Harry Potter and the Power of the Void by Obscurum_Venator

Rating: R
Genres: Romance, Action & Adventure
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 24/01/2010
Last Updated: 24/03/2010
Status: In Progress

An ancient evil has been roused from its slumber, and plans to visit Chaos upon the world. Only
the Lion, the Esperkin, the Ace, and the Summoner can stand against it. AU PotterversexFinal
Fantasy crossover HHr RLL




1. Fantasy I: Maybe I'm a Lion
------------------------------

A/N: Sorry about starting another story, but I need a change. I promise that BoH will be
finished. Anyway, this is an infusion of Final Fantasy elements into the HP universe with the
actual canon twisted to suit my needs. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Luna (whose a year older) will
each have the abilities of a Final Fantasy character, and Voldemort will eventually become Chaos.
Chapter title is Squall's unofficial theme song. When the Void speaks, imagine Mike Patton as
the Darkness from the game *The Darkness*. If you haven't played it, look it up.



Disclaimer (for the whole story): Almost everything belongs to J.K. Rowling and Square Enix.
Everything outside of their copyright is mine, so ask before using it. Lawyers who visit my home
will be fed to my pet Sand Worm.



*Thoughts*



“**Espers/GFs/Eidolons/Summons speaking”**



“*the Void speaking”*



Harry Potter and the Power of the Void



Fantasy I: Maybe I'm a Lion



The man once known as Tom Marvolo Riddle glared down at the child he'd come to kill. This
baby was the one person who could kill him? Preposterous. Mop of unruly black hair, emerald green
eyes reminiscent of his mother, and a small pendant shaped like a lion's head with a bladed
cross descending from it clutched in his tiny hand. Voldemort laughed long and hard before turning
his wand on the child and muttering, “*Avada Kedavra.*”



What happened was the last thing Voldemort expected, the emerald that formed the lion
pendant's eye absorbed the sickly green light and glowed angrily for a second before blasting
Voldemort with his own curse. The last thing he heard as nothingness claimed him were the cries of
baby Harry and part of the Potters' home collapsing.



It felt like forever that he drifted in darkness before a voice spoke to him, it was very
strange, varying between every imaginible timbre, tone, pitch, and volume. At times it sounded
harsh and violent and others soft and seductive. *“Welcome to the Void, Tom Riddle. I must thank
you for awakening me.”*



“Awakening you? How?” Voldemort asked, completely confused.



“*The ritual you performed to bolster your strength a few months ago. It was created to draw
strength from the Void, and you drew enough to make me aware. Now I plan to grant your wish for
power on the condition that you return that world to me.”*



“Return it?”



“*Everything is created from nothingness, and to nothingness it must return. I was thwarted
the last time I attempted to take that world. You will sleep here until you are strong enough to go
back. You will be Chaos incarnate, and all shall know that the Void WILL NOT BE DENIED!”*



---



Sirius Black had concluded about 10 minutes ago that this was the worst day of his life. Two of
his best friends, practically his brother and sister, had been betrayed by one of his other friends
and murdered by a Dark Lord. Now, he was clutching a crying baby Harry to his chest and weeping
along with his godson. He heard the *crack* that signified apparition, and didn't need to
turn to recognize his other brother.



“No...please, God, no...” Remus Lupin mumbled, barely able to comprehend that James and Lily
Potter were really gone. “Sirius, is Harry okay?”



“Yeah, the cub's fine, completely untouched. Won't let go of James's necklace,
though,” Sirius replied, giving Harry to his “Uncle Remus”. Remus held the little bundle like it
would vanish should he loosen his grip, staring into eyes so like Lily's and feeling more tears
coming. Another two *cracks* behind them signaled the arrival of Albus Dumbledore and Severus
Snape. Snape had once been a hated foe of all the Marauders, but once Lily had forcefully pulled
his head out of his ass, he'd come around, and, while he still wasn't sunshine and
rainbows, he was a trusted friend.



“Fucking snake-faced asshole,” Severus growled, his sorrow, as usual, manifesting through
extreme anger.



“At least it's not all your fault, buddy. If I had just gone through with becoming Secret
Keeper like we'd all agreed, and not tried to be all sneaky, they'd still be alive,” Sirius
said bitterly.



“Don't beat yourself up, that attitude does their memories disservice,” Dumbledore said,
placing a comforting hand on Sirius's shoulder and trying hard to hold back tears of his own.
He was going to have to be the calm one. “Now, do you have a place to take Harry?”



“Yeah, James let me have some property up in Scotland, there's a nice two-story house
there,” Sirius replied, happy to have something other than untimely demise of his friends to think
about.



“We will put it under Fidelius. I would rather we take him to Petunia and erect a few Blood
Wards, but...” Dumbledore trailed off.



“She's a complete and total bitch,” Severus finished for him, even after all these years he
was still in disbelief as to how that horse-faced bigot was Lily's sister.



“Agreed,” Remus said, still holding Harry. The pendant in his hand caught Remus's eye,
though. Its eye was glowing. “Dumbledore, what do you make of this?”



“James's pendant?” Dumbledore asked himself, he'd examined it before and it never seemed
magical. “It seems that this is no mere emerald. If it absorbed a Killing Curse, it has to be...a
shard of the Wind Crystal.”



“What?!” Snape asked, he'd heard the Legend of the Crystals, and couldn't believe James
had even a shard of one all this time.



“Yes, with its coloration and ability to absorb Forbidden magic that is the only explanation.
Even magicite cannot absorb a Killing Curse.”



“To think, James had something this rare and powerful all this time. I know he said the pendant
was special, but wow,” Remus said, staring in awe at the pendant.



“Wait, speaking of James's special items...” Sirius trailed off before diving back into the
rubble. He came back carrying a case with that same lion/cross design, James had dubbed it the
Griever, on its front.



“Ah, yes, I have a feeling that young Harry will need that in the future. I fear that Voldemort
has only been momentarily defeated, and James's Revolver will give him an advantage. Can you
teach him?” Dumbledore asked Sirius.



“No, but Snape here is almost as good as James was.”



“Better,” Snape said.



“Save the petty squabbling. Now Sirius, if you would be so kind as to make a Portkey for us,”
Dumbledore ordered, already annoyed at yet another Sirius vs. Snape argument. Sirius did as he was
told and Harry was whisked away to his new home.



10 Years Later – July 31st, 1991



Harry, clad in a simple pair of black pants and a white T-shirt with his pendant dangling from
his neck, faced down his platinum blonde-haired opponent. Draco had been his friend since he was
little. His mother had been forced to marry Lucius as a means of strengthening ties between the
Black and Malfoy families, but that had changed when Sirius's mother had died and he became the
head of the Black family. He knew that Lucius was an abusive, bigoted asshole, and had immediately
annulled the marriage and retrieved his cousin and her son after beating the ever-loving shit out
of ol' Lucy. Remus and Snape had helped and, by their reports, the Malfoy line was forever dead
until magical cloning was invented. His next two actions had been accepting his cousin Andromeda
back into the family and then going to London and burning No. 12 Grimmauld Place to the ground and
pissing on the ashes in dog form. That was how Harry came to be on a hill just a little ways away
from Sirius's home, facing down Draco Black while Nymphadora Tonks watched, she'd always
loved spectating their sparring sessions while she wasn't at Hogwarts. Harry was holding his
father's gunblade, a sword with a firearm for a hilt, a weapon he and Harry's Uncle Severus
had invented because they preferred close-quarters combat to standing back and slinging spells. The
gun part, Uncle Sev had told him, was just to cause more damage and provide added momentum for
swings. The only disagreement they'd had was what gun to graft in. James had preferred the
revolver while Severus liked a semi-automatic. They'd finally just split and each built one of
their own, the Revolver which Harry held, and Draco's Hyperion.



“You're not going to win, Harry. I've been training a lot since our last fight,” Draco
taunted, lazily spinning his sword in one hand.



“Whatever, Draco, I'm gonna wipe the floor with you, as usual,” Harry replied. These little
taunting sessions were the norm before every fight and annoyed their cousin to no end. In fact,
their normal cue to start the fight was when Tonks started to yell at them for taking too long.
When she did, Harry took the initiative, leaping towards Draco and pulling the trigger of his
gunblade, the momentum causing him to spin and adding near lethal force to his heel drop. Draco
sidestepped and brought his blade down towards Harry's neck. Harry parried and they continued
exchanging blows for a moment, until Harry swept his blade from near his leg toward Draco's
shoulder, pulling the trigger at the last second and sending Draco flying backwards as his blade
blocked the hit. Harry quickly reloaded with a speed loader (six revolver shells attached to a
plastic disc for easy reload) from his belt and barely had time to dodge a Fire spell from Draco.
His next one, though, hit Harry right in the face and sent him to the ground. Harry was trying to
blink ash and smoke from his eyes as Draco closed in on him, swinging his sword across Harry's
face, blood splattering across the grass. Harry looked up at Draco, revealing a large cut that
started over his right eye and continued across the bridge of his nose. With a growl, Harry charged
at Draco, swinging his gunblade relentlessly before jumping back and gathering his magic into his
blade. With that finished Harry charged forward, holding his blade down at his side, when he
reached Draco he released all the energy into an upward swing that swept Draco's block out of
the way and gave Draco a cut similar to Harry's but going from his nose to over his left
eye.



“STOP! Christ, stop right now!” Tonks screamed, running up and physically separating the two
boys. “Damn, are you trying to kill each other? We need to get you guys to Aunt Cissy.”



“Really? We can't just heal on our own and avoid my mom killing the both of us?” Draco
asked, knowing that his mother, his godfather, and Sirius would all be very annoyed with them, as
would Remus when he got back from Hogwarts. He'd been running an errand for Dumbledore.



“Sounds like a plan to me,” Harry agreed, not wanting Uncle Sev to know he'd released his
Renzokuken technique on his godson.



“House...NOW!” Tonks growled, grabbing both boys by the ear and dragging them down the hill.



As predicted, they both got angry lectures from three sides, with a fourth promised upon
Remus's return. In the end, despite threatening to bandage their heads and put them in bed
'til they healed, Narcissa waved her wand and cleaned up the blood and sealed the wounds.
“I'm making sure they'll scar so you'll never forget to not be a couple of idiots.
Never take your sparring that far again, okay?” It was worded as a question, but carried the strong
undertone of an order.



“Yes, ma'am,” they said simultaneously.



“Now, Harry, we're going up to Hogwarts for your birthday later today. We could do it here,
but I want you and Draco to get a chance to see the school before September,” Sirius said.



“You mean you couldn't resist a chance to decorate the entire Great Hall,” Severus teased, a
grin on his face.



“That, too,” Sirius admitted.



“Cool, can't wait,” Harry replied, walking over and hugging his godfather for taking over
Hogwarts for him.



---



Later that night, after being confined to their rooms for the intervening time, Harry and Draco
were staring wide-eyed at the large castle. “This is a school?” Harry asked.



“Yep, impressive, isn't it?” Remus asked, having exhausted his anger for Harry and Draco
earlier.



“Very, Tonks has described it to us before, but to actually see it...” Harry replied, Draco
nodding in agreement.



“Why thank you, my boy. I've always loved the castle myself, and am delighted to hear your
admiration,” Dumbledore spoke from beside Harry, having walked up while he and Draco were staring.
“Might I inquire as to what happened to your faces?”



“The idiots got way too into their training,” Tonks replied, glaring at the two younger
boys.



“Shut up, Nymphadora,” Draco shot back.



“Why you little...” she snarled, looking ready to strangle Draco.



“Stop, now,” Dumbledore said forcefully, these two were almost as bad as Sirius and Severus.
“Shall we adjourn to the Great Hall? Sirius and Remus have done quite a good job on the
decorations.”



Turned out that “good job” was an understatement. The Great Hall's stone walls had been
transfigured into Gryffindor colors, with banners proclaiming “Happy Birthday, Harry!” hanging
where the house banners usually would with banners emblazoned with the Griever symbol interspersed
here and there. Balloons covered the ceiling and confetti was falling like snow. The one long table
that had been set out was covered in Harry's favorite foods and another small, round table held
a pile of presents. “Wow! Thanks guys,” Harry said, wrapping Sirius and Remus in a bear hug.



“No problem, cub,” Sirius replied for the both of them.



After a *very* satisfying meal, Harry began to open his presents. Sirius, Remus, and
Severus had collaborated to outfit him for combat with three belts. The first had an
amazing-looking lion's head belt buckle that was, in fact, what was known as a battlefield
Portkey. It could be keyed in on the fly, allowing for short range teleportation that would leave
his foes scratching their heads until he appeared behind them and sent said heads flying. Of
course, such a remarkable item needed quite the recharge time, so any jumps would have to be
reserved for the perfect opportunity. The second belt had a magical pouch attached that was
weightless and had a massive size expansion charm on the inside. It would basically mean he could
arrive to any battlefield prepared for any eventuality. The last had a sheath large enough for his
gunblade that could be rendered invisible and would magically secure his blade so that it could be
removed by no other means than him drawing it. Next was Narcissa and Draco's turn, and they
presented Harry with a beautiful snowy owl (they hid her behind the other gifts), who he named
Hedwig. She took an instant liking to the young wizard, settling on his shoulder and nipping his
ear affectionately. Andromeda came next, giving Harry a black, dragon hide jacket with a white, fur
collar. Because of the material, he would be amply protected while wearing it. It seemed as if
everyone was giving him things to protect or help him. Ted, Andromeda's husband, and his
daughter presented Harry with quite a few books on some very interesting, i.e. dangerous, magic.
Tonks had even gone out of her way to procure a second copy of the Auror training manual that
she'd been given when she signed up for the corps. The other presents on the pile were gag
gifts that all exploded when he opened one and covered him in paint, which caused Remus, Sirius,
and Severus to burst out laughing while Harry quietly set their robes and hair on fire. After much
screaming and cursing they managed to douse themselves.



“Harry, I have acquired something very rare that I believe will help you in both your training
and magic in general,” Dumbledore said before presenting Harry with a large crystal. It was a deep
sky blue and seemed to radiate power.



“What is it?” Harry asked, feeling some sort of presence contained within.



“A Junctioning Stone. Contained within is a powerful spirit know as a Guardian Force.
Junctioning such a creature will allow you to draw ambient magic and use it to augment your own
abilities.”



“Where on Earth did you find that?” Severus asked.



“Morocco. It took some doing, but I managed to track one to a marketplace there,” Dumbledore
replied with a grin. “Just focus your magic and try to contact the GF.”



“Right,” Harry said, focusing on the stone and reaching out with his mind. *Hello, anyone
home?*



“**Hello, young Lion. I am Bahamut, the Dragon King.”** a deep, masculine voice spoke
directly into Harry's mind. It carried an air of confidence and authority, but not so much as
to seem arrogant.



*Nice to meet you. Umm...how exactly does this Junction process work?*



“**I will take care of it.”** Bahamut assured Harry, and suddenly he felt a rush of power as
the crystal vanished into his hand. The image of a dragon, his wings extended and his mouth open in
a roar then appeared on the back of his hand as confirmation that boy and GF had Junctioned
properly. **“There. We are now one, young Lion. Do you wish me to explain how to draw magic from
the area around you?”**



*Sure.*



“**Focus on places where the magical flow seems particularly strong. I can sense one in the
corner of the room you are in. It should appear to you as a small vortex of light.”**



*I see it.*



“**Approach it and focus on pulling the magic towards you.”**



*Right,* Harry did as he was told and, ignoring the confused looks on everyone's faces,
walked over to the spot and held his hand out towards the spinning light. He grabbed onto the magic
and pulled it towards him, it flowed up his arm and into his core before bolstering it and
strengthening him. “That's awesome.”



“What's going on Harry?” Sirius asked.



“Bahamut was teaching me how to draw magic. Turns out there was a point right in here,” Harry
replied. *Thanks.*



“**Not a problem, next time you train I'll teach you how to focus that magic into different
parts of your body.”**



*Wicked. Can't wait to see Draco's face when I show him that.*



“Oh, God, he's got that evil look on his face again,” Draco said, groaning because that look
never meant good things for him.



“Evil? Me? Never,” Harry said innocently as Draco glared at him.



“Enough of that. Harry there is something very important we need to tell you,” Dumbledore said,
his face broadcasting the seriousness of what he was about to say. “It concerns why Voldemort
targeted you and your parents...”



---



A/N: Dun. Dun. Dun. Sorry, but I thought that was a good place to end it, I was going long
anyway. Next thing I write will probably be the next chapter of Bird of Hermes, so you'll have
to wait a bit for the Prophecy reveal and Hermione's intro. Until then, see if you can guess
which Final Fantasy character she will be?



-Sypher Kyaeon





2. Fantasy II: Liberi Fatali
----------------------------

A/N: A few notes: **1.** Final Fantasy magic exists in my world as a separate entity from
normal wizarding magic. Basically a wizard takes the raw, nonspecific magic from their core and
channels it through their body, molding it into a spell from one of the different branches (Black,
White, Forbidden, etc...), rather than through a wand with specific movements and incantations. The
core can be exhausted until recharged, like MP in the games. Not all wizards are capable of it, but
those that are generally prefer it. Rods and Staves are often used to enhance magical ability as
well. a **2.** There are monsters in this world, from Bombs to Behemoths, and they are their own
class of creature, as opposed to being lumped together with magical creatures. Most Magical
Ministries have a bureau specifically contracted to cull monster populations, but that doesn't
stop large pockets from building up every now and then. Hogwarts has a special Study of Monsters
class, as well, required for all years, which is why a large number of students carry weapons.
Those that can't afford their own are given school ones. **3.** Besides the GFs, the Espers
exist as well. Most, however, have suffered the same fate as their counterparts from *Final
Fantasy VI*, reduced to Magicite (Dumbledore mentioned it, remember?) and scattered to the four
corners of the world because of sick, human experimentation. **4.** As for the Eidolons, I'm
using the FFIX iteration. As such, the tribe of Summoners did exist and was wiped out (just not by
FFIX's version of Garland). As a result, Eidolons have not been seen in centuries. The
difference between the Summons? Mostly their appearance. **5.** While the heroes themselves will
not appear, the villains from FF are so good, I'm using them. As of right now, the villain
lineup is Ultimecia, Kuja, Seymour (not Jecht, though his name will be used to refer to an ace
Blitzer), and Kefka, all working in concert. Ultimecia's inclusion kinda put a damper on anyone
who held out hopes for Draco staying good the *entire* story, eh? He is Harry's Seifer,
after all, and will retain Seifer's dream of being a Sorceress's Knight. For anyone
who's read but hasn't noticed, I changed Warrior and SOLDIER to Ace, because I think Tidus
fits better with Ron than Cloud or the WoL. Title is the opening theme of FFVIII, roughly meaning
“Fated Children” in Latin.



Airship: Fahrenheit, the model used for the airship to Hogwarts
finalfantasy(dot)wikia(dot)com(slash)wiki(slash)File:FFX-airship(dot)jpg



Weapons: Brotherhood (Ron's blade):
finalfantasy(dot)wikia(dot)com(slash)wiki(slash)Brotherhood

Terra's/Hermione's sword:
finalfantasy(dot)wikia(dot)com(slash)wiki(slash)File:Dissidia(underscore)Terra(dot)png

Garnet's/Luna's Rod:
finalfantasy(dot)wikia(dot)com(slash)wiki(slash)File:Rod(dot)png



Harry Potter and the Power of the Void



Fantasy II: Liberi Fatali



“What?” Harry asked.



“There is a reason Voldemort targeted you. A prophecy foretelling his defeat,” Dumbledore
replied.



“A prophecy? How did he even get ahold of it?” Harry asked.



“Wormtail,” Sirius growled, seeing red at the mere mention of that traitorous rat.



“We discussed the prophecy as a group, Lily, James, Remus, Sirius, Peter, Severus, and myself,
and the implications for the Potters,” Dumbledore said, as Remus placed a comforting hand on
Sirius's shoulder. “It reads like this: *A Snake shall rise, only to be cut down by the the
Son of the Lion. Thus the cycle shall begin anew, the Crystals shall dim, and the Void will rise.
Our only hope rests with the Lion,* *the Esperkin, the Ace, and the Summoner. Bearing
fragments of the Goddess's power, they shall face* *the Witch, the Jester, the Unsent, and
the Reaper, with Chaos waiting in the wings.*”



“Wow, what the hell does all that mean? I can understand the first part well enough, my Dad was,
after all, called the Lion by the Death Eaters from what Sirius, Remus, and Uncle Sev have told me,
but what's all this about Crystals and cycles and Goddesses?”



“Let's go part by part, shall we?” Andromeda, always very logical, suggested.



“Good idea. *'Thus the cycle shall begin anew, the Crystals shall dim, and the Void will
rise.'* The 'cycle' this refers to is part of the Legend of the Crystals. The Legend
states that, long ago, the four Elemental Crystals, without which our world would cease to exist,
were drained of their power by four fiends, who had been created by an entity known simply as
'the Void'. It is, in short, nothingness personified, wanting all that exists to return to
nothingness. Four Warriors of Light were said to have defeated the Void's agent, a being known
as Chaos. I can only take this verse to mean that the Void has awakened once more, and is plotting
something, something that I think involves Voldemort. He is one of the beings referred to
specifically, so I doubt he'll stay dead,” Dumbledore explained. *Should I tell them just how
intimately I'm connected with that tale? No. Cosmos, I hope I'm making the right
decision.*



“'*Our only hope rests with the Lion, the Esperkin, the Ace, and the Summoner.'* Me
and three others, seems simple enough,” Harry said.



“The only problem is that Espers have been nearly extinct for awhile now, reduced to crystals
known as Magicite by magical experimentation. Barbaric assholes. The Summoner tribe was wiped out
long ago, as well. Finding someone with even a little Summoner blood is rare,” Severus explained,
his ire rising at the fate of some of the most unique and powerful beings on the planet. “As for
the Ace, there hasn't been a Blitzball player worthy of the title since Jecht's death
thirty years ago, though I hear Arthur's son is quite the prodigy.”



“'*Bearing fragments of the Goddess's power they shall face the Witch, the Jester, the
Unsent, and the Reaper, with Chaos waiting in the wings.'* Harry already fulfills the first
part of this line. My boy, that is no mere emerald that forms the eye of your pendant, it is a
shard of the Wind Crystal,” Dumbledore said, leaving Harry to stare in awe at his necklace. “The
Crystals themselves are living embodiments of the power of the Goddess of Harmony, Cosmos. As for
the four referred to, I'm guessing that they're your evil counterparts. I have no guesses
as to who they might be, but they say that the Void spans all dimensions, they could be from an
entirely different world. Chaos, as I said, is an agent of the Void,” Dumbledore informed them.
“Any questions?”



“Holy hell, and here I was thinking I'd have a normal life,” Harry said, shaking his
head.



“Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get at least a few more years before cosmic forces
start trying to murder you gruesomely,” Draco said, clapping his cousin on the back and
grinning.



“Yeah, and it's not like we're all going to stop training you, so you'll be plenty
prepared by the time any of these people come after you,” Tonks reassured, wrapping an arm around
his shoulder. Soon the entire family had surrounded Harry and were tossing reassuring grins and
hugs around. Harry looked up at all the people who were there for him and smiled, *I'm not
fighting...all alone.*



*---*



Harry stood in front of his mirror and sighed, after more discussion and more promises that they
wouldn't let him die that easily, he, Draco, Sirius, and Narcissa had returned to Sirius's
house. They'd wished him a happy birthday once more before he'd gone up to bed, staring at
his pendant and trying to banish thoughts on his destiny. That day was a month gone now, and,
during that month, Harry had trained harder than ever, going up against Draco and Tonks at the same
time nearly every day, along with trying to learn all that Bahamut could teach him. Now it was time
for him to go to Hogwarts and he was glad that Dumbledore had agreed to find him a room to continue
in. He looked at his appearance in the mirror, his black hair a mass of spikes that swept to either
side of his face with a few strands hanging over his eyes (my best description of Squall's
hair), scar that stood prominently on his forehead, and, according to the adult's in the house,
his mother's bright, green eyes. He checked to make sure each of his belts was fastened
correctly and glanced at his pendant before pulling the bomber jacket his Aunt Andi had given him
for his birthday on over his white T-shirt. Hearing Sirius shout to hurry up, he quickly stuffed
his gloves in his jacket pocket before pulling on a pair of black boots and grabbing his gunblade
case, which had multiple expanded compartments and which he preferred to a trunk.



“Where is it?” he heard Draco muttering to himself from his room across the hall. He was already
dressed in his normal clothes and long, gray trench coat; his own gunblade case, adorned with a
blood red Cross of Saint James that also appeared on the shoulder of his coat, was open on the
floor and Harry could see all his required luggage sitting within. *What's he looking
for?* Harry thought, glancing around Draco's room. He spied a well-worn, old book, small
enough to fit in a pocket, sitting half-buried in clothes on the floor and scoffed, *Still
refuses to go anywhere without that stupid book.*



“Ah, there you are!” Draco said, having heard Harry's scoff and followed his line of sight.
He put the small tome in his coat's inside pocket before closing his gunblade case and picking
it up.



“Why do you insist on keeping that book on you at all times?” Harry asked as they walked
downstairs.



“It's my good luck charm,” Draco said simply.



“You mean you still haven't given up on your dream of becoming a Sorceress's Knight. You
do realize there hasn't been a Sorceress in over fifty years, right?”



“So? You babble on incessantly about owning your own airship and cruising the skies all the
time. Everyone has their own dreams.”



“True,” Harry replied as they reached the ground floor and Sirius told them to grab onto the
portkey.



---



When they reappeared, they were just inside the barrier at King's Cross, in a massive
anteroom before the staircase that led to the platform suspended over the train station. Families
were apparating, portkeying, flooing, and walking through the wall separating their world from that
of the non-magical all over the place and they ignored most of them until they found the Tonks
family and they walked up the massive staircase. Harry was in awe as they reached the top; resting
on a magically hidden landing platform was a large airship, its hull a deep red and bearing the
Hogwarts crest instead of a name on its nose.



“Yo, Harry. Harry,” Draco said, waving his hand in front of Harry's face and snapping. Harry
shook his head and thanked Draco, he knew he'd have stood there all day just staring at the
magnificent blend of magic and machinery he saw before him. Harry, Draco, and Tonks bid their
respective parents/guardians goodbye and filed up the boarding ramp, heading for the passenger
cabins, which were large rooms set up to accommodate up to ten people per. They occupied the middle
level of the ship, with the engines a level below, and the lounge and observation decks above. The
cabins were quite nice, small rooms with a few couches and chairs as well as an intercom to call a
guard if anything went wrong or the lounge for service. They found a cabin that was only occupied
by one person, a girl Harry and Draco's age, with her head buried in a book.



“Mind if we join you?” Harry asked.



“Not at all, the cabin would fill up eventually and you, at least, were nice enough to ask,” the
girl replied, moving the book away from her face and giving them a good look. She was already
dressed in standard Hogwarts robes and her face had all the earmarks of a girl who would one day be
a beautiful woman. It was her hair that drew most of their attention, however, it was bushy and
mostly brown, with the color fading to a bright cyan at the last inch or so. Her golden brown eyes
locked with Harry's and, for a moment, they just stared, before both realized they were staring
and looked away, blushing a bit. Harry was just glad Tonks hadn't seen, she was merciless when
it came to teasing. “So...I'm Hermione Granger, who are you guys?”



“Nymphadora Tonks, but just call me Tonks. That's not a suggestion, it's your way of
avoiding death by my hands,” she replied, her deadly serious glare backing up the threat as she and
the boys sat down, Harry joining Hermione on her couch and Tonks and Draco sitting opposite on
another.



“Draco Black.”



“Harry Potter.”



Hermione's eyes widened, “*The* Harry Potter?”



“Yes, *the* Harry Potter, but I'd rather be just Harry. People gawk at me everywhere I
go 'cause they know the Griever,” Harry indicated his pendant, “and it gets really
annoying.”



“Sorry,” Hermione replied.



“It's alright,” Harry assured her as the door opened again. In the doorway was a tall
redhead dressed in a pair of black shorts and a white T-shirt decorated with the symbol of some
Blitz team Harry couldn't remember. Trailing behind him was a blonde girl wearing a baseball
cap, T-shirt and a skirt. She had bright blue eyes with a slightly dreamy look in them.



“Mind sharing?” the boy asked, shifting his trunk to get a better grip.



“Nah, 'course not. We were just getting to know each other,” Draco said, as they set their
luggage off to the side and sat down on a couple of chairs near the other four.



“Name's Ron Weasley,” the boy said.



“I'm Luna Lovegood.”



The conversation shifted as the engines fired up and the airship took off, which was apparently
Harry's signal to rattle off every single piece of airship knowledge in his scarred head.
Hermione, it turned out, loved learning anything new and soaked up all Harry's technical facts
like a sponge. The rest found their instant chemistry a little funny, and were glad they had a good
distraction as all the information passed straight over their heads. After that, Ron asked about
sports and hobbies, turns out he was obsessed with both of the two major wizarding sports,
Quidditch and Blitzball, and was actually quite good at the latter. The boys plus Tonks launched
into a discussion of the various official and Hogwarts teams. Turns out Hogwarts's Quidditch
pitch was designed to shift into a Blitzball stadium. Hermione and Luna rolled their eyes and began
discussing other aspects of the magical school, which both had learned from repeated readings of
*Hogwarts, A History*. All talking stopped, though, as the ship suddenly rocked and a loud
roar resounded through the halls.



“What the hell was that?” Hermione asked.



“Sounded like...no, couldn't be. That sounded like a Behemoth,” Harry replied, bad memories
of a botched encounter with one that Uncle Sev had had to bail Draco and Harry out of coming to the
forefront of his mind.



“All students, remain in your cabins and stay calm, the guards are handling a minor monster
attack,” a voice sounded from the intercom, obviously one of the bridge crew.



“'Minor' he says,” Harry growled as he pulled on his gloves, walked over to his gunblade
case, and retrieved his Revolver. Draco was right behind him, pulling out and loading Hyperion as
Tonks retrieved her katana. The foreign sword suited her agility better than any European
broadsword or even Harry and Draco's gunblades.



“What are you guys planning to do?” Hermione asked.



“We've faced Behemoths before, they're not to be trifled with. These guards, not very
highly trained and most likely unable to perform Elemental Magic, probably won't be able to
take it down. Furthermore, Behemoths can't fly so the only way it's even up here is that it
was flown by other monsters. Little distractions like that cut the guards' chances of survival
even further. Anyone else besides myself, Draco, and Tonks have experience with a weapon or the
ability to use Elemental magic?” Harry asked, his persona shifting from personable, friendly Harry
to cold, serious, battle-ready Harry.



“I've got training with a blade,” Ron said, pulling a large sword from his trunk. It seemed
to be made of glass and filled with water. “A gift from my older brother.”



“I've got a little experience with a sword, but Elemental magic is more my forte,” Hermione
said, pulling out a thin, curved blade, similar in shape to a Persian shamshir.



“White magic is my specialty,” Luna said simply, grabbing her rod.



“Good, let's go.”



---



The six charged out onto the forward deck, seeing a large purple-furred beast with large, black
horns and a red mane rampaging, tearing guards to pieces and just generally causing chaos. Flying
around it were large, ferocious looking blue birds.



“Shit, Cockatrices. Here, take these,” Harry said, reaching into his pouch and giving each of
them a ring that was made up of three bands and a large, purple gem (the Jem Ring from VII).
“They'll keep you from ending up like that.” He indicated a few guards who'd been turned to
stone by the Cockatrices' gaze. He handed a few golden needles to Tonks and Draco, “Take care
of those that have been petrified and try and keep the birds off us, please.”



“Sure thing,” Draco said as he and Tonks ran off towards the circling avians.



“Guess that leaves us the big guy,” Ron said.



“Yep, you guys ready?” Harry replied. He got an affirmative from the other three and they
charged forward, Harry getting the beast's attention with a well aimed Thunder that struck it
in the face. “Hey, ugly, pick on someone your own size.”



With a roar, the Behemoth charged for Harry on all fours, its horns lowered and ready to gore
the boy. At the last moment, Harry threw himself to the side and sliced the monster across the
face, pulling the trigger to increase the damage. It roared and swiped at him with its massive
claws, Harry ducked and Ron charged in, leaping over its arm and landing on its back. He slashed
repeatedly across its back as he ran over it, leaping off near its haunches. Its tail whipped
around, hitting Ron in the chest and sending him flying. Luna had healed him before he even hit the
ground, the green sparkles of a Cure spell drifting over the gash in his chest. Hermione stepped up
next, her hands glowing with power as she unleashed a furious rain of spells. The very air seemed
charged with the sheer magical power that poured out of her. She finished up by charging her blade
with a powerful Blizzard spell and stabbing the beast in the chest, it roaring as the spell spread
and began to freeze its organs. Hermione didn't overstay her welcome, though, she dodged
backwards as it tried to sweep her aside, but a claw still caught her in the leg. Luna healed her
before casting a Protect spell over Harry and Ron as they barreled into the monster from both
sides, slashing at it furiously. Split between two targets the Behemoth roared, letting loose a
rain of thunderbolts. Harry and Ron were blasted backwards and Hermione started casting again
before the thing got any ideas about finishing them off.



“Okay, this thing's starting to piss me off,” Harry growled. He gathered his magic into his
right hand and the image of Bahamut began to glow. “Mega Flare.” The clouds parted as a scaly, blue
missile shot from the sky. Fifty or so feet from the deck, the Dragon King unfolded his wings and
roared. He dive bombed the Behemoth and knocked it into the air. As it was falling, Bahamut
gathered energy in his mouth, and, when fully charged, released a blazing beam that reduced the
bloody, battered monster to dust. *Thanks.*



“**Anytime, young Lion.”**



“What the hell was that?” Ron asked, leaning on his sword as Luna healed his burns.



“A Guardian Force. His name's Bahamut,” Harry replied, wincing as the healing magic fixed
his damaged skin.



“Wow, why didn't you do that in the first place?”



“Needed to weaken it first, Bahamut's strength is dependent upon my own. If I were a little
stronger, he'd have been able to vaporize the thing while we were still relaxing in the
cabin.”



“HARRY!” they heard Draco shout. “THE PILOT'S DEAD AND THE AUTO-PILOT'S FAILING!”



“Fuck,” Harry cursed, tearing off towards the cockpit.



“Can you fly this thing?” Hermione asked, watching as Harry switched off the auto-pilot and
began to get the ship back under control. They hadn't noticed the drift during the fight, but
it was pretty bad.



“No problem,” Harry replied, checking the map on the console and making sure they stayed on
course. “You guys go make sure all the students are okay, I got this.”



“You sure?” she asked, worry showing on her face. Harry nodded and she, Ron, Luna, Draco, and
Tonks went to check on the passengers. A few were panicking but the prefects had done a reasonable
job of restoring order. The older students were surprised that a few first years had saved them
all, but most knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth.



---



A few hours later they touched down in Hogsmeade, Harry having called ahead and informed
Dumbledore what had happened. The prefects and Harry's friends had gathered up all the bodies
and they lay on the deck, sheets covering them. Harry sighed as he disengaged the engines, “This
was not how I expected my first trip to Hogwarts to turn out.”



“What were you expecting?” Hermione asked from behind him, having joined him after body detail
had been completed and watching him carefully guide them towards their school. He'd even been
explaining a little about piloting to her.



“No monsters, no trouble, meet a pretty girl or two. Two out of three ain't bad,” Harry
replied, grinning at her. She blushed and shoved him playfully.



“Ah, Harry, I thought I'd find you up here,” Dumbledore said as he walked into the cockpit.
He'd already seen to the body removal as well as instructing the team sent to retrieve the
wounded. “I see you're becoming acquainted with Ms. Granger.”



“Hello, Headmaster,” Hermione said, embarrassed that the Headmaster had walked in as Harry had
been flirting with her.



“Hello, my dear, sorry your introduction to our fine school has been less than perfect. Harry,
I'm glad you were here, any other year and all the students might have been killed,” Dumbledore
said. “These monsters are getting stronger and bolder lately. A few Bombs and Goblins were trying
to get into Hogsmeade last week, I think it may be related to that which we discussed at your
birthday party.”



“Really? It's starting already?” Harry asked, hoping against hope that the Void wasn't
trying to kill him this soon.



“I believe so. I also believe that you may have found the other three. Bring them to my office
after the Welcoming Feast. See you around, Harry, Ms. Granger,” Dumbledore said, bowing as he
left.



“What'd he mean by that?” Hermione asked, staring at the door and turning all of her not
unimpressive smarts towards this new mystery.



“Things just got a lot more complicated, but I guess this means we'll be spending plenty of
time together, so I don't really mind,” Harry replied, grinning as Hermione blushed again.



“Insufferable git,” Hermione said, shoving him again, but smiling at her new found friend.



---



A/N: Not the best ending, but it felt like a natural stopping point. If you're wondering
about the airship, I had originally planned it with the Hogwarts Express, but I just said “Fuck
it.” and went all out, over-the-top Final Fantasy. Hope you enjoyed, drop a review, por favor.



-Sypher Kyaeon









3. Fantasy III: Diamond Dust
----------------------------

A/N: I'm building up to another timeskip. After that, it'll be time for the villains to
appear and for our heroes to begin their quest to relight the Crystals. I have a question: who
should be possessed by Ultimecia to become Draco's Sorceress? I was thinking Ginny, but maybe
one of you has a better idea. Anyone who wants an idea as to my next project, after this and BoH,
should look at my opening A/N of ch. 5 of BoH, but those of you with no interest in Resident Evil
probably won't care. The Houses really don't matter in this, I just threw them all in
Gryffindor so they'd all be in the same place, except Draco, I need to sow a little conflict
between him and Harry.



NOTE: I changed a sentence in the last chapter to comply with an idea I had. To spare you having
to go back, Hermione's hair no longer has green streaks, but rather the last inch or so is cyan
in color. This is because I realized something, Hermione may be half-Esper to reflect Terra, but
that doesn't mean Maduin has to be her father. Any FF veteran in the audience will immediately
be able to guess who her mother (I changed which parent is the Esper is) is.



Harry Potter and the Power of the Void



Fantasy III: Diamond Dust



After the Welcoming Feast, during which they had all been sorted into Gryffindor except Draco,
whose cunning and ambition had landed him in Slytherin, the four who'd ended up fighting the
Behemoth went up to Dumbledore's office, only to find Professor McGonagall in his place, taking
care of some paperwork in her capacity as Deputy Headmistress. “Uh, Professor, the Headmaster told
me to bring my friends up here so we could talk with him.”



“Sorry, Mr. Potter, but the Headmaster has been called away on business. I'm sure he'll
tell you all about it and converse with you once he returns, but, until then...” she trailed off,
her annoyance at the paperwork her boss had saddled her with sapping all of her normal courtesy
when faced with confused students. The four took this as their cue to leave and did so.



“Strange...the Headmaster being called away on the first night of school, he probably left right
after telling the Prefects to take us up to our Common Rooms,” Hermione said, resting her chin in
her hand as she thought on the matter.



“I'm sure it wasn't anything good if it was that urgent. Monsters the Ministry can't
handle, maybe?” Ron suggested.



“I very much doubt that, Ronald,” Luna replied.



“It's certainly weird, but I guess we'll just have to ask when he gets back,” Harry
said, shrugging.



---



Early the next morning, Hermione woke with a start, shivering violently and able to see her
breath. *Why am I so c-cold?* She thought, cocooning herself in her blankets to try and ward
off the chill to no avail, it seemed to be radiating from inside her. She grabbed another blanket
and made a beeline for the fireplace in the common room. She plopped down in front of it and,
barely registering what she was doing, cast the strongest fire spell she knew to get it roaring. It
warmed her a little, but she still felt like there was an iceberg in her chest.



“Hermione?” she heard Harry's voice ask from the base of the boys' stairs. “You
okay?”



“F-freezing,” was all she could get out through her shivering. Harry didn't say anything, he
merely walked over and sat down behind her before pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms
around her.



“Better?” he asked. She nodded a bit, leaning back into his chest and attempting to leech as
much of his body heat as she could. “Any idea why you're so cold? It must've dropped at
least five degrees as I got closer to you.”



She shook her head, “N-no i-idea.”



They stayed like that for at least thirty minutes before the cold just suddenly vanished. There
was no gradual heat up, it was just one second freezing, the next hot as hell because of the fire.
Harry tossed a quick 'Water' at it and looked down at Hermione, “Soooo...that was odd.”



“Tell me about it.”



“Well, how 'bout you tell me about you? Breakfast isn't for hours, and I'm certainly
not going to get back to sleep. Had an...interesting dream,” Harry said, barely able to remember
said dream, it had been disjointed and hard to understand.



“Well, alright, what would you like to know?” Hermione asked, picking up on the fact that Harry
didn't want to discuss his reason for not being able to sleep.



“Starting at the beginning's usually your best bet.”



“Not much to tell there. I don't remember my parents, but at least I have something to
remember them by,” she told him, holding up her left wrist and showing him a wristband fastened
there that looked like a thin layer of ice had frosted over her forearm except for the bright, red
gem set in it. “I was in a non-magical orphanage until I was seven. It wasn't a great place to
grow up, all the kids hated me.”



“Why?”



“Not sure, maybe it was my intelligence, my bossiness, or maybe even my hair. I just know that I
wasn't liked, so I hid in books until I did my first accidental magic. A group of kids decided
to gang up on me, and I ended up freezing them solid. The Ministry took me to a magical orphanage
after that, but it was no better. The only difference was that the kids had another reason to not
like me, especially the older kids. They couldn't do magic outside of Hogwarts and resented
that I could use Elemental magic, which the Ministry can't track. Sure the people running the
place were supposed to stop me, but how likely are you to piss off a seven-year-old girl who can
set you on fire?”



Harry chuckled at that, “About as likely as Voldemort jumping in through the window naked riding
a chocobo. Wait...why does that sound familiar? Oh, right, Sirius, my godfather, did that when he
got drunk one night.”



“In through the window...naked...riding a chocobo?”



“With a party hat on,” at that Hermione let out first a snort, then a chuckle, and then burst
into raucous laughter and would've fallen and rolled around if Harry didn't still have his
arms around her. “We've never let him live it down. We also don't allow tequila in the
house anymore.”



Hermione finally calmed herself down and let out a wistful sigh, “It must have been nice,
growing up with such an...interesting family. Who else lives with you?”



“My Aunt Cissi, Draco's mother, and Sirius's best friend Remus whose kinda like an
Uncle. Aunt Cissi is our voice of reason, and the one who fixes us up after we do something stupid,
while Remus is usually helping us. Uncle Sev, the Potions professor, is over quite a bit, too. He
knew my mother when they were kids and eventually became good friends with my father and Sirius as
well. He's the one that taught me and Draco how to use our gunblades, he and my dad invented
them. The Tonks family visits quite a bit, too. Aunt Andi is Draco's mother's sister. She
didn't associate much with the family until Sirius took over as head of the Black family,
though, their mother had disowned her cause she married a muggleborn, our Uncle Ted. Tonks is their
daughter, she's a Metamorphmagus and is probably going to be one of the best damn Aurors around
when she gets through training,” Harry explained, a nostalgic grin on his face.



“Sounds nice.”



“How 'bout you come stay with us?” Harry blurted, his mind not processing that thought
before it exited his mouth. “Uh, er, I mean, it'd be better than the orphanage, at least.”



“I'd like that.”



---



Later that morning, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Luna were walking across the grounds towards the
Forbidden Forest for their first class in monster study. The met up with Draco near Hagrid's
cabin and Harry walked over and threw an arm around his shoulder, “How was your first night in the
snake pit, buddy?”



“It was alright, there are a few insufferable bastards in there, but I set them straight when
they got outta line. Everyone mostly left me alone after that,” Draco replied, smirking.



“ATTENTION, BOYS AND GIRLS!” a loud voice called out from the forest. Harry and Draco both
recognized it and groaned, it was Sirius. *Guess this is what he meant when he said he had a
surprise for us once school started.*



“What's up with the volume, Sirius, you trying to wake the dead?” Draco asked.



“Maybe, Zombies would make a good first lesson. If that's the case, let's hope none of
the stronger ones show up,” Sirius replied, a grin on his face as he watched a few faces look at
him like 'He's not serious, is he?' “Relax, just joking. Well then, class, welcome to
your first Study of Monsters class. These nasty beasties are an occupational hazard of being a
wizard, because most of them are attracted to our magical cores. That's not to say they leave
the muggles alone, but if they have to chose between one of you and one of them, you're the one
its going after. For our first lesson, I've brought in one of the worst kinds of monster, to
show you just how important it is that you to pay attention. Hagrid!”



Hagrid wheeled in a massive cage, protected by two layers of paling (magical forcefield), inside
was an enormous, putrid, green, creature, its main body was spherical in shape, covered in thick
tendrils and eyestalks surrounding a gaping, fang-filled maw, all of which was supported by a group
of large, root-like tentacles. “Sirius, please tell me you're gonna get rid of this thing soon,
it stinks something awful.” (sorry, can't do Hagrid's accent) Hagrid almost had a pleading
tone to his voice and the class couldn't argue, even a maggot would cry foul if this stink was
within fifty feet of it.



“Okay, Hagrid, I'll dispose of it after I've gone through this class with every year.
Now, can anyone tell me what this rancid thing is?”



“That would be a Malboro. It's a type of carnivorous plant-type monster that uses an attack
commonly called Bad Breath to subdue its prey and consume them,” Hermione replied, shuddering a bit
at the thought of this monster consuming someone whole.



“Correct, 20 points to Gryffindor. As ridiculous as it looks and bad as it smells, this thing is
not be trifled with. Even the strongest warriors can be felled easily by one of these if they let
their guard down (I dare anyone to contradict that). In addition to their 'Bad Breath',
they also use their tentacles and regurgitated gastric juices to attack. It's highly
recommended that you wait until you've got a few friends to try and kill one, and, for the love
of God, don't stand next to each other! In terms of elemental weaknesses, they're plants,
so they're weak against...Ms. Lovegood?”



“I'd have to guess fire, Professor.”



“You'd be correct, another 20 for Gryffindor. Other than that, a good freeze will make them
wilt, as well. The last thing you'll want to watch out for is the second type, known as a Great
Malboro, distinguished from this kind by its pigmentation. Mistaking one of these for one of those
will get you killed, period, end of story. To recap: avoid its breath, keep your guard up, and
don't ever mix up the Great Malboros with the regular variety. Any questions? No? Good. Now,
we'll never have much homework in this class. We will, however, have a standing assignment that
will last your entire Hogwarts career that will be checked at the end of every term. You will use
the knowledge you gain in class to compile a Bestiary of the monsters I show you and I WILL be
keeping track. My suggestion: start taking notes and pictures,” Sirius lectured, finishing with a
grin as several students started scrambling to copy down what their neighbors had written.



The likelihood of what happened during that commotion was such that it was either the result of
a freak accident or deliberate sabotage. The Malboro was getting annoyed with these puny humans and
inhaled, preparing to release a round of Bad Breath. If the palings had been working correctly, the
noxious fumes would've just stayed in the cage and given the Malboro a taste of its own
medicine, but, as it was, the crystal that projected them from the top of the cage had been
chipped, disrupting the flow of magic around the cage and creating an opening big enough for the
gas to slip out and blanket the entire class.



“SHIT! HAGRID, GET MADAM POMFREY AND A LOT OF REMEDIES!” Sirius was able to call before it swept
over him. The fumes knocked everyone to the ground, poisoning, blinding, and silencing all of them,
confusing some, and sending other into a blind Berserker rage.



---



Hermione watched all this in abject horror until the cloud hit her, sending her reeling as it
poisoned, blinded, and silenced her. She watched the Malboro rip its cage to shreds and begin to
advance on the students closest to it, one of whom was Harry, having gotten closer so he could get
a picture for them. *HARRY!* she shouted in her mind, and things only got worse as the cold
from earlier this morning came back with a vengeance. Hermione felt that iceberg settle into her
chest again, only this time it felt like it was nearing absolute zero. *Ahh! What the hell? So
c-cold...* all thought faded away as her vision began to darken, *Harry...need to help
Harry.*



---



Harry watched, mystified, through blurry eyes as Hermione wrapped her arms tightly around
herself, just like she'd done this morning with that weird cold. *Not now, she needs to get
out of here. RUN! Wait, what the...?* Harry's train of thought was interrupted as ice began
to gather into a large crystal around her. After a moment it shattered, leaving a much changed
Hermione in its wake. Her skin was now a pale, icy blue. Her finger and toenails were now claws,
her hair deep blue and knee-length, braided with a large, gold ring hanging from it, and her eyes
had become a blue so pale it was almost white. A thin layer of opaque ice had formed in place of
her clothes, starting in the middle of her back, wrapping around her front in an X pattern, and
coming together behind her neck, with a similar garment forming around her waist. In addition to
those, her wristband had grown to her elbow, with the gem glowing a bright red.



The Malboro, picking up on the massive increase in her magic and accurately perceiving her as an
immediate threat, tried to dose her with Bad Breath once again. She merely scoffed and, with a
simple swipe of her hand, a sphere of ice formed around her, deflecting the gas to either side. It
dissipated fairly quickly and Hermione raced forward, stopping just short of the creature and
forming a large chunk of ice floating just off her palm, which she used to strike the thing
multiple times in the 'face' before creating another two and using them in tandem to send
it reeling backwards. It let out a strange noise that must've been its equivalent of a growl
and lashed out with a sharp tentacle, trying to skewer the young woman. She sidestepped, grabbed
it, then conducted some of her magic into it, freezing the tendril solid before wrenching it to the
side and shattering it. Energy began to gather at her hand, bright, pulsating blue, and after a few
seconds, she swept her arm towards the Malboro and a small circle of ice formed around it. With a
swipe of her hand, the small ice spots became a massive ice crystal that encased the monstrous
plant. A feral grin split her face as she held up her hand, and, after loud *snap* of her fingers,
the ice shattered, shredding the Malboro to bits. “You okay, Harry?” she asked, turning towards
him, concern in her transformed eyes. He nodded, not able to do much else. She smiled, “Good to
hear.” That was followed shortly by her passing out, her new form fading back to her normal one
before she'd even hit the ground.



*HERMIONE!* Harry thought furiously, before darkness claimed him as well.



---



Sometime later, Hermione let out a groan as she awoke, seeing the bright, white, sterile walls
and ceiling of the Hospital Wing. “How'd I get here?” she asked aloud, sitting up slightly and
holding her head in a hand, trying to shake off the grogginess.



“Lay back down, Ms. Granger, you've suffered multiple debilitating conditions at once
shortly followed by a massive exhaustion of your magical core,” the Wing's matron explained as
she walked over and forced Hermione to lay back down.



“What? Harry...Is he okay?”



“Mr. Potter is fine, as are the rest of the students in the class, all thanks to you some of
them report. Said you turned into some sort of other form and destroyed that foul creature before
you passed out.”



“I did?”



“So they tell me, and I'm inclined to believe them.”



“Any particular reason?”



“Well, I imagine you've never had bloodwork done, right?”



“Nope.”



“I had to do some tests to make sure the poison had been expunged, and I found something rather
strange. It seems that you're...not fully human. I can't figure out what the other half is,
but I can say with a reasonable degree of accuracy that you are a half-breed.”



Hermione just stared at her in stunned shock for a second; it explained so much, her ability
with magic, her hair, and whatever had happened out on the grounds. “Have you told anyone
else?”



“Don't worry, Hermione, not a single one of us cares if you're human or Martian.
We're your friends, and that's that,” Harry's voice announced from the doorway,
prompting Madame Pomfrey to take her leave. “I'm sure Draco, Ron, and Luna will agree with me
once they wake up. There's no way Tonks will give half a flying fuck, either, once she's
attached, you're not escaping her.”



“Thanks for that. So...what happened out there, I'm sure you managed to stay awake.”



“It was...amazing. You just smirked at the thing after defending against its Bad Breath and then
tore it apart, I'll ask Professor McGonagall to see about a getting a pensieve memory outta my
head for you. I think that cold and the transformation are somehow connected, too, you shivered and
held yourself just like this morning right before you took on that other form.”



“I felt it, too, but it was ten times worse.”



“Hmm...guess that's another question for Dumbledore when he gets back. Until then, I'll
try and help you figure this out, okay?” He leaned over and gave her a reassuring hug.



“Thanks, Harry,” she replied, gratefully. She caught a glimpse of her wristband and a thought
came unbidden to her mind, *What's going on, Mum?*



---



A/N: Shorter than the previous two, but it served my purposes. I know some of you are gonna say
that an 11-year-old girl, half-Esper Tranced or not, couldn't beat one of the massive FFX
Malboros, but: A: It had been without food for awhile, so it wasn't as strong as it
could've been, B: The fight won't matter much in the long run outside of introducing
Hermione's Trance form, and C: The monsters are gonna get a lot stronger after the timeskip. I
will eventually explain Dumbledore's absence, as well as Harry's dream, but all in due
time, so don't get your knickers in a twist. The last line was mainly for the moment, rather
than indicating Hermione remembers Shiva (if you didn't know by now, why are you reading this
story, because you obviously don't know Final Fantasy). Hope you guys like Hermione's
Trance form, the next chapter will focus on Ron and Luna, and please leave me some feedback.



-Sypher Kyaeon



