Chapter Five

Something Wicked This Way Comes

          Sasami and Tenchi both woke up early the next morning and headed downstairs for breakfast.  Soon after, Liana came bouncing down the stairs with Mr. Collins close behind.

          "Guess who we just saw?" she said, sitting down next to Sasami.  "Harry Potter!" she said before Sasami could even open her mouth.  "He's staying just two rooms away from us!"

          Sasami found it hard to share in Liana's excitement.  "Well it makes sense that he'd stay here, doesn't it?  He has to take the train to school tomorrow just like the rest of us."

          "That's right!" Liana gasped, practically bouncing out of her seat.  "He'll be on the train with us too!"

          "Don't you go bugging him," said Mr. Collins as he buttered his toast.  "I'm sure he has enough to worry about without a couple of first years harassing him."

          Liana stuck her tongue out at her father, then her eyes grew wide and she pointed at the staircase.  "Here he comes!"

          Sasami looked up and saw a boy a few years older than her coming down the stairs.  She had heard all about him last night, but he looked nothing at all like she had expected him to.  He was skinny and his clothes looked like they were several sizes too large, his hair looked like he never bothered to brush it, and he wore glasses.  There was no doubt that he was the famous Harry Potter though, because as soon as he stepped off the last stair half the witches and wizards in the bar ran up to him and offered to shake his hand.  Liana wanted to join in the fray, but when she tried to get up Mr. Collins reached out and pulled her back into her seat.  After Harry had finished shaking hands with everyone he ordered his breakfast from Tom and sat down alone to eat.

          "Isn't he here with anyone?" Tenchi asked.

          "I don't know," Liana said, still staring at him.  "I didn't see anyone else upstairs."

          "Hey, kiddo!" Mr. Collins said, snapping his fingers in front of her face.  "Eat your breakfast."

          Liana grabbed a couple waffles and started eating, but kept glancing occasionally in Harry's direction.  Mrs. Collins and the others came downstairs a little while later (except for Washu, who was still in her lab).  Soon after that Harry got up from his table and left for Diagon Alley.  Liana tried to follow him, but Mr. Collins made her finish her breakfast first.  When they had finished eating Mr. Collins and Tenchi left to go pick up their rental van for the trip to King's Cross station the next morning.  Sasami and Liana were anxious to go exploring Diagon alley, so Mrs. Collins and Ayeka gave them some money.  Mrs. Collins warned them to stay on the main street and to be back before lunch and Ayeka told Sasami not to buy anything dangerous.  From what Sasami had seen yesterday, she figured her sister would consider anything she bought to be dangerous.  Ryo-ohki climbed onto Sasami's head and they left out the back door.  Liana took out her wand and tapped the third brick from the left, the wall rolled back and they entered Diagon alley.

          They spent the morning exploring all the various stores and grabbing little snacks at the cafes.  Everywhere they went Liana kept an eye out for Harry Potter, but they never saw him.  When they visited Quality Quiddich supplies they had to push their way through a huge crowd that had gathered.  When they finally reached the front of the crowd  they saw a slick, highly polished broom set up on a podium.  Liana's eyes grew as large as saucers.

          "Oh my gosh!" she yelled.  "This is the Firebolt!  They're finally out!"

          "It sure is pretty," Sasami said.

          Liana looked at her like she had just murdered someone.  "Pretty?  This is the fastest, best handling broom ever made!"

          "Oh," Sasami said looking at the broom again.  It definitely looked like it was made to go fast.  The handle was very smooth and straight and it was polished to a high gloss.  The twigs in the back were molded and formed together like a teardrop, meeting in a sharp point at the end.

          Sasami had an idea.  "Why don't we each buy one?  You could teach me how to ride it.  It'll be fun,"

          Liana coughed and looked at her like she was crazy.  "You really don't know anything, do you?"

          "What did I say?"

          "This is the broom professional Quidditch players dream about using.  Even if we could get our parents to pay for one, there's no way either one of us could handle it.  I can barely use my Nimbus 1000."

          "Oh," said Sasami, feeling stupid.

          "Hey!  Let's go get that book I showed you yesterday, then you'll know all about brooms and Quidditch!"

          Sasami still wasn't sure if she even liked Quidditch, but she did want to learn more about the wizarding world so she agreed.  The manager at Flourish and Blotts wasn't too happy to see them.  But he soon cheered up when he realized Ryoko and Mihoshi weren't with them.  After they picked up Quidditch Through the Ages they went to an ice cream shop and read it together over very large chocolate sundaes.

          A few hours later they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch (they never did make it to the candy shop Liana promised to show Sasami). Tenchi and Mr. Collins had returned with the van a few hours earlier and had been sitting in a corner talking ever since.  Sasami was glad that they seemed to be getting along so well.  Ryoko was still at the bar and fast becoming one of Tom's favorite customers.  There was still no sign of Washu.  Mrs. Collins, Ayeka and Mihoshi showed up loaded down with boxes of new clothes from Gladrags Wizardwear (London).  After they put their boxes away in their rooms they all sat down for lunch.  Sasami and Liana didn't eat anything because they were still full of ice cream, which got them in trouble with Mrs. Collins and Ayeka.  Sasami was starting to feel pretty tired after the long day they had yesterday and all the ice cream she had just eaten so after lunch she went upstairs for a nap.  When she got to her room she placed her new book inside her trunk and climbed onto her bed.  She fell asleep thinking of brooms and magic wands and trains.

~~~

          That night another large party had taken over the Leaky Cauldron so the Collins treated them to dinner in Diagon Alley.  Liana swore she saw Harry Potter with the group but Mr. Collins told her it was just wishful thinking.  Talk that night revolved around preparations for the next morning.  The train was set to leave King's Cross station from platform Nine and Three-quarters at exactly 11:00 so they needed to get up early in order to be sure and make it on time.  Ayeka kept asking Sasami if she had packed everything, and Sasami kept telling her yes.

          They finished dinner and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron.  When they got to their room Tenchi went to the bathroom for his evening bath.  Ryo-ohki hopped onto Sasami's bed and curled up on the pillow.  Sasami had some questions she wanted to ask Washu, so she headed over to the wardrobe and poked her head through the door.

          "Miss Washu!" she called out.  "Are you in here?"

          "You don't need to shout," Washu said, stepping out from behind some of Tenchi's clothes.  "I'm right here."

          "Washu, have you been in there all day?"

          "Wow, has it been that long?" Washu asked, looking at the clock.

          "How is everyone going to get home tomorrow?" Sasami asked as Washu shut the wardrobe doors.  "Ryo-ohki's going with me."

          "Oh, don't worry about that," Washu said.  "All they have to do is enter my lab through here and then they can use the other door that leads to the house.  Oh, by the way, I finished going over the data I collected on your key if you want to hear about it."

          That was the other thing she had wanted to ask Washu about.  "What did you find out?"

          "Nothing conclusive, I'm afraid.  But the energy your key produced was almost exactly the same as that of the wand Liana was using.  I wish I had some data from your key other than what I got the other day, because I checked out the data from Ayeka's key and it's totally different.  The Master Key's is a bit closer to yours, but that's to be expected, considering where your key came from."

          "So what are you saying?"

          "Well, it looks like your key has more energy than others, but it is in essence a magic wand."

          "How is that possible?" Sasami asked.

          "It makes sense if you think about it," Washu replied.  "Witches and wizards use their wands to access and direct their own natural powers.  You use your key to access Tsunami's power.  Since you're becoming Tsunami, you're basically using it to access your own powers."

          "But it never acted the way it did yesterday when I would use it before."

          "When was the last time you used it?"

          Sasami had to think about that one.  "I think it was the day I met Tenchi and Ryoko.  I used it to open the cell Ayeka had put Tenchi in."

          "So its been almost three years.  Long before any of this started to happen."

          "So has it always been like this?"

          "It's possible.  Or it could be that you or Tsunami changed it and made it like this, I don't know.  But I do know that not even the Master Key could do what yours can."

          A horrible thought occurred to Sasami.  "If I can use my key to help control my powers does this mean I don't need to go to Hogwarts?"

          "No, I think this means that Hogwarts is definitely the place you want to be.  They specialize in teaching you how to direct and control your powers.  It doesn't matter where that power comes from."

          Sasami sat down on her bed, relieved.  The more she learned about Hogwarts, the more she wanted to go there.  They said goodnight and Washu returned to her lab.  Sasami put on her nightgown and climbed into bed.  A few minutes later Tenchi came out of the bathroom and she told him what Washu had said.  He looked a little disappointed when she told him that the Master Key couldn't do the same thing.  When she was done he turned out the lights and climbed into bed.  She could hardly sleep that night, she was so excited.

~~

          Sasami woke up the next morning to the sound of someone knocking on her door.  She moaned and looked over at the clock.  It read six AM.  She climbed out of bed, trying not to disturb Ryo-ohki, and walked across the room to answer the door.  Liana was standing on the other side looking miserable.

          "Why are you up so early?" Sasami asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

          "I couldn't sleep," she said, entering the room.  "Those boys next door were arguing all night long, and they're at it again this morning."

          "Oh, good morning, Liana," Tenchi said as he sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes.

          "Oh, I'm sorry," she said.  "I didn't mean to wake you."

          "That's okay," he said.  "I usually get up earlier than this anyway.  I'll just go brush my teeth."  He got out of bed and went into the bathroom.  Soon the sound of running water could be heard through the closed door. 

          "So, are you ready to go?" Liana asked as she hopped up on Sasami's bed.

          Sasami sat down next to her.  Ryo-ohki meowed and looked sleepily up at them.  Sasami picked her up and started petting her.  "I guess so.  But I'm really nervous."

          "So am I.  But that's what's so fun, it's like an adventure or something."

          Sasami remembered her last adventure, the incident with Kagato, it wasn't fun.  But this was completely different, she told herself.  She was only going to school, she was going to learn magic, and she had already made one friend.  She was still nervous, but it was a good, excited nervous.  "Yah," she said with a smile.  "It will be fun."

          After Tenchi was finished in the bathroom Sasami went in and took a bath.  Afterward she got dressed in her usual bright green and pink clothes, she and Liana would change into their robes later on the train.  A few hours later, after breakfast, Tenchi and Mr. Collins helped them drag their trunks downstairs and loaded them into the van.  Everyone piled into the van and soon they were weaving their way through the streets of London on their way to King's Cross station.

          They arrived with half an hour to spare and it was a good thing they did.  The station was crowded with people.  Mr. Collins and Tenchi found them some carts and they loaded their trunks onto them.  Liana placed her owl on top of her trunk and Ryo-ohki rode in the basket of Sasami's cart.  It took them over fifteen minutes to fight their way through the crowds to the wall that separated platforms nine and ten.  Earlier that morning Mrs. Collins had told them that in order to get to platform Nine and Three-Quarters all they had to do was walk straight through the wall.

          Ryoko looked at the wall skeptically.  "You're sure about this?" she asked Mrs. Collins.

          "Absolutely, I've done it myself many times." she said with a smile.

          Ryoko walked around to the other side then poked her head around the corner.  "Alright then, you go first."

          She shook her head.  "Sorry, I can't.  Since I'm the only one who's done this before I have to go last, to make sure everyone makes it through."  She turned to everyone else and said brightly,  "So, who will it be?"

          Tenchi, Ayeka, and Mihoshi all looked at each other nervously.  Mr. Collins was looking from the wall to his wife like she had lost her mind, apparently she had never told him about this part.  She seemed to be enjoying herself.  Sasami looked at the wall, still not quite convinced.

          "I'll go first," she said, before she could change her mind.  Mrs. Collins came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

          "Okay.  Remember, all you have to do is walk straight at the wall," she said, pointing at it.  "You can run if your nervous."

          Sasami nodded, she was nervous.  She looked around to make sure no one from the crowd was watching.  Then she took a deep breath, gripped her cart tight and started running towards the wall.  Before long the momentum from the cart made it impossible for her to stop without running into the wall.  The very solid looking brick wall was coming closer and closer.  Ryo-ohki meowed in alarm and closed her eyes.

          Just when it looked like she was going to crash into the wall it suddenly vanished before her eyes.  Sasami skidded to a halt and looked around in amazement.  A sign on the wall behind her read Platform 9 3/4 in gold letters on a scarlet background.  A large, scarlet steam engine was waiting at the platform and had the words "Hogwarts Express" painted on its front with the Hogwarts crest as a figurehead.  Steam was blowing everywhere.  A large group of people had already arrived and were busy loading their things onto the train.  Liana came through the wall behind her and almost ran into her.

          "You'd better move," she said.  "Dad's coming next."

          They moved away from the wall and Liana looked around.  "Wow.  Isn't this great?"  She asked.

          Sasami looked around again.  "It's wonderful," she said.

          One by one the others came through the wall.  They had to catch Mihoshi, who had her eyes closed and almost ran right off the platform.  Ayeka came last, with Mrs. Collins leading her through.

          They started down the length of the train, looking into the cars for some empty seats as they went.  Sasami was amazed at how much room each of the cars had.  The only trains she had ever been on were in Japan, and those were always so crowded with people that it was almost impossible to find an empty seat.  The seats in this train were all in their own compartments and had plenty of room for everyone to sit.  They found and empty compartment in the next to last car.  Tenchi and Mr. Collins helped Sasami and Liana place their trunks into the luggage racks.  There was also a spot for Liana's owl's cage.  After their luggage was secure Tenchi checked his watch.

          "Well, the train's about to leave, so I guess it's time to say goodbye."

          Sasami's stomach churned.  This was the part she had been dreading.  Tears formed in her eyes and she jumped into Tenchi's arms.  He hugged her back.

          "I'll miss you," she cried.

          Tenchi patted her on the back.  "I'll miss you too, but we'll see you again at Christmas."

          Sasami sniffed and looked at him.  "I know, but that's so far away."

          Washu knelt down beside them and hugged her.  "Hey, when you come back you can show us some cool new tricks, alright?"

          Sasami nodded.

          Ryoko patted her on the head.  "Hey kiddo.  Try not to blow anyone up, okay?" she said with a crooked smile.

          Sasami laughed and hugged her.  "I'll try.  I'll miss you, Ryoko."

          "I'll miss you too, kid."

          Mihoshi broke into tears and wailed loudly.  Sasami hugged her.  "It's okay, Mihoshi.  I'll be back to visit in a few months."

          "I know," Mihoshi sobbed.  "But it's just so sad!"  She started to cry louder and hugged Sasami so hard that she could barely breath.  Tenchi had to pull Mihoshi away before she crushed her.

          Ayeka knelt down beside Sasami as she was gasping for breath.  The tears came back and she hugged her sister.  The warning whistle blew.

          Ayeka hugged her back and they stayed like that for a minute, neither saying anything.  Then Ayeka stood up and kissed her on the top of her head.

          "If you ever need me, let Ryo-ohki know and I'll come as soon as I can."

          Sasami nodded.  "I love you, Ayeka.  I'll miss you."

          "I love you too."

          The whistle blew again.

          "We'd better go," Washu said.  "Bye, Sasami."  She waved and turned to leave the train.  Ryoko, Mihoshi and Tenchi all said goodbye again and followed her.  Sasami hugged Mr. and Mrs. Collins.

          "I'll miss you too," she said.

          They hugged her back, then hugged Liana goodbye and left the train as well.  Ayeka hugged Sasami one more time, then stepped off the train just as it started to move.  The doors closed and Sasami opened the window and she and Liana leaned out so they could see everyone.

          "Goodbye everyone!" Liana said, waving.

          They all waved back as the train started pulling out of the station.  As the train moved away they got smaller and smaller.  Soon all Sasami could see were the streets and buildings of London as they made their way through the city.  She closed the window and they went to their compartment and closed the door.  Sasami sat down on one of the benches and Liana took the seat opposite her.  They silently watched the buildings fly past the window as the train picked up speed.  Ryo-ohki fell asleep on the seat next to Sasami.  Soon they left the urban sprawl of London and were moving through wide, green fields and pastures.  It was beautiful, the last time Sasami had seen such wide open spaces was from her bedroom window on Jurai, high up in the giant tree that served as the Royal Palace.  Except there were more hills here, and they didn't have cows on Jurai.  It could have been an even nicer view, but the slowly gathering clouds were starting to hide the sun and turned everything to a dull gray.

          "What's with that mark on your forehead?"

          Sasami turned from the window, surprised at the sudden question.  "Huh?"

          "That mark on your forehead," Liana said, pointing at the green triangles on Sasami's forehead.  "I've been meaning to ask you why you wear that."

          "I've had it for as long as I can remember," she said.  "It's like a birthmark, I can't take it off."

          Liana leaned forward and studied it for a moment.  "I've never seen a green birthmark before."

          Sasami reached up and rubbed her forehead.  She couldn't feel the marks, but she knew they were there.

          They spent the rest of the morning discussing their families.  Liana, as it turned out, was not from England either; though her mother was.  Her father was an American businessman and had met Liana's mother on one of his business trips to London.  After they got married Mrs. Collins had moved with him to New York, where he had an apartment, but she frequently returned to London to visit her family.  When it was time for Liana to start wizards school, her mother had insisted she attend Hogwarts, claiming that the Americans couldn't even play Quidditch right (Mrs. Collins loved the game as much as Liana did), so how could they be expected to teach Liana how to be a proper witch?

          Sasami told Liana as much as she could about life with Tenchi and the others.  It was becoming easier for her to leave out the bits about other planets and Light Hawk Wings and Goddesses.  Life at Tenchi's house was, for the most part, just like any other large family's; busy.  She told Liana about Tenchi's carrot fields, the lake the house was built on and the Masaki shrine (although she left out the fact that the old priest was her half-brother Yosho.  It would be difficult to explain the age difference if Liana were ever to meet him).  Liana was fascinated, especially since she had lived in a high-rise apartment all her life.

          As the morning wore on the clouds grew darker.  Shortly after one o'clock a little, round witch with a lunch cart arrived outside their door.  Sasami had seen some of the items on the cart in Diagon Alley, but many of them she had not.  There were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron cakes, and many others she couldn't even begin to guess at.  It all looked so good that Sasami decided to get a little bit of everything.  She was still new to wizards money, so Liana had to help her figure out the right amount.  Liana got a few Cauldron cakes, Every Flavor Beans and some Chocolate Frogs.

          After the witch had left they sat down to eat.  Sasami started with the cauldron cakes, since they were the biggest.  They were good, but nothing special.  When she was done she reached for a box of Every Flavor Beans.

          "You want to be careful with those," Liana said through a mouth full of cake.

          Sasami looked up at her.  "Why?"

          She swallowed and said, "When they say 'every flavor' they mean every flavor.  You have just as good a chance of finding sawdust or vinegar as you do licorice or apple.  I got one that tasted like mildew once, I've never eaten them since."

          Sasami looked down at the box of jelly beans she was holding.  She considered leaving them, but her curiosity got the better of her.  How could she not try them?  It was like putting a "Do Not Push" sign over a big, red button.  She opened the box, popped the first one into her mouth without even looking at it, and bit down.  Her nose and mouth screamed in protest as her eyes filled with tears.  She spit the bean out and grabbed a nearby bottle of pumpkin juice.  She drink half the bottle between fits of coughing.  Ryo-ohki woke up and meowed worriedly.

          "What flavor was that?" Liana asked, laughing.  Sasami coughed a few more times.

          "I don't know," she replied.  "It tasted like a dirty sock."  She put the beans aside and picked up a Chocolate Frog.

          "Ooh, you'll like those," Liana said.  "But watch out, they can get away from you if you're not careful."

          "They're not real frogs, are they?" Sasami asked, afraid of the answer.

          "Of course not, but they can still jump," she said, as if it were a perfectly natural thing for chocolate to do.  "If you want, you can collect the cards, too."

          Sasami opened the box, barely catching the frog as it jumped out, and pulled a card out.  On it was a beautiful witch with long, curly hair and a tight, thin smile.  She seemed to be looking straight at Sasami, she stared back at the witch.  After a moment the witched laughed and walked out of the picture.  Sasami blinked.

          "Hey, She left!"

          "Who was it?"

          Sasami looked at the bottom of the card.  "Uhm, Morgana Le Fey."

          "Oh, she never stays long.  Don't worry about it, she can be pretty rude sometimes."

          After they finished eating Sasami got out her copy of Quidditch Through the Ages and they looked through it together.  Sasami still didn't know if she liked the game, but it gave her a little better understanding of how the wizarding community worked.  She was especially interested to learn that there was even a Japanese team.  Ryo-ohki chased one of the Chocolate Frogs around the floor for a while, but when the magic wore off and it stopped moving she climbed up onto Sasami's lap and fell asleep again.  Students had begun moving up and down the train, and they could hear the sounds of people talking and laughing outside their compartment.  Most of them were already in their robes, and Liana suggested they put theirs on too.  It was the first time Sasami had worn hers since they were fitted, and now that everyone else around her was wearing the same thing she didn't feel quite as silly.  Liana took her wand out of her trunk and tucked it into her robe.  Sasami took her key, which she had had in her shirt pocket out of habit, and tucked it into her robe as well.  Liana was still fascinated with it.  Around mid-afternoon the clouds finally let loose the rain they had been threatening all day and turned the world outside even darker then it had been.  It made Sasami glad she was warm and comfortable inside the train.  The lanterns in the corridors and above the luggage racks flickered on.

          "I wonder how much longer it will be until we reach Hogwarts," Sasami said as she looked out the window at the ever darkening sky.

          "It shouldn't be too much longer," Liana said.  "We still have to be sorted and eat dinner."

          "Sorted?"

          "Into our house, there's four at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.  Mum told me the first thing they do is divide us up into one of them; she was in Ravenclaw.  We stay in the same house the whole time we're there, it's kind of like our family."

          "How do they sort us?"

          "I don't know, Mum wouldn't tell me.  She said it was sort of a secret, but I think it's a kind of test or something."

          "I hope it's not a magic test," Sasami said, "I don't know any yet."

          "I only know a couple spells," Liana said, "and they don't work right."

          Sasami was about to ask what kind of spells they were when she noticed that something felt different.  Liana must have noticed it too, because she suddenly got a curious look on her face.

          "What's wrong with the train?" Liana asked.

          "I don't know," Sasami said, "I think we're slowing down."

          "Are we there?"

          Sasami went to the window and rubbed the fog off of it with her hand.  "I can't see anything out there."  She slid the window down and poked her head out into the rain.  She looked up and down the length of the train.  It was definitely slowing down, but all she could see were trees; there was no sign of a station.  She brought her head back inside and shook the water off.  "There's nothing but trees out there."

          "So why are we stopping?"

          "Maybe there's something on the tracks?"

          The train came to a stop with a jolt.  Out in the corridor some luggage fell to the floor with heavy thumps.  The lights went out and plunged them into darkness.

          "Hey!" Liana said.

          Sasami felt her way back to her seat and cautiously sat down.  "We'd better sit down," she said.  "I think the train broke down."

          "I think you're right," Liana said.  Sasami heard her fumbling around for her seat.  Suddenly Ryo-ohki meowed painfully and Liana yelped.

          "Sorry Ryo-ohki."

          They heard one of the doors outside open and the sound of someone stepping onto the train.  Ryo-ohki hissed and jumped onto Sasami's lap.  As the heavy footsteps moved slowly down the corridor they could hear each of the compartment doors sliding open and the footsteps would pause for a moment before moving on.  As they grew nearer Ryo-ohki grew more and more agitated.  Sasami tried to calm her, but it was hard when she felt just as nervous.  Why was she so scared?  She could hear Liana breathing nervously across from her.  She wished she could see.  A small shiver ran up her back and the compartment began to glow a soft green.  Liana gasped.

          "Sasami…."

          Sasami looked around to see where the light was coming from.  Wherever she looked the light seemed to follow.  She looked back at Liana, she had one hand over her mouth and the other was pointing at Sasami's forehead.  Ryo-ohki arched her back and hissed loudly.  The compartment door slid open and Sasami and Liana turned to look.  They both gasped.  A tall, hooded figure in a dark cloak stood filling the doorway.  It slowly looked around the compartment.  Ryo-ohki growled and it turned to look at her (at least Sasami thought it did, she couldn't see its face).  Its gaze moved up from Ryo-ohki to Sasami.  It stared for a moment then made a high hissing sound like it was drawing a large breath.  The compartment turned ice cold.  The bottom of the train felt like it had fallen out from under her.  Liana moaned and Ryo-ohki whimpered and cowered in Sasami's lap.  The world turned hazy, like she was seeing it through a thick fog.  She could hear people shouting in the distance and what sounded like explosions.  She could see the dark figure, hear its high, hissing breath, but it seemed far off, like a dream.  The shouting and explosions were coming closer, becoming much more real.  The cold enveloped her, seeping into her skin and wrapping itself around her heart.

          "Tsunami," she whispered, "what's going on?  I'm scared."

          The world exploded as the compartment was flooded with an intense green light.  The hooded figure covered its face and turned back down the corridor.  The light faded back to its original soft glow and the world returned to normal.  Warmth flooded back into the room and the shouting faded.  Sasami sat there for a moment, shivering and wondering just what had happened.  Liana was still shaking.  She hugged herself and slowly looked up at Sasami.

          "What did you do?  Why did it leave?"

          Sasami was silent for a moment.  What had she done?

          "I don't know," she finally said.

          A minute later the lights came back on and the train started moving again.  Sasami sat there, slowly petting Ryo-ohki and watching the rain as it fell past the window in long streaks.  Neither of them spoke for the rest of the journey.

          Finally a voice sounded throughout the train:  "We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes time.  Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

          Sasami's stomach lurched with excited nerves, the cloaked figure temporarily forgotten.  Liana began nervously fidgeting with her robes.  The train began to slow down and eventually came to a stop.  Ryo-ohki climbed onto Sasami's head and they joined the throng of students climbing off the train.  They stepped onto the dark platform into the freezing, driving rain.  Sasami shivered and drew her robes tight around her.  A lamp bobbed over their heads and she heard a loud, booming voice shout, "Firs' years this way!"

          She looked up over the sea of students and saw the largest man she had ever seen towering over them.  His hair was scraggly and long and his face was almost completely covered with a great, tangled beard.  He wore a huge, ratty brown overcoat that was covered with pockets.  Sasami and Liana timidly made their way toward him, along with a large crowd of other frightened looking first years.

          "All righ' you three?"  The giant said to someone behind them.

          They turned around and saw Harry and some of his friends waving at the large man.  To Liana's dismay they were quickly carried away by the crowd of older students moving down the platform.

          The giant turned back to the group of students gathered around him and said, "Any more firs' years?  All righ' then, follow me.  Mind your step!"

          He led them off the platform and down a narrow, slick path that seemed to be bordered on both sides by trees.  Sasami couldn't really tell through the stinging rain.  Nobody spoke as they slipped and stumbled down the path.  Ryo-ohki meowed pitifully on Sasami's head.  She pulled her down and wrapped her tightly in her robes.

          "Yeh'll get yer firs' look o' Hogwarts in a minute," the giant said.  "Though I don' know how much yeh'll see in this rain," he added.

          The path opened up as they rounded a corner and came to the shore of a large black lake.  A few students "oohed" and Sasami looked up.  Atop a high mountain on the other side of the lake she could see the dim outline of a huge castle with many towers and turrets, its windows sparkling despite the heavy rain.  Sasami suddenly wanted nothing more than to be inside its warm, dry walls.

          The giant led them down to the shore, where a fleet of small wooden boats waited.

          "All righ'," he said.  "No more'n four to a boat."

          Sasami and Liana climbed into a boat with two boys.  They looked out over the rough waters and exchanged nervous glances with each other.

          "They're going to make us cross that?" said one of the boys.  He was tall and skinny with scraggly dark hair and sharp eyes.  The other was shorter, with sandy blond hair that looked almost black because of the rain.

          "They must know what they're doing" Sasami said, not completely believing herself.

          Liana nervously nodded her agreement.  She was looking very green.

          The boy sneered and looked back out at the lake.  "If anything happens my parents will hear about it, that's for sure."

          "Everybody in?" the giant asked, who had an entire boat for himself.  "Right then-FORWARD!" he shouted.

          As one, the little boats moved out into the water.  As they drifted towards the center of the lake the water grew rougher and Liana turned even greener than before.  The boy with the scraggly hair was starting to look sick as well.  The other boy, who hadn't said a word, was staring up at the castle, apparently unaffected by the rough water.  Sasami looked up as well.  The castle looked even bigger close up, its towers seemed to pierce the sky.  The boats continued through the driving rain toward the cliff at the base of the school.

          "Heads down!" cried the giant as they reached the cliff.  They all ducked as they were carried through an opening covered with ivy.  They began to wring out their soaking robes as they floated down a dark passageway that seemed to go directly underneath the school.  They came to rest at a sort of underground harbor and Liana and the tall boy gratefully climbed out of the boat onto the dry ground.  Sasami stepped out and gathered around the giant with everyone else.

          "Everyone here?" he asked.  "Right then, follow me!"

          He led them up a passageway in the rock, coming out at last on a large lawn close to the front doors of the castle.  They walked up the stone staircase and gathered around the large, oak door.  The giant knocked heavily three times.

End of Chapter Five