Chapter Five: The Battle For Will Byers

The entire Party and its allies sat around the makeshift Sensory Deprivation Tank, watching idly as Harry Potter and Eleven navigated through the Upside Down. They watched with fascination as Harry floated above them all, with smoking tendrils coming out of his back. They gently wrapped around Eleven, who seemed unaware of their presence. She was too focused on Harry, who was, in turn, focused on Eleven. The eye contact was there, though the group only saw the black clouds of mist that surrounded their faces. It seemed Mike was the most affected by this, but Johnathan Byers had no time to think about that. Instead, he was focused on the flickering lights taking place outside of the gym. They drew his attention at once, and his change of attention seemed to change Nancy's as well, seeing as she noticed the lights moments after him. They knew what it was. "The monster. It's here,"

"What? How do you know?"

"Look over there," Nancy motioned to the hallway outside. Lucas and everyone else turned to see the lights flickering madly, and everyone tensed. Nancy looked up at Harry, who appeared to be twitching slightly and was under a large amount of strain. She called out to him, asking if he and Eleven were still in the school. His only response was the shake of his head. That told them all they needed to know. Chief Hopper sprang up at once, rushing to Harry's cache of guns that still laid on the bench nearby. He grabbed a few handguns and an assault rifle before tossing a shotgun to Johnathan, who barely caught it. Hopper took guard by the door, unaware of the glance exchanged by Johnathan and Nancy.

"We need to draw it away," Johnathan proclaimed, passing the shotgun to Nancy, who was much better at using weapons than he was. No one had time to react before they were gone. The two teens rushed into the hall, with Nancy firing a few shots into the ceiling to draw the monster's attention. They ran out into the parking lot, rushing into Johnathan's car as the lights flickered after them. It worked. They were drawing the monster away. Now all they had to do was get their supplies from the police station, and place their traps in Johnathan's house. If it all worked out, they could kill the monster and save Team Two the trouble. But that was only if they killed it. After all, anything was possible now.


November 12th, 1983 / Eleven's Mind

Harry Potter was terrified as he stepped through the front doors of the Middle School. Eleven's mind had been severely altered by Harry's shadow-boost, allowing Eleven to see more than she ever had before. And she knew this too, given how tightly she clung to his arm, accidentally restricting him to a hip-fire position. But the mind-Harry could handle the weight, seeing as he was slightly taller now, and had muscle on his bones. It made it easier to hold the rifle, allowing him to maneuver in a way that would have been impossible in the real world. The two could hear a commotion coming from the real world but ignored it as they continued through Hawkins. Then it happened. A massive swarm surrounded them, a mix of dark mist with a dash of red here and there. It was the supreme ruler of the Upside Down. While it couldn't affect them in Eleven's mind, it could torture them enough to kick them out. After all, Eleven's mind was only a variation of the Upside Down.

But it was enough to cause Harry to come up with a completely new plan. One that he was unsure would work. He turned to Eleven. "It's drawn to us by our power. It's afraid. I need to go,"

"No,"

"It's alright. You've got this. Once you're back in the abyss, this thing won't be able to get you. Just find Will and Barbara, and get out of there as soon as you can. You got it?" Eleven gave him a nod in answer, and he didn't hesitate. He pulled away, retreating from her mind as quickly as possible. Harry found himself back in his own body, staring down at Eleven, who stared back emotionlessly. With a single movement, the goggles that had been discarded returned to Eleven's face, blocking her vision once more as Harry's tendrils returned to his back. He slowly drifted down back to the ground, landing to discover that Johnathan and Nancy were gone. Joyce spoke, her hopes high due to his sudden awakening. "What happened. Did you find Will?"

"No...no. We can't find him with me there. It's too much. El's on her own," Harry replied. He threw his guns to the ground, greatly annoyed. He had gone through so much preparation to help Eleven in her mind, yet now he was back here in the gym. Useless. So all he had to do was sit there and wait while Eleven maneuvered through her mind-palace. She found Barbara first. But the older girl was long dead, buried in the tendrils of the Upside Down. And she found Will soon after, hiding in what was called 'Castle Byers'. He was alone. Scared. And dying. So they didn't have a lot of time. Harry took off with Joyce and Hopper, leaving Eleven and the other kids alone in the school as they headed for Hawkins Lab.

It was a boring ride, with Hopper pushing his truck to its highest speeds while Joyce pushed him to drive faster. Harry, meanwhile, sat in the backseat of the truck, glancing out the window. He felt useless here, unable to do anything of importance that wouldn't get in the way. His plan to escape Hawkins Lab had ended roughly, his plan to assimilate himself into Hawkins had burned when his shadow disappeared from the police station, and he had failed in helping El find Will in Upside Down. Harry was at an extreme disadvantage compared to the last trip through universes. While he was young once again, he was smaller than he ever had been before, and he remembered more. Aspects of his life that had once been inconsequential to him were now glowing dots in his mind, each showing themselves without care. Harry felt like he was going crazy, and he couldn't contain it. He felt sick to his stomach, which was saying something due to the size of it.

Then his eyes widened in realization. The sickness. The crazy feeling. The loss of power. It had all happened to him before. In Raccoon City the day the Army had kidnapped Sherry Birkin and Leon Kennedy. The sickness had come quickly, followed by the crazy thoughts and memories that blocked his judgment. It made him weak that day, being taken down by three tranquilizers to the chest. It had been one of his worst mistakes, and yet he had left Raccoon City to keep his friends safe. And had never returned. And now here he was, feeling the same thing. The virus wanted out, and it was pushing hard against his frail body. It would push harder with more resistance. Pushing until he was either dead, or he gave in and let it out. So, seeing as he wanted to live, Harry decided to let it out. "Pull over," He called out.

"What?" Hopper called back.

Harry was now sweating profusely from everywhere, pushing as hard as he could as his veins darkened and his eyes blackened. He let out a small groan, before calling out once more. "Pull over NOW!" Hopper slammed on the brakes, bringing the truck to a sudden stop along the side of the road. Harry didn't waste time and fell out of the truck and onto the ground below. "Go without me!" His left arm was starting to bubble, his eyes becoming fully black as he looked up at them. They saw it and wanted no part in his transformation. So Hopper slammed his foot onto the gas once more and took off, leaving Harry alone in a ditch. Watching as they drove away. This was going to be a painful experience.

Harry let out a pained cry that traveled for miles, his back arching on the grass as his entire body began to bubble. His arms and legs extended beyond what they had before, with his torso and head growing to match. His loose shirt and jeans were destroyed in the growth, tearing apart into nothing while leaving him completely naked. When the transformation was done, Harry Potter had transformed greatly. He had gone from a small boy at the height of 5'6" and weighing 90lbs to a man with the height of 9'11", weighing 270lbs, most of it being pure muscle. His growth had caused his body to curve into the ditch, which was quite uncomfortable all things considered. So Harry slowly stood up, glancing around for any sign of someone watching him. Nothing. The road was empty.

The school and Hawkins Lab were both pretty far away on foot - he didn't want to risk apparating or displacing himself at this size - but the Byers house was close. He knew that Johnathan and Nancy had drawn the monster there and away from the school. Perhaps it was still there. And perhaps he could kill it. At this size, it would be incredibly easy. So he set off for the Byers house, knowing his path was uncertain. He could either kill the thing or he couldn't. But he wouldn't find out until he reached the Byers house. That was his mission.


Outside of Harry's mission, all hell had broken loose over town. Johnathan, Nancy, and Steve Harrington had faced off against the Demogorgon within the Byers home, resulting in quite a bit of damage. But the monster had escaped and was headed straight for Hawkins Middle School. So when Harry finally arrived at the Byers house, he was met with the new trio of teenagers in the group. Their reactions were...far from normal. Which made sense given that he was almost ten feet tall and massive. If he were in their shoes, Harry would have screamed and shot him too. But the bullet fired by Nancy had only lodged into the far left side of his abdomen, doing almost nothing to affect him. "What the hell?!" Steve exclaimed, falling backward into the dirt as Johnathan and Nancy quickly backed away.

"Woah, Woah! It's just me," Harry called back. He cast 'Lumos' to reveal his face, putting on his best smile as he bent down to meet them. It wasn't easy, seeing as they were all three under six feet tall. It made bending down useless, seeing as they still had to peer up at him slightly. Johnathan and Nancy recognized his enlarged face immediately, but Steve still shook to his core. He slowly got to his feet, taking a step backward with the nail-covered bat ready for a fight. Johnathan - the intelligent human that he was - stepped forward to keep Steve from swinging, letting Harry explain. "It's one of the powers I'm less favorable of. It takes over from time to time. Just happens to take over before Team Two could make it to the Lab,"

"So...you're just like this now? A giant?" Nancy asked.

"What the hell is happening?!" Steve exclaimed, still scared and unsure.

"Steve, this is Harry, one of my brother's friends," said Nancy.

"Bit of a stretch,"

Nancy ignored Harry's comment and continued. "He's from another universe and he has superpowers. Kind of like Eleven, but he has more power," The explanation was short and sweet, and seemed to do its job in convincing Steve. He glanced between Harry and Nancy for a few seconds, before lowering the bat to the ground. Nancy shook her head and turned back to Harry. "Is Team Two still on?"

"Yeah. I had them dump me on the side of the road when it took over. Being ten feet tall isn't good for cars," Harry replied. She smiled, nodding as she reloaded her pistol. "The plan is to head back to Hawkins Middle School and make sure the kids aren't compromised. Hopefully, the Chief and Mrs. Byers can get Will out on their own. I'm not very useful at the moment,"

"Not useful as a giant?" Johnathan asked.

"I can't get to any buildings, and I can be spotted from three miles away. The fact I'm here with you three has probably drawn a lot of attention, and it doesn't help my other powers in any way," They all agreed, and the plan was set. With a bit of convincing, Harry knelt and held out his abnormally large hand. They all grabbed a finger, and Harry displaced them away from the Byers house to outside Hawkins Middle School. Johnathan and Nancy immediately rushed inside to see if the kids were alright, leaving Harry to sit outside and wait. He took a seat in the middle of the parking lot, his body taking up half of a parking space. But it gave him time to think. Think of exactly why he was here.

It was down to two possibilities. The fight between him and the Watcher had ended with him being thrown here, and it was completely accidental. Or the Multiverse held its linear timeline of possibilities, and he was destined to be here. But it didn't seem that way. After all, the Watcher had described him as a plague on universes destined to lead people to death or fatal injuries. And there he was, questioning his role in this new world. His plans had time and again failed miserably, making him useless to these people, and he didn't know how to fix it. Not fast enough to kill the Demogorgon and save Will. But for all he knew, they didn't need him to do these things. Chief Hopper and Mrs. Byers were both capable adults. And El had enough raw strength to possibly kill Harry, and thus she could most likely kill The Demogorgon.

Harry turned back to the school, watching as lights began to flicker on and off like crazy. It was the Upside Down. The Demogorgon had entered the school. He willed himself to shrink, trying his best to restrain the virus. It worked, and Harry's limbs began to shorten until he was small enough to get into the school. He took off down the halls, following the trails of blood on the ground until he stopped at the source. There were a dozen bodies piled up in the corner of a nearby hallway, all having been chewed to death by The Demogorgon. Dr. Brenner was among the pile. The lights continued to flicker, leading Harry to change his direction. He ended up in the science classroom, where he found an awful sight.

Mike, Dustin, and Lucas were in the back of the classroom, with Eleven at the front. She was facing the Demogorgon, who was pinned against the wall as the beast's chest cavity glowed cyan. Eleven was holding it there with her powers, yet it was fighting back too, pulling her into the Upside Down. Harry cast a shadow, attaching it to Eleven's pocket, just like he had with Nancy in the police station earlier that day. And in a flash of blinding light, Eleven and the Demogorgon were gone from the world. And attached to Eleven's pocket was a small gift. A stowaway.


One Month Later / December 11th, 1983 / South-West Forest, Hawkins, Indiana

The box contained food. A Tupperware container filled with chicken tenders, with two single eggos wrapped and placed above it. The food had been left by Chief Jim Hopper, who had discovered that someone was hiding in the woods in need of food. When Eleven returned to her fire, Harry was waiting for her. The tiny cabin he had created around the fire was more than enough room for them to move around comfortably, and the Fidelius Charm around it kept those on the outside from finding them. It was the safest place for both of them, though it was clear that Eleven was annoyed at being confined to such a small place. But she didn't complain out loud for reasons unknown to Harry. Perhaps it was the appreciation for the shelter and food. Or maybe she didn't know the words to fully vent her frustrations.

Ever since their little trip to the Upside Down that night, the two had been practicing in lessons. Lessons performed in Harry's mind, which allowed him to fully utilize his abilities. But after a while, they had switched to doing the lessons in Eleven's mind. After all, she was the one in need of practice, and without much knowledge of her powers, her mind was the best place to evolve her abilities. And so they practiced for a month, evolving Eleven's powers with intense practice. Harry would throw squads of shadow monsters at her, controlling them at a minimal difficulty level as she annihilated them. After the first week, a single squad wasn't enough, and Harry needed to increase the enemy unit to two. He kept it there, watching as Eleven began to tire more easily. Her powers were like his magic, wearing down the user with more usage.

Harry examined their cabin, admiring the changes that they had made in the past few days. It was spacious enough for them to move around freely and enough room to be alone if need be. But they were hardly ever separated. When he wasn't training Eleven in her mind and they weren't asleep, Harry would teach El everything that he could. He began to teach her better English, American history, basic science, geography, art, basic mathematics, and some physical education. Physical education was important to increase Eleven's endurance, which would allow her to use her powers more often without tiring. The geography was useful for her 'Void-Walking', which would help her find people, things, and places much easier. Art was more for El to express her deeper feelings, and the other four main subjects were useful for other reasons. English to speak more clearly, history to understand the world around her easier, science to understand the effects her powers have on the world, and math to understand her telekinesis, and how to pull/push objects to/from her. All useful subjects that Harry carefully researched in the nighttime, trying his best to teach her before they went out into the world to gain hands-on experiences.

Eleven entered the cabin, placing her snow-covered boots down beside the door as she pulled off her large jacket. After shutting the door, she made her way to Harry on the couch and fell beside him, the food in hand. While Harry quietly studied his physics book, El began to unwrap the two Eggos left to her by Chief Hopper before taking several bites at once. This amused Harry. She wasn't exactly starving, seeing as he continued to stock the fridge and freezer with healthy foods that were nutritious for kids their age, and he even kept boxes of Eggos in the freezer. But she acted as if she was starving. "Someone left you those?" He already knew the answer, due to the wards around the cabin, but he decided to ask anyway. Good communication was useful for any friendship. And they had become good friends in the past few weeks. Well...he had become a good teacher. Harry wasn't friend material.

"Chief Hopper," El replied.

"Chief Hopper left you Eggos. Interesting," Harry commented, smiling brightly as he flipped the page of his book. From what he had gathered from shadows around the town, Hopper and the others had all been silenced by the Department of Energy, the punishment for speaking about the events of the month before being life in prison. At least for the adults and teenagers. The kids had all received a strict warning that action would be taken against their families, which had scared the four families into silence. Hopper, however, seemed to have done some detective work and had tracked them to the forest. Or at least had tracked El. After all, she was the only one that left the cabin to go on her walks. It was the only time she got outside, and so Harry allowed it after many protective charms had been placed on her. He was only slightly protective. "Do you want to see if he comes back tomorrow?"

Eleven gave him a nod in reply, having already started to eat her chicken tenders, which Harry had warmed with a single spell. Harry smiled, and returned to his book once more, flicking the page. Eleven spoke. "Can I go see Mike?"

That was it. Harry glanced to his right, where Eleven sat, and smiled. She had never asked him about Mike since the first week of their living in the cabin. He had refused due to the danger it posed. But with Hopper having found their cabin, Harry knew it was time to relocate anyway. And so, this was the best time of any to go visit some friends. The look of contemplation on Harry's face seemed to brighten the smile on El's face. After all, his past responses had all been instant and said in confidence. But the delay showed he was thinking. And the thinking was good. It meant a possible yes. After a moment, he smiled. "Our location's been compromised anyway. So while we get ready to move, we can stop by and see Mike. But..."

"No,"

"I have to,"

"No,"

"El,"

"You can't," She spoke firmly. Harry sighed. He had erased the memories of nearly three dozen people in the last month, most having seen El in her walks, or they had seen him as he bought food and supplies with his displaced money. It was one of the rules of the house. If they're seen by anyone, it was up to Harry to ensure their memories were erased. If Hopper could find them after only a few sightings from people who had gotten away from him, then Harry wasn't going to risk Mike spilling the beans. Not that he didn't trust the kid, but children were easy to break, and if the Department of Energy wanted to break Mike to get El's location, they would do it. No matter who was in charge of that Lab.

"I have to. If Mike shows any sign of knowing that you're even alive, then the Lab will find out. And they'll have search parties going through the entire town looking for us," Harry explained.

"He would never tell," El defended.

"I didn't say he would. But men like Papa still exist in the Department of Energy. Maybe not Owens, the new director, but someone else. And if they learn that you're alive, they'll find ways to get the information out of Mike. And they might hurt him. If we go see him, then the safest thing for everyone in this town would be for me to wipe him. End of story," Harry spoke. This seemed to convince El, but she was still angry and sulked beside him for the rest of the night as she ate and he studied. Harry sighed. He didn't want to be a kid for much longer.