Chapter Seven

Three months and six days after the extraction

Fifteen minutes before all hell broke loose

As always when he was visiting the fae-court an unsettling feeling dominated Albus' insides. Just a few hours ago he had received a message (oddly enough, by owl, rather than butterflies or pixies or whatever in Merlin's name the fae's preferred method of communication was) and here he was now. In the middle of the fae-court and about to have an audience with their king. A king who sadly was also Albus' liege lord.

He looked around and as always when he was here he couldn't help but admire the scenery;

High trees grew in every direction and cast the whole area in a lush, green light. Flowers and grass covered every inch of the ground and the air was warm and pleasurable. The clearing was saturated with magic. Powerful and ancient magic, not unlike that of the older deities pantheons. Five grand monoliths dominated the far end of the clearing, each one with a throne made out of leaves and roots in front of them. Though of those five only one, the middle one, was currently occupied.

Albus frowned at that. The meaning of this gesture was clear; dismissal. Even though being one of the mightiest wizards alive, as well as being a powerful mage and sacred gear-user, his opponent considered him neither important nor threatening enough to actually call the other four de facto rulers of the fairies; his sworn brothers and advisors. A grating insult but sadly also an accurate one. He was a mere vassal of the fairy king after all, nothing more or less.

Well, it didn't matter if he was annoyed or not, he had a job to fulfill, and right now that was finding out what in Merlin's name the fae wanted from him and how he could get out of here and back to Hogwarts as quickly as possible.

Thus, with a deep breath and steeling of his nerves (he knew for a fact that he'd need them, as always when traversing with Oberon) he walked forward.

The person situated on the throne was a radiant and otherworldly sight, as always. He was tall, with skin the colour of ivory, and his torso bare to show off his impossibly perfect physique. Lean but not too scrawny, muscular but not too bulky, in short; perfect. Long white hair fell over his shoulders and just beyond his waist. Several bracelets and jewels adorned his neck and long pointy ears. Three pairs of giant, radiant white butterfly-wings grew out of his back and gave his surroundings something of a seemingly holy touch. His perfect lips were drawn into a thin line and a pair of piercing golden eyes stared intently at Albus.

Yes, no matter how much Albus might dislike him, Oberon, the Fairy King and one of the rulers of the celtic realm Tir Na Nog was as radiant and impressive as ever.

"My Lord", Albus said and mildly bowed his head. "May I ask what's the reason for your calling?" He can forget to see me actually kneel after such an insult!, Albus thought.

Oberon's eyes narrowed upon receiving Albus' less than proper greeting, though he said nothing. Instead he just huffed, as if amused by something no one else could see.

Albus cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

For a short while the two leaders were silent, their gazes locked on one another's. Then, finally, Oberon broke the silence.

"Albus", he said. "I am overjoyed to see you in good health. I see that the last decades have not been too unkind to you" His voice was soft and actually rather quiet, but in the idyllic clearing its seemed to be audible for miles. It was melodic and actually quite lovely to listen to. No, scratch that, his voice was just like his appearance; absolutely gorgeous. If pressed to describe, Albus would compare listening to it like feeling the softest of silks on his skin and tasting the most exquisite of cuisines on his tongue. Everything about Oberon was made to seduce, to distract and to ensnare.

Albus shook his head to try and clear the fog that seemed to have settled over his mind. I've had nearly two centuries to get used to him and his voice still is as powerful as ever.

"You are correct, my lord", Albus replied. " I would reply the same to you but I fear this might be quite obsolete a statement"

Oberon's laugh sent tingling waves of pleasure down the wizards back and again he had to force his occlumency-barriers down to keep a clear mind. The worst, and normally this would consequently also be the last, mistake a mortal could make around Oberon was to let his senses distract him. Like a metaphorical hyena the fairy king would pounce on you, seduce you to spill each and every one of your secrets, only to do Merlin-knows-what to you after you became useless to him.

Albus though was determined to not let that happen to him. The last dozen times it had not worked and thus this time it would not as well!

"My, my, I was not aware that you were that much of a jester", Oberon laughed.

Albus inclined his head. "I am what I am, in the end of the day, my Lord"

"Oh? And what would that be?", Oberon asked and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Albus smiled brightly, determined not to let Oberon know how much his words were grating on his nerves. "Why, your humble servant of course, my Lord"

Oberon leaned back in his throne and seemed to stare longingly into the distant sky. "My servant? Oh yes, and what a servant you are"

Suddenly though his head turned and he fixed Albus with a pointed stare. "After all, what kind of servant withholds crucial information from their lord, hm?"

Albus froze. He barely suppressed the urge to flinch and the cold, stinging feeling of dread wormed itself into his guts. It can't be!, he thought. He cannot know! Impossible! Through sheer will alone he forced himself to keep his trademark smile upon his face and adapted a mask of polite, though not quite unconcerned confusion on his face. "I beg your pardon, my Lord?", he asked. "Whatever do you mean by this?"

Oberon's eyes narrowed into slits and the air itself seemed tense. "Do not think me a fool, Albus!"

Albus returned the Fairy King's gaze unflinchingly, determined to keep his ruse up. He has no proof for nothing! And without significant proof even Oberon cannot excuse attacking me out of the blue!

The old wizard was aware that, should push come to shove, he would not be able to best Oberon in combat. He might be strong and quite powerful in his own right, but in terms of strength Oberon was sadly leagues above his own. He had centuries, maybe even millennia worth of experience under his belt and while Albus' prime was already long over, the Fairy King's overwhelming magical power would be as strong and virile as it had been in ancient times already. A sad and sobering truth; as an immortal he would not grow old. His magic and his body were not touched by time and would likely never be. In his prime Albus might have been able to go toe to toe with him, yes maybe even able to best him. But now? Now his body was old and weak, and would not be able to put up with the same strain he was able to put it through in his youth.

Oberon's voice cut through the tension-heavy air like a knife. "I respect you, Albus, I truly do. You achieved a great many of deeds in your life, more than most other mortals can even dream to accomplish. But do not mistake my respect for foolishness." His eyes, still narrowed, filled with light and his wings began to shimmer in an eerily white glow. "I know what you tried to hide from me. No, not what. Who would be more fitting I suppose"

This time Albus couldn't quite hide his surprise and his eyes widened slightly. If Oberon noticed this he did not react to it.

"I see that you wonder how I know of this person. This… Harry Potter"

Now there was no doubt. Oberon knew about Harry! But why? And how?

"I had my household do some research on him after my niece Amia met a boy who, in her words "felt like he didn't belong in any of our worlds". Turns out he has quite the interesting track record, you know? He supposedly even vanquished this newest Dark Lord of yours. I must admit I was quite surprised when I found out that a mere child had the ability to vanquish this … what was his name again? Oh yes, Riddle. Well imagine my surprise when I learned that your Riddle-fellow got defeated by a mere babe. I mean he did manage to strike a deal with Thanatos, right? Or was it Mictlantecuhtli? I'm not quite sure which death-god it was exactly, but my point still stands. It is not impossible for a child to be able to mess with the blessing of a god. Anyone with divine heritage and enough raw power could do this after all. And if it were just that I could have overlooked this. It would have been an oddity, sure and maybe I'd have liked to meet this Potter someday, but that's not something overly noteworthy at all. But, as we both know, there is more to this boy than it seems. A connection to something greater and far more powerful than any god"

"The Void", Albus quietly admitted.

"YES!", Oberon's pretty face twisted into a vicious snarl. "The Void! This boy is a gateway to the great beyond! To power without limits and our best chance since 3000 years to escape the influence of the wretched síde! I will not stand by the sidelines and let this chance fly by, this I assure you!"

"But… why call me here then?", Albus asked. "Why tell me all this? Why call me here and question me if you already know all you need to know?"

The smile Oberon faced Albus with could not have been more sinister. "Why, as a punishment of course. I will show you why no one ought to mess with me. And what happens if you still decide to do so"

"But I don't understand-", Albus said, before he was interrupted by Oberon.

"Silence! You care for this child, if I'm not mistaken. You put in all this effort to save him, watch over him and hide him. He must mean a lot to you. And now I will proceed to take him from you in front of your very own eyes.

He clapped in his hands and a shining mirror blinked into existence in front of him. After a moment an image formed in it. He could see a lush green forest and in its middle an idyllic, grass covered hill.

He knew where this hill was. And more importantly, what lied beneath it.

"Lab 7", he whispered.

Several figures were standing in front of this hill. They were clothed in dark, black and brown garbs and sparkling translucent wings fluttered behind their backs. Fairies. One of the fairies though, was noticeably different. His garbs were of a bloody red and flaming orange. Long blonde hair fell in waves down his back and on his back were a giant pair of butterfly-wings. Just like Oberons. But where Oberon's were white and seemed to glow with the light of the sun and the stars this ones seemed to be made of crystallized fire and molten stone.

"I believe you haven't met yet, do you?", Oberon asked and chuckled curelly. "Meet my newest sworn brother; Daphnis. Whenever he is involved in doing a job it is always bound to be a spectacular experience"

He made a sign with his hands and touched the mirror and leaned back. Whatever he had done seemed to have been some kind of signal, for the fairies before the hill began to move. They seemed to wait for something and it didn't take Albus long to figure out for what exactly.

The fairy now known as Daphnis seemed to say something and tensed up. His wings began to glow and the grass around him churned and dried up. He writhed and then jerked his arms towards the sky. For a second nothing happened.

Then, BOOM.

A giant explosion burst from the ground and an enormous flare shot into the sky.

When the smoke cleared, the hill was gone. Only a giant smoldering hole in the ground was left and allowed sight into the various pathways and underground passages of Lab 7.

The other fairies didn't waste another moment and dove down into the wreckage, not intending to take much prisoners.

ItV

Lab 7

All hell just broke loose

The first thing Harry noticed upon waking up were the sirens. Loud and deafening they blared through hidden speakers everywhere, telling him something of a "breach" of some kind.

Then, the red light. The whole room was bathed in an eerie shade of red, indicating that something that was very, very wrong was going on.

Muffled shouts and the sounds of explosion and fighting, as well as screams of terror and pain were audible and cold sweat began to form on Harry's skin. Yes. Something was going on here, and it wasn't a good thing. That much was clear.

A hissing sound was his only warning, before the doors to his room slid open and Doctor Hill, followed by Alastair and Aragran walked into it.

"Harry", Doctor Hill began. "How are you?"

"Uhm", Harrys said, and winced when a distant explosion shook his room. "What's going on? Why is there fighting? And who-"

"Don't worry, we will explain everything, but first we have to get you out of here, okay? I will explain things on the way"

Harry nodded and reluctantly got out of his bed. He swiftly checked his body, but to his immediate relief (and also a bit disappointed) he noticed no visible changes to his body. Aragran meanwhile pressed his finger against a hidden button on the wall and a segment of it smoothly slid back to reveal a bright white hallway behind it. Aragran, seemingly knowing the way, took the lead, Dr. Hill and Harry behind him, with Alastair making up the rear end.

For a while no one said a word and Harry noticed the tension that had gripped each of the three adults. Alastair had a short wooden stick, his wand, Harry reminded himself, out and gripped it like his life depended on it. Which ,to be fair, it probably did. Aragran, normally a jolly, loud and confident fellow was quiet and moved with a grace and care that Harry had never seen in him before. Each of his steps was quiet and measured, his breathing even (Harry shortly wondered how the heck he knew this, though he dismissed that train of thought shortly after) and his muscles coiled and ready for action. Even the composed and calm Dr. Hill showed signs of nervousness. Her eyes were narrowed, there were deep furrows on her forehead and her hands were balled into tight fists.

"Uhm", Harry began tentatively as they were walking down the numerous Hallways "what's going on exactly?" The sounds of fighting had become more and more quiet, though whether that was because they were moving away from the violence or because there weren't any more fighters left Harry didn't know.

Dr. Hill moved to answer but Aragran beat her to it. "There was an attack", he said. "Someone caused an explosion which obliterated the upper stories and the gates of the lab. After that a bunch of soldiers came in and questioned or killed anyone they came across"

"An attack? But… why?", Harry asked.

Aragran looked at him and sighed sadly. "Because of you, lad. They want you, or at least your powers"

Harry tried to wrap his head around that. He couldn't fathom it. Sure, he knew that he was kind of important in some way or the other but an attack? Because of him? People were fighting and dying just because of him? Why was he so important? Yes, he knew that he had some weird and unnerving encounters and now he was in possession of strange(ly cool) powers et al, but at the end of the day he was still just… just Harry! And his powers weren't even that broken! The only thing he could do was change himself! And even that did not really work that reliably.

As he voiced those thoughts it was Alastair who answered him this time.

"It is not because of what you yourself can do," he said. "It is because of what you represent"

Harry cocked his head, not quite understanding. "What does that mean?", he asked her.

"Your powers, as well as the things that you saw, are not from this world. Or rather, any other world out there. They are solid proof that a place that until now was only theoretically existent is in fact real. And even more, through you it can be accessed from this plane of existence. And everyone who would be able to access this outer world, this Void, as it is called, could be able to harness its abilities, giving them so much power that they'd be practically omnipotent. That my boy, is why no one may know of your existence. And this is also why everyone that does know of you will do anything to either try and win you for their cause or just outright try to use your body, your soul and whatever else necessary to gain access to the Void."

Harry swallowed thickly. This was not at all what he had expected. He mulled Aragrans and Alastairs words over and shivered violently. So he… he was a key. Simple as that. He was nothing more than a tool to open the door to limitless power.

"But… why?", Harry asked quietly in a broken tone. "Why me? Who not someone else? Why must it be me this happens to?"

Alastair smiled sadly. "I don't know. And for all it is worth, I'm sorry that all this happened to you, Harry"

Harry just nodded glumly. A while they continued walking like this. No one spoke a word and save for the sounds of their feet on the cold concrete floor and the occasional muffled boom in the distance, silence engulfed them. When they reached a crossing in the corridors though, Doctor Hill spoke up suddenly.

"We will part ways here, guys. You go left and take Harry out of sector E-5 and bring him to either Lab 10 or Lab 12. Do it by teleportation, flying, driving, I don't care as long as you bring him to safety, is that understood?"

"Yes Ma'am"; Alastair and Aragran intoned but Harry wasn't so easily cowed.

"Where are you going?", he asked and even though he didn't expect Dr. Hill to answer him, she still did.

"Just getting some documents. Don't you worry about it, okay? I will see you guys in no time again, okay?" she said and after a moment's hesitation ruffled his unruly mop of dark hair affectionately.

"I will", Harry said and stood a bit straighter. If doctor Hill trusted him to do something he would gladly do so. The scientist seemed satisfied with his answer and without another word turned on her heel and swiftly walked down the right corridor.

For some seconds the other three looked at her retreating form until another explosion shook them out of their stupor. This one seemed way more close than the others had been.

"Lets go", Aragran said and began to jog down the pathway. " The exit's not far from here and from there Alastair can apparate you to another one of the Labs"

"Apparate?",Harry frowned. He had never heard of the word before.

"It's some kind of teleportation", Aragran provided. One that only wizards are able to use and by which you can bypass most scrying and detection spells so you could travel more or less unseen"

"Really?", Harry asked. That sounded really awesome to be able to teleport wherever one wanted.

Alastair chuckled. "Well you still can be traced and stopped from doing it. But to do so you need special tailor-made wards, and most other magical species don't really know how to replicate those. Oh and it doesn't feel very pleasant to do so"

"The important thing is that energy signatures, no matter if they're magical or mundane, cannot be traced through an aparion trace. You just know that someone apparated from one point to another, but not who exactly did do so. You get what I mean?", Aragran explained.

Harry nodded. It made sense. Well, in a weird, magical mumbo-jumbo sort of way. Still the point of it was that no one would know that Harry had teleported from one point to another so whoever attacked Lab 7 wouldn't be able to follow him. That, he concluded was a good thing.

The explosion that suddenly tore through the side of the path in front of them on the other hand was a rather bad thing. Without warning the right side of the tunnel began to faintly glow a split second before a massive flare tore through it and the other wall subsequently as well.

A heatwave hit them with such force that the group of three was catapulted back the way they came and only Aragrans sure footing and fast reflexes saved Alastair and Harry from ending as bloody smears on the walls. With inhumane speed his arms jerked sideways and grabbed both Alastair's robes and Harrys white lab-shirt respectively.

"My, my my look what we found here", a melodic voice called out and a figure stepped through the newly made hole in the wall. He was tall, nearly as tall as Aragran. Wavy blonde Locks fell down to his hips and long, pointy ears adorned with rubies and other similarly coloured gems framed the sides of his head. Two giant, fiery butterfly-wings grew out of his back and radiated both heat and light. A fairy. And a very powerful one to boot "A hellspawn, a wandwanker and … the key itself. Oberon will be most pleased"

Alastair bristled at the insult to his people but Aragran held him back.

The devil smirked and stepped forward. "Oh, you come at exactly the right time", he answered. "You see, my lighter just broke so I could really use someone to light me a cigarette. Though I think that's a bit above your power level when I look at you now"

The fiery man in front of him chuckled and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh, that was weak and you know it". Then his posture shifted and Eyes the colour of molten rock stared back at Aragran. "Though your insolence will be punished, no doubt. Daring to insult a higher being than yourself tends to lead to this"

Aragran just balled his fists in response. "Al", he said without ever taking his eyes off his opponent. "I'll hold them here. Take Harry and go. I'll follow you in no time"

"Nonsense", Alastair replied and brandished his wand. "Don't think I'll let you-" But he didn't make it any farther, for the fairy used just this moment to burst into action.

In the blink of an eye he had crossed the distance between him and Aragran and threw a punch towards his face. the devil ducked and with a smooth motion three pairs of black bat-wings unfurled themselves from his back. A blue light shone around his wrist and the next second an arc of lightning raced from his fist towards his adversary. The clap of thunder was deafening but the fairy didn't even flinch as it impacted with a dome of flames just short of touching his chest.

"Go!" Aragran shouted before dashing down the tunnel intent on tearing the fairy a new one. "I'll be fine here! Just run and get Harry away. from here, Al!"

Alastair moved to answer but another explosion caused by the fairy silenced him. Aragran though seemed unhurt so Alastair took this as a sign to trust his words here. Gripping Harry's hand he turned around and sprinted down the hallway.

"We're nearly there", he panted, while turning around. He waved his wand and muttered some kind of spell and the tunnel walls were coated with thick, glittering ice. Harry was stunned. That was so cool! Just like that! Swoosh swoosh, bam, Winterwonderland!

"To help Aragran defeat this fire fairy" Alastair explained, mistaking Harry's awe for confusion.

Harry just nodded mutely, still pondering the awesomeness of ice-magic when Alastair blasted open a door at the hallways end with another spell.

Fresh air caressed their faces and blew away the stale smell of the labs hallways.

Looking around Harry noticed that they were in some kind of ravine, suspended on a metal platform. A small river flowed in the distance beneath them and the birds chirped, blissfully unaware of the battles inside the laboratory.

But now, they were safe. No trace of the other enemies that had descended down into the lab, only the sounds of the peaceful nature.

"Okay, Harry", Alastair said. "I will now apparate us to several different locations okay? this way no one will know exactly where we are heading originally. No matter what, I want you to grip my arm really tight, okay? Can you do this? No matter what, don't let go, okay?"

Harry nodded. "Okay" he said and idly noted that Alastair seemed to use that word really often when he was nervous.

"Okay. Here goes nothing", Alastair muttered, brandished his wand and spun around on his axis.

A violent lurch swept Harry off his feet and he felt like he was being pulled in all directions and pressed into a tight tube all at once.

It hurt. It wasn't just unpleasant, but it hurt. Is this normal? he asked himself. No way that this is how teleportation should feel like. And slowly, panic began to spread in his insides. Then, his head started aching. A dull throbbing that seemed to become worse and worse with each moment going by. I have to warn Alastair, Harry thought. Something is wrong, I can feel it! The throbbing threatened to split his head in two. We have to get out of here! the thought suddenly materialized in his head and Harry couldn't help but think how if he hadn't been there nobody would have gotten hurt because of him. No accidentally hurting scientists, no attack on the lab, no political magic persons who wanted to use him as a key, no nothing. As soon as he finished thinking that thought though, it happened.

The throbbing increased its rate and with each throb the world flashed purple for an instant. It got faster and faster and faster andfasterandfasterandfasterandfasterandfasternfasternfasternfasterfasterfasterfasterfastfastfastfastfastfastfastfastfa-

PULL

Then he felt it. It reminded him of THEM. Slowly his grip on Alastair's arm seemed to lessen, as some kind of invisible force tugged and pulled and pushed him away from the wizard. Alastair had seemingly noticed too that something was amiss. His eyes widened, his mouth opened like he wanted to say something, maybe some kind of spell and then… nothing. One moment Harry was hanging on Alastair's arm and the next he wasn't. The throbbing got faster still, more and more purple filled his vision until the colour was all and everything he could see and hear and smell and he was spun around and he was

PULLED

and then he was

PUSHED

and

THROWN

around without sense or measure.

Then the strong feeling of ejection made itself known, gravity seemed to increase a thousandfold, making every discomfort of apparition pale in comparison he seemed to gain momentum and speed and more momentum and more speed and then there was a portal and then

Pflump!

The hard, rocky ground hit Harry with the might of a freight train. Or maybe it was Harry who hit the ground, not the other way around. He groaned in pain and he just knew that his back would be covered in bruises by tomorrow. Trying to breather the pain away he opened his and inspected his surroundings. Or,at least he would have, if it weren't for the fist that hit his jaw, making his head jerk back onto the ground, knocking him out in an instant. The last thing he saw before that was a peculiar cave filled with pink crystals and the face of a girl with dark eyes and hair as well as a bunch of weird lines on her face...

Man, this chapter was hard to write. But, we're finally away from Earth (for the foreseeable future at least) and now the good stuff, as well as things and concepts y'all might be more familiar with can begin to be introduced! I've got a lot planned already and I really hope that the next chapter will not take as long as this one did. And even if it does, eh, can't be helped I guess *shrugs*.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next one! Also, if anyone knows a beta-reader who'd be willing to bounce ideas with me, hit me up!

As always, read, review, and see you next time!

Halariel, out!