What Lies in a Spell
By Lunar Princess
Chapter one:
Bottomless Pit Odangos!

It had been a year since that fateful day, when she came home to find herself homeless once more. But unlike last time, she was old enough to have memories of her past.
Usagi rolled onto her back, and stared up at the ceiling. It had been another long night for her. She yawned, feeling drowsy, but alert all at the same time.
Before, she had only been an infant, left on a doorstep of an orphanage. She had been left in an aging caretakers care for four years. And then she had been adopted.
Sighing, the blonde threw her blankets off her tiny form, and sat up with a grunt of annoyance. She threw her legs over the side of the bed, and stared out her window.
The Tsukino's were a loving family, and had taken great care of her. They had loved her from the day they adopted her, till a year from today.
Usagi groaned, feeling the threat of tears. She forced herself to stand on a pair of long legs at the side of her bed. Yes a long night indeed.
They had died a year ago from today, leaving behind Usagi and her younger brother Shingo.
Stretching her arms over her head, Usagi yawned lazily. Another boring day at school. She turned; looking down at her unmade bed, and sighed. Taking the blankets, she recklessly made her bed, taking care to hide any evidence of her lack of neatness. Couldn't have her aunt seeing her messy bed.
After their parent's death, Shingo and her mother's sister came to take them to her home. They never knew they had an aunt they had never met her before. But the young woman had shown proof, and took them under her care.
Usagi glanced at the picture on her nightstand, and smiled warmly. Her parents were filled with such joy, and hope that day the picture had been taken. It had been a long picnic with just the four of them. Shaking her head, Usagi pulled away, pushing back the unwanted memories. The past could be too painful to bear sometimes.
Their aunt was strange indeed, seemingly lonely. Her home held no warmth anywhere, even though the colors of each room showed she tried to display it. Their aunt wasn't strict unless it came to rules, and schoolwork. She wasn't a cruel woman either, but was aloof.
Usagi lifted her head, as the door to her room opened. Her aunt stepped into the room. "Obason, good morning."
The woman smiled slightly, "Morning Usagi, are you almost ready for school?" Usagi shook her head yes, and replied, "Almost I'll be down in a minute."
The young woman in the doorway nodded, but before she turned to leave, she stated hesitantly, "I got you something, its down in the kitchen, Shingo kun has already gotten his..." she stiffly nodded, her face stern, but her eyes filled with meaning. She then left Usagi alone in her room. The woman was strange indeed. Shingo and Usagi knew nothing about her, and yet she knew quite a lot about them.
Fluffing her pillow, she tossed it at the head of her bed, and moved to her dresser. Tapping sound at her window, made her pause.
Squawk!
Usagi whirled around; her eyes stared out her window, expecting to find a bird perched there. But there was nothing, and she half wondered if she was loosing it.
Shaking her head, Usagi turned back to her dresser, and continued her search for her clothes.
Nearly an hour later, Usagi skipped from her room, dressed in her junior high school uniform. She grinned, as she bounded down the stairs, heading for the kitchen. So what if she was running late...again. It was the last day of school, and soon she would be free.
She slipped into the kitchen, her blonde pigtails whipping at the air behind her. "Morning Shingo chan, morning Obason." She greeted them both with a big smile, as she took her seat at the table. A plate lay out before her, and it smelled grand.
"You're late as usual Odango." Her brother sneered; his blue eyes glittered with mirth. Her darling littler brother. His hair unkempt, and a dirty brown color looked unbrushed as always.
Usagi smiled, not the least bit hurt by his cruel nickname, which insulted her hair. She reached over ruffling his own hair, and asked, "If I'm running late, why are you still eating?"
The boy flushed, his cheeks staining red. He looked down at his plate of toast smothered in jelly. "Obason offered us a ride to school." He looked up, his face suddenly light up. "You have got to see what I got." He leaped from the table, and scrambled out of the room in a rush.
Usagi shook her head, and turned to look at the older woman. Their Obason was very lovely, but looked so young. She looked no older than 21, but the woman was so smart, so mature, that she acted way beyond her years.
Usagi snorted, what was she thinking? She shook her head to clear it.
She stared at her Obason's back with a frown. "Is something wrong Usagi kun?" Flustered, Usagi shook her head, "Iie Obason." She turned her attention back to her plate, as Shingo raced into the room.
"Look Usagi, Obason got me this!" He held out his arm, and perched there was a beautiful spotted owl. It looked large for its size, and Usagi wondered how her tiny brother held the thing on his arm.
"It very cute Shingo chan."
The boy snorted in disdain, "its not cute Odango atama." Back to his cruel nickname for her, but at least it was better than Meatball brains.
She smiled, "Gomen Shingo. What did you name it?" Shingo plopped down at the table, and replied simply, "Lithe, Obason helped me pick a name for her."
Usagi nodded, and she didn't bother asking where the name Lithe came from. She picked up her toast, and started eating. She barely finished one slice of toast, when she felt eyes boring into her.
Pursing her lips together, Usagi turned to her brother, "Nani?" The boy flushed, "don't you want to know what Obason got you?" Usagi blinked, and she suddenly remembered their aunt had said something about it up in her room earlier.
Their Aunt slipped into a chair at the table, and picked up her fork to eat. "Eat up, or we are going to be late for your last day of school."
Usagi turned her eyes to her aunt, a frown playing on her face. She had almost sounded as if Shingo and her weren't ever going back. Shaking it off as her imagination, she pushed her plate forward.
Shingo stared, "You're not eating?" Usagi shook her head, "iie, I'm not that hungry. " Shingo gaped, "Bottomless pit Odangos not hungry?"
Usagi scowled, "You little spore!" Shingo grinned, leaping back from the table. The owl whined, taking flight, and landed on the table.
Squawk!
Usagi paused, looking at the bird oddly, but shook her head. What was wrong with her today?
She turned to look at her brother, and sighed when she realized her had ran off. Collecting all the plates, she took them to the sink, and started to wash them.
Her aunt came up from behind her. "Not feeling well Usagi?" The blonde shook her head, as she set a clean plate in the empty sink.
A slender hand touched her shoulder, and Usagi looked up startled. A pair of garnet eyes stared down at her with concern. "Obason?"
The tall woman sighed deeply, "Usagi..."
Squawk!
Usagi looked out the kitchen window, to see an owl on the window seal. It hit the glass with its beak, tapping it as if to get her attention. "Uh...Obason is that normal?" She pointed at the bird.
The older woman frowned, thin dark brows drawing together. She reached up, and lifted the window, and took the two letters, as the owl flew off.
Usagi looked at them, "Ones for me? And Shingo? When did owls start delivering the mail?"
Her Obason set them on the counter, "lets get you two off to school." She shut the faucet off, and led Usagi to the door. "Shingo, come on we're leaving!"
Usagi frowned, a golden brow raising in question, "Obason what are you hiding?" She planted her feet firmly into the carpet, and stood before the front door.
The young woman sighed, her eyes softening, "Now is not the time to disgust the past Usagi."
"I'm ready, so lets go. I put Lithe in her cage, and gave her lots of food and water." Shingo slipped passed Usagi, and out the door. He shifted his book bag in his hands, and turned. "Come on, I don't want to be late for the last day of school. Lets go!"
Usagi stared at him, and nodded. She was very proud of him, for being brave, and strong. After their parent's death, she had been so worried about him, but he pulled through.
She stood in the doorway, watching him. He was only 11 years old, growing taller each day, and soon he would be taller than her. "I'm ready." She skipped out of the house, to stand next to him. "Ready to say good-bye to all of your friends?"
He nodded, his face beaming, "Hai, I can't wait till summer. What will be doing this summer Obason?"
The woman shut the front door, and followed the two out to her car. "Time will soon tell us what will happen in our near future."
Usagi frowned, thinking over the older woman's words, as she slipped into the front seat. Shingo replied, "What do you mean Obason?"
"Wait and see Shingo, wait and see."

?????

Meiou Setsuna seated herself at the kitchen table as she waited for the time to strike 3. The kids would be home soon.
She had never planed on playing the aunt for so long, in fact, it had lasted too long. She should have done this long ago, but after the death of the children's parents, she wouldn't dare send them away. Not so soon.
She lifted the teacup, and sipped at the hot green tea it held. She sighed in contempt, feeling the soothing liquid roll down her throat and into her stomach.
The clock chimed, and the two owls standing on the table, glared at it.
Squawk!
She smirked, "Now, now you two, mind your manners." The front door swung open, "All right Obason you have some explaining to do."
"Odango have you lost your marbles. You don't talk to your elders like that!"
The 14-year-old blonde stormed into the kitchen, with her younger brother following close behind. "Odango atama!"
Usagi paused, as she eyed the two birds, which were perched on the edge of the table. She recognized Lithe, but the black one was new to her.
"More owls?"
Setsuna nodded, and pulled out the chair next to her. "Please sit, I believe it is finally time I explain myself."
Usagi nodded, plopping down into the chair. Shingo took a seat next to her. "Can someone tell me what going on?"
The older woman nodded, "Hai. These came this morning." She passed out the two letters to them. "You might want to take a look at them."
Usagi tore the envelope open, and opened the card. A few moments later, she looked up at her aunt. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" She stared at the woman she called aunt, and wondered if maybe she wasn't the only one loosing her mind.
Setsuna nodded, as she sat back. "Hai, I know it sound ridiculous to you, but you will soon understand."
Usagi sat up straight, "Understand what exactly?"
Setsuna bit her tongue from blurting out anything that didn't need to be said. She forced herself to relax, before she looked Usagi straight in the eye.
"Tsukino Usagi, you are not your average day girl. You are a witch...don't give me that look, hear me out, before you start spouting curses and such." She paused briefly, only to continue right away. "Your real okaasan was a sorceress, and your real Otosan was a sorcerer.
"You are 14 years old, and soon will be reaching a point in you life, where your abilities wont be so easy to pass off. That is why I am forced to send you here, to Hogwarts."
Usagi stared at the older woman, torn between believing her, or shouting for the asylum to come take her away. As if seeing her discomfort, Setsuna added hastily, "I understand this will all come to a shock to you, but think about your past. Think back to all the things that happened in your life, you couldn't explain." She crossed her arms over her chest, and waited.
The blonde caught her lower lip between her teeth, and thought back on all the weird things that had happened when she was around.
"What about me? How am I going to Hogwarts too?"
Usagi shook herself from the past, to look at her younger brother. He had a point.
Setsuna replied matter of factly, "Its because you are a half wizard. Your father came from a long line of Wizards and Witches."
Usagi frowned, not liking where all of this was going. It wasn't like you wake up one morning another person everyday. It just didn't feel right.
"Why are you telling us this, now? Assuming it's all true, and you're not out of your mind." Setsuna smirked, "I would have told you sooner, but after the accident, I couldn't. So I decided to wait another year."
Usagi pushed herself up from her chair, and began to pace. "This is jus too unreal. You have finally snapped Obason."
Shingo scowled, "Odango atama you baka!" Usagi shot him a dirty look. She held up the letter, and studied her name in golden print.
"You can't change who you are Usagi, you are a witch, and it is my job to make sure you get to Hogwarts." The blonde looked at the dark haired woman, and shook her head. "What's so important about going to Hogwarts? I'm doing fine so far."
Setsuna stood, and planted a firm hand on the table's surface. "Your past lies within Hogwarts walls. If you go there, you finally know where you belong."
"She is right."
Usagi paled, her eyes widening in horror, as she slowly turned her head to look at the black owl. The owls garnet eyes glittered beneath the lights of the kitchen. "I don't feel good." She held her forehead, and tried to catch her racing heart.
Setsuna place her hands on Usagi's shoulders, and forced the blonde to look at her, "To find your future, you must understand the present, but to understand your present, you must know your past."
Shingo looked from one to the other, and sighed dejectedly, "Here we go again, another girl talk." He removed himself from the table, and stared for the living room. Calling Lithe, he held out his arm, like he had seen heroes did, in comic books.
Lithe obeyed, landing gracefully on his arm, as he left the kitchen.
"I have to face my past?"
Her aunt nodded, her eyes filled with warmth. "Hai Usagi, even if the truth of your past hurts."
Usagi slowly nodded, "then I guess I have no choice."