AN: Story 2 of 2 for today! So real talk here, this one is probably one that is going to get its own thread depending on reception. I've been searching for a good way to meld Harry Potter and Worm for...a long time.

Premise: Taylor is knocked into Harry Potter's world thanks to a Bakuda bomb right before the start of Harry's Fifth Year. Taylor does not meet Harry first. She still endeavors to help the messed up situation. And...she still has her power...

Hogwarts: An Escalation

"I don't really know what this bomb does," Bakuda said, tossing a small, misshapen grenade into the air and catching it. My eyes never left the bouncing death ball, even while my bugs tracked all of my downed teammates and the nearby Wards.

How in the hell had this crazy bitch gotten the drop on all of us? Where were the Protectorate to backup the Wards? Where were the Travelers to back us up? Where was anyone? How the freaking hell was I the only one still able to move after Bakuda's opening pain grenade?!

"You know, I think that this was the one I based off of Professor Haywire's tech. But I'm also pretty sure I dialed that up to like a gazillion."

"That's…not a real…word, lady."

For once in your damn life Sophia, shut the fuck up. Shadow Stalker's mask had been knocked loose during Bakuda's initial attack so my tormentor's face was clearly visible. I didn't particularly care if the bitch died, but anything she did to provoke Bakuda would get all of us killed.

Hell, even Tattletale had realized that!

My one Hail Mary was to sic all of the nearby bugs onto Bakuda at once, but she would still get at least one grenade off first. I had to be careful and try to tie her up first. Or at least muck up the gun if I could.

"Shush girl or I'll use something special on you," Bakuda snarled. She ran a hand through her hair and chuckled. "Now where was I? Oh, right! I either turned this into the Dimension Kick or the Blackhole Bomb. Which do you think would be more fun to die by Wardy?"

Vista managed to flop over onto her back and tilted her head just enough to glare at Bakuda. "What does…it even…matter? Both are…death sentences!"

"They're not…for us," Tattletale said, her head lolling towards Bakuda and a scowl marring her face. "We're just…fucking guinea pigs. She made them for…the fucking Endbringers."

"Ooh, we got a smart one!" Bakuda crooned. My stomach dropped. I remembered Tattletale explaining Bakuda's nearly psychotic need to be recognized as the smartest person around and to leave a legacy. If she built this bomb for an Endbringer, she was going to use it here for the test, no matter what. I called all of the bugs I could reach. There wasn't time for subtle and there wasn't time for reinforcements.

"Being smart won't save you. Hey, tall, dark, and mysteriously bleeding to death, you're the Undersider leader right?" Bakuda asked, pointing towards Grue. He moaned. "Thought so. Aegis is still flopping like a fish so you're up! What hand do you all die by? Left or right?"

Grue groaned again.

I shifted so my feet were under me and got my bugs into position. They could handle the grenade and then I could tackle her and get the second one as well as the bandolier. I could do this. I could do this. It was all about timing.

Tattletale caught my eye, her mouth gaped and she tried to gasp something out.

Too late.

"Left it is! Thank you for your sacrifice to the greater good!" Bakuda flicked a switch and lobbed the grenade.

My swarm surged over the nearby cars, the fliers carrying the spiders and their airborne web underneath. I rocketed to my feet at the same time and sprinted towards Bakuda. The web caught the bomb and carried it overhead. I slammed into Bakuda, using my baton to smash her arm against the ground and knock the second bomb away.

"Get off me you fucking bitch!"

"Skitter!" Tattletale shouted. "Toe ring detonators! Toe rings!"

"Got it!" I yelled back. The bugs I had on Bakuda shifted targets, surging from her mask to her boots. My fingers scrambled to unlatch her bandolier and throw it to the side even as she managed to roll us over.

Bakuda grappled my arms and kicked her legs up into my chest, knocking me over her shoulders. It didn't do anything to stop the inevitable tide of bugs invading her footwear, but it did get me flipped over her so that we were lying face-to-face.

"You will not take this moment from me!" she snarled.

A shiver ran up my spine and I tried to pull my arms loose from her grip but she held them like a vice.

"Skitter, move!"

"Skitter!"

Tattletale and Vista's twin shouts rang out and I could feel Vista's attempt to warp space behind me. I couldn't move to roll through it though. Not fast enough.

Bakuda had already triggered her bomb.

The world swirled around me, a kaleidoscope of color, a symphony of a sound…an orchestra of pain. So, so much pain. Fire coursed through my veins, ice tore across my skin and needles laced through my nerves.

The bugs that had been on my body were spasming along with me, their forms running left and right and curling up with their legs twitching.

All at once, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. I crashed from a foot up and slammed to the ground. Struggling to breathe through the pain, I curled into a ball, whimpering.

Bakuda's wail rent through my awareness. I managed to lift my head just enough to see her through the air a few feet away. Right over the edge of a nearby cliff. Her scream cut off abruptly with a distant wet splat.

I rolled over onto my back letting loose a desperate sounding giggle. "That's what you get, bitch."

"What the bloody hell?!"

I craned my head towards the feminine exclamation. My mask was cracked leaving one of the lenses blurry, but it was enough to be able to see the girl standing there. She was a teenager like me, maybe 15, blonde, dressed in black robes with an azure trim that set off her gorgeous ice blue eyes…and she was clutching a wavering wooden stick aimed in my direction.

"Wh-who are you? Are you with the Dark Lord?"

"I'm Skitter," I said, the words feeling like sandpaper in my throat. Then I started coughing, coughing hard enough that I was seriously considering if it wouldn't be easier just to hack up a lung and get it over with. By the time the attack subsided I pulled my hands away from my mouth and saw blood on them. "Pretty sure I'm about to pass out. Tell the Undersiders that Bakuda's dead would you? My bugs'll…" I had to pause to gather my strength to keep going and force down the cough that wanted to bubble up again. "My bugs'll make sure of it. She won't get a chance…to set off…the big…bomb."

The blonde stepped closer as my voice got weaker. Her stick stopped shaking quite so violently as she crouched down next to me, reaching out a hand to touch my cheek. "I don't know who those people are."

"Fuck," I murmured. I coughed again, the pain in my chest spreading towards my fingers. "Tell them myself…when I wake up…"

"You need a mediwitch."

"Probably."

The world faded to black as I heard her shouting for her father.

I could feel people moving around through the mansion I was in thanks to the flies and the spiders. It was a big house, lots of rooms, few people. Must be the rich area of town. My lucky day. As I realized that my swarmsense was back, I slowly started to get awareness of my body back as well.

"Oh, she's regaining consciousness, Lord Greengrass."

Two women, one man, plus the teenage girl from outside were in the room with me. There was a younger girl, maybe 13 pacing in the hallway outside. Down in the kitchen I counted two more children working, though they seemed…misshapen.

This was a strange household.

Wait. The bugs in the room rearranged themselves.

Fucking hell, they had taken off my mask!

"Miss, can you hear me?" the man asked. Awfully polite for someone breaking the Unwritten Rules. "I would like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind."

"Dear, we don't even know if she can understand us yet," the previously silent woman chided.

The blonde teen snorted. "Yes we do. I told you, she sounded American. Hey, we know you're awake, get up!"

"Daphne!"

I smirked as I leveled myself up to a sitting position. The girl's - Daphne's - parents took a step back. The other woman, presumably the medic, just nodded and waved another long stick in my direction. All three of the adults had eyes that were just as unusually bright as Daphne's. Her father's were shining gold and her mother's deep silver, while the medic's were near burning burgundy. What the hell was with people's eyes here?

"She appears fine, though I'm still seeing that tumor in her head. Apparently I can't do anything about that since it just grows back. At least it appears benign, though I've never seen a magical malady like that before. If she consents to more tests let me know."

"I'm right here," I said, arching my eyebrows.

"And you're a minor with an unknown family. I default to the Lord and Lady who found you. Lord Greengrass, make sure she takes her potions, it'll prevent any further complications."

"We will."

"Good. In that event, I'll be off, good day to you all." The woman bowed her head and was gone from the room almost before I could blink.

"Wow, great bedside manner," I muttered. Shaking my head, I looked to the man standing nearby. "Thank you for healing me. Am I to assume that the Truce is in effect, since you took off my mask in the process?"

"Truce?" Lord Greengrass frowned. "I'm unfamiliar with what truce you're referring to, Miss. Perhaps we should start over. I am Cyrus Greengrass, Lord of the Greengrass family. This is my wife, Cassandra, and eldest daughter, Daphne. You are…?"

If the English accent hadn't been enough of a clue, the freely given names were certainly a major flag. I shut my eyes and scowled, clenching my hands. I have to grab hold of the bugs in the mansion and the surrounding grounds to stop them from skittering about in response to my agitation.

"I'm a long way from home. You can call me Skitter, as for why I'm here? That mess at the bottom of your cliff sent me here when one of her bombs went off. She was trying to kill me. Looks like the stupid bitch grabbed the wrong bomb."

"Bomb?" Daphne asked. "You said that outside too. What is that?"

"What is The Bomb?" Cassandra stared at her daughter. At least I wasn't the only one taken aback by the question. "My God, what are they teaching you at that school these days? Daphne, The Bomb is a Muggle contraption. It's exceedingly dangerous, even to magicals."

My eyes narrowed. They were using wooden sticks and the nurse had spoken of potions. Either this was the most insane Myrddin Cult ever…or Bakuda's bomb had sent us further than just England…Magic couldn't be real…could it?

"Does the word Endbringer mean anything to you? Or Parahuman?" I asked. There was a quick and easy way to prove where I was. Quick, easy, and terrifying.

Cyrus frowned as he looked at me. He slowly shook his head. "Considering that you sound as if you are speaking in capital letters, no. No, it does not. I think we should move this conversation to my study. We seem to have quite a bit to discuss, Miss Skitter."

"Yes," I said, my mouth suddenly very dry. "Yes, I think we do."

AN: I have a Pa tr eon and Ko-fi now! If you want to support my efforts and see some work-in-progress chapters a bit earlier as well as have a say in what I focus on please feel free to take a look. Both are under my other pseudonym 'Slider'. More descriptive links are in my profile.