Harry Potter and the Holy Grail War

ESKK: Well, here we are a new fic as I finally take a shot at the Natsuverse. Oh, BTW the first chapter will be akin to the first chapter of another. Now let's begin shall we.

"Talking."

"Spells."

'Thinking.'

"Letters."

(Scene Break)

-Music Insert/Lyrics-

(Start Great Hall Halloween October 31st)

It was the night of Halloween. It was time to announce the champions that would represent Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang in the Triwizard Tournament. Dumbledore stood before the Goblet of Fire as many students from all three schools waited with batted breaths for the names to be called out. But this night however, the dread was rising as they sat in the Great Hall, waiting for the Goblet to be ready to choose.

"I believe that we have about another minute before the Goblet is ready," Dumbledore declared as he then got down to the speech. "While we wait, I wish to remind you, should your name come out of the Goblet, you stand alone." He said making it clear how dangerous this competition was. "Your school's instructors cannot help you. You must face the obstacles and challenges with just your wits and your knowledge. And you must face them all." He warned everyone making it clear that the students whose names are drawn are to stand alone in battle. "Now, I believe that it is now time." Dumbledore said before the headmaster turned to the goblet. As he approached the artifact he reached out towards its and made a silent incantation to it. In response the Goblets blue flame flickered and pulsed orange/red before spitting a piece of parchment out of the flames.

Dumbledore snatched it from the air as it floated down, opened it, and in turn saw the name inside it. "The Champion for Durmstrang," He began before pausing for a bit of dramatic flair. "Is Viktor Krum!" Dumbledore announced and in turn cheers erupted from the Durmstrang students as the large Bulgarian stood, accepting the accolades of his peers. He made his way down the hall and entered the antechamber where the champions would receive the information about the first challenge.

As he left, the Goblet pulsed again, expelling another piece of parchment. "The Champion from Beauxbatons." Dumbledore began the announcement with a pause. "Is Fleur Delacour!" He voiced and in turn the reaction from the Beauxbatons students was more sedate than the Durmstrangs, but no less real. Hermione noted several faces flashed disgust before covering it with smiles. She made a note to find out more about this Fleur, and possibly why she inspired such a reaction. As the lithe blonde entered the antechamber, the Goblet flared again.

"The Champion from Hogwarts," Dumbledore began with yet another dramatic pause. "Is Cedric Diggory!" He announced and in turn three-quarters of the house tables erupted in applause. Hufflepuff was by far the loudest, as one of their own was selected to represent the school. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were genuinely happy for the well-liked Puff, especially since he wasn't a Slytherin. The cheers lasted longer than the previous ones, but as they finally settled and Cedric joined the other Champions in the anteroom, Dumbledore began to speak again.

"Now that we have our Champions, I expect you all too…" Dumbledore trailed off in his speech, for the Goblet began to spark to life once more. Runes began to glow upon it as the fire began to shift between the colors of red, blue, and gold. Something was happening and the Goblet was fighting back against it.

What very few knew was a man long ago had a hand in the Goblet of Fire's creation by erecting several levels of protection upon it to prevent it from being tricked without retaliation. The Goblet was retaliating and could not be made to prevent the name from coming forth. So instead of doing it that way the Goblet called to this protection and summoned an item of miracles to erect another tournament in its place. For this night it shall not be three Champions but seven though the Goblet with its ancient magic.

The Goblet then flared to life once more releasing four more parchments. In response Dumbledore caught all four Parchments and noted that two of them were written on parchment that had not been used in centuries. Dumbledore once again snatched the floating paper from the air, unfolded it, and read it. Harry's gut froze as Dumbledore's shoulders slumped slightly, as if in resignation.

In turn Dumbledore read the names one by one as he knew something had occurred. "Harry Potter… Hermione Granger… Gabrielle Delacour… and Alexi Angelov." He read aloud as in turn all hell broke loose.

Silence filled the hall as every eye turned to stare at the owner of the names in question. Hermione was wide eyed in shock over being made a champion, everyone else was a mixture of accusation and confusion. Ron was seen glaring at Harry and Hermione for this but the two stood up with the other chosen champions and went on to front. Alexi of Durmstrum walked forth clearly being the oldest of the four but even Hermione gasped in shock when Gabrielle walked up revealing herself to be no older than a first year. Harry felt every eye on him as he approached the dais, but he only had eyes for the headmaster.

Dumbledore nodded sadly as Harry approached, admitting his failure despite the reassurances he'd offered. The staff looked as horrified as Gabrielle was when they saw a child barely through her first year being selected as a champion. McGonagall joined Harry in front of the staff table, laying a supporting hand on his shoulder and adding her look to Harry's as she led him to the antechamber. As the door closed to the chamber, the murmurs of speculation could be heard building, and Harry sighed. It was just his luck.

(Later in the Next Room)

The four students walked into the room as Gabrielle was wide eyed in fear to this while Alexi was oddly calm about this event. "Alexi why are you here?" Viktor was heard as Alexi saw she was noticed.

"Gabrielle, why are you here? Did they need us back out there again?" Fleur asked as she was no concerned as to why these three were here.

Just then a commotion was heard as the group looked and saw the three Headmasters entering the room where the Champions were waiting for them. Just then Dumbledore stepped forth as Harry expected something from him but the words that came out of his mouth was not one anyone expected.

"It seems we may have a small situation." Dumbledore began but Kakaroff scoffed to this.

"A small situation is hardly the world Albus." Kakaroff said as he looked to the Hogwarts Headmaster.

"Zi Holy Grail War why here why now?" Maxime asked as she tried to make sense of this herself.

"Pardon me but the Holy Grail War?" Harry asked as he thought he was being made to participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

"The Holy Grail War… it's an ancient contest between seven Wizards and Witches with a prize desired by all the Holy Grail and with it a chance at an omnipotent wish that derives power from the first ancestral magic to perform such miracles." Hermione explained as she looked to six who were gathered. "I read about it

"Pardon me sir but seven?" Fleur asked as she counted six in here right now.

"The weighing of the wands has been postponed already I have sent my phoenix to give word to the Mages Association a group of wizards who don't fall under the Jurisdiction of the ICW." Dumbledore said as he looked to the group with concern. "Anyway, the Holy Grail War isn't like a magical duel you will be made to summon forth servants to act in your steed and pin them against other Servants. The Last Servant and Master team standing wins." Dumbledore said as this got Harry thinking.

"Servant's sir?" Harry asked curious about that bit.

Just then as Dumbledore began to speak a burst of flames appeared and from it, Fawkes was back with a letter in his talon.

Dumbledore took the letter and in turn was wide eyed at what he read upon opening it. "It seems we will need to postpone the weighing of the wands for a week they will be here by tomorrow to start instructing the champions on the spell to summon a servant." Dumbledore said and in turn this gave them all time to process this.

"Professor Dumbledore are you honestly suggesting we host this blasted war?!" Minerva asked in shock until Moody spoke up next.

"We have no choice Once the Grail appears it will do what it must to ensure the war is fought." Moody said as he gritted his teeth through this.

Just then Crouch walked to the side as all eyes fell to him on this. "The rules are magically binding." He said and in turn all eyes were widened in shock to this. "As of tonight, all seven of those whose names came out are Masters in the Holy Grail War." Crouch said and in turn Harry saw the look in Alexi's eyes. In fact, all of the champions had that look in some way or form. If the Holy Grail was as powerful as it is said possessing the strength to even undie the laws of life and death and bend it to ones will… well it was a good incentive to win by any means necessary.

(Scene Break the following evening)

"Harry, I can't believe it." Hermione gasped as she looked to Harry who was alone in the Common Room. "I never realized the Goblet had such a defensive measure." Hermione said as she figured out the Goblet must have instigated the Holy Grail War in response to someone confounding it. But since the one who did it was not with a school it means it decided to punish all three schools to get its point across.

"No one has ever caused it to activate so of course no one knows about it." Harry confessed as he looked to Hermione.

"Still the Holy Grail War will have need of you and I to summon a Servant to fight in our names." Hermione said as Harry already knew that much and knew how Hermione didn't like it. "I read about it on a muse and learned a lot on it, the servant whom you summon is basically a legendary figure in history good or ill if you want to survive this you need to summon an actual hero." Hermione said as she looked to Harry with great concern for him.

"I know but…" Harry said as he sat there and in turn sighed in response. "Hermione where's Ron?" Harry asked and in turn Hermione grew silent in response to this.

"He… went to bed something about wanting to be alone." Hermione said and thus Harry knew what she meant by that.

"I see." Harry said solemnly as he looked down a bit.

"Still if you're like this I can only imagine what that poor girl is going through." Hermione said as she saw Gabrielle was only seven maybe 8 years old and being forced into this because someone wanted to cheat.

"It's my fault, it was me they wanted and now." Harry began but Hermione stopped him.

"Harry it's not your fault." Hermione comforted as she looked to her best friend. "It could have happened to anyone you were just unfortunate to be that person." Hermione said as she looked to Harry knowing he was blaming himself for this possible tragedy.

"I need to go talk to them." Harry said as he stood up knowing Gabrielle must be in shock over this.

"Not now tomorrow first we need to study on what summoning you're going to do." Hermione said as she already had the books needed for it.

"But… ok." Harry said knowing he needed to survive first and foremost.

(Scene Break the next day)

Harry and Hermione were summoned from their Potions class with Snape to the Great Hall. When they reached the classroom, it turned out that the four other champions had already arrived.

Alexi and Cedric stood off to one side making conversation while Fleur was comforting her sister who looked absolutely terrified. Nearby Viktor glared at everyone which was quite unusual for a professional Quidditch star. As soon as he was done looking at all this Harry noticed that a woman was making his way over to him. She had curly blond hair and jeweled horn-rimmed glasses. The rest of her outfit consisted of magenta robes and a crocodile skin handbag.

"Rita Skeeter. Daily Prophet reporter" she said by way of introduction. Harry was worried at this; he had heard enough about Skeeter over the summer to know that she was bad news. "I was just wondering if we could have a quick interview, Harry. About the tournament."

Fortunately, Harry was saved from answering as Professor Dumbledore and the other headmasters entered the room. They were followed in by two other people, one of whom Harry recognized as Ollivander the wandmaker. The second man was completely unknown to Harry and everyone else who was present, except for Professor Dumbledore.

The man was young and appeared to be in his early twenties. The man had short dirty blonde hair and dark green eyes, which were constantly scanning the room, as if to identify some sort of threat. His skin was pale, though not unhealthy. However, the thing that separated the man from all of the other wizard's and witches in the room was his clothing. He wore muggle clothing instead of robes. A navy-blue jacket sat atop a plain white shirt. He also wore jeans which were the same shade as the jacket. The man wore a set of tough looking leather boots on his feet. The newcomer then proceeded to make his way to the back of the room and sat down on a chair.

Dumbledore made his way to the center of the room and began to speak. "Good afternoon to you all. May I introduce Mr. Ollivander", Dumbledore turned and gestured towards the old wandmaker, "He is here to make sure that all of your wands are in working order for the...trials that you shall all face." Everyone in the room noticed the hesitation in Dumbledore's voice, as if he held a particular distaste towards these trials.

Dumbledore then gestured towards Ollivander. He then moved to one side as Ollivander moved to stand in the center of the room. Thus, one by one Ollivander began to go through everyone's wands one after the other. During this Harry could not help but feel a profound sense of trepidation for this event.

"Miss Delacour you first." Dumbledore said before Fleur stepped forward and passed her wand over to the old wandmaker.

Ollivander then proceeded to turn the wand over between his fingers, examining it in detail. It was a moment before he spoke. "Nine and a half inches, rosemary and the core...oh my. Is this?" He trailed off causing Fleur to notice.

"A hair from the head of a Veela! One of my grandmother's!" Fleur said by way of explanation.

Ollivander nodded, to this with a small knowing smile. "Yes. Yes. I thought so. I've never used Veela hair myself, I always found that it makes for rather...temperamental wands." He spoke as that was his personal opinion. "However, if this suits you." He said before he then proceeded to flick Fleur's wand and made a bouquet of flowers appear out of thin air before Ollivander then gave Fleur the flowers and returned her wand to her.

"Ms. Delacour if you would please." Dumbledore said and thus Fleur translated to allow her sister to go forward.

"Hmm seems that the family has a trend." Ollivander said as he looked to the wand. "Nine and a half inches, rosewood and the core just like your sisters." Ollivander said as Gabriel nodded as Fleur translated for her sister.

Cedric was next. Ollivander was much more excited as he examined Cedric's wand, as it was one that Ollivander had crafted with his own hands. The old man spent a lot of time reminiscing about obtaining the wands core, which was unicorn hair.

Alexi Angelov was next as the Scandinavian was a tall young man, and his body was taught with muscle. His dark hair was closely cropped to his skull, giving everyone a full view his face and the cruel smirk that sat upon it. However, the most unsettling part of Angelov's features were his eyes, there were the color of freshly wrought steel, and they held a cunning that beguiled his muscular form.

Once again Ollivander examined the wand before him carefully, raising it right up to his eyes. "Ebony. Eleven inches and the core of this wand is that of dragon heartstrings." Angelov simply smirked back at the old man in response. Ollivander then proceeded to send a billow of red flames from the tip of the wand before returning it to its owner.

Harry paid little attention to the rest of the ceremony, Ollivander's examination of both Krum's and Hermione's had started to cause Harry to tune out. In fact, he barely paid attention when his own wand was examined, although Harry made sure to listen for any mention of the connection between his own and Voldemort's wands, Harry was far more interested in the second man. As Harry made his way back, he turned to look at the stranger, the man was sitting incredibly still on his chair, his dark green eyes focused on Harry as he walked away. Harry quickly turned away; however, he still felt the stranger's eyes focused on him as he made his way back to his chair.

As Ollivander made his way from the center of the room, Dumbledore took his place. "Now to explain how the rest of the events will continue, allow me to introduce Mr. Draven Dusk of the mages association." As Dumbledore spoke, he gestured towards the now identified Draven Dusk who was making his way to center of the room to stand next to Dumbledore. As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking Mr. Crouch, Professor Kakaroff and Madam Maxine snapped their heads around to stare at Dusk, almost simultaneously. Whoever he was and whatever the mages association, both these factors caused brought surprise to the three of them.

"The Seven of you gathered here have been selected to take part in a powerful ritual." Dusk's voice was calm and still, but it contained a hardness to it that spoke of untold experience in combat. "By the end of it one of you will be able to have their greatest wish granted." He spoke as everyone paid attention.

Dusk paused for a moment watching the seven for their reactions. Viktor Krum stayed as surly as ever, seemingly unphased by this news. Alexi Angelov was the complete opposite, there was an expression of pure greed on his face. Fleur Delacour appeared nervous for a fraction of a second, before quickly hiding her nerves but looked to her younger sister with concern. By contrast Gabrielle made no attempt to hide her nerves. Cedric Diggory's face was curious at Dusk's words as Hermione was both curious and worried at the same time.

Dusk smirked at all this, no one here had any idea what sort of struggles that they were truly in for. "However, there is a catch." Dusk said pulling everyone out of their little daydream. "To get your wish, the seven of you are going to have to fight in a war. A war against each other. The Holy Grail War" He announced and in turn the expressions of surprise came about across the room. These expressions were exactly what Dusk had expected from the runts in here. The whole room was silent at Dusk's words. Scanning the room Harry noticed that all of the assembled Professor's, Mr. Crouch and Mr. Ollivander were standing with a great deal of concern at Dusk's statement. The rest of the room, Harry included, wore expressions of confusion on their faces.

"Now for the explanations and don't interrupt me until I ask for questions." Dusk said making it clear that he did not like being interrupted. By the looks of it he didn't want to be here but had no choice in the matter. "To keep it simple, The Holy Grail War is a battle between seven mages, or in this case wizards, to have any wish granted by the Holy Grail." He began his explanation while Hermione was taking notes. "Those who compete are known as masters." Draven said before he paused allowing everyone to take in what he had said. "However, this is not the cup that Christ drank from at the last supper. This grail is an artificial construct created by the powerful mage families of Tohsaka, Einzbern and Makiri." He explained as everyone had his undivided attention.

"Typically, the war has been held in the Japanese city of Fuyuki, however this has not happened for the last war, which was held in London, or indeed this one." He added before getting back to the subject of the masters and their inevitable servants. "All of the seven masters then battle it out for the Grail. This is done by summoning a familiar known as a Heroic Spirit to battle for them." He explained and thus paused again to let this information sink in. "A heroic spirit is a historical or legendary figure that has performed deeds of such renown that their name is forever remembered throughout history." He added making sure they know what they will be getting. "In the end only one master will be able to have their wish granted so its basically a battle royale." Dusk added to ensure they got what he was saying.

Once he had finished speaking, Dusk looked at each of the seven in turn as if he were, gauging their strength. "I will be teaching each of you how to summon a servant and about the abilities of the servant classes. I shall also be explaining the rules of the Grail War." He spoke as he was instructed to do this by the Mages association. "However, when the war begins, I will be acting as the supervisor for the war enforcing the rules and punishing any master who dares to break them, so word of advice doesn't start shit." He said glaring at everyone here before he sighed and turned to Dumbledore, glaring at the man a bit. "I think that's enough for now. You all right to explain the rest to them old man?" Dusk asked causing looks of shock across the room at the way Dusk so casually addressed Dumbledore.

However, Dumbledore just smiled back at Dusk. "Very well Draven. Thank you very much for your words." Dumbledore said before Dusk grunted in response and returned to his chair at the side of the room.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and began to speak. "Usually, the Holy Grail War is conducted in secret, with the masters retaining their anonymity." He began as they all knew the Goblet of Fire took that option off the table. "However, due to the unique circumstances in which the masters were chosen this is no longer an option." He added then got to the bit of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. "Even so the tasks for the Triwizard tournament shall continue as normal, the three of you that were announced initially shall compete in the tasks as normal." Dumbledore said getting a sigh of relief from Harry, Hermione, Gabrielle, and Fleur. Alexi only scowled to this no doubt wanting a shot at the reward money.

Dumbledore turned toward Bagman and Crouch. "I believe that is everything we needed to discuss for now and as such I think our masters' can return to their lessons or head down to dinner, as they are about to finish." Dumbledore spoke but had not even finished speaking before Rita Skeeter cleared her throat and had sent a pointed look toward the headmaster. "Ah. Yes. I quite forgot. I believe that photos are in order." Rita said to which at these words Draven Dusk made his way toward the door a disgruntled look on his face.

Rita Skeeter called after him when she noted him trying to leave. "Mr. Dusk! Please stay. I had hoped we could have an interview. To give some color on recent events from an... outsider's perspective." He spoke and in turn Dusk glared at the woman in question.

"No thanks. I'd rather not be misquoted." He snapped with a small smirk before he then proceeded to make his way out of the door, without a backward glance toward Skeeter. Yet again Harry felt his respect for the man increase, due to the way he had handled the situation. However, this feeling soon evaporated as Skeeter decided to make him the focus of her article.

(Scene Break the next day)

At 7 o'clock the following night Harry made his way to the classroom where he had first heard of the Holy Grail War. At breakfast that morning Harry and the other six masters had received a letter from Draven Dusk to have their first lesson on the upcoming Holy Grail War. Hermione had spent the entire day in the library when she could to research any information on the Mages Association and the Holy Grail War.

Once at his destination, Harry rapped his knuckles on the door and waited for an answer.

A moment later Harry heard Dusk call for him to enter. Upon entering Harry noticed that the only person in the room was Dusk himself. It seemed that Harry and Hermione were the first to arrive once inside. When the pair got in Draven examined Harry Potter as he made his way into the classroom. Draven noticed that the boy was slightly hesitant as what to do next. Smirking to this, Draven realized that it was probably his own presence that was unnerving Harry.

"It's good to meet you properly Harry Potter" Draven said, his voice calm and measured. Harry mumbled a greeting in response before turning away. "Listen kid I know what you're going through. I know that you've probably heard this before, but I really do. I wasn't much older than you when I fought in the last Grail War." Draven said before scratching his head a bit. "Probably why those pricks from the higher ups woke my ass up at the crack of dawn for this shit." Draven said as he REALLY didn't want to be here but had no choice.

"You fought in the last war?!" Hermione asked with a gasp of surprise upon hearing those words. This man was a veteran of the previous Holy Grail War and no doubt had great bits of advice for them to utilize.

"Don't get excited." Draven said as he looked to Hermione. "Trust me when I say none of us got out of that war unscathed." He said as he gripped his arm from a phantom pain from way back when. Hermione then stopped her questions seeing that whatever he went through was not something he wanted a repeat of.

"Did… you get your wish in the end?" Harry asked softly curious if it was worth it to Draven in the end.

"No… I didn't." Draven said through gritted teeth suggesting a bit of a checkered past from that time. Harry would have asked more if not for the door opening and from it the other master's started to show up. Once everyone was here Draven knew that class was in session and thus, he made his way to the front of the room and turned to face the seven assembled masters. "During this session I will be teaching about the seven classes of servant that fight in the grail war." Draven said before he then turned to a blackboard that was set up just behind him. He then began to write on the board while addressing those that were assembled with Hermione already taking notes.

"The seven classes of servant are as follows. Saber, the hero of the sword. Archer, the hero of the bow. Lancer, the hero of the spear. Rider, the hero of the mount. Caster, the hero of spells and sorcery. Assassin, the hero of murder. Berserker, the hero of Madness." He listed off as everyone paid attention. Gabriel was given a notetaker that would translate the notes to French so she could keep up with the class.

He turned back to face the masters, having finished writing on the board. "This system is used to classify heroic spirits so that they are able to be summoned. Only one servant of each class can be summoned in a grail war." He began the lesson with the explanation of the Heroic Spirits and their classes. "Additionally, a heroic spirit can only be summoned into one class at a time." He added for clarification on how this works. "So, a servant such as Heracles could not be summoned in both the Archer class and the Berserker class for the same grail war. Even though that heroic spirit qualifies for both of these classes." He spoke using Heracles or Hercules as an example. "Any questions so far?" He asked and in turn Hermione was the one to raise her hand with a question.

"How do we know which heroic spirit qualifies for which class?" Hermione asked as she had her hand raised for this.

"Good question." He said and thus began to teach them a little trick to use. "You can work it out based off of what is known about the heroic spirit in question." He said as he went back to his previous example. "Again, use the example of Heracles, he was remarkably famous for his skills with a bow, as well as the arrows he used." He spoke using what was known about Heracles as a starting point. "This means that he could be summoned as an Archer class servant." He said as he wrote down Heracles name on the board and had it connected to Berserker and Archer. "We also know Heracles suffered from madness at various points in his life, meaning that he could be summoned as a Berserker." He finished his explanation on the spirit. "Everyone clear on that?" He asked and thus none of the master's had any further questions.

"To make sure that you get the servant you want a master can choose to utilize a catalyst." He explained and thus got to what a Catalyst exactly was. "This is an artifact linked to a Heroic Spirits' story, this ensures that the desired servant can be summoned." He explained as this gave Harry a small idea when he recalled the Basilisk from his second year. "A master can choose to summon without a catalyst and by doing this the master will summon a servant with a similar personality to themselves." He spoke and thus got to the cons of that option. "The disadvantage to doing this is that you won't know which Heroic Spirit you will be summoning so it might backfire on you spectacularly." He said making it clear a Catalyst was ideal.

Dusk paused again for a moment, allowing the information to sink into everyone's minds. "The ritual used to summon a servant is a fairly simple one so I will provide you with incantation, Professor Dumbledore has assured me that Hogwarts will provide the ingredients that are needed for the ritual." He said and thus saw the question coming. "As for catalysts I understand that your various Headmasters are already making arrangements to obtain them for you but feel free to get your own if that is your desire." He said and as he then moved on to the specifications of the classes.

"First we have the Saber class." He began as he wrote down the Saber Class on the board and got to the nitty gritty of it. "This class is often considered the most desired class by masters. This is because of the classes' high stats. In addition, Sabers tend to have a magic resistance skill and a riding skill." Dusk said writing down brief notes on the class. "Their Noble Phantasm is also usually very powerful and involves the sword in some manner" Dusk finished his explanation before he saw that Harry Potter had raised his hand. Draven nodded toward the boy, indicating him to respond in which he did.

"What is a Noble Phantasm?" Harry asked as this caused Draven to pause for a moment before answering.

"In essence a Noble Phantasm is the manifestation of a heroic spirit's greatest legend." He said getting their undivided attention. "A Noble Phantasm can take the form of a weapon or skill that has defined the heroic spirit's legend." He said before writing down Arthur's name next to Saber. "For example, if King Arthur was summoned in the Saber class, this Heroic Spirit's Noble Phantasm would take the form of the sword Excalibur, The Kings legendary sword." Draven explained before he paused for a moment allowing the assembled masters to take in what he had said. "A servant's Noble Phantasm is their trump card and each one carries considerable power." He added with a hint of warning that they could understand.

"Now on to the Archer class." He began as he wrote down Archer on the board. "As expected, the Archer class specializes in long range combat and is usually accomplished using a bow or other ranged weapon to accomplish this." He spoke while writing down the benefits of Archer. "Like the Saber class, Archer's also have a magic resistance skill however, they also have a skill called Independent Action." He said and thus got to what this power was. "This skill allows them to act away from their master for a considerable amount of time, depending on the level of the skill that the servant has with it." He explained which showed this class had the benefit for that.

"Next is the Lancer class." HE said while writing down Lancer on the board. "This class has stats that are comparable to the Saber class except for agility which is much greater than other classes." He said writing down the Classes benefits. "However, this class suffers from abysmal luck. Like the Archer and Saber classes this class also has a magic resistance skill." He said adding the con with Lancer's luck.

Draven paused for a moment allowing the masters to take in what he had said so far as he saw Hermione writing it down in her notes. "The next class is Rider." He said moving on to the next class. "Now these classes readouts are more difficult to pinpoint then the others." He said showing Rider was a bit of a wild card. "However, like the other three classes they have a magic resistance skill." He began while writing down Riders benefits.

"They also, unsurprisingly, have a riding skill that will be much higher ranked than the Saber classes so I would not recommend racing it with Saber." He said as an offhanded joke. "This class will also be able to summon a mount, of some kind. This could vary from an ordinary horse of note or a mythical beast of some sort like a Dragon or Pegasus. This could also include some sort of machine, a ship for example." He explained on what Rider can do.

"Next is the Caster class." He spoke as he wrote down Caster on the board. "This class suffers from abysmal physical stats; however, they make up for this by having a high ranked mana stat which is used to channel into powerful spells." He said giving the pros and cons of Caster. "They also have the skills of Item Construction and Territory Creation." He explained and thus got down to explaining the skills in question. "The first skill allows them to create magical items of varying power, depending on the skill they have with it. Territory Creation allows the Caster to build a terrain that is of advantage to a mage or wizard. These can be used for a variety of purposes, such as the collection of mana." Dusk explained and then moved on to the next Class.

"Moving on to the Assassin class. Like the Caster class, they also have appalling physical stats. Which will put them in a disadvantage in a straight up fight. To compensate for this, they have a skill known as Presence Concealment. Assassin's use this skill to target enemy masters instead of servants. For once a master is killed the servant will eventually fade away." He said and noted the looks of shock on many of the master's faces, apart from Alexi Angelov and Viktor Krum. "However, in light of the... unique circumstances in which this Grail War will be conducted killing another master will be deemed unacceptable and if I find out if any master has broken the rules, they'll have to deal with me." Draven said in a threatening tone of voice making it clear that any Master deaths will bring extreme consequences for it.

He then cleared his throat and carried on with the lesson. "Let's carry on shall we." He said before getting to the final Class. "Finally, we have the Berserker class." He said writing down Berserker on the board. The servants in this class consist of heroic spirits that have gone mad or insane at some point in their lives." He said explaining the finer details of this class. "Another unique thing about this class it that it has a skill known as mad enhancement." He said bringing up the skills name. "This skill allows the servant to sacrifice their sanity in exchange for greater power and was designed to allow weaker heroic spirits to have a greater chance of defeating a more powerful Heroic Spirit." He said no doubt it was used to help give those weaker spirits a fighting chance. "However, when paired with a powerful Heroic Spirit, this class can surpass almost any class of Servant in physical abilities." He said and yet again Draven paused as the seven masters took everything in. "Okay I now have one final thing to explain to all of you and it is perhaps the most important thing it tell you." Draven said and in turn everyone waited, anticipation on their faces for what he was about to tell all of them.

"Those marks on your hands." He began pointing to the marks in question which made everyone look down at their own. "They are known as command spells they mark you as a master and represent the contract between you and a servant." He began then got to the scary part of it. "However, the most important thing about command spells is that by using one a master can give their servant an order and they will be forced to obey. No matter the servant's opinion on the order in question." Draven said as he then paused looking at each of the masters for their reaction. Most of them were shocked by the implication of the command spells. Fleur looked shocked as did her sister, Harry looked horrified, Hermione looked sick, and Cedric kept his cool but was also shocked.

On the other hand, Viktor Krum maintained his usual scowl. Alexi Angelov had a broad grin on his face at the thought of the command spells. This kid might be one to keep an eye on in case he does something.

Once Draven was finished speaking, he looked down at his watch and saw the time. "I think that's enough for today. Come back tomorrow night and we will continue from there." He said and thus this gave the group a great deal to think about.

(Scene Break Gryffindor Common Room)

Later than night in the Gryffindor common room Harry and Hermione were discussing everything that Dusk had told the seven masters. As expected, the young witch found it all utterly fascinating. "I've never heard of anything like this before." Hermione said as she was walking back and forth commenting about what she had learned. "These Servants must be incredibly powerful if they are used to fight over the Holy Grail!" She said until she had more to give about her research from earlier today. "I finally found out what the mages association is." Hermione said getting Harry's attention who then nodded indicating for her to continue. "It's an international group of mages with various branches around the world." She began the explanation for Harry. "They dedicate themselves to the study of magecraft and hiding it from the world." Hermione said which got a confused look from Harry.

"Magecraft?" Harry asked as he was completely baffled by the alien term.

"From what I understand it is what they call magic." She spoke using what research she could find. "From what little I could find out it seems to be much more complicated and dangerous as well." She said indicating that Magecraft was not like their own branch of magic.

They sat in silence for a moment after that, each lost in their thoughts. After a while Hermione turned toward Harry, "You're worried about this, aren't you?" Hermione asked to which Harry did not respond, however his silence told Hermione all she needed to know. "Then I suppose you and I need to make sure that we're the last two standing." Hermione said and in turn Harry spun around and looked at Hermione in surprise.

"We?" Harry asked shocked that Hermione was forming an alliance already.

"Well of course I'd never turn on you and more so aren't wars built on alliances?" Hermione asked with a smile on her face suggesting that having allies in the Holy Grail War was essential for victory. All Harry could do was smile to Hermione grateful that she is not intended to win this War.

(Scene Break Three Days Later)

Three days later Harry was summoned to Professor Dumbledore's office. As he was walking up the stairs, Harry could only wonder what the headmaster wanted. Harry suspected that it had something to do with the Grail war.

Eventually Harry arrived at the door into Dumbledore's office but before Harry could knock on the door, he heard Dumbledore call to him from inside. "Come in Harry." Dumbledore called surprising Harry that the headmaster told him about this.

As he walked through the door the headmaster gestured for Harry to take a seat in one of the seats opposite him. "Now Harry, I am sure that you are wondering why I have called you here. There are three reasons, firstly I was asked to pass along this from Mr. Dusk." Dumbledore said as the headmaster picked up from his desk a scrap of parchment and passed it to Harry. Looking down at the parchment Harry realized it was the incantation Dusk had previously spoken of, the one that he would need to summon his servant.

"Secondly, I would like to offer you an apology." He added to which Harry looked up in surprise at the headmaster's words. "I have failed you again my boy." He began as he knew of the Holy Grail War and the scars it left behind even on those who had noble intention. "Since the tragic day your parents were killed, I have tried to protect you but needless to say, I have not succeeded." Dumbledore said as he looked to the young man. "Every year since you have attended this school you have found yourself in some sort of danger and for this, I am truly sorry the blame rests solely on my shoulders." Dumbledore said as he hoped to have Harry avoid walking his path as well.

"Professor..." Harry started to say, but Dumbledore interrupted him by raising his hand firmly.

"I will not hear a word against it Harry and I would ask you that we speak on the matter no further." Dumbledore said as he then moved on with the meeting. "Now for the final reason I summoned you here tonight." He began as he began to get down to it.

"For all three of the Hogwarts masters I have attempted to obtain a catalyst that I believe would suit each of you, respectively." Dumbledore said as Harry nodded his understanding. "It would seem Ms. Granger had chosen her own method and Mr. Diggory had acquired a method of his own as well. "Yours is in that box." Dumbledore said gesturing to the box nearby. In turn Harry walked over and opened the box and what he found inside shocked him.

"The Sword of Gryffindor." Harry gasped realizing the weapon inside the box and its properties. "Professor I can't use this!" Harry argued as if this was correct, he'd be summoning Godric Gryffindor himself as his master at best.

"I ask that you use it my boy." Dumbledore said as he knew Godric Gryffindor would have an advantage in this war since Hogwarts was the birthplace of his legend. "I am certain the school founder would be invaluable to you since he did help build this school." Dumbledore said making it clear Harry would have a tactical advantage over even Cedric Diggory. "I would have offered another founders artifact to the others but that would just make Hogwarts advantage unfair and cause many to cry foul." Dumbledore added as he was already pushing it with the sword.

"Alright." Harry said as he doubts, he could find a better catalyst then this.

With a thankful nod Dumbledore got down to it. "Now my boy you shall go down to the dungeons at eleven thirty this evening." He began as Harry suspected the reason. "You shall summon your servant at this time." He said and thus with a nod Harry took his leave to prepare for the inevitable summoning of his master.

(Scene Break Dungeons)

Three Circles were set up drawn into the ground in chalk as Harry, Hermione, and Cedric stood before them with their chosen catalyst. They each began the incantations to summon forth their servants to fight in this war for them.

(Carriages)

Fleur and Gabrielle were also standing before a circle as they too had begun the ritual to summon their servant. Their command seals glowing in resonance to their circles as they drew forth power to summon their servants.

(Durmstrum Ship)

Viktor and Alexi were well into their own summoning as they brought forth the power needed to summon their servants. Not entirely sure who they would be summoning they were using artifacts their headmaster acquired to bring forth what they hoped to be a powerful servant to fight for their cause.

(Back at the Hogwarts Dungeons)

"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg.

The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.

Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill.

Repeat every five times.

Simply, shatter once filled.

I announce.

Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword.

In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.

Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead.

You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance"

As the words left Harry's mouth, he felt an overwhelming surge of power and magic with it. HE could not hear what Cedric and Hermione said but he assumed it was something similar. The sword of Gryffindor fell into the circle and in turn the magic with it reached its apex. A sound like a gong rang out through the castle, and a wave of pure power lifted Harry off of his feet and flung him against the wall. Another gong sounded, the very walls of Hogwarts shifting around as power seeped into its very foundation.

Again, a gong sounded, and Harry could hear the very stones of Hogwarts shudder, accompanied by the fluttering of flags. What Harry failed to realize was that the gong was in fact Hogwarts welcoming back once whom it had not seen since its conception

(Beauxbatons Carriages)

From Fleur's circle a man dressed in pitch black armor rose with a red visor over his eyes. His armor had several tendrils attached to it as Fleur noted he looked like that of a Knight. But his ominous aura unnerved her but did not frighten her in fact she almost felt sorry for this Servant. Why would she feel pity for this Servant who rose to fight for her?

From Gabrielle's circle a large tanned skinned man rose crimson hair that stretched to a might beard upon his face. Clothing fit for a conquering King of ancient Greece Gabrielle's servant was no doubt a powerful one in its own right which Fleur was grateful for.

(Durmstrum Ship)

Viktor's servant was a small child in revealing armor as she wielded two large daggers in her hands. Her eyes glowed red as she scanned Viktor before smiling at him with the same innocence of a child. Viktor was surprised by this as he wondered how such a small child could be a Servant of all things.

Alexi's servant on the other hand was clad in gold armor with his golden hair noted by many. He had his arms crossed and carried an air of arrogance around him that also gave off the aura that he can back up his arrogance. Alexi grinned sinisterly as he summoned his servant to fight and bring him this wars prize, the Holy Grail.

(Back at the Dungeons)

A fourth ring drew both of their attention back to the summoning where a figure of shimmering, golden light grasped something in their hands and stabbed it downwards.

A final gong and all the glass of the window shattered. Anything breakable in the classroom was turned to splinters and dust. Dumbledore barely had time to cast a shield charm to protect the students and himself. From Hermione's circle a figure took form dressed in dark red and dull gold with tanned skin, ivory white hair, and a visor over his ears that covered his forehead area and part of his hair.

From Cedric's circle a man dressed in azure blue wielding a spear of all things stood as his blue hair was seen tied in a tail. He had a cocky smile on his face as he seemed ready to do battle at a moment's notice.

Finally standing there in Harry's circle, streamed by sunlight as bright as her bun tied hair and facing away from them, was a woman. Clad in the red robes of a wizard but adorned in golden armor, Harry could not deny she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Her gauntlets were capped by fur, as was the top of her torso piece behind her head. Harry glanced down at the summoning circle and saw that the Sword of Gryffindor was now lying flat on the ground, but Harry could see that it was also in the woman's hands.

"Upon you're Summoning, I have come forth." The man from Hermione circle spoke. "You have called for me, and I have answered Mystical Servant of Magic, Caster." He added as Hermione noted that there was something strikingly familiar about her Servant. "Now I ask of you," HE trailed off as he pointed directly at Hermione while the man spoke from Cedric's circle.

"Upon you're summoning, I have come forth." He spoke with a grin on his face. "You have called of me, and I have answered. Servant of the Spear, Lancer." Lancer said as he stood before Cedric Diggory. "I ask you." HE went off pointing his spear at Cedric.

"Upon you're summoning, I have come forth." The woman spoke, a brogue to her voice not unlike Professor McGonagall's but far more prominent, as if English was a second tongue. "You have called of me, and I have answered. Knightly Servant of the Sword, Saber." The woman drew in a deep breath. "Now, I ask of you..." The woman turned her head to look at Harry from over her armored shoulder, her bright pink eyes contrasting to her freckled face.

"Are you, my master?" They all asked at the same time and with it signaled the start of the War.

(TBC)

ESKK: Here is the listings of Servants and Masters.

Harry/Saber

Hermione/Caster

Cedric/Lancer

Fleur/Berserker

Gabrielle/Rider

Viktor/Assassin

OC/Archer

ESKK: Well, here we go a fanfic I have been meaning to make for a good long time and here it is the first chapters published. I've been wanting to do this because no other fic would give me the way I want it thus I decided to do it myself. Anyway, be sure to leave a review before leaving and as always, ja-ne.