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Chapter Two

The Ring

Updated 3/21/2015

-o=o-

The spectators milling around the stands of Hogwarts Quidditch pitch were trying to find out what had happened to the last two contestants, Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter. They had been first into the maze, and now that the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions had been removed from the maze, they would be the last ones out.

Professors Dumbledore and Moody, both near the entrance where Harry and Cedric had entered the maze, were conferring quietly. "I am surprised it has taken this long," Dumbledore confided to the Defense professor. "Both young men have done quite well to this point."

"This isn't an easy task, Albus," Moody reminded him. "You saw what happened to the other two champions. We'll just have to wait until one of them shows up or we see red stars —"

Both men, and the crowd, looked up in surprise as two forms suddenly swooped down from the night sky on bright green brooms. It was Harry and Cedric, though as Harry landed his broom disappeared and he rushed over to grab the larger Hufflepuff as he began to slide off his broomstick.

"Help me!" Harry shouted. "It's Cedric! He's been killed!"

There was an immediate rush toward them as the judges took hold of Cedric's body. Harry stepped back, trying to get far enough away so he could reform his broom and find the man who'd owned the green ring now on his right hand, but he found he had backed directly into the arms of Professor Dumbledore.

"Harry, what happened?" Dumbledore asked, holding him by both arms.

"Professor, it was—" Harry pitched his voice to a whisper. "—it was Voldemort. He's back!"

"Back?" Moody, who was at Dumbledore's elbow, asked sharply. "Back how?"

"Wormtail brought him back!" Harry said excitedly. The whole thing seemed like a blur now. "They made a potion in a big cauldron, and they put stuff from his father's grave, and Wormtail's h-hand —" Harry shuddered, remembering the scream as Wormtail's hand fell into the cauldron "— and my — my blood." Harry held up his arm, showing his torn sleeve and the wound.

"How did Cedric die?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes flashing intently.

"Wormtail killed him," Harry gasped. "Killing Curse! Voldemort touched the Dark Mark on Wormtail's arm and it changed color! All of the Death Eaters began showing up!"

"Albus," Moody said in a low, fast voice. "Amos Diggory's coming this way. We need to stop him before he sees Cedric's body. I'll take Harry to the infirmary."

"No, I want Harry to remain here—"

"I can't," Harry said, backing away from Dumbledore. "I've got to go find someone. He's been hurt!"

"You can't leave, son," Moody told him. "You need medical care."

"I have to go!" Harry said loudly. "He needs help!"

"Who needs help?" Dumbledore asked.

"The man I got this from!" Harry held out his right hand, showing him the ring.

"CEDRIC!" Amos Diggory screamed as he dropped to his knees besides the body of his son.

"Go help Amos," Moody said to Dumbledore. "I'll get Harry some help."

But as Moody reached for him Harry pulled away. "There's a Death Eater at Hogwarts!" he said loudly, and for a moment there was silence as everyone stopped screaming or crying or shouting. A Death Eater? Here?

"Harry," Dumbledore's voice cut through the silence. "Who is the Death Eater?"

"It's — Karkaroff!" Harry said, looking around wildly for the man. "Where is he?" Without thinking he raised his right hand, willing the ring to find everyone there with a Dark Mark.

Green light flashed around — Alastor Moody.

Moody suddenly moved faster than it seemed possible — his wand was in his hand and he was shooting a curse at Dumbledore, who had moved with the same incredible speed to block it. Before Harry could form a hand of green light to grab the Defense professor, he was lying on the ground, unconscious.

Dumbledore stared down at the prostrate form, an expression of disgust on his face. But when he glanced at Harry his eyes were twinkling again. "Quite interesting, Harry. I should like to know more about that ring you possess. But first—" He pointed his wand at Moody. "Polyfluis Reverso!"

Moody's still form began to change, almost flowing like water. His features were becoming younger, his scars disappearing. The Eye popped out of his head, replaced with a real one, and rolled across the ground, still swiveling in all directions. His false leg came off with a clunk as a real leg grew back in its place. The grizzled mane of gray hair became shorter, turning straw colored.

"That's Barty Crouch!" Someone behind them said. Harry thought it was Professor McGonagall's voice.

"It is indeed," Dumbledore said softly. "Apparently he has been deceiving us all year about his true identity." Dumbledore did not look at all pleased as he said this.

Harry stared at the man he thought had been Moody all year. It was quite a shock, but there were more shocks to come— "There're all there in the graveyard," he said to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore, who was regarding Crouch with a bemused expression, replied distractedly. "Who are they, Harry?"

"Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

The Headmaster gave Harry a very odd look, as if he did not believe what he'd just heard. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, they're all still in that graveyard," Harry said, pointing in the direction he'd come from. "I left them there, all tied up."

"What nonsense is this?" Professor Snape, who'd arrived with Professor McGonagall and the other judges, snapped. "Do you expect us to believe you subdued the Dark Lord and all of his followers, Potter?"

"You can go check," Harry said, flatly. He didn't much care whether Snape believed him or not. "They may get away if you wait too long, though."

"Harry," Dumbledore was giving him another odd look. "Voldemort's father was buried in the Little Hangleton graveyard — that is quite some distance from here. You could not have flown here from there on a broom in less than an hour."

"Well, it wasn't a real broom, I guess," Harry said, with a shrug. "I kind of made it — with this." He held up his hand again. And that reminded him—

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said urgently. "I have to go. The owner of this ring is hurt — I have to find him and help him."

Dumbledore and Harry's eyes locked. Harry's expression was one of pleading — he had to find the ring's owner!

"Go," Dumbledore said, with a nod. "Return as quickly as you can, Harry, there are many questions still to be answered. And be careful."

Harry nodded. He stepped over the broom even as it formed in his hand, then shot off into the night.

-o=o-

The ring took him further northeast, over the North Sea, flying faster and faster until it seemed like he was traveling at hundreds of miles an hour, though he could didn't feel any wind trying to knock him off the broom. There seemed to be a greenish glow surrounding him — was that why he didn't feel like he was flying?

He looked down at the ring on his hand. "Ring? Are you keeping me from feeling any wind?"

AFFIRMATIVE, the ring answered in his head again, as it had before. WHILE YOU WEAR THE RING YOU ARE PROTECTED FROM EXTREMES OF COLD AND HEAT, AND PROVIDED WITH OXYGEN TO BREATH.

"How much further to — to the man who wore you before?"

SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES. WE WILL ARRIVE IN ONE HOUR UNLESS YOU AUTHORIZE SUPERSONIC SPEED WITHIN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.

"I think we should go faster," Harry said immediately. "Unless that's a problem?"

COMPENSATING FOR SUPERSONIC AIR DISTURBANCES. They seemed to gain speed quickly, and were suddenly over land, flying above hills and mountain.

Then, suddenly, their speed decreased to normal broom speeds, though Harry felt no deceleration. They were flying toward the side of a mountain, and Harry could make out a bit of green below him, barely visible in the night. He aimed his broom downward, and landed next to a man in a green and black uniform.

Or, what was left of him.

Harry had never seen a living human being as damaged as the man who lay on the ground in front of him. Both of his legs were missing above the knees, either sheared off or burned away by some unimaginable force. His left hand was gone; a blistered stump remained in its place, still smoldering. His face was burned and blistered — only one eye remained. His chest was slowly rising and falling, his breath wheezing painfully as he labored to keep breathing. It was an effort for Harry to keep looking at him, but he knelt down next to the man's head.

"Can — can you hear me?" Harry asked.

"Yes." The voice was barely a whisper. The one good eye opened, staring at Harry. "Am I on Earth?"

"Yes," Harry nodded. "What can I do? The ring brought me back to you."

"I sent it out to find someone worthy of wearing it," the man whispered. "Has it told you what it is?"

"Yes," Harry said. "But I don't really understand—"

"I don't have much time," the man interrupted him. "The ring will explain what you need to do. If you can't it will find someone to replace you."

Replace me to do what? Harry wanted to ask, but the man reached up with his one good hand, grasping Harry's arm.

"But you have to hurry! The one who did this to me is probably coming after me, to finish me. You have to be prepared for him! He is the most dangerous man in the universe, because my ring is nearly powerless against the ring he wields! It uses yellow light, beware its power! He…is…" the man's hand slipped from Harry's arm as he fell unconscious.

Oh no, Harry thought. Is he…dead?

Green light flashed from Harry's ring, bathing the man's body. In his head, the ring began speaking.

PULSE IS 45 BEATS PER MINUTE, the ring told him. BLOOD PRESSURE IS 80 OVER 40 AND DROPPING. SUBJECT HAS LAPSED INTO COMA. PROGNOSIS IS EXPIRATION WITHIN 10 MINUTES FROM INJURIES SUSTAINED UNLESS MEDICAL CARE IS RENDERED.

"No!" Harry shouted. "If we can get him back to Hogwarts Madame Pomfrey can help him!"

HIGH-SPEED FLIGHT, EVEN IN PROTECTED MODE, WILL INCREASE STRESS TO HIS BODY, LOWERING HIS CHANCES OF REACHING DESTINATION HOGWARTS ALIVE TO 10 PERCENT. SUGGEST ALTERNATE DESTINATION.

"There is no alternate destination!" Harry said frantically. "Ring, can't you do something to help him!?"

I CAN PROVIDE TEMPORARY ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION AND HALT THE BLEEDING, BUT I CANNOT REPLACE MISSING LIMBS OR ORGANS. SOLID LIGHT CONSTRUCTS ARE NOT PERMANENT, THEY ARE MAINTAINED BY WEARER'S WILLPOWER.

"Well, help him, then!" Harry ordered. "I will it!" Green light spread across the man's body, forming a shell around his chest and at the ends of his legs and his left arm. A few seconds later, the ring reported, PULSE HAS RISEN TO 55, BLOOD PRESSURE IS NOW 90 OVER 60 AND STABLE. THIS CONDITION WILL LAST FOR 15 MINUTES BEFORE THE SUBJECT BEGINS TO DETERIORATE AGAIN. SUBJECT WILL NOW EXPIRE IN NOT LESS THAN 20 MINUTES.

"Can we get him to Hogwarts in 20 minutes?"

AT MAXIMUM SAFE SPEED, ETA TO LOCATION HOGWARTS IS 21 MINUTES, 30 SECONDS.

"Damn it!" Harry cursed. But it was better than nothing, he had to at least try. "Okay, let's get going—"

There was a bright flash of light nearby. Startled, Harry fell back on his bottom, shielding his eyes. Was the person the man had warned him about attacking already? Could the ring keep the man alive and protect Harry at the same time? Harry raised his hand toward where the light had come from and called out, "Who's there?!"

"Who the heck are you?" A female voice replied. The person who stepped forward wasn't Harry's idea of someone who would have attacked the man who lay in front of him. She was a young teenage girl, blonde, in a black and yellow uniform.

Black and yellow! Could this form be a trick? "Stop!" he told the girl, pointing his ring at her.

"Cool it, man," the girl told him, putting her hands up in front of her. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Where am I?"

Harry didn't lower the ring. "We're somewhere in Scandinavia," he said, cautiously.

"What year is it?" the girl asked.

What? First this guy didn't know what planet he was on, now this girl doesn't know what year it is! "It's 1995," Harry said. "June 21st, the summer solstice, though it's probably the 22nd by now."

"Good," she nodded. "I hit the right date." She put her hands down. "Look, I'm Illyana Rasputin. What I'm doing here is a little complicated, but I don't have any intention of hurting you, so you can point your shiny little ring somewhere else, okay?"

"Um—" Despite the strangeness of the situation, something about the girl made Harry both comfortable and suspicious of her. He decided he could trust the comfortable feeling more than the suspicious part. "Er, okay," he said, lowering his ring, though he maintained the objects sustaining the man's pulse and blood pressure.

"So what's up with this guy —" Illyana stopped as she saw the extent of his injuries. "Ouch. Don't you think you should get him to a hospital or something?"

"That was my plan," Harry said shortly. "You appeared just as I was about to leave. I just hope I can get him there in time now." Harry stood, preparing to order the ring to return them to Hogwarts.

"Maybe I can help," the girl said, taking a step toward them. "I can get you wherever you need to go in an instant if you can show me where it is."

Harry stared at her a long moment. How could he show her Hogwarts? The ring, of course! "It looks like this," he said, willing the ring to generate a three-dimensional image of the castle. It rose up from the ground nearby, showing the towers and nearby grounds, including the greenhouses, Hagrid's hut and the Quidditch pitch. "The real thing is in Scotland," Harry said. "Its exact location is, um, sort of a secret — I can't tell you exactly where it's at."

"Not a problem," Illyana said, stepping between Harry and the injured man on the ground. "Scotland's not that far from Scandinavia — it should be a snap to 'port there."

"Wait," Harry said, "what do you mean by 'port'—"

A circle of white light appeared beneath them, and the three of them vanished in a flash of white light.

High above where they had been, a tall man, slender but powerfully built, stared down at the place where they had just disappeared. He had just arrived on this flyspeck of a world to deliver the final blow against his hated enemy, only to see him spirited away by a scrawny young boy and a mere slip of a girl. His red-hued features contorted in a grimace as he realized his goal of death for the Green Lantern was thwarted.

But only momentarily. He would find the green energy ring, wherever on this world it had gone, and would destroy both the man and his two minions, showing the universe the superiority of his weapon over those of the living fossils who infested Oa. With a burst of yellow light the red-skinned man leapt into the night sky and sped away.

-=o=-

A/N: In this chapter we're introduced to Illyana Rasputin, from the Marvel Universe(s). How did she end up in Scandinavia at the same time as Harry and Hal? Only time (and perhaps the next chapter) will tell. We also get a glimpse of the man who maimed Hal. Can you guess who it is? I knew you could! At least one reviewer thought Sinestro and Voldemort ought to team up, with Voldie joining the Sinestro Corps. I can't argue that Voldemort wouldn't be interested in wielding such power, but I'm not sure the Sinestro Corps had been formed by this time in Hal and Sinny's history. In the comics continuity Coast City was destroyed in 1993, driving Hal insane, but in this AU crossover I will assume that did not occur and that Hal and the entire Green Lantern Corps are still intact.