The potion tasted nutty and felt rather slimy going down his throat. He took only one quick gulp, then put the bottle down and waited.
Alice watched him interestedly.
Harry waited.
And waited.
Nothing.
"Hmm," Alice mused. "Perhaps you ought to drink more."
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but was suddenly filled with a strange tingling feeling. The tug around his navel reminded him of a portkey, and yet at the same time it felt as though he were being…tightened. The feeling in his arms and legs was reminiscent of having one of your limbs fall asleep, and then trying to use it. He began to get light-headed. Slowly, everything in the room began to get larger and larger. Alice loomed over him, a giant.
"Oh, you're so tiny!" she said, prodding him with a massive finger. He fell backward. "I want to try!"
Before he could utter a word, for it felt as though he hadn't really gotten hold of his senses again yet, Alice had taken a swallow of the potion. Moments later she joined him in size.
"Wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Now we can fit through the door!"
She ran over to the door, with Harry following uneasily. He found his size to be very disconcerting and uncomfortable.
The door itself was an ornate wooden door, with carved flora and fauna curving around the edges. It was polished mahogany, and the doorknob was a burnished gold. It was, all in all, a very pretty door.
Alice eagerly grabbed the handle and turned.
Nothing.
She shook the handle.
Still nothing.
"It's locked," she said. Harry groaned.
"Brilliant, after all that the door is-" he stopped, his face lighting up. "Merlin, am I stupid." He reached into his back pocket…and yes, there it was. He pulled out his wand.
Alice stared.
Harry pointed his wand at the door. "Alohamora!"
Nothing.
Harry frowned. He pointed his wand again. "Lumos!"
Nothing.
"Just bloody great," he fumed, shoving the wand back into his pocket.
Alice hadn't been paying him any attention. "I wonder," she mused, "If perhaps we need that key?"
"Key?" Harry said. "There isn't a key."
Alice pointed. "Yes there is."
Harry followed her gaze. There, lying on the glass table near the potion bottle, was a silver key.
"That wasn't there when we were large!" Harry said, furious. It seemed this room was a sort of Room of Requirement, only very much less helpful. "There is no way for us to reach that now!"
"Perhaps we ought to try that?"
"That" turned out to be a small pastry box sitting at the foot of the table. It was pink and tied with a purple silk ribbon. Harry sighed, and then opened it up. Inside the box was a small white cake. In pink icing were the words: Eat Me.
"No," Harry said firmly as Alice prodded it curiously. "No. We are NOT eating that." Memories of Fred and George's culinary treats flashed through his mind. He shuddered. "We would probably turn into something terrible, and I for one…"
Alice took a bite of the cake.
Harry groaned.
Alice grew.
She picked up the key, and then took another swallow of the potion. Soon she, and the key, were back to Harry's size. Harry stood there, resigned, as she put the key into the keyhole and turned. With a loud creak, the handle turned and the door opened. Despite all the strange things that had happened to him since he died, he was not prepared for the sight that greeted him.
Harry and Alice followed the broken stone path that led from the door down a curving hill. Just before they rounded the end of the hill, Harry looked back.
The door was gone.
Uneasily, Harry looked around at his surroundings. This world was very different from magical Britain. Lush dark green grass sprung up underfoot. Huge trees with gnarled trunks and glossy purple leaves towered above, casting shadows upon the ground. The air smelled tangy, like ripe fruit. Odd sounds floated on the breeze, whispers and laughter and howls. Harry took a step back as a tiny insect flew up to his face. Its body was orange and bright, it's wings iridescent. It blinked at him with bulbous green eyes before breathing a wisp of fire and flitting away. As they passed a cluster of pale yellow flowers, a cloud of butterflies rose up. Harry blinked. The wings of the butterflies weren't actually wings at all. Rather, they appeared to be…buttered toast?
Harry turned to Alice. "Is this your world?"
Alice looked around dreamily. "It's just what I would want it to be. If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing will be what it is, because everything will be what it isn't. In contrary wise, what it is it wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be it would. You see?"
Harry definitely did not see. He tried wrapping his mind around Alice's logic, but failed miserably. Giving up, he asked resignedly, "So you don't know where we are, then?"
Alice smiled.
"We are in a Wonderland."