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 6
When they arrived at Kilika, Draco and the rest disembarked, and he watched as Yuna walked over to the group of villagers standing on the docks.
"Greetings! I am the summoner Yuna," she said, bowing to them, in what he was beginning to call the Spira Salute. "I have come from the temple in Besaid."
A woman grabbed her hand, in awe. "M'lady Summoner!"
"If there is no other summoner here," Yuna continued, "please allow me to perform the sending." Draco had no idea what a sending was, but figured it had something to do with the spirits of the dead.
"Thanks be to ye!," a man replied.
The woman smiled through her tears. "Our loved ones... We feared they would become fiends!"
"Please, take me to them," Yuna said, and they led her away, across the docks, and Draco watched them go, followed by Lulu and Kimahri.
Then Wakka came to stand beside him. "We'll go see what we can do to help in town," he stated, and he and the Aurochs ran off as well.
Draco stepped off the gangplank, and headed in the direction that Yuna and the others had gone. When he got to the end of the docks, he couldn't help staring. The sunset was staining the sky a rosy red, and there were bodies on top of bodies below the surface of the water, all seemingly arranged for some sort of ritual. 'How the hell did they do that so fast?' Draco wondered. Then he walked over to stand beside Lulu.
"Uh, what's a "sending"? Are we going somewhere?" Draco could have groaned the second the words left his mouth.
"You truly are clueless. Are you sure it's your memory that's the problem?" she asked, and he was again reminded of Granger. What was with girls trying to seem superior when all he wanted was a straight answer. "The dead need guidance. Filled with grief over their own death, they refuse to face their fate. They yearn to live on, and resent those still alive. You see, they envy the living. And in time, that envy turns to anger, even hate. Should these souls remain in Spira, they become fiends that prey on the living. Sad, isn't it? The sending takes them to the Farplane, where they may rest in peace."
"Summoners do this?" he asked, wondering if that was what happened with the ghosts in his world. Were they envious of the living as well?
Yuna, barefooted, walked off the dock, and into… no onto… the water. She began the most graceful dance he had ever seen, swaying, and sending her staff in graceful arcs. He saw streams of shimmering light floating up through the water, and assumed that it was the souls of the deceased. Funny, how something like that could make him contemplate death. A lot of the villagers were crying, but Draco could see things from their side. Their loved ones were gone after all.
"It must be tough, being a summoner," he said, as he turned to Lulu, who was watching with a sad smile on her face.
Lulu looked at him. "Yuna chose her own path," she replied. "She knew from the beginning what it meant. All we can do is protect her along the way. Until the end."
'That doesn't sound good,' Draco thought. "Until the... end? What's the end?"
Everyone turned to stare at him, and he wondered what he had said wrong this time.
"Until she defeats Sin," Lulu replied, not really looking at him.
Then she walked down to speak to Yuna, who had tears in her eyes. He heard Yuna's quiet statement. "I hope... I hope I did okay."
"You did very well!" the black garbed woman replied. "They've reached the Farplane by now. But... no tears next time, hm?"
The voice spoke again, but as Draco listened to it this time, he felt strange. "I wished there would never be a next time. No more people being killed by Sin. No more sendings for Yuna. Everyone stood there watching her. It was strange, and somehow... horrifying. I never wanted to see it again." He actually agreed with the twit for once. It was a rather unsettling feeling.
The next morning, he awoke, disappointed at realizing he was still in the strange world. But before he could think about it, one of the Aurochs, Draco thought his name was Datto, ran up to him.
"Hey! You awake? Cap'n Wakka's waitin' for you!" he said, and Draco followed him to where Wakka and the rest of the team were working on rebuilding one of the huts.
"Ah, there you are!" Wakka exclaimed, then turned to his teammates. "Besaid Aurochs! Huddle! On to the temple, where we pray for victory!"
They all began heading for the temple, and Draco fell behind Wakka.
"High Summoner Ohalland used to live in the Kilika temple here," Wakka stated, as they walked. "Yep. Lord Ohalland was once a great blitzer, you know?"
Draco tried to get his attention. "Wakka..."
"Hm?"
"Praying for victory's all good... but is this right?" Draco asked. 'Their village just got demolished… should we be worried about a game?'
Wakka just looked at him. "Something wrong with enjoying blitzball?"
"Is this really the time?"
"This is the only time!" Wakka replied, as if Draco wasn't getting it. "The players fight with all their strength: the fans cheer for their favorite team. They forget pain, suffering... Only the game matters! That's why blitz has been around for so long. Least that's what I think."
'Kind of like Quidditch,' Draco thought. "Whatever you say."
"Let's play... and win! Right?" Wakka said, enthusiastically.
And Draco couldn't help but catch the excitement. "Right!"
Then Wakka pointed. "Temple's beyond the jungle there. Let's go!"
As they walked into the forest, Draco noticed that Yuna, Lulu, and Kimahri were just standing around.
"What's up?" Wakka asked Lulu, who ignored him, and turned to Draco.
"Yuna's saying she wants you with us," she stated.
Draco was confused. "Huh?"
"I want to ask you to be my guardian," Yuna replied, glancing at him, then back down.
Wakka couldn't believe it. "Yuna! What? This is no time for jokes, ya? He may be a blitzball whiz kid, but up against fiends, he's a newbie." Personally Draco agreed with him.
She looked up at him once more, and Draco once again was reminded of Potter. Why? "Not a guardian, then... I just want him nearby."
"What? What do you mean?" he asked.
"It's just that, well..."
Lulu interrupted. "We're all going to the temple anyway. Can't this wait till later?"
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..." Yuna said, looking down again.
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Draco told her, smiling at his thoughts. "I'm just not really sure what's going on."
"My apologies," she responded, and they began walking.
As they walked, Draco thought. 'Is it possible that we're all here? Everyone from Hogwarts? But then, are they all sharing these bodies, like I am… and are they really the people that they remind me of? Yuna, Lulu, and Wakka… are they really the Gryffindor Trio?'
Then they came to a set of stone steps, and Wakka gazed up at them proudly. "These stone steps have a history, you know?" Draco looked up, as he continued. "Yep. Lord Ohalland trained here at his peak."
Two of the Aurochs were stretching, and Draco figured that they were preparing to run up the stairs.
"A race, huh? Think you can beat me?" He got prepared, and crouched down, ready to run.
"Yuna, if you would," Wakka said, handing her a handkerchief.
She held it up, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Ready?" she asked, but instead of starting the race, she turned and ran up the stairs.
Wakka was indignant. "Hey! Hey!"
Everyone started up the stairs. But, halfway there, Datto came racing back down, followed by the other Aurochs. He yelled, "L-Look out!", and Wakka raced to the top,
"Everyone, quick!" he called back, "Sinspawn!"
When they were done Draco rested his hands on his knees, panting. "Yeesh!" he managed to gasp. 'This guy may be in shape, but he's not really built for battle."
"Sorry about that!" Wakka exclaimed. "Hoped to break you in a little slower."
"Being a guardian's tiring!" Draco said, as he straightened up.
Wakka grinned at him. "You handled yourself pretty well. You got talent." He said the last grudgingly, as though he hated to admit it.
"Nah." For some reason, the compliment bothered him. Perhaps because he was still unsure who it was coming from. So he changed the subject. "So, what are these "Sinspawn" anyway?"
"Fiends," Lulu replied. "They fall from Sin's body, and are left behind in its wake."
"Leave 'em alone, and Sin comes back for 'em. You gotta be quick!" Wakka said, and they started to climb again, as the voice spoke again,
"That moment when Wakka told me I had talent in battle... I think that was when I started seriously considering becoming a guardian."
As they reached the next landing, Wakka turned to look at him. "So, uh... they got fiends in Zanarkand, too?" he asked.
"Just a few. It's a big deal when one shows up, though," Draco replied, then he realized something. "Hey! Since when have you believed me about Zanarkand, anyway?"
"I been thinking. Maybe people Sin gets to don't die," Wakka stated, and Draco suddenly knew what he was thinking. "Maybe Sin carries 'em through time. Like a thousand years through time. And then, one day, maybe they just pop back, see?"
Lulu's expression was angry, and somewhat sad. "Amazing. Simply amazing." She glared at Wakka. "You make up one theory after another, refusing to face the simple truth. Sin didn't take Chappu anywhere. Sin crushed him and left him on the Djose shore! Your brother won't just pop back. Oh, and one more thing. No matter how much you want it, no one can take Chappu's place." Then she gazed at the rest of the group. "No one can replace Sir Jecht, for that matter. And there's no replacement for Lord Braska, either. It's pointless to think about it, and sad."
During her tirade, Wakka had sat down on the top step. He began talking, seemingly to himself. "I... I could never be what Chappu was." Then he stood up. "Well, stuff happens. Best not to worry."
The voice spoke again. "Wakka, Lulu, and Wakka's brother Chappu. Something had happened between them a long time ago. I was sure of it. Well, whatever it was, it was none of my business, that's for sure. Best not to go there."
As they arrived at the entrance to the temple, three guys in purple uniforms walked out, and Wakka spotted them. "You here to pray for victory, too?"
The first guy spoke, and Draco could have sworn that he sounded like his former team captain, Marcus Flint. "Us? Pray? Who needs to pray? The Luca Goers always win!"
"Oh, yeah? Then why are you here?" Wakka asked hotly.
"We've been praying for some competition this year!" The second guy stated, sounding like their former seeker, Terence Higgs. 'Wait, didn't he graduate last year?' Draco wondered. 'Are there people who aren't actually in Hogwarts here too?'
Then the first guy spoke again. "So, what's you goal this time? You gonna "do your best" again? Ha! It's too bad your best isn't good enough! Why even bother showing up?"
Draco was pissed. He hated to have anyone challenge his skills, even if he really was unfamiliar with the sport. "This time, we play to win!"
"Oooh! Play away! Just remember even kids can play, boys," the Flint wannabe responded.
"See you in the finals!" Wakka called after them as they walked away.
"We'll beat them. We have to!" Draco said.
"You know that team?" Yuna asked, and Draco snarled.
"Putting people down... They're as bad as my old man!" Then he thought, 'and me… that's how I used to be too.'
"But, Sir Jecht was a kind and gentle man!" Yuna said, confused.
"Well, not my Jecht," he replied, and then the voice took over. "Even ten years after he left... just thinking about my old man got me angry. But maybe that was just my way of keeping him... Nah."
They entered the temple, and Draco watched Wakka walk over to one of the statues, and kneel down to pray. "Lord Ohalland, guide our feet."
Draco knelt down to pray with him, and the door to the Cloister of Trials opened. A woman and a man walked out, and spotted Yuna. The woman, whose dress put even Lulu's to shame, stopped in front of Yuna,
"A summoner, are you?" she asked, haughtily.
"My name is Yuna - from the Isle of Besaid," Yuna replied, quietly. Yet she seemed to be appraising this new opponent, for that's obviously what she was.
"Dona," the woman responded. She reminded Draco of Pansy, with that condescending air about her. "So, you're High Summoner Braska's daughter. That's quite a name to live up to. My, my, my..." 'Definitely Parkinson,' he thought. She had a thing about people who were only famous because of their relatives. And she hated Potter, because everyone constantly compared him to his father. She did the same to Draco, but to a lesser extent, because they were engaged. "And all these people are your guardians? My, what a rabble! As I recall, Lord Braska had only two guardians. Quality over quantity, my dear. Whatever were you thinking? I have need of only one guardian. Right, Barthello?"
Barthello, a large muscular man nodded. Draco had no idea who that could be, unless it was Pansy's boyfriend Blaise. He always seemed to agree with her.
But Yuna stood up for herself admirably. "I only have as many guardians as there are people I can trust. I trust them all with my life! To have so many guardians is a joy, and an honor! Even more so than being my father's daughter. Of course, I would never think of questioning your ways, either. So, Lady Dona, I ask of you: please leave us in peace."
"You do what you want," Dona replied, apparently without a comeback. "Barthello, we're leaving."
And they left, as the annoying voice made yet another appearance. "A guardian is someone a summoner can rely on. Someone she can trust with her life. I wondered, did Yuna feel that way about me? What's she smiling about?" The last comment was made as Yuna turned and stared at Draco, a small half-smile on her face.
But then Wakka stood, and the group made its way through the door Dona had come from. There was a circular pattern on the floor, and Draco assumed that it was an elevator, like the one in Besaid.
Then Wakka confirmed his suspicions. "The Fayth is below. Let's do it!"
"The 'Fayth'?" Draco asked.
Lulu smiled. "But first, the Cloister of Trials. Kimahri? Wakka? Ready?"
Kimahri and Wakka nodded.
"Strength, everyone!" Yuna said, as they all stood on the circle. But when Draco moved to join them, Kimahri pushed him away.
"Hey, what gives?" he asked, as he stumbled.
"You're not a guardian yet," Lulu replied, and Draco could have sworn she was smirking.
"We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?" Yuna stated, and the elevator began to move.
Draco couldn't help but remember how long she'd been in the Besaid temple. "Oh, sure! Soon like "tomorrow" soon, I bet!"
Eventually, it came back up, empty, and Draco stepped on it, but quickly jumped off again. But before he could Leave, Dona and Barthello came back in.
Where's Yuna?
Draco pointed at the elevator.
"Then why are you here?" she asked.
"Hey, I'm not a guardian, so I'm not supposed to go in, right?" he said, and she smirked as well. Now he was sure it was Pansy.
"Hmm. Not a guardian, you say?" she asked, and looked at her Guardian…
…who picked Draco up over his shoulder.
"Hey! Wait! Ah! Lemme go!" Draco shouted, as Barthello tossed him onto the elevator.
"Hey! What's the big idea?"
"Just a little game," Dona stated as the elevator began to move.
"This is bad, really bad," Draco said, when he reached the bottom. He tried to make the elevator rise again, but it wouldn't budge. He walked over to the Cloister entrance, and studied the door. "Only guardians allowed, and I'm sure no guardian. Well, I guess it's too late now."
He entered, and began to solve the puzzles as he had done in Besaid. Finally he came to the room where Wakka and the others were.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Wakka exclaimed as he saw him.
"It was Dona and that big musclehead man!" Draco said, making sure that they knew he hadn't entered on purpose.
"Yuna will be the one to suffer the consequences!" Lulu admonished.
"What consequences?" Draco wondered how the temple priests could tell someone wasn't a guardian just by looking.
Wakka spoke up. "She could be excommunicated!" As Draco began pacing, he added, "Just wait."
"So, what's in there anyway?" Draco asked, pointing to another door, just off the chamber.
"The Fayth, remember?" Wakka stated.
"Oh yeah, that thing. Right." It was so confusing, having people answering him without any explanation.
"The Fayth are people who gave their lives to battle Sin," Lulu said, sounding like a teacher. "Yevon took their souls, willingly given from their still-living bodies."
That didn't sound like such a good thing. "Huh?"
Then she continued. "Now they live forever trapped in statues. But when a summoner beckons, the souls of the Fayth emerge once again. That's what we call an aeon."
"All that in this room? S-So what's Yuna doing in there?" he wondered aloud.
Wakka just gave him a look. "She prays with all her heart for a way to defeat Sin."
Draco wandered around, listening to the song he heard coming from the room where Yuna was. It was very beautiful.
Eventually, Yuna came out, unsteady, like in Besaid, but not nearly as weak.
The voice began to speak again. "There was something I didn't tell anyone else that day. That song we heard there, in the temple... I knew it from my childhood. It was proof that Spira and Zanarkand were connected somehow. At least to me it was. Maybe that's why, suddenly, I felt life... I just wanted to go home. I tried to say something, to tell them. But the words wouldn't come."
They walked out, leaving the temple. Outside, Yuna was surrounded by people, which made Draco remember the crowd that had mobbed him in Zanarkand.
And it spoke again. "I thought I had put my feelings for Zanarkand behind me. But they were there, and they grew inside me, bigger, and bigger, till I was just ready to burst."
Yuna looked at him, anxiously. "Are... are you okay?"
"I... I don't know," Draco replied, and he wasn't, really. He wasn't sure what was real anymore.
"What do you want to do?" she asked.
And Draco knew. "To scream real loud." And he did. Everyone turned to look at him, but it felt great, getting his frustration out.
Then, finally, they returned to Kilika, and boarded the boat for Luca. Draco wasn't sure, but he got the feeling that a lot of things would be explained there.
