Kindred Spirits

by Tailkinker

This is a work of fan fiction based on the Harry Potter series and the Sailor Moon franchise created respectively by J.K. Rowling and Naoko Takeuchi. The characters and settings belong to their respective owners and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes and should not be considered as part of the official canon of either series.

Charm and Trace

Harry closed the door to the potions lab behind himself, and drew in a deep breath. Professor Snape eyed him, but remained silent.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I blew up at you, and when I thought about it, I realized that nobody's beaten you up over it more than you did yourself." He paused. "I...that's not really clear. I mean, you've been doing everything you can to make up for your mistake. I should have recognized that."

Snape nodded. "I accept your apology. We can leave it behind us." He smirked. "Though I wonder how much of that was your own words, and how much came from Ms Tomoe...?"

Harry considered Snape's words, before admitting, "She helped me get past it. I mean, I would have gotten there eventually, but she pointed out a few things."

"Then one must hope that you keep yourself in Ms Tomoe's good graces," said the Professor. He picked up a small flask. "Though since you've felt the need to snub me for the last week, I've been unable to inform you that you no longer require further education in Occlumency. The procedure we performed has rendered your defences as good as they can be."

"Then...I can go?" said Harry.

"No," said Snape. "It would raise suspicions in our new...Headmistress...if I cancelled the remainder of your detention." He set the bottle in front of Harry. "Let me teach you about the substance detection spell. It can be used to determine the components of a potion."

"Wouldn't that be 'silly wand-waving', Sir?" said Harry.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I should take points for cheek..." He lifted his own wand. "Now, the wand movement for the charm—"

The potions lab door flew open, and Draco rushed in, a look of panic on his face. "Professor!" He paused. "Harry, you'll want to know this, too." He turned back to Snape. "I can't remember where my house is!"

"What?" Snape scowled. "Foolish boy it's—" He paused. "I cannot remember, either."

"Fidelius charm," said Harry immediately. "Your house has probably been put under Fidelius."

"Which means that Voldemort is probably using that house as a headquarters," said Snape softly. "Can you remember the floo address?"

"No," said Draco angrily. "She must have covered that with the charm as well."

"She?" asked Harry.

"Mother, of course," snapped Draco. "She's gone right off the twist."

Harry considered for a moment. "Tell me...would your mother include House Elves under the Fidelius?"

"The Fidelius affects all living beings," said Snape. "Elves would certainly be included."

"But House Elves don't use the same sort of magic we do," countered Harry. "Dobby?"

The exciteable House Elf appeared next to him. "Yes, Master Harry?"

"If you needed to, could you go to Malfoy Manor?"

"Yes, Master Harry." He didn't look pleased by the fact.

"Can you go there, right now, and then immediately come back? Don't hang about, just make sure you can get there."

"Dobby will do," said Dobby. He vanished with a crack.

"Good thinking, Mr Potter," said Snape quietly.

Dobby reappeared. "Dobby cannot find it! Dobby is sorry, and will find some nettles to rub in his—"

"No," said Harry quickly. "We've talked about this. If I decide you need punishment, I'll tell you what it is."

Dobby nodded sadly.

"Thank you for trying," said Harry. Dobby nodded again, and vanished.

"That Elf has gotten even weirder since you hired him," said Draco.

"I wish that'd worked," grumbled Harry.

"Still, it was well reasoned," said Snape thoughtfully. "Now. I believe we have a detention to complete. Mr Malfoy, since you interrupted us, you may join. You'll need your wand."

Harry had grabbed his pajamas and was about to head for a shower when he heard his magic mirror vibrating. He dropped the clothes and grabbed the mirror.

"Padfoot."

Sirius' face appeared in the mirror, his eyes holding a mixture of urgency and determination. "Harry, it's me. We need to talk."

"What? What's going on?"

"I've found a horcrux. Ami said that she can track the things?"

"You—" Harry's brow furrowed in confusion. "How did you find a horcrux?"

"It's been in Grimmauld Place since the end of the last war," said Sirius. "I'll fill you in when we meet. The sooner the better." His eyes narrowed. "I'll apparate there as soon as you're off, so don't dawdle."

"Where should we meet?"

"The Shrieking Shack," said Sirius. "Be careful, the both of you. The Toad would love to catch you out after curfew. Use the cloak and the Map. Good-bye."

Harry set the now-deactivated mirror on his night-stand, his mind racing, and grabbed his Invisibility Cloak. Then paused, forcing himself to think clearly. "Dobby."

Dobby appeared with a muted crack. "Master Harry calls?"

"Take this cloak to Ami. Tell her that we've got an important meeting with Padfoot. And tell her to meet me at the Gryffinder portrait."

Sirius set a small box on the table in front of Harry. "You can thank my House Elf."

"Kreacher?" Harry looked shocked. "How did Kreacher get his hands on a horcrux?"

"It seems that my Death Eater brother, Regulus, the pride of the family—" Sirius' voice turned bitter. "—wasn't such a hard-liner as my parents believed. Riddle asked him to loan him Kreacher, and used him to hide a horcrux. He didn't expect Regulus to order Kreacher to return home as soon as Tom was done with him, and he didn't expect Kreacher to survive the potion he forced him to drink." Sirius smirked. "I wonder how much of Kreacher's attitude problem was due to having been forced to drink that potion."

"What did the potion do?" asked Ami.

"Kreacher only said that it made him see horrible things," said Sirius. "Anyway, Regulus ordered Kreacher to take him back to the cave where Tom hid the horcrux. And rather than making Kreacher drink the potion, he drank it himself. He ordered Kreacher to take the locket and destroy it, to leave him behind if needs be. And Kreacher did just that."

He looked down and scowled. "It was a lot easier to hate my brother for bending the knee to Riddle. This...What do I think of him now?" The question was mumbled, clearly more to himself than to anybody else present.

Harry answered it anyway. "That he was always trying to do what he thought was right.". He was having to reconsider what he knew about Sirius' little brother. These revelations put the younger Black in a different light.

"I suppose," said Sirius. He looked back at Ami. "Can you use this to find the rest?"

"If my computer can analyze its signature," said Ami. "Is this place visited often?"

Sirius laughed. "Hardly ever. There are rumours that it's the most haunted building in Britain."

"...Haunted?" Ami suddenly looked terrified.

"It's not," said Harry quickly. He remembered Ami's aversion to ghosts all too well. "When Professor Lupin attended school here, he would come to this shack to transform. This led to rumours of the Shrieking Shack being haunted."

"A confined werewolf makes a lot of scary noise," confirmed Sirius.

"I have to leave my computer to work on the signature, and the scan," explained Ami. "It might take a few days, maybe as long as a week. If it won't be disturbed, I can leave it here."

Harry had grown quite a bit in the last few years, and the Invisibility Cloak had, of course, not. Having to share it with Ami, as small as she was, made it difficult to move quickly without giving themselves away.

Ami suddenly gripped his arm. "Wait," she whispered.

Harry paused, and slowly glanced around. "What?"

"There's someone up there, in that doorway," she whispered in Japanese.

"I see them," said Harry. He carefully pulled out the Marauder's Map, then scowled. "Too dark to use the Map."

Ami touched the arm of her glasses, and they altered, to become a visor. "It's that new caretaker. Blackrock-sensei."

"Can she see us?"

"I don't think so," said Ami. "She's looking around...I think she knows we're out here, but not where we are. Maybe we can sneak past her?"

"If we open the main door, she'll see it move."

"She's leaving," said Ami, relieved. "Okay, let's get inside."

They moved with greater urgency, slipping in through the main door. Once they were in the illuminated entry hall, Harry opened the Map again. "That must be—wait. It doesn't say Blackrock." He scowled. "She's an impostor or something."

"What does it say her name is?"

Harry frowned. "Kaolinite."

Ami gasped.

"Kaolinite? Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "The Map is never wrong. Why? Who is Kaolinite?"

"She's one of Mistress Nine's Death Busters," said Ami. "She killed me once."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"I got better," mumbled Ami. "I need to get back to my dorm. Sailor Pluto has to know that Kaolinite is here." She hesitated. "Remember, when we first came here, you thought we wanted Saturn dead? It was Mistress Nine we were looking for, not Hotaru."