Chapter Three: The Stranger Pt. I
Despite his young age, Harry Potter found himself facing a small amount of discrimination coming from those who watched him. He wasn't sure if this was because he was new to town or if he was in the presence of the not-so-popular Harrington's, but whatever it was bugged him. On the way to the police station, they had passed a bunch of kids riding bikes down the street. They were headed in the direction of the woods, which seemed odd seeing as there was nothing for miles going that direction. But they saw him, and the looks they gave him were surprising. They looked afraid. But not of him, of something else. Harry didn't have time to watch them. They passed by the car and biked straight into the forest while the Harringtons drove on. And the car didn't stop until it pulled up to the police station, where a few Hawkins cops were waiting for them by the doors.
Harry was led into the police station by Mr. and Mrs. Harrington, who sat him down at a desk across from a guy holding his wrist. Harry immediately recognized him as Johnathan Byers, but Nancy Wheeler was nowhere in sight. It didn't take long for Jonathan to notice him, and his eyes widened. He examined Harry for only a moment, before shaking his head and turning away. There was a box in front of him as well, containing many things useful in a monster hunt. It seemed that Jonathan and Nancy were trying to prepare for a fight. A fight that didn't look like it would go in their favor. Harry decided he would offer his services. After all, he was a powerhouse of his own, and he believed he could go toe-to-toe with the monster they were fighting. And who knows, maybe he could make some new friends...as a thirteen-year-old. It wasn't the weirdest thing he had thought of before.
"What's all that for?" Harry asked, motioning to the box.
"This?" Johnathan tapped the box lightly, his wrists bound together by handcuffs. Harry gave him a firm nod, getting to his feet as he grabbed his chair. He placed it next to Johnathan, who was watching him carefully. Harry took a seat once more and began to examine the contents of the box, which was difficult to do sitting down given his small size. He would need to grow fast, or find some way to boost his growth. Johnathan sighed. "We're um...monster hunting," He seemed incredibly nervous, and his hands were fidgeting slightly.
"Monster hunting? What kind of monster?" Harry questioned, intrigued.
"The uh...imaginary kind?" It was clear to Harry that Jonathan was extremely uncomfortable, and so he decided to risk doing something extremely stupid. He cast 'Legilimency'. Harry began to see things in slow motion. Memories that were not his that played out in scenes. Johnathan and Nancy's voyage into the forest, their discovery of the nether, and the deer-eating monster. The box of tools was for the fight against the monster, which they planned to hold in the Byers home. But Harry knew that this plan was dumb. This was a monster from another realm. Bear traps and baseball bats wouldn't work well against this kind of monster. Only something like sheer force and magic could kill this thing...or maybe a good blow to the head. Who knows? "I can help you, you know," said Harry, motioning to the box once more.
"Help me?"
"With the monster," Harry snapped his fingers, taking joy in Johnathan's reaction as a white flame appeared over Harry's fingers. The flame was as small as one from a lighter, but Johnathan saw it. Harry ended the flame, and spoke quietly, his brow sweating from the exertion of performing magic. "I can do things that can help you kill the monster. Because I don't think a bear trap and bat are going to do the job,"
"What kind of things? Can you do?" Johnathan questioned. He didn't seem to doubt Harry but was genuinely curious. It turned out that running into a monster from another dimension seemed to open someone's mind to new possibilities. Harry didn't have time to explain though, seeing as Nancy Wheeler had returned. She was carrying a small cloth filled with ice, which she had no doubt brought to deal with Johnathan's injuries. She noticed Harry immediately, frowning deeply. Harry leaned closer to Johnathan, speaking under his breath. "I can do this," Harry reached up, tapping his finger against Johnathan's bruised left temple before the guy could retract. At once, a small black cloud spread over Johnathan's face before disappearing, the bruise going with it.
"What just happened?" Nancy asked, dropping the ice cloth down onto the table. Johnathan wasn't listening and was instead tapping his left temple aggressively. As if trying to see if he had just imagined the pain going away. Harry smiled, leaning back into the chair only for his head to hit the back. He had forgotten he was small, and it annoyed him. But he put it behind him and focused on the newest arrival. Chief Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers. They were approaching quickly, and their eyes were set on Johnathan. "Harry?" The young wizard's eyes shot to his left away from the commotion of Chief Hopper and Joyce Byers' arrival. There, he was met with Mrs. Harrington, who was beckoning him over. With a sigh, Harry got to his feet, his wrist flicking slightly to cast a shadow, which attached itself to Nancy Wheeler's right pocket. All he had to do now was wait.
Five Minutes Later / November 12th, 1983 / Hawkins Police Department, Hawkins, Indiana
The meeting with Child Services had begun only a few moments before Harry was forced to leave. He left a shadow in his place, but his attention was needed elsewhere. While the shadow he left behind would only be able to do basic functions, it didn't seem to bother Harry. After all, he had demonstrated his disliking of talking or even moving around. So the shadow would hopefully match his characteristics. Meanwhile, though, Harry traveled to his pre-placed shadow, emerging from Nancy Wheeler's pocket, where he had stealthily placed himself. The shadow fell to the ground, unseen from view due to its small size. He listened in on the conversation, watching everything carefully. Chief Hopper had just been given a large picture. Johnathan had no doubt explained his and Nancy's trip to the nether, and now all was silent. Hopper spoke. "You say blood draws this thing?"
"We don't know," Johnathan replied.
"It's just a theory," Nancy added.
"A good theory," Everyone turned to the door, expecting to find someone entering, yet it was still closed. Even locked. Then they looked down, and finally spotted the tiny shadow lying on the floor. It was a mist blob no larger than a baseball, but they all saw it and were surprised to have heard a voice come from it. And then they realized that it existed, to begin with, and individually reacted. Johnathan and Nancy sprung backward away from it, Joyce Byers screamed in fear, and Chief Hopper had drawn his pistol, aiming it at the shadow. Harry was unfazed, emerging from the shadow slowly. It grew to the size of a small child, remaining misty and black before fading away to reveal Harry in his human form. It was a handy trick, being able to teleport using shadows. But it was dangerous, given that the shadow left behind could leave people suspicious, drawing questions. Everyone in the room frowned at the boy, unsure of how to react. "I told you I could do things," Harry told Johnathan.
Nancy scoffed lightly, no doubt believing that doing 'things' was an understatement to rising out of a dark mist. Harry smiled brightly, motioning towards the large picture that lying on the ground, which had been dropped by Hopper in his haste to reach his gun. It rose from the floor and into Harry's grasp, which he then tightened as he closed his eyes. "The monster is drawn to blood. But it doesn't get anything from eating anyone. It feeds for some other reason. It belongs to another realm that is accessible only through sheer force and will. Only two gates are leading in and out. And the second is inaccessible to anyone in this town. I'm sure with some time and patience I can get us in,"
"Into that...that place? Where I saw that thing?" Nancy asked, clearly frightened. Harry nodded. "You want to go there?"
"Can we talk about who the hell you are, and how you just did that...that thing?" Chief Hopper asked, motioning his gun - which was still unholstered and pointed forward - toward's Harry.
"My name's Harry. Harry Potter. I'm eighteen years old, yet I'm trapped in the malnourished version of my thirteen-year-old body, and I'm a wizard and shadowmancer. I come from another universe...or two universes. Not like that nether realm. I got here six days ago," Harry explained, seeing zero reasons to hide anything from them. After all, Johnathan and Nancy had experienced the nether realm. And Chief Hopper and Joyce Byers were both investigating Terry Ive's missing daughter and the corruption of Hawkins National Laboratory. He gave a small demonstration with the wave of his hand, sending his Patronus out into the room. He was surprised to find that his Patronus was no longer the bright blue dog it had been. But was not a bright blue Phoenix, which flew a few laps around the room before settling down beside Joyce. The majestic creature gently rubbed its beak against her temple, before disappearing.
"What the hell?" Hopper questioned in a low voice. He had no doubt meant for the question to sound demanding, but he was confused.
"It's a Patronus. It brings repels darkness and brings out joy. A cool trick I learned years ago," Harry replied. He displaced a chair from the department's staff room into his waiting hand, placing it behind him as he took a seat. Everyone was watching him carefully now, waiting for him to do something else or to say something. After he was situated, he began. "I don't know much about this creature given my short time here, but what I do know is this. Human weapons will mostly be ineffective against it. At least as long as it has access to wherever it gets its strength. So to kill it we either need to cut off its ties to the source, destroy the source. Or worst-case scenario, we send it back to the source and hope it doesn't come back,"
"Can you do any of that?" Johnathan asked.
"I should be able to. But I'm not entirely sure. The closest thing I've seen to this type of creature was a werewolf back home. And back then I could barely raise a wand. But I'm sure now I could discover a way to kill it, or at least find a way to return it to hell," Harry explained. "But first I need to find it or its home. I won't be very effective from a distance,"
"Right, ok. We don't doubt your abilities, but we don't know you," Hopper pointed out. Everyone seemed to agree, and even Harry frowned at the thought. He had been so careless to outright reveal himself to these people. The proper course of action would have been to introduce himself and get to know them before revealing his power. But he had already done the deed, and now had to face the consequences. Harry sighed, running his hand through his messy hair. He would need to prove himself to these people to reveal his loyalties. They wouldn't trust him if he didn't. But where would he start? By killing the monster? Finding the supposedly missing Will Byers? Or was there something else he needed to do? Maybe he could do both of those things, find Barbara Holland, and then they'd trust him enough. After all, he needed their trust if he was going to live in this universe for any amount of time. They knew his secrets now. And perhaps they could help him settle down or find a way home. Wherever home was.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Harry looked up to find the room empty except for Nancy Wheeler, who was gazing down at her fingers. She was quite literally twiddling her thumbs, seemingly lost in thought as he had been. Chief Hopper was gone from his desk. And Harry could hear the low voices of Joyce and Johnathan Byers behind the door. Harry wanted to say something but found no words that would open a useful dialogue. And so, he closed his eyes and focused on his occlumency. His mind palace was an intricately designed one. It was a boundless world full of...everything. Trillions of people roaming the surface of the world doing different things. Trillions of creatures roaming the jungles and the seas. There were so many things going on in his mind that one would no doubt have a brain aneurysm just entering it. But it was a necessary precaution. After all, if anyone saw the deepest depths of his mind, Harry would be screwed.
"What is your name, Deputy?!" The voice was quite loud, even though it came from the lobby down the hall. Harry opened his eyes and didn't bother to spare a glance towards Nancy Wheeler as he got to his feet. He exited the office, passing the Byers family as he followed Chief Hopper into the lobby. He went unnoticed, having cast a shadow around himself to remain unseen. Two officers were standing in front of a mother and her young son, who had broken his arm and was now wearing a sling. "Well, I'm an officer,"
"Name and badge number. Both of you," The mother demanded.
"What the hell is going on here?" Hopper exclaimed, clearly fed up with the complaining.
"These men are humiliating my son," The mother explained. There was talk about a psychotic child breaking the boy's arm, who ended up being a little girl. Harry was beginning to regret leaving the office over such a stupid complaint, when suddenly the boy spoke, describing a girl with no hair and a nosebleed. Harry froze. He had seen that girl. On his way to the police station with the Harringtons. She was sitting on the back of a bike alongside a young boy. There were three bikes. Three boys and the girl. The boy then explained the girls 'abilities', explaining that she could make people fly and piss themselves. It sounded like telekinesis at a small degree. But it was enough to interest Harry, who sent a shadow out to find the girl. It found her almost immediately. In a broken-down bus in the middle of a junkyard. Harry decided he wouldn't jump into this again. He would take this nice and slow. With a lot of planning and a bit of ingenuity.
It took only fifteen minutes to come up with a decent plan to help rescue the children hiding away in the junkyard bus. Harry had learned many things from the shadow scouts he had sent off into the city. But only three of these things were important. One; Chief Hopper, Joyce Byers, Johnathan Byers, and Nancy Wheeler had gone to the Wheeler residence in search of Mike Wheeler and his friends. Two; the officials of Hawkins National Laboratory were in Hawkins searching for the young girl, using maintenance vans as transportation. Three; the girl - named Eleven - was connected to the source of the monster as well, with the source providing her gifts. Harry discovered that the nether realm had been named the 'Upside-Down' by the children, with the monster being dubbed the 'Demogorgon'. A rather stupid name for a creature, but Harry decided it fit well and left it at that.
So there he was, trying his best to be in three places at once. He had a shadow puppet keeping the Harrington's busy in the Hawkins Police Department. A second more advanced shadow taking a trip to Hopper, the Byers family, and Nancy. And of course, Harry himself was traveling to the junkyard where he could rescue the kids from their current predicament. When he got to the junkyard, Harry was met with four very unobservant children who didn't understand the concept of Constant Vigilance. He had gotten into the bus without much effort, and due to the silence of his steps went entirely unnoticed as the kids tried to hide from view. Deciding to see how long he could sit there without being noticed, Harry displaced a chair once more and took a seat.
And so he sat, watching them patiently as he took in their features, their quirks, their strengths, and weaknesses. It seemed the three boys fell into the normal criteria of friendship, their bond containing both deep brotherly love for one another and constant annoyance with each other. Mike Wheeler seemed to be the leader of the group, making decent decisions based on the situation. Lucas Sinclair was the rational mind behind the group, voicing his thoughts even when the group seemed uninterested or against his views. And Dustin Henderson was the neutral party, unwilling to take sides in arguments or decisions. He was a follower but seemed to show very minor hints of leadership that only Harry could spot. It reminded him of his trio. Harry being Mike, the irrational decision-maker. Hermione as Lucas, the rational mind who believes they know everything. And Ron as Dustin, following the two while expressing his annoyance, while sometimes showing signs of leadership.
Yet the trio in front of him had a fourth. And a fifth. Eleven and Will Byers. Harry didn't know anything about Will Byers, but he didn't particularly care at the moment. He instead focused on Eleven. Her behavior, her relationships with others, and most specifically her thoughts. From the Legilimency he had done on her, Harry had found a very unorganized mind, filled with utter nonsense. But this wasn't the nonsense that he saw in the minds of those that were stupid. This nonsense was something else. Like an interesting yet unsolvable equation. He could see bits and pieces of memories, people, and events that even Eleven couldn't remember, tucked away behind a cloud of...nothing. An empty space with nothing between her reachable memories and the unreachable memories. It fascinated Harry. Of all the minds he had seen in his life, none had ever looked quite like this. It was a pitch-black void. Nothing but the essentials. No protections. Nothing.
"Woah, what the hell?!" Harry caught himself staring directly into Eleven's eyes, something that he should have noticed seeing as she had spotted him. And the others had as well and were not beginning to panic. Lucas had been the one most startled and backed straight into the back of the bus. "How long have you been there?" He asked, pulling what looked like a slingshot out of his pocket.
"Roughly three minutes. Give or take," Harry replied with a smile. He got to his feet, dispelling the chair from the bus as he stepped forward. All four children stepped away, hitting the back of the bus. They seemed to realize this, with Dustin doing his best to try to open the broken back exit. Eleven stepped forward, no doubt to fight him with her powers. As much as he wanted to test her abilities against his own, Harry knew there was a time and place, and decided to raise his hands into the air in a sign of peace. He spotted his arms, and once again sighed, despising his small body. It was increasingly difficult to move around, and it was kind of embarrassing. "I come in peace. With an invitation of passage,"
"Invitation. Passage?" Eleven spoke.
"I heard about your situation and decided to offer my assistance in reaching the Byers house," Harry explained.
"You wanna take us to the Byers' house? Who even are you?" questioned Mike. But he never got to answer, seeing as the walkie-talkie positioned on one of the bus seats suddenly went off. Nancy Wheeler's voice spoke from the other side. "Mike, are you there? Mike? Mike, it's me, Nancy. Mike are you there? Answer. Mike, we need you to answer." Everyone was silent for a moment, unmoving until Harry extended his hand. The walkie flew off of the seat, rushing into Harry's outstretched hands as the children stared in shock. But that was soon replaced by questioning glances, which drifted between Harry and Eleven. No doubt they thought he had gotten his powers the same way she had. If only they knew the truth. "Don't answer it!" Lucas shouted.
"It could be a trap!" Mike added, rushing forward to grab the walkie out of Harry's hand. But Harry was faster and had cast four channels of shadows directly at the kids' heads. The shadows connected at once, and he was given entrance to their adolescent and untrained minds. He immediately got to work, speaking slowly and confidently, trying to ensure that they could hear every word he spoke. "I'm going to say all of this once, and only once so that it is all clear. So pay close attention or you may miss something," Harry told them. None of the kids had ever been in their minds before and were trying their best to adapt to the new environment. Eleven, though, seemed to adapt the quickest. Perhaps her powers utilized aspects of her mind, making it easier to access. Who knew? He knew Eleven didn't.
When it was clear he at least had their basic attention, he began. "My name is Harry James Potter. I'm eighteen years old, though I appear to be thirteen given a dimensional accident that brought me here. I come from two different universes and have experienced more horrors than several adults in their entire lives. And I possess great power. The power I plan to use to save you, your friend Will, and the whole of this depressing town. But for that to work, I need your trust and your help. I know nothing about this universe and need knowledge. Knowledge I'm hoping you would like to trade,"
"Trade?" Eleven asked.
"To exchange. You four give me memories of events and any other useful knowledge I might need, and in return, I offer you memories of my life and the things I've seen," Harry replied.
"How?" asked Dustin.
"Don't worry, just think of things you might think I should know, and I'll do the rest," Harry answered. Mike and Lucas seemed hesitant, but Eleven and Dustin seemed more open to the idea. Deciding that it would be safer to work with Dustin and Eleven first, Harry stepped up to Dustin, placing his hand on the boy's forehead. His hand was much larger here, given that in his mind he still thought of himself as the eighteen-year-old man he had been in Raccoon City. The boy recoiled slightly at his touch but soon stiffened as the exchange began. At first, Harry was only given memories of stupid things like toys and snacks, but he was soon given more important things. The history of 'The Party', events that featured Will Byers, how they all met Eleven, their journey to discover the gate, Eleven's deception, their near-capture, their escape, and then he was given Dustin's point of view of his arrival on the bus. It was good information. So Harry reciprocated, giving Dustin memories of Harry's early life at Hogwarts. When - like them - he was just a naive boy chasing dark lords and monsters far too powerful for him.
"What did you see?" questioned Mike, who had learned to utilize his inner-brain far better than before. He didn't speak in one word like Dustin and Eleven had, something that occurred often in new users of the mind. Dustin - who was still recovering from the massive brain dump - shook his head slightly, and turned to the others. "I saw...magic,"
"Magic?" Lucas asked, his gaze falling on Harry, who was watching Eleven. Harry didn't bother to respond. He would let them trade knowledge once he was done. What he needed right now was his part of the trade. And so he stepped forward, and gently placed his hand on her forehead. The exchange began, and Harry - for the first time since his lessons with Snape - was overwhelmed. He was met with the information he was sure that even Eleven was unaware of. He saw Dr. Brenner - or 'Papa' - and his role in the MKUltra experiments, he saw the Sensory Deprivation Tank and her ability to see things through the Upside Down, and he saw the creation of the gate. Her interaction with the Demogorgon had opened a dimensional rift through space of time between the real world and the Upside Down. A gate that now allowed creatures like the Demogorgon to enter the real world. Harry reached a bit further, seeing things beyond the handful she gave him. He saw a woman, entering a bright white room while a much younger Eleven watched. It was Terry Ives. Only younger and saner. So she had met her mother...but was too young to realize. Deciding that he had seen enough, Harry shared his most dark memories. His time in Raccoon City, his abduction at the hands of Umbrella, and his transformation into the weapon they needed him to be. He then showed her his redemption, the events of the outbreak, and all that happened after.
By the end of the exchange, tears had formed on Eleven's face. Tears she quickly wiped away as Harry moved onto Lucas, who seemed slightly more agreeable to the trading process seeing as both Dustin and Eleven hadn't lost their minds and weren't dead. So he let Harry grab him by the forehead, and offered his memories. He focused more on the world around him instead of 'The Party', showing off the famous movies and games of the past few years, his efficiency with slingshots, and his family life with his parents and sister Erica. Harry got a sense of just how wise the boy was by seeing Lucas' life play before his eyes. It wasn't centered around the Demogorgon, Eleven, or the Upside Down like Dustin's had, but it was necessary information to have. After all, it proved some form of trust was there, for the boy to offer so much in the trade.
Returning the favor, Harry gifted Lucas with his early life. His past with the Dursleys. The death of his parents, his rough childhood with his aunt, uncle, and cousin. And he ended the exchange with his most joyous memory of his childhood. The day his acceptance letter to Hogwarts was given to him by Rubeus Hagrid. When the exchange concluded, it was only Mike that remained. He was watching the other three with interest, noting that they were in deep thought, seeing the memories Harry had given them in quick succession. Their minds were dividing the knowledge, deciding what in their memories was theirs and Harry's. It would take a while for the mind to clear, but when it did they would be fine.
"What am I supposed to do?" Mike asked.
"Think of things that would be useful for me to know about you, the 'Party', the world. Give me anything you want to give, and I'll return the favor with memories of my past. I understand you...you understand me. Got it?"
"Yeah...I think so," Harry smiled, and placed his hand on Mike's forehead, beginning the final exchange. Harry was met with a barrage of information, which once again overwhelmed him. Mike was so untrained in the arts of the mind that the floodgates had been opened accidentally. Memories of Mike's childhood emerged, showing memories of his time as a toddler, memories from his early adolescence, and then the good stuff came forward. The disappearance of Will Byers, the journey to find him, finding Eleven, hiding her in his basement, and the daring escape from Hawkins Lab. All useful information, and so Harry returned the favor by displaying the memories of his worst tragedies. The death of his parents, Sirius' near-death, Cedric's death, and the apparent death of Sirius Black at the hands of the Veil of Death. Harry then sprinkled in some happy memories of him, Hermione, and Ron, before ending the exchange. Reliving those deaths drained him.
Before he could even think, Harry felt an odd sense of cold overtake him. He fell to the floor, his gaze falling into the dark abyss that lay around them. "Mike, what'd you do?!" Dustin exclaimed as the four children all surrounded Harry. He wasn't concerned though, and spent his last bit of energy tying together their minds so that they could put together his past and come to a conclusion. Trust him...or don't. In the meantime, he needed to rest. The world could wait a little while longer for Harry Potter and The Party to return.
