Didn't own either of them. Done. :D

-A-A-A-A-A-

The prospect of being trapped inside her own Soul Gem had never occurred to Homura, mainly because she had always taken pain to ensure it was properly secured even when she had to use her time shield as, well, a shield. If she had to be truthful to herself, it was probably one of the most terrifying experiences she had ever gone through. Had she been coherent enough to ponder on the subject, she would have wonder how Sayaka had coped with the memory for so long before succumbing to despair. Then again, maybe the weight of the situation hadn't sunk in properly for the girl before the Incubator twisted the concept into something akin to invulnerability.

It was suffocating, being deprived of all senses and reduced to a mere conscious floating in an infinite void, only partially aware of the malevolent magic tainting the very air like poisonous smog. Unsurprisingly, the realization that she would be trapped in her own soul until either the Gem is crushed under the rubbles and debris raining down in Walpurgisnacht's wake or she finally succumb to despair and turn into a witch did not invoke much feelings. She had forced herself to come to terms with the horrible truth a long time ago. What mattered now is the colossal witch laying waste on its path. The gargantuan monster could never miss Madoka, whose untamed power flared like a blinding beacon of light even to the most novices of magical girl. She would be forced, no, Madoka would willingly contract to save everyone. And Homura would be helpless here, in the prison of her own soul…

Futilely, she tried to suppress the dark thoughts, warding away the implication of the situation on her self-imposed mission. Yet memories of past timelines kept pounding on her mental shield like jackhammers on fragile glass. Mami's broken voice as the true nature of Magical girls sank the girl's mind in despair. Sayaka's tortured scream drowned in Oktavia's terrifying screech. Kyouko's serene smile before she shattered her own Soul Gem in a fiery explosion that encompassed the entire barrier. And Madoka… The trembling voice in which the pink-haired girl entrusted Homura with her future now hurt more than a thousand bullets on her soul. It's…just…so…hard…

Don't worry. I've got you. Just hang in there.

Feeling more the hearing the foreign voice, Homura was jolted from her thoughts when suddenly the wisps of tainted magic clinging to her soul were suddenly dispelled. She could feel something like magic, but not quite so surrounding her soul and cleansing the despair. She could almost imagine being in her former timid and shy self, feeling herself wrapped in an almost loving hug and having a gentle hand wiping away the tears on her cheek. Homura should have been disgusted with herself, with how easily she had let her guard down, had opened her soul to such foreign presence. But she couldn't help but grasp at the comforting magic. Warm. Ensuring. Safe.

For an unknown amount of time, Homura could not help but lean on the presence like a child snugging to the warmth of blankets in a chilling winter night, so much so that she almost sighed in disappointment when it gradually recede and she could feel the magic in her soul latching on the familiarity of her own body. Fluttering her eyes open, Homura found herself staring at the most intense shade of green she had seen in her life. It was almost ironic that every remarkable person in her life possessed eye colors so reminiscent of precious stone. The person kneeling beside her had eyes so reminiscent of emerald, filled with so much kindness and concern not unlike Madoka's, just minus her childlike innocence.

"You're okay? For a second there I almost thought I was too late and your body had started to reject your soul." He breathed out in relief and sat down beside her, the glowing on his hand that she hadn't noticed faded away.

Doing a quick check on her current state, Homura was surprised to find that her body had been perfectly healed, minus the scratches and rips on her clothes. She could vaguely remember being crushed by one of the flying building, the impact strong enough to knock the Soul Gem out of her hand despite the protective layer of magic she always subconsciously encased it in. And yet the person in front of her had restored her body to an even better state than before her fight with Walpurgisnacht. More peculiar was the fact that he had no Soul Gem or anything similar to conduct the restoring magic. Even Mami, whose control over magic had reach the finesses to continuously form muskets out of ribbons in the heat of battles, had to use hers as a focus when treating others.

"Wh-who are you?" Homura instantly grimaced at the stutter in her voice.

The teen chuckled before bowing dramatically, "Potter Harry, at your service." The gesture was even more awkward since he was still kneeling.

"Poteru Harii?" The foreign name came out awkwardly feminine, much to his apparent chagrin.

"Yeah, I guess I should have taken up a different name before moving into Japan. Anyways, may I inquire your name, miss…"

"Akemi Homura."

Statistically speaking, your Soul Gem and body shouldn't even survive such ordeal, nevermind preserved long enough to reinstall the connection. Homura stiffened at the voice in her head. It took all of her willpower not to pull out a gun and shoot the glimpse of white poking from beside Harry's head. Your very presence has invalidated every single possible outcome computable, yet you possess no Soul Gem or any magical signature indicating a contract. So the question is: What are you?

"Well…" The teen scratched his head, looking oddly sheepish. "Technically speaking, I'm not allowed to talk about it, since you don't have magic." Homura lifted an eyebrow at that statement. "Well you do have magic, but not our or any recognizable systems of magic, so I can't really tell you anything least I would have the IWC breathing down my neck. Let's just say I was born with it and leave it at that, at least until we can identify your magic in some really obscure tome those Unspeakable bastards like to weave around to our face everytime we have to work together." That last past was a mumble Homura almost couldn't make out.

To find such an anomaly after so many timelines was almost bizarre for Homura. Inconsistencies were unavoidable, though they were for the most part insignificant. The changes in time and place of appearance of each witch had been a nuisance, though one easily managed around. But this Harry was different, if only for his foreign magic and the fact that she hadn't detected his presence at any point after her return point. After the Oriko incident, she had been keeping a lookout for new Magical girls entering Mitakihara and…neutralizing them should they become a threat. More often than not, if they didn't prove useful for her cause, they were either a threat or an obstacle. It was a line of thought she was not proud of, but a necessary devil. She had had too much "necessary evil" on her hand lately.

"You are looking like Draco."

"Huh?" The comment took her by surprise.

"A…friend of mine. Guy's constantly judging people to determine whether they are worthy associates or potential threats. You get used to spotting the posture after watching him conversing with up and coming Lords and Ladies during social parties."

An uncomfortable silence descended upon the two, though Harry didn't seem at all bothered by the revelation. Looking around, Homura found half the city in ruins, drowned in the ongoing downpour. Towering skyscrapers that the city had taken great pride in had been ripen off the ground with pitiful ease, the anti-disaster structure engineers had so painstakingly designed seeming like a joke before the sheer force of violent whirlwinds in the vicinity of the witch. And Walpurgisnacht herself was…dissipating?

Walpurgisnacht seems to have lost interest in the city now that the most prominent source of magic has disappeared. Kyubey's words filled Homura with dread.

What do you mean 'the most prominent source of magic has disappeared'? She demanded.

Kaname Madoka had insisted on seeking you without contracting, which resulted in her being caught in one of Walpurgisnacht's attacks. The creature closed its eyes with the closest resemblance to a sigh. A regrettable lost. Her potential could have fulfilled this planet's quota for decades. Though all is not lost, it seems. Akemi Homura, you have the power to reverse the time flow and alter the course of event, which would possibly prevent her demise.

Homura narrowed her eyes at the Incubator. The thing would never utter such things out of apathy or remorse. What would you get out of this?

This situation could have been profitable had it not been for Kaname's untimely demise, though unfortunately it's also problematic to recreate. Statistically, her collective karmic potential would potentially reach unimaginable number, which when converted can wholly counter entropy, or at least postpone it for a very long time. The universe would thank you Akemi Homura, should this endeavor prove fruitful.

"You!..."

Before Homura could pull out her gun and shoot the despicable monster, Kyubey was suddenly frozen and encased in a green cubic dome suspended in mid-air. Looking to her side, she saw Harry with his glowing hand outstretched a hard look on his eyes.

"Shut up. Your voice is worse than my Headmaster." Harry said, but something told Homura that it wasn't what had made Harry suddenly hostile toward the creature. Turning to Homura, he added. "Look. I don't really know anything about your situation, and frankly your previous conversation totally weirded me out, but just tell me if there's anything I can do to help."

"And what's it in for you?" She didn't really care that she was being ungrateful to the person who had just saved her life, or prolonged her life was a better term. He seemed genuine, but appearance can be deceiving, as she had learned the hard way multiple times. She just had to be sure that he held no hidden agenda. No Magical girl can survive as long as she had being naïve and trustful, especially with such a convenient offer. And why, if he was being truthful, did he decide to help her. He couldn't have deciphered much from the words exchanged between them, least deciding who the "good guy" is.

"Err…Should there be a reason to help someone?"

When you're in this mess? Yes. Homura didn't voice out loud, but she continued staring at the teen.

"Well, my friends have always said I have a "saving people" thing. How do i… Urr. Hermione would chew my head for this." Homura was totally unprepared when Harry took her hard into his. "I, Harry Potter, hereby swear on my life and magic, to aid Homura Akemi in achieving her goal to the best of my power, so mote it be."

Immediately she could feel some sort of binding formed between them. It was intangible, yet solid at the same time, like an invisible thread connecting their soul? Magic? She wasn't certain, but it felt significant, not like empty words uttered on impulse.

"I'm just glad the Oath also picks up on the intention. That wording is so anticlimactic I can practically hear the twin laughing their asses off."

"What is this?" She asked, indicating the ring on her wrist.

"It's a Life Oath, the strongest promise a wizard can give. Violation means death." Harry shrugged, as if he hadn't just put his life on the line to help a total stranger. Still a little suspicious, but for the time being, she decided to trust him.

"Suppose I do trust you. How are you going to help me when I travel back?"

"Well…either you go to me and ask for help, which should work just fine knowing what a reckless bullhead I am, but it's probably going cost a bit of time 'cus I'm not exactly accessible through normal means, or…"

"Or?"

"Or we can go the fastest way, being me hitching your ride, though it would be a bit unpleasant."

"And how are you going to do that?" She hadn't tried storing people in her shield, and she didn't really fancy experimenting right then and there.

"With this." Harry took out a necklace from under his hoodie, which was actually just a round gem on a silver chain, and wore it around her neck. "I'm going to…uh…transfer my soul into this stone and hitch your ride to the past, then connect with the other guy…uh me. You just have to wear wait it out until I arrive, which shouldn't be more than a minute or two."

The concept was bizarre and more than a little disturbing, but she digested. The fact that Harry could work with souls, at least with his soul, opened many questions and possibility though, but she reckoned they had to succeed the travel before anything else. Receiving her nod, Harry touched the stone with his eyes closed, and she could once again felt the presence of his magic. Suddenly Harry's body felt forward…and face-planted on her chest. Though having anticipated the soul transfer, Homura was still mortified by the position they were in.

Sorry, I didn't intend it, I swear. She could practically feel the teen scratching his head in embarrassment in her head. Forcing down the blush herself, Homura turned the shield. The mechanic inside whirled in a familiar hum and she felt her own consciousness slipping away.

Another try.

-A-A-A-A-A-

Irrelevant A/N, feel free to skip it:

My friends always complain about me being too nit-picky about details everytime they give me an assignment or story to proof-read. Yes, I'm not exactly well-versed in psychology but I consider myself in possession of sufficient knowledge to make any emotions, thoughts and actions of a character as realistic and reasonable as possible without gimping the plot. If anyone thinks the characters are OOC (especially Homura; I still haven't been satisfied with her character in this chapter; don't think I ever will, tbh), just message me and I will try to justify it as. The same thing goes for details, as I tend to cramp ideas into little things that might be a little hard to see. I once tried to structure a story with selective inconsistencies here and there to foreshadow the plot twist that the main character had been stuck in her dream the whole time. Felt pretty proud of myself, until my best bud laughed his ass off at my "terrible writing, full of plot holes". *sigh*

Don't expect update soon though, just for the fact that I have a slight case of OCD with story details and tend to take more time smoothing out the chapter than actually writing it. Trust me, I know the pain of waiting for new chapters. Had a dozen stories on notice since 2009, still waiting bzzzzzzzzzzz….

Oh, and Engligh isn't my first language so please feel free to point out grammatical and spelling mistakes for me. Thanks :D