Two cerulean eyes blinked serenely as the small girl gazed up in wonder at the huge sign above the open iron-gate that read, 'Zoo', in big gold lettering. The blonde haired child turned to a girl who was holding her hand gently and said, "Are we really going to see all the animals Hikage?"
"Yes Usagi," 'Hikage' replied smiling at her 'younger sister' who grinned back and hugged Hikage who only smiled and hugged back. Hikage had coal black hair, short and messy but all heading in one direction, down, not fully straight, but close enough, she also had a strip of long hair down, her, right side of her head, plaited and sealed with a band and two beads. She had deep purple eyes that were nothing like her sisters, in fact, she had nothing in common with Usagi, except their 'blood', Hikage had black hair, plum coloured eyes, was calm, quite and for the most part, an introvert. "Come on," Hikage urged, pulling Usagi's hand a little and the bubbly little girl bounced on the spot.
They had just sat on the way, Usagi constantly looking at the people in the cars that passed heading for the car park. A fancy looking, black car passed and she caught the gaze of an emerald eyed boy with black hair like her 'sisters'. She blinked and watched him, he looked depressed and he seemed to be squashed against the window. She frowned but waved and he waved back, a smile creeping onto his face making her grin.
Hikage looked down at her, frowned herself before following Usagi's line of sight and catching the eyes of the green eyes boy as he went round the bend, she glared, it wasn't hard to miss that description, Harry Potter, the first child. He didn't see her glare or simply brushed it off because he didn't react.
The pair carried on to the ticket area where the lady on duty leaned over and smiled at them in that manner that makes you think your stupid, "Are you lost dears, where's your mummy?"
"Our mummy's up in," but Usagi didn't get to finish when Hikage shushed her.
"Our mother miss, is currently in no state to attend with us, however, we would like to purchase two tickets, one for my sister and one for me," she paused eyeing the woman up, "please."
The scowl that had been plastered to Hikage's face did not vanish and the woman looked thoroughly spooked. She handed over the tickets that she printed form the little machine by the cash register and exchanged it with Hikage for the fee.
"Thank-you nice lady," Usagi chirped and the woman half smiled all the time wearily keeping her eye on Hikage who had turned away and seemed thoroughly un-interested by the whole affair.
The path that followed was beige and covered in gravel and a thin layer of sand and as soon as you were on it you were met by parrots.
"Oh Hikage look," Usagi cried, getting excited, pulling, more like tugging, at her sister's arm, "their all such pretty colours."
"Tell you what Usagi, let's go buy a camera and get some ice-creams, then we can take pictures of the pretty parrots," Hikage suggested and she soon found it hard to follow the movement of her hoping sister. By hoping, I mean it literally; she was jumping up and down like a yo-yo.
"Oh yes," Usagi agreed, "lets!"
So the pair walked to the ice-cream stand, and there he was, the boy with the bright eyes and the dark hair, being bought, rather grudgingly it seemed, a lemon lollypop.
"Hey look Hikage, it's that boy," said boy turned to look at Usagi but turned away quickly when a beefy man shouted at him to hurry up.
"Which boy do you mean Bunny?" Hikage asked looking at her sister.
"The one I saw in the car, he's got really nice green eyes that are shaped like that funny fruit," Usagi chirped and some mothers gave Usagi disdainful looks for being 'rude' as they would put it, Hikage just glared at them. In her opinion those people belonged in this zoo, their where all old buzzards, vultures watching you constantly.
"Oh him, come on Usagi, or we wont be able to see everything in time," Usagi nodded and released Hikage, preferring to walk along beside her in stead. They bought ice-creams, Usagi a lemon pop and Hikage an orange pop, once again the man on duty, he was male this time, gave them funny looks. God, Hikage was eleven and Usagi was ten, it can't be that un-common for girls their age to go around un-parented.
They saw parrots, dolphins, sea-lions, seals, pelicans, flamingos, ducks, rays, little fish in miniature tanks, toucans, strange birds, exotic birds, pheasants and last of all, the reptile house.
"Hikage, I don't like it in here, I don't like the way that green thing is starring at me," Usagi said cringed and hiding behind Hikage's body. She tugged her sister's sleeve and pointed at the South American Iguanas.
"Come on then," Hikage said ushering her sister along, "let's go look at something else." There were a few more fish in their as well, that was odd, what were they, baby piranhas or something?
"Ooh look Hikage, it's a really big snake, let's look at the big one," Usagi cried jumping up and down, Hikage just smiled good-naturedly.
"Alright then, lead the way," Hikage replied, hands in the depths of her jean pockets. So Usagi hurried of to a tank with a sign beside it clearly stating, 'Boa Constrictor, Brazil', Hikage just followed on and came to rest behind the bubbly little blonde bunny.
Hikage looked up when she heard voices that were particularly close, she saw the boy from earlier, again, Harry Potter. He was wit the beefy man, a thin; stick of a woman, a fat boy who was wider than he was tall and another fat boy. Harry Potter grinned half-heartedly, obviously not enjoying the company, Hikage smiled back.
"Make it move," whined Fat Boy who resembled Beef Man substantially greeter than he favoured Stick Woman, she saw Harry roll his eyes. Beef Man rapped the plastic with his beefy knuckles making Usagi move form the vibration and look to the source, Usagi frowned. She was content looking at the sleeping snake, why weren't these people? Why did they have to be mean and wake it up?
"Do it again," ordered Fat Boy, Harry sighed, the other fat boy stood like Fat Boy, eager, repulsively so, Stick Woman craned her neck over their heads to look at other people and Beef Man banged at the material that separated him from a snake that could crush him in an instant.
"This is boring!" moaned Fat Boy and he waddled off, Usagi watched him go and walked off to another tank a few yards from the strange family. Harry remained though, he merely looked at her once before moving his concentration to the snake, it wasn't much but it was enough. Hikage then walked on after her sister and got to her in order to hear her say, "You weren't very nice to that snake."
Beef Man turned red, the two boys were too far away to hear but Stick Woman gasped, "Why you little brat!" he choked through gritted teeth, lunging at Usagi with both hands intended to wrap around the small girl's neck.
Hikage blinked, frowned and in a flash was in front of Usagi Beef Man's wrists gripped in her hands. She hissed, "You even think about doing that again and I'll have you sued for all your worth and I highly doubt that they'll believe you did no such thing since you're a fat over aged man who abuses his own nephew on a regular basis."
"What the-" Beef Man went purple now with rage, but Hikage just brushed it aside, took Usagi's hand tightly in hers and walked off. Usagi sticking her tongue out over her shoulder. Hikage, who would usually turn Usagi's head to face forward and reprimand for doing that sort of behaviour did nothing and kept walking.
"I don't like that man!" Usagi complained but Hikage didn't reply, they simply walked out of the Zoo and went to the bus stop where they caught the bus back to their home.
The pair lived in an apartment their 'deceased' mother and father had left for them, they also had a great deal of money in the bank which allowed them to employ a tutor for home-schooling. Things would get complicated with schools. Hikage did a paper round and various other things, like car washing, taking out the trash etc, to earn them spare cash for outings such as the one to the zoo.
Dinner consisted of micro-waved meals from Tesco and then it was off to bed, Hikage passed Usagi her bear from the floor and then the dark haired girl left the room. The blonde was soon asleep and after a few hours Hikage slipped a black cloak over her shoulders and pulled a hood up over her head. She silently slipped out of the apartment, closing the door and locking it, pocketing the keys and heading outside.
She felt the breeze that swept by her towards the north, she glanced that way and smirked, "You know what Dumbledore, it's time we met properly. Then with a huge leap she jumped right onto the apartment roof and then proceeded to go from roof top to roof top, passing the town, running through countryside, leaping over mashes and ponds heading further and further north, passing more than one town on the way.
The old ruins of a castle, nearly all of it turning to rumble where it had fallen lamely to the ground, suddenly her mind filled with emergencies that she to do, get back to Usagi, what if she woke up, what if someone kidnapped her, so many what ifs, but she just kept walking. She could feel the magic barrier wearing thin; she met with a dark forest, leaping over it, the illusion cleared.
A large pitch, hard to see in the half light of the moon, the darkness shadowing it form view, she could see six hoops, three at each end and stands all around.
A large pond, reflecting the pale light of the moon, glittering and rippling as its surface was disturbed now and then by what lay, or rather, swam, within. A bridge falling across the entrance to a rather wide river that stretched into darkness.
By her, a wooden cabin, lights glinting from the windows and the sounds of large footsteps and the bark of a dog muffled by the huge wooden door. Stone steps led up to aforementioned door, the foundations made of the same material as the steps. A small fence guardian some sort of vegetable patch in the back garden and a pen, it was fair to assume it was for keeping animals in at sometime.
Despite all that she made her way across grass to huge stone steps leading up to a pair of towering, wooden, double doors, like those you see on most old cathedrals. The castle itself was huge, stone built, with many turrets and different roof styles, big and small windows of different sizes and shapes, lights in some but not in the vast majority.
There was a path leading in the same direction as the river but she paid no head to that and simply made her way up the steps to the great doors and tried to open them. To her surprise they opened easily and she walked inside, closing them again because the incoming autumn winds were chilly.
Two doors lay open and light streamed from a huge hall whose roof was bewitched to seem like the sky outside. She stood, leaning against the wall just beside the door and as predicted, "Enter, whoever you are!" called an old, yet booming and commanding voice. The kind of voice that you'd like to have in one's grandfather, witty, amiable and good tempered.
"Nothing much gets past you does it Dumbledore," she said smirking underneath her hood as she came round the corner and began to march up to the teachers table. Some, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout and Flitwick, stood up and pointed their wands at her but it didn't matter, they weren't important.
"Who are you?" he asked, his fingers entwined and resting on the table, his back slightly bent so he was leaning forwards.
"That's not the point!" she replied, "but I'm surprised you don't remember me," Dumbledore just looked confused, Hikage smirked and lowered her hood, it was more for affect than recognition, because in truth he'd never seen her before, only heard the older version of her voice. "Can we talk in private, this matter is one that may be interesting, shall we say, to you," Dumbledore nodded and got up, McGonagall gasped and looked appalled at the headmaster.
"Albus, you can't be serious?" she demanded looking worried.
"Don't worry so Minerva, come," he said beckoning to Hikage who followed wordless but not before giving Professor Quirrell a glare that made him shiver and shrink in his seat.
After ascending several flights of stairs and going past the leaping gargoyle they finally reached Dumbledore's office, he gestured to one of the chairs that surrounded his desk and she sat down, as did he.
"So, what do you want to discuss?" he asked eyeing her warily all the time.
She smiled, "The last time we met Dumbledore, I was in the body of a twenty year-old, I was the one that took Usagi from you," she saw his eyes flash.
"Don't you mean Serenity?" he inquired.
"I never mentioned a girl named Serenity, in fact I don't know any and I have heard that name once and only once before, from you the last time I saw you," Dumbledore nodded several puzzling thoughts running through his brain. Could it be that the 'kidnapper' didn't kidnap Serenity for the Dark Lord, or nay other bad purpose, could it be that this 'child' didn't know that Usagi was really the Princess of the Moon.
"Ahh, so what about Usagi brings you here?" Dumbledore inquired and Hikage smirked.
"You and I both know that she is down to attend Hogwarts, however I am not," Dumbledore frowned, his eyes flashing again, she smirked, "and you don't know where she is and I can sense magic so to answer one of your later questions, that's how I got through your barriers."
"I am sorry, I cannot place you on the list," Dumbledore said.
"Then Usagi wont be coming, because for the last eleven years (Usagi is almost eleven) years of her life she's grown up with me as her sister," Dumbledore nodded but he also interrupted.
"Many of our students come from families where their sibling does not come," Dumbledore explained.
"Like Lily Evans you mean," Dumbledore looked at her, "how you left her son with her sister where he's been abused for the last eleven years, treated like a slave and made to live under stairs," she spat.
"I know perfectly well of Harry's position," Dumbledore said.
"Oh yes," she chuckled, "you've had him under surveillance since you put him there haven't you Dumbledore," his eyes widened, "an old school friend of Lily's I believe; Arabella Fig wasn't it?"
"How do you know?" he inquired.
"Oh Dumbledore, there is so much I know about you and yours but so little you know about me," all the time she was saying this she had been half smiling, half sneering and shaking her head from side to side, a wind began to pick up, a breeze at first till it began to make her hair float and thing sin the room lift.
Then suddenly it cut out and everything slammed back into place and she stood up abruptly glaring at Dumbledore she growled, "Either you let me come or Usagi will never see Hogwarts in her life and if she doesn't full fill her destiny then I have to do what I was ordered," she drew a finger across her neck. "I may not want to but it's my job I'm talking about here."
"I still say no, now go, I trust you can find your way out?" he fumed breathing heavily.
"As you wish but think of her often Dumbledore and what she could have done," with that she swept out of the room leaving the headmaster to contemplate and take out his pensive. Down the stairs she went, past the teachers, out the door, over the forest, by the country side, over the roof tops and soon home.
She sighed, going in the door to find Usagi still sound asleep she climbed in the other side of the double bed, their was a person and a half's space between them but the blonde bunny rolled over and latched onto Hikage's arm.
"What am I going to do with you?" Hikage asked Usagi's sleeping form, looking down sorrowfully at the girl who seemed so peaceful, Hikage sighed gain, your too much trouble and you don't even know it.
I'm not promising all chapters will be this long, I just wanted to get past that bit, so