Chapter Nine- A Higher Law
Draco Malfoy was a prat.
It was a fact well known around Hogwarts. He was also the son of another prat, a prat that happened to work for a certain deranged Dark Lord. As well as being a prat that had most of the Ministry of Magic in his pocket.
Draco Malfoy had not forgotten the indignity of the events of that fascinating Care of Magical Creatures class. He had conveniently skimmed over the fact that Sora had saved his life, harping instead about his expensive robes being destroyed, his humiliation, and whining extensively about nearly being drowned in the Hogwarts Lake.
It was easy to ignore him, especially with Sora saving people's lives from the heartless, and especially after his terrifying duel with that mysterious opponent. Even the other Slytherin's respected him. But Draco found a willing ear in his father, who interested in this 'otherworld brat', took it upon himself to 'avenge' his son. And see for the Dark Lord if he was worth taking an interest in.
Sadly, nothing he could do would make Draco less of a prat, so the 'avenging' thing was out.
So Lucius Malfoy dropped comments around several useful contacts, mentioning the odd boy at Hogwarts that Dumbledore had taken under his wing, and the mysterious dark creatures that besieged the castle. And the dark creatures had begun to spread…
The Ministry, having brushed off the boy from another world as a ridiculous rumor started by bored students, suddenly began to pay attention as a highly respected pureblood began whispering poison in their ears. And Fudge, always ready to try to undermine Albus Dumbledore, eventually resolved to get to the bottom of the issue, deciding a visit to Hogwarts was in order.
The division from the Ministry arrived at Hogwarts the evening that Harry finally managed to physically drag the young Keyblade Master into the Great Hall. Sora managed to eat his way through his meal without looking up from his plate, and was just starting on an admittedly delicious apple pie when the massive doors to the Great Hall flew open with an extraordinary crash.
--
Fudge swept in imperiously, a small army of expressionless aurors following him. His expression was one of superiority and barely hidden glee, and he gave Dumbledore no more that a slight inclination of his head before turning to face the student body, who were gaping at him, many with forks frozen halfway to their mouths.
"Now then! It has come to my attention, as the Minister of Magic, that the school of Hogwarts is harboring a fugitive. I have come to take him into custody for questioning due to suspicion of being a supporter of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. If the child in question would step forward?"
Fudge was too puffed up with managerial importance to really have looked over the students, because even he would have noticed the duck/dog combination staring at him from the Gryffindor table.
"Cornelius!" Dumbledore managed to make his voice thunder, as if a storm was growing inside.
"I must protest! The student in question is no more dark than I am! If you must question him, you many do so here, in my office. There is no reason to drag a mere child before the aurors for something you merely suspect!" Fudge sneered a little.
"Trying to shield the brat, Dumbledore? If he has nothing to hide then there's no reason for you to interfere. My information came from a reliable source; Lucius Malfoy himself brought the boy to my attention- after he apparently almost drowned his son!"
Draco looked like all his dreams had suddenly come true. Subsequently, the others in the hall began to adopt murderous expressions. (Fudge had just disturbed the Sora fan-club)
Before Sora could even begin to feel anything other than shock, Harry leaped to his feet, absolutely enraged.
"You bloody bastard!" It wasn't clear whether he was addressing Draco, Fudge, or maybe both.
"He bloody saved Malfoy's life, and the lives of pretty much everyone here at Hogwarts, and this is how you treat him?" Harry would have continued, for everyone's mouths had simultaneously dropped at hearing the Boy-Who-Lived cursing the Minister, but Sora silenced him with a gentle touch on the shoulder.
"Enough!" Sora and Dumbledore yelled out simultaneously, then shot each other startled looks. Donald and Goofy had nervously gotten to their feet, and were fingering weapons, shooting the intruders uncertain looks.
Sora hadn't met any of the people that were here to 'question' him, but he had heard from Harry about how corrupt and petty the Ministry was.
He wasn't here to join some crazy Dark Lord, and he refused to be detained by these people for saving another's life or just for being himself. He bore the Keyblade, and that was the only law he followed. He pushed away from the table, ignoring Harry who hissed his name, and began to walk calmly towards the 'Minister,' his footsteps loud in the silence.
"Minister Fudge. My name is Sora. My companions are Donald, Royal Wizard, and Goofy, Royal Knight. I mean no harm to anyone of this world." His voice was clear and strong. Clearly unprepared for such a move, Fudge blinked, staring at the two 'animals' who walked beside the boy. Sora took advantage of the man's hesitation, and continued.
"I will not even be here for much longer. Once I have located the Keyhole, I may never venture by this world again. But until I seal it, this world is at risk of destruction. And I am the only one besides King Mickey who can seal it." Fudge re-found his voice.
"So it's true! You really do claim to come from another world! And babbling some nonsense about a Keyhole will not save you! You're obviously a danger to us!"
"Why?" Sora wanted to know, tightening his hands into fists, unconsciously shifting into something resembling a fighting stance.
"Because I saved an ungrateful boy's life? Because I'm fighting against an invasion here I'm uniquely suited for? For trying to save your world? Tell me, Minister, how I am a danger to you!"
Donald and Goofy had never heard such venom in Sora's voice before. Fudge fumbled, white- faced, losing ground before the hard blue stare of the odd boy, and the wave of sheer anger- and sadness- that enveloped him. The whole hall was rapt.
"You're, you've got to come with me- and, and answer-" Sora overrode Fudge, curling his lip in contempt for the weak, greedy man who stood before him.
"Answer what? For what? I do not answer to you, Minister. I do not interfere in how you run your world- and you do not interfere with me." Fudge squeezed his wand angrily.
"How dare you think yourself above the law? You are-" Again, Sora overrode him.
"Above the law, Minister? Hardly. I just answer to a higher law than you." And Sora flung out one hand and summoned Oathkeeper, holding it flat out in front of him. The Minister staggered backwards as the glittering weapon appeared in Sora's hand, humming with power. The aurors snapped to attention, processing this threat. Sora followed their movements from the corner of his eye, unworried.
"Do you know what this is, Minister? It's called the Keyblade, and no other power in the worlds can match it. In the hands of it's chosen wielder, it can bring wonder or ruin. It is what brought me here- and what will take me away. It is the weapon that has doomed me to fight against the heartless, and yet enabled me to protect those I care about. It will probably mean my death, one of these days." Sora let his eyes caress his weapon, mouth twisting oddly. He shifted his gaze back to the Minister, his eyes bright and hard.
"I cannot allow myself to be detained by such as you for so petty a reason. If I don't stop the Organization, the universe may very well fall to darkness. And trust me, Minister, you know nothing of true darkness."
"You're mad!" Fudge protested, but he had backed away from Sora and his eyes were wild.
"Maybe. But I'm still right. I suggest you leave now, Minister, and avoid advice from death-eaters." But Fudge could not bear being beaten by a mere child, and ordered his aurors to 'neutralize the threat'. Sora shook his head, mournfully.
"Idiot."
All in all, it took Sora less than a minute to 'neutralize the threat'. He was careful to pull his blows, Donald softened his spells, and Goofy was positively gentle when he knocked them out.
Fudge was left gaping foolishly, surrounded by the unconscious aurors- the best of the best beaten by a fifteen year old boy and his strange companions.
Sora gave Dumbledore and the rest of the speechless teachers a little bow and departed the hall to a ringing silence. As soon as the doors clicked behind him and his friends, the room burst into utter chaos.
--
With Hogwarts still up in arms about the confrontation between Sora and Fudge, Sora fled to the quiet peacefulness of his room, wiping out the heartless foolish enough to get between him and his sanctuary. He paced hurriedly before the Room of Requirement, and gaining entrance, flung himself onto his bed.
"Aarggghhhh!" He screamed into his pillow, absolutely sick of this world already. Donald and Goofy settled themselves on either side of his bed, watching him cautiously.
"Sora? You…alright?" Sora swallowed any number of creative responses, and bounding to his feet, summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion, and began to force himself through a long, exhaustive training session.
He made a decision- as soon as he was calm, he was going into his penseive. It was time he found out what was wrong so he could get out of here.
--
"Right- Donald, Goofy? I'm gonna need you guys to keep an eye on me. Make sure I'm not interrupted, and if anything seems to go wrong, pull me out, okay?" The two exchanged glances, obviously not trusting this strange magic with their friend. However, they'd lost the argument, and merely nodded unhappily.
Sora ran his fingers around the magical object sitting before him, and took a deep breath.
You are Roxas.
He then plunged himself into the shifting silver sea of his memories. Donald and Goofy stood nervous guard over him.
--
Sora fell through the air, gasping in shock as he fell through heavy mist. He twisted as he fell, and saw coming up towards him a flash of green. He impacted heavily with the ground, but for some reason was unhurt. He sat up, dazed, trying to work out where he'd fallen.
Where in his memories he'd fallen.
He twisted, glancing around, and to his shock, saw himself, leaning back on his arms in the middle of rolling green plains. Donald and Goofy slumbered beside him, and not far away a beaten dirt path ran into a crossroads. He stared at his other self, his 'past' self, he realized, as he got to his feet and walked a little way to where the road split in different directions.
"Ahead lies something you need, but to claim it you need to lose something dear."
Sora stared at the Organization member, cold. He didn't remember this at all.
Flash.
Sora found himself standing amongst palm trees, feeling a memory-sea wash against his feet. The island was quiet and peaceful. Kairi giggled over something Riku said, and Sora dashed over, refusing to waste such a beautiful day…
Flash.
"Haven't you figured it out yet, Sora? This is Castle Oblivion. Every level you reach means more lost memories."
Flash.
White walls. Endless halls. Sad-eyed girl clutching a sketchbook to her heart.
Her un-beating heart…
Sora gasped as his memories flashed by almost too fast to process, trying to regain control. Perhaps he shouldn't have dumped so many in. But then, that was the point, using the penseive to track what he couldn't.
Flash.
"Roxas! Hurry up Roxas! We wanna go to the beach!" He knew these people.
Flash.
"Nobody would miss me."
"That's not true. I would."
"Who are you?"
"He looks just like you."
Sora completely lost his grip, and was flung wildly through memory after memory- some he remembered, some he did not. White mists gathered thickly, as if trying to shield him from them, but he fought his way through as best as he could.
--
Donald and Goofy lunged forward as Sora began to struggle. They tried to pull him out, but Sora didn't budge.
Then he began to scream, a long, muffled cry that came to them echoing, as if from very far away…
--
Harry, Ron and Hermione were just knocking on the door of the Room, when they heard a muffled scream. Exchanging horrified glances, they began to bang on the door, calling out loudly.
Goofy sprang over to the door, ripping it open, and three people fell over at his feet. Donald was still shaking Sora, trying to pull him from the penseive, but nothing seemed to be working. Harry regained his feet and dashed into the room, heart hammering wildly as Sora's muffled cries rang around his ears.
"What's wrong!"
"We can't get him out!"
The Golden Trio rushed to help their friends. Sora was making heart-breakingly distressed sounds, writhing under whatever mental torment he was enduring. Physical force seemed to do nothing, so cursing, Donald backed up to try a spell.
Then Sora fell silent.
More worried by the sudden silence, Harry reaching out with one shaking hand, whispering,
"Sora?" Then Sora raised his tear-stained face from the penseive like a drowning man, tossing his head, straining for a desperate gasp for air. For a long minute he stared blankly ahead, not heeding the frightened calls around him.
He began to laugh, and laughing toppled off the side of the bed and lay curled up on the floor. Slowly his laughter dissolved into sobs, as the broken boy muttered,
"Every reflection has a face, huh?"
--
It took a good half an hour for Sora to calm down enough for them to hesitantly broach the question of what the hell had just happened. Goofy fussed with a pot of tea he'd summoned from Dobby the house elf, meticulously pouring out cups for everyone and watching Sora drink his with a steely eye.
"Sora? Did you…find what you were looking for?" Harry finally bit the bullet.
Sora adopted a slightly deranged expression out of place on his normally cheery face.
"Oh, you could say that."
"Um- do you want to tell us?" Sora appeared to think about this for a moment.
"Some of it, I think I can," he said at last,
"But everything's still pretty confusing- a lot of my memories were under a shroud- like they were competing. Donald, you and Goofy will have the same thing."
"What? But, that's impossible, isn't it?" Sora narrowed his eyes.
"Donald, does Castle Oblivion mean anything to you?" The mage shook his head slowly, but an odd apprehension gripped him for a moment, and Sora noticed.
"Goofy?"
"Nope," the loyal knight said.
"What's Castle Oblivion?" Sora smiled the grim smile he'd been wearing too often lately.
"From what my memories could tell me- and damn, they're messed up- it was a castle we were lured to after we sealed Kingdom Hearts. A group of rebelling Organization members were there, and they were trying to gain control over me- and thus the Keyblade." Hermione was following his words closely, and now her eyes widened.
"Oh no…I think I see. By erasing or changing your memories, they were going to reshape you into something they could control." The young witch looked ill.
"Exactly. There was- there was this girl, and somehow she was doing it, but she didn't want to, and I think she ended up helping us."
"But Sora, how do we know this really happened- and it isn't just that penseive," Donald begged a little plaintively. Sora leant his chin onto his hand, thinking. At last he said,
"Donald, Goofy, you remember when we woke up in Twilight Town, and Jiminy's book was empty except for the note at the end?"
"Thank Namine," the mage muttered.
"Yeah, and remember when Leon and everyone told us they all forgot about us for a while- then remembered all at once?"
His companions nodded slowly, while Ron and Harry turned their heads to follow the conversation, completely lost.
"Yeah. I'm not sure, but because Namine was rewriting my memories- and thus everyone's who knew me- when she undid it, I couldn't have the memory of what had occurred, and everything else. We chose having our true memories back, at the price of the time in Castle Oblivion." Donald's feathery brow was wrinkled as he followed this.
"But if that's true, Sora, why do you remember now?" Sora laughed bitterly.
"I don't, not really. Just lots of flashes- fights, dreams. Namine was the clearest, for whatever reason. I don't remember whatever fake past she conjured for me, but I can remember parts of that cursed castle. And I was right- I did meet Axel before."
"Sora," Harry said suddenly,
"Who's Roxas?" Sora went absolutely still, and Harry froze as well as Sora's eyes met his with a furious intensity.
"Where did you hear that name?!" Harry leant back a little, breathe catching in his throat.
"You were muttering it- before." Harry didn't dare ask out loud, but his eyes asked for him.
"No one would miss me."
"That's not true. I would."
Sora managed a breath. He could barely manage it over the tidal wave of inner pain that howled with furious intensity.
Sora wasn't sure- couldn't be sure, but he suspected, oh, he did…
Nobodies are created when people with powerful hearts become heartless.
When the heart leaves and only the darkness is left.
Sora, Roxas. Roxas, Sora.
God, even the bloody name…Add a bloody 'x' in and stir for good measure.
"Nobody, Harry," Sora said with absolute honesty.
"Just…a dream I had once. It's gone now." Partly true.
You are Roxas. Every reflection has a face…
Bloody Hat.
--
"By the way, Sora- you were unbelievably cool down in the Great Hall with the Bastard."
"Thanks- I rather liked your rant, personally."
"Boys," Hermione hissed.