Prologue
Harry James Potter couldn't quite believe his eyes. It had just been seconds ago when he was dueling against Voldemort himself before he was blinded by a searing white light. There is no more screaming, no more spells being fired off left and right and the spot where the Dark Lord was previously standing on was empty. He blinks once, then twice before looking wildly around him.
He was standing in a rather spacious greenhouse. One filled with a variety of plants that he has and haven't seen before. Harry would have found the place to be beautiful if he wasn't just dueling against the Dark Lord just seconds before.
"What?!" Interjected a shrilled voice. It had come so suddenly that Harry jumped out of his skin and -to his horror and embarrassment- nearly dropped his wand. "Why do I have to be the one to go in?!" The voice, a female one, continued. They sounded nearby and after a slight hesitation, Harry lightly jogged to the direction of the sound.
"Because," Said a smooth sounding voice. "you're the only one that has the patience for this kind of things. I know I don't."
"Really, and not just because you're a little shit who wants to shove his responsibilities to me? You do know that this is under your jurisdiction right?" Argued his female companion.
"Technically, this is under no one's jurisdiction but someone has to deal with this. And oh look, here comes our guest."
Harry slows down to a stop just a few feet away from the duo. The man was the first to notice him and motions for his partner to turn around. The girl, considerably shorter than both him and Harry, spun on her heels and-
Harry was taken back at the sight of the mime mask on her face. She was barefoot and dressed in a dark blue dress with what look like actual stars twinkling at the bottom. Her skin looked to be an unhealthy shade of pale while her hair was falling down her shoulders in white curls and waves.
The older male, dressed in a two-toned gray suit, with red-brown hair, warm brown eyes, and a perfect complexion from what Harry could see, was clearly handsome. He looked to be in his middle twenties while it was harder to gauge the girl's age due to her mask.
"Ugh, sorry you had to see that." Behind the mask, the girl clicks her tongue and runs a hand through her white locks. She then sticks the other hand out while introducing herself and her partner. Harry unconsciously took a step forward and shook her hand. "My name's Glochuss and this jerk here is-"
"Well, nice meeting you but sorry to say I must be leaving." And then he disappeared, engulfed in flames, leaving no traces.
Harry was briefly reminded of his former headmaster at the action, but his reverie was cut short when the girl, Glochuss, squeezed his hand a tad bit too hard than necessary.
"Bloody little shit." She hissed under her breath. "And they wonder why I don't like authoritative figures."
The dark haired girl only seems to realize that she was in the presence of another person only moments later since she finally let go of Harry's hand and muttered an apology.
"Ahem, right... Er, sorry what was your name again?" She asked awkwardly.
"Harry, Harry Potter." Came his automatic reply. "Where am I exactly?"
"Giovanni's Greenhouse. He's the man you just saw." Sighed Glochuss. "Follow me, please."
Even without waiting to see whether he was following or not, the girl spun around and walked ahead. It took Harry's already confused mind a few seconds to process that he was being left behind before his brain finally signaled his legs to chase after the girl.
"If you can hold your questions for a little bit longer Harry, I promise I'll answer them in a bit." She walked a bit faster after that and for some reason the questions that were about to tumble out of his mouth disappeared.
Wordlessly, Harry followed the girl till they were in front of a rather large and extravagant water fountain. She took a seat at the edge of the fountain before swinging her legs over and submerging them into the water, letting out a content sigh afterward.
The Boy-Who-Lived hesitated before deciding that he would rather remain standing instead.
"Right, first things first. No Harry, you are not dead. This is neither Limbo, Heaven or Hell. You are as alive as everything else is in this greenhouse and no, this is not a figment of your imagination or a trap set by your opponents. So rest assure, you won't be fighting anything for a while."
"Then, where exactly am I?"
"In another world actually. Universe is the exact word, though" She corrected. "Right now, this isn't 1998, no England or Scotland exists in this world. We are in a completely different time and world than the one you just came from."
"What am I doing here then? What about my own world?" The questions spilled forth even before Harry even realized. "Who, who summoned me here and why?"
"One is because someone needed your help, two, don't worry your world is being put in stasis. Something like a deep sleep or if someone were to press the pause button on the entire world."
"And last, that person would be us. Well, only myself, since the whole gang is busy with... whatever they're supposed to be doing." She scoffed at the last part. Harry could barely hear her muttering under her breath about 'that little shit' 'responsibilities' and 'procrastinating'.
"You?" Harry said incredulously, his eyebrows scrunching together as if in deep thought. "Whatever for? And was it you that put my world into sleep- er pause?"
"Nah, I don't have that kind of ability." Shrugged the girl. "One of us did that. If we didn't, the world -your world- could be thrown into chaos if you suddenly disappeared out of the blue or something along that lines." She sighed and kicked her submerged feet lazily. "I mean, we need your help, yes, but we're not that irresponsible to leave your world neglected like that."
"Um, thanks...?"
"Don't thank us yet, Harry. Even though it's put on pause, your world is still dying blankly speaking."
"What!" Shouted Harry. "What do you mean dying?!" He presses.
"Hm, I suppose this would be the best time to start explaining things. Right, well why don't you take a seat first." When Harry still didn't move, Glochuss looks over her shoulder and Harry finds himself glaring at the stupid looking mime mask on her face.
"Suit yourself then. In this universe, there is a group of people that exist to maintain the balance of the universe, with Giovanni and I being part of that group. Getting straight to the point, if somebody messes with one universe, it could ultimately cause a ripple effect to the others."
"Such as what exactly?"
"Time traveling for one thing. You bringing knowledge of the future to the past is actually somewhere in the gray area depending on what information you chose to share. Or if you bring something from a different timeline to your own and vice versa. Like a rampaging dragon or a deadly disease. You would have altered either the past or the future and the outcome wouldn't have been pretty."
"How does that mess with the other universes. Isn't the problem only in one world though?" Bloody hell, since when did Harry start sounding like Hermione?
"How very attentive of you Harry. The answer to that is a paradox. The consequences of time traveling are the paradoxes that are born from the sudden changes of the events in your universe."
Three water spheres floated in front of Harry. The middle one, glowing like a Lumos spell.
"Let's say you travel back in time to warn a friend that his decision would be a horrible mistake that would result in something short of a catastrophe." The middle one's glow, the one that represented the present, begin to glow dimmer while the one on the left became brighter.
"From there on, numerous other worlds are created. Did your friend heed your warning, did he neglect them, were you even able to travel to the right time?"
The left ball then had numerous little tendrils growing out of it before the end of each tendril formed another sphere. They grew at a proportionate length, enough the other spheres were all closely touching one another.
"The effects of your paradox would have changed the events of your current present and your future."
The paradox spheres then suddenly grew a sharp spike and skewered the present sphere. Who then started to churn violently before a tendril shot out and stabbed the future sphere and in a matter of seconds, the last sphere turned gray.
"See how they're now all connected? Well when that happens, that universe would be all the easier to invade."
"Invade? By whom?"
"By whoever can and wants to Harry." Said Glochuss airily. "There are people out there who wants to rule more than just a kingdom, country, the world, or universe. They want to rule all. While it may be a far-off dream for many, there are certain individuals who are capable of pulling it off."
The water spheres returned back to normal and fell back to the fountain.
"Which brings us to your problem and my problem. Someone has managed to link a myriad of universes and their paradox, including yours and mine, and has just recently linked another parallel universe of your own."
"Well, what happens when the world is linked? And who's linking them?" Asked Harry as both panic and anger bubble up in the pit of his stomach.
"A douchebag who wants to be god and has a deep fear of mortality." Came the bland response. "When a world is linked, it shares the fate of the other world it is linked to. When we first realized what was going on, we tried to intervene. However, due to having no connections to that world at all, we couldn't enter. There was nothing that we could do. That applies to the other worlds as well."
"And that's where you come in." Glochuss pushes herself up to a stand and turned to face Harry with a hand to her hip. "If you are willing to help us, we can send you to the parallel universe and put a stop to it."
"You mean, I'll have to fight whoever's behind this?"
Glochuss shook her head. "Technically it's both a yes and a no; by preventing him from creating the links, he'll be either forced to abandon that world and find a new one. Of course, he'll definitely fight back but we can help you out on that; just not directly of course."
Harry was quiet as he processed the news. "Why me?" He peers through the fringe of his hair and stared at the ever smiling mime-mask. "Why chose me to ask for help?" It made him guilty to admit it but there was a part of him that wondered if this was one of many things in his life that we have no choice but to accept.
The girl did not reply immediately and the feeling of dread, anger, guilt and confusion swells even more. "To be honest," She started out, her voice even and calm, "I was against picking you. Only because I saw how you reacted to being a Chosen One and how young you are."
"How could you help your other self, when you are still trying to sort out your own feelings? It didn't seem fair, to you or the other you. Though perhaps it is just me projecting."
Glochuss runs a hand through her hair and twirls the ends with a finger. "But then one of us gave a rather interesting point that I forgot to reconsider. Out of all the people in the world, who would know Harry Potter than the person themselves?"
When Harry did not speak, Glochuss took it as a sign to continue. "Tell me, Harry, out of all the adults in your life, was there anyone who ever filled their actual role? No? Oh right, they mostly just leave the responsibilities to you or just use you to their advantage with or without your consent."
"That immediately strikes out most of the adults and we moved on to your friends. Logically, the best option was either Hermoine Granger or Ron Weasley as they both present their own pros and cons. But both lack the extensive connections that you and many other Harry Potters have."
With every word spoken, Glochuss closed the distance between the two of them till they were only an arms length away. "And will they be able to provide whatever what's best for Harry? Not what they think Harry Potter needs and clearly not what the people think Harry Potter needs. But what Harry Potter really needs."
Harry for the most part, suddenly found himself rooted to his spot. Immobilized and unable to either look away or speak. His mouth feels like they are sewn shut and his throat as dry as the dessert.
"Do you think they can? Because I for one think that you and I would know better than that Harry."
He inhales sharply when the white-haired girl moves the stupid mask away and he finds himself staring at his face. A more feminine version of his reflection to be exact.
"So Harry. After thinking this through, will you help us?"
Authors Note:
Yup, I'm back. I wanted to change the whole thing -even though I know what I wrote wasn't much- but I felt that this version has more substance. Can't say when I will be updating but I'll try whenever I'm able. The prologue has major changes and so will the other chapters. But to do that, I'll have to take them down and edit them so don't be alarmed if suddenly the story is just one chapter yes? Anyways, here's to hoping that I will update soon enough.