"No time like the present!" with that, Xenophilius had dragged the two into The Black Library and slowly shut the dusty door.

The Core Project

Yu-Gi-OhxHarry Potter Crossover

This story is a collab-project written by me and The-Living-Shadow, A. U-y.

Ignores DH/Horcruxes

Undetermined yaoi pairing, M rating for future lemon (wouldn't want to suddenly slap our dear readers with it, now that just wouldn't be fair). The Harry-Luna bonding will be siblingy/BFFLy, sorry folks, no HarryxLuna here. Just future slash. Haven't quite settled on the pairing yet.

Post-OoTP

R&R, also if there's inconsistencies, bare with us - first collab project. heh.

Disclaimer: We Do Not Own Yu-Gi-Oh or Harry Potter

Chapter One

The angry redhead wouldn't even look at him – none of the other Weasley's really blamed Harry but it was hard not too. Molly Weasley was now looking over her kids with twice the eagle-eye, the uncomfortable atmosphere around Grimmauld Place hung like a bad smell. Though it was really no surprise, with the recent death of Hermione Jane Granger on everybody's minds…

Harry himself had not emerged from his room in days since his arrival from the Dursleys, after the accident, Ron had yet to even bother approaching Harry and had stuck to shadowing his younger sister around and staying well away from The-Boy-Who-Lived. The Order of the Phoenix had become very concerned about Harry's mental state following Sirius's untimely demise, and to add insult to injury, Hermione's to boot and the blame placed by Ron Weasley.

All food had to be brought up through another Order member and dropped outside of Harry's room and only occasionally would it be eaten. The Weasley twins tried to cheer Harry up or at least get him out of the room, but they gave up at around the sixth attempt, when Harry had flipped out and managed to throw them both out by the collar.

What actually happened in regards to Hermione's death was revealed by Ron, as was the reason as to why Luna Lovegood had been invited into HQ to integrate herself with the trio. The reason was far more sinister then it was innocent, it really wasn't to do with friends or safety, but rather, The Core Project.

You see, it was quickly established that Harry could not defeat Voldemort on his own, and after intense snooping, Hermione had discovered some of the rituals and potions Voldemort had taken in desperate acts to gain power. The playing field was just purely unfair, with Voldemort having magical advantages in leaps and bounds coupled with experience and a natural prodigal take to wandless sorcerery.

In an attempt to level the playing field Hermione had proposed that Harry go through the least dangerous ritual, and pick the one with the most advantages from the recoverable list that she had created of Voldemort's likely-to-have-done rituals. It took Ron a lot of convincing that it wasn't dark magic – it was ancient magic, and that ancient magic was not definitive under "light", "dark" or "grey".

Though now Hermione had died in an attempt to hurry the potion's process, Ron was now thoroughly convinced that it was dark.

Luna had tried to warn the bossy girl, but she disregarded Luna's warning despite the fact they were working from the Lovegood family's notes.

This resulted in Hermione Granger dying in the same manner that Luna Lovegood's mother died.

Luna herself decided to convince her father away from Westminian Bat searching, in order to bring him to HQ, the both of them tried to convince Harry out of his room, but he would not emerge.

Luna tried to recover what she could of The Core Project, but after rifling through Hermione's old trunk, she found the potion had been drunk.

Coupled with Harry's rather questionable mental state and refusal to emerge, the two Lovegood's quickly pieced together what happened.

Harry Potter had drunk the potion, perhaps in an effort to join Hermione, and everybody else, but it hadn't killed him.

This meant…he may actually have the dangerous power they had strived to give Harry in the first place in order to kill Voldemort.

Luna pondered the reasons why Harry blamed himself for the young witch's death, but no matter how much she tried, she just couldn't come up an reason that made logical sense.

Hermione's death was an accident, and if anyone asked the young pureblood, she would say the exact same thing, no matter how they tried to add their own ideas on what happened, but lately Ron Weasley's accusations and attitude towards Harry had been driving her up the wall. It wasn't Harry fault, and if she had it in her to be mean and spiteful, she would put the blame on Ron himself.

After all, it was his complaints about Harry's power and his own lack of skill that made them all realise something. Harry couldn't defeat Voldemort on his own, so in the end they all decided to do research and train themselves; pathetic spells, bad defence strategies and useless charms seemed to be the only thing Hogwarts staff was capable of teaching them. The only time students seemed to learn anything useful, was from those who wanted Harry dead, but what really annoyed most of them was the fact that the only teacher that could actually help and teach something useful, only helped Harry and trained him separately from the rest of them.

Thank Merlin, Harry taught them the 'Expecto Patronum' spell himself. It had saved them countless times when dementors were still around the school.

But even with all the training and research, it was obvious that he was no match. He was only sixteen and Voldemort was over sixty years old, with dark magic and rituals to make him stronger; it was obvious Harry was going to die.

Luna noticed how he started comparing himself to Voldemort like Ron had been doing to him. What happened next was Hermione's idea.

It was obvious that he needed something other than his friends help to beat the Dark Lord and his little band of inbred followers. Hermione had gone to the restricted library section herself, and through weeks of study and even more research. She came across a book that spoke of strengthening a wizard's magical core.

Harry was easily convinced by the young witch's explanations and theories, but even Luna could see that the only reason he agreed was because he would be the one going through the ritual, not them.

He would never put his life before theirs.

This is where Luna blamed Ron when she invited the trio to her home and he saw the luxury she and her lonely father lived in. He started moaning again about his family, and complaining how only Harry was going to benefit from all their hard work and how unfair it would be for them not to go through the same thing if it meant they had a better chance at surviving the war, and at first Hermione protested and argued with Ron, saying how the entire project was to help Harry and as good friends they should stick by him no matter what.

Something in her eye said differently, and Luna was positive it was because Ron said something about her muggle family and how she was going to find it very difficult in the wizard world by due to how she was. He meant appearance, but it meant something entirely different to Hermione whose dream was to become successful and improve the wizarding world.

It was Ron's fault...not Harry's.

One day Luna caught her, caught Hermione looking through her mother study and reading 'The Core Project'. She was ashamed to admit it but she had shouted – no screamed at Hermione for even coming into this part of her home since they had all agreed to stay out of her mother's study; books that had once been dusty from being left alone for so long. Each had been cleaned, pages bent from use and books placed randomly back in the shelves her mother had built herself with her own hands.

But what really angered Luna was the book the young muggleborn held in her hand, the very project that had taken her mother's life; The Core Project. Hermione had broken her promise that the three made to her, so Luna broke her word and said none of them would be allowed to come back to her home ever again.

Panic shone in Hermione's eyes, and when she asked to go back and get her coat, Luna and the others thought nothing of it.

It was only when she had permission to visit her frantic father two weeks later that she realised Hermione had done something behind her back, her eyes were full of nervousness and she couldn't look in her direction without quickly looking away.

When Luna got home, her father tearfully explained that a book had gone missing from her mother's study and he was going to contact the Ministry in hopes of getting his beloveds wife's work back. It had taken some time to calm her father down, and she explained that she had an idea of where it had gone and not to worry.

Hermione had stolen The Core Project and from what Luna could read in her notes, she had been combining it with the ritual they had all been working on.

Confronting her had been easy and at first Hermione denied taking the book, but when Luna mentioned that her father was going to contact the Ministry of Magic, it wasn't hard to see just how bad things had turned. Stealing from a pureblood was a very foolish thing to do, and since Hermione was muggleborn, it didn't take much convincing after that and she confessed to everything.

Even with Voldemort's ritual, Harry still wouldn't be strong enough to defeat him, so when she had heard Luna talk about her mother and her work, it was like a light at the end of the tunnel and even though Mrs Lovegood had died, she was positive she could get it to work.

Luna had demanded and almost shook the young witch in frustration; the project had killed her mother and was strong enough to almost completely destroy her body. What made her think she could make it work? A child who had only been studying potions in school and rituals for a year, compared to a woman who had been studying and creating both rituals and potions for most of her life?

Hermione had said it was a risk she had to take. Luna slapped her hard and explained how she was going to tell both Harry and Ron about what she had done, and though she wouldn't tell Harry about how his best friend was putting his life on the line, she wouldn't hide the fact the same friend had stolen and could have gotten them a life term sentence in Azkaban if her father had gone to the ministry; he would have if Luna hadn't caught Hermione that day.

Everything went downhill after that.

Hermione grabbed her wand and used the 'Petrificus Totalus' spell on her before Luna could even turn around. All could do watch from the corner of her eye as Hermione ran off. Two hours later when Snape had found her and released her from the spell, Luna had quickly explained what Hermione had done. Snape at first sneered at the ritual since even he could admit it was dangerous, but when she explained what Hermione was planning to do with the ritual and her mothers work, it induced panic in the greasy wizard, but it was too late.

At Grimmauld, Hermione's room was full of fumes, and her burnt and almost unrecognisable body lay in a broken heap on the floor.

It wasn't Harry's fault.

From what she and Snape discovered, Hermione had taken one potion herself, but instead of strengthening her magical core, it made it explode. When they searched to room, they found one more vial of the potion addressed to Ron.

Luna had no idea that she had already given a vial to Harry at the time.

Both Snape and she agreed that it would be best that she took back what was left of her mother's work and kept the potion from Ron, since even the slightest chance of getting stronger; he would give into temptation in the end.

He returned to Hogwarts and reported what happened to Dumbledore, whilst she returned home and explained what happened to her father.

It was then Mr Lovegood said something that made her entire body become numb; why would Hermione make a potion for her and Ron, but leave Harry out when she meant to make him stronger in the first place? Both rushed to Hogwarts and to where Harry was mourning; passed out but breathing in bed with an empty potion vial on the floor was how they found him.

"Harry?" Luna whispered gently, moving his fringe slightly to feel his forehead; no fever, it was as if he had never drunk it "Are you alright?"

Silence was her answer.

The Order panicked over whether to get healers from St Mungos over or to transfer Harry to the hospital, but the ever-wise Dumbledore calmed everybody down and calmly brought in Madame Pomfrey from her holiday healer's additional training-course.

Luna did her best to remain in a ditzy daze but it was difficult when it seemed that part of her family's work was responsible for the world of her friend's to come crashing down. The medi-witch turned to Luna and demanded the notes on the potion used, alongside Professor Snape, to try and assess the damage the buffoon had done to himself in attempt for power.

Luna wanted to say that Harry didn't do it for power, but after Hermione dying from it, she didn't want to fathom the other reason Harry took the potion. With great reservation she handed the notes on the project to the two adults, who then tried to enter Harry's room where the boy's form could be found in a forced slumber that threatened to be eternal.

"Potter," sneered Snape, brandishing his wand and casting a silent ennervate charm to awaken him forcefully.

The Potion's master was quite unsettled when the spell did not work, at Harry remained prone.

"Wake up Potter," he tried again until berated by the medi-witch to stop, and that evidently Harry was not going to awaken from what was hopefully just a comatose.

"This is hardly the time to play dead," said Snape, continuing to sneer and billowed behind Pomfrey as they tried to approach the bed but were stopped in their tracks from what seemed like a silent slap in the face.

"Well the good news is the boy is obviously alive if he's subconsciously constructing this barrier," said Pomfrey with a faint sigh of relief.

The very air itself seemed to have rippled like a pebble thrown into a pond, shifting the very tendons of the air as they seemed to have reached a barrier that was previously invisible.

The two seemed at a temporary loss of what to do, until a dazed teenager walked in through the open door and surprised them all with her presence.

"It's time to tell everyone why you took that potion Harry," said Luna, calmly and dreamily as she always spoke.

"He isn't awake Lovegood, now go tend to that foolish father of yours before he cuts himself on a doyley, he's in the kitchens with Miss Weasley," said Snape dismissively.

Too concerned with Harry's grievous state, Luna let the insult against her father go over her head as she continued to speak to Harry's still body.

Luna seemed to intuitively know Harry was awake – some part of him had to be if his magic was constructing that barrier meaning he was conscious enough to be self-aware and aware of his surroundings.

Harry was not asleep, he never slept this calmly, Luna knew.

The two adults were surprised when the blond had gotten through to the Boy-Who-Lived. The soft lips began to shake out a response, Harry dared not open his eyes or move any other part of him, he felt too heavy with guilt to even so much as move properly.

"I…took it….because I hoped it wouldn't work," managed out Harry in a voice which threatened to break entirely, through a dry throat.

"What do you mean Potter? Nobody takes a failed potion unless they have a death-wish," snapped the irate Potion's professor until a frightfully stale silence fell over the room.

"You're correct, Professor," Harry's shut eyes seemed to squeeze even tighter shut as a look of uncomfortable pain flashed through his features.

"I had a death-wish,"

Eventually Harry had let the medi-witch check him over, and physically he seemed fine, though magically he was unreadable but the entire Order gave a sigh of relief.

Dumbledore had tried to talk to Harry, nobody had seen the man lose his twinkle or seem quite so much his age before, but he left Grimmauld looking significantly more troubled when Harry seemed to guilt-heavy to talk to anyone but Luna.

Luna Lovegood had never felt quite so relied upon, even her father, Xenophilius Lovegood had decided to occasionally accompany his daughter as she went to Harry's room to talk to him even if he rarely said anything back.

Xenophilius was initially quite angry, until Luna explained quite softly why Harry took the potion in the first place. It was no longer a quest for power to try and defeat a greater evil, but it was a wish for death, he wanted to go the same way his wife had gone. After hearing that, Xenophilius stopped being angry and brought books from the Grimmauld library to read with Luna to Harry who didn't move that much except to stagger his way to the bathroom now and then.

"I can take a break from Westminian Bat searching every now and then," Xenophilius had practically insisted. It was bizarre for Luna to see her dad act like…dad again, like he did before mum died, like the way he occasionally acted with Luna in rare bouts. Fluffing pillows, telling children's stories, bringing dinner up…

Harry was bringing her daddy back.

Molly Weasley still doted on Harry but had become significantly more distant since Hermione died; the Weasley twins and the older Weasley brothers perhaps took it the most logically – surprisingly. They tried to see Harry, but all they saw was he was in a state similar to that of a living corpse that only the two loony Lovegoods could care to bother with. They tried to stay the way they were with Harry previously, but soon, they gave up – he was too alienated in his room in Grimmauld, and frankly too miserable.

Fred and George swore to their dying day they'd get Harry out that rut – and the Lovegoods accredited them for their faithfulness to that oath. They kept trying, but all they got out of Harry was an occasional lip-twitch, if lucky, a smile.

Xenophilius could talk for hours to the largely unresponsive boy about everything from research to mythical creatures, even without a response, Xenophilius could almost feel a sense of gratitude from Harry.

Harry tried to express it, but all he could do was squeeze the older Lovegood's hand and stare blankly at the ceiling as he presented Harry with an anti-Syriax moonstone bracelet that he and Luna had made.

"It'll keep the Syriax from eating at your hair when you sleep," insisted Xenophilius with a dazed grin, and was surprised when Harry grinned back. The first proper smile in two weeks, in fact, he even sat upright in his bed and tried to hug the older Lovegood with what little strength he had.

Luna had broken out of her dreamy state and had beamed fully when Harry had finally gotten up.

"Decided to join the living, Harry?" she smiled.

"I…don't know Luna, but did you know your father's really smart?" asked Harry suddenly. Over the days of not moving and simply letting the Lovegood's breeze in and socialize with him as their way of trying to get him to get up, Harry had been soaking in everything. Absolutely everything - working on his mind like no tomorrow, sealing his scar from Voldemort with his newfound power. You see, the potion did not fail at all – as you can tell from the fact Harry is alive, instead, it had worked…far better then anyone could possibly have comprehended.

"I am?" asked Xenophilius with a mildly surprised smile making its way over his face.

"Daddy's very smart," nodded Luna, wondering where Harry was going with this.

"Is your daddy smart enough to help me?" asked Harry, trying not to be patronizing.

Luna raised a brow and looked at Xenophilius who was gazing at the ceiling – barely paying mind to what had just come out of Harry's mouth.

"Maybe we both can, but only if you stop being silly and stop playing dead. Everybody's worried Harry," bargained Luna.

"Okay, if you help me, I'll tell you why I-" Harry grimaced "-played dead,".

Xenophilius seemed to pay attention now as did Luna when Harry began to lean forward as if to utter a great truth.

"The potion worked, but I think I'm dangerous – too dangerous to move or think that much I—I can't really control it, like that barrier I made last week," he sucked in a breath. It had been a supreme mixture of mourning, depression and outright fear mingled with a wave of self-loathing he had tried to pass over.

"I think me and daddy can help you with that Harry, just hold our hands and we'll go downstairs and get some muffins," said Luna, as if the weeks of depression had not transpired, and they were merely coaxing Harry to snack with them.

"You don't have to be scared anymore Harry," nodded Mr. Lovegood, letting Harry grab onto his right hand and his daughter's left as they pulled him off the bed.

"We'll get some muffins, and we'll help control that power that mummy gave you," said Luna, her eyes practically glowing with some bizarre sense of pride along with her father.

Miss Lovegood's potion had worked, her life's work had been achieved and it was embodied in Harry James Potter. Even in death – their genius of a mother-and-wife had succeeded.

Nobody noticed the bed sheets had kicked themselves off the bed as they shut the door and went downstairs.

The muffins that Molly Weasley had left in the kitchen were tasty – Luna and Xenophilius definitely seemed to be enjoying them, but they tasted bland in Harry's mouth. His stare wandered off, staring out into the next room where Ron was glaring at them.

"Ignore him Harry," said Luna softly after finishing her muffin.

Harry nodded absentmindedly and was clearly unsettled by his former friend's presence and loathsome glare.

"Would you like to go into the library Harry?" said Xenophilius suddenly, swallowing the last of a chocolate muffin.

"The Black Library is very extensive," nodded Luna "-it has books you wouldn't even find in the Restricted Section,"

"Um…why the library?" asked Harry, chewing into a plain muffin.

"Well there's no time like the present to try and control that potion's after effects," said Xenophilius with a bright grin.

"If it worked to its full capacity, we can't very well have our little walking explosive untamed," Xenophilius didn't mean to insult and even added a tone which suggested it was a bizarre term of endearment, but it clearly got at Harry.

"He just got up daddy," said Luna "-maybe he'd like to stretch his legs some more before we start,"

"No…no," said Harry quietly "-I can't very well function like this, can I? I mean, you didn't even see what my old raw magic did to Professor Dumbledore's office when I was angry,"

"I could be like a walking bomb right now!" Harry said, with obvious fear in his voice.