The first thing Harry became aware of once he had woken was the fact that, despite being fairly certain he had—once again—been hit by Voldemort's killing curse, he was alive.

'Chock another one up to the 'Boy-Who-Lived-Twice.' '

Second, was that he was lying relatively pain-free on a rather uncomfortable pallet on the ground. And while this ruled out Death Eater captivity, it also meant he had not made it back to Hogwarts.

'So apparently I was dropped off somewhere between the graveyard and Hogwarts… hopefully… fantastic…'

Third… there were voices in quiet discussion in the room.

"Are you sure about this Shin? You know what we saw… Damnation, even the Magicians noticed something that night. They've been poking their noses around the slums for the last two days trying to find out what that light was…"

"I have no doubt."

"But you're going to insist anyway… Alright, be it on your head then."

There was the soft opening and closing of a door. Obviously one of the men had just left.

"You can open your eyes now. I'm certainly no Magician, but even I can tell the difference from the breath of a sleeping man and a pretender."

Harry sighed before he blinked his eyes open. It was time to face the dragon.

He was in a dark room lit by two lamps on opposite sides. Actually, 'room' might have been a little generous… by the crates that were stacked next to the walls and the notable lack of windows, it looked more like underground storage space. Considering what he'd just heard in the conversation, it probably was.

The man—Shin, Harry remembered—was a man of medium height and size with a shaved head and pale skin and dark eyes. And though worry wrinkles blemished his face, he had the physical build of someone in their prime, which left Harry quite unsure what the man's age really was. His expression as he surveyed Harry was notably blank; neither hostile nor genial. Overall, Harry didn't know whether he should feel relieved or worried.

"Lets begin with names, shall we?" said Shin as he took a seat in a nearby hard backed chair. "As you may have gotten from the other who was here, I go by the name Shin. What's yours?"

Now this was a dilemma. He'd heard both the men refer to 'Magician's' earlier, but whether they were referring to wizards as Harry new them or to some nearby cult sect wasn't yet clear. And Shin had already mentioned that he wasn't a 'Magician.' So perhaps he was a muggle? Then how did he… or did he…? Too many questions, not enough answers… So first name only, just in case.

"Harry. My name is Harry."

"So you do speak our language, though with a strange accent. I was beginning to wonder. You looked Kyralian, though those eyes certainly aren't."

"Wait—what? Kyralian? What's a Kyralian?" asked Harry.

Shin blinked. And considering the blandness of his face until that moment, it was almost as if he had been struck.

"Do you… know where you are? How could you not know? Even if you were foreign…"

Harry felt his stomach drop. He had assumed he'd just fallen off somewhere in the UK. But even outside the UK, he'd never heard of any people called Kyralian…

"Where… where am I?"

Shin paused as he continued to survey Harry.

"You are in Imardin, capital city of the land of Kyralia. It is to the south and between the countries of Elyne and Sachaka."

Harry was fairly certain he'd stopped breathing.

He might not have been the most observant child during his days in muggle primary school, but there was one thing he knew for certain—

There was no such country as Kyralia, Elyne, or Sachaka on the face of Earth…

Or rather, on the face of his Earth…

"Oh bloody hell…" breathed Harry, his eyes wide.

Shin just continued to observe him.

"But a portkey doesn't… what could have—"

The curse. The Avada Kedavra that should have killed him, but didn't.

He'd never heard of someone being transported to an alternate world via a faulty portkey before, but then again before him no one had ever heard of someone surviving the damn killing curse.

Apparently, the turning points of his life were composed of nothing but impossible feats of magic.

With a sigh, Harry dropped his head into his hands. If he could have, he would have been hitting it against a wall instead.

"Perhaps I should explain the nature of your arrival here two nights ago," said Shin.

Numbly, Harry nodded his head. This really was too much…

"Two nights ago a vivid green light, not unlike the color of your own eyes, struck a back ally in the slums outside the city of Imardin. The light was so bright in the night that it cast a glow over the entire city as it fell. I and two of my associates, one of them the one who you heard here earlier, happened to have just finished with some business in that ally and was about to return when it struck the ground before us. When the light faded, what was left there was you."

Harry swallowed uncomfortably. The light he described sounded suspiciously similar to that of the killing curse, which only solidified Harry's suspicions.

"You were badly wounded and soon guards and even Magicians were likely to show up. Unsure who or what you were, but knowing that such portents were likely very significant, I and my associate decided to bring you back with us. The other with me was not so inclined. There was an altercation. But you need not worry about him anymore. I dealt with the problem quickly."

Harry blinked. Surly the man didn't mean that as it had come across…

"Since then you've been kept here as we treated your wounds."

Harry glanced down at himself. He saw now that both his arm and leg were wrapped snuggly in bandages. Though not as good as magic, it was obvious someone had done a fairly good job patching him up, judging by the significant lessening of pain.

"Your leg wound in particular gave us some trouble. The poison had already begun working its way through your system. Fortunately, you seemed to have something of a resistance to the substance. We managed to find a remedy that seemed to work—it's normally used for particularly poisonous faren bites—but you're likely to still feel the effects for a while."

Harry nodded. Considering it had been an acromantula bite and that it was obvious none of the people involved were wizards, it was impressive that they'd managed to heal him as well as they had.

Speaking of wizards…

"I've heard you mention them a few times now, but I need to confirm… what are Magicians?"

Perhaps it had just been a trick of the light cast by the lamps, but for a moment Shin's eyes seemed to sharpen as he continued to gaze unflinchingly at Harry.

"Magician's are those who have and are able to use magic."

Harry's heart fluttered. Perhaps this world did have wizards! Even if they did go by another name!

"In fact, before this conversation we'd thought it had been the Magician's Guild themselves who had done all that to you."

There was a foreboding feel to those words that Harry hadn't liked. "Why would you think the Magician's had attacked me?"

"Besides falling from the sky in a stream of light that outshone the moon, you mean?" asked Shin with the ghost of a grin as Harry blushed at the obviousness of that fact. "Let's just say that despite the nobility of their blood, they are not known for nobility of action."

Great… so though he had managed to land in a world with magic users, they also just happened to be a bunch of Lucius Malfoy clones… perfect.

"So far I have described events as far as I know them and answered questions as completely as possible. Now," said Shin, leaning forward eagerly, "I believe it is your turn to return the favor. And try not to lie. I'll know if you do."

Immediately Harry threw up his occlumency shields. He'd been a fool to leave them down this whole time. After learning Shin had no magic he'd stupidly assumed it was safe to leave them down. But this was not his world. He had to learn to play by new rules. For all he knew even the muggles here had the ability to use legilimency or something similar.

For a moment Shin seemed mildly shocked. Whether it was because he could in fact see into Harry's mind until that moment, or because of the subtle shifts in demeanor and expression that accompanied, Harry didn't know. But he'd managed to keep Snape out of his head during class for the last two years, he'd be damned if he let in a stranger, Life Debt or no.

Oh damn… and there was a Life Debt, he could tell… but he'd deal with that when he came to it.

"And what would you like to know. As you can probably tell by now, I'm from no where near here."

"I realize you're wary of everything you've heard, but all I've told you is nothing but the truth, you have my word. And at this moment that's more than many others would even consider giving you," said Shin. "For now, I'm your best bet. And before I choose to help you further I need to know who—and what—I'm dealing with."

Suddenly, the truth of his situation came crashing in on Harry. He was in an unknown world, with only an unknown man called Shin who seemed to be a bit of a shady character to help him. Hell, he didn't even know if he had his wand with him here! He'd faced down deathly situations seven times in the last 4 years—four of those times against Voldemort himself in various forms—but this perhaps was the worst situation he'd ever managed to find himself in. There were no friends or mentors to come to his aid in the nick of time here—he was truly alone.

Despite the overflowing feelings of fear and despair that threatened to overtake him, he kept his shields up, blocking them behind a dam. He'd deal with them later.

For now, he had questions to answer.

"My name is Harry—that is who I am. And I come from another world, one where this place—Kyralia and those other lands you mentioned—do not exist. In my world we also have magic users like your magicians, but they go by the term wizard, or witch if they're female. That is what I am. I'm a wizard."

For the first time this night Harry saw a smile stretch itself across Shin's face, and he found that he wasn't sure whether this should comfort him… or make him that much more afraid.

"Perfect," said Shin.

That one word response did nothing to appease Harry's unease.

"How did you come to be as injured as you were?"

Harry paused before answering. How much did he really want to tell this man? Just because he was the only one Harry could trust so far didn't mean he should trust him.

"Before I came here I was involved in a school tournament of sorts. It was highly dangerous."

"Really, who won?"

The memory of Cedric threatened to choke him up, but he pushed it aside.

"I did."

Now Shin's eyes were glittered.

"And how did you end up here? I take it was not on purpose?"

"No. It wasn't. There's an evil wizard where I come from who has a bit of a grudge against me. He made another attempt on my life—"

"Not the first time then?"

"No. There have been several attempts."

"And you've gotten away each time."

"Yes."

"Intriguing…" said Shin as he leaned back. "Continue."

"As I said, he tried to kill me. Again. And I escaped—again. But there was an accident when the magic of the object I was using to escape clashed with a curse he cast. As far as I can figure, that must have been what caused me to be thrown from my world. The light you described sounds similar to the light of the spell he cast."

"And what is the likelihood of someone from your world arriving here to take you back?"

Harry had to swallow past the knot that had lodged itself in his throat before he could answer.

"Somewhere between improbable… and impossible, leaning towards the latter."

Through all of this, Shin continued to smile.

"Can you still use your magic? Or has it been damaged?"

Harry closed his eyes and calmed his mind. He wasn't particularly adept yet at manipulating raw magic, but after he'd been practicing his occlumency for a while he'd begun to be able to feel the hum and tingle of the magic beneath his skin.

At first he could feel nothing. There was no tingle or hum… he began to worry…

There! It was vague and much softer than he was used to but he could feel a steady pulse from his magic… he was weakened from his ordeal, but eventually it would recharge itself.

"It's still there. But whether I can still use it or not depends… was there a stick about this long with me when I was found?"

"No, there was only you and the clothes on your back. Why?"

"In my world, wizards use wands with a magical core to focus, concentrate and channel their magic. I take it that's not the case here?"

"No indeed. All the magicians I've seen have only needed to motion with their hands and their minds to accomplish their deeds."

Harry sat in slight shock. An entire group of magic users capable of wandless magic… it was an incredible thought.

"Do you think perhaps you could learn to harness your power in the same way?" asked Shin.

"I don't know. Other than accidental burst of magic when I'm angry and a couple level 1 spells, I've never been able to have an effect… but since I have little choice now, I intend to try."

Again Shin smiled at him, "That's what I was hoping to hear."

"Why?" Harry asked warily.

Shin stood and began to pace. "Let me explain the nature of things involving our own magic users. The Magician's Guild is the sole holder of the knowledge of magic. If you wish to learn magic, or to even be able to use it, it first has to be unlocked from within you. Only the Guild has the knowledge and power to do so. In order for you to be able to learn from them, first you must pay for the opportunity. The fee is a steep one. Thus, only the privileged of our society are given the opportunity. Rich merchants, aristocrats, and nobility—the common man is unwelcome. They scorn us. They are sworn to aid and protect all, but for as far back as any can remember they've only been concerned with one thing—themselves.

Our streets over run with pain and disease, but they refuse to touch any lower in class than a merchant. Every winter they aid the guard in Purging the lower class from inside the city walls. They are cold and corrupt. That is our Magicians."

Harry kept his face blank. He could sympathize with Shin's anger towards the apathy of the Magicians. And he could see what he was leading into…

"However, you… you are different. You are not like them. You don't have their taint. You could make a difference…"

"I understand what you're trying to do, but I think you're overestimating my capabilities. I can't feed the hungry and heal the wounded. I can't conjure or transmute gold and I can't raise the dead. Hell, I can't even cast a cleaning charm! The only wandless magic I can do is a levitation charm, an unlocking spell, a light spell and my mind magics! None of that is useful to you—"

"Unlocking spell, huh? And what kind of mind magics?"

Shin's voice had taken on a dark velvety quality, like a spider talking a fly into the web.

Harry didn't like it one bit.

"Why would you need to know?"

Shin's smile continued, and Harry finally noticed why it left him with such an unsettled feeling. As wide as the smile was, it didn't reach his eyes.

"Because Harry, as meager as they may be, I very much could make use of such abilities. And who knows, maybe you just need a little practice with the rest of it. Now what mind magics do you possess?"

Harry's heart began to race. This was bad… he had thought Shin seemed a little shady, but he finally thought he understood exactly what kind of people had found him that night. He had to get away, now!

"Oh no you don't!"

Before Harry could do more than make a dash in the direction of the door, Shin had grabbed him and flung him against the wall, holding him against it by the throat.

"First rule of this world boy, the Thieves don't take kindly to squimps and debt runners! And oh, do you oh me a debt, boy… and I fully intend to call it due…"

'NO!' yelled Harry in his mind as he began to feel his magic hum after the man's words. If the man called the debt due—!

"What exactly did you think to accomplish by running, hm? How far did you think you'd get? The tunnels outside this room are a labyrinth! You'd be lost for days, and we'd find you sooner than that! Now, I don't think you fully appreciate what I'm offering you. I will train you myself—protect you from the other Thieves—and keep you off the street. In return, you work for me. You use those lovely skills of yours for me. That is how you'll repay me. If you refuse to do that, I'll get me repayment in other ways… With such a fair face and lovely green eyes, I'm sure one of the parlors around here would pay a pretty coin to use you for their services…"

Harry's eyes widened at the man's implications.

"So make your choice boy! Work for me, or work the streets for me!"

The tingling sensation of his magic grew to an incessant burn. This was it—the Debt called due.

And what choice did he really have?

"I'll work for you! I'll work for you…"

"Good boy," said Shin as he pulled away from Harry, allowing him to drop down and droop against the wall limply, gasping for breath.

"Now let's try this again—what kind of magic of the mind do you possess?"

The burn reappeared under his skin, compelling him to answer.

"I can scan another person's surface thoughts; if their mind is particularly weak I can glimpse their memories… If I could cast the spell that accompanies the skill I could delve further. I can usually tell when someone is lying. I can block my own thoughts from others who have this skill. And…" Harry bit his tongue.

"And what?"

'No, damn it! I can't tell him that!'

"What else is there, Harry? Speak!"

"Sometimes… I can influence their thoughts… Sometimes, I can compel them to react as I want or need…" Harry admitted grudgingly, truly hating himself for the skill he had inadvertently discovered in the last year.

"…really?"

"Yes."

"And the unlocking spell… will it work on any lock?"

"Unless the lock is guarded against magical manipulation, then it should."

"Excellent," said Shin, standing and pacing a bit in the center of the room, a smile spread over his lips. Eventually he stopped and turned back to Harry. "You'll stay here tonight, tomorrow I'll have you moved closer to my place. Rest up, for your training starts tomorrow." He turned to the door to leave but paused as he grasped the handle, "And don't bother trying to escape. There's going to be guards on this door all night, I will be most… displeased if I find you tried to run away during the night. And trust me, you won't enjoy the punishment nearly as much as I will." Shin leered in his direction before finally leaving out the door and into the dark tunnels beyond.

As he heard the door shut, the tremors Harry had been trying to hide finally caused him to fall gracelessly to the floor. Then he curled up against the wall and for the first time in ages, he cried.