Daphne: "All right! Thirteenth chapter! Only two more chapters to go...but
I am warning you now, there will be a sequel! Be sure to check it out! It
will be called 'Leopard Spots and Zebra Stripes'. I can't tell you what it
is about, because that would ruin everything, but I can tell you, it will
be worth the wait. In the sequel, Sakura and Syaoran will announce their
true relationship, and some other secrets will be revealed as well. But
until then...content yourself with reading this! Enjoy!
~*~*~*~
Hogwarts-Sakura Style
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 13.
"Please! Oh please let me go!" Sakura whimpered, tears filling her eyes; this reminded her too much of ghosts.
"Sakura!"
"What is the matter?!"
"Let her go!" Syaoran yelled, brandishing his sword at whatever held Sakura. It released her, and her sword fell to the floor with a clang. Sakura sank to the floor, shaking violently with fear.
"Sakura!" Tomoyo repeated, gracefully jumping off the table and running to her sobbing friend. Syaoran quickly sheathed his sword, and looked around in anger. He glared heatedly at the empty air behind Sakura. Eriol sighed, and jumped off the table as well, quickly followed by Ginny, Draco, Meiling, Rika and Neville, all of whom rushed over to comfort Sakura. Eriol, however, stood silently looking at the area that had captured Sakura. With a snort, he shook his head and sighed again.
"Really, Dumbledore. I would have thought better of you. You know that Sakura is terrified of the very thought of ghosts. How *could* you be so careless?" Eriol reprimanded, his voice deeper than usual, and not at all like his own. He pulled out his wand and waved it, muttering something under his breath. All at once, a Hall-full of students and teachers reappeared, making Tomoyo whimper and Meiling give a shriek of surprise.
Professor McGonagle now stood in front of them, her face pale. Professor Dumbledore was standing near his chair at the teachers table, and looking quite guilty. But Sakura saw none of this. Her face was buried in Tomoyo's blouse, and she was still trembling with fright.
"Dumbledore, you of all people should know that when it comes to ghosts, Sakura scares easily!" Eriol chided, his voice now normal, but he was still talking as though Dumbledore was younger than him.
"How could you?! They were just getting to the good part too! I wanted to see if they remembered the whole routine!" Tomoyo cried, patting her friend on the back. Syaoran glared murderously at the teachers, and his glare made most, if not all of them cower.
"Oh, Sakura-chan, we are sorry! We really didn't mean to frighten you! We just wanted to try out the new defense tactic! I am sorry!" Nakuru ran around the table, to where Sakura was now calm enough to look around. She smiled weakly at the upset older woman.
"It is all right, Nakuru. I know you meant no harm. I am sure it was an accident." Sakura assured her, standing up with Tomoyo's protective arm about her the whole time. She saw that Dumbledore was looking remorseful, and she giggled, a pretty, bell-like sound.
"Oh, professor! Don't worry. I am fine, and it *was* rather funny I suppose." Sakura soothed, smiling prettily at him. He couldn't help but smile back, and most of the male students melted. All the girls looked at Sakura jealously. Harry, who had stood up when Sakura fell off the table, now smiled and looked down at his two friends. They were watching the scene with confusion.
"I am amazed how fast she forgave them. If it had been me, I would have given them a piece of my mind." Hermione whispered. Harry grinned.
"Sakura is a very sweet-tempered person. Nothing can make her mad for long, except for her brother, maybe." He chuckled. At his voice, Sakura, Tomoyo, Rika, and Ginny turned around to look at him. They all had mixed reactions. Ginny blushed royally, and looked away, while Rika smiled and winked slyly at him. Tomoyo grinned and put her camera up to her eye, taping his every move. Sakura's eyes lit up, her happy giggle came to the surface, and she waved at him.
"Hello, Harry! Beautiful morning, isn't it?" She questioned, her emerald eyes sparkling at him. Many of the boys looked at him jealously. But Sakura wasn't done yet.
"Hi, Hermione! Ohayo, Ron!" Sakura said, slipping into Japanese; but Ron got the drift. They smiled and waved back, before she turned back around, her face serious again.
"But please tell me...who it was who grabbed me?" She pleaded. Now Professor McGonagle looked guilty.
"I did. Child, how could you be so careless?! Playing with real swords indoors...*real swords*!" McGonagle added the last two words for emphasis. Now Sakura looked confused.
"Yes...they are real. We couldn't practice with fake ones..." She commented naïvely. McGonagle looked as though she was fighting off a smile, and then she turned to Dumbledore.
"Albus, are you going to encourage this?! They are only sixteen, and much too young to be playing with *real* swords!" McGonagle insisted. Dumbledore was about to speak, when Professor Figg stood up.
"Really, Minerva! You should have listened to them, or at least asked them *why* they were practicing with the swords." She said, rolling her eyes. Nakuru giggled and walked back up next to Dumbledore, where she put her hand on his shoulder in a comforting way.
"Why would I do that? The fact still remains that..."
"Minerva! Syaoran has had a sword in his hand...well, practically since the day he was born, and Sakura has been practicing since she was ten. You can trust them. They will not make a mistake. And besides, sword-fighting is part of Syaoran's *mandatory* training. Ask Hagrid or Sophia. Both of them have seen Sakura and Syaoran practice, as have I." Bella said, causing Syaoran to shoot a very secret smile at her. By the end of the statement, McGonagle was beside herself.
"You mean to tell me that you have handled swords before?!" She asked incredulously. Sakura smiled.
"Of course. In fact, Syaoran was practicing just before we came in here." She admitted.
"That is why they are still wearing those kawaii battle uniforms! Although, why Sakura bothered to get into hers in a mystery to me!" Tomoyo cried, her hand on her cheek and her eyes starry.
"Oh! I forgot!" Sakura exclaimed, looking down at her outfit. At the sight of her, many of the boys began to drool again. She winked cheekily at her friends, and then leisurely snapped her fingers. Immediately, she was back in her school uniform and black robes. Syaoran quickly did the same, glaring at McGonagle still.
"Sakura, you do the apology! You are the only one of us who can make this whole room fall to its knees!" Meiling hissed, elbowing the other girl. Sakura nodded and then flashed the teachers and other students a heart- wrenching smile.
"Oh, we are terribly sorry for disturbing your um...defense tactics, were they? We had no right, and I'm sorry. It was really all my fault..." Sakura whimpered a bit at the end, and allowed her lower lip to tremble a bit. Every face in the room softened, and there were murmurs of 'Don't worry about it', and 'It wasn't your fault'. The small group at the front smiled slyly, and then looked up at the teachers for more directions. Bella was smirking down at them, and wagging her finger at Sakura, who grinned. Bella knew what she had just done, but she wasn't going to tell. Of course, what Bella didn't tell them, was that she had done the same thing several times in her school history, to numerous people, including the Marauders.
"Right, I believe that we should be eating now." Dumbledore motioned for everyone to sit down. To everyone's surprise, Draco Malfoy chose to sit next to Rika, instead of over with his fellow Slytherins. This caused several Gryffindor's to look at him hatefully. Ginny sat on Malfoy's other side, next to Hermione.
"Ginny, can you explain exactly *why* you are still in the company of Draco, despite the fact that your little trip is over?" Hermione snapped, looking angry. Ginny sighed, but said nothing.
"Draco...as in Malfoy?! Ginny, are you insane?!" Ron hissed. Even Harry was getting angry, and he knew the truth. Even though Draco had seemed to change, was that any reason for Ginny to hang around him still? The answer to that was 'no' in all their opinions; but not Ginny's.
"No. Neville trusts him, and so do I. I have reason to, but I can't tell you. You wouldn't understand." She whispered, turning back to her plate. Ron growled but Hermione put her finger on his lips and shook her head.
"Leave her be." She whispered, making him calm and grudgingly nod his head, and then look down at Malfoy. The blond haired boy was now laughing at something Eriol had said, and it was obvious that it was an sincere laugh. Harry sighed as Eriol engaged Ginny in a lively chat about something or other. Every time that Eriol spoke with Ginny, it was as if he was no longer there. It was obvious that Eriol flirted with her, but, of course, he flirted with everyone. No, this was different. He acted as if he was honestly interested in everything she said. Even the girl beside him, Tomoyo, would tape them and giggle, murmuring things like 'kawaii couple', and 'so sweet'. Harry felt a rush of jealousy and something else rush to his throat and choke him. Had that kiss last night, meant nothing to Ginny?
"Harry, are you all right? Harry?" Harry came back to earth a small, warm hand was placed on his own. He looked down, startled, only to meet two warm, doe-like eyes. Ginny was looking at him, her pretty face lined with worry. He forced a smile, and gulped down the lump in his throat.
"I'm sorry Ginny, I was spacing out. What did you say?"
"Oh, I was just wondering if you were all right. You looked sad for a moment." She said.
"I'm fine. I was just thinking." He said. Ginny smiled and then leaned over to whisper in his ear. Her breath tickled his cheek and made him shudder with delight.
"Don't they make a great couple?!" She whispered. Harry frowned.
"Who?"
"Eriol and Tomoyo! They were made for each other, and only they don't know it, yet." She giggled, and Harry suddenly felt as though he was floating on cloud nine. She didn't like Eriol after all! She thought Tomoyo and Eriol belonged to each other! He still had a chance! Harry flashed her an genuine smile and then took care to engage her in a lively conversation before Eriol did again. Little did he know, that he was being watched carefully by a pair of blue eyes and a camera lens.
"It worked! The flirt-with-Ginny-until-Harry-breaks-down-and-admits-that-he- loves-her plan is now in action!" Eriol whispered to a delighted Tomoyo.
"Oh, it was so obvious that he was jealous! Did you see the looks flashing across his face?! He has it bad, and soon, both he and Ginny are going to know about it!" Tomoyo giggled. Sakura, who was next to her, heard the whole thing and rallied it to Syaoran. He frowned, but then smiled shortly, so no one could see.
"Actually, it is a good thing. Ginny has loved Harry ever since her first year, and he has simply ignored her. It was about time that he realized just how much she means to him. I just hope that he is not like me and figures it out too late...or almost." Syaoran admitted, putting his arms around her waist and smiling down at her adoringly, after making sure that no one was looking. She smiled up at him lovingly and for a moment, they were the only two people in the room. No one else mattered.
~*~*~*~
"So, she was under the Imperious Curse? Is that what made her so horrible?" Sakura questioned later that day, when she and Syaoran had met Dumbledore in his office after the feast. They were talking about what Rudy had done the night before.
"Not completely. Rudy already...well, highly disliked you from the beginning, because she sensed your affection for Syaoran. Even though she hated you enough to go to Voldemort for help, I truly believe that Rudy loved Syaoran deeply." Dumbledore said thoughtfully. Syaoran recoiled and looked disgusted, while Sakura quivered with grief. She hated people being mad at her, and someone who would go to such lengths to take all that she loved away...well, that frightened her even more.
"Now, Sakura, are you sure that you are alright? I could ask Madam Pomfrey to..."
"No, professor, I am fine." She said in a quavering voice. Syaoran put his arm around her and gently hugged her, a gesture that he would allow no one but Dumbledore and their friends to see.
"Good you are dismissed." He said, his eyes twinkling in a way that told them he didn't believe a word she said. Syaoran sent him a mild glare, and then led Sakura out of the room. They quickly made their way to their common room, and noticed that everyone was asleep.
"This is becoming more dangerous with every passing moment." He growled, collapsing onto an arm-chair. Sakura slid into his lap and wound her arms around his neck.
"Yes, but it is only going to get worse, you know. Voldemort is getting bolder, and the muggle murders have escalated drastically." She whispered, burying her face in his neck and allowing her lips to play gently with the skin at the base of his neck. Syaoran moaned tried to stay serious. It was hard to concentrate when a pair of the sweetest lips ever known to man were running up and down your neck!
"This will...all come to a conclusion...soon." He managed, slipping his arms around her waist and drawing her closer. She released her hold on his neck and nodded sleepily.
"It will." She agreed, closing her eyes and allowing herself to sink into a peaceful sleep; he was not close behind.
~*~*~*~
'Another sleepless night.' Harry thought, staring up at his red bed- hangings. He had been up for over two hours longer than any of his house- mates, and yet he felt wide awake. With a sigh, he got out of bed and slipped on the invisibility cloak, grabbed the 'Marauders Map' and his wand, and then silently exited the Gryffindor tower. He silently made his way to the library, and sat down at a vacant table.
"*I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.*" He chanted, pointing his wand at the map. It filled out into a map of the school, and then he lit the tip of his wand so he could look at it.
"Hmmm...Serius and Remus are secure at Hagrid's house, Dumbledore is in his office..." Harry looked over the map and smiled. McGonagle was asleep in what must have been her room, then there was Sakura and Syaoran, who seemed to have fallen asleep *extremely* close together, Filch was pacing around the fourth floor corridors, Mrs. Norris on his heels, Flitwick was in his office, levitating something that resembled a large boulder. Snape was in his dungeon office, talking with some 'R. Potter', Moaning Myrtle was...
"WHAT!?!?" Harry shouted, looking back at Snape's office, a mixture of horror, disbelief and anxiety filling his body. He read the second ink-dot over several times, his mouth dropping open. "R. Potter...R. Potter...It has to be some sick coincidence! Yes, that's what it is! Someone with the same last name as me!" Harry exclaimed, trying to calm himself, but it didn't work. With a rush of dread, Harry stood up and hurried for the dungeons. His mind was spinning rapidly, causing him to become slightly dizzy, but nevertheless, he made his way down to the dreaded dungeon and opened the door cautiously.
"...then Mr. Weasley poured the whole cauldron over Mr. Goyle's head. Suffice to say, he had boils popping up all over his body for the rest of the week, because the lump wouldn't visit Madam Pomfrey." Came Snape's voice, slightly softer than usual, and full of fatherly affection. There came a laugh...one that Harry knew all too well; it was Rika's.
"Uncle Severus, how can someone be so dense? I mean, even Sakura isn't that dense." Rika laughed, trying to keep her giggles quiet. He smiled.
"Some people don't know better. I know Goyle's parents in school, and they weren't the smartest peas in the pod, either. Now, the real geniuses of the school were in Lily's and James's groups. Together, they could throw the whole school into an uproar. Unfortunately, they tended to play more small jokes on each other, than they did *big* jokes on us Slytherins." Snape commented, looking the slightest bit dreamy. Rika frowned.
"Why did they dislike each other, Uncle Severus? Lily and James both seem so nice." She murmured. Now it was his turn to frown and he said nothing.
Once again, Harry looked down at the Marauders Map and then flicked his wand at it, causing it to vanish. Harry sighed quietly. The map hadn't lied to him before, and he was certain it hadn't this time. Standing there, talking to Professor Snape as though it was an everyday thing, was...Rika Sasaki-Potter.
~*~*~*~
Professor Severus Snape was about to answer, when he felt a familiar presence directly behind the door of his classroom. He felt dread and a strange anxiousness enter his body. It was time. The time he knew would come someday, but somehow, he just wasn't ready to face the truth; and yet he had to.
"You may enter, Mr. Potter." Snape called, much to Rika's surprise. A guilty-looking Harry entered the room and looked from one to the other.
"Harry! What on earth are you doing up? It is two 'o' clock in the morning!" Rika exclaimed, looking up at a clock on the wall. Harry smiled ruefully.
"I could ask you the same question." He commented. Severus Snape sighed.
"Harry, sit. You need to know something, both of you." He commented. Rika looked confused and Harry collapsed into an overstuffed chair.
"Now I want you to hear me out, and try not say a word until I am done." Snape commended. Both students gave nervous nods, and for the first time in his life, Harry felt no dislike towards his Potions Master.
"Now, what I am going to say will change your lives drastically. It may also cause you anger, but I will try to avoid that at all costs." Snape looked at both of them and the continued.
"First of all, Rika, I have told you repeatedly that you have a brother, but I have never told you who he is. Well, now I will. Harry Potter, I would like you to meet your sister, Rika Rose Potter."
~*~*~*~
Should I stop? This would be a good place to stop...
NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~*~*~*~
"WHAT?!?!?!?!"
Rika and Harry stared at each other in astonishment and dawning horror.
"Impossible." Harry managed to choke out. Rika nodded vigorously, looking a tad frightened. Snape smirked.
"Is it? Look at the pictures of your mother, Harry, and then of your father. Rika has red-brown hair, only a bit darker than your mother's, and her eyes are just like your father's." He commented, looking sly. Harry thought about this for a moment, and then shook his head.
"Impossible. How come Serius never told me? And Remus must have known, and Dumbledore..."
"That is where you are wrong, Harry. None of them do know. They knew that you had a sister, but because of safety reasons (Voldemort becoming so strong), Lily and James decided to pretend that Rika had died at birth. They even got the doctors to go along with them on the story. Serius, Remus and all their other friends never knew. To them, Rika Rose Potter is dead." Snape commented. Rika gasped and sank further into her chair.
"Harry, when you first held your sister when she came home from the Wizard Hospital, there was only one person present who wasn't of your family. Lily allowed me to come and see my goddaughter." The professor went on quietly.
"But I thought...my dad and you..." Harry stammered, looking quite sick; Rika looked no better.
"No, Harry, it was not for your father I was there. Lily and I had been secretly friends in school, even against the wishes of James's friends and mine. When she found out that Rika was going to be born, she insisted that I be named godfather of her child. She did this because Voldemort would not expect me to have her child near to me in any way, so Rika would be safest with me. The night that your parents died, Harry, Lily and James talked me into taking you, Rika, into the safety of my home. They knew that Voldemort was drawing near...they just didn't know how near." Severus Snape was pale and shaky as he told this part of the story, and Rika saw how hard it was for him to continue.
"Though there were many aspects of your life that kept you alive when the 'Avada Kedavra' Curse hit you, Harry. The most powerful was your mother's sacrifice of herself for you. But the second most, and the most surprising, was the one that kept you in your own body, fully alive, unlike Voldemort." At Snape's words, both young people became confused.
"You see, when your parents brought Rika home, the first thing that they did when they saw you was to hold Rika out for you to touch. As soon as your fingers touched her cheek, there was a binding between brother and sister that could never be broken. If anyone attempted to kill you with a curse, neither one of you could die without the other dying as well. So you see, since Rika was not hit by the curse, you could not die from the curse. Now, do not think that this makes you invincible. It is only with a *curse* that this works. If you are wounded in any other way, you can be killed." Severus warned. Rika and Harry sat still for a moment, thinking this over. It still seemed like such a shock that they were brother and sister, and that Severus Snape had known the whole time.
"Now you see Rika, why I could never tell you who your parents were, and who your brother was, until now. If I had told you too soon, it would have been disastrous. *Anything* could have happened to you." Severus sighed, sitting back in his chair, exhausted. Rika and Harry looked at each other, and then Harry felt something tug at his conscious. Even though it had nothing...or little to do with their previous conversation, he had to know.
"Professor...sorry to change the subject, but why did my parents dislike each other?" Harry questioned. Snape looked startled, and his face turned stony.
"Back in our time, Harry, things were very different. Muggle borns were not just shunned, they were *hated*, by every house in this school, not just the Slytherins. Fortunately, there were schools that taught only muggle- borns, and then there were the schools, like Hogwarts, that taught both half-and-half, and pure-blood wizards and witches."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Rika questioned. Snape sighed.
"Lily was a muggle-born, and the first one to be invited into Hogwarts. There was a lot of prejudice going on at that time, and I must admit, the very thought of having Lily attend Hogwarts made many parents of students here, complain. But Lily, being the type of person she was, came anyway, full knowing about the discrimination that she was about to go through." Snape said quietly. Harry and Rika sat in silence, clutching each other's hand as Professor Snape began his story.
*Flashback*
"I can't wait!" A boy with messy black hair and mischievous brown eyes exclaimed. Beside him a boy with spiked brown hair grinned cheekily and nodded.
"I hope I get into Gryffindor." Another boy murmured, his brown eyes swiveling towards the doors that Professor McGonagle had just passed through. He ran an anxious hand through his light brown hair, and his face was paler than usual.
"Don't worry, Remus, I am sure that we all will." The first boy soothed, looking excitedly towards the ghosts that were passing by.
"Hey, guys, check it out!" The second boy exclaimed, pointing over at a small girl standing next to them. She had rich red hair, and bright green eyes. She wasn't looking at anything in particular, and yet, she seemed to take everything in with just a glance.
"I wonder who she is..." The first boy commented, looking thoughtful. There was a snort behind them and they turned to see the 'greasy haired' Severus Snape standing behind them, smirking.
"*That*, Potter, is their lame excuse for what we call a 'muggle-born witch'." He sneered, spitting the last words out like a bad taste. Immediately, the three original boys got disgusted looks on their faces and turned away from the girl.
Little did they know that a little figure next to them was seething in anger.
'How dare they say those things about me! How dare they!' Lily Evens thought, her eyes now an angry forest green. Her mood lightened, though, when Professor McGonagle entered and led them into the Great Hall.
'I will show them! I am just as good, if not better than them!' She thought with a smirk, as McGonagle met her eyes and gave her a small smile. Little did Lily know that she was being watched by a pair of sharp black eyes...
*End Flashback*
"I saw that Lily was determined to show that she was just as good as any of us. Even though I wouldn't admit it to myself until later, I admired her for it." Snape continued. Harry smiled at the buck of his mother, and Rika giggled.
"She sounds like me!" She laughed, "I wouldn't let anyone step all over me, just because they thought that I was inferior." She added. Snape patted her knee.
"I know you wouldn't. And for a whole year, Lily withstood prejudice from all the houses, even her own, Gryffindor. But her most persistent tormentor was the one and only..."
~*~*~*~
~*~*~*~
Hogwarts-Sakura Style
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 13.
"Please! Oh please let me go!" Sakura whimpered, tears filling her eyes; this reminded her too much of ghosts.
"Sakura!"
"What is the matter?!"
"Let her go!" Syaoran yelled, brandishing his sword at whatever held Sakura. It released her, and her sword fell to the floor with a clang. Sakura sank to the floor, shaking violently with fear.
"Sakura!" Tomoyo repeated, gracefully jumping off the table and running to her sobbing friend. Syaoran quickly sheathed his sword, and looked around in anger. He glared heatedly at the empty air behind Sakura. Eriol sighed, and jumped off the table as well, quickly followed by Ginny, Draco, Meiling, Rika and Neville, all of whom rushed over to comfort Sakura. Eriol, however, stood silently looking at the area that had captured Sakura. With a snort, he shook his head and sighed again.
"Really, Dumbledore. I would have thought better of you. You know that Sakura is terrified of the very thought of ghosts. How *could* you be so careless?" Eriol reprimanded, his voice deeper than usual, and not at all like his own. He pulled out his wand and waved it, muttering something under his breath. All at once, a Hall-full of students and teachers reappeared, making Tomoyo whimper and Meiling give a shriek of surprise.
Professor McGonagle now stood in front of them, her face pale. Professor Dumbledore was standing near his chair at the teachers table, and looking quite guilty. But Sakura saw none of this. Her face was buried in Tomoyo's blouse, and she was still trembling with fright.
"Dumbledore, you of all people should know that when it comes to ghosts, Sakura scares easily!" Eriol chided, his voice now normal, but he was still talking as though Dumbledore was younger than him.
"How could you?! They were just getting to the good part too! I wanted to see if they remembered the whole routine!" Tomoyo cried, patting her friend on the back. Syaoran glared murderously at the teachers, and his glare made most, if not all of them cower.
"Oh, Sakura-chan, we are sorry! We really didn't mean to frighten you! We just wanted to try out the new defense tactic! I am sorry!" Nakuru ran around the table, to where Sakura was now calm enough to look around. She smiled weakly at the upset older woman.
"It is all right, Nakuru. I know you meant no harm. I am sure it was an accident." Sakura assured her, standing up with Tomoyo's protective arm about her the whole time. She saw that Dumbledore was looking remorseful, and she giggled, a pretty, bell-like sound.
"Oh, professor! Don't worry. I am fine, and it *was* rather funny I suppose." Sakura soothed, smiling prettily at him. He couldn't help but smile back, and most of the male students melted. All the girls looked at Sakura jealously. Harry, who had stood up when Sakura fell off the table, now smiled and looked down at his two friends. They were watching the scene with confusion.
"I am amazed how fast she forgave them. If it had been me, I would have given them a piece of my mind." Hermione whispered. Harry grinned.
"Sakura is a very sweet-tempered person. Nothing can make her mad for long, except for her brother, maybe." He chuckled. At his voice, Sakura, Tomoyo, Rika, and Ginny turned around to look at him. They all had mixed reactions. Ginny blushed royally, and looked away, while Rika smiled and winked slyly at him. Tomoyo grinned and put her camera up to her eye, taping his every move. Sakura's eyes lit up, her happy giggle came to the surface, and she waved at him.
"Hello, Harry! Beautiful morning, isn't it?" She questioned, her emerald eyes sparkling at him. Many of the boys looked at him jealously. But Sakura wasn't done yet.
"Hi, Hermione! Ohayo, Ron!" Sakura said, slipping into Japanese; but Ron got the drift. They smiled and waved back, before she turned back around, her face serious again.
"But please tell me...who it was who grabbed me?" She pleaded. Now Professor McGonagle looked guilty.
"I did. Child, how could you be so careless?! Playing with real swords indoors...*real swords*!" McGonagle added the last two words for emphasis. Now Sakura looked confused.
"Yes...they are real. We couldn't practice with fake ones..." She commented naïvely. McGonagle looked as though she was fighting off a smile, and then she turned to Dumbledore.
"Albus, are you going to encourage this?! They are only sixteen, and much too young to be playing with *real* swords!" McGonagle insisted. Dumbledore was about to speak, when Professor Figg stood up.
"Really, Minerva! You should have listened to them, or at least asked them *why* they were practicing with the swords." She said, rolling her eyes. Nakuru giggled and walked back up next to Dumbledore, where she put her hand on his shoulder in a comforting way.
"Why would I do that? The fact still remains that..."
"Minerva! Syaoran has had a sword in his hand...well, practically since the day he was born, and Sakura has been practicing since she was ten. You can trust them. They will not make a mistake. And besides, sword-fighting is part of Syaoran's *mandatory* training. Ask Hagrid or Sophia. Both of them have seen Sakura and Syaoran practice, as have I." Bella said, causing Syaoran to shoot a very secret smile at her. By the end of the statement, McGonagle was beside herself.
"You mean to tell me that you have handled swords before?!" She asked incredulously. Sakura smiled.
"Of course. In fact, Syaoran was practicing just before we came in here." She admitted.
"That is why they are still wearing those kawaii battle uniforms! Although, why Sakura bothered to get into hers in a mystery to me!" Tomoyo cried, her hand on her cheek and her eyes starry.
"Oh! I forgot!" Sakura exclaimed, looking down at her outfit. At the sight of her, many of the boys began to drool again. She winked cheekily at her friends, and then leisurely snapped her fingers. Immediately, she was back in her school uniform and black robes. Syaoran quickly did the same, glaring at McGonagle still.
"Sakura, you do the apology! You are the only one of us who can make this whole room fall to its knees!" Meiling hissed, elbowing the other girl. Sakura nodded and then flashed the teachers and other students a heart- wrenching smile.
"Oh, we are terribly sorry for disturbing your um...defense tactics, were they? We had no right, and I'm sorry. It was really all my fault..." Sakura whimpered a bit at the end, and allowed her lower lip to tremble a bit. Every face in the room softened, and there were murmurs of 'Don't worry about it', and 'It wasn't your fault'. The small group at the front smiled slyly, and then looked up at the teachers for more directions. Bella was smirking down at them, and wagging her finger at Sakura, who grinned. Bella knew what she had just done, but she wasn't going to tell. Of course, what Bella didn't tell them, was that she had done the same thing several times in her school history, to numerous people, including the Marauders.
"Right, I believe that we should be eating now." Dumbledore motioned for everyone to sit down. To everyone's surprise, Draco Malfoy chose to sit next to Rika, instead of over with his fellow Slytherins. This caused several Gryffindor's to look at him hatefully. Ginny sat on Malfoy's other side, next to Hermione.
"Ginny, can you explain exactly *why* you are still in the company of Draco, despite the fact that your little trip is over?" Hermione snapped, looking angry. Ginny sighed, but said nothing.
"Draco...as in Malfoy?! Ginny, are you insane?!" Ron hissed. Even Harry was getting angry, and he knew the truth. Even though Draco had seemed to change, was that any reason for Ginny to hang around him still? The answer to that was 'no' in all their opinions; but not Ginny's.
"No. Neville trusts him, and so do I. I have reason to, but I can't tell you. You wouldn't understand." She whispered, turning back to her plate. Ron growled but Hermione put her finger on his lips and shook her head.
"Leave her be." She whispered, making him calm and grudgingly nod his head, and then look down at Malfoy. The blond haired boy was now laughing at something Eriol had said, and it was obvious that it was an sincere laugh. Harry sighed as Eriol engaged Ginny in a lively chat about something or other. Every time that Eriol spoke with Ginny, it was as if he was no longer there. It was obvious that Eriol flirted with her, but, of course, he flirted with everyone. No, this was different. He acted as if he was honestly interested in everything she said. Even the girl beside him, Tomoyo, would tape them and giggle, murmuring things like 'kawaii couple', and 'so sweet'. Harry felt a rush of jealousy and something else rush to his throat and choke him. Had that kiss last night, meant nothing to Ginny?
"Harry, are you all right? Harry?" Harry came back to earth a small, warm hand was placed on his own. He looked down, startled, only to meet two warm, doe-like eyes. Ginny was looking at him, her pretty face lined with worry. He forced a smile, and gulped down the lump in his throat.
"I'm sorry Ginny, I was spacing out. What did you say?"
"Oh, I was just wondering if you were all right. You looked sad for a moment." She said.
"I'm fine. I was just thinking." He said. Ginny smiled and then leaned over to whisper in his ear. Her breath tickled his cheek and made him shudder with delight.
"Don't they make a great couple?!" She whispered. Harry frowned.
"Who?"
"Eriol and Tomoyo! They were made for each other, and only they don't know it, yet." She giggled, and Harry suddenly felt as though he was floating on cloud nine. She didn't like Eriol after all! She thought Tomoyo and Eriol belonged to each other! He still had a chance! Harry flashed her an genuine smile and then took care to engage her in a lively conversation before Eriol did again. Little did he know, that he was being watched carefully by a pair of blue eyes and a camera lens.
"It worked! The flirt-with-Ginny-until-Harry-breaks-down-and-admits-that-he- loves-her plan is now in action!" Eriol whispered to a delighted Tomoyo.
"Oh, it was so obvious that he was jealous! Did you see the looks flashing across his face?! He has it bad, and soon, both he and Ginny are going to know about it!" Tomoyo giggled. Sakura, who was next to her, heard the whole thing and rallied it to Syaoran. He frowned, but then smiled shortly, so no one could see.
"Actually, it is a good thing. Ginny has loved Harry ever since her first year, and he has simply ignored her. It was about time that he realized just how much she means to him. I just hope that he is not like me and figures it out too late...or almost." Syaoran admitted, putting his arms around her waist and smiling down at her adoringly, after making sure that no one was looking. She smiled up at him lovingly and for a moment, they were the only two people in the room. No one else mattered.
~*~*~*~
"So, she was under the Imperious Curse? Is that what made her so horrible?" Sakura questioned later that day, when she and Syaoran had met Dumbledore in his office after the feast. They were talking about what Rudy had done the night before.
"Not completely. Rudy already...well, highly disliked you from the beginning, because she sensed your affection for Syaoran. Even though she hated you enough to go to Voldemort for help, I truly believe that Rudy loved Syaoran deeply." Dumbledore said thoughtfully. Syaoran recoiled and looked disgusted, while Sakura quivered with grief. She hated people being mad at her, and someone who would go to such lengths to take all that she loved away...well, that frightened her even more.
"Now, Sakura, are you sure that you are alright? I could ask Madam Pomfrey to..."
"No, professor, I am fine." She said in a quavering voice. Syaoran put his arm around her and gently hugged her, a gesture that he would allow no one but Dumbledore and their friends to see.
"Good you are dismissed." He said, his eyes twinkling in a way that told them he didn't believe a word she said. Syaoran sent him a mild glare, and then led Sakura out of the room. They quickly made their way to their common room, and noticed that everyone was asleep.
"This is becoming more dangerous with every passing moment." He growled, collapsing onto an arm-chair. Sakura slid into his lap and wound her arms around his neck.
"Yes, but it is only going to get worse, you know. Voldemort is getting bolder, and the muggle murders have escalated drastically." She whispered, burying her face in his neck and allowing her lips to play gently with the skin at the base of his neck. Syaoran moaned tried to stay serious. It was hard to concentrate when a pair of the sweetest lips ever known to man were running up and down your neck!
"This will...all come to a conclusion...soon." He managed, slipping his arms around her waist and drawing her closer. She released her hold on his neck and nodded sleepily.
"It will." She agreed, closing her eyes and allowing herself to sink into a peaceful sleep; he was not close behind.
~*~*~*~
'Another sleepless night.' Harry thought, staring up at his red bed- hangings. He had been up for over two hours longer than any of his house- mates, and yet he felt wide awake. With a sigh, he got out of bed and slipped on the invisibility cloak, grabbed the 'Marauders Map' and his wand, and then silently exited the Gryffindor tower. He silently made his way to the library, and sat down at a vacant table.
"*I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.*" He chanted, pointing his wand at the map. It filled out into a map of the school, and then he lit the tip of his wand so he could look at it.
"Hmmm...Serius and Remus are secure at Hagrid's house, Dumbledore is in his office..." Harry looked over the map and smiled. McGonagle was asleep in what must have been her room, then there was Sakura and Syaoran, who seemed to have fallen asleep *extremely* close together, Filch was pacing around the fourth floor corridors, Mrs. Norris on his heels, Flitwick was in his office, levitating something that resembled a large boulder. Snape was in his dungeon office, talking with some 'R. Potter', Moaning Myrtle was...
"WHAT!?!?" Harry shouted, looking back at Snape's office, a mixture of horror, disbelief and anxiety filling his body. He read the second ink-dot over several times, his mouth dropping open. "R. Potter...R. Potter...It has to be some sick coincidence! Yes, that's what it is! Someone with the same last name as me!" Harry exclaimed, trying to calm himself, but it didn't work. With a rush of dread, Harry stood up and hurried for the dungeons. His mind was spinning rapidly, causing him to become slightly dizzy, but nevertheless, he made his way down to the dreaded dungeon and opened the door cautiously.
"...then Mr. Weasley poured the whole cauldron over Mr. Goyle's head. Suffice to say, he had boils popping up all over his body for the rest of the week, because the lump wouldn't visit Madam Pomfrey." Came Snape's voice, slightly softer than usual, and full of fatherly affection. There came a laugh...one that Harry knew all too well; it was Rika's.
"Uncle Severus, how can someone be so dense? I mean, even Sakura isn't that dense." Rika laughed, trying to keep her giggles quiet. He smiled.
"Some people don't know better. I know Goyle's parents in school, and they weren't the smartest peas in the pod, either. Now, the real geniuses of the school were in Lily's and James's groups. Together, they could throw the whole school into an uproar. Unfortunately, they tended to play more small jokes on each other, than they did *big* jokes on us Slytherins." Snape commented, looking the slightest bit dreamy. Rika frowned.
"Why did they dislike each other, Uncle Severus? Lily and James both seem so nice." She murmured. Now it was his turn to frown and he said nothing.
Once again, Harry looked down at the Marauders Map and then flicked his wand at it, causing it to vanish. Harry sighed quietly. The map hadn't lied to him before, and he was certain it hadn't this time. Standing there, talking to Professor Snape as though it was an everyday thing, was...Rika Sasaki-Potter.
~*~*~*~
Professor Severus Snape was about to answer, when he felt a familiar presence directly behind the door of his classroom. He felt dread and a strange anxiousness enter his body. It was time. The time he knew would come someday, but somehow, he just wasn't ready to face the truth; and yet he had to.
"You may enter, Mr. Potter." Snape called, much to Rika's surprise. A guilty-looking Harry entered the room and looked from one to the other.
"Harry! What on earth are you doing up? It is two 'o' clock in the morning!" Rika exclaimed, looking up at a clock on the wall. Harry smiled ruefully.
"I could ask you the same question." He commented. Severus Snape sighed.
"Harry, sit. You need to know something, both of you." He commented. Rika looked confused and Harry collapsed into an overstuffed chair.
"Now I want you to hear me out, and try not say a word until I am done." Snape commended. Both students gave nervous nods, and for the first time in his life, Harry felt no dislike towards his Potions Master.
"Now, what I am going to say will change your lives drastically. It may also cause you anger, but I will try to avoid that at all costs." Snape looked at both of them and the continued.
"First of all, Rika, I have told you repeatedly that you have a brother, but I have never told you who he is. Well, now I will. Harry Potter, I would like you to meet your sister, Rika Rose Potter."
~*~*~*~
Should I stop? This would be a good place to stop...
NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~*~*~*~
"WHAT?!?!?!?!"
Rika and Harry stared at each other in astonishment and dawning horror.
"Impossible." Harry managed to choke out. Rika nodded vigorously, looking a tad frightened. Snape smirked.
"Is it? Look at the pictures of your mother, Harry, and then of your father. Rika has red-brown hair, only a bit darker than your mother's, and her eyes are just like your father's." He commented, looking sly. Harry thought about this for a moment, and then shook his head.
"Impossible. How come Serius never told me? And Remus must have known, and Dumbledore..."
"That is where you are wrong, Harry. None of them do know. They knew that you had a sister, but because of safety reasons (Voldemort becoming so strong), Lily and James decided to pretend that Rika had died at birth. They even got the doctors to go along with them on the story. Serius, Remus and all their other friends never knew. To them, Rika Rose Potter is dead." Snape commented. Rika gasped and sank further into her chair.
"Harry, when you first held your sister when she came home from the Wizard Hospital, there was only one person present who wasn't of your family. Lily allowed me to come and see my goddaughter." The professor went on quietly.
"But I thought...my dad and you..." Harry stammered, looking quite sick; Rika looked no better.
"No, Harry, it was not for your father I was there. Lily and I had been secretly friends in school, even against the wishes of James's friends and mine. When she found out that Rika was going to be born, she insisted that I be named godfather of her child. She did this because Voldemort would not expect me to have her child near to me in any way, so Rika would be safest with me. The night that your parents died, Harry, Lily and James talked me into taking you, Rika, into the safety of my home. They knew that Voldemort was drawing near...they just didn't know how near." Severus Snape was pale and shaky as he told this part of the story, and Rika saw how hard it was for him to continue.
"Though there were many aspects of your life that kept you alive when the 'Avada Kedavra' Curse hit you, Harry. The most powerful was your mother's sacrifice of herself for you. But the second most, and the most surprising, was the one that kept you in your own body, fully alive, unlike Voldemort." At Snape's words, both young people became confused.
"You see, when your parents brought Rika home, the first thing that they did when they saw you was to hold Rika out for you to touch. As soon as your fingers touched her cheek, there was a binding between brother and sister that could never be broken. If anyone attempted to kill you with a curse, neither one of you could die without the other dying as well. So you see, since Rika was not hit by the curse, you could not die from the curse. Now, do not think that this makes you invincible. It is only with a *curse* that this works. If you are wounded in any other way, you can be killed." Severus warned. Rika and Harry sat still for a moment, thinking this over. It still seemed like such a shock that they were brother and sister, and that Severus Snape had known the whole time.
"Now you see Rika, why I could never tell you who your parents were, and who your brother was, until now. If I had told you too soon, it would have been disastrous. *Anything* could have happened to you." Severus sighed, sitting back in his chair, exhausted. Rika and Harry looked at each other, and then Harry felt something tug at his conscious. Even though it had nothing...or little to do with their previous conversation, he had to know.
"Professor...sorry to change the subject, but why did my parents dislike each other?" Harry questioned. Snape looked startled, and his face turned stony.
"Back in our time, Harry, things were very different. Muggle borns were not just shunned, they were *hated*, by every house in this school, not just the Slytherins. Fortunately, there were schools that taught only muggle- borns, and then there were the schools, like Hogwarts, that taught both half-and-half, and pure-blood wizards and witches."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Rika questioned. Snape sighed.
"Lily was a muggle-born, and the first one to be invited into Hogwarts. There was a lot of prejudice going on at that time, and I must admit, the very thought of having Lily attend Hogwarts made many parents of students here, complain. But Lily, being the type of person she was, came anyway, full knowing about the discrimination that she was about to go through." Snape said quietly. Harry and Rika sat in silence, clutching each other's hand as Professor Snape began his story.
*Flashback*
"I can't wait!" A boy with messy black hair and mischievous brown eyes exclaimed. Beside him a boy with spiked brown hair grinned cheekily and nodded.
"I hope I get into Gryffindor." Another boy murmured, his brown eyes swiveling towards the doors that Professor McGonagle had just passed through. He ran an anxious hand through his light brown hair, and his face was paler than usual.
"Don't worry, Remus, I am sure that we all will." The first boy soothed, looking excitedly towards the ghosts that were passing by.
"Hey, guys, check it out!" The second boy exclaimed, pointing over at a small girl standing next to them. She had rich red hair, and bright green eyes. She wasn't looking at anything in particular, and yet, she seemed to take everything in with just a glance.
"I wonder who she is..." The first boy commented, looking thoughtful. There was a snort behind them and they turned to see the 'greasy haired' Severus Snape standing behind them, smirking.
"*That*, Potter, is their lame excuse for what we call a 'muggle-born witch'." He sneered, spitting the last words out like a bad taste. Immediately, the three original boys got disgusted looks on their faces and turned away from the girl.
Little did they know that a little figure next to them was seething in anger.
'How dare they say those things about me! How dare they!' Lily Evens thought, her eyes now an angry forest green. Her mood lightened, though, when Professor McGonagle entered and led them into the Great Hall.
'I will show them! I am just as good, if not better than them!' She thought with a smirk, as McGonagle met her eyes and gave her a small smile. Little did Lily know that she was being watched by a pair of sharp black eyes...
*End Flashback*
"I saw that Lily was determined to show that she was just as good as any of us. Even though I wouldn't admit it to myself until later, I admired her for it." Snape continued. Harry smiled at the buck of his mother, and Rika giggled.
"She sounds like me!" She laughed, "I wouldn't let anyone step all over me, just because they thought that I was inferior." She added. Snape patted her knee.
"I know you wouldn't. And for a whole year, Lily withstood prejudice from all the houses, even her own, Gryffindor. But her most persistent tormentor was the one and only..."
~*~*~*~
