Earthbound, Unbound
Disclaimer/Plot/Challenge Information/Author's Notes: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Recommended Reads: Yugioh GX: Emperor of Darkness and Yugioh GX: Celestial War by YugiohFreak54, Harry Potter and the Duel Academy and Harry Potter and the Tri-Academy Tournament by A Pair of New Shoes, Harry Potter and the Crimson Magic by Matarra, Different Dimension Duellist by The Mad Prince, Death's Gravekeeper by TheSilverboar, Harry Potter GX, Harry potter GX season 2, Harry potter GX season 3 and Harry potter GX season 4 by diamondholder and The darkness returns by craighorner88
Key Pairing: Harry/Bellatrix/Luna; Jack/Hermione
Other Pairings: To be determined
Normal Speech
'Thoughts'
'Spirit/Shadow Speech'
/Parseltongue/
{OC Card Descriptions}
Review Answers:
A10riddick: All will be revealed as the madness continues;
Iamshinydragonmist: Would that be too cheesy? Hmm…guess not;
"Imagine how they'd react if they knew the truth of your Mark," laughed Harry, earning a groan from Jack.
"Thanks Harry, I really needed that nightmare: Jack Potter, the world's Chosen One who is our only hope because Fate says so…what next? Saying I have to die for the Greater Good?"
"Not if I can help it, little brother," argued Harry, his eyes downcast, even as he growled under his breath.
"Not if I can help it!"
ARC 1: LOST AND FOUND
Chapter 8: Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)
At first, Harry might have thought that he'd won the second round, but after a few days, he was more than willing to deny that he'd ever thought that.
For one thing, whatever time he seemed to try and spend in his former sibling's company was overshadowed by the presence of the redheaded nuisance, Ronald Weasley, who often made a song-and-dance of the fact that, apparently, when it came to Harry and Jack, slimy snakes and cheats didn't get to hang out with the Boy-Who-Lived – even though Harry was a Ravenclaw and not a Slytherin.
On top of that, the rest of Ravenclaw also seemed willing, if not eager, to keep their distance, though Harry knew that was because of how he was not only a friend, but also the betrothed to his precious Luna Lovegood.
Even though some of them – mostly the female population – saw fit to glare and sneer at Luna's closeness to Harry, as though they wanted to take her place, they all kept their distance, reducing their petty attitudes to childish whispers and rumours that soon filled the Great Hall and the rest of the school.
EBUB
Soon, most people were believing that Luna had used a Love Potion on Harry, and that Sirius was only encouraging it because he'd lucked out on the chance to have a real wizard for a godson and heir – though the latter mostly came from Gryffindor, which told Harry that Potter Senior hadn't learned his lesson.
Some also said she had Harry under an enchantment, which one Ravenclaw – Goldstein, if Harry recalled correctly – even said was a real thing as he'd heard of how his Great-Aunt Queenie had done the same to a Muggle, just to keep him close.
And since Luna was as weird as Queenie – Goldstein's words – it made sense that she needed such underhanded tactics to get a man.
EBUB
Weirdly, when word reached Harry's ears of Goldstein stirring the rumour pot, the runty little fourth-year soon found himself waking from night terrors, which also left his bed soaked in the boy's own piss.
As bad as that was, Goldstein also talked about shadows following him on the walls of his dorm, as well as ghosts calling out for him, telling him that they were waiting for him, which meant the boy couldn't even sleep in his own dormitory.
Then, after a week of these complaints – during which Goldstein had to be force-fed a Sleeping Draught by Madam Pomfrey, which earned him a shrill scream from the matron when, the morning after, she found every bed in the Hospital Wing dripping with the boy's piss, while he argued that he warned her why he couldn't sleep – Goldstein was serving a detention with Mr Filch when, suddenly, according to the Squib, Goldstein went to wash up after helping clean out the Trophy Room by hand…
And never returned.
EBUB
What happened to him, nobody knew.
But, curiously, the only ones who seemed unfazed by his disappearance were Harry and Luna, who seemed to share knowing smiles and looks, which left the rest of the Eagles frightened by their meaning.
Suffice to say, the rumours and whispers soon managed to disappear, if only so much that the spiteful little prats who spread such disgusting ideas around did so in the comfort of their own narrow-minded social circles.
But nobody ever approached Harry or Luna about the rumours, or Goldstein's disappearance, ever again.
EBUB
Aside from the idiots, as well as their pettiness, Harry also became a bit of a social pariah for his skills…and not just his skills on the Duel Field.
In lessons, he surprised all his Professors when he managed to complete the tasks first, even before the usually-studious Hermione Granger, who looked surprised, but, to the disbelief of her peers – sans Jack – she also applauded Harry's abilities. When asked questions, Harry also provided answers that, nine times out of ten, earned Ravenclaw a large amount of points throughout the first week and into the second.
If there was the one who remained out of those ten times, it was – surprise, surprise – Professor Potter, who seemed to use every chance he got to show Harry up in Duel Class – which was held on every second night through the week, adding up to roughly three or four group sessions a week for the students.
When he asked questions about Duelling, he ignored Harry's raised hand, oft-times going to Jack or even a blond in Slytherin named Draco Malfoy.
When he presented pop quizzes, Harry's was returned with a T Grade and a warning about cheating and copying from someone else.
When Harry made a good move, James deducted points from Ravenclaw for showing off, but was also quick to praise Jack and even the dunderheaded Weasley boy, who smiled like the cat that ate the canary and shot a smug look in Harry's direction.
Even when Harry gave answers to Duel Puzzles and scenarios that would have made Maximilian Pegasus himself blush, James scolded Harry and even denied him the right to duel until the next session, if not longer.
Long story short, James Potter was out for justice.
And, as Harry and Jack had assumed, he was clearly taking bigoted-prick lessons from a certain greasy-haired Potions Master – whom, irony of ironies, couldn't find fault with Harry's work, no matter how many times he loomed over the Black Scion in class and so, instead, developed a sort of civil relationship with Harry as far as studying went…while saving his bile for Jack.
So, for the time being, Harry let the baby have his bottle.
As Jack, Hermione, Lily, Sirius and even Headmaster Dumbledore himself knew, the Black Heir had much more-important things to think about than one brat's ego.
EBUB
However, everyone has their breaking point.
And, as September vanished and October started to come around, Harry Black found his.
EBUB
"Merlin's beard! Can't you even complete a simple Ritual Summons properly, Black? You're useless: ten points from Ravenclaw for mucking up the exercise! Just stand over there and keep out of your betters' way!"
"Okie-dokie-Prongsie-baby!" drawled Harry, flashing James a mocking smile as he walked away from the field, deactivating his M-Disk as he did so.
He also made sure to pull the cards from his disk, which, according to his neutral professor, had mucked up the exercise: to successfully perform a Ritual Summons using up to 8 stars.
Rather than follow his peers' examples, however, Harry had demonstrated an advanced knowledge of Ritual Summons by using the Ritual Spell Card known as Advanced Ritual Art, which allowed him to use monsters in his deck for a summoning, instead of monsters in his hand.
Naturally, James had taken offence at Harry's advanced knowledge and, as was seen, he claimed he'd mucked up the exercise.
Of course, only one person believed him.
"Guess you really are a cheating nobody, aren't you, Black?"
"Take a running jump, Weasley," drawled Harry, idly shuffling his deck, not even bothering to acknowledge the redhead as he added, "At least I can actually understand the purpose and method of a Ritual Summon. What was it you were using to do it? Oh yes: Polymerisation!"
"Professor Potter agreed with me."
"Yes, he did, because he's trying to get to me, you dunderhead," argued Harry, reshuffling his deck as he explained, "As long as he thinks he can show me up, you're basically his pawn."
"I'm nobody's pawn!" insisted Ronald.
"Well, you're certainly not a Knight, Rook or King," drawled a new voice, earning a small smile from Harry as he looked up to see Luna now standing with the apparently-exiled fourth-year Ravenclaw. Unlike him, her M-Disk was still activated, but she had her cards in her hand, much to Harry's amusement and contentment.
"I guess that leaves the Queen," added Luna, pausing to give her betrothed a kiss on his cheek as she added, "And you're definitely a drama queen, Ronniekins: why else would you continue to seek out my Harry's ire like this, when even a blind person can see he's not bothered about a runt of the litter like you?"
"Keep your craziness out of this, Loony!" insisted Ron, earning a scoff from Luna.
"You never learn, do you?"
"What?"
"Never insult her where I am," growled Harry, looking up from his shuffling as he explained, "Unless you'd like to be the next one to disappear when he goes to the toilet, Weasley!"
"I KNEW IT!"
"Knew what, Weasley?" asked a third voice, earning a warmer smile from Harry as he now saw Sirius had joined them – as Sirius was the Assistant Professor for this session, a fact James also loved crowing about in a bid to use the Father to get to the Son…again, like Snape – his eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity and scolding as he asked, "And is there any particular reason you're screaming like a damn Howler from your Mother?"
"He just admitted it!" snapped Ron, pointing a finger at Harry as he exclaimed, "He made that other Claw vanish; we all heard him!"
"I didn't…and I'm standing right next to my beloved," argued Luna, earning a scoff from Ron.
"You don't count, Loony!"
"That's not her name," chorused Harry and Sirius.
"Well, if his name's Black, she's Loony!"
"Weasley, one more word from you…"
"And you'll what? You can't cheat this time, Potter! Remember? Your Dad banned you from duelling until next weekend after you cheated during your test on that weird new summon thing he talked about. You can't duel your way out of a paper bag, much less against someone like me!"
"No," agreed Luna, now stepping between Harry and Ron as she raised her M-Disk, "But I can!"
Now, a dead silence had gripped the Duel Class, which meant everyone, even Sirius and a red-faced James, heard Luna's next words as she glared daggers at the redhead, "And, quite frankly, I've had all I can stand of you and your nonsense, Ronald Bilius Weasley: so, here and now, I, Luna Selene Lovegood, challenge you to a Duel! If I win, my Harry's ban is lifted and the noble Professor Potter can't ban him again until after Durmstrang and Beauxbatons go back to France and the Far North!"
"And what if Mister Weasley wins, Miss Lovegood?" asked James, the loathing and air of rage that laced his words when he said Ron's surname, emphasising his disappointment in the boy's apparent stupidity, was all too obvious to everyone there.
"Then I'll honour my earlier promise," said Harry, holding up his own M-Disk as he explained, "If Weasley can beat Luna, I, as I once promised you before Hogwarts had other ideas, Lord Potter. I will surrender my full arsenal to Weasley, making him a real duellist, and I will also leave my Luna and our friends in Ravenclaw, join Gryffindor and, as further proof of my honesty and loyalty, I will swear a Vassal's Oath to James Potter, putting him in charge of me for the rest of my life!"
A collective gasp of horror, if not disbelief, filled the Hall, as Harry smiled at James, before, as he'd half-expected, Weasley did the deed for Potter.
"I accept!"
"WEASLEY!" Roared James, earning a confused, lost look from the redhead.
"What? You get what you want and I get some rare cards and Potter here as your skivvy, so you can tell him to show me how to cheat; I accept!"
"In that case," said Sirius, gesturing to the rest of the hall, "Give them room to duel, kids; as Assistant Professor, I'll keep a close eye on both sides, while I suggest you all activate your Field Reader Enchantments, if there are cards used you won't understand."
As everyone obliged, Luna gave Harry another kiss, before she whispered softly in her betrothed's ear.
"I put your gift in my deck, just in case this should happen."
"Make him suffer, my dear sweet Luna-girl," whispered Harry.
"One more thing!" exclaimed James, looking now to Harry as he jabbed a finger at the boy, "Since you and Lovegood are such good friends, boy, you can stay right there, so there is no cheating going on in this battle, understood? Move even one inch towards the field and Luna will be forced to concede defeat as she will lose by disqualification!"
"As you wish," said Harry, giving a mocking salute for emphasis.
Luna, meanwhile, took her spot on the field, activating her M-Disk once again, as did Ron – though not before over half the spectators sniggered and tittered when they saw his disk flicker and spark up from misuse before it finally managed to assume the ready-to-duel position.
"Let's have some fun, shall we?" asked Luna, letting her fingers dance over her disk.
"Just duel, Loony!"
"Party pooper, no cake for you!"
Ron: 4000/Luna: 4000
"As the better duellist, I'll take the first move," growled Ron, drawing his card, while Luna hummed and shrugged nonchalantly.
Ron, meanwhile, sneered as he added, "All right! Talk about a good starter; I summon out my Goblin Attack Force (2300/0) in attack mode: ha! See, Potter? This is how a real duellist does it!"
"Are you done?" asked Luna.
"Yes."
"Okie-dokie, artichokie," agreed Luna, drawing her card with a glamorous flourish, before she eyed her hand curiously. "Oh, goodie! Talk about starting the show with a bang, eh, Ronnie?"
"Yeah right! Like a crazy loony tunes girl like you has anything that can match my all-powerful goblins!" sneered Ron, earning a curious, if not intrigued look from Luna.
"Loony Tunes, says you?" asked Luna, adding her drawn card to her hand as she explained, "How oddly-appropriate, Ronniekins, cause, you see, the fun is only just about to begin: first, I remove one card from my hand to activate the Spell Card known as Highlight Reel!"
EBUB
Unseen by everyone else, behind the crowd, from where his own D-Scope was following the duel's progress, Harry smiled coolly when he saw Luna play her first card, though not before discarding one card to the graveyard to use it.
'Weasley, you're in real trouble now,' thought the emerald-eyed scion, clenching his hands around his arms as he kept them folded, smiling smugly as he mused, 'But remember to have fun, Luna-girl; otherwise, what's the point?'
EBUB
At Luna's command, a Spell Card showing an old cinema reel rose up onto the field, the reel surrounded by a rainbow of colours, as well as spotlights, all of which seemed to shine up from the field as a single spotlight appeared on Luna's field.
"Thanks to my dazzling might," explained the blonde, indicating her graveyard as she smiled coyly. "As well as my dear little friend's noble sacrifice, I'm now allowed to Normal Summon a monster from my hand without needing to Release anyone else. And do you know what the bestest best bit about it is, Ronnie? My new friend here: he's someone who is out to cast a real spell on you and your ignorance…oh, and like Highlight Reel demands, he's also a member of a very funny group of friends of mine!"
"What?" asked Ron hotly, as what sounded like a drumroll filled the Hall, before, to the amusement of many spectators, the theme tune to 20th Century Fox filled the air, even as Luna slammed her chosen card down onto her Monster Card Zone.
"Aww, come on, Ronnie; prove you're not actually that thick! Here's a hint; you called me Loony, right?"
"I called you Looney Tunes!"
"Yes, that's what I said…Loony!" agreed Luna, earning a gasp from the crowd.
"Looney…Tunes…it can't be!"
"Well, surprise-surprise-surprise, Hermione Granger gets it first," laughed Luna, even as a cloud of comedic-looking smoke, complete with comic-style block writing spelling out the word poof appeared on the field, while Luna laughed, "But since Wickle Wonniekins is as thick as Kuriboh Crap, no offence to the warm fuzzies, let me spell it out: come on out and start the show…Toon Dark Magician (2500/2100) and, do you know what? I think I'll throw you out in attack mode!"
A collective gasp of awe and wonder filled the Great Hall as, in a flurry of confetti, streamers and magical stars, what looked like the legendary magician appeared on the field.
Looked like, being the key words there; instead of his tall, proud and legendary form, the creature that appeared on the field was a small, chibi-like boy with bright, innocent blue eyes, pale-blue-coloured flesh and an oversized hat, which actually fell down over his eyes before the little monster hurried to reset it into place as he spun his famed staff around in a circle.
"That…that…that's not…not…it can't be…you're…"
"Cheating," chorused Luna and practically everyone else in the room, while Luna smiled as Toon Dark Magician waggled his finger much like his more-famous counterpart would do, whilst making a childish noise of denial as she explained, "And, as you can see, Won-Won, you're so wrong-o about that! Like I said, my spell card, Highlight Reel, allows me to summon a Toon Monster from my hand without a sacrifice, save for me releasing another noble Toon from my hand, which I did! And, do you know what's even better? Whilst on my field, Highlight Reel gains the same special gift-giving power as Toon World and Toon Kingdom and all those other Field Spells useful for my funny friends."
(Highlight Reel: SPELL/CONTINUOUS: This card can be treated as Toon World for as long as it is activated. Discard one Toon Monster from your hand. During the turn this card is activated, Normal Summon one Toon Monster from your hand without Tributes.)
"However," added Luna, letting out a laugh as Toon Dark Magician's hat once again fell down over his eyes as she added, "As you can see, my wickle friend is having a bit of trouble with his super-special costume, so he can't attack until he's fully, properly dressed, which should be…ooh, next turn? Until then, I lay this card face down and end my turn: your move, Ronniekins!"
"Fine!" snapped Ron, drawing his card as he hissed, "And since I've got more goblins, I'll send them all to attack your blue freak: go!"
"IDIOT!" Yelled several members of the crowd, while Luna shrugged.
"Well, you know what they say? Fools rush in where angels fear to tread: ah well, let's make this quick…Toon Dark Magician-dear? Hate to bother you when you're dressing, but…if you don't mind? Dark Magic Attack!"
'You got it, Princess,' insisted the voice of the Toon, though only a select few could hear him, even as Toon Dark Magician stamped his staff on the ground, causing a swarm of black doves to fly up around him, each one tackling and taking out Ron's Goblin Attack Force in a swarm of feathers and poofs of smoke.
Ron: 3800/Luna: 4000
"Hey! No fair, you cheated! Just like that scum, you…"
"Countered your attack with Luna's attack, because Toon Dark Magician had more attack points than Goblin Attack Force, Ronald!" insisted Jack, earning a furious look from James, who, if only because Jack looked and sounded like Harry, wanted to scold the boy near the edge of the crowd for his interference.
But everyone was actually paying attention to Jack as he explained, "Monsters with higher attack points can destroy monsters with attack points lower than them: it was Dad's first lesson with us back in our first year, Ronald!"
"But…but there were more of my goblins!"
"Of course there were; the card, singular is called Goblin Attack Force!"
"Yeah, so like Mirror Force, it should have destroyed all Loony's monsters!"
Suffice to say, the loud, disbelieving roars of mocking, derivative laughter soon silenced any further arguments that the redheaded idiot might have had to say, especially since his field was now empty.
Which meant it'd be suicide if…
"I…I end my turn…"
The sound of almost everyone in Hogwarts facepalming was more like the sound of thunder, if not a gunshot, echoing through the hall.
"Geez Louise, Ronnie; who taught you to duel?" asked Luna, flashing an innocent smile at a now purple-faced James as she drew her card.
"I'd really question their professionalism if they can't even teach a duelling monkey how to fling its own shit, wouldn't you agree, folks? Ah well, the show must go on…shame it'll be a short film…my move!"
Chapter 8 and it looks like Luna has surprised everyone, while Weasley's surprising no-one: I don't think it takes a genius to figure out what's going to happen next, right?
I mean, let's face it: that's all folks, isn't it?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: Luna continues to show everyone why you should never judge a book by its cover, while Ron continues to stew in his own dark thoughts and feelings…uh-oh, let's hope there aren't any Dark Masters in the room, who might feed on such feelings, in order to make gods out of insects;
Please Read and Review
AN: Luna
Ta-Da!
Yup, I chose TOONS for Luna's Deck: what can I say?
Crazy designs, hidden powers and cheeky and cute, with a powerhouse behind them.
Sounds like our Luna-girl to me, don't you think?