt murderous intent directed at him.
The sun guardian looked past Sakura's horrified face and saw that gaki stalking towards him with a look that promised much pain.
"Look gaki, you- umph!"
In a fit of anger, and probably a moment of irrationality, Xiao Lang forced Kero's head right smack into the pudding and a sequencing sound was heard.
Sakura was beyond horrified.
"Xiao Lang!" she cried, attempting futilely to pry his hand away. "You're going to suffocate Kero!"
For once, Xiao Lang did not heed to his wife and refused to budge. The kitchen crew was staring from a safe distance away, dumbfounded by this rare display of foreign emotion by the master and mistress. It was not long before the soft toy glowed and morphed into its true form, bread pudding still stuck on its fur, golden eyes bored angrily into hardened hazel orbs.
"Now you've done it, you gaki!" Kerberos was literally breathing fire, roasting the counter into charcoal, "Nobody messes with me when I'm eating!"
End of flashback
"That incident happened a year ago. Kero hasn't done anything wrong ever since."
"That's because he's been in sealed form ever since."
Eriol had commented that Kero's appetite reflected the extent of Sakura's power; the more powerful she was, the greater his appetite. Xiao Lang snorted, pointing out that it was probably a farce and the soft toy was pretty brainless to believe in Hiragizawa's load of crap.
Though that led to another fierce argument with Kero, it was generally believed that Eriol's theory was true. Yet the elders were not placated with their ancestor's defense of Kero and demanded that the couple do something to control the wayward guardian instantly. Sealing the tiger back into the card form was the eventual solution.
Although Sakura was initially against this solution as it seemed pretty cruel to force her guardian into hibernation, she quickly realized that there were no other viable solutions. Sending Kero to Eriol's place would be another disaster in the making, where the interaction or fierce rivalry between Sphinx Sun and Kero had grown to legendary levels, disrupting private time between Eriol and Tomoyo.
Besides, the sorceress soon saw that there was no difference between sealing and leaving her guardian free to roam about. In that time of relative peace, Kero's daily cycle just revolved round eating and fiestas. After consuming large portions of desserts, he would be in a state of comatose for hours at odd places in the mansion.
It was pretty easy to locate the sleeping guardian. One just had to follow his snores.
Hence she sealed her guardians, Yue included, back into their card forms. The stoic guardian did not raise any violent objections. Giving a terse nod, he reminded his mistress in typical Yue-like fashion to be on her guard and summon him in times of need.
"If I sent Yue instead of Kero, I'm sure he would scare the wizards with his … strict conduct." Sakura argued.
Her husband was about to provide a counter argument when Meiling butted into their conversation, "I don't really care who is going to handle that alliance of yours. What I am more concern is the confidentiality of this interference. It will be difficult to hide the alliance from those ancients."
Gesturing to her grievous injuries, Meiling pointed out, "How do you explain these?"
"Training. I was in a foul mood."
"Right… You must be really pissed to break several of my ribs. As if Aunt Yelan will believe that." Meiling responded dryly to Xiao Lang's comment as she rolled her eyes.
"Look, these things can wait. It's so late into the night already and you badly need recuperation." Sakura chided as she helped Meiling to stand.
Meiling winced as sharp pain erupted from her ribs once more. With great difficulty, she managed to walk toward the door, all while grumbling in a frustrated manner.
"I just wish I can give that bstard hell, who ever it was that ordered for my capture."
Her cousin just whacked her lightly across her head, telling Meiling to just focus on recuperation.
--------------------
Ron was having an unrealistic dream about him being the best Quiditch goal keeper of the century when he felt someone shaking violently, despite attempts to swat the offending hands away.
Cracking an eyelid open, his vision registered a fuzzy form of Hermoine in a frazzled condition. Squinting at the clock, the red head croaked in protest and demanded why in bloody hell was she in the male's dorm so bloody early in the morning.
A newspaper was shoved into his face as his female counterpart yelled at him to read it and promptly went over to wake Harry up. Ron cursed, bringing the newspaper closed to his face, his blurry vision registering a clump of words.
"Increasing cases of dragon deaths? Bloody hell Moine! You work me up just to read about some dragons dying?"
Hermoine whacked him across his head.
"Fudge is dead, you moron!"
Now that caught both males' attention. Feeling alert all of a sudden, the boys scrambled and grabbed the newspaper, reading the headlines.
FUDGE FOUND DEAD IN OFFICE
Prime Minister Cornelius Fudge was found dead early this morning. Ministry staff found him lying in a pool of water, charred beyond recognition. Autopsy scans have determined electrocution to be the cause of death, though severe internal injuries were identified, believed to be sustained before his death.
The police claimed that there was no sign of force entry and all security footage have been destroyed. Security shields were unable to detect the intruder. The Daily Prophet understands that the investigators were unable to identify the cause of certain strange phenomenon.
"The cause of electrocution remains unclear." says Investigator Patrick, "We have combed the entire room and found no live wire nor any trace of short circuit. It is confirmed that the presence of such a large body of water was the catalyst to the Prime Minister's death. Though impossible, we suspect that someone had directed a huge flow of water to be contained only within this room."
Killing intent remains unclear. The police have classified it as an unnatural death.
UNUSUAL LIGHTNING THE CAUSE OF FUDGE'S DEATH?
30 Aurors were sent to St Mungo for emergency treatment after they were found with mostly second degree burns. Chief Auror Mr Steven Penson, died from severe burns.
An eye witness claims that a flash of lightning engulfed the Ministry building, which led to the Prime Minister's death. Madam Rosie, whose abode faces the governmental building explains:
"I was by the window, staring out into that awful storm when I suddenly saw this enormous flash of lightning strike the building. It was extremely bright and I swear I saw the lightning practically swallowing the entire building! The clap of thunder that followed sounded like an explosion and it woke several of my family members up. It was the scariest thing I've witnessed in my whole life!"
Chief Meteorologist Mr Pean, disagrees:
"Lightnings of that magnitude are unheard of. Besides, the government building has been built to withstand thunderstorms. Though the weather showed extremely strange activity, it was most probably an accumulation of lightning to produce the bright flash and explosion like sound."
The trio sat in stunned silence, staring at the animated picture which showed the charred body of what looks like Fudge being carried off.
"Bloody hell." Ron whispered, " Fudge actually died!"
"The entire school is in an uproar now. Both of you are probably the last to know about this."
"You can't blame us! We only had about three hours of sleep before you came charging in! The meeting with that sorceress stretched so bloody late into the night." Ron defended himself, stifling a yawn.
Harry, who was contemplating all this while, spoke abruptly, "They didn't mention anything about the Order or the sorceress cousin-in-law. Too many questions were left unanswered."
"Exactly." Hermoine agreed, "That's why we have to clarify it right now, with that guardian."
"You mean that plushie? That thing just kept attacking the cupcakes without even bothering to answer our questions."
"We were too afraid to approach the guardian without Hagrid, Ron."
"You mean incredulous. Did you see how fast he vacuumed those pastries?"
"We don't have time to waste!" Ron gave a startled yelp as Hermoine dragged him off his bed. "The Order has called for a meeting in fifteen minutes time, so hurry up! You too Harry."
"I'm moving! You don't have to pull!" Ron massaged his sore bottom as he made his way to the bathroom.
-------------------------
Kero was fast gaining a fearsome reputation for himself and probably tarnishing Sakura's name in the process. He had continued consuming cupcakes for several hours, only halting for an extended period of afternoon nap. According to an Order member, in charge of watching over the guardian, the house elves could barely keep up with Kero's speed.
Watching Kero inhale those cupcakes gradually transformed from an initially horrifying spectacle to an art itself. The act of lifting a cupcake as huge as his head, the widening of his mouth to a grotesque size, the motion of tossing the cake into his mouth and swallowing it whole, followed by a temporary expansion of his stomach before reverting back to normal… This series of motions occurred in less than half a minute, repeatedly for several hours.
However, the Order was not in the mood for appreciating art. Many of the teachers had spent the entire morning trying to get the chaos in the Great Hall under control. After a series of shocking news, followed by the overwhelming dread of getting thrown into Azkaban, the last thing they had expected was the death of Fudge.
Though undeniably relieved, they needed answers badly and to wait for an entire day before meeting up with Kero for discretionary purposes was emotionally draining. At long last, they managed to get some sort of response out of Kero, which happened to be a flat rejection of their question.
"The first thing I get reminded of after my hibernation is that gaki!" Kero irritable voice was barely audible as his mouth filled with cake, "Look, I'm just here to give you a run down on Sakura's powers. So let's get on with it."
As much as they wanted to argue, the Orders were forced to shelf their latest burning question. Settling down, they waited rather impatiently for Kero to ingest his cupcake and to finally stop eating and start explaining.
Queer as it was for sorcery to be packaged in the form of cards, the wizards began to have an overview of Sakura's sorcery. The sun guardian droned on, mentioning all 52 cards after explaining briefly the history of how young Sakura then captured and converted Clow cards.
"How old was Sa..Mrs Li when she first got the Clow cards? How did she qualify for them? How-"
"Classified info." Kero replied boredly.
Ignoring the miffed look that Hermoine gave him, Kero continued his explanation, emphasizing the strongest cards, which were guardians, Light and Dark.
Sugar from the awful lot of cupcakes he had consumed finally kicked in and Kero began to sulk less and judging from posture, less guarded.
"But after Sakura became really powerful, her sorcery was an entire new level and so were the power of her cards."
Kero shifted into a more comfortable, laidback position as he prepared himself for a pretty tedious explanation.
"For one, she didn't require her staff to summon her cards any longer. Hell, she didn't even need to verbally call out or do any ritual like things that she did way back. Her staff is now reserved as a medium for channeling huge flows of magic."
"Secondly, the power of her cards grew tremendously, or what I call, broaden. The cards could do a whole lot more within their specified element"
Faced with inquiring looks, Kero sat in his thinking pose while prodding a nearby cupcake with a pudgy arm.
"For example, watery could not only control an increased flow of water, she can also control ice or anything water related. She can even manipulate your blood flow. Windy can stop the air that you are breathing."
The members were getting rather uneasy with this new revelation, save for the awed expressions the Weasley twins were portraying. Lupin summed it in one statement, "In other words, Mrs Li obtain a variety of ways to … end a life."
"New found powers." Kero said, frowning slightly. "Obviously the powerful cards became more potent. No longer do Light or Dark just give off flashes of brightness or darkness. They control life and death respectively."
A sharp intake of breath focused all attention on Harry, "You mean Light can revive the dead?"
Eyes narrowed as they realized Harry's motive, many disapproving, few hopeful. Kero on the other hand pondered for quite sometime before replying, "Technically yes, but that's serious magic I'm telling ya. Though the only thing Light can't perform is healing techniques."
The atmosphere in the room turned into something indescribable. The boy who live asked no further as he sat down numbly. Certain Order members reminded themselves to keep a close watch on Harry.
"More importantly, as her powers grew, the book card was producing illusions no longer. Her illusions became real."
Glancing at his audiences, who seemed to be stunned too easily, Kero continued, still prodding the cupcake in a disinterested manner.
"She could create a dinosaur if she wanted too." Kero mused, "Obviously she won't be that foolish. Of course, she could make illusions be purely illusions. But more importantly, illusions, real or not, could now kill."
Kero paused, pondering on further elaboration.
"Let's say you are stuck in an illusion, fell into a canyon. I'm not clear if you will turn into a meat pie but you'll most definitively die in real life. That's why the book card has joined the ranks of the most potent cards."
"Hence the reason why Sakura is revered as the most powerful sorceress is not only that she controls life and death, but also due to the fact that she can technically do almost anything." Kero concluded, radiating with pride, sugar levels raging high as a lopsided grin was formed, his paws reaching out for the cupcake
Meanwhile, a new found fear was creeping into the stomachs some members. To imagine the powers of the sorceress was bad enough. To be informed explicitly of her mind blowing powers was an entirely different matter.
When asked about Xiao Lang, Kero began rave incoherently on past injustices. The only thing the Order could make out of that muffled grievance was bread pudding and gaki. Questions on the sorcerer were thus shelved to a later date.
"What about Tomoyo?"
Kero froze in mid-bite and stared into Hermoine's orbs.
"How do you know about her?"
" Some time back, a sorceress was captured within our school compound. I… overheard her name when the Aurors were searching for her after her disappearance."
"I remember students were specifically told not to loiter around that area, am I correct Miss Granger?" Snape drawled in a particularly nasty fashion.
"I…I…" Hermoine stammered before looking up, eyes reflecting steely resolve, "I would like to know more about her and the reason behind her visit to /Hogwarts."
Majority of the members grunted in agreement as they waited for Kero to make his decision.
They were not disappointed.
If anything, Kero became rather flippant after a years worth of hibernation, able to make certain concessions.
"Fine. Since Ore-sama is in a generous mood today, I shall enlighten you people."
"That's wonder-"
"BUT at a price." Kero interrupted, a sly glint in his eyes.
The guardian of the feared sorceress wanted a bribe, which was unbelievable to many of the members.
Hoping that the galleons in his account would be enough for whatever treasures that Kero wanted, Harry gulped and asked in a cautious manner.
"What price?"
Kero's eyes shone like lamps.
"Pudding."
------------------
Fool.
Fool.
Fool.
Fool.
The same word kept replaying repeatedly in Smith's mind as the death eater found himself alone in the forbidden forest for the umpteenth time.
He should have known better than to arrive to the designated spot on time. His highly irresponsible superior was perpetually late and had left him waiting in near darkness for several hours like a retarded fool. Smith was beginning to question his superior's credentials for obtaining such a high position in Lord Voldermort's army.
Downright annoyed, Smith prepared to ditch that tardy superior and apperate back to his living quarters and probably file a complaint report to the main committee, when he heard someone singing.
Despite numerous visits to the forest in the past few months for secret meetings, Smith could not get used to the eeriness of the forbidden forest. The tall, dense vegetation shrouded above, plunging the forest into pitch black darkness, save for the occasional strays of moonbeams that managed to penetrate through that mass of frondescence.
Unable to make out much in the dark, it was unavoidably creepy. The surrounding foliage was alive and Smith was dead sure that those damned trees were waiting for the perfect moment to trap and swallow him alive.
Thus someone else in this deranged foliage, much less singing, was definitely deemed to be dangerously strange.
Smith was tempted to calm his shaking nerves, apparate back and convince himself that it was his sleep induced mind that was playing nasty tricks on him. Yet regardless of the alarm bells smashing within or his sixth sense howling to get his ass out of the forest, Smith's limbs refused to co-operate.
That voice was drawing him towards the source. Though lyrics were foreign to his ears, the tune was undoubtedly melodic and soothing, luring and somewhat hypnotizing him to move forward.
Pushing the branches apart, stumbling into a small clearing, Smith found himself transfixed at the sight of a female figure perched onto a slab granite. Moonlight was strangely concentrated on that figure, enabling that female to emanate a holy glow. Her long, black hair that flowed freely and pooled at the base, contrasted sharply with her pale skin.
The singing stopped as she looked at him, an innocuous smile forming on her pretty face, something which Smith's fogged up mind was not able to comprehend at the moment.
"Ohayo, death eater-san."
----------------------
Meeting with Kero had to be adjourned once more. Hogwarts house elves had claimed that there was a great shortage of ingredients to even provide dessert to the main student body thus Hogsmeade was seen as an alternative.
Since it was nightfall, it was impossible to obtain Kero's request as shops in Hogsmeade were shut. The next morning, Harry and his pals had to trot down the streets of Hogsmeade, which was still battered and nearly void of wizards due to the recent attack, and head to the nearest pudding shop.
It was night time again when they met up with Kero once more. He was presented, or bribed, with cartons of neatly packaged pudding, each containing a different type of flavour.
Kero was ecstatic.
Gulping down the first pudding instantly, Kero rewarded his fellow 'minions' with information they so desired.
"Tomoyo is what I'll call a special case. She was originally a normal human, possessing no trace of magic, let along sorcery within her."
The members' mouths were left hanging and one asked, "How could that be? Isn't magic or sorcery supposed to be hereditary?"
"It is." Kero replied as he wolfed down another pudding in a flash, "But there is another way of obtaining sorcery. Someone bestowed a portion of his powers to Tomoyo."
"Who has that much power to spare, other than Mr and Mrs Li?"
Kero snorted, "Well, if Clow were your boyfriend, he would even give you the moon if he wanted to."
Faced with looks of disbelief, Kero decided to enlighten them, "I know. Clow is dead, disintegrated into dust hundreds of years ago. Sheesh, he was my former master. Obviously I would be the first to know about his death."
"Clow has reincarnated, in the form of another creepy brat who always loves infuriating the gaki.
"He has reincarnated?" Hermoine looked thunderstruck, upset that her books did not mention a single thing about his reincarnation.
Kero nodded.
"But as a half-blood sorceress, Tomoyo is considered to be pretty weak in her powers. All she has are defense and illusionary sorcery, you know glamour magic and stuff. Hypnotization is one of her niche area too. Her sorcery reserves are smaller than usual. She doesn't even have a proper medium. Her video camera was converted into a one, acting like some sort of generator that produces a force field which sets boundaries to how wide her sorcery could be effective."
"A video camera?" Ron repeated dumbly.
"I know. You are not the only one that's surprised. Apparently, Tomoyo requested her video camera to be converted."
"Do excuse me for my tactlessness." Dumbledore began, "But doesn't that mean she's defective?"
"That's where the interesting part steps in. She choose to nullify her sorcery attacks on her own accord and directed all her sorcery to the other two aspects." Kero temporarily dumped his pudding to focus on the topic at hand, "By right, only really powerful sorcerers like Clow, Sakura or that gaki have the ability to create illusions that are genuine."
The crowd of wizards had this sudden inkling of where the conversation was heading to.
"But due to specialization, Tomoyo is able to create almost anything so long as her reserves permits it. Like the others, her illusions became real."
-------------------
He did not know what possessed him to approach the clearing, but when the singing halted, Smith's eyes slid back into focus, hazy mind cleared and was acutely aware of his surroundings.
Instincts raging madly, Smith whipped out his wand and pointed at the female figure.
"Ara, you shouldn't wave such dangerous things around. You might hurt somebody."
Smith ignored her antics. She had recognized him as a death eater which equated her as a foe to the organization.
Looking somewhat bemused, the lad reached behind her and revealed a glowing video camera.
That luminous muggle technology was more than enough to trigger his reflex mechanisms and Smith yelled the killing curse. The curse collided against a barrier emitting a bright flash before rocketing back at great speed. Smith ducked in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding death as the curse penetrated several tree trunks in its path.
"That really startled me. You really should have given me a fair bit of warning." She sounded, that seemingly harmless smile surfaced once more, causing the hair at the back of his nape to stand.
"What have you done my superior?"
Her grin widened.
"Technically speaking, I've done nothing. He was missing in action for the past few months."
"Bullshit!" Smith snarled, " I was just talking to him days ago! He told me to-"
"Meet me tomorrow same time and place. I need to show you something that is of utmost importance. It concerns the survival of our organization. This is highly confidential. Come alone"
The death eater froze, face turning into a deathly shade of pallor. The lad's grin was unwavering as she continued, her hand cupping her face.
"Like I've said, he was missing in action for the past few months."
Smith's eyes widened as pieces began to fall into place. Insides quivering as he stood, he pointed a shaky finger at his foe.
"You were impersonating him!"
Clapping resonated throughout the forest.
"Sugoi!" She said, looking thoroughly impressed, "You're the first who deciphered that much."
"Who… who are you? What do you want with us?" Smith demanded shakily.
"Me? I'm Tomoyo, you know just a normal girl passing off as a Hogwarts student." The lad replied smoothly.
As her video camera gleamed even brighter, Tomoyo held it in both hands and brought it close to her face. Her expression reflected childish innocence.
" Let's play a game. If you manage to entertain me, I shall consider enlightening you."
Smith swallowed thickly as he noticed the word 'entertain' instead of 'defeat'. Tomoyo lifted her palm, the steely glint in her eyes did not go unnoticed.
"I suggest you start running death eater-san." Tomoyo's voice rang ominously, "It won't be a game of catch if you are trapped that quickly."
Game of catch? What-
Smith's thoughts were interrupted by loud crashes. Distracted, he looked up only to be petrified by the sight of falling trees, ground trembling against the impact of each tree.
The forbidden forest was collapsing.
Numbed with fear, he clumsily grabbed his wand off the ground and darted off immediately, with falling vegetation hot in pursuit. Heart pounding hard against his ribcage, Smith forced his weakened legs to move as his survival instincts went overdrive, practically screeching at him to escape. Attempts to apparate were futile.
Pointing his wand over his shoulder as he ran, Smith frantically yelled numerous incantations in succession in order to stem the collapse. However, the spells were not effective. If anything, the trees fell even faster, like a stack of dominoes toppling out of control.
As luck might have it, Smith's heart soared as he managed to escape the forest, hopefully far away from all that madness. He darted towards Hogwarts in view, ironically for safety, when his blood chilled.
Hogwarts… no… the entire scene was starting to crack. Like jigsaw pieces gone lose, pieces of the view began to fall in thousands into nothingness, giving way to inky blackness, enclaving Smith.
Backing away in terror, Smith tried to dispel the darkness with a powerful light spell, only to cry out in desperation when the light fizzed out immediately.
It has to be an illusion. Smith coerced his nerves to remain calm. As long as your will is strong, you can break out of this hellhole!
Brows furrowed in forced concentration, perspiration trickling down incessantly as he raised his wand high up, bellowing his strongest incantation.
For a moment, it seemed to be working. But his relief was short-lived when Smith was caught unprepared as something in this pitch black darkness wound round his body and lifted him off the ground.
As he struggling to break free, that thing, whatever it was, tightened further. The pressure on his chest was overpowering, crushing, causing blood to spill out of his mouth.
"That was a marvelous attempt. Too bad it didn't work out."
Darkness gradually faded and Smith soon found himself back at the clearing where he met the sorceress, only this time he was suspended in mid-air by an enormous vine. Tomoyo, he realized, had not move from her original spot, that deceptive smile ever present.
Overwhelmed with bone deep exhaustion, his brain unable to process rationally any longer, Smith was suddenly inflamed by the fact that Tomoyo was just toying with him.
"You bitch!" the death eater spat, paying no heed to his agony, "Your damned illusions won't work on me!"
Amidst the constriction, his blurry vision could register an unnatural phenomenon of vines and roots gathering around the sorceress.
"It hasn't? My illusions are not restricted to just the forbidden forest. It has been compassing the entire school compound for the past few months."
That sinking feeling in his stomach did nothing to allay his fears, nor deny the revelation that would be unveiled moments later.
"Those times you walked into the room of requirement, have you ever pondered that you were probably walking deeper and deeper into the forbidden forest instead? Or anything that you did in Hogwarts was not what you thought it should be? The comrade you were speaking to could be … an armor along the hallways of Hogwarts for instance." Tomoyo giggled as she continued, "Do not take things at face value, death eater-san."
Smith caught the underlining meaning of her words and stared at her in utter dismay. Of the numerous meetings he had with the assassination team in Hogwarts, how many were real? Or rather, who was just a mirage?
"What do you want with us?" Smith asked for the second time, gritting his teeth in pain.
"Information on Voldermort's plans." The sorceress replied, enlightening his tortured mind, "Your little team in Hogwarts is attempting to assassinate Dumbledore isn't it? Using such elaborate and fancy tricks, that Malfoy kid is pretty stupid. As for you, blame it on your organization for recalling you back to their head quarters."
The sky was gradually turning bright. Dawn was approaching.
"Ara, I'm afraid we have to part. Lessons are starting soon and I really can't be late. Professor Snape would be livid." Gazing at the vegetation amassed behind her, Tomoyo added, "It's better if you think that these illusions are just plain illusion. It could make your trip down a tad more pleasant."
Flicking her hand ever so gently, the roots and vines in the background wound like a sharpened coiled spring and positioned themselves at various angles, Smith in their line of fire. Losing his will to fight, Smith hung his head in a resigned manner and muttered his last question.
"Did my comrades end up like this too?"
Tomoyo's smile faltered as she looked at her prey in silence. Her voice became hollow, eyes reflecting agony buried deep within.
"I detest killing. I really do. But your kind killed Sakura's family and Rika-chan and Chiharu-chan and Naoko-chan and Takashi and… probably ka-san as well.
Melancholic expression fleeting past, her façade was erected once more.
"I've talked too much haven't I? Well then, it's nice meeting you Smith-san."
Unleashing stored up energy, the coiled roots sprang forward.
"Sayonara."
----------------
By the time Kero had engulfed his 36th pudding, the members notice that something was amiss. Not that they actually wanted to count how many he ate, but those discarded plastic boxes strewn all over was too difficult to miss.
One by one, it began to find out what exactly was so out of the ordinary, save for Kero himself who was ranting about those card captoring days. It was a while later, like any opportunistic human, that the wizards struck when the iron was hot, exploiting the opportunity which might have repercussions to both wizards and guardian later on.
"They used to be soooooo carefree! Tomoyo even designed outfits for Sakura!"
Kero, the wizards realized, was treading dangerous waters.
"But ever since that incident, they have changed." Kero bemoaned while continuing his pudding feast, "The males-hic- being males became a lot harsher, brutal in some aspects. The most drastic change occurred in both Sakura and Tomoyo. They –hic- were…"
Kero was drunk and his red face was confirmation of their suspicion. It suddenly dawned on the wizards that the plushie's intoxication was due to the puddings. They had purchased one of everything and half of the puddings on the menu contained wine.
Face glowing a brighter shade of red, it signified Kero's low tolerance level for alcohol, which also meant that his tongue became loose and supposing confidential material became easy to extract.
"We should ask him about the sorceress past." Harry spoke in a low voice, trying to avoid catching Kero's attention.
"But she specifically warned us not to dig up her past or any private matter."
"That soft toy brought up the subject first. Besides, such an opportunity is not to be missed. When he is sober again, it would be tough to get anything out of him."
"I agree with Kingsley." Moody grunted, "Moreover, knowing her past isn't a bad thing. It allows us to plan ahead, understand her perspective and enhances co-operation."
It was agreed that the Order should seize this rare chance, with Hermoine as their usual unofficial spokesperson and Dumbledore, who was contented to take the back seat for now.
"Kero. H-"
"It's Kerberos!" Kero snapped.
"Kerberos." Hermoine began cautiously, "Would you mind telling us about that incident? About Mrs Li's past? We're really curious as to what had happened back then for her to loathe both death eaters and other wizards to such an extent."
Kero eyed the bushy hair girl with a beady eye before hiccupping, "Lots of thing happened. I don't know-hic- about Tomoyo, wasn't with her at that time. But it was through those killings that brought such-hic- a great change in Sakura."
Though alcohol was circulating within him, Kero still managed to look somber as he raked up the past, consumption of pudding halting for the second time. For the next hour or so, Kero started to shed light on the reason for the sorceress's agony, the cause for the sorcerer's pain. The wizards would later retire back to their rooms, sleep deserting them as new found knowledge plagued their minds, sentiments reflecting what Kero had said in his introductory statement.
"It was a terrible event occurring at the wrong place and the wrong time."
End of chapter 10, finally.
Late by a month again. I have to apologise, but Uni life is so hectic, I could barely scrap up time to type a paragraph. If I ever ditch my homework for a day, I might drown in homework like Hitsu, except that his is paperwork. Whoever says Uni life is free and easy will be given a death glare.
As I was typing this chappie, my 2000 word holiday assignment was constantly calling out to me, demanding for attention.
This chappie is actually 75 of the original chappie 10. I wanted to stuff Sakura's past too but if I did so, this chappie would only be updated in December or something. So the long awaited revelation of her past will be revealed in chappie 11. You ppl can start speculating.
I'm afraid I can't update every 2 months now. This is the reason why:
School term: Jan to April, Aug to Nov, with April and November being months for major exams. Only Dec, May to July are my holidays. There are 2 one week breaks but that's not enough. It's gonna be like this for the next 4 years. My goal of completing this story by next year could be shattered.
Rushed through this chappie so some parts may not be as smooth flowing as the previous chapter. I apoplogise for that too. And this chappie is over whelmed by dialogues – my nemesis
Now I'm off to figure out how to stretch the description on Human development perspective and social constructionist perspective into a 25 mark essay.
Till next time ( dunnoe when, soon I hope, maybe Dec?)
Ja Ne.
P.s: Reviews are plummeting. Sniff. I would love to hear your comments. Cheers me up. Really.