Chapter 4 : Dancing Joy

Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter & Code Geass, but for the sake of the story, I've changed most of the character's names. The characters' appearances will remain the same, and while I'll try to stick to the time line of Harry Potter, I can't guarantee I wouldn't make mistakes.

Note to all : I'm an avid follower of Japanese Anime & Manga, so pardon me for the references and implications and character traits from typical Japanese Anime & Manga that probably will surface now and them throughout my story.. Oh, and forgive my frequent run-on sentences. A big thank you to each and everyone who has been following and reviewing this story! (:

Ah.. I've taken a really long break. Here's chapter 4 (5, actually) of Doubt & Trust!
Once again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading and following this story! (:

21st July 1991 ; 08:32 a.m.

Three floors up from the ground level, through an open window of the Stadtfeld's residence, a cool breeze danced its way into the dust-free bedroom, stirring the air gently - an unexpected, temporary relief for her agitation. Her brows were furrowed with extreme concentration, lips pursed in frustration. Fingers rapping on the wooden table she and her older twin brothers sat at, she stared intendedly at the board, hoping the next move would somehow magically come to her.

"Give it up," Calvin piped in with a grin. "You're never going to get it," finished Keith, Calvin's twin, as he mirrored the grin, knocking his head of bright, red hair together with his twin's.

The table shook dangerously for a moment as she gripped it tightly, willing not to be taken over by her annoyance. Settling down finally after a long moment of listening to her brothers snicker, she cast her attention upon the chess board on the table again, trying her best to think it through. There must be some way out of this, something she could do! They couldn't have had her trapped just like this!

As she sank into deeper thoughts, she noticed not how her second oldest brother sneaked a peak behind her shoulder, nor how he withdrew from her cerise hair while sighing in amusement.

"Knight to B7," he whispered lowly by her ear, only to have her piece move magically on its own to the assigned spot, while at the same time hacking the twins' queen piece out of the way.

"Thanks, Ray!" she sighed, sinking into her chair in relief, as the damaged queen piece was hastily swept off the chess board by her nearest pawn.

"That's not really fair, Raymond.." Lillian, their youngest sister, injected suddenly; she appeared out of nowhere and started worming her way in between the twins, who were sharing an armchair. Raymond, who was already trying to sneak out of the room, turned back and flashed a grin in everyone's general direction.

"They're playing 2-on-1, so it's not really fair for Kallen, too," Raymond reasoned. He seemed to have decided that, since he'd gotten himself involved, he might as well stayed. Withdrawing his wand, chipped at some parts but still holding itself somewhat proudly, Raymond gave it a twirl and conjured an arm-chair out of mid-air, which he sank into after pushing it close to Kallen's.

"She challenged us to it," replied Calvin with a sigh, forcing a fake frown on his face. Beside him, Keith tried his best to imitate Calvin, but somehow failed miserably; the resulting expression he plastered onto his own face caused everyone in the room to burst out into teary laughter for almost as long as the minute held.

An unintelligible curse, followed by a series of loud thuds, sounded from the room just beneath the one they were all in. "Will you lot just keep the noise down?" An angry yell followed the sudden silence everyone fell into, and died away as everyone in the room above glanced at each other guiltily.

"Well, the summer holidays just barely started.." Kallen finally broke the stale silence with her whisper, shooting a worried glance at Raymond - the eldest amongst them all, who returned her a shrug. "What'd you guys reckon Edward's doing, always hiding himself in his room?"

Edward - Kallen's third older brother, who was older than the twins as well - had always been known for being touchy, but otherwise good at keeping his own temper in check. His outburst meant that they were really noisy.. Or he was unusually agitated at the moment.

"Knowing him, he's probably working on a top-secret report about his discovery on the 500 new uses of Dragon Dung," one of the twins injected slowly, easing their worries into a gradual grin with every word. "Or trying to memorise the whole coursework for next year's NEWTs," continued the second twin as he started grinning too. "It's nothing to worry about," the twins chorused.

"But still-"

"Kids- breakfast, now, at the dinning table!"

The gentle, but firm voice of their mother's, left them no space for arguments.

Groaning, made to ignore their chess game, everyone shuffled out of the room one after another; each feeling distinctly puzzled but helpless as they strolled past Edward's tightly-shut room door.

21st July 1991 ; 09:13 a.m.

Chewing through a tough piece of toast still hanging between her lips, Kallen found herself glancing up to find Edward joining them at the dining table only a whole quarter of an hour later, radiating a suspiciously lethargic, but self-satisfied aura. By then most of them had long finished their breakfast; Kallen and Lillian found themselves to be the only ones still eating at the dinner table, with Raymond reading the newspapers and the twins huddled in a corner of the dining room, deep in discussion. Their mother, Mariel Stadtfeld, occupied herself with washing the dishes; with a wave of her wand, the dishes start dancing and rinsing themselves in the basin filled with soap and water. Gulping down the remaining corner of her toast, Kallen smiled at Edward as he took the seat right in front of her own, and asked, "Did something good happen, Ed?"

"Not particularly," Edward replied, though unable to hide his broad smile, while helping himself to the thinning stack of toast and jam.

"I told you, he'd been memorising the coursework.."

Three pairs of eyes - Raymond's with raised brows, Edward's sudden furious glare, and Kallen's twinkling with laughter, turned and focused on the pair of twins, who seemed to have wrapped up their private conversation, and were making their way back to the dining table.

"So, what's up for the 3rd chapter in D.A.D.A. for the 5th years this year?" Calvin grinned, and took the seat beside Kallen's.

Caught off guard by the question, Edward automatically replied- "Werewolves again, but in greater details in terms of- Why am I even telling you this?" he grumbled, putting down his toast as though he'd lost his appetite.

"You were caught off guard," Raymond offered, putting down his papers. On the front page Kallen caught sight of a picture of a young boy, no more than her age, walking off some pavement off the screen, and apparently not noticing the camera at all. Before she could try to figure out the headline upside-down, Raymond folded the papers and put them aside, reaching out for his coffee. "By the way, you seem to have an odd amount of feathers stuck to your sweater."

Looking away sadly from his wasted toast to his sweater, Edward started brushing the more visible bits of fluff off the woolen top. "I hadn't noticed."

"Been sending owls, Mr. Know-It-All?"

"To his pen-pals, probably. Mr. Edward-the-brilliant can't possibly be sending love letters to his girlfriend."

"Or the lack of a girlfriend.."

"Shut up, the both of you!"

Kallen smiled, stirring her cup of warm cocoa as she listened to the laughter surrounding her. This was how their mornings began in her home - in the 'Burrow', an affectionate name they have for this house of their family's. Kallen was certain she would miss her home when she was finally admitted to school, because that meant that she would only be able to return during winter and summer term breaks.

"Speaking of owls, the letters from Hogwarts are a little late this year, aren't they?"

This caught the attention of everyone in the room, except for Lillian, who was still munching on her toast. It was understandable; Lillian was still a year too young for the Wizarding school they studied in, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The post this year would bring them no important news, aside from whether Kallen was accepted into Hogwarts - or not.

Kallen glanced around for everyone's expression, then looked down at her lap. What if she was the reason to why their letters from Hogwarts were not here yet? Perhaps the headmaster could not decide if she was worthy enough for Hogwarts - after all, other than the one time where she accidentally uprooted a tree behind their house while trying to get her stuck broomstick out of it, she could not remember other scenarios where she has displayed traces of magical abilities inside her at all.. The only things that reminded her of her possible magical abilities were the fact that she was born into a line of pure-blooded witches and wizards, and that she lived in a very much magical household.

That, however, was often not enough to keep her convinced.

"Don't upset your sister, Calvin, it's nothing to worry about," their mother had abandoned watching the dishes wash themselves, and approached to give Kallen a pat on the head. Looking up at her mother for reassurance, Kallen noted her mother's tight smile, as well as a suspicious, saddened glimpse that was reached her just before her mother looked away to move towards Lillian. Since this wasn't the first time she has noted such actions, Kallen shoved these thoughts to the back of her head for their lack of explanation.

Perhaps she would understand, in due time, perhaps after she had enrolled into Hogwarts.

"You'll be accepted into Hogwarts and get sorted into Gryffindor in no time.."

Kallen watched as Mariel patted Lillian gently on her head.

Was that directed at me, or at Lillian, mother?

"But eww, I don't want to be stuck in the same house as them!" Kallen laughed aside her doubts, pointing at the twins as she tried to break the tension she felt. "Imagine, having to share the same common room with them for 6 more years!"

The twins looked at each other and grinned. "You won't have much of a choice," Keith laughed. "It's predetermined that all of us will end up as Gryffindors. Look at us- Look at Edward and Raymond.. Even Leonard had been a Gryffindor!" Calvin added with a whistle.

Leonard was their oldest brother - he had graduated from Hogwarts 3 years ago, and was now working as a Curse Breaker in Egypt, for the Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

"Even your father and I were Gryffindors, too.." Mariel piped in, a dreamy expression spread arranging her soft features.

"Mother.."

"Probably where they met-"

"-and fell in love-"

"-and did it in the common room-"

"CALVIN! KEITH!"

"You're not denying, mother?"

"Oh, of course we didn't! Now stop it, the both of you.."

Gradually, the sound of soft but steady flapping of wings reached their ears. Looking out of the window in unison, the Stadtfelds watched as a great, grey owl soared through the skies, apparently intending to glide right through the side of the window which was opened - until it crashed loudly in the side of the window that wasn't opened, before falling into a tangled mess of feathers and letters into the lawn.

Lillian dropped her toast in shock; the rest of the Stadtfeld boys, Kallen included, tried their best to hold their wince straight.

"Oh dear, that poor bird.. Raymond, go get him, will you?"

"Of course, mother."

That was their family owl - Lotson, although he did not sound as bright or strong as his name had intended. Lotson have been their family owl for ages, so much so that he was referred to as ancient - not even their mother could remember where and when exactly had they came to own Lotson as a family owl.

Undoing the heavy stack of letters from Lotson's leg, Raymond gave the big bird a quick ruffle on the head before he sent it into the lawn to laze around before being fed. "It's the letters from Hogwarts!" he announced happily, bringing the letters back to the dining table before sorting them out. "Here's one addressed to the family - this one's to Edward-" Edward reached out promptly to receive his letters, and wasted no time opening it. "- Calvin and Keith - here's yours, Kallen. Weird, isn't it? Usually they'd send everything in a single letter."

Everyone fell silent as they opened, and read their specific letters. Kallen held hers gingerly in her hands, nervous about opening it - what if she wasn't accepted, after all?

"The books are going to be expensive again, mother. Why do they always pick the pricey ones for us to read?" Keith complained with a loop-side grin. "Doesn't make sense. Not like they'll make us any more brilliant than we already are."

"Maybe they'll make the both of you less playful," Mariel replied immediately, glancing down their booklist. "We'll manage, don't worry.. This means a shopping trip soon!"

"How's your letter, Kallen?" Lillian asked suddenly, upon finally finishing her piece of toast.

".."

"Open it! It's probably about the sorting ceremony - and how you'll have to fight the mountain troll they keep locked up in the basement of the school."

"Wait, what? Mountain troll?"

"Yeah, they sort you according to how well you fight against it.."

"Stop scaring your younger sister, the both of you."

Slowly turning the envelop around in her hands, Kallen plucked carefully at the wax seal of the school of Hogwarts, and drew out a yellowish piece of parchment.

"Dear Ms. Kallen Stadtfeld," she begun reading, uncertainly. The smiles of her family members encouraged her on, and for a brief moment Kallen was able to put all of her fears aside. Returning a comforting smile to the best of her abilities, Kallen glanced down at her letter, and continued.

"We are pleased to inform you.. That you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Kallen swore she could have squealed, resisting the urge to throw the letter into the air. "I've been accepted!"

After a quick round of hugs and kisses, most of everyone settled back in their seats. "We expected," Calvin mumbled stiffly, trying to sound as though he didn't care. "Nothing less from our sister!" Keith injected.

"I've been accepted.." echoed Kallen happily, sinking into her chair. She was about to daze off again, until she noticed that her brother, Edward, was still sitting stiffly in his own seat. Now that she probably thought about it, Edward hadn't been with them while they were hugging and cheering..

"Ed? Edward? Are you alright?"

This was the cue for everyone's heads to turn; Edward looked up at her, his eyes wide and his mouth open, looking at her without seeing.

"I.. I.."

Keith reached out to snatch the parchment from Edward's hands - normally, it would be the invitation for another round of brotherly argument; but this time, Edward barely moved, let alone acknowledge that action.

It took Keith barely half the minute to scan through the writings on the letter.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, no," he whispered in horror as he passed the letter to the first person on his right - Calvin.

"Oh, no, this can't be right!" the other of the twins cried out once he was done with the letter.

"What happened!"

"The Gryffindor tower will collapse.."

"Will you pass the letter on, Calvin?" Raymond asked, sounding exasperated.

"This.. This is the darkest event in the whole Gryffindor history!" Keith exclaimed, in dramatic tone worthy of Shakespeare's works.

".." Leaning forward, Kallen snatched the parchment from Calvin's hands as he waved it in the air, withdrawing a safe distance before proceeding to read it. "It says here that Edward's been made.. A prefect.."

While the twins chorused a groan, their mother rushed over to squeeze Edward into a tight hug, tears escaping from her eyes. "That's the second in the family now, Edward! Your father and I are so, so proud of you!" Saying so, she landed a wet kiss on his cheek. "This calls for a celebration for Edward and Kallen, I suppose." Raymond smiled, reaching forward to pat Kallen on the head once more - not without tousling her pinkish red hair slightly, while shooting her a wink. "Good job, and good luck getting sorted into Gryffindor!"

"Do I really have to fight a mountain troll to prove myself?" Kallen asked, over the commotion in their tiny dining room.

"Of course not, they're just kidding you."

Standing with the sharp scrapping of his chair's legs against the floor, Edward finally escaped from their mother's hugs, and made to run upstairs. "This good news- I must tell Reila about it!"

This exclamation took everyone in the room by surprise - again.

"Reila? That Reila in fifth year, from Ravenclaw?"

"I told you he's been sending owls to his girlfriend- WAIT WHAT?"

"That doesn't sound right at all.."

As her brothers pushed and play-punched Edward all the way up to his room, Kallen sank back into her chair at the dining table, still clutching her letters from Hogwarts to her chest. She was accepted into Hogwarts.. Excitement still apparent in her flushed cheeks, Kallen leaped off her chair and launched herself into her room. Now she was relieved - mountain trolls or not, Hogwarts here she come!