I think I should clear this up. The pairing is Harry/Mori and Kyoya/Hermione. Some of you want Nekozawa/Harry or Kyoya/Harry, but I have already made up my mind. Don't worry, I like Nekozawa too much to leave him alone. I can promise you there's definitely someone out there for him in my AU. And I just love the idea of Hermione and Kyoya together, and I'm not going to change it.
I don't have a beta, so any mistakes you find, I apologize.
Chapter Six:
They were smiling.
Around him, a number of faceless Death Eaters were smiling wickedly at him. He tried to avoid them by shutting his eyes, but he had the image imprinted on his mind. All he could hear was the insanely laugher of each of them, hollow and disdainful. He wanted to leave, but he was forced inside a rectangular cage and with his wand out of reach. He knew he didn't have much time.
The sky above him shifted into angry red swirls and gray clouds clogging the light and sun. Loud thunder boomed above him and Harry's knees were trembling nervously. But he had to get out! He had to!
Suddenly, a tall black figure stood, with sharp snake like features and red bloody eyes. The almost non-existent lips stretched out in a mocking smirk, and the creature looked down at Harry. The black-haired boy, covered in blood and dirt from all the fighting tried to break away the bars from his tiny prison. Lord Voldemort continued to stare at him from above while waving his wand around, flashing green light to all directions.
Another shift into the murky scene, and there was a pile of bodies laying down in the Hogwarts courtyard. Some of them continued to be faceless, but Harry could distinguish the features from the bodies closest to him.
There was Cedric, Luna, Neville, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Remus, Tonks, Lily and James, Ginny, Seamus, Dean, Ron, Hermione, Sirius…
His throat was hoarse from all the screaming and his desperate tears had trailed down his cheeks.
The scene shifted again, and he found himself standing on a hill, and Voldemort at the top. He was without his wand again, and there was a whole gang of death eaters behind him, ready to attack.
"See what you did, boy? They all died because of you!" Voldemort purred.
"No!" Harry screamed.
"You failed them." The creature continued. "And because of that, you shall never live in peace!"
"No, get away! That's not true!"
"Prepare to die, boy," Voldemort raised his wand and a stream of green light shot forward.
"HARRY!"
Harry woke up panting and sweating heavily. He felt himself shivering and his teeth chattered. He was also soaked from head to toes, along with his bed sheets. He looked desperately for his glasses, which were on top of his nightstand, and when he was finally able to see clear, he realized Sirius and Hermione were sitting on his bed, the older male with his wand drawn.
Hermione's warm caramel eyes were startled and in the verge of tears. There was a rather solemn expression on Sirius's face which didn't quite fit him at all. He could even spot Gaius at the foot of his bed, hissing lowly and in alert. Harry bowed his head, as the blush bloomed in his neck to the tip of his ears.
"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione was the first one to break the silence.
"I'm—"
"You told us the dreams stopped." Sirius broke in. "You told us we didn't have to worry anymore, because you weren't having any more dreams."
"They did, they really did stop." Harry cried. "I don't know why now… I'm fine, really—"
"Don't, Harry." Sirius interrupted again. He was in his serious-guardian mode. "You might think you're fine, but you certainly aren't. Hermione,"
The bushy-haired girl, who was been earlier startled by Harry's horrible screams and his frantic thrashes around the bed, looked up at her adopted guardian.
"Could you please get Harry a Dreamless-Sleep? And a Calming-Draught?"
The girl just nodded, and with a last glance at her friend and adopted brother, she swept out of the room. Sirius, meanwhile, he pulled away the wet covers from Harry's bed and called Tawny to take them away. The older male, pulled the smaller teen in his lap and dried his wet clothes with a drying charm. Harry didn't put resist or protested; he was still stunned from his night terror. He clung to Sirius's arms, holding for dear life. A few more tears slid down his face, but he didn't sob.
"Tell me about your dream." Sirius said simply. But Harry couldn't comply, as much as he wanted. The man sighed, and placed his chin atop Harry's head.
"You know, Prongslet, this can't continue like this."
Harry didn't say anything.
"When we came here, it was to leave all this behind. I'm not saying you shouldn't be able to grieve or to feel sad about what happened, but this is hurting you, pup, and I don't want to see you hurt.
Harry stayed silent.
"When we came to Japan, I gave you the choice to search for help, since you didn't want St. Mungos'. But you refuse all the options I gave you. You told us you were feeling great each day that passed and the nightmares were gone. But this tells me otherwise. How long you've been having these dreams, and please tell me the truth."
"I haven't been having dreams, Siri! I don't know why tonight I did. I thought I was getting better, I swear I'm not lying to you!" Harry finally spoke in a rather fragile voice, from all the yelling.
"Hmm," Sirius hummed. He rubbed Harry's back in an attempt to sooth the boy down. The teen relaxed a bit more. Sirius kissed the mop of unruly strands of black hair. "I don't want you to relapse, Harry. You have to tell me these things."
Harry just nodded, sniffing his nose.
"I think we should call the healer—"
"No!" Harry instantly perked up, staring at Sirius with wild eyes. "I don't need a healer, Siri. I'm fine! Maybe it happened 'cause it's going to be June soon? Almost a year…" Harry trailed off.
"So you're blaming the date?" Sirius let out a soft laugh. "Maybe it could a possibility…"
"Please, Padfoot… I don't need a mind healer. It was just a nightmare. I'm not crazy or none of those stuff…"
"I know you aren't, pup." Sirius gave him a tight hug. "But I don't want those nightmares to give you problems either… Promise me that if you have one of these nightmares again, you will tell me and you will agree to whatever help I find reasonable."
Harry nodded in affirmation, and that was enough for him. They stayed a moment in complete silence, until Harry scowled and frowned up at his guardian. "You woke me up with an Aguamenti, didn't you?"
Sirius grinned sheepishly. "It was the first thing that came to mind; you weren't responding to Hermione."
Speaking of the girl, Hermione returned to Harry's room with two vials on her hands and Harry didn't waste time in swallowing them. Already a bit more calmed and after assuring Hermione he was alright and they would talk in the morning, he bid goodnight to his godfather and adopted-sister and both Sirius and Hermione left his room.
Harry lay back down on his bed, facing the ceiling with a dull face. Flashes of his old nightmares and his own memories of the war appeared in his mind and he shivered slightly.
"Master?" Gaius appeared at his side, sliding up his body and seeking for comfort from his master's body heat.
"I forgot the damn silencing charm, Gaius." Harry whispered as he waved his wand and casted said spells around his room. "I can't stand the worry looks of them, you know?"
"Yesss, but master shouldn't lie to his dogfather." Gaius hissed.
"Yeah, but I don't want them to worry." Harry turned on his side. "I'm supposed to have moved on; I can't just tell them I dream about them dying all the time. I don't want them to know something's wrong with me." He yawned.
"Sleep, massster. I'll watch out for you," Gaius pecked Harry on his cheek with his tongue and said boy giggled softly before falling into a dreamless sleep.
~oOo~
"You're all set, Harry?" Hermione asked as she entered the kitchen with her satchel in hands and waved away the curls from her face. Harry was currently at the breakfast table, wearing an apron again over his uniform and a bag of icing in his hands. His tongue was stuck between the left corner of his lips and his brows were furrowed in concentration.
He was decorating the vanilla cake he had done yesterday. The icing was white and yellow, while the frosting cover was black. There were drawings of men in cloaks and in bold red letters it read: "Happy Third Year Anniversary" and under it was, "Happy Birthday, Umehito," For the final touch, there were small replicas of Belzeneff's face made in gum paste.
Harry seemed very pleased with his work. He beamed at Hermione. "How does it look?"
"It looks wonderful!" She exclaimed honestly. "How is it that Sirius still hasn't eaten it?"
"I asked Tawny to look after it and casted a stasis charm over it." Harry answered simply.
"Good thinking," She praised. As Harry continued to add some finishing touches to the cake, she proceeded to watch him carefully. Last night was horrible; she had never heard Harry scream like that before, not even when he was briefly tortured by the Death Eaters long ago. And the way he thrashed around the bed like if he had been possessed by something was scary. He was so trapped inside his mind she couldn't get him to wake up, and that scared her. What if Harry couldn't wake from a nightmare? The possibility existed, of getting bound inside one's dreams forever. The mind had a funny way of working with your subconscious…
"Today's just a half day, isn't it?" Harry asked. "The Black Magic club will have plenty of time to celebrate Umehito-sempai's birthday."
Hermione nodded, while asking herself which was the best way to ask Harry about last night. He had the carefree, friendly façade on, and she didn't want to ruin it. Last year autumn, all he did was grieve and brood around, as well as mourning the loss of those whom they cared about. It was nice to see he was finally moving on, or at the very least, was still trying.
But what happened last night still worried her.
A small slim snake appeared next to her, passing by her shoes and climbing up the breakfast table. The snake flicked its tongue to catch the scents, and for a quick second, it turned his eyes at her before hissing something at Harry.
"Gaius says good morning," Harry translated. Hermione snorted.
"Good morning to you too. Any reason why he's being strangely friendly?"
"He wants to come to Ouran again." Harry said after a few moments of hissing with his familiar. "So he can keep an eye on me." He hissed something back, which of course, Hermione couldn't understand.
In other circumstances, Hermione would have profusely denied the snake's wish. But giving what happened, she didn't want Harry to be alone. "If promise to stay with you at all times, and doesn't wander around the school grounds, I guess he can go," She replied.
The snake lifted itself on his belly and was almost at eye level with her. She had to admit Gaius was very intelligent. The snake moved his head, as if nodding. Harry had once told her the snake could understand human language, so when Harry was looking for something in the fridge, she whispered quietly:
"Please, if anything happens, come find me immediately."
The snake just nodded again.
"Tawny," Harry called. Said house elf appeared at the end of the table. Harry's smile widened. "Would you please take care of the cake? As in, don't let Sirius eat it? I will call you when it's time to have the cake deliver,"
"Of course, Young Master Harry! Tawny will take care of Master's cake!" The elf said enthusiastically.
Harry washed himself and rolled his sleeves down after he was done in the kitchen. Hermione, who was waiting for him at the apparition atrium, gave him his satchel and blazer. Sirius had already left for work, claiming he had an important meeting which Tanaka kept pestering him about.
"We better go, or else, we're going to be late," Hermione hurried.
"Yeah, yeah, alright," Harry replied tiredly, and with a pop, both teenagers disapparated to an alleyway near the school.
~oOo~
Renge Hoshikuji was having the time of her life.
The overly joyful fangirl, who had an unhealthy obsession with the game Uki Doki Memorial and its characters, was scribbling furiously in her notebook, writing the perfect script for the movie the Host club was going to film for her. It had to be perfect, she had to get each personality well described and well planned, because that's what a character revision was all about. It wasn't her fault the host club members filled perfectly the cast for an Uki Doki movie, it was just her luck.
As she wrote down a scene involving the Hittachiin twins and a basketball game, she thought of the last volume of her favorite video game. The game wasn't on the market yet, but there were rumors that the creators were going to include new characters. Renge, being the spoiled daughter of a wealthy businessman, had already played the game and she had met Hisame Nobuyuki. Like all the characters, she liked him very much, but not as much as Miyabi Ichijo. (1) Actually, Hisame had a very striking resemblance with one male English student from her class.
She looked around, and she saw Potter sitting at the right side of the classroom. His desk was next to the windows in the last vertical line. If she had to honest, Potter's hair greatly annoyed her –she preferred Kyoya's silky and perfect hairstyle— but his eyes were beautiful. They were a green she had never seen before, and there was so depth in them, she could eat three whole bowls of rice. It was almost like if the creators had drafted Hisame around Potter, and Hisame was such a tragic character, a lost soul in the games of Fate.
A little idea started forming in Renge's uncontrolled imagination. In the game, Hisame had ended as part of the group of students from Uki Doki, also becoming great friends with Miyabi. And it was hard not to notice Potter's appeal with the girls. At the other side of the room, three girls were giggling while ogling at Potter, who was blissfully unaware of his surroundings. She wondered if Potter had any experience as a host back in Britain. She could imagine him flashing a playful smile, charming the girls with his cute English accent, and if he were to fix his hair appropriately, he would—
Renge held her breath. Potter was running a hand through his hair, making it stick at all directions. He stood up from his chair and walked towards the door, where the three girls were still standing. Renge ducked her head, wondering if he had finally noticed she had been staring. Potter walked passed by her without glancing and headed for the door. Renge, being a proud member of the female species, knew that Sakurakano was also enchanted with Potter's dark aura. So she knew right away, when the girl tripped over to fall in Potter's arms, it wasn't an accident at all.
Potter caught her with grace, and for a moment, concern flicked through those green orbs (were Renge anyone else, they would have known that flicker was of irritation) Sakurakano apologized, pretending to be embarrassed, but Harry only gave her a quick smile and said it was nothing, before leaving the classroom.
Renge sighed dreamily; Harry was a complete gentleman, even when dealing with girls like Sakurakano, just like Hisame. And his dark and loner demeanor was enigmatic.
Wouldn't her dear Kyoya like to produce more profit for the club? Having Harry as a host would be splendid for business! Kyoya would even praise her for having such a good idea!
Renge had made up her mind, a devious glint in her honey eyes. She would convince Harry to join the host club, so like Hisame, he can finally find acceptance and friendship around the other hosts. And even if he was a phony prince, she knew Tamaki would agree with her. She giggled happily to herself.
Haruhi, who was sitting not so far away from her, shivered slightly.
~oOo~
A black-haired boy and a bushy haired girl were sharing a table in one of the three libraries. Since the students were class free right after lunch, the girl had dragged them to the library to finish off some of the homework they both had. The boy hadn't wanted to; he didn't feel like studying, but the girl was quite stubborn when she wanted to. So, in the least crowded of all the libraries, they were sitting at a table far away from public view.
Harry was reviewing on history, while Hermione was furiously scribbling down notes on her writing pad. She had three Chemistry books around her and one on Physics. A drop of sweat rolled down her right temple.
"Still with that Chemistry project?" Harry asked.
"Don't say a word!" Hermione almost shrieked. "This project is half our grade, plus we still have to study for the midterm exams! I can't believe I'm saying this, but right now, I think I prefer potions with Snape to chemistry. It's not just that I haven't been taking this class since forever, but I'm also stuck with Ootori, and he's so infuriating! He doesn't think chemistry is worth to worry about! He even put me in charge! He's far more worried with managing that club of theirs—"
"Neenie, breathe," Harry said after he got dizzy from Hermione's rambling.
The girl took a deep breath. "Sorry. But I'm just so stressed! I know Ootori cares about his grades, but he hasn't been around to work on the project and this was supposed to be a joint work. Tamaki-san keeps him very busy. Schoolwork must always come first."
Harry just nodded, deciding to not reply to the last comment. "I think we should take a break for today. Let's head to the north building, it's almost time for the party anyways."
"No, I can't take a break. Tomorrow, I have my Healing and First Aid class, and I don't want to fall behind. You go, Harry. I'll catch up later."
Harry sighed. Hermione was as stubborn as ever. He picked up his books and satchel, and was very careful to not wake up Gaius, who was sleeping around her shoulders. He bid his sister goodbye and exited the library.
The hallways were void of students; probably they were in club meetings or in the order libraries. Harry was still thinking to which club sign up to, but for the life of him, he couldn't decide. If there was a Dueling club, he would have been the first one to write down his name. The Black Magic club was okay, but since the majority of them were squib, magical study was reduced to theory and Harry sucked at theory. He preferred being practical over reading books any day.
Any sports club would be a nice choice, if it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't find a sport as fascinating as Quidditch. At primary school, since he was never selected to be part of the sports team (thanks to his cousin), he never was good at soccer, basketball, tennis or cricket. He could run very fast, but the track and field team only accepted those who had competed previously in the sport. Other sports team in Ouran included the Swim club, the Karate club and the Kendo club, but for all those you needed the same requirements as the Track and Field team.
Maybe he could introduce Quidditch to Ouran? Nah, these stuck up rich people wouldn't survive five minutes on a broom, never mind ride them.
So Harry was club-less and that was a problem, since it was imperative for him to join an extracurricular activity. If someone were to check his school record, he would immediately be called to the office for that minor detail.
His mind wandered to the Black Magic club again, and smiled slightly. He entered an empty classroom, and softly called, "Tawny"
"Young Master Harry!" Tawny appeared on top of one of the desk, her big golf ball eyes wide open. "What can Tawny do for you?"
"Please bring what I gave you to look after, Tawny." He said politely. The elf pop away, and a minute later, returned with a white box in hands, which she carefully handed over to her master.
Harry looked inside the box and was pleased to see that his work hadn't suffered the minimal damage. He felt very proud of it, if he was allowed to say so. "Thanks Tawny,"
"Tawny lives to serve Master Black and his son and daughter!" The elf declared before disappareting away.
Harry smiled. Time to go and give Umehito his birthday present.
~oOo~
Probably nobody else noticed him, but Takashi did. Granted, he only did because he was always aware of his surroundings. While the others were speaking with Renge after Kyoya had broken the lens of the camera, something had made Takashi look towards the direction of the outdoor hallways. A teenage boy, no older than a first year was strolling down the hallway. The now recognizable pitch black hair was swishing from side to side as he walked. Takashi shoudn't be so surprise of seeing the boy so soon after yesterday, but he was.
He also noticed the snake was over his shoulders again. Takashi loved animals, but poisonous snakes were not on his favorite list. He wondered how Harry could feel so comfortable with the serpent so close.
He continued to look after the boy who was walking, more like jogging down the corridor, so he knew exactly when Harry took a misstep and trip over one of the lose tiles. Naturally, he fell down and quite a spectacular fall it was.
Takashi didn't even consider what the others would think if they saw him helping Harry, it's not like he cared, as he ran towards the fallen boy, leaving his cousin behind. He didn't get to see the curious look he got from Mitsukuni.
His shoes squished and it was annoying to move around in wet clothes, but finally he reached to Harry's side. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulders, effectively startling the boy. Wide emerald eyes looked at him from below, and Takashi felt a tug to his heart.
"Are you alright?" He asked softly.
"I think I scrapped my knees, and my hands hurt as well, but otherwise I'm fine." Harry replied, in that soft, delicate voice of his. It's not as he had a girly voice, but it wasn't deep as Takashi's. Takashi nodded and again, like he did yesterday, he helped Harry up. The boy stood straight, and winced at the pain on his knees.
"Thanks," He said quietly. Takashi just nodded again. There was an uncomfortable silence until Harry suddenly started looking around. Takashi spotted a white box, the one he was carrying, and he bent down to pick it up.
"Oh no!" Harry gasped softly. He took the box out of Takashi's hands and checked the inside. Takashi heard him groaning angrily.
"The letters are damaged! After everything I did!"
Takashi took the liberty to look inside the box too, which the boy didn't seem to mind. It seemed to be the cake he had made yesterday, but it was decorated in the finest way; was because now it looked like a mess. He couldn't read for who it was though, since the letters were unreadable.
"I don't have time to fix this, I hope he doesn't mind much…" Harry muttered to himself.
If it was Takashi, he wouldn't mind. Like his cousin would say, it was the cake that mattered, and if the cake tasted as well as the cupcakes he had yesterday, then he wouldn't mind the mess of frosting.
"Well, anyways, thanks for er, helping me." Harry gave him a small tentative smile. "It's nice to see Ouran isn't completely filled with rich bastards."
Takashi suppressed a snort. Someone needed to have a chat with Haruhi. Briefly, Harry stared at his wet clothes, raising one eyebrow in confusion.
"Why are you wet?"
"Rain" Takashi saw a hint of understanding and amusement in those green orbs.
Without warning, a small head pop out of Harry's blazer, and it hissed. Takashi had forgotten about the snake, and so seem Harry. The snake slither up again to the boy's shoulders, and for a moment, Takashi wondered if it was going to bite him.
"This is Gaius," Harry introduced. "The little bugger must have hid in my clothes when I fell. He's an Indian cobra. Don't worry. He won't bite you." Harry assured.
Takashi could only nod, entranced with the serpent. Gaius was very pretty.
"Eh, well, I have to leave…" The boy spoke, taking a small step back. Takashi's eyes soften and inclined his head. Harry just waved goodbye and left, box in his hands.
When Takashi saw the last flicker of black and blue blazer, he sighed silently to himself and scratched the back of his head. That was awkward, he thought. He turned around to face one of the pillars.
"Come out, Mitsukuni."
The blonde loli-shota type practically skipped out of his hiding place with a huge grin. "Sorry!" he said bashfully. "You were really nice, Takashi, helping Harri-chan like that. What did the box have anyways that got damaged?"
"A cake. The frosting was smeared."
Mitsukuni's eyes watered comically and few seconds later, he was wailing for the lost cake.
A/N: I know Hunny… Oh, the cake! Guysss, I'm sorry for taking so long to update; high school is beating the life out of me. It's only been two weeks and everything is: exams, essays, selling stuff from our graduation funds, more exams, then worrying about getting a job and then more exams... *sees the pile of homework she has yet to do*
(1) Miyabi Ichijo is the character Renge is comparing Kyoya with, in the "Lady Manager" chapter/episode. Uki Doki Memorial is the name of the video game she's obsessed with. In the anime, there is a scene where all the characters of the game appear and they all seem very similar to the hosts, so I believe Renge is comparing all of them to these characters and that's what cause the character revision in the first place, because Tamaki and co. weren't acting as in the video game. Also, Renge is comparing Harry to another character, so whatever she thinks about Harry shouldn't be taken seriously xDD
I feel like Takashi talked a lot in this chapter, but he only spoke four short line. Is that too much?