Harry looked around, somewhat nervous as he stepped into the Grand Ballroom of Domino's Royal Palace, where the Young Royals Gala was being held.
He looked fine, dressed in the same outfit he'd worn to Bill and Fleur's wedding and a gorgeous Roxy was on his arm; her hair wavy, held back by a simple black headband which went with her flowing, long-sleeved sapphire and black gown, but he was nervous.
Roxy sensed it and turned from her conversation with Rainer to talk to him.
"Why are you so nervous, Harry? You've faced much worse than this. You'll be fine." Roxy reassured him.
"Balls, galas, dances... I don't like them. I really don't..." Harry spoke quietly.
"And just how many of them have you even been to?" Roxy raised an eyebrow.
Harry looked down at his feet. "Just the one in my fourth year at Hogwarts..."
"Roxy! Harry! Rainer! Hi!"
The trio looked up to see Krystal moving briskly towards them, Athena and Anahita close behind them.
"I only got here a few minutes ago. Did you just get here?" the Linphean princess asked them.
"Yeah. Smooth ride from Tir Nan Og to the transport area and we managed to snag a shuttle with Princess Brianna of Xymentar and her guests..." Rainer made a face of disgust.
"Why the face, Rainer? I didn't find Princess Brianna or her guests that unpleasant. It couldn't be because she's a witch, due to your heritage and all..." Harry said.
"Certainly not." Rainer continued to scowl.
"What?! Who in their mind would invite her and her friends somewhere like this? That's a recipe for disaster!" Krystal asked in shock.
"Roxy, what am I missing here?" Harry whispered to her.
"I don't suppose you remember the disastrous event that was the dance at Cloud Tower last year, do you?" Roxy whispered back.
"How could I forget?"
"We found out that it was one of her guests- the one with the lilac hair? Her name's Genevieve. She was the one who decided to experiment with creature summoning there..." Roxy explained. "Doesn't help that she's the Witch of Insects and Arachnids. We call her the creepy-crawlie witch..."
"Doesn't help that Chantal is a princess too and would be invited here as well. I'm sure she's around here somewhere. I like Chantal, but she probably brought Aquila with her and I definitely don't like her..." Rainer's annoyed voice broke through their little side conversation.
"I'm the only one here who doesn't know who these witches are. Somebody care to explain this to me?" Harry asked the group of fairies at large.
"Okay, Harry. I'll give you the rundown. Lilac-haired Genevieve who apparently hitched a ride with you is the creepie-crawlie witch as we like to call her. She has an affinity for monsters in general. Ick." Krystal shuddered.
"Crown Princess Brianna of Xymentar is a Biology witch. Cross her and she's likely to give you worse than acne or a cold. The other one with you - the one with the dark green hair? Well, her hair isn't likely to remain that colour. Her name's Regine. She's a Shifter. Can change into whatever- or whoever she likes on a whim..." Krystal continued.
"And the other two you mentioned that might be around here somewhere?" Harry asked.
"Chantal of Bolas isn't the heir to the throne. Her older brother Matthias is. Still would have some political power of course." Anahita explained. "Auburn hair, freckles, short and thin. Aquila- deceptively pretty- has metal and magnetism based powers. Could skewer you with a blade at will if she felt like it..."
"All in all, not exactly the most pleasant of witches to deal with..." Athena commented.
"Certainly not the worst though." Rainer pointed out. "You should hear some of the stories that my sister Nephele has to tell about her Cloud Tower days..."
"They wouldn't cause trouble at an event like this. Some of them are royals. The others are invited guests of royals. This isn't some relatively insignificant school dance..." Harry pointed out.
"That is true..." Rainer acquiesced.
"Come on ladies. I see a few familiar faces around here. Let's go mix and mingle and leave these two lovebirds alone, huh?" Krystal giggled.
Roxy glared at them as they giggled and walked off.
"So... Domino, huh? What's it like here?" Harry asked her after a bit.
"I don't really know. I've never been here before today. Bloom's told me all sorts of stories about it though..." Roxy shrugged.
A door on the far side of the courtyard that led back inside the palace opened up and a dozen Dominoian guards, six on each side lined the doorway.
A royal crier stepped between the guards and announced: "Presenting the royal family of Domino: King Oritel, Queen Marian and Princess Bloom!"
The royal family stepped out, to loud cheers and applause.
"So that's her, huh?" Harry noted. "The Princess Bloom of Domino. Keeper of the Dragon's Flame."
"Yep it is! She's actually really nice though. Come on!" Roxy pulled him away towards Bloom and the other Winx Club members.
"Hey girls!" Roxy exclaimed cheerfully once she got closer.
"Roxy! Hi! Glad you could make it!" Bloom gave her a hug and Roxy accepted.
Noticing Harry, Bloom stepped back and looked him up and down briefly.
"Roxy, who is this?" She asked her.
"Oh, well..." Roxy eyed Stella, some instance away with the others, who was shamelessly eavesdropping. "This is Harry Potter. My boyfriend."
"Pleased to meet you, Harry. I've heard so much about you." Bloom giggled as Harry kissed her hand.
"I have heard much about you as well, Princess. Thank you for hosting this event. I'm sure Roxy and I will have a great time here." Harry smiled at her.
"Well, Roxy. It seems like you've snagged quite the gentleman!" Bloom noted. "But none of the Princess stuff. Just call me Bloom. Come with me and meet the rest of the Winx Club!" Bloom motioned for them to follow her.
"Hey girls! Look! This is Harry Potter, Roxy's boyfriend and the guy that asked us to come to Earth to help us in that fight against the Trix." Bloom gestured to him.
"Hey! I remember you! You were there the first time that I took Roxy to Magix Mall!" Stella exclaimed, eyes widening in recognition.
"Yeah, he was. He helped me ditch you. Speaking of which, I will never go shopping with you ever again." Roxy said.
The Winx Club giggled at Stella's indignant expression and even Harry chuckled a bit.
"So... There was magic on Earth this whole time, huh?" Bloom mused aloud. "And to think that I never even knew. I wonder why the American Department of Magic never picked up on me when I was growing up in California then..."
"Perhaps it was because you were of a different kind of magic they weren't used to monitoring. Who knows? Perhaps you should ask if there's a possibility of meeting up with their Secretary of Magic someday..." Harry suggested.
"Excellent idea, Harry! I may just do that!" Bloom looked a bit more cheerful.
The Specialists wandered over at that point and more introductions were made.
"So... you survived a Killing Curse, huh?" Riven looked at Harry appraisingly. "Has anybody figured out how yet? You don't look particularly special now, and I doubt you were that special of a toddler..."
"Riven!" Musa slapped him lightly on the arm and Roxy gripped Harry's hand tighter, glaring at Riven as she did.
"No, no." Harry held up his free hand to forestall an argument. "He's not the first to say something similar and he won't be the last. The truth is that nobody knows for sure. Perhaps my Mum did some sort of special, ancient magic or something. Maybe Voldemort somehow screwed up the spell. Either way, I survived a spell that I wasn't meant to survive; a spell that no one had ever survived before." Harry shrugged.
"What are the mechanics of that spell?" Timmy asked. "How does it work?"
"The incantation for it is Avada Kedavra, so if you ever hear those words and see a bright green light heading towards you, it's time to get the hell out of there. It's apparently painless and doesn't cause any external or internal injury- save of course for stopping all vital functions instantly upon impact..." Harry explained.
"Wow..." Timmy looked not a little frightened by the thought of such a spell.
"Anyway, enough dark thoughts! We're here to enjoy ourselves!" Bloom exclaimed.
"Bloom's right. This is a party!" Stella exclaimed as well. "Why are we here talking about such awful things?"
"Mostly because Riven brought up said awful things in the first place..." Musa eyed her boyfriend.
"Well then, we'll see you around!" Roxy waved cheerfully as she led Harry off.
"Well, they're an interesting bunch..." Harry noted once he and Roxy were some distance away.
"I know, right?" Roxy agreed. "Everyone makes them out to be some sort of extraordinary superheroes- which they kind of are, but they're regular people too..."
"Hmm... I heard that the Princess of Tir Nan Og was here with an Earthling wizard and a rather extraordinary one at that..." a female voice spoke from behind them and they turned to see a short, thin girl with waist-length auburn hair with little side braids, hazel eyes accompanied by a male even taller than Harry, slightly older and with curly blond hair and dark brown eyes.
Roxy rolled her eyes. "Harry, this is Princess Chantal of Bolas and her older brother Crown Prince Matthias of Bolas. Chantal's going to be a Sophomore at Cloud Tower this year and Matthias is going to be a Senior at Red Fountain..."
"Pleased to meet you." Harry shook hands firmly with the older Specialist and did a little bow to Chantal, who giggled.
"We've been hearing stories about you, so we decided that we had to come over and meet you." Matthias explained. "I've seen you around on campus, but I never really knew enough to be interested in talking to you, honestly..."
"Your sister told most of those stories, didn't she?" Roxy raised an eyebrow at the other girl, who merely smirked.
"Oh nah. I've been behaving myself, compared to my coven sisters." Chantal answered.
Roxy looked incredulous. "You? Behaving yourself? I find that hard to believe. My own sources tell me that you fancy yourself an expert prankster."
"I don't just fancy myself as one. I am. Just ask Gennie!" Chantal exclaimed.
"Genevieve, right?" Roxy asked. "She was in the shuttle with me, Harry, Rainer, Brianna and Regine..."
Chantal nodded to the first statement, then her eyes widened in realisation.
"You were in a shuttle with Bri and Reg and you didn't end up cursing one another?" She asked in shock. "Or rather, Brianna didn't give you a face full of sentient acne or some other horror?"
While the witch and fairy princess gossiped about the various witches and fairies in attendance- among others, Harry talked to Matthias.
"What's it like in the witch camp, really?" Harry asked him. "I've been hanging out with fairies since I first found myself in Magix and I don't have much experience with the types of witches here except for the Trix. I highly doubt that they're an example of what witches are typically like..."
Matthias snorted. "Yeah, most witches aren't like those three loons. They generally are a secretive lot and usually work alone. They're not really into the teamwork thing like the fairies are, though some, like my sister will form covens. They also don't see things like sunshine and candy rainbows like a lot of fairies tend to..."
"And the whole rivalry thing I hear they've got going on? It's a fairy versus witch thing they have going on, don't they?" Harry asked.
"Oh yeah. Big time. Ever since the days of the Ancestral Witches. There's a story behind that, but we came here to have a good time, not have a history lesson..." Matthias lifted a glass of wine off the tray of a passing waiter, as did Harry. "It's gotten a bit better since the Winx Club's days at Alfea, but it's mostly a surface thing. It's the philosophy behind the use of magic that still keeps each side relatively separate..."
"Philosophy... Dark Magic versus Light Magic? Witches favour Dark Magic while fairies use Light Magic?"
"Yes. Witches believe that Dark Magic can be used for good, but fairies pretty much think that you shouldn't use Dark Magic under any circumstances. It's kind of stupid, really. If you're in a fight with someone who wants to kill you, do you think they're going to send rose petals and glitter at you?" Matthias asked. "No. They'll send constricting vines with thorns embedded in them and shards of glass."
"Recent experiences really brought it home for me. The enemy isn't going to show you mercy, so why show them any?" Harry said.
"Precisely!" Matthias exclaimed. "That's part of the reason I applied to Red Fountain in the first place. As the future king of my planet, they won't expect me to be on the front lines, but should Bolas ever be attacked, I want to be able to participate somehow. Understand what's going on. Form strategies and such. Plus a Red Fountain degree is useful in everyday matters of planetary security anyway and the curriculum is challenging and interesting enough to make it feel worthwhile in the process."
Harry nodded in agreement as some music began to play.
"Dance music. I guess I'd better go find Roxy and see if she'd like a dance..." Harry glanced around, not seeing her.
"I hear you. I guess I'll ask one of my sister's friends to dance or something. I suppose I will see you around on campus. Perhaps then, we can have a more detailed discussion on magical philosophy..." Matthias said.
"Indeed." Harry did a little salute as he walked away to find Roxy.
"Enjoying the mingling?" Harry asked Roxy as they danced.
"It's been okay so far. I guess it's because this gathering is mostly young people like us, but it's not been so bad." Roxy noted.
"Did you encounter those witches you were talking about again?" Harry asked.
"Oh yeah. Look. Brianna's over there dancing with Matthias." Roxy inclined her head and Harry glanced aside to see a pale-skinned female with pin-straight black hair dancing with the Red Fountain senior.
"Genevieve is out by the buffet table."
Harry saw a girl with lilac hair in a bun- who looked vaguely Asian in appearance- talking to one of the servers at the buffet.
"What about the other two? Aquila and... Regine, was it?"
"Off somewhere. They wouldn't dare to try something here though. Thank goodness for that." Roxy said.
"Are they really that bad?"
"I wouldn't say so, but they can be rather... difficult when they want to be. Genevieve and Aquila moreso. The other three are more subtle."
"Then I'd say that those other three are really the ones to watch then..." Harry pointed out.
"You have a point." Roxy acquiesced.
They did one last twirl as the music ended and then made their way over to the buffet where Genevieve had been joined by Brianna, Chantal, a dark-skinned girl with long, dark green hair and a pretty, brown-skinned girl with wavy hair that gradually changed from black at the roots, through to brown and to dark blonde at the tips.
"So this is Roxy's boyfriend that we've been hearing so much about..." the pretty girl looked Harry up and down appraisingly in a way that Roxy didn't like so the animal fairy drew Harry closer to her. "He's not bad looking at all. Rather handsome, in fact..."
"Aquila, behave. Now is not the time to try stealing someone's boyfriend. Especially someone who outranks you socially." the green-haired girl frowned.
"Ah, Regine. You're no fun at all..." Aquila pouted.
Regine rolled her eyes.
"Enjoying the party, ladies?" Harry asked, determined to avoid a conflict at any cost, especially as he saw Roxy's roommates approaching out of the corner of his eye.
"Now that you're here, I think I am enjoying it even more..." Aquila leered. "The alcohol here is weak compared to what we witches are used to, but I guess it can't be helped."
"Save it for when we get back to Magix, Aquila." Brianna put a hand on her shoulder. "We got invites to one of the biggest social events of the year, with acceptable refreshments, music and company and I won't have you... or Genevieve mucking it up. I intend on enjoying myself here this evening."
"What's going on here?" Rainer raised a suspicious eyebrow as she approached the group.
Harry reached for a plate of gourmet finger food and munched it almost idly. "Nothing. Nothing really. Just mingling with different kinds of people, like we're supposed to. And enjoying ourselves."
"And Aquila attempting to flirt with people's boyfriends." Roxy narrowed her eyes at the multi-coloured haired witch, who shrugged indifferently. "While their girlfriends are right there..."
"I have to apologise for my... friend. Sometimes she can't help herself." Brianna glared at her, but Aquila seemed quite unbothered by the looks she was getting.
"Anyway, with magic beginning to flourish on Earth again, my parents told me to talk to you, Roxy." Brianna addressed her.
"Oh? Why?" Roxy raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"The... potential opportunities of course. Plus we hear that the Earthling fairies aren't as big on the bleeding hearts thing as the ones here..." Brianna seemed to look over the twins and Krystal in particular at this.
"My mother did mention something like that along those lines once or twice..." Roxy commented.
"Your mother is a wise woman then." Brianna smirked.
Just then the ground began to rumble and the roars of a monster could be heard outside the castle walls.
All in their group turned to look at Genevieve, who shrugged. "It wasn't me for once!" She exclaimed.
They looked over to the walls and saw a giant monster with red eyes and fangs that looked as long as Harry was tall.
"What the hell is that?" Brianna began backing up.
"I would guess that that's a monster." Rainer's eyes widened as she backed up as well.
"No shit, Rainer!" Athena exclaimed.
"You don't say..." Regine's tone was flat.
"How did that thing even managed to breach the perimeter around the palace?" Harry pulled his wand out of his sleeve and gripped it tightly.
"Oh look. A party. And we weren't invited."
"Never mind. We came to crash it anyway."
"And look. We brought a gift!"
Two witches flew up behind the monster, smirking down at the terrified royals, their guests and the palace employees.
"Monster, why don't you go ahead and make this party more interesting, huh?" Icy commanded.
At these words, the monster lunged forward, sending the gala guests scattering.