A/N:
Rhea: *Reads Adyen's review* Trouble? Hm…. *Gets idea*
Kioko: Trouble is our middle name. The entire story revolves around advanced forms of trouble!
Rhea: I dunno, should we tell them?
Kioko: Hm…
Rhea & Kioko: Naaaaaa
Kioko: Let's let them continue to guess.
Rhea: We are so evil.
Kioko: I have corrupted you, and I'm not in the least bit sorry.
Either because they didn't want to have another nightmare, or because the images they had seen had shocked them so badly, the three didn't go back to sleep. Instead they played cards until it was a relatively decent hour. Then they went upstairs for breakfast.
"Ohayo Gosaimasu." Kioko said, yawning.
"What?" Petunia questioned.
"Good morning." Hotaru answered as she sat down.
"This might be an entirely odd question but, did any of you have a nightmare last night?" Kioko asked.
Hotaru just looked at her, 'Subtle Kioko, very subtle.' She sighed mentally.
"No, why?" Petunia questioned, setting eggs and bacon in front of them.
"Just checking." Kioko answered. "You know, if you scramble these and put some chopped up ham as well as cheddar cheese in the mix it makes for a very delectable omelet salad." She said, switching the topic.
"Really? How would you know?" Vernon asked.
"I'm not ignorant, I live in the muggle world just as Hotaru does." Kioko explained. "Unlike Ron's dad who mispronounces Telephone." She said. Harry snickered a bit and started opening a letter.
Hotaru looked grimly at her glass of milk. Ick, why did it have to be milk? She wasn't going to drink it, but she was afraid of offending Mrs. Dursley. Maybe she could just pretend she drank some…
"Anyways…" Kioko began, but there was a loud knock (more like bang) on the door that interrupted her. "How rude!" She exclaimed as Mrs. Dursley ran to answer it. Meanwhile Hotaru quickly disposed of her milk in the nearest potted plant. Yeeeeeeees, Kioko is having a bad influence on me. She thought just as Draco burst into the room.
"Hotaru! You're alright!" He exclaimed.
"Don't tell me." Kioko grumbled, "Grotesque human shapes spread out over a large plain?" Draco nodded, "Shadowy figure in the middle?"
"Yes, yes!" He exclaimed, he looked rather stressed and restless.
"Glaive in hand?" She asked. Draco nodded forcefully. "Sorry, don't know what you're talking about." She said.
"Night!!!" Draco exclaimed.
"Kidding, kidding, let's go into the basement." Kioko said, taking up her plate.
"So you saw it as well?" Harry asked. Draco, who was currently holding Hotaru's arm, nodded.
"Greaaaaaaaat, that means that possibly all Saturnarians saw it." Kioko suddenly stood up. "Silver!" She exclaimed.
"That's right, he's Saturnarian as well." Hotaru said.
"Should we go see him?" Draco asked.
"No, I don't think it's such a good idea to go outside just yet." Harry answered.
"Why not?" Hotaru asked. Harry handed her the letter he was reading at the breakfast table. "It's from Sirius Black!" She gasped and then she began reading it aloud, " 'Dear Harry, I would caution you against leaving the house for a few days, though I'm not sure I can tell you why. Can you believe that we've got a worse enemy than You-Know-Who?! Miss Sapphire and them other…senshi I think it is, say that we're up against another force altogether. Chaos, they call him. And the two are working together, apparently. Though Miss Teiou says you guys were the ones who figured this out for us. However, we have word that there are a few dementors hiding out in your area, whatever you do, don't go outside and stay put. Death Eaters are everywhere looking for you. Tell Hotaru and Kioko the same. Miss Sapphire says she's sending a few people your way to help out, though I'm not sure who they are. Just look for someone moving in recently. But give it about 3 days before you leave the house. By the way…this may sound odd, but is Hotaru alright? Just give me a yes or no. That's all for now. Sirius Black."
"You think…?" Draco questioned.
"Well, it makes sense that he'd be Saturnarian as well. After all, your mother is his cousin I think, maybe second cousin." Harry said.
"Yeah, and my second aunt is your father's third cousin as well." Kioko pointed out.
"How do you know that?" Draco asked, looking at the two of them with odd expressions.
"Simple, the second aunt that I mentioned showed me our family tree." Kioko answered.
"Sirius showed me a tapestry that was his family tree." Harry added.
"You think that all Saturnarians would be related to each other?" Hotaru asked.
"Probably not, I have a hard time believing that my parents are Saturnarian, though auntie Fay might be. Maybe we could write her a letter and see." Kioko said, though by the nearly-laughing expression on her face Hotaru could guess what she meant.
Hotaru was the first to start snickering, then she set Harry off, and Draco was left in the dark. "What?!" he demanded.
"It's a little inside joke. Dudley made the mistake of putting a life-like replica of a snake at the kitchen table, so Harry and I started talking to each other in parcel tongue, yes I am parcel tongue so don't look at me that way. Anyways, Hotaru is apparently parcel tongue as well, so she asked us to stop speaking snake, in snake. So we stopped, but I had the bright, spur-of-the-moment idea, and I wrote the word 'hisss' on a piece of paper, and held it up for Harry to see. It was suppose to imitate the sound of a raspberry, but didn't quite do it. So we broke down laughing and Harry, or was it you Hotaru? Anyways, one of them wondered if all Saturnarians could speak parcel tongue, so I suggested writing a letter to you and seeing if you could translate 'hiss'." Kioko explained.
It took Draco a moment to register all she had just said, but when he did he started snickering uncontrollably.
**********
Journal Entry: I wrote back to Sirius myself that day when things settled down. I asked him to keep the letter a secret and I told him that if he had seen the same thing we all saw he might be from Saturn. I'm not sure how he'll take it, but I wrote down some very outstanding features of that nightmare so he'd know what I meant. Silver sent us a letter, wondering if we'd seen the same thing or not, but cautioned us against writing back. I've been getting other letters as well. Some Slytherin acquaintances at Hogwarts asked if I was alright, which is especially surprising. The images of the nightmare must have shocked them that much. I wrote back and said I was fine, 'for now' and suggested that they go to Saturn's Eye and tell Silver that I sent you. I also wrote Silver back and told him to expect that sort of thing by using Pandora. She's been doing a lot of sending and receiving for the Senshi though, and so has Calypso. But thankfully she was available at the time. They need the two for instant and safe messaging with each other because our communicators haven't been upgraded so magic won't make them go haywire.
As if all of this lettering wasn't enough, just this morning I found a green Phoenix, same type as ours, sitting at the foot of my bed with a scroll in it's foot. It hopped onto my shoulder after I undid the scroll. I could not believe my eyes when I saw it, I swore that the whole thing had to be a dream. But after breakfast I found it back in the dresser I had stashed it. Anyways, this is what it read.
'Your Highness,
'It may seem odd that I am writing to you, and I suggest letting absolutely no one know I have, but I believe that one of your memories have leaked into the minds of your people, all at the exact same time and date, whether in a dream or a vision. Indirectly, you have just triggered a chain reaction that will have all of the reborn Saturnarian people begin to unite. And I will ask you once again, abandon those lies of the moon, accept the throne of, not just Saturn, but the rest of the solar system as well. It is your right as the Messiah of Silence. This vision is to show what your power is capable of, it is to show us all that you rise above any other type of power! Death has seen Silence and cowers, it is only a matter of time before we are a power once more.
'Your Loyal Servant; Voldemort'
The second most frightening part of that letter was what he addressed himself as. I have a hard time believing that he is so loyal to Saturn he'd call himself 'my loyal servant'. Especially if he's being possessed by Chaos's demons. Though…if Chaos is using his hatred towards the moon for 'taking over', then Chaos might very well be feeding off Riddle's loyalty towards Saturn in the first place, that might explain it a bit.
I suspected that he wanted me to reply for his phoenix was still at my shoulder. So I grabbed some paper, a pen, and started writing.
'Dear Riddle,
'Forgive me, but I cannot see how this vision shows a glorious future for the Saturnarian heritage. If you did not see at the very end, the part that told you the dream was mine, I was being hung upon my cross, and I screamed. The death that was portrayed in this nightmare was something that I pray to any god that might be listening it wasn't Silence. The figure was shaped too much like myself, and such power could only bring my downfall. You don't seem to understand how heavy the cross I am chained to is to bear, and I'm afraid you're interpretation is very, very, wrong.
'But aside from this, I want to warn you about Chaos. He is possessing you, in a different way than he possessed me, but all the same he is warping your views. He is making you do things you wouldn't normally. But I can heal you, we can heal you. You're soul hasn't been completely consumed. Chaos doesn't truly wish for Saturn to rule the Solar System, if he was he wouldn't have tried to kill me and the others. He is just using you to get to the Senshi. I won't disbelieve you if you say he's Saturnarian, that could be true, but he is still Chaos, the darkness of the Spectrum. You can't trust him.
'Secondly, about this entire Saturn's right fiasco. I'm sorry, but there is just so many more important things to do, and I don't think you quite realize exactly what is going on with everything. I can't find myself willing to care very much about politics. I believe you may have a good reason for your views, but I don't believe we have enough information to truly make an opinion. Selenity is such a caring person, there has to be a reason as to why or why not she did or didn't do this or that during the Silver Millennium or before. I want to encourage you to stop what you're doing, let us heal you. Nothing can justify killing.
'Yours truly; Hotaru Tomoe
'PS: By the way, Kioko doesn't like staying indoors for long periods of time so I suggest you make your dementors leave Privet Drive before you loose them. Just a thought.'
I don't think he'll take that letter very well, but I gave it to his Phoenix anyways, and the bird left in a flash of green glitter. It was only then that I noticed a little side not on his letter. It said something about the little box he had given to me before escorting Draco and me out of his house. So I took the little box out and looked at it. As if things haven't been going weird enough.
I remember that silver ring, from the dream I had when Riddle kidnapped me. The one where it was broken and I wanted to hurt those who had broken it. The silver band with the etched in designs that shifted into different shapes. Sometimes abstract and other times they resembled actual things.
I don't know why, but I unconsciously slipped it onto my ring finger. I quickly took it off and put it on my middle finger. The band shifted size so that it fit my fingers. Not surprising. The ring my Papa gave me did the same.
That's pretty much all I have for now, Ryuuza said he'd be coming back tomorrow and we're still waiting on those people Sirius mentioned were coming. I wonder if Galaxia is sending one of the outers or someone else.
**********
Hotaru was up fairly early the next day, mostly because she had another nightmare. It was the same one she had always had just before being sent to the hospital during last school year, though she was strong enough that all it did was make her symbol bleed. She wrapped a cloth around her forehead and went on up to get breakfast. Mrs. Dursley was up, and craning her neck to stare at something out the window while pretending to do the dishes. Number one, it was too early to do the dishes, number two, she was washing the same plate with water and no soap.
"They moved in at the same time." Petunia commented to Mr. Dursley, who was reading the paper.
"What do you know about them?" Said Vernon, still not looking up from his paper.
"The ones who moved into the Millerson's old house are supposedly sisters. Jewelry sellers for Miss Glandria Sapphire. And the others are a family of three that keep to themselves." Petunia gave a disapproving sniff. "Look at the boy, his hair is ten times too long." She said distastefully.
Hotaru took a bagel from the pantry and started nibbling on it. "I'll be outside if the others ask." She told them. Though she made both of the Dursleys jump and jerk their attention towards her. "Oh, sorry, I thought you knew I was here."
"Never mind." Mr. Dursley waved his hand and returned to his paper.
Hotaru left it at that and then moved towards the door. She opened it and moved outside cautiously, it hadn't been exactly three days yet, but the people Glandria were sending were here and she intended to meet them. Though Kioko might badger her for going alone, oh well.
There were two moving vans in front of houses that were pretty much separated, as in they weren't beside each other or anything, though that meant little. Hotaru looked over to one of the houses and found the boy, or rather guy, sitting at the front porch, bent over something that looked like a piece of paper. Petunia was right, his hair was long, but it was mostly straight, though it was a very dark black. His bangs covered his eyes a bit at first, in the center, but then they got longer and the very sides of them flowed on down so that they touched the ground almost. His back hair was even longer, but it was tied back in a low ponytail and it came over his shoulder a bit, only to fall upon the ground as well. Hotaru couldn't see all that well, he was on the other side of the street, but she could tell he was wearing a fairly loose brown kimono with pants and long sleeves despite the ever rising temperature.
(A/N: Go here for his picture ^.^: though it's a big crappy because of my stupid scanner…)
He looked a bit lonely though, any kids who might be out at this time would undoubtedly steer clear of him because of his odd air. So Hotaru decided to be friendly, meeting with the other girls could wait after all. She crossed the street and made her way over to him. "Hello." She greeted.
At first he began looking up calmly, but when he saw her it was like something hit him. He let out a gasp and dropped a couple of his papers in his hast to stand. But then he bent back down and swiftly picked them up, as if they were private or something.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you!" Hotaru gasped, "Here, let me help." She said bending down. But he swiped away all the papers before she had a chance, though Hotaru saw a little bit of color on one of them before he took it.
"No, no, that's okay!" He nearly gasped, a panicked expression was on his face, as though he had no idea what to do.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to—" She started.
"No, it's okay…" He trailed off, calming down a bit. But he still looked fidgety.
Hotaru held out her hand, "Hi, my name is Hotaru Tomoe." She said.
Awkwardly, he accepted her hand, "Aushran Hametsu." He answered. Hotaru happened to glance over and see a woman with short black hair in a gothic style and half-moon glasses on peeking out the window. But the instant she saw Hotaru looking she was gone so quickly Hotaru wondered if she had just imagined it.
"Where did you move from?" Hotaru asked, hoping to break a bit of ice before leaving.
"J-Japan." He said, though still a bit fidgety.
"Oh! You have a good English accent, I could hardly guess you were from Japan too." She said, smiling brightly. This wasn't working…
"You're…You're that girl," He said, a bit distantly.
"Huh?" Hotaru asked, not quite getting what he meant.
"Oh, um, you're…You escaped from You-Know-Who." He said.
"Huh? You mean you're," He nodded.
"If it hasn't been in the Daily Prophet yet, I'm one of the five who will be transferring to Hogwarts this year." He told her.
"Transferring? I don't think they've had transfer students at Hogwarts before." Hotaru said.
"That's why it'll be in the paper soon." He answered. He was being a bit more open but he was still a bit fidgety, though now Hotaru knew why. He probably read the paper and knew exactly who she was. And the 'Queen of Saturn' title didn't help much.
"Oh, I see, well good for you!" Hotaru exclaimed happily. "What year will you be?" She asked.
"Me? 6th or 7th." He answered shrugging, becoming mellow the more comfortable he was. "What about you? What are you this year?" he asked.
"I'll be in 6th." She answered, trying to ignore his awkward staring. Harry probably got it all the time, and she should expect it every time she went into a public place.
"This…may sound odd but…do you have…oh never mind." He said, shrugging it off as if it were nothing.
"What? What is it?" Hotaru asked.
Ashuran pushed back his short bangs, though they just fell right back into place over his eyes. "Do you have a…I think it's called a…do you have a glaive?" He asked.
"A glaive?" Hotaru questioned, looking a bit confused. Could he be…another Saturnarian?
"N-never mind. It isn't very important." Ashuran waved it away. Though it seemed as though the question arose even more of an abrasive air.
"I'm sorry," Hotaru said, "I'm probably just a bother to you. I'll go." She said, bowing politely and then turning to leave.
"No!" Ashuran exclaimed, grabbing her arm, "You're not bothering me!" He said quickly, yet his whole air was of nervousness. And it seemed to be her fault. Swiftly he let go of her arm, as though suddenly realizing he was holding it. "G-gomen." He stuttered a bit, rubbing his face as if trying to get the little bit of red off his cheeks.
"It's okay." Hotaru defended.
"But I…are you sure?" He said, though it seemed more like he was just trying to get something out of his mouth. The poor guy looked like had had just suddenly been thrown face first into something.
Well, this was sure an odd situation. What could she say to that other than, "Yeah, it's okay."? And then what? She had no idea what to say next.
Ashuran seemed to glance at something on his pad, but then he closed it up, looking as though he was embarrassed because of it even though she hadn't seen it. "Do you draw?" Hotaru asked.
"Huh?" Ashuran looked confused for a moment.
"Do you draw?" Hotaru repeated, gesturing to his pad. "Or write?" She added.
"Um, a little of both." He replied, looking a bit more comfortable, though he still held his pad to the side in that 'notice me not' type of way that Kioko clamed Hotaru had mastered.
"That's great! Have you been doing it for a while?" She asked, hoping that this time she could break some ice.
"All my life." He answered.
"Do you like to write poetry?" She asked.
Ashuran nodded, "Poetry, prose, some small stories." He answered.
"Oh, what about?" She dared.
Ashuran shrugged, "Mostly about things I see in my dreams." He looked a bit distant for a moment, as though thinking about something in a dream.
"Um…this may sound a bit odd…but…did you happen to have a nightmare two nights ago?" Hotaru asked quietly.
Ashuran jerked, looking startled, "What—why?" He asked, appearing a bit frightened.
"Er…" Now it was Hotaru's turn to feel uncomfortable. It was apparent that he had, and he'd seen her in it too, but she couldn't tell him that. He had to be Saturnarian, but it didn't seem as if he knew that.
Hotaru looked over and again saw the woman with the short black hair and half moon glasses peeking out the window. And again she was gone. But the next moment she opened the door, "Ashuran! It's breakfast time!" She spoke.
"Er, I have to go." Ashuran said. And neither of them were too disappointed about the excuse to get away.
"Okay, Sayonara." Hotaru waved.
"Sayonara." He returned, walking back into his house.
Hotaru took a deep breath and set out for what she had intended to do in the first place, though it seemed of little importance now. There was something familiar about Ashuran, and not just that he was Saturnarian.
Hotaru stopped dead in her walk and stared into space with a sudden realization. She had a brother! She remembered it from on of her visions, and it was evident that Ashuran knew her from somewhere other than the paper. Could he possibly be her brother?
There wasn't enough information to know for sure, but it sounded plausible. Either way, she'd have to find out sooner or later. Might as well continue towards her previous goal and worry about it later.
*********
Hotaru didn't know what to expect when she knocked on the door of the ones who Galaxia sent, she had expected the need to tell them who she was, actually. But apparently this wasn't necessary.
"Why hello Miss Tomoe." Greeted the woman who opened the door. She was a very kind looking woman with blond hair, contrasting black eyes, and a rather carefree outfit. Jeans and a T-shirt that said 'Hi'. "Do come in." She added, standing aside.
"Oh, thank you." Hotaru said, bowing politely before stepping into the door.
"Who is it, Topez?" Called a deeper female voice from the living room.
"It's Hotaru Tomoe." The woman, apparently named Topez, answered.
"Oh, so you're the one." The lady said, standing up as the two entered the living room. "Sapphire Velvet." She said, extending her hand in greeting. Hotaru took her hand and shook it. "And this is my sister Topez Velvet." She said.
Sapphire, named appropriately, had to be the opposite of her sister. She had straight black hair pulled up in a bun with a set of silver spectacles over her stunning blue eyes. She had a no-nonsense sort of air to her because her sheik blue attire was very business-like and sort of reminded Hotaru of Galaxia's red office outfit, only with blue and black instead of red and gold. She seemed fairly upright and aware, a really sharp woman with a good deal of reasoning experience.
"I, suppose you already know me." Hotaru said, feeling a bit awkward because of such diversity.
"Oh yes, if the Daily Prophet hasn't told us enough, Glandria Sapphire has." Sapphire (relation?) told her. "Though the woman likes to keep secrets at times." She said, glowering a bit.
"There are some things we can't let the world know just yet." Hotaru said, hopping not to offend either of the ladies.
"Sapphire you're so up tight! I'll get some cookies and we can go eat them in the back porch!" Topez said, happily skipping off to the kitchen.
Sapphire sighed, shook her head, and then picked up the Daily Prophet paper she had been reading. She handed it to Hotaru, who saw her own face waving back up at her. "You're constantly appearing in the front page, you know. You and the other…Sensi was it?" Sapphire questioned.
"Senshi." Hotaru corrected, taking the paper. 'People are constantly asking questions about Miss Hotaru Tomoe, questions that we have the inability to answer. "Oh, don't worry," Mss. Rita Skeeter said to us, "I'm sure I'll get back to her soon and answer a few of these questions" But still there has been hardly a word from Miss Skeeter concerning Miss Tomoe.' She read down low. At the top it had several articles trying to interpret her answers to Rita's questions and a reprint of the interview itself. Then there were a few sections talking about the Senshi and what the Ministry is currently up to. Which, of course, was finding Voldemort and his Death Eaters. But still, Hotaru's picture was first and foremost of the paper.
"Apparently being Queen of Saturn you've got quite a few fans." Sapphire told her.
Hotaru sighed, "I'm dreading the day we go back to school. Oh," She said, turning the page and finding Ashuran's face in it, along with four others. 'Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Is Harboring Transfer Students Next Year!!!' the caption read. 'Ashuran Hametsu' it said below his picture. 'A very promising student with a mild hair and very calm nature. Made Es and Os and all of his OWLs. He is most favored to become an artist, in fact many of his paintings have already been sold to a museum, located in Diagon Alley.'
"What is it?" Asked Topez, walking back into the room with a plate full of cookies.
"Ashuran Hametsu, one of the students who are transferring to Hogwarts this year, moved in this neighborhood the same moment you did." Hotaru answered.
"Oh, yeah. We did that on purpose to freak out the neighbors." Topez said, grinning.
"It was her idea." Sapphire assured. Hotaru couldn't help but chuckle a bit.
********
Journal Entry, Kioko's Nightmare: My chat with the Velvet Sisters (As I found Galaxia often calls them), went well for the most part. They acted quite a bit like sisters actually, they started fighting over some silly things, such as why a half glass of water should be considered either half empty or half full. And, it was hard to believe really, who should get the last cookie. Sapphire said that I should have it because I'm the guest, but because I really didn't want it Topez said she should get it because she baked them. In the end I took it with me back to the house.
When I got back to the house I was looking for something to do with the cookie in my hand. I decided to give it to Dudley because he was right there, though I'm not sure I should have because of his reaction. He started babbling about my glaive practices with Harry and Kioko for some reason, then he went on about Haruka-papa, asking me questions and such. Then the subject transferred over to me again and he kept saying I should hang out with him and his friends instead of Harry and Kioko.
It was a bit strange.
And I could hardly get out of it because he wasn't really letting me get a word in edge-wise. Eventually Kioko appeared, all she had to do was shake her fist and he was gone. I wonder what it is about Kioko that makes her so intimidating at times, though Dudley's response is reasonable considering he's a muggle and she a witch with kinetics. But still, there's something about her, maybe it's because she's Sailor Tarterus, though we still don't know too much about all that.
Anyways, then she turned around and started badgering me, "Why'd you go out without us?" She asked.
"Well, you weren't up and I needed a little time to myself." I answered shrugging. I was also thinking about how the scene with Ashuran would have gone if Kioko was in the vicinity. I had to fight the shudder running down my back.
Kioko sighed, "I shouldn't worry," She said, "you, more than any of us, has the strength to handle yourself. Though it's a bit easy to forget that when looking at you. Just, tell me before going off on your own, okay? For my peace of mind." She said, making me giggle a bit. "And remind me that you have a glaive on standby at all times while you're at it." We both chuckled at that one, though, thinking back on it now, it was a bit cheesy.
The day went by as normal, Ryuuza came over, as usual, and we decided to spend the day playing cards. I think he and Harry are unconsciously becoming friendlier. They're not biting each other's heads off anymore at least, though they tend to snip at each other when the time is right. But it seems more like the sort of thing Kioko does to the two of them, as in insult the other when they have the opportunity.
That night I couldn't sleep, I just couldn't sleep. I felt the smoky substances around me, the same substance I felt after the nightmare all the Saturnarian's saw. And I heard whispering voices, speaking to each other. Thousands upon thousands of voices, speaking in the silent language.
'The time is near.' one would say.
'The Messiah of Silence shall rise above all.' I heard another.
'The Queen of Saturn lives!' and still more spoke.
I tried to block them out, but at the state I was in, a relaxing state, I could hear almost everything in my mind. Eventually I gave up, and decided to let the whispering voices lull me to sleep, if possible.
And then it happened. I saw it, a nightmare, no, a vision, I knew. And it was coming from Kioko.
It was like the one I had seen coming from her during one of the quiddich matches, only, in more detail.
I raised my glaive up above my head and began to chant, the shadowed form before me waiting with a taunting look around her. The blade of the glaive glowed such a dark red it was black, seething with power I was going to unleash upon the form. The images around me began to shift as waves of power pulsed and interfered with the world that the eye acknowledges. The form before me, as though suddenly knowing what I was doing, shifted in stature herself and faltered back. I unleashed the spell.
But something went wrong, it didn't work. A few more images that I couldn't figure out passed before my eyes.
(A/N: These details are important, remember them!!!)
And then I was in front of a huge monument, like a circular temple with a cylinder-like roof and roman pillars supporting the roof. Heaving, I entered the temple to find, in the middle, a set of three statues. All of them in the same position and holding up what looked to be some sort of void. A circular door with red lightning on the edges that merged into violet, then blue, then black. And all around it silver sparks flared and died, then flared again without stop and without any sort of pattern.
The statues themselves were different, though they all seemed to be cloaked. One statue had three sets of wings, the joints were almost snake-like and the feathers themselves were small, no longer than a hands length and no larger than a few strands of hair. They were colored black and at the ends it looked like hands, each wing had a foreboding hand, gripping an orb of power. Inside the hood were ebony stones, two of them as if they were eyes. And coming down the hood were two black locks.
The next statue had only two wings, they were long and elegant, but not large. The feathers were small, and acted more like hair than feathers. The eyes were stones of lavender and the two locks of hair were short and white.
The last statue had the largest wings of the three. They looked like dragon wings, with three joints, but they were actually made of feathers, colored gray. The eyes were, well, they were like gray diamonds, empty, as though there was no life whatsoever behind them. The locks that came from the hood were a violet color, not too dark, but not too light either, just right in the middle of the shades. And they curled a lot more than the other two, who's hair was straight.
You couldn't see the faces of any of them, and each of them held up the gait, both their arms and wings positioned to do so.
I, or rather Kioko, walked over to the pedestal in between the statue with the black wings and the one with the white. She put her glaive into the pedistal, heaving and dripping with both blood and sweat. She then began to chant another spell, the spell that would close that gate.
But just as she finished she heard a laugh that filled the temple and echoed back and forth throughout her mind. She turned around, and there was the figure. Her eyes shaded by her bangs, her skin took on a bluish tent, and her wardrobe a complete shadow. The Silence Glaive in her hand.
"I have won, Tarterus. As you always knew I would." Said the echoing voice, it was deep and made me shiver.
"Not quite, I've closed the gate so you can't get in." Kioko sneered.
"But you still die." The figure laughed cruelly, "I can wait another day to get through the gate, it can't stay closed forever. Once you are reborn it will reopen. But for now, I have won. You have been a thorn, no, a dagger, in my side for entirely too long. Prepare to die." It hissed. She then held the glaive above her head.
The entire world seemed to warp and twist because of the immense power. The temple began to crack, the pillars crumbled and the roof shook, about to fall itself. The black crystal surrounding the area started cracking and shattering. Then, the shadowed figure attacked, "Obliviation" the attack was hardly more than a whisper, but it could be heard above all the destruction that was caused merely because of the preparation.
I have to write this down, I can't stop here…but…it's just…I can't stand it!!!
Then, she slashed Kioko with the glaive, giving her a gash that went sideways from her right shoulder to her left hip. And, it was like there was nothing more. Nothing! Everything was destroyed, including the black crystal. But…those three statues, they stayed in tact, in fact they stayed in place as if they hadn't even been touched, there was not a scratch on them.
Thankfully the nightmare ended right there…but I woke up and it was daytime. I hadn't had time to see if Kioko was alright.
She was still asleep when I knocked on her door, and she was apparently having a nice dream when I went in to check on her. But I knew what I saw she saw. And she probably had nightmares like that every night!
Why isn't she telling me these things? Who else would understand more than me? I don't get it, doesn't she trust me? There's been something wrong for months, maybe even years, and none of us knew about it. I hate this! And she acted as if nothing was wrong that morning too…and she nearly convinced me that there wasn't anything wrong because the day started out normally, for the most part at least.
Okay, I need to calm down before I write any more. This all just seems to be pulling me down and I don't know what to do about it.
Alright, I'm okay now.
The morning was actually not that bad, and it made me forget about the previous night's horror. Harry and I were up before Kioko, of course, and we were eating, chatting a bit here and there, and minding our own business, when all of the sudden this mind piercing shriek of the Silent Language alurted us that something good had happened.
'YYYYYYEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' Kioko screamed mentally.
The poor Dursleys had no idea what was going on, I can just imagine it, one moment we were eating peacefully, and the next both Harry and I were bent over our food, clutching our heads in such pain we couldn't even cry out. Now I know how Silver must have felt when I called at him.
"Ga-ga-gakccchhhh," Harry uttered in pain as Kioko busted in.
"Test results are in!!! We finally got them those slow pokes!" She exclaimed happily.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…" Harry was saying, I was still unable to speak. Oh how it hurt!!! My head was pounding like no tomorrow.
"Oh, uh, woops! Sorry, did I scream to loud?" She asked, chuckling a bit.
"No, you only gave me the mother of all headaches!" Harry exclaimed, irritably.
"Sorry, er, Hotaru?" Kioko asked, concerned.
"What in the world did you do?!" I heard Petunia demand through the ringing of my ears.
"Heh, heh, I screamed really loud in our mental language, and apparently busted their mental dear drums." Kioko said apologetically.
Thankfully I remembered a healing spell for headaches and was able to work it on myself, so after another moment I was fine, and after the next moment of using a healing spell, so was Harry.
"Next time, don't use Telepathy." Harry said, still rubbing his head from the aftershock.
"Sorry, sorry. But anyways, our OWL test results are in!" She said happily. She handed each of them their letters to open. Quickly she opened hers and looked at it, "All Os, of course." She said, giving off a vain look. She then gasped, "What's this? An A in Divination?!" She gasped and slapped her cheek in a sarcastic gesture.
"What, what are you talking about? An A is good!" Exclaimed Petunia.
"No, no, no, in this grading system A stands for Acceptable. Below that is P for Poor and below that is D for Dreadful. Above A is E for Exceeds Expectations, and above the E is O, which stands for Outstanding and is the highest grade you can get." Kioko explained. She then looked over my shoulder to see what I got. The Dursleys then tuned us out, as they normally do, and went back to what they were doing.
On my sheet was a long line of Os, in all the classes I took I got Os. "All Os for Hotaru, of course." Kioko said. "Hm, I didn't know they gave a grade for Occlumancy." She said.
"They don't, that's Professor Snape's grade, though I'm not sure why he put it there." Hotaru commented.
"Perhaps because you're good." Kioko said, she then looked over to see what Harry, who was frowning a bit, got. He instantly shifted it so she couldn't see. "Oh come on, Harry, I'm not going to laugh." She told him, swiping the paper from his hand. Though once she got a look at it she busted out laughing.
"Hey! You said you wouldn't laugh!!!" Harry exclaimed.
"I'm kidding, kidding." Kioko assured him. "You actually got some good scores." She said, looking through the grades. "Hm, except for Potions I can see a good Auror pattern here." She said.
"You think?" Harry looked up hopefully.
"Oh yeah, definitely. You got an O in DADA, an E in Charms, an A in herbology, and, what's this? An O in Care of Magical Creatures?" Kioko asked grinning.
"Yeah, though it goes down hill from there." Harry mumbled.
"Oh, cheer up, a high A in potions isn't bad." Kioko told him.
"Easy for you to say, the only A you got was in a class you hardly took and didn't like." Harry grumbled.
The two chatted a bit more about grades and such, but I didn't listen after that. I was busy looking at Kioko for signs of her nightmare. It seemed as if she was completely use to it all. I don't know why, but for some reason I felt this urge…
I had to get a way, I didn't know what was coming over me, but I knew I had to leave, and be by myself for a little bit. So I left my place at the table and subtly told them I was going out for a bit. Thankfully Kioko only responded with a "Have fun" and Harry merely continued to grumble about some of his low scores.
I think it's Mistress 9, I think she wants Kioko dead for some reason. I, I wanted to drive my butter knife into her neck! And if I had stayed much longer, I fear Mistress 9 might have taken over once again and forced me to do that, and worse.
I walked along the sidewalk at a brisk pace. It was probably a bit evident I was nervous or restless about something, but I didn't really notice. I just walked around aimlessly, trapped in my own thoughts about what was happening to me. And I have to fight it.
It was a long while before I was able to calm down, a good long while. Eventually my feet carried me over to Ashuran's house. I don't know why, but something made me want to see him again. I suppose the thought that he might be my brother made me wish for any kind of comfort, even the small, tense comfort I might get around him.
It seemed as though I had favor with some force, maybe fate, because once again I found him sitting on his porch, dressed in a black kimono this time, bent over his sketch pad with an artist's pencil in his hand. He was drawing again, and I knew he probably didn't want me to see his drawing. So I stayed at a bit of a distance and said hi.
This time, when he looked up, he didn't jerk in surprise or shock, but he did sort of bring his sketch pad up in a bit of a protective gesture. "Do you always come out in the mornings to draw?" I asked, smiling as if nothing had happened. It was so easy to hide it all, no wonder Kioko seemed right as rain.
He nodded, "All the time." He said softly.
"It is nice out today, though what are you going to do when it gets really hot?" I asked.
He shrugged, "Wear lighter colored clothing." He answered. Though I can hardly see him wearing anything lighter than a dusty brown. "What about you? You're always wearing black." He asked.
"Oh, I have some light colored clothing." I answered, a bit startled. 'Why do you wear black all the time?' was a question I was expecting. And how could I tell him why? I couldn't even tell myself why I was always wearing black.
He didn't ask though, he merely turned his head towards the sidewalk opposite to me because, oh kami have mercy, one of Dudley's gang members were walking down towards us, looking as though he meant to make trouble.
Thankfully I knew exactly what would send him packing. I walked right up to him and said, quite sternly, "Say or do anything whatsoever and Kioko will find out about it to the utmost detail."
He did a 180, turned right back around without a word, and started walking in a fairly stiff manner.
"Who is Kioko?" Asked Ashuran, watching, Derik, I think it was, walking back where he came from.
"Oh, she's my best friend. Though she has a bit of a violent nature and can be very sadistic at times. She has Dudley's entire gang afraid of her as well as the people we live with." I answered. I sighed a bit, "Though sometimes she can make problems because she's so strong willed."
"Stubborn?" He asked, almost as though he was sympathetic.
"Sometimes." I answered.
"Um…" He began, shifting a bit as though he was going to say something.
"Hm?" I asked softly, wondering what he was going to say.
"Er, can I…" He trailed off, "CanIpaintyourpicture?" he asked in one swift breath. The poor guy was blushing so badly, and he was looking at the ground too.
"Of course you can." I answered cheerfully. I wish he wasn't so nervous, it kind of gets in the way of knowing a person.
I really think Ashuran could have been my brother on Saturn, he seems so familiar. I hope he is, just having that much of a comfort would be nice.
"How would you like me to pose?" I asked.
"Er, not now. I don't have anything prepared. Could you come over tomorrow morning?" he asked.
"Okay." I answered.
When I got back to the house and went down to the basement Kioko and Harry's conversation about grades had turned into on about whether Quidditch would be more fun played with brooms or without.
"But when you're on a broom you can maneuver easily." Harry was saying.
"How do you know, you've never flown without a broom?" Kioko refuted.
I sighed and left to go to my room, where I am now and writing down all of this. I think I'll tell Kioko and Harry about Ashuran this evening. Kioko will probably get a laugh out of what I did to make Derik leave.
Hotaru closed her book and laid back down on her pillow. She sighed, writing down what she was feeling would be redundant to many of her other entries. Trapped, scared, nervous, burdened, and it didn't help that she could hear Mistress 9's laughter in the back of her mind. Again it was blocking out a whisper, the same voice that she'd heard many times before. Hotaru closed her eyes, everything that was happening, it all revolved around her. There was so much riding on the past, on her. And it seemed every time they found out more it was that much harder to handle. Did she really want to know any more?
Hotaru yawned and turned on her side, getting into a more comfortable position. So many things that happened, so many things that needed to happen, and so many things that could, and probably will, go wrong.
Even though she'd woken up an hour or two prior, Hotaru fell asleep.
A/N: Sorry I've been dragging on updates. We had to go to Arkansas to visit my grandma because she had to have triple-bypass surgery on her heart. Yeah, it was really bad. But she came through really well considering her age. Though we still spent the weekend up there to be with her. And plus I've been getting stuck on other things, though hopefully I'll be able to get back on the ball and come out with chapters a bit faster. Though the next chapter might come out slowly too, I plan on re-reading all this stuff to make sure I know what I'm doing here.
Ahem, on another subject, let's all give a big cheer for my muse Stephanie (Aka: Kioko) who is responsible for the plot part of this chapter, which was Kioko's Nightmare by the way, and should be given a good deal of credit for that! YAY KIOKO!!!! ALL HAIL KIOKO!!! WHOOOOOO!!!!