Sirius' laughed overjoyed and unbelievable. Hands on his knees dripping water down his nose, he gasped as tears of mirth sprung from his eyes. He stood with his feet in crystal clear, beautiful oceanic water and pure white sand from the tropics. The sun kissed his skin, warmth in the air rinsing away the long standing ice in his soul. Years he'd spent after escaping feeling chilled, no matter how far he ran from Azkaban, it clung to him, but suddenly it felt like… like he could breathe.

Magic, he realized in distant awe. Dementors possessed a magic that had drug on his very soul, and so long as they existed, their grip remained. It didn't matter how much chocolate he ate or how far he ran, no matter how warm he tried to make himself. Because of the dementors' touch, Sirius would always feel cold. Would have. Until he stepped through worlds, and the connection they had on him snapped. He was free of them.

Sirius felt his eyes water as he stretched his body upward hands, reaching for the sun as his feet stretched in his boots. He wanted dearly to kick them off and go flying into the water heedless of how wet he'd get… and Sirius could. He stooped low and rushed to untie the mess forgetting for once he could have just used a spell to do so. Only, as he hurled his boots away and flying back into the water, did he catch sight of his god-daughter, and real amusement caused him to snort.

Holly looked like a drowned cat. Her hair was clinging to her face, her waterlogged robes were covered in thick sand, and she was trying desperately to shuck them off. Holly had already dumped her waterlogged bag to the sand as she struggled and… there was a star-fish in her hair.

Sirius cackled as he stepped forward and attempted to pull the thing from her hair as she finally escaped her robes to angrily toss them to the ground. "Shut up, Sirius!" she said without real heat as she finally got hold of her wand to attempt to dry herself. She succeeded, just in time for a wave to crash into them soaking her once more.

Holly pressed her lips together as Sirius collapsed, unable to breathe from laughing and rolled her eyes. At least he was amused. He didn't have to cart the backpack to shore, he got to transform into a canine and swim while she struggled. Landing in a new world, they'd appeared several feet above the ocean and had been dumped there. Sirius had instantly transformed while Holly had been stuck sputtering. It wasn't her fault she barely knew how to swim, the Dursley's had never deemed it important she learn. Holly's only experience existed because of the tournament. Not to mention Holly's clothing meant for bloody winter absorbed water like crazy, unlike Sirius' thinner clothing.

Drying her robes a second time, Holly left the ocean and stuffed it into her bottomless bag… which probably had a ton of water inside it now. She sighed and cast a spell to remove the water from within as she stripped layers. It was hot in this world, and she wasn't used to being so warm. Already she was drenched in sweat, and Merlin, she was glad Hermione insisted she pack all sorts of clothing.

Holly went about changing even as Sirius ran up and down the beach, uncaring of what he was wearing. She cast him a look noting he was collecting shells and had found a- "look Pup! It's a snail!" he held up a bizarre looking creature that seemed to be bright red with a shell of gold. "Gryffindor colors! I'm keeping him!"

"As a pet?" Holly asked.

They had been dropped in the ocean beside an island from the looks of it. Palm trees shot up to the sky as a large forest stood before her. The temperature was hot and wet, a tropical island clearly, and a drastic difference to what she was used to in London. She looked at it, at the wilderness instead of any sign of a village, Holly felt a surge of disappointment.

"Oh, what's that face for?" Sirius popped up beside her with the snail perched on his shoulder. He looked thrilled with the new change, ready to explore while Holly who'd finally traveled worlds, was pouting.

"It's nothing." She lifted the backpack onto her shoulders, feeling better already in the shorts and t-shirt, both Hermione's.

Sirius eyed her already assuming the problem: "you expected to end up right in front of her, didn't you."

Holly made a noise in her throat, which might have been a denial, but they both knew better. Sirius watched as Holly cast a point-me spell for nearby people and started off down the beach line her sandals sinking in the sand unpleasantly to her. Sirius gave her a second as she walked ahead, he took the time to transfigure and dry his own soaked clothing before catching up. Several steps down the beach he said: "If that was the case, then you'd have no need for hints. 'Finding your soulmate isn't that easy, you have to work for it.'"

"Are you quoting someone?" she eyed him but calmed slightly. That made sense; if she did end up right in front of her soulmate, then they would be no need for her many bought hints over the years.

"It was… your dad, actually."

Rocks started to appear along the beach, and Holly caught sight of old looking boats along the shore. Every one was sunk, massive gaping holes showed the reason they were on the water, but how so many had been destroyed along the coast wasn't clear. Holly glanced at them curiously but dismissed the collection as the distant sound of a village hit her ears. "He said that?" She wanted to know more, but she always did. She knew so few things about her parents, and Sirius was one of the few that could tell her… the only one now that she'd never their resting place behind.

Holly's step faltered a moment as she realized she hadn't visited them, hadn't told them she was going… Sirius hadn't even told Remus either, and he was Remus' last living friend-

"He did!" Sirius unaware of her darkening thoughts announced. "You're mum always resisted him despite all their hints matching. I swear, Alice told us she got a clue that literally said 'Pot,' and she still denied it." Holly's lips quirked up as the outline of a village appeared, it was small, akin to Hogsmead in size. "I asked him why he was putting so much effort into it since she resisted him so much, and he told me something his mum told him."

"My grandmother?!" Holly stopped dead on the beach, she spun on Sirius. He likely didn't know that Holly knew nothing about the woman, not even her name. This was- this connection- he had no idea how much those words suddenly meant to her.

Still walking, Sirius said: "he said it then, that a soulmate wasn't just given to you. They were someone precious and while meant for you… they're their own person. Finding them isn't easy, it shouldn't be. You have to work for it, so when you finally meet them…" he glanced back at her almost brokenly, "then they'll know how much you worked for it."

They stared at each other, deep in thought. Though of James chasing Lily up, down, left and right across the halls of Hogwarts. Of the warning flashing over Sirius's vision as his time ran out, and there was nothing he could do. Of a woman wandering through the very world Holly stood in now.

"Then again." Sirius continued, "I'm pretty sure she said that because she won Fleamont over by kidnapping him and wanted James to kidnap Lily. I agreed, they were really in need of being locked in a room together until they finally talked."

Holly exhaled her eyes, shooting for the sky. "What do you meant she kidnapped my grandfather."

"Oh, now that's a story. Okay! It started with Charlus actually, that's your great-uncle."

Sirius told her a story which had to be complete nonsense as they reached the village outskirts and headed in. The town was unlike anything Holly had ever seen before in her life. Tech that looked like some bizarre cross between Muggle and magical. Torches, instead of streetlights, no sign of TV but what appeared to be a snail for a phone. A snail that resembled the one perched on Sirius's shoulders. Clothing that was far more Muggle in nature except the style was utterly alien in competing shades and textures.

"On the upside, it looks like our clothes won't draw unnecessary attention." She muttered, her shorts and shirt colors match looked tame to what she was seeing around her. While Sirius's thin robe and punk style also matched quite well. Going off the clothes, Holly instead thought that full magical robes would fit in as well, if not for the high temperature.

On the downside, the language was clearly different. Both written and spoken was nothing Holly had heard before, Hermione was correct, they'd need to learn a new one. Thank Merlin Holly had made an effort to learn the spell that assisted with such an act.

Flicking her wand Holly tapped her head, noting no one blinked at the stick. She cast the complicated little spell, it would take in spoken language around her and steadily build up a translation. Eventually, it would automatically translate the words for Holly as it was spoken, but that would take some time. After casting it on herself, she reached up and trapped Sirius' forehead giving him the same benefit. The spell had an extra bonus of learning collectively, so if… if Hermione and Ron ended up in this world and cast it as well, their spells would link and learn all the faster. If...

"I wonder if they have a world map." Sirius said, peering in the nearby windows to a collection of shops. He spotted odd and familiar food and drinks, clothing, books, and the like but nothing that resembled a map.

"Even if they did, they take a different currency here." Several locals gave her a confused look not understanding her English. She eyed a man's hand as he handed over some paper money for a bizarre fruit. "I'll need some if I'm going to copy it."

"Oh! Theft!" Sirius wiggled his brows at Holly and she bit back a smile. "Dibs! You be the distraction!"

"We could just summon some…"

"Boring! I want to try and pick a pocket, sounds like fun."

"…are you at least going to use a disillusion charm?"

"Never!"

Holly sighed as they continued exploring. At the same time, Holly mentally went over her list of hits. She had the unfortunate feeling she'd be hunting for her soulmate for a significant amount of time unless something obvious jumped out at her. On top of that, there was quite a lot she and Sirius needed to learn about the new world.

On the upside, at least the humans looked human. She'd consider that a blessing.

It was a commonly known fact that Hermione Jean Granger did not like the fly. However, even if she did not, she was undoubtedly glad her best friend in the world insisted upon the fact that she carry a broom.

Leaving her world had been exciting. For all that Hermione loved her books, loved to learn, she was a Gryffindor at heart. She craved adventure like the stories she inhaled during her childhood. She wanted to see sights no one ever would, venture out, and find peace. When given the opportunity, when offered that chance to venture out, there truly wasn't much that could have stopped her. Her only ties to that world, that place had been her parents - who no longer and would never remember her - and her friends who likewise would leave.

She hadn't hesitated to go. Not once.

She was a Gryffindor, she didn't fear the unknown, she only wanted to learn about it.

Hermione selected her option and left Earth behind. She felt the world twisting around her, squeezing like an apparation before she was spat out. Several thousand feet above water level with nothing but open air beneath her. It was for this fact that Hermione was pleased to say she had obeyed Holly's whim and carried a broom on hand. If she had not, Hermione Jean Granger would have died long before she found her soulmate.

Yanking the broom from her pockets, Hermione stopped her descent. Sitting elegantly on the wood, she stared around at the new world at knew instantly it was different. The air was electrified and clean, fresher without the pollution she had grown up with. Hermione inhaled deeply and looked outward. The ocean spread out endlessly before her, pure water and clear skies.

"Beautiful," Hermione said, quickly fishing her hand into her purse to pull out her camera. She wanted to keep a journal about her discoveries in this new world just as Sirius' Black ancestor had. Who knew it might benefit in the future. She snapped a picture and turned to take a picture of the other side of the world and gasped.

Up, up, up, Hermione looked. A mass of land, a cliff-side farther and higher than she could see lay behind her. Made of red stone, no doubt heavy in iron, it stretched out across the horizon like the Great Wall of China. It was split by an enormous waterfall. She snapped a picture quickly. "What a bizarre plot of land… how did this form." She looked upward, wondering if the greater landmass was flat above the clouds or if it was indeed a wall.

She had just decided to go up and explore when a small ship appeared from the clouds. The vessel passed Hermione at a swift speed, hurtling toward the ocean floor. On its deck, Hermione caught sight of a small group of people with unnaturally colored hair, and she didn't hesitate to pursue them with her broom. As she did, an alien sound hit the air like a… whale? She scanned the ocean floor and spotted it a whale that positively dwarfed the ship and its crew.

"Blue whale… no its larger than that." She kicked to a stop when the ship moving to crash shot a canon at the whale. An intelligent move the action slowed them so they wouldn't crash. "Species appear to be similar… where is my dictation quill!?"

She fished out her supplies and sent them to float beside her, copying her words word as she spoke them.

"The crew seems to be five in number, smaller than I expected for crew any ship but clearly capable of doing so. They appear human in appearance, but their hair colors are unlike Earth's, brighter somehow. Is it natural? Or do hair dyes exist in this world." She floated closer as the ship slowly passed the whale's enormous eye. She caught sight of green hair, but no shade as her own soulmate was suggested to have. But there was orange as Holly's was supposed to possess.

Hermione described what she was seeing and wondered if it was possible. That the worlds were so small. "Could it be this is Holly's soulmate? I suspect not, the worlds are large and vast, and orange hair surely cannot be so uncommon. And yet I cannot put aside the thought, what if she is? I… will have to check-" Hermione cut off with a gasp when the whale suddenly turned aggressive and attacked. In a moment the whale inhaled the ship before Hermione's very eyes leaving behind a single member of the crew thrown her way-

"Ack!" Her pen wrote her scream down as Hermione flailed as the teenager swung toward her. On a whim, she grabbed for him just as he grabbed for her, and she caught him as the whale's mouth snapped closed.

It swallowed the ship.

And two voices screamed in shock and horror.

Orange fabric. He- his body-

"Tell no one."

Paw pads and fabric claws that would hold nothing. Ron stared into the glass window at a cloth mane and beady button eyes.

"Obey-"

Ron felt his body moving without his control, felt himself turn with a fabric smile as a child approached wanting to play, and slammed on his occlumency shields. His mind tore, a supernatural ability warring with his magic, magic trying to defend him. Ron's body jerked violently, and he snarled, the child recoiled in alarm and fled, crying for her parents. He felt guilty for that, regretted frightening the kid, but it couldn't be avoided.

"Play with the-"

He forced his paws to move, stole every step until he was in an alley-way until he was out of sight. His back pressed to stone as the confusing words of the locals slid passed him. He couldn't read the words, couldn't understand the language, and wouldn't either.

Ron landed in the street staggering; he appeared in the world as if he'd apparated, but it had felt a hundred times worse. Reeling he hadn't been paying attention, not as he turned to throw up and stupidly dropped his bag. The creature, small and as fast a snitch, acted the moment he wasn't looking. It stole his bag, it took his wand. Still sick with the taste of vomit in his mouth, he'd raced after it. Before bowling into the kid.

He'd apologized even as he turned his face to continue his chase when her tiny hand caught his pant leg. He'd turned, and then he hadn't been human. The kid had said something to him, whispered something in his ears, but Ron hadn't been able to understand her. Perhaps that was one of the few things that saved him.

Now he had no supplies, no wand, no understanding of the language, the world, or it's magic and… he was a stuffed lion.

"What am I going to do." He pressed his paws into his mane and gripped the fabric tight… it hurt, it was real. Internally his magic continued to war with whatever the girl had done to him. Fight against the control she had over his body, and Ron wondered if he could even use wandless magic as he was. Even if he could, this had been a giant mistake. Ron never should have come to this place. He should have stayed home.

A voice spoke up above him, and Ron flinched. He twisted his head, looking up at the speaker and found a tin soldier a toy quite like the one Bill had once gifted him. It, he? Held out his hand and spoke again, and Ron grimaced.

"I can't understand you."

The soldier's head tilted as Ron's magic surged in his body, resisting the compulsion the kid put on him. It had to be a compulsion akin to the imperious for his very will was being tested to withstand it. The soldier spoke again, but Ron shook his head, he had no idea what the soldier was saying. Then the soldier's expression firmed, and he hopped forward, forcing Ron to realize the soldier had only one leg. The soldier's small hand wrapped around Ron's and tugged, forced Ron to move, to stand.

Ron allowed it. Stood up on fabric paws as the soldier dragged him hopping down the street.

He was a toy, a toy like Ron had become… so was he human like Ron had been?

Ron forced himself to walk faster to catch up with the soldier. Maybe he'd get some answers. It was better than sitting there hopeless, Ron had made his choice and had come to this world. Now he had to live with the consequences of that choice. He had to Gryffindor up.

However, as Ron Weasley thought of his family and followed after the soldier attempting to help him, the people he loved most, forgot he had ever existed. One touch had been all it took. There was no child playing chess in the common room with his two friends, no one to sit with Holly on the first day on the train. No third member of the golden trio. No seventh son to the Weasley family. And no red-haired soulmate to a dancer unaware of how close she'd been to the one her soul matched.

Ron Weasley didn't exist, and all that was left behind was a small stuffed lion with bright orange fur.