CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Mirror Melts, I'm Somewhere Else, Inside Eternity
NOTES: Lyrics at the end of this chapter and the title are from the song Garden of Everything, by Maaya Sakamoto.
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DISCLAIMER: I don't own.
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Raven came.
All the world was in darkness. The sky above was in darkness. The waters below were in darkness. Men and women lived in the dark and cold.
Raven was sad for them.
He said, "I will search for light."
Raven flew across valleys and across mountains. He flew along rivers and over lakes. There was darkness all around.
Then he saw a bit of light far away. He flew and flew and came closer to the light. The light was at the edge of the water.
The light came from the house of the Sky Chief, and it was shining. Raven perched high in a pine tree on the shore. Raven watched.
He saw a beautiful young girl emerge from the shining house and go to the edge of the water.
She was the Sky Chief's daughter. She knelt and drank some water, while Raven changed himself into a pine needle, to fall down and float on the water. When the girl drank again, she swallowed the pine needle.
After a time, the girl gave birth to a child.
Raven had been reborn as a boy child. The Sky Chief was delighted with his daughter's child. He played with the boy and carved toys for him. The Elders gathered to watch Raven-child. Raven-child saw a box in the corner of the lodge.
The box was large and painted in many colors. It was bright and glowed.
"What do you want?" asked his mother. Raven-child began to cry.
"My grandchild wants the box." said the Sky Chief.
The young woman placed the box in front of Raven-child, but he continued to cry. She took the lid off the box. Inside was a smaller box. She took the lid off that box. Inside was a smaller box. His mother took the lid off that box, and light poured out of it, light flooded the room. Inside the box was a shining ball, blazing with light. It was the sun.
"Give him the ball." Sky Chief said. His mother gave Raven-child the ball, and he stopped crying. He began to play with it. Then he changed into a bird, becoming Raven again. Sly Chief, his daughter, and the elders looked on in amazement. Raven plucked up the ball of light in hid beak, flew through the smoke hole of the lodge, and disappeared into the dark sky.
Raven flew over the valleys and mountains. He flew along the rivers and across the lakes.
Raven threw the sun high in the sky and it stayed there. That is how Raven stole the sun and gave it to all the people.
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Thunder boomed, and lightning split the sky. Rain came down in torrents, tree branches snapped, and the wind sang its songs in a high soprano. Standing lightly on the cut grass was one figure. Slight in body on first sight, ebony hair that whipped from a high ponytail, and soft onyx eyes, that in a heartbeat could turn steely and completely unmerciful. His attire consisted of washed out jeans and a blue, tight-to-the-skin, sleeveless shirt. He wore nothing on his feet, but attached to his upper arm was a silver bracelet and around his circled an elegant silver choker with a strange and beautiful stone hanging from it.
The lake in front of him crashed up the banks, washing over his ankles at every gust of wind. Slowly, Gohan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black pouch. With fluid motions, he untied it and emptied the contents into his hands. Dozens of tiny, perfect diamonds of a blood red spilled from it. Without expression, the saiyan closed his eyes, and hurled them into the storm...
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"Okay, I'll admit, I'm the not the best teacher out there." Professor Lupin said in front of the class, looking dismayed. "But your practice exams were completely dismal, save a very rare few." From their table, Draco, Gohan, and Harry exchanged glances. The resident saiyan scowled slightly. The exam had been frighteningly easy for all three of them, even though Gohan had skipped over the Boggart, despite the deductions it would have for his grade. The other two hadn't questioned him.
They knew that Gohan's greatest fear was personal and his own business, and that he wasn't about to share it in front of a large class of people.
"However, the section on Boggarts was particularly depressing. So, I think it's time for some review." Lupin stated, eyeing each and every one of them with a stern brown gaze. Gohan squirmed as a cupboard gave a menacing rattle. He had just barely gotten out of not participating last time, now there was no way to shake it off. Frantically, he mind began to race, as he thought of how he might be able to conceal his fear, without giving himself away.
Draco looked uncomfortable as well, and quite frankly, Harry wasn't thrilled about passing out in class or showing off his much more solid patronus to keep from passing out in class. Without so much as a backward glance, Remus walked over to the cupboard, before whacking on the door and opening it. In a heartbeat, there was a huge black spider standing in front of Ron.
Gulping, the redhead whipped out his wand.
"R- Riddikulus!" He stammered, and the spider became a squished cockroach. The Boggart continued to circle around the class, until it appeared in front of Draco. All other students save the two other Chosen Children leaned forward, curious to see as to what Draco Malfoy was most scared of. What appeared shocked everybody.
Draco's Boggart was a tall, haunting woman. She was aged, but one could tell that she had been very, very beautiful when she was younger. She wore a periwinkle blue dress that wafted around her body, and her silvery hair was long, tied in an aristocratic knot on the back of her head. Her features were kind and gentle, but it was her eyes that caught everyone. A deep steel, they radiated sadness. The most visual kind of hurt was reflected in them, as if the boy before her had slashed her heart into little bits.
Draco was unable to move. Unable to speak, unable to say the spell. Finally making up his mind, Harry stepped forward (So like a Gryffindor.), so close that he made the Boggart change shape once more. While Harry finished off his dementor, Gohan knelt down in at his friend's side, wrapping an arm around the shaking blonde's shoulder, the other around his waist, holding him protectively close. Once done, Harry walked to his other side, and the two of them helped the aristocrat to his feet. Only then did Gohan speak, tone cool and calm but radiating power.
"May we go?" Just as calm and quiet, Remus nodded. Ever since he had found out who had saved his butt after he passed out in front of the Whomping Willow, the saiyan had tried to be more considerate of his teacher, despite what Severus told him.
"You may."
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"Daijoubu desu ka?" Gohan inquired, ebony hair falling into his face, making him look even more like a child than he already was. The three of them were seated in the Room of Requirement, or the RoR, as they referred to it.
"Yeah, would you like to talk about it?" Harry asked. Draco nodded, paler than normal.
"Yeah, actually. I would. That woman, she was my grandmother. She had a great impact on me, because when she looked at me like that, I just felt like crying…." Even now, the aristocrat was still shaking, and taking the initiative, Gohan leaned forward and hugged him tightly. Pulling in a hitched breath, the blonde leaned into it. Lightly, Harry patted his head.
"It's okay, Rettile," Was all he said, and Gohan lightly inclined his head, bangs dipping in front of his eyes.
"You wouldn't like mine." he muttered quietly. "You wouldn't. Kira, Aoi, and Pikachu wouldn't. You wouldn't like it at all." Draco blinked, and Harry gazed at him in contemplation, but decided to leave the issue be. They all had things they'd rather leave behind, after all. Now quite silent, Gohan turned and glanced out the window. It was still early afternoon, and from his view of the lake, the sun was bold; glaring upon the water and making it shimmer viciously. The saiyan breathed in deeply and lightly rested a hand upon Aoi, who was curled up contentedly against him, before leaning back; bright ebony eyes fluttering shut.
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"Hateshinai mirai hirogaru kono sora aatarashii jibuun ni umari kawaru
Sakaijuu shi awaseno yuki-wo furasete miseru yo
Kono te sunaide!" Gohan sang out brightly the next Saturday morning after visiting Padfoot and bringing his food. He was now very, very deep in the forest, but at this point, nothing in there could frighten him. Beside him trotted Aoi and Kira, Pikachu on his head, and a strange, but oddly cute creature that looked some cross between a bird and a salamander fluttered around his head, chirping like some demented blue jay.
At its antics, Gohan couldn't help but smile wider, as it seemed to like his singing, and did a spin on his heel, laughing as the little animal spun with him, chirping even louder and doing a flip. Kira let out a sharp bark and pounced on a bush, chasing out several squirrels that were a bright fuschia color and had scaly tails.
Eventually, they came to a huge redwood tree, and lightly the saiyan hopped into a low branch with little effort; for no other reason than to watch how really amusing it was to see Kira attempt to scale it. Aoi scowled at him from the ground, not being able to climb herself, before shooting a powerful water gun at the ground; powerful enough to give her a decent boost into the tree. As she landed, she shot him a superior glance, which only caused the saiyan to begin laughing hysterically.
"Don't look at me like that!" Gohan protested between giggles and gasps for breath.
I wouldn't have to if you didn't get so much amusement from my lack of--
"Climbing skills?" Gohan interjected with a smirk, and Aoi glared at him.
Shut up.
And that was the end of that conversation. Or rather, lack thereof.
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"Die. Die. Damnit, why won't you just die?" Gohan hissed darkly the next morn in transfiguration. They were supposed to be changing their block of wood into a glass figurine, and Gohan wasn't having much luck. Or rather, his wood had sprouted legs, and was now running about over the table in an attempt to escape the wrath of the saiyan's temperamental wand, all the while shouting (see: squeaking) nasty swear words at the disgruntled twelve year old. From his right side, Harry grinned.
"Would you just chill?" He asked, trying to pacify his friend before he set the table on fire. All he got in response was a snarl, much like a irritated cat on PMS. Draco leaned back, smirking. He had had relatively few problems, and a perfect crystal white rose sat on his side of the table. As for the moment, he was watching the scene with great amusement, and not getting into it.
True, Harry's wasn't perfect (A glass hippogriff, but with still a tiny hint of wood in the center), Gohan muttered to himself in his head, but at least his hadn't grown legs!
"Relax, you can't get everything right all the time. It's called karma; you must have done something bad." Harry said reasonably, watching as Gohan's cheeks tinted a light pink.
"Shut. Up. Do not speak to me, I have an oak block to maim and char and smoke in my George Foreman."
"That makes no sense."
"Besides, who are you to analyze me? Karma, my Japanese arse." Muttered the saiyan. "Aniara moulari." Harry raised an eyebrow.
"What the hell was that?"
At the P.O.'d response, Draco lifted his head, laughter dancing in his steel grey eyes.
"Why Gohan, I had no idea that you spoke Greek. And quite well, too." He said loftily.
"What did he say?" Harry asked darkly. "Nothing good, I imagine." Draco grinned.
"I believe that he called you, I quote, "Troublesome jackass" unquote." And with that, the Slytherin clutched his rose to his chest, as Gohan's block with legs suddenly burst into flame with a well placed Incendio. Sitting, back Gohan lightly blew on the tip of his smoking wand as cops did in muggle movies, and pocketed it, looking distinctively pleased with himself. From across the room, Professor McGonagall shot him a rather dirty look.
"Oops."
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"I don't think this is a good idea." Harry muttered the next day, as Draco and Gohan hung buckets of a bright golden potion from every doorway one night a week later. Gohan sighed and dipped his finger in the potion, before sniffing it.
"Perfect," he said, before rolling his eyes. "You're such a Hufflepuff."
"That isn't a bad thing." Harry muttered, but was ignored.
"This is going to be so cool." Draco cheered.
"So, what's this supposed to do again?" Harry inquired, looking apprehensively at the rather glutinous mixture. Gohan beamed at him.
"This, my dear Light guardian, would be a felis potion. Basically, it gives whoever this gets dumped on gets kitty characteristics." The saiyan chirped brightly, wiping his finger on his jeans. Harry shook his head in despair.
"Why do I possibly stand either one of you? Why?"
"Because, dearest," Gohan teased, "You're the only one with sanity, and if you left, Koori-kun and I would rule the earth as dictators."
"That is so obscene, it isn't even funny." Harry muttered, helping to hang the bucket over doors despite his hesitance. Gohan shot him a wide grin and slapped his shoulder cheerfully. Light's Child said nothing, only scowled. "I hate you."
"Like I've said before, you love us." Gohan beamed, before going serious, "Besides, it isn't like what Padfoot said he did before." He added in a whisper. "This hurts no one." Harry's eyes went slightly dark, before he nodded.
"Alright. Because it doesn't hurt anyone."
"Exactly!" Draco declared, tying up a bucket with rope to the door, before wiping sweat off of his forehead, "It'll be a blast!"
"So not." Harry growled, though giving in, as the other two knew full well he would. And at that moment, the door that they were hanging a bucket from swung open, and the potion spattered over the three boys and a fuming Professor McGonagall.
"Um… oops?"
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"Damn. Damn. Damn damn damn damn damn damn damn…." Gohan muttered to himself. "And here I though I might be able to go through one year without getting myself into a hugely obscene amount of trouble. And I was close!" By March 27, a month later, the three boys were still doing punishment for the little prank gone wrong and causing their unwilling teacher to walk around with cat ears, paws, and a tail for a week. Draco had been sentenced to cleaning cauldrons with Severus, Harry to shining trophies for Filch, and Gohan? Well, he was with Lupin, currently helping to wrestle a rather irate kappa into submission.
Apparently, it was a well-known fact through the school that Son Gohan did not like Remus Lupin, and of course, as is with Murphy's Law, the saiyan was promptly stuck with the man with the funny aura, and bristled every time he walked in the door.
However, with all that Lupin was, he was Sirius's friend, and even Gohan had to admit that the guy could teach, no doubt about that.
"Okay, asshole," he growled at the resisting kappa, "Hold still, before I snap you in half." Apparently seeing that the hybrid had every intention of following through with his plan, and apparently seeing that he was fully capable of doing it too, the kappa allowed itself to be picked up and dropped into the tank full of water and seaweed. Suddenly, Gohan stiffened and turned around, startled to see Lupin chuckling mildly at him. "What?" he asked defensively.
"Nothing," the man said, ceasing his laughter, "I've just never seen anyone handle living creatures as you do."
"And how exactly would that be?"
"Well," Lupin mused, sitting down at his desk, with Gohan taking that as a sign to sit as well, "Most of the time you're so gentle, but when you get irritated and they get angry, you aren't scared at all."
"Well," Gohan began, relaxing slightly at the new topic and settling comfortably into it, "I spent a lot of time when I was younger out in the woods, playing with the animals, and for the last three years I've been working with creatures that could scare even the most seasoned fighter. Once you understand how they feel and think and communicate, it's really not all that hard. You just have to treat them kindly and try to learn as much as you can, and do your best to understand. It's hard when people don't see anything other than themselves."
"What do you mean?" Lupin inquired, "Obviously, we're still alive, so we must be doing something right."
Gohan frowned.
"I wouldn't say that," he mused, "Being alive doesn't mean anything. People die every day. Animals die. Chaos and heartbreak occurs every day, and nobody seems to care. People are thrown into jail for things they didn't do, and the real criminals are allowed to walk free and able to hurt again. Is that really doing something right?" Lupin jolted, wide-eyed.
"What brings this on?" he asked, trying to conceal the odd sense of unease creeping up on him, "Is there anything in particular you're getting at?" In a flash, the hybrid had gone from sorrowful to angry and irritated.
"If you don't know, I'm not about to tell you." And then he refused to say a single word more, standing and turning around to croon at the baby dragon whom he had personally named Sekitan. "Kare wa wakarimasen. Kare no mushi wa meihaku na." Lupin didn't know what he meant, but he was going to bet that it was nothing good.
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"Padfoot?"
"Yes?"
"I was wondering…."
"Yes?"
"Is there any chance that…I don't know, when this school year is over, you would want to stay with me?" Gohan inquired softly that night, "If we don't get you free, I mean? I'd never forgive myself if I let you live on rats if I can do anything about it." Sirius blinked.
"But where are you going to go? Do you have money? Can you really live by yourself?"
Gohan started laughing.
"Are you kidding? When I want to do something, it gets done! You should know that."
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Here you are
Daylight's star
Made out of miracles
Perfection
Of your own
You alone
Oh so incredible
Each atom
Sings to me
"Set me free
From chains of the physical."
Oh free me, Oh free me
The mirror melts,
I'm somewhere else
Inside eternity
Where you on
Outstretched wings
Sing within
The Garden of Everything
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(because there's actually Japanese in this one…)
TRANSLATIONS:
Kare wa wakarimasen: He doesn't understand.
Kare no mushi wa meihaku na: His disregard is obvious. (See: he doesn't care)
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I'm sorry that it's so short, I just felt like I procrastinated enough and I wanted to give you guys something. (sob) Because of school starting up, I still have summer homework.