Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter franchise nor the World of Warcraft franchise belong to me. They belong to J K Rowling and Blizzard Entertainment respectively.
AN
This is rewrite of my own HP/WoW crossover. I have done some patch ups, added additional info and hopefully, it has made it a bit better than my old one.
The ritual set idea of 49, seven sets of seven, was taken in its entirety from Salient Causality's Harry Potter and the International Triwizard Tournament. The idea belongs to him, and I am using this with his permission. (P.S. if you haven't read it, go ahead, it is an amazing story)
Let me give out the warnings and you can see if you really want to go ahead with the story after that:-
Slow updates (from months to years between chapters)
No meaningful romance stories. I am not going to concentrate on it, if it happens, then it will. In any case, Harry will get married and have kids. Won't say more as it may spoil the story. Will there be a harem? Don't know, if you are my previous reader then you know I am not averse to it. But there are none in the basic idea I have laid out so far. That doesn't mean it won't happen in the future.
I have played WoW till Frozen Throne, and am mainly using WoWpedia for source material. Some I will use it as it is, while other's I will twist it for my own purpose. So, if your looking for a cannon compliant story with strict story line, timeline, characters, places, areas, class skills, levels, weapons and all, then you won't find it here and please don't read it.
My progress with English Language and in writing stories still remains at the very bottom level, so cringe dialogues, absurd and choppy sentences, wrong grammar… well you get the point, right?
I have laid out a very basic idea spanning 17 chapters as of yet, changes may be applied later, having no particular ending in mind. It was an idea that I had, which later developed into a 17-chapter story as I started fleshing out the very first chapter. The point is, I am writing to see how far I can go with the idea and this story, with no apparent ending or conclusion in my mind. And if you feel such an attempt is doomed to failure, then please don't read.
If you don't like any of the above warnings, then please don't read it. Sorry for wasting your time.
Now for anyone wondering what is up with the characters in the story description, well I have plans for them and not necessarily romance, at least so far nothing has cropped up. But yes, they are possible romantic options. If you don't like it, don't read it.
For those who still want to read this story as well as for those who supported me so far, THANK YOU!
Please read and review!
AN
Chapter 1: An Unexpected Journey
Harry Potter was calm even though chaos reigned around him. Many skirmishes, both small and large took place in and around him. Wizards and witches fought each other, ideals clashed, the need for survival taking precedence over petty arguments.
Harry, for the most part, moved like a phantom in the eyes of those around him, turning the tide of whatever battle that came before him and moving on just as fast. But for Harry, everything moved around at a snail's pace, he was looking for Voldemort, his mortal nemesis people would say, a pain in the ass Harry would counter.
For Harry this was it, the last thing he needed to do before achieving his freedom, to be done with all the nonsense that started years ago on a Halloween night. After he finishes off the snake bastard, he will be rid of it all and finally get away from here, just like what he had told Hermione.
"Harry, what do you plan to do after the war is over?"
"Well Hermione, imagine a busy Diagon alley, suddenly a clamour arises as a bunch of little Potter heads ran amok, being chased after by a bunch of mature busty ladies", Harry wagged his eyebrows with his statement, earning him a smack from his best friend.
"Stop it and be serious, and no, please no more Sirius jokes." laughter was the answer, "tell me Harry please."
Harry sighed as he looked at his best friend, "When this mess is over, I want to travel the world Mione, go places that I have heard as well as those that I haven't heard of. Learn new things, meet new people, etc.."
"You know magical Britain won't just leave you be. They would be hounding after you, to lead them, to guide them."
"Fuck them all. I am done with those bastards. I am done playing for them. It's time to do something for myself. I don't want to shackle myself to the woes of the sheep", came Harry's harsh reply.
"With you Harry, I don't believe you would be able to keep on being free from your own self."
"What does that mean?" Harry asked incredulously.
"It means you are you, and no matter where or when, you will always find yourself with responsibility born out of your own capability and presence. You won't be able to run away from who you are forever."
"Watch me"
Harry shook himself from the trip down memory lane as he continued his battle prowl through the Hogwarts corridors and stepped into the courtyard. The battle of Hogwarts was coming to its high note, the final surge before the end and all of it hinged on that one battle, Harry against Voldemort.
There in the midst of chaos, Harry saw his foe blasting the animated golems of Professor McGonagall. The moment Harry saw him, Voldemort noticed his enemy as well. Both took measured steps out of the chaos that surrounded them. Now standing a few paces apart from each other, in the middle of the courtyard, each took careful stock of the other.
Voldemort was down to zero on his horcrux count, Nagini killed by Harry, during the earlier skirmishes of the battle, using the mithril-black iron sword, that Harry forged by himself, which was also infused with basilisk venom.
Harry himself was once a horcrux, but was freed from it via a killing curse from Voldemort himself, mere minutes after his second coming and mockery of a duel, at the end of the Triwizard Tournament that happened in his fourth year at Hogwarts. The coming battle between them would write the fate of all those around them.
Upon taking clear stock of each other, the mortal enemies once again started of with battle provocations, trying to unsettle the other.
"Harry Potter, you will die today." Voldemort stated in a low hiss, his hatred for his foe clearly evident in his words and tone.
"You have been trying to do that for the past seventeen years Tom, yet here I am, still standing."
"Indeed, you seem to cling on to your worthless life no matter what I throw at you, but it doesn't matter, Live or Die, you will lose today."
That made Harry pause, a strange but mild sense of danger seeped into his very being as he carefully observed his foe, a never before seen glint was present in those cruel blood red eyes where only madness and an ever-encompassing hatred was present. Harry buried his discomfort to the back of his mind as he bantered back,
"We will see whether I lose or not Tom, you however will die. Today will be your end."
A brief moment passed as both combatants stopped riling up one another, then they lashed out at each other with whatever magical knowledge they possessed.
An Organ liquefier flew straight and true, only to be blocked by an Aegis.
Two piercing hexes that send in return were batted away, giving time for two menacing root spears to sprang up, causing the unnaturally pale and snake looking spell caster to resort to dark destruction spells to get rid of them.
The red eyed spell caster then turned that destructive spell blast into an array of dark flamed crows that were send against his foe.
The golden and emerald, jewel eyed defender, merely snuffed them out using a light barrier, one of his own creation, followed by searing light rays that pierced through all the magical shield put against it like paper, only to be stopped by stone blocks conjured by his opponent.
Fiendfyre creatures pounced forth from the snarling opponent's wand, followed by a multitude of dark and very destructive spells.
A multitude of light diamond like small shields sprang up around the defender again, stopping all the dark spells as if they entered a watery surface. The Fiendfyre creatures were grabbed and locked down by hands made of sand. Even as the devilish flames ate through the spell that formed the hands, they held strong gaining strength instead of wearing out, changing shapes into a dome that covered them and then with a 'whoosh' snuffed the creatures out.
Many more spells blasted forth from the two combatants, neither yielding an inch, even in their stance, powering through and hammering down on the other's defence and offense.
Their large, destructive yet wonderous battle have already put awe on the two sides that were battling out for the fate of their world. The high-pitched battles that went full throttle at the beginning has slowly petered out, almost in silent acknowledgement as they watched the magical duel of the new millennium that could very well decide the fate of all.
The fight went on for hours and both combatants felt the drain, but both held still. One snarled and hurled curses along with spells while the other stood like a statue, calm like an unmoving water surface without the slightest of ripples as spells spewed from his wands like a machine.
Then the young combatant finally revealed his trump card, a sudden flurry of spells instantly covered the ground between him and his foe, while he stopped to gather a small bit of light at the tip of his wand.
"Lumos Judgement Rain"
As the red-eyed monster opposite him stopped the flurry of spells send by his young foe, he watched with wide eyes as the sky around them was filled with numerous spears made of light. A brief silence followed after their appearance, then it all came crashing down.
Voldemort held on against the assault for mere minutes before he was overwhelmed and skewered through, leaving bloody holes throughout his body that seemed to almost erase his impacted area unlike mere puncher wounds.
Then the barrage came to an end, followed by a deafening silence.
*cough* *cough*
The dark lord spat out some blood as he tried to regain his balance, but knew that it was a lost cause as he saw his body starting to fade away. His feet breaking down and floating away like dried burnt leaves.
With a twist of his wand, Harry summoned the Elder Wand out of his dying foe's hand and into his.
There was no large explosion or bloody mess that accompanied the fall of Voldemort. Harry looked on as Voldemort started fading like burnt leaves, with two wands clutched in each of his hands.
Harry breathed out a weary sigh, the battle was over, his enemy defeated for the last time. The death eaters, frightened by their master's death started fleeing in droves. Just as Harry relaxed his taut nerves, he saw the glint that he previously saw in his nemesis' eyes came back in full force.
And like the very evil he was, Voldemort struck his mortal enemy one last time by casting an unknown spell with his very being as price for it, a last spite at the one who defeated him.
"You will not have the wizarding World, nor those who love you Potter. You - lose - Harry - Potter. AUK MUN TOH RA."
An all-encompassing bright green flash covered the entire courtyard, blinding everyone. The power of the spell that was cast reverberated throughout everything, from the stone floors to the very soul of the people that stood there. Once the flash died down, Harry's friends looked around for him, only to find an empty courtyard. Neither combatants nor any clues of what happened remained there. And that was the last time anyone saw Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, the chosen one, the man-who-conquered, in the wizarding world, at least for many years.
221 BDP (Before Dark Portal)
For Harry the moment Voldemort cast his spell, it was like he was being blasted back similar to the effects of a blasting curse. Only instead of being blasted some distance back, Harry was blasted across space and time, he didn't know how long he was taken along for this painful ride as it seemed to stretch for an eternity.
The trip, if it could be called that, for Harry felt like he was shedding his mortal coil and ascending to a higher plane. He was vaguely aware of things happening around him during his trip. The trip started with him hearing what was close to the sound of glass breaking, then there was a brief crunching similar to how a spring was squeezed before being let go, into a higher plane.
Harry had his eyes closed the entire time as he couldn't open them through the sheer squeezing force that impacted him from all sides. Throughout the trip, Harry felt many worlds that he passed by, some twisting evil, great dark holes, blinding light nexus and many, many more. It was like each of these universal or multiverse wonders were trying hard to imprint themselves on Harry even though he was trying his best to close all of his senses during his trip.
Yet all these sensations brought out some memories of his past life as if in resonance to what he was experiencing.
Harry could honestly say that he started to change or rather tried to better himself starting from his second year, when the whole school turned on him for being a parselmouth. At that moment, the rose-tinted glass he wore came off and the harsh reality of his situation reaffirmed itself on his psyche.
The abandonment and ridicule he faced at his relatives' tender care was brought to his fore front by the entire school with their stance. And Harry realised that he was actually alone, even Hermione and Ron, whom he considered his best friends kept a distance from him that only got resolved after he saved the day yet again.
After a near death fight with a bloody basilisk later during the near end of that school year and rescuing Ginny Weasley, who was stupid enough to get caught in the trap set by Voldemort using his old diary, Harry had become totally numb to the world around him. His only purpose being to accumulate enough strength to overcome the challenges and lies binding him to the world.
And in his search, he found two very important things that pushed him further on that self-imposed journey, the Room of Requirement and the ancient knowledge of Rituals. The room, he found via Dobby the house elf, who he rescued from Lucius Malfoy who was behind the chamber incident, and in there, he found the knowledge regarding rituals, the method to gain something in return for losing something.
After many researches, Harry found the method with which he could improve himself further and that was to perform seven sets of seven rituals, the most demanding and challenging of all ritual sets. Rituals were fascinating for Harry, the quirky way it could blow up in his face intrigued him. There were many things he needed to consider when performing a ritual;
How to acquire ingredients?
Are they grown or plundered?
Are they bought or fruits of your own hard work?
Did you hunt it or bought it?
Did you kill it or merely acquired what you wanted letting it live?
Did you forcibly take it or was it willingly given?
Did you care for it on your own or did you hire someone to do it?
What do you want to achieve?
Is it dominance or freedom?
Is it power or skill?
Is it heightened pleasure or deadened senses?
Is it an improved mind or an improved body?
What do you want to use the ritual for?
To subjugate or release?
To kill or save?
To protect or destroy?
The things one needed to take into consideration while performing rituals continued like a never-ending string. Harry though choose to go with self-grown, self-acquired or partially self-acquired, merely taking what he want instead of killing and hopefully willingly given instead of forcibly taken and freedom with the skill to use more power as the basis for his ritual, with the target of saving and releasing himself from the bindings of lies and saving the wizarding world from Voldemort as his end goals.
It was tiring work, to acquire the seeds of magical plants, which thankfully Neville was a good guide for him, growing them in a secluded part near the forbidden forest and searching for magical creatures for ingredients. Most of the body parts of the Basilisk he killed came in handy for that.
'A healthy mind requires a healthy body', it was an old worn out saying but something Harry took to heart as he used the various potions, available to help him in gaining back what he lost through malnutrition, then with the help of Hermione, he found a martial arts dojo to train his body further, in order to keep his body up with his rapidly galloping mind.
His third year was marred by the prison break of Sirius Black, his godfather, whom he came to know was innocent at the end of a harrowing hunt and chase, and the dementors the ministry released to capture said escapee.
Harry was able to conjure a corporeal Patronous, using the memories he had of his parents and his goal of acquiring freedom. His Patronous was a legendary creature of a game he once encountered called Pokémon, it was a Suicune, with its shimmering eyes and floating twin tails that stood at the height of a full-grown human male.
That year ended with Peter Pettigrew escaping and Sirius going into hiding with help from Remus Lupin, the DADA professor for the year. The events forced Harry to further his plans with all the haste he could muster.
With fourth year marking the Tri-wizard tournament that forced him to participate, Harry started his ritual sets. Mental fortification, Physical rejuvenation, Magical rejuvenation, Physical Strengthening and Magical strengthening, Harry completed five sets containing seven rituals before the final task of the tournament.
Being forced to face and defeat a dragon in the first task, helped him in furthering his ritual by using the said dragon and it fellow companions after that task was over, as ingredients for his ritual. By utilizing the three ferocious dragons, Harry was able to use their draconic strength without killing any of them as part of his Physical strengthening ritual.
Him helping rescue Gabrielle Delacour during the second task along with Ron his target for rescue, gained him a grateful Veela, who wanted to thank him quite spectacularly. Harry naturally agreed being a hot-blooded youth, but used the occasion to complete one of his Bloodline Acquirement ritual set, which was a set used to gain magical abilities, with the other set being Bloodline Awakening ritual set, that strengthened any and all magical abilities he had. There was no love between them, as it was only a simple one-night stand that both used to relieve some tensions they had.
Then as he finished the final task by grabbing the cup, he was whisked away to be used as an ingredient in the ritual to resurrect his foe Voldemort. The ensuing battle after said resurrection, showcased to Harry that while inexperienced, he wasn't that outmatched in terms of power against the Dark lord. But his inexperience proved their folly as Harry took a killing curse to the chest, causing a magical backlash that threw everyone off their feet.
Harry survived only due to the piece of Voldemort that got killed in turn for him and his own quick reflexes that caught the portkey cup, that whisked him away back to safety. Throughout the cheers and congratulation, Harry remained calm and subdued, never speaking a word to anyone. It was as the year came to an end that Harry went to seek out professor Flitwick, the duelling grandmaster and a charms master.
Throughout the whirlwind that was fifth year, Harry kept his head down while Dumbledore and the Minister locked their horns on the topic of return of the dead Dark Lord. Harry trained himself under Flitwick, who was all too happy to train his student and the famous Boy-Who-Lived. Then battle at Ministry atrium happened, though Harry was not part of any of it, that alerted the world over of Voldemort's return. But in that battle Harry lost his godfather, Sirius Black, the one man he could honestly say cared for him without any demand or doubt.
Harry by the end of sixth year, became good enough to defeat professor Flitwick, his on already considerable power and training complimenting what Flitwick put him through helping him in achieving said feat. Dumbledore then started taking Harry into his fold by telling him of the prophecy and the Horcruxes, going on a jaunty but unfruitful trip to an island that revealed nothing other than a locket left by RAB, Dumbledore and Harry came back to Hogwarts, only for him to get killed at the hands of Draco Malfoy.
What neither Voldemort nor Dumbledore knew was the fact that Harry have already learned about the Horcruxes via the memories he gained through the destroyed one which his own scar hosted. Harry's actions, following the death of Dumbledore, were like thunder as he destroyed the diadem, then went to the office of the Headmaster to make sure the ring was destroyed, taking the resurrection stone during the process. Then he travelled to Number 12 Grimmuald place to get the Slytherin's locket to destroy it thus gaining Kreacher's loyalty, which he used to gain the keys to LeStrange vault, destroying the cup while taking all the money in there along with the Black vault that Sirius has left for him.
Then he fortified Hogwarts, where a near year long drawn out battle occurred, a battle of attrition as Harry used Hogwarts as his base to launch surprise attacks at his foe, which culminated in the Battle of Hogwarts and him finally defeating his foe, breaking the shackle that held him to the wizarding world as a whole. And now his foe just unleashed a last spite, blasting him off to who knows where.
Harry didn't know how long he travelled, since time has long stopped flowing through him as he cut across time and space. His countenance while calm was slowly growing grim as he felt moving at a rapid pace without any indication of slowing down. And finally, there was a slight searing sensation as if a layer of his skin was torn off, making Harry grit his teeth before he was yanked out of the travel stream and into a mortal plane.
"Fuck", Harry cursed loudly as he was thrown across a snow-covered ground as soon as the blinding flash and pain ended. Rolling around, Harry was brought to an abrupt end in the snow-covered ground by a piece of log. Harry stayed where he laid, his body aching all over.
Taking deep breaths, Harry calmed himself down as he looked around for any clue that could tell him where he was from the ground upon which he was sprawled across. Looking towards the sky, he was greeted by a vast sealed dome of space, which seemed as if it was strewn across by glittering stars as far as the eye can see on a purplish black background, with intermittent colours, that any would marvel at, flashing out across the dome from time to time.
Snow fell down from the large sky vault, the presence of which calmed Harry further as it elicited a feeling of familiarity. Once he got a hold of himself, Harry stood up and started casting some of the healing spells he knew, giving out a shuddering breath as the spells took hold. He removed his burned and destroyed clothes, instead donned a new set, taking it out of his pocket space, something he called a soul space.
Only then did he looked at the Elder wand clutched in his left hand. The presence of which brought a premonition to him, an old story coming to his mind. Examining the wand closely, he found an odd warmth coming from it. Deciding to look into it later, Harry put the Elder wand in his soul space, from where he took his new clothes, the soul space being a unique magical space he had developed during his sixth year at Hogwarts, before he once again started looking around for any clues to identify the place, he seems to have ended up in.
Taking one look around was all Harry needed to know that he was not anywhere he had prior knowledge of, limited it may be but it was enough to recognize the sheer otherworldly feeling of the place. Harry pulled his black windbreaker close as his breath was stolen by the sight of snow-covered peaks of numerous mountains that surrounded and towered over him on all sides.
The vast chain of snow-covered Sierra stretched across the region, with each mountain taller and bigger than any he has heard about, with clouds that wound around them giving the impression of a very large snake being coiled around the vast sierra. A bone piercing chill penetrated through his clothes, prompting Harry to tighten his clothes as well as to cast warming charms. The wind howled around him, bringing with it, the howls of wolves and other animals. This instantly put Harry on alert.
After getting his bearings, Harry discovered that he was stranded halfway up one of the many snow peaked mountains that surrounded him. From halfway up the mountain, Harry looked down to see a Pine forest just as snow covered as the tundra around him. The howls of wolves came again reminding Harry of his predicament. Deliberating for a moment, Harry decided to head down the mountain that he stood on, since he mused that chances of finding any vestiges of society at the bone chilling mountain tops was less than there was at the bottom.
While trekking over the snow-covered mountain side, Harry rolled up the sleeves of the windbreaker he was wearing, to take a look at the tattoo on his left arm. The tattoo consisted of a diamond symbol encircled by a circle trapped between two bands, all in black colour. Nothing fancy, then again, its purpose was not to be fancy instead it was a storage seal that Harry had developed. Using a mixture of Elder Futhark and Egyptian runes, that was imprinted so tiny that normal eyes won't be able to make them out, it was Harry could say with pride one of a kind storage artifact magic. The basis behind the storage seal was to create a pocket dimension linked to a person's magic and soul so that it can be accessed from anywhere at any time and only by the user. Thus, the name soul space.
Having almost an infinite capacity and a very strong stasis property, it held all of Harry's necessary supplies, equipment, money and all, that ranged from the Firebolt his godfather sent as a gift to the three Hallows as well as all the money from the Potter, Black and Death Eaters' Vaults he raided with the help of Dobby and Kreacher.
Furthermore, during the one-year long war of attrition, he prepared for his final confrontation as much as possible. Mainly he did so by completing the last two sets, the Bloodline Awakening ritual set, geared towards enhancing existing magical abilities and Bloodline Acquirement ritual set, geared towards obtaining new magical abilities, which he had already started up after his fourth year. And through them, he became more than just a wizard, some could say he was a new race altogether.
After completing all the rituals, Harry stood at 6ft 5in with a well-defined body similar to Olympic swimmers, his hair changing from Potter messy hair to short and spikey black hair that somehow gave the impression of a lion's mane while still being short. His eyes which were once emerald green had changed long before that into a crystalline gold and green colour with slit snake like pupils, after the Physical Strengthening ritual set, where he used the eyes of the Basilisk as sacrifice for fortifying his own. Now it glittered under light, like jewel shards, with the added ability to see through magic and having high resilience against adverse conditions. With the Horcrux gone, his lightning bolt scar has long since faded away, all the changes together making it so that, anyone would find it hard to recognise the former skinny Harry Potter who once entered Hogwarts in his first year.
Harry easily made his way down the mountain, his ritually enhanced frame as well as the near ritualistic habit of keeping up with his martial arts training coming in handy in doing so. It wasn't just hand to hand combat he learned as along with that, he also learned sword techniques like broad and short sword style, fencing and Kendo, mainly so that he could use the sword he forged effectively. He learned all of these in about five to six years, as his ritual enhancement increased his learning curve to a whole new height.
It was him being fascinated by the Sword of Gryffindor, which he used to slay the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, that led him to learn how to forge weapons and tools. The result of his painstaking study into the art of forging culminated in the formation of the three-foot-long, including the hilt, and weighing five pounds, black double-edged sword called Requiem.
It was forged using Mithril and Black iron combination, which made it near indestructible. The Mithril was used since it possessed high magical conductivity on top of being one of the toughest metals found on Earth. Black Iron was a fairly unknown and very rare metal, which Harry discovered in the Black Family vault, it as far as Harry and the Goblin experts could tell, came from outer space probably through an asteroid crash. A part of which he traded to the Goblins to learn their craft.
The metal showed higher magical conductivity than Mithril, had more heat resistance and very high density. On top of it, the metal was highly compatible with Mithril. The result was Requiem, the sword itself has all the enchantments of the sword of Gryffindor and more, as it was able to change its shape and size according to the wielder's wish. Harry had infused his own blood in the crafting process, making it so that only he can wield the sword and later strengthened it using basilisk venom. Along with that, the enchantments allowed Harry to summon his sword from anywhere into his hands, the idea of which he got from legend of Thor's hammer Mjolnir from the Norse mythology.
Then there was his armour that he crafted for himself, though once it was finished, it turned out more of a combat suit than pure armour. An ambitious yet very fruitful project resulted in its creation. The base of the armour, working as its bare bones, was the Basilisk skin, which was highly resistant to magical spells. The Basilisk that Harry slayed, being almost 1000 years old meant the magical resistant property was off the charts for the skin he worked with. Harry then bought some dragon hide to line the inside to create a cushioned area, that had the same magic resistant property but without the scaly feel of the Basilisk skin, thus making it more comfortable to wear. Finally, the armour was coated with Mithril-Black Iron alloy, on the outside, to make it more tough and unbreakable, without losing much of its mobility. The end result was a black suit that had a scaly design all over from head to toe. (Picture Aquaman's suit, the one with scale patterns, but in all black).
The armour called Venom Suit, was something he mainly wore underneath his usual clothes as an added layer of security. The suit, stored in his soul space could be easily called into protecting his body with just a thought. Magic was truly wonderful as it allowed the suit to be perfectly joined without any need for zippers and all, making it so that it can part on its own allowing it to be worn and then cover his body, fully protecting it.
Though Harry have thought up further plans to add a heavy armour on top of it, like an attachment, to make it more formidable as well as to make it a true armour. He has yet to find time to do so.
His study with space magic, which he used in the creation of his soul space, also helped him in developing a unique magical transportation technique, called Volting. It was a mix of lightning and space magic. Basically, Harry could transform himself partially into a bolt of lightning and move around large distances through the sky, passing through anything and everything.
The Volt Flash was something he developed later, as a more controlled variation of his Volting. Volt Flash, unlike Volting, on the other hand utilised the runic seals as a homing beacon, where he could travel to any location he had previously set up, all in the speed of light. So far, he had never encountered any wards that could stop either magical travel, with Volting destroying any wards in place and Volt Flash bypassing any in place. The implication being that Harry could get out of any situation as long as he had enough time and magical energy to utilise either of his techniques.
As such, it was a worry-free Harry that made his way down the mountain, intent on exploring the region he was in. By what little he was able to remember during his voyage here, so to speak, Harry was sure that he was no longer on Earth, his home planet. But where this place was remained a mystery, one that he would like to unravel soon.
Harry didn't have any actual desire to find a way back home. With Sirius dead, his only link to the magical world was long gone. He fought only because Voldemort wouldn't stop even if he did. And knowing Ron as he did now, that guy would be jumping up in jubilation since he could be with Hermione without any worry and probably has already started milking his friendship with the man-who-conquered for all that it was worth with the sheep of the wizarding world.
Harry didn't have anyone that he cared much about back in his world, everyone was either an opportunist or a backstabber. Only Sirius, Hermione, Luna and the twins cared about him. From some of the moments he witnessed before the final battle, Neville and Luna seemed to be an item, and Fred and George were safe as far as he knew and of course Hermione was with Ron or at least that seemed to be the case, while his friendship with Hermione deepened after the second year, it never truly bridged the invisible gap that existed between them due to the events of their second year. But he still considered her as his best friend out of all the handful of them he had in any case.
All in all, he was fine to be in a new world where he was an unknown, a totally new entity with no history known to anyone. For Harry, this could be a chance for him to make something for himself without the constant attention and expectations that he garnered from the Wizarding community.
Harry was quickly snapped out of his introspection of his life by the sounds of loud grunts of boars and rumbling of gun fire along with battle cries. Harry instantly entered into a battle-ready state, he crouched down and made his way swiftly through the Pine trees towards the sounds of skirmish that could be heard from where he stood. Upon arriving, the sight of battle that greeted him confused Harry.
It wasn't the battle that confused him, rather it was the participants that did so. Sitting on top of large grey black boars, which were at least two and a half metres long and one and three-quarters metres tall, were seven foot tall bipedal creatures that had white fangs jutting out of their face like tusks of an elephant, having light blue skin, with upper torso that was almost bare other than some weird adornments and brown leather pants, their feet which was uncovered showing the two large toes instead of the usual five toes found in humans, holding what appears to be spears made of wood and bones, in hands having three large fingers, using them and trying to strike at what could only be called dwarves straight out of a Tolkien fantasy.
The dwarves themselves were five-foot-tall, with a stocky build and thick intricately done beards. They wore medieval type Armor, with some of them using swords and shields to block their opponents while the rest of them were using what looked like muskets of old. The fighting continued on as Harry evaluated both parties, eight blue creatures and ten dwarves, he didn't know who to help as he had no information about the situation. But the decision was quickly made as both parties exchanged battle provocation.
"Taz'dingo! Da Amani de Chuka!", the pale blue, almost white tall bipedal, who seems to be the blue creature's leader called out.
"Suck my cock, you damn icicle trolls. Come on lads let's show these bastards our might and teach them a lesson that we Bronzebeards are no pushovers."
One spoke gibberish while the other spoke English, naturally Harry would pick the one who spoke his native tongue. Besides dwarves used to exist back on his world too, only the rumours say that they closed the way to their realm as they retreated back into it after suffering heavy losses from their war with Goblins.
Without further ado, Harry launched a salvo of bone breaker, piercing hexes and cutters towards the strange tall bipedal creatures, all aimed at their vital organs or body parts like hands and legs. To his surprise though, the spells did very little damage than what was normal, inflicting minor flesh wounds than the gore he expected.
But it was good enough to disturb their rhythm and that was all it took for the dwarves to turn the tide of the battle, one of the creatures howled and herded his boar towards Harry, who promptly took out Requiem and easily avoided the spear stab aimed at his head, ducking down and getting inside the creatures guard, he cleanly lopped off the creatures head along with the hand holding the spear, thus finishing the blue being off with relative ease. After killing the blue creature, Harry spun around, cutting the boar's head, that the creature was using as a ride, cleanly off, ending the life of the boar as well. Some more screams, gunshots and weapons clash later, the rest of the creatures were killed off by the ten odd dwarves.
Harry made his way towards them cautiously, though the dwarves seemed to be less cautious of him than he was of them as they got a better look at him.
"Greetings, my name is Harry Potter. May I know where I currently am?", Harry introduced himself to reduce any hostility there may be and asked the most pressing question he had.
"If you don't know where you are then how did you get here in the first place?", asked the dwarf with red beard, which was intricately braided into knots, the one who spoke out earlier as well as the one who seemed to be in charge of this group of dwarves. The dwarf wore full plate armour, with a sharp-edged axe, that practically gleamed in the light, in one hand and a shield in the other, his head was covered under a metal headpiece that had sharp angles, which gave him a regal air. He also spotted a short sword hanging from the dwarf's waist as well. Harry could only internally muse at how armed to teeth the dwarf was.
"A magical accident actually. I was transported across space. And as such I have no idea where I am. So, could you help me?", Harry replied while keeping his musings to himself.
"Magic, Aye I suppose that explains how you got here. Any way the name is Thorgas Grummer, leader of the seventh squadron in charge of scouting the areas near Gol'Bolar Quarry. And thanks for helping us deal with the Frostmane trolls, they have been getting bolder as of lately. We are currently in the Tundrid hills just west of the said Quarry."
"You are welcome. And could you expand a bit more? I have no clue were this region is at all"
"Do you know Dun Morogh?", seeing Harry shake his head in negative, Thorgas continued, "Iron Forge?". Another shake of head in negative prompted Thorgas to let out a low whistle in amazement. "Which rock did you come out from laddie? Do you know Stormwind?"
"Consider me to be completely from another world entirely. Mr. Grummer."
"Ah just call me Thorgas no need for honorifics. Well Stormwind is the human capital that we know of, which is south of Khaz Modan, that is where we are, Dun Morogh is inside Khaz Modan and Stormwind is down to the south, in Azeroth."
"Please call me Harry. Is there any city, town or village that I can find shelter near here?"
"The nearest village is miles away past the Kharanos and Chill Breeze valley, called Brewnall village run by Gnomes our friends in Gnomeregan, the gnome's city, which again is further west of the said village. The other one being Iron Forge north of here, which is our capital city. For now, I suggest you stick with us. We can go back down to the quarry, there is an Inn there and we can find some ale to warm our bellies there."
Harry agreed with the suggestion and waited for the other Dwarves who were cleaning up the battlefield, burning the bodies of the creatures called trolls and tying up the meat that they cut out from the boar's that the trolls used as ride. Harry then travelled alongside the dwarf squad, learning a great deal from them about the world he has landed upon.
The Dwarves and Gnomes are the primary inhabitants of the region called Dun Morogh, with Iron Forge and Gnomeregan as their capital cities respectively. They have more than two thousand years of long history, both species sporting a sort of kinship with each other, as both hypothesize that their ancestors came from Uldaman in the east of Khaz Modan. But there has been an upheaval within the dwarves recently, as in close to nine years ago, due to the death of their high king Modimus Anvilmar.
The Dwarves under three factions, Bronzebeards, Dark Iron dwarves and Wildhammers fought for supremacy for Iron Forge resulting in the victory of Bronzebeards. Both Wildhammers and Dark Iron dwarves have moved out of Dun Morogh, the Wildhammers moving to wetlands to the east and Dark Iron dwarves moving to Redridge Mountains to the south. Though it appears that Wildhammers have come to terms with their defeat, the Dark Iron dwarves have not, resulting in many skirmishes with them thus thinning the ranks of the Bronzebeard dwarves that used to keep peace in the valley.
Their new king Madoran Bronzebeard is currently looking for a solution for it. There is a human kingdom called Stormwind to the south of Khaz Modan, which is how the entire region that is situated at the middle Western part of the continent they were currently in is known as. The Wrynn family is the ruler of the kingdom of humans. From the discussion, Harry found that the world seems close to the medieval times of Earth. And magic seems to be widely known and used among the denizens of this world.
Indeed, now that he was no longer occupied with thoughts of where he was, Harry could feel the high density of ambient magic which was several times larger in magnitude than that was found on Earth here. While there are more human kingdoms to the north of this continent, relations are non-existent if barely any, due to the barrier of travel and communication across such large and adverse regions since there was an acute lack of technology that enabled such like back on Earth.
Iron Forge mainly have trade relations with Gnomes, followed by the occasional ones with Stormwind. Robert Wrynn currently ruled as the king of Stormwind, from his seat of power in Stormwind Castle. There are many villages and hamlets around the castle dotted around a large region of the South that comes under the authority of Stormwind like Northshire Abbey, Grand Hamlet, Sunnyglade, Kyross, Rockard, Goldshire and Moonbrook.
As Harry was conversing with Thorgas, he reduced the effect of the warming charm he cast earlier so that his body could adapt to the new environment. While ritually enhancing his body, Harry first wanted to give various immunities against climatic conditions only to realize that such enhancements were static in nature, meaning once you set an immunity, it will provide immunity until the threshold you build into the ritual.
For furthermore, you have to do a modification ritual with new parameters. Instead of wasting time, Harry came up with an adaptability ritual, this one helped his body acclaim immunity through adaptability, any encounter with new drastic conditions, all his body required was time to slowly accumulate immunity towards such conditions. The ritual has magnified the body's natural adaptability to a whole new level with the added bonus of retaining said immunity permanently. It was part of his physical strengthening ritual set.
Now as Harry moved along with Thorgas and company, he could feel his magic somehow expanding in the presence of the large ambient magic around him.
"Where does the trolls reside? From what you have told me so far almost all of Dun Morogh seems to be either under yours or the Gnomes' care"
"No, it may seem that us Dwarves and Gnomes control this area, in a sense it is true. The area around Iron Forge, Gnomeregan, Anvilmar, the Quarry and the North Gate Passage and South Gate Passage are tightly under our control. But Dun Morogh is a very large area, what I said doesn't even cover 1/10th of Dun Morogh and we are not so numerous as to secure all areas. It is in these fringes that the trolls thrive. Furthermore, they use Crag Boars for quickly moving between raids as you just saw."
"Were the trolls always indigenous to Dun Morogh? Or did they come from somewhere else? And do they not speak, our language... eh... what do you call the language we are conversing in?"
"Are you sure you are alright in the head lad? We are speaking in common.", shaking his head at the absent-minded nature of his new traveling companion, Thorgas continued, "We don't have solid proof, but from what we know they did reside here for some time before moving to someplace else. It's only recently that they have come back and started up trouble for us. Or maybe they never left in the first place. And currently they are holed up in Frostmane hills, thus we call them Frostmane trolls."
"Haven't you tried any diplomatic measures regarding the feud between you guys and the trolls? They didn't seem like mindless beasts to me."
"Aye they are not beasts. They have their own language and customs, some of them do know common as well. And any feud, if there exists one, is on their part. We live inside mountains; thus, have no need of these vast area you see before us other than for traversing. So, it doesn't matter to us who settles here as long as they are peaceful. Hell, it would have been a blessing if someone set up shop so that we could reduce our expenditure on scout missions to keep the place safe. The trolls don't seem to want to co-exist with us as everything we tried for a diplomatic approach has so far failed. They seem hell bent on slaying anything other than trolls.", Thorgas shook his head in frustration and defeat.
Harry fell silent as he digested the information he so far received.
The group including Harry continued to crunch their way through the snow, after trudging over a small hill, they came upon the sight of Gol'Bolar Quarry that gave out a warm aura even in the middle of the snow-covered land.
"Look, lad we have finally reached the quarry. You can find a room in the 'Roaring Guns' Inn down there. Do you see it?"
"Yes, I think I can", Harry replied back with a smile seeing Thorgas' enthusiasm.
From where they stood, Harry could see a quarry like any other found on Earth minus the heavy machineries of modern times. The quarry itself was surrounded by five buildings, constructed out of stone with wooden roofing, four of which appeared to be quarters for the miners with one of them being slightly larger, probably acting as their headquarters as well as the place where Thorgas and his party should be stationed at. The last one, a two-storey building, appeared to be a typical bar/inn, with orange glow of lamps and a signboard, depicting two crossed muskets, swaying with the wind. Altogether, the bar kept exuding a welcoming aura which easily enticed Harry to go inside and embrace that warmth.
"Ah let's hurry, don't want to miss out on a good old Ale. I tell ya, it is one of the best there is. Old man Barin is a dab hand in making fine quality ale."
Thorgas enthusiastically hurried Harry along the small downward slope towards the quarry central. Already laughter and singing could be heard from the Inn as they reached the outskirts of the buildings. While the rest of the dwarves rushed to their quarters to unload their packages, Thorgas led Harry to the Inn.
Following after his new friend, Harry belatedly realised that although the place seemed to be filled with dwarves, the buildings were built in a way that humans and even taller beings could access it. Entering the Inn, Harry was greeted with a pleasant warmth, the air was alight with joy, groups of Dwarven miners were singing and swaying, a small but beautiful, in a next door kind of girl, barmaid was weaving her way through the throngs of customers expertly while an old Dwarf calmly swiped an ale cup, with a small smile tugging at his lips. Harry didn't know why but he immediately fell in love with the place.
"Over here Harry, try this Ale and I bet you will never drink any other brew once you have got a taste of the drink." Thorgas boomed from his position in front of the bar manager, who should be Barin, the one with a talent for ale brewing. Laughing slightly, Harry made his way across the bar towards the front, coming to a stop and taking a seat next to Thorgas.
"A pleasure to meet you Harry, is it? Thorgas said about your little adventure before coming here. Thanks for helping these guys." Barin intoned in a deep baritone, with a slight nod of acknowledgement, "the drink is on the house. Please enjoy."
"I didn't do much, these guys seem to have the situation well under control. But you are welcome nonetheless." Harry tried to wave of his involvement but acceded to Barin's thanks. Taking a slow sip, Harry was amazed at the taste and punch of the drink, quickly changing his sip to a full swing of the cup.
"That's the way laddie, good job. You know what they say, a man who can handle his drink can handle his lot in life", Thorgas clapped on Harry's shoulder seeing him take the cup of ale in full swing.
"Hey Barin, I am currently without a place to stay. Do you have any room available for me?" Harry asked the Bar keeper/manager.
"Sure thing, lad. We don't get much visitors up here. As you can see most if not all of my customers are the quarry miners and these guys who work as guards. So, all five rooms are free and available.", saying until there, Barin turned back and browsed through the keys situated on a wooden board at the back of his station, taking one, he quickly returned to Harry, giving him an iron key. "That's the key to your room. It's the first room upstairs. 70 silvers for a week with food included, 35 silvers without food. 10 silvers for a day's stay including food, 5 silvers without food. So how long are you planning to stay?"
Hearing the question of stay and its cost, Harry started his enquiry on the monetary system, "Can you tell me how your monetary system works? I am new to this region"
On Harry's question, Barin looked at him strangely, then glanced at Thorgas, who was quietly enjoying his drink. Upon Barin's questioning glance, Thorgas let out a loud burp and then said, "Magical accident, he was transported far away from his home."
The reply brought a look of understanding on Barin's face, prompting him to reply, "Well 100 copper to a silver and 100 silver to a gold. That's how it is"
Contemplatively, Harry brought out one of each, Knut, Sickle and a Galleon out for Barin's inspection. "Would these suffice for copper, silver and gold?"
Taking a careful look at the coins, biting them now and then, Barin nodded his head, "Yep, these will do just fine."
Harry then paid seven galleons or golds, in the local language, as payment for stay and food. While Harry enjoyed a late dinner courtesy of Thorgas, he compared Barin to Thorgas. On a gloss over, both appeared similar, almost the same height, the same build, thick beards and all.
But a careful look brought forth how individualized both are, Thorgas has his beard done up in an intricate knot while Barin has his beard done in a waxed smooth way that had curls at the ends. Thorgas seemed to be in his youth whereas Barin had several grey lines to his beard and hair, their attire also denoted their station in life, one a warrior the other a barkeep.
Though something told Harry that Barin was once a soldier as well, on top of having well defined muscles, Barin had several scars on his hands and one wicked looking scar that ran across his left cheek. Add that with the calm and commanding air he has, Barin most definitely was someone with a high position in their army. Looking around, Harry was sure that all male dwarves have beard of some length. Over the course of the meal, Thorgas surprised him yet again by pulling a smoking pipe out of his beard.
Seeing Harry's startled face, Thorgas explained, "A meal is not complete without a good smoke, each dwarf has one or two smoking pipes and assorted powder for it."
Barin nodded, "Aye a good smoke is a must after a good meal"
"And pulling the pipe out of your beard part?", Harry asked still coming to grips with the strange customs.
"Well you never know where you will end up on a long journey. And for a dwarf on such long journeys, weapons, armour and smoking pipes are the most important items one should always have at hand. Weapons and armour can be worn or picked up, but the pipe can only be stored in the safest location. Where else but our most precious beards can we keep it then, as you know we take extra care with our beards.", Thorgas explained with pride.
Barin once again nodded empathetically to Thorgas' proclamation as he too pulled out a smoke pipe from his beard.
"To Smoke", harrumphed Barin.
"TO SMOKE", replied the rest of bar residents including Thorgas.
"To Ale"
"TO ALE", replied the merry goers.
"To Madoran Bronzebeard"
"TO MADORAN BRONZEBEARD"
"And GOOD NIGHT", chortled a thoroughly amused Harry.
After conversing with the two Dwarves, Harry decided to get some rest as the day was a long and hectic one. Shaking his head at the antics of the dwarves, Harry mirthfully bode them good night as he headed to the room he was assigned.
Harry hadn't been able to unwind himself after his battle with Voldemort, what with him being thrown across the world and all. Saying his goodbyes to those who greeted him, Harry retired to his new room upstairs. The room itself wasn't very large, it had a ten by ten feet area, a small bed, a small study with a magical lamp, a bathroom on one side and a window on the far side. Entering the room, Harry quickly erected some normal wards covering his room, before getting into bed and promptly fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
While Harry slept peacefully and in pure bliss, three entities stirred sensing his presence.
Deep beneath the ancient ground of Ulduar, one of the foulest beings stirred as it sensed a change in the flow of the world. Further observation led the being to rear back in fear, as it sensed something it has never felt, a power that invoked a primal fear in its very being, and hide further below its prison cell.
Far away, in the southwestern corner of the ancient lands of Kalimdor, another foul being, kin some would say to other three of its nature, but none knows truly for their minds are beyond mortal musings, nonetheless, it still stirred and trembled in fear as it felt something that was beyond itself, causing it to burrow further in its deep prison hold, hiding itself away from the unknown.
Under the twisting, frothing and tumultuous seas of the Malestorm, another foul being, weakest of its kind, but much more cunning and elusive than its brethren, felt the same presence, the same fear and decided to hide even deeper if that was at all possible.
AN
So how was the slightly modified version? Was it better than the original one or worse?
Please review so that I can do better!
Next Chapter: The Years of Accumulation