Another HP/OP crossover. Female Harry.

The Gate Master

Chapter 1

Monkey D Luffy stared at the young girl next to him. Her long black hair hung down past her shoulders in messy knots and her pale skin was adorned in purple bruises. She was twelve years old, and would only be staying for a short while as she was home from her school for the summer holidays and she was supposed to be doing chores for her uncle. This had become the routine since she had started school when she was eleven. Luffy only ever saw her on her holidays now, whereas when they were younger they saw each other almost every week. They had been seeing each other since he was six and she was five.

Her name was Dawn, and it was Luffy who gave her that name as she hadn't known her own. Since attending school though, she discovered that her name was Hailey Potter, but Luffy never called her that and she never asked to be addressed as Hailey. Luffy pulled his gaze away from her and returned it to the ocean in front of him. His seventeen year old brother Portgas D Ace was finally leaving on his pirate adventure and Luffy wanted to see him off. Having known the day, Dawn was determined to be there for him and even risked the wrath of her uncle to be by his side.

"Three more years," Dawn suddenly whispered. "Are you excited?"

"Yep," Luffy declared as he turned and draped his arm across Dawn's shoulders, leading her back into the forest. "Not only will I finally be able to keep my promise to Shanks, but you will be by my side and together we're going to be the strongest pirate crew to ever sail these seas."

"I've still got five years of school left," Dawn told him as she leant into his one-armed embrace. "I won't be starting with you. I'll have to join you further along the adventure."

"You can stay with me; I'll protect you from your uncle."

"It's not my uncle that I'm afraid of," Dawn protested. "I've told you about my world. I'm supposed to save them for a psycho out for revenge against people without gifts."

"Well they can deal with that weirdo without you; it's not right resting everything on these shoulders of yours. Look at them, if I rest all my weight on them you'll collapse."

To demonstrate he slouched so that she'd have no choice but to take his weight or collapse on the ground. However, Dawn had been training with Ace and Luffy at every chance she could and as such she knew how to throw him off without too much effort on her part. Luffy landed on the ground with a gasp of shock, having not been expecting the move, and Dawn dusted off her hands with satisfaction.

"So what happened at school this year?" Luffy asked as he got up. "Better than the previous one, or worse?"

Dawn had just completed her second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and it was because of her magical skills that she was able to cross the dimension bridge between her world and his. By thinking really hard, she was able to open a portal and land wherever she wanted. At five years old all she had wanted was a friend and she had opened her first portal, crossed the bridge and ended up appearing out of thin air in front of Luffy. Being the happy go lucky boy that he was, Luffy had accepted it and declared that they were friends. At that moment her name became Dawn as when she appeared the sun was rising, and Luffy declared that her smile was the prettiest he'd ever seen.

She'd stayed with him all day before returning when the sun set. Her uncle hadn't been happy with her, but she quickly decided that when the sun set she would return to Luffy so that she could eat and have a good night's sleep without being afraid to close her eyes. He looked after her, fed her, and introduced her to all his friends. As the years passed she was introduced to the Red-haired Pirates and Luffy's hero Shanks, the Mountain Bandits who were forced to accept custody of Luffy, and Ace and Sabo who became Luffy's brothers. Only once was she introduced to Luffy's grandfather, and despite the man's mean exterior she got along famously with him. The year she turned eleven she confessed to both Luffy and Ace that she wouldn't be around much any longer as he was unsure if she would be able to open a portal at her new school. So far she had completed two years of the school and it was time to describe her second year to her best friend.

"Worse," Dawn explained. "This year involved a black magic diary, a giant snake, a teacher who couldn't teach if his life depended on it, and the entire school blaming me when another student was petrifying my classmates."

"That sucks," Luffy commented. "Why do you go to this school again?"

"My mum and dad went there, and it's the only place I can get to that allows me to learn about this gift I've got."

"Learnt anything?"

"There's a permanent gateway within our ministry that connects to this world, from what I can gather, the runes on the veil look a lot like those Poneglyphs you showed me in a book once," Dawn started to walk again, eager for some food as she hadn't eaten yet. "I may not be able to come back during the day this year, so I'll have to tell you everything now."

"Will you be back for your birthday? I've got a present for you."

"I've got yours too," Dawn smiled brightly. "I made it at school and thought you might like it."

Out of her pocket she pulled a black armband. It wasn't very big but stitched onto the side was a jolly roger wearing a straw hat. Luffy grinned and immediately put it on his right wrist. He marveled at it and swore that it would be his pirate mark once he set out. He could barely take his eyes off it and only removed his gaze when his hat was taken off his head. He glanced at Dawn who had dumped the hat on her head and was dancing around just ahead of him.

"Do you want your present now?" Luffy asked. "I have it with me."

"Of course," Dawn stated with a smile as she twirled. "Then we can go see Makino and get some food."

Luffy nodded at the thought of food, but was concerned at the fact that Dawn was asking for food. She never admitted when anything was bothering her, despite Ace encouraging her to. He also didn't like the look of her bruises, her uncle normally avoided the face, but something must have angered him enough for him to disregard his normal rules. Shaking his head, Luffy vowed to ask about it later and pulled a small box out of his pocket.

Dawn accepted it with a sincere smile and a kiss on his cheek before opening it. She gasped as she pulled out a necklace with a small pendant on the end. The chain was gold, and the pendant was in the shape of a ship. Eagerly she slipped it over her head, the ship falling to her chest, easy to hide under her shirt when she went back to her world.

"It's beautiful Luffy," she whispered. "Where did you find it?"

"Makino helped me pick it out," Luffy admitted, taking her hand and dragging her along the path. "I know you don't like being at that school and, well, I've missed you. When I saw the ship I thought you could use it to remind yourself of me and your home here."

"I love it, and I've missed you too."

The two of them walked in silence the rest of the way, both admiring their presents with fond looks. Their destination was Windmill Village, or more specifically, Party's Bar where Makino worked and they could get some good food. Everyone knew who Dawn was and greeted her happily. She was the only one who would be able to take Luffy's straw hat without him getting possessive and the only one who could calm the energetic boy down.

"Makino! Guess who's here for a visit!" Luffy called as the two of them stepped into the Bar. Makino looked up from where she was cleaning some tables and smiled at the sight of the young girl wearing a straw hat.

"Dawn, welcome back, how was school?"

"Eventful," Dawn replied. Makino came close to them and pulled Dawn into a hug, ignoring the habitual tensing of anyone other than Luffy touching her. She pulled back and looked into her eyes, spotted the bruises and gently touched the wounds.

"Why do you keep going back?" she asked the young girl. "Every time I see you, you have more injuries."

"I'm sure Luffy has explained it," Dawn said, stepping back slightly.

"Yes, and I'm sure that all the adults in your world are idiots," Makino stood up straight and walked over to the bar so that she could prepare some food for them. "What they're thinking when they're asking you to save them. It's beyond me. You're only twelve years old. Why do you have to do it?"

Dawn shrugged and allowed Luffy to pull her to the bar. They had had the same conversation for close to eight years, though for the first six it was because she didn't want to be a burden and didn't want to leave her last living family, despite how cruel they were to her. After that it was because she wanted to learn how to control her magic.

Makino placed two plates on the table and watched as the two of them inhaled what was before them. One inhaled it like a vacuum, barely chewing and looking like an overall slob, whiles the other, much more neatly, consumed the food as if she would never eat anything again. Over the years she had tried to encourage Dawn to slow down when she ate as when she was with them she would never go hungry, but habits engrained from early childhood had taught her that one had to eat quickly lest the food giver becomes a food taker.

"Will you be here for your birthday this year Dawn?" Makino asked once all the food was gone. "We missed the last two years."

"Uncle was afraid that someone was stalking us so we were on a deserted island two years ago for my birthday, I couldn't get away," Dawn explained as she reached for a glass of water. "Last year a magical creature ensured that Uncle was angry enough to knock me unconscious, and then my friend and his brothers rescued me. I was unable to get away again."

"And this year?"

"Aunt Marge is coming in two days so I won't be able to leave then, after that I have no idea."

"I hope you can come," Luffy declared. "I want to have a party with you. Makino can cook all your favourite things and I can decorate. I'm sure Mayor would come and play music with us. Oh, and the other kids will come as well. It'll be fun!"

"I'll try for a while but don't set up a party, you know I don't like them," Dawn stared at Luffy with a frown. "We can have a small picnic up on the cliff, but only for a little while, alright?"

"That's perfect!" Luffy agreed with an endearing grin. Dawn smiled at him and looked back to Makino. The woman was looking at them with a knowing look before moving on to serve other customers.

"How long can you stay today?" Luffy asked curiously. Dawn looked down at her watch sadly.

"Another few minutes but after that I need to leave," she whispered.

"You better be here on your birthday," Luffy said firmly. "I'll have a picnic lunch and everything ready at the hill. Don't be late."

"I'll try," Dawn leant over and hugged Luffy. "See me off?"

Luffy nodded and lead her outside to the beach. She was still wearing his hat so with a sigh she gave it back and nodded when it was finally sitting on his head. He pulled her into his arms, unable to mask his worry. Dawn relaxed in his arms before pushing him away gently.

"I'll see you in a few weeks," she whispered. Luffy nodded and watched as she cut through the air with her hands. The only way he could describe it was as if the very fabric of the air had been shredded leaving behind a gaping black hole. Dawn hesitated briefly before stepping into the tear and letting it close behind her. There was no sign of her even being there in the first place, except for Luffy standing there silently with a worried frown on his face.

It's short, but something that has been on my computer for a while. Should I continue it?