Reviews
Mugen-Muse
I don't think Harry would want to travel the multiverse. He desires a normal life with a family, what he's never had, and that's hard to have when you're travelling the multiverse.
Luna married later than all her friends and spent time after school searching for magical creatures all over the world that probably never existed. That shows she has a desire to go out and discover.
ZhaWarudo
That tactic won't keep working because the other teams will do stuff to mess it up such as to send bludgers at him.
Crossworld 1 - Harry Potter
Part 22
Headmaster's Office. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Things had not been going well for Albus Dumbledore of late. That damned book had come out and it had aired some very old laundry concerning matters that the Headmaster had thought buried forever. That hadn't helped his rocky relationship with his brother who even after a century still blamed Albus for the death of their sister. Something Albus hadn't forgiven himself for.
At least he'd been able to salvage his reputation and downplay his role in helping Grindelwald refine his plans for both the magical and muggle world. It had only been one summer a very long time ago. He called those days his misspent youth and he'd told more than one person about how Grindelwald had always been very charming. About how he could make his ideas seem so good. Implying without saying it, that his younger self might just have been influenced magically.
Still, it had cost Dumbledore, more than he'd ever care to admit. The governors were taking more interest than was normal in the school and perhaps it was for the best that young Draco Malfoy had been shipped off to Drumstrang after all since it meant his father, who had a seat on board of governors, didn't have his son reporting every little thing that happened at the school to his father.
Exchanging a lot of political favours had kept him in his offices, but now many of his oldest supporters were carefully distancing themselves somewhat from the Headmaster and he was still getting some funny looks from a few people.
To make matters worse Binns had vanished somehow. Even Albus had no idea how that happened. Ghosts don't simply leave, they are tied to a place. Apparently, Myrtle, who haunted one of the bathrooms, had also gone off somewhere. Had Voldemort learned to rid himself of ghosts or was there a Necromancer working against him? If so then why banish just two ghosts, one of which didn't even report to Albus?
The governors had then hired Bagshot as the new History Professor, not a bad choice for the school as a whole, but certainly bad for Dumbledore as Bagshot blamed Albus for what happened to her great-nephew and that meant he now had a member of staff who resented him, one who wouldn't blindly follow his commands.
Add to all that Quirrell had done his own vanishing act on the night of Halloween after trying to get past the defences protecting the stone. Albus felt fairly sure that Quirrel had died, but despite his inspection of the defences he couldn't tell what had happened he was just picking up traces of some unknown magic.
He'd suspected that Quirrell was working with Voldemort and that the Dark Lord had some way of keeping a close eye on his lackey. He'd theorised that the teacher might be possessed during the start of year feast when he'd noticed Harry Potter's reaction when the boy was looking at Quirrell.
Dumbledore wondered if the possession had happened sometime after Quirrell had failed to obtain the stone from Gringotts or before. Hagrid had donated a memory that showed the meeting between the teacher and The-Boy-Who-Lived at the Leaky Cauldron, and there had been no bad reaction from Harry at that time.
Although Qurriell had refused to touch Harry when the young wizard politely offered to shake his hand and while that may have simply been Quirrell playing the role of a very nervous man, it could also mean that he had already been possessed. But how could Quirrel or Voldemort know not to make physical contact with the boy?
Well, it hardly mattered now. Dumbledore had other concerns to occupy his mind as he paced around his office. It would be wise to go with the idea that Quirrel was out there somewhere and that he could be a problem in the future, and that he would aid Lord Voldemort in returning to power.
Riddle was the real concern. Why had he given up on the stone? Or had the possession somehow gone wrong? Did he have a backup plan? Did he have other witches and wizards aiding him? Had someone else driven Voldemort away? And who could do that? So many questions and so little knowledge to help answer them.
Harry might have been able to do something to stop Qurriell from going after the stone, but Albus had checked, Harry's Head of House had escorted her lion cubs to their tower and she'd made sure that Potter was with them.
That didn't totally rule out Harry as he could have used a time-turner to be in two plays at one or someone else could have used polyjuice to take Harry's place. Dumbledore thought this unlikely as all the time-tuners were accounted for and who would have taken Potter's place in the tower?
There were a few Aurors that could have defeated Qurriell who wasn't that great of a wizard even with Voldemort whispering in his ear. A few of the school's older and more skilled students might have even gotten lucky even if that wasn't likely. But all the students had been accounted for by their heads of houses.
If anyone who was working against Voldemort had managed to gain entrance to the school then they weren't a friend of the Headmaster since they would have tried to warn Dumbledore, not sneak around Hogwarts.
All he knew for sure was the Riddle wasn't in the school and neither was Qurriell. They couldn't have hidden from all the portraits, teachers, students, and ghosts for so long. Someone would have reported something.
Albus sighed and did his best to soothe himself with a lemon drop as he had a need for some sort of comfort. He'd learned that Harry had gone missing, or that he wasn't where he was supposed to be. Dumbledore had ways of monitoring the lad and he was physical unharmed as far as the Headmaster could tell, he just wasn't in the school or at Privat Drive with his family.
Dumbledore had been surprised when he'd checked the list of students remaining in the castle and found that Harry's name wasn't on it. According to Dumbledore's many eyes and ears, the boy had gotten on the train with Neville Longbottom just fine so something must have happened on the train or in London.
Longbottom wouldn't have been Albus's first choice for a friend for Harry Potter, Neville's grandmother had never forgiven Dumbledore for what happened to her son and daughter-in-law. She blamed him for asking them to join his Order. Foolish as they'd been Aurors and therefore on the firing lines anyway.
Despite Neville's timid nature and lack of any noticeable magical skills, he was a Gryffindor and a Pureblood with proper values, meaning that the Longbottoms were against dark magic, as such Neville could help guide Harry somewhat and teach about the wizarding world. As such Albus felt no need to interfere with that growing friendship.
Such a shame that Ron Weasly had been the victim of the malfunctioning Sorting Hat and had been placed in the wrong house. Alas, there was simply no way to undo a Sorting, you took your place in the House who were sent to by the Hat or you dropped out, there was no other path.
Even with everything that had happened, the Weasly family all supported Dumbledore with admirable devotion. Molly, bless her, refused to believe a single word of Hiddleston and Bagshot's book. Her youngest son would have made a fine friend for Harry.
The Hat was confused about what had happened, and it was a thousand years old, so it could just be winding down. Only the Founders had power over the Hat even the Headmaster could only make suggestions and ask for advice.
It would be a shame if the magical hat would need to be replaced. Dumbledore would have to if next year's Sorting went wrong. He'd cross that bridge only if he had to as the Sorting was bound to the working of the school. Without the Hat, the whole House system would have to be abolished. A thousand years of tradition would simply be gone.
For now, he needed to stay focused on young Harry and he'd called upon an old friend to help him that. An old friend who was even now entering his office.
"Any news Alastor?" asked Albus.
Moody didn't seem concerned.
"Yeah, I found him," said the dark wizard hunter "He's at a friend's house".
Dumbledore paused for a moment.
"But I checked," he said, "Neville Longbottom told me that Harry went to sit with someone else on the train. Neville didn't invite Harry over for the holidays".
Moody took a seat before saying anything else.
"He's in Godric's Hollow with Tom Hiddleston's young cousin, John" Moody told the Headmaster "I checked on the lad, he's fine".
Dumbledore was not happy about this. Tom Hiddleston helped write that damn book. Albus had spent so much time on damage control that he'd been forced to neglect several other matters and he might never regain his full authority or respect.
"What is John doing with Harry?" the Headmaster wanted to know.
Whispering poison in his ear? Turning him against the light?
"Eating fish and chips" answered Alastor.
Okay, so Dumbledore hadn't expected that.
"They went to James and Lily Potter's grave, then to get some chips" Alastor clarified "I didn't see any sign of the older Hiddleston".
The graveyard! Of course, Harry would want to go visit the resting place of his parents. Dumbledore avoided Godric's Hollow and that graveyard most of all given that his mother and sister were buried there.
"Harry isn't safe unless he is here or at this aunt's" Dumbledore was now saying "You must take another Auror and go recover him".
The one-eyed man didn't leap into action or even get up out of his chair.
"Well, there's a bit of a problem," Alastor said "I went back to the office to call people off looking for Potter and I found out that John Hiddleston sent a note to the DMLE telling us that Potter was at his home with the permission of his legal guardians. Meaning that I would be kidnapping the lad if I took him and Bones is already aware of the note".
That was clever of Hiddleston. Dumbledore hadn't thought to accuse the older Hiddleston of anything because that would just look like he was lashing out over the book, but Harry couldn't be allowed to be friends with the younger Hiddleston who was clearly becoming close to the boy.
John must have mentioned to Harry about living in Godric's Hollow and what else was in that village? Bagshot, they could speak any time they wished here at the school.
While Tom Hiddleston might not have planned this it was best to assume that the wizard had some motive.
"I will go to Harry's aunt myself and explain to her the importance of Harry's safety," Albus told his old friend "She will rescind the permission in writing while you go and bring Harry back to Hogwarts".
Moody was not pleased by this.
"What am I supposed to break down Hiddleston's door in the middle of the night?" he asked "What do you think will happen that bit of news ends up in the paper?".
Alastor was right. This needed a delicate touch.
"We can risk waiting until the morning," he said "Best not to cause a scene. Just go and explain to young Harry that he must return to Hogwarts for his own safety. Take that new student of yours, Andromeda's girl, Harry might be more cooperative with someone closer to his age".
Plus Moody wasn't the most subtle of people. He could be downright scary. Tonks was much more friendly and could counter some of Moody's brashness.
"Fine I will go and ask in the morning" stated Alastor "But if I go as an Auror I can't force him to leave unless there's a threat I can point to when Bones starts asking questions".
Bones wouldn't protest if Moody acted to safeguard the boy, he was after all Harry Potter, but she'd be upset if he took the boy against his will.
"I'm sure you can make him see reason" assured Dumbledore "And I will have a note from his aunt. That should smooth things over".
While he was there he might as well have words about Harry's living conditions outside of the school. Dumbledore needed Harry meek, and he was to an extent, but Albus needed to be someone that Harry looked up to. Letting the boy know he'd had words with the lad's relatives to ensure better treatment could go a long way towards that.
And there was that cloak. It was about time that it was returned to its rightful owner and it would soften the blow of being forced away from visiting a friend.
(Line Break)
Hiddleston's Residence. Godric's Hollow.
Since I'd been expecting my doorbell to ring I knew to answer the door as Tom Hiddleston after John went down into the basement to tell his cousin that there was someone at the door. An important bit of misdirection since it was Mad-Eye at the door as he'd be able to see into anywhere in the house other than the basement which was shielded and it had good reasons to be since it was a potion's lab.
I opened the door and did my best to act mildly concerned, and it wasn't hard since I'd not seen Tonks for a while and here she was with Moody as I'd seen on my map of the village that I kept in the basement.
Her presence here made sense since the old Auror was supposed to be training her and she was a lot more friendly-looking than Moody. She was far less likely to unnerve Potter, unlike other members of DMLE. We'd never dated, but I could tell that Tonks found this awkward to be here since she'd wanted to date me.
"This is about Harry I assume," I said.
I didn't wait for verbal confirmation I just called for the lad. Years of having to get up and make breakfast for his evil relatives meant that Potter got up early as such he came to see who was at the door very quickly.
"Harry, come here please," I requested.
He moved closer to the front door.
"Bloody hell it is him" the trainee Auror blurted out.
Smooth, Tonks. Very smooth.
"Harry this is Tonks and Auror Moody they are magical police," I told the boy, who didn't have much of an idea of what was going on since he'd never met any of us until today as far as he knew "I'm John's cousin, I got in late last night so we haven't seen introduced".
Moody decided that being civilized wasn't for him.
"Potter you need to come back to Hogwarts" he insisted.
Wisely the boy didn't simply obey the scary-looking man.
"My aunt let me come here" Harry insisted.
Moody took out a bit of paper and I read it before giving it to Harry. No one objected to this since it was my house and Harry was my guest.
"If your aunt says you need to go back to school then you need to go," I said as I passed the note to my guest "I just wonder what changed her mind"
What, not who. I'd implied magical influence on purpose. Tonks had picked up on that and seemed even more uncomfortable.
"Dumbledore thinks this is for the best" declared Moody "Now get your things".
I wasn't going to fight this as I didn't actually want Harry here. I didn't want him to go either oddly enough he was actually turning into a decent friend for John. Yet I didn't exactly protest as he went to get his trunk.
"Dumbledore orders the Aurors about," I said "Does Madam Bones know you moonlight as the Headmaster's enforcers?".
Perhaps I'd seek a meeting with the Head of DMLE? Just to annoy Dumbledore.
"We're just looking out for the lad" stated Moody "Not all the Death Eaters are off making friends with the Dementors".
I hoped he wasn't implying that I was ever a member of that organisation. Doubtful, he was more likely to be suggesting that I could be endangering myself by keeping Potter here. And if that was so then he had a point
Harry came down with his trunk and then thanked me for allowing him to visit before he went off with Dumbledore's minion. I chided myself when I realised that I already started planning to use the lad in a tug of war with the Headmaster. No, he was not going to be my pawn as well that would make me as bad a Dumbledore. John would back off and just support Harry indirectly unless Potter actually asked for help.
As for me as Tom? I was now free to enjoy my research time. But first I would write to Amelia Bones to ask about this. No, wait that could get Tonks into trouble even if I didn't mention her, and she'd always been nice to me.
Dumbledore had won this round, but he hadn't won the war.
(Line Break)
The Rookery. Ottery St Catchpole.
While taking a break from my studies I'd decided to visit the Lovegoods so as to drop off their Xmas presents, I'd worked on Luna's for a while to get it just right, and I was going out now because frankly, I needed to get out of the house as I was spending far too much time suck indoors.
So far, I'd resisted the urge to make trouble with the DMLE for Tonk's sake and because Harry wouldn't thank me if it got into the papers or if the DMLE started messing about with his life. Yet it was super tempting to try to make Dumbledore's schemes harder for him to carry out even if all I did was give the Lemondrop addict a few headaches.
In the here and now it was pleasing to see Pandora Lovegood alive, and also visibly pregnant, I was fairly sure that this meant I'd prevented her untimely death as Luna never mentioned her mother being pregnant when she died. It wasn't something an astute girl like Luna would fail to notice. She might not have mentioned it, but I just didn't think that was the case. Besides Luna should be ten by now and I knew for sure Pandora dies when Luna is nine years old.
I made sure that Paradora saw an illusion of Tom Hiddleston waving at us before he teleported himself away as it was important for the Lovegoods to think that Tom actually paid attention to John and that we were separate people.
"Is your cousin going to pick you up later or do you want to stay the night?" I was asked.
One night sharing a bed with a nine-year-old Luna had been enough for me. I'd never do anything to her, yet it still felt odd and I'd rather avoid bunking with any child who I was supposed to one day marry.
"He'll meet me outside at 5 pm," I said.
Pandora made some comments about Tom not coming over so I assured her that he was just busy with some important research.
"Luna's in her room," said Mrs Lovegood "I'd take you up, but I'm avoiding using the stairs if it at all possible".
She had to have gotten pregnant during the summer when we were all camping out the timing was right. I decided not to mention my surprise at her passenger as I felt sure she knew about it by now and was sick of people drawing attention to the fact.
"I know the way" I assured her "and I'll call for help if I take a wrong turn".
The house wasn't big enough to get lost in, but this was a magical home so its internal size and layout could be changed without affecting the outside, so best not to assume.
"Hello, future husband" was Luna's greeting as I entered her bedroom.
Well, at least she was taking this arrangement well and she seemed happy to see me even if she'd get up to embrace me. I noted that she had painted me on her bedroom wall, or at least I assumed that was me.
"Hello, future wife" I replied.
Luna carried on with some sort of art project that involved cutting images from issues of her father's magazine.
"I spoke to Ginerva yesterday," Luna told me.
She already sounded as if we'd been married for years and I assumed that Ginerva was Ginny Weasly who lived nearby.
"She's happy about our arranged marriage even it is old-fashioned because now I can't marry Harry Potter" she mentioned, "Not that I want to marry Harry Potter since I'm fairly certain he's a fictional character and that would make it hard for him to attend the wedding as the groom".
The irony of someone who was supposed to simply be a fictional character calling someone else that was rather amusing.
"No Potter is real," I told her "I had him at my house recently".
Of course, she believed me and even if she didn't I had proof of sorts in the note from his aunt. I should really get a sighed photo of us together if only to annoy Ron Weasly should I ever have the misfortune of meeting him.
"I mean Harry Potter the character in Ginerva's books not the Harry Potter at school with you" she explained "At least one of them is real, and I'm sure you didn't have a fictional character in your house".
In a sense, I did because both Tom and Hiddleston are fabrications. Also, Luna really was far too well-spoken for a ten-year-old. She really must be a genius, she certainly had a talent for art, and possibly a too high opinion of me as the painting made me look far more angelic than in reality. She had painted me in front of some yellow which I figured was the sun coming up behind me. A sign of her growing feelings for me I figured/
"Maybe she will marry Harry Potter," I said "She'll meet him next year and they'll spend years together at school".
I used my link to Cortana to have her remind me to check Harry for love potions in what would be my seventh year at Hogwarts, assuming I'm even in the country at that time. It might seem paranoid, but love potions are a theme in that year and Regulus Black was suspended in the Draught of Living Death which was shown in Slughorn's class along with a love potion.
In the same book that Harry starts seeing Ginny in, there's a scene with Dumbledore speculating that Voldemort's mother was drugging her crush for long enough for her to get pregnant. Add to that Ron running afoul of a love potion, and it starts to look bad.
There were holes in that theory, such as Harry still clearly having feelings for Ginny while on the Horcrux hunt even after Ron abandoned his best friend so unless Hermione had a supply of potions he would have come out from their influence.
Plus I can recall how Ron and that Jacob guy from Fantastic Beasts acts when under the effects of magic meant to mimic love, and Harry didn't seem that far gone from his normal state so I could just be worrying over nothing. Unless there are longer lasting and more subtle kinds of love potions.
My AI reminded me that I'd already planned that out with her in great detail. So I pushed such thoughts aside as love potions were a concern for later.
"Oh, I made you a present" I informed Luna.
This got her attention and I took out a cuddly toy I'd made.
"This is what I imagine a Crumple-Horned Snorkack looks like," I told her "I compared the drawings and the features of the creature described by witnesses to come up with what must be the creature's true form".
Luna studied my gift.
"Why is it purple?" she asked as she laid the offering on her bed so she could inspect it more clearly "And why does it have so much fur?".
I had my reasons.
"Well, they must be colourful because if they were plain looking they wouldn't need to be invisible. If they were visible then predators would see their colourful fur as could human hunters" I explained.
Okay so a lot of mundane animals are colour blind, but that doesn't mean magical animals are as well.
"They must be furry as they live in the forest of Sweden which can get very cold," I told Luna "Their fur is soft because they like to cuddle with each other to stay warm. They have paws rather than hooves since woodland animals like foxes have paws. They have four legs that make them quick runners and flat teeth to help them eat berries".
Truthfully I'd gone more for cuteness than anything else hence when squeezed the stuffy made an adorable noise and when touched with a wand it would move around for a while making the adorable noise.
"Since they are invisible and like to cuddle they must admit a noise that attracts more of their kind" I was now saying.
Sadly no real Snorkacks appeared or answered the call so either I'd gotten the sound wrong or that there were none within hearing range and that made sense since they were native to Sweden.
I was going to assume that the Snorkacks were real because this world has dragons, unicorns, merpeople, wizards, witches, vampires, werewolves, dwarves, goblins, elves, something close to zombies, a dark lord, Merlin, who might still be alive since I can't call his spirit with my Deathly Hallow, and soul-sucking demons.
Given all of that, it would be more shocking to discover that there weren't plenty of magical species that haven't been documented properly. Mundane biologists find new species all the time and none of them can turn invisible which is possible with magic.
"That all makes perfect sense," Luna agreed before she placed my offering on a shelf along with other toys and models "And I made you something to keep the Nargles away".
The butterbeer cork necklace she presented me with was something I would wear with pride since I didn't care much for what my peers thought of my fashion sense. Although it might be best to wear under my clothes.
"Good idea, it is after all Christmas," I said.
Nargles infest mistletoe and people hang that up everywhere at this time of year the fools. In my view, it was best to avoid kissing girls you didn't wish to become romantic with as kissing gave them strange ideas.
"Did you get anything for Mummy and Daddy?" Luna inquired.
As a matter of fact, I had.
"Yes, I got them some..."
I just realised my mistake.
"Wine" I finished.
Yeah, that might not be the best thing to give a pregnant woman and no decent husband is going to drink it in front of his wife when she has to remain sober. That's why we have dingy bars.
"Oh I'm sure they won't mind," said Luna "They can always drink it after the baby is born".
Or they might wonder where a 12-year-old got wine from, but that was easy to explain since these gifts were from both Tom and John.
"I promised to introduce you to Ginerva" mentioned Luna "We should go do that now".
My protest died on my lips as my future wife dragged me out of the house.
"Going out!" the not yet Ravenclaw student loudly informed her parents "If we don't come back avenge our deaths!"
Wait, wasn't that a Simpson's reference?
"It's this way," Luna told me as I was 'guided' down a path "Ginerva will be please to met the future, Mr Lovegood".
That wasn't how it worked.
"Actually the wife normally takes the husband's surname," I said "I mean you can keep yours or take mine, or go with Luna Lovegood-Hiddleston if you like, but I don't change my surname".
She didn't agree.
"No you should be Mr Lovegood" she insisted "That way I don't need to learn how to spell my name again and Lovegood is one letter less than Hiddleston. It's less work".
There really was a fine line between genius and madness. Luna seemed to enjoy skipping backwards and forwards over that line.
"Let's just both keep our family names" I suggested.
She nodded her agreement.
"We'll let the children decide which name they want," she said "That way we'll know who is their favourite parent".
I couldn't help thinking that did make some sense. Maybe the genius/mad thing is a feature we share. It would explain a few things and I decided not to dwell on this.
"So what do you and Ginerva do together?" I wondered.
They're ten-year-old girls so they might as well be an alien species to me.
"We do our hair, talk about Harry Potter, and have tea parties" Luna replied "If you tell her you've met Harry Potter she will have a lot of questions".
I could use that if I got really bored.
"Wonder if I should get an autograph?" I mused "Could win me some brownie points with your best friend".
Luna looked shocked at the idea.
"Brownies would never award you enough points" she insisted "They never judge anything fairly".
I'd take her word on that and not ask her to explain for the sake of what was left of my sanity. Also because Ron Weasly was here, feeding the chickens in the Burrow's yard and I needed to focus on repressing my desire to punch him in his face as I loathe Ron Weasly for so many valid reasons.
"Hello, Ronald," said Luna "Is Ginerva around?".
He didn't reply to us directly he just yelled for his sister. Acting as if even looking at Luna was a bad idea. That seemed very rude. As for Ginny she came pelting out of the door and stopped when she saw me.
"Huh, he's real," she said.
I'd be offended if not for the fact that Luna spends a great deal of time discussing animals that may or not exist. Thankfully she seemed content not to discuss the Rotfang Conspiracy. Although I was quite willing to believe that the Ministry could be taken down with gum disease.
"Was I supposed to be imaginary?" I asked Miss Lovegood.
I was sometimes illusionary, but I always existed.
"No" she replied, "You can't be or Roland wouldn't be glaring at you. He has no imagination".
He was glaring at me. What had I done to him? That he knew about. Maybe he doesn't like other people having friends? Or more likely he has none himself. That was my fault, yet I couldn't feel even a little bad about what I'd done.
