A/N: PLEASE READ THIS NOTE FIRST!
Hello everyone. I know it's been a long time since the last chapter but the new one is finally here. But before we get into it I have to mention something.
What you're about to read in this chapter is a bit of an experiment I wanted to try. It's a crossover with my other long fic. Tails' TARDIS Tales. Basically there is a section of this chapter where the two fics. meet. I wanted to see if I could write the same scene (with the same dialogue) from two different perspectives in two separate stories. One version would be published here and the other version in the other story.
I had the idea to do this quite a while back but didn't think I would because if I were to do it I would want to publish both chapters at the same time and it didn't look like both stories would line up in such a way that I could do that.
Well surprise, surprise! Both stories did reach the same point at the same time so I decided to take a crack at it after all. Was it a success? I don't know but it was fun to do.
Another reason I did it is kind of to show how sometimes you can meet a person – maybe on a plane, a bus, a train, a park bench, etc. – whom you'll have a good conversation with and really connect with at that moment. But afterwards you both go your separate ways and you never see each other again. This is kind of like that and it allows me to crossover four different worlds at once!
Congratulations Chelseakitsune for becoming this story's 200th follower.
Congratulations Thunder Dragon for posting the 100th comment on this story.
Thanks everyone for the comments on the last chapter. I'm glad people liked the encounter with Professor Snape. His future role in the story is still undetermined.
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So, I don't own 1) Harry Potter, 2) Dungeons and Dragons, 3) Doctor Who, or 4) Sonic The Hedgehog. They all belong to their respective creators. The only things that are mine are the story itself and any original characters I might come up with. Please read and review; I always appreciate feedback. Constructive criticism is welcome, however no flames please.
"Normal speech"
"Parseltongue"
9 – FLYING IN ETERNITY
Harry Potter was 11 years old. He had celebrated his birthday just a few weeks ago and now it was almost time for him to leave for Hogwarts. It had been an eventful month since his birthday. Sirius and Remus had taken him to Diagon Alley on the 1st of August and he had been almost mobbed by well-wishers wanting to shake his hand when they had first arrived. The rest of the trip had been smoother though.
At Gringotts bank he'd been informed of his full holdings as the Potter heir. His human family was quite wealthy although until he turned 17 he would only have access to his trust vault. This, however was more than enough for his needs on Earth.
At the Magical Menagerie it had first seemed like he would not be able to buy a pet as almost all of the animals in the shop freaked out at the sight of him. Harry guessed they must have been able to sense his true nature. However there were two exceptions. The first one was a beautiful snowy owl who took one look at him and flew over to perch on his right shoulder as if claiming him for her own.
"Well hello" said Harry, "you're beautiful. Do you want to come with me?" The owl barked an affirmative reply and nuzzled Harry.
"Wow" said the shopkeeper coming over to them, "you're the first person she's allowed to even get near her. I'll give you a great deal if you take her."
"Okay" said Harry, "what's her name?"
"That's for you to decide" was the reply.
The other exception occurred as Harry was walking toward the counter to pay for the owl.
"Your highness" a voice hissed at him. He stopped abruptly and turned toward the voice in surprise. He was standing in front of an aquarium with a mesh top. Looking up at him with intelligent eyes from inside of the aquarium was a greenish / yellowish lizard.
"Hello" said Harry, "and who might you be?" He had no problem understanding the lizard as it spoke perfect Dragon which, as Harry had been taught years ago, was the original language of reptiles everywhere. All reptiles, from lizards to turtles to snakes to everything else, spoke Dragon. The human name for the language was "Parseltongue" and humans who spoke it were called "Parselmouths." In Britain it was largely thought to be a "dark" talent but Harry knew better. The talent itself wasn't dark or light it simply was. What you did with it was what mattered.
"My name is Raja" said the lizard as it dipped its head.
"And what are you?" asked Harry, "I've never seen a lizard like you before."
"That's not surprising" was the reply, "I'm a Dragon of sorts. I'm a Komodo Dragon. We're not native to this part of Earth." Harry nodded.
"What can I do for you Raja?" Harry asked the Komodo Dragon.
"Would you please buy me too?" asked Raja, "I would be honored to go with you."
"You know what I am?" asked Harry.
"Yes" said Raja, "I can sense the true you. I wish to be one of your defenders if you'll have me." Harry thought about this. Although he had never seen a Komodo Dragon before he knew about them. They were fierce hunters in the wild but in captivity they became tame quickly although they never lost their fierceness. They could grow to be over 3 meters long so this one was still very young indeed.
As he mulled things over he felt movement on his right shoulder and turned to see the owl nodding its head up and down.
"You think I should get him?" Harry asked the owl who barked in obvious approval of the idea.
"All right Raja" said Harry turning back to the aquarium and opening it to pick up the young Komodo Dragon, "it looks like you're coming with us."
"Thank you" said Raja as he climbed up Harry's left arm and perched on his left shoulder.
The only other notable thing that happened was when he went to buy his wand. He didn't really need a wand, he had been well trained in both wandless human magic and dragon magic, but a wand was one of the things Hogwarts required so a wand he would get. So off to Ollivander's he went. It didn't take long either. All he had to do was reach out with his senses and find the one that was calling him. He held up his hand and an ancient dusty box came flying out towards him from the very back of the shop.
"Oh my" said Mr. Ollivander opening the box and taking out the wand "I thought this wand would never find a buyer. Let's see how it works for you.
Harry took the wand and gave it a wave. It immediately gave off a shower of blue and bronze sparks.
"That's fantastic!" cried Ollivander clapping his hands together.
"Oh?" asked Sirius, "why?"
"That wand" said Ollivander, "is the oldest wand in this shop. In fact it's very likely the oldest Ollivander wand in existence. It was made over a thousand years ago by my ancestor Gareth Ollivander. The wood is said to be Oak from the sacred groves in Dodona in Greece. The wand core is made up of a scale freely donated by an ancient dragon. Family lore states it was the great dragon god Io himself who gave the scale however I cannot confirm if this is true. Regardless, it is one of the most powerful wands ever made by my family. If such a wand as this has chosen you, Mr. Potter, then I think we must expect great things from you."
Harry took that in. He was surprised to hear about the core of this wand but at the same time it also made some sense. Perhaps his parents would know if the scale in his wand really was from his grandfather.
After the shopping was done Harry and his guardians went back to Black Manor, which was where Harry stayed when he was on Earth. Both Raja and his new owl, whom he had eventually decided to call Hedwig (it hadn't been easy to find a name she liked), had free reign to explore the area.
A week after the trip to Diagon Alley Sirius sent Harry, Hedwig, and Raja back to Mt. Celestia for the rest of the summer. The press announcement about the truth of Harry and his family was scheduled for the next day and Bahamut, Daranni, Sirius, and Remus all wanted to keep Harry away from the fallout of that announcement for as long possible.
That turned out to be a wise decision. A few days later Sirius and Remus both told Bahamut and Daranni that the announcement that not only were Harry's parents alive but they were both major dragon gods and that as their child Harry was one too (even if he didn't have an aspect yet) had caused an enormous sensation not just in Britain but all over the magical world. The Daily Prophet had to go back and reprint that day's edition twice when the news broke and it was hardly the only newspaper that had to do that.
"I wonder if we left the announcement until too late?" said Daranni.
"I doubt there would ever have been a 'right time'" said Bahamut, "but there are still a few weeks before Harry leaves for Hogwarts. The first rush of excitement should have died down at least somewhat."
By now Harry had grown a great deal. In his human form he was about average for an 11 year old boy, maybe a little taller. As a dragon he was now one third the size of either of his parents. Considering how large both of his parents were this meant that he was already quite big himself by the normal scale of things. Bahamut said that he was growing at an accelerated rate. Dragons weren't normally so large at Harry's age. Harry's parents thought that his human side was affecting his dragon growth rate, making him bigger sooner. It would not otherwise affect his life though.
It was close to end of August by the Earth calendar and Harry had a feeling that something was up. It was just the way the other inhabitants of the palace looked at him, as if they knew something concerning him that he didn't. Even his parents were acting this way, although they were better at hiding it then the others.
It came out on August 29th.
"Harry we need to talk with you" Bahamut said that morning after breakfast. All of them were in dragon form.
"You'll be leaving for Hogwarts in three days" said Daranni, "Sirius will take you to King's Cross on September 1st."
"I know" said Harry.
"However something very important is going to happen before that" said Bahamut, "your mum and I feel that you're ready for your Initiation."
At this Harry really sat up and took notice. The Initiation was a very important landmark in the development of a young dragon god. All of the dragon pantheon had undergone it, including Harry's own parents. He had known this day would eventually come but until now did not know exactly when.
"Wow" Harry said.
"Yes, wow" said Bahamut, "you're the first one of us to undergo the Initiation in centuries. The Time Lords have been notified. We go to Gallifrey tomorrow."
"Oh" said Harry, "how will we get there? We're not going to just step out of Mt. Celestia into the Citadel of the Time Lords, are we?"
"Oh no" said Daranni, "that would be very rude! The Doctor will be coming to get us tomorrow to take us to Gallifrey. We will return here by our own power."
"The Doctor?" said Harry, "it'll be nice to see him again."
"Prepare yourself" said Bahamut, "tomorrow is a very important day. Get as much sleep tonight as you can and tomorrow morning eat a good breakfast before we leave. You'll need it."
Naturally when someone tells you to sleep a lot on the night before something very important is going to happen it automatically becomes all that much harder to sleep. Harry was too excited to sleep for a long time. He didn't finally fall asleep until very late.
Despite not sleeping as much as he wanted Harry still got up without any problems. His excitement and nervousness over what would happen that day went a long way in banishing his fatigue. It made him a little hyper at breakfast, something both of his parents noted.
"Slow down there Harry" said Bahamut in amusement as he watched Harry practically swallow his breakfast whole, "we're not in a rush and you don't want to choke yourself."
"The Initiation ceremony isn't going anywhere" said Daranni with a chuckle, "no matter how long we linger over breakfast we'll still get there at the right time. The Doctor will see to that."
"Sorry" said Harry making an effort to slow down eating his breakfast, "just nervous, you know?"
"Yes" said Bahamut, "I remember my Initiation. That was a long, long time ago but I still remember it well."
"I remember mine too" said Daranni.
"Yours was unusual" said Bahamut, "you were already an adult when you were Initiated." Daranni chuckled.
"Can I help it that I was born mortal and didn't become divine until after I was already grown up?" she said.
"Not really" said Bahamut with a smile, "especially since I was the one who raised you to godhood so you could become my mate."
"And I am forever grateful for it" said Daranni.
"Ew" said Harry, "you two aren't going to get all mushy on me are you?" His parents looked at each other for a moment as if considering it."
"I'd like to" said Bahamut, "but not now."
"Later" said Daranni to him, her eyes promising her mate future pleasures, "right now we have other things to do. The Doctor should be hear soon so let's finish up here."
A short time later they had finished breakfast and moved to the audience chamber. With them were several of their guards who were going to go with them. These guards were very distinctive. They were roughly humanoid but instead of skin they were covered in scales. They all looked very strong, like warriors. These were some of Bahamut's most elite soldiers, the Dragonborn. All of them had chosen to undergo the Rite of Rebirth when they came to serve the king of dragons, transforming from their original race (human, elf, dwarf, etc) into their now draconic selves. They were some of his strongest champions who were not full dragons themselves.
"Now remember what we told you" said Bahamut, "when your Initiation is done you will automatically be sent back here. If we're not already here by then we will be soon."
"I remember" said Harry as he moved into place in between his parents.
"Good" said Bahamut as a breeze picked up in the room followed by the beginnings of a VWORP VWORP sound, "here comes the Doctor."
As they watched a shape began to materialize. After a moment it became clearly recognizable as a large blue box. It had small windows near its top and on its roof was a light that was blinking on and off. Along the top of the box above the doors were the words "Police Public Call Box." As the box faded fully into existence the VWORP sound gradually died away and the light stopped blinking. After a moment the doors of the box opened and the occupants emerged.
The first one looked human. He was tall, big but not fat, he had a full head of brown curly hair and blue eyes that seemed to contain both seriousness and laughter. His dress was a bit eccentric as human dress went. He wore light brown trousers, a white shirt, a colored vest, and a brown overcoat. But the most distinctive piece of clothing he wore was an incredibly long multi-colored striped scarf that reached all the way down to his feet on both sides.
His companion was a fox only he was standing upright on his hind legs and he had two tails. One look at his face and you could see he was very intelligent. He stopped abruptly where he was when he caught sight of Bahamut, Daranni, and Harry and looked at them all in obvious awe, amazement, and some shyness.
The man, on the other hand, looked quite pleased to see Bahamut and his family and it showed in his manner.
"King Bahamut" he said bowing to the platinum dragon, "Queen Daranni" to the silver dragon.
"Greetings Doctor" said King Bahamut, "I see you regenerated since you were last here."
"Yes, well I got tired of all the dandy stuff" said the Doctor, "is that Harry between you? My you've grown a lot since I last saw you."
"Thank you" said Harry looking at the Doctor with curiousity. This was not the Doctor that he remembered from when he had last seen him. That Doctor had been, as stated, a "dandy." But Harry had learned about Time Lord regenerations and was interested to see what this new version of the Doctor would be like.
"Oh" said the Doctor as he motioned for his fox companion to come forward, "allow me to introduce you to my current companion. This is Miles Prower from the planet Mobius. But you can call him 'Tails.' Tails, these are King Bahamut of Mt. Celestia, his mate Queen Daranni, and their son Prince Harry James Potter."
"How do you do?" said Tails, bowing to the dragons.
"Quite well, thank you" said Bahamut, "so you are from Mobius? We know of that planet."
"You do?" asked Tails in surprise.
"Certainly" said Daranni, "we know of all the worlds on which dragons live."
"You're a lot bigger than the dragons on Mobius" said Tails.
"Dragons come in all sizes" said Bahamut in an offhand manner.
"I suppose they do" said Tails, "after traveling with the Doctor I probably shouldn't be surprised by that."
"You have the look of a kitsune" said Daranni, "though I don't sense you having the same spirit powers of one."
"Inari said I'm not a Japanese kitsune" said Tails, "I just look like one but she says that's enough for my situation."
"You've met Inari?" said Bahamut, "interesting." Inari was the patron goddess of Kitsunes. Bahamut was rather surprised Tails had met her.
"Tails has met quite a few of the Powers" said the Doctor, "Inari Okami, Destiny and Death of the Endless, Joshua the son of Joseph and Mariam, and now you."
"Wow" said Harry who was impressed, "you get around."
"Everyone who travels with me does" said the Doctor, "now the Time Lords asked me to come here and bring some passengers to Gallifrey. I'm assuming that would be you?"
"Yes" said Bahamut, "it's time for Harry's Initiation."
"Ah" said the Doctor and his face became very solemn, "I see. Well we'd better get going then. How many passengers will there be?"
"The three of us" said Bahamut, "and several of our guards. You won't have to bring us back."
"Right" said the Doctor, "Well then, shall we all get ready?"
"Um Doctor" said Tails turning to the Doctor, "how are they going fit through the TARDIS doors?"
"If they can fit in the TARDIS itself they can fit through the doors" said the Doctor.
"Oh I know they'll fit inside the TARDIS" said Tails, "no question of that, but – "
"Take a look" said the Doctor pointing back to the dragons – only the dragons were gone. In their place were James, Lily, and Harry in their human forms. Tails' jaw dropped.
"How – ?" he began before having a logical thought, "you're shape shifters" he finished.
"Among other things" said James, "in these forms we have human names. You may call me James Potter, the woman is my wife Lily, and the boy is our son Harry."
"He doesn't have a separate name when he's human?" asked Tails.
"No, just the one" said James, "Doctor, shall we go?"
"Of course" said the Doctor gesturing to the TARDIS, "all aboard for Gallifrey."
James, Lily, and Harry all entered the TARDIS followed by several of their Dragonborn. Harry looked around at the console room. It was all gleaming white with indented circles all up and down the walls. On one wall was something that was clearly a view screen. Near the door he had just entered was a brown wooden coat hanger and hat stand that was taller than he was in his human form. But it was the console in the middle of the room that really captured his attention. It appeared to be a hexagonal device that was mounted on a pillar in the middle of the room. Each side was covered with various controls. In the center of the console there was a clear glass column which contained more equipment of an unknown kind. On the other side of the room was another open door that Harry could see did not lead back outside.
"So this is the famous TARDIS interior" said Harry. He'd never been inside the TARDIS before although his parents had.
"He's done it up a bit" said Lily, "I like it."
"I think it's brighter than it used to be" said James with a nod.
The Doctor now entered the TARDIS with Tails following him. The console room was quite crowded now with all of the people in it but it didn't seem bother anyone. The Doctor gestured for Tails to help him at the console. Tails spun his tails in a helicopter pattern and raised himself into the air before flying over to one of the console panels. The new passengers all looked at this with a great deal of surprise.
"You can fly?" asked Harry in some amazement, "that's awesome. How do you do that?"
"Don't really know" said Tails in an absent manner, "I just do."
The Doctor and Tails worked the console and the TARDIS took off on its trip to Gallifrey.
"We'll be there in a little while" said the Doctor to his guests, "if you would like some refreshment on the way the kitchen is available. Otherwise feel free to wander around – but don't go too far. It won't be that long."
"I'd like to see more of this place" said Harry.
"Tails, why don't you show Harry around" said the Doctor, "the two of you are close in age. You should get along quite well."
"Is that all right?" asked Tails turning towards Harry's parents.
"Go ahead" said James, "if I remember things correctly the TARDIS is sentient and it will look after you."
"That's right" said the Doctor, "she gets quite protective of her passengers. Go and enjoy yourselves."
"Okay" said Tails. He looked at Harry who nodded to him. Harry followed Tails out of the console room and deeper into the TARDIS down a long corridor that had doors on both sides. Two of the Dragonborn followed them staying close enough to keep watch but far enough to give them some room to talk.
"How big is the TARDIS?" asked Harry as they walked down the corridor.
"I don't know" said Tails, "I've explored it and I've found many different rooms of all types but I've never explored the whole thing. Sometimes I think it has no end."
"Wow" said Harry.
"So are you a dragon who can become human?" asked Tails as they kept walking, "or a human who can turn into a dragon?"
"Both actually" said Harry, "it's a long story. The Doctor said you've met some of the Powers?"
"Yes" said Tails, "your parents give off the same feeling of power that the other ones did. In fact you even have some of that feeling yourself although not as large."
"I'm just a kid" said Harry, "maybe when I'm older."
"You'll be a Power too?" asked Tails.
"Maybe" said Harry, "Both of my parents are gods although I was originally born human and mortal. My parents both incarnated themselves as mortal humans for a while. During that time they had me. Long story short, 15 months after I was born their mortal bodies were murdered by a terrorist. That sent them back to Mt. Celestia and their true forms. My father quickly had me brought there from Earth so I could still be raised with them. He released my true dragon self and turned me into what I am now."
"So you're a god too?" said Tails.
"A very young one" said Harry with a smile, "I don't have an aspect yet and won't for a very long time. A lot will happen before I come into my full power."
"Is that why you're going to Gallifrey?" asked Tails, "your father said it was time for your Initiation."
"Yes" said Harry as a faraway looked entered his eyes, "I'm going there to look into the Untempered Schism. All dragon gods do this once when they're growing up. It's a major event in our lives – I'm sorry, are you all right?"
Tails had stopped abruptly when Harry had mentioned the Untempered Schism.
"The Untempered Schism?" demanded Tails, "you're going to look into that?"
"Yes" said Harry, "you know about it?"
"The last time I was on Gallifrey I looked into it myself" said Tails.
"Really? What was it like?" asked Harry with interest, "nobody will tell me that. My parents just say that the experience is unique to everyone who looks in it."
"That's what my friends at the Time Lord Academy told me when I asked them about it" said Tails, "they wouldn't tell me what it was like for them, just that I had to experience it for myself. And they were right. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before or since."
"Then I can't wait" said Harry, "it sounds awesome."
"That's definitely one word for it" said Tails.
"So what's your story?" asked Harry, "have you been traveling with the Doctor for long?"
"Yes and no" said Tails, "he just picked me up from Mobius before we came to get you. I've been on extended trips with him in the past though. I also spent time at the Time Lord Academy on Gallifrey. Is that why you're going to look into the Untempered Schism? So you can enter the Academy afterwards?"
"No" said Harry, "I will be leaving for school in a few days but I won't be going to the Time Lord Academy."
They talked for a while longer before Harry felt a touch in his mind that seemed to be urging him to return to the console room. Remembering what his dad had said about the TARDIS being sentient he realized that it was the TARDIS itself that was telling him to return back the way they'd come. So Harry, Tails, and the Dragonborn went back to the console room, arriving there just as they heard the VWORP sounds of the ship materializing.
"We have arrived" said the Doctor who activated the view screen as he spoke, "and it looks like there's a reception committee." There was. When he looked at the screen Harry saw several people standing outside the TARDIS although he did not know any of them. Most of them looked like soldiers but the two in the middle of the group were quite clearly high ranking officials of some sort.
"Thank you for bringing us here Doctor" said James, "it's always a pleasure."
"Of course" said the Doctor shaking James' hand and kissing the back of Lily's hand, "I hope things go well for Harry's Initiation."
"I'm sure they will" said Lily before turning to her son, "come Harry."
"Yes mum" said Harry before shaking Tails' hand, "it was nice to meet you Tails."
"You too" said Tails, "and good luck with the Untempered Schism." Harry smiled and turned to go with his parents, their guards following behind them. The last Harry saw of Tails the young fox was making to follow them but the Doctor was motioning for him to wait. Then Harry and his family were outside the TARDIS facing the welcoming committee.
"Greetings great dragon king and queen" said one of the two high ranking officials, "welcome to Gallifrey. I am Chancellor Borusa and this is my colleague Castellan Spandrell." He gestured at the other official who nodded.
"Greetings Chancellor, Castellan" said James, "thank you for letting us come here."
"We were surprised to get the request" said Borusa, "it's been centuries since the last Initiation of one of your kind."
"Harry is the first new member of our pantheon to be born in all of those centuries" said Lily putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. Borusa and Spandrell looked at him.
"So you're Harry" said Spandrell, "welcome to Gallifrey."
"Thank you" said Harry feeling a little shy.
"Do you wish to take some refreshment first?" asked Spandrell, "or do you want to go straight to the Untempered Schism?"
"I think we should go straight there" said James, "It would be best to get it over with as soon as possible. Harry has been rather jumpy this morning and any delay would not help matters."
"All right" said Borusa, "the Chancellory Guard is here to escort you there. I will accompany you as well. What about you?" The last question was directed at Spandrell.
"I will stay here" said Spandrell, "I want to speak to the Doctor."
"Very well" said Borusa and he gave the signal to the guards to move out.
The walk to the Untempered Schism was not short. First they had to leave the city. Then they had to hike quite a ways into the mountains beyond the city's edge. The whole one way trip took a few hours to complete. At one point Harry asked his parents why they didn't fly there but James said that the walk was necessary as it gave people time to prepare for what was to come.
"Around the turn of the path and there it is" said Chancellor Borusa pointing forward. They all rounded the bend and Harry finally saw the Untempered Schism for the first time. The sight almost took his breath away. Ever since they had started hiking up the mountainside Harry had felt – something – in the distance. A real presence, a living presence that seemed to be reaching out to him, calling to him. Now as he set eyes on the Schism for the first time he knew that this was where the call was coming from. Up the path he saw a large metallic ring mounted on a stand. In front of it was a plaque with a seal on it – The Seal of Rassilon as he later learned from his parents. Inside the ring was...
From a distance Harry couldn't really see what was inside the ring. Or even if the ring had an inside. Certainly it didn't show the mountainside behind it. No, something was swirling within that ring. It had weight and power, Harry could feel it. Even from a distance it seemed like it was reaching out towards him and beckoning him to come closer.
James placed his hand on Harry's shoulder.
"This is where you go on alone" James said, "don't worry. Remember what I told you. Us dragon gods are time sensitive so it is safe for us to use the Schism."
"I remember" said Harry, "I'm not afraid," and he wasn't. Nervous? Yes. But not afraid.
"As soon as you enter the Schism we will leave here and return to Mt. Celestia to wait for you" said Lily.
"Now go" said James, "and do us proud." Harry nodded and began to walk up the path towards the Untempered Schism while everyone else watched. The walk wasn't long before he was there. The plaque was at his feet and he stopped to look at the seal on it. He didn't linger long though before turning his attention to the ring itself. It wasn't that high off the ground so he had to kneel down to bring his head level with it. He took a breath and looked inside.
For one second it seemed like he was looking through a window at a huge starry sky. Suddenly he felt an unseen force pull him forward right through the ring and into the Schism itself!
Harry would never forget his time in the Untempered Schism. It was incredible. Everywhere he looked he saw space, and stars and, and galaxies, clusters of galaxies, the whole universe seemed to be there with him and he was rushing forward headlong through it, getting faster and faster and faster until he seemed to be a streak across creation accelerating to speeds beyond the imagination.
He felt no fear. He was able to handle the experience of flying in eternity. Perhaps it was because he was a god and able to comprehend what he was undergoing. He reflexively shifted into his dragon form as he flew. It seemed like the right thing to do if only to give himself the illusion of control over his flight.
Everywhere he looked there were fresh wonders to see. He saw stars being born and going nova. Systems were born and died. Time was speeding up and he had no idea just how far he had traveled both in space and time.
Suddenly he was not alone. There was another dragon flying next to him. Harry didn't know where it had come from. It had just appeared out of nowhere and what a dragon it was! It was far bigger than any other dragon Harry had ever seen or even heard of. Both of his parents would look small next to it so Harry felt tiny by comparison. There was something very majestic about it but it was also calm and it looked at Harry with a kind eye.
"Hello Harry" the dragon said in a friendly voice, "I'm glad to finally meet you in person. I am Io, your grandfather."
(To Be Continued)
AFTERWORD: So that's that. I have no plans for Harry and Tails to meet again. This was a one time deal. There actually is precedent for this kind of crossing over outside of fanfic. There's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen which brings in characters from a whole bunch of different stories. Another example is the novel The Seven Percent Solution where Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson meet Rudolf Rassendyll from The Prisoner of Zenda on a train to Vienna for about two minutes.
If you want to see what this scene looked life from Tails' point of view you can find it in chapter 97 of Tails' TARDIS Tales "Return To Gallifrey." You don't have to read the whole thing of that fic. to understand it, but I'll love you if you do!
In other notes, Hedwig was always going to show up. How can you have a Harry Potter story without Hedwig?
Raja was inspired by a real Komodo Dragon of that name at the London Zoo who appeared in the episode "Lizard Kings" of the TV series NOVA. There have been plenty of stories where Harry picks up a snake companion with his Parseltongue and I didn't really want to do that, although I did originally consider giving him either an Anaconda or a Reticulated Python as a companion. But I thought that there was a good chance that Parseltongue could also be used to speak to other reptiles and since Harry is a dragon he should be able to speak to other reptiles anyway. I settled on giving him a Komodo Dragon as a companion instead.
For those who asked me if Harry would be meeting the Dragonborn obviously the answer is yes. He knows the Dragonborn – at least he knows this version of them. These are the Dragonborn of D&D 3.5, the ones who undergo the "Rite of Rebirth" to become champions for Bahamut as opposed to the other kind of Dragonborn from D&D 4 who are born that way and are an actual race of people.
Finally Io is the creator god of D&D dragons and Bahamut's and Tiamat's father, which makes him Harry's grandfather. I've had conflicting info. on whether Io is alive or dead in D&D (depends on the edition of the game I think) but in this story he's alive and one of the few ways to contact him is to enter the Untempered Schism. All dragon gods have to do this when they're growing up as part of their Initiation. Harry is no exception.
So until next time when Harry gets on the Hogwarts Express...
Happy Holidays everyone!
