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 Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:09 pm
Feb. 16, 2:15pm, Gryffindor Common Room
Meanwhile, while Dumbledore was deep in thought in the Hospital Wing, in the Gryffindor Common Room, the sparks were about to fly. Ron was taking the wet things out of his pockets when he found, to his horror, the picture that he had found in Gumi's mind.
"Um, Hermione?", he said trying to keep his voice steady.
Hermione got up out of her chair next to Jade and walked over to Ron. "What?"
"Uh, we have a problem", he said softly, showing her the picture.
"Oh, sh- ahem!", she cleared her throat. "What the heck are we gonna do now?"
"Who's doing what now?", came Harry's voice from right behind them.
"Nothing", Ron said urgently, as he slid the picture in between the pages of one of his History of Magic book that was on the table. "N-n-n-nothing. I- we were just saying that I, am, in, major trouble, because my essay for History of Magic isn't even close to being done."
"Oh", Harry said, looking at the half-written on piece of parchment that was behind him on the table. "Well, you should get to that then. And when your done can I have my book back, so I can check mine?"
"Sure, no problem", Ron said.
Harry walked away and sat down on the arm of Jade's chair that she was sitting in, right next to the fire.
"Whew!", they said together.
"Get that picture out of here", Hermione said.
Ron took his stuff upstairs to the Boys' dorm and finished his essay up there, were, when he was done, he stuffed his book under his bed, amongst some old papers and candy wrappers.
Feb. 16, 3:27pm, Gryffindor Boys' Dorm
"I'll be down when I've checked my essay!", Harry said down the stairs.
"Alright!", came Jade's voice.
Harry closed the door to the dorm and went over to his bedside table. He took out his essay and layed it on his bed, then began to look through Ron's stuff to find his book. He found it, under the bed, went back over to his bed, and began to flip through the pages to the one he needed. He was just about done checking his essay against the answers in the book when he turned the page and picked out the picture that was there. He turned it over and almost at once, he was so mad he could've punched through the stone wall. The picture that he had in his hand was of Jade, in a darkened hallway in an intimate embrace, with none other than Blaise Zabini.
He slammed his book shut and stormed down the stairs into the common room. He spotted Jade, in the same chair she was in before, but was now talking and laughing with Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny and Parvati. Harry stomped over to them and violently yanked Jade out of her chair by her arm.
"What's the idea, huh?!", he shouted, shaking her. "You tryin' to play me?!"
"Harry, let me go, you're scareing me", Jade said.
"And me", Neville said.
"Me too", Ginny and Parvati said at the same time.
"What's gotten into you?", Jade asked, now terrified of her own boyfriend.
"You think you could have us both?! Huh!? HUH?! Well, you're wrong!", he continued, releasing her roughly, so that she stumbled back a bit. He took out the picture that he had found in his book and shoved it in her face. "You think I wouldn't find out about your little interlude?", he asked in a soft voice that made Jade, and everyone else that was now listening quiver.
"Mate, what-", Ron said, but was cut off by Harry turning to him.
"And YOU!", Harry yelled, now directly in Ron's face. "Why were you even bothering covering up for what she did?! Huh?! What, you shagging her now too?!"
"That isn't-", Ron tried to say, but was stopped and looked on in alarm at what Harry did and said next.
"You're nothing, but a little, whore", he said, and then...
SWACK!
Harry had slapped Jade across the face so hard that she spun around and fell to the floor.
The entire common room was now deathly silent as everyone who was there now stood in complete and utter shock and horror. Harry had slapped Jade. His own girlfriend.
Now, the only sound that came through the room, other than the crackling of the fire was Jade's muffled sobs. Holding her face, Jade slowly stood up and looked at Harry in both shock and disgust. Without a word, she walked away and out of the portrait door, which she slammed so hard that the portait actually fell off the wall onto the floor.
Feb. 16, 2:53pm, Hospital Wing
"And that's when it happpened", Gumi said.
"Hmm", Dumbledore said, still thinking.
Just then, there was a knock on the Hospital Wing door. Madame Pomphrey opened the door slightly and indistinct murmuring was heard.
"Professor", she said. "Jade would like to speak with her sister."
"Very well. Let her in", he said.
Jade walked over to Gumi's bed and sat down in the chair next to Gumi's bed, opposite Dumbledore.
"What's up, sis?", Gumi asked, then gasped as she saw the newly formed bruise on Jade's right cheek. "What in Bast's name happened to you?!"
"I- it's nothing", Jade said. turning her face so that niether of them could see her face.
"Jadalycya", Gumi said in a stern tone, making Jade look back. "What, happened?"
"Harry hit me", Jade said, then began to sob into her hands.
"HE DID WHAT!?!", Gumi roared, then tried to get up. "Oh that's it. Gimme some crutches, that boy is dead. I swear. I'm gonna kill him."
"Gumi, don't", Jade said, pushing Gumi back down onto her bed..
"Why?", she asked, still trying to get up.
Jade went on to tell both Gumi and Dumbledore about the picture, that wasn't real, how Harry must have found it and how he reacted.
Feb. 16, 3:21pm, Hogwarts Grounds, Lake side
Ron and Hermione had taken Harry outside, away from any innocent bystanders and proceeded to tell him about their history with the picture.
"So, you don't know for sure that the picture is real or not?", Harry asked.
"No", Hermione answered. "As we said, it was in Gumi's mind. So it could be real or it could be something that she created in her subconscious."
"And you just stood by and watched me as I slapped Jade?!", Harry shouted. "Over something that might be not real?!" Just then, his face took on a look of complete horror and went snow white. "Oh, my God. I hit Jade. I, hit, Jade. Oh my God. I ca- I ca- I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe." Harry fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath.
"Whoa!", Hermione exclaimed, getting down on her knees, next to him. "Calm down, Harry. Calm down. Deep breathes. Deep breathes. In...", she took a deep breath, and Harry copied her. "... and out", she let it out, and again, Harry copied her. "Again, in...", they both took in a deep breath. "... and out", they both let it out. "Good. There. Now, how do you feel?"
"Like I should be ground up and feed to the dragons", Harry answered. "What do you think? I just hit my own girlfriend. How else would I feel?"
Hermione looked up at Ron, who just shrugged his shoulders.
Feb. 17, 10:14am, Double Potions Class
Harry sat at the very back table with Ron and Hermione, as they worked on their assignment, while Jade and Gumi, how was let out of the Hospital Wing early because she wanted to look after her sister, were at one of the front tables, working with Draco. On the frequent occasion, Gumi would spin around in her seat and just stared, evilly at Harry until either Snape tutted at her for not working or Jade and Draco needed her help.
As the bell rang for them to leave for lunch, Harry lingered to try and talk to Jade, but Gumi and Draco, acting on Gumi's request ushered her out of class and up to the kitchens where they had lunch, while talking with Dobby, Winky and some of the other House Elves that worked there.
Feb. 20, 12:14pm, Fifth Floor
It had been almost a week since Harry's outburst towards Jade and, while some people had started coming around him, some people still kept their distance and Jade was still being ushered wherever she went by Gumi or Draco. Finally, after lunch, when he saw that she was going to go down for a swim in the Prefect's bathroom he decided he was going to talk to her, but found out that she didn't want to talk to him as when he tried to sneak up behind her to tap her on the shoulder, as he went to touch her, his hand hit a force field that sent a shockwave straight through him that sent him sailing backwards all the way down to the end of the hall.
Feb. 20, 8:30pm, Great Hall
Jade, Hermione, Ron, Gumi, Draco and Ginny all entered the Great Hall for dinner and did not find Harry anywhere.
"Wonder where Harry is", Ginny said as they sat down.
"Dunno", Ron said.
"Huh", Hermione said, smoothing out her skirt. "I wonder where-"
Before Hermione could finish her sentence, the squealing sound of the schools P.A. system filled the Great Hall, making everone hush. They waited for whatever announcement there was, to be made, but there wasn't one. Instead.....
"I'm awake in the afternoon,
I fell asleep in the living room,
And it's one of those moments,
When everything is so clear.
Before the truth goes back into hiding,
I want to decide 'cause it's worth deciding,
To work on finding something more than this fear"
Everyone in the Great Hall was now looking around, trying to find who was singing, and found out who it was when, none other than Harry came around the door from the Entrance Hall, holding the magical microphone from the schools' P.A system. He stopped in the doorway, but still continued to sing.
"It takes so much out of me to pretend.
Tell me now, tell me how to make amends.
Maybe, I need to see the daylight,
Leave behind the half-life,
Don't you see I'm breaking down?
Oh lately, something here don't feel right,
This is just a half-life,
Is there really no escape,
No escape from time,
Of any kind?
I keep trying to understand,
This thing and that thing, my fellow man,
I guess I'll let you know when I figure it out,
And I don't mind a few mysteries,
They can stay that way; it's fine by me,
But you are another mystery I am missing"
Harry stopped leaning on the door and, while still singing, started to walk down the middle aisle, between the Gryffindor and Slytherin house tables.
"It takes too much out of me to pretend.
Maybe, I need to see the daylight,
Leave behind the half-life.
Don't you see I'm breaking down?
Oh lately, something here don't feel right,
This is just a half-life,
Is there really no escape,
No escape from time
Of any kind?"
At this point, Harry had now stopped in the middle of the aisle and turned to face Jade, who was looking at him in awe. He then stuck the microphone in his back pocket, stepped forward, put his hands around Jade's middle and picked her up out of her seat. She put her feet on the floor and then turned around to face him. He took her left hand in his and pulled her closer. They began to dance on the spot without saying a thing. Taking out the microphone, Harry continued singing.
"Come on let's fall in love,
Come on let's fall in love,
Come on let's fall in love,
Again
'Cause lately something here don't feel right;
This is just a half-life.
Without you I am breaking down.
Oh wake me, I want to see the daylight.
Save me from this half-life.
Let's you and I escape,
Escape from time
Come on let's fall in love,
Come on let's fall in love,
Come on let's fall in love,
Again"
As the music slowed to a stop, so did Jade and Harry. When the Great Hall was completely quiet, he took her hand and led her outside to the front steps.
Feb. 20, 8:41pm, Front Steps
The front door shut with a thunk and Jade pulled away a bit from Harry.
"It's ok", Harry said, setting the magical microphone on the stone railing. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
"I liked, your, uh, song", Jade said, pointing back towards the Great Hall. "It was sweet."
"Thanks", he replied.
He took a step towards her, but when she took a step back, so did he.
"You still don't trust me, do you?", he asked.
"Well, I trust you, I just don't trust your, temper", she admitted.
"Understandable", he said, sitting down on the stone railing across from Jade, who only sat down on the opposite stone railing after he did.
Jade was as jumpy as a grasshopper, being alone with him, whereas before all of this started, she would go to him to calm down. They sat in silence for, what felt like a really long time before Jade finally spoke.
"Harry?", she asked. "Why did you hit me?"
He blinked. Harry didn't know the exact reason why he had hit her, but that he felt absolutly horrible about it.
"I- uh, I don't remember", he said, finally. "And ironically, that's what makes me feel the second most terrible about it. Because I hit you and I don't know why."
"And the first being?", she asked.
"That I hurt you", he said plainly. "I caused you pain that you should have never felt and because I am the source of that pain."
He looked up from his hands, that he had been examining and looked at Jade. As he looked at her face, he saw a single eyelash fall onto her cheek. He stood up and walked over towards her.
"What are you doing?", she asked, starting to panic a bit.
"I'm not gonna hurt you", he said, putting his hands up, halting halfway from where he was before to Jade.
He finished the walk over to Jade and looked at her face.
"You have an eyelash", he said, with his hands out away from his sides so that Jade could see them. "You want me to get that?"
"Promise you won't hurt me?", she asked.
"I promise", he replied.
Jade closed her eyes and held her head completely still as Harry gently picked the single eyelash from her face. She reopened her eyes to see him holding out his finger with the eyelash on the tip.
"Go on", he said softly. "Make a wish."
Jade closed her eyes, thought for a moment, then, with a good intake of air, she blew the eyelash away.
_________________
Song:
"Half-life" by Duncan Sheik (What A Girl Wants Soundtrack)
-------------------
(A/N: I myself do not condone violence against woman.)
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:29 pm
Feb. 20, 8:43 pm, Front Steps
Harry was leaning towards Jade, who still had her eyes closed from the wish. There was a small clatter on the top of the stairs, but he didn’t care. The focus of his world was not six inches from his lips, and all he wanted was to taste those lips. Suddenly, there was a bang, and he was flat on his back in the snow.
“What the HELL do you think you’re doing, boy?” Kagumi's voice called from the steps. He saw Jade as a limp figure in Draco’s arms, as he carried her back into the Hall, and Kagumi descending the steps in a cold, calculated manner; her eyes flashed silver fire into his own, and he knew without a doubt that she was about to make him pay in full for what he had almost done.
“Gumi, please think about this,” he pleaded.
“Oh, I’m past thinking Harry-boy. In fact, I’m about to start acting.” Kagumi smiled, and for a second, her cold hatred scared Harry more than Voldemort ever had.
“What did you do to her? She was limp in Malfoy’s arms,” he said, fearing the worst.
“Just a simple Stunner. I used the silent version, so it shouldn’t cause any lasting harm. However, what I’m about to do to you won’t be nearly so pleasant.” Harry desperately groped for his wand, before realizing that he had let it, rather foolishly, in his dorm.
Kagumi raised her wand, lifting him off the ground without an incantation, and froze him there. “Oh, no Harry-boy. I won’t be entirely using Hexes. You’ve seen what my fists can do; now you’re about to feel what they can do. But I feel merciful,” she whispered, right before her right foot swung up, almost of its own accord, and knocked him out. His last vision was of Kagumi walking towards him, with scarlet eyes.
Feb. 22, 11:42 am, Hospital Wing
Harry's eyes hurt. Well, to be more specific, Harry's everything hurt, but rays of bright light were bombarding his eyes, and that was just plain wrong to him. When his brain had had time to register that it was now daylight, his eyes opened of his own accord.
He was lying in one of the pristine beds in the Hospital Wing, and Ron, Hermione and Draco were sitting around his bed. For just a moment, Harry appreciated the irony of Draco Malfoy sitting by his beside, his, He, Harry Potter. But then he recalled the last glimpse he had before he blacked out, and, against his will, he shivered. That small movement alerted his watchers to the fact that he was awake, but more importantly, it alerted him to the fact that his entire body was bruised, some places broken, and in general terms, his body hurt worse than anything he’s ever felt.
“Harry!” Hermione gasped, quickly letting go of Ron’s hand as he rushed forward to hug him tightly. He squeaked into her shoulder: it felt as if his shoulders had been dislocated.
“Hermione, let him breathe. He’s still in really bad condition,” came Ron's voice, from somewhere to Harry's left. Draco snickered as Madame Pomfrey came rushing out of her office, screaming, “Let him go! Let him go! That boy has been through the equivalent of falling from the Astronomy Tower!”
As Hermione slid back into her seat, and once the potions had been administered, he looked at Ron. “What on earth did she do to me?” he croaked. Ron bit his nails, Hermione wouldn’t meet his eyes and Draco seemed very interested in his left foot.
“Oh, come on!” Harry wheezed. ”I had to live through it, and you won’t even tell me hat I lived through?”
“That’s just it, mate,” Ron said. “You didn’t live through it. She brought your body up to the Hospital Wing, and you barely had a pulse. Jade saved your life.”
Harry looked at Hermione for confirmation; she nodded, her eyes sparkling with tears. “So what did she do to me, Draco?” he asked lightly.
“Well, all I can really say is that what she did to you, made my punishments at the beginning of the year look like freaking Child’s Play. Both of your arms were broken; one leg was broken in multiple places; you had a severe concussion. She basically smashed your entire right hand, and then healed it so that you’d never be able to hold a wand right again. Several curses were used on you, including a few that are probably Dark Magic. Mate, you really shouldn’t have lived.”
Harry looked at his right hand; it looked normal enough, albeit a little bruised and swollen. It was Hermione who answered his unasked question.
“Jade had to rebreak your entire hand, bone by bone, to heal it. She never said a word, and as far as I know she hasn’t spoken to Kagumi since it happened.”
“How long was I out?” Harry found himself asking through a heavy layer of guilt.
“Two days, Harry,” came Jade’s voice from the other end of the Ward.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:50 pm
Feb. 22, 11:53am, Hospital Wing
Jade was leaning against the doorframe of the entrance, her arms crossed and Harry's wand sticking out of the pocket in her cargo pants.
“Jade, what, what are you doing here?”, Hermione asked. “Where’s Gumi? Have you talked to her?”
“Gumi is upstairs, working on her Transfiguration homework”, Jade replied, not moving. “Yeah, I talked to her, and we’ve, decided to, talk about what happened later, when we’ve both cooled off.”
“Still, what are you doing here?”, Draco asked.
“I figured that he might need this at some point”, Jade said, pulling Harry’s wand out from her pocket.
“Oh, thanks”, Harry said, not really thinking, holding out his hand.
Jade took a step forwards, but then stopped and looked like she was in deep thought. Once she snapped back, she tossed his wand into the air, which landed next to Harry’s right leg on the bed, gave a small smirk and then turned to walk away.
“Jade!”, Harry said loudly, while trying to sit up, making Jade stop.
She turned back and stared at him with a look of deep thought, confusion and loathing. All she did was blink, turn and walk away out of sight into the hall.
Feb. 22, Noon, Gryffindor Common Room
She walked into the common room and sat down next to Gumi, who was looking over her homework which she had just finished.
“Hello”, she said, sitting down in the chair next to her. “What’cha doin’?”
“Looking at my homework”, Gumi said. “And thinking.”
“Thinking?”, she asked. “Are you feeling ok?”
“Funny”, Gumi said, with a slight chuckle, moving Jade’s hand away from her head. “I was thinking about….. Harry.”
“What? You regretting what you did to him so soon?”, Jade asked. “I had you down for three, five more days, minimum.”
“No!”, Gumi replied quickly, then gave a sigh. “I was just thinking about, why he stunned you in the first place, if all he was gonna do was kiss you? Why was he that close? Why did he sing you that song? Oh! Maybe he wanted to soften you up because he wanted to kidnap you and keep you as his personal toy. Maybe he was gonna take you away and try and get you in trouble for something.”
“Ok, I get it, now will you quit rambling?”, Jade asked.
“Sorry”, Gumi said. “I’m just…”
“Still worried?”, Jade said. “He’s in a half-body cast in the Hospital Wing. What is he gonna do to me?”
“I don’t know, but men can be sneaky, Jade, you know that”, Gumi said.
“Yeah, I know”, she replied, getting up. “You gonna come down for lunch?”
“Yeah, I guess I can make an appearance”, Gumi said in a tone of mock sarcasm.
Feb. 22, 12:16pm, Great Hall
They both joked and giggled all the way down to the Great Hall for lunch, where Gumi gorged herself on stuffed crust pizza, spaghetti and her and her sister’s favorite, tostadas. Draco, Ron and Hermione finally came down to lunch and sat with Jade and Gumi after Gumi had downed her third tostada.
“You really love them things don’t you?”, Draco asked.
“Oo oh I oo”, she said, with a mouth stuffed full of food.
“Gumi!”, Jade shouted. “Must I remind you of you manners?!”
“Uh-uh”, Gumi replied, shaking her head. She swallowed what was in her mouth and then talked. “I said, ‘You know I do’.”
“Ah”, Ron said, now digging into his own tostada. “Mmm! These things are really, really good.”
“Aren’t they though?”, Gumi asked.
“I wonder if we should take some up to Harry?”, Hermione asked out loud to no one in particular.
Silence followed this statement. Gumi immediately looked at Jade, who was now poking at her food like a child pokes at their vegetables.
Feb. 22, 10:20pm, Hospital Wing
Jade was pretty much quiet the rest of the day, her thoughts now filled with what was going to happen with her and Harry.
After dinner, she decided to meander around the school for a bit and soon, she found herself standing outside the closed Hospital Wing door. She quietly as possible opened the door and peeked inside. The room was mostly dark, but the light from the full moon was shining in through the windows and the one above Harry’s bed illuminated his face just enough to show that his eyes were closed and he was sleeping. Without thinking fully, Jade stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She walked slowly over to Harry’s bed and stood next to his bed, just looking down at him. After a few moments, she went from standing next to his bed, to sitting in the first chair, closest to his bed. She laid her head on her arms, which were lying on the side of Harry’s bed and just watched him as he slept. A bit later she fell asleep with her head and arms on the bed and the rest of her sitting in the chair next to the bed.
Harry’s Dreams
Harry was walking through a field of very tall grass, almost up to his waist. It was sunset and the sky was brilliant colors of red, pink, green and yellow. The field was empty, except for the many grasshoppers and crickets that were singing their nighttime songs. He had been walking around looking up at the sky when he thought he heard something next to him. He looked down from the sky, and while there was no one and nothing next to him, he saw someone not too far off. Wading through the grass, he made his way over to the other person there and as their figure got more and more clearer, he recognized Jade right away. He went to hug her but found nothing. He put his hand right through her arm and she didn’t move, only to finally turn her head to face him.
“Save me”, she said simply. “Save me from myself. Save me before I can’t be saved.”
“What?”, he asked.
“I need you, Harry”, she said. “I may not say it or show it but I do. I need you. I love you. I love you, Harry.”
“Jade-”
Before his arm was all the way outstretched, Jade’s image disappeared in a puff of mist. He stood still before he realized that someone was holding his hand and that was when he woke up.
Feb. 22, 10:23pm, Hospital Wing
Harry’s eyes fluttered open and looked at the ceiling above until his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. He turned his head to the side and found, to his slight surprise, Jade, asleep, her head laying on her arms, on the bed next to him. Her right hand was holding his right hand loosely, but it was just enough to send warm tingles throughout his body.
Mustering all his strength, he pulled himself up in bed, and gently pulled Jade into the bed next to him, from her half and half perch on the chair and bed. She automatically nestled into him, draping her arm over his torso and resting her head in the crook of his upper chest. He held her close with his bandaged arms and when he was almost asleep, he heard Jade whisper in her sleep.
“I love you, Harry.”
He moved her hair from her face and kissed her forehead. “I love you, too.”
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:22 pm
Feb. 27, 8:43 am, Great Hall
Kagumi scowled as Harry and Jade came in, arms wrapped around each other, eyes focused only on each other. Fighting an urge to beat Harry to a pulp again, she looked back across the table at Draco. He smiled briefly, before offering her some waffles and strawberries.
“Smells good. I think I want some…” Kagumi leaned towards the plate, inhaling the amazing scent. Strangely, a vile taste surfaced in the back of her throat, and her stomach rumbled its displeasure. “On second thought, no I don’t.” Moving with a blinding speed, Kagumi was over the long bench and out the door, headed for a bathroom, before Jade and Harry had even sat down.
“Was that long-haired, sickly-green-faced blur my sister?” Jade asked calmly as she and Harry sat down. Draco set the plate back down on the table, looking in the direction that Kagumi ran to. He nodded slowly, thinking hard.
“Yeah, it was. She’s been acting weird lately. I mean, she took one sniff of the waffles, and ran out the door looking greener than Slytherin Quidditch Robes.”
“Really?” Hermione's gaze was stern, boring into Draco’s head. Ron looked blessedly oblivious. And Jade stood up, taking off after her sister. “And they’re off,” Harry muttered.
“Hey, mate, you’re just lucky that Gumi’s been tolerating you and Jade being together again. She literally killed you,” Ron pointed out fairly.
“I don’t think I’ll ever forget that,” Harry muttered.
“Good. I’d hate to watch you die again, especially when it wasn’t by my hand,” Draco flashed a quick grin at Harry, who flung a spoonful of heavy treacle at him.
Feb. 27, 8:49 am, Second Floor Girl’s Bathroom
“You okay? I thought that Snape gave you a potion for this,” Jade said calmly over the loud sounds of dry retching coming from Kagumi's stall.
“He…He stopped,” Kagumi choked out, falling into a deep coughing fit.
“He what?” Jade asked dangerously. “I’ll kill him.”
“Don’t bother. You’d never get the grease out of your robes. Besides, we’ve been…actually talking lately. He’s been telling me more about - -” a large splash, followed by two flushes and a red-faced, sweating and feverish Kagumi emerged from the stall.
“More about Project Destiny. I still don’t know much about it, but what knowledge we do have might help. Mum and Da are due any day now, Charlie with them. The Council of the Paw is coming here shortly as well, to fully initiate us now that we’ve passed our ‘test’. Anyways…the Glamour potion is still in effect, thank the goddess. I can’t have him knowing, not until…it’s too late.”
“So you’re just gonna spring it on him?” Jade asked incredulously.
“Well, yeah,” Gumi admitted reluctantly. “I mean, the sands are turning dark, sis. The Skal’tum are on patrol, as are the Ill’guard, most likely carrying ebon’stone weapons. Moldiemort is already assembling the Mul’Gothra and Mol’grati, as well as the Horde. If this war doesn’t start soon, we’re going to be outflanked and outpowered.”
“So when are we taking them to fight with us?”
“I don’t know.” Kagumi stared out the window, wishing the view was of warm golden sands and painted skies rather than a seemingly unending expanse of forestry and lake.
March 23, 7:43 pm, Room of Requirement
Kagumi tossed and turned, shifting uneasily on the floor of mattresses. Her sister made a vaguely threatening noise from the window seat, and Draco looked over at her. A fine sheen of sweat covered her face, and she seemed torn between keeping the covers wrapped around her and then throwing them across the room.
In her mind’s eye, she saw Eilistraee the Dark Maiden fight bravely against a snakelike figure, before being impaled upon her own b*****d sword. In one fell swoop, the El’vin woman’s body sank to the ground, leaving something silvery and glowing hanging in the air. Voldemort lazily swept the energy into a bottle, corking it tightly with what looked like dried human flesh.
As the bottle was stoppered, Kagumi felt something vital rip from her heart, and flee to Voldemort’s side. With a sniff, he smiled widely, his red eyes lighting up with malice as he recognized the unique elemental magick.
“So…” he whispered to his watcher. “The little Kitten thinks she has claws enough to stand against me? Very well. I will show you the folly of your ways.” One long claw reached out for Kagumi's chest, and as she tried to struggle, the girl found that she could no longer control her situations.
“Soon, you will join me little one. You will kiss my feet, and become my Right Hand,” he whispered, as if to a lover. Fighting revulsion, she howled as his nail pierced the skin of her chest, right below the hollow of her throat.
Hermione was the first to notice it: a long, shimmering finger coming out of nowhere. It was carving something on Kagumi's chest, and the girl was howling with all the force of the damned, but wasn’t moving. “What the - -” Ron looked at her in appreciation as she let loose a flow of swearing that made even Draco look twice.
“Aw, come on!” Jade yelled, at her sister’s side in a single second.
“Oh, little one. Such a secret you carry. By my own hand, you will become a destroyer of worlds,” Voldemort whispered in her ear. “As your sister watches, powerless to help you. And in less than four weeks, you’ll be MINE!” he yanked his hand back, pausing to admire his handiwork: blood and silver magick dripped from the wounds, which were formed into runic symbols. He held a large shard of ruby red stone underneath the wound, smiling in sick satisfaction as it turned blacker than night, streaked with silver veins like marble when the blood dripped on it.
“You’ll never escape me, girl…”
“C’mon Gumi!” Jade yelled, trying to staunch the bleeding energy from leaving the room. There were two bowls of the same red stone holding the majority of it that wasn’t seeping into the cloth and Kagumi finally gave a great sigh and opened her eyes with a yell.
“NO!”
“Gumi what happened?!” Draco asked, stroking her soaked hair. But Kagumi's glazed eyes finally beheld her sister, she began a dreamy whisper that widened Jade’s eyes.
“The Dark Maiden has fallen and her energy taken. He’s begun this war, with or without us…But I have no choice the role I will play,” she whispered.
“What do you mean, Gumi? Of course you have a choice!”
“No I won’t. He’s turning me into a Ill’guard. He’s taken my elemental blood, and fouled a dagger of heartstone with it, turning it to Ebon’stone. Trust me,” Kagumi's eyes begged for a release from the nightmare she suddenly found herself in.
“The…The runes mean nothing! Ebon’stone was eradicated long ago!” Jade said, refusing to look anywhere but at Kagumi.
“Check! Check your…Bowls…” Kagumi's eyes drifted closed, and the wounds in her chest began to heal over with black, hideous scars. Harry remembered her red eyes as se knocked him out, and whispered, “I think he’s marked her for a while now. Her eyes turned red when she kicked my butt.”
But Jade’s horrified gaze didn’t even turn his way. Her aqua eyes were fixated on the two bowls containing part of her sister’s magick, part of her own magick: The edges were slowly turning into Ebon’stone.
__________________________________________________________________
(JADE: We were supposed to be having a sleepover, but I fell into the Dreamworld before anyone else got tired. That's what we were doing in the RoR with matresses.)
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:18 pm
March 23, 8:00pm, Room of Requirement
Gumi had woken up and Jade had taken her over into a corner of the room, way from the others, to heal her wound, so that no one would notice the scar.
"There", Jade said, as the blue-green glow stopped emitting from her hands. "You still got a small scar, but no one will notice unless they're looking for it."
"What should we do now?", Gumi asked, looking down at her now almost invisible scar.
"There's.... really not a lot that we can do, Gums", Jade said, sounding defeated.
"Come on, there has to be, something, anything", Gumi said nervously, but Jade just sat across from her, shaking her head. "Ok, so, now what?"
"Now, we just have to wait", Jade replied. "Wait until, it happens."
"But.... I don't want it to happen", Gumi said, hanging her head down as tears welled up in her eyes.
Jade tilted her sister's head up to look at her, "I know. I don't want it to happen either. But, until that time, let's just relax, and have some fun."
Jade stood up and jumped high into the air.
"Body check!", she yelled, then landed directly next to Harry, only to knock him over onto his back.
"What?", Harry said. "You call that a body check?" He wrapped her legs around the bottom of hers and made her fall onto the mattress. He crawled ontop of her and kissed her deeply. "That was a body check."
"Actually", Jade said, getting up making Harry move back. "This is a body check." She summersaulted backwards and tackled Gumi to the floor, both of them laughing and giggling. "That, is a body check."
The burst of mild physical humor by Jade lightened up the atmostphere in the room quiet a bit.
April 22, 11:22pm, Great Hall
"That was great", Jade said, clapping. "I think, in my opinion we got it down. Now we just gotta wait a day until we can perform it."
"Great", Hermione said. "Make me even more nervous than I already am."
"Oh, you'll be fine", Draco said. "We all will."
"Come on, let's clean up and head to bed", Jade said. "Harry? You wanna help me over here?"
"Sure", he replied.
Not three seconds later, there was a loud crash, then a parade of bangs, booms and fizzes. Jade looked up and was immediatly pulled out of the way of a falling firey wall.
"Look out!", Harry shouted, pulling Jade out of the way. "That was close."
"Thanks", she said, then turned around. "Oh, my Goddess!"
Where the magically erected sets and props were less then a minute ago, was now a blackened scene of smoke, ash and slowly diminishing fires.
The others were also along side them, somewhat dirty and sutty.
Jade took a deep breath and then began to sob, uncontrollably into the floor. Hermione, Gumi, Ron, Lavender, Dean and Draco just looked on both at Jade, whom was now being held by Harry, and at the scene in front of them, looking sad and guilty.
"Professor?!", Hermione shouted.
April, 23, 12:47am, Gryffindor Common Room
Jade was sitting at the table next to the window, with her face in her hands. Harry was sitting next to her, rubbing her back caringly. "It's not all bad", Harry said. "At least we had fun doing it. I mean, the singing, dancing, all of it, I had fun, you had fun, everyone had fun. So we can't show it to the entire school like we wanted to, but we-".
"But what?", Jade asked, lifting her tear stained face up from the table to look into Harry's eyes. "That was the major point of doing it. To show the school that we aren't geeks. Not nerds, just the same as everyone else. Not better or worse, just the same. That has been my dream since everyone found out about who I really was. To show that I'm still the same as I always was, and hopefully, one day, show the rest of the Magical world too. I've been shunned so much and all I want to do is be accepted."
Jade let her head thunk back onto the table as she gave a sob. At the same time, Ron, Hermione, Gumi, Ginny, Dean, Lavender and Draco were now hiding in the staircase to the boy's dorm, listening to Harry and Jade.
"This is all my fault", Draco whispered. "If I had watched what I was doing the sets wouldn't have gone up."
"No, it my fault", Hermione whispered. "I was the one who wasn't paying attention to where I put the lantern."
"I think we are all to blame here", Gumi whispered to all of them. "Dean and Ron didn't put the sets away, I didn't move the rug, Ginny and Lavender left the boxes of fireworks out. Each of us played a part in the sets getting burnt down."
"I don't see way we can't repair them back to the way they were", Ron whispered.
"Because they were made by magic in the first place", Ginny whispered. "If something that was made by magic gets damaged, you can't use magic to repair it."
They all went quiet again when they heard Jade give a semi-loud sob, which was muffled by the fact that her face was still on the table.
"Come here", Harry said, pulling Jade close to him, where she continued to sob into his chest. "You haven't been shunned by everyone. Think of who all still cares for you and loves you. There's Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Lavender, Dean, Draco, Dumbledore, Gumi and me", he said tilting her face up. "I still love you the same as I ever did. So what if some people have a weak mind and always think that you and Gumi may cause something bad is going to happpen, and for those who think that, may they be subjected to endless torture for making you feel sad."
A smile and chuckle came from Jade's red and tear covered face. "Oop, was that a smile?", Harry asked, smirking. "Did you just smile? I thought I saw a pretty smile come on your face. Did I? Did I?" Jade nodded, smiling a bit wider than before. "See? There are still somethings to be happy about. Now, why don't you go lay on the couch and I'll bring you some water."
"Ok", Jade said, kissing Harry on the cheek and then going over to the couch and laying down. Harry had no more than just finished pouring the water into the glass when Jade shot up from the couch. "Oh, my God!"
"What?", Harry asked, concerned.
"Holy Macholy-Shmokies, I'm a genius", Jade said, jumping over the back of the couch, running her fingers through her hair in excitement.
"Ok, did I miss something?", he asked, thoroughly confused.
"No, but I almost did", Jade said, with her voice still thick with excitement. "Harry, go and get everyone from upstairs and get them down to the Great Hall, now! Whoo-hoo! Yeah! He ha!"
Leaving Harry holding the glass of water, Jade jumped over the table and rushed out the portrait hole. As the portrait door closed, everyone who was hiding in the staircase came down into the common room. "Were you all listening to what we were saying?", Harry asked, putting the water glass down.
"Uh-huh, yeah", they answered simutaniously as they nodded their heads.
"Well, you heard Jade, we gotta go down the Great Hall", Harry said and they followed him out of the portrait hole down to the Great Hall, where Jade was sitting amidst the ruins of the burnt Rent sets, with her laptop on her lap and what looked like seven or eight compact discs in her back pocket.
April, 23, 2:00am, Great Hall
"Ok, we're here", Ginny said, kneeling next to Jade on the floor. "Uh, why are we here?"
"Let me get to that in a bit, but first, I need everyone to start clearing out all of the debris, and because the sets were made by magic, you'll have to do that by hand", Jade said, not looking up from her computer screen.
"Alright", Ginny said, getting up. "In the words of Jade, 'Let's get to gettin'.'"
Slowly but steadily, the burnt pieces of wood, plastic and cloth were taken from the Great Hall and soon it was clean and shiney as it normally looked, and Jade was done working on her computer.
"Why did we have to clear out all of that stuff?", Ron asked.
"Because we are gonna put on the best school movie showing of Rent this place has ever seen", Jade said, with a smirk on her face.
"But we can't do Rent, all the sets are gone", Ron said.
"Yes, they are now, but there was a time when they weren't", Jade replied. "That's why I needed my laptop. See, I remembered that Dumbledore always taped the rehersals, so it only stands to reason that-."
"That the scenes we did right would be on the discs-", Hermione interjected.
"And if all of the scenes we did right were put in order on a another disc-", Gumi said, cutting off Hermione.
"Then we could show the entire school our musical and not have to worry about our lines", Jade finished.
"But how can we do it so that it'll look good?", Lavender asked. "I mean, most people wanted this to a live musical where the actors are on stage."
"That's where my brilliance comes in", Jade said, taking out her wand and conjuring a 3D diagram of the Great Hall to explain what she wanted to do. "Alright, here's the Great Hall. Empty, nothing in it except the tables and benches. Now, if we take out the teacher's table and house tables and bring in a whole bunch of little tables, like at Christmas, we can use the upper space where the teacher's table normally is and some projection trickery to create the best illusion this side of magic."
"Which is what?", Draco asked.
"We create the look that we are actually performing the musical when in fact we aren't", Jade said, turning back to her magical model which changed to visually explain what she was saying. "Ok, if take out the teacher's table, there's nothing up there, right?" Everyone nodded. "Right, then, we erect not one, but two projection screens. The first one, will show everything that the laptop will project onto it from behind, and will look like all of us are up there performing it, then the second screen will have a projected image on it of the last set, so that when the performance gets to the last scene where Mimi comes back to life, we shut off the front projector and pull that screen down, and we perform the last scene in person. What do you think?"
There was a pause before Dean stood up to speak. "I think.... that's the best idea I have heard some from you yet." Jade gave a big smile. "Come guys, whaddaya say?!"
"Yeah!", they all shouted.
"Alright, let's do this thingy", Jade shouted and everyone started working.
April, 23, 4:29pm, Great Hall
The projection screens were almost done being set when Jade got yet another great idea from something that Gumi said.
"You know", Gumi said, standing next to Jade looking at the progress of everyone. "A little love can heal just about anything, can't it?"
"Yeah, it-", Jade started but then got another excited look on her face. "Gumi, I LOVE YOU!"
She grabbed Gumi's head and kissed her square on the lips, then quickly took her laptop and began typing. Within fifteen minutes, Jade had written an extra song, complete with words and music for everyone to sing, in thanks to them all helping complete what they all thought at one time was lost. When everyone was done erecting the two projection screens, they all got to preview the musical Jade had cut on her computer, which looked like they were actually perfroming it. As the projector played, people started to sing along with their parts.
"Don't breathe too deep
Don't think all day
Dive into work
Drive the other way
That drip of hurt
That pint of shame
Goes away
Just play the game
You're living in America
At the end of the millenium
You're living in America
Leave your conscience at the tone
And when you're living in America
At the end of the millenium
You're what you own", Ron sang along, then Harry joined in.
"The filmmaker cannot see", Harry sang.
"And the songwriter cannot hear", Ron answered back.
"Yet I see Mimi everywhere", Harry sang back.
"Angel's voice is in my ear", Ron sang.
"Just tighten those shoulders", Harry sang along.
"Just clench your jaw til you frown", Ron sang back.
"Just don't let go", Harry sang.
"Or you may drown
You're living in America
At the end of the millenium
You're living in America
Where it's like the twilight zone
And when you're living in America
At the end of the millenium
You're what you own
So I own not a notion
I escape an ape content
I don't own emotion- I rent", they both sang along.
"What was it about that night", Ron sang.
"What was it about that night", Harry sang.
"Connection- In an isolating age", they both sang along.
"For once the shadows gave way to light", Ron sang.
"For once the shadows gave way to light", Harry sang.
"For once I didn't disengage", they both sang along.
"Angel, I hear you", Ron sang.
"Mimi, I see you", Harry sang
"I hear it, I hear it, I see it, my film", Ron sang.
"I see it, I see it, I hear it, my song", Harry sang.
"Alexi, Mark, call me a hypocrite, I need to finish my own film, I quit", Ron sang, with Harry singing the background.
"One song glory, Mimi, your eyes."
"Dying in America
At the end of the millenium
We're dying in America
To come into our own
And when you're dying in America
At the end of the millenium
You're not alone
I'm not alone
I'm not alone", they finished as the song ended.
April, 24, 6:31pm, Great Hall
They even rehersed the song Jade had wrote, which they got right the first time, and Dumbledore was out of the hospital wing, from his minor head and back injury that he received as he got pinned down by one of the fallen walls of the sets, and was ready to go down at watch everyone perform.
"Are you all ready?", Dumbledore asked.
"With Jade's contraption backing us up, we're gonna knock 'em to the floor", Gumi said, hanging on Jade's shoulders.
"We'll, good luck", he said with a smile, then left.
April, 24, 8:04pm, Great Hall
Hermione, Jade, Gumi, Harry, Lavender, Draco, Ron and Dean were all on stage acting out the last scene of the play and singing the last song.
"No day but today!", all of them sang out as loud as they could and the song ended.
"We'd like to thank you all, tremendously, for coming to our showing of Rent", Gumi said, into her magical microphone that was attached to her ear.
"And as a thank you, not only to you, but to everyone who helped out, we have prepared a special song for you", Jade said into her magical microphone.
There was a faint tapping of drum sticks and they all began.
"Ohh, ohh, ohh, ohh,
Herimone:
Like a breath of midnight air.
Like a lighthouse, like a prayer.
Lavender:
Like the flicker and the flare, the sky reveals.
Hermione and Lavender:
Like a walk along the shore.
That you've walked a thousand times before.
Like the oceans roar.
Hermione:
Love heals(Others: ooh, oohx2)
Jade:
There are those who shield their hearts
Those who quit before they start
Harry:
Who frozen up the part of them that feels
Others: (Background)
Don't freeze your heart
Jade and Harry:
In the dark they've lost their sight.
Like a ship without a star in the night, but hold on tight.
All:
Love Heals
Jade:
When you feel like you can't go on
All:
Love Heals
Jade:
Hold on to love, it'll keep you strong
All:
Love heals
Jade:
When you feel like you can't go on (Dean: Feel like you can't go on)
All:
Love heals
Dean:
Hold onto love, it'll bring you home
Hermione and Draco:
Love heals when pain's too much to bear.
When you reach out your hand, and only wind is there.
Gumi and Ron:
When life's unfair.
When things like us are not to be.
Hermione and Draco:
Love heals when you feel so small, like a grain of sand.
Like nothing at all.
Jade and Dean:
When you look out at sea, that's where love will be.
That's where you'll find me.
You'll find me.
Jade:
So if you fear the storm ahead.
Hermione:
As you lie awake, lie awake in bed
Jade:
And theres no one
Hermione:
No one
Jade:
No one there to stroke your hand
Hermione:
And your mind
Jade:
Your mind
Jade and Hermione:
Your mind reels
Gumi:
When your face is salty wet,
And you're drowning in regret
Just
All:
Don't forget (Gumi: Ooh)
Don't forget (Jade: Oohh yeah)
Don't forget (Lavender: Oh yeah )
Don't forget (Harry: Love will lead you home )
Don't forget (Jade: Oh, Keep it in your soul)
Don't forget (Hermione: Keep it your heart baby)
Don't forget (Dean: I say love)
Don't forget (Hermione: Hey)
Ooh
All:
Love heals
Draco:
When you feel like you can't go on
All:
Love heals
Harry:
Love love's gonna carry you home
All:
Love heals
Dean:
When you feel like, when you feel like you can't go on
All:
Love heals
Dean:
Hold onto love and it will lead you home
All:
Love heals!"
The song ended abruptly and they all gave a bow as the lights went out and the entire Great Hall went up in an explosion of applause and cheers. The lights came back up and everyone took their individual bows as they exited the stage, while an instrumental version of Seasons Of Love played.
________________________________________
A/N: The musical Rent (songs and text), are NOT mine, or my sister, Gumi's. It is property of Jonathan Larson (2/4/1960-1/25/1996). No copyright infringment intended.
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 1:11 pm
April 25, 3:10am, Room Of Requirement
Everyone in the school was already in bed, fast asleep, except for Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Jade and Gumi, who were still up. They had taken their favorite props, that weren't burned, and took them upstairs to the Room of Requirement. They had been sitting, talking and laughing happily for a while, and only for a while.
"Still, I gotta hand it to ya, Jade", Draco said, slightly chuckling. "If it hadn't been for you, our goose would be cooked."
"Aw, come on", Jade replied, blushing slightly.
"A toast", Draco said, holding up his goblet. "To Jade. Our friend, our genius and our savior. Te amo."
"Te amo", the others repeated, also putting their goblets up.
"Thank you", Jade replied.
She went to take a drink of her juice when it hit her with the force of a ten thousand mile an hour boulder.
"YAAH!", Jade screamed.
"What's wrong?! Jade?!", Harry said in an urgent loud voice.
"AHH!", Gumi screamed.
Draco dropped his goblet and grabbed hold of Gumi. "Gumi?! What's happening?!"
Then, a misty, mellow voice sounded in Gumi and Jade's ears, but no one else could hear it. "It's time to show, who you really are, and who you will continue to be."
As soon as the voice stopped, with a blinding jerk, Jade and Gumi were lifted into the air as the containment and concealment charms on them had disappeared. They twisted and writhed above the others, who all they could do was watch in horror. The tattoo/birthmarks came back as clear as the day they were born. Jade's was just below her right wrist, on the underpart of her arm, and was of an ice blue crescent moon with a firey sun in the crescent. Gumi's was on the same arm, in the same spot, but hers was of a firey sun with an ice blue crescent moon on the inside.
Without warning, there was a loud crack, and Jade and Gumi fell back to the floor, but not as Jade and Gumi. Where Gumi landed, there was a very large black panther with glowing yellow eyes and where Jade landed there was a very large white Siberian tiger with glowing blue eyes.
"What the-", Ron went to speak, but was cut off as he jumped back due to the black panther snarling loudly at him.
It went towards him, but the white tiger jumped in between him and the panther and growled at the panther. The panther took on a face of surprise, silenced and went over to Draco, who stood completely still, until the panther began to rub against his hand. The white tiger stood in place of a moment, then turned to Harry and began to rub against his side.
"Where are Jade and Gumi?", Ron asked.
"These are Jade and Gumi, Ron", Hermione said. "They are just in their animagus forms."
The tiger and panther gave a whimper and whined, then walked over to the farthest, darkest corner of the room away from the others. They followed, of course, but only got as close as to where they could see both big cats, lying, breathing slowly on the floor. As they watched, they saw the fur, ears, tail and size of the cats, slowly shrink down, until the only thing that was left were the naked, crying forms of Jade and Gumi, laying on the stone floor.
"Jade?", Harry asked wearily.
"Gumi?", Draco asked in the same way.
Jade and Gumi didn't answer, but just continued to lay on the floor, crying.
Both Draco and Harry looked at each other, then took off their cloaks, walked over, wrapped them around Jade and Gumi, picked them up and carried them over to the big, fluffy, warm chairs.
"You ok?", Draco asked Gumi, who was still silent, along with Jade.
"Hermione, could you get them some water please?", Harry asked.
"Of course", she replied, and came back a few moments later with two glasses of water.
"Well?", Harry asked Jade who was still quiet.
"Do you want the elongated version of the shorter one?", Gumi asked, looking up at him.
"Take your pick", Draco answered.
"Alright", Jade finally said, taking a sip of her water. "You might wanna pull up a cushion, though."
Gumi and Jade went on to explain more about themselves, their past present and future. They had explained about their tattoo/birthmarks, as they were born with them and how they indicated their powers. they explained their animagus forms, that Gumi was a black panther because her black fur retains the warmth of the sun and Jade was a white Siberian tiger because her white fur holds in the cool night air and glows in the moonlight. As they concluded their history, they dropped the nuclear bomb that they would've wanted to avoid, but knew that it was unavoidable.
"WHAT?!?!", the others exclaimed at the same time.
"You knew they were gonna do that", Jade said out of the corner of her mouth to Gumi. "Yes, Gumi and me, are going to battle, an elemental battle and neither of us will survive."
"But-", Harry and Draco started, but Gumi cut them off.
"Look, we know that you don't want us to do this. We don't want to either. In the worst of the worst way we don't want to, but, it's inevitable."
"So, then, when will this occur?", Hermione asked timidly.
"We don't know", Jade answered. "Pretty much we'll know when it happens."
"And until then, we're just gonna live life to it's fullest", Gumi concluded.
They both reached over and hugged each other tightly, giggling slightly.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 7:37 pm
April 26, 7:30 am, First Floor Girls Bathroom
Kagumi sighed. Hermione and Ron were fighting...Again. And Harry and Jade were feeding each other breakfast. Again. And for some reason, she herself was leaned over a bathroom stall, heaving up the last of her breakfast. Again. When will I ever stop being surprised by any of this? She flushed and went to the sink, splashing cold water over her flushed face. Exiting the door, she found a bat-like figure waiting for her.
"Severus." She growled.
"Falcon. Here." He handed her a dark blue vial. She eyed the rippling contents suspiciously.
"What in the name of Merlin's grey beard is it?" She took it and sniffed. It smelled vaguely of ocean, and mint.
"Another potion for the sickness. I'm..." He swallowed. "I realize that we are on the same side in this war - -"
"We are? I'm on no side but my own at this point." She snorted.
"- - And I wanted to apologize, but if you'd prefer to sharpen that famous Falcon wit on my apology, then I can quite easily take it back." He glared at her, and she glared right back. Finally she looked at the floor, and sniffled. "No, it's alright. Thank you, Sn - - Severus. I hope this will help."
"It's a once weekly potion. I have enough for the rest of your term. I'll have the House Elves bring one to you every week." He smiled; it was like seeing a wholly different person. One that wasn't so easily hate-worthy. "It's not easy, being part of a team when you're so used to being on your own. But I know that at last, my efforts aren't in vain. Maybe this war will finally end, and then..." He sighed longingly. "Then I can finally have a measure of peace."
Kagumi gulped down the rest of the potion and wiped the back of her mouth. "That's all fine and dandy, bat boy, but why don't you start your new girlish life by telling me who the hell you are?"
"Whatever do you mean?" The pseudo-Snape paled.
"I mean, you don't sound like Severus, you don't have Severus' aura and you damn sure don't smell like an unwashed cauldron, so that rules you out as smelling like Snape. The potion isn't harming me, and that's curious. In fact," she paused mid-rant. "It's actually helping, which only makes me suspect more. So...Come out of your disguise."
The sallow face melted, replaced by a handsome brown face. The woman was as tall as Kagumi, though very very very dark. Her hair was almost a white blonde, and styled oddly. That is to say, shaved completely except for a very long strip angling upwards from her forehead that flowed down her back. Kagumi gasped, and then firmly embraced the muscular woman. "Aunt Ve'Linde!!!"
"Hello, Kitten. Keeping up the vigilance, I see."
"Of course. You taught me well. Does this mean that the rest of the Desert Riders are here too?"
"Yes, but we've been hiding in the Forest, exploring. And prove my lessons to you. What's the first rule of being behind enemy lines?" The woman's startling green eyes narrowed as she stepped back.
"Rule One? Kill them before they kill you. Rule one part B, Scout as much enemy territory as you can without revealing your presence until absolutely necessary,'' Kagumi dutifully recited from her long lessons with Ve'Linde. Ve'Linde's stern face broke into a wide smile.
April 26, 10:30 am, Great Hall
Classes had been suspended for the day. The DragonRiders had taken over the Great Hall, after a witty and charming speech by Professor Dumbledore. As of right now, Kagumi was anxiously straining to see over the sea of heads, most of which were taller than her, for her parents. But so far there was no sign of them. Sighing, Kagumi began helping Jade and the rest of the Riders with the testing. Names, Date of Birth, Medical History...And then the fun part.
With them, the Riders had brought an old invention of Kagumi and Jade's. Two small, silver, paddle shaped devices. No longer than a foot, when ran over a person's body from head to toe, the paddles emitted a holographic reading, as well as an aural projecting. Kagumi had fine tuned them herself to read a person's Rider Capabilities. But currently...Kagumi leaned over to her sister.
"Why is it every time the Desert Council shows up, it's my Karmic Destiny to either get smacked in the head with weapons or else do paperwork?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:03 pm
April 26, 10:30am, Great Hall
"Maybe because you are generally the one of most of us, who can scribble quickly and still have it legible. I can too, but they normally have me running errands.", Jade responded. "As for the getting hit, well, you bring that on yourself."
Jade got up, as Gumi scowled after her. She went up to the teacher's table, which was just a few feet from where Gumi and she were seated, and took a large pile of papers from the table and brought them back.
"Yuck", Gumi said. "And we have to do these for everyone in the school?"
"Yes, we do", Jade replied, pulling out the list of all students and teachers in the school. "Ok, let's divvy it up. We each take half of each house, and put them in four piles, accordingly."
"Sounds fair, even though I don't want to do these at all", Gumi said.
"Just be glad we only have to write the names and houses on the forms. The scanner does the rest", Jade responded, taking out her large, oval-shaped, very non-flattering, bright lime green glasses that she needs for extensive reading and paper work. She put them on and looked up to turn on her light. Gumi snickered quietly as she knew that Jade hated having to wear them. The rims were plastic, the lenses were cut funny and if she were a bit taller and wore different clothes, she could be mistaken for Professor Trelawney. Gumi cleared her throat and got started on the forms in front of her and Jade did the same. They finished at the same time, put each house in a separate folder, labeled accordingly, and put them on the front table.
"What's next?", Jade asked, taking the folders up.
"Next, we need to bring in the teachers", one of the council members said. "Then, the students. House by house. One by one."
"And how are we gonna explain to the students why they are doing this?", Gumi asked.
"Simple", the council member replied. "We're telling them that it is a routine health exam. Those who possess abilities will be sent to a holding room and filled in as to what is really going on."
"That's that best you could come up with?", Jade asked. "'A health exam?' I mean, come on, you could've been a little more creative than that."
"Well, if we ever have to go through another situation where we have to secretly recruit people to help save the whole of the magical world and muggle world, we'll be sure to add on a 'creative thinker' to the staff board", the council member said, in an annoyed tone. "You may bring in the first five teachers, as we already have limited space."
"Well, sorry, it's kinda hard to fit a significant 'save the world' operation under a tent outside and keep it a secret", Jade dug at the council member with a smirk in her face. "I'll go get those teachers for you."
Gumi followed her towards one of the back entrance doors, that led to the side chamber, just off the Great Hall, where the teachers and the students would wait to be 'examined'.
"Why do you constantly do that?", Gumi asked Jade as they went to the door. "All they do is just give you more stuff to do every time you do stuff like that. And it doesn't win you any brownie points with them, either."
"Yeah, but I get to dish back what they serve and they can't get rid of me", Jade said, stopping in front of the door to the side chamber. "If they get rid of me, they run the risk of throwing off the whole 'good and evil' balance."
She opened the door and the first five teachers entered: Sprout, Vector, Madame Pince, Snape and Madame Pomphrey.
"Follow me, please", Gumi said, leading the teachers along the left side of the Hall, to an open space, where the 'exam' was to be given. Once there, Gumi went back to Jade, who was still at the door, but was bent backwards in half.
"What are you doing?", she asked as Jade stood back up. "We're not in the circus here."
"No, we aren't, but that doesn't mean I want my muscles to get all tight and stiff, now do I?", Jade asked.
"No, but I bet you want something else that's tight and stiff", Gumi commented with a cocky grin on her face.
"Oh, yeah, like I'm the only Bast descendant here that is frustrated in that department", Jade said. "Maybe Draco should use his serpent better. You look a might tense, sis."
Gumi's jaw dropped as she blushed. She wanted to smack her, but instead, just muttered under her breath, crossed her arms and glared at her through her eyelashes.
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 10:28 pm
April 26, 10:56 am, Great Hall of Hogwarts
Kagumi quickly recovered her composure, before looking at her now-upright sister. "Oh, don't tell me you've tamed Harry's lion quite that fast? I had you down as another month or two before that happened."
Jade was spared the task of having to answer by a sudden predatory glint in Kagumi's eyes. With two fluid strides, switching from schoolgirl to huntress in the blink of an eye, Kagumi crossed the room and was out the door before Jade had even blinked again. "Oh, crapola. I know that look," she fumed as she ran out the door.
Kagumi stopped suddenly, in the Great Hall, sniffing. Her now black eyes narrowed, and Jade suddenly spotted what was going to happen. "You don't want to do this, sister dearest. There are far too many witnesses here."
"Oh yes, I do," Kagumi's midnight voice rang out, making the everyone in the Great Hall turn towards them. "Besides, they need to know what's really happening."
"And what of the Council? How will you explain the defiance?"
"Hmph," Kagumi spared her sister an insulted look. "Truthfully, it's exactly as you said. They can't get rid of us now without upsetting the balance. So we're not on choke collars anymore."
Draco and Harry wandered up cautiously, with Ron cowering behind a disgusted Hermione. "Um, sweetie, what's going on?"
Jade turned and answered. "Well, your lovely little girly there is about to get a brawl started." As Jade swung her head back around, Kagumi was crossing the floor again.
"Yaslana!" The shout echoed through the Hall, followed shortly by the solid sound of a dagger striking marble. A well-muscled teen turned his head to look between his feet, where Kagumi's Ebony dagger lay embedded in the marble. He snarled as he caught the faint psychic scent clinging to it. "Falcon, what do you want?"
"Well what does it look like, genius? A thrown dagger generally means a challenge."
"I've no interest in fighting you, Falcon. We’ve already established that I can beat you in any way I want.”
“Hm. Yeah, but you always got angry when I refused to ‘fly’ with you. And I think that since I’ve come into my powers fully, we should reestablish the dominance issue between us.” A second later, the blushing boy embedded his own dagger two millimeters away from Kagumi’s and jerked his head outside.
“Aerobatics, Sticks and hand-to-hand?” At her terse nod, he turned and went out the front door to the castle, not waiting for Kagumi to follow.
Draco looked at the rapidly retreating back of his girlfriend, and then looked at her sister. “Can you please explain to me when the FREAK is going on?” Jade slung a sisterly arm around his shoulders and whispered in his ear. His grey eyes scanned towards their Aunt Ve'Linde, Kagumi's very tiny back, and the two daggers, both of which were still quivering. Just the fact that she had enough strength to embed a dagger into marble scared him, let alone that she was now engaged in a no-holds-barred challenge with an old rival.
“Oh, schnit.”
April 26, 11 am, Front Lawn
“As the Challenged, you get first pick of battle,” Ve'linde said to Yaslana. He smiled evilly, and motioned for the two bladed sticks to be brought forward. They looked like double-bladed scythes, with a long padded area in the middle which served as a handgrip.
“Please tell me those are dulled,” Harry asked Jade softly.
“No, but at least he's following protocol and letting her have the choice of weapon. That assures that neither is poisoned or tampered with.”
Kagumi grabbed the left-most stick and twirled it expertly around her shoulders, getting a feel for the unfamiliar weapon. He did the same, going through a few warm-up movements as she qickly discovered her range with the weapon. Without warning, no signal except for an intake of breath from the Dragon Riders gathered, the two combatants flew at each other, blades flashing in the early morning light.
Parry, block, side step, parry, block, retreat...Advance...Dodge... Kagumi was running through every sequence she knew in her head. Sticks weren't her favorite weapon, but she was proficient with it, as she was with all Rider weapons. There! There's his weak spot! Yaslana's right blocks were a little higher than they should've been and Kagumi quickly took advantage with a vicious backhanded strike that opened a deep slice of his hip.
“Ah!” He screamed before tightening his lips until they were thin and bloodless. Jade was mentally calculating every known factor about Kagumi and Yaslana's rivalry, and how far gone to the bloodlust her sister was. All totaled, she estimated his survival chances as less than thirty percent. Kagumi parried a weak blow, and Jade nodded.
“It'll be over soon,” she said to Draco and Harry; Ron was watching with the eyes of a chess master, seeing who would go where, while Hermione stared with an interested expression. Seems 'Mione has overcome her squeamishness, Harry thought, remembering a time when the very mention of blood would turn Hermione green.
“What does that mean?” Draco asked, mildly panicked. He'll grow into a fine mate for her, once he realizes that she's not worried and he shouldn't be either.
“She's drawn first blood, Draco. He'll get dizzy in a while, and she'll strike a deciding blow,” Jade's voice was calm and level; this was daily for her lifestyle. Harry wasn't sure how he felt about that, exactly.
Kagumi's inner self was quickly losing to the bloodlust that Voldemort's curse has given her. The smell of life blood made her head swim with pleasure, and she resisted, only barely, the urge to lick the blade of her weapon. Yaslana staggered, losing blood rapidly; she'd nicked the femoral artery.
“If you don't get healed soon,” she taunted, “this Challenge will end with you death.”
“I'm fine. A little girl like you won't beat me.” His eyes spoke a different story; they screamed fear, and loathing, and little bit of glassiness from the pain. Finally he lowered his blade as she struck another blow, this time to the arm, and cut deeply.
“I surrender the first round!” he called, making a weak gesture as if to ward her off.
Ve'Linde, acting in place of Judge, handed him a forest green potion which he drank rapidly. As the students' amazed eyes watched, the wounds healed and his spine straightened. Mocking, he bowed low to Kagumi, indicating that it was her turn to chose the battle form. Without answering, she lifted her head skyward and whistled, long and sharp. With a rush of wind that left several students gaping, Kagumi's Red dragon landed.
In the time since the twins had passed their ordeal, the dragons had grown at an alarming rate. Laen was now roughly 150 feet long, at least, and was several hundred pounds. Her wingspan had spread to twenty feet from tip to tip and Kagumi smiled. She'd heard about this next part, had only read of it in the Old Scrolls, and was looking forward to bonding completely with her dragon. With a hand that did hesitate, she reached for Laen's scales, awed by the intelligence she felt running through the adolescent dragon.
Hello, Kagumi, a warm voice echoed in the back of head. It is good to finally be able to speak with you. I am Laen.
“I know,” Kagumi whispered. “I've waited my whole life to talk to you.” Eyes stinging, Kagumi threw her arms around Laen's thick neck for a moment, then swung herself into the natural saddle formed by the dragonet's spikes. With their senses as one, Kagumi and Laen took to the sky, flying into a barrel roll about seventy feet above the ground.
“Jade?” Harry asked, uncertainly. Jade's face was entirely blank, from the shock of feeling a bond that hadn't been there before.
“I got nothin'. But there's this buzzing in the back of my head...Like I'm trying to hear everything else through a pair of thick earmuffs.” Jade said, following the convoluted paths of her own mind to the alien, but not entirely unfamiliar mind linked to hers. She got a brief impression of a lot of blue before there was an answer.
Do you need me, Jade? Lunara asked politely. I can be there in just a moment if you do.
Uh... Jade's mental voice was less than sure. Nope, not right now...But I so have some questions for when this is over...
I know, the dragon's voice was smug. Jade sighed, knowing that only she could have a cheeky dragon, and turned back towards the challenge.
Kagumi was outflying Yaslana with every turn. Even without any weaponry, she was winning and he knew it. She toyed with him, the way a cat toys with prey, and Jade smiled as she watched her sister lull the boy into a false sense of safety. Then suddenly, startling the Rider, Kagumi and Laen swooped in under him and flipped over, so that the dragons were claw to claw.
So, not to sound impertinent, but how the hell can you talk now when you couldn't a week ago?
Laen laughed. Young one, we are both older than we have been told. I have always had the ability to speak. It was you who lacked the ability to hear.
Oh, was all that Kagumi could think of as Laen slammed the smaller dragon into the ground hard enough to split a few trees. It took all of her concentration to tear her attention away from Laen's fascinating mind long enough to hear herself pronounced as victor. Ve'linde's warm hug barely even reached her, and Kagumi found her eyes straying to the dragonet beside her.
“The Council would lie to you, students of Hogwarts. They would say that we are here conducting medical tests.” Velinde's alto voice rang out. “But they lie. We are here searching for an army. We go to war soon.”
Yes, Youngling. We shall go to war soon, you and I, and taste the blood of our prey as we swoop like Death himself. Laen's voice carried the excitement of the hunt, and Kagumi found her mouth watering.
“While my nest-dam talks, let me introduce you to my mate, Kagumi tugged Draco over to Laen.
“Drake, this is Laen. My mount, and hunting partner. Laen, this is my mate, Draco.” She took his hand and laid it gently on her snout. “She just wants to smell you, get your scent.”
Draco? A Youngling named for the Star Dragon. I hope you're worthy of the honor, Laen's voice rippled inside both of their heads.
“You can talk?”
“You can hear her?” they cried at the same time. Then the two lovers looked each other over with the air of trying to see if they really knew the person standing beside them.
Did you not know that he had Dragon Blood, Mistress? Laen inquired, truly puzzled.
No, I didn't. This...This changes everything.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 11:29 pm
April 26, Noon, Library
Jade, who had clicked together what was going on, fled up to the depths of the library, where the smell of the books would hopefully clear her head. She flew past Madame Pince, yanked the doors to the restricted section open and disappeared behind a bookcase.
Harry, however, had other plans. He tried to follow her, but got tripped up, by a group of small first year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. He followed the lingering scent of her lotion into the library. He found her, in the far back of the restricted section, her knees clutched to her chest, rocking back and forth sightly, her head on her knees. He knelt down beside her and gently rubbed her back.
"Jade?", he asked, hesitantly.
She lifted her head and took in a deep breath. "I'm fine."
"You sure?", he asked again. "You want to go lay down?"
"I don't know", she admitted.
"What's wrong?", he pressed.
"It's just- with the Council here and I keep having to watch my step", she went on. "It's just a lot to deal with. And now, with this, I have more to juggle. I- I just, think, that I have more than I can handle."
Just before Harry could say anything, Lunara's voice rang in her head. Do you require my presence, mistress? I can take you for a ride, if you so wish.
She shook her head and gave another sigh.
"I'll bet Lunara is not helping as much as she wants", he said, softly stroking her hair. "But, that's all she wants. She just wants to help."
"I know that. But, I ju-", she stopped and her eyes widened as Harry's words clicked fully in her head. "Uno momentitio. How can you hear what Lunara is saying?"
"You know, I wish I knew", he replied honestly. "But, I- I got nothin'."
"Ok, what, in all the depths of time is going ON HERE?!", Gumi shrieked, from the end of the bookcase.
April 26, 1:45pm, Great Hall
She strode forward, grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled him out of the library, with Jade following, down to the council room, where Draco was waiting by the scanning rooms. Jade took a set of scanners, along with Gumi, and pulled Draco into one room, while Gumi pulled Harry into another. They scanned them and scanned them, Over and over, until they realized, that it was true. Harry and Draco, were made to be Dragonriders.
"So does this mean that you're gonna train me?", Draco asked Jade, when she tossed the scanners behind her.
"Me, train you? Gumi would skin me alive", Jade replied.
"So, are you gonna train me?", Harry asked, as Gumi put the scanners on her sides, which gave a small shock.
"Yeah, no", she said, shaking her head. "What this means is you will not leave the vicinity of Jade and or me, for the next few months. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am. I mean, Gumi", he said, giving a small salute, to which she pulled a face/palm.
She lead Harry out of the room, with one of the scanners, on her side, shocking her every other step because she smacked it against the wall when she thought it was lying. Out in the outer room, Jade was waiting with Draco. Gumi walked over to them, limping.
"What's up with you?", Jade asked.
Gumi pulled out one of the scanners, that was actually throwing sparks, from where it cracked. Jade did a face/palm. Gumi looked over at Draco and exclaimed loudly.
"What?", he asked, concerned. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"I can't feel my leg!", she mock sobbed.
And instead of being concerned, Jade just bursted out into hysterical laughter. Draco picked Gumi up into his arms, and carried her out of the Great Hall, to a place unknown. Harry proceeded to follow Jade around wherever she went. At one point, he even tried to follow her into the Girl's Bathroom.
"What, are, you doing?", she asked, looking back at him.
"What?", he asked, looking innocent. "Gumi said, I'm not allowed to leave you or her, for fear of something tremendously bad happening."
"She didn't mean that literally", she said, with major emphasis on the last word. "You do- alright. I am going to go to the bathroom, by myself, and you are going to stay right here."
She planted his feet right to the right of the door, before going inside. She came back out and found him, leaning against the wall, twirling his thumbs around and making weird things with his fingers.
"You... need a minute?", she asked, when he didn't notice her come back.
"Nope, I'm good", he said, and went over to her side.
She gave an exasperated sigh. "I have a feeling it's going to be a very long next few months."
April 29, 3:00am, Hogwarts Grounds, Lake Side
As they would not be leaving for actual training for a while, Gumi and Jade took to training Harry and Draco, so that, at least they didn't have to follow them around everywhere. Which they regretted saying two days after they said it, due to it getting on their nerves that they couldn't get two milliseconds peace.
Jade had Harry at one end of the lake, with Gumi and Draco down at the other end. They were going to start them out on basic hand-to-hand combat moves.
"Ok, right hand block", Jade instructed, as she slowly moved to punch Harry, so that he could block it, which he did. "Good. Now, foot sweep." She twirled around, lowering to the ground, to sweep his feet, but going a bit slower, so that he could jump in time. This one, he missed and she knocked him on his back.
"Ow", he said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Are you bleeding?", Jade asked, unmoved.
"No", he said, looking at his hand, and saw no blood.
"Then get up and come at me", she said, unworried.
"Well, aren't we just a ray of freakin' sunshine today", he said callously, getting up. "What bug crawled up your bungus?"
"Do I have a card in my hand?", she snapped, unfeeling at him. "Am I standing behind a podium? No. Nada. So, we are not playing Twenty Questions. Now, bring it, Scar."
"Do I look like a Disney character to you?", he shot back.
"Well, come on", she said, gesturing for him to come at her. "Come on, wussy."
"Seriously Jade", he warned. "Enough."
"Tsk, aww", she mocked. "Is widdle Hawwy Potter afwiad?"
Meanwhile, across the lake, Gumi, who had very excellent, almost Eagle hearing, was doubled over in fits of choked back giggles.
"What is so funny?", Draco asked, looking at the red-faced Gumi.
"I-", she started, but burst into another fit of giggles. Once she caught her breath, she stood up, panting. "I'm just waiting."
"Waiting for what?", he asked, confused.
All Gumi could do was point to the opposite side of the lake as another burst of laughter broke through. He looked to where she was pointing and his jaw dropped. Jade and Harry were running at each other and trying to knock the other over. Needless to say, Jade won, by ducking and making him flip over her crouched body. He landed on his back, but got back up as quickly as she stood. This continued for a few more minutes, before he grabbed her around the waist and tackled her to the ground. They had not even touched the ground before she made both of them do a backflip and she was on top of him. They landed with a loud enough thud that Draco heard it faintly, even on the other side of the lake.
"You know.... if you wanted to be on top, all you had to do was say so", Harry said, his expression changing from guarded to almost seductive.
Jade cracked a smirk and put a hand on either side of his face. She lowered her face down to his and stopped when they were an inch apart. Their eyes bored into each others. He lifted his head, but she just put a finger to his lips and pushed his head back down.
"You're not off the hook yet, buster", she said, tapping his nose.
They both looked up when they heard clapping from nearby. Gumi and Draco were walking towards them, arm in arm.
"Impressive", Gumi said, as she stopped clapping. "Forty-seven minutes and fifty-three seconds. You owe me ten galleons."
Draco mocked an annoyed sigh, then chuckled. "Put it on my tab", he replied.
"Babe. Your tab is so big, you couldn't pay it in four lifetimes", she said, sticking out her hand. "Pay it forward."
"But- but- bu-", he stammered. "But, you love me."
"Yeah, love and money: two very different things", she said, her face set. "Dinero, ahora."
He gave a pouting look, them began to rummage in his pockets. "I got seven sickles, eight galleons, a knut, three paper clips, six balls of lint, four pieces of drooble's gum-"
"Five golden rings!", Jade sang loudly and sort of key, on propose.
He shot a look at her, then looked back at Gumi. "And a half of a shoe string I stole from Pansy."
Gumi gave a cringe when he said Pansy. "Alright, give me the sickles, galleons, two of the paper clips, the drooble's and we'll call it square", she said.
"Oh, he'll give you some drooble's", Harry said, half under his breath, in a snide tone.
Jade reached back and smacked him in the forehead, forcing him backwards and onto the grass. As he fell he tried to flip over to catch himself, only to land, face down on his stomach. She turned her head and looked down at him.
"Do you want to go round two?", she asked, putting her hand on her hip.
He lifted his hand into the air, still on his stomach and let out a muffled, "Uh-uh."
"Didn't think so", she half whispered.
"So, is that training for today?", Gumi asked, putting her hands together, hopefully.
"Not for today", Jade replied, as Harry got up, rubbing his neck. "Recommence at seven tonight."
Just then, the bell tolled, signaling it was time for breakfast.
"'Kay", Gumi said. "Breakfast first, then it's lights out."
"But, we have classes today", Draco and Harry said at the same time.
"Chosen new Riders are exempt from all classes, due to the need to train", she stated. "Be up and ready to rise and shine at five tonight."
"I'll rise, but I refuse to shine", Harry said, as Draco and Gumi walked back towards the castle. "Jade?"
"Yes, Harry?", she asked, turning back to him.
"I have a...", he started, but his voice trailed out, pointing to his neck.
She gave an impatient sigh, walked back to him, took hold of his head at the top of his neck and cracked it back into place.
"Ahh", he sighed, rubbing his neck. "Thanks, baby."
"You're welcome", she said, and started up to the castle.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 7:58 pm
April 29, 3:47pm, Gryffindor Boy's Dorm
Harry awoke later that afternoon, feeling as if he had just gotten out of a battle with a pack of Manticores. His feet hurt, his neck ached, his legs and arms were sore beyond belief, and as for his back, well, it was too late. He sat up in his bed slowly and groaned.
"You too, huh?", Ron asked, sitting up in his own bed.
Harry looked over at him and saw that he too was massaging his his own sore joints. "How had you?", he asked.
"I don't know his name", Ron replied. "I thought I was going to go with that vampire dude, but they gave someone else."
"Huh. Maybe you can ask Jade or Gu- Gumi later", he winced as he tried to stand up. "Oh, that wasn't good."
"This sucks", Ron grumbled.
"Right, back, atcha", Harry said, finally standing. "Ok, now that I'm standing up, I'm not sure if I'm gonna go anywhere."
Ron chuckled as he watched Harry take baby steps across the room to the door. As he reached for the doorknob, the door opened and Hermione came in with Ginny.
"Oh good", Ginny said. "You're up."
"Oh, dear God, please shoot me now", Ron groaned, flopping back on his bed and pressing his pillow to his face. He pulled it back and looked at both Hermione and Ginny. "What the heck are you wearing?"
"Rider training uniforms", Hermione stated, giving a spin in her leather and spandex pants with matching jacket over a dark blue tight-ish shirt. Ginny had the same kind of uniform, only hers had a dark red shirt. "You guys get some too." Hermione tossed a uniform on Ron's lap and handed one to Harry. Harry looked at his and it had the same materials as the girls', but in a more masculine style. His sleeveless shirt was black and had rust flecks on it. Ron was looking at his and his shirt was a dark, dark gray with burnt orange flecks on it. They stood there for a moment, before the door to the bathroom opened and Neville came out in a green, dark purple and brown almost Kimono-like outfit.
"Cool, you guys got your uniforms", he said. "You might want to hurry and get 'em on. Your training starts in a few hours, along with mine."
"You're gonna be a Rider too?", Harry asked.
"Me? No", Neville answered. "I would like to, but no. I'm a Healotolagi." He looked at their confused faces and sighed. "A Rider healer. I'm gonna be trained to heal Riders, dragons and other things."
"He's right", Hermione said, looking at her watch. "Dragonrider training is by the front gate at six. It's been moved up an hour."
"What time is it now?", Ron asked through a yawn.
"Almost four", Ginny said.
"Oh, crap", he groaned, getting out of bed.
Harry and Ron 'dashed' into the bathroom, got dressed in their uniforms and went down to the common room, where they grabbed a bit of food, before running off in pain to the school front gate. Draco, Luna, George, Hermione, Ginny, Seamus, and Dean. Susan Bones and Laura Madley of Hufflepuff. The Patil twins and Su Li from Ravenclaw and Pansy Parkinson. They didn't know why she was there, but they were in too much of a hurry to be on time to care.
They looked up to see Jade and Gumi standing on the pillars on either side of the gate in knee length tight black pants, black shirts and matching leather jackets. Gumi was wearing black combat boots, while Jade looked like she was in black ballet flats. In front of the gate were a line of three girls, and three guys, all in dark colored tough outfits.
"Welcome, everyone to DR training", Jade said, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"In this training, you will learn the basics", Gumi continued in the same volume as Jade. "From flying, to fighting, to tracking and more. When basics are completed, you will move on to the advanced training. Now you should know who we are, so let's get this out of the way. I'm Kagumi, your weapons usage and primary combat trainer. Starting from your left we have Nathan: Physical training. Helena: Escape and Evasion. Shaw and Jordan: Primary flight maneuvers and capabilities. Grey: Magical integration and use. Maddie: Hand-to-hand combat and general knowledge training."
"And I'm Jade, and I will be going through hunting and tracking", Jade said, the lightness from her face, gone. Her and Gumi both jumped down from the pillars and landed in front of them. "Alright, the formalities are now gone. Everyone will follow Nathan to the Quidditch field to start physical training. In two hours, you will report to the eastern wall of the school to Helena for Escape and Evasion. After that, you will muster over to the Greenhouses to Kagumi for weapons training. When she is done with you, you will return to the Quidditch field for flight basics with Jordan and Shaw, for two and a half hours. You will then shlep up to the top of the Astronomy Tower for Magical use with Grey. He will send you to the south end of the lake, for hand to hand combat and knowledge with Maddie when he is finished. After you are then so exhausted you can't think straight, you will meet me right here, for tracking and hunting. Any questions?" No one moved. "I said, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS?!"
"SIR, NO SIR!", they all shouted in unison.
"They're all yours", she said to Nathan.
"Thank you", he said. "Quick jog to the field from all of you! MOVE OUT!"
They did as told, and jogged to the field. Once there, they did twelve laps around the field, followed by hurdles and pole jumping. At the end of the two hours, they were all so tired, they all but crawled to the other side of the school.
April 29, 7;18pm, Eastern Wall
"Tired?", Helena asked, when they all assembled around her. "Well, get used to it, because it's only just began. Forward march!"
She led them into the Forbidden Forest, where they had to traverse an extensive obstacle course with curses, objects and ammo flying around them. They finished it, not by choice and dragged themselves over to the Greenhouses, where Gumi was waiting impatiently.
April 29, 9:08pm, Greenhouses
"You are all three minutes late", she snapped.
"Aw, come on. Give us a break", Seamus groaned.
"How 'bout I break your neck for ya?", she asked, dead serious. Seamus gulped loudly. "Thank you, now shut up."
Gumi showed them how to use a Howitzer, a M40 sniper rifle, with laser scope, a modified deck gun and a variety of knives and swords. When they finished on the shooting range, she sent them back to the Quidditch field, where Jordan and Shaw showed them general aviation and had them flying on brooms in basic combat formations. By the time they reached the top of the Astronomy Tower it was midnight and many of them couldn't feel their legs and were so tired they weaved dangerously going up the stairs. Dean, Pansy and Ron fell asleep a few times in class and when they were woken up, they were punished to do forty-five push-ups each. They walked kind of zigzagged down to the end of the lake where Maddie gave them, a 'practical' approach to knowledge and combat.
April 30, 5:12am, Front Gate
They moaned and groaned as they walked slowly to the front gate, where Jade was waiting for them.
"Are you guys exhausted now?", she asked with a smirk on her face. They all nodded. She gave a half nod and pointed demandingly to the Forbidden Forest. "T.F.B. March", she said, her voice cold.
They march into the Forest again, and began their tracking exercise. They tracked the unicorn for almost an hour before they found it. When they found it, Jade brought them back to the beginning and had them hunt an Augurey, or Irish Phoenix that she let loose. They were to find it, net it and bring it back.
April 30, 6:02am, Forest Edge
They all came out of the Forest to Jade, who was standing with the other trainers. Ginny held out the squirming net to Jade, who took it and let the Phoenix out. It flew in a circle, before landing on Jordan's shoulder.
"Nicely done", Jade said, with not a hint of happiness in her voice. "Hunt completed with.... thirty-eight minutes to spare." She looked at the horizon and saw that the sun was going to come up soon. "Head to your Common Rooms, grab some food and get some sleep. Reconvene tonight at six." The trainers led the way back to the castle, with the others following. "Harry. Draco", she said, making them turn. "You're staying here."
Draco and Harry both looked at each other and walked back to Gumi and Jade. "Yes?", they asked together.
"You guys are going to need more work than any of the others", Jade said.
"Why?", Draco asked.
"Because you are around us a lot, you will be seen as our greatest weakness", Jade replied.
"So, what can we do about it?", Harry asked.
"To start", Gumi went on. "Both of you are going to do ten laps around the field, eight sets of hurdles, four rounds through the obstacle course and at least a two-seventy on the shooting range."
They began to walk away, then Jade turned and saw that they didn't move. "I suggest you get started, because training at six is for everyone." She turned back and walked back up to the castle with Gumi.
"You know, right now", Harry said. "I'm beginning to miss detention with Snape."
"I hear ya", Draco replied, then gave a sigh. "Well, we better get started."
"Yeah", Harry huffed. "If we hurry, we may get done before noon."
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Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 4:20 pm
April 30, 11:49am, Gryffindor Common Room
Harry came through the portrait hole at a bit before noon, like the walking dead. It closed and he fell. He would've fallen on to floor, flat on his face, if Jade hadn't been there to catch him.
"Come, dead boy", she teased, dragging him away.
April 30, 7:14pm, Jade's Personal Quarters
He awoke later in a big, ultra-fluffy bed. There was music playing from the corner of the room, where he look to see Jade, working over a silently running lathe. He didn't recognize the room at all. It was big and very spacious. There was a lot of room ot move, and he was pretty sure that was the idea. He moved in the bed, making it squeak a little. He saw the lathe stop and Jade turn to look at him. She took off her 'space-age specs' and came over to sit next to him.
"Hey", she whispered, climbing up on the end of the bed. "How you feeling?"
"I can't move that much", he said, his voice a groan.
"Yeah... sorry", she whispered back, gently patting his lower leg.
"It's ok. I forgive you... this time", he said, and gave her a small smile. She smiled back and took a slow breath. He looked around and couldn't help but ask. "Uh... where am I?"
"My personal quarters", Jade said, waving her hand around casually. "We're actually in the side hall on the forth floor."
"Oh, the wonders of magic", he muttered.
"Gumi has one too", she went on. "It's next door. Well, the doors are, but both of our quarters are completely secured and soundproof."
"Good to know", he groaned as he sat up and looked at the clock. "It's passed seven?! Why aren't we at practice?"
"Hey, just because we're strict, doesn't mean we're heartless", she said, crawling up the bed more. "Gumi and I thought that, we pushed you all a bit too far yesterday, so we pushed back the training, until one tomorrow morning. That will give everyone plenty of time to recoup and tend to any wounds."
"And give you time to futz around", he added, shooting a look over at the lathe in the corner of the room. "What are you making over there?"
"Oh, me and Gumi are making our parents a secret bookshelf door, for their anniversary", she replied. "It's all done, I'm just polishing off some of the pieces."
"You're making a door?", he asked.
"Yup", she replied, proudly. "I'm hoping to have it all finished and ready before we leave."
"Leave?", Harry asked, sitting up, nervous and shocked. "You're leaving?"
"We're leaving", Jade answered, smoothly. "In a few weeks, to get into the more advanced training."
"So that means-?"
"You get to come too. Everyone does." He let out a sigh of relief and laid back on the bed. She chuckled and climbed on top of him, so that she was straddling his thighs. "Did you think I was going to leave and not take you with me?"
"The... unpleasant thought had entered my brain", he said.
"Well, you better get it out and never let it back in", she half-ordered. "Because that's not gonna happen. Not if I have any say in it, and I most generally do."
"Yes, ma'am", he said and sillily made mime gestures as if to pull something from his ears, throw it away then plug them back up. Jade just gave a small giggle and laid her head on his chest. He stroked her hair as she traced lazy patterns on his stomach.
April 30, 7:25pm, Great Hall
"These need to get processed as soon as possible and these need to be approved", Gumi said, handing two folders of papers to one of the other members there. She was about to sit back down at her table, when a sharp pain shot in her stomach and her hands involuntarily flew to clutch her stomach and table, so she didn't fall.
She stood in place, panting a bit before the girl that was helping her, spoke. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah", she said, putting on a brave facade. "Bad fish."
"Ooh", the girl grimaced. "Why don't you go on? I can finish up the rest."
"You sure?", she asked.
"Of course", the girl replied. "Go. Go check on your boyfriend/love interest."
She let a slight smirk curl her lips, before grabbing her wand and leaving. Draco was more than likely still passed out in her personal quarters next to Jade's on the forth floor.
April 30, 7:32pm, Gumi's Personal Quarters
She opened her door, closed it and turned to see her suspicions confirmed: Draco was still passed out cold, on her bed, lightly snoring. She put her wand on the table next to the metal workings she was working with before she was called down to the Great Hall, and went into the bathroom. She lifted her shirt and gently stroked her stomach.
"Soon, very soon, my darlings", she whispered softly and let the shirt fall back to where it hung before. She went back to her overly cluttered desk, turned on a self-made compilation of slow-ish music and restarted her work on the detail work for the door her and her sister were making for their parents.
May 1, 1:00am, Hogwarts Front Gate
It had started raining at about three the day before and still hadn't let up any. As far as they could tell, it was actually raining harder than it had previously. Jade and Gumi were talking by the right side of the gate. The loud pattering o the rain made it impossible to hear what they were saying. When Jade looked up and saw that everyone was there, she put her hand on Gumi's shoulder telling her to wait a second, then addressed everyone else.
"This morning's training is going to be based on going with the flow!", she shouted over the rain, so they all could hear her. "After you warm up those freshly rested bodies with Nathan, you will meet Maddie at the far end of the lake, to go through fighting techniques! Then, you will meet Helena at the obstacle course! She will send you to me, for tracking and hunting, I will be at the North end of the lake! You will meet Kagumi at the shooting range when I am done with you! Jordan and Shaw will be waiting back at the Quidditch field to give you a rundown of how to fly in weather! Of course, for those of you who have played, know a bit of what to expect, but you were in control on a broom! You haven't been through it, until you've had to maneuver an eleven ton dragon with a brain, in rain and hail and sleet that hits you like bullets when you are going faster than a regular broom! Move out!"
They trudged off to let their torture begin, leaving Gumi and Jade alone to talk again. Harry and Draco watched them as they walked back up to the school.
"I wonder what they're talking about!", Draco asked, through the rain.
"I'm not!", Harry replied.
"Probably trying to invent new ways to exhaust to near death!", Ron shouted back at them, as they drew nearer to the Quidditch field.
May 1, 10:15am, Shooting Range
Everyone moved quicker to get to the shooting range on time. There were a number of stools set up in front of the targets on the range.
"On time, that's an oh for two", Gumi said loudly through the rain. "There is a modified deck gun, a Howitzer, a souped up double barrel shot gun, an M40 sniper rifle, a set of three throwing stars and a standard battle sword! Once you have practiced on all weapons you will repor-!" She was cut off by a flash of pain in her stomach. Her hand flew to her abdomen and cringed. She righted herself quickly, as to not make them suspicious."You will then report to me! Understood?!" They all snapped into attention and gave a salute. "Proceed!"
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