Gamer4 in, and welcome to yet another, or possibly the first, installment of the Live Alive mini-series! First, the explanation- I'm currently writing a mini-series, marked by stories beginning with Live Alive, covering eight individual stories covering eight different fandoms! Each story can be read on its own, but if someone wanted to read them all, there are loose connections that tie them all together! And... well, I was never going to get through a mass crossover like this without bringing in my favorite book series of all time. It simply wasn't going to happen. I don't think there's anyone reading this who hasn't at least heard of Harry Potter before- it's been one of my personal favorites for many years now. How much? Well, when I'm not writing stories like this, the main series that I write is a parody of the series- set in the world of video games, true, but even so! Anyways, jumping right in!
Disclaimer: Ah, it feels so familiar to be saying that I don't own Harry Potter... not that I suddenly care for disclaimers. Also, I don't own Live A Live, the Squaresoft game that inspired this mini-series in the first place.
Live Alive
Harry's Story
True Magic
"Alright, great job everyone, that's all for today- we'll pick this up at the next meeting," Harry announced. Around him, the various members of the D.A., Dumbledore's Army, began filtering out of the room that they'd found to practice in, away from where the newest teacher, Dolores Umbridge, could see. Harry gazed around, feeling a surge of pride- the students had improved a great deal since they'd begun with these meetings, in spite of Umbridge's determination to keep them from learning a thing.
"Hey, Harry," spoke Ron Weasley, Harry's closest friend, as he approached him. "Have you heard the news?"
"News? What news?" Harry asked, turning to him.
"It was up on the bulletin boards this morning- we're going to have a dueling tournament!"
"Dueling tournament?" Harry repeated blankly. "This is the first I've heard of it- who's doing this?"
"The school!" Ron explained. "Everyone's talking about it- next week, there's going to be a tournament where everyone fights in duels, until they pick out a champion! Sound interesting?"
"Not really," Harry shrugged, heading for the door. "At least, I feel like there's other things I could be doing..."
"Oh, come on," Ron interjected. "You'd do great- nobody else would stand a chance!"
"What's going on?" spoke a third voice, and they turned to see Hermione approaching.
"We were just talking about that tournament that's been announced."
"The dueling tournament? Were you planning on entering, Harry?"
"Not really," Harry repeated. "At least, I don't see the point."
"Are you sure?" Hermione wondered out loud. "You know, it actually sounds like a good chance to raise awareness for the DA."
"How d'you mean?" Harry asked.
"Well, most people in the school already know we're up to something. If you were to enter that tournament, win, and get people wanting to find out more, then maybe we could expand our ranks- we could always use more members, after all."
Harry looked between his two friends for a few more moments. "You really think I should enter?" he asked.
"Yes," both nodded in unison.
Harry sighed. "Alright, I'll do that. We'll see what happens."
XXXX
That night, Harry went to the bulletin board, where the sign-up sheet for the tournament had been posted. With a slight reluctance, he placed his name on the list of participants.
And so it was that the next day found him heading down to the Great Hall during lunch for the opening rounds of the tournament. Glancing around, he could see various participants from all the different houses, all with their wands at the ready and preparing for the fights ahead. In addition to the participants, a large audience was gathering. Various stages had been set up for the duelists to fight on, while the staff table seemed to have been converted into a sort of judge's bench.
As everyone gathered, Dumbledore took his traditional place behind the podium. "Welcome, welcome, one and all, to the opening rounds of our dueling tournament! Before we get started, I'd like to lay down some ground rules!"
"Firstly, this will be a double elimination tournament- if a duelist is defeated once, they will take their place in a second roster, where they will be given a second chance to ascend to the top! If they are defeated again in the second roster, they will be eliminated from the tournament entirely. The final duel of the tournament will be between the victor on the first roster, and the victor of the second. Remember, we are not here to cause serious harm to one another- aim only to incapacitate, never to seriously injure, and certainly never to kill. I wish you all the best of luck! Let the games... begin!"
For his first match, Harry found himself confronting another Gryffindor- a young woman with shoulder-length blue hair. "So, who're you?" he asked friendly, extending his hand.
"They call me Varnas," she responded, shaking his hand. "And you're Harry Potter." It wasn't a question.
"Yeah... that's me," Harry agreed.
"I've heard a lot about you, of course," Varnas said, giving a smile that didn't really look like a smile. "I've always wanted to meet you. Give it your best out there, alright?"
"I will," Harry promised.
Before either of them could speak any more, the duels officially began. He and Varnas both raised their wands like swords before them, then turned and walked to different ends of the stage, where they turned back on each other, getting into position.
3... 2... 1...
Harry was quick enough on the draw that Varnas hardly even got the chance to raise her wand before being smacked into by a burst of red light, sending her flying across the stage. When she rose to her feet again, she simply shrugged. "You truly are a powerful wizard, Mr. Potter," she said, shaking her head. "I concede defeat."
Harry approached her and offered to shake her hand, but she didn't seem interested in the prospect, simply turning and walking away.
Harry looked around- it seemed as though the first rounds were destined to be over quickly- everywhere he looked, wands were being sent through the air. It would be a long list of people on the second roster...
Eventually, the final duel ended. Things were over so quickly, in fact, that when Dumbledore took the podium again, it was to announce that the second round would begin right away, after a short break.
"Great job, Harry," Ron greeted as Harry came to sit next to him. "That girl didn't stand a chance."
"I'm sure she tried her best," Hermione noted.
"I guess some people just weren't meant for dueling," Ron shrugged, helping himself to some pumpkin juice.
Harry's next opponent was a young Hufflepuff with long blond hair.
"Talia," the girl smiled, shaking his hand. "What an honor to meet the famous Harry Potter."
"Oh, I'm not all that special," Harry shrugged.
Talia laughed. "I heard you were modest- but it's not everybody that takes down dark lords when they're babies, now, is it?"
Harry was spared answering when the duel was officially called to begin. He went through the same motions that he'd gone through with Varnas before her, and finally was ready to fight.
It was an almost exact repeat of the battle with Varnas, with Harry drawing his wand so quickly that Talia hardly had any time to react before she found herself being blasted across the stage.
A boy from the audience, young with brown hair, jumped up and ran to her. "Talia, NOOO!" he called out.
Talia, however, got back to her feet with relative ease. "It's alright, Gabe," she muttered. "I'm not hurt, I'm just out."
A while later, everyone left and returned to their common rooms, as the tournament was called to an end for the day.
XXXX
"Well done, Harry!" Ron cheered his friend on, back in the common room. "Two rounds in, and you didn't even break a sweat!"
"How many rounds is this thing supposed to be?" Harry wondered out loud.
"Five rounds, including the finals," Hermione noted, examining a paper she'd picked up. "Only three more to go!"
"Oh, good," Harry muttered, leaning back in his chair. "Three more..."
XXXX
The next day, Harry was getting ready for the third round, where he found himself up against a large, beefy Gryffindor. "Cormac Mclaggen," the boy introduced himself, reaching out and taking hold of Harry up to his arm. "Sorry to tell you that you're going down this round."
"Sorry to hear it," Harry muttered.
When the next round began, he went through the same movements that he'd followed with Talia, before turning back to face Cormac. The countdown began...
This time, it was Mclaggen that made the first move, raising his wand and sending a jinx directly down the stage and into Harry's chest. Harry felt himself flying backwards- he felt as though he'd been hit by a truck.
"GREAT!" Mclaggen called out. "And... DYNAMIC!"
Harry raised himself to his feet. Mclaggen had turned and was preening for his audience- not much, seeing as hardly anybody was watching him. Harry raised his wand and shouted out his old standby- "Expelliarmus!"
A jet of red light streaked down the stage towards Mclaggen, striking him and knocking him back. Mclaggen rose, surprised, and raised his wand to strike back, only to realize that it was no longer in his hand. Looking around in surprise, he saw it having clattered onto the floor behind him.
"Well... you know, you're not half bad," Mclaggen noted, turning back to him. "But I warn you, I was just letting you have that victory. Famous Harry Potter, and all, thought it would be polite. But when we face each other at the end, it won't be the same!"
Harry shrugged, not interested in arguing this point.
XXXX
Later that night, Harry was wandering the halls of Hogwarts, heading to the library to pick up a book he'd need to write one of his essays, when he found himself slamming into a boy with brown hair. Looking down, he recognized him as the boy who'd been supporting Talia, the girl he'd dueled with earlier. "Hey," he said, noticing that the boy seemed distressed. "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"
The boy looked up at him in surprise, tears in his eyes. "I can't find Talia!" he said, sorrow in his voice. "I haven't seen her since earlier today! She got a note telling her to head to the library, and she never came back!"
Harry looked around, suddenly getting the feeling that he was being watched. "And... did she say anything to you?"
"No!" Gabe cried. "She just told me where she was going, then left!"
Harry was feeling very uncomfortable at this point, but he did what he could to comfort the boy. "Well... I'm sure she just got held up- maybe she got a detention or something. Nothing to worry about."
Gabe didn't look entirely comforted, but accepted the words nonetheless, before heading back off down the hall. Harry watched him with a sense of unease taking place in his chest. He had wanted to comfort the boy, but he couldn't really bring himself to believe what he'd said.
XXXX
"You're kidding me," Harry muttered, looking at the lineup for the tournament that day. "You've got to be kidding me."
"It would come down to you and him, wouldn't it?" Ron noted, shaking his head.
"Just inevitable," Hermione agreed, mimicking the action.
It was the day of the semifinals, and Harry had just found out who he'd be dueling for that day- Draco Malfoy, his arch-rival.
"The only way this could be more fitting is if it was the actual finals," he muttered.
Thus, later that day, Harry found himself mounting a stage across from the person he despised most in the school, preparing to duel.
"Fitting that it comes down to you and me, isn't it, Potter?" Malfoy sneered. "I hope you're ready to join that loser's roster!"
"Do you ever shut up?" Harry grumbled. "Let's just get this over with, alright?"
As one, they went through the usual motions, brandishing their wands and stalking to opposite ends of the stage. Finally, they attacked. Malfoy struck an opening blow, sending a jet of purple light down the stage towards Harry, who deflected it with a well-timed shield charm, retorting by sending a jet of flames back down towards his rival.
Malfoy leapt out of the way and retorted with a jet of green light, which Harry deftly dodged before retorting with his own jinx.
Their duel raged on for a while before Harry finally triumphed, as he always had before, with a well-placed expelliarmus spell, knocking Malfoy backwards and depriving him of his wand.
"And that's the end of that," Harry muttered thankfully. Malfoy simply glared at him as he left the stage to pick up his wand.
XXXX
That night, Harry was sitting in the common room, listening to Ron and Hermione talking about homework as he scanned the room. Something was putting him off. He could just place what it was, and he wasn't sure if there was a connection, of if it was just his paranoia talking, but...
"Guys," he spoke up. "Have either of you seen Mclaggen around today?"
"Mclaggen? That guy you took down yesterday?" Ron asked. "No, now that I think about it, I haven't."
"Does that strike either of you as... odd?" Harry asked.
"Should it?" Hermione asked. "I'm sure there are plenty of reasons he might not be here today. Maybe he's out visiting Hogsmeade, or he has detention, or..."
Harry shook his head. "The thing is, I talked to Gabe last night- that boy that was friends with Talia, the first person I dueled? Anyways, he said that he hasn't seen her around since our duel, either."
"And you think they're connected?" Ron asked.
"I don't know," Harry muttered. "It's just a possibility."
For a moment, everyone was silent. Finally, Hermione was the one to break it. "Look, the finals are tomorrow. You need to rest. Don't worry about it for tonight- we'll figure it out tomorrow, once this is all over, alright?"
"Right," Harry muttered distractedly. "Sure..."
XXXX
The next day dawned, bright and early. Harry rose, a feeling of relief overcoming him. The finals were today- just one more duel, and he could move along with the other things troubling him. He'd reached the top of the first roster- time to see who he'd be dueling today.
There was only one stage set up in the Great Hall that day, and his opponent was already standing there. He recognized her- the blue-haired girl who had been his first challenge- Varnas, or something like that.
"Ah, Mr. Potter," she said, smiling as he stepped onto the stage. "We meet again."
"Varnas, right?" Harry asked, confirming her name. She nodded.
"You really beat me last time," she said. She spoke so quietly that Harry had to lean in to hear her. "So, I've been learning and practicing since, to ensure that this time, I'll destroy you."
"Well, that's a little extreme," Harry noted, his eyebrows raising. "I mean, I can see you wanting to beat me, but... destroy?"
"Why not?" Varnas asked. "You see, everything is built for the purpose of dying. We only try to live in safety so we can get safely to our graves. If we're lucky, we'll hammer out a hundred or so years on this little rock we call 'earth,' and then it's over. So, when you look at it like that, what's the real purpose behind trying to stay alive? Does it really matter if we die sooner or later?"
Harry's eyebrows were up as far as they could go. "Are you... feeling alright?"
"Perfectly fine," Varnas spoke. "Better than I have been in years, now that I'm about to kill you, too."
"Kill me?" Harry asked, stepping back. "Too?"
"Just like I killed the others," Varnas spoke, tilting her head.
"You killed-"
"Oh, relax," Varnas grinned wickedly. "I gave them quick deaths- just long enough to savor the look of terror in their eyes as they realized their day of judgement had come. Talia... Mclaggen... Malfoy... they all fell to me, and now, you'll join them."
Harry stepped back and looked to the people around them for support- to no avail. Something strange had happened- time seemed to have frozen- everything had faded to shades of gray, all color gone from the world, and nobody moved a muscle.
"Don't bother," Varnas smiled, pulling out her wand. "It's down to you, and it's down to me."
"W-what are you?" Harry asked, staring at her.
"Hatred... contempt... disgust... all words that describe me. Specifically, hatred for the putrid life that dares to call this planet their own. I existed long before you did, Boy Who Lived, and I intend to go on existing long afterwards. As long as the hatred of humanity exists, so will I!"
Harry raised his wand and fired off a spell- Varnas ducked to the side, allowing the spell to soar past her head. She ducked to the floor, where she fired off a jet of green light at him, leaving him with no choice but to dodge out of the way.
A fierce duel ensued, both diving deftly around the stage, sending spells at each other and dodging out of the way. Harry began to notice, after a while, that Varnas was only ever using one spell- the deadly Avada Kedavra. He turned what this meant over in his head- Varnas was only using that one spell, over and over again. Was it possible she'd only mastered it, and no other magic? It was a powerful spell, granted, but if it was the only one somebody knew, it crippled them- they could use no other magic...
Harry cast his mind around to any spell, any spell that could help him- something powerful, strong enough to break through any shield that Varnas tried to summon against him...
And it came to him. He summoned up the happiest thoughts he could think of... getting out of this bizarre world, being rid of Varnas, being able to just talk and laugh with Ron and Hermione...
"Expecto Patronum!" he yelled, pointing his wand at her. A large, silver stag erupted from the end of his wand, charging down his attacker with a vengeance. Varnas's eyes widened as she saw what was coming for her- she fired off several more spells, but nothing that made an impression on the coming beast.
The stag caught her in its antlers, slamming her to the ground. And, just as abruptly as it had left, color and life returned to the world around them.
Harry slowly walked over to Varnas, heedless of the confusion from the audience. As far as they knew, he suspected, it appeared as though they'd walked up to shake one another's hands, then suddenly disappeared and reappeared at opposite ends of the stage, one of them on the ground and the other walking forward.
Harry glared down at Varnas as he approached. "What you were doing... wasn't true magic," he muttered. "It was just plain killing. You could never win, not when you didn't even understand what you were fighting for."
"Oh, is that what it'll take?" Varnas asked, breathing heavily. "You're a fool, Harry Potter... the path you walk is doomed to misery..."
"Oh, shut up and accept your defeat already," Harry retorted.
Varnas shook her head as she produced her wand. "I still... don't understand... how you triumphed. But I won't let it end this way. What's the point... of living on... when it all ends in death anyways? But remember- I won't die... not as long as humanity lives..."
Harry realized what she was going to do a fraction of a second before she did it. He reached out and attempted to stop her, but before he could, she'd brought the wand around to point at her own chest and called out, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" A flash of green light, and she went limp.
XXXX
It was a long day after that, with Harry being forced by the teachers and his friends alike to relate the story over and over again until they were satisfied they understood what had happened.
"She- she really believed all that?" Ron asked, eyes wide.
"She certainly looked like it," Harry agreed.
"Maybe... maybe it's good... that she's gone, I mean," Hermione stammered out- all three of them were shaken at learning of Varnas's activities over the past few days. "If she was determined enough to kill them..."
Harry looked out of the window. He didn't know what he felt- the people Varnas had killed were a mix of people he didn't know well and people he outright detested- though he'd never have wished death upon them. On top of this, the question still lingered in his mind- who had Varnas really been? He'd never seen her around the school before- none of the teachers, upon reflection, seemed to be able to place who she was, or where she'd come from. Where Talia, Mclaggen, and Malfoy, of course, all had loving parents that had arrived to mourn them, it seemed Varnas had no living relatives that had sent her to the school in the first place. And then there were the things she'd done in that final duel- the things she'd said, yes, but also the strange ability she'd shown to manipulate time...
Harry shook his head. He didn't understand, but he was glad that it was over either way.
XXXX
Well, this chapter was a downer. And pretty short, compared to the others. Probably a side effect of being modeled off the shortest chapter of the original game. But the next story coming up is probably the most depressing one of the bunch, so... yeah. That's the end of this story, but for anyone following the mini-series as a whole, there are six stories already up, and two more on the way- and starting with the next one, things are going to start becoming a lot clearer. Until then, please R&R, constructive criticism embraced, as I'm always looking to improve my writing, flames not so much, as they do not help in such a goal, and... Gamer4 out.