That was Then, This is Now
Disclaimer: *rocks back and forth, with her arms wrapped around herself* ...not mine...not mine...not mine...not mine *contiues to mumble disturbingly*
Kristin: *stares at the screen for a moment before jumping up and down, screaming* I HAVE OVER A HUNDRED REVIEWS!!!!! EEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! YIPPY!!!!!!!! *grabs all of the reviewers(a difficult task) and hugs them all at once. She then begins to jump up and down again, while still holding the slightly squished reviewers* I'M SO HAPPY!!!!!!! I also actually did this a school to my friends when I first found out.
***
Chapter Nine
Chibi Chibi lay on her bed, her teeth clenched as she tried to ignore the discomfort her body was in. All of her joints ached, and it took all her self-control to keep for moaning in pain. Chibi Chibi bit her lip as she placed her headphones in her ears, and turned on her CD player. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata invaded her senses as she eased back against her pillows and the pain slowly ebbed away. A soft sigh slipped from between her lips as she closed her eyes in exhaustion. It wasn't supposed to hurt that badly. Chibi Chibi bit the inside of her cheek in an attempt to keep back tears of frustration. She was getting worse. Suddenly the curtains around her bed were pulled back, and the bright morning sun blinded Chibi Chibi. A smiling Ginny was standing above her, looking far too cheerful for the early morning. "Time to get up. We'll be late for breakfast."
Chibi Chibi sighed, but took her headphones off, and got dressed for the day. Ginny then literally dragged her down to the Great Hall and pushed her down into a seat. Chibi Chibi panted and tried to regain her breath. "Was it really necessary to take the stairs four at a time?" Ginny grinned and nodded.
Chibi Chibi shook her head in exasperation. She put a small mound of eggs on her plate and poked at it, while Ginny ate. She finally looked up from her barely touched breakfast, when owls flooded into the room. She glanced at the teacher's table and frowned. Her mother wasn't there. Usagi never missed breakfast. Chibi Chibi was broken out of her thoughts when a school owl landed, almost on top of her eggs, and clicked its beak at her. She blinked at it, it blinked back, and she reached down and untied a package from its leg. She fed the owl a bit of toast and stared blankly at the package while the owl flew off. Ginny looked over Chibi Chibi's arm, interest practically written on her face. "Well, aren't you going to open it?"
Chibi Chibi untied the ribbon on the small box, and carefully slipped it out of its silver wrapping. A small, golden box lay in her hand. She lifted the lid and pulled out a card that had two words written in a familiar scrawling handwriting on it. 'I'm sorry'. A soft smile spread across her lips. The words wouldn't normally mean very much, but considering who was saying it made them priceless. Chibi Chibi carefully placed the card into the cover of one of her books and turned back to the box. She reached into it and pulled out a velvet cord, with the most beautiful silver pendant she had ever seen on it. The pendant was a square, which hung by one of its points. A crescent moon charm that had been carved out of a piece of black onyx hung from the right point. A star, which had been carved from the same black onyx, hung from the left point. From the bottom point, a musical note, made from the purest of white gold, hung. Inlaid in the center was a dark square ruby. Around the ruby, tiny holes had been drilled.
Beside her, Chibi Chibi heard Ginny gasp. Chibi Chibi smiled, and fastened the necklace around her neck. It rested comfortably in the hollow of her throat. Her eyes searched the Slytherin table, and locked with Draco Malfoy's. He smirked and nodded slightly. Chibi Chibi mouthed the words 'Thank you', as she clutched at the pendant with her hand. He simply smirked wider, and nodded again. Hotaru sat down across the table from Chibi Chibi, with Harry by her side. She stretched her arm across the table and deftly plucked the necklace from Chibi Chibi's hand, pulling her halfway across the table, and let out a low whistle. "That looks expensive. Where'd you get it?"
Chibi Chibi yanked the pendant out of her sister's grasp, and sat back down in her seat. "Malfoy gave it to me. He was apologizing." Both Hotaru and Ginny gained looks of disbelief, and Harry scowled.
"Draco Malfoy does not apologize." Chibi Chibi shook her head, and stood from her seat.
"Well, he just did, and I have it in writing. Now, I'm going to go get ready for my first class, and as far as I'm concerned, this conversation is over." Chibi Chibi turned and walked away from the table. Ginny scrambled to follow her. Harry turned to Hotaru.
"You might want to watch out for her. I wouldn't put Malfoy past luring her into a false sense of security and then hurting her." Hotaru turned in her seat and stared at Draco. She closed her eyes for a long moment, before turning back to Harry.
"He isn't evil, or at least not as evil as you think he is. He's just trying to do what is expected of him." Harry arched an eyebrow at the dark- haired girl.
"You sound so sure of that." Hotaru let the solemn look on her face slip as she smirked.
"That's because I am."
*
Hermione swiftly made her way to the library, during lunch. She had spent countless hours scouring the musty volumes that filled the room to no avail, but she had a good feeling about today. When she reached the library, she headed directly to the ancient history section. She had gone over it more than any other section, but she believed that there could be something there that would help her. Hotaru could have just as easily told her to look in a book about marks left by curses, but she hadn't. Hotaru wasn't the type of person who said something that had no meaning. If she said that the information Hermione was looking for was in this section then it was in this section.
A book that hadn't been there the day before immediately caught her eye. She pulled the book off of the shelf and studied the cover. It was adorned with an upturned crescent moon. Hermione could practically feel the excitement rising in her. She opened the cover and blinked in surprise when a piece of folded parchment fell out. She blinked a few more times before leaning over and picking up the fallen paper. Gentle fingers unfolded the paper, to reveal a letter addressed to her.
Hermione Granger,
I am aware that you have been looking for information on a few things. This book should clear up pretty much everything that is confusing you. The book is not registered in the library and now belongs to you. Do allow anyone else to see it, and never tell what you learn in its pages. Happy reading.
Usagi Black
Hermione stared at first the note and then the book with wide eyes. After a bit of hesitation, she flipped the pages until she reached one near the end of the book that's corner had been folded down. The picture on the page nearly made her drop the book. In the middle of the picture, was Professor Black, with Professor Hino to her right, Professor Aino to her left, Hotaru to Aino's left, and several other women Hermione didn't recognize, surrounding her. Hermione glanced at the text underneath the picture. 'Princess Serenity and her court'. A princess? Whatever she had been expecting, it most certainly hadn't been that. Hermione sat numbly down at a table and began reading.
'The Silver Alliance ended during the reign of Queen Serenity. The most notable thing about Serenity's time as queen would be a scandal involving her daughter, Princess Serenity. The princess had been betrothed since birth to Endymion, the prince of earth, who was her distant cousin through their mutual great-grandparents, Selene, the goddess of the moon, and Endymion, the shepherd. According to all of the legends, Serenity was content with the prospect of her marriage to Endymion, until one of her protectors, Saturn, the goddess of destruction, called Hotaru by her friends, visited the princess. With Saturn came her older brother, Shinigami, the god of death. Serenity fell in love with the reckless god, and he felt the same for her. What followed was a love affair that put Cleopatra and Caesar to shame. Unfortunately, Prince Endymion found out about the two, and on the night that his engagement to the princess was to be publicly announced, he hired a woman from his planet to attack the moon kingdom. The people of the moon fought back, but it was in vain. It ended in a brutal massacre, that only Queen Serenity survived. With what was left of her strength, she sent all of her people into the future to be reborn.
'It is said that when Serenity was killed, she was about three months pregnant, with Shinigami's child. Not much is known about this child, except that Shinigami nicknamed the unborn baby Chibi Chibi, because of its obviously small size. There are also rumors that Serenity had a younger brother. How much younger, is not known; however, it is believed that if the two had been allowed to live, that they would have become more powerful than any being before. Supposedly, they would have ultimately ascended into immortality, and together ruled over all, with the help of their spouses. If Serenity did have a brother, then it highly probable that he was the fiancé of another one of Serenity's protectors, Venus, the goddess of love, called Minako by her friends.'
Hermione turned to the next page, that had two pictures on it. The picture on top showed Sirius with his right arm around Professor Black's waist, and his left hand on Hotaru's shoulder. Underneath the picture were the words 'Serenity, Shinigami, and Saturn'. Beneath that picture was another. This one showed Professor Aino, with her back pressed against Professor Snape's chest, with his arms around her waist, and his head resting on top of hers. Underneath that picture were the words 'Venus and the supposed younger brother of Serenity'.
*
Hotaru sat in her seat in DADA. Her mother had asked her to stay after class, but so far they had done nothing but sit there. She looked up when the door creaked open, and Chibi Chibi stepped into the room. Usagi smiled and motioned for the girls to come over to her. Hotaru stood and joined her mother and sister. "What did you need to talk to us about?"
Usagi smiled wider. "Sweetheart, you can come out now." A huge black dog walked out from behind Usagi's desk, and stopped beside her. "Girls," Sirius, turned back into a human, "I would like to introduce you to your father." Hotaru stared at him for a moment, before running into his arms with a choked cry.
"PAPA!"
Chibi Chibi took a step back and gawked at him with wide eyes. Usagi turned to her younger daughter, who was looking drastically pale.
"Chibi Chibi?"
"No." The softly spoken sent shivers up the spines of the occupants of the room. Sirius released Hotaru from his embrace and stared at the daughter he had never met. Usagi's eyes narrowed as she took a step closer to Chibi Chibi.
"What do you mean, 'no'?"
"I refuse to believe that you came back now. It will be easier if I don't believe it. Why did you have to come back at all? All that you're doing is making things more complicated than they already are!" Chibi Chibi turned and ran out of the room.
*
The Gryffindor common room was a perfect picture of peaceful bliss. Small groups of students were huddled together, doing homework, talking, and basically just enjoying each other's company. The happy atmosphere was shattered when Chibi Chibi stormed into the room, her entire being radiating an anger so immense that it seemed almost tangible. Hotaru entered the room right behind her sister, and looked almost as angry. She reached out and grabbed Chibi Chibi by the arm. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?"
Chibi Chibi wrenched her arm free of Hotaru's grasp. "What's wrong? You know bloody well what is wrong! I can't deal with it Hotaru, I just can't! I don't want anymore people involved in my life, because it will just ultimately end with them getting hurt. You know everything about what is going on in my life right now. I'm afraid, Hotaru. I'm afraid that I'll hurt him even more than I already have if I get to know him. I'm afraid that I'll like him, and then have to leave him behind. If the circumstances had been different, then I would have run to him with open arms like you did, but they aren't and I can't. Don't you see? It's better this way. You just don't realize it yet." With tears streaming down her face, Chibi Chibi slowly walked up the stairs to the girls dorm rooms. Hotaru, as well as the other occupants of the room, watched her as she left. Finally, with her head bowed in resignation, Hotaru turned and left the common room through the portrait of the fat lady.
***
Kristin: So? What do you think? By the way, the quote was from The Bible. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 to be exact. *Gives a piece of chocolate to Rowan and Tomoko. Gives slightly bigger pieces of chocolate to Sellenity00000 and tenshi-chikyuu for getting the actual book. Also give Hilary half a piece of chocolate.* Okay, Hilary. Here is the deal. I've only seen a Walk to Remember once and I don't really remember the part that you're talking about. However, I do remember that the girl in the movie was a pastor's daughter, so it is possible that they got the line out of the Bible. Because of that possibility, you get half of a piece of chocolate. I hope that all of you virtually enjoy your virtual chocolate!
Special Thanks to:
Silver Dragonfly
Alexz
Adyen
Rowan
Silver Moon Goddess: You can try to sick him on me, but I don't think that he would actually attack me.I hope.
Rheia
Sailorruss
Fire Ice and Wind
Fate's Child
Tomoko
Pyra
Lady Earth Goddess: Now will you not kill me? Please?
MarsMoonStar
Sellenity00000
Solarmistress17
Celestial DreamBlaze: Hotaru will be with Harry. Ron is already with Hermione. All of the scouts, including Hotaru, Severus, and Sirius have their memories from the Moon Kingdom. The only person that doesn't remember anything is Chibi Chibi, because she wasn't born yet.
Kiyana
Tenshi-chikyuu
Yuki Kamitoki: There is a thin line between hate and love, and Chibi Chibi and Draco are about to cross it. That quote is my absolute favorite part of the Bible. I actually started to write this fic, because I wanted a story that I could use it in.
Hilary: I'm sorry about your Internet. I hope that it gets fixed soon.
Disclaimer: *rocks back and forth, with her arms wrapped around herself* ...not mine...not mine...not mine...not mine *contiues to mumble disturbingly*
Kristin: *stares at the screen for a moment before jumping up and down, screaming* I HAVE OVER A HUNDRED REVIEWS!!!!! EEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! YIPPY!!!!!!!! *grabs all of the reviewers(a difficult task) and hugs them all at once. She then begins to jump up and down again, while still holding the slightly squished reviewers* I'M SO HAPPY!!!!!!! I also actually did this a school to my friends when I first found out.
***
Chapter Nine
Chibi Chibi lay on her bed, her teeth clenched as she tried to ignore the discomfort her body was in. All of her joints ached, and it took all her self-control to keep for moaning in pain. Chibi Chibi bit her lip as she placed her headphones in her ears, and turned on her CD player. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata invaded her senses as she eased back against her pillows and the pain slowly ebbed away. A soft sigh slipped from between her lips as she closed her eyes in exhaustion. It wasn't supposed to hurt that badly. Chibi Chibi bit the inside of her cheek in an attempt to keep back tears of frustration. She was getting worse. Suddenly the curtains around her bed were pulled back, and the bright morning sun blinded Chibi Chibi. A smiling Ginny was standing above her, looking far too cheerful for the early morning. "Time to get up. We'll be late for breakfast."
Chibi Chibi sighed, but took her headphones off, and got dressed for the day. Ginny then literally dragged her down to the Great Hall and pushed her down into a seat. Chibi Chibi panted and tried to regain her breath. "Was it really necessary to take the stairs four at a time?" Ginny grinned and nodded.
Chibi Chibi shook her head in exasperation. She put a small mound of eggs on her plate and poked at it, while Ginny ate. She finally looked up from her barely touched breakfast, when owls flooded into the room. She glanced at the teacher's table and frowned. Her mother wasn't there. Usagi never missed breakfast. Chibi Chibi was broken out of her thoughts when a school owl landed, almost on top of her eggs, and clicked its beak at her. She blinked at it, it blinked back, and she reached down and untied a package from its leg. She fed the owl a bit of toast and stared blankly at the package while the owl flew off. Ginny looked over Chibi Chibi's arm, interest practically written on her face. "Well, aren't you going to open it?"
Chibi Chibi untied the ribbon on the small box, and carefully slipped it out of its silver wrapping. A small, golden box lay in her hand. She lifted the lid and pulled out a card that had two words written in a familiar scrawling handwriting on it. 'I'm sorry'. A soft smile spread across her lips. The words wouldn't normally mean very much, but considering who was saying it made them priceless. Chibi Chibi carefully placed the card into the cover of one of her books and turned back to the box. She reached into it and pulled out a velvet cord, with the most beautiful silver pendant she had ever seen on it. The pendant was a square, which hung by one of its points. A crescent moon charm that had been carved out of a piece of black onyx hung from the right point. A star, which had been carved from the same black onyx, hung from the left point. From the bottom point, a musical note, made from the purest of white gold, hung. Inlaid in the center was a dark square ruby. Around the ruby, tiny holes had been drilled.
Beside her, Chibi Chibi heard Ginny gasp. Chibi Chibi smiled, and fastened the necklace around her neck. It rested comfortably in the hollow of her throat. Her eyes searched the Slytherin table, and locked with Draco Malfoy's. He smirked and nodded slightly. Chibi Chibi mouthed the words 'Thank you', as she clutched at the pendant with her hand. He simply smirked wider, and nodded again. Hotaru sat down across the table from Chibi Chibi, with Harry by her side. She stretched her arm across the table and deftly plucked the necklace from Chibi Chibi's hand, pulling her halfway across the table, and let out a low whistle. "That looks expensive. Where'd you get it?"
Chibi Chibi yanked the pendant out of her sister's grasp, and sat back down in her seat. "Malfoy gave it to me. He was apologizing." Both Hotaru and Ginny gained looks of disbelief, and Harry scowled.
"Draco Malfoy does not apologize." Chibi Chibi shook her head, and stood from her seat.
"Well, he just did, and I have it in writing. Now, I'm going to go get ready for my first class, and as far as I'm concerned, this conversation is over." Chibi Chibi turned and walked away from the table. Ginny scrambled to follow her. Harry turned to Hotaru.
"You might want to watch out for her. I wouldn't put Malfoy past luring her into a false sense of security and then hurting her." Hotaru turned in her seat and stared at Draco. She closed her eyes for a long moment, before turning back to Harry.
"He isn't evil, or at least not as evil as you think he is. He's just trying to do what is expected of him." Harry arched an eyebrow at the dark- haired girl.
"You sound so sure of that." Hotaru let the solemn look on her face slip as she smirked.
"That's because I am."
*
Hermione swiftly made her way to the library, during lunch. She had spent countless hours scouring the musty volumes that filled the room to no avail, but she had a good feeling about today. When she reached the library, she headed directly to the ancient history section. She had gone over it more than any other section, but she believed that there could be something there that would help her. Hotaru could have just as easily told her to look in a book about marks left by curses, but she hadn't. Hotaru wasn't the type of person who said something that had no meaning. If she said that the information Hermione was looking for was in this section then it was in this section.
A book that hadn't been there the day before immediately caught her eye. She pulled the book off of the shelf and studied the cover. It was adorned with an upturned crescent moon. Hermione could practically feel the excitement rising in her. She opened the cover and blinked in surprise when a piece of folded parchment fell out. She blinked a few more times before leaning over and picking up the fallen paper. Gentle fingers unfolded the paper, to reveal a letter addressed to her.
Hermione Granger,
I am aware that you have been looking for information on a few things. This book should clear up pretty much everything that is confusing you. The book is not registered in the library and now belongs to you. Do allow anyone else to see it, and never tell what you learn in its pages. Happy reading.
Usagi Black
Hermione stared at first the note and then the book with wide eyes. After a bit of hesitation, she flipped the pages until she reached one near the end of the book that's corner had been folded down. The picture on the page nearly made her drop the book. In the middle of the picture, was Professor Black, with Professor Hino to her right, Professor Aino to her left, Hotaru to Aino's left, and several other women Hermione didn't recognize, surrounding her. Hermione glanced at the text underneath the picture. 'Princess Serenity and her court'. A princess? Whatever she had been expecting, it most certainly hadn't been that. Hermione sat numbly down at a table and began reading.
'The Silver Alliance ended during the reign of Queen Serenity. The most notable thing about Serenity's time as queen would be a scandal involving her daughter, Princess Serenity. The princess had been betrothed since birth to Endymion, the prince of earth, who was her distant cousin through their mutual great-grandparents, Selene, the goddess of the moon, and Endymion, the shepherd. According to all of the legends, Serenity was content with the prospect of her marriage to Endymion, until one of her protectors, Saturn, the goddess of destruction, called Hotaru by her friends, visited the princess. With Saturn came her older brother, Shinigami, the god of death. Serenity fell in love with the reckless god, and he felt the same for her. What followed was a love affair that put Cleopatra and Caesar to shame. Unfortunately, Prince Endymion found out about the two, and on the night that his engagement to the princess was to be publicly announced, he hired a woman from his planet to attack the moon kingdom. The people of the moon fought back, but it was in vain. It ended in a brutal massacre, that only Queen Serenity survived. With what was left of her strength, she sent all of her people into the future to be reborn.
'It is said that when Serenity was killed, she was about three months pregnant, with Shinigami's child. Not much is known about this child, except that Shinigami nicknamed the unborn baby Chibi Chibi, because of its obviously small size. There are also rumors that Serenity had a younger brother. How much younger, is not known; however, it is believed that if the two had been allowed to live, that they would have become more powerful than any being before. Supposedly, they would have ultimately ascended into immortality, and together ruled over all, with the help of their spouses. If Serenity did have a brother, then it highly probable that he was the fiancé of another one of Serenity's protectors, Venus, the goddess of love, called Minako by her friends.'
Hermione turned to the next page, that had two pictures on it. The picture on top showed Sirius with his right arm around Professor Black's waist, and his left hand on Hotaru's shoulder. Underneath the picture were the words 'Serenity, Shinigami, and Saturn'. Beneath that picture was another. This one showed Professor Aino, with her back pressed against Professor Snape's chest, with his arms around her waist, and his head resting on top of hers. Underneath that picture were the words 'Venus and the supposed younger brother of Serenity'.
*
Hotaru sat in her seat in DADA. Her mother had asked her to stay after class, but so far they had done nothing but sit there. She looked up when the door creaked open, and Chibi Chibi stepped into the room. Usagi smiled and motioned for the girls to come over to her. Hotaru stood and joined her mother and sister. "What did you need to talk to us about?"
Usagi smiled wider. "Sweetheart, you can come out now." A huge black dog walked out from behind Usagi's desk, and stopped beside her. "Girls," Sirius, turned back into a human, "I would like to introduce you to your father." Hotaru stared at him for a moment, before running into his arms with a choked cry.
"PAPA!"
Chibi Chibi took a step back and gawked at him with wide eyes. Usagi turned to her younger daughter, who was looking drastically pale.
"Chibi Chibi?"
"No." The softly spoken sent shivers up the spines of the occupants of the room. Sirius released Hotaru from his embrace and stared at the daughter he had never met. Usagi's eyes narrowed as she took a step closer to Chibi Chibi.
"What do you mean, 'no'?"
"I refuse to believe that you came back now. It will be easier if I don't believe it. Why did you have to come back at all? All that you're doing is making things more complicated than they already are!" Chibi Chibi turned and ran out of the room.
*
The Gryffindor common room was a perfect picture of peaceful bliss. Small groups of students were huddled together, doing homework, talking, and basically just enjoying each other's company. The happy atmosphere was shattered when Chibi Chibi stormed into the room, her entire being radiating an anger so immense that it seemed almost tangible. Hotaru entered the room right behind her sister, and looked almost as angry. She reached out and grabbed Chibi Chibi by the arm. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?"
Chibi Chibi wrenched her arm free of Hotaru's grasp. "What's wrong? You know bloody well what is wrong! I can't deal with it Hotaru, I just can't! I don't want anymore people involved in my life, because it will just ultimately end with them getting hurt. You know everything about what is going on in my life right now. I'm afraid, Hotaru. I'm afraid that I'll hurt him even more than I already have if I get to know him. I'm afraid that I'll like him, and then have to leave him behind. If the circumstances had been different, then I would have run to him with open arms like you did, but they aren't and I can't. Don't you see? It's better this way. You just don't realize it yet." With tears streaming down her face, Chibi Chibi slowly walked up the stairs to the girls dorm rooms. Hotaru, as well as the other occupants of the room, watched her as she left. Finally, with her head bowed in resignation, Hotaru turned and left the common room through the portrait of the fat lady.
***
Kristin: So? What do you think? By the way, the quote was from The Bible. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 to be exact. *Gives a piece of chocolate to Rowan and Tomoko. Gives slightly bigger pieces of chocolate to Sellenity00000 and tenshi-chikyuu for getting the actual book. Also give Hilary half a piece of chocolate.* Okay, Hilary. Here is the deal. I've only seen a Walk to Remember once and I don't really remember the part that you're talking about. However, I do remember that the girl in the movie was a pastor's daughter, so it is possible that they got the line out of the Bible. Because of that possibility, you get half of a piece of chocolate. I hope that all of you virtually enjoy your virtual chocolate!
Special Thanks to:
Silver Dragonfly
Alexz
Adyen
Rowan
Silver Moon Goddess: You can try to sick him on me, but I don't think that he would actually attack me.I hope.
Rheia
Sailorruss
Fire Ice and Wind
Fate's Child
Tomoko
Pyra
Lady Earth Goddess: Now will you not kill me? Please?
MarsMoonStar
Sellenity00000
Solarmistress17
Celestial DreamBlaze: Hotaru will be with Harry. Ron is already with Hermione. All of the scouts, including Hotaru, Severus, and Sirius have their memories from the Moon Kingdom. The only person that doesn't remember anything is Chibi Chibi, because she wasn't born yet.
Kiyana
Tenshi-chikyuu
Yuki Kamitoki: There is a thin line between hate and love, and Chibi Chibi and Draco are about to cross it. That quote is my absolute favorite part of the Bible. I actually started to write this fic, because I wanted a story that I could use it in.
Hilary: I'm sorry about your Internet. I hope that it gets fixed soon.