A/N: Riku now has a one shot which crosses over into the Naruto universe based of this story. It's titled Twilight's Lament. He deals with the fallout of Sora's death. It's kinda angsty, but he does get somewhat better at the end of it
Hagrid's height is taken straight from the Harry Potter wiki, which states he is 11 and a half feet tall
Also, to Matt, Riku didn't unleash the Ten Tails. It wasn't complete yet. He did, however, free the Tailed Beasts the Akatsuki had managed to round up at the time
So, question. What House should I put everyone in? (Harry + added characters?)
Published: 12/2/2017(I am totally on a roll. I've published a chapter a day for a week :p)
Warnings: None for this chapter
Italics: Sora
Underline: Ventus
Chapter 9
Of New Faces and Glowing Eyes
Finding a place to sit had been rather easy. It was a perk of showing up early. The entire train was for their picking, really. Of course, it did also mean that they'd have to wait longer for before it even departed, which was sort of a drag but Harry didn't particularly mind. Not if he could share a compartment with his first true friends.
Sure, he had gotten along with some of the kids back in Little Whining, but his life there would always be shadowed by the dark imposing will of his relatives.
Sitting across Dean, in comparison, was a godsend.
"What House do you think we'll be sorted in?"
Harry just shrugged.
"Does it matter? It's not like we'll stop being friends, right?"
Dean was taken aback for a moment before the dark skinned boy nodded with a smile.
From what Harry understood, the Houses were divided between the cunning, the brave, the loyal, and the intelligent. At least, that's how McGonagall had described it, making sure to exemplify the positive traits of each House.
Harry had caught onto her distaste for Slytherin but he wasn't sure if any of the other Muggleborns had as well. Just then, the compartment door snapped open as Hermione Granger came barreling in. Eyes locking into Harry, Hermione gave a thrilled squeak as she moved to sit next to him.
"We're finally going! Can you believe it! We're going to learn real magic! Spells and charms and all sorts of things! Maybe we'll even get to transfigure things like Professor McGonagall!"
Dean didn't bother to hide a groan. Great. Those two could gable for hours on end. It was like watching a pair of uncoordinated twins when he thought about it.
Unfortunately, his prediction was far too accurate as Harry and Hermione began to babble away a mile minute. Dear Merlin, if those two didn't end up sorted into Ravenclaw, Dean would eat his bloody hat.
"Can you believe McGonagall has never heard of pixie dust?" Harry sounded offended.
Dean blinked.
Pixie… Dust?
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Honestly, Harry. This is the real world, not Disney world."
Disney? Had Dean missed something? He must have missed something.
"All legends have an origin point." Harry countered. "For all we know, the great Disney was a seer who could see across time and space to other dimensions."
"Even if he could, Harry, he didn't create all those stories by himself!"
"Then he gathered those who could see across dimensional barriers! I'm telling you, Hermione," Harry parroted and Dean slid away from his friend as Hermione twitched. "Pixie dust is-"
Just then, the compartment door rapidly slammed open. Two small figures darted into the compartment, one in blue and white robes and another in pink and yellow overalls. The blue one slammed the rapidly behind him while the girl raised her hands and muttered what must have been some sort of spell, because a shimmering white glow sunk into the metal.
Harry nearly fell over.
… That's magic from our world!
Cool!
Not cool! How do they have magic from our world!
Chill, Venny. Besides, you're saying it wrong.
Huh?
World's, Ven. I'm surprised more people here don't use our kind of magic when you think about how common it is everywhere else. I know a Skeleton and a Mermaid that can cast spells just like us just off the top of my head.
Papa fell silent inside Harry's head. For once, Harry realized, dad had left him literally speechless with random words of insight and wisdom.
"Think we lost him?" the boy spoke, shooting a look at the girl. Was it just Harry, or did the child have glowing yellow eyes?
"Think so." the girl shot a look right back and Harry did a double take. Was that a horn growing out of her head?
Those… Two…
Huh? Ven? Hey, what's wrong? Ven?
Harry's eyes widened in alarm as he felt Papa erect mental blocks. Which was really odd from the perspective of the person who's mind the mental blocks were being built in.
"Who are you two?" Hermione broke the silence first.
The two kids jumped before turning towards them. The dark skinned one with the glowing eyes that briefly reminded Harry of death and despair and those that bring worlds to their knees before the boy eeped loudly, destroying the image. He backed away rapidly, hiding behind the girl in a crouch, trying to make his already small form look even smaller.
"We're sorry! We didn't know there were people in here! So sorry!"
The girl shot him a glare over her shoulder.
"Vivi! Stop being so melodramatic! These people seem nicer than the other boy!" then, with those words, the blue haired girl turned to them, a smile lighting her face. "Hi. My name is Eiko. Eiko Carol."
With that, the girl extended her hand forth, her friendly nature exuding from her in waves.
"Tch. Annoying brats. Got away." Vanitas hissed, fist clenching in annoyance.
"... Did you really have to attack those two midgets?"
"You have no idea how annoying the pair of them are. Besides, I wasn't going to damage them… Much."
"Hey, what was that about! Ventus! Hey!"
How Ventus could manage to flee within the limited space of Harry's mental space was beyond Sora. Then again, Harry's mindscape did extend rather far when he thought about it. Mindscapes, after all, were made not just of the person's active thoughts but also the subconscious. At the same time, they were made of memories in the soul.
In a few years, it would be just as confusing as Castle Oblivion. According to Ventus, it was the same basic concept and what Castle Oblivion had actually been based off of in the first place.
Ventus wasn't stopping. Sora realized that he didn't recognize this place. A strange town sprawled around them, although the word 'town' might be bit too small. That clock tower over there reminded him of the one in London.
Wait, sightseeing while chasing a friend was bad. You have to concentrate on the friend, especially when it's Ventus.
"Ven, wait!"
Ventus dashed past a fountain, rushing his way up stone steps past blue and purple houses. Sora resisted the urge to curse. His friend was really fast. Sora was no slouch himself, but Ventus could move.
Where Sora was more of a power house, Ventus was the speedster that struck and vanished before you even knew what was happening. As such, he was very, very good at the art of running away.
This wasn't working. Time to pull out the big guns.
Ventus came to stop as Sora, clothing a glowing blue as sparks fell from his form, appeared before him before he could continue. Before Ventus had the chance to dodge out of the way, a binding spell struck him, leaving him stuck in place. Ventus almost fell over as his momentum was forced to a grinding halt.
Ventus grit his teeth. Eyes fixed on the ground, Ventus refused to look up.
"Damnit, Sora! Leave me alone!"
"I'm you're friend. What makes you think I could do that?"
"Because I want to be left alone! People need space, something you clearly don't understand!"
The silence echoed around them for several tense seconds. To Ventus, they felt longer. Each one dragging along felt eternal, punctuated by the occasional tick tock of Daybreak Town's clock tower.
"... fine." Sora finally relented, to Ventus' shock. "You know, you can trust me with anything, right Ven?"
Ventus, still refusing to look at the other, just nodded. Sora disappeared without another word, his body fading, his mental form retreating to another part of Harry's soul.
Then, Ventus gave a bitter laugh.
"You have no idea… Sora. No idea at all."
"What's that horn on your head?" Harry was never one for tact. If he was curious about something, he wanted to know, plain and simple.
Dean and Hermione eyed Harry oddly. The two newcomers eyes Harry in unmasked shock. Eiko recovered first, her face falling into such an easy mask that Harry was reminded of Papa.
"I have no idea what you mean, Harrykins." She smiled sweetly at him. Harry leaned back. That smile promised retribution of the most brutal form if he continued his line of speech.
"So… What did you do to the door?" Harry amended.
Eiko preened.
"I cast a small charm I've been practicing! I wonder if it will work?"
On the other side of the door, Ronald Weasley attempted to open the compartment door only to realize the damn thing wouldn't budge at all. Not even the tell tale jingle of something locked. Frowning, the redhead made his way further down the train, since there was no way in hell he was going to sit with Fred and George and that tarantula of theirs.
Minutes later, Draco Malfoy glared at the same door, stomping his foot before wandering off, muttering about falling standards and what not.
"You've been practicing magic outside of school?" Hermione looked absolutely delighted. "So have I! I thought I'd get a little practice before entering, you know, like all the other students from Magical Families! What spells can you do!"
Eiko smiled.
"Just a few protection spells. I found I'm rather good at light magic."
Just like that, the two girls fell into a back and forth about magics they had practiced outside of school. Little did they know that once they passed by the Black Lake, as was tradition for First Years, the Trace would be cast on them making such a thing illegal.
Dean turned to Vivi.
"What about you, mate? You excited?"
Vivi Ornitier was a quiet one. He looked kind of like a Heartless, Harry realized, but didn't have any of the twisted aura his parents had described. His appearance alone, however, was what had shocked him earlier.
Harry himself might have never seen a Heartless, but he carried the souls of two people that very much had, and memories of the Heart have a habit of leaking in said situations. Which was why, despite never having come across one, Vivi's appearance had initially brought about emotions one would associate with them.
"I… Maybe. But, I'm not very good." Vivi confided in them.
Eiko chortled.
"Vivi's being modest! This kid is gonna be the best duelist ever born, mark my words!"
Vivi didn't look like he'd become the best duelist ever born. In fact, he looked more like he wanted to crawl into a hole and hide away from the world.
And was Harry the only one who could see neither of these two were human? Was he really the only one who could see? Seriously, why did no one else see?
Years earlier, Sora pondered why no one bothered questioning how Donald or Goofy could speak, no matter what world or place they visited before shrugging it off and assuming it was some weird quirk of the universe.
"Right…" Dean trailed off. "Anyways, what sports do yah like! I'm a fan of football myself!"
"First Years! 'Tis way, First Years!"
Harry could only gaze at Rubeus Hagrid in wonder. Standing nearly a dozen feet tall, Harry realized rather quickly that Hogwarts was home to more magical creatures than he had first anticipated. Maybe Eiko's horn and Vivi's literally light sucking skin and glowing amber eyes would be normal at Hogwarts?
After all, there was no way Hagrid wasn't at least part Giant. No way at all.
Unknown to Harry, everyone else just assumed Hagrid had been hit with one too many engorgement charms when he was little. While such a reality would have likely killed Hagrid had it been true, it was better than assuming the alternative where Dumbledore allowed a half-giant into the school.
Wizards were never much known for their logic.
Before long, they were before McGonagall again. The stern woman silenced an entire crowd of First Years with naught but a glare. Harry shivered slightly. Scary woman.
"Past these doors, you shall all be sorted into one of the four noble Houses of Hogwarts. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. While you are here, the House you will be sorted in shall be… It shall be like your family. Do well to remember that."
Then, she strode forth and left them all alone.
Harry blinked. Like a family, huh? He had mixed feelings about the word. Dad and Papa were family, and he loved them. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were also family, and he had no idea how he felt about them.
Family. What a weird word.
"What do you think they'll make us do?
"I heard we have to fight a troll!"
"I heard they inject us with this glowy liquid and if we aren't compatible, we're kicked out!"
Elsewhere, Cloud Strife sneezed.
"What! That can't possibly be it! Don't be daf- Ahhhh!"
Harry blinked. Ghosts had descended from the ceiling, rambling about cute little First Years and how they seemed to get smaller each and every year.
Then, at long last, the doors opened as they were ushered in, at long last, for their sorting.
