8AN: As stated in Digital Deku (see Stories), I've been on a Digimon kick lately due to the recent resurgence of the series, and I've always been a Harry Potter fan, so it felt natural to write a challenge on the two eventually. Back in Digimon Tamers, Impmon became one of my favorite Digimon (even having one of those toys that you could "Digivolve" him into Beelzemon), and due to several factors, I believe he'd be a great partner Digimon for Harry.
For example, Impmon is a prankster who rushes in headfirst into situations in the anime. Harry's father and godfather were pranksters in school, and a part of Harry's character is running off to dangerous situations as part of his saving people thing. The next evolution of Impmon can potentially be Wizardmon, which is simply perfect for Harry. Finally, Impmon's Mega form is Beelzemon, which is a biker Digimon, and Harry was introduced to the series riding a flying motorcycle.
Other Digimon can potentially show up as per the writer's preference, though I ask to keep the number reasonable. Some can be allies, others as enemies. There can even be ones that can help the Death Eaters, as long as there is a good reason. As this is a challenge story, I have no intention of writing the whole thing myself. If interested in adopting this, please contact me either by Review or PM first. The premise is explained in the chapter's summary. Thank you and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I am neither an English woman nor Japanese.
Harry Potter and the Digital Monster
"Up! Get up! Now boy!" Petunia Dursley's voice shrilled through the cupboard under the stairs at Number Four, Privet Drive.
Groggily, ten-year-old Harry Potter got up from his "bed," stretching his skinny frame as much as he could. Calling to his aunt that he was getting up, Harry put on his glasses and got changed into his too big hand "bed," stretching his skinny frame as much as he could. Calling to his aunt that he was getting up, Harry put on his glasses and got changed into his too big hand me down clothes. Before leaving his "room," Harry reached under the dusty mattress he slept on and pulled out a strange device and carefully looked it over to make sure it hadn't been damaged during the night.
The device almost looked like a walkie talkie with a white body and purple sides (D-3 Digivice). If one were to see the boy with the tech, they'd think it didn't belong to him due to the device looking newer than anything he'd ever owned. But the device was his, and Harry considered it his most priceless treasure. Satisfied that the device was in good condition, Harry slipped it into his pants pocket. The baggy clothes being useful in hiding the bulge in his pocket, which was good because if the Dursleys were to see him with it...Harry shuddered to imagine it. Ready as he could be to face the day, the small boy left his "room."
After a hurriedly making breakfast for his family, Harry managed to eat his own meager portions quickly as his obese cousin and uncle packed away more bacon than a butcher shop and his aunt went on about the latest neighborhood gossip.
"...and Mrs. Figg has been saying something has been terrorizing her cats again. At first, she thought it was a racoon or something, but apparently there were fireworks involved this time. She found scorch marks by the rubbish bins. Probably some hoodlum doing some juvenile prank. It might have been the same ones who took off with Number Seven's pie from the window," she sniffed at the thought of such riff raff in HER neighborhood.
Vernon Dursley grunted at that. "I tell you Petunia, children these days need more discipline!"
Harry almost snorted at that, both from the hypocrisy his uncle shown given he'd never disciplined Dudley a day of his life, and for the fact he had a rather decent idea who the "hoodlum" was. Fortunately, Dudley let loose a large belch at that, covering any noise he might have made. Because of the Dursley's not caring when or where he went so long as his many chores were done, Harry was able to head off to school before Dudley. This had two advantages for the boy. The first was it helped him keep ahead of Dudley and any of his gang if they suddenly wanted to play a game of "Harry Hunting" before school. The second reason was that it allowed Harry to meet up with his friend.
His friend was unique in several ways. For starters, he was friends with Harry despite his status as the neighborhood outcast (thanks in no small part to the Dursleys). He also didn't really live nearby, instead spending his days going from place to place while never straying too far from Harry in case he ever needed him. Finally, Harry's friend wasn't human.
A dark shape suddenly appeared from one of the trees lining the street the boy had been walking on. Instead of being surprised or alarmed, however, Harry smiled. "Hey Impmon, have a good night?"
"Eh, can't complain," a voice with a heavy Brooklyn accent answered back. "Snagged yah a couple of muffins from the bakery in town. Doofus who owns it woulda thrown 'em away otherwise."
Harry accepted the slightly stale pastry and looked over at his friend with a thankful smile. Impmon was a short creature, even shorter than Harry's scrawny frame. He had two large; horn-like ears that helped make up some of the height though. Impmon's body was a dark purple color that was almost black in the right lighting, the exception being his white colored face and the yellow smiley face with sharp teeth printed on his torso. The only clothes he wore was a red bandanna around his neck and a pair of red gloves that covered his three fingered hands. His feet also had three toes, each tipped with sharp looking claws. An equally sharp tail swayed behind him as he looked up at the human with green eyes that screamed mischief.
Harry's equally green eyes glittered in mirth as he said between bites of muffin, "So I heard from Aunt Petunia Mrs. Figg's cats have been bothered with 'fireworks' recently."
Impmon scoffed good naturedly as he put his hands behind his head and began walking the same way Harry was going. Fortunately, at this time, there were no other people about so the duo could talk freely. It was harder the more people were around.
"Ah, that old bag should keep her furballs onna tighter leash then. One of the suckers tried tah claw me the other night, an' I showed 'im not to mess with this Digimon!" Impmon puffed up his chest at the end, as if he'd vanquished some giant lion instead of an old lady's cat.
Harry rolled his eyes at the Digital Monster's bravado. While Harry couldn't have asked for a better friend than the imp (particularly because he HAD no other friends), Harry knew that Impmon tended to have a high opinion of himself that bordered on arrogance and could sometimes get carried away with his pranks. That said, Impmon was a loyal companion and had helped Harry out of more than a few sticky situations in the two years they'd known each other. (He still had no idea how the imp had gotten paint cans on all of Dudley's gang that one time they'd cornered the boy in an alley.) Harry remembered when he'd met the Digital Monster as if it were yesterday.
It had been close to midnight when Harry had snuck out of his cupboard to see if he could snag some food that wouldn't be missed. Earlier that day, he'd gotten in trouble for some mishap or another (even if there was no proof or explanation of how) and had been sent to his cupboard without supper. Luck was on his side that night as Vernon had forgot to lock the door from the outside. This gave Harry the rare opportunity to move about the house as much as he wanted so long as he didn't make too much noise. After snagging a slightly wilted apple from the fruit bowel, Harry had contemplated what he could do next.
It was then that he spotted Dudley's newest computer. Harry had always seen his cousin play games on the device but had never been allowed to himself. Seeing that the computer was still turned on, Harry decided to take a chance and see what all the fuss was about. After making sure that the volume was turned off, Harry turned on the latest game Dudley had been playing, which was some kind of adventure series where you raised and battled monsters (1). Soon enough, eight-year-old was hooked.
After about an hour of playing, Harry finally thought he'd pushed his luck far enough for the night and was about ready to turn the game off. Staring at the screen with his avatar and his monster ally side by side, Harry couldn't help but wish that he could have a friend like that. Unknown to the young Potter, his wish empowered his inner magic, which flowed from him to the computer like a river. The clash of technology and magic started to clash, causing the screen to light up like a Christmas tree. This caused young Harry to panic, fearing for a moment that he'd broken the expensive device and know he'd get blamed for it whether the Dursley's had any proof or not.
Suddenly, the screen turned a blinding white, causing Harry to look away. What he wasn't aware of was that his accidental magic had dove deep into the computer's circuitry and had then touched the Worldwide Web. This tore open a portal between the human world and a world that existed outside our understanding: the Digital World. And one presence in the Digital World took notice. As the light on Harry's end grew brighter, the presence leapt through the portal and made it to the other side. Once the light faded, Harry blinked the spots out of his eyes and risked a glance at the computer, frightened by what he'd see. His glance turned into wide eyed amazement as he saw Impmon for the first time.
The Digimon looked around for a bit before taking notice of the young human in the room. "So, dis is the Real World, huh?" Impmon flashed a cocky smirk Harry's way before leaping off the computer desk to stand before the boy. "Well, name's Impmon pipsqueak. You's gonna introduce yourself of sit there catchin' flies all day?"
The words soon broke Harry out of his shock as he closed his mouth. Idly, he noticed what he'd later come to realize was his Digivice was now laying in his lap. Deciding to focus on the imp in the room, Harry spoke, "Um...H-Hello Mr. Impmon, sir (he sounded male to the young boy at any rate). M-my name's Harry P-Potter," he sat there for a second longer before gathering his courage and asking, "Um...wh-what are you, exactly?"
Impmon grinned and thumbed his chest. "Listen up, short stack. I'm a Digimon, a Digital Monster!"
Harry could say the only thing on his mind in that moment, "...Huh?"
While the two had gotten off to a rocky start, it didn't take long for the human and the Digimon to start warming up to each other. Apparently, the Digivice that had come with Impmon was both a symbol of the bond they both now shared as well as a way for Harry to help the imp get stronger. When Harry had asked why he'd left his own world to come to the Human one, Impmon had simply shrugged and said he'd been bored of his old world and that he'd been looking for a way to grow stronger. He'd heard rumor in the Digital World that if a Digimon was to partner up with a human, there was a chance they'd get exponentially stronger than they ever could on their own. Impmon figured he'd take a chance, and since Harry had called him to the Human World, it only made sense for them to partner up.
It had been morning before either of them knew it, and Harry was relieved he didn't need to tell Impmon to hide himself (the Digimon later saying it'd be a pain if too many humans saw him at once). Though he did have to keep the Digital Monster from chucking an angry Bada Boom attack at the horrid people Harry was forced to call family. While he would have liked to have seen the Dursley's immaculate house set on fire more than he should, Harry was worried that if the Dursleys found out about Impmon, they'd find a way to get rid of him. Visions of the police, or worse MI6, coming in and taking the first being to talk to him like a normal person filled Harry with dread.
Begrudgingly, Impmon agreed to not set the Dursley's on fire. That said, over the years the little Digimon got quite adapt at pranking the family. He made sure his human partner was far out of the line of fire, just to make sure they'd never link the pranks to the scarred boy. The fat walrus and the shrill horse tried their hardest to pin the blame on Harry, of course, but even they couldn't see their "freak" of a nephew getting a beehive into Vernon's work office or setting off the sprinklers on Petunia while at school.
Over the next two years, the human and the Digimon were more than just partners, they had become fast friends. Of course, with the good came the bad. Speaking of which...
Harry noticed Impmon suddenly go from relaxed to ramrod straight in an instant. The two shared a look before quickly bolting down a nearby alley. They soon came across a patch of fog. While this is nothing new in London, the fog was extremely isolated. As if it were containing something in the alley.
"You ready, Impmon?" Harry asked, slipping the Digivice from his pocket.
"Always," Impmon replied as he cracked his gloved knuckles. The two headed into the Digital Field, preparing for whatever Digimon decided to challenge them this time. It looked like Harry might be running late to class that day.
1. I know Digimon didn't come out until the late 90s, so just picture this as some type of fictional prototype in the Harry Potter world from the 80s. Also, interesting bit of trivia, the Internet was just beginning to break ground commercially during this time, so it would be plausible for the Digital World to begin existing at this time.