Daphne: "All right! Here it is! The moment that you have all been waiting
for! The twelfth chapter, complete with the conclusion of why Sakura was on
the ground! Enjoy!
~*~*~*~
Hogwarts-Sakura Style
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 12.
'Sakura! Sakura!'
There it was! That voice again! That voice that Sakura know only in her dreams. It was Kinomoto Nadeshiko. Sakura, with her eyes still shut tightly, climbed out of bed and walked out into the hallway; she was still asleep, and was sleepwalking.
'Mom?' She called, trying desperately to reach that voice. Blackness surrounded her, and suddenly she found herself walking in a field of lovely flowers. Butterflies fluttered around her face and she giggled, chasing after a particularly pretty white one. She chased it up a steep embankment, and onto a hill. There, the butterfly paused, landed on a flower, and then promptly disappeared. Suddenly, the field was gone as well, and the blackness returned, causing Sakura to whimper and tears to enter her eyes.
"Yes, slut, cry! You took my Syaoran away from me, and now you will pay!" Came a voice that Sakura knew all too well. It seeped in through the darkness, and caused it all to melt away. Sakura's eyes flew open, and to her horror, she found herself on top of the Astronomy tower! To add to the situation, Rudy Kanudeson stood beside her, holding onto one of her arms tightly. Sakura still felt as though she was treading through an undercurrent in the ocean, and could not respond.
"Stupid girl! You really thought that you could take Syaoran away and I would be alright with that? Well I'm not, and nobody messes with Rudy Kanudeson!" The other girl screeched in a half-crazed fashion. With that, she tightened her grip on Sakura's arm and tossed the incoherent girl over the side. Only then did Sakura return to her full alertness.
"AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Was the last sound Sakura made as she fell into the darkness below.
Little did Rudy know that someone had just seen what she had done.
"ELEMENT WIND!"
~*~*~*~
"I feel that something is going to go wrong. Wake up the Head Boy and Girl, and all of the prefects and have them bring their houses to the Great Hall." Dumbledore commanded, looking worried. Professor McGonagle nodded, looking sleepy but just as worried and turned to leave.
Professor Dumbledore sighed. It was coming. The time was near. Slowly, the old professor looked around his office and then made his way down to the Great Hall, where most of the students had already congregated, looking sleepy. It was almost the middle of the night, and most of them had not completely woken up yet. Dumbledore quickly flicked his wand, causing puffy purple sleeping bags to unroll onto the floor. The students all began to chose their bags, except for Hermione and Ron. They were looking around anxiously for Harry, Ginny and her friends.
"Professor! Professor Dumbledore! We can't find Sakura anywhere! And Ginny is gone too!" Tomoyo cried, as she, Eriol, Meiling, Neville, Draco, and Rika entered the room.
"Syaoran is gone as well." Meiling added, looking worried. For the first time in the number of years that they knew him, Dumbledore lost his calm.
"Who last saw them, and where?" He snapped, causing the group to jump back.
"Last night, when we went to bed. They were..."
"Um...professor?" A hesitant voice came from the doorway and everyone turned to see a *very* pale Ginny. She was shaking violently and she looked as if she was about to faint. Behind her stood Harry, who looked no better, and floating on a stretcher that they had conjured, was...
"SAKURA!" Tomoyo shrieked. It took both Rika and Eriol to hold her back from running to her friend.
"What happened?!" Dumbledore boomed, looking outraged. Ginny and Harry looked at each other, unable to explain.
"Rudy Kanudeson pushed her off the Astronomy Tower roof." Came a deep, wrathful voice; it was Syaoran. He walked slowly into the room, his wand trained at something that was floating listlessly in the air. Rudy Kanudeson hung there, unmoving; Syaoran had put a 'stunning charm' on her.
"Mr. Li! Are you sure of this?" Dumbledore asked, his calm regained but fire still burned behind his eyes. Syaoran nodded.
"I heard someone moving through the halls and I decided to investigate. It was Miss Kinomoto, and she seemed to be under a hypnosis spell of some sort. I followed Kinomoto-san up to the tower roof and got there just in time to see Rudy throw her over the edge." Syaoran explained in a monotone voice. NO matter how this news affected the students and teachers, it did not seem to affect him. Little did they know, that inside, he was breaking apart, and it took all his hatred for Rudy to keep him in one piece.
"Severus? I need the strongest 'Truth-telling' potion you have; Miss Kanudeson and I need to have a little chat. It is not yet safe to return to the towers, so would you kindly keep an eye on Miss Kinomoto here, while the teachers and I figure out what to do?" Dumbledore asked. Everyone who was still awake nodded. The truth hadn't completely hit the half-conscious minds of the Hogwarts student's yet, so they all calmly went back to bed save the few that were conscious enough to understand what was going on.
"Will she be alright?" Tomoyo whimpered, as Harry guided Sakura over to a pile of sleeping bags that Ron and Hermione had saved. Instead of putting the sleeping bags in a circle, like they had at Tomoyo's sleep-over, they formed close pairs of two. Ron and Hermione unzipped their sleeping bags and made them into one big one, so they could sleep closer together. Meiling and Neville were next to them, while Rika and Draco huddled together on the other side of Neville.
Out of mutual agreement and partly because of what had happened earlier that night, Ginny and Harry slept in separate sleeping bags, next to each other, but across from Ron and Hermione. Tomoyo and Eriol paired up beside them, and even though Tomoyo was usually so lady-like and proper, she chose to curl up to his chest that night, for comfort. Next to them slept Syaoran, his arms around the unconscious Sakura. He knew by feeling her aura that she was alright, probably because he had used his wind card to soften her landing.
It took quite a while for Syaoran to fall asleep, partly because he repeatedly checked to make sure that Sakura was still alright, and partly because of his horror that Rudy would stoop so low as to kill someone, just to get him. But eventually, Syaoran fell into a fitful sleep, waking up several times during the night to check on Sakura. Finally, at five in the morning, he woke up one last time, got up, and went outside to practice his with his sword; he was unaware that several early-risers had seen him leave, and questioned his intentions.
~*~*~*~
"What are you doing out here so early?"
Syaoran spun around to face Sakura, who had her hands planted on her hips. He raised an eyebrow and copied her motion. From the looks of it, she had been awake quite a while; long enough to get dressed into the pink battle uniform that looked similar to Meiling's.
"What are you doing up? You should be in bed!" He reminded her. She turned red and shook her head.
"I couldn't sleep. And I didn't get hurt, I just fainted. I have you to thank for that, using the Wind card and all." She said. He grinned and held his arms out to her. She rushed into them, and hugged him tightly, but then pulled back.
"Oh, come on! You can do better than that! I almost died, you know!" She teased. His eyes glinted with merriment. Without warning, he pressed his lips to hers fiercely, drawing her into a whirlwind of dizziness and passion. She clung desperately to his neck, as her knees weakened and her mind whirled; he was in no better situation. His hands roved about her back, and his fingers gently tickled her waist. She pulled back with a gasp and a weak smile.
"Well, that certainly made up for it." She murmured, still in a half- stupor. Syaoran chuckled.
"It's not over yet!" He informed her, beginning to lean down again.
"Oh, please! Can't you two get a room?!"
Syaoran and Sakura jumped away from each other and turned to glare at the speaker, Meiling. Behind Meiling stood Rika, Ginny, Tomoyo (who had her camera trained on them), Draco, Neville, and Eriol (who was snickering loudly). They had all come outside when they found their friends missing, following Sakura's aura to where she and Syaoran were kissing.
"ANYWAY, what were you doing?" Sakura asked, as they began to walk back towards the school. Syaoran smiled as he realized that he had been out for the best part of an hour.
"I was just practicing with my sword a little. It has been a while since I have gotten some good training done." He pointed out. Sakura looked thoughtful.
"I could use a good workout too." She murmured. Syaoran sent her a sly look, and then noticed that they were near the Great Hall. It had been put to rights, and all the students and teachers seemed to be gone from it...
"You have much improved since the last time we dueled...but how about a battle, right here, right now?!" Syaoran challenged, drawing his sword and jumping up on the Gryffindor table, pointing his sword threateningly at Sakura. She stood in the doorway and looked at him innocently. He was not fooled in the least. Carefully concealed behind her back, was her fighting sword, just waiting to be used again.
"Are you sure that is what you want?" She asked softly, a precious little pout coming to her lips. For a moment, it seemed that he had melted under her pout, but then he stiffened, and his eyes became hard; if you looked closely, however, you could still see a sparkle in his eye.
"I am sure. Prepare to die!" He joked, but his voice was completely serious, hiding his humor. Sakura feigned a slight scowl, and then drew her sword menacingly.
"So be it." Her sweet voice rang out, as she flipped onto the table and caught his sword with her own. In a great whirling and loud clanging of metal against metal, the mock-battle began. Tomoyo climbed up on the Ravenclaw table, so she could get a better view of the fight, and so her camera could catch everything that happened. Eriol climbed up next to her, and began to cheer on Sakura. Ginny, Rika, Meiling, Neville, and Draco were not far behind.
"Knock his block off, Sakura!" Ginny cried.
"Show her who's boss, Syaoran!" Neville yelled, getting a glare from Meiling.
"Kick his butt!" Meiling shouted.
"You can do it, Sakura!" Rika added.
"Make her sorry for ever accepting you!" Draco yelled, pumping his arm up and down.
"You are going down, my cute little descendent." Eriol joined in, grinning like a maniac, as Tomoyo elbowed him.
Meanwhile, Sakura and Syaoran were moving farther down the Gryffindor table, their swords grinding at each other, as their owners flipped to avoid the other's sword, and ducked as a sword whistled past their head. With a sharp *clang*, their swords connected in an X-position, and their owner's eyes met. With one quick movement, Syaoran thrust out his foot and tripped Sakura, much to the dismay of her fans. She fell onto her back, and then flailed out and caused him to trip and fall on top of her, his hands on either side of her head, and his sword against the side of her head.
"My, my, my, what have we here? A fallen cherry blossom, still as sweet as when she fell off the tree. Is she willing to accept the fact that she has fallen, or does she believe that she is still on the tree?" Syaoran breathed into her ear, making Sakura shiver in delight. She met his eyes, which smoldered and revealed his desire. Slowly, his face dipped down, with him fully intent on kissing her. She smirked and with a quick movement, sent him flying over her head as she flipped back into a fighting stance.
"She is still on the tree, where else?" Sakura answered, as her sword connected with his. He was ready for her this time. With a great shove, he pushed her off the end of the table, causing their friends to shriek and yell. She, however, was not ready to quit. With quick thinking, she scrunched into a ball and rolled out near the teachers table. With a seemingly dark chuckle, Syaoran jumped off the table and approached her menacingly, his sword ready.
"Oh, no!" Tomoyo feigned a squeal, burying her head in Eriol's chest, her video camera still trained on the battle. Meiling was watching anxiously, her fingers clutched around Neville's arm. Rika was pale with worry, and hardly noticed that Draco's hand was on her shoulder, so he could see better. Ginny was watching with wide eyes, a slight smile playing across her lips, and not seeming in the least disturbed.
"So, my little cherry blossom, you still have it in you. All those gymnastics lessons had to account for something, ne? But I am determined to make you fall, Ying-fa!" With this, Syaoran charged at Sakura. Sakura raised her sword to strike at him, but something captured her wrist and held it in a vice-like grip.
"HOE!!!!!!!" Sakura shrieked in fear, turning to face her assailant with wide green eyes.
~*~*~*~
"Where is she? Bloody! Ginny better have a good excuse for not being here!" Ron hissed, his voice filled with worry. When they had woken that morning, Ginny and her other friends had been gone from their sleeping bags. This worried more people than just Ron, but all the others kept quiet. Everyone in the Hall became silent as Dumbledore rose to speak.
"Now, in light of what happened last night, I would like to make a few changes around here. In case of danger, you will all be placed under a silencing/invisibility spell. This is just a test, this time, but in the future it may come in handy. Now, I will remind you that this is just a test." Dumbledore stated, as he looked out over his confused students.
Without further ado, he muttered a few charms and waved his wand. Suddenly, everybody in the room disappeared and it became deathly silent. The tables cleared of all plates, cups and utensils, and there was no sign that anyone had been there.
"This is going to be bloody fun!" Ron muttered, as Harry looked at him in shock.
"Wait! I can hear you!" He hissed, as Hermione groaned.
"Of course you can. We can hear each other, but any enemy or other person cannot. That is how the spell works." She sighed, as they returned to watching the doors. Soon after, there came voices, moving closer and closer. Then the speakers came into view.
Harry spotted Ginny among them, with Eriol close behind her and Meiling beside her, talking away. Syaoran was close behind Meiling, his face impassive. Near him stood Rika, Neville, Draco, Sakura and Tomoyo. But what shocked Harry the most, was that Sakura was dressed up in one of the strangest outfits that Harry had ever seen.
It was a one-piece dress with white sleeves and neck, but it was pink until you reached abut an inch above the beautiful cherry blossom the decorated the front of it. The skirt of the dress only reached to the high part of her thighs, and even then, there was a slit up the side of the skirt, revealing a little more skin than seemed necessary...at the time. The sleeves of the dress were long and scooped, and edged in green trim, as was the end of the skirt. The collar was quite high, and it had ties that tied the two sections of collar together. (a/n: Think Meiling's battle costume, and you've got the exact look, except pink and with a cherry blossom!)
Harry couldn't see them, but he was sure that most of the males in the room had their eyes pinned to that dress. Suddenly, Syaoran raced into the room, and jumped onto the end of the Gryffindor table, drawing a menacing-looking sword from its sheath on his back. Syaoran was also wearing odd clothing, namely long, puffy white pants that reached to his ankles, and a bright green tunic with long panels front and back from which hung decorative bells. The tunic was secured with a gold belt. It had long sleeves that ended in a scoop and were trimmed with a wide band of decorative gold fabric. Above the loose neckline of the tunic, peeked a high collar, similar to the auburn-haired girl's. On his feet were a pair of comfortable- looking green slippers, and on his head sat a strange green hat, trimmed with gold fabric.
"You have much improved since the last time we trained...but how about a battle, right here, right now?!" Syaoran yelled. Shockingly, Sakura stepped forward and pouted a bit. Every male in the room melted in a puddle of pure delight. Sakura said something in a sweet voice, and Syaoran answered her in his menacing one. She frowned slightly, and then a smirk appeared on her lips. Before anyone could react, she pulled a sword from behind her back, jumped up on the Gryffindor table, and stabbed at him. His sword blocked hers, and then he thrust at her. Screams and horrified yells erupted from the students and teachers, but they were not heard by the two duelers, nor their friends.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group had climbed up on the Ravenclaw table, and were shouting encouragement's and sly comments, while Tomoyo happily taped the whole thing. Harry then noticed that Ginny was among them, cheering for Sakura and laughing as though it was all a game. Suddenly, his attention was pulled back to the fighters, as Sakura fell on her back, and Syaoran fell over her, right in front of Harry and his friends.
"My, my, my, what have we here? A fallen cherry blossom, still as sweet as when she fell off the tree. Is she willing to accept the fact that she has fallen, or does she believe that she is still on the tree?" Syaoran said breathlessly, his face only inches from hers. Harry felt anger rise to his throat, as the boy's face moved closer to Sakura's menacingly. Suddenly, Syaoran went flying, and Sakura jumped back up into her fighting stance.
"She is still on the tree, where else?" She answered, before racing to attack him. Before anyone could warn her, Syaoran had tossed her off the table, and she had rolled near the teachers table. There were shrieks from her friends, as Syaoran charged at her. Sakura raised her sword to strike at him and then...her arm ceased to move.
"HOE!!!!!!" She shrieked in horror, turning to look behind her.
~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~
Hogwarts-Sakura Style
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 12.
'Sakura! Sakura!'
There it was! That voice again! That voice that Sakura know only in her dreams. It was Kinomoto Nadeshiko. Sakura, with her eyes still shut tightly, climbed out of bed and walked out into the hallway; she was still asleep, and was sleepwalking.
'Mom?' She called, trying desperately to reach that voice. Blackness surrounded her, and suddenly she found herself walking in a field of lovely flowers. Butterflies fluttered around her face and she giggled, chasing after a particularly pretty white one. She chased it up a steep embankment, and onto a hill. There, the butterfly paused, landed on a flower, and then promptly disappeared. Suddenly, the field was gone as well, and the blackness returned, causing Sakura to whimper and tears to enter her eyes.
"Yes, slut, cry! You took my Syaoran away from me, and now you will pay!" Came a voice that Sakura knew all too well. It seeped in through the darkness, and caused it all to melt away. Sakura's eyes flew open, and to her horror, she found herself on top of the Astronomy tower! To add to the situation, Rudy Kanudeson stood beside her, holding onto one of her arms tightly. Sakura still felt as though she was treading through an undercurrent in the ocean, and could not respond.
"Stupid girl! You really thought that you could take Syaoran away and I would be alright with that? Well I'm not, and nobody messes with Rudy Kanudeson!" The other girl screeched in a half-crazed fashion. With that, she tightened her grip on Sakura's arm and tossed the incoherent girl over the side. Only then did Sakura return to her full alertness.
"AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Was the last sound Sakura made as she fell into the darkness below.
Little did Rudy know that someone had just seen what she had done.
"ELEMENT WIND!"
~*~*~*~
"I feel that something is going to go wrong. Wake up the Head Boy and Girl, and all of the prefects and have them bring their houses to the Great Hall." Dumbledore commanded, looking worried. Professor McGonagle nodded, looking sleepy but just as worried and turned to leave.
Professor Dumbledore sighed. It was coming. The time was near. Slowly, the old professor looked around his office and then made his way down to the Great Hall, where most of the students had already congregated, looking sleepy. It was almost the middle of the night, and most of them had not completely woken up yet. Dumbledore quickly flicked his wand, causing puffy purple sleeping bags to unroll onto the floor. The students all began to chose their bags, except for Hermione and Ron. They were looking around anxiously for Harry, Ginny and her friends.
"Professor! Professor Dumbledore! We can't find Sakura anywhere! And Ginny is gone too!" Tomoyo cried, as she, Eriol, Meiling, Neville, Draco, and Rika entered the room.
"Syaoran is gone as well." Meiling added, looking worried. For the first time in the number of years that they knew him, Dumbledore lost his calm.
"Who last saw them, and where?" He snapped, causing the group to jump back.
"Last night, when we went to bed. They were..."
"Um...professor?" A hesitant voice came from the doorway and everyone turned to see a *very* pale Ginny. She was shaking violently and she looked as if she was about to faint. Behind her stood Harry, who looked no better, and floating on a stretcher that they had conjured, was...
"SAKURA!" Tomoyo shrieked. It took both Rika and Eriol to hold her back from running to her friend.
"What happened?!" Dumbledore boomed, looking outraged. Ginny and Harry looked at each other, unable to explain.
"Rudy Kanudeson pushed her off the Astronomy Tower roof." Came a deep, wrathful voice; it was Syaoran. He walked slowly into the room, his wand trained at something that was floating listlessly in the air. Rudy Kanudeson hung there, unmoving; Syaoran had put a 'stunning charm' on her.
"Mr. Li! Are you sure of this?" Dumbledore asked, his calm regained but fire still burned behind his eyes. Syaoran nodded.
"I heard someone moving through the halls and I decided to investigate. It was Miss Kinomoto, and she seemed to be under a hypnosis spell of some sort. I followed Kinomoto-san up to the tower roof and got there just in time to see Rudy throw her over the edge." Syaoran explained in a monotone voice. NO matter how this news affected the students and teachers, it did not seem to affect him. Little did they know, that inside, he was breaking apart, and it took all his hatred for Rudy to keep him in one piece.
"Severus? I need the strongest 'Truth-telling' potion you have; Miss Kanudeson and I need to have a little chat. It is not yet safe to return to the towers, so would you kindly keep an eye on Miss Kinomoto here, while the teachers and I figure out what to do?" Dumbledore asked. Everyone who was still awake nodded. The truth hadn't completely hit the half-conscious minds of the Hogwarts student's yet, so they all calmly went back to bed save the few that were conscious enough to understand what was going on.
"Will she be alright?" Tomoyo whimpered, as Harry guided Sakura over to a pile of sleeping bags that Ron and Hermione had saved. Instead of putting the sleeping bags in a circle, like they had at Tomoyo's sleep-over, they formed close pairs of two. Ron and Hermione unzipped their sleeping bags and made them into one big one, so they could sleep closer together. Meiling and Neville were next to them, while Rika and Draco huddled together on the other side of Neville.
Out of mutual agreement and partly because of what had happened earlier that night, Ginny and Harry slept in separate sleeping bags, next to each other, but across from Ron and Hermione. Tomoyo and Eriol paired up beside them, and even though Tomoyo was usually so lady-like and proper, she chose to curl up to his chest that night, for comfort. Next to them slept Syaoran, his arms around the unconscious Sakura. He knew by feeling her aura that she was alright, probably because he had used his wind card to soften her landing.
It took quite a while for Syaoran to fall asleep, partly because he repeatedly checked to make sure that Sakura was still alright, and partly because of his horror that Rudy would stoop so low as to kill someone, just to get him. But eventually, Syaoran fell into a fitful sleep, waking up several times during the night to check on Sakura. Finally, at five in the morning, he woke up one last time, got up, and went outside to practice his with his sword; he was unaware that several early-risers had seen him leave, and questioned his intentions.
~*~*~*~
"What are you doing out here so early?"
Syaoran spun around to face Sakura, who had her hands planted on her hips. He raised an eyebrow and copied her motion. From the looks of it, she had been awake quite a while; long enough to get dressed into the pink battle uniform that looked similar to Meiling's.
"What are you doing up? You should be in bed!" He reminded her. She turned red and shook her head.
"I couldn't sleep. And I didn't get hurt, I just fainted. I have you to thank for that, using the Wind card and all." She said. He grinned and held his arms out to her. She rushed into them, and hugged him tightly, but then pulled back.
"Oh, come on! You can do better than that! I almost died, you know!" She teased. His eyes glinted with merriment. Without warning, he pressed his lips to hers fiercely, drawing her into a whirlwind of dizziness and passion. She clung desperately to his neck, as her knees weakened and her mind whirled; he was in no better situation. His hands roved about her back, and his fingers gently tickled her waist. She pulled back with a gasp and a weak smile.
"Well, that certainly made up for it." She murmured, still in a half- stupor. Syaoran chuckled.
"It's not over yet!" He informed her, beginning to lean down again.
"Oh, please! Can't you two get a room?!"
Syaoran and Sakura jumped away from each other and turned to glare at the speaker, Meiling. Behind Meiling stood Rika, Ginny, Tomoyo (who had her camera trained on them), Draco, Neville, and Eriol (who was snickering loudly). They had all come outside when they found their friends missing, following Sakura's aura to where she and Syaoran were kissing.
"ANYWAY, what were you doing?" Sakura asked, as they began to walk back towards the school. Syaoran smiled as he realized that he had been out for the best part of an hour.
"I was just practicing with my sword a little. It has been a while since I have gotten some good training done." He pointed out. Sakura looked thoughtful.
"I could use a good workout too." She murmured. Syaoran sent her a sly look, and then noticed that they were near the Great Hall. It had been put to rights, and all the students and teachers seemed to be gone from it...
"You have much improved since the last time we dueled...but how about a battle, right here, right now?!" Syaoran challenged, drawing his sword and jumping up on the Gryffindor table, pointing his sword threateningly at Sakura. She stood in the doorway and looked at him innocently. He was not fooled in the least. Carefully concealed behind her back, was her fighting sword, just waiting to be used again.
"Are you sure that is what you want?" She asked softly, a precious little pout coming to her lips. For a moment, it seemed that he had melted under her pout, but then he stiffened, and his eyes became hard; if you looked closely, however, you could still see a sparkle in his eye.
"I am sure. Prepare to die!" He joked, but his voice was completely serious, hiding his humor. Sakura feigned a slight scowl, and then drew her sword menacingly.
"So be it." Her sweet voice rang out, as she flipped onto the table and caught his sword with her own. In a great whirling and loud clanging of metal against metal, the mock-battle began. Tomoyo climbed up on the Ravenclaw table, so she could get a better view of the fight, and so her camera could catch everything that happened. Eriol climbed up next to her, and began to cheer on Sakura. Ginny, Rika, Meiling, Neville, and Draco were not far behind.
"Knock his block off, Sakura!" Ginny cried.
"Show her who's boss, Syaoran!" Neville yelled, getting a glare from Meiling.
"Kick his butt!" Meiling shouted.
"You can do it, Sakura!" Rika added.
"Make her sorry for ever accepting you!" Draco yelled, pumping his arm up and down.
"You are going down, my cute little descendent." Eriol joined in, grinning like a maniac, as Tomoyo elbowed him.
Meanwhile, Sakura and Syaoran were moving farther down the Gryffindor table, their swords grinding at each other, as their owners flipped to avoid the other's sword, and ducked as a sword whistled past their head. With a sharp *clang*, their swords connected in an X-position, and their owner's eyes met. With one quick movement, Syaoran thrust out his foot and tripped Sakura, much to the dismay of her fans. She fell onto her back, and then flailed out and caused him to trip and fall on top of her, his hands on either side of her head, and his sword against the side of her head.
"My, my, my, what have we here? A fallen cherry blossom, still as sweet as when she fell off the tree. Is she willing to accept the fact that she has fallen, or does she believe that she is still on the tree?" Syaoran breathed into her ear, making Sakura shiver in delight. She met his eyes, which smoldered and revealed his desire. Slowly, his face dipped down, with him fully intent on kissing her. She smirked and with a quick movement, sent him flying over her head as she flipped back into a fighting stance.
"She is still on the tree, where else?" Sakura answered, as her sword connected with his. He was ready for her this time. With a great shove, he pushed her off the end of the table, causing their friends to shriek and yell. She, however, was not ready to quit. With quick thinking, she scrunched into a ball and rolled out near the teachers table. With a seemingly dark chuckle, Syaoran jumped off the table and approached her menacingly, his sword ready.
"Oh, no!" Tomoyo feigned a squeal, burying her head in Eriol's chest, her video camera still trained on the battle. Meiling was watching anxiously, her fingers clutched around Neville's arm. Rika was pale with worry, and hardly noticed that Draco's hand was on her shoulder, so he could see better. Ginny was watching with wide eyes, a slight smile playing across her lips, and not seeming in the least disturbed.
"So, my little cherry blossom, you still have it in you. All those gymnastics lessons had to account for something, ne? But I am determined to make you fall, Ying-fa!" With this, Syaoran charged at Sakura. Sakura raised her sword to strike at him, but something captured her wrist and held it in a vice-like grip.
"HOE!!!!!!!" Sakura shrieked in fear, turning to face her assailant with wide green eyes.
~*~*~*~
"Where is she? Bloody! Ginny better have a good excuse for not being here!" Ron hissed, his voice filled with worry. When they had woken that morning, Ginny and her other friends had been gone from their sleeping bags. This worried more people than just Ron, but all the others kept quiet. Everyone in the Hall became silent as Dumbledore rose to speak.
"Now, in light of what happened last night, I would like to make a few changes around here. In case of danger, you will all be placed under a silencing/invisibility spell. This is just a test, this time, but in the future it may come in handy. Now, I will remind you that this is just a test." Dumbledore stated, as he looked out over his confused students.
Without further ado, he muttered a few charms and waved his wand. Suddenly, everybody in the room disappeared and it became deathly silent. The tables cleared of all plates, cups and utensils, and there was no sign that anyone had been there.
"This is going to be bloody fun!" Ron muttered, as Harry looked at him in shock.
"Wait! I can hear you!" He hissed, as Hermione groaned.
"Of course you can. We can hear each other, but any enemy or other person cannot. That is how the spell works." She sighed, as they returned to watching the doors. Soon after, there came voices, moving closer and closer. Then the speakers came into view.
Harry spotted Ginny among them, with Eriol close behind her and Meiling beside her, talking away. Syaoran was close behind Meiling, his face impassive. Near him stood Rika, Neville, Draco, Sakura and Tomoyo. But what shocked Harry the most, was that Sakura was dressed up in one of the strangest outfits that Harry had ever seen.
It was a one-piece dress with white sleeves and neck, but it was pink until you reached abut an inch above the beautiful cherry blossom the decorated the front of it. The skirt of the dress only reached to the high part of her thighs, and even then, there was a slit up the side of the skirt, revealing a little more skin than seemed necessary...at the time. The sleeves of the dress were long and scooped, and edged in green trim, as was the end of the skirt. The collar was quite high, and it had ties that tied the two sections of collar together. (a/n: Think Meiling's battle costume, and you've got the exact look, except pink and with a cherry blossom!)
Harry couldn't see them, but he was sure that most of the males in the room had their eyes pinned to that dress. Suddenly, Syaoran raced into the room, and jumped onto the end of the Gryffindor table, drawing a menacing-looking sword from its sheath on his back. Syaoran was also wearing odd clothing, namely long, puffy white pants that reached to his ankles, and a bright green tunic with long panels front and back from which hung decorative bells. The tunic was secured with a gold belt. It had long sleeves that ended in a scoop and were trimmed with a wide band of decorative gold fabric. Above the loose neckline of the tunic, peeked a high collar, similar to the auburn-haired girl's. On his feet were a pair of comfortable- looking green slippers, and on his head sat a strange green hat, trimmed with gold fabric.
"You have much improved since the last time we trained...but how about a battle, right here, right now?!" Syaoran yelled. Shockingly, Sakura stepped forward and pouted a bit. Every male in the room melted in a puddle of pure delight. Sakura said something in a sweet voice, and Syaoran answered her in his menacing one. She frowned slightly, and then a smirk appeared on her lips. Before anyone could react, she pulled a sword from behind her back, jumped up on the Gryffindor table, and stabbed at him. His sword blocked hers, and then he thrust at her. Screams and horrified yells erupted from the students and teachers, but they were not heard by the two duelers, nor their friends.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group had climbed up on the Ravenclaw table, and were shouting encouragement's and sly comments, while Tomoyo happily taped the whole thing. Harry then noticed that Ginny was among them, cheering for Sakura and laughing as though it was all a game. Suddenly, his attention was pulled back to the fighters, as Sakura fell on her back, and Syaoran fell over her, right in front of Harry and his friends.
"My, my, my, what have we here? A fallen cherry blossom, still as sweet as when she fell off the tree. Is she willing to accept the fact that she has fallen, or does she believe that she is still on the tree?" Syaoran said breathlessly, his face only inches from hers. Harry felt anger rise to his throat, as the boy's face moved closer to Sakura's menacingly. Suddenly, Syaoran went flying, and Sakura jumped back up into her fighting stance.
"She is still on the tree, where else?" She answered, before racing to attack him. Before anyone could warn her, Syaoran had tossed her off the table, and she had rolled near the teachers table. There were shrieks from her friends, as Syaoran charged at her. Sakura raised her sword to strike at him and then...her arm ceased to move.
"HOE!!!!!!" She shrieked in horror, turning to look behind her.
~*~*~*~
