My attempt at the "what if Harry Potter was set in the Nasuverse" and my wish to explore more of magus culture and education. This story will mostly be leaning towards the Fate franchise. Wizard magic is still present though, no need to worry.
My first fanfiction ever. I can't believe I'm posting this. . .
Disclaimer: I do not own either the Fate franchise or Harry Potter.
Please Enjoy.
Chapter 1: Who The Fuck-
Harry didn't know when exactly he regained consciousness nor could he recall how he had passed out either.
From what little he could recollect, Dumbledore cast a spell to protect both him and Harry against the inferi. The flames seemed to be sufficient in driving the creatures away, but neither wizard had been prepared for what came next.
Both travelers overlooked the strange ornate symbol that shined from the cave's depths. A shout of worry was the last Harry heard before a vibrant shade of blue lit up the cave's darkness, blinding him and the headmaster. Before his vision faded away, it almost seemed as if the infernal beings were extinguished by said light.
The moment he opened his eyes again, he was absolutely certain he wasn't in the cave any longer. There was far too much white everywhere.
Harry tried his best to scan the room he laid in without making much movement, praying no one saw that he was awake. By all means, he should be dying due to either the inferi or whatever had lit up his surroundings. However, the soft bed comforting his aching body seemed to suggest otherwise. 'Maybe I was in the hospital wing then,' Harry mused to myself. 'Dumbledore could have pulled through even if I collapsed.'
The smell of antiseptics and a slight metallic tang reassured him that he was indeed in a hospital of sorts, keeping the worst scenarios playing in his head at bay. However, the layout of the room seemed slightly different from that of Madam Pomfrey's.
'Could it be St. Mungo's then?' He wasn't too sure if their beds had cold metal rails though, but It didn't take him long to realize that he was also the only patient present. Heaving a sigh of relief, Harry freed his stiff legs from the weight of the blankets. Still suspicious of the area, his brain urged him to escape the room while he had the chance, but such musings were cut short when he heard footsteps approaching.
Harry quickly sank deeper into the white covers, shutting his eyes and admonishing himself for such a stupid idea; even if he had escaped this room, he had no clue of how to traverse the rest of this unfamiliar building.
Not to mention, his wand was currently missing. . .
Maybe he could apparate-
"Mr. Potter, your guardian is here to discharge you," a woman's voice called out, interrupting Harry's musings.
Despite his spike of confusion, he managed to maintain a ruse of slumber. However, internally, Harry was swamped with worry due to the implications of the statement. 'The Dursleys were allowed into wizard hospitals? No, the bigger puzzle is that they, for whatever reason, chose to sacrifice their own time for me when there is nothing to gain from it.'
Before he'd spiral down a chasm of what-ifs, Harry's train of thought was interrupted by yet another voice.
"I know you're awake brat."
'Well shite.' Panic struck Harry fast. 'Now I know that my predicament has to be a ploy of some kind,' he thought. The person sounded male and mature but altogether too suave to be uncle Vernon. However, the man did sound oddly familiar.
Without much forethought, Harry's eyes opened just a tiny sliver, hoping to see the old wizard who he had recently fought beside with. Instead, he found himself facing the last person one would expect to be a guardian.
Professor Snape's stern countenance bore into his shocked fish-like expression. He felt overwhelming disappointment being graced with not a worried Dumbledore but Snape's ugly face. Harry would have yelled obscenities if not for his bewilderment of the man's odd appearance.
He had longer hair, about shoulder length, and was wearing not his trademark robes but muggle attire. The professor still wore all black it seemed, only now with a turtleneck, blazer, dress pants, and dress shoes. He adorned his usual irritable expression but with a hint of boredom rather than anger or frustration. Harry hates to admit it, but Snape almost appeared younger than normal as well.
Studying Harry's frozen state, the visitor came to the conclusion that the boy wasn't going to reply and swiftly decided to whack his head with the files he had in hand.
"Bloody hell!" Harry yelped in shock. He was both surprised by the change in character and also angry. The sudden hit triggered his frustrations of the events prior; he was tempted to accuse and confront Snape about his deeds right there and then. However, his self-control won over, allowing him to instead, carefully inspect the possible imposter with suspicion. Either he had a lapse in memory or professor Snape had gone through a major identity change while he was blacked out. Either way, his growing animosity towards him had been left unaffected.
"You should be grateful I'm skipping my lectures for your ungrateful ass, Potter. Here I thought no student or ward of mine would be stupid enough to seek out the artifact, but once again, you've proven me wrong," Snape drawled, eyeing Harry's bed hair in distaste.
An unknown hospital, no inferi, and a young Snape as my guardian? What's next, an evil Ginny? Should he just splinch himself just to see if this whole thing is a dream or not?
Having enough of all the unusual peculiarities, Harry decided to reply with a bit of snark to test the waters and see if he can garner anything from this alternate Snape. "Well, I never asked you to come did I? Moreover, if you know about the dark object, you should be asking the headmaster and not me Professor."
Due to the response, the older man gave his charge a sullen look, but before he could reply, a brunette nurse made her way to the foot of my bed.
"Excuse me sirs, but if you wish to leave by today, I suggest you do by the closing hours," she explained. Harry took notice of her attire and realized that she too was wearing a muggle nurse outfit, not the witch kind.
"We're not in St. Mungo's are we?" he asked her slowly.
Both Snape and the nurse turned to him perplexed.
"Sir, you were admitted to the Royal London Hospital two days ago," the nurse replied calmly.
. . . 'Two days!' Harry screamed in his head. 'Anything could happen in two days!' Not caring whether the nurse heard or not, he looked to Snape and frantically asked, "Professor, if you know about the locket then why are we in a muggle hospital? We have to retrieve it before anyone else notices!"
Harry's question only seemed to irritate him. Instead of answering the question, Snape sighed in exasperation and pulled out a pack of silk cuts. Lighting a cigarette with one hand, he drew in a long huff and exhaled a stream of smoke. "Is muggle a slang you kids use these days?" He said in a mocking tone.
Turning to the nurse, Snape gave a rare smile; Harry almost choked on his saliva right there and then. "Apologies for his attitude, the doctor did say my ward received no brain damage, correct?"
Eyeing both Harry and Snape warily, she only nodded. The smoking also seemed to bother her if her facial expression was of any hint, but the nurse refrained from commenting on the act. Wanting to usher the two out as quickly as possible, she set down a duffel bag near the bed and said, "I took out your IV and prepared your belongings Mr. Potter. Please feel free to change in this room or the bathroom down the hall."
Waiting until the nurse left the room, Snape then gave Harry a silencing glare. "Today, I don't expect answers about your multiple cuts and bruises or your involvement with the Director but you bet your scholarship I'll wring it out of you tomorrow."
While scowling, he rolled up the papers in his left hand and gestured towards the other in a threatening manner. " I can only assume you went after a different catalyst with your talk of a locket, and you're usually better at keeping secrecy. . . Next time you wake, just keep your mouth shut."
". . . But professor-!"
"Actually, never mind that and whatever a St. Mungo's is, just hurry up and change will you. I'm lecturing tomorrow at 9 that also means you have classes tomorrow, got it?" Snape demanded before he made his way out the entrance.
"Wait!" Harry yelled back, hoping that he'd pause on his way out. The professor in question ignored the call, his tall form disappearing from the edges of the doorframe.
Alone, once again in the cold empty room, Harry realized he was left with more questions than answers. However, one thing he knew for sure is that he wasn't crazy or at least, the nurse seemed to reassure both him and Snape that the brain was left unscathed. Also, while Harry might not be as smart as Hermione, even he can discern that two days is not enough for a grumpy arsehole to become his custodian and a whole hospital to bugger off from existence. Or was this all an illusion? A dream?
"Potter, you done yet?"
Harry decided he'll just have to figure it out on his way to. . . Merlin knows where with his new "guardian".