Harry Potter and the Keeper of Friendship.
New Friends, Old Enemies
By Starrysapphire, Taito Empress
Disclaimer - Nope, they still aren't mine.
NOTE - I have no idea what currency Japan use :-(' or of the conversion rate and I don't know how much it would cost to get from there to England so I've made it up. Sorry if it's completely wrong and please feel free to moan!
This fic is dedicated to the Black Goddess (my sister) for helping me with a few plot holes (although the idea of Tai becoming a rent-boy was NOT appreciated and will NOT be used!)
Black Goddess: It was just an idea!
Me: A very bad one! Anyway, can you imagine how much he'd have to rent himself out for £21000!
Black Goddess: Okay, whatever. Hey everybody! Read MY fics! They never have any plot holes!
Me: I beg to differ! I'm always helping you!
Black Goddess: Humph
Me: After that shameless bit of advertising, lets get on with this story shall we....?
Harry Potter was sitting with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in the Gryffindor Common Room when they were approached by two first year girls.
"Harry?" one of them said timidly.
Harry looked at them, mentally deciding that if this was for his autograph, he was suffering a severe case of Athletes Hand and was unable to hold a quill.
"Yes?" he said.
"I'm Abetzi Littlewood," the girl said "This is Talitha Lions. Um, we've come to ask for help."
"Help?" Harry repeated. Beside him, Ron and Hermione began to listen too.
"Yes," Abetzi said "See, we were in Potions class and something happened and Snape won't believe us and we thought maybe you could help....?"
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. Ron shrugged but Hermione spoke up.
"Tell us about it," she said "and we'll see if we can do anything."
Abetzi looked relived. They'd obviously been worrying that Harry wouldn't bother helping them.
"Well, I was working with Talitha and Matt Ishida," she began
"Matt Ishida?" Ron interrupted "Isn't he the one who gets into fights all the time and broke Malfoy's nose?"
Abetzi nodded. Hermione shushed Ron (who was smiling at the memory of Malfoy's broken nose) and turned back to Abetzi "Go on."
"Well, none of us had really been paying attention to the instructions so we were just guessing," she explained "And we tipped the bryony roots in. Well, then this great column of smoke came out of the cauldron and we could see something in it!"
"Something?" Harry said.
"Well, we weren't sure what it was at first. Then we realised it was a person."
Harry nodded slowly.
"Well, Matt had stepped forward to see it better because he doesn't know the meaning of the word fear. At least, I thought he didn't. Then he went really white and when I say white, I mean bone white. I asked him what was wrong but he just stood there. Then the figure brushed his hand over Matt's head and he started screaming!"
"You missed a bit," Talitha said.
"No I didn't!" Abetzi said indignantly.
"You did!" Talitha said. She turned to Harry "The figure got more defined you see and then he reached out his hand and did that-" she reached out and brushed her hand over the top of Harry's head " - like Abby said and then he showed Matt something on his hand before closing his hand. That was when Matt started screaming."
"What happened then?" Hermione asked.
"Well, the smoke column collapsed then," Abetzi said "And so did Matt. He just knelt on the floor screaming. He wouldn't stop or tell us what was wrong, he just kept screaming."
"What happened to the smoke man?" Hermione asked.
"Well, I thought he collapsed with it," Abetzi said "But Tally says that's not what happened."
Talitha nodded.
"When Matt started screaming, I ran over," she explained "The figure was right in front of him so I could see properly. The man sort of detached from the smoke and faded into the shadows of the room as the column collapsed. When Matt was taken out later, I swear I saw a smoky shadow of a man follow them but that could have been my imagination."
"And Snape wouldn't believe us!" Abetzi said indignantly "He saw the figure all right but he wouldn't believe the part about him detaching or showing Matt something. He said that Matt was a wimp who was frightened of shadows!"
Harry looked at his friends who stared blankly back.
"Could it have been You-Know-Who?" Ron whispered after a moment.
"I don't think so," Abetzi interrupted before Harry could say anything "Because You-Know-Who doesn't scare Matt. He doesn't understand. He always uses You-Know-Who's name, all the time, just to scare us.
Harry had heard reports of Matt Ishida's attitude problem. He always been sure they were exaggerated. He was beginning to wonder.
"Where's Matt now?" Hermione asked.
"The Hospital Wing," Talitha said "He was sent straight up there. I think Madame Pomfrey's given him a Sleeping Potion or something to calm him down. He was screaming fit to burst last time we saw him."
"Right," Harry said.
He looked at the others gloomily.
"What was the Potion you were making?" Hermione asked.
"Solidifying Potion," Abetzi said.
"And you put the chopped up bryony roots in while it was on the fire!" Hermione said, looking shocked.
"Well, I thought you did that, then removed from flames and added the dung beetles!" Talitha said defensively.
"No! You add the dung beetles first, then remove from the flames and add bryony roots!" Hermione said "No wonder something strange happened!"
The two girls looked sheepish. Hermione sighed.
"Well, we'll do our best," she said "But honestly, I think you should go to Professor McGonagall about this rather than us. We can't do much."
The girls shrugged, looking unhappy.
"We'll try though," Harry said.
The two girls thanked them before going on their way, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione looking at each other worriedly.
* * * *
Matt woke up sweating. For one terrified moment, he had no idea where he was. Then he began to piece things together, the Potions lesson.....the smoke..... Myotismon.....the figures in his hand....then as he'd screamed, Myotismon fading into the shadows, solid again....
Matt sat bolt up right shaking. Tai! He had to warn Tai! Myotismon was back! He knew it!
Matt put his head in his hands, trying to relax and think. How could he warn Tai? There were no telephones at Hogwarts or anywhere nearby. He didn't know anyway of contacted Tai except by owl and Ryo was already out, taking a letter to TK. It could take ages for the owl to return from Japan.
Matt breathed deeply. He didn't know a spell. But maybe someone else did. Like Hermione Granger. She was one of the cleverest people there, everyone knew that. He could go and wake Harry Potter and Harry could get Hermione. After all, he didn't want to frighten her by going into the girls dormitory and she wouldn't be scared by Harry.
Matt staggered out of the Medical Wing and towards the Gryffindor tower, unaware that he was being followed.
* * * *
Harry was woken by someone gently shaking him. Opening his eyes, he saw Matt Ishida standing over him. He looked awful. His face was pale and he was drenched in sweat.
"Matt?" he muttered sleepily "What....?"
"Shhh!" Matt whispered "Please! I need your help Harry! It's urgent!"
"My help?" Harry said.
"I have to get in contact with my friends in Japan straight away!" Matt whispered "Please Harry, this is desperately important! Please! Go and wake Hermione, she'll know a way!"
Harry stared at him.
"You should be in the Hospital Wing," he said.
"Please!" Matt begged again "We're all in danger! Please help me!"
Harry considered for a moment, then got out of bed. He crept over and shook Ron awake then sneaked into the Girls Dormitory and woke Hermione. She grumpily staggered out of bed and they went down to the Common Room where Ron and Matt were waiting.
"Hermione," Matt said as soon as he saw he "I need a quick way of contacting my friends in Japan. It's urgent!"
Hermione looked at him.
"Why? What's so important?" she asked.
"I can't explain, you'd never believe me!" Matt said "You just have to help me!"
Harry looked at Hermione. She was frowning.
"Well, there is a spell," she said "It's like astral projection. But it needs more people and we don't have enough. And it's a risk..."
"Abby and Talitha will help," Matt said instantly "They won't mind. And we have to, this is a real emergency!"
"I'll help too," a voice said.
Turning, they were amazed to see Draco Malfoy stepping out from the shadows.
"Malfoy!" Ron hissed "What are you doing in the Gryffindor Common Room."
"I followed him," Malfoy said, pointing at Matt "I heard him say the Password, used it myself and sneaked inside. I wanted to know what was happening."
"What were you doing out so late?" Hermione asked angrily.
"I sneaked out to see him," Malfoy said, pointing at Matt again "It's been going all round the school that Yamato Ishida saw something in some smoke and I wanted to know what he saw."
"Why?" Matt demanded.
Malfoy flinched. "Because I thought I saw something today," he said quietly.
Before the others could say anything, Matt had grabbed Malfoy by the front of his pyjamas. "What? What did you see?" he demanded feverishly.
Malfoy pulled himself loose.
"I was having Defence Against the Dark Arts," he explained "We heard you screaming as you were carried up to the Hospital Wing. We leant out the room to see you. We couldn't see anything so we went back inside. About an hour later when I was in Charms, I was looking out of the window. I saw something at the edge of the forest. At first I thought it was a shadow. But then I realised that it was solid, real."
"What was it?" Matt whispered.
Malfoy swallowed. He looked a little afraid.
"I thought it was a man at first," he said "He looked like one. But then he looked up and I saw....."
"Saw what?" Hermione asked.
"His teeth," Malfoy said softly "He was a vampire."
Matt gave a horrified moan and doubled over. Harry quickly lowered him into a seat where Matt sat, shaking.
"Why does it bother you so much?" Malfoy asked "He's just a vampire."
"You don't know Myotismon," Matt said faintly "He's not a real vampire, not how you mean. He nearly destroyed the world. He nearly killed me and my friends and our families. And it's my fault he's back. If I'd paid more attention..."
He looked at Hermione.
"Help me," he said "Please?"
Hermione nodded.
"Harry," she said "Go and wake Abetzi and Talitha. Make sure they bring their wands. Harry, go and get my wand and yours and Ron's and Matt's. Malfoy, go back to your dormitory and get your own wand. Matt, you come with me. We'll all meet in the History of Magic classroom. And Harry - bring the cloak."
They scattered. A few minutes later, they were gathered in the History of Magic classroom, Abby and Talitha yawning grumpily but quite willing to help Matt who was obviously terribly worried. Hermione had gathered everything she needed and was looking at the spell.
"Okay," she said "I think I've got it. Matt, you kneel down there okay? We need to form a hexagon."
Noting several blank faces, she said impatiently "A six sided shape. Malfoy, you stand on that side of Matt, Harry, you on the other. Ron, you stand there, Abby, you there, Talitha, you there. I'll stand here." Hermione turned to Matt "Now listen Matt, get your message though fast. I don't know how long we can keep this up and if we're caught, we'll be stopped instantly. Everyone ready? Good. Now raise your wands."
Everyone obeyed.
"Now when I drop my hand, you all say Tú cierras los ojrtos y te dejas arrastrar. Got it?"
They all nodded.
"Okay," Hermione said. She took a deep breath and then dropped her hand.
They all chorused the words together. Instantly, jets of bright blue light shot out of every wand, making a blue corona around Matt. Matt convulsed violently then dropped to all fours, breathing heavily. Everyone watched as a faint shadow-Matt appeared briefly, then vanished.
* * * *
"Tai! Tai!"
Tai sleepily opened his eyes.
"Kari?" he said.
"No Tai. It's me!"
Tai's eyes snapped fully open and he jerked upright, suddenly wide awake. Turning, he stared silently. Standing in the middle of his floor was Matt. Only not the real Matt. This Matt was transparent. Tai remembered vaguely though the surprise that he was in his oldest, most awful pyjamas and for some unaccountable reason, wished he was wearing something better.
"Kari," Tai croaked "Kari wake up. You have to see this!"
Kari opened her eyes, then gasped.
"There's not much time," the Shadow-Matt said "It's a difficult spell this and it hurts. And if it hurt me, I'd hate to think of what it's doing to the others."
"What's up?" Tai asked.
The Shadow-Matt swallowed.
"It's Myotismon, Tai," he said "He's back."
Tai felt his blood freeze. He heard Kari's horrified gasp.
"Myotismon?" he croaked.
Shadow-Matt nodded.
"I'm so sorry Tai," he whispered "It was my fault. We must have done something....created a new Potion or something.....anyway, he appeared in the smoke and then became solid! He's loose in the Forbidden Forest somewhere. Tai, you have to come and help me!"
"How?" Kari asked "You're in England, Matt!"
"You have to!" Shadow-Matt pleaded "I can't fight Myotismon without you! You know that!"
Tai nodded.
"Don't worry," he said, trying to sound confident "We'll be there Matt. You can count on it. Just hang in there."
Shadow-Matt smiled.
"I've missed you Taichi," he said.
Tai flushed slightly, but smiled.
"Yeah," he said "I'm missed you too, Yamato."
Shadow-Matt began to blur.
"Ryo will arrive in a few days," he said, his voice faint "Take her with you and then follow her. She'll lead you to Hogwarts. Thank you."
He vanished, leaving Tai and Kari staring at each other.
* * * *
"And you're sure this wasn't a dream," Izzy said, sounding slightly sceptical.
The Digidestined were gathered together in Izzy's room, listening to Tai and Kari's story.
"Yes!" Tai said crossly "We both saw him didn't we?"
"You mean Myotismon's back?" TK said, his voice trembling "He's at Hogwarts, where Matt is?"
Tai nodded grimly.
"We have to help him!" TK insisted, tears gathering in his eyes.
Sora put an arm round him and looked at Tai.
"Tai, I believe you, but we have to face facts," she said "We don't have anywhere near enough money to get us to England and even if we did, how could we explain it to our parents?"
Izzy was doing something on his computer.
"I estimate that if we use the cheapest, most boxy, awful flight we can find, for all of us to get to England, in English money, it's likely to cost at least £21000," he said.
"WHAT?" everyone chorused.
"For all seven of us to get to England in the worst flight conditions, it's going to be around £21000," Izzy repeated "If we're lucky, possibly about a thousand less."
Everyone looked at each other.
"Tai, there's no way we can get the kind of money from anywhere, short of robbing a bank!" Sora said.
Tai frowned. He couldn't let Matt down, he'd promised.
"How much for one person to go?" he asked.
Izzy frowned.
"Around £3000," he said "But that's not easy money to raise either and just one person going is hardly going to be any use."
"Is that a return ticket too?" Tai asked.
"Yes," Izzy said.
Tai looked round.
"Can any of you raise that sort of money?" he asked "Selling stuff....taking money out of bank accounts....anything?"
"Well, I could try selling a kidney," Joe said sarcastically "Of course, then I'd be too ill to take the trip."
"Um, guys?" TK said. He sounded very timid, as though he knew that he was going to get yelled at "I might know something we can do but..."
"Tell us," Tai ordered.
TK swallowed.
"Well, after Mum and Dad split up, Matt went though this really bad patch," he said "Everytime I visited him, he was angry. He talked about all sorts of horrible things. I was scared. Eventually, they sent him to a psychologist 'cause he was so bad and he got a bit better, better enough to stop going anyway. But while he'd been bad, he'd been hanging round with this gang of older kids who taught him some stuff. He told me bits of it. And one of them was...." TK's voice trailed off again.
"What? Spit it out TK," Tai said.
"It was how to use your parent's credit cards over the Net, without using the numbers," TK whispered.
There was a pause.
"So what you're saying is," Mimi said "A way of shopping permanently without asking for Daddy's credit card number!"
"What he's saying is, he has a way for us to steal from all our parents," Izzy said darkly.
"Please don't be mad," TK pleaded "We've never used it. And you made me tell!"
Tai nodded.
"It is an emergency," he said.
"No!" Sora shouted "No, Tai, I'm not stealing my parents money, not even for something this important!"
"But we have to help Matt!" Tai said "We'd pay the money back into the accounts!" "But our parents would never trust us again!" Joe pointed out.
"They wouldn't even know it was us," Tai said uncertainly.
"Of course they'd know!" Sora said angrily "The credit card people would know what the money had been spent on and they are likely to notice our absence!"
Tai shrugged. He knew that what they were talking about doing was very morally dubious but they had to help Matt.
"Couldn't we take just a little from every credit card and share out the cost?" Mimi suggested.
"How many credit cards do your parents own Mimi?" Izzy asked "£21000 is a lot of money, in case you hadn't realised. Anyway, imagining that everyone here has two credit cards - one per parent - we'd have to take £1500 each and that's still a sizeable amount of money. Besides, I know for a fact that that's not the case so it would be more than that for some people."
Everyone looked at each other uncomfortably. TK looked miserably guilty. If he hadn't suggested it, no one would be in this situation. Beside him, Tai took a deep breath.
"I know this is a bad choice to have to make and I'm not going to force anybody. But Matt's my friend and if Myotismon is back then I have to do something. I'm going to go to England, no matter what anybody says."
"Then I'll go with you," TK said "This is my fault anyway and I know Matt'd do the same for me!"
Tai smiled at TK. TK grinned back with a confidence that he didn't really feel. He knew that he'd be in real trouble for this and he'd have to say where he'd got the information from.
"If Tai's going, I'm going," Kari said loyally. Tai grinned.
"Well.....I guess Matt's relying on me," Joe said, sounding gloomy "But my parents will kill me."
Sora frowned. She was looking furious.
"Sora, I know you don't like this..." Tai began but Sora cut in.
"No Tai, you're right, I don't like this! And I'm not going to let you do it!"
"Sora!" Tai protested, but Sora was wearing her 'resolve face' and Tai knew nothing could stop her.
"Sora's right," Izzy said "It's important that we save the world but if we lose all our morals along the way, then we're no better than what we fight! There must be some other way."
For a while, they all sat there, trying to think of a better way to get £21000.
"That's it!" Mimi announced "I give up! I can't think of anything!"
"There has to be some way!" Tai snarled "I'm not giving up!"
There was a faint hoot and Ryo landed beside them.
"Ryo!" TK said. He unfastened the letter from Ryo's leg and began to read it, stroking Ryo's back, as Tai tried to convince Sora that stealing money was the only way. Then TK stiffened.
"Tai," he said "Tai!"
"What?" Tai said.
"Look!" TK said "Read that!" He pointed. Tai looked.
....You'll never believe it, but recently, one of the Gryffindor fifth years came to talk to me and not to tell me off for punching someone! His name was Ron Weasley (I mentioned his crazy twin brothers once, remember?) and he wanted to know about Japan. Apparently, one of his older brothers (Charlie) has just been sent there because Japan is a great place for dragons! (Don't worry, they rarely attack anyone) He's busy studying them and stuff. Something about how they bring their babies up in the wild. Ron thinks he won't be taking care of himself properly and asked me if you could maybe you can look out for him as he's staying in Odiaba. I said you would, I hope that's okay.
Matt's letter then went on to give the address.
"Of course!" Tai yelled "That's IT!!"
As the others looked at him, he explained his plan.
* * * *
Charlie Weasley was woken up by knocking on his door. He frowned. Surely he hadn't over-slept? He'd been out all night watching a Japanese Gold-Eye fussing over its young. He had set his alarm clock to wake him at 7:00PM. Glancing at his clock, he saw that it was only 1:00PM.
Staggering over, he opened the door. To his amazement, he found seven children standing on his door step. They stared at him. He was about to suggest that they had the wrong house when he noticed that one of them was carrying an owl.
"Are you Charlie Weasley?" one asked.
"Yes I am," Charlie said "Who are you?"
The boy smiled slightly, barely masking the worry in his eyes.
"I'm Taichi Yagami," he said "We need your help."
* * * *
"I'm going to be sick!" TK wailed.
"We're nearly there!" one of the wizards called soothingly.
Tai closed his eyes. It had taken ages to convince Charlie Weasley to help them but eventually he'd agreed. He and some of his friends had Apparated them to England.
The problem was, they were flying on broomsticks the rest of the way.
All the Digidestined had flown before, some more than others. They all had the distinctly strange feeling of floating in mid-air and being turned in data which had also felt like floating in a way. When Charlie had told them they'd be flying, Tai hadn't worried in the slightest.
The problem was, Tai had discovered, there was a great difference to flying on the back of a Digimon or being held suspended in space by an entity to sitting on the back of a thin wooden stick, clinging onto a wizard in front of you.
"Tai!" he heard Mimi wail "I'm not sure I can take much more!"
"Will you guys shut up?" Tai gritted out "You've all flown before! Stop being such wussies!"
He made the unfortunate mistake of glancing down as he said this and felt a wave of nausea sweep over him. With a moan, he tightened his grip on the wizard.
The wizards all seemed to find it all very amusing. Tai was tempted to push his wizard off the broom but he wasn't sure if he could make it stay up in the air and decided against it.
"There!" someone yelled "Hogwarts!"
A weak cheer went up from all seven Digidestined as the wizards landed. Tai privately swore that he would never fly again.
"Are you sure you can see yourselves up to the door?" one wizard asked.
"Yes, thanks," Tai said "And say thanks to Charlie Weasley!" The wizards flew off leaving the Digidestined looking at each other. None of them had really considered what they would do once they got to Hogwarts.
"Isn't Myotismon supposed to be loose in this forest?" TK asked, his voice quavering.
"We can cope," Tai said firmly "Come on."
"Wait!" Sora said "We can't just burst in on them! The teachers will throw a fit! We have to think of a better way."
"Matt can come out here," Tai said promptly "We'll send a note on Ryo."
"Yeah!" TK said.
Ryo fluttered impatiently as Tai fastened a note to her leg. TK had been carrying her all the way and she wanted to stretch her wings. As soon as Tai released her, she was off.
"We'll have to get closer to the castle though," Tai said.
Sora nodded and together, the Digidestined began the trek up to the castle.
* * * *
Deep in the forest, a crowd of centaurs stood looking grimly up at the sky.
"The signs are clear," one of them said "A great evil has entered this world."
"But what is it?" another asked.
"The stars will not say," the centaur said "But it is not of this world."
A laugh interrupted them.
"Very good," a mocking voice said "What do you do for an encore?"
A man stepped out from the trees. He was very tall and in strange clothes. It only took the centaurs a moment to realise that not only was this the evil they'd been discussing, it was no man but a vampire. They scattered in different directions.
"Crimson Lightning!" the vampire cried.
Red light flashed and many centaurs fell, dead or wounded. The vampire swept down on one wounded one and despite the centaurs struggling, sank his teeth into the centaurs neck. After drinking deeply, he dropped the centaur to the ground.
"Not as good as human blood," Myotismon murmured "But sufficient."
He barely even glanced at the destruction he'd created before disappearing into the trees, as silently as he'd come.
The End of Part 2.
An additional note; if you really must know what the spell words actually meant, loosely translated, it's 'She'll make you live a crazy life but she'll take away your pain, like a bullet though your brain.' Yes, I have been listening to Ricky Martin and that's the Spanish version of 'Livin' La Vida Loca'. I can only apologise. :-t
New Friends, Old Enemies
By Starrysapphire, Taito Empress
Disclaimer - Nope, they still aren't mine.
NOTE - I have no idea what currency Japan use :-(' or of the conversion rate and I don't know how much it would cost to get from there to England so I've made it up. Sorry if it's completely wrong and please feel free to moan!
This fic is dedicated to the Black Goddess (my sister) for helping me with a few plot holes (although the idea of Tai becoming a rent-boy was NOT appreciated and will NOT be used!)
Black Goddess: It was just an idea!
Me: A very bad one! Anyway, can you imagine how much he'd have to rent himself out for £21000!
Black Goddess: Okay, whatever. Hey everybody! Read MY fics! They never have any plot holes!
Me: I beg to differ! I'm always helping you!
Black Goddess: Humph
Me: After that shameless bit of advertising, lets get on with this story shall we....?
Harry Potter was sitting with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in the Gryffindor Common Room when they were approached by two first year girls.
"Harry?" one of them said timidly.
Harry looked at them, mentally deciding that if this was for his autograph, he was suffering a severe case of Athletes Hand and was unable to hold a quill.
"Yes?" he said.
"I'm Abetzi Littlewood," the girl said "This is Talitha Lions. Um, we've come to ask for help."
"Help?" Harry repeated. Beside him, Ron and Hermione began to listen too.
"Yes," Abetzi said "See, we were in Potions class and something happened and Snape won't believe us and we thought maybe you could help....?"
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. Ron shrugged but Hermione spoke up.
"Tell us about it," she said "and we'll see if we can do anything."
Abetzi looked relived. They'd obviously been worrying that Harry wouldn't bother helping them.
"Well, I was working with Talitha and Matt Ishida," she began
"Matt Ishida?" Ron interrupted "Isn't he the one who gets into fights all the time and broke Malfoy's nose?"
Abetzi nodded. Hermione shushed Ron (who was smiling at the memory of Malfoy's broken nose) and turned back to Abetzi "Go on."
"Well, none of us had really been paying attention to the instructions so we were just guessing," she explained "And we tipped the bryony roots in. Well, then this great column of smoke came out of the cauldron and we could see something in it!"
"Something?" Harry said.
"Well, we weren't sure what it was at first. Then we realised it was a person."
Harry nodded slowly.
"Well, Matt had stepped forward to see it better because he doesn't know the meaning of the word fear. At least, I thought he didn't. Then he went really white and when I say white, I mean bone white. I asked him what was wrong but he just stood there. Then the figure brushed his hand over Matt's head and he started screaming!"
"You missed a bit," Talitha said.
"No I didn't!" Abetzi said indignantly.
"You did!" Talitha said. She turned to Harry "The figure got more defined you see and then he reached out his hand and did that-" she reached out and brushed her hand over the top of Harry's head " - like Abby said and then he showed Matt something on his hand before closing his hand. That was when Matt started screaming."
"What happened then?" Hermione asked.
"Well, the smoke column collapsed then," Abetzi said "And so did Matt. He just knelt on the floor screaming. He wouldn't stop or tell us what was wrong, he just kept screaming."
"What happened to the smoke man?" Hermione asked.
"Well, I thought he collapsed with it," Abetzi said "But Tally says that's not what happened."
Talitha nodded.
"When Matt started screaming, I ran over," she explained "The figure was right in front of him so I could see properly. The man sort of detached from the smoke and faded into the shadows of the room as the column collapsed. When Matt was taken out later, I swear I saw a smoky shadow of a man follow them but that could have been my imagination."
"And Snape wouldn't believe us!" Abetzi said indignantly "He saw the figure all right but he wouldn't believe the part about him detaching or showing Matt something. He said that Matt was a wimp who was frightened of shadows!"
Harry looked at his friends who stared blankly back.
"Could it have been You-Know-Who?" Ron whispered after a moment.
"I don't think so," Abetzi interrupted before Harry could say anything "Because You-Know-Who doesn't scare Matt. He doesn't understand. He always uses You-Know-Who's name, all the time, just to scare us.
Harry had heard reports of Matt Ishida's attitude problem. He always been sure they were exaggerated. He was beginning to wonder.
"Where's Matt now?" Hermione asked.
"The Hospital Wing," Talitha said "He was sent straight up there. I think Madame Pomfrey's given him a Sleeping Potion or something to calm him down. He was screaming fit to burst last time we saw him."
"Right," Harry said.
He looked at the others gloomily.
"What was the Potion you were making?" Hermione asked.
"Solidifying Potion," Abetzi said.
"And you put the chopped up bryony roots in while it was on the fire!" Hermione said, looking shocked.
"Well, I thought you did that, then removed from flames and added the dung beetles!" Talitha said defensively.
"No! You add the dung beetles first, then remove from the flames and add bryony roots!" Hermione said "No wonder something strange happened!"
The two girls looked sheepish. Hermione sighed.
"Well, we'll do our best," she said "But honestly, I think you should go to Professor McGonagall about this rather than us. We can't do much."
The girls shrugged, looking unhappy.
"We'll try though," Harry said.
The two girls thanked them before going on their way, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione looking at each other worriedly.
* * * *
Matt woke up sweating. For one terrified moment, he had no idea where he was. Then he began to piece things together, the Potions lesson.....the smoke..... Myotismon.....the figures in his hand....then as he'd screamed, Myotismon fading into the shadows, solid again....
Matt sat bolt up right shaking. Tai! He had to warn Tai! Myotismon was back! He knew it!
Matt put his head in his hands, trying to relax and think. How could he warn Tai? There were no telephones at Hogwarts or anywhere nearby. He didn't know anyway of contacted Tai except by owl and Ryo was already out, taking a letter to TK. It could take ages for the owl to return from Japan.
Matt breathed deeply. He didn't know a spell. But maybe someone else did. Like Hermione Granger. She was one of the cleverest people there, everyone knew that. He could go and wake Harry Potter and Harry could get Hermione. After all, he didn't want to frighten her by going into the girls dormitory and she wouldn't be scared by Harry.
Matt staggered out of the Medical Wing and towards the Gryffindor tower, unaware that he was being followed.
* * * *
Harry was woken by someone gently shaking him. Opening his eyes, he saw Matt Ishida standing over him. He looked awful. His face was pale and he was drenched in sweat.
"Matt?" he muttered sleepily "What....?"
"Shhh!" Matt whispered "Please! I need your help Harry! It's urgent!"
"My help?" Harry said.
"I have to get in contact with my friends in Japan straight away!" Matt whispered "Please Harry, this is desperately important! Please! Go and wake Hermione, she'll know a way!"
Harry stared at him.
"You should be in the Hospital Wing," he said.
"Please!" Matt begged again "We're all in danger! Please help me!"
Harry considered for a moment, then got out of bed. He crept over and shook Ron awake then sneaked into the Girls Dormitory and woke Hermione. She grumpily staggered out of bed and they went down to the Common Room where Ron and Matt were waiting.
"Hermione," Matt said as soon as he saw he "I need a quick way of contacting my friends in Japan. It's urgent!"
Hermione looked at him.
"Why? What's so important?" she asked.
"I can't explain, you'd never believe me!" Matt said "You just have to help me!"
Harry looked at Hermione. She was frowning.
"Well, there is a spell," she said "It's like astral projection. But it needs more people and we don't have enough. And it's a risk..."
"Abby and Talitha will help," Matt said instantly "They won't mind. And we have to, this is a real emergency!"
"I'll help too," a voice said.
Turning, they were amazed to see Draco Malfoy stepping out from the shadows.
"Malfoy!" Ron hissed "What are you doing in the Gryffindor Common Room."
"I followed him," Malfoy said, pointing at Matt "I heard him say the Password, used it myself and sneaked inside. I wanted to know what was happening."
"What were you doing out so late?" Hermione asked angrily.
"I sneaked out to see him," Malfoy said, pointing at Matt again "It's been going all round the school that Yamato Ishida saw something in some smoke and I wanted to know what he saw."
"Why?" Matt demanded.
Malfoy flinched. "Because I thought I saw something today," he said quietly.
Before the others could say anything, Matt had grabbed Malfoy by the front of his pyjamas. "What? What did you see?" he demanded feverishly.
Malfoy pulled himself loose.
"I was having Defence Against the Dark Arts," he explained "We heard you screaming as you were carried up to the Hospital Wing. We leant out the room to see you. We couldn't see anything so we went back inside. About an hour later when I was in Charms, I was looking out of the window. I saw something at the edge of the forest. At first I thought it was a shadow. But then I realised that it was solid, real."
"What was it?" Matt whispered.
Malfoy swallowed. He looked a little afraid.
"I thought it was a man at first," he said "He looked like one. But then he looked up and I saw....."
"Saw what?" Hermione asked.
"His teeth," Malfoy said softly "He was a vampire."
Matt gave a horrified moan and doubled over. Harry quickly lowered him into a seat where Matt sat, shaking.
"Why does it bother you so much?" Malfoy asked "He's just a vampire."
"You don't know Myotismon," Matt said faintly "He's not a real vampire, not how you mean. He nearly destroyed the world. He nearly killed me and my friends and our families. And it's my fault he's back. If I'd paid more attention..."
He looked at Hermione.
"Help me," he said "Please?"
Hermione nodded.
"Harry," she said "Go and wake Abetzi and Talitha. Make sure they bring their wands. Harry, go and get my wand and yours and Ron's and Matt's. Malfoy, go back to your dormitory and get your own wand. Matt, you come with me. We'll all meet in the History of Magic classroom. And Harry - bring the cloak."
They scattered. A few minutes later, they were gathered in the History of Magic classroom, Abby and Talitha yawning grumpily but quite willing to help Matt who was obviously terribly worried. Hermione had gathered everything she needed and was looking at the spell.
"Okay," she said "I think I've got it. Matt, you kneel down there okay? We need to form a hexagon."
Noting several blank faces, she said impatiently "A six sided shape. Malfoy, you stand on that side of Matt, Harry, you on the other. Ron, you stand there, Abby, you there, Talitha, you there. I'll stand here." Hermione turned to Matt "Now listen Matt, get your message though fast. I don't know how long we can keep this up and if we're caught, we'll be stopped instantly. Everyone ready? Good. Now raise your wands."
Everyone obeyed.
"Now when I drop my hand, you all say Tú cierras los ojrtos y te dejas arrastrar. Got it?"
They all nodded.
"Okay," Hermione said. She took a deep breath and then dropped her hand.
They all chorused the words together. Instantly, jets of bright blue light shot out of every wand, making a blue corona around Matt. Matt convulsed violently then dropped to all fours, breathing heavily. Everyone watched as a faint shadow-Matt appeared briefly, then vanished.
* * * *
"Tai! Tai!"
Tai sleepily opened his eyes.
"Kari?" he said.
"No Tai. It's me!"
Tai's eyes snapped fully open and he jerked upright, suddenly wide awake. Turning, he stared silently. Standing in the middle of his floor was Matt. Only not the real Matt. This Matt was transparent. Tai remembered vaguely though the surprise that he was in his oldest, most awful pyjamas and for some unaccountable reason, wished he was wearing something better.
"Kari," Tai croaked "Kari wake up. You have to see this!"
Kari opened her eyes, then gasped.
"There's not much time," the Shadow-Matt said "It's a difficult spell this and it hurts. And if it hurt me, I'd hate to think of what it's doing to the others."
"What's up?" Tai asked.
The Shadow-Matt swallowed.
"It's Myotismon, Tai," he said "He's back."
Tai felt his blood freeze. He heard Kari's horrified gasp.
"Myotismon?" he croaked.
Shadow-Matt nodded.
"I'm so sorry Tai," he whispered "It was my fault. We must have done something....created a new Potion or something.....anyway, he appeared in the smoke and then became solid! He's loose in the Forbidden Forest somewhere. Tai, you have to come and help me!"
"How?" Kari asked "You're in England, Matt!"
"You have to!" Shadow-Matt pleaded "I can't fight Myotismon without you! You know that!"
Tai nodded.
"Don't worry," he said, trying to sound confident "We'll be there Matt. You can count on it. Just hang in there."
Shadow-Matt smiled.
"I've missed you Taichi," he said.
Tai flushed slightly, but smiled.
"Yeah," he said "I'm missed you too, Yamato."
Shadow-Matt began to blur.
"Ryo will arrive in a few days," he said, his voice faint "Take her with you and then follow her. She'll lead you to Hogwarts. Thank you."
He vanished, leaving Tai and Kari staring at each other.
* * * *
"And you're sure this wasn't a dream," Izzy said, sounding slightly sceptical.
The Digidestined were gathered together in Izzy's room, listening to Tai and Kari's story.
"Yes!" Tai said crossly "We both saw him didn't we?"
"You mean Myotismon's back?" TK said, his voice trembling "He's at Hogwarts, where Matt is?"
Tai nodded grimly.
"We have to help him!" TK insisted, tears gathering in his eyes.
Sora put an arm round him and looked at Tai.
"Tai, I believe you, but we have to face facts," she said "We don't have anywhere near enough money to get us to England and even if we did, how could we explain it to our parents?"
Izzy was doing something on his computer.
"I estimate that if we use the cheapest, most boxy, awful flight we can find, for all of us to get to England, in English money, it's likely to cost at least £21000," he said.
"WHAT?" everyone chorused.
"For all seven of us to get to England in the worst flight conditions, it's going to be around £21000," Izzy repeated "If we're lucky, possibly about a thousand less."
Everyone looked at each other.
"Tai, there's no way we can get the kind of money from anywhere, short of robbing a bank!" Sora said.
Tai frowned. He couldn't let Matt down, he'd promised.
"How much for one person to go?" he asked.
Izzy frowned.
"Around £3000," he said "But that's not easy money to raise either and just one person going is hardly going to be any use."
"Is that a return ticket too?" Tai asked.
"Yes," Izzy said.
Tai looked round.
"Can any of you raise that sort of money?" he asked "Selling stuff....taking money out of bank accounts....anything?"
"Well, I could try selling a kidney," Joe said sarcastically "Of course, then I'd be too ill to take the trip."
"Um, guys?" TK said. He sounded very timid, as though he knew that he was going to get yelled at "I might know something we can do but..."
"Tell us," Tai ordered.
TK swallowed.
"Well, after Mum and Dad split up, Matt went though this really bad patch," he said "Everytime I visited him, he was angry. He talked about all sorts of horrible things. I was scared. Eventually, they sent him to a psychologist 'cause he was so bad and he got a bit better, better enough to stop going anyway. But while he'd been bad, he'd been hanging round with this gang of older kids who taught him some stuff. He told me bits of it. And one of them was...." TK's voice trailed off again.
"What? Spit it out TK," Tai said.
"It was how to use your parent's credit cards over the Net, without using the numbers," TK whispered.
There was a pause.
"So what you're saying is," Mimi said "A way of shopping permanently without asking for Daddy's credit card number!"
"What he's saying is, he has a way for us to steal from all our parents," Izzy said darkly.
"Please don't be mad," TK pleaded "We've never used it. And you made me tell!"
Tai nodded.
"It is an emergency," he said.
"No!" Sora shouted "No, Tai, I'm not stealing my parents money, not even for something this important!"
"But we have to help Matt!" Tai said "We'd pay the money back into the accounts!" "But our parents would never trust us again!" Joe pointed out.
"They wouldn't even know it was us," Tai said uncertainly.
"Of course they'd know!" Sora said angrily "The credit card people would know what the money had been spent on and they are likely to notice our absence!"
Tai shrugged. He knew that what they were talking about doing was very morally dubious but they had to help Matt.
"Couldn't we take just a little from every credit card and share out the cost?" Mimi suggested.
"How many credit cards do your parents own Mimi?" Izzy asked "£21000 is a lot of money, in case you hadn't realised. Anyway, imagining that everyone here has two credit cards - one per parent - we'd have to take £1500 each and that's still a sizeable amount of money. Besides, I know for a fact that that's not the case so it would be more than that for some people."
Everyone looked at each other uncomfortably. TK looked miserably guilty. If he hadn't suggested it, no one would be in this situation. Beside him, Tai took a deep breath.
"I know this is a bad choice to have to make and I'm not going to force anybody. But Matt's my friend and if Myotismon is back then I have to do something. I'm going to go to England, no matter what anybody says."
"Then I'll go with you," TK said "This is my fault anyway and I know Matt'd do the same for me!"
Tai smiled at TK. TK grinned back with a confidence that he didn't really feel. He knew that he'd be in real trouble for this and he'd have to say where he'd got the information from.
"If Tai's going, I'm going," Kari said loyally. Tai grinned.
"Well.....I guess Matt's relying on me," Joe said, sounding gloomy "But my parents will kill me."
Sora frowned. She was looking furious.
"Sora, I know you don't like this..." Tai began but Sora cut in.
"No Tai, you're right, I don't like this! And I'm not going to let you do it!"
"Sora!" Tai protested, but Sora was wearing her 'resolve face' and Tai knew nothing could stop her.
"Sora's right," Izzy said "It's important that we save the world but if we lose all our morals along the way, then we're no better than what we fight! There must be some other way."
For a while, they all sat there, trying to think of a better way to get £21000.
"That's it!" Mimi announced "I give up! I can't think of anything!"
"There has to be some way!" Tai snarled "I'm not giving up!"
There was a faint hoot and Ryo landed beside them.
"Ryo!" TK said. He unfastened the letter from Ryo's leg and began to read it, stroking Ryo's back, as Tai tried to convince Sora that stealing money was the only way. Then TK stiffened.
"Tai," he said "Tai!"
"What?" Tai said.
"Look!" TK said "Read that!" He pointed. Tai looked.
....You'll never believe it, but recently, one of the Gryffindor fifth years came to talk to me and not to tell me off for punching someone! His name was Ron Weasley (I mentioned his crazy twin brothers once, remember?) and he wanted to know about Japan. Apparently, one of his older brothers (Charlie) has just been sent there because Japan is a great place for dragons! (Don't worry, they rarely attack anyone) He's busy studying them and stuff. Something about how they bring their babies up in the wild. Ron thinks he won't be taking care of himself properly and asked me if you could maybe you can look out for him as he's staying in Odiaba. I said you would, I hope that's okay.
Matt's letter then went on to give the address.
"Of course!" Tai yelled "That's IT!!"
As the others looked at him, he explained his plan.
* * * *
Charlie Weasley was woken up by knocking on his door. He frowned. Surely he hadn't over-slept? He'd been out all night watching a Japanese Gold-Eye fussing over its young. He had set his alarm clock to wake him at 7:00PM. Glancing at his clock, he saw that it was only 1:00PM.
Staggering over, he opened the door. To his amazement, he found seven children standing on his door step. They stared at him. He was about to suggest that they had the wrong house when he noticed that one of them was carrying an owl.
"Are you Charlie Weasley?" one asked.
"Yes I am," Charlie said "Who are you?"
The boy smiled slightly, barely masking the worry in his eyes.
"I'm Taichi Yagami," he said "We need your help."
* * * *
"I'm going to be sick!" TK wailed.
"We're nearly there!" one of the wizards called soothingly.
Tai closed his eyes. It had taken ages to convince Charlie Weasley to help them but eventually he'd agreed. He and some of his friends had Apparated them to England.
The problem was, they were flying on broomsticks the rest of the way.
All the Digidestined had flown before, some more than others. They all had the distinctly strange feeling of floating in mid-air and being turned in data which had also felt like floating in a way. When Charlie had told them they'd be flying, Tai hadn't worried in the slightest.
The problem was, Tai had discovered, there was a great difference to flying on the back of a Digimon or being held suspended in space by an entity to sitting on the back of a thin wooden stick, clinging onto a wizard in front of you.
"Tai!" he heard Mimi wail "I'm not sure I can take much more!"
"Will you guys shut up?" Tai gritted out "You've all flown before! Stop being such wussies!"
He made the unfortunate mistake of glancing down as he said this and felt a wave of nausea sweep over him. With a moan, he tightened his grip on the wizard.
The wizards all seemed to find it all very amusing. Tai was tempted to push his wizard off the broom but he wasn't sure if he could make it stay up in the air and decided against it.
"There!" someone yelled "Hogwarts!"
A weak cheer went up from all seven Digidestined as the wizards landed. Tai privately swore that he would never fly again.
"Are you sure you can see yourselves up to the door?" one wizard asked.
"Yes, thanks," Tai said "And say thanks to Charlie Weasley!" The wizards flew off leaving the Digidestined looking at each other. None of them had really considered what they would do once they got to Hogwarts.
"Isn't Myotismon supposed to be loose in this forest?" TK asked, his voice quavering.
"We can cope," Tai said firmly "Come on."
"Wait!" Sora said "We can't just burst in on them! The teachers will throw a fit! We have to think of a better way."
"Matt can come out here," Tai said promptly "We'll send a note on Ryo."
"Yeah!" TK said.
Ryo fluttered impatiently as Tai fastened a note to her leg. TK had been carrying her all the way and she wanted to stretch her wings. As soon as Tai released her, she was off.
"We'll have to get closer to the castle though," Tai said.
Sora nodded and together, the Digidestined began the trek up to the castle.
* * * *
Deep in the forest, a crowd of centaurs stood looking grimly up at the sky.
"The signs are clear," one of them said "A great evil has entered this world."
"But what is it?" another asked.
"The stars will not say," the centaur said "But it is not of this world."
A laugh interrupted them.
"Very good," a mocking voice said "What do you do for an encore?"
A man stepped out from the trees. He was very tall and in strange clothes. It only took the centaurs a moment to realise that not only was this the evil they'd been discussing, it was no man but a vampire. They scattered in different directions.
"Crimson Lightning!" the vampire cried.
Red light flashed and many centaurs fell, dead or wounded. The vampire swept down on one wounded one and despite the centaurs struggling, sank his teeth into the centaurs neck. After drinking deeply, he dropped the centaur to the ground.
"Not as good as human blood," Myotismon murmured "But sufficient."
He barely even glanced at the destruction he'd created before disappearing into the trees, as silently as he'd come.
The End of Part 2.
An additional note; if you really must know what the spell words actually meant, loosely translated, it's 'She'll make you live a crazy life but she'll take away your pain, like a bullet though your brain.' Yes, I have been listening to Ricky Martin and that's the Spanish version of 'Livin' La Vida Loca'. I can only apologise. :-t