You're still reading? Woah . it's a miracle! Well, we're skipping ahead a
month or so, because I'm not going to give you a day by day account of what
Makoto, Harry, Ami and Rei do. That would be not only obsessive, but
probably boring for you. I leave it to your imaginations.
Enjoy!
Chapter Four - Classes and Trouble Making
Makoto had her first experience with Potions and Professor Snape a month later on the first of July, after it was declared that she was sufficiently prepared to begin third year classes in Charms and Herbology. She would still be working with McGonagall in Transfiguration, but she was up to a beginning second year level, so they weren't too worried. Snape was a tall, oily haired, pale, sinister looking man, who seemed to have no sense of humor at all.
"Well, well ... Mr. Potter has a sister. So now we have two celebrities," Snape drawled when he first saw her.
Makoto glared back up at him, trying not to bring her hand up to her collarbone. She didn't know why, but something about this man was giving her a distinct evil feeling. Not only that, but he hated her and the term hadn't even started. It was rather intimidating to be in the dungeons alone with her teacher, but she was glad, at least, that he couldn't humiliate her in front of an entire class.
"Tell me," Snape continued, "What would I get with a mixture of wolfsbane and monkshood?"
Looking confused at the new names, Makoto shook her head, wishing desperately to be able to look in her unopened textbook.
"I don't know, sir."
"Really? Then tell me, what is the difference between a bezoar and tripe?"
"I don't know, sir," she repeated.
"Oh? Well then ... where would I look for gillyweed, and what does it do?"
That one she knew, if nothing else. She'd read about it in a book that Harry had taken out from the library, hoping to help her in Herbology.
"In the Mediterranean ocean, sir. It's an aquatic plant and is used for breathing underwater and faster swimming."
Snape nodded, albeit barely. He swooshed away, robes trailing behind him, and stood behind a large cauldron. Makoto quickly took out her cauldron and potions making kit, and opened her book in an attempt to at least be prepared. So far, though he seemed to despise her, Snape wasn't as bad as Harry made him out to be, but she wasn't going to take any chances.
"I've given this speech to all my first year classes, and now I shall give it to you. There will be no silly wand waving in this class. Potions is a far more subtle and delicate magical art and as such, I don't expect you to excel in it. Very few have what it takes to master the art of potions, but I can teach you many things - if you aren't like the dolts I usually have to teach."
Makoto desperately wished now to be able to transfigure Snape into a rabbit or some other such silent animal. She hardly thought it was fair for him to be insulting her before she'd even properly had a chance to learn anything.
"If you must know, and I say you must," Snape went on, "Wolfsbane and monkshood are the same plant. A bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat and will save you from most poisons, while tripe is found in the stomach of a cow and merely tastes disgusting. I do grant you some credit, however, for at the very least opening up a book."
Makoto nodded her thanks while scribbling down notes. Snape watched the top of her head for a minute before nodding to himself and beginning the main lesson.
* * *
"How was potions?" Harry asked as she exited the classroom.
"It was ... well, highly interesting, to say the most. I get the feeling Snape doesn't like me very much." Makoto admitted.
Harry grinned, pushing off the wall he'd been leaning on. "He doesn't like me, either. He didn't like Dad much when they were in school. It goes back a long way."
Makoto nodded and muttered something in Japanese to herself while rummaging for her schedule.
"What do you have now?" her brother asked.
Suddenly Makoto's face brightened and he hazarded a guess that she had her first flying lesson. He turned out to be correct, something she informed him of with a dazzling grin. He grinned back at her and together they walked out to the grounds designated for flying. Madam Hooch, a tall woman with short graying hair and yellow hawk's eyes, stood there waiting for them.
"Good day, Harry, Jillian," she greeted them.
"Good day, Madam Hooch," they chorused.
She smiled at them and turned to Harry, picking up one of the three brooms at her feet.
"Would you be willing to allow Jillian to learn on your broom? Ami and Rei expressed an interest in joining us, and who am I to say no?"
"Accio, Firebolt!" Harry said by way of reply, pointing his wand at the castle.
Makoto looked around wildly for any sign of the spell. She saw nothing but the nearly empty castle grounds and Ami and Rei jogging towards them. Then, from around one of the many towers, something small was whizzing towards them at an alarmingly fast rate. As it came closer, the girls realized it was a broom. Harry caught it expertly and handled it lovingly.
"Jillie, this is my Firebolt. Top of the line broom, you know," he winked and offered it to her.
She took it and looked it up and down with the mock air of a professional.
"Yes, yes, quite. Hmm ... a bit scratched 'round the seat, I daresay you use it quite a lot ... not mint condition, either. ... "
Harry laughed, "Just get ready for the ride of your life, little one."
"Now," said Madam Hooch, "Place the broom on the ground and stand to the right side of it."
Rei, Ami and Makoto all did as they were told.
"Put your right hand over the broom and say 'up'."
"Up!" chorused the three girls.
Nothing happened.
"Up!" they said again, and Makoto's broom shot into her hand.
"Woah ... "
Harry laughed once more, "That was exactly what I said when that happened."
It took Rei and Ami three more tries each, then they too had the brooms in their hands. Hooch nodded and pulled out a whistle.
"I want you to mount your brooms. On my whistle, you will kick off gently from the ground and hover about five feet from the ground. When I blow it again, tip the nose forward, and touch back down. Clear? Right then," she blew the whistle.
The girls mounted their brooms and kicked off. Ami shot much higher than expected, nearly twenty feet, Rei following closely behind her. Makoto hovered seven feet higher than she was supposed to and, not knowing what else to do, stayed there. Hooch sighed and mounted her own broom, bringing them all down to safety. Harry laughed at the sheepish and guilty looks that graced their faces remembering a time when Neville had done nearly the same thing.
"Oh, shut up, Harry. It's not funny," Makoto demanded jokingly.
Harry laughed harder, trying to stifle it behind his hand and failing miserably. Makoto gave him a mock glare and thrust the broom at him.
"Fine, then! You show us how it's done, why don't you?"
Taking the Firebolt from her with a smug grin, Harry mounted it and waited for Madam Hooch's instructions, which she readily gave.
"First fly up about thirty feet. Then zigzag through the towers and give us a few good loops, will you? Oh, and be sure to touch down in exactly one minute and thirty seconds."
Nodding, Harry kicked off from the ground, stopping nearly exactly thirty feet above. He swiftly turned and began a circling, zigzagging course around and about all the towers of the castle, and gave two big, elaborate, loop-the-loops. He stopped mid way through one and hung there upside down, then plunged headfirst to the ground, turning right side up just in time to land cleanly on his feet. Makoto, Rei and Ami were floored, and quite literally, at that.
"Well then ... satisfied?" Harry grinned at Makoto, helping up Ami.
The younger girl blushed hotly, hiding her face behind her hands when Harry let go of them. Rei, too, was helped up, but she did not blush. Makoto took it upon herself to get up on her own, stubbornly.
"Right then, brother dear. You do realize that this means war, don't you? I'm just going to have to prove myself to be as good as, if not better than, you."
Harry, though blushing, nodded. "Be prepared to be flattened, little sister mine."
"Only because I'll be dizzy from riding circles around you!" Makoto shot back, laughing.
Madam Hooch cleared her throat to regain their attention. Rei and Ami gave it willingly; Harry and Makoto gave it a few minutes later. Normally Hooch would have blown on her whistle, but even she had been laughing, and saw no harm seeing as there were only four students there. When things settled down again, she proceeded to re-teach her first instructions and soon all three girls were busy perfecting their kicking off, stopping points, turns, and descents. All too soon, the bell boomed from far away, signaling lunch.
"All right then," Hooch said, "Get yourselves cleaned up. I'll take these brooms back, Harry ..." she lowered her voice, "If she wants, Jillian may stay up in the air because it's your broom. But make sure she doesn't go too high, all right? It'd be nice to see two Potters on the Quidditch teams, you know."
Harry nodded, grinning. Makoto didn't seem keen on coming down anytime soon. She protested that she hadn't quite gotten the hang of descending and would be down in a minute to Rei and Ami, even as they sighed and shook their heads.
"It's okay, you know, not to come down," Harry called to her, "Just so long as you don't go too high up. But you may want to. I don't know about you, but I'm rather hungry."
Makoto landed and walked quickly to meet him in stride. She looked sideways at him, grinning mischievously.
"Right. And you've done ... what, today? Woken up and taken a shower? Was that it?" she paused, considering, "Yes, I'm sure that qualifies you to groan about lack of food."
Harry poked her in the side, tickling her unintentionally. She laughed and squirmed away, holding the Firebolt out in front of her like a weapon.
"Yamero!" she giggled, automatically switching into Japanese.
"What?"
"Er ... stop ... " Makoto amended, smiling.
Harry grinned back, though he looked decidedly wicked. He took a menacing step toward her, she backed away. He took two steps towards her, she backed away. He advanced, she retreated. This kept up until they were running, Harry chasing her. They made it all the way to Hagrid's hut stood, and finally he was able to tackle her. Flinging the broom aside, the two engaged in an all out tickle war until they were having trouble breathing.
"Well ... that ... was ... fun ... " wheezed Harry.
"Indeed ... " Makoto wheezed back, trying to catch her breath.
Suddenly she sat up straight, yelping. Harry immediately joined her, kneeling by her side, looking concerned.
"What's wrong?"
"My ... bracelet ... " she hissed, "It's ... cold!"
"Cold?" he asked, bewildered, "Then take it off."
"I can't," Makoto shook her head.
Something in the forest behind Hagrid's hut caught her attention and she pointed at it, momentarily forgetting about the bracelet.
"Look! What's that?"
Harry looked up to see a black figure slinking away through the trees. A slight throbbing went through his scar, but he ignored it. He stood slowly, a hardened look in his eyes that Makoto didn't see because of where she sat on the ground. When he was satisfied that the figure had gone, Harry looked down and held out a hand for Makoto, which she took.
"It was probably nothing. A Centaur, perhaps, or a unicorn. The Forest plays tricks on the mind, during the day as much as during the night. Come on, let's get cleaned up and eat."
Makoto nodded and they didn't speak a word of what they'd seen to anyone else.
* * *
"Are you lost, my dear?"
Makoto spun around, yelping. She had just come from lunch and was about to go to her last class for the day, which was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and was indeed lost.
"Who's there?" she demanded.
A tall ghost in tight pants and a large ruff stood behind her, smiling merrily.
"Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, at your service, my lady," he said, giving a grand bow, "Where might you be off to?"
"Uh ... I'm ... I'm looking . for Defense Against the Dark Arts ... with Professor Lupin," Makoto stammered.
"Never talked to a ghost before?" Nicholas guessed.
Makoto nodded sheepishly, grinning and scratching the back of her neck.
"You're Japanese!" the ghost said, delighted, "I remember Kaori used to do that all the time when she was caught by the teachers breaking a rule. And Gentoki. He always did that because he was so shy! Well, follow me, my dear. I'll show you where to go."
"Arigatou gozaimasu," Makoto said, slightly awed by the fact that she was talking to a ghost.
Sir Nicholas did like to talk, and she guessed that was because of his being a ghost. Along the way to her class, Makoto learned that his nickname was Nearly Headless Nick, because of his improper beheading. She was told that his requests to join the Headless Hunt were repeatedly denied, which she reasoned rested in the fact that his head was still attached. Nearly Headless Nick looked mildly offended, and she quickly apologized, but he sighed and agreed with her. Finally they were at the door of Lupin's classroom, and not a moment too soon, for the Great Bell tolled, signaling the start of the class.
"Arigatou!" Makoto called, waving as she entered the classroom.
"Do itashimashita," Nearly Headless Nick called back.
"It's nice to see you again, Jillian," said a kind voice that Makoto immediately recognized.
"Professor Lupin! It's nice to see you again, too," she replied happily, taking her seat in the front row, "So, does this mean I get to automatically skip to third year?"
Lupin smiled, but shook his head.
"No, I'm afraid not. But don't worry, you've another month and a half before the start of the term. I'll even go easier on you," he added with a wink.
She smiled and nodded gratefully and spent the rest of the hour with Lupin catching up on curses and evil creatures. Vaguely she wished that she was getting that extra flying lesson that Harry had offered to Rei and Ami, but her thoughts were soon fully focused on boggarts, vampires, kappas (which Lupin was delighted to learn that she knew a great deal about), and banshees. When at last the bell tolled again, Makoto quickly packed her books away and hopped up, ready to join her friends outside for some cloud gazing and more stories of events that she'd missed.
"Jillian," Lupin started, "May I have a word with you, before you leave? You don't have any other classes, do you?"
Makoto started a little, pausing and looking back at him. She shook her head, turning fully around.
"No, I'm all done with classes for today. Is there something wrong? I'm not already in trouble, am I?"
Lupin smiled kindly and shook his head, stepping closer. He motioned for her to sit down, and she obeyed. He sat by her, half on the desk, half not and paused, trying to collect his thoughts.
"Jillian," he said at last, "Do you know why you and Harry are orphans?"
Makoto stared, taken quite by surprise.
" ... N -- no," she admitted.
Lupin nodded thoughtfully.
"I'm not sure if I should be the one you hear this from, but you must know. Jillian ... about fifteen years ago, a Dark Lord arose. He was called Voldemort by his followers, and he set about destroying many lives of individuals and families. He went after everyone who dared to defy him; Aurors, half-bloods, everyone. Your parents openly defied him, your father especially. One night he set upon your house. James asked Lily to take you and Harry and run, which she did. He put up a good fight from what I've gathered, but he was overwhelmed in the end. Then Voldemort came across your mother, guarding you. She didn't have to die, Voldemort told her, just so long as he was able to kill you, but she refused to leave," here he paused to wipe away tears from his eyes and take a deep breath, "She too, was killed."
"But then," Makoto interrupted, "How am I still alive? How is Harry?"
"Hush, let me finish," Lupin scolded gently, "Voldemort tried to kill you and your brother. We don't know why you're alive, but something about you, or Harry, stopped him. He was unable to touch you, and that night his powers left him, leaving him merely a shadow of his former self."
There was a long silence that screeched and shouted as only silence can. Makoto stared at Lupin's desk, unblinking, trying to grip what she had just learned. Finally she stirred and opened her mouth, looking hard at her teacher.
"Did you know my father? My mum?"
"Yes," he nodded, "I went to school with them. They were in Gryffindor. Your father was seeker of the Quidditch team. Your mother was a lovely girl, inside and out."
"I ... " she choked, whispering to herself more than him, "I promised myself I wouldn't cry."
"Then don't, if you really don't want to," Lupin said kindly, "They wouldn't mind."
Makoto stood hurriedly, nearly knocking her chair over.
"Thank you ... for ... for telling me. ... I'll ... I'll see you next week."
And she ran. Lupin didn't try to call her back.
She ran all the way up to the Gryffindor Tower, but how she managed to get there in one piece she didn't remember.
"Password?" asked the Fat Lady.
"R ... Ridgeback ... " Makoto choked out.
"Oh my, are you all right, dear?" the Fat Lady asked, even as she swung open.
"Aa ... daijoubu ... "
The battle over her emotions was slowly being lost. Makoto ran into the common room, up to the girl's dormitory, thankful now that Rei and Ami were not there, flung herself on the closest bed, and cried. She cried for a good hour, letting out all the pain and hurt she had ever experienced. She cried for the Kino's, for her parents, and for all those who had lost their lives or a family member because of the Dark Lord. She cried herself to sleep.
It was a soft hooting that woke her up some two hours later. Sitting up suddenly, Makoto nearly fell off the bed she'd been lying on. Beside her on the dresser sat Kipper, hooting soothingly. He hopped onto the arm she held out to him and she stroked his feathers, glad for his company.
"Mum and dad died to save me ... haha-ue and chichi-ue died because of a sabotaged plane ... I'm starting to think I'm cursed, Kipper."
Kipper blinked widely at her, then turned his head from side to side as if trying to negate her statement. Makoto giggled tiredly and kissed his head feathers.
"I'm glad you disagree."
He preened, ruffling his feathers, and hopped onto her shoulder to nibble at her ear. The Great Bell chimed faintly through the room, signaling dinner, and Makoto twirled around with a start. The sun was setting over the Forest.
"Kamisama! I must have slept for a long time. I'll bet the others are looking for me!"
"No, no, Miss Potter. You must not be worrying yourself."
Now Makoto nearly jumped out of her skin, and indeed sent Kipper into the air. He hooted indignantly and flew off to the Owlry. Makoto winced inwardly. She'd only had him a short time, but already knew that he was going to be mad at her for a while. Now she turned her attention to the intruder; a short little creature with huge brown eyes the size of tennis balls, flapping bat-like ears, and a tomato-like nose. It wore neatly pressed Hogwarts robes and seemed exceedingly sad about something.
"Dare da? ... Er ... that is, who are you?" Makoto demanded.
"I is Winky, ma'am," the little creature said and bowed.
Unsure of herself, Makoto bowed back, guessing that this was of female sex of whatever race she was. The little creature gave a little sort of hopping dance and seemed rather agitated.
"Oh, you needn't bow to Winky, ma'am," she insisted, "I is just a House-elf. I serves here in the kitchens."
"It's all right, Winky. I don't mind. ... May I ask ... what are you doing here?"
"Mister Harry Potter is worrying about you. He is asking Winky to check on you."
"Oh ... well, it's all right, really. I'm fine. You can ... er ... tell him I'll be down for dinner, I just need to wash up."
Winky bowed low again and rushed out of the dormitory, leaving a very confused and slightly stunned Makoto behind.
* * *
No one asked why Makoto had missed dinner; probably on orders of Professor Dumbledore, she reasoned. Still, she was thankful that she escaped the questioning and felt awful that she'd run out on Lupin like that.
"Jillian ... are you hungry?" Harry asked when she stepped into the Common Room.
She shook her head and grinned ruefully.
"No, not right now. Unfortunately, I will most likely get hungry sometime later tonight, when there won't be any food."
Harry gave her a mischievous smile. "I wouldn't be too sure of that. The House Elves are only too happy to give out food, trust me."
"That's all very well," Makoto said, sitting in a large chair, "But how are we to get into the kitchens?"
He just grinned knowingly.
"You'll see tonight. For now, I believe you have some homework to do."
As promised, Makoto did indeed find out how to get into the kitchens after hours. She announced, rather sheepishly, that she was hungry at ten o'clock that evening. Ami and Rei had long since gone to sleep and looked at Makoto expectantly. She had waved them off saying that she wanted to hear more stories of Harry's previous adventures. When they had left, Harry had dashed up to his dorm and come back down with a silvery cloak.
"It belonged to Dad. Dumbledore gave it to me Christmas of my first year. It's an Invisibility Cloak."
Makoto fingered it gently, looking at it with proper awe.
"Dad had some amazing things, didn't he?"
"Yeah," Harry agreed.
He wrapped the cloak around himself ... and disappeared.
"Harry? Where'd you go?" Makoto asked, looking around for him.
"Right here," he replied, holding out an arm for her to see, "C'mon, get under. Just remember to be quiet. Filch and Mrs. Norris are everywhere, and he won't hesitate to give us a detention."
Makoto slid under the cloak with Harry and they slipped out of the portrait covering the entrance to the Gryffindor tower. The Fat Lady was already asleep and didn't give them trouble, though they nearly alerted Peeves the Poltergeist to their presence, which might have blown their cover. At last, they made it to the kitchens. Harry tickled the pear in the painting and it giggled, becoming a door handle, which he pulled open.
"Dobby? Winky? Are you here?" he asked as they entered.
"Harry Potter! Mr. Harry Potter! It is nice to be seeing you!" a House Elf said, looking at Harry with pure adoration.
Makoto snickered slightly at his choice of clothing, but stopped when Harry nudged her in the ribs. He turned back to Dobby the House Elf and smiled.
"It's nice to see you too, Dobby. And you, Winky. How are you?"
"We is doing well, Mr. Harry. Is you wanting some food?" Winky replied.
Harry shook his head. "Not me. Jillian is, though."
Dobby took a close look at Makoto, and her hand automatically went up to her collarbone. Now she wished that she had worn her Hogwarts robes, rather than the loose T-shirt that slid off one shoulder. Suddenly the House Elf gave a whoop of delight and did a little jumping dance.
"Jillian Potter she is!" he announced in wonder, "So pleased am I to have the notice of your brother, Miss. He is a great, noble wizard."
Makoto shot a teasing grin at Harry, but nodded in agreement. They talked for a while with Winky and Dobby while the other House Elves brought food and piled it into their hands. When they had enough to feed a starving family for a week, Harry and Makoto shook hands with Dobby and left the kitchens.
"And that," Harry whispered, "Is how one gets food after hours."
Makoto giggled, munching on a cake that had been given to her. They turned a corner to head back to the Gryffindor Tower, but suddenly stopped. Standing in their path was Mrs. Norris, Filch the caretaker's cat. She turned her lamp-like eyes on them, and meowed loudly. Filch was there in two seconds.
"Is someone here, my sweet?" he asked, looking around, "I daresay we'll have them given a detention before the start of the term."
Harry gulped silently and started to back away. Makoto quickly moved with him, hardly daring to breathe, but she wasn't fast enough and Filch caught a glance of her jeans as she stepped back. The cloak had opened slightly, but that was all Filch needed.
"Who's there?! Show yourselves!" the caretaker demanded.
The siblings stopped where they were, and made no sound. Filch stepped closer to them, reaching his hand out.
"It's you again, Potter, isn't it? I know you're there! I tell you I won't stand for it!"
Makoto made a mental note to force the truth out of her brother about the old man's statements. At present, however, she was more concerned with getting away from Filch while keeping her skin in once piece.
Kamisama ... I'm going to be expelled and the term hasn't even started! Makoto moaned mentally, Well, maybe not expelled, but I'm going to be in some trouble, and the term hasn't even started. This is not how I expected things to happen.
CRASH
"PEEVES!" Filch suddenly roared, spinning around, "I KNOW THAT WAS YOU PEEVES!"
He took off as quickly as he could limp, Mrs. Norris following quickly behind him.
"Yes, we'll get him this time, my sweet," they could hear him muttering.
Harry and Makoto waited until he had disappeared from their sight, then Harry whipped off the cloak and they ran for the Common Room. Had she looked down, Makoto might have seen the mouths of the lions on her bracelet glowing red.
They were breathing heavily by the time they re-entered the Common Room, but neither Harry nor Makoto dared to talk about it. Harry flopped into one of the chairs by the fire, Makoto into another. Then they sprung up, remembering the food. When her dinner had been placed on the table, they flopped back into their chairs, trying to catch their breath.
"This is ... why ... one doesn't ... go down ... too often ... " Harry panted.
"It won't ... happen ... again," Makoto replied.
"I should hope not," said a stern voice behind them.
In their haste to get back to the Common Room, they had not seen Professor McGonagall standing behind them. She moved forwards and began pacing in front of them.
"You should consider yourselves lucky that the term has not started," she said, "No points shall be deducted from your houses. However, you will both serve detention tomorrow, with Hagrid, after dinner. And don't think he will go easy on you. Rule breaking is frowned upon here, and I will not tolerate it. Miss Potter, I hope this is a warning enough for you not to miss dinner again. Good night."
With that, McGonagall swept out of the Common Room. As soon as the portrait closed behind her, Harry and Makoto groaned simultaneously.
"Well ... " said Harry, trying to lighten up the situation, "It can't be as horrible as my first detention in the Forest."
Makoto, smelling another story coming on, sat up straight and turned attentive ears toward him. He smiled and began recounting the tale, which led to more stories, and kept them up well into the night.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Oh and to those who didn't read my first author's note in chapter one - I never planned on using Usagi and Minako. There are waaay too many Usagi- centric stories as is, and I honestly can't see her being in a witch in the Harry Potter world. As for Minako . well, writing for too many characters lead to one or two being excluded anyway, so I just didn't start writing for her.
Enjoy!
Chapter Four - Classes and Trouble Making
Makoto had her first experience with Potions and Professor Snape a month later on the first of July, after it was declared that she was sufficiently prepared to begin third year classes in Charms and Herbology. She would still be working with McGonagall in Transfiguration, but she was up to a beginning second year level, so they weren't too worried. Snape was a tall, oily haired, pale, sinister looking man, who seemed to have no sense of humor at all.
"Well, well ... Mr. Potter has a sister. So now we have two celebrities," Snape drawled when he first saw her.
Makoto glared back up at him, trying not to bring her hand up to her collarbone. She didn't know why, but something about this man was giving her a distinct evil feeling. Not only that, but he hated her and the term hadn't even started. It was rather intimidating to be in the dungeons alone with her teacher, but she was glad, at least, that he couldn't humiliate her in front of an entire class.
"Tell me," Snape continued, "What would I get with a mixture of wolfsbane and monkshood?"
Looking confused at the new names, Makoto shook her head, wishing desperately to be able to look in her unopened textbook.
"I don't know, sir."
"Really? Then tell me, what is the difference between a bezoar and tripe?"
"I don't know, sir," she repeated.
"Oh? Well then ... where would I look for gillyweed, and what does it do?"
That one she knew, if nothing else. She'd read about it in a book that Harry had taken out from the library, hoping to help her in Herbology.
"In the Mediterranean ocean, sir. It's an aquatic plant and is used for breathing underwater and faster swimming."
Snape nodded, albeit barely. He swooshed away, robes trailing behind him, and stood behind a large cauldron. Makoto quickly took out her cauldron and potions making kit, and opened her book in an attempt to at least be prepared. So far, though he seemed to despise her, Snape wasn't as bad as Harry made him out to be, but she wasn't going to take any chances.
"I've given this speech to all my first year classes, and now I shall give it to you. There will be no silly wand waving in this class. Potions is a far more subtle and delicate magical art and as such, I don't expect you to excel in it. Very few have what it takes to master the art of potions, but I can teach you many things - if you aren't like the dolts I usually have to teach."
Makoto desperately wished now to be able to transfigure Snape into a rabbit or some other such silent animal. She hardly thought it was fair for him to be insulting her before she'd even properly had a chance to learn anything.
"If you must know, and I say you must," Snape went on, "Wolfsbane and monkshood are the same plant. A bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat and will save you from most poisons, while tripe is found in the stomach of a cow and merely tastes disgusting. I do grant you some credit, however, for at the very least opening up a book."
Makoto nodded her thanks while scribbling down notes. Snape watched the top of her head for a minute before nodding to himself and beginning the main lesson.
* * *
"How was potions?" Harry asked as she exited the classroom.
"It was ... well, highly interesting, to say the most. I get the feeling Snape doesn't like me very much." Makoto admitted.
Harry grinned, pushing off the wall he'd been leaning on. "He doesn't like me, either. He didn't like Dad much when they were in school. It goes back a long way."
Makoto nodded and muttered something in Japanese to herself while rummaging for her schedule.
"What do you have now?" her brother asked.
Suddenly Makoto's face brightened and he hazarded a guess that she had her first flying lesson. He turned out to be correct, something she informed him of with a dazzling grin. He grinned back at her and together they walked out to the grounds designated for flying. Madam Hooch, a tall woman with short graying hair and yellow hawk's eyes, stood there waiting for them.
"Good day, Harry, Jillian," she greeted them.
"Good day, Madam Hooch," they chorused.
She smiled at them and turned to Harry, picking up one of the three brooms at her feet.
"Would you be willing to allow Jillian to learn on your broom? Ami and Rei expressed an interest in joining us, and who am I to say no?"
"Accio, Firebolt!" Harry said by way of reply, pointing his wand at the castle.
Makoto looked around wildly for any sign of the spell. She saw nothing but the nearly empty castle grounds and Ami and Rei jogging towards them. Then, from around one of the many towers, something small was whizzing towards them at an alarmingly fast rate. As it came closer, the girls realized it was a broom. Harry caught it expertly and handled it lovingly.
"Jillie, this is my Firebolt. Top of the line broom, you know," he winked and offered it to her.
She took it and looked it up and down with the mock air of a professional.
"Yes, yes, quite. Hmm ... a bit scratched 'round the seat, I daresay you use it quite a lot ... not mint condition, either. ... "
Harry laughed, "Just get ready for the ride of your life, little one."
"Now," said Madam Hooch, "Place the broom on the ground and stand to the right side of it."
Rei, Ami and Makoto all did as they were told.
"Put your right hand over the broom and say 'up'."
"Up!" chorused the three girls.
Nothing happened.
"Up!" they said again, and Makoto's broom shot into her hand.
"Woah ... "
Harry laughed once more, "That was exactly what I said when that happened."
It took Rei and Ami three more tries each, then they too had the brooms in their hands. Hooch nodded and pulled out a whistle.
"I want you to mount your brooms. On my whistle, you will kick off gently from the ground and hover about five feet from the ground. When I blow it again, tip the nose forward, and touch back down. Clear? Right then," she blew the whistle.
The girls mounted their brooms and kicked off. Ami shot much higher than expected, nearly twenty feet, Rei following closely behind her. Makoto hovered seven feet higher than she was supposed to and, not knowing what else to do, stayed there. Hooch sighed and mounted her own broom, bringing them all down to safety. Harry laughed at the sheepish and guilty looks that graced their faces remembering a time when Neville had done nearly the same thing.
"Oh, shut up, Harry. It's not funny," Makoto demanded jokingly.
Harry laughed harder, trying to stifle it behind his hand and failing miserably. Makoto gave him a mock glare and thrust the broom at him.
"Fine, then! You show us how it's done, why don't you?"
Taking the Firebolt from her with a smug grin, Harry mounted it and waited for Madam Hooch's instructions, which she readily gave.
"First fly up about thirty feet. Then zigzag through the towers and give us a few good loops, will you? Oh, and be sure to touch down in exactly one minute and thirty seconds."
Nodding, Harry kicked off from the ground, stopping nearly exactly thirty feet above. He swiftly turned and began a circling, zigzagging course around and about all the towers of the castle, and gave two big, elaborate, loop-the-loops. He stopped mid way through one and hung there upside down, then plunged headfirst to the ground, turning right side up just in time to land cleanly on his feet. Makoto, Rei and Ami were floored, and quite literally, at that.
"Well then ... satisfied?" Harry grinned at Makoto, helping up Ami.
The younger girl blushed hotly, hiding her face behind her hands when Harry let go of them. Rei, too, was helped up, but she did not blush. Makoto took it upon herself to get up on her own, stubbornly.
"Right then, brother dear. You do realize that this means war, don't you? I'm just going to have to prove myself to be as good as, if not better than, you."
Harry, though blushing, nodded. "Be prepared to be flattened, little sister mine."
"Only because I'll be dizzy from riding circles around you!" Makoto shot back, laughing.
Madam Hooch cleared her throat to regain their attention. Rei and Ami gave it willingly; Harry and Makoto gave it a few minutes later. Normally Hooch would have blown on her whistle, but even she had been laughing, and saw no harm seeing as there were only four students there. When things settled down again, she proceeded to re-teach her first instructions and soon all three girls were busy perfecting their kicking off, stopping points, turns, and descents. All too soon, the bell boomed from far away, signaling lunch.
"All right then," Hooch said, "Get yourselves cleaned up. I'll take these brooms back, Harry ..." she lowered her voice, "If she wants, Jillian may stay up in the air because it's your broom. But make sure she doesn't go too high, all right? It'd be nice to see two Potters on the Quidditch teams, you know."
Harry nodded, grinning. Makoto didn't seem keen on coming down anytime soon. She protested that she hadn't quite gotten the hang of descending and would be down in a minute to Rei and Ami, even as they sighed and shook their heads.
"It's okay, you know, not to come down," Harry called to her, "Just so long as you don't go too high up. But you may want to. I don't know about you, but I'm rather hungry."
Makoto landed and walked quickly to meet him in stride. She looked sideways at him, grinning mischievously.
"Right. And you've done ... what, today? Woken up and taken a shower? Was that it?" she paused, considering, "Yes, I'm sure that qualifies you to groan about lack of food."
Harry poked her in the side, tickling her unintentionally. She laughed and squirmed away, holding the Firebolt out in front of her like a weapon.
"Yamero!" she giggled, automatically switching into Japanese.
"What?"
"Er ... stop ... " Makoto amended, smiling.
Harry grinned back, though he looked decidedly wicked. He took a menacing step toward her, she backed away. He took two steps towards her, she backed away. He advanced, she retreated. This kept up until they were running, Harry chasing her. They made it all the way to Hagrid's hut stood, and finally he was able to tackle her. Flinging the broom aside, the two engaged in an all out tickle war until they were having trouble breathing.
"Well ... that ... was ... fun ... " wheezed Harry.
"Indeed ... " Makoto wheezed back, trying to catch her breath.
Suddenly she sat up straight, yelping. Harry immediately joined her, kneeling by her side, looking concerned.
"What's wrong?"
"My ... bracelet ... " she hissed, "It's ... cold!"
"Cold?" he asked, bewildered, "Then take it off."
"I can't," Makoto shook her head.
Something in the forest behind Hagrid's hut caught her attention and she pointed at it, momentarily forgetting about the bracelet.
"Look! What's that?"
Harry looked up to see a black figure slinking away through the trees. A slight throbbing went through his scar, but he ignored it. He stood slowly, a hardened look in his eyes that Makoto didn't see because of where she sat on the ground. When he was satisfied that the figure had gone, Harry looked down and held out a hand for Makoto, which she took.
"It was probably nothing. A Centaur, perhaps, or a unicorn. The Forest plays tricks on the mind, during the day as much as during the night. Come on, let's get cleaned up and eat."
Makoto nodded and they didn't speak a word of what they'd seen to anyone else.
* * *
"Are you lost, my dear?"
Makoto spun around, yelping. She had just come from lunch and was about to go to her last class for the day, which was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and was indeed lost.
"Who's there?" she demanded.
A tall ghost in tight pants and a large ruff stood behind her, smiling merrily.
"Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, at your service, my lady," he said, giving a grand bow, "Where might you be off to?"
"Uh ... I'm ... I'm looking . for Defense Against the Dark Arts ... with Professor Lupin," Makoto stammered.
"Never talked to a ghost before?" Nicholas guessed.
Makoto nodded sheepishly, grinning and scratching the back of her neck.
"You're Japanese!" the ghost said, delighted, "I remember Kaori used to do that all the time when she was caught by the teachers breaking a rule. And Gentoki. He always did that because he was so shy! Well, follow me, my dear. I'll show you where to go."
"Arigatou gozaimasu," Makoto said, slightly awed by the fact that she was talking to a ghost.
Sir Nicholas did like to talk, and she guessed that was because of his being a ghost. Along the way to her class, Makoto learned that his nickname was Nearly Headless Nick, because of his improper beheading. She was told that his requests to join the Headless Hunt were repeatedly denied, which she reasoned rested in the fact that his head was still attached. Nearly Headless Nick looked mildly offended, and she quickly apologized, but he sighed and agreed with her. Finally they were at the door of Lupin's classroom, and not a moment too soon, for the Great Bell tolled, signaling the start of the class.
"Arigatou!" Makoto called, waving as she entered the classroom.
"Do itashimashita," Nearly Headless Nick called back.
"It's nice to see you again, Jillian," said a kind voice that Makoto immediately recognized.
"Professor Lupin! It's nice to see you again, too," she replied happily, taking her seat in the front row, "So, does this mean I get to automatically skip to third year?"
Lupin smiled, but shook his head.
"No, I'm afraid not. But don't worry, you've another month and a half before the start of the term. I'll even go easier on you," he added with a wink.
She smiled and nodded gratefully and spent the rest of the hour with Lupin catching up on curses and evil creatures. Vaguely she wished that she was getting that extra flying lesson that Harry had offered to Rei and Ami, but her thoughts were soon fully focused on boggarts, vampires, kappas (which Lupin was delighted to learn that she knew a great deal about), and banshees. When at last the bell tolled again, Makoto quickly packed her books away and hopped up, ready to join her friends outside for some cloud gazing and more stories of events that she'd missed.
"Jillian," Lupin started, "May I have a word with you, before you leave? You don't have any other classes, do you?"
Makoto started a little, pausing and looking back at him. She shook her head, turning fully around.
"No, I'm all done with classes for today. Is there something wrong? I'm not already in trouble, am I?"
Lupin smiled kindly and shook his head, stepping closer. He motioned for her to sit down, and she obeyed. He sat by her, half on the desk, half not and paused, trying to collect his thoughts.
"Jillian," he said at last, "Do you know why you and Harry are orphans?"
Makoto stared, taken quite by surprise.
" ... N -- no," she admitted.
Lupin nodded thoughtfully.
"I'm not sure if I should be the one you hear this from, but you must know. Jillian ... about fifteen years ago, a Dark Lord arose. He was called Voldemort by his followers, and he set about destroying many lives of individuals and families. He went after everyone who dared to defy him; Aurors, half-bloods, everyone. Your parents openly defied him, your father especially. One night he set upon your house. James asked Lily to take you and Harry and run, which she did. He put up a good fight from what I've gathered, but he was overwhelmed in the end. Then Voldemort came across your mother, guarding you. She didn't have to die, Voldemort told her, just so long as he was able to kill you, but she refused to leave," here he paused to wipe away tears from his eyes and take a deep breath, "She too, was killed."
"But then," Makoto interrupted, "How am I still alive? How is Harry?"
"Hush, let me finish," Lupin scolded gently, "Voldemort tried to kill you and your brother. We don't know why you're alive, but something about you, or Harry, stopped him. He was unable to touch you, and that night his powers left him, leaving him merely a shadow of his former self."
There was a long silence that screeched and shouted as only silence can. Makoto stared at Lupin's desk, unblinking, trying to grip what she had just learned. Finally she stirred and opened her mouth, looking hard at her teacher.
"Did you know my father? My mum?"
"Yes," he nodded, "I went to school with them. They were in Gryffindor. Your father was seeker of the Quidditch team. Your mother was a lovely girl, inside and out."
"I ... " she choked, whispering to herself more than him, "I promised myself I wouldn't cry."
"Then don't, if you really don't want to," Lupin said kindly, "They wouldn't mind."
Makoto stood hurriedly, nearly knocking her chair over.
"Thank you ... for ... for telling me. ... I'll ... I'll see you next week."
And she ran. Lupin didn't try to call her back.
She ran all the way up to the Gryffindor Tower, but how she managed to get there in one piece she didn't remember.
"Password?" asked the Fat Lady.
"R ... Ridgeback ... " Makoto choked out.
"Oh my, are you all right, dear?" the Fat Lady asked, even as she swung open.
"Aa ... daijoubu ... "
The battle over her emotions was slowly being lost. Makoto ran into the common room, up to the girl's dormitory, thankful now that Rei and Ami were not there, flung herself on the closest bed, and cried. She cried for a good hour, letting out all the pain and hurt she had ever experienced. She cried for the Kino's, for her parents, and for all those who had lost their lives or a family member because of the Dark Lord. She cried herself to sleep.
It was a soft hooting that woke her up some two hours later. Sitting up suddenly, Makoto nearly fell off the bed she'd been lying on. Beside her on the dresser sat Kipper, hooting soothingly. He hopped onto the arm she held out to him and she stroked his feathers, glad for his company.
"Mum and dad died to save me ... haha-ue and chichi-ue died because of a sabotaged plane ... I'm starting to think I'm cursed, Kipper."
Kipper blinked widely at her, then turned his head from side to side as if trying to negate her statement. Makoto giggled tiredly and kissed his head feathers.
"I'm glad you disagree."
He preened, ruffling his feathers, and hopped onto her shoulder to nibble at her ear. The Great Bell chimed faintly through the room, signaling dinner, and Makoto twirled around with a start. The sun was setting over the Forest.
"Kamisama! I must have slept for a long time. I'll bet the others are looking for me!"
"No, no, Miss Potter. You must not be worrying yourself."
Now Makoto nearly jumped out of her skin, and indeed sent Kipper into the air. He hooted indignantly and flew off to the Owlry. Makoto winced inwardly. She'd only had him a short time, but already knew that he was going to be mad at her for a while. Now she turned her attention to the intruder; a short little creature with huge brown eyes the size of tennis balls, flapping bat-like ears, and a tomato-like nose. It wore neatly pressed Hogwarts robes and seemed exceedingly sad about something.
"Dare da? ... Er ... that is, who are you?" Makoto demanded.
"I is Winky, ma'am," the little creature said and bowed.
Unsure of herself, Makoto bowed back, guessing that this was of female sex of whatever race she was. The little creature gave a little sort of hopping dance and seemed rather agitated.
"Oh, you needn't bow to Winky, ma'am," she insisted, "I is just a House-elf. I serves here in the kitchens."
"It's all right, Winky. I don't mind. ... May I ask ... what are you doing here?"
"Mister Harry Potter is worrying about you. He is asking Winky to check on you."
"Oh ... well, it's all right, really. I'm fine. You can ... er ... tell him I'll be down for dinner, I just need to wash up."
Winky bowed low again and rushed out of the dormitory, leaving a very confused and slightly stunned Makoto behind.
* * *
No one asked why Makoto had missed dinner; probably on orders of Professor Dumbledore, she reasoned. Still, she was thankful that she escaped the questioning and felt awful that she'd run out on Lupin like that.
"Jillian ... are you hungry?" Harry asked when she stepped into the Common Room.
She shook her head and grinned ruefully.
"No, not right now. Unfortunately, I will most likely get hungry sometime later tonight, when there won't be any food."
Harry gave her a mischievous smile. "I wouldn't be too sure of that. The House Elves are only too happy to give out food, trust me."
"That's all very well," Makoto said, sitting in a large chair, "But how are we to get into the kitchens?"
He just grinned knowingly.
"You'll see tonight. For now, I believe you have some homework to do."
As promised, Makoto did indeed find out how to get into the kitchens after hours. She announced, rather sheepishly, that she was hungry at ten o'clock that evening. Ami and Rei had long since gone to sleep and looked at Makoto expectantly. She had waved them off saying that she wanted to hear more stories of Harry's previous adventures. When they had left, Harry had dashed up to his dorm and come back down with a silvery cloak.
"It belonged to Dad. Dumbledore gave it to me Christmas of my first year. It's an Invisibility Cloak."
Makoto fingered it gently, looking at it with proper awe.
"Dad had some amazing things, didn't he?"
"Yeah," Harry agreed.
He wrapped the cloak around himself ... and disappeared.
"Harry? Where'd you go?" Makoto asked, looking around for him.
"Right here," he replied, holding out an arm for her to see, "C'mon, get under. Just remember to be quiet. Filch and Mrs. Norris are everywhere, and he won't hesitate to give us a detention."
Makoto slid under the cloak with Harry and they slipped out of the portrait covering the entrance to the Gryffindor tower. The Fat Lady was already asleep and didn't give them trouble, though they nearly alerted Peeves the Poltergeist to their presence, which might have blown their cover. At last, they made it to the kitchens. Harry tickled the pear in the painting and it giggled, becoming a door handle, which he pulled open.
"Dobby? Winky? Are you here?" he asked as they entered.
"Harry Potter! Mr. Harry Potter! It is nice to be seeing you!" a House Elf said, looking at Harry with pure adoration.
Makoto snickered slightly at his choice of clothing, but stopped when Harry nudged her in the ribs. He turned back to Dobby the House Elf and smiled.
"It's nice to see you too, Dobby. And you, Winky. How are you?"
"We is doing well, Mr. Harry. Is you wanting some food?" Winky replied.
Harry shook his head. "Not me. Jillian is, though."
Dobby took a close look at Makoto, and her hand automatically went up to her collarbone. Now she wished that she had worn her Hogwarts robes, rather than the loose T-shirt that slid off one shoulder. Suddenly the House Elf gave a whoop of delight and did a little jumping dance.
"Jillian Potter she is!" he announced in wonder, "So pleased am I to have the notice of your brother, Miss. He is a great, noble wizard."
Makoto shot a teasing grin at Harry, but nodded in agreement. They talked for a while with Winky and Dobby while the other House Elves brought food and piled it into their hands. When they had enough to feed a starving family for a week, Harry and Makoto shook hands with Dobby and left the kitchens.
"And that," Harry whispered, "Is how one gets food after hours."
Makoto giggled, munching on a cake that had been given to her. They turned a corner to head back to the Gryffindor Tower, but suddenly stopped. Standing in their path was Mrs. Norris, Filch the caretaker's cat. She turned her lamp-like eyes on them, and meowed loudly. Filch was there in two seconds.
"Is someone here, my sweet?" he asked, looking around, "I daresay we'll have them given a detention before the start of the term."
Harry gulped silently and started to back away. Makoto quickly moved with him, hardly daring to breathe, but she wasn't fast enough and Filch caught a glance of her jeans as she stepped back. The cloak had opened slightly, but that was all Filch needed.
"Who's there?! Show yourselves!" the caretaker demanded.
The siblings stopped where they were, and made no sound. Filch stepped closer to them, reaching his hand out.
"It's you again, Potter, isn't it? I know you're there! I tell you I won't stand for it!"
Makoto made a mental note to force the truth out of her brother about the old man's statements. At present, however, she was more concerned with getting away from Filch while keeping her skin in once piece.
Kamisama ... I'm going to be expelled and the term hasn't even started! Makoto moaned mentally, Well, maybe not expelled, but I'm going to be in some trouble, and the term hasn't even started. This is not how I expected things to happen.
CRASH
"PEEVES!" Filch suddenly roared, spinning around, "I KNOW THAT WAS YOU PEEVES!"
He took off as quickly as he could limp, Mrs. Norris following quickly behind him.
"Yes, we'll get him this time, my sweet," they could hear him muttering.
Harry and Makoto waited until he had disappeared from their sight, then Harry whipped off the cloak and they ran for the Common Room. Had she looked down, Makoto might have seen the mouths of the lions on her bracelet glowing red.
They were breathing heavily by the time they re-entered the Common Room, but neither Harry nor Makoto dared to talk about it. Harry flopped into one of the chairs by the fire, Makoto into another. Then they sprung up, remembering the food. When her dinner had been placed on the table, they flopped back into their chairs, trying to catch their breath.
"This is ... why ... one doesn't ... go down ... too often ... " Harry panted.
"It won't ... happen ... again," Makoto replied.
"I should hope not," said a stern voice behind them.
In their haste to get back to the Common Room, they had not seen Professor McGonagall standing behind them. She moved forwards and began pacing in front of them.
"You should consider yourselves lucky that the term has not started," she said, "No points shall be deducted from your houses. However, you will both serve detention tomorrow, with Hagrid, after dinner. And don't think he will go easy on you. Rule breaking is frowned upon here, and I will not tolerate it. Miss Potter, I hope this is a warning enough for you not to miss dinner again. Good night."
With that, McGonagall swept out of the Common Room. As soon as the portrait closed behind her, Harry and Makoto groaned simultaneously.
"Well ... " said Harry, trying to lighten up the situation, "It can't be as horrible as my first detention in the Forest."
Makoto, smelling another story coming on, sat up straight and turned attentive ears toward him. He smiled and began recounting the tale, which led to more stories, and kept them up well into the night.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Oh and to those who didn't read my first author's note in chapter one - I never planned on using Usagi and Minako. There are waaay too many Usagi- centric stories as is, and I honestly can't see her being in a witch in the Harry Potter world. As for Minako . well, writing for too many characters lead to one or two being excluded anyway, so I just didn't start writing for her.