I waited to post this until I got permission from Staria 007 to use her basic premise and storyline from her story Curse of the Elemental, while deviating in the beginning and even further in the middle. The basic premise is the same (yes, it's still a gender-bender), but there are going to be very… noticeable changes, NO DEMONS being the main one, and another one being a slight cross-over with FFXII (don't cringe, it's better than it sounds). Anyways, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Happy? Good.
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It was quiet on Privet Drive. Dusk had already fallen, the birds were chirping, and all was peaceful… or so it seemed. In the Dursley household, trouble was brewing.
"You insolent, arrogant boy! Get off your bloody ass and do your chores!" Vernon Dursley's loud voice pierced the veil of silence that had fallen over the neighborhood. Another voice appeared to counter the overweight, tomato-faced man.
"There are more chores on this list than all the chores Dudley has ever done combined! Give me one good reason why I should do them!" Harry Potter fired back at his cruel, abusive uncle. The man discriminated against Harry because Harry was a wizard, and Vernon was deathly afraid of anything magical.
"If you don't do every last one of those chores before the end of the night, you're not seeing anything other than the inside of the cupboard!" Vernon fired back.
"I have had enough of you stupid Muggles! I'm leaving, and never coming back!" Before Vernon could move to block him, Harry had already dashed out the front door. He ran for nearly half an hour before realizing that he had lost his way in a forest. Looking around in the dark of the night, all he saw was an endless canopy of trees.
"Great, now I'm lost in the woods… bloody hell I forgot my wand back at the Dursley's! Brilliant!" Harry grumbled, walking off in the opposite direction from where he had been running. He kicked every loose stone that he saw across his path. "Stupid Dursley's… stupid Uncle Vernon… Stupid Dudley, fat pig… stupid Aunt Petunia, old bitch…" Harry came across a larger stone, which he promptly kicked into the bushes.
He heard the stone impact something, but this 'something' wasn't a tree; the sound wasn't the same. A loud cry pierced the forest canopy. "That hurt! What is the meaning of this?!" It was a woman's voice, and she was genuinely angry.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Harry couldn't finish his sentence. He was knocked backwards by a blinding light, and blacked out.
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Harry's eyes opened slowly to the continued darkness. He'd been out for three hours, and he felt… different.
"So, the rude one who can't help but kick stones at old women awakes. I was fully within my rights to curse you, and curse you I did!" A woman's voice rang out through the air. Harry recognized the voice as being the same one that had come from the bush before he'd been knocked back by the light.
That's strange, Harry thought. For some strange reason, my shirt feels tight and my pants feel loose…
"But ma'am, I said I was sorry, and that I didn't mean to hit…" Huh? Harry thought, confused. Something's not right. "Why does my voice sound like a girl's?" The old woman merely chuckled. Harry looked over at her; she was pointing her finger down to the ground. Harry looked down… and panicked.
He saw two bumps on his chest where there had been none before. His arms and legs were thinner and lankier than before, and his body was nothing like he'd remembered it. He checked himself over very quick, breathing faster and faster by the second.
"This… this can't be happening… I'M A GIRL!" Harry yelled out in a panic, still startled by the girl's voice leaving his mouth.
"Damn right you are," the old woman yelled at the now female Harry. "That is your punishment for deliberately harming and angering a Water Lord. You should count yourself lucky; if I had been a Fire Lord you would be nothing more than a glowing pile of ashes right now."
"But I never meant to hit anybody with the rocks! I was just frustrated, and letting out some anger; I had no idea that anybody else was here!" Harry said, true regret crossing his/her face.
"You're telling the truth," the old woman stated, a hint of concern and worry in her voice. Her face seemed to say 'this was the worst mistake I've ever made', and hints of regret were flashing through her eyes. "I am afraid that the curse I cast upon you is permanent, and that you will carry it for the rest of your days." Upon hearing this, Harry looked crestfallen. "However," the old woman continued, "I believe I can make your curse temporary."
"Temporary?" Harry asked. "What do you mean? I thought you said a moment ago that the curse is permanent? How can a curse be permanent and temporary?"
"I did," the old woman replied. "However, I can make it so that the curse can be temporarily reversed and reactivated, through contact with water. However, I must look through your memories, to see if you deserve this, and one other honor." Harry had no more warning before the old woman entered the young teen's mind, flipping through all of his/her memories in less than ten seconds.
"Very well," she said, "I believe you are also worthy of becoming a human Elemental, Mister Potter. My name is Lakeshore, and I shall be your mentor in this process."
"A human Elemental?" Harry asked. "What's that?"
"An Elemental is a being with the ability to control a specific element of nature, depending on what type of Elemental they are. I believe this will help you in your fight against Tom Marvolo Riddle, so as a Water Lord, I shall train you as a Water Elemental. However, you will only be able to access the majority of your powers in your cursed form, or female form. Now, I suggest you go and retrieve your personal belongings from your home, and then go to Diagon Alley to stock up on supplies." Lakeshore waved her hand, and Harry started glowing. When the glow faded, Harry had returned to being male.
"One more thing: you are also now capable of teleportation. This is not Apparition, because you will be able to bypass all wards against Apparition with this ability. Just think of where you want to go, and you shall be there."
Harry nodded, closed his eyes, and disappeared. I feel that the child will learn how to master his Elemental powers very quickly, Lakeshore thought to herself. I wonder what the other Elemental Lords are doing?
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When Harry opened his eyes, he was back in the Dursley's home at Privet Drive. Bloody hell, it really worked! He quickly gathered up all of his belongings, shrunk them, and placed them in his pocket. He wrote a quick note to Dumbledore telling the Headmaster that Harry had run away from the Dursleys, tied the note to Hedwig's leg, and then sent her off with the additional command to go to the Burrow once she delivered the message.
And now off to Diagon… Alley. I shouldn't have sent the letter off yet; now Dumbledore will be on the lookout for me if I go there. Unless… Oh hell, I hoped I wouldn't have to do this.
Harry walked into the bathroom, recalling that water would trigger the change. He turned the faucet, and waited for the water to become hot. He placed his hands under the water, and a brief surge of what felt like electricity passed through Harry. When he looked down, Harry was no longer a he, but a she.
Great… as a girl, I have a body that any boy would start drooling over, myself included. Fate sure has a funny way of doing things, the now female Harry thought to herself. She looked in the mirror to ascertain the full measure of differences in her appearance. Her face had taken on feminine features that made her look much like the photographs she had seen of her mother Lily, and her raven hair had instantaneously grown down to her shoulders. Her bangs were much longer, and easily hid the lightning bolt scar, which faded to a barely visible white from when she was in her male form, where it looked slightly fresh.
Perfect, nobody will recognize me like this… well, off to Diagon Alley. Harry closed her eyes, concentrated on Diagon Alley, and vanished.
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Voldemort was sitting in his chambers, quietly mulling over how he would kill the miserable Potter boy, the Mudblood Granger, and the Weasley blood traitor that called themselves Potter's companions. He could always use the killing curse, but he was slightly afraid of a repeat of what had happened fourteen years ago.
Lord Voldemort's concentration was broken because he sensed an unfamiliar presence. He could tell whoever was hiding in his lair was adept at masking their power, because there was barely enough magic seeping from the being for Voldemort to register it. He tightened his grip on his wand, and turned around, pointing his wand at the figure in the corner. "Avada Kedavra!"
Voldemort's green bolt never reached its target. Instead, the shadows on the floor of his lair seemed to reach up, form a small orb around the killing curse's bolt, and sink back into the floor. "Identify yourself!" Voldemort called out into the darkness. Immediately, a form materialized from the dark shadows. He was wearing pitch-black clothing, and appeared very much like a gentleman, if one could ignore the fact that his eyes were deepest black.
"You are strong, Tom Marvolo Riddle, to have detected my presence. However, you have much to learn and much to prove before I even consider choosing you as my disciple."
"How dare you speak to the Dark Lord with such insolence!" Voldemort cried out. As soon as he finished saying this, the shadows at his feet wrapped themselves around his ankles, and also reached up to secure his arms.
"Now Tom Riddle, is that any way to treat an Elemental Lord?" Voldemort's eyes widened at this. He had believed the Elemental Lords to merely be a fairy tale, told to explain how the elements came into being. "I am Noxus, Elemental Lord of Shadows. I will be watching you intently, Tom Marvolo Riddle." Noxus tipped his hat, releasing the shadows holding Voldemort. "Umbra." Upon uttering this, Noxus vanished into the shadows on the floor, leaving Voldemort to contemplate the words the Elemental Lord had uttered. Could he have finally found a way to defeat Potter?
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Harry appeared in the forest, right by the lake where Lakeshore had first cursed him, and agreed to train him as a Water Elemental. He set down the new backpack that he had just bought at Diagon Alley, and touched his wand to the zipper. "Tent!" The backpack immediately unfolded into a wizard's tent, which he promptly entered and returned himself to his normal, male form. When he exited the tent, Lakeshore was waiting for him. She splashed him with water, reverting Harry to female form.
"You would do well to get used to that form, seeing as how it will be the one you use when practicing with your Elemental abilities. Also, I suggest you take up an alternate name for whenever you take female form. May I suggest Claire Lakeshore?" Harry smiled, and decided to accept this new name. Now, whenever Harry was female, Harry would be Claire.
"I'm glad you approve. Now, get some sleep. When you wake up, your Elemental Familiar should be waiting there for you. It is an Elemental Guardian that is tied to your soul, and will be a constant companion to you. Your training begins tomorrow." Claire smiled inwardly. At least it won't be just me and her, she thought solemnly to herself. Claire walked into the Wizard's Tent, moved over to the bed, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. The day had worn her out, and she needed to get some sleep, not to mention time to adjust to sometimes having a female body.
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Elsewhere, Ronald Weasley was stirred from his slumber by a thunderclap outside his window. When he opened his eyes, he looked outside, only to realize that the lightning bolt was repeatedly striking the ground in the same spot many times over. What in the name of the Chudley Cannons? Ron immediately slipped on his slippers, and went outside.
When he got to the site of the lightning strike, the continuous bolt faded. In its place, there was an elderly man who had a wizened appearance about him. He wore strange robes, which seemed to crackle with electricity. He looked up, and eyed Ron.
"Ronald Weasley," he said, his voice deep as the booming thunder. Ron stepped back before answering.
"M-me? How do you know my name?"
"I am Raiden, Elemental Lord of Lightning. You have been chosen to become a human Lightning Elemental, to help in the fight against Voldemort. Will you accept?"
"Y-yes. But what, may I ask, is an Elemental?" Raiden smiled.
"I will explain to you in the morning, but in the meantime, you should ask your sister." Before Ron could ask what he meant, Raiden had vanished in a flash of lightning as Ron felt a strange power running through his veins. He wasn't sure what it was, or what Raiden had meant when he told Ron to talk to Ginny, but he forgot about it as soon as he was safely back in his room. Ron fell back asleep when his head hit the pillow.
Unbeknownst to him, Ginny Weasley had been watching from her window the whole time. It seems Ron will be an Elemental like me, she thought inwardly. Lord Ignacio will want to hear about this…
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Once again, my thanks to Staria 007 for letting me borrow the premise and some of the characters from her story. If you haven't read hers, here's the link:
.net/s/3572024/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Curse_of_the_Elemental
The differences will be noticeable almost immediately.