Kiss From a Rose

Chapter 3

Emerald ran down the narrow passageway of the train, looking in different compartments for Odayaka and the twins. She wasn't paying much attention to where she was going and ran square into someone looking out the window. Emerald fell backwards and the other person merely stumbled a bit. Emerald stood up and bowed.

"Gomen nasai, I no see you--" she stopped when she saw who she ran into. It was a boy, about her age, pale skin, platinum blonde hair, and steel gray eyes. He glared at her, and Emerald felt as if he were staring straight into her very soul. "--There."

"Watch where you're going," he said coolly.

"I's say I's sorry," she muttered. He shrugged it off and looked out the window. His eyes traveled to the corner to look at her.

"Why are you still here?" Emerald just stared out the window. "Who are you, anyway?" Emerald still wasn't listening. He turned his head toward her. "Are you listening to me?" She snapped back to reality and looked at him.

"S-Sorry. I ah-m Emerald Rose." She turned again to look out the window. The boy raised an eyebrow at her

"Your accent is strange, you aren't from here are you?"

"No, I is from Ni--Japan."

"I see. Well, I'm Draco Malfoy. Malfoy to you. I saw you talking to Potter, Weasley, and Granger. Just so you know, I don't like them. I'm not gunna pretend I do. If you want to be my friend, I'd suggest not to become friends with them," he said coldly.

"I is friends with them."

"Well then, I'm not friends with you," Draco sneered. She just glared at him for a while as he turned back to the window. His gray eyes traveled to the corners again. "What are you staring at? I mean, I know I have a remarkable body, but staring at it is awfully rude."

"I no stare at Bon," she said simply. Now it was his turn to stare. "What Bon staring at?" she said with a smile. This caught Draco by surprise, not many people smiled at him (unless you counted maniacal grins and sarcastic smirks). He blinked at her a few times before answering.

"I'm still figuring that one out," he said. Emerald, being satisfied with this, just smiled and headed down the corridor to continue her search for her sister. "Strange girl..." Draco said quietly to himself.

~*~

Emerald opened the door to the compartment Odayaka and the twins were in. Odayaka had a disgruntled look about her. Apparently, she hadn't appreciated being left alone with the twins. It was starting to get dark, the sun had gone down and the lights were on in the train.

*We should change into our uniforms, Em,* Odayaka said, her eyes flickering to the twins. *After they leave,* she added.

"Ahh, ahh, boys, we get dressed?" Emerald said, hoping this would get the boys out of the compartment.

"Okay," George said, turning back to his brother. Emerald sighed loudly. "Oh, you want us to get out?" he asked innocently.

"Yes."

"Alright then." The boys stood up and left the compartment, closing the door behind them. After the girls had gotten dressed, they let the boys back in, who had gotten dressed as well. Odayaka sat down uncomfortably in her seat, she wasn't used to wearing such short skirts. She was used to the long skirts from her uniforms back home.. She crossed her legs self-consciously. The twins sniggered slightly at this.

"Miss Priss not used to wearing skirts?" Fred joked. Odayaka shot him a glare that showed she was not in a mood to be joked with. He stopped laughing immediately and sat down with his twin. Emerald sat next to her sister.

*Don't worry Odie. The boys are just trying to get you to relax. You shouldn't be so uptight!* Emerald said with a wink.

"Would you two please stop with the Japanese? We can't understand a word you're saying," George complained.

"As it should be," Odayaka stated. The twins sank into their chairs just as a loud noise echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

The girls exchanged a nervous glance, and the twins sat up, excited to be back at school. The train slowed and then lurched to a stop. The girls followed the boys off the train. Odayaka couldn't believe the amount of people swarming around the platform. She grasped her sister's hand firmly and grabbed a handful of Fred's robes as they made their way through the crowd. She heard a loud voice booming over the bustle of the crowd that made her head pound.

"Firs' years this way!" a tall bearded man boomed. Odayaka longed to cover her ears from the loud noises, but she couldn't, otherwise she'd be lost. Fred seemed to know his way and she didn't want her sister to get lost, so she bit the bullet and tried to push the noise to a drone. She closed her eyes and followed Fred and George. Before she knew it, the noise of the crowd was gone and she felt a hand tapping hers.

"You can let go of my robes now," Fred said gently. She opened her eyes and they were standing in front of a stagecoach, one of at least a hundred. No one was driving it and there were no horses, but they got in anyway. Before they knew it, they were bumping along the path toward the school. Odayaka closed her eyes again. "Nervous are ya?" Fred's voice rang in her ears. She could feel a headache coming on. She nodded, only to shut him up so she could rest. Finally, the stagecoach stopped and they stepped off. The girls stood in awe at the huge castle.

*How are we gunna keep from getting lost in there!* Emerald wondered out loud.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," George said proudly. "No one knows this school better than us!" he said proudly.

"'Cept maybe Filch, but I'd expect we know those halls better than even him!" Fred sniggered. They proceeded up the marble steps and to the Great Hall. A tall, black haired woman with robes as green as Emerald's hair stood next to the doors. She had a very stern face, but it softened a bit when she saw the girls.

"Odayaka, Emerald. Follow me, please," she said kindly. Odayaka suspected she probably knew about Odayaka and wanted to make the girls as comfortable as possible. Great... all the teachers are gunna be suck-ups to me now... she thought, distastefully. Emerald and Odayaka followed obediently to her office. She closed the door and went up, standing by her desk. "Welcome to Hogwarts, ladies. I'm Professor McGonnagall. I'm sorry we had to separate you from your new friends, but we must sort you into your houses separately from the first years. You're too old to be considered a first year." She looked at the girls proudly. She motioned to a stool sitting nearby. "Just sit there, I'll get the Sorting Hat," she said, and she disappeared to another room off of her office. Emerald sat down and left Odayaka standing against a wall. Emerald swung her legs playfully over the stool.

When the Professor returned, she had an old, patched and dirty wizard hat. She set the hat on Emerald's head, falling over her eyes. She giggled a bit and suddenly, the hat burst out loudly:

"GRYFFINDOR!" Odayaka covered her ears. The Professor removed the hat from Emerald's head and waved Odayaka over. She stepped forward and sat on the stool, feeling extremely silly. The hat was dropped over her eyes and she heard a small voice whisper in her ear. "Very smart, not a bad mind," Odayaka squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out the hat. "Quiet, shy... afraid of rejection? I don't think you'll have to worry about that here," the voice said, kindly. "I think you'd be best in... RAVENCLAW!" the hat said loudly. Ravenclaw? How am I going to... be apart from my sister? I've been with her as long as I can remember...

The hat was removed from her head and she stood up, her legs shaking a bit. "I'll take you back to the Great Hall and show you to your tables."

The girls were lead back to the Great Hall and Emerald sat down with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the twins. Odayaka sat down at the back of the Great Hall at the Ravenclaw table. She closed her eyes and forced herself not to think about it. She opened her eyes and looked up at the teachers' table. Professor McGonnagall stood up in front of it with the Sorting Hat and the stool. Odayaka closed her eyes and tuned out the Sorting Ceremony, the only things she heard were the occasional "HUFFLEPUFF!" or "SLYTHERIN!" When the ceremony was over, she opened her eyes and saw the empty plate in front of her. She distantly wondered when dinner was, she was getting very hungry. She looked up at the High Table and saw a tall, thin man with a long white-silver beard and hair stand up. His bright blue eyes twinkled behind his half-moon glasses, he looked extremely happy that everyone was there. His eyes flickered quickly to Odayaka and he smiled reassuringly at her. She felt a little bit better and she relaxed a bit.

"Welcome everyone! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. Before the banquet commences, I'd like to say a few words: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!" The Great Hall exploded in applause and Odayaka looked around like she'd missed something wonderful. She hoped her lack of English wouldn't hinder her learning in her new school. In the blink of an eye, every food she'd ever thought of and more was in front of her. Many of the foods she'd never even seen before. Meat of every kind, potatoes cooked in every way possible, vegetables. She looked desperately for a pair of chopsticks, she'd never used a fork before. Suddenly a pair of new, ivory chopsticks appeared, sitting neatly on her plate. She blinked at them for a moment, then her head turned to the white-haired professor. He smiled at her, eyes twinkling, and she smiled back, picking up her beautiful new chopsticks and piling things on her plate. A beautiful silver-blue woman's ghost swept past the table, briefly smiling at Odayaka. Many of the other Ravenclaws knew her and called her by name: "Gray Lady."

Maybe it won't be so bad here after all. But still, I think I'll write Atsuko and Taiki tonight and let them know I got here okay. When everyone had finished eating, the white-haired professor, apparently Dumbledore-sama she'd heard so much about, stood up.

"Well, now that everyone is fed and watered, I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils And a few of our older students should do well to remember this as well." He paused, eyes flashing in the direction of the twins who grinned. "I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Odayaka looked at the other teachers who didn't seem too thrilled with this in the least. Dumbledore-sama gave a flick of his wrist and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above everyone's heads and twisted into words. Odayaka strained her mind to decipher what the words said, but gave up.

"Everyone pick a tune, and off we go!" Everyone around her started singing the words. She distinctly heard her sister singing loudly in Japanese, unable to read the words either. She chuckled to herself and began to sing her favorite Japanese song. Everyone finished singing at different times (the twins were last to finish, singing very slowly). Everyone exploded once again into applause. When everyone finished clapping Dumbledore sent them off to bed. Odayaka's eyes flickered to her sister, who was laughing and talking with their--HER new friends. Odayaka quietly followed the Ravenclaw prefect off to the Ravenclaw tower. She looked at different paintings hanging from the walls. They all smiled at her and welcomed her and the young first years to Hogwarts. They came to what appeared to be a dead end. The prefect walked up to the wall and spoke firmly at the wall:

"Chicken coop," she said and the wall slid aside to reveal a large stone doorway. They stepped inside, and into the Ravenclaw common room. Navy blue and silver decorations hung everywhere, even the large squashy armchairs were navy blue.

The prefect directed the girls and boys to their dorms and Odayaka headed up a small flight of stairs and up to her dorm, which she shared with another Asian girl and three other girls. Odayaka picked a four-poster bed near a wide window and flopped on her bed. She changed into her pajamas and pulled the curtains on her bed. She curled up under the covers and laid there for a while, thinking about what would happen.

Perhaps it was all the excitement of the day, but she had a strange dream that night. She was holding a large katana out in front of her and her sister was next to her, holding out an ofuda and chanting a spell. A voice whispered in her ear: "I hear it fading... I can't speak it or else you will dig my grave..."

She sat bolt upright in bed. Something had woken her. A noise from overhead? She looked up above her, eyes wide, wondering what the sound was. It grew louder. It was getting closer...