Crystal: CHA! I got 81 reviews ^-^…which is about 4 reviews per chapter -.- BUT! All of you reviewers will get me to 100 before 25, right? Right? RIGHT? T.T
Crystal: I hope so…well, I had promised myself that I would write the next chapter after I got 80 reviews, which NONE of you knew so you couldn't help…but most of you should have realized when you saw I had 79 reviews…
Crystal: But ok, away from the review area, I'm writing this chapter because I promised, but I want to get back to Akuna pretty soon after this ^-^; Gomen, but the sequel is killing me for that, so as soon as I finish it…I can write the sequel or work more on this! ^-^
Crystal: But I also have a sequel worked out for this…so I'll try to go back and forth on inspiration…since it is getting around Christmas and I have to spend sometime with my family, ya know ^.~
Crystal: But I hopefully won't fall too far behind so that when it's Valentines in real life, it's still in January in the story. That's when I'm going to put full gear onto this story. Ok, so with that, let us begin.
~*~*~
"First day back" Oracle yawned, stretching her arms above her head as she walked down the stairs. She hadn't felt like running much this morning, might as well appreciate the stairs while they were there.
"Yea…and I don't think we have another break till Easter" Yusuke said, hanging his head. "Great…"
"It's not all that bad, but I bet you just miss Keiko" Botan said, winking at the demon lord. Keiko had left a few days after New Years, but had promised to come visit for Easter break if she could, leaving Yusuke all the more excited.
"That has nothing to do with it…" Yusuke muttered, turning his head to the side.
"Sure it doesn't" Oracle smiled, rolling her eyes. They walked down the main stairs, through the entrance hall and into the Great Hall. It was already pretty filled with students who had woken up early, so the group just scattered amongst the tables.
"So" Oracle began, looking at Hiei as she piled some hash browns on her plate and put a small dab of ketchup at the edge of it.
"So what?" Hiei asked. She smiled a bit.
"So, are we going to keep this thing secret or show it publicly since practically the whole school knows?" Oracle asked. Hiei looked at his own, empty plate, then to her.
"I…guess it wouldn't hurt to show slowly" he said quietly.
"Yatta!" She cried, throwing her arms around his shoulders. Everyone at the table turned to look at them, and Hiei glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. She removed her arms, face a deep shade of scarlet, before she quietly ate her food. Botan, who was seated beside her, patted her shoulder, laughing a bit, and Oracle sent her a small smile.
Before they knew it, the time had come for class, and they were up and scurrying to get to potions. Well, not exactly scurrying since they had 15 minutes a-plenty, but walking pretty damn fast.
They ran to their seats as the clock struck time, and as Yusuke put his bag on the ground, Snape stormed in through the door. He seemed to be in an extremely bad mood, his eyes red with rage.
"Alright class" he said in a twitchy tone, turning to look at them with a glare. "Today we shall be making (A/N Ok…I have read about this potion somewhere, and I think it was in the story Gimme a Hand Hogwarts…so all credit goes to that for the idea ^-^;) and aura potion" he said, and the group tensed.
Wizards auras…they were supposed to be silver…none of them had silver auras.
"What are we going to do?" Opal hissed, looking at her sister. Oracle sat for a moment, looking up to Snape…and he was staring right back at her. He knew something…something that only Dumbledore knew…but how did he find out?
"This is a single worked project, any one helping anyone else out…will be punished" Snape said, before he waved his hand to the back of the class. "There is all the ingredients you'll need…plus a strand of your own hair…begin" he muttered, and Oracle smiled brightly.
"That's it…" she muttered under her breath, turning to look at the group while Snape had his back turned. "We use a wizard's piece of hair instead of our own" she smiled.
"But how are we supposed to get a piece of wizards' hair?" Botan asked.
"Well look around…we're surrounded by them. We grab some from someone on our way up…but stay clear of Harry and Draco…their auras seem…different" Oracle said, standing and making her way towards the back of the room. She could feel Snape's eyes on her the whole time, as she gathered up the ingredients and made her way back…pausing for briefly a second as she plucked a strand from Hermione's head.
Hermione stopped walking, and turned at feeling the prick. Oracle walked by…and Hermione narrowed her eyes for a moment. Had Oracle just pinched her? She shook her head, heading back to where she was seated near Harry and Ron in the back.
"Ok…I got all us girls some hair…how about you boys?" Oracle asked, as she handed Hermione's hair around. They nodded, showing the strands of hair, and then changing them to match their hair colors.
They began their potions…and yet Oracle could still feel Snape's eyes on her. Yes…he knew…more then he should have for that matter…but he also didn't seem…like the Snape she had seen before Christmas break.
His eyes…looked more slated and eviler…and his hair, if possible, more greasy. Suddenly, she felt a lapse within herself, and held her palms against the table to keep herself steady.
That had been…a brain wave…directed at her…and suddenly she felt a presence. A bad presence. A bad presence split into two directions. One for her…and one for Harry.
"Hiei" she hissed, and the fire demon looked up. "Would you mind creating a distraction for me?" She asked.
"What type of distraction are you asking for?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Anything that will make everyone leave, including Snape" Oracle muttered. He smirked, and suddenly she got a bad feeling. Yep…she felt as Hiei's power grew within his hand, and then she saw as the power rolled about the floor…and onto Snape's robe.
His nose lifted into the air, and he sniffed.
"Alright, who messed up on their potion already?" He asked in an annoyed tone, and then a Slytherin girl raised her hand.
"Um…sir…your on fire" she muttered, and he glared at her, before looking down. His eyes widened, and he jumped a bit as the fire became larger and his whole leg had caught fire. And he just…couldn't get it out. All the students began to run out of the room, and he did as well, only to leave the small group there. Opal caught Harry's arm before he could leave, letting the other two to run ahead, and they pulled him into the dungeon, shutting the door.
"Harry?" Hermione said, turning behind her…and she stopped dead. "Harry?!" She asked panicked, looking around only Ron had joined in with them. This was not a good time for him to go missing.
~*~*~
Harry struggled a bit, before he saw exactly who was in the room. But the room…seemed different. There was…an emerald green haze covering them.
"The shield is set" Elazul said, as the half circle surrounded them. And now…all of them except Harry could see the black power creeping along the side of the shield.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked, and Oracle looked at him.
"I think…you should take a seat Harry" Oracle said, and he did…jumping a bit as he saw the green haze sparking around him as the black power hit into it.
"What is that?" Harry asked, finally spotting it.
"Something that's after you…and me" Oracle said, as she took a seat beside him.
"After me…" he said, watching it…and seeing that it was the shape of a snake. "But…why after you?" He asked. Oracle reached up, unlatching the top-most buttons of her cloak, letting them fall so he could see her core.
"Remember this…" she asked, looking at him, her eyes once again that serious purple color.
"Yea…the thing that twinkled that one day on the roof…" Harry said, nodding slightly.
"This…is my core…and when it twinkled that one day, it is because everyone here who you did not see at the beginning when you met all of us…were coming closer" Oracle said. At this, every other Jumi in the room dropped their own robes which they had been wearing in the same style as her, and all of their cores shone. They all twinkled.
Harry seemed to be at a lose of words…so he just looked at her with a look that urged her to continue.
"They were coming to get me…to save me…because 50 years ago…I was kidnapped…"
"50?! But you look no older then 16!" Harry cried, his eyes wide. Oracle laughed slightly.
"Yes, maybe so…but I am actually 400…Opal is 375…Sapphire is 350…that's why they look younger then us. We were all put in the same year for special reasons…but Diana, Rubeun, and Elazul are all older then us…Esmeralda is my age…and Pearl is Sapphire's age…" Oracle said.
"But like I was saying…I had been kidnapped from my world…the world of Mana, and my home of the Bejeweled city…though thankfully I was not there when it happened. I was being sold, kept in my tinniest form, in a dirty little shop in Knock-turn alley…when Dumbledore found me…"
"That's when he told Koenma, ruler of the spirit world-where Mana is also located-to send these five to save me as well" Oracle said, motioning to the group who did not have cores exposed. "But that is their story to tell, though I do insist this would be time to get everything out in the open" Oracle said, turning to look at them for the first time.
Hiei's face froze as he caught sight of her face. It was emotionless…firm…nothing like it had ever been before…and the purple seemed deeper then before. But his face came back to focus as Yusuke started talking.
"Well…I've been with Koenma two years now…I died in a car crash when I was 14, came back to life, Yatta-Yatta-Yatta, it's a very long story. Anyway, I'm a Spirit Detective, and not to far back, I became a Demon Lord, which is another very long and very complicated story. (A/N If I got this wrong…I'M SO SORRY! I HAVEN'T SEEN THIS MOVIE YET! I don't know how old he is when he becomes Demon Lord, so please forgive me ;_; and if I just ruined that whole movie for anyone…I'M SORRY!) But I get recruited to go on special missions, and this one not only had to do with protecting and rescuing Oracle, but protecting you as well" Yusuke said, and the black energy chose that time to crash into the shield, which sparked some more.
"Well me, you see, I'm guider of the River Styx, or as some people call me, the Grim Reaper ^-^ I'm Koenma's right hand person all the way, and try to help Yusuke on his missions as much as possible" Botan smiled, being as happy-go-lucky as ever.
"I am a Youko, a fox demon, though this is my alternate form that I must use in the human and sometimes demon and spirit world. My Youko is a very much wanted criminal, but not to go into that right now. From Yusuke's first mission I was recruited under Koenma's wing, but I've been a member of the team really since the Four Saint Beasts" Kurama said.
"I'm a Koorume (A/N @.@ I have no clue how to spell that…) or an ice apparition as it can be known. I'm also Hiei's twin sister…but he was keeping it from me till recently…probably why I didn't have a last name at the sorting" Yukina smiled slightly.
"And I'm also part Koorume…but part fire apparition as well. I've been on the team since the Four Saint Beasts and no longer…my past is no need of your concern…basically, don't touch my sister or Oracle" Hiei said, narrowing his eyes. Oracle looked down at the floor for a bit, a small smile playing across her face, before she turned back to Harry, her face just as steely as before.
"Both of us are in danger Harry…Voldemort is after you for you…but he is after me for my core. He would go after the others…but mine is different, and I only just discovered this. I have the power of a Clarius in my core…and a Clarius is a Jumi, of which is the name of my race, which can shed tears…tears of life…I'm afraid Voldemort will be close to unstoppable…with my core in his possession…"
~*~*~
Crystal: Should I leave it here, you think?
Readers: -.-
Crystal: Yea, your right, it's been WAY to long since I've updated…but wouldn't this have made the best cliffhanger ^-^
~*~*~
Harry looked at Oracle with frightened eyes at her statement, and all at once, the shield went down…and the power surged for the two, close enough to get both of them with one swipe.
Oracle lashed around, seeing the energy coming towards them.
"Harry, run, run far away from this room, but whatever you do" Oracle began, pushing him towards the door. "Don't tell anybody what we have told you today" she called, as she pushed him out the door, and locked it.
Harry stood out there, dumbfounded, before he started running…and started running fast. His first idea was to go to Dumbledore…he might be able to help them…but Oracle had told him not to tell anyone…and he would just have to stick with that till it came time he just couldn't hold it anymore…
"HARRY!" At the call, he looked up to see Ginny, Hermione, and Ron running towards him.
"What happened Harry? Are you alright?" Hermione asked, looking at him with worry-filled eyes.
"Yea…I'm fine" he muttered.
"But where'd you go? A second you were right behind us, and then you just disappeared" Ron said in an exhausted tone. They must have spent that whole time looking for him.
"I got lost…" Harry said, trying to think of a way to fool them. Ron seemed quizzical for a moment, as did Ginny and Hermione. "The fumes from the potions…they made me dizzy…so I had a harder time coming back" he said quickly and Ron nodded.
"Whatever mate…" he mumbled, before Ginny walked up to Harry.
"Did…Draco get out alright?" She mumbled, and Ron turned to look at her.
"Ginny!" He called, grabbing her robe and beginning to protest down at her. She squirmed.
"Stop Ron! Your hissing my ear off…" she complained, but he didn't stop. Harry looked over at Hermione…she wasn't fooled one bit by his lame excuse. She came over, taking hold of his arm and looking up at him.
"What really happened, Harry?" She said. He swallowed a breath of air. "Harry…" she pushed on, when there was a load explosion…from the dungeons. Harry's eyes filled with fear…
"We have to get out of here…back to the common room, come on!" He urged, grabbing them all by their robes and beginning to pull.
"But shouldn't we go check it out…" Ron asked. Harry looked at him, his eyes serious.
"No…not this time…"
~*~*~
(A/N Thought you'd all enjoy sometime with our trio there ^-^ I noticed just how much I've left them out in this story…)
"BOTAN!" Yusuke called as she was slammed against the door, sending it open. Oracle watched, eyes full of worry from inside the shield that had been set up around her. She could break it if need be…but the energy couldn't.
The energy zoomed towards the door, but Sapphire stopped it, sending a flow of energy to block out the door. It turned towards her, and Yukina took this time to try and sneak out to get to Botan. But the energy saw her.
"Yukina!" Oracle called, and Hiei and Kurama both turned. Kurama got to it first, getting out his rose whip and lashing it at the energy, as Hiei picked up his sister and set her outside the door area. Another shield that would keep the energy in the room.
"Stay out here" he ordered, and she nodded. He ran back in as she went to tend to Botan, and he unsheathed his sword.
Oracle felt weak…she could do nothing…nothing at all. She fingered her cloths since her robes were on the ground outside of the shield…and then her eyes widened as she pulled the flip fan from inside her shield. She smiled, kicking at the shield and letting it drop.
"Oracle, no!" Diana called, and Hiei turned at that call as well, his eyes widening, and the energy knocked him into one of the stone walls. Oracle pulsed with anger. She flipped open the fan, which went all the way around, forming a circular blade.
Her energy pulsed into it, making it glow with the same radiance as her core. The energy turned to her, what seemed to be its eyes narrowing in favor. It began racing towards her, and she tossed the blade, but it went above it, and cut down one of the hanging lights, which dropped onto it, holding it still.
She knew if she had cut it in half…it would have just given them another problem.
Opal rushed forward, moving her hands in certain ways, forming seals, and soon Sapphire had done it and Diana. Oracle joined in. The energy began to dissolve, and soon disappeared. A very old trick they had pulled…which only the four of them knew.
They heard footsteps, and quickly the Jumi secured their robes in respectful position, before running out the door. Botan seemed to be close to good as new, and they all helped her up, before they walked in the opposite directions of the footsteps.
~*~*~
That night at dinner, Dumbledore watched the group. He knew what had happened that day…and it was only close to being half past the year. Voldemort was getting more eager for Oracle's power…but hopefully…he would wait to strike for a while. But all Dumbledore could do…was pray.
~*~*~
"Ow, ow, ow, ow" Hiei repeated as Oracle put rubbing alcohol on his arm. He would only say this now because if he didn't, Oracle would push on the wound just to hear him say it. It was one of her ways of saying 'you don't need to be a tough guy around me, so be weak for a change.'
"Maybe not this weak" Oracle laughed, rapping gauze around the wound. She patted it, before taking a cloth and the basin of water and beginning to clean up the scratches on his face. "It's a wonder to me why no one asked of this at dinner" she muttered.
"Simple…I kept my head looking at the table, and if anyone asked why, I'd just lift up my eyes…give them one of my glares" he smirked quietly. (A/N O.o that's a weird phrase…I didn't know you could smirk in volume…) Oracle laughed, placing a bandage over one of the cuts, a kissing it softly.
"There, all done" she smiled, and he looked at her, eyes turning serious.
"Oracle…is something wrong?" He asked, letting his eyes pry into hers. She looked down for a moment.
"Not something that I can't handle…don't worry, I'll be fine" she smiled, keeping her eyes closed. That way…he couldn't pry.
'Don't make me do it the hard way' he thought into her head, and she opened her eyes. They were a deep, sea green, between blue and green.
"It's just…today I realized what a threat I was to everyone…because that evil wizard is after me, all the people I care about are trying to protect me…and getting hurt in the process. It's something that's hard to live with, in my case" she said, biting her lip. Hiei took hold of her hands in one of her, placing the other on her cheek.
"Don't worry…we won't fail in our mission…and if we get hurt, know that it's because we're willing to get hurt for you. You're not telling us to get hurt to protect you, we do it out of free will because we care for you" Hiei said. Oracle smiled at him.
"You always know the right things to say" she laughed a bit.
"Hn…well it only just started recently, I guess" Hiei smiled. Oracle looked up, a smile on her face, and her eyes became their amazing emerald again, and she laughed looking at him again.
"Look up" she motioned to the bed post that hung over her bed, since that's where they were sitting. He did, and looked back at her.
"Isn't it a tad late for mistletoe?" He asked, smiling.
"It's never too late for mistletoe" she smiled, leaning in a placing a tender kiss on his lips. He leaned into it, and then they broke apart after a short while.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Come on Hiei, Oracle needs her sleep too!" Botan called through the door laughing, and both of them looked down blushing.
"Goodnight Oracle" Hiei said, as he walked towards the door.
"Night Hiei" she smiled, as he left, and then she fell back, already being in her night clothes. She rolled over and snuggled under the covers, letting her eyes close in a restful sleep.
~*~*~
Crystal: O.O I…am SO SORRY! I'VE DELAYED THIS CHAPTER SO MUCH! IT'S JUST I HAD NOTHING TO WRITE, AND THEN I JUST GOT INSPIRATION LAST NIGHT, BUT I PROMISE I WILL HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER OUT FASTER, I REALLY, REALLY DO!
Crystal: Well, now that apologies are over, Valentines day will be in the next chapter O.o I know it's kind of soon, but the ending to this story seems to be creeping up everywhere…so…
Crystal: Eh…but don't worry…the earliest I would even consider the attack would be around…April their time…is that to soon? It's just, I want to be different…every time in the books the big battle is always right before the end of summer…well, at least this way, there's more story to it. Besides, I'm going to finish off the year, you should have no worries about that.
Crystal: So, Until I update again, ja mata ne!