Of Wizards and Keyblades: chapter 9



author's note: *heehee* Sorry for the cliffy, but I just love leaving you all on the edge! Again thanks to Katrina *hughughug*, and also Gijinka Renamon, Werewolf Childer/Lover of Draco, FlikFreak, Mage of Darkness (thanks for circulating my story!), saturnmkch12, heather b, andrea *waves*, and Darknesswithinonesheart! Ya'll are so cool!



Sora walked up the dungeon steps and his eyes were met with a furious battle, a score of mask-clad wizards attacking a short, skinny teenager, who was bravely but failingly fighting back with all of his might.

"Hey guys! You forgetting someone?" He yelled, distracting a large pack of them, giving Harry time to get on his feet and out of firing range. He attached the Ultima keychain to his blade, and it morphed into an elongated work of deadly art, adorned with spikes and petals, the tip covered by a sharp orchid-looking flower. The Death Eaters retreated a bit at the sight of it.

Smirking, he swung it left and right, doing only enough damage to disarm and demoralize. Fingers, hands, even feet went flying this way and that. The Keyblade Master wheeled back a bit once noticing the gore that covered his robes, and the floor around him. Had he done that? Sora realized that he had never fought a human like himself with the Keyblade.....well, he had, if you count Captain Hook, Ansem, and Riku, but the Keyblade had never split their skin open and hacked into their marrow. When most of his foes were sufficiently cowed, he ran for cover with an injured Harry, who was standing behind a wide pillar. He rummaged in his back pack, and handed his wounded pal an extra potent healing potion. Harry was better in a matter of seconds.

The Boy Who Lived noticed the new and improved Keyblade. His green eyes widened, but he held back his questions. There were more important things to discuss.

"It's time to get out of here, Sora. Are your friends gone?" He wheezed, ribs still a tad sore.

"Yeah. Now it's our turn. Let's go."

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Sora and Harry sprinted from pillar to pillar, dodging Voldemort's angry curses, and a few from his servants who still had functional wand-arms.

"Get them! I can't believe this....this is the second time in a week he has slipped from my traps!" The Dark Lord shrieked, running after his enemies, but to no avail, they were already up the stairs, with a Firebolt in Harry's hand.

The Death Eater sentinels in the first corridor were seriously caught off guard as Sora swung his weapon at their heads, barely missing on purpose....he really didn't like the thought of beheading someone, but you do what you gotta do. The two men fled to the end of the hall, sending easily dodged spells at the two boys. Harry threw open the balcony window, and helped

his brunette friend up onto the back of his ride, kicking them off into the enveloping night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Voldemort raced upstairs, knocking over his lazy guards, and out onto the balcony. He could make out a tiny shape flying in the distance. Smirking, he carefully aimed his wand, and fired. "Crucio!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sora felt a spell hit him straight in the back, and he doubled over as the most intense pain engulfed his body. He screamed, and involuntarily squeezed Harry's middle, until the teen cried out and tried to pull out of his grasp. Sora lost his grip and fell into darkness.

"Sora!" Harry screamed, seeker instincts kicking in, and he preformed the best wronski feint of his quidditch career, capturing the unconscious Keyblade Master by his arm mere meters from the ground, and hoisting him up to the front of the broom, veering around to the direction of Hogwarts.

Two kilometers away, Voldemort cursed in bitter defeat.

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When they reached Hogwarts, Harry counted the windows on the East Tower until he reached 42nd, which was wide open for them. Sora realized that it was Dumbledore's office, and Hermione, Ron, Goofy, and Donald were waiting inside with the Headmaster.

Sora jumped off of the broom immediately and ran into his friends' open arms. He had missed them so much that he had to fight crying. Goofy was openly bawling, however.

Hermione and Ron likewise embraced Harry, who all kept glancing at their fellow trio in fascination. Wow, a talking duck, and the weirdest dog they had ever seen.

Then they, too, noticed Sora's morphed weapon. "Sora, what happened to your sword?"

"Oh, Donald found one of my keychains. They can be attached to the blade, and significantly raise its magic power and strength and attacking skill. I'm so thankful to have this particular one, since it is the strongest." Sora said, turning his Keyblade back into a wand. Then Harry remembered Snape.

"Headmaster! Where is Pro-"

"We received Severus in a terrible condition, but he is now stably recovering in Madam Pomfrey's care. Now, Harry, I thought we had discussed this, that you are not to go on wild rescue missions. You are a student, and it is my responsibility to make sure that you don't go and fall into danger. What you all did tonight was reckless, and yes, even though it was successful, too many things could have gone terribly wrong. I shudder to think what would have happened if Voldemort had captured you, or killed you....." He trailed off for a minute, looking sadly at his Gryffindors. "But besides all of that, I congratulate you all on a successfully carried out mission, I am extremely proud, and worried, for you all. You have a disturbing knack for getting yourselves stuck in complicated plots with the Dark Lord.

"Well, you have had a long night, and Sora, your friends could stay with you in the dormitory, or have a guest room prepared for them. Which will it be, boys?" Dumbledore laid his hands on Donald and Goofy's shoulders.

"I want to be with Sora." Goofy said at once, pulling the brunette warrior into a bear hug. "That goes for me, too." Donald put in, his funny lisp making everyone smile.

"Very well. Dobby and Winky will have two extra beds placed in Gryffindor Tower. Goodnight to all of you. Oh, and welcome to Hogwarts, Mr. Donald and Mr. Goofy! I hope you find your stay here enjoyable." The old wizard smiled, leading them down the spiral escalator.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maybe we should go check up on Snape...." Harry muttered, eyes wandering down the Hospital Ward wing.

"Nah, we can do that tomorrow." Ron said, still eyeing their two odd companions.

"Sora, mind introducing us?" Hermione whispered in the Keyblade Wielder's ear.

"Oh! Sorry guys, Donald and Goofy, this is Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Harry, Ron, Hermione, meet Donald Duck, and Goofy Goof. Donald's the Magic Kingdom resident Wizard, and Goofy is Captain of the Magic Kingdom Knights." Sora said in a rush. The two parties shook each others' hands. Hermione decided to start another questionnaire once they were safely inside the Common Room.

"So Donald, do you perform the same magic as Sora, or do you have more practical magic roots?"

"Uh...I choose the first answer." He said, eyeing the bushy haired girl with jealousy. She sounded smart....too smart.

"Okay....do you have a wand or staff?"

"It's like an inbetweener."

"If you don't mind me asking, how can you talk if you are a duck?"

Donald started to get steamed. "What are you implying?" He quacked furiously.

"Nothing offensive, it's just that the animals in this world-"

"Oh, so you think that I'm a wierdo 'cause I can talk?!"

"Donald! Calm down!" Sora hissed, elbowing his feathery friend. "She's not trying to be offen-"

"Sora, shut up! You ask too many questions, missy!" Donald finally shrieked in his berserk state, and ran upstairs to the room Sora had shown him a while ago.

The five of them sat in stunned silence in front of the fire, until Goofy decided to speak. "Yu'll have to pardon 'im, guys. He gets touchy when another brainiac challenges him." He said slowly, the twang in his voice very much apparent. It made Harry think of Gone With the Wind for some reason.

Ron and Harry burst out in laughter. Hermione, who had been red with anxiousness before, turned even redder with embarrassment. "I am not a brainiac, and I didn't challenge him!"

"Hermione, if anyone's a brainiac, it's you." Harry said through giggles. She reached over and sucker punched his arm. "Ow!"

"Donald doesn't need someone to slap him with a glove in the face to tell him that he's being challenged. He is a very red-blooded duck. You should see the fights WE get into sometimes. Feathers and hair everywhere, and I usually have to get Goofy to pull his jaw off of my leg or arm. He loves to argue, and when he doesn't win at that, it almost always results in a nasty fist fight." Sora explained, showing one of his Donald Turf War scars, a crescent shaped indent in his leg. "His beak can really sink into you."

Ron yawned in between another gale of merriment. Hermione noticed this and alerted the others that it was indeed time to get to bed. She bade them goodnight and headed to her Prefect's Room.

Inside the boy's dorm, Donald was sound asleep on his miniature version of the uniform four-poster. Goofy sighed and tucked him in, hugged Sora, Ron, and Harry goodnight, and climbed into an elongated bed for his elongated body. Neville woke up briefly, but Ron, sick of questions, shot a sleeping charm at him. They all were dead to the world once their heads hit the pillows.

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author's note: Well, what do you think? Ginny will be much more prominent in the next chapter, so don't worry about her! Please review!