A.N.: Hi! ::Waggles fingers:: Sorry this chapter is so late. Anyone miss me? ::Crickets chirping:: Right then…-_-; Okay, without further ado, here's the next part. Couple of big paragraphs here, so you may want to increase font size to widen spaces a bit. Enjoy!
It was a rather pale and listless Harry Potter that stumbled out of the Headmaster's fireplace the next morning, followed closely by Tonks. He was drawn into a tight hug by Molly almost immediately, to which he gave a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes. At a slight gesture from Dumbledore, the two women left the room.
"Harry, dear boy, how have you been? Lemon Drop?" The Headmaster asked cheerfully. Harry shook his head slightly. "Right. Not before breakfast. How about a scone, or a muffin then? Some kippers, perhaps?"
"No, thank you, Headmaster." He replied dully.
"Harry, my boy, how are your Occlumency lessons coming along?" Dumbledore asked. He received a shrugged answer. Without warning, he sent a mental probe. Harry blocked it with a little concentration. "Excellently done!" Dumbledore said, smile widening. There was a soft rapping on the door.
"Remus! Come in!" The Headmaster called. The door opened to admit a pale, shaking Remus who gave a smile upon seeing Harry, giving the young man a hug that was at least returned accompanied by a "'Lo Moony."
"I have very good news for you, Harry, simply incredible!" The Headmaster began jovially. Harry gave a soft snort.
"Voldemort's choked to death on his own vomit?" he asked, sarcastically. The Headmaster seemed a bit taken aback, but responded cheerfully.
"Amusing as that would be, no. Better news, my boy! Maintain your shields now…some very powerful individuals have offered their services in the fight against Voldemort, and they wish to begin by doing you, and the Order, a great favor indeed!" Harry smiled bitterly.
"Like what?" He muttered. "Bring my Godfather back from the dead?" Next to him, he felt Remus stiffen and leaned into his side with a soft "Sorry Moony…I shouldn't have…" It was then that he realized that Remus was shaking. Worried, he pulled back to look at the werewolf, who was…suppressing delight? "What…" Remus gave Harry a tight hug, leaving the boy breathless.
"These people…they can! They can bring Siri back!" Remus said joyously. At Harry's shocked disbelief, Dumbledore hurried to explain.
"I'm sure that you've heard Professor Binns speak of the dawn of the Magical civilization, the Legend of the Silver Millennium, and the legendary Senshi." At Harry's slightly confused nod, he continued. "What you did perhaps did not know is that there exists an ultimate Senshi, the Lady of the Stars, Sailor Cosmos. She can grant great miracles of magic, my boy! She, and her Senshi, are real, and they're here!" Dumbledore said. Harry was in shock. What Dumbledore was saying…it couldn't be true…
"They can bring Siri back?" He asked haltingly, barely breathing. "But…the Veil…"
"My dear boy, Sailor Saturn's powers are based on Death and Rebirth. She is, in essence, the Goddess of Death. What lies beyond the Veil may very well be her Realm, especially seeing both you, and Miss Lovegood, and many others, are able to hear 'voices' from beyond it." Dumbledore said gently.
"Wh…when?" Harry croaked, hardly daring to believe. Remus pulled Harry into another hug, then pulled the young man behind him as he hurried to leave the Headmaster's office.
"Right now, Harry. We were waiting for you to get here before they did it…come on!" With this, Remus pulled the unresisting boy down the stairs, the Headmaster following at a more sedate pace, eyes twinkling overtime.
As Remus pulled him down the corridor to the Great Hall, Harry's mind was in turmoil. Someone could actually bring Sirius back from the dead? It was unbelievable, too good to be true. Don't get him wrong, he wanted to believe, but what if this were all a dream? What if he woke up to discover himself in his room on Privet Drive, Sirius still dead? What if his practice hadn't been enough to strengthen his mental shields, and this was all some horrible plan of Voldemort's to break him, to break his mind? All too soon, they arrived at the Great Hall, where Harry was treated to a sight. The first thing he saw was a Pegasus, a winged white horse with a golden crystal in its forehead, and a young girl about his age with strange pink hair sitting on its back. Both Pegasus and rider turned in his direction as he entered the Hall, the girl leaning forward to whisper something to the Pegasus. Next to her stood a tall man with short black hair, wearing what could only be described as lavender clothing fit for a King. He was speaking with a woman with long dark green hair and a girl with short dark purple hair, both in some sort of outfit with a very short skirt and no sleeves. There were two young women sparring to one side, one with short platinum blonde hair and the other with a brown ponytail in the same type of strange outfit. Nearby, another young woman with short blue hair was discussing something with McGonagall, while one with long gold hair was laughing at something Flitwick was trying to explain. Both of these had on the outfit as well, as well as the next two. A woman with wavy aquamarine hair looked to be preventing one with long dark black hair with red highlights from strangling Trelawney, as Sprout and Pomphry looked on in bemusement. And there was Snape there in the corner… he looked more pinched than usual. And the scowl he sported was… off somehow. Harry was brought out of his observations by a female voice speaking up from right next to him.
"So you are Harry Potter…poor boy, to have gone through so much. Trust in us, we will not fail you." Harry turned, green eyes meeting silver-blue. The woman was regal looking, resplendent in silver accented with other colors, in a suit similar to that worn by the others, but more ornate. She had striking silver hair very similar to that of the pink-haired girl, but what Harry noticed the most was the feeling of peace that she gave off.
"Harry, I'd like you to meet Neo-Queen Serenity, the Lady of the Stars, Sailor Cosmos. She will be one of those who will bring Sirius back." Dumbledore said. Harry took a single step forward.
"Can you really?" Hope began to bloom in Harry's heart.
"Yes…now that you're here, we can bring Sirius Black back from beyond the Veil. Senshi!" At her raised one-word command, the women wearing the strange suits all stopped what they were doing and approached the four. "Senshi, I'd like to introduce you to Harry Potter. He's the one we've been waiting for to arrive. Harry, these are my Senshi Sailors Mercury, Ami, Mars, Rei, Jupiter, Makoto, Neptune, Michiru, Uranus, Haruka, Saturn, Hotaru, Pluto, Setsuna, and Venus, Minako. My daughter, Sailor Moon, or Chibi-Usa, Helios, and my Mamo-chan…er…husband Endymion." Harry got a shock when Helios was introduced.
"An animagus?" The young man, recently the Pegasus, laughed softly.
"Of sorts." He replied.
"Harry, Pluto, Saturn, and I will be going through the dimensions to bring your Godfather back. We will be relying on Remus' bond to Sirius, as well as your love for your Godfather. Do not try to follow us. In addition, what you see here stays a secret, understand?" At his nod, Cosmos turned to the rest of the Hogwarts people. "You will have to be alert…but do not interfere. The Realm through which we will travel to access the Beyond of the Veil is a Dark one. Especially seeing as it's focus is Death. So there will be Evil there as well. Neptune, Uranus, Endymion, and Moon will battle, if necessary. Helios will erect a shield to prevent any danger to you. Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, de-transform. You have to concentrate on boosting Venus' power, and shield yourselves from the Dark from the portal. As it is, your powers are going to be depleted soon enough without you keeping up your transformations." The three in question did as told in flurries of ethereal ribbons and sparkling colors, shocking Harry as he realized they weren't much older than he was. At the expression on his face, Cosmos smiled slightly, guessing accurately from where the shock came. "Our magic hides our ages. We are older than we appear."
"But…they look my age!" Harry sputtered in confusion. Makoto gave him a grin.
"And you're what? Fifteen? Sixteen? We haven't been that in…technically? Over a couple thousand years, give or take. Not including our reincarnation." Everyone except for Helios, Endymion, and the other Senshi looked flabbergasted. Cosmos sighed.
"Can the questions wait until after we get back?" She was becoming annoyed. No one dared to disagree. "Fine. Thank you. Positions, everyone!" At her words, everyone save the senshi, Remus, and Harry moved to the perimeter of the Great Hall. Helios became Pegasus, and the crystal that was his horn glowed, forming a shimmering dome-like shield around them. The four fighters took position, weapons appearing from subspace pockets. Uranus tossed her jeweled Space Sword from hand to hand idly, while Neo-King Endymion, having donned blue and silver trimmed black battle armor rested his hands on the hilt of his own sword. Neptune pulled out her trident, while Moon grasped a sword/scepter hybrid in one hand. The three untransformed senshi took up positions in a triangle around Venus. She stood in front of Remus, Harry next to him clutching his hand, as Saturn with her Glaive, Pluto with her Key, and Cosmos with her Crystal Tier stood, waiting, to their side. Rei, Ami, and Makoto began to glow red, icy blue, and emerald green, the auras lending brilliance to Venus' sudden blinding gold-orange. She reached out one hand and touched Remus' chest, over his heart. The cord reappeared, leading nowhere once again. Venus raised her other hand, a magical wind stirring her hair, towards Pluto, Saturn, and Cosmos. Cosmos nodded at Pluto, who raised the Key Staff held in her hands, and in an intricate motion made a portal appear, a swirling gray fog. Saturn raised her Glaive, and shot a bolt of dark purple energy at the portal, which crackled with energy and turned dark. The thin, delicate portion of the cord appeared then, leading into the portal. With a nod in their direction, first Saturn, then Cosmos and Pluto, disappeared through the portal. Several tense minutes passed, during which time nothing happened.
A large looming shape suddenly leapt form the portal, causing the edges to ripple slightly. It tried to attack the small group of six standing there, but suddenly a golden blade of energy distracted the monster from its initial target. It was an ugly thing, easily seven feet tall and four wide, a puce green and dark gray in color, with mottled skin and claws and incredibly sharp gleaming teeth. It's glowing eyes glared balefully at Uranus, who had sent the energy blast from her sword, as it gave a roar that went right to the heart. She, however, gave a grimace and without further ado transferred her sword to her left hand, raising the right above her head. A swirling navy ball appeared around her fist, which she drew back and punched in the creature's direction. The churning mass of energy flew towards the creature, increasing in size and trailing a yellow streamer of energy as it did so. The impact was gruesome, the blast engulfing the monster. Bits that had come off splattered the energy shield Pegasus had erected. Some of the professors looked rather green. Harry was pale with fright, Remus not much better. That…thing…had tried to attack them! The drool dripping from its teeth… The senshi, however, glared at Uranus.
"Love…you didn't have to make things so…messy." Neptune said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. Uranus shrugged, unrepentant.
"Oops…" She had no chance to say anything more as several smaller creatures, about three feet high and resembling a cross between house-elves and warthogs, chattered in discordant tones as they came through the portal. Uranus, Neptune, Endymion, and Moon were kept rather busy distracting and dispatching the buggers using physical attacks, as well as various glowing balls and beams of energy, and, of course, a multitude of magical roses. Unlike the regular steel-tipped roses used before by Tuxedo Kamen, however, these acted much like hand grenades. Depending upon the amount of energy that the Neo-King infused them with, they either exploded upon impact or rested innocently before being triggered and exploding.
Soon, nearly twelve minutes had passed since the three had gone through the portal and nine since the first monster had appeared. Moon, Endymion, Uranus, and Neptune had no trouble dancing a deadly dance and destroying the creatures that poured forth intermittently from the portal, but Venus was visibly struggling with maintaining the visibility of the Bond. The red, green, and blue auras that had fed her golden one were weakening and wavering, as was the shield that protected the six from stray flying gobs of creature goop and the occasional direct attack whose source couldn't be distracted in time. With the combination of the dimensional travelling they did yesterday, and the strain on their powers now, and them not at full power to begin with, the Inners were down to reserves. Another minute. Two. The icy blue aura flickered and disappeared as Ami fell to her knees, panting. Not long after, the red aura ceased to feed the gold and instead went into strengthening the weakened shield protecting them. This caused Venus' outfit to shimmer and waver, subtle changes appearing as she powered down a few levels to conserve power. Another minute. Two. The green aura wavered dangerously as Makoto dropped to one knee. Venus was sweating, the gold aura around her dimming slightly, and her clothing glowing faintly once more. Bits of transparent ribbon accompanied by orange sparkles appeared to float from parts of her clothing. Her raised arm was shaking with strain. Something happened just as the green disappeared completely from the weak gold; a faint green-blue energy laced with brown reached out towards the gold, feeding it. The ribbons melded back into Venus' uniform as the golden aura brightened. Ami gasped, sharply flicking her wrist. Her computer appeared in her hand, and she typed rapidly. Just as the device gave a small beep, a large silver and purple bubble burst from the portal. Almost simultaneously, Venus collapsed in exhaustion, de-transforming, the cord that had been thickening strand by delicate strand disappeared from view, and the portal snapped shut. The predominantly red shield around them lingered a moment longer before it, too, disappeared. Neptune let loose a blast of aqua energy that combined with a pink one from Moon to destroy one large stubborn creature, while Endymion with Uranus decapitated the creature they were battling by double-teaming it. Finally, the opalescent shield around the battle area shimmered out of existence.
A.N.: Cliffhanger incentive for you peoples. Although it is only a cliffhanger because there's a part in the next section that I'm having a bit of difficulty smoothing over. No worries, I'll be done soon (if I can tear myself away from my anime long enough…). Anyhow, REVIEW, dagnabit!!!
SerinityRules: Well of course it is!
Jewel: o.O Now…is that a good thing, or a bad thing?
