"I'm worried," Sakura told Eriol as they sat in the Gryffindor common room, "I keep having this dream." She then started describing it in Japanese so no one would rumble them if they came in suddenly. Eriol considered what she was saying; it was already apparent that it was a prophetic dream.
"It sounds like Voldemort will make a surprise attack on Hogwarts," He told her, "We'll have to start preparing." He got up and left the common room, leaving Sakura to wonder just what he had in mind.
'Eriol always carries a sense of mystery about him.' She thought.
"Thank you for staying behind." Yukito told Sakura, Tomoyo, Syaoran, Eriol and Harry. "Professor Dumbledore has asked me to instruct 'our transfer students' in a specialised area of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Of course, Mr. Potter already knows the spell in question." Sakura looked between everyone there in bewilderment while Harry carried a serious 'I know what's coming' expression. "He wants you to know how to fight dementors." Harry nodded heavily while Sakura, Tomoyo and Syaoran were still none the wiser.
"What is a dementor, Tsukishiro-san?" Tomoyo asked. Yukito's smile faded as he began to elaborate.
"A dementor is a being that is created in the darkest, most miserable places on Earth. They are dark ragged shades that drain happiness from people so they relive their worst memories; dementors indirectly feed on the misery of people."
"It can be worse," Harry added, "The Dementor's Kiss is a fate worse than death!"
"How so?" Syaoran asked him.
"Because 'The Kiss' sucks the soul out of the body." Harry answered, prompting the loudest cry ever known in the history of Hogwarts.
"HOEEEE!!" Sakura screamed in terror.
"It's alright." Yukito blurted out. "That is very rare even with rogue dementors. It takes a lot of time to get that far. Although..."
"What?" Harry asked, concerned.
"According to Dumbledore all dementors are defecting to Voldemort." Yukito replied.
"That's why we're here." Eriol commented.
"I am going to teach you the patronus charm." Yukito finally got to the point. "It is a positive energy that acts like a forcefield against a dementor, but in order for it to work you need to think of a memory; a happy, strong, powerful memory." They all considered what such a memory was on their part. "Upon casting the patronus you recite the incantation 'expecto patronum'." There was a moment of silence. "Mr. Potter, I would like you to demonstrate the charm to the others." Harry nodded in response and stood in front of the trunk ready to show them what to do.
"I learnt this in my third year." He told the others. "Stand back." They had a good idea why he said this and complied, although Sakura was worried about what she'd see and hid behind Tomoyo. Yukito opened the trunk. "Expecto Patronum!" Harry cried, summoning a white field from his wand, forcing the form of the dementor back inside.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter." Yukito answered. "Now, I'd like one of you to try it." Eriol immediately stepped up.
'That's right,' Yue thought behind Yukito's conscience, 'It would be you, Clow.'
Eriol stood at the ready as Yukito opened the trunk.
"Expecto Patronum." Eriol commanded; nothing happened. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He yelled, successfully forcing the dementor back. Harry was aghast.
"How did you do that?" He asked, Eriol just smiled and said.
"I took similar lessons, but that was a long time ago." He looked at the other three and smiled at Syaoran.
"No!" He answered. "No!"
"It's either you or one of the girls, Li Syaoran." Eriol responded. After looking between Sakura and Tomoyo and the trunk Syaoran finally gave in and approached it. The dementor was released again and Syaoran recited the incantation, but the candles blew out and Syaoran seemed to go unconscious.
Later on Yukito and Harry lifted him up. When Syaoran seemed overcome by the dementor Sakura looked as though she would confront it herself before Harry got it back in the trunk.
"Here." Yukito offered him a bit of chocolate. "It's quite common for someone to fail on their first go."
"That was nasty." Syaoran commented.
"No," Harry told him, "That was a boggart. The real thing is much worse."
"Tell me," Yukito said as he reignited the candles, "What memory did you choose?"
"Seeing Sakura smile." Syaoran answered. Harry shook his head.
"I know from experience that you need more than that." He told him. "When I first tried I remembered the first time I rode a broom and that didn't work."
"Shall we try again?" Yukito asked.
"Okay." He answered. This time Syaoran focused hard on his memory and the incantation. His skill was comparable to Harry's and he got the verbal equivalent to a slap on the back for it.
"Well done, Syaoran-kun!" Sakura cried out and hugged him with great affection; although initially embarrassed Syaoran returned her hug. Looking over her shoulder he noticed that Tomoyo had been recording all this time.
"Who would like to try it next?" Yukito asked; after a brief silence Tomoyo stepped up while slipping her camera away.
"Are you sure, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked.
"I don't want you to panic, Sakura-chan," She replied, "But I must try my best since I'm new to using magic. Besides, I think we should save the best till last." She stood in front of the trunk and waited for Yukito to let the boggart-dementor out.
Upon doing so it seemed that Tomoyo's capability in the patronus was on par with Eriol's as she only had to repeat it once. Her success prompted a round of applause from Sakura and Eriol while Syaoran smiled with approval and Harry was just stunned.
"Okay, Sakura-chan." Yukito commented; she knew what he meant and stepped up to the trunk. She knew what to expect and had a good candidate memory. Yukito opened the trunk and Sakura spoke the incantation.
Not only did Sakura get it right the first time round but the patronus forced the boggat-dementor back into the trunk with a scream almost as ear-piercing as a banshee's. Harry was absolutely flabbergasted.
"Nothing less from Sakura-chan." Tomoyo commented with a combination of certainty and affection in the tone of her voice.
'"I'll bet that Sakura, Eriol, Syaoran and Tomoyo have connections to Clow Reed…"' Hermione's voice echoed in Harry's mind.
"Okay," Yukito commented after that extra lesson, "Please remember this as it may one day save you." With that the lesson was dismissed and the students left.
"Have you ever done this before?" Harry asked Sakura, still flabbergasted by her success against the boggart-dementor.
"No," She answered, "It was my first time." While Sakura's group set off ahead Harry was rooted to the spot with amazement.
"I've got another letter from Meilin!" Syaoran told the others during their free time.
"I always like to hear from her." Sakura commented. Meilin had been maintaining a steady exchange of letters with them since they had arrived; not only did she know of where they were but it turned out that she was in the same position as Tomoyo. She was studying in a Chinese version of Hogwarts.
"How's she getting on?" Tomoyo asked; the letter detailed her progress at her magic school and, as usual, moaned about the fact that she couldn't be with Syaoran but also wished both Sakura and he her best regards. "Now that I think about it," Tomoyo commented as she remembered their private lesson the day before. "A dementor seems to have a resemblance to the Shadow card, only more sinister." She whispered to the others.
"What goes on between them?" Snape muttered as he watched Yukito talking with Sakura and the others. "There must be something going on; a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher never lasts more than a year."
"Don't dwell on it, Severus." Dumbledore told him as he suddenly appeared behind the Potions teacher; Snape spun round suddenly. "I have great faith in Miss Kinomoto and her allies." Snape considered this as Dumbledore moved onwards; he couldn't understand how Sakura's friends could be considered her allies. Of course Dumbledore was talking about more than her human friends.
Early April Hermione continues to ferret through the library for more information on Clow Reed. She was sure that there was some connection between Sakura and her friends and this sorcerer. Just as she was flicking through a book on famous magicians she was suddenly addressed.
"Can I help you, Miss Granger?" Eriol asked her. In a panic Hermione slammed the book shut and spun round, trying to look composed.
"No, it's all right, Eriol." She answered sharply. "Just doing a bit of revision." Eriol smiled reassuringly and moved along, changing his smile into a mischievously knowing one. Meanwhile Hermione continued to search for more information about Clow Reed.
"You need a little help, Miss Granger." He muttered.
"You want me to WHAT?!" Sakura cried as Eriol talked with her in the common room, just after lights out.
"SHHH!" Eriol responded, for fear of waking anyone else. "Like I said, Sakura-san, use it on Granger-san." He had asked her to have a word with him at this time. Until know they were speaking in Japanese; Eriol had asked her to use the Dream card on Hermione.
"What for?" She asked in a nervous whisper; Eriol whispered ever so quietly into her hear, even though he could've just informed her in Japanese without lowering his voice so much.
"Kanojo wa shitte iru ka?" She knows? Sakura commented; Eriol nodded.
"But not enough to be a problem. I just want to give her a bit more of a hint." He told her, Sakura nodded in understanding. "Oh, and after that could you use it on Potter-san? I think he should know what's coming." Sakura uncertainly nodded again as she commenced to summon her star staff.
"Dream!" She commanded, the card took on the form of a blue butterfly and flew to the girls' dorm.
Hermione wandered through the corridors of Hogwarts, unsure of where she had to go. She reached the stairwell and proceeded to head up to the common room, keeping an eye out for shifting flights. As she went up a flight budged up against the wall she suddenly noticed a figure coming the other way. It wasn't one she recognised; none of the teachers had this appearance. As she looked at the figure she thought he looked like a combination of Prof. Tsukishiro and Eriol.
"Excuse me," She addressed him, "But I don't think you're a member of the faculty." The figure smiled at her, He looked familiar but unusual; his garb was not Hogwarts uniform. "Your aura," She commented as she remembered her lesson in following a person's aura, "Are you Clow Reed?" The figure nodded and spoke to her.
"I can assure you, Miss Granger," He said, "I am your friend." This came as some surprise to her. She looked him in the eye and said.
"I thought you died alone a long, long time ago." Clow shook his head and said.
"Oh no, not me; I never lost control. You're face to face with the man who made the cards." Hermione stood in bewilderment of this answer; she then noticed that Clow was looking down the stairs. Turning around she saw Yukito standing there.
"Clow…" He murmured in an uncharacteristically low monotoned voice, "You're here."
"It's good to see you again." Clow responded. Hermione stood looking between the two, wondering what it all meant.
Then she suddenly found herself in the courtyard at night. Looking upwards she noticed three figures on the roof of the school, silhouetted against the moonlight. One looked like a winged lion that had lost its mane; another looked like a man with similar wings and between them stood a very human, very familiar figure.
"What is going on?" She said aloud.
Hermione started up in bed and looked around; all the other Gryffindor girls were fast asleep.
'It was a dream?' She thought; her gaze was drawn to Sakura's bed. She couldn't help but feel that she entered into the equation of her dream somewhere.
Harry found himself standing in a town in front of what he assumed was a park. On an archway over the entrance he noticed three unusual figures similar to the ones Hermione saw but with butterfly wings and one was more like a panther and the other was more feminine. The figure in the middle raised a staff and then the entire sky grew dark. He turned round to see the same three figures Hermione saw but could discern less than she could.
The background changed. Now he was outside Hagrid's hut looking up at Hogwarts, the same figures were there but one looked taller than before. This figure waved a different staff and a humanoid figure made of flame materialised directly above it.
Harry started from his bed. He gave the dorm a once over and was now sure it was a dream; but last year's experience had made him realise that wizards and witches had the potential to see the future in their dreams. He knew how to operate a crystal ball and had a good idea of how to read the tarot, but some of Prof. Trelawney's divination methods were what he considered to be unreliable.
'I must see if there's a book on dreams or foretelling in the library.' He mentally noted.
The following morning Harry and Hermione were talking with Ron about their dreams.
"Could you draw a sketch of Mr. Reed from memory?" Harry asked Hermione; she considered this and said.
"I'll give it a try."
The resulting sketch was very vivid; of course it was embezzled with magic so Clow seemed to move. It went right down to the last detail.
"Cor!" Ron exclaimed. "You're right; he does look like He-was-a-gi-wa and Professor Suck-a-she-whoa." Hermione groaned at Ron's terrible pronunciation.
"Why don't you learn Japanese pronunciation?" She queried rhetorically. "It's 'Hiiragizawa' and 'Tsukishiro'. It was bad enough when you put the emphasis on 'ur' in 'Sakura'." Ron now groaned at what he saw as her pernickety-ness.
"Well," Harry commented getting back to the subject in hand, "Like Clow Reed they both wear glasses…"
"So do you." Ron added.
"…And they both smile a lot." Harry finished, waiting to see if Ron was to make another comment.
"But there's one thing I don't understand." Hermione commented as she went over the events of her dream. "What are the cards he referred to?"
"Only you've had that message," Harry commented, "I didn't see or hear anything about cards in my dream."
"You'll know soon enough." Eriol muttered as he watched them from afar. "You'll know before the end of the year."
"It is strange," Sakura told Syaoran as they sat outside together, "Lately I've noticed that Tomoyo-chan seems to be showing feelings of love beyond what I'd expect of a friend." Syaoran thought about this for a moment; he wasn't too surprised by what this insinuated but he did consider why Sakura was only noticing it recently.
"Your powers must have reached a new milestone." He told her, she queried with her characteristic onomatopoeia. "You're starting to notice people's feelings regardless as to how well they can hide them." Sakura considered this and understood why some appear to be sad to her even though her usual judgement told her that they showed no sign of sadness.
"Well," She whispered to him, "I'm happy to be here with you." Syaoran returned her passionate smile and they both felt drawn to one another's faces. Their eyes closed and their lips puckered as they got closer and closer until…
Sakura jumped and turned to the Dark Forest, Syaoran did the same.
"This presence…" She commented.
"It's not good." Syaoran finished. Sakura clenched her chest, right where her Star key was.
"Maybe we should investigate." She suggested; Syaoran looked at their timetable.
"We have no lessons this afternoon," He told her, "We can check." He felt his sword pendant and they both walked side by side towards the forest.
As they slipped between the trees, constantly checking for anything unpleasant, Sakura suddenly saw a familiar figure sitting on a log. She felt both nervous and happy at the same time; she knew what she was seeing but only had a hunch as to whom… until the figure turned to face.
"O…oka-san!" M…mum! Sakura spoke; the figure nodded with a smile on her face.
"Watashi wa shiawase watashi kimi o miru, Sakura-chan." I'm happy that you can see me, Sakura. Nadeshiko told her. "Demo tayori no kimi watashi o motte iru." But I have news for you. She levitated towards her daughter and whispered in her ear.
After delivering what she had to say Nadeshiko started speaking in English.
"I have to go now; but if something else occurs I'll be there for you." Sakura nodded in understanding and watched as the ghost of her mother floated up into the canopy and faded into thin air.
"What was that, Sakura?" Syaoran asked her; she leaned closer to him to tell him what Nadeshiko told her. They were very wary now.
"Halt!" Cried a dark figure as it leaped from behind the trees; another did the same. Their wands were pointed directly at Sakura and Syaoran. "In case you're wondering," The figure commented, "We are Death Eaters; followers of the great wizard Voldemort!" They understood exactly what was going on now; it was a stand-off.
"I'm warning you," Syaoran told them, "If you try anything you'll suffer for it." They just went into diabolical laughter.
"We'll soon see about that!" The second figure commented as they commenced to act diabolically. Syaoran and Sakura drew their wands. "We won't kill you," He said, "We want some information from you."
"You will not get any information from us!" Sakura declared, confident in her ability but also disturbed by this turn of events.
"We will," The first Death Eater told her, "Since a little torture will make you talk." Syaoran and Sakura braced themselves. "Crucio!" The curse shot at them.
"Explulsio!" Sakura responded; her defensive charm did not just deflect the attack, it actually absorbed the attack and knocked the Death Eater off his feet!
"Crucio!" The second Death Eater declared from point blank range; though Sakura had no time to turn and counter-curse she raised her hand and actually deflected the attack without wand or incantation. In fact her deflection worked a bit too well; the pain of the curse now set upon the second Death Eater.
They had been trained by Voldemort in these demonic spells and were used to him winning, but they had never heard of any witch or wizard deflecting a curse just by using their hand! They knew now that they were dealing with one very powerful witch.
"Why do you follow Voldemort?" She asked them. "He's cruel, he's selfish, and he's a cold-blooded murderer." They stood feeling bewildered; they felt themselves question their faith in Voldemort.
"That's exactly why we follow him." One answered. "Those who do not follow him suffer and die. Those who do follow him shall live. Against the power of Him there can be no victory. Embrace the basic instinct to seek power or embrace your eventual destruction!" That tirade was both a warning and encouragement. Now it was Syaoran's turn.
"There is only one Voldemort. Only one wizard who will kill on a whim. And he does not share power!" He told them.
"Anyone who is not a Death Eater who speaks his name is either really brave or really stupid. Because of his power we will not back down until we are either destroyed or reduced to shadows of our former selves." Sakura looked at them and noticed their auras. One was a man and one was a woman. The woman spoke in a snake-like voice to hide her identity. She knew what she had to do to break Voldemort's control over them and to ensure they would not cause trouble.
"Go, Syaoran." She whispered to him. "I will solve the problem." He was hesitant but when he looked into her eyes he could not refuse her instructions and set off back to the school. "If you want him you will need to get me first!" She declared extracting her star key while putting her wand away. Amazingly the staff formed without instructions; Sakura could summon her staff through sheer force of will.
"Crucio!" They both declared, crossing the paths of their wands to amplify the curse. The curse struck the star on Sakura's staff and didn't even bounce back; it was absorbed like a sponge absorbing a drop of water.
"You leave me no choice." Sakura commented calmly; she summoned a card. "Little!" She declared. A yellow streak flew from the card and struck the Death Eaters.
Their dark costumes had been shed to reveal their true identities, their wands were now nothing more than their constituent parts and they themselves were no more than two inches high. Sakura strode over to where they stood; a tower of a girl as the former Death Eaters cowered in her shadow.
"Sakura!" Syaoran called out as he saw her emerge from the Dark Forest. "Daijoubu desu ka?" Are you alright? He asked her.
"I'm fine." She replied with a smile on her face. "They won't bother anyone else now." If Syaoran didn't now better he would've sworn that she had a sly smile on her face.