A/N: And we're back! AHHH!
–dodges rotten fruits and vegetables, Crucios, Sectumsempras killing curses, shuriken, kunai and kitchen sinks-
Okay, I deserved that for what I did to Harry and you guys, but it's no worse than what Rowling does with her yearlong waits and killing off beloved characters.
-dodges another wave at the insult against the goddess-
JUST READ ALREADY! OUCH! That hurt! Good thing I have a Horcrux.
-Harry shows up, bouncing a Palm Pilot in his hand- "You mean this?"
Uh oh…
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Card Captor Harry
by Shadow Crystal Mage
Card 5, The Wood: Heart's Light
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does. I wish her well and covet her money. Card Captor Sakura belongs to CLAMP, not me. I would like a complete set of their works in manga and anime form, though. Both are used here without their owners' permission. I'm not doing this for money, so please don't sue me. POTTER, LEAVE MY HORCRUX ALONE!
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Harry lay on the ground, shaking convulsively. He felt numb, frozen, as if his insides had turned to ice. A single scream echoed in his ears, repeating itself eternally, even as he heard his father dying, his mother being slain by Voldemort. Other memories- for he realized that's what they were- passed before his eyes. The time Hermione had been Petrified, and lain in the hospital wing for days. His encounter with Quirell in the bowels of the castle. The time he had lost Gryffindor a hundred fifty points for being out of bounds and no one had talked to him. The time the Dursleys had locked him in the house alone during a thunderstorm and the power went out. The time when Dudley had killed a squirrel he was going to try to nurse back to health. The time the Dursleys had locked him up in his room the year before, and he had thought he would never see Hogwarts again.
Memory after memory, pain after pain swept over him. And all through out this, his mother's scream rang, over and over again.
For the first time in his life, Harry wished for death.
He was fairly sure that there wasn't much difference between death and his current condition. He was unbearably cold, his body was stiff, his mind was going blank. The only difference between the two was that death would bring peace; this was pure torture.
Harry let himself lie on the ground, the cold seeping into and out of every pore, his eyes closed in a futile attempt to hold back the visions. It had worked in the beginning. Not anymore.
He was so tired from all of it. He just wanted it to stop, wanted it to end. Every time he watched Voldemort kill his parents was torture; each time, the bittersweet pleasure of seeing them, even if just in a memory, was always quickly followed by the agony of seeing them die again. Each time he had to watch, he died a little more inside.
Wearily, he lay his head on the cold, dark black floor. Just a little longer, he was sure, and he would die. The Clow Cards were warm against his chest, somehow making him feel guilty for waiting. Still, there was no way they could understand, no way they could help. He had already tried calling them and they had not appeared. There was nothing he could do.
Harry closed his eyes. So cold...
He willed himself to sleep as the cold grew even worse. Even the warmth from the Clow Cards was fading away. His mind drifted as the screams and memories crowded in, bringing their pain.
Make it stop, he begged futilely. Make it stop...
Drifting, his mind touched something...
His eyes snapped open as a familiar feeling coursed through him.
Clow Card!
He found himself sitting up straight, heart racing, his senses seeking everywhere, as he ignored the visions and memories around him.
A Clow Card was close, he could feel it. Close and active. Reflexively, his grip on his near-forgotten Sealing Wand tightened.
"Where are you...?" he said, ignoring what he saw and heard. They were only memories. Concentrating- and surprised he still remembered how- he willed himself to look only at his surroundings, at the darkness around him.
He saw nothing. Yet, he could feel it, feel the Card still there.
Wondering what he should do, Harry groped futilely in the dark, his mind racing, wishing Hermione were here. She was the thinker. Idly, he wondered what Card this was.
He stared at the blackness around him. He momentarily entertained the thought that whatever Card he had felt was causing the visions, but he remembered that he had first felt this from those things outside the train. If the Card wasn't causing the visions, then what was it causing?
The answer came to him in a flash. What, other than the visions, had he been experiencing?
Harry looked at the darkness around him from a new perspective. It should have been so obvious! It was the only other thing that could not be accounted for.
"The darkness..." Harry said, just to hear something besides the memory of a scream. "You're causing the darkness!"
Was it his imagination, or did things look a little brighter?
"Some kind of Card that causes darkness..." Harry mused out loud. "The Shade Card? No, this isn't shade... The Darkness Card? The Dark Card?"
The landscape grew noticeably brighter. Harry took that as a confirmatory response.
Standing with a little difficulty, Harry raised the Sealing Wand over his head. "I am the Card Captor, and I order you to return to your true form. Dark Card!" Swing down.
Nothing happened.
Harry sweatdropped. "Okay, I'm sure I did that right!"
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She couldn't help it. She laughed.
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Harry was thrown for a loop when laughter, of all things, suddenly started to echo around him, drowning out the screams.
"At least someone finds the situation funny," Harry muttered, causing the laughter to increase for a moment.
After an eternity, or however long it really was, the laughter subsided, and silence descended. The silence felt different somehow, almost expectant, as if whoever had laughed- and, now that Harry could hear himself think, whom he suspected had been The Dark Card- was waiting for him to say something else.
The screams were gone, Harry realized. But even as he thought, he heard, faintly in the distance, his mother's cries, and his blood ran cold. No, he thought. Not again!
And he was surrounded by memories once more: his parents, dying; Hagrid being sent off to Azkaban; he and Ron about to be eaten by giant spiders. They swallowed him once more, threatening to drown him in pain.
NO! he thought as ice gripped his heart once more. "NO! NOT AGAIN!"
As he struggled to free himself from the memories, one thought repeated itself in his head. Why? Why didn't the Sealing work!
Unless... he thought as the time Dudley nearly drowned him came to mind. Unless it's not alone...
Yet concentrating with all his might, he couldn't feel another Card at all.
Why? he yelled as he sank down to his knees and into his memories. Why?
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She felt him calling, yet there was nothing she could do. As close as she was, as much as she wanted to, she was not supposed not interfere. This was a test for him to pass. He must prove his worth. Only then will he be freed...
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As Harry tried to shake off the memories, to little avail, one thought kept intruding. Why had there been a reaction when he mentioned The Dark Card's name?
Vividly, he remembered how he had released the Clow Cards. He had been holding The Windy Card and said its name…
"That's it!" he said, struggling to think straight. "It responded to its name! So if I can figure out what the other Card is, than…"
Than what? What would happen then?
It was then Harry realized there was a distinct lack in his plan.
Harry shrugged it off. He couldn't be any worse than he was now.
But how as he to know what the Card was? The Dark Card was obvious, but he couldn't notice any other effects that couldn't be accounted for…
Wait.
There was another effect that couldn't be explained.
How the HECK could he see? He was surrounded by darkness, so how could he see?
"I can see," he muttered. "But that shouldn't be possible, there's no light... unless..."
Unless what? He wasn't Hermione, darn it! He couldn't make revelations come out of hoops with only a few shreds of information. Or find out which potion to drink just from a few lines on a piece of paper. Or realize what the monster of Slytherin was with a little research.
"Concentrate, Potter," he said. "This is not the time to do this."
What Card could do this? What could let him see in the dark? Well, that was easy. Light. Light could let him see in the dark. But there weren't any light-sources at all! There was nothing in the darkness but the memories and him.
Nothing but the memories and him...
In frustration, he slammed his fist on the ground, then winced. Hitting a hard surface while holding a hard Sealing Wand wasn't really a good idea. Instinctively, he looked at his hand, checking it over for any damage, then did a double take.
Well, well, well…
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"I think he's getting it."
"Just a little bit longer now…""I hope he passes. It would be nice to have him around."
"He is pretty cute…""HEY!"
"Just kidding, dear…""(grumble, grumble)"
"Oh, stop pouting, will you!"----------------------------------------
Harry looked at his hand intently, eyes narrowed. Like he said, there was nothing here but him and the memories. And since the memories couldn't be lighting up anything, that left…
Him.
Now that he looked at it, his hand was glowing. Light was emanating from him!
As if that thought had been a signal, a soft glow suddenly suffused the area in front of him, bright in the relative darkness around him. Surprised, he looked up.
A beautiful woman floated in front of him. She wore a white dress with the front slightly open in a line all the way down to her belly button. Thick, curly white hair fell down her back in waves. It was not the white of age, like he had seen in older people. It was the white of radiance, of light made matter. On her head was a strange, multi-point crown. She glowed in that unmistakable way that denoted what she was, the way that was always accompanied by Harry's senses with a scream of 'CLOW CARD!'.
Knees shaking slightly, Harry got back on his feet. Silently, they regarded each other for a moment. The silence stretched out, until…
"You're the reason I can see, aren't you?" Harry said, his voice soft, as if in a cathedral. It seemed to echo and be absorbed at the same time. "You're The Light Card."
Smiling demurely, The Light Card nodded, bowing before him with her arms spread out at her sides. At the same time, the place brightens. It did not do so in minute increments. Rather, it steadily got brighter and brighter, so fast that Harry thought he would be blinded, and for a split second, he was. Raising his arm, he shielded his eyes.
When he thought it was safe, Harry opened one eye, dropping the arm as he saw he wasn't about to get his retinas burned out.
The first thing he noticed was the silence. Nothing else registered for a while, only the complete, total and absolute silence. No screams. No cries. Nothing. Sweet, glorious nothing.
It took him a bit longer to notice the second woman. She stood out form the background, which had lightened into glorious white. The second woman- Clow Card, he corrected himself- wore a dress almost exactly like The Light Card's, except it was dead black. She, too, wore a strange crown. Her hair was long and silky straight, blacker than night and just as beautiful. Her glow seemed different somehow, as if it were something more felt than seen.
"And you…" Harry said, looking at the second woman. "You're The Dark Card…"
The Dark Card smiled, and there was nothing demure about it. There was a twist to her lips, a look to her eyes, that made Harry very nervous, although he couldn't quite say for sure why. The two stood before him, side by side, a study of contrasts.
"Congratulations, Harry Potter," The Dark Card said. "You have passed our test."
"Test?" Harry repeated incredulously.
The Light Card smiled. "Although Master Keroberos named you Card Captor, that does not mean we will obey you. Not until we are satisfied of your worth. Hence, the test."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "Were you the ones who caused those visions?" he asked, a tinge of anger evident in his voice.
The Dark shook her head, her midnight hair rippling behind her. "That was none of our doing. Rather, it was the Dementors."
"Dementors?"
The Light Card's mouth twisted unpleasantly, although it did not detract from her beauty. "The Dementors are loathsome creatures. They feed on happiness and memories of happiness, draining them from people as a leach drains blood, leaving them with only their darkest recollections."
"You felt them tonight, even before our test began."
Harry's eyes widened as he remembered the feeling of darkness, of evil, of nothingness that had come to him in the Hogwarts express. The one in the doorway of their compartment, just before things got surreal…
The Light Card nodded as she saw the realization in Harry's eyes. "Yes, that was they. They were the cause of your anguish."
Harry took a deep breath, steeling himself as he looked at the two sprites before him. "What was the test?" he asked.
The Dark Card smiled. "To see the darkness in yourself, and master it! You are but young, yet you hold more pain then you know. Still, you have persevered, not giving up to your darkness within…"
Harry's eyes narrowed again. "I thought you didn't have anything to do with those visions?"
The Dark Card seemed to shuffle nervously, her smile slipping a bit. "Uh, well, you see, it was an opportunity too good to miss, and, well, uh…"
"It was her idea!" The Light Card said, pointing at Dark.
Dark gave her a look. "Oh, go ahead, leave me holding the buck, you were the one who-"
"A-hem!" Harry coughed pointedly, causing the two to shut up, exchanging sheepish looks. "What was the point?" he asked. "Why did I pass your test?"
"You did not give in to the darkness within yourself," Light said. "You did not loose hope, no matter what memory you saw. You are strong, stronger than you know. You possess power even you know not. That is why we want you to be our master. That is why we would place ourselves in your hands."
As one, the two Clow Cards knelt. "We offer ourselves to you, Card Captor," they chorused.
"Literally and figuratively," The Dark Card muttered, receiving a poke in the side from Light and causing Harry to blush.
Harry raised the Sealing Wand over his head, then stop, hesitating. "A while ago, I only felt one of you. The Dark. Where were you hiding?" he asked Light.
The Light smiled, and stood, gliding towards Harry. "I was with you, Master," she said, placing a hand on his chest, where Harry's heart beat. "I have always been with you, ever since you held the Clow Book. And I must say, you have a very… interesting, way with women."
Harry blushed. Oh, bloody…
"Don't worry," The Light Card whispered, "it will be our little secret." She giggled.
Yup, definitely 'Oh, bloody…'.
The Dark appeared suddenly beside her fellow sprite, placing her hand next to hers on Harry's chest. "Never give in to the darkness within, Master. Therein lies your strength."
"But I did give in," Harry said. "I was just waiting to die…"
The Dark shook her head. "No, Master, you did not give in. Even in your weakness, you still sought a way to free yourself. We would not have chosen you as our Master otherwise."
She smiled at him, and even though her smile had not changed, Harry felt comforted.
The Light Card leaned forward and gently, oh so gently, kissed him. Her touch was light, her lips felt insubstantial, barely there, gentle and soft. Without thinking, Harry leaned forward a little, for the first time meeting a kiss instead of just standing there. Kiss was warm, innocent and sweet, giving and not asking for more than he could give. They did nothing else, just kissed for what felt like an eternity.
Eventually, The Light Card leaned back and Harry opened his eyes (when had he closed them?), feeling a bit disappointed.
The disappointment changed to surprise when two cool hands grabbed Harry's head and shoulders and held tight as The Dark Card pressed her lips to his own. She kissed him fiercely, hungrily, a soft moan forming in her throat. Harry closed his eyes once more, again moving into the kiss, responding, trying to match what she was giving him. Her mouth felt cool against his, soft, like a night breeze. She was firm, craving, demanding, and for once he was willing to go along with it, meeting her as firmly. Almost on their own, his arms rose, encircling her waist and resting there lightly, their slight pressure pressing him gently against him even as he answered to her.
Once more, it was she who broke the kiss, licking his lips a few times as if tasting him, before moving back. His arms slipped back down to his sides as he opened his eyes once more. They both gave him enigmatic smiles, the ones that all women knew and used to drive men crazy. Hesitantly, his hand rose to his lips.
"Thank you," he said, although it seemed lacking. They merely kept on smiling.
Gripping the Sealing Wand in two hands once more, he raised it over his head as the two Cards held hands…
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"Harry! Harry! Are you alright?"
Someone was slapping his face.
Harry opened his eyes, blinking as if waking from a dream. There were lanterns above him and the floor on which he lay was shaking. It took him a few moments to recognize where he was.
He was back on the Hogwarts Express. It was moving again, and the lights had come back on. He was on the floor- it looked like he had slid off his seat- with Ron and Hermione kneeling next to him. Above them, Ginny, Professor Lupin, and Neville, looking worried. Harry felt a bit sick, like something was slightly off. His face felt wet with cold sweat.
He tried to stand up, his legs a bit shaky. Ron and Hermione helped him up, heaving him back onto his seat.
"Are you OK?" Ron asked nervously.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry said, and it was true. Although he felt like he looked as bad as the other felt, he knew he didn't feel as bad. The 'feel' of the things- the Dementors?- was gone, leaving only a feeling of nothingness that was slowly being filled.
Harry looked around the bright compartment. Ginny and Neville looked back at him, both looking very pale.
A loud snap made them all of them- all but Harry, who was sinking into thought and thus was only brought back to the present- jump. Professor Lupin was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces. Idly, Harry wondered where he could buy one of those slabs. It was HUGE!
"Here," he said to Harry, handing him a particularly large piece. "Eat it. It'll help."
Harry took the chocolate, biting into what he thought looked like a soft corner. Warmth seemed to spread to the tips of his fingers and toes. He chewed thoughtfully as Lupin started giving chocolate to everyone.
"What was that thing?" he asked Lupin after a moment.
"A Dementor," Lupin said, crumpling the empty chocolate wrapper and stuffing it in his pocket, confirming Harry's suspicions. "One of the Dementors of Azkaban."
Everyone stared at him.
"Eat," he repeated, moving past Harry and heading for the door. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…"
With a swish of his robes, he disappeared into the corridor.
"Are you sure you're OK, Harry?" Hermione asked, watching Harry anxiously.
"I'm fine," Harry said, wiping a little sweat from his face. "What happened?"
And so they told him. After Professor Lupin came back and said they'd be at Hogwarts in ten minutes, nothing more was said. Each became wrapped up in their own thoughts, which was just fine with Harry.
He kept replaying the sequence of events over and over again in his mind. The Dementor had come in, he had fallen unconscious, and the next thing he knew, he was in The Dark's test. Yet according to his friends, he hadn't moved at all. He had been lying on the floor all this time, and Professor Lupin had even stepped over him, so he hadn't gone anywhere. Had it really happened? Or had it all been just a dream?
Harry crossed his arms, still deep in thought, and felt something under his robes. Blinking, he reached underneath. His companions, intent on their own thoughts, didn't notice.
Drawing it out slightly, just enough so that he could see it but not need to pull it out of his robes, he barely stopped himself from gasping out loud. In his hands were The Light Card and The Dark Card…
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- To be continued...
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A/N: I hated putting Harry through that. Story wise, however, it was necessary. Unlike Sakura, I didn't think Harry would be much intimidated by finding himself in a dark, black space. After the Basilisk, something like that just doesn't cut it. At least he got two new concubin- er, Clow Cards, out of it. Speaking of which, why all the names? Or at least, naming the Cards? Besides being what was in the anime, there's an old superstition involving names. If you tell someone your real, true name, they have power and control over you. This idea pops up in 'The Books of Magic', originally by Neil Gaiman. If you want an easier to understand example, think of the power someone would have over a (masked) superhero if they knew the hero's real name. Kind of like that.
The whole thing was in his mind. So no time passed as he was being tortured. Even with the last bits, this was a basic 'Capture-the-Cards'. Man, I hate myself, I promised not to make anything like that. I hope I haven't turned you guys off, I promise, the next chap will be better and funnier, not to mention longer. -Makes an Unbreakable Vow on it- Sorry, Voakands-san!
Harry reacted to the kisses differently this time. Why? Well, for one, he needed comforting after what he went through, and after that wringer, he was not quite himself, so he became a bit (more) OC.
To sesshoumaru-tolkijin: sorry it took me a while to reply. Thanks for your review! I don't get so many I can afford to ignore one.
To Mage-Alia: Nice to hear from you. You think this is one of the best? Aww, I'm touched... TT o TT -waahhh-
I dedicate this chapter to you guys. -sniff-
And so ends the easy portion of this story. Starting next fic, we're off to Hogwarts, where Harry starts seeing things, has worse than classes to deal with (and you thought the first week in your school was bad), no access to anime, and has to keep his roommates from finding out about Keroberos! Talk about stress! If only there was some girl he could turn to, someone who'll shower him with kisses and smooth his hurts with her lips. -sigh- Oh well. Guess he'll have to make do with seven female Clow Cards. -snicker- And also, what I promised in the first chap will finally come to pass! Harry will have a rival! And it won't be the small wolf we all know and like to see blush! Who will it be? Ah, now that, is a secret! And maybe, just maybe, the return of Winter Moon! Find out next chap!
Uh, the next chappy will be a while. Tests and all that. UGH! But don't worry, to make up for it, the chapter will be really long. My word on it.
Can't wait for the next chap? Alright, here's a little sneak preview of what to expect. Just don't get used to these:
Dumbledore started to speak again.
"Lastly," he said, "It is my great pleasure to announce a new student in our midst. I would like to introduce a transferee from oversees, miss Fei Lee!"
A door behind the staff table opened at this cue, and someone stepped out. Obscured from view by the staff, there was time for a mix of polite applause and curious murmuring to break out in the Hall. It lasted until the girl rounded the staff table past Hagrid and people could see her clearly. The noise died down instantly.
She had short, boyish hair, dark-chestnut in color, with a slight tail-like appearance at the nape. Wine-colored eyes coolly scanned the Great Hall. Harry estimated she was about his height, yet she seemed taller from the way she carried herself. She was... imperious, for lack of a better word, like a princess in her carriage. Or a queen on her throne.
The dead silence lasted for all of two seconds.
Please review, C&C welcome. Flames will be used to feed my pet phoenix.
Until next time, this is Shadow, signing off.
POTTER, STAY AWAY FROM ME! AHHH! -runs away holding Horcrux-
-Harry follows, casting Crucios, Sectumsempras and killing curses- "-and this is for the kissing scenes, and the bed scenes, and for making me repeat that day over and over again-"
-Syaoran, Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meiling watch, lounging on deck chairs-
Tomoyo: "Shouldn't we do something to help him?"
Syaoran and Sakura look at each other: "NAH!"
Meiling: "Besides, he cut us out of the fic! What's a CCS fic without us?"
Harry: "Technically, it's an HP fic with CCS elements."
Syaoran: "Don't you have someone to get revenge on?"
Harry: "Oh, yeah. BYE!" –runs off again-
Tomoyo: "Oh well, I guess we can't have everything." -pauses- "You guys up to a foursome orgy?"
All: "SURE!"
-FADE OUT TO SOUNDS OF CLOTHES BEING REMOVED AND CHASE MUSIC-