Author's Note: Here is the 25th chapter! How it passes fast! I'm so glad the readers who reviewed enjoy my story! It makes my day, it really does. I hope this chapter reaches your expectations! And about the birthdays, I will probably invent them so please, not arguments. If you aren't happy with the idea, you should try finding when the birthdays are becausse me and others cannot find them...
Disclaimers: I do not own Harry Potter, D. Gray Man, DNAngel, Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist or Legind of Zelda. They belong to thei respective owners.
Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty Five
During the next day, late in the evening, a form stirred on top of one of the many beds of the Hospital Wing. The person sat up, catching the attention of one of the paintings decorating the walls of the room. Its occupant left, coming back a minute later. Then Madam Pomfrey rushed towards the awoken person.
"Tohru! Thank goodness you're conscious again! I was starting to worry."
Tohru looked around in a dazed state. When she finally realized where she was, her senses kicked in. How long have I been out? She turned to the nurse and voiced her thought.
"You've been unconscious for about 24 hours but the others are still recovering. How worried everyone has been because of the seven of you. You are all too reckless but at least those two attackers are gone, for now."
"How are my friends?" asked Tohru, scared of the answer.
"They are all alive if that's why you're worried. Mr. Niwa, however, was the worst off. He's lucky they got him here on time. But first, let's take care of you."
The nurse fussed over the girl, giving her potions and medication. During the whole process, Tohru asked about everything around her.
"Why are you so curious?" asked Madam Pomfrey once she was finished.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be nosy! I'm sorry!"
"It's alright Tohru; I was just wondering why you wanted to know about the potions and spells I performed."
"I know it may be a lot to ask but," she hesitated a moment, unsure of how to voice her question, "would it be possible if you could teach me healing magic?"
Madam Pomfrey studied the girl, thinking about her proposition. However, one look into those chestnut eyes told the nurse that Tohru really wanted this.
"I know I'm no good in fighting but I want to help my friends as much as I can," explained Tohru, determined.
Madam Pomfrey thought it over and was about to answer when the doors to the Hospital Wing opened, surprising both women. Dumbledore and the four heads of houses came in, most of them with worried expressions. When they saw Tohru awake, Professor Sprout rushed over to her side.
"Tohru dear, are you alright?" she asked, truly concerned for her student.
Tohru nodded but her gaze fell onto the six occupied beds surrounding her. She swung her feet over the edge but when she tried to get up, dizziness struck her and she sat back onto her bed.
"What happened to the others? What happened after I lost consciousness?" she asked, her nerves on the edge and tears in her eyes.
"Why don't you tell us what happened before you passed out and we will try to fill you in," suggested professor Sprout, sitting on the bed next to the girl.
Tohru told them how Tyki and Road had come to see them and how the man had attacked Allen. Yuki had gone to help while demons, akuma she specified, surrounded the others after Road had attacked with candles. The last part she could tell them was how Allen fought the three akuma and Kyo protected her before she was hit by other giant candles. The adults had listened intently to the whole explanation, understanding what the girl and her friends had gone through.
"But what happened to Daisuke, Yuki, Allen, Link and Edward?" she asked, her hands trembling.
The adults looked at each other and sighed. Snape moved in front of her and knelt down.
"Allen, thankfully, was only exhausted and a bit beat up," he explained in a whisper and Tohru realized he was speaking in Japanese. "Yuki had a broken leg and a large bruise on the side of his head but nothing else. Daisuke, most of us were worried about him. By the time we came, he was lying in a puddle of his own blood with a large cut on his side and shoulder." Snape did not look away and he saw Tohru give a silent gasp, tears rolling down her cheeks and her hands shaking. "Link and Edward, however, seem to be unconscious but nothing seems to wake them up. Potter said something about their nerves being in shock but we're still searching for a way to wake them."
Tohru burst out into tears and professor Sprout puller her close, trying to comfort the girl. Even though the Herbology teacher did not speak Japanese, she knew that Snape had explained what had happened to Tohru's friends.
"Madam Pomfrey?" asked Tohru between sobs. "Can you teach me healing magic?"
This time, the nurse answered right away, allowing Tohru to contribute by helping the boys.
"Thank you," the girl whispered, drying her tears.
Suddenly, they heard movement to the left of Tohru's bed and somebody woke up. He slowly got up and Madam Pomfrey rushed to the boy's side.
"Tohru," called Professor Flitwick, "you should rest. You are not going to get any better if you stay up, worrying."
She nodded in agreement and lay back down. However, before the adults left, she had one more question for them. She turned to Snape and asked something that had been bothering her.
"Sensei?" she started in Japanese. "Who invited those two here?"
"Umbridge," he replied in an annoyed whisper before they left her to sleep.
Two days later, everyone except Link and Edward had woken up. Madam Pomfrey was kept busy by not only helping the boys recover but teaching Tohru at the same time. When Allen heard what had happened to his still unconscious friends, he suggested acupuncture. However, neither the nurse nor the teachers knew how to perform it. And so, Allen contacted Komui and asked if his friend could come quickly.
"No need to contact me, Allen," replied Komui from behind his desk pilled high with paperwork. "The change of help happened yesterday and Rabi's now there with Bookman."
"Really?" cried Allen, delighted. "Great! I'll contact them now! Thanks Komui!"
"No problem, and Allen, be careful."
The communication was cut and Timcampi, closed its mouth. Madam Pomfrey and Snape stared at the small golden golem, which reminded them a larger snitch than anything else, and then stared at the white haired boy.
"Professor? Would you mind meeting Rabi and Bookman at the gate? They can help Link and Edward!"
"I guess I could," replied Snape, walking towards the door.
"Thank you!"
Allen then contacted Rabi and Bookman and asked them to meet someone at the gates of Hogwarts so that they could help. Allen thanked them and laid back onto his bed where Madam Pomfrey had wanted all of the boys to stay. Even though he was cheerful a moment ago, the depressing silence returned to reign over the Hospital Wing. All of them thought over the events and always came to the same conclusion: they were not strong enough to beat two enemies. If more came next time, they would not survive.
A quarter of an hour passed before Snape returned, trailed by a tall, red headed man with an eye-patch who was followed by an older and shorter man with a single ponytail of grey hair.
"Rabi! Bookman!" cried Allen sitting up.
"Beansprout! Long time no see!" called Rabi, skipping to his friend's side.
He then spotted the bandages and bruises on Allen and slowed down. He took a look around the room and noticed the others. Kyo was also bandaged at some places; Yuki's leg was still in a cask and the side of his head was wrapped; Daisuke was bandaged around his stomach and his arm was held up in a sling with his shoulder wrapped; Link and Edward, however, were still, laying on their beds, motionless, Edward's arm bond were the bone cracked.
"What happened?" asked Rabi, shocked at the scene.
"Road and Tyki attacked, Rabi. The Noah's are now in this too," replied Allen sadly.
"We'll talk about this later," cut in Bookman. "I need to care for somebody, no?"
"Yes! Right! Link and Edward," pointed Allen towards the unconscious boys. "They were hit by the same thing as Linali was."
The old man nodded and walked over to the bedsides of the boys. As he worked, the others waited patiently, hoping that Bookman could cure their friends. After an hour, he had finished with both of them.
"And now, we wait," he explained, taking a seat at the end of the boys' beds.
Edward groaned slightly. He felt numb all over and tired. On top of everything, his head hurt. He was about to lift his arm but stopped after the slightest movement since he felt pain doing so. Damn it, I forgot that bastard had broken my arm. Madam Pomfrey must have healed it since it's just sore. He decided it would be better to use his mechanical one since it would not hurt. However, try as he might, he could not move his right arm. He could feel the cold metal against his side and its weight on the bed but he could not fell anything with the arm. He opened his eyes and grumbled a few words while sitting up.
"Ed!" cried Tohru, getting the others attention. "Link!"
While Edward had gotten up, Link had also woken up with a groan. Tohru and Madam Pomfrey were about to care for them when Edward tried to stand. Once he had both feet on the floor, his left leg gave away and he crumpled onto the floor.
"Damn it! Not my leg too!"
"Edward," started Madam Pomfrey, helping him back onto the bed. "Your nerves just came out of a long period of shock. You and Link should not be moving around like this."
"Nerves? In shock?" he repeated in a whisper. "Damn it!"
"Ed, what's wrong? Why aren't your arm and leg working?" asked Tohru, worried.
"For the exact reason Madam Pomfrey stated," growled the Ravenclaw. "My limbs are connected directly to my nerves. The circuits must have fried. They're useless now!"
Surprising everyone, Edward yelled out and punched the night table which shattered, sending the bottles lying on top of it flying. He cried out again and, this time, made contact with the stone wall. The wall itself did not crack but Edward's knuckles were scratched and bloody.
"Ed! What's wrong?" panicked Tohru, trying to get closer.
Edward sat shaking in his bed, fists clenched. The memories of the night of the attack had come back to him and they infuriated him.
"What's wrong? What's wrong!" yelled Edward, his small control over his anger completely forgotten. "Those two made fools out of us! They played us as if we were their personal toys! And we could do nothing about it!"
During the outburst, Tohru had backed up, colliding with Kyo who kept her from going anywhere and seemed to protect her by wrapping his arms around her. When Edward was done, he cried out again, his fists clenched, his nails digging into his skin. However, nobody went against what he said. They had all been willing to voice out their opinion.
"Well," ventured Daisuke after a while, "we have two choices: one, we do nothing about this or, two, we prepare and get stronger in case of another attack."
"Daisuke's right," coughed Link, it had been a few days he had not spoken. "Hey Kyo, do you want to train with me? I'm rusty with my sword and out of shape. You can practice with your katana at the same time."
"Sure," agreed the older red head. "We have to do everything possible to stop these attacks before students are harmed."
"Then I'll need to train as well," growled Edward. "I haven't spared with anybody in months. Doing it alone only helps so much."
"Hand to hand combat?" inquired Yuki, interested.
"Pretty much," explained Edward.
"I'll be your partner," suggested the Sohma.
Edward looked at Yuki, surprised. When they had met and during the year, he had thought of the boy as a fragile youth. However, the memory of the fight between him and Malfoy on the train came back. Yuki had pinned the other Slytherin in matter of seconds without breaking a sweat.
"Sure," agreed Edward. "Let's see what you're made of!"
"Just fair warning Ed," cut in Kyo. "I've never beaten Yuki and we've been training the same amount of time. I've tried everything."
"Even when he woke up?" teased Link remembering the times he saw Yuki stumble down the stairs early in the morning, still asleep.
"Never try it," warned the red head. "He may be asleep but his reflexes are not."
"Since when do you compliment me?" asked Yuki, surprised.
"Don't get used to it," grumbled Kyo. "I was just intimidating Ed."
"Well," cut in Daisuke before a fight broke out between his friends, "none of us are up to training right now. Not with Yuki's broken bone and Ed's non-functional arm and leg."
"Don't remind me," growled the short blond. "A good thing Winry sent me another arm. The leg, however," he sighed thinking of his mechanics reaction to the news, "she's going to kill me."
"I doubt that."
They all jumped at the sound of the voice and they saw a red head leaning on his arms on Edward's bed. Edward himself had jumped but hung to the opposite side of the bed, staring at the boy.
"Rabi!" cried Allen "Stop doing that!"
"Where did he come from?" yelled Edward.
"I've been here all along," replied the Rabi. "Anyway, about this Winry person, I doubt she would kill you since all of you survived an attack from, not one, but two Noah's."
"And why is that so great?" asked Kyo, sulking.
"It's great since some of our exorcists were not that lucky. That Tyki fellow has been taking them down like flies. Allen's lucky he got out once again."
As Rabi explained the situation, his face darkened and a frown appeared. The others tried to digest the information but had a hard time doing so. In addition, the fact that Allen had already faced them, almost dying in the process, scared them even more. They no longer thought themselves as useless but lucky.
"There has to be a way to beat them though," thought Edward out loud.
"We'll just have to find a way," encouraged Allen. "We'll find a way to defeat all of our enemies.
While Madam Pomfrey took care of Link and Edward, Yuki went over to Tohru and Kyo, a frown on his face. He sat down on his cousin's bed and stared at the two. A mixture of emotions swirled inside of him and it had taken him a while to sort them all out. This was what he felt the most and what was the most important.
"Remember what we had talked about during the holidays?" he asked them in Japanese.
Tohru nodded, her face showing very clearly how worried she was. Kyo understood where his cousin was going and frowned but also nodded.
"Then you should know what I'm about to talk about now. It's becoming too dangerous for both of you to stay here."
"No!" cried out Tohru, catching the others attention. "No, we will not leave you guys!"
"And I will not have you two getting hurt anymore than you already have," replied Yuki, conscious of the attention they were now getting. He was thankful that only Daisuke might be able to understand what they were talking about.
"You will not push us away that easily you damned rat," growled Kyo. "You may think you're better than us but we can also contribute to this situation."
"I'm not competing with you idiot! Don't you care if you or Tohru get hurt in these battles?"
Kyo glared at Yuki and the others felt the tension in the air even though only Daisuke fully understood their conversation.
"Yuki," whispered Tohru, "we still want to help. You are all our friends and we don't want to see you guys get hurt if we can't help fight as well."
"Don't you realize?" sighed Yuki. "You two have nothing to do with this. You both got hurt because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Those two were not after you, they were after us."
"But-" started Tohru.
"No, Tohru! I don't want to see you get hurt again! You should both go home!"
Yuki got up and walked towards the other end of the Hospital Wing, supported by his crutch. He sat down on the last bed, his back turned towards the others, his head held in his hands, frustrated. Tohru and Kyo, meanwhile, looked at each other, thinking over his last words.
After dinner that day, the group received a surprise visit. The doors slowly opened and a dark mate of hair poked through into the room. Harry entered the room, followed closely by Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny. They all looked at the six boys in the beds, shocked at the scene. Tohru and Madam Pomfrey entered the room from the nurse's office. They had been talking to Rabi and Bookman and were glad the two men decided to stay in the office while they went to check on the boys, they did not want to explain the presence of the two men to the others.
"Oh! What are all of you doing here?" asked Tohru, surprised though still smiling brightly.
"We came to see all of you," replied Hermione, returning the smile. "We wanted to know if you're alright."
"Really?" wondered Edward, frowning slightly, not fully believing them. "All of you are here because of us?"
"Of course mate," agreed Ron.
Harry slowly approached Edward's bed, his nerves slightly showing. Once he was near enough, he finally looked into the blond student's golden eyes, taking a deep breath.
"I wanted to thank you Ed. I'm really grateful," he explained softly.
"Idiot. I knew there was another reason," sighed Edward looking away, frustrated. "Look, next time I order you to move your stinking ass, move it," he growled, glaring at Harry. "I told you to move and if you had left like I told you to, my arm would probably not have been broken and I would not have had an arm passing through my chest."
"Ed, I'm sorry, I wanted to help," explained Harry, sadly.
"You don't help someone by going against what they find is best. Idiot, if you want to survive, start thinking and using your head and not luck."
"But-"
"Enough Harry. Go wave your wand around and hope to defeat your enemy, I had enough, you won't listen to others than fight by yourself."
Edward picked up one of the many books and the night stand which had been brought from the library. He opened it and returned to reading it, ignoring the gaping student at the edge of his bed.
"But Ed," continued Harry, "why did you still protect me if you're pissed at me?"
Edward froze, not looking up from his book. How in the world do I explain this? He thought, swallowing hard. I can't go and say I have to protect him because I was ordered to. Damn it. Edward looked up at Harry, a frown on his face.
"Why do you care?" asked the blond student in a low growl, thinking he could scare the boy off.
"Because I want to know."
"You'll have to earn the right to that knowledge," replied Edward. "Until now, you haven't."
"Then, what do I have to do?"
"You'll have to figure that out."
Meanwhile, Hermione had accompanied Tohru, helping her with the potion bottles as they headed towards Kyo. Seeing as in their respective groups, there were not many girls, they enjoyed talking to each other on occasion.
Further away, Ron had gone up to Allen's bed and sat on it, talking to the white haired boy.
"Here you go Allen, I thought you might like some," explained Ron, handing over a large package. "Seeing as you are bed ridden for a while. Who knows what they give you here."
"Thanks Ron," laughed Allen, opening the package and finding a series of sweets.
Just then, his stomach growled and both boys laughed out loud. Allen quickly picked one of them up and starting eating. It was true, they were not served a lot of food in the Hospital Wing and Allen was not used to eating only one serving of any meal.
Across the room, Link was being teased by Fred and George. They were placed on either side of his bed and were showing him all of their new products, trying to convince him to try some.
"Never!" laughed Link as they pushed another one towards him. "You guys try it!"
"Funny," replied Fred.
"Like we will actually try our unstable products," continued George.
"Then don't make me try it!"
Fred and George looked at each other, smiles on their faces. They then returned their attention to the bed ridden Link, both wearing evil smiles. Link frowned slightly, wondering what they had in mind. Before the older boy could react, the twins lunged at him, making all of them laugh loudly.
"They can be so loud sometimes," remarked Ginny, sitting on the side of Yuki's bed.
"I agree with you," chuckled the Slytherin boy softly.
"It's time to change your bandage Yuki," explained Madam Pomfrey, approaching the student. "And to apply the healing cream."
"I can do that," suggested Ginny, surprising the nurse and Yuki. "The others are more in need of your care or you can take a little break. You've been working a lot lately."
"Thank you Ginny," smiled Madam Pomfrey, handing over the cream. "Rub it on any part of the skin that is bruised."
"Gotcha."
Ginny took the cream and placed the pot on the night table next to Yuki's bed. She then turned towards Yuki who was reaching to undo the bandage around his head. However, Ginny got hold of his hand and pulled it down.
"I'll do it," she explained, reaching for the bandages and slowly removing them.
"Ginny, really, it's okay, I can," remarked Yuki, trying to convince her but she would have nothing of it.
"I said I would do it and I will," she answered, gently pulling the bandages off.
Once she had finished, she had a clear view of where Yuki had gotten hit. The right side of his face was a dark blue color, some areas bordering purple. She gasped slightly and he looked away, hiding the side of his face. She returned her attention to his eyes and noticed they looked sad. Ginny then regretted the way she reacted and picked up the pot of cream. She opened it and took a small amount on her fingers. She reached forward and placed them on the side of Yuki's face, making him turn at the same time.
"I'm sorry," whispered Ginny, spreading the cream on the bruise gently.
"You don't have to be," he replied, not looking at her.
"I wish you would stop that," sighed Ginny, applying the cream.
Yuki raised an eyebrow, confused about what she meant. She realized he was staring and sighed once again, stopping the application of the cream.
"I wish you would stop saying that everything is alright," she explained softly. "Not everything is. It's alright to have a different idea or way of thinking. And besides, you are already different; you don't need to hide it."
"That's very nice Ginny," he chuckled softly, the sarcasm clearly audible.
"See, you already saying something against what I said. I was not that hard."
"If you say so."
She looked at him, slightly annoyed. When she returned to reapplying the cream, she pressed a little harder than needed on the bruise and Yuki winced in response. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response but none came.
"You are too polite for your own good," she sighed, returning to her work.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Exactly."
She looked at him again but, this time, he was trying to hide a smile. However, he finally burst and started laughing. Ginny stared at him at first and then understood: he was doing it on purpose now.
"Why you!" she laughed back, not believing that the Slytherin student was actually teasing her.
"Yes, me? What I can I do you for Miss?" replied Yuki, looking at her, a broad smile on his face.
"You could sit still and stop with the sarcasm," she answered back, giggling slightly.
"As you wish."
This time, Ginny pressed slightly harder on the bruise once again and Yuki winced.
"Ow! I get it! Stop touching the bruise!" whispered Yuki, smiling slightly, trying not to think about the stinging skin.
"Ok, I promise I won't," she replied, being gentler, conscious of the watchful gaze of the older boy.
Author's Note: As a special treat, reviewers get cookies in the favorite character's shape (Edward, Link, Tohru, Kyo, Yuki, Allen or Daisuke). Take your pick when reviewing!