Harry Potter and the Train to Nowhere

by Joshua The Evil Guy

Harry Potter, the Chosen One, dies. He took one of the trains in the dream with Dumbledore instead of going back, where all his close friends and Ginny had already been killed. The train takes him to... an arcade?

4. Level Four: The Train

Level Four: "The Train"

*New Objectives!

"Finally!" Harry muttered as he woke up in his bedroom, formerly Dudley's ex-second bedroom/broken toy room. "It's been taking me forever to level up as it is!"

It had been an interesting summer for Harry since he'd finally gotten out of the loop of letting his letter be taken from him. Unfortunately, almost by default, he'd entered into a new loop of sorts. He was grateful he'd saved when he did, because he very quickly ran into a whole new slew of challenges from the Game. For starters, the part of the Pause menu called 'Challenges'? He'd found out what they were the hard way.

That was skipping ahead a bit though. Because the last time he had an easy level up was on that first day Hagrid took him to Diagon Alley! Apparently the most experience he could gain from the Game was by completing that day's Objectives, a guaranteed 100 EXP! And considering that each level up only cost 100 EXP, that right there was an instant Level Up right there!

He expected it to raise a bit more between each higher level, but it never did. Then he came across something that explained it and he didn't feel like changing it up right then. In short, he was playing the Game in Easy Mode right now. Hard Mode would have made it by like a 1000 EXP between levels, and then there was something called Real Mode. He didn't want to have to deal with that any time soon. Not until he had this figured out a bit better.

Anyway, the loop he'd been stuck in, apparently each and every single day had an 'Objective' that needed to be completed, and if it wasn't well it was the same as dying. After that first day, he'd woken up and just done whatever, played with Hedwig and Midnight a bit, and then got called a Game Over and found himself back in Diagon Alley, leaving Ollivander's shop!

At first he'd had no clue as to what had happened and just gone with it, expecting to have to go through the same Quests as he'd already completed. And while those Quests were still there... they granted him no EXP because he'd already completed them! He got the same, and sometimes different Items and whatnot, but no extra EXP! What a jip!

The next day, started the same, but knowing he was missing something, he paid close attention for any Quests or other things that he might have missed that day. Well, apparently he had missed some, as he discovered there were Hidden Secrets at the Dursley's same as with Mrs. Figg's and Diagon Alley. He still got a Game Over that night and had to start back in Diagon Alley. By that point, he'd gotten very familiar with each of the Quests and finished them in record time, and even discovered a larger number of the Hidden Secrets there in the Alley (even now on September 1st he'd only uncovered just under fifty of them!). He went to bed, and woke up the next morning.

Knowing for certain that he'd missed something obvious, he finally checked the Objectives for the day. And found "- Complete at least (1) Challenge!" there. Challenges, he very quickly discovered after that, were obscure mechanics that were similar to "Achievements" he remembered seeing for some of the games Dudley played on the XBox he'd gotten for the summer between his Fifth and Sixth years.

A prime example, that first Challenge he'd chosen to compete in; "Complete 5 Jobs in one day."

Jobs, as it turns out, are mini-Quests that pay money and Items, but EXP in the single digits. The most he'd ever gotten for completing a Job was 5 EXP, and it was the hardest of them all! At least around Privet Drive, which was the only area he could access at the moment. Even though he had a wand, he was clearly underage and the Knight Bus stopped showing up if he tried to summon them more than once a day.

As far as actual progress went, well, he did managed to get to Level 10 by September 1st, but that seemed to be by design, rather than hard work. As in, he'd only just gotten to Level 10 the day before by completing that day's Objective, which only gave 5 EXP, and finally finding the last of the Secret Areas around Privet Drive and all the Hidden Secrets in all of them. While Diagon Alley held over 20 different Quests for a number of different Quest Holders, completing all of them left him at Level 7 and as previously stated, they did not award EXP after the first time. Although he did have a lot of stuff and discovered some new Creation Stations, (besides Clothing and Potion, there were also Forges and Alchemy stations, and rumors of an Enchanting Station but nobody knew where), and gotten access to *two* additional Vaults by completing Griphook's Quest, (turns out the Key was just misplaced and by 'returning' it, he also got access to the Potter Family Vault), not to mention all the little trinkets, and ingredients and Key Items other Quests netted him. After going through every single one of them four times in a row though, it had gotten rather old.

He'd also filled his Spell Limit to capacity. Super annoying, having to limit, equip and unequip his spells like that, but at least the limit was 'twice whatever current level is', so now being Level 10 he could have 20 spells equipped at a time. That he knew 25 spells meant he had some in reserve. Besides, some of them, Thieves Hand and Fruit Stealer, were really only useful for the Quests that he learned them from in the first place and he didn't mind unequipping once he'd gotten their use form them.

He did find lots more Skill Points hidden all over the place, and discovered he was awarded a Skill Point every fifth level (Levels 5 and 10). He now had quite a few abilities, and his Familiar Skill was at the highest level it could be. Apparently doing this before Hogwarts had Unlocked something, but he hadn't been able to find out what specifically. Also, by choosing the Abilities for that 'Creature Path' (Do Little, Do More, Do Most, and Do Everything), it automatically gave him a 'Title' and an extra Ability on top of it, called Creature Bond, which in addition to letting him equip as many Familiars as he had (the Do Everything Ability), let him claim non-standard creatures as Familiars, such as dragons and phoenixes, but also animals that were not magical at all like birds and snakes. The Ability also claimed that at its highest level it would also let him claim sentient creatures as Familiars. Harry imagined that meant things like centaurs or merpeople, but at the same time a tiny voice whispered in the back of his mind that witches and wizards also, technically, counted as magical creatures.

The Title thing, that had thrown him for a loop the first time it came up. Turns out, even as he'd started at Level 1, he'd already had a number of them. Near as he could tell, the whole Title thing was sort of like one big resume, and some Titles allowed him to acquire certain Skills and Abilities, and there were some Jobs and even Quests that required he have a specific Title before allowing him to even attempt them. Thing is, he didn't know whether he did or didn't have a Title until either a conflict or opportunity came up regarding it.

He'd finally taken a look at his Grimoire and found his complete list of Titles, which were; Player, Potter Heir, Black Heir, Boy-Who-Lived, Chosen One, (here is where he'd started to acquire new Titles by playing), Hogwarts Student, Explorer 4(by finding all the Hidden Secrets of the number of Locations fully searched), Vault Owner 3, Wizard (by having a wand), Zookeeper (the title earned from fully developing the Familiar Skill), Volunteer, Challenger, and Potion Maker. On that last one, he got it after he managed to successfully brew a single potion. He couldn't help it, it was one of the Challenges and the stupid Objective thing had him taking on at least one challenge a day for the entire month and a half he'd been waiting for this day!

Which was why he was so relieved, because finally he had more than one Objective. Before, the Alert had been "New Objective", now it was saying "New Objectives"! Which meant there was greater opportunity for leveling up. That it came on September First wasn't much of a surprise to him.

Last new development was the whole Trunk thing. That was, in addition to being where he could equip and unequip everything not a Spell, where he could Save the Game. It also advertized that he could switch out Unlocked Avatars with it, but seeing as he had yet to do anything like that, he hadn't been able to try that yet. Still, it was surprising when he got home from Questing that first evening and opened up his Trunk to see a whole slew of Screens popping up one after the other.

Yawning, he got out of bed and stepped over to aforementioned Trunk and kicked it open.

*TRUNK*

INVENTORY , BANK , EQUIPMENT , SKILLS & ABILITIES , FEATURES

"Equipment," he selected. Instantly, the screen displayed inside the trunk changed to a list of his equipable items and their status. He changed from his 'Comfy Pajamas' to his standard loadout. The pajamas had actually been one of those item rewards he got for some quest or another. He didn't really remember.

Right now, he was equipping pretty much the same loadout he had that first day, besides his Advanced Mokeskin Utility Belt, Fully Upgraded Omnilens, Super Stealth Shoes, Defense Ring, Band of Attack, Waterbreathing Amulet, and Jumping Jockstrap that is. Well, he was still wearing the Chameleon Suit anyway!

Between the cash rewards, and the fact that technically he didn't really run out of money with three Vaults to call upon, he went ahead and upgraded his items the moment he was of the minimum level to do so. This was actually his fourth utility belt, and the most useful by and far. The rest, well besides the Shoes, the rest were actually rewards from various Quests, as previously stated. The jewelry all came from Diagon Alley Quests, but ironically his underwear, (lets be honest, that is exactly what it is), which also increased his jumping and running ability by a factor of three, was actually acquired from one of the Quests he'd stumbled upon here on Privet Drive, and not from Mrs. Figg either!

That surprise aside, they all did pretty much what it sounded like. The ring, which was just a simple silver band with a green jewel on it that matched his eyes, boosted his Defense Rating by 15%. The band, which he wore on his wand hand, looked like a simple bronze bracelet, minus the fact that it was skintight, had no clasp to open or close it with, and was the most comfortable thing he'd ever worn on his wrists before that is, it also boosted his Attack Rating by 25% when using attack spells, and 10% when attacking physically made it pretty worth it. The only thing the Amulet did, and he had tested it, was let him breath and swim underwater like he'd eated Gillyweed... just without the transformation or the flippers and the gills and the actually eating Gillyweed part.

His Omnilens, which is where most of his money had gone this summer, had been fully upgraded to everything available and on the market. Additional upgrades were promised for sometime around the New Year, but already there were so many awesome features that he couldn't help grinning uncontrollably everytime he thought about them. There were seven 'upgrades' possible to his Omnilens, so unfortunately if he ever wanted to get a new upgrade at some point, he would have to switch out one of his current ones, or get a brand new set of Omnilens. He'd gotten the ones called; Scope, Scouter, Target, Thermal, Rec/Play, X-Ray, and Booster.

The Scope and Scouter options came with the model that he'd chosen and allowed him telescopic and microscopic views to his already perfect vision, while the Scouter did something much more useful. It had taken him a while to get used to it after that first time, which was a surprise, but basically the Scouter function analyzed who or whatever he was looking at and gave him the same basic stats that the Game showed for him when leveling up. It worked just fine for most wizards and witches and animals, even his Familiars. A couple, however, such as Ollivander, the Level was obscured or unknown and a couple other stats were likewise hidden from it. He was sure that future upgrades would overcome such weaknesses.

The Target upgrade was just as if not more useful, as it basically allow him to lock on to a target and visually confirm that it would be hit, or whatever. There were plenty of times where Harry cast a spell intending to hit something, only for either his aim to be off or the target to move at the last second. The Target feature completely removed that possibility from happening. At least it had so far. Harry was a lot more confident about his dueling abilities after this. Too bad his First Year didn't have much dueling in it.

Rec/Play actually stood for Record and Replay, the same feature as what was put into the Omniculars Harry remembered having for the Quidditch World Cup. Worked much the same way, only it was controlled by voice commands instead of knobs and switches on the sides. Harry expected he would find a number of uses for it soon enough.

Thermal and X-Ray were the really expensive upgrades that he'd had to save up for by completing Quests and lots of Jobs before getting. Thermal was Level resctricted to Level 7, and as previously noted, X-Ray was restricted to Level 10 or above. So while he'd only had it for a day, he'd started using it immediately of course. Thermal was exactly that, it let him see sources of heat as different colors than the surrounding air, and living creatues were more distinct than most. He could only really imagine using it when Dementers were in the area as determining what areas not to go near, but already he'd used the feature on a few Jobs and at least one Quest where it was all but invaluable. X-Ray... was not what he'd thought it was. Instead of seeing through clothes, he just plain saw through everything. So it wasn't people going around naked, but a bunch of walking blue skeletons and see-through walls. It would help him with the whole Stealth thing he was going on, staying hidden while seeing exactly who and what was nearby so he could better avoid them.

For now though, he used it sparingly, no real use at the moment.

The final upgrade was called Booster. Harry had only activated that feature once, just to see what it did. He was not disappointed, and glad he'd spent the money on it, despite it being the most expensive thing he'd bought in the Game so far. Even more than the Omnilens themselves cost. All it did, basically, was by draining his MP, every single other feature and upgrade of his Omnilens were increased to unbelievable levels.

Scope went from cheap store bought telescope and microscope ranges, to ultra classified Top Secret Military grade Space Telescopes and Electron Microscopes. Scouter, well... Ollivander was Level 212, and 5913 EXP points from the next level up. Target at the regular level only let him light up one target at a time. Boosted, it let him select multiple targets, choose the order, the spell, the intensity, and the speed at which they were taken down. Thermal let him see the surface temperature of everything he could see with Scope down to the point hundredth degree of whatever scale he wanted to use (he'd currently set it to use Kelvin, a bit more accurate than the others he decided). X-Ray, still didn't let him see the flesh on those blue bones, but he had previously noted that there were one or two places that he couldn't see through, which was how he'd discovered the last few Secrets around Privet Drive and Diagon Alley as Boosting let him see through everything! He hadn't tried anything with the Rec/Play with Booster yet, not much point.

After squaring away his Equipment, he checked the Skills & Abilities and switched out a couple other spells and read through his Abilities list one final time. Natural Flying Talent, Parselmouth, Creature Bond, Omnilens(+), Waterbreathing, Run/Jump(+), Disguise, 'Hidden In Plain Sight', Green Thumb, 'Felix's Cousin', Monster Finder, Rune Reader, and Hero Mode.

Thankfully there was no upper limit on Abilities or Skills, like there were with Spells. Albeit, the Skills were pretty basic, and most of those Abilities he was looking at that didn't come from his Equipment, were either passive in nature, or so specific to a purpose that they were useless in absolutely every other situation!

The only ones that actually let him do extra stuff was the Omnilens, Run/Jump, Hidden In Plain Sight, and Hero Mode. Parselmouth, Waterbreathing, Green Thumb, and Rune Reader were the ones that were specific but otherwise useless; talking to snakes pretty useless with no snakes around, only mattered when underwater, only mattered when dealing with plants (but he'd gotten it so he would have less to worry about from Herbology this time around), and the last one let him read and understand runes, and not everything is written in runes.

The rest were all passive in nature, giving him a boost to his stats or having some effect going full time that he had absolutely no control over. Creature Bond, awesome as it was to be able to have as many Familiars as he wanted plus some, only mattered when it came to his Familiars. So, useful, but passive and always active and not really letting him 'do' much. Disguise boosted his Stealth by 10 points and for every level he gave it, that boosted it another 10 points on top of it. He'd been hoping that it would have allowed him to find ways of hiding his scar or disguising who he was when he got it, but no all it did was boost his Stealth. Felix's Cousin, did the same thing with his Luck. But then he'd known that going in for that Ability. Heaven knows he needs all the luck he can get, and hey, once he levels up that ability, it promises an opportunity to upgrade to a new ability called 'Felix's Brother', boosting his luck even more. Last of the passives was Monster Finder, and besides the cool name, all it did was make "monster encounters more frequent by 10%" which he figured meant more fighting which he wanted if only for the EXP gaining opportunities.

Closing it down, he shut the Trunk and then gestured to Hedwig and Midnight. Still his only two Familiars, but not for lack of looking. He picked up his Trunk, grateful for the Featherlight charms placed on it and made his way down stairs. He would have been worried about needing animal carriers for his Familiars, but earlier explorations had demonstrated that while he could level up and gain new Abilities and Skills, now so too could his Familiars, and one Quest around Privet Drive had enabled the both of them to acquire an Ability that let them stay with him no matter where he went and nobody and nothing could stop them.

"Leaving for school now, probably be back next June," Harry called to his relatives as he left through the front door. He heard no response beyond a disinterest grunt from Vernon in his recliner. He stepped to the street and raised his wand.

*Knight Bus Summoned*

What Is Your Destination?

Privet Drive (Home)

Diagon Alley

Kings Cross Station (Hogwarts Express)

"Kings Cross Station," Harry selected even as he stepped on board the purple triple decker bus, which had appeared at the same moment as the screen for it had. "Hogwarts Express. Skip!"

That was the most awesome part of this, Harry decided as his final word had interrupted Stan as he began his usual spiel. While time still, technically, passed, to him it was only moments of walking onto the bus and sitting down, before the ride was over and he was stepping off in front of London's most well-known train station.

"All right then, here we go," he said to his Familiars and proceeded to the Platform.

*KINGS CROSS STATION*

*New Location Discovered*

"Kings Cross Station: Kings Cross is an Open Area where it is possible to access and get travel to any other Major Area in the British Isles (Country Area). There are also nearly hundreds of other Non-Magical Open Areas that can be accessed from here, in addition to the two Magical Open Areas; Platform 9 3/4, and Hogwarts. There are (500) Hidden Items/Secrets. Discover them all for extra Rewards!"

Harry gaped. "Five hundr— wait, Non-Magical Open Areas?! Sonuva—!" Harry was cursing himself out for missing the obvious now that it was staring him in the face. He ignored Hedwig and Midnight's amusement at his impotent anger. Then he realized that he'd forgotten something important. Stopping when he got to the pillar between Platforms 9 and 10 where the portal was, he sat his Trunk down and said, "Pause! Objectives!"

*Objectives*

- Complete 1 New Challenge

COMPLETE - Locate Kings Cross Station

- Locate Platform 9 3/4

- Board Hogwarts Express

- Complete Quest: "Are you really?"

- Complete Quest: "Leaping Longbottoms!"

- Locate Hogwarts

- Complete Quest: "The Wrong Sort"

- Complete Tutorial

"Aw hell," he grumbled. "Done. Challenges!"

*You have a New Challenge!*

(NEW) Challenge: Helpful Heathen - "Help at least one fellow witch or wizard onto the Platform."

Would you like to accept the Challenge?

YES/NO

"Well at least it's not a bunch of jobs within a time limit," he grunted. "Yes." A clock appeared at the top of his vision and remained there no matter where or what he looked at. "Me and my big mouth. Hedwig, find Hermione, let me know the moment you've found her. Midnight, track. Find any muggleborn wizards in the station and then tell me where. Go."

Hedwig bobbed her head once and then faded from view, becoming a ghost of an owl, at least to Harry's eyes, while he knew she was completely invisible to everyone else. Midnight, on the other hand, just sort of melded in with the background and surroundings before disappearing into a see of unmoving legs. Harry loved his Familiars. He looked forward to adding to their ranks.

Giving his Familiars time to complete their own tasks, Harry left the world on pause and went back to the Objectives screen. The Quests being objectives concerned him somewhat, simply because they had never been a part of them before. The Objectives had been and were only (as far as he knew) for progressing the Game along a similar path his life had taken originally, while allowing him to avoid some of those things he'd regretted most, such as being unable to keep his first Hogwarts letter, and wasting time between his birthday and September 1st when he could have been studying and preparing and such things like that. The simple and obvious answer was that those listed Quests were somehow vital to progressing the Game, but he couldn't see how at this point.

Unfortunately, until he'd either accepted or at the least encountered a Quest, he had no way of accessing any information about it. Once he had though, then he could look in his Grimoire for all sorts of useful information about it. He stopped and considered that for a moment. Could having them listed as Objectives count as 'encountering' them?

Looking at the Quest titles again, he could certainly make some guesses as to what they might be or might involve. 'Are you really?' was the first thing Hermione said to him after he'd introduced himself, so safe bet it first of all had something to do with Hermione, and secondly had to do with him announcing himself as Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. 'Leaping Longbottoms', could be almost anything, but knowing what he did about Neville, he was almost 100% positive it had to do with finding the absentminded boy's toad, Trevor. 'The Wrong Sort' though, that was a bit misleading. For one thing, that was something Malfoy had said to him the first time they'd met, but at the same time it might be referring to the Sorting Hat. Then there was the fact that it came after the Objective for locating Hogwarts. No way to be certain on that.

Midnight returned and indicated he'd found something useful. Harry, noting the clock hadn't yet started since he was still on Pause, kept things paused and followed the kneazle through the frozen crowd of people. He picked up some Skill Points they came across along the way, and even had to go through a Secret Area, which held a treasure chest, a bag of gold, and another three Skill Points. Eventually they came to a girl his age and her parents, lugging along her trunk and other things on a trolley. Midnight stopped and meowed at him.

"Good job, Midnight," he knelt and rubbed the kneazle's head, pulling a treat (+1 Intelligence) and feeding it to his Familiar. "Go back and guard the Trunk, would you? If Hedwig is there, tell her to wait and I'll be there soon. Go." The kneazle went.

Taking a closer look at the young witch, Harry quickly realized that—he did not recognize her! She was 11 years old, a couple inches shorter than him, shoulder length straight red hair and pale white skin with leaf green eyes. Stepping behind them, so he wouldn't just appear out of nowhere, he Started the world back up and then raced to catch up to them as the three of them were moving at a rather quick pace. They were already on Platform 10 by the time he caught up with them.

"It makes no logical sense," the mother was saying to the father. "There should be signs at the least, or an attendant to assist newcomers. I'm starting to have second thoughts about this as it is."

"And what part of a Scottish woman in antiquated attire appearing out of nowhere and defying multple laws of physics indicate that these... people are logical in any way?" the father replied.

"That would be Professor McGonagall, correct?" Harry interrupted them when he saw the girl getting a panicked look on her face, wringing her hands.

"Yes, I'm sorry, who are you?" the mother snapped, her tone harsh but clearly that was from her curiosity than any sort of anger. Harry was familiar with Hermione's own curiosity getting the better of her empathy, so he didn't take it personally. He did feel some sympathy for the girl though, having to grow up with it.

"Harry Potter, First Year student to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Need help getting onto the Platform?" he offered.

"If you are also a First Year student, how do you know how to get onto this mysterious platform? And where are your parents?" she snapped.

Harry blinked and reexamined his opinion of the woman, while feeling a greater amount of sympathy for the mystery girl. "The whole Statute of Secrecy was explained to you, right?" he confirmed, worried.

"Hn," the woman sniffed and rolled her eyes. Rolling his own eyes at his wife's actions, the father stepped forward and smiled neutrally as he said, "Yes, it was. We have some... difference of opinion in that regard, but our Willow here wants to give this a try, and we did promise her that she could try it for one year."

"Fair enough, I suppose," Harry said just as neutral. "American then? It'll be quite a commute, but well worth it, or so I hear. As for the Platform, it's hidden for a reason. I can show you, if you'd like, or you could ask the constable over there and make fools of yourselves. I found it just a few minutes ago myself and in realizing the trouble I had with it, I figured there would be other new students having the same trouble. I took it upon myself to do my civic duty and help those that I could."

"Very well then, lead the way, young man," the father smiled more genuinely and they followed him back to the pillar where his trunk still sat.

"Oh wow, you got a trunk too, and look there's a kitty on it, he's a big kitty, I don't recognize the breed, is he a magic cat, how did you find the way onto the platform, how are we getting to Hogwarts, do you know much magic, my name is Willow, by the way, Willow Rosenberg," the redhead said all in one breath.

"Midnight is a kneazle, a magical creature, not necessarily your standard cat," he said more slowly, and quiet enough that they would not be easily overheard. "And hello, Willow. My name is Harry, Harry Potter. Please call me Harry. Now, the trick is, you have to go through this side of the pillar here. Might help if you built up a bit of a run and closed your eyes. And apparently if your parents want to get on the Platform with you, they have to be holding onto you directly when you go through, otherwise the portal won't let them in."

"That is absurd! This is some kind of prank to humiliate my daughter!" the mother screamed at him. Thankfully it was mostly covered up by the raw noise of the two platforms they stood between.

The father knelt down and said to Willow, "Dear, what kitty are you talking about? There's no kitty, and even if there was, animals are not allowed outside of their carriers."

Harry sighed and tried very hard not to roll his eyes. He failed. Turning to his Familiar, he nodded and said, "Midnight?"

"Meow," the kneazle gave its version of a shrug and became visible to the two muggle parents.

"What—but—there wasn't—how?" the father stuttered, staring in awe as the cat seemingly appeared out of thin air to his eyes.

"Illusion," the mother stubbornly refused to believe.

"Of course students are allowed onto the Platform on their own, nothing stopping them certainly," Harry winked at the redhead. She smiled and giggled.

"Hoo!"

Harry looked up and held out his arm. Hedwig landed and made herself visible once more, startling Willow, but not her parents. Gotta love magical animals. Getting an impression of direction from his owl, he nodded his thanks and smiled back at Willow and her family, while simultaneously giving Midnight permission to go Unnoticed once more.

"I'll be right back, wait here for just one moment please?" he asked and then turned and walked away. He followed the sense of directional impression Hedwig had left him with and soon found himself meeting his friend for the first time.

"Hi there," he smiled and greeted Hermione and her parents. "Need help getting onto the Platform?"

*PLATFORM NINE AND THREE QUARTERS*

*New Location Discovered*

It had taken more cajoling than it really should have, but within five minutes of allowing the clock to start, Harry had completed the Challenge and helped two people onto the Platform. He got some money and experience for it, mostly because he'd 'found' the Platform actually, stupid Open Area had another 100 Hidden Secrets—not counting the 500 of Kings Cross in general! Even more important, he'd completed three more of his Objectives. The Quest "Are You Really?" was given the moment he entered Platform 9 3/4, and all it was, was that he had to introduce himself as Harry Potter to three or more people and accept whatever Quests they offered. Apparently the girls parents counted as 'people' in this case and the only Quests the two offered in return was that they sit in the same compartment, which he did.

Only thing left to do was to Board the Hogwarts Express and find Neville to complete the Quest "Leaping Longbottoms". After that, the rest had to be done at Hogwarts itself. So, in the remaining time he had, Harry decided to do some exploring on the Platform, maybe squeeze in another few Quests and get as much EXP and Rewards as he could.

Turns out he could actually leave the Platform back to Kings Cross, and the best part was that he could Pause and still go between Areas and it would still be Paused, meaning that instead of wasting his time walking around looking for things to do, he could Pause, find those things, do them and get the Rewards, then Pause again in order to find something else to do. Whats more, turns out that either there were supposed to be a LOT more students in his Year, or the Game had changed things WAY more than he could have expected.

Harry found another *DOZEN* muggleborn First Years wandering the Station, looking for Platform 9 3/4. The first time Midnight had found the next muggleborn, Harry double-checked the listed Challenges, and sure enough there was an untimed Challenge for getting 10 or more muggleborn students onto the Platform. It gave him a lot more Stat Bonuses and each of them that he helped gave him a cool and useful item. Besides Willow, there was another American, a boy calling himself Xander that was looking for her rather than the Platform itself. About half of the rest of them were also American, and the rest at least European. There were the weird sisters who clamed to be from the Blackrose Coven, named Tarot and Raven respectively. There was a blonde by the name Sabrina Spellman, very perky, and her Familiar, named Salem, which could speak English. Then there was the girl whose father was extremely strict and dressed in a tuxedo and top hat, her name was Zatanna Zatara. She gave him a bowtie. The rest, in order, were Rose Tyler, Amelia Pond, Rory Williams, Viktor von Doom, Wednesday Adams, and Nanoha Takamachi. Wednesday might have actually been American, but her accent was so plain and monotone, nobody could say for sure.

In addition to playing Recruiter, (his new Title for completing the Challenge about getting at least 10 people onto the Platform), there were seven individual Quests, small things really, on the Platform, and a solid 20 Quest holders in Kings Cross, each with at least one extra Quest. Between all that and completing half his Objectives, he managed to Level up before so much as setting foot on the train. More than once too!

(Harry James Potter) Level:

Level 12 (1125)

Health (HP): 315 (+30 Familiar) (+33 Familiar)

Magic (MP): 333 (+40 Familiar) (+50 Familiar)

Stamina: 308 (+3 Utility Belt)

Charisma: 25 (+1 Chameleon Suit) (+6 Familiar)

Stealth: 61 (+7 Familiar) (+1 Chameleon Suit) (+25 Super Stealth Shoes)

Intelligence: 39 (+6 Familiar) (+6 Familiar) (+5 Bookworm) (+1 Hogwarts, A History)

Abilities: Natural Flying Talent, Parselmouth, Creature Bond, Omnilens (+), Waterbreathing (+), Run/Jump(+), Disguise, Hidden In Plain Sight: 2, Green Thumb, Felix's Cousin: 3, Monster Finder, Rune Reader, Hero Mode

Skills: Familiar Grand Master, Hide Skill: 2, Sneak Skill: 4, "Harry Hunting Bonus", "Bookworm Bonus", Potions: 1, Charms: 2, Transfiguration: 2, Gardening: 1, Cooking, Cleaning, Yard Work, Tracker: 1, Conversation, . . . (See More?)

Spells: 29

"Whew," Harry wiped his brow as the numbers finished their shuffling. "So, you two ready?"

His Familiars nodded and Harry then chose to level them up, as they'd gained EXP alongside him for the Quests he had them participate in, though obviously they had different stats than him and different ways of leveling up in the first place.

Familiar: Kneazle

Name - Midnight

HP - 32

MP - 45

Skill - Language (English), Truthscent(*), Camoflauge(*), Battle Companion: 2, Soul Bond (Nothing can separate that which is eternal. Familiars can go Unnoticed), Track(Familiar can track a specific target)(*).

Abilities - +7 Intelligence, +10 Stealth (Camoflauge), 10% Bonus to Attack Rating, 5% Bonus to Critical Rating.

Familiar: Owl

Name - Hedwig

HP - 35

MP - 60

Skills - Language (English), Post Owl, Battle Companion: 2, Link, Flight(*), Soul Bond (Nothing can separate that which is eternal. Familiars can go Unnoticed.), Disillusionment (Familiar becomes invisible, mostly.)(*).

Abilities - +6 Intelligence, +7 Charisma, +5% Attack Rating, +5% Defense Rating

He maxed out their more useful Skills, the Soul Bond didn't have levels simply because it either was or it wasn't, and gave the Battle Companion Skill one extra level to it simply because he either had to use'em or lose'em, and he knew that by Level 15 he could give them new Skills to start leveling up after that. Not to mention, raising their stats further raised his after the fact, but he didn't care to see how much. As it was, once he'd completed the last of the available Quests, he saw that it was only a few minutes to 11, so he went ahead and returned to the Platform.

Only to be held up as a very familiar voice called out through the crowd, "... filled with muggles..."

Harry blinked and did a double-take. Sure enough, marching along with rack after rack of trunks, were the Weasleys. Smiling with fond memories, Harry couldn't help but want to relive this bit of nostalgia no matter what the Game was trying to do. Sneaking up behind them, just as Percy was about to go through, Harry tugged on Mrs. Weasley's sleeve and said to her, "Excuse me? Are you trying to get onto the Platform?"

"Oh! Hello dear, I didn't see you there," she said, startled. "What was that? I'm sorry. Having trouble getting onto the Platform, deal?"

"Actually," he patiently corrected her, "I was checking to see if you needed help. I heard you mention to your extremely cute daughter there that you'd forgotten what Platform the Hogwarts Express is leaving from, so I thought I might offer my services. I've helped a number of people already today and I would enjoy continuing to offer them to you and your handsome, and cute, family."

OK, so maybe he was hamming it up a bit, and things weren't going exactly as he remembered, but he couldn't help himself. The Weasleys, much more than the Dursleys that is for certain, were his family and to see them all alive and well warmed his heart more than seeing Hedwig and Hagrid had. Not to mention seeing Ginny again, though she was younger and cuter, he still felt what he felt for her. Whether that was love, deep affection, or just plain old fashioned lust, he couldn't say for sure, but he was optimistic in hoping it was love.

"Oh, aren't you a sweetheart," Mrs. Weasley laughed, her smile warm and genuine. "Percy, you go ahead, I'll see the rest of them through, and come with young Mister...?" she trailed off, expectantly.

He smiled warmly up at her, glad his Omnilens managed to disguise his eyes just enough that nobody looked twice at him, and he'd long since learned to style his hair to hide his scar without making it look suspicious. "You can call me Harry, madame. I'm curious," he lowered his voice as Percy went through, "You are clearly a family of... experienced alumni of Hogwarts. Why the trouble in finding the Platform? Was it closed or something last year?"

"Oh no, nothing like that, dear," she flushed, rushing the twins through without calling their names like last time. "I was just..."

"I don't get to go to Hogwarts this year," Ginny interrupted her mother, a severe pout on her fact. Harry squashed the instinct to kiss it away, though it was difficult. "Mum was trying to make me feel better. Don't look shocked Mom. We play the game often enough." She giggled at the exasperated look she'd caused on her mother's expression.

"I take back what I said before about you being cute," Harry said to the younger girl. Then he smiled mischieviously and said, "You are adorable. Can I marry you?"

*You Have Proposed Marriage*

[CHARISMA CHECK]

Harry blinked, but kept the smile on his face. They were 11 and 10 respectively. No way would the Game actually try and...

"Yeah, OK, you seem like a decent enough guy, even if you're not Harry Potter," Ginny giggled again.

"What does Harry Potter have to do with anything?" he asked, curious.

"Oh, it—it's nothing, I—I..." she blushed crimson and ducked her head, hiding her face.

Perhaps being a bit too bold, Harry reached forward and tilted her head back up so he could look her in the eye. He lowered his Omnilens and though she was a bit blurry around the edges they were close enough he could still see her face, he said, "Tell me. Please?"

"I—I've always dreamed of marrying Harry Potter. He's the Boy-Who-Lived, the hero of our world, and—and he's my age! Well, almost. He's a living legend and I grew up hearing all about what happened to him and what he did and... and whenever I dreamed of growing up and marrying someone, I always dreamed it would be him, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. But it's just a dream, never going to happen. I'll probably never even meet him, not for real."

"Well," Harry shrugged, putting his Omnilens back on, "I may not be the Harry Potter you gre up wanting to marry, but I still think you are adorable, so how about it?"

She smiled and nodded, laughing. "Sure. I'll marry you. Want to shake on it?"

"Why not?" he held out his hand, to be surprised as nothing else when she pulled her own palm back, spit in it and held it out afresh. After a moment to get over his surprise, he smiled more genuinely and did the same. The moment their hands touched, both of them were surrounded by a golden glow and a Phoenix Song could be heard, while everything around them froze.

*Your Relationship Status has changed!

*New Relationship*

Ginny Weasley: RL10

"Relationship Level has Evolved! Ginny Weasley is now your Fiance! Automatic Evolution to Relationship Level 10 - Faithful! To further Evolve your Relationship, you must take and pass the 'Ship Quiz!"

Harry blinked and finally had to be reminded to let go of—apparently his fiance's—hand and go through the Portal to the Platform. Just as the whistle sounded to board, Harry snapped out of his fugue state and turned to Ginny and whispered into her ear rather quickly, "By the way, my name just so happens to be Harry James Potter. I wasn't lying to you, I'm not the fantasy you grew up with. But I look forward to finding out about you, Ginevra Molly Weasley. I'll owl you later." Then he stole a kiss on her cheek and hurried on board and to his reserved cabin, which was quite full of people now. Love those expanding compartments!

Looking back, he saw a stunned fiance staring after him, stars in her eyes, but also a look of realization slowly dawning on her. He waved goodbye and saw her wave in return and then he was lost in the crowd and the halls of the Hogwarts Express.

Only to run smack dab into a screen just inside the door to the main compartment hallway. Rubbing his nose and with a single word of, "Ow." he backed up and read it.

*Hogwarts Express*

"Do You Wish To Depart For Hogwarts Now?"

YES/NO

Looking at the time, he saw that there were still five or more minutes before 11 o'clock, and he'd been intending on spending a few minutes just chatting with his friends in their compartment. So he gave the obvious response and selected, "No." The next thing he was aware of, he was back on the Platform, stepping off the train.

Looking back at the train and then all around him, he looked up at the ceiling and said as sarcastically as he could, sarcasm knob turned to 11, sarcastic engines to full, "Seriously?"

Then, with a heavy sigh, he turned around and walked back onto the train, avoiding the screen only by saying, "Yes," before it had even fully formed. In the next instant, as in he'd been walking into the hall in the first instant and by the time it was over and the next began, he was closing the door of his compartment behind him and sitting down between Hermione and Zatanna, while the rest of those he'd 'Recruited' spread out and sat with whoever they felt like sitting with. He noted in particular that Xander seemed to be trapped between his best friend Willow on one side, and Wednesday Adams on the other. Amelia, Rory and Rose seemed to be getting along well together, talking about some mutual friend that he had little clue about. Ironically, the sisters, Tarot and Raven were not sitting together. Instead Tarot had befriended Nanoha and Sabrina, while Raven and Viktor were sitting next to each other, though not talking.

Before any real conversation could be started, there was a knock on the door and it slid open. "Hi," Ron Weasley said, his eyes gravitating straight to me, "I was wondering if... uh, I could... uh..." he trailed off when he saw the dozen or so people already filling the compartment. Finally he seemed to gather himself and ask, "If I could join you?"

It was only after the question was asked that Harry remembered Ron mentioning something about everywhere else being full the first time around. 'Huh, did Ron lie and just seek me out because Fred and George mentioned I was on the train? Or did he just want to sit with the lonely boy with no friends? Guess I'll never know, and the Game screws everything up anyway.'

Harry glanced around and saw no hostile looks, so he shrugged and said, "Sure. Let me help you with your trunk there. There's room next to Viktor and Raven there." Once Ron was squared away, Harry quickly resumed his spot between Zatana and Hermione. "So, introductions are in order I guess?" he tried to break the ice.

"Well, you did bring us all together, Harry," Hermione logically observed.

"Fair enough," he smiled at her, surprised when she blushed at him and looked away. "I'll go first then. My name is Harry Potter. Yes, that Harry Potter. Yes, I really have the scar. No, I don't really remember that night beyond a flash of green light, which I have frequent nightmares about. No, I have not read the books about me. No, very little, if any of what is written in those books are true. Yes, I have two Familiars; Hedwig, my owl, and Midnight, a kneazle. Both can understand English, but unlike Salem, they don't speak it. Did I miss anything?"

"You know how conceited you sound right now?" Raven snarked.

"Raven!" Tarot, her redheaded sister snapped.

"Indubitably," he replied in his most Malfoy-sounding voice, before breaking out with laughter. A few, Hermione and Ron included, joined in. "Let's just say that every time somebody has learned my name, they ask the same questions. The same questions, every time. They also mention, constantly, that I look just like my father and have my mother's eyes. It's gotten... old."

"I can imagine," the pale black-haired witch remarked, though with considerably less venom than before.

"Who's next? Raven?" he sat down.

They all remained quiet, glancing around nervously. Harry sighed and activated his Scouter Mode, and gave it a brief Boost, long enough to get some extra information. "Fine, I'll introduce everyone then. Raven 'Hex' Blackrose, eleven years old, a couple weeks from being twelve. Father is John Blackrose, mother is Holly Blackrose. Sister is," he paused and glanced over at the redhead, "Rowan 'Tarot' Blackrose, just turned eleven eight days ago. Members of the Black Rose Coven of Salem, Massachusetts in America. You, Raven do not have a Familiar, but you do have an affinity for the Dark Arts, well darker. Rowan—sorry, Tarot has an equal affinity for Divination, and her Familiar is a flying cat goes by the name Pooka."

He smiled, and leaned back. "Should I continue, or would everyone like to introduce themselves?"

"That... was so cool!" Xander exclaimed.

"How did you know all that?!" Raven and Tarot both demanded at once.

"Secret," he laughed, and if he wasn't wearing his Omnilens, he was sure his eyes would be twinkling. No wonder Dumbledore got such a kick out of this stuff. "OK, OK, OK, fine! Enough with the death glares." He sighed and took off his Omnilens. "When I went shopping for my school supplies, I splurged a bit and got these. They're called Omnilens. I already wore glasses, these just made it overall better. And I... may have gotten some... extras thrown in."

"Like what?" Xander asked, a glint in his eyes.

"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed. "I've heard of those. The base model is supposed to be real expensive though!"

"It was," Harry assured them. "As for the extras," he shrugged and handed them over, "Try'em out Xander. You tell us."

"Sweet!" the enthusiastic boy grabbed the Omnilens and put them on. "Holy—! These things have X-Ray vision!"

"WHAT?!" every girl in the cabin screamed, half of them covering themselves, the other half reaching to slap either Harry or Xander.

"It's not like that!" Harry quickly corrected, laughing while ducking slaps from Zatanna. "Go ahead and activate it Xander. What it means by X-Ray is a full x-ray. You see nothing but blue colored bones and outlines of walls and stuff. Nothing else! I swear!"

"Oh man this is sooo cool!" Xander exclaimed. "How do you not do this all the time? WHAAA!"

He screamed and pulled the Omnilens off his face and threw them away, where Harry thankfully caught them before they were broken. Putting them back on, he glanced up and saw what had made Xander scream. Grimacing, he put them back in default mode. "Because of things like that," he answered Xander's question. At the curious looks he and the now-thumb-sucking Xander received, he clarified.

"There's a giant spider on the roof of the train right now, and apparently it is not alone. As for how I knew what I did about you two, there's also something called Scouter Mode, and whatever I'm looking at, I just get a list of general stats. Like name, age, relations, etc. And before anybody complains, I really do need them to see, I'm practically blind without them."

*Your Relationship Status has changed!

The alert was the only thing to appear thankfully. For just a moment he was worried that he'd inadvertantly proposed to somebody but no screens popped up to further elaborate. It had been a while, but he would probably need to go through the Hints again to find out what he could about Relationship Levels.

"So, do I keep introducing everyone, or...?" he trailed off, looking around expectantly.

With a sigh, Hermione rolled her eyes and spoke up. "My name is Hermione Jean Granger, I am eleven years old, though my birthday is later this month. My parents are dentists, I only found out about magic earlier this summer when I got my letter, but every spell I've tried since then from the books have worked very well. And I have no siblings."

"Hm," Zatanna nodded and smiled. "My name is Zatanna Zatara, daughter of Giovanni Zatara, the world famous illusionist. Magic, you could say, is part of my life and always has been. And you should know that you never ask a woman her age. Sessalg eb deyortsed!"

Harry's wand was in his hand in an instant and the spell spoken almost as an afterthought, "Protego Finite!" Casting the canceling variation of the shield spell. "Nice try, Z."

"Hmph!" she pouted and muttered under her breath, "Diputs yob og gniylf."

Ron suddenly was ejected from his seat and hit the ceiling, quite painfully, before dropping back down to the floor, flat on his face.

"Wow, that was not nice," Harry chastised. "Ron isn't that stupid!"

Half the people there laughed out loud, the rest held their giggles inside as best they could.

"Harry, mate, do me a favor and leave me out of your girl troubles," the redhead mumbled from the floor.

Harry just shrugged and replied, "I'll try and do my best, Ron."

*Your Relationship Status has changed!

He momentarily frowned, but still no screen popped up to elaborate.

"Fine, I'll go next," the perky blonde next to Tarot spoke up. "My name is Sabrina Spellman, I'm also eleven years old, and I live with my Aunts and Salem here in Manchester, Massechusetts. I only found out I'm a witch after I found myself floating over my bed one night, and at first my Aunts were going to home school me, but then the whole Exchange Program because Salem Institute kind of..."

"Blew up from a volcano?" Xander supplied.

"Yeah. So now I'm going to Hogwarts," she finished with a shrug.

"I am Takamichi Nanoha," the brunette next to her spoke up. "I am 10 years old, and I am from Japan, thank you very much." Oddly her voice didn't really match up with her lips, which continued to move for several moments after her voice had stopped talking. "And I apologize, but the translation spell put on my does not seem to be working as it should so I beg your forgiveness."

"So that's why language specifies English," he muttered to Hedwig on his shoulder. "Any chance you can learn Japanese to help her out, girl?" Hedwig shook her head rather emphatically. The emotional impression he got from her told him she was suggesting he might look into acquiring additional Familiars if he wanted a live translator.

"I'm Xander Harris," the other boy in the compartment spoke up. "From good old Sunnyhell, California, on the West Coast. Wills and I here got offered scholarships to the Salem Institute, only to find out that somebody blew up the school over the summer and now we're here."

"Xander!" the redhead next to him quickly corrected, "We're actually from Sunnydale, California, and we've been best friends since Kindergarten. I've been trying to read up on Hogwarts, and there is a lot of information available, but it doesn't really make much sense to me. I read Hogwarts, A History, and it talks about the Four Houses and where their dorms are and the point system but it doesn't really talk about how students are chosen and go into each of the Houses, whether they do it alphabetically, which I really wouldn't like because then that means Xander and I wouldn't be in the same House and what if they do it by first name instead of last name and what if nobody likes me in it and no offense I really don't want to go to Slytherin cause they got the whole snake thing and snakes are reptiles and they remind me of frogs and I really don't like frogs..."

"Breathe, Willow," Xander put a calming hand on his friend's shoulder.

'Blimey, she's just like Hermione... but worse! Wicked!' Harry smiled, seeing Hermione move over next to Willow and start quizzing each other on their new favorite book.

"My name is Wednesday Adams," the pale-faced, dark-haired girl in funeral garb spoke in a straight-faced monotone. She said nothing else, and nobody was inclined to ask for more.

"I am Viktor von Doom, from Latveria," the final boy in the compartment finally spoke. Likewise, he was less than forthcoming for anything further.

"See? Wasn't too painful, was it?" Harry tried to keep the conversation going.

Another knock at the door came before anybody answered. Although Xander commented, "If we get the whole freaking train in here, I'm moving to my own compartment..."

This time Ron, being in the middle of the floor and needing to get up anyway, opened the door. On the other side was Neville, tears pooling in his eyes. Harry sighed, signalling Midnight it was time to track again. Only for the exclamation point above Neville's head to suddenly go yellow before Harry could say or do anything.

"Please! You have to help!" Neville was saying the moment the door was fully open. Everyone in the compartment stopped talking to stare. "Some of the older students... they've taken Trevor! Trevor, he's my f-familiar, he's a—"

"Uh, you might want to try finding a Prefect then, they're the ones that are supposed to help with this sort of thing. I mean, we're not even official students in here, yet!" Ron told him.

Harry frowned and stepped forward. Just before he spoke, he made a deliberate action of adjusting his Omnilens, though he didn't actually change modes. "Neville, calm down. Ron, seriously? He's practically in tears. What's going on anyway?"

"Somebody took Trevor, and now a bunch of 6th Year students have him and they won't give him back. I tried to find the Prefects, but they're still in their meeting in the First Car!" Neville wailed.

"That's terrible!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Please help!" Neville begged. "They're down in the Freight Car! They said they're going to—going to—going to disect and kill him!"

'This train has a freight car? Since when?' Harry asked himself, but then shook off the question. "I'll do what I can, though you should probably still get the Prefects involved. Just in case. Anybody else...? And you can't hear me, of course." He sighed when he realized the world had gone gray and they were all Paused.

*QUEST*

LEAPING LONGBOTTOMS

"(TEAM) Unknown Enemies have taken Neville Longbottom's Familiar. Find the Enemies, subdue them, and retrieve the Familiar and return it to Neville Longbottom. Rewards: Neville RL(8), 110 EXP, +5 Charisma, 1 Skill Point, 50 Galleons."

*Would You Like To Accept This Quest?*

YES/NO

"Of course yes!" he selected angrily. Unfortunately, as the screen disappeared, the world did not start up again. Instead a new screen appeared and all the people behind him lit up with color as numbers appeared over their heads.

*TEAM*

"You are about to embark on a Team Quest. A Team consists of the Player and a minimum of 2, maximum of 6 NPC (Non-Player-Characters). Teams can only be formed with RL(7), unless the characters share a Title for a very specific type of Team Quest."

*Hint #41: "Members of your Team will always have your Level and Experience, but different Abilities and Skills and Spells. Choose Wisely when composing new Teams."

Please Choose From The Following Who Joins Your Team:

Wednesday Adams - RL6

"The Adams Clan is Creepy, Kooky, Mysterious, Spooky, and altogether ooky. Wednesday is the older of two children, and utterly ruthless, meticulous, homicidal, overall dangerous. Good for Battle and Puzzle solving, not so much for everything else."

Status: Acquaintance

Raven Blackrose - RL7

"The Black Rose Coven is practically royalty amongst American Witches and Wizards. Raven has been greatly influenced by her Father, who while never crossed the line, dabbles in the Dark Arts. Dark Arts and Defense Team Bonus, good for Battle and when dealing with nonhumans."

Status: Companion

Tarot Blackrose - RL7

"The Black Rose Coven is practically royalty amongst American Witches and Wizards. Tarot has been greatly influenced by her Mother, who strives to maintain Balance above all. Divination and Attack Team Bonus, good for Battle and when dealing with nonhumans."

Status: Companion

Viktor Von Doom - RL5

"Heir to the Latverian Royal Family. Secretive, Intelligent, Rutheless. Not to be trusted."

Status: Neutral

Hermione Granger - RL8

"First Generation Witch, soon to be dubbed the Smartest Witch of her Generation, braver than she looks, and smarter than her own good. She believes in following the rules, but will bend them for her friends. Intelligence Team Bonus, good for Battle, Puzzles, Social Quests, and Class Jobs."

Status: Friend

Xander Harris - RL8

"Best friend of Willow Rosenberg. Only son of disgraced Squibs of two Pureblood lines, Xander's future is uncertain at this point. Loyal to his friends, and braver than he is smart, but willing to do anything to protect what is precious to him. Balanced Team Bonus, good for Battle, Social Quests, and dealing with undead."

Status: Friend

Amelia Pond - RL6

"Best friend of Rory Williams. Met a strange man when she was a young girl, lives alone (for now) in her house that still has a crack in the wall of her bedroom. Good for Puzzles and Social Quests."

Status: Acquaintance

Willow Rosenberg - RL8

"Best friend of Xander Harris. First Generation Witch, more powerful than anyone suspects, and a future rival for Hermione's title of smartest witch. Intelligence and MP Team Bonus, good for Battle, Puzzles, Class Jobs, and dealing with undead."

Status: Friend

Sabrina Spellman - RL7

"Youngest of the Spellman Clan. If the Blackrose are royalty, the Spellmans are upper nobility. Can use wandless variations of equipped spells, in fact she doesn't even have a wand. MP Team Bonus, good for Puzzles, Social Quests, Class Jobs, and dealing with nonhumans."

Status: Companion

Nanoha Takamichi - RL5

"[][][][][][][][][][][][]"

Status: Neutral

Harry had to stop his perusing there to double check. Yep, they were all in Japanese characters. Oh well, her RL status was only a 5, so he couldn't have picked her anyway. But damnit, now he was curious!

Rose Tyler - RL6

"First Generation Witch, destined to meet the same man Amelia once encountered. Spunky, rash, street-wise from growing up without a father. Good for Puzzles and Social Quests."

Status: Acquaintance

Ron Weasley - RL8

"Youngest son of the Weasley Clan, sixth of seven children, desperate to prove himself, but lazy and lacks focus. Balanced Team Bonus, good for Battle and Social Quests."

Status: Friend

Rory Williams - RL6

"Best friend of Amelia Pond. Has a crush on Amy and will do anything for her, even die if he has to. Balanced Team Bonus, good for Battle, Puzzles and Social Quests."

Status: Acquaintance

Zatanna Zatara - RL8

"Only daughter of Giovanni Zatara, the World's Greatest Illusionist, who deals with demons, dark creatures, evil sorcerors, and aliens on a regular basis. She has the same power of casting spells by stating words of Intent backwards, practically on par with wandless casting. Attack and MP Team Bonus, good for Battle, Social Quests, and dealing with nonhumans."

Status: Friend

*You have (6) positions available*

So, he couldn't just take everybody with him, and it was clear that some of them wouldn't work well with him in the first place, while others just wouldn't work well with each other. Also, all those Alerts finally made sense. Apparently just by having friendly conversations and introducing themselves was enough to get some people evolved to Friend status. That only five were at that status made it easy, but who to pick for the sixth spot? His first instinct was to choose either Raven or Tarot, but whichever he chose, the other might resent him or her sister over it. So that kind of meant he couldn't choose either. It also cemented his decision as there was only one other at RL7 for him to choose.

"Hermione, Xander, Willow, Sabrina, Ron and Zatanna," he selected. The screen instantly changed once he'd filled the six slots.

YOU HAVE SELECTED:

Hermione Granger

Xander Harris

Willow Rosenberg

Sabrina Spellman

Ron Weasley

Zatanna Zatara

*Are You Sure This Is The Team You Want?*

YES/NO

"Yes," he confirmed, intrigued as to what was about to happen.

*TEAM MAGE*

5% Attack Bonus (Zatanna)

+10 Intelligence (Hermione & Willow)

+25 MP (Willow, Sabrina & Zatanna)

+5 HP, +5 MP, +5 Stamina, +10 Charisma, +10 Stealth, +10 Intelligence, Spell: Sacrifice (One team member loses all HP to defeat all enemies or heal all other Team member) (Xander & Ron)

"Whoa, that is cool," Harry had to admit. Then he watched as his stats were added, after the fact to the current list.

*TEAM MAGE*

10% Attack Bonus (Harry & Zatanna)

5% Defense Bonus (Harry)

+10 Intelligence (Hermione & Willow)

+50 MP (Harry, Willow, Sabrina & Zatanna)

+10 HP, +10 MP, +10 Stamina, +25 Charisma, +25 Stealth, +25 Intelligence, Spell: Sacrifice, Spell: Command (Team Leader can order any team member to take a single action) (Harry, Xander & Ron)

"Bloody hell, I rock! Attack, defense, MP, and that Balanced Team Bonus on top of all that? Sweet!"

Suddenly everything started up again and he briefly lost control as he found himself turning around and snapping out, "Hermione, Xander, Willow, Ron, Zatanna, Sabrina, come on, let's go!"

Then, whatever it was released him as he snapped out of it and shook his head. "I mean," he said to mollify his previous ordering around, "if you wouldn't mind, I could really use your help with this. Please?"

"Well," Sabrina, who'd been on the verge of shouting about being ordered around, changed her attitude at the much gentler attitude he'd initially displayed. "All right. Come on Salem, lets see if we can help."

"Fine," the black cat remarked, jumping down from his spot on the bench, "but this is such a bad idea."

"All you had to do was say so, Harry, no need for please with me," Zatanna teased, moving past him at the door. The others had already moved out into the hallway apparently, because he only saw those that he hadn't chosen left in the compartment. Stepping out into the train corridor, Harry experienced a moment of vertigo as things shifted around on him with little warning. Suddenly the hall, which had been the standard cramped size of your typical train hallway, was expanded out to the same size he recalled a Hogwarts Corridor was suppoed to be. Just ahead of him, Neville started to run towards the back of the train, saying, "Come on! Hurry!"

Looking behind him, at first he saw nothing, he and Neville were alone in the train corridor. Where had the others gone? Suspicious, he commanded, "Pause."

The world grayed out, except around him were six people fully colored and dressed in the same civilian clothes they'd been when he first met them on the Platform. Even Hermione, who by the time he'd joined the group in the compartment had changed to her school robes, was back in her sweatshirt and jeans. "Different," he admitted, turning his attention to the problem at hand.

END Level Four.