Yeah, I know I need to finish my Harry Potter fic, "Star's Fall," but I couldn't resist writing this YGO/HP crossover. And it actually has a general outline. Sort of. Does writing out the basic storyline on an index card within two minutes count as an outline?
Disclaimer: I own . . . my shoes, three pairs of wearable jeans, some shirts, two detergent bottles, a jug of bleach, a calculator, a Japanese language textbook . . . you get the idea. There isn't the slightest chance in hell that I could ever own Yugioh or Harry Potter.
Flames are harmful to the environment. Well, to my environment. I'm serious. What?
Please feel free to tell me just how cliché my story is. I like clichés, but I need help finding them. --; I need lots of help. I also enjoy ideas on personality and details. 3 You never know when a tiny, easily overlooked characteristics will totally change interactions between my minions—I mean, my characters.
Oh, and could somebody help me find my samurai kitties? They were here at the beginning of summer . . .
Sennen Promise Chapter 1
Harry Potter rolled over. He had woken up at around quarter to four in the morning, and just couldn't go back to sleep. Turn. No good, his arm was squished between his body and the wall. On his stomach. Metal coil in the gut, not comfy. A twist to the left easily got him off the metal coil, but wasn't suitable for sleep. Sideways on the bed with head hanging off held potential, but what to do with feet? Maybe if he tried. . .
A quiet two or three taps at the bedroom window caused Harry to peer to the side. To his befuddlement, dawn had already arrived, and his assorted attempts to go back to sleep were for naught. Also, there was an tawny owl on the other side of the window that appeared to be bobbing its head in agitation.
Harry's glasses were resting on Dudley's unused bookcase. It twas just a matter of reaching for them and putting them on. Happily enough, the bookcase was a short distance from the bed, and he groped for the glasses without bothering to move from his latest potential sleeping position. Putting the glasses on also required some manual dexterity, but he managed.
He blinked at the owl. It looked like it was upside down, and an excess of blood was rushing to his head. The owl tapped on the window, clutching the newspaper heldin its talons, and glared at the boy in annoyance. Harry flipped around to right the world, and shook his head to get his bearings.
When he regained his equilibrium, and felt awake enough to cross the distance without falling over, Harry stumbled over to the window to let the owl in. The bird seemed oddly affronted, leaving Harry mildly confused at to why. It had only taken two or three minutes to figure out how to open the window, which wasn't all that bad considering how his tiredness did not combine well with the latch he had to manipulate in order to open the window and let in the owl.
As soon as Harry managed to get newspaper and pay the owl, he jumped in reflex in response to a loud rapping from his door. "Get up." A pause, during which the owlflew out the window and leftthe premises, then, "Get up, you lazy boy!"
Harry blinked drowsily.
The door opened and a skinny blonde woman used her abnormally long neck to stick her head into the room. Wrinkling her nose in disdain, she grumpily inquired, "Have you sent your letter?"
This inspired Harry to reply with a tired "Last night."
"Then why is the window open?"
"Got the newspaper." He almost held the morning issue of the Daily Prophet up for inspection.
"Hurry up and get dressed," she barked, then spun around to do whatever little chores she did during the morning.
Harry replied to her back, "Yes, Aunt Petunia."
He put on his clothes for the day, all of it oversized. Harry still tended to wear old oversized hand-me-downs that were once Dudley's. Really, he wouldn't mind so much if Dudley weren't such a blimp! The pants required a good strong belt to ensure that it didn't automatically hold residence somewhere around his ankles. Even with the belt, Harry retained the habit of pulling them back up if only due to those rare days when he had to do without. He didn't mind the shirts too much, since sometimes it could be useful and even comforting to have T-shirts that went to his knees. They almost reminded him of robes. He just wished that the giant sleeves didn't reach his wrists.
At least he didn't have to wear Dudley's old underwear.
He left the newspaper on the bed since it wasn't going anywhere and he needed to go and see what his aunt wanted.
Upon getting to the bottom of the stairs, Harry had two pieces of toast chucked at him. He blinked at his aunt as he held the two rather bland items. It just didn't seem like the standard morning greeting, not that he'd expected much.
"Eat your breakfast." Ah, that explains it.
He blinked yet again for good measure, then didas she said.
Aunt Petunia led Harry out the door and down the street, quickly making it apparent what she wanted. Since Dudley was coming home for the summer, more food than usual would soon be leaving the poor overworked refrigerator. For this reason, said refrigerator needed to be stocked. Harry would be needed for this endeavor by being the workhorse and carrying the bags of food, which was completelyunderstandable, since Aunt Petunia was skinny enough thata heavy bag might rip off one of her arms.
They scampered their way through the market and purchased the items she considered important. Harry was certain he would not be permitted any of the ginger snaps.
In the end, he carried four heavy bags, and his aunt carried two light. They trotted back to 4 Privet Drive and made short work of putting the assorted groceries away.
Once his aunt shooed him out of the kitchen, Harry opted to go back upstairs to read his newspaper. On the way, he passed Dudley's bedroom. Harry's cousin was in for a bit of a shock when Smeltings let out since he'd be certain that Harry was up for a repeat of the previous summer. He had no reason to believe otherwise. Instead, he would have the dubious privilege of witnessing his father treat Harry with a grudging sort of respect. Well, sort of.
It was too bad that Dudley had missed Moody's show. It would have been truly educational for him. Really. Uncle Vernon's right eye hadn't stopped twitching sporadically since he had picked up Harry at King's Cross Station. Perhaps Moody had scared him more than intended? One could only hope.
After stocking the assorted groceries into their assigned places within the refrigerator and pantry, Harryclimbed the stairs andentered his roomclosing the door quietly. It would not do to attract attention over something so minor. It was now time to read the paper.
He sat on the bed and started to leaf through the sections. Since the previous summer had provided him with a rather harsh smear campaign, Harry had decided to go through the Daily Prophet with a metaphorical fine-toothed comb. With this level of meticulousness, Harry had discovered four plots against his life, an advertisement for a new statue for the lobby at the Ministry of Magic, and a half page article weighing the virtues of Weasley Wizard Wheezes as opposed to Zonko's Joke Shop.
He should probably check up on his investment. Harry made a mental note to do so.
Oh, and there were articles galore on how afraid people were now that it was common knowledge that Voldemort had returned. The bottom half of the front page was devoted to calming all the terrified readers. Apparently, having a dark lord return from the dead was reason for concern.
The ministry was doing a terrible job of keeping the populace calm.
The top half of the front page had been about a new "Dark Creature Containment Bill" that one of Fudge's lackeys was pushing. Harry avoided reading it, remembering some similar articles he had already come across. Current werewolf legislation always caused him to become angry. He honestly couldn't understand how Lupin could come across as being calm and content all the time. The poor werewolf sure had things difficult in life.
The new bill would probably make life difficult for half giants, too.
Harry skimmed through most of the business section, pausing only to peruse a small article on the Weasley twins. All this publicity was sure to increase business! Heh. He should definitely check up on his investment.
Next was the comics page. Wizarding comics were a touch different from their muggle counterparts. The characters didn't move or anything, but the speech bubbles appeared and filled as you read them, thereby allowing the words to be larger and easier to read with the added benefit of keeping surprises from being obvious. Harry could no longer accidentally read a line before he was ready, which could only be a good thing considering how much suspense could be placed in such innocuous strips.
He spent about ten minutes chuckling as he read such comic strips as "Marvin the Mad Muggle" and "Sally the Sorceress."
Harry moved on to the "Crime and Punishment" section. The first headline was about the Deatheaters who had escaped from Azkaban. There had been numerous sightings, but officials still had yet to capture even one. Harrysnickered when he read that the Minister of Magic had said, "We've apprehended these villains before, and rest assured that we'll catch them again!" Fudge was a hopeless case, and most likely would remain that way. Why was the man still the Minister of Magic when it was well known how incompetent he was?
The conversation that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were holding downstairs halted for a moment. They were still a bit surprised to hear him make any noise, and Harry supposed laughter wasn't something they were accustomed to hearing from him.
He was glad he could laugh, considering the mental connection he couldn't help but make between the Ministry of Magic and his godfather's death. The man had died in the Department of Mysteries with nary a comment from the Ministry of Magic, not even that the escaped convict had even shown his face. Sirius would definitely be missed.
The political cartoon in the editorial section indicated that most of the wizarding world had a great deal of faith in Cornelius Fudge, information that was supported by the published letters from readers of the Daily Prophet. That most likely did not bode well for those working with Dumbledore.
The second page of the social section held a surprise for Harry. The black and white moving picture depicted a dark skinned Middle Easterner in a robe and turban being dragged across a room by a set of aurors, not at all impressive considering how the aurors could be seen arresting people and tracking down criminals virtually throughout Britain's magical community in the Ministry's attempt to save face. The surprise was Bill Weasley standing near the edge of the picture, glaring at the man under the turban. Harry read the article.
Killer to be Transferred!
An unknown presumably Egyptian man was apprehended yesterday for involvement in the murders of three curse breakers for Gringotts. The bodies of Sam Kimchee, Yuuko Garcia, and Matthew McConnolly were each discovered within days of each other last week with their heads bitten off by a large reptile.
The man was discovered attempting to kill off Gringotts Curse-Breaker Bill Weasley in Mr. Weasley's apartment in Cairo with a set of what are assumed to be magical scales. According to Mr. Weasley, the accused man transfigured a chair into a giant crocodile and proceeded to ask a string of questions concerning his self worth. "It was terrifying. I couldn't move or anything. I thought I was going to die!" a dismayed and confused Mr. Weasley informed investigators.
The murder attempt was foiled when a house elf came to empty the trash.
The accused claims to be acting according to the will of the pharaohs. He is currently being sent to England for mental treatment and evaluation at St. Mungo's. While aurors did not harm the accused during apprehension, it is possible that he had been the recipient of some physical or magical malady prior to apprehension that would have caused such unbalanced behavior.
The four deceased curse breakers had worked with Mr. Weasley two weeks ago, locating a major stash of gold and other valuable items in a recently discovered tomb in Egypt. The amount came to an astounding 87,022,000 galleons, the fourth most valuable find this century.
Investigators wonder if the accused was trying to steal the gold for personal use.
The man has a strange magical aura, and according to records has not been to any known school of magic. By all rights, he should not have the necessary training to transfigure a chair into a reptile. An investigation is underway to discover his name. His trial will be held in London so Mr. Weasley can seek justice while receiving comfort from his family.
Harry blinked. Well. There had been a murder attempt on Bill? He wondered how long it would take Ron to send him a letter. The Weasleys must have been out of their minds with worry.
Looking back at the picture, Harry could just imagine the fuss Mrs. Weasley was making over Bill. And how the twins must be embarrassing him over nearly getting himself killed with a set of scales. The thought brought a smile back to his face, even through his worry.
He paused. How do you kill someone with a set of scales?
A clang at his window caused Harry to look up. Ron's owl, Pig, had arrived and was trying to zoom into the room. Harry smiled again.
"Yes, my son is coming to visit next week. It'll be the first time I've seen him in almost five months." The man leaned back in his chair, holding a small phonograph of a white haired teenage boy.
"Five months!"
"Don't worry. My Ryou is a good boy and can take care of himself. I just want him to come back to England for his birthday, is all."
"But five months, Mr. Bakura! How could you keep him alone for so long?" The office secretary appeared ready to jump over the desk to strangle the man into owning some common sense.
Mr. Bakura sighed. "My work keeps me away. And it's not like I can bring a high school student along on one of my excavations. He needs to study."
"Hn." She wasn't impressed with his reasoning.
"It'll be good to see him. Good thing his birthday falls during summer break."
"Five months?"
Sigh.
So how's this for a beginning? And before you ask, none of the cast of Yugioh will be going to Hogwarts. That idea is just a little too cliché, even for my tastes. Can we stay, "Storyline beat to death with a large blunt stick," people?
Chapter last edited December 23, 2004.