The New World:
When Harry woke he decided that hospital beds were universally recognisable. Either that or he was back in his usual bed in Hogwarts Infirmary. Without opening his eyes, Harry tried to take in his surroundings as he had done every time since the war began. Only when he had established that he was alone wherever he was, that he allowed himself to relax.
It was then that he remembered.
Suddenly Harry wished he had never woken up. He knew that when he opened his eyes nothing would be the same. None of his friends would be there waiting for him. A weight settled in his chest as he thought of Hogwarts and Ron and Hermione. Icy cold spread from the constricting heaviness in his torso and Harry felt himself curl around it, biting his lip to stop the tears from seeping out from under his eyelids. He wasn't ready to wake up yet wasn't ready to acknowledge that everything had changed.
It wasn't fair.
But he had agreed to this, a small soft voice in the back of mind said. And Harry hated the fact that it was right. He had agreed to this and with a soft groan and movements stiff Harry pushed himself up and opened his eyes.
It was a private room, he noted. Not like the ward at Hogwarts and far above it in the use of technology if the beeping machines in the corner were any sign.
The door was a little confusing to him at first, as it had no handle. He decided that it must be like the automated sliding doors he had seen in the shopping centres with Aunt Petunia.
Harry sighed as the pain in his chest twinged. He hadn't even thought of the Dursley's when he had accepted the offer. He had never loved them or even liked them, but all the same he hoped that they had lived happily enough.
Not that he had any way of finding out.
Groaning again Harry wondered if someone would check on him soon. He didn't want to risk walking just yet. The remains of the last Battle and the Never-ending Camping Trip from Hell were making themselves known.
Sighing Harry let himself fall back onto the bed that was as uncomfortable as every other hospital bed he had ever been in and stared at the ceiling. Wishing that someone would come soon, he didn't want to be alone with his thoughts for the moment.
It took another hour, by the light shining through the window, for someone to come and check on him.
Curled in a ball and wishing that the weight in his chest would go away, Harry had almost drifted off into a troubled sleep when the door opened with a muffled swishing sound.
"Oh! You're awake!" The excited voice said, far too loudly for Harry who shot up into a sitting position eyes wide as he watched a young girl. She was about his age with light brown hair and a brilliant yellow dress. She turned away from the door, leaving Harry alone again almost as abruptly as she had arrived. The automatic door sliding closed behind her.
It was only a minute later that the door swished open again. This time admitting a middle age lady with dark hair in a white lab coat, the bright yellow girl following close behind.
"So you're back with us at last." She said as she moved to his bedside, looking at the readings the various machines showed. She obviously understood it as she turned back to Harry with a kind smile.
"I'm Doctor Kadowaki, this young lady is Selphie one of the ones that found you." Said the Dr. gently. Harry nodded, showing that he understood.
He had just opened his mouth to introduce himself to the woman who reminded him painfully of Madame Pomfrey when the door swished open again and a blond man maybe a year older than Harry rushed in.
"Is he awake yet!" Zell shouted into the room. Only to stumble to a halt when he caught sight of Harry sitting up in the bed looking like a deer caught in the headlights.
"You're awake!" Zell shouted jumping on the spot and generally looking as if he had had too much sugar.
"Zell!" The yellow girl, Selphie admonished.
"If you can't be quiet you can get out now," Dr. Kadowaki said in a no-nonsense tone, and Harry was absurdly grateful that no matter how much changed Healers were still the same.
Zell immediately curbed his over-enthusiastic approach and even managed a subdued look briefly before Dr. Kadowaki turned back to Harry.
Harry attempted a smile, which wasn't much of a success, before opening his mouth to speak again.
"I'm Harry."
The three in the room beamed.
"A pleasure to meet you, Harry," aid Dr. Kadowaki, nodding her head even as Zell and Selphie bounced in the background.
Harry tried to return their smiles, but it felt brittle and shattered soon after.
Glancing around the room Harry turned back to the smiling Dr. and the two hyper teenagers.
"Um," He began, "I don't suppose you could tell me where we are? Or when we are for that matter." Harry asked, muttering the last part under his breath.
"You're in Balamb Garden," Zell announced grinning, only to look as confused as Harry felt when no recognition lit his face. "You have to know about Balamb Garden!" Zell insisted looking a little put off that Harry wasn't as aware of the world as he was expected to be.
Feeling lost Harry looked back to Dr. Kadowaki for some sort of reprieve.
"The Garden is a school for SeeDs, mercenaries. As for the Date, it is 31st of July 1382 P.H." Dr. Kadowaki said. It seemed she understood a little better than Zell that Harry couldn't know everything. Either that or she assumed that he was from acute memory loss.
Harry blinked. He was certain that it had been 2001 when he left, and he had never heard of P.H. before.
"Um, what is P.H. exactly and do you know how it relates to A.D.?" Harry asked and he was positive that they all thought he was mad.
"P.H. stands for Post Hyne." Selphie murmured. Both she and Zell had lost their earlier excited bounce.
"A.D. was the age just before this one. The calendar counts from 6000 A.D. to 1 P.H." Dr. Kadowaki continued with the explanation, a wary timbre to her voice and Harry was beginning to feel as if he just wanted to curl up and hide.
Three thousand years Gaia had said. Harry supposed that five-thousand-three-hundred wasn't far off the mark.
With an exhale of air, Harry let his back slump towards the wall. The three other occupants of the room watching him curiously.
And that was another problem Harry wanted to avoid thinking about. If they didn't know that he was from the past, then should he tell them?
Groaning softly Harry pulled his knees up under his chin, uncaring of his audience.
Dr. Kadowaki peered at him, analysing the situation as best she could. The two new made SeeD in the room with her had no idea how to react, this wasn't what they had expected.
"Excuse me," Selphie said. Confidence returning even though Harry barely turned his head. "But you are the Sorcerer, aren't you?"
Harry frowned, he wasn't familiar with the term sorcerer. There had only ever been witches and wizards that he knew of.
Turning to look at the bright bubbly girl Harry figured he would have to play this carefully.
"I'm not familiar with the term 'sorcerer', but I am a magic user." That seemed to satisfy the girl and the other two occupants of the room. Although Zell gave him a sharp look when he said he didn't know what a sorcerer was.
Even as Selphie nodded and bounced on the balls of her feet Harry wished they would leave him alone. He needed to think, he needed to figure out what was happening and he needed to try and forget about Hogwarts.
Dr. Kadowaki noticed that he was beginning to feel uncomfortable and gave him another smile.
"I think it's time we gave you some peace. I'll send some food in for you, but you should try to rest." With that said she proceeded to herd Selphie and Zell out the door, ignoring their half-hearted words of complaint.
Soon Harry was on his own and the weight in his chest seemed to double.
Curling tightly into himself, Harry hugged his legs as he fought the tears springing up against his bidding. He wished he could ask Ron and Hermione what he should do. He didn't know these people, didn't trust them. They could be the equivalent of Death Eater's putting on an act for all he knew of the world.
Moaning Harry pressed his eyes into his knees, covered with the simple white sheet of the hospital bed. He chose to ignore the slight dampness that seeped through the cloth into his skin.
Taking a deep breath, Harry tried to push away the rising panic forcing its way past the weight in his chest. He had to think, he had to think!
Breathing in and out, counting his breaths, Harry waited for his pulse to slow and the ragged edges to even out. It would do him no good to panic, not here, not where his friends couldn't help him.
Forcing himself to pass the ache in his chest, Harry concentrated on what Dr. Kadowaki and the others had said.
Sorcerer.
Either Wizards have a new name for themselves or they were something completely different. Something powerful by the way that Selphie had mentioned it. And it hadn't shocked them, were they wizards and witches then? Or were they muggles? Did that divide in society even exist anymore? The ministry had seemed so set in its traditions back in his own time, could they change?
Harry groaned again as all the questions built up and no answers seemed to present themselves.
Dr. Kadowaki had said that the 'age' was P.H., Post Hyne whoever the hell Hyne was. Harry felt that he would be to these people as Merlin was to the witches and wizards of Hogwarts.
The abrupt swish of the door jerked Harry out of his hopeless musing and his head snapped up to assess the person entering.
Sighing, Harry forced himself to relax at the sight of Dr. Kadowaki with a steaming tray of food.
Kadowaki smiled at him again, and Harry began to recognise it as something she used to keep him calm. Even though he knew that there could be one thousand and one reasons why she would do that if he was a prisoner, Harry found himself grateful for the small kindness. Even as the ache in his chest twinged as he remembered Madame Pomfrey with her strict demeanour.
"Hello, again Harry," Dr. Kadowaki said as calmly as she could. "I hope you like hot-dogs."
She placed the tray containing a steaming hot dog, a green salad and a glass of juice on the small side table beside the bed.
Harry was relieved to see that the food of the future hadn't changed over much from his own. Even though he had never had a hot-dog before, it was another point of familiarity that he could grab onto.
Nodding at the Dr. and returning her smile with a little more success although it was still fragile, Harry turned to the food. He hadn't had a chance to eat before the battle, and when he considered that he hadn't eaten in over five-thousand years his stomach rumbled.
Picking up the hot dog Harry gingerly bit into the end, testing the flavour. Finding to his surprise that it was just an ordinary sausage on a bun, Harry bit into it hungrily. The salad met a similar fate though the juice he eyed at first. He had wished that someone had told him about pumpkin juice before he had gulped it down at his first welcome feast, and he didn't particularly want another such experience.
Of course it could be drugged easier than the food, but he didn't care at this point.
Taking a cautious sip, Harry hummed at the tart citrus flavour that flooded his mouth. It seemed that orange juice was another constant in the tides of time.
Draining the glass Harry laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling as his thoughts fought with each other for his attention. With the distraction of filling his stomach, Harry had forgotten about the pain in his chest. With no further distraction forthcoming, it roared back full force.
Uncaring if anyone walked in Harry curled on his side and this time when the tears came he did not fight them.
A/N: Alrighty, just letting you know that from this point onward things will be changing rather a lot. Mostly were Seifer's concerned. I discovered a soft spot for him the approximate size of Galbadia. So... yeah. :)