Chapter 1: Welcome Home

Author: dEBB987 Beta: Nyx the Author

The first thing he did once the wards were in place was try to communicate with Pandora's Actor, who had stayed back in Nazarick. The communication took a while to take place, but the device Death had helped him create one century ago fulfilled its purpose without issues. Basically, Pandora was to assume his appearance when dealing with official matters of Harry's country, and was to administrate Nazarick at the same time. Every NPC on outside grounds was to come back as well, they had to be either on Nazarick itself or in the nation that was part of his territory. In case of doubt, Pandora had the contingency manual Harry had created, and could communicate with him in case of emergency.

He felt bad for the overdramatic NPC, considering the only people capable of helping him, Albedo and Demiurge, had accompanied him to this world. It's not like he could send them back to Nazarick even if he wanted to. The only way for the NPCs to go back would be to travel along with him, and he was bound until the request was fulfilled.

Deciding there was no use in delving on something he could not change, he proceeded to reunite the NPCs in the shack's backyard, to test their limits in this world. Their personalities and species seemed to remain the same, something he was glad for. Since he was sure there weren't any races that were even close to the NPC's races here, he had feared they would be forced to adapt into other ones that actually existed in this dimension.

They tested a few low-leveled abilities as well, just to make sure their movements and usage of Yggdrasil spells were still unrestricted. He left the testing of the high-level ones pending for another time, once they had a definite, bigger location where to practice. He had placed wards and the Fidelius in this property, with Albedo as the secret-keeper, but since it was only temporary he hadn't gotten around placing the full-term defenses he was used to create whenever he arrived at a new world.

Harry's own species had worried him as well. Back in Nazarick's world, he was a Djinn, something similar to the Genie of the lamp, which were a race heavily specialized in magic. In Yggdrasil, their description was "An invisible shapeshifter that can appear in the form of a human or an animal" and even if his original form looked like humanish smoke, the shapeshifting category allowed him to have a physical body that resembled his own. As such, he looked the way he was used to, white skin, black messy curls, emerald eyes, and a slightly short height. Due to his Djinn status however, physical attacks hadn't been his forte, but as he reached the maximum level of 100 he considered he could at least defend himself long enough to escape if it came down to a close-range physical battle.

The question was, would he still be a Djinn or would he have automatically shifted into a wizard's body? He decided to test this with the use of Djinn magic, and summoned a single, harmless Pixie. At his success, he discovered that his summons still followed his orders for a limited amount of time, so the need to vanish them was still present. The weakest the creature the longest he could control it and vice-versa. Once the time was up the summoned being would still be present, but he would have no control over its actions.

He seemed to be able to use Yggdrasil spells without issues as well, so he considered his testing finished once he could successfully shapeshift into both, human and animal alike the way he had gotten used to. His form would turn into smoke momentarily before turning solid as a living creature. He decided to keep his looks, considering he looked different enough without the glasses and the scar, his face seemed more aristocratic and he wasn't nearly as skinny as his contra-part would be. The greatest difference however was the hair, since his own was much more tamable than the unruly nest he used to have in his first decades alive. It was still somewhat messy, but at least he didn't look like he had gotten out of bed without seeing a single bloody mirror.

Testing finally over, he had retired for the day, spending the night meditating in the room he had chosen as his own, while the NPCs entertained themselves reading the books McKinnon had left in the old shack they were currently using as hiding base. The meditation was more to remember about his first life than it was to strengthen his occlumency shields, since he had gotten used to the mind arts quite a few lives ago. He still had much to review, but it would have to suffice for the time being… since he also needed to investigate about a new, more permanent place to reside in. The date the summoner had given was of August, so the Quidditch World Cup would be around the corner, probably on a week or two. He still had time to plot, but he didn't want to remain here any longer than strictly necessary.

Which place would be safe? He had been thinking about borrowing one of the Black states, but those would probably be under Narcissa or Sirius' so he rejected the idea. After meditating for a long while, he decided to give a try to the Potter manor, if the wards recognized him as of Potter blood, it would lighten the burden of protective wards he would need to place, since he would only have to update them and add a few more to be all set.

Would he still count as a Potter though, if he wasn't even a wizard anymore? He would have to go check it out first. Nodding to himself, he left the room he was using as his own and reunited the NPCs that had accompanied him into this world

"There's a location that may suit our needs, but I need to go and review it first… and exploration quest so to speak" he said to the servants kneeling in front of him. He had crafted them a few pendants that served as translation-runes, but since the material was not optimal he had to re-charge the magic once per day "It's not a dangerous quest, since I have plenty of information about this world, but I want Solution and Shalltear to come with me as my guards regardless" by this point, he knew better than to fight their overprotective nature, going along with them whenever possible.

"But Hadrian-sama, as a shield I'm better qualified to protect-"started to say Albedo, before being interrupted by Harry's raised hand.

"I appreciate your input Albedo, but you don't have access to your armor right now" Access to the inventory was a luxury they didn't have in this world, so they only came with the items they currently had equipped. It was a major change for Albedo and Shalltear specifically, since they weren't used to equip their best weapons all the time. As it was, the only major items present were Mare's divine weapon, the ones Solution hid inside her body, and the few that were inside the bag he always carried around his neck.

The succubus looked disappointed, but didn't insist on the matter. Nodding his approval, he gave instructions to the servants that would stay in the shack to survey some of his memories, so they could get a hang of this new world. The NPCs had been restless in the new situation, were they were in an unknown world without Nazarick's walls to protect them, and had only calmed down slightly after Harry explained this was the world he had been born in.

"These memories are from my first life in general, and they don't focus on a specific situation or year, but it's mostly to get you used to the way magic is handled here and the customs of this community specifically" This was not their first time handling memories, so he gave no further instructions on how to use the pensieve.

He had thought about giving them memories of his first two decades as a mortal, when he had fought Voldemort and had defeated him, but had decided not to since there were more than a few memories that would make them lose control in absolute rage. As such, he decided to focus on neutral memories that didn't handle any injuries to his person, but still allowed them to understand this world better.

Placing the pensieve and the set of memories over an empty table, he asked them to raise before dismissed them, so only Solution and Shalltear remained. Offering his left arm to them, he waited until he felt they had a secure hold on the appendage and took a small step forwards, using side-along apparition.

The moment the world stopped its spinning he couldn't help but look sadly at the huge building in front of him. To say he was disappointed at the state of the manor would be an understatement.

The strength of the wards was dramatically different than what he remembered. He recalled them as strong, almost impenetrable wards that would not go down without giving one hell of a fight, but the shield in front of him was frankly… well, pathetic.

Was it because they haven't been renewed in little more than a decade? It was unlikely, considering how strong he had perceived them to be back at the time, when he had first stepped inside this manor at age 22. No, it was more likely that he considered them weak now because he himself had gotten stronger over the years.

He couldn't help but be pleased at that thought. It would mean that the wards he placed on the shack they were currently using were stronger than the blood-wards that were traditionally used by the old, noble wizarding families. How curious indeed. If that was the case, it wouldn't matter much whether the wards recognized him as Potter or not, so he placed his right hand over the metallic main gate without fear, expecting impatiently the reaction of the wards.

He didn't have to wait long before he felt his hand get warmer, the gates opening in welcome under his light touch. He let out a soft sigh, internally glad he didn't have to force his way in.

"It's safe to use. Please stand on guard while I place the new wards on it" he told to the two ladies that had come with him. Solution was nowhere to be seen, having used her stealth to patrol the nearby area in search of possible enemies, while Shalltear stood calmly at his side, still holding his left arm since the moment they arrived. The vampire let it go reluctantly, turning around to keep a better eye on their surroundings with a soft sigh. Harry chuckled softly at her before kneeling, placing one hand on the magically-cut grass as he started to chant in his mind the routine of protections he knew by heart. The air surrounding him became warm and he could feel his magic giving soft pulses to the ground, the weak colors of the sphere invisible to anyone but him started to get brighter as the wards got stronger around the manor.

He didn't place nearly as many as he had around Nazarick, but it was still slightly taxing on his amount of magic and health, since a few required some living force to work. Once it was over, he stood up and added a Fidelius as a finishing touch, with Shalltear as the secret keeper before signaling Solution to come back. Once she took a hold of his arm they apparated away from the property.

He wasn't in any hurry now that he considered his provisional wards sufficient, so he let the relocation issue rest for the day, focusing on answering questions of the NPCs that had stayed to survey the memories, while Shalltear and Solution dived into the pensieve.

"So there are two Hadrian-samas in this world?" Albedo asked excitedly, wings moving slightly until they generated a soft breeze.

"Not exactly. We have the same soul as a base, but are our own person. Basically, we have similar attitude and manner of thinking, but are different according to our experiences and surroundings. He will never grow up to be me" Albedo and Demiurge seemed to understand, but the twins and Sebas only looked confusedly at him.

"Hm… for example, if I had been born in a world of lava, I would be similar to how I am now, but with a dislike for ice and with a higher resistance to fire, since I'd be adapted to those surroundings specifically. The experiences make the Karma points vary greatly as well, since the ethical code changes constantly, and the knowledge gained will never be the same because the circumstances are always different. Simply put, think of this world as a similar dimension to my original, but different regardless. No matter the changes we make here, my past will remain untouched." he said softly, sighing in relief when he saw them nod in understanding. He remembered how Death had been very clear on the matter, that he couldn't go back in time to prevent himself from obtaining his title as the Master of Death. No matter the dimension or age, the beginning or the end, he would always be the one and only living-being carrying said title.

Once Shalltear and Solution came back from the pensieve he finally began to explain them about the war, the Death Eaters, the Order of Phoenix, the horcruxes, and the general outline of his fourth year in Hogwarts.

By the time he solved all the questions they could think of, it was already the morning of the following day. The items that suppressed the need to sleep or eat were something they used at all times, to avoid inconveniences, so no one in the shack was tired by the lack of rest. Therefore, they started to pack anything useful the place had to offer: Ingredients for potions, books, wizarding cloaks, dishes, and furniture, for the most part. Everything went inside Harry's endless bag, since without access to the inventory the NPCs didn't have any item to contain objects.

Once everything was packed he went outside along with the twins, and took down most of the overpowered wards he had placed, so only a few weak ones remained. Going inside, he opened a [Gate] in the middle of the room, letting Solution and Sebas go first before receiving the message that it was safe to go through. He walked through calmly, smiling warmly at the paranoid servants he had gotten used to have around.

When the last NPC exited the portal the [Gate] automatically closed. He looked closely at them as they read the message Shalltear had written, with the address of the manor they were unable to see, and chuckled softly at their surprise when the building materialized. Only Demiurge and Albedo were used to the Fidelius charm after all.

Opening the main gate of the manor, he sighed happily at the warm feeling of welcome he felt from the magic surrounding him.

Home sweet home.

AUTHOR NOTE:

Short chapter I know haha but I'm happy with it regardless. They may be only 2.5K words, but it was fun as heck to write them!

This was an introductory chapter, so let me know if you had any doubts or think I forgot to clarify something. Especially if you've read my other story, since they're somewhat linked. Did I miss something?

Anyways, writing two stories at the same time is quite fun, but it means more time invested to writing, so sorry if I don't update as often as I wished I could. I have plenty of ideas so I initiate random drafts but take a while to finish a chapter haha.

Well, hope you liked it and see ya' soon. Thanks for reading buds!

**Nyx here! Bored while waiting for the next chapter? If you are interested in other Overlord crossovers, check out my stories as well!