Chapter 10: Harry Potter
***
"I had to step in. She would have been killed if I didn't. We cannot afford to lose her."
"Stop trying to explain yourself. We understand."
"Is she okay?"
"Physically, yes. Mentally...we don't know."
"The Heartless have gotten stronger than we thought. She is nowhere near competent enough with a sword to use the Keyblade correctly. Even so, the Keyblade won't be enough."
"Even Sora would have had a time. Hey, wait, what do you mean the Keyblade won't—"
"She's coming around!"
Terra moaned, her feet kicking at the too-soft blankets that covered her. A headache was splitting her head right down the middle, its focus somewhere above her neck. The voices she'd heard all sounded so familiar. Riku was one of them, she was certain. But who had rescued her of her own stupidity?
"Are you awake, Terra? Do you feel okay?"
"Did someone get the number on that train?" she mumbled, squeezing her eyes tight.
"Yeah, and it got more than a speeding ticket, believe me." One of the familiar voices said. So familiar. Why? Why did she recognize that voice? It was alto, with a smart female British accent.
"What's a speeding ticket?" Another voice. This one slower, lower, and juvenile. Still with a British accent, but male. Was she in Britain?
"Something Muggle police give people who go too fast on the roads." Muggle. Muggle...
Terra's eyes flew open, but clamped shut again in the bright light. "Riku, are you here?"
"Yes. I'm here."
"What happened?"
"These people just jumped in from all sides and defeated that Heartless, effortlessly. Donald and Goofy were nowhere in sight, and Leon said that he hadn't seen them at all. You got hit from behind by one of those hands. These people brought you here...and this lady's been working on you. You were nearly dead, Terra."
"She's all right now. Madam—"
"But if you hadn't been there...I should never have agreed to this. Just because I was bored. Because I was bored with life on that island prison. I might as well put my neck to the guillotine now."
"Hey, now, this isn't all your fault," said a third voice. This one was calm, low, and sweet. He sounded like an older version of Riku. "It's whoever it was that offered to do this in the first place's fault, none o' yours. Sora agreed to it, too, you know. As did Blank, Al, and—"
"I'm guessing Terra wants some answers, mates. After all, she can't open her eyes because it's too bright in here." The insipid one had a point. Terra saw the lights dim from behind her eyelids. Slowly, she opened them. Her vision swam for a moment before, at last, Riku's face came into focus in front of her. He was a bit too close for comfort, but somehow, she didn't mind.
"You okay?"
"Y-Yes," she sat up, staring at her limbs. They felt so...strong. Like she'd only went to bed for a night's sleep. She blinked, staring down at the white sheets. "I'm...stronger, somehow. How's that possible?"
She glanced up.
Choked.
Looked again.
Choked again.
"Harry Potter?! Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley?! What the hell is going on?! RIKU!"
"You've got your hands hot with this one, mate," Ron laughed. Hermione punched him in the arm. "All right, all right, I'll stop."
Terra fought the panic rising in the back of her throat like a tidal wave. How did she get to the Harry Potter world? What had happened? How did they know her?
"Terra, calm down. We'll explain, it'll just take a little time," Harry put a hand on her shoulder. "Just hope Madam Pomfrey doesn't come back and make us go out."
She nodded. "Okay. 'Splain. All of you."
For a moment, no one spoke up.
"Let's try an easier question—who's voice was it that I was arguing with before I blanked?"
"We don't know," Harry shrugged. "It was male and came from another world, but...other than that, we're as in the dark as you are."
"Okay...what happened?"
"The Heartless attacked you when your back was turned," Riku rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You should never turn your back on an enemy."
Terra's face lit up like a terrible forest fire. "I'm not a fighter, like I'm supposed to know that?"
"Lesson number one," Riku cocked his brow at her, then turned to look out the window again. Obviously, he was deep in thought. Probably thinking of Kairi, Terra thought. He continued on anyhow. "I thought you were dead. These three leaped from a hole in the sky and took out sticks. The Heartless was down before I even realized it. They made another hole and told me to carry you through."
"He's been in here at your bedside ever since," Hermione said softly. "Hasn't budged."
Terra didn't know what to make of that. Instead of blowing it out of proportion, she focused on what was happening in the present.
"Why did you take me from that world?" she asked. "And how did you know to do it?"
The famous magical trio was silent. Hermione cleared her throat carefully.
"Kingdom Hearts is falling," she said. "We are connected, somehow, our world, yours, and his. Dumbledore told us to watch you, through...this will sound a bit strange, but through a movie."
"Took a while to get the da—"
"Shut up, Ron," Hermione said. "Well, we watched you. So, when you got in trouble, we went and got you. Dumbledore said that...this will sound strange, too, but he said that you would know, Terra. You would know why the Kingdom Hearts is collapsing and why we will follow if it does."
"What? I'm just as confused as you are," Terra sat up, gingerly holding her head. Her brains pounded in her skull. "How would I know why Kingdom Hearts is collapsing? I have no idea."
"My dear, you have no idea what kind of ideas you have," said a voice in the shadows. It was silky, familiar. Slim green eyes, slimmer than Terra had ever seen a human eye. He stepped from the shadows and into the light. The black cloak he wore hid his body, but she didn't need that to know.
Terra gasped. She knew this man. She knew him well. The fact remained before her, however, that this was no ordinary man. Nor was he a man at all. Renee had told her tales of this man, shown her drawings and sketches of him, but never had he appeared so solidly as he did now.
All others were forgotten.
"Terra. The pleasure of your acquaintance was long awaited. Fair thee well, honest maid? The gods shed their light on thee with such grace. Even thy hands are as I dreamed. 'Tis a day of beauty, majesty, is it not? Will thee not please me with kind eyes?"
His handsome words were a trick. Terra knew them well.
"What the hell are you doing here, Dirken?"
"Ah, so fair lady recalls this poor face of mine?"
"What face? I see no one but an ignorant daemon here. Begone, vile king of beasts."
Incensed, the daemon's long, spiked ears drew back like a cat's, his square jaw tensed in a hiss, his thin finger's knifelike as he pointed down at her.
"I shall return, impudent human! Frailty, thy name is woman*!"
He vanished with a sweep of his dark cloak. Terra caught a glimpse of the broken heart symbol that all Heartless wore. "So. His coat has been upended."
***
"Who is that? Where are they?" Sora was confused.
Al sighed. "That guy there is Harry Potter. That's Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Pay attention."
The little Terra on the screen had opened her eyes. "Harry Potter?! Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley?! What the hell is going on?! RIKU!"
"Poor Riku," Sora muttered.
"Let's try an easier question—who's voice was it that I was arguing with before I blanked?"
"We don't know," Harry shrugged. "It was male and came from another world, but...other than that, we're as in the dark as you are."
"Okay...what happened?"
"The Heartless attacked you when your back was turned," Riku rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You should never turn your back on an enemy."
Terra blushed. "I'm not a fighter, like I'm supposed to know that?"
Sora stared at her in amusement. Anyone ought to have known that.
"Lesson number one," Riku looked out the window again. "I thought you were dead. These three leaped from a hole in the sky and took out sticks. The Heartless was down before I even realized it. They made another hole and told me to carry you through."
"He's been in here at your bedside ever since," Hermione said softly. "Hasn't budged."
"Why did you take me from that world?" she asked. "And how did you know to do it?"
Silence. Then...
"Kingdom Hearts is falling," she said. "We are connected, somehow, our world, yours, and his. Dumbledore told us to watch you, through...this will sound a bit strange, but through a movie."
Not very strange to me, Sora thought.
Hermione said: "Well, we watched you. So, when you got in trouble, we went and got you. Dumbledore said that...this will sound strange, too, but he said that you would know, Terra. You would know why the Kingdom Hearts is collapsing and why we will follow if it does."
"What? I'm just as confused as you are," Terra sat up, gingerly holding her head. Her brains pounded in her skull. "How would I know why Kingdom Hearts is collapsing? I have no idea."
Neither do I, Sora thought.
"My dear, you have no idea what kind of ideas you have," said a voice in the shadows. The silky voice owned a pair of slim green eyes, slimmer than Sora had ever seen a human eye. He stepped from the shadows and into the light. The black cloak he wore hid his body.
"What the—" Blank screamed a string of harsh curse words. "Get Renee on the phone, Al. Get her butt over here, top Mach speed."
"What's wrong?" Sora asked.
"That thing shouldn't be there. And if he's there, there's a chance he could screw up the rest of this thing even worse. That's Dirken, Renee's creation. Bad guy. Really bad guy. He likes to speak in Middle English for reasons unknown."
The being on the screen continued his conversation. "Terra. The pleasure of your acquaintance was long awaited. Fair thee well, honest maid? The gods shed their light on thee with such grace. Even thy hands are as I dreamed. 'Tis a day of beauty, majesty, is it not? Will thee not please me with kind eyes?"
"What the hell are you doing here, Dirken?"
"Ah, so fair lady recalls this poor face of mine?"
"What face? I see no one but an ignorant daemon here. Begone, vile king of beasts."
Incensed, the daemon's long, spiked ears drew back like a cat's, his square jaw tensed in a hiss, his thin finger's knifelike as he pointed down at her.
"I shall return, impudent human! Frailty, thy name is woman*!"
He vanished with a sweep of his dark cloak. Terra caught a glimpse of the broken heart symbol that all Heartless wore. "So. His coat has been upended."
"It figures," Blank murmured. "Just when things were bad enough, they had to get worse!" She kicked at Sora's empty trash can.
"She's on her way," Al reported. "So's Kyle."
Sora's stomach lurched again.
***
***
"I had to step in. She would have been killed if I didn't. We cannot afford to lose her."
"Stop trying to explain yourself. We understand."
"Is she okay?"
"Physically, yes. Mentally...we don't know."
"The Heartless have gotten stronger than we thought. She is nowhere near competent enough with a sword to use the Keyblade correctly. Even so, the Keyblade won't be enough."
"Even Sora would have had a time. Hey, wait, what do you mean the Keyblade won't—"
"She's coming around!"
Terra moaned, her feet kicking at the too-soft blankets that covered her. A headache was splitting her head right down the middle, its focus somewhere above her neck. The voices she'd heard all sounded so familiar. Riku was one of them, she was certain. But who had rescued her of her own stupidity?
"Are you awake, Terra? Do you feel okay?"
"Did someone get the number on that train?" she mumbled, squeezing her eyes tight.
"Yeah, and it got more than a speeding ticket, believe me." One of the familiar voices said. So familiar. Why? Why did she recognize that voice? It was alto, with a smart female British accent.
"What's a speeding ticket?" Another voice. This one slower, lower, and juvenile. Still with a British accent, but male. Was she in Britain?
"Something Muggle police give people who go too fast on the roads." Muggle. Muggle...
Terra's eyes flew open, but clamped shut again in the bright light. "Riku, are you here?"
"Yes. I'm here."
"What happened?"
"These people just jumped in from all sides and defeated that Heartless, effortlessly. Donald and Goofy were nowhere in sight, and Leon said that he hadn't seen them at all. You got hit from behind by one of those hands. These people brought you here...and this lady's been working on you. You were nearly dead, Terra."
"She's all right now. Madam—"
"But if you hadn't been there...I should never have agreed to this. Just because I was bored. Because I was bored with life on that island prison. I might as well put my neck to the guillotine now."
"Hey, now, this isn't all your fault," said a third voice. This one was calm, low, and sweet. He sounded like an older version of Riku. "It's whoever it was that offered to do this in the first place's fault, none o' yours. Sora agreed to it, too, you know. As did Blank, Al, and—"
"I'm guessing Terra wants some answers, mates. After all, she can't open her eyes because it's too bright in here." The insipid one had a point. Terra saw the lights dim from behind her eyelids. Slowly, she opened them. Her vision swam for a moment before, at last, Riku's face came into focus in front of her. He was a bit too close for comfort, but somehow, she didn't mind.
"You okay?"
"Y-Yes," she sat up, staring at her limbs. They felt so...strong. Like she'd only went to bed for a night's sleep. She blinked, staring down at the white sheets. "I'm...stronger, somehow. How's that possible?"
She glanced up.
Choked.
Looked again.
Choked again.
"Harry Potter?! Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley?! What the hell is going on?! RIKU!"
"You've got your hands hot with this one, mate," Ron laughed. Hermione punched him in the arm. "All right, all right, I'll stop."
Terra fought the panic rising in the back of her throat like a tidal wave. How did she get to the Harry Potter world? What had happened? How did they know her?
"Terra, calm down. We'll explain, it'll just take a little time," Harry put a hand on her shoulder. "Just hope Madam Pomfrey doesn't come back and make us go out."
She nodded. "Okay. 'Splain. All of you."
For a moment, no one spoke up.
"Let's try an easier question—who's voice was it that I was arguing with before I blanked?"
"We don't know," Harry shrugged. "It was male and came from another world, but...other than that, we're as in the dark as you are."
"Okay...what happened?"
"The Heartless attacked you when your back was turned," Riku rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You should never turn your back on an enemy."
Terra's face lit up like a terrible forest fire. "I'm not a fighter, like I'm supposed to know that?"
"Lesson number one," Riku cocked his brow at her, then turned to look out the window again. Obviously, he was deep in thought. Probably thinking of Kairi, Terra thought. He continued on anyhow. "I thought you were dead. These three leaped from a hole in the sky and took out sticks. The Heartless was down before I even realized it. They made another hole and told me to carry you through."
"He's been in here at your bedside ever since," Hermione said softly. "Hasn't budged."
Terra didn't know what to make of that. Instead of blowing it out of proportion, she focused on what was happening in the present.
"Why did you take me from that world?" she asked. "And how did you know to do it?"
The famous magical trio was silent. Hermione cleared her throat carefully.
"Kingdom Hearts is falling," she said. "We are connected, somehow, our world, yours, and his. Dumbledore told us to watch you, through...this will sound a bit strange, but through a movie."
"Took a while to get the da—"
"Shut up, Ron," Hermione said. "Well, we watched you. So, when you got in trouble, we went and got you. Dumbledore said that...this will sound strange, too, but he said that you would know, Terra. You would know why the Kingdom Hearts is collapsing and why we will follow if it does."
"What? I'm just as confused as you are," Terra sat up, gingerly holding her head. Her brains pounded in her skull. "How would I know why Kingdom Hearts is collapsing? I have no idea."
"My dear, you have no idea what kind of ideas you have," said a voice in the shadows. It was silky, familiar. Slim green eyes, slimmer than Terra had ever seen a human eye. He stepped from the shadows and into the light. The black cloak he wore hid his body, but she didn't need that to know.
Terra gasped. She knew this man. She knew him well. The fact remained before her, however, that this was no ordinary man. Nor was he a man at all. Renee had told her tales of this man, shown her drawings and sketches of him, but never had he appeared so solidly as he did now.
All others were forgotten.
"Terra. The pleasure of your acquaintance was long awaited. Fair thee well, honest maid? The gods shed their light on thee with such grace. Even thy hands are as I dreamed. 'Tis a day of beauty, majesty, is it not? Will thee not please me with kind eyes?"
His handsome words were a trick. Terra knew them well.
"What the hell are you doing here, Dirken?"
"Ah, so fair lady recalls this poor face of mine?"
"What face? I see no one but an ignorant daemon here. Begone, vile king of beasts."
Incensed, the daemon's long, spiked ears drew back like a cat's, his square jaw tensed in a hiss, his thin finger's knifelike as he pointed down at her.
"I shall return, impudent human! Frailty, thy name is woman*!"
He vanished with a sweep of his dark cloak. Terra caught a glimpse of the broken heart symbol that all Heartless wore. "So. His coat has been upended."
***
"Who is that? Where are they?" Sora was confused.
Al sighed. "That guy there is Harry Potter. That's Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Pay attention."
The little Terra on the screen had opened her eyes. "Harry Potter?! Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley?! What the hell is going on?! RIKU!"
"Poor Riku," Sora muttered.
"Let's try an easier question—who's voice was it that I was arguing with before I blanked?"
"We don't know," Harry shrugged. "It was male and came from another world, but...other than that, we're as in the dark as you are."
"Okay...what happened?"
"The Heartless attacked you when your back was turned," Riku rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You should never turn your back on an enemy."
Terra blushed. "I'm not a fighter, like I'm supposed to know that?"
Sora stared at her in amusement. Anyone ought to have known that.
"Lesson number one," Riku looked out the window again. "I thought you were dead. These three leaped from a hole in the sky and took out sticks. The Heartless was down before I even realized it. They made another hole and told me to carry you through."
"He's been in here at your bedside ever since," Hermione said softly. "Hasn't budged."
"Why did you take me from that world?" she asked. "And how did you know to do it?"
Silence. Then...
"Kingdom Hearts is falling," she said. "We are connected, somehow, our world, yours, and his. Dumbledore told us to watch you, through...this will sound a bit strange, but through a movie."
Not very strange to me, Sora thought.
Hermione said: "Well, we watched you. So, when you got in trouble, we went and got you. Dumbledore said that...this will sound strange, too, but he said that you would know, Terra. You would know why the Kingdom Hearts is collapsing and why we will follow if it does."
"What? I'm just as confused as you are," Terra sat up, gingerly holding her head. Her brains pounded in her skull. "How would I know why Kingdom Hearts is collapsing? I have no idea."
Neither do I, Sora thought.
"My dear, you have no idea what kind of ideas you have," said a voice in the shadows. The silky voice owned a pair of slim green eyes, slimmer than Sora had ever seen a human eye. He stepped from the shadows and into the light. The black cloak he wore hid his body.
"What the—" Blank screamed a string of harsh curse words. "Get Renee on the phone, Al. Get her butt over here, top Mach speed."
"What's wrong?" Sora asked.
"That thing shouldn't be there. And if he's there, there's a chance he could screw up the rest of this thing even worse. That's Dirken, Renee's creation. Bad guy. Really bad guy. He likes to speak in Middle English for reasons unknown."
The being on the screen continued his conversation. "Terra. The pleasure of your acquaintance was long awaited. Fair thee well, honest maid? The gods shed their light on thee with such grace. Even thy hands are as I dreamed. 'Tis a day of beauty, majesty, is it not? Will thee not please me with kind eyes?"
"What the hell are you doing here, Dirken?"
"Ah, so fair lady recalls this poor face of mine?"
"What face? I see no one but an ignorant daemon here. Begone, vile king of beasts."
Incensed, the daemon's long, spiked ears drew back like a cat's, his square jaw tensed in a hiss, his thin finger's knifelike as he pointed down at her.
"I shall return, impudent human! Frailty, thy name is woman*!"
He vanished with a sweep of his dark cloak. Terra caught a glimpse of the broken heart symbol that all Heartless wore. "So. His coat has been upended."
"It figures," Blank murmured. "Just when things were bad enough, they had to get worse!" She kicked at Sora's empty trash can.
"She's on her way," Al reported. "So's Kyle."
Sora's stomach lurched again.
***