Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I only wish I could say the same. Please don't sue me. Thank you.
Long Summary: After the fall of Voldemort, twenty-three year old Harry Potter is gearing up for some major downtime. However, being Fate's favourite toy, things rarely go as planned. And so, instead of finding himself relaxing on the beaches of wherever, he's trying his best to fade into the background, in another dimension and eleven. Oh, woe is him. And to complicate things, Neville is the Boy-Who-Lived, Voldemort is alive and laying low (but not for long) and his counterpart is a spoilt brat that even his parents cannot control. While content at first to just sit in the background, Harry soon finds himself getting ready for war once more. Why? Read and find out!
Warnings: Slight slashy undertones, warnings of the usual unbetadness, screwed up personalities (I like to experiment :O) and plotholes the size of Uranus (yes, I'm lame like that... live with it :P)
Note 1. LOTS OF LOVE AND THANKS TO The Plot Bunny Whisperer, momocolady, Shinigami Nanashi, Sabishii Kage Tenshi, NeverEnchained, getaiyou, numberman123, 917brat, Guardian Dimension, Saturnblue, book-zealot, PirateCaptainBo, Shinigami Rachi, TheOneWhoIsAddictedToHPfics, Mariel Nightstalker, animelava, lemmesee, Riotwave, sam3tron, KuroxTenshi, BEE, Nori-kuukuu and xDelta-Ha-chanx!
Note 2. Harry is, unfortunately, normal in this chapter :( wow, I hate this one so much... probably because I've only rewritten this chapter twice lol Next chapter will be funnier, promise! (or least I hope so D:)
Note 3. It's also a bit rushed D: couldn't figure a way to fix it though... might rewrite it...
Note 4. What the hell do I do with Snape?! Hmm.. er.. he just.. well.. hates Harry and that is that? Blah..
Note 5. Once again... wow, I updated o.O (blame delays on Maplestory haha...)
Note 6. I gotta stop having all these notes but I can't help myself... WordCount: 4268
Fate's Favourite Toy
Chapter 3.
"Ha-hah!" someone suddenly exclaimed making Harry jump up in surprise. Emerald eyes blinked rapidly as his brain froze analysing his surroundings. Is this... hell? He wondered vaguely.
"Haha, very funny," the original voice said sarcastically as if reading his thoughts, "No, this is my room actually."
Emerald eyes narrowed as they took in the unwelcome form of Fate, surrounded by many of what Harry deemed the creepiest looking stuffed dolls he had ever seen, and if he listened closely, he could hear screaming in the background. Certainly looks like it...
Fate rolled his (yes, the author has finally decided that Fate is a he for a very important reason – definitely not because she's getting lazier and lazier... certainly not!) eyes, "Zeus and the other Gods of Olympus managed to convince Ra and his friends to play laser tag with them. They've been screaming their heads off ever since, running around like idiots trying to shoot each. Being all-powerful has destroyed every stealthy bone in their bodies," he said with a snort.
Harry blinked, "...Ok-ay," he said a little uncertain of how he should have responded.
Silence.
More silence.
Finally Harry sighed, wanting to get this over and done with so he could go back to whatever it was he was doing before Fate brought him here, "What do you want," he said in a tone that suggested very much he was expecting something very horrible to happen to him in the near future.
Fate squealed happily despite being supposedly male, "I'm glad you asked!"
Harry just sighed again.
"I've finally figured it out!"
Harry quirked an eyebrow at him, "Figured out what...?" he said hesitantly, Do I even want to know...?
"It's nothing bad," Fate said nonchalantly, waving off the dubious look that crossed Harry's face, "I've finally figured out a terrific first name for you!" he chirped, attempting to glomp Harry in his glee.
Harry, of course, deftly skipped out of the way, "You're going to change my first name," he dead-panned from the relative safety of the opposite side of the room.
"Yep!"
"...And pray tell, what is it?" Harry said, staring at the immortal apprehensively. It better not be...
"Harken!"
Harry blinked again, "Harken," he repeated.
"Yep, Harken!"
Well, that isn't so bad, I guess... Harry thought, wondering if maybe, for once he'd get out of this... he wasn't even sure what the term he was looking for was. Calm? Happy? Sane?
Hmm, maybe untraumatised. Unfortunately, that word doesn't exist. At least, not according to Spellcheck... (glares at squiggly red line)
"Hey, do you want to know how I came up with that name?" Fate didn't give Harry a chance to answer... not that the immortal would have listened anyway... "I was thinking hmm... Harry. Should I give you a whole new name or something similar? And then Retse came over and we were like, watching all this anime and the main character called one of his friends Gokuderu-kun. Apparently, Japanese people tack a -kun onto the end of names when addressing males younger or about the same age as them or something like that and I thought hmm... then that would make you Harry-kun! Or maybe, maybe Har-kun or Ry-kun! And then I was like, Har-kun... Har-kun... Harken! Like that guy in that Fire Emblem game I played! He was so cool! His name is cool too! And we can still get away with calling you Harry too! So, yeh, Harken!" Fate beamed happily at Harry, panting heavily as he hadn't take a single breath during his ramblings.
Harry just looked nonplussed.
"So, so?" Fate piped up again when he regained his breath, "Harken Skywalker; doesn't that sound so cool?"
"I guess..." Could have been a lot worse... Harry thought drily, the name Frodo popping into his head or, heaven forbid, Anakin. He didn't need to give random muggle-borns any more reason to stop him in the hallways just to say 'May the Force be with you'.
"Great!" Fate jumped up happily, "Okay, bye-bye now!"
"Wha-?" and the with a flash of light, the eleven-year old disappeared from sight.
"You should just leave him be, Fate..." a deep voice sighed behind him.
"But it's so much fun..." the immortal giggled before his eyes widened in realisation, "Oh! Dee-chan! You're back! Hooray!" he exclaimed as he skipped over to glomp the much taller, black-robed man, mindful of sharp scythe the other was holding.
Death A.K.A. The Reaper, having learnt by now that resistance was futile, merely sighed and let himself be hugged to er... death, "Don't call me, Dee-chan..."
-
When Harry woke, worried blue eyes and a crinkled brow hovered over him. What the hell...?
"You okay?" he asked.
"Er..." Harry shifted uncomfortably. Slowly, he raised himself into a sitting position. Emerald flickered around briefly to check his surroundings... He made me faint in the middle of a hall-way just to give me a new name?! Harry mentally face-palmed.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled awkwardly as the taller teen helped him stand.
Orion Black shrugged, his face now expressionless, as he made to leave but a hand on his arm stopped him. He tilted his head slightly to look at Harry quizzically.
"Um... Thanks," Harry said, still feeling a little out of depth knowing this was Sirius' son. Orion nodded in acknowledgement but the hand remained glued to his arm. Harry racked his brain fiercely for something to say for, even if it had been Fate's idea, he really did want to make friends with the older teen. Before he could think of anything though, a bunch of Gryffindor students interrupted.
"G-get your hand off him and step away!" one of them said, pointing his wand at Orion as he glared at him.
Harry raised an eyebrow and looked at him in a way that clearly said 'Are you stupid?'. Harry's hand was Orion's arm, not the other way around! And what was he on about anyway...?
Orion scowled, "Don't be stupid," he said, echoing Harry's thoughts, "Put that thing away before you hurt yourself."
"Shut up, Werewolf!" another Gryffindor shouted, "You're nothing but Death Eater scum! Not even human!"
Harry's eyebrows disappeared into his fringe, Orion stiffening noticeably beside him. Apparently, the wizards in this dimension were even less tolerant of werewolves than his own. Huh, how pathetic.
"W-what did you say?!" the Gryffindors glared at him, some of their faces turning red very rapidly.
Harry blinked; he hadn't realised he had said that out loud... Oh well... Whatever, "I said, 'How pathetic'. This many of you against one person. And someone from your own house no less, what's wrong with you?" He'd dealt with enough of these bigoted ideals to last him a lifetime and he certainly wasn't going to put up with it even if he was in another dimension! And if they didn't like it... well he'd deal with them the same way he dealt with those idiots who dared harass his Moony!
"Hey, we're the ones trying to help you!" another Gryffindor spluttered angrily.
"Help me?" Harry scoffed, "I doubt you could even help each other find your way out of a cardboard box. Plus anyway, who says I need help? I certainly don't remember asking for it."
"He's a werewolf!" one of them shouted disbelievingly at him, as if it explained everything. To them, it probably did but to Harry...
"So what?"
Jaws dropped open.
Harry rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Idiots," he muttered under his breath as he readjusted his grip on Orion's arm and gently tugged the fourth year behind him. As they rounded a corner, he mumbled slightly, waving his wand discretely at the shocked bunch with a satisfied grin before tucking it safely back into his sleeve. Orion raised an eyebrow but hid a smile at the sight of the Gryffindors now each sporting donkey ears, muzzle and a tail.
They walked in silence for a while, the only disruption being when they Gryffindors finally realised what had happened, their screams of horror echoing through the strangely empty hallways. Eventually, the first-year stopped and turned to look at Orion. The older teen wondered what the boy was going to say... and why had he let himself he pulled along anyway...?
"Er..." Harry flushed in embarrassment, "I don't know where I'm going..."
Orion snorted and then stared at him for a moment, "You..." really don't care that I'm a werewolf? was what he wanted to say but after so long... "don't you have class?"
Emerald eyes widened, "Merlin's crap on a wand!" Orion blinked at his... unusual choice of curses, "I've got Transfiguration! Erm..." Harry looked at Orion uncertainly, "I don't know where that is... could you tell me how to get there?" Well, I've got to start somewhere, Harry thought, I really need to plan for something say when we meet...
Harry blinked in confusion when Orion looked at him and walked off. When the older teen realised Harry wasn't following him, he turned his head to look back at him, "...I've got a free period. I can show you."
Harry's face broke into a wide smile, This is going better than any plan I can come up with! "Thanks!" And (of which he would later vehemently dispute doing so) skipped after the fourth year.
It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship!
-
...that he was regretting slightly. Not that he didn't like Orion; no, that part he was more than happy with. While it had been difficult for Harry to find Orion at first ("So I had to harass a few people to find you... I'm not a stalker, damn it!" Harry scowled. Orion merely smirked that oh-so-irritating smirk at him.), eventually the taller teen had taken it upon himself to seek out Harry himself and more often than not, the two found themselves enjoying each others company and working on their respective homework in the peace and quiet of the library. No, the Orion-part definitely wasn't the problem. It was this other part that a certain immortal had thoughtfully (read intentionally) forget to inform him of.
Bitch.
(Retse paused in her typing and frowned, "Oh, wait. Fate's a male now isn't he? Hmm...")
Bastard, then.
"Stay away from him," Barry said as the three Gryffindors surrounded him.
"He's dangerous, you know," he continued, not giving the first-year a chance to comment, "We wouldn't want an ickle Puff-firstie like yourself to be hurt now, do we?"
Dean and Seamus snickered but Harken (A.K.A Sharry and the Harry that we all know and love) couldn't see what was so funny. Instead he frowned as he turned his gaze to his older counterpart, ignoring the two sniggering Crabbe-Goyle wannabes, "Why are you telling me this? Isn't he your friend too?"
Seamus snorted, "As if. The only reason Harry talks to him at all is because Harry's dad is friends with those monsters."
"Did I ask you to talk for me, Finnigan?" Potter growled coldly to the sandy-haired boy.
Harken watched in interest as Seamus paled, "S-sorry, mate..."
Emerald met emerald and not for the first time, Harken wondered why no-one ever compared him to the older teen. They were so similar in appearance and yet... "What I do is none of your business and my reasons are also my own," Potter told him icily, "Just stay away him."
If Harken didn't know better, he'd have thought he was talking to a jealous boyfriend...
Whichever the case, Harken really hated his life and since these boys were nice enough to volunteer themselves for Harken's anger management target practice, well... who was he to disappoint?
(evil grin)
Barely five minutes later, Harken looked down at the three unconscious students and smirked. To save the readers from eternal mental scarring, let's just say his... accomplishment involves some rather fetching if a bit draughty muggle hospital wear coupled with various other questionable additions (...OK I admit it, I might have gotten a little lazy with this...). Emerald eyes then narrowed slightly, shoulders tensing as he heard the soft footsteps and the presence of someone coming up behind him. Unfortunately, it was a little too late for him to make his escape. He had nothing to worry about however... sort of.
"Well, well," an familiar but decidedly unwelcome voice spoke up as the platinum blonde stepped up to them, eyebrow quirked, "Isn't this interesting? Potty and his numbskull brigade... I believe this is what some would call divine retribution," his sneer turned calculating as he turned his stare towards the petite raven-haired child standing next to him, "By a first year Puff, no less..."
Harken merely stared back blankly, hoping to unnerve the Slytherin with a clear threat of what would happen to him should the blonde annoy him like the Gryffindors had.
However, it only seemed to serve to amuse Malfoy, that oh-so-infuriating-trademark smirk of his growing wider and wider. He took a wide step forward towards Harken. The teen cursed himself mentally as he unconsciously mirrored him, his back hitting the wall behind him lightly. The blonde's eyes glinted at that, propping his arms on the wall, successfully trapping the smaller male. Harken immediately glared back defiantly even as, for some strange reason, suddenly felt every inch of his decidedly small stature, and feeling decidedly a little self-conscious.
But as the blonde leaned forward, common sense seemed to instantly all rush back into him, What the hell am I doing? What the hell am I letting him do?! But just as he was going to show the stuck-up prat exactly how this first-year Puff had dealt with those annoying Gryffindors, another familiar character from the soap opera that was his previous life entered the scene.
Cedric Diggory was what you would call a model human. A studious Prefect with good grades. Star player and Captain of his house' Quidditch team. Loved by both his professors (well, except Snape, but he doesn't count...) and peers (likewise with the Slytherins) alike. Not to mention his dashing good looks and delightful personality. His friends would even say his mere presence would light up any room he walked into. He took all this in stride, of course, for he was also modest and a deeply caring person.
So it was obvious why, when seeing the aforementioned scene, indignation welled up inside him (it was even one of his own Puffs! The nerve!) as he stalked over and with one hand, deftly pulled the other blonde off the innocent child, "What are you doing?!" he hissed angrily (or at least, as much of an angry hiss as you would expect from a gentle Puff like Cedric).
"Diggory," Malfoy drawled disinterested, though his eyes told a completely different story, "Kindly cease manhandling me."
Cedric frowned and complied but not before placing himself between the two in a clearly protective manner making Malfoy sneered at his actions.
"I don't know what you think you were doing, Malfoy," Cedric growled, "But that doesn't mean-" his eyes suddenly caught sight of the pile of Gryffindor boys to the side and gaped at them openly, "What the hell happened to them?!"
Harken stiffened slightly behind him but Malfoy snorted derisively and said simply, "They annoyed me," finishing with an almost graceful shrug of his shoulders. Emerald eyes narrowed on him sharply, what was Malfoy trying to pull? Why did he just take the blame?
"Annoyed you-? Malfoy! You can't just hex someone if they annoy you!"
Malfoy sneered, "And what are you going to do about it? Take away twenty house points?" he mocked.
Cedric didn't let him get to him however, having dealt with this kind of attitude often, and glared back, "That's exactly what I'm going to do. Twenty points from Slytherin and detention with Filch for harassing a first year and hexing other students!"
Malfoy just scoffed, "Whatever," and walked away without another word.
Cedric and Harken silently watch the blonde disappear around the corner before the sixth year student turned to look at Harken in concern, "Are you alright? Did he... hurt you anywhere?"
Harry looked up at his words but couldn't reply as he stared up at the older male. It was one thing to notice him from a distance but to see undeniably how very... alive Cedric was, was too much for him to handle. He tried to think straight but all that came up was I killed you. It was my fault you died. The blonde's death was one of those he could never reconcile himself for, could never forgive himself for. Cedric had been so wholly innocent and if Harken hadn't asked him to take the cup with him...
So Harken did the only thing he could do. He took a deep breath before swallowing heavily, "I'm fine. Thank you," he said softly as he took a step away, "Um... Excuse me," he said before he bolted down the corridor in the opposite direction of Malfoy, pretending he didn't hear the blonde's yell of "Wait!" and thought of only one thing.
I will save you Cedric Diggory.
-
What Harken certainly didn't expect was, however, was for the sixth year to suddenly seek him out to just chat or study together. Apparently, the blonde had decided to look out for him and realising that the emerald-eyed boy had no friends within Hufflepuff (completely ignoring the fact that Harken wanted to be alone), he taken it upon himself to befriend the small boy. But what was first started through a sense of duty as a prefect soon became a firm friendship as the blonde realised just how mature Harken was and his amazingly extensive knowledge of magic and its workings.
That was how they come together as the strange study group they were now, meeting everyday in library. Cedric, Orion and himself. The first meeting had been slightly awkward, Orion a little disgruntled at the new addition while Cedric was startled at Harken's choice of friends. Eventually, they got over it (knowing they would have to at least tolerate each other to spend time with Harken before finally falling into easy camaraderie. (well, sort of...)
So it was like this that found Harken walking together with Cedric and Orion towards the Great Hall for lunch, discussing a new spell Cedric had learnt in Transfiguration. When they arrived in the Entrance Hall, they found themselves unable to proceed owing to the large crowd of students congregated there, all milling around a large which had been erected at the foot of the marble staircase.
"Cedric!" someone suddenly called out.
Three heads turned as an brunette ran towards them. He stopped in front of them, giving the blonde's choice of companions a weird look before giving the seeker his full attention, "Have you seen the sign yet? It's only a week away!"
Cedric looked confused, "What is?" and peered over the multitude of heads to glance at the sign, reading it out aloud for Harken's sake, knowing the raven-haired boy wouldn't be able to see.
TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT
The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday 30th of October. Lessons will end half and hour early –
"Brilliant!" they heard Ron Weasley exclaim, who had also come round with his two best friends to see what the commotion was about, "It's Potions last thing on Friday! Snape won't have time to poison us all!"
"And Binns won't have time to bore us all to death, thank Merlin," Harken grumbled getting amused looks from his friends. But inside he was more than a little disgruntled; somehow he'd let the Triwizard Tournament totally slip from his mind...
Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast.
...at least this time, there was no danger of him entering but... Emerald eyes slid sideways as he stared sadly at his new friend.
Grey eyes met him and blinked uncertainly, "What's wrong?"
Harken bit his lip lightly, "Are you going to enter?"
Cedric shrugged, "Probably. I know for one, my dad would want me to enter..." he grimaced slightly.
"Well... Be careful," Harken said, a little uncomfortably.
Cedric smiled and made to reassure his fears but Orion got there before he did, "You don't have to worry about that idiot, Harken," he drawled, "I doubt he'd feel it even if a comet crashed into his thick skull."
Cedric gave a loud bark of laughter drawing many curious stares, and reached around Harken to punch the fourth year on the shoulder, "Gee, thanks. You know what? I'm going to take that as a compliment," he said with a wide grin.
Orion grumbled to himself but both he and Cedric fell into silence as they stared at their mutual friend in concern as Harken merely looked down at the ground.
The next couple of weeks found Harken in a bit of a daze as deja vu struck him like lightning. He watched the foreign students arrived, his memories of the giant horses and colossal ship that rose from the lake as clear as the events in front of him. He watched as they brought out the Goblet of Fire and numerous students that stepped forward to put their name him. The twins sprouting long, white beards just didn't seem as funny as it did the last time as he tried to smile reassuring at Cedric as the blonde also dropped in his name. If there was anything he could do, it was to pretend that everything was going to be okay.
Everything was going to be okay.
And as silence fell over the Hall following Neville's name having be just spat out of the goblet, he could only look on sadly as the brunette's shocked gaze locked briefly with his sympathising ones. And his heart went out to him when the Golden Trio became two.
"Like them, Longbottom?" Malfoy said loudly, flashing his Support CEDRIC DIGGORY – the REAL Hogwarts Champion! Badge as Neville and Hermione approached. "And this isn't all they do – look!"
He pressed his badge into his chest, and the message upon it vanished, to be replaced by another one, which glowed in green:
LONGBOTTOM STINKS
And then, as Nevile glared angrily, Hermione hissing at him to ignore them at his side, all those feelings from long ago rushed back into him... and he snapped.
"Leave him alone!" Harken shouted angrily, Cedric and Orion giving him stunned at the sudden outburst that was quite unlike the first-year they had gotten to know.
Malfoy seemed to recognise instantly despite their only encounter having happened weeks ago, his smirk widening challengingly, "And what would you do if I didn't?"
"Harken, wait-!" Cedric called out but it was too late. The first year already had his wand out, casting a wordless spell before anyone could react. He angrily slashed his wand horizontally from left to right in front of him, the tip spewing forth an invisible wave of magic they flew forward, hitting the group of students like a large gust of wind.
Cedric didn't have to worry however, Harken having learnt long ago not to let the blonde's taunts to get to him. What he had done was harmless but hopefully effective. As the students wondered what had happened, the badges suddenly glowed brightly and then...
Support NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM – the REAL Hogwarts Champion!
And then it flashed again, this time glowing red...
DIGGORY STINKS
Harken gaped at the badge in unconcealed horror, his face glowing red as brightly as the badge had moments ago. Sheepishly, he turned to look at his thankfully amused looking friends, "Sorry, Cedric. I didn't mean to..."
Cedric just laughed, patting Harken's raven locks softly as he did so, "I know, it's okay," he said, looking far too amused for someone who's just been insulted (though, to be fair, he'd gotten pretty immune to insults after spending so much time with Orion...) and then turned to look at the flabbergasted students seriously, "Harken's right though. There's no need for these petty insults," he said, talking to the his own housemates in particular," Longbottom and I have both been chosen to represent our school so I want you to stop being stupid and support both of us. Understood?" as the Hufflepuffs nodded numbly back at him, he continued, "Plus anyway, if Longbottom says he didn't put his name in, then I believe him," he said with a shrug even a people started to openly gape at him again, "Now... I'm going to have to confiscate those badges..."
As the blonde prefect did just that, Neville couldn't help but join the gaping masses. Cedric believed him? But why? He didn't seem so certain when they'd first talked about it... The brunette jumped when someone touched his shoulder and was surprised to find, when he turned around, not Hermione but Harken Skywalker staring imploringly up at him, "Um..." he fumbled, cursing himself at his lack of eloquence.
"Are you okay?" the raven-haired boy asked.
"Yes, I am," and for the first time in a long time, he really did mean it, "Thank you," he said, trying to pour all his feelings and gratitude into those two words.
And it was a good thing too, for when emerald-eyed Harken Skywalker smiled beautifully back at him, Neville found himself completely lost for words.
Final Note. And as usual, please let me know what you think of this chapter so I'd know if I should rewrite something or other... Thanks :D