It was dark, amazingly so, not even the brightness of the silver moon strong enough to break through the darkness that surrounded their crumpled figure on the cold stone. Perhaps it was the clouds fault, heavy clusters of water. Perhaps it was something else, the ancient castles´ fault, its heavy walls creating shadows beyond escape. It didn´t matter, however, as it was enough to hide them, hide the trembling bodies covered in blood, red liquid almost black in the shadows, protecting the unconscious pair.

Wind cried through the stone corridors of the ancient castle, masking the heavy breathing of someone who struggled to wake up, to escape the prison of their own mind, groaning as the pain all over their body made itself known. It was all but a soft protest, a masked cry for help that would never come, help that had never been answered. Big almond shaped eyes opened slowly, blinking as they focused, revealing confused emerald gems that shone brightly even under the blackened corridor.

Slowly, agonizingly so, as pain made itself known once again, the gems owner lifted herself slowly from the body underneath her, ignoring the shaking of her pale hands. She was confused, unable to recognize the stone walls around her, as her mind tried to catch up to everything that happened. She felt like something important was being forgotten, completely overlooked because of the pain and confusion. It was important, she knew it was...

Something underneath her moved, just a faint rustle of the wind, but it was enough to snap her back into focus, to remember everything she wished could have been but a dream.

"Ace!"

The word was nothing more than a whisper, her voice too hoarse to be heard, as her throat ached badly. Talking hurt. Moving hurt. But the girl, the small dark haired female with bright green eyes did not care, snapping into action as she rolled herself from her brother, examining him at once.

"Ace, Ace please open your eyes!" The girl begged, trying to understand what was wrong with him. There was a pulse. It was weak, clearly not belonging to a healthy, wound-free person… it was too weak, the kind a dying person had before their end came. No, no, this was not happening! Ace was not supposed to die, not after everything they did to save him. Hadn't she reached him in time?

Eyes searched wildly for a clue, for anything to explain why Ace was dying. But it was hard, the darkness did nothing to help in her quests. Everything was so dark, dark brown blood everywhere, in his arms, legs, chest... And then she saw it, the large pool of brown colored blood, flowing from the hole in his chest, as the unheard lighting hit the ground violently.

For a moment, she couldn't breathe.

The world seemed to stop, time freezing in its eternity, as the picture buried itself in her mind forever. It would be so easy to pretend it was but a dream, to close her eyes and succumb to the oh-so welcomed darkness. Everything would be alright there, in her dreams. There would be no pain, making itself known with every breathe she took. No bloody war, taking its casualties as if choosing an ice cream. No wounded Ace, crying Luffy, despairing Gramps...

However, she knew it would be all just a dream, and once she woke up, the reality would make itself known again. Ace would die, Luffy would cry, Gramps would hate himself... and she... To be honest, she wasn't sure what she would do. Perhaps despise herself, for letting her fear take over, for allowing Ace to die... She had no idea where they were. Perhaps they were somewhere even worse than the battlefield.

However, she could not allow the fear of the unknown to stop her from saving him.

Rushing to him once again, eyes fighting against the darkness and pain, she examined the wound. It was bad, the remaining of lava keeping it from closing. Life threatening indeed, but it could be treated, he could be saved. If only she had enough power to move, to pick him up and search for help...

"Help!" She tried to scream, but her voice was hardly more than a whisper, throat stinging violently. The girl couldn't remember how she wounded it, why it felt so raw, but it didn't matter at the moment. She needed to call for help. "Someone! Please, anyone, HELP!"

Fueled perhaps by her desperate need, or just the despair she was feeling, hands over the wound as she tried helplessly to heal it magically, but finally, her voice was loud and clear, like a thunder in the quiet stone corridors.

"QUICK! HELP!"

The delicate hands shock violently on top of the wounded torso, shining with a translucent shimmer as she pushed her magic into the battered body. Her vision was darkening, quickly so, but the girl didn't stop, didn't give up. It was all she could do to stop herself from giving to hopelessness, the faith dying along with Ace. Even if she died trying, she would not let him leave her behind.

Something clutched her hand out of nowhere, a loud buzzing flying around. A part of her noted the object, a pale hand, rouged by the years of age or work, but she didn't pay it attention. She had a job to do, she could not allow him to die...

More buzzing joined, getting louder and louder, as the light before her eyes became almost inexistent. It was, strangely enough, as if she was having a rather strange dream, full of loud and annoying bees. There was one particular bee, however, that was strangely insistent, that annoying little thing.

Another hand joined hers, enveloping her small hands in theirs. Slowly, her eyes rose up, confusion taking over the annoyance in her brain. What was she supposed to do? She was so tired, so hurt... And the bee just continued buzzing...

Safe... rest...

Rest? Bees could talk? Frowning, she finally looked up, following the hands that held hers gently, but the darkness was all she could see. There was no more energy to give to Ace, no more magic to keep him alive.

Ace, that's right, she was supposed to save Ace...

Well, she though as her consciousness became lost, at least they would be together in death.

It was one of those cold, rainy days that seemed to be plaguing Hogwarts lately. No one was truly sure why, the weather in other areas seemed fine enough, with the occasional rain. At Hogwarts, however, the storms were almost constant lately, the children not allowed any longer to leave the castle. Even the classes were always taught inside, Care of magical Creatures being held in a ranch outside of the school, while Herbology was suspended as many plants had been killed during the last storm.

One would think that a school full of witches and wizards could find a way to solve the problem, but no matter what they had tried, the storms still plagued them with vengeance. It came to a point that all Quidditch games were canceled, much to the despair of the players. It became too dangerous, lightning striking freely and winds strong enough to destroy Hagrid's cabin. It was peculiar, however, that the Forbidden Forest escaped each time.

There were many different theories regarding the issue.

Some believed it was a curse, cast by He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, Dark Lord for short; other, children of muggles, explained that it was the result of global warming. There were also rumors about dark sacrifices being held in the school, while the most inventive students believed it created by the anger of the Old Gods. When asked which gods, the answers varied from Greek Gods to Nordic, depending on the strength of the storm and children's mood.

One thing was certain, no one knew for sure what was happening, and until they figured out, the children were expected to stay indoors.

"This is ridiculous!" McGonagall said for the hundred time that day, frowning heavily as she took in the weather outside. "How is this even possible? Our every spell, every charm has done nothing to stop this strange weather! It obviously isn't natural, but a spell strong enough to resist all our tries?"

A certain dark haired potion teacher scowled deeply, trying extremely hard not to talk back to the older woman. As if they hadn't heard that already. Of all teachers, he had been the one most affected, having to brew countless potions to save idiotic students from heavy colds and even hypothermia. Not to mention his research into the dark arts regarding weather changing spells, since Dumbledore did not want other teachers delving into those arts. To be honest, he was extremely tired and grumpy, for more than a month now he had only sleep for five hours, at the most. Adding that to his duties to the Dark Lord...

"I know, my dear." Dumbledore stated heavily, his blue twinkling eyes never leaving the dark clouds. For some reason, Severus seriously disliked that dammed twinkle. It had never spelled anything good for him in the past. "However, there is nothing we can do, our spells are not working. Our job now is to make sure the children are safe inside the school."

Not that the old man had cast any spell, now that he thought about it, always being the one to supply them with a list of new possible ways to break whatever had been cast over Hogwarts. However, it appeared that he had been the only one who noticed it.

"Do you believe it truly was His work?" So much for a Gryffindor, McGonagall couldn't even pronounce the name. Pathetic, truly pathetic. Not that Severus was complaining, he liked it best when Dark Lord´s name wasn't pronounced. Not many knew, but it sent a pang of pain through his arm every time, starting at the Dark Mark.

However, that question did make his frown deepen. Hadn't Dumbledore told what he had reported, so many months ago? Dark Lord, in no way or form, was responsible for the abnormal weather around Hogwarts. To be honest, he was as stumped as the rest of them, since the abnormality kept him from attacking the school as he desired. This fact earned him and other Death Eater´s countless punishments, before the Dark Lord relented and focused on taking over Ministry first. Nevertheless, the fact this information wasn't shared was perturbing at best.

"I'm afraid I don't know, Minerva. While I suspect it was him, there is nothing that can prove it. For now, we better focus on the children, to make sure they do not get in trouble or leave the castle. With this weather, who knows what can happen to them out there."

"Indeed."

Frowning, Severus stood up, his long cape flowing around him. Few teachers flinched when his cold eyes narrowed, only having been with him for three months, as he cleared his voice. "Since there is nothing else to discuss, I will take my leave. I have few potions that require my immediate attention. Unless, of course, you would like the children to be poisoned."

"Of course, my boy." Giving a short bow to the Headmaster, and a sneer to everyone else, Severus Snape left the meeting room, confused thoughts running through his head as they had a certain day, about six years ago, when a certain brat disappeared from the face of the earth.

Dumbledore had lied to McGonagall, and everyone else present in that room. He knew, well enough, that the Dark Lord was not responsible. Did he suspect a Death Eater had infiltrated the staff? No, he would have told Severus, not to mention that the Dark Lord would have too. After all, Severus was the spy, for both sides.

No, what worried him, more than the withholding of the information, was the lack of any real effort to stop the abnormal weather. Even though the Gryffindor Head though they had tried everything, he had found several dark spells that could certainly work. However, after he had shown them to the Headmaster, the books disappeared both from the library and his personal bookshelves. Not to mention they were never mentioned again. Was there a reason the Headmaster wanted the storms to continue? If so for what purpose?

All this thinking was making his head hurt, certainly not helped by the fact he had only slept for two hours in the last three days. Honestly, between the Headmaster and Dark Lord, it was like they were doing this on purpose... One needed potions to help stupid children, while other required potions to torture his victims. One day he would swap them, just for the giggles.

It was a dark night, the wind going wild outside of the walls of the castle. Once again a storm was coming, dark clouds taking over the blue skies violently. At that moment, as he looked outside, Severus knew it would be the worst storm yet. The spells surrounding the castle usually kept the sound out, even more after the teacher reinforced them, but the wind could already be heard. Through the enchanted windows, rain fell on the stone cold floor, despite the spell that was supposed to stop it. And it was only the beginning.

It was already midnight, students supposedly sleeping. Of course, there was always a bunch of rule breakers that though they were smarter than everyone else. It was his night to search for them, and for once, he was almost content about it. After all, giving out detentions and taking points was one of the few ways he was allowed to unwind. Apparently doing mock duels, destroying furniture or drinking was a bad way to de-stress, or so he had been told, prohibited actually, after the last time he destroyed McGonagall stupid Christmas present, accidentally.

Or so she though...

Nevertheless, the prospect of finding a couple of trouble makers and making them cry was enough to tear his eyes away from the wild sky. After all, such a weather was perfect to scare those little monsters. There were already many rumors regarding him being a bat, monster and whom knew what else.

Slowly pacing through the endless corridors, Severus made sure to move quietly. Years as a spy taught him invisibility, in all shapes, was a precious skill to have. With other teachers, there was always a way to tell when they were approaching. But not with him, no, no, he was like a ghost, silent as death but deadly enough to catch them all.

It was strange, however, that he hadn't encountered anyone so far, an hour already into his search. Students were dunderheads, he doubted they would stay in their dorms even with the storm. It was possible they were hiding somewhere else, but the astronomy tower had always been a favorite for midnight rendezvous.

All of sudden, he heard a muffled cry, an echo of a female voice. Startled, Severus stepped right away, trying to understand where the voice had come from. Hogwarts was an enormous castle, and sounds travelled far through the stone floors. Even though the cry seemed desperate, urgent, he couldn't start running blindly without knowing for sure where it had come from, afraid he would get further away from the source.

"Help!" The same voice cried again, this time much stronger and closer. Turning around, Severus quickly stalked through the corridor that lead towards the owl tower, the emptiest part of school. His heart beat hard in his chest, having recognized desperation in the child's voice. It could not be a woman, for the voice was too young to belong to anyone but a child, teenager at most.

The child continued calling, but her voice was growing tired, the weary tone that accompanied someone whom was losing their strength. It was obvious the situation was dire, and with a practiced effort, Severus sent an Patronus to both the medwitch and the deputy headmaster, requesting their presence immediately. He knew they would find him, his Patronus would lead them.

Turning another corridor, cringing at the way the girl´s voice seemed to tear against her throat, he stopped momentarily as his eyes widened, lightning striking violently outside. For a moment, the corridor became illuminated by an eerie flash, painting a horrifying picture.

The floor was covered by recently shed blood, the red pool covering the stone floor with ease, a person lying immovable, a young looking man. Near him, pressing her hands against his chest, was a young girl with long black hair held in a messy point tail, clothes torn, covered in dirt and blood. Her arms shook with the effort she made, as she continued calling out weakly, ignoring her exhaustion as she tried to save her companion. Though what she could do, with so much blood the young man had already shed...

He snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed the weak glow around her hands, the faint buzz that Severus associated with pure magic. The girl couldn't... Merlin, was she trying to get herself killed? It didn't matter, he needed to stop her, dying by magical exhaustion was not a fun way to die, nor the easiest.

Approaching her calmly, trying not to startle the child, as it would do no good if she lashed out, Severus stopped himself from shuddering as he got a closer look at the pair. The girl's hands and arm were covered in blood, not to mention the clothes. The young man, certainly not older than 25, had a bizarre chest wound, he main problem of his current state. It didn't help however, that there were other wounds covering his body, only adding to his already difficult situation.

Crouching near the girl, ignoring the way his robes became soaked with warm liquid, he tried to call her, whispering softly. Her eyes were green, so vivid and brilliant, shining with unspoken power. The gaze never wavered from her companion's body, as she continued to mumble for help, her throat no longer able to produce any sound. In a strange short of way, that moment was beautiful, creepy so. The rumpled clothes, the determined look… The girl was striking; he could admit that.

"Look at me." Severus ordered, his voice no longer a whisper. It was obvious the child was lost… No, he could no longer call her a child, for someone with such strength of power and character was no longer a child. The young woman was lost to the world, unable to focus on anything other than the dying man, and Severus was reluctant to do anything other than call her at the moment. If he interrupted her violently, she could lash out, injuring not only herself, but her companion and Severus.

"Everything will be alright. Just look at me." His voice was steady against the raging winds, but he knew it wasn´t enough. He needed help, someone whom could take care of the young man he dared not to touch, afraid to make things worse, while he dealt with the woman.

Finally, hurried footsteps were heard in the cold corridor, signaling the arrival of the Medwitch, Poppy, and Professor McGonagall. For someone of their age, they moved quickly, sharp agile movements. It was obvious why, with the war ragging outside even the aging were forced to grow stronger and ignore their pain.

"Severus!" The transfiguration teacher called, hurrying towards him, the shinnying doe disappearing with a final jump. "What is going on here? I was doing my last dorm check when… Goodness, what happened here?"

Blood was everywhere, no wonder the woman became the color of the ghosts. The medwitch, however, didn´t even blink, particularly running towards him with her wand already in hand, ready to heal.

"To be honest, I have no idea. However, I believe we should talk after we take care of this." Not that there was much to talk, he knew particularly as much as they. "The girl is not responding; I fear she has used too much magic in keeping her companion alive that she´s not even awake at the moment."

"Poor child…" Taking a calming breathe, Minerva neared them, eyes narrowing at the white glow around the girl´s hands. "And yet she is still pushing magic into him. Poppy, what should we do?"

The aged face of the healer became darker, as she took in the damage to both patients. Obviously the young man was in a critical condition, she was surprised he hadn´t died yet, judging by the blood he lost and the seriousness of the injury. The girl probably kept him alive with magic… she doubted the child would be happy if she let him die. Good thing that Poppy had no plans of allowing it, no patient of hers had died for over twenty years now, and she planned on keeping the record going.

"Minerva, you´ll be working with me on stabilizing the young man. You need to watch for his heart, and restart it if it fails. In this condition, it doesn't matter how many times you use it, his condition can´t get any worse." And weren´t those great news, Severus thought sarcastically. "Severus, try to make the child stop. If you have to, stun her, if she loses any more magic she can enter into coma."

Easier said than done, Severus mumbled, as he focused once more on the girl, aware there was nothing he could do for the young man. While he knew plenty healing spells, it was nothing compared to the proficiency of the older women.

"Listen to my voice. You are safe, he is safe. Everything will be alright, help is here." He knew talking wasn´t enough… Without allowing himself to consider it, aware using spells at such circumstance was not the answer, he took her pale hand in his.

To be honest, he was expecting them to be warmer, result of the use of magic. However, the coldness was shocking, as the white shine disappeared, revealing the pale bluish skin. He had seen corpses with a better color, how the girl was still alive was anyone's guess.

"You are safe." His voice grew louder, as he noticed her attention shift to his hand. Perhaps he could do it, bring the young girl out of her shock. "You can rest now, everything will be fine when you wake up." Slowly, he took her other hand, enveloping them softy as he tried to bring some heat back. "You can finally rest."

The delicate features crumpled slightly as she frowned, confusion clear despite the obliviousness in his eyes, Yes, Severus was reaching out to her. Slowly, painfully so as he continued assuring her of her safety, the emerald gems rose up. Even with all the confusion and pain, they still shone brightly, a gate way to an old soul. For a second, he remembered another girl with a similar pair of eyes, a small confused girl who disappeared ages ago.

"You are safe."

It was easy to pinpoint when she lost all her strength, as her eyes rolled back and her body literally fell forward, no longer stubbornly sustained by her will. However, Severus could have sworn she smiled for a second there, a smile full of sorrow, despair and yet, strangely enough, confusing happiness.

Severus sat there without moving for few seconds, the girl slumped on top of him, just to mush through the contradicting thoughts. He could admit, with all certainty, that he was beyond confused by the girl, and he hadn´t even met her officially. Shaking his head, the thoughts hidden behind the barriers, he pushed her gently away, lying her down on the floor after putting a warming charm around her.

"The girl has passed out." Informing the other women, he noticed the strained look on Poppy´s face. Obviously the matters with the young man were not going as smoothly as the medwitch wished. "She is breathing fine, no apparent issues, aside from possible hypothermia and clear magical exhaustion."

"Thank Merlin for small miracles… At least we won´t have to worry about her." Shaking her head, as she cast another spell to stabilize the blood flow, Poppy wished for a bar of chocolate and decent sleep. "So far I managed to stabilize him, but he had many injuries, and not all of them are recent. Aside from the clear wound on his chest and the multiple small cuts from what I assume are knifes, he has not eaten well for a while now, has internal bleeding and few broken ribs. Not to mention bruises, I suspect he was beaten up rather badly at some point."

Resisting the urge to wince, wondering if the young man would have survived if not for the magic provided, Severus nodded solemnly. Obviously some of the issues would have to be corrected using potions, he would need to brew them immediately.

"I managed to heal the internal bleeding and the small cuts, but the broken ribs will have to be taken care of using Skele-gro. As for the chest wound, it will take a while, with repeated use of spells and potions." Lifting herself up rather painfully, aware she was getting too old for emergency healing, the healer sighed. "Bring them up to the infirmary, they are no longer in immediate danger… Severus, I believe you know the list of potions I need."

"Indeed, I have most in stock, but some I´ll have to brew now since they go bad quickly." With a flick of his wand, both patient rose from the ground, floating calmly with ease. "I´ll help you bring them to the infirmary, you two must be exhausted."

Frowning deeply, Minerva nodded, giving her college and friend a piece of chocolate she always had with her, ever since the latest Dementor attack. "If you don´t mind, I´ll retire for the night after cleaning the blood… I shall inform the Headmaster tomorrow, as he asked not to be bothered today. Since the children are not in danger and will not wake up for a long time, I see no need to disturb him."

Something about the way she said it made Severus frown, but he did not comment, nodding as he walked away with the floating pair. Even though they were no longer in danger, there were many questions that remained to be answered. At least no one had died, for a population at war, it was great news.

Dark eyes wandered to the girl, the young woman with more strength than most men he had met. If only the cowards could see her, nothing more than a child, and yet with a will that rivaled the greatest warriors. Her long hair fell backwards, the fringe revealing a cut on her forehead. Frowning, worried that it was another bleeding cut, one of the many he had healed so far, Severus came close, wand ready to heal another one. Only to stop shocked, as he took in its shape.

It was a lighting shaped scar. A healed scar, that stood up angrily against the paleness of her skin.

Dark hair, greenest eyes he had ever seen… lightning shaped scar…

"Reina Potter… our new celebrity." Severus drawled, glaring at the small messy haired girl that represented everything he lost. Those green eyes glared back at him, confused and slightly hurt, against the palest skin he had seen in years. However, he didn´t allow it to get to him, the way she shielded herself against the touch of her classmates, the way her body was small and slender. He made himself see the spawn of James Potter, an arrogant little child exactly like her dad. She was nothing but another Potter.

"Reina…" Severus mumbled, eyes wide. The missing girl, the one he had vowed to protect… "Potter."

Declaimer: I don´t own Harry Potter nor One Piece

A/N: I know, I know... I promised chapters sooner, but... Well... you may hate me. Go ahead, I know I deserved it... Thank you everyone for supporting me. Things are better now, even if I am still struggling with my classes. XD

As someone has stated, and I agree with all my heart, the story needs some work. I will be slowly rewriting it, trying to make sure there is a logical flow between everything. I do believe I have gotten better at writing, at least a little bit, and I want this to be a story worth reading.

As for how I should do it... well, I am struggling at that part. First, the story will continue even as I am rewriting, because the core elements will not change, and I don´t want to make you guys wait any longer. I still feel horribly about it... However, I don´t know if I should just replace the chapters, or start a new story with the rewritten chapters. Please give your opinion, I can make it work either way. I just want to know what would be easier for you guys. :)

In any case... Welcome to Hogwarts!

Warning: I like Snape... well, it depends, but I usually like Snape, so he will be a good guy. Certainly not nice (specially to Ace. Shh! Spoilers) but good enough.

Warning two: I am rather angry at Dumbledore... at this moment I have two versions of the story, on in which he is bad, and another he´s good but manipulating as hell... Preferences? XD

Warning: LOOKING FOR A BETA WILLING TO YELL AT ME AND TELL ME TO HURRY UP OR ELSE THEY WILL FRY ME ALIVE!

Thank you for reading and being patient with me... Love you guys... Kaggami-chan :)

P.S. To guest with the long review: Psst, psst... don´t you want to give me more ideas... I like your ideas... *creepy face* PM me *wink, wink*

P.S.2: Sorry GreenDarkness... Te-hee ^_^