Notes: Hello folks! I'm glad you guys like this. I'm really happy with it so far. :) (Mostly for making past week one and still have ideas to continue this.) Thanks for the follows and favourites! I really appreciate every single one. Thanks for KeepsAwayTheNargles for reviewing.

I can't wait until later (like sixty chapters from now) because I have my brilliant other character that I adore that I want to add in. Oooh, maybe I can add them in earlier. Yes I can. Good idea me. Mwahaha!

Competitions and Challenges this is entered in: The Long Haul Competition lll, more to be announced in later chapters, probably something really random.

Currently Listening To: Things We Lost in the Fire by Bastille

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I only own my idea and character(s) that is far from being a perfect human being, thank you.

THE GAME

HARRY POTTER: THE JOURNEY OF ENGIMA

When Nikolai entered the kitchen, he had both an idea of what he would expect, and a sense of nervousness and unknowing. It flushed his cheeks and made him stand in wonder when he finally skidded to a halt in the kitchen.

The sight that greeted him was something he saw usually every morning. His mother was standing behind the counter, moving around the scrambled eggs on the frying pan while a large tea kettle was pouring itself, and pieces of toast were being buttered by an invisible hand. His father was sitting at the table, trying to read the paper but instead mostly trying to keep his little sister from shoving the cooling porridge on the table into her mouth. Luminita was giggling happily as she clapped her hands together, her short brown hair messy and her pink and blue clothing covered by a small bib.

"Ah! Wonderful for you to join us, Nikolai. I was a bit afraid that I would have to go upstairs with a bucket of water to wake you up today." Nikolai's father, Lucian, cheerfully called out to his only son. Nikolai stuck out his tongue in reply and muttered under his breath, "I'm not that bad…"

"Yes, you are that bad, sweetie. Now come on and eat, we're leaving in half an hour."

The brown haired seven year old grumbled but grabbed a bowl of porridge sitting on the table, making sure it wasn't the one nearest to Luminita. He quietly thanked his mother, as she brought him a plate of eggs and toast, and began chewing on the offered food.

"So we're going to Diagon Alley?"

"Yes, I already told you. Your father's going to Gringotts-"

"-And then the Ministry," Lucian cut in, making Nikolai's mother, Mary, look at him in confusion. "One of the other ambassador's dropped off a file that I need to pick up, but don't worry. I should be out of there by twelve."

Mary didn't look very happy about this news, with her biting her lip and brushing a piece of light brown hair out of her eyes. "Fine, but you're bringing Nikolai with you."

"What? Why?" Nikolai interrupted their conversation, furrowing his eyebrows. The Ministry was always sooo boring. It was filled with people who acted like they were the best at everything, and some of the other ambassadors creeped him out. Like the French one, with the really thick accent; and the Norwegian one, that had a son a few years older than him, and both the ambassador and his son were really cold and stoic.

"Because one, you've been stuck in this house for three days straight and you need to get out, two, this will be a good learning experience, and three, you said you liked going out with Dad, and neither I nor Luminita can last that long in Diagon Alley and the Ministry to come with you two."

Nikolai frowned and crossed his arms, moodily staring down into his porridge. "…Fine."

Mary shook her head and patted Nikolai's, before moving over to Luminita and helping Lucian spoon mush into Luminita's mouth. "I don't understand you, sometimes, dear. You used to like going to the Ministry."

"But it's so boring…"

"Shush. You're going and that's final."

Nikolai sighed and pushed around his porridge, his thoughts running through his head until he settled on one. Why did he hate the Ministry?

All of his reality came crashing down on him once more, and Nikolai was stunned when he learned how easy it was to completely let the memories of his character override his real ones. He just… fell into the habit. He was surrounded by familiar things that made him lose track of actuality. It was crazy. It made him feel slightly homesick.

He didn't want to forget the memories he had of his real parents. Of his goofy father always trying to do his best to understand swimming rules or basketball plays, or of his mother, who despite being gone most of the time, always made the best enchiladas and tostadas and tried hard to make up for all the time she missed.

He didn't want to forget them.

Only when he remembered the letter, which said that every week someone would come and make him remember that he was in a very realistic video game, and the fact that it would only be five minutes in the real world that had passed when he was ejected from the game, consoled him.

First Checkpoint Achieved!

You Have Earned:

Meeting The Family - 500 points

Thinking Too Hard - 250 points

Shoveling Down Mush - 40 points

Total Until Level Two: 790/2,000 points

"H-H-Huh!?"

His mother looked up at him, confusedly, as she was trying to shove some porridge into his sister's mouth. "Nikolai? What's wrong?"

Nikolai blinked and pointed at the words floating above the breakfast table. "There!"

This caught his father's attention also. "What? Where?"

"Above the table, there's words!"

Both his parents frowned and looked at one another. "There's nothing there dear, are you feeling alright?"

Nikolai blinked and stared at the black words, reading 'checkpoints' and 'meeting the family'. Suddenly, he remembered that this must be his points keeper. Instead of having it down at the bottom of the screen, it would just pop up when something like checkpoints or achievements were earned.

Cool!

But very inconvenient, since now his parents probably thought he was crazy.

"Never mind, mum, dad. I just thought I saw something. It must have been a fly."

"...If you're sure, darling."

Soon breakfast passed without another hitch, and Nikolai found himself nearly bouncing in his shoes, rolling up and down on the balls of his feet impatiently, as his parents rushed around the house, gathering purses and folders and glasses and then finally they were all standing in front of the fireplace, with Mary carrying Luminita and Lucian holding the Floo Powder pot.

"Alright, Nikolai, do you remember how to use Floo Powder?"

Nikolai nodded eagerly, reaching for the pot, but Lucian held it higher than his seven year old body could reach, and explained how to use the traveling powder anyways.

"Take a small handful of the powder and throw it into the fire. Step into the fireplace, and yell out 'Diagon Alley', and make sure you say it really clear, okay? Keep your elbows tucked in and when you get to the Leaky Caldron, wait for Mummy and I to come with Luminita, okay?"

"Yes!" Nikolai reached for the pot with his small hands, barely being able to contain his excitement about travelling by Floo Powder.

The brown haired boy had his hair ruffled, much to his distaste, and Lucian lowered the Floo Powder pot so he could reach it.

Nikolai threw the powder into the fireplace, and watched with bright, curious eyes as the flames leaped into the air, in all their Irish green glory. He recalled the steps his father had just told him, and stepped cautiously into the fire.

It was completely against everything he'd ever known, and Nikolai found himself fighting against putting his whole body in the fire, but once he stuck his toe into the green flames and found that it just felt like lukewarm wind was brushing against his feet, he stepped all the way into the fire.

It was probably the strangest thing he'd ever done.

(But then he realized, that this was probably one of the most normal things he would be facing entering the Wizarding World.)

Nikolai loudly called out 'Diagon Alley!' and without another word, he was whisked away, all hesitation disappeared from his body as he was surrounded in the green flames, them covering him, pushing him this way and that. His elbows hit something hard that he couldn't see, and he let out a yell that made him lose all the oxygen in his lungs. He gasped for air, but the flames had nicked it all up, along with the carbon he had just let out. The brown haired boy felt dizzy as the fire began to do a dance around him, and he felt like he was going to cry with relief when it suddenly stopped, and the flames, once welcoming and inviting, tossed him out of the fireplace without a second to think.

The Romanian let out a loud groan as he fell ungracefully to the ground, and curled up, hugging his stomach, never minding the fact that he was covered in soot and the floor was dirty.

"Hey, you alright kid?" Nikolai blearily looked up from the floor to see an old man standing over him, a concerned look on the bartender's face. "That was quite a tumble you took there. Where's your parents?"

"I-I'm fine. My parents should be coming through soon with my sister."

The old man nodded, and held out a hand to help the boy up. "Aright, well, until they come, let's get you cleaned up. I don't think you'd like to head out covered in soot."

Nikolai looked down at himself, as if for the first time noticing that he was drenched in sticky black dust. "Yes please!"