CHAPTER 3:
REUNION/TO ABSENT FRIENDS…
Within a cylinder of orange liquid, a boy in his mid-teens floated, naked. No breathing apparatus was on his face, instead, he breathed the amber liquid as if he was in a glass and plastic womb.
Dr Ritsuko Akagi looked at the readings on a nearby console, frowning. These shouldn't…couldn't be correct. And yet, they were showing. Despite a number of reboots and recalibrations, these readings remained stubbornly consistent.
Of course, it wasn't the only thing disturbing about the teenaged boy floating in the tank, or the corpse he had arrived with.
The door to the chamber opened, and the clack of shoes on the metal floor sounded behind her. "Report, Dr Akagi," came the stern voice of Gendo Ikari, the commander of NERV, her boss, and her lover.
"Preliminary findings are…strange," Ristuko said quietly. "I'll have to do a full autopsy on the corpse of the boy who came with him, though initial scans of that show similar readings."
"Which are?"
Ristuko pulled up a series of anatomical outlines. "That," she pointed to the first, "is a normal human. Even with the in-utero radiological and biological contamination post-Second Impact, there's not that much difference between, say, your son and yourself. The differences are enough to allow them to pilot the Evangelion Units. This is Rei." She pointed to the second chart. "Note the Angelic tissue hybridisation, and the S2 organ." She pointed to the third chart. "And this is our mystery boy."
Gendo peered at the chart. He was a decent enough scientist, but he wasn't on her level by any means, and he said, with a small scowl of annoyance, "What am I supposed to be seeing here?"
"Well…the boy is like Rei. Only the Angelic tissue hybridisation is a lot subtler, seemingly woven into key points of his genetic code. And there is no S2 organ. Instead, there seems to be S2 organelles."
"Organelles(1)?" Gendo asked, his eyes flickering up to the boy. "So he has them as well as mitochondria, or instead of them?"
"Alongside normal human mitochondria. He appears to be a natural Nephilim. He could probably interbreed with a normal human. And the thing is, I'm seeing a mixture of traits from both Adam and Lilith. Commander, under normal circumstances, I would think he was something the European or American branches of NERV cooked up. Except he only appeared from within the Dirac Sea of the previous Angel. In addition, his clothing, and that of the dead body, had some strange logo on it. Quite heraldic, really, and under it, in English, was 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'. There was even a Latin motto which translates to 'A sleeping dragon shouldn't be tickled'."
Gendo frowned, well, more than he usually did. His default expression was a frown. "Are you telling me that this boy is a wizard?"
"I cannot say that he is, only that he is some novel form of Nephilim, and that he was dressed with wizarding paraphernalia. He even had a wand. I haven't done invasive tests yet, but it seems to be made of holly, and an x-ray shows what may be a feather inside. There was also a trophy that seems to have traces of energy with a signature not unlike an A.T Field, but with significant differences. Said trophy seems to be for something called the 'Tri-Wizard Tournament'. Again, I have no idea what that means, or whether it is real."
Ritsuko could see the wheels turning within Gendo Ikari's mind. Her current theory was that the boy was a natural-born Nephilim of some kind, an Angelic hybrid. There may be a hidden community that believed themselves to be magic users. It was either that, or SEELE was trying too hard to pull one on them.
"Would he be capable of piloting an Evangelion?"
"Possibly, but I wouldn't try it. There's a small but appreciable chance that he might set off an Impact event. I know Rei doesn't, but that's because of how we made her."
"Does he have a name?"
"Yes, actually. Their names were on those sporting uniforms of theirs. The dead one is Cedric Diggory, while this one is Harry Potter. DNA fingerprinting matches nobody on file the world over for either of them."
Gendo frowned again, before he turned on his heel and strode out. "Inform me of any further developments," he said, before closing the door.
Ritsuko scowled. In the aftermath of the death of the 12th Angel, Leliel, Misato had, understandably, distanced herself from Ritsuko. The Evangelions were more vital than the life of the pilots. And Misato had shown her increasing lack of suitability to command over that fiasco, going so far as to assault Ritsuko.
And yet, Ritsuko couldn't completely quell the qualms in her heart. Shinji was very much an innocent in all this, so very unlike his father. Out loud, she would have said his death was regrettable. Inwardly, she would have mourned his loss almost as much as Misato(2).
Shinji had survived, and was in hospital, being treated for near-suffocation from carbon dioxide-tainted LCL as the life-support ran out of power. This boy, who had been found in EVA Unit 01's hand, was suffering from vacuum exposure, the Dirac Sea proper being mostly airless. He'd be all right before long.
Speak of the devil… Ritsuko thought as the boy…no, Harry's eyes snapped open. Even with the sedatives lacing the LCL, he began to thrash and panic, his mouth open wide as he hyperventilated. Ritsuko looked at him, and said, trying English rather than her native Japanese, "Do not panic! It is breathable! It is okay. Calm down, please."
Harry stopped hyperventilating, before he spoke, the strange properties of LCL allowing him to speak despite the liquid breathing he was doing. "Where am I? Who are you?" he asked, with an English accent.
"You are in Tokyo-3, in NERV Headquarters." NERV technically was a secret organisation, but only as to its more specific purposes. NERV was publicly known as a special defence force headed by the United Nations. "I am Doctor Ritsuko Akagi."
"NERV? What's that? What's this stuff I'm breathing? Please, let me out!"
"In a moment," Ritsuko said. She checked the medical scans, before activating the draining procedure. She then hurried to a locker, pulled green surgical scrubs from it, and hurried over. As the tube emptied, Harry sagged to his knees, hacking up the LCL. With a surprisingly kindly air, she helped him don the surgical scrubs.
He looked at her, before he embraced her, crying, tears soaking into her lab coat. "He's back," he muttered. "He's back, and I can't warn them!"
"Who? Who is back?"
He looked at her, as if debating whether to tell her something. Then, he said, "The man who killed my parents. He's back, and I can't warn anyone that he is!"
His heart-rending expression got to Ritsuko. Wherever he had come from, he was now far away from it…and his friends…
"I have called a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore announced during breakfast the next morning. They were having it at a number of tables set up within the Quidditch Stadium. "Harry's survival needs to be announced to them at least, so we can find a way to let Magical Britain know he survived. Unfortunately, that is going to raise more questions. One of which is what happened to Cedric Diggory, and his body?"
Misato turned to Harry. "What's the Order of the Phoenix?" she asked.
Harry shook his head. "I don't know."
"Oh, forgive me," Dumbledore said. He and the more important NERV personnel (Misato, Ritsuko, Fuyutsuki, and the two former Evangelions, along with the pilots and Harry) were seated at his table. "The Order of the Phoenix was an organisation I formed during the last conflict with Voldemort to try and fight back against him. I have reformed it recently after Voldemort's revival. Your parents were part of it, Harry, along with Sirius, Remus, and Alastor Moody. Incidentally, Harry, we learned rather too late that the Moody who taught Defence Against the Dark Arts last year was an impostor. The impostor, who turned out to be Barty Crouch Junior, had captured the real Moody, and was using Polyjuice to imitate him. He was an excellent actor, even I was fooled, but I have no doubt now that he was the one who put your name into the Goblet of Fire."
"What happened to him?" Harry asked.
"Alas, a Dementor escort with Fudge gave him the Kiss before Fudge could listen to his testimony. In any case, Fudge dismissed Crouch's confession to us as the ravings of a madman."
"Dementor? Kiss?" Asuka asked.
"A Dementor, Miss Sohryu, is a vile entity that sucks the happiness from their surroundings to feed on. Some victims even find themselves reliving their worst memories. The Dementor's Kiss is the ultimate punishment in our world: the Dementor sucks out and consumes the soul of their victim."
Asuka shuddered, despite her usual bravado. Harry realised that she would probably relive the moment she found her mother hanging from the ceiling, having committed suicide. And while he didn't like Asuka per se, he also knew that she didn't deserve to relive that, especially not after the 15th Angel, Arael, forced her to. Only his insistence on talking things through with her along with Rei managed to get through to the girl.
On another note, he would probably never listen to the Hallelujah Chorus ever again.
"I think it is best that we hear Harry's story, and yours, there. Though judging by your technology and abilities, I daresay it will be a hard to believe one," Dumbledore said.
"Well, considering it involves giant genocidal monsters and massive eldritch cyborgs, yes, it will be. Oh, and I went into the future. Well, a future," Harry said. "2015, to be precise."
Dumbledore stared for a moment, before accepting it with a shrug. "I will be perfectly honest, Harry, given that their technology is somewhat more advanced than the Muggle technology I have seen of late, I can believe that. It's the monsters and cyborgs I'm a little more sceptical about."
"Well, Dr Ikari and Dr Sohryu used to be said cyborgs. Well, their souls were in the cyborgs. I think it was to help the Evangelion Units work or something? And Shinji, Asuka, and Rei were the pilots of these things. Even I piloted Unit 01," Harry said. "By the way, thank you for letting me do that, Yui."
Yui Ikari smiled. "You're welcome. Anyway, your magic when you synchronised with Unit 01 released my restraints. And allowed me to take Zeruel's S2 organ."
"Whereas I had to make do with this leftover from Rei's second body," Kyoko remarked, before she said to Rei, "No offence intended."
"None taken, Dr Sohryu."
"In any case, I was going to take Harry and Rei to the current headquarters of the Order," Dumbledore said. "I may take some others, depending, though the fewer who know about where the Order is, the better. It is currently under a Fidelius Charm."
Misato stood. "Well, I'll go as well. I was operations director for NERV. If there's a plan, I can help with it."
"Um, I'd like to come too," Shinji said.
Yui nodded. "So would I. Kyoko?"
"No thanks," Kyoko said. "What about you, Asuka?"
"Nah, I'm good."
"Ritsuko?" Misato asked.
"Some other time, perhaps. I'm still analysing this data," Ritsuko said, consulting a PDA in her hand.
"I'll cry off too," Fuyutsuki said. "These old bones need a rest."
"And I shall stay to keep Asuka company," Kaworu said.
"Then it is decided," Dumbledore said. "Once we have finished breakfast, please follow me…"
Harry hated travelling by Floo, and was briefly confused as to why Dumbledore showed him a piece of paper saying 'The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at 12 Grimmauld Place' before having him go through the fireplace in Dumbledore's office. But as he was flung through the Floo system, he remembered what Dumbledore said about the headquarters being under a Fidelius Charm.
He hadn't been the first one to go through: Misato and Rei insisted on going first. And he was grateful, as Rei caught him as he stumbled and tripped upon arriving in a dark and musty house. He could hear some harridan screeching about Mudbloods and traitors and the like, and muffled swearing.
The door opened to the room (apparently once some sort of living room), and a familiar dark-haired man barged in. "Dumbledore, you know better than to wake my mother…" The man halted, his grey eyes widening in shock, his mouth dropping open.
Harry had a rather sheepish smile, even as he helped Shinji and Yui after they arrived. "Everyone, this is my godfather, Sirius Black."
"…Harry?" Sirius asked, scarcely believing what he saw. Then, his eyes narrowed. "When did you first see me?"
"On the news, though I saw you in your Animagus form just before calling the Knight Bus," Harry replied.
Sirius laughed, before surging forward and embracing Harry. "Oh, Harry! Harry, where have you been?!"
After Sirius released him, Harry said, "It's a very long story. Anyway, Sirius, these are my friends, Rei Ayanami and Shinji Ikari, as well as Shinji's mother, Dr Yui Ikari, as well as Shinji's former commander and guardian, Major Misato Katsuragi."
"Enchanté," Sirius said, kissing first Yui's hand, and then Misato's. Yui giggled, flattered, and Misato, despite the man's resemblance in manner to Kaji, accepted the gesture without complaint.
"So, you're his godfather," Misato said. "He told me a lot about you."
"All good, I hope?" Sirius said with a mischievous smirk.
"Oh God, he's another Kaji," Shinji murmured. Then, he winced, remembering the fate of Misato's paramour. "Sorry, Misato."
"That's fine," Misato said. She still grieved for Kaji, but she would like to think she avenged him by scuppering Gendo and SEELE's respective plans.
Dumbledore, who had arrived, coughed quietly to gain their attention. "Sirius," he said. "Are they all here?"
"Yeah. The old crowd, the Weasleys, along with Nymphadora and Shacklebolt. Hermione and the Weasley children are a bit baffled that they've been invited to the meeting. Snivellous seems to have an idea what is going on, though. I don't know why. Moony's also hopeful. He found it hard to accept that Harry was dead, and frankly, neither did Hermione or the Weasley children."
"Well, I'll go in first, and then, when I give the cue, you bring them in."
Hermione had hoped that Harry had escaped, had survived, though some of the more cool, dispassionate parts of her reckoned that this was unlikely. She tried to ignore them.
She also wondered why Dumbledore had allowed them into this meeting of the Order. She had been staying at 12 Grimmauld Place for some time, but they had never been allowed to attend the meetings of the Order. So why now? What had changed?
Molly had finally gotten the portrait of Walpurga Black under control, hiding her behind the curtains and sending her to sleep again, and they were all gathered in the kitchen, save for Dumbledore, and Sirius. Soon, Dumbledore walked in. "I am calling this meeting of the Order of the Phoenix to…well, order." A few small chuckles swept the kitchen where they were holding the meeting. "Now, I am sure that you are all wondering why I have brought you here, including those who are not normally brought into our meetings. Well, that is because I bring good tidings, of a sort. Sirius?"
Hermione's heart leapt into her throat when he mentioned good tidings. And when the door opened, and Sirius walked through, followed by five others. Three teenagers, and two adults, all but one of whom had Oriental features. However, it was upon seeing the black-haired, green-eyed teenager that Hermione, along with the Weasleys and Lupin, yelped, "Harry!"
He wasn't wearing glasses anymore (Hermione guessed contact lenses), he looked slightly haggard, albeit more fit than he was when they last saw him, and his scar had faded somewhat, but it was definitely Harry. "Hi," he said in a quiet tone, a rather nervous smile playing around his features.
A cacophony of questions assaulted Harry from all sides, until Dumbledore called for calm. "Before Harry explains what happened to him, I would like to introduce our other guests, people who have apparently taken care of him. This is Rei Ayanami." He indicated a beautiful, blue-haired girl with crimson irises and pale skin, about the same age as Harry. Hermione wondered if she was an albino. "This is Shinji Ikari." A dark-haired, nervous-looking boy waved. "This is Dr Yui Ikari, his mother." The brown-haired woman smiled warmly. "And this is Major Misato Katsuragi."
"Hey," the purple-haired woman with the red jacket said. She then looked at Tonks, she of the bubblegum-pink hair, and smiled. "Hey, love the do."
"Thanks," Tonks said.
"Did you end up in Japan, Harry?" Hermione asked, recognising the names as probably being Japanese.
"Yes, and no," Harry said. "You'd probably understand more than anyone else here, Hermione." He took a deep breath, gathering himself to tell them what happened. When he spoke, he spoke quietly, but he was dropping a big bombshell.
"I ended up in a parallel universe. In the year 2015."
CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:
And there you have it. Harry reunites with his friends. We also get some exposition from Ritsuko in flashback about how magic works.
Review-answering time! duskrider: I had a quick look at that fic. The premise is intriguing, and the fic itself is entertaining, but I wish the quality of the prose was a touch better. My inspiration for an Asuka/Kaworu shipping was partly an implied ship in Gregg Landsman's The Long Night of the Harvest, a crossover with Mass Effect, and a more overt ship in Going Another Way by Tribun.
Slirith: You're welcome. Though I am sure someone in a fanfic somewhere has thought up that joke before.
jgkitarel: I initially wanted to do a story where Harry is stuck in the Evangelion world, but decided that I would rather do a story set in the Harry Potter world instead. This is why we only have vignettes showing what Harry did during the events of Neon Genesis Evangelion. In addition, how I pace it is my own business. I'm trying to set up the groundwork for the story in a short period so I can get to the nitty-gritty, and try not to get bogged down in exposition.
Keep in mind that Rei hasn't met Dumbledore until this point, and has only seen him through Harry's memories or by talking to Harry, which are second-hand accounts. Harry still has a good view of Dumbledore, though Rei discussing concerns with him has tempered that a little. Rei, however, sees someone who is, at best, ineffectual, and at worst, manipulative and only superficially caring. Her perception does begin to change when she realises that he's genuinely glad that Harry doesn't have the Horcrux anymore, but she takes what he says with a pinch of salt, and keeps an eye on him. Yes, it is unfair to compare him to Gendo, but not unreasonable from Rei's viewpoint. She detests manipulation.
Mangahero18: It's on purpose, but not for that reason. I just write in chapters (story-wise) that are 2100-3000 words long. It's my style. It's not meant to make you hungry for more. I would think that the story would do that regardless…
1. Organelles are structures within the cells of the body that have specific functions. Mitochondria, which Gendo mentions, are the powerhouses of cells, and the S2 organelles that I have made up for mages are not dissimilar, converting energy into magic.
2. Ritsuko is a pretty cold-hearted bitch, but I wanted to show that there was a small, weak, guttering flame of humanity that hadn't quite gone out. In fact, I think this is part of the reason why Ritsuko shows Shinji Rei's origins in episode 23: a lot of it is borne out of malice towards Shinji and his father, but it is telling that Ritsuko tells Shinji, and not Misato (at least until Misato invites herself along), to come with her to see the truth. I think she wanted to tell Shinji the truth, partly to hurt him, but also partly to have him understand what the hell is going on. Harry helps kindle that weak flame until Ritsuko begins to change. That, and the fact that he catches Rei's eye, and thus is competition for her affections with Gendo (and doesn't have the incest thing going that Shinji and Rei inadvertently have).