The First Chapter : Visions
The night was dark and moonless . The only source of light came from the distant stars , and the artificial lights that made up Privet Drive . A street of utter normalacy , for this time and place . Of course , it depends from when you come from . A Neanderthal would have found this most alien , a time traveller , most primitive .
In the shadows , on the corner , at the very spot Albus Dumbledore almost 14 years before , a young girl waited . No one could see through the darkness , her appearance , and no one would see her leave . Infact , she made absolutely no sound appearing at all , nor any sound leaving. All eyes would have merely given that corner a cursory glance . It was as if the shadows were conspiring to keep her hiden . Perhaps it was .
Her eyes were fixated upon Number Four Privet Drive . But her gaze would have given you the sense that she was not exactly focusing on Privet Drive instead . On one hand , it seemed like her eyes were totally normal. Anyone looking closer would have seen , however , would have seen faint traces of a glazed , almost distant , unfocused look , like some faint background to a painting . Like that background was the reality , and the painting was a mask , maybe even a symptom of the background.
" Symmetry " She murmurred , as she continued to just stand there , gazing into the sub urban home .
Sight is limited only to the visible portion of the Electro magnetic spectrum . There are whole frequencies of Electro-magneticsm that are invisible to the normal human eye . Yet the world itself was not limited just to Electro-magnetism . There were more forces at work in reality itself than what we can sense . What if we could "see" true nature of reality itself ?
But , the girl could "see." She could " See" far more of reality than any normal human of that time . She could see the warping of Space-time by gravity . She could see the emissions of reality changing magics . She could see the "lights" of a soul , it's unique stirations and patterns , far more unique than your fingerprint . Far more unique than even your DNA. She could see destinies , and fates in time . And number Four Privet Drive , no matter what their hypocrtical inhabitants might have pretended was far from ordinary .
It was a strange , crimson like shield around the house . At it's fullest strength , it would have bled and tinged the streets around with a faint trace of crimson . But , it itself , a rectangular box like aura enveloping the entire house , looked like it was starved . Emphermal, faint , pulsing weakly , like some starved organism . There was no " sense" of warmth that the wards brought , at it's fullest strength . For the blood ward had been deprived of almost all forms of love , sustained by a mere technicality . A double abnormality in itself .
Even the light of the souls in the street were another double abnormality . In the entire street , one abberation stood out aboe all . Within the confines of Number Four Privet Drive , only one soul shone , as beautiful arcs swirled in and out to feed some enormous , rich core within a soul ,obeying some strange , higher dance. The rest , had no arcs . No beams moving in and out , no higher dances . It was almost as if their souls were somehow " Magic-proof" . Where the soul of the girl came from , a settlement like this would have shine dynamically , interacting in wild fires and tangents , a sight of the most amazing beauty . It was to sight what sight was to blindness, fatally adictive to the unaided mind .
She turned her attention back to her original target . The Soul with beams of light dancing in and out , whose soul core shone in a way that made all the rest in the streets look like star light to moonlight . She drank in the sight , took note of it's uniqueness , imprinting it within her mind . It was what she came to do . And the soul was unshielded , almost unguarded . There was only the most emphermal of shell protecting it , a product of her target's natural will-power. Not even a simple Occlumantic shell surrounded it . Something that was unusual where she came from , but not in this archaic place and time . Within her , some presence in her mind suddenly flared up , like a sudden crescendo in a symphony . A signal that what she came to do was done . Her quarry was now soul locked . It was time for her to leave – she would be missed if she lingered any longer .
She took one last look , pass all the walls of Number Four Privet Drive , at her target , before shutting down her Realsight . There would plenty of time to observe this Mr Potter's impact on reality later . Turning around , she began to take a step – then vanished into the Darkness . No trace of her remained , be it magically , or with the mundane five senses .
Mere innocent shadows .
From the Goblet of Fire , Prologue
"But I am not a man, Muggle," said the cold voice, barely audible now over the crackling of the flames. "I am much, much more than a man. However ... why not? I will face you ... Wormtail, come turn my chair around."
The servant gave a whimper.
"You heard me, Wormtail."
Slowly, with his face screwed up, as though he would rather have done anything than approach his master and the hearth-rug where the snake lay,
the small man walked forwards and began to turn the chair. The snake lifted its ugly triangular head and hissed slightly as the legs of the chair snagged on its rug.
And then the chair was facing Frank, and he saw what was sitting in it. His walking stick fell to the floor with a clatter. He opened his mouth and let out a scream.
He was screaming so loudly that he never heard the words the thing in the chair spoke, as it raised a wand. There was a flash of green light, a rushing sound, and Frank Bryce crumpled. He was dead before he hit the floor.
Two hundred miles away, the boy called Harry Potter woke with a start.
Harry lay flat on his back, breathing hard as though he had just been running. He had awoken from a vivid dream with his hands pressed over his face.
The old scar on his forehead, which was shaped like a bolt of lightning, was burning beneath his fingers as though someone had just pressed a white-hot wire to his skin.
He sat up , one hand clutching his scar , the other reaching out for his glasses – only that his room was not shrouded in darkness . He quickly put it on , and the world came into focus once again. It was his bed room , still shrouded in darkness .
The dream still sang vividly in his mind , refusing to fade away , a sense of dread, like falling into some deep abyss comign over him . And then the questions came . The last time his scar hurt , Voldermort was near by . But Voldemort couldn't be here, now ... The idea of Voldemort lurking in Privet Drive was absurd, impossible...
He blinked once again . The house was strangely silent . The sounds of his relatives were strangely absent . Outside , the street lamps still burned orange , yet , somehow , he had the sense that something was .... off , somehow . A sense of dread came upon him. Minutes passed . But nothing happened . Finally , the tension drained right out of him . He looked around the room again and his eye paused on the birthday cards his two best friends had sent him at the end of July. What would they say if he wrote to them and told them about his scar burning?
At once, Hermione Granger's voice filled his head, shrill and panicky.
"Your scar hurt? Harry, that's really serious ... Write to Professor Dumbledore! And I'll go and check Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions ... Maybe there's something in there about curse scars..."
He blinked . Something was wrong . He went back to the window . Suddenly , the street lights and the road below was gone . Simply gone . In it's place was a strange crystaline blue tinged sea . The sky was no longer dark . It was bathed in golden light from two Suns . The clouds and sky , all tinged with hues of golden mixed with blue , like a beautiful afternoon . He stared in shock and astounded surprise .
Soft golden light drifted in from behind the door to his room . A golden , warm light , that somehow filled his soul with a strange joy , serenity and -
Something was wrong . The feeling felt strangely unnatural – like a cheering charm ten times stronger perhaps . He was in an unfamilliar place . He never ever heard of a room transported to some alien landscape , and as far as he knew , it was impossible by any form of magic . It was definitely a dream .
At that thought , there was a sense of amusement that seemed to wash over him . And , he felt some sort of strange .... presence nearby . He could not describe the feeling properly . It was very similar to the sensation of a nearby Dementor , only that this was quite different in many ways . Instead of a chill , there was just a sense of ... a presence, for the lack of a better word . Like knowing that someone was looking at you from your back, maybe.
Then he heard a voice . For a moment , he froze , almost thinking that it was Voldermort .
" Welcome Mr Potter ." It was most definitely not Voldermort . It was female for one . It was a voice of a young girl . It was loud , accentuated , confident almost . " I'm behind the door . Go ahead . Open it . It's safe ."
Harry hesitated for a moment . But if it was truly a dream ( as it almost certainly would be ) , there would be no harm trying would'nt it ?
He opened the door , and golden light streamed through it .
He opened his door to a bright cheery meadow , coated with beautiful Lily white flowers and the Greenest Grass . It was bathed in gold . A resplendent gold that spoke of themes of peace , of serenity .... of adventure ?
" Go ahead . Come on out . "
He then saw the source of the voice . It was from a girl , meters away, no more than 12 or 13 years old . Her hair was long and dark , as were her eyes . She had a very prominent chin , and a face that the ungenerous might have claimed was arrogant . There was this strong presence around her . It felt like boldness on the surface , but there seemed to be some unidentifable subtlty beneath it – . It was almost like this boldness was exegerated . Beneath it was a sense of personality and presence – even of agelesness , even stronger than Dumbledore . It was however fleeting , and was soon gone , leaving only that strong aura of Boldness .
" I'd thought you'll appreciate honesty , Mr Potter . It is easy , with enough training to manipulate the aura you give off to those around you ." The girl continued .
He cautiously stepped onto the grass . It felt like some verdant , thick carpet that covered the ground . He walked closer towards that strange girl. She was definitely not what she seems, that much was clearly obvious .
" Where am I ? " Harry Asked
" You have questions , Mr Potter , I believe . Many questions . Your scar , for one . Why Voldermort , is targetting you . Why , does it seem that every single year , you get thrust right into the center of attention , and into a life threatening situation . " The girl's gaze locked onto Harry , twinkling , almost peering straight down into Harry's Soul . It felt very much like being in Dumbledore's presence , in a way .
" And about that dream too . "
" What dream ? ' Harry's annoyance was obvious .
" Surely it's a rhetoric question Mr Potter . You know what I'm referring to. "
" A dream ? "
" You are in a dream within a dream so to speak . More properly speaking though , you've passed from one vision to another . And both visions are grounded in reality . But , given how the Dursely's have deprived you , you aren't capable of understanding it yet . No , not just yet . "
" What has the Dursely's have to do with it ? "
" Your friend knows the answer to this riddle , Mr Potter . You are skeptical , I can see it clearly in your mind . Very well , I will prove this to you that this is not a dream . I will make two predictions to you . Firstly , when you wake up , an owl will come in bearing a wand holster. Secondly , this very morning , you would receive an invitation to the Qudditch World Cup from the Weasleys . Here's a third sign that this no ordinary dream . This conversation would not fade , unlike a normal dream . " Clearly , she was sidestepping the question .
Harry's skepticism was obvious on his face . So far , his only experience with divination was with the fraud , Trelawney .
Almost as if the girl knew what he was thinking , she responded . " Trelawney is a weak seer – if her powers as a seer were equal to her magical powers , she'll almost be a squib Harry . Do not base your judgments upon a single example . "
" But as to your original question , pardon my rudeness , you are within , my mind so to speak . As such , this place is almost utterly within my control – except for you,that is . Shall I demonstrate ? "
She turned around began walking up the air in a spiral , almost as if she was on some invisible staircase , slowly and deliberately . Three times she walked up in the spiral , and then she stopped , facing Harry .
" Magic is a little like that Harry , in reality too . "
She made no gesture at all , nor said a sound . But suddenly , the sky turned blackish blue , and beautiful auroras began dancing around the sky .
Harry stood , dumbfounded at the splendid sight around him , and at those casual feats whom he believed that magic almost certainly could not pull off .
" I suppose the next question you'd ask me then is who am I ? "
She paused for a moment .
" This place is a within my mind and a construction of my mind . It's based on my Homeworld . "
Harry simply stared . " This is definitely a dream . Am I suppose to believe you are an Alien ? "
" I'm human , if that's what you mean , technically speaking . But , I am from A future , Mr Potter . A possible future I've come to help humanity survive . The possibility for humanity's survival , I confess is abysmally low without outside intervention . " She continued casually dropping bombshells .
Harry simply stood there , on the verge of being overwhelmed .
" I think that's enough for tonight Harry . It's difficult for you to absorb anymore . Besides , we are almost out of time ." She snapped her fingers , and right behind her , a glowing silverish rectangular portal , like a door way appeared . She stepped aisde .
" The Exit's over here Harry . Good Morning . "
The Portal suddenly rushed towards Harry Potter , it's glow absorbing every fibre of his being .
Three Hundered miles away , he awoke with a start .
