Found this in the flash drive I lost a few years ago. Read it over and thought, "Meh, why not?"
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Kingdom Hearts aren't mine.
Summary: Roxas is sent on a mission to collect hearts in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Things happen.
Important Author's Note: This is set during the Prisoner of Azkaban for Harry Potter. As for Kingdom Hearts... It is set during 358/2 Days, before the six unfortunate Nobodies were sent to Castle Oblivion. So this is before Roxas and Xion become friends, when Roxas still acts like a clueless zombie. This story was written before Birth By Sleep came out, so I had no idea about the situation with Ventus's heart.
It's been a while since I've read Harry Potter or played Kingdom Hearts, so forgive my rusty vocabulary and any inaccuracies. Plus, this has been gathering dust in my files for years and I've only taken it out recently and made some minor adjustments. Kindly point out any mistakes and I'll try to fix it.
I apologise in advance for Hagrid's accent. I simply cannot do it.
Hope you like it.
Just Another Mission for the Organization
Roxas stepped out of the Corridor of Darkness and looked around the dark, foreboding forest. It was nighttime, barely any moonlight shone through the knotted branches, and dried leaves crunched under his boots as he tried to figure out where he was.
He was supposed to be in The Wizarding World. There was supposed to be a castle by the name of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the distance protected by a bunch of protection spells that didn't protect them from Heartless or Nobodies (he had asked Axel what the point of the protection spells were then, and he said sometimes people were weird like that). There was also supposed to be a village of an unusual name - Hogsweed? Hocksmith? - nearby.
He thought about Saïx's long briefing before he left: "The Wizarding World is a magically-charged world that has seen the presence of Heartless for a long time... Divided into two distinct societies: those who can manipulate magic and those who cannot... The Heartless - the locals call them Dementors - have evolved in accordance to their environment... Have the ability to steal people's souls - both the heart and the mind... Victims become something less than Nobodies... Your mission is to defeat these Dementors and collect the hearts they hold within..."
A crack! brought him back to reality. Blinking, Roxas saw an incredibly white horse with a pointy horn on its forehead staring straight at him with intelligent blue eyes. The creature was so beautiful, it would've inspired awe and wonder to anyone who saw. Unfortunately, Roxas was a Nobody and therefore didn't have a heart to feel awe and wonder with. So he merely blinked at it in feigned interest.
Roxas idly wondered if animals could speak in this world. Only one way to find out. "Um, do you know where we are?"
The white-horse-with-a-pointy-horn scuffed the floor with its hoof.
"That's a no, then," Roxas muttered. He picked a random direction and started walking. A clop sounded from behind. Turning, he caught the white-horse-with-a-pointy-horn with a hoof in the air. It would've looked guilty if it wasn't a horse. Why was it following him?
"Go away," the Nobody told the creature bluntly. It could interfere with his mission, after all.
The white-horse-with-a-pointy-horn tilted its head, neighed somberly, and trotted away.
Roxas went back to his thoughts. He didn't really understand most of what Saïx said. But Axel translated it for him quite nicely: "Go look for creepy floating things and kill 'em. They should have lots of hearts, considering the amount of souls they'd have eaten by now."
After an unknown amount of time, the blond Nobody wandered his way out of the forest and spotted what he assumed was the castle by the name of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
So the Heartless should be around here somewhere... Maybe they were inside the castle?
He shrugged to himself. As good a place to start as any.
He walked up to the huge set of double doors and pushed the doors open. He didn't knock, since he didn't even know what knocking was. No one aside from Axel ever bothered drilling manners into him, and even then his knowledge was spotty at best.
Roxas stepped through the doorways and looked around. Grey stone walls, marble staircases, suits of metal - it was nothing like the pristine white halls of The Castle That Never Was. For one, it had colour. Bright banners of blue, green, yellow, and red hung from the walls. Four giant hourglasses, each filled with sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, and rubies, stood under their respective banner of colour. For some reason, Roxas had the urge to shatter them all.
"STUDENT!" a voice shrieked, shattering the silence. "STUDENT OUT OF BED!"
Alarmed, Roxas instinctively summoned his Keyblade and stabbed behind him.
A yelp of pain echoed through the empty corridors, and Roxas turned to see a... creepy floating thing.
Creepy floating thing.
Mission objective sighted.
With almost mechanical movements, the Nobody swung his Keyblade at the creepy floating thing and frowned slightly when it dodged.
"NAUGHTY NAUGHTY KIDDIE OUT OF BEDSIE!" the creepy floating thing sang. "TIME TO GET IN TROUBSY!"
"Peeves!" another voice shouted down the hallway.
The creepy floating thing cackled, flying too high for Roxas's Keyblade to reach. "Ooh, someone's in trouble!"
Without blinking, Roxas threw his Keyblade at the creepy floating thing called Peeves. Peeves shrieked and flew out of sight.
Before he could follow, a gnarled hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. Roxas found himself facing an old, hunchbacked man with bulging pale eyes and a triumphant smile. Circling his feet was a cat.
"Student out of bed," said the man gleefully. "I'm taking you to Dumbledore for punishment."
Roxas furrowed his brows. What was he supposed to do in this situation? Axel once told him to cooperate if he ever got in trouble with someone higher up than him (Xemnas) so the punishment would be less severe. So... He should cooperate with the hunchbacked man? He seemed to be a figure of authority, however disheveled looking compared to Xemnas.
With nothing else to go on, Roxas let the man steer him to somewhere called "Dumbledore."
An old, wrinkled man with a long white beard and twinkling blue eyes stared at the blond boy sitting in front of him thoughtfully. "Argus, you say he was wandering around the halls with Peeves?"
Argus, the hunchbacked man, nodded furiously.
"I see. I can take it from here, thank you for bringing him to me."
Argus looked disappointed for some reason (he had been muttering something about punishing a student himself on the way to Dumbledore), and left.
There was silence as the man (a man, not a place, Roxas realised) called Dumbledore studied the Nobody.
"Let me start off by saying that I know every single student in this castle," Dumbledore finally said. "And you are not one of them."
Roxas wondered if he was still in trouble, and cooperated just in case. Dumbledore also had the air of authority about him. "I am not."
Dumbledore leaned forward. "In that case, would you like to tell me who you are and what you are doing in this school?"
"No, I wouldn't like that at all," Roxas answered honestly.
The old man blinked and bowed his head in thought. "Hmm. In that case, whether you would like to or not, tell me who you are and what you are doing in this school. I cannot have strangers walking these halls if there is any chance they might harm my students."
Roxas obliged. "I am looking for creepy floating things."
White eyebrows flew up. "'Creepy floating things?'"
The blond nodded.
Dumbledore sat silently for a moment before asking, "And what are you going to do with these... creepy floating things?"
"I'm going to kill them."
"... I see."
Roxas nodded. The old man's eyes seemed to be functioning adequately indeed.
"And can you tell me more about these creepy floating things?"
"I can."
Dumbledore waited.
Roxas waited.
"Would you care to elaborate?"
"I would."
Dumbledore seemed to realise something, and he gave a small laugh. "Very well then. Tell me what you know about these creepy floating things."
Roxas rattled off what Saïx had told him about the creepy floating things in verbatim.
No one had ingrained in him the concepts of secrecy yet.
"You are here to kill the Dementors and free the souls they have stolen..." Dumbledore looked amazed and slightly suspicious, but that could just be Roxas. He wasn't very good at telling emotions yet.
"And how exactly will you go about this?" Dumbledore asked.
"By Keyblade."
"Keyblade?"
"Yes."
"Tell me more about this Keyblade."
"It's a giant key that works as a blade."
"I see."
Roxas frowned. Yes, the old man's eyes were working perfectly (although he didn't know what the clear glass with wire rims in front of his eyes were for) - he didn't need to keep affirming it.
"I must deliberate on this with my colleagues," Dumbledore stated. "As much as I too dislike the presence of Dementors here at Hogwarts, I cannot let you kill them just yet."
"Okay."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. It did that alot, Roxas noted. "In the meantime, would you like some accommodation? I sense that you have been answering me honestly all this time, and you do not seem to pose a threat to my students."
Roxas thought about the offer. Was he allowed to stay overnight in a different world? Was he supposed to accept accommodation from an old man he just met? Couldn't he just RTC until the old man let him kill the creepy floating things? But the other Nobodies never returned until they either completed their mission or botched it so bad that it was unsalvageable (Demyx). It was practically an unspoken rule (Roxas was quite proud that he understood the concept of unspoken rules).
What would Axel do?
Well, according to the unspoken rule, he couldn't go back until he finished the mission or failed it completely. So he supposed he could stay here overnight. But accept Dumbledore's offer? Hmm... He could always sleep in the forest. But Axel once said to "make the most out of any situation." Axel explained to him its meaning - did that apply to this situation?
"I can sleep in the forest," Roxas told Dumbledore.
Dumbledore's twinkly eyes widened in - shock? Fear? Disbelief? Roxas wasn't sure; it might be a mix of all three. "Oh no, I cannot let you do that. There are dangerous creatures inhabiting that forest."
"You mean the white-horse-with-a-pointy-horn?" Roxas asked.
"The unicorn?" Dumbledore blinked. "Oh, well, yes, I suppose. There are also spiders, wolves, centaurs, and other such creatures."
"I can take care of myself." Roxas stood. He could make the most out of this situation by accepting Dumbledore's offer and resting, yes, but he could also be spending that time scouting, maybe looking for treasure chests and wayward Heartless. Much more productive, and Saïx like productivity.
Dumbledore stood also. "Are you sure, my boy? The Forbidden Forest is dangerous, and our beds here are quite comfy, if I do say so myself."
"Thanks for the offer, but I can do something else in the meantime."
"Wait - "
But Roxas was already gone.
And Dumbledore realised the boy never told him his name.
Roxas pushed air out of his mouth. That is, he sighed.
Hours of searching, the sun was rising, he was out of the forest, and not a single treasure chest did he find.
Maybe they were hidden really well. Secret areas? Possibly. This was a world of magic.
"Oi!"
Roxas looked up and saw a giant of a man quickly walking toward him. "Oi! Ye there! Ye the kid Dumbledore was talkin' about?"
"I don't know," Roxas answered politely.
The big man stopped and glanced at his black coat. "Well, ye lookit. C'mere, Dumbledore sent me to getcha. Breakfast's startin'."
"I don't - " Roxas found himself dragged into the castle and into a big hall with hundreds of students eating in four colour-coded tables.
"Here, I know three people who'll get along with ye." With that, the big man dumped him in the scarlet-and-gold table, two young boys and a girl in front of him. Some other children looked at him curiously and began whispering to each other. The man said to them, "Be nice ta him, he's Dumbledore's guest."
The man walked away.
The trio of children stared at him curiously.
Roxas stared back at them blankly.
"So," the bushy-haired girl with intelligent eyes said, "Hagrid said Dumbledore found you in the halls?"
"I suppose he did?" Roxas didn't know why they would think he knew what Hagrid - whoever that was - said.
The redheaded boy nodded, swallowing his toast. "Dumbledore wants us to keep you company."
"Okay." What was the point of these questions if they knew what they had to do?
"What's your name?" the black-haired boy asked.
"Number Thirteen," Roxas answered. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to use his given name with people other than the Organization, so he used his rank just in case. He could always use his title - the Key of Destiny - but he thought Thirteen was a bit more time-efficient. Besides, these three didn't have the looks of authority about them, so he supposed he could afford to not cooperate with them.
"Number Thirteen?" the girl repeated incredulously. "That's not a name, that's a number."
"That's what people call me. Isn't that the function of a name?"
"I - I guess..."
"That's a mouthful," the redhead said, ironically with a mouthful of toast.
While the girl scolded the redhead about manners, the black-haired boy asked the Nobody, "So what are you doing here?"
"The big man dragged me here..."
"Hagrid?"
"If that's his name, yes."
"Oh!" the girl said. "He must want you to eat breakfast. Here," she pushed to him a plate of flat circles covered in syrup, "these are good."
Roxas hesitantly picked up a fork and prodded the circles. They were called pancakes, right?
"Eat 'em, mate," said the redhead. "They're not poisonous."
Shrugging mentally, the Nobody took a bite. It tasted unusual, not at all like the bland, tasteless food they served at The Castle That Never Was. He wasn't sure what to think of it. Under the three children's encouraging stares, he finished the plate off quickly and sat back. Glancing around, he saw other children leaving the room, complaining about things like "Urgh, I have Double Potions today!" and "I haven't finished my essay, Professor Sprout's gonna kill me!"
"C'mon," the girl said, standing up, "we're going to be late for class."
Roxas stood up and looked inquisitively at Dumbledore, who was making his way toward them. The Headmaster smiled at the blond warmly. "Ah! Our welcome guest! I am sorry, but I believe I never had a chance to ask for you name last night."
"His name is Number Thirteen," the bushy-haired girl supplied.
Dumbledore's eyebrow flew way up. "Is that so?"
"He's Thirteen for short," the redhead added.
"I see."
"I think everyone knows your eyes are working well, Dumbledore," said Roxas.
The three looked at him in confusion, and Dumbledore chuckled. He then lowered his voice, pulling Roxas away from the trio so they wouldn't overhear. "I haven't had a chance to talk to the Ministry about the Dementors, but I have scheduled a meeting with them later today. I'm sorry, but you cannot hunt down the Dementors just yet. In the meanwhile," Dumbledore's functioning eyes twinkled, "I cannot let you wander around the school without supervision. The teachers all have classes, Argus has his duties, and I myself am quite busy."
"I can go into the forest," Roxas suggested. "I'll stay out of the way."
"No," Dumbledore said firmly. "Too dangerous."
"But I'm - "
"You think you can handle the Dementors, and you might, but the creatures there, while dangerous, must also not be disturbed. I cannot let you hurt them or let them hurt you. So," Dumbledore smiled, "I have decided to let you tag along with the students. I see you've been making friends with those three already." He waved a hand at the conspicuously curious trio. "You will go with them to their classes for the rest of the day until such time that you can do - or not do, if all does not go well - whatever you are here for."
Roxas processed all this. He could be using that time to scout around, look for treasure chests, hunt Heartless, train - anything. He could even be starting on a mission report. But... He glanced at the kind-looking man. Cooperation, right? He wasn't sure if he was out of trouble yet or not, and if he wasn't sure, then he should play it safe and keep cooperating...
"Fine."
Dumbledore clapped. "Excellent."
Roxas followed the black-haired boy and the redhead into a rather stuffy and stifling room dimly lit with red light. A fire heated a kettle in the mantelpiece, giving off a strange smell that Roxas wasn't sure he liked. There were shelves pushed against the walls, all filled with packs of cards, teacups, crystal balls, and candle stubs. The Nobody followed his guides' lead and sat on a poofy couch.
On the way to the classroom (the redhead called the class "Divination" - Roxas fleetingly wondered whether it had something to do with fighting in berserk mode; Saïx was the Luna Diviner, after all), the two boys bombarded him with question after question. Roxas managed to answer them without revealing anything; Axel, Saïx and the Superior had told him to be wary of people asking too many questions.
"Dumbledore didn't tell us anything," the redhead had whined. "Just said we're supposed to drag you around with us until whenever."
Roxas pulled himself from his thoughts and blinked at the teacher who had arrived. Professor Trelawney, the black-haired boy called her.
Professor Trelawney greeted the class and the guest - she, along with the rest of the class, stared at him curiously and, in some cases, suspiciously - and started the class. "Today, we are going to review your tea leaves..."
Ten minutes later, Roxas was draining his cup of tea and the black-haired boy was studying the contents of the redhead's teacup and vice versa. They were both looking at their textbooks dubiously.
"So," the black-haired boy said, "says here... You're going to... Get attacked by a hive of bees?"
The redhead huffed. "Yeah? Apparently, you're gonna get struck by lightning."
The black-haired boy snickered him. Then he looked over at Roxas. "What about you, Thirteen?"
Roxas shrugged. He had been disappointed when he found out they were only "reading" tea leaves. Shame. And he thought he was going to learn Saïx's fighting style.
The redhead snatched his teacup and squinted at the dregs. "Err... I see nothing."
The black-haired boy took the cup. "I think I see a sun. Could just be my imagination though."
The redhead snorted. "It's probably your imagination. In any case, it says here the sun means great happiness. Basically," the redhead told the blank-faced Roxas, "you're gonna be happy. Congratulations, that's probably the first good fortune anyone's foretold anyone."
"That's unlikely," Roxas stated flatly. He was a Nobody, he didn't have a heart, and thus could not possibly feel happiness. Unless Kingdom Hearts was completed and he got his heart back. Then it was entirely possible.
Professor Trelawney came by and peered at their teacups. " Hmm. How strange..." She picked up Roxas's teacup and looked closer. "I see nothing here..."
Someone snickered. "Probably doesn't have a future then."
Professor Trelawney glared at Roxas. "You must have done it wrong!"
The Nobody merely gazed at her with emotionless blue eyes.
Professor Trelawney looked away and went on.
The rest of the class passed by uneventfully.
The rest of the day passed by uneventfully as well. Roxas, since he didn't have a wand, only sat in the sidelines most of the time.
Transfiguation was mostly spent watching other students try to change a rock into a raven. The redhead managed to transform the rock into a pile of black feathers before giving up. The black-haired boy wasn't much better: his was a weird half-bird/half-rock thing that had no business existing in the first place. The bushy-haired girl was one of the only three people who did it successfully.
Potions was disastrous. Roxas had to assist the black-haired boy in making the redhead's potion stable (as in non-explosive) before the greasy-looking professor passed them by with a sneer.
In Defence Against the Dark Arts, the students were learning the Freezing Spell (Glacius). The students were able to do it with various success. The bushy-haired girl successfully froze the jar of water she was given. The black-haired boy coated it with ice, for the most part. The redhead (apparently due to a misunderstanding of wand movements) could only summon a cold mist.
Roxas couldn't figure out why they didn't just use Blizzard. It was more powerful, more effective, and more useful against Red Nocturnes and other (Emblem) Heartless.
Care for Magical Creatures wasn't any more interesting. It was mostly writing and observing. The big man, Hagrid, introduced them to a strange creature called a Clabbert. It looked like a cross between a monkey and a frog, and the pustule on its forehead kept flashing red whenever Roxas approached it.
Hagrid later explained that it did that when it sensed danger.
Hmm.
Dinner was a noisy affair.
Roxas, still stuck with the trio, warded off the bushy-haired girl's questions and focussed on figuring out what he was supposed to eat.
He poked a slice of... something... with his fork. "Bushy-Haired Girl, what is this called?"
The bushy-haired girl blinked, then blushed furiously. "Oh, um, are you talking to me?"
"Yes."
The redhead swallowed what looked like a pile of pale yellow mush. "She has a name, you know."
"I am aware of that, but you never told me your names."
"Oh," the girl said, still red in the face. The amount of blood it must've taken to produce that shade... "Sorry, I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger."
"I'm Ron Weasley," the redhead said.
"And I'm Harry Potter," the black-haired boy finished.
"Alright. Hermione, what is this called?" He poked the slice of something again.
"That's chicken pot pie," Ron said through a mouthful of food.
Roxas frowned. Chicken pot? Was that a species of chicken he wasn't aware of?
"I still can't believe you've been hanging with us the entire day without knowing our names," Hermione's muttered.
They finished eating and went back to their dorms. On the way there, Roxas was approached by Dumbledore.
"Thirteen," greeted Dumbledore kindly. "I have received word from the Ministry. Come with me to my office."
"The Ministry?" Hermione's wondered as the wizard and the Nobody walked away.
Harry stared at the two. "Could be something to do with why Thirteen's here in the first place."
Ron snorted. "Maybe Thirteen's trying to kill the Dementors."
The trio stared at each other and laughed.
Roxas sat in front of Dumbledore's crowded desk.
"The Ministry refuses to have the Dementors erased," Dumbledore began. "According to them, guarding prisoners in Azkaban - and searching for escaped prisoners - are an essential service and thus cannot be taken out of the force. They also had trouble believing that anyone can kill the Dementors. No spell, potion, or weapon has ever been powerful enough to defeat them; the Expecto Patronus charm can only drive them away. And no," Dumbledore added, seeing the look on the Nobody's face, "I did not tell them about your Keyblade... Or about you, actually. I thought it prudent to keep your arrival under wraps."
"So what now?" Roxas muttered to himself.
If he wanted to cooperate with Dumbledore, then that would mean not killing the creepy floating things and failing the mission. No, that wasn't an option. But was he still in trouble? Did he still need to cooperate with Dumbledore?
What would Axel do?
After a minute of internal debate, Roxas concluded that Axel wouldn't care what Dumbledore or this Ministry thought in the first place and would do whatever it took to get the job done.
Well then.
Roxas stood up, not paying attention to Dumbledore's explanations.
"... and as much as I support your mission to get rid of the Dementors in the school, I - wait, what are you doing...?"
But Number Thirteen was already gone through the window.
Roxas defeated the last of the Dementors, freeing the captive souls (and hearts), and looked around.
The big field with the weird hoops and stands was clear of any creepy floating things.
The Dementors weren't much of a fight, and attracting them was only a matter of summoning his Keyblade. Sure, they looked awful, but Roxas had seen worse. There was that mission in Raccoon City, after all. Nothing can beat Raccoon City. Plus, he didn't have emotions and thus didn't feel fear or revulsion...
And that sucks-out-your-happiness ability Saïx mentioned? Wouldn't work if he didn't feel happiness to begin with. And the invoke-your-worst-memories thing wouldn't work well on Roxas because he didn't have much memories to begin with.
The Dementors had met their match.
Then, Roxas remembered Dumbledore mentioning a prison called Azkaban, where the Dementors primarily worked...
It seemed he had more hearts to collect.
A blank-faced Roxas stabbed the final Dementors in the prison and looked down at the cowering man on the other side of the metal bars.
He was a prisoner, right? Prisoners were considered bad people, right?
Roxas shrugged. Not his problem.
And so, Number Thirteen summoned a Corridor of Darkness and went back to The Castle That Never Was, leaving behind a prison of unguarded criminals, a frantic Ministry of Magic, and general mass confusion in The Wizarding World.
END
( stay tuned for the epilogue )