Midori: (my six-inch tall laptop persocom-style muse) So, author-lady, you've been working on this fic a while now.
GS: I blame you, it's all your bright idea.
Midori: So why have you been so edgy about it? You seam to be having fun.
GS: Sure, I'm having fun. It's the readers I'm worried about.
Midori: They like it, don't they?
GS: Yeah…
Midori: So what's the problem?
GS: (shows a certain few semi-threatening reviews from an unnamed reader)
Midori: (reads them) O.O… Light sabers and old Power Rangers memorabilia?
GS: I told you…
Midori: Maybe you should change your e-mail address, just to be safe.
Note: I'm using American names for the Digimon. Why? Because it's less confusing for me that way.
Disclaimer: I don't Harry Potter or the characters of Digimon Frontier. I'm just weird.
Chapter 20: Anniversary In Hogsmeade
A flash of gold shone as the warrior leapt forward, his staff flying, purple energy sparking within him. His dark brown eyes shown under the glossy black armor, serious and worried at the same time, reaching out with his free hand.
"Kouichi…" he called, in a deep, passive, calming voice. "Listen to me…You need to come…"
There was an explosion that rocked you to the very bone. The lion-warrior leapt back, staff flying as fast as he could to keep up. One last explosion covered the line of sight with a cloud of dust as the warrior disappeared…
Kouichi burst awake, gasping for breath. He panted a moment, staring wildly around him at the darkness of his Slytherin-dorm bed, before one soft, whispered word escaped his lips.
"Lowemon…"
( - ) ( - ) ( - )
"You were dreaming."
Junpei's words had a finalizing tone to them, but they all knew that wasn't the end of it. It was early Saturday afternoon, a week after the Quidditch match. The six were walking in a small bunch, slightly separate from the rest of the students as they made their way down to Hogsmeade for the first weekend of the year. Kouichi had just finished telling them what he had been seeing recently.
"Yes, it was a dream." said twin sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "But I've been having it ever since we came here, and I know what I saw: It. Was. Lowemon."
"Let's think about this rationally…" Kouji pulled his gaze away from the landscape, the trees of the forest turning orange and red in the distance. "You've been having these dreams for weeks, right?" Kouichi nodded. "But, until last night, you couldn't figure out what they meant or anything about them…"
"They were fuzzy. This one was clearer than ever."
"But what I'm saying is…" Kouji sighed. "We all saw that Biyomon at the stadium the other day. Maybe your mind was looking for some way to tie the two together, so you interpreted the dream you've been having with what made the most sense at the time…"
Kouichi gave him a most uncharacteristically annoyed look. It was obvious that he was tired of trying to get them to believe him, but there was also a gleam in his eyes that said he still held fast to his claim.
"Anyway…" Izumi brightened with a smile. "Let's not argue about that right now. Hogsmeade is supposed to be a great place, so let's split up and have a little fun, okay? Like a carnival or something!"
"Just remember when to meet back up." Junpei added as they split off. "We don't want to miss 'it'."
Without a question to what 'it' was, they were gone in their separate ways.
( - ) ( - ) ( - )
There was a reason Harry always loved Hogsmeade. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, he just knew he loved it.
Maybe it was the feel of freedom that he'd so lacked for eleven and a half years. Maybe it was the Quidditch shop, or Zonko's, or Honeydukes. Or maybe it was just the felling of magic that hung around the old town, like a comforting blanket of total and complete security.
Whatever it was, he always looked forward to these trips more than anything else.
He was currently wandering the streets alone, seeing as Hermione was up to her neck in the book store and Ron was arguing with the saleswitch in the Quidditch supply shop. Killing time to wait for them both, he felt content to just stroll along the edge of the town, going near the Shrieking Shack, to just past the Hog's Head before turning around. It was a nice course for clearing your mind, which he was, until something strange outside the old pub caught his ear.
Two hunched-over figures wearing heavy cloaks…he suspected a hag out of at least one of them…were seated at a grungy table outside the Hog's Head, clutching large, steaming mugs of Firewhiskey. Their cackling conversation floated over the almost-bare streets like the leaves scattering from the trees:
"Did'ja here 'bout the strange beast 'at appeared up at 'Ogwarts?" one of them asked the other in a heavy, indefinable accent. Harry paused across the street, pretending to watch something in the distance as he listened.
"Eh, the odd bird, you mean?" the other asked in an equally just-loud-enough tone. "I 'ear Dumbledore's not so sure 'bout that one, either…"
"It ain't a registered creature, 'at's fer sure." the first added. "Ol' 'Agrid was done 'ere last week, lookin' for any info heh could get his 'ands on…"
"They ain't gonna find nuthin', I tell yeh." her friend chimed in. "It was all just one o' them mass hallucinations…"
"Eh, that's just deh excuse they give when a group o' Muggles wanders in where dey shouldn't be." the first one waved her hand. "But I tell yeh, now, someun' was sayin' dat You-Know-Who's been experimenting with cross-breeding for new weapons…"
Harry moved on, now deep in thought about artificial breeding…pink birds that attacked Quidditch matches…and, for some odd reason, there came the memory of Takuya's face when the bird had appeared. That surprised, shocked…knowing look, as though he understood what it was, as though he was only surprised that it was there, not that it was what it was.
He turned back and started his way towards town, clearing his mind. That was stupid, he was just trying to connect things he shouldn't be. The transfers weren't hiding something…there's no way they could be…
( - ) ( - ) ( - )
The twins slipped into the crowded main room of the Three Broomsticks right at 5:50. It took them a few minutes to locate the other four, crowded around a round table in the far corner, holding large mugs almost over-flowing with some kind of fuzzy, golden liquid.
"Hey guys!" Takuya waved them over, pressing a mug into each of their hands. "You're right on time."
Kouji examined his mug with confusion as they sat down. "What is this stuff?"
"The woman at the counter called it 'Butterbeer'." Tomoki piped, wiping off his frothy mustache. "Go on, try it! It's really good, warms you all the way up."
The twins glanced at each other, shrugged, and took a sip. Both wore large grins when they brought the mugs down, and Kouichi closed his eyes a moment, obviously enjoying the warmth as it spread down to his toes.
Izumi turned in her chair and looked up at the clock, now slowly ticking its way up to 5:59. "It's almost time."
The others looked up as well. They must have looked odd, watching the clock as a group, counting down the seconds in their mind. They'd done this every year, on this exact same date, for the past five years, and it never lost its feeling. It was almost like New Year's, counting down the seconds to the exact moment when their trains had left for the Digital World.
None of them had really been sure if all their adventures there had actually taken place in that short a time, or whether they had simply been thrown back in time when the Digital World had been set to rights. They generally tended to side with the first idea, seeing as the second left Kouichi in a rather problematic situation.
But either way, they somehow managed to meet every year, right at the exact time they estimated their first meeting. Seeing it was the only accurate time they could come up with, they'd all agreed on the top of the hour.
With a few last clicks, the clock struck six.
"Alrighty then!" Takuya raised his glass, a bit of the froth splashing out. He wore a smile, but kept his voice low enough that anyone listening in wouldn't understand him. "Here's to it, guys! To the defeat of Lucemon!"
"The rebirth of the Legendary Warriors!" Junpei chimed in, adding his own mug.
"Not to mention they day we all met." Izumi giggled a bit as the rest of them raised their glasses so that they touched.
Takuya grinned around at them. "Five years and counting." he laughed eagerly. "Friends to the end! Kampai!"
"Kampai!"
TBC…
Ack…That was a hard chapter to write…And it sucked, dammit! I HATE it when I can't write right! I just had to put it in…You can't just skip the Hogsmeade weekends, but nothing eventful happened this time…Trust me, there's an event in the next chapter, promise promise! And it's much better! Much much better!!
Kampai a common Japanese toast. The English equivalent is 'Cheers!'
