Chapter One

"Okay," she said and she looked a little dishevelled as she looked to her notes; the piece of parchment stretched out just to her side and the quill waiting on her words. "Wands, cloak, clothes, food, tents, gold, water—though you could probably conjure that if you…Wand? Oh, yes, I did—"

"Hermione," I interrupted, and there was a small smile on me as I watched her expression clear out. It shouldn't have made me smile, that her brow was starting to crease, her hands were wringing together and there was just so much sadness in her eyes.

Old habits die hard, as the expression went, and it wasn't often these days with thing generally being good. But there were still the times where thoughts flooded my mind that I couldn't be loved, that I was a freak—

I cut the thoughts of, instead focusing on the present. I was still smiling, though by an extra quirk in Hermione's eyes I could see that my smile wasn't as bright.

"It's going to be fine. You've been testing this so long that nothing's going to happen to me—"

"But we can't truly be sure of that," she said. "This is one of the first times we've done it to a living person and magic can be temperamental. You know this."

"I do," I said.

"You being there might mean something, that it's a wizard might mean something, for all I know the number of syllables in your name could matter and they could throw off our calculations," she said, almost all in one breath. She quickly shook her head. "I think this might not be the best of ideas. There's still more testing we could do, this project is still in its infancy—"

"And the number of people invested in it are already starting to pull back," said Angelica. The woman on the short side, her hair tide in a neat bun and wearing robes that were similar to Hermione and pretty everyone around us.

We were in a patch of forest that had been cleared by Hermione's people. We were a long way away from Hogsmeade, a fact that Hermione had said was attributing for any error that might occur in the process. Splinching was easy to fix, now, unlike a few years ago, but with me being the only wizard there, that would all be for nought if I was rendered unconscious.

"We need this if we want to be able to continue," she said. "We were lucky that Mr Potter volunteered to be the first to take the leap."

"Harry has always been foolhardy," Hermione under her breath, a scowl directed in my direction.

I shrugged. "Dumbledore really sold me on the whole living life to its fullest thing," I said, pushing bravado into the comment. It wasn't the only I felt, but it was there and that was enough.

This was big and it was dangerous, but more than anything it was exciting. I was going to be the first person in this world to make the leap—Hermione had said, in infinite probabilities that there was an absolute chance that someone else had already skipped through the barrier between realities, but the chances that I might leap into the same world were extremely, extremely small.

It could be dangerous. Sure, I knew that the world I was headed towards had the requirements to sustain life, but this was still a test where people were concerned. There was no reason to think that anything could go wrong, but things almost always found ways to go wrong.

Another stream of thoughts and I pushed it aside, choosing instead to let myself focus on the excitement and the stream of emotions that came along with it. For three months while exploring the next world I'd be away from my friends, which was sad, I'd be away from Teddy and Andromeda, but I would also be away from the pressure of being me.

A mixed bag, sure, but when I looked at the grander whole, going to another world felt better.

"And me being foolhardy is one of the things you love about me," I said with a large grin that I hoped would be reminiscent of Sirius.

It must have worked because Hermione let out a long sigh and pressed a hug around me. "I will miss you," she said.

"I'll miss you too, Hermione," I said into her shoulder. "All of you."

She sniffed a little as she pulled back. "Remember, call me the second that you land. If we've off shot then you should activate the return Key with the mental phrase—"

"I know," I said. "I remember sitting through Richard's laborious lecture."

She shook her head. "It worries that you thought of it like that," she said and she looked at Angelica. "If it's anything like all that he learned from History of Magic class then I think we should really give him a refresher course. It might be for the best anyway, Harry's a practical learner and the course was a week ago, and—"

The sound of a crack in the periphery interrupted her. It wasn't long after that Ron became visible from beyond the trees. He quickly waded through other witches and wizards until he was next to us, he let out a long-relieved breath.

"Thank Merlin I caught you," he said. He reached into his robes and pulled out a box. "Wanted to give you this. Open it when you get there, yeah?"

"Yeah," I said. Hermione seemed to find it a little easier then to let me go, digging herself into Ron's side as they were forced to clear the clearing. The others moved too, wands in hand and most of them with parchment and quills floating beside them; there were also recording devices all around me floating in the air, though they too kept their distance.

I walked into the middle of the clearing towards a dark obelisk that had a small silver ball on top of it, goblin great metal, the only think with the magical properties to be able to handle the strain of a return trip to another reality. With a last wave at my friends, and a breath outward I took the ball and felt hook embed itself into my navel and then yank me away from everything.

888

There was a discomfort there I hadn't expected, not from the hook that had stuck itself deeply in my navel, instead there had been something there. An instant in my travels and all at once I'd felt pressure in front of me, as though I was being pulled towards something only something else keeping me back.

And then it was gone.

The world around me was awash with shades of blue, long rectangular lines that fit together into something that made me think I was having an acid trip. Trying to take it in all at once and my head pounded, as though I was trying to figure out how to unlock old enchantments without a guide. I pulled back a little, instead focusing on a section to try and make sense of it.

There was a picture there, tinted with blue light but revealing a dark forest; the neighbouring picture was the same; and then next one; and the next one; and the next one; and the next until all at once it wasn't: There were no trees but a mound of snow that was so large it looked like a mountain; a sprawling city that was made of a grey stone; a woman running with a horde of Inferi chasing after her; a dragons clashing through the air with people atop them; a face that was made of darkness and was looking directly at me; a large castle that looked like it was a mesh of wood and stone; a mountain that was coming alive—

And then I was the hook disappeared and I was thrown into another world with a stumble. Immediately my wand was in my hand and my eyes scanning around me. So much I'd seen and it was likely that this might be another world that had the same dangers I'd seen while travelling.

"Lu—" I started before I stopped. I was in a forest and it was dark, but that didn't mean nothing dwelt in that darkness that might jump at me if I flooded the area with light.

Or sound for that matter, I thought and internally chided myself. All that Auror training and I wasn't using it.

I tapped myself thrice, making sure that I couldn't be seen, couldn't be heard and couldn't be smelled. I pointed my wand towards my rucksack and with a gesture the broom within jumped out. I got on while mentally intoning a Human Revealment Charm and quickly after the more general variant that would detect non-humans, all while moving into the air.

A lot of bugs. A lot of snakes. A lot of squirrels. Some deer. Some wolves… A lot of animals in general but none near my person.

The important part was that there were no people.

A swish and balls of blue fire lit and hung in the air, with another motion I pushed them out so that I could better see where I was: It was a forest, extraordinarily old judging by how large the trees had grown. Above me there was no moonlight, only the twinkling of the stars, all of which did nothing to illuminate the night.

Phase One, I thought, the boring lessons coming to the fore. Protection.

I cleared a portion of the forest by transfiguring the growth of the foliage so that it gave me a little space. Then I put up protective enchantments, enough that they might stop dragon fire long enough that I might be able to run—though it wouldn't mean much if this world also had moving mountain, but a Caterwauling Charm spread over a large space would tell me if one was making its way towards me.

Two: I put up a Warming Charm and the stripped, searching myself over for anything that might have been signs of Splinching. I was still running on adrenaline and there might have been a chance, however small, that I might have and missed it. I found nothing which meant I was okay. I put back my clothes.

Three: I pulled out a mirror from my rucksack and said, "Hermione Granger."

She appeared, to her right Ron and to her left Angelica. At once Ron was thrown out of the picture as other people appeared all of them shooting questions at me.

"…it's dark," I heard one say. "We might have overshot."

"But how does that work? The time has run parallel through most of the other tests. Maybe Granger was right. Now was it because he's a man or the syllables in his name?"

"Quiet," said Hermione and she sounded irate. "Harry, are you alright. Did you make it through alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah," I said. "I made it through. Not sure if I'm still in the Highlands. I haven't checked yet. But I'm in a forest and that matches up with where we were. Oh, it might also be important, but I felt something before I moved through. As though I was passing through something."

"Rover!" said one of the people. "It explains the yelp."

"But what does it mean beyond that?" another said.

"Anything else?" said Hermione above them.

"Yeah. I could see the worlds while in the space between them?" I said. "It was as though they were slots in a large image and I could look at them. There were strange creatures, but one of them was a mass of darkness that looked straight at me."

"Could be a godly entity," said Angelica. "One powerful enough to, for lack of a better phrase, peer through the veil. Did it try to get at you?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "It was just watching me."

"That might cause complications," she said looking towards the other. "We'll have to find out if there's not a way to communicate with it. See if it might pose risk in the future."

"Another off-shoot of the original goal," a man said. "We're not going to get any more money if we don't at least show them that—"

"We know," said Hermione. "Harry. Remember. You have three months to check over at least the broad strokes of how this world works. How wizard and muggle kind have developed and if there are anything new that people might be interested in seeing beyond the novelty of just travelling to a new world."

I nodded. "Count on me," I said. "I' still remember the stuff. Three days and then call again to report. A week, a month and then return after three months."

Hermione nodded, smiling a little sadly. "And Harry, be careful. You don't know what to expect from this world. And knowing you…"

"Tell him constant vigilance!" I heard Ron shout, his voice sounding far off.

Hermione was smiling as she looked in the direction. "Ron says constant vigilance," she said.

"And my gift!" I heard Ron say just as the image cut off.

There was only so much time that a connection to my earth could remain before the mirror ran out of juice. It would be a day before the mirror had recharged enough for a minute, with the growth in recharge getting larger the more days I didn't use the mirror.

I placed it back in the bag and the pulled out Ron's box. I reached in and felt the space beyond, too big. I dug around until my hand touched a piece of paper. I pulled it out.

You probably won't like this but thankfully I'm not there for this to be a fight. You're going into a whole new world with untold dangers, even Headmaster Dumbledore thought that this was the sort of exception for you to break your promise.

I don't know what help it'll be, but it might help you. Please use it if needed.

R.

PS: Just in case Hermione's ball doesn't work. I'll say your name three times every day.

I reached into the box and there were two objects: One the Elder Wand and the other, the Deluminator.

888

"Does no Hogwarts mean no magic?" I said. I was on my broom where the castle should have stood, looking down towards where the town of Hogsmeade should have been sitting. An entirely wizarding town.

"It's too early to tell right now," I said to the recorder embedded in the snitch beside me. "But I have this feeling that it might. Except if it's a divergent timeline?" I groaned. "Really should have read more wizarding history… Erase the last, don't want Hermione to hear it."

Even so, the first path was checking if there was magic here. If there was, then I could scout the people for a little while, see how their Ministry leaned before discussing with them travel between worlds. If it was just muggles, then we could work with the same sort of secrecy that we did in our world, but that wouldn't be so easy with wizards.

First step in that path, checking places there had been wizard settlements.

"Map," I said and out it jumped, unravelling in front of me. When I had my location I directed the map back in my bag and flew off. A few minutes in flight and then I saw it, the very small town of Knoydart.

In my world it had been one of the few solely wizarding settlements, though it had a muggle past. At its beginnings it had been a shared settlement, before muggle-kind had been bred out with muggle-wizarding intermarrying. It had been lucky in not being majorly affected by Voldemort's rampage because there were old families there, families that had pull even though a large majority of them were half-bloods.

Here, it had never been shared with wizards by the looks of it, which meant it was so incredibly small, though it was getting bigger since a few houses were being built.

Invisible, I pointed my broom downward and searched through the little town until I found a library. I did away with the disillusionment and put up a Muggle Repelling Charm around my person before finding the day's paper. I stopped as I looked at the date: 11 April 2011.

I hadn't only be shunted through space, but also through time. I was eight years into the future which meant the world might have changed. It was confusing though, because when I'd contacted Hermione she hadn't picked up eight years into the future but at the moment I'd left.

I shook my head. I was likely to figure it out, but I could trust that I would return to the same point in time because everything else had.

I really looked at the newspaper. It wouldn't be obvious through muggle eyes, but oddities might be noticed that might tell me if this place had wizards working in the background trying to keep this world's magic secret. Even if it didn't do that, then it would give me a direction towards moving, seeing what they considered wonders and checking them out for Hermione.

I also made a mental note to research the technology since I'd been moved forward in the future. I remembered the discussion of how the enchantments being layered around the world would have to be changed to keep the Statute of Secrecy because of satellites and in the future that problem would be exacerbated.

I didn't miss the likelihood of a wide-reaching Fidelius Charm on the concept of magic itself. It would be hard to pull off, but it was the next natural progression for wizardkind to continue existing in secrecy. If that was the fact, then things would be harder on my front.

That was quickly pushed aside though as I really read the newspaper: Villain, Bean Nighe, captured after link to the disappearance of eleven youths.

Reading the entirety of the story, the woman had been caught by someone who called themselves Sir Galahad. The woman had been linked to the disappearance of eleven youths and when they'd been found they'd been under her sway enough that they hadn't wanted to leave her presence. Sir Galahad had fought his way through them, making sure none were hurt too badly, until finally capturing the woman.

There was a picture of the man, wearing a suit that was reminiscent of armour though it wasn't. He had a grim look as he stood looking over a scene where a house was rubble, a woman in full armour in the process of picking up a piece of the house.

Magic and it wasn't being hidden. It was being flaunted.

I didn't have time to think this through as I felt a small jolt running through me, a variant of the Caterwauling Charm except only I would be notified that someone had entered my range. I looked and a man moved through the Muggle Repelling Charm, clear discomfort on his features. He eased the moment that he was through.

"You're new here," the man said, his accent Scottish and on the thick end.

"Yeah," I said and I smiled. "Is it that obvious?"

He shrugged. "Small town," he said. "It's easy to know everyone and I sort of have an advantage."

A part of me wanted to ask if he was this world's version of an Auror and he'd seen the behaviour of the muggles and thought of it as odd, or if he had some spell under his spell that detected my own. But I didn't, to say anything would be giving away too much. I might spill that I was from another world to the wrong person, at the wrong moment and mess things up.

Better to say as little as possible, but make sure I was ready in case things soured.

"Sure…" I said. "Did you want something?"

The man frowned a little. "Yeah," he said. He took a breath. "Your power is giving me a headache," he said.

Power?

He held up a hand as though I'd been about to say something. "Now, I get it. You're doing things and maybe your power's automatic. But, could you please keep it to a minimum? There's strange interaction between us and it's really uncomfortable."

"Um…sure," I said. Power? Was that how people in this reality thought of magic? But the way he spoke was odd, as though magic was more specific?

"Thanks," he said and then he left. He looked back in my direction one last time, his face warping in discomfort again. He quickly looked forward again, moving for a table and then settling down to read a book. He would look my way again before quickly returning to his book again.

He was worth keeping a watch over. The wizards in this world were out, at least partially because from the looks of it they served hero and villain roles I'd seen in muggle entertainment in my reality. I doubted that this was the full lengths of magic, which meant my theory about a worldwide Fidelius Charm could be true and that man could show me where wizards were.

The obvious solution would be to tell him that I was a wizard too, but then that would be giving away too much information for my comfort. Most people didn't expect to be followed so…

I grinned as an idea hit me, explaining it would be hard but maybe I could Obliviate him? I didn't like just doing that, playing around with someone's memories. But there was still this niggling feeling that something was off.

When he was looking down into his book I flicked my wrist and took hold of my wand.

"Accio wand," I muttered under my breath, pointing it in his direction. Nothing happened. "Okay?"

I was right that something was off because he didn't have a wand. Except if maybe he was a Squib but then he'd already said he had magic? He'd said he had powers, but…

I would definitely have to watch him, but since he was still sitting and watching me, I could learn more about this world from the newspapers.

There were more heroes. The woman I'd seen clearing rubble was Dame Percival, but there were others. The major heroes had names of Knights of the Roundtable, but some didn't. I was a month back and reading on something they called and Endbringer when the man moved, with one last look towards me he moved towards the door.

I didn't pop the Muggle Repelling Charm, instead tapping myself thrice before turning on the spot. I appeared outside and watched as the man moved, going through the town, greeting people as he did, until finally he went into a house.

I felt horrible as I followed, turning and appearing inside, more so when I caught a conversation from the kitchen.

"Saw a para in the library," the man said to a red-headed woman.

She was in the process of finishing of cooking and she stopped, looking at the man with surprised. "Here?" she said.

"What I thought," the man said with a snort. "Nothing happens here that would get someone to trigger. But then, might have been a stranger or thinker, it doesn't take much to set them off."

"You're a thinker, hun," she said.

"Me being the obvious exception, of course," he said and he smiled. "I was a little…rude to him, I feel. Told him to check his power?"

"Dangerous, that," the woman said, though she didn't seem to worried.

"It was really getting to me," the man said. "Kept trying to make me think towards a certain direction, away from him. Kept getting caught in this loop where my mind took me there, then away and on and on until this massive headache started forming. So I told the kid to keep it down." The man shrugged. "Keeps a certain sense of peace too. He might be a villain. I know him, now, he's unlikely to cause trouble."

"But he knows us too," said the woman.

"Made sure he wasn't following me," he said. "And we won't be here long for it to matter."

The woman hummed. "Just be careful. We came here for a break," she said.

"I know," he said. He crossed his heart. "I'll make sure to keep away from the kid."

"Do," she said, then she started plating.

The conversation after that wasn't really that interesting though there were a few snippets that gave me a direction to look to figure out more about the man, Alastair, his wife had called him. He was a hero, working with the group that Sir Galahad belonged in, which meant he was one of the King's Men.

But more than anything it was boring stuff that told me nothing because there were no explanations. He talked about another tinker that had been lost to the suits, and the growing fear that the King's Men weren't growing enough.

The woman, Ellie, then went over a big event that was coming up in the future, she worked in a catering company that was reaching success which made the conversation veer towards Alastair perhaps thinking about retirement.

It was at that moment that a knife flew in my direction.

888

I fell, landing in a roll and then coming up with my wand already pointed, a spell on my tongue. I quickly changed track and called up a shield as another knife cleared the air towards me. The shield activated in time and the knife bounced off.

Alastair was running out of the dining room, Ellie being dragged behind him. The woman looked scared but she wasn't panicking, instead the moment she was out of the room bolted left while Alastair moved right.

Had he wandlessly incanted a Human Revealment Charm? But I hadn't felt it.

I looked down I couldn't really see anything on my person that said my spells had frayed. How had he seen me?

Homenum Revelio.

The image of where they were appeared in my mind: Ellie was on the second floor while Alastair was rapidly moving back towards the dining room.

"Kid, if this is you then you made a mistake coming here," he said and there was anger in his voice. "Coming into our residence and just watching us? If you thought you could come here and kill a hero to get some sort of cred, then you're sorely mistaken. Push me far enough and I'm not going to be the one to die here. Show yourself and surrender!"

I still knew where he was, though that was rapidly fading. I turned on the spot and appeared behind him, I tapped him with my wand and he clattered on the ground.

Unfortunately I hadn't been on the second floor which meant I couldn't just Apparate there, and I didn't doubt that the woman might be crafting traps up there.

I pointed my wand at some plate and the thing turned into a bird, it flew upstairs. I tapped my ears and sound all at once became vivid, my ears being able to hear more. I waited, heard a curse and the crack of gunfire, and then something hitting the ground. Too small to be the woman.

More cutlery turned into more birds and there were more shots before the right weight of something hit the ground.

"Fuck," I said and I hit my head. People would be calling the police at the gunfire. This had spread out a bit too much. I'd have to alter the memories of this entire if I wanted to stay secret…or I could just Obliviate these two of my memories of me and leave everyone else wondering about everything else.

But in the meantime.

I went outside, fired into the air until minor enchantments had been put up. I'd know it when people came and I would have enough time to Disapparate…maybe it was better for me if I just created a Portkey, those charms took longer to erect than an Anti-Disapparition Charm.

I worked through that and then moved Ellie and Alastair into the living room before waking up the latter of the two. The man seemed surprise, especially when he found himself bound. I did away with the charms that kept me hidden.

"First and foremost, I am so sorry about this," I said.

"If you're sorry then there's no need for you to do it," said Alastair. He'd stopped struggling. "If you're in more than you can help, then I can help…No, that's not it. Are you going to kill us?"

My expression warped. "What? No," I said. "I'm just going to ask you a few questions and then Obliviate you."

"Obliviate?" the man said.

I let out a long hum. He didn't know what Obliviating was, but then the magic here was so different. He didn't even need a wand.

"How did you know I was there?" I asked.

"Everything goes well and you'll let us go?" Alastair asked. I nodded. I could see that he accepted that and it was too easy, except if he was some sort of Legillimens like Voldemort. Could he tell when I was lying or telling the truth?

How could I even test that?

"No," I said. "Instead I'll torture you horribly if you don't do as I say."

Ellie reacted. "Oh, God," she said, and her heart picked up a little. "Al."

"It's okay," Alastair said. "He's lying. I think it's a test, trying to figure out my power. You asked how I could see you and I didn't. I noticed something like a small shimmer in the air, a little like light had warped. All those small instances of seeing it accumulated until I had to act to see if I was right."

"So you weren't sure," I said and he nodded. "You have a power, tell me about it."

Here Alastair shifted a little, looking uncomfortable. "I have a very good memory," he said.

I waited for him to continue but he didn't. I pointed my wand and he looked at it with an amount of confusion. "Confundo," I said, then, "Tell me only the truth."

"I am?" he said and he sounded confused. "I was?"

I looked at him for a long moment because there was just something wrong.

"Confundo," I said, this time adding more vigour into the spell. It should have left him not knowing who he was for at least a few days. A risk on my part, but I got the really strong sense that something was wrong here. "What's your name?"

"Alastair McIntosh," he said and there was still confusion, though not enough.

My spell hadn't worked on him. Was there a strange interaction like there'd been with the Muggle Repelling Charm? His power making it so his mind was stronger?

A natural Legillimens and Occlumens, except he'd said he had a good memory. Was that the natural extension of Occlumency? A good memory? I hadn't ever thought to ask.

Would I be able to Obliviate him, them? Or modify him memories?

I stood back a little, watching the both of them before I ran a hand through my face.

"Mr McIntosh, I'll need you to repeat this sequence back to me," I said. "Three-Seven-Two-Five-Seven-Seven-Three-Nine." I pointed my wand at him and then brought forward the concept of what I wanted him to forget and said, "Obliviate. Repeat it back at me."

"Three-Seven-Two-Five-Seven-Seven-Three-Nine," he said.

I pointed my wand at him and tried to modify his memories before quickly stopping as he screamed in pain.

"It seems that's not going to work," I said. "Which makes this a little more complicated." Both of them shifted.

"Does that mean you're going to kill us?" Alastair asked.

"No," I said. "Mr Alastair, as things stand, I'm very likely to hurt or kill you. Even the last thing wasn't meant to hurt you, just a test that went in a direction I hadn't predicted. Just…" I let out a sigh. "I can't figure out how I'm supposed to move forward now that I've royally messed things up with someone that won't be able to forget it."

"An explanation might help," said Alastair. "If it's convincing enough then this might be forgivable. But it would have to be very convincing."

"Okay," I said with a nod. "Okay, but first I need to ask you to tell me something. How much influence to the King's Men have?"

"A lot?" he said. "I don't understand."

"Though they're losing that to the Suits, yes?" I said and he nodded. A guess that the Suits were an organisation, though not one hard to make. "Okay. I can work with that." I let out a breath. "This might be hard to believe," I said. "But I'm a traveller from another world. No, that'll make you think I'm an alien, I'm—"

"From an alternate earth," said Ellie. "You're from Earth Aleph?"

"Earth Aleph? No," I said. "But another world, though knowing that makes it easier." I clapped my hands together. "How would the opportunity to travel to another be seen in your earth? That and people travelling into this world?"

"Is everyone like you?" asked Alastair.

"That would be impossible," I said. "People are different. It's what makes them special."

"I meant…is this regular behaviour for people in your world? Just breaking into someone's home and then tying them up?"

"It isn't, and I regret having gone this far, but I needed the information and I thought you might be faster than slogging through newspapers."

"You could use a computer," said Ellie.

"That would mean breaking into a rich person's house too…right. Future. Probably everyone has them now," I said. I shook my head. "Even if I had thought of that, I don't really know how to use one. My people aren't technologically savvy."

"Hard to believe when you cracked interdimensional travel," said Alastair. "Only one person's been able to crack that here and they're a tinker."

"You'll have to explain that term," I said.

"Let us go," he said. "I can call the higher ups. You can talk to them, sort things out." He was tensing a little as he said this.

"Fine," I said and he eased. "But first I'll have to take out contingencies. Should have started with that before even coming here in the first place. Unfortunately I can't release you right now because I might have a trap set out for me when I return, but it shouldn't take ten minutes before everything's set and I'm back."

"You will come back?" said Alastair. I nodded. "You can go."

I turned on the spot.