Yes, I am perfectly aware that the area around Alice Springs in real life is scrubby bushes and desert. No, I have a range of environments in this chapter. Yes, I know it is not real. No, I am not going to change it. This is fanfiction for a reason.
"You lied!" Jasper cried, aggravated, throwing his latest hand of cards high into the air, where they scattered and fell to the ground like confetti. "You said you had never played poker before!"
"Did I?" Harry cocked an eyebrow and folded his arms, sitting back smugly. "I don't think I did. I just asked what poker was. I never said I had never played it." He adopted a superior expression and stuck his nose in the air.
"He has a point." Carmen pointed out, looking like she was trying hard not to burst out laughing as she leaned back in her black chair next to Jasper. "You just assumed. Never assume when it comes to poker. You should already know that." She tapped one finger against her chin absentmindedly. "Aren't you the expert out of the two of you?"
"What else was I supposed to think?" Jasper asked incredulously, standing up in mock outrage. "Who asks questions like that unless they don't know how to play?"
"You aren't supposed to think, that's our job!" Carmen and Harry chorused together, before exchanging surprised glances. "Also, he does. You should know." Carmen tacked on as an afterthought.
"Great minds think alike, apparently." Jasper said snappishly, somewhat irritated, ducking under the branch of a neraby tree.
"Yes, exactly!" Harry pointed a finger at him "Thanks! I knew there was a quote we were supposed to use."
"Oh forget it." Jasper mumbled. "Let's go pick up your new iron stick." They walked in silence for a moment before Jasper's eyes widened and he turned to face Carmen. "That was a prank, wasn't it? You were somehow telling Harry what cards I had!"
Carmen looked innocently at him, while Harry glanced away and began to whistle lightly. "Would I do that?" She asked, sounding offended.
"Yes." Jasper said simply.
"Ask me no questions, and I will tell you no lies." Harry interjected, dropping his mask of innocence and throwing one arm over Jasper's shoulder. "Besides, you were cheating too. I know Carmen gave you four threes. You had to have made a switch." He snorted. "I couldn't just let you get away with it. What was I supposed to do - call you for cheating in the middle of the game? I just out cheated you." He flashed the four jacks he had used to beat Jasper's four nines.
Jasper thought that over for a minute as his brow furrowed. "Fair enough, I guess. Shall we go pick up your purchase?"
"Yes. I believe we shall."
The three of them, led by Harry, returned to the wand shop for the third time in the last few days. "You are becoming a regular here." Ollivander muttered, appearing in front of them as was his habit. "Maybe I should give you some kind of discount for this." The old man stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "Maybe frequent appearance miles or something. Why are you here?" He asked, curious.
Harry looked at the old man funny, one eyebrow raised. "Uh, my wand? I came to pick it up, just like you said. Isn't it ready?" He asked, irritated at the thought of having to come back again.
"I should say so!" The wand maker retorted, sounding excited as he waved his hand around furiously. "I had it done half an hour ago, when a friend of yours came in here and said he was here to pick up the new wand. Didn't you send him?"
"No. I was busy playing poker this whole time." Harry denied instantly. "Besides, I would never send a friend to come pick up my wand- no offense guys." He cast a sidelong glance at the other two.
Carmen shook her head. "None taken. Whatever would you do if it bonded to us, for instance? That would be more than a little awkward. I wouldn't want you to pick up my focus either." Harry glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and noticed her fingering what looked like a broken pendant or locket before she saw him watching and quickly hid it again, stuffing in deep into her ruby red coat.
"So you are saying someone just walked in here, asked for the wand, and walked out again with it? Didn't you ask for some kind of proof or something?" Harry gritted his teeth in exasperation. Blast the wizarding world's lack of logic! A thief could make out like a bandit in the magical world apparently.
Ollivander's shoulders slumped in disappointment. "What was I supposed to ask for? For instance, you just met these two the other day, but you trust them already. I apologize for this Mr. Potter. I will begin the search for the thief immediately."
"What did he look like?" Jasper asked, conjuring a notebook and pencil. He flipped the cover opened and poised the writing instrument over the page. "Height, weight, skin color, hair color, what? Can you give us a description?"
"There were two of them." The wand maker replied, busying himself with something behind the counter that seemed to occupy most of his attention. "The one that came inside was named Zack, he said that the girl waiting outside was named Ivy. They-" he was interrupted by a loud groan from Carmen.
"Don't bother looking for them. I know these two. If I had to guess, this is all just a massive misunderstanding. I'll handle this, be right back." She yanked on her gloves one at a time, spun on her heel and left the building, red coat swirling in the wind.
After she had stormed out the three males in the room exchanged uneasy looks. "Any idea what she is going to do?" Ollivander finally asked.
"Not a clue." Jasper threw his hands up in exasperation, narrowly missing a shelf full of wands. "She could go up and ask nicely, or she could obliterate them. It all depends on her current attitude, though she tries to avoid harming people whenever possible. Especially those two. If I was a betting man-" he shot a dirty look at Harry, who had seen the irony and had already opened his mouth for a snarky quip. "-don't even think about it." he growled, still smarting over his earlier loss. "I would bet- guess!" He hurriedly corrected himself. "that they are seen again. Probably not by us, but they will likely survive." Jasper walked over to a empty, if dusty, counter, and sat on it, swinging his legs back and forth.
Ollivander cleared his throat after a few minutes of silence and reached into a pocket. "Anyone here know how to play poker?"
Carmen came back about an hour later, triumphantly holding a wrapped silk package. "Got it. Once they understood what was going on, they gave it to me to return it. Apparently, they didn't get the memo that I have retired from my previous occupation when it got too boring. Here you go." Carmen carefully unwrapped it, before handing it to Harry. The moment she was no longer holding it, she immediately wiped her hand off on her coat, drawing a few odd looks. "It feels... wrong," she explained, rubbing at her hand furiously. "It did not like my magic. That's why I wrapped it in silk, to protect myself."
Harry twirled it around, examining it closely. From any distance over about four feet, it looked like a solid bar of metal, but closer examination revealed it to be covered with thousands of tiny holes. "It feels like a nightstick." He commented, measuring the heft as he swung it back and forth. "You said it expanded?"
"Yes." Ollivander carefully took it from him. "Like this." He gave a sharp snap of his wrist and the bar seemed to grow into his hand until it was almost as tall as Harry was. "Your Bo staff." He handed it back to Harry, who twirled it around, spinning it from hand to hand then behind his back before shrinking it again.
"Perfectly balanced," he commented, impressed. "Let me try something. Incendio!" A blast of heat roared from the end of the wand, spiraling away as the basic flame spell came out as something much bigger, an inferno, sending a big blast of fire towards the wall of the wand shop.
"Look out!" Mr. Ollivander yelped in indignation and threw up a shield to block it, before scowling at him, his eyebrows slightly crisped by the fire as smoke started to dissipate from where the fire had met the shield.
"Not in my shop, if you please. I haven't forgotten how you almost destroyed my shop getting your first wand, I don't need a repeat." He said firmly, warily looking at the young wizard, wand in hand.
Harry didn't hear him, too busy gazing at the once-again regular sized wand in his hand. "I thought you said a minor affinity to fire?" He asked, attention only half on the wand maker.
The wand maker shrugged. "Minor is a relative term." Shrugging, he waved a hand from side to side. "Kitsune are known for their fire prowess, even though you are not a particularly powerful wizard. I know people keep saying that you are, though I can never understand why. Maybe they mean compared to other English wizards... Anyway, I have other things to do, so if you will excuse me..." Busying himself with something behind the counter, Ollivander pointedly ignored the three of them. Taking the hint, the three friends retreated back outside and headed towards the main plaza, preparing for another round of cards.
"Let me guess. Here for the test?" A mischievous voice asked from behind them. All three spun around, glaring daggers at the slim man who stood behind them, previously unnoticed. He had dark jeans, a maroon/brown shirt with the top button undone and a olive army jacket with a lot of pockets. His brownish hair was swept slightly to one side and he was munching on a chocolate bar, leaning causally against the brick wall.
"Yeah, we are. What's it to you?" Jasper asked aggressively. Harry elbowed him in the side, clearing his throat as he did so. 'Be polite' Harry mouthed at him
"Sorry about that. My associate here was a little irritated by your... sudden appearance." He cast a warning glance at Jasper, urging him to stay silent. "All three of us are ready."
The man cast a skeptical glance over the three of them. "You do realize that only about a fourth of the people who attempt to make it to Uluru actually do? Just warning you in the interests of full disclosure." He waited a moment, giving them a chance to object before holding up three fingers on his hand, counting down one at a time. "Going once... Going twice... Sold!" He finished his chocolate bar and pulled a pack of bubblegum out of one of his many pockets. He popped a piece of gum in his mouth before pausing. "Sorry, that was rude of me. Any of you want some gum? No? Fine." He pouted for a moment before raising one hand in the air and snapping his fingers. A stack of books appeared in his other hand, which he quickly distributed to all of them.
"What is this?" Carmen asked, examining hers closely.
"It's something the boss man wanted to try. You point it at an obstacle you run into, and it will give you some information on it." He rolled his eyes. "Apparently he got tired of filling out all the paperwork for the high mortality rate. People these days will jump at a chance to sue you for things like that." He made a face at the thought. "That reminds me. Supposed to give you these too." He snapped his fingers again and a compass shimmered into existence on top of the book that each of them were holding.
"And this?" Jasper asked, scooping it into his hand and spinning it around rapidly, eyes glued to the shiny casing as it reflected beams of sunlight around the area.
'Almost like a magpie.' Harry realized, amused. 'Obsessed with shiny things.'
"Eh. Nothing important. JK guys. It will always point to the school, assuming you don't, I don't know, wear tennis shoes instead of cowboy boots or something. Or walk into the Atlantic, I heard something about that voiding the warranty..." He shook himself back to reality for a moment. "I wanted to make them point the wrong way, and make the books give the wrong information, but spoilsport said no. So I had to content myself with only messing up your stuff instead of everyone's! Isn't that great?"
"No... Not really..." Jasper gave his new equipment a doubtful once over.
"I swear, if you gave us faulty equipment, I am going to hunt you down and beat you to death with a paper tissue." Harry warned the messenger, who shrugged, not caring. "Do you work for the school?"
The man looked scandalized by the suggestion. "Me? Work? Hah, good one kid. No, just doing this as a favor for an old friend." He cocked his head to one side for a moment, thinking. "Or maybe it's new friend... Time travel is confusing. I really hate continuity errors."
"I'm sorry, what?" Harry burst out.
The man in the olive jacket pretended not to hear him and kept talking, counting on his fingers as he went. "Now, let me see... I think I forgot something. Offered poisoned candy, check. Gave them jinxed books and broken compasses, yep. Oh, yes. Rules are in the front of the book. You got two days, so I would take a hike if I were you three. Allons-y!" He snapped his fingers and disappeared.
The three of them were left staring at the empty spot where he had been, dumbstruck. "Do you think he was joking when he said 'jinxed books and broken compasses'?" Carmen asked cautiously.
"I think I know him from somewhere..." Harry mused aloud, looking at the sky. "Anyway, I think we should get going. We are on the clock, so let's look at the new rules and get out of here."
"And no cheating! There aren't many rules, but they are ironclad. If you break them we will know." The voice of the man who had given them the gear echoed through the air as Jasper opened his book to look inside. "Other than that, have at it!"
"Was that-" Jasper started to ask before getting cut off.
"The book? Yes!" It said impatiently. "What did you think said that? It's not like I'm standing around that corner throwing my voice over there. Oops, probably should not have said it. That came out wrong. Anyway, I promise that this is the last time I'm gonna talk to you (fingers crossed), the man upstairs is not happy with me for saying as much as I have. Good luck, and remember, both hands on the wheel when you drive! Beam me up Scotty." The voice went silent.
"You know what? I really don't care anymore. Let's just pretend that didn't happen and blow this joint." Jasper muttered, rubbing his forehead with one hand. "He gave me a headache."
"Why did you say 'blow this joint'?" Harry asked curiously. "I didn't think anyone said that anymore."
Carmen sighed. "He thinks it makes him sound hip. Don't look, it will only encourage him, but I bet he is wearing sunglasses right now."
"Cool, do you have a spare pair for me?" Harry asked Jasper eagerly.
"Or you could ignore me, that works too..."
"Got all of the gear?" Harry asked, double checking to make sure they were prepared.
"Do you even need to ask? We have been waiting for this moment for the last few days. Of course we have everything." Jasper snorted. "Let's go, we are wasting daylight."
"Then let's get started." The three of them left the town at a steady run, following the needle of the compass (and hoping the messenger hadn't screwed with them too badly). They said nothing to each other, preferring to save their energy and breath for the long trek ahead, the only sound the slapping of their feet against the ground. A few miles out, they saw a small stand, manned by a single person leaning on the counter. He brought one hand to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle, gathering their attention.
"Over here!" He yelled, waving them over. "Uluru right? Please sign this legal waiver stating we are not responsible for death, dismemberment, starvation, drowning, madness, sickness, cuts, burns, bruises, etc."
"Do we have to?" Harry asked, shuddering at the thought of paperwork.
The man put one hand to his chin as if in thought. "No, you don't, if you want your results to not count. Otherwise, I recommend you sign and get back on track. All you have to do is touch your focus of choice to the bottom of the waiver. Quick and easy." After the three of them did so, he rolled up the waivers and put them in a box. "One last minute tip. Paintings are one of the few ways to get to the school in time."
"What does that even mean?" Carmen asked angrily. "What is it with people giving us incomplete information?"
He shrugged, leaning back underneath a portable air conditioner. "Can't tell you more. Everyone who passes through here gets a random hint to help them. The few ways to the school close and become impassable the moment after a person or group uses them. So, you have to find one before someone else does. If they are all used and you aren't past..." He waved one hand dismissively. "Too bad for you."
"Well... Thanks for at least telling us that much." Jasper said politely.
"No problem. I would recommend that if you intend to part ways you do so here, and hurry."
The three stood awkwardly around for a moment before Harry cleared his throat loudly. "Well, I guess this is... goo-"
"No." Carmen broke in. "This is not goodbye. We will see each other within the next day or two."
"Yeah!" Jasper flashed a smile. "See you there."
"Same." Harry grinned mischievously. "Race you!" He wheeled around and sprinted away, smiling as Jasper's and Carmen's indignant 'Hey!' reached his ears. He snorted mentally. As if he was going to give them an even start with him. Then he banished the thought from his head, concentrating on the task at hand. Running. Running. And more running. After around fifteen minutes, he began clambering up the side of the hill on his right. As he poked his head over the top of the ground he yelped before jerking it back hurriedly as he narrowly dodged a blast of fire that nearly singed his hair. Apparently that broke whatever he had done to keep his fox ears gone, because they reappeared on his head, twitching back and forth. Harry felt them with one hand before sighing. He didn't have the time or magic to spare on vanishing them right now. "Bless you Hagrid, for teaching us how to deal with Blast-Ended Skrewts," he muttered, spinning out from behind his cover and throwing spells designed to flip the skrewt over. This was much easier said than done, as the skrewt was letting loose constant blazes of flame.
Eventually though, Harry made a mistake. As he tried to dance around the latest fiery whirlwind his foot caught on a small ridge that sent him sprawling to the ground. He screwed his eyes shut and braced himself as he was hit head on by a fireball. He heard a small whoosh and felt a warm wind on his face. A few seconds later, when nothing else happened, he cracked one eye open, risking a look at the skrewt. The two opponents stared at each other in amazement for a few moments. Harry was perfectly fine. "Waddaya know. Kitsune are good for something else besides throwing fireballs," Harry mused aloud as he smiled slowly. "For that matter, why am I even fighting this thing? I can just outrun it, not like there is a lack of room here in the Outback."
He clambered back to his feet and started on a circular path around the beast, feet slipping and skidding slightly in the loose sand and dirt on the ground. Staggering slightly, he lunged with one foot to regain his balance before he yelped in shock and pitched forward onto his face. Yanking his head up to look around, he froze. "No way." He looked at the blanket of snow surrounding him and his feet, with the Harry-shaped depression in the powdery flakes laying before him. Then he jerked around, looking at the desert only a few steps behind him.
"How the heck is this possible? This is Australia, in the summertime! How is there snow?" He growled in frustration, checking his pack for any winter equipment he had with him. After he had dug to the bottom of his backpack though, he was forced to give it up as a fruitless endeavor. The closest thing he had that he could use was a windbreaker. Donning the light jacket, he turned to stare ahead into the snowy expanse that stretched out in front of him, with dark gray storm clouds forming in the sky above the mountains he was now confronted with. "And of course there are mountains to make it more difficult. This just keeps getting better" he muttered, starting to trudge forward carefully.
After a few steps, his shoes were soaked with cold snow, freezing his feet. Harry tried to use his new found firepowers to dry his feet off, but only succeeded in melting the snow in the general vicinity, dousing his feet in ice water. "Dang it." he muttered, continuing forward as the snow got deeper. "Then I will just burn my way through it." Focusing, a stream of fire shot from his wand, burning a path through the snow, forming a scorch mark on the frozen earth underneath it. 'That makes me better than Gandalf' a bored part of his mind pointed out. 'You can burn snow, he can't.'
He continued his hike, periodically stopping to melt a path through the now chest height snow. Finally reaching the peak of the mountain he was currently climbing, he halted, surveying the other side. The mountain sloped to ground level, then climbed into another massive hill, but after that... "Forest." Hary muttered. "At least no more of this wet stuff." Kitsune he may be, but that didn't mean he had to like the cold.
Carefully picking his way down the rocky crags, feet sliding in the unstable footing, he decided to stop with the fire. He needed his full concentration to make it down the mountainside in one piece, he didn't need to make the ground wetter than it already was. He was about three quarters of the way down when he heard a shrill whistle splitting the air, rising slowly in pitch until the sound hurt his sensitive ears. Harry hunched over, hands clamped over his furred ears, trying to protect them. Finally, the whistle stopped and Harry sighed in relief. Whirling around, he cast his gaze back up the way he had come, finally spotting a small man with a long beard and absolutly massive feet, waving frantically. The figure seemed to be covered in... white fur? He squinted to see better, only to yelp as a massive wave of snow slowly surged forward from near the summit, gaining momentum and crashing down like the fist of God. Harry cast his strongest shield and braced himself, crouching down on one knee. Vaguely, he noticed that the small man seemed to be surfing on the crest of the avalanche using his remarkably large feet. That was the last thing he saw before the snow thundered over him and the sunlight was cut off by a carpet of snow.
Just a little allusion to the movie The Sting, with regards to the poker game at the beginning. Nothing to see here.
