Harry Potter: The Prince of Games

Disclaimer: SEE FIRST CHAPTER

Plot: Harry never went to the Dursleys; instead, he went to James' brother and was raised in a life of fun, mystery and excitement. But, as it always does, destiny soon catches up with Harry as he discovers strange powers, dark destinies and unusual truths about himself.

Author's Note: Okay, so this one is an idea that's completely random and yet fun at the same time; and, as always, I say that if you don't like it, then don't read it

Dedication: I'd like to dedicate this story to Goodfella96 and Above the Winter Moonlight for being my inspiration for this story; their stories are also my recommended reads: Battle Born by Above the Winter Moonlight and Harry Potter and the Stone of Ra by Goodfella96;

Also: If you've enjoyed this story, then go and check out Different Dimension Duellist by The Mad Prince: it's an amazing adventure of a read;

Key Pairings: Harry/Alexis; Jaden/Yubel;

Normal Speech

'Thought'

'Spirit/Mind Speech'

(OC Cards)

"That…that's true," agreed Seto, before he lifted his head up as he added, "But then again, Harry, it was your Dad that sent me out here, not to punish you, but test you for myself and see whether you were still you or if your brush with the worst fear of your life had turned you into the force that both you and your friends have tried to keep you from becoming."

"Then I think it's safe to say that I passed this test," laughed Harry, giving a dramatic gesture as he added, "And my reward? Duel Academy is now mine: attack Malicious Edge with Dark Needle Burst!"

Chapter 28: Civil War pt. 1

The big day was finally here…again!

All throughout the Academy, a buzz seemed to have risen from the dregs of sleep and the fatigue of dreams as Slifers, Ras and Obelisks of all ages and years prepared themselves for what many were hoping to be an interesting and memorable duel between two friends.

Within the Slifer Dorm, both Alexis and Syrus watched with silent contemplation and curiosity as both Harry and Jaden spent the last hours before their big Hero Derby Duel in separate rooms, doing what they could to keep the strategies and ideas from one another.

As this would be a duel between Hero Users, it was almost unpredictable for one of the two friends to make guesses as to what the other would do, although both Jaden and Harry knew who they had to watch out for: in Harry's case, Jaden had to watch out for the young Potter's favoured monsters such as Marauder, Heat, Lady Heat and some of those intense Hero Fusions that Harry had told Jaden about.

As for Jaden, Harry only had one key source of worry and concern in his mind: Jaden had informed Harry that this would be the first real duel that he used the power of his newly-restored Hero-Neos Deck, which focused mostly around Elemental Hero Neos himself, the power of whom Harry had seen before and, when he had done, he'd felt an incredible burst of power.

So Harry had to be wary of any strategy that Jaden might have involving Elemental Hero Neos or, failing him, the card that Harry had made a gift of to Jaden: Elemental Hero Neos Alius.

Either way, despite their worries about what the other might do, there was one thing that both Harry and Jaden knew;

This duel was going to be one for the history books of Duel Academy.

Prince of Games

As Harry walked towards Obelisk Arena, his Slifer attire abandoned for his preferred black duster and dark, Kaiba-like attire, a smile touched the face of the Prince of Games as he thought about what he was going to experience.

For one, a duel against a good friend that knew Harry's strategies as well as Harry himself: it made him think of the mentions that his Dad had made about facing the likes of Joey and even Seto in duels that would show preferred methods and favourite cards.

All the way back in Duellist Kingdom, Yugi and Joey had fought in the final round of the tournament for the right to face Pegasus himself and, in that duel, it had been a real back-and-forth effect that, of course, had involved Yugi's preferred monster of the Dark Magician and Joey's Red Eyes Black Dragon.

Despite the closeness of the duel, the two had remained friends and, with his bout with Jaden looming, Harry hoped that the same could be said for him and his friend-slash-guardian.

'You're nervous.'

'And speaking of guardians,' thought Harry, stopping just outside the door to Obelisk Arena as he looked to where Haou was watching him, the eyes of the Supreme King filled with a hint of friendly reassurance while Harry asked, "How can you tell?"

'Other than the fact that I can sense it through our bond, you mean?' asked the King, earning a soft laugh from Harry as he told him, 'Never forget what you know about Jaden, Harry; even when he is your enemy, the two of you are destined for great things in the long run.'

"I guess," reasoned Harry, sniffing once as he leaned against the wall, closing his eyes for a moment as he added, "I do know one thing."

'What?'

Opening his eyes, Harry smiled as he admitted, "Not even facing Dad and Seto made me feel as psyched up, but also as intimidated as I do now: I mean, Jaden's my best friend and my biggest rival on and off the island. Way back when we first met, Dad always said that we'd be our age group's incarnation of him vs. Seto and, for the first time since I met Jaden again in the fall, I actually believe him."

'Just do the best that you can with what you have, my friend,' suggested Haou, earning a soft smile and a nod of agreement from Harry as he told him, 'And don't forget the stakes with this duel either: the winner faces North Academy while the loser…well, I suppose the loser just goes on to achieve the promotion you've both been waiting for.'

"I wish I wasn't going for the promotion," muttered Harry, his green eyes momentarily turning SK Gold as he mused, "I still need to figure out the truth to these dreams and horrific visions of mine."

'I thought that they had stopped when you and I truly started working together?'

"So did I," agreed Harry, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he added, "But they keep cropping up whenever I'm alone with my thoughts."

'You never told me that,' replied Haou, the defensive tone as clear as crystal to Harry.

"It's my problem, Haou."

'But it's our destiny, little one,' replied the Supreme King, earning a sigh from Harry as he told him, 'If we're going to do as I promised you that I would and defeat the darkness that looms within our nightmares, then you need to trust in my power as well as my friendship. Once we're done here, I suggest that you share your dreams with Jaden and your friends: if you still believe that you can't trust in me, then you should know that you can trust them.'

"Ha…" Harry began, but when he turned to look at the spirit of the king, his eyes softened slightly when he saw that the spirit was gone, leaving Harry alone and both confused and guilty as he realised that his dark doppelganger had a point.

Harry needed to share his dreams with his friends; more than anything, Jaden's role in Harry's destiny was that of his ally and Guardian, so it made sense that Jaden should know.

Plus, Harry knew that he could trust Alexis: after all, she was the only one that knew about his life before duelling as well as the power of the King.

Still, though, he felt guilty and facing a question that he'd never really asked him:

Why was it that he still found himself unable to trust in Haou's advice and friendship as much as he once believed that he could?

Prince of Games

Inside Obelisk Arena, Alexis, Zane and Syrus were seated together as they had been when Jaden and Harry had taken on the legendary team of Yugi and Kaiba, although this time, the Truesdale Brothers were also surprised to find their new Obelisk Blue Head, Professor Black, standing idly next to Zane, his elbows resting on the rail as he observed the arena.

"Can we…is there something that you need, Professor?" asked Syrus, looking up at the scraggly-haired man that had joined them, his own dark attire matched by the Obelisk Blue duster that he wore as well as the pin on his lapel that signified his position as Head of Obelisk Blue.

"Just getting a better view of the field," replied Sirius, smiling with a hint of childish excitement as he explained, "I always wondered what might happen if Harry and Jaden went at it and, well, when Sheppard told me about this little derby match of theirs, I decided to get one of the best seats in the house."

"Oh," nodded Syrus, looking back to the front.

However, behind him, Alexis moved closer to Professor Black before, leaning in close, she asked in a hushed voice, "You're someone from Harry's past, aren't you?"

"I am," answered the professor, his eyes never leaving the field as he added, "And you're the beautiful lady that's captured my boy's heart, aren't you, Miss Rhodes?"

Alexis actually blushed at the rather tactless way that Sirius put the question to her, but when she looked over to answer him, the Obelisk Queen was a little surprised to see a more-focused expression on the face of the Obelisk Head as he went on, "I want to thank you; I know you might not be able to understand this, but the only thing I want for Harry is for him to be happy and, while Kaiba and Yugi give him the family effect, I know that it's people like you that give him his heart, so thank you for that."

"We made each other a promise," remarked Alexis, although she was still in shock as to how calm and sincere Sirius sounded. "Harry's told me a lot about himself that he's never told anyone, but, in return, there's something that I've told him that I've never shared with anyone either…well, except Zane anyway."

"Yes," said Sirius, lifting himself from the rail for a moment as he explained, "I heard about your brother, Alexis: don't worry, I won't interfere where it's none of my business, but, unlike my she-male of a predecessor, I can give you my word that I will do all in my power to help out as and when you ask it. Call it my thanks for helping out the boy that I always thought of as the son that I never had."

Alexis' eyes widened at the last remark, although Sirius didn't seem to notice as he leaned forwards again, an excited look returning to his grey eyes as he explained, "And here we go…"

Alexis let her eyes look towards the centre of the arena, where Chancellor Sheppard had taken centre-stage with a microphone in his hand, just as he had done in the make-or-break Tag Duel between Team Supreme and the legendary duo.

This time, however, he seemed to be a little less star struck and a lot-more focused as he cleared his throat before he announced, "All right then, settle down: as you all know, this duel is to determine who will represent us in the School Duel in two weeks' time against North Academy. As a bonus stake as a result of their victory over Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba, the winner of the following duel will also earn themselves an instant advance to Obelisk Blue while the loser will advance to Ra Yellow: no exceptions!"

He seemed to look off to one side of the arena as he said this, though Alexis hid a smile as she knew that he was talking to Harry and about whatever this business was that he had to deal with.

Whatever it was, Alexis also had a feeling that the days following this duel would begin the true adventure and take Harry down a path that he never really seemed too intent on taking.

Prince of Games

"And now," continued Sheppard, indicating first to his left as he declared, "Allow me to introduce the combatants: first, from Slifer Red, the Rank Number Two freshman duellist in our illustrious academy: Jaden Yuki!"

From the wings on the right-hand – Sheppard's left – of the arena, Jaden walked with pride and grace in his movements, his eyes brimming with light and fire as he waved to his friends and classmates, most of whom applauded and cheered for him as he stood on his side of the arena.

"And his opponent," said Sheppard, regaining the attention of the student populace as he indicated in the opposite direction before he went on with a proud tone of voice, "The Rank Number One freshman duellist, Prince of Games and owner of this Academy: Harry Potter!"

The announcement that Harry owned Duel Academy – rather than simply being a co-owner as he had been the last time that he'd been introduced by Sheppard – turned a few heads while the sight of the Prince of Games in his classic duelling attire, the black 'wings' of his duster billowing about him in a non-existent breeze earned him more than a few heart-filled eyes and excited cries from the female members of Duel Academy.

However, as Harry reached centre-stage, shaking hands with Jaden as he greeted him as his opponent, the young prince then inclined his head to Jaden before he winked once, revealing his green eyes for what they were.

"I'm going to give you everything I have, Jay," explained Harry, lifting his arm and summoning his Black Disk from who-knows-where, the sight of such incredible power and the personally-crafted Duel Disk earning a few awed looks from the students and a few of the staff as he added, "I only hope you'll give me the same."

"You know I will, Harry," replied Jaden, activating his own disk – the Duel Academy standard – as he then explained, "Let's give them a real reason to start respecting the red on us, but let's also make this a duel to remember: get your game on!"

"Let the games begin!" retorted Harry, the two classic battle cries from the Slifers earning more cheers from the crowd as both boys drew their first hands, their life point meters set for the start of the duel.

Harry: 4000/Jaden: 4000

"Why don't you take the first move, Harry?" suggested Jaden, earning a thin smile from Harry as he put his hand on his deck, ready to draw his first card and begin the bout.

"As you wish: I draw," replied Harry, looking from Jaden to his hand before, with another amused grin, he explained, "And, to start, I think I'll place one card face down and summon out Elemental Hero Ocean (1500/1200) in attack mode!"

Several members of the Academy watched in awe as well as curiosity as Harry's field revealed a blue-clad monster that held what looked like a trident-like weapon in his right hand, though the head of the trident was shaped like the claws of a crab.

"And, since this is my first turn, I can't attack," continued Harry, his eyes looking once more to his hand as he went on, "So all I can do is end my turn: let's see what you've got, Jay."

"Plenty," remarked Jaden, drawing his own card before he explained, "And to start, I'll show you some firepower, Harry, because I summon out Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) in attack mode and next, I'll have Sparkman strike down Ocean with Static Shockwave!"

As the golden-armoured hero rose onto the field, Jaden's command caused the energy from Sparkman to build up in his hands before he launched it towards Ocean, the electrified stream of power heading straight for the blue-armoured warrior.

"Nice try, Jaden," laughed Harry, indicating his face-down as he asked, "But did you forget about this? Well let me remind you with a trap that should be familiar to you: Hero Barrier!"

"Nuts," groaned Jaden, watching as a blue vortex of energy swallowed up Sparkman's attack, leaving Ocean undamaged and Harry's life points untouched, "I should have guessed you'd have that, but no matter: it's early days. For now, I throw down two face-downs and call it a turn."

"Then it's my move," explained Harry, drawing his card before he went on, "And first, I summon out another hero that should look familiar to you, Jaden: Elemental Hero Stratos (1800/300) in attack mode and, with him on the field, I get to activate one of his abilities, such as the one that allows me to add one Hero card from my deck to my hand, so that's exactly what I'll do."

"Huh?" asked Jaden, watching as Harry added a card from his deck to his hand, although Jaden was still confused. "Why didn't you use his other ability to destroy my face-down cards?"

"What can I say? I'm a simple kind of guy," replied Harry, his green eyes shining while he went on, "For now, though, I'll place another card face down and, with things seemingly back to normal, I think I'll go ahead and attack: Stratos, attack Sparkman with Whirlwind Vortex!"

"Sorry, Harry," argued Jaden, indicating his own cards as he explained, "But you really should have destroyed my face-downs, because now I activate the Trap Card Secret Mission, which ends the Battle Phase here and now."

"Darn," sniggered Harry, shaking his head as he told Jaden, "That's the same trap you had set when we last duelled: I can't believe that I forgot that one was there. Ah well, I guess that there's nothing more that I can do, except end my turn."

"Then it's my draw," said Jaden, his own eyes filled with amusement as he explained, "And I think it's time to break this deadlock of the two of us, so I summon out another old friend of mine: rise up, Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600) in attack mode and next, I activate the spell card Wild Half, which cuts one of your monsters' attack points in half as long as I have Wildheart in play, so I choose Hero Stratos!"

As Harry watched, his eyes widened as he saw a blackened aurora take hold of Stratos and, slowly but surely, the wind-attribute hero began to lose his points, cutting them down to half.

Elemental Hero Stratos: 900/150

However, before Harry could make any sort of guesses as to Jaden's reason for choosing the stronger of the two, his eyes widened again as he saw a second Hero Stratos rise onto the field, although this one looked to be just as strong as the other.

"Wondering what's happening?" asked Jaden amusingly, indicating the new Stratos as he explained, "It's simple, really; Wild Half summons what's known as a Half Token to the field with the same Attack and Defence points as the monster affected by Wild Half, which gives me more than enough power to do this: Wildheart, attack Hero Stratos with Wild Slash!"

Leaping into the air, Wildheart sliced his giant-sized sword straight through Stratos, cutting the Wind monster down to size while Harry was the one to receive the first bite of damage in the duel.

Harry: 3400/Jaden: 4000

"And next," continued Jaden, indicating his golden-armoured hero as he explained, "Sparkman will finish what he started with Hero Ocean: Static Shockwave!"

Once again, Sparkman launched his electrified attack towards Ocean; however, once again, Harry had the means to defend himself as he explained, "Sorry, Jaden, but you should remember the first rule of duelling: always be ready for anything. So I activate the Trap Card Soul Union, which takes one hero in my graveyard, such as Stratos, and adds its attack points to another, such as Ocean!"

Jaden's eyes widened with newfound surprise as Ocean's whole body became enveloped in a mix of water and wind energy, both of which seemed to combine together to increase the hero's attack power.

Elemental Hero Ocean: 3300/1200

"And," continued Harry, indicating the super-powered Elemental Hero Ocean as he went on, "Since my Hero Ocean has more attack points than Sparkman, I think it's time that he attacks: go Ocean Sabre!"

"Not so fast," retorted Jaden, now activating his other face-down as he explained, "Because I have this: the Trap Card Mirror Gate!"

A variety of gasps and awed exclamations filled the arena as Jaden went on, "Thanks to this, our two heroes switch sides, so now Sparkman is working for you and your supped-up Hero Ocean is working for me: so go, Ocean Sabre!"

Harry's eyes widened once more as Ocean's trident-like sabre slashed its way clean through Elemental Hero Sparkman, all 3300 of Ocean's attack points working against Harry as they were used to destroy Sparkman and deal more damage to Harry.

Harry: 1700/Jaden: 4000

"And now," added Jaden, smiling with a hint of victory in his eyes as he explained, "With the end of the Battle Phase, you get Ocean back, but now that the battle's ended, he loses the power increase from Soul Union, so I think I'll just end my turn."

While Ocean's attack points returned to their usual 1500 points, Harry looked from his field to his hand, a look of actual amusement on his face as he considered what was going on.

'So,' he thought, putting his fingers over his deck for his next move, 'This is what nearly losing to a clean sheet feels like…well, this duel's not over yet!'

"It's my draw, Jaden!" announced Harry, drawing his next card while, at the same time, a few members of the Academy were surprised to see that, caught in his own battle scenario as he was, Harry's demeanour wasn't the only thing that changed;

Once more, his eyes had turned Supreme King gold as he stared down a situation that he wasn't all that used to.

A situation that he was determined to get out of…no matter what!

Chapter 28 and, wow, it looks like the joker, naïve Jaden is dead and gone and the true Supreme Guardian has come out in the duel, but can Harry overcome the odds and take his rightful place as the new King of Obelisk Blue?

Plus, what did Sirius mean by promising Alexis to help in her search for her brother? Just what is he up to?

Keep Reading to Find Out

Next Chapter: The war of the heroes continues and Harry seeks to make a comeback, but first, he must get past a certain newfound favourite of Jaden's: Elemental Hero Neos!

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