Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Kingdom Hearts. These belong to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix/Disney respectively.

Harry Potter/Kingdom Hearts Crossover

Warnings... this fanfic contains SLASH (in the shounen-ai sense and not the yaoi sense... I really don't noe how to write it...) anda warning of unbetaedness as usual... (actually more than usual cause I'm not bothered to check it even once at the moment...)

Pairings (just to clarify): Leon/Harry, Cloud+Harry, possible future Leon/Harry/Cloud (depending on whether Sephiroth is going to cooperate or not...), one-sided Tifa/Cloud, Harry+Sora, one-sided Riku/Sora, one-sided Kairi/Sora, future Sora/? (Yes, I'm twisting the real story for my own morbid desire) And some other random minor pairings... (+ stands for brotherly/friendship relationship... I saw it used for Gundam Wing fanfics and hopefully I used it correctly o.o) one of which is going to be Irivne/Aerith o.o bet u didn't see that coming! (u noe I used to hate Aerith... probably because she was crap at fighting and u'd spend so long training her and then she'd die... I like Tifa waaaay better in that sense...) Oh and maybe Cid/Yuffie if I really feel twisted... okay maybe not, that looks a little weird (just a little :P)

Summary: Sent to Azkaban for the most stupid reasons; Harry Potter was completely bored out of his mind as he lay on the cot of his cell, staring blankly at the ceiling.

...Then the heartless came.

Note 1. wooooooooo!! reviews!!! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH:DDD haha im such a review whore...

Note 2. I can't write good romance scenes... I can't write good fighting scenes... I can't write good filler scenes... I can't write good anything scenes!!! -angst angst- oh and I can't write good angst... I also need a larger vocab... -kicks the crappy synonyms program- new chapter here anyway... hope you like it... I can't wait til I write the CoM chapters... (p.s. Yes, I'm not happy with this chapter...)

Note 3. Donald and Goofy have become little more than background furniture... oops...

Note 4. Quite a bit of time-jumping around here too... and sorry if parts of it don't seem to flow very well – I wrote some parts waaaaay earlier than others... I might have to rewrite it... hmm...


Chapter 6.

"No!" Donald squawked loudly, "He can't come!"

"What?!" Sora protested.

"Forget it!"

"But he's my friend!"

"I don't care!"

"Um... shucks, guys..." Goofy tried to interrupt but the two quarrellers ignored him completely. It had started innocently enough, Sora telling Riku about all that's happened and how they could finally explore the other worlds together. Donald, however, would not allow it.

Riku supposed he should feel angry at the raging duck for trying to separate him from his best friend. He couldn't bring himself to care though; not when Sora was raging up another storm just as big on his behalf.

"Well then you can go and find your stupid King by yourselves! I won't go anywhere without Riku!"

"Whaaaaat!!!"

Riku had to turn around lest they saw the smug grin that broke out on his face.

"They still arguing?"

Riku hurriedly schooled his expression before he turned to look at the brunette who just walked in, frown on his face, "Yeah."

Leon, a.k.a. Squall (or should it be the other way around? o.o;;), scowled ferociously and stormed over to the loud duet who hadn't noticed his entrance. In one swift move, he grabbed them both by their collar, turned them towards himself and growled menacingly. To Riku's immense amusement, he heard equal squeaks of terror from Sora and Donald and then a sudden silence.

"Harry's asleep," Leon's voice was soft but his eyes told a completely different story, "If you wake him..." he trailed off threateningly, certain their over-imaginative minds would conjure images of torture of their darkest fears for him.

Sora and Donald's eyes widened in fear, nodding vigorously to show their good-will. Seeing this, Leon dropped them roughly back into their chairs, "Take us to Traverse Town," cold brown eyes narrowed, "Now."

Sora eeped and Donald turned to him, laughing nervously, "Why don't you pilot, Sora. Ha, ha... haaah..." and then gulped when Leon continued to glare at him. Sora fumbled with the controls a bit in his haste but soon they began accelerating towards Traverse Town.

With a loud "Hmph," Leon spun around and stalked out of the cockpit, passing the silently cackling Riku. He made his way to the small, make-shift infirmary where he had left his exhausted boyfriend. As silently as he could, he stepped inside only to find Harry staring up at him, blinking owlishly. Leon sighed as he sat next to the raven-haired teen, "Did they wake you?" he asked softly.

Harry shook his head, wrapping his arms loosely around Leon as he rested his forehead on the taller teens chest, "You were gone..." he replied just as softly.

Leon immediately raised his arms to wrap around Harry as well, drawing the small teen closer, breathing in that familiar, sweet smell that he'd missed so much. For the next few minutes, they just sat there, relishing in the close contact they couldn't have before, the close contact they didn't get a chance to revel in before they were separated.

"Tell me about Traverse Town," Harry mumbled.

"...Well, it's small town with its own bell tower. There are three districts, two of which are pretty much abandoned because of the Heartless. And the first..." Leon paused, uncertain as how he approach the subject.

"The first?" Harry looked up at him questionably.

Leon sighed mentally, knowing he'd have to tell him eventually, "Is where all the survivors end up."

"Survivors?" Harry perked up hopefully.

Leon smiled at him sadly and nodded, "Yes. There... aren't many of us left but... Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, Tifa and a few others you wouldn't recognise managed to escape after the Heartless overwhelmed the castle. ...Oh and Irvine," he added with a grimace.

Harry snorted and flicked him on the forehead. To his amusement, the brunette mock-scowled at him and flicked him back.

"I'm so glad you're all okay," Harry's smile faltered a little though when he realised something... "Squall... What about Cloud and Ansem?"

Leon breathed in sharply at this but didn't answer. He didn't need to; his silence gave it all away.

"Oh..." Harry mumbled softly, burying his head back into Leon's chest, the older man looking down at him in worry.

"Harry?" Leon had never been one good at comforting others...

"You know," Harry began softly, voice thick with emotion, "I saw Cloud that day."

Leon blinked in confusion.

"You know... the day Radiant Garden was..." Harry paused. He'd lost another home to the darkness... "I came... I wanted to help..."

Leon blinked again; that was new information. But he didn't interrupt, no matter how much he wanted to. Harry had something he needed to say.

"He's going to be okay," Harry suddenly blurted out, biting back a sob, "He is okay. ...They're both okay."

Leon stayed silent.

-

"Harry!" the hyper ninja squealed, glomping the raven-haired teen as soon as he stepped out of the Gummi Ship.

"Yuffie!" Harry laughed, hugging her back, "It's good to see you. All of you," he added, smiling brightly as the rest of the gang finally caught up.

"Harry!" Aerith called out happily as well as she hugged him though in a slightly more subdued manner, "How have you been?"

"Never better," he chirped, "Seeing that you're all okay. I missed you."

Aerith smiled, "We missed you too, Squall in particular," giving the blushing male brunette a sly grin, "But I'll give you all the details later."

"What details?" Irvine added with a laugh, stepping up beside her, "All he's been doing is moping around wishing the squirt was here!" he said with a playful wink as he slung his arm over Harry's shoulders.

Leon immediately pulled Harry out of the cowboy's grip and glared at him. Irvine just grinned back at him, eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Yeah, it's good to see you kid," Cid cut in gruffly from the side before Leon started to show his displeasure with more than a glare. The stick, to Sora's amusement and slight disgust, was still between his lips, What's up with that? He wondered.

"Don't let that old man's tone fool you!" Yuffie piped up, "He'd missed you just as much as Squall has. He'd even given up his smoking until we found you!"

Cid scowled and swiped angrily at her but Yuffie easily darted away with a toothy grin on her face.

Harry's eyes widened with disbelief, finally noticing the stick instead of the cigarettes he'd remembered constantly complaining about, "You've stopped smoking?!" Pause. "By choice?!" Harry gaped, "Miracles do happen..."

-

"And this is the third district," Sora introduced.

Riku nodded, smiling in amusement at the almost proud tone of voice. It sounded like as if the brunette was introducing to his best friend the new dream house he had just purchased.

"You know we defeated this really big Heartless here!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Sora nodded happily, "It was like as tall as this building and was made of this armoury-stuff and-"

"Sora! Riku!" a familiar voice called out behind them.

The two teens spun round in surprise, "Kairi!" Sora cried out happily while Riku plastered a smile on his face though it was a little strained. He was glad she was okay, if only for Sora's sake but...

"Kairi! Is that really you?" Sora ambled over to the red-head, a wide grin on his face. Riku remained where he was.

Kairi giggled, "Yes, it's me silly. I'm glad I finally found you. Both of you," she said, sparing the silver-haired teen a brief glance before ignoring him altogether, "So what's going on?"

"Well-" Sora started but didn't get a chance to finish.

"Sora, it's time to go," Donald said as he walked in, Goofy following close behind.

"Right," the brunette nodded to him before turning back to Kairi, "We got to go now, Kairi. I'll explain on the way. You're coming with us, right?"

"What?!" Donald protested, "Not another one!"

Sora scowled at him, "Kairi's my friend too. And if Riku can come, why can't Kairi? There's plenty of room."

Donald spluttered.

"Actually, Donald's right."

Both duck and human stared at the silver-haired teen who spoke in surprise; they had expected him to agree with Sora...

"What? Riku..."

"Sora, Kairi's never fought like we have. She won't be able to defend herself. She'd be safer if she stayed here," Riku said logically though, privately, he just wanted to keep her away from the brunette.

Sora bit his lip, unable to argue with that logic. With a sigh, he turned to Kairi to apologise only to find her long gone, "Kairi? Where'd she go? Nice going guys," he said, frowning at all three of them.

Riku really didn't like seeing a frown on Sora's face, especially when it was directed at him, "It's for the best, Sora. At least we don't have to worry about her being in danger right? Anyway, we better get going..."

Sora sighed and nodded, "You're right, I guess. Let's go!" he finished firmly, cheeky grin back on his face.

Riku grinned back in relief and ran off, "Race you to the Gummi Ship!" he called out behind him.

"Hey! No fair!" Sora laughed, racing after him.

On a near-by roof-top, icy blue eyes watched them, the burning hate growing ever so steadily behind them as she recalled the days when she was part of that.

"You see?" Maleficent pointed out beside her, "It's just as I told you. He's long forgotten you, all because of that other boy who he, evidently, values far more than he does you. You can get him back though... just come with me and you'd see. I'll help you find what you're looking for..."

Kairi said nothing as she watched the Sora and Riku disappear into the first district.

You're in my way...

-

Harry looked out from above the gizmo shop, staring out into the night sky. He was supposed to be in bed resting but the thoughts whirling around in his head wouldn't leave him be. Time was running out and he had to decide soon lest he get too attached...

He raised his hand and gently tugged the chain from beneath his collar, a small dark jewel slipping out with it. Harry stared into its depths, strangely enraptured by the swirling shadows just beneath the surface, glowing dully beneath the soft moonlight.

"Here," he said, as a cold something was laid around his neck making Harry jump in surprise, "No need to be afraid," the man added softly but it did nothing to comfort him, "Just a little helping hand, so to speak."

"Oh?" Harry his head sidewards, eyebrow raised above his emerald eyes as they stared into cold, sapphire ones, "And who says I'll need any help?" he retorted as he absent-mindedly fiddled with the crystal in his hand.

A tiny smirk flitted across the man's face, "Oh, of course. It's merely a precaution," he nonchalantly waved his hand, "You know, just in case you do, you need only to reach into its depths and pull. Now," the sakura-haired man suddenly clapped his hands, a shadow portal appearing beside him, "I believe it is time for you to go."

Harry stared at him incredulously; did he really expect to him to walk into some dodgy-looking shadow portal?

The man merely smiled, "You have nothing to fear from me," he said softly as he brushed his hand across Harry's cheek once. The smile turned into a wry one when Harry immediately batted his hand away and took a step back, "This portal merely leads you to you're little silver-haired friend. Seeing as he's in quite the mess at the moment, I thought you would appreciate the... short-cut."

Harry resisted the urge to snarl at the man; knowing it was probably his doing that led Riku to trouble. Instead, he turned swiftly and stepped through the portal without a single word.

The words, "I'll be waiting for you," that followed him sent shivers down his spine.

"Harry?" a voice called softly, startling him from his thoughts. Hastily, he thrust the necklace back into his shirt when he realised it was Squall. ...Or was it Leon now?

Harry tilted his head and looked up at him expectantly, for some reason believing the older man could read his every thought. He only got a raised eyebrow for his trouble as the man settled him beside Harry, wrapping a large coat around Harry's shoulders. The raven-haired suddenly realised how cold it was and accepted it with a grateful smile, wrapping it around himself tighter, "Donald... he called you Leon," he replied simply.

Leon shifted slightly, "I couldn't save Radiant Garden. I couldn't stop the Heartless from taking it. I couldn't save everyone," I couldn't save you, the last part was left unspoken but Harry heard it loud and clear. The look on Leon's face was a pained one.

"So you decided that you weren't worthy of your own name and won't answer to it until you get our home back?" Harry dead-panned.

Leon flushed; for some reason, it sounded a lot more ridiculous when it came from Harry's mouth.

"You're only one man, Squall," Harry said softly, "a remarkable man, yes," he added with a tiny blush, Squall turning away slightly to hide a small blush of his own, "but one man none-the-less. It's not your fault," he then said a little sadly; all the times Neville had told him this flashed through his mind.

Reaching out, he grasped Squall's cold hand in his, slowly rubbing them warm, "We'll get Radiant Garden back. I have faith in you."

Squall smiled at him and then added with dry amusement, "You know... I came out here to comfort you."

"I'm fine," Harry protested automatically. He knew Squall didn't believe him though; his protest had been half-hearted at best. But the brunette decided to humour him for which Harry was eternally glad; after all... how could he possibly explain?

Instead, he clung tightly to the brunette, wishing for the life he could and would never have.

-

"&&X. Friends there," Tarzan said, "See friends."

"Oh, I get it now," Jane piped up, "&&X means heart. Friends in our hearts. And that no matter how far apart we may be from our friends, we will always be together in our hearts."

"You see, Riku?" Sora grinned, nudging his best friend lightly with his elbow, "There's nothing to be worried about. Even if we do get separated, we'll always be together in our hearts!"

Riku couldn't help but smile back however... he still couldn't shake off the feeling something really bad was going to happen; something that'll take Sora away from him. And while what Tarzan had said was true...

Sometimes, it just wasn't enough.

Jafar sneered down at them at he stared into watching glass. How revolting, he thought with disgust, all of them weak-minded street rats by the looks of it and yet... "The boy. He found one of the keyholes."

"Indeed," Maleficent's lip curled with similar disgust as she stepped up to the glass, "However, fear not. It will take him ages to find the rest. But," she paused to glare at all the occupants of the room, "that does not mean any more time is to be wasted!" she snapped, "Why have no more of the princesses been captured?!"

"The heroes," the Captain snarled, tapping the table irritably with his metal hook, "have been more resourceful than we have given them credit for. The Heartless are having trouble completing the tasks we have set them."

"I see," Maleficent's eyes narrowed.

"What of the girl?" Jafar asked her, "Perhaps, she may the key?"

"Hah!" the witch laughed derisively, "she's even weaker than I had thought. Only just barely is she capable of keeping the lower Heartless under her command. If only I had a chance to speak with that silver-haired boy... his power and his potential..." she frowned, "but now is not the time to talk of the past. The girl is weak but she does have other uses."

"Oh?"

"Yes," she grinned maliciously, "for you see, beyond being one of the Princesses of Heart, she also harbours a substantial hold over another heart."

"Of course!" Jafar gasped, "The boy with the keyblade!"

Meanwhile, as they watched Sora and his friends, they too were being watched. The darkly cloaked figure, languidly twisted strands of his long sakura locks around his finger as he stared into his watching glass, a small yet strangely eerie smile on his face.

Too easy.

-

"Where's Harry?" Aerith asked the cowboy as she stepped into the red room. The man in question was sitting sideways on one of the armchairs, legs slung over the right armrest as he poured over his book. He also completely ignored her.

Aerith huffed in annoyance and stalked over, snatching the thin volume straight from his hands. The bright orange cover and the words Icha Icha Paradise glared back at her.

"Huh?" Irvine said, looking up at her in surprise, "Hey! Give that back!" he shouted, already reaching out towards Aerith but she merely stepped back out of his reach. Irvine pouted.

Aerith rolled her eyes, "Have you seen Harry?" she repeated.

"Nope," he replied, eyes remaining trained on the book in Aerith's hand. Was it worth getting up to get it back...? "But that's no reason to be worried. He's probably with Squall getting 'reacquainted' shall we say." ...Absolutely. Irvine stood up and moved towards Aerith, eyes still staring at the little orange book.

Aerith merely switch the book to her other hand behind her back when Irvine's hand darted out to grab it and frowned, "No he isn't. Squall's training down in the sewers with Yuffie and he told me Harry said he was coming to find you since he was still too tired to fight."

Irvine finally looked up, an eyebrow raised, "And he let Harry go by himself?" he asked with a little disbelief.

Aerith smiled slightly, "Well, apparently, Harry demonstrated to Squall exactly how well he could take care of himself."

Irvine snickered, various images of how that would have played out passing through his mind, "I'm surprised that that hadn't happened sooner. Harry never did like to be mollycoddled and well..." the cowboy snorted and then made another attempt at the book. To his chagrin, he missed again. Irvine sighed and looked back up at her, "So what's the problem then?"

Aerith's smile dimmed, "He may be able to take of himself against the Heartless but..." she paused, uncertain on how to phrase it, "I'm just worried about him."

"What makes you think something is wrong?" he asked after a moment's contemplation.

"Well, for one, he's been very quiet and withdrawn," at Irvine's raised eyebrow she elaborated, "More so than usual. He tiring after doing things he had no trouble with back home. And Squall-"

"Squall's been frowning a lot more than usual as well," he finished for her with a solemn nod.

Aerith looked at him in surprise, "If you knew, then why didn't you...?"

"I didn't realise until recently anyway and if it were really serious, I knew you would bring it up being the head mother-hen honcho," at Aerith's exaggerated sigh, he added with a cheeky grin, "Plus, I wasn't sure considering Squall frowns at me more than others anyway. Aha!" he exclaimed when he finally caught her unaware and managed to get his book back. He hopped away, putting some distance between then before flipping it open again eagerly.

Aerith snorted, "Well if you stop flirting with Harry..." she sighed while knowing it was a lost cause. Irvine just had way too fun messing with Squall, "In any case... what to do?" she wondered, gazing at the cowboy with a curious glance. Irvine however, was too busy giggling over what he had just read to pay her any heed.

He did pay attention though when the brown leather boot of a certain pink-clad girl stomped on his foot though.

"Ow!" Irvine screamed, book dropping to the floor as he cradled his aching foot in both his hands, "What was that for?!"

"Pay attention!" Aerith retorted sharply, eyes glinting in a very scary way. Irvine immediately paled at the look, gulping nervously as he nodded and obediently kicked the orange book away.

Aerith smiled sweetly, "Better."

-

Gong.

It was completely silent.

No longer were there birds singing in the trees. No longer were there children playing in the fields. No longer were teachers bustling their students to and fro.

Harry stared blankly at the place he had once called home. A sudden crack and then, right before his eyes, the last turret crumbled and crashed in pieces onto the ground. The blood-stained ground. The body strewn ground. Dead ground.

The silence was back again, though, he realised, it wasn't as complete a silence as he had thought it was. No, in the absence of anything else, the fire engulfing the once lush forest sent soft sounds of crackling in the air.

It was strangely soothing.

A soft crunch to his left made his look up again. He hadn't realised he had looked down in the first place but it made sense. His eyes met many cold unseeing stares. So many had died this day and once again, here he still was. Alive.

Or at least, in a physical sense.

An old, wrinkly hand rested on his back, it's owner familiar to him yet he didn't care. What was one alive among many dead? He'd won yet failed so many.

So maybe, he hadn't won?

"Harry," the familiar old man said softly, "You've completed the prophecy. I'm so proud of you."

Lies.

"However... you do realise what this means, don't you?"

Broken promises.

"I cannot, in good faith, allow the chance for another to rise in his place Harry."

Betrayal.

"I'm sorry."

Where...

"Minister," the old man called out to another man approaching them, "Take him away."

...Is my happy ending?

Gong

Harry woke up with a start, immediately rolling away when a Heartless whizzed towards him, sweeping through the air where Harry's head had been only moment's earlier. He cursed slightly as a burst of fire flew towards him, slightly burning his shoulder when he failed to move away fast enough, "Blizzara!" he shouted, a couple of the fire-based Heartless bursting apart when the spell hit them.

Damn it! I don't have time for this! He thought though whether he was thinking about the Heartless or the memories that wouldn't leave alone, even he was uncertain. Angrily, he wiped away the few tears that had managed to escape onto his cheeks. He then turned his wand toward the Large Body ambling its way over toward him.

"Sectumsempra," Harry shouted again. He watched as the dark purple burst out from his wand, striking the last Heartless and tearing it into two. It disappeared with a flash, a small but bright pink heart escaping from its once prison.

I should stop doing that, he thought numbly, But I suppose it is inevitable. Sora's unlocking more hearts even now and helping him unknowingly... I need to tell Sora and yet... Harry sighed as he stared up into the cloudy sky, Could I really not take this chance to get them back? But then...

"Oh, Merlin," he moaned softly, sinking down into a foetal position against the side of the pillar. One leg dangled dangerously over the side of the building as blank emerald eyes stared out from the above the gizmo shop. His thoughts when round and round in his head without pause and never reaching a decision.

If only there were some way to...

"Harry!"

Emerald eyes blinked before he turned around, plastering a smile on his face, "Sora! You're back! How did it go?" he tried to sound happy, not wishing to rain on Sora's obviously good mood, but it came out strained.

The brunette noticed though, faltering slightly before exclaiming with gusto, a wide grin in place with hopes to cheer Harry up, "Great! You should've come with us!" Sora ignored Donald's squawk of disagreement, "I'd never seen so many trees clumped together in my entire life and they were like... HUGE! And-"

"Is this the place?" Riku cut brusquely in as he examined the wooden boards nailed across the doorway behind where Harry was sitting.

Harry raised a eyebrow at him, What's his problem? "Depends, what are you looking for?"

"Aerith asked us to check out the bell," Goofy explained, "We're going to ring it three times to see if anything will happen."

"Well, let's tear down these boards guys! Ready?" Sora piped up.

"Yeah!" Donald said with a jump.

"Alright then... CHARGE!" the small brunette shouted as he ran straight towards the boarded-up doorway. He crashed into the wooden planks, followed immediately Donald and Goofy, falling on top of each other as the boards eventually gave way at their combined force.

Harry stared at the sight in shock for a moment before he found himself desperately holding his laughter in. Of all the ways to break through... Taking a glance at Riku, he found the silver-haired teen had faired no better than him though, but unlike Harry, he had face-palmed at the sight.

"Ow..." Sora moaned slightly, rubbing his abused forehead. Riku sighed mentally and knelt beside his pouting friend.

Harry curiously stepped pass them and, inside the newly revealed small cubicle, glanced upwards. Though it was a little dark, he could see clearly the round shell of the old golden bell, a thick scraggly rope dangling down from it. Gripping it tightly in his hands, he gave it a sharp tug.

Gong.

Heads swivelled in surprise when, in the distance, the stone mural above the fountain began to move. Slowly the stone block spun, revealing another mural, this one an autumn setting. Without any prompting, Harry gave the rope another tug.

Gong.

The slow, grinding noise came once more as the the stone block turned to reveal another mural. One last time, Harry pulled.

Gong.

Water spurted out from within behind the stone block as it turned once more. Suddenly, the ground shook, rumbling and grumbling and then... the Heartless appeared.

"Hey! It's that's Heartless we fought before!" Sora shouted out in recognition as he pointed at the Guard Armour.

"Well then," Riku stepped up beside Sora, "What are we waiting for?" And without another word, he jumped off the building, landing lightly on his feet before charging straight towards the Heartless. The brunette grinned before jumping off as well, the rest close behind.

Large Bodies and other smaller Heartless sprang up but together, the five made quick work of these before they turned their attention to the Boss. Suddenly the door to the back alley burst open, revealing Squall and Yuffie who had come running as soon as they caught the sounds of fighting.

"Yikes!" Yuffie cried as the Guard armour swiped angrily at them, forcing them to jump apart. Squall quickly made his way to Harry and began to check if he was okay. Harry was caught between being extremely happy and extremely annoyed at the treatment. He could look after himself after all...

The group, now seven, ducked and dodged around the Heartless as it tried to tear them apart, striking it's hollow shell whenever they caught an opening in its defence and throwing cure spells at one another when they were weren't able to dodge fast enough. In the end, it didn't really stand a chance. But just when they had thought they had won, Sora striking it one last time with his newly acquired Jungle King, the giant Heartless gave a mighty shudder and transformed into Opposite Armour. In their surprise, the Heartless caught some of them unaware; taking out Sora, Donald and Harry with one fell swoop.

Squall flinched violently.

Blood gushed freely from where the armour had caught in Harry's skin only briefly. Quickly, leaving the others to take care of Sora and Donald, he pulled Harry out of the way and pushed a strong cure spell into him. For one heart-stopping moment, nothing seemed to happen but to his relief, emerald-eyes fluttered open.

"Leon?" he asked softly and Leon was startled to see the eyes once so full of life and heart-breaking pain, staring blankly back at him.

"Yes, Harry?"

"...I died didn't I?"

"Yes..." Leon replied uncertainly.

"...did you die too?" Harry's voice was so soft Leon almost missed it.

"No, I didn't Harry..."

"Oh," Pause, "Why am I still alive then?"

Leon choked and it took all his control to refrain from shaking the teen vigorously in an attempt to knock some sense into him, "Because I brought you back..."

"Oh," Harry repeated, this time a little sadly.

"Harry, please," Leon pleaded as he searched those emerald-eyes for something. For anything.

Harry looked up at him, "Squall..." and then a sudden realisation seemed to come over him, eyes blinking rapidly until all the shadows behind them finally passed though not completely, "I... I'm sorry... I... d-don't..." he stuttered, trying to push the brunette away. Squall wouldn't allow it though, drawing the smaller teen closer.

"Why won't you let me help you..." he whispered into the raven locks.

Harry bit his lip and shut his eyes tightly, Because I don't want to have to hurt you...

-

"Hey, Riku?"

"Hmm?" the silver-haired teen answered from his side. Sora tried to ignore how close the other teen was; ever since that incident with the Opposite Armour, Riku had been even more reluctant to leave his side. Not that he minded of course, just that...

Sora cursed mentally when that damnable heat started to rise up in his cheeks again when Riku's shoulder bumped into his. Thankfully, Riku had been examining the chart with their opponents in the games and wasn't looking at him.

"It's just..." Sora pointed at one of the names on the chart, "Doesn't that name seem familiar to you?"

"What? Cloud?" Riku frowned thoughtfully, "No, I don't think we know anyone called that..."

"Oh..." Sora trailed off uncertainly; he was sure he had heard of that name somewhere and it wasn't about those fluffy white things in the sky...

-

"Ah, Harry my boy, I was wondering when you'd come visit me," the wise old wizard said as he looked up from the thick novel spread out in front of him, "It is good to see you are well."

"You too, Sir," Harry greeted with a small smile. Fondly, he noticed that, despite moving in only days earlier, the wizard had already turned the once dark, gloomy abandoned house into a homey little place that looked like a tornado had passed through. Books, papers, bottles and jars of all shapes and sizes were scattered everywhere among the strangely shaped magic-conjured furniture and uneven shelves. Merlin could never keep a tidy home despite all his amazing abilities.

"Hmm..." the old wizard peered into the bubbling pot beside him as he stirred gently, "Be a good lad and pass me the jar of shrivelled mandrake. It's on that shelf over there," he said, waving lightly to his left without looking up.

Harry nodded and made his way over, picking up the only jar on the shelf, sitting among many books haphazardly stacked together, some sitting precariously on the edge. Handing the occupied wizard the ingredient, he too peered into the bubbling potion. It was a strange shade of murky purple and didn't look like any he had ever learnt about, "What is this?" Harry asked quietly as if any loud noise would disturb the process.

"Just a little project I'm working on," Merlin replied, slowly dropping the mandrake into the potion. It started to turn orange wherever the mandrake had touched it. He stirred and it slowly became a light brown, "Something that may help us keep the Heartless at bay..." the wise, old wizard suddenly glanced up from his stirring and gave Harry a piercing look, "You seem troubled, my lad. Your heart is heavy."

Harry looked up in surprise and immediately looked away; did Merlin know legilimency? "I'm fine," he assured instantly but Merlin continued to stare at him, "Will you... tell me about Kingdom Hearts?" he asked instead.

Merlin frowned slightly at the sudden change of topic and for a moment, Harry thought he wasn't going to answer the question, "Kingdom Hearts," he said after the moment's silence, "Not much is known about it. Many believe that it is a manifestation of darkness of the heart. There are those who seek it to use its power for there is darkness in every heart, making its power immense beyond anything in this universe."

"And you?" Harry asked after a moment's contemplation, "What do you believe?"

Strange look passed over Merlin's face but it disappeared before he could decipher it, "I believe in the light that resides within that darkness," he said resolutely, "What about you? What do you believe Kingdom Heart holds?"

Harry bit his lip; the darkness that will bring back my light.

-

"So why did you go along with Hades anyway?" Sora asked curiously. Despite the dark clothes the blonde was decked out in, for some reason Sora couldn't see Cloud as one to follow the darkness. Cloud... where the hell have I heard of that name? He thought to himself in annoyance, absent-mindedly ruffling his own spiky brown hair.

Cloud looked up from his thoughts and quirked an eyebrow at him, "I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help," his blue eyes shuttered closed with a soft sigh, How was he supposed to find him now?

Riku nodded in understanding, "You tried to exploit the darkness but it backfired on you. You couldn't find your light."

Sora glanced at his friend peculiarly; why did Riku sound like he knew exactly how Cloud felt? But anyway... "So who are you looking for? We do a lot of er... travelling and maybe we'll meet them. Hey! We might have already met them and you'll soon be reunited!" he said with a grin.

Cloud smiled back a little, the brunette's smile strangely contagious, "It... is a possibility... Well, he's got black hair and green eyes and-" the blonde paused when Sora and Riku simultaneously choked, eyes widening in shock.

It's a small world indeed, Riku thought with dry amusement, it's strange how everything comes back to him in the end...

"I knew I'd heard your name somewhere!" Sora gasped in surprise, "You're Harry's friend!"

Cloud's cold blue eyes brightened, a slight glimmer of hope shining within them; the first in a very long time...

-

Harry gripped the edge of the ship tightly, knuckles white as he took in a deep breath; was he really going to go through with it? Could he really do it?

Gritting his teeth, he slung the bag from over his shoulder and into the cockpit before hoisting himself into the seat. He ran a hand over the controls and sighed; it didn't matter whether he could or not. His heart wouldn't let him do otherwise. Breathing in deeply once more, he flicked the ignition switch and prepared to take off.

He needed to do this.

-

"I can see Traverse Town!" Sora called out happily to Cloud.

The blonde immediately stood up from his seat and made his way over to the brunette to get a better look at the world, "And Harry's here?"

"Yep!" Sora chirped, "And-" he paused, watching as another ship rose from the world and took off in another direction, "Who could that be?"

Riku shrugged from the seat beside him, "Doesn't matter. You better slow down for landing."

"Oh, right!"

While the other's turned their attention back to Traverse Town, Cloud's eyes remained fixed intensely on the ship disappearing into the distance.

He couldn't help but feel that something was wrong...


Final note: I just gave Harry back to Squall and now I've taken him away again... what the hell am I doing?! Oh well... please pretend there were a lot more slashy scenes between those two in this chapter... seriously, you don't want to see me attempt to write any more romance than I have... I can't write anything! -more angst- Please review...