New chappie, peoples. Hold your applause please.
This chapter is mainly about the first day of classes, but I promise things start to kick into high gear soon.
mitchie: Thank you so much! I promise I'll try to update regularly
SeraphStar: Yes, he is from Gundam Wing, take another look at the previous chapters, I have made a few modifications, so you should be able to identify at least one more character if you look hard. Also, in the title, the name "Ragnarok" does not refer to the manga series, but to the ancient Nordic belief in the end of the world. I did not choose the name at random. And I regret to say that no one from that series will be making an appearance here, because I have never read it, although it is on my to-do list (along with everything else under the sun)
ominix: sorry, no hints. If you really want to know, I'd suggest looking at an old anime that was translated as 'Ronin Warriors.'
lil-and-sarah: thank you so much! The site looks really interesting, but I've never done role-playing before, so I might need to figure out how it's done. But thanks a lot for the invitation!
And now, for the stuff everyone actually wants to read!
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Third Scene: Life as Usual, or Is It?
When Harry awoke the next morning, he just lay there for a minute. Yesterday had been special for some reason other than the return to Hogwarts, if he could only remember why. He pondered this for a moment, until it hit him.
"Of course! The new kids!"
He jumped out of bed and hurriedly began to dress. In the other beds, there were signs of life.
"Harry, s'too early. G'back t' bed."
"Not now, Ron. Don't you want to see the transfers?"
A wad of red bed head attached to the top of a freckled face appeared between the curtains in the next bed. It yawned. "Not now. It's too early."
"Ron, it's nearly seven thirty!" Harry said in exasperation.
"What?" All of the other occupants of the dormitory nearly fell out of their beds. Into the ensuing chaos as every boy tried to pull on their clothes, take a shower, and brush their teeth at the same time, Harry yelled "I'm going to go see the transfers!" He got no reply, but then again, everyone was busy squabbling, so he hadn't really expected one. The excitement swept the last remaining cobwebs of his dream straight out of his head.
§§§
When he took hold of the doorknob into the transfer students' dorm, he expected it to turn. He did not expect it to stick, then demand a password. He cautiously knocked on the door, ready to run at a moment's notice. He was then further surprised to hear a soft voice from inside tell him to come in. When he tried the knob now, it turned easily, and he stepped into the room.
Whatever he had expected in their dorm, it was not this. Things were neat and clean, very much unlike his dorm after only a day of occupancy. Ryo was sitting in a full lotus on top of his bed, apparently asleep sitting up. Robin was reading, while Heero stretched on the open floor space. Heero looked up at him expectantly.
"Yes?"
Harry couldn't help staring at a position that he was fairly sure humans were not supposed to be able to twist themselves into, but he snapped back to reality at the sound of the other boy's voice.
"Um, yeah. I just wanted to tell you that class begins in half an hour, so you might want to go down and get breakfast."
"We've already had breakfast." Robin said, putting a marker in his book.
"What?"
"My classes at home would have started half an hour ago, if we were in the same time zone. In South Africa and Japan, classes begin at six, when the sun rises."
"What? But that's—that's cruel! Aren't there laws in America against cruel and unusual punishment?"
"Yeah, but that wasn't punishment. That was when school started."
Heero got up from the floor. "We'd better at least put in an appearance at their breakfast. Get Ryo."
Robin reached over and gently shook Ryo's shoulder. "C'mon, we're going to breakfast."
"We already ate breakfast." Ryo did not even open his eyes.
"Yes, but classes apparently start at eight here. We should go down to at least get to know people."
Ryo sighed. "Alright, alright, I'm coming." He got up and stretched. "What time is it?"
"Seven thirty-four." Heero said, consulting his watch.
"No wonder I'm stiff. I've been meditating for more than an hour!"
"Meditating?" Harry asked.
"It's a way to get control of yourself, your emotions, and your magic. You mean they don't teach you here?"
"No--" Harry said slowly.
Ryo stared at him as if he'd just said that the sun was green and rose in the north, then turned to his companions. "Why is this school considered one of the best in the world, again?"
The others looked equally shocked. "I don't know."
Harry bristled at the possible insult.
"Calm down kid, no offense meant. Now where is the Eating Hall again?"
§§§
Later, the Gryffindors climbed the stairs to the North Tower for Divination.
"Hey, Harry, I wonder how many times she's going to predict your death this year. Care to make a bet?"
"Come again?" The transfer students looked thoroughly confused.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just don't believe anything Trelawney says. She's a fake and she's got bats in the belfry."
"Thanks for the heads-up." Heero still did not look happy about the explanation.
When they reached the top floor, they saw that there were many more people than they had expected. "Oh, great, now the old bat's gone and combined her classes! We have to sit with the snakes! Wonderful!" Ron groused.
"Is there anything so wrong with having class with the Slytherins?" The new girl, Rhianna, stood before them, eyebrows raised.
"Oh, like you don't know, you bloody snake!" Ron stormed off. Just as Harry was about to follow, he heard her speak to her cousin.
"Was it something that I said? He was perfectly nice on the train."
"No, Rhi, it's just some stupid feud. Slytherins against the school, but mainly against the Gryffindors. Apparently, all Slytherins are pure evil, and all Gryffindors are completely good."
"That's ridiculous! Slytherins are one fourth of the school. You can't tell me that they seriously think that twenty-five percent of the school is evil? That's completely absurd!"
"I know, Rhi. The entire school has a huge blind spot when it comes to the Gryffindors, but Slytherins are instantly suspected of any wrongdoing. If that's the attitude, it makes you wonder how many people were 'evil' from the beginning and how many turned to that side just because they were expected to. I wouldn't be surprised if over half of the 'Dark Lord's' minions were Gryffindors."
"Too right! Grow up thinking that they can get away with anything, and they'll act like spoiled five-year-olds all their lives!"
Luckily, the stepladder descended at this very moment, cutting short a highly discomforting conversation. Harry mounted the ladder, feeling a little calmer as he looked around the room. This he could handle, this was the way that the world was supposed to work. This wasn't arrogant new students coming in thinking that they knew everything. He sighed in relief.
As the class sat down, he couldn't help but notice that all of the transfer students sat around one large table. Then all thoughts along that line were cut off as Trelawney emerged from the shadows and began her traditional speech.
"We will be learning about the Tarot cards this year, my dears. This is one of the oldest and most reliable methods of foresight that exists, and even those with no Sight whatsoever can still glimpse what may come to be. As long as you are sincere in your attempt, this mystical deck will never fail you, but there are certain rules that must be observed..."
Harry promptly zoned out, only returning to the present when Trelawney said "...Mr. Potter have the honor."
"Huh, what?"
Trelawney's eyes narrowed, a sure sign of annoyance. "Miss Amamiya has experience with the Tarot. She has kindly offered to read your future." From the look on Rhianna's face, it was less a matter of her offering and more a matter of Trelawney demanding.
"Um, okay."
He sat down across that table from Rhianna, watching her expertly shuffle a set of cards she had produced from a pocket. She passed the deck to him. He stared at her hand, and the cards in it. She chuckled.
"Take the deck and shuffle it. Then spread it out and choose cards at random with the hand that is not dominant. I'll tell you where to put them and when to stop choosing."
He did as she asked, then reached out with his left hand to grasp a card.
"Put that here." She gestured, and he did as commanded. There was a vaguely familiar quality to her voice now, something that had been absent before. As he placed the cards where she wanted them, he wondered where he had heard that voice. It was no longer the voice of Rhianna Amamiya, but he still recognized it. I know that voice, where have I heard it before?
When the cards were laid, there were seven in the top row, two in the second, four in the third, three in the row after that. In the final row, there was one card.
Rhianna turned over the first card.
"The Five of Cups. Despair. The Ten of Wands. Strife. The Five of Wands. War. The Six of Cups reversed. Discord. The Three of Swords. Sorrow. The Ten of Swords. Death. The Seven of Swords. Violence. The Seven of Wands reversed. Fear. The Nine of Swords. Chaos. The Children of Revolution have at last been awakened. Now we shall see resolution."
"Resolution of what?" Harry knew that something important was going on, but it was as if she were speaking in a foreign language. She took absolutely no notice of him however, and turned over the next card.
"The Lovers. The Wheel of Fortune. There is a choice to be made. It will affect the entire world, all of the worlds."
"The Death card. The Tower. The Two of Swords. The Eight of Cups."
"Something once thought to be eternal will come to an end forever. This is a period of incredible change, and we are privileged to witness it. Through the sacrifices of the Children, the balance between Good and Evil will finally be destroyed."
"WHAT?!" Now everyone in the room was on their feet. As before, Rhianna took no notice of them, and it was only as she reached for the next card that Harry saw that her eyes were now a molten gold. He shivered.
"The Devil and the Seven of Cups. The High Priestess. Evil is hiding under a fair face, while the true warriors of the balance are hated and maligned. The choice must be made carefully."
She turned over the last card. "The Fool." For the first time in the reading, she looked at him. "You have a part to play in the Grand Design, however unwitting. This will be a period of upheaval and change. Stand firm in your beliefs, but do not let yourself be blinded by bigotry or old grudges, lest you influence those around you to take the wrong path. Voldemort may be the lesser evil. Be watchful, be wary, be thoughtful, and be certain. Do not allow the Children to take the wrong path, Harry Potter. You, alone of mortals, may influence the choice. Use this power wisely."
There was a stunned silence. Then Rhianna passed out on the table.
Ryo moved forward quickly. "Oh, no. Rhia, please...."
Whatever he had been about to say was lost when Rhianna began convulsing.
"Shit! Come on, we have to get her outside!" With the help of the other transfer students, he lifted her and ran out the door. Only Seiji Derevko remained to stammer out a confused apology.
"I'm sorry—I can't really explain—we have to get her out—we'll explain later, bye!" And with that, he too was gone, racing down the corridor after the others.
A very shell-shocked fifth-year Divination class stared at each other, trying to process what they had heard.
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