A/N: Wow! Sorry for the delay on chapter 4! I was in the process of writing it when I got an email telling me that the company I've worked for for nearly the past year is being sold! Yikes! So needless to say, that kind of killed my writing mood for a few days! But no worries, chapter 4 is now here in full! I also wanted to say that I really appreciate the feedback from those who have reviewed, as it means a lot. I'd also like to address the anon review from someone known only as "Goose". I was not "bashing characters". I explained in the description of the story that certain characters would act differently due to the ripple effect, and had you waited, it would have been explained in more detail in time. So please, in the future, don't flame me, bro. I would have explained this in a PM, but you were anon. Sorry/not sorry. Anyways, Chapter 4!

Infinite Crisis

Chapter 4: Trials and Truths

The week had passed by quickly, and Hogwarts was a buzz with anticipation for the tournament and the tests, with Ron Weasley at the peak. He'd continued to be a git for the rest of the week, whining every meal, but the tournament could change everything. With this, he could win back Harry's trust and push Gabriel aside, showing he was the worthier friend. Needless to say, the morning of the qualifying tests, Ron was the first awake, dressing himself and leaving without saying a word. Harry, Gabriel, Neville, Seamus, and Dean woke up later than usual, which was on time for once without Ron's snoring.

Harry stretched, enjoying the peace of a morning for once. "Morning everyone! Ready for the tests of skill and...ability? That was it, right?" He laughed, the others joining in. "I don't know that I want to win glory. I think I've had enough of that. What about you, Neville? Fancy a bit of glory?"

Neville shrugged, an unsure look on his face. "I suppose my gran would want me to, though I don't know if I'm qualified to be a champion."

"Neville, just do the best you can, mate. I'd say you've a better chance than Ron, as he seems a bit well...lazy to be honest." Gabriel said, stretching and placing a shirt over his head. "Let's each give it our all, and if we qualify, we enter. Agreed?"

Two voices spoke together as the door creaked open. "Couldn't agree with you more, young Quinn." Fred and George entered the room, each dressed casually, with clothes they could move around well enough in. "No sign of Ron? No wonder you all are still asleep! Come on though kiddies, we've got a quick breakfast before a morning of rigorous tests! Hundreds will enter, but three will compete!" Fred said, trying to imitate Dumbledore from the night of the announcement. The fourth years laughed, each getting dressed quickly.

"We'll meet you before the tests, Harry. Dean and I have to meet a couple of lovely young ladies for breakfast." Seamus said, grinning ear to ear. "Neville, care to tag along? They said they'd bring a friend if we did."

Neville blushed slightly. "I've actually got to meet with one of Ginny's friends this morning. She wanted to ask me a question about Herbology." He said, a grin on his face at the thought of his favorite subject.

"We'll see you all in a bit then! Come on Harry, Gabriel, Hermione and Ginny are already waiting downstairs!" George said, ushering the two boys out the door and down the stairs. "The fact that those two got ready before you two even woke up is almost embarrassing." George placed his arms over the shoulders of both Harry and Gabriel. "Besides, it's just ungentlemanly to make lovely ladies wait, right Freddie?"

Hermione and Ginny caught the last words, blushing slightly. Fred, catching on, laughed as the boys noticed the girls, joining in the embarrassment. "Okay you four, that's enough of that! Breakfast and infinite glory await! Onward and downward!" He led the charge down the stairs, the others laughing. Over the course of the week, the six had grown as friends, getting Gabriel up to speed on past adventures, as well as fully including the Weasley trio. Without Ron's overbearing presence, Ginny was actually able to talk to Harry, and even fluster the boy at times, something the young witch enjoyed immensely.

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After breakfast, the teachers ushered the students from the Great Hall, so that the proctors could set up their testing stations. The heads of house were present, asking younger students to either wait for their friends, or to simply go and enjoy the day while the older students were tested. McGonagall addressed her students, glancing at the fourth year students who decided to take the tests. "Why you all want to be in a deathtrap of a tournament at such a young age is beyond me, but the rules are clear. If anything, I hope that the older students will pass the trials, as they've had more time to learn. Nevertheless, I wish you all the best of luck." McGonagall's face was like stone, but expressed genuine concern and hope for the Gryffindors.

Professor Dumbledore exited the Great Hall, with Madame Maxine and Igor Karkaroff at either side. "Attention all students. In order to make this go smoothly, the Beauxbatons students will follow Madame Maxine to the courtyard for testing, and the Durmstrang students will go with Professor Karkaroff to the dungeons for testing. Students will be called into their testing areas, for Hogwarts students, four students from each house at a time. I wish you all the best of luck in these trials, and will announce the results tonight." Dumbledore headed off towards his office, with the other heads of schools leading their respective students to their assigned areas.

The Seventh year students were lead in first, one from each house, moving on to the Sixth years after about forty-five minutes. Fred went in first from the group, with the others wishing him good luck. He came back in no time, trademark grin on his face as George entered the hall. George exited in near the same way as his brother, only adding a bit of a skip to his step. After the Fifth years came and went, it was finally time for the Fourth year students. Hermione went in for Gryffindor, Malfoy for Slytherin, Hannah Abbot for Hufflepuff, and Michael Corner of Ravenclaw. After about five minutes, the four came out, Hermione looking slightly frazzled, Draco looking pompous, Hannah with a look of defeat, and Michael looking indifferent.

"Well, Hermione? How was it?" Harry asked, Gabriel listening in closely. "Any information you can pass along to help?"

Hermione shook her head. "We've been forbidden to explain anything the tests contain, to make sure that no one goes in fully prepared. Honestly, it was challenging to say the least. I haven't been this tired in months!" She said, yawning slightly.

As time went on, Neville, Seamus, and Dean all went through the tests, each looking exhausted by the time they came out. It came down to the final three students: Harry, Gabriel, and Ron. Professor McGonagall looked at the three, brow furrowed slightly. "Well, it seems that we didn't quite have the number of students we thought, so you three are going in together. The proctors have been notified of the change, so there shouldn't be any problems." With that, the doors opened, and the three stepped inside.

Upon entering, the doors slammed shut, and a wave of vertigo seemed to hit the three, hitting Gabriel the hardest, falling to the floor. "What IS this?! Leon!" He yelled, clutching his head. "Need a barrier from this!" Gabriel grabbed his 'wand', and it went from wandlike to full form instantly. A staff of orichalcum, gleaming with a blade at the tip formed in his hand, and he screamed, sending out a wave of magic, engulfing the three. Time seemed to stop, as the boys stood, Ron looking less angry than before.

"Harry? What's going on, mate? Last thing I remember was going to bed the night after the opening feast. What are we doing in here? Also, who the bloody hell is that?" Ron questioned his friend, pointing at Gabriel.

Harry looked at Gabriel in surprise, not expecting to see him kneeling with a spear, magic radiating off of it. "Gabriel, what did you do to us? Ron, you really don't remember anything from this week at all?"

"Not a thing. One minute I'm in bed, and then poof, I'm in here. Wait, I've been out of it for a week?" Ron's eyes widened, a look of dread on his face.

Gabriel propped himself up with the spear, looking slightly more drained than those who had exited the hall before. "I think something went wrong when we came in here. That kind of magic is dark, and I'm guessing that whoever set it up meant to attack me. I've repelled it, for now, but that doesn't explain Ron's turn around. Ron, what do you think of Harry having more friends?"

Ron looked at Gabriel, confused by his question. "Harry can be friends with whoever he wants? He gets enough of people telling him what to do with his relatives."

Harry cheered, grinning at his now returned best mate. "Nice to have you back with us, mate!" Harry put an arm around Ron's shoulder, Ron still confused. The bubble of magic started to disperse, the light fading.

Gabriel let out a slight cough. "Gents, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I can't keep this up forever. If you'd like to help, that would be great!" He slightly lost his balance, falling to his knees again as the barrier flickered in and out, shadowy figures clawing at the sides.

Ron rushed to his side, placing Gabriel's left arm over his shoulders to help him walk. "Harry, see what you can do about repelling those...things. I've got...Gabriel, right?" Ron gave him a slight grin, trying to extend a hand of friendship.

Gabriel looked at him weakly, seeing the genuine care in his eyes. "Gabriel Quinn, pleased to actually meet you, Ron." His knees buckled, but Ron kept him upright. "We need to get out of here!" The barrier flickered more and more, shadows slowly reaching through.

Harry, using the only spell that came to mind, screamed "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" conjuring his stag patronus, which charged at the shadows, surprisingly repelling them as Ron and Gabriel moved towards the door. Harry ran towards them, his patronus fighting against the creatures. The door was locked, and nothing seemed to move it, so Ron and Harry began to bang on it. "Help! Someone let us out!"

Gabriel turned his spear back into its miniature form, losing his balance slightly. He began to draw runes on the door in magic, glowing a fervent gold, the barrier nearly destroyed.

"Whatever you're doing mate, do it quick-gah!" Harry yelled as a shadow pierced his leg, blood dripping onto the floor. He fell to the ground in pain, and his patronus dissipated.

Ron looked on in horror as Harry lay bleeding on the ground, and yelled at the shadows, "EXPECTO PATRONUM YOU BASTARDS!" For the first time, a terrier burst from his wand, baring its teeth at the creatures. It leaped on the creature that stabbed Harry, tearing it off in one bite, and then charged at the other creatures. "Gabriel, I've got Harry, get the door open!"

Gabriel's eyes flashed gold and the runes burst into pure light, blinding the creatures. He pulled on one of the doors, and it opened just enough for the three to slip through into the entrance hall. The three fell forwards, their worlds going black.

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When Harry awoke, he was lying on a bed in the Hospital Wing, leg bandaged and sore. He reached for his glasses on the table next to him, wincing as he moved. He sat up slowly, looking around for his friends. Ron was on the bed across from him, asleep, but looked okay. Gabriel was nowhere to be found, but privacy curtains had been placed around a bed. "Ron, wake up." He said, looking over at Ron. "Ron!"

Ron awoke easily, stretching lightly, still feeling a bit weak. "Easy Harry, you're the second to wake up. I woke up yesterday, and was just getting some rest. It's late." He said, pointing at the windows. The moon was high in the sky, stars littering the night. "Hermione came by yesterday, and she was surprised to talk to me so casually. Harry, what happened to me?"

Harry sighed, looking at Ron with unease. "Ron, as soon as Gabriel got here, you became a complete prat. And I mean worse than Malfoy. An ass about everything, and you tried to control me. Hell, you even tried to hurt Gabriel, though it was prevented. I think it all has something to do with him, but I don't think he did it on purpose." He said, looking from Ron to the private area. "Is he in there?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, Madam Pomfrey put them up yesterday, as people kept coming to pester her about him. I really did that? Harry, Mate...I'm sorry. I really don't remember any of it." Ron looked down in shame.

A muffled sound came from behind the curtain, and it opened slowly. Gabriel stood, eyes bloodshot and hair a mess, looking at the two. "It wasn't your fault, Ron. It was mine, though not intentionally. You've had it the worst from my arrival, so I think you can know this, Harry as well." Gabriel grabbed his 'wand' off the table, allowing it to turn back into the spear. "I've not told you the whole truth. My name is Gabriel Quinn, and I'm not from here, from your world."

Ron's eyes widened at the boy, hand slowly reaching for his wand. "So if you're not from this world...are you from another planet or something?" He gulped nervously.

"I'm not an alien, if that's what you're asking. What I mean is I'm not from your...dimension? I mean I'm still from Earth, but perhaps a different Earth? I knew as soon as I woke up that something was wrong, as Hogwarts is supposed to just be a story that parents read to their kids about, not some real thing." Gabriel shook his head, trying to clear his mind.

Harry turned towards him, motioning for Ron to ease up. "Gabriel, how exactly did you get here if you're from another dimension?" Ron relaxed, standing from his bed and pulling a chair over.

"I was fighting someone, a man named Rex Leon, better known as the Witch Doctor. Where I come from, I'm a hero, and I fight alongside a team of other heroes in New Orleans, Louisiana. Leon and I were in a heated battle one night during a storm, each throwing our own magic as fast as we could. He uses voodoo and dark spirits, which conflict with my use of light magic, passed down in my family. As our magics collided, a bolt of lightning from the storm hit the building we were fighting on, sending us flying, and then I crashed down on the grounds. Next thing I knew, I was bound and being questioned by Dumbledore and Moody." Gabriel explained, sitting on the side of his bed.

Harry looked at Ron, who shrugged, before turning back to Gabriel. "That somewhat makes sense, though Hermione may understand the theory behind it a bit more, but that doesn't explain what happened to Ron."

Gabriel turned his head to Ron, spear sitting on his lap. "After the lightning hit and the magic exploded, I felt some kind of ripple go flying past me. I think some of the chaotic energies in the magic may have effected certain people in your world, Ron included. Ron...I'm sorry for basically messing with your brain, even if it was unintentional." He looked away in shame.

Ron stood, walking to Gabriel and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Mate, Harry told me what happened, and I'm sorry, even though I wasn't in control. You saved our skins back there, and I've no problem with you, even if I said I did when I didn't know what I was doing, if that makes sense."

Gabriel gave Ron a light grin, tired eyes looking at him happily. "Thanks Ron, it means a lot. Unfortunately I don't know who else was effected by the ripple, and it looks like Leon is here as well."

"This Leon, why does he fight you?" Harry asked, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, we've got dark wizards here too, but what exactly does he want?"

Gabriel looked down and picked up the spear. "Well, he wants me dead so he can claim this. The legendary Spear of Destiny, as passed down in my family. I guess you could say I'm one tenth demi-god."

"You're descended from a Celtic god? Now we've both had things happen that are only supposed to be in books." Ron said, eyes widened at the news. "So he wants you dead, I guess that's how he can use the Spear?"

Gabriel nodded, turning it back into wand form. "Yep. If I die, he gets the power of the Spear. I don't need it to use my magic, but it amplifies my power by quite a bit. It's bound to me and my magic, so until I'm vanquished, it's mine. At least that's what the lore tells me."

"What I'm wondering is how did Leon get into Hogwarts? The school's supposed to be protected from people like him." Ron's brows furrowed, trying to think of a way.

Harry looked at Ron and Gabriel, and shrugged. "He may have crashed somewhere on the grounds but wasn't seen. Though that wouldn't explain how he got into the Great Hall during the testing. You don't think he could be posing as a student or something, do you?"

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Far from Hogwarts, in the village of Little Hangleton, Rex Leon had found the dark power he was searching for. He entered a manor atop a hill, his dark spirits protecting him from any harm, guiding him to the source. As he reached the top of the stairs, a door opened, revealing a mouse-like man, and a creature that expelled only evil from its very being. "Ah, Mr. Leon, we've been expecting you." The creature said, allowing Leon into the room. Leon smirked a dark, toothy grin.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, my Lord."

A/N: Okay, so there you have it! Ron's back to normal! Hooray! Personally I have nothing against Ron, as he's one of my favorite characters in the HP universe, but he was on my list of characters who would be succeptible to the chaotic magic and its effects. He's done being an ass, so things will be a bit different in the chapters to come. On another note, how about Leon finding this "creature" (if it isn't obvious who it is, then go read Goblet of Fire...or any HP book ever).

Gabriel: You're rambling, again. Didn't we talk about this?

CC: Shut up! I explained your backstory this chapter! Be happy and let me ramble! Anyways, as usual, please review! Thanks so much everyone!