Harry Planeswalker
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
AN While this will have elements and references to Magic the Gathering, its best just to consider this its own thing.
*Knock*Knock*
Harry peeked his eye open at the knock, glancing to the door to see the bushy-haired girl had returned. She was giving him a rather pointed look while glancing to the window and nodding her head to the front of the train. Harry just nodded a few times to indicate he understood. She left, somewhat exasperated, as he gingerly got up and stretched.
"Wonderful half-hour nap," he said with a smile before glancing over to Ron, who was snoring. Rather loudly. "Hey, Ron, ride's over," he called, nudging the boy with his shoes. Harry glanced to the now-closed door before smirking as he brought out his wand and pointed it at Ron.
Ron started awake as something shocked him in the head. "What was that!?" Ron exclaimed, practically standing on his seat.
"We're here," Harry informed, nodding to the window showing the night sky. And more importantly, the train had stopped.
Ron's eyes went wide as he forgot his literal shock. "Bloody hell, I still need to get changed!" Ron cursed as he rushed to grab his uniform out of his luggage.
"I'll leave you to that," Harry said as he stepped out into the crowd of children loading off the train. Once off, he took the time to breathe in the cold and damp night air with a smile.
"First years, this way! First years, don't be shy!" a loud voice called, drawing Harry's attention to a man with a light.
As far as Harry knew, that meant him, and so he joined the crowd as they crowded towards the man. Idly, Harry noted the name on the benches nearby was "Hogsmeade" and wondered what was with these wizard and their fixation on pigs. Maybe they sacrificed pigs in magic rituals?
"Alright, into the boats!" the bearded man called, waving them along.
"Put the youngest into boats. That's not asking for trouble," Harry muttered in amusement, glancing around for any sign of Hermione, but to no avail.
In no time at all, he found that the students had been brought to a small fleet of wooden boats. Magic boats at that, all self-sailing once they were filled with three or four students each.
He glanced around at the lake's dark surface warily before turning to his sailing companions. Two of them were rather dumb-looking with heavy builds for their age, but the third was obviously a bit more than them. Silvery hair, grey eyes, robes of a higher quality. He was trying to look important with a confident smirk and self-entitled way he sat there, putting on the show of being less interested in what was going on than he really was.
"So, I guess you're the one in charge of these two?" Harry said as he eyed the boy knowingly.
He started minutely, not expecting to be addressed so forwardly. "I suppose you could say that," he said, trying to sound smooth. "I'm Draco Malfoy. That's Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Harry," Harry gave in return. The other two didn't react. Harry doubted they were even paying attention to the conversation. But there was a spark of suspicion in Draco's eyes as they glanced to the forehead. Harry smiled mysteriously, bringing a finger to his lips in a shushing movement. Having Draco's full attention, he moved his bangs up to reveal the apparently-famous scar.
Draco's shock was obvious before the boy gathered his nerve. "So, you are here," Draco noted curiously. "Funny. There were rumors that you had disappeared."
"Isn't that what wizards do?" Harry retorted easily. "So, what else do they say about me?"
"Lot of things. Some say you've been living with a secret order of mages. Others say you've slain a dragon already," Draco said with mirth.
"Eh, depends on your definition of "dragon,"" Harry answered with a shrug. Draco rose an eyebrow at that but didn't press. "Well, you're smarter than the last person. The idea of me being THAT Harry never even crossed his mind."
"Well, not everyone is meant for cunning," Draco said with a self-pleased look.
Harry chuckled. "So, how many people fall out of these boats a year?"
"Well, they have charms to keep them from rocking, so more than they'd like to admit," Draco answered with a snort.
"Ha! I think I'm going to like you, Draco," Harry said, offering his hand out to Draco to shake.
The boy looked overly pleased, as if he won some grand prize, as he reached forth and clasped Harry's hand. As they shook, Draco furrowed his brow from the small yet sudden headache.
"You okay, Drake?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow as he released the hand.
"Yeah, just a headache. Probably something in this lake," Draco assured dismissively.
Harry nodded before looking thoughtful. "So, you got much homeschooling?"
"What-schooling?" Draco repeated in confusion.
"Ah, sorry, Muggle-slang. I'm basically assuming you were already taught some of the stuff at home before school ever started. Tutors, all that," Harry explained.
"Well, of course," Draco said smugly. "I'd offer to show you, but, well, it sounds like you might be a bit ahead of me already," Draco said, almost as a challenge.
"You'll just have to wait and see, Drake," Harry said with a grin.
"Ugh, don't call me that," Draco requested.
"Why? You have a badass nickname," Harry pointed out.
"Should I call you Hare then?" Draco challenged.
"Sure," Harry answered with a shrug.
"Look, proper wizarding folk, here at least, don't like butchering our names," Draco explained.
Harry looked up in consideration. "Are you sure that's a Proper Wizarding thing and not a thing with your father?" he inquired.
"What are you on about?" Draco asked with a scowl.
"His name is Lucius, right?" Harry asked meaningfully. "Lucius, Lucy?"
"Are you making fun of my father's name?" Draco asked with a glare.
"No, I'm pointing out that people probably have and hence your father might have an issue with nicknames," Harry corrected factually.
Draco opened his mouth before closing it, not having a proper retort to that ready. Nor did he have time to make one as their destination came into view.
Harry turned in the boat, taking in the sight of the castle, which was obviously magical to him. Glancing around, Harry saw that a lot of the kids were awed by their first sight of the school. And Harry had to admit, it was majestic and had a welcoming atmosphere about it. Which was good, seeing as it was a school for children. It wouldn't do to have them emptying their bowels as they sailed to a more ominous castle.
"That is a lovely sight," Harry said out loud.
"You ever seen anything like it?" Draco asked idly, staring as well.
Harry smiled at the obvious attempt to fish for information. "It's not my first magic castle, and it probably won't be my last."
Soon enough, they had reached the school dock, with the man from earlier waving them along. "Careful now, watch your feet," he called out.
"Who is he, anyway?" Harry asked idly.
"Just some oaf that tends to the grounds. Haggard or Hagrid, I think," Draco answered, watching with something between disappointment and amusement as Goyle nearly fell off the docks.
"Alright, everyone just up the steps now," Hagrid called as he started to lead them up the admittedly long path of steps.
Harry was so tempted to try teleporting but decided that might draw too much attention. So, he walked with the other students as they ascended to the castle proper, with some of them becoming very winded.
Harry was surprised they hadn't made a magic-based escalator for this place.
"Hey, watch it!" a familiar voice exclaimed, prompting Harry to pause and turn. He spotted Ron and Crabbe a few steps behind, both about to tumble backward and down the steps.
"Oh, by my spark," Harry said with an eye-roll as he managed to grab both of them and pull them onto steady footing with surprising ease. "Are you two trying to end up injured on the first day?"
"He tried to shove me!" Ron accused with a glare.
"Did not!" Crabbe denied, looking ready to punch Ron with a raised fist.
Only for Harry to grab him by the wrist "I will drop you down the stairs, Vincent."
"Listen to him, Crabbe," Draco said, smirking at Ron. "After all, I doubt he can help tripping over those hand-me-downs. Wait, do you have your undershirt on backwards?" Draco mocked, eyeing the clothes.
Ron flushed doubly. "Shut up you git!"
"Hmm, low manners, no money, red hair. Let me guess, Weasley?" Draco guessed condescendingly.
"At least I don't act like I enjoy the taste of my own arse!" Ron retorted hotly, getting a glare from Draco.
"Girls, girls, you're both pretty," Harry teased, clapping a hand on their shoulders before leaning in with a scowl. "Save the animosity for when we're not on stairs."
Ron simmered a bit before heading up the stairs, while Draco eyed Harry oddly. "Are you friends with that weasel?"
"Nah, just shared a compartment with the guy. Snores louder than the train engine," Harry answered good-naturedly.
"You know, you should be careful with who you associate with," Draco warned.
Harry just chuckled off the words as they continued up. Eventually, they reached the castle itself, Hagrid departing from the group after showing them the staircase to enter. At the top of these final steps, the students came to a stop before an older woman with a stern disposition and, in Harry's opinion, a rather cliché witch's hat.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" she greeted, sounding genuinely happy to see new students.
Good, Harry always preferred people who enjoyed their jobs.
"Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates, but before you can take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses," she informed, obviously aware that the students were antsy, tired, hungry, and excited all at once.
Houses? He should have probed a bit deeper when he read Draco's mind for basic, important information about this world.
"They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin," she continued, pausing to look over them all.
Harry rose an eyebrow. He knew he didn't imagine that slight, disapproving tone at Slytherin, did he? Well, that could only mean a few things. Either she had a bias against that house or there was a legitimate issue with those put in Slytherin. Either way, interesting.
"Now while you are here, your house will be like your family," she continued sternly.
Harry had to bite his tongue. He sincerely doubted any of these magical whelps were like his family. Still, they divided up the students from year one? Harry could smell the over-the-top school rivalries already.
"Your triumph will earn you points. Any rule breaking and you will lose points. At the year's end, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup."
"Trevor!" a boy called out as he stepped forward, drawing attention to the toad near the witch's feet. The boy looked up sheepishly at her as the other kids giggled. "Sorry."
Harry ignored that as he put together what the woman just said. Now he saw what the House system was about: divide students into groups, make them compete for a prize. Make them conform by making it so their actions affected the rest of their housemates. Meaning if a student got in trouble, he'd be shamed by his own peers, their so-called family. Sanctioned and engineered peer pressure.
Harry had a feeling there were some suicides here that the staff didn't like to talk about.
The woman regained her composure, finishing her speech. "The sorting ceremony will begin momentarily."
She turned to leave, taking one more glance over them and- did he imagine it or did her eyes linger on him for a moment?
Oh well, it didn't matter. They'd know who he was in a few moments. He glanced over to an obviously bored Draco. "I take it by that coy smirk I saw that you expect to be in Slytherin?" Harry guessed knowingly.
"Call it a family tradition," Draco said smugly before looking rather neutral. "And you?"
"No plan in the slightest," Harry admitted with a wide smile.
"Well, you might be disqualified from Slytherin if that's normal for you," Draco stated, trying to sound amused.
"Not really. I just improvise when the unexpected happens," Harry admitted freely, looking over the students. "So, for the record, there any prize for getting the house cup besides bragging points?"
"Isn't that enough?" Draco countered smugly.
"Fair," Harry admitted in kind.
"I'm pretty sure my father would have told me if there was. Or my godfather," Draco mused, glancing to the side. "Is that girl with the hair staring at me or you?"
"Me, she knows who I am," Harry muttered without looking, getting a look from Draco. "Don't ask. Want to meet her?"
"What she's like?" Draco asked warily.
"Probably the smartest one here," Harry answered, excluding himself for the moment.
"Really?" Draco asked in interest.
Harry nodded, waving her over. She was about to speak when he made a shushing gesture. "Surprise," he said with a grin. She smiled and nodded. "Draco, this is Hermione. Hermione, this is the boy who doesn't appreciate having Drake as a badass nickname."
"Really?" Draco drawled with an eye-roll.
"Better than some of my nicknames," Hermione said. "Are you two friends?"
"Yep, we even shook on it," Harry answered instantly. "Now, Hermione, I just told Draco you're a smart witch. Mind proving me right?"
Hermione blinked, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Can I see your wand?" she asked Draco
"What?" Draco said in surprise.
"S-sorry, I just mean see it, not hold it," Hermione answered sheepishly.
Harry blinked, trying to ignore the double innuendo those two accidentally made.
Draco looked suspicious before pulling out his wand, holding it up for her to see.
"I did a lot of research into what parts of a wand mean, in a generalized sense," Hermione explained, eyeing it curiously. "Apparently, some people treat them like the zodiac."
Now she had both of their full attention.
"Is that Cedar?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.
"Hawthorn," Draco corrected with a smirk.
"That means you'll be good with healing and offensive spells," Hermione said, making Draco look owlishly.
"It does? I will?" Draco asked in confusion, looking at his wand as if it was the first time he held it.
Hermione nodded. "Unless I'm wrong, it's about ten inches? That means the wand is suited for finer control, even if it makes the spells a bit weaker."
"Sometimes finesse beats brute force," Harry mused, waving for Hermione to continue.
"What kind of core is it?" Hermione pressed on.
"Unicorn?" Draco answered, finding himself very interested in what this girl had to say now.
"That's good! Wands with unicorn hairs fail the least at spells under normal circumstance, granted you know the spell," Hermione instructed before looking uncertain. "There was also a part about flexibility, but I'm not sure how accurate that would be."
"Right, I'd rather not look like an idiot for breaking my wand on the first day," Draco agreed idly. "Well, what does the flexibility mean anyway?"
"Hmm. The best way to summarize it is that the less flexible it is, the more suited the wand is for someone that specializes, with the most flexible inclined to having no specialties," Hermione explained.
"So, reliable and fine control with an inclination for combat and healing spells," Harry summarized, patting Draco on the back. "Congrats, she just made you sound kind of awesome. Potentially."
"Y-yes, right," Draco said as he regathered himself. "And where, may I ask, did you learn all of that? Are you related to Olivander?"
"Oh no, nothing like that. I just managed to find a book about the characteristics of wands after I bought my own," Hermione answered with a smile.
"And you learned all of that, between getting your wand and today?" Draco said with a headshake. "That is..."
"Nerdy? Bookish?" Hermione guessed with a scowl, expecting it by this point.
"No, no, I'm genuinely impressed. I vaguely knew the wood and cores were best for certain things, but I didn't know that amount. I suppose that's why replacement wands don't always work out the best," Draco mused.
Hermione looked relieved not to be insulted for her intelligence, causing Harry to smile before he heard the door opening again as the witch returned. "Whelp, looks like our time is up," Harry murmured, drawing their attention forward.
"We're ready for you," the witch said simply before motioning them to follow her to the doors.
"It's been a pleasure," Hermione said as she reached a hand out to Draco.
"Perhaps it has," Draco said, completing another handshake as he tried not to smile.
"Congrats," Harry said to Draco as Hermione walked away. "You might have just made a friend without using your family name."
Draco blinked and realized Harry never fully introduced him. "You did that on purpose," Draco accused dryly.
"And I'm not sorry," Harry said, moving to follow the group.
Draco grimaced, wondering if Harry Potter was always going to be like this. He certainly wasn't how he imagined.
End of Chapter
So, there we go, Harry has met Draco and finds his sense of self-importance amusing, and is trying to make him and Hermione friends. Why, only he knows, but I will say he's not trying to ship them or anything. And Harry offers...interesting observations on the Wizards world as an outside observer that is use to magic.
For the record, Harry is not OP here. Powerful yes, but his big advantage is that his magic and abilities work on rules and limitations that HP-Wizards are not aware of. For instance, yes, Harry just casually read Draco's mind. Unlike legilimency, his works via touch instead of eyesight.
Okay, confession/exlaiation time. This story is based on several CYOAs, stitched together to form a backstory and plot. I based the premise of this story off a CYOA about becoming a Planeswalker(not MtG based) while the zodiac-ish information about wands comes from a Harry Potter CYOA. That said, I'm hardly sticking to them perfectly, so best just to sit back and enjoy the show.
p a treon . com (slash) akumakami64
