I'M SORRY!!!  I'M SO SO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY!!! **cries**  I meant to put this up like, a month ago, but I just got stuck and it wouldn't come and then there was work and modelling and school and exams and college applications and scholarships and I'M SO STRESSED OUT X.X;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;  PLEASE  I BEG FORGIVENESS.

Please don't hate me for my lack of updatey-ness.  Anyway, now that that's over and done with, I want to thank all of you who reviewed.  I'm sorry to disappoint you U.U  But thank you for boosting my spirits.  I'll answer them now, seeing as how I've been late on my chapters.  I usually answer them personally, in e-mails, but I decided to do this for once:

Cherychery, sakura blsm, and emerald tenshi: thanks!  I'm glad you all like my story.

Lady Tomoyo:  I really really tried, and it finally came to me!  I hope this is up to your expectations.

Megami no Hikari a.k.a. KAN-CHAN ^.^:  Thanks for reading my story!  I'm glad you like.  I love your stories too, and I've been meaning to read your new one, but as much as I love E&T, I'm more of an S&S person.  Maybe it's just cause I love Eriol so much I just want him all to myself ^.^

, , and …….??????????: uh, yeah.  Here ya go.  I hope you like.

Danielle Ngo:  Hehe, ^.^;;;;;  How's this?

Jen: sorry it wasn't sooner.  U.U

Kawaii-Fairy-Emma:  YES!  S&S FOREVER!  And thanks for putting me on your favourites ^.^

Kawaiitenshisakura: I'm sorry you had to wait so long! 

Victor:  Sorry it wasn't before Wednesday, but you should be back by now, right? Hehe U.U;;  And I didn't know he could do that either.  But it is a fairly simple task.  I wouldn't be surprised.

Suki:  I'm glad you like my story and I totally agree that it needs more action.  Trust me, I'm getting there.  I just need to set the background so everybody doesn't have to be all confused when it gets action packed.  And I love your reviews ^.^  they keep me going!

Crystal-kitty 2003:  I know this probably wasn't soon enough, and I hope you're still reading my story.  I understand if you're not cause I have this tendency to not update in a long time.  Sorry U.U

Eva:  I hope you're still reading my story.  If you are, I hope your questions have been answered.  If they haven't, just e-mail me and I'll try to explain a little without giving away too much.

Jenny: Thanks.  I know I was doing better before, but I hope to get back into the swing of things.

Sugar:  Well, I wrote more when you updated.  Does that count?

ANIME CRAZY PANDA (whom I suspect to be Danielle Ngo, I wonder why. . . .):  Yeah.  Uh, I wrote more then.

KawaiinessPnay: thank you for reviewing!  I'm glad you like the story.

Xtremeshorty: thanks.  I'm glad you like the first chapter.

Now, on with the story.

~*~*~*~

            He wasn't sure of where he was.  It seemed like a cave, murky and dreary, but it could've been a basement as well.  Whatever he was in, it was dark and cold.  The place reminded him of the Chamber of Secrets from his second year at I.

            There was suddenly a flash of green light, and many torches were lit leading up a long stone walkway to a large looming shadow.  The dim light stayed away from the circle of darkness that seemed impenetrable and hung like a thick fog around the area at the end of the long path.

            Behind him, was a pathetic sort of sound; a whimpering that sounded much like an animal would make.  The whimpering was followed by a soft scurrying, shoes clicking on stone.  He turned slightly to see a small man clasping his hands together and walking quickly forward.  The small man was the cause of the whimpering, he noticed, as the poor fellow regarded the darkness before him with stark terror in his eyes.

            He followed the man until he was at the bottom of a few steps leading up onto a short dais and into the centre of the evil foreboding shadow.  In front of him, the tiny body threw itself at the foot of the stairs and cried out.

            The dark shadow seemed to begin pulsing and immediately he fell to his feet clutching his forehead.  It was all he could do not to scream out in agony.

            "Well?"  A voice hissed.

            The small man squeaked.  "T-they're gone."

            Instead of roaring with anger, the voiced slithered like a snake from the darkness in a soft and deadly tone.  "What?"

            "W-we found the h-house, b-b-but they w-were gone."

            "I want those cards, Wormtail.  They are the key to finding the Tear, and I want them."

            The man trembled visibly.  "Y-yes m-master."  He piped.  He quickly got up to leave and made it about halfway back before the voice hissed again

            "And Wormtail," It said.  The man turned and a red beam of light shot out from the darkness.  "You will not fail me again."  The statement was easily drowned out by the screams echoing on the stone walls of the chamber.  The small body contorted in different positions as it was racked by pain, and it seemed to be reflected in the body of the young boy.

            He looked up and in the darkness saw two slits of glowing red.  The eyes of Voldemort pierced through Harry's body like the screams of Wormtail, and as darkness claimed him, he felt only fear.

~*~*~*~

            Silence claimed the halls of Hogwarts, but as Harry Potter lay awake in his bed, breathing heavy and rapid, the serenity of that silence was broken.

            Bright green eyes searched wildly for any sort of comfort.  He climbed out of bed and rummaged through his trunk, searching for the photo album that Hagrid had given him for his birthday (er, something like that, I can't really remember).  He found it wrapped safely in a blanket and brought it out, then grabbed his wand and headed down to the common room.  He lit the fire with a charm he had learned and made himself comfortable on a large fluffy arm chair.  Shivering at the memory of those blood red eyes, Harry opened the book at smiled at the happy waving couple that were his parents.

            "I wish you could help me understand this."  He whispered to the book.  "I really need help."  The figures on the page looked up at him with sad smiles on their tiny faces.  Harry sighed and closed the book, placing it on his lap.  He was happy tomorrow was Saturday; it would give him some time to sort out the dreams he had been having and talk to Ron and Hermione about them.

            It was already the middle of October and for the month and a half since school started, strange dreams plagued Harry on a regular basis.  They usually revolved around Voldemort somehow, but were still very cryptic.  Some of them depicted a strange group in the shadows, others a vibrant garden full of life.  Each new morning he would wake struggling to remember and decipher the mysterious dreams.  To help, he began writing in a journal all the dreams he had; a suggestion on Hermione's part.

            Harry sighed and rubbed the rest of blessed unconsciousness from his eyes as the sun began to rise.  He decided to go down to breakfast early for a little time to himself.  Since Dumbledore had cancelled the Quidditch season due to the safety of the students, he really had nothing left to do besides schoolwork.  He didn't see Hermione complaining about that.

            Down in the Great Hall, only a few students sat reading quietly or eating their breakfast.  Harry shrugged his shoulders and plopped down at the empty end of the Griffindor table and picked at some bacon.  He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but when Ron and Hermione came running in, his bacon and eggs were stone cold.

            Hermione sprinted over as soon as she spotted him, eyes wide with anticipation.  Ron lagged behind, considerably less enthusiastic.  "Harry!  Harry, guess what!"  Hermione squealed.  "I've got it!  I've found it!  Oh, you won't believe it!"

            Harry stared at her as if she were a banshee.  He looked behind her at Ron who shrugged and yawned and was suddenly being pulled and literally dragged through the hallways.  "Hermione, where are we going?" He asked.

            "To the Library!" She replied.  "So I can show you what I found."

~*~In the Library~*~

            Hermione led them to a table near the back and pulled out a rather large book.  "I was thinking about those dreams you've been having and about those things you said You-Know-Who was looking for.  Some sort of cards and a tear.  Then it came to me."  She flipped through the book.  "This is a dictionary of the greatest and most powerful magical artefacts in the world."  She told them.

            Something dawned on Harry.  "That's the book we used four years ago; to find out about the Sorcerer's stone, isn't it?"

            Hermione nodded furiously, a bright smile on her face.  "So I thought I'd look it up in here, and I found it!"

            "Ok, so what are they?" Ron asked.

            Hermione propped the book up and began to read.  "'The Cards of the Clow, or Clow Cards, are one of the most powerful forces on the planet.  They were created by the great sorcerer Clow Reed by combining both eastern and western magic (a.n: is that right?) and locked in the Book of the Clow before he died, ensuring that they would remain safe from the hands of evil.'  That's got to be what he's after."  She concluded.

            "Wow," breathed Ron.  "One of the most powerful forces on the planet?"

            "So what about the other one?"  Harry interrupted.  "The Lover's Tear?"

            "Right."  Hermione flipped a couple of pages and began reading again.  "'The Lover's Tear: said to be only part of an ancient legend.  Created from the love between the Angel Princess and the Daemon Prince as they lay dying in each other's arms.  Incredibly powerful, as it houses both their power, and the power of their betrothed's.'"

            "Well that was rather confusing."  Ron commented.

            "The Clow cards are the key to finding the Lover's Tear.  They're both powerful artefacts.  Makes sense why Voldemort would want them." Harry thought out loud, making Ron and Hermione wince at the name.

            "But how is he going to find them?  More importantly, how are we going to stop him from finding them?"

            "I've got a hunch," Hermione started "that those foreign students aren't who they seem."

            "What are you talking about, Hermy?"  Ron asked.

            "I think, they may be working for You-Know-Who."  Harry and Ron stared at her in stunned silence.  Suddenly, Ron started laughing his head off.

            "Good one Hermione," he managed.  "Foreign students, working for You-Know-Who."

            Hermione looked angry.  "Oh come off it, Ron.  Do you really think it's a coincidence that five new students come here and Harry starts having weird dreams at night?  I mean, they may be inept at using magic, God knows how they actually got here, but they could still pose a formidable threat."

            "Ron's right, Hermione.  You've seen Sakura in class.  She's better than you are-no offence."

            Hermione fumed.  "Fine!  Then maybe they are really good at using magic."

            "Besides, do you really think Dumbledore would let them in here if they were bad?"

            "He's been fooled before."  She replied stonily.  As much as Harry hated to admit it, she was right.  In the first year, Dumbledore had taken the bait and left the castle the night the Sorcerer's Stone was almost stolen.  And just the year before he had appointed a fake Mad Eye Moody as a teacher.  "I think they may have cast a spell on the Sorting Hat, making it put them in Gryffindor so they can be closer to Harry.  Don't you notice how they're always the last two down to breakfast every morning?  And how Sakura isn't even in History of Magic with us?"  It was true.  Thanks to Sakura's fear of ghosts, Professor Dumbledore had asked Meiling to tutor her.

            "Now Hermione, don't go jumping to conclusions.  There may be a reasonable explanation for all of this."  Ron tried to reason.

            But Hermione had had enough.  "Fine."  She said, standing up and slamming the book shut.  "Fine.  Don't listen to what I have to say.  But don't come crawling back when Voldemort is holding both the cards and the tear in his hands."  She stuck her nose in the air and stomped out of the library.

            Harry sighed.  "I guess we pushed her too far this time."

            "She's just jealous, that's all."  Ron said quietly staring after her.  "There has to be a reasonable explanation for all of this."

            Harry nodded and was about to stand when the door slammed open.

            "Meiling, this is a library.  Must you go stomping around everywhere?  I thought our training taught you better than that."  Came Syaoran's cold voice through the shelves.  Harry looked at Ron who looked back and both stood as quietly as possible and hid behind the farthest shelf just as the group came around the corner.

            "I was just checking to see if anyone was in here.  Can't be too careful you know."  She replied propping herself on the table (a.n.: Um, I don't know what their library looks like, so I'm just gonna picture mine).  Syaoran scowled and crossed his arms across his chest, leaning against a nearby wall.  Eriol stood closest to the shelf hiding Harry and Ron, while Sakura sat next to Meiling and Tomoyo stood in a far corner facing them and taping the whole thing.

            Sakura gazed thoughtfully at the ceiling.  "So, do you think anyone suspects us?"  Harry's eyes widened.

            "I doubt it," Meiling replied.  "It's not like these people can sense auras or anything.  And even if they could, nobody except the teachers even knows the cards or the Tear exists."  Harry couldn't believe his ears.  No, he thought.  No, Ron's right . . . there's a reasonable explanation for this.  He assured himself.

            "Right."  Eriol put in.  "Nobody knows why we're here, and we're going to keep it that way."

            Syaoran nodded gruffly.  "I just hope Kinomoto-sensei finds the Tear soon so we can leave this stupid place and go home."

            "What about the old dingbat?"  Meiling asked.  "What are we supposed to do if he finds out about us?"

            Syaoran shrugged.  "Kill him.  And his horde of pathetic followers."

            "What about Harry Potter?"  Sakura asked quietly.  "Wouldn't it be wrong of us to do that to him?"  Behind the shelf of books, Harry began to sweat.

            "We have no choice.  Unless luck is with us, we'll have to."  Eriol confirmed.

            "His lack of ability won't stop anything from happening."  Syaoran responded impassively.

            "The same goes for us, Syaoran."  Sakura reminded him.

            Syaoran scowled and turned his head to hide his blush while Meiling smiled brightly.  "Hey!  Have you forgotten about who we are?  We've been trained under the best there is.  These wizards will be nothing compared to what we've been through."

            Eriol smiled his infuriatingly calm/always there smile.  "Why thank you, my other little descendant."

            Syaoran's scowl deepened.  "You're only half; you don't count."

            Sakura hopped off the table with a feline grace.  "It's almost lunch time.  We should go."  The rest of the group murmured their agreement and followed her out (a.n.: did I mention it's Saturday?)

            Once they were gone, Harry let out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding.  He glanced over at Ron who looked about as scared as he felt.  Almost as if they could read each others thoughts, both of them stood and ran out of the library as fast as they could, into the deserted hallway and up to the Gryffindor common room.  They collapsed instantly on the floor in front of a very angry looking Hermione.

            Ron was panting and having a hard time breathing.  "Hermi-(pant)-one . . . right-(gasp)-foreign . . . students working-(pantgasp)-for . . . dark . . . lord . . ."

            Though shock was apparent in her brown eyes, Hermione kept the look of vain annoyance.  "I thought I told you not to come running to me." She hissed.

            Harry shook his head fiercely not wanting to hear her anger.  "Hermione, we're sorry.  But right now there's a greater evil at hand."  He pushed.  "Sakura and her friends are after the cards and the tear.  They're going to give them to Voldemort and kill Dumbledore."

            "Well then, what are we waiting for?"  Hermione asked, snapping the book she was reading shut.  Ron and Harry sighed with relief.  "We've got some research to do."

~*~*~*~

I realize that was a lame ending, but I couldn't figure out how to end it.  I know it sounds bad, but you know Sakura and the gang would never do that!  Just have to wait till the next chapter to find out what's up!

And I am now giving you fair warning.  I will be entering the fourth and final quarter of my last year of high school in two days.  That means 6 classes, finals, a job, college applications, a possible future career, graduations, PROM, May Day, and a social life to work around.  Not to mention I'm in the process of writing a book that I would like to get published before I turn 20 in 2 years.  I have that posted too, in FictionPress.Net.  The point is, I will be even more stressed and have more writer's block than I do now.  I haven't updated Outcasts in like three months.

Anywho, thanks for reading, I hope you like it.  Don't forget to review and yell at me for being LATE.

~*~SilverAngel~*~