Title: Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls
Author: SerafinaMoon
Date: January 18-Feburary 7, 2005
Summary: Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.
Claimer: I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.
A/N- Judging from the lack of reviews I've had lately I can tell that you all are getting bored with my story...unfortunately this chapter doesn't have much excitement in it for you, but that's how it is with transition chapters. I just ask those of you that still remain to be patient and let me finish laying down plot points so that we can get to the good stuff.
Chapter 4: Meeting Others
I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all of my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Because your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I've held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me
You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
But now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face, it haunts my once pleasant dreams
Your voice, it chased away all the sanity in me
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I've held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
Though you're still with me
I've been alone all along
"My Immortal" – Evanescence
Naito stepped onto the platform anxiously, happy to finally be heading off to Hogwarts by himself, although his outward expression gave nothing away. He had finally left Voldemort and his cronies behind (for the most part) when he had Apparated to King's Cross Train Station.
Platform Nine and Three Quarters was a flurry of activity as children ran around with their friends, said goodbye to their parents, and loaded their stuff on the train.
A loud, shrill whistle rang out above the cacophony of noise created by the chattering crowd, signaling that everyone should board the train if they did not wish to be left behind.
Naito got on quickly, not wanting to miss the train, and found a compartment occupied by only five people, three girls and two boys, two of group having flaming red hair and another with wavy brown. Knowing that these were the ones he was assigned to garner information from, Naito decided to acquaint himself with them.
Upon seeing the red-headed boy however, a voice filled his head, echoing distantly.
"Anyone sitting there? Everywhere else is full."
"Hey, Ron," said another voice, vaguely similar to the one that had spoken before it.
"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train—Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."
"Right," mumbled the first voice.
"Harry," said a voice almost identical to the second voice that had spoken, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."
A compartment door shut.
Naito shook his head, wondering what had just happened and whose voices he had just heard. Snapping himself out of his musings, Naito knocked lightly on the compartment door, drawing the attention of everyone inside it.
"Excuse me," Naito muttered politely, "But do you mind if I sit with you? Everywhere else is occupied to capacity."
Most of those in the cubicle blinked at him curiously, all except for a strange looking blonde with radish earrings.
The brunette girl broke the silence saying, "Yeah, come on in. Where are your things?"
Naito ignored the last comment, simply taking his shrunken trunk out of his pocket and returning it to its proper size before stuffing it onto the luggage rack and sitting down.
"Well, that answers that. My name is Ginny Weasley, this is Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and my brother Ron Weasley," the red-haired girl said indicating each person as she said their name.
Naito started when Ginny said, "my brother Ron Weasley." It was almost exactly like that strange voice in his head. What was going on? Was he receiving some sort of premonition?
"My name is Naito Koori," Naito responded, shaking her proffered hand.
Hermione started the conversation up with, "What year are you going to be in? You don't look like a first year, but I don't believe I've ever seen you at Hogwarts before."
"No, I'll be attending my last year here, but this will be my first time at Hogwarts."
"Why's that?"
"Well, I used to be taught at home by my parents, but they were both killed in an attack by Voldemort. I was sent to live with my Squib uncle and his Muggle wife and this was the only way to complete my education."
All of them looked at him, eyes wide and eyebrows raised.
"What?"
"You said Voldemort's name; not many people do."
"That's because most people are afraid of him."
"And you're not?"
"No," Naito growled at Ron, "he killed my parents and I'm going to make sure he pays for what he's taken from me."
Technically, Voldemort had not taken his parents, but Naito was still very resentful of his only friend being taken from him, despite the fact that it had been a house elf.
When Naito had first come into Voldemort's service the year before, he had been very defiant for some odd reason (still was if he really thought about it), as if something was imbued in his personality that did not take well with his master, and was usually punished mercilessly.
Unable to do more than crawl back to his room, Naito began to hate everyone around him except for the house elf that would always nurse him back to health, showing him the compassion no one else would. It did not take long before they became good friends; so much so that Shrinket would even come play with Naito whenever he had a little bit of free time.
Then he began to learn Occlumency and Legilimency...
After reading Naito's mind, Voldemort had Shrinket tortured then killed right in front of Naito before he too was punished to remind him that any creature or person not a complete wizard was beneath him and should be treated as such.
He remembered that torture well...
His back arched in pain, as he screamed causing his arm to strain against the restraints that bound him, his fingertips digging into his hands so that rivets of blood flowed from his palms to join the streams forming at his wrists, where the shackles cut into his skin...and then the whip came crashing down again...and again.
Wincing internally in remembrance, Naito shook himself out of his musings when Hermione asked, "Well, what N.E.W.T classes are you going to be taking?"
Everyone in the group smiled at the girl, rolling their eyes, shaking their heads at her, or both, giving Naito the impression that this was a very schoolwork oriented girl.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Herbology, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures," Naito replied casually.
Hermione's eyes lit up with excitement as she clapped her hands together enthusiastically and gushed, "Really! Me too! But I've also got Arithmancy. Maybe we'll have a bunch of classes together!"
"Maybe we will, although I expect the sorting will decide that. From what I've heard about it, what house you are in decides who you have classes with."
"Oh, not this year! Once you get into the N.E.W.T. level classes you have classes with everyone that made it into that same class in your year."
"Really?" Naito prodded with a hint of a smile. Why was he so comfortable with this group of friends? It was almost as if he had spent his whole life around them. This was a problem; these were the ones that the Dark Lord had sent him to spy on.
Sure he was supposed to befriend them, but only to suit the Dark Lord's plans, he should not genuinely want to make friends with them. So why did they make him feel like he had found his missing home?
The boy named Neville interrupted his thoughts by saying, "Yes. I'm sure you're going to love it at Hogwarts. There's no other place like it."
"And we'll be there to help you with anything you need, no matter what house you're in," blurted Ginny sincerely.
"Unless it's Slytherin," muttered Ron, earning an elbow in the ribs from Hermione.
"What's wrong with Slytherin?" Naito asked in a challenging tone.
"It's the house Voldemort was in. Most of the students that are sorted into Slytherin go bad."
"Some, but not all; besides, Slytherin isn't the only house to turn out bad wizards I hear."
It seemed they had nothing to say to that as Ginny, Hermione, and Ron all gave each other knowing looks. So they knew about Pettigrew; it was true. Ganmou had told him some details of the Golden Trio's lives and exploits of their first few years at Hogwarts.
"Well, if you do end up in Slytherin, just don't go making friends with someone like Malfoy," jibbed Ron.
Naito raised an eyebrow at him, "I don't take very kindly to those that try to tell me who I should and shouldn't befriend."
Ron's face lit up like the morning sky and his ears turned the same brilliant shade of red as his hair at this comment before Naito continued.
"If I were you, I wouldn't judge every single person I come across just by their outward appearance or projected personality. Not everyone is what they seem to be and it could just be that some people have no choice in which house they are placed in and just have to flow with the tide."
"What do you mean by that? How can someone be forced into a house they don't want?"
"Do you really think all families are kind and loving all the time? Some children are punished for simply no reason at all and if they don't get into the house their parents want for them, they could get in trouble. Despite the fact that they would rather be somewhere else, they must enter the house their parents have chosen for them and just go with it or suffer the consequences."
"What are you talking about? It sounds almost as if the Sorting Hat doesn't decide at all which house you're sorted into," questioned Ginny with a confused expression.
"Yes, it sorts you, but it can be influenced...kind of persuaded as you could say."
"But it's a highly magical object! Nobody should be able to tamper with it."
Naito sighed, was all of Hogwarts this slow and dimwitted?
"Not hoodwinked. I'm talking about the person who's being sorted. The Sorting Hat sees everything in your head I'm told and can see your memories and desires. If it knows you'd rather not risk the wrath of your parents for something as trivial as the name of your house and the colors you wear on your robes."
"Trivial! Your house determines who your friends are! Whether you win the house cup or not!"
Naito rolled his eyes in annoyance; this was getting out of hand!
"Are you saying that you cannot make friends with those in other houses and does it really matter when you enter your career whether you won the House Cup or not?"
"No. I guess not, but can you really persuade the Sorting Hat to put you in the house you want to go in?"
"Why are you asking me? I haven't even been sorted yet."
"Well, for not being sorted, you sure seem to know a lot about it!" Ginny said hotly. "So does it?" she asked in a somewhat milder tone.
"Yes," replied Hermione blushing slightly. "The sorting hat wanted to place me in Ravenclaw, but I said I'd rather go in Gryffindor."
"Really? Why?"
"Well, at the Muggle school I attended I was really studious and made good grades..."
The expressions on the other's faces told him that they had not expected any less.
"...but I didn't really have any friends; I just wanted the chance to make some."
Ginny smiled at Hermione wistfully before turning back to Naito and saying, "I guess I can see what you're talking about. But it doesn't matter which house you end up in. I'll be your friend if you want me to."
Bloody noble Gryffindors! This is going to be easier than I thought.
Hermione and Ron glanced at each other, each shooting the other a look stating clearly—that's not good. Naito did not need any special spy training to tell that.
Hm...so maybe not quite so easy, but not too hard nonetheless.
"So, what sort of careers is everyone interested in?"
"Well, I want to be a Herbologist since I'm really good at Herbology and I've already begun some independent crossbreeding between species. I've ended up with some really interesting results," said Neville excitedly.
"I'm going to help my daddy work on the Quibbler. I've already done a bunch of work on it, but once I'm out of school, I'll be able to attain a position," Luna commented lightly in a vague I-don't-have-a-care-in-the-world kind of voice that earned a raised eyebrow from Naito.
"I'm not quite sure what I want to do," declared Ginny indecisively. "I think I might study to become a Healer though."
"I want to become an Auror. Harry and I were—well...never mind. I just want to be an Auror." Ron's face fell as he turned to look out the window no longer saying anything.
The mood in the compartment was stifled and no one started talking again until the lunch trolley came by and even then there was not much said.
When they had almost reached the Hogsmeade Train Station, the compartment door swung open to admit Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A bunch of Gryffidorks in mourning over their dead friend, eh? I don't particularly know why you would miss him—waste of space as I always said."
Naito watched as Hermione and Neville held Ron back from tackling Malfoy. Naito inwardly smirked as he placed a calculating and cold expression on his face; this could be used to his advantage. If he played his cards right, he might just get the Gryffindors to trust him a little more.
Standing up, Naito looked Draco straight in the eyes. Draco backed up a step and gasped; he had not noticed Naito's presence until just then, but it was obvious from his reaction that his father had told him all about Voldemort's protégé.
That was not good.
Naito sneered at the boy and said in a slow, dangerous growl, "If you are simply here for a fight, I suggest you leave. I do not take kindly to those that simply barge in without being invited to enter. Now, leave."
Those in the room other than Malfoy, his goons, and Naito expected Draco to lash out at this stranger that was commanding him to leave, but he was still so shocked that he simply nodded jerkily, eyes wide and expression gaping before turning to leave, Crabbe and Goyle trailing stupidly behind.
Everyone gazed at Naito in awe and confusion as he calmly resumed his seat as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"What?" he asked them curiously; they all shook their heads and closed their mouths before they started unloading their trunks as the train came to a stop in Hogsmeade Station.
"How do you know Malfoy?" Ron asked him as he got off the train.
"Most pureblooded families know who other pureblooded families are. Malfoy and I know each other because both of our fathers are, or were, very influential people in places of power in their countries. That obviously means they had business dealings with each other, thus his son and I also interacted. We were playmates whenever their family came to do business."
"So why did he seem scared of you if you were such great playmates? What does he think of you now that you live with your uncle?"
"As we got older, instead of simply playing, we would duel each other-"
"What do you mean, 'duel each other?' We're not supposed to use magic out of school!"
"Maybe not in England, but in Japan, we have different laws than you do."
"Oh."
"Anyways, we would duel each other and I would always beat him. I don't think he was expecting me to be coming and I'm sure it would be quite a surprise. He's probably worried that I'll bring something up like one of the more humiliating defeats he's suffered from me. He's also probably worried about me invading his territory."
"Hm."
"So do you speak Japanese? Your English seems impeccable to me. You don't even have an accent."
"Yes, I do speak Japanese, but my father taught me English as well. Once I got older, my father got busier and I was sent to stay with my uncle here during the summer when my mother wasn't teaching me.
"What most people don't know is that even though my uncle was cast out of the family for being a Squib, him and his brother—my father—were always on very good speaking terms with each other.
"When my uncle was thrown out of the family at seventeen, he moved here and got a job, so obviously he knew how to speak English. The thing is, he never spoke anything except English in his house after moving here. He never spoke Japanese after he left while he was surrounded by those that spoke only English. Soon the language became dead to him and he only spoke English, so I had to become proficient at it because that was the only language I spoke while I was with him.
"Besides I've had since the end of last school year to get rid of my accent, as my parents died right before I was going to take my end of the year exams."
"Right," was all Ron said after that and casually slipped away to join Hermione on the platform.
Naito was relieved however; Ron seemed to accept what he was saying as the truth. That had been one of the biggest lies he had ever told; it was a good thing he had picked up some Japanese from Ganmou. He was not very good, but he could say a few phrases and words.
As he stepped into one of the Thestral Driven carriages, he heard Ron tell Hermione behind him everything he had just gotten done saying before telling her that he did not believe a word of it.
"Why was he even hanging out in our compartment? Why wasn't he out playing with his little Slytherin friends?"
"Don't you remember what Dumbledore told us? This is Voldemort's apprentice, he's trying to spy on the Order and the best way to do that is through us! I don't think Malfoy looks anything like you or I so of course he'd be where we are instead of the other Slytherins.
"Remember, it's our job to make sure he doesn't learn any useful information about the Order that he can report back to Voldemort and to try and get him on our side. Dumbledore said he wasn't quite sure if he was actually one-hundred percent loyal to Voldemort so we have to make friends with him and try to turn him."
Naito smirked to himself as he got into a carriage by himself.
So, Dumbledore knew what he was here to do, did he? Naito frowned thoughtfully as he wondered how he knew about his loyalties. Dumbledore had not broken through his Occlumency shield, Naito was sure of that; he would have felt it had that been the case. No, maybe it was something much simpler, something most would not think about, or just not want to think about...or a someone.
Was there a spy among Voldemort's chosen? If so then who was it and how close were they to the Dark Lord? How did they get their information to the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry without the Dark Lord knowing.
Hm, Naito thought to himself, who do I know that has connections like that?...Snape! Of course, but I'll need proof. I just need to keep an eye on him.
With that thought in mind, Naito approached the castle, entering with all of the other upperclassmen to stand in front of the Head Table.
Waiting for the new first years to enter and be sorted, Naito looked around curiously, as he had not entered the Great Hall when he was brought here before. The ceiling had to be enchanted to look like the sky outside because it was dark and little stars could be seen through the clouds.
It was then, during the scrutiny of his surroundings, that an oddly familiar voice came to him, saying, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."
Naito was startled out of his vision, similar to the one he had had on the train—What was that!—by Dumbledore's introduction of him.
Idly, Naito noticed that all the first years had already been sorted. He had not been out of it that long, had he? What was going on with him?
Pasting a casual stoic expression on his face, Naito stepped over to the stool and placed the hat on his head as the Headmaster indicated.
It was not long before a voice spoke in his ear:
"Well, well, well. This is a surprise...you don't even know what you are missing!"
"Well, then tell me!" Naito thought fiercely in agitation. What was the dumb hat muttering about!
"I'm afraid I cannot reveal that to you. The unveiling of your mind must be done by you yourself. I am unable to interfere," the all-knowing voice said, only increasing Naito's temper.
"Well, can you at least tell me what you are talking about!"
"No, you will come to know in due time...it has already begun. The memories of your past are resurfacing as you reenter familiar territory. I wish you good luck in finding yourself. Always remember, you have a choice of how you want to live your life. Choose wisely. Now, I believe you finally wish for me to sort you into...Slytherin!" the hat exclaimed to the entire room.
Naito, stunned by the hat's words, listlessly and thoughtlessly took a seat at the Slytherin table beside Malfoy, not even noticing as the platters in front of him filled with food, nor the intense stares he was receiving from the Headmaster, half the staff, and a majority of the students, too deep was he in his thoughts.
What did the hat mean by "the unveiling of your mind?" Hm...was "the memories of your past are resurfacing" referring to the two visions he'd had just that very day? And because he was "reentering familiar territory?" Did that mean in his past, before he had lost his memories, he had somehow been to Hogwarts?
What had happened in his past? And how had he come to stay with the Dark Lord? He had never been told...Why couldn't he remember!
Naito hardly paid enough attention to what was happening around him to eat anything; he did, albeit not much.
Draco startled him out of his musings by elbowing him in the side discreetly and telling him it was time to go to their dormitories.
"So, you're You-Know-Who's apprentice?" Draco started out excitedly.
Naito glared at the blonde forcefully.
"That is not for you to discuss where others may be privy to the conversation. You may believe you are safe from prying ears, but let me assure you...no place is completely safe of eavesdroppers. At the very least, you should put up a silencing charm!"
Draco looked taken aback by Naito's fierceness, but quickly recovered himself, saying, "What makes you think I didn't?"
"I have my ways. Luckily for you, I put up a silencing charm as soon as you opened your mouth."
"HOW! I didn't even see you lift your wand!"
"Not every wizard needs a wand to cast spells, Malfoy."
Draco looked disgruntled, but said in a drawling tone, "Yeah, well, back to what I said before-"
"Yes, I am and yes, your father is one of my teachers, which is how I deduce you know so much about me?"
"Yes."
"Hm, thought so."
They were both silent on the way to the dormitories, Draco was too afraid to risk more conversation and Naito was too lost in his thoughts to care.
The silence was finally broken when they came to the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room.
"Basilisk Fang," Draco muttered before giving a grand sweep of his arm at the room before them. "The Slytherin Common Room. I hope it is to your liking?"
Naito raised an eyebrow at the boy beside him and the way he was being treated like a king. Shaking his head, knowing it was not important, Naito looked around only to be bombarded by another vision.
"Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and go and join them," said a voice intriguingly similar to Malfoy's scornfully. "You'd never know the Weasleys were pure-bloods, the way they behave."
"What's up with you, Crabbe?"
"Stomachache," said one of the voices from his first vision before everything faded away, back to the present.
Naito shook his head, trying to clear it. This was getting ridiculous. Maybe it was the stress or anxiety of the day, but what ever it was, Naito hoped it would go away by tomorrow. He was already going to have enough fun as it was.
Brushing past Draco and interrupting his monologue, Naito entered the Sixth Year Boys dorms and quickly fell into bed, hoping for a quiet, dreamless sleep.
(To Be Continued…)
A/N- Well, that didn't exactly turn out as good as I would have liked, but I always have had trouble with transition chapters and this chapter is no exception. Oh, well, what can I say besides I tried my best. Please review! Any and almost all comments are welcome, even constructive critism! Please share your thoughts with me...you know you want to...
Coming Up: The first day of school is never easy, especially not for a new transfer student when his new friend Draco gives him grief for becoming friends with Gryffindors in Chapter 5: A New Beginning.
Review Responses:
Amones of Magic: Why thank you! I'm glad you think so! I'm so glad you reviewed! I hope you like my story enough to continue. Don't worry, by the end, everyone will know what they have been missing the entire time. Of course they have to figure it out first. Thank you and I'm glad you liked them...I've always thought it was rather cool when I read it in other stories, but I've never found a good, logical reason for Harry being able to become different animals so I came up with one myself. Hm...I hadn't really planned on showing THAT much about Remus, but I'll see what I can work in. I've got a set plot, but I'll try to work around that.
Hazel-Beka: He's not going to be a guy Mary-Sue! I didn't mean to portray him that way, but he needed those powers for spying and getting around unnoticed...the other things Moldywarts taught him. (blushes) I forgot about the email alerts.
MagicmanSmokegirl: You have SO figured that plot point out...Eep! Good thing I haven't ever seen you mad yet...at me at least.