Disclaimer: Not mine

Glad you're all liking this so far.

Chapter 2

Harry stared out of his bedroom window towards where the King's castle was. It wasn't fair. That mean boy had stolen the Heart of Pure Light before they could do much with it. He'd asked if they could take it back, but Mother said no, that they needed some Key thing to do that and they didn't have one. He dropped down off the window seat and went looking for someone to play with, he was bored and Mother was gone again. She said she was looking for the perfect new home for them but what was wrong with this one?

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"Hey, wait up!" he yelled, running as fast as he could in the dry sand.

"Too slow, Sora! See ya at the finish line!" Riku laughed. It wasn't fair, just cause Riku was older and had longer legs! Riku raised an arm as he reached the finish line.

Sora caught up, bending over, trying to catch his breath. "One more time! You just got lucky," he told him, but Riku wasn't looking at him.

"Hm?" Riku was looking up at the bridge?

"Huh?" Sora looked up and saw a lady with blue hair watching them. She smiled and jumped down into a kneel, startling Sora. He scratched his hair and chuckled in embarrassment, making her laugh with him before looking at Riku who stared back at her. She laughed again and Riku looked at him, both confused.

"One of you might be special enough. Hey, you two mind telling me your names?" the lady asked.

He raised his hand, grinning. "I'm Sora!"

"And you?"

"Riku." He was always serious around adults for some reason.

"Sora, do you like Riku?" She asked after seeming to think

Sora grinned. "Of course I like him, he's my best friend!"

"Good," she smiled back at him. "So then, if something happens, and Riku is about to get lost, or say, he starts wandering down a dark path alone, you make sure to stay with him and keep him safe."

They looked at each other open-mouthed. What?

"That's your job, Sora, and I'm counting on you to do it, okay?" She laughed and petted their heads, making Riku smile even as Sora laughed.

Something about her felt nice, bright, but she was kinda weird too, so he was happy to race back across the sand to the dock.

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Maleficent entered her home, immediately sensing Harry in the main courtyard, Diablo watching as the boy did his exercises. He had begun working with a wooden sword in the last few months and was very eager to work on those skills. He was doing well, working diligently despite her absence.

It was amazing how quickly mortal children grew, he had only been with her for five years and yet he was far older looking that a Faerie child of the same age would appear. It was good to see him neat and tidy despite the physical activity, she'd trimmed up his hair before she left so it wasn't blocking his sight.

She had chosen the World she would claim for their new home, but she would not move Harry there until the Heartless had done their work. She would not risk Harry in their presence until she was utterly sure of her control over them, his Light was strong enough to attract them.

He finished and set the wooden sword aside, lighting up as he saw her. "Mother!"

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On a star-lit beach, Sora and Riku lay gazing up at the night sky. The waves were quiet and

peaceful. Riku sat up after a while and turned to Sora. "Hey, I'm gonna head back."

Sora stretched and sat up. "Me too." They got up and began walking back to town quietly.

"Sora, what's wrong?" Riku asked in concern.

"Huh?" Sora asked in confusion, and Riku pointed at his face.

"You're..."

A tear fell from Sora's cheek and he put a hand to his face, catching it, surprised. "That's weird. It's like something's squeezing me inside."

Riku frowned but then looked up at the sky. "Somebody up there must be sad."

"Up where?" he asked.

"They say every world is connected by one great big sky. So maybe there's somebody up there in all those worlds who's really hurting, and their waiting for you to help them."

"Well gee, do you think there's something I could do?" he asked, worried for whoever it could be.

"Hmm... Maybe they just need you to open your Heart and listen."

"Mmm... I dunno Riku, you say some weird stuff sometimes, but I'll try it."

"Okay," Riku nodded, moving to lean against the fence as Sora looked up at the sky, determined, and closes his eyes. Riku looks up as well.

"Hey... Can you hear me?" He did what Riku had said and reached out with his Heart. He felt something strange and then he opened his eyes, finding he was standing on a blue platform a ball of light floating closer. "Hm?" he stared at it. "Hey... Can you hear me?" he asked, somehow knowing it was a person.

"I heard your voice. It cut through the darkness around me," he…it sounded like a he, answered.

Sora gazed at it, smiling, and reached to catch it, not sure how a person could be a ball of light.

"All alone, I followed the sound into a sea of light, and found myself here, with you."

Sora nodded, the ball floating above his cupped hands.

"You gave me something back when I needed it most. A second chance."

"I did?" he asked in confusion.

"But...now I have to go back to sleep again."

"Are you sad?" Sora asked softly.

"Would you mind if I stayed here, with you?" the voice asked, and Sora smiled.

"Sure, if it'll make you feel better."

"Thank you."

The ball floated into Sora's chest and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Well?" Riku's voice made him open his eyes, the platform and ball of light gone.

Sora looked over at him and smiled. "You know... I think it worked." He put his hands behind his head, gazing up at the stars, grinning widely. Three stars twinkled in the night sky.

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Harry wandered the corridors of his home, bored. He wasn't in the mood to train and most of his things were packed up and ready for the move. Mother said their new home was another, bigger, castle. The goons weren't going with them, so who would he train and play with? They would be staying here and apparently there were creatures call Heartless at their new home but he was to stay away from them, at least until he was older. It sounded like it was going to be really lonely. Maybe there'd be other children living nearby?

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Maleficent placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and then they disappeared from the only home he remembered, reappearing in the castle of Hollow Bastion. She saw his eyes widen and then he raced to the window to look outside at the amazing view. "Come Harry, you need to choose a bedroom," she told him, pulling him away from the view.

"It's amazing Mother!"

She nodded in agreement, "Indeed. There are also a lot of high drops."

"So don't go near the edges," Harry grinned.

"Good boy," she praised. She watched him move about as they made their way higher, Harry had an affinity for heights and having a room in a tower was a safe enough way to indulge that. It seemed he would need new clothing as well, his ankles showing as he walked, it looked like he was in the midst of another growth spurt. He really was growing like a weed.

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Sora giggled as he rolled in the sand, trying to stop Riku. "Riku!" he whined, trying to get away, and Riku finally stopped, flopping into the sand beside him. "Have you seen her?"

Riku snorted. "Who hasn't?" he asked, rolling onto his stomach, kicking the air with his feet.

"Do you think she's pretty?" Sora asked with a grin.

"She's a girl!" Riku grumbled, and Sora laughed, grabbing handfuls of sand to dump on him, making Riku yelp and then Sora was up and running.

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Harry sat on the windowsill, staring out at the waterfalls that according to his lessons were flowing the wrong way. They'd lived in Hollow Bastion for almost four years and it had become home, but it was still lonely whenever Mother was working. There were no other children in the whole World, the castle was all there was and it made a great playground, just lonely. Still, today he was getting to meet the people Mother had brought together to work with on something special, which meant he had to look his best.

Harry went to his wardrobe and got out his nicest clothing, all black of course, dressing before brushing his hair and tying it back. He pulled his boots on last and the left his bedroom for the meeting hall. He was nervous, he wanted to make a good impression, to not embarrass his Mother in front of important people. He reached the door and knocked, waiting for her to call him.

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Hades was surprised when Maleficent called someone in, who else had she found for their little group? That surprise went up when a human child entered, a boy with long black hair and striking green eyes.

"Come little Prince," she called, and the boy moved to her side, Maleficent placing a hand on his shoulder.

Oogie Boogie laughed, leaning down towards the child. "Well look what we have here," he said and the boy just stared back, head tilted curiously.

"What's with the brat?" Hook demanded, and Hades rolled his eyes, anyone with eyes could see the boy was Maleficent's…though not biologically obviously.

"Take care Captain in how you address my son," Maleficent warned him, the orb on her staff glowing slightly in reaction.

Hades ignored them all to study the child, hmmm, magical, but of course, why else would she take him in? Nice bit of growing Darkness in him too but…well, that was unexpected. How had a human managed that? He looked at Maleficent, indicating that they needed to speak, he doubted she would like what he had sensed.

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Riku watched as Kairi and Sora chased each other around the beach, grinning as they laughed. She'd really become a good friend since she had arrived. She didn't really remember anything…but she had come from another World. It made them want to find a way to travel even more. They could find Kairi's first home, maybe her family. He remembered the older boy who had come so long ago, had come from another World, it was possible, they just had to find a way….like that door in the Secret Place?

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Maleficent watched Harry sleep peacefully in his bed, looking so much like the little boy she had first brought to Hollow Bastion. His nineth birthday was coming up and she had decided it was time he had his own focus for his magic. What she had learnt from Hades did not make her happy and while she was wary to allow him so close to her child, was there any other choice? She'd known his scar was tainted, but not in such a manner. She would need to keep Hook and Oogie Boogie well away from him, Jafar too from the way he had sneered at Harry. Ursula didn't seem interested in him at all which was better than interest considering what she did to those who came to her for her skills.

Despite the years he had worked for her, Pete had not yet met her child. She kept him busy amassing Heartless and causing chaos on various Worlds. While he wasn't dangerous in the same way most of the others were, she did not think he would be an appropriate influence. She knew Harry was lonely but finding an appropriate companion was not easy, although she did keep an eye out for candidates. A training partner of his own age, or at least close, could truly help him.

She was proud of her little Prince, his training was going very well. She was raising him like a Prince, the best education possible in every field she could think of and he should skill or interest in. Of course she doubted someone like King Stephan would agree with how she taught her son, it would not fit with their quaint idea of nobility.

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Harry sat on the chair, listening in shock as Hades explained the truth behind his scar, feeling sick. He was carrying a piece of that murderer around in his scar! He fought the urge to jump as three…women?...appeared, despite Mother's protections on their home.

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Hades was surprised when the Fates appeared, finding out the kid was central to a Prophecy, well, that wasn't so surprising given his Mother and his scar. "Well then, down to business." He snapped his fingers and the child crumpled in his chair, only the Fates could sever a Thread of Life but he could temporarily stop one. The boy sat slumped in the chair, green eyes empty.

"Hades," Maleficent raised her staff and he waved her down.

"Only way to fully disentangle them," he explained. "Kid'll be fine once it's done." He may be an immortal god but fighting her would be a pain. He went to work, separating the boy's soul from the fragment that was hitching a ride in the old wound. "Got it, I assume you can deal with what's left?" he asked, and she nodded. He snapped again, and the boy's chest rose with a breath.

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Kairi sat in class, daydreaming. School was finished for the year today and she couldn't wait for summer vacation. Next year would be frustrating because Riku was a whole year older than them, he'd be starting high school which was on the other side of the Island. No more walking to and from school together, meeting up during breaks… it wouldn't be the same.

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Harry read his biological parents old books. He was dreading his next birthday because it meant spending ten months of the year away from home, even if he would be learning different magic to that Mother taught him. He had vague memories of Earth magic thanks to the magic that had been in his scar alongside the soul fragment, but it couldn't match an actual education. Mother had been back to his birth World – apparently with the boring name of Earth – and had looked into the schooling options available to him. She had chosen one and he agreed with her choice. The Fates had said that so long as he spent his school terms on Earth, the Prophecy would come to pass in his favour.

He set his book aside and got up to stretch his legs, ending up in the Grand Hall where Princess Aurora, Snow White, and Cinderella rested in clear pods. Three down, four to go. He wished he could help but Mother did not believe him ready, perhaps when he returned from school?

"Pretty, aren't they, or are ya still too young for that kind of thing laddie?"

He turned to find Captain Hook lounging in the doorway. "Too young for what?" he asked in confusion.

"I'll thank you to keep your crass opinions to yourself Captain," Mother warned as she appeared.

"As you wish, I'm off anyway," he swept his hat off in a mock bow before leaving, Harry frowning after him.

"I don't like him."

"He has his uses, little Prince," she reached out to stroke his hair, and Harry nodded.

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Riku tackled Sora to the sand, the two of them rolling across the beach and into the surf, Riku yanking him up before a wave could cover them and risk swallowing sea water. Sora pouted at him, but then grinned, and Riku shook his head, laughing. They took off into the water, swimming around the island to catch some fish for lunch. He loved summer, spending his days with Sora and Kairi on the Play Island; Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie joining them most days. They spent hours playing Blitzball, sword fight, running…just having fun.

School would be starting again in three weeks and he was dreading it, it was the one time that being one of the oldest was a drawback. He and Wakka were the only ones who would be starting high school; Sora, Kairi, and Selphie would be in their final year of elementary, with poor Tidus the year behind them. Why were the two schools so far apart? He didn't like the idea of being so far from his friends, neither did Wakka. They wouldn't be able to walk them to school or anything, and it would be even worse the next year when Tidus was the only one left at the school.

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He started, wand in hand, as green flames burst to life in the corner of the room, revealing a tall woman in strange robes.

"Greeting Headmaster, I have come to enquire about enrolling my son in your school."

TBC…

A bit shorter but that seemed a good place to end the chapter.