Author's Notes from the last chapter:

Obon is one of the few festivals I know in detail. The bit about the cumbers and eggplants comes that, during Obon week, families place small vegetable dolls and place them around the family alter. From the cumbers they make horses, to speed the dead person's journey home, and from the eggplant they make cows, so the dead will take their time with their visit. They also light lanterns to guide the dead home; the other half of the reason Takuya was amused by the jack-o-lanterns.

Also, no matter what day of the year it is, presentation is 90 of the Japanese meal. I've heard that if you pour soy sauce on rice, you're considered to be very rude. From this I assume that coloring the rice orange and black would make any Japanese person loose their appetite rather quickly.

Gochisousama gozaimasu - 'Thanks for the feast' with the polite addition of gozaimasu. It's the proper thing to say when getting up from the table.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or Harry Potter. I'm just really strange.

Chapter 22: In Which Certain Things Are Explained

Wednesday morning. Potions

The Gryffindor/Slytherin class was working on a potion called the Crystal Gaze, which was of use to treasure-hunters such as Bill Weasley, as when it was applied to the eyelids, turned the user's eyes a pale blue and allowed them to see through solid objects for a short time. It was also immensely tricky to make.

Kouji's concentration was gradually floating away from the potion, but it had nothing to do with the belladonna they were using. There was an empty cauldron amongst the Slytherins…one that should have been occupied by his brother.

Kouichi hadn't been at breakfast this morning, or in the library or anywhere else for that matter. Kouji tried to calm himself by considering the possibilities. Maybe he'd overslept, he had been tired last night, he could've just slept in and any moment now…

The dungeon doors suddenly swung open and Professor McGonagall entered in. She strode to the front of the room and conversed a moment with Snape, a serious look on her face.

The Potions master looked up. "Minamoto!"

Kouji glanced upwards in acknowledgement. McGonagall motioned for him to follow as she walked past. "Come with me."

The black-haired transfer raised an eyebrow, but did as she said. The woman's eyes seamed vaguely concerned and rather troubled as she led him up to the fourth floor…the Hospital Wing. She pushed open the glass door. "Inside, Minamoto."

Kouji held back a biting comment and entered.

At the end of a long row of beds was one that was getting an awful lot of attention. No fewer than six people were crowded around it, including Madam Pomfrey, Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid.

"I jus' found 'em lyin' dere, Pro'fesser Dumbledore, sir. Right out by deh pumpkin patch." the groundskeeper was saying as he entered. "'E's lucky Fang sniffed 'em out, or 'e'd be lyin' dere still…"

Kouji finally got a good glimpse at the bed's occupant, and his eyes widened. "Kouichi!"

The surrounding adults were suddenly quiet as he pushed his way through to his brother's side. Kouichi looked peaceful enough, in his light blue pajamas, snuggled back into the soft pillow and tucked warmly between white hospital sheets. He hadn't even twitched in response to Kouji's cry.

Kouji stared at him, heart racing, and reached out to squeeze the unresponsive hand. "K-Kouichi…" he whispered. "Nii-san…Can you hear me, Nii-san?"

"He won't wake, I'm afraid." Dumbledore whispered sagely. Kouji turned slightly to look up at the Headmaster as he placed his hand on his shoulder. "We can only assume that he has been like this for several hours yet, and although we have tried every aspect of Madam Pomfrey's wide range of remedies, he has not responded."

Kouji continued to stare blankly at his unmoving brother. "There was no spell damage, nor any other wounds that couldn't have been caused by a rather nasty fall." Professor Dumbledore squeezed his shoulder gently. "We were hoping…perhaps you could inform us of what might have caused this."

The long-haired transfer hesitated a moment, then heard his voice say, "He…He has a condition…Futan Kakesugiru…"

Madam Pomfrey gasped. "Opprimo…" she breathed, then hurried back to her medicine cabinet. "Oh, it's been so long since this appeared I didn't recognize it…This could be worse than I thought, Professor Dumbledore, he could be here a long time."

"Understandable, Madam Pomfrey." Dumbledore said, then looked down at Kouji, still holding his brother's hand. He smiled just a little, pulling over a chair for the younger twin. "You should be able to stay until lunch. However, after that your visits will have to wait until dinner is over. Understand?"

Kouji glared, a bit annoyed, but nodded.

"I'm certain he will be fine, Mr. Minamoto." the headmaster told him quietly. "He's in excellent hands…"

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Kouichi opened his eyes slowly, then closed them again against the pounding in his head. He rolled over, trying to get comfortable in what should have been a now-familiar bed…but found himself lying on something cold, smooth and hard.

He opened his eyes without moving anything else. He was laying on a smooth, flat surface, a deep ruby red with a slight glare to it. It was dark, but not too dark, a period between night and day. He must have been in a room somewhere, because a wall rose up in front of him, the same as the floor. However, a welcomingly cold breeze blew over his body.

He sat up, looking out where the wind had come from. He found himself gazing over the sparse trees and barren land that lived in a pleasant, if perpetual twilight. Against the dark sky he could see a large, burning red star, spreading over the line of sight and almost covering the three multi-colored moons. There was only one place he'd ever been that looked anything like this.

"…Rose Morning Star?" he whispered to himself, his voice echoing slightly in the wind.

There were footsteps behind him, followed by a familiar voice. "Well. Glad to see you're awake."

Kouichi spun around. Standing there in the 'doorway' of sorts, leading down into the castle, was a tall, noble figure. The armor covering his body was black, lined with gold, with the head of a lion. He carried a staff in one hand, and brown eyes smiled down at him warmly.

"L-Lowemon?"

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

When Kouji wandered into the Great Hall at lunchtime, he was met by the curious Takuya and Tomoki at the Gryffindor table. Though both started in on the questions as soon as he entered, he seamed not to hear them and sat down, putting his head in his hands and leaning on the table with an annoyed sigh.

Harry, Hermione and Ron glanced at each other. Kouji was always a bit quiet, but this didn't feel like his usual, 'Leave-Me-Alone-I-Have-Enough-Friends' attitude.

"Um…Kouji?" Hermione said slowly. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, buddy, what's eating you?" Takuya asked, pausing in his meal to lean across the table. "You look more bummed than usual."

Kouji gave them both an annoyed glare before mumbling, "Kouichi's in the hospital." in one breath.

Ron and Tomoki nearly gagged, while Takuya jumped a foot and Hermione's brow furled worriedly. Harry hesitated a moment, then leaned over to the black-haired transfer. "What happened?"

Kouji sighed again. "…He passed out."

"Again?!" Tomoki exclaimed. "Kouji, is he okay?"

"Can't tell. Hasn't woken up yet…"

"Whattya mean, 'again'?" Ron asked, confused. "This kind of thing happen a lot?"

Takuya and Tomoki glanced at each other uncertainly. Tomoki shifted nervously in his seat. "Well…Kouichi-kun has a…condition."

"Condition?"

"Well…um, we call it Futan Kakesugiru, but…"

"The nurse called it Opprimo." Kouji muttered bluntly.

Hermione gasped. "Opprimo?!" she exclaimed. "Oh, goodness, is he all right? He couldn't take the magic around Hogwarts, could he? It wasn't anything serious, was it?"

Harry tugged at the sleeve of her robe. "Care to explain what that is?"

"Opprimo…" Hermione turned back to him and Ron as Kouji pulled some food over to his plate with a huff. "It's a medical condition, but it's rather rare, only one person out of 5,000 has it, and even then very few of them turn out to be wizards at all."

"'Mione." Ron interrupted before she got too far. "What. Is. It?"

"It's a problem with your control of magic." Hermione rattled off, a bit annoyed but still concerned. "Remember what Tonks said in class, that magic flows through the human body naturally? Well, there are some people who are more sensitive to it than others, so that they can feel it from outside sources and can absorb it a little. Sometimes these people have a lot more control over it…Merlin, for instance, was supposed to be able to do it better than anyone else in the past millennium…But most of the time they can't control how much they take in at once. Too much magical energy outside their usual standard and they…well, the only way to put it is 'overload'. They pass out, sometimes there's a bit of amnesia. They just can't take the extra energy. This kind of condition is usually called Opprimo."

"Ouch." Harry winced. The situation of passing out from too much magic sounded painful.

"It's worse than that, too." Hermione continued, now looking very disturbed. "There are potions to take to lessen the process and stem off the effects…I bet Kimura was taking some when he first got here, no wonder he was so tired on the train…but if there's too much of an overload, it could turn a lot more serious than just passing out…"

"As in how serious?" Ron asked, eyes wide.

"As in brain damage, permanent memory loss, involuntary spasms…if it gets too bad, it can be deadly!"

Kouji glared at her, obviously annoyed, so Hermione shut up after that. The longhaired transfer spent the rest of lunch in total silence, contemplating his brother's current situation and what he could do to help. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind.

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

"Um…Lowemon?"

"Yes?" the lion-like Digimon glanced down at the boy walking beside him. He was showing the human through the castle of the Rose Morning Star, with promises to explain everything eventually.

Kouichi looked up at him with a slightly puzzled, slightly worried expression. "I'm not…I'm not dead, am I?"

Lowemon smiled beneath his mask. "No, you're not dead." he reassured him warmly. "To the outside observer, your body is simply sleeping, but is unable to wake up…"

"A coma." Kouichi muttered. It was a bit odd, having a face-to-face conversation with someone who was technically your alter ego. He was quiet a moment longer, trying to sort out his thoughts even though he was bursting with questions. "But Lowemon… how did I get here? Why I am I here in the first place, and…and what was with that Biyomon at the school…?"

"Patience, patience." the lion-like Digimon laughed, patting him on the head as though he was a small child. "Just a little bit more and we'll explain everything."

Kouichi raised an eyebrow. "Who's 'we'?" he asked as they entered a new room.

There was a small laugh from above him, low, majestic and somewhat familiar. "We…" said the same voice with a chuckle. "…will be happy to explain everything."

The boy jumped a bit, just a little surprised as he was faced by three semi-familiar angelic Digimon. Two were humanoid, with large, white wings, while the third looked like a rabbit, but they weren't exactly the figures he might have been expecting…The man was covered in purple armor, his long, golden hair extending from it. The woman was wrapped in white, except for the thick pink ribbon wrapped around her shoulders. The animal looked vaguely like a rabbit, brown with long ears, ringed with dark pink.

The male human smiled at his expression. "Yes, it has been a while has it?" his stately voice still held a bit of a chuckle. "It is good to see you again, my friend."

Kouichi stuttered a little, putting two and two together. "Patamon…Is that you?"

The man…MagnaAngemon…nodded. Angewomon smiled as well. "It does seam rather amazing, doesn't it?" she sighed. "Times of need bring forward great necessity…"

Kouichi didn't even try to interrupt what she was saying. He vaguely got the idea that she wasn't quite sure either, and wondered if her circuits had gotten crossed during Digivolution. Antylamon…Cherubimon's Ultimate form, he guessed…sighed where he sat and shook his head with a small smile.

"Don't forget us!" a little voice piped. He looked down and smiled at who was running to him.

"Naemon! Bokomon!" he knelt down to greet the old friends as they hurried forward to greet him.

"It's so good to see you, dear boy." Bokomon sighed, putting his little arms around his neck. "We were so very worried about you after that last fight…we thought you wouldn't make it."

Kouichi smiled just a little. "Well, I'm fine now…" As fine as anyone could be, with his soul separated from his body in a strange world he'd only been in once before…

"Now then." MagnaAngemon smiled at the human warmly as he straightened. "I believe…you have some questions to ask."

TBC…

GS: (slipping in quietly, carrying a battered Midori) I'm sorry, Midori-chan…

Midori: You…Owe…Me…

GS: Ahem…Um…Sorry for stopping there, folks. The story will flow better with a pause there, and there's not much happening in the Real World for a little while. The next chapter's mostly explanations, but trust me, it is worth it.

P.S. - The Chaotic Ones, please don't torture my muse. She's hard enough to live with as it is.