Chapter 4

In the outskirts of the small village, harry slowly descended on the grass fields and stowed away his broom. As he was passing through the line of trees fencing the village, he saw a man working on some timbre, breaking and stacking logs with his bare hands.

He was about to pass him, but the large man saw Harry going towards his village. An eager grin split his face.

He quickly ran and intercepted Harry's path.

"And who might you be? A traveller is seldom seen in this area."

Harry shrugged, "Just a man on a vacation."

"Oh?" The smile on his face was creeping Harry out. "How would you like a bit of entertainment?"

"And if I refuse?" Harry had his wand already in hand.

The other man laughed merrily. "Why, that's what they all think. All of them think they have a choice."

Harry nodded slowly. A red jet of light left his wand and hit the man, who instantly collapsed.

Harry moved on, shaking his head.

"Hey look, a traveller!" One boy said to his friend as they stopped planting their crops and stood up to get a better look. Not that they had any success, all they saw was an average man of average build and height walking in black inconspicuous clothes.

Word quickly reached the leader of the village, who came out of his house and met Harry just as he entered the village proper.

"How did... How did you kill him?"

"Who?" Harry asked, thoroughly confused.

"Uh... You didn't fight anyone?"

Harry shook his head.

"How's that possible? Who are you?"

"Perhaps, it would be better if you start giving answers instead of questions. I'm Mr Black, by the way."

And so they sat opposite each other across a small table. The chairs croaked as Harry sat down. Indeed, the whole village had a look of sustained poverty.

"How did you escape from the Antaeus?"

"Who?"

"A monster who roams outside our boundaries, and kills any who try to visit. By the blessing of Demeter we are safe inside the walls of the village, but no one can escape."

"Ah, does he look like a human?"

"Yes. But make no mistake, he is a monster. He has killed in hundreds, if not thousands."

"Well, I left him knocked out... I'll see to it that he doesn't wake up."

"Wait! Did you not hear my words!? He is a monster, he eats men like us in two gulps. Just run away as fast as you can, he may leave you alone if you go far enough away."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." Harry stood up.

He walked back in the direction he had came from, but was surprised to see the monster already awake and banging at the invisible wall of magic.

"GET BACK HERE!"

"Ok."

"I challenge you to a wrestling match!" the monster roared as soon as he stepped outside the protected area.

"Rules?" Harry asked calmly.

"To death. No rules." He grinned, sharp teeth shining in the afternoon sun.

"Works." Harry nodded.

"In three," the monster roared, "one, two, THREE!"

"Bombarda Maxima!"

The monster and the nearby trees were all blasted away.

But Harry strode forward.

And the monster stood up, not even a scratch on him as he dusted himself.

"You're powerful, I'll give you that."

And he lunged.

"ACME!"

An anvil dropped at his chest, and he abruptly got squished on the ground. But even as Harry watched, the monster slowly stood up, his body healing itself.

Harry sighed, might as well give the Russian spells a try.

Three explosions later, and the monster's splattered body slowly healed itself. One of its hands was stuck on a tree, and it quickly snatched it back and kept the hand near the shoulder, and soon he was fully healed.

"This is harder than I would have thought," Harry admitted.

"And you are very powerful. But this must end now."

Harry sidestepped the running monster as he thought about his next action. He could, of course, just Avada Kedavra him, but he didn't want to damage his soul.

He turned back and grabbed Harry from behind him as he was lost in thought.

"Don't you see? I am invincible."

Harry smirked. "You body might be, but what about you mind?"

And Harry was instantly in his mind. Soon, he knew enough, and so returned to his own body. All of this happened in a fraction of a second.

"Wha?" the monster shook its head. "YOU DARE?"

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry intoned calmly, and the monster started floating. With his other hand he summoned his sword. The temperature around them dropped instantly.

"Close your eyes!" Harry shouted at the kids staring at the mayhem.

And then he sliced his shoulder.

And waited.

It never healed.

Harry grinned.

The monster gulped.

The kids cheered.

"How long have you been living in isolation?" Harry asked as they settled down after some impromptu celebration.

"As far as we remember," the elder was only too eager to give answers now, "He has always been beyond the walls. Waiting. Watching. Killing."

"Ah." Harry nodded sympathetically, and gulped down whatever had been served to him by the attractive woman.

"Though... I must ask you, How do you know our language?"

"Huh?" But then he remembered his Language Devices. "Never you mind that," he added, "It was a gift to me."

The elder nodded, and the drinks kept flowing through the night.

However much he drank, he remained completely sober, much to the frustration of the wizard and the amusement of everyone else.

Except for a small incident — where a beautiful girl had accidentally jumped on his bed, completely naked — the night was quiet and he slept peacefully.

Next morning he thanked the elder for the hospitality, jumped on the bike, and rode away into the breaking dawn.

And then he looked below him, in the flat grasslands, and sighed. He really needed something like a magical compass or map or something. He quickly slowed down on the ground, switched his bike for the broom, and got back up. It was much slower, but it could stop mid-air, which was crucial for using "Point-Me Nearest City!"

And soon he was away.

"You think he has potential?" He asked.

"You know very well, dear, everyone has potential," She spoke.

"Very few ever achieve it, though," He said, calm as ever.

"True."

Harry had underestimated the time he would be flying. By a long shot.

It took him close to 12 hours. But finally Harry's enhanced nose (courtesy of Greyback) told him that the air was smokier, and he spotted a city some distance away. He dropped altitude, and started flying very close to the ground, trying not to get spotted.

He landed in the outskirts, and walked his way inside the city. It was not a big city, and certainly not a modern one. Dirty roads and sidewalks merged into grey walls of concrete, and the street lights cast shadows of spiders that had made them their home.

He walked in the gloomy streets trying to hold the tears as the smoke and fog irritated his nose.

Soon, he came to a shop. And he turned and walked the other way.

Miraculously, he reached the same place again.

He just sighed and entered.

"Ah Mr Black, just in time," The shopkeeper announced.

"Where do I need to go, what will you sell to me, where can I get some food," All of them came one after the other and in a monotone.

"Oh, and I have no money." That one had a little bit of frustration.

"Don't you worry, Mr Black, all the expenses will be taken care of in short order.

"But first, you must have this."

Harry looked at the proffered object.

"It's a sandwich."

"Yes."

"Just a sandwich, no magic or potion or anything else. A completely and utterly ordinary sandwich."

"Yup."

Harry took it and chomped it down quickly.

His stomach growled.

"I have some more." The shopkeeper moved to the back of his shop.

Ten minutes and ten sandwiches later, Harry was finally feeling full.

He burped.

"Thank you."

"Don't you worry, Mr Black. Now, for the money, have you tried your money bag?"

Harry stared at him, completely dumbfounded.

"That'll work? Really?"

"Yes."

He quickly pulled out his money bag, and true enough, he had money in his hand.

He still couldn't believe it.

"Now pay up."

"But won't you try to sell anything? Are you sure?"

"Well... If you would be so kind as to..." Harry sighed in resignition as the shopkeeper started telling him all about the various knick-knacks he had.

"There's this map, and here we have a chastity belt from Aphro–"

"What?"

"Ah, a chastity–"

"No before that."

"The map? It'll show you the surrounding area, and you can increase or decrease the scale of the map."

"I'll take that."

"Sure. I do think you should buy this as well."

"What's this?" Harry stared suspiciously at a piece of paper the shopkeeper was holding.

"A Charm to show all the hidden and magical areas on the map."

"... Sure."

He paid and left the shop.

And had an idea.

If money could travel from his home-world to this place, could a piece of paper make the journey back?

The idea was worth a shot anyway.

He nodded, and rented a place for the night.

"Mr Black has just accessed his accounts!" Henchgirl shouted as she entered the lab. And caused an explosion as she distracted the Professor from whatever he was doing. He shook his head, vanished the debris, and turned to find Henchgirl bouncing all over the place.

"Well, at least he's alive." He nodded. There. He had fulfilled the social niceties. He turned back to continue his work.

And was pulled back across the room into Henchgirl's hands.

"You will rescue him. Now."

He just sighed. And he was so close to making an opaque window and a transparent wall, too.

Damn his luck.

AN: Long time no see, I know. College is taking up too much of my time. Again, I'll try to update in the next two weeks, but can't make any promises