Episode I
Pandora's Box
By Kira Ashkelon
Pandora hurriedly finished her hair as the door chimed downstairs. She stood away from the mirror to be sure she looked perfect. Her long silvery blonde hair was down except for two little buns on the top of her head. She wore a beautiful white robe with a pinkish pearlescence about it.
She had to be sure she looked perfect. She'd never had friends in the wizarding world to invite over until now. But even these weren't any two wizards. They were Harry Potter and Ron Weasley! She grinned as she imagined the look on Draco's face when he'd found out that they were coming over. If only she'd had a camera...
She rushed downstairs where her mother had already let the boys in. Her father was off on some business trip or something (so he claimed), and Dray had gone off with Crabbe and Goyle somewhere.
Harry smiled and waved as she came down. "Hey, Panda! How's it going?"
She knew she was probably blushing madly, especially when Ron sort of snickered and winked at her from behind Harry. She quickly tried to shake it, and said, "I'm glad you two could come over. I've got something to show you! Come on!"
She led them into her room. They stood next to her vanity as she began digging through the drawer of her night stand. Ron glanced across the things on the vanity: makeup, a white brush, white roses in a white vase trimmed with gold, and a most curious rectangular object covered by a thin white piece of silk (just about everything in the room was white). He fingered the material and was about to pull it off when Pandora ran over and snatched up the whole thing. "Don't touch that!"
Ron glared at her. "What is it, a box full of clippings from Teen Witch Weekly of Harry?"
She stayed remarkably calm, but noticeably blushed again. "No... I'm not entirely sure what it is. I'll ask Dumbledore about it at Hogwarts," she added with a grin.
Both boys gawked at her. "You mean you got a letter?" Harry asked.
She nodded and held the invitation up, after laying the box down on her vanity again. "I got it this morning! That's why I told you to come over with some money! I was hoping you two would go with me to Diagon Alley so I could get my supplies. I don't even have a robe yet!"
So it was decided, and the three friends went to Diagon Alley. Pandora got everything she did and didn't need, but they had lots of fun. The only thing she didn't get was an animal, but she figured she could find one next year, and she could make Dray share his owl.
Speaking of Draco...
Crabbe and Goyle suddenly started over from another shop, but Draco wasn't with them. Harry and Ron immediately started groaning, but Pandora ran behind them as if to hide.
Unfortunately, they saw her. "Hey, Babe!" Goyle said, walking around the two boys as if they weren't there. He grabbed her arm and pulled her over to him while Crabbe laughed stupidly. "What are you hanging around with these losers for?"
"Please... let me go..." she said meekly, struggling against him.
"What's wrong, Beautiful?"
Harry shoved Goyle angrily. "Leave her alone!"
Goyle laughed and pulled Pandora closer. "Go get the little creep, Crabbe. I'll have fun with Miss Malfoy."
Crabbe walked over rubbing his fists as Pandora continued protesting to Goyle. Suddenly Draco burst out from one of the stores, ran straight to Goyle, and pointed his wand at him. "Let go of her! How many times do I have to tell you to leave my sister alone?"
Goyle quickly let go, and Pandora flew at Draco and threw her arms around his neck, crying. "I was just playin' with her..." Goyle said.
"Go away!" demanded Draco.
"But Draco..."
"Now! We'll talk later."
Crabbe and Goyle finally went away. Draco pried Pandora off of him and held her at arms' length. "You okay?"
Both Ron and Harry had never seen such concerned sincerity from Draco before. Perhaps she wasn't lying when she'd said he was a good brother.
"I'm alright," Pandora answered. "Just a little scared."
"You having fun with Potter and Weasley? Don't want big brother around?" he said, grinning.
"We're twins, Dray."
"Yeah... well... I was born first. Besides, someone's got to keep you out of trouble. But I'll check up on you later. See ya, Panda!" he said as he ran of after Crabbe and Goyle.
Pandora looked to Harry and Ron. "See? He's very nice. Once you get to know him."
"I'll bet he is," Harry said,
rolling his eyes. Ron and Pandora laughed. "Would you two
like to get a drink?" They nodded then all went into one
of the cafes.
***********************************************************
It felt like eternity before summer break finally ended, and
the trip on the Hogwarts Express felt even longer. But finally
they arrived, and Hagrid called out, "First years, get in
the boats!" Pandora followed them, even though she would
be going into the fifth year classes. She had to be sorted.
Not long afterwards the first years stood in line awaiting their turn. Pandora was going to be last, after two other students who had moved from America to England. The girl, Lauren Phillips, was going to be a second year, and the boy, Christopher Phillips, a fourth. Pandora figured she'd probably be Slytherin, at least that's what Dray was. She kept glancing at him nervously as the line trudged on.
Finally, McGonagall said, "And lastly, to join the fifth years, Malfoy, Pandora." Both Christopher and Lauren had been sorted into Gryffindor.
Draco caught her eye and gave her an encouraging smile as she sat on the stool, put the Sorting Hat on, and closed her eyes.
"This... is most interesting..." it was saying.
"How so?" she thought at it.
"Well, you see, I can't find a place... it's usually fairly obvious, or at least narrowed down to two. I hate to say it, but I'm stuck! I mean you're smart, loyal, clever, and courageous equally..."
"That... that's not really possible is it? You've got to sort me, right?"
But the Sorting Hat remained silent.
After about twenty minutes this way, McGonagall, who stood nearby, clearly looked troubled as Pandora opened her amber eyes and looked up at the professor questioningly as she took off the hat. "It didn't know where to put me."
McGonagall held the hat and exchanged a look with Dumbledore. Then she put the hat on her own head. A few minutes later she took it off and sighed. "This is most unusual," she said. "Until Professor Dumbledore and I figure something out, you may sit wherever you'd like."
Pandora sat with Harry, Ron, and their other friend, Hermione. She was too afraid to face Draco. She didn't think he'd be mad or anything, but she felt too ashamed.
The night pressed on, and Dumbledore gave his welcoming speech, and introduced this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, one Tamarah Black. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at eachother and giggled, and Pandora felt even more isolated. But then the food came out and everyone ate to full capacity. Her troubles were almost forgotten as she talked with her friends.
That night, as the students split off to join their own houses, Dumbledore himself approached Pandora. "Hello, Headmaster," she said uncomfortably. "Perhaps this is the reason you didn't invite me."
He shook his head and smiled. "It most certainly is not! This happened for other reasons, though I'm not entirely sure what."
Filch waked over to them carrying her two bags. "If you're too tired," Dumbledore continued, "we can get you a separate room for tonight. If you can stay awake for a few more hours, we might be able to figure out what to do with you."
Pandora shrugged as she relieved Filch of the light luggage. "I might as well stay up. I won't be able to sleep until something's figured out anyway."
"Then feel free to look around the castle!" Dumbledore said. "But stay out of trouble."
She shifted uneasily. "I really would just like to stay in the library, is that okay?"
"Hm... I don't think there are any teachers watching in there yet. Oh, but you'll be fine. Just stay out of the Restricted Area." He told her how to get to the library, and she was off.
True enough, there wasn't a soul dead or living in the library, but there were so many books! Pandora sat at one of the tables as she looked around at all of them. It was so overwhelming. She was almost afraid to get up and pick one. Perhaps all the oddities of the day had worn on her nerves more than she knew...
She opened one of her bags an pulled out the box covered in white silk, laying it before her on the table. She glanced around quickly to be sure she was alone before unmasking it.
It was a scarlet box, which opened like a book. Pandora ran her pale, slender fingers over the fiery sun above the lion, all made from gold, but she pulled back before touching the seal, a piece of scarlet which reached from back to front to keep the book closed by a hook. The strange thing was, she'd never been able to open it, which is why she hesitated then. Ever since she'd found it in Harry's basement (unknown to Harry) she had tried, but always failed.
With one more quick glance around the room, she gingerly reached her hand forward to once again try the seal, trying to ignore the fate of the Greek Pandora's curiosity of boxes. But just as her finger barely brushed the surface, the seal unlatched itself, and the cover flew open, a radiant light bursting forth from inside the box. Pandora saw shapes rising from inside, soaring off like wraiths.
"No, you shouldn't go! You shouldn't!" came a distinctly mature female voice from inside. "If you leave, she has no hope of recapturing the others! She needs you!"
"They're not gonna listen," came a lower voice, maybe male, but hard to tell for certain... and with a cockney accent...
Pandora closed her eyes. "I'm hearing things... that's all... a woman's voice and a... a... something with a cockney accent...?" It didn't add up.
As her eyes opened again and focused to the dimming light, a most bizarre creature flew up in her face and said, "Hey-hey-hoo!"
She yelled and fell out of her seat. The thing she had seen had eyes and a tail like a snake, a lion's head, a badger's body and forelegs, and an eagle's wings and hind legs.
A plump woman with a kind expression wearing yellow robes glided over to Pandora, now sprawled on the floor. The woman was really very small, less than a meter tall, and transparent like a ghost, but much more colorful than the ghosts in the castle. "Rangi!" she scolded. "You should learn to be more subtle. Poor dear, are you okay?"
Pandora blinked at her. "Who... who are you?"
She laughed and stood taller. "I am Helga Hufflepuff in the handy petite size!"
"Hufflepuff?!"
The little creature, about the size of a bean-bag stuffed animal, flew over and perched on Pandora's shoulder. "She's not really, she's the little Card-Copy."
"Card-Copy?"
Rangi's jaw dropped and he looked at Helga. "Are you sure we've got the right person? She seems a little clueless..."
Helga stiffened and grumbled, "I'd say, 'Ask Gryffindor, he made the seal,' but he seems to have deserted us, hasn't he?"
"Well, Helga, you're just a card anyway. You should go back, I'll explain things to... what's your name, kid?"
"Pandora Malfoy."
"To Pandora. Go on."
Helga sighed grumpily, disappeared with a pop, and left in her place a tall, narrow card with a still sketch of her on one side and a ornate yellow design on the back.
Rangi laughed as he watched Pandora reach for it cautiously, as if it were going to blow. "Don't worry! She won't bite or anything." He fluttered to the card, picked it up as best he could, and gave it to her. "So you're the new cardcaptor, huh? It's been centuries... Glad to see ya!"
"Um... what's a cardcaptor?"
Rangi looked almost hurt as he heaved a weary sigh. "I guess they really were able to erase every memory of us. I'll tell you the story, though. You'll have to know it anyway. First of all, I would like to introduce you to your very own unique special priceless nothing-else-like-it-in-the-world set of Hogwarts Cards! Better yet, you are probably the only one capable of using them! But there is one problem... Can you tell me how many cards are generally in a deck?"
"Fifty-two."
"And how many cards do you see in the box?"
Pandora looked into the box where only one card lay face-down with the same design as Hufflepuff's card but in blue. "One in the box, and one in my hand. I have two."
"Exactly! And as a cardcaptor it is your duty to get the cards before others find ways of using their power for their own evil schemes."
"Uh... I'm really confused. Exactly what are these Hogwarts Cards?"
Rangi heaved another disappointed sigh and said, "Well, we gotta start somewhere. Might as well be the entire history. Okay, let's go with what you should already know. Who started Hogwarts?"
"Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff. Everyone knows that!"
Rangi nodded and a mumbled, "Who names their kid Salazar? No wonder he turned out bad, I mean come on! Anyway... yes, well, what is fifty-two divided by four?"
"Thirteen."
"Exactly again! So you see, in the first few years of Hogwarts' existence, each of them chose ten different powers relative to them, and the other three were for their Card-Copy, element, and animal. They were also created by the four directions, but that will come in later. When these cards were created, anyone one of The Four allowed could use their powers. But as time went on and Slytherin's dark nature became more apparent, Ravenclaw made it so that only four people in the entire world could ever use the cards: the youngest heir of each of The Four. Unfortunately, Slytherin hated this idea, took all of his cards, and released them into the world. Eventually some came back and were able to bribe a few weaker cards into fleeing as well. It eventually became apparent that they needed to be sealed away, but there was no one to capture them. It was finally decided that if anyone were to ever find the cards that was a perfect balance of The Four, also know as the Center, then they would be able to do it. Until then, the remaining cards would be sealed away. Each of The Four, even Slytherin, set forth gifts for the Center or contributed in other ways. Gryffindor was in charge of the box, which is why it is scarlet with a lion and fire. Hufflepuff created all sorts of the strangest outfits for the cardcaptor to wear which would prove beneficial in the recapturing. Slytherin put forth a remarkable gift: three crystal pieces, one for the forehead and one for each wrist, that could store the cards, costumes, and staff. Oh! I almost forgot the staff! Yes, Ravenclaw gave probably the most valuable gift. It was a black and blue staff with the head of a raven, designed with magic that could be used to control the cards.
"Though all of this had been done, the three good ones still believed it best to keep the remaining cards out of Slytherin's grasp. They finally threw the gems, costumes, and staff into the book with the cards, and hid them in an underground passage far from Hogwarts. Then they began to erase every record of the cards ever taken, so that their existence would be completely forgotten. All was accomplished, but they knew that when the Center came, the balance of North (Ravenclaw), South (Hufflepuff), East (Gryffindor), and West (Slytherin), the cards would be found. You, Pandora Malfoy, are the Center. You are the cardcaptor."
Pandora was silent for a moment, questions racing through her mind. "But if many cards were still sealed away, why do I only have two now?"
"Because while the cards were sealed, Gryffindor's anger grew towards the rebelled Slytherin and his followers, and he persuaded the other cards to chase after them. Ravenclaw left to try and stop him and the others, ordering her element, Wind, to stay with you. As far as Helga's concerned, you can always rely on a Hufflepuff to be loyal, yes?"
Pandora smiled. "Okay, so supposedly I'm this 'Center' and the cardcaptor? What does a cardcaptor do?"
"Get the cards back, of course! What have I been saying?"
"But how?"
Rangi stopped venting and blinked. "Oh! Right! You don't know how to use the crystals!" He pulled The Wind card out of the box and dived in, seeming to disappear in an abyss. He reappeared seconds later with three crystal pieces in his arms, and fluttered up into her face. "This may burn a little, but it's worth it!" He pulled one of the crystals from the pile, the largest one, and pressed it to her forehead. It was true, it burned, but not very harshly. It was almost comfortable after a little while.
When she managed to open her eyes, he had backed away and was smiling at her. "It's a nice touch!" She ran her finger over it. "Two more! Hold your hands out, wrists up. That's where these two go." She did as told, and he pressed a crystal to each.
Once all three were in place, she felt a new sort of power coursing through her. It made her feel warm and comfortable. "How... do I use these?"
Rangi put both of the cards back in the box and said, "Put one hand on either said of the book and face the crystals to it. Then say, 'Return!'"
She did this, and the box evaporated into the crystals. "Next," Rangi said, "I'll teach you how to call upon the staff."
But her lesson in cardcaptoring was interrupted as the distant door opened and Dumbledore, McGonagall, and a paler than usual Snape entered. "Quick!" Pandora whispered urgently to Rangi. "Get in my bag!"
Rangi whispered, "Whatever you do, don't tell anyone!" as he was shoved away.
The three teachers looked down at her curiously as they walked up. It was then that she remembered the crystal now permanently melded to her forehead. Dumbledore smiled gently. "Is this forehead fashioning popular now?"
"Um... well..."
He waved it off. "No, it's pretty, really. But none of us knew where to put you. When we looked it up in our books, the page was always ripped out of the book that dealt with non-sortable students. This is very curious, but in any case, we had to sort you in a more random way."
"Oh? How?"
"We picked a piece of colored paper out of the Sorting Hat," Snape said, sounding very tired.
"Welcome to Gryffindor!" McGonagall said cheerily. "Come with me and I'll take you to the tower."
It wasn't long before Pandora was settled in to her Gryffindor home. After McGonagall left, Ron and Harry met her and Hermione in the Common Room. Soon enough the entire tower was a big 'welcome back' party. She was able to get a moment alone with Rangi, who reiterated once again the importance of keeping the Hogwarts Cards a secret. She agreed and went back to partying. Pandora kept her secret though, and couldn't help but wonder what adventures awaited her as Cardcaptor Pandora.
((For a picture of Pandora in her usual
Muggle attire, visit: elfwood.lysator.liu.se/loth/c/a/carolg/pandora.jpg.html))