A/N: Chapter 5 – hokai, so, I've been having some problems with formatting,
and so I apologize to those of you who had to suffer through the lumped
paragraphs. Thanks to my good friend Mikazukino Hikari for fixing my first
four chapters for me. I love you Hikari-sama! So due to the weird thing
that FFN does to my WORD documents, I'm going to be double spacing and
breaking scenes with the squigglies (~ these things). Hopefully they wont
distract from reading. I'd like to thank my first two reviewers –
yamiyumetenshi and Plum Blossoms – it is greatly appreciated. Oh! And real
quick! Things that have asterisks around them (*like this*) are meant to be
italicized.
Shameless plug: Like I said in my first A/N, my story was inspired by Mikazukino Hikari. Our stories are very similar at times, and it's nearly completely coincidental. We think along the same lines. ^_^ Hehe. So go check out her HP/CCS crossover. Also while you're there, and if you like CCS, reader her story "Daughter of the Stars, Son of the Moon" which is nearly finished! It's wonderful and definitely worth reading.
Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, nor do I work for CLAMP – thus, I own none of this.
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Chapter 5: The New Keeper
After dinner, the common room of Gryffindor tower was once again full of students doing homework and just hanging out with their friends. Sakura was re-writing her Potions notes, Syaoran and Hermione were working on some problems for Arithmancy, and Ginny was reading something for her Muggle Studies class. Ron and Harry were simply discussing Quidditch (as usual).
"Oy, Potter," the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Angelina Johnson, approached the group in front of the fire.
"Yeah, Angelina?"
"We're going to have try-out's tomorrow before dinner."
"For the new keeper?" Harry stared up at the new captain. She nodded. "Alright, I'll be there."
"Good." The captain stalked off.
Harry sighed and leaned back, "I really hope that she's not going to be as nutters as Oliver was." He turned to Ron, "You know, you should try out for keeper, Ron."
"Really, Harry? You think I could make it?" His best friend perked up and looked at him rather eagerly. Harry nodded.
"Can we come watch the try-outs, Harry-kun?"
Harry blinked and turned to Sakura. "Uh, yeah, I don't see why not."
The honey haired girl grinned. "I can't wait to see how the game works." She turned to Ron, "And you should definitely try-out, Ron-san. I think you'll make the team."
Ron turned bright red and nodded, "Thanks, Sakura." Harry's mood darkened for a moment, but then Sakura smiled up at him from her place on the floor. She winked, and then returned to self-appointed task of re-writing her Potions notes. Harry felt a lot better, and turned to Ron, who asked for advice about the try-outs.
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When Sakura had finally finished her notes, she excused herself and went up to her bedroom. She took the Star Key from her necklace and held it out, reciting the incantation that she had spoken so many times before. A shining gold symbol appeared beneath her feet as she spoke, and in a few moments the small Key had become a large staff. "Kero-chan, come out please."
The staff glowed brightly and a golden light shot out from it. A large winged lion took shape and was quickly enfolded in its own wings. A moment later, the wings peeled back and shrank, revealing a small yellow teddy- bear like creature (with a long tail and small wings) floating in the air. "Sakura-chan!" Kero flew to his mistress who hugged him tight.
"Kero-chan!" She grinned and reached into her pocket, drawing out a napkin that appeared to contain something.
"Cookies!" He grabbed the napkin away from her and ate the cookies it held. Sakura just giggled. Once he had finished he floated closer to her again, "So how is this place? Is it okay?"
Sakura nodded quickly, "Yes. I like it here. Syaoran-kun and Meilin-chan are here too, Kero!"
"That gaki is here? Where is he?"
"He's down in the common room doing homework... and I thought you two had stopped fighting."
Kero smirked, "Who said we'd stopped fighting?" He headed for the door, but Sakura reached out and grabbed him.
"Kero-chan! You can't go down there! Everyone is down there!"
Kero pondered for a moment, "I still want to see all these people... Your new friends... and the Chinese gaki..." He grinned, "Just pretend I'm your stuffed animal!"
Sakura bit her lip, "Are you sure you can stay still? Even if other people want to hold you or poke at you?"
"Of course I can!" Kero floated away from her and puffed out his chest, "I am the great and magnificent Sun Guardian of the Cards!"
"Alright, Kero-chan." Sakura took him gently and he immediately began pretending that he was a stuffed animal. The card mistress made her way downstairs, holding Kero as naturally as she could. She sat before the fire, and for a few moments no one looked up.
Finally Syaoran looked up and went pale. He leaned over and whispered to her in Japanese, "Sakura, what are you thinking bringing him down here? He'll give everything away."
She could feel that Kero was getting mad, and quickly responded to Syaoran (in quick Japanese), "He won't give anything away. He wanted to see you, and to see who our new friends are."
It was at this point that Ginny squealed, "What a cute stuffed animal!!!" She giggled, "What exactly is it supposed to be, Sakura? A bear... with wings?"
Sakura giggled nervously, "This is Kero-chan."
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Instead of going back to his office after talking with Jade, he went back to his room and laid down. A storm rolled in about midnight – he only noticed because the lightning lit up his dark room, and the rain sounded louder to him than a train going through his room. He lay restlessly for hours, unable to sleep. He was tormented by his thoughts, by his conscience (as he usually was on such stormy nights).
He thought back to his last meeting with the Dark Lord... *"The Card Mistress must be carefully watched, Severus... I want her powers... if I have her powers then I can defeat that stupid Potter boy, and even Dumbledore himself will fear me... Then no one will be able to stop me. Keep an eye on her for me, Severus..."*
Snape sighed heavily. He began to question Dumbledore's bringing Kinomoto here in the first place... and wondered why the headmaster had been so insistent that he mention Kinomoto's arrival to the Dark Lord. It was almost as if Dumbledore wanted Voldemort to get his hands on Kinomoto.
After a while his thoughts were no long cohesive, and he began to fall into a light slumber... and as he felt himself slipping into that sleep, he heard Kinomoto's words in his head...
*"Everything will surely be alright."*
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Sakura was the last one out of the tower that Tuesday morning. She waited for everyone to leave before returning Kero to her staff. The Card Mistress rushed out of the tower with her things so as not to miss breakfast.
When she arrived in the Great Hall there was a flurry of sound as the owls swooped in and arrived. "Hoe..." she marveled as she sat beside Li.
"Sakura-chan... didn't you notice them yesterday?"
"Iie, Syaoran-kun... I guess I was a bit out of it yesterday." It was then that a black owl with blue eyes landed in front of her. She giggled, "Reed- san! Ogenki desu ka?" She pet the owl and it placed an envelope in front of her then nipped her finger lightly. She set her goblet in front of it so that it might get a bit of water to drink.
Syaoran looked at her, "You named it 'Reed'?"
She giggled, "Eriol-kun gave him to me. I thought it was appropriate."
Harry had been listening to their conversation, and he reached out to pet Sakura's owl... but the owl gave him a look of disdain before hopping back over to it's mistress. "Funny owl you've got, Sakura..."
Sakura poked the bird in the chest jokingly, "Reed-san, be nice to Harry- kun." The bird looked Harry over once more before (and Harry couldn't believe this) bowing slightly to him. "That's nice, Reed-san. So what did you bring me? Who is it from?" The owl hooted softly.
She opened the letter and smiled, for it was written in Japanese. *Dear Sakura-san, and my cute little descendant who is probably reading over Sakura-san's shoulder: I hope you are enjoying school so far and that you are making many new friends (and knowing you, you probably are). Dumbledore was very pleased that you decided to attend Hogwart's. The teachers must all love you by now. Oh yes, Nakuru, Suppi, and Kaho all say hello and they hope that you are having fun. I know that you must be starting to miss Fujitaka and Touya, and so to make it easier for you, I have set up a line of communications for you and your family. Just send your letters to me, and I will get them to your father and brother... and they will send their letters to you through me as well. If you write to them today, they'll get the letter tonight (and that's the Eriol guarantee!). Oh yes, and tell Daidouji-chan that she can do the same. For now I must stop writing, my dear Sakura-san. I hope to hear from you soon. And take good care of her, my cute little descendant!!! – Eriol.*
"That Hiiragizawa bastard." Syaoran fumed.
Sakura hit him lightly, "Don't say mean things about Eriol-kun" She smiled, then realized that Harry and the gang were staring at herself and Syaoran.
"I hate it when he calls me his 'cute little descendant'." He fumed and went back to eating his breakfast.
Sakura giggled nervously, "Gomen, Harry-kun, Ron-san, Ginny-chan, Hermione- chan. Eriol Hiiragizawa is a friend of ours..."
"He is NOT my friend!"
Sakura shot a glare at Syaoran, and he shut up instantly. Ginny grinned, "You know... you're just going to have to sit down and tell us all about your life before you came here sometime."
Sakura nodded, then looked at her watch, "Hoe! Ginny! We're going to be late for class if we don't leave now!" Ginny and Sakura grabbed their things and rushed off to History of Magic.
Hermione stood, "Speaking of class... We better get to Transfiguration or McGonagall will give us all detention." Harry and Ron groaned but stood and gathered their books. Li rose silently and followed the Gryffindor trio to class.
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Hermione watched Li carefully through Professor McGonagall's lecture about O.W.L.'s and vanishing spells. The amber-eyed boy was staring off into space (instead of taking notes for once). She wondered what he was thinking about... she also wondered what exactly was going on with the transfer students. It was after McGonagall walked past Li that he turned around and smiled at Hermione, as if he knew she were watching him. She quickly turned back to her notes.
They began to practice their vanishing spells on snails. McGonagall paced around the room offering advice to the Gryffindors that were having trouble. Hermione glanced over at Ron – he had not vanished his snail, but he had managed to get tiny flowers to sprout from it's shell. She turned to her right and watched Harry as he tried to complete the spell... but she noted a look of pain on his face. Then she looked up towards Li again, who was continuing to stare off into space.
"Ms. Granger, would you care to try the spell or would you rather stare off into space?" The professor stared down at the best student in the class. Hermione held her wand and concentrated as best she could. She waved the wand practicedly and the snail slowly vanished completely. "Very good, Ms. Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor." Hermione smiled proudly.
The professor moved on and glanced at Ron's snail, shaking her head. By this time Harry's head was hurting too much to continue trying the spell, so he set his wand down and rubbed his temples. "Mr. Li, are you going to sit there all day while your snail crawls away?" McGonagall scolded Li. The Chinese boy picked up his wand and waved it mindlessly. The snail instantly vanished. The entire class, who had stopped to watch the new guy get told off by McGonagall, went quiet for the most part (there were a few people who gasped in surprise). It took McGonagall a moment to contain her own awe before she smiled, "Very good, Mr. Li. I expected nothing less than the best from you. Fifteen points to Gryffindor." She moved off again, continuing her rounds about the class.
Hermione spent the rest of class sort of staring at Li absentmindedly, lost in her own thoughts about him. Before she realized it they were dismissed (and were assigned massive amounts of homework). Ron and Li walked ahead of Harry and Hermione as they went to History of Magic. Hermione turned to Harry, "There is something odd about Li..." Harry just short of shrugged absentmindedly and didn't respond. "I think we should go to the library tonight after dinner..."
"Oy, Sakura, you look terrible." Hermione snapped out of her own thoughts as she heard Ron's statement.
Ginny was leading the young Japanese girl by the arm down the hall. "She lost it when we got to class and she saw Professor Binns."
"What's so special about Professor Binns?" Li took the still shaking Sakura into his arms and hugged her.
"Ghost," Sakura whispered in Japanese.
Li sighed and let her go, "Sakura, you really need to get over your fear of ghosts. They're usually pretty nice, you know."
Harry looked up, joining the conversation, "You're scared of ghosts? How is it that you've gone two days at this school without having seen a ghost yet?"
"Oh, they can tell who would be afraid of them, so they hide themselves from people with fears of ghosts." Hermione nodded, "So it's really not that surprising."
Sakura began to calm down and smiled at the group, "Thank you. I will try not to be so frightened by ghosts from now on." Ron and Hermione smiled and started walking in the direction of history class once more. Li gave Sakura one of his rare smiles and followed the two Gryffindor prefects. Ginny began leading the way towards Transfiguration, which left Harry and Sakura alone in the hall.
"Are you going to be okay?"
Sakura smiled, "Yes, Harry-kun. I will be fine." The smile faded as she took both his hands in hers and peered into his green orbs. "What about you? Will *you* be fine?"
Harry was a bit taken aback. He looked down at his hands which were being held prisoner in hers. "I... of course I'm fine, Sakura."
She gave him a slight frown, "I know that you will be, but you are not fine right now." He blinked, rather in shock. "If you ever need to talk about anything, Harry-kun, please do not hesitate to come to me." He nodded, and she smiled again – it was a smile which warmed him to his very soul. "I better get to class. Ja, Harry-kun!" Sakura took off quickly down the hall towards Transfiguration. He stood for a moment before slowly making his way towards History of Magic.
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Ginny was more than thankful to get to the Great Hall for lunch. Sakura had said that she and the other transfer students were going to sit and eat in the courtyard today, which Ginny was actually quite thankful to hear. She'd noticed some odd things going on with Sakura, and was quite eager to speak with Hermione about it.
Sakura and Li put some food on their plates and grabbed their goblets. Their friends, Meiling and Tomoyo, were already waiting by the door. "Ja, Ginny-chan. We'll be back in here before the end of lunch."
"Have a nice lunch, Sakura." Ginny smiled and sat next to her brother, across from Hermione. She watched carefully as the transfer students made their way out of the Great Hall, then she turned to Hermione. "There is something weird going on with them," she said to the Gryffindor prefect who sat across from her.
Hermione nodded, "I know. I haven't quite been able to figure out exactly what is so odd about them, though..."
Ron took a sip of pumpkin juice from his goblet. "Well, Li had an awfully easy time in Transfiguration today. And he's never been to a wizarding school before this."
"Class has been just a little too easy for him, hasn't it?" Hermione pondered. "Well, I remember that Li mentioned they had been surprised to find out the other two students had magic, which means that Li and Sakura knew about their magic already."
"Yeah, he did say something like that..." Harry looked up from his lunch.
"If you guys think Li is odd, you should spend more time with Sakura." Ginny took a sip from her goblet.
Hermione rummaged through her bag quickly and pulled out a piece of parchment and her quill & ink. "Go ahead, I'm going to write this down for reference later."
"Well, the first night we were here... It was in the middle of the night, and I couldn't sleep. I thought everyone was asleep until I saw Sakura sit up. She said something quietly in Japanese... the only word I caught was 'dream' cause she said that in English... Then there was a bright flash of gold light... I got up quickly to see if she was alright, but she was fast asleep then."
Hermione copied down the important parts of what Ginny was saying. "That IS really odd... It sounds like a pretty powerful spell... Did she have a wand with her?" Ginny shook her head. "Then it must've been some very powerful magic..."
"Hey, remember the trip here on the train. She did something to Malfoy and his lackies that must've blown them back into our door... She didn't have a wand out then either," Ron added.
Hermione nodded and jotted that down. "What else have you seen around Sakura, Ginny?"
"Well... you know how earlier she flipped out about Professor Binns being a ghost?" Hermione nodded, so Ginny continued, "When she walked into the classroom and saw he was a ghost, she screamed... and she was surrounded by this bright gold light. It was the same kind of light I saw the other night."
Harry took a few bites of his lunch, his attention fading in and out of the conversation. "She seems to always know what I'm thinking," he said, almost absentmindedly.
"She does seem to know what's going on, doesn't she?" Hermione jotted that point down as well.
"Oh! She's psychic, you know!" Ron piped up. Hermione gave him a disbelieving look. "No, it's true! She did a tarot reading on Harry with some weird looking cards... they had her name written on them in English, but there was Japanese writing all over them, too. And it had the weirdest symbol on the back with a star in the middle and a sun and moon off to either side. It was pretty wicked looking, actually."
"Hmm... Her own tarot cards?" Hermione scribbled on the parchment.
"Yeah, and Trelawny flipped out when she saw them. She said something like she'd only ever dreamt about seeing those cards..." Ron shrugged.
Hermione folded up the parchment and stuck it in her pocket. "After Herbology we should go to the library and research this."
Ron groaned, "Do we have to?"
"Yeah, Hermione. I feel kind of odd investigating our new friends... Sakura is so nice..."
"Harry," Hermione looked at him, "there is something very different about Sakura and Li, and what if it's something bad?"
"Dumbledore wouldn't have let them into the school if they were bad people." Harry folded his arms over his chest. Hermione shrugged. They returned to eating their lunch in silence.
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"Sakura-chan, I'm so happy we're eating lunch together."
"Me too, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura smiled at her violet-eyed friend. "And I'm glad you're having such an easy time with class." Tomoyo had related to the group her success in classes, and the fact that she was happy to be at Hogwart's. Meiling was also doing quite well in her studies, which she assured them was due to training with Syaoran for all those years. She'd already written home to let the Elders know how easy the school was for her.
Li sat opposite to the three girls eating his lunch quietly, lost in his own thoughts. "Syaoran!" Meiling whined, "Aren't you happy to be eating lunch with me?" She flung herself onto her cousin and hugged him.
"Yes, Meilin, I'm happy to be eating with you. But I'm busy thinking right now." Li frowned.
"Thinking about what, Li-kun?"
Li looked over at Tomoyo, "I think my classmates suspect something."
"I think that the entire school suspects something," Meiling sighed. "Especially that new teacher..."
"Jade-sensei?"
"Hai, Jade-sensei." Meiling stared at her cousin, studying his features. "You know something, don't you Syaoran?"
Li folded his arms over his chest, "Not anything concrete, no. I do know that she is not entirely evil."
Sakura sighed in relief, "Really, Syaoran-kun?" He nodded. "Good. I was starting to worry about going to her class tomorrow."
"Well, you shouldn't worry. I'm going to have her before you, anyways." He leaned against the brick half-wall that encircled the courtyard.
There was silence for a few moments while everyone thought about the DADA teacher, but soon the conversation returned to the girls giggling over the kind of things girls giggle over, and Li just sat and watched them amusedly.
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The fourth year Ravenclaws and Gryffindors were heading to Herbology just as the fifth years were leaving. Luna Lovegood spotted Harry in the group of students and quickly rushed over to him. She stopped him and took a deep breath, "I believe that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned, and that you fought him, and escaped."
Harry began to turn red with embarrassment. It was good to know that someone other than his friends believed him, but Luna Lovegood was not exactly respected by other students. Tomoyo and Sakura came up behind Luna, and Tomoyo gave Harry a very serious look. "We believe you, too, Potter-san."
There was a halt in the conversations going on around Harry as everyone turned to stare at him and the three fourth years in front of him. It was one thing for loony Luna Lovegood to say she believed Harry, but it was an entirely different matter when two of the devastatingly gorgeous and extremely smart transfer students believed him as well.
Harry gave a grateful smile to Sakura and Tomoyo, and Luna too, "Thank you." Sakura smiled broadly up at him, and Tomoyo gave him a slight bow.
"They aren't the only ones who believe you," Ernie Macmillan came up behind Harry. "I don't think you're crazy, and my family and I have always, and will always, support Professor Dumbledore." He spoke loud enough for all the surrounding students to hear. There were some people who agreed with Macmillan quite loudly, and a few people Harry didn't know very well came up behind him and pat him on the back.
"I think it is time to get to class," Sakura spoke so that everyone nearby could hear her. She bowed slightly to Harry, "Ja, Harry-kun. I'll see you at the try-outs, right?"
He smiled, "Of course. See you then." He turned and rejoined Hermione and Ron. Li smiled at Sakura before following the Gryffindor trio.
Sakura heard a familiar giggling behind her, "Nani, Tomoyo-chan?"
The raven haired girl shook her head, "He likes you, Sakura-chan." Sakura looked at her best friend quizzically. Tomoyo just giggled again and took Sakura's arm, dragging her to the greenhouse for class.
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The try-outs for the position of Gryffindor keeper went faster than Harry would've imagined. Angelina was a very good captain, and she knew exactly what she was looking for in a keeper. Ron was the last to try-out. He was a bit nervous, and so he didn't do as well as Harry thought he could've, but he was better than the others who tried out. Finally, when the sun was beginning to set, Angelina decided that Ron was good enough, and called an end to the try-outs.
As the team was coming off the Quidditch pitch, Harry spotted Sakura and Li. He hurried over to them. "You looked Sugoi out there, Harry-kun!" Sakura smiled.
"Uh, thanks." He brushed his hair out of his face, "I thought you were going to try-out."
She shrugged, "Since I'm still not too familiar with the game I figured it would be best if I didn't try-out." She smiled again, "But it looks like a lot of fun. I will enjoy watching the games this year."
Madam Hooch came up behind Harry, smiling in a very bird-of-prey-like manner, "Ah, Kinomoto, Li. Glad you're here. Dumbledore wanted me to make sure you were both capable of flying." Ron sauntered up behind Harry, smirking (due to the fact that he'd just made the team). "Weasley, let me borrow your broom." She took Ron's broom without waiting for a reply and led Li out onto the pitch.
Sakura watched them go rather nervously. Li had never flown without her, and she didn't know how well he'd do on his own. Harry must've noticed that she looked worried and was struck with curiosity. "Why so nervous, Sakura?"
"He's never flown by himself," she replied without thinking.
Harry paused for a moment, considering, "So you two have flown before? But I thought you hadn't been to a wizarding school before."
Sakura looked up at him and laughed, but didn't reply. She instead turned her attention back to the pitch, and watched as Li took off from the ground with ease. The card mistress breathed a sigh of relief as he made a few simple laps around the pitch, then touched down gently. He returned to where Sakura, Harry, and Ron were waiting. "You're turn, Sakura-chan." He gave her a slight wink and she pushed her off and on her way over to where Madam Hooch waited.
Madam Hooch smiled kindly at the honey haired girl. "Alright, Kinomoto. Just go up, make a few laps, then touch back down. If there's anything wrong with your technique, I'll let you know when you land." Sakura nodded and mounted the broom carefully. She lifted off gracefully and began to circle the pitch, slowly picking up speed.
Harry and Ron watched in amazement as the Japanese girl started into a series of aerial tricks. She looped, she twirled, she dove – and she did it all gracefully. "I didn't know my broom could do those kinds of things," Ron breathed. Harry glanced over at Li, who just stood there smiling, not surprised at all. Sakura must've realized that she was taking too long, and she went into a headlong dive straight at the ground next to Madam Hooch. Just as she was about to crash, she pulled the broom up and hopped off lightly onto the ground. Madam Hooch said a few words to Sakura before heading back to the castle. Sakura returned to the three boys who were waiting for her (two of whom were staring at her in shock).
"Arigatou, Ron-san," she said as she gave Ron his broom.
"No, thank you. I didn't know you could do that on my broom... or on any broom for that matter."
She smiled warmly at the red haired boy. "Shall we all head to dinner?"
"Actually," Ron smiled, still in a bit of a daze, "Fred and George are throwing a party during dinner for me in the common room... Cause I made the team, and all." He stopped and stared for a moment, "Oy, I'm suddenly really glad you didn't try out. There's no way I would've made it."
Sakura shrugged slightly, "I might fly well, but I still don't exactly understand the game. I think you will make a wonderful keeper, Ron-san." She grinned, "Now, let's go celebrate." Ron smiled and nodded. Sakura and Ron headed towards the castle, leaving Harry and Li standing there.
"She really is amazing," Li said, almost to himself.
"Yeah," Harry nodded. He looked over at Li, who shrugged again and began heading towards the castle. He paused for a moment and glanced back at Harry, silently asking him if he were coming. Harry snapped out of his thoughts and caught up to Li. The two fifth year boys made their way back to the castle, and to their common room in Gryffindor tower.
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About two hours after the party in the common room had started, Sakura decided she better do some of her homework. She sat in the corner by the fire with Hermione, Li, Harry, and Ron – the latter two had decided to take a break from the festivities. Hermione sat knitting something or other that Sakura didn't recognize. "Hermione, what are you making?"
"Hats for the house elves."
Ron sighed, "Oh, you're not on that again, are you?"
"They're brainwashed!" Hermione glared at her fellow prefect, "They don't know what's good for them."
"Uhm... What's a house elf?"
Hermione set down her knitting for a moment, "They're slaves for wizards. They do all the housework kind of things, and they don't get paid for it."
"Hermione, how many times do we have to tell you that they LIKE it?" Ron folded his arms over his chest.
"Demo... if they like it, is it really slavery?"
Harry blinked and stared at the emerald-eyed girl, "I thought you'd be on her side..."
Sakura looked up at Harry, as he was in a chair and she was on the floor, "Well, I'm against slavery, but if the elves like what they do and they want to do it, then it isn't really slavery."
"But they're brainwashed!!!"
"How do you know that, Hermione?" Sakura stared at the older girl questioningly.
Hermione fumed for a moment before beginning to hide some of the hats she'd made in pieces of trash. "Hermione, quit trying to trick them!" Ron scolded her.
"Hermione-chan... I doubt they are brainwashed. I have two... beings who are bound to serve me. I have told them many times that they can be free, that they do not need to stay with me, but they choose to."
"Well, Sakura, you obviously treat them very well and so they don't want to leave you."
"Hermione," Harry said firmly, "the house elves here at Hogwart's ARE treated well. They like it here at the school." Hermione simply glared at Harry before marching off to her room.
"She's even more mental this year." Ron leaned back in his chair.
"She just believes very strongly that she is right." Harry looked over at Li as he spoke. "It is good that she has such a strong conviction."
Fred and George popped up behind Ron. "Is ickle Ronnykins trying to escape his own party?" Fred teased. The twins drug Ron back into the heart of the party, and Sakura returned to her homework. Harry decided to rejoin the party, and he took Li with him.
The party was still going strong when it was time for the fourth years to head to Astronomy. Sakura said goodnight to Harry, Ron, and Li as she left for class. It wasn't long, however, after the fourth years had gone that Professor McGonagall came down and broke the party up, sending everyone off to bed. Harry was grateful, actually, because his head was starting to hurt. As he lay down to go to sleep, he saw Li standing at the window, clutching a small pink teddy bear with wings. Harry thought the sight was rather odd, but somehow perfectly natural. He soon drifted off into a fitful slumber, full of odd dreams about a green-eyed girl.
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"Where's Sakura this morning?"
Ginny sat down in between Li and Hermione. "She was still sleeping when I left, Harry. I don't think she's used to being up so late for a class."
Li smiled, "She always oversleeps."
Harry glanced at the Chinese boy, because he had never seen Li smile genuinely like that. What was it about Sakura that seemed to bring out the best in people? "Oh well, she's only missing seeing her favorite teacher at breakfast," Ron spoke up as he glanced over at Snape. Harry followed Ron's gaze and watched Snape as he spoke with the DADA teacher... It appeared that Snape didn't like the new teacher, but then again he never did. Snape had been after the DADA post for as long as Harry had known him.
"Why do we have to have his class first thing in the morning?"
Harry looked at Hermione questioningly, "You're actually complaining about a class?"
Hermione sighed, "I'm just not looking forward to Snape's interrogation of Li."
"Interrogation?" Li looked over at Hermione.
"Yeah, he'll probably give you the same treatment he gave Sakura her first class," Ginny muttered as she picked at her breakfast.
Harry nodded, "He can be a nasty to people who think they're special, or who think they are superior to everyone else... well, he's just really nasty to anyone who's not in Slytherin, actually." Harry took a drink from his goblet, "MY first day was terrible."
Li shrugged and simply returned to eating his breakfast. "I'm not worried."
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The door to the classroom swung open violently as Snape entered into the room. "Silence," he said as he reached the front of the classroom. He leaned slightly back on his desk and surveyed the students before him. He gave a slight, twisted smile to Malfoy who was sitting to the left of Potter... and sitting next to Potter was the Chinese boy, Li.
Snape folded his arms over his chest and stared menacingly at Li. He found it rather amusing, and slightly unnerving that Li did not flinch, but met his gaze head on. "Mr. Li, what is the proper time to pick fluxweed?"
"During a full moon, professor."
Snape narrowed his eyes, "Good. Now, what are Jobberknoll feathers used for?"
"They are used in memory potions and truth serums."
Snape's mood was worsening. The boy wasn't even hesitating before answering... He glared at the boy. "Yes. What are the other names of aconite?"
"Wolfsbane and monkshood."
"What is the key ingredient in a wit-sharpening potion?"
"Armadillo bile."
Snape growled under his breath. "Enough." He spun around pointed his wand at the board. "These are the instructions for the potion you will be making today. The ingredients are in the cabinet. You have forty-five minutes. Begin." He sunk down behind his desk as the students began working furiously on their potions.
The minutes seemed to crawl by for Snape, though for the students, he imagined, time must be flying by. A small bell rang, "Time's up. Label a sample and turn it in to me at my desk. For homework – a three foot essay explaining the properties of moonstone and what their uses are in potions, due to me at the beginning of next class."
The potions master watched with mild amusement as the students began bringing up their samples to him. A correctly made potion would be a very light blue... Snape sneered as Longbottom brought up his sample, which was a very violent purple. Malfoy's sample was a bit darker than it should've been, but it looked better than Weasley's. Granger's was perfect, as usual, which annoyed him greatly. The next to bring up a sample was Potter, and Snape was quite amazed that his sample appeared to be perfect. And then Li brought his vial up, which was even better looking than Granger's.
Snape glared at the Chinese boy and leaned over his desk. "I know what you are, boy, and I will be keeping an eye on you," he said quietly.
Li smirked at the professor, "Doumo, Snape-sensei." He bowed politely to the potions master before turning to gather his things and leave. Li left with Potter, Granger, and Weasley... little did Snape notice that those three Gryffindors had overheard the exchange between himself and the Chinese sorcerer.
He sighed, finally alone in his classroom. "I'm too tired for all this." He rose and left to go to his office.
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Jade sat cross-legged on her desk, eyes closed, and meditating. She was dressed quite oddly for a professor at Hogwart's – in fact, she was dressed in Muggle's clothing (simple black pants and a plain white tank top shirt, but the oddest thing she wore were what appeared to be black leather gauntlets on her wrist). Her robes were folded neatly over her chair, because she was, and always had been, more comfortable not wearing them.
It wasn't long before she heard students starting to enter her classroom, and it was only moments after that they began to whisper about her appearance. She only barely stifled the smile that was beginning to form at the corner of her lips. Finally she sensed that her entire class had arrived she slowly opened her silver eyes.
"Good morning, fifth year Gryffindors, and Slytherins. My name is Alanni Jade, and I will be teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts this year." She surveyed the class as she spoke, her gaze pausing briefly on Potter, and coming to rest on Li. "Now, I know that in the past you've had some very good teachers, and you've also had some... shall we say... not so great teachers. I hope to prove to you that I will be a good teacher.
"Now," she took a look around the room and saw that a few hands were raised, "I know that you all probably have some questions you'd like to ask me. I will say a few words about myself, and then if I have left anything unanswered, feel free to ask me."
Jade stood and smiled a charming smile (and it definitely made a few of the male students warm up to her in that instant), and the hands went down. "I am from a wizarding family, but I spent most of my childhood in the Muggle world, living with my aunt and uncle in Glennfinnan, Scotland. I received my wizarding education here at Hogwart's, and actually was in the same class as some of your parents," she glanced at Harry, "and some of your other teachers here.
"After I graduated, I began to travel extensively. I've been all over this planet, to every major Muggle and wizarding city, and I've seen every natural wonder on earth." The students stared up at their new teacher, slightly awed. She spoke of her travels with such passion that it made them long to go out and explore the world. "A few years ago I became a professional photographer, and have worked for Muggle and wizarding magazines alike.
"So, how come Professor Dumbledore believes a professional photographer is qualified to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts to the students here?" Her charming smile faded slightly, "Well, we'll suffice it to say that I've had more than my fair share of encounters in fighting against the Dark Arts. Now," she sat on her desk again, "if there are any more questions, I'll take them, and then we will begin class." Jade smiled, and blinked (accidentally changing one of her eyes to a deep jade green).
"Professor Jade?"
"Yes, Ms. Granger?"
Hermione gazed up at the new professor, "Are you a metamorphmagus?"
Jade blinked (and both eyes were then green), "Very keen observation, Ms. Granger. I hadn't expected anyone to notice my eyes so quickly. And yes, I am a metamorphmagus, as well as an animagus. Any other questions? Yes, Mr. Thomas?"
"Do you always wear gauntlets?" Dean Thomas sat back in his desk.
The professor chuckled slightly, "No, Mr. Thomas. I only wear them when I've been having practice duels with my katana." A few students looked a bit shocked, which only made Jade smile more. "Anyone else have a question?"
"Do you believe that You-Know-Who is back?" Seamus Finnigan looked over at Harry as he asked the professor his question.
Jade grew quite serious, "No, Mr. Finnigan, I do not believe – I know that he has returned." The class became dead silent. "This year will not be an easy year, it will not be a calm year. The wizarding world is dividing over the issue of whether or not Voldemort," she paused, letting it sink in to the class that she had just used the Dark Lord's name, "has returned. Let me assure you all that he has. I am not trying to frighten any of you, but I am simply trying to prepare you for the reality that you will face this year. Now," she stood, picking up a textbook from her class, "today I'll lecture, and next class will be more hands on."
Harry kept his eyes on Jade while everyone else began to write notes down. He couldn't quite figure out why, but Jade made him feel very uneasy. Hermione nudged him, and Harry snapped out of his thoughts and started taking notes.
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Jade slowly started to make her way to the Great Hall for lunch. Class with the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins had gone well, but she was quite exhausted. She had been partially honest with the class as to why she was wearing gauntlets – she had been practicing with her katana early that morning. The other reason she wore them was to hide the Dark Mark on her left arm.
As she came to the doors of the Great Hall she buttoned up and adjusted her robe. She entered the Hall and made her way to the head table, taking her seat next to Professor Snape. "Hello, Severus. How is your day going so far?"
Snape glanced over at the professor next to him, barely suppressing his urge to tear into her verbally. He was not having a good day. "Today is no different than any other day, for me, Professor Jade." He returned to his meal, signaling an end to the conversation on his part.
She sighed softly and picked up her goblet, "It sounds like you're in about as good of a mood as I am. You can go ahead and be nasty to me, if it'll make you feel better," she turned to him. He looked at her, a bit surprised. "I know you don't like me, Severus, and that's fine. You don't have to like me. But I like you, and I respect you – I always have."
"Then that is your prerogative, Professor Jade." She sighed as he stood and left. Jade let her eyes wander around the Hall as she absentmindedly picked at her food – she had lost her appetite for some odd reason.
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"She's not such a bad teacher. At least she's competent."
"Yeah, Hermione, but there's something weird about her. I mean... she was wearing Muggle clothes!" Ron glanced up at the teacher's table and saw Professor Snape stand, leaving Jade alone. "And she had gauntlets on... I think she might be mental."
Hermione sighed, "What do you think, Harry?"
"Uhm," Harry looked up from his lunch, "I don't know. She doesn't seem too bad..." He shrugged, "She does seem a bit odd, though... Almost like she's hiding something."
"She has her reasons."
All eyes turned to Li. "What do you know about it, Li?" Ron set his silverware down.
"Nothing. I'm sure she has her reasons for hiding whatever it is she may or may not be hiding." The Chinese boy shrugged, "It's probably none of our business... and if it is our business, I'm sure she will reveal it to us when the time is right."
Sakura nodded, "I agree with Syaoran-kun. If she's hiding something, she must have a good reason for it." She set down her goblet, "Demo... I'm still nervous about going to her class."
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"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts, fourth years." Jade smiled and took off her cloak, laying it over the back of her chair. She sat on her desk as she had done for every first class so far. She went into the same speech that she had been giving to each new class she encountered, explaining parts of her past and her qualifications for the DADA post.
Sakura sat attentively in her seat, watching Jade closely. She still had a sense of unease around the teacher, but it genuinely seemed to Sakura that Jade meant no harm – in general, or to anyone in particular. The young card mistress hardly paid attention to the lecture that her professor was giving. Sakura was, however, paying close attention to Jade's aura...
Class seemed to fly by for Sakura. She only realized how much time had passed when Ginny nudged her, "Sakura, come on. Class is over."
"Hoe... Gomen, Ginny, I must've been lost in thought..." Sakura stood and gathered her things.
"Ms. Kinomoto – might I have a word with you before you go?"
Sakura and Ginny looked up to the front of the room. Sakura nodded in assent to her professor, then turned to Ginny. "I'll see you at dinner, Ginny-chan." Ginny opened her mouth to reply, then shut it again and nodded. She quickly exited the classroom, leaving Sakura alone with Professor Jade. Sakura picked up her bag and walked to the front of the room, "What would you like to speak to me about, Professor Jade?"
Jade sighed and sat down on her desk. "Well, really I'd like to apologize for making you uncomfortable. I realize that my aura is... well, dirty... tainted." Sakura made a small noise in affirmation of the teacher's statement, and so Jade continued. "I don't know if Li has mentioned this to you, but I spoke with him the other day in the courtyard.
"The reason my aura is so corrupted is that since I was eighteen, I have been working as a spy for Professor Dumbledore. I," she hesitated for a moment, "well, I won't burden you with all the details, but suffice it to say that I'm on your side, and that I mean you no harm."
Sakura thought for a moment, then smiled brightly at the woman before her. "I know, Jade-sensei, that you do not mean any harm, and I am not uncomfortable now. Thank you for trusting me with this information."
Jade stood and bowed to Sakura, "Iie, Sakura-sama. Thank you for giving me the chance."
Sakura was a bit taken aback that her teacher had just addressed her as "Sakura-sama", but she bowed back. "I will give you the undefeatable spell, Jade-sensei, just as I gave it to Snape-sensei." Sakura looked up into her professor's eyes, "All you have to do is say 'everything will surely be alright', and believe it with all your heart. If you believe it, then nothing can defeat you." With that final statement, the emerald-eyed girl bowed again and left Jade alone in the classroom.
Jade sat back on her desk, and took the gauntlet off her left arm. She felt hot tears streaming down her face as she stared at the Dark Mark on her arm. "Everything will surely be alright."
Shameless plug: Like I said in my first A/N, my story was inspired by Mikazukino Hikari. Our stories are very similar at times, and it's nearly completely coincidental. We think along the same lines. ^_^ Hehe. So go check out her HP/CCS crossover. Also while you're there, and if you like CCS, reader her story "Daughter of the Stars, Son of the Moon" which is nearly finished! It's wonderful and definitely worth reading.
Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, nor do I work for CLAMP – thus, I own none of this.
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Chapter 5: The New Keeper
After dinner, the common room of Gryffindor tower was once again full of students doing homework and just hanging out with their friends. Sakura was re-writing her Potions notes, Syaoran and Hermione were working on some problems for Arithmancy, and Ginny was reading something for her Muggle Studies class. Ron and Harry were simply discussing Quidditch (as usual).
"Oy, Potter," the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Angelina Johnson, approached the group in front of the fire.
"Yeah, Angelina?"
"We're going to have try-out's tomorrow before dinner."
"For the new keeper?" Harry stared up at the new captain. She nodded. "Alright, I'll be there."
"Good." The captain stalked off.
Harry sighed and leaned back, "I really hope that she's not going to be as nutters as Oliver was." He turned to Ron, "You know, you should try out for keeper, Ron."
"Really, Harry? You think I could make it?" His best friend perked up and looked at him rather eagerly. Harry nodded.
"Can we come watch the try-outs, Harry-kun?"
Harry blinked and turned to Sakura. "Uh, yeah, I don't see why not."
The honey haired girl grinned. "I can't wait to see how the game works." She turned to Ron, "And you should definitely try-out, Ron-san. I think you'll make the team."
Ron turned bright red and nodded, "Thanks, Sakura." Harry's mood darkened for a moment, but then Sakura smiled up at him from her place on the floor. She winked, and then returned to self-appointed task of re-writing her Potions notes. Harry felt a lot better, and turned to Ron, who asked for advice about the try-outs.
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When Sakura had finally finished her notes, she excused herself and went up to her bedroom. She took the Star Key from her necklace and held it out, reciting the incantation that she had spoken so many times before. A shining gold symbol appeared beneath her feet as she spoke, and in a few moments the small Key had become a large staff. "Kero-chan, come out please."
The staff glowed brightly and a golden light shot out from it. A large winged lion took shape and was quickly enfolded in its own wings. A moment later, the wings peeled back and shrank, revealing a small yellow teddy- bear like creature (with a long tail and small wings) floating in the air. "Sakura-chan!" Kero flew to his mistress who hugged him tight.
"Kero-chan!" She grinned and reached into her pocket, drawing out a napkin that appeared to contain something.
"Cookies!" He grabbed the napkin away from her and ate the cookies it held. Sakura just giggled. Once he had finished he floated closer to her again, "So how is this place? Is it okay?"
Sakura nodded quickly, "Yes. I like it here. Syaoran-kun and Meilin-chan are here too, Kero!"
"That gaki is here? Where is he?"
"He's down in the common room doing homework... and I thought you two had stopped fighting."
Kero smirked, "Who said we'd stopped fighting?" He headed for the door, but Sakura reached out and grabbed him.
"Kero-chan! You can't go down there! Everyone is down there!"
Kero pondered for a moment, "I still want to see all these people... Your new friends... and the Chinese gaki..." He grinned, "Just pretend I'm your stuffed animal!"
Sakura bit her lip, "Are you sure you can stay still? Even if other people want to hold you or poke at you?"
"Of course I can!" Kero floated away from her and puffed out his chest, "I am the great and magnificent Sun Guardian of the Cards!"
"Alright, Kero-chan." Sakura took him gently and he immediately began pretending that he was a stuffed animal. The card mistress made her way downstairs, holding Kero as naturally as she could. She sat before the fire, and for a few moments no one looked up.
Finally Syaoran looked up and went pale. He leaned over and whispered to her in Japanese, "Sakura, what are you thinking bringing him down here? He'll give everything away."
She could feel that Kero was getting mad, and quickly responded to Syaoran (in quick Japanese), "He won't give anything away. He wanted to see you, and to see who our new friends are."
It was at this point that Ginny squealed, "What a cute stuffed animal!!!" She giggled, "What exactly is it supposed to be, Sakura? A bear... with wings?"
Sakura giggled nervously, "This is Kero-chan."
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Instead of going back to his office after talking with Jade, he went back to his room and laid down. A storm rolled in about midnight – he only noticed because the lightning lit up his dark room, and the rain sounded louder to him than a train going through his room. He lay restlessly for hours, unable to sleep. He was tormented by his thoughts, by his conscience (as he usually was on such stormy nights).
He thought back to his last meeting with the Dark Lord... *"The Card Mistress must be carefully watched, Severus... I want her powers... if I have her powers then I can defeat that stupid Potter boy, and even Dumbledore himself will fear me... Then no one will be able to stop me. Keep an eye on her for me, Severus..."*
Snape sighed heavily. He began to question Dumbledore's bringing Kinomoto here in the first place... and wondered why the headmaster had been so insistent that he mention Kinomoto's arrival to the Dark Lord. It was almost as if Dumbledore wanted Voldemort to get his hands on Kinomoto.
After a while his thoughts were no long cohesive, and he began to fall into a light slumber... and as he felt himself slipping into that sleep, he heard Kinomoto's words in his head...
*"Everything will surely be alright."*
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Sakura was the last one out of the tower that Tuesday morning. She waited for everyone to leave before returning Kero to her staff. The Card Mistress rushed out of the tower with her things so as not to miss breakfast.
When she arrived in the Great Hall there was a flurry of sound as the owls swooped in and arrived. "Hoe..." she marveled as she sat beside Li.
"Sakura-chan... didn't you notice them yesterday?"
"Iie, Syaoran-kun... I guess I was a bit out of it yesterday." It was then that a black owl with blue eyes landed in front of her. She giggled, "Reed- san! Ogenki desu ka?" She pet the owl and it placed an envelope in front of her then nipped her finger lightly. She set her goblet in front of it so that it might get a bit of water to drink.
Syaoran looked at her, "You named it 'Reed'?"
She giggled, "Eriol-kun gave him to me. I thought it was appropriate."
Harry had been listening to their conversation, and he reached out to pet Sakura's owl... but the owl gave him a look of disdain before hopping back over to it's mistress. "Funny owl you've got, Sakura..."
Sakura poked the bird in the chest jokingly, "Reed-san, be nice to Harry- kun." The bird looked Harry over once more before (and Harry couldn't believe this) bowing slightly to him. "That's nice, Reed-san. So what did you bring me? Who is it from?" The owl hooted softly.
She opened the letter and smiled, for it was written in Japanese. *Dear Sakura-san, and my cute little descendant who is probably reading over Sakura-san's shoulder: I hope you are enjoying school so far and that you are making many new friends (and knowing you, you probably are). Dumbledore was very pleased that you decided to attend Hogwart's. The teachers must all love you by now. Oh yes, Nakuru, Suppi, and Kaho all say hello and they hope that you are having fun. I know that you must be starting to miss Fujitaka and Touya, and so to make it easier for you, I have set up a line of communications for you and your family. Just send your letters to me, and I will get them to your father and brother... and they will send their letters to you through me as well. If you write to them today, they'll get the letter tonight (and that's the Eriol guarantee!). Oh yes, and tell Daidouji-chan that she can do the same. For now I must stop writing, my dear Sakura-san. I hope to hear from you soon. And take good care of her, my cute little descendant!!! – Eriol.*
"That Hiiragizawa bastard." Syaoran fumed.
Sakura hit him lightly, "Don't say mean things about Eriol-kun" She smiled, then realized that Harry and the gang were staring at herself and Syaoran.
"I hate it when he calls me his 'cute little descendant'." He fumed and went back to eating his breakfast.
Sakura giggled nervously, "Gomen, Harry-kun, Ron-san, Ginny-chan, Hermione- chan. Eriol Hiiragizawa is a friend of ours..."
"He is NOT my friend!"
Sakura shot a glare at Syaoran, and he shut up instantly. Ginny grinned, "You know... you're just going to have to sit down and tell us all about your life before you came here sometime."
Sakura nodded, then looked at her watch, "Hoe! Ginny! We're going to be late for class if we don't leave now!" Ginny and Sakura grabbed their things and rushed off to History of Magic.
Hermione stood, "Speaking of class... We better get to Transfiguration or McGonagall will give us all detention." Harry and Ron groaned but stood and gathered their books. Li rose silently and followed the Gryffindor trio to class.
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Hermione watched Li carefully through Professor McGonagall's lecture about O.W.L.'s and vanishing spells. The amber-eyed boy was staring off into space (instead of taking notes for once). She wondered what he was thinking about... she also wondered what exactly was going on with the transfer students. It was after McGonagall walked past Li that he turned around and smiled at Hermione, as if he knew she were watching him. She quickly turned back to her notes.
They began to practice their vanishing spells on snails. McGonagall paced around the room offering advice to the Gryffindors that were having trouble. Hermione glanced over at Ron – he had not vanished his snail, but he had managed to get tiny flowers to sprout from it's shell. She turned to her right and watched Harry as he tried to complete the spell... but she noted a look of pain on his face. Then she looked up towards Li again, who was continuing to stare off into space.
"Ms. Granger, would you care to try the spell or would you rather stare off into space?" The professor stared down at the best student in the class. Hermione held her wand and concentrated as best she could. She waved the wand practicedly and the snail slowly vanished completely. "Very good, Ms. Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor." Hermione smiled proudly.
The professor moved on and glanced at Ron's snail, shaking her head. By this time Harry's head was hurting too much to continue trying the spell, so he set his wand down and rubbed his temples. "Mr. Li, are you going to sit there all day while your snail crawls away?" McGonagall scolded Li. The Chinese boy picked up his wand and waved it mindlessly. The snail instantly vanished. The entire class, who had stopped to watch the new guy get told off by McGonagall, went quiet for the most part (there were a few people who gasped in surprise). It took McGonagall a moment to contain her own awe before she smiled, "Very good, Mr. Li. I expected nothing less than the best from you. Fifteen points to Gryffindor." She moved off again, continuing her rounds about the class.
Hermione spent the rest of class sort of staring at Li absentmindedly, lost in her own thoughts about him. Before she realized it they were dismissed (and were assigned massive amounts of homework). Ron and Li walked ahead of Harry and Hermione as they went to History of Magic. Hermione turned to Harry, "There is something odd about Li..." Harry just short of shrugged absentmindedly and didn't respond. "I think we should go to the library tonight after dinner..."
"Oy, Sakura, you look terrible." Hermione snapped out of her own thoughts as she heard Ron's statement.
Ginny was leading the young Japanese girl by the arm down the hall. "She lost it when we got to class and she saw Professor Binns."
"What's so special about Professor Binns?" Li took the still shaking Sakura into his arms and hugged her.
"Ghost," Sakura whispered in Japanese.
Li sighed and let her go, "Sakura, you really need to get over your fear of ghosts. They're usually pretty nice, you know."
Harry looked up, joining the conversation, "You're scared of ghosts? How is it that you've gone two days at this school without having seen a ghost yet?"
"Oh, they can tell who would be afraid of them, so they hide themselves from people with fears of ghosts." Hermione nodded, "So it's really not that surprising."
Sakura began to calm down and smiled at the group, "Thank you. I will try not to be so frightened by ghosts from now on." Ron and Hermione smiled and started walking in the direction of history class once more. Li gave Sakura one of his rare smiles and followed the two Gryffindor prefects. Ginny began leading the way towards Transfiguration, which left Harry and Sakura alone in the hall.
"Are you going to be okay?"
Sakura smiled, "Yes, Harry-kun. I will be fine." The smile faded as she took both his hands in hers and peered into his green orbs. "What about you? Will *you* be fine?"
Harry was a bit taken aback. He looked down at his hands which were being held prisoner in hers. "I... of course I'm fine, Sakura."
She gave him a slight frown, "I know that you will be, but you are not fine right now." He blinked, rather in shock. "If you ever need to talk about anything, Harry-kun, please do not hesitate to come to me." He nodded, and she smiled again – it was a smile which warmed him to his very soul. "I better get to class. Ja, Harry-kun!" Sakura took off quickly down the hall towards Transfiguration. He stood for a moment before slowly making his way towards History of Magic.
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Ginny was more than thankful to get to the Great Hall for lunch. Sakura had said that she and the other transfer students were going to sit and eat in the courtyard today, which Ginny was actually quite thankful to hear. She'd noticed some odd things going on with Sakura, and was quite eager to speak with Hermione about it.
Sakura and Li put some food on their plates and grabbed their goblets. Their friends, Meiling and Tomoyo, were already waiting by the door. "Ja, Ginny-chan. We'll be back in here before the end of lunch."
"Have a nice lunch, Sakura." Ginny smiled and sat next to her brother, across from Hermione. She watched carefully as the transfer students made their way out of the Great Hall, then she turned to Hermione. "There is something weird going on with them," she said to the Gryffindor prefect who sat across from her.
Hermione nodded, "I know. I haven't quite been able to figure out exactly what is so odd about them, though..."
Ron took a sip of pumpkin juice from his goblet. "Well, Li had an awfully easy time in Transfiguration today. And he's never been to a wizarding school before this."
"Class has been just a little too easy for him, hasn't it?" Hermione pondered. "Well, I remember that Li mentioned they had been surprised to find out the other two students had magic, which means that Li and Sakura knew about their magic already."
"Yeah, he did say something like that..." Harry looked up from his lunch.
"If you guys think Li is odd, you should spend more time with Sakura." Ginny took a sip from her goblet.
Hermione rummaged through her bag quickly and pulled out a piece of parchment and her quill & ink. "Go ahead, I'm going to write this down for reference later."
"Well, the first night we were here... It was in the middle of the night, and I couldn't sleep. I thought everyone was asleep until I saw Sakura sit up. She said something quietly in Japanese... the only word I caught was 'dream' cause she said that in English... Then there was a bright flash of gold light... I got up quickly to see if she was alright, but she was fast asleep then."
Hermione copied down the important parts of what Ginny was saying. "That IS really odd... It sounds like a pretty powerful spell... Did she have a wand with her?" Ginny shook her head. "Then it must've been some very powerful magic..."
"Hey, remember the trip here on the train. She did something to Malfoy and his lackies that must've blown them back into our door... She didn't have a wand out then either," Ron added.
Hermione nodded and jotted that down. "What else have you seen around Sakura, Ginny?"
"Well... you know how earlier she flipped out about Professor Binns being a ghost?" Hermione nodded, so Ginny continued, "When she walked into the classroom and saw he was a ghost, she screamed... and she was surrounded by this bright gold light. It was the same kind of light I saw the other night."
Harry took a few bites of his lunch, his attention fading in and out of the conversation. "She seems to always know what I'm thinking," he said, almost absentmindedly.
"She does seem to know what's going on, doesn't she?" Hermione jotted that point down as well.
"Oh! She's psychic, you know!" Ron piped up. Hermione gave him a disbelieving look. "No, it's true! She did a tarot reading on Harry with some weird looking cards... they had her name written on them in English, but there was Japanese writing all over them, too. And it had the weirdest symbol on the back with a star in the middle and a sun and moon off to either side. It was pretty wicked looking, actually."
"Hmm... Her own tarot cards?" Hermione scribbled on the parchment.
"Yeah, and Trelawny flipped out when she saw them. She said something like she'd only ever dreamt about seeing those cards..." Ron shrugged.
Hermione folded up the parchment and stuck it in her pocket. "After Herbology we should go to the library and research this."
Ron groaned, "Do we have to?"
"Yeah, Hermione. I feel kind of odd investigating our new friends... Sakura is so nice..."
"Harry," Hermione looked at him, "there is something very different about Sakura and Li, and what if it's something bad?"
"Dumbledore wouldn't have let them into the school if they were bad people." Harry folded his arms over his chest. Hermione shrugged. They returned to eating their lunch in silence.
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"Sakura-chan, I'm so happy we're eating lunch together."
"Me too, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura smiled at her violet-eyed friend. "And I'm glad you're having such an easy time with class." Tomoyo had related to the group her success in classes, and the fact that she was happy to be at Hogwart's. Meiling was also doing quite well in her studies, which she assured them was due to training with Syaoran for all those years. She'd already written home to let the Elders know how easy the school was for her.
Li sat opposite to the three girls eating his lunch quietly, lost in his own thoughts. "Syaoran!" Meiling whined, "Aren't you happy to be eating lunch with me?" She flung herself onto her cousin and hugged him.
"Yes, Meilin, I'm happy to be eating with you. But I'm busy thinking right now." Li frowned.
"Thinking about what, Li-kun?"
Li looked over at Tomoyo, "I think my classmates suspect something."
"I think that the entire school suspects something," Meiling sighed. "Especially that new teacher..."
"Jade-sensei?"
"Hai, Jade-sensei." Meiling stared at her cousin, studying his features. "You know something, don't you Syaoran?"
Li folded his arms over his chest, "Not anything concrete, no. I do know that she is not entirely evil."
Sakura sighed in relief, "Really, Syaoran-kun?" He nodded. "Good. I was starting to worry about going to her class tomorrow."
"Well, you shouldn't worry. I'm going to have her before you, anyways." He leaned against the brick half-wall that encircled the courtyard.
There was silence for a few moments while everyone thought about the DADA teacher, but soon the conversation returned to the girls giggling over the kind of things girls giggle over, and Li just sat and watched them amusedly.
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The fourth year Ravenclaws and Gryffindors were heading to Herbology just as the fifth years were leaving. Luna Lovegood spotted Harry in the group of students and quickly rushed over to him. She stopped him and took a deep breath, "I believe that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned, and that you fought him, and escaped."
Harry began to turn red with embarrassment. It was good to know that someone other than his friends believed him, but Luna Lovegood was not exactly respected by other students. Tomoyo and Sakura came up behind Luna, and Tomoyo gave Harry a very serious look. "We believe you, too, Potter-san."
There was a halt in the conversations going on around Harry as everyone turned to stare at him and the three fourth years in front of him. It was one thing for loony Luna Lovegood to say she believed Harry, but it was an entirely different matter when two of the devastatingly gorgeous and extremely smart transfer students believed him as well.
Harry gave a grateful smile to Sakura and Tomoyo, and Luna too, "Thank you." Sakura smiled broadly up at him, and Tomoyo gave him a slight bow.
"They aren't the only ones who believe you," Ernie Macmillan came up behind Harry. "I don't think you're crazy, and my family and I have always, and will always, support Professor Dumbledore." He spoke loud enough for all the surrounding students to hear. There were some people who agreed with Macmillan quite loudly, and a few people Harry didn't know very well came up behind him and pat him on the back.
"I think it is time to get to class," Sakura spoke so that everyone nearby could hear her. She bowed slightly to Harry, "Ja, Harry-kun. I'll see you at the try-outs, right?"
He smiled, "Of course. See you then." He turned and rejoined Hermione and Ron. Li smiled at Sakura before following the Gryffindor trio.
Sakura heard a familiar giggling behind her, "Nani, Tomoyo-chan?"
The raven haired girl shook her head, "He likes you, Sakura-chan." Sakura looked at her best friend quizzically. Tomoyo just giggled again and took Sakura's arm, dragging her to the greenhouse for class.
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The try-outs for the position of Gryffindor keeper went faster than Harry would've imagined. Angelina was a very good captain, and she knew exactly what she was looking for in a keeper. Ron was the last to try-out. He was a bit nervous, and so he didn't do as well as Harry thought he could've, but he was better than the others who tried out. Finally, when the sun was beginning to set, Angelina decided that Ron was good enough, and called an end to the try-outs.
As the team was coming off the Quidditch pitch, Harry spotted Sakura and Li. He hurried over to them. "You looked Sugoi out there, Harry-kun!" Sakura smiled.
"Uh, thanks." He brushed his hair out of his face, "I thought you were going to try-out."
She shrugged, "Since I'm still not too familiar with the game I figured it would be best if I didn't try-out." She smiled again, "But it looks like a lot of fun. I will enjoy watching the games this year."
Madam Hooch came up behind Harry, smiling in a very bird-of-prey-like manner, "Ah, Kinomoto, Li. Glad you're here. Dumbledore wanted me to make sure you were both capable of flying." Ron sauntered up behind Harry, smirking (due to the fact that he'd just made the team). "Weasley, let me borrow your broom." She took Ron's broom without waiting for a reply and led Li out onto the pitch.
Sakura watched them go rather nervously. Li had never flown without her, and she didn't know how well he'd do on his own. Harry must've noticed that she looked worried and was struck with curiosity. "Why so nervous, Sakura?"
"He's never flown by himself," she replied without thinking.
Harry paused for a moment, considering, "So you two have flown before? But I thought you hadn't been to a wizarding school before."
Sakura looked up at him and laughed, but didn't reply. She instead turned her attention back to the pitch, and watched as Li took off from the ground with ease. The card mistress breathed a sigh of relief as he made a few simple laps around the pitch, then touched down gently. He returned to where Sakura, Harry, and Ron were waiting. "You're turn, Sakura-chan." He gave her a slight wink and she pushed her off and on her way over to where Madam Hooch waited.
Madam Hooch smiled kindly at the honey haired girl. "Alright, Kinomoto. Just go up, make a few laps, then touch back down. If there's anything wrong with your technique, I'll let you know when you land." Sakura nodded and mounted the broom carefully. She lifted off gracefully and began to circle the pitch, slowly picking up speed.
Harry and Ron watched in amazement as the Japanese girl started into a series of aerial tricks. She looped, she twirled, she dove – and she did it all gracefully. "I didn't know my broom could do those kinds of things," Ron breathed. Harry glanced over at Li, who just stood there smiling, not surprised at all. Sakura must've realized that she was taking too long, and she went into a headlong dive straight at the ground next to Madam Hooch. Just as she was about to crash, she pulled the broom up and hopped off lightly onto the ground. Madam Hooch said a few words to Sakura before heading back to the castle. Sakura returned to the three boys who were waiting for her (two of whom were staring at her in shock).
"Arigatou, Ron-san," she said as she gave Ron his broom.
"No, thank you. I didn't know you could do that on my broom... or on any broom for that matter."
She smiled warmly at the red haired boy. "Shall we all head to dinner?"
"Actually," Ron smiled, still in a bit of a daze, "Fred and George are throwing a party during dinner for me in the common room... Cause I made the team, and all." He stopped and stared for a moment, "Oy, I'm suddenly really glad you didn't try out. There's no way I would've made it."
Sakura shrugged slightly, "I might fly well, but I still don't exactly understand the game. I think you will make a wonderful keeper, Ron-san." She grinned, "Now, let's go celebrate." Ron smiled and nodded. Sakura and Ron headed towards the castle, leaving Harry and Li standing there.
"She really is amazing," Li said, almost to himself.
"Yeah," Harry nodded. He looked over at Li, who shrugged again and began heading towards the castle. He paused for a moment and glanced back at Harry, silently asking him if he were coming. Harry snapped out of his thoughts and caught up to Li. The two fifth year boys made their way back to the castle, and to their common room in Gryffindor tower.
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About two hours after the party in the common room had started, Sakura decided she better do some of her homework. She sat in the corner by the fire with Hermione, Li, Harry, and Ron – the latter two had decided to take a break from the festivities. Hermione sat knitting something or other that Sakura didn't recognize. "Hermione, what are you making?"
"Hats for the house elves."
Ron sighed, "Oh, you're not on that again, are you?"
"They're brainwashed!" Hermione glared at her fellow prefect, "They don't know what's good for them."
"Uhm... What's a house elf?"
Hermione set down her knitting for a moment, "They're slaves for wizards. They do all the housework kind of things, and they don't get paid for it."
"Hermione, how many times do we have to tell you that they LIKE it?" Ron folded his arms over his chest.
"Demo... if they like it, is it really slavery?"
Harry blinked and stared at the emerald-eyed girl, "I thought you'd be on her side..."
Sakura looked up at Harry, as he was in a chair and she was on the floor, "Well, I'm against slavery, but if the elves like what they do and they want to do it, then it isn't really slavery."
"But they're brainwashed!!!"
"How do you know that, Hermione?" Sakura stared at the older girl questioningly.
Hermione fumed for a moment before beginning to hide some of the hats she'd made in pieces of trash. "Hermione, quit trying to trick them!" Ron scolded her.
"Hermione-chan... I doubt they are brainwashed. I have two... beings who are bound to serve me. I have told them many times that they can be free, that they do not need to stay with me, but they choose to."
"Well, Sakura, you obviously treat them very well and so they don't want to leave you."
"Hermione," Harry said firmly, "the house elves here at Hogwart's ARE treated well. They like it here at the school." Hermione simply glared at Harry before marching off to her room.
"She's even more mental this year." Ron leaned back in his chair.
"She just believes very strongly that she is right." Harry looked over at Li as he spoke. "It is good that she has such a strong conviction."
Fred and George popped up behind Ron. "Is ickle Ronnykins trying to escape his own party?" Fred teased. The twins drug Ron back into the heart of the party, and Sakura returned to her homework. Harry decided to rejoin the party, and he took Li with him.
The party was still going strong when it was time for the fourth years to head to Astronomy. Sakura said goodnight to Harry, Ron, and Li as she left for class. It wasn't long, however, after the fourth years had gone that Professor McGonagall came down and broke the party up, sending everyone off to bed. Harry was grateful, actually, because his head was starting to hurt. As he lay down to go to sleep, he saw Li standing at the window, clutching a small pink teddy bear with wings. Harry thought the sight was rather odd, but somehow perfectly natural. He soon drifted off into a fitful slumber, full of odd dreams about a green-eyed girl.
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"Where's Sakura this morning?"
Ginny sat down in between Li and Hermione. "She was still sleeping when I left, Harry. I don't think she's used to being up so late for a class."
Li smiled, "She always oversleeps."
Harry glanced at the Chinese boy, because he had never seen Li smile genuinely like that. What was it about Sakura that seemed to bring out the best in people? "Oh well, she's only missing seeing her favorite teacher at breakfast," Ron spoke up as he glanced over at Snape. Harry followed Ron's gaze and watched Snape as he spoke with the DADA teacher... It appeared that Snape didn't like the new teacher, but then again he never did. Snape had been after the DADA post for as long as Harry had known him.
"Why do we have to have his class first thing in the morning?"
Harry looked at Hermione questioningly, "You're actually complaining about a class?"
Hermione sighed, "I'm just not looking forward to Snape's interrogation of Li."
"Interrogation?" Li looked over at Hermione.
"Yeah, he'll probably give you the same treatment he gave Sakura her first class," Ginny muttered as she picked at her breakfast.
Harry nodded, "He can be a nasty to people who think they're special, or who think they are superior to everyone else... well, he's just really nasty to anyone who's not in Slytherin, actually." Harry took a drink from his goblet, "MY first day was terrible."
Li shrugged and simply returned to eating his breakfast. "I'm not worried."
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The door to the classroom swung open violently as Snape entered into the room. "Silence," he said as he reached the front of the classroom. He leaned slightly back on his desk and surveyed the students before him. He gave a slight, twisted smile to Malfoy who was sitting to the left of Potter... and sitting next to Potter was the Chinese boy, Li.
Snape folded his arms over his chest and stared menacingly at Li. He found it rather amusing, and slightly unnerving that Li did not flinch, but met his gaze head on. "Mr. Li, what is the proper time to pick fluxweed?"
"During a full moon, professor."
Snape narrowed his eyes, "Good. Now, what are Jobberknoll feathers used for?"
"They are used in memory potions and truth serums."
Snape's mood was worsening. The boy wasn't even hesitating before answering... He glared at the boy. "Yes. What are the other names of aconite?"
"Wolfsbane and monkshood."
"What is the key ingredient in a wit-sharpening potion?"
"Armadillo bile."
Snape growled under his breath. "Enough." He spun around pointed his wand at the board. "These are the instructions for the potion you will be making today. The ingredients are in the cabinet. You have forty-five minutes. Begin." He sunk down behind his desk as the students began working furiously on their potions.
The minutes seemed to crawl by for Snape, though for the students, he imagined, time must be flying by. A small bell rang, "Time's up. Label a sample and turn it in to me at my desk. For homework – a three foot essay explaining the properties of moonstone and what their uses are in potions, due to me at the beginning of next class."
The potions master watched with mild amusement as the students began bringing up their samples to him. A correctly made potion would be a very light blue... Snape sneered as Longbottom brought up his sample, which was a very violent purple. Malfoy's sample was a bit darker than it should've been, but it looked better than Weasley's. Granger's was perfect, as usual, which annoyed him greatly. The next to bring up a sample was Potter, and Snape was quite amazed that his sample appeared to be perfect. And then Li brought his vial up, which was even better looking than Granger's.
Snape glared at the Chinese boy and leaned over his desk. "I know what you are, boy, and I will be keeping an eye on you," he said quietly.
Li smirked at the professor, "Doumo, Snape-sensei." He bowed politely to the potions master before turning to gather his things and leave. Li left with Potter, Granger, and Weasley... little did Snape notice that those three Gryffindors had overheard the exchange between himself and the Chinese sorcerer.
He sighed, finally alone in his classroom. "I'm too tired for all this." He rose and left to go to his office.
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Jade sat cross-legged on her desk, eyes closed, and meditating. She was dressed quite oddly for a professor at Hogwart's – in fact, she was dressed in Muggle's clothing (simple black pants and a plain white tank top shirt, but the oddest thing she wore were what appeared to be black leather gauntlets on her wrist). Her robes were folded neatly over her chair, because she was, and always had been, more comfortable not wearing them.
It wasn't long before she heard students starting to enter her classroom, and it was only moments after that they began to whisper about her appearance. She only barely stifled the smile that was beginning to form at the corner of her lips. Finally she sensed that her entire class had arrived she slowly opened her silver eyes.
"Good morning, fifth year Gryffindors, and Slytherins. My name is Alanni Jade, and I will be teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts this year." She surveyed the class as she spoke, her gaze pausing briefly on Potter, and coming to rest on Li. "Now, I know that in the past you've had some very good teachers, and you've also had some... shall we say... not so great teachers. I hope to prove to you that I will be a good teacher.
"Now," she took a look around the room and saw that a few hands were raised, "I know that you all probably have some questions you'd like to ask me. I will say a few words about myself, and then if I have left anything unanswered, feel free to ask me."
Jade stood and smiled a charming smile (and it definitely made a few of the male students warm up to her in that instant), and the hands went down. "I am from a wizarding family, but I spent most of my childhood in the Muggle world, living with my aunt and uncle in Glennfinnan, Scotland. I received my wizarding education here at Hogwart's, and actually was in the same class as some of your parents," she glanced at Harry, "and some of your other teachers here.
"After I graduated, I began to travel extensively. I've been all over this planet, to every major Muggle and wizarding city, and I've seen every natural wonder on earth." The students stared up at their new teacher, slightly awed. She spoke of her travels with such passion that it made them long to go out and explore the world. "A few years ago I became a professional photographer, and have worked for Muggle and wizarding magazines alike.
"So, how come Professor Dumbledore believes a professional photographer is qualified to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts to the students here?" Her charming smile faded slightly, "Well, we'll suffice it to say that I've had more than my fair share of encounters in fighting against the Dark Arts. Now," she sat on her desk again, "if there are any more questions, I'll take them, and then we will begin class." Jade smiled, and blinked (accidentally changing one of her eyes to a deep jade green).
"Professor Jade?"
"Yes, Ms. Granger?"
Hermione gazed up at the new professor, "Are you a metamorphmagus?"
Jade blinked (and both eyes were then green), "Very keen observation, Ms. Granger. I hadn't expected anyone to notice my eyes so quickly. And yes, I am a metamorphmagus, as well as an animagus. Any other questions? Yes, Mr. Thomas?"
"Do you always wear gauntlets?" Dean Thomas sat back in his desk.
The professor chuckled slightly, "No, Mr. Thomas. I only wear them when I've been having practice duels with my katana." A few students looked a bit shocked, which only made Jade smile more. "Anyone else have a question?"
"Do you believe that You-Know-Who is back?" Seamus Finnigan looked over at Harry as he asked the professor his question.
Jade grew quite serious, "No, Mr. Finnigan, I do not believe – I know that he has returned." The class became dead silent. "This year will not be an easy year, it will not be a calm year. The wizarding world is dividing over the issue of whether or not Voldemort," she paused, letting it sink in to the class that she had just used the Dark Lord's name, "has returned. Let me assure you all that he has. I am not trying to frighten any of you, but I am simply trying to prepare you for the reality that you will face this year. Now," she stood, picking up a textbook from her class, "today I'll lecture, and next class will be more hands on."
Harry kept his eyes on Jade while everyone else began to write notes down. He couldn't quite figure out why, but Jade made him feel very uneasy. Hermione nudged him, and Harry snapped out of his thoughts and started taking notes.
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Jade slowly started to make her way to the Great Hall for lunch. Class with the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins had gone well, but she was quite exhausted. She had been partially honest with the class as to why she was wearing gauntlets – she had been practicing with her katana early that morning. The other reason she wore them was to hide the Dark Mark on her left arm.
As she came to the doors of the Great Hall she buttoned up and adjusted her robe. She entered the Hall and made her way to the head table, taking her seat next to Professor Snape. "Hello, Severus. How is your day going so far?"
Snape glanced over at the professor next to him, barely suppressing his urge to tear into her verbally. He was not having a good day. "Today is no different than any other day, for me, Professor Jade." He returned to his meal, signaling an end to the conversation on his part.
She sighed softly and picked up her goblet, "It sounds like you're in about as good of a mood as I am. You can go ahead and be nasty to me, if it'll make you feel better," she turned to him. He looked at her, a bit surprised. "I know you don't like me, Severus, and that's fine. You don't have to like me. But I like you, and I respect you – I always have."
"Then that is your prerogative, Professor Jade." She sighed as he stood and left. Jade let her eyes wander around the Hall as she absentmindedly picked at her food – she had lost her appetite for some odd reason.
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"She's not such a bad teacher. At least she's competent."
"Yeah, Hermione, but there's something weird about her. I mean... she was wearing Muggle clothes!" Ron glanced up at the teacher's table and saw Professor Snape stand, leaving Jade alone. "And she had gauntlets on... I think she might be mental."
Hermione sighed, "What do you think, Harry?"
"Uhm," Harry looked up from his lunch, "I don't know. She doesn't seem too bad..." He shrugged, "She does seem a bit odd, though... Almost like she's hiding something."
"She has her reasons."
All eyes turned to Li. "What do you know about it, Li?" Ron set his silverware down.
"Nothing. I'm sure she has her reasons for hiding whatever it is she may or may not be hiding." The Chinese boy shrugged, "It's probably none of our business... and if it is our business, I'm sure she will reveal it to us when the time is right."
Sakura nodded, "I agree with Syaoran-kun. If she's hiding something, she must have a good reason for it." She set down her goblet, "Demo... I'm still nervous about going to her class."
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"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts, fourth years." Jade smiled and took off her cloak, laying it over the back of her chair. She sat on her desk as she had done for every first class so far. She went into the same speech that she had been giving to each new class she encountered, explaining parts of her past and her qualifications for the DADA post.
Sakura sat attentively in her seat, watching Jade closely. She still had a sense of unease around the teacher, but it genuinely seemed to Sakura that Jade meant no harm – in general, or to anyone in particular. The young card mistress hardly paid attention to the lecture that her professor was giving. Sakura was, however, paying close attention to Jade's aura...
Class seemed to fly by for Sakura. She only realized how much time had passed when Ginny nudged her, "Sakura, come on. Class is over."
"Hoe... Gomen, Ginny, I must've been lost in thought..." Sakura stood and gathered her things.
"Ms. Kinomoto – might I have a word with you before you go?"
Sakura and Ginny looked up to the front of the room. Sakura nodded in assent to her professor, then turned to Ginny. "I'll see you at dinner, Ginny-chan." Ginny opened her mouth to reply, then shut it again and nodded. She quickly exited the classroom, leaving Sakura alone with Professor Jade. Sakura picked up her bag and walked to the front of the room, "What would you like to speak to me about, Professor Jade?"
Jade sighed and sat down on her desk. "Well, really I'd like to apologize for making you uncomfortable. I realize that my aura is... well, dirty... tainted." Sakura made a small noise in affirmation of the teacher's statement, and so Jade continued. "I don't know if Li has mentioned this to you, but I spoke with him the other day in the courtyard.
"The reason my aura is so corrupted is that since I was eighteen, I have been working as a spy for Professor Dumbledore. I," she hesitated for a moment, "well, I won't burden you with all the details, but suffice it to say that I'm on your side, and that I mean you no harm."
Sakura thought for a moment, then smiled brightly at the woman before her. "I know, Jade-sensei, that you do not mean any harm, and I am not uncomfortable now. Thank you for trusting me with this information."
Jade stood and bowed to Sakura, "Iie, Sakura-sama. Thank you for giving me the chance."
Sakura was a bit taken aback that her teacher had just addressed her as "Sakura-sama", but she bowed back. "I will give you the undefeatable spell, Jade-sensei, just as I gave it to Snape-sensei." Sakura looked up into her professor's eyes, "All you have to do is say 'everything will surely be alright', and believe it with all your heart. If you believe it, then nothing can defeat you." With that final statement, the emerald-eyed girl bowed again and left Jade alone in the classroom.
Jade sat back on her desk, and took the gauntlet off her left arm. She felt hot tears streaming down her face as she stared at the Dark Mark on her arm. "Everything will surely be alright."