A Dream Come True
Cardcaptor Pandora
Episode XIII
A Dream Come True
No... not this dream again... The two men in cloaks, fighting
with swords... If I could only see their faces... why is it so
dark...? First that one's winning, then the next... it won't
be long now... Now they are gone, and I am standing there alone...
with a sword...? She'll be here soon, but who is she? She also
wears a cloak over her face, and the darkness certainly doesn't
help... I just want to see... She draws her sword, and the fighting
begins... First I am winning, then she is... then I hit her
in the side and she falls to the ground, turning her face away...
she acts like she will stop fighting, but then there's a blaze
of light... heat like fire... and she is up again, a blow coming
right at me, so fast... I can't block it...
"CHRIS!!!"
Lauren Phillips cried, sitting straight up in bed with tears
and sweat dripping down her face. Her hair had come wildly loose
from her long black braid as she had dreamed the familiar dream,
making for a strangely deep... yet restless... sleep.
"Lauren, what's wrong?" Sonja
asked, one of her few good friends in her own year.
"N...Nothing, Sonja..." she
lied. "Just a very bad dream."
"The one with the swords again?"
Lauren nodded and looked around blearily.
"What time is it? I really want to talk to my brother...
or Pandora... or someone..."
"You can talk to me," Sonja
said, sitting next to Lauren and smiling.
Lauren shook her head. "Don't take
this personally, but there are some things you can only share
with just some people, you know?"
Sonja sighed. "It's about five,
you could sleep for another hour or so..."
"But I can't... I'll just go downstairs
and hope one of them wakes up. Who knows, Pandora has a tendency
to read my mind at times."
*********************************************************************************************
Something was wrong. Pandora didn't have
the faintest of clues as to what exactly it was, but something
was most definitely wrong. Eventually she gave up on sleeping
and walked downstairs to the Common Room, wrapping herself in
a warm white robe. She was actually looking forward to having
a few hours to herself, even if she did have to steal them at
5:00 in the morning.
"Pandora! I'm so glad you're awake!"
"Oh, hi Lauren..."
"I had that horrible dream again...
I can't stop thinking about it."
"I'm sorry, Lauren. Still no ideas
on why you're having it?"
"Nothing that I can tell. I don't
recognize the other people in it besides me."
They continued their sleepy conversation
until finally it was time to get ready for breakfast. Pandora
couldn't remember ever looking so forward to a day of school.
*********************************************************************************************
"The nerve of that Draco Malfoy," Persephone thought
to herself as she found an isolated area of the table (as isolated
as you could get anyway) to eat her breakfast at. Anything to
get away from that Draco Malfoy.
She had awakened very early that morning,
troubled by a dream. Dreams rarely bothered her, but she figured
her mother's death was probably still effecting her. Though the
dream didn't quite seem to tie in with that experience...
But that wasn't really what was bothering
her now. It was that blasted Malfoy boy. There she was, 5:00
in the morning, coming downstairs because she couldn't sleep,
and there he was, finishing up Potions homework or something.
"My, you're up early, Draco,"
she had said in a slightly more endearing tone of icy.
He snapped his attention to her immediately,
a shadow of a gentle expression quickly passing into one of anger.
"Where do you think you've been?! You disappeared without
a trace, didn't even tell me where the hell you were going! What
were you thinking? I have a right to know where you are."
It had felt like a slap in the face, but
she was very used to such feelings. Her voice returned to the
coldest of ice as she whispered, "I'm glad to know how sympathetic
you are that my mother passed away. I was at her funeral. Now
if you'll excuse me, Mr. Malfoy, I have more worthwhile things
to attend to."
She never looked back to see the expression
on his face as she hurried up the stairs back to her room. She
didn't return downstairs until she knew it was well after he would
be gone for breakfast.
So there she sat alone as the owls flooded
in with random letters and packages (she swore she heard a Howler
go off somewhere), when an owl swooped down next to her and dropped
a bouquet of four red roses and one white in front of her, a letter
attached which read, "Persephone, I'm very sorry for the
things I said this morning. I should have been there to comfort
you in your time of need and I only made things worse. Please
forgive me. Love, Draco."
Everything inside of her wanted to hate
him, but somehow she just couldn't bring herself to do it.
*********************************************************************************************
Pandora was somewhat surprised to see
Persephone back in Potions class that day, then immediately
almost wished she didn't have to watch. Persephone and Draco
seemed to be making up for lost time in class....
Thus she was quite ready for lunch when
it came. She met in a separate corner with Sydney, Holly, and
Lauren as she usually did. They liked to gather together whenever
they could.
"Has your day gotten better, Lauren?"
Pandora asked.
Lauren nodded, grinning broadly. "I
just got out of Defense Against the Dark Arts! Professor Everest
was cleaning out her office of all the old professors' things,
and started giving some of it away. I got a pretty letter-opener.
Want to see it?"
"Sure!"
"Okay!"
Lauren began digging around in her pocket,
then looked up suddenly. "It looks kinda creepy, so maybe
we should do this outside where we won't attract too much attention."
They agreed and followed her outside,
where she finally pulled out the small dagger-shaped letter-opener.
"Wow, that's really nice, Lauren," Sydney said with
a smile.
"I think it looks evil. Look at
the snake wrapped around the handle! Ick!" Holly commented.
"May I see it?" Pandora asked,
suddenly feeling a very strong interest in the letter-opener.
Lauren nodded and handed it to her. Pandora
held it loosely in her hands, her eyes half-closed. "Something
just doesn't feel right here...."
"Hey, girls!" a familiar voice
called out. "You'd better hurry on in, or you'll be late
for class!"
"Yes, Professor Everest," the
four responded.
"Would you mind if I hold onto it
for now, Lauren?" Pandora asked when Everest had gone on.
"Well... if it's a Hogwarts Card
or something.... then I did see it first... and... and..."
"And then we'll really let Pandora
have it," Holly interrupted. "We couldn't possibly
leave the sealing of a card up to you. You'd completely
mess things up."
Lauren was quiet a moment, but finally
turned in a defeated posture and began to walk away, saying as
she left, "Sure, Panda. You can keep it as long as you want.
It wouldn't do any good with me anyway. I'm a failure as a
Cardcaptor..."
********************************************************************************************
Pandora carried the letter-opener everywhere
with her that day, but she never got anything from it more than
a slight hint of power. She tried a few spells that Rangi had
taught her before which sometimes arouses the power of a Hidden
Card, but nothing seemed to work. She began to think that whatever
she was sensing was only her imagination.
Sydney and Holly joined her after classes,
but Lauren was still in hiding. Both examined the small dagger,
but not even Holly could figure anything out. "I think it's
just a letter-opener," Holly said at length, a slight tone
of annoyance in her voice.
They were seated outside under a tree
on the grounds, where they often met when they had Cardcaptoring
to discuss, for no one ever went there. Holly stayed quiet a
moment while the other two continued poking and prodding at the
little object, until she finally lost her temper and said, "If
it matters that much to you, there is a potion that if you pour
a drop of it on an object, it changes colors if the object is
magical. If we can get all the right ingredients, you can figure
it out that way and stop this pointless back-and-forth chatter!"
They believed it an ingenious idea as
always, except for the fact that they were going to have to get
into Snape's secret stash to get everything they needed. Crouching
in the darkness, they waited in the dungeons area for Snape to
leave his office. Unfortunately, Professor Everest had entered
into his office only a few minutes before, and the girls had no
idea how long they would be...
"What are you three excuses for Cardcaptors
doing here?" an icy voice interrupted them.
"Persephone..."
"Let me see it," she snapped,
reaching out to grab the dagger out of Pandora's hand, but she
was quick to draw it away.
"Persephone, no! It's not even a
card for certain..."
"If you can't even tell that that's
a card, then I deserve to have it. Let me see it. Now."
Pandora sighed, figuring that it couldn't
hurt just to let Persephone see it. She handed it to her, and
regretted immediately that she ever did.
An eerie green light glowed from about
the blade, as it slowly began to grow longer and longer, until
it was almost the height of Persephone, yet Persephone wielded
it beautifully, as if she had used it all her life.
"Wow, Persephone! Maybe it really
is a card..." Pandora began to say, walking happily towards
Persephone until she was cut off by a cruel swipe which barely
missed her head. "Wha-?"
But Persephone only stared coldly at them,
her expression even more unfeeling than usual, as if she were
mechanical. She struck again, this time slashing Pandora along
her left arm as she tried to turn away.
"You can't do this to Pandora, Persephone!
I won't let you!" Sydney cried, jumping in front of Pandora.
She succeeded in blocking her from a blow, and in turn received
a cut into her stomach. She staggered back and fell to the floor
next to Pandora. Holly had long since run off.
Persephone neared them, her sword raised.
Pandora tried to get to her feet, for Sydney was far too weak
to move at all, but even she couldn't stand a chance against Persephone.
She had no weapon and very little strength, thus collapsed once
again, crying out in hopes of getting Snape's attention, though
the walls were very thick, rarely allowing any sound to pass through.
But perhaps someone else would...
"Stop it right there, Persephone
Avaran, Heir of Slytherin!"
Persephone did stop, and turned to face
Lauren Phillips, an expression of fiery determination on the young
girl's face. Persephone's lips curled into a snarl, and she rushed
towards Lauren.
"Guardians of Fire, hear me, the
Heir of Gryffindor!" Lauren began in a loud, strong, fearless
voice. "Grant unto me a weapon with which to fight... and
to finally defeat... Slytherin, once and for all!" She held
her lion-head staff in front of her, which quickly transfigured
into a long, red sword after a blinding flash of fiery light.
She was armed just in time to block Persephone's first strike.
They fought viciously, Persephone after
Lauren's blood, Lauren just trying to keep herself alive while
she tried to figure out a way to stop Persephone without killing
her. But the longer they fought, the harder it became on Lauren,
for Persephone slowly began to gain on her. She always believed
it would be the next blow against her that would end the battle...
She blocked it. It would have killed
her, but she blocked it. Persephone held the sword over Lauren's
head, but Lauren would not give in to the pressure pressing against
her own blade. "Persephone... this isn't you... you are...
being possessed... by a card... Is that what you want... to be
a puppet...?"
She had hoped that her words would cause
a change in the calmer direction of Persephone, but it was exactly
the opposite. Her eyes narrowed, her glare much more intense,
and her expressions seemed much more alive... as if she knew exactly
what she was doing. "Puppet, little Gryffindor...?"
she whispered in an icy sneer. "You don't know anything,
do you...."
Very suddenly, Persephone pulled her sword
away, causing Lauren to turn half a circle trying to regain control
of her sword. In a rage, Persephone struck blindly at Lauren,
not really caring how she killed her, as long as she ended up
dead. Lauren, who's back was turned to Persephone, heard her
coming close and ducked just in time.
Short, choppy, unruly black hair rushed
to the sides of her face. She staggered back as she turned to
face her opponent, quickly running a hand through her hair. Her
braid had been cut.
"You really are out to kill me, aren't
you?"
"Of course I am, Gryffindor. Now
let's finish this."
Lauren's grip tightened, and she advanced,
this time without any mercy. The fight didn't last much longer
after that. In a matter of minutes, Lauren thrust the sword deep
into Persephone's side, then yanked it out as Persephone sank
to the floor, blood gushing from the wound, her eyes wide with
pain, anger... and fear.
Lauren held the sword out calmly, allowing
it to transfigure back into its staff-form. "I have defeated
you, Slytherin's sword, and with the blade of Gryffindor, no less.
Now, return to your sheath, the Master of the East commands it.
Return!"
The green light which radiated from Persephone's
sword suddenly turned into a brilliant red, then slowly melted
away into a Hogwarts Card... with a red back.
Persephone stirred, sitting up gingerly.
There was no sign of blood anywhere on her person. She saw the
card and reached for it, but just as it was at her fingertips,
it lifted into the air and flew into Lauren's hands.
"A... a Gryffindor Card..."
Lauren said slowly, much of her normal, innocent character resurfacing.
"I could have sworn that it would have been a Slytherin..."
"Shows how little you deserve that
card," Persephone grumbled. "A long time ago, when
Gryffindor was preparing his Sword Card to carry his own sword,
Slytherin tampered with the spell and locked his own sword into
it, with the intention that whenever the Cardcaptors were discovered,
it could be used to deceive the Heir of Gryffindor and finally
allow Slytherin the ultimate triumph." She looked away,
a very bitter expression on her face. "Perhaps his plans
haven't worked out, but the ultimate victory will be mine."
She walked away without another word.
"Congratulations on your first card
capture!" Sydney said sweetly, walking over to where Lauren
stood gawking at her card. Clearly, as soon as the Sword Card
was sealed, all the damage it caused disappeared.
Lauren smiled. "Yes, well, it won't
be the last either!" She grinned at Pandora and stuck her
tongue out at her.
"Alright, so you've got one!"
Pandora laughed. "Don't get cocky, that will bring you right
back down again."
"Pandora, there you are! Are you
okay?" asked Harry, running around the corner. "I ran
into Holly who tried to tell me what was going on, but it wasn't
very intelligible..."
"I caught a card!" Lauren said,
grinning and holding the card out.
"You did WHAT?!" asked a small,
proper voice. Tu fluttered out of one of Harry's pockets, Rangi
from the other.
"I caught a card!"
Tu landed on her shoulder and looked at
it. Then he began to sniffle and cry. "I'm so... sniff...
proud.... snort... of you!"
Harry grinned. "Sounds like it must
have been pretty exciting."
Lauren smiled, her reddish-brown eyes
brightening. "Oh, you have no idea! There she was, about
to kill Pandora and Sydney, and then..."
Pandora grinned as Lauren babbled on and
on to Harry about the adventure, watching as Lauren continuously
had to throw her head back to get the relentless black strands
of hair out of her face. She also noticed how Harry was constantly
brushing back his own hair with a hand whenever it became a nuisance.
Their profiles looked remarkably similar...
"Pandora, Sydney, Lauren, Harry!
What are you four doing out here? You should be getting back
to your Houses soon," said Professor Everest, emerging nearly
an hour after entering into Snape's lab. Snape followed close
behind, looking none-too-happy to see his lovely students outside
his door.
Lauren quickly hid the card behind her
back. "Um... yes, Professor Everest! We'll go now!"
"How do you like your letter-opener,
Lauren?"
"I love it! It's the best thing
in the whole world!"
"I'm sure it is," agreed Everest,
giving Lauren a wink, which seemed to mean that Everest knew something...
"It's late. Go. Now."
"Yes, Professor Snape!"
All four hurried back to their respective
Houses and went quickly to bed. Lauren was very happy for once.
She had a long, calm, dreamless sleep.
