Bloody Hell!

Chapter Eleven

They stayed that way until they heard clapping from the classroom. They pulled apart and grinned at the students. Remus said, 'I think I have something in the eye, Harriet.'

Harriet giggled and replied, 'I think, I have something in my eye as well, Uncle Remus.'

When they drew apart, the class clapped. Both of them grinned at the students, and Remus said, 'Well, the class is over and you should hurry, if you don't want to be late for your next class.'

Harriet went to her desk and started to put the parchment in her bag. Draco waited for her to come out of the classroom and then, he said, 'I'd like to be a DA member too, if it's possible.'

Harriet's smile widened and she said, 'Sure, Draco! But you are going to be the only Slytherin in it.'

Draco grinned.

'Cool!'

Harriet laughed and Draco joined it. They were talking animatedly all the way down the corridor. Draco opened the door for them and bowed, saying, 'After you, milady!'

Harriet laughed again and walked in an almost empty classroom. There were only a few students, as it wasn't a very popular subject - Ancient Runes, namely. Hermione was also there and after saying goodbye to Draco, Harriet headed towards her best friend.

'Hey, Hermione!' she greeted her.

Hermione was startled and asked, 'Why are you here, Harriet?'

Harriet grinned and said, 'What do you think? I came to learn the Ancient Runes!'

Hermione shook her head.

'I know that, you idiot! Why did you choose this subject?'

Harriet just grinned and replied, 'This is for me to know and you to find out.'

Hermione glared at her for the rest of the class and then huffed away to the Great Hall. Harriet just shrugged with her shoulders and went after her. After lunch and a very heated Quidditch chat, Harriet went off to her next class, Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid was already there, waiting for them in front of his hut. He grinned at Harriet and said, 'Hello, Harriet! How are yeh?'

Harriet smiled back and answered, 'Never better, Hagrid. So, what are we studying today? A Chimarea?'

Hagrid laughed and replied, 'Nah, we're studyin' somethin' better.'

Harriet cringed. Uh-oh! The other pupils arrived soon after and Hagrid gleefully said, 'Welcome back, sixth years. We'd better get goin'. After meh, lads!'

Some students started trembling as they reached the Forbidden Forest. Harriet looked at the gamekeeper and said, 'I really hope it's not something that only a few can see.'

She was pointing to the black winged horses that pulled the carriages of the school, also named Thestrals. But Hagrid didn't say anything and just continued to walk through the forest. When he came to an opening, he said, 'Now, here I have some gas-masks. I would like yeh to put them on and wait here fer meh.'

The students put the aforementioned masks on and waited for their Care of Magical Creatures professor to return. When he did, some of them shrieked and started backing away. Harriet stared at the creature Hagrid had with him. Hagrid looked at the students and said, 'Now, don' worry. It won' hurt yeh. I've got him under control.'

He paused for a moment and then continued, 'This is a Nundu. It comes from Africa and yeh know why I told you to put the masks on? 'Cause its breath causes disease virulent enough to eliminate entire villages. But don' worry. Dumbledore made a barrier between yeh and him, but yeh wear those masks fer precaution. This is only a baby. It's four months ol' an' only eats rats an' mice. I got him trained an' he likes meh!'

To prove his point he scratched the Nundu behind his ears. The gigantic leopard purred out of delight and closed its eyes, enjoying the touch. The rest of the class continued in every student drawing the Nundu, and some of them even scratched the nundu themselves. When the class almost ended, Hagrid said, 'Fer homework I want yeh teh read about phoenixes as they will be in our next class!'

~8~8~8~8~

As Harriet was walking to the Great Hall to dinner, she was thinking about all that happened to her. Of course, when a girl is in deep thinking it often happens, that she doesn't watch where she's going, so of course she walked in a deserted hallway, which wasn't there before. She almost fell, when she stumbled upon something on the floor. She looked around her to see where she was and strangely, she didn't recognize the corridor in which she just stood. She noticed a wooden well on the other side and decided to investigate her surroundings. She was in a corridor with strange swords, and armours. She looked closer to one of the swords and saw a name encrypted on the sword's blade - HARRIET KIARA POTTER - HEKELE, WASHI YOUKAI. What was the strangest thing, she saw it was in Japanese letters and language, which she didn't understand before, but she obviously did now. She took the sword off its place and noticed that the sword pulsed when she took it in her hand. An instinct drove her to the other side of the corridor where the armours were hanging on their hangers. She knew now, what she was looking for and put her hand on a nicely done emerald green armour. She took it off the hanger and decided to try it on. It fit her perfectly. She noticed a sheath near by and sheathed her newly acquired sword. She felt something pull her towards the well and she reluctantly followed the tug. She felt herself changing and was startled when she suddenly couldn't see right anymore. She took her glasses off and cleaned them. Almost unconsciously she decided to look around without them and found herself gaping at the perfect sight that she had. She felt something pulling her ears upwards and felt them with her hands. She had to stiffen a shriek when she felt her ears becoming more and more pointed. She whimpered as she felt her back stinging. There was a small noise that indicated that her cloth was tearing a little and she felt something moving out of the holes in her armour. She felt soft fluttering and decided to risk a look at her back. What she saw made her gasp and put a hand on her mouth. What happened was... she sprouted wings. And not just any wings, but the wings of a big eagle. The wings were black with slightly green tips and here and there was a grey speck. She was too scared to stay in this corridor, so she ran where she came from, but not before she put the place in her mind, so that she wouldn't forget where to come, when she would return. She ran and ran until she reached her father's office. She knew the dinner was already over, so her father was bound to be here already. She timidly knocked on the door and heard her father's voice.

'Come in!'

She reluctantly opened the door and peeked from behind it. She heard a faint chuckle and turned to see her father sitting in an armchair near the fireplace. She whispered, 'Dad, I have a problem...'

Snape watched with wide open eyes as his daughter came fully into his office. She was wearing a green Japanese clothing with black stripes on her sleeves. He saw, she was also wearing a sword sheath with a sword in it, but what shocked him the most were her black wings, pointed ears and dark green stripes on both her cheeks. He sat there rigid, until Harriet came to his side and said, 'I don't know what's happening, Dad... I was lost in a corridor with armours and swords. Something pulled me to the swords and I saw one with my name on it, and then the same feeling pulled me over to armours and I found this one. Then I couldn't see anything and I put my glasses down and I could see perfectly and I kind of sprouted wings and my ears got all pointed and... and...'

She was rambling, and she was painfully aware of it, so she did the best thing and quieted up. Snape still watched her with wide eyes until he jerked up and said, Can I see the sword?'

Harriet pulled the sword of its sheath with ease and handed it over to her father. He stared at it, read and reread the lines of Japanese letters, then sighed and put a hand over his eyes. Harriet stood up and sat down again, but this time at her father's feet. She put her head on Snape's knees and whispered, 'What's going on, Dad? I never understood Japanese, and suddenly it seems like it's natural to me...'

Snape sighed and said, 'That's the least of the problem. Do you know what washi youkai means?'

Harriet nodded and said, 'It means Eagle Demon.'

'Do you know from where the youkais come from?'

Harriet giggled a little and said, 'From Japan, silly. From where else?'

Severus chuckled too and ruffled Harriet's hair a little and continued, 'The term youkai does come from Japan, but it comes from a time in the history called Sengoku Jidai or Warring Era if you put it in English.'

Harriet looked at her father and waited for him to continue, which he did.

'At that time in Japan lived youkais, ningens, mikos and hanyous. The legend says, there was a powerful jewel, called the Shikon no Tama, or the Jewel of four souls, in the hands of a miko named Kikyou. She was responsible for the protection of this jewel. Many demons wanted this jewel to become more powerful and they attacked the village where the miko lived. She managed to drive off all demons with her miko powers, which purify the souls of demons and kill them instantly.'

Snape stopped there to gather his thoughts and continued, 'There was a hanyou, Inuyasha, which also wanted the jewel to become a full demon, youkai. He and Kikyou became friends and slowly fell in love. Kikyou convinced Inuyasha to turn human for her with the help of the Shikon Jewel. As they should use the jewel, something came up. All that I know from there is, that Inuyasha mortally wounded Kikyou and Kikyou pinned Inuyasha to a tree, named Goshinboku, and put him in a deep sleep. She then died and the Shikon Jewel was burned with her.'

Harriet pondered for a moment, but before she had the chance to say something, Severus continued, 'I think you are a descendant of an eagle demoness, who was called Hekele. That's why the sword called you.'

Harriet groaned.

'Not another ancestor. Don't I have enough of them? Merlin and the Hogwarts Founders! Urgh, and now also a youkai from Japan! Is there something else, I don't know?'

Snape snorted and said, 'Yes, of course there is! But I don't know all of it. All I know that every youkai or hanyou, has a special power.'

Harriet buried her head in her father's knees again and said, 'That means I'll have to go there to find it out, ne?'

Snape sighed and said, 'Yes, it would be the best, but you can't go back in time. At least that much!'

Harriet thought for a while and said, 'There was a funny well with a purple aura around it, in the corridor. I think it's the passage to the Sengoku Jidai.'

Sengoku Jidai - Warring Era

Washi - an Eagle

Youkai - a Demon

Ningen - a Human

Miko - a Priestess

Hanyou - a Half-demon

Shikon no Tama - The Jewel of Four Souls

Ne - Right (as in 'It's all true, ne?' à 'It's all true, right?')

Goshinboku - Sacred Tree