****Disclaimer: Help! I need a new cardboard box! I don't own anything...~wahhhh~
****Author's Note: Eep....surprise! I warned you all, didn't I??
Haruka-hime: I'm going to reveal some secrets in this chapter that should put a light on things ^-^
Adyen: he's not as good as Mirko, but he'll have some help from someone ...
Usagi Asia Maxwell: Gomen, gomen!!! I'm soooo sorry, but for this fic, I'm going to be pairing Sirius with Makoto for good reason...which will be revealed later on....I might consider doing a Sirius/Usa fic sometime in the future...since I like Sirius too, but I dunno...
alexz: she does...hehehehe...but they can't all have her, ne?
sapphirekisses: you prefer the good boys, ne??
The Sovereign of Selenity: gomen...but that's why I put the warning in there ^-^ Hotaru is very appealing to young men...she's got beauty and power...and lots of it!! And hai, very scary...that scene was actually formed from real life experiences (my own).
Timbo Gurl: those peeps are what I call "die-hard shippers"...I know what you mean, though ^-^
Like I mentioned above, the "Scene" from the last chapter was actually derived from my own experiences...people, keep in mind what can happen when you take too much alcohol...I'm actually quite a drinker, and I drive as well...you can do little tricks to help you out in those situations, (trust me, I do not think right when I'm drunk...I'm a little clown, similar to what happened to Usa at that party mentioned in the previous chapter.) Sometimes I ask someone to hide my keys, or I'll arrange to have a designated driver take me home, etc...also, for the Ladies, stay away from drunken boys if they fancy you, I had to learn that the hard way...and so did one of my closest friends, who was actually kissed by the father of the child she was babysitting when he came home from his party...~shudders~ very gross, and she does not like to be reminded of that night....neways, onto the fic...
****
~Last time:
Mirko Reinold woke up with a painful throbbing in his head. He brought his hand to the large white bandage that was wrapped around the wound on his forehead. Things were fuzzy for a few moments, noticing that he was in the Hospital wing at Hogwarts, but then remembered how he got here and why.
Hotaru Tsukino.
He said the name in his head several times before realizing that he was actually beaten for the first time in his life. By a girl none-the-less. By a very beautiful girl. A beautiful girl that was with an unworthy Hogwarts student. But he could change that, and have her for his own. Remembering being told about the blue-haired woman that had found his school letter one August morning, Mirko decided to leave the Hospital wing and head down to the library where he knew she was working. He requested directions on the way, but received odd looks in return.
Ami was sitting at her desk when Mirko walked in, she looked up in surprise.
"Hallo! Ich heisse Mirko Reinhold." He began, Ami knew German so she wasn't at a loss.
"Oh! Du bist doch der Junge, üüüüber den die ganze Schule spricht." She said, realizing he was the duelist that was beaten by Hotaru.
"Ja, ich war schon immer gut im Duellieren. Ich mache es schon seit Jahren. Du bist doch das Määdchen, dass den Brief zu mir nach Haus gebracht hat, oder?" He asked, confirming that she was indeed the woman who delivered his letter.
"Ja, das war ich." Ami said, nodding.
"Ich habe gehofft, das du mir vielleicht hilfst, Englisch zu lernen. Ich verstehe fast nichts, seit ich hier angekommen bin." He requested.
"Klar! Wann mööchtest du anfangen?" She asked, putting the book she had open away.
"Wie wäär ´s mit jetzt?" He suggested.
****
Mirko turned out to be an intelligent student, and by the end of the evening, he knew enough English to say a few full lines. By the end of the week, he knew enough to hold a conversation, even though it was choppy.
As soon as he had the opportunity, he had cornered Draco while he was alone, with Hotaru, which was rare now a days.
"I wish challenge you", Mirko said, hoping he was making sense. Draco eyed him as if he had just uttered a death threat.
"Why?" He demanded.
"For girl", Mirko said, motioning towards Hotaru.
~Present
Draco's eyes widened to the size of saucers. It was almost like a death threat, but instead of being directed at him, the one at stake was his girlfriend.
"Girl go to Yule Ball with one who win duel?" Mirko suggested, he received a dark glare from Draco in return.
"You're on", he growled. Hotaru backed away from both of the boys at hearing this.
"Excuse me!" She yelled out in a non-Hotaru-like fashion. "I'm not an object to be passed back and forth!" She looked horrified, Draco turned to her and smirked.
"Don't worry about anything, I'll beat Reinold...no problem". But Draco's comment wasn't very convincing, Hotaru knew better.
"We duel in half an hour, nein?" Mirko suggested, his eyes narrowed towards his rivals.
"See you there...if you think you can show up", Draco spat, then turned to take Hotaru back to their Common Room, but when he went to reach for her, she had disappeared down the corridor.
****
Usagi was practicing some new curses, aimed at Peeves the poltergeist, while she and Severus were in the staff room. Luckily for her, the poltergeist enjoyed to bother her, so when he decided to follow her and the Potions Master along for her dueling lessons, the princess decided to get a little sporty revenge and aimed several spells at Peeves.
"Shouldn't spy on people, Peeves, it's rude", Usagi said in between giggles of delight. Severus stood nearby, silent, with his arms crossed across his chest, and an expressionless face. As soon as Peeves managed to dodge a charm, he made a run for it by phasing through the nearest wall. Usagi lowered her wand and turned towards Severus, smiles all over her face.
"That was a fun one...how about something totally different now?" She asked. Severus smirked, then approached Usagi, raising his wand up slightly.
"You should learn effective disarming spells, ones that will render your enemy unconscious...I still don't see how it's possible that you don't know any of these", Severus added suddenly, raising an eyebrow towards the princess.
"Oh, the magic that I'm an expert in, doesn't help me in wizard duels..." Usagi cut herself off, she tended to give away too much, the secrets that she kept were becoming very difficult to keep.
"Then what kind of magic is it?" He questioned silkily, ready to persuade the interesting information out of her. Usagi opened her mouth to speak, but they were suddenly interrupted when someone else burst through the staff room door.
"Okaasan!" Hotaru called out desperately. Her face was flushed and tear-streaked. The violet-eyed girl rushed forward, throwing herself into Usagi's arms. Usagi gave a surprised look towards Severus before returning her attention to her foster daughter.
"Hotaru?" Usagi asked, voice full of worry. Hotaru looked up at her, and rubbed tears out of her eyes.
"It's...it's...Draco!" She forced out, followed by more sounds of sobbing.
"What's going on?" Severus barked out, getting rather annoyed at the loud noise Hotaru was causing. Usagi tightened her arms around Hotaru and gave an angered look towards the Potions Master.
"Don't talk to my daughter like that!" She yelled out. Severus narrowed his eyes at the princess.
"Don't forget that your daughter is also *my* student, and both her and Malfoy are in *my* house". Both continued arguing for several more moments before another comment made by Hotaru's voice broke into the commotion again.
"Dueling...match", she sniffled. Usagi returned her attention to her foster daughter.
"What's going on?" she demanded in rather the same fashion used by the Potions Master. Usagi wiped the stray tears from Hotaru's face, frowning slightly at the wet spot on her robes. Hotaru allowed herself a few calming breaths before continuing.
"That...that German boy, Mirko Reinold, challenged Draco to a match....over me!" She said. Usagi's eyes widened. Hotaru gave a pleading look at Usagi. "You have to help Draco win...please". She asked, her voice having become a whisper.
"Hotaru, you know I can't help a student cheat..."
"Why not? You'd do it for Potter", Severus cut in, earning a glare from the princess.
"When's the match?" Usagi asked.
"In a few minutes", Hotaru answered.
"I'll see what I can do...but no promises", and with that, Usagi sent Hotaru off and out of the room. The princess turned towards the Potions Master, "any ideas?" She asked, Severus didn't hesitate his next comment.
"Why don't you teach him some of that special magic of yours?" He suggested with a sneer. But Usagi didn't take it as a shot at her, her face lit up like a lightbulb had been turned on inside her head.
"I've got to go to Rei's classroom, I'll see you in the Great Hall", she said and promptly rushed off.
****
A large crowd gathered in the Great Hall, everyone fighting to get closest to the single dueling stage in the center. Naturally, within minutes the whole school knew about the match, and wanted to watch. Mirko was standing on the stage, pacing around impatiently for the arrival of Draco, who seemed to have mysteriously disappeared when Usagi came to speak to him.
The noise of the student population suddenly rose when the other duelist along side of the Hogwarts Headmistress walked into the Great Hall. As Usagi passed Severus, she gave him a smirk, before returning her attention towards the parting crowd ahead of her. Before Draco got up onto the stage, she whispered a few words in his ear, causing his lip to curl. Usagi then stood next to Hotaru, with her arms around her daughter's in a comforting manner.
Professor Klassen got up onto the stage and rose his hands to silence the crowd. It worked. He smiled broadly, and looked between Mirko and Draco.
"Alright boys, keep the blood level down to a minimum, ja?" He said, causing laughter to ring out through the Great Hall. Usagi could feel Hotaru tense under her finger tips, she gave her daughter a little squeeze. "First one to knock the other unconscious vins", Klassen continued, then let himself off the stage.
Mirko and Draco approached the other, nothing but absolute loathing in each other's eyes. They each gave a short nod of the head, both never taking the eyes off the other, then rose their wands, and walked away to their own side of the stage.
Draco didn't wait for three, he spun around and cast the first spell, causing Mirko to get knocked off his feet. The German boy cursed loudly, then rose up and cast his own spell before he even stood up completely. This spell caused Draco to double over, gasping for air. He managed to call out his own counter curse through gasping breaths, causing himself to regain his breathing, and Mirko to take on his own spell.
This didn't last long, however, Mirko cured himself (much to everyone's surprise), and yelled out a more powerful curse towards Draco, who was knocked out, falling back and hitting his head, hard, on the stage. A loud gasp rang out throughout the Great Hall, everyone straining to see if they could catch a glimpse of whether Draco was alright or not. Several moments passed while Draco lay unmoving. Hotaru moved to rush to her boyfriend's side, but Usagi held her back.
"Just wait", she whispered forcefully. Professor Klassen was ready to announce the duel was over, but Mirko held his hand up to stop him. The German boy had a look of triumph written all over his face, he moved to stand over Draco, to see whether he was unconscious or not.
SMACK!
Draco was not unconscious, on the contrary, he was now propped up on one elbow, while the other arm was stretched out. One of Rei's charms on the tip of his fingers, pressing the charm to Mirko's forehead. Mirko was frozen solid, he fell over, totally unconscious. Draco stood up and gave a mock bow towards his adversary.
A roar of cheering soon followed. Professor Klassen announced the victory. Usagi smiled, and let Hotaru rush to give Draco a hug (who got off the stage at this point). The couple walked back over to Usagi.
"Thanks", Draco said with sincerity to Usagi, who nodded her head, full of smiles.
"Thank you so much, Okaasan!" Hotaru said. The happy occasion was interrupted, however, when a loud screech rose over everyone else's voice.
"ODANGO!!" Rei rushed towards Usagi.
"Uh oh..." Usagi said, her eyes wide with fear.
****
It came to another Hogsmeade weekend, that same weekend that the duel happened. All the students were electrified with pure excitement, especially since the foreign students would be joining them to Hogsmeade. Usagi had sent off her owl to deliver a note to Sirius and Lupin telling them of the visiting opportunity. She would go to get them and bring them back to the castle, since most students were not there, it would be quiet.
Usagi had instructed Makoto and Ami to wait in the staff room, until she would come back with the two men. Rei and Professor Klassen were also staying, while Minako and Wood(Oliver Wood had come for a visit) went along with some Gryffindor students, (including the Weasley twins).
Usagi collected two large cloaks from a cupboard in the staff room, before heading off with Harry, Ron and Hermione to Hogsmeade. They didn't know what was going on until Usagi informed them where she was going.
"Aw...Madam Tsukino, couldn't we come back to the school as well?" Harry asked, wanting very much to visit his godfather. Usagi gave him a warm smile.
"You'll have plenty of chances...this is an 'Adults Only', visit, alright?" She said, patting him on the back. Harry hesitated a few moments before smiling back.
"Alright, see you later!" He called out, while he, Ron and Hermione rushed off to find their foreign friends.
It took only a few minutes for Usagi to reach the Shrieking Shack. She had decided it was better to go with the students arriving as to not look too suspicious.
As promised, Sirius and Lupin were waiting inside, and both donned grins when Usagi arrived. She playfully tossed the cloaks to them and motioned for them to get going.
"You have two beautiful ladies waiting for you back at the castle", she teased as they walked along the streets of Hogsmeade, "Makoto even snuck into the kitchens to prepare some of her most famous foods". Usagi drooled at the thought.
Before long they were in Hogwarts, and making their way to the staff room. Usagi made sure the coast was clear around every corner along the way, but no one seemed to pay any attention to them. Usagi stopped right before they got to the door, allowing herself a deep breath in of the pleasant aromas wafting out of the room. She then opened the door and allowed everyone in. Makoto and Ami blushed a furious pink. Sirius and Lupin both pulled off their cloaks, and remained silent for a few moments. Professor Klassen slowly moved forward, and offered his hand to Sirius, who took it.
"I am Professor Josef Klassen, the new Headmaster at Durmstrang". He introduced himself, "Professor Dumbledore told me much about you, and I vant you to know, I vill trust you". He added. Sirius nodded thankfully in reply. Professor Klassen then shook Lupin's hand as well.
"Well, something smells good!" Usagi loudly interrupted, rushing over to the table holding various treats, everyone laughed, and also indulged themselves.
"You know, some of the students asked me about working with Boggarts...but I don't know the first thing about what they are", Rei said, "perhaps you can show us a few things, Professor Lupin?" She asked, Lupin smiled and waved his hand.
"No need for formalities...my name's Remus...and I'd be happy to show you a few things...all we need is to catch a Boggart".
"No problem", Usagi intervened, "there's one in the closet over there...I could tell because when I opened the closet this strange looking creature made a move to scare me...but I closed the door to keep it trapped".
"That will do just fine", Lupin said, and headed over to the closet.
Another person just entered the staff room, everyone froze for several moments, but the tension eased, when Professor McGonagall smiled towards Sirius and Lupin, then walked over to Usagi.
"Madam Tsukino, I'm afraid that there is a problem in the kitchens..." She started. Usagi moved to exit the room.
"Thanks, Minerva, excuse me everyone, I'll be back in a few minutes". Usagi exited, with McGonagall on her heals.
****
Professor Snape had heard briefly from McGonagall that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were in the castle. This news did not please him (even though McGonagall didn't seem to mind at all), he had requested to see the Headmistress and have it out with her, he was directed to the staff room, where the Headmistress would no doubt be.
Before reaching the door to the staff room, he paused, and could hear loud laughter, Severus gritted his teeth and burst through the door.
"Black!" He roared into the laughter, making everyone stop and turn towards him. The Boggart that was switching forms to suit those in the room, saw its opportunity and moved towards Severus.
CRACK.
A loud ring of gasps went out, followed immediately by silence. Severus stood the most still, his eyes wide. The Boggart had taken the form of Usagi herself, dressed in the midnight blue dress with her hair loose and about. The Boggart seemed to have gotten itself very confused, looking at itself. With another crack, it wore itself right out.
The silence was broken suddenly, when Usagi entered the room, she looked at everyone in puzzlement, then her eyes rested on Severus.
"Minerva told me you were looking for me", she said, breaking the silence. The Potions Master seemed to shake himself out of his shock and turned towards the princess, his facial expressions displaying anger.
"What are you doing letting that fugitive in this school?" He demanded, "you're endangering the students!"
"I am not!" Usagi countered, "he's guilty of no crime, and he's just visiting, so I don't see what the problem is".
"Oh, you don't?! And what are all of you doing playing around with a Boggart? This isn't a lesson!"
"Yes it is...sort of...we can take this outside!" Usagi suggested abruptly, motioning for the both of them to exit the room. Severus complied, they lowered their voices to a fierce whisper, but anyone who walked by would've been able to hear them
A few minutes later, Usagi, her face flushed, reentered the staff room, forcing a smile on her face.
"Well...that was interesting", she commented dryly. Everyone else were still in shock.
"Usagi..." Sirius started, "that Boggart became *you*". He said. Usagi rose an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?" She said.
"That Boggart...when it faced Snape, it turned into you...he's afraid of you? Since when?" Rei added, crossing her arms across her chest. Usagi waved her hands.
"Oh no, he's not afraid of *me*". She said casually.
"I'm afraid we don't understand". Ami said quietly, making a face that indicated her curiosity.
"It's not me, it's what I could do to him...and I'm not even talking about my powers, I'm talking about the fact that he's been a cold loner since he was a kid".
"Oh, I understand now", Makoto cut in, "you could melt even the coldest heart", she added.
"Exactly, therefore he's afraid of letting me *in*, if you catch my meaning". Everyone did. Usagi headed back towards the food table, then turned around. "So...what'd I miss?"
Everyone sweatdropped.
****
When it was nearly time for all the students to arrive back to the school, when everyone in the staff room bid their goodbyes. Usagi would escort Sirius and Lupin back to the Shrieking Shack, alike when she went to fetch them. Just before they left the room, Makoto requested to speak with Sirius alone for a minute before they'd go. The two moved towards the back of the room.
"I don't have any blood relatives that I visit during the holidays, the only people I ever spend any of that time with is Usa-chan and the others. Usagi told me that Harry stays here for the holidays, I was wondering if maybe you and him would like to stay with me, in Tokyo?" Makoto asked, her face quite serious and quite hopeful.
"You're serious?" Sirius asked, Makoto nodded vigorously, Sirius's face broke into a wide smile.
"I'd love to...but you'll have to ask Harry, and Usagi for permission." Makoto smiled.
"Alright, I'll let you know by owl mail, alright?"
"Sure, use Usagi's owl, it knows how to find us real easy". Sirius made a move to leave, but Makoto grabbed his arm, and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"See you later", she said, blushing, but letting him go. Sirius gave her a charming smile before donning his ragged cloak and following Lupin and Usagi out of the room.
****
"Are you serious?!? That would be so COOL!" Harry exclaimed, hugging Makoto. "Me, you and Sirius? Could we practice on our brooms at all?" He asked. Makoto laughed.
"Well, we'll have to find a secluded spot, but that sounds alright to me". Harry gave another cheer of excitement. Spending the holidays with his godfather and fellow seeker would be quite the time. Ron had already informed him that he would be going home for the holidays, and Hermione always went home. The foreign students would be leaving too, come the holidays.
Makoto waved and left the Gryffindor Common Room, allowing the students to talk amongst themselves. Ron, seeing that Makoto left, rushed up to Harry and asked for information.
"Guess what?" Harry said, his voice full of excitement, "Makoto's letting me and Sirius stay with her for the holidays...in Japan! Isn't that cool?"
"Bloody exciting, I'd think, maybe I could even travel with Floo powder to visit?" Ron suggested, he and Harry both nodded to each other enthusiastically. Hermione decided to make her entrance at that point in time.
"Hey, what's going on?" She asked, and was informed with a rush of words. She then decided to change the subject. "Have either of you asked any girls to the dance yet?" She asked, "Viktor asked me way back when they first got here. Harry and Ron turned scarlet.
"No...I forgot about that...why d'you suppose Madam Tsukino had to up and arrange us having the Yule Ball again?" Ron whined.
"I don't know, maybe you could ask Fleur to go with you?" Harry asked, "you'd have a better chance at her this year, than you did last year." Ron's eyes sparkled at that thought. He hurried to rush off to find her. Harry than thought of his choices to himself. He wouldn't ask Parvati again, not after the disinterest she had in him last year. He could try Cho again, and with that thought, he raced after Ron, leaving Hermione to shake her head in ill-amusement.
****
The Yule Ball was fast approaching, and Harry wasn't having much luck with asking girls to be his date. He tried Cho, but she again was taken, and she again had given him the sympathetic look. His first choice would've been Hotaru Tsukino, but she was obviously going with Draco Malfoy, since the whole display with the match between him and Mirko Reinold.
Ron had asked Fleur DelaCour, but she was already going with Mirko, who had approached her soon after his defeat in the match. Fleur did the next best thing, though, and set Ron up with one of her friends, a girl by the name of Celest Etoile, who was also quite pretty. Harry, however, had no such luck.
Taking the large box sitting under his bed, he headed out of the Gryffindor Tower and went towards the library, where he usually found Hotaru (who liked to talk to her mother's friend, Madam Mizuno). Hopefully Malfoy wouldn't be with her.
Luckily for him, he wasn't, Hotaru was sitting at a table all by herself, reading a book. She looked up with a small smile when she noticed Harry approaching her. He sat the box in front of her.
"Hi..." he said shyly.
"Hi...what's this?" Hotaru asked.
"Your Christmas present, I wanted to give it to you early". He said. Hotaru rose an eyebrow, but opened the box and gasped at the sight. She stood up and pulled out a deep violet robe with silver trimming, and held it up to herself. "Your mother said you didn't have one", he added. Hotaru smiled appreciatively.
"Thank you so much...you know, if I wasn't going with Draco..." Harry nodded.
"I know".
"Wait..." Hotaru put the robe back into the box. "I'll give you the first dance", she said. Harry smiled and nodded.
"Alright...I'll see you later", he then turned and exited the library. He stopped in his tracks when he recalled his dancing skills from the previous year. 'I don't know how to dance', he thought to himself. He then had another idea, of who he could ask to be his date. Harry rushed off down the corridor.
****
Usagi laughed in delight.
"I think that has to be the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me", she said. Harry had decided to ask Usagi to be her escort to the Yule Ball, she readily agreed.
"I have one problem, though", Harry suddenly added. "I can't dance...I don't suppose you could teach me how?" He asked.
"Of course I can! And I can teach anyone else who wants to learn as well."
"Great, I'll go get Ron". Harry moved to rush out of Usagi's office.
"Wait...meet me in the Entrance Hall, it's a nice open space", she suggested. Harry nodded, then continued on his way.
****
Draco had not been very impressed when he learned of Harry's gift to Hotaru, and to the fact that she would give him the first dance. The Yule ball was the next day's eve, and fast approaching. It was also brought to his attention, that the top duelist in all the schools had not yet been declared. Draco did beat Mirko Reinold, who was before unbeatable. But the fact that Hotaru had beaten Mirko as well was still known. Therefore, a final duel would be held between Draco and Hotaru to determine the overall winner.
Draco was furious. He didn't want to duel Hotaru, his girlfriend, he didn't want to beat her. But he also didn't want her fawning over Harry Potter either. He had given her quite an expensive gift, and Draco had not yet picked one out to his satisfaction for her yet.
Thinking this over for a few minutes, he finally came to a decision, he had an idea of what kind of present he could give her, to prove that she was his, and his alone...
****
The dueling stage was set up for the final time, the Yule Ball would take place within a few hours after the final match. All students were crowded in the Great Hall once again. Hotaru and Draco faced each other atop the stage, while Professor Klassen lay out the rules again. Violet eyes stared into grey ones, both had unreadable expressions on their faces, not knowing of what to make of their awkward situation.
The duel had begun, and both duelist used only minor curses, as to not hurt the other. Hotaru knew she'd win, without question, there was no way in which Draco would be able to beat the power of Saturn. But when she cast another simple spell, Draco didn't counter it, or defend himself against it. He lowered his wand and let the spell knock him out.
Everyone gasped.
Hotaru rushed towards Draco, feeling both anger and worry. He was indeed unconscious. She had won.
Professor Klassen moved to revive Draco, announcing that Hotaru was the Champion Duelist. But she didn't care. Hotaru let herself off stage, and rushed out of the Great Hall in tears.
****
Usagi rushed out after her daughter, full of worry. And with legs conditioned by years of being chased by youma, it didn't take long before Usagi caught up with Hotaru. The violet-eyed girl was huddled in a corner, crying, she looked up with watery eyes when she saw Usagi.
"What's the matter?" Usagi asked, "You won", she added. Hotaru took a few deep breaths to calm herself.
"I know, but he *let* me win, without challenge".
"Yes, that was pretty obvious", Usagi muttered. Hotaru heard, and bit her lower lip.
"But why? Just to embarrass me? I could've won without his help".
"Yes, but he doesn't know that", Usagi said. Things made sense now, after seeing the beautiful gift from Harry, Usagi could figure out for herself, why Draco had just made a ridiculous display of himself in the Great Hall. "He wanted to lose that way on purpose", she added. Hotaru looked up at her.
"I don't understand".
"It's actually rather simple. Draco probably wanted to find a better gift to give you than what Harry gave you...and young men are very, very prideful...especially young men who were raised like Draco was. So by humiliating himself, he is showing you how much he cares about you." This caused Hotaru to stop crying all together.
"I never thought of it that way". She said.
"Well, you just reacted normally, so why don't you go to him, alright?" Usagi suggested. Hotaru stood up and hugged her mother.
"Arigatou, Okaasan", she said, then rushed off back towards the Great Hall.
****
The rest of that afternoon was spent setting up for the Yule Ball. Ami was channeling some of her magic through her wand, and was creating beautiful ice sculptures. This thrilled the students from Beauxbaton.
Students were busy dressing in their mutli-colored robes, getting ready for the dance.
When the meal was about to begin, people filed into the Great Hall, couples arm-in-arm. When Harry walked in with Usagi on his arm, this created a lot of noise. Especially since that particular week was the full moon, and since it was now evening, and Usagi was in her white backless dress, her huge white feathered wings sat comfortable folded on her back.
Draco and Hotaru came in arm-in-arm, he dressed in black, and she in the violet that Harry had given her. The couple headed up towards Usagi and Harry, Hotaru full of smiles, and Draco with a sneer, he and Harry glared towards each other.
"Okaasan, do that special thing, please?" Hotaru begged cutely. Usagi smiled and nodded, she stretched out her wings and gave them a few flaps, emitting glitter from them, that floated around the room, causing students to notice with loud ooo's and ahhh's.
At the head table, Harry sat next to Usagi, while Hotaru was on her other side, next to her being Draco. Also Mirko and Fleur sat not to far away, since Mirko was also a finalist. The food was served up, everyone having their choice off of a menu sitting next to their plate. Usagi easily had the most food out of everyone, she kept tapping her plate with her ebony wand, ordering up more food. She received odd looks from other people.
"Wha..?" She said innocently, with her mouth full of food.
When the meal was done, Professor Klassen rose from his seat, and headed over towards Usagi, offering out his hand.
"I suppose I should ask for the evenings' first dance?" He asked full of charm. Usagi giggled and took his hand, they moved towards the middle of the room, the tables having magically been moved.
The music started up, and Usagi and Josef began dancing away, everyone marveling at how good of a dancer Usagi was. Her skirts billowed out, and more glitter emitted out of her wings, while the wind blew through them.
Seeing this as his cue, Harry requested Hotaru's hand, and she accepted (giving Draco a warning glance when he made a move of protest). They two danced quite well, thanks to Harry's recent lessons.
Soon others were dancing, Ron impressing his french date with his new skills, Hermione and Viktor dancing not too far off. Harry and Usagi had a few dances, before she excused herself from the room.
She knew who she was looking for. The only face that she hadn't seen all day. She knew where'd she find him to.
Her assumption was correct, as usual the Potions Master was in his office, busying himself. And as usual he had a sour expression on his face when he looked up.
"What do you want?" He asked, but Usagi was too used to his mannerisms.
"I was just wondering why you're not involved in the Great Hall with everyone else right now."
"Why should I be?" He asked.
"Because you should enjoy yourself once in a while", Usagi countered, placing her hands on her hips. She created quite the picture in the white gown with the wings, and glitter all askew. Severus didn't seem to notice, however, and returned his attention to the work on his desk.
"I don't find that sort of thing *enjoyable* as you put it". Usagi moved up towards the desk, and placed her hands firmly upon it.
"Dance with me", she requested. Severus looked up with a raised eyebrow.
"Excuse me?"
"Dance with me! Right now!" Usagi was full of smiles, but the Potions Master was unimpressed.
"No", he said simply. But Usagi didn't leave it at that.
"Please? I'll give you that duel that you so want..." she drawled, placing her wand down on his desk.
"Tempting, but the answer is still no".
"Why not? You can't dance?" She accused him.
"I can, I just don't." He said simply. Usagi knew she wouldn't be able to change his mind, so she abruptly changed the subject.
"Why are you so afraid of me?" She asked, even though she knew right well why. Severus put his quill down to give Usagi his full attention.
"I'm not afraid of you..."
"Then why won't you open up a little?"
"I did...look what happened?" He said cooly. He was right too, Usagi remembered that night in the back of her memory.
"Yes, but that wasn't by your will." She pointed out.
"How do you know?" He asked, this caused Usagi to go silent for a few long moments.
"While we're on the subject...why didn't you wake me up?" She asked, her voice having gone rather quiet.
"Perhaps to save you from more embarrassment than you could've probably handled..." They were interrupted when Hotaru and Draco came to the doorway.
"Okaasan...everyone's looking for you", she said, causing Usagi to turn her attention away from the Potions Master.
"Alright, I'll be right there", she said, and gave one last glance towards Severus before leaving his office.
****
The Christmas Holidays had finally arrived. The Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students were leaving that day, just as the students from Hogwarts were going home as well. Viktor Krum and Hermione had an especially long goodbye, just as Fleur made sure to bid Harry and Ron a farewell as well. Professor Klassen had given Rei a kiss on the hand, and had requested a visit from her during her holidays. Madam Maxime had also had a prolonged farewell with Hagrid (the two having gotten rather close since Madam Maxime had first arrived). She had also given her approval to Usagi, who was grateful in return.
Makoto, Harry, and a cuddly stray dog named 'Snuffles', traveled through Floo powder to Makoto's appartment in Tokyo. Her fireplace had recently been added. Ami was staying with Remus Lupin for part of the holidays, then they would switch and stay at Ami's (since she always visited her mother as much as she could). Rei was going to the temple, to spend some time with her grandfather, while Minako would be going home as well, planning on having Oliver Wood meet her parents.
As the Hogwarts students were leaving, Hotaru rushed up to Usagi, her face flushed.
"Okaasan", she started, trying to catch her breath, "Draco...asked me...to...stay...with him...for the holidays", she forced out as fast as she could. "Is it alright?" Usagi was speechless for several moments, her first reaction would've been in the negative, but she nodded her head.
"Go ahead", she said. Hotaru hugged Usagi, then rushed off to find Draco and go home with him.
Usagi decided she was definitely remaining at Hogwarts. Much to the other senshi's protests. Luna and Artemis went with Hotaru, to keep watch over her, since she'd be staying in a Death Eater's home.
"It's my responsibility", she insisted.
****
Later that evening, when the school was rather quiet, with only a few students remaining, Usagi waited up in her office for the arrival of an expected visitor.
The figure appeared in a flourish of ashes through the fireplace.
"Hello, Albus", she greeted, Dumbledore smiled brightly. "How are things going?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing...I cannot stay long, Usagi, is everything alright?"
"Oh yes, everything's fine. Hotaru will be staying with Draco Malfoy over the holidays...was that the right decision?" She asked.
"Oh, I think so, but I must warn you now, you are rather vulnerable without your senshi".
"I know...do you think the school could be attacked?"
"I doubt it. But even if it was, my staff is more than capable of handling such things...especially Severus". Usagi laughed at that comment.
"He doesn't even like me". She said. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.
"He doesn't like much of anybody. But he is still very loyal, I would trust him if I were you". Usagi nodded.
"Alright".
"I'm happy to say, that Voldemort had more competition with you and your senshi in the Order of the Phoenix...your mother would be very proud of you right now...you're handling this job very well...just like I knew you would". Usagi gave a small respectful bow.
"Thank you", she said.
"Well, I must be off, let me know if you get into trouble", he said, and disappeared with a rush of green flames.
****
That night, Usagi lay peacefully asleep in her bed. The school was so very quiet now, only a handful of students had remained, along with the original Hogwarts staff. Although she was sure, she'd be hearing plenty of the senshi, they'd make sure of it.
She was so sound asleep, she didn't hear her door opening, or the person moving across the floor to her side of the bed.
In mere seconds, the shadowed person had grabbed the back of Usagi's head and forced the contents of a small crystal bottle into her mouth. Her immediate reaction was to swallow the liquid, even though she didn't know what was happening at that point in time.
The figure put the bottle onto the small table by the bed, and used his other hand to wrap around Usagi's chest, pulling her off the bed, and dragging her out into the corridor. She wanted to scream, but the hand that had held her head, now covered her mouth.
"Voldemort is waiting for you..." The cool, cold voice said, "with the antidote to the poison you just swallowed". At hearing this, Usagi went cold with fear.
After a few more seconds of being dragged, Usagi managed to free her mouth from the hand, and bit into her captor's left arm, right into the Dark Mark tattoo.
Her captor screamed in pain. She knew that voice. And to confirm her fears, Usagi managed to get out of grabbing range, and pulled herself along the floor. She then turned around and stared into angry midnight blue eyes.
"Mamo-chan..." she breathed.
****
AN: CLIFFIE!!!! ahhhhhhhh, I'm EVIL! And I know it ^-^
Now, I'll be revealing more things, gomen for getting this out sooooo late!! But things are so busy around here...like big time!
Review if you like...I do like! I've had very little inspiration lately...blah ~-~
****Author's Note: Eep....surprise! I warned you all, didn't I??
Haruka-hime: I'm going to reveal some secrets in this chapter that should put a light on things ^-^
Adyen: he's not as good as Mirko, but he'll have some help from someone ...
Usagi Asia Maxwell: Gomen, gomen!!! I'm soooo sorry, but for this fic, I'm going to be pairing Sirius with Makoto for good reason...which will be revealed later on....I might consider doing a Sirius/Usa fic sometime in the future...since I like Sirius too, but I dunno...
alexz: she does...hehehehe...but they can't all have her, ne?
sapphirekisses: you prefer the good boys, ne??
The Sovereign of Selenity: gomen...but that's why I put the warning in there ^-^ Hotaru is very appealing to young men...she's got beauty and power...and lots of it!! And hai, very scary...that scene was actually formed from real life experiences (my own).
Timbo Gurl: those peeps are what I call "die-hard shippers"...I know what you mean, though ^-^
Like I mentioned above, the "Scene" from the last chapter was actually derived from my own experiences...people, keep in mind what can happen when you take too much alcohol...I'm actually quite a drinker, and I drive as well...you can do little tricks to help you out in those situations, (trust me, I do not think right when I'm drunk...I'm a little clown, similar to what happened to Usa at that party mentioned in the previous chapter.) Sometimes I ask someone to hide my keys, or I'll arrange to have a designated driver take me home, etc...also, for the Ladies, stay away from drunken boys if they fancy you, I had to learn that the hard way...and so did one of my closest friends, who was actually kissed by the father of the child she was babysitting when he came home from his party...~shudders~ very gross, and she does not like to be reminded of that night....neways, onto the fic...
****
~Last time:
Mirko Reinold woke up with a painful throbbing in his head. He brought his hand to the large white bandage that was wrapped around the wound on his forehead. Things were fuzzy for a few moments, noticing that he was in the Hospital wing at Hogwarts, but then remembered how he got here and why.
Hotaru Tsukino.
He said the name in his head several times before realizing that he was actually beaten for the first time in his life. By a girl none-the-less. By a very beautiful girl. A beautiful girl that was with an unworthy Hogwarts student. But he could change that, and have her for his own. Remembering being told about the blue-haired woman that had found his school letter one August morning, Mirko decided to leave the Hospital wing and head down to the library where he knew she was working. He requested directions on the way, but received odd looks in return.
Ami was sitting at her desk when Mirko walked in, she looked up in surprise.
"Hallo! Ich heisse Mirko Reinhold." He began, Ami knew German so she wasn't at a loss.
"Oh! Du bist doch der Junge, üüüüber den die ganze Schule spricht." She said, realizing he was the duelist that was beaten by Hotaru.
"Ja, ich war schon immer gut im Duellieren. Ich mache es schon seit Jahren. Du bist doch das Määdchen, dass den Brief zu mir nach Haus gebracht hat, oder?" He asked, confirming that she was indeed the woman who delivered his letter.
"Ja, das war ich." Ami said, nodding.
"Ich habe gehofft, das du mir vielleicht hilfst, Englisch zu lernen. Ich verstehe fast nichts, seit ich hier angekommen bin." He requested.
"Klar! Wann mööchtest du anfangen?" She asked, putting the book she had open away.
"Wie wäär ´s mit jetzt?" He suggested.
****
Mirko turned out to be an intelligent student, and by the end of the evening, he knew enough English to say a few full lines. By the end of the week, he knew enough to hold a conversation, even though it was choppy.
As soon as he had the opportunity, he had cornered Draco while he was alone, with Hotaru, which was rare now a days.
"I wish challenge you", Mirko said, hoping he was making sense. Draco eyed him as if he had just uttered a death threat.
"Why?" He demanded.
"For girl", Mirko said, motioning towards Hotaru.
~Present
Draco's eyes widened to the size of saucers. It was almost like a death threat, but instead of being directed at him, the one at stake was his girlfriend.
"Girl go to Yule Ball with one who win duel?" Mirko suggested, he received a dark glare from Draco in return.
"You're on", he growled. Hotaru backed away from both of the boys at hearing this.
"Excuse me!" She yelled out in a non-Hotaru-like fashion. "I'm not an object to be passed back and forth!" She looked horrified, Draco turned to her and smirked.
"Don't worry about anything, I'll beat Reinold...no problem". But Draco's comment wasn't very convincing, Hotaru knew better.
"We duel in half an hour, nein?" Mirko suggested, his eyes narrowed towards his rivals.
"See you there...if you think you can show up", Draco spat, then turned to take Hotaru back to their Common Room, but when he went to reach for her, she had disappeared down the corridor.
****
Usagi was practicing some new curses, aimed at Peeves the poltergeist, while she and Severus were in the staff room. Luckily for her, the poltergeist enjoyed to bother her, so when he decided to follow her and the Potions Master along for her dueling lessons, the princess decided to get a little sporty revenge and aimed several spells at Peeves.
"Shouldn't spy on people, Peeves, it's rude", Usagi said in between giggles of delight. Severus stood nearby, silent, with his arms crossed across his chest, and an expressionless face. As soon as Peeves managed to dodge a charm, he made a run for it by phasing through the nearest wall. Usagi lowered her wand and turned towards Severus, smiles all over her face.
"That was a fun one...how about something totally different now?" She asked. Severus smirked, then approached Usagi, raising his wand up slightly.
"You should learn effective disarming spells, ones that will render your enemy unconscious...I still don't see how it's possible that you don't know any of these", Severus added suddenly, raising an eyebrow towards the princess.
"Oh, the magic that I'm an expert in, doesn't help me in wizard duels..." Usagi cut herself off, she tended to give away too much, the secrets that she kept were becoming very difficult to keep.
"Then what kind of magic is it?" He questioned silkily, ready to persuade the interesting information out of her. Usagi opened her mouth to speak, but they were suddenly interrupted when someone else burst through the staff room door.
"Okaasan!" Hotaru called out desperately. Her face was flushed and tear-streaked. The violet-eyed girl rushed forward, throwing herself into Usagi's arms. Usagi gave a surprised look towards Severus before returning her attention to her foster daughter.
"Hotaru?" Usagi asked, voice full of worry. Hotaru looked up at her, and rubbed tears out of her eyes.
"It's...it's...Draco!" She forced out, followed by more sounds of sobbing.
"What's going on?" Severus barked out, getting rather annoyed at the loud noise Hotaru was causing. Usagi tightened her arms around Hotaru and gave an angered look towards the Potions Master.
"Don't talk to my daughter like that!" She yelled out. Severus narrowed his eyes at the princess.
"Don't forget that your daughter is also *my* student, and both her and Malfoy are in *my* house". Both continued arguing for several more moments before another comment made by Hotaru's voice broke into the commotion again.
"Dueling...match", she sniffled. Usagi returned her attention to her foster daughter.
"What's going on?" she demanded in rather the same fashion used by the Potions Master. Usagi wiped the stray tears from Hotaru's face, frowning slightly at the wet spot on her robes. Hotaru allowed herself a few calming breaths before continuing.
"That...that German boy, Mirko Reinold, challenged Draco to a match....over me!" She said. Usagi's eyes widened. Hotaru gave a pleading look at Usagi. "You have to help Draco win...please". She asked, her voice having become a whisper.
"Hotaru, you know I can't help a student cheat..."
"Why not? You'd do it for Potter", Severus cut in, earning a glare from the princess.
"When's the match?" Usagi asked.
"In a few minutes", Hotaru answered.
"I'll see what I can do...but no promises", and with that, Usagi sent Hotaru off and out of the room. The princess turned towards the Potions Master, "any ideas?" She asked, Severus didn't hesitate his next comment.
"Why don't you teach him some of that special magic of yours?" He suggested with a sneer. But Usagi didn't take it as a shot at her, her face lit up like a lightbulb had been turned on inside her head.
"I've got to go to Rei's classroom, I'll see you in the Great Hall", she said and promptly rushed off.
****
A large crowd gathered in the Great Hall, everyone fighting to get closest to the single dueling stage in the center. Naturally, within minutes the whole school knew about the match, and wanted to watch. Mirko was standing on the stage, pacing around impatiently for the arrival of Draco, who seemed to have mysteriously disappeared when Usagi came to speak to him.
The noise of the student population suddenly rose when the other duelist along side of the Hogwarts Headmistress walked into the Great Hall. As Usagi passed Severus, she gave him a smirk, before returning her attention towards the parting crowd ahead of her. Before Draco got up onto the stage, she whispered a few words in his ear, causing his lip to curl. Usagi then stood next to Hotaru, with her arms around her daughter's in a comforting manner.
Professor Klassen got up onto the stage and rose his hands to silence the crowd. It worked. He smiled broadly, and looked between Mirko and Draco.
"Alright boys, keep the blood level down to a minimum, ja?" He said, causing laughter to ring out through the Great Hall. Usagi could feel Hotaru tense under her finger tips, she gave her daughter a little squeeze. "First one to knock the other unconscious vins", Klassen continued, then let himself off the stage.
Mirko and Draco approached the other, nothing but absolute loathing in each other's eyes. They each gave a short nod of the head, both never taking the eyes off the other, then rose their wands, and walked away to their own side of the stage.
Draco didn't wait for three, he spun around and cast the first spell, causing Mirko to get knocked off his feet. The German boy cursed loudly, then rose up and cast his own spell before he even stood up completely. This spell caused Draco to double over, gasping for air. He managed to call out his own counter curse through gasping breaths, causing himself to regain his breathing, and Mirko to take on his own spell.
This didn't last long, however, Mirko cured himself (much to everyone's surprise), and yelled out a more powerful curse towards Draco, who was knocked out, falling back and hitting his head, hard, on the stage. A loud gasp rang out throughout the Great Hall, everyone straining to see if they could catch a glimpse of whether Draco was alright or not. Several moments passed while Draco lay unmoving. Hotaru moved to rush to her boyfriend's side, but Usagi held her back.
"Just wait", she whispered forcefully. Professor Klassen was ready to announce the duel was over, but Mirko held his hand up to stop him. The German boy had a look of triumph written all over his face, he moved to stand over Draco, to see whether he was unconscious or not.
SMACK!
Draco was not unconscious, on the contrary, he was now propped up on one elbow, while the other arm was stretched out. One of Rei's charms on the tip of his fingers, pressing the charm to Mirko's forehead. Mirko was frozen solid, he fell over, totally unconscious. Draco stood up and gave a mock bow towards his adversary.
A roar of cheering soon followed. Professor Klassen announced the victory. Usagi smiled, and let Hotaru rush to give Draco a hug (who got off the stage at this point). The couple walked back over to Usagi.
"Thanks", Draco said with sincerity to Usagi, who nodded her head, full of smiles.
"Thank you so much, Okaasan!" Hotaru said. The happy occasion was interrupted, however, when a loud screech rose over everyone else's voice.
"ODANGO!!" Rei rushed towards Usagi.
"Uh oh..." Usagi said, her eyes wide with fear.
****
It came to another Hogsmeade weekend, that same weekend that the duel happened. All the students were electrified with pure excitement, especially since the foreign students would be joining them to Hogsmeade. Usagi had sent off her owl to deliver a note to Sirius and Lupin telling them of the visiting opportunity. She would go to get them and bring them back to the castle, since most students were not there, it would be quiet.
Usagi had instructed Makoto and Ami to wait in the staff room, until she would come back with the two men. Rei and Professor Klassen were also staying, while Minako and Wood(Oliver Wood had come for a visit) went along with some Gryffindor students, (including the Weasley twins).
Usagi collected two large cloaks from a cupboard in the staff room, before heading off with Harry, Ron and Hermione to Hogsmeade. They didn't know what was going on until Usagi informed them where she was going.
"Aw...Madam Tsukino, couldn't we come back to the school as well?" Harry asked, wanting very much to visit his godfather. Usagi gave him a warm smile.
"You'll have plenty of chances...this is an 'Adults Only', visit, alright?" She said, patting him on the back. Harry hesitated a few moments before smiling back.
"Alright, see you later!" He called out, while he, Ron and Hermione rushed off to find their foreign friends.
It took only a few minutes for Usagi to reach the Shrieking Shack. She had decided it was better to go with the students arriving as to not look too suspicious.
As promised, Sirius and Lupin were waiting inside, and both donned grins when Usagi arrived. She playfully tossed the cloaks to them and motioned for them to get going.
"You have two beautiful ladies waiting for you back at the castle", she teased as they walked along the streets of Hogsmeade, "Makoto even snuck into the kitchens to prepare some of her most famous foods". Usagi drooled at the thought.
Before long they were in Hogwarts, and making their way to the staff room. Usagi made sure the coast was clear around every corner along the way, but no one seemed to pay any attention to them. Usagi stopped right before they got to the door, allowing herself a deep breath in of the pleasant aromas wafting out of the room. She then opened the door and allowed everyone in. Makoto and Ami blushed a furious pink. Sirius and Lupin both pulled off their cloaks, and remained silent for a few moments. Professor Klassen slowly moved forward, and offered his hand to Sirius, who took it.
"I am Professor Josef Klassen, the new Headmaster at Durmstrang". He introduced himself, "Professor Dumbledore told me much about you, and I vant you to know, I vill trust you". He added. Sirius nodded thankfully in reply. Professor Klassen then shook Lupin's hand as well.
"Well, something smells good!" Usagi loudly interrupted, rushing over to the table holding various treats, everyone laughed, and also indulged themselves.
"You know, some of the students asked me about working with Boggarts...but I don't know the first thing about what they are", Rei said, "perhaps you can show us a few things, Professor Lupin?" She asked, Lupin smiled and waved his hand.
"No need for formalities...my name's Remus...and I'd be happy to show you a few things...all we need is to catch a Boggart".
"No problem", Usagi intervened, "there's one in the closet over there...I could tell because when I opened the closet this strange looking creature made a move to scare me...but I closed the door to keep it trapped".
"That will do just fine", Lupin said, and headed over to the closet.
Another person just entered the staff room, everyone froze for several moments, but the tension eased, when Professor McGonagall smiled towards Sirius and Lupin, then walked over to Usagi.
"Madam Tsukino, I'm afraid that there is a problem in the kitchens..." She started. Usagi moved to exit the room.
"Thanks, Minerva, excuse me everyone, I'll be back in a few minutes". Usagi exited, with McGonagall on her heals.
****
Professor Snape had heard briefly from McGonagall that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were in the castle. This news did not please him (even though McGonagall didn't seem to mind at all), he had requested to see the Headmistress and have it out with her, he was directed to the staff room, where the Headmistress would no doubt be.
Before reaching the door to the staff room, he paused, and could hear loud laughter, Severus gritted his teeth and burst through the door.
"Black!" He roared into the laughter, making everyone stop and turn towards him. The Boggart that was switching forms to suit those in the room, saw its opportunity and moved towards Severus.
CRACK.
A loud ring of gasps went out, followed immediately by silence. Severus stood the most still, his eyes wide. The Boggart had taken the form of Usagi herself, dressed in the midnight blue dress with her hair loose and about. The Boggart seemed to have gotten itself very confused, looking at itself. With another crack, it wore itself right out.
The silence was broken suddenly, when Usagi entered the room, she looked at everyone in puzzlement, then her eyes rested on Severus.
"Minerva told me you were looking for me", she said, breaking the silence. The Potions Master seemed to shake himself out of his shock and turned towards the princess, his facial expressions displaying anger.
"What are you doing letting that fugitive in this school?" He demanded, "you're endangering the students!"
"I am not!" Usagi countered, "he's guilty of no crime, and he's just visiting, so I don't see what the problem is".
"Oh, you don't?! And what are all of you doing playing around with a Boggart? This isn't a lesson!"
"Yes it is...sort of...we can take this outside!" Usagi suggested abruptly, motioning for the both of them to exit the room. Severus complied, they lowered their voices to a fierce whisper, but anyone who walked by would've been able to hear them
A few minutes later, Usagi, her face flushed, reentered the staff room, forcing a smile on her face.
"Well...that was interesting", she commented dryly. Everyone else were still in shock.
"Usagi..." Sirius started, "that Boggart became *you*". He said. Usagi rose an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?" She said.
"That Boggart...when it faced Snape, it turned into you...he's afraid of you? Since when?" Rei added, crossing her arms across her chest. Usagi waved her hands.
"Oh no, he's not afraid of *me*". She said casually.
"I'm afraid we don't understand". Ami said quietly, making a face that indicated her curiosity.
"It's not me, it's what I could do to him...and I'm not even talking about my powers, I'm talking about the fact that he's been a cold loner since he was a kid".
"Oh, I understand now", Makoto cut in, "you could melt even the coldest heart", she added.
"Exactly, therefore he's afraid of letting me *in*, if you catch my meaning". Everyone did. Usagi headed back towards the food table, then turned around. "So...what'd I miss?"
Everyone sweatdropped.
****
When it was nearly time for all the students to arrive back to the school, when everyone in the staff room bid their goodbyes. Usagi would escort Sirius and Lupin back to the Shrieking Shack, alike when she went to fetch them. Just before they left the room, Makoto requested to speak with Sirius alone for a minute before they'd go. The two moved towards the back of the room.
"I don't have any blood relatives that I visit during the holidays, the only people I ever spend any of that time with is Usa-chan and the others. Usagi told me that Harry stays here for the holidays, I was wondering if maybe you and him would like to stay with me, in Tokyo?" Makoto asked, her face quite serious and quite hopeful.
"You're serious?" Sirius asked, Makoto nodded vigorously, Sirius's face broke into a wide smile.
"I'd love to...but you'll have to ask Harry, and Usagi for permission." Makoto smiled.
"Alright, I'll let you know by owl mail, alright?"
"Sure, use Usagi's owl, it knows how to find us real easy". Sirius made a move to leave, but Makoto grabbed his arm, and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"See you later", she said, blushing, but letting him go. Sirius gave her a charming smile before donning his ragged cloak and following Lupin and Usagi out of the room.
****
"Are you serious?!? That would be so COOL!" Harry exclaimed, hugging Makoto. "Me, you and Sirius? Could we practice on our brooms at all?" He asked. Makoto laughed.
"Well, we'll have to find a secluded spot, but that sounds alright to me". Harry gave another cheer of excitement. Spending the holidays with his godfather and fellow seeker would be quite the time. Ron had already informed him that he would be going home for the holidays, and Hermione always went home. The foreign students would be leaving too, come the holidays.
Makoto waved and left the Gryffindor Common Room, allowing the students to talk amongst themselves. Ron, seeing that Makoto left, rushed up to Harry and asked for information.
"Guess what?" Harry said, his voice full of excitement, "Makoto's letting me and Sirius stay with her for the holidays...in Japan! Isn't that cool?"
"Bloody exciting, I'd think, maybe I could even travel with Floo powder to visit?" Ron suggested, he and Harry both nodded to each other enthusiastically. Hermione decided to make her entrance at that point in time.
"Hey, what's going on?" She asked, and was informed with a rush of words. She then decided to change the subject. "Have either of you asked any girls to the dance yet?" She asked, "Viktor asked me way back when they first got here. Harry and Ron turned scarlet.
"No...I forgot about that...why d'you suppose Madam Tsukino had to up and arrange us having the Yule Ball again?" Ron whined.
"I don't know, maybe you could ask Fleur to go with you?" Harry asked, "you'd have a better chance at her this year, than you did last year." Ron's eyes sparkled at that thought. He hurried to rush off to find her. Harry than thought of his choices to himself. He wouldn't ask Parvati again, not after the disinterest she had in him last year. He could try Cho again, and with that thought, he raced after Ron, leaving Hermione to shake her head in ill-amusement.
****
The Yule Ball was fast approaching, and Harry wasn't having much luck with asking girls to be his date. He tried Cho, but she again was taken, and she again had given him the sympathetic look. His first choice would've been Hotaru Tsukino, but she was obviously going with Draco Malfoy, since the whole display with the match between him and Mirko Reinold.
Ron had asked Fleur DelaCour, but she was already going with Mirko, who had approached her soon after his defeat in the match. Fleur did the next best thing, though, and set Ron up with one of her friends, a girl by the name of Celest Etoile, who was also quite pretty. Harry, however, had no such luck.
Taking the large box sitting under his bed, he headed out of the Gryffindor Tower and went towards the library, where he usually found Hotaru (who liked to talk to her mother's friend, Madam Mizuno). Hopefully Malfoy wouldn't be with her.
Luckily for him, he wasn't, Hotaru was sitting at a table all by herself, reading a book. She looked up with a small smile when she noticed Harry approaching her. He sat the box in front of her.
"Hi..." he said shyly.
"Hi...what's this?" Hotaru asked.
"Your Christmas present, I wanted to give it to you early". He said. Hotaru rose an eyebrow, but opened the box and gasped at the sight. She stood up and pulled out a deep violet robe with silver trimming, and held it up to herself. "Your mother said you didn't have one", he added. Hotaru smiled appreciatively.
"Thank you so much...you know, if I wasn't going with Draco..." Harry nodded.
"I know".
"Wait..." Hotaru put the robe back into the box. "I'll give you the first dance", she said. Harry smiled and nodded.
"Alright...I'll see you later", he then turned and exited the library. He stopped in his tracks when he recalled his dancing skills from the previous year. 'I don't know how to dance', he thought to himself. He then had another idea, of who he could ask to be his date. Harry rushed off down the corridor.
****
Usagi laughed in delight.
"I think that has to be the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me", she said. Harry had decided to ask Usagi to be her escort to the Yule Ball, she readily agreed.
"I have one problem, though", Harry suddenly added. "I can't dance...I don't suppose you could teach me how?" He asked.
"Of course I can! And I can teach anyone else who wants to learn as well."
"Great, I'll go get Ron". Harry moved to rush out of Usagi's office.
"Wait...meet me in the Entrance Hall, it's a nice open space", she suggested. Harry nodded, then continued on his way.
****
Draco had not been very impressed when he learned of Harry's gift to Hotaru, and to the fact that she would give him the first dance. The Yule ball was the next day's eve, and fast approaching. It was also brought to his attention, that the top duelist in all the schools had not yet been declared. Draco did beat Mirko Reinold, who was before unbeatable. But the fact that Hotaru had beaten Mirko as well was still known. Therefore, a final duel would be held between Draco and Hotaru to determine the overall winner.
Draco was furious. He didn't want to duel Hotaru, his girlfriend, he didn't want to beat her. But he also didn't want her fawning over Harry Potter either. He had given her quite an expensive gift, and Draco had not yet picked one out to his satisfaction for her yet.
Thinking this over for a few minutes, he finally came to a decision, he had an idea of what kind of present he could give her, to prove that she was his, and his alone...
****
The dueling stage was set up for the final time, the Yule Ball would take place within a few hours after the final match. All students were crowded in the Great Hall once again. Hotaru and Draco faced each other atop the stage, while Professor Klassen lay out the rules again. Violet eyes stared into grey ones, both had unreadable expressions on their faces, not knowing of what to make of their awkward situation.
The duel had begun, and both duelist used only minor curses, as to not hurt the other. Hotaru knew she'd win, without question, there was no way in which Draco would be able to beat the power of Saturn. But when she cast another simple spell, Draco didn't counter it, or defend himself against it. He lowered his wand and let the spell knock him out.
Everyone gasped.
Hotaru rushed towards Draco, feeling both anger and worry. He was indeed unconscious. She had won.
Professor Klassen moved to revive Draco, announcing that Hotaru was the Champion Duelist. But she didn't care. Hotaru let herself off stage, and rushed out of the Great Hall in tears.
****
Usagi rushed out after her daughter, full of worry. And with legs conditioned by years of being chased by youma, it didn't take long before Usagi caught up with Hotaru. The violet-eyed girl was huddled in a corner, crying, she looked up with watery eyes when she saw Usagi.
"What's the matter?" Usagi asked, "You won", she added. Hotaru took a few deep breaths to calm herself.
"I know, but he *let* me win, without challenge".
"Yes, that was pretty obvious", Usagi muttered. Hotaru heard, and bit her lower lip.
"But why? Just to embarrass me? I could've won without his help".
"Yes, but he doesn't know that", Usagi said. Things made sense now, after seeing the beautiful gift from Harry, Usagi could figure out for herself, why Draco had just made a ridiculous display of himself in the Great Hall. "He wanted to lose that way on purpose", she added. Hotaru looked up at her.
"I don't understand".
"It's actually rather simple. Draco probably wanted to find a better gift to give you than what Harry gave you...and young men are very, very prideful...especially young men who were raised like Draco was. So by humiliating himself, he is showing you how much he cares about you." This caused Hotaru to stop crying all together.
"I never thought of it that way". She said.
"Well, you just reacted normally, so why don't you go to him, alright?" Usagi suggested. Hotaru stood up and hugged her mother.
"Arigatou, Okaasan", she said, then rushed off back towards the Great Hall.
****
The rest of that afternoon was spent setting up for the Yule Ball. Ami was channeling some of her magic through her wand, and was creating beautiful ice sculptures. This thrilled the students from Beauxbaton.
Students were busy dressing in their mutli-colored robes, getting ready for the dance.
When the meal was about to begin, people filed into the Great Hall, couples arm-in-arm. When Harry walked in with Usagi on his arm, this created a lot of noise. Especially since that particular week was the full moon, and since it was now evening, and Usagi was in her white backless dress, her huge white feathered wings sat comfortable folded on her back.
Draco and Hotaru came in arm-in-arm, he dressed in black, and she in the violet that Harry had given her. The couple headed up towards Usagi and Harry, Hotaru full of smiles, and Draco with a sneer, he and Harry glared towards each other.
"Okaasan, do that special thing, please?" Hotaru begged cutely. Usagi smiled and nodded, she stretched out her wings and gave them a few flaps, emitting glitter from them, that floated around the room, causing students to notice with loud ooo's and ahhh's.
At the head table, Harry sat next to Usagi, while Hotaru was on her other side, next to her being Draco. Also Mirko and Fleur sat not to far away, since Mirko was also a finalist. The food was served up, everyone having their choice off of a menu sitting next to their plate. Usagi easily had the most food out of everyone, she kept tapping her plate with her ebony wand, ordering up more food. She received odd looks from other people.
"Wha..?" She said innocently, with her mouth full of food.
When the meal was done, Professor Klassen rose from his seat, and headed over towards Usagi, offering out his hand.
"I suppose I should ask for the evenings' first dance?" He asked full of charm. Usagi giggled and took his hand, they moved towards the middle of the room, the tables having magically been moved.
The music started up, and Usagi and Josef began dancing away, everyone marveling at how good of a dancer Usagi was. Her skirts billowed out, and more glitter emitted out of her wings, while the wind blew through them.
Seeing this as his cue, Harry requested Hotaru's hand, and she accepted (giving Draco a warning glance when he made a move of protest). They two danced quite well, thanks to Harry's recent lessons.
Soon others were dancing, Ron impressing his french date with his new skills, Hermione and Viktor dancing not too far off. Harry and Usagi had a few dances, before she excused herself from the room.
She knew who she was looking for. The only face that she hadn't seen all day. She knew where'd she find him to.
Her assumption was correct, as usual the Potions Master was in his office, busying himself. And as usual he had a sour expression on his face when he looked up.
"What do you want?" He asked, but Usagi was too used to his mannerisms.
"I was just wondering why you're not involved in the Great Hall with everyone else right now."
"Why should I be?" He asked.
"Because you should enjoy yourself once in a while", Usagi countered, placing her hands on her hips. She created quite the picture in the white gown with the wings, and glitter all askew. Severus didn't seem to notice, however, and returned his attention to the work on his desk.
"I don't find that sort of thing *enjoyable* as you put it". Usagi moved up towards the desk, and placed her hands firmly upon it.
"Dance with me", she requested. Severus looked up with a raised eyebrow.
"Excuse me?"
"Dance with me! Right now!" Usagi was full of smiles, but the Potions Master was unimpressed.
"No", he said simply. But Usagi didn't leave it at that.
"Please? I'll give you that duel that you so want..." she drawled, placing her wand down on his desk.
"Tempting, but the answer is still no".
"Why not? You can't dance?" She accused him.
"I can, I just don't." He said simply. Usagi knew she wouldn't be able to change his mind, so she abruptly changed the subject.
"Why are you so afraid of me?" She asked, even though she knew right well why. Severus put his quill down to give Usagi his full attention.
"I'm not afraid of you..."
"Then why won't you open up a little?"
"I did...look what happened?" He said cooly. He was right too, Usagi remembered that night in the back of her memory.
"Yes, but that wasn't by your will." She pointed out.
"How do you know?" He asked, this caused Usagi to go silent for a few long moments.
"While we're on the subject...why didn't you wake me up?" She asked, her voice having gone rather quiet.
"Perhaps to save you from more embarrassment than you could've probably handled..." They were interrupted when Hotaru and Draco came to the doorway.
"Okaasan...everyone's looking for you", she said, causing Usagi to turn her attention away from the Potions Master.
"Alright, I'll be right there", she said, and gave one last glance towards Severus before leaving his office.
****
The Christmas Holidays had finally arrived. The Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students were leaving that day, just as the students from Hogwarts were going home as well. Viktor Krum and Hermione had an especially long goodbye, just as Fleur made sure to bid Harry and Ron a farewell as well. Professor Klassen had given Rei a kiss on the hand, and had requested a visit from her during her holidays. Madam Maxime had also had a prolonged farewell with Hagrid (the two having gotten rather close since Madam Maxime had first arrived). She had also given her approval to Usagi, who was grateful in return.
Makoto, Harry, and a cuddly stray dog named 'Snuffles', traveled through Floo powder to Makoto's appartment in Tokyo. Her fireplace had recently been added. Ami was staying with Remus Lupin for part of the holidays, then they would switch and stay at Ami's (since she always visited her mother as much as she could). Rei was going to the temple, to spend some time with her grandfather, while Minako would be going home as well, planning on having Oliver Wood meet her parents.
As the Hogwarts students were leaving, Hotaru rushed up to Usagi, her face flushed.
"Okaasan", she started, trying to catch her breath, "Draco...asked me...to...stay...with him...for the holidays", she forced out as fast as she could. "Is it alright?" Usagi was speechless for several moments, her first reaction would've been in the negative, but she nodded her head.
"Go ahead", she said. Hotaru hugged Usagi, then rushed off to find Draco and go home with him.
Usagi decided she was definitely remaining at Hogwarts. Much to the other senshi's protests. Luna and Artemis went with Hotaru, to keep watch over her, since she'd be staying in a Death Eater's home.
"It's my responsibility", she insisted.
****
Later that evening, when the school was rather quiet, with only a few students remaining, Usagi waited up in her office for the arrival of an expected visitor.
The figure appeared in a flourish of ashes through the fireplace.
"Hello, Albus", she greeted, Dumbledore smiled brightly. "How are things going?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing...I cannot stay long, Usagi, is everything alright?"
"Oh yes, everything's fine. Hotaru will be staying with Draco Malfoy over the holidays...was that the right decision?" She asked.
"Oh, I think so, but I must warn you now, you are rather vulnerable without your senshi".
"I know...do you think the school could be attacked?"
"I doubt it. But even if it was, my staff is more than capable of handling such things...especially Severus". Usagi laughed at that comment.
"He doesn't even like me". She said. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.
"He doesn't like much of anybody. But he is still very loyal, I would trust him if I were you". Usagi nodded.
"Alright".
"I'm happy to say, that Voldemort had more competition with you and your senshi in the Order of the Phoenix...your mother would be very proud of you right now...you're handling this job very well...just like I knew you would". Usagi gave a small respectful bow.
"Thank you", she said.
"Well, I must be off, let me know if you get into trouble", he said, and disappeared with a rush of green flames.
****
That night, Usagi lay peacefully asleep in her bed. The school was so very quiet now, only a handful of students had remained, along with the original Hogwarts staff. Although she was sure, she'd be hearing plenty of the senshi, they'd make sure of it.
She was so sound asleep, she didn't hear her door opening, or the person moving across the floor to her side of the bed.
In mere seconds, the shadowed person had grabbed the back of Usagi's head and forced the contents of a small crystal bottle into her mouth. Her immediate reaction was to swallow the liquid, even though she didn't know what was happening at that point in time.
The figure put the bottle onto the small table by the bed, and used his other hand to wrap around Usagi's chest, pulling her off the bed, and dragging her out into the corridor. She wanted to scream, but the hand that had held her head, now covered her mouth.
"Voldemort is waiting for you..." The cool, cold voice said, "with the antidote to the poison you just swallowed". At hearing this, Usagi went cold with fear.
After a few more seconds of being dragged, Usagi managed to free her mouth from the hand, and bit into her captor's left arm, right into the Dark Mark tattoo.
Her captor screamed in pain. She knew that voice. And to confirm her fears, Usagi managed to get out of grabbing range, and pulled herself along the floor. She then turned around and stared into angry midnight blue eyes.
"Mamo-chan..." she breathed.
****
AN: CLIFFIE!!!! ahhhhhhhh, I'm EVIL! And I know it ^-^
Now, I'll be revealing more things, gomen for getting this out sooooo late!! But things are so busy around here...like big time!
Review if you like...I do like! I've had very little inspiration lately...blah ~-~