Golden Sun: Magic Abound

By: Padfoot-chan

Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun or Harry Potter. All other characters that are unfamiliar, I do own.

Chapter 1: Not as it seems

The rain was coming down hard that night. Dark stormy clouds hung in the sky, blocking out any light as three figures stepped out into the rain slick streets. The two taller figures, dressed in hooded black robes paused at the end of the road and turned to a slighter hooded figure carrying a bundle in his arms. “Hama, if anything happens to us tonight, we want you to look after Ivan and make sure he never finds out about any of this.”

“He has a right to know, Mother. This is apart of his life. I cannot just keep this from him, especially if the two of you die tonight. What do I tell him when he is old enough to ask where his mother and father are? This is not fair to me.” Even with the rain pouring down around them, they could tell that the small girl was crying as she watched her parents in their last moments. “He will show signs of his powers soon, what am I supposed to do then. How will I be able to explain to him when things suddenly explode when he gets angry? Or when something levitates because he was staring at it too long? I need to know. Do not just run to your deaths and leave me behind to look after Ivan by myself.”

“We have to do this, Hama. Picard needs our help against His supporters and our forces are being overcome very easily. We have to go and fight. Look after Ivan for us and be a good girl.” Her father leaned down and kissed her forehead before turning to his wife and nodding. With that, they ran the rest of the way through the rain, disappearing into the darkness. That was the last time Hama heard or saw her parents ever again.

Ten years later…

“Ivan, get out of bed and get ready for school already. You are going to be late and I need to get to work now. I do not care if you do not have time to take a shower; it is your fault for sleeping in so late. What were you doing last night? Staying up on the computer again? I swear, if I find out you are looking up porn, I am taking away that computer and you are going to have to do your homework the way I used to have to.” Ivan suddenly pops up next to his sister, already dressed in his school uniform with his hair combed and tied in a small ponytail.

“You mean with a stone slab and chisel.” He ducks as she throws a spoon at him. “I was working on some work for the school paper so you can just get your mind out of the gutter. Besides, girls are gross to me still, right?” He smirks and shrugs his shoulders as he grabs a piece of toast from the plate on the table. “I’m heading out. Susa and I are supposed to meet up at the street corner and you know how much he hates to wait.”

“Ivan, wait, I—“ Ivan waves to her and slams the door behind him. Hama lets out a sigh and leans against the countertop, a strange envelope under her hand with Ivan’s name on it. “Impatient little boy…but would Mother and Father have wanted him to go to that school?”

My name is Ivan Tsunomi. I was born in Sakata, Japan. My great-grandmother from England was the one who named me, that is why my first name is not Japanese. I am teased for it a lot at school but that is expected since I am ahead of my class by a couple of weeks.

I have been living with my older sister, Hama, in Nagasaki before I can remember. Whenever I ask her about how our parents died or who they were, she always becomes uncomfortable and tries to change the subject by asking me how my day was or asking me if I would like to go out for a walk with her. I had not asked her in a while because I know she will just try to change the subject on me again.

My cousin and best friend, Susa, jokes about it a lot, saying that my parents might have been part of the Yakuza and Hama is merely trying to protect us by keeping their identities a secret and that our house is bugged and the Yakuza members of Nagasaki are listening in our all of our conversations. He can be weird sometimes but…he is still a good friend and no matter how batty he can be, he is always there for me, even in the weirdest situations.

Of course, I have my own take on the situation. I overheard Hama talking with Susa’s parents one night and she had said something about them dying for each other. It may sound sort of pathetic or petty, but that is one of the reasons I plan to never allow myself to fall in love, if I can manage doing something like that. Another reason is my sister. She always manages to fall for the wrong guy and ends up sitting on the kitchen floor around midnight eating a carton of ice cream for hours until she cries herself to sleep. I do not want to be the type of guy who ends up making a girl cry like that. Love is not for me. From what I have learned from the past, from my family’s experiences, love just brings pain. The less pain in this world, the better.

Susa is leaning against a wall up ahead of me, whistling a tune from his newest favorite band, Lunar Crush. He waves to me when he spots me. “I thought you were going to be late for school, Ivan.” He smirks at me and bats at my ponytail lightly, “Why do you even bother putting your hair in a ponytail? You are just going to lose the band by the end of the day.”

”I am not allowed to have my hair down. If I do, the teachers are going to hound me to get a haircut or something and I do not want to cut my hair.” Susa and I begin to walk across the street, heading towards our private elementary school a few blocks away. He rolls his eyes at me.

“Ivan, they are not going to say anything to you. You are one of the smartest kids in the school. They would not care if you came to school naked and singing Lunar Crush songs at the top of your lungs as long as you keep your grades up and showing off for the school benefactors. All they care about is the money.” I smile and nod.

“Either way, it is still good for me. I am going to finish school early and I will be given some good scholarships to go to colleges and universities. It has always been my dream to go to England or some place like that to attend a college. I do not know why but something about that kind of thing seems…old fashioned and magically.” Susa punches my arm, laughing at me. “Don’t laugh. It is not that funny.”

”Yes it is, Ivan. The most practical guy I know is talking about magic. You know none of that stuff is real, but how do you think Hama is going to take it when she finds out that you want to go to some college away from Japan? England is not just out of town, it is out of the country and pretty far too.” He shakes his head, “And you are going to have to learn English.”

”We are already going to have to learn English when we get to high school.” I reason, “I should put it to good use.” He shrugs his shoulders and folds his hands behind his head. “Besides, Hama should be just fine with me going to a college someplace out of Japan. We are not that close anyway. I do not see what the problem is. Besides, if I get the money to go to any college I want to, Hama would not have a say in it, right?”

“Hey, she’s your sister and guardian, man. She can tell you to dance around on your roof naked and you would have to do it.” I blink at him before narrowing my eyes.

“Alright, what is with you and me dancing around naked?” He laughs.

”Sorry, just something Kushinada told me the other day.” Kushinada is another cousin of mine. She and Susa are supposed to get married because it is part of their family custom. I am so glad that her parents had not known about me being born or they might have chosen me instead.

“So what did Kushi say that would get you so fixated on seeing me naked?” He blinks at me before waving his hand at my head. I duck and grab his hand as it swings around in front of me. “Take a joke, man, not a hit.” I release his hand after a moment and he sighs.

”Nothing, really and I am not fixated on seeing you naked.” I smile and toss him my bag. “And I am not going to carry your stuff for you.”

“I think you will. Anyway, I hear that Lunar Crush is going to have a concert in Akita a couple of weeks from now, do you think you are going to be able to go?” He gaps at me as I open one of the pouches in my bag and pull out two tickets to the Lunar Crush concert. “Kushinada said you would kill for these. Front row seats and backstage passes. I managed to land them from Grandma on her last visit. I played the innocent little loving grandson and mentioned that my birthday was coming up and that since my parents died, I have been feeling so lonely…” I grin at him.

“I could kiss you.”

”I certainly hope you are talking to the tickets. If you are talking to me, do not even think about kissing me.” I grab him by his elbow and pull him along. “Besides, I didn’t know what I wanted for my birthday this year and a Lunar Crush commercial for their concert came up and I just thought of you when I saw it. Plans form quickly in my head; you should try it sometime, Susa. Gives you a lot more time to do things.” He just nods silently, his mouth hanging open still.

“I suggest you close your mouth, Romeo, here comes Kushi.” I wave at our cousin and she waves back to us before saying goodbye to her friends and running over to us. She hugs me quickly and kisses my cheek before blinking at Susa.

“I take it that you showed him the front row tickets and backstage passes.” She says laughing. “Susa, I have an idea, you could just marry the members of Lunar Crush and let me marry Ivan. He is going more places than just to kendo competitions.” I wave my hand at her, laughing.

”Susa is good at kendo, Kushi. He can even beat Iwanaga-sensei. I think you should start praising him for his accomplishments, rather than just pitting him against me.” She sighs and nods before leaning against me and smiling over at Susa.

“You are right, Ivan, though, I do not see the point in even trying. He is so in love with Lunar Crush right now that he will not listen to a word you say and even once he does get over LC, there is always going to be another band to take its place.” The warning bell rings and we pull Susa along towards the school again, “I should try to become part of a famous band and make Susa fall in love with me that way.”

“Don’t bother, Kushi. I have already heard you sing. Do the world a favor and never sing in front of anyone.” She puffs up her cheeks at Susa’s comment and bops him on the head with her fist before running off the class, grumbling something about stupid cousins. I glance at Susa before sighing.

“You really do not know when to keep your mouth shut, do you, Susa?” He grins and hand my bag back to me, waving the tickets in his left hand.

“No, but I do know what I want. Hey, thanks for this. You really aren’t into Lunar Crush, so this means a lot to me.” I wave my hand and pull my ticket and backstage pass out of his hand, stuffing it back into my bag. “You could have weaseled anything out of Grandma and you know it, but to be thinking of me…could I marry you instead of Kushi?”

“I swear, the second you start have dreams about me, is the second I tell Grandma to start getting you professional help.” He pauses in front of his homeroom and waves to me. “I’ll see you at lunch then.” I make it to my homeroom as the bell rings, the teacher walking into the classroom a second after I do. I sit down in my seat next to the window and stare out of it at the tall oak tree growing near the window.

Strange things have been happening lately. I had always been aware that strange things happen around me but it has become more apparent recently and Hama seems to be growing more anxious as well, as if she knows what is going on but does not know how to tell me, or does not want to tell me. However, when I am very angry, things suddenly explode around me. Other times, things lift into the air as if they were attached to strings, though I know there are no strings holding them up. There really is no logical explanation for those things and no one wants to explain it to me. Hama is hiding something from me; I just do not know what it is.

Lunchtime comes faster than I expected it to. Kushinada and Susa are waiting by the pond at the back of the school for me like always, already sitting in the shade of the giant oak tree, eating and talking about random things, this time it was about the next head of our family clan. “I think they are going to pick Ivan, he was the first born son of the current head’s first born son. Ivan has priority over you and Tetsuya. Your father was the fourth born child and third son of Grandfather. Even if Tetsuya is older than Ivan and you, I think that Grandfather will pick Ivan for the head.”

Susa groans and falls back onto the grass, resting his head on his hands as he looks up at the sky through the thick branches of the oak tree. “Hey, if Ivan or Tetsuya are chosen to head the family clan, I would not mind. At least I do not have to do anything that way. Besides, out of the three of us, Ivan would be the one that Grandpa did choose.” I let out a sigh after I take a bite out of my sandwich.

“Look, I do not want to head the clan. Tetsuya is the oldest one and Grandpa favors him over me.”

“That is only because Suya likes to sweet-talk Grandma and Grandpa all the time, of course they are going to like him. He also stays in the family shrine with them when we barely go to visit them.” Reasoned Kushinada, pulling her hair back into a ponytail, “It is not like we have time, though. We have school and last semester over summer break we had to go to cram school to make up for that trip to the shrine. I am positive that Grandfather will choose you, Ivan. You are smart and your father was his first born son.”

“Let’s not get back into that right now, Kushi. Besides, even if my father was the first-born son, he was the black sheep of the family, remember? He fell in love with the wrong woman when Grandpa had someone lined up for him to marry already.” Kushinada smiles and sighs, making Susa and me blink at her. “You feeling okay, Kushi?”

“Forbidden love, how romantic. I wonder if I can have that one-day. Do you know how exciting that must have been for your mother and father, Ivan?” I stick my tongue out at the thought, “Not like that, you idiot boy. Just think of it, sneaking around behind Grandfather and Grandmother’s backs to meet his true love each night just to catch a glimpse of her face in the moonlight.”

“I think you have been reading way too many romance novels, Kushi.” Teased Susa, “Uncle Miki was not even throw out of the family or anything, he left on his own, but he still kept in touch with my dad and your mom. You know what I think, though, I think Grandpa had them done in.” I turn to Susa and watch his eyes for a moment before shaking my head.

“Grandpa does not seem like the type of guy who would get rid of his own son just because he married someone that Grandpa did not approve of. Hama says that Grandpa and my mother used to get along just great before she and Dad died.” Kushinada leans forward and hits Susa on the head with her lunchbox.

”And that was not a very nice thing to say about Grandfather, Susa. He is a sweet old man and he is family.” Susa sits up and points to himself, rubbing the back of his head.

”What about me? I am family but you insist on hitting me all the time.”

“That is because you say stupid, untrue things around me and that needs to stop if you and I are going to get married.” Susa groans and lies back on the grass again.

“This again? What do you want me to say, Kushi? I am sorry I thought you killed Uncle Miki, Grandpa, it is just that you give off that Yakuza aura and it gives me nightmares.” She blinks at him.

“Seriously? You have nightmares about Grandfather? That is so pathetic, Susa! Grandfather couldn’t hurt a flea and you know it!” Susa sits up again and sticks his tongue out at Kushinada.

“The expression is ‘he couldn’t hurt a fly’ and you are wrong. Grandpa can be scary as hell if he wants to be. Ivan knows what I am talking about, don’t cha, Ivan?” I nod.

“One time when Susa and I were at the family shrine, we got lost when we went to the bathroom at night. We went together because we did not want to get lost. You know how big the shrine is, and it looks very different in the dark. Anyway, we were walking around the shrine looking for our rooms when this figure suddenly comes out of a room and moves towards us.” I smile at the look on Kushinada’s face as she leans forward, “Then the light flickers on and we find out that it was just Grandpa and that we had woken him up when we were running around the shrine trying to get back to our rooms. He grabbed our collars and made us sit down in front of him while he lectured us on knowing how to navigate the shrine in any kind of light. I guess Susa and I keep thinking of Grandpa in that way. You have never seen him when he just woke up, Kushi, you are lucky.”

“I feel sorry for Grandma sometimes.” We all nod in agreement before bursting out laughing. “I think we should just let Suya be the next head of the clan, that way, neither of us have to do it.” I shake my head.

“And let Suya run the Tsunomi Clan into the ground? I do not think so. I think Hama should head the clan once Grandpa dies, but if no one is found after he does die, Grandma is going to be the one to head the clan until someone else can be found. You and I are still to young to do anything. Hama and Suya though…”

“They are the same age so it is possible Grandmother and Grandfather are going to look to them first. But I thought…” Susa cuts Kushinada off before she can finish her speculation.

“It is uncommon but not impossible for a woman to head a clan. Hama would be ideal in this case; she is the first-born child of Miki, but the question is if Grandpa will even consider Hama for this. He and Hama can barely go one minute in the same room without bringing up the situation of Miki and Naoki’s death. Grandpa thinks that Hama knows what really happened but Uncle Miki told her not to tell anyone.” Susa shrugs his shoulders, “That seems to be all that they talk about when they see each other now.”

“I have noticed that, and you guys know that whenever I ask her about my parents or how they died, she always changes the subject on me. It is as if she does not want me to know anything about them. She was the only one that really got to know my parents after my father left the family shrine and it seems like she wants to keep their memory all to herself.” They both give me strange looks before I wave my hand, dismissing the thought. “What am I saying? Hama is my big sister and I am supposed to be suspicious of her, right?”

“Yes, but still, Kushi and I are lucky. We have our parents and we know them, but what about you Ivan? All you have are pictures and Grandma’s stories. Your own sister won’t tell you about them so you don’t know how to act about all of this.”

“I should be happy with what I do learn about them. Hama has her reasons for keeping things for me, after all, they could have been part of the Yakuza, right?” I give a weak laugh and they look at each other before laughing as well. It was forced but I was glad that they dropped the subject after that. “I’m done. I want to head up to the music department and study some of the notes before we have to give a concert for the rest of the school next week. Narita-sensei said that you needed to work on the second verse of the first song, Kushi. Come over to my house tonight and I can help you with it.” I stand up, dusting the grass from the back of my pants before heading back to the school.

“Okay and thank you for the help.” I hear Kushinada call as I walk away.

“I’ll see you two later. Try to stay out of trouble, Susa.”

“I could say the same for you!” He yells back to me. I smile, shaking my head and walk into the school.

It makes me wonder if there was some terrible secret about my mother and father for Hama to keep their lives such a secret from me, their own son. Hama and I have always had an understanding between each other. We could look at each other with a simple glance and know what the other was thinking without even trying hard. She seemed scared when I ask her about our parents but then she would get angry and merely try to change the subject.

I doubt that they were actually part of the Yakuza as Susa says. He is just teasing and he does not believe it himself so I should not give it much thought, but I cannot help but to think that they lived some sort of double life when they were alive and that their deaths were not mere accidents. Grandma says that they died in some sort of freak accident but that was after I overheard Hama talking with Susa’s parents. They were fighting to protect something special, something very important to the world and that if it ever got into the wrong hands, it would mean the end of the world as we knew it. I should have dismissed the thought as soon as I had heard those words but something about the tone in Hama’s voice that night, the sheer urgency and pain that seemed to be dripping from her voice made me think that it was all true. That our parents had fought for something, fought to protect something dear, precious, and very important to the world’s survival.

I walk into the music room and amble towards my locker before unlocking it with my key. I pull out my violin case and set it on the ground, leaning against my leg as I lock my locker again. I pick up my violin case and walk over to a chair, searching around the empty seats for the sheet music. Just as I am about to give up, someone dangles the sheet music in front of my face. I reach for the music hesitantly and turn around, breathing a sigh of relief when I find that it is only the music teacher, Narita-sensei, standing behind me, his black rimmed glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.

“Thank you, Narita-sensei.” I smile as I set the sheet music on the stand before me and pull my violin out of its case. He folds his arms across his chest behind me, watching me as I flip through the sheet music for the song that I wanted to practice. It may seem pathetic but I find that I cannot play well with someone watching me or breathing down my neck, just like Kushinada finds it hard to draw when someone is standing behind her and leaning over her shoulder. Susa is the only one out of our little group that can manage accomplishing something without any flaws when he has someone hanging over his shoulder, watching his every movement and scrutinizing over it.

“Oh, before I go…” I feel a tic in my eye and quickly press my hand over my eye to hide it, “Your birthday is tomorrow, right? I am sure that you are glad tomorrow is Sunday.” I smile and nod.

“I guess I just lucked out.”

“Well, Happy Birthday, Ivan.” I nod again.

“Thank you again, Narita-sensei.” He hesitates for a moment but turns and walks back into his office. That was strange. It seemed as if he had wanted to say more to me. I sigh and pick up my violin again, tucking it under my chin before going over the notes of the song and then playing it on my violin.

There is one thing that I know about my father that Hama was not able to hide from me and that was the fact that he used to play violin. Narita-sensei used to go to school with my father and they were best friends even when college was over. He told me the first day that I came to this school that he knew my father and that my father had been a very accomplished violinist. Ever since then, I have been playing the violin. Hama has never heard me play but she is going to at the school concert next week when I do a solo in front of the whole school, if I will be able to get over my stage fright long enough to play in front of the whole school that is.

As soon as school ends, I head to Kushinada’s last class and find her standing in front of the door talking with some of her friends. “Hey, Kushi, you ready to go?” Her friends giggle and Kushinada rolls her eyes before latching onto my arm.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow, bye.” She pulls me along and we walk out of the school.

“What was that about?” I ask as we pass the gates to the school and head down the street.

“Just my friends being weird. I totally forgot that your birthday is tomorrow, are we going to do anything special for it?” I shrug my shoulders, frowning slightly when she changed the subject. “Hama hasn’t said anything to you about it? Maybe it is going to be a surprise party or something. I didn’t think that Hama was big on surprises so I thought that we might just go to your house and hang around.”

“Yeah, Susa said he was going to come over and show me his new video game. It sounds cool. It’s set in the past in a strange world called Weyard and you control these characters with strange powers based on the elements.” Kushinada sighs and I laugh. “Come on, Kushi, I can’t pretend I’m older all the time. I’ve got to have some fun sometime, don’t you agree?”

“I guess you are right, Ivan. I just wish you were a better influence on Susa. By doing this, you are condoning his childish behavior…Ah man, I sound like Grandfather. Can I play the game too?” I nod, grinning.

“Yeah, four players so if we can get Hama to play the game with us, we’ll be able to unlock all the secret levels.” She throws her hands up into the air.

“Yes! We can have a big sleepover party and stay up late fighting monsters and saving the world!” She pauses for a moment, lowering her hands and staring ahead of her before turning to me. “Do you ever wonder if there really is magic out there, Ivan? And that people you think you know everything about…are actually someone else? They just have to hide if from everyone, even their loved ones because they are not allowed to tell.” I tilt my head slightly, stopping in the middle of the sideway next to her. What had brought this up? A second ago she was having so much fun goofing off, but now she was acting serious and she seemed worried.

“What are you talking about, Kushi? Everyone has always told us that magic is not real. Grandpa hates it when we even joke around about magic.” She lowers her head, her bangs covering her eyes as she balls her hands into fists.

“That is because…” She pauses again but tries to finish her sentence, “That is because…” Out of nowhere, a motorcycle drives up to us suddenly, slamming into the railing blocking the walkway from the road. Kushinada yelps and grabs onto my arms, both of us dropping our bags to the ground. “Ah! It’s him!”

“Him? You know this crazy freak?” I yell back to her, grabbing her hand and running as the man on the motorcycle begins to climb off the smashed automobile and advance towards us. “We have to get away from that guy, Kushi! I think he’s trying to kill you!”

”Oh really? What gave you that idea?” She whimpers, allowing me to pull her along as we round a corner. I pause and look around. I had turned hoping that there would be a large crowd we could have disappeared into but for some reason, no one was here. “Ivan, what are you waiting for? We have to get out of here right now. That guy is coming after us.” I look back and narrow my eyes slightly as I see the man turn the corner behind us. “Ivan, please, let’s go. We need to get to Hama now! I’m sure this guy will go away if we get to Hama.”

I look at Kushinada skeptically before turning away from the man and starting to run again. Kushinada knows more about this than she is letting on. Who is this guy and why is he so intent on trying to kill her? Why was she asking me if magic was real or not? Kushi has always been a very realistic person and she usually berated Susa and I for even talking about doing the impossible when we were younger.

“He is going to be able to catch up with us, Kushi. His legs are much longer than ours.” I reason as we hurry down the hill, “The reason I turned in the first place was because I expected a crowd to be here like there normally is. Where are all the people? Look, we are not going to be able to make it back to my house before he catches him. Even if we did, Hama is not home right now. I am pretty sure she is still at her work so even if we did make it home before that guy catches us, I am pretty sure he is going to be able to break the door down and get to us. We are on our own, Kushi.”

“Ivan…” She shakes her head and starts crying, “This is all my fault for getting you involved in all of this. I’m sorry.”

“This is no time to cry, Kushi, just keep running. Why did Uncle choose to move to a different at a time like this? I am pretty sure Susa lives around here somewhere. Kushi, if we cannot find Susa’s house, I need you to keep running, okay?” She looks up at me, confusion in her russet eyes.

“What are you going to do?”

“Don’t worry about me, I think I have a plan.” I look around at the houses for a minute before stopping and pushing Kushinada along. “Keep running, I need to keep this guy busy! Just keep calling for Susa and he should hear you and come out to help you. Tell Uncle what happened and make sure he comes and helps me.” She hesitates, looking back at me, her foot moving in front of her slowly. “Go! Kushi, go now or he’ll get both of us.”

“Be careful.” She whispers before running down the street, calling for Susa. I turn around and look back at the man just as he is walking over the hill. He smirks at me and stops, folding his arms over his chest and looking down at me with cold eyes. I shiver slightly but stand my ground. This feels so natural, standing before an enemy and I know this man is an enemy, I can see it in his eyes. He has killed before and he will not hesitate to do so again. Why is he after Kushi?

“You are a brave little boy, to stand up to a stranger that was hired to kill that girl.” He strolls down the hill now, stopping only when he is a few feet away from me. His skin and hair are fair and his accent is strange, he must be a foreigner or something. “I like to kill people for fun and getting paid is just part of the benefits. You, I shall kill for free.” He pulls out a small, sharp dagger from the side of his pants and drops down into a charging position.

What is a ten-year-old boy, almost eleven, supposed to do in a situation like this? I am past panicking, I am pretty sure I would have peed my pants if my body had not suddenly gone very numb from shock. Kushi was counting on me, right? All I would have to do was hold out until she got Susa’s dad…who was probably at work. Then again, there was Susa’s mother; she could do something, maybe scare the man off. I doubt that she would be able to do anything in this situation, though. The man looks like he would be able to take on Susa’s dad even and he is a kendo master.

I feel a tingling sensation in my hands as the man finally charges for me. I let out a sharp gasp but duck out of the daggers way as the man passes and punch at the man’s stomach, a strange violet glow wrapping around my fist as my hand connects with the man’s stomach. There was a sickening thud and the sound of bones breaking as the man doubles over and the dagger drops to the ground with a metallic thud. “Damn…what…are you, kid…?” He gasps before dropping to the ground near his dagger.

I pull away from the man and look down at my hand, blinking at the remaining violet glow on my hand. I turn my hand over and see a strange; dark violet tattoo had formed there. It looked somewhat like the family crest, a Japanese dragon with two swords running through its chest. Even as the violet glow begins to fade and finally disappears, the dragon remains on the back of my hand.

“I need to get out of here…” I whisper, looking down at the man before starting down the street after Kushinada. Her shouts were gone now and she might have been able to find Susa. I do not want them to worry about me when there was no need. And there was no need…right?

Before I can take another step, the sound of something rushing through the air reaches my ears. I pause and look around, wondering if it could be some sort of fast plane. The rushing wind stops and ten men and woman around surrounding me, all of who are wearing strange velvety robes and are mounted on…flying brooms. I stagger backwards, the back of my heel bumping the unconscious body of the hired killer. I glance back at him a second before looking around at the people floating in the air on the broomsticks.

What is going on here?

“Ivan Cor Tsunomi, son of Miki and Naoki Tsunomi. You are hereby charged with the crime of underage magic use in the Muggle world of Nagasaki, Japan. You are going to have to come with us so we can take you to your guardian, Hama Anima Tsunomi.” One of the men surrounding me says after pulling out a scroll of old looking paper. He rolls the paper up and smiles down at me, holding his hand out. “Everything is going to be just fine, son. I am sure we can get you off with just a warning since this is your first offense, not to mention the fact that you are Miki Tsunomi’s son.”

I shake my head, looking from the man’s hand to his face before dropping to the ground and covering my ears with my hands. “NO! Get away from me!” A strong wind picks up around me, swirling like a small tornado. It moves out away from me and ten screams fill the air. I look up, lowering my hands from my ears, confusion holding me in place. The strange people on brooms had been knocked to the ground by the wind and were now having a hard time trying to get back to their feet or onto their brooms again.

I rise to my feet and look around at them for a second before dashing down the street towards my house. By that time, Kushinada should have been able to find Susa, with his sensitive hearing and she would be safe at his house. Now, I just needed to get away from those strange people and find Hama so she can help me. “Ivan, wait! You are not in trouble! We are here to help you!” I hear a woman yell from behind me but I do not stop to look back at them. This is all too crazy. First, that guy trying to kill Kushi, then that weird violet light from my hand, the tattoo, and now those strange people on flying broomsticks dressed in robes.

I have to keep running until I get home. Hama has to know what is going on. She always has the answer to everything. This time will not be different. I am sure of that.

I burst through my door after unlocking it. I slam it shut behind me and kick off my shoes, jumping into my slippers before tearing through the house looking for Hama. Her car was outside which means she just got off from work and was probably in the kitchen getting dinner started. “Hama! Hama! Something just happened!” I yell, as I reach the living room, “This weird guy tried to kill Kushi and then…” I turn into the kitchen and freeze. The ten people from before are sitting around the kitchen drinking tea and smiling up at Hama, their broomsticks leaning against the wall next to the kitchen table. “Hama…”

Hama smiles at me weakly, setting down the teakettle on the counter and moving towards me. I take a step back but she reaches out a hand to me, placing it firmly on my shoulder. “If you merely calm down, relax for one minute, I will be able to explain everything to you. Are you ready to calm down now?” I look up at her, watching her eyes for a long moment. This is my sister, the woman who has taken care of me, who has been there for me my whole life. She was the one who stayed up with me at night when I had a nightmare. She is the one who plans my birthday parties; she is the one who sits up with me when I have a fever. I sigh and nod. “Okay, Auntie just called and she says that Kushi is going to sleep over Susa’s house for the night. Akiyama-san told me about what you did to that mercenary, though. I am pretty impressed. It was your first major spell and you completed it without any problems.”

I look over at the people at the table and they all smile at me and wave. “I do not understand. What is going on here? Why did that freaky guy want to kill Kushi? Who are these people? What was that bright violet light that surrounded my hand?” I look down at my hand at the violet tattoo and hold it up to Hama’s face, “Moreover, what is this thing on my hand? It looks like the family crest?” She grabs my hand almost roughly, running her fingers over the pattern lightly at first but then a little harder, as if she was trying to rub it off. I pull my hand out of hers and massage it gingerly.

“So it is true…” She whispers, lowering her head and smiling bitterly. “You are going to have to know everything, Ivan. Everything that we know at the very least, which may not be enough but it is all we have right now. Ivan, our parents were wizards. They could use magic and all that kind of stuff, like in one of Susa’s video games, only without the crappy sound effects. It may be a little hard for you to understand, but you are a smart boy and you have already seen firsthand that this is real.

“You are a wizard, Ivan. At least, you have the ability to become a wizard, a great and powerful wizard like our father used to be.” She places her hands on my shoulders again, “Somewhere in Scotland there is an ancient castle protected and hidden away from the Muggle world, that is the non-magic people. This castle is where young children with magic go to learn more about their powers and learn not to abuse their powers once they finish their schooling. The castle, the school, is called Hogwarts. Both of our parents went there. So far, everyone from the Tsunomi clan has gone to a magic school. So far, only our father has gone to Hogwarts. You were chosen to go to Hogwarts, Ivan.” I stare at her for a moment and she grips my shoulders, the slight pressure bringing me back from the reverie I had been slipping into.

“I still do not understand. That does not explain anything that happened to me today. Just tell me everything, Hama. We have time.” I say firmly. She nods and pushes me into the kitchen, forcing me to sit in one of the chairs at the table.

“I will explain everything to you in due time, Ivan. You must be patient.” She leans back against the counter across from me and I look up at her, shrugging my shoulders simply, more for something to do rather than having any purpose behind the action. “The headmaster of Hogwarts sent a letter to me a couple of days ago, saying that I should pay close attention to you, that if you showed signs of any strange behavior that I would have to tell you about…everything. He also said that if you received a mark, a mark of a violet dragon on my right hand, I would have to send you to Hogwarts so you could be given the proper teachings that a chosen one would receive.”

”Chosen one?”

“An Elemental Dragon.” Replied the woman next to me, smiling sweetly as I turn to look at her. “There are only six Elemental Dragons in the whole world. They are not dragons, as the name would suggest, they merely have a permanent mark of a dragon on their wand hand. The mark usually appears when the person performs their first task of magic, not the usual stuff that comes from tantrums or just because you concentrate too long. The real magic that you use that actually forms as an aura around your hand before being released. It only works for the chosen ones, though.”

“Alva, I think you just made the boy even more confused.” Teased a young man across the table. “I think you should leave the explaining up to Hama until she asks for our assistance.” He waves his hand at my sister and she smiles, nodding.

“I told you before that our parents went to Hogwarts. They attended the school for seven years before their training was finished. They came back to Japan and were married two years later. For a few more years, there was peace until a powerful wizard appeared. He wishes to destroy the world by finding six special orbs that only the Elemental Dragons, the chosen ones can hold for a long period of time, or even use to the full extent of their powers.

“These orbs are called the Elemental Stars. One for earth, Venus; one for fire, Mars; one for water, Mercury; and one for air, Jupiter. As you should know, Ivan, the four elements are held under two celestial powers, the sun and the moon.  The remaining two Elemental Stars are Sol and Luna. Sol, which governs fire and earth and Lunae, which governs water and wind.” I nod slowly, waiting for all this to sink in. “The Elemental Stars are powerful on their own, if you know how to use their power properly, but with all six orbs together…their power is devastating.”

“Your parents were part of a special group that was assembled to help protect the Elemental Stars from that wizard. There were not many of them, most of the other wizards and witches at the time were too scared to do anything against the wizard. That or they were supporters of him, be it of their own free will or because he used his powers to place them under a trance so they would follow him.” Offers another young man. He has a strange accent and long, taupe hair tied back in a ponytail resting on his shoulder. He has a solemn look on his face and his eyes—the same color as his hair—seem tired. “He seemed to have a very strong dislike for your parents in particular. It could have been because they had refused to join him so many times, or because they always seemed to be there to prevent him from gaining the Elemental Stars, but he did want them dead.”

“And he got his way.” Hama whispers, “Ten years ago from this very day, our parents were called away on a special mission. It seemed that the wizard had discovered the location of one of the Elemental Stars and had planned to retrieve it that night. Our parents went, alone. It was a trap and our parents were killed in a bloody battle.” This was the first time Hama ever said anything about our parents. Was it too much? Did I really want to know everything now that I knew how they had died, who killed them and what they were involved in? Was I going to be caught up in this? How deep was I in this already?

Hama shakes her head, a strand of pale violet hair falling onto her forehead. “Ivan, that man you saw today, the man who was trying to kill Kushi, he was hired by one of the wizard’s supporters. He was supposed to go after you but there was a mix-up and they thought that she was the one who was the Elemental Dragon of Air.” Elemental Dragon of Air? That would explain the color of this marking on my hand and it would explain that strong wind that surrounded me when these people tried to take me back to Hama after I knocked out that man. I look down at my hand. How had I done that, though?

“But Kushi knew him, she said that she knew him and that he was trying to kill her, not me.” I try to say, shaking my head and shutting my eyes tightly as I put my hands on the sides of my head again.

“Because we thought that Kushinada was the chosen one, the Elemental Dragon of Air. All of the signs pointed to her and not you.” Said the man with taupe hair. “It came as a big surprised to us that you were the one. I suppose it was not that big, considering who your parents were.” I take a deep breath and lower my hands to my lap and turn to look at him.

“What was so special about my parents? You act as if there were such great people? What did they do while they were alive to make you think so highly of them?” It may have sounded rude to them but they sounded like they knew my parents when they were alive or at least have heard something about them. This is the first time anyone has ever said anything about my parents to me, aside from what my grandmother would sometimes tell me but those were just stories about my dad when he was younger, there were no stories about my mother when she was growing up. All I had of them were pictures. These strangers had more of a memory of my parents than I did and I was their son.

“You do not know?” The woman next to me asks. Hama shakes her head quickly.

“Our parents told me not to tell Ivan about any of this, about them, about magic, if something bad happened to them, if they did not come back. They did not come back so I honored their wish by keeping everything from Ivan. He has lived the life of a Muggle child ever since that night. He knows nothing of our world or what my parents accomplished while they were alive.” The wizard at the head of the table, the one with long taupe hair turns to me. I can tell that he is the kind of person that you can trust with your life in any situation. He has a kind, serene aura about him and even thought I have just met him and I do not know his name, I take comfort in his presence.

“Because of this, we will let him off with a warning not to use magic in the Muggle world while he is still an underage wizard. We expect it to never happen again unless you are under attack or in any immediate danger and nowhere near your sister. It will only be as a last resort, do you understand.” It may not have been a question, more of an order, but I nod anyway. “If that is all, we should be going now. Hama, I trust that you will fill him in on everything before you come to your final decision. Picard wishes that all of the chosen ones to attend Hogwarts. We do not want a one of them going astray or falling into His clutches. Take care, the both of you.” They rise from the table as one, grab their brooms and walk out of the kitchen, the door opening and shutting silently.

Hama sighs and slips into a chair, resting her head on the table. “I am sorry that you had to find out this way, Ivan. I would have given anything for you to find out differently. I was planning to tell you this morning but you were out the door before I could say anything to you.” She seems so young right now, so small and vulnerable, nothing like the woman who raised me. I rely on her far too much. I think she can do everything on her own all the time but she is still human. She needs help just as I do.

“It is all right, Hama. You just wanted to fulfill Mom and Dad’s last wish, for me to live a normal life away from all this magic and chaos. They might have known that I was the Elemental Dragon of Air and that if I performed a spell, this marking would appear and then I would be easily found.” It was sensible and right now, I needed something logical to hold onto before I slipped into this confusing world of magic. “I am thankful for what you did for me, Hama. I needed to live a normal life for this long to just…take a breather but I am ready for whatever I must do now. Can you tell me more?” She looks up and smiles at me.

“What do you want to know?”

“Kushi and Susa…do they have magic like I do?” She nods, “But they are not going to go to Hogwarts like I am? They have to go to a magic school here in Japan, right?” Another nod. This is the first time I am going to be away from Kushinada and Susa. For my whole life, ever since I could remember, they have been at my side. We were inseparable, even when we found out that Kushi and Susa were betrothed to each other. I was actually the one who talked them into going through with it. “Hogwarts is somewhere in Scotland…that is really far away, Hama.” She stands up and walks around the table, standing behind me and wrapping her arms around his shoulders and leaning down to kiss my cheek.

“It may not sound that tempting now, Ivan, but this is going to be the best for you. At Hogwarts, you are going to be among other people just like you and you are going to be protected as long as you stay within the walls of Hogwarts.” I feel my eyes begin to burn but I bite down hard on my bottom lip to fight the tears off. “You can come home for holidays and then there is always summer vacation. Kushi and Susa are going to have to go to magic school as well. Susa is going to Majutsu Meiyu in Hiroshima and Kushi is going to Eien Chuujitsu in Asahikawa. If you had not been a chosen one, you would most likely have had to go to Himitsu Hokori in Osaka.”

“I see, so even if I had not been a chosen one, I would not have been able to go to the same school as Kushi and Susa.” I sigh and turn in my chair slightly to hug her. “If I go, what are you going to do while I am gone? I feel guilty for leaving you all by yourself.” She smiles and releases me, walking to the stove to start to cook dinner.

“Do not worry about me, Ivan. I can more than look after myself and if there is any trouble that I cannot handle on my own, Uncle is close by for me to go to. If you are worried about me getting lonely, do not. You know me very well, Ivan, and you know that I do not get lonely.” I smile weakly and turn away, folding my arms onto the table and resting my chin on my arms. “Hogwarts’ school semester starts in September, just like Kushi and Susa’s. Preparations are already being taken care of as we speak. Do you remember that one man with the long, light brown hair?” I nod, “Yes, well, he is one of our cousins as well.”

“Really? So that was why I felt so comfortable around him.” She smiles, laughing slightly. “He seems a little different though. He did not sound or look Japanese to me.”

“No, he is our cousin on our mother’s side. His name is Cyric Deverell and aside from being apart of the Ministry of Magic, he is also one of the professors at Hogwarts.” I being to nod but stop and lift my head from the table, turning around to look back at her.

“Ministry of what?”

“Ministry of Magic, Ivan. Do you think that witches and wizards can just go around without laws of their own? The Ministry of Magic makes up the laws and they are also in charge of making sure that the Muggles do not find out about the wizarding world.” I incline my head slightly.

“And that would be a bad thing?”

“Muggles, just as wizards, fear what they do not understand or what they cannot control. There is a difference between what we chose to do about it. If the Muggles ever found out about the wizarding world, they would come to us for their problems. Magic is not to be abused; it is a very special gift that must be nurtured and not taken for granted. If you just throw your magic around there would be no more point to it. It would not be special anymore.” It makes sense but even so, for the first time in my life, I wish that I did drink because I would have gotten drunk right here at the kitchen table.

“Wait, Hama, why were we talking about our cousin a second ago? You just brought him up and then you started talking about the Ministry of Magic.”

“Oh, right. You are going to be living with Cyric for holidays, unless you want to stay at Hogwarts, which is possible. Kushi and Susa are going to be staying at their schools for the holidays and it would be boring just the two of us. Cyric and I discussed it while you were out today. He is just fine either way, you either staying at his house for holidays or staying at Hogwarts.” She pauses and tilts her head to the side, “Oh, that’s right. Cyric stays at Hogwarts for the holidays as well, so you are going to have to stay in the castle with him. Now what were we talking about before…? I think he wanted you to stay for the summers.” I feel my jaw drop. Stay in a stranger’s house for three months! I did not even know this guy, sure he was family but we still did not know each other.

“St-stay with him over the summers? I thought I would just go home for the summers.” She sighs and wipes her hands off on a dishtowel before walking over to the refrigerator and opening it up.

“Cyric thinks that it would be pointless to just send you back home for three months when you would be just fine there, living with him.” I groan and let my head fall to the table with a thud. There is no use in arguing with Hama now, she seems pretty adamant with sending me off to live with this guy. “He is a great guy and I know that he is going to take good care of you while you are living with him.”

“Seven years.” I whisper, “Those years are going to seem so long without Kushi and Susa, especially in a strange country where everyone speaks a different language. Learning English is hard enough for me, Hama! You know they have a completely different language in England.” She laughs as she closes the door to the refrigerator, brining out two eggs.

“You are going to do just fine, Ivan. You are a Tsunomi after all, always remember that.” I look down at my hand and smile at the dragon marking. That is right. I am a Tsunomi and I will be able to pull through this as long as I believe in myself…I hope. After all, seven years cannot be that long, can it? “A couple of weeks before you semester starts at Hogwarts, we need to go into London and get your school supplies. Do you think you can hold out until then for your birthday present?”

“Sure, as long as I don’t have to wait that long for a birthday party. Kushi and Susa are going to come over tomorrow and sleepover, is that all right?” She nods and I hop out of my chair to the telephone in the living room to call Susa’s house to tell them they can come over.

After the plans are set, I drop onto the couch and lie on my stomach, staring at the television, not really paying attention to what was happening. This day had started out so normally. It was normal all throughout the school day with the exception of Narita-sensei’s weird behavior. Then that strange man who was hired to kill me but went after Kushi instead because everyone thought that she was the chosen one. This is seriously dangerous. Am I just realizing this for the first time? Kushi and I could have been killed today. We were lucky that neither of us were hurt.

I roll over onto my back and stare up at the ceiling, resting the back of my hand on the forehead. Someone out there wants me dead or at least out of the way and he might come after my family to get his way. I need to become stronger. I need to learn how to use my powers so that I can protect everyone that I love from this man.

It is strange. I should be afraid that there is someone out to kill me but for some reason, I feel somewhat excited. I learned more about my parents today and I found out that I was a wizard, not only that but a chosen one, one of the Elemental Dragons. I am also going to the same magic school that both of my parents attended.

For the first time, I am going to know less than the other students do. About everything. To make things worse, my parents were some sort of heroes and I do not even really know why. I still do not really understand this whole Elemental Star thing.

I am going to be away from my family for the first time as well. I have gotten so used to seeing Susa and Kushi everyday. Then there is Hama…she says she can manage living alone without getting lonely but I am not so sure. If I stay here though, without the proper training, I will not be able to protect her if someone comes after me and tries to kill me again.

I bring my hands up to my face and close my eyes as I cover my face and shake my head quickly, groaning slightly. There was only one option left to me if I wanted to stay alive. I had to go to Hogwarts and I had to learn how to control my magic properly. More importantly, I have to get stronger.

Hama walks into the room and sits down on the couch with me, moving my legs out of the way first so that she can sit down. “I do not want you to be confused about things when you get there, Ivan. Is there anything else that you want me to tell you?” I think about it for a moment but there really is not anything else that I need to know, right?

“Can you tell me more about the Elemental Stars and the Elemental Dragons?”

“I told you all that I know about them already, Ivan. No one has seen the Elemental Stars in ages, or so we have been told. Picard suspects that a couple of the students at Hogwarts have two of the Elemental Stars and are keeping them hidden.” I lower my hands and sit up.

“You said that only the chosen ones can hold onto the Elemental Stars for long periods of time. Unless those students are Elemental Dragons, they should not be able to hold them, right?” She nods. “If they are Elemental Dragons, why would they hide the Elemental Stars? Aren’t we supposed to be protecting them or something?”

“That is right, but he does not think that any of the chosen ones already at Hogwarts are involved with whoever is hiding the Elemental Star…or Stars there. It has to be someone else.” She leans over and ruffles my hair, “You are going to have to get along with the other chosen ones, okay? You all are going to have to get along or He will be able to tear the Elemental Dragons apart very easily. If that happens…”

“Revenge can make people do crazy thing.” I say with a smile. “Who is He, though? That wizard that is after the Elemental Stars? But what is his name?” Hama shrugs her shoulders as she stands up. “You don’t know?”

“Very few remember his real name and few dare to utter the name he goes by now. You should not have to worry about him while you are at Hogwarts, Ivan. If you need to know more, though, I suggest that you ask the headmaster, Picard Fionn.” She waves to me from the hallway before disappearing again. “Dinner is going to be ready in a minute. Get cleaned up.”

The next morning, I wake up to Susa jumping up and down on my bed with Kushi waiting patiently next to my bed. I sit up, kicking Susa off the bed as I run my hands through my hair, combing the tangles out of it. “You guys are here early. Is there something wrong?” Susa stands up and looks down at his watch.

“We aren’t early, you’re just waking up late. I guess using that spell must have taken a lot out of you. Hama told us all about it! You are the Elemental Dragon of Air! That is so cool. All of us thought that it would be Kushi for sure.” Kushi blushes slightly but waves her hand.

“We were worried about you, Ivan. First that guy who was trying to kill me and then the Ministry of Magic sent those wizards and witches after you because you were using magic in the Muggle world and you are underage…” She shakes her head, “A lot happened yesterday. I am surprised you got up at all.”

This is all too weird. They are talking about all of this as if it is an everyday occurrence. It may be for them but I have been kept in the dark about all of this until yesterday. I stand up and walk over to my closet, taking out a change of clothes and pulling off my pajama top. “Let’s not talk about that right now. I just want to have a normal day for my birthday. We can talk about all this magic stuff later.”

“You’re so lucky, though. You get to go to Hogwarts.” Kushi smiles, “It is one of the best magic schools in the wizarding world. A lot of great wizards and witches came from that school. Everyone from your mother’s family went to that school as well. The Deverell family is very famous among the wizarding community. They were one of the first wizarding families in the world. Many queens and kings were a part of the Deverell family.”

“So my mother could have been royalty?” I ask, grabbing a belt and buckling it around my waist. “I wonder why Hama never bothered telling me.”

“And I wonder why Grandpa did not approve of her.” Commented Susa, stretching and sitting down on my bed. “I mean, she was part of a well-known wizarding family that is in the same class as the Tsunomi clan and she is also royalty, just like some of the members of the Tsunomi clan.”

“Maybe just the fact that Dad ran off with her and did not follow Grandpa’s wishes. It could be a number of things but I do not think that Grandpa is ever going to tell us if we ask him.” I open my door and lean against it, looking back at them. “I do not want to worry about that right now, though. Today is my birthday, right? And in September each of us are going to go our separate ways. We need to make the most of the weeks we have left together.”

“Especially you, Ivan. We aren’t going to see you for seven years.” Kushi sighs and pulls Susa off my bed, pushing him out of my room. I follow them with a smile. “And you better not let anyone push you around over there, do you hear, Ivan? I know how passive you can be. Susa and I are not going to be there to stick up for you so you are going to have to stick up for yourself and show everyone that you are not to be pushed around.”

“Yeah, because if anyone messes with you, Ivan, they mess with me.” Says Susa, punching a fist into the air. I smile at them and shake my head. “Now, it is time to pig-out on ice cream and play hours of video games! I call dibs on the main character!”

“You always call dibs on the main character, Susa. Give one of us the chance to play the main character.” Kushinada says, grabbing a newspaper from the coffee table, rolling it up and hitting Susa on the head. “I do not think it is very fair that we always do this. You play the main character, who usually ends up getting captured or something because you chose the wrong answer to a very important question earlier on in the game and Ivan and I end up having to try to rescue you.”

“You think you can do a better job, Kushi?” asks Susa in a challenging voice, smirking at Kushi. I sigh as I sink to the floor, sitting down on a pillow as Susa puts the disk into the game system and turns it on, handing out the controllers.

“Yes, I think that I would be able to do a better job than you, Susa.”

“Then you can be the main character this time, Kushi.” It is hard to imagine in just a month’s time, I will be in another country, far from these two. I know I have other problems, like worrying if I am going to be able to survive or not, but I cannot help but wonder if I will be able to fit in. From what everyone says, I am a pureblooded wizard, strong ancient magic coming from both sides of my family. What is my magic will not work when I want it to, though? Would I be laughed out and then turned away from the school? Would I just become some disappointment to my family? Sure, I was smart and in the top portion of my school, but in my family I would be an outcast would could not use magic.

“Ivan, is something bothering you? You’re really quiet.” Comments Susa, jumping in front of my character in the game and saving me from a monster. I smile weakly at him and nod.

“I was just thinking about something.”

“Everyone gets nervous, you know.” Kushi says placidly, “Especially the first years. Are we going to be able to fit in with the other wizards and witches in training? Are we going to be able to perform the spells the way we are supposed to? Is anything even going to happen?”

“Magic is not allowed in the Muggle world outside of school and even the students going to the schools who have known that they had magic all along have never performed a spell outside of school. You are going to have an advantage over the other students since you cast two successful spells the other day.” Susa laughs, “Saving Kushi and then fighting off ten adult wizards and witches. People are going to be talking about that one for a while.” I did not like the sound of that, it made me nervous to think that people were going to be talking about me before they even knew anything about me.

“But I didn’t mean to do it. It just sort of happened without me really even wanting it to.”

“It was instinct then, but still, I think you left an lasting impression on the people yesterday, especially that guy who was after me.” I look back at Kushi and sigh. “Just try not to worry about it so much and you will do fine. You come from a very good family; no one can tease you about that at the very least. No one should even know that you know practically nothing about the wizarding world and you can keep it that way because you are a fast learner. Before they find out that you know nothing, you’ll probably know more than they do.”

“I seriously doubt that, Kushi. The wizarding world seems so much bigger than the Muggle world, there is still a lot for me to learn and I do not even know if I will be able to understand it if someone does explain it to me.” Susa laughs, throwing his hands up into the air.

“I know the perfect class for you then, Ivan! History of Magic! Suya said that that class was so boring when he and Hama went to school that they actually decided to get together and try to liven it up once. At Majutsu Meiyu, those two were considered the worst troublemakers to ever attend. I have a name to live up to but I think I can manage to pull off some bigger pranks that the Tsunomi duo while I am there.” Kushi kicks Susa in the back with her foot, making him turn around and give her a glare. “Watch it Kushi or I might just plan to sneak into Himitsu Hokori and turn your hair pink.”

“You had better behave, Susa. Your mother will not be happy if she finds out that you went and got yourself detention your first week at your new school.”

“Ah, you’re no fun, Kushi. Ivan, are you going to pull any pranks at Hogwarts? I think that they need someone like you there to ruffle some feathers.” I groan and slump against the side of the couch, casting a quick spell in the game to kill a couple of monsters before turning to look at Susa.

“I don’t know. I do not really feel like it is my place to do anything like that. I am used to following the rules and such and being a model student but that’s here in the Muggle world, in the Muggle schools where I actually know something.” I stare up at the ceiling, “At Hogwarts…I do not know where my place is, really.”

“Okay, who wants cake?” Hama calls from the kitchen, breaking us away from our thoughts about magic school and away from the game. Kushi pushes pause, making Susa and I stop as well.

“Come on, birthday boy, it’s time for the birthday song!” Susa and Kushi lift my from the ground and drag me to the kitchen where Hama is waiting for us.

A couple of weeks before September, Hama takes me out of school and explains to the principal that I would now be attending a prestigious prep school in Scotland, which was not too far from the truth. After that, she takes me back home and makes me stand in front of the fireplace. She then pulls out a long, slender wand from her pocket and points it to the burnt ashes lying on the floor in the fireplace, after a few choice words and a blaze of light from the wand, a crimson fire is roaring in the fireplace.

“Whoa! How did you do that, Hama?” I gasp, turning away from the fire to look up at her in surprise and awe. She smiles at me as she slips her wand back into her pocket.

“It was magic, Ivan. You will be able to do that soon enough, just not out of school. You will have to wait until you graduate from Hogwarts, which is going to take hard work but I am positive that you are going to be able to pull it off. You are just as smart as mother was.” I blush at the compliment even though I did not know just how smart my mother had been, it feel good to be compared to my parents in such a way.

Hama pulls out a small leather pouch from her bag and unlaces the soft cord that holds the top together. She sticks her hand inside the pouch and pulls out a small pinch of glittery dust before throwing it into the fire. The fire roars once again, rising up high in the chimney before calming down and changing to a cool emerald green color. I take a frightened step back but the burning emerald green fire holds my eyes captivated as the flames dance in the fireplace, licking the walls now and then.

“What was that?”

“Floo powder. We use it to travel to other places.” I tear my eyes away from the dancing flames this time, gapping at Hama’s smiling face.

“T-travel? What do you mean travel?” She smiles and places her hands gently on my shoulders before pushing me towards the flames, “Hama, if you love me at all, you will not make me—“ Before I am able to finish my sentence, she gives me a hard push and I feel myself being pitched forward into the fireplace. I brace myself for the burning sensation and almost scream when I realize that I am not burning. There is a strange tickling feeling all around me and I open my eyes to see the green flames licking at my body.

“Just say very clearly ‘Diagon Alley’ and then you will be transported. Once you arrive, just wait for me and I will be there in a second.” I practice the words in my head, silently cursing myself for slacking on my English.

“Diagon Alley!” I breathe carefully. At first, it seems as if it did not work but then I feel a strong pull and my body begins to spin rapidly, the scenery before me blending and merging together before I shut my eyes tightly and wraps my arms around my body to make sure I did not hit the sides of the chimney.

A long moment afterwards, I am falling forward, too numb from shock to flail my arms about to grab onto anything or put them out in front of me to protect myself from the fall. I shut my eyes tightly again, waiting to crash onto the hard wooden floor when a pair of strong, warm arms catch me, pull me up and shake me gently. I blink, cringing for a moment, still expecting to fall face first onto the ground.

Somber pale blue eyes are looking back down at me with a mixture of concern and annoyance in their cerulean depths. Maybe it was from just the shock of someone actually catching me but my heart skips a beat as I stare up into those eyes. “You should watch where you are going kid, you could have gotten yourself hurt.” He releases me roughly, pushing me back away from him and stalks off through the crowded room. I watch after him. His words where crude and harsh but something in his tone of voice made me feel as if he was actually worried about me.

I shake my head and put my hands on my cheeks to feel them warm. What am I thinking? He was rude to me! He does not even know me! Where does that guy get off being rude to me after he just met me? It was not as if I asked him to catch me, he could have just let me fall onto the ground. Curse him and his…oddly soothing accent. I turn on my heel sharply and walk right into Hama. She grabs onto my arms to steady me.

“Be careful, Ivan. It looks like this pub is pretty crowded.” She takes out a handkerchief and holds it to my nose, “I do not want you breathing in the smoke. Come on, we have to get your school supplies.” I look back to where that guy had disappeared to but I lost track of him. Good, I did not want to have to make Hama beat him up. I smile and laugh silently at the thought.

“Uh, Hama…” I pause for a moment, quickly thinking of the words in English before I continue, “What do we need for my school that we could not have gotten in Japan? This place looks really strange.” I look around at the old fashioned stores as we walk out of the…pub as Hama had called it. The streets were narrow and cobblestone and the buildings were built closely together, towering up high in the sky.

“I just thought that we should test your English out here while getting your school supplies. You might even meet some of the students that attend Hogwarts while we are here as well.” My mind drifts back to the guy who had caught me and I narrow my eyes, puffing my cheeks up in anger. I just hope that not everyone here is as rude as him or I am going to have some problems getting along with the other students at Hogwarts.

I lift my hand up to brush my bangs out of my eyes and a small group of passing girls around my age, stop, gasp, giggle when I look at them and then run off down the street, talking a mile a minute. I blink back at them, wondering what could have made them act like that when I notice that I had brushed my bangs back with my right hand, the hand with the dragon marking on it. I let out a sigh and shove my hands into my pockets, not wanting a repeat of that. It did seem that the Elemental Dragons were well known in the wizarding world, the reaction from those girls had proved it instantly.

Hama holds her hand out to me and I take it so as not to be separated from her. It is strange; Hama is not really a physical person, not after all her past relationships with men failing miserably and she is rarely ever holding my hand when she takes me places. I smile as she gives my hand a gentle squeeze. This is my sister. It is going to be so hard to live without seeing her everyday.

“I think we should get the things we need for your uniform first.” She pauses next to a store, pulls out a small piece of paper, and unfolds it to read. “Three sets of plain work robes, black.” Her pale violet eyes scan the buildings for a moment before she finds what she wants. She folds the paper up again and drags me over to a store called Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions. I lean back to read it but Hama pulls me into the store before I can finish.

A small woman leaned around a counter as the door opened, a bell ringing above our heads. She only went to Hama’s shoulder but was still taller than me. I duck behind Hama as she walks towards up, smiling kindly. “Hogwarts, I expect.” Hama pushes me in front of her and I nod silently, my cheeks reddening with embarrassment. “Seems a lot of you are arriving here today, another Hogwarts boy is in the back getting fitted right now. Follow me.” Hama pushes me after the woman and I have no choice but to follow her to the back of the store, Hama trailing behind me.

As we round the corner, my eyes fall on a young boy around my age standing on a stool with his arms held out at his sides as a woman measured him for his robes. I blink at the boy, knowing it was rude to stare but not being able to help myself, I continue to do so. His skin was quite pale and his hair was short, tousled white-blonde hair and pale crimson eyes. Hama pinches my cheek and I turn to glare at her sharply. She leans forward and whispers into my ear, “It is rude to stare, try not to do it again, especially here, Ivan.”

I nod, rubbing my cheek as the woman who led us here asks me to step up onto a stool next to the other boy. I glance at the boy out of the corner of my eye as he stares off out the window. “It is rude to stare.” He whispers softly, so softly that I almost did not hear him. I snap my eyes forward, going rigid. “It is okay, I am used to people staring at me.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” I apologize, reddening slightly at his words. He seems so sad, it is strange. Could he be an orphanage? I do not see his parents around here anywhere. “Um, so you go to Hogwarts too?”

“Yes, I am going to be a first year this year, and you?”

“It is going to be my first years as well.” For the first time since I met this boy, he smiles weakly, the action reaching his cherry red eyes.

“I’m dreadfully nervous. I am going to be the first one in my family to go to Hogwarts in a while. My dad is a Muggle and my mother is a squib.” I turn slightly to look at him, confused and he frowns slightly, “Oh, a squib is a witch or wizard without any magic. My parents were so happy when they found out that I had magic…” He smiles again, “My name is Lykis Cloud.” Hama gasps and we turn to her.

“Cloud, as in…” Lykis shakes his head quickly and gives Hama a stern look. Hama trails off and tries to recover, “Oh, I must have mistaken you for someone else.” Lykis looks down at his feet after that, falling quiet silent. I glance from him to Hama and back again before deciding not to bother.

“My name is Ivan Tsunomi.” He looks up and I hold my hand out to him for him to shake. Hesitantly he reaches over and shakes my hand. On his left hand, I notice something strangely familiar…a pale violet, European dragon with a sole dagger piercing its chest. “Ah, you’re a…” He must have noticed the marking on my hand as well.

“And so are you. There is a legend that each of the Elemental Dragons are connected to each other in some way or another. Be it of friendship, anger, or love and one way or another, they will all come together under the protection of the Wise One.” I tilt my head slightly. The protection of the Wise One… “It is nice to meet you, Ivan Tsunomi.” He hops off the stool as the woman tells he him can leave and hands him his robes. “I am sure that I shall be seeing you again soon.”

“R-right.” He bows to Hama and walks out of the store, the bell jingling as the door opens and closes. I do not know what to make of that guy. He seems good-natured enough but I do not know how I should be judging the people of the wizarding world, everything here is so different and complicated from what I knew in the Muggle world.

As soon as we finish getting everything for my school uniform and all supplies, we make our last stop at the wand shop. Hama pauses in front of the door, looking up and down the street before giving me a reassuring smile. “Ivan, I am going to run off an buy your birthday present now, okay? You can do this on your own, can’t you, sweetie?” Before I have a chance to answer, she pushes a leather pouch full of wizarding money into my hands, “Just tell the owner you are here for a wand and he should be able to help you out. Once you are done, meet me at the ice cream parlor and get some ice cream for yourself.” She dashes down the street and I stare after her, wondering why she insisted on running so fast. I let out a sigh and look back at the school, pushing the door open and walking into the silent shop.

A very old man is leaning against the counter, his eyes following me as I move further into the store. “Um, I am here for a wand, sir.” He nods with a smile and laughs slightly, the sound a bit dry in his throat.

“Of course you are, Mr. Tsunomi.” I blink at him, a little taken aback that he would know my name. I slip my right hand in my pocket again, trying to hide the dragon tattoo. “And do not bother hiding the fact that you are a chosen one, I already know. As did your mother, she was quite the seer when she was alive.” Another person who knew one of my parents. I feel a slight pain in my chest at the thought that so many others at Hogwarts would know more about my own parents than I did.

“So your wand hand is your right hand, eh? Very well then, you should be easy enough to find.” The man disappears behind the counter for a moment before reappearing near a shelve, pulling down what looked to be a shoebox, he opens it up and pulls out a long, slender stick. A real wand. A smile nervously as he hands it to me. “This is made of phoenix feather and holly, 10 inches. Just give it a little wave.” I bring the wand down slowly, pale white sparks flying from the end. He takes it from my hand and gives me anther wand. “Unicorn hair, yew, 9 inches.” I wave it to the right this time but he takes it just as soon as I move my arm.

After a long moment of searching, he thrusts another wand into my hand. “Dragon heartstring and redwood, 12 inches.”  The dragon on my hand glows and a violet jet of sparks shoot out from the tip of the wand. He smiles and claps his hands together. “And so it seems we have a perfect match.”

“So it seems.” I whisper a little breathily. Once I pay him for my wand, I hurry from the shop, looking around for the ice cream parlor Hama wanted me to meet her at. I see her sitting at a table, talking to one of the waiters and apart from the bags of my school supplies, there is one new thing sitting on the table in front of Hama, a dome-shaped object with a white sheet covering it. Hama waves to me when she spots me and I walk over to her, sitting down in a chair and setting my wand down on the table.

“So, what kind of wand did you get?” She asks with a smile, leaning across the table and grabbing up my wand.

“Uh, d-dragon heartstring and redwood…12 inches.” I say with a sigh. She smiles.

“That sounds a little like Father’s. Of course, no two wands are ever the same.” I poke the sheet-covered parcel on the table and a singsong squawk comes from the object, which I now figured was a cage. I jump back slightly, almost tossing myself out of my chair and onto the ground. “Ah, this is your birthday present, Ivan. I did not want you to get lonely while you were at Hogwarts and since you should have a familiar, I thought that I should get you a pet to keep you company.” I look at her, surprised as she merely smiles at me.

“A pet? Hama, you really did not have to do that…” She waves her hand at me.

“Nonsense, you more than deserved it for being such a polite little gentleman all your life and getting impeccable grades each year in school and then saving Kushi from that assassin.”

“Who happened to be after me.” I say miserably. I had not done anything. I just wanted to help Hama all my life. It was instinct to save Kushi, anyone with half a brain and a heart would have tried to protect a loved one. “Thank you, Hama. This really means a lot to me.”

“Ah, but you have not seen what I got you yet. Wait until we get home and you can take the sheet off.” She stands up and gathers the bags.

”Aren’t we going to stay for ice cream?” She looks back at me and shrugs her shoulders.

“It is getting late and you need your rest. Only one more week left in Japan. Cyric wants you to get accustomed to living with him, so you are going to stay at his house in until school starts.” I wish she would tell me things beforehand. I let out another sigh and follow her back to the pub we had arrived in.

When I stumble forward back into our living room, I decide that I really dislike traveling by Floo powder. Hama stumbles in after me and hands me the cage with my new pet in it. Susa and I found an injured kitten once and nursed her back to health but Grandpa found her and made us put it out in the streets again, after that, I had pretty much given up on ever having a pet again.

I set the cage down on the table and grip the top of the white sheet before tearing it away from the cage. I feel my breath catch in my throat for a moment before I blink at the magnificent crimson and gold-feathered bird sitting in the cage, its head tucked under its left wing. “Hama, what…”

“This is a phoenix. Its tears have the power to heal and its song can sooth any soul. Also, when it is time for the phoenix to die, it will explode into a crimson fire and out of the ashes, it shall arise anew.” I blink from her to the sleeping phoenix. I knew this. The phoenix was a symbol of immortality for many and it was truly a beautiful creature. “What are you going to call it, Ivan?” I shift through my mental list of names until I find a suitable one.

“Fukyuu. Immortal.” She smiles and wraps her arms around my shoulders. “Thank you, Hama. This is the best gift I could have ever gotten.” Not just the phoenix but the truth, about everything. I was finally beginning to learn more and more about my parents. Instead of a downward spiral of confusion, I was riding up toward the light. One day, I might even know everything about them and then I can be as proud of them as everyone else in the wizarding world is, maybe more so. They were my parents after all.

Golden Sun: Magic Abound

By: Padfoot-chan

Chapter 2: Hoggy Warty Hogwarts

Kushi and Susa came to see me off the day I was supposed to go to Cyric’s house. “This might be the last time we see each other for a long time.” Susa says with a sigh as he pats my shoulder. Kushi and Hama roll their eyes but Kushi is the one to actually do anything. She pushes Susa roughly into me. “Argh! What was that for, Kushi? You certainly have been more violent towards me lately.”

“It’s because you are such an idiot. If you want to hug Ivan, you should go on and do it. We might not see him for seven years unless by some miracle we meet up at the Quidditch World Cup, but I doubt Grandfather is going to let us go.” I glance at Hama and she waves her hand.

“Cyric is a big fan of Quidditch so he is sure to take you to the Quidditch World Cup. As for what Quidditch is, it is a sport that wizards play by flying around in the air on broomsticks. Whoever has the most points wins.” Susa gives me a quick hug before pushing me back and turning to Hama.

“It’s much more than that, Hama! You cannot just give a simple explanation like that to Ivan, he needs to know more about it! Quidditch is the best sport around! I am going to try out as soon as a spot on the team opens up for me.