Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!
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"Parseltonge"
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...
The practice the next day was not a good one for Hari. She was unfocused and kept thinking about Seiichi. She wanted to talk to him but kept thinking that he might not want to talk to her. He hadn't called, after all. She wasn't sure if she should make the first move or not; what if he told her to go away? Could she handle the rejection?
She sighed.
And both Ryoma and Momoshiro were missing from practice and no one had heard anything from them. She had been unable to say anything about Ryoma being late because she had thought he was right behind her when she left earlier. He had been awake at least, so he couldn't have overslept…
They had a few days until the final against Rikkai Dai and she knew they would be training hard until it was time. She knew Ryuzaki had some plans but Hari wasn't sure about what they were yet. She wondered who would be playing Kirihara and if she should warn her team about how he played. She didn't know what to do about that. She had thought about it a lot, and she thought that maybe…
No. Not now, she wasn't thinking about it now.
"You okay?" Fuji asked looking at her.
"Sure," she said and tried to smile.
He looked at her for a moment before he smiled back and nodded. He didn't ask again and she appreciated that. She didn't want to talk about it.
"Where's Ryoma-kun?" Kachiro's question reached Hari who turned her head to see Kachiro and Mizuno standing by the fence looking around with concerned looks.
"Momo-senpai isn't here either," Mizuno said.
"Oi!" Ryuzaki suddenly yelled. "Just because it's the morning practice doesn't mean that you can slack off!"
Hari smiled slightly and exchanged a look with Fuji who looked amused. Just then Ryoma came walking up pushing Momoshiro's bike.
"Oh, Ryoma-kun," Kachiro said running over to the fence. "What happened?"
The bike looked like it had seen better days with one of the tyres bent and there were scratches on the blue bike paint.
"Ah, it's Momo-chan's," Ryoma said.
"Did something happen to Momo-chan?" Mizuno yelled getting the attention from the rest of the club.
Hari watched her brother with a small frown feeling a little worried herself.
"Well, there was an accident…" Ryoma said. "He's in the health room now."
Oishi asked more questions but Ryoma couldn't answer so he rushed off with Kachiro and Mizuno while Hari looked at Ryoma who nodded at her before he walked to the changing room to get ready for the practice.
"I guess we should continue," Fuji said.
"I hope Momo-chan is okay," Kikumaru said worriedly from beside them. "The bike looked to be broken…"
Hari nodded. This was not a good day…
...
They continued for a while longer until the heavens seemed to open up and the rain fell down instantly soaking them through. Hari sighed as she leaned her head up and stared up at the dark clouds above them and rain was hitting her face and glasses making it hard to actually see anything at all.
"Shoot…"
"Rain…"
"Get inside!" Ryuzaki yelled. "Practice is over for now! We'll meet later today!"
Hari just stood there letting the rain hit her and she felt how her hair was plastered to her skull and her clothes felt heavy and seemed to cling to her.
"What's she doing?" Kikumaru asked looking out of the window at the changing rooms. "She's just standing there…"
Fuji looked out and frowned as he realised that Hari hadn't moved from the spot. He looked at Ryoma who was scowling but grabbed an umbrella before he rushed out of the room and over to Hari who jerked when he reached her. Fuji couldn't hear what Ryoma said but Hari frowned at him before she nodded jerkily and allowed Ryoma to guide her to the side of the building toward the changing room she normally used.
"She's not herself today," Inui said. "My data tells me…"
"It's not that hard to guess, Inui," Fuji interrupted. "Let's just keep an eye on her, okay?"
Inui nodded and scribbled something more into his notebook.
"She met her boyfriend yesterday, right?" Kikumaru asked quietly. "That's why she didn't come to play billiards with us. That's what Ochibi-chan said."
Fuji looked at Kikumaru and sighed, "yes."
"If he hurt her…" Kikumaru looked uncommonly serious.
"Calm down, Eiji," Fuji said. "We don't know that."
Ryoma came back and grabbed his bag; he arched a brow at them.
"She's okay?" Kaido asked.
"Yes," Ryoma said.
...
Having changed into dry clothes she allowed herself to drift off in thoughts as she waited for Ryuzaki and the rest of the team to join them in the classroom they were going to be using for the team meeting. They'd been given a solid break between the practice and the meeting, so they had all made their way to the classroom at a different pace.
Hari, since she had not been in a talkative mood, had been one of the first ones there and had taken her spot by the window and was staring out at the rain with her head popped up in her hand. Ryoma, Kaido, Fuji, Oishi and Momoshiro had also arrived and were chatting and laughing. Though, she couldn't help but wonder if Seiichi still were in Tokyo or if he had left yet. She knew he had planned on going back to his own home today with his parents. It felt wrong letting him leave while they were fighting. Were they fighting?
Yes, they were and she didn't like it.
She should call…but he hadn't called her, not even texted her. It hurt that he hadn't contacted her at all. What if he didn't want to see her or talk to her?
"Eh? Kikumaru turned into an old man!" Momoshiro yelled.
Hari was brought out of her thoughts at Momoshiro's exclamation and the laughter from the others, and looked over to the door and saw Kikumaru standing in the doorway with white hair. She blinked.
"What happened to your hair, Eiji?" Oishi asked concerned.
Kikumaru cried into his arm before he explained what happened. He had been on his way when he walked passed a man who was painting the roof over a window. He was on a ladder and had knocked over the paint just as Kikumaru had been walking past and had gotten the paint over his head thus colouring his hair white.
"But you're not hurt?" Hari asked.
"No," Kikumaru said with a pout. "But I'm old!"
Hari's lips twitched, "I don't think that's how it works, senpai."
"It's an unthinkable mistake for this Kikumaru-sama, who has Seigaku's fastest reflexes," Kikumaru whined while Momoshiro laughed so hard he looked to be having trouble breathing. "THAT'S ENOUGH ALREADY!"
"Yes," Momoshiro said completely serious.
Hari shook her head. That would have been a good prank, she thought.
"Speaking of mistakes," Fuji said amusedly and looked to Oishi, "I heard Oishi made a big one too."
Hari arched a brow as Oishi blushed red and became flustered as he protested and said it wasn't on purpose. She wondered what he had done…
She looked around… it looked like a lot of unusual things had happened today, she thought. Momoshiro's accident, Kikumaru's white hair and even Oishi…
"Oh, that racket…" Ryoma suddenly said breaking into the still protesting Oishi.
"Oh, this?" Kikumaru said holding it up.
"Hey! That's Echizen's racket!" Momoshiro exclaimed.
"He's right," Oishi said.
"No, that's not mine," Ryoma said.
"Eh?!"
"But you had this racket this morning," Momoshiro said.
"It was lying in front of my house," Ryoma said.
"It was lying there?!" Oishi, Momoshiro and Kikumaru repeated.
Hari blinked, "I didn't see it."
Ryoma looked at her, "well, you've been distracted all day."
Hari shrugged knowing it was true. She looked at the racket and noticed that it looked worn and had a lot of scratches. She hummed.
"Maybe it's cursed," she said.
They all fell silent as they stared at the racket and Hari sighed softly before looking out of the window again. The storm outside seemed to have picked up even more now.
"Well, there's something about that racket," Fuji said.
"What do you mean…something?" Kaido asked, "trouble is coming."
Hari glanced at Kaido and frowned before shaking herself out of it again. She had to focus. She couldn't keep spacing out. She was about to say something when the light suddenly went out and the room fell to gloomy darkness.
Hari blinked trying to get used to the darkness and she wouldn't admit it but her heart beat a little harder. She didn't say anything like the others and blinked when she heard the door being slid open and all they could see was the light from a candle.
"Ooooaaaahhhh!"
It was impossible to tell just who screamed because there were several voices but Kaido came scurrying back as he had been the one to open the door. Hari fisted her hands as she tried to think rationally and keep from instinctively using a Lumos charm to get light.
...
"Oh, Inui…" Fuji suddenly said and true enough Inui stepped into the room and he was carrying a light.
Hari let out a breath and forced herself to relax. She couldn't believe she got scared just because of that. It wasn't even that scary… not compared to the things she'd seen.
"So, I hear that the rumours about the cursed racket are true," Inui said.
Of course, that led to the others wanting to know what Inui was talking about and refused to allow him to stop his story. Even though Kaido looked like he wanted to leave, and Hari could understand. She felt annoyed when Momoshiro forced him to stay by challenging his pride. She almost said something but didn't want to make it worse either.
"The thing is, I recently received some strange mail," Inui started as he leaned against the front desk and the light was beside him casting a luminous shadow over him and creating a spooky atmosphere. It reminded Hari of what she had heard of sharing scary stories around the campfire at night. "The mail said: 'I've been cursed by a racket. Please, help me.' And the sender was a tennis buddy I met over the Internet."
Hari sat down again and resigned herself to listen to the story. She could already feel her mind drifting back to her issues with Seiichi and how to see him and if she was brave enough to do it.
"He said there was a racket on the ground and he picked it up. After he did that he was run over by a car, he fell into the river and the girl he loved left him," Inui said. "Thinking that the string of misfortune was weird he wandered around looking for the previous owner of the racket. That owner died in a car accident the day before the finals of the All-Japan tournament some years ago. His spirit stayed in the racket and brings misfortune on any tennis player who comes to own it."
"What about your friend?" Oishi asked when Inui stopped talking.
"He died," Inui said with a twisted smirk on his face.
Hari arched a brow. The way he said that – it was too casual, she thought, but it seemed to be freaking the others out and she could hear them move around and chairs scraped against the floor.
"By any chance…" Fuji said. "Did the former owner look like this?"
Hari would admit that she jumped when she turned around to look at Fuji who had a completely blank like his features had completely disappeared. It was kind of freaky…
"Aaaaahhh!"
"That's freaky," Hari grimaced.
Fuji laughed and pulled off a mask and the others relaxed with an embarrassing note to it. Hari noticed that Kaido had escaped and frowned a little worriedly at the door. She hoped he was okay…
"You okay, Momo-senpai?" Ryoma asked Momoshiro who had sat down on the floor rubbing his head sheepishly.
Hari stepped back and just watched as they continued to freak out over the racket. Oishi tried talking to it, but that was a bust. Hari smiled a little as Kikumaru suggested using Kawamura's burning power.
"Eh?" Kawamura looked worried but he took the racket and started swinging it around yelling his usual: "BURNING!"
Hari who had moved to the blackboard and was leaning against the teacher's desk watching Kawamura wave the racket around until he was tired (which happened faster than normal) and barely had time to react when he started to wave it around again.
"Great! Shocking!" Kawamura chanted with dark empty eyes.
Hari had barely time to dodge the racket and her mind flashed to when she was younger and had to dodge swings all the time (mainly from Dudley) and she collapsed to the floor pushing against the wall.
"We're going to be killed!" Kikumaru exclaimed.
Hari felt her heartbeat harder as she tried to focus on the present just as a ball hit the racket and it was knocked out of Kawamura's hand just as she had shot out her leg and hooked it around Kawamura's leg causing him to fall to the ground.
"Ouch," Kawamura yelped.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" Hari said moving over to him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he said getting up and rubbed his back slightly.
Hari felt the others look at her and she felt really bad. She tried not to look at them as she didn't want to see what kind of look they had in their eyes. Shit, she shouldn't have… She had overreacted.
"You sure, Kawamura-senpai?" Hari asked. "I'm so sorry!"
"Don't worry about it, Hari-chan," he said kindly.
Hari frowned but didn't say anything else as she pushed back to the wall and put her head in her hands. She needed to calm down.
"Hari?" Ryoma was next to her now and she could tell he was worried.
"I'm fine," she said. "Just…"
"Alright;" Ryoma said.
He stepped back and turned his attention toward the others again. Hari closed her eyes as she leaned her head back and rested it against the wall. Was it too soon to wishing the day to end so she could get to sleep?
She looked up when she heard the, there was no other word for it, scream from the others and she looked around startled to see a figure by the door who was carrying a flashlight that was directed upwards making the face fall in creepy shadow and light. It was impossible to see who it was…
Hari blinked as they all ran out of the room yelling about something being there and that it would take them.
...
"What the…? Really, what an impolite bunch!" Ryuzaki's voice sounded and Hari's heartbeat calmed down right away and she felt foolish for getting scared.
"Ah," Hari said.
"Hari-chan?" Ryuzaki asked directing the flashlight to her and stepping into the room. "That's you?"
"Yes," Hari said getting to her feet. "Things got a little…creepy."
"Creepy?" Ryuzaki asked. "It's just a storm and the power went out. I'm sure it will be back soon."
Hari smiled slightly and nodded, "yes, well, Inui told a story."
"Inui did, eh?" Ryuzaki asked.
"I'm starting to believe that he has made it up in order to get some data on us," Hari admitted ruefully. She could think straighter now without the screaming and speculating from the others and she felt stupid for not seeing it right away.
"I see," Ryuzaki sighed. "Never a dull moment with this team."
Hari smiled slightly and nodded, "guess not."
She looked at Hari and smiled a little, "you have been a little distracted today, Hari-chan."
"I know," Hari said looking down. "I'm sorry."
"No, that's fine," Ryuzaki said. "It happens. I won't try to get you to tell me what's wrong, though you can if you want to, but you know that going around brooding over it will not help."
Hari looked at her and nodded, "I know, but…I just don't know what to do."
"Talk to someone," Ryuzaki suggested. "Or talk to the one you really want to talk to and see what he has to say. Staying away and keeping silent will not solve anything."
Hari looked at her startled.
"I wasn't born yesterday, Hari-chan," Ryuzaki laughed amusedly seeing the look, "and…believe it or not, I have been young once and can recognise the look girls get when they have had a fight with their boy."
Hari blushed and looked down but smiled a little.
"Okay," Hari said. "Thank you, coach."
Ryuzaki smiled and patted her shoulder, "I'll go and see if I can find our scaredy-cats."
Hari nodded, "I'll see if I can find Ka-chan."
...
Hari found Kaido in the science classroom and saw him leaning against the sink. He looked a little pale and she frowned lightly.
"Ka-chan?" She asked.
He jumped and spun around making her feel bad for scaring him. She reached out to flip on the light and was glad the power had gotten back now.
"Hari-chan," he scowled.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yes," he said shortly.
She nodded slowly and looked at him. He looked almost embarrassed though most would think he looked angry.
"Inui probably made the story up;" Hari said rolling her eyes. "He had me going for a minute there, as well. Who knows why, though? Maybe he wanted to see us panic."
"Panic is overrated and scary as a mountain rabbit," Kaido hissed.
Hari's lips twitched.
"Why do you do that?" Kaido suddenly asked.
"Do what?" Hari asked confused.
"You sometimes act like you find something amusing when I hiss," Kaido looked at her.
"I do," Hari nodded and grinned at him. "Maybe you say something amusing, Ka-chan."
He looked at her weirdly and she laughed.
"You laughed;" he said.
"Good," he said looking away from her and walked past her into the hallway leaving her to follow behind him.
They made their way back to toward the classroom and she hummed lightly as she looked out of the window through the opened door to another classroom. It was still raining outside.
"You must think I'm a coward," Kaido suddenly said.
"No, I don't," Hari protested.
"I don't like scary stories," he said not looking at her. "Never have, but everyone seems to think that I do because I look like this."
She glanced at him and knew what he meant. That he scowled a lot and looked scary, he had a naturally stern and serious look and it was easy to jump to conclusions about him.
"Well, that's their problem;" Hari said. "You're a nice guy, Ka-chan. I always knew that otherwise, you wouldn't have been putting up with me nagging you and tagging along on your training like you do."
He glanced at her, and was that a smile?
...
It had finally stopped raining meaning that they could safely move outside and pack the last of the bags into the car. Since Seiichi's parents had arrived by car they would be helping the team getting their stuff back home so they didn't have to drag it with them on the train.
They had already left by train, by the way, and only Seiichi and Sanada was left to drive back with Seiichi's parents and little sister. In the mood Seiichi was in right now he wasn't sure that it was a good thing or not.
He couldn't make up his mind about what to do about the fight. He wanted to go and see Hari, but why hadn't she called? Maybe she didn't want him to come, and what if he made it worse? He still didn't have a good reply on why he let Kirihara play or about the way he played. He didn't have an answer for her, so how could they resolve this?
Why hadn't she called? Or even texted?
He had checked his phone at least a thousand times since last night. Yet, there was nothing from her. Not a singled text.
He should call her….
The first one to call after a fight will always be the one giving in. It's important to keep your ground.
That was what Marui had said and Seiichi couldn't get the words out of his mind. They sounded stupid, but what if…
"Ready, dear?" Sora asked her son and Seiichi nodded.
"Yeah…" he said even if his heart felt heavy.
She gave him a concerned look but didn't ask.
"You sure you want to leave like this?" Sanada asked quietly.
Seiichi didn't say anything because he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure at all, but there wasn't much he could do now…
"You should call her," Sanada said.
"I…"
"Marui was wrong;" Sanada said. "Is your pride worth losing her over?"
Seiichi blinked and looked at his best friend who was looking serious like always and his words really hit him. Would he lose her if he didn't call her? He didn't want that…
"Seiichi-nii-chan! Mum said we're going now!" Hana called. "You and Genichiro-nii-chan are slow!"
Seiichi saw that both his parents along with his aunt and uncle and Minoru had joined them by the car now and only he and Sanada was lagging behind. He grimaced.
"Ah, too bad Hari-chan couldn't stop by to say goodbye," Kouki commented when the two boys joined them.
"I'll tell her you said goodbye when I see her," Ryouichi said with a small smirk.
Kouki scowled at his brother, "my brother shouldn't get to know my son's girlfriend better than me. It's not fair."
Hana scowled as she walked past them and glared at Seiichi who blinked. Hana hadn't warmed up to the idea of Hari yet and he wished she would. But before he could say anything something white came diving from the sky and aimed straight at Seiichi who ducked and jumped back only to be dived at again and again and again…
"What the…" Seiichi gasped as he winced when he felt something sharp pinch his shoulder as he realised an owl had just landed and taken perch on his shoulder.
...
Sharp screeches along with tugs of his hair had him grimacing ignoring his parents' exclamations and Hana's cries.
"Oi..! Hedwig!" Seiichi yelped. "Calm down!"
The owl hooted sharply again and flapped her wings hitting him at the same time but it wasn't hard or painful.
"Um, Seiichi…"
"Did you just call the owl Hedwig?"
Seiichi held out his arm and Hedwig gave one last sharp pull of his hair before she jumped from his shoulder to the arm making it easier for him to look at her. He met sharp yellow eyes that seemed to be accusing him and he wondered how the owl even managed to give that look.
Hoot.
"What are you doing here?" Seiichi asked feeling stupid for asking and not knowing what to expect from the owl.
Hoot. Hoot.
The grip on his arm tightened and he felt the talons dig into his arm a little and she tugged making his arm move upward. She flapped her wings again and screeched.
"What? I don't understand what you want," Seiichi said.
"You're talking to an owl," Ryouichi commented. "Why are you talking to an owl and what kind of owl act like this..? So strange…"
"An owl is attacking my son and you are talking about strange," Kouki scowled at his brother.
"She's not attacking him anymore," Kasumi said. "Besides it looks like Seiichi knows the owl…"
"How can he know an owl?" Kouki demanded.
"Pretty owl!" Hana said clapping her hands together apparently over her fright now that Hedwig had calmed down and was perched on Seiichi's arm.
Seiichi ignored them the best he could and looked at Hedwig. Had Hari sent her? No, something told him that Hedwig had come on her own. Why, though?
"Seiichi," Sora spoked up, "how do you know the owl?"
Sanada nodded also wanting to know this.
"She's Hari-chan's," Seiichi said not looking away from Hedwig. "Her name is Hedwig."
"Hari-chan has an owl?" Sora asked surprised.
"Not a usual pet, is it?" Kouki said.
"Awesome!" Minoru gasped while Hana frowned a little but still stared at Hedwig.
...
Seiichi turned his attention back to Hedwig and noted the impatient yet disapproving look causing him to grimace slightly.
"Ah, why are you here, Hedwig?" he asked again feeling stupid.
Hedwig flapped her wings and almost took flight but didn't let go of Seiichi's arm causing his arm to move and he was forced to take a step forward.
"It looks like she wants you to follow her," Kasumi said incredulously.
"I've never seen an owl behave like this," Ryouichi said shaking his head.
"Maybe she wants you to actually go and see Hari-chan," Sanada suggested. "Before you leave."
"Is that it?" Seiichi looked at Hedwig who nodded and hooted before flying over to Sanada and gave him an affectionate nibble making Sanada blink.
"Huh;" Kouki said.
"Can I touch her?" Hana asked staring at the owl.
Hedwig was resting on Sanada's (who looked a little uncomfortable) shoulder and looked at Hana who stared straight back.
Seiichi frowned slightly and walked over to Hedwig and held out an arm wondering if she would accept it. Hedwig gave him a searching look before gracefully jumping from Sanada's shoulder and over at Seiichi's arm. Seiichi turned and hunched down slightly in front of Hana.
"Hana, this is Hedwig," Seiichi said. "Hedwig, this is my little sister, Hana-chan."
Seiichi knew his parents were watching a little nervously but didn't stop him.
"Be careful, Hana-chan," Seiichi said. "Don't be too abrupt, okay?"
Hana nodded and held out a hand moving it closer to Hedwig who eyed it before leaning forward and allowing the little girl to touch her. Hana squealed and stroked the feathers carefully.
"Soft," she murmured. "Pretty owl."
Hedwig puffed out almost smugly and Seiichi smiled.
"Awesome," Minoru said again coming closer. "Can I?"
Hedwig turned toward the boy and Seiichi took that as yes and Minoru reached out and stroked her feathers as well.
...
Hari was making her way out of the school having finally finished with the team meeting after all the dramatics was over and done with. Who knew just a simple strategy meeting could last this long? She sighed as she glanced at the clock and frowned seeing that it was already over two o'clock. Would he still be here?
"Hari-chan!"
Hari blinked and stopped in surprise as she saw Seiichi coming toward her. He had…Hedwig on his shoulder? What…?
"Sei-chan?"
"Good, I was worried you would have gone home or out with your team," Seiichi said as he reached her. "Your owl led me here, though, so I hoped you would be here."
"Hedwig did?" Hari looked at Hedwig.
"She did," Seiichi said before pausing and a slightly awkward silence stretched between them before Seiichi broke it; "can we talk?"
"Sure," Hari said. "Why don't we go to the park nearby?"
She was aware of her friends having exited the school behind her and was now looking their way, so she didn't feel like having this talk in front of their curious eyes. She saw Seiichi look behind her before looking back at her and nodded in agreement. They walked the small distance to the park in silence and Hari wondered if he was thinking about what to say or worrying about what she would say as she did.
They stopped when they reached the park and Hari was grateful to find it mostly empty. She shifted on her feet trying to find the words to say but it was like they were suddenly lost and the way they had ended things the day before was suddenly very clearly there.
"I'm sorry," they both said at the same time.
They both smiled slightly and Hari looked down before looking back at Seiichi.
"I'm sorry," Hari said again. "I shouldn't have…"
"No, I overreacted," Seiichi said.
"I didn't mean to sound like I was judging you or him," Hari said quietly. "I just…I was surprised. I like him as a person, Sei-chan. He's funny and nice, but…I was just shocked to see him like that. It wasn't what I expected."
Seiichi nodded slowly, "I can understand that. I know how others react to Akaya, and I…Normally, I don't care what they say or think, but…I do care about what you think."
He said it quietly and looked away and Hari knew she must have hurt him with her questions. She guessed it could be seen as judging him and his team and she felt bad for having caused that.
"Sorry;" she said.
"I'm the one who's sorry," Seiichi said before reaching out and taking her hand in his and squeezed it. "I let my pride stop me from saying anything last night or calling today. I should have called."
"Me too," Hari said.
She couldn't help but smile and laugh a little, "seems like we're competing about who is the sorriest and who should have called."
"Seems like it," Seiichi nodded. "Though, maybe we should agree that we were both wrong and let it be with that?"
"I can live with that," Hari nodded with a smile feeling much better than she had been all day.
She stepped closer to him and smiled as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her. She let her head rest against his shoulder and just enjoyed feeling his arms around her and the days stress left her.
"You have no idea how tiring this day has been," Hari muttered.
"Oh?" Seiichi said and she heard the smile in his voice. He pulled back slightly and led her to the bench and they sat down. "Tell me about it?"
So she did and she made sure to get all the details about what had happened across and she saw the amusement on his face.
"Hilarious," he said. "You and your friends are funny, Hari-chan."
"I know," Hari rolled her eyes but smiled all the same. Now that she and Seiichi had made up the day suddenly didn't seem that bad and it was even funny. "I thought you were leaving today…"
He nodded, "I was. We were about to leave when Hedwig came."
"Do I need to apologize for her?" Hari asked suddenly a little nervous as she glanced up at the tree where she had seen Hedwig perch. 7p
"No," Seiichi laughed, "though I was a little worried when something suddenly dived at me over and over again until I recognised her."
"She dived at you?" Hari asked before glaring up at the tree. "Sorry about that!"
"It's fine," Seiichi said. "She wanted to make me come with her. Hana-chan loved her, though. Pretty owl, she called her."
"Bet Hedwig loved that," Hari said fondly shaking her head at her owl.
"She's got a personality," Seiichi nodded and reached out to push some of Hari's hair out of her face and Hari smiled at him. "Anyway, we were about to leave and I was being stupid and feeling conflicted in whether I should call you or not. Genichiro told me to call, and I wanted to, but…"
Hari looked at him and nodded in understanding.
"I know what you mean," she said.
"So, Hedwig came and it was clear that she wanted me to come with her," Seiichi said. "Mum and dad agreed to wait a little while before leaving."
"So, you're still leaving today," Hari sighed.
"Yes," Seiichi said. "I have to get back soon."
"Okay," Hari said. "I wish you didn't have to, but I understand."
"Me too," he said.
"I don't like it when we fight," Hari said leaning in and resting her head on his shoulder while he put an arm around her shoulder.
"I don't either," he said.
She closed her eyes and smiled softly.
"I know we are probably going to fight again," Seiichi suddenly said making Hari open her eyes and pull back so she could look at him. He looked at her and she saw that he was serious. "But, I want us to make a promise."
"A promise?" she asked.
"That we always talk to each other," Seiichi said seriously. "That we are honest and talk things through. I don't want us to avoid each other or allow our pride to get between us, Hari-chan. I really do care about you and want to be together for a long time. If we need space or a little time after the fight then we will say so, but no more walking away from each other like last night."
Hari nodded.
"Okay," she said. "I promise."
"It's a promise," Seiichi nodded and smiled softly at her before leaning in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
...
"Thank you for the puzzle," Hari said as they walked back toward Seiichi's aunt and uncle's place. She had decided on walking him back in order to get to spend more time with him before he had to leave.
"You finished it already?" he asked glancing at her.
"Yeah," Hari smiled. "That's why I came to see you yesterday, actually. I had just finished it."
"Oh," Seiichi said before he smiled.
"It's perfect," Hari said. "I really love it."
"I'm glad," he said.
"Did you paint the pictures?" Hari asked curiously.
"Mm," he nodded and blushed lightly. "I did."
She squeezed his hand, "I didn't know you were that good at painting."
"You liked it?" He asked.
"Loved it," she corrected. "You are really talented."
"I wanted to show you how I felt," he said suddenly sounding shy and she felt her heart skip a beat.
"I'm lucky," she said and he looked at her.
"Eh?"
"I'm lucky," she said again and smiled at him. "I haven't been able to stop looking at it…"
"Good," he smiled back.
They walked in silence for a while and just enjoyed walking together. They had almost reached the house when Seiichi paused and Hari turned to look at him.
"I want to make you happy," he said. "That's what I wanted to say with the flower at the end, the Lily of the Valley. I know you like lilies and that one is a perfect symbol of what I wish to give you. A promise of happiness."
Hari smiled before she hugged him unable to find words but the hug seemed to say what she needed because he hugged her back. While she hated having had an argument with him she couldn't help but feel even closer to him now. She could appreciate him even more now and knew without a doubt that she would miss him if they were to stop talking.
...
"Ah, there you are," Kouki said when Hari and Seiichi came to the house. "Good to see you again, Hari-chan."
"You too, Yukimura-san," Hari smiled. "Sorry for delaying your drive home."
"Not to worry," he smiled. "And call me Kouki, Hari-chan. No need to be so formal with me."
Hari smiled knowing she was blushing but tried to ignore it.
"We're sorry we can't stay longer and talk with you more, Hari-chan," Sora said kindly. "But we really have to get going now."
"That's fine," Hari said. "Have a safe drive home."
Sora patted Hari's shoulder as she walked over to Hana who was standing by her aunt glaring at Hari who didn't try to talk to the younger girl. She really was at a loss on how to win her over.
"She'll come around;" Kouki said looking over at Hana as well. "She's just very protective and close to her brother."
"I can understand that;" Hari said quietly before blinking when the older man ruffled her hair and laughed lightly at the small pout on her face before walking over to the car.
Hari shook her head as she looked at Sanada who was looking as stoic as ever. She walked over to him.
"Thank you," she said.
He looked at her.
"For what?" he asked.
"For supporting Sei-chan;" Hari said.
"He's my best friend," Sanada said.
"I know," Hari nodded. "You're a good friend."
He shrugged.
"We're going to be playing each other soon," Sanada said looking at her. "You ready?"
"Of course," Hari smiled. "You?"
"Of course," he echoed. "I wonder which one of us will be playing you."
Hari shrugged, "who knows? It would be interesting to play you, but I have a feeling that I won't."
He arched a brow, "that doesn't mean we can't play each other in some way. I would be interested in playing you as well."
"Then we'll play one day," Hari said.
He nodded.
"What are you two talking about?" Seiichi asked coming up to them.
"I'm trying to get Sanada-san to tell me all of your secrets," Hari said seriously.
Seiichi arched a brow.
"Really now?"
"Mm," Hari nodded. "But he's very tight-lipped about it all. But one day I will get him to spill."
Sanada rolled his eyes but allowed a small smile to cross his lips.
"Maybe I will tell you one day," he said.
Seiichi looked between them, "what's this? Are you saying that you will betray my secrets to my girlfriend, Genichiro?"
Hari laughed while Sanada just looked at them blankly.
"I don't know what I think about the two of you joining forces," Seiichi sighed. "I will have no secrets left."
Hari felt a little uneasy at the word. Secrets. She had a lot of secrets for Seiichi…
...
Hari was curled up in bed having done her homework both for her regular school and for Charms. She still had the Charms book open on the bed and the Journal in her lap having just noticed that she had gotten a message from Hermione.
Hermione: Hey, Hari. You there?
Hari blinked and quickly grabbed her quill.
Hari: Yes. Sorry, did you wait long?
Hari waited.
Hermione: No, not really. How are you?
Hari: I'm alright now. Had a fight with Sei-chan yesterday, but we made up now. Are you home now? Or at Ron's?
Hermione: That's good. I'm home. I wanted to see my parents as well before Hogwarts starts again. I did spend a little time at Ron's place, though. Um…Hari?
Hari: Good. You should spend time with your parents too. They must miss you while you're at school and you did spend a lot of time here. I appreciate that, of course, but your parents must miss you. And yeah?
Hermione: I don't know how to say it or if I should…
Hari; Say what?
Hermione: Ron and I were a little split in whether or not to say anything to you about it, we don't want to worry you.
Hari: Worry me? About what? Did something happen?
Hermione: Sirius was at the Burrow when we got back.
Hari stared at the last entry from Hermione and felt her breath catch as she looked at the words trying to make sense of it. Sirius had been at the Burrow? What…? How…? Why…?
Hermione: Hari?
Hermione: Hari? Say something?
Hermione: Are you okay?
Hari: What? Why?
Hermione: He was looking for you.
Hari: Why? He shouldn't be back in England!
Hermione: He was worried. He came as Padfoot, only Ginny saw him. I think. He didn't show himself as, well, him until Ron and I was on our own with him. He wanted to know where you were and he knew that we had just seen you, Hari.
Hari: How could he know that?
Hermione: He said because he knew that we wouldn't have left on a vacation with you missing. That it was what he and your dad would have done if it were them. He was really worried about you, Hari.
Hari: Did you tell him?
Hermione: We wasn't sure what to do, Hari. We didn't want to tell him, but…
Hari: You told him.
Hari wasn't sure what to think. They'd told Sirius…
Hermione: He was taking risks, Hari. Big risks! What if Mrs or Mr Weasley saw him? They wouldn't know he was innocent, Hari.
Hari: I know.
Hermione: You didn't see him. He looked really bad, worried about you and scared. He really loves you, Hari.
Hari:…I don't know.
Hermione: I'm sorry.
Hari: sighs. I guess there's nothing to be done about it now. What did he say? Will he…will he tell Dumbledore?
Hermione: No. He said he wouldn't tell Dumbledore unless you were in danger. He said Dumbledore must have lost your trust. But I do think you might expect a visit.
Hari: I don't know if that's a good idea…
Hermione: He will want to see you happy.
Hari: I don't know how he will react to Otou-chan and Okaa-chan.
Hermione: I don't either.
Hari: Did you tell him…?
Hermione: We said you had gone to an old friend and his parents had taken you in. That you were happy there and had great friends in your new home. We didn't say anything about you being adopted. I wasn't sure how he would react…
Hari: Okay. I guess I just have to wait and see if he shows up.
Hermione: I'm sorry, Hari. We didn't know what to do, but we thought that you wouldn't like it if he got careless looking for you and got caught.
Hari: I get it. It's fine, Hermione.
...
Hari groaned into the pillow as her mind felt like it was overflowing with thoughts and everything that had happened so far in just one day. She should have known that the day would throw something more at her. She really should just have gone to sleep when she got back.
Sirius was coming.
She knew he was. He was the type to do so, not that she really knew him. Having been away from Hogwarts and England for a while now she had gotten some perspective on everything and she realised that while Sirius was her godfather it didn't mean that she knew him. She could have wished she knew him, but they had only spent a limited amount of time together. Three hours max. And at least half that time she had wanted to kill him for betraying her parents.
Maybe they would get a chance to get to know each other now? If he really was coming… but she wasn't sure how he would react to her being adopted. Maybe he would resent her for it? Would he see Nanjiro and Rinko as someone trying to take James and Lily's place in her life?
He was her godfather. He was supposed to have been in her life, and she did want to know him. She did! She just…wasn't sure if he really loved her as Hermione claimed. He hadn't escaped Azkaban just for her. Hari knew that revenge had been a part of the reason as well, and while he said it was because he was the only one who knew that Pettigrew was still alive and that he was close to Hari…? Well, she wasn't sure. She had seen how his mind had been so fixated on getting at Pettigrew and how he didn't even care that he was making himself sound like a maniac killer as he tried to get to him…
But again – could she really blame him? Wouldn't she have done the same? If she had been in his position wouldn't she have wanted revenge as well?
She groaned. So many questions and thoughts running wild in her mind and she felt no closer to any sort of solution. She just wanted to sleep…to forget that this had even happened and just focus on Seiichi and having made up with him. She was going to sleep and pretend that her day had ended when she got home from saying goodbye to Seiichi and everything had been perfect.
She would deal with Sirius another day… if he even showed up. Maybe he didn't… maybe he realised that it was dangerous for him to come to her.
...
...
AN: What do you think? XD
Sorry about the delay, but I just couldn't get this chapter done in a way I was happy with. I keep feeling that the fight is too rushed, but at the same time, I don't want to drag it out. Hope you don't dislike it too much. :)
Also; I'm curious about something: do you want Seiichi to learn about magic?
Thank you for reading and supporting the story! XD