AN: I'm not a millionaire so I must not own Kingdom Hearts or Harry Potter. Darn...
Chapter One
Voldemort's Victory and the Destruction of the Wizarding World
The Dark Lord has risen again.
Lord Voldemort looked toward the distance as he reverently ran his spider-like hands over his new body, inspecting it for and fault or deficient. Apparently satisfied, he grabbed his white wand of yew from the lax fingers of Peter Pettigrew, holding it gently between his thumb and index finger. He closed his red slitted eyes, flicked his wand, and robes that seemed to be made from the shadows themselves garbed his pale, skeletal frame.
For the first time Voldemort looked at the one who made this all possible; Harry Potter was struggling against his bonds. The Tri-Wizard Cup was, in actuality, a port-key enchanted by one of his most loyal followers deep in Dumbledore's camp designed to transport the first person who touched it to this graveyard. Voldemort smirked, his yearlong plan had finally come to fruition, He had returned, greater and more terrible than ever before; he could practically feel the powerful protective charm of the Potter brat's mudblood mother thrumming through his veins.
"Master..." panted Wormtail gaining his Lord's attention.
Voldemort sneered down at the whimpering form of his most cowardly follower, Peter Pettigrew.
"Wormtail..." hissed the Dark Lord.
"Please Master, my... my hand."
He held his arm up and where there should have been a hand there was instead a jagged bloody stump.
Voldemort's sneer grew more pronounced at the pitiful wizard's begging. He pointed his wand at the wound and molten quicksilver poured from it's tip forming the basic shape for a human hand. The magical prosthesis attached to his arm looking like a shiny silver glove. Wormtail picked up a large chunk of broken headstone and crushed it into dust with his new hand.
"Thank you Master, it is beautiful My Lord."
"May your loyalty never waiver again, Wormtail. Now go back to headquarters and await further instructions."
Pettigrew nodded and disapparated.
The true heir of Salazar Slytherin turned his attention back to his fourteen year old hostage.
"Harry Potter, why are you in such a hurry. The night's festivities have barely begun, we have one other guest of honor joining us."
Voldemort's sibilant voice stretched the 's' sounds in his speech.
Harry stopped his struggling, he had been trying to pull his wand out of an inner pocket of his tournament robes but it was no good, the cords Wormtail bound him with were too tight to allow him to move much so he settled for glaring at the darkest sorcerer since Dark Lady Morgan Le Fay terrorized the Isles.
"Why haven't you killed me yet?" Asked Harry sardonically. "You're falling into a horrible trope right now."
Voldemort actually chuckled.
"We'll get there don't worry, but first, how about a story?"
Harry's temper got the better of him and he cheeked Voldemort again.
"Oh goody, I never got bed time stories at the Dursley's!"
Voldemort continued as though he hadn't been interrupted.
"It starts shortly after you stopped me from obtaining the Philosopher's Stone. I was living as a wraith in the forests of Albania and had to posses a new animal every few days to interact with the material world when I was approached by someone. She was a powerful witch and I admit I tried to take her body for my own but was quickly rebuffed; in my weakened form I was no match for this Dark Lady."
Voldemort made a creepy, hissing chuckle.
"Her name was Maleficent and she called herself the Mistress of All Evil, and all she wanted to do was talk to me. I was curious so I possessed a nearby snake and slithered closer to her. She told me of her study in the darkness residing in the hearts of men and it's power, then she said that the world itself has a heart that contains vast amounts of energy and that if one were to open the 'door' to that realm then one would destroy that world."
He was about to continue when a pillar of green flame erupted from the ground and when it died down a person was standing there.
"Ah, Lady Maleficent, so good of you to come."
Maleficent was a tall woman, nearly seven feet, with pale, greenish skin and arched eyebrows, and yellow sclera. She had a black horned helmet of some sort that covered her hair and a robe as dark as Voldemort's that was lined with a muted purple cloth and had a high collar. She carried a scepter-like stave that had a pulsing green gem on top on which perched a raven.
"Lord Voldemort, it is good to see you with a body."
He nodded towards the teenage boy.
"I was just teaching young Potter about the true properties of this world."
"Ah,"
She seemed to glide along the floor, her long robes concealing her feet as she approached and knelt at the still glaring hostage.
"What a darling little boy."
Harry's glare intensified and she ran a sharp, black nail down his cheek making a thin cut in the skin.
Voldemort hissed into the night and a long green snake slithered out of the shadows, it reared itself up and draped it's thick body over the Dark Lord's skinny shoulders.
Voldemort spoke in parseltongue.
"My dear Nagini, It's good to see you in the flesh again."
Harry couldn't hear what Nagini said in response as it was too quiet.
Maleficent stood and glided back to her contemporary.
"Are you ready, Lord Voldemort?"
"Yes," said Tom, turning away from his familiar, "Did you hold up your end of the bargain?"
"The Dark Witch known as Bellatrix Lestrange as well as the Dark Wizard Bartemius Crouch Jr. are in stasis and awaiting transport."
Caskets holding two people appeared in a burst of flames, a young man with disheveled brown hair dressed in a leather duster, black shirt, and black cargo pants tucked into shiny black boots, and a dark-haired woman in her late thirties wearing dirty prison robes. Both of them were clutching their chosen wands like a lifeline.
(AN: I just couldn't get rid of these two characters, they really are Voldemort's coolest Death Eaters.)
She waved her scepter and several objects appeared in the air. A gleaming tiara, a golden locket, an old ring, and a chalice.
"They were right where you told me they would be."
Voldemort flicked his wand and banished the artifacts to a storage trunk he had prepared in advance.
The two Dark Sorcerers turned back to Harry who had started struggling in his bonds again.
"Now where was I before I was pleasantly distracted? Oh yes! When you open the door to the heart of a world you feed something known as Kingdom Hearts. If you gain control of Kingdom Hearts you gain control of that power."
Harry couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Do you realize how crazy this all sounds?"
Voldemort smirked.
"Yes, I didn't believe at first but Lady Maleficent provided me with undeniable proof."
Maleficent raised her stave and five small, black rabbit-like creatures appeared from the shadows.
"These are the most basic kinds of Heartless," began the Dark Witch, "When a normal person is consumed by the darkness in their heart they leave their body behind and become one of several types of Heartless."
Harry scowled.
"Okay, so it's all true. What do you plan on doing? And would you please let me go? These cords are starting to chafe and it's really uncomfortable, if this is how you treat your guests it's no wonder you're considered a Dark Lord."
"A rash is the least of your problems, Harry Potter. For you see, the Heartless have already made their way into the heart of this world and are waiting on our command."
Maleficent took that as her cue and sent a pulse of green energy into the ground.
The ground started shaking and the already night sky darkened even moreso as storm clouds gathered.
The Dark Lord cackled.
"Come, Lord Voldemort! We must away before the worlds condition deteriorates even more."
The Mistress of Evil opened an inky black portal and Voldemort summoned a shrunken trunk from Riddle Manor.
"This is good bye, Harry Potter. It's too bad I won't get to kill you myself but we can't get everything we want."
Voldemort shrugged his snake covered shoulders and followed Maleficent into the Corridor of Darkness levitating his favored disciples behind him.
As soon as the portal closed Harry started struggling furiously against the cords before finally succeeding in removing his wand from his inner pocket. "Diffindo!" A sickle of energy cut through the ropes binding him and he stood up, all the while watching the increasingly bad weather.
He absently put his wand back into his robes.
The clouds coalesced into a tight ball before imploding on itself and turning into a gigantic orb of black and purple energy that started falling towards the Earth.
'Oh, that's not good!'
Before Harry could start running for the port-key the ball of darkness collided with a town a few miles away. The ground shook and Harry fell over hitting his head on a tombstone before blacking out.
000 Scene Change/Time Skip 000
A brown-haired man wearing a leather jacket embroidered with stylized red wings and lined with white fur and black pants was doing his scheduled patrol in the world known as Traverse Town. Squall Leonhart, more commonly known as Leon, looked up towards the sky as a twinkling light caught his attention.
Far away a star in the night sky fazed out of existence and Leon sighed; Cid would want to know of this.
Passing by an alleyway he looked to his left in an attempt to spot any Heartless ambushes and saw a shoed foot peeking out from behind some crates. Drawing his signature sword, a silver blade with a revolver chamber right above a black pistol grip, he cautiously approached.
Brandishing his weapon, he ran around wooden boxes.
It was a teenage boy, the lad had shoulder length black hair parted over his right eye and circular glasses, he was wearing a slightly battered and singed kneelength black robe with a ornate crest and gold accents, the robe had short sleeves allowing for the sleeves of a long red tee-shirt to peek through, he had leather fingerless gloves and black pants with red and gold stripes running up the outer seams and dark leather tennis shoes. The boy was tall for his age and had a curious shaped scar peeking out from under his raven-colored fringe.
(AN: He's wearing what he wore when he flew against the dragon in the fourth movie.)
"Now who the hell are you?"
Shrugging, picked the teen up and hoisted him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. It looked like Traverse Town was going to get another refugee from another destroyed world.
000 Scene Change/Time Skip 000
Harry Potter groaned and slowly opened his green eyes.
"He's waking up!" Said an excitable female voice only to be reprimanded by a slightly older girl.
"Shush, Yuffie."
Gentle hands put his glasses on his face and two blurry forms swam into view.
The older one was a brunette who's hair was tied back in a long braid with a red bow leaving her bangs to part and frame her gently smiling face. She had blue eyes and was garbed in a light pink dress, she wore light brown leather boots and had a blue belt resting on her hips.
The younger one had short black hair, dark eyes, a happy grin, and had a white headband under her bangs. She had a yellow scarf and wore a green tube top that exposed her flat and slightly muscled midriff held up by two blue belts and brown fingerless gloves that went to her elbows under which were fishnet stockings that went to her shoulders. She had tan short shorts and a blue belt similar but different to the other girl's, and brown boots that went past her ankle with long white stockings.
"Um... Hi..." said Harry as he slowly inched his hand to his hidden wand.
"There won't be any need for that," said the brown-haired girl, noticing Harry's guarded expression, "whoever you are, we are not your enemy. We found you in an alley and brought you back to our home to heal you up."
Harry relaxed, for some reason he felt he could trust these two.
"Thanks, my name's Harry Potter."
He held his hand out to shake.
Both girls smiled (the younger one's grin widened.)
The older one grasped his hand.
"My name's Aerith Gainsborough.
The younger one bounced infront of him.
"My name's The Great Ninja, Yuffie Kisaragi. Happy to meet ya!"
Harry felt himself give his signature lopsided grin, he liked the energy this girl seemed to radiate. His grin faded when he realized he still didn't know where he was or what happened after he was knocked unconscious.
"Er... Where am I?"
An apathetic voices answered from the doorway.
"You're the latest refugee in Traverse Town."
The man had shoulder length brown hair and seemed partial to black leather and belts.
"My names Squall Leonhart, but I prefer it if everyone called me Leon," he shot a look at Aerith, "any way, you're here because you had a strong enough will and heart to survive the destruction of your world."
At the end of his sentence Harry remembered the events of the night in horrifying clarity.
Harry cupped his face with his hand and the air grew heavy and charged with static electricity like before a rainstorm as Harry's magic got away from him.
The three other people in the room were instantly put on edge.
"My home, my home is gone?" Asked Harry in an empty voice as the air distorted further and the fluorescent lights flickered.
Aerith made a sympathetic noise and approached Harry, hoping to get him to calm down.
"Hey, hey, it's alright," even to her the words sounded hollow, "the same thing happened to us. Our worlds are gone as well."
"And what of my friends?"
"If they had a strong heart and will then they too may have escaped to another world."
The pressure of Harry's magic let up and he looked at Aerith with a sad smile.
"Then they're alright," said Harry, trying to convince himself, "both Ron and Hermione are two of the most stubborn people I know, they won't let a little thing like the end of the world stop them."
Yuffie bounced on her heels.
"That's the spirit!"
Harry suddenly stood.
"Voldemort!"
"Gesundheit."
Harry looked at Yuffie.
"I didn't sneeze. Dark Lord Voldemort, he's the wizard who called the Heartless to my world, him and his partner Maleficent!"
Harry was roughly pushed against a wall by Squall.
"What do you mean, Maleficent was at your world, and she partnered with a powerful Dark Wizard? What happened?"
Harry pulled his wand from his robe as soon as Leon had grabbed him and sent a strong Disarming Charm into the dour man's abdomen throwing him back arse over teakettle into the wall on the other side of the room.
"Leon!"
Aerith ran and knelt at Squall's side as the leather clad man shakily stood rubbing his stomach.
"I'll explain if you kindly refrain from grabbing me like that again." said Harry, still pointing his wand at Squall.
Leon looked to the side of the room facing a back alley water way where his sword was leaning against the wall.
Aerith and Yuffie moved in unison and smacked the back of the heads of the boy they were closest to.
"There will be no fighting here."
Both Squall and Harry looked at eachother before they both nodded and Leon said:
"Whatever..."
(AN: I couldn't resist.)
Harry lowered his wand but he did not sheath it.
Yuffie looked to Harry.
"How did you do that? I've never seen magic like that before."
Harry raised an eyebrow and was about to explain when the voice of an old man came from the doorway.
"It was a Disarming Charm. One of the first offensive spells taught to wizarding children, though I must say that particular one was very powerful. Normally it's only supposed to relieve the target of whatever they're holding not throw someone away."
The heads of everyone turned towards the door.
It was an old man who was dressed in a simple light blue robe, slippers, and pointed hat. He wore round glasses and had a long white beard and shoulder length white hair. He carried both a long white wand, a brown walking cane, and had a single bag of luggage floating behind him.
Harry vaguely recognized this man from somewhere.
"Merlin, It's good to see you again."
'Holy shit!'
Harry stumbled backwards toward the bed and sat down.
"H-how are you alive? You're supposed to be in Avalon."
Merlin chuckled.
"I assure you dear boy that rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated."
"What's he talking about, Merlin?" Enquired Yuffie with a cutely puzzled expression on her face.
Harry turned an incredulous eye on the other people in the room.
"Don't you know whom you speak to so casually? This is Lord Merlin Ambrosius, one of the most powerful and well known wizards in my world! He was supposed to have died over nine hundred years ago after teaching his four apprentices; Gryffindor of Moor, Ravenclaw from Glen, Hufflepuff from Valley Broad, and Slytherin from Fen."
"Please, just call me Merlin" said the old man, making a shushing motion with his hands, "I'm tired of my fame, I prefer living in anonymity," he got a shrewd look in his eye as he saw the lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead, "but you'd know all about that Harry James Potter, Boy-Who-Lived."
Harry stood up, ignoring the confused expressions on the faces of the other three, and walked to Merlin.
"How did you know me if you left our world?"
Merlin chuckled.
"I still pop in every now and then in different guises. I know all about you."
Harry sighed.
"When was the last time you 'popped in'?"
Merlin thought hard.
"In your years it'd be nineteen eighty six."
"Well you're a little behind on events, with the help of one of his followers Voldemort resurrected himself and partnered with a witch called Maleficent to introduce Heartless to the 'Heart of the World', whatever that means," he stopped infront of the increasingly grave elder, "our world is gone, as far as I know you, Voldemort, two of his most fanatical apprentices, and I are all that's left."
Merlin sighed sadly before looking up, a fire in his dark eyes.
"You must come with me." He looked to an annoyed Leon, "Squall (he flinched), you need to see Cid, he found another refugee; a boy bearing a large key."
Recognition flared in Squalls eyes and he left the room. Yuffie and Aerith made to follow him but Merlin stopped them by blocking their path with his cane.
"Two visitors from King Mickey are here, you two need to find them and escort them to Cid's shop I have new orders for them. I'll meet you there with Harry in an hour."
The two girls left but not before Yuffie looked over her shoulder and waved at Harry, a small blush on her cheeks.
"Harry, now that we are alone we need to talk."
The boy nodded and Merlin gestured for Harry to follow him down a flight of stairs and out a set of double doors leading into an alley way between the building they were in and an incredibly tall wall.
Hary followed Merlin down to the far end of the alley passing under strings of lit lanterns, every so often they would pass a poster telling people that it wasn't safe out of doors and to always take company with you wherever you go. Fireflies blinked in the humid summer air and despite the perpetual night that the town seemed encased in it was relatively warm.
"This way, were nearly there."
The voice of Merlin broke Harry out of his reverie.
Merlin led Harry to a wooden door that had the glowing image of a tongue of flame embossed on it. Extracting his wand, Merlin gave it a flick and a small gout of fire burst forth and hit the door which glowed and slid open.
"Come."
Harry pulled his wand and entered a natural atrium made out of black stone. The room was large and empty except for a hut on the middle of a deep lake that took up the majority of the floor.
Merlin flicked his wand again and a bridge of ice arose from the depths of the lake. Harry scurried after the quiet wizard.
Entering the house, which was empty except for a raised stone platform in the center of the circular room, Merlin sat his bag down and opened it. Bouncing on his heels, he waved his wand like an orchestra conductor and all manner of shrunken furniture and books jumped out and circled around the two magicals before finding their proper place along the smooth walls.
After that Merlin turned back to the young lad.
"Harry. I'm old," he settled himself into a squashy armchair, "I don't have the endurance to combat both Maleficent and Voldemort as well as his most powerful apprentices."
The look of resignation on the legendary wizard's face sent Harry into a panic.
"Then what are we going to do?"
Merlin reached over and grabbed his cane before handing it to Harry.
"You must fight them."
Harry nearly dropped Merlin's stave.
"What! I'm fourteen, how am I supposed to fight with the four most powerful dark wizards and witches I've ever seen?"
"Harry, think for a moment! You are strong! I felt it the moment I stepped foot on this world. The strength of your magic as well as your heart ensured your survival when all was lost, it will pull you through the dark times ahead."
Harry looked at the stave.
"Harry," continued Merlin in a softer voice, "when you get to be my age you begin to understand the significance of these acts of magic. You of all the people being the one to make it out of the wizarding world means something. Out of all the worlds you could've been sent to your arrival here means something, just like meeting Squall and the others means something."
Harry looked up from the stick of wood in his hand and Merlin was surprised to find tears in his eyes.
He spoke in a whisper.
"If I go out there will I find my friends, my family? I refuse to accept that I was the only wizard to live through the end of the world."
Merlin sighed in thought.
"I honestly don't know."
Harry looked down, dejected.
"But I can say this with absolute certainty; if you don't get out there and look for them chances are you'll never find them, be proactive in your endeavors."
Harry looked up and Merlin was happy to see the tears were gone and a steely, determined glint was shining in his emerald orbs.
"Alright, I'll do it."
Merlin smiled underneath his silver beard and flicked his wand making a green book materialize between them.
"Harry, this book will be tied to your magic, when you are ready to learn a new spell or ability a page will be filled in with the details; just because Hogwarts is gone doesn't mean you should stop your education."
He handed the book to Harry who struggled with the cumbersome tome, his wand and his new stave.
Merlin chuckled.
"Don't worry Harry, when we get to Cid's odd's and end store I'm sure he'll have something to hold that book and whatever other artifacts you find out there. If you want to shrink that book all you have to do is place a finger on the cover and say 'dubitat' if you want it to grow you tap it and say 'crescit'."
Harry tapped the cover and softly said "dubitat," shrinking the heavy book to the size of a pocket notebook that he slipped in an inside pocket of his tournament cloak.
"Ready, Harry?"
The boy nodded and switched his new stave to his left hand before pocketing his wand to be drawn with his right.
The two wizards left the hut and set out for Cid's shop.
000 Scene Change/Time Skip 000
Harry and Cid talked about Harry's strength's and weaknesses and his experiences on the way to Traverse Town's First District, the only perpetually safe area in the city. When Harry asked why the Heartless were not attacking them Merlin explained that there were few things the creatures of the darkness feared but he, an artifact called the Keyblade, and a man called Yen Sid, were some of them.
"Your strength in defensive magic will serve you well but I want you to continue practicing your Transfigurations, Charms, and Potions, all three will help you on your journey, If I can I will send you instructions on other more obscure branches of magic including alchemy and the mind arts."
"Yes, Merlin."
"Very good, now, we're here."
The master sorcerer flicked his wand and the large door to the First District opened wide enough for the two of them to walk through.
The town square had several shops selling weapons, restorative items, and accessories/armor. Walking down a set of steps put the two infront of a shop that had a sign that proclaimed it to be 'Cid's'.
They entered the small store and Harry saw Leon as well as Aerith and Yuffie (who blushed a bit on seeing Harry). Behind the counter Harry saw an older man with short blond hair and a white tee-shirt with dark blue pants and a thick orange belt with dark brown boots. He had a toothpick in his mouth and had a surly expression on his face. Standing in front a fireplace was a teenage boy roughly the same age as Harry, he had spiky brown hair, blue eyes, and tan skin. He wore a white and black hooded jacket and a red shirt, red shorts held up with a blue belt, yellow sneakers, and white fingerless gloves, he had several belts of various color, zippers, and chains including one that had a charm in the shape of a crown around his neck.
"What took so long, Merlin," spoke the older man in a gruff, gravely, voice.
"Nothing much, just finishing a talk with young Harry, here."
For the first time since the two stepped into the room all the attention was on Harry and, as always, he felt uncomfortable.
"This the kid Leon found unconscious?"
"Yes."
Aerith spoke up.
"Why does he have your cane, Merlin"
"Because I want Harry to travel with the Keybearer."
Most of the occupants of the room looked at Harry in shock, except for Yuffie; who looked sad that Harry wasn't going to be around more often, and Sora; who was grinning at his new traveling companion.
"Harry will be needed to fight against the magical enemies, Maleficent and her new ally Lord Voldemort and his disciples Bartemius Crouch and Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry has the knowledge to counter them if we act quickly."
Harry added on.
"I also want to find my friends, they're so stubborn I doubt the end of the world would be enough to kill them. He looked at each of the occupants of the room. If you could tell me if you see them I would appreciate it; they're two of them, one is a tall red-headed boy named Ron Weasley, the other is a girl shorter than me with bushy brown hair, her name is Hermione Granger, usually she's seen with a book in her possession,
The brown-haired boy nodded and approached.
"I'm also looking for my friends, one is a boy a year older than me with silver hair and blue eyes, his name's Riku, the other is a girl with red hair and blue eyes, named Kairi."
The Keybearer looked at Harry and grinned.
"My name is Sora."
He held out his left hand and Harry shook it with his right.
"Harry Potter."
Merlin broke the reverie.
"Cid, do you have anything in a durable pouch or a rucksack?"
"Jus' give me a minute."
He went into his back room and left a few moments later carrying a dark leather pouch on a equally dark leather belt.
"Here you go."
He tossed the pouch which Merlin caught and enchanted all in one motion before handing it to Harry.
(AN: He's Merlin, I ain't gotta explain s***)
"Harry, I've charmed that bag to hold more than it should. anything you put inside will be shrunken down and charmed to be feather light."
Harry thanked the old man and put the belt on over his cloak and let it hang off his hips.
"Now, before you leave you need to find two people. King Mickey sent out his court magician and the captain of his royal guards I need to relay their new mission."
Yuffie bounced infront of Harry and threw her arm over his shoulders (with only a little blush on her cheeks.)
"Sorry, but Aerith and I couldn't find them anywhere."
Harry blushed as well but put his arm around Yuffie's waist to thank her for trying (making Aerith grin knowingly and Yuffie's blush intensify to Ginny Weasley-like levels.)
"Don't worry, we'll find them," retorted Harry.
"Yeah," added Sora, "and we'll take the chance to look for our friends."
Harry smiled, nodded and the two boys left the shop.
"So Sora," asked Harry, "where should we go?"
The brunette shrugged. Let's try the Third District, it's the only place I haven't been yet.
"Alright."
The two young heroes set off and climbed the stairs leading to the Second District. Pulling his wand as Sora summoned the keyblade. They took a few steps and were surrounded by Heartless that rose from the shadows. Sora prepared to strike when he felt an odd presence. The air grew heavy and he looked to Harry.
"These are the monsters that destroyed my home. Sora, let me get these ones, okay? I need to vent some frustrations."
Sora relaxed his posture and nodded.
"Sure, you gonna be okay?"
Harry turned to him and smiled as the pressure left the air, making it easier to breath.
"Yeah, no problem."
He turned back to the encroaching darkness; these things sure weren't as intimidating as the basilisk or a single dementor (let alone a hundred at the same time.)
He readied his stave in his left hand and wand in the right. Aiming at the nearest Heartless he shouted, "Confringo!" A smoky, purple grenade of energy shot at the Heartless and was vaporised on contact, stunning Sora.
'What! A single word and that much damage!"
Harry grinned and ran headlong into the throng of Heartless. A shadow leapt at his right side and he stopped it with a whispered "Immobulus!" before setting it ablaze with a yelled "Incendio!" Ignoring the smoldering Heartless he ducked under a horizontal slash aimed for his head before striking back with the cane. He was surprised when, instead of doing very little, it sent a pulse of magic at the creature and threw it into a nearby brick wall where it burst into inky, black ichor. He swirled his wand above his head and shouted "Glacius!" The remaining two Shadows were frozen solid in a super cold burst of magic and Harry smashed them into shards by throwing them into a wall with two Banishing Charms.
The entire fight took less then twenty seconds.
Harry exhaled, that felt good; getting that small amount of retribution for his lost home world.
"Harry, that was amazing."
Harry rubbed the back of his head as he felt himself blush.
"No, the most advanced spell I know right now was the first one, Confingo, the others are all pretty basic spells taught to eleven through fourteen year olds at my old school. Recently I had to do a lot of unwanted training for a competition I was forced into so I know a few spells above my age group. What did surprise me was the stave, I thought it was just a walking stick that could be used for emergency physical attacks."
Sora still looked impressed.
"Well, it was still cool, but we really should work together from now on."
Harry grinned.
"No problem, let's continue to the Third District."
And so they had, dispatching more Heartless on the way.
000 Perspective Shift 000
On the roof of a nearby building.
The gruff voice of the shop owner, Cid, spoke.
"Wow... Forgive me for doubting you, Merlin. I'll admit it, he's good."
"And he'll only grow stronger with more experience. From the little he told me during our talk on the way to your shop he already has more life or death combat experience than anyone should at that age."
Leon nodded and rubbed his bruised stomach where the 'Disarming Charm' hit him earlier.
Aerith looked at Yuffie out of the corner of her eye. The black haired girl was slightly flushed as she looked on Harry's form. The older girl got a wicked gleam in her eye; it looked like it was time for a 'sisterly' chat... after all, Yuffie had never shown any interest in boys before.
Yuffie noticed the gleam in her eyes and the smirk on her 'older sister's' face and gulped; she had the feeling that she was going to be embarrassed very soon.
000 Perspective Shift 000
The two young warriors arrived at the door to the Third District slightly winded; Harry had been trying to work in more physical attacks to his combat style not wanting to drive himself to magical exhaustion.
"Where did you get such good reflexes?" Asked Sora, as the two sat down and rested before moving on.
Harry ginned somewhat tiredly.
"Most everything's slow when compared to a iron ball shooting at your head doing speeds upwards of sixty miles per hour."
Sora cocked his head to the side.
"Huh?"
Harry laughed.
"I'll explain later, don't worry." The two were silent for a bit as they gained their breath. "What about you, how did you learn how to fight? Someone doesn't just pick up a sword and instantly know how to wield it."
Sora smiled at the memories.
"I spent a lot of my childhood sword fighting with my friends back on the islands so that helps, of course, I think the Keyblade itself is helping me."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
Sora shrugged.
"I don't really understand it either, I'm just going with the flow, rolling with the punches, so to speak."
Harry nodded and stood, patting the back of his robe off before extending his hand to his newest friend.
"Ready to go?"
"Yeah."
The two pushed the double doors leading to the Third District and stepped in. It was more blue bricked buildings and seemingly empty houses. Walking down a ramp they entered a vacant lot with high walls and a golden fountain ornamented with kissing dogs.
Harry and Sora were looking around when two screams rent the night air before they were crushed to the pavement.
000 Perspective Shift 000
A tall, anthromorphic black dog looked over the railing of a balcony.
"A'hyuk!"
There was a swooping noise and an armored Soldier Heartless somersaulted from nowhere. The dog raised his blue circular shield embossed with a black circle topped with two ear-like black ovals.
"Gawrsh, are these the Heartless guys?
A short white duck brandished a mages rod that was topped with a miniature witches hat.
"Let's go get 'em, Goofy!"
Ten seconds later the two were booted off the balcony with comical ease.
The two landed on top of two other people. Looking up dazed, the duck and dog said at the same time, "The Key!"
000 Perspective Shift 000
"Uhhhhn..."
"The Key!"
Harry shoved the knight and mage off him and stood, helping Sora up as well. All four stumbled as the ground started shaking. Pillars of stone erupted from the ground and blocked all the exits to the area trapping them in a makeshift arena. All four readied their weapons as a dozen Soldier Heartless appeared from nowhere.
Sora and Harry attacked first.
Sora aimed high and jumped, striking at a leaping enemy before landing and finishing it off with a stabbing thrust and a two-handed horizontal slash. Harry whipped his wand in a slashing motion and shouted "Diffindo!" A thin sickle on energy impacted against the helmeted head of a Soldier, staggering it and giving Harry enough time to close the distance and smack it into a wall using a pulse strike from his stave. Goofy readied his shield and charged his own Soldier and smashed it against a wall with a satisfyingly wet squish. Donald pointed his rod and shot a homing, "Fire!" at one Heartless and followed it up with a squawked "Thunder!" exploding his target and injuring a second Heartless that was then smashed against the ground by Sora.
It was nearly two minutes of furious fighting later that the last Heartless was claimed by Harry using a combination of a Summoning Charm and a Piercing Curse that drilled a hole through the little monster while it was unable to move.
The four didn't have time to celebrate their victory because six pieces of metal fell from the sky and assembled into a rough approximation of a suit of possessed armor.
Harry led off the fight by aiming his wand at the 'body' of the big Heartless and shouting "Confringo!" Surprising both Sora and Harry because instead ripping a hole through the monster, the powerful Explosive Curse merely dented the Heartless' thick metal shell.
"Well that's not good..."
The armor retaliated before anyone could move and punched Harry head first into a wall which he slid down and slumped, unconscious, on the floor.
"Donald!" Yelled Goofy, "heal him!"
Donald nodded and quickly waddled his way towards their downed ally before raising his rod and screeching "Cure!"
While Harry came back to the land of the waking, Goofy and Sora raised their shield and Keyblade respectively and charged with a war cry (with goofy it was more of a scared yelp.)
Harry blearily opened his eyes and, seeing his comrades fighting, stood and made a complex wand motion that transfigured one of the Guard Armor's feet into a pumpkin which couldn't support it's weight and broke apart, dropping the monster to one side.
Harry also fell to one side, the bump on his head coupled with near magical exhaustion was quickly taking it's toll on the young wizard.
Sora, seeing the -strange- sight of a vicious metal boot transform into a pumpkin, stopped fighting for a moment before looking and nodding at Harry who was using his cane to support his weight. He turned back to the Armor and began attacking in earnest.
Nearly ten minutes later the Guard Armor was beaten and the main body crumpled in on itself as a large, pink, crystal-like heart floated up towards the sky.
Sora banished his weapon before running over to his panting ally and helping him stand, throwing his (Harry's) arm over his (Sora's) shoulders. Donald came and collected Harry's stave and wand while Goofy threw Harry's other arm over his shoulders. Together, the three escorted the one back to Cid's in the first district.
000 Scene Change/Time Skip 000
In a dark room in a castle somewhere several ominous figures were watching a projection of the heroes procession back to safety.
A angry voice broke the eerie silence.
"That little squirt took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it?"
The owner of the voice slammed his fist on the stone dais he and his contemporaries surrounded.
A regal voice replied.
"Such is the power of the Keyblade. The child's strength is not his own."
A woman's voice suggested.
"Why don't we turn him into a Heartless? That'll settle things quick enough."
"And the brat's friends are the King's lackeys and Merlin's own chosen wizard. Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them," snarled the slightly French accented voice of a particularly tall shadow.
"You're no prize yourself," Snarked a fat shadow before laughing.
The tall shadow pulled something made of metal out of a sheath and brandished it in the face of the fat shadow.
"Shut up!" Threatened the voice.
"-Enough!"
Maleficent and Lord Voldemort stepped out of the shadows. The Mistress of Evil had her raven perched on her scepter and Voldemort had Nagini draped over his shoulders, the wand in his hand was emitting green sparks as his disciples stood sentinel at the doorway, also with wands out.
"The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the Darkness? Or will the Darkness swallow him? Either way, he could be quite useful..."
She turned to Voldemort who was staring at the stilled projection of his one time nemesis with such fury that if he had a worthless follower or a muggle around he would've tortured them into insanity.
"Lord Voldemort?"
"So..."Hissed the Dark Lord. "It seems that Harry Potter has also lived through the destruction of his world. I'll have to remedy that soon..." Voldemort dissapeared in a cloud of black smog and his apprentices followed.
(AN: Think movieverse version of disapparition.)
Maleficent nodded and left in a burst of green fire.
There was an extended silence until the fat shadow spoke up.
"Those two creep me out..."
The other shadows made noises of agreement.
000 Scene Change/Time Skip 000
Sora, Cid, Aerith, Leon, Donald, and Goofy were sitting in the foyer of Cid's Odd's and Ends Shop.
"So you were looking for me?"
The anthromorphic animals nodded and made 'uh huh' noises.
Leon leaned off from the wall he was leaning on.
"They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade."
"Hey," spoke Goofy, "why don't you come with us. We can go to other worlds on our vessel."
Sora didn't get a chance to respond because Merlin and Yuffie exited out of a spare room where Harry was recovering. If anyone noticed Yuffie's slightly red-rimmed eyes no one was insensitive enough to comment.
"How is he?" Asked Sora in concern.
It was Yuffie who answered.
"He's sleeping, he had a terrible lump on his head that caused a concussion and Merlin said he was already pushed to his limit when he 'Transfigured that infernal metal boot into a pumpkin'. "
Everyone was silent for a moment until Merlin started speaking.
"Sora won't be able to go with you two."
Both Donald and Goofy turned incredulous expressions to the wizened wizard.
"But our mission-" began Donald.
"-Has changed," interrupted Merlin, "you have new orders, I don't know what they are, you'll have to go see the Kings old teacher, Yen Sid, in his tower to receive them. As for accompanying Sora, I believe my Apprentice, Harry James Potter, will do nicely."
"Apprentice!" Shouted Donald.
"Yes, he has proved himself more than worthy, It's my hope to teach him all I can while I get Cid to build them a ship," He turned to the gruff blond who nodded his acceptance, "and Leon, If I could trouble you to teach Sora some proper swordsmanship..." Leon nodded. "Very good, And I'm sure Yuffie will be more than happy to nurse Harry back to health..." He trailed off suggestively with a sly grin.
Yuffie blushed and Aerith giggled.
000 Scene Change/Time Skip 000
The departure of Donald and Goofy was a quiet affair, both Sora and Harry thanked the duo for their assistance against the Guard Armor and afterwards the two's training began in earnest.
In the beginning, Sora had tried casting a fire spell that Aerith taught him but the weak spurt of heat that dribbled from the end of the Keyblade was just plain embarrassing. Later, Sora would tell Harry that shortly before his world's destruction he had a dream in which he was asked to pick a weapon and then give something up in return and Sora had picked the sword and gave up a jeweled mages rod. In his off time he would wonder if this had any thing to do with his disposition for the mystical arts but in the end it didn't matter as Sora just didn't have any talent for magic. After that, he totally threw himself into studying swordsmanship with Squall.
Harry, on the other hand, attended lectures from Merlin and learned the basics of how to fight with his stave from Aerith who had used a staff as her weapon for as long as anyone could remember, while spending increasing amounts of time alone with Yuffie talking about everything and nothing.
Harry and Sora would also spend time together sparring against eachother and patrolling the town against Heartless.
Just before Cid finished Sora's and Harry's new Gummyship Merlin taught Harry one spell, Cure, it was a field healing spell that would keep them alive until they could find a place away from enemies where Harry could attempt a more specialized Healing Charm or they downed a potion.
Finally, a week after their training began, the Traverse Town Defenders were called to Cid's accessory shop. The group were called into a room under Cid's shop where a large -thing- was covered by a white sheet of cloth.
"It's about time you lot got back here. I finished the ship over an hour ago."
He gripped the cover and looked around dramatically before pulling on the sheet revealing an aerodynamic white ship that looked like a arrow with wings.
"I give you the Nautilus!"
He chuckled at their less than impressed reaction.
"Don't you worry, this is just the basic starting model, once you bring me more rare gummy blocks I'll do some upgrades. But this should get you from 'A' to 'B' without a problem."
Harry and Sora approached their new home away from Traverse Town with curious caution.
"The Nautilus is nearly fully automated, all you have to do is imput commands on the targeting computer and then man the weapons. Remember that Heartless are also using ships to sail the 'Verse and they will attack you if they get the chance."
Both Sora and Harry nodded and Merlin stepped up.
"Harry, Sora, I wish we could give you more training but there isn't enough time. But I will say this; Help will always be granted here to those who seek it-"
Harry had a flashback to his second year when Dumbledore was temporarily sacked from his position as Headmaster.
'-you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me… Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.'
Sora roughly shook Harry's shoulder.
"You okay?"
Harry put on a smile.
"Yeah..."
"-Now, I want you two to gather any items you think you may need, you're all dismissed."
Harry left, thinking pensively.
'If any wizard was strong enough to survive the end of the world it'd be Dumbledore. I'll add him to my 'to find' list.'
"Harry!" He was pulled from his thoughts by Yuffie who was biting her bottom lip in her nerves. "Come with me?"
Harry nodded and the two set off at a brisk pace. They eventually made their way to the roof of the buildings forming the wall between the First District and the Second District. Harry saw that the normally cheerful and boisterous Yuffie was reserved and contemplative.
Harry reached out and touched her arm, it had taken a while to get used to Yuffie's many spontaneous hugs but now Harry was addicted; seeking from her all the gentle physical contact he was deprived of while living at the Dursley's.
"Yuffie, what's wrong?"
That must of been the wrong thing to say because she turned on her heel and Harry was astonished that she was glaring at him.
"What's wrong? Harry you're leaving, off to help the Keybearer of all people on a quest to save all worlds and charged by bloody (She had taken to Harry's swear words like a fish to water) Merlin of to destroy the two darkest Sorcerer's in the entire 'Verse. Harry, the chances of total success are so slim it's insane, I don't want to see you hurt; I cried for an hour when you came in with that concussion after fighting the Guard Armor. Harry, I never cry! Do you know how much that surprised me? And now we've spent so much time together learning about eachother and I'm afraid that you'll get hurt and I won't be able to help you nor will I get to tell you how much you really mean to me."
She grasped Harry's hand, stared into his shocked face and took a deep, steadying breath, her cheeks flaming like the setting sun.
"Harry, I like you. As in more than a friend should like a friend. You're the first boy I've ever had these feeling for and I don't really know what to do..."
She looked away, biting her lower lip between her teeth.
Even the perpetually dense about women Harry knew that now would be the ideal time to reveal his feelings. He cupped Yuffie's chin with his thumb and index finger and gently guided it up so her could stare into her open and vulnerable eyes.
"Yuffie, when I woke in that room I was almost immediately taken in by your energy and the feeling of happiness that seemed to radiate off you. I felt bad for a few days because I was happy that you cared enough about me to cry for me after I was hurt. And after getting to know you I can honestly say that I'm glad you have these feelings for me, Yuffie, because I like you too."
A sparkle of happiness appeared in the young ninja's dark, exotic, eyes as she jumped forward and hugged him, putting her head in the crook of his neck and inhaling his scent of wood polish and evergreen leaves.
Harry breathed in the fragrance of her cherry blossom shampoo that he had grown to associate with only her and smiled.
"Yuffie, would you be my girlfriend?"
The girl nodded her head in a way reminiscent of the enthusiastic House-Elf, Dobby.
"I'd really like that..."
In some unspoken agreement the two teens leaned forward at the same time and their lips met in their collective first kisses. It was clumsy; they bumped noses, and Harry's glasses were knocked out of the way in their nerves. In both of their opinions it was absolutely perfect and they wouldn't change a thing if they could.
Some time later, the two teens were laying on the shingled roof they had the first of many innocent (and one not so innocent) kisses on. Yuffie had gathered her courage and laid her head on Harry's shoulder as he ran his hand up and down her back giving her pleasurable shivers and goose bumps.
"Do ya' know something?" Began Yuffie quietly. "I've never really been happy with myself. No matter how much training I go through, no matter how many Heartless I take out, I still see myself as the frightened little girl who was helpless to do anything to stop the Darkness as it tore my world apart. The only reason I didn't die right then was because Squall, Aerith, and Cid saved me."
Harry stopped rubbing her back and pulled her on top of him so he could look at her face to face.
"Now, I may have a slight bias, but I think you're brilliant. The fact that you put yourself in training tells me that you're determined to better yourself and I think it's impressive that you can still joke around as well. The last year before the end of my world I was entered unwillingly into a tournament designed for older students at my school. It was a binding contract despite the fact that I never actually agreed to anything. I had to do three challenging tasks and during the last one, I, as well as a friend of mine, was kidnapped and, after I watched him die, I was used in a dark magic ritual to restore the person who killed my parents to a physical body. He and Maleficent brought the Heartless to the heart of my world and practically handed it to them on a silver platter."
Tears were running down both Yuffie's and Harry's cheeks.
"And ya' know what?"
She shook her head and Harry used the pad of his thumbs to wipe away her tears.
"I was terrified, I had more experience than any other student and many adults when it came to dealing with dark magic and I still wanted to curl into a ball and give up, I wanted to lay down and die. You were a child, just a little girl, and you lived, act of older people aside, you still lived long enough to be rescued. I've learned something since appearing here, I've learned a little about these acts of magic that subtly guide us to the best possible outcome; you lived and I lived, and we both made our way here which means that we were meant to meet, meant to become friends, just like I was meant to help the Keybearer to the best possible outcome, and that is a very encouraging thought because I feel that magic itself will allow nothing else."
Yuffie buried her head in Harry's chest and released her pent up emotions in the form of healing tears as Harry rubbed her back and looked at the stars, pondering what the fates have in store for him.
000 Scene Change/Time Skip 000
The two teenage boys stood at the town gates surrounded by their new friends.
"Are you two ready?"
Sora and Harry nodded and Yuffie approached.
"Harry," she said softly and in a way that it caused some raised eyebrows from Leon, Cid, and Sora, "Come back alright? Don't be a stranger."
Harry smiled and stepped close to her, grasping her hand, he intertwined their fingers and pulled her to him allowing her to wrap her other arm around him.
By this point in time most of the watchers were uncomfortable and wanted to say something but a -scary- glare from the normally gentle Aerith stopped them cold.
"Of course I'll come back, I have every reason too, don't I?"
Yuffie smile.
"Yeah."
She let him go and stepped back to Aerith's side and let the older girl put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Remember those techniques I taught you," began Squall, "Dodge Roll is a useful ability Sora, as is Scan for you Harry."
Sora and Harry nodded as Aerith approached the two and handed them a rucksack.
"It has a few healing potions, a tent, and a couple ethers for you, Harry. Use them carefully, alright."
Harry and Sora looked at each other with grimly determined expressions.
"We will," spoke the two in unison before they boarded the Nautilus and Yuffie took a few steps forward.
"Be careful!" She yelled as the cockpit closed.
Sora and Harry waved and the ship's boosters kicked in, lifting them into the 'Verse and out of sight.
Yuffie tried to discreetly rub the tears from the corner of her eyes as Aerith wrapped her in a hug from behind.
"He'll be alright."
Yuffie nodded, finally allowing herself to believe.
000 Chapter End 000
Author's Note:
Hello all, Faffy here with a new story. This time it's a Kingdom Hearts/Harry Potter crossover. I had a little trouble trying to mesh the two different styles of magic but after figuring it out everything flowed really well. I got the idea for this story when I thought 'What would happen if Voldemort and Maleficent teamed up?' and this is what my brain answered with.
About Harry/Yuffie:
At first I wasn't sure if I wanted a Harry/Fleur or a Harry/Yuffie but in the end I decided the later would be for the best. My Harry/Fleur story will come, I just need to figure out how I want to deliver it.
About The Two Parties:
I didn't want Harry to team up with Goofy, Donald, and Sora because the balance would be messed up. They'd have a swordsman, a defender, and two wizards who can basically do the same thing. By splitting them up I can have Donald and Goofy explore other worlds and allow for more interaction with characters from the different worlds. I think Harry's sometimes brooding personality will mesh well with Sora's cheerful disposition.
Send me your ideas about how you want the story to go and remember to review please. If you like this you should check out my other stories.
-Faffy Out.