Chapter 12 - The Room of Requirements

"Harry?" Hermione called.

Harry didn't want to purposely ignore her, but he had a hard time looking away.

"Dressed in all pink, is that Dolores Umbridge!" Ron whispered-cried.

"Yeah, it is."

"Isn't she a politician? Why would she be our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" Alice asked.

"It doesn't know," Hermione replied, "but I don't think it's a good sign."

Dumbledore raised his glass and the banquet formally began; silver platters of food appeared in front of them.

Harry's attention wasn't strayed by the food, and he kept his eyes glued on the head table. He didn't blink as he tried to catch Dumbledore's eye, but his attempts were futile; Harry was sure he was being ignored.

"I always forget how great the food is," Ron said, with a full mouth.

"You are a prefect now, Ron, you need to think about your position and how the younger students will view you. You are supposed to be a role model," Hermione nagged.

The twins laughed.

"Like we could," said Fred.

"Ever be inspired by him," finished George.

Ron straightened the gold and red badge on his robe. "Shut up."

"Well George, at least we have a family member on the inside."

"One that isn't, Percy."

"My name is Sakura Kinomoto," Kero called from Sakura's robe.

A fellow Hufflepuff turned to her.

"My name is Hannah Abbott," a girl, with long dirty blond hair, introduced herself. "I am a Hufflepuff prefect."

Kero nudged her, and Sakura robotically stuck out her arm.

Kero is right, I need to make friends.

Sakura looked around the table and noticed that the Hufflepuff's seemed to resemble one another. Everyone, including herself, had either lighter brown hair or was blonde; although there was one girl with strikingly red hair.

"Where did you transfer from?" Hannah asked, bringing Sakura back to the conversation.

"I didn't transfer, I was-,"

"Homeschooled," Kero squeaked, trying to imitate Sakura's voice.

Hannah smiled, not seeming to notice that there were two people talking.

"Well, it's nice to have another Hufflepuff."

Sakura tried to smile back.

A tall boy, with blonde hair and green eyes, stood up to introduce himself.

"James Kirkland, " he said extending a hand. "The other prefect."

"Sakura Kinomoto."

"This may sound a little forward,"

Syaoran, who was intently watching this interaction from the Gryffindor table, strained his ears to catch their conversation.

"But I was wondering if you had any interest in Quidditch?"

Syaoran leaned over onto Ron, who started choking on his turkey.

"As the captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, I am always looking for potential players."

"Don't feel pressured to play, he asks everyone," Hannah reassured her.

"I'm not sure how well I can play, but I do have an interest in the sport," Sakura replied.

An interest was an understatement after all the Sparta training Ron had put her through that summer. What had begun as innocent flying lessons, evolved into Ron's sole mission to get her a spot on the Gryffindor team. While she wasn't as emotionally invested as he was, she too wanted to play.

"Feel free to try out for the team," he encouraged, "we may be competitive, but we also strive to have a good time."

Sakura smiled; the fear of the cut-throat tryouts Ron had described melted away.

Maybe I do belong in Hufflepuff.

"I will give you more information at a later time," James said, before returning to his seat.

"You are a fifth-year?" Hannah asked.

Sakura nodded.

Hannah gestured to the two girls sitting in front of her.

"This is Annie," Hannah introduced, a tall lean girl with brown hair and brown eyes. "And Ella," she gestured towards a short girl with short white-blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"We are also in the fifth year," Annie explained,

"I hope we can both get onto the team," Ellie said, "I am also going to be trying out."

At the Slytherin table, Eriol was doing his best to follow the tips Ruby had given him.

Introduce yourself and don't forget to smile!

"You were in that compartment," Draco recalled.

Eriol, who had been prepared to introduce himself first, was caught off guard.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he said, extending a pale hand.

Eriol shook it politely.

This was the person, listed highest, on the Gryffindor's most hated list.

On the express, Ron had a lot to say about Draco and his pure-blood loving family.

"I can't believe they made him a prefect," he remembered Ron saying.

"Eriol Hiirigizawa," he introduced himself.

Now that he introduced himself, he was a loss of what to do; small talk had never been his forte. Eriol had been told that there was bad blood between Draco and Harry, he worried that Draco would be negatively biased towards him for that connection.

Draco didn't mention Harry, but low-key interrogated him as they ate.

While he was being introduced to other Slytherins in their year, his shoulder twitched involuntarily.

He looked up and over to the Ravenclaw table, where Tomoyo was trying to get his attention.

Her smile made his blood run cold.

You said you would deal with this! He could almost hear her say in his mind.

Eriol had promised that he would take care of things for her, but how was he supposed to help her now that they were in different houses?

Tomoyo's attention was forcefully taken away by Luna.

Eriol exhaled, but he wasn't completely off the hook; Sakura was frantically waving.

She made a swinging motion with her hand.

What is she doing?

She continually repeated the motion.

When he still didn't understand, she held her fingers a ruler's length apart.

It took a moment, but it finally clicked. I still have her wand!

Not even an hour had passed since they were sorted, and they were already in a situation.

"Why is that girl, what's her name? Sa-., whatever her name is, waving at you?" Draco asked.

I have something of hers," he replied vaguely.

"You knew each other before you came?"

"Yes, she is my su-, friend."

"You must be embarrassed that you are acquainted with a Hufflepuff."

Eriol was starting to see why Draco wasn't well received by the other houses.

He didn't reply; why make my life more difficult by fighting?

"I need to give it to her soon," he said, changing the subject.

"If you don't give it to her now, you'll have to wait until morning. The Hufflepuff common room is nearly impossible to find if you're not in the house."

Of course, it had to be impossible to find.

"Just go now, unless you're scared of those quivering pansies?"

Eriol stood up, catching the attention of everyone around him.

Why couldn't they just mind their own business?

With a quickened pace, he went straight towards Sakura, not looking at anyone but her.

Sakura stood up when he got closer.

"I think you should take this now," Eriol said, digging into his pockets.

Suppie who had been lodging in his left robe pocket lifted the box up into his hand.

Eriol shoved the box towards her.

There were still things he wanted to say, but the nearby Hufflepuff's began to shuffle themselves away from him as if he were something unpleasant.

"Thanks," Sakura said, taking the box.

"I better get back."

"I don't know if I will be able to see you later," Sakura said, "but if not, I'll see you in the morning."

Eriol moved in a little closer.

"We will need to meet before then," he said only loud enough for her to hear. "I will get in contact with you."

"How?" Sakura tried to ask, but Eriol ignored the question and walk-ran back to the Slytherin table.

"Mother is going to have a heart attack!" George exclaimed.

"A Slytherin living under our roof," Fred said.

"Eriol was giving you a run for your money, Harry, you're lucky he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor," George continued.

Harry wouldn't admit or deny what they said. It was true, Mrs. Weasley had become quite attached to the polite, book nerd that summer.

"I thought maybe Ravenclaw, but not Slytherin," Hermione said. Eriol was one of the few people, aside from the professors that shared her scholastic passion.

"It's always the quiet ones," Ron mumbled. "I still can't believe that Sakura is a Hufflepuff."

Over the month they spent together at the Burrow, they had become quite close. Mainly pertaining to the fact that Sakura was the only one who would indulge Ron in his near-obsessive love for Quidditch.

"I can," Syaoran sighed. He wasn't sure if the Sorting Hat could read his mind but felt that somehow it had separated them on purpose.

"I don't see what the big deal is. You still live in the same castle and attend the same classes, it's not like you won't ever see them again," Alice said.

"You are new here," George replied.

"Breaking through the house to house barrier is easier said than done," Fred added.

…

After some time had passed, the food on the table disappeared, signalling the students to return to their respective common rooms.

Syaoran looked around the hall and made eye contact with Sakura, who was surrounded by a group of girls.

At least she isn't alone.

Sakura gave him a reassuring smile.

He glanced over at the Ravenclaw table to see Tomoyo moving around to get Eriol's attention.

"Hey, I'll be right back," Syaoran said to Ron before making his way through the crowd to the Ravenclaw table.

"You, all right?" He asked Tomoyo.

"Not really," she replied honestly.

Syaoran had forgotten that she didn't own a wand.

"I appreciate you coming over here, but I do not think there is anything that you can do."

"I agree. Let's get you to someone who can."

"Can you wait a moment?" Tomoyo asked Luna, who had been waiting patiently on the side.

"We have plenty of time," Luna replied.

Syaoran thought the girl was a bit odd but was grateful that she was there to help Tomoyo.

With that, Tomoyo and Syaoran pushed their way to the Slytherin table.

"Hiirigizawa," Syaoran called.

Eriol looked up from his table.

Draco made eye contact with Syaoran and the tension rose.

Tomoyo cleared her throat, she didn't have time for this.

"Eriol," she said.

Eriol turned his attention to her.

"I need...something," she said ambiguously, as Draco turned his attention to her.

Eriol didn't know what he could offer her; his services could only be used when he was right beside her.

"How is this?" Eriol asked, picking up Suppie from his pocket.

Suppie stopped breathing.

Eriol made eye contact with him

"What in bloody hell is that? A doll?" Draco asked.

Tomoyo took Suppie, "I think this should be fine."

"Well, we should get going," Syaoran suggested, not liking the looks the other Slytherins were giving him.

Syaoran left Tomoyo and returned the Gryffindor table.

"Sorry about this," Tomoyo whispered, putting Suppie in her robe pocket.

"Shall we return back to the Ravenclaw common room?" Luna asked.

"If you will lead the way."

"Of course."

As they walked by the Hufflepuff table, Sakura gave her a longing look.

Tomoyo lifted Suppie out her robe.

"Is that your pet?" Luna asked.

Tomoyo was concerned that she knew it wasn't a doll.

"It's not a cat or a bird..."

"It is something in between," Tomoyo made up.

"You'd better hide it before a professor sees, they are supposed to be kept in the common room."

Tomoyo lifted Suppie high enough for Sakura to get a quick look, before putting him back into her robe.

Luna led the way to the Ravenclaw common room, stopping just long enough to explain the essential school landmarks along the way.

"Thank you," Tomoyo said once they entered the common room, "I would not have made it here by myself."

Luna smiled, "No problem."

Luna took her to her quarters, which they were also sharing, and introduced her to their other roommates, Diane and Mary.

Tomoyo took Suppie out her pocket and placed him on the bed.

"What is that?" Diane, a tall girl with very short hair, asked.

Tomoyo looked up from her suitcase.

"That thing?" Diane said, nodding towards Suppie.

"Suppie?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yes? I've never seen anything like that before."

Tomoyo froze. She hadn't thought about what would happen if other people saw Suppie. Did Eriol want to keep him a secret? She couldn't lie either, Luna already knew that Suppie wasn't just a doll.

"He can be best described as a flying cat," Tomoyo explained, lying through her teeth.

"I've never heard of such a thing," Mary, an average height girl with dark brown hair, said.

"It's kind of cute," Diane commented.

"His name is Suppie," Tomoyo said, lifting him up to show.

"Can I pet him?" Diane asked.

"He will not bite," Tomoyo promised, handing him over.

Suppie bit his tongue and did his best to be 'animal' like.

"He is incredibly soft and his fur is so shiny," Diane praised.

She stroked his head lightly.

Suppie was stiff at first, but after a while, he began to enjoy the affection, Eriol rarely gave to him.

"Oh, can I hold him?" Mary asked, holding out her arms.

Diane reluctantly passed him over.

"Where did you find a creature like him?" Diane asked."

"I am temporarily taking care of him for a friend," she said not totally lying.

…

"Have you looked at your schedule?" Luna asked, holding up a brown envelope.

Tomoyo found hers' on top of her pillow.

"Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures are not shared with any other houses?" Tomoyo asked, after looking at the schedule.

She tried not to sound anxious. How am I going to be able to get through the lesson without a wand or anyone to cover for me?

"Care of Magical Creatures is an all house lesson," Diane explained. "There is only one CMC lesson per a day; the creatures get restless and will often become volatile."

"Astronomy is a little more flexible," Mary said, "we must attend one lesson a week, but we can go to either the Tuesday or Thursday lecture."

"Is that also an all house lesson?"

"It is whatever works for you."

Something vibrated in her pocket.

Suppie flew over to her.

"I knew he had wings but, it's odd to see him fly," Diane commented.

The girls began to talk within themselves and Tomoyo used that chance to discreetly look at her phone.

There weren't any new messages, but an alarm that she had forgotten to disable had gone off.

She looked at the top of her screen; No Service.

She wouldn't be able to send a message even if she wanted to.

"Tomoyo, I think you dropped something," Luna said, handing over a folded piece of paper.

Tomoyo took the paper, not remembering haven taken any paper out.

Come to 7th floor when you can,

Eriol

Tomoyo titled the paper so that Suppie could read.

At the sight of Eriol's name, Suppie began to make a loud crying sound.

"What's wrong with him?" Luna asked.

"I think he wants to go outside, he won't stop until I take him."

They looked in at each other.

"I will be back in a couple of minutes," Tomoyo said.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Luna volunteered.

"I will be fine, thank you for the offer."

Tomoyo picked up Suppie.

"Do not wait up for me," she said before making her exit.

"What is that?" Hannah asked, looking at Kero.

Sakura put down her schedule. "Oh, that's Kero."

"What is a Kero?" Annie asked.

Kero looked at her.

"Kero is well, you know, a Kero," Sakura replied.

"I don't understand."

Sakura pressed her lips together. Eriol had given her a strict warning about what she could and could not disclose to other people. Her cards were number one on the list of things that could not be said.

"It won't bite me?" Hannah asked.

"No, he is well behaved."

Kero rubbed against Sakura like a cat, occasionally glaring up at her.

There was a knock on the door.

"You can come in," Hannah called.

"Is Sakura here?" A first-year student asked.

"Yes, that's me," Sakura said walking to the door.

"This letter flew into my room," the girl explained, handing it to her.

Her name was scribbled on top of the folded piece of paper.

"Thank you," she said accepting the letter.

The girl nodded and left.

"Is everything alright?" asked.

Sakura scanned through the letter, presumably written by Eriol, beckoning her to the 7th floor.

"Yes, but there was an issue with my luggage," she lied.

"That's odd, that's the first time I've heard of that happening."

"They need me to go sort it out now."

"Are you okay to go on your own, I can show you," Hannah offered.

"I think I'll be fine, thank you. "

Sakura grabbed Kero.

"You-,"

Sakura left without hearing the rest of what Hannah had to say.

"So, this is the Gryffindor common room," Harry explained, walking through the portrait.

Alice and Syaoran surveyed the area.

It wasn't anything grand, was Syaoran's first impression, but he thought that it was homey.

Harry led them to the couches. A few younger students scuttled away when they sat down.

"I wonder what our schedules are like this year," Harry said to himself.

"When will we receive them?" Syaoran asked.

"They should be on top of our pillow," Harry replied.

"We could go get them," Syaoran said, standing up.

"Or we can summon them," Alice said, taking out her wand.

She cleared her throat, "Accio Schedule."

A few seconds later, a brown envelope came flying down the stairs and into her hand.

Harry did the same.

Alice looked at Syaoran expectantly, and he took out his wand.

"Accio Schedule," Syaoran called, copying what Alice had done. His hands tingled, as the power surged through him and out of the wand.

A few seconds later, a brown envelope came flying down. He grabbed it, smiling to himself.

Harry looked over Syaoran's schedule.

"Mine is mostly the same," he commented. "Ron's is the same as mine, but Hermione will have taken a bunch of courses that no one else takes."

Alice leaned over to glance at their schedules.

"Mine and yours are the same," Alice said to Syaoran. "The minimum requirements, I would have liked to take more but I guess this will have to do."

"On the bright side, we don't have Potions with the Slytherins this year. Potions is bad enough as it is," Harry said.

"Really? Potions is one of my favourite subjects!" Alice exclaimed.

Harry stared at her disbelievingly.

"What? I think it's really interesting and Professor Langford was really kind."

"Is there something wrong with our Potion's professor?" Syaoran asked.

"Professor Snape is nothing short of a nightmare," Harry replied, grimacing. "His classes are really intense and he isn't the least bit kind."

Alice couldn't see how bad he could be, he was a professor after all.

"We have a potion lesson tomorrow afternoon, you can see for yourself."

Alice then continued to drill him with questions about their professors and up-coming classes.

"It will be disappointing," Harry said when they got to the topic of Defence Against the Dark Arts (D.A.). "Umbridge will be a horrible professor, I can tell."

Alice raised her eyebrow. She had read in the Daily Prophet that Umbridge was the only person to vote against him in his trial. "I only know what I read in the news, but I will agree that she does seem under qualified to be teaching any of the subjects here. At Illvermony, I think she might have been a good socials professor, but there is no such subject here."

Syaoran could offer nothing to the conversation and just listened, trying to get a better feel for the classes he would be entering. He looked at the schedule again; he wouldn't have to worry about Eriol, he could take care of himself, but he worried for Sakura and especially Tomoyo, who wouldn't be able to do anything for herself.

Hermione and Ron came into the back into the common room with a hoard of first-year students following behind.

"This is the Gryffindor common room," Hermione explained.

Alice and Syaoran tuned into the explanation, eager to learn what Harry hadn't covered.

Hermione segued into the list of rules that they were to abide by.

"Hey, pay attention," Ron said nudging a first year, who was blatantly staring up at the ceiling.

"Why?" The boy asked, "you are not listening either."

Hermione stopped talking to glare in their direction.

"I am your prefect, listen to what I say," Ron replied with authority.

"Can I continue?" Hermione asked.

After a few, non-interrupted, minutes, Hermione sent them straight to their rooms. "It's already late. I know you are probably restless thinking about your first day, but the professors won't tolerate any tardiness if you sleep in."

"Hermione and I will be watching. We are always watching," Ron added.

Hermione smacked his arm while still retaining a big smile. "If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to ask either of us."

The first years didn't linger and went straight up the stairs to their respective rooms.

"That was exhausting," Ron complained taking a seat.

"You didn't do anything!" Hermione cried.

She lectured him further on the way he should be conducting himself in front of the younger students.

"Alright, alright," Ron cried, "I get it."

Hermione summoned her schedule.

Ron summoned his own and peeked over at hers. "I still don't understand why you bother with arithmetic and muggle studies."

"They are important subjects," Hermione replied. "Besides, you didn't even know what a dishwasher was."

"Who needs a dishwasher when you have magic?"

"People who didn't have magic."

"Well, I do."

"Therefore you, off all people, need to take muggle studies."

Ron rolled his eyes.

Alice wasn't sure what to think.

Sure, North America not so long ago had quite the strong divide between No-Majs and wizards, but as time passed, North America had become the most integrated wizard society in the world.

Even she, who had spent most of her life in Illvermony had a no-maj friend, Jane Cooper. They didn't get to meet often, but they were still friends.

As the sound of Hermione and Ron arguing became background noise, another more unpleasant sound could be heard.

At one point they stopped arguing, shocked by what they heard.

Harry had expected people to talk, but not like this.

Ron coughed, puffing out his chest so that the prefect pin could be seen.

Hermione looked around the room, daring anyone who caught her eye to say anything.

The common room cleared, but not without a fuss. After a few particularly loud comments, Ron stood up.

"What was that?" he egged.

Seamus Finnigan, who was one of the last to leave, made eye contact with Harry.

"Hey-,"

"My mother says you're off your rocker, and I think so too-,"

Ron moved in front of Harry.

"If you believe that you-know-who has come back, then your just as mad as he is!" Seamus continued.

"Seamus," Hermione called in a warning tone.

"What, just because you are a prefect now, you think you can tell me how to think?"

Dean, who had just come through the portrait, ran over to intervene.

Ron moved closer, "lay off."

Seamus pushed him back.

"Don't tell me what to do."

Dean pulled Seamus back. "Come on," he said pushing him towards the boy's dormitory.

Dean turned around, giving a quick apologetic look, before dragging Seamus up the stairs and out of sight.

"You think you know somebody-," Ron stopped talking with Hermione's look.

"Harry don't worry about him," Hermione said, "he will come around eventually."

Harry didn't reply and Alice felt like she was interrupting a private conversation.

...

A folded piece of paper flew into the room.

"Did you summon this?" Harry asked Syaoran, grateful for the distraction.

"No," Syaoran said picking it up.

He unfolded the paper and read the scribbled one-liner.

Go to the 7th Floor - Eriol

Syaoran relayed the message.

"Do you know how to get there?" Harry asked.

"Go up the enchanted staircases..."Syaoran replied with uncertainty.

"I can take you," Harry offered. Dying to be out of the common room.

"We will all go with you," Hermione corrected.

There was a rustling noise from the stairs. "Jeffery Long won't stop crying," a second-year explained.

"Is he a first year?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. He is hysterical, things were starting to fly around when I came down."

Ron gave Hermione an anxious look.

"Well I'm glad I read your mother's parenting books this summer, come on," Hermione said and nodded towards the stairs.

She turned to Harry.

"Sorry," she apologized, before following the boy up to the boy's dormitory.

"Want a late-night tour?" Harry offered Alice.

Alice shrugged, "why not."

With that, Alice, Harry and Syaoran left the Gryffindor common room.

The walk up the 7th floor was quiet.

Harry was on guard; the first couple of nights of every year, the professors were more diligent on their rounds around the castle.

He wished that he had brought his invisibility cloak; although he wasn't confident that it would properly cover all three of them.

Harry kept them at a steady, just below jogging pace. They were lucky; the staircase didn't move and there were no professors to be spotted.

When they arrived on the 7th floor, they circled around it, twice, before Eriol revealed himself.

He led them to a barren wall and waved his hand over it. When a door appeared, he ushered them in before Harry had a chance to say anything.

In all his five years at Hogwarts, going up and down each floor daily, and occasionally at night, he had never seen this room before.

"This is the Room of Requirements," Eriol explained when they were inside, "Dumbledore briefly explained it to me when we first met. It is a room that only shows itself to those who require it. It can also rearrange itself to offer what the individual needs."

Alice looked around the room, other than one lone table with a couple of books, there wasn't anything else but a fireplace that lit up the room.

Eriol had expected someone to take Syaoran to the fourth floor, but he hadn't expected Alice to tag along.

His naturally secretive nature didn't like that she was here. Eriol was trying to be more open, but he didn't know who she was, or why she should be included.

Alice caught his eye and he looked away. Am I being too obvious?

Sakura started to regret rejecting Hannah's offer, but if she had accepted, she would know that she was lying about the luggage.

"Did they already turn off the lights?" Sakura whispered, "it's dark."

"This is an old castle, I don't think there is electricity," Kero replied.

"Kero?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you change for me?"

"No one can see me like this!"

"Right, right..."

"Kero?"

"Sakura?"

"I'm scared."

"Don't be, you are inside a school, it's guaranteed safety is why you were brought here in the first place."

"Yeah, but what about that large snake?"

"You told me that Harry killed it already."

Sakura stopped at the sound of footsteps.

She wanted to call out, but didn't want to risk being caught by a professor.

"Eriol should be around here," a familiar voice said.

"Suppie," Sakura cried running over to the voice.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo cried, running towards her.

They tightly embraced, squishing Kero and Suppie in the process.

"I thought we would all be in Gryffindor," Sakura said, taking Tomoyo's arm, "I never imagined that we would be apart."

Tomoyo leaned into Sakura.

"I am scared Sakura, I do not have a wand or even magic, it is only a matter of time before someone realizes that I am a muggle."

"They won't find out. I'll cast the illusion card if I must, no one will have to know."

"I think that I should leave while I can-,"

The wall to Sakura's right, split open, revealing a door.

Sakura, pulling Tomoyo with her, jumped back.

The door opened.

"Come in," Eriol said, opening the door.

"You scared me half to death," Sakura complained, but she could see that the room was brightly lit and did not want to be in the creepy hallway anymore.

Harry, Syaoran and Alice were already inside.

"Where are Ron and Hermione?" Sakura asked.

Sakura had not seen Hermione perform much magic, but she could sense that Hermione was a great wizard and had hoped that she would be there to help her.

"They had a situation to deal with," Harry explained.

Suppie flew over to Eriol. It's not that he didn't like Tomoyo, but she wasn't Eriol.

The moment Suppie landed on his shoulder, Eriol understood what was causing the mild discomfort he had been experiencing after dinner; it wasn't overeating.

Sakura took out the thin box her wand had been sitting in all summer. "I guess it's time for me to test it out."

"I tried out a spell already," Syaoran confessed.

Sakura was a tad annoyed, she had hoped that they would do it together.

"It's a spell that brings things to you," Syaoran said.

"It's a first-year charm," Harry explained, "it should be pretty basic. You say 'Accio,' and then whatever it is you want to be summoned."

Eriol didn't see any problem with that spell. "Try that spell with that red book over there."

Sakura breathed out and opened the box.

She hadn't been allowed to touch the wand since they had bought it at Ollivander's, and now that she could, she was afraid to. The memory of it shooting out of her hand and into the wall was still fresh.

"Move back," Eriol ordered the rest.

Instinctively he brought out his staff.

"Accio book!" She cried with uncertainty, placing all her energy into the spell.

The red book levitated up and shot straight towards her.

Sakura screamed.

Kero changed into his natural form, jumped up, and slashed the book down.

They stared at the remains of the book.

"It doesn't normally go that fast, does it?" Sakura guessed.

"No," replied Harry honestly.

Alice knew that wasn't a normal reaction, but also remembered that she had seen something like that before.

"I think we should try again," Eriol said, repairing the book with the tap of his staff.

Sakura thought she should, but didn't want to.

"Deep breath. Everything takes practice," Kero said, still in his larger form.

With Kero beside her, Syaoran behind her and Eriol in front of her, Sakura felt like nothing was impossible.

...

"This is impossible!" Sakura cried, after an hour of consecutive failed attempts to do the basic spells and charms that Alice and Harry suggested she do.

When Harry didn't leave, Alice too choose to stay. Partially because she was interested and more importantly, she didn't think she could make it back to the Gryffindor common room by herself.

For that hour Eriol watched Sakura, and Syaoran who joined in, practice without much comment. Kero cheered her vocally and Harry offered the occasional pointer.

At one point it dawned on Alice where she had seen this before. Sakura wasn't breaking in a new wand, she was trying one out for the first time.

Watching her practice was taking her through memory lane; things flying haphazardly around, cracking and even occasionally exploding.

"You are holding your wand too tightly," Alice commented. Even from where she was standing, she could see the indents in her hands.

Sakura loosened her right hand and could see the marks where she had been holding the wand. She turned to Alice for further instruction.

"Uh," Alice said, feeling put on the spot, "all you need to do is swish and flick, then chant 'Windgardium Levoisa.'"

"Alright," Sakura said, then did what she was told to do.

"Windgardium Levoisa," Harry mumbled along, being brought back to his first-year charm class.

The book slowly levitated up.

"I'm doing it!" Sakura cried, re-gripping her wand.

The book went flying into the air, slammed into the ceiling and fell.

They stared at the red book, which had fell which such force, it was cracked.

"Why don't we repair the book?" Alice suggested. "Make a clockwise circle and say 'Repairo,'."

"Repairo," Sakura said hesitantly, making a slow clockwise circle.

The book pieced itself slowly together; It was about 90 percent finished when it stopped.

Alice stared at the book that had decided to give up on the task.

"Why did it not repair itself all the way?" Tomoyo asked from a distance.

"Maybe you didn't put enough force into it," Harry guessed.

Eriol nodded thinking the same thing. "I think your problem lies within the input of your power; you are either channelling too much or not enough."

"How come Syaoran isn't having the same problem?" Sakura demanded, turning to glare at Syaoran, who had been practicing alongside her.

"Syaoran has been continuously training since he was young. It would make sense that he would have better control of his own power than you currently do," Eriol replied.

"It's not like Sakura didn't train," Kero growled defensively.

Kero was offended; he had personally put in much time and effort into making sure that Sakura was mentally and physically equipped to be the master of the cards.

"It probably wasn't to his extent," Sakura allowed.

Sure, she had mediated with Kero, and keep herself active, but she had never been as diligent as Syaoran was.

"Well," Eriol said, putting his staff away and taking out his wand. "I should also try before I say anything else."

Suppie flew off his shoulder and went back to Tomoyo.

Eriol tried not to take offence.

"Swish and flick, right? Should be easy enough," Eriol mumbled.

While he sounded confident aloud, his wand was pulsing in his hand and he hadn't the faintest clue what would happen next.

"Windgardium Levoisa," he chanted, moving his wand the way Alice had taught Sakura.

The red book lifted into the air, as his heart raced, the book shot up. He forced himself to calm down. Who was he? He was Eriol Hiirigizawa! That's who he was. He wasn't about to let some stick humiliate him.

The book slowed down and came back down, before gracefully landing on the floor.

Eriol smiled to himself.

"Not bad for your first time," Dumbledore said, letting himself into the room.