Darkness and Light

Chapter 7

Updated as of 2/2/10

Huuhuu, sorry for the late delay .

As a note, thank for the people who are just now favoriting it and watching it. But I'm pretty sure that if the chapter is just being replaced, not added, it you won't get a notification. If you would like me to personally notify you when an update is posted, just say so in the comments and post an email if you like (if not, I'll just PM you).

The hospital wing was crowded and wholly over capacity, but there was nothing that Madame Pomfrey could do, not after Dumbledore requested that every single one of the transfer students and the new teacher crowd around Miss Cho Chang's bed. Dumbledore had the nerve to tell her that they were better qualified to ease the shock of what happened - he hadn't even told her exactly what had happened! Cho had collapsed mid-game, and Madame Pomfrey came to her aide in the tent. Suddenly, there was fire everywhere in the pitch, caused by someone who appeared to have been bewitched. Cho suddenly got up and ran right through the fire - and there she was now. She had escaped with very few burns, it was quite extraordinary, actually.

But what worried the mediwitch more was...did those girls from Mousetsu know Cho's secret?

It was common knowledge that Cho's parents worked for the Ministry. Last year during the winter break, as an act of terror, warning, or perhaps even something else, Lord Voldemort kidnapped the girl and branded her with his mark. It was awful, Cho still came into the hospital wing claiming she didn't feel well and needed to lie down. Any time Lord Voldemort wanted, he could make her feel pain, he could get inside her head. It was awful.

But Madame Pomfrey trusted Dumbledore. With a sigh, she turned back to look at the gaggle of girls hovering close to Cho's bed, speaking in soft tones before resigning to her office.

"Did you know that You-Know-Who marked me?" Cho asked. This statement came after about five minutes of pure silence, and the silence came after the girls tried as best as they could to explain to Cho that she had inherited the power of Mars, making her Sailor Chibi Mars.

"Marked you?" Haruka repeated, her face suddenly cold. Cho looked to both sets of doors, making sure no one was there. Slowly, she pulled up the sleeve of her Quidditch robes and revealed the Dark Mark upon her arm, not as dark as it normally was, but still very visible.

"I think he just happened to choose me." Cho said, surprising herself at how easily she could talk about this. "But...you say I'm a warrior for justice?"

"That's right," Ami said, smiling gently and motherly.

"It's almost karma, then, isn't it?" Cho said, pulling her sleeve back down.

"So...does this mean you're okay with it?" Minako asked. "Being a senshi? A warrior?"

"As long as you're fighting for the good," Cho nodded. "Yes. I want to end him myself. I want to make him hurt like he's made me hurt."

"That's the spirit." Chibiusa smiled.

After the game spontaneously ended, the witch who had come from Hogsmede set free of the curse that caused her to make that fire, and the game rescheduled to next weekend, Harry found himself back in his dorm, Ron by his side.

"We were ahead." Ron said. "So it's not a complete waste."

"What do you think happened to Cho?" Harry asked as he through his uniform back into his trunk.

"Dunno, mate." Ron shrugged. "Where's Hermione?"

"Don't know." Harry sighed and sat on his bed. The two had talked, and he thought things were better. Hermione apologized, she seemed truly sorry for running off with those other girls all the time. But where was she now?

"You ever think that maybe she's a bit mad that you're still hung up on Cho?" Ron suggested.

"I am not hung up on her!" Harry exclaimed. "She's a friend, and the whole school knows something's been wrong with her since last year!"

"Sorry," Ron shrugged. Harry wondered where such an odd accusation came from. "Maybe she's downstairs, she probably got lost in the mob of people."

"Yeah." Harry sighed. He was sure she wasn't, but at least he knew he would see her tonight, when they would talk to Sirius and, hopefully, find out if they had found Tonks. The two boys got up from their respective beds and headed down the stairs. It was, for once, relatively empty, save for Rei, Usagi, Chibiusa, and, surprisingly, Cho. Rei was staring into the fire very intently, as if something could jump out at any moment.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked without even realizing Cho was there.

"She's fire-reading." Chibiusa explained. "Fire can tell you a lot of things."

"About what?" Ron asked, the dislike in his voice clear. Harry had to admit, it sounded just like the things that the divination teacher, Professor Trelawney would say.

"What are you doing in here?" Harry asked Cho. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yes, thank you." Cho said, managing a small smile. "I'm waiting for Hermione to get back."

"Get back from where?" Harry asked. He never thought that Cho and Hermione were great friends or anything.

"We needed something from the library, but we were all tied up," Chibiusa explained. "Hermione knows the place really well, so she knows where all the right books are!"

"Well, how did you even get in here," Harry asked Cho.

"Can't she?" Usagi asked honestly. "I mean, we let her in."

"Well, it's pretty much frowned upon." Harry explained.

"You know a lot about Hogwarts." Usagi nodded. "This school's so strange! Changing stircases and poltergeists - I mean, are they dead or alive? History of Magic is taught by a ghost and every time I'm in potions I'm afraid that if I add in one wrong thing I'll blow the whole school up!"

"Well, um," Harry was slightly taken back by the blonde's sudden outburst.

"Didn't Mousetsu have all those things?" Ron asked.

"Mousetsu?" Usagi repeated, as if she didn't know the name of her own school. "...ah! No, we didn't. Two floors, two staircases. All of our teachers were human, and um, there wasn't really many potions classes."

"Harry, may I ask you something?" Rei suddenly spoke up. "Being who you are, you know probably more then others about You-Know-Who and the Order, am I right?"

"How do you know about the Order?!" Both Harry and Ron exclaimed.

"Snape, is he a part of it?" Rei continued.

"Yes, but-" Harry started.

"Snape?!" Chibiusa exclaimed. "He creeps me out!"

"Hmn." Rei nodded, as if the fire and her were having a secret conversation. "Usagi, I'm sorry, but can you go to the library and meet up with Hermione, I forgot that I need another book, Common Misinterpretations of Fire Imagery. Do you think you can?"

"I will," Harry said.

"No, no, I don't want to impose," Rei said, quickly turning around and practically pushing her friend put of the portrait hole, as if she didn't want Harry to see Hermione.

"Where's the library?" Harry heard the girl cry as she was shoved from sight.

Usagi hadn't said anything to her friends, but she had been feeling nothing but guilt ever since that first attack. Though she still didn't remember everything, she now knew it was her selfish wish that brought them there, her selfish wish that caused students here harm. But then again, she tried to also remind herself that it was her selfish wish that seemed to awaken more senshi. More friends.

Hermione, who she was currently searching for, was a great friend. She always helped her with her schoolwork and taught her handy spells. She was just like Ami, no wonder she somehow obtained her powers. Usagi was sure that they were friends in her past life.

But Usagi was not the Usagi she was in her past life. She knew back then, she must have been regal and refined, able to take care of situations and find her way. Now, she could not find her way. The castle had deceived her once more and she was lost. She didn't know what floor, only that it was dark, the rain outside had not let up and the clouds were blocking what was left of the sun. There weren't any students on this floor, maybe they were all in the great hall? Just then, Usagi's stomach growled, she hadn't had lunch at all!

Suddenly, there was a clicking of shoes, someone was coming her way! Usagi smiled to herself and turned around happily. Maybe it was even Dumbledore and she could talk to the great wizard about this world, it was all just like a fairy tale to the blonde. But when she turned, she saw instead Professor Snape, not looking her way at all. While her first reaction would have been to cringe at the sight of the foul man and hide in the nearest unlocked room, she remembered that Rei had talked to him and he seemed to know of their predicament. That, and she was talking to Harry about him right before she was thrown from the common room, it was kind of a coincidence. So with that thought, Usagi mustered up the courage and cleared her throat, causing the professor to see her and stop.

"Um, excuse me, Professor," Usagi said as nicely as possible. "I think I got lost, um, where's the library? Isn't it on this floor?"

"It's on three floors down on the right." The black haired man said before quickly turning and walking back from where he came. It was if being near Usagi made him uncomfortable. Usagi pursed her lips and let a temporary bout of anger wash over her before stalking after him.

"Hey!" Usagi called, only realizing seconds later that calling so loudly after a teacher was rude in Japan, no doubt the rest of the world found it rude as well. "Um, err-" the blonde stuttered and blushed.

"Yes?" The professor asked, the annoyance more then evident in his voice.

"Well, um, I was just wondering-" Usagi started, thinking fast. "Well, you know, you remember the events from last year and you're, well, on our side, aren't you?"

"I would hardly say I am on your side, but I am not against you, if that's what you mean." He said, his voice quite devoid of emotion. Usagi frowned, why did he seem to dislike her so much?

"Why didn't your memory get modified?" She tried asking him.

His answer came quickly and simply, "It wouldn't have affected me."

"Why is that?" Usagi prodded on. "Are you that powerful?"

"Yes." He said simply, clearly sarcastic. Usagi pouted a bit at his lack of a clear answer, expecting him to continue to walk away. Instead, he sighed in defeat and said, "Much like you, I am the reincarnation of someone who was on the Moon Kingdom."

"Wow, really?!" Usagi exclaimed. Snape was clearly not as entranced with her bubbly personality as her friends were. "Aside from the other warriors, I've never met anyone else who was a reincarnate! Well, Queen Beryl, but..."

"As it were, it's not a fact I care to share with everyone," He said quickly.

"I won't tell anyone, promise!" Usagi smiled. "What sort of things do you remember?"

A pause, then, "Good day, Miss Tsukino." Snape left, and the blonde was left standing alone, confused by the black-haired man. He was harsh and he was cruel, but if he had come from the Moon Kingdom like himself, then he couldn't be all that bad, could he?

She turned around and looked at the dark hallways before her. Before she could even take two steps, she realized that she had completely forgotten where Snape said the library was. Everything looked the same. Usagi whined quietly, and decided to just run back towards Gryffindor. At least, that's where she thought she was going.

Hermione was sitting in the corner of the library, completely blocked off from everyone else, as she preferred. There were only two books accompanying her today. The first sat at her feet, bound in red and gold, Little Known Facts of Fire, Fright, Imagery, and More. Sirius was due to contact them tonight, and last time Hermione checked, Rei was kneeling before the fire, looking for any signs of...something. It was something that if Professor Trelawny had pulled, she would have scoffed, but Rei was something like the goddess of fire, and she believed that maybe she could tell something from the fire. Hermione had wondered to herself what would happen if Sirius decided to show his face when Rei was still there, would there be any harm to it? Probably not, no.

Hermione had open the second book, Future Speculations of Lunarians and Their Kingdom in the Skies. This book was quite interesting and very hard to find, literally, for it was shoved in the back of two others. Based on people and their tales from the Moon Kingdom of the past, the book is made entirely from theories and stories and predictions on what would become of the few reincarnates of the original Silver Millennium in the next few centuries. At that moment, she was reading the chapter about the Five-Point Star, something that Hotaru had mentioned very briefly to her after the Quidditch game. She told Hermione that she was one of them. All she knew about the Star was that it was a group of 6 people from the future, and the book, while very wordy, didn't go much into detail. Every now and then she would stop and pause and think, will this be me? Will I have to do this?

She shook her thoughts from her head and directed her attention to the book where she silently read the introduction once more, looking for any clue to dissect;

'The Five-Point Star is not only a futuristic group of 6 warriors, but also legendary. Not only has the origin of their powers, the original "sailor warriors" fought in the past, but also there have been instances where the Star themselves has gone to the past. Some people, though it is not on record, say that the Star originated on the moon, though not of the past.

The Star is made up of 6 people, even though a star has five points. The six are the chosen ones, given the planetary powers of the planetary warriors (or 'Chibi' as they call themselves in Japanese), are of the Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, and the sixth is of unknown origin. It is unknown whether the tradition of passing one's power, whether by choice or birthright, extends to other planets and stars. It is highly possible that every warrior (or 'senshi') can do this if they please, opening up the possibility for next-generation warriors from Pluto, from Mau, and anywhere else.

Little more is known besides the previous, except myths and legends. However, there is one myth that is commonly told. When the Star comes together for the first time, it is said that the sixth and most lone is the enemy thanks to pieces in it's past. To truly come together and combine their powers against a formidable opponent, the sixth warrior is sacrificed in order to give the rest of the Star more power.'

What a scary thing, Hermione thought. There might very well be a group of them, a group of warriors just like her who had looked up to Sailor Moon and the others, and now must essentially become them. But one of them had to die. She shuddered at the thought, and quickly flipped to the next chapter, hoping for something much more pleasant.