L-chan: Okiday. Some of you may be thinking something along the lines of "This story is confusing" or "Who are all these characters?" and so on. Don't worry, people. All shall be explained in due time. Just rememberthe things you have read so far and in the future things will be explained. Like where Li and all the other kids came from. Oh...uh, nevermind.
I own nothing.
Chapter Two-To Hogwarts We Go: A Binding Friendship
"Gerdi here. Need to lay down a few things about Li…and Link, I guess. Both are extremely good judges of character. They can tell if someone is a good person or if they're, well, not. Take me for example. I tried to act all big and macho when I first met Li, but she saw right through it. She told me she didn't care what I was like or if I wasn't very, uh, bright. She just wanted to be friends with me, and I guess that's why I feel so close to her. Now, both Li and Link, like I've said, can tell what a person is, but will still try to be friendly even if the person is rude and doesn't deserve it (to a certain degree). But that makes them even better people. Not too many persons are willing to treat everyone with kindness."
"Introductions are hard. I should know…but you shouldn't let being shy get in the way of a possible friendship. I know I've never been shy, and now look at all the friends I have (not to mention quite a few, uh, non-friends"
Li Serenity
Harry sat in his new bedroom trying to bide the time away. According to a letter he had gotten from Li, Harry was going to be picked up today to go to King's Cross Station. He shifted uneasily on his bed. It was weird. He hadn't expected this sort of thing. Sure, he had been surprised and excited about leaving the Dursleys to go to a school of witchcraft and wizardry, but he still wasn't sure about going with complete strangers. What if they didn't like him?
He jumped slightly when the doorbell rang. He heard his uncle walk down the hallway to answer it. As quietly as he could, Harry opened his door and stood at the top of the stairs. He could see the back of his uncle's head and noted that he was wearing one of his best suits. Obviously, Uncle Vernon wanted to intimidate the person or persons picking Harry up. He could barely see them from where he was standing, but could tell that the person had golden blonde hair.
"Boy, get down here," came his uncle's gruff voice.
Without hesitation, Harry made his way downstairs and went into the lounge to find the blonde haired person standing in the middle of the room. He was tall and obviously well built from the way he filled out the suit he wore. It was dark blue and simple, but still made such an impression on Uncle Vernon that he didn't give the man any dirty looks. The only thing that threw him off was the red scar running across his right, to Harry his left, eye.
"Hello, Harry," said the man, smiling. "I'm Link Serenity."
Harry couldn't help but like the man immediately. In the letter that Li had sent him, her guardian was coming to get him. He supposed that this must be her father.
"All packed and ready to go?" Link asked. At Harry's nod, the man clapped his hands together. "Let's go up and get your stuff then, eh?"
Link turned to Uncle Vernon who had been standing and frowning the whole time. "Thank you for allowing me to pick Harry up," he said, giving a slight tilt of his head and holding out his hand.
Uncle Vernon didn't say anything but took the hand and shook it. Harry could tell that his uncle was trying to squeeze Link's hand hard, but it didn't seem to faze him.
"Shall we, Harry?"
Harry soon found himself outside the Dursleys' house, carrying Hedwig's cage and following Link to a dark blue Ferrari parked in the driveway. It made Uncle Vernon's company car look dull.
"Here we go," said Link after putting Harry's trunk in the back. He and Harry got in and soon were on their way.
Harry watched as Number Four Privet Drive became smaller and smaller. He began to feel that this wasn't such a bad thing at all. He caught Link's eye. The blonde haired man smiled.
"Ready to go to school?" asked Link
Harry shifted uneasily in his seat. "Yes," he mumbled.
Link glanced at him. "Relax," he said. "There's no need to be so tense."
Harry nodded his head, taking in a deep breath. He smiled at Link.
"So, tell me," began Link, "have you already looked at your books?"
"Yeah," replied Harry.
"Which subject seems the most interesting so far?"
When they pulled up to King's Cross Station, a boy came towards them, waving.
"About time," said the boy, stopping just a few feet from the Ferrari as Link and Harry got out. The boy had silver/gold hair that turned red at the tips and a scar across his eye.
Harry did a double take and looked back and forth between the boy and the man standing beside him. They were identical save for the hair, and their scars were at slightly different angles. Link's scar ran vertically over his eye while the boy's was at a slight angle.
"Harry, this is Li Serenity," introduced Link. "Li, this is Harry Potter."
"Hiya," greeted Li, holding out her hand.
Harry felt a blush come to his cheeks. He had thought Li was a boy. "Um, hi," he said, taking hold of her hand.
His hand suddenly started to tingle and a jolt went up his arm, going throughout his body. The same thing must have happened to Li since she suddenly drew her hand away. They stared at each other for a few moments.
"You two okay?" Link asked, looking between the two.
Li blinked and smiled. "Yeah, we're okay. Stop being such a worry wart."
Link frowned at that. He began to look around as if expecting someone. "Where's everybody else?"
"They said they'd go on ahead," said Li. "Terry kept going on about how she didn't want to crowd Harry when he got here, and made everyone except me go with her."
"Do you want me to take you inside?"
Li rolled her eyes. "We'll be fine. Stop worrying!"
Link blew air from his nose. "Fine." He got Harry's things from the back and loaded them onto a trolley. "See you later," he said. "Tell Tralex and Trinity and everyone else I said bye."
"Sure thing," said Li. She suddenly leaned over the passenger side door as Link got in. "Oh, and, Link, just when is Washu going to turn you back into a woman?"
Link frowned at that and slammed on the gas pedal. Li jumped back, laughing as the Ferrari took off down the street. When she met Harry's confused gaze, she stopped laughing, but couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"What was that all about?" asked Harry, pushing his trolley over to where Link's trolley was. There was a soft hoot from the golden owl sitting in the cage on top of Li's trunk as they came closer.
"Oh, me and Link's mom, Washu, turned Link into a guy a couple of days ago."
Harry's eyes widened at this. "H-how?"
Li took hold of her trolley and pushed it into the station, followed by Harry. "Our mom is a mad scientist, but she only does it to Link. It's a kind of punishment when Link gets out of line, so to speak."
Harry made a mental note not to get Li's mother angry. He stopped suddenly when he realized Li wasn't with him anymore. Looking back, he saw the girl glaring at a group of boys. Harry looked at the group of boys and frowned slightly. They were grouped around something, laughing.
Li suddenly left her trolley and marched up to the boys.
"Hey!" she yelled, making the boys look at her. "Leave that cat alone!"
"Or what?" asked one of the boys, the biggest one, grinning at her. "You'll tell our mommies?"
The other boys laughed.
Li narrowed her eyes at them. "No," she said. "I was actually planning on kicking your butts if you don't."
"What did you say?" asked the one boy, the smile fading from his face. He approached Li, about to grab her.
Suddenly, Li grabbed his arm, swept his legs out from underneath him and pinned him to the ground with her foot on his throat. She looked up at the other boys, who were all staring at her with wide eyes.
"Anyone else?" she asked, a pleasant smile on her face.
The boys scattered without a word. Li let go of the one boy and he scrambled away from her, taking off down the street.
Harry had watched all this in awe. Li was really something. He watched her pick up the cat the boys had been messing with and as she came closer, saw that the boys had tied pieces off cloth over its feet and a bandana over its head.
Li slowly took the bandana off and once the cat could see, it started thrashing around wildly. Because of the cloth tied to its feet, it couldn't really scratch Li, who still held it.
"Hey, it's okay," soothed Li, stroking the cat's head. "It's okay. You're safe."
The cat slowly started to calm down, and when it finally stopped, tired from struggling, Li untied the cloth from it's legs. That done, she cradled it in her arms, and began pushing her trolley along with one hand.
Harry watched her for a few minutes before finally saying what was on his mind. "How did you do that?"
Li looked over at him and smiled. "He was just scared. All he needed was to see that I wasn't going to hurt him and he went calm."
"Not the cat," said Harry. "I mean the boy back there."
"Oh, that." Li chuckled at the thought. "Ah, I've been training for years now and that boy was nothing compared to some of the things I've fought."
Harry gave her a quizzical look and Li just shook her head.
"Never mind," she said. She looked around and the smile suddenly faded from her face. "Oh, boy…"
"What?"
Li gave a sheepish grin. "I don't remember how to get to platform nine and three quarters."
Harry's eyes widened at this, and he began to look around as well. He spotted the platform numbers 9 and 10, but no 9 ¾. His heart suddenly sank. What if they couldn't get on the train in time?
"Now, I remember Terry saying something about the barrier between nine and ten, but I don't remember what else she said. Shimatta!"
A few people looked at her oddly, and Li blushed lightly before turning to the people. "What's wrong?" she demanded, shaking her fist. "Never seen someone cursing in Japanese before?" A few people quickly hurried away from her. She looked to Harry.
"I'm really sorry," she apologized. "I'm not too good when it comes to paying attention to directions and all."
"How about we just ask one of the people working here if they know where it is?"
Li pressed her lips together for a moment. "Harry," she began, but stopped. She seemed to be listening to something. A family of red-heads passed by the two of them and Harry's heart leapt when he heard some of their words.
"…as usual. Muggles everywhere…"
"Fred, stop bothering me…"
"When will we get to platform nine and three-quarters, mum?"
Li and Harry looked at each other, and followed behind the family. They stopped in front of wall between platforms nine and ten, and the mother motioned to what looked to be her eldest son.
"You up first, Percy," she said, and her eldest son walked straight into the wall, but a group of people blocked Li and Harry's view so when they could see again, the boy was gone.
Li flattened her hair over her eye, trying her best to hide the scar there. She pushed her trolley forward, one handed, the cat still in her other arm.
"Excuse me," she said to the woman. "Um, could you…tell us how to, uh…well…"
The woman smiled warmly at her and Harry. "How to get onto the platform?" she asked. "It's quite simple." She turned to the wall and pointed at it. "Just walk straight at the wall between platforms nine and ten. Don't worry about hitting it," she added when she saw the look on Li's face. "Probably best to do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous."
Li glanced at Harry and positioned her trolley in front of the wall. Slowly, she began to walk towards it, but soon sped up, closing her eyes. She half expected to hit the wall, but didn't. She stopped and opened her eyes to see a red steam engine in front of her. She looked back just as Harry came through and grinned.
"I guess it all worked out okay," she said.
"Yeah."
"Come on. Lets go put our stuff on the train."
They made their way towards the train, but a load shout made them look back.
"Oi! Li! There you are!"
Li and Harry looked up to see a girl with long, gold-streaked brown hair and blue cat-like eyes coming towards them. Behind her was another girl who looked to be her twin, yet, her hair didn't have the golden highlights. Her eyes were still cat-like but were green instead and she wore glasses.
"Myo, Incar," said Li. "Where've you guys been?"
"Waiting for you, of course," said Myo. She looked at Harry and her eyes widened some.
Harry shifted uneasily under her gaze. Why was she staring at him? Did she know about his past as well?
The other girl, Incar, came up behind Myo and smacked her behind the head.
"Don't stare," she said in a soft, lilting voice. "It's rude." She looked to Harry. "I'm Incar Carain," she said. She pointed back at the frowning Myo. "And this is my bumbling sister, Myo."
"Hey!"
Harry smiled at the two. "I'm Harry Potter."
Myo got this really weird look on her face, but Harry was saved the trouble of talking to her when Incar grabbed her arm.
"Let's go find a compartment, Myo," she said, "before you do anything really embarrassing."
Li waved as they walked away. "Those were a few of my friends," she said. "They've been going to Hogwarts for a year so they'll be ahead of us."
A load whistle blew and students started boarding the train. Li and Harry grabbed their things and got onto the train. A few students stared at them as they passed by, whispering amongst themselves. Li tilted her head forward hoping her hair would cover her scar. The black cat she had saved was balancing itself on her shoulder.
"Hey, isn't that Li Serenity?"
"And who's that boy with her?"
"Could that be Harry Potter?"
"In here," said Li, and she walked into an empty compartment.
Harry followed suit, closing the door behind him. He and Li put their trunks up on the luggage rack. Li set her owl's cage next to her, and opened it.
"There you go, Merigold," she said to the owl. Merigold flew out of her cage and sat up on the luggage rack, where she began preening her feathers.
Harry set Hedwig down next to him and opened her cage as well. He watched the snowy white owl, fly up next to Merigold where she tucked her head beneath her wing and began to sleep.
"I never could get used to people doing that," said Li, sitting down, the black cat jumping down onto her lap where it curled up and fell asleep.
Harry nodded his agreement, but then he stopped. He looked up at Li. "How do people know you?" he asked. "I mean, with me it was…"
Li closed her eyes. "Yeah, the whole thing with Voldemort." She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. "Well, I guess I should start from the beginning-"
She was suddenly cut off when the door to their compartment opened slightly, and a boy stuck his head through. They immediately recognized him as one of the children of the woman who had helped them onto the platform. He had flame-red hair and looked to be taller than Li and Harry.
"Do you mind if I come in here with you?" he asked. "Everywhere else is full."
"Sure," said Li. She moved over to the window, placing Merigold's cage up with the trunks.
The boy sat down in the space provided and looked from Li to Harry. He licked his lips and smiled at them.
"I'm Ronald Weasly," he said, "but everyone just calls me Ron."
"I'm Li Serenity."
"Harry. Harry Potter."
Ron's eyes widened some and he looked between the two. "You guys are…I mean, do you…"
Harry glanced at Li who looked just as confused as him. He looked back at Ron who was fidgeting in his seat.
"Do you guys really…well…have the scars?"
Li smiled as did Harry. They looked at each other then back at Ron. Harry moved his hair from his forehead, displaying a lightening shaped scar just over his right eye. Li moved her bangs out of her face, showing the scar that was at a slight angle across her right eye.
Ron stared at them in awe for a few moments before closing his mouth and looking away, slightly embarrassed. "Wow," he said. "I never expected to meet the two of you at all, and it didn't even occur to me that you'd know each other."
"Well, we've just met today," said Harry. "Li was just getting ready to tell me why people know her."
Li grinned in a goofy sort of way. "Oh, yeah," she said. "You mind listening to me talk for a bit?"
Ron shook his head enthusiastically. "I don't mind at all. Well, what with all they say in the newspapers about you, it all seems a bit hodgepodge."
"Well, now you can get a hundred percent accurate story about me," she stated. "Actually, as everyone should know, it all really started with my older self, Link."
"Link?" asked Harry. "Your, uh…sister?"
Li looked to Harry. "What you need to understand, Harry, is that Link comes from a different dimension. I come from an alternate universe that parallels hers. When Link was younger, she and her father, the one from her dimension, came to this dimension through a portal."
Harry held up a hand. "Wait. I don't really understand. Alternate universe?"
Li sighed. "Ever wonder what would have happened if you made a different choice in your life? In some cases, such as me and Link's, a certain choice you make can cause a split in a dimension, and create two whole different ones."
Harry nodded. "Oh, I get it. But what happened to cause your dimension to split?"
"We're not really sure," mused Li. "I don't really care, but I think it had something to do with Myo and Incar's parents. You see, in my dimension, Myo and Incar were born together, but in Link's dimension, Myoko, which is what we call Myo's other self, was born alone. They were all orphaned but Myo still had Incar.
"Anyway, Link's father established inter-dimensional trading. The wizarding world already knew of them, having made many headlines about the Hero of Time and his daughter. Well, the two of them began teaching at Hogwarts, Care of Magical Creatures. Me and my father never traveled to different dimensions.
"Now about our scars, me and Link each had a darker counterpart named Dark Link. We were attacked on the same day, but me and my friends were able to destroy the Dark Link that plagued me. With Link, she fought and received her scar, but her Dark Link escaped. Headlines were made about it, and she received lots of publicity. I, on the other hand…" Li trailed off. She shook her head and continued. "Link continued to teach at Hogwarts. At sixteen she met up with Dark Link again and, from what I've been told, destroyed her but with a side-effect. Dark Link remained within Link's subconscious. So, Link now has a voice inside her head."
"What about her father?" asked Harry.
There was a sudden knock on their door, and Li stood, opening it. Outside was a plump little witch with a trolley full of snacks and such.
"Would you like anything?" she asked, smiling at the three of them.
"No, thanks," said Ron, holding up a wrapped bundle. "I'm all set."
Harry and Li looked at each other, and the elf-hybrid turned back to the witch, digging into her pocket and taking out a couple of galleons. "We'd like a bit of everything, please," she said. After the witch left, Li and Harry began to look through the sweets they had bought.
"Myo and…well, Incar never really gave me anything, but Myo brought some of these things home after her first year at Hogwarts. It all looks so good." She suddenly looked over at Ro, who was peeling his sandwiches apart. She picked up a few pumpkin pasties and tossed them to him. "We'll share, you know," she said.
Ron smiled at her. "Sorry," he said. "We really don't have that much money…." He trailed off looking a little embarrassed.
Li and Harry pretended they hadn't heard him.
"Hey, Ron," began Li, "think you could tell us a bit about the wizarding world and all. Myo only told me about Hogwarts so I don't know much. Neither does Harry, right?"
Harry nodded and looked at Ron. "Please?"
Ron looked taken aback at the prospect, but soon got over it and after a few questions was going on about a sport called Quidditch. Harry was listening intently to Ron's words, but Li just looked out the window, watching the scenery pass by.
The compartment door suddenly slid open. A boy stepped in, crossing his arms. He was pale, his silver-blonde hair slicked back. Behind him were two other boys. They were large and looked like bodyguards. The first boy looked around at the three of them inside the compartment with cold, gray eyes. He paused on Li, his eyebrow going up slightly.
"I guess the rumors are true then," said the boy in a drawling voice. He glanced over at Harry then back at Li. "Harry Potter AND Li Serenity are on the train going to Hogwarts together."
"And what of it?" asked Li, putting on a forced smile.
The boy smirked at the half-elf. "This is Crabbe and Goyle," he introduced, motioning back at the other two boys. "And I'm Draco Malfoy. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Ron suddenly laughed, tried to hide it, and made a sort of snorting noise. Malfoy narrowed his eyes at him.
"Think my name's funny, do you?" retorted Malfoy. "No need to ask you yours. My father's told me all about you Weaslys. All of you have red hair and your parents have more kids than they can afford."
Li suddenly stood, knocking the black cat from her lap, and took Malfoy's hand, shaking it. She was looking intently at Malfoy, her eyes a dark, inquisitorial hazel. "You said your name was Malfoy, right? As in Lucius Malfoy's son?"
"Yes," replied Malfoy, taking his eyes off a scowling Ron and looking at the girl in front of him.
Li's eyes widened. "So, you're Trinity's half-brother?"
Malfoy shrugged. "Yes, I am. That's why I've been so eager to meet you. Trinity has told me quite a bit about you and your entourage."
"Really?"
"Actually, I was wondering if it's true that you were engaged to the Zora, Princess Ruto?"
Li's face flushed and she put a hand to her forehead. "That's none of your business," she mumbled.
A girl suddenly came up behind Malfoy. She had the same pale face, save for her eyes, and silver-blonde hair as Malfoy, but her hair turned red two inches at the tips. Her eyes were a platinum-purple and she had what looked like a tan birthmark of an upside down triangle over her right eye.
"There you are, Malfoy," she said. She looked inside the compartment, spotted Li and went past Malfoy, hugging the other girl. "Li!" she cried. "It's so good to see you."
Li hugged the girl back. "Likewise, Trinity."
"This is great!" said Trinity. "We all are going to Hogwarts together! Momma sent me a letter after she found out, and I haven't been able to calm down since. Have you seen Tralex?"
Li shook her head. "Nope. I haven't seen anyone except Myo and Incar."
Trinity looked a little crestfallen but soon got over it. "Well, I think I'll go see if I can find them. You coming, Draco?"
"I was actually planning on staying," said Malfoy. "You guys seem to have an excess of sweets. You wouldn't mind if you shared with us, eh?"
"Draco-"
Goyle suddenly let out a load wail. He had been reaching towards the sweets when a large rat suddenly bit him on the knuckle. He waved his hand around, trying to dislodge it. Malfoy and Crabbe stepped back from Goyle. Finally, Goyle flung the rat into the window and the three boys ran out of the compartment.
"Scabbers!" cried Ron, picking up the rat by the tail. "Is he…dead?"
Li looked closely at it. "No," she said with a slight smile. "It looks like he went to sleep."
Harry and Trinity laughed while Ron smiled. "Knowing him he probably slept the whole time," he mumbled, putting Scabbers into the pocket on his shirt. "But, yeah, that's my rat, Scabbers. He's been in the family for years. My brother Percy gave him to me."
Li looked up at Merigold who was looking at her with large, amber eyes. "That's Merigold."
"That's Hedwig," said Harry, pointing to his snowy white owl.
"What about the cat?" asked Trinity, picking up said cat.
Li scratched the back of her head. "I don't really have a name for him. I just found him today. A couple of boys were torturing the poor guy."
Trinity gently scratched the back of the cat's neck. It began to purr and climbed up onto her shoulder. "He's so sweet."
"Yeah," agreed Li. The cat suddenly jumped onto her lap, and pawed at her jacket sleeve.
"It's getting dark," said Trinity, looking out the window. "We'll probably be there soon. I'm gonna go and get dressed. See you guys soon. Bye."
"Bye," said Li. She looked over at Ron and Harry. "We better get dressed too. I'll wait outside for you two to get done." She stood and went outside the compartment, shutting the door behind her.
Li looked up and down the hallway, watching a few of the students out there already. A few of them looked at her and started whispering, and Li gave them warm smiles which earned her a few smiles back as well as a few waves here and there.
She spotted Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle a few compartments down. The silver-blonde headed boy caught her gaze and smirked. Li returned his smirk with a forced smile. She was about to do a very rude hand gesture when Trinity came out of the compartment Malfoy was standing by. The girl smiled and waved, and Li did the same.
"Here you go, Li," said Harry, and he and Ron waited outside while Li got dressed.
"Let's go, then," said Li as the train came to a stop.
The three of them made their way off the train, trying not to lose one another in the crowd. Li had tucked the black cat into her robes so it wouldn't get crushed by all the people pushing against her.
"Firs' years!" a voice shouted. "Firs' years o'er 'ere!"
Li, Harry and Ron made their way towards the voice with the rest of the first year students. Li stared in awe at the giant of a man standing in front of them, a lantern held up in his hand. She looked over at Ron to find that he had the same look on his face as her, but Harry was smiling up at the man as if he knew him.
"Is tha' all of yeh? Good. Now, me name's Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts groundskeeper," he said. "You lot are goin' o'er the lake. If yeh'll follow me…" He turned and started towards the woods.
Everyone followed after him. Li moved closer to Harry and Ron.
"Do you know him, Harry?" she asked.
"Yeah," replied Harry. "I met him the same day I found out I was a wizard. He took me to get all my things and bought me Hedwig as a birthday present."
"He's huge!" exclaimed Ron.
"Definitely," agreed Li.
They were following a path through the woods. The trees suddenly ended and a large lake lay out in front of them. The edge of the water was lined with boats to which Hagrid instructed them to sit four to one boat. Li, Harry and Ron got in a boat with another boy who seemed a little nervous about getting in. Hagrid took a whole boat to himself and without a word, they started across the lake towards a large castle.
"Wow," said the boy sitting next to Li. His face suddenly fell. "It's so big. I'll get lost for sure."
Li patted him on the back. "Don't worry," she consoled. "I'll help you out. I'm Li Serenity."
"Neville Longbottom," said the boy. He gazed at Li in awe for a few minutes before turning away. "Sorry," he mumbled. "It's just…I've heard so many things about you. Is it true that your half elf?"
"Yep," said Li, smiling.
"Your half elf?" asked Harry.
Li waved her hand nonchalantly. "Of course. My father was a Hylian elf. So, naturally I'd have to be half."
"My grandmum says she met your dad once. She said he was a very nice man," said Neville.
Li's eyes turned a very dark blue, but she forced a smile onto her face. "Yes, he was."
L-chan: Whoo! Did you all enjoy this? I know I did. If you have an questions at all, e-mail me and I try to explain, but only on stuff that has already been put in the story.