A Bit Cold For November

Cardcaptor Pandora
Episode IX
A Bit Cold For November

"Dear Mum,

I'm getting along at Hogwarts much better than I thought I would be! Strange things have been happening, though, but I guess that just comes with moving out of the Muggle world and into... well... this one. But I'm enjoying it! I was really wanting to tell you about me and Harry! It's nothing that big, I guess, except that I like him a lot, as you know. The other night at the dance he danced with me, then held my hand! He's so sweet, and so easy to talk to. Oh, and in case you didn't hear, Dray seems to have his eyes on a girl, too. Maybe you should write him a subtle note or something, but don't tell him I told you! I just don't like her much. Her name's Persephone Avaran. Maybe it will sound familiar, if not to you, to Father.

Something else really strange about this place is that it's getting really cold! Maybe it's just because I'm inside a castle, and they tend to be a bit drafty, but still! That's the main reason I was writing though. It will only be another month or so before the lake outside the school will freeze, and I was wondering if you could send down my ice skates. Hey, living as a Squib and going to a Muggle school for the first few years of my education gives me a few advantages! Please send them as soon as you can! I love you!

Love always,
Panda"

Pandora hurried out of Gryffindor Tower and to the Great Hall, in hopes of finding Draco still at breakfast. She did find him easily enough, right next to Persephone Avaran...

"Hey, Dray?" she asked meekly, receiving an annoyed look from him and a look which sent curses of death upon her head from Persephone. "I was wondering if you were sending your owl back home today, because I have a note for Mum I wanted to send."

He rolled his eyes and leaned forward. "Just give me the note, I'll see that it gets to her."

"No," she protested with a playful grin, "You'll forget."

"Just.... write something for me and I'll sign my name on it, then you can send that home with it and Father will be happy."

"I don't know why he won't just let me use the owl without you using it at the same time..."

"Because he doesn't like you."

"Yeah, we all know that," she said, feeling a little hurt by Draco's tone. Sure, he was a brat to most everyone, but he had rarely had that attitude towards her. He had usually been so sweet to her, in his annoying sort of way. But ever since he had gotten involved with Persephone.... "I'll just find you tomorrow..."

"Panda... wait..." He sighed and pulled a piece of parchment from somewhere. "Do you have a quill on you?"

"Here," Persephone said, handing it to him and receiving a baffled expression from Pandora. "Anything to make you go away faster," she said in explanation.

Draco wrote something quickly and handed it to Pandora. "Send them both, that way you'll be able to send Mum your note. What's so important anyway?"

"You'll see!" she said happily, and skipped off to the owlery.
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The skates arrived only three days later during breakfast. Harry was sitting next to her and across from Ron and Hermione as she opened the package anxiously. "I didn't know you skated," Harry said with a pleasant smile, "though it's very believable."

"What's that supposed to mean, Potter?" she asked playfully, intentionally letting a Draco-ish tone slip into her voice.

Harry's eyes widened as he said, "Panda, don't ever do that again. That was absolutely the most horrifying thing I have ever experienced."

"Just wait until I do it while you're holding my hand."

Ron laughed at them while Pandora examined the skates to make sure they were still in working order. "It's cold, Pandora, but not that cold yet," Ron said.

"It won't be long! It seems like everything's blowing in early this year, it certainly has been cold."

"They were expecting it later this year, actually," Hermione, the goddess of unending knowledge, said. "In fact, the area around Hogwarts is the only area which is this cold. I checked. Everything around us is much warmer."

Pandora sighed. "Oh well, that means the lake will freeze sooner, and that I can have fun!"

"It's not nearly that cold," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

Pandora and Hermione didn't always get along, especially after Pandora pulled a higher average in Arithmancy than Hermione.

"Yeah, well, it'll come. Anyway, I'm going outside for a while just to have a look around. I'll talk to you later!"

She stood up to go, but Harry was quick to follow her. "Wait up, Panda! I want to come with you." She loved it when he said that.

They walked outside together. The weather was much the same as the day before, but they headed for the lake all the same. "I kind of think something's up," Pandora whispered when they were out of ear-shot. "I don't exactly know what, but something..."

"Is it a Hogwarts Card?" Harry asked.

Pandora turned her face to him, then nodded slowly. "That's my only guess."

They walked silently until they reached the edge of the lake... which was completely frozen over. Pandora looked around, but there was no sign of snow, just the usual cold drizzle of rain which came with the beginnings of winter. Pandora knelt down and touched her hand to the surface. "It's all it could be, isn't it? A Hogwarts Card... that causes things to freeze... what could it be?"

"Probably something along the lines of 'the Freeze Card,'" came a short, irritated response. Pandora looked up to see Persephone there as well, dressed in a sleek green robe and carrying a long staff with a snake's head. A small cheetah with bat wings hovered over her left shoulder. "One would think that by now you would at least know what all the cards were and what they did, and if not, you should be able to guess something this easy."

Pandora stood slowly, her heart pounding with anger and sadness all at the same time. "I'm doing the best I can, Persephone. I never even worked with witchcraft much until this year..."

"It shows," she sneered as she walked towards the ice to stand next to Pandora and examine the surface. "And what do you plan on using to capture this one?" She narrowed her eyes and asked, "You'd probably use something very inane like the Water Card."

"No, that would be stupid, considering it would freeze. Besides, I don't have it anyway."

Persephone's expression cooled a bit (though not much) after hearing that. "So what do you plan on using, Little Malfoy?"

"My name is Pandora," she answered through gritted teeth, not wanting to be made a fool of in front of Harry...

Harry! She had almost forgotten all about him. She looked around to where he had been to find him kneeling on the ground, his hand over the scar on his forehead, looking like he was experiencing a lot of pain. "Harry! What's going on? Are you hurt?" she asked quickly, hurrying to his side. She knelt next to him and glared up at Persephone. "What are you doing to him?"

"I am doing nothing to him intentionally," she answered casually. "But I know my father has much the same affect on him, so why shouldn't I? It makes sense."

"Is that the only reason you are here? To hurt him?"

"Him? You think he is of importance to me? No, that is my father's battle, I have my own," she answered bitterly, stepping closer towards the lake. "If you don't want this card, I'll be glad to..."

"No! You will not have it! Spirits of the North, South, East, and West, give me the staff, I, the Center, command it!" The staff appeared in front of her, and she grasped it tightly in her right hand. "Fly Card!" she cried, mounting the staff and fluttering into the air.

"The Fly Card..." Persephone said darkly. "So you have that one. It must have been only luck that allowed you to catch that. Not that it will help you with the Freeze."

Pandora ignored Persephone, flying just over the surface of the lake to look in, hoping to figure out just how deeply it had frozen. Indeed, she saw fish caught in the ice (but luckily no merpeople, because that could get kind of gross after a few months). She also saw a giant monster which seemed to be made of ice itself. She steadied the staff at a gentle hover and put the skates she had swung over her shoulder on her feet and laced them up. "I may not have the best cards for this situation, but I've got a better mode of transportation!" She recalled the Fly Card and landed smoothly on the ice, easily gaining her balance. She glided gently over the surface after the monster, which hadn't seemed to notice her yet.

Persephone watched angrily, not liking this unfair advantage (as if she wouldn't have used it herself. Right.) as Pandora chased the creature. "Labyrinth Card!" she growled. "Create of this ice a maze!"

Pandora quickly found herself dodging walls as they arose from the surface, falling after a few close calls. "Not this again..." she moaned as the Labyrinth completed itself.

Suddenly the ice directly beneath her began to rumble, and she looked around just in time to see the monster heading directly for her from the right. She took to skating again, causing the monster to bash into the wall, actually creating a hole in the ice. But she quickly escaped after that, just wanting to put as much distance between the creature and herself as possible until she could think of a better way to catch it. Considering the strength it had, she would have to weaken it a bit before she could seal it. She sat down in a corner after she thought she was far enough a way, frantically trying to think of anything that would work. "It attacked me when it saw me, but it slowed down after it hit the wall, which must have hurt it. If I could do that a few more times...."

She stood up and cried out, "Twin Card!"

The small boy dressed in yellow robes appeared, this time with his brother. "Yes, Pandora?" he asked, very eager to help the one who had retrieved his twin.

"I need the two of you to get that monster to chase you, and as soon as he is upon you, get out of the way. He'll hit his head on the ice, and eventually he will be weak enough for me to catch."

The twins smiled at eachother. "Don't worry, Miss. We're quite good at confusing people."

She watched as the twins not only made the monster follow each of them, but they divided themselves until eventually there were about fifty little boys dressed in yellow running all about the Labyrinth. By the time they were finished, there wasn't much of a Labyrinth left, and the monster collapsed in the middle of it, dizzy from chasing so many of the same thing.

Pandora smirked as the Twin Card returned and approached the monster. "Freeze Card, come back to the Center, your master awaits. Return!"

Persephone also recalled her card, knowing that it was useless to keep it out after having been weakened itself. "That was luck again, Malfoy. Only luck." She walked away, never glancing back.

"That was wonderful, Pandora!" Harry said, his voice weak.

"Are you okay?"

"Getting there. At least she's gone now."

She smiled and gently stroked his unruly hair. "It will be okay. I'll help you back to the castle."

She helped him to his feet, and they walked back to the castle together, hand in hand.
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((Okay, Romilly. So you won. I can't do actual yaoi because A. I don't like it, and B. it would really ruin the plot. But! I think I have a compromise for you, and it will end up being pretty funny. It will have to wait for a few more episodes though, because it needs to hit around Valentine's Day at Hogwarts.... But we'll get there! I promise! ~Kira ))