Chapter 24

Harry had insisted on normality for the rest of the year.

He was then required to define 'normal'.

"If someone isn't about to die, don't bring it to me."

Amelia was not impressed, but she didn't bother Harry with the finer details of governing a country.

Harry had more important things to do. Like protecting the galaxy from threats that didn't even know Earth existed.

"Harry, are you sure about this?" Dudley asked with evident trepidation as he stood in front of a very special portal door. It was after school and they were in Harry's lab, just the two of them.

"Definitely. I tested it several times." Harry said as he continued to throw things into his bottomless rucksack.

"Still, shouldn't we wait till the weekend?"

Harry chuckled. "Dud, trust me, the bad guys aren't considerate enough to 'wait for the weekend'."

"We could at least take some backup."

Harry zipped up the bag and slung it over his shoulder. He was dressed in tough jeans, a t-shirt and an open shirt. He had his wand in a holster on his wrist. The same holster was designed like Dudley's bracer. It could act as a focus.

He also had a katana over one shoulder and Caledfwych over the other. He was trying to get his hands on some firearms, not an easy feat in England.

"Look, just give me an hour, 'kay?" Dudley begged.

Harry sighed and put the backpack back on the table. "One hour Dud."


"This was supposed to be a quick trip! Not a bloody expedition to the New World!" Harry exclaimed.

"I just asked David and Uncle Fil if they could spare an hour or so." Dudley said defensively.

"And Fiona? This isn't a romantic-"

"If you think I'm letting you take my brother and my boyfriend to the end of the galaxy without me, you've got a 'nother thing comin' ya mincey heid!"

Harry took a step back at the irate red-head. Her brogue got stronger the more emotional she was.

Then he saw Minerva looking quite pleased with the girl. "What about you?"

"Harry, like tha lass said, you've got a mincey heid if'n ya be think'n I'ma missing tha chance to see Atlantis."

Harry took a moment to process that statement. He really needed translator for this sort of thing. He was relieved to see several of the others looking just as confused.

"She wants to be one of the first to see Atlantis." David chuckled. At least he knew how to speak properly. His commanders wouldn't accept local slang and colloquialism in his verbal or written reports so had to learn pretty quick to enunciate.

"Fine, what about the rest of you?" He asked the girls, Neville, Greg, Vinnie, Hermione, Fleur, Hagrid, Severus, Yoshiko, Aurora and Sirius.

"Most of us have a duty to you, Harry." Gemma spoke up.

"Technically, the only ones with a 'duty' would be Daph and Sev. And I certainly didn't order them to come."

"Suck it up, Harry-chan." Yoshiko smirked. "You're about to do something world changing and we want front row seats."

Harry just grumbled. "Fine. Just remember, this isn't all fun and games. I'm doing this because of a real threat that I need to be ready for. Once we are through, don't touch anything and don't cast any magic."

He stopped and looked at Hagrid. "You realise you are going to a place designed for regular sized humans? It might get cramped."

"I jus' wanted to see what critters were there." Hagrid looked a little forlorn.

"Trust me, Atlantis has been abandoned for years. Everything should be nearly sterile. Stay here this time Hagrid. I'll have someone get you if we find any animals." Harry assured him with a kind smile.

Hagrid nodded, clearly disappointed, but understanding.

"Alright people, we are heading into the unknown!" He announced loudly. "We might know we are going to Atlantis in another galaxy but we have no more details than that.

"Hagrid, as you are here you can act as ground control."

Hagrid shuffled nervously. "I dunno Harry. I can barely conjure a cuppa tea. I ain't ne'er tried to control the ground."

Those that understood the term 'ground control' tried not to laugh at Harry and Hagrid.

"Just stay here and keep in contact with us in case we have an emergency." He pulled out a mirror and tossed it to Fiona. "Here, you've just been designated as our Uhura."

Fiona jabbed her brother in the gut as he snickered.

"Everyone line up in single file. Put your hands on the shoulders of the person in front of you. Follow my instructions to the letter or I will chuck you back through the portal as a transfigured bouncy ball."

Sirius actually paled slightly. Dudley had been playing with one of those rubber balls in the hallway with the other guys.

That's a very bouncy ball in a space with four surfaces made of stone. It flew like a bullet and took an age to stop. Neville had to summon it because they kept losing it.

They quickly shuffled into a line with Harry in the front.

"He said shoulders."

"This is softer."

"Are you calling me fat, woman?"

"I'll have to do a further investigation befo-"

"Some one split up the newly weds." Harry sighed.

"God it's sickening." Sirius grumbled.

"Grow up Black." Aurors snapped. But she did slip between an embarrassed Severus and a pouting Yoshiko.

"And we are moving!" Harry declared loudly from the front where Dudley had his hands on his shoulders. Anything to stop the children from bickering.

The trip through the portal door took them from a brightly lit lab into darkness.

"Are we all through?" Harry asked.

"I'm the last." David announced.

"Lumos."

The area was suddenly lit up to reveal a large room with a brownish red floor and blueish metal walls and columns. All around them, more of the room was revealed as lights began to come on.

"Alright! Which bastard did that?" Harry demanded.

Standing there in the middle of the now huddled group was a very embarrassed Hermione Granger.

"Very disappointing, Miss Granger." Severus said sternly.

"It was dark." She said lamely.

"My instructions were few and simple." Harry said in exasperation.

"Harry, calm down. It was just a light spell." Minerva said warningly.

"No it wasn't just a light spell." He hissed. "It was a light spell that activated the automated systems. Automated systems that use power. Power that is being used to keep the shields up. Shields that are keeping the ocean above us from crushing the city into dust!"

"You have a little time, Harry." Ganos said as she appeared. "I cannot help you but you have everything you need to fix this problem."

"Fine. Daphne, make sure Hermione doesn't do anything else other than breathe. Sev, you're in charge. Make sure no one leaves this spot. No exploring, no spells. Just take this and set up the return portal." He handed Dud his backpack.

"Uncle Fil, David, go with Harry please." Dudley ordered. "Just in case he needs backup."


Harry spent so much time grumbling as they began walking through the dark corridors that Filius eventually got fed up with him.

"It was an honest mistake! Leave the poor girl alone."

"It was bloody careless! I want Hermione to be a part of whatever this fight against evil becomes, because of that I need her to feel bad and understand that not following orders or using caution could be disastrous!

"We could have lost the entire city."

"That is highly unlikely, Harry." Ganos assured them. "The city is extremely low on power at the moment but a few lights won't cause any problems."

"I'm thinking long term." Harry shook his head. "Imagine we got information on a place. If the first thing she does is start casting spells then the next thing she does will be waking up in the afterlife. Always assume you're walking into a trap."

"Does that mean you thought I was setting a trap for you?" Ganos asked curiously.

"Thought? No. But that doesn't mean I won't be prepared for anything." Harry shook his head.

"That's a good way of thinking if you are going to be heading into hostile territory." David spoke up. "You will meet all sorts of people, but you can't take the risk that they might be out to hurt you or others so you be careful what you reveal or how freely you trust them."

"I suppose you are correct." She said unhappily. "We had our own problems with betrayals. Eventually you may have to deal with them as well."

Harry stopped and turned to the ancient woman. "Ganos, have you just unilaterally appointed me the caretaker of the universe?" He glared at her.

She gave a sad chuckle. "In all the time I have existed I have seen people brought back from the dead, travel through time, destroy entire galaxies, create brand new life and even sacrifice themselves for their enemies… but I have never ever heard of someone being sent back in time to inhabit their old body just so they could do things better.

"I only approached you because of your drive and ambition. After hearing your recent confession regarding time travel, I am coming closer and closer to the conclusion that you are meant for even bigger things than I imagined."

Harry began stomping off as he muttered murderously. "If I ever find the bastard that sent me back…"


"Do try and relax, Miss Granger." Minerva sighed as the poor girl fretted away. "Harry will be far more disappointed if you fail to remember this event and repeat the mistake in the future."

"Future? What future?" She was near hysterical. "He'll kick me out of Hogwarts and magical Britain for sure! Ow!"

Daphne glared at her. "Harry would never do that. It is insulting for you to even suggest he would. It was just yesterday that His Majesty invited you to stand beside him in front of his subjects and he treated you as an equal."

"But he just-"

"Hermione, you don't know a single thing about what has happened or what is happening." Sirius broke in quietly. "It isn't written in books and it hasn't been taught to you by teachers.

"You don't have empirical evidence to allow you to make any guesses, predictions or assumptions on what Harry will or will not do.

"The rest of us, on the other hand, know Harry a lot better than you. We know a great deal about his reactions to various situations.

"So, how about you trust those of us with the knowledge and experience instead of coming up with wild and unfounded theories?"

Surprisingly, his speech actually calmed the girl.

Until a certain Astronomy Professor had to ask: "Where the devil did you learn a term like 'empirical evidence'?"


It was nearly an hour later that the lights started to come on.

"I didn't do anything!"

"Calm yourself Miss Granger." Severus sighed. "If anyone is to blame it is probably Black."

"Hey!"

There were two pops and Harry and Filius reappeared with Harry bringing David.

"Alright, it should be safe now. Just, do not cast magic at anything. A lumos should be fine. A warming charm on yourself will also be ok. But don't go casting diagnostics spells or cleaning and reparo spells at anything." Harry informed them.

"Hermione, grab a pen and paper and follow me. You will be writing labels to translate things."

"I- I will?"

"Have you seen what this lot laughably call 'handwriting'?" He waved at the teachers. "Yours is like a work of art by comparison."

"Harry!" Minerva scolded.

"Of course it is just proof that you have zero chance of being a doctor." He grinned at her.

It was a bit later that Harry was dictating to Hermione whilst the others explored.

"How can you understand all of this? It looks like a bunch of lines to me." Hermione frowned as she used a bit of blutack to attach another sheet of paper over a console.

"Hermione, English is just a bunch of lines." Harry grinned. "But, to answer your question, Ganos has been teaching me."

"Ah. Is it difficult to learn?" She asked as she looked at the markings on the console.

"No different than any other language, Hermione Granger." Ganos said with a smile as she appeared.

Hermione became flustered, dropping her paper as she tried to curtsy.

Ganos seemed amused as the girl hastily retrieved her implements whilst still trying to bow or curtsy… it was really more of an epileptic fit.

Harry looked at her dryly. "You were resting in the arms of a king yesterday and even berated him… but for her you'll roll out the red carpet?"

She managed to simultaneously blush and glare at Harry.

"Harry, come with me. There is something you need to see." Ganos instructed.


"We call it the 'Portia Astria'." Ganos waved to the free standing ornate circle that looked like it was made of stone and embedded sapphires.

"Star Door?"

"Very good, Miss Granger." Ganos nodded approvingly to the girl. "Harry, I cannot tell you how to use it, but I will tell you there are two older versions on Earth. One is in the hands of humans but has no controlling device. The other is buried in Antarctica with the control device.

"It is imperative that you find it and get it working. If the other humans get theirs working they will invite chaos and death to your planet."

"Ganos, it's January." Harry moaned. "Couldn't you have sent me somewhere warmer?"


Harry was told to shove off when it came to retrieving the Portia Astria from Antartica. Dudley told him to spend more time with his friends and the other champions to prepare for the upcoming second task. Dudley then gave the task of going to Antartica to Frank.

In retaliation, Harry kidnapped Dudley's girlfriend.

"I'm not your subject ya know, Harry?" Fiona grumbled as she followed him through the castle.

"Well, I need you for this as you are invested in it."

Fiona frowned as they arrived at Longbottom Tower. They went inside to find Fleur, Pavarti and Lavender giving Alice a good pampering. Neville was not around so Harry assumed he had fled at the sight of the females.

"Carry on ladies." Harry told them casually.

They gasped in shock as he pulled a sword out of thin air and rammed it through Alice's chest. The gasps quickly subsided as they realised it was Caledfwych.

That was when Lavender rounded on him angrily. "How could you do that? You made her a squib!" She tried to hit him but was pulled back by Pavarti, aided by Fleur.

"Relax, it's Harry." Pavarti said soothingly. "He loves Alice and he never harms those he loves."

"But her magic!" Lavender began to cry.

"Lavender, you're a pureblood. You were born into a world with magic so you have no idea what it is like to live without it." Harry said compassionately. "I lived for more than ten years without magic, Fiona for all her life. Do you think her or Dudley are unhappy?"

"But Alice's magic was part of her! It- It's like cutting off a limb."

"She's right Harry." Fiona said as she moved forward and comforted the girl. "I've seen you and the other adults use magic… you use it like it is just another appendage or sense."

Harry looked at here with narrowed eyes. "Did you just call me an adult?"

"'Arry!" Fleur chided. "Explain why you did zis to Alice, I know you 'ad a reason."

Harry smiled at her. "Thank you Fleur."

She looked a bit unsure at that. "Que?"

Harry stepped forward and hugged her, she stiffened, still off kilter. "You gave me the benefit of the doubt." Harry said, still hugging her. "You didn't just assume I was a rampaging loon."

Fleur laughed and relaxed, returning the hug. "Zat is what comes with being an adult! Eeep!"

Harry gave her a mock glare as he pulled away. Fleur just rubbed her bottom with a real glare.

"Fiona, take a seat next to Alice." Harry instructed.

Fiona complied without question.

"Fiona." Alice said slowly, a smile on her face as she stroked the girl's red hair. It was a custom she had developed, like giving sweet wrappers to Neville.

Fiona returned the smile and held the older woman's hand.

"Aunty Alice, take a look in my eyes. Your world is about to become very exciting." Harry said with a happy grin.


"You are amazing."

It was the first coherent sentence that Alice Longbottom had said in well over a decade. The fact that it was directed at her godson had the girls around her nodding in awe.

"What was different?" Fiona asked as she tightened her grip on the woman's hand.

"She had no magic. Aunty Alice had a different response to Uncle Frank. She didn't just build walls and hide behind them. She built invisible walls. Walls so well designed that neither Sev nor Albus could see them."

"But you could?" Pavarti asked.

"God no! I didn't know that there were walls. I didn't know what was wrong. I simply made an educated guess that magic was involved and that without it, she would be easier to help.

"Pav, would you go and find Nev?"

Pavarti just nodded before rushing off.

"So you didn't know that taking her magic away would help her?" Lavender looked like she was brewing up a storm.

"I knew that taking away her magic would cause her no harm or discomfort if I was wrong." Harry said firmly.

"But now she is… sane and has no magic."

"Lavender, thank you. I know you are concerned but it is much better to be without magic and lucid and able to know my family than to have magic and be…insane." Alice stood shakily with Fiona's help to hug the blonde haired pureblood.

"Did you know that this is not technically a weapon." They turned to see Harry looking at Caledfwych closely. "It is actually a key. A key to the magic of Britain. I can manipulate the magic of any British citizen or even the magic of the islands themselves. That includes those of Britain's foreign territories."

He then stuck the sword into Alice's chest again.

"Harry!"

"Lavender! Calm down." Fiona admonished. "Think about what Harry said."

"I don't give a damn what he said." She scowled. "Sticking someone with any kind of knife is always bad."

Harry removed the sword from a completely unconcerned Alice and handed her his wand. "Go on then, give it a swish."

Alice smiled at Harry as she conjured a small flock of birds. "You. Are. Amazing."


"This is what Ganos and her people used to travel the universe?" Frank asked sceptically.

It was a largish group that was in the Chamber of Secrets, standing in front of the Portia Astria.

"One of the methods. This particular portal will take us to any planet in this galaxy that has a similar device on the surface. The one in Atlantis actually has the ability to connect with other galaxies. I'll probably replace this one with a newer model."

"You know how to make these?" Alice asked in amazement.

"Meh." Harry shrugged. "Atlantis is a massive flying city. It has homes, schools, hospitals, government buildings and factories. There is a factory for making these portals and one to make more power devices that I used to repower the city.

"There are plenty of other factories and labs as well."

"But it just seems so… cumbersome." Frank complained. "And you can't use it like the door you made that doesn't require a partner at the destination."

"Well, Ganos' people didn't have magic."

"What? I thought they created humans." Sirius frowned.

"They seeded life in this galaxy, but we evolved on our own. Some of our magic might be related to their abilities as they did breed with us, but they were just as baffled by our abilities as we were by theirs.

"Granted, we had just learnt to smelt ore…"

"If we have different abilities, how were you able to make Atlantis work?" Hermione asked.

"Because Harry has been learning how to ascend."

They all turned to see Albus and Ganos walking in.

"Ganos? How did you get into Hogwarts?" Harry asked in surprise.

"The same way the rest of us do." Albus said in amusement. "She used the door."

"But the wards-"

"Stopped her because she was attempting to circumvent them." Albus interrupted Hermione with a smile. "But, if one opens the door to allow a person entry, that person is implicitly given permission. Miss Ganos will still need to leave by the front door, but she will no longer be restricted from communing with us here."

The look that Harry gave Ganos showed that he was truly not impressed.

"In my defence, I have spent very little time in mortal form over the past thousands of years." Ganos said, clearly embarrassed.

"Anyway!" Harry rolled his eyes. "I was able to make Atlantis work because I can read the Alteran language, thanks to Ganos. Magicals have a gene that the Alteran's had that allows them to control and activate Alteran technology. It prevented invaders from appropriating their technology and using it against them."

"So… could Fi and I use it?" Dudley asked.

"You can Dud. You have the gene. Fiona doesn't. But, I am working on that."

"Are you going to stab me with your sword like you did to Alice?" The red head glared at him.

"My dear, as much as Harry would argue against me, he is a being filled with love." Albus told her with a fond smile for the glaring king. "He can be very ruthless in his actions, but, after examining those actions in hindsight, everything he has done has been to protect those who could not protect themselves."


Albus had insisted that Harry postpone any experiments with Portia Astria until after the second task at the very latest. Ganos had assured Harry that the galaxy was unlikely to collapse in on itself in that time.

Harry didn't spend time in classes so he quickly found himself becoming bored.

The only thing he was allowed to work on was the Second Task.

Boredom + Harry = Havoc.

Of course there were simpler things that distracted him from time to time. Alice spent a lot of time listening to Harry tell stories about himself and Neville, especially ones from his first time through. Fleur spent the evenings with himself, the girls and Dudley. Fiona was often there as well when the couple weren't out at a movie. Frank and Alice often chaperoned them as it gave them the chance to reconnect.

There was one event, soon after school restarted, that he didn't expect.

There was a knock on his door one evening and Tracey went to answer it. She was, as always, beaten by Dobby. But it was bit of a game between the pair.

"Hey Hermione, you ok?" Tracey asked the clearly nervous girl.

"I… I would like to beg an audience with His Majesty, at his convenience, of course." She added a curtsy as an afterthought.

Tracey looked amused. "Harry, do you have some time to talk to Hermione?" She called over her shoulder.

"Of course." Came the reply.

Hermione was not expecting for anyone to do anything except make an appointment… or arrange to make one at least. She also wasn't expecting to hear desperation in Harry' voice.

As she entered the living room behind Tracey she noticed Daphne and Pansy were adjusting their skirts and blouses. Fleur and Gemma were laughing at Harry who looked very harried.

"Girls, come on." Tracey ordered. "I think Hermione wants to speak to Harry alone."

There was a lot of frowning and pouting but they all left until Hermione was standing in the room with just Harry in his armchair. He still naively thought it would keep the girls off him due to the small amount of room.

He underestimated them.

"Sit down Hermione. You're making the place look untidy."

Hermione was taken aback by the idiom. "Have you been talking to my mother?" She asked.

"I've been talking to a lot of mothers. I met with all of the families of new magicals."

Hermione nodded and took a seat on the sofa. "I… I want to talk about Draco." She said with gravity.

"And I would prefer to pretend he never existed." Harry groaned.

"Please, Your Majesty." Hermione pleaded.

"Here's the deal. You can talk to me about him so long as you drop the honorifics." Harry glared at her.

"But I want to talk about his sentence." She reasoned.

"The one he got for trying to murder you?"

Hermione blushed but nodded. "It's just… Azkaban, even away from Dementors… it's too harsh for a boy. For any child."

"Yes, but he forfeited the right to be considered anything more than a human. He willingly and without reservation attempted to kill someone for no reason other than her birth.

"He wasn't afraid of you. He didn't see you as a threat. He didn't perceive some form of insult from you. He tried to kill you because he felt he was entitled to end your existence."

"But-"

"He was given years to change. Even at eleven years old. But he refused."

"His father-"

"Was as bad as Vernon Dursley. But Vernon's son, Dudley, changed.

"Dudley hated and feared magic.

"Malfoy hated muggles.

"I showed Dudley magic and introduced him to wiggles. Dudley cautiously began to accept them and his first real friend was a young witch who, to this day, he still manages to insult.

"I showed Draco muggles. I introduced him to them and their ways. Draco continued to belittle them and attempt to hurt them, even when he was threatened with execution.

"What has Draco done to deserve any sort of clemency?" Harry asked Hermione calmly.

She sat there, lost and forlorn. "It just seems so wrong." She said quietly.

"Draco was wrong. And we would be wrong to imprison him in Azkaban." Harry admitted. "But two wrongs don't make right. And, we have magic."

"So, he's not in Azkaban."

"No. Not for a while now." Harry paused in thought. "Do you remember what happened to Gilderoy Lockhart, what his crimes where?"

"He was killed in a duel and it was proven he had been obliviating people and claiming their deeds." She said with a shudder. Garabed had been merciful in that he had killed the man in two spells. He had disarmed and then killed the fake with a piercing hex to the heart.

"During my first time through Hogwarts, Gilderoy tried to obliviate my memories as well. Fortunately for me he was using a broken wand. It back fired and erased his entire identity.

"He knew how to walk, talk, eat and communicate. But he forgot other skills like reading and writing."

Harry chuckled at the predictable look of horror on his friend's face.

"But he also forgot who he was. As far as I know, he was still in the long term ward at St. Mungo's during the final battle."

"And you did this to Draco?" Hermione wasn't sure what to think of that.

Harry sat forward, his hands clasped together, resting on his knees. He chose his words and phrasing carefully. "Hermione, when you kill a person, you are not just affecting your target's life. You are always going to affect others as well. Your target might have a wife, children, siblings. They will certainly have had parents, even if it is only for a few moments.

"But you also affect yourself. You make yourself something that a lot of people have trouble being around. A killer. Your friends and family will look at you and judge you. Even if they don't hate you or think you were wrong. It is a life changing event. I imagine there are a few events that are similar, such as a girl becoming a mother, someone getting married. These are things that change your image as seen by the rest of the world.

"If I had killed Draco, Narcissa, his mother, would have been heartbroken. The public would be outraged over the murder of a 'child', even though said 'child' was guilty of trying to murder another child.

"Draco Malfoy forfeited his right to live. He had proven himself a viable and persistent threat to the safety and freedom of innocent people.

"But, instead of removing his stain by cutting him out of the cloth of life… I bleached him. I reset him. He and his mother are living quite happily in France with the main line of the Malfoy family. I hear he is still a bit stuck up, but the head of the family is a good man who would happily tan the brat's hide if needed."

Hermione couldn't help the giggle. But then she grew melancholy and thoughtful.

"Death of a person or death of character." Harry said with a sad smile. "It's a lot to take in. Even harder to have to choose. If you want someone to talk to, I recommend Albus. He's familiar with these moral quagmires."