Disclaimer: I can lay no claim on either Cardcaptor Sakura or Harry Potter. They belong to other people and I make no money off of them.
"Hufflepuff!" cried the Hat, the slight echo of the words drowned out by the clapping and cheering of the Hufflepuff students as Tomoyo moved to join her new House-mates. Li, Meiling and Sakura were all still waiting in line. Sakura was still shaking slightly after the encounter with the school ghosts, but she managed to smile tremulously at her best friend's placement. Then she quickly looked down at her feet again; some of the ghosts were still floating around the Great Hall.
Sakura had spent part of her summer trying to get over her fear of ghosts after reading that Hogwarts had so many around. She had succeeded to some degree; they still scared her but not so much she couldn't handle it. She bit her lip and glanced up from her feet at Tomoyo, who was talking to a blond boy sitting next to her. As if she sensed Sakura's gaze, Tomoyo turned around and smiled sweetly at her friend. She pointed up at the ceiling and Sakura turned her eyes upwards.
Sakura's mouth fell open in amazement; she had never seen so many stars before. The city lights usually drowned out most of the night sky in Tomoeda. She smiled in delight and felt herself relax under the glory of those silver lights. The stars reminded her of her own power and the surety that everything would be all right relaxed her.
"Kinomoto, Sakura." She moved over to the stool and the Sorting Hat. The Hat felt soft and warm as it settled over her eyes, blocking out the light.
"Hufflepuff!"
Touya politely showed Tanaka out of the house while Sakura helped Fujitaka clear the living room table. Cerberus and Yue moved stealthily into Sakura's room to talk together seriously while she was occupied with the dishes.
The family did not mention the subject of Hogwarts again until dinner. By then, Yue had reverted to Yukito and the teenager was diving into his food with as much enthusiasm as Kero. Fujitaka and Touya were in the middle of a discussion about the strange bones recently found in Indonesia.
"I don't think I want to go." Everyone turned to look at Sakura who was fidgeting in her chair.
Touya nodded. "I think it's a bad idea too." He turned toward his father, smirking slightly as he watched his younger sister out of the corner of his eyes. "The little monster can't stay out of trouble for a minute. She certainly can't be trusted to take care of herself."
Sakura fumed and was about to snap back that she could too take of herself when Kero interrupted. "Hey! Sakura, the amazing sorceress and Mistress of the Clow, along with her handsome and powerful guardian beast Cerberus of course, can do anything. She doesn't need anyone's help!"
Touya snorted and glared at Kero. "She gets into way too much trouble! And it's not like a talking plush toy could really protect her."
The conversation quickly degraded into a shouting match between the two, with Yukito smiling broadly and occasionally inserting teasing comments that only managed to enrage the two combatants further.
Meanwhile, Fujitaka ignored the noise and focused on his daughter, "Why don't you want to go, Sakura?"
Sakura moved her attention off the escalating fight. "Well, England is so far away, I would miss everyone so much."
"I'm sure you would have no trouble making new friends Sakura," Fujitaka said smiling. He thought back to his phone conversation with Sonomi. "Maybe you should talk to Tomoyo, since she is also being invited."
Sakura's eyes widened. "Tomoyo-chan is going?"
-
Sakura woke up shivering. Her normally warm room was strangely cold. She huddled into her blankets, pulling them tight to form a cocoon of sorts. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the moments just before she had woken up. She had been dreaming about something . . .
"Sakura!" Kero pulled the blanket off her head. "It's time for breakfast!"
Sunday breakfast was Kero's favorite meal of the week. Actually, every meal was Kero's favorite but on Sunday they had an especially large breakfast. Sakura sighed gustily and pulled herself out of bed. It was useless to resist, Kero would just keep getting louder and more insistent until she got up.
As she got dressed, Sakura's mind drifted back to the day before. A strange school in a far away land. It sounded like one of her friend Naoko's novels. It was even a magic school; Naoko would have been so happy if she knew about it. Sakura paused, her shirt half way over head. Naoko, Rika, Chiharu and Yamazaki; if she went to this school, she wouldn't see any of her friends for such a long time. She wondered what Tomoyo was going to say.
"Sakura! Hurry up!" Kero tugged at the bottom of her shirt. "What's wrong with you? If you don't hurry that Snow Bunny will eat everything!"
Finished with her clothes, Sakura moved to grab some ties for her hair. "Kero, have you ever heard of this Ho-Ho-"
"Hogwarts. I vaguely remember Clow Reed taking us there once, a long time ago." Kero rested his head on one paw and closed his eyes in a manner suggesting serious thought. Then his eyes popped open and his mouth stretched into a wide grin. "I remember they had the best food there! And lots of it!"
Sakura sighed.
-
On Tuesday Sakura had lunch with Tomoyo and her mother Sonomi. They had tea and cakes in the garden while the bodyguards faded discreetly into the background.
"Of course, it was quite a surprise to hear that Tomoyo and you were being invited to Hogwarts, Sakura. It is a very prestigious school." Sonomi's movements as she served the tea were smooth and elegant.
Sakura blinked. "You've heard of Hogwarts before, Daidouji-san?"
Sonomi smiled. "Oh yes, my father was on the Japanese Wizarding Council for many years. I was waiting to tell Tomoyo about that part of our family history until she showed some signs of being a witch." Sonomi pouted a bit. "I should have known my darling girl would be more subtle than that. It seems she's been sewing charms into her clothing for quite a while and no one noticed until recently."
Sakura's mouth dropped open slightly and her eyes darted over to take in Tomoyo's shy smile. Sakura smiled back at her. "I'm so happy, Tomoyo! That you have magic too, I mean."
"It is sad to think of my sweet girls so far away, I would miss you both so much. I can see you there now, going to classes and giggling together. Loving cousins, always taking care of each of other, like me and my wonderful Nadeshiko," suddenly Sonomi was standing, her fists clenched and flames dancing in her eyes. "Then that man took her away from me! That horrible teacher took my sweet and innocent cousin away while I could only look on helplessly!"
Sakura smiled tremulously and carefully turned away from the ranting Sonomi and toward Tomoyo. "Ah, Tomoyo, what do you think about going to Hogwarts?"
Tomoyo smiled, happily ignoring her mother. "It all sounds so wonderful, going to a new school and learning magic." She clasped her hands together, showing a small video camera dangling from a cord wrapped around her wrist. "Oh, I can't wait to tape my lovely Sakura doing wonderful spells."
Sakura slumped back in her chair. Her eyes darted between Sonomi, who was shaking her fist at the sky, and Tomoyo, lost in a fantasy, her eyes almost sparkling in the bright afternoon sun.
Sakura sighed.
-
Sakura couldn't stop thinking about Hogwarts. She talked to everyone about it often, asking their advice, but for the most part they were of limited help. Her father said that it sounded like a great opportunity, but he also said that he and Touya would miss her very much. Then he smiled and said that it was her decision and he was sure that whatever she decided would be good. Touya, on the other hand, was firmly against the idea and talking to him usually ended in a verbal sparring match between him and Sakura or him and Kero.
She tried to get Kero to tell her what he remembered about the school from his trip with Clow Reed, but he always got lost in daydreams about feasts. Tomoyo also had a tendency to get lost in her daydreams whenever Sakura tried to talk to her about it. Talking to them really didn't help much, although it was nice to remember that she wouldn't be going alone.
Yukito had been rather quiet about the matter and Sakura felt strangely hesitant to ask him what he thought about it. One night, after dinner had devolved into a shouting match between Touya and Kero, Sakura went outside, to sit on the steps and watch the stars. She heard someone sit beside her, but kept her eyes fixed on the brightest star in the sky.
They sat in a comfortable silence for some time before Sakura finally turned her gaze toward her companion. Her eyes met Yukito's and he smiled gently. "It's a tough decision, isn't it?"
"Yeah." She pulled her knees and wrapped her arms around them. "What would you do?"
"I think it would be very fun to go to a school like that and meet new friends."
"What does Yue think?"
Softly glowing wings wrapped around the man, pulling back to reveal the moon Guardian. "There is much for you to learn still. Clow-sama went there; he said it was a good place, a good school."
Sakura dropped her head so that her temple rested on her bent knees, her eyes trained on a pure white feather. "If–If I go, Touya and Dad will be all alone." She moved her head slightly and studied Yue's face. "Would you stay here? And protect them for me?"
Yue's mouth curved into a rare smile. "Of course."
It was a warm spring night as they sat together watching the silently twinkling stars.
Li and Meiling had both been Sorted into Gryffindor. Li sat stiffly at the end of the bench with Meiling clinging to his side. At first, he hadn't been quite so close to the edge of the bench. Every once in a while he had tried to scoot away from Meiling until he was finally at the point where he would fall off the bench if he moved any farther. Sakura giggled at the mental image and Tomoyo smiled warmly at her..
The boy sitting across from her smiled at her. "Would you like some pudding?"
"Pudding!" A small golden blur leapt from her bag. Kero was drooling in anticipation. The entire table fell silent as everyone stared at the strange creature that had just appeared. Sakura dropped her head onto the table and groaned.