Chapter 3 - Turning it off and on again.

"Die!" Harry shouted as he swung around in his chair to swing a fist at Voldemort.

His voice did not sound like himself. It came out like a hiss. He thought he would never be able to speak this language again, but here he was, screaming death in parseltongue. This time however, he could actually hear it. When he was younger, he was told he was a parselmouth because of his connection with Voldemort when they were connected through the curse of the horcrux which bound them. He never realised when he spoke the serpent's language, as it never changed the lexicon, he shared with how he commonly spoke. Now, he could actually hear what others have always heard when he slipped into this speech. It horrified Harry, and in that moment, he hesitated.

The punch stopped short of Voldemort's face. He looked younger. A young lad in fact. He looked about prefect age at Hogwarts. He gave Harry a broad boyish grin as he stared at Harry's fist. A crackle of electric sparks crackled from Harry's hand. Harry didn't punch him because he looked like a child, but because he could not move. Some strange power prevented him from doing so. His eyes were free to track where the source of it was. He saw young Voldemort's finger pointing at Harry's sternum. Pulses of energy emitted from the point of contact and the magic he radiated paralyzed Harry.

"You might not like me," He began saying to Harry, "But don't bite the hand that feeds you."

"Oi Riddle!" Merlin greeted gleefully. Morgana's face blushed a deep crimson and quickly forced herself to pop back into Merlin's body, not saying a word as she disappeared. Merlin smiled sheepishly and poked his stomach a couple of times. "Look at who can't control their emotions now!"

"You and Morgana really need to stop fighting." The young Tom Riddle said, not breaking eye contact from Harry. "Together your power would multiply a hundredfold."

"As if, Tom!" Merlin pouted. They pointed to Harry, and gestured to signify to let Harry go.

"Don't fight like a muggle, Harry." Tom said, pushing Harry back into his seat. "Primitive physical violence cannot overcome my magic."

As he removed his finger, Harry felt lightheaded and dizzy. Harry thought he was going to lose his lunch as the room spun around him in fast circles.

"I'm guessing She sent you?" Merlin said.

"Of course." Tom replied. "We have an intruder, Merlin."

"What?" Merlin whined. "I had reported the leak. Shouldn't that be enough?"

"It was your job to take care of it in the first place." Tom retorted. "Don't neglect your duties as a guardian."

"Alright, alright!" Merlin said in defeat. "Be easy on Harry, yeah?"

"Teaching him never was." Tom said. "Off you go, now."

Merlin took one last glance at Harry who hung to the table leg as if gravity would fly him away. Merlin mumbled an incantation and blinked away, disappearing to another location.

"What…" Harry struggled to speak. "Is this?"

"I hit the reset button, Harry." Tom said as he stared directly at Harry. "Just let go…"

Harry tried to push himself up into a sitting position, but he couldn't find any balance to situate himself properly. His palms felt clammy and slipped every time he thought he could grab the floor. The floor…

Just let go

… There was no floor. Harry looked around, and the vision of the pocket dimension he saw slowly disintegrated from sight. The food court became nothing, leaving behind an endless white hall, followed by the vast encompassing darkness of empty space. All that remained was the roadway he took to get here. Harry crawled towards it. No, he was falling. No, he was flying. No, he was swimming. Yes, floating away…

Let go

… Focus… Harry's eyes blurred. He felt sleepy. He tried to fight it. He wanted to be awake. His glasses fell from his face. Now he could finally see. The people who were travelling through the terminal gates. They looked familiar. It was him. Different versions of himself, each looking different, but the same. He wasn't alone. Also appearing differently, it was Tom Riddle who followed him everywhere he went. Following. Follow. Everywhere. Everything is always blue…

Go

***STOP:

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LES_OR_EQUAL

A problem has been detected and system has been shutdown to prevent damage to your Human.

An attempt was made to write to read-only memory.

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error message, restart your Human, if this appears again follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any system updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable Biological LIMBIC system and hippocampus memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Sage Mode to remove or disable damaged components, restart your Human. Press the Pineal Gland to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select wise Sage Mode.

Beginning dump of physical memory

Physical memory dump complete.

Restarting Human…

Rebooting…

Reinitiating…

Hello friend. It looks like you are finally awake again. Now that you finished your rest, are you ready to begin the first test?

The intruder stalked the liminal space, leaving behind a trail of death wherever they traversed. What little resistance he met in this multidimensional domain was given no quarter or mercy. With a wave of a wand here, an incantation there, nothing could stop him. The defences erected to obstruct his path would soon find they have little to no effect against his power.

"Fools reap injustice enduring noxious dread, but fire yearns a ruined end." The figure sang and held their wand aloft. "Friendfyre!"

An explosion of green flames erupted from his wand. The cursed fire took form like that of an ancient dragon, large in form, terrifying to behold. Little heads of different creatures appeared in the flame, only to be swallowed whole by the fiery scaled beast. It spread everywhere, tearing rifts through ineffective magical barriers. The spell consumed everything it touched, but it avoided the caster, dancing its way around them in a hypnotic pattern.

Eternal nourishment erases a malicious yesterday, as Aquarius gorges on unsavoury acts." Merlin sang back in harmony; they approached the fire with their arms raised. "Enemyagua!

Jets of liquid sprayed from Merlin's fingers. A tidal wave of water formed and took the form of a yellowish-blue serpent. It clashed with the green flames of the dragon. They both roared and hissed as contact between the two evaporated each other, leaving behind a foggy mist.

"Apologies, bruv." Merlin said; waved their hands to reveal themselves obscured by the fog. "Can't just let you do whatever you like in our home."

"Nubes occiditis!" The figure screamed, moving their wand in a circular motion. The mist that surrounded them swirled into a cloud above Merlin. The colour of which turned pale and sickly. A thick, mucous-like acid rained down, melting everything it touched.

In response, Merlin clapped their hands, and moved them to shape a circle. Merlin then took a deep breath and blew into the hand trumpet they formed. A large pink bubble grew from it, enveloping Merlin's body as if it were gum. The acid rain that fell down on Merlin simply bounced off.

"Not only are you breaking the rules by attacking this neutral area," said Merlin, "But you also brought illegal contraband on board this vessel. Fun time is over I'm afraid."

"Avada Kedavra!" The invader screamed as they raised their wand.

As the green light travelled from its tip streaking along like lightning, Morgana's head popped out of Merlin's chest. Shrieking like a banshee, she swallowed the spell, disappearing back inside leaving Merlin unharmed.

"Where I bring the light of life," Merlin whispered as they closed their eyes, "She feasts on the darkness death spawns."

The figure raised their wand again and was about to utter another spell. In response, Merlin clasped their hands together in prayer. A giant grandfather clock appeared behind them. As the hands turned the gears, time around them slowed down. The hour struck twelve, a gong blasted, opening the door of the clock. Where a cuckoo should have shot out, instead appeared a humongous snake with wings. It pounced and struck the figure, fangs clasping tightly around their body causing them to gurgle in agony. The winged snake coiled itself around its prey and dragged them back into the clock, closing the door behind them and disappeared from existence as Merlin opened their eyes.

"Despair in silence." Merlin whispered, exhausted from the amount of magic they expended.

"Yeah, bitch!" Morgana shouted; her head popped out again which made Merlin visibly sigh.

Harry suddenly found himself sitting at a desk. Sitting across from him was an individual he did not recognize typing away at his computer. The area appeared to be an office cubicle where a muggle would go to do their taxes. He had a name tag that read V. Propp.

"Where am I?" Harry asked. "Mr. Propp?"

"I'll be the one asking the questions." He said, without looking up from the paper he was reading. "You can address me as Vlad. I am assigned to your case file. Let's see, hmm…"

"Um…" Harry said to break the silence after some time.

"Seems pretty standard." Vlad said aloud. "Absent family and friends leaving you behind. Forbidden edicts warning you against your actions. Ignoring and violating said interdiction anyway. Villains doing what they can to obtain knowledge against you. Vile acts delivered against you. Being deceived by those who seek to trick you. Being complicit in the deception to help them achieve their goals. Resulting in the harm or death of your friends or family. Mediating or processing the treachery committed. Finding magical help to counteract these opposing forces. Departing your environment to seek revenge. Receiving help you desperately needed from those who would puzzle you for assistance. Your reaction to all of this. Receiving a reward for the consequences of your actions. Seeking guidance from the–"

"Sorry." Harry interrupted, "What is going on?"

"Look here bub." Vlad said, finally raising his head to stare at Harry. "There's about another fifteen plus patterns written here that determine the morphology of your story.

"That seems like an oversimplification of who I am." Harry said with a sour tone. "I think I'm more complex than that."

"Hate to break it to you, pal."

"Can you confirm you are not a robot?" Vlad asked.

"Uh…" Harry paused. "I think I am not a robot."

"Are you suggesting that robots are incapable of thinking?" Vlad asked, as he scribbled some notes that Harry couldn't see.

"No?" Said Harry.

"Are you sure?" Vlad asked.

"No." Harry deflated.

"Please answer the questionnaire to the best of your ability, and with complete honesty, thank you." Vlad said, as he turned his computer around to reveal a blank screen and shifted a keyboard towards Harry. Before he could say anything else, Vlad tapped at the computer where text appeared, prompting Harry to respond:

"Who are you?"

Harry Potter.

"Who are you?"

The boy who lived.

"Who are you?"

A man who died.

"Who are you?"

I was a Friend.

"Who are you?"

A Father.

"Who are you?"

A son.

"Who are you?"

I am no one.

"Who are you?"

I don't know.

"What are you?"

Annoyed.

"What are you?"

Angry.

"What are you?"

Confused.

"What are you?"

Lost.

"What are you?"

Sad.

"What are you?"

Lonely.

"What are you?"

Depressed.

"What are you?"

I'm human.

"What are you?"

I don't know.

"Why?"

I was born to human parents.

"Why?"

I was created as such by God.

"Why?"

I don't know.

"Okay." Vlad said, turning the computer back towards him. "Application to speak with the Goddess approved.

"The what–!?" Harry shouted as he felt himself pushed from his chair.

A hole appeared beneath Harry. He was falling. Harry screamed as he tried to grab onto anything to stop his fall. There was nothing to grasp. He was in a tunnel with smooth walls that kept going. It went nowhere. He fell for so long, Harry got bored. After some time, Harry fell asleep.

Splash!

"You don't know who, or what you are." A beautiful female voice said, waking Harry from his sudden slumber. He found himself in a lake. Panic quickly set in but faded immediately as he found that he could breathe.

"And I don't know why…" Harry replied softly, testing his voice.

The lady floated above him. Her golden hair, and silver gown drifted and moved in such a peculiar, angelic way. Her face was covered by a mask. It reflected an image of Harry who also wore a mask. His mask formed a face he found familiar. As Harry stared deep into it, there appeared a face. Another face replaced the previous one. Then another face. Another face followed after that. It changed multiple times, with faces that Harry recognized. Ron, Neville, Snape, Lupin, Sirius, his dad… Then Harry saw her mask also change in the same way. Hermione, Luna, Tonks, Aunt Petunia, Mrs. Weasely, Ginny, and…

"Mom?" Harry gasped.

"My hero with a thousand faces." She spoke, her voice boomed. Her aura exuded powerful, divine energy. "My beautiful pot of clay formed to store the sun. Why do you always search for a better story to tell? Like a frog trapped in a well not knowing the ocean outside, you ignore the walls that formed the home sheltering you from the dangers unknown."

Harry reached out a hand and blinked. He now saw himself floating in outer space. The Goddess held his hand as he stared at the planet down below and the stars painted in its background, drifting and drawing patterns that connected it all together.

"I just want to…" Harry paused, taking it all in. "I just want to protect the world from drowning."

"The wheel which turns reality has shifted again." The Goddess whispered back. "Death seeks to reclaim the life I created."

"Then let me be your champion." Harry said, squeezing her hand.

"You were always my chosen one." The Goddess said, embracing Harry in her arms. "The great game has started. It's time for you to go out and play."