Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Digimon Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Spamalot! ❯ The Ring of Power ( Chapter 6 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Harry Potter and The Ring of Power
Chapter One - Invitation
Harry Potter, Card Captors Sakura, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon Adventures, and Spirited Away are the property of their respective creators. I would not dare declare ownership of them. There are too many girls in those series that would seriously resent such a statement and cause me great bodily harm.
I will be a purest in regards to usage of Japanese for Card Captors Sakura and Digimon Adventures, however I will be using the American dub for Yu-Gi-Oh as I will be treating that cast as coming from America in order to better diversify the incoming students.
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The wind blew through the hair of a young, Japanese, teenage girl with short brown hair and shining emerald eyes as she roller bladed home from her junior high school. She didn't slow as she went up to the approach only stopping at the door to grab the mail. She quickly entered the house and shed her roller blades while flipping through the letters to see if any of them were for her.
"Hey, Monster, any mail?" asked a young man with groomed black hair.
The girl glared at her brother. "None for you." She spotted one addressed to her and pulled it out while shoving the rest of the junk mail and bills into the man's hands.
"Sakura, that isn't from the brat, is it?" the man asked.
"No." Sakura pouted. "It's from Mitsuki-san." She opened it up and unfolded the note inside. She blinked at what she read.
"What's it say?"
"'See you soon,'" Sakura replied. "Do you think she's coming back to Japan, Touya?"
Touya scowled. "Don't know."
The siblings looked over as they heard their father, a middle-age man with brown hair, clear his voice at the door to the hallway. "Actually, I do know what she meant. We'll be discussing it over dinner." He turned to leave, but stopped briefly. "Sakura, this will involve both your familiars. I suggest you invite them."
Sakura stared blankly.
Touya sighed. "I guess I'll call Yuki."
"PHWEEEEEEEEEEE?!" Sakura cried out before fainting.
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"Can I help you, sir?" asked a Japanese girl with short brown hair and brown eyes that somehow lacked any sparkle or innocence. She wondered if he was lost with the way he was looking around at everything.
An elderly Englishman with a long white beard and bald head appraised the girl. "I do need help, my dear, but I suspect that I can help you at the same time. You are Yagami Hikari, are you not?"
"How do you know my name?" Hikari questioned a little nervously.
"You are well known to certain groups, and yet thankfully unknown to others," the old man replied enigmatically. "Your government knows of your affiliations with the Digital World."
"Who are you?" Hikari demanded.
"Do not be afraid, my dear. I wish to be a friend and aid you with the powers you possess. Powers that aren't actually... 'digital' in nature," the old man explained. "All I offer you is a chance to learn at my school, however there is a catch."
Hikari watched the man carefully. There always seemed to be a catch in offers like this.
"You may end up in danger as there is a threat to the school and a particular student. However, I fear if the threat isn't stopped at Hogwarts, the world will suffer. Especially for someone like you," the old man told her.
Hikari blinked. "People with powers?"
"No. To those that have been derogatorily called 'Mudbloods.' A person who is born with magical powers but whose parents do not possess such abilities," he answered. "A local wizarding school should have approached you to join them, but because you are not a pure blooded witch, they overlooked you entirely."
Hikari stared at him, completely shocked.
"Perhaps I've explained too much too soon to you." The old man handed her a piece of paper. "If you wish to contact me to discuss this further, write down your message on this and I will receive it."
Hikari looked at the blank page.
"Until we meet again." The man bowed before walking into a nearby alleyway and then suddenly disappeared.
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A Japanese girl with short black hair was hunched over her desk, engrossed in the book she was reading. She suddenly jumped in surprise as the book was pulled away.
"Love potions?" questioned a boy in old styled Japanese clothes.
"Haiyaku?!" the girl growled dangerously. "I'm studying that!"
Haiyaku leveled his gaze at her. "Why? It's certainly not for school. You just got home for summer break."
The girl looked a bit nervous while blushing. "Well... I... ah...."
"Chihiro, do you really think they'd put any potion strong enough to affect a dragon in a first year book?" Haiyaku questioned seriously.
Chihiro was nervous for a moment, but then snapped into an angry glare. "Who said I was going to use the potion on you!?" She grabbed the book back and then snubbed him.
Haiyaku shook his head and leapt out the window.
Chihiro huffed and tossed the book against the wall. She placed her elbows on her desk and rested her head on her hands. "Well, that was a waste of time."
Hiayaku's form changed to a serpentine, white, river dragon. Humans had always confused him, but none ever to the degree this girl had. He knew of her feelings for him, but she didn't seem understand what she felt. She would figure it out eventually. He could wait as he was still a young dragon barely over a millennium old.
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"You want to challenge me to a game?" questioned a young Japanese teenage boy with wild black and gold hair.
"Yes," replied a boy with short groomed black hair, who looked to be a mix of Asian and European in ethnic origin. He fixed the position of his glasses. "I'm quite good with cards and I'd like to see how I would fair against the great Yugi."
"I don't know...." Yugi replied uncertainly.
"It would just be a friendly match," the boy pressed in a unthreatening manner. "Using the rules and card restrictions of the Duelist Kingdom."
A voice told Yugi not to trust him. Considering that voice was entirely different personality that aided Yugi on countless occasions, he was not going to object to receiving any sort of warning. "Do you mind if I have a few friends watch?"
"Not at all," the boy replied. "I plan to bring a couple with me as well. I've already reserved an arena. It's listed under Eriol. I'll be waiting." Eriol handed Yugi a card with the time and place of the match written on it.
Yugi shrugged. If this was some sort of trick, he would deal with it as he and his other personality, Yami, had many times before.
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Sakura shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the dinner table. There was something seriously wrong with this. While she had figured out that Touya knew about her using magic since practically the day she opened the Clow Book, she doubted her father even had a clue. But from what he said earlier today, he did know. On top of that her father was usually smiling, but today he seemed very serious.
Touya was rather curious as to what was going on, but politely ate dinner knowing explanations would come when the meal was finished.
Yukito sat next to Touya, his plate piled up with three times more food than anyone else. The blond haired young man was far more than a family friend. He was concerned about why they had invited him over tonight, but wasn't about to turn away the offer of food.
Across from Yukito was an empty plate in front of what looked like an orange stuffed animal, however it seemed to be sweating and twitching nervously.
Kinomoto glanced down at the 'toy' next to him. "Go ahead and eat. We all know what you are."
The 'toy' slowly turned his head and looked over at Sakura.
"Go ahead, Kero-chan," Sakura answered his unvoiced questioned.
Hesitantly, Kero pointed at a dish. "Can I have some of that?"
Sakura proceeded to fill up his plate.
The dinner seemed to drag on, yet ended sooner than Sakura had thought.
"I have something to say to all of you," Kinomoto began. "But first there is something I need to tell you, Sakura."
Sakura squirmed in her seat.
Kinomoto got out of his seat, walked over to the light switch, and turned it off. He then brandished a piece of paper and called out, "Luminous!"
The paper seemed to explode into a ball of light as it illuminated the room.
Kero's mouth dropped. "You know magic?!"
Kinomoto smiled sweetly. "I should. I teach the History of Magic to Towa University's _special_ students."
"Phweee?!" Sakura cried out in shock.
Touya looked over at her. "You didn't think your magical talents came from nowhere, did you?"
"I thought, well... um...." Sakura stuttered.
Kinomoto let out a soft laugh. "Most of your potential probably did come from your mother. She was quite talented."
"How come you didn't tell me?" Sakura asked.
"That's because my possession of the Clow Book was no accident. I knew what it was since I was researching Clow and uncovered some of his prophecies. I never expected that you would become the Card Captor, but when you did I knew I should not interfere with Cerberus and Yueh training you. So I did not tell you of your magical heritage," Kinomoto explained.
Yukito frowned. "You know about my other self?"
Kinomoto nodded. "I figured that out shortly after Sakura released Cerberus from the book."
Kero coughed. "You can call me Kero."
"You knew, didn't you," Sakura accused her brother.
Touya nodded. "Dad told me when I was about to start Junior High that I'd be getting a few 'special elective' courses."
"I always did annoy the potions teacher by being completely immune to everything he had me drink," Yukito added with a forced smile.
Sakura blinked. "How come I haven't had these 'special electives?'"
"You were going to be given those course, but I stopped them siting you were under apprenticeship," Kinomoto replied. "Besides, if you were in those classes, you wouldn't be in the same class as Tomoyo and your other friends anymore."
"I suppose there's a reason you're telling us about this now," Kero questioned seriously.
Kinomoto frowned and nodded. "As magic schools go, the wizarding degree at Towa University basically amounts to a degree from a community college. The students may be willing to learn, but in most cases there is no talent. However, this morning I received a job offer from one of the best schools in the world, Hogwarts. Unlike the wizarding classes at Towa and Tomoeda that held secretly under the disguise of being mundane, Hogwarts is only for witches and warlocks. There you can practice magic freely."
"Hogwarts?!" Kero cried out. "That's in England!"
"Hoeeee?!" Sakura questioned.
Kinomoto nodded. "Yes. I know it's far away, but the education they can offer Sakura and the chance to teach at such a prestigious school is not something I could pass up."
"We're going to move there?" Sakura questioned.
"Hogwarts is a boarding school. During the summer months, we'll live here. But while school is in session, you'll be living in the student dorms," Kinomoto explained.
"What about Kero and myself?" Yukito questioned.
"Kero will be registered as Sakura's familiar, while you'll be my teaching assistant," Kinomoto explained. He then turned toward his son. "There's an opening at the local inn for a waiter if you want to come with us."
Touya glanced at Yukito. "Might as well. Someone needs to keep the monster out of trouble."
"Would you mean me?" Cerberus teased, transformed from his false form of Kero and into his true form of a giant, winged, fiery cat.
"You don't have the magical potential to destroy city blocks," Touya deadpanned.
Sakura blinked in surprise, knowing her brother was refering to her. She didn't have THAT much power, did she?
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"Daisuke-kun, what's wrong?" Hikari questioned.
Daisuke, a boy with scruffy brown hair, kicked a can irritably. "This old man told me I have the potential to use magic, that I could go to his school to learn how to cast spells."
"He approached you too, huh?" Hikari replied. "What did you say?"
A blond haired Japanese boy had been standing near by. "You meet him?"
Hikari nodded, and continued to look toward Daisuke.
Daisuke shrugged. "Basically, 'how much?' While he said I wouldn't have to worry about tuition, the stuff I'd need to start would run into the millions of yen. My parents can't afford that. What did you say to him?"
Hikari shook her head. "Nothing really. He left me with a paper to write questions I have for him."
The blond haired boy held up a piece of paper that looked the same as the one Hikari recieved. "It's certainly a neat trick. It works like Internet chat."
"You saw him too, Takeru-kun?" Hikari asked.
"Yes," Takeru replied. "I asked him about where his school is. It's in England."
Hikari blinked. "England?"
Takeru nodded. "Also asked for some proof of his school."
"What did he say?" Hikari questioned.
"'Visit Tomoeda's high schools and look for the classrooms that seem... off,'" Takeru quoted. "He also warned against confronting anyone there. Something about prejudice against someone who isn't of pure blood."
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"So, who is this guy?" a blond haired American teenage boy wearing brown slacks and green jacket over a white T-shirt asked while gazing across the combat arena for Duel Monsters.
"I don't know, Joey, but Yugi seems worried about him," a brown haired American teenage girl who wore brown skirt with a maroon vest over a dull yellow blouse.
"You're a lot of help, Tea. You know anything, Tristan?" Joey asked.
"Not a clue," replied another teenage boy with brown hair who was wearing a trenchcoat.
"Ack?!" Joey cried out as he was practically tackled from behind.
"Hi! I'm Ruby!" The blond haired and shapely young woman asked, still hugging Joey.
"Talk about friendly," Tea muttered.
"Interesting friends you have," commented Eriol standing on a red platform with a grid just in front of him. The same number of grid squares was on the green field below him.
"I was about to say the same for you." Yugi sweat-dropped as he stood in the opposing blue platform, not missing the strange looking black cat with black butterfly wings resting on the railing near Eriol and above the combat floor.
"Shall we begin?" Eriol questioned.
Yugi nodded. "Let's Duel!" He then drew five cards.
Eriol also drew five cards and smiled. "I play a creature in defense mode. Your turn." As he played the card, the grid briefly lit up a circuitry partner and an image of the card's back appeared on the arena floor.
Yugi drew a card for his turn and then announced, "I play Celtic Guardian in attack mode!"
A hologram of a sword-wielding, armored elf emerged from field, who rushed forward and attacked the face down card. It briefly showed a black haired woman in robes before exploding into data.
"Aw, you killed my Witch of the Black Forest. Now I have to get a creature from my deck," Eriol replied smugly.
Yugi frowned, wondering what his opponent's strategy was.
Eriol selected a card from his deck per the special ability of the witch and then began to shuffle his deck. "You know Yugi, I'm quite thankful you accepted my challenge. I came all the way here from England just to see you."
"Really?" Yugi questioned.
Eriol nodded as he drew a card for his turn. "Oh my, what should I do? No, that's too quick." He then shrugged. "I'll play Summon Skull, but then I'll use Black Illusion Ritual to summon the dreaded Relinquished."
Yugi's eyes widened in shock as he saw the purple horror materialize on the arena floor. This was not good.
"Relinquished will of course swallow your Celtic Guardian and use your own card's power against you," Eriol stated smugly.
The purple horror sucked in the Celtic Guardian, making the creature part of its body.
"Way to go Eriol!" Ruby cheered, still clutching onto Joey.
"Can you not hang on to me like this?" Joey questioned.
"You don't like it?" Ruby pouted.
The problem was more of Joey liking it too much.
"This doesn't look good," Tea commented with concern, trying to ignore Ruby and Joey.
"I didn't think anyone else had a Relinquished except Pegasus," Tristan added.
Yugi didn't like this, and neither did Yami. It was time to get serious as the teen switched personalities.
"Oh, darn. It's the other Yugi now." Ruby pouted.
Joey, Tristan and Tea stared at her in shock.
"My, what interesting magic you have there, Yugi, or should I say Pharaoh Yami." Eriol bowed ever so slightly.
"How do you know of me?" Yami demanded using Yugi's body.
"I am a twice born magician like yourself, though my former life was much more recent than yours," Eriol half-explained.
"What is it you want?" Yami pressed.
"Continue the game and I'll tell you," Eriol promised.
"Fine," Yami snapped and drew a card. He grinned. "I play Mammoth Graveyard in defense mode and a card face down."
A hologram of a skeletal elephant stood firmly on the field.
Eriol drew a card and smiled as well. "In my former life I studied an art mastered by ancient Egyptians of placing magical spirits into rocks to be used as giant playing cards. Among the things I learned was that the greatest power in the game they played was to place ones heart into draw. It allowed the user a better chance to get what he needed to win. Nobleman of Extermination targeting your face down card, of course."
Yami frowned as his face down card was revealed to be Horn of Heaven and was destroyed. Nobleman would also destroy any other copy of Horn of Heaven in either players deck if they had that trap card.
"Relinquished, destroy the Mammoth, if you please," Eriol requested.
Yami scowled angrily. He was being toyed with! He drew a card. It gave him another option. "I play a creature face down, and another card face down as well."
"You do know your true potential is going untapped. You don't have to limit yourself to just the magics of your talisman, as strong as that may be," Eriol commented. He drew a card. "No, that's too powerful." He shrugged. "Relinquished attack."
Yami smiled flipping over his face down card revealing a trap. "Mirror Force destroys your Relinquished."
Eriol sighed. "So it does. By the way, I'll play Nobleman of Crossout targeting your creature."
Yami scowled as Curse of Dragon was revealed and destroyed in the same way Horn of Heaven had been.
"Now I'm not done yet. You see, you're like Dark Magician here," Eriol commented as he put the card into play causing a hologram of a purple robed magician to stand on the field holding a staff. "You're very powerful currently, but also limited to your one field of magic. I avoided such restriction and branched out into other magics. Sometimes my wand didn't offer enough power, so I wielded a sword, or in this case the Axe of Despair." He placed down the magic card, and the Dark Magician's wand morphed into a deadly axe.
"No way! No freakin' way!" Joey called out in surprise, leaning over the railing above the combat arena floor to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He didn't know of ANYONE owning another copy of Dark Magician besides Yugi and Pandora.
Ruby also leaned over with him as she was still hanging on him. "Ain't Darky the cutest thing with that axe!"
"That is one seriously expensive deck," Tristan commented. "He has played anything under a rare yet."
Tea looked like she was about to bite her knuckle. "How's Yugi going to get out of this one?"
Yami glared. "You had the Axe of Despair in your opening hand, didn't you?"
"So what if I did?" Eriol questioned.
"Had you equipped the Summoned Skull with it and attacked the Celtic Guardian, I would've lost," Yami explained.
"What's the point of a quick game? I came here to talk to you and killing you quickly would defeat that purpose," Eriol replied. "Care to take your turn?"
"I shall," Yami remarked bitterly. He drew his card and smirked. "I play Reborn the Monster on your Relinquished and then I shall absorb your mage."
"Oh, pooh." Ruby pouted.
"All right, Yugi!" Tea cheered.
Eriol drew his card. "I'll play Fissure to destroy Relinquished."
Yami blinked. That was one of the simplest creature removing spell, and rarely effective as it targeted the creature with the lowest attack strength which you usually wanted to strike the stongest one, but it was the perfect card to use against Relinquished as even after it borrows another creature's power, it still technically has no attack strength of its own.
Eriol played his other card face down in defense position. "And I set a creature. Your turn."
Yami pulled a card and played it. "I summon Gaia the Fierce Knight and attack your creature."
An armored knight wielding a pair of lances riding a purple stead raced across the field and obliterated the revealed silver faced sorcerer.
Eriol sighed. "There goes free cards. And potential options to fight." He took Masked Sorcerer and added it to his discard pile. He then drew a card for his turn. "When sorcerers and fiends fail, it's time to try something else. In this case machines. I summon Jinzo and attack." He put it into play revealing a green cyborg who quickly dispatched Gaia being a hundred points stronger in attack strength.
"JINZO?!" Joey screamed. "NO FUCKING WAY?! I'm the only one who has that card!"
"Jinzo may be VERY rare, but he is not unique," Eriol replied. "Just as Yami and Yugi's powers are very rare, but you know of others who have similar abilities, do you not?"
Yami scowled darkly as he drew a card. "Time to return the favor with Summoned Skull! Attack!"
A skeletal demon rose from the field and ripped Jinzo apart.
"My turn again." Eriol replied. "I'll need a good one." He then frowned. "Well, better than nothing. I place my creature in defense position."
Yami drew a card. It could prove useful later. "I'll place a card face down and attack with Summoned Skull."
The demon moved forward and stomped on an evil looking tomato.
"There goes Mystic Tomato. Time to get a new creature," Eriol commented. "Oh, that looks good. I'll choose that. It's always good to go with the one that offers you the most options." He placed the selected card in the field and began to shuffle his deck. He then drew a card for his turn. "And gaining options is what this card does best. I'll flip the card Mystic Tomato brought out to activate it's ability. Cyber Jar."
A strange robotic sphere appeared and then exploded, destroying the Summoned Skull.
"Interesting choice. But not only does it give you cards, it gives me five more cards as well," Yami commented. He then frowned as he drew three magic cards, Dark Magician, and a Kuribo. The Cyber Jar forced him to play the Kuribo, which he did in defense position.
Eriol faired better, producing two creatures under level five, Witch's Apprentice and La Jinn. He placed both of them on the field in attack position along with three magic cards. "Now here's my lesson. As you well know not everyone can handle special powers whether they are diversified like mine or specific like yours. They use their powers for selfish gain and bully the weak. They become corrupt on over bearing just as this La Jinn's strength with the witch's help boosts him to twenty-three hundred. But that power isn't enough, they would even commit such a vile act as kill a unicorn to take the power of it's horn, such as this La Jinn is now at three thousand thanks to this Horn of the Unicorn card. And when the one tries to fight it alone, they become crushed under the sheer might and ends up hurting those he leaves behind. Just as your creature dies horribly and you are defeated with Fiery Meteor Crush."
"Ah, but if one is not alone and has many friends to aid him, he can not be defeated. Just as my Kuribo isn't just one after I use Multiply." Yami flipped over his face down card he placed a couple turns back. Soon the field is filled with floating balls of fur as the green skinned genie, La Jinn, tried to destroy them only for many more to replace the ones that had been killed.
"I see I've made my point," Eriol commented, setting his hand onto of his deck. "I have a proposition for you. I was asked by the headmaster of my school to recruit students. One of his students is a very special lad of immense magical potential. However, he needs lots of strong friends to help him as there is a man of great evil who wishes to see this boy dead. Right now, you don't have the potential to stop the evil warlock as your specialty would more likely empower him than defeat him. But you can gain the knowledge that would allow you to help the boy face this villain. Not only can the school teach you how to better control your shadow magic, but they can teach you other sorts of magic not related to it."
Yami paused in thought and then seemed to shrink a little as his personalities switched back. "What about my friends?" Yugi asked.
Eriol frowned. "That will be the hard part. The school I'm talking about is Hogwarts School of Wizardry in England. It sits in an area where non-magic users, like them, would never be able to find it on their own. You would have to leave them behind while at the boarding school."
Yugi looked up at his friends. "I'll have to think about this."
"If you decide to come, meet me at London Station in one week. You will need a fair bit of money to pay for school supplies," Eriol explained before turning to leave. "Come on, guys."
The cat stretched. "You should've defeated him."
Ruby bounced away. "Later!"
"My weird o'meter just went off the chart," Tristan commented staring at the departing cat.
"Do you think Yugi's going to go to that school?" Tea questioned nervously.
Joey waved at Ruby with a goofy grin. "Ya know, she's kind of cute."
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In England a boy lay on his bed. He had been there since coming home from boarding school. As far as his aunt and uncle were concerned, that was just where they wanted him. Out of sight, out of mind. In the four years he spent at Hogwarts, he had learned many things. He had even accomplished things certified wizards had not. But the boy was not so much concerned with accomplishments, but his failures. Not only was it his fault a fellow student had died, Voldermort, the man who murdered countless people including his parents, had been reborn. And all he could do about it was sit in this damned house and wait until fall for school to resume. He could do nothing to stop the atrocities Voldermort was committing out there.
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Technically, this is the end of chapter one, but I have a few scenes of chapter two, so...
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Sakura ran into kitchen like a typhoon, rushing around to grab a quick breakfast. The idea of going to England to learn magic was very exciting. She had been up half the night thinking about it and how to tell Tomoyo, which had caused her to sleep through her alarm. "I'm so LATE!"
Mr. Kinomoto held his daughter by the shoulder. "Sakura-chan... you don't have to go to school."
Sakura blinked at her father. "I don't?"
"I didn't explain everything last night, but we'll have to be leaving for Hogwarts this weekend. I'll need to set up my classes while you'll need to take a summer course in Western magics so you won't be too far behind kids your age there," Mr. Kinomoto explained.
Sakura stared. "This weekend....?"
Mr. Kinomoto nodded. "I'm sorry you won't have more time with your friends before we leave."
Sakura looked down at the floor and slowly set the breakfast she was getting on the table. "I see," she said simply. She then looked determined. "I'm still going to school so I can tell all of them and see them!" She then inhaled her breakfast, gagging slightly as she choked on it.
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Yugi sighed as he looked over the newest shipment of toys that came into the game store his grandfather owned.
An elderly Japanese man with wild gray hair gave his grandson a concerned look. "You seem troubled, Yugi."
"I got a most unusual offer yesterday, and I don't know if I should believe it," Yugi replied.
"Oh? What was the offer?" Grandpa Moto asked.
"That I go to a boarding school in England named Hogwarts," Yugi answered.
Grandpa Moto blinked several times. "Hogwarts, you say?"
Yugi nodded nervously. "Ah, yeah. Have you heard of it?"
"Follow me," Grandpa Moto ordered as he went into the game shops back room. He pointed at a shelf. "Push that aside."
Yugi shrugged and did as he was told.
Grandpa Moto then went to the wooden panel in the wall the shelf had covered and removed it. Hidden inside the wall was a bag, which Moto pulled out and handed to his grandson. "You'll need this."
Yugi opened the bag and looked inside. His eyes widened in shock. "Gold coins?!"
"Not just any coins, but Wizards' Gold," Grandpa Moto corrected. "You'll need that to buy school supplies."
"So, you do know about Hogwarts," Yugi observed.
"Yes, I knew of it. Never been there myself. I've got enough magic in me to find some magical places and learn a trick or two, but never enough for a prestigious magical school like Hogwarts," Grandpa Moto explained with a little bitterness and jealousy. "If you've been accepted you HAVE to go!"
"But what about my friends? They don't have any magic," Yugi questioned.
Grandpa Moto grabbed Yugi by the shoulders. "Yugi, I know you'll miss them, but you'll never have an opportunity like this ever again! Hogwarts will teach you things you've never even dreamed of before. To them, flying on a broomstick is mundane and simple!"
"I don't know...." Yugi replied uncertainly.
"YOU'RE GOING!" Grandpa Moto ordered harshly.
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"That Seto is certainly a disagreeable fellow," groused Soupy, a butterfly-winged black cat walking next to his master.
"We didn't even get to see Seto, but my message has been sent. He'll contact me before long," Eriol corrected.
"Did we have to go shopping in San Francisco while we wait?" Soupy complained.
"Shopping is fun!" Ruby corrected.
"How can you call oogling guys, shopping?" Soupy questioned.
"Guys can be rather delicious," Ruby retorted.
"So says the unisex magic vampire," Soupy commented with a sigh and had to dodge as she tried to kick him.
Eriol paused as he spied an old yellow building with a rickety sign announcing 'antiques.' "We'll stop here."
Ruby sighed. "These places are filled with old farts."
Eriol paid no mind to their comments as he went into the shop followed by Ruby. Soupy opted to stay outside.
A moment later a young and decently built Chinese man wearing a blue shirt and tan slacks moved to greet them, focusing his attention on the older looking Ruby. "Welcome to my Uncle's shop. Can I help you?"
"My, you are a cutie," Ruby cooed as she came closer to the man. "I'm Ruby. What's your name?"
"Ah, Chan, Jackie Chan," he stammered nervously. The girl had to be half his age. She shouldn't come on to him like this!
Eriol gave a small smile as Ruby distracted the shop keeper. It allowed him to look more closely at the item and see if any of them were... special. He gave a whistle as his senses detected that a lot of the inventory contained some sort of magic. While a casual shopper would think the items were placed haphazardly, that wasn't the case at all. Some items could produce undesirable effects if placed too closely together and they were positioned on opposite sides of the room.
"What's a nice young man, like you, doing in a stuffy shop like this?" Ruby questioned seductively.
Eriol gave a passing look to Ruby's 'playmate.' If she was paying that much attention, he had to have some magic. He shrugged. The guy was too old for Hogwarts. He turned his attention back to an item and looked at the price tag. "A.U.?"
"Ask Uncle," replied a young girl with short black hair, red shirt and jeans, who was now standing right behind him.
"Ask Uncle?" Eriol repeated, wondering how this girl got so close to him without noticing her.
"Uncle is partial to a few items and doesn't sell them to just anyone," the girl replied.
"I see." Eriol took a look at another item's price tag. "D.S.?"
"Don't sell," she replied. "He wants to keep those."
"Okay," Eriol replied with a seemingly innocent reply. He then checked a few other items and all of them were listed as 'Ask Uncle' or 'Don't sell.' His attention wasn't on the antiques anymore, but the girl. She watched him carefully as he shopped, but then decided on something and left.
"I'm new in town. Care to show me around?" Ruby purred. "I'm sure I could show you a thing or two as well."
"I'm sure you could," Jackie swallowed.
The shopkeeper was sufficiently distracted, which allowed Eriol to follow the girl into the store's backroom. He blinked at the amount of seriously magic artifacts and tomes here. This was an honest to gods magic store and it had only the barest protection to keep muggles out.
The fact an elderly Chinese man was performing a ritual spell with the help of half-Chinese, half-giant apprentice hardly escaped his notice. He watched as the elderly magician continued to chant and the girl he had followed was waiting impatiently. When the ritual spell reached a point it could be safely interrupted, the girl spoke up.
"Uncle, I think you're needed in the shop," the girl said simply.
"Jackie can handle it," Uncle replied. "I'm too busy."
"Jackie is being distracted by a buxom teenager while a boy, who looks like he's maybe a little older than me, has taken an interest only in your magical antiques. If it didn't have magic, he didn't look at it," the girl informed.
Eriol frowned. He had been a little too obvious, hadn't he? It was so easy to fool Sakura and the others, but this girl saw right through him.
"Don't let Jackie sell aneeee of it," Uncle ordered.
The girl turned away. "Oh, I thought you should also know that while he looks like a kid, I don't think he is. His eyes are too old. And that he's watching us from over there."
"Eh?!" Uncle questioned, looking up.
"I see the greatest treasure here isn't an antique," Eriol commented, pulling himself out of the shadow he had hidden himself in.
The girl blinked.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Eriol, student of Hogwarts." He bowed politely.
"Hogwarts? Bah! Apprenticeship is the only way to learn! Not in a classroom!" Uncle spat.
"There are advantages and disadvantages to both," Eriol corrected. "While the classroom may not offer the depth of training an apprentice might receive, but it offers a far greater variety of knowledge. At Hogwarts, she can learn far more than you could ever teacher her."
"Me?" the girl questioned in surprise.
"You MUST have depth of knowledge to use magic properliii!" Uncle protested.
"I take it you are training her as well?" Eriol questioned.
"Course not. Jade is too young!" Uncle corrected.
"How old are you?" Eriol asked.
"Eleven," Jade replied.
"Perfect!" Eriol smiled. "Old enough to be a first year student. Don't worry, most first years don't know how to use magic."
"I can learn magic?" Jade questioned.
"Of course. Your senses are already very keen," Eriol replied.
Uncle scuffed. "Hogwarts is a boarding school in England. There is no way Jade would leave us to go there."
Jade pouted. "It is?"
"And where would she get the money to go?" Uncle added.
"I'm a special recruiter for Hogwarts. Students I select won't have to pay tuition. They still have to get school supplies, but I see that you already have most of that in stock. What's left she'll have to buy, but I'm sure I can arrange a few purchases of your inventory and give enough profit to cover her basic needs," Eriol explained. "I'll stop back in August for your decision." He turned and left.
"Really, I'm quite clueless about the San Francisco area. I don't know of anyplace to take you," Jackie lamely lied.
"Oh, come on. I'm sure your room is fun enough," Ruby cooed as she messed his hair.
"Ruby, stop trying to play with your food. We're leaving now," Eriol ordered.
"Oh, pooh." Ruby pouted. "Not going to sell you anything magical?"
"Perhaps. I may have gotten something better, a new student for Hogwarts," Eriol replied.
Jackie blinked as the door closed behind the pair. "Play with her food? A new student? What was all that about?"
"Maybe that Ruby chick is a vampire of some sort," Jade commented. "As for the student, that's me. That boy wants me to go to a magic boarding school in England."
"Magic boarding school?" Jackie blinked. "There's no such thing. Ow!" His head throbbed as Uncle slapped him with two fingers.
"Hogwarts does exist! It is a school of high learning. Not as good as apprenticeship, but still good learning!" Uncle corrected.
Jackie rubbed his forehead. "You're not going, are you?"
Jade shrugged. "I haven't decided yet."
----------------------
Author's Note:
The Yu-Gi-Oh battle was done with me drawing cards from my Darkness Deck and then figuring out how Yugi would counter such a deck. I know I messed up with how Mystic Tomato works, but the game played in the anime doesn't exactly follow the rules either.
Continuity notes:
It is now April of 2003, and Harry has been at his aunt's house for a week since the end of his fourth year at Hogwarts.
Card Captor Sakura:
Sakura is fourteen currently and has been accepted as a fifth year student.
Digimon:
Belial Vamdemon was defeated last December, and Armagemon almost two months ago. Hikari is about to turn twelve years old.
Spirited Away:
Chihiro is almost twelve, and already completed a year at Hogwarts. How and why she attends school there will be explained.
Yu-Gi-Oh!:
It's been a year since Yugi began all his adventures and has completed Battle City.
I actually haven't given up working on this series, but I've only managed to solve a few of the many plot issues that loom over a large crossover fict like this.
Chapter One - Invitation
Harry Potter, Card Captors Sakura, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon Adventures, and Spirited Away are the property of their respective creators. I would not dare declare ownership of them. There are too many girls in those series that would seriously resent such a statement and cause me great bodily harm.
I will be a purest in regards to usage of Japanese for Card Captors Sakura and Digimon Adventures, however I will be using the American dub for Yu-Gi-Oh as I will be treating that cast as coming from America in order to better diversify the incoming students.
------------------------
The wind blew through the hair of a young, Japanese, teenage girl with short brown hair and shining emerald eyes as she roller bladed home from her junior high school. She didn't slow as she went up to the approach only stopping at the door to grab the mail. She quickly entered the house and shed her roller blades while flipping through the letters to see if any of them were for her.
"Hey, Monster, any mail?" asked a young man with groomed black hair.
The girl glared at her brother. "None for you." She spotted one addressed to her and pulled it out while shoving the rest of the junk mail and bills into the man's hands.
"Sakura, that isn't from the brat, is it?" the man asked.
"No." Sakura pouted. "It's from Mitsuki-san." She opened it up and unfolded the note inside. She blinked at what she read.
"What's it say?"
"'See you soon,'" Sakura replied. "Do you think she's coming back to Japan, Touya?"
Touya scowled. "Don't know."
The siblings looked over as they heard their father, a middle-age man with brown hair, clear his voice at the door to the hallway. "Actually, I do know what she meant. We'll be discussing it over dinner." He turned to leave, but stopped briefly. "Sakura, this will involve both your familiars. I suggest you invite them."
Sakura stared blankly.
Touya sighed. "I guess I'll call Yuki."
"PHWEEEEEEEEEEE?!" Sakura cried out before fainting.
------------------------
"Can I help you, sir?" asked a Japanese girl with short brown hair and brown eyes that somehow lacked any sparkle or innocence. She wondered if he was lost with the way he was looking around at everything.
An elderly Englishman with a long white beard and bald head appraised the girl. "I do need help, my dear, but I suspect that I can help you at the same time. You are Yagami Hikari, are you not?"
"How do you know my name?" Hikari questioned a little nervously.
"You are well known to certain groups, and yet thankfully unknown to others," the old man replied enigmatically. "Your government knows of your affiliations with the Digital World."
"Who are you?" Hikari demanded.
"Do not be afraid, my dear. I wish to be a friend and aid you with the powers you possess. Powers that aren't actually... 'digital' in nature," the old man explained. "All I offer you is a chance to learn at my school, however there is a catch."
Hikari watched the man carefully. There always seemed to be a catch in offers like this.
"You may end up in danger as there is a threat to the school and a particular student. However, I fear if the threat isn't stopped at Hogwarts, the world will suffer. Especially for someone like you," the old man told her.
Hikari blinked. "People with powers?"
"No. To those that have been derogatorily called 'Mudbloods.' A person who is born with magical powers but whose parents do not possess such abilities," he answered. "A local wizarding school should have approached you to join them, but because you are not a pure blooded witch, they overlooked you entirely."
Hikari stared at him, completely shocked.
"Perhaps I've explained too much too soon to you." The old man handed her a piece of paper. "If you wish to contact me to discuss this further, write down your message on this and I will receive it."
Hikari looked at the blank page.
"Until we meet again." The man bowed before walking into a nearby alleyway and then suddenly disappeared.
------------------------
A Japanese girl with short black hair was hunched over her desk, engrossed in the book she was reading. She suddenly jumped in surprise as the book was pulled away.
"Love potions?" questioned a boy in old styled Japanese clothes.
"Haiyaku?!" the girl growled dangerously. "I'm studying that!"
Haiyaku leveled his gaze at her. "Why? It's certainly not for school. You just got home for summer break."
The girl looked a bit nervous while blushing. "Well... I... ah...."
"Chihiro, do you really think they'd put any potion strong enough to affect a dragon in a first year book?" Haiyaku questioned seriously.
Chihiro was nervous for a moment, but then snapped into an angry glare. "Who said I was going to use the potion on you!?" She grabbed the book back and then snubbed him.
Haiyaku shook his head and leapt out the window.
Chihiro huffed and tossed the book against the wall. She placed her elbows on her desk and rested her head on her hands. "Well, that was a waste of time."
Hiayaku's form changed to a serpentine, white, river dragon. Humans had always confused him, but none ever to the degree this girl had. He knew of her feelings for him, but she didn't seem understand what she felt. She would figure it out eventually. He could wait as he was still a young dragon barely over a millennium old.
------------------------
"You want to challenge me to a game?" questioned a young Japanese teenage boy with wild black and gold hair.
"Yes," replied a boy with short groomed black hair, who looked to be a mix of Asian and European in ethnic origin. He fixed the position of his glasses. "I'm quite good with cards and I'd like to see how I would fair against the great Yugi."
"I don't know...." Yugi replied uncertainly.
"It would just be a friendly match," the boy pressed in a unthreatening manner. "Using the rules and card restrictions of the Duelist Kingdom."
A voice told Yugi not to trust him. Considering that voice was entirely different personality that aided Yugi on countless occasions, he was not going to object to receiving any sort of warning. "Do you mind if I have a few friends watch?"
"Not at all," the boy replied. "I plan to bring a couple with me as well. I've already reserved an arena. It's listed under Eriol. I'll be waiting." Eriol handed Yugi a card with the time and place of the match written on it.
Yugi shrugged. If this was some sort of trick, he would deal with it as he and his other personality, Yami, had many times before.
------------------------
Sakura shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the dinner table. There was something seriously wrong with this. While she had figured out that Touya knew about her using magic since practically the day she opened the Clow Book, she doubted her father even had a clue. But from what he said earlier today, he did know. On top of that her father was usually smiling, but today he seemed very serious.
Touya was rather curious as to what was going on, but politely ate dinner knowing explanations would come when the meal was finished.
Yukito sat next to Touya, his plate piled up with three times more food than anyone else. The blond haired young man was far more than a family friend. He was concerned about why they had invited him over tonight, but wasn't about to turn away the offer of food.
Across from Yukito was an empty plate in front of what looked like an orange stuffed animal, however it seemed to be sweating and twitching nervously.
Kinomoto glanced down at the 'toy' next to him. "Go ahead and eat. We all know what you are."
The 'toy' slowly turned his head and looked over at Sakura.
"Go ahead, Kero-chan," Sakura answered his unvoiced questioned.
Hesitantly, Kero pointed at a dish. "Can I have some of that?"
Sakura proceeded to fill up his plate.
The dinner seemed to drag on, yet ended sooner than Sakura had thought.
"I have something to say to all of you," Kinomoto began. "But first there is something I need to tell you, Sakura."
Sakura squirmed in her seat.
Kinomoto got out of his seat, walked over to the light switch, and turned it off. He then brandished a piece of paper and called out, "Luminous!"
The paper seemed to explode into a ball of light as it illuminated the room.
Kero's mouth dropped. "You know magic?!"
Kinomoto smiled sweetly. "I should. I teach the History of Magic to Towa University's _special_ students."
"Phweee?!" Sakura cried out in shock.
Touya looked over at her. "You didn't think your magical talents came from nowhere, did you?"
"I thought, well... um...." Sakura stuttered.
Kinomoto let out a soft laugh. "Most of your potential probably did come from your mother. She was quite talented."
"How come you didn't tell me?" Sakura asked.
"That's because my possession of the Clow Book was no accident. I knew what it was since I was researching Clow and uncovered some of his prophecies. I never expected that you would become the Card Captor, but when you did I knew I should not interfere with Cerberus and Yueh training you. So I did not tell you of your magical heritage," Kinomoto explained.
Yukito frowned. "You know about my other self?"
Kinomoto nodded. "I figured that out shortly after Sakura released Cerberus from the book."
Kero coughed. "You can call me Kero."
"You knew, didn't you," Sakura accused her brother.
Touya nodded. "Dad told me when I was about to start Junior High that I'd be getting a few 'special elective' courses."
"I always did annoy the potions teacher by being completely immune to everything he had me drink," Yukito added with a forced smile.
Sakura blinked. "How come I haven't had these 'special electives?'"
"You were going to be given those course, but I stopped them siting you were under apprenticeship," Kinomoto replied. "Besides, if you were in those classes, you wouldn't be in the same class as Tomoyo and your other friends anymore."
"I suppose there's a reason you're telling us about this now," Kero questioned seriously.
Kinomoto frowned and nodded. "As magic schools go, the wizarding degree at Towa University basically amounts to a degree from a community college. The students may be willing to learn, but in most cases there is no talent. However, this morning I received a job offer from one of the best schools in the world, Hogwarts. Unlike the wizarding classes at Towa and Tomoeda that held secretly under the disguise of being mundane, Hogwarts is only for witches and warlocks. There you can practice magic freely."
"Hogwarts?!" Kero cried out. "That's in England!"
"Hoeeee?!" Sakura questioned.
Kinomoto nodded. "Yes. I know it's far away, but the education they can offer Sakura and the chance to teach at such a prestigious school is not something I could pass up."
"We're going to move there?" Sakura questioned.
"Hogwarts is a boarding school. During the summer months, we'll live here. But while school is in session, you'll be living in the student dorms," Kinomoto explained.
"What about Kero and myself?" Yukito questioned.
"Kero will be registered as Sakura's familiar, while you'll be my teaching assistant," Kinomoto explained. He then turned toward his son. "There's an opening at the local inn for a waiter if you want to come with us."
Touya glanced at Yukito. "Might as well. Someone needs to keep the monster out of trouble."
"Would you mean me?" Cerberus teased, transformed from his false form of Kero and into his true form of a giant, winged, fiery cat.
"You don't have the magical potential to destroy city blocks," Touya deadpanned.
Sakura blinked in surprise, knowing her brother was refering to her. She didn't have THAT much power, did she?
------------------------
"Daisuke-kun, what's wrong?" Hikari questioned.
Daisuke, a boy with scruffy brown hair, kicked a can irritably. "This old man told me I have the potential to use magic, that I could go to his school to learn how to cast spells."
"He approached you too, huh?" Hikari replied. "What did you say?"
A blond haired Japanese boy had been standing near by. "You meet him?"
Hikari nodded, and continued to look toward Daisuke.
Daisuke shrugged. "Basically, 'how much?' While he said I wouldn't have to worry about tuition, the stuff I'd need to start would run into the millions of yen. My parents can't afford that. What did you say to him?"
Hikari shook her head. "Nothing really. He left me with a paper to write questions I have for him."
The blond haired boy held up a piece of paper that looked the same as the one Hikari recieved. "It's certainly a neat trick. It works like Internet chat."
"You saw him too, Takeru-kun?" Hikari asked.
"Yes," Takeru replied. "I asked him about where his school is. It's in England."
Hikari blinked. "England?"
Takeru nodded. "Also asked for some proof of his school."
"What did he say?" Hikari questioned.
"'Visit Tomoeda's high schools and look for the classrooms that seem... off,'" Takeru quoted. "He also warned against confronting anyone there. Something about prejudice against someone who isn't of pure blood."
------------------------
"So, who is this guy?" a blond haired American teenage boy wearing brown slacks and green jacket over a white T-shirt asked while gazing across the combat arena for Duel Monsters.
"I don't know, Joey, but Yugi seems worried about him," a brown haired American teenage girl who wore brown skirt with a maroon vest over a dull yellow blouse.
"You're a lot of help, Tea. You know anything, Tristan?" Joey asked.
"Not a clue," replied another teenage boy with brown hair who was wearing a trenchcoat.
"Ack?!" Joey cried out as he was practically tackled from behind.
"Hi! I'm Ruby!" The blond haired and shapely young woman asked, still hugging Joey.
"Talk about friendly," Tea muttered.
"Interesting friends you have," commented Eriol standing on a red platform with a grid just in front of him. The same number of grid squares was on the green field below him.
"I was about to say the same for you." Yugi sweat-dropped as he stood in the opposing blue platform, not missing the strange looking black cat with black butterfly wings resting on the railing near Eriol and above the combat floor.
"Shall we begin?" Eriol questioned.
Yugi nodded. "Let's Duel!" He then drew five cards.
Eriol also drew five cards and smiled. "I play a creature in defense mode. Your turn." As he played the card, the grid briefly lit up a circuitry partner and an image of the card's back appeared on the arena floor.
Yugi drew a card for his turn and then announced, "I play Celtic Guardian in attack mode!"
A hologram of a sword-wielding, armored elf emerged from field, who rushed forward and attacked the face down card. It briefly showed a black haired woman in robes before exploding into data.
"Aw, you killed my Witch of the Black Forest. Now I have to get a creature from my deck," Eriol replied smugly.
Yugi frowned, wondering what his opponent's strategy was.
Eriol selected a card from his deck per the special ability of the witch and then began to shuffle his deck. "You know Yugi, I'm quite thankful you accepted my challenge. I came all the way here from England just to see you."
"Really?" Yugi questioned.
Eriol nodded as he drew a card for his turn. "Oh my, what should I do? No, that's too quick." He then shrugged. "I'll play Summon Skull, but then I'll use Black Illusion Ritual to summon the dreaded Relinquished."
Yugi's eyes widened in shock as he saw the purple horror materialize on the arena floor. This was not good.
"Relinquished will of course swallow your Celtic Guardian and use your own card's power against you," Eriol stated smugly.
The purple horror sucked in the Celtic Guardian, making the creature part of its body.
"Way to go Eriol!" Ruby cheered, still clutching onto Joey.
"Can you not hang on to me like this?" Joey questioned.
"You don't like it?" Ruby pouted.
The problem was more of Joey liking it too much.
"This doesn't look good," Tea commented with concern, trying to ignore Ruby and Joey.
"I didn't think anyone else had a Relinquished except Pegasus," Tristan added.
Yugi didn't like this, and neither did Yami. It was time to get serious as the teen switched personalities.
"Oh, darn. It's the other Yugi now." Ruby pouted.
Joey, Tristan and Tea stared at her in shock.
"My, what interesting magic you have there, Yugi, or should I say Pharaoh Yami." Eriol bowed ever so slightly.
"How do you know of me?" Yami demanded using Yugi's body.
"I am a twice born magician like yourself, though my former life was much more recent than yours," Eriol half-explained.
"What is it you want?" Yami pressed.
"Continue the game and I'll tell you," Eriol promised.
"Fine," Yami snapped and drew a card. He grinned. "I play Mammoth Graveyard in defense mode and a card face down."
A hologram of a skeletal elephant stood firmly on the field.
Eriol drew a card and smiled as well. "In my former life I studied an art mastered by ancient Egyptians of placing magical spirits into rocks to be used as giant playing cards. Among the things I learned was that the greatest power in the game they played was to place ones heart into draw. It allowed the user a better chance to get what he needed to win. Nobleman of Extermination targeting your face down card, of course."
Yami frowned as his face down card was revealed to be Horn of Heaven and was destroyed. Nobleman would also destroy any other copy of Horn of Heaven in either players deck if they had that trap card.
"Relinquished, destroy the Mammoth, if you please," Eriol requested.
Yami scowled angrily. He was being toyed with! He drew a card. It gave him another option. "I play a creature face down, and another card face down as well."
"You do know your true potential is going untapped. You don't have to limit yourself to just the magics of your talisman, as strong as that may be," Eriol commented. He drew a card. "No, that's too powerful." He shrugged. "Relinquished attack."
Yami smiled flipping over his face down card revealing a trap. "Mirror Force destroys your Relinquished."
Eriol sighed. "So it does. By the way, I'll play Nobleman of Crossout targeting your creature."
Yami scowled as Curse of Dragon was revealed and destroyed in the same way Horn of Heaven had been.
"Now I'm not done yet. You see, you're like Dark Magician here," Eriol commented as he put the card into play causing a hologram of a purple robed magician to stand on the field holding a staff. "You're very powerful currently, but also limited to your one field of magic. I avoided such restriction and branched out into other magics. Sometimes my wand didn't offer enough power, so I wielded a sword, or in this case the Axe of Despair." He placed down the magic card, and the Dark Magician's wand morphed into a deadly axe.
"No way! No freakin' way!" Joey called out in surprise, leaning over the railing above the combat arena floor to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He didn't know of ANYONE owning another copy of Dark Magician besides Yugi and Pandora.
Ruby also leaned over with him as she was still hanging on him. "Ain't Darky the cutest thing with that axe!"
"That is one seriously expensive deck," Tristan commented. "He has played anything under a rare yet."
Tea looked like she was about to bite her knuckle. "How's Yugi going to get out of this one?"
Yami glared. "You had the Axe of Despair in your opening hand, didn't you?"
"So what if I did?" Eriol questioned.
"Had you equipped the Summoned Skull with it and attacked the Celtic Guardian, I would've lost," Yami explained.
"What's the point of a quick game? I came here to talk to you and killing you quickly would defeat that purpose," Eriol replied. "Care to take your turn?"
"I shall," Yami remarked bitterly. He drew his card and smirked. "I play Reborn the Monster on your Relinquished and then I shall absorb your mage."
"Oh, pooh." Ruby pouted.
"All right, Yugi!" Tea cheered.
Eriol drew his card. "I'll play Fissure to destroy Relinquished."
Yami blinked. That was one of the simplest creature removing spell, and rarely effective as it targeted the creature with the lowest attack strength which you usually wanted to strike the stongest one, but it was the perfect card to use against Relinquished as even after it borrows another creature's power, it still technically has no attack strength of its own.
Eriol played his other card face down in defense position. "And I set a creature. Your turn."
Yami pulled a card and played it. "I summon Gaia the Fierce Knight and attack your creature."
An armored knight wielding a pair of lances riding a purple stead raced across the field and obliterated the revealed silver faced sorcerer.
Eriol sighed. "There goes free cards. And potential options to fight." He took Masked Sorcerer and added it to his discard pile. He then drew a card for his turn. "When sorcerers and fiends fail, it's time to try something else. In this case machines. I summon Jinzo and attack." He put it into play revealing a green cyborg who quickly dispatched Gaia being a hundred points stronger in attack strength.
"JINZO?!" Joey screamed. "NO FUCKING WAY?! I'm the only one who has that card!"
"Jinzo may be VERY rare, but he is not unique," Eriol replied. "Just as Yami and Yugi's powers are very rare, but you know of others who have similar abilities, do you not?"
Yami scowled darkly as he drew a card. "Time to return the favor with Summoned Skull! Attack!"
A skeletal demon rose from the field and ripped Jinzo apart.
"My turn again." Eriol replied. "I'll need a good one." He then frowned. "Well, better than nothing. I place my creature in defense position."
Yami drew a card. It could prove useful later. "I'll place a card face down and attack with Summoned Skull."
The demon moved forward and stomped on an evil looking tomato.
"There goes Mystic Tomato. Time to get a new creature," Eriol commented. "Oh, that looks good. I'll choose that. It's always good to go with the one that offers you the most options." He placed the selected card in the field and began to shuffle his deck. He then drew a card for his turn. "And gaining options is what this card does best. I'll flip the card Mystic Tomato brought out to activate it's ability. Cyber Jar."
A strange robotic sphere appeared and then exploded, destroying the Summoned Skull.
"Interesting choice. But not only does it give you cards, it gives me five more cards as well," Yami commented. He then frowned as he drew three magic cards, Dark Magician, and a Kuribo. The Cyber Jar forced him to play the Kuribo, which he did in defense position.
Eriol faired better, producing two creatures under level five, Witch's Apprentice and La Jinn. He placed both of them on the field in attack position along with three magic cards. "Now here's my lesson. As you well know not everyone can handle special powers whether they are diversified like mine or specific like yours. They use their powers for selfish gain and bully the weak. They become corrupt on over bearing just as this La Jinn's strength with the witch's help boosts him to twenty-three hundred. But that power isn't enough, they would even commit such a vile act as kill a unicorn to take the power of it's horn, such as this La Jinn is now at three thousand thanks to this Horn of the Unicorn card. And when the one tries to fight it alone, they become crushed under the sheer might and ends up hurting those he leaves behind. Just as your creature dies horribly and you are defeated with Fiery Meteor Crush."
"Ah, but if one is not alone and has many friends to aid him, he can not be defeated. Just as my Kuribo isn't just one after I use Multiply." Yami flipped over his face down card he placed a couple turns back. Soon the field is filled with floating balls of fur as the green skinned genie, La Jinn, tried to destroy them only for many more to replace the ones that had been killed.
"I see I've made my point," Eriol commented, setting his hand onto of his deck. "I have a proposition for you. I was asked by the headmaster of my school to recruit students. One of his students is a very special lad of immense magical potential. However, he needs lots of strong friends to help him as there is a man of great evil who wishes to see this boy dead. Right now, you don't have the potential to stop the evil warlock as your specialty would more likely empower him than defeat him. But you can gain the knowledge that would allow you to help the boy face this villain. Not only can the school teach you how to better control your shadow magic, but they can teach you other sorts of magic not related to it."
Yami paused in thought and then seemed to shrink a little as his personalities switched back. "What about my friends?" Yugi asked.
Eriol frowned. "That will be the hard part. The school I'm talking about is Hogwarts School of Wizardry in England. It sits in an area where non-magic users, like them, would never be able to find it on their own. You would have to leave them behind while at the boarding school."
Yugi looked up at his friends. "I'll have to think about this."
"If you decide to come, meet me at London Station in one week. You will need a fair bit of money to pay for school supplies," Eriol explained before turning to leave. "Come on, guys."
The cat stretched. "You should've defeated him."
Ruby bounced away. "Later!"
"My weird o'meter just went off the chart," Tristan commented staring at the departing cat.
"Do you think Yugi's going to go to that school?" Tea questioned nervously.
Joey waved at Ruby with a goofy grin. "Ya know, she's kind of cute."
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In England a boy lay on his bed. He had been there since coming home from boarding school. As far as his aunt and uncle were concerned, that was just where they wanted him. Out of sight, out of mind. In the four years he spent at Hogwarts, he had learned many things. He had even accomplished things certified wizards had not. But the boy was not so much concerned with accomplishments, but his failures. Not only was it his fault a fellow student had died, Voldermort, the man who murdered countless people including his parents, had been reborn. And all he could do about it was sit in this damned house and wait until fall for school to resume. He could do nothing to stop the atrocities Voldermort was committing out there.
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Technically, this is the end of chapter one, but I have a few scenes of chapter two, so...
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Sakura ran into kitchen like a typhoon, rushing around to grab a quick breakfast. The idea of going to England to learn magic was very exciting. She had been up half the night thinking about it and how to tell Tomoyo, which had caused her to sleep through her alarm. "I'm so LATE!"
Mr. Kinomoto held his daughter by the shoulder. "Sakura-chan... you don't have to go to school."
Sakura blinked at her father. "I don't?"
"I didn't explain everything last night, but we'll have to be leaving for Hogwarts this weekend. I'll need to set up my classes while you'll need to take a summer course in Western magics so you won't be too far behind kids your age there," Mr. Kinomoto explained.
Sakura stared. "This weekend....?"
Mr. Kinomoto nodded. "I'm sorry you won't have more time with your friends before we leave."
Sakura looked down at the floor and slowly set the breakfast she was getting on the table. "I see," she said simply. She then looked determined. "I'm still going to school so I can tell all of them and see them!" She then inhaled her breakfast, gagging slightly as she choked on it.
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Yugi sighed as he looked over the newest shipment of toys that came into the game store his grandfather owned.
An elderly Japanese man with wild gray hair gave his grandson a concerned look. "You seem troubled, Yugi."
"I got a most unusual offer yesterday, and I don't know if I should believe it," Yugi replied.
"Oh? What was the offer?" Grandpa Moto asked.
"That I go to a boarding school in England named Hogwarts," Yugi answered.
Grandpa Moto blinked several times. "Hogwarts, you say?"
Yugi nodded nervously. "Ah, yeah. Have you heard of it?"
"Follow me," Grandpa Moto ordered as he went into the game shops back room. He pointed at a shelf. "Push that aside."
Yugi shrugged and did as he was told.
Grandpa Moto then went to the wooden panel in the wall the shelf had covered and removed it. Hidden inside the wall was a bag, which Moto pulled out and handed to his grandson. "You'll need this."
Yugi opened the bag and looked inside. His eyes widened in shock. "Gold coins?!"
"Not just any coins, but Wizards' Gold," Grandpa Moto corrected. "You'll need that to buy school supplies."
"So, you do know about Hogwarts," Yugi observed.
"Yes, I knew of it. Never been there myself. I've got enough magic in me to find some magical places and learn a trick or two, but never enough for a prestigious magical school like Hogwarts," Grandpa Moto explained with a little bitterness and jealousy. "If you've been accepted you HAVE to go!"
"But what about my friends? They don't have any magic," Yugi questioned.
Grandpa Moto grabbed Yugi by the shoulders. "Yugi, I know you'll miss them, but you'll never have an opportunity like this ever again! Hogwarts will teach you things you've never even dreamed of before. To them, flying on a broomstick is mundane and simple!"
"I don't know...." Yugi replied uncertainly.
"YOU'RE GOING!" Grandpa Moto ordered harshly.
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"That Seto is certainly a disagreeable fellow," groused Soupy, a butterfly-winged black cat walking next to his master.
"We didn't even get to see Seto, but my message has been sent. He'll contact me before long," Eriol corrected.
"Did we have to go shopping in San Francisco while we wait?" Soupy complained.
"Shopping is fun!" Ruby corrected.
"How can you call oogling guys, shopping?" Soupy questioned.
"Guys can be rather delicious," Ruby retorted.
"So says the unisex magic vampire," Soupy commented with a sigh and had to dodge as she tried to kick him.
Eriol paused as he spied an old yellow building with a rickety sign announcing 'antiques.' "We'll stop here."
Ruby sighed. "These places are filled with old farts."
Eriol paid no mind to their comments as he went into the shop followed by Ruby. Soupy opted to stay outside.
A moment later a young and decently built Chinese man wearing a blue shirt and tan slacks moved to greet them, focusing his attention on the older looking Ruby. "Welcome to my Uncle's shop. Can I help you?"
"My, you are a cutie," Ruby cooed as she came closer to the man. "I'm Ruby. What's your name?"
"Ah, Chan, Jackie Chan," he stammered nervously. The girl had to be half his age. She shouldn't come on to him like this!
Eriol gave a small smile as Ruby distracted the shop keeper. It allowed him to look more closely at the item and see if any of them were... special. He gave a whistle as his senses detected that a lot of the inventory contained some sort of magic. While a casual shopper would think the items were placed haphazardly, that wasn't the case at all. Some items could produce undesirable effects if placed too closely together and they were positioned on opposite sides of the room.
"What's a nice young man, like you, doing in a stuffy shop like this?" Ruby questioned seductively.
Eriol gave a passing look to Ruby's 'playmate.' If she was paying that much attention, he had to have some magic. He shrugged. The guy was too old for Hogwarts. He turned his attention back to an item and looked at the price tag. "A.U.?"
"Ask Uncle," replied a young girl with short black hair, red shirt and jeans, who was now standing right behind him.
"Ask Uncle?" Eriol repeated, wondering how this girl got so close to him without noticing her.
"Uncle is partial to a few items and doesn't sell them to just anyone," the girl replied.
"I see." Eriol took a look at another item's price tag. "D.S.?"
"Don't sell," she replied. "He wants to keep those."
"Okay," Eriol replied with a seemingly innocent reply. He then checked a few other items and all of them were listed as 'Ask Uncle' or 'Don't sell.' His attention wasn't on the antiques anymore, but the girl. She watched him carefully as he shopped, but then decided on something and left.
"I'm new in town. Care to show me around?" Ruby purred. "I'm sure I could show you a thing or two as well."
"I'm sure you could," Jackie swallowed.
The shopkeeper was sufficiently distracted, which allowed Eriol to follow the girl into the store's backroom. He blinked at the amount of seriously magic artifacts and tomes here. This was an honest to gods magic store and it had only the barest protection to keep muggles out.
The fact an elderly Chinese man was performing a ritual spell with the help of half-Chinese, half-giant apprentice hardly escaped his notice. He watched as the elderly magician continued to chant and the girl he had followed was waiting impatiently. When the ritual spell reached a point it could be safely interrupted, the girl spoke up.
"Uncle, I think you're needed in the shop," the girl said simply.
"Jackie can handle it," Uncle replied. "I'm too busy."
"Jackie is being distracted by a buxom teenager while a boy, who looks like he's maybe a little older than me, has taken an interest only in your magical antiques. If it didn't have magic, he didn't look at it," the girl informed.
Eriol frowned. He had been a little too obvious, hadn't he? It was so easy to fool Sakura and the others, but this girl saw right through him.
"Don't let Jackie sell aneeee of it," Uncle ordered.
The girl turned away. "Oh, I thought you should also know that while he looks like a kid, I don't think he is. His eyes are too old. And that he's watching us from over there."
"Eh?!" Uncle questioned, looking up.
"I see the greatest treasure here isn't an antique," Eriol commented, pulling himself out of the shadow he had hidden himself in.
The girl blinked.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Eriol, student of Hogwarts." He bowed politely.
"Hogwarts? Bah! Apprenticeship is the only way to learn! Not in a classroom!" Uncle spat.
"There are advantages and disadvantages to both," Eriol corrected. "While the classroom may not offer the depth of training an apprentice might receive, but it offers a far greater variety of knowledge. At Hogwarts, she can learn far more than you could ever teacher her."
"Me?" the girl questioned in surprise.
"You MUST have depth of knowledge to use magic properliii!" Uncle protested.
"I take it you are training her as well?" Eriol questioned.
"Course not. Jade is too young!" Uncle corrected.
"How old are you?" Eriol asked.
"Eleven," Jade replied.
"Perfect!" Eriol smiled. "Old enough to be a first year student. Don't worry, most first years don't know how to use magic."
"I can learn magic?" Jade questioned.
"Of course. Your senses are already very keen," Eriol replied.
Uncle scuffed. "Hogwarts is a boarding school in England. There is no way Jade would leave us to go there."
Jade pouted. "It is?"
"And where would she get the money to go?" Uncle added.
"I'm a special recruiter for Hogwarts. Students I select won't have to pay tuition. They still have to get school supplies, but I see that you already have most of that in stock. What's left she'll have to buy, but I'm sure I can arrange a few purchases of your inventory and give enough profit to cover her basic needs," Eriol explained. "I'll stop back in August for your decision." He turned and left.
"Really, I'm quite clueless about the San Francisco area. I don't know of anyplace to take you," Jackie lamely lied.
"Oh, come on. I'm sure your room is fun enough," Ruby cooed as she messed his hair.
"Ruby, stop trying to play with your food. We're leaving now," Eriol ordered.
"Oh, pooh." Ruby pouted. "Not going to sell you anything magical?"
"Perhaps. I may have gotten something better, a new student for Hogwarts," Eriol replied.
Jackie blinked as the door closed behind the pair. "Play with her food? A new student? What was all that about?"
"Maybe that Ruby chick is a vampire of some sort," Jade commented. "As for the student, that's me. That boy wants me to go to a magic boarding school in England."
"Magic boarding school?" Jackie blinked. "There's no such thing. Ow!" His head throbbed as Uncle slapped him with two fingers.
"Hogwarts does exist! It is a school of high learning. Not as good as apprenticeship, but still good learning!" Uncle corrected.
Jackie rubbed his forehead. "You're not going, are you?"
Jade shrugged. "I haven't decided yet."
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Author's Note:
The Yu-Gi-Oh battle was done with me drawing cards from my Darkness Deck and then figuring out how Yugi would counter such a deck. I know I messed up with how Mystic Tomato works, but the game played in the anime doesn't exactly follow the rules either.
Continuity notes:
It is now April of 2003, and Harry has been at his aunt's house for a week since the end of his fourth year at Hogwarts.
Card Captor Sakura:
Sakura is fourteen currently and has been accepted as a fifth year student.
Digimon:
Belial Vamdemon was defeated last December, and Armagemon almost two months ago. Hikari is about to turn twelve years old.
Spirited Away:
Chihiro is almost twelve, and already completed a year at Hogwarts. How and why she attends school there will be explained.
Yu-Gi-Oh!:
It's been a year since Yugi began all his adventures and has completed Battle City.
I actually haven't given up working on this series, but I've only managed to solve a few of the many plot issues that loom over a large crossover fict like this.