Chapter 12 Summary: With the Towers back, new residents have taken ownership. Jade's in the First Tower, Harry's in the Second Tower, Cho's in the Fourth Tower, and Malfoy's in the Fifth Tower. (Actually, Voldermort is the true heir of the Fifth Tower, but McGonagal prevented that by placing Malfoy back in Hogwarts.)
Meanwhile, Tomoyo's spending time with Haley, an orphan Tomoyo sponsored to continue her education. Miles away, Eriol finds out Arabella and Meiling set him up. Chloe and her friends (who turn out to be squibs) take Eriol to the site of his demolished house.
Back in Hogwarts, Sirius Black and a young Ying Fa appear. Ying Fa takes the Gryffindors to the Second Tower where Harry is, but reveals her true name. Hermione questions her about it…
Chapter 13: A Piece of the Puzzle
DISCLAIMER: Card Captor Sakura is owned by CLAMP. Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling. Star Wish owns nothing.
"You said your surname was Hiiragizawa," Hermione said frostily. The room became still.
After a terse silence, Ron finally asked, "Is that true? Are you related to Professor Moon?"
Ginny gasped. "Ron! This girl is from the past! Be careful of what you say!"
Ying Fa raised her eyes to analyze the exchange between siblings. Her eyes narrowed. So he's a teacher in this time. Has the Cho of this time done anything yet?
Hermione cut into Ying Fa's thoughts. "You haven't answered."
Ying Fa's fingers tightened around her teacup. I won't do it. Ying Fa refused to make eye contact with Hermione, afraid she might loose control and release a psychic attack. Ying Fa felt thoroughly irritated that the other girl had picked up on one tidbit and revealed its importance to the people who never realized it. It would cause problems for the other Cho, for sure.
Ying Fa made her decision and stood up abruptly. "You seem to misunderstand." She smiled coldly. "I'm not here to help you figure out the Cho of your time. The only reason I am here is to serve my own purposes. I don't see any see any reason why I should tell you anything."
Hermione angrily rose from her seat. "Now you see here-!"
Ying Fa's blue eyes turned ice cold. She glared at the older girl. Their eyes met, and Ying Fa searched Hermione's mind. "Careful," Ying Fa mocked. "You're going to get it someday."
"Ying Fa!" Ginny scolded.
The outburst broke Ying Fa's concentration. Immediately, the time traveler felt guilty for invading the other person's mind. Without saying good-bye, the young girl ran out of the room. "Ying Fa!" Ginny called. She looked worriedly back at Hermione, but then ran off in the direction following Ying Fa.
Hermione staggered when she broke eye contact with Ying Fa. Something felt off. Something felt… violated. Ron rushed to support her. "Hermione!" He sighed. "She's just a little girl, you know."
Harry looked at the place where Ying Fa was. "But Ron might be right. She could be related to Professor Moon."
No, Hermione said to herself silently. She's the daughter of Professor Hiiragizawa. That would explain why she hides her anger for him, why her father wasn't present when Umbridge took her away, and why she was shocked when she first met him.
"Ying Fa!" Ginny called as she stopped to gasp for breath in the Tower corridors. Ying Fa turned around, saying nothing but glaring accusingly. Ginny raised her hands defensively. "I'm not going to interrogate you about your father."
Ying Fa studied the other girl. "So you already know about Eriol." She paused, then spoke softly. "What is he like?"
Ginny grinned, shaking her head. "You aren't going to get any information from me. The reason I chased you down was because I need to get to Cho. I need to tell her something."
As a form of good-bye, Chloe, Jennie, and Eve leaned on the side of the car as they watched Eriol trudge up the hill to Arabella. The three women didn't know Eriol well enough to part with an emotional hug. But the four of them made a connection that it didn't seem right to dump Eriol at the demolished manor and leave.
When Eriol finally climbed the greater part of the hill, Chloe finally moved from her position and opened the trunk of the car. Inside were two flower bouquets. Jennie and Eve glanced at each other skeptically as Chloe thrust one bouquet to the each of them.
"What the hell is this?" Jennie asked.
"Godric's Hallow is that way," Chloe said, tossing her chin in the proper direction. "Since we're already here, you might as well pay your respects to your brother." Chloe turned to Eve and said, "As well as to your sister."
Eve opened her mouth to give an indignant reply but Jennie dragged her away. "You shouldn't hate her for this," she said. "You know you want to do it anyway." Jennie let her go while Eve gave a resigned sigh as an agreement.
Awkwardly, Jennie dropped to her knees and clasped her hands. She closed her eyes as she thought of her older brother: the trickster in the arrogant, dashing, yet loveable wizard who was named James Potter.
Meanwhile, Eve did the same as she thought of her stepsister, Narcissa Malfoy.
…w…a…k…e… …u…p…
wake up
WAKE UP!
With a start, Cho opened her eyes. She sat up in her lavender canopy bed with a shuddering breath and closed her eyes until her breathing returned to normal. When she opened her eyes she said softly, "You felt it, right? It was something… dark and ominous. Definitely something not good."
Cho turned to Midori, who just cocked its head and blinked its beady eyes. Cho smiled and patted the stuffed-animal-animated-into-a-live-kitten on the head. "Thank you for waking me up. I'm sure if you didn't, I would have continued to sleep forever. And that would have been selfish of me."
Midori didn't answer and continued to blink cutely. Cho nodded resolutely. "I can't keep running away." Taking a deep breath, Cho forced herself to smile. "Let's get started, shall we?"
"Excuse me, Master Malfoy," a house elf timidly interrupted, "Mistress Hiiragizawa wishes to speak with you."
Draco slowly dropped the raised arm with the sword in hand. "Did she introduce herself as Ying Fa Hiiragizawa?" he asked, surprised.
The house elf nodded. "Yes sir. Mistress Ying Fa Hiiragizawa of the Fourth Tower."
Draco walked to the window facing the Fourth Tower. From her own window, Cho waved cheerfully. With a mild sigh, Draco sheathed his sword and told the house elf, "You may leave." The creature bowed and left.
There was a bowl of silver water located near the window. Draco sprinkled some fine dust over the water and the liquid gleamed. Cho's image appeared in his bowl, smiling.
"Were you practicing your sword drills? Sorry to interrupt."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "So you're back. You're Ying Fa again."
Cho smiled, reminiscing. "They had to threaten you, didn't they? Just so I wouldn't remember, they threatened you to keep your distance. Because, meeting you was an effect of that Halloween night, and when I chose to forget, I also forgot you."
Eleven-year-old Draco tapped her shoulder. "Ying Fa."
"What?" Cho blinked. "I'm sorry, but have we met before?"
At this, Draco was shocked. "Ying Fa, we were engaged-"
"Cho!" The two turned to see a frowning Eli making his way towards his twin sister. Traditionally, Draco would have made a sarcastic comment, but two arms dragged the boy away.
"Eli!" Cho said, relieved. "I was just speaking to…" Cho looked back and was confused to not see the blond boy she was speaking to on the Platform.
"Probably no one important," Eli tried to soothe her.
"But Eli, he knew my real name. How…? And, he said we were engaged-" Cho rose on her toes to frantically scan the crowd on the Platform of 9¾.
Eli frowned even deeper, contemplating how to solve the problem presented. "That was Draco Malfoy, the son of Lucius Malfoy, Cho," he said quietly. "The engagement was a way for Lucius to gain your power, but Naoko-okaasan and Tzao-otousan found a way to get out of it. Stay away from Draco Malfoy, Cho."
Cho rested back on her heels and nodded, surprised at her brother's serious tone. Eli suddenly smiled, relieving the tension. "Go aboard the train. Find a window seat and we'll wave good-bye." Eli kissed the top of her forehead. "Have a nice second year."
Eli waited until he saw Cho disappear into the train before ducking into a secluded alley. A dim light revealed Xiaolang Jr. and Cedric holding Draco Malfoy hostage. Xiaolang, who had been keeping Draco gagged, released his hold on the blonde's mouth. "Why doesn't she remember me?" Draco immediately demanded.
With an angry glare, Xiaolang brought out his pendant and in a flash pressed his sword against Draco's neck. "You are to pretend that you don't know her. This is the first you've met her, and you were never engaged to her."
Cedric remained silent as he kept watch for any passersby. Eli spoke softly. "Her memories were taken away to ensure my sister a bit of happiness. If you, in any way, cause her to remember and destroy that happiness… then, what I will do to you will be much worse that the pranks I've played on you, Draco Malfoy." Xiaolang released his hold on Draco and reverted the sword back into a pendant.
Xiaolang and Eli left the alley, but Cedric spoke up. "They will find out, you know. If you hurt her, or cause her pain, they will do they same ten times over. I prefer that you don't speak to her at all."
Cedric pushed off of the wall he was leaning on. "Oh, and by the way, her name is Cho."
Draco shrugged. "It didn't matter to me. I didn't really care for our engagement. I didn't mind pretending not to know you."
Cho nodded. "It was just the intangible things that you knew you would miss. The understanding that I offered, Eli's friendship, Jade's healing love…"
"You should really stop reading people's thoughts without an invitation," Draco crossly said.
Cho grinned. "Sorry. Force of habit." Her exuberance toned down and she added, "Eli's back."
"I know."
"I'd really like it for you to be friends again. You two know each other so well without having to say anything. I miss that."
Draco was silent for a beat, then said abruptly, "Arabella Figg showed me your past."
Cho was taken aback for a bit. "Oh." Cho's face smiled in the water basin, but Draco could tell she was not happy. "That's… all right." Cho gave a strained grin. "Anything you would like to ask me?"
Draco frowned. "You shouldn't be like this. You shouldn't push yourself do to something you don't want to do-"
"Draco," Cho interrupted. "Jade's the First Tower resident. I'm sure if you ask the guardians nicely, they'll let you in." Draco remained silent, even though his eyes betrayed his longing to see the Sorceress again. He unceremoniously stared at Cho, not taking her less-than-subtle hint to move onto another topic.
Cho sighed. "It's fine. Really. I'll deal with anything this prophecy and my destiny throws at me. It doesn't matter," she said seriously, "as long as I get my wish."
"Arabella Figg," Eriol greeted as soon as he was in speaking range. "I haven't seen you since I was a child."
Bella grinned. "Yeah. So tell me, did you win in the end? Was the card captor finally appointed as successor?"
Eriol smiled blandly. "You tell me, Mistress of Time Past."
A shadow flickered in Arabella's eyes and the woman turned away from Eriol. Bella brought out her gloved hands from the pockets of her coat and watched them glow a bright gold. She waited for the light to recede before speaking again. "It's true that I already know what happened. The time that flows into the past is my domain. But I'd still like to know your opinion. Did you win?"
Eriol glanced the ruins of the desolate manor that once belonged to him. "I won," Eriol finally answered. "I didn't have to shoulder the burden of such powerful magic. And I managed to claim the heart of a beautiful woman."
"Ah, the wife." Bella began to step through the ruins. "The reason you've stumbled out of your hiding place to find answers. To see if she's still alive. To see if she was at Godric's Hallow. To see if everything you've done in the past was not done in vain." Bella's blue eyes met with his. Eriol waited patiently for Bella to answer his unasked question.
"What you fear is true." Eriol stilled. "Everything you did to protect her was meaningless."
Eriol felt the wind knocked out of him. He doubled over and fell to his knees as Bella continued with her monologue. "She followed you to Europe. She met Lily and James Potter. She was here when Voldermort was first conquered by Harry. She was close enough to see the green flash of the Avada Kedavra."
Arabella's words pounded against Eriol's ears. His breath had not returned to him. Eriol felt more than ready to welcome death because what she revealed to him. I couldn't- I didn't save her!
"But…" Arabella said so calmly that Eriol had to look up, "she didn't die that day."
Lavender eyes watched the adults converse as a mouth settled into an angry frown. Eriol Hiiragizawa the second, also known as Eli Chang, watched silently as Eriol Hiiragizawa the first asked spoke with Arabella. Eli watched, his anger churning like the boiling of hot magma.
"Have you decided yet?"
Eli glanced for a second to see Kaho step next to him, and then returned his eyes to watch his estranged father. Eli was too concerned with the man to acknowledge the Seer beside him.
Kaho exhaled, her breath coming out in white puffs. "Have you decided what to do? Will you storm up there and lash out on him? Will you tell him you are the son he never knew existed? Will you tell him that his decision sixteen years ago will result in the death of his wife and daughter?"
Eli scoffed. "I am aware of the futility of even letting him see me."
Kaho blinked slowly. "If he sees you, he'll be confused. If you rant at him, he won't understand. If you hurt him, neither Tomoyo or Cho will forgive you," she said, voicing his thoughts.
Eli watched with a grim satisfaction as Eriol fell to his knees. The wind whispered, "Everything you did to protect her was meaningless."
Eli suddenly whirled to face Kaho. "Why does it have to be this way? Why did you have to choose her? Out of all the people who could have been your sacrifice, why does it have to be my sister? Out of all the destinies that could have been selected, why does she have to die?"
Kaho's face was impassive, but her eyes flickered. "You're asking the questions that we have no power to change."
Eli coldly glared at the older woman. Out of the corner of his eyes, Eriol rose from his position to grasp Bella's collar in anger. "You love him still, so it will hurt you to hear this:
"If Cho dies, I'll never forgive him. And I'll certainly never acknowledge him as a father."
Ying Fa burst into the Fourth Tower with Ginny in tow. Cho greeted her younger self and her friend from the seat of a lavender chair. "I've been expecting you." From Cho's fingers dangled a gold trinket.
Ying Fa's eyes widened as she noticed the necklace. Cho rose from her chair, scolding the younger self, "Ryu-sama passed this along to me. He left a bit of advice, which I think you should follow." Cho lowered herself to Ying Fa's eye level and placed the pendant around Ying Fa's neck. "You are not to bargain with this pendant. Time travel isn't a thing to be trifled with."
Ying Fa nodded, captivated by Cho's blue eyes. Therefore, it took little resistance for Cho to sort through Ying Fa's mind and remove unneeded memories. Blue violet magic swirled in the air as Ying Fa's memories physically rose from the occupant's head and transferred to Cho.
Ginny watched on apprehensively as the magic settled and Ying Fa fought to regain her surroundings. "There was something you needed to do here," Cho gently reminded her.
Ying Fa blinked, remembering. "Yes."
"You should leave, then," Cho continued.
"Yes… I should go then." Ying Fa closed her eyes and disappeared in a shower of violet blue lights.
After a beat, Ginny asked softly, "What did you do to her?"
Cho braced herself on a nearby ledge to pull herself up. "I removed the memories of her time here. It wouldn't be good if she returns home and tells everyone Eriol's a professor." Cho smiled wryly. "I suppose I have to apologize to Hermione for my rudeness. I was incredibly single-minded back then. I didn't like it when things went differently to how I planned."
Ginny nodded. "She did say she had something to do…" Ginny looked up to Cho. "Why did she come here?"
Violet blue lights shimmered. Little feet touched the white snow. Four markers poked out of the ground. The little girl ran toward them.
A sad frown crossed Cho's lips as she remembered.
Blue eyes blinked and the sight changed. The world turned into a color of grays. She glanced up at the school and saw the colored spells of protection surrounding it. The eyes returned to the ground and saw a violet runic circle at her feet. The violet lines were faint. The magic was fading.
Cho motioned to a nearby chair for Ginny to sit in with a kind smile. "I wanted to find out the truth. Something had been revealed to me, and it shocked me. I didn't want to believe it. The only way to trust in the truth was to go to that very time and see it for myself."
She kneeled at the edges of the circle. Taking a deep breath, she bit at her own hand, producing a red liquid. She pulled out the golden pendant and let the drops land on the necklace. "Please," she whispered, touching the bloody locket to the violet lines. "Take me to the time it happened."
The circle glowed in a burst of light and the girl disappeared.
"Cho?" Ginny said worriedly at the gloomy look in the Ravenclaw's eyes. "Cho, I have something to tell you."
Cho snapped out of her reverie. "You do?"
"Um," Ginny clasped her hands anxiously. "I had a dream. Of the future."
Cho frowned. "A precognitive dream? You did?"
Ginny nodded. "Or rather… someone with those powers let me see the dream." When Cho raised a skeptical eyebrow, Ginny finally said, "Xiaolang showed me the future."
Cho gaped wordlessly. Ginny gave a tentative smile. "You're going to think I'm crazy, I think- no, I know that Xiaolang is still alive. And he's well. Safe and well. He said he had a message for you, but the only reason he didn't give it to you directly was because-"
"Show me."
Now it was Ginny's turn to gape. At the end, she asked, "How?"
Cho stood, walking to Ginny. She placed her fingertips at the redhead's temples and quietly said, "Relax." When Ginny closed her eyes, Cho bent so her forehead was touching hers.
Hogwarts. The Fight. Giants, dementors, Him.
"Here, Harry, take this. It'll give you protection. He wants you, not me. And he'll kill you. This may save you."
"I…I can't see! Everything's fuzzy and dark…oh god, it really is happening."
"Keep the others safe, okay? And whatever you do, don't kill. We don't kill, and we won't do it today unless we have to."
"It was fun killing him. I killed him slowly so that he could feel the pain."
And Xiaolang's message: "Stop thinking about the past. Even if your dreams are coming back, don't become depressed again. Your time…your time for fun and games is running out.
So just… just be happy, Cho."
In a blind rage, Eriol wrapped his fingers around Arabella's collar. "Is this just a game to you? Playing with me, telling me she was here, that she knew the Potters… was it just a game to see how I would react? Tell me the truth!"
Arabella remained unshaken by her old friend's uncharacteristic behavior. She looked directly into his eyes and said clearly, "I was telling the truth. She was here, but she lived. Your wife is still alive."
Eriol numbly loosened his grip and Bella pried herself away from him. She walked further into the ruins, pushing the protruding plaster out of her way. "As for this being a game… it's not. Think of it as retribution for the suffering you've caused. You decided to leave your wife, causing the wheel of fate to turn. Maybe they don't pray for vengeance, but they blame you for what you've done."
"They…?" Eriol repeated.
Bella turned around to give him a cynical grin. "Your wife… and the Child of Fate."
Eriol frowned. "What does the Child of Fate have to do with me?"
"Everything, Eriol. When you decided to leave, we took that opportunity to choose a Child of Fate. Sixteen years ago, the perfect candidate came into existence. She was the daughter of the oldest prophecies and a broken family. She grew up to be lonely and unloved. And when the time comes, she will sacrifice her life for people who don't even care, protecting the person she has devoted her life to." Bella gave a dry laugh. "And when she does, I'll finally be freed from these chains of Fate."
Eriol's mouth settled into a thin line. "So is this," he gestured to the mansion's ruins, "a product of naming the Child of Fate?"
"Yes. You're catching on quickly." Bella took two steps to her left before speaking again. "During the past summer, the Child of Fate stood in this exact spot. The Dark Lord stood over there," she gestured somewhere near Eriol, "as he was about to cast the Killing Curse. But his wand wasn't pointed at the Child. Instead…" Arabella pointed at Eriol, "his wand was aimed at Tomoyo."
Eriol's eyes narrowed. "You said Tomoyo was alive."
"I did. But for some reason, the Child of Fate interfered with the Dark Lord, and saved her, even though she is your wife." Bella offered Eriol an open palm. "You should see for yourself what happened."
After a moment's hesitation, Eriol walked up and grabbed Arabella's outstretched hand. "Fine. I'll figure out what it is you want me to see."
Arabella smiled and Eriol became blinded by a gold light. Eriol let go of the woman's hand to shield his eyes. When the light receded, Eriol lowered his arm to see the Hiiragizawa Manor reconstructed. Eriol glanced down at his body to see that it was transparent, out of phase of the time Bella had placed him in.
"Well," he murmured. "You finally managed time travel, Arabella."
BOOM. An explosion started and the house rattled. Something ran behind him and Eriol turned to see the black cloak. "Death Eaters," He breathed. "What is going on here?"
"There has been some difficulties back home, making her miss the train and come to Hogwarts today. She will join this class."
"Tomoyo!" Eriol turned around wildly. What was his wife doing in a place like this? Why was she putting herself in danger? Why was she a target of the Dark Lord?
Eriol stopped short, his breath caught in his throat. Tomoyo had just ran into the room, desperately barricading the door behind her. Even though his wife was covered with sweat and out of breath, she still managed to remain the beauty that she was when he had left her sixteen years ago.
Eriol wanted nothing more to sweep her into his arms and chase away the anxious look on her face. Tomoyo rested her head on the wooden door to catch her breath. Eriol exhaled noisily. This was the first time he had seen his wife in sixteen years, and he could do nothing but watch her from a distance.
A cruel laughter broke into his thoughts. "You can't run away from me," Voldermort smirked. The hasty barricade Tomoyo had made was destroyed in seconds. Tomoyo yelped, falling to the floor.
Tomoyo looked up at Voldermort defiantly as the man advanced. "You should have joined me when I first asked. Good-bye, my dear," he said as he raised his wand. "Avada kedav-"
"IMPEDIMENTA!" a girl shrieked, her voice livid. The spell hit Voldermort directly, cutting him off from finishing the curse.
"The Dark Lord stood over there as he was about to cast the Killing Curse. But his wand was aimed at Tomoyo." Eriol turned around, wondering why the voice sounded so familiar. Did he meet the Child of Fate before? "During the past summer, the Child of Fate stood in this exact spot." Eriol became shocked to the core when he saw who the Child of Fate was.
Cho glared fiercely, with her wand ready to strike again.
The Guardian's Corner…
Kero: Yeah, we got two reviews! My handsome self gets to finally show up here!
Aimee and Yue: blink blink
Kero: But ONLY two reviews?! I need more reviews so my corner can be longer!
Aimee: huh… looks like Kero-chan's no-pudding diet is not going well…
Suppi His corner? Since when is it his corner?
Ruby Moon: Anyway! (grin) Thanks to Moon Love Angel for the review! If you're confused, ask Aimee questions. I'm sure our procrastinating, hypochondriac, lazy friend will clear it up for you!
Aimee: Hey!
Suppi: Well, you didn't update last month…
Yue: And you seem to get sick a lot…
Aimee: (sniff) You guardians are so mean. I don't know why I ever gave you guys a corner.
Kero: NOOO! Aimee, I'm a good guardian, please give me my pudding!
Ruby Moon: And thanks to Mii of Ice Mirrors too! Yay! We get a new reader!
Aimee: Thank you for reading my story! You even figured out that Cho is Eriol's daughter!
Yue: There were many clues.
Aimee: Well, how am I supposed to know my readers understood those clues?! No one said anything in their reviews!
Suppi: That's because no one writes a review.
Aimee: Wah!
Kero: There, there. More people will review, Aimee. After all, they can't wait to see me!
Aimee: (sweat drop) Thanks, Kero.
Kero: (hopeful) So do I get pudding?
Yue/Suppi/Ruby Moon: NO!
Aimee: (shrug) Not until I get more reviews.
Kero: NOOOOOO! Everyone review so I can get pudding! PLEASE! Pretty please with a cherry on top?