Hello again! Here is the first chapter or maybe it's more like Prologue part 2. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
When I gained consciousness, I immediately knew I was not in Montana anymore. It was some kind of meadow. I looked around and I saw everyone. "Ok, at least we are still together." I thought. Others were starting to wake up too, but before I started to speak, I realised I felt the presence of someone else. Others noticed as I started scanning our surroundings and suspiciously observed. Even after years we still could understand each other without words. I still couldn't see whoever was hiding. I nodded to others.
"Show yourself," I started, "we know you are here."
Air curled a bit about 50 metres from us and then a person appeared. He looked to be a boy no older than 12 years but he radiated an ancient aura. He was wearing simple white robes. He looked around and started walking toward us. He seemed to be sad about something and that sadness only deepened as he was nearing toward our group. I could feel he didn't want to hurt us but life taught me to be more careful. I raised my hands to be ready to cast spells with my palms if necessary. Others didn't copy my moves. We didn't want to look threatening, although I felt as they moved behind my back, so that we could protect ourselves in the best way possible in case this was a trap.
"Stop," I called when there was only 10 metres between us. He stopped. "Who are you?" I paused. He didn't answer. "What do you want with us?" I asked more loudly.
He blinked at me. He then looked on the ground in front of him and suddenly a chair materialised from the ground itself. It wasn't simple conjuring but elemental magic. That meant he was powerful.
"We have a lot to discuss and I promise to answer some of the questions you might have. To others you must find the answers yourselves. But now sit. Please." He said with a voice that definitely didn't sound as the one of a twelve-year-old.
I watched him for a long moment contemplating the options. Well, he didn't threaten us and I didn't feel any bad vibe from him.
I conjured a chair for myself and the others copied almost immediately, except Luna who waited for a second before she materialised a chair from the ground in a similar fashion as the mysterious boy opposite of us had done just a minute before. We all sat. I used the moment to meet eyes with everyone. They looked very calm and non-threatening, but I could see through their masks as well as they could see through mine. If it was some kind of trap, we were ready.
"Well, I imagine now you would like to know what you are doing here," he said.
"That would be appreciated," I said perhaps a bit harshly. I wanted him to tell us what the deal was. Although we could cover it quite well, none of us particularly appreciated we didn't know where we were or how we got there.
"I summoned you here to offer you new lives," he said simply.
When it looked like he was not going to continue I eyed him suspiciously. It was not the first time someone had offered us fresh start. Some governments wanted to use us; some saw us as a threat and called after our destruction. Few truly wanted to accept us into their communities. But we couldn't. It just didn't feel right.
Even though I didn't believe this boy would convince us to accept his offer, I wanted to hear more. For a long time I no longer was the boy who would act before thinking and I didn't want to let any chance to find some peace slip through my fingers. After while I told him: "Elaborate."
"There are more realms than just yours in the universe. You are aware of that, aren't you? Even if just barely."
He said it as if he was from somewhere else. Hmm…I tried to recall what I have ever read on the topic of different dimensions and realities. I remembered something from my study of the Hallows origins but it was just one of countless theories about them. Frankly, it seemed to me far-fetched, more like fiction when I read of it. Hermione looked as if she has heard of it but didn't believe it which led me to look at Luna. She had her dreamy look and appeared pensive. Even after years Hermione was still inclined to the more conservative perception of the world.
"I have heard of that concept. What of it?" I inclined with my head.
"I would hope so. It is relevant to speak of it as right now we are situated in between several different realities." I certainly didn't expect that nor did I completely believe it. "My present form is a representation of what people in one of those realms called Old Gods. I transported you in here after thorough observation in hope you would accept my offer to start your lives over in that realm."
Now I didn't know what to think of that. It would explain our sudden appearing here. I couldn't think of some force or spell that could transport us here in the fashion it did. I looked at the others. Most of them had heard of that topic somewhere, from a book or during our travels. The one most familiar with this topic was, of course, Luna.
"Why would we want something like that? Is there a way for us to verify your claims?" Draco asked.
"As I told you I observed. I know you and I know of your powers. As for verification, I believe Miss Lovegood would be able to answer that question." No head turned to Luna as we were not prepared to let this figure out of our sight just yet.
Luna looked at him and frowned a bit: "I feel we are far away from home. Yet in the same time I feel we are home," she paused and closed her eyes for a long moment. Then she opened them and looked at Draco: "I believe him." That concluded it. We were still wary of him, but Luna's intuition had always been exact. We had no reason to question it.
"Well, that still doesn't explain why you would offer that to us. What is the reason for your offer and what are the terms?" Ron spoke for the first time.
The boy looked a bit startled by the question. "I would let you start over in a world where no one knows you. You could be anybody, live your lives and start family." Ron narrowed his eyes at the answer he got and exchanged a look with Draco. I didn't have to know them so well to know what irked them. The boy didn't answer any of Ron's questions.
I saw movement on the left. Hermione got up and took one step ahead. "What is your name?"
I realized he didn't even introduce himself properly to us. I could see neither Draco nor Ron missed that. So it was only me. "Haven't I told you already? I have a lot of names but I call myself Wymus."
Hermione's face froze. I could see it rang some bells. A few years ago she would start quoting anything she had ever read about this Wymus but not anymore. She put a calculative mask on her face: "If that is the truth then this is not the first time you decided to contact someone from our realm. You are one of the Children of the Forest." Her voice was accusative. She seemed to have no doubt about what she had just said.
"How do you know about that?" he confirmed it then. I could see the gleam in Hermione's eyes. Hmm… she wasn't so sure about what she had said after all.
She watched him frowning. Then she turned around and sighed. "I came across some archives in northern Scotland some years ago. From the discovered documents I was able to confirm some assumptions Department of Mysteries already had for some time," she paused. We all thought that none of us put a foot in Britain since the war. Hermione apparently did. "There is a legend from the time of Hogwarts' founders. It explains leaving of Salazar Slytherin in a slightly different way than the one we were told." She looked at Wymus: "This is not the first time you have asked wizards to come to your realm, is it?"
Wymus narrowed his eyes at her but apart from that he didn't show another reaction.
Hermione continued: "According to those documents, it is true there was an argument between Slytherin and Gryffindor about the blood purity of accepted students. When it escalated to the point when it was only a matter of time before those two would duel to solve their issues, a child appeared," she looked sharply at the boy in front of us, "He introduced himself as Wymus, a child of the Forest. He told them he had come from a different world and that it was in need of protecting. Salazar knew he wouldn't have stayed in the castle even if he had beaten Godric. He felt hurt that Rowena especially sided more with Godric than himself. It would be relevant to mention it was Salazar who found Wymus at the border of the Forbidden Forest and he liked the child. He decided to travel with the boy back to his realm to help people there. He thought he could try to build another wizarding community far away from our world. The only one in whom he confided his plans was Rowena Ravenclaw. It was the last time he was seen, according to her." She hesitated a bit: "It was her diary that I found."
There was silence after she finished.
"Is it true?" Draco asked.
Wymus looked at us sadly: "Yes, it is true."
"What happened to him? Why did your world need his protection?" Ginny asked. I could see she wanted to know what had happened and I could see where this was heading. I sighed.
"He helped my world a lot. He helped us built means of protection that are still in use to this day. Back then we stood against the same enemy we are standing now. Some people of my world call them White Walkers. They bring nothing but destruction and desperation. They are magical but we cannot defeat them with our magic. We need your help."
I could see Ginny had already decided. That meant Ron would go and Draco probably as well. Luna's curiosity wouldn't let her say no, thus Neville would go as well. Neither he, nor Hermione and I would let them go alone with the dangers that would undoubtedly be there.
"We need to think this through," Ron said, "and I still want to know what the terms would be, were we to agree."
"There won't be much the Children of the Forest will be able to do for you after you arrive if you accept, that is." He paused and we know he carefully thought how to word what he was about to say next. "You will be given new lives. In many aspects my world is different from yours. You will have time to adjust. The White Walkers present danger that much is true. However, time doesn't mean much for them. There is a lot of time to prepare for their return," he paused again. "We would be very grateful if you accepted, but you should know the Children of the Forest and White Walkers are not the only ones who can wield magic there," he hesitated, "magic can have a lot of different forms in the place I come from." It was clear to me he was meant to keep this part to himself in order for us to accept.
"Decide now, please," he said and disappeared.
We were in silence for a few minutes. Everyone saw the pros in his offer and everyone had their doubts. It was tempting to start somewhere over. Another reality could be remote enough for us to begin again but… But we would have been in the war zone again… fighting enemies that Salazar Slytherin himself couldn't defeat.
"We should take it. I will," Ginny didn't disappoint. "We tried to find some luck in our world. Each one of us tried. Even after years I don't have any close friends outside of you here," that was true. At one point I tried to settle in Siberia. There were some sources claiming there used to be a portal of Death itself through which it collected souls of dead. After I finished my research there I just couldn't part with the place so easily. As with a lot of places before which I wish to be able to call home it just wasn't meant to be. Some local people got in touch with a journalist from magical Britain and the next day my calm paradise was ruined. I still keep some very dear memories from there. "I will go," Ginny finished in whisper but with a note of finality.
"Well, I have my doubts," Ron started but we all knew what he would say next. "But if you go, I will go with you," he smiled a bit sadly. He knew going to that realm would mean fighting again. I knew he would once more do whatever was necessary in order for everyone to be safe. It definitely didn't mean he was happy about it. He knew very well what toll it takes on people to decide about who will live and who will die because there are always innocent victims in the war.
I could see Draco was thinking very hard. On the outside he was wearing his infamous impassive mask as if he didn't care what decision he would make but I think all of us could see he wasn't sure about what to do. He felt my look and glanced up. "Then, I shall go as well," he made his decision.
"Luna?" I asked. She was looking around herself, probably observing the creatures only she could see.
"Hmm…," she still had her dreamy eyes.
"What do you think?" I tried again.
"Oh, I wouldn't miss the chance to help a bit with the nargles of another world."
I tried to convince myself - that wasn't unexpected. That was not unexpected. … But then, oh, come on. I gave up. Why didn't I see that coming? Nonetheless, I counted it as yes from her.
Then it was just Hermione, Neville and I. Neither of us would let them go into the danger without us. I could see Hermione hesitating. Her once permanent ice queen persona came forward for a second but she suppressed it and nodded at me.
"I am coming with you," Neville said simply.
I flicked my eyes with Hermione's and smiled sadly. "We are, too."
"That's all very nice but I for myself would like to have some question answered before we go to this Wonderland," some things never change with Draco. "Do you know how to contact him?"
"He never left. Don't you feel it?" Luna asked surprised.
I reached out with my senses like before and I felt a weak presence of the same person as before. He used some kind of glamour or masking but not strong enough. I wasn't sure if I was happy about him lurking nearby. I saw Ron and Draco definitely did not like and Ginny looked ready to hex him with one of her infamous bat bogey hexes.
In the end, I just smirked. "We have reached an agreement…" he appeared again with a very hopeful look on his face, "but we want some answers first."
He adjusted his look into a careful one. "Please, proceed, then."
"How does it work? When and under what conditions shall we appear there?" Ron started.
Wymus looked directly into Ron's eyes. "If you accept, you will be given new lives," he repeated. "That means from the beginning. Neither I, nor any of my companions will transport you. You will be born into the new lives. You will grow up and then you will prepare for what is to come - White Walkers. You may help with more than one problem this world is or will be struggling with if you wish so. As for when, your births will be timed among several years. Some of you won't meet for many years. Some of you will see each other sooner than one would believe," he told us in solemn tone.
Hermione took one step forward. "What is the current technological level of world you intend to send us to? Is the populated part in its size comparable to our world's one?" she asked. She was always thinking about practical side of things.
"In comparison with your world, the society is less developed. I would compare it with non magical Europe in the end of the 15th century. Although in some areas it is more advanced than it was during your Medieval Age. About the size… that is something you will have to discover yourselves as I am not at the liberty to divulge this particular piece of information. Is there anyone else who would like to ask me something?"
"Will all our powers be fully preserved? I mean according to the magical core theory if we switch the containers of our magical cores, the level of magic and its development will have to adjust to the new container. Will we be able to do magic to the same extent we are used now or will there be some restrictions? If so, are you able to predict them?" Neville asked. That was something that didn't occur to me at all. The magic was so fundamental part of us… I mean surely we were used to thinking outside of box and revising things from many different perspectives but I really couldn't imagine taking into consideration something like that.
We didn't train ourselves after the war ended just for the fun of it. We did it in order to be able to protect ourselves and people we held dear, sure, but we also did it, so that we would never ever have to feel defenceless. Yes, we knew they were still things that could hurt us. Knowledge didn't make us invincible but it allowed us to be more prepared. We no longer had to feel like we didn't know what we were doing.
"I would get to that part, of course. But since you brought it up, I will answer it now. Your powers will return to you in time. You are right though; the present containers of your magic cannot on many levels be compared to those you will have when you will be born. Even so, you will retain some small amount of magic immediately after you arrival. During years it will get stronger. I predict that within reaching fifteen years your bodies should be able to accommodate the full capacity of your current core. Did this answer your question?"
Neville only nodded.
There was one other thing that occurred to me. "And how are we supposed to find each other in your world? You said the level of technology is somewhat similar to the Medieval Age's. Will we retain our current look? Even if we would, we could be born on the other continent in that world."
I felt Wymus now had the absolute attention of everyone.
"Only your essences will be transported, therefore your appearance will depend on the genetic qualities of your parents in that world. Have no fear, though. Your paths in that world will cross sooner or later and as for how you will recognise each other, I am sure you can figure out this on your own, especially you, Harry Potter. Which one of your powers would be able to assist you with this particular task?"
Of course, I am really losing my touch. "Mind magic," I said aloud.
Wymus smiled: "Exactly, mind magic. You can sense who people really are even when they applied the Polyjuice Potion. Same rules apply here."
"Not all of us have reached this level of mind arts, though," Ginny objected.
"Enough of you have," was Wymus's only answer, "now I think you have asked enough questions. "Let's move onto the real business. It's time."
I looked at the others. "Are you really sure about it? We can still try luck on our world." Their looks were enough answer alone. Ok, here it is. "Alright Wymus, we accept your offer and we are ready."
"Good," he said and then everything turned black again.
Next chapter will finally be in the Game of Thrones setting. Who knows when though? Let me tell you this: maybe next week, maybe next month or maybe never. I simply don't know.
