Chapter 1
The clouds were close. Close yet far away. The sun shone upon the lake, casting bright beams everywhere. Misu shaded her eyes. Everywhere she looked, she saw students. Being happy. Being carefree. Not needing to worry about the things an Auror's daughter worried about. Her mother's words echoed in her head. "They do not know. Don't tell them."
It was early Sunday afternoon, May 12. Hogwarts was alive. School would end soon, but not for Misu. Everyone assumed she was going home. Home to Wales. Home. There was no such thing. Not for her. She was not going to Wales as all her friends believed. Misu moved her lips, getting the feel of the words, "They do not know. Don't tell them."
Out of the corner of her eye, Misu saw him. With his friends. The Boy who Lived. Misu almost laughed at the irony. But samurai do not laugh when the world is in such peril. Harry Potter lived, while Misu's mother died. Images of her mother's grave flashed in her mind. RIP Julie Onishi; may your light still shine from above and then, in moon-letters which would only show to a wizard or witch, Famed Auror. Died fighting an unknown assasin, who left behind a single dead rat tatooed with the Dark Mark on its chest. Please contact the Ministry of Magic if you have any info on this.
A dead rat. A dead rat. Misu had worked so long and so hard, to come up with absolutely nothing about her mother's killer. A quick spell did it. The deadly curse that Misu feared above all. The one she had nightmares about every night. Avada Kadavera, the killing curse. The one Proffessor Moody had tought. Misu had smiled and looked her eager, enthusiastic self. But inside she saw through him. She saw through every detail. Every twitch, every growl, every thud of his fake leg. This was not Alastor Moody. An Auror's daughter knew when the Polyjuice Potion was being used.
And through every artificial lesson, Misu Onishi smiled and appeared to take it all in. Just like during Quidditch, just like during lunch and everything else. But she was not this way in reality. No, it was not her. It was who everyone else thought her to be. Cho Chang.
"Come on, Cho, aren't you coming?" Misu's friend Ana beckoned with her right hand, Nimbus Two Thousand and One in her left hand.
"Yeah, hold on a second Ana!" Misu cast a quick glance in Harry's direction.
Dumbledore had assigned her to Hogwarts as one of the four "students" who were secretly watching Harry's back. Two others along with Misu were also watching. Two others who had no family, two others who were undoubtedly not what they seemed. There used to be four. But Derek was gone. Gone, gone, gone.
"Hurry UP Chang!" bellowed Jessica Miller, captain of the Ravenclaw quidditch team.
Misu ran. "I'm coming! I just have to get my broomstick!" She dashed for the castle and up the stairs, through the corridor, up to the South-South-West tower, behind the tapestry, and finally into the Ravenclaw common room. Looking around to make sure no one was there, she flipped back the sleeve of her robe.
A gem. An aquamarine. Shining blue, sky blue, dazzling blue. Misu breathed on her lifestone. She tapped it with her wand. A cloudy figure of Mark Schultz appeared. "CHO you PRAT! I was just talking to Harry and then my lifestone suddenly went bzzzzz and started vibrating right when we were about to go and—"
"Never MIND that Mark! Honestly you'd think the characters we play are real the way you go about. YOU ARE NOT NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM. Okay? And I'm not Cho Chang. Listen...I found something earlier today. Of...importance" Misu reached into her robe pocket and fingered the smooth statuette. "Can you meet me at midnight? The usual place."
Mark looked incredibly miffed but agreed. "Don't let Filch catch you. Use the cloak. And...what's the password this week?" He said the last sentence very quickly, embarrased. Mark Schultz, the one with the best memory of the group, seldom asked questions like this.
Misu grinned. "Snakesbane", don't FORGET again...
Mark scowled. "I won't."
Misu sprinted to the girls' dormitory. She'd been talking too long. Jessica would have her hide..."Accio quidditch rucksack!" Misu's leather rucksack flew into her arms. "Accio Nimbus!" Her broomstick followed.
Quidditch practice went well. "All right you guys," Jessica said, signalling the beginning of her usual propractice pep talk. "A couple more practices and we'll get back at the Gryffindors for their win last last year!" "Ravens unite!" hands in. Hands out. Misu smiled and continued her fiasco. Until midnight, until midnight.
Misu wrapped her invisibility cloak around her tightly. You'd think these things were rare, she thought. Harry had one, Mark had one, Amy had one...four so far in the school. Rare...pah.
"Snakesbane." she whispered, upon coming to the snoozing portrait of Ugluk the Foul. "Bladvak..." repied Ugluk sleepily as he swung forward.
Amy and Mark were already there. Amy yawned. "So what is it? And what's with you and midnight?"
Misu reached into her pocket and pulled out the statuette. "Midnight is called the witching hour, when supposedly everyone is asleep. And as for why I called you two here..." she flashed the statuette in front of their faces.
Mark gave a mock gasp. "Wow, a REAL statuette! Of the Dark Mark! Wowie, did you buy that at Knockturn Alley or did Amy give it to you?" Amy poked him in the ribs. She didn't take teasing about being the one stuck in Slytherin. Even less about going to the Yule ball with Draco Malfoy.
Misu scowled. "It looks like ivory, right?"
Amy chuckled. "No, it looks like Granny's cooking." Mark blushed. His "grandmother"s cooking was not popular among very many people.
"Ivory indeed. Origo!" A shadowy form of a human head appeared over the statuette.
This time Mark's gasp was real.
Amy, the calm one, stayed calm. But even her cool exterior could not hide the quaver in her voice. "I-I'm sure it's just from some random dead guy's skull. Probably a Muggle's too. No problem, I'm sure. I mean, who..."
"Don't freak out." Misu interrupted. "I found this under Derek's old bed."
Amy and Mark just stared. Derek. "Derek the noble, Derek?" Mark asked. "Derek the no-longer-with-us Derek?"
"None other." Misu replied. She tucked the statuette into her pocket. "I'm telling Dumbledore tomorrow morning."
Suddenly there was a cold gust of wind, despite the fact that the Meeting Chamber had no windows or other outlets. "That," said a voice, "will not be necessary."