The wind picked up violently, so Usagi pulled her cloak tightly around her and continued onward. The houses seemed to thin out with every few feet until all around her was countryside. Vast green fields fanned out on either side of the road, and ahead loomed a large mountain. She looked over her shoulder at the remnants of Hogsmeade and decided that she'd wandered quite far enough for now.
Dropping her bag to the ground, she sat down on the grass next to the road and leaned against the wooden fence that separated it from the field beyond. She pulled a paper towel-wrapped sandwich out of her bag and opened it, taking a huge bite out of the corner. Savoring the flavor for a moment, she chewed and swallowed the chunk of food.
"Hmm...It is nice, having a bit of quiet time." No sooner had she said it than she heard a bark some ways down the road. She looked up to see a large, shaggy black dog approaching her. Gulping as it got nearer; she looked down at her sandwich regretfully. However, the dog didn't attack her. Instead, it sat several feet away, dropped a couple of newspapers on the ground, and stared at the food in her hand.
"Um...hi doggie," she greeted awkwardly, still clutching onto her sandwich. The dog whimpered and continued to gaze at the sandwich as if mesmerized. Usagi noticed that despite its thick coat of fur, the dog looked awfully thin and didn't have a collar, signaling a stray. With a sigh, she gave in.
"Alright, you can have it. It's smoked turkey and mustard." Usagi explained as if the dog could understand her. Unbeknownst to her, the dog understood perfectly and wagged its tail as she sat the food down in front of him. She watched rather wide-eyed as the dog ate it in record time.
"Wow, you were really hungry." She commented. With another remorseful sigh, she began to dig into her bag again. She pulled out some biscuits, and the dog sniffed into the air.
"Tiombe made these especially for me, but you look like you need them more than I do. They should still be warm." She explained while untangling them from the dish towel they were enveloped in. The dog stood on all fours and wagged its tail enthusiastically as she placed the golden-brown biscuits before him. As he devoured them, Usagi shook her head.
"You're lucky I like animals, you know." She said, folding her arms. The dog looked up at her as he ate with a strange look in his eyes that Usagi couldn't pinpoint. Once the biscuits were finished, the dog walked closer and licked her cheek. Usagi giggled and scratched it behind the ears.
"I guess that's a thank you." She mused. The dog's ears perked up and it looked past her, down the street. Usagi followed its gaze and spotted three people she knew.
"Harry! Ron, Hermione! What are you guys doing out here?" She greeted enthusiastically, rising to her feet. The dog didn't move from her side, but stared at the newcomers intently.
"Usagi? We could say the same for you." Harry said, casting a wary glance at the black dog beside her.
"I just needed a break and Tiombe offered to pack me a lunch, so I thought I'd explore. The dog here ate most of it though." Usagi laughed, gesturing towards the dog next to her. He stood on all fours and walked towards Harry, sniffing the bag in his hands eagerly and wagging his tail. "It looks like he's still hungry. What are you guys doing here?"
"Um, pretty much the same thing." Harry replied, looking down at the black dog with raised eyebrows. Usagi smiled brightly.
"Great, then we could join each other!" She said cheerfully.
"Er..." Harry looked at the dog again, who stared back with a look that, to him, clearly said 'no way.' Ron and Hermione were also staring at him tensely. Thinking fast, he made eye contact with Usagi once more. "Actually, Fred and George were looking for you."
"Yeah, they were." Ron said suddenly, "They said something about a prank." He elaborated. Harry raised his eyebrows at Ron, who nodded back, but Usagi looked like she was thinking and didn't notice the exchange.
"I wonder what they're up to now...alright then you guys, I guess I'll see you later." She shrugged, picking up her things.
"Bye," the three waved. Usagi turned and made her way down the road, but once she was a safe distance away, she turned around to look at the group again. Harry was speaking to the dog, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Then, the dog turned and walked in the opposite direction that she was headed, and the trio followed.
"Something was definitely going on there." Usagi mused. "I should probably follow them..." Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she stashed her bag in some thick grass and turned to follow after the group that had already disappeared around the corner.
Barely breathing, Usagi listened in carefully to the conversation taking place in the cavern beyond. So far she'd concluded that the black dog she'd associated with had been waiting for Harry, Ron, and Hermione all along. Not to mention that he was actually a grown man named Sirius, Harry's godfather, and a criminal.
She'd also heard some interesting stories about the Quidditch World Cup, though she only knew about that from what Harry and Ron had told her, Mr. Crouch, who she very vaguely remembered as one of the Triwizard judges, and his son, who was apparently dead.
Usagi shifted, which was a terrible mistake. Her resilient clumsiness attacked and sent her crashing to the ground at the mouth of the cavern. The people only several feet away froze in their conversation and rushed out, wands at the ready. When they spotted the now battered blonde, they're eyes widened.
"Usagi? What on earth...?" Harry began with a stunned tone of voice. Usagi sat up from her sprawled glory and looked up at Harry with wide eyes, completely at a loss for words. However, words were something that Usagi never lost for very long.
"I'm sorry, I was just worried because you guys were acting weird and then I seen you talking to the dog and I decided to follow you in case you got into any danger or something. I won't tell anybody anything I heard, I swear, and I'm really really sorry." She said, clapping her hands together and bowing in the Japanese manor of apology. Harry turned his perplexed eyes to Sirius as if asking him 'what now?'
"Just who are you?" Sirius asked, seeing that Harry wasn't going to make any moves. Usagi looked up at him.
"Um, my name is Usagi; I'm one of Harry's friends. I'm an exchange student from Japan." She explained, looking quite scared. Sirius looked at her skeptically.
"Exchange student? I've never heard of Hogwarts taking exchange students. Why did you come to England?" He asked.
"My family moved here earlier this year." Usagi replied.
"What was the name of your wizarding school in Japan?" Sirius continued, still looking at the girl disbelievingly. Usagi's eyes widened. She opened her mouth and closed it again, losing her words for the second time.
"I thought so." Sirius said, raising his wand. "Who are you really, then?"
"Um..." Usagi looked over at Harry, then back at Sirius with her eyes full of fear. "Alright, alright, just don't curse me." She pleaded. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked on curiously.
"I'm not really a witch at all. Well, I use magic, just not the same kind as you. Dumbledore invited me to Hogwarts because he wanted me to protect Harry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She added towards Harry, keeping her eyes on the ground. Sirius still didn't look convinced.
"How are you supposed to protect Harry if you're not even a witch?" He inquired, wand still raised. Usagi sighed.
"Well, have you ever heard of the sailor scouts? The senshi?" Usagi asked slowly.
"Once or twice, but I haven't been around the news much the past few years. Enlighten me." Sirius answered.
"Well, they're warriors who fight using light and elemental magic, and each one of them represents a planet in the solar system. Well, the central 9 do anyways; there are lots of others that we've never even seen." Usagi explained.
"Oh yeah, I know what you're talking about; the girls in the skimpy costumes that fought monsters. There was one in England too, I believe." Sirius said thoughtfully.
"Sailor V," Usagi nodded, though somewhat peeved over the skimpy costume comment.
"Well, I'm a sailor scout. Sailor Moon," Usagi said. The statement made the whole group look bewildered. Sirius was the first to bounce back, looking more suspicious than ever.
"Now I really know that you're lying. They died several months ago at the hands of--"
"Voldemort," Usagi smiled dully while Ron shivered. "When he killed them, I didn't know who he was. I'm not a witch, so I'd never heard of Voldemort before. When I finally did get the story, I realized that's who did it. Of course, Voldemort isn't in power anymore, he's weak, and so he didn't do it himself. He did it using--"
"One of the scouts," Sirius interrupted. "He supposedly took over the leader and killed the others through her. At least, that's the story I heard, it might have been rubbish."
"No, it's true. Voldemort led me into a trap by using my little brother, and then he took over my body and killed all of my protectors through me. He left me alive to suffer through their passing with a promise to come back for me later, and now everyone in Japan sees Sailor Moon as a criminal and a murderer instead of a super hero." Usagi swallowed over the lump in her throat. It was still hard for her to think about what happened, and now she felt even worse because she hadn't been completely honest with Harry.
The group settled into an awkward silence. Hermione looked dazed, like her mind was still processing the information that had just been given. Ron seemed very frightened at the prospect of Voldemort still taking over people, as he had done in their second year. Harry looked like he'd been riding a 90 mph roller coaster for 20 minutes and just now stepped onto solid ground.
Sirius lowered his wand looking slightly surprised, but more so pensive as he stared at Usagi.
"Hey, what time is it?" He asked after several moments. Harry lifted his arm, but his watch wasn't working due to the lake escapade several days before, so Hermione offered the answer.
"Four o'clock," she said.
"It's late; you guys should hurry back to school. Keep in touch, Harry, but don't even think about coming out here to see me. Just tell me if anything else happens out of the ordinary." Sirius instructed. He turned into his animagus form before Harry could argue and began leading them down the mountain.
Harry stopped; Ron and Hermione had already fled to the common room, now he was walking continuously with no real destination. All he was really sure of was that Usagi was still following him.
"I am really sorry that I didn't tell you everything Harry, but you have to understand how hard...how impossible it would have been for me to tell you." Usagi said quietly.
"I can understand not telling me, Usagi, but I can't understand lying about it." Harry replied. Usagi's eyes flickered dangerously.
"I didn't lie to you, Harry; I just left some of it out because I didn't want you to know it, okay? There are only two other people on this entire planet that know everything you know about me. I didn't do it to hurt your feelings, you're my friend." She retorted angrily.
"Only because you have to be my friend, isn't that right? You're not supposed to start friendships on those circumstances, because it's your duty." Harry turned to face her, his emerald eyes gleaming with anger.
Usagi's mouth dropped open for a second, and then she reeled her hand back and slapped him viciously across the face. He looked thoroughly shocked as he placed his hand on the sore spot. Usagi's hands were shaking.
"What else was I supposed to do, Harry? You tell me that, since you're the friendship expert here." She seethed before turning on her heel and stomping off.
Once Usagi reached a deserted corridor she came to a stop, breathing heavily. All the running made her dizzy, so she leaned against the wall next to her to take a breather. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
'They all died because of you. The blood is on your hands, Princess.' Usagi opened her eyes, which were now glassy with tears. She held her trembling hands in front of her, her eyes traveling over the lines and creases. They stopped on the jagged scar down her wrist that had faded so much since it had been cut there.
'I should've just died.' She slid down to the stone floor and felt the sob rising up in her throat. Burying her head into her knees to muffle it, she let it loose with the tears that had flooded her eyes.
Unfortunately, the deserted hall she'd picked wasn't as deserted as she wanted it to be. Lee Jordan rounded the corner with a wide grin on his face, apparently excited about something. He spotted Usagi and spoke without letting his mind register the situation.
"Hey Usagi, we came up with this idea--" He stopped, blinked, and looked closer at the scrunched up blonde. He squatted down to her level and tilted his head to the side.
"Usagi?" Said girl didn't respond, or move to, so Lee reached out his hand to touch her shoulder. Usagi flinched at the contact and pulled herself closer to the wall, so her back was pressed against it. She drew in a few gasps of air that were still shaking with tears and managed to utter a few fragmented words.
"I'd like to be alone, please." Her voice wavered through the sentence, so it took Lee several seconds to comprehend what she was saying. His better judgment told him that leaving Usagi alone at the moment might not be the brightest idea, but on the other hand he had no idea how to deal with an emotionally distraught person.
"What happened?" He asked edgily, afraid that if he said anything wrong she might go off on him, or worse. Usagi sniffed and started coughing, her whole body jerking forward with each movement. Once she regained control of her voice, she tried speaking again.
"None of your business; just go away." She said, trying to sound as forceful as possible. Her head never lifted from its haven in her arms, and her words were still muffled into her knees, but the comment made Lee wince regardless. He lost his voice for a moment or two, trying to think of what to say next.
"I'm just trying to help." Lee said desperately, but he didn't really think he was explaining anything. He'd give anything for an instant dose of empathy, or wisdom, or any other attribute that might help him along. For the first time, Usagi lifted her head to face him. Though she hadn't been crying for a long period of time, her eyes didn't show it. They were puffy and bloodshot, still leaking tears that ran down over her flushed cheeks and falling onto her cloak, where they disappeared instantly into the fabric.
"Why?" She asked simply, almost monotonously.
"Well, because you're my friend." Lee replied, feeling increasingly stupid with every word. The way Usagi was staring unnerved him. He was used to the sparkling and the happiness, even though it was forced sometimes. The only other time her eyes had been like this was earlier in the year, when she had gone into that strange trance. She blinked once before wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve.
"Am I? What have I done to become your friend? I'm a terrible friend, Lee. I only lie and hide things from you, sometimes I even put my friends lives in danger because of who I am. You seen the picture of my friends in Japan, didn't you?" She paused and looked up at him expectantly. His eyes widened. 'How did she find out?'
"Um...yeah..." He said apprehensively.
"All of them are dead. It's my fault too. Their blood is on my hands." She held out her hands for emphasis, as if they were still dripping with scarlet. Lee glanced at them uncomfortably, noticing for the first time the white scar that ran vertically down her wrist. "And the scar? That was me trying to join them, because what kind of life can you live after your closest friends and future husband are ripped away from you? You can't live, Lee, I can't live. I'm the walking dead."
Usagi silenced, her eyes searching his for a reaction, any reaction. Lee looked stunned. He swallowed and tried to avoid looking into Usagi's cold, dead eyes. He felt like he was in way over his head, and he was probably right. What was he going to do now? Finally settling on what to say next, he lifted his head up to look her in the eyes, no matter how unsettling it was.
"You don't have to meet standards to be somebody's friend, Usagi, especially me. What's past is past, right?" Usagi didn't respond, but she didn't look so blank anymore. Perhaps she was thinking it over, seeing if it all added up in her mind. Lee still had the notion that he should say something more, do something more. Hesitantly, he reached a hand out towards her, still not completely sure of what he was doing. His hand brushed against her cheek, and her eyes seemed to flicker back to life. She stared up at him, and then down at her hands, eyes wide.
"I didn't mean to say all that to you, I'm sorry." Usagi moved to stand, but Lee grabbed onto her arm and kept her at his level.
"Hey, it's okay. I still didn't catch what happened." He said, repositioning himself to sit Indian-style on the stone.
"What are you, my therapist?" Usagi asked with borderline sarcasm as she tried to leave again.
"I am now so sit down." Lee all but commanded. Usagi sighed and gave in.
"Well?" Usagi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Harry's shocked face flickered through her mind and she winced, realizing for the first time that her hand still mildly stung from the blow. Tears threatened to fill her eyes again but she bit them back.
"I had another fight with Harry." She finally said. Something flickered in Lee's eyes, she couldn't identify it, and it was gone before she could even confirm that it had been there.
"About what," Lee questioned.
"Well, it's a long story..." Usagi shifted her eyes up to Lee's and saw something there that she didn't quite expect; concern for her wellbeing and a willingness to listen to what she had to say. Telling her story hadn't been east before, but being threatened with a wand had certainly helped her along. Now, she had to choose for herself whether to reveal her past or lie again, like she had been doing for the past year. She chose to move on, to try putting her trust in someone once more, and see where that took her. "But I can sum it up for you."
Usagi collapsed into the comfort of her four poster bed. Her face still felt like it was on fire, so she placed the backs of her hands over them to try to absorb the heat. As if today hadn't been hectic and confusing enough already, she had to be knocked of her feet just one more time before she rested. Of course, this time it was quite...nice. Her cheeks regained all the heat that had just cooled as the scene flashed through her mind again.
Lee stood, and Usagi followed his example, noticing for the first time that he was at least a head taller than she was. The sides of his mouth lifted into a grin as she stared at him. She raised an eyebrow.
"What?" She asked.
"Nothing," Lee shrugged. "You should go to bed though, you know. It's late now."
"So you're my mother now?" Usagi asked playfully, looking past him to the window at the end of the hall to see that the sun had in fact already set.
"Sure, why not? I still need to talk to Fred and George. They were looking for you earlier." Lee said thoughtfully.
"Really? So they didn't just make that up after all...imagine that." Usagi mused.
"Uh-huh. Well, see you tomorrow then." Lee replied.
"Right. Bye." Usagi waved and turned to walk away when Lee called her back again.
"Oh, and Usagi," He began. Usagi blinked and turned to face him, nearly jumping out of her skin when she saw how close he was. Before she could get annoyed with him, he tilted her head up towards his and planted a kiss right on her lips. She didn't have time to respond, or even close her eyes. It was short, and sweet.
"Good night." Lee said shortly before turning and walking off to go find the twins. Usagi stood frozen on the spot. He was well around the corner before she managed to call out a squeaky goodnight.
Usagi closed her eyes and sighed. Sure, she had enjoyed it, but there were so many things on her mind right now. 'Oh...what now?'
-stares at the ground as if nothing happened- So, how's the weather? Kidding, but I really think this chapter was more interesting than some previous ones. I had the worst writer's block near the end of this chapter, but put my nose to the grind stone and finished it. You know what that means? I need a response. If you liked it, I want to know. If you hate Lee/Usagi, I want your flames and hate reviews. If you're disappointed, I want to know why! Okay, I'm slightly hyper, but it's all good.
Wowie! 27! I'm blown away! Not to mention exhausted, that was tiring. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to read all of your angry reviews. D
-SachiNyoko- 'Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries!' (Monty Python and the Holy Grail)