Disclaimer: I do not own either Harry Potter or Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.
Review replies:
Raigalcc: You, good sir (or ma'am) must be at least partially telepathic. Are you reading my mind even now?
orion0905: Well, I have to start building the relationship some where right? Gonna start with making them friends first, then build-up from there.
Kuro-tan: If I ever make another story after this one involving Nanoha at all, It will include NanoFate. It might be a little out of character, but if you look again, it wasn't Fate who cast the Plasma Lancer, it was Bardiche. And your point about using too strong of a spell would be valid, if not for the fact that due to the events of A's Photon Lancer is now Plasma Lancer. And as far as Vita goes, she will have some choice words for Harry when they meet, but he'll actually have more to fear from Signum for reasons that shall be explained later.
god of all, pokemon-35055: Thank you for your kind words!
raynisia: Thank you! And it's not so much that Harry has bad luck, it's that the Universe likes to take a dump on him more often than others.
The trolling SnarkLord: Oh sweet merciful fruit jesus where do I even begin? Thank you for your wonderfully kind words, I don't know if I'll ever reach a point where I can consider myself anything more than passable, but I'll be happy if I can provide enjoyment to other fans of this crossover genre. I'm glad that you enjoyed Biggs and Wedge, though I'm not sure if we'll ever see them again. Looking back at the portion where Fate fires her spell, I suppose I could have worded that a bit better. I meant it to be more like Bardiche was responding to her emotions and using the spell on his own, sort of like how Widget will occasionally say what Athena is thinking/feeling in Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies. The little nod to Star Wars is a bit of a hint to something I have planned for this version of Earth as we progress. You might remember that the TSAB said Earth had no magical culture to speak of? They're about to find out just how wrong they are. Earth is, and always will be, a hot bed of magical and technological everything hits the fan moments. Some of the bigger ones happened, oh say, fourteen thousand years ago, and some of them aren't due to happen for another 28 years or so… I hope I can live up to your expectations as we go forward. And, believe me, everytime I see an alert that someone just followed my story, my first thought is thanks, immediately followed by hoping that I don't disappoint them.
buterflypuss: Thanks, hope you're enjoying it.
Yoshiki-909: Yeah… NO. There will not be any time travel taking place in this story. It can screw things up far too easily and I don't even want to begin to try and plan that!
Alvin FireSage: Thanks, You'll just have to read the chapter to see where they end up. Alright, I guess I should clarify. There will be NO intentional or exceptional bashing. I really have next to no plans for Ron, so it's incredibly likely that he will be demoted from "Best Mate" to "Friend" and subsequently show up less. I don't hate him, but he can be really stupid at times. At most, he'll be "Ron the jealous prick" as I really dislike "Ron the Death Eater" stories.
The Sorting Hats' Song is borrowed from Chapter 12 of "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire".
Chapter 3: A Sorting and An Announcement
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7:30 PM
September 1st 1994
Great Hall, Hogwarts, Scotland
After Prof. McGonagall led the students into The Great Hall, she placed a three-legged stool with an ancient looking hat ontop of it in front of them. After a moment of silence, something unbelievable happened, the hat began to sing!
A thousand years or more ago
When I was newly sewn,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favourites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!
After the Sorting Hat's song had finished, The Great Hall broke out into a mixture of polite and enthusiastic applause.
As Prof. McGonagall began to unroll a large sheet of parchment, she addressed the new students. "When I call your name, you will sit on the stool with the Sorting Hat on your head. After it announces your house you will take a seat at the appropriate table."
And like that, the Sorting began.
As Hayate knew that she and her friends would be sorted after all the first years had been placed, she began looking around at all the wondrous things in The Great Hall. She took in the ceiling which, if not for lack of rain, she would have believed simply opened up to the heavens above. She eventually caught sight of what must be the Staff Table, where she was surprised by the sight of the familiar face of Shamal chatting with a witch in what looked like an old nurse's outfit. As she wondered why Shamal was also there, she heard Prof. McGonagall call out "Madley, Laura!" Who was soon sorted into Hufflepuff. Deciding that she could interrogate her later Hayate figured that she ought to start paying attention to the Sorting again right as "Quirke, Orla!" became a Ravenclaw.
After the final first year, a "Whitby, Kevin!" became a Hufflepuff, Prof. McGonagall rolled up her large sheet of parchment and brought out a much smaller one.
"Some of our more eagle eyed students may have noticed that we have three young ladies here tonight that are older than normal for sorting," Prof. McGonagall began, "This is because they are transferring into fourth year, and as such need to be sorted so we may place them properly."
"Takamachi, Nanoha!"
At that Nanoha stepped up to the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on her head.
"Hmm, tricky one aren't you?" Nanoha was startled by the voice in her head and responded, "What are you?" "Why, Miss Takamachi, I thought it would be obvious. I'm the Sorting Hat. It's my job to look inside your head and figure out where you belong. Don't worry, I cannot reveal any of what I find inside your head, Godric ensured that I could not do so back when he first made me. Now let's see... You've got a decent mind, but it seems you'd rather pass on knowledge instead of gather it. You make friends far easier than you make enemies. In fact, you've made great friends from enemies after they took the time to explain what was going on. Yes, you'd do well in any of the houses, but I can see great courage within you. You stood up against a foe that was previously thought unbeatable, even after watching your best friend get absorbed by it. Yes, there can be no better place for you than Gryffindor!"
As Nanoha made to take off the hat and head over to her new table, it said one last thing to her. "Miss Takamachi, I doubt you'll hear it from anyone else while you stay in the castle, so I'd like to say 'Thank You' for standing up when others would simply stand down." After the hat's parting words Nanoha informed Fate and Hayate about the hat and took a seat at the Gryffindor table.
"Testarossa-Harlaown, Fate!"
Upon hearing her name called, Fate made her way to the stool and placed the hat on her head.
"Another tricky one eh? Well let's just see where you fit best then shall we? You are extremely loyal to your friends, but you tend to have a little trouble making new ones. You desire knowledge so that you can protect those closest to you. It seems you would do just as well in any of the houses as your dear friend, but you have even more courage than she does. Not long after you met Miss Takamachi, you chose to stand up and fight because your story had not yet begun. That on its own would be enough to get you into Godric's house, but there's more. You were given the chance to have your greatest desire for all eternity, but you willingly gave it up because you knew you had to return to those who still cared about you. That takes great courage and strength of heart. There can be no better place for you than Gryffindor!"
Before Fate could hand the hat back to Prof. McGonagall, it had one last thing to say. "Miss Harlaown, I'm certain that your sister is watching over you even now. Why the proof is in the blue sparks that appear every so often when you train your magic." At that, Fate handed the hat to McGonagall and rushed to sit at Nanoha's side.
"Yagami, Hayate!"
"Well well, I never thought I'd have the honor of Sorting the Queen of the Night Sky." Upon hearing the hat refer to the title that no one outside her friends should even know about, Hayate let out a gasp of surprise."How do you know what that title means?" She asked. "Miss Yagami, I have been around for about a thousand years. I've heard of many things that the rest of the world has forgotten. Now, where to put you. You would do well in any of the houses. You are unfathomably loyal to your friends and you seek out knowledge so that you may make your dream a reality. But none of that compares to the courage you possess. Even before magic entered your life, you possessed bravery unmatched by any I have ever sorted before. You also chose to stand and fight the fate that you were dealt. You chose to fight what could easily have been a fruitless battle. Yes, you shall accomplish many great things in Gryffindor!"
"Miss Yagami, though Lady Reinforce may be gone, I am certain that she is still watching over you from beyond the clouds in the Night Sky." With that, Hayate got up and placed the hat back on the stool and headed for the Gryffindor table. When she got there she sat across from Nanoha and Fate, who happened to grab spots next to Hermione and across from Harry and Ron.
As soon as she sat down, Prof. Dumbledore stood up. "There is a time for speeches, but this is not it. Tuck In." At that, food appeared on the various dishes along the length of the table.
"Finally!" Ron said as the various platters, bowls and carafes filled with food and drink.
"You know, there almost wasn't a feast at all tonight, there was trouble in the kitchens." A ghost with an exceptionally ruffled collar said.
"Why is that?" Nanoha asked, "And if I may, who are you?"
"My name, young lady, is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, but you may call me Sir Nicholas." The now identified ghost replied, "And as for why, the short answer is Peeves. He caused quite the ruckus in the kitchens earlier. It was mayhem, pots and pans everywhere, soup all over the place, & he terrified the house-elves something fierce."
Clang.
"There are house-elves here?" Hermione asked, "As in here at Hogwarts?"
"Of course, there's over a hundred, the largest number in a single dwelling in Britain if my memory is correct."
"Excuse me, but what are house-elves?" Hayate asked.
"They're slaves!" Hermione popped up.
"Miss Granger, how much do you actually know about house-elves?" Sir Nicholas asked.
"How much do I need to know to see that slavery is wrong?" She replied looking incensed.
"I may not know everything there is to know about house-elves, but I do know this much. House-elves willingly bound themselves to wizards about a hundred years before Hogwarts was founded."
"Wh-what?" Hermione replied.
"This is neat and all, but can someone answer my question please?" Hayate asked, slightly put out that they had ignored her.
"My apologies Miss Yagami," Sir Nicholas replied, "House-elves are servants, they prepare meals, clean houses and other locations like Hogwarts and the Ministry, and they posses magic that is theorized to be just as strong as wizards, but on a different wavelength."
"They made all this?!" Fate asked in surprise.
"Indeed, although the usual fare is less extravagant. They tend to pull out all the stops for any feasts we have."
As they finished their conversation, what was left of the main course vanished and was replaced by various desserts.
"So Nanoha, how are the desserts?" Hayate asked with a little grin.
"Why are you asking her?" Ron asked.
"It's because my family owns a cafe and I've known how to bake ever since I was eight. I helped out in the cafe as well and when some of our employees were making a ruckus in the kitchen all I had to do was poke my head in and they'd get back to work right away."
"So even at the tender age of eight, people already knew to fear the White Devil huh?" Hayate teased.
"Where did that name even come from?" Nanoha asked with a pout.
"I believe Vita coined it that night we ran into her when we were visiting Hayate in the hospital." Fate replied.
"Ah, that makes sense." Nanoha replied, "And to answer your question Hayate, they're pretty good. I might even see if I can get some of the recipes to try at home."
Eventually, what was left of the various desserts disappeared leaving the plates sparkling as Prof. Dumbledore stood up to make his speech.
"So, now the we are all fed and watered, it is time for some Start-of-Term announcements. Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has informed me that the list of banned items has been expanded to cover some four hundred and thirty-seven items and may be viewed in his office if you should wish to check it for detail. As ever, the forest on the grounds is out of bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all students below third year. It pains to do this, but I must inform you all that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not be held this year."
At this Harry gasped out "What?"
"This is due to an event that shall begin in late October and will continue through the end of the year which I hope that you will all enjoy. It is to my great pleasure that I announce that this year, Hogwarts is hosting-"
A roar of thunder and the bang of the doors to the great hall opening cut Dumbledore off before he could finish. As students started to look towards the doors they saw a man in a black travelling cloak with a long cane who appeared to have walked from London to Hogwarts in the storm. He had a mane of long grizzled dark gray hair, and every other step he took made a dull clunk as he made his way to the staff table. There was a flash of lightning in the ceiling above and Hermione gasped. The man's face was covered in scars, but it was his eyes that caught everyone's attention. He had a single small, dark, and beady eye, but the other one was what you noticed first. It was large, electric blue, and spinning, like if it stopped for but a moment it would fall out. As the newcomer reached Dumbledore, they had a small chat and he took a seat to the right of Dumbledore.
"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Dumbledore began, "Professor Moody."
At this, Harry, Ron, and Hermione muttered a few words amongst themselves.
"As I was saying before Prof. Moody arrived, Hogwarts has been given the honor of hosting The Triwizard Tournament for the first time in over a century. It was first established over seven hundred years ago as a way to foster friendly competition between the three biggest schools of magic in Europe, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected from each school and they would compete in three tasks designed to test their knowledge of magic. It was considered the best way for young witches and wizards to form bonds of friendship across national lines. Unfortunately, it had to be canceled due to the steadily rising death toll. There have been many attempts to revive the tournament over the years, but none of them have been successful. This year, however, the Ministry believes, as do I, that the time is ripe to try another attempt. Though we believe we have made it as safe as possible, entry into the tournament is restricted to those who are of age. The heads of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will be arriving in late October along with their short-listed contenders and the selection of champions will take place on Halloween. An impartial judge will decide who among the students is worthy of competing for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school and a thousand Galleons prize money."
At this excited whispers began to ring out throughout the Great Hall.
"Eager though you all may be, the heads of the participating schools and the Ministry of Magic have decided to place an age restriction on contenders this year. Only those students who are of age, meaning, seventeen years or older, will be allowed to put forth their names for entry into the tournament. This is not negotiable, as we feel that only those students who are near graduation will possess the knowledge required to see them safely through the tournament. I will be personally making sure that no student under seventeen submits their name for consideration, so, I implore you, do not waste your time trying to enter the tournament if you are not of age."
At this many students looked even more determined to enter than before.
"Before I forget, we have another new member of staff this year. Miss Shamal Yagami will be acting as an assistant to Madam Pomfrey this year. I hope that you all will provide her with the respect her position deserves. Now, off to bed with you as classes begin tomorrow morning and I know you will want to be rested for them. Bedtime! Chop chop!"
"They can't do that!" an angry set of red-haired twins stated as they came over to walk back with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"It sounds like a smart move, restricting the entrants in order to keep them as safe as possible," Fate began, "Besides, I'm more concerned with the fact that this tournament was canceled due to a rising death toll."
"But that's in the past," The first twin said,"It's not like they'll let someone die this time around."
"By the way, my name's Forge." The second twin said.
"And I'm Gred." The first twin finished.
"Oh honestly," Hermione huffed, "Those two are Fred and George, Ron's older brothers. Good luck figuring out which one's which though. They like to shuffle their names every morning."
"We do not!" They replied in unison.
"We simply forget who is who on occasion and make a determination before the day begins" Thing 1 said.
"Indeed, it happens far more often than we'd like so we just roll with it." Thing 2 finished.
After that little discussion, Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate followed Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George as they found their way to Gryffindor tower where a painting asked for a password (Balderdash) before letting them inside.
"Shall we all head to bed then?" Hermione asked with a yawn, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm bushed."
"Yeah, sleep sounds good right about now." Hayate replied.
"Come on, I'll show you which dorm is for the fourth years."
At that, they split up, four up the staircase leading to the boy's dorms and four up the staircase leading to the girl's dorms.
"This is our dorm, it's probably going to be cramped with three more beds in there, but we'll manage." Hermione stated as she opened the door, "Huh, there's only two new beds. Strange, I mean, it was going to be cramped, but I didn't think that there wouldn't be enough room for all of you…"
"I see my trunk at the end of one of the beds." Hayate said with a sly smirk, "And I think I see both Nanoha and Fate's trunks at the end of the other."
"Well that's not right, every student is given a bed of their own. I've never even heard of students being forced to share a bed before."
-Pop-
"Missy Harly's wolf not being allowing us to set up another bed Missy Grangy," Dobby said as he popped in, "So we's being setting up a bed for Missy Taki and Missy Harly to share. Missy Harly's wolf was quite insistent on it."
-Pop-
"Fate, what's this about?" Hermione asked.
"Sometimes I still get nightmares from what my mother did to me before I met Nanoha." Fate replied quietly, "We've shared a bed off and on ever since we were nine, and when Nanoha's with me the nightmares either don't appear or are not as harsh."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Is everything okay at home now?"
"Things are much better for Fate-chan now then they were when we first met. Her birth mother is gone, presumed dead, and she's now been adopted by the mother of a friend of mine." Nanoha replied as she hugged Fate.
"Well, then let's get ready for bed."
And with that, everyone got changed and climbed into bed.
"Good night, Nanoha." Fate said as she lie there being held by Nanoha.
"Good night, Fate-chan." Nanoha replied as she held Fate close, "I promise to always be there to fight back the nightmares with you."
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AN: So now the girls have been sorted. It actually took me about a week to make the final decision on where they would end up. Eventually the idea to give Fate the occasional nightmare came to mind, and I decided to use that to keep the girls together. I understand that some may not agree with where I placed them, but you have NO idea how hard it is to sort these three! All of them would do well in any House, and I had to take certain character traits I want to develop in mind.
I have one last question for everyone. I plan for this story to go all the way through Vivid and beyond, but I'm not sure if I should separate it out into multiple "Books" or if I should just post it all in this one story. Let me know what you guys think would be the better way to handle it and, please, explain why you think so.
I haven't received any reviews to the contrary, so starting this chapter I will be including a Recommended Fic section at the end of the chapter. At this point in time, I only intend on recommending stories that are connected to either "Harry Potter" or "Lyrical Nanoha". If you would be okay with me expanding the pool I pull from, please let me know.
Recommended Fic: "The Girl Who Loved" & its sequel "Violence Inherent in the System" by Darth Drafter. When presented with a horrible situation, Harry's intent to just go takes him from "Very Bad to Maybe Just As Bad", as he ends up in the one place on Earth that next to no one visits intentionally. Jusenkyo. During his stay, he befriends an Aquatransexual martial artist named Ranma Satome, a ghost girl named Usagi Tsukino, and most importantly, falls in the Spring-of-Drowned-I'm-Not-Sure-Who-She-Was. Now Harry has to find his way home, but not before 7 days of rest and relaxation in Japan filled with Excitement! Adventure! Tentacle Monsters? Sucessful Dates?! By the end of his stay in the land of the rising sun, SHE becomes more popular there than HE ever was in Britain. And that's just in the first 12 chapters of this 40 chapter duology! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a schedule that lets me both write at a semi-decent pace and re-read one of my favorite story sets of all time.
