The Loyal Rival

Cardcaptor Pandora
Episode V
The Loyal Rival

Finally, school was beginning to make some sense to Pandora. Magic wasn't too difficult, once you got the hang of it.

And yet, for some people, nothing was ever simple....

"Tu... I'm trying as hard as I can! Maybe I just don't have what it takes to be a Cardcaptor..." Lauren Phillips cried.

The little winged lion floated before her and growled. "You do! You have to! You are the Heir of Gryffindor! You just need to be taught, that's all, which is what I'm trying to do, but you refuse to cooperate!"

Lauren leaned back in her bed and sighed as she gazed around the empty room. Perhaps she was a little too distracted. After all, she had just moved to England from America, and besides all that, only a week before found out she was adopted, and really the heir of some guy called Gryffindor whom the house she was sorted in was named after. She didn't know what was so special about that, and really didn't care, either. "I've been cooperating... the best I know how..."

"No, you have not! Now if you will just do as I tell you to... Lauren? Where are you going? Lauren! Get back here!"

But she had had quite enough from Tu for one morning, especially on a Saturday. She hurried downstairs where he couldn't go for fear of being seen. She was very relieved to see her brother (or adopted brother), Chris, there.

"Hey, Chris!" she greeted cheerily as she trotted over and hugged him around the waist.

Chris smiled down at her and patted her shoulder, glad that they truly had made up from their previous arguments. "Hey, Kid! What are you going to do today?"

Lauren shrugged and looked around the Common Room until her eyes landed on Pandora, her newest friend, yet supposedly her greatest rival. "I... probably will talk to Pandora a while."

"I didn't know you two were such good friends."

"Well you talk to her all the time too!" Lauren said with a wink.

Chris blushed as he said, "It's not because of that, Lauren... Honestly, I really like someone else..."

Lauren tilted her head and said in a sing-song, teasing tone, "Is it just maybe Ginny Weasley?"

"Eh... heh heh... Well, you and Panda have fun today, alright? I'll talk to you later!" he said as he hurried out of the Common Room without another word.

Lauren grinned after him before walking over to where Pandora was sitting alone in a chair, studying some book. "Whatcha readin'?" Lauren asked, bending around Pandora's shoulder to look on.

Pandora jumped slightly before smiling and closing the book. "It's none of your business, little Miss Gryffindor."

Lauren giggled and grabbed at it, but unfortunatly for her, Pandora was much taller. "No, really. What is it?"

"Nothing, really. Just something I picked up in the library because I was bored. It's a book of mythology, Greek. It used to be what I'd always read when I went to Smeltings and was bored, so I thought I'd see if a version in a magical library was any different. So far, it's much the same."

Lauren nodded. "Where's Harry? He's usually always hanging around you and all."

Pandora sighed and ran a hand through her silvery blonde hair. "He went somewhere with Ron and Hermione, they wanted to go check something out together."

"Why didn't you go?"

"Because I wasn't invited, and it would be rude to invite myself."

Lauren smirked and crossed her arms. "Poor little Panda."

Pandora punched her playfully on the arm. "What makes you say that? It's not that big of a deal, really..." But she stopped in mid-sentence as Chris entered into the Common Room once again, his face red as if he was trying not to laugh out loud. But as soon as the portrait swung shut, he let it all out.

Lauren walked over to him and knelt down on her knees next to where he had collapsed on the floor. "What in the world is so funny?"

"It's... it's Sydney..."

"Sydney?"

"Yeah... this crazy Australian Hufflepuff I'm in Herbology with... She's throwing some sort of tantrum about something, but I can't tell what. She's so funny when she throws tantrums, that's all..."

Pandora cocked her head. "A Hufflepuff throwing a tantrum? I thought they were typically very subdued..." Immediately she corrected herself in that assumption, recalling Mini-Helga's reaction to much of what Mini-Godric did.

Lauren smirked and walked back over to Pandora mischievously. "Maybe we should go see what she's going on about. Who knows? Maybe some rabid Hogwarts Card has a hold on her!"

"Shhh!" Pandora hissed, glancing back at Chris to make sure his attention had been averted sufficiently elsewhere. "You have to be quieter with that! No one can know, remember?"

"Sorry!" She held her hands behind her and tried to look a little more innocent as she continued, "But it could be some fun, you know? I mean, it's a boring Saturday, your boyfriend's not here, and...."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Much to your dismay," Lauren teased. "So what do you say?"

"If it will make you stop antagonizing me, I think I'll do anything! Com on!" Pandora headed towards the painting with Lauren on her heels. "Who knows, maybe you're right. Maybe we will run in to a Hogwarts Card while we're out."

"Yeah! And I'll catch it so that Tu will stop whining at me for being a failure!"

"Think again," Pandora grinned as the painting swung open.

They wandered down the almost deserted halls, trying to find where everyone might be. "We should have asked Chris where she was," Lauren said with a sigh. "Now we'll be wandering aimlessly."

"Best way to run across a Hogwarts Card, though, isn't it?" Pandora pointed out optimistically.

Lauren smiled. "You take everything so lightly! I can't see how you're related to that!"

"Related to what?" Pandora asked, but didn't have to think much longer as her brother's familiar, dull voice came up over her left shoulder.

"Good morning, Panda. Glad to see you're in somewhat better company than usual. Of course it is still a Gryffindor..."

"Be nice to my friends, Dray," Pandora scolded with a playful shove. "Have you met Lauren Phillips?"

"Not really. I just know she's the American girl." He smirked his usual annoying smirk, but for some reason Pandora thought there was something different about him. He was hiding something, something very important. He needed to tell her something....

Lauren crossed her arms and stood up to her full length (which only reached the bottom of Draco's pointed chin) and said, "For your information, I am not an American! I am the Heir of Gr...."

Pandora slapped a hand over her mouth, blushing as she told Draco, "She's also a little crazy. Gryffindors. Go figure, ay?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at her as he turned to go. "I'll say. No wonder you're one. I'll talk to you later." And he left Pandora behind to wonder what he really had to say.

"Do you not understand that you've got to keep that a secret? We could get in big trouble if anyone found out! That sort of magic is bordering on the line between legal and illegal magic! We can't go telling everyone!"

"I know..." Lauren said mournfully with a very guilty look.

They continued walking and ended up going outside, to see that that was where most of the rest of the school was.... except for Harry and his other friends. Pandora knew. She checked thoroughly.

Suddenly Pandora stopped walking and turned abruptly, feeling some sort of strong presence. All she ended up facing, though, was a tree with a girl sitting in its shade, a girl probably a year younger than Pandora.

"That's the Sydney girl!" Lauren said happily.

Pandora watched her. She was very pretty, with long, light brown hair that played in the wind. She sat very elegantly under the tree, yet she had an upset expression on her face. "I'm... going to go talk to her..." Pandora said.

"Okay! Me too!" Lauren said.

"No, I think you should stay here."

Despite her protests, Lauren did stay where she was as Pandora walked over to the solitary figure. Sydney's head was bent and her brow furrowed, yet her head snapped up as Pandora neared her. "What do you want?" she demanded.

Pandora blushed, surprised at such a greeting. "I... just thought you looked a little upset, is all. I wanted to see if you were alright."

Sydney stared coldly at Pandora, as if not wanting to believe what she was saying, wanting to find some sort of hidden motive. "Aren't you that Malfoy boy's sister?"

"Well... yes.... I'm his twin."

"You weren't here last year," Sydney said matter-of-factly, facing front again as if she had stated something profound.

"No... I wasn't... I was only invited in this year."

"That's really odd. I didn't come until the end of last year because my family moved. I have a brother who is a seventh year, but he'll be gone next year... I wish he wasn't..."

Pandora sat next to her under the tree and smiled comfortingly, seeing the tears threatening to leak down Sydney's cheeks. "It must have been a hard move for you to make you this upset, even after so long."

"It was!" she cried, dropping her face into her hands. "I was so popular and everyone liked me back at home, but ever since I've been here I haven't been able to make even one real friend! I hate it!"

Pandora, not knowing much else to do, wanted to try to know Sydney better. Apparently all she thought she needed was a friend, and Pandora was a very friendly person. Besides, there was something else about the girl...

"Would you like to go for a walk? It's such a pretty day to just be sitting here...."

Sydney threw a side-glance at her, then straightened up as she answered, "Sure, as long as it doesn't start raining. It rains so much in this stupid country..."

Pandora smiled and sprung to her feet. "Yes, it does! It gets very old, too. It'll start raining more and more around this time of year, so we ought to take advantage of the good weather while we can!"

Sydney looked up into Pandora's face and smiled. "Are you always so optimistic about everything?"

"I try to be. Especially when someone's upset."

Sydney smiled and the two began to walk around. Lauren had long before given up on Pandora and had gone to visit some of her second-year friends. As the two talked, Sydney opened up much more, and seemed much happier. Finally she said, "Something really strange is happening... I didn't think I should tell anyone because I was afraid of people thinking I was even stranger than they already think I am, but... but you aren't like other people. You're really nice, and I think you'd understand..."

Pandora blinked at Sydney in a very confused way, as she stopped and faced Pandora. "I think that... that I have some strange power... I don't know how to describe it... But something... a little bird, we'll say," she added, rolling her eyes, "told me that I was... was...." She stopped and turned away. "Never mind... It sounds... absolutely ridiculous..."

Pandora was beginning to understand. The feeling she had earlier, Sydney's own confusion, a secret... "You are the Heir of Hufflepuff, aren't you."

Sydney's eyes widened. "How... how did you know?"

"Did a small beast that looks like a stuffed animal tell you?"

"Y... Yes..."

"Well, then he probably also told you that you were a Cardcaptor."

"It's a she, not a he, and her name is Tane. She's a small tiger with dragonfly wings."

"Tane? That's an odd name...."

"Yeah, that's what I said, but then she said, 'Well what kind of a name is Sydney Lachlan?' and I didn't have an answer for that."

"They can be a little strange that way."

"So does that mean that you are also a Cardcaptor? The Heir of Gryffindor maybe?"

Pandora spent about half an hour explaining to Sydney about her and Lauren, and also telling her about the cards and everything that Rangi had told her. "You are lucky to have such close friends," Sydney said as Pandora mentioned Harry. "I have no one to confide in...."

Pandora smiled and said, "You have me and Lauren! We're all Cardcaptors together, we're a team, even if we are rivals at the same time."

This certainly seemed to cheer Sydney up. She looked into the cloudless, beautiful blue sky and said, "I'm glad I finally have some friends around here...."

And then a drop of rain fell.

They both looked up, realizing that they were now in the cover of a good many trees. But what sky they could see above was still perfectly blue. "Maybe it was just a drop off of a leaf," Sydney said with a nervous smile.

Pandora nodded, just as another drop, then another, and another, began to fall. "Sydney... I think I might get to show you how to catch a Hogwarts Card today after all. Right now."

Pandora whirled around and in an instant her staff had appeared from within the crystal on her forehead. "Show yourself now! I, the Center, command it! Hogwarts Card!" She struck a faint fog which the rain seemed to be coming from, which quickly turned into a small cloud.

Sydney blinked at it. "Is that... a Hogwarts Card?"

Pandora, also confused, said, "Yeah... I think so.... My guess would be the Rain Card, maybe?"

"Creative name."

"They all are."

Pandora once again raised her staff at the small cloud and said, "Return to your Center, your Master awa-"

Suddenly a small elf-like creature popped out from on top of the cloud and threw what looked like a bolt of lightening at a branch over Pandora's head... which broke away from its tree and landed on Pandora.

She fell to the ground with a cry of pain, holding on to her right shoulder as she rocked back and forth. "Pandora!" Sydney cried, rushing next to her. "Are you alright?"

"I... I will be..." She looked up at the grinning mischievous elf. "It has to be sealed. You've got to get rid of it, Sydney. I can't right now. It hurts too much... Please. Do you have a staff?"

Sydney nodded, nervously biting her lip.

Pandora smiled encouragingly. "Don't be scared. If I can do it, anyone can. All you do is hit the card with it and tell it to return. This one seems rather weak except for its lightening strikes, which you will have to be on the guard for. Don't worry," she said gently, "I trust in you."

Sydney stood up and turned to the Rain Card, a determined look on her face. "You think you can get away with hurting my best friend, Rain Card? I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget... Spirit of the South, the staff.... Release!"

A long, golden staff formed in the air in Sydney's outstretched hand. She whirled it around and headed for the Rain Card. Though it tried many times to hit her with its lightening, Sydney was quick to dodge every attack. Finally, backed into a tight cluster of trees with no way out, the card gave up as Sydney raised the staff and shouted, "Come to me now, the Master of the South awaits! Rain Card!" In a flash of green light, the elf and cloud turned into a small Hogwarts Card, the design on the back a Slytherin green.

Sydney walked slowly over to where Pandora waited and knelt next to her. "You should sign your name to it," Pandora explained. "Rangi, my little beast, told me that since there is now more than one Cardcaptor, it will help to ensure that it will obey you."

Sydney shook her head and held the card out to Pandora. "I don't want it."

Pandora looked at her, not understanding. "What do you mean you don't want it? You caught it! It's yours."

"Yes, and since it is mine, I also have every right to give it away. Thus I give it to you."

Pandora opened her mouth to further protest, but was interrupted by a familiar voice saying, "There's no point in arguing, Pandora. Hufflepuffs are very determined people, especially when it comes to those they are going to be loyal friends to."

Pandora turned to see Mini-Helga standing next to her. "But she caught the card..."

Mini-Helga ignored the last remark and floated over to Sydney, up into her face. "Aww! You look just like your great-great-great-great-give-it-a-few-more-centuries-great-grandmother, Helga!"

Sydney quickly exchanged a glance with Pandora to be sure that statement was not true.

"I am very proud of you, Sydney Lachlan. Pandora is the one who is meant to be the Keeper of the Cards, and you have made the right decision to help her collect them."

Sydney smiled, and once again held the card out to Pandora. "See? Now you have to take it."

Pandora grinned back and accepted the gift. "If only Lauren would listen to you, Helga."

"Don't worry," Mini-Helga said with a wink, "she's nothing to worry about."