Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anyone else in his world. I also don't own the rights to Final Fantasy, although I do own a copy of the game.
A/N: This was just a random idea that I had, and it's taken over. I don't even know why. Dumbledore casts a spell, which puts the witches and wizards into a Muggle game, but will they be able to return? And who are they playing? But obviously, Draco is Tidus and Harry will be Yuna. The similarities are too close.
There will be three stories, and each one will have the characters in a different universe. And if you can't tell this story is Draco/Harry. But they probably won't actually get together until the third story.
Dreaming
By Whyteroze28
Chapter 4
Draco and Wakka entered the village, and upon seeing it for the first time, Draco couldn't help but stare.
"Besaid Village," Wakka proclaimed, proudly.
Draco felt his stomach rumbling again. 'Gods, where is a house-elf when you need one?' he thought, but just asked, "They got any food there?"
Wakka shrugged the question aside. "We'll get you something over there later. Take a look around first." Draco's glare did nothing to affect him. Obviously he'd never had to go without food for days at a time. "Let's see... The Crusaders Lodge is over yonder. Luzzu and Gatta are usually there. Oh, right. Over here!"
"Huh? What's up?" Draco asked, as Wakka pulled him off to the side, behind one of the huts. 'Please don't tell me that he's gay,' Draco's mind babbled. 'He looks way too much like Weasley for that.'
"You do remember the prayer, right?" Wakka asked.
"I don't know any prayers," Draco responded, wondering if all of his 'Oh, Gods,' counted. Then the inner voice spoke up again. "Of course I'd never prayed before in my life. Not that he would know that..." 'Could someone please shut him up,' Draco groaned silently, watching as Wakka's face went pale.
"You... must have forgot or something. Here, I'll show you," he said, doing the same thing he'd done on the beach. "Go ahead, you try."
It was easy enough to do, considering he'd seen it three times already. But it didn't seem like much of a prayer to him.
"Hey, not bad. Okay, now go present yourself to the temple summoner."
"Any blitzball player would know that prayer. It was the blitzball sign for victory," the voice said. Draco once again filed that under useless trivia and headed for the Crusader's Lodge.
The two guys from earlier, Luzzu and Gatta were there. Luzzu was the older one, and Gatta the younger.
"Hey, you! You were attacked by Sin... right? Recently was it?" Gatta asked, all eagerness. 'Let that one loose in a real battle,' Draco thought, 'and he'll be dead within three minutes.'
"I think so." 'Honestly, of course it was recent.'
"So, Sin can't be far, right? You're not hiding anything, are you?" With all the questions, Draco was beginning to think that the boy was a Gryffindor as well. 'Maybe he's got a camera hidden around here somewhere?'
"Why would I?"
"If Sin's nearby, it'll attack the island for sure. But it hasn't. I wonder why?" Luzzu seemed more thoughtful, at least.
"I'm sorry. I really don't know anything. To tell you the truth, I don't even know what the Crusaders are," Draco said, sincerely. He didn't know what they were here.
"You're kidding, right?" Gatta asked. Again with the questions.
Luzzu reprimanded him. "Sin! The toxin! Gatta, tell him who we are!"
"Yes, sir!" The boy snapped to attention. "The Crusaders are sworn to battle Sin! We have chapters throughout Spira, accepting all who wish to join our struggle! The hero Mi'ihen formed the Crusaders eight hundred years ago as the Crimson Blades. Later, our ranks grew and we called ourselves the Crusaders. We've been fighting Sin ever since!"
Draco was stunned. "What, you've been fighting eight hundred years and you still haven't beat it?"
"Well, we've steered Sin away from towns many times! And that's all we can do." Luzzu said, defensively. "Nobody's ever been able to defeat it. Our mission as Crusaders is to protect the temples, towns, villages, and people of Spira."
"So then whose job is it to defeat Sin?" 'Obviously a stupid question,' Draco realized as the other two exchanged glances.
Gatta spoke first. "Is Sin's toxin really this bad, sir?"
"It does seem rather bad..." Luzzu replied. "We could just tell you, but I think it's better for you to try and remember. Go pray at the temple. Perhaps Yevon will help you regain your memory."
Draco made his way to the temple, and as he entered, he saw four statues flanking a central stairway. It reminded him of Hogwarts, with its four founders.
Annoying voice. "It was then, standing in that place. I began to realize how different this world was from my own."
He walked over to one of the statues. A man, with some funky looking robes, and a really tall hat.
A priest spoke up from behind him. "Ten years have passed since Lord Braska became high summoner. And finally we receive a statue for our temple."
"What's a high summoner?" Draco asked, and noticed everyone staring. "I... I got too close to Sin's, uh, toxin." Then the voice spoke again. Draco thought it was funny that he was the only one who could hear it. "It was funny hearing myself make the same excuse over and over. Funny, and a little sad."
Luckily the priest decided to take his words at face value. "The summoners are practitioners of a sacred art, sworn to protect the people of Yevon. Only a chosen few become summoners, who call forth entities of great power: the aeons. The aeons hear our prayers and come down to us. They are the blessing of Yevon."
"So what he meant... was that we should respect some kinda great men or something like that... I figured." 'Gods' this guy is really hopeless,' Draco thought, suppressing a laugh. 'Even I got that. They're more like wizards than anything else here, it seems.'
Draco finally mad it back to Wakka's house, but…
"Sorry, man. No time for lunch yet," the redhead said, cheerily. Draco could have killed him in his sleep, just as cheerily. "Take a nap! You look bushed."
"Thanks!" Well, he was a bit tired.
While he was trying to sleep, the priest arrived, and spoke to Wakka.
"You could at least go see how they are doing."
"We can't interfere. It's a rule," Wakka responded, sounding a bit desperate.
The priest's voice sounded a bit frustrated. "But, it's been nearly..."
As they left, the voices blended into Draco's/Tidus' dream.
"But, it's been nearly... It's been nearly a day already," a man's voice stated.
"Perhaps you could go look for us," a woman responded, and Tidus' mind recognized her as his mother.
"People are searching for him now."
His mother smiled. "Thank you."
The boy Draco had recognized as a young Tidus had appeared, and was ranting… much like Draco himself had done as a child. "Who cares whether he comes back or not?"
"But he might die!" his mother was aghast.
"Fine, let him!"
She couldn't believe it. "Do you... Do you hate him so?"
The boy nodded. No question about it.
"If he dies," she stated, "you'll never be able to tell him how much you hate him."
Draco woke up, shaking his head. It could almost be a mirror of his own childhood, except for the fact that Lucius had never disappeared.
He found himself calling out. "Wakka?"
He ran up to the temple and found Wakka and the priest in heavy conversation. "Is something wrong?"
Wakka was grim. "The summoner hasn't returned from the trial."
Draco didn't understand.
"Well, apprentice summoner, really..." Wakka stated. But, seeing as how Draco was still confused, he went on. "There's a room in there called the Cloister of Trials. Beyond is where the apprentice summoner prays. If the prayer is heard, the apprentice becomes a fully-fledged summoner, remember?"
"So someone is in there somewhere and they haven't come back out. Right, I got it." It sounded like some stunt Potter would pull.
"A day's already gone by," Wakka said, quietly.
"Is it particularly dangerous in there?" Draco asked. He already knew it would be up to him to try to rescue them… if needed.
"Sometimes, yes." What kind of an answer was that?
Draco was getting more upset. "Why don't you go in and help?"
"There's already guardians in there. Besides, it's forbidden." Like that would stop him. He'd been doing things that were forbidden all his life. Like trying to become friends with Harry Potter. So, he ran up the stairs, heading for the entrance to the trials. " Hey, but what if somethin' happens? What if the summoner dies!?"
The priest called after him. "The precepts must be obeyed!"
"Like I care!" Draco yelled as he entered the room beyond. Then he stopped as the voice took over. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."
He followed the writing on the walls, which he could read, and worked out the puzzles to the trial. But, before he could go through the last one, Wakka caught up with him.
"Hey! What's gotten into you?" he asked, and then smiled as he saw Draco's face. "Hey, it's okay. Only summoners, apprentice summoners, and their guardians can enter here. It's a tradition. Very important."
"So what about you?" Draco asked.
Wakka grinned again. "Me? I'm a guardian."
"A guardian?" 'Like Weasley and Granger guard Potter?'
They stood on a design, and the floor moved, carrying them down. "Summoners go on a pilgrimage to pray at every temple in Spira. Guardians protect them. The guardians in there now... One of them's got a short fuse, and who knows what the other's thinking. Well, now that we've come this far... might as well go all the way!"
They headed for the room where the other two guardians waited.
The woman in black from the beginning of his dream was there, and Draco remembered Wakka trying to peek down her blouse. But then he noticed that the beast was there too.
The woman was very pissed off. "What are you doing here? Didn't think we'd be able to handle it?" she asked.
"No, it's uh... it's just..." He turned to look at Draco. "See, I told you she gets mad easy."
Draco was still staring at the beast, which was staring back at him. Then he remembered why he had come here in the first place. "Is the summoner all right?"
The woman stared at him. "Who are you?"
Then suddenly, another door opened at the top of a set of stairs. The young brunette whose shoulder he had touched was coming out of it. But, as she started to walk down the stairs, she seemed to give out. She began to fall, and though Draco started to run to her, the beast caught her instead.
She stood up, and the expression on her face was pure happiness.
"I've done it," she stated, her voice quiet, but happy. "I have become a summoner!"
Draco was at the top of the stairs watching everyone leave the temple. And the voice spoke again. "Man was I surprised. And here I was thinking summoners were all old geezers."
Once outside, he heard Wakka in the center of the village calling. "Hey, over here!"
Wakka grabbed him again, and dragged him backwards toward the town square.
"What? Ow!"
"Wait till you see this!" Wakka stated, releasing him.
Draco rubbed his neck. "I can't see anything!"
Wakka looked at the brunette, who was standing in the center of the village. "Ready!"
"Okay!" she replied, holding out a staff. A symbol began to glow on the ground, and four beams of light shot heavenward from it. A huge bird-like creature swooped down, and she soothed it. It was the most beautiful thing Draco had ever seen.
Tidus, too, apparently. "I had never seen anything like it in my life. Sure, it was a little scary, but still... I could feel a strange kind of gentleness coming from it." He was still speaking as it flew away. "I remember... That night, we talked for the first time. I didn't know it then, but after that night, everything changed. For everyone... For me..."
That night, the whole village celebrated the creation of the summoner.
Wakka led Draco over to where the team was standing beside the campfire. "Let me introduce you to the team." After he did so, he slung an arm around Draco's shoulder, and turned his attention to his teammates. "This guy wants into the tournament so bad, I let him on the team. His memory's a little fuzzy, so don't mind him if he says anything odd! Come on, say hi."
He gave Draco a slight push.
"Uh... Hi, guys," Draco said, feeling nervous. These guys were too friendly for Slytherin. They would never have been his type of people in his own world.
They all responded heartily, and Draco smiled. "So, what's our goal?"
"To do our best!" they all shouted.
But Wakka shook his head, "Nope, we got a new goal now! Our new goal... is victory! To win every match, defeat every opposing team! To bring the Crystal Cup back to our island! That's all we need to do to win! Easy, ya?"
The idea was definitely appealing. The Aurochs began chanting. "Victory... Victory! Victory! Victory! Yeah!" And while they were distracted, Draco made his way over to the hut where the summoner was sitting.
However, his display earlier had caused some ruffled feathers. One old man called him a heathen, almost making him laugh. Then an old woman shouted at him to stay away from the summoner. But, what really got to him was a small girl running over, as if to protect the woman, and snarling at Draco, "You're a bad man!"
But the summoner stood up, acknowledging Draco, which made them all become silent, except for the man's final warning. "Lady Yuna! Be careful!"
"But it was really my fault to begin with," she replied, before turning to smile at Draco. "I'm Yuna. Thank you so much for your help earlier."
'Time for Mr. Inarticulate,' Draco thought, as the words came tumbling out of his mouth. "I'm sorry about that. Wasn't that… Wasn't I not supposed to... Guess I... kind of overreacted." 'And I thought Potter sounded stupid when he's embarrassed. It's a good thing he can't see me now.'
"Oh, no," the girl said, smiling. "I was... overconfident."
"Um, I saw that aeon thing. That's amazing!" Draco was seething inside. By the way he was stammering, he obviously liked her… but he wasn't interested in girls. So what was it about this one?
"Really? Do you think I can become high summoner?" she asked, and Draco was reminded of asking his father if he had what it took to become a Death Eater. He knew that he'd had the same sickeningly hopeful tone.
But, before he could answer, the little girl had run over. "Lady Yuna, come play with me some more!"
After Yuna had nodded, and the girl had run off, she turned to look at Draco again. "So, tomorrow, then."
"Tomorrow?" Draco had been confused. 'Tomorrow what?'
"We're going on the same boat, aren't we?" Yuna stated, smiling a little.
"Oh, really?" He wondered why she was leaving. Did it have anything to do with what the priest had said about summoners being sworn to protect the people?
She just looked at him, as though she was contemplating a riddle. "We can talk more. You can tell me all about Zanarkand!" And then she walked back over and sat down. Draco wasn't sure he wanted to continue this conversation. It made him feel weird.
Wakka walked over to stand beside him. "She's cute, ya?" he asked.
"Yeah!" Well, it was the truth.
"Don't get no ideas," the redhead admonished.
"No promises there, big guy," Draco replied, and felt like biting his own tongue. What was wrong with him? But then he had an idea, and looked at Wakka, grinning. "Hey, but what if she, like, comes on to me?"
"That's not going to happen." The statement was so matter of fact that Draco was put off by it. But then Wakka smiled. "If you get tired, let me know. I had a bed made for you."
Draco realized that he was tired again, and followed Wakka. "Hm? Ready for bed?"
"Yeah," he replied.
"Good. Sleep tight."
That night, as he slept in the Crusader's Lodge, he had another dream. In it, he was at the docks with Yuna, and he heard himself speaking.
"Where's that boat?"
"Everyone will find us if it doesn't come soon," she replied. 'Find us?' Draco wondered. 'Doing what?'
"You really sure this is okay?" he asked, wondering again what was going on. They were just standing there.
And then she looked at him with those mismatched eyes. One was blue, but the other was a brilliant emerald green. And she asked the impossible question. "Would you take me to Zanarkand?"
"Hey! You'd said you'd go with me!" Draco whirled around to see Rikku charging down the docks. He knew he hadn't but that seemed beside the point.
"Oh, hey... I, uh..." 'Stammering again?'
"I thought Wakka told you not to get any ideas?" Rikku said, looking over at Yuna.
Yuna had a thoughtful expression on her face. "He did?"
"Yeah, so you're coming with me!" Rikku replied, grinning at him.
"Hey! Stop dreaming!" A voice spoke up behind him, and Draco knew it was Tidus' father. He turned to see the man glaring at him, and again, Draco was reminded of Lucius. "You with a woman? You can't even catch a ball! Oh, what's the matter? Gonna cry again? Cry, cry. That's the only thing you're good for!"
Suddenly, he was a child again, standing before the man. The words burst out of his throat, but in a whisper. "I hate you."
"Huh? What'd you say?" Jecht asked.
"You have to speak loudly," Yuna stated, now on Jecht's right side.
"I hate you!" Draco repeated louder.
"Eh?" 'Damn, is this guy hard of hearing, or is he just toying with me?' Draco wondered.
Rikku, on Jecht's left now, began bouncing on the balls of her feet. "That's the spirit!" she exclaimed.
And Yuna added, "You can do it!"
Draco woke up as he yelled out the words yet again, so they broke the silence in the lodge like the crack of someone apparating. "I hate you!"
But before he could lie back down, he heard someone talking outside, and got up to take a look.
Wakka and the female guardian, whose name was Lulu, were talking outside the lodge. She appeared very angry, and Draco knew it had something to do with him.
"He's dead, okay? Dead!" she stated as he peeked through the opening. "He does look a lot like Chappu. I was surprised, too, the first time I saw him. But no matter what he looks like, he isn't Chappu. You shouldn't have brought him here in the first place!"
"Yeah, but... he needed our help!" Wakka replied hotly.
She glared at him "Excuses again?" she asked, and Wakka hung his head.
"Yeah, but..."
"That's it. No more. Enough, Wakka!" She whirled away, like Snape leaving a room, and left.
Wakka caught sight of Draco watching, and entered the lodge.
Draco knew he'd been caught, so he decided to comment. "Scary! So, who's Chappu?"
"My little brother Chappu. He looked like you," Wakka replied, his voice heavy with emotion.
"He's dead?"
Wakka looked at him, before turning away. "He was with the Crusaders when they fought Sin last year. He didn't make it. I first heard on the day of the tournament."
Draco remembered their conversation earlier when Wakka had mentioned having other things on his mind. "Oh, so that's why," he said, unsure of how he should feel.
"I became a guardian to fight Sin, ya?" Wakka's reply was like something he'd heard Longbottom say once. He wanted to learn powerful magic so he could get revenge on Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Revenge, then?" Draco asked, feeling almost sorry for the man. It wasn't exactly a noble reason.
"That was the idea," Wakka said, then stopped. "I'm more worried about a stupid game now than avenging my brother. Well, after the next tournament, I'll be a guardian full-time. I know it kinda looks like I'm using you, but I'm not."
Draco understood. It was his way of dealing with how things had turned out. "Don't worry. I mean, I owe you a lot. You really helped me out, you know? What I mean is... thanks, Wakka." 'And Malfoys don't take debts lightly.'
Wakka blushed, and Draco was yet again reminded of Weasley. "Stop, you're embarrassing me!"
But he left the lodge, leaving Draco alone to try to sleep. But the blonde wasn't sure he could. This world was having a profound effect on him, and he wasn't sure he would leave the same person he'd been when he arrived. If he left at all.
