Harry Potter and the Keyblade Wielder
Chapter 2: Sorting, The Separation of Friends.
"This is your ship?" Harry's shout echoed far into the forest, but louder still were Goofy, Riku, and Sora's following chuckle. The trio had taken Harry with them on their way to retrieve their absent friends, but in no way did they prepare the Wizard for the sight of the Gummi Ship.
It was bigger since the last time they'd traveled. Sora had done some maintenance work on it, adding a 'bellow-deck' section for his friends, and putting in bigger engines to carry five people. Along with that was the new shooting system that Leon had given Donald and Goofy before they'd gone picked up Sora, Kairi, and Riku. The ship was decked out in black and looked sleeker than ever, as well as bigger.
"Yeah, Harry, this is our Gummi ship. I did a little trim up job on it before we left my world, but this is essentially how it's supposed to be." Sora said cheerfully that someone admired his work. He drew his arms back to intertwine his fingers behind his head, standing in the pose that was just classic-Sora.
"Gummi ship?" The raven questioned as he turned to face the nonchalant brunette. Nothing these people could tell him would surprise Harry again after this huge ship of theirs, he was sure of it. Despite all the things they'd told him, he never once though they were lying, never once stopped to question why they arrived here now; right after someone so dear to him was already lost again. They were here now, and to Harry, it meant that someone out there wanted to help him win. And with these new friends, he was going to. Suddenly, he wasn't regretting seeing the falling star that had lead him into the Forbidden Forest anymore.
"Yeah, Gummi Ship. It's sorta like…It was…You see…King Mickey made it!" Goofy smiled through his troubled explanation. The big dog really didn't know what a Gummi Ship was, he just traveled in it.
"What he wants to say is that it's a ship made out of Gummi parts. We find more 'Gummi parts' when we destroy heartless that inhabit the link between worlds. The link between worlds is how we got here in the first place. It's really complicated so we'll just elaborate in the morning." Riku stated his two-cents. Harry seemed satisfied by this, but there was no doubt he was still confused.
"So how do you get in it?" Harry asked, turning to Riku this time.
Riku scoffed, pointing with his thumb back to Sora. "Don't look at me, he's the expert when it comes to that thing. I use darkness, a smoother way of travel!" Riku glared slightly at Sora.
Everyone knew how Sora drives the ship. Spins and twirls and stunts. At one point, during the beginning of the journey, they had ended up, upside down for at least ten minutes. After that, Riku and Kairi had declared that Donald would be driving them from then on.
Sora sent Riku and innocent smile, before setting his playful eyes on Harry.
"It's easy really!" He started. "Pull 'er down, mate!" Sora pointed at Goofy while giving the 'pirate accented' order.
Goofy smiled at the silliness of his friend, and went towards the ship, touching the bottom lightly till he found the hatch he wanted.
"Right! Now please back away from the bottom of the ship!" Sora exclaimed once Goofy gave him the heads up. This had also been a new feature Sora had added. It was something he thought would be cool to anyone that has never seen a Gummi Ship before and now he had the chance to prove to Riku, who had doubted him, that he was right.
Harry backed up warily, staring at the bottom of the black, sleek ship where Goofy was standing. As soon as the giant dog pulled on the hatch, he moved away, going to where Riku and Sora were standing.
The hatch fell open, looking like a large box of shining silver metal. Harry ignored the thought in the back of his head that yelled out the similarity between the pretty metal and Draco Malfoy's eyes. Still though, the sight was slightly mystifying, especially when the smoke started to flow from the ship's underside.
"So what do you think of my new addition! Isn't it awesome?" Sora exclaimed again, excitement and wonder still on his face, despite being the one who installed the new system.
Harry glanced at the boy, then back at the box.
"What is it?" he questioned lightly, not wanting to disappoint the boy, but still confused, at to what he was looking at.
Sora's face seemed to crumble from its excitement into borderline horror.
"It's an elevator, Harry! Not just that! A transporter! You just step into it and you're up into the deck in no time! Stitch gave it to me!"
Harry started to feel guilty for taking the boy's smile away, but Riku laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about him. I told him it wouldn't be that cool to anyone who didn't know what it was but, you know Sora. Just smile and nod and you'll get through it."
Harry wasn't sure if Riku was trying to be supportive or funny, but he decided to take the advice anyways, and grinned at Sora as he nodded. It seemed that the silvernette's advice was spot on, because Sora's smile was back with a vengeance and he advanced toward the transporter.
"Come on guys, two people can go at once! I call taking Harry!"
Riku shook his head, but pushed Harry forward from the hand that was still on the raven's shoulder. "Sure, you go ahead and take him, Sor'. Me and Goofy'll be up in a bit."
As the beaming brunette grabbed his hand, Harry looked back to see a smiling, waving Riku and Goofy, before his vision was blocked by more metal.
"Don't worry." The brunette inquired as he felt the raven head tense at the enclosed space. "Everything on this ship is safe, and only we can get into it. You'll ok, ok? You can trust me on this, you don't got anything to worry about." Sora nodded at his own words, waiting for Harry to nod too before pressing the button on their right side.
In a second, Harry was no longer standing in a metal box, but in an open ship deck. It's safe to say he was positively mystified by all of the things that surrounded him. It was basically like a pain-less port-key or something along those lines. No doubt, the travelers had it better than the Wizards Harry knew.
Three chairs sat in the middle of the open room while buttons and openings surrounded the walls. Everything was metal and silver and he felt like he was drowning in the familiarity of the gray-ish color. Why was he thinking of Malfoy in a time like this?
"Wicked…" Harry allowed himself to breathe at he looked around. Sora just beamed and went to the back of the ship, pressing a light green button. The noise of operating metal was followed by the opening of a door in the back.
"Through here is the stairs that take you to the area bellow the deck. There are a few beds down there, but it's too small to fit all of us. That's why we went out to look for somewhere to sleep. And that's when we met you!" Harry nodded at Sora's words, following behind him blindly as to not be left alone. He felt uneasy in surroundings new to him, and the color was not really helping. He had to admit though that he was awfully curious too.
He stayed close to the blue eyed boy, following only a few steps behind as they reached another opening with another button on the right.
Sora knocked first before calling out.
"Donald, Kairi, we're back. I'm coming in."
Then he pressed the button, opening the door that separated Harry and Sora from the smaller boy's other friends.
The dark red hair and blazing blue eyes that met them scared Harry before he even heard the voice that followed.
"Sora!" The thing yelled out, looking positively pissed. Before even thinking twice Harry took out his wand. In an instant the thing was on the ground, struggling with invisible bonds and silent. Three eyes looked at the girl in wonder before Sora's turned to look at Harry.
"What did you do?" He asked, not really sounding worried about his friend, or suspicious of his new one. He just sounded, awed.
"I-I-I…" Harry repeated dumbly. He didn't know if he should feel remorse for hexing this guy's friend, as the guy didn't even seem angry, but Harry was slightly scared of what Sora'd do if he was angry. The brunette seemed to have a go-with-the-flow personality, just as Harry did, so when he got angry, he had to be just as dangerous. "I hexed her in a body-bind and silencing charm?"
He said it as though it was a question, but when Sora began to laugh, Harry did too.
"That's awesome! I never knew there was a way to quiet Kairi down! You have to teach me to do that!"
Harry nodded with a smile, looking at the girl who looking, once again, angry. Then his green eyes followed the floor up to another strange creature like Goofy. A giant duck this time though. And it was staring at him as if he possessed two extra heads.
"Where in the world did you learn that!" The duck demanded after he snapped out of his shock. It was Harry's turn to be shocked.
"Hogwarts." He answers numbly, eyeing the duck's staff in wonder and his hat in disgust. This Donald was like any other make-believe wizard, pointy hat and all. When Harry felt a hand on his shoulder he looked to his side, watching Sora as he calmed his laughing. The one though that crossed his mind was: 'These strangers feel the need to touch a lot.' But he decided not to comment.
"Ok, you can release her now, I can deal with hurricane Kairi."
Without batting an eye, Harry raised his wand and cast the counter charm.
The girl sat there, staring at Harry somewhat in fear and somewhat in curiosity. He was just trying not to fidget in her gaze. She was reminding him of Hermione right about now, and he did not like it one bit. One Hermione is enough for all of Hogwarts.
It was right about then that Riku and Goofy came down the stairs.
"Whoa, what went on here?" The silvernette asked, looking at each person. Donald was looking at Harry with awe, Sora was chuckling behind his breath, and Kairi was just staring at Harry.
"Um…I'll explain later." The raven offered.
~~~RXS DXH~~~
Riku snorted a laugh. "Ah, I see now. So you caught Kairi yelling and reacted off instinct. That is pretty funny."
Sora snorted too. "So was the look on her face!" He chimed in making the girl on the far bed blush in embarrassment at being caught off guard by a new friend. Because if this guy was Sora's friend, he was Kairi's too.
"I'm sorry Harry. Those two over there," Here she paused to glare at Sora and Riku, making them both stop laughing. "Know how much I don't like being left behind. They'd already done it too many times before, and I thought they were going to do it again here. I didn't know you were here too, or I wouldn't have flipped out on Sora."
Swiftly, she stood, dusting herself off and walking to Harry. He looking confused until she held a hand out to him.
"Now let's do this right." She smiled. "My name is Kairi. I'm a friend of Sora's and Riku's since childhood. It's nice to meet you Harry Potter." Harry also smiled, offering his hand too.
They shook firmly as Harry spoke. "The pleasures all mine Kairi." Somehow, he got the feeling that when Sora and Riku fought by his side, this girl would not be beside them. She seemed as if she had a pure heart, as if she hadn't seen what her friends had. He knew that he, as well as Sora and Riku, would do all they could to make sure she did not have to fight. Even if that meant locking her up.
"Now, that we're all acquainted, let's get going! I'm tired as all hell and want to get some rest."
All eyes flowed to Riku, and they all nodded. Donald was still eyeing Harry but suspicion what all that drowned the gaze now.
"Alright, let us head to Hogwarts. You'll be able to sleep safely there." Harry's determined face appeared again as he lead them all away from the Gummi Ship and toward the shadowy castle.
~~~RXS DXH~~~
"Ah, I see. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy; applying for Hogwarts will be easy enough, but you must be sorted first." Dumbledore stated with that damned twinkle in his eyes.
Harry gapped at the old man as if he'd gone crazy. It had been easier than he expected and that made him slightly wiry.
Beside the gapping young wizard, Sora and Kairi jumped at the mention of acceptance, as it meant a bed to sleep in, but Riku was looking curiously at Harry's reaction. If Riku was judging right then Harry had expected more of a fight, meaning that this old man before them that looking eerily like Merlin had something planed for them to just allow them here without even putting up a counter argument.
Goofy and Donald were silent, noticing the air of a superior figure even if it's not their king. They did however; keep an eye on the strange room and moving portraits.
"Great! So, how do we get sorted? I want to go to bed already." Kairi exclaimed in glee. She'd slept on the way here, but the small lumpy beds on the Gummi Ship were not as kind to the back as some would expect when first glancing at the rather large ship.
Dumbledore shook his head.
"You shall sleep in Harry's rooms for the night. Tomorrow you will be sorted and given your rooms." They all nodded in understanding, noticing the finality in the elder wizard's voice even behind his kind tone of voice.
~~~RXS DXH~~~
"Where are you taking us exactly? I don't remember agreeing to a tour of this castle." Riku murmured into the darkness surrounding the six of them. Harry's wand was the only source of light, and he had Kairi handing onto his arm in fright. Somehow, Riku didn't like the fact that his sister figure was standing so close to a boy. 'God I'm turning into Sora's father.' He thought in mortification. Sora's father had always loved Kairi and had always been protective of two boys with one girl.
"We're not taking a tour, we're heading to my rooms. Ever since the nightmares started to get worse, I have asked and received my own rooms. No one knows so I would appreciate you keeping it to yourself." Harry's tone was clipped and tense, as if he wasn't comfortable in the dark either. Riku suspected that the girl hanging on his arm wasn't helping either.
They turned a corner and almost screamed as Harry and Kairi ran into something solid. Suddenly there was no more light and all six of them were plunged into darkness.
Kairi sucked in a breath to yell but Harry placed his hand over her mouth. Sora griped on Riku's arm tightly, looking around the darkness despite not being able to see. Goofy and Donald were whimpering behind Sora, touching each other and the brunette's back to make sure they had someone by their side. That's when a voice Harry knew all too well hissed at him.
"What are you doing here Potter? Who are these strangers and why are they in the castle?"
The irritating voice of Draco Malfoy himself angered Harry slightly, but it mostly made him shiver as he didn't know where it was coming from. It was very close to his ear though.
Kairi had heard and felt the shiver and voice, and now she was suspicious, but she kept quiet, still scared in case that voice was any danger to them.
"Go patrol somewhere else, Head Boy Malfoy. These strangers are going to enroll here and Dumbledore told me to take them to my rooms till tomorrow morning." Harry grit out. He hadn't noticed Sora and Riku behind them sharing a blind glance, but Kairi did.
"Up in the Gryffindor tower? Isn't that place stuffed full with Weasels and Mudbloods?" sneered the voice. That made no sense to the travelers, but it seemed to have made a lot of sense to Harry.
"Stuff it Malfoy! I'm leaving!" He advanced forward dragging Kairi with him, who in turn dragged Riku, who was gripping Sora, who was getting gripped by Donald and Goofy. Harry had no idea where Malfoy was, so when he collided with the figure, the group fell to the ground like dominos. Each one brought down another, who in turn took another one down. Needless to say, it'd have been a funny sight had there been any light.
They all had let out a rather startled yell as they fell, even Malfoy, as Harry had heard him. The raven could feel the chest of his rival groaning under his head and that brought on another shudder of sensation. This one wasn't felt by Kairi, but by Malfoy, and as a response to the shudder, Malfoy shivered back.
"Ow, oh crap, Riku you're on my knee!" Hissed Sora behind the pair enjoying the touch they never got a lot of.
"Sora, you're on my stomach, how can I be on your knee?"
"Sorry Sora, I'm on your knee."
"Then get the hell off Donald, I think you twisted my ankle too."
"Don't whine you baby, all we did was fall."
"Shut up Donald! It was a pretty bad fall!"
"Ugh, guys, I think we should all get up before someone gets seriously hurt."
"Shut Up Goofy!"
"Enough! Come Sora, I'll help you up. Donald, get off Sora's leg. Kairi, if you're going to hold Harry, let go of me." Riku shouted, forcing his way up with Sora in his arms.
Once the silvernette was standing everyone else climbed their way to their feet; everyone but Harry and Draco who were still frozen in shock of the emotions coursing through them.
"Hey…where's Harry?" Kairi asked. This seemed to snap Harry out of his frozen state as he pushed himself to his feet and away from Draco. Grabbing his wand he made a light again.
"Let's get out of here, leave the prick where he is." Harry stated breathless, then dragged Kairi far away from the still shocked blond. In the dim light of Harry's wand, Sore and Riku could see the blush that surrounded the blonde's cheeks, and how ruffled Harry was from the encounter. Again they shared a look, this time they could each see the other's eyes. They knew something was up with those two, and it went farther than mere fighting.
They decided they'd ask Harry in the morning. It's been a long ride after all, and it wasn't in them to do much more than follow as it was.
"What about the boy on the floor?" Goofy asked quietly as they were walking again through the darkness.
"Leave him there." Both Harry and Donald grunted out. A smile crossed Sora's face because of how in sync the duck seemed to be with the raven, when said boy was disgruntled.
They'd have to talk to that blond too it would seem. From what Sora and Riku had heard from the encounter in the corridor, getting to the root of the problem would be harder than the heros' had thought. But they weren't called 'heros' for nothing right?
Just as that thought crossed Sora and Riku's minds, a swear was heard from the hall where they'd all fallen. Harry faltered in his steps, making everyone else falter too. Then, without a word, he continued forward, never looking back at the blond boy who was shaking his head to clear it from thoughts of Harry Bloody Potter on his hands and knees between his legs.