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This is an WIP fanfiction crossover between Kingdom Hearts and Harry Potter I am currently writing.
It will take place after Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance and during the events of Harry Movies/Books 4-7.
It will take place after Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance and during the events of Harry Movies/Books 4-7.
Spoiler Show
Spoiler ShowSora had laid on the beach, lazily, for hours. He had dreamed of his adventures travelling the worlds, meeting new friends, and striking down those who would upset the balance of the worlds. He lay on the beach still, sleeping quitely.
"Sora! Wake up, you sleepy head!"
Sora woke up, per the voice's request.
"What's wrong, Riku?"
"We have a letter. From Mickey."
"What's it say?"
"I don't know. It's addressed to you."
"Since when has that ever stopped you?"
Sora took the bottle from Riku's hand and took the paper in his hands. He read it aloud.
Sora
Ever since you and Riku escaped the Sleeping Worlds, all has not been well in the worlds. Heartless have been popping up everywhere! In most of the worlds, the locals -- your friends, like Aladdin and Hercules -- have taken care of them, but many worlds where you have not been have no way to fend off the Heartless. Donald and Goofy are on their way to the Tower outside Twilight Town. I've ordered them to pick you and Riku up. Kairi and Lea are still training with Master Yen Sid. We'll see you soon.
Mickey
"I wonder what's up?" Sora proclaimed.
"Shouldn't be to much trouble for a Keyblade Master and his wuss friend."
"Hey!"
At that moment, the Gummi Ship appeared in the sky and landed.
"Sora! Riku!" Donald and Goofy proclaimed and leaped onto them, giving a hug. The group exited into their ship, and were soon on their way.
------------------------------------------------
Harry had woken up after another terrible night's sleep. He had had another nightmare about Voldemort and Wormtail. He got up out of bed and headed down the stairs to the kitchen of the Burrow, still in his pajamas.
"Good to see you, mate." Ron proclaimed, still chewing his half-eaten breakfast.
"Morning, Ron," he replied, seeing Ron was still wearing his pajamas as well.
"Harry dear, have some breakfast."
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley."
Harry and Ron enjoyed their breakfast of toast, eggs, and hash browns, and then Hermione and Ginny walked down the stairs, talking about what classes to take this year at Hogwarts.
"Hey, Hermione." Harry said, seeming cheerful for the first time this morning.
"Why aren't you two dressed yet?" replied Hermione.
"Oh, that's right, we're going to see the Quidditch World Cup today. Come on, Ron, our sweaters are still in our school trunks right?"
Spoiler ShowSora remained in his seat for the whole trip to Twilight Town. He wondered what new adventure lay in wait for him.
Donald and Goofy were wondering the same, while they piloted the Ship.
"Look! We're almost to Twilight Town!" said Chip and Dale in unison.
Donald piloted the ship straight towards the tower. After climbing the many stairs, the group finally reached the Sorceror's Chamber. As expected, there Mickey was standing, speaking with Yen Sid. The great sorceror noticed the 4 boys and invited them in.
"Welcome back, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and of course, Master Riku. Mickey and I have some dire news. Recently, a dear old friend of mine, Albus Dumbledore, contacted me. It seems the Heartless have become active in his world, which I shall refer to as The Wizarding World. Albus is particularly concerned of the heart of a Young Boy, destined to face a dark foe in the world. It is for this purpose that I have chosen to send Sora - and Sora alone, into The Wizarding World. You are already aware of the existence of Magic, but the magic you have learned thus far is only the rawest form imaginable. The kind of Magic in this world is powerful, which Sora must learn to face his fate as well. This magic can only be taught in schools of Magic, and it Sora's mission to attend Albus' School, Hogwarts, and learn these magical arts. Sora, I wish you luck. Your true mission is to enter the world, learn the magical arts, to stop the Heartless, and to help this boy confront his destiny. You are aware that time flows differently in every world, and this is no exception - for you see, as one day passes in most worlds, The Wizarding World passes a Whole Month of time. During this journey, your Keyblade will continue to act as your conductor of Magic, in absence of a standard wand from the world. As I have said, Donald and Goofy will not go with you, for their appearances, while normal to us, will cause only disturbances in this world. It is as if the strange feeling of Port Royal were upon them, tenfold. Finally, I leave you with this - complete your mission, and return here safely, and I will name you a Keyblade Master."
The Sorceror spoke no more, only handing Sora a train ticket.
"Good Luck, Sora." Donald told his friend.
"We'll be rootin' for ya!" Goofy chimed in.
"Have fun, and remember to keep your Heart in the light!" Mickey spoke.
Yen Sid snapped his fingers, and input the coordinates of The Wizarding World into the Gummi Ship's Navigation System. Sora boarded the ship, and stuck it on Autopilot. He had to prepare himelf for a journey.
---------------------
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George walked with their Arthur Weasley from the burrow into the forest.
"I hear Ireland is the pick to win this year," Ron was telling Harry.
But Harry's mind was not on the match, it was on the dream he had encountered the night before, and the unknown man he had seen in it.
"Harry? Are you listening?" Ron asked.
"Oh, yeah, sure Ron."
It was then that a boy, about 3 yeas older than Harry, and his father leaped out of the tree.
"Harry, Ron, Hermione - meet Amos Diggory!"
"Blimey, you're Harry Potter!"Amos said.
Arthur then turned to the man's son.
"And you must be Cedric! Alright then the lot of ya, come on, time to get to he Portkey."
Before long, the group had climbed a tall hill. Atop sat a mangled old boot. Each of them touched the boot, although Harry felt stupid for doing so. Suddenly, they were transported through a rift, and all fell off to the ground, save for Amos, Arthur, and Cedric, who seemed to be stepping down stairs in midair.
Soon, they were at the Quidditch World Cup. Bulgaria and their star Seeker, Victor Krum, were playing against Ireland. Later, after the match had completed, Bulgaria had won, and the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione were relaxing in the tent.
Then came the screams.
"Must be the Bloody Irish wailing about their loss," said Ron.
"No, It's not the Irish. We have to get out of here." Ron's dad said.
The group exitted the tent as a group of cloaked, masked figures were casting curse after curse, burning tents to the ground.
"Get back to the Portkey!" Arthur yelled.
Harry tried to get past the screaming crowds, avoiding the Death Eaters, as Hermione had called them, as best he could, but he was constantly tripped up, and fell, knocking himself out on the cold pavement.
Later, that night, all had cooled off, and Harry woke up. His eyes were heavy and painful, but he managed to notice a man point his wand to the sky, yell an unknown curse, and apparate away.
Spoiler ShowHarry looked up into the sky to see a large, green, cloudy skull with a snake slithering out of it's mouth. He began to feel pain in his scar. It was then he heard a voice.
"Harry!" Hermione shouted. "We've been looking for you for a long time."
Harry heard a crack a few paces away, and the trio ducked just in time.
"Stupefy!" yelled several men, as 5 red spells streaked above their heads, colliding and disipatting at the center of the circle.
"Stop! That's my son!" Arthur yelled as he went to help Ron, Harry, and Hermione off the ground.
"Alright, which of you did it?! You've been discovered at the seen of the crime!" A man said.
"They're just children, Barty. And good ones at that."
"Hermione, what's that?" Harry whispered.
"it's the Dark Mark. You-Know-Who's sign."
A few hours later, the group found themselves on Platform 9 at King's Cross Station. It was then that something unusual, even for the Wizarding World, happened.
A flash of White Light, and a boy was standing in front of them. He was dressed in strange clothes, black, with white, red, and yellow higlights, with baggy pants and brown hair even messier than Harry's.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked.
-----
Sora didn't seem to notice anything had been said. He just pulled out his train ticket and read it allowed.
"Platform 9 3/4? How is that even possible?"
A boy then approached him, with messy hair, followed by a red heaired boy, and a very pretty girl, about the same age as this boy.
"Excuse me," the boy said, "but did you say you were trying to find Platform 9 3/4?"
"Uh, yeah. Can you help?"
"On your way to Hogwarts then? Of course. see that wall between Platforms 9 and 10?"
"Yes."
"Just run up to that wall, and walk straight through."
"Straight through? But how is that possible?!"
"Just do it. It won't fail, promise."
Sora did as the boy said, and ran as fast as he could toward the wall. To his astonishment, rather than crash into it and be in much pain, Sora went through the wall. It was then he saw a magnificent Black and Red train with a strange symbol on it's front. It was divided into 4 Parts: The top left corner was rad and had a lion symbol on it, the top right was green and had a snake. The bottom left was yellow with a badger in it, while the bottom right was blue with an eagle.
After he finished examining the train, he noticed the 3 he had just saw walking towards the train. He ran up and spoke to them.
"Thanks."
"No problem," the black-haired boy replied.
"By the way, my name's Sora."
"I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
"Ron Weasley," the red-haired boy continued.
"And I'm Hermione Granger. It's a pleasure." the girl finished.
-------
The brown-haired boy didn't even seem to be surprised like other witches and wizards Harry had met when he heard his name. But for Harry, this was a pleasant occurence; perhaps he had found another good friend.
"So, is this your first year at Hogwarts? Hermione asked the boy.
"Ugh... yeah."
"Interesting. You look about our age. Hope you'll be in our house."
"Thanks."
Harry added "If you can't find a place to sit, just come find us."
"Will do!" the boy said.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione found themselves an some empty seats at last. Stillweary from their recent encounter with the Death Eaters last evening, the group began a rather stimulating conversation as the Hogwarts express sped off.
----------
Sora wandered around the train, desperately looking for a seat. He saw a blonde-haired boy, and two thug-like boys just sitting down.
"Hey, can I sit here with you guys?" Sora asked.
"Shove off, kid." the blonde-haired boy said, "we saw you talking with Potter."
"Fine then," Sora said, and muttered under his breath, "jerk."
To his luck, Sora happened to see a few seats ahead were Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He walked up and opened the door to their compartment.
"Hi again. All the other seats are full." he said, cheerfully.
"Oh, hello." Harry said. Sora came in and joined the trio in sitting.
Sora was clearly having trouble trying to keep up in conversation with the three friends, who were talking about advanced spells and what-not. It was then that the train grinded to a halt.
"What's going on?" Sora asked.
"I don't know - Hogwarts is still about half an hour away." Harry said.
It was then, out in the train's hallway, that Sora saw some Shadows attacking a group of students! Sora rose from his seat, got out of the compartment, and summoned his Keyblade.
"Hey Heartless, looking for me?"
The Heartless left the students, one of which was the blonde-haired boy that had insulted him earlier, and focused on going to Sora. Students looked through there compartment windows at Sora's amazing weapon, as Sora hacked and slashed through several Heartless at once.
"Thunder!" Sora yelled, sending bolts of lightning down on the stragglers. A new batch just formed.
"Expelliarmus!"
Sora turned to see Harry had come outside to help, wand raised.
Sora relied mainly on his physical attacks, while Harry cast spell after spell at the Dark creatures. Finally, all were defeated.
"Sora, what were those things?" Harry asked.
Before he could answer, hermione and Ron had exited their compartment as well and were asking the same.
"Those were heartless," Sora explained, "they try to steal people's hearts, and turn that person into another of them."
Harry and his friends looked rather disturbed at this, and whispered amongst themselves.
"We better take our seats," Hermione repied, as the train began to roll again, "We'll be at Hogwarts soon.
Spoiler ShowThe Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade. Sora had fallen asleep, Ron had as well, and Hermione had gotten to grab something from the sweets trolley, so Harry was alone with his thoughts for a few moments. Harry had thought about his life through his last three years at Hogwarts, how he met his long-lost godfather Sirius Black, hosw he slayed the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, and defeated the Mountaint Troll in his first year. But then he looked at the new boy in his group. Sora. He looked strange, he acted strange, and that weapon... just what was it? But, his contemplation was cut short by Hermione's return.
"Wake up, you two. We've arrived." she said.
Sora and Ron barely had their eyes open before Harry and Hermione were practically dragging them out the train.
"What's going on?" Sora asked.
-----------
Sora had just woken up and was being dragged out of the Hogwarts Express by Hermione. His sleepiness soon vanished as he saw a huge castle on the horizon.
"Wow!" was all he could say.
Sora heard some pounding footsteps walking towards him.
"'Ello, Harry, Ron, Hermione!"
Sora looked up at a mine twice as tall as him.
"Hello Hagrid." Harry replied.
"Well, who's this then?" the giant named "Hagrid" replied.
"Uh... the name's Sora." the Keyblade wielder stated.
"Oh, so you're Sora. Professor Dumbledore's told me all about you. Harry, Ron, Hermione, take this boy up to the castle with you. Dumbledore's got somethin' special planned for him, he does."
Before Sora could reply, Hagrid went back to his previous task/
"First years, come this way!" was the last Sora would hear of Hagrid for now.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione took Sora to a carriage. To Sora's amazement, it was movin without a horse. The 4 climbed into the carriage and were on their way to the castle.
Upon arriving at the castle, the group entered the Entrance Hall, where he met a woman, tall, with a pointed hat atop her head.
"Potter, Weasley, Granger, who might this be?"
"Professor McGonnagal," Hermione spoke, "This is Sora."
"Sora.... Yes, Professor Dumbledore has something special for you. Follow these three into the Great Hall and sit with them until we are ready."
The woman seemed to be of Scottish Descent. Sora did as he told and sat with his new friends. He noticed several adults sitting at the front of the room, in contrast to the 4 groups of students sitting at the other 4 tables. Professor McGonnagal began to speak.
'When I call your name, please come forward and sit on this stool to be assigned to your house. We shall start with a transfer student from another school. Sora?"
Sora nervously stood up, and walked to the front of the hall, and sat on the stool.
Sora felt strange as the Professor placed the hat upon his head, as if it were prodding into his deepest thoughts.
"Well, what have we here?" an old croaky voice said. "Bravery compared to that of even Godric Gryffindor, and the kindness of Helga Hufflepuff. The cunning and potential of Salazar Slytherin runs in your veins, while the magical intelligence of Rowena Ravenclaw is deeply engraved in you. But where to put you? I've never met a mind quite like yours, boy. You have enough knowledge to pass for a 4th year. I, the sorting hat, decree that this one SHALL be a fourth-year....
GRYFFINDOR!"
Sora felt relieved as he walked over to the applauding table where his new friends Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat.
The next few minutes consisted of other students being sorted into their houses, including Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.
Sora noticed the Blonde-Haired boy was in Slytherin as well.
"Harry," he asked, "who is that blonde-haired kid at the Slytherin table?"
"Oh, that's Malfoy. A real jerk if you ask me."
After the students had been sorted, the tall Professor at the center of the teacher's table, the one with half-moon spectacles, stood up.
"Harry," he asked again, "Who's the man who just stood up?"
"Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster."
Dumbledore began to speak.
"Before we enjoy our Term-Beginning feast, I am proud to announce that Hogwarts has been chosen this year to host the greatest wizard competition known: The Triwizard Tournament. As such, students of two other schools will be staying at Hogwarts this year. May I present to you the lovely ladies of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!
At this, several lovely young ladies entered the room, wearing long blue robes and blue hats. They seemed to stop every few feet to glance at Hogwart's students, and one caught Sora's eye.
"Now, may I also aquaint you with the proud sons of Durmstrang!" Dumbledore announced.
At this, several accrobatic boes put on quite a show as well.
"Now that we have all become aquainted, I must explain the Tournament."
Dumbledore pulled out his wand and a gold statue began to melt, revealing a large Cup inside. The cup than began to brim with blue fire.
"The Triwizard Tournament will subject students to three tasks. Three dangerous tasks, all to become the holder of this trophy of their achievment, and all the glory and honor with it - The Triwizard Cup. However, due to recent events, the Ministry has decided to impose a new rule - no one under the age of 17 may sign up to compete."
Moans were heard from Ron's two brothers, Fred and George.
"Any student wishing to compete must merely write their name on a piece of paper and place it into the Goblet of Fire. As of this moment, the Triwizard Tournament has begun.
At this point, a Heartless leaped down from the cieling, landing on Sora, catching him by surprise. He threw the Heartless of him, and prepared to summon his Keyblade, when the heartless was hit with a powerful spell from the back of the room, and dissipated.
"Blimey, it's Mad-Eye Moody." Ron said.
Sora soon learned that this would be one of his new teachers.
Spoiler ShowImmediately after the feast, as Sora was walking to his new house, which Hermione referred to as the Gryffindor Common Room, Professor McGonnagol approached him.
"Mr. Sora, Potter, Professor Dumbledore wishes to see you in his office."
Harry led the way to the headmaster's office. Sora could barely tag along, Harry was walking so fast. As they reached the office, the Professor told Harry to wait outside.
Harry did as asked, leaving Sora and Dumbledore alone.
"Hello, Sora. My old friends Mickey and Yen Sid have told me much about you. It is in my understanding that you are in need of a cover identity while in our world, one that hides the fact you don not hail from it?"
"Uh... yeah, I guess." Sora replied. He hadn't really though about it, but figured it was a good idea.
"Firstly, we must give you some appropriate attire."
The Wizard pulled out his wand, and Robes of Black and Red appeared over his normal clothes. Sora noticed that the symbol of Gryffindor, red with the lion inside, was now emblazed upon his robes' chest.
"May I see your keyblade?" the Professor asked.
Sora summoned his keyblade. The Professor studied it carefully, looking almost pleased by it's gold and silver appearance.
"Very intriguing," the Professor stated, "I am sure you have met Hagrid?"
"Yes, sir."
"Excellent. I'm sure you noticed the pink umbrella at his side?"
"Yes."
"That is Hagrid's wand. It snapped a while ago, and we were only able to fix it through the use of a common device. What I have thought, is that your Keyblade could be your wand - as if it had broken and this was it's mended form."
"Ok. Doesn't seem too hard to remember!" Sora stated.
"Excellent. Now I suggest you retire to your dormitory. Classes begin tomorrow, after all."
"Alright, Professor."
"Oh, and Sora?"
"Yes sir?"
"I am well aware of your past adventures, the power you hold in you... But, I ask, that you do not put your name into the Goblet of Fire. It would not be benificial for a Keyblade Wielder such as yourself to be harmed during the tournament."
Sora understood, and nodded before exiting the room. Harry and Sora made their way to the Gryffindor Common Room, meeting with Hermione and Ron. The friends said their goodnights, and were off to bed.
Sora's first week at Hogwarts was surprisingly cheerful, and he had already learned several spells. And to top it all off, not a single Heartless had in sight. Sora's cheerfulness was short-lived however, after his first Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
"I am Alastar Moody, your new Professor." Mad-Eye had said, "Let's get to work. I am going to teach you today about the Unforgivable Curses. Who can tell me how many there are?"
Hermione's hand shot up.
"Three, sir."
"And they are so named?"
"Because they are unforgivable. The use of any one of them -"
Moody cut her off.
"Could earn you a one way trip to Azkaban. The Ministry does not see it fit for you to see these curses. I say different! You need to be educated, you need to be prepared, and you need to find another place to put your gum besides the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnigan."
Seamus was surprised the Professor had known what he was doing.
"Now then, who can give for me a curse? Mr. Weasley?"
Ron stood up and spoke, "Well.... my dad did tell me about one - The Imperius Curse?"
"Right, Arthur would likely know about that, working in the Ministry."
Moody took out a spider from a small jar, and muttered the growth charm Sora had recently learned. The spider grew to about twice it's size.
Moody then placed the spider on his desk.
"Imperio!"
Moody raised his wand, and the spider floated with it.
"This curse can control the minds of other creatures."
Moody preceded to demonstrate what the curse did - the spider followed his wand's every movement exactly.
He then released it back on his desk.
"Another curse. Longbottom?"
Neville stood up. Sora had met Neville on his second day of Hogwarts in his Herbology class.
Neville spoke "The Cruciatus Curse?"
"Ah yes, you would know that one, wouldn't you?"
Moody aimed his wand at the spider again.
"Crucio!"
The spider begain to emit a high-pitched scream sound which hurt Sora's ears. He could see the Spider was in pain. He concluded this curse was used for torture.
"Mrs. Granger, I don't suppose you would give us the third?"
Hermione shook her head.
"Very well," Moody said, pointing his wand at the spider for the third time, "Avada Kedavra!"
A small flash of green light, and the spider was dead.
"The Killing Curse.... only one person has been known to have survived it. And he's sitting in this room," Moody said as he looked at Harry.
Sora had heard Harry tell of his adventures and life the first night.
Spoiler ShowThe next week was rather normal, with the students attending classes, and every once in a while Sora, Harry, Ron, and Hermione saw someone put their name into the Goblet of Fire. A particularly amusing incident involved Fred and George attempting to use an aging potion to get past the age line Dumbledore had cast.
Finally, the day came in which the Goblet of Fire was to select the three champions. Students of all 3 schools had gathered in the Great Hall. Sora didn't like the looks he had been recieving from either Professor Snape, Potions Master, or Durmstrang's Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, and this night was no different.
"The Goblet of Fire will now choose our three champions." Dumbledore announced.
The Blue Fire suddenly changed red, and spat out a piece of parchment, which the Professor caught.
"The champion for Durmstrang, is Viktor Krum!"
The Durmstrang students cheered as Krum got up and walked into the room off to the side.
"The Beauxbatons champion, is Fleur Delacour!"
The girls from Beauxbatons Academy cheered as well as their champion exitted the room.
"And the Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory!"
The Hufflepuff students cheered as Cedric walked out.
Dumbledore began to walk away, but returned to the cup as the fire grew red once again. This time, it spat out two parchments.
"Harry Potter....and Sora"
Harry and Sora stood up, nervously walking to the champions' room as the students watched.
As soon as they had entered the room, Dumbledore, McGonnagal, Snape, Moody, and the Ministry representative, Barty Crouch, all entered the room. Dumbledore grabbed Harry and Sora and asked if they had put their names into the Goblet, or had an older student do it for them. Both said no.
The teachers and Barty Crouch went onto almost a huddle position, likely discussing the rules.
"The rules are there, Albus. As of now, Potter and Sora are.... our fourth and fifth champions."
---------------------------------
The next few weeks at Hogwarts were rather tense. The whole school was remarking on Harry and Sora being chosen. Gryffindor decided to support both Harry and Sora in the Tounament, while the rest of the school were supporting Cedric Diggory. Ron had been very upset at the fact that neither Harry nor Sora had any idea how they even got entered in the first place. To top it all off, Sora had seen his first Heartless in weeks - during his Care of Magical Creatures class with Hagrid, a Heartless attacked a Ravenclaw student. Sora easily slew the monster, but the student had been scratched, and pure darkness had begun to seep out of the cut. Some Slytherins had been spreading word around that Sora and Harry had been the cause of the attack.
Finally, one night, Hagrid invited Harry and Sora out to the Forbidden Forest - providing they stood under Harry's invisibility cloak, which Sora had marveled at the moment he saw it.
Sora and Harry went out with Hagrid into the forest, and walked about half of a mile before they saw flames coming out of gigantic cages. The creatures inside were huge - they reminded Sora of the Hydra he had faced in Olympus Coliseum only a year prior. Harry saw 5 dragons, determining there was one per champion.
A few days later, Harry, Ron, Sora, and Hermione were walking to and from class across the bridge leading to the grounds, and saw Cedric. Harry stepped away for a few moments.
------
"Cedric! Cedric!" Harry yelled, running towards the Hufflepuff boy.
"Yes, Harry?"
"Dragons. That's the first task." he whispered.
Cedric pondered for a moment before running off, thanking Harry.
-----
Sora had overheard what Harry had said to Cedric.
"Good job, Harry. He should know."
----
About a week later, after being hounded by a reporter for the Daily Prophet, Ms. Rita Skeeter, the first task was preparing. Sora, Harry, Cedric, Viktor, and Fleur stood in the tent, awaiting the Tournament's officials, each in their clothes provided directly for the task. Sora was standing in similar clothers to Harry, gold and red, Gryffindor's colors, with the Hogwarts emblem emblazed on his chest. The only difference between the uniforms was the name on the back. While's Harry's had said Potter, Sora's only showed "Sora". Hermione suddenly showed up, speaking to Harry, wishing him luck, when Rita Skeeter barged her way in, taking a photo of Harry and Hermione together.
"Ah.... Young Love." she said.
Viktor spoke up.
"You should not be here. This tent is for champions. And friends."
Clearly scoffing at the Bulgarian champion, she walked out in a huff, followed short after by Hermione. Soon, Dumbledore, Mr. Crouch, and some other men neither Harry nor Sora recognized came in.
Mr. Crouch explained the rules, speaking of how each was to capture a Golden Egg, vital to the next task, from a dragon. He then motioned for each champion to take something out of the velvet bag he held.
Fleur reached in first, grabbing a small living model of the dragon she was to face.
"Ah, the Welsh Green."
Followed by Viktor.
"The Chinese Fireball."
Cedric chose next.
"The Norwegian Ridgeback."
Sora chose his then.
"The Highland Hydra."
Harry was last to choose, clearly feeling a small pain as he chose the last one.
"The Hungarian Horntail."
-----
Soon enough, Viktor, Fleur, and Cedric had completed their task, and Harry was next to take on the dragon, leaving Sora alone in the tent.
As Harry walked out, he saw a spectacular arena filled with rock. He knew the Hungarian Horntail was among the deadliest of dragons in the world. He drew his wand and walked out from behind the boulders. He peeked his head out to see the Horntail was chained near the Golden Egg he was to capture. As he walked out, the Horntail immediately spotted him, breathing flame. Harry barely had time to dive back behind the boulder.
"Accio Firebolt!" he yelled as he pointed his wand toward the Gryffindor tower.
He ran out in a rush, and leaped onto his broomstick as the dragon breathed his flames toward him.
Harry flew around the arena, desperately avoiding the dragon's clawed strikes and firey breath. Each time he tried to close in on the egg, however, the dragon would bite in his direction. Harry flew away again, narrowly avoiding, as the Horntail broke free from his chains. Harry flew around the grounds, being chased by the Magnificent monster. He had nearly plunged to his doom after being caught on a gargoyle, but managed to reach his broom right as the Horntail caught up. He flew back towards the bridge, flying over it right before he would have struck it. The Horntail was not so lucky, as it hit the bridge and tumbled into the abyss below. Harry flew into the arena in victory, and claimed his egg.
----
Barty Crouch walked into the tent as Sora was contemplating his match.
"Mr. Sora - it is your turn."
Sora walked out into the arena and noticed immediately the dragon was two-headed. No wonder they called it a hydra, he thought to himself, as he recalled his battle with Maleficent's dark form in Hollow Bastion two years ago. He summoned his keyblade, and shot a blizzard spell as a precaution. As expected, the spell caught the dragon's eye, and Sora leaped onto the Boulder, using his gliding power to his advantage. The dragon snapped it's left head's teeth as Sora landed on a boulder near the other side of the arena. Sora figured the dragon was not dumb enough to fall for a second distraction, so he remembered something he had learned while fighting with Cloud - rush in, attack, and get out. Sora rushes in from behind the boulder, and grabbed his egg. But the dragon was not defeated so easily. It began to breathe fire from both heads, as Sora ducked behind another boulder. Sora decided a little Magic would be needed, and leaped out from behind the boulder.
"Deep Freeze!" he yelled, as a large shot of ice was expelled from the Keyblade's tip. The right head was frozen solid, and Sora leaped from boulder to boulder, avoiding the flame from the other head. He eventually leaped onto the dragon's back, and ran to it's head, plunging the Keyblade into the dragon's nostril.
"Deep Freeze!" he repeated, as the dragon's head was frozen inside-out.
Sora raised his blade to the sky in victory, as he left the arena.
Spoiler ShowLater that evening, after the champions had cleaned themselves from the First Task, a celebration was going on in the Gryffindor Common Room. Sora and Harry were the focus of attention. The Gryffindor students were all yelling for Harry or Sora to open their eggs. Harry opened his, and a painfull, screaming sound came out. Harry immediately closed his,as Sora opened his to see if the eggs were defective. The same sound was emitted, and Sora shut his egg.
Christmas was fast approaching and the school was decked out to the T in decorations. Hagrid had brought in 12 trees for the Great Hall alone, and the students of all the schools had been humming carols for a few weeks now. Sora, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat with the rest of Gryffindor House in a room with Professor McGonnagal, who was explaining the traditions of the Yule Ball during the Triwizard Tournament. Professor McGonnagal called Ron up to teach Ballroom dancing to the House, while Sora, Harry, and friends giggled.
Stress was particularly heavy on both Sora and Harry, as both were trying to determine how to get the egg's clue while trying to find dates for the ball. Harry had asked Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw who, as Sora noted, he obviously had a crush on. Unfortunately, Cho had already agreed to go with someone else. Meanwhile, Sora had asked Hermione, but she too was already taken.
In the end, Sora, Ron, and Harry were the last three without dates, and the ball was only a week away - along with Christmas, which Sora was particularly excited about.
----
Harry had finally found a date - Patil Partavi, a fellow Gryffindor, who was of Indian descent. Harry was relieved, but still trying to determine the egg's clue. He had tried for weeks to no avail, alongside Sora, trying to team together to solve the puzzle. Ron had also find Patil's sister as his date, leaving Sora alone to find one for himself.
Sora practically asked every girl in the school - aside from the Slytherin students. One day, however, he noticed a pretty blonde girl over at the Ravenclaw table between classes. Sora walked up to her, nervously.
"Excuse me?"
"Yes?" the girl replied.
She had a very strange manner of speaking - calm, but with a awkwardly weird demeanor, but still friendly.
"I'm still looking for a date to the Yule Ball. My name's...."
"Sora," she completed, "I've noticed you around the corridors. I'm Luna Lovegood, and I'm still without a date myself. I would love to go with you."
"Thank you so much!" Sora said, pumping his fist in the air, "This makes me so happy!"
Sora walked off back to the Gryffindor table, plopping back down next to Harry.
"Guess who just got a date to the Ball?" he said, obviously proud with himself.
"Who is it?" Ron replied.
"Luna Lovegood. She's over at the Ravenclaw table. She's the blonde girl right there." he said, pointing out his date.
----
Christmas Eve finally came. Harry, Ron, and Sora had put on their dress robes, and Ron was particularly disgusted with his robes Mrs. Weasley had sent him.
The trio made their way down the stairs, each clutching their date. As they reached the entrance hall, Professor McGonnagal grabbed both Harry and Sora and took them over to the side.
"Potter, Sora, are you, Ms. Patil and Ms. Lovegood ready to go in?"
"Go in, Professor?" Harry questioned.
"Yes... It is the tradition of the Triwizard Tournament that when the Yule Ball is to happen the three champions... well, in this case, five, are to be the first to share a dance on the floor."
----
As this was happening, Ron watched as Hermione, dressed in a beautiful pink gown, walked down the steps, and took Viktor Krum by the arm.
The five champions and their dates made their way into the hall. The music began to play as Viktor and Hermione, Cedric and Cho, Harry and Partavi, Sora and Luna, and Fleur and her unknown date made their way onto the floor and began to dance. Sora was surprisingly light on his feet, rather enjoying his dance with Luna.
Harry, on the other hand, was not enjoying a moment, even when the other students and teachers made their way onto the floor. Harry wasn't even amused when Filch began to dance with his cat.
The night wained on, and Sora was having a great time, even as the Music changed from classical to rock and roll.
By the time the dance was just beginning, Ron and Harry had sat down, and ther dates had left them. Both decided to go ahead and go back to the Common Room, while Sora and Neville stayed and danced.
Then the Heartless attacked.
Sora immediately summoned the keyblade, attacking the beasts while protecting Luna and the champions and their dates.
Soon, the beasts were slain, but Sora was confused as to how they got in the castle.
----
The next day, Sora and Harry were walking across the bridge from Hagrid's Hut back to the school, when they spotted Cedric. Cedric rushed in, and began to whisper to them.
"I wanted to thank you, Harry, for the tip about the first task."
"No problem."
Cedric leaned in a little closer.
"I want to thank you properly. The Prefect's bathroom is a wonderful place for a bath. Just bring your egg."
"Thanks," Sora replied.
----
That night, Sora and Harry journeyed to the Prefect's bathroom. Turning on the water, Harry got in. Sora had not brought his egg, as he figured that Harry would determine the clue for both, and stood outside, keeping watch.
----
Harry got into the tub, filled with bubbles.
"I've got to be out of my mind," he said as he opened the egg.
The same high-pitched scream came out, and he closed it once again.
"Under the water." a female voice spoke.
Harry looked up to see a ghostly girl's form appear.
"Myrtle?" he spoke, "Did you say under the water?"
"Yes."
Harry grabbed the egg and dipped it under the water.
"Go on... open it."
Harry did as she instructed, and dove his head under the water.
"Come seek us where our voices sound....
We cannot sing above the ground....
an hour long you'll have to look...
to discover what we took."
Harry brought his head back up and pondered for a moment.
"Myrtle? Are their merpeople in the Black Lake?"
"Very smart, Harry. It took the other boy almost an hour to figure it out. Almost all the bubbles were gone." she replied, floating towards him. Harry got up and quickly dressed, and exited the bathroom.
"Sora... it has something to do with the lake. They're going to take something from us, and put it down there."
"Who?"
"The merpeople."
Sora and Harry made their way back to the Common Room, while Sora thought about the new realization. Sora was thought how merpeople could be evil, thinking of his adventures saving Atlantica, and Ariel and the underwater world, from the Heartless. He conluded not all merpeople could be good, and they went to bed.
Spoiler ShowThe Second Task was only a day away, and Sora and Harry were crazily researching to find a way to breathe underwater for an hour. Harry, Sora, Ron, Hermione, and even Luna were in the library, trying desperately to find something, when Professor Moody came in.
"The Headmaster would like to see you lot in the office," he growled.
Harry and Sora were the first to get up.
"Not you, Potter, Sora, just Weasley, Granger, and Lovegood."
The three followed Moody.
"Neville... why don't you help Potter and Sora put away their books." he called out as he left.
As they were puttng the books back, Neville noticed that Harry had been reading a book on herbology.
"You know Harry if you're interested in Herbology..." he began.
"No offense, Neville, but I couldn't care less about Herbology right now." Harry replied, as Sora went back to the Common Room.
"Unless there's some kind of French Shrub that can make me breathe underwater for an hour?" he remarked sarcastically.
"I don't know about Shrubs, but you could always use Gillyweed."
----
Sora, Harry, Neville, and the other Gryffindor students made their way down to the lake, but Ron and Hermione were absent. Harry and Neville were discussing the Gillyweed, while Sora was still determining how to complete the task.
The 5 champions stood on the platform in the middle of the lake, as Dumbledore announced the rules.
"Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions," he began. "That something now lies at the bottom of the Black Lake. The champions will have one hour to collect it and return to the surface, and one hour only. After that, they are on their own. Now kind of magic can save them."
Harry put the Gillyweed in his mouth, and Professor Moody slapped his back, forcing it down his throat.
The task had begun, and Sora was dead last into the water. He was close to drowning, when he raised his keyblade to the sky, and thought of his adventure in Atlantica. Before he knew it, he could breathe again! He looked down at himself, and he had changed into a merperson himself. He looked over to see Harry now had gills, fins, and flippers. The two resolved through unspoken words to stick together.
They fought their way through the Lake, Sora slicing through seaweed with the Keyblade, while Harry took out anything in their path. Soon enough they had reached what appeared to be a sunken city. Sora was filled with thoughts of Atlantica again, but Harry was focusing on the task at hand. The two swam through, noticing Cedric on the way, who had been taking advantage of the Bubblehead Charm, until they began noticing merpeople swimming about.
They finally found what they had been searching for - Ron, Hermione, Cho, Luna, and an unknown girl floated silently, chained to the groung with seaweed. Harry began to slice throught the Seaweed holding Ron with a sharp rock, then began work on Hermione - until a merperson took their trident to his throat and hissed.
"Only one!" it said, menacingly.
"But she's my friend too!" he replied.
He relented, going back to Ron, after a Shark cut Hermione loose - or at least, he thought it was a shark. In reality, he saw it was only a shark's head, with Viktor Krum's body attached at the neck. The Shark went back the way it came, while Cedric severed Cho's bond with a spell.
Harry followed suit, while Sora sliced Luna's bond with the keyblade. Harry noticed nothing was coming for the girl - and determined to save he himself. Sora realized what Harry was doing, and sent Luna floating to the surface, throwing the Keyblade at a merperson to draw them to him, as Harry freed the young girl. Harry dragged, slowly, Ron and the girl towards the surface, followed by Sora. The gillyweed began to wear off - Harry realesed the two to float, while Sora guided them.
They had reached the surface, but Harry hadn't Just as Sora was about to dive back in to save him, a great splash occured, followed by an echo.
"Ascendio!"
Harry, Sora, Ron, Luna, and the girl - whom they would later learn to be Fleur's sister, made their way back to the platform.
Fleur spoke to Harry, Sora, and Ron -
"You zaved her even though she was not yours to zave!"
Fleur gave Sora and Harry a kiss each, then turned to Ron.
"You helped!", followed by a kiss.
Hermione was excited to see them.
"Congratulations!"
"Hermione, we finished last."
"Next to last! Fleur couldn't get passed zee Gringylows!" she said.
Dumbledore then spoke.
"And the first to finish - Cedric Diggory! Although it seems Sora and Mr. Potter would've finished first, if it weren't for their determination to save not only Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Lovegood, but the others as well. And we have decided to reward them both second place!"
Sora and Harry cheered as the group of students, teachers, and officials walked back to the castle.
But Harry suddenly wandered of the path. He saw a familiar hat, and looked behind a tree where he found Mr. Crouch - dead.
Spoiler ShowAfter Mr. Crouch was found, Sora and Harry were asked to come see Professor Dumbledore in his office. The two walked throught the Hallways alone - it was a Saturday, and no classes were going on. Ron and Hermione had gone to visit Hagrid, leaving Sora and Harry alone in the Common Room when Professor McGonnagal summoned them.
They passed by Snape, who was looking through his supply room. He suddenly grabbed them, draggin them in and briefly questioning them on both their activities and about his missing supplies, before accusing them and their friends of making Polyjuice Potion.
As they walked off, Sora asked Harry what Polyjuice Potion was.
"It makes you look like someone else temporarily, It can be useful to get into places you otherwise would never be able to." Harry explained.
Soon enough, the duo had reached Professor Dumbledore's office. He was not there when they arrived, but they both saw a very strange bowl, filled with sparkling silvery-white water. Before they knew what had happened, they felt as if they were being dragged into the bowl.
They felt as if they were falling, and landed in what looked like a courtroom. They saw Professor Moody, and a younger Professor Dumbledore, as well as Barty Crouch, obviously the judge at this trial. Inside a cage in the room's center was Igor Karkaroff, head of Durmstrang.
He was accused of being a convicted Death Eater, but kept naming off names and explaining they were true Death Eaters.
Death Eaters, as Sora had learned, were followers of Harry's enemy, Lord Voldemort, also known as "You-Know-Who" or "He who must not be named."
Oddly, the courtroom reminded Sora of the inside of Hollow Bastion's Castle, but with more light.
Finally, in a last desperate attempt to prove his innocence, Karkaroff yelled out a name.
"Barty Crouch!.... Jr." he had yelled.
Sora gasped, but noticed no one could hear either Sora or Harry.
A man got up and ran straight through Sora, to his surprise, obivously trying to escape, but was grabbed and thrown onto the desk of Mr. Crouch.
"Hello, Father." the man growled, "See what your son has become!"
Mr. Crouch paused, holding back a tear, and said "I have no son," as the man was taking away.
It then felt as though they were being forced out of this memory.
They fell backward onto their backs, and saw Professor Dumbledore.
"It's a Pensieve. It holds memories." he explained, "and I remember that trial very often. After Mr. Crouch was killed, I am convinced that his son must have something to do with it. But, what puzzles me, is how he could get in the castle grounds. It is enchanted to keep out the darkness."
Sora then spoke, abrubtly, "So the Heartless getting in during the Yule Ball wasn't an accident?"
"No." the professor said, "Harry, I believe it is time you knew something," as Ron and Hermione walked in, "Harry, Ron, Hermione... Sora is not from our world. He was sent by a dear friend of mine, also from another world, to learn magic and protect our world from the Heartless. His weapon, which you thought to be his wand, is called a Keyblade, and he is it's chosen wielder. Just as wands choose wizards, so keyblades choose their wielders. The Keyblade is connected to him, heart and soul, and obeys only him. Only it can destroy the Heartless permanently and return the hearts to their rightful vessels. But, it is important not to let anyone else know, for if they did, they might seek other worlds, which would upset their balance. Light is eternal, as is darkness. But for the darkness that is Lord Voldemort and the Heartless, which I believe to have allied together, there is the light of you 4, and of Hogwarts."
The wizard finally sat down, and dismissed them.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione had a million questions burned in their minds, but felt it was not the proper time to ask, as they walked in silence back to the Gryffindor common room.
-------------------
The Heartless attacks were becoming more and more frequent, and on more students. About a week later, Fred had been attacked and injured his arm fending off the Large Body that had struck him. The next day, Sora and Harry stood in the Common Room, when Fred approached.
"Sora, Harry, we need to talk," he began, "so, as you know, I'm one of the beaters of Gryffindor's Quidditch team. But I can't play with my arm like this. So, Sora, I want you to take my place. That key of yours might make a wicked stick to beat the bludgers away."
Sora thought for a moment, and agreed, so long as Harry gave him a quick lesson on flight with a broom. As requested, Harry taught Sora to ride.
On the day of the big Quidditch match, Sora was nervous as Harry explained the rules to him, while Sora wore his new Gryffindor Quidditch uniform.
"Now, Quidditch is played pretty simply," Harry started, "each team has 7 players - 3 Shooters, 2 Beaters, 1 Keeper, and a Seeker - I'm the Seeker."
Harry took out a ball, large and brownish-red, and continued.
"This ball, is called the Quaffel. The Shooters try to shoot it through one of those three hoops on the opponent team's side. Each successful shot is 10 points, and the Keeper tries to prevent them from getting those shots by blocking the hoops."
Harry advised Sora to take out his Keyblade, and stand ready as he loosed a medum brown ball, which immediately flew off, then flew back at Sora. He swung the Keyblade, knocking the ball back into the sky. Sora was offguuard, and the ball struck him in the arm, though not hard, as Harry caught it, and placed it back in the box.
"Those were bludgers. They automatically seek towards players, trying to hit them. Your job is to bat those away with your Keyblade, protecting the other players on your team, and occassionally trying to hit the other team's players with them."
Harry wrapped up his lesson by explaining the job of himself, the Seeker, and the awesome little golden ball with wings, the Golden Snitch.
Sora and Harry prepared for the match against Slytherin, who Sora learned, had Malfoy as their Seeker.
Spoiler ShowThe Gryffindor team exited the tent leading to the Quidditch Stadium. Sora was alongside George, and Harry was in the back. Both teams got onto their brooms and flew into the air. Sora had some difficulty riding the broom, but quickly fell into a level of comfort with the broom.
Madam Hooch walked out onto the field in her referee robe.
"Now I want a nice clean game... from all of you." she said, using her wand to release the 4 balls into the stadium.
The match got quickly become very action-packed. Slytherin took an early lead by making 40 points from the hoops, when a bludger started to fly straight towards Sora. He drew the Keyblade and whacked the Bludger straight out of the stadium, however, it quickly recovered and continued it's work. Harry and Malfoy were on the other side of the stadium, hitting one another as they chased after what Sora could only imagine was the Golden Snitch. Sora would've stayed there in awe, had a bludger not be coming straight towards the team's Keeper, which Sora promptly hit away with the Keyblade.
Harry was chasing after the Snitch while Malfoy was tailing him. Harry reached out his hand to grab the tiny golden ball - which then took a quick swerve upward. Harry and Malfoy would've both gone after it, except an Air Pirate Heartless now was holding it himself. The Heartless screeched, and several more appeared.
Sora turned and took notice of the Heartless. Sora beat a bludger straight into one of them to distract it, and used the Keyblade to rain Thunder down upon the group. Despite the horrifying circumstances, even Malfoy pulled out his wand to assist in the battle. Spells were blasting all over the stadium, as Sora, Harry, Malfoy, and even Ron and Hermione in the stands were blasting at the Heartless. Soon enough, the Heartless were gone, and Malfoy was chasing the Snitch before Harry and Sora had realized the group was gone. Sora suddenly looked up and yelled "Harry! He's almost got the Snitch!"
Harry began to blast after Malfoy, bashing into him, with Malfoy doing the same, both trying to desperately grab the small ball. Sora flew towards a bludger and whacked it the best he could - straight into Malfoy's broom. Malfoy lost his hold and nearly fell off the broom.
Harry reached out his hand once more, keeping his eye out for Heartless and other players alike - and caught the Snitch, earning Gryffindor 150 points- winning them the game.
After the victory, Sora, Ron, Harry, and Hermione gathered in the Common Room after dinner to discuss the Heartless attack during the Match.
"I don't understand how it could've happened," Sora began.
"Sora, you said Heartless are attracted to the Keyblade and to darkness in peoples' hearts, right?" Hermione said.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well," Ron cut in, "I don't know many people with a Heart darker than Malfoy, except maybe - You-Know-Who."
"Maybe between the darkness in Malfoy's heart and the Keyblade being used during the match, the Heartless just couldn't resist," Harry concluded.
Sora did not like this at all, but thought this was a likely scenario. The 4 decided to head to bed, as the Third Task was only a few days away.
Spoiler ShowHermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Ron had made their way into the stands, while Sora, Harry, and Cedric prepared for the third task. The three made their way out onto the field looking towards the large hedge maze.
Dumbledore spoke into his wand once again, and the sound projected round the stadium.
"We welcome you to the Third Task. Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Triwizard Cup deep within this maze. Only he knows it's true location. Soon, the five champions will enter into the maze to navigate it, searching for the cup."
It was at this he beckoned the champions into a huddle.
"I give you a warning, champions. People have been known to have strange things happen in the maze. oh, find the cup if you can, but be forewarned: You might just lose yourself upon the way."
The 5 each took a place near one of the 5 entrances, as Professor Dumbledore raised his wand to speak again.
"One by one, the champions will now enter the maze. But, as Mr. Potter, Mr. Diggory, and Mr. Sora are all tied for first, they will all enter at once, followed by Mr. Krum, then Ms. Delacour. Oh, and if any champion should wish to retire from the task, they need simply shoot up red sparks with their wand."
Sora stood by Professor McGonnagal and drew his Keyblade as he entered the maze. Harry had done the same.
----
Harry ran through the maze rapidly, wand at the ready, waiting for any challenge to come his way. The maze was surprisingly quiet, save for the rustling of his feet on the ground. Soon enough he had found that he had walked in a large circle. He heard a rustling in the ground behind him, and turned - but all he saw was Sora, also clearly searching.
----
Sora approached Harry, and offered for the both of them to look together. Harry accepted, before hearing another rustle. The duo looked around to see Viktor, who raised his wand.
"Stupefy!" he yelled.
Before the spell could hit, Sora and Harry were dragged behind a bush by an unseen figure.
"Expelliarmus!" the boy yelled.
Sora opened his eyes to see Cedric, who had launched the spell at Krum, who was now lying on the ground. Cedric ran towards the Durmstrang student, and raised his wand. Harry ran towards Cedric yelling.
"No! Cedric he's bewitched!"
Sora followed suit, and the three left Krum there, with his wand laying 50 feet away. They soon had split up, with Sora and Harry taking the left of a fork, while Cedric took the right.
Sora and Harry walked up to see Fleur, fallen and being dragged by vines under the hedge.
Harry and Sora looked at one another, silently agreeing what to do.
Sora raised his Keyblade to the sky and shot up three red sparks into the sky. A s soon as he lowered the weapon, a heavy wind began to blow, and the maze started to close behind them, trying to catch them. The two ran, side by side, launching spell after spell at the chasing hedges. They finally managed to dive into a side row of the maze.
They saw a light out of the corner of their eyes. There it was - The Triwizard Cup. They heard something running -looking forward, they saw Cedric. Sora and Harry took chase, quickly catching up with the Hufflepuff student. The three ran as fast as they could - their sides began to burn.
Then the vines tripped up Cedric. Harry and Sora kept running - but Sora turned and began to try to use the Keyblade to cut the vines binding Cedric.
"Harry! Help!" the Keyblade wielder yelled.
----
Harry's mind began to race.
The Cup...
Cedric and Sora...
The Cup....
Cedric and Sora...
Finally, Harry made a decision.
"Reducto!" he yelled, shooting the spell at the vines, which became limp. The three finally made it to the cup.
"Take it! You saved me, take it!" Cedric yelled.
"All three of us. At once. Together." Harry spoke calmly.
The three champions reached toward the cup, touching it all at once.
They felt as if they were being pulled into a vortex. They landed all at once, on cold ground.
Sora and Cedric looked up.
"Harry... Harry where are we?" Cedric asked.
Sora surveyed the surroundings.
"We're in a graveyard." he said.
Spoiler Show"Harry... the cup was a portkey." Cedric said.
The trio surveyed the graves around.
Harry looked at the nearest grave, and read it in his mind.
"Thomas Riddle."
"Cedric.... Sora.... we need to get out of here." Harry spoke, fear bulidng up in his voice.
A flash, and fire lit up under a cauldron in the graveyard's center.
Harry's scar began to burn violently, as he heard a threatening, croaky voice.
"Kill the spares!" it said.
Sora looked up, seeing a man with what appeared to be a wrinkled, evil child tucked under his arm.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A green flash hit Cedric, knocking him backwards.
----
Sora ran over to Cedric,
"No. No." he said, realizing what had happened.
----
The man raised his wand towards Sora.
"Avada Kedavra!" He repeated.
The spell hit Sora, and this time it was Harry who yelled.
----
Sora felt as if he was falling into darkness. He remembered this feeling - it was in Hollow Bastion, when he became a Heartless. But this time, there was no Kairi. He felt a sudden warmth, as if he was being bathed in light.
He looked underneath himself, and saw an image of himself, as if in stained glass.
As he landed on this platform, he saw a familiar figure. Dressed in white, with blonde hair.
"Roxas?" Sora asked aloud.
"He can't hear you."
Sora turned to see a boy who looked much like Roxas, but with different clothes.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Ventus."
"Well, Hi.... Ventus. I'm..."
"Sora. I know."
"What's up with Roxas? Why can't he hear me?"
"He's controlling your body right now. He's trying hardest to bring you back."
"Back? From what? Am I.... dead?"
"Yes. But I don't think a simple Killing Curse is enough to take you out permanently."
"So.... where am I?"
"You don't know? This is your heart, Sora."
"So.... All I can do is wait?"
"Yes."
Sora walked in front of Roxas. His eyes were closed, and he had no expression on his face.
Ventus spoke again.
"Sora.... I think you need to know. Xehanort.... Voldemort.... even Maleficent, they're all.... connected."
"Xehanort? Maleficent?!"
"Yes. Xehanort is using Maleficent... he's trying to turn Voldemort into his thirteenth self."
"What?! But how do you know?"
"Your friend. Riku. He told me."
"Riku?! But.... how?"
"I believe I can answer that." a calming third voice spoke.
The winged boy landed next to the two.
"Joshua?" Sora asked, "How?"
"Sora, I'm not the real Joshua. I'm only a memory from your experiences in Traverse Town with Neku and his friends. But Riku chose me to tell you what was going on. But, as Ventus has already explained, I feel it only necessary to let you know how..."
"How Riku was in my body?"
"Yes. Remember, Sora, Riku and yourself are connected, deeper than you know. Riku can dive into your dreams, you know. Back during the Mark of Mastery exam, Riku didn't knowlingly go into your mind. But, he now knows how to do it willingly. When King Mickey found out about Xehanort's plan, he ordered Riku to dive into your dreams, and alert us to inform you when the time was ready."
"Does that mean.... Riku's in the Wizarding World too?"
"No. He could be, but I doubt it. Your connection to him is so powerful, it can transcend any space. You'll always find each other if you let your heart be your guide."
"Wow. I know that's true, Joshua."
"Good. Now, I think it's about time we get you prepared to save your friends." Joshua said as he disappeared.
Sora looked at Ventus, who was also disappearing. Finally, he looked at Roxas, who was moving again.
"It's time, Sora." Roxas spoke.
"Alright."
Roxas shut his eyes and disappeared, summoning the Keyblade and handing it to Sora right as he faded away.
Sora woke up, as if it was a dream, but lay on the ground, waiting for the right time to strike.
----
"NO!" Harry had yelled as the spell hit Sora.
"Now, Wormtail!" Voldemort said, as the servant obeyed, dumping him into the bubbling cauldron.
Wormtail took out his wand and began the ceremony they had planned for so long.
"Bone... of the father.... unwillingly given!" he said, dropping one of Thomas Riddle's bones into the cauldron with the wand.
Harry was being held in place by the enchanted statue of the angel where Voldemort's father laid.
"Flesh... of the servant... willingly.... sacrificed!" he spoke as he cut off his own hand, dropping it into the cauldron as well.
He then took out a knife, and slashed Harry's arm.
"Blood... of the enemy.... forcibly taken." he spoke, dropping the blood on the knife into the cauldron.
The cauldron exploded, as the figure once inside began to grow into a human form.
The man stood, and Harry saw his nostrils were attached to a face... no nose. He looked like a serpent.
He touched his finger to Wormtail's arm, where a tattoo was; it was the Dark Mark Harry had seen at the Quidditch World Cup.
Several Black Cloaked Figures with skull-like Masks landed, and Voldemort spoke, accusing them of treachery, that Wormtail was the only one who stayed by him in thick and thin, as he gave him a new hand of pure silver.
He then looked towards Harry.
"Harry.... amazing what a few drops of your blood can do, isn't it. There was a time when I couldn't even touch you, thanks to your filthy, Mudblood mother."
He touched his finger to Harry's scar, and Harry began to yell.
"But I can touch you now!" the Dark Lord said.
----
Hearing Harry's yell, Sora had had enough. He leaped up off his back and onto his feet, pointed his Keyblade toward Voldemort, and yelled at the top of his lungs.
"EXPELLIARMUS!"
Voldemort looked over as the red flash hit him, knocking him backwards.
Sora pointed his Keyblade towards the statue, and yelled again, clearly in a rage over both Cedric's death and Voldemort's torture of Harry.
"REDUCTO!"
The statue shattered into a hundred pieces, releasing Harry.
He picked up his wand, and tried to disarm Voldemort.
Voldemort was ready, however, and Voldemort succeeded in casting the torture curse on Harry. Harry got up after Voldemort flicked his wand, and ran behind a grave, followed by Sora.
"Don't turn your back on me, Harry Potter! I want to see the light leave your eyes when I kill you!"
Harry got up, and walked out, despite Sora's protests.
"Fine. have it your way. Expelliarmus!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
The two spells met in midair, and a golden shield began to form around the two wizards, locked with the spells, clearly both shaking fom sheer force.
----
At this, Sora saw a green flame appear out of the corner of his eye.
"Maleficent!"
"Yes, it is I, young Keyblade wielder. I am here to aid Voldemort in meeting his destiny!"
Sora summoned the Keyblade, preparing to battle the witch.
But then, a flash of white light.
Three figures fell out of the sky.
The first drew a Keyblade almost identical to Sora's, but with Gold and Silver reversed.
"Maleficent, we won't let you do this!" the King said.
The other two got up - Donald and Goofy raised their weapons to aid Sora against Maleficent.
Spoiler ShowDonald tried to cast a thunder spell on Maleficent, but it just passed right through her. Seeing this, Goofy tried to ram her, but also fell straight through. Maleficent began to fade away. As she did, a cloud of darkness began to surround the graveyard, and began to form into Heartless. Sora and Mickey plowed through Heartless with their Keyblades, while Donald and Goofy began to fight off the Death Eaters casting spells at the four of them.
----
Neither Harry nor Voldemort could let go. The red and green spells had met in midair, and the golden shield was not showing any signs of breaking. White tails of smoke began to fly out of Voldemort's wand and gather around Harry, forming familiar faces. One formed into a man who looked like Harry, while another into a woman - Harry recognized them as his mother and father. Another formed into the man Harry had seen in his dream the night before the Quidditch World Cup, and the 4th finally formed into Cedric.
Harry's father and mother spoke to their son. They told him that breaking the chain would allow him a moment to save his friends and they would rush into Voldemort to distract him to allow Harry a moment's time.
Cedric finally spoke.
"Harry. Harry, take my body back to my father."
Harry promised he would. He waited for Sora and his friends to be ready, as he saw they were still battling.
----
Mickey and Sora were casting light spells back and forth, destroying Heartless and disarming Death Eaters alike.
"Sora! We'll never take them all out! We've got to help Harry get out of here!" the King spoke.
"But how?! There's too many of them!"
"Sora, get over toward's that boy's body and Donald, Goofy, and I will teleport out as soon as you are gone!"
Sora did as told, and rushed through the Heartless heading toward's Cedric's cold body. He lay down, sladhing any Heartless that came close to him.
"Harry! Break the link!" Sora yelled.
----
Harry heard Sora's yell, and did as he had requested. He pulled his wand like a sword out of a sheath as the 4 spectres rushed towards Voldemort. Harry leaped onto Sora, lying on top of Cedric's body.
"Accio Portkey!" he yelled as the cup rushed towards him.
A brief touch, and the the people were gone.
----
Mickey, Donald, and Goofy put their weapons together, and were gone in a flash of light.
----
Voldemort stood there in shock.
"Where are you Harry Potter?" he yelled.
A flash of green flames, and a mysterious figure appeared in front of him.
"The Potter boy is not the only one you need to worry about. The boy with that key, he too is one who must be destroyed. You see, Voldemort, that key has the power to slay my Heartless minions, and open any lock. As long as Potter and that boy are together, this world is almost compltely safe from all harm. But I must introduce myself - I am Maleficent, and I am here to recruit others with darkness in their hearts to help me rule all the worlds! And you, my dear Voldemort, are essential in my plan. There are many worlds, not just your own. That boy with key - Sora his name - and his lackeys you saw battling your precious Death Eaters, have visited countless worlds and freed them from the Heartless. But, if you and I team together, neither Sora nor Potter could stop us. "
"You make a good point. Tell me, those 'Heartless' creatures... what do they do?"
"They seek to consume the hearts of individuals - including the key bearer you just saw. The Key- or shall I say, the Keyblade - attracts them, and, being filled with raw instinct, leads them to their doom. Every time i try to destroy that foolish boy, he defeats me. But with the darkest wizard in all the worlds working aside me, the Keyblade could be ours! It would allow us to go to and conquer the other worlds in the universe! All people would worship us, and darkness would reign! I have visited other worlds too - and recruited another 4 dark foes to work alongside us, one is a vengeful man who wishes revenge on the 4 heroes who banished him into his own destruction, another is a powerful dragon with the power to cause dark storms and control minds, and the third is the bearer of a mysterious power, given to him by the ones who made his world, although the power is split between him and two others - his third is of power raw, while wisdom and courage lie in the hearts of the other two, while the 4th is a witch who holds a heart cold as ice. Join us, Voldemort, and darkness shall be ours to command!"
Voldemort thought for a moment.
"I accept your offer, Maleficent."
"Then," she said, snapping her fingers as several Heartless appeared, " They are yours to command alongside your Death Eaters."
Spoiler ShowSora and Harry fell into the grass outside the front of the maze. Music began to play before Dumbledore rushed down into the grass, seeing Cedric lying cold beneath them, Harry and Sora weeping at his side.
"Stop the music." he ordered coldly, "this boy is dead."
At that, Cedric's father rushed down to his son, as every student was shocked.
"My son! My son...."
----
Harry and Sora were being dragged by Professor Moody into his class, questioned about their experiences that night, while he was desperately attempting to make....something.
"So what was it like, to stand in the Dark Lord's presence?" was his final question.
Professors Snape, Dumbledore, and McGonnagal rushed in before either could answer.
They restrained Professor Moody as Snape dropped a small potion into his mouth.
"Are you Alastar Moody?" Dumbledore questioned.
"No....." he said gruffly.
"Where is Alastar Moody? Is he in this room?" Dumbledore continued.
"Yes...." the imposter said, while his eyes looked toward the trunk in the side of the room.
Professor McGonnagal opened the trunk, and inside the bottom of a long downward tunnel was the real Alastar Moody.
Harry and Sora looked up as the imposter began to morph.
Professor Snape determined Polyjuice Potion was the cause.
The man morphed into a dark-haired, thin man, about 29 years of age, who Sora and Harry immediately recognized.
"Barty Crouch Jr.," they said in unison.
"Yes...." the man spoke, "I put your names into the Goblet of Fire. Maleficent tipped me off about Sora's being from another world, and told me I would be rewarded if Potter or Sora were killed during the tournament. I got Hagrid to show you the dragons, I tipped Longbottom off about Gillyweed, I enchanted the Cup to turn it into a portkey, hoping you would die by Voldemort's wand. I should have known you two were more cunning than that, though."
At this, Dumbledore silenced the man with a flick of his wand.
"Professor Snape, summon the dementors. Let them know that a man has escaped from Azkaban, and take Mr. Crouch here to them."
Snape walked out of the room, and told Harry and Sora to head off to the Common Room for the night.
----
The next day, Sora, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat silently in the Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore, who was obviously disturbed, stood up.
"Before we begin our term-ending feast, I feel I should tell you what happened to Cedric Diggory last night. You see, Cedric was murdered. By Lord Voldemort. The Minsitry does not wish for me to tell you this. But not to do so, would be an insult to his memory."
The feast commenced, although no one felt like eating. Afterward, Ron spoke to Sora as the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang left in their vessels.
"You know, Sora..." Ron began, "since you don't have anywhere to stay while you're here, you could come home with Fred, George, Ginny, and me?"
"Alright, Ron. Thanks. I have a feeling my mission here has only just begun."
----
Sora and his three friends were soon on the Hogwarts express again, and Sora dozed off.
Inside his dream, he saw friends, foes, and memories - he saw Cedric being killed in the graveyard, he saw Maleficent consumed by darkness and her return, he and Riku battling Xemnas, and himself nearly consumed by darkness and becoming Xehanort's vessel. He saw memories of Roxas, and Ven, and of Neku, and Leon. All of his friends in the blink of an eye. Finally, he found himself within his own heart once again - but the stained glass was different. He saw himself, but also saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He saw 6 strange creatures floating above himself, each with a unique mark. He saw 4 children, each of a different age, and a lion. He saw a green-suited figure and what looked like a beautiful queen standing next to one another, near a wolf. He saw 4 figures he somehow recognized - 2 male, 2 female. In total he saw 21 new figures, including his new friends in The Wizarding World. He saw Riku and Kairi, and Donald, and Goofy, and Mickey, and Jiminy's faces next to his own. Only they, Himself, Harry, Ron, and Hermione's eyes were open. The other new figures' eyes were all closed. Finally, Roxas was also there, with one eye open, and another closed. Three symbols appeared atop the glass - a strange triangular figure with a triangle missing in the middle, what looked like a star, and finally, a piece of candy.
He woke up, trying to figure out what this dream could mean.
Spoiler Show5 figures stood in total darkness in a strange location. They looked at a cauldron showing the boy who lived, the Keyblade wielder, and other figures.
"The boy who lived has been awakened. His world's war has just begun." A zany yet somehow serious voice rang out.
"It is only a matter of time before the wars of our own universes begin." the second figure spoke.
The third figure only stood in there, with a triangular symbol glowing on the back of his hand.
The 4th figure stood, silently cursing the lion and the 4 children, before speaking.
"Each of our worlds has someone or something bathed in pure light. How are we to extenguish these lights?"
"My Colleagues," Maleficent spoke, " May I introduce you to our newest ally. Lord Voldemort!"
A slender figure walked in, with a wand raised.
"So you must be Maleficent's friends." the man spoke.
The four others nodded, showing approval for their new ally.
Spoiler Show
Spoiler ShowSora woke up in his borrowed bed at the Burrow. He thought about what had been going on in his life right now. No, he hadn't thought it - he had dreamt it. The whole past year in The Wizarding World - the Triwizard Tournament, his meeting of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and that encounter in the graveyard - how he and his friends had battled countless Heartless and the Dark Lord of this world - Voldemort. Then, himself getting hit with the Killing Curse. The conversation with Ventus, Roxas, and Joshua. He though of how he missed his friends back home. Tidus, and Wakka, and Selphie - and especially Riku and Kairi. And that new Station in his heart - who were those people, those creatures, and why were they there? Were there destinies intertwined with his own? No. It couldn't be, especially since he had never met any of them before nor seen anything like them - especially those 6 things floating above himself in that dream.
Throughout the summer he had stayed with Ron's family - he soon learned how Fred and George were very good pranksters. A new year at Hogwarts was fast approaching - Sora had found some old 5th year books in the Weasley's attic to use as his own.
Then there was the day Hermione showed up, out of the blue. She mentioned something to Mr. Weasley, although Sora couldn't understand just what it was - something about an order. Order? Could it be from Master Yen Sid? Since Professor Dumbledore knew Yen Sid, could Mr. Weasley as well?
These thoughts soon passed on as Sora, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasley's settled down to breakfast - only a few weeks left until they would leave for school again.
----
Harry sat alone in a park, on the swingset. He had been pondering what had gone through his whole life - Voldemort's murdering of his parents, his last 4 years after learning he was a wizard, Cedric's death in the graveyard - and Sora. What an amazing boy - He was from another world! This meant that other worlds existed too - could one of them be of the dead, possibly a way to meet his parents? And what guarded such a world if it did exist?
His thoughts were interrupted, however, as he heard someone yell.
"Hey Potter!"
It was his cousin, Dudley - and his local ragtag group of bullies right behind him. They began taunting him about his past, how his mom and dad were gone, and about Cedric - apparently he had been talking in his sleep. Finally, he had had enough, he pointed his wand at Dudley's throat. That shut him up just fine, although the others continued their laughing, remarking how "a stick" could hurt them.
If they only knew.
Before long, the bullies had abandoned him, save for Dudley - it had started to rain, and they had to head home. It eventually got so bad, however, that they needed to duck into a Subway tunnel just to stay dry.
Then Harry felt a chill. As he looked around, the pipes, the water - it all began to freeze.
"Dudley - we need to get out of here."
"But it's raining!"
"Run Dudley!"
The dementors had found him. They proceeded to do the deadly kiss of the dementors on the boy and his cousin - why were they here?! What do they want with him?
Harry had learned well enough from Professor Lupin two years before how to tangle with dementors - but this was outside school, he wasn't allowed to perform magic. But this was an emergency, and he raised his wand.
"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted. The dementors flew backwards after being struck with the powerful charm, all the way out of the tunnel.
Dudley had been subjected to the kiss so badly, Harry had to walk him home on his shoulder. When they reached home, Dudley's parents - Harry's Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia gave him full blame and hatred for this condition Dudley now suffered. As always, Harry was at fault for everything bad.
Then the letter - it came flying through the fireplace.
It opened it's seal like a mouth and began to read itself. In an oddly sickening female voice, it said:
"The Ministry of Magic has been alerted to underage use of the Patronus Charm by one wizard by the name of Harry Potter. As punishment for his defiance of the law, which states no underage wizard under the age of 17 may perform any magic outside of school, he is hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Vernon smiled at this. So did Petunia, although both soon noticed Dudley was mumbling about the cold.
Harry left the house, wand and trunk at his side, and began wandering the streets looking for somewhere to go.
----
Riku stood in the tower, facing Master Yen Sid. King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy stood beside him.
"It is good that you have come so diligently, Master Riku. It has time for your mission to help Sora in the Wizarding World. No, you will not be directly helping - only behind the scenes, so to speak. Sora has made new friends in the likes of Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter - Harry Potter is the one chosen to defeat the darkness in his world. He must be protected at all costs. Sora has been doing fine on his own, but the danger in The Wizarding World is far greater than he realizes. It is why I have chosen to send you, Donald, and Goofy into the world to aid Sora and Mr. Potter. As you should recall, a few days ago I explained the rules of the world to Sora - they are no different for you. What I ask that you do is go into the world through a portal I shall create to meet my old friend Albus Dumbledore, and he will direct you to a house known as 12 Grimmauld Place, where I ask that you join the secret protection society of The Wizarding World - The Order of the Phoenix. Harry Potter's godfather, who is an outlaw, will contact you from there. His name is Sirius Black. That is all I shall tell you for now. Mickey, my mission for you is similar - you are already an Order member, and you shall continue you ordeals. But I also have another task for you. However, it does not concern you three."
The Master opened the portal, and Riku, Donald, and Goofy walked through.
Spoiler ShowRiku and his party stepped out on the other side. After their eyes adjusted to the light of the room - candlelight, as Riku noted - they saw an older man with half-moon spectacles. The three stared at the man, unsure what to make of him.
Riku stepped forward.
"Professor Dumbledore?"
"Yes, I am Albus Dumbledore. I presume you are young Master Riku. Yen Sid has told me so much about you."
"Yes sir. I am Riku, and this is Donald and Goofy."
"Hello Professor Dumbledore!" Donald spoke.
"Pleased ta' make yer aquantaince!" Goofy chimed in.
"Yes. The feeling is mutual. Now, Yen Sid has informed me of what you are to do while visiting our world. Did my old friend explain the Order to you?"
"Well, to an extent, sir. From what I understand, it's a secret society used to protect your world from Darkness?" Riku said, clearly.
"Yes, that is the basic point. But, not just anyone can join the order. The heart must be ready and willing to help the light - which is why I have Fawkes."
"Fawkes, sir?"
"Fawkes is my phoenix," the Professor said, gesturing toward the bird,"he senses the innermost light or darkness within our hearts. Fawkes, what do you make of these three?"
The magnificent bird flew over to Riku's shoulder, and sat for a moment, seeming to be contemplating. The bird then shed a single feather.
"It seems Fawkes deems you worthy, Riku. Take the feather he gave you, and put it in a safe place."
Riku though for a moment before shoving the red feather into his pocket.
"I'm sorry, sir, i don't have anything else to carry it in."
The bird repeated his procedure with the other two heroes, to the same effect. Although, to Donald's annoyance, it sat there for quite a bit longer, making his rage grow.
"Stupid pigeon...." the mage muttered.
"Now, Riku, Donald, Goofy. Follow me."
The trio did as asked, following the Professor out of the office and towards a magnificent clock tower, which, although it was late in the evening, Riku noted was part of a spectacular castle.
They reached the clock tower at last, and the Professor motioned for the three of them to join hands together, with Riku taking the Professor's own hand.
A second later, they felt like they were being dragged through emptiness, and appeared on a dark street.
"Ugh...." Riku moaned, "What was that?"
"We merely apparated. It is rather conveinent for getting around our world. Now, I have other matters to attend to - a trial is tomorrow and I have to be a part of it."
With that, the Professor took a brief glance at them.
"Sirius will be here shortly."
The Professor was gone.
----
A few days prior, Sora, Hermione, and the Weasley family were making their way through the streets of London, and Sora noticed it was different from the London he knew in Neverland - the Clock Tower especially.
"Could there be more than one London...." he thought to himself.
They arrived at a somewhat shabby looking apartment building. Sora read the street sign aloud - Grimmauld Place. Mr. Weasley pointed his wand at the building, in broad daylight (though there were no muggles around to see) and the building began to split apart at it's seems! Or so it looked like. After the process had completed, a new door, marked with the number "12" appeared. The group went inside.
Sora found he knew very few of these people - only two, in fact: Mad-Eye Moody and Professor Snape. However, Hermione introduced him to a man named R.J. Lupin, who, Sora learned, was a werewolf. This disturbed him, but he let it slide pretty easy. The other people introduced themselves - Tonks had an unusual hairstyle that changed colors. The last man who introduced himself had black hair and seemed to have been through much stress - his name was Sirius Black. Harry had told him that Sirius was his godfather, and not to believe rumors about him.
Sora came to know these people as the Order of the Phoenix, and made himself comfortable, as they'd be staying there for awhile.
The last thing spoken before dinner was by Moody:
"We get him tonight."
Sora wondered what this could mean.
----
Harry had no sooner left his "family's" home when a series of figures apparated in front of him. In the dark, he only barely managed to recognize a few of them - Professor Moody, and Professor Lupin - the rest were strangers. But soon enough, they had apparated their way to a building at Grimmauld Place. After a quick spell or two, they made their way inside the secretely concealed house.
Harry looked around and saw Fred, George, Ron, and the rest of the Weasley family. THen he looked to see Hermione, and Professor Snape. Sirius was there too, and a goofy figure all too familiar - Sora.
Spoiler Show"Harry!" Sora spoke louder than he wanted too, "What's up?"
"Sora... Ron... Hermione... Fred... George... what are you all doing here?"
"Harry," Moody spoke up, "welcome to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."
"Harry dear. Good to see you." Mrs. Weasley stated, cheerfully as always.
Introductions were made, and then the underage wizards were all asked to go on and explore while the adults had a meeting. Fred and George were curious and had the group listen in on the meeting by a magical device that looked like an ear.
Harry couldn't focus, though. He had been expelled from Hogwarts. However, when he told Hermione, she explained that a trial had to occur first in the Ministry. Mr. Weasley would have to take Harry with him to work.
----
Riku, Donald, and Goofy had stood there for about 10 minutes, waiting for something, anything to happen.
And happen something did.
Heartless.
Tons of them.
Riku and company drew their weapons, preparing to battle the foes, when they heard a bark.
A black dog leaped into their midst, destroying a Heartless. It seemed to want to help.
The three heroes and the dog battled valiantly, but for every Heartless slain, another appeared.
"Riku! We have to take them all out at once!" Goofy yelled.
"All right!" Riku responded.
The trio put their weapons together, and a spectacular flash of light occured. Riku , Donald, and Goofy were spinning like a Tornado. Fireworks were blasting everywhere, and Goofy released, spinning into several Heartless while Riku fired off a volley of dark magic, while the dog ripped apart heartless with ease.
Soon enough, the Heartless were gone.
"Well done," a mysterious voice said, "good fight. Good to get the old bones in shape again."
Riku looked toward where the voice had come from. In place of the dog that once stood there, a man with the same shade of black hair was.
"I'm Sirius Black. Albus told me to expect you. Come with me."
The building where they stood in front of began to rumble and bricks moved. The 4 walked through a new door that had appeared. Inside, a group of people stood.
"A little crowded, don't ya think?" Donald retorted.
----
Sora recognized a voice. He turned towards the door to see 3 familiar figures.
"Riku! Donald! Goofy!" he ran towards them, tackling them all in a group hug.
"Jeez Sora, it hasn't been that long. You alright?" Riku said, laughing after the pathetic tackle.
"Yeah. Fine."
"Sora, who are these people?" Hermione asked, astounded by Donald and Goofy's strange appearances.
"Uh, well Hermione, these are my friends, Riku, Donald, and Goofy. They look so weird because they're like me. From another world, that is."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Hermione Granger."
----
Harry and Ron had been talking to Professor Moody when a trio of new figures and Sirius had walked in.
"Professor Moody," he asked, "who are those three?"
"They are our newest inductees of the order. They're friends of Sora."
He pondered this - the two of them looked very strange, and the third looked only about a year older than himself.
----
Sora's reunion with his friends was short-lived, however, as everyone soon retired to bed.
Riku couldn't sleep. An entirely new world, large and exciting, had just been entered only a few hours before. And Sora. He hadn't expected to see him already. Conversation had been light, with Sora asking about Kairi, and whether they'd be going with him to Hogwarts, which he had learned, was the castle he had come from. It was a school. He had jokingly mentioned that school was for losers, remarking an annoyingly disturbed chuckle from Sora.
Riku got out of bed, and went to the kitchen to grab a brief snack. Before he had made it there, however, he saw small eyes peeking at him in the darkness.
He summoned his keyblade.
"Who's there? Are you friend or foe?"
The creature walked toward him.
"Kreature is no friend of yours, only of Master Black, the Order, and his Mudblood friends."
"Mudblood? What are you talking about? I'm part of the Order."
"Kreature does not accept new members until they have proven themselves loyal to Master Black."
"I have nothing to prove to you. Dumbledore's Phoenix, Fawkes, declared me an Order member. Now leave me alone."
By the time Riku finally reached the kitchen, his stomach had no longer felt hungry. That creature, how rude. He imagined himself though, after Ansem had taken over his body.
"I'm certainly one to talk."
He noticed Donald and Goofy had been napping in here, faces buried in their plates from dessert.
"Looks like they had a little too much." he chuckled to himself.
He stayed there near the window all night, hours on hours, contemplating what to do now. The sun was soon rising. People began to shift down to grab some breakfast. Riku stayed near the window, until the one he had come to know as Lupin approached him.
"Riku..."
"Yes, Remus?"
"I didn't get to properly welcome you last night. Welcome to the Order."
"Oh, thanks. But how am I going to help? i know nothing about this world."
"Sirius, Moody, and I have decided to teach you a little magic of our world. Then you can be a truly productive member. Your first lesson begins today at noon in the Dining Room. Better be there."
"Thanks, Remus."
----
Sora lay in bed, dreaming that dream again - his heart, all those people and creatures he knew not. But then, 6 dark silhouttes invaded. He could tell one of them was Maleficent, and another as Voldemort. But the others he couldn't. The people and creatures on the stained glass all came to life, and began to battle with the other silhouttes. Sora wanted to help - but all he could do was watch.
"Hey sleepyhead, wake up."
Sora jolted up.
"Oh, hey, Riku."
"You up for some sparring?"
"Here? There's no room."
"No dummy, i was kidding."
"Oh."
"Come on, time to grab some food. Donald and Goofy have been waiting for you."
Sora and Riku walked downstairs, into the dining hall. Harry was missing, as was Mr. Weasley. True to Riku's word, Donald and Goofy sat there - although Donald was already chowing down.
"You two..." he smiled and gave a quick chuckle.
"Where's Harry?"
"I don't know. He and Mr. Weasley walked out a few hours ago."
Spoiler ShowMr. Weasley had brought Harry to work with him - to the Ministry of Magic. He was set to go on trial for his use of a Patronus underage. Harry noticed many strange things in the Ministry, everything from a golden statue to lots of fireplace flues - obviously used for flue travel, which he wasn't exactly too used to. He was brought down several halls past a place known as the Department of Mysteries. Evntually, he and Arthur had made their way to the room for his trial, where Arthur left him.
During the trial, Harry sat in the chair in the midst of at least 30 wizards and witches, one of which looked particularly menacing - he didn't know why. She just seemed - off. That blank stare, the false smile, all while Professor Dumbedore defended him.
He was lucky - after the trial, he was found not guilty of any crime, and all criminal activities were stripped from his records, and he was permitted to go back to Hogwarts.
----
Riku walked into the dining hall a minute after noon.
"You're late," Sirius said, smiling, "but we'll let it slide this time."
Remus explained that without a wand, his Keyblade would, like Sora's, act as conductor for the magic of this world. Moody went over the three unforgivable curses with him, and told him he was never to use them. Riku understood. They then got to the fun stuff.
"I think you've got it, Riku."
He had already learned four charms - Wingardium Leviosa, used to levitate things, Stupefy, used to stun foes, Protego, used to protect himself, and Expelliarmus - one he favored, used to disarm a foe. Remus and Moody levitated the tables to the sides of the room as Sirius took out his wand.
"Now, let's get in some real fun practice," the man spoke, "We're going to duel."
Riku and Sirius walked to one another, bowed, and walked back to their original positions.
Sirius began blasting spell after spell at the boy, but Riku kept using Protego. But eventually, he felt that a more aggressive strategy would be needed. After a quick stupefy from Sirius, Riku ducked under the spell, sliding on the floor, Keyblade drawn. Spells were launched towards him, but Riku would get a Protego in and quickly follow with a Stupefy, then move on to the next side, advancing as he went. Sirius then pulled a new trick out of the bag - he used a spell Riku hadn't learned to blast him backwards, following with an Expelliarmus - but it didn't work. A dark shield formed before the charm had a chance to hit, and Riku blasted three charms one after another. The third one was the charm - Sirius' wand went flying from his hand.
"Well done, Riku! But next time, I won't be so easy on you." Sirius spoke.
"As if." Riku snapped back.
They both began to laugh - even Moody let out a small chuckle.
----
Sora, Ron, and Hermione all sat in the living area, waiting to hear from Harry. Once they finally heard the good news, the group headed to Diagon Alley to gather new supplies for school. After the 4 had done so, they went back to 12 Grimmauld Place to finish packing and say goodbye to the Order to head back to Hogwarts.
----
Sora was reminded of one year before - standing on the Platform next to Platforms 9 & 10, running through the wall and boarding the mighty Hogwarts express. Everything appeared normal - until Heartless began to appear. Wizards and Witches drew their wands, trying to blast Heartless, but they were not fast enough - Sora had to draw the Keyblade and take them on his own, until Harry, Ron, and Hermione could dig their wands out of their trunks and assist. After the Heartless attack, the 4 boarded the train looking for more Heartless. Fortunately, none were found.
The Hogwarts Express made it's way down the tracks once again, transporting many, many students to the spectacular school. Sora and his friends found a comfortable place to sit, and grabbed a few Chocolate frogs from the sweets trolley. But then they saw him. Malfoy - and he and his henchman, Crabbe and Goyle, were bullying some first year students.
"That's it. Malfoy's had it." Ron said, getting up.
"Don't worry, Ron, I'll take care of it. Maybe he needs a taste of the Keyblade?"
Harry and Ron chuckled, while Hermione gave the young Keyblade wielder a stare.
"Be careful, Sora. We can't have you getting expelled either." she told him.
----
Sora walked up to the blonde bully and his cronies, drawing the Keyblade as he walked.
"Hey Malfoy! Do I need to teach you a little lesson about picking on first years?" he yelled, invoking the trio of bullies' attention.
"Shove off! This is none of your business!" Crabbe hollered back at him.
"Oh, it's my business alright. You don't pick on other students." Sora responded.
At this, Malfoy drew his wand, and Crabbe and Goyle followed suit.
"Three against one? That hardly seems fair." Ron scoffed, pointing his wand towards Malfoy, Harry and Hermione doing the same."
The first year students ran off before the battle began.
The 4 friends had their wands (and in Sora's case, the Keyblade) pointed at the bullies. The bullies had their wands in the same position.
"Stupefy!" Malfoy yelled.
"Protego!" Sora shouted as well.
Spells were blasting back and forth, hitting both Harry's group and Malfoy's.
Then Hermione yelled a spell Sora hadn't yet learned.
"Rectusempra!"
Malfoy was blasted backwards onto his back, and Crabbe and Goyle fled.
The 4 friends pointed their weapons at Malfoy.
"I repeat," Sora said, "Don't pick on students, let alone first years."
----
The group made their way back to there seats, and Hermione kicked off the conversation with some study talk - as always.
"Jeez Hermione, can't we wait 'til we get to school before we start studying?" Sora joked.
That was a mistake.
"Sora, we have our O.W.L.s this year - we need to get as much studying as we can done beforehand."
She then proceeded to go on a speech about the importance of education to pass their exams that lasted halfway to Hogwarts, prompting Ron to give Sora a "Thanks a lot" look.
Spoiler ShowSora and his friends left the train as it arrived in Hogsmeade. They walked toward a sight all too familiar - the carriages that would take them to Hogwarts. But they were different - this time Sora and Harry could see something their friends could not - the carriages were being driven by strange creatures that looked like a cross between a starving dragon and a black stallion. The strange looks given to them by Hermione and Ron told them that only they could see these strange beasts.
"I can see them too."
Sora turned to hear a familiar voice - a girl sat in the sole remaining carriage. She was blonde, with pale skin with a beautiful yet eerie glow, and an odd voice. She was reading a copy of the Quibbler, which Sora was astonished to see here reading in the dark.
"Luna!" he spoke, more enthusiastically than he would've liked.
"Hello Sora, Harry. It's good to see you both. Like I said, I can see them too."
The 4 friends boarded into the carriage where Luna sat.
"Luna, how come we can see them but Ron and Hermione can't?" Harry whispered.
"I think only people who have seen something traumatic can see these beasts. They actually seem very sweet." she replied.
The carriages arrived in Hogwarts' grounds, and students piled out into the entrance courtyards.
Then an unexpected turn of events.
Heartless, and plenty of them.
"What? Again? How are they getting into the castle?" Harry though aloud as the 4 wizards drew their wands and Sora drew the Keyblade from thin air.
Sora slashed and slashed, cutting through heartless like a lawn mower. But for every crytsal heart freed, a new Heartless appeared.
Spells were being blasted almost as quickly as the 4 could utter the incantations.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Stupefy!"
"Rectusempra!"
"Incendio!"
Sora realized his slashes weren't powerful enough to break through the Heartless' wave.
"Thunder!"
Bolts of lightning rained down on the Shadows, and vanquished about 6.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Luna put their wands together in unison, casting a powerful Protego spell, blocking off the area so only they, Sora, and the Heartless could battle.
"Deep Freeze!"
Heartless froze in blocks of ice, and were thwarted with a quick Reducto from Hermione.
Sora realized something - and he raised his Keyblade into the air.
"Stop!"
Heartless froze in place, and the 4 wizards put their wands together again. This time, Sora placed his Keyblade into the ring of wands, and yelled "Light!"
A bright flash.
The Heartless were gone.
----
A woman observed the battle, unnoticed, and walked into the school with a slightly disturbing smile planted on her face.
----
Sora, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went off to the Gryffindor table and took seats next down to Neville Longbottom. Luna walked off to the Ravenclaw table and took her seat.
"Hello, students." the headmaster began to speak, giving several announcements, as Harry noticed a woman, dressed in the ugliest pink shade of clothes he had ever seen.
Harry turned to his friends.
"That woman, sitting at the teachers' table, she was at my trial, same disturbing smile on her face."
"And finally," Dumbledore began to wrap up, "the Ministry has required that this year we shall have a new teacher to observe that Hogwarts lives up to it's standards. May I present your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Ms. Dolores Umbridge."
The woman stood, took a bow, and gave Sora a look before sitting down.
Sora didn't notice however or perhaps he did, either way, he was downing his third glass of pumpkin juice and shoving a chicken leg into his mouth.
----
"I definitely don't like this," Hermione began as they reached the Common Room, "first the Ministry plants an agent at Hogwarts to check up on the school's teaching methods, then she just happens to be a woman trying to convict Harry at his trial? I don't like this one bit."
"Don't sweat it, Hermione," Sora spoke up, cheerfully, "Maybe it's just a coincidence. It's not like she can do us any harm!"
"Maybe a coincidence, Sora, but still, why her? And that look she gave you seemed kind of disturbing." Harry continued.
"Look, what look?"
"Maybe you'd know if you weren't stuffing your face, mate." Ron chuckled.
"You're certainly one to talk!" Sora spat back.
"Back on subject, I think she's here to find out something. We need to be careful." Hermione finished.
The 4 friends said their goodnights and headed to their dormitories.
----
Sora woke up to see Harry using Lumos, with a piece of paper in his hand. Sleepily, he stood up and walked over, checking to see what it was. He was astonished to see several names, including his own, on what appeared to be a map, walking around.
"What's that, Harry?"
"It's the Marauder's Map - I use it for all kinds of things. Just got to be careful not to let the teachers catch you with it open. You can borrow it anytime."
"How does it work?"
"It's enchanted to act as a map of Hogwarts, and to activate it, just point your wand - or in your case, the Keyblade - onto it and say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' To deactivate it, point the wand back on it and say 'Mischief Managed'. Here, try it out."
Sora did as asked, and to his surprise, it worked amazingly.
"Bloody cool, isn't it."
Both Harry and Sora turned to see Ron looking at them.
"What are you doing up, Ron?"
"Same as you guys, I guess."
"Well, we should all probably get to sleep. Defense Against the Dark Arts tomorrow, after all." Sora finished.
In agreement, all went to bed.
Spoiler ShowSora and his friends woke up around 8:00 AM, and headed into the Great Hall for breakfast. As always, a spectacular feast awaited them. Sora and Ron were stuffing their faces, as they always did, as Harry reviewed their classes for the day.
"I think you've been hanging around Ronald too much, Sora." Hermione said with a sarcastic, yet funny, grin on her face.
Both Ron and Sora cocked their heads up at this and replied "What are you talking about? I'm nothing like him!"
At this, they laughed, and after breakfast, they headed to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Professor Umbridge.
----
Riku had been in this world only a few days, but had already learned lots of new things. Over 20 spells he could never had dreamed of were now implanted in his mind. Every day at noon he would have a lesson with Sirius, Remus, and Mad-Eye, and was soaking up every bit of knowledge. Donald and Goofy were having just as much fun learning, although Goofy could not learn very many spells.
Remus had given Goofy a wand, and Donald had just been using his staff. Goofy preferred to just use Protego and use his shield as a weapon. He didn't like weapons anyway.
"And that, Riku, is how to perform the Levicorpus charm. Very useful in battling Death Eaters." Remus had said that morning.
Riku had learned so many things already - how Lord Voldemort tried to kill Harry after murdering his parents, how he was destroyed, and how he had risen again. He learned about how Sora and Harry had competed in the Triwizard Tournament, nearly were killed in the graveyard, and made it back alive.
And the Death Eaters - Voldemort's servants. Evil men who hid under a cloak and mask, doing the Dark Lord's bidding at his command. Then the most unusual thing of all - Dementors. How they would "kiss" you and begin to suck all of your happiness out of you - and eventually, your soul as well.
Riku was suspicious of the Dementors, but didn't let it bother him.
In the last few days, he had dueled with Tonks, Sirius, and Remus - only losing to Tonks. Today was a rather unusual duel - he had to face Donald.
After a few spells, Donald was on the ground, eyes spinning, and staff laying next to him.
"I thought you were a mage, Donald." Riku laughed aloud.
"Oh, shut up ya big palooka."
"Gawrsh Donald, Riku certainly showed ya who's boss!" Goofy added.
Donald picked up his staff and muttered as he walked away.
Riku had taken up a large resentment in his heart for Kreature - the house elf who had bothered him a few nights before. He kept muttering things under his breath about how such a filthy Mudblood was living in "her grace's" house. Sirius had told him not to worry about it, but Riku still wasn't sure of Kreature's alliances.
"Nothing I can do about it, I guess." he finally concluded.
"Riku."
"Huh? Oh, hey Moody."
"No time for idle chit-chat, it's time for you first mission."
"Alright. What's up?"
"As you know, Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater. I'm rather suspicious since his boy, Draco, has some sort of hatred towards Young Potter."
"So what do I do?"
"Lucius works at the Ministry. Arthur has already gotten you a job as his apprentice there. I want you to tail Malfoy and see what he's up to. But don't be seen, an apprenctice is supposed to stay by their teacher at all times. But remember, it's only your cover."
"Alright."
----
Later that evening, Riku had tailed Malfoy all day. Nothing seemed suspicious, except for his going into the Department of Mysteries, into a door, which Riku made a small chip off the wood as a marker, in case he might need to return later.
----
Sora and his friends sat there in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class while Professor Umbridge was blathering on about the Ministry seeing it fit to give new books and something or other.
"Professor, these books don't say anything about Defensive spells." Harry had spoke.
She then began on a ramble about the Ministry, which only made Harry madder.
"Well, we need to learn someway of Defense, in case Voldemort should attack us!" Harry began to raise his voice.
"Voldemort is gone. He is not alive," Umbridge snapped back.
"Yes he is! Sora and I saw him come back. He killed Cedric Diggory!"
"Cedric Diggory died of natural causes!"
"No, he didn't!"
"Detention for you, Mr. Potter."
It was then that Sora spoke up.
"But it's the truth! Cedric was killed by Voldemort! And you need to teach us how to defend ourselves from Dark Forces including Voldemort and the Heart-"
Sora stopped as Umbridge turned a bright red, realizing he was aout to spill the beans regarding the Heartless.
"Detention for you as well!"
Spoiler ShowThe rest of the days' classes went on without a problem, but Sora and Harry couldn't shake their feelings about Umbridge's little fit. As they walked to their detention, Sora and Harry discussed the usual things - mostly their own lives.
"So you say that their is an unlimited number of worlds out there?"
"Yeah, and I've only scratched the surface of them. I'm sure there are worlds I can't even imagine."
"Amazing. And I thought our world was the only one."
"Yeah. So did I and Riku - until our friend Kairi showed up in our homeland of the Destiny Islands."
Sora took out a shell shaped like a star from his bag.
"I miss Kairi a lot. But I'm happy we got to see some of my other friends here too. If only Kairi knew about this world - all the magic here, it would just amaze her."
"You and I are a lot alike, Sora."
The two arrived at Umbridge's office, and were immediately ordered to sit.
"You will both write on these parchments a message. Potter, you will write 'I will not tell lies' on yours, and Sora, you will write 'I will not disrupt class' on your parchment.
They prepared to take out their quills, but she stopped them.
"No need to use those. We will be using special quills of mine."
"How many times do we have to write it?" Sora asked, annoyed.
"As long as it takes to sink in."
----
An hour later, Sora and Harry were both rubbing their hands. Those quills had an awful power - they would write messages in the writer's own blood, and the words would appear on their skin. The backs of their hands had scars with the message clearly imprinted on them.
They returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, where they were questioned about Umbridge's detention.
----
Riku had told Moody all about Lucius' activites. It seemed to disturb him greatly about the Department of Mysteries. Riku noticed, but he wasn't there to ask questions. He calmly walked out of the room, removed his Ministry Apprecntice badge, and went to dinner, where Donald and Goofy were already chowing down.
"Oh, hey Riku!" Goofy cheerfully spoke.
"Hi guys. What have you been doing while I was gone."
Donald cocked his head up, face still stuffed.
"We've been dueling!" he replied, proud of himself.
"Well, not really. More like practicing spells on dummies." Goofy muttered, louder than he should've.
"Dummies, eh? Donald, how many dummies did you destroy?" Riku laughed as he spoke.
Donald muttered lowly so as Riku couldn't hear.
----
Weeks continued to go by, with the usual activities - Hermione was studying, Ron was goofing off, and Harry and Sora were getting more detention time with Umbridge. All seemed pretty normal other than the detentions, until one day.
Umbridge posted a picture in the Entrance Hall's wall - at least it was in a picture frame. It was actually a new rule by her, with authority from the Ministry, to restrict the students.
Weeks continued, and this became a habit of hers - posting new decrees like she was some sort of queen trying to rule her subjects with an iron fist.
Then there was the day.
She sacked Professor Trelawney, Divinations teacher.
Fired. She was thrown out by Umbridge, with all the students watching.
"What a witch..." Sora muttered while watching.
Professor Dumbledore wasn't going to stand for this, though - he came running out, ordering Trelawney back into the castle.
"You have the authority to dismiss my teachers, Dolores, only if the headmaster can find a suitable replacement." the great man spoke calmly.
Umbridge was not happy at this at all. She stormed back into the castle, running to her office.
----
A Quidditch match had just been played, and the four friends were relaxing in the Gryffindor Common Room, when Hermione noticed their hands.
"Harry, Sora, what's that?"
Sora explained about Umbridge's detentions, and Hermione recommended they tell Dumbledore about it. But Harry protested, not wanting to waste the man's time. Sora, while not in full agreement, went with it.
Then Hermione had a suggestion. She placed a small parchment with the words "Dumbledore's Army" written on top with a line underneath it. She whispered a plan, and the three others smiled, with all four signing their names onto the paper.
Spoiler ShowA few days had passed since the 4 friends had first founded Dumbledore's Army, or the D.A. as they called it. Between classes, the 4 would invite close friends to a secret meeting to take place in the Three Broomsticks, a pub in Hogsmeade, as winter began to set in on Hogwarts.
The 4 friends made their way to the pub, ordered a few butterbeers, and sat as their friends began to pile in.
The Pub itself was small and rundown - the whole place was covered in dust and several walls and tables were broken or damaged. But, it was because of this that the place was perfect.
Many people they knew were there - Colin Creevey, a Gryffindor a year younger than them, Cho Chang and Luna Lovegood, the Ravenclaw friends of Harry and his group, and Fred and George, among many others.
"As you know," Hermione began, "we are not being taught the Defense against Dark Arts we should be - the Ministry is seeing to that."
She pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet, which had an evil-looking woman making a sneer in the moving picture with the caption "Mass Break-Out in Azkaban" plastered across the top.
She continued.
"12 Prisoners from Azkaban have escaped, and we have reason to believe that many of them are servants of Volde- You-Know-Who, or Death Eaters. We need to learn a way to defend ourselves from Dark Forces in case of attack. We need a teacher who has been in the face of danger and faced it head on. Or, more precisely, two teachers."
She looked at Harry and Sora, and the groupd began discussion, supporting this fact and signing their names upon the sheet.
"Now, the only thing we need is a secret place to meet - a place to practice magic without being in danger of being caught by Umbridge."
Neville mumbled something, and Harry asked what he had said.
"Well, we could always use the Room of Requirement...."
----
Moody was walking back and forth. Mickey had arrived that morning in 12 Grimmauld Place, and was partaking alongside Riku, Donald, and Goofy in the meeting of the Order.
"This is not good," Sirius spoke, "All 12 of those prisoners who broke out are Death Eaters."
Riku had leafed through a copy of the Daily Prophet that morning, finding out that 12 prisoners had escaped from the Maximum security prison known as Azkaban, guarded by dementors.
Mickey spoke up.
"Do you think the dementors are involved? Could they be working for Voldemort?"
"I don't know," Remus had said, "It is certainly a possibility - dementors are vile creatures, souless and cruel. It would make sense that a creature so dark would work for the Dark Lord."
"Well, if the dementors are working with Voldemort, I think we can safely assume the Heartless are too." Riku said, concerned.
"Ah, yes. Dementors and Heartless are a lot alike," Moody injected, "Souless, dark, void of any light in their physical forms. Perhaps they have begun to act among each other."
Donald and Goofy felt concerned at this, and Mickey continued.
"If the Heartless and Dementors are working for Voldemort, do you think their might be a possibility of Voldemort trying to find the Keyhole?"
"I doubt it - even Voldemort wouldn't know about the Keyhole." Albus had finally spoke, sitting in the shadows.
Riku made a realization.
"What if someone who did know about the Keyhole - say, Maleficent, or Xehanort, were to tell him?"
Mickey's expression went very concerned.
"If such a thing should happen, we would need to find the Keyhole and lock it fast. Perhaps this should be the Order's next mission."
Dumbledore nodded his head, and the meeting was ajourned.
----
"Voldemort, have you succeeded in the experiment?" Maleficent asked.
"Yes.... We have succesfully bonded a Heartless and a Dementor."
"Excellent. A Heartless alone could not stop either Sora or the Potter boy, but combined with a Dementor, it could prove useful - perhaps we could even turn Potter into a Heartless."
The 4 other figures laughed, in a typically villainous meniacal laugh.
The man in the beard spoke, his gruff voice clearly in a decent mood.
"Perhaps we could use these Dementors in Hyr-"
Maleficent interrupted.
"No! Dementors are of this world and shall stay in this world. Even I know the consequences of interjecting in worlds' affairs too much - we only wish to conquer and destroy our enemies. The young man and his sword, as well as your dear Princess shall fall to the Heartless soon enough."
The man cleared his throat.
"As you wish, my liege."
----
Sora, Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed Neville through the halls of the 7th floor, to an empty wall.
"You have to need the room for it to appear - you have to know in your heart that you truly need the room, and it will become physical." Neville explained.
The 5 figures looked deeply into their own hearts, and a door, magnificent, appeared on the wall.
"Neville - this is perfect." was all Harry could say.
Spoiler ShowIt began to get colder in the Wizarding World as winter approached. Harry, Sora, and co. had gathered the D.A. in the Room of Requirement for the first official class, and everyone was eager. The first part of the lesson was a few basic charms - Expelliarmus, Reducto, and Rectusempra. The class didn't have too many issues - even Neville caught on quick. And with that, Hermione stood in front and introduced something that the 4 friends hadn't discussed beforehand.
"Alright," she said, "now that you have mastered those charms, it's time we learn another important lesson."
She motioned to Sora.
"Sora will be teaching us about the creatures you have undoubtedly seen attacking students and teachers alike around the castle. Those wretched, dark creatures. Sora?"
The boy stood up. Public speaking was never really his forte, but he figured he might as well try.
"Well, let's see. Those creatures are called Heartless. A heartless is formed when a person loses their heart to the darkness. The heart leaves the person's body and becomes covered in a blanket of pure darkness, forming the beast. Heartless act on instinct, and aren't very intelligent, but they are dangerous in numbers. As you probably know, my 'wand' isn't exactly the most traditional," he said, summoning his blade on the last sentence, "and I figure I'll let you guys in on it. This wand is special - it's called the Keyblade. It can cast spells, of course, but it can also act as a sword. It's filled with a mysterious property of light, but it also acts as a beacon to the Heartless. Wherever the Keyblade is, Heartless can't be far away."
Cho spoke up, intrigued by the boy's words.
"How come there aren't any heartless in here now?"
"Well, I think Professor Dumbledore has some sort of protective charm on the castle. But they have broken through on occassion, although I doubt they could find this room - it doesn't exist, but it also does."
Hermione spoke up herself as well.
"I'm sure you all have your suspicions on what's inside the rumbling wardrobe over there, and I can confirm that it is indeed a bogart. But we won't be practicing Ridikkulus today. Rather, Sora's going to show us what Heartless look like."
The young keyblade wielder nodded, walking over to the cupboard.
He pointed his blade at the knob, and let the opening of the object fill his mind.
A click.
The door opened, and Sora allowed the image of a Heartless into his mind.
The creature slithered out, taking the form of a lowly Shadow.
Fred jumped on the wagon, remarking how "it doesn't look that tough."
"Oh, believe me, this one is weak, but it's not the only Heartless there is, and in groups, as I said, they are extremely dangerous."
Sora used his mind to envision other Heartless, and with each image, the bogart changed into that form.
"Alright everybody. Get your wands out just in case. I'm going to show you what a very powerful Heartless looks like."
Everybody did as asked, pointing at the bogart.
He let the image sink into his mind.
The bogart began to grow. A heart-shaped hole appeared in it's midsection, and what looked like hair made of pure darkness came out of it's head. It soon stood tall as the room itself, with a cold stare in it's eyes.
It was then that bogart made it's move.
It attacked.
"Everybody get back!"
The group did as asked, as the Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand.
Sora began to battle the monster, but everytime he would try to hit, a shadow blocked his strike.
Then he knew what to do.
"Give me strength!"
A bright flash of light.
His clothes had changed, silver and black, with a new keyblade in his hand, surprisingly, one he had never seen before.
It was long and very odd looking. Rather than the usual teeth of the key, apple slices. The hilt was colored bright pink, decorated with jewels, and a vine wrapped around the blade ending with a leaf with a single pink decorative butterfly sitting atop of it. The blade itself was covered in clouds, and a rainbow was imprinted on the handle. And a purplish-pink star sat at the end of the chain.
A single word entered his mind.
Harmony.
He didn't know what it meant, but it put him at ease slightly.
He was floating slightly off the ground, and with three times the agility he normally had, he leaped up to the beast's head, slashing and hacking wilder than ever before.
But it still wouldn't die.
"What was that spell?" he asked in his mind.
Of course.
"Riddikkulus!" he shouted as he aimed the keyblade at the beast.
Then it was gone, and Sora was back to normal.
Where was it?
Then he heard a laugh.
"It's down there, Sora." Harry pointed to the floor as he spoke.
The monster had shrunk down to the size of a praying mantis!
He picked it up with his blade, and threw it into the cupboard, locking it once again.
"A real Heartless won't respond to that silly spell," he said, panting, "but I think you get the picture."
With that, the meeting was adjourned, and everyone headed down to the Great Hall for dinner.
Spoiler ShowWeeks had passed since the first D.A. meeting, and Umbridge was becoming more and more suspicous of not only Harry and Sora, but of every other student as well - except those in Slytherin, her favorite of the Hogwarts Houses. Weeks turned to months, and Umbridge had begun to interrogate students on their activities. Everybody was put to random interrogations on "heinous activities" that were breaking the new rules she had added to the school.
But, nobody was cracking, and the D.A. activities kept right on going without much trouble. Soon enough, every member, even Neville, had mastered a plethora of new spells and charms, and the group had practiced fending off the Heartless. But a bogart is never truly as dangerous as the real thing.
Sora and his friends knew this. It was time to capture a live specimen. So, the group wandered out of the Castle Grounds after dark, wearing Harry's invisibility cloak, and headed to the Forbidden Forest. And just as predicted, the moment they removed the cloak, a group of Heartless attacked.
As with any group, it was easy enough to fend off, but capturing one weak enough would prove to be rather difficult. The Heartless were growing strong enough to avoid the use of Sora's Stop spell, and charms like Expelliarmus and Wingardium Leviosa only ended up destroying each one they tried to capture before they could stun it.
But with a little luck and a well-placed Stupefy from Hermione, a Shadow finally was frozen in place, and they dragged it into the Castle alongside them, setting it into the Room of Requirement and locking it into another wardrobe.
The week flew by, and it was finally time for another D.A. meeting. Strangely, Cho Chang was absent, but they continued the class anyway. The group had been studying Patronuses and the Patronus charm, and everybody finally caught on. Of course, Sora, who's heart was filled with light, had a very easy time mastering it, and even the true form of the charm. His was the form of a pure white pegasus. Why a pegasus, he didn't know. But man, was it cool to watch!
Then, they finally let the Heartless out of the wardrobe. As expected, it summoned a group of it's brethren, and the group fended off the monsters with little trouble.
But then, Sora got an idea.
"Dean! Leave one of them alive."
Dean did as asked, and Sora aimed his Keyblade at the last beast.
"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted, and the blast erupted from the Keyblade's tip in an extroadinary fashion, slaying the beast with a single, swift kick of the glowing pegasus' hoof.
"Well. Looks like we've found a new way to tangle with Heartless." Sora said, proudly.
Then they heard a bang.
The wall started to break.
"Oh no. Everyone - you've got to get out of here." Harry proclaimed, "NOW!"
Everybody ran out of the door, except for Sora, and the wall crumbled.
They saw Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and two other Slytherin students aiming their wands at them.
As the Slytherin students entered the room, Harry drew his wand, and Sora summoned the Keyblade.
All 5 students pointed their wands, and both Sora and Harry knew they were outnumbered.
"Stupefy!" was the cry of all 5 students.
The next thing they knew, they were waking up in Umbridge's office, where Ron, Hermione, and Cho sat next to them.
Spoiler Show"Alright! What have you been doing in there? You've been forming an army to take over the Ministry, haven't you?!" Umbridge said, pointing her wand at Harry's throat.
"No. We haven't. We've been teaching th other students how to defend themselves from dark wizards!" Harry shouted back at her.
"And the Heartless!" Sora shouted, but then realized the mistake he made.
"Heartless? What are those, some of your silly little friends' pranks? No matter. I'll have you both commited to Azkaban for this!"
"Why? Because we're trying to do your job for you? You haven't taught us a damn thing since you got here!" Harry said.
"Calm down, Harry."
Professor Dumbledore walked in through the midst of the Ministry Officials and Umbridge's Slytherin goons.
"I instructed Harry to create this army for me." he said as Fawkes landed on his shoulder.
"No! Professor!" Sora shouted, "It's not true!"
"Sora, you don't need to hide it anymore. Who's name is in the title? It's not 'Potter's Army' or 'Sora's Army'. But you see, I have no intention of, how you say, coming quietly."
Dumbledore and Fawkes burst into flames, and they were gone.
"Where did he go?" Umbridge shouted at the two.
"I don't know." Harry said, calmly.
"Liar! Perhaps the Cruciatus curse will loosen your tongue!"
"No!" Hermione shouted, "That's illegal!"
Umbridge stood up.
"You're right. Professor Snape, get some truth potion."
"I'm sorry, headmistress, but I believe you used the last of my draught on Ms. Chang."
Then Sora thought.
Headmistress.
Oh no. Could she really have been promoted?
"Fine. You are all free to go. But if I ever catch you again, you will be expelled. Furthermore, I am now permitting the Inquisitorial Squad to use any force necessary to capture Rule-breaking students. Within the limitations of the law, that is. Am I understood?"
"Yes." they all said.
----
Riku walked into the Kitchen, ready for today's lesson, but was greeted by no one. He opened up the fridge, ready to grab some leftovers, when a small noise startled him.
He turned around, and saw a small figure there.
"Kreature. What do you want?"
"Young Riku.... Master Black has informed me to tell you that there will be no lesson today. But he says, Kreature must also let you know to keep practicing your magic. More duels will happen over the Christmas holiday, when Harry Potter and his friends will return to this place."
"Alright."
Riku returned to the room he had been sharing with Donald and Goofy, and found them looking through the used spell books Hermione had given them.
"Guys, no lesson today. Sirius said so."
"Ok, Riku." Goofy said, "Read ya loud and clear."
"Well it's a good thing. Goofy would've been on the floor in ten seconds flat!" Donald added.
"Shouldn't you practice on a few more dummies first? I heard one of them got the better of you the other day while Mr. Weasley and I were at the Ministry."
"Aw shut up ya big..."
Goofy and Riku laughed, and continued their day.
----
Christmas was fast approaching, and Hogwarts was decked out for it in the beautiful gold, green, red, and white decor. There were plenty of gifts for each student, and a spectacular feast on the 22nd. The next morning, every student who had some family to go to would be heading home for the holiday, and Ron, Sora, Harry, Ginny, Fred, George, and Hermione ad their bags packed to head back to Grimmauld Place. As they went to bed, they all thought of the coming holiday.
----
Harry couldn't move. He could only watch, in horror, as a serpent slithered down the hallway, and began to crawl towards a figure he knew. Mr. Weasley. The snake got up, and struck Arthur as Harry tried to warn him.
He finally gained control, and walked forward, down the hallway, where a mirror stood. As he looked inside, he saw Voldemort.
He woke from that awful dream.
"Ron! Sora! Wake up!"
"Huh? What's going on Harry?" Sora responded.
"Ron's dad. He's been bitten by a snake."
"What? How do you know about dad?"
"I saw him. In the dream. Come on, we've got to tell Professor McGonnagal."
The group headed down to the Professor's office, and Hermione, who had heard them stirring about, did not look happy. She looked worried.
The Headmaster's Office lay ahead, with a fireplace flue, where they would make it back to 12 Gimmauld Place.
As they did, they alerted Sirius, who alerted the Ministry (with a little help from Moody's Polyjuice Potion) of Arthur's condition, and they found him, just where Harry had seen him in the dream.
Sora hadn't travelled by flue before, and his ears were ringing, so he didn't know what happened until later that evening.
Spoiler ShowArthur Weasley was all right. Thanks to Harry and Sora's efforts, Arthur had been taken into the hospital, tended too, and released. The Order had already brought Harry and his friends back to Grimmauld Place for the Christmas Holiday, and Riku and Harry had become friends as well. The group had been practicing spells after each meal, having duels, and as usual, Hermione was studying magic. However, Riku also seemed intrigued by Hermione's knowledge, and would usually study with her. Harry, Ron, Donald, Goofy, and Sora had been hanging out, talking at every chance they got, as Sora recanted tales of his friends in other worlds, and Harry talked about his past. Donald and Goofy soaked up the information like sponges, and soon they had heard of Harry's great adventures, and how they somwhat paralleled their own.The Christmas feast was over, and everybody had opened their gifts. Harry, Sora, and the others would be heading back to school in the next few days, so the duels were becoming more frequent. The group even decided to have a small tournament of wizardry. Matches went as follows, with the victor advancing up the ladder to the finals.
Bracket A, Primaries
Round 1: Fred vs. George, Winner: Fred
Round 2: Ginny vs. Harry, Winner: Harry
Round 3: Hermione vs. Donald, Winner: Hermione
Bracket B, Starting Matches
Round 1: Riku vs. Goofy, Winner: Riku
Round 2: Sora vs. Ron, Winner: Sora
Round 3: Sirius vs. Tonks, Winner: Tonks
Secondaries
Round 1: Fred vs. Riku, Winner: Riku
Round 2: Harry vs. Sora, Winner: Harry
Round 3: Hermione vs. Tonks, Winner: Tonks
Semifinals:
Round 1: Riku vs. Harry, Winner: Harry
Round 2: Tonks vs. Riku, Winner: Riku
Round 3: Harry vs. Tonks, Winner: Tonks
Round 4: Tonks vs. Riku Match 2, Winner: Riku
Round 5: Harry vs. Riku Match 2, Winner: Harry
Round 6: Harry vs. Tonks, Match 2, Winner: Harry
And so it came down to the finals, with all the defeated watching along the sidelines alongside the rest of the Order, sans Professor Dumbledore and King Mickey, who had not been there since before Harry and Co. came back.
Riku summoned his Keyblade, and Harry took out his wand, preparing for the final match. Spells flew back and forth, everything from a Stupefy here to a Rectusempra there, but neither could gain an edge, and both fired off the same charm at the same second!
"Expell-"
"-iarmus!"
The sheer force from both charms knocked both Harry and Riku to the ground, and Moody stepped into the center, laughing like he was insane.
"Well then. Looks like you both lose. Guess that means the audience wins!"
Everybody started laughing, and soon enough everyone had returned to their rooms, whether to pack their bags or to head to bed.
----
Sora was packing his bag for school, which Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had loaned him. He put in his Gryffindor robes and sweatshirts, and a few books here and there, with a few small vials filled with potions and, in a small compartment, his collection of Keychains for his blade.
After he had finished packing, he hopped into bed and fell fast asleep.
But his sleep was a restless one. All he could see in his dreams were those figures, the ones he didn't recognize, and in their midst, himself, Harry, Voldemort, and Maleficent battling one another, with Riku, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi's lives on the line.
Then he felt a tap on his shoulder, which woke him up from his sleep.
"Hey. Sora, can we talk?"
"Yeah, sure thing Riku."
"Let's get right to business. I think that the Heartless in this world are growing stronger, and we all know that Voldemort and Maleficent are too blame. The Order have been discussing finding the Keyhole, and locking it fast, and I think I know where it might be. But, that place is crawling with dementors lately, and I still haven't gotten the Patronus Charm quite right. Tomorrow, I think you, Hermione, and Harry need to help me learn it, so I can go find the Keyhole, and then I'll come get you to lock it."
"Alright. I'll let the others know what's going on, and tomorrow we'll all get some practice. Patronuses aren't that hard to do. Just let the light in your heart flow out through your Keyblade."
"It's not that easy, Sora. Remember, the darkness is still inside me.... I can't let it go..."
------------------
Spoiler Show"Voldemort. I want you and the others to continue bonding Heartless and Dementors. I have an... errand to run."
"But, Maleficent! This menial work is.... it's crazy! And not crazy in a good way like me. I used to be King of-"
"Silence! I did not let you out of that arcade machine to argue with your orders. Keep that up and I'll just send you right back when the plans are complete."
"Hey... uh.... Maleficent.... you got a message comin' in.... I don't like the way this one's starin' at me!!!"
"Pete you insolent fool! Tell her I will be there shortly."
"But... how did you know they was a her?"
"Just do it."
"Yes ma'am!" Pete said as he gave a salute.
"My liege. I have heard of a slight... complication in Hyrule. The boy has awakened. The symbol of courage has appeared on his hand."
"Fear not, my dear Ganondorf. I believe you have yet to meet with my old colleague, Zant. Return to the Twilight Realm through this Shard, and he shall meet you there."
Ganondorf took the shard in his hand, and was gone in a flash.
The dragon-like creature and the witch in white did not dare speak. They continued their work alongside Voldemort, cranking out Heartless-Dementors like an assembly line, filled with dark magic.
"Now, I shall take my leave. Pete, do not let me regret my decision to let you stay here."
In a flash of green flames, she was gone.
----
A flash of green flames erupted upon the dark soil in the forest. Maleficent looked pleased as she strolled through the silent forest, seeing the thorns and fog, slowly advancing upon her destination - a large castle with strange flying creatures surrounding the tallest tower.
She reached the Castle, and was met with a raspy, yet recognizable voice.
"Welcome back, 'Queen' Maleficent."
"Theodora.... It has been a long time, hasn't it?"
"I'm didn't summon you here for a social visit. I have a warning for you - Oz is my territory. That awful wizard will be snuffed out, and I don't want you to interfere in my affairs."
"But, my dear Theodora, isn't Oz a little... small for your tastes? I can promise you much more. And that wizard.... he will be no difficulty for me."
"Look at me, Maleficent. I used to be beautiful. And he made me this way. All I care about is his destruction. And he will meet his end at my hands! So back off!"
"I offer you one final time. Oz will be yours and you can crush him. But Oz is only one world... there are many, you know."
"Many worlds.... but.... I thought.... that yours... and mine.... were the only ones."
"How niave. Blissfully niave. Come, my child. I shall show you how many worlds there truly are."
Theodora walked towards Maleficent, and in the Wicked Witch of the West's hands Maleficent formed images of worlds she could never dream of.
Names began to fill her mind with each miniscule image.
Wonderland...
Olympus Coliseum....
Deep Jungle...
Port Royal...
Dwarf Woodlands....
The Wizarding World....
Traverse Town...
Oz.
"My dear Theodora, these are only the smallest scratch on the surface of the worlds. I can promise you these and countless others... if you'll only join me."
"I.... I.... I will join you."
"Excellent. Come with me, and I will show you the Heartless..."
----
While Maleficent was persuading Theodora in the dark forest of Oz, King Mickey had grabbed himself a cloak as he exited from his private meeting with Professor Dumbledore. The two had had a delightful discussion over a cup of tea, talking about the possible whereabouts of the Keyhole, about Sora, and Harry, and of course, about the new information they had learned.
Maleficent had formed a group of foes from across many worlds, and was probably gatheing more followers as they spoke.
Dumbledore had asked Mickey to complete a task for him while he was out of commission, on the lam from the Ministry thanks to Dolores Umbridge.
Mickey had learned the power of apparation from the very best, from his former teacher Yen Sid when they visited the Wizarding World in their earlier travels. He walked off the small village in Godric's Hollow, where Dumbledore had been staying during his absence from the school, and apparated to a small pub in London.
He strolled in, hood covering his head and face with the cloak, and asked the barkeeper, Tom, to point him to the back exit.
"This way... your majesty."
"How did you recognize me, Tom?"
"You have an unforgettable voice."
Mickey walked out into the small alley outside the Leaky Cauldron, and drew his Keyblade, tapping the bricks in the exact manner Hagrid had taught him only 5 years ago, when Harry had first went to Hogwarts, even before Sora and the King had met.
The bricks scattered, forming an archway through which the King walked. A sign read "Diagon Alley" and he made his way, under the cover of night, towards a large white building on the opposite end of the alley. A few witches and wizards walked in and out of stores such as "Ollivander's Wands" and a pet shop, as well as the broom shop, but for the most part, he was alone in the alley.
As he approached the large white building, he read the sign in his mind.
"Gringotts."
He entered, and saw a plethora of goblins working at the teller desks. He approached the nearest one, and stood upon the small stool which children would stand on, so he was facing the goblin.
"I am here to place this," he took out a cup, "into Vault seven hundred and thirteen. I am under direct orders to do this from Albus Dumbledore himself. This is not to be removed until Young Mr. Potter and his friends come searching for it, and no one is to know about this. I am also here to open a new vault for two dear friends of mine, Sora and Riku." the King said in a whisper.
"And do you have a key for said new vault?"
"I believe this will do." the King continued, summoning his blade, which the goblin seemed to be slightly disturbed at.
"Very well. Come with me. Your new vault will be number eight hundred and thirty-six."
Spoiler Show
Riku decided it was finally the time to find the Keyhole, and he was preparing himself to leave 12 Grimmauld Place to head to his destination, the Patronus Charm spell running through his memory in case he might need it. But before he could leave, an owl arrived through the window, dropping a small parchment and a letter onto the table, addressed to Riku.
He opened the package first, and found it was a chocolate frog, with the words "Open me for a surprise" written on top.
Riku opened the Candy box to see that there was no chocolate there, but rather a small gold galleon and a Wizard Trading Card, which Riku had recently taken up collecting. He saw the moving photo on the card, and read the name aloud.
"Albus Dumbledore,"
He already had obtained a Dumbledore card from Harry as a small Christmas gift, and he nearly tossed it on the table, but decided to re-read the autobiography on it instead. But rather than the usual spiel about Nicholas Flamel and the 12 uses of Dragon's Blood, he found only 3 words.
"Dumbledore is safe."
He turned back to the letter he had gotten, and noticed a special seal on it.
"From the King," he said. "Donald, Goofy, come here! I have a letter from Mickey!"
Donald and Goofy practically fell down the stairs in excitement, and eagerly told Riku to open the letter.
Riku
I believe that Albus and I have determined the location of the Keyhole - but first, I have another mission for you. In Gringotts Bank, in Vault 836, I have something for you and Sora as a late Christmas gift of sorts - and some vital items that must be given directly to Sirius to keep safe for now. I want you to retrieve them before Voldemort can find a way into Gringotts. When they ask for your key, just show them your Keyblade. Do not take Donald and Goofy with you, I will meet with them about another duty.
Mickey
"Well.... looks like I'm off to Diagon Alley."
----
Riku walked through the streets of London, to the small pub for witches and wizards, the Leaky Cauldron. He walked through, and asked the barkeep, Tom, how to get to Diagon Alley. He directed him out the door in the back, and told him which bricks to press. Soon enough, he had reached Gringotts, tall and white.
He entered the massive hall to see lots of goblins, and approached one to take him to Vault 836.
"Excuse me. My name is Riku. I need to get to my vault."
"And do you have your key with you?"
Riku summoned his blade, which the goblin seemed frightened of.
"Oh.... Vault eight hundred and thirty-six, correct?"
"Yes."
The goblin took Riku down into the underground tunnels, and took him on a wild minecart ride until they reached vault 836. Riku got out and the goblin gave him a small warning.
"Be back in ten minutes or I will assume the worst, and this vault will be closed."
Riku walked into the vault, unlocking it with his Keyblade.
----
"Consarnit! It's gotta be in here somewhere!"
Riku peered into the vault, seeing a large figure tossing gold, silver, and bronze coins around like they were petty cash. While he couldn't see much, he could recognize the voice.
"Hey Pete! Looking for something?"
"Gyah!"
Pete nearly fell over backwards.
"Grrr.... what are you doing here, ya little squirt!"
"I could ask you the same question. What are you looking for in my vault? Maleficent drop you down to petty theft now?"
"For your information, I'm gettin' something for Voldemort! He and Maleficent and them 5 others have got some Heartless brewin' to do!"
"Aha! So Voldemort and Maleficent ARE working together? And you say there are five others?"
"Gyi- I shouldna said that! Forget it, we ain't doin' nothin! No get outta before I flatten you like a pancake!"
"Let's see you try it!"
"Gyah! I don't got time for this. Heartless, you know what to do!"
Pete started rummaging through the piles of gold again, until he heard what sounded like a dozen or so crystal hearts being freed.
He turned.
"Aww great. You want somethin' done, ya gotta do it yourself!"
Now, Riku could easily take down this thug any day of the week, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a red sparkle. He decided to have a little fun with him.
"Is that a...." he said to himself.
He dashed over to the small sparkling gem, and hoisted it above his head.
"Give me strength!"
A flash of light, and he was crushed in a powerful bear hug... by an actual bear?
"It's the... Bear Nessecities of Life! Hey.... where are we? Aw well, c'mon Mowgli, let's get out of this place."
"Excuse me, but I'm not..."
"Hey Baloo! Look over here!"
The bear clutching Riku turned to see a young boy dancing on top of Pete's head.
"Hey! Get down from their ya little pipsqueak!" Pete said as he tried to grab the boy's legs and toss him away.
The bear named Baloo looked at Riku, and put him down, turning towards Pete.
"Hey! No one messes with my little buddy!"
Mowgli leaped off Pete's head and got behind Baloo, who rose into a fighting position, and Riku drew his blade to battle Pete.
But Pete had other plans, instead disappearing into a corridor of darkness.
"Hey, thanks for you help...." Riku said, staring at the boy and bear.
"Hey now, no problem! Name's Baloo! But... how can we talk? You shouldn't know the language of the Jungle."
"Well.... maybe the language of the heart is all you need." Riku replied.
"Yeah... I like that. Well..."
Baloo and the boy started to fade.
"Give us a holler if ya ever need us again!"
They were gone.
Riku looked on a small shelf, and saw a small, worn-looking bag with a note attached.
"To Riku and Sora."
He looked to the side, and saw a slightly larger bag, but it was just as worn.
"For Sirius."
He took the bags, and exitted the vault, to meet the goblin only a moment or two later.
-------------------
Spoiler ShowThe second semester was about to begin at Hogwarts, and Harry, Hermione, the Weasleys, and Sora were not excited to be back under Umbridge's watch. More and more rules were being put up in the Entrance Hall every day, most of which were only there to restrict Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw from doing any useful magic.
The semester continued as usual, with classes much of the time, but the classes too were becoming less informative, no doubt Umbridge's doing.
And then the day came. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Sora were all sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room when they recieved dreadful news - Hagrid was about to be sacked.
The group rushed down the corridors using the secret passages to get down quick as they could. They were going to defend Hagrid no matter what - Umbridge was going to pay for this. But upon reaching the grounds, they found it was too late, Hagrid was gone. They all stood silently, waiting to see, maybe, if he'd come lumbering out of the Forbidden Forest carrying a diseased Bowtruckle or something. But nothing happened.
"Potter! What are you and your little friends doing on the grounds between classes?"
They all turned to see Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Milicent Bulstrode, and a Slytherin student they had never before seen standing there, wands drawn and pointed at them.
"For your information, Malfoy, we were going to visit Hagrid." Sora said through gritted teeth.
"Didn't you hear? That great oaf has been sacked."
"That's it." Harry said, drawing his wand. His friends all followed suit, but they were still outmatched five to four. But then, they heard two voices, one male, one female.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Bulstrode was frozen in place, while Crabbe's wand flew out of his hand. The Inquistorial Squad turned to see Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom fast approaching.
Crabbe moved surprisingly fast for his size, grabbed his wand, and shouted "Levicorpus!" aiming directly at Luna. But Sora used some of his experience with his friends to rush in faster than you could see and block the charm before it hit.
Neville and Luna walked over to Harry's group, and all 6 had their wands pointed at the Inquistorial Squad, Milicent still frozen in place.
"Stupefy!"
"Expelliarmus!"
"Rectusempra!"
Spells flew back and forth, with Sora himself mainly relying on the Keyblade to bash in a hit on Crabbe or Goyle every few minutes, avoiding spells flying all around him.
The wizarding duel kept on for at least ten minutes, what seemed like ages to Sora and his friends.
"Why won't they just give up?" he thought to himself.
Then they heard a loud bang. All the witches and wizard turned to see a woman in an ugly pink dress with her wand pointed up, followed by Professor Snape.
"Wands down, all of you. I'll have you expelled for this nonsense!" she said.
"Errrr...." Sora growled.
"What was that?"
"I've had it with you!" he said, drawing his blade again.
She stared deeply into the boy's eyes.
"Is that so?"
To her astonishment, several black creatures formed around her, eager to feed on the darkness in her heart.
"Hmmm.... I believe this will do just nicely." she said, calmly, as the creatures attacked not only Harry and his friends, but the Inquistorial Squad as well."
Snape, for once, actually defended the group, walked into their midst, drawing his wand.
"What are you doing, Severus? Stand down!"
"I will not allow students to be harmed on the grounds."
She was furious, pulling out her own wand and aiming it straight at Harry.
"Expelliarmus!" Sora shouted, sending her wand flying and Umbridge fleeing up the hill to the castle.
The group of students, Slytherin and Gryffindor alike, battled the Heartless , destroying each and every one of them, assisted by Professor Snape. After all the Heartless were slain, he finally spoke again.
"Back to the Castle. All of you. 50 points from Gryffindor and 50 from Slytherin. And if a catch, hear, or see a single spell being cast by any one of you, I will make sure that person will be on the train home tonight."
The group marched back up to the castle, returning to their common rooms, where Harry determined to get Umbridge soon.
Fred and George had a spectacular plan. They were going to use broomsticks and their wands to blast of Fireworks through the Great Hall during the OWLs... in 2 days.
-------------
Spoiler Show
Students began their OWL Examinations, and were all hard at work once again. Umbridge still was acting as if she was queen of the school, and kept a watchful eye on everyone. No one was permitted their wand during written examinations, and even during ones where magic was required they still had Filch keeping an eye on them.
It was the second day of the exams, and everyone sat in the Great Hall writing with their quills. Umbridge sat on the Headmaster's seat in front of the hall, keeping an eye on Sora and Harry in case they should start something. But nothing happened, and she was pleased... for now.
----
Fred and George sat in the Gryffindor Common Room, preparing for the greatest prank the school had ever seen. It was time to give Umbridge the hell of her lifetime. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw students had been setting up boxes of Fireworks throughout the Castle all week, concealed cleverly from the teachers' eyes.
"Ready Fred?"
"Ready, George!"
The two flew out of the Common Room on their broomsticks into the Great Staircase. Both drew their wands like the expert Quidditch players they were, and began to fly down the staircase quicker than you could say "Golden Snitch."
"Incendio!" was heard every few moments, followed by a large bang and colorful lights flying through the hallways.
And finally, they reached the Great Hall, bursting in like a battering ram.
Both aimed their wands towards the center of the hall, where a large box sat floating in the air.
"Incendio!" was their cry.
The box burst into a thousand flaming pieces, and a large, dragon-like monster erupted, made entirely of fire, and began to crash around the hall, before turning it's angry-looking eyes right to Umbridge.
It flew toward the headmistress, sizzling and crackling as if it were ready to eat her alive. A look of horror finally wiped that sickening smile off her face, and Harry and his friends couldn't help but laugh.
The beastly firework dragon exploded right before it would've hit her, prompting not only a hall full of applause but gales of laughter from both Weasley brothers, who began to fly out of the Hall.
"I'll have you expelled for this!" Umbridge cried as they flew away.
"Consider us dropped-out!!" Fred and George cried, laughing like madmen as they soared into the sky.
Umbridge turned herself towards Sora, Harry, and Hermione.
"You! You made them do this! I'll have you expelled for this! No, no, I'll have you committed for this!"
She began to draw her wand, and walked toward them.
Sora drew his blade.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Umbridge." Sora said, giving a smirk.
As Umbridge turned, she saw dozens of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws aiming their wands at her threateningly.
Realizing she couldn't win, she left the castle's grounds, and apparated away.
Professor McGonnagal approached the wall where Umbridge had hung her new rules, and waved her wand, and all of the rules exploded in a loud bang.
"As for the Inquisitorial Squad," she said, "it is as of this moment disbanded. All rules effective regarding the Inquisitorial Squad, including the use of otherwise restricted spells, are hereby cancelled. As well, 100 points will be taken from Slytherin. You can thank Mr. Malfoy for that."
Thundering applause echoed through the halls of the school as a great feast was prepared for the sacking of Dolores Umbridge.
----
Riku returned to 12 Grimmauld Place, gave the sack to Sirius, and opened the sack for himself and Sora.
"Are these... Sora's old summon gems? A few keychains I've never seen... And Kairi's charm... Gotta send them later...."
He ruffled through the sack's contents, and found a letter addressed to himself, sealed with the official seal of Hogwarts. He opened it, and read it in his mind.
Dear Mr. Riku,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a 5th Year Transfer Student. Your Academic excellence in the field of magic has brought us to accept you. A list of supplies you will need is provided.
Sincerely, Professor Minerva McGonnagal
At the bottom of the letter, a handwritten note was scrawled.
Riku, I want you to go to Hogwarts with Sora next year. I kept this from you for a good reason, and I will explain all later. But for now, I need you to concentrate on finding the Keyhole.
King Mickey
He sorted through the bags contents a little more, but found just a small cup with the initials "HH" engraved on it and a single phoenix feather, as well as a small penant showing the Hogwarts Logo and another Chocolate Frog, again containing Dumbledore's card, but with yet another phrase on the back.
"The Shreiking Shack may hold the key."
"What could all this mean?" he asked himself.
---------------
Spoiler Show
"Riku."
"Yes, Remus?"
"The time has come to search for the Keyhole. We've already checked Azkaban Prison and most of London, so you needn't worry about that. We'll be sending you to a different place, a location just outside of Hogsmeade known as the Shrieking Shack. Some say it's the most haunted building in our world. Rubbish if you ask me. A few years back, Harry, Sirius, and I were all there, didn't see a single ghost."
"The Shrieking Shack.... Remus, I need to show you something."
Riku took out the bag of things King Mickey had left in the vault, save for the keychains, gems, and Kairi's charm, which Riku had sent to Sora via owl.
"Intriguing. You say King Mickey left you this in Gringotts bank?"
"Yes."
"I can assume by this that Albus is safe. And King Mickey leaving this to you was no coincidence. Whether it's the Keyhole or not, something is located in the Shreiking Shack. Unfortunately, there is a powerful spell preventing entrance to the Shrieking Shack through convential means. Fortunately, I know an easier way. We've got to get you to the Hogwarts grounds. Underneath the Whomping Willow there, is a passage to the shack."
"Alright. But how will we get there?"
"My dear lad, we fly of course. Grab a broomstick and follow me."
----
The celebration at Hogwarts went on through the night. Thousands of students were partying like there was no tomorrow, and the school seemed like a much brighter place. Even Snape seemed a tad cheerier than usual, but that didn't quite mean that there was any less Potions homework.
Then the week before the Quidditch Finals approached, and Harry realized something important. With Fred and George gone, they had no Beaters. Sora was perfectly content with filling in and lending his Keyblade to the matches, but they were still one player short on the Gryffindor team. In the end, Ron was finally chosen as a temporary replacement until a better player could be found.
The Final Quidditch match was only a few days away, and everyone was practicing like crazy. Sora's arm was getting sore from hitting so many Bludgers with the Keyblade, and even Harry was getting worn. The day finally came.
The Gryffindor team walked out onto the field, gleaming with morning mist, meeting halfway at the center to face off against the Slytherin team. Malfoy sneered at Harry and Sora, as the 14 players kicked off the ground and into the sky.
"As always, I expect a nice, clean match. No funny business." Madam Hooch said as she released the balls into the air.
The school roared and cheered as brooms sped by, bludgers got knocked around, and scores were made. The day waned on as not a single player could find the Snitch, and the game lasted for several hours. Sora was getting tired from knocking bludgers to the Slytherin players, but kept up, forcing a weak smile as he hit one straight into Malfoy's broomstick, nearly making him crash into the stands.
----
Harry searched the field frantically for the Snitch. It would be getting dark soon and no one likes to play Quidditch in the dark. Slytherin was leading 140-110, even with Sora's excellent beating. No one had seen the Snitch yet, and every time he thought he saw it, it was just a player whizzing by.
Then, he heard a frantic buzzing behind him. He turned to see Sora blasting the bludger towards the Slytherin Captain, with the Snitch buzzing right behind his head.
Harry rushed in to grab the little ball, but it swerved away nearly causing Harry and Sora to crash into one another. Unfortunately, Malfoy had also seen it and was flying after it. Harry regained himself and began to chase after, as Sora searched frantically for another bludger to hit into Malfoy's broom.
Harry and Malfoy were neck-and-neck, each with their arms extended to grab the Snitch.
To Malfoy's surprise, he heard something wizzing through the air behind him, and turned around just in time to avoid a bludger to the stomach, as Harry caught the snitch.
"Harry Potter catches the Snitch! 150 Points to Gryffindor, ending the game 230-160. Gryffindor Wins!"
A huge celebration occured that night in the Gryffindor Common Room, but soon enough everyone headed off to bed.
Everyone but Sora.
Sora sat in the couch next to the fireplace, and drew his Keyblade into his hand, as several Heartless appeared in the room.
Sora battled them and quickly all were gone, and thankfully no one had woken up. He desummoned his weapon, and sat down again.
"Heartless... INSIDE the castle? How can it...be?"
Suddenly, a face appeared from the embers of the fire. It was King Mickey!
"Sora. Negative feelings from Umbridge are still left over. That's where those came from."
"Your majesty! How.... what are you.... what's up?"
"Riku needs to search the Shrieking Shack, and he needs to get onto Hogwarts grounds. Get Harry, Ron, and Hermione and meet me outside Hagrid's Hut immediately."
"But... someone will see us."
"Use the Invisibility Cloak."
Sora walked up the stairs to the boys dormitory to get Harry and Ron, and Hermione had luckily already walked into the Common Room.
-----------------
Spoiler ShowThe halls of Hogwarts were quiet. A thousand glowing torches lead the way down the spectacular staircase into the Great Hall. Sora, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all were underneath the invisibility cloak Harry's father had left for him. As they walked into the entrance hall, they saw a frightening sight. Mrs. Norris, old Filch's cat, was staring straight in their direction. It couldn't see them, of course, but it could sense them. Filch himself came wandering in, walking towards the spot where they stood, silently, practically shaking in their shoes. Fortunately, he picked up Mrs. Norris and walked away, as they continued out into the Castle's main courtyard and down the hill to Hagrid's hut.----
As Sora and his friends were making their way down the Great Staircase, Hagrid was preparing a pot of tea in his hut, eager for a quick drink before he was to settle into bed.
That is, until he heard a knock on the door.
Hagrid listened closely, and hastily opened the door.
A short figure in a black cloak, and a second figure about twice as tall as the first stood there. The first figure removed the hood, revealing his face in the firelight.
"Blimey.... it's been a long time, you're majesty."
"Indeed it has Hagrid. Unfortunately, there is no time for a chat right now. Sora, Harry, and their friends are on their way down. Hagrid, this is Riku."
Riku removed his hood and Hagrid saw the boy's face for the first time. He was tall, with whitish-silver hair long as his shoulders, and eyes that could stare into your soul.
"It's nice to meet you, Hagrid."
"Likewise," the giant replied.
----
"Riku!"
"Sora!"
Sora, Harry, and the others made their way the last few steps to Hagrid's Hut. Riku and King Mickey stood in the doorway, Hagrid in front of them.
"Hagrid, how can we get past the Whomping Willow?" Mickey asked.
"It's not that hard. A good Paralysis spell out to do it."
"Come on! We have no time to lose!" Mickey called, taking off in the direction of the Whomping Willow, follwed close behind by 3 young wizards and 2 keyblade wielders.
----
"Petrificus Totalus!"
The tree's limbs and branches froze in place, unable to move.
"Reducto!"
The debris at it's base shattered,revealing a hole just large enough for the group to enter.
They walked down the long-forgotten pathway to the shack, a maze of twists and turns. They finally found themselves face-to-face with a door, obviously leading inside the shack. The group cautiously entered, walking up the rickety stairs to the top floow where Harry had finally met Sirius Black only two years ago. On the floor, right next to a broken piano, was a small symbol, carved into the wood. It was hard to make out what it was, so Sora lit the room with a Lumos spell. It was there that they found a second symbol on the wall; the first symbol, next to the piano, was a triangle, with a circle inside it, divided in half by a straight line. And on the wall, the symbol of a keyhole.
"We've found it." Riku said.
"Indeed you have." a voice said, filling everyone in the room with a chill.
The group turned to see an evil, familiar face, grinning at them.
Maleficent.
Behind her, stood Pete and what looked like a Heartless.... but somehow also looked very different.
"Thank you, your majesty, for leading us to the Keyhole."
"Maleficent!" Riku scolded at her as he spoke.
The three young wizards drew their wands, and the Keyblade Wielders their Keyblades.
"Ah-ah-aah! Wouldn't do that if I was you!" Pete scoffed, and the Heartless-like creature flew over, as the air grew chilly and dark, and sad.
"Oh no..." Sora said.
Harry felt like he was going to faint, and his scar burned like crazy, but he managed to utter a few words, filling his mind with light.
"Expecto Patronum!"
The creature was blasted back, and Maleficent and Pete had to cover their eyes from the light.
Several Heartless appeared, surrounding the group, and another beast similar to the previous one began to glide toward the Keyhole.
Sora lept in fron of it as the group battles valiantly, launching spells and powerful strikes from every direction. Finally, the group disbanded into three, each taking out a group of foes; King Mickey and Ron took out the Heartless, Hermione and Riku were blasting the Dementors that had appeared, and Harry and Sora took down the other creatures.... they had finally realized they were Heartless... and Dementors. Combined into one. Finally, the monsters were defeated, and the group put their wands and blades together, and Sora yelled "Light!"
A powerful beam of whitest light erupted from the place where the blades and wands met, launching Maleficent and Pete backwards into the walls, and Sora leapt in front of the Keyhole, locking it quickly then turning to the villains.
"No! How can this be...." Maleficent cried as she left through a Corridor of Darkness.
Pete followed suit.
The tired group prepared to leave, until Riku noticed one thing Pete had dropped.
A small scrap of paper.
"Department of Mysteries, Tomorrow, 8:00 PM...." he read aloud.
"Oh no....." King Mickey replied, "Sora! You and your friends have to stop what's going down tomorrow night in the Department of Mysteries!"
"All right."
The group couldn't find any sleep that night after Riku and King Mickey left for London.
----------------
Spoiler Show
The group had spent the night trying to figure out how to get to London quick enough without apparation. They had sat thinking in Hagrid's hut when Hagrid came back in, bringing Neville, Ginny, and Luna in with him.
"Well, you know... we could always fly." Luna suggested.
The group headed out into the forbidden forest, finding the nesting grounds of the odd, dragon-horse creatures. Without being able to see them, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Neville climbed up on the invisible beast's backs and they took off. Sora finally realizes just what it was that made himself, Luna, and Harry capable of seeing them.
"Guys! The creatures.... they can only be seen by someone who has witnessed a death."
The group touched down in the courtyard in front of the Ministry of Magic, seeing Riku was already there. Harry walked up to the small silver mailbox and spoke into it.
"Sora, Riku, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood to visit the Department of Mysteries."
The small box dropped 8 small badges out into his hand, each bearing the wearers' name and the words "Department of Mysteries".
The group entered the ministry and walked to the door of the Department of Mysteries, and entered the door Riku had marked that day when he had tailed Malfoy.
Inside was a ever-expanding series of shelves containing crystal balls. They walked silently through the halls of the large room, searching for.... something.
They heard footsteps near where they stood.
"Damn.... where is the prophecy?!"
It was the voice of Lucius Malfoy.
"Silence, Lucius.... I thought I heard footsteps... over there."
The two Death Eaters appeared in front of the group. The Woman's voice belonged to the deranged woman on the Daily Prophet's front page the day they formed the D.A.. Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Well, what have we here? The Potter boy and his friends. Perhaps this could be useful. He can find the prophecy. It is about him after all."
Harry looked and saw a small crystal ball with a green glow inside it.
He whispered to Sora.
"Grab that crystal ball." Sora did as asked.
Harry shouted again.
"RUN!"
Everyone split off into several directions running through the halls looking for an escape as many Death Eaters descended upon them, chasing them down, hunting for that prophecy.
Every time a Death Eater nearly caught them, they were blasted away, and the group finally escaped the room.
The room they were in was fairly empty save for the large doorway with the ominous glow suspended upon the rocks in the center.
Then, Lucius, Bellatrix, and several others appeared and began to attack the group. But before a single spell could even be cast, Sirius, Mad-Eye, Tonks, Remus, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy appeared and defended their friends, dueling with the Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were trying to stop Sirius and Harry in front of the doorway in the room's center, but to no avail.
Then those words.
Those accursed words.
Bellatris pointed her wand and Sirius Black, and shouted.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The green spell hit him and sent him through the doorway, killing him.
"Noo!" Harry shouted, trying to save his godfather, his only family, from a fate that had already occured.
The evil witch cackled.
"No! Ugghhhh.... CRUCIO!" Harry yelled, blasting Bellatrix onto the ground and torturing her.
"Do it, Harry. Kill her, like she killed your godfather." said Voldemort's voice in his head.
"No."
"Enough!"
The Death Eaters dissapeared and suddenly Harry and Sora were in the main room of the Ministry. The glass roof above their heads shattered as the man formerly known as Tom Riddle appeared in their midst, aiming his wand at them.
"Any last words, Potter and Key-bearer?"
-----------------
Sora summoned the Keyblade, but it was too late.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The duo of heroes prepared to die, but then, someone was in front of them.
"Protego!"
Albus Dumbledore stood in front of them.
"Dumbledore you fool. Don't you know it is all predestined? The prophecy will be fullfilled tonight."
"No Tom. The prophecy you speak of does not exist."
The great headmaster and the Dark Lord battled each other, and eventually Voldemort knew he couldn't win... unless.
He transformed into a puff of smoke and attempted to go into Harry's body.
But Sora stood in front of him, and he hit him instead.
----
"What... how?" Voldemort asked as he stood upon the stained glass platform.
"You've lost, Voldemort."
A boy in a white jacket, with spikey blonde hair stood in front of him.
"Who are you to challenge the great Lord Voldemort?"
"Me? My name is Roxas."
Roxas summoned two blades to his side, one black and the other white.
Oblivion, and Oathkeeper.
He leapt at the Dark Lord, battling valiantly, finally blasting him into the Dark Abyss surrounding Sora's heart, blasting him out of Sora's body once again and into the starry night, weaker than before he had entered.
"Thank you...Roxas."
----------------
Sora and his group of friends had returned to 12 Grimmauld Place. It felt empty without Sirius. The group morned the loss of their dear friend, and King Mickey held a short service. In the end, he read a piece of parchment Sirius had given. The words upon it left Kreature in the Order's servitude; and gave each of them words from Sirius to remember. Finally, he opened the bag he had given to Sirius beforehand. Inside was a small charm; it resembled a heart and a wand. He gave it to Harry as a lasting reminder of his godfather's memory. The group finally left for their homes, in silence. In the end, only the Weasleys, Hermione, Harry, Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, and the King remained.
The King finally spoke, breaking the silence.
"Alright. Albus and Yen Sid have given me these orders to give to you, to all of you. Harry, you are to return to your Uncle and Aunt's home; Hermione, you are to go to your parent's home. Ron, Sora, you two are to return to the Burrow, and Riku, Donald, and Goofy, you are all to stay here over the summer. The school year is ended; and after the summer we are all to reconvene here. Riku; you'll be attending Hogwarts next year, so get your things over the summer. As for myself, I have private business to attend to. With the Keyhole locked, it is doubtful that Maleficent herself is still active in this world. Now, Riku, I need a private word with you."
Riku and the King went into a small room; while the others did their packing and left.
"Riku, the reason I did not give you your Hogwarts acceptance letter when you got it was because I feared Ansem would attempt to use you to get to Voldemort last night. Albus, Yen Sid, and I knew this was going to happen beforehand and decided to keep Xehanort out of these events. Luckily, despite your involvement he did not attempt to convert Voldemort into his 13th self. I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I think Donald, Goofy, and I should prepare the place for summer."
"Alright. I'll see you back here in three months."
And with that, he left and the groups all began another summer, waiting for next fall, cautiously.
-------------------
Five figures all stood silent in Hollow Bastion's library.
"My dear allies; it seems that one of our colleagues, the White Witch, has been..... destroyed. The Lion and the four children are stronger than we thought. It seems Narnia is now....untouchable. Voldemort.... after that embarrassing debaucle, I do not expect much more from you. Just focus on destroying the Potter Boy and we will handle the rest. You shall still reap the rewards of our labor. However, fear not my friends; may I introduce the newest inductee into our order, Theodora."
"I told you not to call me that, Maleficent. I am known now as the Wicked Witch of the West."
"Yes, well. She hails from Oz."
The group nodded in approval.
Far away, in the Wizarding World; Sora was having a familiar dream. However, four children and the lion had dissappeared and been replaced on the representation of his heart. Now a man, a small white girl, and a monkey with wings stood there. The eyes of the boy in green, the wolf, and the regal girl had opened. And in the darkness, a woman in a pointed hat stood watching alongside Voldemort, Maleficent, and her allies.
-----------
Spoiler Show
Spoiler Show
The dream. Once again, Sora's dream began. There he was, standing upon his heart's representation, the Station of Awakening. He stood there, frozen in place, looking at Roxas. The world around him was black. But this time, rather than foes attacking, and the mysterious figures shown upon the glass aiding him; it all just faded away. He found himself in a small room. Only a wardrobe sat at the end. He felt something calling him to the wardrobe. He walked forward, and opened it. It was filled with coats and racks. He stepped inside. A moment later, he found himself walking in a snowy forest, and found himself face-to-face with a lion. He could not summon his blade; but the lion did not attack either. It merely opened it's mouth and said; "The power you hold is not strong enough to protect the four and of this world. Do not worry about us."
Then, four children appeared behind him. Two boys and two girls.
"I'm Peter."
"Susan."
"Edmund."
"Lucy."
Then the lion.
"I am Aslan. Go Sora. Focus on the task at hand. Our world is safe. Narnia has no use for the Keyblade."
As he reappeared upon his heart once again, he saw Roxas open his eyes.
"They don't need us. Harry needs us."
And then Sora awoke.
He got up out of his bed at the Burrow, and went down into the kitchen for breakfast.
----
Riku woke up from another dream. He had seen something very interesting. Six items had been shown to him; a diary, a cup, a diadem, a snake, a ring, a locket. The diary had a large hole in it. Something was odd about this dream; he felt it meant something more than the others. Ever since Sirius had died, he had been having strange dreams. The Wizarding World was a very strange one. Was it causing these dreams? Was it the darkness in his heart? Was it....Kreature? Could house elves go into dreams?
"No. That's crazy." He said to himself.
Riku walked into the room Donald and Goofy had been staying in, and woke them up.
"Gawrsh, what's goin' on, Riku?" Goofy asked.
"We need to get moving. The school year starts soon. If I'm going to be attending Hogwarts, then I better get to Diagon Alley and get my supplies."
"Do we have ta come too, Riku?" Donald asked.
"Yes. I'm gonna need some help carrying."
RIku, Donald, and Goofy walked out of 12 Grimmauld Place. They looked for muggles, and when the saw none were around, they grabbed ahold of three broomsticks and flew away, off to London.
They surveyed for muggles upon reaching their destination, and they landed next to a small pub called the Leaky Cauldron. They entered and had the barkeep, Tom, show them how to use the bricks in the back alley to access Diagon Alley. They thanked him and entered the area, ready to shop for Riku's new school supplies.
After around an hour of shopping, Riku had gotten all the supplies needed; including his cauldron; textbooks, quills and ink, and suggested reading. He found he had some spare money left over from his trip to Gringotts, and decided to use the money to purchase a small barn owl as a pet and to carry his mail. He exitted back into the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron, sealed up the entrance to the wizard shopping district, and re-entered the pub to have a few butterbeers before returning to Grimmauld Place.
Spoiler Show
Dear Harry,
If it is convienent to you, I shall call at number four, Privet Drive this coming Friday at eleven P.M. to escort you to the Burrow, where you have been invited to spend the remainder of your school holidays.
If you are agreeable, I should also be glad of your assistance in a matter to which I hope to attend to on the way to the Burrow. I shall explain this more fully when I see you.
Kindly send your answer by return of this owl. Hoping to see you this Friday,
I am, yours most sincerely,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Harry reread his letter for the umpteenth time since he had received it the previous Saturday evening. He would, once again, be leaving his aunt and uncle for the school year, and a week early to boot! Dumbledore himself was going to pick him up from here, the home-that-wasn't, and take him to his own personal sanctuary, the Burrow, home of the family that had treated him so wonderfully since they had met him six years before. It was the greatest birthday gift he could receive, to go back to Hogwarts, to keep learning, to be safe from Voldemort.
He knew in his heart Dumbledore could help protect him. His friends, and he himself, would be safe for another year.
But he also knew that Dumbledore couldn't protect him forever. After his seventh year, he would have to hunt down and destroy Voldemort. The prophecy he had heard had told him.
Neither can live while the other survives.
It was 10:50 in the evening, on Friday night. He had just finished packing up his school trunk. His invisibility cloak, his books, quills, ink, and school robes all sat inside it. The clock hit 10:55, and Harry picked up his trunk, stashed his wand into his front pocket, and walked down the front stairs, careful to avoid waking his aunt and uncle. He sat on the couch, facing the front door, as the clock counted the minutes left until Dumbledore would arrive.
11:00.
Nothing happened.
It's fine....
11:01.
He'll be here...
11:02.
A wind rose up outside, rattling the trees so that even in the house, Harry could hear them shaking.
A knock at the door.
Harry rose from the couch and opened the door, and Dumbledore walked inside.
"Hello, Harry. It is good to see you again."
"Good evening, Professor."
"Well, Harry, I see you have already packed everything. Ready to go, it seems. Such a shame, as I was looking forward to speaking to your aunt and uncle for a moment."
"Professor, couldn't you just leave a message to them?"
"I suppose I could, Harry. Of course, a message is never quite as personal as meeting face-to-face. But, in this time, I feel it may be the wisest choice."
Dumbledore raised his wand in front of him, and pointed it toward's the Dursley's flawlessly clean coffee table, where a small sealed envelope appeared.
"Come, Harry, I think it is time for us to get going. You see, I have a short matter of business to attend to first, and as I mentioned in our letter, would most definitely appreciate your assistance."
"Of course, Professor."
"All right, Harry," Dumbledore began as they walked out of the threshold, onto the dark lawn, "take my arm, and tighten your other around your trunk."
Harry did as asked, and he couldn't help notice that the hand of the arm he now held was black and stiff, as though it were dead. He wore a small siver ring with a black stone in it.
"Professor, what happened to your-"
"All in due time, Harry."
And Harry felt the feeling of his entire body contracting into a single spot, as a loud crack rang in his ears. Suddenly, his feet touched solid ground again, and he found himself in a dark village.
"Professor, did we just...apparate?"
"Yes, Harry."
"Where are we?"
"This is the village of Budleigh Babberton, Harry. Keep your wand at the ready."
"But sir, I'm not allowed-"
"You are with me. I give you permission to use any curse or counterjinx you may need to defend yourself. Except, of course, for the Unforgivable Curses."
"Yes, sir."
The two strode onto a small pathway leading to a house whose door and windows had all been broken, and entered it, wands at the ready.
-------
Sora went downstairs from his bedroom in the Burrow, and sat down at the Weasley family's dinner table. He looked at the clock that Mrs. Weasley always carried with her. On it the faces of all nine Weasley family members would point towards their destination, or in this case, what was going on. All nine of the hands, each one representing a Weasley, was pointed at "Mortal Danger". Mr. Weasley was still at work at the Ministry of Magic, and the world around the boy with the Keyblade grew more and more ominous.
Sora had been there with his new friends in thick and thin, trying their hardest to fight the dark Lord Voldemort. After his friend Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, had been murdered by one of the Dark Lord's followers the year before, Sora had been given a feather by the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the feather having come from his pet Phoenix, Fawkes. It marked Sora as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, the secret protectional society of the Wizarding World. It also marked him as an enemy to the Dark Lord and his forces.
Sora lay his head down on the table. He was too wide awake from the dream he had had to go back to sleep. A week remained until he would return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the Weasley family would be taking a trip to Diagon Alley to pick up the remaining school supplies he would need soon. Harry had to get there first. Riku had sent an owl to the Burrow with the official list of supplies for sixth years.
Sora closed his eyes and thought of what he had learned last year at Hogwarts, and despite how wide awake he was, drifted slowly back off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
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