Lightning Summoner
By James the Fox
"I feel alone. Everyone but Naruto has went out for pizza and ramen."
Naruto: "RAMEN? They are getting ramen? WAIT FOR ME!"
"NOOOOOO!!!!" (Stares at readers) "You're all I have left. DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!"
(Readers shift uncomfortably. They take a look at the still-open door. Someone coughs.)
"... Don't move." (Presses button. The doors slam closed and lock. A sign appears that reads: "Don't open until fanfiction is over.")
Chapter 2: Diagon Alley
Harry got up bright and early. He quietly left his room, walking down to the Great Hall. Ensiath was already waiting for him.
"You're pretty fast. How'd you find your way down here?"
"I spoke with the unsent. They directed me here."
"Hmph." The moment that Harry sat at the table, food appeared in front of him.
"Wow. Do the waiters just wait for you to sit while under some kind of invisibility spell, then place it there?"
"That's the magic of the castle… And a few House-Elves, I guess."
"House-Elves… Did you see them?"
"No, but I can sense their magic flowing through the place. They can appear and disappear anywhere in this castle's aura as they please." Harry finished his meal, then stood up.
"I should be training… I took way too much time getting down here." Harry bowed politely and rushed out to the grounds. Ensiath sighed. The boy was far too enthusiastic. Just like his predecessor…
"So, what is he training with?" Dumbledore walked up to Ensiath, almost out of nowhere.
"The art that has been passed down through his line for many generations."
"Summoning?"
"Yes, but he also must learn the other abilities a Summoner must use in their duties. Summoning, Sending, etiquette, the art of battle, and various Spiran magic and alchemy. You might want to have your staff come outside to eat so they can know what they'll be dealing with for the next seven years." With that remark, Ensiath laughed. It was a strange laugh that, like his voice, showed only the slightest emotion. The guardian stood and left. Dumbledore considered it for a moment then called a House-Elf. He quickly wrote a note then used a copying spell to duplicate it. He gave the Elf these messages and requested that he bring one up to each of the staff member's quarters. He then swiftly strode out the door.
Harry produced his staff from his bottomless pocket and spun it a few times. It had been a while since he actually used it, and he was probably rusty. He then focused on the magical energies within him self, and called upon his "trademark" spell, Thunder. He raised his staff, thrusting it quickly into the sky, al the while thinking of a thunderstorm. Almost as if in response, a single lightning bolt came from the otherwise clear sky.
"Yeah, I still got it… Okay, now for some target practice." He turned to Ensiath, who had just come out of the castle. "You got the targets?"
"Yes." Ensiath pulled out a strange machine that looked like a disc launcher. "It should work here, thanks to the spell work on it." He placed it on the ground, pressed a button, and stood back. The machine roared to life, and started spewing out strange floating discs. The discs stopped in midair and produced living illusions of various creatures. Large birds, bees, lizards, and wolfs appeared in a circle around Harry along with creatures made almost completely of different colored gooey substances, with organs like eyes and stomachs being the only thing that showed that the were living. They stalked around the Summoner, almost taunting him with their grins. Harry thrust his staff at a wolf and a fireball launched from it, almost hitting. All at once, the fight was on. Fiends struck from all sides, Harry dodging and blocking, sometimes getting enough room to cast Fire and Thunder to send the creatures to their fake demise. The creatures were such powerful illusions that they took physical form and could harm and be harmed, but when one finally was hit, it simply hit the ground and disappeared. He dodged a wolf's claw effortlessly, retaliating with a single strike at its neck. The wolf fell, only to be replaced with a blue jelly monster. The battle continued for a few more minutes, until the fiends started to overtake Harry. By this time, a majority of the teachers had arrived to watch the spectacle. The ones who didn't were Snape and the DADA teacher, who was curently traveling.
"Time to end this…" The Summoner smiled and spun the staff in a strange manner, finally thrusting the staff into the sky. From the staff's tip came a single magic circle, glowing in midair for only a short time. A cloud parted and out came a small, dragon-like creature that had a bird like shape to it. It's legs were bluish-purple talons that were connected to a red, scaly body. A tail the same color as its legs swung, striking a few of the fiends away from Harry. It turned around, landing and looking at Harry with caring yellow eyes. "Ready to fight, Valefor?" Valefor nodded and took flight again, Harry hanging on to a ring that was pierced into Valefor's right wing like an earring. With cat-like agility, Harry launched onto Valefor's back, hanging onto the braid of hair-like scales protruding from the back of Valefor's head. "Let's go!" The dragon dove down, roaring and sending several lightning spells down upon the enemy. When Valefor rose into the sky again, the teachers were astounded to find only a few fiends left. Dumbledore stared at Ensiath.
"He can actually control that dragon?"
"Control? Oh, no. Summoners can only call the Aeons forward. From there, the two must work together. Also, Valefor is not technically a dragon. She was a human before she chose to take on this form. She would take offense to being called a dragon, monster, or anything like that, by the way." Ensiath looked on to watch Valefor create a magic circle in front of her, which started to spin quickly as it charged energy into itself. Valefor lifted her head back, then forcefully pressed her beak into the circle. On the other side of the circle a large multitude of energy blasts launched at the ground, blasting the fiends to dust. Valefor landed and harry dismounted, stumbling a bit as he landed. Acting as in response, Valefor caught the back of Harry's coat, lifting him back into a standing position.
"I guess I still not used to flying around like that. We'll get the hang of it, eventually…"
Valefor crooned in response, and Harry turned around, looking at her incredulously.
"What's that supposed to mean? This is only my fifth time summoning you, and only my second time actually riding you. I'm just an apprentice, what do you expect?"
Valefor gave what could be a teasing look and chirped a little bit, then flew away, disappearing behind a cloud.
"Yeah, well… takes one to know one!" Harry turned around and picked up the now fallen pieces of technology that had spawned the fiends. "So, now what?"
Ensiath looked up a bit. "I was thinking… maybe we should collect your school supplies." Harry stared.
"So soon? We just got here!"
"There's only a few days until term starts." Harry jumped at once.
"ONLY A FEW DAYS? Well, what are we waiting for? Sin's rebirth?" Harry dashed into the castle, looking frantic.
"… Well, that put him into motion." Ensiath calmly turned around and walked into the castle.
A few minutes later, Harry and Ensiath walked through the Floo to Diagon Alley. The place was filled with people, and Harry kept his hood up so his scar wouldn't be seen. He knew what it was, and knew that if anyone saw it, here or in Spira, they'd know who he was at once. Even the greatest White Mages of Spira weren't able to remove the scar, so he had to live with it. He walked into a clothing shop so he could be fitted with Hogwarts robes, along with a few other wizarding robes. After all the measurements where done, Harry stared at all the designs, amazed at how different the clothes were.
"Not a trenchcoat to be found…just robes, robes, and more robes…" Harry sighed.
"Hmph… You're not the only one who's annoyed by the limited wardrobe," Ensiath remarked.
"Well, at least I have all the clothes I brought with me from Spira…"
"All stored in the Dress Sphere your cousin gave you," Ensiath said, a small grin on his face being the only sign of him being amused. Harry knew where this was going.
"Too bad some of the clothes bundled with it were… stupid looking… Especially that Mascot outfit…" Harry sighed as he collected the now-finished clothes and walked towards the exit. Ensiath followed, obvious amusement in his eyes, although the rest of his face showed no sign of emotion.
"I thought you liked Moombas…"
"When I was 7."
"Yet you still keep that Moomba Doll in your pocket where you can hold it without anyone seeing." Ensiath noticed that that was a little too far even before Harry went dead silent. He knew why the Summoner kept that doll, and Ensiath could never blame him for it. Harry was silent until they walked into Ollivander's Wand Shop. Harry looked around, more interested in the magic in the air than in the wands behind the counter.
"I was wondering when you would arrive, Mr. Potter." Harry looked to see Octavius Ollivander, the owner of the shop. "I take it you have been well." Ollivander was a powerful wizard, one who had existed for thousands of years. Of course, he wasn't able to live that long…
"Yeah. How about you? Has your business been doing well?"
"Yes. How's your staff? Purifying Salt and Lightning Gem core and wood from Macalania, good for Dispel, Thunder, and Blizzard spells, as I recall."
"You'd be recalling correctly. I need to get an addition so that it can channel the Wizarding style of magic. Any suggestions?"
"I believe so… although I don't think it will work…" He turned around and searched through his stock. "… Here it is. A strange one, this is… Holly and Phoenix Feather, 11 inches. Nice and supple." Harry took the wand and felt a great amount of power flow through him.
"I guess this is the one."
"Indeed… Harry, it is interesting that it would be this wand in particular that would choose you."
"Why wold that be?"
"Because, the phoenix that gave a feather to this wand… gave a feather to only one other wand. That wand gave you that scar." Harry looked at the wand.
"I… see… You know, you're just as creepy as when I first met you." Ollivander laughed at that.
"Your ancestor, Ralpes Braska, told me that many times."
"Well, let's get this over with." Harry gave his new wand and his old staff to the old wizard. Ollivander waved his own wand over the staff and the wand, and they seemed to fuse. With a short glow, the wand disappeared, fusing completely with the staff. The staff looked no different, but Harry could tell that it had new magical power. He picked up, surprised to see what looked like phoenix feathers falling from the tip of the staff, fading from existence before they touched the ground. "Well, that's interesting."
"Use that staff well. It is the first of its kind."
"Any new properties I should know about?"
"It may be useful with holy elemental magic."
"I see… Here's the pay." Harry pulled out a few gold coins and put them on the counter. He turned around and left. As the shop door closed, Ollivander turned back to his work, small balls of light following him.
"Well, another chapter. Just a note: Moombas, for anyone interested, come from FF8 and appear in FF10 as dolls. In Lightning Summoner, these creatures are the Spiran counterpart to the real world's popular cartoon characters. If you want a picture, Google image search it. It should be one of the first pictures. As for why Harry still has a Moomba Doll, that will come later."
Harry: "So… I just noticed something… What was with the floating lady in chapter one? Who was she?"
"… I can't tell you that. But I will tell you that she will make several appearances and have a major role in the story."