Chapter 1 - Hearing Things
"And then," Professor Binns drawled, "the goblins started another war in 1867, resulting in quite a few wizard deaths…"
Harry rubbed his eyes under his glasses. He and his friends were sitting in History of Magic, and only Hermione seemed to be listening. She was perked up, her eyes wide and her mouth a little open, scribbling down notes on her parchment every couple of seconds. Ron was half-asleep.
Sure, Harry found just about everything in the wizarding world fascinating, but Professor Binns's voice was like a broken record (not that wizards had records). He droned on and on about giant wars and goblin rebellions, and the slowness of his speaking gave Harry a major headache.
He decided to go to the bathroom, for that was at least a little more entertaining them listening to the dead professor. "Professor Binns?" he called, raising his hand. At first, the ghost didn't notice, but then he said it a little more urgently, and he looked up. "Can I go to the bathroom?"
Professor Binns gave him a bored look. "Alright, Potter. But be back quickly…"
The other students watched Harry wistfully as he got up out of his chair and left the classroom, heading down the many winding halls of Hogwarts castle. It was quiet at the moment, except for the shrieks of excitement near the Quidditch pitch where the first-years were learning how to ride brooms, the occasional caw from the Forbidden Forest, and Peeves singing songs as he floated up and down the halls. But most of the students were inside classrooms, whether it was looking at tea leaves in Divination, uprooting Mandrakes in Herbology, or letting books sail across the rooms in Charms.
Harry sighed. He loved the feel of Hogwarts, and was more than happy to have discovered he was a wizard - he finally escaped the horrible custody of the Dursleys', and could do a lot more things with just a flick of his wand. Yes, magic was perfect, and he couldn't believe that he had been sheltered from it for so long.
As he made his way down the corridor, he heard voices up ahead. He then realized that it was Professor McGonagall talking to Headmaster Dumbledore, meaning that it must have been important, and also meaning that Harry had to listen in.
He crouched behind a statue, just close enough so he could overhear their words. Professor McGonagall, shockingly, sounded a bit frightened.
"He calls himself the Wizard of Oz," she was saying. "I don't know what or where 'Oz' is, but he has been said to have tremendous magical ability."
"And he has returned?" Dumbledore prompted, sounding calm, as always.
Professor McGonagall nodded. "I've been hearing rumours. If it is true, he could be a danger to the Hogwarts students."
"Well, I suppose we should wait, because we know that rumours are often said to be not true. And if they are, we don't know where this Wizard of Oz is. But if he is a threat to Hogwarts or any of my students, we shall be sure to stop him."
Professor McGonagall nodded. "I just wanted to alert you, Albus."
"Thank you, Minerva. I will keep track."
And the two continued past Harry, leaving the young wizard boy confused. The Wizard of Oz. Hadn't that been a Muggle fairy tale? Sure, it was about a wizard, but surely it couldn't have been true.
Unless… if wizards were real, why couldn't fairy tales be? They often involved magic, and that was very much real. They could be based off of true stories, and perhaps retold until they seemed untrue.
But the Wizard of Oz, if he were true, where could he be? And would he attack Hogwarts?
Harry supposed that he shouldn't worry about this, for Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore were calm at the moment. But still… Harry got that curious feeling, one that he got many times before. He would have to tell his friends and look into this…
And perhaps get wound up in another mad adventure.
Hello, everyone! I'm writing again. This Harry Potter and Once Upon a Time crossover has been something that I've wanted to do for a long time, and I decided to start it now. I love both of these fandoms, though I'm not currently caught up on the Season 5 Once Upon a Time episodes. However, that shouldn't affect this story.
This story is about the real Wizard of Oz, because I feel that's one fairy tale that could connect to Harry Potter really well. Plus, in Once Upon a Time, wasn't the Wizard of Oz supposed to have a lot of magical power? And then it ended up being that man Walsh? So, where is the real Wizard of Oz, I ask you, and what if he turned out evil?
Harry's got to look into this.
So get ready for more action, adventure, and of course magic, for a new story by me, Key of Magic.
P.S. I might change the title name, I'll see.