1 Chapter 10

Today seemed not to be an good day for neither one of the couple, as seeing they were both in dark moods, and seemed in the mood for yelling at each other.

"Draco!" Joshin called. "Where are you, C'mon, there's only three days until I have to be back at school! I want to spend quality time with you!"

"I'm out the back, I lost my wand." Draco's voice drifted inside.

"You idiot!" Joshin muttered. Draco came in, brushing off his wand and his clothes, which were inexplicably dusty. "I don't want to know!" Joshin told him, as he started to open his mouth. Joshin then turned her back to him, as she continued packing his clothes.

"Bah!" Draco said, loudly and clearly annoyed by the way Joshin was acting. He went to his side of the bed, sat down and started cleaning his wand.

Joshin stuffed her hands into her pockets angrily, wondering why Draco was acting like this right now. Especially when she was doing the packing for him.

She went to her room, leaving Draco cleaning his wand. On her way up, She snubbed a toe on one of the stair steps while being in a train of dark thoughts regarding Draco. The minute she felt the pain of the stubbed toe, she swore loudly to herself.

"Damnit!!" She yelled, and was about to say more when she noticed something strange about the stair step that she had stubbed her toe on. The minute the force of her foot had hit the stair step; it had shaken the secret shelf's lid loose. Joshin curiously looked down at the step, which now had what seemed to be cracks in the step. However--the cracks didn't look natural at all. In fact it actually looked like there was a secret compartment within the stair step. Her anger towards Draco and everything else forgotten, She bent down on the stairs and made an effort to open apart the lid of the secret compartment. It took at least two minutes to open it using all of her strength, but she didn't even mind that when she saw what was inside. Inside rested a thick black rod, almost radiating black power. It had what seemed to Joshin to be claw-like spikes at the top of the rod, as if it was meant to hold something on the top of the rod. Joshin couldn't help but feel excitement rise in her. Maybe she had discovered something of value.

She called out to Draco, who came out of his room upon hearing Joshin. He was still polishing his wand. "Draco, what's this?" Joshin asked.

"Umm…" Was Draco's reply as he examined the rod? "I haven't the slightest." "It looks pretty cool, and it has an indent here, as if something was meant to sit in it." She smiled at Draco, who seemed curious yet at the same time indifferent as to what the rod was doing hidden in the stairs. Draco wondered why Joshin had taken such a sudden interest in such an old-looking thing, but if it made her happy. She could take it for herself for all he cared.

"I think I'll hang on to it" Joshin said as she picked up the rod and carried it to her room.

She packed it into her suitcase on top of her clothes, and then closed the suitcase tightly as she could. She was securing her suitcase when Draco entered the room, admiring his wand.

"As good as the day it was made. Let's swim." Draco said, grinning.

Joshin just nodded, and carried her suitcase out of the room smiling.

One day later, Draco and Joshin had decided to make a pit stop at a family resort. After all, they wanted to spend some more time together before the both of them made the long travel to Hogwarts the next day. Draco had come into the room carrying two hot cups of cocoa for the both of them to drink.

However, He came into the room to find Joshin staring at the rod in an almost strange dreamlike way. He frowned, thinking it strange for Joshin to be acting in such a strange way. Besides, it should be HIM and not the rod that Joshin should be looking at like that in such a manner. He cleared his throat, snapping Joshin out of it.

"Huh? Oh sorry, I didn't notice you were there." Joshin chuckled in somewhat a sheepish way. She put the rod in one of her pockets, and then made room for Draco to sit down.

He sat down, and then handed the cup of cocoa to Joshin.

"Thanks." Joshin said, smiling as she moved closer to Draco.

"I. Um, I couldn't help but notice that you took such an interest in that old rod...are you sure you're feeling okay?" Draco finally asked what was on his mind.

Joshin just smiled. "I'm sorry if I seem like I've been acting strange to you. I'm fine really; I'm just wondering where this rod came from and who used to be its owner. That's all." She shrugged; as if that was the best explanation she could give.

Draco felt somewhat better by this, though. Maybe Joshin was just acting a little tad strange because she didn't want to go back to Hogwarts.

"Enough of this talk. Why don't we.ahem, spend time *together*?" Draco said in a suggestive way, almost grinning impishly. Joshin blushed slightly at Draco's implication, and giggled.

"Why, I would love to." Joshin grinned, moving closer into a cuddling hug.

Forgetting all about the hot chocolate they were holding in their hands until it was too late.

"Oh damn! Look at this mess!" both of them blurted out almost at the same time.

The next day, She had packed everything except the strange rod, which she couldn't tear her eyes away from.

"Joshin! Stop staring at that rod, it's just an old thing!!" Draco snapped as he came into the room. He sighed, muttering to himself.

Joshin shook her head, and put it into the suitcase, before shrinking it and putting the suitcase in her pocket. "Right, I'm packed! Take me back to Hogwarts!" Joshin said.

After a long trip of flying together, the sky was now streaked with the colours of the sunset.

Joshin got off the broom and turned back to Draco. She sighed, dreading this.

She had always hated goodbyes, even though they weren't always necessary forever.

"… Well, seeya." Joshin said, as she turned back for the school gates, not really wanting to go back to a boring year of school.

Draco smiled, loving how the sunset seemed to make Joshin's hair radiate. He sighed, hating the fact that he would be only able to see her for short periods of time. Without thinking, He abruptly leant over and kissed Joshin. Her mind went completely blank as Draco's tongue explored her mouth.

She slowly wrapped her arms around him, and then she kissed eagerly back. After what seemed like a long moment of snogging, Draco seemed as breathless as Joshin herself.

"Uh, Um, well… that was nice." Draco stammered, surprised by how passionate he had been. "Ye-Yeah." Joshin agreed.

"Se-seeya." Draco turned red as he hopped on his broomstick and flew quickly away. Joshin then walked towards the gate, but then suddenly stop when she felt an eerie presence.

"Is anybody there?" She looked around, but nobody was there. She would had felt silly for having such a strange feeling, and simply moved on- -expect for the one thing she saw.

One of the shadows had detached from the wall, and formed into a shadow- like being. She gasped, and took at least two steps back away from it.

"A-are...you the one they talk of? The one they call you-know-who..?" Joshin blurted out the first thing that came to mind when she tried to identify what this being could be. But then it spoke to her.

"Feeling rather happy now, aren't you?" A voice echoed, ignoring her question. It was flat and unemotional, but it sounded like thousands of voices crying out in terror.

"Who are you!?" Joshin demanded, taking a step back and grasping her wand. The voice laughed, and it chilled Joshin to the bone.

"Who I am makes no great difference to you. It's what I can do for you that should be your concern. And don't believe that wand could do anything I didn't want it to do to me." The voice sounded amused. Joshin shakily raised her wand.

"And what ARE you intending to do anyway? Go on, I invite you to try! Why do you hesitate? If I were to attack you now, what will you do? What WILL you do?!"

"This! AVADA KEDAVRA!!" Joshin almost shouted. She subconsciously thanked her parents for teaching her spells that she would need to defend herself. A green flash of light struck the shadow, but with a glint of silver, the flash bounced away towards the sky.

"You're lucky I'm a patient being, Joshin. Now, you'll stop this pitiful attack now, or shall I show you what I can do with these.." The voice said and the shadows lifted to show three long, straight claws on each hand. The shadows fell back on him and Joshin whimpered.

"Wh-what are you going to do?!" Joshin panicked. The shadow got closer.

"I will not harm you, I will merely inform you. Your dear Draco, is planning a betrayal. He doesn't really love you. However, if you agree to help me, then I'm sure I can help you in return." The shadow told her.

Joshin growled. "That's an lie!! Draco loves me.. I know it.. Besides, why should I believe YOU? I don't even know you.. you come out of nowhere and act all creepy on me, and you expect me to believe YOU? Ha!"

"Very well.. But don't say I didn't warn you.. For you see, I have been watching you two.. I know what goes on in both of your minds.. especially Draco's. If you really love him and want him to love you no matter what, I will be here. I will help you, as long as you give me an certain object.."

"And that is?" Joshin asked, not sure if she should really believe him.

"I believe you have a strange artefact in your possession, that would be of great use to me. If you gave it to me, I'm sure I could arrange something." The shadow offered.

Then it hit her like lighting. He was talking about that rod she had found.

"WHAT?? No... no way! No way I'm going to believe you!" Joshin cried out and ran into the Hogwarts building. The amused shadow just quietly disappeared back into the darkness, quite sure that Joshin would soon come back to him... and that she would give him anything he wanted at all.

"I am the harvester of souls. One day, perhaps soon, you will know my name...when I come for your soul.." The shadow chuckled as he vanished completely.

As Joshin finally reached the insides of the school building, she suddenly felt very tired. In fact, so tired she collapsed right there in the middle of an busy hallway.