Alchemy: Hey guys. I'm really sorry about the really long wait. I never meant to not update this long. This happened at school. Life got in the way. I was lazy for a week or two. Documents got deleted multiple times…
Pookian: …
Alchemy: Anyway, sorry to all of you out there who have been waiting for this chapter. I worked hard on it, and it's the longest chapter I have so far. 23 pages! Sun's not my co-writer anymore, but she's still helping me.
Sun: That's right!
Alchemy: Anyway, Mr. Disclaimer guy will do his job and then the chapter will start!
Disclaimer Guy: Alchemy doesn't own anything. Maaya's hers, so is Jeanne and Emmiline and that's about all. The rest belong to rich people.
Alchemy: I wish I could own 'em, but I can't… Here's the chapter!
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"Wait," Fai said, looking at Lily intently. "So this Christmas holiday is a time where you give gifts to others."
"Sort of," Alice replied. "Christmas is really a time when family and friends get together and talk and have a good time. It's more about people, but all the kids can think about are presents."
"And the person who's getting the gift doesn't know what the gift is?" Syaoran asked.
"Precisely," Lily replied. "And there's also a tradition. If you and another person end up under a piece of mistletoe, those two kiss."
Alice squealed in delight. "I want to get Frank to kiss me," she exclaimed with a blush.
Lily patted her friend on the back. "I'm sure you'll get him under the mistletoe sometime during the season," she said with a reassuring smile.
Sakura looked a bit puzzled. "Do you have to kiss someone when you see the mistletoe over your head?" the girl asked in a soft voice.
"You really should," Alice replied. "It's such an ancient tradition that shouldn't be broken. Everyone in school follows the tradition.
"Especially since the teachers put spells on them or something. You have to kiss the person under the mistletoe or else you might get antlers, turned green, get covered in goo, grow beards, and the list goes on.
"Most of the teachers like to stick to tradition, and they want to have a bit of fun during the holidays. I remember McGonagall was against the whole idea, but Flitwick, Slughorn and Dumbledore voted that they keep the tradition alive and that this was the perfect way to do it." The girl laughed.
"It's fun seeing all the people who get sent to the Hospital Wing because they refused to kiss under the mistletoe."
"Peeves just loves to try to get unsuspecting students to kiss under the mistletoe. It's pretty funny when you're not the one he's trying to get," Lily said with a sigh. Her thoughts floated to James, and the girl shook her head quickly. "James, Sirius, Remus and Peter seem to always hand mistletoe up in the halls. So far, those guys have never gotten under any piece of mistletoe with someone else."
"They probably know where all of the mistletoe is hung beforehand," Alice replied with a huff. "It gets so annoying. There isn't a lot of mistletoe hanging around the school, but they are hidden well. Makes you wonder how they find them all."
Lily laughed. "They probably go around the first day the mistletoe is put out and they find them all. I wouldn't put it past them at all."
"Eh. True," Alice replied with a small smile.
"So," Syaoran asked, leaning forward. "What does the mistletoe look like?"
Alice grinned evilly. "I'm glad you asked," she said pulling a green thing out of her pocket. She held it over her head. "This is mistletoe. It's small, but cute and decorative."
"Pretty," Sakura exclaimed, as she examined the small leaves in Alice's hand.
"It's a great tradition," Fai said with a warm smile.
"Mokona likes the tradition!" Mokona exclaimed happily as she bounced onto Fai's head.
"So when is Christmas?" Syaoran asked, looking at the girls in front of him.
"December 25th," Alice replied. "Gifts are bought before the 24th and put under the tree on Christmas Eve after dinner."
Fai grinned. "Which means we have to go shopping soon."
"Exactly," Lily replied. "Shopping should be done in groups of two or three, but we would have to arrange the shopping trip with everyone else, including James and his friends."
"That's understandable," Kurogane said as he spoke up for the first time in this session.
"Of course it is Kuro-hippi."
The door to the Common Room burst open and Maaya and Jeanne came in the room, doubling over with laughter. Their faces were red and they were sweating. Maaya's black hair clung to her face and her sweatshirt was tied around her waist. Jeanne's violet sweater had its sleeves rolled up past her elbows. Both girls looked like they wouldn't be able to talk for a little bit.
Lily raised an eyebrow and looked at the girls. "What happened to you?" she asked.
"We," Jeanne started, but whatever she was going to say was drowned out by the laughter of the two girls.
"It-it was SOOO funny!" Maaya exclaimed. She burst out laughing once more. Both girls looked like they were going to be in trouble from not breathing enough. Maaya's camera was halfway out of her pocket.
The door to the Common Room started to open and Maaya and Jeanne stopped laughing. The two girls looked at each other with looks that clearly said, "We need to get out of here."
Jeanne bolted up the stairs while Maaya hid behind the couch. The black haired girl was biting her lip in an attempt not to burst out laughing.
A very flustered James came in through the door followed by Peter, a blushing Sirius and a snickering Remus. Alice looked over at the group. "What's wrong with you?" she asked.
"Don't ask," Sirius replied gruffly as he plopped down in a chair that faced the fireplace.
"Ask Maaya and Jeanne if you want to know," James said angrily.
Remus took a seat in between Alice and Lily. He spotted Maaya and gave her a small smile. "James and Sirius were tricked into kissing each other under the mistletoe," he whispered. "Maaya and Jeanne were seen fleeing the scene and James and Sirius are positive that they were the ones who planted the mistletoe there."
"That explains why the girls ran in here laughing so hard they could barely breath let alone stand up," Alice whispered back.
Remus nodded. "Yeah." Sirius paced around the room, his hands held behind his back as he walked. The boy turned to walk behind the couch and tripped over Maaya.
Maaya muttered a stream of curses as she rubbed her back. The girl stood up and flipped over the back of the couch so she landed head first into the seat cushion between Fai and Syaoran.
"Heya!" she said happily as the blood rushed to her head.
Kurogane just stared at her as Pookian jumped into Sakura's arms. Fai grinned and waved at her while Syaoran just looked at Maaya like she had multiple heads.
James turned to see Maaya giggling on the couch. He glared at her while Sirius muttered some words to himself. Peter scanned the room.
"W-Wh-Where's Jea-Jeanne?" he asked.
"Somewhere else," Maaya said with a giggle. Her face was red.
"You should really sit up Maaya," Lily said, concerned for her friend.
"I should?" the girl asked. When Alice, Remus and Lily all nodded, the girl tumbled off of the couch, landing on the floor. She sat with her legs crossed and her head up.
"Was it really that bad?" Lily asked, looking at Sirius for an answer.
"It wouldn't have been," Sirius replied as he took a seat in a wooden chair. "Except for two things. One, we didn't know about it. That was the sixteenth mistletoe hanging around the school when we all know that there are only fifteen that the teachers put up. Students don't put their mistletoe up until tomorrow. And two, there was a picture taken. Someone took a picture of us after we stepped underneath the mistletoe. There was a flash and then we saw Jeanne and Maaya run off."
Lily looked over at Maaya. "How did you put the mistletoe up?" she asked.
"Easily. I tacked it up." Maaya grinned.
Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes. Alice giggled and Fai and Syaoran were smiling and Sakura had fallen asleep in Syaoran's arms.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
The days passed by quickly and soon December 20th came around. The large group of people were sitting together, each of them staring intently at Pookie. Pookie stood in the center of the table, holding small slips of paper. Each piece of paper had a number on it.
Pookian handed each person a number with a smile. Each person took the small folded piece of paper and opened them carefully, each person's breath was held. Then, in sync, the group all showed the numbers of the pieces of paper.
Maaya and Jeanne grinned as they gave each other a high-five. "Lucky number 1!" they exclaimed at the same time.
Alice smiled as she looked over to the other person who had the number two. The girl was Sakura, who looked at Alice and smiled sleepily.
Remus looked around the table to see his shopping companion. The boy stopped as he saw Syaoran. "Looks like we're number three." Syaoran nodded.
James and Sirius grinned as they saw each other's numbers. "Yeah!" they said together. Lily coughed as the boys' attention was turned to her. They both groaned as lily showed her number, number 4. This was going to be one hell of a shopping trip for them.
The last two boys were Kurogane and Fai. The mage grinned. "Kuro-pop, it looks like we're going to be shopping together." The black haired boy just looked over at the mage and grumbled. "Don't be that way! We'll have fun!" Kurogane didn't say anything. He just looked away from Fai.
"You're with us, you know that, right?" Jeanne asked, looking over at Fai. "You two don't know you're way around and so, we volunteered to take you around the town."
Before anyone else could say anything, Maaya started to talk.
"Well, now that that's over," she said with a grin. "We better get going. We don't want to be late going to Hogsmeade."
The others nodded and Maaya grabbed Pookian and carried him in her arms. Mokona jumped over to Sakura, and the group left on their way.
The caretaker just mumbled and let them pass, the group blending into the mass of students trying to get out of Hogwarts. Sakura, Syaoran, Remus, Kurogane, and Alice climbed into one of the carriages while Fai, Maaya, James, Sirius, Lily and Jeanne filed into another carriage.
"This shopping trip is going to be so fun!" Maaya exclaimed happily as she took her seat.
"Sure, you're not the one who has to go with Evans," Sirius said, moving to sit across from Maaya. James came in after him.
"Yeah. You're going with Jeanne," James replied as Fai took the seat next to Maaya.
"What about me?" Jeanne asked, taking the vacant seat next to James.
"You don't have to go shopping with Evans."
"She's not that bad of a person you know," Jeanne said with a smile. Lily climbed in and took the last seat next to Fai. "Lily's my friend and she's not that bad of a person, she just doesn't like you Potter."
Maaya shrugged. "You think whatever you want," Maaya said, not paying attention to anything except for the boys in front of her. "Lily can be a bit harsh James, but she has good intentions and she always has a reason for whatever she does. You guys are setting off pranks and stuff, and she's just looking out for the safety of the other students."
Sirius sighed. "She still doesn't let us do our work in peace."
"Meh," Maaya said with a shrug. "You're work is fun, but I think Lily and you guys just have conflicting personalities and that's why you don't get along. Lily's more of a rule following person while you guys are always looking for ways to break the rules or bend them at least."
"She has a point," Fai said for the first time in the conversation. "From what I've seen, you guys will just not get along. It's love or hate. And I have a quick question."
"What is it?" Lily asked, looking at Fai.
"Those creatures pulling the carriages... What are they?"
Maaya stared at the boy sitting next to her. "You can see them! And I thought I was crazy!"
"You are crazy," Jeanne replied bluntly.
"That's beside the point," Maaya replied.
"Uh huh."
"It is!"
"Sure."
"Will you two be quiet?" Sirius asked, glaring at both of them.
Maaya kicked Sirius in the shin.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"
"You're telling me to shut up buddy. Don't say that! I shut up when I want to shut up!"
"Weirdo…" Jeanne mumbled.
The carriage came to a stop and the group filed out. "It is the time to go our separate ways. We're going to meet at 5, right?" Jeanne said.
"Yeah," Alice replied. "5PM is when we'll meet. After that, we'll just have some fun. We'll meet at The Three Broomsticks."
"Ok," the group replied with smiles.
With that said, each person went his or her own way.
James, Lily, and Sirius
Lily looked at the small piece of parchment in her hands. "We have to go to some different stores in order to get some of this stuff."
"Fine, fine Evans," Sirius said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"Let's just get this over with," James said, turning to head into the bookstore.
Lily nodded and followed after James, Sirius trailing after her. "Let's see..." Lily said, looking around the store. "Syaoran's list just says he wants a book." The girl looked at Sirius and James. "Potter, Black, what type of book do you think he would like?"
James thought long and hard, looking over at the rows of books. He finally picked up a book and scanned the back of it, reading the summary quickly. "This one looks like a book he might want," he said.
Lily read the book summary over James's shoulder. "Yeah," she said. "Good work Potter." The girl really didn't want to around James and Sirius any longer than she had to. They were cooperating just so they could get through this quickly.
Sirius came over to the two with a few books in his hands. "I found gifts for Alice, Jeanne, Maaya, Sakura, and some of the others."
"Good," James replied with a grin.
Alice and Sakura
Sakura yawned as the girls walked into a small shop. Mokona rested in her arms and Alice was muttering some things to herself. The two stood and looked around silently. Alice turned to face Sakura.
"So, what do you think your friends would like?" the girl asked. They were in a small shop with charms and other cute things in it.
Sakura grinned and pointed out little trinkets.
Fai, Maaya, Jeanne and Kurogane
"Gee, everything sure is decorated for Christmas," Fai said with a grin as he looked around. "It seems like this is one of the best times of the year to come shopping."
"Yeah, it is!" Maaya exclaimed. "So many lights, people walking around together, gifts being brought and general cheerfulness in the air," the girl paused. "Except for him. He's making me upset, seeing him act like nothing bother's him!"
Jeanne looked over at Maaya. "I don't know. It might be fun to come here on Saint Patty's day."
"Saint Patty's day?" Fai asked, blinking.
"It's a holiday that's from Ireland. Takes place on March 17th if I'm correct, which I hope I am." The girl grinned. "Slytherins have a field day with it. They always have something green on. They say that if on St. Patty's day, you don't wear the color green, and you get pinched by everyone who sees you. Slytherins always have the color green on, so no one can pinch them."
Jeanne nodded. "Yeah, but the Slytherins then go around and pinch people of other houses."
"But! Luckily enough, I have a green hair tie I use on that day. No one can pinch me!"
Fai laughed a bit as Maaya did a cartwheel and landed on her back. The girl had bounced right back up, no damage done to her. Jeanne shook her head and kept her giggles from coming out.
"Where are we going to first?" Fai asked, looking at the two girls in front of Kurogane and himself.
"Hmmm…" Maaya said, walking backwards. "Dunno, Jeanne, Kurogane? Any thoughts?"
"None except you better wac-" the girl said, not finishing what she was going to say. Maaya tumbled down the slope at the edge of town.
"Ow!" Maaya stated as fell down the small slope, landing upside down against the fence around the Shrieking Shack. The girl muttered a few curses under her breath before she toppled over and got into an upright position.
Jeanne quickly ran off, trying to get to Maaya. Fai and Kurogane had looked at each other before they took off to find their own items.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
Jeanne looked over at her friend with a frown. "Maaya, you know better than to go walking around backwards," the girl scolded.
"But it's fun!" Maaya pouted. "I just forgot to look where I was going…"
The fellow Gryffindor student sighed and shook her head. "That's just Maaya for you," she said.
"What's that supposed to mean!"
"Nothing, now come on, let's go."
Remus and Syaoran
Remus stopped as he watched Syaoran stare in the window of the shop. The boy had been doing the same thing for hours on end, and Remus was quite amused by it. He found it amazing that they boy wanted to learn so much.
The boy smiled as Syaoran walked over to Remus. "Are we almost to that store yet?"
"Yeah, in fact, that's it right over there," the werewolf replied with a small smile. He pointed to an old shop with a weathered sign. You could barely see the word Brooms written in black.
"Why are we stopping here?" the brown haired boy inquired.
"We need to get James a new broom because his old one 'accidentally' broke into many different pieces by 'stray' bludgers."
Syaoran nodded, remembering what had happened to James's broom. He didn't blame the boy for being upset, but on the other hand, he didn't know why they didn't replace the two beaters if they kept causing problems.
Remus nodded with a chuckle. "Before you ask anything, Sirius and Maaya are staying on the team because they are some of the best beaters Gryffindor's seen in a while, they're just destructive."
The prefect took a few steps forward. "Come on now, we'll get the broom and then leave.
Syaoran nodded, following Gryffindor prefect into the old shop. Syaoran shivered as he took a step into the broomstick shop. Something put him on edge, and he didn't like it. The boy stayed silent as he heard a clanking sound, like wood hitting wood.
An old man appeared in the doorway, looking at the two Gryffindors. "Welcome youngins," he said with a soft smile. "What would ye like today."
"We just need a new broom for my friend broke his. You surely have one, right?"
The elderly man nodded in response and hobbled off into the back room, holding a long box in his hands. "That'll be 10 galleons, 6 sickles and 5 knuts."
Remus nodded, motioning for Syaoran to grab the broom while he got together the money. The werewolf nodded slightly, counting the money once again. He smiled slightly, handing the shopkeeper the exact amount. "Thank you, sir," he said.
Syaoran repeated Remus's words and followed the other out of the store, hearing the old man call out, "Merry Christmas, and don't forget to come back some time!"
The door swung shut and Remus turned to Syaoran. "Well, we should put this away, and then we can head off to meet the others."
Fai and Kurogane
Fai looked at the list in his hand. There were about 2 items listed per person and it said to choose one of the above for a present. This would help the two shop for a bit. He remembered that Maaya and Jeanne had told him that they didn't have to go and get what was listed because it was the thought that mattered the most.
"Kuro-kin, where should we go first?" the mage asked, holding up the map of Hogsmeade handed to him before they had left the school. "We could go to Zonko's or Honeydukes first."
"I don't care, you just choose," Kurogane replied with a grunt.
"Ok then! To Honeydukes!" Fai said, his eyes shining with excitement. The mage started off, his black robes billowing behind him.
Kurogane shrugged, a small smile on his face for a few seconds as he watched the mage run of. He followed behind his teammate at a slow pace.
By the time Kurogane arrived at Honeydukes, Fai was already in the store, gathering up sweets of every kind. "Kuro-pippy!" the mage exclaimed. "They have so many sweets here! It's great!" He handed the sweets to Kurogane and then ran off to get some more.
Maaya and Jeanne
"Zonko's!" Maaya exclaimed happily, jumping up and down. The two girls stood outside the small joke shop.
Jeanne sighed with a soft smile. Maaya just had to get her gifts here.
The black haired girl latched onto Jeanne's arm. "Cane we go in? Please? Please? Please?"
"Fine.." Jeanne replied a few moments later. It was annoying having to listen to Maaya begging to get into the store.
"YESH!" Maaya exclaimed, jumping up. She grabbed Jeanne's wrist and didn't let go of it until the two were in the store.
"We'll meet in front of the shop in about half an hour."
The black haired Gryffindor nodded, walking off in her own direction.
"Where did they put the Stink Bombs?" Maaya asked herself with a sigh.
"The next aisle," a cool voice replied.
"Thanks," Maaya said, turning around with a grin. Her eyes grew wide as she recognized the speaker. Long platinum blond hair; it had to be Lucious Malfoy. "Oh, it's only you."
"You break my heart whenever you say those things about me," the other replied. He grabbed Maaya's hand, kissing it gently. "Greeting Miss. Sakamoto. It's nice to see you here."
Maaya slapped the other. "I wish I could say the same thing, but I can't."
"No worries, I know you're really rather thrilled to see me."
"You wish. But, why are you here? You don't live anywhere close by and you went home for the holidays."
Lucious laughed. "This, m'lady, is the only place where you can get good jokes at cheap prices."
"Lucious! Hurry up! We need to get out of here!"
The Malfoy frowned. "Until we meet again," he said, kissing her hand once again in fare well.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
Jeanne shrugged and sighed, walking over to her friend who was currently fuming. The girl rolled her eyes as Maaya was yelling after Lucious.
"Maaya, you can stop now. He doesn't really care," Jeanne said with a small smile.
The black haired Gryffindor girl blinked and turned to look at Jeanne. "Oh! Hi!" she said with a grin. "…Wait…. You saw that?"
"Yes, I did," Jeanne replied with a small nod. "Not like you really bothered to pay attention to the other people around you."
Maaya sighed this time, looking down at the ground. "Damn it…I thought that you wouldn't have seen that. I was going to go and try to find you after he left… We better get going now though…I have the gifts!"
"Ok, fine. Go and pay and I'll meet you outside. I'll be sitting down on the bench outside."
Maaya nodded and bounced off with a smile, making her way through the crowds once again.
Jeanne shook her head and walked outside within a couple of moments. The girl looked over and took a seat on the bench, pulling her golden and red striped scarf closer to her neck. She shivered a bit as the snow started to fall down in thicker clumps.
"I'm back!" Maaya's chipper voice rang throughout the air and Jeanne looked over at the other Gryffindor. "Time to go and meet the others!" She held a small bag in her hands and it looked like it was filled with items.
"Yeah," Jeanne agreed, getting up off of the bench and rubbing her gloved hands together for some more warmth.
The girls both started off to the Three Broomsticks.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
Maaya and Jeanne seemed to be the last ones to arrive at the small and bustling place. They were greeted by waves and greetings. The girls quickly took their seats with the others and the large group started to talk about their time at Hogsmeade.
"So, how do you like Hogsmeade?" Maaya asked the four travelers.
"It's…different," Syaoran replied. "But, it's something I would expect this world to have since we saw Diagon Alley earlier in the year."
"How could we forget that?" James asked. "That was an adventure in itself."
"And so fun!" Maaya added, getting odd looks and stares from James and Sirius. The two boys had sort of liked the trip, but all in all, they thought they could have probably found something better to do with their time.
"You're bloody mad…" Sirius said.
"Doy."
"Back to the conversation!" Jeanne said. "Sakura, what was your opinion?"
"It was fun!" Sakura said with a small, sleepy exclamation.
"And I found this experience to be rather thrilling. It was amazing, even if we did get lost sometimes..."
Kurogane didn't reply, he just took a sip of his butterbeer without a sound.
"That's good," Lily said with a nod.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
Syaoran, Kurogane, and Fai sat in their common room, looking at each other. There was a serious mood in the air, despite the fun atmosphere of Hogwarts. Sakura was sleeping silently on the couch next to Syaoran.
"We've been here too long," Kurogane said.
"Yeah," Syaoran replied. "It's been a decent amount of time and the feather hasn't really appeared and Mokona hasn't sensed anything. I'm wondering if there's a feather here or not."
"Yes! There is!" Mokona said, hoping off the back of the couch and landing on Fai's head. "Mokona can feel it sending out some waves of energy, but Mokona's not able to figure out where it is though."
"But why hasn't it made an appearance before?" Fai asked.
Mokona made a small shrugging notation and sighed. "That's what Mokona doesn't get."
Syaoran, Fai, and Kurogane all nodded. "Looks like we're going to have to stay here for a while," Fai said with a smile. "I'm hoping our new friends will be happy that we'll be able to stay here for a while."
"Yeah, but it's going to be harder to leave if we stay here for along time," Kurogane said. "We shouldn't become too attached to them."
"You're right Kurogane-san, but we're going to have to stay with them for some time because they know their way around here and we're going to need people to help us get around."
"I'm just saying that the more time you spend with them, you're going to become better friends with them and it's going to be a lot harder to leave."
The two males just nodded. "If that's done," Fai said, standing up and yawning. "Then we better get going to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow to go and meet the others at breakfast."
Syaoran, Kurogane and Fai all nodded. Syaoran picked Sakura up off the couch and carried the girl up to her room. He came back down soon after and bid the two good night before he went to his own room. Mokona bounded up the stairs after Syaoran.
Fai looked at Kurogane. "Well, you really know that we're all starting to like the others. Even you."
Kurogane just looked at Fai, so the other continued. "I can see it when you hang out with them. Even though you might not act like you like anyone, you do. It's not something that will hold you down. If you find something special or even have a group of good friends, that's not something that's a weakness. It's strength. Just believe me when I say that."
With that done and said, Fai got up out of his seat. "Well, I'll be seeing you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, Kuro-mu!"
Kurogane rolled his eyes at the name and he watched as the blonde walked up the steps. He stayed downstairs, contemplating what Fai said before he too retired for the night.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Throughout Time
The sun streamed in through the window as Fai woke up. The mage yawned, untangling himself from the bed sheets. Fai got out of bed and changed quickly, brushing his hair and walking down to the common room.
Kurogane was sitting on the couch, his legs crossed as he flipped though a thick book.
"Morning Kuro-chan! Sleep well?"
The other grunted in response, not looking up from his book.
"It's time for breakfast. We should get going."
Kurogane nodded sharply, shutting his book.
"Are Sakura or Syaoran awake yet?"
"No," came the direct response from the ninja.
"Ok then, we'll meet them own at breakfast!"
"…" Fai dragged Kurogane down to the Great Hall. The two took seats at the Gryffindor table. The hall was empty and quiet, a rare sight. A few Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors sat scattered across the hall. The Slytherins didn't usually come down until a while after breakfast started. They were all mostly fashionably late.
Around fifteen minutes later, Maaya and Remus walked down, taking a seat across from Fai and Kurogane.
"Hey," Maaya said with a smile.
"Hello," Fai replied.
"Good morning," Remus greeted.
Kurogane nodded, greeting the two.
"Anything new happening?" Maaya asked in hopes of starting a conversation.
"Not really," Fai responded.
"Hmmm…Do you want to know anything about other holidays we celebrate that should be coming up in a few months?"
Fai paused. "Yeah, that sounds like it would be fun."
"Ok, have you ever heard of St. Patty's Day?"
"No, I can't say I have."
"Ah. The Slytherins take that holiday seriously. It's one of their favorite holidays."
"Why is that?"
"Well," Maaya replied. "It's quite simple. You know how the Slytherin colors are green and silver?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that makes my job easier. On St. Patrick's Day, most people in Ireland wear green. The tradition carried over to here too, and on March 17th, people are supposed to wear green. If a person doesn't, they usually get pinched.
"It's rather annoying, because the Slytherins can never be pinched because they always have to color green on, no matter what time the year. They take pride in doing around and pinching members of the other houses just because they aren't wearing green."
"And Maaya here always wears green on St. Patty's Day," Remus pointed out, looking at the two travelers. "So when they Slytherins try to pinch her, she shows them her hair tie or something like that."
"I have green socks that I use!" Maaya exclaimed. "And I have some shirts with green on them…I come prepared!"
Lily, Alice, Sirius, and Sakura soon walked in too see the group talking about different holidays.
"Looks like you're having fun," Sirius stated, walking over and taking the seat next to Remus. Lily say beside Maaya and Alice sat next to Lily.
"Yes, we are," Remus replied.
Sirius sighed and piled the sausages onto his plate. "Lovely. James should be coming down in a minute. He's talking to Syaoran and Sakura about something or other."
Fai, Kurogane, Maaya and Remus nodded. Sirius continued to shovel the food into his mouth.
"Now, let's see how long it takes for Sirius to finish his breakfast this time," Maaya said, holding a stopwatch in her hand.
Sirius stopped and glared at Maaya, but quickly continued to eat. James, Syaoran, and Sakura walked into the Great Hall as the other started to eat again.
"Good morning!" Sakura chirped with a smile as she took a seat next to Fai.
"Morning mate," James said with a grin as he sat down to Sirius, pulling a plate in front of him.
"Hey everyone," Syaoran greeted as he took the seat next to Kurogane.
The rest of breakfast passed pretty quickly and the large group soon found themselves sitting in the library, doing different assignments. James, Sirius, Kurogane, Fai, and Maaya were furiously working on an essay on the effects of the Polyjuice Potion. Lily, Alice, and Syaoran were writing their essays on Tranfiguration while Sakura, Jeanne, and Remus worked on their report on the Goblin War.
"I am so bored!" Maaya exclaimed softly, folding a piece of parchment into a paper airplane and throwing it through the air. The airplane looped upside down and flew straight towards Kurogane.
Kurogane caught the paper airplane and threw it back at Maaya. The girl sighed and unfolded the airplane and started to write down some more notes. Sirius and James doodled pictures of plans to torture Snape, but they quickly stopped when Lily and Remus turned to glare/stare at them.
Fai took his extra sheet of parchment and folded it into two cats and two dogs. He held them up with a smile, blinking and adding eyes and a mouth to the small hand puppets. Once he finished his work, the mage handed the big folded dog and handed it to Kurogane while he handed the small puppy to Syaoran. The small kitty puppet went to Sakura while he kept the bigger cat puppet for himself.
"Cute, huh?" he asked them, his eyes shining with a sort of happiness. Kurogane just stared at the piece of paper, but Syaoran and Sakura grinned and thanked Fai for the small gifts.
Time passed by rather quickly after the group started to really start to get into their writing. Lunch came by and passed quickly. The group found themselves back in the library once again and continued to work until dinner.
Dinner was finished before anyone knew it and Fai and Kurogane were once again in the common room, just sitting across from each other and watching the fire crackling. Dark shadows were cast on the walls, growing larger and smaller as the fire flickered wildly, lighting up the dark room.
The mage sighed with a slight smile. "Everything seems so peaceful right now, it's like nothing can get in the way of this cheery time of caring and joy. It's a time when…nothing can get in the way of celebration. People seem to be connected by an invisible bond, a thread of some sort. It's interesting to see."
The other looked at Fai.
"Yeah," the blonde continued. "I see what you mean. It's sort of hard to realize that something like this can go on at this time. I would really like to learn more about the holidays here; they seem so alive and cheerful. Even though it my be interesting, at the same time it's strange and unpredictable."
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
Days passed by quickly at Hogwarts. Attention wasn't on getting assignments done now, students were rushing to get last minute Christmas shopping done and over with. After all, Christmas was only two days away.
Fai, Kurogane, Remus, Maaya, James and Sirius were trotting down the halls, talking lightly and having a rather good time. Sakura and Syaoran were still sleeping last time the group checked and Lily and Alice decided to hang out and wait until the two late risers woke. Jeanne had broken off from the group earlier, claiming she had to go to the library to look up some information for Professor Slughorn.
The girl sighed, stuffing her hands into her pockets. The snow was piling up softly, getting higher and higher as the minutes passed. They started to pass by a window and Maaya looked over at it.
"The snow that's falling outside is so very peaceful. Relaxing to watch and fun to think about. The bright white color of the collection of snow stands out so magnificently against the dull landscape. Each snowflake, no matter what size or shape piles onto one another, forming one huge picture," Maaya said, stopping and sitting on the windowsill. She peered out the large window, watching the snow fall lightly down onto the large grounds.
"You sound like a poet," Fai laughed.
"Why thank you," the female beater replied with a mock bow. "Thank you! You're all so very kind!"
Sirius and James shook their heads and sighed in unison. "You two sound like your out on a date," Sirius remarked. "Go get a room."
"You're one to talk," Maaya huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at Sirius. "I've caught you making out with numerous ditzy girls before. I see you flirt in the hallways constantly. Every time I see you, you're with a different girl! And not ONCE have I told you that you sound like you were OUT ON A DATE. All right? You have no business telling me that I sound like I'm out on a date when I'm just playing around with friends!"
James chuckled. "He's on a date when you see him making out."
"I really don't care! If he's going to tell me to go get a room, then he should listen to his own advice, and he shouldn't be telling me that I sound like I'm out on a date. I'm sorry, but I can't take it when he does that. He's being rude and really, he's acting like a lousy friend!"
"Don't start fighting," Kurogane said, looking at the three Gryffindors.
Maaya stayed silent for a moment. "Whatever. I need to get out of here! I can't stand being in the same place as this rude jerk and I just can't!" The girl turned around and ran down the corridor, quickly disappearing out of sight.
"We better go and chase after her before she does anything stupid…" Remus said looking at the others. He gave Sirius and James disapproving looks before he turned around and started off after Maaya.
Sirius blinked, turning to look at James. "Doesn't she always do stupid things?"
The other shrugged and pointed to the others who were making their way out of sight. "Dunno, but we really should follow the others. They're heading off without us and I don't want to be left behind."
Sirius looked up and nodded. The two quickened their pace and followed after the group.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
"I can't believe he would say something like that…I hate his guts…" Maaya muttered fuming. She walked down the corridors, not paying attention to where she was going.
The black haired girl slowly came to a stop, looking around. "Where did I end up this time?" she asked herself softly. The Gryffindor took a step forward and rounded a corner, walking into a dimly lit hall.
The beater's eyes widened as she looked at the sight before her and the girl let out aloud scream.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
As soon as Maaya screamed, Remus, Fai and Kurogane started to run down the halls towards the source of the noise.
"It's coming from the Ravenclaw Common Room," Fai stated, looking behind him briefly.
Remus nodded and Fai turned to face forward. They quickly approached their destination. The trio stopped and Remus walked over towards Maaya, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You all right?" he asked.
The girl didn't reply. She just kept looking past him and forward.
"Maaya? Are you all right?"
It took a moment for the girl to hear the words, but she nodded slowly when he did, still looking at the object behind the other. There was a distant looking Maaya's eyes, like she was in some sort of trance.
Remus shook his head and helped the female beater to her feet and turned to look at the others. Fai and Kurogane had been staring at the same thing. Fai's eyes held mixed emotions. Anger, determination, surprise, and other emotions could be seen on the smiling face.
The prefect shook his head, turning to look at Maaya. "Think you're able to stand by yourself?" he asked after a moment or two passed. The girl blinked a few times as if finally coming back to her senses.
"Yeah," she replied with a nod. "I'll be able to stand on my own. I'm not that weak."
Remus nodded, letting go of Maaya. She swayed a bit, but regained her balance quickly. The Gryffindor prankster grinned, giving the other a thumbs up to say she was fine.
The werewolf looked away from her and cautiously started to make his way over towards the source that had drawn everyone's attention.
Emmiline was on the ground, her breathing shallow. Her blue and silver scarf lay on the ground next to her and a big feather was above the girl, just floating over her. The Ravenclaw didn't look like she was in the best of shape at the moment, and it was obvious the girl needed help.
Remus took a few more steps forward, extending his arm to shake the girl's shoulder slightly. The feather started to glow brightly, as if it were trying to keep Remus from getting to the girl. A large flash of light was emitted from the feather as soon as Remus's hand touched Emmiline's shoulder.
"What the hell's going on?" Maaya asked, her voice filled with fright and worry.
Fai and Kurogane stayed silent for a few moments before Fai responded. "That feather's giving off a lot of magical energy which is being converted to a sort of glow."
Fai wasn't willing to tell the others about Sakura's feather, and the mage knew that Kurogane probably didn't want to say anything either. Also, it wouldn't look that good if their friends knew that they were looking for a feather that was attacking Hogwarts students.
Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
Mokona's eyes widened as she looked over to Syaoran. "Mokona senses a feather!"
Syaoran's attention was immediately on Mokona. "Where?" he asked.
"Mokona doesn't know exactly! But Mokona knows it's somewhere close!"
Lily and Alice looked at Syaoran. "What are you two talking about?" Alice asked curiously.
Syaoran shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't explain right now." The teen stood up, catching Mokona as she jumped into his arms. "Please, watch over Sakura-hime while I'm gone." With that said, the Gryffindor headed out the door, leaving an amazed Alice and Lily behind him.
Lily looked over at Alice. "You stay here with Sakura," she said with a small smile. "I'm going after him. I need to find out what's going on."
Alice looked at Lily for a second before she nodded with a grin. "Alright, but you get out of here before he gets too far ahead."
Lily nodded and ran after Syaoran.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
"That makes some sense…" Maaya replied with a soft smile as she glanced at the two travelers.
Remus moved slightly with Emmiline in his arms. He shielded his eyes as the feather grew brighter as the seconds past. A strong wind seemed to come from the middle of the glow, pushing everyone backwards.
With a flash and a huge gust of wind, the feather was gone. Maaya was slumped up against the hard stone wall. Kurogane had one knee on the ground and was trying to stand up. Fai was standing, his hands behind his back. He looked pretty shocked. Remus was holding onto Emmiline.
"Man, oh man," Sirius said, whistling as he walked forward. "Looks like we missed a party."
Kurogane glared at Sirius, effectively shutting the Gryffindor up.
"Yeah," Maaya replied, rolling her eyes. "We had an excellent party which involved us getting blinded and sliding across floors."
She stood up, using the wall for support until she could stand up straight. "Quite fun really. Shame you missed it."
Everyone watched as Maaya grabbed her Daily Prophet from her pocket and rolled it up. She walked over to the two new arrivals and promptly whacked Sirius on the head three times.
"What was that for?" Sirius exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head.
"You a, being an idiot and b, for arriving late." She huffed and turned to look at Remus. "Should we get her to the Hospital Wing or what?"
Remus sighed, looking at Kurogane. "I don't know, but whatever we do, we have to d it fast. Are we going to tell a professor what happened, or are we just going to sort this by ourselves again?"
"Again?" Sirius, James and Fai chimed.
"Yes, again," Maaya replied, moving to sit on a windowsill. "This happened before; a feather appearing over Emmiline. Last time though, we decided not to tell anyone about it."
"When did this happen before?" Fai inquired, looking over at Kurogane.
"Yule Ball. Almost everyone was too drunk to do anything to help, so we just kept quiet about the whole thing," the ninja replied.
"Which seemed like the best thing to do then," Maaya continued. "But now, it might be better to tell someone…Although, I don't want to have to walk around with an escort or go to bed early. That would take the fun out of the holidays…"
Remus shook his head, standing up. "We just need to find out what's wrong with Emmiline."
"Take her to the Hospital Wing," Maaya said with a soft sigh. "We won't tell them about what just happened. I'll make up a story on the way there, agreed?"
The others nodded and they all started off to the Hospital Wing.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
Syaoran ran down the halls, getting Mokona's directions from time to time. He knew Lily was behind him. He heard her footsteps echo throughout the large, empty corridor. The teen didn't stop her from coming along, and he didn't know why.
"The feather's presence is gone!" Mokona exclaimed from Syaoran's arms.
"What?" Syaoran asked, skidding to a halt. He shook his head. "Maybe if we keep heading in this direction, we can find something," he muttered to himself as he started on his way again.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
Maaya was the first to turn the corner. She was in such a hurry she wasn't looking where she was going. That might have been the reason why the girl rammed into Syaoran as soon as she turned.
"Yo! What are you trying to do? Kill me?" she exclaimed, looking at the other. "Ah. Sorry. Didn't know it was you. Now get up and follow me." Syaoran didn't have any time to reply because Maaya got up and grabbed the other's wrist, quickly walking in the direction Syaoran had come.
"We need to get to the Hospital Wing ASAP. No time to really explain. Lily! Watch out, the others are coming behind me. I was sent out first so that I could tell Madam Pomfrey Emmiline's coming.
"DON'T ASK QUESTIONS! Now COME ON!"
Maaya mentally sighed. So much for that carefree break she wanted.
The Adventures of the Fellowship Through Time
Pookian sat on Maaya's bed, sighing. "Pookie, Pookie, Pookie, Pookie. She come back by now." The little Kurogane jumped. His eyes widened as he found the bed was springy.
"Fun!" he exclaimed as he continued to jump on Maaya's bed.
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Alchemy: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I hope the next one will be up soon. Once again, sorry!