AN: Chapter 16 of 18 is here! Two more to go! Brace yourselves (I mean it. No I really mean it this time. Batten down the hatches, prepare for cliff-hangers, and ready your pitchforks because you're going to want to skewer me on them). This ends in a cliff-hanger and so will chapter 17 (come on guys, what did you expect – it's me XD). That said, I changed the end of this so the cliff-hanger is not as bad as it was originally. ENJOY! And thank you for being patient while I prioritized my grad school work. I love y'all 3.
Special shout outs to Rainon Saturn, Pump Ink, Deannalaurend, and Convergence Eternal who have been really encouraging and occasionally check in to make sure I haven't gotten trapped in a textbook or something. XD
Disclaimer: See chapter one
Last Time on Sailor Moon H: In the shock of the year, Bellatrix Lestrange and the Wizard in White attacked the village of Hogsmeade, causing chaos whilst the Wizard confronted Sailor Moon inside Mme. Puddifoot's. The Senshi won. And Lestrange is dead – at the hand of Neville Longbottom. But the wizard has escaped, and the strange magic Lestrange used to attack is forefront in the senshi's minds.
Mysteries are about to be solved – but will the senshi like the answers?
Hook, Line, and Sinker
"So she's dead then," Mina reasoned as she'd paced back and forth across Setsuna's living room Saturday evening while the rest of the school was at supper. "You don't come back from Basilisk-infused stabbing, right? We can cross Lestrange off our list."
"She could still have more enhanced creatures to contend with," Michiru pointed out. "And as Hotaru and Usagi cannot always be there…"
"About those: why are they so hard to kill?" Makoto complained; her arms were crossed as she leaned on the arm of a couch. "Even when Sailor Moon attacked them that… dark energy escaped."
"I think..." Ami's soft voice quieted the room. Mina stopped her pacing as Ami raised her hands, gesturing as she explained. "I think I have a theory." She looked at Usagi. "Today, you tried to use the Silver Crystal, and the magic escaped."
Usagi nodded.
"And in September," Ami said, "You used the Silver Crystal on Voldemort's ring, and the horcrux escaped."
"No," Mina and Makoto whispered. Everyone on the couches sat up straighter.
Ami was nodding. "We assumed the Horcrux had just felt the threat, but I am not sure that's it after today." She retrained her gaze on Usagi, who was holding the silver crystal's locket. "That magic is designed to purify and heal – to bring things back together. We saw Voldemort's horcrux try to bind itself to the Basilisk – the closest dark thing with a connection to him. And today, when your power hit Lestrange's, it immediately returned to her."
"And she was stronger afterwards," Setsuna recalled. "Not just from the Silver Crystal's power perhaps, but from that magic or horcrux reuniting with her."
"Horcrux…" Michiru murmured looking down into her mirror.
It was as if a dementor had swept through the room, ushering in a sudden chill and sweeping away all their hard-won triumph.
"She shouldn't have any," Setsuna murmured, shaking her head. "That's… alarmingly different."
"It must be the Wizard's influence," Megumi whispered.
"He could have taught her," Michiru murmured. She stared into the Aqua Mirror for a minute, and looked up when the mirror went dark. "She does have Horcruxes… I can't see how many."
"We'll have to find all of them," Rei determined.
~SMH~
Saturday at 21:00, hours after the chaos in Hogsmeade had ended, the golden trio were the only people in Gryffindor's common room. This was largely due to the way Hermione was prowling back and forth in front of the hearth. Her hair, extra frazzled from the Hogsmeade battle, lent the appearance of some wild cat with all its hackles raised. Between the pacing and the glare she threw at anyone who made the slightest noise, the common room had emptied out quickly.
Ron and Harry sat on one of the couches watching her pace, a neglected chess game set up before them on the coffee table. Their nerves were just as high as hers. One could tell in the way Ron's leg bounced where it was balanced on his knee and the way he spun a poor, captive bishop between his fingers. Harry, for his part, had his wand at the ready, feeling the need to make up for how useless he had been when detention had kept him away from the Hogsmeade battle.
He'd been itching for information ever since Ginny and Luna had first rushed past him into the common room on their way back (with a very pale Neville Longbottom) and disappeared up to the boy's dorm. Harry had been left pacing after that, simmering with questions that boiled over as soon as Hermione and Ron had come through the portrait hole.
The resulting explosion of temper – from he and Hermione – had sent most of those in the common room scattering, and had left Harry without the energy to keep stewing and pacing. Now he watched Hermione do it for him, a bit grateful that at least he wasn't the only one without the answers he wanted.
"I say," one of the red knights on Ron's side of the chessboard squawked. "If you don't give an order in five seconds I will be sending our Rook to C…"
"Shhh!" Hermione hissed. And Ron raised his eyebrows as his most talkative piece snapped its jaw shut and shivered at the look Hermione sent it.
The chessboard didn't make another noise.
Hermione carried on pacing.
The knights on the chessboard began miming their desired moves to the other pieces.
Finally, at 21:29, the only sound Hermione wanted to hear (the groaning of the portrait hole door) ended the silence in the common room. All three of the golden trio's heads snapped to the entryway as three sixth year senshi and their first year tag-along tumbled through.
"There you are!"
The volume of Hermione's voice made all four returning senshi jump (Sora Kaioh knocked over a nearby coat rack). Harry noticed their injuries from the battle seemed to be healed or fading, though their pallor, the slump of their shoulders, and their downcast faces made them appear far too exhausted for the early hour.
"Hi guys," Usagi whispered, looking around the empty common room, frowning. "Where's Neville?"
"I expect that he's in bed," Hermione huffed. "And all I can get out of Ginny and Luna is that Lestrange was involved." She put her fisted hands on her hips. "What happened?"
"Could we save it for tomorrow?" Mina yawned, loath to re-hash the events of the day any more than they already had.
"Oh, of course," Hermione seethed, making everyone else in the room stiffen. "Of course: Save it for tomorrow. It isn't like some of us have been left fretting over every rumor that spread through the Great Hall this evening while the rest of you disappeared to have a meeting all by yourselves…"
"Hermione…" Usagi whispered.
"I suppose it's fine," Hermione pressed on, pace quickening as her words ran together. "I get it: you have your own team, and your own… thing. And just because we're in the Order doesn't mean we get to know everything you do, since clearly you're not just students."
"Do we have to do this now?" Sora sulked. Usagi put her hand on her shoulder.
And Hermione kept going. "But despite that I still think – given all our other missions together and the fact that Ron and I spent this afternoon guarding every student in Hogsmeade – which Harry would have done too of course," Hermione said as she gestured to the two boys, both watching her warily from the couch. "And we did all that while God knows what happened in the main square to keep you all away. We did all that while worrying about you, and Lestrange, and everyone in Puddifoot's, and Neville whom apparently something's happened to that Ginny refuses to tell me." Hermione finally drew a breath. "I think… given all that, we deserved better than to get left behind while you all go to discuss everything – to say nothing for the fact that she," Hermione waved emphatically at Sora. "Get's to be included while prefects get left in the dark."
"Well excuse us," Rei growled as she stepped further into the common room. "If it was bit too urgent to take a roll call of people who deserved to know." She matched Hermione's stern look with one of equal intensity, so much so that it might have been either or both of them whose magic caused the hearth fire to suddenly pop and spew cinders across the floor. "As I recall," Rei seethed. "You and Ron had prefect duties right after we returned. And Harry was coming back from detention. We had urgent things we needed to discuss about the battle right then. Are you really suggesting we should have waited until it fit your schedule?"
Hermione's face had turned quite purple and her fists trembled by her side. Ron elbowed Harry to budge over on the couch so they could both be a bit further from her. "I'm not… saying that," Hermione whispered. "I…just… just uuugh!" She threw her hands up in frustration and strode to the nearest armchair, throwing herself onto it. "We spent the day putting up blasting wards and dodging curses and pulling students out of a burning joke shop and… and we couldn't imagine what could be keeping you all so busy that you weren't there. I was… b-bloody," she made a face as she swore, "bloody terrified."
The senshi all looked at each other, and at Ron and Harry.
And then Usagi cleared her throat. "We're sorry, Hermione," she said. "We all just… needed to understand what happened in Hogsmeade. It really couldn't wait." She walked across the room to Hermione's chair and smiled as she held out her hand to her. "Next time we'll try to let you know where we're going – even if you can't be there."
Hermione let out a long sigh through her nose and clasped Usagi's hand. "We were worried all afternoon," she began explaining again. "We didn't know what happened to you."
"Well, we're fine," Mina interjected, striding over to the other armchair across from Hermione and plopping down onto it. Rei and Sora followed: Rei sliding onto the arm of Mina's chair and Sora sitting down in front of the fireplace. Mina looked over at Harry and Ron. "Surprised it wasn't you blowing up at us," she said to Harry.
Beet-faced, Harry cleared his throat and mumbled about how Hermione had covered everything. He adjusted his position on the couch so he was facing Mina. Ron moved as well, leaning over to pack up the chess game.
Mina looked from Rei, to Usagi, to the peculiarly quiet Sora, and then back to Usagi. "Can we tell them?" she asked her and chuckled. "Still not used to sharing."
Usagi nodded. "We should," she whispered. "They need to know."
"Know wha.." Ron started to say, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the dorms over their heads. They all looked towards the stairs in time to see Ginny and then Luna emerge from the boy's dormitories.
"Starting without me?" Ginny quipped as she hopped up onto the arm of the couch close to Harry – so close that her socks brushed his calves.
"How is he?" Usagi demanded, hands digging into the back of Hermione's chair.
"Sleeping," Ginny offered and sighed, slouching back against the couch.
"He isn't really up to seeing anyone right now," Luna whispered, directing kind eyes at Usagi as she fiddled with her earrings. "But I think he will very much want to speak to you tomorrow."
Usagi whispered her thanks.
And then Luna looked down at her feet, scuffing them against the rug. "Is… Lestrange really dead?"
"WHAT!" Harry, Ron and Hermione all exclaimed at the same time. Harry rocketed off of the couch. Ron dropped the bishop he'd been spinning.
The senshi looked at each other and sighed.
"Might as well start with that," Mina said. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's… complicated"
SMH
Makoto and Akira stopped at the kitchens on their way down to Hufflepuff. They entered the common room laden down with armfuls of chocolate treats.
But the common room was emptier than either of them would have guessed. There were just a few seventh years bent over the study tables next to mountains of textbooks, and a large group of first and second years packed together around an exploding snap game.
Akira and Makoto looked at each other and shrugged. "Meet you by the fire?" Akira asked.
"Sure."
Akira then veered left, bringing her smaller armful of chocolate around to the study tables.
Makoto went right, and grinned when the exploding snap players noticed her and scrambled up to grab the chocolate."Did everyone turn in early?" she asked as the chocolate was passed around.
"Some," Rose Zeller told her through a mouthful of chocolate. "Loads are still at the hospital wing, I think."
"Abbott's around," a first year piped up. "She said if anyone tries to break curfew she'll know and we'll be 'sorry'," he made air quotes and rolled his eyes. "She isn't even patrolling tonight."
"Yah," Rose added. "All the prefects are down in your dorm talking about Voldemort and stuff."
"You can't say his name!" one of the pureblood first years hissed.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Why? Will I get dark magic cooties?"
"Probably!" the pureblood kid exclaimed. Makoto couldn't help snickering along with the younger students. The first year blushed. "What?"
"Do you know what a cootie is?" Rose snickered.
"No, but I bet it's bad."
Mako shook her head and carried the rest of her chocolate over to the coffee table by the fire. Akira had already dropped the rest of hers there. But she wasn't sitting in the armchairs. Makoto frowned. "Kid?"
"Over here," Akira's voice came from behind one of the large, black armchairs. Makoto walked around, spotting her just as Akira stood up, swaying, arms full of a heavy birch log from the woodpile.
"Can't you leviosa that?" Makoto chuckled. "Here." She reached down and picked the log up easily in one hand.
"Thanks," Akira sighed, trailing behind Makoto as she walked to the fire and chucked the log in. The white birch bark crackled as the fire made it shrink and crack. "Didn't want to use magic," she said; she sat down so close to the fresh flames rising out of the coals that sparks spat onto her robes. "Sometimes extra magic messes up mine."
Makoto sank down onto the rug a bit further back, leaning against the armchair. "Right, hang on." She drew her wand and checked around. The seventh years were engrossed in their books; none of the first and second years were looking their way. Silently, Mako cast a notice-me-not-charm around the two of them.
Akira had her hands together and eyes closed as she settled into the same kind of meditation Rei would if she wanted to see something in the fire.
Makoto gasped quietly as the fire began to change: two dark and one white figure formed from the flames: a dementor, Lestrange, and the wizard. They got bigger and more detailed as the fire grew. Makoto saw Lestrange, the wizard hovering close, draw her wand on the dementor, casting a spell that glowed pink and black. It struck the dementor.
"This is from October," Mako whispered.
"It's what I saw." Akira whispered, as the fire focused on the dementor. "I've always focused on Lestrange or the Wizard before… Never on this spell."
Makoto leaned closer as the dementor grew larger, and larger, until the shape of it had grown too big for the flames and the whole fire had turned black.
"Let me see," Akira murmured.
Makoto held her breath as a pink light appeared amid the black flames, a fragment of glass, or something like it. She squinted at the thing in the fire. "That looks like a star seed," she muttered.
"It is," Akira said as the rest of the crystal appeared. The shard a perfect fit. "Lestrange conjured her own and broke a piece to become a horcrux."
Makoto felt her stomach churn. "It really is a piece of her soul." She muttered. "That's sick." She watched the image in the flames waver. "What happened to that Horcrux?"
"It was the Dementor at the prison," Akira whispered. The fire turned orange again, a small image of a dementor floating there. Mako watched as the flames turned white, spewing sparks. The moon's symbol appeared as the dementor's image was shredded, leaving just the pink shard of crystal. Immediately, the flames grew higher, and the crystal shard wavered and began to warp into a chaotic mess of dark energy. "Sailor Moon destabilized it…" They saw the symbol of Saturn appear over the flames, and the dark energy freeze and flicker away.
"And Saturn killed it," Makoto murmured. At least they'd destroyed one already. But we don't know how many Lestrange has made, Makoto thought, or if she's done.
"And Sailor Moon killed the one today," Akira whispered. "What happened?"
"She destroyed the golems," Makoto said, watching something similar play out in Akira's fire: A golem vanishing in the white flames as the Moon's symbol flashed. "And there was a crystal shard, I think. But it changed just like that."
"And it flew towards the forest,"
"Looking for a place to hide," Makoto muttered. "Then Sailor Moon used the Silver Crystal." She watched the flames as the moon's symbol appeared and the chaotic energy froze and turned bright, glittering white, just as it had over Hogsmeade that afternoon.
"And it returned to Lestrange," Akira snapped her eyes open for a moment as the image of a star seed appeared there. "Now she can remake the Horcrux all over again."
"Fantastic," Makoto said. She twirled her wand between her fingers as the flames turned black, and the image of a star seed once more appeared in the flames.
"How many are there?" Akira asked.
In response, the fire crackled, the image it held flickered as the flames waxed and waned rapidly. Makoto could see Akira biting her lip as she worked.
Then the crystal in the fire fissured at the bottom, and two small pieces splintered away, floating separately in the black flames.
Two other Horcruxes. Makoto sighed. It was not good, but not as bad as they'd feared.
"There's something strange…" Akira whispered. Makoto narrowed her eyes and looked at the flames. There was: the image of the star seed was still cracking, forming a new shard that had yet to separate.
"What's that mean?"
Akira was silent for a few minutes, sweat trailing down from her temple. Finally she sighed, her shoulders sagged as the flames simmered down, returning to their normal orange.
Makoto went to her, putting her arm around the first year's shoulders. "What is it?"
Akira looked up. "It's hard to see," Akira pouted. "Not without having a Horcrux here," She shook her head. "I think there'll be another one soon." She whispered. "I can feel it: She's… preparing."
Then there'll three to find, Makoto thought as she reached back to the coffee table and grabbed chocolate for Akira. How fast can she make more of these?
I wonder how many the Wizard in White has, she thought.
"Don't worry," she told Akira, "We'll find them."
She hoped Ami was having better luck.
~SMH~
The door to the Ravenclaw library swung open for Luna Lovegood as she approached, almost as if it were expecting her. She whispered a thank you to the considerate door on her way by, and rubbed her eyes.
It had been a very long day. Her back still felt the impact of being thrown off the roof, and then of helping Ginny drag an emotionally stunned Neville up to bed.
She wended a familiar path through the winding stacks of books, fingers tracing along the spines as she navigated to the very back of the room.
As expected, Ami was there: wrapped in a Ravenclaw-blue cloak and scarf to ward off the ever-present draft. She was curled up a navy blue armchair, with a book in her lap and one hovering beside her. A stack of similarly old tomes and parchment scrolls hovered beside her chair.
Luna settled into her usual armchair and pulled her wand out from behind her ear. What did she want? I should research with her, but I think I'll be dreadful at it at the moment, Luna thought. Perhaps something to cheer me up. "Accio Fantastic Beasts." she declared.A nearby copy with original, yellow pages and hand-drawn sketches of everything from the Southwestern Thunderbird to the Amortemptuous Toad flew into her hands. She smiled as she ran her fingers across the old embossed letters.
"How's Neville?" Ami asked without looking up from her reading.
"Sleeping. I expect Usagi is in a chair by his bed now," Luna said as she paged open the book. "Is that about Horcruxes."
Ami held up the book in her lap. "A History of the Dark in Britain." She said, then tapped her wand against the book hovering near her face."And this one's The Ancient 28," Ami's eyes swept over one of the pages. She pointed her wand at it. A slim bookmark crackled as it stuck itself to the parchment. Ami turned the page "Lots of information about the Blacks, Lestranges, and all the rest." She turned back to the book in her lap. "I want a good idea of what vessels Lestrange might use and where she might hide them," Ami frowned. "If she hides them."
Luna swallowed hard, turning her focus back to the delicate penciled scales of a Hinky Punk."And Megumi's not helping you," Luna said.
"She said she needed to check the time dimension," Ami said and smirked. "Which of course means she's got something she's not allowed to say about the future, and she's afraid I'll ask her about it." She flipped the page in her book. "Your prophecy, for one."
Luna gulped, briefly looking away from her book. "Did that come up at your meeting?"
"Only briefly," Ami said. "We were trying to figure out who you might have said it to. But there's only one S.P. in the Order and only one at Hogwarts."
"Sturgis Podmore," Luna nodded. "I had thought of him, but he got imperiused before I made the prophecy. And at Hogwarts..."
"Sammy Peaks."
Luna nodded. "Ginny and I already talked to him. He looked quite pale, but that might have been because Ginny had her sword. But anyways, the nargles are quite sure he's telling the truth." She tapped her fingers on top of her book as she thought. "The chosen one becomes a pair…" She looked over at Ami. "That's about Lestrange isn't it?"
"That's what Setsuna and Megumi think," Ami said. "There's a chosen one to stop Voldemort. Now there will be one to stop Lestrange." She frowned. "What we're weren't sure of is whether the circumstances would be the same as they were the first time."
Luna nodded. A feeling came over her. "But you know now," she murmured. "That's something Megumi knows and you asked her."
"I really appreciate how you can know that, how ever you do," Ami said. "Yes I did ask her. And she said the circumstances will be different. Which is good for us, we won't be looking for a 2-year-old orphan." She added another bookmark to each of her books. "But that was all she'd say."
"She holds back a lot," Luna thought, staring past the long-ago memorized text of her favorite book as she considered Megumi. "And there's plenty more questions you want to ask her." Luna frowned. "Why don't you?"
Ami smiled. "I may not be a Guardian of Time," she said. "And I may not be the best with people. But I am a chess player. And those instincts say if I press Megumi with questions now, before the need is urgent, she'll lie, or refuse to answer, or run off to watch time like Setsuna does when she gets nervous." She made another note in one of her books. "And then that would make her much less likely to tell me anything in the future. Whereas if I wait," she explained. "That shows her I trust her judgment, which will help her trust me. And then, in the future, if there is something urgent I need to know and the need is clear, she'll be more likely to answer my questions."
"That sounds like you're actually quite good with people." Luna mused.
Ami chuckled. "Adults, no," she said. "Children… they're easier to understand." Then she looked up, blinking owlishly towards the door. "Speaking of… Hotaru ought to be back by now."
"She's still with Professor Meioh, I believe," Luna said. "Probably Chibiusa as well." She turned the page in her own book and smiled at the charred, moving sketch of the phoenix. "Is she still going to have to kill Nephrite?"
"We haven't thought of another option, so yes," Ami sighed. "And of course Setsuna would talk to her about that, I know it's been bothering her." She shook her head. "I feel guilty – I should find something that can help us with him."
"Maybe you're not the one meant to find the solution," Luna pointed out.
"Well if anyone could it would be Hotaru," Ami said. "She understands souls and things much better than the rest of us." She frowned. "But she also says there's no chance."
"Well that's no way to think," Luna said. "There's always a chance." And as she said so another feeling came over her, one that bore the same sort of conviction she'd felt when she'd first caught a glimpse of Ginny Weasley and knew immediately she'd found a friend. "Perhaps I should talk to Hotaru," Luna mused.
"Maybe," Ami said. "Perhaps you'll be able to see something she's missing."
~SMH~
"We'll dig through the library at Grimmauld," Haruka promised after she had hugged Hotaru. Michiru had already grabbed the floo powder for them both. All save Chibiusa had returned to their common rooms.
"Sirius may have a few ideas where Lestrange might hide Horcruxes of her own," Michiru said. "And what she might do with them."
"Let's keep it between our group," Haruka advised. "There's a reason Dumbledore's never told all the Order about Voldemort's Horcruxes,
"It would demoralize the ranks," Setsuna nodded. She looked off to the left. "You might tell Andromeda Tonks though. And… Narcissa."
"Malfoy!" Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru exclaimed.
"Is she Draco's Mom?" Chibiusa said, wrinkling her nose.
"And Bellatrix and Andromeda's sister," Setsuna nodded, fixing her eyes back on Haruka and Michiru. "Not yet, not directly. But soon…" she frowned for a moment. "I'll try to keep an eye on her."
"Alright," Haruka nodded. Then she reached out, squeezing Setsuna's arm. "Take care of yourself."
"I do!"
"We still worry," Michiru said as Haruka stepped back and linked arms with her. She looked down at Hotaru and Chibiusa. "Keep an eye on everyone here for us, will you?"
"We will!" they said together, Chibiusa stood up on her tiptoes. They waved Haruka and Michiru goodbye as the floo powder was thrown into the hearth, and the two of them stepped back into the bright green flames.
When they had vanished, and the flames turned back to normal, Setsuna turned to Hotaru and Chibiusa. "Are you still feeling left out?" she asked Hotaru.
Hotaru crossed her arms and shook her head. "I understand," she said with the tired tone that suggested she truly did, but by no means liked it.
"Next time, when you don't have detention," Setsuna promised. "They'll be plenty more times we'll fight this enemy... and we are going to need you for those."
Hotaru shrugged. And Setsuna frowned, kneeling down next to her. If it wasn't her non-inclusion that was bothering Hotaru, then what was it?
"Is my power really the only one that affects Horcruxes?" Hotaru asked at last.
"It is the only one that can defeat them so swiftly," Setsuna said.
"Because it destroys them."
"Yes it does," she said, "But that is not all it does."
"It kills people."
Chibiusa gasped and grabbed Hotaru by the arm. "No!"
"What?" Hotaru said, arms crossed. "It's true."
"Hotaru," Setsuna said firmly. "All of us could kill, if we so chose, if we had to. It is neither the purpose of your power, nor an inevitable result." she knelt and smoothed back Hotaru's hair. "You set things right. You maintain a balance that ensures that evil never gets the upper-hand." She smiled at her. "If anything, you are a savior." She tilted her head to the side. "Is this about Nephrite, Little One?"
Hotaru nodded and crossed her arms. "I'm the only one who can kill Horcruxes." She said. "What if you can't save him? What if I have to use the glaive on him too."
"Then you'd only do what you had to!" Chibiusa insisted. When Hotaru turned to her, about to argue, Chibiusa surged forwards and startled her with a tight hug. "Everyone would know that. I would know that." She sniffed. "You know that, don't you?"
Hotaru returned Chibiusa's hug. "Yeah. I think so." Then she sighed as Chibiusa pulled away. "But now…" She scuffed her feet. "It's different: Nephrite's not an enemy. He's just stuck. Am I gonna have to kill him to do my duty?" She looked at Setsuna. "Like in the past…" She looked down at her clenched fists. "It's not fair."
Setsuna regarded her sadly. She put her hand on Hotaru's shoulder.
"The powers of Saturn are not easy to bear," Setsuna said. "But they are no less good than any other world's. You're young yet, as you were in your past life. You've never had a chance to learn all that your powers are capable of, to fully understand them." She stood. "But the fact that you are a senshi is proof enough that Saturn's is power you can control. It's never going to control you."
Hotaru's lip wobbled. She leaned into Setsuna's arms and rested her head against her chest.
Setsuna hugged Hotaru tightly, and when she stepped away, Hotaru rubbed her eyes with her palm and smiled. "Thanks, Mama," she whispered.
"Of course. Now… I think we have just enough time before curfew…" Setsuna waved her wand, conjuring three mugs. She smirked as she saw how Hotaru and Chibiusa's faces brighten. "How's about a round of hot chocolate before bed?"
~SMH~
"Do you want me to walk you upstairs?" Setsuna asked Hotaru once the hot chocolate had been drunk and cleared away.
"No! No!" Hotaru said quickly, reaching out and linking arms with Chibiusa.
"We're gonna walk together!" Chibiusa affirmed
Setsuna quirked her eyebrow, "When your dorm is in the opposite direction? You won't get back until after curfew."
Chibiusa put her best innocent smile. "So… as long as I don't get caught."
Setsuna chuckled. "Avoid the east stairs on your way back to Slytherin."
Chibiusa grinned, "Will do." The two of them hugged Setsuna and then Chibiusa dashed off, dragging Hotaru by the hand. They pushed the door open and both turned and waved before ducking out into the hall.
Setsuna smiled and waved until they had gone. Then she raised her wand towards the door. It closed without a sound. She turned around, her smile changing swiftly into a stern, thin line. Her wand shimmered, becoming the Garnet Rod, which filled the room with bright light as she took a step forward. Sailor Pluto walked out of that light and straight through the time doors as they appeared before her.
"One last thing," Setsuna had said when Chibiusa and Hotaru were finishing their hot chocolate "Were you around any other students this afternoon?"
"No," Hotaru had shaken her head. "I was in detention the whole day."
"So you didn't see Draco Malfoy?"
"No."
"Or anyone else? In the halls? After breakfast?"
Hotaru thought and shook her head. "I was with Chibiusa and the others right after you left... and they walked me to detention with Harry." She bit her lip, still thinking, and then shook her head. "But we never saw anyone else." she said "And I didn't... feel anyone else close by."
"Good, just checking…"
Sailor Pluto narrowed her eyes as the time sands swirled. She double-checked one particular timeline to confirm her theory. As the sands swirled, she clenched her fists.
~SMH~
Severus Snape snapped his head up as the groan of two ancient doors ushered a crisp draft into his office. He looked up in time to see Sailor Pluto step out of her time doors, Garnet Rod gleaming the same furious red as her eyes.
"Hotaru was in detention with you," Pluto began without preamble.
Snape appeared nonplussed. "One which she and Mr. Potter more than deserved, I hardly see how it warrants this…" he set down his quill. "Confrontation."
"It's interesting," Pluto continued. "Because I attempted to locate her this afternoon, and had difficulty seeing her. Which," She twisted her Garnet Rod, angling the weapon slightly towards him. "As we have discussed at-length, means that she must have been in the presence of one who has taken Lestrange's potion."
Severus still looked calm as he leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands, taking care to display that he had no wand within reach.
"You've taken that potion," Pluto said.
Severus nodded, one side of his mouth curled upwards (only serving to deepen Pluto's glare). "I am the fourth potion taker," he admitted. "I took it under the pretense of being better help to Draco in his mission." He tilted his head as he regarded Pluto.
"How long?" she demanded.
"Since the middle of the summer."
"And you did not tell me, because Voldemort could have seen it in your mind."
Severus nodded. He then reached behind himself for the bottle of liquor sitting on the lower shelf behind his desk. He poured himself a drink.
Pluto clenched her hand around the Garnet Rod, feeling foolish. All year she had seen his timeline remaining on one fixed, unchanging course and had attributed it to his own stubbornness about his fate. Not once considering his true timeline was being masked.
Severus, for his part, took a long swig of his drink. "I assume," he said. "You are wondering why I intentionally took it, rather than pretending to and allowing you more avenues to predict Lestrange and Draco's actions."
Pluto only glared at him, her fingers twitching against the Garnet Rod.
Severus swirled his drink as he explained. "Feigning loyalty," he began. "Does no good if one is not willing to compromise certain things."
"You made an Unbreakable Vow," Setsuna said. "I should think that enough to gain trust."
"Of the Dark Lord, perhaps," Severus agreed. "Bellatrix Lestrange is another matter." He took another long drain of his drink and stared at the now near-empty glass. "She doesn't need to be a Legilimens to sniff out a traitor. She is disturbingly good at doing so without it."
"You still could have told me more about her plans."
"I didn't know them," Severus said. "She delights in giving away as little information as possible, to as few people. What I knew were bits and pieces. It has taken quite a while to be trusted with… more." He looked sharply towards her, the lamplight glinted in his coal-black eyes. "And with a little more time, I am hopeful that this deception will be worth both our whiles." He set his glass down with a clink. "At the moment, Lestrange and the Dark Lord are planning something both consider of utmost importance – it concerns what should be done with that locket."
The horcrux… Zoisite.
"You know where it is?" Pluto demanded.
Severus shook his head. "Not yet – but the Dark Lord has tasked Bellatrix with securing a new hiding spot for it, and she has… suggested that I would be useful in crafting its defenses."
"And then you would tell us how to get it."
Severus nodded. "I assure you, Professor Meioh," he said, returning his gaze to the papers he'd been grading upon her arrival. "There will be plenty of time for you to be angry with me. I've been a spy nearly two decades now, it will hardly faze me." He picked up his quill. "I'll let you know as soon as the locket is somewhere you can re-capture it."
Pluto nodded, thinking. "You refer to Lestrange in the present," she considered. "Are you aware of what transpired this afternoon."
Severus smirked. "I was… informed. I imagine it had more to do with Longbottom's clumsiness than any skill." She was trying to decide if he looked more amused or more disturbed before he once more schooled his features. "And you're aware that her demise are complicated."
"She's made Horcruxes."
Severus gave a slight nod.
"How long will it be?"
"Before she is returned?" Severus shook his head. "I am not privy to that. I would assume if she returns with anymore haste than Voldemort, it would be the fault of that Wizard."
"What do you know of him?"
Severus thought for a few seconds. "He trusts less than Lestrange, and is a decent enough Occlumens that I dare not attempt reading him." He spun his quill in his hand. "I would say," he said, "that I believe he has his hands in many things. And has… peculiar curiosities. It would be prudent of you all to be careful."
Pluto nodded. She had expected as much.
"I may know more about their plans for the locket by the beginning of March," Severus said.
Pluto nodded again and turned around. "Until then…" she summoned her doors, stepping through as they swung open.
Severus looked away when the Time Doors began to swing closed, He directed his attention back to the paper he was grading, reaching out and dipping his quill into the ink well. As he did, he heard the creak of the ancient wood doors come to an abrupt halt. He looked up to see one side still open.
Sailor Pluto was leaning on the doorframe, regarding him impassively. "You're sure you don't know anything of how that potion is brewed?" she asked.
Severus shook his head. "I do not know anything of its origins." He looked away. "I'm sorry."
Pluto shook her head. "You know, I've done quite a bit of reading this past year. Your Unbreakable Vow is not so aptly named."
Severus stiffened; his quill skidded across the top most essay on his desk.
"If the caster dies," Pluto carried on in a neutral tone. "It's theorized the vow is dies with them and horcrux or not, that is what has happened." She waved her hand towards his right arm. "You'd do well to take another look."
And Pluto departed, her doors disappearing from his office.
As soon as she was gone, Severus carefully set down his quill and began to roll up his right sleeve. He twisted his arm this way and that, observing how the four rope-like marks that denoted each of part his vow had faded to just slightly paler than his skin.
Severus breathed a long breath out through his nose and then pinched the bridge of it. He chuckled. "Of course," he muttered bitterly, and swiveled around, grabbing his liquor once more.
Sometimes, the whole bottle was more than warranted.
~SMH~
"Nice passing today," Harry congratulated Sora Kaioh, clapping her on the shoulder as he led the team, all mud-covered and windblown from two hours of practice, up to the castle. They could just hear the whistle as Michael Corner called the Ravenclaws in to begin their own.
"Wasn't it?" Sora grinned, looking up at Ron "How's your shoulder, Weasley?"
Ron's ears turned pinked. "S'fine," he blustered. "Better than your feints."
"Good thing she's fast then," Ginny said. "Feints won't work on Slytherin anyways. You've seen their Keeper – it's like he reads minds!"
"Well don't look him in the eye then," Harry advised. "We need as many goals as possible." It'd been their mantra since Hotaru'd caught Ravenclaw a snitch against Hufflepuff in February and catapulted them into a spot in the finals. Thanks to the botched game in October, Gryffindor needed to beat Slytherin by 210 points or else it would be Hufflepuff going to the finals instead.
"Shouldn't Legilimency be banned in Quidditch?" Rei asked. She was walking beside Ginny, carrying two brooms. Mina was behind her, helping Katie with the equipment chest.
"Oh sure," Ron snorted. "If anyone could catch you."
"Evercreech's not a Legilimens," Katie Bell said, adjusting her grip on the chest. "Never could be – he hates looking people in the eye, he's just." She sighed enviously. "Insanely good at strategy."
"Which is why we need to change up our plays approaching the hoops," Harry reminded his chasers. He turned around to face them. "Remember the order is…" but he trailed off as he saw a blue-clad figure fly out of the pitch and dive down towards them. Harry squinted, spying the captain's badge gleaming on the Ravenclaw robes. What was Michael Corner doing leaving his own practice?
Corner landed in front of them, frowning and crossing his arms. "Hotaru's late. Any of you know where she is?"
"Er," Harry looked to all his teammates. "I… don't."
"With Nephrite."
Harry jumped, spinning around to see Luna just behind him, having come down from the castle's main entrance. She tilted her head and smiled pleasantly at him. "Something wrong Harry?"
"What, no," Harry bluffed, seeing Ginny smirking out the corner of his eye. He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. "Hotaru's with Nephrite?" he asked Luna
"She's skipping practice," Michael Corner fumed.
"Oh no, I don't think that's true," Luna said evenly.
"Well that's how it looks!" said Michael.
Luna shrugged, much more diplomatic than Harry and Ginny, who had started glaring at Michael. "She's not skipping," Luna repeated. Her eyes flicked to Harry. Her far away gaze sent an odd shiver down his spine. "I'm quite sure she just needs someone to help her find her way back."
Michael rolled his eyes. "Right well, she'd better be down here by the time we're done with warm up, or she can watch the finals from the bench."
"Oh, just do your chaser drills first!" Ginny snapped. And she crossed her arms. "Your defense needs work."
Michael looked about to say something rude, when he noticed the wand Ginny held casually in her hand, and perhaps recalled her fondness for hexing people. He flew off, shouting to the Ravenclaws to do five laps around the pitch.
"Their warm up usually takes fifteen minutes." Ginny bit her lip. "Do you think Hotaru just forgot?"
"Harry's going to remind her," Luna assured Ginny. "Aren't you, Harry?"
Harry gulped at the way she looked at him again, wondering how she seemed to just know and then deciding it was less of a headache not to think about. He mounted his broom. "Yeah… thanks, Luna."
He took off with a smile for Ginny and a wave to Ron, and steered his Firebolt towards the second floor, flying round the castle towards the tall windows of Professor Meioh's rooms. He slowed as he drew parallel with the castle wall, peering through the rain-streaked glass panes, until he saw a study decorated in mahogany book shelves and the blurred figure of a pale and black-haired person curled up in one of the chairs.
Harry rapped on the glass and watched Hotaru jump and spin around, turning her glaive on the window. He waved, and she frowned at him and got up to unlatch it.
"What are you doing?" Hotaru demanded, making room for Harry to drop down onto the floor of the office.
"Where's your broom?" Harry asked, scanning around Professor Meioh's study. Absently his hand went up to rub his forehead. Why did his scar itch?
"I… In my dorm, why?" Hotaru frowned.
"Well, cause you can't just fly your glaive to practice," Harry reasoned, he tucked his Firebolt over his shoulder and looked between Hotaru and the open window. "I mean you could, but I'm not sure Madame Hooch would approve."
Hotaru cocked her head to the side. "Practice…?"
Harry stared at her, hand dropping away from his scar. "You have Quidditch. Five minutes ago. Actually…" He shoved his broom towards her. "Here, take mine. It's a bit heavier, but Corner's only giving you ten minutes to show."
Hotaru reached out for it, but hesitated. She shook her head, and returned to her armchair. "It doesn't matter," she whispered as she curled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin atop her knees.
Harry gaped. "Qu – of course it matters!" Harry argued. "I'd go mad if I didn't have Quidditch. It… it bloody matters. It, you know, it's fun." Harry looked at the diadem on the desk and rubbed at the persistent itch in his scar again. "Someone else can watch this."
"I know," Hotaru said flatly as Harry walked around the chair and stood next to her. She looked up at him. Unlike they had many times before, her eyes didn't make him shiver when she trained them on him. In fact, Harry's frown deepened, she looked tired. She turned her gaze away, resettling her chin atop her knees. She resumed staring at the diadem… Nephrite… the horcrux.
"How long've you been here?" Harry asked.
"A while."
Harry thought. He leaned on his broom as he took up staring at the diadem too. He rubbed his forehead as he focused on in the small green stone that gleamed brighter than both the sapphires and diamonds around it. He wondered if this other knight, Nephrite, was aware of the horcux hijacking his soul. The though unsettled Harry greatly.
"I'll do it," Hotaru finally said, startling Harry as her whisper cut through the silent study. He looked down at her, but she was still staring at the diadem.
"Do what?"
"I'm not exactly a kid, it shouldn't bother me," she said. "It's not like I haven't done it before."
Harry watched her as she closed her eyes, and kept them closed as she took a long breath. "Nine planets for a chance at peace… Every one of the Tau for everyone on this world." She opened her eyes. "I'd have dropped the glaive on Nehelenia to… if Chibiusa'd let me."
Harry frowned, wondering. "Er… dropped it?"
"It brings death," Hotaru answered simply. "To planets… cities… whatever it needs to." Her left hand, which held the glaive, tilted it towards the diadem. "Like him."
Harry looked back at the horcrux then. "I mean… I don't, er, fancy Voldemort having horcruxes lying around, but… but aren't they looking for a way to save Nephrite?"
Hotaru shrugged, bringing the glaive back to her side. "They only want to because they want to protect me. But they don't have to." She looked at him. "I know my duty."
Harry sighed, and he turned to grab the chair on the other side of the desk. He dragged it beside hers and sat down. "Isn't there a way for you to… kill the horcrux without killing him?"
"No," Hotaru let out a short laugh. "My power doesn't work like that." She lifted her free hand and turned it, staring at her palm. "She doesn't work like that."
"S…Saturn?" Harry said slowly, mind spinning. He perhaps wasn't the best person to be having conversations about these things, he decided.
"Saturn," Hotaru confirmed. "Saturn… and Death. Death's different. Well, sort of. They're part of Saturn." She curled her fingers towards her palm, still gazing intently at it. "And Saturn's part of me."
"Is she… really that different?" Harry asked. For he'd never heard any of the other senshi express similar things.
"Yes… no." Hotaru shook her head. "She's old. She remembers when it was 2000 years ago. I don't remember all those things. I barely remember the first time I was reborn here."
Harry opened his mouth and closed it, realizing he didn't have anything to add that wasn't a question. He hunched forwards in his chair.
"Sometimes she thinks things," Hotaru confided. "And I don't agree with them. But she'll feel insistent. It's like she's saying: 'that's just how it is, Hotaru,' or 'that's just death, Hotaru,' or 'you'll understand when you're older Hotaru." She made a face. "And she is right. I mean what do I know compared to her? She is me, and she's so experienced."
"It's hard when they know more than you," Harry said, rubbing his scar as he thought of Riddle's diary. That version of Voldemort had been so easy to believe when he'd been Hotaru's age. Even when Riddle'd accused Hagrid, Harry'd struggled to disprove him. How could the word of an old Head-boy, who'd seen far more than Harry had, possibly have been wrong? "Does she want you to kill Nephrite?"
Hotaru nodded. "She thinks it's the only way, thinks Death needs to bring peace to Nephrite and punishment to Voldemort. I get it… whenever I'm around dark magic as Saturn…" She shook her head. "It's like your scar, it feels as dark as one of these," she waved her hand at the Horcrux. Harry shivered.
"Well…" He tried to joke. "You haven't tried to kill me yet."
Hotaru turned to look at him. "What is the magic in your scar?"
Harry blinked. "Uh… well… I dunno," he said. "I mean, Dumbledore doesn't know. But I guess… killing Voldemort for good's the only way to get rid of it." Was that right? Harry thought of how difficult it was to find ways to eliminate the Horcruxes. Would severing his connection to the Dark Lord really be so simple? Or would it linger?
Hotaru sighed. She was looking at the diadem again. "I guess that's another reason I should just kill him," she said, turning the glaive in her hand. "So you're one step closer to being free."
"Well, don't listen to Saturn just yet," Harry argued, rubbing his scar again. It's as dark as a Horcrux? he wondered. Is that why the diadem's making my scar itch?
But it didn't react around all dark magic, or even all dark magic cast by Voldemort. Just… Just the Horcruxes… Harry realized for it had reacted this way around the ring and diary now.
Harry shook his head, trying to clear it. "The others still have time to save Nephrite."
"I know, but Saturn still feels the same." Hotaru shook her head. "She thinks so differently."
"Jadeite lived a whole different life than me," Ginny had confided to Harry over the summer. And I don't even think about it usually. It's just, well I don't know. Mum says I'm different. Am I acting different? Does that mean Jadeite's not me?" Harry thought of what he'd said to Ginny back then and repeated it to Hotaru. "But you're not different people," he told her, just as he'd told Ginny then. "She's still you. You're just… more… You know, just because she's older doesn't mean she's right." He shifted in his seat. "What's the point in having two lives if you can't learn or, or change things."
Hotaru smiled at him. "I wish it worked like that." She shook her head. "Mama-Suna says I'll figure it out in time… Thanks for trying, Harry."
He cleared his throat. "Just… think about it at Quidditch okay." He gestured to his broom, still sitting by the window. "Take mine. I'll watch Nephrite till someone else gets here."
Hotaru looked between him and the diadem. "Well…"
"Go," Harry insisted. He grinned. "Unless you're just going to forfeit the Snitch to me in the Championship."
It worked. She turned bright red and launched out of her chair. "Who say's you're the one whose going to get it!" Hotaru said. "I'll fly circles around you."
"Only if you practice," Harry countered. "Corner said he'd, bench you. And then Terry Boot takes your spot." He cast a time-charm. "You've got two minutes."
Hotaru squeaked. She dashed to the window, grabbing Harry's Firebolt as she climbed up onto the wide windowsill. "There's some research books about horcrux-stuff on the desk," Hotaru said as she mounted the broom. "I'll be back."
"Just go!" Harry urged her, watching as she nodded and leapt into the air, the Firebolt jolting forwards as she sped off towards the pitch.
~SMH~
Two weeks after the Battle at Hogsmeade, twin pairs of boots crunched in the ice-crusted snow: One set pink with pompoms on the laces. The second set larger, plain black, with scuffmarks over the tops. The young, Gryffindor couple wearing them walked close together as they wound their way around the far side of the lake: Their shoulders brushed as they went. Their mitten-covered hands were clasped together.
Usually holding Usagi's hand made Neville feel warm. Now though, all he felt was numb, from his toes inside his boots to the tops of his ears. It wasn't the cold. Rather, it was what Usagi had just told him on their way across the grounds.
"So… she's not gone?" Neville asked.
Usagi drew closer to him, shaking her head against his shoulder. "I wanted to wait a bit to tell you. I'm sorry." Rei and Akira had confirmed what they'd feared: Lestrange did indeed have Horcruxes that would bring her back into the war.
Neville swallowed the lump of fear in his throat. He'd just started to let himself feel good about not having Lestrange looming over his life. Now… "I couldn't believe it when I did it," he said. "When she fell off the roof… I kept waiting for her to apparate behind me and-and stab me or something."
Usagi held tighter to his arm.
Another terrible thought struck him. "Does she need my blood?" he fretted, recalling Harry's account of how Voldemort had been resurrected. "Or, or one of my family?" What if she goes after Gran? Neville thought. She's got her bodyguard, but she's still out and about every day.
"No." Usagi swore. She shook her head and squeezing his hand. "No, I won't let them. And I won't let them come after you either."
He managed a small smile. "Funny: you say that, and I believe you. I don't know why I believe you. I mean… I used to have nightmares about her when I was younger and I wouldn't even believe Gran saying she was in Azkaban."
Usagi responded by tucking herself even closer to him. It was a wonder they both didn't trip on each other's feet, Neville mused. They were each quite prone to such things after all. But he had become quite in sync with her over the past few months, and their feet moved step for step, perfectly matched to each other's stride.
"It must be hard," Usagi said. "You have to deal with killing someone, and learning they can come back and you might not be rid of them for a while."
"I…" Neville sighed. "Yeah." He watched their feet. "Surprised everyone's been so understanding actually. I mean… She's evil. I know that. I've always known that. I shouldn't feel guilty."
"Why shouldn't you?" Usagi asked, tugging them to a halt. "I would."
"Really?" Neville asked.
"Mhmm." Usagi took off one of her mittens so she could reach up and cup his cheek. "I mean that… there's some enemies that are just evil, but people… they can be evil, but they don't have to be. I always try to reason with them." She shook her head. "If I have to kill them, even if it's necessary, I always feel a little guilty that I couldn't find a way to reach them."
Neville took off one of his own mittens so he could cover her hand with his own. "Does it get easier?"
Usagi smiled in a sad sort of way. "Is it terrible if I say yes?" she shook her head. "If I've tried reason, and it doesn't work, then I still need to protect other people, to protect my friends. I'll still regret it. But I'll know it was necessary." She looked out at the pristine snow. "I make my peace with it, I suppose." Then she looked back at him. "The hard part isn't feeling guilty though, it's…"
"Feeling happy about it," Neville nodded, as their hands fell, still clasped between them. "I'm relieved that she's dead, well not anymore I guess. Happy I did it. Happy she couldn't scare me anymore… happy I could tell Mum and Dad and Gran…" He blushed and looked down. "Am I allowed to be happy about it?"
"Yes," Usagi answered simply. "A lot of other people were." The day after the news had hit The Prophet, they'd seen fireworks going up over Hogsmeade.
"Gin said the same," Neville said. "I think word's gotten around too. I keep finding sweets and things turning up by my bed. And Fred and George sent me a Deluxe Prank Box." He thought a moment. "Surprised Colin hasn't tried to photograph me."
"I think Ginny had something to do with that," Usagi confided. She sighed. "I'm sorry it didn't stay secret."
"Doesn't matter, I guess; since she's not really dead." Neville shivered. And let out another sigh of his own. "Figures, really."
Usagi hummed and hugged him. Thus entwined, they resumed their walk. "I don't know if I could do it again," Neville said. "Even just a horcrux of hers would probably be pretty powerful."
"Well she's not more powerful than all of us together," Usagi said. "We can beat her and Voldemort."
"How though?"
Usagi ducked her head as she smiled. "You said you believed in me, didn't you?" She tightened her arm around his waist and looked up at him. "Well I believe in us - uh." Then she hastily looked away as she blushed. "Everyone, I mean," she tried to fib. Her heart began to race fast. "Everyone together we can do it – we'll figure out how along the way." She broke out in a startling laugh then, and elbowed his ribs. "You know I wish the same was true for exams."
He chuckled as well, seemingly not noticing what she'd nearly said. "If only. But hey you've made it this far."
"I know." Usagi groaned. "Hermione's already talking about finals."
"But… but it's barely March."
"You'd think, right," Usagi agreed, and they carried on. Her slip-of-the-tongue was lost in conversation, but recalled in her now sweaty palms, and the blush that lingered on her face.
I believe in us… Usagi considered. She recognized what feeling that must lead to and mulling it over. I forget he's not Mamo-chan, she thought. She didn't know of course, but she'd spent far too long trying to ignore who Mamoru might be to let the thoughts consume her now. Instead she smiled and pressed her free hand over the Silver Crystal's locket where it rested under her robes. Mamo or not, she liked feeling this way about Neville just the same.
~SMH~
"AND THEY'RE OFF!" Akira Hino cheered as scarlet and green clad Quidditch players converged at the centerline. Ginny Weasley nabbed the Quaffle right out from under the Slytherin lead's nose and dashed off ahead of bludgers from Goyle and Crabbe; Gryffindor's own beaters soared in to head them off.
Harry Potter flew above the melee, glancing away to check the crowd as Akira called the first goal: "10 – 0 GRYFFINDOR!" He flew to the Slytherin stands, ignoring their glares. No Malfoy. No Nott. Then they were working on the vanishing cabinet. Harry hoped whichever senshi was guarding that today didn't get noticed by them.
A flash of blue and red among the green caught his attention: two Ravenclaws stood in the first row of the stands, jumbled in with Slytherin's green. Harry grinned as he saw Hotaru with Meioh's cousin Megumi and their pink-haired Slytherin friend (Chibi… something). The pink-haired girl waved and Hotaru did too, after her friend elbowed her.
Harry wondered if they'd had to drag Hotaru away from her brooding. He flew in closer. "Still think you can fly circles around me?" he taunted as he drew near. He turned upside down for good measure.
That did it. He grinned as Hotaru turned red – much to her friends' amusement. She stood on her toes and looked past him. She smirked. "Probably, as Slytherin's about to nab the snitch."
Harry righted himself with an abrupt jerk of his broom and scanned the game. Ron was gearing up to face off with a Slytherin tag team. Mina had just knocked Goyle back with a bludger. Ginny's short red hair was whipping in the wind. Focus. Harry snapped his gaze away from Ginny and finally spied the other seeker – circling lazily high above. There was no snitch in sight.
Behind him, Hotaru and her friends giggled.
"Don't do that," Harry complained. But he was still smiling. "Pay attention to Mina," he told Hotaru. He caught sight of a streak of gold across the pitch. "She's crafty. She'll knock you off your broom next game before you even know to look for her."
"I can handle Mina," Hotaru huffed. Even so, she leaned further out of the stands, her attention now fully on the game.
Satisfied, Harry carried on flying. He eyed the Slytherin seeker closely as he meandered around the pitch. Malfoy's replacement seemed to have missed the gold streak that had caught Harry's eyes.
By the time Harry had made his way around, the golden blur had disappeared within the gold and red cloaks, scarves, and hats dotted through the Gryffindor stands. Just as well. Harry glanced up at his team. They needed at least 50 more points. Were they still at only 10? Harry swore, realizing he wasn't sure, and pulled his broom higher, rising up towards the teacher's box, and the scoreboard.
"EVERCREECH BLOCKS!" Akira shouted into the magical microphone while her eyes tracked the rapid moves of the Slytherin team. "HITS IT TO COWLEY – OW! THAT'S GOTTA HURT! INTERCEPT FROM KAIOH AND SHE'S OFF FOR ANOTHER ATTEMPT – PASS TO BELL – FOR A CLEANSWEEP SHE'S QUITE FAST!"
Harry hovered overhead as the play carried on. Goyle and Crabbe came in with the largest of Slytherin's chasers to cause trouble. Harry crossed his fingers.
"BELL SHOOTS! GOAL! 20-0, GRYFFINDOR"
"YES!" Harry pumped his fist. He looked down to see Ginny hovering at the midfield line, and could see the grin on her face from here.
Harry shook his head. If he lost the snitch for thinking about Ginny, she'd never let him hear the end of it. Neither would Ron. Harry considered which Weasley's ire would be worse. Ginny, he decided, unless Ron knew who was distracting me. He decided he ought to fly higher, if only to see if Slytherin's seeker was paying attention.
As he brought his broom up, Harry kept searching for the snitch. In doing so, he caught a better look at the teachers box.
Mcgonagall looked giddy from the two back-to-back opening goals. Harry sought Snape's reaction; surely it would make him feel better about his last detention, but Harry frowned.
Snape was not livid, as Harry had expected. He didn't even seem to be paying attention. He sat in the highest tier of the stands in the corner, next to Professor Meioh, with whom he seemed to be carrying on a serious if whispered conversation.
I wonder what they're talking about. Harry wondered, as he saw Snape cover his left arm.
"OHHH INTERCEPTED!" Akira's voice boomed over the pitch. "THAKUR GETS THE QUAFFLE AND KAIOH GOES SPINNING – BLUDGER FROM AINO – NO IT MISSED – THAKUR'S BARRELING RIGHT ALONG – GOAL! AND WEASLEY GOES THROUGH ALONG WITH HIM. THERE GOES A SHOE AS WELL – CAN'T TELL WHOSE FROM HERE. OH WELL: 10 to SLYTHERIN!"
Harry groaned and directed his gaze back to the pitch. So much for a perfect game, Harry thought. No matter: they still had a good shot. Ron had kicked the Quaffle to Ginny already, and he and Thakur's collision was still distracting the other players. Not even Akira seemed to have noticed Ginny sweeping low around the side of the field with the quaffle tucked tight against her.
The Slytherin seeker was still circling. Harry dove. Ron would play better with both shoes.
~SMH~
Snape's mouth twitched up slightly as Slytherin gained their first 10 of the game. "As I was saying. I received an owl today." He drummed his fingers over the sleeve of his left arm – under which the dark mark rested.
Setsuna raised her eyebrows, perplexed as always by his caution even around his close colleagues. Doesn't he trust them? Dumbledore does, she wondered. "I take it I'll be interested in what this owl has to say?"
Severus inclined his head in a nod too subtle for even Sprout, beside him, to see. His eyes flicked around the stands. None of the others in the teachers' box seemed interested in their conversation. Even so, he whispered: "I'll drop by after dinner with it."
"SLYTHERIN SCORES AGAIN!" Akira's voice interrupted, and drew an outright smirk to Severus' face. "SCORE'S TIED 20-20!"
Setsuna shook her head as cheers echoed across the pitch, and were swiftly drowned out by boos. "I won't be here tonight," she told Snape.
He looked sharply at her, his pleased smirk from before falling from his face. "You won't?"
Setsuna shook her head again. "It's the new moon," she stated. "We've noticed an uptick of death eater activity on these nights. Remus says it can strengthen some dark creatures and spells." She smiled as she spied Sora Kaioh rocketing upwards with the Quaffle and dodging a bludger in the process. "I'm going to help them." She looked over at him. "Why? Is there something urgent?"
Severus inclined his head in a subtle nod once more. "I am leaving tonight," he said. "I may be gone into next week. And I have information you need before I go."
Setsuna sat up straighter. "Concerning…"
"An old star, and an older knight," he murmured. He fell silent, twisting his hand around his left arm. "It shouldn't be said here."
Their conversation lulled. Setsuna mulling over what he'd said. The old star was how he referred to Bellatrix. The older knight… must be Zoisite! she realized in excitement.
"GOAL!" Akira Hino shouted a few minutes later. "30-20 GRYFFINDOR!"
Severus sighed. "Potter will just ruin it anyways." He stood, straightening his cloak as the wind buffeted him. He glanced at her. "If you'll excuse me. I have lesson plans to check before I go." And he walked down the side of the stands and to the stairs, only speaking briefly with Dumbledore before leaving.
Setsuna waited a half-hour more herself before getting up and following.
~SMH~
Harry squinted against the sudden, blinding lights that lit up from each of the tall towers around the pitch, illuminating it as the sun dipped below the highland peaks. Akira's voice bellowed from the teachers' box Harry tried to focus on the game going on below.
"BELL'S NEARING THE GOALS AND A BLUDGER'S ABOUT TO BLIND SIDE HER – OHH KAIOH TAKES THE HIT INSTEAD! BELL'S STILL GOING! COMING UP ON THAKUR! SHE FEINTS! AND THERES THE SHOT! 90 – 40 GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry sighed relieved. And then cursed. He'd lost the Slytherin seeker when the pitch's lights went on. Harry'd been watching him weave continuously across the left side of the pitch for 10 minutes. Surely he hadn't lost the…
"THE SLYTHERIN SEEKER'S SHOOTING UP!" Akira exclaimed. "LOOKS LIKE HE'S GOT THE SNITCH IN SIGHT AND POTTER'S NO WHERE AROUND."
Harry pulled his broom up, completely vertical, streaking as fast as the Firebolt would go – up towards the Slytherin seeker and the golden snitch that was gleaming brightly against the lights. Harry saw a broom gaining on him – Mina with her bat raised. Harry leaned into his Firebolt, following the path of the snitch, as Mina got up higher over the Slytherin seeker's head.
Harry was within five feet. Which was not going to cut it because the Slytherin was within three. He strained forwards, squinting against the glaring light on his glasses. Behind him a bat cracked, and another.
"A GRYFFINDOR TAG TEAM! HARPER'S OUT! POTTER'S CLOSING IN!"
He was too; the Snitch was hovering a foot from him, then mere inches. He let it stay a little ahead. It was still 90-40. They needed one more goal, or it would be Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw in the Championship.
"HARPER'S RECOVERING! DON'T KNOW HOW LONG POTTER CAN BABYSIT THAT THING!"
Not long, that was for sure, he chanced a glance down.
Ginny was on a Slytherin chaser's tail, trying to gain back the Quaffle, he saw her waving her hand for Katie and Sora as well.
A beater's bat cracked close by – Mina or Rei had sent Harper veering off again. Harry trained both eyes back on the Snitch, just in time for it to dive. Harry followed, right into the chaos of the game. He squinted as the snitch tried to lose him by flying towards one of the brightly lit towers.
"QUITE A BATTLE FOR THE QUAFFLE GOING ON DOWN THERE! ABOUT TO GET WORSE TOO – CRABBE'S WRANGLED A BLUDGER BACK!"
Harry waved a hand out to his side. Mina was there in a second.
"Forget about Harper – guard the Quaffle!" he told her.
"You're sure?" she shouted back.
"Yes!" he said, and jerked his broom upwards as the snitch changed course again. He chased it all around a blue tower, at one point batting it aside with his hand as Harper came up from below.
"Hoping it'll follow you, Potter?" Harper taunted, slamming into his side. Harry gritted his teeth and pushed right back. Harper was smaller. Barely.
"BLUDGER FROM AINO – TO HINO – RIGHT AT – OH! THAT'S GOTTA HURT! COWLEY'S DOWN! KAIOH'S GOT THE QUAFFLE!"
Harry could see them: down below all the Gryffindor offense were racing towards the hoops – mere feet from the ground – with the Slytherins in hot pursuit.
He shot forwards to block Harper again, grateful Crabbe and Goyle were preoccupied.
"SLYTHERIN BLUDGER! KAIOH DROPS THE QUAFFLE – WAIT SHE'S KICKED IT TO WEASLEY! WEASLEY'S PULLING OUT AHEAD, BELL'S IN A TANGLE WITH THAKUR. AND SLYTHERIN'S CAPTAIN'S DEALING WITH GRYFFINDOR'S BLUDGER!"
Harry passed midfield at the same time Ginny did, and caught another look at her as he bumped Harper hard enough to make him slip on his broom. Ginny was had tucked herself close to her broom handle, covering the quaffle and rising steadily upwards as she neared the hoops. Rei and Mina bookended her, one knocking the bludger towards the Slytherins while the other blocked Crabbe and Goyle.
"WEASLEY'S NEARING THE HOOPS! SEEKERS ARE NECK AND NECK!"
Harper tried to go over the top of Harry. Harry scowled at him and strained forwards, eyes darting from the snitch (zipping around the field's perimeter) to Ginny, hair like fire in the bright lights, her arm clenched tight around the Quaffle as she hugged it to her chest…
"GRYFFINDOR'S STILL 90-40, WIZARDFOLK, IF THEY DON'T GET THIS GOAL THEY'RE SETTLING FOR THIRD…"
Harry bumped Harper again. He glimpsed another broom approaching.
"GOYLE'S CHANGING COURSE! AINO SETS A BLUDGER ON THE KEEPER! WEASLEY'S CLOSING IN!"
Harry closed his eyes. He shot forwards, fingers straining. A bludger whizzed past his ear. He brushed the snitch's fluttering wings and cinching his hand around them. He raised it high and looked at the goals.
The Quaffle was soaring through the right hoop…
"POTTER HAS THE SNITCH! AND THE GOAL…"
Hooch was behind the hoop, wand moving. Her shrewd eyes were on the image conjured from it.
Akira Hino was standing on the side of the teachers box. Mcgonagall wasn't even bothering to reprimand her, as she was leaning half out of the box herself, hands gripping the edge. Every eye on the pitch and off was watching Hooch.
The coach dismissed the play-back she'd conjured with a wave of her wand and shot up green sparks.
"THE GOAL IS GOOD!" Akira screeched as the audience nearly drowned her out with their glee. "GRYFFINDOR WINS IT 350-40!"
Making their total 10 more that Hufflepuff's. Harry's face broke out in a grin as the cheering in the red part of the stands drowned out even Akira's voice. They were going to the finals! He soared down towards his team, the snitch in hand, and grinned wider as Ginny soared up to meet him.
"That was 210?!" she gasped. "So we made the…"
Harry nodded, unable to speak, and grinned as she threw herself at him, knocking his broom back as she shrieked!
"WE'RE IN THE QUIDDITCH CUP!" Ron shouted as he joined the group of them. Ginny pulled back, still grinning. Harry stared, dazzled by her smile and how dark her freckles were when she blushed.
"Harry," she whispered, her breath tickling his nose.
He leaned up, feeling a rush of heat and her arms cinching around his neck. He kissed her. A triumphant rush of excitement filled him, better than any snitch catch…
"WELL GRYFFINDOR WASTES NO TIME CELEBRATING!"
Harry pulled back, blushing. He looked to Ron.
His best friend looked from Ginny to him and shrugged as it to say: "if you must." He heard Katie Bell laugh and slap Ron on the shoulder.
"Right answer, Ron" Ginny said, surprising Harry as she pulled him back in and kissed him again. She tasted like sweat from their hard-fought game. Harry broke away, grinning as widely as she was.
"Dudes," Mina cut in. "You're going to ruin the party. Look up there. That girl is crying."
"Is it Romilda?" Ginny asked, breathless.
"Who?" Harry wondered.
"Doesn't matter." Ginny looked a tad smug.
Harry looked at the stands, shifting self-consciously as he saw that yes quite a few people were sniffling or glaring at him… or possibly at Ginny. He groaned. Fantastic. He wondered idly what article he'd see about this in The Prophet tomorrow.
His eyes drifted to the teachers box, hoping Snape's face at the loss would cheer him up.
But he frowned, searching the back row and then all the rest.
Snape wasn't there. Meioh wasn't either.
~SMH~
A country away from Hogwarts Semi-Final Quidditch game, Rigel Fawcett paced the Grimmauld kitchen, restless and overly impatient for the kettle to boil.
Come on already, he thought as he glared at the barely steaming spout.
Well aren't you a wizard, he thought to himself. Cast a heating charm.
His hand hovered over his wand, but Rigel clenched his fist instead and turned for another round of pacing.
A heating charm on this buggering old thing… with how I feel right now? I'd blow it up. There was no sense doing magic if it was sloppy magic. He resigned himself to waiting.
As he made to pivot for his next pass across the kitchen, he saw the door pushing open.
Rigel Fawcett's wand shot up, just as his boyfriend Hamish Stebbins appeared in the doorway.
Hamish blinked, and raised his one hand. "S'alright," He shrugged his right stump of a shoulder. "I'm unarmed."
Rigel blinked. "I…"
Hamish glanced towards his stump. "Too soon?"
Rigel winced, "Well at least you can joke about it now."
"So, then… you're not about to stun me?"
Rigel frowned, and then his eyes widened as he realized he had his wand trained on Hamish. I would never! He swore to himself. Frightened, Rigel hastened to jam his wand back in its holster. He crossed his arms over his chest.
When Rigel looked back at Hamish to apologize, he saw that his dark brows had furrowed and his head had tilted slightly to the side. "What?" Rigel snapped.
"You haven't been yourself this week," Hamish worried, walking to Rigel's side. "Longer even."
Rigel swallowed the lump in his throat. He checked the doorway, thinking: as long as Haruka and Michiru aren't listening... "It was that dream," Rigel confided to Hamish.
His boyfriend's eyebrows shot up. "Is that why you've camped out in the library so much recently?
Rigel blushed. "You noticed that."
Hamish just rolled his eyes. "I might not wake up easily, but Haruka does. You've been leaving after I fall asleep and coming back before I wake up." He reached into the pocket of his robe then, pulling out a book. "I found this under your favorite chair."
The History of Possession vol. III.
A panic seized Rigel and he launched forwards, grabbing Hamish's wrist roughly and jerking the book out of his hand. "Give me that!" he snapped, stuffing it into his belt. "Are you spying on me?" Of course Haruka'd find me – trying to turn you against me, Rigel thought, suddenly seething. Of course she'd…
She'd what? Rigel groaned, smacking the palm of his hand over his head. Why am I thinking like this?
"Rigel?" Hamish whispered.
Rigel blinked. He lifted his head, realizing he'd doubled over: his right hand was clutching his head as though holding it together and his left hand was clenched in a fist near his wand.
I was about to draw it on him! Rigel realized as he straightened up. He crossed his arms tighter over his chest this time. "Sorry," Rigel said. "Sorry, I…"
Don't tell him! The instinct in him was like some woken beast, straining to break out. It made Rigel tremble. Why do I feel this way? "It is the dream," he whispered, looking away, towards the fire. "I haven't had it again… but I haven't felt alright since."
"What was it about?" Hamish pressed. "Come on, Rigel, please, whatever you remember, you ought to tell me."
But Rigel shook his head and lied: "I really don't remember."
He could always lie easily, Rigel mused, when it suited him. But he'd never lied to Hamish, nor to the others in the Order. Not until now.
"Do you think you're possessed?" Hamish whispered, stepping towards Rigel. He stretched his arm out, touching his hand to Rigel's arm and running it up to his shoulder.
Rigel shivered. I could pull him to my side right now, he thought. Get him out from under the Moon's thumb.
Why? What does that even mean?
"I thought so at first," Rigel confessed, letting Hamish pull him into a hug. He leaned his head on Hamish's other shoulder, still just as warm and comfortable despite being just a stump. It's Haruka's fault he can't hug me the same. Rigel shook his head even as the thought came to him, trying to drown it out. He directed his thoughts towards Hamish: his warmth, his embrace, his steady heartbeat. It's because of Haruka he's still here.
"I know I'm not possessed," Rigel insisted. "I'm not, I read that book to check… my symptoms don't fit." He sighed. "I just feel… off."
"In what way?"
Rigel swallowed. "I think things," he whispered, voice muffled in Hamish's robes. He clenched his fists, recalling the first night after he'd dreamed of being Slytherin's son: Rigel had feared having the dream again, and waking Hamish with it, but the first instinct that had come to him had been to cast a sleeping charm on his boyfriend. He'd been deciding which one, and realizing he was leaning towards one of a darker cast, before he'd recognized the wrongness of it. "Sometimes I feel paranoid," Rigel tried to explain. "Other times I just feel dangerous."
"Did you drink an essence of Mad-Eye or something?"
"No!" Rigel groaned and looked up at Hamish. "Be serious."
"I am." Hamish face was still full of concern. "Do you really not remember anything?" he asked. "Is this why you've been avoiding Haruka and Michiru?"
"I have not!"
Hamish gave him a look. "You've never missed one of my sword practice's, and suddenly you don't turn up for two weeks." He shook his head. "I wish I'd realized earlier – I didn't put it together until I cast a Patronus with the sword today and realized you weren't there."
"You cast a patronus!" Rigel grinned. "That's… that's powerful magic. That means you can fight! We could…" Rigel frowned. Defeat the White Moon… It was his own thought, or it felt like it.
"Oh I can't fight yet," Hamish shook his head. "That spell took me five damn tries. And don't change the subject." He fixed Rigel with a seeking look, his dark eyes seemed to gaze right into him. "They're our friends. They're on our side."
"They're not!" Rigel snapped, "Hamish I really feel like they're not."
"Because of a dream you don't remember?"
Rigel flushed. He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not possessed," he said. "I don't know what's gotten into me." A terrible thought occurred to him. He looked up at Hamish. "Please don't tell them about this!" Rigel said. "I'll – I'll figure out what's wrong, I will! But what if my dream is right?" He saw Hamish shaking his head. "Please trust me," he begged.
"They're good at these things," Hamish insisted. "They can help you."
"I don't want help!" Rigel snapped. "I don't I… I want to understand." He looked down at his wand. I'll obliviate him if I must, he thought. His stomach turned at the thought. I might not like it, but it's necessary.
He was reaching for his wand when the teakettle went off. Without looking, without a word, Rigel snapped his wand towards the stove and silenced it.
He lowered his wand, trying to forget his last thought. "Please, Hamish," Rigel looked up at him pleadingly, "Give me a little longer to understand."
Hamish looked away. "I won't tell them," he said. "Damnit, Rigel. I don't like it though."
"I won't go on missions, then," Rigel promised. "Not until I figure this out."
"Will you stop going to the library after I'm asleep too?" Hamish asked. "If you're having that nightmare again, I want to be there. I want to help."
"It wasn't a…" Rigel sighed. I shouldn't tell him anymore until I understand this better. "I won't." What's the point if Haruka will know? She could spy on me.
Tired, Rigel turned towards the stove, reaching for kettle and summoning a mug from the cabinet. "Any tea?"
"No thanks," Hamish sighed behind him. "I need to think."
"You're not going to te –"
"I'm not!" Hamish insisted, walking out of the kitchen. "But if you can't figure it out, we're going to Dumbledore… or Mrs. Tonks."
"I'll figure it out!" Rigel tried to call back.
But Hamish had shut the kitchen door.
Rigel turned back to his tea, shutting off the stove and setting down the kettle. He looked down at his full mug, staring at his face reflected on the surface.
He looked angry.
Rigel closed his eyes. I don't feel wrong, he decided. I don't feel right either.
I don't want to tell the senshi.
But why? He bit his lip. Alone, with his thoughts, it was harder to be defensive. Whatever strange instincts had awakened in him recently, they were good at fighting – relished it sometimes. But they didn't like reflecting so much.
I don't trust Hamish, Rigel thought. That's why this feels wrong. Does that mean all of it is wrong?
No, he thought, a mix of his old self and his new cast of thoughts. I just worry that the senshi have brainwashed him.
They could be distracting us, Rigel thought. What if they're here to weaken us, so we fall to Voldemort and then have to beg them to save us?
It felt like the kind of thing senshi would do. Rigel could even convince himself Michiru would do it, and that Haruka would go along with it.
Professor Meioh wouldn't, he argued with himself. I don't think the others…
As he thought of the other senshi though, his mind recalled the image of the short blond: Usagi… their princess. All at once a surge of rage struck him. He clenched his hand on the counter top as it made his knees shake and goose bumps pop up on his arms.
He'd barely said more than a few words to Usagi. And she was always, always cheerful…
What's going on with me? Rigel lifted his tea, took a long sip of the too-hot drink, and then slammed it a little too hard on the counter. Maybe Hamish is right – maybe there is something wrong.
Or maybe you're brainwashed too – maybe you're waking up.
His thoughts circled each other, neither making anymore sense than the other. Neither had since he'd woken up feeling like Saverio Slytherin.
One thing was for sure: the senshi were looking for the sons of the founders, their fabled "knights." And until he knew which of his thoughts was right or wrong, Rigel was certainly not going to reveal that bit of his dream.
He made to move to the table, and had just sat down, when the fireplace lit up with floo-green flames. He jumped, wand ready, as a tall figure appeared, and swayed as she stumbled out into the kitchen, her long green hair glowing in the firelight.
"Professor!" Rigel's hand shook. Part of him wanted to stun her. The other part was watching Professor Meioh with concern as she swayed on her feet, one hand fumbling for a hold on the mantel.
The latter part of him won out. Rigel stowed his wand and dashed to her, She grabbed his arm to steady herself. "Professor, are you alright."
"Perfectly," she said. Her eyes looked unfocused, rather like she'd been confunded or obliviated. "Perfectly fine, why?"
"I… no reason," Rigel lied, brows still furrowed. One of Professor Meioh's hands moved to rub her forehead. "Do you have a headache?" Rigel asked.
"It's nothing," she dismissed, gazing around. "Why am I here…?"
Rigel was about to answer that he wasn't sure when her eyes abruptly widened, her unfocused look vanished and she straightened. "There's something important." She said. "There's a chance we can get two Horcruxes this week – One of Voldemort's and Lestrange's." She looked around. "I need Haruka and,"
"I'll get them!" Rigel insisted. "I'll be right back." He dashed from the kitchen. What if it's Slytherin's locket? he thought, and cursed: he'd just promised Hamish he wouldn't go on missions. He took the stairs two at a time. Setsuna'd sounded like it was urgent.
She looked so strange when she came out of the fire? He thought. And why'd she come of the floo anyways, she has her time doors?
But as he neared the entrance hall, he could already hear the light, fast footsteps of Haruka and Michiru on the stairs, Along with Hamish's and Remus' slightly heavier ones, and Sirius great clomping steps.
"Setsuna's here," is all he said as they came down. "We've got a Horcrux mission."
By the time they arrived in the kitchen, Setsuna looked as self-assured as she ever did, with no trace of the strange confusion that Rigel had seen she arrived.
"I've just been to see Severus," Professor Meioh said. "Lestrange has enlisted him to do some of the protections on the locket's new hiding place." She pointed her wand at the map on their kitchen table to mark the location of their next mission. "He's going to leave some loophole in the protection, but he doesn't know everything that will be guarding it yet."
"Well, what does Snivy know so far?" Sirius said. Remus summoned a quill, parchment, and ink, ready to jot their intel down.
"So far…" Setsuna said, looking to all of them as she explained.
I should tell them? Rigel thought.
Why? Isn't it more useful information if I keep it to myself?
The two sides of him, neither feeling right or wrong clashed in his head once more. This time, his new instincts won out.
~SMH~
No one saw much of Draco Malfoy Sunday and Monday, not even Chibiusa who was in his house.
"Pansy's been bringing him food," she reported Monday after classes, standing on top of Setsuna's coffee table so she could be taller than all of them sitting on the couches. "I think he's sulking."
"And he's not talking to Nott," Hermione frowned. "I thought they were working together."
"It's not like they want to though," Ron said. "Right, Harry?" He looked at his best mate on his left. "Snape sort of… ordered them to."
"He order Nott to play along with Malfoy," Harry corrected. "He did that… spell."
"Delerio," Hotaru said from her chair close to Chibiusa.
"Yeah that one."
"If Nott was sent to do Draco's job for him, that makes sense." Setsuna reminded them. "Severus is protecting Draco."
"Hope Draco makes it difficult – serves him right," Ron muttered. "Ow!" he said as Hermione elbowed him in the ribs.
"That's awful to say."
"Well it's true isn't it?" he argued. And to that, Hermione didn't disagree.
"It is interesting that they're spending time apart," Setsuna mused. "Perhaps something's gone wrong with their project." She looked at Ami. "What happened Saturday while we were at the game?"
Ami frowned. "I saw them as I approached. Malfoy paced in front of the room for a bit, but he only opened the door for a second. I waited until they left and opened the room myself." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "The manticore was prowling just inside. That must have scared them off."
"Draco was shit at Magical Creatures," Ron pointed out.
"Anyways, I had to take care of that," Ami said. "It took a bit. I didn't want to kill it since it clearly deterred them. And after I knocked it out, I came out of the room and Malfoy was there. He must have been trying to go back in, but he ran when he saw me there. I stayed until everyone returned from the game. They didn't come back."
"Way to hinder their progress," Mina said, as she and Makoto clapped Ami on the shoulders.
"And they didn't curse you?" Sora asked.
At that, Ami smirked. "They must have learned from the last time."
Setsuna had chuckled along with the students, assured at least that even with Nott to help him, Malfoy's progress on the cabinet was still on it's normal schedule. April was the way it would go if there were no changes that she couldn't see. And Bellatrix's recent death, how ever brief it would prove to be, had helped Setsuna in one way at least: Severus unbreakable vow was broken. He wouldn't have to kill the headmaster. And if Draco and Nott remained on course, she had until April to convince the headmaster that he needn't die now.
It's more important than ever, she thought, catching Luna's eye as the conversation in her sitting room turned to why Malfoy would be sulking and why Nott was angry with him. Luna has not been able to recall her prophecy. And the Wizard in White is still at large. The Order will need their leader more than ever.
"I bet he's sulking about Quidditch," Harry posited, beaming.
"And Nott's pissed at Malfoy for dropping out of the team," Ron picked up.
"This is the first time in like eight years they've come in fourth." Ginny pointed out. "Do you have classes with Malfoy tomorrow?" she pressed. "You need to mention that." She told Harry. "I want you to tell me exactly what his face looks like."
"That's if he shows up," Rei warned. "He wasn't in class today."
"See!" Chibiusa grinned, putting her hands on her hips. "Sulking."
Tuesday morning, Harry, Ginny, and Ron all woke up as early as Hermione to go down to breakfast. They planted themselves at the seats closest to the large doors and kept an eye on them, all grinning, as they served themselves breakfast. Hermione sat next to Ginny and shook her head at all of them. "You're ridiculous," she told them.
"We want to see his face!" Ron said.
"If he's sulking enough to miss class yesterday, what's makes you think he'll be here?" Hermione said.
"Pansy's gotta get sick of bringing him food eventually," Ginny said. "And he never goes to the kitchens."
"Why?" Harry wondered.
"Bet they're all friends with Dobby," Ron pointed out as he dumped a liberal serving of bacon on his plate. "They probably give him cold food."
The thought made Harry chuckle as he stared at the door.
By eight, they'd gotten bored of watching. But at 8:30, when Pansy walked in, the three of them perked up again. Even Hermione seemed interested. The senshi strolled in shortly after her and all their Gryffindor friends, especially Sora, gamely joined in watching for Malfoy.
He didn't appear though, and Pansy dashed off with a plate of food on top of her books just before the masses began gathering their things for the first class.
"He's going to miss two days of classes over Quidditch?" Hermione wondered. "And a cabinet?"
"Maybe the manticore destroyed it," Mina shrugged.
Malfoy didn't appear in Charms at all, or Herbology. He didn't even show up for lunch. Snape did though. He must have just got back from his mission, Harry thought, because he looked drawn, though he glared as fiercely as ever when he noticed Harry looking.
They'd given up watching for Malfoy by the time dinner came, so when he strolled in with Pansy as the Evening Prophet came around, none of them immediately noticed. Not until Colin pointed it out. Harry, Ron, Mina, and Ginny all stood up, straining to see him. Sora stood on the bench. Even Hermione, while she was subtler about it, craned her neck to spy on him.
But his face was not set in the sulking face they'd hoped to see.
No. Malfoy was grinning as he took his place between Goyle and Crabbe, accepting a goblet of pumpkin juice from them.
"What?" Harry gaped
"Sit down," Hermione nagged, tugging on Harry and Ron's robes. They sat. Hermione then turned to threatening Sora with point deductions. She dropped down into her seat too, and stabbed her fork into her food.
Ron was scowling, and his brows were drawn together in confusion. "He's happy."
"But Slytherin's in fourth." Ginny muttered and cursed. "And he hasn't gotten to work on his cabinet at all."
"Is that where he's been the past two days?" Hermione asked. But the senshi shook their heads.
"Someone's been watching the Room of Requirement 24/7," Mina said. "Malfoy and Nott haven't tried to go near it since the Quidditch game."
"Then why's he happy?" Harry's frown deepened and he rubbed his scar, he tried for a moment to reach across his connection to Voldemort. Just to see…
But Voldemort didn't feel happy or angry or otherwise. And it was hard to get into his mind unless he felt that way. Or maybe, Harry thought, I'm just a piss-poor Legilimens. He wondered if Occlumency still worked for Voldemort since they were connected. And found it too confusing to wonder about at the moment. He turned in his seat to glance at Malfoy. He was happy for a reason. Harry saw Malfoy look up at the staff table and turned to look at it himself.
Snape was there, and looking less tired than at lunch. Dumbledore was there. Harry frowned. "Where's Professor Meioh,"
"Out with the Order," Rei whispered across the table from him. "It's something important tonight."
Important meant Horcruxes. Harry nodded, returning to his food. He rubbed his scar and frowned.
There were a million reasons Malfoy could be happy. Hermione would tell him so, but something in Harry's gut told him it was more.
Something's going to happen, Harry thought. But what? And when?
"Dumbledore looks calm," Ginny muttered to him. "We don't have to worry yet."
But that hardly helped the nagging feeling that plagued Harry through dinner and then through an hour staring blankly at his transfiguration homework. He gave up the effort around 22:00, shuffling off to bed and absently rubbing his scar. It was no longer painful, Rei had seen to that last year. But occasionally, like now, he would feel a phantom itch. He could not shake the feeling that something was going to happen.
The feeling – an acute unease – stayed with him as he tossed and turned in bed.
When Harry heard Ron's snores coming from the bed beside his he sighed.
There was definitely something up with Malfoy. Which meant there was something up with Voldemort.
Harry lay awake: listening as first Neville, then Dean and Seamus, and finally Ron all creaked the door open, got ready for bed, and fell asleep.
When Ron's snores began to filter through the room Harry sighed, sitting up and reaching over for his glasses on the side table. He put them on, slipped his invisibility cloak out from under his pillow, and then leaned down to get his slippers.
The phantom itch prickled in his scar then. And Harry paused to rub it. His hand hesitated over the slippers and changed course. He slipped out of his dorm with his trainers securely laced up.
Something was off about Malfoy's good mood. And, while he was thinking about it, something was off about Snape's three-day mission. Hermione would call him paranoid but there had to be something, especially as his scar had been itching since nightfall.
Harry crept down the boys stairs into the empty common room. He dumped a new log onto the fire and settled down in front of it, trying not to fidget as he tried to do as Rei had taught him and see, if he could, Voldemort's own mind. It didn't always work. But surely, right after a dream, he could do it.
~SMH~
A blast shook Rei awake. Her eyes opened up onto a battle that was all flying spells, dark figures like ghosts flitted through burning doorways and smoky corridors. Another blast went off by her face and she winced, squinting her eyes against the mortar dust that mixed in with the pungent smoke.
Where's Serenity? She raced down the seemingly endless labyrinth of corridors, past common rooms where battles raged between black-cloaked death eaters, students, teachers…
Another blast knocked her off her feet and when she got back up smoke had engulfed the corridors. Spellfire was being shot blindly through the haze. She spun around. Where's Serenity. She saw a pale white light streaming through a broken window and ran towards it.
Suddenly she stood on the castle grounds, on the lakeshore with bodies all around her, collapsed in the mud. She looked to the castle doors...
The Queen was running down the steps, form masked in the moonlight of her powers. She stopped on the grounds, raising the silver crystal.
A green light flashed behind her. And all the moonlight was at once snuffed out, even the moon overhead seemed to die, turning dull and grey. She screamed as the Queen crumbled into the frosted ground, a dark figure stood atop the tower above her, black wand raised high.
"No!" Rei charged forwards.
But she froze in her tracks, her scream cut off, as a hush as still as death swept across the chaotic grounds.
From above, a small figure descended, her curved blade gleaming unnaturally bright in the pitch-dark night. She'd come to save them…to stop this, to give them all one more chance...
The figure looked up. Her eyes flashed a startling red. She swung the glaive outward, point poised at her."Avada Kedavra."
The weapon lit up green as the spell shot her in the chest, the whole world drowned in the bright, sickly green.
~SMH~
It was just as hard to meditate as it was to sleep, but this at least Harry managed, focusing on the phantom itch that lingered in his scar and the connection to Voldemort that persisted there.
Show me... Harry begged.
For one moment he was consumed by the heat from the hearth, the crackling of the logs, and the hypnotic movement of the flames.
And then the next the warmth was gone, replaced by a heavy chill. The flames gave way to a black and white-tiled room with a rich green carpet rolled up the center, up to the chair he was sitting in.
Harry saw the three figures kneeling before him, and laughed.
"I trust your teams are in place," he said softly. "They won't be expecting you."
"We're ready My Lord," one death eater said. "But what about their time witch…"
"She wont interfere," He said, lounging in his chair. He drummed his fingers on the gold arm. "All of you know which people and artifacts you must prioritize." His death eaters nodded. "Then go. And leave Potter to me," he laughed. "I will arrive once the fighting is done, provided you have secured the diadem and –"
Harry jerked free of his trance as someone thundered down the stairs: Rei dashing into the room from the girls dorms.
"Harry!" Rei gasped as he stood up. She stopped in the common room as several more people scrambled into the common room behind her. Mina was hot on her heels, then Hermione, then Usagi.
"I saw Voldemort," Harry said as Usagi, and the rest of the sixth year girls piled into the common room. "He was telling his team they need to get the diadem."
"He's attacking tonight." Rei confirmed. Lavendar Brown shrieked. Ginny pushed past her to the front of the crowd, Sora Kaioh slipped through behind her. "He's using the cabinet," Rei added.
"I thought Malfoy wasn't done yet?" Hermione said. She tightened her robe, "I'll get Ron," and tore off up the boys staircase, already wearing her trainers.
"How the hell did he finish it?" Ginny growled. "We've been watching that door round the clock. He didn't even go inside last weekend."
"Forget that now," Mina said. She looked to Rei. "How long?" Mina wanted to know.
"Half an hour"
"There's going to be a lot of them." Harry threw in. "He talked about multiple teams."
"they're going to flood the corridors, go after the common rooms," Rei added.
"We have to guard the cabinet," Usagi declared.
"She's right." Mina said. "Just because Setsuna said we can't destroy it doesn't mean we should make this easy for them."
Harry nodded. He tied his invisibility cloak securely around his neck as Sora, as quick as she was on her broom, darted through the crowd to throw the portrait hole open.
Hermione was coming back down the stairs, Ron and the rest of his dorm mates stumbling down behind her.
"Lets go." Harry said, following the Senshi as they clambered out of the portrait hole.
"WHAT are all of you doing!" the Fat Lady huffed.
They ignored her, tearing across the seventh floor, Harry in the lead, with Sora and Mina keeping pace with him. He was still running when they got to the Room of Requirement. He rushed through the three required paces back and forth in front of the wall, concentrating so hard on the room he wanted that he might have shouted the words out loud.
When the door appeared, Mina wrenched it open.
"Wait!" Hermione elbowed her way to the front and pointed her wand inside the dark room. "Hominem Revelio."
Nothing appeared.
"Let's go." Harry said, casting lumos as he and Sora, who both knew the path through the labyrinth of junk best, raced each other inside. Harry's invisibility cloak whipped through the air as they led the group around sharp corners and down winding, narrow paths of overflowing shelves.
They sped up as they approached the corner that blocked the cabinet from view. They rounded it with their wands raised.
"WHAT!"
"NO."
Harry gaped.
Ron swore.
The Cabinet was gone.
~I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good~
