A/N: Hey fokes! Looks like I finalay managed to get this chapter out there for you all! And I've got good news too! It's finals week, which means I'll finally have a bunch of free time to work on things other than school...Like this story for instance! That means The next few chapters will be coming out much quicker then they have been. Oh! And to everyone that actually stops to read these author's notes, the same challenge from last chapter is still open: If anyone can guess where it is before they move, I'll offer the same prize as last time. Got it!? Guess where they go next and I'll answer one question about the future of the story! (I reserve the right to refuse any plot ruining answers)
Oh and to the reviewer who put their name as "Well," I thank you for your honesty, Artanis can indeed be a jackass.
Alright, On with the story!
"Why are we attacking Diagon alley?" one death eater asked.
"The dark lord wants Olivander." Lucius answered. He hated working with these new recruits; they barely had enough intelligence to hold a wand! His master demanded they get the wand maker so he needed numbers more then anything.
"But it's 9 in the morning!"
"It's also a Hogsmead weekend. The Aurors and The Order will be watching the students," another death eater answered.
Lucius paused. 'This one has potential…,' he thought. "Grab the portkeys, we're leaving."
"Headmaster!" A voice called.
Dumbledore looked up as Professor McGonagall burst into his office.
"Diagon Alley is being attacked by Death Eaters!"
Dumbledore blinked and was quiet for a moment. Then he rose to his feet. "Explain."
"Alastor sent a message, apparently he was visiting a shop there when they portkeyed in and blew up the pet shop!"
Another pause, "Tell the students the trip is cancelled. I'll get the order and tell the Ministry," he ran from his office, leaving his deputy behind.
"It's a good thing they attacked two hours before the students left…" she muttered.
It had been a normal day in Diagon Alley. People were out shopping; salesmen were shouting about their sales, all in all a normal day. So when a group of Death Eaters portkeyed in, they hadn't expected such a big crowed, and so many witnesses. The new arrivals stared around blankly at the frozen, scared faces in the alley.
"Uh…Bombarda…" a Death Eater muttered. All faces turned to watch as the blasting spell flew through the open door of the pet shop. Everything was silent for a moment as the spell flew down an empty aisle where it slammed into a giant barrel of magical manure.
Now, any muggle born would have known that manure and explosives make a big bang, so magical manure would obviously be worse. It gave a whole new meaning to the muggle tern "exploding barrel".
The silence in the alley shattered as the pet store erupted in a ball of fire, the resulting pressure wave hurled people away. Suddenly screams filled the air as people panicked and ran. The Death Eaters stared at the fire in shock a moment before snapping back to reality and hurling spells in every direction.
"You two with me," Lucius ordered the nearest death eaters. Together the three stormed into the wand shop.
"Ah Mr. Malfoy. 8 inches, Butterfly Bush Tree and Pixy Dust. What can I do for you today?"
Lucius glared at the wand maker as the others fought back their laughter. "Our master wishes to speak with you."
Olivander sighed. He'd expected this visit for awhile. "Alright, let me just get my…"
"Stupefy" Malfoy snapped, the man dropped to the floor stunned.
"Grab him and let's go!"
As the three walked from the store, an unconscious body floating behind them, they were surprised to find their comrades battling several Aurors and Order members.
"Magic can do wonderful things!" a voice called out.
He'd been there since the attack started. He'd watched the pet shop disappear in a ball of fire. It was tempting to interrupt them then; fire was just SO much fun! But He waited; he needed the perfect moment to interrupt!
Oh and there's The Order, freaky bird worshippers or something like that! They attacked the Death Eaters with reckless abandonment which quickly showed through, as three of their number fell to the cutting curse.
Then the ministry will be… Yup there they are! A squad of Aurors suddenly appeared in the middle of the battle. What idiots! Literally four Aurors appeared between the two sides and instantly three Aurors fell to a barrage of spells.
He watched as the attacking defenders managed to knock out one of the Death Eaters, or rather he knocked himself out as his head slammed into a sign post as he dodged a spell.
Well at least all the players were there and now time to change the rules!
"Magic can do wonderful things!" Artanis said happily as he vanished.
The fighters shielded their eyes as a blinding light appeared. When their vision cleared, they found a figure before them. Their shock grew as Harry Potter grinned at them.
"Well this looks like fun!" the boy said happily.
"Potter!" several voices shouted.
"Where?" the boy whipped around, confused. "Oh right!"
"Potter!" another voice called.
The boy looked up as Lucius pulled off his mask. "Oh! Hello elder Malfoy! How nice to see you!"
"What are you doing here!?"
"Why wouldn't I be here? Why would I want to be somewhere else?"
"Uh…" That wasn't the answer he expected.
"Hell, why would I wanna be there when I can be here? This is a much better place then there! What kind of idiot would want to be there when they can here! It sucks being there! It's such a horrible place! This is a much better place to be!"
"What are you talking ab…" Lucius started.
"But neither is it as good as here!" Suddenly the boy was in front of him driving his fist into the man's throat.
The man stumbled back gagging as he tried to force a breath. The boy vanished again, reappearing in the air above Olivander's captors and with a crash; he dropped and slammed both into the ground, hands wrapped around their throats
With a grin he sprang to his feet, twisted around and clapped his hands together.
"Damn, that was fun. Do you wanna play with me?"
Everyone took a step back from the strange boy.
Harry pouted "Don't you want to play?"
He took a step forward and they stepped back again.
"Oh…" his head dropped then it snapped up, glaring. "I said let's play!"
He vanished, reappearing between two Death Eaters. Both went flying as blue spells leapt from his hands and slammed into their chests. He then whipped around and hurled a ball of fire at another. As the flaming man screamed, Harry leapt through the air and slammed his knee into the head of another. He whipped his hand through the air and three thin blue needles shot out and imbedded themselves in the last three Death Eaters before exploding, dropping them instantly.
"Well that was fun!" he grinned. "Right then, I only need a couple of them so you can have the rest! Ok, Bye bye!" He grabbed Malfoy and the two unconscious eaters behind him. "Have a good day…oh and don't die!" The boy and his captives vanished.
A moment later Dumbledore appeared, wand drawn. He glanced around before lowering it. "What I miss?"
Dumbledore frowned at his place at the head table. Why would Harry attack the Death Eaters? Why would he even show himself now? Where had the boy learned so fast!? He'd only been gone a month!"
The students had been unhappy to lose their Hogsmead trip, but when they found out why they had calmed down. They couldn't risk it being some kind of trap. Of course the hadn't been told EVERYTHING that happened, There was no use worrying them that Harry was back and a hell of a lot stronger.
But where did the boy get that much power? Had the blocks broken? It was possible, unlikely but still possible…
Suddenly a crash of thunder caused everyone in the hall to jump. No one expects thunder on a sunny day!
"Hi!" Harry Potter said, waving enthusiastically as he appeared before the head table. Even the teachers stared in silence. You can't apparate in Hogwarts! Then again rules never seemed to work on Harry.
"I have a few messages to deliver," the boy said with a smile. "First, I've captured the elder Malfoy so congratulations to Draco for inheriting the Malfoy estate. You know since no one will ever see him again. Ok, next up is."
"Potter!" The blonde Slytherin roared, hurling a spell at the teen. Without looking, the boy's hand shot up and caught the blinding curse with a squeeze, the spell popped like a balloon and faded away.
"...So next is, we finally have proof that the Swiss Cheese people are in fact allied with the Red Weasels, so you have be careful there…" He may have just spoken to the wall, what with the lack of reaction he was getting, he cancelled out one little spell and the world goes dumb.
"You're not Harry Potter!" The Headmaster shouted jumping to his feet.
Turning slightly the young wizard glanced back at the old man. "What's that now?"
"You're not Potter!" he said again. "You're the one who was at Diagon Alley, an imposter!!!"
"So. I .Am."with a smirk the figure distorted, it grew taller, its shoulders and muscles got wider. His hair turned grey and lengthened. Suddenly bones formed, like claws across his chest. Plates formed over his shoulders and thighs as his clothes turned blood red. Where Harry once stood was the red eyed man who'd saved him from Azkaban. The PlanesWalker named Artanis.
"You!" Albus roared reaching for his wand.
"Yes me" Artanis waved his hand and the old man found himself being forced into his chair. "Well, this was fun! I got my new…test subjects and delivered my message. Right, ok, bye bye!" He waved happily.
"Oh!" Suddenly his eyes found Grangers and he smirked. "Don't die!" and then he was gone.
Harry groaned. It had been a month since the dance and he'd been working his ass off trying to practice that damn guide book! He was still working on the level one spells! Of course that bloody Planes Walker had yet to finish that Mana lesson which probably didn't help. Since the Walker hadn't shown his face in two weeks, Harry had been forced to learn on his own.
Though the frequent study breaks with Amara were a lot of fun. Harry wasn't sure what 'friends with benefits' meant, but if that's what the girl wanted... Though Kurt and Rain always laughed at him for it, so maybe it wasn't such a good thing.
Oh and he had finally managed to get that girl's code name! "Siphon", since she drew in energy around her, for some reason she had gone through great lengths to hide it from him. He had finally had to trick Jubilee into giving it up, after he had realized that he hadn't learnt it yet. He could be a little slow sometimes. ..
'Harry, could you come to my office please,' a voice said from within his head.
Harry sighed and cancelled the black fire spell he was holding. He hated that telepathic crap, so for the Professor to use it something big was going on.
"So what's going on?" Harry asked.
"We received a call from a friend of mind at the Sam Meyers Mental Institute. It seems one of their patients was released into the custody of her father today."
"So?"
"The patients name is Wanda, and I've been working with her regularly to control her mutant powers."
"I still don't see the problem."
"The problem is that Wanda is a very powerful mutant, whose emotions influence her gifts, drastically increasing them. Oh, and her father is Magneto, a man she hates enough to kill him."
"Ok see NOW I see a problem."
"It seems that who ever had her released turned her over to the Brotherhood. At last check the five of them were heading to the Bayville Mall."
"Ok so it's a bring problem. I don't see why you need me though. Just send your team to deal with them."
"Actually the reason I called you here, is because Wanda's powers are very similar to your own. My team wouldn't have much of a chance."
"She uses magic?"
"Yes, as far as we can tell."
"I'm not trained for teamwork. I don't think I could fight her and the Brotherhood all at once."
"Scott and the others will take care of them; you just have to stop Wanda."
"Are you nuts? I thought I was supposed to stay hidden!"
"Artanis suggested you go actually….He said to count it as a test of your progress."
"…Fine, let me get my coat."
"Looks different at night," Harry muttered.
"Alright, we've got to stick together. We can't let them split us up. Harry where are you…"
"You have your orders, Summers and I have mine." With a wave of his wand, the doors clicked open and he stepped inside walking down the ground floor, he glanced around. Let's see where would a mentally unbalanced teen with daddy issues hide, oh duh, where's Hot Topic.
Moments later as he neared the fountain a familiar voice called out, "Oh look they sent the newest X-Dweeb!"
"Sir Mix A lot!" Harry said happily, looking up at the teen on the second floor. "How's life?"
"Shut up!" The teen's fists clenched and the mall started to shake. With a loud rumble the fountain crashed down as Harry stepped away.
"Hey that could have killed me! If I knew it was a death match I would have tried harder!"
"Oh will you just shut up already!"
Suddenly a red beam slammed into Lance and sent him flying back. Harry turned to see Scott standing behind him.
"I said stick together!" he snapped.
"Just do what the Professor said and get off my ass!"
"I don't care what he said! We don't need your help for some little girl!"
Harry went to answer only to hear a strange sound. Both teens stumbled back as the light fixture above them slammed into the ground. "Some little girl I am!?"
"Oh! So you must be Wanda!" Harry said.
"So what if I am?" she snapped.
Harry nodded absently, than both wands snapped up "Stupefy"
Two red beams shot up at the girl on the second floor. Angrily she slashed her hand out and the spells bounced off of a purple shield into the sky.
"Ah Crap," Harry muttered, without warning he took off running down the walk way firing off more stunners over his shoulder.
"Get back here!" she shouted as she chased after him. No one gets away with attacking her!
"Wanda wait!" Pietro called as his sister ran away glancing back at the X-men he groaned. "Not cool."
"The food court, she has the ability to throw things at me and I lead her to a ton of chairs…" Harry muttered as he dodged the flying furniture.
"Stop moving so I can hit you!" she shrieked.
"That's really tempting but I'd rather not get impaled on a chair." He waved his wands and banished a trio of tables at her which she deflected to the side. "You know, I'd bet you'd be really cute if you weren't trying to kill me."
"Shut up!" she screamed her face red in anger or embarrassment. Harry didn't want to guess which.
Suddenly the boy got an idea. An idea so funny he just couldn't not do it, "You know with your powers, we should join forces. Together we could control this world. Nothing could stop us! No one could get in our way!"
The girl paused mid casting. One of the self righteous X-men was trying to recruit her for evil? What was he playing at?
"Just kidding!" he suddenly laughed and hurled a Reducto spell.
Eye's wide, Wanda threw up a shield only for the spell to detonate on impact, hurling the girl back through the display window behind her.
"Opps…" Harry muttered. Turning, he quickly darted up the stairs to the second floor, running to the destroyed store. "You all right!? I wasn't trying to kill you!"
Slowly, He climbed through the destroyed window, glancing around. "Please don't be dead….I'm gonna get in a lot of trouble if you're dead…"
"You bastard!" A voice shouted as a clothing rack flew at him from the side.
"Oh good!" He said as he ducked away. "You're alive."
"No thanks to you!" A cash register tumbled through the air.
"Ow, crap!" Harry cried as the cash trey clipped his shoulder, hurling him to the ground. "Are you trying to kill me!?"
"You blew me up!" She shouted as she pulled another light fixture down on him.
"I wasn't trying to kill you though!" he rolled away, taking several shards of glass to his back. "Ah damn it you tore my coat!"
"I was aiming for your neck!"
Jumping to his feet harry launched a trio of stunners which she batted away. "You are definitely more challenging than those raptor things…."
The girl's glare grew even worse "did you just compare me to a lizard!?" she shrieked. Above them, the lights exploded, casting them into shadow.
"Uh….No?" He said uncertainly. 'What's with this girl!?'
"ARGH!" She slashed her hands and a wave of red-ish purple energy flew at him.
"Protego!" Harry cried. A shield appeared just as the attack hit. A flash of light blinded them both as they were hurled in opposite directions. With a crash, Harry landed against the railing over the drop to the food court below. With a groan, he looked down at his hands. Blood was sliding down his sleeves, dripping from his wrists. "Guess I got hit with more glass than I thought."
"Why won't you just die?" Wanda groaned as she stumbled from the store.
"What, and fail my first test?" He asked, wincing. "No way in hell."
"First test?" She muttered as she limped across the floor, collapsing next to him.
"Ya, you're my first real test….Freaking guardian sent me out here to fight you, our powers being similar and all…"
"You're testing yourself against me?" She didn't know whether to be flattered or offended.
"We have similar powers….If I want to get better I need to see how I fair…" he shook his head. "Not like I got much chance….You kept hurling chairs at me, I barely got to throw anything back."
"Well sorry…" she muttered. "If I had known it was a test, I wouldn't have fought like we were enemies…."
Shaking his head, Harry forced his arm up. "Cure…" he muttered, flinging his hand open. A ball of white mana formed in his hand.
"Wha…" Wanda muttered eyes wide.
Silently, Harry pressed the ball to his chest. A wave of relief crossed his face as his wounds started to close. "Ah….Much better…." He muttered as he pushed himself up.
"How the hell did you do that!?" She had no idea she could heal herself…
"I said we were similar, not identical….Cure." Again he held a white ball, which he pressed to her stomach. A moment later and her wounds were gone. "Sounds like their done fighting…I'm guessing the X-men trashed your friends again so it's probably time to leave. Shall we call this one a draw?"
"A…A draw?" She asked, staring at him.
"Yup, like a tie, only it sounds cooler." He grinned as he turned to walk away. Wanda winced slightly as she saw the cut up back of his coat. "Name's Harry by the way, next time we fight, I'll win." Without looking back, he walked away.
"What the hell…." The girl muttered.
"What the hell was that!?" Scott shouted as Harry walked past them on the street in front of the mall.
"The professor told me to go after Wanda, so I did. You were told to go after the brotherhood and you did. I don't see the problem." Harry muttered as he continued to walk, the other mutants quickly following.
"We're supposed to be a TEAM. That means we work together and don't go off on our own like some action hero!"
Harry whipped around and glared at the teen. "I am NOT part of your team Summers in case you didn't notice! I was ordered to keep her from beating you all to a pulp, not help your team fight!"
"That's not how we work!" Scott snapped back. "We're all supposed to work together and do what I say!"
Harry smirked "Interesting team dynamic…I wonder how you're 'friends' like having to follow your orders…" Turning away, the boy continued down the street. "I'm not part of your 'team' Scott…I haven't been trained to work with any of you, so I did what I had to." Suddenly the teen stopped, and glanced to the side, just as the others caught up again. "Know what? I want a Slurpie…" Without another word he stepped into the 7-11.
"Why did the professor send him with us if he wasn't supposed to help us…" Scott muttered.
"Like he said Scott, he hasn't been trained to work in a team." Jean muttered. She wasn't exactly happy about it either, but she was far more pissed about Scott saying they all had to do what he says.
"What about all that training he does with Masters?" Kurt asked.
"Hey like….Did you see the slashes in his coat?" Kitty asked softly
The next day, Harry was lying in his bed, flipping through his photo book. "Xavier said Wanda would beat the hell out of his team…But Was I right in leading her away then? He wanted me to keep her away so they wouldn't get hurt. I couldn't put them in danger…No matter what they wanted…"
"Talking to your self isn't normal you know." A voice cut in, only to give a cry as a cutting curse lash at its head.
"About time you got here Artanis!"
"I've been busy!" He whined as he dissipated the curse.
"You sent me after that crazy chick!"
"You needed someone to test yourself against!"
"I thought that's what the danger room simulations were for?" Harry muttered.
Artanis paused. "I….Kinda forgot about those…You kept loosing to the basilisk thing…"
"You made it to strong!" The boy shouted, closing the book.
"That's beside the point…"
"I hate you…"
"So what's this I hear about you getting your ass kicked by a girl?"
"It was a draw!" Harry snapped angrily. "And that's only cause I had to leave!"
"Sure sure…So what's up?"
Harry sighed. What was the point? "She shredded my coat…"
"She did what now?" Artanis asked, whipping around. Behind him, on the closet door, hung the badly damaged leather trench coat. "What the hell did she do to you!?"
"She tried to him me with a florescent light fixture…Than we kind of got blown up by a magical explosion."
"…You are so lucky you don't have to pay for collateral damage…"
"Well it was that Abercrombie & Fitch store so…"
"Oh….Good job than."
"So can you fix it?" Harry asked. He'd grown to like the big coat, and the thing saved him from some bad glass shards.
"Piece of cake" Artanis muttered as he grabbed the coat and somehow stuffed it into his pocket.
"So what are you doing here?"
"I can't check on my student?"
"You wouldn't have to if you'd stop leaving…Or finish your damn lesson!"
"Which lesson?"
"The mana lesson!" Harry snapped.
"I can do that now if you want."
"You're not getting out of it again this…Wait what?"
"I'll finish it now." Artanis said with a nod and grin.
"Oh…Ok…" Harry nodded as he slid off the bed and sank into the bean bag chair on the floor.
"Alright than….Where was I…Hmm."
"You just told me the different colors." Harry offered.
"Right, got it…So I told you about the 6 different kinds of Mana, so now to explain how they work together…"
"I'm listening."
"Alright than, do you remember the circle I showed you?" He snapped his hands and 6 balls of light appeared in the air. A clear one surrounded by red, green, white, blue, and black ones (in that order.)
"Yes…"
"Well there's a reason they're in that order. You see, each color has two allies and two enemies. The two that are next to it are its allies, while the two opposite are its enemies. In nature the allied colors will work together while the enemies will fight for dominance."
"So you can't use two opposite colors?"
"Oh no, you can. See a person can wield all five colors if they want to, you just can't blend them. It's like oil and water, no matter how much you mix them together, they always settle separately. Meanwhile the allies can be blended together like soap and water; they mix together and create something new."
"So you can blend the different manas together?" Harry asked.
"Some times. It depends on what you want it to do. See a person who only uses blue mana can't make fire, no matter what they do. But if they use blue AND white, they can, by making the blue mana into a lens and pushing the white mana through it. Do you understand?"
"Not a word" Harry admitted.
"Good, most people don't anyway." Artanis admitted. "In fact most people hear this explanation, ignore it, and basically just do whatever they want."
"So why are you telling me then?" Harry asked. If no one ever understood it than why bother?
"Because you may pick up something without knowing it…Right now the side effects."
"Wait side effects?" Harry suddenly sat up. No one had mentioned anything about side effects!? He was just trying to get strong enough to stop Riddle!
"Well of course! Using color mana has side effects. If you concentrate on only one color, or a pair of allied colors, it will start to change you."
"Change me!?" That didn't sound good…
"Yes change you. If you constantly flood your system with the same color of mana it will start to absorb it. Your body and physical appearance will slowly change, and your personality will start to reflect that of your chosen color."
"Change how!?"
"Well it depends on the color actually…" Artanis admitted.
"What if I picked Red?" Harry asked
"Red….right well first your hair would probably turn red and orange, as would your eyes. You'd get taller too, and your skin would turn tan. You'd also start to develop runners muscles…You'd also get a lot more violent, you'd have a much shorter and more explosive temper, and you'd be more prone to rushing into things without thinking."
"That's a pretty drastic change…" Harry muttered.
"It's pretty easy to fix, all you have to do is use one of its opposing colors as well. So if you use red, you also have to use white or blue. That way the changes counter each other."
"So I have to use at least two opposing colors?" Harry asked. That made it a lot easier.
"Well if you use two allies, than you also have to use two enemies for them. If you use red and green, than you have to use blue white and or black. Two allies would overwhelm the countering of one enemy, even if it opposed both of them."
"So I'd have to use every color?" Harry asked. He really didn't want to use black magic….
"If you really want to be as powerful as you can be, than you have to." Artanis answered.
"How?"
"They all work together in nature, so you have to use them together to be able to use them expertly."
"Artanis, how?"
"Only when you understand how they can be used together, from using opposing forces to create the needed effect, to using a joint ally to counter an undesired result…"
"HOW DO I USE THEM!?"
"…Didn't I already teach you that?"
"YOU BLOODY FREAKING NUT JOB!!!!"
"So Xavier has a new student….One who can match Wanda head on…" A voice muttered as the scene replayed on a screen before him. "Who is that boy…."
Harry nodded absently, than both wands snapped up "Stupefy"
"Why does he need voice commands and that stick…." The man muttered. "He said his powers were similar to Wanda's….She uses that weird energy…Perhaps he needs the stick as a focus…"
"Just kidding!" he suddenly laughed and hurled a Reducto spell.
"He used it in so many different ways though…And he healed himself without the stick…So maybe he doesn't need it, it just helps…But that still doesn't explain the words…"
"Protego!" Harry cried. A shield appeared just as the attack hit. A flash of light blinded them both as they were hurled in opposite directions.
"Wanda's powers are fueled by her emotions…The more she pours into it the stronger it is…But she can only do a few things with it, when she tries to do more complicated things she has to focus more and the emotions waver…Perhaps the words act as another focus…If he's trained to use the words as a trigger, than saying them would let his power do what he wanted, without having to focus on it…"
Shaking his head, Harry forced his arm up. "Cure…" he muttered, flinging his hand open. A ball of white mana formed in his hand.
"He was able to deflect her attacks just like she could…So it's definitely a type of energy…But he healed them both as well, which means it's more than just energy…"
"Name's Harry by the way, next time we fight, I'll win." Without looking back, he walked away.
"Who is this Harry…Who is that guardian he mentioned…And who's training him? There's no way Charles would teach him to fight like that…He's more reckless than that Wolverine but he fights with more intelligence than Beast…Who is This Harry…"
"Uh…Magneto sir?" A voice interrupted.
"What?" Magneto snapped back.
"You wanted to be told when it was midnight boss…"
"So I did, so I did…"
A/N: And finaly, Magneto arrives, lead by the Scarlet Witch! Haha another chapter done fokes, and I've already started on the next one. There's only one or two more chapters in this part of the story, so anyone who wants to try and guess where Harry goes next, I'm offering a prize! Yes, I am in fact putting this on twice, since I've found some people only read one of the two Authors Notes. I figured that out when people only reviewed things written in one but not the others. Alright fokes, Until next time, Keep reading!