Another one, yea!

Quote: "I fear I might make things difficult for you…" –Clow Reed

Disclaimer: DO I GOTTA KEEP SAYIN' IT!? I DON'T OWN 'EM!

Jaded Angels and Silken Blossoms

Chapter 13: Departure

            "Good morning, everyone," I said as I carried my pack and suitcase. Since there were very few people left at Hogwarts for the holidays, there were only two breakfast tables. One for those staying at Hogwarts and one for those leaving it.

            Eriol smiled at me broadly when he saw the team I had collaborated.

            "You've made excellent choices, Angel, I'm very proud of you," he said. "Now, I'm sure some of you are wondering why you're here. Our mission is simple; to find as many people with magic in them as possible. Our destination is Japan. We're headed for the small town of Tomoeda, the central hub of magical runoff in Japan. There is no magical government in Japan, and our duty is to educate and establish a magical community in the country."

            "We're helping them build a Western magic government?" Justin blinked twice. "Shouldn't we try and find the more powerful Eastern magical people?"

            "Unfortunately, the magical community has no real learning center in Japan," Eriol said. "They are scattered and few, and even those with powerful magical potential have no idea what it is they can do. There are books to help them learn, of course, but they are here in England, printed by the old masters and forgotten by their families. The magical community in the East is dying and we are the only ones who can stop it."

            "We're saving them, then?" said Blaise. "Or gathering allies in the fight against Voldemort?"

            Several things happened at once at this comment. There were several quick gasps, followed by Ron falling off his seat and shouting about not saying his name. Hermione and I just looked at her keenly, uncertain. Justin yelped and followed Ron to the floor. Sunny looked around at everyone's reactions, looking, if possible, more clueless. Harry and Draco, though it seems impossible, had almost identical reactions; curiosity. Eriol just smiled.

            "Both, Blaise," Eriol said. "Unfortunately for the majority of the Western magical community, they are oblivious to the fact that Voldemort is still alive."

            Ron and Justin clambered back into their seats, both muttering about saying the name. Neither looked very pleased with themselves or Blaise or Eriol.

            "How do you know the Dark Lord is still alive?" Draco drawled. "My Father says that he died the night he defeated him." He jerked his thumb toward Harry rudely and Eriol smiled.

            "No, no, I've a very keen sense for this sort of thing," he smiled at Harry. "Although quite weakened by your show, Harry, Voldemort is still alive. I was ten years old when he fell from power, and I'm glad for it.

            "Now, enough about that. We'll be leaving as soon as breakfast is over. The London International Airport is our destination," his blue eyes twinkled again. He was looking at me. Why? "We'll be taking what's called a 'jumping flight', so you'll all have to stick close. Especially those who have never taken an airplane before."

            "Great," I murmured. "A jumping flight. I hate those."
            "Well, unfortunately, it's too far to fly on brooms, and a ship would take an eon to get there," he smiled, eating some sugared porridge. "And they haven't any Floo Powder passages, as those in the East don't even know what Floo Powder is. And we'd need a fireplace, which most places in Japan don't have. Now everyone eat up, then we'll be on our way."

            As soon as we had our fill of bacon, cheese, eggs, porridge, and sausages, the table cleared up on its own. Dumbledore came over from the other table, telling the other people to leave. It was only Fred, George, Percy, Heather, and Terry there, after all. Well, besides the teachers, who were all opted to stay.

            "This trip is very important," Dumbledore said, stressing every word. "If we are to have an Eastern magical world at all, this trip must be a success. Find as many ten-year-olds with magical ability as you possibly can. And Angel…let the Light guide you with the Dark. The Star will watch you."

            "Huh?"

            "Just remember that," Dumbledore smiled. "And everyone, remember your own special spell of protection. I will speak it in Japanese, as you must all remember it in that language."

            We all paid immediate attention.

            "Daijoubu desu," he said. "It means 'I will be all right'."

***

            It seems that most everyone took Eriol literally, because there were only eighteen bags in all. I sent Sakura back to my parents, telling her to come the other way around the world if she needed to come see me. Harry asked me to send Hedwig with her, and I obliged. The only one with a pet who stayed with him was Ron, who carried Scabbers inside a pocket.

            We all changed into Muggle clothes once we reached Hogsmeade station, where we would take a train to King's Cross Station. From King's Cross, we'd take a few taxi cabs to London International, where we would meet at Terminal 12B. Eriol separated us into twos and gave us specific instructions for when we reached the airport.

            Hermione and I were paired together, of course. Eriol stayed with Blaise and Draco, the only non-Muggle pair. Sunny and Justin were both Muggle-borns. Harry, though wizard-born, had been raised by his Muggle aunt and uncle. I had heard many unpleasant stories about Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and his Cousin Dudley. I wondered if there was a conspiracy behind this whole rotten cousins bit, but brushed it off. This wasn't the time to ponder that.

            We got to the airport okay and all nine of us regrouped outside of Terminal 12B. Eriol was pleased to see that no one had bypassed any of his instructions and ushered us onto the Boeing 787, which would take us directly to Madrid, Spain.

            "After we land in Madrid, we'll have an hour-long break," said Eriol. "I'll tell you the spell for language understanding then."

            The trip from London, England, to Madrid, Spain, was a short one, only about forty-five minutes. After a bumpy landing, we got off and walked into a tea shop, where Eriol ordered a cup of tea for each of us. I really wondered how he knew that I liked strawberry tea with two lemons.

            "Now, the spell for language understanding is outside of the normal ancient Latin for most spells," said Eriol. "You point the wand to a normal beverage, and say Todos Languas, and then however the language is said in that particular language."

            He received stares.

            "It works very well, actually," said Eriol. "Watch, I'll do it for…Spanish. Todos Languas. Espaňol. Excusen me, mi amiga, pasen las fresas, por favor?" He had turned to a waitress.

            "Ah, si, si, seňor."

            "Gracias."

            "De nada." She walked away to another costumer.

            "Todos Languas. English," he said again. "You see? I don't know why they don't teach it to you in Charms, it's a very easy spell. Give it a try, Angel."

            "O-Okay," I said. "Uh…Todos Languas…Nihon. Did it work?"

            "Wow! Cool, she's talking in Japanese, right?" said Ron.

            "Precisely," Eriol rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "However, Angel, I wonder how you knew how to say Japanese in Nihon?"

            "I dunno," I shrugged. "Hey, how come I hear myself in English? And how come, even though I'm talking in Japanese, I can still hear you?"

            "That's the beauty of it," said Eriol, smiling. "You talk and hear in your original language, but you're actually speaking Japanese to anyone who doesn't have the same spell on them. It's a simple, yet complicated spell."

            "Oh," I said. "Todos Languas. English. Sounds complicated. But it works for me."

            "Now, there is one other thing with this trip," said Eriol. "Since we are looking for ten-year-olds, we'll be going undercover."

            "Undercover?" Blaise leaned forward, her glasses slipping off her nose. "In a school, I bet." 

            "Right you are, Blaise," he chuckled. "Bright as a button, this one. There is only one school in Tomoeda, having two classes for fifth graders. One of them is looking for a math teacher, and I will be filling in. As you are all eleven, you'll just pose as ten-year-olds. I've gotten a transfer subscript for each of you as if you were still in the fifth grade in school in England, so it won't be too difficult. Harry, Ron, Angel, and Hermione will be going into one class, while Draco, Blaise, Justin, and Sunny will be in the other."

            "This is going to be interesting," said Sunny, giggling. "We get to go back to Muggle school, JT!"

            "Groovy," Justin muttered.

            "The story is that we're there on an academic transfer program," said Eriol. "That's what we'll look like to the Muggles. I'm glad that Angel chose the ones who seem most likely to pull pranks, though. This is why. We've got to see which ones have even the least amount of magical powers."

            "We get to pull pranks?" Draco said. He had that look in his eyes.

            "But none that would hurt them," Eriol warned, looking straight at Draco. "If they are Muggle, we want to leave them unscathed. Is that clear?"

            "We're there to pick out the magic from the Muggle," Blaise nodded. "Understood, sir!"

            "Yes…oh, Angel and Hermione, one last thing. The second jump will be a bit longer. I would like you to make sure not to tell Syaoran or Sakura that you'll be in their class," Eriol stared at us both. "I'm going to change a bit of what you look like so that they won't instantly recognize you, of course, but I don't want them knowing that you're in their class."

            "Syaoran and Sakura?" Ron and Harry said in unison. "Who're they?"

            "I'm surprised," Eriol smiled. "You didn't tell them."

            "No…we kind of didn't…" Hermione blushed, staring at her tea. "We'll tell you guys later. Tonight."

            "A good idea," said Eriol. "Just don't show them to Sakura or Syaoran, or I'll have to mask them, too."           

            "We'll just conjure up a screen or something," I said. "No big deal. Sakura's a bit dense, and Syaoran trusts me enough not to bug us about this sort of thing."

            "Flight to St. Petersburg boarding now," said the intercom.

            "That's our flight, let's go," said Eriol, placing a large tip on the table.

            As we headed for the airport, I wondered why Eriol didn't want Hermione and I to tell Syaoran or Sakura we'd be in their class. December 16 would begin our classes, as Eriol continued to tell us. He also continued to tell us more about Japan, something that I'm sure that the others found very fascinating. Not. Even I found it hard to pay attention.

            The only things that I managed to catch were the longer school hours, the extra school day, and the fact that Christmas Day was the only day off school we'd have. I also caught the fact that we'd be staying at a hotel, four to a room. Blaise, Hermione, Sunny, and I had one. Harry, Ron, Draco, and Justin had another. Eriol would be staying with his brother. Luckily, Tomoeda Elementary School was only a block away from the hotel.

            I really felt sorry for Harry, Ron, and Justin, though. Draco was my cousin and my mistake. I should be the only one who had to deal with him. I was the one who invited him, out of desperation, certainly, but still.

            After landing in St. Petersberg, Russia, we had to wait another two hours. We stopped in an Arby's inside the airport for a late lunch, but I was disappointed to find that they did not have cream soda. I had strawberry-kiwi this time, and had a Roast Beef Market Fresh sandwich.

            "If you guys could see the commercial," chuckled Eriol. "The one in 2003 is spectacular."

            That stopped everyone in their tracks.

            "What do you mean, Eriol?" I asked, setting down the second half of my sandwich. "Can you…see the future?"

            "Bits and pieces," he shrugged. "My brother's got the keener Inner Eye. He can see all the way to the time mankind dies out. According to him, if we take the right steps, we should be able to stop the Eastern Magical World from dying out before then."

            "Good," I smiled. "It's good to have some hope and confidence. Let's not get too carried away, though. Even a predicted future can be swayed."

            "You're quite right, Angel," said Eriol. "Quite right."

            We finished up our lunch at around three o'clock and were just heading back to our terminal when the announcements said that our flight was boarding for Hong Kong. The new plane was smaller, but we all had the same area of the plane we had before.

            "Why are we going to Hong Kong International instead of the Japan one?" I asked. "Isn't it only like a few hundred miles?"

            "The plane only has so much fuel," Eriol said. "If it attempted to go the additional distance, we would crash into the Sea of Japan."

            "Oh."

            The plane took off and I slept the rest of the way, my mind a blank white void. I did not want to think or talk or anything of the sort. I just wanted to sleep and have rest before we landed in Hong Kong. I was shaken awake around seven o'clock for dinner, which I ate.

            At around midnight, the plane began to descend and my ears began to hurt, snapping me awake. Some of the others were still asleep, but most had been awakened by the change in pressure. At Hong Kong International, everyone was awake and everyone was in awe.

            "This place is huge!" Sunny said, staring around.

            "It is the largest man-made enclosed structure on the planet," said Eriol, smiling. "Finished only a few months ago."

            "Wow…" Justin continued staring around.

            "Come along, then," said Eriol. "We need to pick up our bags and head over to the ferry docks. Chop, chop!"

            As much sleep as I had gotten already, I was tired and my neck ached. The fact that it was now seven in the morning due to the wavering flight and the change in the time zones was even more exhausting. We picked up our suitcases, and was I ever glad I'd packed light. The ferry docks were on the main island of Hong Kong, a short bullet train ride across the water.

            Once on the ferry, we all collapsed into some chairs. No one really felt like talking, so I stared out at the water. As we approached Tokyo, I saw a tall band of lights. It looked a lot like the Eifel Tower in Paris, only much smaller. I recognized it instantly as the place in my dream.

            "What's that Tower there, Eriol?" I asked.

            "Tokyo Tower. It's a great place for tourists. It's near Tomoeda, so you can take a bullet train later on to visit it, if you like."

            "Hmm…"

            The ferry docked and we climbed aboard a bullet train. Several stops later, we got off in a small town on the outskirts of Tokyo. I saw Tokyo Tower in the distance, along with all of the city lights. But we were far enough away that we could see a great deal of stars.

            Tomoeda was a town, of course, but it also had several aspects of a small city. There were shops and corner stores, parks and a theme park, and three schools lined up in a perfect row. The Elementary School was protected by a set of iron bar gates, which seemed to disappear in the morning. The doors were arched and windowed and showed the way into a darkened school. It was the fifteenth of December. We would be going to school the next morning.

            We walked a little further along the way and came onto the hotel, which was the only one on this side of the town. It was new looking, but not at all spacious. Red brick covered the outside, and a revolving door lead inside. Eriol walked right up to the front desk and told the man that he had two reservations and paid him in cash.

            "There's a key for each of you," Eriol said. "Even you Muggles will probably have difficulty with these. They're called card keys." He handed me a card, about the same size as a credit card. It was plain white, with the exception of several black marks at the end, along with a red arrow on one side only.

            "On your door is a slot hole, in which you insert the card into the hole, arrow facing up," Eriol explained slowly. Draco looked like he was going to panic, but seemed to keep it under control. "Let's go. You're on the second floor. Please do not play on the elevators."

            We stepped onto the elevator, which was a tight squeeze, but we managed it. The elevator had twenty buttons, each with a number. Eriol explained how to use it to Draco, knowing that he wouldn't know how to use one. He pressed the number "2" and we rose quickly.

            Once inside the room, a strange combination between Japanese and American, I fell flat onto the last bed in the room and fell fast asleep.

***