A/N: I don't own HP or Bleach. I only own Ami and Reika and Minako.
For those of you who don't know what the title means and can't sound it out in order to figure it out, it means "Merry Christmas" in Japanese.
Thank you my wonderful reviewers: 10th Squad 3rd Seat and yumi-2121331!
This chapter is for you two!
~14~14~14~14~
Chapter 14: Meri Kurisumasu!
Sirius encouragingly told them all to sit down and summoned butterbeers for them all, even ones for Toushirou and Ami. Toushirou was typing up his report about what had just happened for the Soul Society.
Harry was only drinking to have something to do with his hands. His stomach was full of horrible hot, bubbling guilt. They would not be here if it were not for him. They would all still be asleep in bed. And there was no good telling himself that by raising the alarm he had ensured that Mr. Weasley was found, because there was also the inescapable business of it being he who had attacked Mr. Weasley in the first place...
'Don't be stupid, you haven't got fangs,' Harry told himself, trying to keep calm, though the hand on his butterbeer bottle was shaking. 'You were lying in bed, you weren't attacking anyone...' He paused. 'But then, what just happened in Dumbledore's office? I felt like I wanted to attack Dumbledore too...'
But other than that, there was complete silence. But then, there was a flash of fire and it disappeared, leaving behind a single, rolled-up piece of parchment accompanied by a single golden phoenix tail feather.
"Fawkes!" Sirius exclaimed at once. He snatched up the parchment and read it aloud. "'Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum.'"
"Still alive..." George said, looking around the table. "But that makes it sound..."
Ami lowered her head in sadness. She saw no need to finish that sentence. To her, it too sounded like Mr. Weasley was on the verge of life and death.
For once in her life, there was someone whom she could not help. She was not there to help heal Mr. Weasley. And that saddened her greatly. She never liked to be helpless. She never wanted to be the damsel-in-distress. She always wanted to be the knight in armor, the helper, the best friend anyone could ever have. She always wanted to be the protector, the shield, and now here she was, sitting in the Black house's kitchen, sitting in a chair, waiting for the terrible news that someone was dead, and she could've helped him recover. She could never live with that guilt. She was a healer after all. She lived to help and heal people.
Fred and George eventually dozed off. Ginny was curled up like a cat in her chair, but her eyes were open. Ron was covering his head in both of his hands, so it was impossible to tell whether he was awake or not. Ami had laid her head on Toushirou's shoulder with tears of sadness and guilt running down her face. Toushirou was awake, checking his phone for any alerts or reports or responses from the Soul Society. He always did that when he was uneasy and getting impatient and maybe even worried and he had to wait like this. Harry was still awake and thinking about what had just happened. However, he and Sirius often met eyes with each other and with Toushirou, and on a few occasions, with Ami, all being intruders upon the family grief, waiting...waiting...
And then, at ten past five in the morning by Ron's watch, the door swung open and Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen. She was extremely pale, but when they all looked at her, Fred, Ron, and Harry half-rising from their chairs, she gave a wan smile.
"He's going to be alright," she said, her voice weak with tiredness. "He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill is with him right now."
"Speaking of sleep, Mrs. Weasley, I believe you need it," Ami said.
"You as well, dear..." Mrs. Weasley gently retorted, leaving Ami at a loss for words. Mrs. Weasley was right; she had not slept a wink at all that long, dreadful night. Speaking of dreadful, Ami remembered something and slowly walked over to Harry while Sirius counted the people there at the time and, with Mrs. Weasley's help, started to make breakfast for all nine of them.
"Harry?" Ami quietly asked him.
Harry slowly turned to her.
"Are you feeling okay now?" Ami asked him, with a slightly shaky voice.
"Yeah, I am now. Thanks for asking," Harry said. He turned back to the fire that was still going. "Oh, and Ami?"
Ami lifted her head to stare at the back of his black-haired head. "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about last night...er, this morning...er, whatever it was. I know you were just trying to help, but I was just so angry right then. I couldn't help it. I just had a nightmare that seemed so real and I couldn't help but shoving away anyone's pity right then. So, I'm very sorry...If you want to check if I still have a fever, go ahead."
He was frighteningly calm that Ami didn't know whether to take his apology to heart or not. But she knew Harry since September 1st and it was December 18th now. She knew him long and well enough, but she had never seen that side of him before. Not the calm side, but the angry and irritated side.
But Ami chose to take his apology to heart anyways. To her, Harry was a person whom you couldn't stay mad at or ignore for very long. So she slowly walked over there once more and sat down in the chair next to Harry's and felt his forehead. She brought a bowl of ice cold water and a washcloth over once again and wiped off his face again.
"I'm still pretty hot?" Harry asked and Ami nodded.
"Not that much now, but I should always check to make sure. And I forgive you, Harry. It's okay."
While breakfast was being made, there was still silence. Toushirou was not asleep, but Ami could tell that he was going to be. Ami's heart was swelling with emotions, and she knew only one way to get it out. She opened her mouth slowly and sang.
"Nanairo no kaze ni fukarete tooi misaki wo mezashiteta
Yoake mae kikoeta MERODII
Sore wa totemo natsukashii uta"
The rest of the people in the room turned to look at the one who was singing. They did not speak, for there was no need for words. The slow, yet sweet song spoke everyone's feelings.
"Higashi no sora he to habataku toritachi
Saa takarajima ni nukeru chikamichi."
For some reason, the song woke Toushirou up.
"Nanatsu no umi no rakuen
Arashi no yoru no ato ni wa ai wo tsutaeru tame inochi ga mata umareru
Nanatsu no kuni no MERODIA
Daremo ga itsuka wa koko wo tabidatsu hi ga kitemo
Watashi wa wasurenai..."
There was another long silence, but Molly broke it.
"That's was really beautiful," she said.
"Thanks..." Ami said, barely above a whisper. "Don't worry. I was singing because it looked like you guys needed some comfort."
"No, no, it's a very beautiful song, and you have such an amazing voice," Sirius countered. Ami lightly blushed.
"What does it mean?" Ron asked. Ami turned to him, with a confused look. "What do the lyrics mean?"
"Oh, it's called 'Legend of Mermaid'. 'The rainbow wind blows at a far off coast. Before dawn, there was a melody I heard. It's a very nostalgic song. The birds that fly towards the eastern sky now escape to the treasure island using this shortcut, where the paradise of the seven seas lies. After the stormy night, to tell you, my love, I will be born again. Even if there comes a day where everyone is to journey away from here, as long as we sing the melody of the seven countries, I'll never forget.'"
"Oh..." was all the rest had to say.
"Don't worry, there's another verse to it," Ami said, with a gentle smile. "Anyways, let's eat some breakfast."
As they were eating, Mrs. Weasley piped up, "Oh, Sirius, I'm so grateful...They think he'll be there a little while and it would be wonderful to be nearer...Of course, that might mean that we're here for Christmas..."
"The more the merrier!" Sirius said happily. Having been cooped up in that house for too long made him yearn for something to do.
"Oh, that's right. Speaking of Christmas, Nii-san, your birthday is coming up! Two days from now!" Ami said, happily.
"Er...uh...you don't have to get me anything, you know..." Toushirou muttered, his face becoming a little pink.
"Don't talk like that. I'm your sister! I have to and I want to!" Ami counter-attacked.
"Good luck trying to get out of that," Fred whispered to the white-haired Shinigami, who turned red.
Everyone but Harry spent the rest of the morning sleeping. Harry was trying to put himself into an uncomfortable position to keep himself from falling asleep, in fear that he might fall asleep and attack Ron, whereas for Ron, he fell asleep within minutes. But when Ron woke up, Harry pretended to have enjoyed a nice, refreshing nap too. At lunch, their trunks from Hogwarts arrived, including Toushirou and Ami's, so that they could dress as Muggles for the trip to St. Mungo's. Everyone, but Harry, gleefully greeted Mad-Eye and Tonks, who were the guard for now, all while laughing at Mad-Eye's strange bowler hat.
Toushirou only shared the information to Ami about how he saw no point in the "Muggle clothes" that they were wearing. People weren't going to see them anyways. They were spirits.
"Yeah, but if we walk into St. Mungo's wearing our Soul Warrior uniforms, then people will talk behind our backs. It'll only attract more attention," Ami whispered back.
"We already attract enough attention as it is, what with our freakin' hair!" Toushirou said for all to hear, making Ami sweatdrop, anime style, and laugh nervously.
"Is there a problem?" Mad-Eye asked them.
"Nope, not at all! Nii-san's just being over-reactive..." Ami muttered the last part, nudging her brother sharply in the ribs.
"Ow!" Toushirou was getting angrier and angrier as Ami teased him more and more.
On the train to the heart of the city, Toushirou was trying to get in on the conversations that were going on between Fred and George. He wouldn't join in on anyone else's conversation but theirs, for some odd reason. But Ami noticed Harry, who was sitting right next to her, being distant.
'Good grief,' Ami thought miserably. 'What is it this time?'
But before Ami could speak a word to him, the train had reached its destination.
Outside Mr. Weasley's ward, Tonks noticed that there was such a big group. "We'll wait outside, Molly. Arthur wouldn't want too many visitors all at once. It ought to just be the family first."
Mad-Eye, Toushirou, and Ami agreed. Ami was finally relieved that she would be able to ask Harry what he was going through this time. But Molly said, "Oh, don't be silly, Harry. Arthur wants to thank you," and she pushed Harry inside. Ami lightly huffed in annoyance.
When the family, plus Harry, got out. It was time for the adults to discuss things in private. Fred and George got angry when Ami and Toushirou were allowed to go in, but before they could any protests verbally, Toushirou sent them a death glare that immediately shut them up.
Ami closed the door and made sure it was locked before joining the rest of the Order members.
Tonks began. "They searched the whole area, but they couldn't find the snake that attacked you anywhere, Arthur."
"She's right and I can confirm that. Along with its spiritual pressure, it seemed to have just vanished after it attacked you, Mr. Weasley. But he can't have expected a snake to get in, can he?" Ami said.
"He probably sent it as a lookout," Toushirou muttered, "because he's not had any luck so far, has he?"
"No, I reckon he's trying to get a clearer picture of what he's facing and if Arthur hadn't been there, the beast would've had more time to look around. So Potter says he saw it all happen?"
"Yes," Mrs. Weasley, looking and sounding uneasy. "You know, Dumbledore seems to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this..."
"Yeah, well, we all know there's something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that," Moody said.
"Shut up," Ami said. "In fact, it's not something that the Soul Society calls funny, but something that's strange."
"How do you mean?" Mr. Weasley asks her.
"His spiritual pressure is already high enough as it is," Ami started. "But when he had that nightmare and also in Dumbledore's office, for just a split second, his spiritual pressure doubled."
Outside the ward, the five had heard it. "Blimey, what is she talking about?" Ron asked.
"Last night, Ron, when I was having that vision," Harry muttered.
"Enough of that," Fred said. "Just what is this Soul Society that they're talking about?"
Meanwhile, back in the ward, Mad-Eye seemed really interested. "Keep going," he growled at the young, white-haired girl.
Ami had paused, because she had felt a few spiritual pressures outside the door. "Sorry. Anyways, his spiritual pressure doubled. But it wasn't just his own. It was someone else's as well. I've never felt it before. I'm not familiar with it."
"Hate to break it to you, but neither am I," Toushirou broke in.
"But my gut is telling me that it's who I really hope it's not."
"Oh, You-Know-Who?" Tonks asked. Ami merely nodded. "Now that's something we need to look into..."
"Don't bother," Toushirou said. "While Ami and I focus on the spiritual pressure matter, you guys look into more about the weapon."
"Speaking of the weapon," Moody cut in, "Dumbledore's worried because the boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake. Obviously, Potter doesn't realize what that means, but if You-Know-Who is possessing him-"
"Silence!" Ami shouted in that unfamiliar language to everyone else but Toushirou. She didn't mean to, but she had felt Harry's spiritual pressure change emotions. She didn't want to hurt Harry's feelings, but the conversation that they were currently having had made her do it. She had known that the five outside had been straining to listen, but she didn't know that they were actually listening. But now Ami didn't have to ask Harry what he was thinking. She knew exactly what was going on through his mind. And she didn't like it. Not one tiny bit.
The others fell silent. Mrs. Weasley turned to her, looking very surprised. "I beg your pardon, dear?"
"I said 'Shut it'. I just want to get this out. What does this have to do with Harry? If you're implying that he's the weapon, then you're wrong! I know Harry like the back of my hand! When he woke up, he was dead scared! True, he doesn't know what it means, but what's the big idea? Just think about this for once! If Harry was listening right now, how do think he would feel? What would suppose he's thinking? I'm not just Harry's bodyguard, but one of his best friends. And I'll do anything to keep his feelings from getting hurt from the Order's meetings like this! That is, if Harry's always going to be our main topic..."
Not one else spoke a word, not even the five outside, all but one...
"Imoto-chan..." Toushirou muttered, looking at her with a gaze that was a cross between surprise and sadness.
~Back at Grimmauld Place~
Harry had gone up to bed at Mrs. Weasley's request, which was exactly what Harry wanted. Harry was just done talking to Phineas Nigellus, when Harry's door opened. Ami simply stood in the doorframe, looking calmly at Harry's packed trunk.
"Trying to run, Harry-kun?" Ami asked. Harry gave no answer. Ami gave a quick, small smile. "Sit down, Harry. And leave the suitcase where it is." Harry obeyed her. He said nothing. "Hermione just arrived with Minako-chan, Reika-chan, Renji-kun, and Ichigo-kun, if you want to go say hello to them. They'll be delighted." Harry merely scoffed. "Thought so..."
"What do you want?" Harry didn't mean to sound mean. Ami was only trying to help.
"To talk to you..."
"Wh-" Ami cut him off.
"I know that you're thinking, Harry. You're thinking that Voldemort is possessing you and that you're the weapon, right?"
Harry didn't look at her. He only nodded.
"You're wrong."
Those words made Harry look up. Ami was the one of the only ones that Harry could trust these days. And besides, it sounded like she wasn't lying. In fact, she had a sad look on her face.
"What did you say?" he asked slowly to make sure he heard her right.
"I said that you are wrong. You are not the weapon. I'm positive about that."
"How can you be so sure?" Harry asked, looking at her.
"Because I believe in you."
Those five words were all Harry heard right then. All other sounds in the house, like Fred and George singing loudly, or Ron talking loudly to Hermione, or Ginny and Minako playing with Crookshanks downstairs, were all unheard.
"C-Come again?" Harry was confused.
Ami sat down beside Harry on the edge of his bed. "Those who believe in you are your true friends, but those who don't are not. I believe in you, Harry. You are not a monster, nor are you the weapon, nor anything else that I forgot to mention, merely because I believe that you are not. You're too much of a good person for me to not believe in you, Harry. Besides, all of my Society is on your side." With this, Ami leaned over and kissed Harry on the cheek once more.
Harry managed to smile, finally, all while blushing. "Thanks..."
"Even if you really were the weapon, Harry, I'm not afraid of you. I never am," Ami said with a playful smile. "Besides, it's Christmas, for crying out loud! You should be having fun! And two days from now is Nii-san's birthday! When you were sulking just now, you were even worse than my brother sulking. Ugh, he can be such a stick in the mud sometimes. But then again, that's why I'm here, right? Now then, let's go help Padfoot put up the Christmas decorations, shall we?"
Harry, who was a lot happier now that he was one minute ago, nodded and followed Ami down the stairs, smiling the entire time.
~14~14~14~14~
A/N: Review, please! The song is owned by Mermaid Melody. It's called Legend of Mermaid. There are two versions, the slow one, which was the one used in this chapter, and the fast version.
This is the real title for the next one! I swear! And it's pretty obvious about what it means.
Chapter 15: Occlumency
It's been a least one and a half to two weeks into Christmas break, and neither Ami nor Toushirou can figure out the reason for Harry's strange spiritual pressure. It's irritating the two of them. But what has Snape planned for Harry?