Lightning Summoner

By James The Fox

"I'm back with a special update schedule!"

Shadow: "Shcedule."

"Schedule!"

Shadow: "... You... schedule..." (Bursts out laughing)

"Really! I've come up with kind of pattern for how I'll go about Updating! You see... Apparently, lot's of people are reading XIII Ninja, plus the ideas for that one seem to come ot me more often, so that will get updated more often. Then, after I wirte a chapter of that, I update on the story I haven't updated on in the longest amount of time. For example, right now, other than my completed fic GoW and the special side story CotF, Lightning Summoner is at the bottom of my list when it comes to most recently updated. Therefore, Since I just posted XIII Ninja, I'll do Lightning Summoner! Then comes XIII Ninja, then Oh No, Not Another One, then XIII Ninja, then Gathering of Worlds 2! Pretty smart, huh?"

Shadow: "... That actually... kinda makes sense... in a twisted way."

"Did you expect anything else from me?"

Shadow: "Point taken."

"On to the Fic!"

NOTE: "Blah Blah Blah Blaahh..." Singing

NOTE 2: 7th book spoilers! ALERT, ALERT!

Chapter 5: Ice, Cats, and Al Bhed Potions
By the following Wednesday, Harry had most of the school's layout memorized. He got out of bed that morning, a yawn escaping his lips as he lifted a small green orb laying on the trunk next to his bed. As he clutched the gem in his palms he spun slowly, concentrating on the sphere and what he wanted it to do. It shone a dim emerald light which swirled around him and his nightclothes, which transformed. When the light faded, Harry wore his usual dark red robes, gloves, and boots. He pulled his staff out of his magically-enlarged pockets, casting a Haste spell to get him out of the common room as fast as he could. He ran to the main area of stairways, jumping over the railing with a small scream of delight as he fell 2 floors down (flipping 4 times for every floor at a magically induced high speed) before landing on the railings of one of the stairs, which he slid down another 3 floors before jumping the rest of the way.

"Wahoo!"

He landed on his feet, grinning like a maniac as he ran into the Entrance Hall, his still-hasted legs carrying him to the Gryffindor Table. He checked his watch.

"45 seconds... it took me 45 seconds with a Haste Spell... not bad."

"And you still had time to fool around a bit." Ensiath was suddenly sitting next to the red-clothed boy. Harry grinned, a look of mirth in his eyes.

"Hey, I'm a kid! I'm not gonna just throw that away. I mean, look what happened to you!"

Ensiath let a small chuckle out, but quickly stifled it. "Hmph."

Harry looked up at the enchanted ceiling. "Besides... Every day is precious. You should always make the most of your life because... You never can know just how much you've got left. Right?" Ensiath sighed at his smiling, yet pensieve student.

"... Yes, Summoner Harry."

"So, what will we be working on today?" Harry said, buttering some toast and taking a small bite of it.

"You're going to work on your bond with Valefor. It wouldn't do for you to need her but not be able to use her well, or even call her." Ensiath said, walking out of the Hall, to the grounds.

"Omh, cohm om, Emmiamth!" Harry complained, toast still in his mouth as he followed his teacher. "I can summon just fine!"

"Oh, really?" He said as they stepped out the front door. "Let's see you do it right now, then!" Red-faced with indigniation, Harry spun the staff and thrusted it into the air, only for nothing to happen.

"Huh?"

"You were letting your emotions cloud your mind, Harry. Focus only on summoning."

"Grrr..." Harry growled, going through the motions again. Once again, nothing. "Okay, this time I've got it..." 'Spin...'

"SSSSSKKKKRRAAAAAAAAA!" Ensiath screeched from right behind Harry, causing said Summoner to jump 7 feet into the air, landing on his head as his gaurdian watched with a small sign of amusement on his face.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" Harry roared, smacking Ensiath over the head with his staff.

"You have- ow.- to learn- ow.- to focus- ow.- on summoning- ow.- even when the- ow.- most unexpected- ow.- situations occur- ow.- or you'll never get better. Oh, by the way... ow."

"Unexpected situations, huh..." Harry went through the motions again, and this time the dawn-orange sky parted and Valefor came to the ground. "Hey, Valefor..." Harry whispered into the Aeon's 'ear,' and when it nodded, Harry mounted it and the two flew off to the sky.

"Good to see that he finally gets it... Hm?" He watched as Valefor turned around, heading right back to where Ensiath was, Valefor's mouth wide open and charging energy... "Oh no he isn't. I know he isn't. Not THIS early in the morning. I haven't even had my tea yet..."

"ATTACK!" Valefor fired a beam of concentrated energy at Ensiath, who jumped over it, clashing with Harry, who was still riding Valefor.

"What is this?" He growled.

"Hey, don't complain. You brought it upon yourself. Besides..." He won the power stuggle, knocking Ensiath back. "This is training for the both of us! Can't let my guardian get rusty! Water!" Harry fired a stream of water at the blue-clad warrior, who unsheathed the sword on his back just in time to use it as a shield for the spell.

"Well then... I guess I can't be holding back, then, boy!" He thrust his hand into the air, sending down a bolt of lighting on the Water spell, which Harry quickly dispelled to avoid being zapped. Harry jumped off of Valefor, clashing with his teacher and sending them towards the castle. They both landed on the the castle wall, moving aross the wall while attacking each other, neither giving the other a chance to land a decisive blow (Made harder for Ensiath by Valefor, who sent various spells at him). Harry grinned as they clashed again.

"Give up?" Harry asked as he knocked Ensiath back, lunging at the off-balance warrior who sported some light bruising on his cheek and right arm. His coat had a burn mark above the stomach where a spell had hit its mark.

"No. You?" Harry's clothes had some cuts in them, revealing the shallowly-sliced skin underneath. He, too, had some spell damage throughout his body, although by Spiran standards, it wasn't much.

"Nope."

"You might want to spend some time with the other students. You know, get to know them."

"Well, I think we might of woke a few of them up."

"What makes you say that?"

"One, we haven't exactly been quiet..."

"And two?"

"Well... There's a small crowd watching us near the entrance. Didn't you notice?" Indeed, there was a group of students and a few teachers watching (The teachers including Dumbledore, Mcgonagall, and Quirrel.)

"I see... Well, I guess we better give them a good show, then." Ensiath muttered. Harry smiled.

"Right." He jumped from the wall, landing on Valefor's back. Harry launched a fire spell at Ensiath, who blocked with his sword. After a few minutes, Ensiath decided something.

"You know... There is one spell we haven't used to try and hit each other yet..."

"No." Harry said as he threw another Fire spell at his teacher, a small hint of desperation in his voice. He knew waht his teacher was insinuating, and he refused to cast that spell.

"I know it hurts, but you have to get over it sometime." Ensiath blocked the spell easily.

"NO." Harry shook his head and sent a thunder spell at him.

"..." Ensiath's brows furrowed as he dodged. "... Fine. If you won't cast it..."

"NO!" Harry looked absolutely panicked, throwing a horde of Fire, Thunder, and Water spells at his teacher. He finally had enough, jumping to the wall and charging his opponent, intent on ending this battle immediatly.

"Forgive me... Blizzard!" Ensiath fired the spell at his student. Harry stared at the attck, not even able to dodge. The spell hit him in the lower body, and his eyes widened.

'Cold... So... Cold... COLD...' Harry panicked, jabbing at the ice that encased his lower body with his staff. "No!" NO, NO, NO!" He smashed at the ice again, using the head of the staff like a hammer. Suddenly, a large sword came to his face. Harry stared at the man before him, his eyes wide, the facade of a mature young man replaced by the frightened look of a child facing a make-believe monster.

"Do you yield?"

"... Y-y-yes..." Harry practically whispered. "I-I-I y-y-yield." Ensiath frowned, as if he had been hoping for another answer. He swung the sword, shattering the ice with the blunt side of it. Harry's feet lost thier grip on the wall, and he fell to the ground, only to be caught by Ensiath.

"... Harry... You need to get over this... You know that you'll have to accept it sooner or later."

"I... I know that... but... out of everything I know I'll have to do... I just... can't do that." Harry said, tears forming in his eyes. "I can't stand it... It look, the feel... Ed nasehtc sa uv Macalania."

"... I know..." He carried his student inside and to the Hospital Wing. It was strange, that in so many ways he had outgrown almost all of his old habits and fears, but this... this one thng was one of the few things he just couldn't get past.

"What in the world did you do to him?" Madam Pomfrey asked for the fifteenth time since Harry arrived. "Those wounds look like they had some kind of strange magic in them... I guess I'll have to do this the Muggle way." She said as she got a small pack of ice. As she came back, Ensiath blocked the way.

"I wouldn't bring that ice near him..."

"Why? There's some swelling on his legs and arms."

"He has a... a bad reaction to ice. Has to do with something that happened to him as a kid."

"What? What could make a boy so afraid of ice that he wouldn't even use some to help him?"

"It's a long story, but... He was frozen alive. 6 different blizzard spells from 6 different fiends, three inches of ice encasing his entire body, one half hour. And several other things besides. He's scared to the point of near-insanity by the stuff now, no matter how hard we try to help him get over it. Trying to cool the wounds with actual ice would only make it worse."

"... I... see," She said, putting the ice away. "I guess I'll have to try something else. He'll be missing his first classes of Defense against the Dark Arts and Herbology, though."

"I'm certian he'll work hard to catch up." He looked to his student, who seemed wrapped in his memories...

A few hours later, a still-pensive Harry walked into the Transfiguration Classroom, wearing his Hogwarts robes. He took a seat, pretending not to notice the stares he was getting. The cat on the teacher's desk looked at him a moment, seeming to ponder something, and jumped to the floor and walking to Harry's desk, then jumping onto said desk. Harry looked at it, smiling slightly and absently stroking the feline's head.

"... Never could figure why animals seem attracted to me..." He muttered absentmindedly. After a few minutes, Ron ran into the room, panting slightly.

"Huh... huh... Well, I made it here before the teacher... maybe if I take a seat, I can make it look like I got here on time..." He muttered, sitting next to Harry. The cat seemed to smirk (if that was even possible) and jumped off the table, transforming into the elderly woman who they had seen in the Entrance Hall.

"What was that, Mr. Weasley?" Minerva Mcgonagall asked sternly. Ron had turned pale while Harry simply stared, eyes bugging out slightly.

"Wha... Where...Wait... if... then... you... what in the name of the Fayth?" Harry stumbled through his words, shocked that he hadn't noticed something strange about the cat.

"10 points and detention for being tardy, Mr. Weasley, and another 20 along with another detention for planning to lie to me."

"W-W-WHAAAA?" Ron asked, a striken look on his face. Harry sighed, shaking off his shock.

"You do realize that it usually isn't right to lie, Ron, right? Especially to the people who take time out of their lives to teach you." He asked quietly, nodding as Mcgonagall explained the basics of Transfiguration. Ron nodded sadly, listening to the teacher as she gave them each a matchstick. Harry took his, lifting his staff. It was awkward, adapting the movements of the wand to staff form, but it wouldn't be much of a problem once he managed to integrate Wizarding magic into the rest of his own magic, allowing him to cast without moving the staff in any complex movements. After a few tries, Harry was able to turn a match into a needle, and he spent the rest of his time reading more about Transfigurations.

"You know, Harry, you don't have to read ahead," Ron said as he tried (and failed) again, causing no reaction from the stick.

"Yes, but I also don't have to sit around and do nothing." Harry replied rather irritibly. 'Besides... better to be doing something productive than think about Macalania...'

Harry's mood only worsened as he entered the dungeons to take his first Potions class the following Friday. The Slytherins were currently jeering at him, laughing at the quickly spread news of his spar with Ensiath, joking about his stupidity for just standing there, letting the spell hit. However, the talking ceased as the door to the classroom opened...

Professor Severus Snape was just coming back from the Hospital Wing after taking his customary preventative headache-reducing potion for his first class with the first year students. As he walked down to the dungeons, he thought of one Harry Potter. The boy was going to be in this class.

Maybe he should have brought another headache potion.

Harry Potter was... strange for his age. He spoke like a adult at times, but, from wht the portraits could tell him, he still had his father's capacity of enjoying life, but also his mother's good sense, but also was slightly insane ("He jumped from the seventh floor to the first floor, and he enjoyed the trip!" one portrait told him.)... There were just so many contradictions in the boy's nature...

And then there were those INFERNAL eyes.

Why? Why, when he took everything else from his damn father, did he inherit Lily's eyes? Was it a defense mechanisim to keep the Potions Master from completely hating the boy? Was it some kind of devine reminder that Harry was Lily's son, not just James'? Just thinking about that, Snape looked up and glared at whatever asshole of a god decided to give the boy her eyes.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fourth wall, a certain Muggle Children's Book Author was laughing her arse off at Snape's infuriation. She barely acknowledged the glare being sent her way, and continued to go about her daily business. Elsewhere, a certain Muggle Fanfiction Author was laughing even harder about Snape's current predicament. After he regained his composure, he continued writing.
Snape stepped into his classroom, seeing yet another side of the Potter boy. He was caught up in his thoughts. Snape passed him, and the boy looked up, obviously shaken out of his thoughts by the start of class. Snape began his roll call, and stopped at the summoner's name.

"Ah, yes... Harry Potter. Our new... celebrity." Harry raised an eyebrow.

"I guess..." Snape barely heard the child's muttered response as he finished his roll call.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making." As expected, he had no need to speak in more than a whisper. He had them right where he wanted them- sitting, quiet, and with thier attention on every single word he spoke. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, I doubt many of you will even consider this as magic. Of course... I don't expect even one of you wil understand the beauty of what I can teach you... But, I can promise you... You will bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually waste my efforts on, that is." He looked about, gauging the students' reactions.

If he were to drop a feather, he was certain he'd be able to hear it.

The Weasley boy raised an eyebrow.

The Granger Mu-

"I'm sorry!"

"I don't want to hear it!"

-girl looked eager to impress.

Longbottom didn't even seem willing to breathe.

Malfoy had a smirk on his face.

The Potter boy... He seemed slightly pleased. Snape decided to see how long the boy's plesant smile would last under his eye.

"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel into a infusion of wormwood?" Harry's smile didn't fade as he answered.

"If you combined them correctly, you would get a sleeping potion... Draught of Living Death, I believe wizards call it, and if said potion is combined with the feather of a Spiran Cockatrice and then applied to a sharpened bezoar, preferably a needle, it creates a very different antidote that restores those who have be turned to stone." Snape twitched an eyebrow at the boy, entering the Summoner's mind with Legimency. Potter twitched in response, and Snape found himself right outside of Harry's mind. The boy's smile had faded for a moment, but was back in full force in the blink of an eye.

"So, it seems you've read ahead a bit... Where would I find a bezoar?"

"Goat's stomach. It can save people from most poisons. Spirans use it as a key ingrediant in their cure-all remedies, though I'm partial to the Al Bhed's usage of it to create a potion that, while not able to heal all ailments like a cure-all, heals wounds." Another probe of Legimency left Snape no closer to seeing how that boy did it, although Harry had flinched back again and his smile had vanished, replaced by a neutral look.

"What is the difference between monkswood and wolfsbane?" The Potions Master asked, seething. There they were! Those same eyes! The same!

"I believe they're the same thing, although I think there was another name for it... what was it... AGH!" Harry recoiled from yet another probe. Harry's look of neutrality had broken, replaced by anger. The same look of anger...

"I didn't mean it, it just-"

"Slipped out? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus, why should I be any different?"

"Remember that conversation we had on poking around other people's minds, Professor?" The boy had cleared the two tables that were between The Potions Master and himself in a heartbeat, his voice dangerously low. His staff was out, and the cold dungeon seemed to superheat. "Try it again, Professor, and I will personally make you wish that it was Sin, destroyer of lives for 1000 years, or, if you think he's so dangerous, Voldemort, that was after your head!" The heat wave flared for a second and was gone. Everyone stared at the two of them, wondering what was going to happen next and if someone should go get a member of the staff. Snape looked, to be blunt, like he had seen a ghost and then been rammed by a Hungarian Horntail.

Potter, meanwhile, seemed to have come right back to his senses, and jumped back a little, bowing slightly, apologizing profusely for the outburst.

"Sorry, I've... I've just had a rough time recently, and you kinda pushed me to my limits... Oh, but that isn't a good excuse for what I said! That was the complete opposite of how a Summoner should behave! Sorry sorry sorry!"

"Mr. Potter." Snape said, a unrecognizable tone in his voice.

"Yes?"

"... Detention with me every night for the next week and 15 points from Gryffindor. I expect to see you in this room tonight... Class dismissed." He said, walking to the door.

"W-w-wait, we haven't even gotten to our first assignment!" Granger said, shocked.

"Class. Dismissed," Snape replied in a voice that lowered the classroom's temperature to subzero and demanded no argument. He walked out, deciding to head to the Hospital Wing and then to Dumbledore.

The headache potion was wearing off.

"I swear he used a memory potion to make himself look smart! That brat of a Potter! Just as arrogant as his father!" Snape seethed.

"How can you be certain?" Dumbledore asked, quirking an eybrow as he popped a lemon drop into his mouth.

"The boy was able to answer every one of my questions right on the spot. No child can memorize like that! Not in the short time he's been here!"

"Ah... But I remember a boy that could," Dumbledore remarked. "And besides... He's been living in a place that is inhabited by wizards, so it is plausible that he would be able to learn some of our magic, especially the kind that doesn't require a wand."

"..."

"... Severus, I have a assgnment for you."

"???"

"During your detention with Mr. Potter, I would like you to get to know him a little. Possibly figure out where he learned what he did about potions. Maybe you'll be able to flesh out the side of him that you've been unfortunate enough to not see as of yet. Most teachers I've set to this task already find him to be quite the kind and talented young boy. He doesn't ever seem to go asking for trouble, though, as several portraits have told me thus far, he can be a tad bit reckless..."

"You expect me to befriend him? Me, befriend James Potter's son?"

"No. I expect you to understand him, Lily Evans Potter's legacy and a boy with the hopes of an entire contenient and, possibly, the Wizarding World on his shoulders, to protect him for her. That's what you promised me you'd do all those years ago."

"... Yes, Headmaster."

Harry waved goodbye to his friends, walking back into the dungeons for his detention. Ensiath had chewed Harry out for the detention, but after hearing the conditions the detention had been caused in, Ensiath had quickly shut up. As he walked deeper into the dugeons, he softly sang a small tune, using a slow, almost mourning rythm for the song. However, as he sang it, his slightly gloomy mood lightened.

"I e yu i...

No bo me nu...

Re n mi ri...

Yo jyu yo go...

Ha sa te ka na e...

Ku ta me e..."

He finished his song as he walked into the classroom, Snape watching him from behind his desk with an unreadable expression on his face. Harry walked up, bowing lightly.

"What is it you would have me do as part of this detention?" he asked.

"We at Hogwarts have a policy. When we punish someone, we have them do something useful. Madam Pomfrey has asked me to make some medicinal potions to restock her supply, and seeing that you are so knowledgable concerning the art..." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "I would have you assist me in the creation of such potions." Harry nodded, and he set to work, helping the Potions Master prepare the ingredients for the first of the potions they would be working on, one that would cure boils. After a few minutes, Harry looked to Snape, still crushing snake fangs with masterful accuracy.

"I take it there was something you wished to know, otherwise you wouldn't have tried to enter my mind."

"... I was... suspicious of your knowledge."

"Ah." Harry smiled. "That's what happens when you spend a good portion of your life learning how to mix potions with the Al Bhed."

"Al Bhed?" Snape was honestly intrigued with this Al Bhed person. Harry had mentioned him during the class as a Spiran potions expert.

"They're a race of desert-dwellers." Ah, people, not person. "Most of the rest of Spira is a bit... Prejudiced... against them. Kinda like the Wizarding World and Muggle-borns. However, even they have to admit that they have skills that we'd never be able to live without in this day and age. Machina Technology... special, cheaper variations of potions... But they're hated because they have different values than the rest of us... It saddens me, but although I have nothing against them, I can't completely honor those values..." He crushed another snake fang, reducing it to naught but a fine dust. Snape looked at the boy, who had trailed off.

"What are those values that you can not accept, exactly?" Harry sighed, starting a fire under the cauldron.

"... It's funny, because those values concern me directly. You see... Back in the old times, Summoners regularly went through thier pilgrimages, risking life and limb for Spira. The Al Bhed were agianst this, saying that it was wrong for the Sumoners to suffer so that others could live happily. It's this sentiment that led the Al Bhed to go about kidnapping Summoners, keeping them safe from the rest of Spira. That angered the Spirans, and, even now, they still can't let go, especially since I'm in the picture."

"?" Snape was intirged now. 'It seems that there's more to this brat than I thought...'

"You see... Lady Yuna, my ancestor, was half Al Bhed, on her mother's side. Therefore, I have at least some Al Bhed blood in my veins, which makes it the Al Bhed's first priority to protect me, more than ever before, save for in Lady Yuna's case. At the same time... I'm a summoner, and the only one alive, so Spira's government considers me under thier protection. I'm sort of trapped in the middle..." He laughed lightly, stewing horned slugs as he did so. "I care about them, especially since much of my extended family are Al Bhed... But I can't let them stop me from doing my duty as a Summoner. I feel loyal to Spira as a whole, but I can't let them oppress the Al Bhed..." He put the cauldron off the fire, then started putting porcipine quills into the mixture.

"... I see." Snape replied, the same neutral look on his face as he had kept the entire detention. It seemed that Potter had inherited more from his mother than he thought...

An hour later, Harry and Professor Snape had arrived at the Hospital Wing, carrying a small box of boil curing potions. She was surprised to find that each bottle only held enough for half a dose, but Harry had explained that a simple addition the Al Bhed used three minutes after mixing porcipine quills was known to not only double the potency of the potion, but add a plesant spicyness to the concotion. She would later be plesantly surprised that Harry was correct when a third year, after picking a fight, had come to the Hospital Wing with boils all over his body.

After hearing this, Snape decided he would trust Harry's advice about any potions they made in future detentions.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fourth wall, the Fanfiction author was appeased. He smiled, as his work was done for now.

The Children's Book author, though, was throughly puzzled by the strange behaviour she sensed in one of her characters. She shruged it off, though, when she noted that it came from one of the Fanfiction universes.

Not noticing any of these sentiments, one Harry Potter went to bed, dreaming of a young woman with red hair, smiling down on him from the Farplane.
The song Harry sings: The Hymn of the Fayth, from FFX. Harry, being a summoner, knows the song inside and out, and sings it to himself at odd moments.
"Well... I think fans of Severitus (I think that's what it's called...) will be appeased. Oh, and Rowling... A personal shout out to you, if by some odd chance you are reading this... WHY? Why did you kill Snape!? But at the same time... You own us all for making such a clever plot twist. I never really saw the whole Snape being friends with Lily, and even loving her thing. Lucky I read it before I got to the Potions class in this fiction. You own, and yet I am angry with you for what you did. Snape, Lupin, Tonks, Fred, and technically Harry. Horrible, horrible person."

Harry: "Now you know how your readers feel when you do something evil to the characters they like."

"... Yep. Oh, and another thing. You inspire me. Now I will make the gloomy scenes I write in the future even gloomier! I bow to you. Teach me more..."

Harry: "I don't like what you're implying for us now."

"Good. You shouldn't." (Laughs evilly.) "I hope this chapter was good. I did some serious research in the HP Chapter this happens in the space of. See ya later!"