AN: This is an Escaflowne/Harry Potter crossover, my first FanFic! Credit goes to www.britishairways.com for the name of the airport in Tokyo; to for info about the Japanese school year; to the Harry Potter Lexicon, for info about all things Harry, including calendars; to http:www.cse.unsw.edu.au/altse/japan/1212.html for information about and pictures of Narita airport; and to for information about international time zones.
Disclaimer: None of the characters from Escaflowne or Harry Potter are my own.
Review Responses:
To Sabrina Yutsuki: Oh, I think a more futuristic anime would be even more impossible - Gundam Wing, for example. How do you bring five Gundam pilots back from the future, and then involve them in the plot? You'd have to invent time travel! I'm glad Escaflowne is my favorite.
To Liz: Oh, great review! It's so wonderful to get one that criticizes ... I see your point, and I hope that I stayed in character better in this chapter.
To EnuNR-zero: I'm glad you made an account! Please don't lose too much sleep over this story ... I am trying to update every week, since each chapter needs to be drafted, proofread, and edited - you know what I mean. Still, I'm very glad that you are enjoying it so much! Please continue to R&R!
To Willow: I'm glad you think so! Not to worry, Van and friends will be arriving very soon.
To Bradybunch4529: Lol, yes, Hitomi does have an effect on everybody ... she's fun to write!
To Rai Dorian: I hope you like this chapter as well, and I'm flattered!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Feel free to e-mail me at misekichanyahoo.com anytime you like. I hope you like this next chapter! A lot of help came from my esteemed friend, Kurome Shiretsu, for beta-ing this story and helping with ideas. She has a few things up on here, including a one-shot and a YYH/X-Men crossover. Check out her work!
This story is a rewrite of Harry's fifth year, and updates will come weekly, every Sunday, since I have to do a lot of research, drafting, and editing for each chapter - not to mention planning the upcoming ones. So, bear with me please, people! I will update every week, I promise. I hope you like this next one!
--Miseki
Chapter Four: Secrets, Surprises, and Shopping
Hitomi slammed the book shut in frustration and put her head in her hands. None of it made any sense! She had no idea that these strange people actually used crystal balls. This stuff must only make sense for wizards, Hitomi thought ruefully, but I don't have magic! She stood up roughly, deciding that it was time for a break, when she heard Molly-san's voice wafting up from downstairs.
"Hitomi! Hitomi, dear!" Molly-san called. "It's time for supper!" Thankfully, Hitomi stepped out of her dim room and down the stairs, glancing triumphantly at the empty spot in the back of the hallway. Last week, she had helped Molly-san and Sirius-san take that awful portrait - the one that screamed all the time - down off the wall. It was now hanging in the attic, which was surrounded by a "Silencing Charm." Hitomi frowned. She still didn't understand "magic," and was pondering it as she walked through the kitchen and into the dining room.
"There you are, dear!" Molly-san said, taking Hitomi's elbow and steering her to a chair. "Here, you can sit next to my Ron."
The boy in question turned bright red and muttered, "hello," staring at his plate.
"Hello!" Hitomi said cheerfully, her frustration rapidly fading. Molly-san set a platter of food on the table, motioning to her to help herself. "Thanks!" Hitomi said, half bowing without getting up. She picked up her "fork," looking at it dubiously, and scooped some food onto her plate. Attempting to cover her lack of expertise with western utensils, she chattered idly. Soon, everyone was talking amicably.
Everyone had finished eating and Hitomi was helping Molly-san clean up when there was a knock at the door. Molly-san looked up, distracted. "Answer that, there's a dear," she said, and Hitomi put down the towel she was drying dishes with and went to get the door.
A little nervous, Hitomi crossed the hall, but that red-haired boy, Ron, got to it first. When he pulled it open, Hitomi's jaw dropped. Standing in the doorway, facing away from her and talking to Sirius-san, was a thin young man with a very familiar head of messy black hair ...
Harry turned to the Durselys, who were sitting very close together on the parlor sofa, clinging to each other and glaring at him. "I'm going with Sirius." He said. "I probably won't ever be back." They merely stared. Harry sighed. "Well, I'm ready, then." He said to Sirius, who was standing near the front door and trying not to laugh.
"All right. Once we get outside, get up on your broom, and follow me. The place we're going to is secret, so you'll have to wear James's cloak." His eyes glinted mischeviously. "You know what I'm talking about, right?"
Harry nodded, grinning. "Yeah. But what about you?"
"Me? Well, no one's after me anymore, are they?" Sirius shook his head. "Besides, if I was invisible, you wouldn't be able to follow me!" He laughed, striding out the door and onto the dark lawn. All the street lamps were out, even though the sun had set. Harry could still see his godfather's grin, even through the murky twilight. "All set, Harry? Good."
As Sirius mounted his broom, Harry pulled on his invisibility cloak. "I'm ready, Sirius!"
"Excellent!" Sirius shouted over his shoulder. "Hold on to that cloak, Harry! Here we go!" He pushed his broom off the ground, gliding easily into the night. Harry followed suit, and before long they were landing on a strip of lawn between two Muggle houses.
Harry stepped off his broom and tugged his cloak back into place. "Er ... Sirius? Have we made a wrong turn?"
"Oh, not at all! Headquarters is well hidden - we used a Fidelius Charm to keep its location a secret." Sirius grimaced, and so did Harry. "Much trouble as I've had with Fidelius Charms in the past, Dumbledore is our secret-keeper this time." He pulled a strip of paper out of his pocket and glanced around. "Where are you?" Harry pulled the cloak off his head, and Sirius came over and held the paper in front of Harry's face. "Here. Read this and memorize it - it's a note from Dumbledore with the address of headquarters written on it."
Harry glanced at the paper - it read "Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place" - and then looked back up at Sirius, a question in his eyes.
"Now think about it." Sirius said, his eyes twinkling. Harry did so, and his mouth dropped open as a large, gloomy-looking mansion appeared in the suddenly wider gap between the two Muggle houses. Sirius sauntered up to the porch and Harry, pulling his cloak off, followed him. Sirius knocked sharply on the door, and Harry, standing in front of it, turned to face him.
"But ... where did you find this place?"
"I'll tell you about it once we get inside." Sirius said with a grin. "Pretty neat, huh?"
Harry opened his mouth to respond, but just then the door swung open. He heard a shout from inside - a girl's voice - and suddenly someone ran into him at nearly the speed of light, knocking him over. The girl - he could tell it was a girl now - fell on top of him.
"VAN!!" Hitomi shouted, landing on top of the young man with a crash. "But how did you get here, I - " the young man, rubbing his head, sat up, and suddenly Hitomi was very embarrassed. She stood up quickly, her face turning dark red. "I'm sorry, I just ... you look like someone I know." Hitomi explained feebly, staring at the ground.
Harry goggled at the girl, mystified. Mrs. Weasley appeared in the doorway, a wet dishrag in her hand. "What's going on here?" She demanded. "Come now, stop standing in the door like that. You'll let the whole world know where we are!" It was as she ushered them all into the hallway that she noticed Harry. "Harry, dear!" She hugged him tightly. "How was your journey? Come, into the kitchen, and let's get you some tea." Harry was swept off into the kitchen, followed by Ron, who was trying very hard not to laugh.
Hitomi paced angrily back and forth across her candlelit room. Why did she think it was him?! Sure, they looked alike, at least from behind. But, still! She slammed her fist on the wall. He wouldn't look for her here, away from home. Cradling her throbbing knuckles, Hitomi sank onto her bed, staring out the window at the cloudy sky. She was being silly. He'd never come here looking for her, of course he wouldn't. She sighed. He was too far away ...
"What's up with that girl, anyway?" Harry asked, swirling his teacup idly. "I mean, why'd she crash into me like that?"
"I dunno." Ron said around a particularly large bite of crumpet. "That girl's a weird one."
Harry frowned, puzzled. "Yeah, but who is she?"
"Her name's Hitomi. She got here about a week before we did." Ron glanced over at his friend. "I suppose Sirius told you what happened? With Wormtail, and all that?" Harry nodded.
Ron was about to say more, but Mrs. Weasley was passing through, and she, having heard them, interrupted, "Well, he's been downright annoying ever since - running about with that grin plastered on his face, pulling pranks on everybody. I swear, that portrait of his never shut up - " she moved off, muttering.
Harry looked confused. "What portrait?"
"Oh, that's right! We took it down last week. Sirius had this horrible portrait of his mum hanging on the wall. It would shout horrible things at everyone in range if you made the slightest noise. Took us three weeks to get it down!"
"Sounds like you've been busy." Harry said, just a touch of irritation in his voice.
Ron saw the look. "Yeah, well, cleaning up this rotten old place isn't very much fun. Dumbledore stops by sometimes, and - " he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, yeah! Dumbledore wanted me to tell you that he wants to talk to you soon as you get here. What'd you do this time?"
Harry blinked, uncomprehending for a moment, and then he remembered the letter. "Oh ... " he stood up and headed for the door. " ... talk to you later, Ron ... "
The door swung shut behind him. Ron scratched his head, confused. "What's going on around here?" He said to no one. "Everybody's gone batty."
Harry found out where Dumbledore's room was from Mrs. Weasley, and tapped gingerly on his door. "Professor Dumbledore?"
"Yes? Come in." A voice called from inside.
Harry opened the door and slid in, closing it softly behind him. "You wanted to see me, sir?" He asked, almost afraid of what he would hear.
"Ah, Harry." Dumbledore stood up and motioned Harry toward a chair. They both sat, Dumbledore across from Harry, and looked at each other. "What I have to tell you now is not easy for me to say, Harry," Dumbledore said, sighing, "but I must say it. I am about to place a terrible burden on you, one that will do nothing but add to the pain you have already suffered, but it would be infinitely more dangerous to leave you unaware. I was unwilling to tell you these last four years, despite the fact that you have proven yourself to be ready again and again, but the danger to you has never been greater, now that Voldemort has been returned to his full strength.
"What I have to tell you concerns you relationship with Lord Voldemort. I have told you some things about your scar ... I can see that you remember ... but I couldn't bring myself to tell you the whole truth then. However, I will tell you now, even though it is almost too late.
"A little more than fifteen years ago, I was interviewing Sibyll Trelawney - a Professor of yours - for the post of Divination teacher. Though she was the descendant of a famous and very gifted Seer, she showed no potential, and I was just leaving when she did something that convinced me otherwise. She gave a prophecy, and, though I should have, I never told you the contents of that prophecy." Dumbledore looked up at Harry, his blue eyes infinitely sad. "Would you like to know why it is that Lord Voldemort tried to kill you?"
Harry gaped. He sat there for a moment, stunned, and then managed to gulp, "Yes."
Dumbledore sighed. "Very well, then. The prophecy goes as follows:
Harry's head was whirling. "But, sir ... what does it mean?" He asked weakly.
"It means that the only person who can defeat Lord Voldemort was born at the end of July to parents who had already escaped Voldemort three times. It means that Voldemort chose this person, marked him as an equal."
Harry blinked, beginning to comprehend. Slowly, he said, "And it means that either he has to kill Voldemort ... or Voldemort will kill him." He sat for a moment, lost in thought.
Dumbledore waited, and then said quietly, "One of Voldemort's followers was eavesdropping on my conversation that night. He only heard the first part of that prophecy before he was discovered, and so Voldemort only knew that someone capable of destroying him would be born that July. He found out, that night when he tried to kill you, that to do so would be 'marking you as his equal' - in short, when Voldemort gave you that scar, he transferred some of his powers to you, and fulfilled the ending of that prophecy." He paused. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Harry, but when he tried to kill you, Voldemort made you the only person with the power to defeat him."
Something very close to panic welled up inside Harry. "But I can't!!" He shouted, leaping to his feet. "How can I?! I haven't got the power he has, I couldn't do things like ... torture people, or ... " memories of the night Cedric died, memories that haunted him in his nightmares, came crashing unbidden into his head. He could hear himself screaming, see Cedric's body lying on the ground, as if he were back in that graveyard again.
Dumbledore's voice sliced through the memories, bringing Harry back to himself. "You will find that you do have 'power he knows not,' Harry. You have the one power he could never have, could never understand, and you have an abundance of this power. It is what caused Professor Quirell such pain to touch you in your first year, and brought you to the rescue of several others these last four years. Think about it, Harry, and when the time comes, you will understand."
The next morning, Hitomi went downstairs and into the kitchen, looking for someone who could help her out. She found a pale man with lanky black hair and a scowl. "Snape-san!" She cried happily, jogging up to him.
Snape looked over. "Oh, it's you," he said, grunting and turning back to his breakfast.
Hitomi waited for him to say something else, and when he didn't, she went ahead and asked. "Snape-san, I was wondering ... you see, I kind of need to go shopping ... "
"Shopping?" Snape said in a disinterested voice, not really paying attention.
"Yeah. Dumbledore-sama said that he needed me to help him ... " She looked around warily, and then sat down, continuing in a hushed voice. "He said that Professor Trelawney, his Divination teacher, had important work to do for the Order, and couldn't teach this year, so he wants me to teach it instead. He said I would do just fine if I studied a little."
"Tell me again why this concerns me," Snape said, his scowl darkening.
"Well, Snape-san, the thing is, there aren't many Divination books in this house ... in fact, there's only one. But that one makes no sense!" She caught herself shouting, and lowered her voice. "I need to go shopping, wherever wizards shop, and get some better books about Divination that I can study from."
Snape looked dubious. "And you want me to take you."
Taking this for an agreement, Hitomi smiled and stood up. "Great! Let's leave in half an hour, okay?" She slipped happily out the door, leaving Snape scowling at it in consternation.
"How does she always manage to do that to me?" He growled, abandoning his breakfast to search for someone - anyone - else, someone who wouldn't mind ... shopping.
Forty-five minutes later, Hitomi and Snape stood in the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron, and Snape was tapping the bricks with his wand. To Hitomi's amazement, the brick wall transformed itself into an arch, and Snape had to grab Hitomi's wrist and pull her into Diagon Alley. Hitomi's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped at the sight of dozens of witches and wizards, complete with robes, milled busily around the narrow street.
Snape interrupted her reverie. "Do you even have any money?" he growled irritably.
She jumped. "Oh, yeah, I exchanged my Yen for Pounds in the airport ... " her voice trailed off when she saw his face. "Do wizards not use pounds?"
Snape rolled his eyes. "To Gringotts, then. You can use money from my personal account - for now. I expect to be repaid in full, however." She merely stared at him with round eyes, and he stalked off, leaving her running to catch up.
Once inside Gringotts, Snape told her to wait in the lobby while he visited his "vault" to collect some money. Hitomi stood awkwardly in the center of the room, surrounded by odd, short creatures who glared at her. She looked sadly down at her handful of British pounds. I guess not, she thought, wishing Snape-san would hurry up. She didn't have to wait long; eventually, Snape-san strode quickly out of a door in the back of the room, handed her a small pouch, and walked away, leaving her, once again, struggling to catch up. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to a halt in the middle of the street, outside the bank. "Wait a minute!" She said, her glare almost matching his. "How am I supposed to get any shopping done if you keep dragging me around all over the place?!"
There was that horrible word again. "Hurry. We will spend as little time as possible ... shopping ... before we must return to headquarters." He scowled.
Hitomi sniffed, and walked slowly down the street, looking for a bookstore. She passed by a door with a sign hanging above it that said "Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions," and became interested. Timidly, she slipped in, tinkling a small bell that hung above the door. "Excuse me," she said, looking for clerk.
"Ah, yes, welcome!" A short, round lady waltzed into the room. "How may I help you?" She asked, her smile changing to mild surprise when she saw Snape slouching in the doorway.
"Um ... I need some robes, you know ... professional ones, I guess." The lady's eyes snapped back to Hitomi, and her smile returned.
"Starting a new job, are you, dear?" The lady was already pulling swatches of fabric down from a shelf.
Hitomi smiled nervously. "Well, I'll be ... tutoring ... some younger students."
The lady thought for a moment. "You'll need something that commands respect, then, without being too formal. Am I right?"
Hitomi, getting into the spirit of shopping for clothes, nodded. "Yeah! And we need some good colors ... " She bustled over to the shelf of fabric, and soon the two were chatting amiably and holding up different lengths of fabric.
Snape glared at them. How long could it possibly take to get a few robes? He should have known that the girl wouldn't only be buying books, but he had let himself be dragged to Diagon Alley. Worse, he had let her see the robes shop! He should have just pulled her into the bookstore, bought her a few Divination books, and then escaped. Now it was too late - she'd be shopping for hours. After what seemed like an eternity but was really only about an hour, Snape was following Hitomi out of Madam Malkin's, carrying a large box full of robes.
"Do you think I'll need a wand?" Hitomi asked. She didn't wait for an answer, but turned around and got directions to a wand shop from Madam Malkin. To Snape's dismay, she ignored the bookstore completely and marched toward Ollivander's.
Dust kicked up around Hitomi's feet when she entered Ollivander's. She coughed slightly, squinting in the dim light. An old man with round glasses and a shock of white hair appeared from behind a shelf. "Another student, I suppose?" He asked lightly, looking her up and down and digging for his measuring tape.
"Well, not really, Ollivander-san."
"'-san'?" Ollivander repeated. "Might I ask where you come from?" Just then Snape stepped out of the shadows, glaring menacingly. Ollivander coughed. "Ahem! Ah, no need to know, of course." The measuring tape was taking Hitomi's measurements of its own accord while Ollivander pondered. "You do have an otherworldly quality, miss." He said, thinking aloud. "Maybe ... here, try this." He handed Hitomi a wand. She stared at it, confused, and glanced at Snape, who was subtly waving his hand, as if to say, 'wave the wand.' Doubtfully, she swished it a little.
A fine sprinkling of tiny blue sparks whispered out of the end, bathing the room in clear blue light before fading away. "What did I do?!" Hitomi gasped.
"Otherworldly, indeed." Ollivander said, lifting the wand out of Hitomi's hand and placing it in a box. "Although wands do not normally react that way, I am certain that this wand is for you - ten inches long, ash." He cut a small bow. "Good day."
Hitomi paid the man seven of Snape's galleons and left, still rather puzzled. This did not daunt her enthusiasm for shopping, however. She dragged poor Snape, laden with packages, to several different stores, including the stationary shop ("How can I teach without writing?") and an obscure little store from which she bought a crystal ball. Finally, when Snape was barely visible behind a wall of boxes, Hitomi visited the bookstore.
Not at all nervous anymore, she went up to the manager. "Excuse me, sir," she said politely. "Where can I find Divination books?" The busy man pointed her to an aisle in the back. She wandered up and down, running her finger across the titles and consulting the list of subjects Trelawney-san had given her before she left. I don't think I can do this, she thought, starting to panic. Still, after a while, Hitomi had selected one book each on Palmistry, reading Tea Leaves, Crystal Balls, and Astrology, and was about to leave when a small, dark leather book caught her eye. Reading the title, she had an idea, and her worries started to fade away. Wizards have tarot cards too, huh? I wonder ...
"What is it you wanted to show me?" Red eyes glinted in the darkness.
Fear was evident in the rotund man's voice. "Th-th-there was a l-light, Master."
"A light?" Disinterest.
"Y-yes, Master, it sh-shone around this c-cliff." Seeing the anger in his master's face, the rotund man tried to explain. "W-we thought it might be p-powerful magic, Master! We th-thought - "
"It is apparent that you did not think. Why would I want to chase lights you think you saw when I would much rather you showed me a way to destroy that miserable boy ... " red eyes gleamed with anger as the master turned on the rotund man. Suddenly, the cliff face lit up against the night sky, and what seemed to be a wall faded away, revealing a wide cavern. The light was coming from a dais in the rear. When the master saw the giant object seated upon it, he turned to his servant. "You have done well. Your master is pleased."
Power, the master thought, gazing at the giant. Though it did not move, it seemed to beckon. The master walked slowly toward it, red eyes glowing in the darkness.