Well, that was the first chapter. The differences between my story and the source story so far are as such: The "Sprites" are instead being called Elemental Lords, Old Voldie was approached by the Elemental Lord of Shadows, and Ron's gonna be an Elemental too. But what about Hermione? And who's Lord Ignacio? When does the FFXII crossover begin? And just what shape will said crossover take? All those questions and more will be answered… eventually. For now, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything aside from my own original characters, in this case meaning Noxus, Raiden, Ignacio, and other Elemental Lords that I introduce that aren't named Lakeshore.
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Harry (or at this specific moment, Claire) opened her eyes to see a young girl peering down at her. She bolted upright, and the small girl immediately jumped back, giggling. Claire had her wand in hand in a mere moment, and pointed it at the small girl.
"Put the wand down, sis! I'm your Familiar!" Recognition struck Claire as she realized that the girl looked like a female version of what she had looked like at that young of an age. But if she's my Familiar… then surely she can't just be a normal human child?
"First off, do you have a name?" Claire asked. "Second, is that really your true form? A small girl?" The young girl looked at Claire, and giggled again.
"I don't have a name yet… but why don't I call myself Clover Lakeshore Potter? I can leave off one of the last names when in public! And do you want to see my true form?" When Claire nodded, Clover disappeared, to be replaced with a small, 12-inch long dragon composed purely of water. Claire was stunned; the dragon was beautiful. Clover reverted to her human form, and tugged on Claire's hand.
"C'mon, Lakeshore's waiting!" Claire smiled at her Familiar, and got up, heading outside to talk to Lakeshore.
When Claire stepped out of the tent, she shielded her eyes from the sunlight, peering at the sunrise over the forest. "That's beautiful," she said. "I could get used to seeing that in the morning…"
Just then, Claire heard a slight rustle to her left. She saw a lake, and immediately the Water Lord rose out of it, in the form of a short old woman. "I'm glad you enjoy the view," Lakeshore said to her disciple. "I chose to live here for a reason, you know. Calm and peaceful, except for the young boys kicking stones…" Claire very nearly took a step back, remembering how she was cursed for life to alternate between her original male form and this new female body.
"Anyways, Miss Lakeshore, it is time to start your training with a short twenty minute jog. It's always best to jog on an empty stomach, anyways," the Elemental Lord informed Claire, who was grimacing. She wished she had eaten something before letting Clover drag her out of the tent.
"C'mon sis! Climb on my back; I'll take you to the trail." Claire was confused for a moment until Clover transformed into a forty-foot long dragon. Claire smiled inwardly. Of course she would be able to transform like that. Who am I kidding? She climbed onto the dragon that was her Familiar, and headed over to the training course.
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Ron awoke to a strange feeling coursing through his body. He tried to recall the events of the night before: the perpetual lightning bolt, the strange old man named Raiden, making Ron into a Lightning Elemental, telling him to ask Ginny… what did it all mean?
"Morning, Ron!" He jumped about six inches in the air before turning towards the source of the voice. Ron glared when he saw Ginny.
"Ginny, could I talk to you for a second? Some old man appeared last night, said he was going to make me an Elemental, and said to talk to you." Ginny giggled.
"You could talk to me about it… or you could ask your Familiar, who's perched on your bed post."
"My what?" Ron replied, before turning around. His eyes widened as he saw a strange bird with electric blue plumage that looked as if small strands of lightning were leaping off of it. "Wha-wha-what is that?" he asked, pointing a shaking figure at the bird.
The bird then morphed into a young boy, looking exactly like Ron did when he was maybe four or five. "I'm your familiar, Ron! Every Elemental has one. You can call me Marcus Fulgur Weasley!" Instantly, the boy turned back into a storm hawk, and disappeared from sight, only to reappear on Ron's shoulder. "You should look at Ginny's familiar too!"
"What? Ginny, you're an Elemental?" He turned to face his sister, and his eyes went wide when a small, blazing Pegasus was flying around Ginny's head. "You're a… a… fire Elemental?" Ron gasped, pointing at the Pegasus above his sister's head.
"Yes Ron, you dolt! This is Aidan, my Familiar." Before Ginny could say any more, a strange flash filled the room, and Ron turned around to see Raiden, the old man from the night before.
"It seems I made the correct choice, judging by the appearance of a familiar so soon," Raiden said softly. "Ronald, if you and Ginny will come with me, the two of you will be training together. Ginny, we will be meeting Lord Ignacio there." Ginny nodded, closed her eyes, and vanished, leaving Ron slack-jawed.
"What did she just do?" He asked Raiden.
"As an Elemental, you have the ability to teleport anywhere," Raiden replied calmly. "You can bypass any wards on Apparition with this method, given that they are two separate abilities entirely. For the first meeting, I will take you to the site myself, but after that, I expect you to meet us on your own." Ron nodded, gulping softly, as Raiden placed a hand on Ron's shoulder. Instantaneously, the two vanished, as if they had never been there in the first place.
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When Hermione awoke, she noticed something about her room was immediately off. She was shivering… in the middle of summer! I could have sworn the thermostat was at a comfortable temperature… Hermione's thoughts trailed off as she saw her window.
The window was completely frozen over… from the inside. Hermione quickly whipped her head around, looking for the culprit, her eyes resting on a strange old man in ice-blue robes. He looked up at Hermione with his strange, cold eyes, and Hermione immediately reached for her wand, pointing it at the girl.
"Who are you?" Hermione asked the man. He raised his hand in a gesture of peace.
"My apologies. I should have had your Familiar introduce herself first," the old man replied.
"My Familiar?" Hermione asked, confused. The old man pointed behind her. Hermione whipped her head around, and saw a small dragon with a body of pure ice curled up on her dresser. It was maybe a foot long, and had small arms, legs, and wings. "But how…"
The Familiar on her desk stirred, yawning, and looking at Hermione with ice-blue eyes. Immediately, it flapped its wings, flying off of the nightstand before morphing into a much younger version of Hermione herself. She gasped.
"Hello! My name is Glacia Granger!" The girl waved at Hermione before turning back into the dragon and flying into Hermione's lap.
"But…"
"I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Grandius, Elemental Lord of Ice. I believed you worthy of becoming an Ice Elemental, and the appearance of your Familiar so soon merely confirms my belief. Are you ready to begin training?"
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Harry had been training all week. Lakeshore had given him a break over the weekend, and he was sitting in his wizard's tent, reading a book on Defense Against the Dark Arts when Lakeshore came in.
"Harry, what are you still doing here?"
"Well," Harry began, "I can't very well go out in public, not with Dumbledore looking for me, and the Aurors trekking across England for any signs of where I am!"
"Actually," Lakeshore continued, "you can. Think Harry. How is it possible for nobody to recognize you?" Realization sunk into Harry as Lakeshore produced a small amount of water, splashing Harry with it and leaving a wet Claire lying in the bed.
"You don't honestly want me to go as a girl?" Lakeshore nodded. Clover appeared right then and there, to try and persuade Claire to go shopping.
"Please, can we? I want to get some ice cream!"
"And while you're there," Lakeshore interjected, "you need to buy yourself some new clothes… and not just for your male form."
"Must I buy everything that a girl would wear?" Claire asked grimly.
"Last time I checked…"
"Fine, fine," Claire gave in. "I'll buy a new wardrobe, and supplies and everything. Clover, are you ready to go?"
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"It's a good thing the Muggle store attendants are so helpful!" Clover said happily as she and Claire left the Muggle mall.
"Don't remind me," Claire said, fighting the blush rising to her cheeks. "I still can't believe I had to try on all of those undergarments, just to find the right size. At least I didn't go through half the store finding the right one," she said softly. "Where to next?" Claire asked the young girl.
"Harry! Harry, is that you?" A familiar voice rang out through the crowd. Claire maintained her calm and collected appearance as a familiar brunette appeared in front of her, with a dismayed look crossing her face.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have mistaken you for somebody else from behind," the girl apologized.
"No worries," Claire said, extending her hand. "I'm Claire Lakeshore, and this is my bratty younger sister Clover."
"I am not bratty!" Clover yelled out, making Claire and the brunette giggle.
"Nice to meet you Claire. My name's Hermione Granger. Are you shopping here?"
"Actually," Claire said, "I don't keep very in tune with the latest fashion trends. Maybe the three of us can go shopping together?"
"Claire, I want to get ice cream afterwards!" Clover cried, tugging on Claire's shirt. Hermione laughed at this. "But yeah, let's go shopping! Besides, my sis has no idea how to pick out clothes!"
Hermione giggled, then motioned for Claire and Clover to follow.
Claire, did you see it? Clover asked Claire through their telepathic link.
Yeah, I noticed. Hermione has a familiar… does that means she's an Elemental too? Claire thought, worryingly.
It sure does, Clover thought back. Claire suppressed the urge to gulp. Luckily Clover was disguised as a human being, whereas Hermione's familiar was merely invisible. Hopefully the other Familiar wouldn't be able to tell the difference…
Claire, Clover, and Hermione emerged from the store later with multiple shopping bags in hand. Claire took the backpack off of her back and started putting the bags inside. Hermione was watching in amazement, the cogs turning in her head.
"Claire, how are you fitting all of that inside your backpack?"
"It's a magically expanded backpack, and as you could probably tell I'm a witch, just like you," Claire responded happily. I wonder if she'll be able to figure out who I am… I just hope I'm not unfortunate enough to get splashed by a sprinkler or other water!
"I thought so! No wonder you have no idea about fashions and clothes!" Claire furiously beat down the blush rising to her cheeks.
"Claire, we finished our shopping! I want ice cream now!" Clover was tugging on Claire's clothes even harder now; she really wanted her ice cream badly!
"Alright, we'll get some ice cream!" Claire gave in with a laugh. With that, the three of them made their way towards Diagon Alley, to pay a visit to Fortesque's ice cream shop.
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The three teens never noticed the dark-skinned Auror following them, nor did they notice the Auror with the magical eye. Shaklebolt and Mad-Eye Moody had been following Hermione Granger, the unknown teenager, and her sister for the past hour and a half.
"Shaklebolt, do you find it suspicious that a week after Harry's disappearance, a teenage girl with a striking resemblance suddenly winds up in the London shopping districts, and also befriends Hermione Granger with such ease?"
"I know what you're thinking, Moody," the dark-skinned Auror replied. "I, however, am skeptical. I have a hard time believing that Potter could have disguised himself as the opposite gender. Starting fifth-years do not learn gender switching spells or potions, and the seventh years only learn the ones that last for maybe half an hour at most. This girl has been walking around with Hermione for well over an hour."
"I know that, Shaklebolt," Mad-Eye Moody replied, "but my eye is also picking up something strange on the little girl. Her level of magic is much higher than it should be at that age."
"Do you think we should report this to Dumbledore?" Shaklebolt asked, watching as the two teens and the younger girl agreed to meet back at Diagon Alley the following day.
"We most certainly should," Moody replied, recording the entire scene with his magical eye. "Dumbledore will undoubtedly take great interest in this. After all, there are no such things as coincidences."