Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the places or the cards. I only own the changes made to the canon plot. Also, I'm writing this from what I remember of the Chinese sub, so excuse any inaccuracies.
Chapter One: The Cards from Death
"There's no point if I'm the only one left."
Frustration boiled in him as he glared at the being in front of him. It wasn't fair, it really wasn't fair. After all that had happened, didn't he deserve rest? Didn't he deserve to be reunited with his friends and family?
But no... Even after what had happened, the final battle that had claimed the lives of everyone he knew... And all life of Earth. Except him.
Because he was the Master of Death and the Master of Death couldn't die. And he was still the Master of Death with the destruction of the Resurection Stone, Elder Wand and Cloak of Invisibility.
Earth was gone, all known life with it. It only took a Ley Line ritual and a Nuclear bomb to incinerate every living being on the planet and for Death to come to him, summoned by the rip in the barrier between life and death. Too many souls passing through at once caused it to become unstable and Harry, as the Master of Death, had hoped to save a few.
Unfortunately, that went against some rules that not even he could break. Death could only kill, not resurrect. The summoning of souls was a temporary thing and the Resurrection Stone was gone, anyways.
He would never get his rest, never see his friends and family again.
"There never was a point. Life and Death just is," a thousand voices answered him, though Death was the one speaking. And wasn't it creepy to see an exact copy of him talking like that, and looking lifeless like that, bony hands wrapped around a scythe? It was, it really was, and it made his fingers twitch with the urge to curse this being out of existence.
Death was smiling at him almost triumphantly, though the look was ruined by its(his?) sunken cheeks and bloodless skin. It looked like a smiling corpse. Harry had never wanted to kill something so bad as he did now.
"So that's it? I'm just going to wander on this dead planet alone forever?" He asked, and he had to ask, because if he wasn't going to die, what was to become of him? His voice broke in the middle of his question and his breath hitched. Tired green eyes blinked in an attempt to clear away the budding tears. What he wouldn't give to see another person instead of this imposter. Hell, he'd give anything to see snake face again.
"Of course not," Death replied and Harry looked at him, almost hopeful. "There are other worlds out there, other lives to live, other people to be. And in one such world, there is a way for you to be reunited with your friends."
"How? Where?" The questions came out as a whisper.
Death waved his hand and, out of thin air, several cards appeared. Curious, Harry took one of them.
Hermione, she was on that card! Her name was written at the top along with some odd title. The "Hogwarts Spell Master"? That really did suit her.
"Those cards are linked to their spirits. You can call upon them if you so wish, as long as you accept the offer to start a new life in the world I was talking about," Death informed him. "Some of your friends agreed to being linked to these cards... As did your enemies." Harry blinked at him in slight surprise. "They said something about wanting to be called upon in battle."
"Enemies?"
In response, Death floated a card towards him.
The Dark Lord Voldemort was written in a fancy gold color with a picture of the snake-faced man. Harry kind of wanted to laugh because seriously?
"In the world these cards are from, it's a game." Harry could tell, since he had seen the words on the cards. It sounded like a weird card game of some sort. With spells and traps and, oh Merlin, monsters? "Do you accept?"
"Are you really asking that?"
Maximillion Pegasus had experienced a great deal in life, he had adopted a great many children as well, but none of them were quite like this one. He had found the child on his doorstep one day with nothing but a blanket and a deck of cards he was pretty sure he had never created. He had no name except the Harry sown on the blanket in golden threads.
So, of course, Pegasus took him in. Why wouldn't he? Harry wasn't the first orphan he had adopted.
But there was something different about Harry. He was too quiet and in awe of what Pegasus did when he took care of the child. He knew more than other children, developed faster and occasionally became depressed and unresponsive to all except for his cards. Well, he always talked to them, even when he didn't talk to anyone else.
There was something vulnerable though, about Harry, that made Pegasus protective over him. He kept Harry a secret from the world because of that and Harry didn't seem to mind. He didn't like playing with other children or socializing in general, unless it was with his family.
But then one day Harry said he wanted to go to Duel Academy. And while Harry did quite like dueling despite the concern he held for his monsters at first, the fact that he had suddenly sprung something like that was very surprising. He was usually passive, after all.
Pegasus wouldn't deny him that though. Harry needed to socialize, and Pegasus would be a horrible father if he denied him that.
He really didn't want to do this but Ginny said he had to move on. Ergo, make new friends, actually have a life outside of his adoptive father and siblings. He liked Pegasus, the man was a great father, if a little weird, and his adoptive siblings were all happy to have a baby brother to dote on.
He didn't want to go to a boring school though, no matter how much Hermione urged him to. Luckily, Ron got the idea of duel academy, a school where you learn dueling. So under the stern gaze of Hermione and Ginny, he asked his father to enroll him there.
But was it what he really wanted?
Of course not. What he really wanted was for everyone to be alive and happy, or for him to be dead. Either works.
Harry gazed down at the card in his hand and winced at the memories it brought up. Last Day of the Witch indeed. He wouldn't be using this, never would. Not when he had experienced the 'Last Day of the Witch' up close and personal.
You'll never move on if you don't get over it.
Now, didn't that voice sound suspiciously like Hermione? He didn't want to move on though. Better to wallow in his own sorrows in his opinion. He didn't want to forget all that had happened.
He looked up. Domino City was bright and sunny today.
... And it was just about time that the entrance duels would be ending. Luckily for him, he had been wandering around the doors to the building they were held in.
Walking up to the check-in counter in front of the building, he was about to speak when a voice interrupted him. He turned to look and blinked in surprise. There was someone climbing over the edge of the railing! A head of fluffy brown hair appeared over the edge, arms hauling their owner up and over the railing.
"Jaden Yuki, number 110!"
The two women and one man stared at the odd sight. Harry smiled at the boy's antics. He had seen weirder, though.
"Hadrian Pegasus, 111." Because 'Harry' apparently didn't go well enough with 'Pegasus'.
"So you were almost late, too, huh?" Jaden asked him with a grin as they walked inside together.
Harry gave him an amused look. "Not really. I spent the past half an hour watching duelist-to-be's walking into the building. I was purposefully late."
Jaden cast him a confused look. "Why would you want to be late? You could've lost the chance to take the exams and then you wouldn't get to go to Duel Academy at all."
Thats exactly why, Harry thought to himself. It was his friends that wanted him to go. Hermione would've clobbered him over the head with a textbook had he purposefully missed this. Though she had already done that for his purposeful flunking of the written portion. Which was why he was 111.
"Haven't you ever heard of the phrase 'the hero is always fashionably late'?" He asked with a small grin instead.
Jaden laughed at that. "Hero, huh? Do you have a hero deck?"
"No, I don't," Harry replied shaking his head, "My deck is special. Something no one has ever seen before." And wasn't that an understatement. Death didn't care about time, you see, so many of his cards were 'from the future' literally. He had these Synchro cards and Xyz cards. Like Fawkes, who was a Snychro and Hagrid who was an Xyz.
"Really?" The other said excitedly. "You have to duel me sometime, that sounds awesome. Can I see your deck?"
Harry laughed a little at Jaden's enthusiastic response. "Sorry, you'll just have to wait until it's my turn to duel," he replied.
At once, the brunette deflated. "Aw, man." He perked up again quickly though as they entered the stadium. There were still a few duels going on and Jaden quickly rushed over to observe. He perched himself next to a boy with blue hair and Harry tuned their conversation out in favor of focusing on his deck.
Somewhere in the middle of that, another boy joined them and Harry looked up, having decided to use his Hogwarts deck. It was only fair that he'd honor his friends (and enemies/rivals/teachers) like this by using their cards in his first public duel. He smirked a little. Death really made his friends 'overkill' so to speak. He doubted anyone using the decks used to test beginners could beat his.
"Will Jaden Yuki, please come down to duel field four."
"Jaden, was it?" Harry asked the boy next to him. "Good luck."
Jaden grinned back at him. "Thanks, uh, Hadrian, right?"
Harry smiled and shook his head. "Just Harry will do."
"Well, duel ya later Harry, see ya, Syrus, number two."
"Number two?" 'Number two' asked, an expression of confusion on his face.
"Yeah, 'cause I'm number one!" With that, Jaden ran off. Harry chuckled at the bewildered expression on the faces of the two others. Jaden was really amusing.
"How can he be so confident? He's only nine places higher than I am..." The blue-haired boy muttered dejectedly.
"You're 119?" Harry asked curiously, sliding into the seat next to the boy. "I'm triple one, Hadrian James Pegasus."
"Ah, I'm, um, Syrus. Syrus Truesdale," Syrus stuttered.
"Nice to meet you," Harry said politely, reaching out a hand to shake. Syrus reminded him a little of himself. Before he went to Hogwarts, that is.
"Pegasus?" 'Number two' spoke up questioningly. "As in Maximillion Pegasus?"
"Yup, that's my dad," Harry confirmed, unsure about this fame his adoptive father had. He'd never liked fame and wondered if this would be an issue.
"Well, nice to meet you, I'm Bastion Misawa," the now named Bastion said with a smile, reaching out to shake hands. Harry obliged, happy that this person didn't seen to care for fame that much.
"Wow, Pegasus, huh? You must know tons of things about Duel Monsters then!" Syrus exclaimed, "But then why did you only get 111?"
"I didn't want good scores so I flunked the written portion," Harry merely said. The two stared at him as if he was crazy. Before anymore could be said though, the noise from the crowd drew their eyes to Jaden's duel.
There was a giant machine on the field. "Huh, Acient Gear Golem isn't supposed to be part of the testing decks," Harry commented with a frown.
They watched the rest of duel until it ended in stunned silence when Flamewingman destroyed Ancient Gear Golem.
"Whao!" Was Syrus' exclamation. Harry agreed. The E-Hero wasn't overpowered like his Hogwarts one and luck and skill were required to use it so well. It wasn't long before Jaden was running back up towards them and a voice ran through the stadium. "Will Hadrian Pegasus please come down to the duel zone."
"That's me," Harry muttered, bidding goodbye to his new... Friends...? He guessed he could call them that. So making new friends wasn't as hard and tiring as he had made it out to be. He greeted Jaden on the way down, who looked excited that he was going to see Harry's cards.
Harry's first impression of thier teacher, Crowler, was that he made Harry think of Umbridge. Just less pink and less fake. Overall, a better version of the pink toad. At least in mannerism. Crowler said something he didn't particularly care about - something about slackers and a PhD? - and Harry noticed that the other had a very unique duel disk.
"You don't even have a duel disk!" Came the words that brought him back to the present.
"Ah, right," Harry said with a grin. "Nearly forgot." Usually, he didn't like to be flashy, but this teacher was pissing him off, so perhaps he could show this arrogant man some stunning magic. He placed his hand over his arm and ran it down, a ram's skull appearing on his arm. Another of Death's gifts, a duel disk that looked like a ram's skull. It was pretty cool though, so Harry used it. It only had one horn, which was where he was to place his cards. His deck was in its mouth and the graveyard was its eye.
His opponent spluttered at seeing that and Harry took out his deck from his trouser pocket before placing it in his disk.
"Can we start now, sir?" He asked as the other tried to compose himself. His duel disk activated with a glowing of its eyes. Crowler activated his as well, fuming from his embarrassment at losing his cool and his previous defeat.
"Duel! I'll be going first! Draw!" Crowler began. A scowl came over his face when he realized he wasn't as lucky this time as he had been just now. "I summon Ancient Gear Soldier (Lv4 1300/1300) in Attack position and place two cards face down and end my turn." The machine soldier appeared in a burst of light and two cards appeared beneath it.
"My turn, then," Harry declared, drawing a card. He smiled down at the card he drew, Ron smiling back up at him. Let's see what other cards he had. Ron, Double Summon, George, Toad and Chicken Egg, Negate Attack (which was useless, considering Ancient Gear Soldier's effect) and Crabbe. "I summon Ronald, the Hogwarts Tactician (Lv4 Tuner 1500/1400) to the field in Attack position." The cartoonified version of the red-headed wizard appeared on the field, holding an animated chess board and pieces which were playing a game of chess by themselves.
"Not so fast," Harry raised an eyebrow at Crower's interruption. "I activate Trap Hole, which can destroy a summoned monster with 1000 attack or above." The card raised itself up.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, sir, but Ron cannot be destroyed by the effects of trap cards. Which means your trap doesn't work," Harry said with a smirk as Ron easily jumped out of the way of the hole that appeared beneath him. Crowler looked shocked. "Furthermore, Ron's second effect let's me add one trap card from my deck to my hand." Harry posed his hand before his deck and a card flew out. "Then I activate Double Summon, letting me normal summon an additional monster this turn." Activating the card, he then took Crabbe and summoned him.
"Then, I summon Vincent, the Hogwarts Guard Dog (Lv4 1900/1900)." The bulky Slytherin appeared on the field cracking his knuckles despite the fact that he couldn't attack unless Draco or Astoria was on the field. "I activate Vincent's special ability and special summon his counterpart, Gregory, the Hogwarts Guard Dog (Lv4 1400/1000 -1900/1500) from my deck to the field." The other equally bulky Slytherin appeared next to his friend and Harry saw Ron shoot them a dirty look before glaring at Hary as if he knew what Harry was about to do. He probably did. "His effect gives him 500 Attack and defense points while his counterpart is on the field, but that's not the important part. Prepare to see something special...
"I overlay Ron, Vincent and Gregory to Xyz summon Hagrid, the Hogwarts Keeper of Keys (Lv4 1600/1200)." Harry took the three cards and laid them on top of one another before bringing Hagrid out from his extra deck. The gentle giant appeared and gave him a grin.
A'ight there, 'arry?
"Hey, Hagrid," Harry whispered with a wide grin. "And do you know what Hagrid can do as an Xyz Monster?" He then asked out loud to his teacher-to-be who was spluttering and stuttering about 'overlay', 'Xyz' and 'what is this'? "For every Overlay Unit Hagrid has, that is to say Ron, Vincent and Gregory, he gains 400 attack and defense. (1600/1200 - 2800/2400). But that's not all," the words made Crowler pale, "If I remove one of its overlay units from play, I can remove from play one monster on the field. So I remove Vinent from play and do the same to your Ancient Gear Soldier!" The metal soldier disappeared in a flash of light and Hagrid's attack and defense went down to 2400/2000.
"Now, Hagrid can attack you directly!" The gentle giant charged Crowler with an unusually fierce expression, tackling him. The older man cried out and fell to his knees. (LP - 4000/1600)
Did everyone have to be so dramatic? Sure, the holograms were scary, but the pain was purely psychological (with some convincing illusions of touch played on them by the duel disks/arenas) and had absolutely nothing on the Cruciatus.
"I set one card face down and end my turn," Harry intoned, setting Magic Jammer on the field. This was the card he had gotten with Ron's help. He would win, because Crowler wasn't going to get a chance to summon Ancient Gear Golem.
His opponent staggered upwards, gritting his teeth in anger. "My turn! Draw!" Suddenly, the man grinned and Harry knew Crowler had gotten what he wanted. "I set one card face down and activate Heavy Storm!"
"And I activate Magic Jammer!"
"What!?"
"By discarding one card, I can negate your spell card."
Crowler went pale and then red. Quite fascinating. Harry had never seen anyone change colors so fast without magic. Well, except for Vernon Dursley that is, but this man was nothing like his past uncle. In fact, he'd probably count as 'a freak'. "I activate Ancient Gear Castle and summon Ancient Gear Soldier in defense mode. Then I lay one card face down and end my turn." The machine soldier appeared, hunkering down protectively, a giant castle rising with a rumble in the background.
"Then it's my turn again, draw." Harry smiled as he drew his card. Hermione grinned up at him and Harry looked over his cards. Apart from Hermione, he had Toad and Chicken Egg and George. Perfect. "I summon Hermione, the Hogwarts Spell Master (Lv4 Tuner 1400/1500) in Attack position!" The bushy haired witch appeared, holding up her wand and a spell book. "Then her special effect activates, letting me add one spell card from the deck to my hand!" Getting Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry into his hand, he played it. "Then I activate the field spell, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" The giant castle from the continuous spell card was easily swallowed by the walls of a much larger castle. Moving staircases and disappearing doors rose up around them, as the field changed.
Harry couldn't help the happy grin that appeared on his face at the sight of his school. "Now, because this school is so magical, you might just find your machines malfunctioning," Harry informed the other, gesturing to where Ancient Gear Soldier was sparking and creaking. "So the attack and defense of all machine type monsters go down by 400 making your Acient Gear Soldier's attack and defense 900."
"What!?" Crowler bit at the ruff of his coat as he fumed and Harry heard a muffled scream of rage.
"But that's not important, because with Hagrid's effect, he can remove your monster from play by removing one of his overlay units from play." Ancient Gear Soldier disappeared and Hagrid's attack went down. (2400/2000 - 2000/1600) "Now Hermione can attack you directly!"
A smirk appeared on Crowler's face. "I activate this trap card, Mirror Force!" He declared, but nothing happened. "Wh-what? Why isn't it activating?"
"The Magical School that is Hogwats always protects its inhabitants, sir," Harry answered, "So no traps or spells can be activated when any Hogwarts monsters attack! That's not it though, Hogwarts also gives Hogwarts monsters a 400 point bonus when attacking the opponent directly!" (1400 - 1800) Hermione waved her wand with a smirk and shot a bright orange spell at Crowler which exploded, taking the rest of his life points.
The teacher screamed something incomprehensible and Harry sighed. "I'm sure his lost wasn't that painful...?" He shrugged. "Well, I passed, so who cares."
That was when he realized everyone was silent, though it didn't last long since a tremulous cheer went up from the crowd. It was even louder than when they cheered for Jaden and he could hear mutterings about his Xyz cards. Cringing at the noise, he quickly left the field.
Now, for Duel Academy.
Used Harry Potter Universe Cards:
Hermione, the Hogwarts Spell Master – Lv 4, Fire, Spellcaster/Tuner, 1500/1400
When this card is successfully Normal or Flip summoned, select a spell card in your deck and add it to your hand and then shuffle your deck. This card cannot be destroyed by effects of Spell cards.
Ronald, the Hogwarts Tactician – Lv 4, Fire, Spellcaster/Tuner, 1400/1500
When this card is successfully Normal or Flip summoned, select a trap card in your deck and add it to your hand and then shuffle your deck. This card cannot be destroyed by effects of Trap cards.
Vincent, the Hogwarts Guard Dog – Lv 4, Water, Spellcaster/Effect, 1900/1900
When this card is successfully Normal or Flip Summoned, you can special summon one "Gregory, the Hogwarts Guard Dog" from your hand or deck. Once per your opponent's turn, you can redirect an attack towards this card. This card cannot attack unless "Draco, the Hogwarts Prince" or "Astoria, the Hogwarts Princess" is on the field.
Gregory, the Hogwarts Guard Dog – Lv 4, Water, Spellcaster/Effect, 1400/1000
When this card is successfully Normal or Flip summoned, you can special summon one "Vincent, the Hogwarts Guard Dog" from your hand or deck. WHile "Vincent, the Hogwarts Guard Dog" is on the field, this card gains 500 attack points and defense points. When "Vincent, the Hogwarts Guard Dog" is destroyed by Spell, Trap, or Monster effects, minus 500 attack and defense points from this card.
Hagrid, Hogwarts Keeper of Keys – Lv 4, Earth, Warrior/Xyz, 1600/1200
3 Level 4 Monsters
Once per turn, you can remove one overlay unit on this card from play to remove from play one of the monsters on your opponent's field. For each overlay units this monster has, it gains 400 attack and defense. If this card has no overlay units, it cannot attack.
Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – Field Spell
All Hogwarts monsters gain 400 attack when attacking the opponent directly. When a Hogwarts monster declares an attack, spell/trap cards cannot be activated until the end of the damage step. All machine type monsters on the field lose 400 attack and defense. If this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, all Hogwarts monsters currently on the field lose 500 attack and defense.
Mentioned Harry Potter Universe Cards
Fawkes, Phoenix of Hogwarts
Toad and Chicken Egg
George, the Hogwarts Prankster
Draco, the Hogwarts Prince
Astoria, the Hogwats Princess
The Dark Lord Voldemort
The rest of the cards are either real or appear in the anime.
EDIT: I corrected some mistakes in here and, thank you, Oracion, for reminding me about Voldemort