~*~Chapter 5:Shattered Dreams~*~
Cho sighed with a glare at Ginny who returned it with an innocent look. "Yep. The third one…however it's complicated. *Very* complicated…because their story has not been finished yet."
Disclaimer: Ahem…what's the point of writing a disclaimer if I owned it?!?
"You mean these stories are true?" Eriol said, surprised. Or maybe he shouldn't have been.
Hermione nodded. "Yeah."
"What's so complicated about it? It seems complicated enough already," Ron said in his usual teasing voice, but it wasn't ballistic because of Cho.
Everyone noticed a change in Cho. Immediately after she mentioned the third one…her eyes clouded, looked more serious than the teasing look she gave to Ron talking about *this* story…maybe she was debating on what to say.
Speaking for Cho, Ginny said, changing her look to concern, "It is complicated."
Cho looked up. "Did anyone notice a pattern with the cousin affairs?"
When nobody answered, she said, "Don't give me that look. You too, Ginny. Don't worry, I'm not worming my way out of this. Just answer."
"Yeah, I did," Harry spoke up. "The smarter one always fell in love with the other one but always lost her to something else."
Hermione nodded. "Yeah…like death and marriage…how long ago does this date back?"
A tiny smile started to form on Cho's face. "Back when Hogwarts was just new. If you know how long ago that was, tell me.
"The pattern you noticed…try and apply it to the next example, since it's not finished yet. The first complication: there are three cousins."
~*story sequence*~
"Well, miss, I would like to congratulate you. Twins! One boy and a girl."
"How can I tell them apart?" the mother asked.
The nurse smiled. "The eyes. They both have beautiful eyes. See, the boy has eyes just like yours."
Taking the girl, the mother nearly cried. "Her eyes…look like my husband."
"Where is he, miss? I'll get him for you."
She shook her head. "That's okay. He's busy now."
The door opened, revealing a pregnant woman in her early stages. "Cousin!" she smiled. "Twins, ne?"
The mother laughed. "I can't believe you woke up so early in the morning! I thought you would stay in bed."
"I couldn't do that to you, not after what you've done for me! Besides, it's my birthday! And your children's birthday too!"
Bemused, the mother shook her head. "No, only one. The male came out 12 hours earlier, on March 31st. The girl came out early this morning. April 1st."
The soon-to-be mother patted her stomach and said, "And this little one is due in October."
~*~
"Happy Birthday!" Everyone said to the little green-eyed two-year girl. Well, almost everyone.
"BOO!" said a familiar figure cloaked in a white sheet.
"AAAAHHHH!" two girls jumped out of their seats. "Ghosts!"
"Ni-chan!" The emerald-eyed mother slapped her brother. "I said to stop teasing them about ghosts! It's bad enough you did it to me!"
The brother's partner in crime laughed. This man with black hair and glasses said, "It's Halloween. A good way to celebrate your daughter's birthday."
A chestnut haired snorted. "And of luck, her birthday had to be on your favorite holiday."
"Well, don't go scaring my daughter!" the cousin said. "Go scare your wife and her friends, baka!"
A little boy, cousin to the birthday girl, tried to comfort her. "It's okay…there's no ghosts, it was only uncle." [Sorry…I know two year olds don't talk like that.]
The boy's twin sister stopped shaking and glared at her brother. She went to her cousin and also tried to comfort her. "It's your birthday, c'mon no need to be scared. You know how our uncles are."
The birthday girl stopped shaking and gave a brilliant smile to her girl cousin. "Arigato!"
The girl cousin gave a triumphant look to her brother as his eyes flashed.
~*story sequence*~
"Rivalry did start at a young age, but besides that, the twins were good friends. As usual, the naïve did not suspect anything."
Cho paused, then continued. "Who do you think will get the naïve one now?"
"The boy," Ron instantly said.
Cho smirked and gave a look that said: I-thought-you-were-against-the-whole-cousin-thing, Ron.
Cho regained composure. "Second complication: There are other cousins."
~*story sequence*~
A cry came up from above. "Oh, the baby!" the emerald said.
The mother ran upstairs, followed by the three little ones.
The sister ran up to the front. "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay," she said to her little brother. [yeah I know that three year olds can't do this, but oh well]
The baby boy quieted his sobs, but the tears still flowed. This worried the older sister. "Oka-san, he's still crying."
The mother was worried too. "I don't know why either."
Unable to stand her cousin's worried face, the girl cousin said, "Let me try."
The baby boy was passed to her, and as soon as she held him, the boy stopped crying and smiled at his older cousin.
"I can't believe you," the emerald said, as she ruffled the younger girl's hair. "Whenever you're near, he always does what you say."
"Maybe Oni-chan likes her!" the cheerful daughter said.
The boy cousin looked at his twin sister. "Maybe he does."
~*~
The three cousins were outside in the yard with another boy their age with black hair. The cheerful emerald young girl went up to him and said, "You're Ka-san's friend's son, right?"
When the boy looked confused, the other girl said in a cold voice, "Ka-san means mother. Our parents are friends, she means."
The other boy nodded and then the cheerful girl said, "Cousin, then?"
The boy looked surprised at first and then said, "Okay." He glanced at the emerald girl's companions, the two twins, but spent a longer glance at the girl.
The other boy looked at his twin sister and gave her a look that said other-cousins-like-you, why-do-you-have-to-pick-the-one-I-want?
~*~
"I don't want to be here!" the girl said crying. "I want to be with Otou-san! And Ka-san! And with Oba-san! I want my cousin and best friend!"
"Nee-chan, be quiet. We'll still see them, you'll see," the boy tried to calm his twin sister down.
"But we can't see them everyday like we used to, Ni-chan! How can you stand it? Don't you want to be with them? Don't you want to be with *her* too?"
The boy looked helplessly at his sister. It was true he wanted to be with the one he loved the most, but there was nothing he could do.
The girl kept crying. Her cousin was the joy of her life, her light. How could she stand being so far away?
Two strong arms wrapped around her. "Shhh, it's okay. You can cry all you want. But let me tell you something, it's not going to change a thing."
The twins looked at the newcomer. "Who are you?" they both asked together.
The new boy grinned. He was older than them, probably three years older. "I know that you'll be living differently now, and that I'm probably not a great substitute, but I'm you're new cousin." He looked at the girl he was hugging. "As long as I'm here, I'll do anything so that you don't cry anymore."
~*story sequence*~
Here Cho paused again. "So who will get the naïve one now?"
"The boy," Hermione said.
Cho looked surprised. "Why, Hermione?"
Hermione smiled. "I think it's the boy because the girl has many suitors. And they're all boys. And well, the girl sounds like she's going to give her cousin up."
Cho took this comment into account. "I understand what you're saying. But for the last complication: two of them were…reincarnated, to say it lightly."
Here Ginny listened. No one told her this part of the story…
"Remember the *very* first couple? Back to when a boy cousin was in love his innocent girl cousin? Well, here is where it really messes up. The boy cousin was 'reincarnated' into the naïve cousin of the present time, and the girl cousin 'reincarnated' into the girl that loved her naïve cousin."
Nobody except Ginny got it…maybe it was because she knew the *other* story. "So you mean the cousin is supposed to love the 'twin' cousin? But instead it's the other way around, or is it?" she said, looking directly at Cho.
Cho ignored Ginny's look as Ron said, "I don't get it."
Hermione said, "It's confusing without the names."
Harry and Eriol stayed silent. They were both thinking: where have I heard this story before?
Cho stood up and smiled. "Good then. I didn't want you to know the last example anyway." Walking away would have been effective, but her eyes gave away what she really felt. This story was one of the closest stories to her. Her reason? Ask her.
~*~Another Day~*~
"You might love her, but I'm not giving her up until I think you're worthy of her."
"You'll be fine right? I mean, I am leaving you alone with a baka of sorts."
"You know we can't. I can't. You can't."
"Cedric, you know just as well as I do that…"
"You're right. I can feel it. It'll be coming soon."
"NO! He can't die…no, you're lying, tell me you're lying."
"Stop telling jokes, honestly…you mean it's true? Oh god. Oh dear god."
"It's going to happen! I tell you, be careful!"
"This cannot be happening. Of all people, why does it have to be me?"
Cho shot up in bed and glanced at her clock. Usually she was an early riser, but something made her unable to do that today. It was her dreams.
The dreams of her past. The worst parts that were hidden away. No. Sakura-san was the one who put them away. The only way for her to get these dreams were if…were if Sakura-san let go of the magic barrier. But Sakura promised that she would never do that, Cho was hurt so much. Or maybe she didn't do it willingly. A huge weight dropped on Cho's shoulders.
Didn't her brother said that Sakura-san wasn't found? Meaning she was dead? So that meant her death let go of her barrier that held back the dreams.
"No…" Cho couldn't believe it herself. There has to be another reason. But a part of her felt that there was no other reason. After all, when Aunt Lily died, what was the first thing she did? Deny her death.
Cho's other conscious racked her head for another explanation. Of course!
But in finding the other reason did not bring a smile to her. Cho rushed to her notebook, the one Cedric gave her, the one Jade enchanted it so that there was a never ending supply of pages but still kept its usual size, the one she kept since she learned how to write. Flipping past the pages, she came on the one she wanted. The page that proved her reason correct. The page that made her sick to the stomach.
Journal, again and again I am haunted. He comes in my dreams. Every sequence of events is so clear to me, it's as if I'm there. Again. Sometimes I can't stand it! I go crazy, and Eli, Xiaolang, and of course Cedric are worried about me. Sakura-san suggested…suppressing my dreams, my memories. I said yes, anything to take this hurt away is better than living this way. Sakura Oba-san didn't erase them, she just made them fuzzy memories that are hidden away…until Judgment Day came. She said that when these memories come back like before, it'll be like her alarm to me that *it's* happening. The day destiny is up to me.
It's time. I'm going to Hogwarts. I'll see him soon. -July 1
~*~
"Where is she?!?"
"I'll rather die than tell her where she is."
"Foolish muggles. You're life will be spared if you tell me her location."
"Baka! Sure, and then you'll kill us afterwards."
"If you're so smart, then find out yourself without threatening us!"
"My patience does not last long with muggles."
"Give us your best shot!"
"We're not to yield like Wormtail, the traitor."
"I've exchanged enough words with you. AVANDRA KEVANDRA!"
A scream…then complete silence. The scene faded away with a dense mist. A girl's sobbing was heard. An older boy spoke.
"*sigh* It's those dreams again, aren't they?"
"I c-can't help it, Cedric! It's, It's so real, it's like it's h-happening again!"
"Here. Drink this. You need to calm down first."
Another boy spoke. "Cedric! What happened to her?"
"Don't tell me it's the dreams again." This was the third boy.
"Xiaolang," the female voice was barely audible, "how do you manage? With your premonitions, how do you *not* experience it as if you're there?"
"..." The third boy didn't know how to answer.
"Are you okay now?" The second boy was filled with worry.
You could tell the girl was smiling. "I'm okay, Eli. Really. Thanks for everything guys." She left.
"Oka-san's going to ask if she wants her dreams to be hidden away." Xiaolang.
"Another one of your premonitions?" Cedric.
"If she says yes, she's going to Hogwarts." Eli.
"She's going to say yes, isn't she."
"…Then after You-know-who pulled out his wand and did the Killing Curse," Harry said. He was explaining the two strange dreams he had that night. So far, he had only gotten to his first dream.
"Your scar didn't hurt, did it?" Ron said, worried.
Harry shook his head. " If I did, it was really short. I had another dream after…anyway, he attacked a family of muggles. He kept asking where 'she' was."
"Who'd he attack?" Hermione questioned.
Harry shrugged. "Muggles. There was one wizard though, but he was muggle born. " He blinked. "For a strange reason, I feel like I've known them before."
"What do you mean?" Cho came inside Jade's room, bringing in a glass vase with cherry blossoms and peonies in it to brighten up her room. She had been listening to Harry's dream all the time, with Hermione and Ron. It was near ten, and Ginny never woke up yet.
"Well, there was a guy with dark blond hair and hazel eyes, wearing a green robe. It was the wizard, and he was trying to protect the muggles or something. The muggles looked like they already knew about magic, because they surprised when the wizard, Mundungus Fletcher, apparated in front of them."
"Hey, isn't Fletcher the one Dumbledore asked Sirius to gather at the end of last year?" Hermione said.
"Yeah, how could you know him, Harry?" Ron asked.
Cho's hands shook. Gus was supposed to be protecting…and if Harry's dream was correct, then that means… "Harry, who else did you see in your dream?" she asked aloud. She had to know. She had to be sure.
A bit concerned from the look Cho gave in her eyes, Harry answered, "There was a muggle family, a mother and her daughter. Her boyfriend or something like that was there too."
Cho paled even more. "Do you know their names?" she said with a slight tremor in her voice.
"The boy I know- he used to go to my school, the school I went to before I came to Hogwarts. He's older than us, and he has brown hair and eyes. His name was Zachary Tereda."
CRASH. Cho's unsteady hands dropped the glass vase, spilling its contents on the floor. NO! It can't be true. Gus is alive…Voldermort didn't go after them… Cho frantically thought, with every thought focused on the death of her cousins, she didn't notice the warm water running underneath her shoes, the beautiful flowers scattered on the floor, or the glass that entered her hand, staining it red.
"Cho! Are you alright?" Hermione said, worried for her friend. She grabbed Cho's hand, and tried her best to heal her friend's hand. Ron did what he could with the mess Cho caused.
"Never mind the mess," Cho said. "Harry…go on. Who else did you see?"
Nervous, Harry replied, "The muggle family was Yamazaki, the mother was Chiharu and the daughter's name was Chelsea. There was no one else. All four of them died, the Yamazakis, Tereda, and Fletcher."
Dread filled Cho up. This can't be true, it just can't.
Tap tap. All heads turned to the window, which revealed a small black owl tapping at the glass pane to get their attention.
For those who meant what a black owl meant, they paled and shared one single thought: Harry's dream was true.
"Oh god!" Cho ran out of the room, nearly knocking Hermione and Ron off balance. They're really dead…they're really dead.
Harry opened the window to let the owl in. The black bird flew in, dropped a black envelope then promptly flew back out. "Wonder what was that for," Harry murmured.
"Harry…" Hermione said in a strangely high pitched voice. "Black owls delivering black envelopes…"
"They mean that someone died," Ron hoarsely finished for her.
On the black envelope was strange characters written on the front in a red pen. "No wonder Cho ran out. She knew something- this envelope says 'Ying Fa' in Chinese characters," Hermione said. Tapping her wand on the envelope, the characters turned into letters that Harry could understand. Sure enough, they said Ying Fa.
Harry opened the letter and inside was a copy of The Daily Prophet- the rough sketch of tomorrow's edition. Some words were glowing, emphasizing some words. At the top there was a red "VOID" stamp mark. {Most likely by Cornelius} A headline of an article was glowing: "Signs of Dark Days Ahead" The article included the attack of Ms. Mizuki's mansion, and the attack on the Yamazaki muggle family. Such glowing words included Chiharu Yamazaki, Chelsea Yamazaki, Zachary Tereda, and Gus, or Mundungus Fletcher.
Harry gaped at the newspaper. His dream, it was correct. The newspaper indicated that the attack on the muggles happened during the same time he had his dream. He was the only one who witnessed it.
Ginny came at the door, looking pale. "What happened? I saw Cho pass me a moment ago- it looked as if she saw a ghost."
The trio passed the paper and Ginny dropped it as soon as she understood.
Near the bottom someone had written (it was in Chinese but due to Hermione's spell, it was in English), I'm really sorry Cho. Xiefa Li, Minister of Magic.
********************************************************************************************
Break time!
Anyway, onto the next piece of business: who died during at Kaho's house.
Now, Sirius was supposed to lie low at Remus' place…uh, but he didn't follow orders. Him and the others stayed at Kaho's mansion (that place is big enough anyway). Things were bright, happy (things are always that way with Sakura, isn't it?) and Ginny got to meet everyone. Then Xiaolang (Sakura's son) got a premonition. One thing about Xiaolang is that his premonitions are so precise, he even knows when it will happen. (But knowing the future's no fun if you know what/when/where/why it will happen!) Eli (Cho's brother) can also have premonitions, but they're never as accurate as Xiaolang's. (That must make Xiaolang very happy)
Xiaolang had a premonition that Voldermort was going to attack. He also saw that everyone was prepared for him, so of course they had a fight. (That's why everyone knew he was there.) Xiaolang also noticed that Ginny wasn't there. So that's why Ginny wasn't able to meet her boyfriend near the end of summer.
Finally, due to their fight, Kaho's mansion (or Eriol's mansion, Eriol gave it to Kaho long time ago) collapsed, bringing down the people inside too. Unfortunately, Voldermort escaped, free to do more evil things.
The first to regain consciousness was Cho, and she found Kaho and Xiefa. The others continued the search and some were found, dead or alive. Some weren't found at all. Anyone who didn't prove that they were alive were pronounced dead.
And here's the death list:
Naoko Chang, Tzao Chang [Gotta get a better name for Naoko's husband- got any suggestions?], Fanren Li, Feimei Li, Fuutie Li [Did I get the sisters' names correct?], Syaoran Li, Sakura Li, Hisui Li, Xiaolang Li, Narcissa Malfoy, Remus Lupin, Rhea Silver, and Takahashi Yamazaki.
See? The three aunts are the Li sisters (excluding Xiefa, she's the Calm One), the uncle is Takahashi, the graduates were already mentioned, the Changs are gone, and the 'family they cared about the most' has disappeared too. Oh, but I'm still thinking which ones are still alive and hiding. I have a lot of things on my mind.
Oh well! Let's see…the "guardians" went somewhere else, Tomoyo and Meiling are staying in China with the elders (Touya, Fujitaka, and Yelan…so don't worry about them), Arabella and Kaho are probably on Privet Drive (either that, or somewhere in England), and by now you should know what happened to Chiharu, Chelsea, Zachary, and Gus. Whew! I mentioned everyone who was present during the fight, right? Okay! On with the story.
********************************************************************************************
Where am I? The red haired girl looked around her. Everything looked dark, and it was raining. But the rain didn't touch her, she didn't feel the coldness…it was like she wasn't even there.
Ginny was about to pinch herself, I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming…
But then she saw the iron gate. The large mansion on the hill. The cherry blossom trees. Turning around she thought, Talk about déjà vu.
Sure enough, Ginny saw a small red haired girl shivering in the cold, sheltering under the trees, and look uncertainly at the surroundings. Ginny smiled sadly. This is me…when I first met Xiaolang. This is definitely a dream. This has to be. But I won't wake up just yet. I want to see him…again.