Chapter Two: The Hogwarts Cards - Gryffindor Part 1


Harry, how could you! You only got 64% on the written portion!

"I know, Hermione, you've scolded me for that several times already," Harry muttered to himself, ignoring the way the person sitting next to him on the helicopter looked at him.

But you knew those answers, Harry!

Harry smiled weakly up at the floating spirit of his friend who had her arms crossed with a scowl. "Yes, I did, Hermione, but I had a good reason."

I know you did it to avoid Obelisk and Ra, but, still. The bushy haired young woman gave a sigh. You got a, excuse my cursing, crappy score, but they still put you in Obelisk, no?

"Yeah, and I'm complaining as soon as I get on the island," The dark haired boy interrupted, earning a glare from Hermione.

You could've gotten a good score and then requested to be put in Slifer Red, Hermione huffed.

"But," Harry countered, "Then I wouldn't be able to accuse them of favoritism towards the rich and powerful."

Fine then. Be that way, Hermione pouted and disappeared.

Harry chuckled at his friend's antics and shook his head fondly. Hermione would probably pout for quite a bit before getting over it. She was crazy when it came to studying. Meanwhile, the person next to him was looking at him as if he were crazy. That was kind of understandable though, since he wasn't wearing the colored jackets everyone else was and he was talking to himself.

Having seen that the color of the uniform he had received was the very color he was trying avoid, Harry had forgone it in favor of silk emerald green shirt (that Ginny had forced on him with the comment that it matched his eyes) and a pair of white baggy trousers.

Anyways, he should probably get some sleep. There was still an hour or two until they arrived, after all.

"Harry! Oi, Harry!" Aaaannnd, there goes his nap. He lifted his head from where he had rested it against the palm of his hand to see none other than Jaden Yuki coming down the isle to where he was sitting.

Harry blinked as the teen with bi-colored hair came to a stop next to him, Syrus following him. "'Lo, Jaden, Syrus," he greeted. "What's the rush?"

"Let's duel," the excitable teen immediately replied as Syrus panted to catch his breath. It seemed that the blue haired teen had decided to follow Jaden.

He blinked again, a little caught off guard by the suggestion. Then he shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

"Awesome!" Jaden exclaimed, giving a fist pump. He then looked to the person in the seat next to Harry and the person who had the window seat. "Hey, can we switch seats?"

"Gladly," the guy muttered, jumping off and walking away without even asking Jaden where his seat was. The guy in the window seat followed, making Jaden blink after them in confusion.

"What's with them?" Jaden inquired, scratching his head.

"No clue."

"Let's duel!" Jaden declared, having settled in the seat next to Harry's. They had the tables down and their cards on them with Syrus watching in the window seat.


"I tune Ron with Vincent and Toad and Chicken Egg to synchro summon Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts!" Harry smirked as he sent his three cards to his graveyard, taking Dumbledore's white card from his extra deck and summoning him in Attack mode.

"Eh?" Jaden blinked down at his field. "You can do that?"

"That's a synchro summon for you," Harry said smugly. "It requires a tuner monster, sometimes a specific one depending on the card, and other monsters. Their total level should equal the level of the monster summoned."

"Uh, you two?" Harry and Jaden looked over at Syrus, who had timidly spoke, finally tearing their eyes away from their game. "We're almost there." He jabbed his thumb towards the window, the island just under them.

"We are?" The two chorused, blinking. Their game had lasted over an hour, mainly because Jaden was overexcited about all of Harry's cards and Harry had stories to tell of each and every card.


Like Jaden, Harry wasn't really awake through the Chancellor's speech. He blamed Jaden for it though, since he had been prevented from taking a nap on the helicopter by the other boy. While fun to be with, Jaden was tiring to hang out with as well. His woke at the end of it, when they were dismissed.

"Hey, Harry! You coming with us to find our dorms?" Jaden called cheerfully as he came over with Syrus on his heels.

While Harry would've loved to go with them, he had something else to do. Talk to the principal about switching dorms. "Sorry," he said with a shake of his head, "I have something to do. I'll see you later at the dorms."

"Well, okay then, see you," Jaden said cheerfully, "Come on, Syrus, I can't wait to to go and explore!" Then he made his way towards the door.

"See you around, Harry!" Syrus then quickly turned to chase Jaden, leaving Harry to call a goodbye at him.

Jaden would fit right in with the Gryffindors from what Hary had seen. Carefree, excitable and emotional. Stifling a yawn, he made his way to the principal's office.


One and a half hours of pointless arguing, thanks to a certain Vellian Crowler, later, Harry was walking to his new dorm in his new red coat. Red for Gryffindor! If only it had gold instead of white on it.

It had started out okay, the chancellor confused, but willing let him transfer to red. However, the mascot-like professor had found out and made a big fuss, eventually even calling Pegasus, who had told them to let Harry do as he wishes. The argument/ranting/mourning (about him leaving blue) had eventually died down when Harry said that since he was in blue Jaden should be, too.

He sighed a little. Crowler wasn't as bad as Umbridge, sure, but he was still annoying as hell. It was already quite late and the welcoming feast was probably starting. He looked around and then down at his PDA, which had a map of the main building on it. It was rather helpful, but Harry didn't think he would need it all that much. He had experienced Hogwarts, after all, and the castle was quite a bit bigger than this school.

Just then, someone charged around the corner and crashed into him, sending him sprawling with an 'oomph'.

"Ow..."

"Aniki! And... Harry!"

Oh, hey! He recognized that voice. Sitting up from his sprawled position while rubbing his head, he blinked at the similarly positioned Jaden. He was so glad that he no longer needed glasses. Now if only Death would have fixed his hair's untamable mess, it'd be perfect. "Ouch," he murmured with a wince. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not safe to run in the corridors, Jaden?"

"Ah..." Jaden grinned sheepishly, getting up and offering Harry a hand. "Sorry, sorry."

Harry accepted the hand and was pulled up.

"Are you two okay?" Syrus asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure it won't kill us, Syrus," Harry said with a small smile. "Anyways, why were you running in the first place?"

"Oh yeah! We're gonna be late for the welcoming feast!" Jaden exclaimed in a panicked tone before taking off.

"H-hey, wait up, Aniki!"

"Didn't I just say that you shouldn't run in the corridors?!" Harry sighed as his advice was ignored and followed after Syrus, who was running to catch up with his... Big brother? Okay... "Hey, Syrus, why are you calling Jaden aniki?"

"Oh, well," Syrus rubbed his head a little as they jogged after Jaden, "That's a long story."

"We've a long way to go until we get to our dorms."


After an interesting welcoming feast (in which Jaden managed to become the center of attention again), Harry, Jaden and Syrus went back to their room. Harry had been placed with Jaden and Syrus for the moment since there weren't any spare rooms. He was going to get a new room soon, but he had to stay with them for now.

The large bed smack-dab in the middle of the room made it a bit of a squeeze, but Jaden didn't seem to mind, happily rolling from Harry's bed to 'his'. "I call bottom bunk!"

Syrus made tea for them, though Harry and Chumley, their other roommate, declined, one mor politely than the other. Harry didn't really understand why they'd be drinking tea now. Wouldn't be hard to sleep if they did?

That was when Jaden got a message. Some guy called Chazz Princeton had sent it, challenging Jaden to a duel with their best cards at stake. Jaden was all but ready to agree, completely enthusiastic until...

"... Hey, Jaden. How the hell did he get your number? Are you sure he isn't some creep?"

Jaden, Syrus and Chumley, blinked wide eyes at Harry.

"Huh... I never thought about that," Jaden said thoughtfully before grinning widely. "But a duel's a duel! I'm going anyways. And ask Chazz about that while I'm at it."

"Well, I'm going with you just in case," Harry decided. It wasn't like he was a stranger to sneaking out and about at night.

"M-me, too!" Syrus added, though hesitantly.

And so they ended up sneaking out. Chumley stayed behind though. He didn't seem all that enthusiastic about anything.

It was rather easy to sneak into the building and avoid the security. Especially for one of Harry's caliber. Once they were safely inside and away from security, Jaden took the lead with Syrus right beside him, worried, while Harry brought up the rear, keeping an eye out.

"Heh, so you came, number 110."

Arrogant smirk, haughty posture, obviously a rich kid, if only he had slicked back hair then he could pass for a Malfoy. Hell, he even had two cronies, though they were not nearly as burly as Crabbe and Goyle. And they seemed much more independent, too.

Once upon a time, Harry would've hated him on principle. For now though, he'd reserve judgement until he knew more. Being with Malfoy, or at least his spirit, had taught him look beyond the surface. They weren't lose, by any means, but when someone's spirit used your soul to traverse realms, it was kind of hard to not understand them.

I should take care of this. Malfoy's voice rang in his head.

Harry raised an eyebrow. Since when do you voluntarily help me?

Since we're stuck together for the rest of our not-lives. We might as well try to get along and if you can actually get along with the fucking Dark Lord, of all people, I see no reason why we can't.

Fine then.

"Oh? And you brought that other kid who defeated Crowler as well," Chazz spoke again and Harry gave him a smile and wave. "The son of the creator of Duel Monsters. Allegedly, anyways." The Obelisk narrowed his eyes at Harry's attire. "But still nothing but a Slifer Slacker!"

"Who asked to be transferred to Red from Blue since Blue is full of rich kids who don't know that skill is different from money," Harry drawled. Or, well, Malfoy did. Harry had given up a portion of the control he had over his own body to Mal-Draco - he should probably be calling him Draco, like he did his card.

Wow, Draco, I didn't know you knew the difference, Harry teased.

Shut it, or I'll leave you to fend for yourself.

Chazz turned slightly red and glared.

"I'll have you know that Chazz was the best in Duel Prep school!" Crony one said, eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

"Wow, you actually needed to go to prep school to learn dueling?" Harry feat himself ask in mock surprise. "I always thought dueling was something that was easy to learn. Easy enough that a child could learn by themselves. I guess not everyone's that good then. Though it appears that Silfer has the most intelligence since most of them didn't have to have someone help teach them to duel, but could still get in. Maybe you're just slow?"

Jaden and Syrus were looking at him in open-mouthed awe.

This is really fun. Hey, Draco, I want to try, too. Harry took control of his body once more as Draco grumbled.

Crony two, the one without glasses, spoke up then, fuming. "How dare you insult Chazz!"

"That's the best comeback you could some up with?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "No wonder you needed prep school."

"Thats enough," Chazz cut across the comment Crony one was about to make, teeth grit and eyes spitting fire . "Let's duel, now, and then we'll see who's slow." A finger was pointed in Harry's direction.

"Hey!" Jaden protested, "But I-"

"Sure," Harry agreed.

"But I want to duel-!"

"I'm sure you'll get a chance to, Jaden," Harry told him with a smile before getting into position and activating his academy issue duel disk. Jaden sulked.

"Winner takes the loser's best card," Chazz challenged, shuffling his deck.

Harry grinned, shuffling his own. "You're on."

"Duel!"

"I'll go first," Chazz intoned. " I draw!" He looked at his cards and gave a grimace. Probably because he made the deck expecting to face Jaden's fusion monsters. "I summon Reborn Zombie (Lv4 1000/1600) in defense mode!" The creepy zombie appeared without much fanfare, kneeling down protectively with his card under him. "I'll place one card face down and end my turn."

"I guess it's me now," Harry drew a card and grinned down at his hand. Looks like he was going Gryffindor today. "First things first, say hello to this continuous spell card, Hogwarts' Ruby-Filled Hourglass!" A very much empty hourglass appeared, a small golden lion symbol engraved on it. "Every time a fire attribute Hogwarts Spellcaster is summoned using any method, one House Point Counter is added to it. Then I summon Hermione, the Hogwarts Spell Master (Lv4 Tuner 1500/1400) in Attack mode!" Hermione was apparently still angry at him since she huffed and folded her arms when she appeared in the typical flash of light. A ruby clacked against glass as it appeared inside his hourglass. "Her effect lets me add a spell card from my deck to my hand and I choose double summon!" Harry quickly took the card from his deck. "Then I activate it, allowing me to summon an extra monster this turn. I sacrifice Hermione to summon... Professor McGonagal, the Hogwarts Transfiguration Master (Lv6 1800/2200) in Attack position." Another ruby appeared in the hourglass.

He could see Chazz's eyes narrow at the new Spellcaster on Harry's field. Harry grinned at his professor, her stern gaze fixed on Chazz and her greying hair in its typical bun. "Now I activate Professor McGonagal's effect by discarding one spell card and one monster card! Once per turn, during my main phase, she can transfigure one monster into a random item! Or, rather, a Miscellaneous Token!" Bye bye, Expelliarmus and Snape.

"What?" Chazz exclaimed in surprise, eyes widening.

"A Miscellaneous Token cannot be destroyed by battle. Your monster is temporarily removed from play and, at the end of my turn, it'll come back and the token will be destroyed," Harry explained. "Now, transfigure that monster, Professor!" With an easy wave of Professor McGonagal's wand, Reborn Zombie burst into smoke, only to be replaced with... A table (Lv1 0/0). Harry resisted the urge to burst into laughter, but Jaden had no such restraint. He laughed openly at the monster-turned-furniture while Syrus, Chazz and a girl, of whom Harry had no idea when she got there, eyed it with wide eyes.

"Then, I activate Banner of Courage, which gives my monsters a 200 Attack point boost during the battle phase. (McGonagal: 1800/2200 - 2000/2200) Now, Attack!"

Harry's stern professor looked at the table before completely ignoring it and sending conjured knives at Chazz. He cried out as they went through him (LP - 4000/2000). Harry's professor was so overpowered. But, who cares, right? The majority of his deck were, as categorized by Pegasus, limited or semi-limited anyways.

"I end my turn." (McGonagal: 2000/2200 - 1800/2200)

There was another puff of smoke and the token was replaced with Reborn Zombie once more.

Chazz gritted his teeth and drew, smirking shortly afterwards. "Draw! I sacrifice Reborn Zombie to summon Helpoemer (Lv5 2000/1400) in attack position!" Disappearing in a beam of light, Reborn Zombie vanished only for Helpoemer to make an appearance. "Now, Helpoemer, attack that professor!"

Harry narrowed his eyes as Professor McGonagal was engulfed in darkness and exploded into smoke. (LP - 3800/2000) "Professor McGonagal's effect can now activate!" He declared. "When she's removed from the field, I get to Special summon this card from my deck or hand! Come on out, Minerva, the Cat Animagus (Lv8 ?/?)!" When the smoke cleared, it revealed a tabby cat with markings that resembled spectacles. The cat's tail flicked as sat sat primly. "Minerva's original attack and defense are equal to the number of Spell and Trap cards on the field times 300." Minerva closed her eyes as a fiery aura enveloped her. (?/? - 900/900)

"Ha, that's still not enough to defeat Helpoemer!" Chazz exclaimed with a smirk.

"I'm not finished," Harry informed the other with a frown. "Bloody hell, you're impatient. Minerva gains an additional 500 attack for every level four or lower fire attribute Spellcaster in my graveyard! Also, when this card is successfully special summoned, I can add a House Point Counter to any card that needs it!" This time, Minerva stood and hissed threateningly as her attack increased and another ruby fell into the hourglass. (900/900 - 1400/1400) Harry cut Chazz off as he made to speak again. "Just finish your goddamn turn!"

"Fine." The Obelisk blue spat. "Turn end."

"Good, I draw!" Harry drew and grinned when he saw the card he had. "I summon Fred, the Hogwarts Prankster (Lv4 1500/1000)!" The mischievous redhead appeared, holding a beater's bat and some colorfully wrapped sweets. "Due to his effect, I can summon his twin brother George (Lv4 1500/1000) from my deck!" The other twin appeared next to his brother, holding onto some nasty looking prank products. Harry resisted the urge to gag when he saw a dung bomb among them. "Now, George's effect gives him 500 attack and defense when his twin is on the field." George grinned and slung an arm around Fred's shoulders. (1500/1000 - 2000/1500) "And then they all gain 200 attack due to the effects of Banner of Courage! (Minerva: 1400/1400 - 1600/1400, Fred: 1500/1000 - 1700/1000, George: 2000/1500 - 2200/1500) George, attack Helpoemer!"

Geoge jumped up and threw his dung bombs. Harry felt sympathy as they exploded around Helpoemer and the poet from hell shattered. (LP - 3800/1800)

"I activate Call of the Haunted!" Chazz exclaimed, gesturing with a hand, "and bring back Reborn Zombie (1000/1600)!"

Harry frowned. If only Fred could attack the turn he was summoned. If he could, then Hary would win, but he couldn't. He didnt have any cards in his hand either, so he couldn't activate Fred's effect. "Minerva, destroy that zombie!" Minerva leaped up and scratched Reborn Zombie across the face, shattering the monster into tiny pieces. (LP - 3800/1200) "Turn end."

Chazz gritted his teeth. Harry could tell that he had backed the other into a corner. Before Chazz could draw though, the girl, Alexis, spoke up about how there were people coming andthey had to go, now. Jaden kicked up a fuss about not seeing the end of the duel, but Alexis and Syrus were able to drag him away. Chazz didn't say a word when he left, just glaring at Harry one last time before leaving. But it wasn't like it was Harry's fault he got hasty and challenged Harry when he had made his deck to go against Jaden.

"That was awesome!" Jaden exclaimed on their way back. "Come on, Harry, you've got to duel me!"

"Sorry, Jaden, not today," Harry shook his head. "We have classes tomorrow so we should get up early as to not be late on the first day."

"But Harry, you're really good. You had him cornered from the very beginning," Syrus commented excitedly while Jaden pouted again.

"I didn't get to duel anyone..."

"It's not all my effort. I only did so well because of my cards," Harry replied honestly. It wasn't him being humble, it was true. While he was pretty good at dueling, he was no where near Ron or Hermione's level when it came to strategizing or formulating combinations. he als had a good amount of luck, too. However, he was better at keeping an eye out on numbers than Ron (chess and war has little to no math involved), and didn't tend to overthink things like Hermione.

"Whyyyyyy...?"

"That's very humble of you," Syrus decided with a nod.

"I want to duel, too!"

"It's not me being humble, it's true," Harry affirmed.

"When can I duel?"

"I'll duel with you tomorrow, Jaden, after school, if that's what you want."

Jaden immediately perked up, sparkly-eyed and eager. "Really?"

Harry backed away slightly at his over-enthusiasm. "Uh, y-yeah..."

"Great!" Jaden punched the air and then began running. "Last one to the dorm is a rotten egg!"

"W-wait, Aniki!"

Harry grinned and ran after Jaden. "Come on, Syrus, or you'll be the rotten egg," he called over his shoulder.

"Ah! Not you, too! H-Harry! Wait for me!"

A sense of contentment that hadn't been here since he died filled him. Yet there was a tingling feeling on his back which dampened it, reminding him of who he was. As he ran, he slowly lost his grin to a sad smile.

New friends just meant getting hurt again.


Used Harry Potter Universe Cards:

Fred, the Hogwarts Prankster – Lv 4, Fire, Spellcaster/Effect, 1500/1000

When you successfully Normal or Flip summon this monster, you can special summon one "George, the Hogwarts Prankster" from your hand or deck. If "George, the Hogwarts Prankster" is on the field, you can discard one card to negate the activation of a Spell, Trap, or Monster effect. This card cannot attack during the turn it is summoned.

George, the Hogwarts Prankster – Lv 4, Fire, Spellcaster/Effect, 1500/1000

When you successfully Normal or Flip summon this monster, you can special summon one "Fred, the Hogwarts Prankster" from your hand or deck. If "Fred, the Hogwarts Prankster" is on the field, add five hundred attack and defense points to this card. If "Fred, the Hogwarts Prankster" is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, minus five hundred attack and defense points from this card.

Professor McGonagal, the Hogwarts Transfiguration Master – Lv 6, Fire, Spellcaster/Effect, 1800/2200

This card is an "Order of the Phoenix" card. When this card is destroyed, you can special summon one "Minerva, the Cat Animagus" to the field from your deck or hand. Once per turn, by discarding one monster card and one spell card, you can remove one monster on your opponent's field from play until the end phase and summon one Miscellaneous Token (Lv1 0/0) in attack position to your opponent's field. Miscellaneous Tokens cannot be destroyed by battle and can only be attacked once per turn.

Minerva, the Cat Animagus – Lv 8, Light, Beast/Effect, ?/?

This card counts as a "Hogwarts" monster and cannot be normal summoned or set. When this card is successfully summoned, add one House Point Counter to every card on the field that it can be added to. The original attack and defense of this card equals the number of trap and spell x 300 plus the number of level four and below Fire attribute Spellcasters in the graveyard x 500.

Hogwarts' Ruby-Filled Hourglass - Continuous Spell Card

Every time a fire attribute Hogwarts Spellcaster is summoned, add one House Point Counter to this card. You can remove two House Point Counters to prevent the destruction of this card. By tributing this card, you can special summon one monster from the graveyard who's level is equal to or less than the number of House Point Counters on this card.

Mentioned Harry Potter Universe Cards:

Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts

Expelliarmus

Professor Snape, the Hogwarts Potioneer

All other cards have been previously mentioned, used or actually exist.

As for pairings... Eh, I dunno. I'll just look at reviews and decide. If romance doesn't seem to be too popular, there won't be pairings, maybe some hints, but if people seem to really like some pairing or another then I'll consider it. If no one reviews about them I'm going to forgo romance altogether. No hints, no pairings, no nothing.