A/N: I would like to take this opportunity to pimp Sokai's very cute, if slightly long-winded (which I like), but still villain-less HP/SM/W.I.T.C.H. fic, Worlds Collided, and JuMiKu's fic, Ebony Riddle and the truth about the boy-who-died. Read them and leave reviews, since the stories are very nice.
----------------------------------------
Harry Potter: Keeper of the Dark Heart
by Shadow Crystal Mage
Chapter 8: Snapshots of Summer
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, which belongs to J.K. Rowling, Teen Titans, who belong to DC, or W.I.T.C.H., which belongs (I think) to Disney and some European lady. This is based on the comic book version of W.I.T.C.H., not the cartoon version, or the kiddy book version. I ask any relatives reading this to never bring it up in my presence or I will cut you off from my will. This is a crossover with my other fic, Harry Potter: Raven. If you're curious about things, read it in my profiles page.
----------------------------------------
Cassidy winced as Keeper was sent flying through the air by yet another burst of dark telekinetic energy. Raven winced as well, something Cassidy carefully took note of. Well, at least the half-demon boy was wincing now. An emotional reaction if she ever saw one. They were making some progress, although to an outsider it probably wouldn't look like it.
Harry- Keeper, Cassidy corrected herself- screamed, moaned, then hissed in pain for a few seconds, snapping his dislocated leg, arm, elbow, fingers and ribs back into place by himself. After the past few days of this, Keeper could set his own bones back by himself. It was always accompanied by sounds that seemed appropriate for a horror movie.
"I'm alright!" the Dark Keeper said after a little while, and Cassidy relaxed a little again. Granted, she didn't have muscles to tense any more, but she could swear she'd felt herself stiffen. Although how wood could stiffen, she had no idea.
They'd been at this for over a week and a half, ever since Raven had finally been convinced to let Keeper try and help him control his powers so he could learn to express a tad bit more emotion. Which involved getting him to feel emotions without his powers getting berserk (or at least, too berserk). So far, they had wincing safely controlled, although attempts at getting Raven to laugh at jokes still had painful consequences for Keeper. Cassidy would have said he was nuts if she hadn't known he was always like this. Although that could mean he was always nuts…
Shaking her head to get back to the matter at hand, she watched as Keeper shakily got back to his feet. The boy was made of diamond! Nothing could scratch him! Heck, one time, he'd dislocated his neck and just popped it back on again. It was scary!
"Maybe you should rest," Raven said as Keeper came back, walking almost normally again. Normally as in he walked with extreme pain and was dragging his still twisted left foot, which he popped back into place with a grimace and a kick at a rock.
"Oh, this is nothing," Keeper said for like the hundredth time. "Come one, let's keep working on this. Knock knock."
Raven sighed. "Who's there…?"
Cassidy moved a little farther back, and recalled how they ended up doing this…
----------------------------------------
"Absolutely no emotion, huh?" Keeper said as they walked down some obscure path. "Well, that's got to be tough, living like that."
"One manages," Raven said.
"Still, it can't be easy," Cassidy said.
"No, it is not," Raven confirmed.
"Have you ever tried having emotions while keeping you powers in check?" Keeper asked.
Raven looked at him. "That is almost a contradiction of terms. Besides, there is no need. I choose to be like this. It is the only way. There is no need to try another course."
Keeper shrugged. "I guess you're right. I mean, it's not as if you promised anyone you'd try to feel emotions or anything, right?"
Raven was silent.
"…right?"
Silence.
Cassidy looked at him. "You didn't make any promises, did you?"
Silence.
"Hmmm," Keeper said, then thrust his fist into the sky. "THIS LOOKS LIKE A JOB FOR THE DARK KEEPER!"
"Um… what job?" Cassidy said.
Silly her.
----------------------------------------
"Man, this chocolate is good!" Keeper said as he and Raven walked down a street. Cassidy was being carried around inside Raven's backpack, which Keeper had magicked so that no one would notice the diminutive wooden Guardian inside. "I have got to see if this store is around on my world."
A small smile played on Raven's lips. "I thought you'd like it. I gave some to Hermione last Christmas. If her moans were any indicator, I believe she also found it enjoyable."
No one would have thought that it had taken them nearly a month to get Raven up to 'smiling' level.
"Damn, I miss having a sense of taste!" Cassidy whimpered from inside the bag.
"I could try giving you one," Keeper said, "But you have a mouth made of wood, and I really don't think you'd want to be tasting toothpicks 24/7."
"Ugh. No thanks."
Weeks and weeks of work had finally allowed Raven to gain a higher level of control over his emotions/powers, although intense emotions still tended to mess up his control royally, as shown by the time Keeper had artificially kindled rage inside Raven and had nearly been crushed to a pulp by the resulting telekinetic backlash. Happiness at any level as still beyond anything Raven could control. The most Raven could drudge up were feelings of satisfaction and contentment. Still, now that he could feel, he conceded that it was infinitely better than nothing.
So now, they were taking a break, with Raven showing Keeper around one of his favorite parts of Switzerland. Since both could teleport, travel had not been a problem. So far, they'd been to Paris, Madrid, Rome, Egypt, and through some misunderstanding, Madagascar. They'd now moved back up north, for no other reason except that they could and they wanted to.
"I don't see why you had to insist on helping me control my emotions," Raven said suddenly as if it were a topic they'd been discussing just now.
"Let's just say I have experience with promises to those who pass on," Keeper said dryly. "A promise like that is the reason that Cass here is a little wooden girl."
"I appreciate your sensitivity," she said in the same tone.
"I'll make you a biological body," Keeper said in mild exasperation. "But there's no rush, right?"
"Nope," she confirmed. "No rush."
"Good," Keeper breathed with and hint- or at least a hope- of finality. "Because I still have to research a way to do it that doesn't hint of the Dark Arts. Or even vaguely related to it."
"Still, why?" Raven persisted. He was good at that. "Why help me in this manner?"
Keeper was silent for a moment, obviously trying to frame his response. "I know how important it is to fulfill a promise. Especially someone's dying wish. It's like an insult to their memory if you don't. This woman, Azar, she obviously cared deeply about you. And I know it must have pained you not to be able to do as she asked."
"I didn't 'do' pain then," Raven said.
Keeper chuckled. "Sure you didn't, Rae. Sure you didn't…"
----------------------------------------
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Keeper screamed.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!" Cassidy agreed.
The two stood frozen as they stared at the big dragon in front of them. Going to Romania was starting to look like a bad idea.
Raven, however, tilted his head, a surprised look on his face, or at least as surprised as he ever got. "Norbert?"
----------------------------------------
Keeper laughed as Cassidy ran past, waving her arms around widely, followed by Azar, who kept on pecking at her head, trying to pull off the red strands that made up her 'hair'. "GET IT OFF ME, GET IT OFF ME, GET IT OFF MEEEEE!"
"Is your hair strawberry flavored, Cass?" Keeper chortled out.
"THIS ISN'T FUNNY POTTER!"
Raven wasn't laughing, but he was smiling...
----------------------------------------
"HEY, STOP IT!" Keeper cried a few minutes later as Cassidy chased him around with fireballs.
"YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY BEING CHASED AROUND, DO YOU?" Cassidy cried. "LET'S SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT!"
Raven sweatdropped. Who knew she had a temper?
----------------------------------------
"This is pointless," Raven said as he stood patiently, letting Keeper adjust his clothes.
Keeper merely grinned, not looking up what he, currently she, was doing. "Now, now, if you want to be able to understand and control your own emotions, you have to…oh, okay, I can't really think up any justification for this, but trust me, it'll be fun!"
"You said that about going to Romania," Raven said sarcastically as Keeper made sure his bun was properly secured.
"I'm almost sorry we taught you sarcasm," Keeper said, moving a strand of blonde hair out of her eye, before grinning. "Almost. And you look perfect! All you need now is that mask!"
Raven sighed, taking the mask Keeper offered him and putting it over his face. The eye-holes, though narrow, were close enough to his eyes to afford him almost as wide a field of vision as he normally had, and breathing wasn't really a problem.
"Excellent!" Keeper said, clasping her hands together against her cheek and tilting her head to one side. "You make a perfect Haku!"
"Raven, can you please get this pet of yours off of me?" Cassidy complained from where she was sitting.
Raven held out his arm. "Here, Azar," he commanded. Azar gave one last pull of Cassidy's tiara before flitting off to Raven's arm.
Cassidy grumbled as she settled the tiara back on her head. "I swear, that bird has it in for me," she grubled.
"Gee, you think?" Keeper said as she tried to pull her skirt a little lower. Although the outfit she picked was conservative- for her character, anyway- the hem ran a little too high for her sensibilities.
"I still say that outfit looks pretty slutty," Cassidy said.
"Don't you think I know that?" Keeper said, finally giving up the attempt. The skirt was as low as it would go. Heck, any more, and her underwear would be showing through a totally different place. What was it with Akamatsu? "Come on up."
Cassidy carefully clambered up Keeper's head and held on. The ex-Guardian was wearing a black 'dress' with a tie and shawl-like piece. A maid's tiara stuck on her now-green hair, and antenna-like projections stuck on her ears. Black mini-bat wings stuck out her back, on to which a gigantic, kitchen knife-like sword was strapped on.
Keeper was wearing a sleeveless, formfitting black blouse with a sailor collar and black tie. A black mini-skirt and mid-thigh high black stockings completed the ensemble. Her hair was now knee-length and blonde, eyes blue. A pair of old-lady spectacles rested on her nose.
After one final check, Evangeline "Dark Evangel" A.K. MacDowell, Chachazero and Haku walked into the anime convention. No one really noticed, although Keeper got a lot of complements over her figure, and people wondered why Haku had a crow (and were promptly told it was a raven).
----------------------------------------
Cassidy looked from Raven, to Keeper, and back again. "Tell me again why you guys are dong this?" she said.
Raven tested his wand, making a few gestures and practiced a few minor spells. "Catharsis," he said.
Keeper entwined his fingers and stretched them over his head, turning his head around a couple of times. "It's a guy thing. You wouldn't understand," he said as he threw his trench coat to one side.
"Obviously," Cassidy said, sitting down wearily and swatting at Azar every so often at keep her from eating her hair.
Keeper and Raven faced each other, and there was a small smile on both their faces. "Ready?" Keeper said.
"Ready," Raven confirmed, raising his wand in salute. Keeper did the same. Both looked at Cassidy expectantly.
She sighed one last time. "Begin."
"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"
"RAIKIRI!"
And the battle was joined…
----------------------------------------
Raven, Keeper, and Cassidy had many more adventures, misadventures and private moments and revelations that summer, but all good things have to end. Before they knew it, it was almost September…
----------------------------------------
"It's been fun, Rae," Keeper said as he, Raven and Cassidy stood on an empty field a few miles away from the outskirts of London. He held out his hand towards the other boy.
The half-demon gave a small half-smile as he took it, shaking it lightly. "I'll miss you. Both of you."
Cassidy smiled, sadly, and wished she could cry. She knew she wanted to. "We know," she said as she held up her arms to the taller figure. Bending down, Raven picked her up and gave her a hug. His eyes stung ever so slightly, but he restrained it. His control might not be as tough as it used to, and paradoxically, tougher than ever before, but he wasn't going to let himself cry, if only because it would blind him from seeing his friends.
After a while, he let go, handing Cassidy off to Keeper, who strapped her on to his back with a cord such that she was looking over his shoulder. His smile had become bittersweet, he realized. All of their smiles had. "Will we ever see each other again?"
Keeper got a thoughtful look in his eye. "Hold out your hand."
Taking the proffered hand in his own, Keeper summoned the Dark Heart into existence. Holding it in the other, he closed his eyes, concentrating what he wanted, fusing the Heart's power with his as he molded the magic.
A coldness burned in Raven's palm, a cool, comforting chill, one that felt like the heart of winter and as comfortable as a hug. It didn't hurt, exactly, but it felt like it should.
Keeper withdrew his hand, and Raven stared. Burned- chilled?- into his hand was a symbol shaped like the Dark Heart, drawn in white the shade of new-fallen snow, outlined in black of a starless, moonless night. It was a small thing in the center of his palm, barely as long as his thumb. He flexed his fingers. There was no change in his dexterity.
"That is called the Seal of Darkness. It stands for the Dark Heart and it's Keepers," Keeper said as Raven looked up from his inspection. "If you ever want to talk to us, just breathe on it and wish. We'll answer."
"Can you?" Raven said. "It takes powerful magic to pierce the walls of reality. Even I wouldn't be able to follow you once you leave the area that surrounds the universes around this world."
Keeper grinned. "That's what the Dark Heart is for, mon ami," he said, holding out the pendant.
There was a semi-awkward silence.
"Be seeing you, Raven Azar, also known as Harry Potter," Keeper said.
"Take care, Harry Potter, Keeper of the Dark Heart," Raven replied. "May you be able to taste again someday, Cassidy, Guardian of Kandrakar."
"May you fulfill your promise some day, Raven of Azarath," Cassidy said.
In a swirl of black mist, they were gone, and Raven stood alone in the field…
----------------------------------------
"Where are we?" Cassidy said. They were standing in what looked like a stockroom.
A teenaged boy suddenly appeared, wearing a bandanna on his head, and carrying a small broom and cloth. "Hey, what are you doing here? Are you here to talk to Yuko-san about something?"
"Um…" Keeper said.
"Um…" Cassidy said. "Is that a fox on your shoulder?"
The pipe-fox spirit squinted…
----------------------------------------
Raven looked up into the night sky, a serene smile on his face. Idly, he traced the outline of the Seal of Darkness in his right palm as he mused. Just breathe on it and wish, Keeper had said…
----------------------------------------
- To be continued...
----------------------------------------
A/N: you know, I've always seen Harry as a black haired version of Kaworu Nagisa. I have no idea why…
And that comment really was no business being there, does it? Oooh, pointless drabble.
I think Chachazero's hair is green too…
The Evangeline outfit is the one found in volume seven, page 131, or around there, anyway…
Raven is not powerful enough to go to Keeper's home world. He might (still deciding) be able to cross to 'nearby' (relatively speaking) dimensions, but only the Dark Heart (and something else) has the power to really pierce reality so that really long range travel is possible. If that doesn't make sense, think about it like this: 'mini' mulitverses are arranged in 'clusters'. Raven might be able to travel to the dimensions around his 'cluster', but to be able to get to the other clusters outside his own, he'll need the power of the Dark Heart. Keeper and Cassidy is from another 'cluster' entirely, so Raven can't get to them, but they can get to him with the Dark Heart's power.
This is just useless technical jargon in case anyone asks. I'm crazy that way. Still confusing? Then try not to think about it.
Oh, and I know almost nothing about XXXHolic but the basic concept. So nothing about that, please.
I thank all the people who review. Sorry I can't list your names at the moment, but I'm experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by.
Please review, C&C welcome.
Until next time, this is Shadow, signing off.
