Final Year: Dragons, Snakes, and Lions
Chapter One: Foreign Recognition
Japanese
{} Chinese
* * *
King's Cross-Station, London
Hermione and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, stood before the pillar, which unknown to most muggles, allows you to enter platform nine and three-quarters. This was her final year at Hogwarts: year seven. With her high scores, she was owled a letter which asked her to be head girl; she accepted gladly. She, now seventeen, was no longer the small, bushy-haired girl she once was. She stood tall and proud, her brown hair was now straight as a needle and fell past her shoulders. She wore a white, button down, collared blouse with a pair of jeans. Clean cut as always. She watched as other Hogwarts students, some first years, trying to figure out how to get into the platform. She would help, but she was a tad preoccupied with her mother babbling.
"Hermione, love, must you really go now? So soon, dear?" Mrs. Granger said in a whining voice. Even though she was a muggle, she knew it was best for her to go. Hogwarts was the best of its kind this side of the world.
"Yes, Mother. Listen, it's my last year at Hogwarts and I'm Head Girl." Hermione said. "This ought to be the best year ever, right. Don't worry I'll be back for Christmas break."
"Alright, alright, hurry or you'll miss your train!" Mrs. Granger said while shooing her daughter away.
"Ah! I'm late!" Hermione exclaimed while looking at her watch. "See you mum, dad!"
They waved her off while she ran into the wall, entering platform nine and three-quarters.
* * *
"Where are they?" Hermione mumbled to herself as she walked through the long, and old, train. She had yet to find her two best friends: Harry and Ron. (A/n: No surprise there…) She had Crookshanks, who for some reason did not want to go in its cage, balanced on her shoulder; its fluffy tail wagged. She had her school robes tucked under her arm and was still walking down the corridor, opening each compartment looking for them. She was about to give up when in one of the last few compartments left she found Ron and Harry, who weren't alone.
"Harry Potter and Ron Weasley! May I ask where you have been?" Hermione said in an irritated tone. She sat down next to Ron and Harry and looked at the two other people who were sitting across from her.
"Oh, 'mione! Uh, we're sorry! 's just that, well…err, and yeah…sorry…." Ron sputtered out. He still looked the same from when she first met him their first year, and still had bright red hair (never would have gone anyways.) He wore a green hand-me-down sweater and black pants. She glanced over at Harry and gave him a Give-an-explanation-now-or-die sort of look. Harry, like Ron, did not change a bit, except that Harry was no longer a scrawny looking small boy. He was rather muscular and tall in fact. Harry was already in his robes.
"Oh, sorry 'mione. It's just that we each got a letter from Dumbledore telling us to pick up these two," he pointed at the people across from him, "from a portkey and bring them to King's Cross. We didn't have enough time to owl you because it happened so fast."
"I see, well aren't you going to introduce me to your knew acquaintances or shall we go through the whole ride not know—hey, wait where's Crookshanks?"
The cat was no longer in her shoulder, but instead, across the compartment and atop one of the others laps. She finally looked up and examined the two new students that sat across from her.
"Hermione, I'd like you to meet Sachi and Shino. They're foreign exchange students, from Japan I think…"
She nodded. Sachi was a striking young woman, whose eyes were a flaming red. Her hair was jet black, fell to mid-back, and tied loosely in the middle by a thin red ribbon. Her shirt matched her eye color and had a black dragon winding around it. The shirt had long sleeves, which was tight around the top of her arm and progressively belled out as it went further down. The front of the shirt over lapped and tied together by Chinese style knot buttons; it had a mandarin style collar. The hemline went past her waist and stopped mid thigh making it look like a dress. There were slits on each side that went up to her waist. She wore loose black pants and black zori sandals with white tabi socks (A/n: explanations in final authors note.)
"Socks with sandals? Oh, well I'm not one to talk…" Hermione thought and then looked over to Shino.
Crookshanks balled up on Shino's lap, was purring. Shino was very handsome and actually had similar facial features as Sachi. He, like the girl next to him, had pure black hair, which spiked up with gel, had some pieces still fallen around his face. Yet, instead of having insanely red eyes, he had piercing ice blue ones. He wore black slacks, a dark blue button down shirt (cuffs undone), and black dress shoes. He had an undone tie around his neck, which had a picture of a silver dragon on it; he looked very uncomfortable.
"How…do…you…do?" she said as if she were talking to a two year old, emphasizing every word.
The three boys in the compartment either smirked or held back a laugh while Sachi glared at Hermione.
"We aren't stupid you know; we know perfect English." Sachi said harshly. Harry and Ron busted out laughing while Shino held his head in his hands shaking his head.
"Oh! S-Sorry, I-I, mean, er, oh bloody hell!" Hermione tried to apologize.
* * *
On the other side of the train:
"Drakey!" a pug-faced girl squealed.
"What do you want Pansy?" Draco said in an indifferent tone of voice.
"Guess what! There are new students!"
"No shit, Pansy." Draco snapped.
Crabbe and Goyle laughed until Draco gave them a warning glare; they immediately stopped.
"Ooh, that's so mean, Drake--"
"Stop calling me 'Drakey.'" Unfazed she continued.
"--I just wanted to let you know that there are new seventh years!"
Draco snorted. "What concern of it is mine?"
She looked hurt, "I just thought you might know 'em. They're suppose' to be real prestigious like."
"Oh, is that so? Would you happen to know their names, Pansy?"
"Err, I can't pronounce their names…it's somethin' somethin' Liang."
"Liang?...hm"
* * *
"I'm really, really sorry!"
"Will you stop already?" Sachi sighed.
Hermione and Ron each were now in their school robes; Hermione's had a new patch, which stated she was the head girl. Harry and Ron had failed to notice it. Sachi and Shino, who had not yet received their robes, stayed in their muggle clothing.
"So," Hermione finally regaining composure, "Where are you two from than?"
"Born, raised, or reside?" asked Shino.
"Erm, all?"
Sachi shrugged and responded, "China, America, Japan."
"Oh, that explains why you speak fluent English," Hermione mumbled. Harry and Ron, who were munching on candies and snacks they had just gotten, didn't hear what she said; the other two had.
"So, ysh shpek tohse lahbgahgis phloonhly? (So, you speak those languages fluently?)" Ron asked while stuffing chocolate frogs, jellybeans, and other sweets into his mouth.
"Yes, we do," Sachi said while examining a pack of Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans.
"That's amazing! You each speak the three hardest known languages, well at least in the muggle world, fluently." Hermione gaped.
"Shin, I think these people are crazy. I mean look it, Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans. It is literally every flavor! It even has bogey, vomit and grass! What did we get ourselves into?" Sachi said this, never looking at Shino, instead at Hermione, and kept a fake smile on her face so they wouldn't have an idea what she was saying. She wasn't stupid.
"Vomit? Really, that's great! Let me try!" Shino joked.
"Haha, you're an idiot."
"So, sue me?"
Hermione smiled, "Oh! You're speaking Chinese aren't you? What'd you say?"
Before one of the two could respond, a voice interrupted. "There she goes again, Granger, don't you ever stop? And no they weren't speaking Chinese; it was Japanese for your information."
There, where the compartment door was open, stood the every so cocky, Draco Malfoy. Donned in his Slytherin robes, he leaned against the wall and smirked. His typical groupies (Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy) didn't surround him. This actually surprised the three Griffindors since they usually followed him like pathetic excuses for stalkers. His hair, slicked back with gel, had two pieces that fell to the front of his face.
"Malfoy, what do you want?" Hermione hissed.
"Yeah! What do you want?" Ron seethed, emphasizing the word 'you.'
Draco's voice became stern, "I just came to see the new students, as if it were a concern to you, Mudblood."
Shino noticed Hermione flinch slightly at the word 'Mublood'.
Sachi looked at Draco curiously; he seemed familiar.
Shino confirmed her suspicions. "Draco? Whoa! It is you! Dude, what's up?"
Draco blinked for a second. Than recognition came over his eyes, "I was right, it was you two." Harry took note that Draco's voice sounded happier than it would have been under normal circumstances.
"Wait? You know this—this sleezeball?"
Only Ron and Harry heard Hermione's exclamation, but said nothing because they were to busy watching Sachi and Shino greet Malfoy—happily.
"My, my, if it isn't the Liangs'! Sheng Shi, Shen Hui, how have you two been? Sheng, I see the years treated you well."
"Wait a sec…who?" Ron asked.
Sachi looked at the ground and Shino scratched his head nervously.
"Oh, I see. You didn't tell them your proper names, did you?" Draco laughed.
"Proper names?" Hermione inquired.
"Yes, proper names. Do I have to spell it out for you Mudbl--"
"Draco, shush," Sachi interrupted, "sorry guys, my 'proper name' is Liang Sheng Shi."
"And mine is Liang Shen Hui," Shino said.
"So you two are related than?" Harry finally spoke up.
"Yes, they are Potter, they're twins. Isn't it obvious, they do look alike, don't they?" Draco replied.
For once, he was right; Harry and Ron failed to notice (again.)
"Well, what brings you two to our neck of the woods? Your parents made you come, or your work made you come?" Draco asked.
The twins' eyes widened slightly at the mention of their parents; neither responded. Draco stood up straight and actually looked concerned. Now the Gryffindors were confused out of their minds.
"Sheng Shi, what happened?" Draco asked fretful. Sachi only stared at the floor. She got up and walked out of the compartment, brushing Draco as she left. Hermione felt a tinge of jealousy for a second but brushed it off and stood up about to follow her newfound friend. As she was half way out into the hall, she felt some one grab her arm.
"Let go, Malfoy!" she yelled.
His eyes narrowed, he pushed her back into the compartment shutting the door after she was completely in. She looked up at Ron who silently fumed and Harry who just sat there, staring at the door. She looked to her side where Shino sat only to find Crookshanks sitting on an empty seat, meowing.
* * *
The corridors of the Hogwarts Express seemed to narrow even more are Sachi rushed through; claustrophobia did not help at all. She ducked into the next compartment, closed the door, and opened the windows. She knew they were tailing her; her brother was always the worrywart.
"Probably only wants to know why we're here," she grumbled, referring to Draco, as she stood before the wide-open window.
"{Sachi! What's wrong with you? I thought you could handle it after all this time, you always had. Why the sudden break down? It should be me, not you.}"
She turned around to see her twin babbling so she just sat down closed her eyes, and slowly fell asleep. Shino, through his rant, noticed his one-person audience wasn't even attentive anymore. His eyes grief-stricken, he sat across from her and watched her nap silently.
* * *
Ron was cursing and going on about Malfoy was an idiot and such aloud forgetting about the reason that he was doing so in the first place—Hermione. Harry, who kept staring at the door as if expecting something or someone, was now helping her up.
"Of all the nerves, he literally shoved her to--"
"Ahem," Hermione cleared her throat trying to interrupt Ron.
"--the ground, and with out emotion like the snake he is. A cold-blooded--"
"Ron," she tried again. Harry sat down watching events unfold. Ron was still in his trance not stopping and yelling at the door.
"--one, I tell you. He has no sense of right or--"
"Ron!" she said a bit louder hoping to shake him out of it.
"--wrong! Pushing down a lady like Hermione!"
"RON WEASLY! SNAP OUT OF IT YOU NUT!"
He fell back from shock; Hermione scowled.
* * *
Draco, who was out of breath by the time he found the right compartment, opened the door rather forcefully causing a loud crashing sound. He saw Shino looking out the window watching the scenery blur. Sachi had unconsciously hugged her legs and leaned against the wall for a more comfortable position. She was still asleep even after that loud crash. Shino slowly turned around to see Draco; he clutched his chest, and sat down so he could catch his breath. He had to run to the other side of the train before he found them. Shino sat next to his twin and across from Draco who seemed calmer now. Now one spoke for several minutes. The only noise came from the wind, which blew through the wide-open windows and the threes' deep and quiet breaths.
Draco finally broke the silence, "What happened?"
"Death, Draco, Death," was Shino's response in a saddened, quiet voice; almost like a whisper. "It's horrible to lose people close to you. Do you know the feeling? Perhaps not…"
"I do know the feeling. But who did it?"
"Don't know; that's one reason why we're here."
"Oh."
The silence continued for more than an hour--a long silent hour that would have made any normal person scream from the lack of, well, anything.
"Hogwarts, of all places, why are you here?" Draco wondered aloud.
Shino grinned slightly, "A job, dude, why else? The people here give me the creeps."
"Hah, at least I got to you guys first before the dream team could infect your minds."
The two laughed for a bit but the prolonged silence came over again.
"What kind of job?"
"We sent some people over here to pick up stuff. Ya' know, work, but the problem is that they never came back or made contact. We gotta find them..." Shino's voice dropped to just above a whisper as he progressed through his comment.
"Oh," Draco mumbled something like 'that's not it.' Shino, having sensitive ears heard and responded. Of course, much to Draco's shock.
"A lead."
"A lead?" Draco questioned. "What do you mean?"
"On a job, we found these guys—all British, English, what ever. Anyway, they looked like Satanists or cult members or something of the sort. Well they all had the same mark on them—a serpent coming out of a skulls mouth."
Draco suddenly felt uneasy and stared at the floor as Shino continued.
"Well, we were supposta drag this old, one-handed, whack job back to the bosses for questioning…well anyways the guy—Wormtail I think--started freakin' and stuff and sayin' how his lord will come for him and junk. After we scared the coot stiff, he poured his yellow-bellied guts. He said," Shino cleared his throat and started speaking in an odd voice, like Kermit the frog on drugs plus an over-grown troll, "'the lord made me do it! He told us that if we didn't get them, we'd perish! I don't want to perish! I only obey the lord!' and crap like that. The man was a loon but then he said, 'If you want to know about your parents, go find Dumbledore! Go to Hogwarts where he lives! My lord hates him, as must I, I only tell you for fear of punishment. Let me go now! Let me be!' Then the guy did this like poof thing, and then he's gone. The elders briefed us, sent us through this zappy thing that looked like a boot to get us to England; I think it's called a portkey. Then we got picked up by dumb and dumber. And now here we are—sitting in this damn compartment having this ever so lovely conversation."
Draco gulped, put on a fake smile, scratched his head, and forced a laugh. What Draco forgot was that Shino could spot nervousness a mile away.
"Dude, what?"
Draco tugged on his collar, "Nothing, nothing at all," he mumbled looking down at his watch. "We're almost there. You ready? If you think the dream teams odd, you're going to see a whole school of loons."
Shino stood up, "As ready as I'll ever be, but seriously man, loons dude. Loons! Crazies! A school full of eccentric dolts!"
"Oh, now I'm offended, Shen!" Draco said sarcastically. "Tsk, Tsk, you may be in a school full of 'crazies' but they still have their magic. Some are powerful, like I," Malfoy gave a lopsided grin, "wouldn't go making friends with the wrong sort, will you now?"
"Wrong kind, hm…Wouldn't dream of it, Malfoy!" Shino grinned, walked over to the other side of the compartment and closed the windows. As soon as all the windows closed, Sachi began stirring in her slumber.
"Mmmhmmm, ramennnnn! Ooh, pizza…pizza…" she mumbled but still fast asleep.
Draco laughed but Shino banged his head on the wall. "DAMNIT! I want pizza, too!"
This only made Draco laugh harder; he was practically on the floor.
* * *
[Authors Rant: Well people, how was it? I intend to make this story long, but not drawn out. If there are any questions, feel free to e-mail me at b3atr3d@yahoo.com. This story is going to be written with the help from my friend Alley, who knows a hell of a lot more about Hogwarts than I do. Please review, even flames are welcome. Also, do not take Shino or Sachi, because they are my original characters. Aside from that fact, almost all the other characters are not mine, and I give full credit to their respective owner(s). As I had said before, please review, Alley and I like feedback.
To see what Zori sandals or Tabi socks look like go here: http://www.garden-gifts.com/zori.htm]