Chapter One: Travel Between Time and Worlds
"Geralt!"
The old witcher turned around as his close friend, Triss Merigold, rushed to his side. Her green eyes gleamed with worry, her freckled face concerned. Something was going wrong up there while Yennefer held up the shield around Kaer Morhen.
"Triss?" he looked shocked. "What's wrong?"
"There's a portal up top trying to suck in Yennefer, Lambert, and Ciri" Triss answered with a pant. "We need to go up and help. I think it's the Wild Hunt's doing."
"How the hell could they be doing that?" Geralt asked. "And how can they get the portal to suck in Lambert and Ciri? They are far from Yennefer."
"Dunno, but come on!" Triss urged. "This is nothing that can wait."
"I know, I'm just...shocked" Geralt shook his head. "Fine, let's go. Eskel, you can hold them off, can't you?"
"You're damn right I can," Eskel nodded. "Go worry about Ciri and your girlfriends, Wolf."
Geralt nodded and followed Triss to the top tower in Kaer Morhen, where Yennefer was struggling to keep the shield up and avoid being sucked in. Lambert was trying to pull himself away from the strong grip of the portal.
"Geralt! Merigold!" Lambert exclaimed. "About...damn...time...you two...showed...up. Stop...this...damn...portal...from...devouring...us!"
Before Geralt could respond, he too felt the tug of the portal. He grabbed the stone wall beside him and clenched it tightly.
"Geralt!" Ciri exclaimed, sliding backwards on her feet.
"This...is...why...I...hate...PORTALS!" Geralt struggled.
Triss held up her hands and in Elder speech, tried to cast a spell to stop the portal.
It didn't stop or close up. It just pulled harder on her friends and soon, they all couldn't hang in any longer and were yanked from the dimension into the portal and the portal sealed up, leaving Triss behind.
"Geralt!" she cried. "Yennefer! CIRI!"
She spun around and saw the destruction of Kaer Morhen continue. Imlerith and his troops were still at it.
"Oh god, no! Gotta find Eskel and Vesemir!"
—
Kristina was reading out a story, practicing her speech issues with her uncle Severus. Erin watched as an audience alongside their favorite professor, Meriwether Moses. Kristina was reading from one of the books she loves, pacing back and forth and looking at them occasionally.
"Louder, child! I cannot understand anything you are saying."
Kristina pushed herself to speak louder.
"Enunciate your words."
She tried.
"Stop mumbling! Again, I cannot understand you."
Kristina slapped the book down on her thigh, "I hate this. Uncle Severus, I want to stop. It's pointless! They're not going to believe me either which way, it's my elder cousin's word over mine."
"You need to be able to speak confidently," Snape stood up and put his hands on his hips. "Do you want to show people your weakness and, furthermore, your inability to be confident in your own words? They will assume your guilt, even though you are not guilty. Believe you me, I have seen many a non-Death Eater..." He cut himself off. After a tense pause, he continued, "Reread that last paragraph and that'll be it for the evening."
Kristina groaned.
"You can do it!" Erin cheered.
"Yeah, Kris!" Professor Moses grinned. "You've got this. Just think of how Minerva and Severus both speak. Minerva, when she speaks, is confident and demands respect. Severus is also confident and can be clearly heard down the hall!"
"Very heard," Erin agreed. "Very down-the-hall."
Snape sent the girl a grudgingly indulgent look. "Indeed."
"Ugh, fine." Kristina opened her mouth to start the last paragraph. "Geralt of Rivia, the Butcher of Blaviken, embraced Yennefer and Ciri in his arms and—"
A portal opened up in the middle of the courtyard. Everyone stopped to look and Kristina jumped backwards into her uncle. Snape pushed her behind him and she clutched his arm as she peeked around him to see. Moses grabbed Erin and hid her behind him as well.
"What on earth is going on here?" Snape asked.
"I don't know!" Professor Moses exclaimed.
"Aim your wands," Snape ordered quickly. "Seal the portal shut! Kristina, Erin, you two get out of here."
"Uncle Severus!" Kristina cried out. "I'm not leaving you!"
"Neither am I," Erin agreed. "Well, I'm mostly just not going to leave Kristina..."
"You are as stubborn as your father. Fine," Snape grumbled and raised his wand. "Stay behind me!"
Snape felt Kris's head nod against his back and before he could cast a spell with his colleague to seal the portal shut, he felt a violent tug on his arm. He stumbled forward and suddenly felt Kristina stumble forward with him.
"Stay there!" Snape hissed.
"I'm trying!" Kristina exclaimed.
Meriwether felt a tug on his arm, "Uhm what is going on? OW! Ow! Ow! What the heck? I can't hold back. OW."
"Meriwether! You. Are. Not. Helping."
Erin felt the tug too and she and Kristina exchanged glances but couldn't move.
"If our own teachers can't stop it..." Kristina started.
"What the heck is it?" Erin asked. "Should someone get Dumbledore?"
Snape jerked forward, being pulled right to the edge.
"Bloody hell, this cannot be happening," his hand felt a strange, tight air. "Not going in..."
"Uncle Severus?" Kristina asked.
"Not now, child!"
Meriwether lost his concentration and the portal pulled him and Erin straight into Kristina's back, which transferred to Snape, and that's when the four of them fell into the portal. If there were any sounds, no one could hear them. Everything was muffled, as if they'd gone through water. There was a tightness in the air. Kristina clutched Snape's arm.
Soon, the feeling of tightness and the muffled sounds ceased. Everyone was falling from at least a yard into the air. Snape landed face-first into the ground. Immediately, he felt the pain. He groaned, for sure, but nothing compared to when he felt Kristina drop on his back mere seconds later. And that was nothing compared to when Erin and Meriwether landed on top of them. Sure, he could take one lightweight 100 pound girl, but two of them plus the 170 pound man?
"Ow!" Snape screamed in pain and began muttering curses under his breath.
"Owwie," he heard Kristina's voice being muffled by his back. Then, a groan. "I don't feel so good..."
Suddenly, one weight shifted off of Snape, then another. Meriwether and Erin. The last one, Kristina, did not move.
"Magi...can you get off of my back?"
"I feel really sick..."
"Your medallion is stabbing me," Snape grunted.
Erin helped move Kristina off of her professor and finally, Professor Snape was able to sit up and dust off his chest. He looked around, examining their surroundings. It was dark and freezing cold. Snow was falling at blizzard-like speeds.
"Gosh, it is colder than the dungeons!" Erin remarked.
"It's warm in the dungeons," Snape muttered.
"Uncle Severus, I feel really sick...and cold..." came Kristina's voice.
"Fine," Snape grumbled and quickly took off his robes. "Wear this until Meriwether and I can figure out what is going on." He draped them over her shoulders and stood up. Kristina pulled the robes close and tried to warm up and Snape clutched his arms to keep his body heat from escaping while he fumbled for his wand.
"Well, now you'll be cold," Erin observed.
"That will be a simple matter of a warming charm, once I am able to locate my wand."
"Oh, then you could've kept your cloak and used the spell on Kris—"
At this point irritated, Snape snapped, "A spell will wear off, whereas a cloak will not."
Pacified, Erin stayed crouched beside Kristina and watched as Meriwether stepped around them to join his colleague.
"Severus...where are we?" Meriwether asked.
Snape placed a hand on the stone railing, "Well, I can say for certain...we're not in Hogwarts anymore."
"Holy macaroni!" Meriwether remarked as he took a gander. "What?"
"Holy macaroni?" Erin asked. "Well, that is not a good sign..."
There was a loud explosion and Snape and Meriwether quickly ducked behind the wall. When they lifted their heads, they were both shocked to see a fireball engulf the trees below them.
"We gotta get the girls out of here!" Meriwether exclaimed.
"I have got Magi, you will get Smith," Snape rushed over to Kristina and scooped her up with one arm and carried her down the stairs. Meriwether grabbed Erin's hand and dragged her behind him and followed Snape.
"OW! UNCLE SEV! YOU'RE HURTING ME!" Kris cried out.
"Better me than those fireballs, you fool!"
Kristina frowned but couldn't say much as he and Meriwether rushed them to the closest spot to hide. When Snape had stopped moving, Kristina lifted her head tiredly and saw that they were in some kind of tower. She squirmed to be released from her professor and the Slytherin dropped the Ravenclaw hard on the floor.
"Wow...I love you too, Uncle Severus," Kristina grumbled and then stood up slowly.
Snape dusted his hands and then crossed his arms, "You were squirming too much, what was I, your favorite teacher, to do?"
Kristina sighed heavily and Meriwether glanced uneasily at Kristina, "Maybe you should sit down, you look pale. I think that portal upset your body the most."
"I...I think so too," Kristina admitted.
Snape patted himself down, trying to find his wand and the potion he was going to give Kris after they worked on her speech.
"Where the hell is my wand? And the potion I was going to give Magi? Meriwether!" Snape glared at his colleague, but when he saw Meriwether do the same he realized it wasn't just him.
"Where's my wand?" Meriwether asked.
Kristina, sitting down, searched her pockets and Erin did the same.
"Our wands are missing?" Erin asked. "Uhm...well, this is a precarious situation...certainly precarious..."
"You think?!" Snape asked.
Kristina shivered under Snape's robe and she looked around. A medieval castle of some sort. Then, she sensed another presence.
"Guys, someone's here!" she hissed and ducked. Snape glanced around until he found someone walking towards them. It was a man—no, an elf—about the same height as Snape, if not taller. He was thin, with visible cheekbones and aquamarine eyes. He had a slender figure, covered with loose-fitting robes and a cloak.
The elf crossed his arms behind his back and cocked his head to the side, "Hello there. Who are you all? And how did you get into Kaer Morhen?"
"Care...What?" Snape asked.
"Kaer Morhen. Hm. You do not look of this world, nor the realm of the Aen Seidhe," the man realized. "None of the worlds I have been to, in fact."
"What?" everybody asked in unison.
"How did you get in here?" the man asked.
"We don't know," Snape answered sharply.
The elf glanced behind the professors and caught a glimpse of the pale Kristina. Her eyes glowed red but she didn't seem mad or anything, just sick.
"The girl," the elf started. "Is she not human?"
"What?" Snape and Moses turned to look at Kristina.
"Shit," Snape muttered.
"I'm..." Kristina shivered and gagged. "I don't feel good... Uncle Severus..."
The elf approached them and Snape stood in between his colleague and students.
"I'm not going to hurt her," the elf assured.
"I want your name, first," Snape glared.
"Crevan Espane aep Caomhan Macha," the elf introduced himself, and after getting confused glances from the group of wizards, he cleared his throat. "You can, of course, just call me Avallac'h. I'd like to know who you are, as well."
"I'm Meriwether," Moses started. "He's Severus, and the girls are Erin and Kristina, respectively."
"Such strange names," Avallac'h muttered.
"Because Avallac'h isn't a strange enough name?" Snape grumbled. "Or whatever your real name was..."
"Obviously we come from different worlds, Severus," Avallac'h raised an eyebrow at Snape's remark. He had to admit, their names were strange as well. "Of course the names may seem strange to the other. Well, now that the ice has been cleared, how about we let...Kristina, was it? rest up?"
Snape crossed his arms, not trusting the elf. However, Meriwether studied the elf and then slowly nodded in agreement.
"Perhaps we could all use a rest," he said. "I'm not feeling that great myself. Think that portal made me sick."
"Yeah," Erin nodded and looked over to Snape, noticing he looked a little sick as well but how sick he was remained a mystery because of his deadpan. Then, she looked at Kristina again, who looked like she was trying to keep from puking. "But looks like it made Kris the sickest."
"Perhaps you could tell me more about this portal?" Avallac'h asked.
Snape scowled, but relented, "Guess we don't have any choice, now do we?"
"If you want help," Avallac'h nodded and then turned around. "Perhaps you could follow me? I can take you to a fire to warm up."
"Fine," Snape grunted. "However, if you dare make any sudden movement, I will..."
"I do not think there will be any concern with that," Avallac'h assured, then gestured at the wizards to follow him. Reluctantly, they did.
As they walked, Erin kept an eye on Kristina, making sure she wasn't about to puke.
"Are there any potions here that could help my..." Snape swallowed hard, "...niece, per chance?"
"As we are in a witcher's school, there may be something for her. However, I would not think it would help her. Rather, it could..." Avallac'h trailed off.
"Could what?" Snape demanded.
Avallac'h changed the subject just as another explosion happened outside, "What do you all do? Are you sorcerers?"
"Wizards," Snape corrected. "And, I heard you say this earlier, but what the hell is a witcher?"
"Monster slayer," Avallac'h explained.
"Avallac'h, the Child of the Elder Blood is...whoah, who the hell are these people?" Came a male voice as Avallac'h gestured for Kristina to lie down. When they all looked, they saw another elf. His face was scarred, and his right eye was covered with a red bandana. Immediately, Erin felt a romantic attraction to the elf.
"Iorveth!" Avallac'h exclaimed. "What do you mean Cirilla is missing?"
"I don't know but obviously it wasn't the Wild Hunt's doing because they're still here," Iorveth growled.
"Iorveth is actually kinda cute," Erin whispered to Kristina.
"He is, but...I kinda like Avallac'h," Kristina admitted weakly.
Snape backhanded Kristina in the head, "Knock it off. Both you girls..."
"Avallac'h, who are these humans?" Iorveth demanded.
"Well..." Avallac'h started. "All I know is that they're not of this world and they're...wizards."
"This is going to be interesting," Meriwether crossed his arms.
"Do you suppose we might not have been the only ones to have gone through that portal, Meriwether?" Snape whispered.
"If they're missing one of their own, I would suppose so," Meriwether agreed.
"What the hell is going on?" Snape remarked as he looked back at the elves.
—
Geralt landed on his back, then felt Ciri land on top of him. He groaned and Ciri quickly hopped off of him and dragged him aside before Lambert and Yennefer could land on him. They landed on top of each other. Disgusted, Yennefer punched Lambert in the face, "Get off of me, you asshole!"
"God dammit," Lambert groaned and slid off of Yennefer's body.
"Uhm, where are my swords?" They heard Geralt ask.
Lambert reached behind himself, "And mine?!"
"Calm down, perhaps they fell elsewhere?" Ciri asked.
"I doubt it," Yennefer shook her head.
"This is your fault, isn't it?" Lambert snapped at Yennefer, then turned towards Geralt. "See? Sorceresses screw everything up, Geralt! This is why you don't hang out with them. Stupid whoreson!"
"Lambert, this was not Yennefer's fault," Geralt defended. "You really think she would make it so we didn't have our swords here? You are such an idiot."
"Lambert, you're just upset that this even happened," Yennefer flipped her hair back. "Just give it a bit and you'll relax some."
"Relax? How can I relax if I don't have my swords?" Lambert asked.
"Well, obviously you've still got one..." Geralt grumbled.
"What do you—ohhhhhhhhhh," Lambert smirked. "I see what you did there."
"Ew," both Yennefer and Ciri screwed up their faces in disgust. "You guys are gross..."
"What in the world is going on out here? Oh!" they heard a woman gasp.
The first to notice was the ashen-haired girl. Surprised, Ciri turned around and saw an unfamiliar woman wearing a pointy hat and elegant robes. She seemed pretty old, but not Vesemir old. Like...Geralt old.
"Oh uhm, hello," Ciri greeted awkwardly. "Mind telling us where we are?"
Yennefer looked, followed by Geralt and Lambert. The woman raised an eyebrow.
"You lot do not look of this world," she remarked. "Yet, you are not ordinary Muggles; that much is obvious. Very well, you are in the great wizarding school of Hogwarts. I am Minerva McGonagall."
"What?" Geralt asked.
"Wizarding?" Yennefer repeated.
"What the hell does that even mean?" Lambert asked in his usual prickly manner. "What are you, sorcerers? God dammit, I don't need to be surrounded by more Merigolds and Yennefers! Can barely stand Merigold."
"Hold your tongue, whoreson," Geralt growled.
"I haven't the foggiest as to whom you're referring to, but we are witches and wizards," McGonagall emphasized. "Now, I'm afraid I must ask who you are."
"I'm Yennefer of Vengerberg," Yennefer introduced. "There's Geralt of Rivia, Lambert, and Cirilla of Cintra is the ashen-haired girl."
"Lovely to meet you all, but...I'm afraid you are trespassing," the witch said.
"Honestly, we don't even know how we got here," Yennefer admitted. "We deeply apologize if we're trespassing, but this is where the portal spat us out at. That's all we know."
"A portal, you say?" McGonagall repeated.
"Yes," Ciri nodded. "We were in the midst of a terrible battle when a portal opened up and sucked us in. Geralt, Lambert, and I are without our swords, almost as if the portal or portal user didn't want us to have our swords."
"Well that is certainly intriguing," McGonagall nodded. "I can take you to our headmaster, perhaps he knows of something that could do this and how to reverse it."
"Really?" Lambert asked. "I sure hope there's a way to reverse this! Otherwise, the bloody Wild Hunt is going to plough the hell out of Kaer Morhen."
"If I'm not there," Ciri started. "I think they'll realize that and leave and Kaer Morhen will be safe. At least until I'm returned."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Geralt waved his hand in dismissal. "The Wild Hunt won't stop unless we stop them."
"We'll find out eventually," Yennefer assured. "I think they might stop when they realize Ciri is missing."
"Perhaps..." Geralt frowned.
"If you are done, I'd like to take you to our headmaster?"
"Of course," Yennefer agreed.
"Very well, please follow me," McGonagall nodded and gestured for them to follow her.
As they walked through the school, all was calm and quiet. Though, as they walked they ran into another teacher with a young girl walking beside him. The man had greasy, jet-black hair, a hooked nose, and he wore long, black robes. The girl didn't look anything like him, as she was small, pale, had a cute button-like nose, long brown hair and baby blue eyes. She seemed nice and bright, while the man was cold and dark. However, he seemed to treat the little girl nicely.
"Uncle Severus!" she skipped. "Can you show me more potions? I really love making them."
"I know you do, child," the man spoke. "However, don't you have some homework from your favorite professor to be doing right now?"
"I can wing it before bed," the girl grinned, stopping in front of her uncle. "Potions isn't that hard. I dunno why anyone would find it hard."
An amused smile crossed Severus's face as he put his hands on her shoulders, "I'm glad you think so, Kristina." Suddenly, he glanced up at the strangers following Professor McGonagall. "Minerva, who are these strangers? How did they get into Hogwarts?"
Kristina took her uncle Severus by his hand and stared at the strangers. Ciri smiled at her and crouched down in front of her.
"Hello there, little one," she smiled. "I'm Ciri."
"I'm Kristina," she murmured, nervously pressing herself into her uncle.
"These guys supposedly came from another world, as they say they were spat out from a portal here," McGonagall explained.
Geralt and Lambert crossed their arms and Yennefer placed her hands on her hips.
"We don't mean to intrusive," Yennefer explained.
"Goddammit, my medallion is humming," Geralt muttered suddenly.
"Mine too," Lambert realized.
"Oh would you two shut up?" Yennefer asked, then looked at Minerva and Severus.
Ciri was still trying to ease Kristina's discomfort.
"Would you like a piece of candy?" she asked.
"What kind?" the young witch asked.
"The sweet kind," Ciri winked.
Kris looked up at her teacher and he scowled but sighed.
"If it's not poisoned, I suppose so..." Snape shrugged.
Ciri reached into her pocket and pulled out a candy from Novigrad, "Here."
Kristina took it and opened it slowly, looking at it.
"I've never seen this kind of candy in neither muggle stores or wizard stores," she commented.
"It is from our world," Ciri smiled.
Kris put it in her mouth and started sucking, "Oh, that's good!"
"I'm glad," Ciri smiled. "Hey, looks like your outfit matches your uncle's. That's really cute."
Kris smiled, "My dad says I'm like Uncle Severus even though we're not related and in different houses."
"Different houses?" Ciri asked.
"Slytherin," Snape said. "She's a Ravenclaw. And the only reason your father says that is because you love potions and attempt to act like me."
"I do love potions," Kris grinned.
"Very good, then I shall escort you back to your house so you can do your homework!" Professor Snape pointed out sharply.
"Aww, but I don't wanna go back," Kris whined. "They don't like me."
"You are of house Ravenclaw, are you not? I'm sure you can find a way to fix that. Besides, not being liked isn't the end of the world. Go make friends."
"Okay..." Kristina looked back at Ciri as Severus started leading her back to the Ravenclaw Tower.
Ciri glanced at McGonagall, who simply responded with, "It's her first year here."
"She seems like a good kid," Ciri commented.
"She is, just rather uneasy around people. She clings to Severus most of the time because she's scared of the other kids," McGonagall explained.
"I don't see how he's any nicer," Geralt pointed out. "Even though he was being nice to her, he had a cold air to his personality."
"He is nicer than the other students," McGonagall said. "He's her uncle, well more like her adopted uncle. He and her father are friends, and therefore she got to see Severus quite often as a child. She's grown quite fond of him."
"Oh," Geralt blinked. "I see."
—
"So you're telling us that you guys come from another world with magic but you don't have witchers or elves or dwarves?" Iorveth asked, dubious.
"There is a specific group that goes after monsters but they do not usually slay them like a 'witcher' would," Snape explained. "And we do have elves, however...they don't really look like you lot."
"And so if you guys don't have other races like we do, then what is she?" Iorveth asked, pointing at Kristina who was still wearing Snape's cloak and curled up by the fire. "I saw those eyes. Crimson red. Never seen a human with red eyes before. Don't think I've seen elves or dwarves with red eyes. Witchers have yellow eyes, though. But that's different. That's a result of a mutation."
"Well, in a way she is still human, just..." Snape sighed. "She's...well, a demon. She was perhaps cursed as an infant and no one knew and now she's a demon. Not that she really acts like it. She's still the same old Kristina I've always known, except less clumsy and certainly faster on her feet. Though, I do admit she does have to struggle with being a demon because if she smells blood, she'll want to kill someone and devour their soul. That is, unless I give her a specific potion, which I don't have on me." Snape thought for a moment, "She doesn't want to hurt people though because well, that is how she is..."
"As long as she don't try to kill us, guess that's fine," Iorveth shrugged.
They all heard another explosion.
"When are the Wild Hunt going to leave?" he asked. "Jeez... Ciri ain't here anymore."
"I don't know, I think they're retreating," came Avallac'h's voice as he returned with a blanket for Kristina. "I believe Triss was simply trying to make sure they were gone."
"You sure you should be up and about right now, Avallac'h? After all, you just recovered from the first part of the Trial of Grasses..." Iorveth trailed off.
"I am fine, Iorveth," Avallac'h grunted as he gave Kristina the blanket. Kristina had puked before they got to the fire, and so she certainly needed to rest. She returned Snape's cloak and wrapped herself in the blanket, curling up against her professor. He looked, shook his head, and chose to ignore her. Meriwether spoke up.
"So what are we going to do now?" he asked.
"Wait for Vesemir and the rest to return," Avallac'h said. "We shall take it from there."
"Kris, are you really going to fall asleep on Professor Snape?" Erin asked with a teasing smile.
"Shut up," Kristina muttered.
Soon, they heard the front doors slam open.
"Avallac'h! Iorveth! Where the hell is Geralt and Lambert?!" came a voice. Everyone looked. It was a man with a scar over his right eye going down his face towards his mouth. He had short, dark brown hair and yellow eyes. From what the elves had told the wizards, they all assumed that he was a witcher.
Another voice, "Eskel! Yennefer, Geralt, Ciri, and Lambert all were sucked into a portal!"
The man, Eskel, turned around with shock, "And no one stopped it?"
"No one could," they saw who the voice came from. A young woman with ginger hair tied in two low buns had said it. "But the Wild Hunt is retreating. I think we scared them off with that last bomb, but I think it's mostly because they realized Ciri wasn't here."
"Where's Vesemir and the rest?" Eskel asked.
"Think they're on their way back to the keep," the woman answered. "Oh my goodness..."
"It's ok, Triss, we'll find out what happened to them..." Eskel assured.
"So it's certainly a precarious situation we've got here," Avallac'h said suddenly.
"What do you mean, Avallac'h?" Triss asked.
Eskel looked and realized that the wizards were there. Meriwether and Snape both exchanged uneasy glances and waited in silence. Snape just quietly put his hand over Kristina's shoulders and looked at the two elves expectantly.
"Well, if you can't see here, we've got visitors who are missing from their universe as our comrades are from ours," Avallac'h pointed out.
Iorveth gestured towards the group of wizards and Triss and Eskel glanced at them. Triss gasped and Eskel's eyes simply widened.
"Who the hell are they?" he asked.
"Is the girl sick?" Triss asked, worried.
"Why are you worried about the girl?" Eskel asked.
"Because she's a girl, Eskel. She's gotta be about the same age as Ciri," Triss pointed out, rushing over. "She's sick?"
Snape glared and before he could answer, Meriweather responded, "Yes, she's sick. We went through a portal and it made us all a little queasy, but it got to her the most."
"A portal, you say?" Triss asked.
Meriwether nodded, and so did Snape.
"Yes," Snape answered.
"That's what took Geralt, Yennefer, Lambert, and Ciri!" Triss exclaimed. "Here, I might be able to—"
"Leave her alone!" Snape snapped.
"Severus, let her..." Meriwether tried to calm down his colleague. "We don't know how long Kris could be sick like this, and we need her to not be sick."
"Meriwether, I do not know how you can be so trusting," Snape growled.
"Severus, we have to," Meriwether argued. "I don't see anything wrong with these people. More than anything, they want to help. Let them help."
Snape scowled but relented. Triss muttered something in a language Snape did not understand and touched Kristina's forehead. She jerked her hand back suddenly.
"Whoa," she remarked. "She's got a powerful aura. Never met someone with such a powerful aura before. What is she?"
"Did you make her feel any better?" Erin asked to change the subject.
"I don't know if my magic got through to her but I certainly hope so," Triss glanced at Erin and was shocked by how dark her skin was compared to pretty much everyone she knew. "Wow, I've never seen someone with such dark skin..."
Erin seemed taken aback by the comment. "Well, that was just said by a person in real life," she commented. "Probably don't say that to absolutely anyone else; it'll seem racist."
"No, no I didn't mean for it to come off as rude," Triss assured. "Just, we live in the Northern Realms here, dark-skinned folk are a rarity."
"There aren't any in Toussaint either," Eskel shrugged.
"Well, that's Toussaint..." Triss muttered.
"So Kris has the most powerful aura you've ever seen and I have the most powerful melanin you've ever seen?" Erin noted. "Awesome. Definitely equal achievements. My mother will be thrilled." Her snarkiness earned her a weak glare from Kristina.
"But in all seriousness, what is she? She can't be human, not with that aura."
"Well, in a way she isn't human," Meriwether answered. "I mean, physically she's like any other human. But...she's...well, a demon."
"A demon?" Eskel asked.
"She's not going to hurt you!" Snape could see the worried expressions on everyone's faces. "She would not ever purposefully hurt another person. She's not like that. It is just the result of someone cursing her as an infant. It only got noticed after her friend accidentally changed her appearance."
"What are you guys?" Eskel asked.
"We're wizards," Erin told him. "Well, we're witches, but they're wizards; we use gender-differentiated terms, but it's basically the same thing."
"So, mages?" Eskel asked.
"Sorta," Meriwether answered.
"Not like Triss and Avallac'h?" Eskel asked.
"No," Snape answered plainly.
"Wait, where's Vesemir, Roche, Ves, Kiera, Hjalmar, and Zoltan?" Triss wondered. "I'm gonna go find them..."
"I bet they're looking for Wolf and Ciri," Eskel thought out loud.
"I'll go find them," Triss said. "You lot, get the girl to lie down until the sickness passes. If my magic took to her, she should be fine within an hour."
"Right," Meriwether agreed.
"Fine," Professor Snape stood up and made Kristina lie down. "You do not need to use me as a pillow, child."
Kristina groaned, "But Uncle Snape..."
"Just lie down, would ya?" Snape watched her lie down. "Just...stay there...You'll feel better soon, or at least I hope you will."
"For now, I think we should get acquainted with each other, huh?" Eskel asked. "I'm Eskel."
"Severus," Snape started.
"Meriwether," Meriwether added.
"Erin," Erin nodded at Kristina. "And that's Kristina."
"So we've got Eskel, Triss, Avallac'h, and Iorveth," Snape started.
"Then the rest of whoever Triss just left to find?" Meriwether wondered.
"Seems to be the case," Snape grunted, sitting back down by Kristina's feet. He glanced to the side at the fire, cupping his hands together and breathing into them. He glanced back at Iorveth, Avallac'h, and Eskel.
"And you guys are mages," Eskel said plainly after they stopped talking to each other.
"Yeah," Meriwether nodded.
"Don't suppose you're trained in combat?" Eskel asked.
"Only with magic and our wands," Snape muttered. "Of course, we lost our wands so we cannot perform in combat."
"Perhaps old man Vesemir would be willing to give you guys a crash course in witcher training."
"How come?" Meriwether asked.
"Well..." Eskel glanced up. "In this world, you need to be able to protect yourself. From both humans and monsters."
"And the Wild Hunt," Iorveth added.
"What is this Wild Hunt?" Professor Snape wondered. "You lot keep mentioning them."
"They are a group of specters who are led by a king and are usually an omen of war, misfortune, and death," Avallac'h started. "They are after our Child of the Elder Blood."
"What is an Elder Blood?" Professor Snape wondered.
"Elder race offspring," Iorveth continued. "Some say that it is a curse of elven offspring but others say it gives the bearer of the blood the ability to travel through space and time."
"And to cause destruction of the planet, if she isn't taught to control her powers," Avallac'h mentioned.
"So that's why they are here?" Erin asked.
The elves and the witcher nodded in response.
"Yep. That's why they are here," Eskel answered.
"So do we really need to learn how to defend ourselves from them?" Professor Snape asked.
"Unless there are any objections, it would be a good idea," Iorveth nodded.
"Nope, no objections here!" Erin said quickly. "I would love to learn how to wield a sword with you. I've tried archery before, because I thought I could be like Legolas, but it turns out I lack any sort of competence, so maybe swordplay..." She caught herself babbling and broke off with a dorky smile.
Eskel looked at Professor Snape, who shook his head.
"I'd be more interested in perhaps learning about the potions here," he muttered. "I prefer not to use swords."
"I'm sure old man Vesemir would be willing to teach you about potions," Eskel told him. "He himself prefers potions."
"I see," Snape nodded.
"I would like to learn how to do potions too," Meriwether admitted. "I'd be more afraid of cutting off my own foot than having a potion blow up in my face. Though, either which way I'll cry like a baby!"
"You would," Professor Snape agreed with a grudgingly indulgent look. He could just see his colleague now, in tears as they amputate his foot. That would be a sight to behold.
"And Kristina?" Avallac'h asked, looking at the girl who was still looking at him quietly.
"S-Swords would be great," she blinked when she realized he was looking at her. Her face turned an embarrassed shade of pink as she sat up.
"You going to be okay now?" Professor Snape asked, glaring.
"I think so," Kristina nodded, rubbing her eyes.
Before anyone could make a comment, they heard voices entering the castle. They could hear each of the individual voices but only one voice was familiar.
"I'm surprised Imlerith told his troops to retreat," came one voice.
"Aye, perhaps it was because Miss Merigold scared 'em off! Heh heh," came a Scottish-sounding voice.
"But I found Ciri, Geralt, and Lambert's swords," came another voice.
"And where is Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri, and Lambert?" came one more voice.
"Triss, what is going on?" the first voice asked.
They heard Triss answer as they approached the elves and wizards.
"Ciri, Lambert, Yennefer, and Geralt are missing," Triss finally answered. "And we've got visitors from another world. Don't be alarmed, Vesemir. They mean no harm."
"What do you mean, visit—" The man cut off as soon as he saw the wizards. They all looked over towards the group of strange men and, women of course, and all gaped at them.
"Whoa..."
Snape sighed. Here goes more introductions and explanations.
