A/N: And to answer you're question on the poetry, yes it is mine unless I state otherwise. I'm so happy you guys like it!!! *Sniff* though I'm not the best at poems, and most of the time they're spur of the moment type things, I live.
"Seems like the world is collapsing upon me
An endless road that keeps getting smaller
There are too many rocks and reeds
From the time when I was small and getting taller
To the time when I stopped growth and merely got smarter
Outcaste from being different
Into my cross another nail
Just to make it heavier
And in my life another fail
Why can't things be easier?
"It isn't professional, could use a bit of work, but not bad either." He told her. He rolled up the small piece of parchment and then opened the drawer on the desk beside him. He put the paper in there and then took out a small orb. "And here's what I promised you." He said handing the white, slightly translucent, sphere. It was about the size of her fist and had a bit of a creamy color to it. "If you have it out in a dark or dim room it'll look like the room is full of fireflies. Now run along, I'm tired." He said, shooing her off.
"Thank you sir." She said, politely bowing. She then walked out and closed his curtain in for him.
Someone off to the side of her chuckled a bit. "Sir?" She questioned, looking at the man with the snake bite.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just…that man hasn't said a word to anyone since he's been here. And there you go, getting him to talk to you as if you were his daughter." He said good-naturedly. "We've heard a lot about you from Mr. Tomo over there, well, I'm an early arrival but I've still heard enough. Come over here and talk to me now." He said, awfully cheerful for someone who's suppose to be in pain. But Hotaru complied and sat down beside him. "Three of my sons, my daughter, and my wife will be visiting me today, though not till later I suppose." He said glancing at the clock. "Though I guess you can't expect a visit too early in the morning." He chuckled.
"No, most like to sleep in on days off." Hotaru commented.
"Very true." He agreed pulling up some news paper. "I was just reading something in the Daily Prophet about you, did you know you're more or less famous?" He asked. Hotaru shook her head in surprise. "Ahem, 'Dolores Umbridge, High Inquisitor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, comments on a certain Hotaru Tomo at Hogwarts that shows particularly high promise. "An exceptionally talented young one she is," Umbridge comments, "Expected to come out as one of the greatest witches Hogwarts has ever seen. She is very mild-tempered, speaks only when she has something to say, as sweet as candy, sharp as a knife, and one of the prettiest girls I've seen in a long time." Umbridge has nominated this said student for a job in the Ministry of Magic. We have interviewed many teachers and this is what most of them have to say, "She's bright, she's sweet, and has been one of the best students I've had." Because Miss Tomo has not only shown exceeding skill at Quidditch, but become quite popular with the other houses, she just might make it to the front page of the Daily Prophet one day.'" He set the newspaper down and grinned at her.
Hotaru's face was quite red, had she really been noticed that much? Or was her 'notice me not' charm wearing off? "Well," The man began, "Getting straight Os in all of the classes you're taking is something that gets noticed." He said, reading her blush. "Also taking every class you can manage, and then some. Let's see," he read a bit more, "Oh yeah, there's also the thing with seeking in Quidditch. Tell me, how do you end up getting the snitch within 2 minutes?" He asked, intrigued.
Hotaru shrugged, "I suppose I just have good eyesight." She told him.
"Either that or just plain skill. Perhaps you have a bit of a talent with Divination as well." He said winking.
"Oh! I remember you, you were at the train station talking with Glandria." Hotaru exclaimed, remembering now why he looked familiar.
He nodded, "Arthur Weasley at your service." He said grinning.
"Why, you're Ron's dad, and Fred and George's too! They must be awfully worried about you." She said.
He leaned in and then whispered, "I don't suppose it's okay for me to ask, but I can't keep it in any longer. Is it true that there was an actual demon living inside you're father's right eye?" He asked.
Hotaru found it a bit forward, but he was very polite about it. She shifted awkwardly and nodded. "Oh Hello!" Mr. Weasley looked up and called.
Hotaru turned around to see who it was and found Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, and who she presumed was Mrs. Weasley walking into the room.
"Hotaru?!" Fred and George gasped.
"Hi." Hotaru waved timidly, wishing she had an invisibility charm handy.
"Arthur, who is this—" Mrs. Weasley began.
"How'd you know our Dad was sick?" Asked Ron, surprised.
"Er…" Hotaru trailed off. She didn't, but how could she tell them why she was here?
"She didn't, in fact she didn't even know I was your dad until recently." Mr. Weasley said. "She was merely being sweet and talking to me."
"Oh, are you volunteering here?" Mrs. Weasley asked kindly.
Hotaru shook her head, "I'm-um…just visiting." She said standing up. She straightened out her skirt.
"What, er, who are you—?" Ron began.
"Hota-chan," Her Papa called from behind the curtain appose to Mr. Weasley.
"I'll see you later, okay?" She said to Ron, she gave them a polite bow and walked over to the curtain. "Coming Papa." She said softly as she disappeared into the curtain.
*********
Hotaru sighed deeply, relaxing herself, and laid down her card. "9 beats 8." Kioko said. "Yours." Hotaru took her cards. "So what happened after that?" She asked.
"I just sat down and talked with my Papa for a bit." Hotaru answered as Kioko took the pare of cards she'd won.
Kioko sighed, "This is dull. I mean, you probably already know who's gonna win, or you could find out by psychically looking at the cards." She said.
"It'd take a long time of looking and figuring out. And if we shuffle the decks it'd be hard to figure out. But you're probably right." Hotaru said as she set down her deck.
"Let's grab Draco and play Hearts, though you'll have to promise not to use you're mind-reading skills." Kioko stated.
Hotaru shook her head, "I haven't had a problem blocking out your thoughts and I can normally catch myself with Malfoy." She said.
"Okay great. Hey Malfoy! I don't think he heard me, go over there and get him to play cards with us." She told Hotaru.
"Why me?" The girl asked.
"Because there's a greater chance of him saying no to me." She said.
"Okay." Hotaru sighed. She got up and strolled over to where Draco was. "Hi, Kioko and I are going to play Hearts but we need a third player." Hotaru told him smiling.
"What's Hearts?" he asked suspiciously.
"It's a card game, we'll show you how to play." She answered.
"No thanks, I'm not interested in muggle games." He said, with a bit of disgust at the word muggle.
"Oh please?" She pleaded grabbing his sleeve before he could walk away. "It's fun. Just try it."
"Hem hem." Kioko said, getting their attention. They looked at her and saw her pointing up with a very smug look on her face.
"Who puts mistletoe in the Slytherin common room?" Malfoy asked, a bit irritably.
"That would be yours truly." Kioko said taking a bow. "Now, would you two like me to leave the room?" She asked teasingly.
"Kioko!" Hotaru wined, her face was as red as a cherry.
Malfoy made a sound like a 'humph' and suddenly, really unexpectedly, he pressed his lips to Hotaru's. "I'm going to my room." He said after breaking off the next moment. But before he could hide it Hotaru saw the red in his cheeks.
Kioko was chuckling at Hotaru's face, "You look like a cherry Firefly." She said.
"Kioko…" Hotaru complained, her face was starting to take on its pale color once again.
"And I thought he'd put up a fight. He has it baaaaaaaaaad." Kioko said sitting down. Hotaru took the chair across from her.
"But he just…left." Hotaru observed, a bit confused.
"Yeah, of course he did. Come on Hotaru, a guy like Malfoy is the last person to kiss someone period. You think he'd be too thrilled about sticking around for the aftermath? I didn't see it, but I bet his face was red." She said grinning. "Mushyness is not a Malfoy trait, and there is a very fine line between being mushy and romantic. He's not gonna pass you notes in class, or walk down the halls holding hands. And he'll probably just avoid you at all costs when you're depressed and crying. In fact he'll probably avoid you for a good while. He's not gonna show many signs of even wanting a relationship in public, at least he won't on purpose, and he'll probably just act civil to you when you're alone. And he'll visit you in the hospital a lot too. But I doubt he'll do anything else to show he cares. In fact he probably won't even ask you out unless he feels threatened into doing so." Kioko said, when Hotaru gave her a questioning look she explained, "Meaning some other cute guy asks you out, even if you say no."
"You make it sound like…like…" Hotaru trailed off, if she said it then it might become official.
"Well, he kissed you didn't he? It's expected." Kioko answered, knowing exactly what she was thinking.
Hotaru flushed, she wasn't ready for any kind of relationship! She still had the whole Mistress 9 thing to sort out, and on top of that was her school work, even though that seemed more of an escape than anything else, she could hardly handle everything as it was. Could she add something as big as a relationship on top of all that? Hotaru shook her head as if to try and clear her thoughts, but it wasn't working. "I don't think…I can do this." She said rubbing her face.
"What's to do? He's a guy, if he wants your time he'll ask for it. And we're talking about Malfoy here, he's not gonna demand attention now that he knows he can get it without insulting you left and right." Kioko told her.
Hotaru sighed and sank back into her chair. Things just got a little bit more complicated.
*******
Journal Entry, Christmas: I can hardly believe it, but I've actually been able to relax for the holidays. Enough that I joined the other senshi in the lobby. Ami pulled out two big decks of special cards and taught us all how to play a game called faze ten. It seemed everyone was getting relaxed and happy for Christmas, Haruka didn't even make a fuss when Glandria was invited over to play with us. Even though there was a lot of people, Kioko admitted to having a good time. She liked Makoto as well as Haruka and Setsuna. Though Minako annoyed her a bit, Rei was okay, Ami was 'cool', and she kind of liked Usagi.
"This is a very…diverse group of friends you have here." She had told me after the game.
Then we all crowded around the fire and roasted Marshmallows. Glandria made the fireplace bigger and brought us some chocolate and gram cracker so we could make smores. Everyone was getting into the holiday spirit.
Setsuna took me shopping for Christmas gifts later in the day. I got jewelry items for most of them, a book for Ami, and box of small chocolate beads for Papa.
Sigh, I found out the limitations on this book. Kioko had an idea and told me to look into it for some answers, well, the pages went blank. It wouldn't tell me anything no matter how round-about I tried asking it. I feel so frustrated with it now, but I suppose answers just can't come that easily. It isn't fair though, we say that a lot, but it just isn't fair. It isn't fair that my father has to die. It isn't fair that Kioko's friend Rune had to die. It isn't fair that Harry's parent's had to die. It isn't fair that Draco is stuck being a Dark Wizard. It isn't fair that Ron's dad got hurt. It isn't fair that Voldemort is back, and the same for Mistress 9. 'Why can't things be easier?'
Why can't things be right again?
Hours I've tried to think it through
I wish I could make it right again
Even if it cost me everything
Life is like the sky so blue
When it clouds up there is gray
Rain is like my tears so true
Until night turns into day
Why can't life be fair again?
It confuses me like a maze
I just can't make it fair again
And it is taking everything
Death is like the night so black
With no moon to light the way
Completely obscure in its attack
This night doesn't turn to day
Maybe the man in the Hospital would like this poem more. I'll give it to him next time I visit.
******
"I brought you some chocolate Papa." Hotaru said, holding up her box.
"Why thank you Hota-chan." Her father said and he kissed her forehead.
"Here's you're wheal chair Mr. Tomo." Said the Healer. She and Hotaru then helped her Papa into the chair and Hotaru pushed it out the doorway. "Be careful now, alright you two?" She said.
"Oh we will. Thank you ma'am." Dr. Tomo said as the Healer turned to another patient.
Hotaru pushed her father's chair on down the hallway, today they were going to spend the entire day together, just the two of them. Though they had to stay in St. Mungo's, it didn't matter much.
"I've made several friends at school. Kioko, I've told you about her, she's my closest friend. We have a study time with Ron, Fred, and George Weasley, they're sons of the one who had the snake bite in you're room. There's also Harry Potter and Hermione Granger." She told him.
"Ah, The Boy Who Lived is that right?" Mr. Tomo asked.
"Yes it is Papa. Though Kioko's given him the name, 'The Boy Who Won't Die'." He chuckled, "She clams he was bathed for hours on end in a fairy spring when he was a baby because he's gotten through impossible hurdles and hasn't died yet. I guess I'll have to agree with her. He kept the Sorcerer's stone from Vol-I mean You-Know-Who." She stopped herself, remembering that she was somewhere public and the people around her wouldn't appreciate her saying his name. "He fought a real Basilisk, got through all those obstacles at the Triwizard Tournament, fought You-Know-Who himself, and he's still around to tell the tail." She said.
"And a tall tail it is isn't it?" Spoke the man sitting in a rest area. He had a newspaper in his hands and had apparently been reading something. "Don't tell me you're one of those crazies that actually believe You-Know-Who is back." He said when she gave him an odd look.
"Why do you say that?" Hotaru asked kindly.
"It's all over the Daily Prophet, You-Know-Who isn't back, Potter just wants attention and Dumbledore is crazy." He said plainly.
"What makes you think he wants attention? I'm friends with him and it seems to me that he'd much rather less attention. What makes you think Dumbledore is crazy? Is it merely because he says V-You-Know-Who is back? Or do you have actual proof?" Hotaru asked softly.
The man opened his mouth, and closed it, just looking at her. He gave her a sideways glance and then looked at something in the Daily Prophet. "You're that Tomo girl aren't you?" He asked.
"Yes she is, and she knows exactly what she's talking about." Hotaru's heart gave a pleasant thump at her father's praise.
"Well…what proof is there that he's back? I mean, there's been no reports whatsoever." The man asked.
"He's a brilliant man, or else he'd never have gotten so far as to have people fear the very sound of his name. He wouldn't do anything out in the open, he wants the Ministry to think he's dead." Hotaru answered.
"Well…why is the Ministry ignoring Dumbledore if he isn't crazy then?" The man asked.
"Would you want to believe that the Dark Wizard that caused so much chaos, corruption, and death is back after such a long time of wonderful peace? But if we don't believe it, we become unprepared for his attack. Do you want to be ignorant of what's going on when he attacks? Think about it, and have a nice Christmas sir." She said before pushing her father's chair on to the elevator.
"That was a very brave thing you did Hota-chan. I am very proud of you, you handled it very well." Hotaru's father said smiling.
"Thank you, Papa." Hotaru said, smiling herself.
Next they went into the lobby and got some ice cream, they sat down and had a nice chat about her homework and such. They brought back some sweets and visited Mr. Weasley for a bit. Then they went out again and talked with a few of Mr. Tomo's acquaintances. They had lunch with Mr. Weasley, he was a very pleasant man and liked Hotaru very much.
The day was basically a private time for Hotaru and her father. They didn't come to get her until late, and when they did Mr. Tomo gave his daughter a small box wrapped in Christmas paper. "But you can't open it until Christmas!" He told her.
"Okay Papa." Hotaru said taking the gift. She kissed her Papa goodbye.
"I love you Hota-chan. Don't forget your promise." He said.
"I won't." Hotaru told him, whipping away a tear.
*********
Christmas Eve was suppose to be a time of joy, a time of happiness, of anticipation, of celebration. But no matter how hard she tried, Hotaru could not enjoy any of it. She smiled with the others, laughed with the others, played games and ate smores with them as well as all sorts of Christmas treats, but she could not be happy on the inside. It was…it was just too much. Her father was dead, he had died the midnight before, and exactly at midnight. "He died peacefully in his sleep" the letter had told them. But it didn't matter, he was still dead. And it was all her fault too.
Mistress 9 was the one who poisoned him through his right eye, and she was too week to keep her from doing it. If she'd only been stronger, if she was just a bit stronger she could have healed his eye herself. But…Setsuna had told her it would only speed up his death because the power that would heal him would be the same as that which was killing him. He was dead, she'd never see him again, never, and it was all her fault.
Hotaru sank into her normal chair in the Slytherin common room. Kioko was probably off having a fun time with either Makoto or Haruka-papa. She couldn't help but feel a bit reproachful at their happiness, her father was dead and here they are laughing merrily, playing card games, eating popcorn balls…but then, it was Christmas. They could be happy if they wanted. In fact it was best if they were happy, especially Kioko. This was probably the best time she's had in years. They could be happy, but she just couldn't seem to manage it.
Hotaru whipped away a few tears with her sleeve, but more kept coming, and she couldn't seem to stop sniffling.
"Come on Tomo, can't that incarnate give you some peace at Christmas? I thought I was the only one who's black during Christmas." Malfoy muttered, sitting down next to her. Well, so much for Kioko's assumption that he'd avoid her.
"It's not that." Hotaru sobbed shaking her head.
"Then why are you crying? You have friends and loved ones everywhere; they're swarming the halls like ants. I can't walk to the library without having a run in with your father." He said, though his voice wasn't too unsympathetic. In fact he sounded a bit…envious.
Hotaru just busted out with another sob, she clutched her head and hid her face by bringing her legs up on the chair. She felt Malfoy's hand on her shoulder, "Lighten up, Tomo, it's Christmas. Come on, stop crying." He said quietly.
"I can't…" She sniffed. "It's…it's…" She sobbed, wondering if she could tell him or not.
"It's not…Mistress 9 or whatever, is it?" he asked. Hotaru shook her head and looked up at him. He still held a straight face, trying to seem indifferent, but she could see he cared, and he wanted to know.
Hotaru turned back to look at the fire and rubbed off her tears with her sleeve again. "Last night, around midnight, my…my father died. My real father. He's been sick ever since I was little, and there was nothing they could do about it because…because…" She let out a fresh new stream of tears. "It's all my fault! Mistress 9, she-she put a lesser demon in his right eye, and it poisoned him before we could kill it. There was nothing St. Mungo's could do about it but keep him from feeling the pain as the poison worked it's way through his body." She sobbed.
Draco pulled Hotaru into his arms and held her there, letting her cry on his shoulder. He didn't say anything, probably wondering why in the world he was doing this. He just sat there and let her cry her heart out. When she calmed down and gave one last sniff he spoke, "Are you okay now?"
She was, crying had seemed to help relax her and she felt better, stronger, after letting it all out like she did. She nodded. He pat her back a bit and then let her go as he got up. "See you later, Tomo." He said straightening out his robes. Without another word or look he went off towards his dormitory, leaving Hotaru feeling a good deal better.
************
Christmas morning Hotaru was genuinely cheerful. The Senshi were allowed the use of the Slytherin Common room for their festivities because the only Slytherins occupying it were Hotaru, Kioko, and Draco. Well, Draco wouldn't be coming down anyways, he was perfectly satisfied with keeping to his dormitory until, 'all the blasted happiness leaves' as Kioko put it.
From Ami Hotaru and Kioko got a set of books to help them with Ancient Runes. Minako got her a makeup kit as well as Kioko, no surprise. Makoto gave HOtaru a set of violet rose earrings like her own, and some blue ones to Kioko. Rei's gift was a ceremonial sword to each of them and they looked really expensive too. Usagi got the two a jewelry box, complete with some nice silver jewelry. Haruka's gift to her and Kioko were several books of jinxes, curses, and hexes that were more or less embarrassing for the receiving end of them. Michiru gave Hotaru a pretty purple and black lamp and Kioko two dressy collars for her cats. Setsuna gave the two boxes full of wonderful odds and ends from Saturn's Eye.
After all those Hotaru opened up the present she got from her Papa. It was a silver locket and it had a picture of her father smiling and waving happily. She closed it and then put it around her neck to wear.
"Hey, what's this one?" Kioko asked holding up a mid-sized rectangular box with silver wrapping paper and a green bow. It was one from Hotaru's pile, which still had Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George's presents in it. "Oh, it's from Malfoy." She said, either not thinking about what she was saying or, most likely, doing it deliberately.
Haruka instantly perked up and swiped the package from Kioko's hand. "Then we shall burn it!" She exclaimed walking over to the fire.
"Haruka!" Michiru snapped, taking the present from Haruka's hands. She then handed it back to Hotaru.
"Hotaru wouldn't mind if we burned it, would she?" Haruka asked, evil smile on her face.
"Um…er…" Hotaru blushed a bit. Haruka's expression changed, her eyes seemed to budge and her mouth dropped to the ground almost.
"Don't tell me…" She squeaked. "Nooooooooooo!!!!" She shrieked.
"Haruka calm down!!!" Michiru shushed.
"Aga, abu, of all the boys in Hogwarts you had to choose him?!?!?!?!?!" Haruka demanded, her voice high pitched and squeaky. Hotaru stepped back, a bit alarmed. "Why couldn't you pick someone I liked, like, like Harry! Or Ron even! Fred, George, Lee, anyone but him!!!" she exclaimed.
"It's okay Haruka." Michiru said, she patted Haruka's back while the Wind Senshi cried.
Hotaru back-stepped, "Maybe we should take the rest of these up into our room…" She suggested to Kioko.
"Er, good idea." Kioko said. She gathered up the rest of their presents and they snuck back into their dormitory with the cover of the other senshi.
"Few!" Kioko sighed. "I had no idea she'd go off like that. I mean, Malfoy's a pest sometimes but he's not that bad. However much Harry and the others might differ." She said. "Let's open up these." She said.
Hotaru decided to open up the other presents first. Fred and George gave her several of those wands that change when you pick them up, Ron got her a small silver ring that fit onto her forefingers, Harry's present was a necklace with a cute mini snitch that tried to fly away from her, Hermione gave her a scrap book that took in images like a camera and kept them on the pages. Kioko got more or less the same thing, only her present from Harry was an extendable whip. "I hope he doesn't expect me to spare him if he annoys me just because he gave it to me." She commented.
And then Hotaru opened up Malfoy's gift. It was really heavy, even though it was more or less small. She opened it up and found a long silver chain that wasn't too thick but not too thin either. Upon the links it had tiny violet gem shards that made it look absolutely brilliant. The note attached read, "When I saw it I was, for some reason, reminded of you and your troubles. It's suppose to relax you if you wear it." But it was so long, was she suppose to drape it all over herself?
"Oh cool, it's one of those dress chains. Here, I'll show you how to wear it." Kioko said. She took the chain and put the mid of it around Hotaru's neck, she then crossed the two sides over her chest and wrapped it around her waist twice. She then took an extra link and closed it around the two to fasten it onto her waist. Draco was right, when she had it on she felt more…relaxed. It was heavy, but comfortably so. There was a bit of chain hanging from the makeshift belt, but it wasn't so much it reached the floor.
Hotaru found Kioko grinning at her, "What?" Hotaru asked, "What?!" She demanded.
"You're as red as a cherry." Kioko answered snickering.
A/N: Heh, that one took a bit longer than it could have. I got stuck on some of these scenes, you know when you can't quite figure out how to type what you want to put? Yeah. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! And let us all pray that my poetry skills increase if anything.