A/N: Chapter 4 – This is the last chapter I'm putting up for the moment.
I've got 5 and 6 finished, and I'm working on 7. I'll put 5 and 6 up within
the next couple of days, and seven will go up when I finish it and have
started chapter 8. I really hope you guys are enjoying this story. Please
leave me a review and let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, nor do I work for CLAMP – thus, I own none of this.
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Chapter 4: The Beginning of a New Term
Syaoran came down to the common room when the dawn was just beginning to break. He stretched as he came down the stairs, for some reason unable to sleep any longer. "Good morning, Syaoran-kun" came a warm voice.
He tripped and fell flat on his face. "Sakura... what are you doing up so early? I was expecting you to wake up late..."
"I couldn't sleep anymore..."
Syaoran frowned. The normally cheerful and energetic girl sounded so tired and depressed. He got up and made his way over to one of the armchairs by the fire, and sat down next to Sakura. "What's wrong, Sakura...?"
She turned to him, tears in her eyes, "He's had such a hard life, Syaoran, and he's still such a good person. It's really amazing..."
Syaoran blinked – couldn't the same be said about Sakura? He slowly reached out and brushed the tears from her cheek. "It's okay, Sakura... You shouldn't cry..." Sakura smiled at him. "Why don't you tell me everything?"
Sakura nodded and retold Harry Potter's life story to Syaoran as she experienced through the Dream card. When she finished the end of the tale and answered all of Syaoran's questions, she paused. "Ano... Syaoran... this morning I saw something strange."
"What did you see, Sakura?"
"I saw the new DADA teacher carrying someone who looked unconscious across the school grounds from this big willow looking tree."
Syaoran pondered for a moment. "Maybe she was helping the unconscious person?"
Sakura shook her head. "She gives me a creepy feeling, Syaoran."
He reached out and took her hand, "I don't exactly trust her either... maybe she's not exactly a witch..."
"Maybe."
"Anyways, I'll keep an eye on her," he stood, "and now the sun is coming up and it feels like people are waking up. Let's get dressed and go to breakfast." She smiled and stood. Silently she pounced him in a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, then she ran up the stairs back to her room. Slightly stunned, Syaoran stood and stumbled up the stairs back to his own room.
Seamus Finnigan bumped into Syaoran as the transfer came back up into their room. "What's his problem?" Syaoran asked aloud.
Harry was too upset to answer, so Ron nodded towards Harry "He thinks that Harry is crazy, and made up the return of You-Know-Who."
The Chinese boy stared at Harry for a moment with his piercing amber eyes, and Harry grew uncomfortable. After an extended pause, Syaoran shrugged and walked to his bed where he began to gather his things. "Just ignore him, Potter. Let him find out the truth for himself if he doesn't believe you. Besides... if I were going to make up a story like that I'd make myself out to be a hero." Syaoran turned and left the room.
Harry looked blankly at the door that Syaoran had just gone through, then he turned to Ron. "I think he just insulted me."
"Yeah, but at least he believes you... right?"
Harry nodded and gathered his things up. "Let's go to breakfast. I just want to get through this day." Ron nodded and the two headed downstairs to the common room.
Sakura was sitting with Hermione, Ginny and Syaoran, talking about how a typical school day runs, when Harry and Ron came down. She smiled kindly at the black haired boy, "Good morning, Harry-kun. How are you today?"
Harry felt his cheeks flush slightly, "G'morning, Sakura. I'm fine, thanks. What about you? Sleep well your first night in the castle?"
Sakura hesitated slightly (which Harry noted) before nodding vigorously. "Ee, it was a bit odd. I woke up this morning without Kero- chan and...", she trailed off and glanced nervously at Syaoran before giggling a bit. "Gomen, gomen..." she said when she noticed Harry looking at her funny, "I'll tell you all about Kero-chan later. Let's go to breakfast."
The Gryffindor trio, now actually the Gryffindor four (plus two), stood and left the common room headed for the Great Hall.
"In a little bit Professor McGonagall will be handing out schedules. You should have almost all the same classes as Ginny, with the exception of electives." Sakura nodded as Hermione explained things to her over breakfast. "Do you know what you're signed up for?"
She shook her head, "Hoe..."
Ginny looked puzzled for a moment, "What's that mean anyways? You didn't teach us that word..."
Sakura stared blankly at Ginny and was about to reply when Syaoran interrupted, "It really doesn't mean anything. It's sort of like Sakura's own word that can mean any number of emotions..." Ginny nodded.
Ron glanced at Syaoran, then turned to Sakura, "How come you didn't teach anything to me and Harry?"
"Hoe! Gomen, Ron-san! I'll teach you Japanese tonight after dinner, okay?"
Ron nodded, then turned to Syaoran. "Y'know, mate, out of curiosity... how many languages DO you speak? I mean... you obviously know Chinese, English, and Japanese. Any others up your sleeve?" Syaoran just gave the red headed boy a sly look then shrugged and returned to his breakfast.
"Schedules... Ms. Granger," McGonagall handed Hermione a schedule. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," she said each students name as she held out a schedule, "Ms. Weasley, Mr. Li, Ms. Kinomoto." She moved on down the table.
Sakura looked over her own schedule, then Ginny's. "Hoe! Ginny! You've got Muggle Studies, and I've got Divination!"
"Divination...?" Harry blinked. "When've ya got that, Sakura?"
The emerald eyed girl looked back to her schedule. "It's my second afternoon class on Mondays and Wednesdays."
Harry looked down at his own schedule. "That's weird. That's when Ron and I've got Divination. Maybe you're in the class with us..." Hermione shrugged, "Maybe it's just a typo."
"Or perhaps Dumbledore put her in there because he knew her skills already."
Sakura blushed faintly as Syaoran spoke. She grabbed away his schedule and looked over it. "What's Arithmancy?" "Math." She made a face at his response.
Hermione looked over the stolen schedule Sakura held in her hands, "We've got all the same classes, Li, so you can stick with me until you know your way around a bit better." Syaoran simply nodded and returned to eating his breakfast silently – after he'd stolen his schedule back of course.
Ginny grinned, "And you can stay with me until you have to go to Divination."
Harry was glancing at Sakura's schedule (which for some odd reason was being passed around the group). "If you want Sakura," he began, "I can take you to Divination. I've got the class before it off, so I could come and show you the way from Hagrid's."
Sakura smiled graciously at Harry. "Really? That's so nice of you, Harry-kun!"
"Yeah, I'll come too. You'll have the two best guides in the school, Sakura!" Ron chimed in. Harry threw a look at his best friend, and Sakura giggled softly, which was like music to the boys' ears. Harry could also swear that he saw Syaoran glare at himself and Ron, but it happened so fast that he might not have seen anything at all.
"Alright," Ginny stood, grabbing her bag, "we'd better head to class, Sakura. We've got Potions, and Snape'll kill us if we're late."
"Potions? Watch out for Snape, Sakura... he hates anyone who thinks they're special... and since you've transferred here, he'll think you believe yourself to be special."
"Thank you, Harry-kun," Sakura bowed slightly to the boy who lived as she stood, "I will be careful." She smiled brightly as she followed Ginny out of the Great Hall.
"She'll be fine."
Harry looked up at Syaoran, who was still eating his breakfast. "How do you know?
"Everyone loves Sakura." The amber eyed Chinese boy looked directly into Harry's green orbs.
"But Snape hates everyone." Harry took a sip of juice from his goblet.
"No one can hate that girl..." Syaoran said, almost under his breath. "She'll be fine." Harry shrugged and finished his breakfast.
"Speaking of Snape," Ron chimed in, "how come he hasn't come to breakfast yet?"
Hermione looked up at the teacher's table and noticed two empty places – Snape's, and the seat next to his. She shrugged. "So, what should we do with our free period?"
Harry and Ron were hoping to do anything but go to the library, but Syaoran spoke up, "Would you mind showing me where the library is?"
Hermione's eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously. "Sure, let's go." Harry and Ron grudgingly stood and gathered their things. Hermione led the way out, followed by Syaoran, then Ron, then Harry. Syaoran glanced back at Harry, and Harry could've sworn the Chinese boy winked at him, as if Syaoran had known that he and Ron didn't want to go to the library. He was beginning to get more and more paranoid about the transfer student.
Snape woke up when there was a knock at his door. He got up slowly, and was amazed that he was hardly sore at all. He grabbed a dressing robe and pulled it on as he walked to his door. Snape swung it open and was relieved to find the smiling face of his headmaster. "Good morning, Severus."
"Good morning, headmaster."
"I was just coming to see how you were," Dumbledore's blue eyes seemed to hold a tinge of sadness.
Snape managed a rather warm smile at his employer, and long time friend, "I'm only the slightest bit sore, and mostly tired." The headmaster nodded knowingly, "I'm very happy to hear that. It's a good thing I sent Lani with you..."
Snape grimaced slightly, "Yes, a very good thing..."
"Severus, I know you are not particularly fond of her, just as you are not particularly fond of anyone... but please try to be a bit nicer to her."
Snape sighed internally, "I will try, headmaster."
"That is all I ask, Severus," the old man smiled, "after all... the two of you are more alike than you realize." Snape blinked and wondered what Dumbledore meant by that. "Now, I suggest you get dressed and head to class, or else you'll be late." Dumbledore spun and wandered off, leaving Snape staring after him for a moment.
He slowly shut his door and returned to his bedroom. He dressed quickly, thinking about what the headmaster had said. The more he thought about Jade, the worse mood it put him in. Finally, when he was ready, he swept off to his first class in the foulest of moods.
Sakura and Ginny were sitting next to each other in the front row of desks down in the potions laboratory, talking quietly while all the fourth year Slytherins were staring at Sakura. Without warning the door to the classroom swung violently open, and Snape stormed in. "Silence!" He swept through the room to his desk at the front of the room. He spun to face his class, and his eyes roamed through the students until they came to rest on the cheerful face of Sakura Kinomoto. "Ms. Kinomoto."
"Yes, Professor?" She smiled sweetly (as was her nature to do so).
"Do you believe yourself to be better than the rest of the students here at Hogwart's? Do you think you're special because instead of starting as a first year you've been skipped up to the fourth year? Well, do you?"
The young girl frowned slightly, and paused, thinking. His anger and hatred growing with each moment that passed. Finally she smiled up at him again, "I am no better than anyone else. Everyone is special and unique in his or her own way. I don't believe that I am special because I have been advanced to the fourth year, but I am special in my own way."
Snape's mind went into a bit of turmoil. This girl, who truly was special, did not believe herself to be better than anyone else. On top of that, she was being nice to him, she was being sweet. He spun without a word and went to the black board. He waved his wand at it and some directions appeared. He sat down at his desk and looked up at his class. "Today you will be taking notes for the potion you will be making on Friday. You have five minutes to copy down what appears on the board before it changes. Time starts... now." The classroom was filled with the sound of quills scratching on parchment as the class furiously tried to copy down the notes on the board word for word before the board changed. He sat and brooded for the rest of the class period.
Before anyone knew it, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. The class stood and students began rushing out. Snape glanced up and saw that there were only two students left in the room – Ginny Weasley and Sakura Kinomoto. The two girls whispered quietly to each other before Weasley turned and left the room. Kinomoto quietly walked up to Snape at his desk. "Professor?"
He folded his hands on his desk and frowned at her. "The period is over, Ms. Kinomoto. I'm not going to let you copy the notes that you didn't get, if that's what you want."
"Oh, no, Professor. I was able to copy down everything." She smiled brightly, "I just wanted to know if you were feeling alright."
Snape blinked, he was rather taken aback. Without thinking he replied, "I'm only a bit sore..."
She sighed, "Hoe... I'm glad. I was very worried this morning for you." "This morning?" He stood slowly. "Why this morning?"
She laughed nervously, "I was up early... and I saw you being carried to the castle by Jade-sensei. Your aura was very weak, and I didn't know if you were going to be alright."
Snape was shocked for two reasons – firstly because the girl had seen himself and Jade that morning, and secondly because she was concerned for him. "I..." he stared at the green eyed girl, "I'll be fine."
Sakura nodded and turned to leave, but stopped and faced him again. "I think I have something that might help you, Professor."
He sneered, but only half-heartedly, "And what might that be?"
"Just a spell."
"A spell?" She nodded. Snape crossed his arms over his chest, "What kind of spell?"
"It's my secret spell." She paused, waiting for some kind of response from him. When no response came she shrugged. "It's very simple.
All you have to do is say 'Everything will surely be alright', and believe the words you speak. Then everything truly will be alright."
The potions master stared at the slight girl, unbelieving. She bowed slightly and exited the room, leaving him to his own thoughts.
Harry and Ron thought that the bell would never ring signaling the end of their off period. Every time they started up a conversation about Quidditch, Hermione would shush them because they were being too loud. When the bell finally rang, the two boys grabbed their things quickly and made for the door. Hermione and Li took their time getting their things together before joining Harry and Ron outside the library.
"I can't wait to see Hagrid," Harry began, "I've got so much to tell him about the summer."
"Hagrid?" Li looked at Harry curiously as they began walking towards the groundskeeper's hut.
"Yeah, he's the groundskeeper and the professor for Care of Magical Creatures," Ron replied, "and he's a great man."
"But is he back yet?" Hermione chimed in. "He wasn't at the feast last night..."
Harry thought for a moment, "You're right... He wasn't there last night... And Dumbledore didn't say anything about him..."
Their questions were answered when they arrived at Hagrid's hut for class and did not find Hagrid there. Instead it was the old witch, Professor Plank, waiting for the class to arrive. Harry went up to her, "Where's Hagrid?"
The old professor glared at him slightly, "Professor Hagrid has not arrived yet. I will be teaching his class until he returns."
Harry made to argue with the teacher, but Hermione pulled him away before he could say anything else. "Aww, what's the matter Potty? Missing your filthy half giant?"
Harry started moving towards Malfoy, "You shut your mouth, Malfoy."
"Or what, Potter? You'll shut it for me?" Malfoy laughed, as did his goons Crabbe and Goyle. "I'd like to see you try."
Li stepped in front of Harry and folded his arms across his chest. "I think it is best for you to mind your own business, Malfoy."
Malfoy took a slight step back, a look of fear passing briefly over his face. "So now you've got a bodyguard, Potter?" The blonde Slytherin directed his gaze back at Harry.
"I'm not his bodyguard. Just his friend." With that statement, Li turned back to Harry and smiled briefly, "I think class is starting." Li led the Gryffindors closer to Professor Plank to hear her lecture.
Sakura and Ginny chatted about different things as they made their way to the Great Hall for lunch. When she walked in, Sakura was pounced by Tomoyo who was crying and speaking in rapid fire Japanese. "Sakura-chan! It's so hard! We don't have any classes together except one! And that's not even until the last class tomorrow! You have to promise me we'll spend free periods and weekends together! And eat lunch together! I've never been away from you for so long! Why couldn't we have gotten into the same house?"
Sakura hugged her hysterical friend, who was beginning to attract attention not only from Harry, Ron, Hermione, Li, and a number of other Gryffindors, but also from other students and a few teachers. Speaking in English, she said quietly, "It's okay, Tomoyo-chan. You'll be fine. I promise we'll eat lunch together and hang out on the weekends, and it'll be just like it was before. Okay?"
Tomoyo smiled and wiped her tears away, nodding. "If you say so, Sakura-chan." She bowed slightly to Ginny, "Gomen. It was very rude of me to interrupt."
Ginny smiled, "That's alright." She held out her hand to Tomoyo, "I'm Ginny Weasley."
Tomoyo took her hand, "Tomoyo Daidouji. It is nice to meet you." She hugged Sakura once more, "I'll go back to my table now."
"Okay, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura and Ginny walked over to where Harry and the gang were sitting and joined them.
Syaoran turned to Sakura, "Will Daidouji-chan be alright?" Sakura nodded.
"What was that all about anyways?" Ron looked rather puzzled.
"Oh! Gomen! I guess I haven't really told you all about Tomoyo-chan." Sakura began putting some food on her plate. "She's been my best friend since we were in the third grade... We've never really spent a day apart since."
"Daidouji-chan is inseparable from Sakura. She follows her around... and all those clothes she makes..." Syaoran trailed off when Harry began to give him a strange look. Li shrugged and returned to his stoic silence.
"Ah, I see." Hermione didn't really understand, but she didn't really want to push it. "So how was potions this morning?" Hermione glanced up at Snape, who wasn't eating his lunch... he appeared to be more or less just staring off into space.
"Oh, it was fine. I like Snape-sensei." Sakura smiled brightly as she munched on a roll.
Ron and Harry blanched at her. Harry was too stunned for words, so Ron was the one who spoke, "You... like Snape?" Ron shook his head disbelievingly and glanced up at the teacher's table again. "Hai. I do." The green eyed girl smiled still as she picked up her goblet to take a sip of her water.
Ginny just looked at her brother and shrugged, "Snape doesn't seem to hate her... He started interrogating her, but she shut him up. You should've seen it."
Sakura glanced up at the teacher's table and found that Snape's gaze was now resting on her. She smiled sweetly at him, and he looked away. She shrugged and returned to her lunch. The Gryffindor trio plus one just stared at the young Card Mistress and silently wondered.
After the first afternoon class, Harry and Ron were waiting near the castle watching for Sakura. "So what do you think of her, mate?" Ron leaned against the cold stone of the castle.
"Hm?" Harry turned to his best friend. "What do you mean?"
"I mean... what do you think of Sakura? She's a bit strange... but she's nice... And what do you think is going on with her and Li? Do you think they're like... a couple?"
"No, they couldn't be," Harry almost growled, "cause they don't act like they are." Ron shrugged, "Whatever you say, Harry."
"Yeah... but she is kind of strange. She's definitely like no one else at this school..."
Ron was about to agree when Sakura joined them. "Hi Harry-kun! Ron- san! Thank you so much for waiting for me!" She grinned enchantingly. The boys just nodded dumbly – they were under her spell. "Shall we go to class then?"
"Yeah, sure. Class." Harry led the way through the castle, Ron and Sakura followed slightly behind and chatted about different things – mainly Ron was trying to explain the appeal of Quidditch to her, though he never actually went into the different positions and the basic mechanics of the game. Sakura seemed to only be politely interested, however.
Harry's mood continued to darken as they approached the entrance to the Divination classroom. He wondered why Ron was so easily able to carry on a conversation with Sakura, and he wasn't. Sakura confused him so much. He felt so at ease around her, but every time he wanted to start up a conversation with her the words would get caught somewhere in his throat, and at that very moment someone else would come and begin talking to her. He led the way up the ladder into the tower and made his way over to a seat by the window. Ron followed closely behind him but Sakura was stopped by Professor Trelawny.
"Ahhh, my dear, you have arrived. I saw your coming in a vision. I am truly delighted to have you hear," Trelawny took Sakura's hand. "You are a girl of such good fortune... perhaps a bit of your luck will rub off on our poor soul..." Trelawny cast a look over at Harry.
Sakura bowed to the strange teacher politely, "I am honored to make your acquaintance." She walked over to where Harry and Ron were sitting, and Ron moved over so that she could sit by him. Instead, she gracefully plopped down on a cushion next to Harry and smiled at him. He blinked, and instantly his mood improved a thousand fold.
"Now, my dears, we were to start with crystal balls this year, but in a vision I saw that we would be better off starting with Tarot cards. Open your books to the appropriate chapter. You will have already noticed the deck of cards on your tables. Do readings for those at your table."
Harry and Ron opened their books to the chapter on Tarot cards. "Alright. How about we do readings counterclockwise around the table?"
"Sure Ron. You shuffle them, and I'll do your reading." Harry handed the deck of cards to his friend and watched Ron try to shuffle the deck thoroughly. The red-headed boy gave the deck back to Harry, and Harry began to lay out the cards according to the pattern in his book. Harry stared at the cards for a moment, then shrugged, "Alright, Ron. Let's see... This one says that you should practice more, and this one means you're going to have to put forth more team work, and that you should rely on yourself... or something like that."
"Great reading, mate. Give Sakura the cards." Harry passed the cards to Sakura who shuffled them like she knew what she was doing. After a few moments she gave the cards to Ron who laid them out carefully. He began flipping the cards over and tried to interpret them. "Right then... There's a bloke who's got the hots for you, but he's too shy to tell you... and there's another bloke who really does love you... and there's another bloke who's ... loved you through all of time? Wow. Lucky you, Sakura – 3 guys after you." He peered at the cards again, "Oh yeah. And there's something about you saving the world... or something." He shrugged, "I think that worked out well."
Sakura giggled softly, "Arigatou, Ron-san. Now give Harry-kun the cards." Ron gave her a goofy grin and handed the deck to his best friend. Harry shuffled the deck like he would a regular deck of cards before giving them over to Sakura. She began to lay them out not as Harry and Ron had, but as she had been taught by Kero-chan, like she would if she were using her own cards. As she lay each card on the table, a faint glow started to rise from her school robes. Sakura stopped what she was doing and set the cards down. The glow disappeared... and the honey-haired girl appeared to ponder for a few moments. Finally she sighed and reached into the hidden pocket in her robe, drawing from it a small stack of pink cards.
"What are those?" Harry blinked curiously.
"Uhm... these are my Cards. I'm going to use these instead of the regular tarot cards." Sakura moved the tarot cards aside and shuffled her own Cards. She laid them out as she had done so many times before. She flipped over the first card and saw The Fly... wordlessly she flipped over the next one, and was not surprised to see The Dream. She continued flipping over cards, revealing The Dark, The Mirror, The Fight, and The Illusion. She came to the last card and paused before flipping it slowly, showing The Light.
Harry stared at her strange pink cards with Japanese writing on them, and her name written on them clearly in English. "So what do they mean?"
Sakura seemed startled out of a kind of trance. "Oh, gomen, Harry- kun. I guess I just sort of got caught up in the cards for a moment. The Fly represents Voldemort. The Dream means that he controls your dreams because of the past you both share. The Dark and The Light represent the relationship between yourself and Voldemort – you're opposites. The Fight means that there will be a great battle... his weapons against you are represented by The Mirror and The Illusion... you will not know exactly what his weapons are until the time comes..." Her emerald eyes danced over her cards again, leaving out a few tiny details that really were meant more for her own knowledge than for Harry's (after all, they were her cards). "Yes, I think that's it." She nodded and began collecting her cards again.
Harry looked at Ron, slightly confused, and Ron simply shrugged as if to say "The girl is nutters". Trelawny approached their table at that moment and gasped, "My dear! Are those what I think they are...? I've only seen glimpses of them in my dreams..." The professor knelt down next to Sakura.
Sakura nodded slowly, putting her cards away. "Yes, they are."
Trelawney stood, smiling brightly, "I am so very honored to have you here. I would hope that I might be so lucky as to have another glimpse at those cards once more, my dear..."
"Maybe, Professor... I'm very protective of my cards..."
Trelawny nodded, "Oh, my dear, I understand, of course I understand." She turned to the rest of the class, "You are dismissed for the day."
Sakura stood and gathered her things quickly, trying to avoid the stares that her fellow classmates were giving her. She was the first out of the tower, followed closely by Ron and Harry. "Sakura," Harry called, "wait up for a second." The girl either did not hear him or did not listen because she ran off down a corridor and disappeared from the boys' sight. Harry turned to his best friend, "I wonder what that was all about..."
"Yeah," Ron nodded, "and what was with those cards? I've never seen any tarot cards like that."
Harry shrugged and the two began walking back towards Gryffindor tower, seeking out Hermione.
Sakura walked quickly down the halls, not paying attention to where she was going, mentally scolding herself for bringing out the cards (which she only did because they were offended she wasn't using them). She tripped in an empty corridor and fell flat on her face. "Hoe..." she muttered to herself.
There was suddenly someone kneeling beside her, "Are you alright, Ms. Kinomoto?"
Sakura blinked and sat up slowly. "Oh, yes, I'm fine, Snape- sensei.," she smiled as Snape stood and helped the young teen to her feet. She bowed slightly, "Thank you."
Snape smiled slightly (he almost enjoyed being called "Snape- sensei"), "You're welcome." He looked around to make sure the corridor was still empty, "Now, you'd probably get back to Gryffindor tower... Do you know the way from here?" She nodded, and he noted that she was slightly red from embarrassment. "Alright... see you at dinner." The potions master turned and headed for his office, leaving the card mistress alone.
She breathed a sigh of relief. She began to make her way towards Gryffindor tower, wondering all the while why everyone thought Snape-sensei was such a bad guy. Sakura reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, "Mimbulus Mimbletonia". The portrait swung open and she climbed through. The common room was full of students doing homework before dinner (which was less than an hour away). She sunk down by the fire near Ginny, and began pulling out some homework to do.
A few moments later Harry, Hermione, and Ron, who had just entered the tower, joined them. "There you are, Sakura," Harry sat down beside her, "Ron and I were looking for you."
"Gomen, Harry-kun," she continued working without looking up at the boys.
"That's alright, Sakura," Ron sat down next to Harry while Hermione sat next to Ginny. "We were just wondering where you took off to."
"Nowhere." The card mistress concentrated on her potions homework (well, it wasn't really homework, but her notes were sloppy and she was recopying them).
"Sakura," Harry leaned closer to her, "are you upset about what happened in Divination...?"
"Iie, Harry-kun... well, sort of." The emerald-eyed girl shrugged, "I'm just mad at myself."
"Why?"
Sakura looked away, unconsciously taking the Star Key in her hand, and shrugged. She couldn't tell them about her Cards... at least, not what made them so special. Dumbledore had said to keep her secret "as long as possible"... and she was going to try. "I just am, Harry-kun... Now, I want to finish my potions homework before dinner."
"But we didn't have homework, Sakura," Ginny chimed in.
"Iie... we didn't, but I my notes are sloppy and I want to rewrite them. It's the only homework I've got to do tonight."
"Yeah," Ron chimed in, "Sakura impressed Trelawny so much that she didn't give us any homework."
"Lucky you," Hermione heaved her Arithmancy book out of her bag, "too bad Li couldn't impress the professor out of homework for Arithmancy." Harry and Ron chuckled, then stood. "Where are you two going?"
"We're going to go find Li," Harry glanced back down at Sakura.
"Good luck... he disappeared after class and I haven't seen him since." Hermione shrugged and took out some parchment to begin her homework.
Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated. She looked up at Harry and Ron, "You might try the courtyard." Harry just nodded and grabbed Ron's arm, dragging him out of the tower.
Syaoran sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, meditating. It was nice and quiet out in the courtyard, where as the common room of Gryffindor tower was full of people and probably quite noisy. He felt truly at peace for the first time since coming to this school. However, his reverie was soon interrupted by a presence that made him most uncomfortable. "Konnichi- wa, Mr. Li," a warm female voice said.
Without opening his eyes, Syaoran reached up for the necklace he wore, "Konnichi-wa, Jade-sensei." He took his pendant, swung it in his hand, and it suddenly became a sword. He swung the sword and brought it to rest at Jade's neck, "I suggest you leave, sensei."
Jade sighed and folded her arms, not at all worried that there was a blade at her neck, "Mr. Li, I mean you no harm. What have I done to make you so suspicious of me?"
Syaoran opened his eyes and stared at the DADA teacher... he noticed that she was dressed rather oddly for a teacher at this particular school (she had on black pants, boots, and a black long sleeve shirt). "Your aura is ... tainted, sensei."
She sighed again, more emphatically this time, "Of COURSE it is, Mr. Li. Did you ever stop to think that maybe there was a good reason for that?"
He slowly brought the sword away from the teacher's neck, "What reason could there be other than that you are evil?"
"You cannot tell anyone what I am about to tell you... not even Ms. Kinomoto... I wouldn't want to worry her," she paused for a moment and looked into the boy's amber eyes. "I'm a spy... not only am I a spy, I'm in a very delicate position. I've managed to make myself indispensable to You- Know-Who so that I can help bring him down. I have to spend a lot of time in close contact with him, and my aura becomes dirtied by being around him."
Syaoran considered her explanation for a moment, then turned his sword back into a pendant, replacing it around his neck. "Why would you put yourself in such a position?"
"Because he needs to be defeated. He cannot be allowed to inflict terror on this world again."
The young man nodded, "You better go now. Potter and Weasley are coming."
The teacher nodded and bowed slightly, "Arigatou, Li-san. We will speak again sometime." She spun and left quickly.
A moment later Harry and Ron entered the courtyard to find Li meditating once more. "There you are, mate," Ron sat beside Li, "we were looking for you."
"Why?" Li appeared to continue meditating.
"It's almost time for dinner, Li." Harry glanced around the courtyard. He had the weirdest feeling that he had just missed something important.
"Alright, Potter-san. Let us go, then," Li stood and gathered his things, leading the way back into the building.
Harry and Ron trailed behind slightly. Ron turned to his best friend, "Weird, isn't it?"
"What's weird?"
"Sakura was right." Ron motioned towards Li, "She knew he was in the courtyard."
Harry shrugged, "Maybe he told her he'd be there later."
"Maybe, but we should still mention it to Hermione... and we should also tell her about what happened in Divination."
"Why?" Harry looked at his red-headed friend, "What's the big deal about what happened in Divination?"
"I don't know... it was just weird. You know Hermione... she already thinks that there is something going on with Li and Sakura."
"Yeah... but she always thinks there's something going on with anyone who's new."
Ron shrugged as they approached the Great Hall, "But she's usually right, isn't she?" They entered the Hall and joined Hermione, Ginny, Sakura, and now Li for dinner.
Jade went back to her office after talking with Li. She sat at her desk and went through the surveys she'd handed out in her classes, trying to find out what all they had been covering, what they liked and disliked about what they'd learned so far, and what they wanted to cover this year.
She couldn't tell how many hours had passed while she sat there reading the surveys. Her concentration was broken, however, when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," she called distractedly.
"The headmaster was worried that you didn't come to dinner tonight. He thought you might be hungry."
Jade looked up from her paperwork and smiled at Snape who was holding a tray with food and drink on it. She cleared off a part of her desk and he set the tray down. "Thank you so much, Severus... I guess I just got caught up in all this," she motioned to the surveys around her, "stuff..."
He nodded, "I see. But you should be thanking the headmaster..."
"I will, but I'm also thanking you for bringing it to me." He folded his arms across his chest, obviously not wanting to be there, not wanting to be thanked for doing something he had been made to do. "Yes, well... you're welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some work of my own to do..." He turned and headed for the door. "Are you sure you can't stay a while, Severus? It'd be nice to have some company..."
"I'm sorry, Professor Jade, but I really must get everything ready for tomorrow's classes." She nodded (although he couldn't see because he had his back turned to her, but he suspected as much since she didn't say anything else). "Have a good evening," he said as he exited Jade's office.
Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, nor do I work for CLAMP – thus, I own none of this.
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Chapter 4: The Beginning of a New Term
Syaoran came down to the common room when the dawn was just beginning to break. He stretched as he came down the stairs, for some reason unable to sleep any longer. "Good morning, Syaoran-kun" came a warm voice.
He tripped and fell flat on his face. "Sakura... what are you doing up so early? I was expecting you to wake up late..."
"I couldn't sleep anymore..."
Syaoran frowned. The normally cheerful and energetic girl sounded so tired and depressed. He got up and made his way over to one of the armchairs by the fire, and sat down next to Sakura. "What's wrong, Sakura...?"
She turned to him, tears in her eyes, "He's had such a hard life, Syaoran, and he's still such a good person. It's really amazing..."
Syaoran blinked – couldn't the same be said about Sakura? He slowly reached out and brushed the tears from her cheek. "It's okay, Sakura... You shouldn't cry..." Sakura smiled at him. "Why don't you tell me everything?"
Sakura nodded and retold Harry Potter's life story to Syaoran as she experienced through the Dream card. When she finished the end of the tale and answered all of Syaoran's questions, she paused. "Ano... Syaoran... this morning I saw something strange."
"What did you see, Sakura?"
"I saw the new DADA teacher carrying someone who looked unconscious across the school grounds from this big willow looking tree."
Syaoran pondered for a moment. "Maybe she was helping the unconscious person?"
Sakura shook her head. "She gives me a creepy feeling, Syaoran."
He reached out and took her hand, "I don't exactly trust her either... maybe she's not exactly a witch..."
"Maybe."
"Anyways, I'll keep an eye on her," he stood, "and now the sun is coming up and it feels like people are waking up. Let's get dressed and go to breakfast." She smiled and stood. Silently she pounced him in a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, then she ran up the stairs back to her room. Slightly stunned, Syaoran stood and stumbled up the stairs back to his own room.
Seamus Finnigan bumped into Syaoran as the transfer came back up into their room. "What's his problem?" Syaoran asked aloud.
Harry was too upset to answer, so Ron nodded towards Harry "He thinks that Harry is crazy, and made up the return of You-Know-Who."
The Chinese boy stared at Harry for a moment with his piercing amber eyes, and Harry grew uncomfortable. After an extended pause, Syaoran shrugged and walked to his bed where he began to gather his things. "Just ignore him, Potter. Let him find out the truth for himself if he doesn't believe you. Besides... if I were going to make up a story like that I'd make myself out to be a hero." Syaoran turned and left the room.
Harry looked blankly at the door that Syaoran had just gone through, then he turned to Ron. "I think he just insulted me."
"Yeah, but at least he believes you... right?"
Harry nodded and gathered his things up. "Let's go to breakfast. I just want to get through this day." Ron nodded and the two headed downstairs to the common room.
Sakura was sitting with Hermione, Ginny and Syaoran, talking about how a typical school day runs, when Harry and Ron came down. She smiled kindly at the black haired boy, "Good morning, Harry-kun. How are you today?"
Harry felt his cheeks flush slightly, "G'morning, Sakura. I'm fine, thanks. What about you? Sleep well your first night in the castle?"
Sakura hesitated slightly (which Harry noted) before nodding vigorously. "Ee, it was a bit odd. I woke up this morning without Kero- chan and...", she trailed off and glanced nervously at Syaoran before giggling a bit. "Gomen, gomen..." she said when she noticed Harry looking at her funny, "I'll tell you all about Kero-chan later. Let's go to breakfast."
The Gryffindor trio, now actually the Gryffindor four (plus two), stood and left the common room headed for the Great Hall.
"In a little bit Professor McGonagall will be handing out schedules. You should have almost all the same classes as Ginny, with the exception of electives." Sakura nodded as Hermione explained things to her over breakfast. "Do you know what you're signed up for?"
She shook her head, "Hoe..."
Ginny looked puzzled for a moment, "What's that mean anyways? You didn't teach us that word..."
Sakura stared blankly at Ginny and was about to reply when Syaoran interrupted, "It really doesn't mean anything. It's sort of like Sakura's own word that can mean any number of emotions..." Ginny nodded.
Ron glanced at Syaoran, then turned to Sakura, "How come you didn't teach anything to me and Harry?"
"Hoe! Gomen, Ron-san! I'll teach you Japanese tonight after dinner, okay?"
Ron nodded, then turned to Syaoran. "Y'know, mate, out of curiosity... how many languages DO you speak? I mean... you obviously know Chinese, English, and Japanese. Any others up your sleeve?" Syaoran just gave the red headed boy a sly look then shrugged and returned to his breakfast.
"Schedules... Ms. Granger," McGonagall handed Hermione a schedule. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," she said each students name as she held out a schedule, "Ms. Weasley, Mr. Li, Ms. Kinomoto." She moved on down the table.
Sakura looked over her own schedule, then Ginny's. "Hoe! Ginny! You've got Muggle Studies, and I've got Divination!"
"Divination...?" Harry blinked. "When've ya got that, Sakura?"
The emerald eyed girl looked back to her schedule. "It's my second afternoon class on Mondays and Wednesdays."
Harry looked down at his own schedule. "That's weird. That's when Ron and I've got Divination. Maybe you're in the class with us..." Hermione shrugged, "Maybe it's just a typo."
"Or perhaps Dumbledore put her in there because he knew her skills already."
Sakura blushed faintly as Syaoran spoke. She grabbed away his schedule and looked over it. "What's Arithmancy?" "Math." She made a face at his response.
Hermione looked over the stolen schedule Sakura held in her hands, "We've got all the same classes, Li, so you can stick with me until you know your way around a bit better." Syaoran simply nodded and returned to eating his breakfast silently – after he'd stolen his schedule back of course.
Ginny grinned, "And you can stay with me until you have to go to Divination."
Harry was glancing at Sakura's schedule (which for some odd reason was being passed around the group). "If you want Sakura," he began, "I can take you to Divination. I've got the class before it off, so I could come and show you the way from Hagrid's."
Sakura smiled graciously at Harry. "Really? That's so nice of you, Harry-kun!"
"Yeah, I'll come too. You'll have the two best guides in the school, Sakura!" Ron chimed in. Harry threw a look at his best friend, and Sakura giggled softly, which was like music to the boys' ears. Harry could also swear that he saw Syaoran glare at himself and Ron, but it happened so fast that he might not have seen anything at all.
"Alright," Ginny stood, grabbing her bag, "we'd better head to class, Sakura. We've got Potions, and Snape'll kill us if we're late."
"Potions? Watch out for Snape, Sakura... he hates anyone who thinks they're special... and since you've transferred here, he'll think you believe yourself to be special."
"Thank you, Harry-kun," Sakura bowed slightly to the boy who lived as she stood, "I will be careful." She smiled brightly as she followed Ginny out of the Great Hall.
"She'll be fine."
Harry looked up at Syaoran, who was still eating his breakfast. "How do you know?
"Everyone loves Sakura." The amber eyed Chinese boy looked directly into Harry's green orbs.
"But Snape hates everyone." Harry took a sip of juice from his goblet.
"No one can hate that girl..." Syaoran said, almost under his breath. "She'll be fine." Harry shrugged and finished his breakfast.
"Speaking of Snape," Ron chimed in, "how come he hasn't come to breakfast yet?"
Hermione looked up at the teacher's table and noticed two empty places – Snape's, and the seat next to his. She shrugged. "So, what should we do with our free period?"
Harry and Ron were hoping to do anything but go to the library, but Syaoran spoke up, "Would you mind showing me where the library is?"
Hermione's eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously. "Sure, let's go." Harry and Ron grudgingly stood and gathered their things. Hermione led the way out, followed by Syaoran, then Ron, then Harry. Syaoran glanced back at Harry, and Harry could've sworn the Chinese boy winked at him, as if Syaoran had known that he and Ron didn't want to go to the library. He was beginning to get more and more paranoid about the transfer student.
Snape woke up when there was a knock at his door. He got up slowly, and was amazed that he was hardly sore at all. He grabbed a dressing robe and pulled it on as he walked to his door. Snape swung it open and was relieved to find the smiling face of his headmaster. "Good morning, Severus."
"Good morning, headmaster."
"I was just coming to see how you were," Dumbledore's blue eyes seemed to hold a tinge of sadness.
Snape managed a rather warm smile at his employer, and long time friend, "I'm only the slightest bit sore, and mostly tired." The headmaster nodded knowingly, "I'm very happy to hear that. It's a good thing I sent Lani with you..."
Snape grimaced slightly, "Yes, a very good thing..."
"Severus, I know you are not particularly fond of her, just as you are not particularly fond of anyone... but please try to be a bit nicer to her."
Snape sighed internally, "I will try, headmaster."
"That is all I ask, Severus," the old man smiled, "after all... the two of you are more alike than you realize." Snape blinked and wondered what Dumbledore meant by that. "Now, I suggest you get dressed and head to class, or else you'll be late." Dumbledore spun and wandered off, leaving Snape staring after him for a moment.
He slowly shut his door and returned to his bedroom. He dressed quickly, thinking about what the headmaster had said. The more he thought about Jade, the worse mood it put him in. Finally, when he was ready, he swept off to his first class in the foulest of moods.
Sakura and Ginny were sitting next to each other in the front row of desks down in the potions laboratory, talking quietly while all the fourth year Slytherins were staring at Sakura. Without warning the door to the classroom swung violently open, and Snape stormed in. "Silence!" He swept through the room to his desk at the front of the room. He spun to face his class, and his eyes roamed through the students until they came to rest on the cheerful face of Sakura Kinomoto. "Ms. Kinomoto."
"Yes, Professor?" She smiled sweetly (as was her nature to do so).
"Do you believe yourself to be better than the rest of the students here at Hogwart's? Do you think you're special because instead of starting as a first year you've been skipped up to the fourth year? Well, do you?"
The young girl frowned slightly, and paused, thinking. His anger and hatred growing with each moment that passed. Finally she smiled up at him again, "I am no better than anyone else. Everyone is special and unique in his or her own way. I don't believe that I am special because I have been advanced to the fourth year, but I am special in my own way."
Snape's mind went into a bit of turmoil. This girl, who truly was special, did not believe herself to be better than anyone else. On top of that, she was being nice to him, she was being sweet. He spun without a word and went to the black board. He waved his wand at it and some directions appeared. He sat down at his desk and looked up at his class. "Today you will be taking notes for the potion you will be making on Friday. You have five minutes to copy down what appears on the board before it changes. Time starts... now." The classroom was filled with the sound of quills scratching on parchment as the class furiously tried to copy down the notes on the board word for word before the board changed. He sat and brooded for the rest of the class period.
Before anyone knew it, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. The class stood and students began rushing out. Snape glanced up and saw that there were only two students left in the room – Ginny Weasley and Sakura Kinomoto. The two girls whispered quietly to each other before Weasley turned and left the room. Kinomoto quietly walked up to Snape at his desk. "Professor?"
He folded his hands on his desk and frowned at her. "The period is over, Ms. Kinomoto. I'm not going to let you copy the notes that you didn't get, if that's what you want."
"Oh, no, Professor. I was able to copy down everything." She smiled brightly, "I just wanted to know if you were feeling alright."
Snape blinked, he was rather taken aback. Without thinking he replied, "I'm only a bit sore..."
She sighed, "Hoe... I'm glad. I was very worried this morning for you." "This morning?" He stood slowly. "Why this morning?"
She laughed nervously, "I was up early... and I saw you being carried to the castle by Jade-sensei. Your aura was very weak, and I didn't know if you were going to be alright."
Snape was shocked for two reasons – firstly because the girl had seen himself and Jade that morning, and secondly because she was concerned for him. "I..." he stared at the green eyed girl, "I'll be fine."
Sakura nodded and turned to leave, but stopped and faced him again. "I think I have something that might help you, Professor."
He sneered, but only half-heartedly, "And what might that be?"
"Just a spell."
"A spell?" She nodded. Snape crossed his arms over his chest, "What kind of spell?"
"It's my secret spell." She paused, waiting for some kind of response from him. When no response came she shrugged. "It's very simple.
All you have to do is say 'Everything will surely be alright', and believe the words you speak. Then everything truly will be alright."
The potions master stared at the slight girl, unbelieving. She bowed slightly and exited the room, leaving him to his own thoughts.
Harry and Ron thought that the bell would never ring signaling the end of their off period. Every time they started up a conversation about Quidditch, Hermione would shush them because they were being too loud. When the bell finally rang, the two boys grabbed their things quickly and made for the door. Hermione and Li took their time getting their things together before joining Harry and Ron outside the library.
"I can't wait to see Hagrid," Harry began, "I've got so much to tell him about the summer."
"Hagrid?" Li looked at Harry curiously as they began walking towards the groundskeeper's hut.
"Yeah, he's the groundskeeper and the professor for Care of Magical Creatures," Ron replied, "and he's a great man."
"But is he back yet?" Hermione chimed in. "He wasn't at the feast last night..."
Harry thought for a moment, "You're right... He wasn't there last night... And Dumbledore didn't say anything about him..."
Their questions were answered when they arrived at Hagrid's hut for class and did not find Hagrid there. Instead it was the old witch, Professor Plank, waiting for the class to arrive. Harry went up to her, "Where's Hagrid?"
The old professor glared at him slightly, "Professor Hagrid has not arrived yet. I will be teaching his class until he returns."
Harry made to argue with the teacher, but Hermione pulled him away before he could say anything else. "Aww, what's the matter Potty? Missing your filthy half giant?"
Harry started moving towards Malfoy, "You shut your mouth, Malfoy."
"Or what, Potter? You'll shut it for me?" Malfoy laughed, as did his goons Crabbe and Goyle. "I'd like to see you try."
Li stepped in front of Harry and folded his arms across his chest. "I think it is best for you to mind your own business, Malfoy."
Malfoy took a slight step back, a look of fear passing briefly over his face. "So now you've got a bodyguard, Potter?" The blonde Slytherin directed his gaze back at Harry.
"I'm not his bodyguard. Just his friend." With that statement, Li turned back to Harry and smiled briefly, "I think class is starting." Li led the Gryffindors closer to Professor Plank to hear her lecture.
Sakura and Ginny chatted about different things as they made their way to the Great Hall for lunch. When she walked in, Sakura was pounced by Tomoyo who was crying and speaking in rapid fire Japanese. "Sakura-chan! It's so hard! We don't have any classes together except one! And that's not even until the last class tomorrow! You have to promise me we'll spend free periods and weekends together! And eat lunch together! I've never been away from you for so long! Why couldn't we have gotten into the same house?"
Sakura hugged her hysterical friend, who was beginning to attract attention not only from Harry, Ron, Hermione, Li, and a number of other Gryffindors, but also from other students and a few teachers. Speaking in English, she said quietly, "It's okay, Tomoyo-chan. You'll be fine. I promise we'll eat lunch together and hang out on the weekends, and it'll be just like it was before. Okay?"
Tomoyo smiled and wiped her tears away, nodding. "If you say so, Sakura-chan." She bowed slightly to Ginny, "Gomen. It was very rude of me to interrupt."
Ginny smiled, "That's alright." She held out her hand to Tomoyo, "I'm Ginny Weasley."
Tomoyo took her hand, "Tomoyo Daidouji. It is nice to meet you." She hugged Sakura once more, "I'll go back to my table now."
"Okay, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura and Ginny walked over to where Harry and the gang were sitting and joined them.
Syaoran turned to Sakura, "Will Daidouji-chan be alright?" Sakura nodded.
"What was that all about anyways?" Ron looked rather puzzled.
"Oh! Gomen! I guess I haven't really told you all about Tomoyo-chan." Sakura began putting some food on her plate. "She's been my best friend since we were in the third grade... We've never really spent a day apart since."
"Daidouji-chan is inseparable from Sakura. She follows her around... and all those clothes she makes..." Syaoran trailed off when Harry began to give him a strange look. Li shrugged and returned to his stoic silence.
"Ah, I see." Hermione didn't really understand, but she didn't really want to push it. "So how was potions this morning?" Hermione glanced up at Snape, who wasn't eating his lunch... he appeared to be more or less just staring off into space.
"Oh, it was fine. I like Snape-sensei." Sakura smiled brightly as she munched on a roll.
Ron and Harry blanched at her. Harry was too stunned for words, so Ron was the one who spoke, "You... like Snape?" Ron shook his head disbelievingly and glanced up at the teacher's table again. "Hai. I do." The green eyed girl smiled still as she picked up her goblet to take a sip of her water.
Ginny just looked at her brother and shrugged, "Snape doesn't seem to hate her... He started interrogating her, but she shut him up. You should've seen it."
Sakura glanced up at the teacher's table and found that Snape's gaze was now resting on her. She smiled sweetly at him, and he looked away. She shrugged and returned to her lunch. The Gryffindor trio plus one just stared at the young Card Mistress and silently wondered.
After the first afternoon class, Harry and Ron were waiting near the castle watching for Sakura. "So what do you think of her, mate?" Ron leaned against the cold stone of the castle.
"Hm?" Harry turned to his best friend. "What do you mean?"
"I mean... what do you think of Sakura? She's a bit strange... but she's nice... And what do you think is going on with her and Li? Do you think they're like... a couple?"
"No, they couldn't be," Harry almost growled, "cause they don't act like they are." Ron shrugged, "Whatever you say, Harry."
"Yeah... but she is kind of strange. She's definitely like no one else at this school..."
Ron was about to agree when Sakura joined them. "Hi Harry-kun! Ron- san! Thank you so much for waiting for me!" She grinned enchantingly. The boys just nodded dumbly – they were under her spell. "Shall we go to class then?"
"Yeah, sure. Class." Harry led the way through the castle, Ron and Sakura followed slightly behind and chatted about different things – mainly Ron was trying to explain the appeal of Quidditch to her, though he never actually went into the different positions and the basic mechanics of the game. Sakura seemed to only be politely interested, however.
Harry's mood continued to darken as they approached the entrance to the Divination classroom. He wondered why Ron was so easily able to carry on a conversation with Sakura, and he wasn't. Sakura confused him so much. He felt so at ease around her, but every time he wanted to start up a conversation with her the words would get caught somewhere in his throat, and at that very moment someone else would come and begin talking to her. He led the way up the ladder into the tower and made his way over to a seat by the window. Ron followed closely behind him but Sakura was stopped by Professor Trelawny.
"Ahhh, my dear, you have arrived. I saw your coming in a vision. I am truly delighted to have you hear," Trelawny took Sakura's hand. "You are a girl of such good fortune... perhaps a bit of your luck will rub off on our poor soul..." Trelawny cast a look over at Harry.
Sakura bowed to the strange teacher politely, "I am honored to make your acquaintance." She walked over to where Harry and Ron were sitting, and Ron moved over so that she could sit by him. Instead, she gracefully plopped down on a cushion next to Harry and smiled at him. He blinked, and instantly his mood improved a thousand fold.
"Now, my dears, we were to start with crystal balls this year, but in a vision I saw that we would be better off starting with Tarot cards. Open your books to the appropriate chapter. You will have already noticed the deck of cards on your tables. Do readings for those at your table."
Harry and Ron opened their books to the chapter on Tarot cards. "Alright. How about we do readings counterclockwise around the table?"
"Sure Ron. You shuffle them, and I'll do your reading." Harry handed the deck of cards to his friend and watched Ron try to shuffle the deck thoroughly. The red-headed boy gave the deck back to Harry, and Harry began to lay out the cards according to the pattern in his book. Harry stared at the cards for a moment, then shrugged, "Alright, Ron. Let's see... This one says that you should practice more, and this one means you're going to have to put forth more team work, and that you should rely on yourself... or something like that."
"Great reading, mate. Give Sakura the cards." Harry passed the cards to Sakura who shuffled them like she knew what she was doing. After a few moments she gave the cards to Ron who laid them out carefully. He began flipping the cards over and tried to interpret them. "Right then... There's a bloke who's got the hots for you, but he's too shy to tell you... and there's another bloke who really does love you... and there's another bloke who's ... loved you through all of time? Wow. Lucky you, Sakura – 3 guys after you." He peered at the cards again, "Oh yeah. And there's something about you saving the world... or something." He shrugged, "I think that worked out well."
Sakura giggled softly, "Arigatou, Ron-san. Now give Harry-kun the cards." Ron gave her a goofy grin and handed the deck to his best friend. Harry shuffled the deck like he would a regular deck of cards before giving them over to Sakura. She began to lay them out not as Harry and Ron had, but as she had been taught by Kero-chan, like she would if she were using her own cards. As she lay each card on the table, a faint glow started to rise from her school robes. Sakura stopped what she was doing and set the cards down. The glow disappeared... and the honey-haired girl appeared to ponder for a few moments. Finally she sighed and reached into the hidden pocket in her robe, drawing from it a small stack of pink cards.
"What are those?" Harry blinked curiously.
"Uhm... these are my Cards. I'm going to use these instead of the regular tarot cards." Sakura moved the tarot cards aside and shuffled her own Cards. She laid them out as she had done so many times before. She flipped over the first card and saw The Fly... wordlessly she flipped over the next one, and was not surprised to see The Dream. She continued flipping over cards, revealing The Dark, The Mirror, The Fight, and The Illusion. She came to the last card and paused before flipping it slowly, showing The Light.
Harry stared at her strange pink cards with Japanese writing on them, and her name written on them clearly in English. "So what do they mean?"
Sakura seemed startled out of a kind of trance. "Oh, gomen, Harry- kun. I guess I just sort of got caught up in the cards for a moment. The Fly represents Voldemort. The Dream means that he controls your dreams because of the past you both share. The Dark and The Light represent the relationship between yourself and Voldemort – you're opposites. The Fight means that there will be a great battle... his weapons against you are represented by The Mirror and The Illusion... you will not know exactly what his weapons are until the time comes..." Her emerald eyes danced over her cards again, leaving out a few tiny details that really were meant more for her own knowledge than for Harry's (after all, they were her cards). "Yes, I think that's it." She nodded and began collecting her cards again.
Harry looked at Ron, slightly confused, and Ron simply shrugged as if to say "The girl is nutters". Trelawny approached their table at that moment and gasped, "My dear! Are those what I think they are...? I've only seen glimpses of them in my dreams..." The professor knelt down next to Sakura.
Sakura nodded slowly, putting her cards away. "Yes, they are."
Trelawney stood, smiling brightly, "I am so very honored to have you here. I would hope that I might be so lucky as to have another glimpse at those cards once more, my dear..."
"Maybe, Professor... I'm very protective of my cards..."
Trelawny nodded, "Oh, my dear, I understand, of course I understand." She turned to the rest of the class, "You are dismissed for the day."
Sakura stood and gathered her things quickly, trying to avoid the stares that her fellow classmates were giving her. She was the first out of the tower, followed closely by Ron and Harry. "Sakura," Harry called, "wait up for a second." The girl either did not hear him or did not listen because she ran off down a corridor and disappeared from the boys' sight. Harry turned to his best friend, "I wonder what that was all about..."
"Yeah," Ron nodded, "and what was with those cards? I've never seen any tarot cards like that."
Harry shrugged and the two began walking back towards Gryffindor tower, seeking out Hermione.
Sakura walked quickly down the halls, not paying attention to where she was going, mentally scolding herself for bringing out the cards (which she only did because they were offended she wasn't using them). She tripped in an empty corridor and fell flat on her face. "Hoe..." she muttered to herself.
There was suddenly someone kneeling beside her, "Are you alright, Ms. Kinomoto?"
Sakura blinked and sat up slowly. "Oh, yes, I'm fine, Snape- sensei.," she smiled as Snape stood and helped the young teen to her feet. She bowed slightly, "Thank you."
Snape smiled slightly (he almost enjoyed being called "Snape- sensei"), "You're welcome." He looked around to make sure the corridor was still empty, "Now, you'd probably get back to Gryffindor tower... Do you know the way from here?" She nodded, and he noted that she was slightly red from embarrassment. "Alright... see you at dinner." The potions master turned and headed for his office, leaving the card mistress alone.
She breathed a sigh of relief. She began to make her way towards Gryffindor tower, wondering all the while why everyone thought Snape-sensei was such a bad guy. Sakura reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, "Mimbulus Mimbletonia". The portrait swung open and she climbed through. The common room was full of students doing homework before dinner (which was less than an hour away). She sunk down by the fire near Ginny, and began pulling out some homework to do.
A few moments later Harry, Hermione, and Ron, who had just entered the tower, joined them. "There you are, Sakura," Harry sat down beside her, "Ron and I were looking for you."
"Gomen, Harry-kun," she continued working without looking up at the boys.
"That's alright, Sakura," Ron sat down next to Harry while Hermione sat next to Ginny. "We were just wondering where you took off to."
"Nowhere." The card mistress concentrated on her potions homework (well, it wasn't really homework, but her notes were sloppy and she was recopying them).
"Sakura," Harry leaned closer to her, "are you upset about what happened in Divination...?"
"Iie, Harry-kun... well, sort of." The emerald-eyed girl shrugged, "I'm just mad at myself."
"Why?"
Sakura looked away, unconsciously taking the Star Key in her hand, and shrugged. She couldn't tell them about her Cards... at least, not what made them so special. Dumbledore had said to keep her secret "as long as possible"... and she was going to try. "I just am, Harry-kun... Now, I want to finish my potions homework before dinner."
"But we didn't have homework, Sakura," Ginny chimed in.
"Iie... we didn't, but I my notes are sloppy and I want to rewrite them. It's the only homework I've got to do tonight."
"Yeah," Ron chimed in, "Sakura impressed Trelawny so much that she didn't give us any homework."
"Lucky you," Hermione heaved her Arithmancy book out of her bag, "too bad Li couldn't impress the professor out of homework for Arithmancy." Harry and Ron chuckled, then stood. "Where are you two going?"
"We're going to go find Li," Harry glanced back down at Sakura.
"Good luck... he disappeared after class and I haven't seen him since." Hermione shrugged and took out some parchment to begin her homework.
Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated. She looked up at Harry and Ron, "You might try the courtyard." Harry just nodded and grabbed Ron's arm, dragging him out of the tower.
Syaoran sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, meditating. It was nice and quiet out in the courtyard, where as the common room of Gryffindor tower was full of people and probably quite noisy. He felt truly at peace for the first time since coming to this school. However, his reverie was soon interrupted by a presence that made him most uncomfortable. "Konnichi- wa, Mr. Li," a warm female voice said.
Without opening his eyes, Syaoran reached up for the necklace he wore, "Konnichi-wa, Jade-sensei." He took his pendant, swung it in his hand, and it suddenly became a sword. He swung the sword and brought it to rest at Jade's neck, "I suggest you leave, sensei."
Jade sighed and folded her arms, not at all worried that there was a blade at her neck, "Mr. Li, I mean you no harm. What have I done to make you so suspicious of me?"
Syaoran opened his eyes and stared at the DADA teacher... he noticed that she was dressed rather oddly for a teacher at this particular school (she had on black pants, boots, and a black long sleeve shirt). "Your aura is ... tainted, sensei."
She sighed again, more emphatically this time, "Of COURSE it is, Mr. Li. Did you ever stop to think that maybe there was a good reason for that?"
He slowly brought the sword away from the teacher's neck, "What reason could there be other than that you are evil?"
"You cannot tell anyone what I am about to tell you... not even Ms. Kinomoto... I wouldn't want to worry her," she paused for a moment and looked into the boy's amber eyes. "I'm a spy... not only am I a spy, I'm in a very delicate position. I've managed to make myself indispensable to You- Know-Who so that I can help bring him down. I have to spend a lot of time in close contact with him, and my aura becomes dirtied by being around him."
Syaoran considered her explanation for a moment, then turned his sword back into a pendant, replacing it around his neck. "Why would you put yourself in such a position?"
"Because he needs to be defeated. He cannot be allowed to inflict terror on this world again."
The young man nodded, "You better go now. Potter and Weasley are coming."
The teacher nodded and bowed slightly, "Arigatou, Li-san. We will speak again sometime." She spun and left quickly.
A moment later Harry and Ron entered the courtyard to find Li meditating once more. "There you are, mate," Ron sat beside Li, "we were looking for you."
"Why?" Li appeared to continue meditating.
"It's almost time for dinner, Li." Harry glanced around the courtyard. He had the weirdest feeling that he had just missed something important.
"Alright, Potter-san. Let us go, then," Li stood and gathered his things, leading the way back into the building.
Harry and Ron trailed behind slightly. Ron turned to his best friend, "Weird, isn't it?"
"What's weird?"
"Sakura was right." Ron motioned towards Li, "She knew he was in the courtyard."
Harry shrugged, "Maybe he told her he'd be there later."
"Maybe, but we should still mention it to Hermione... and we should also tell her about what happened in Divination."
"Why?" Harry looked at his red-headed friend, "What's the big deal about what happened in Divination?"
"I don't know... it was just weird. You know Hermione... she already thinks that there is something going on with Li and Sakura."
"Yeah... but she always thinks there's something going on with anyone who's new."
Ron shrugged as they approached the Great Hall, "But she's usually right, isn't she?" They entered the Hall and joined Hermione, Ginny, Sakura, and now Li for dinner.
Jade went back to her office after talking with Li. She sat at her desk and went through the surveys she'd handed out in her classes, trying to find out what all they had been covering, what they liked and disliked about what they'd learned so far, and what they wanted to cover this year.
She couldn't tell how many hours had passed while she sat there reading the surveys. Her concentration was broken, however, when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," she called distractedly.
"The headmaster was worried that you didn't come to dinner tonight. He thought you might be hungry."
Jade looked up from her paperwork and smiled at Snape who was holding a tray with food and drink on it. She cleared off a part of her desk and he set the tray down. "Thank you so much, Severus... I guess I just got caught up in all this," she motioned to the surveys around her, "stuff..."
He nodded, "I see. But you should be thanking the headmaster..."
"I will, but I'm also thanking you for bringing it to me." He folded his arms across his chest, obviously not wanting to be there, not wanting to be thanked for doing something he had been made to do. "Yes, well... you're welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some work of my own to do..." He turned and headed for the door. "Are you sure you can't stay a while, Severus? It'd be nice to have some company..."
"I'm sorry, Professor Jade, but I really must get everything ready for tomorrow's classes." She nodded (although he couldn't see because he had his back turned to her, but he suspected as much since she didn't say anything else). "Have a good evening," he said as he exited Jade's office.