Apologies for the delay. I will try to update my stories at least once per week from now on.
Thanks to all of you for the support!
Reunions
Harriet on her first day after arriving at Hammerhal decided to spent it looking for a part-time job on the fortified city. The girl hoped to gain money, find, and stop Voldemort in the most case he had somehow reached this new world and eventually find a way back to Earth.
She awoke first thing in the morning to the sound of people descending the stairs and the noise of the kitchen preparing breakfast for the tenants and guest.
The woman got up from the bed and dressed herself on her new clothes. Harry put on her glasses and washed her face. Once finished, she went down to the ground floor. The smell of food being cooked and served filled the raven-haired girl's nostrils.
The scarred owner of the inn greeted new people with disinterested face, asking them for their business there. Harry ignored her and entered the dining room. There, people of different races and attires looked briefly at the girl before returning to eating.
The emerald-eyed girl sat on one of the tables and waited for the waiter to come.
"Hello. What would you like to eat?" Harry turned her head towards the source of the voice.
The person that greeted her was a boy her age, with brown eyes and black hair combed backwards. He was dressed in a simple white shirt and brown pants with a dirty grey apron atop of it.
"Mmmmnh… What do you have?" Harriet asked.
"Well… Today we have fried salamander bacon strips with toasted bread, but you can have bread with chilli, fruit juice, toasts with butter, fried eggs…".
Harry rummaged the options on her mind for a couple of seconds before deciding.
"I'll have the salamander with bread and a glass of orange juice, please" She said with a smile.
The waiter grinned and went to the kitchen. Harry watched him go and decided to pass the time discretely looking at all the people around her, marvelling at all the different humans, aelf and duardin eating.
A couple of men and women talked and laughed together, a trio of aelf men ate silently on their left, a band of duardin with big mohawks chatted and drank beer while eating in front of them. An aelf woman of pale skin dressed in purple armour had a series of knives and a sword hanging from her belt.
Harry wondered what business all the people would have on the city, knowing they didn't lived there. Harriet reflected on her journey to the Realm of Aqshy and all the things she had encountered.
To say her life has changed would be an understatement. Harriet knew with great certainty that unless a miracle happened, her destiny would be living on the Mortal Realms for the rest of her life.
One thing she could be happy about was that here, her fame was something nobody knew about. Harry had lived for five years harassed and swarmed by hordes of wizards and witches that believed she would become some kind of saviour or celebrity that would shower them in affection or money. She hated it, hated them because they were happy, while her parents had died protecting her. Harry had tried to ignore them, but every day they followed her like vultures, hoping to become famous just by being beside her.
Harry had been lucky, having friends like Hermione and Ron to support her. To take her side every time the people around them called her a liar or accused her of being a glory-hound. When she had declared Voldemort had resurrected, they had glared and cursed Harry, saying the death of Cedric Diggory, a friend and crush, had not been killed by Voldemort and his followers.
But not anymore. Harry was finally free and with the opportunity of choosing her future. And she was not going to let anything go wrong.
She was taking away from her musings when the waiter approached her with her breakfast.
"Here you go" He said.
"Thanks!" Harry smiled and watched him put on the plates on the table.
The girl looked at the food and the delicious smell filled her nostrils. The food consisted of a glass of deep orange fruit juice and a small plate with stripes of fried meat and a piece of bread.
The waiter had said the meat was salamander and she wondered how it would taste like. The crisp food was of a crimson colour and glistened due to the grease it exuded. A pair of pieces of cutlery were put at the sides and Harry looked back at the waiter.
The boy was fidgeting slightly and looking side to side as to decide what to do next. Harry arched an eyebrow and wondered why he was still there.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
He snapped from his musings and opened his mouth to speak.
"I'm sorry! My name is Glenn. I was wondering… If you don't have nothing to do later, we could go and have a date" The boy proposed.
Harry had a double-take and her eyes widened. It was the first time a boy of her age asked her out. Harry blushed slightly and grinned. Her green eyes sparkled.
"Nice to meet you Glenn. I'm Harry, Harriet Potter." The girl shrugged and shook his hand "I'm currently going to search for a job, here in Hammerhal, but sure. I will love to go on a date with you".
He nodded. He smiled to her with a mouth full of pearly white teeth.
"Where are you from?" Glenn asked with curiosity.
Harry pretended to be sad and smiled ruefully. She tried to think of a name for the supposed town she had come from and decided to use the name of her school.
"From Hogwarts. It was a small town, but it was attacked yesterday. I was rescued by Stormcast Eternals when it suffered a chaos warband attack".
He looked at her and casted his eyes down in shame.
"I'm so sorry! That was very rude of me…".
Harry waved her hand.
"It's okay. We can talk more about it later" She smiled reassuringly.
He nodded and smiled back.
"Great! I can't wait to hear your story" He took a couple of seconds lost in thought and continued talking "I think you can find job in the Brass Mire or the Emberflats. There are many shops that could use more manpower and the Houses of Glass are safe enough for you to go…".
"What are the Houses of Glass? Where would those be?" The curiosity of the different districts of Hammerhal made her ask.
"They are a series of greenhouses that are used to create Aqua Ghyranis. It seems they was some problem with the Thunderspring, and apparently they were recently stolen. It seems they need people to tend to the plants while they solve the issue…"
She thought about it for a couple of seconds and nodded.
"Thanks for the suggestion, I will look there as you recommended" The girl thanked him.
"No problem. You should take a cart ride to them, because Hammerhal is pretty big…" He s
Harry didn't had to be told twice. She had seen the enormity of the city with her own eyes and knew it would be impossible for her to move around and expect to arrive to her destinations before nightfall.
"Glenn, come here! The next order is ready!" The voice of a duardin cook yelled from the kitchen.
"Oops! I better go! See you later, Harry!" He waved back at her and began walking towards his boss.
Harry waved back, and after seeing him disappear inside the kitchen, began eating her breakfast.
She cut a piece of salamander and brought it to her mouth. She chewed the meat and was surprised to find it delicious. Nodding to herself, Harry began eating in earnest.
Once the girl finished, Harry got up from her seat and walked towards the door of the building.
Outside, she was greeted with the heat of flowing magma beneath the ground and the bustle of people walking on the streets. Some talked to each other in front of tents and shops, a man casted flames in the air to the wonder of a group of little kids, various guards patrolled the place, looking for signs of violence. The paved ground was black due to the ash clinging to its surface and Harry felt droplets of sweat running down her back due to the scorching heat. The woman lamented Sigmar had chosen that Realm to make her live in the meantime.
Small pools of lava flowed through crevices in the ground and the sound of erupting volcanoes blended in the background noise of the different factories and smithies.
The red skies of the city were filled with the movement of various sky-vessels and enormous winged lizards. Harry was surprised to find dragons on Aqshy. But there were not only them, other creatures walked on the streets without making people scream and flee on a panic.
The buildings around them were decorated with golden icons and the shape of lightning bolts. Harry deduced that those represented Sigmar, and wondered if it was a coincidence the covered scar on her forehead had a similar shape.
Time to seek some place to work, and have at least money for staying here, She thought.
She saw a couple of carts with passengers inside being pulled by their drivers and four saddled lizards the size of dogs. She wondered if they would be something akin to taxis in the Realm. Harry made a gesture to one of the empty ones running down the busy street and watched it stop. The driver was a woman with a series of scars around her arms and tattoos of different symbols.
"Yes? Where do you want go?" Her voice had a tone of disinterest and Harry hoped into the passenger's seat.
The grunts of the lizards filled her ears, but she ignored them. Their red scaled skin made them blend almost completely with the fire in their surroundings.
"To the Houses of Glass, please" The driver nodded and pulled the reins.
Harry felt the rattle of the cart every time the wheels hit a loose brick. The girl looked at the streets and watched the people and buildings being left behind in her path toward the greenhouses.
It took her almost twenty minutes to reach her destination. Once there, Harry hopped down the vehicle and looked at the buildings around them.
The Houses of Glass were situated in Emberflats, and like those usually found on Earth were enormous glass domes of different colours with their insides filled with all class of plants and trees. The door to the inside was an elaborated pair of gates of silver metal and golden engravings. A pair of handles allowed the people to enter the buildings.
"It's fifteen copper coins" The driver announced. Harry turned around and took her money pouch. She handed the money to her and watched as she drove away.
Harry sighed and put the pouch inside her pocked once more.
"Let's go" She muttered to herself.
Grasping the golden handles, the size of a bear's claw, Harry opened the door. The smell of flowers and humid jungles entered her nose, alleviating the sulfuric scent permeating the air from outside. The woman marvelled at the different plants and the colourful trees around her.
Unsurprisingly, she couldn't identify any of them. There were trees that suppurate a viscous red sap from their bark, flowers that glowed with pale blue light, enormous vines that coiled around the branches of other trees that were covered in fungi.
She watches as a group of people walked around the building dressed in elaborated clothes and draped grey robes. What catch her attention the most was a series of strange emerald gemstones incrusted in spherical mechanical devices, that constantly changed from solid to liquid and gas. Harry assumed they had magical properties but didn't know what their use would be.
A man approached her, and Harry turned towards him.
"What are you doing here, child? Are you perhaps interested in sightseeing?" He stole a quick glance towards her forehead but abstained from saying anything.
She shook her head.
"No. I have come seeking employment. I'm afraid my town was attacked by a warband. The Stormcast rescued me and brought me here. I was hoping to make some money to pay my expenses" Harry explained.
He nodded and made a gesture of invitation.
"Follow me".
XXX
Ron and Luna arrived at Ghur through the Realmgate without much fanfare. The first thing that they observed was various tents belonging to a military campsite posted at the entrance of a bog.
The soldiers walking around looked at the new arrived children accompanied by Sigmar's golden warriors and began whispering amongst themselves. Lucian and the rest of the group beside the two Hogwarts' students spread around the camp.
Lucian Mortval was the Stormcast tasked with bringing Hermione and the two children together. He was a man with a short blond hair and a couple of scars on his forehead and nose. The warriors wielded a hammer in his left hand and his armour was golden like much of the Stormcast from Azyr.
The redhead and blonde watched as a messenger was sent to one of the tents, and various men saluting at Lucian.
"Damn! It reeks around here!" Ron closed his nose with a hand, trying to clog his nostrils from the smell of rotten meat and putrid waters. The sky above them was covered in mist and clouds making the visibility around the camp much more difficult.
People around various campfires warmed themselves from the cold air blowing the leaves of the surrounding forest. They chatted among themselves and sharpened their weapons. A group of duardin with enormous mohawks and tattoos that shined gold played some kind of game of cards. One woman dressed in robes and with a wooden staff meditated with her eyes closed.
Luna looked at the biggest tent in the camp, situated in the centre of all the rest. It was decorated with various banners and of a pure white colour. The gates to the inside were wide open, only covered with a thin sheet of blue colour preventing anyone from looking inside.
"You two wait here. Yndrasta is being informed of our arrival" Lucian said to them.
Luna nodded and Ron fidgeted with his pockets. Their wands had been returned to them but the two had discovered that they couldn't cast any magic. Weasley had cursed their luck for a bit before being calmed down. They had been permitted to regain the sticks and Luna had thought that even if the wand didn't matter anymore they still could be protected by the soldiers.
The messenger exited the tent and walked towards the group. It was a boy of seventeen with dirty clothes and a series of embroidered symbols on his chest.
"Lady Yndrasta will meet with you, My Lord" He bowed in a sign of respect and made a gesture of invitation. Lucian nodded and dragged the children inside the tent.
Once inside, the two could see the various objects and military paraphernalia that was being used by the army.
A series of animal pelts and bones decorated the insides. An enormous table, made of twisting branches and logs of dark wood, rested in the middle of the assembly. A bunch of maps and military equipment rested atop of it, with various drawings and notes written in it. Weapons of different types hung from a shelf in one of the walls.
Ron stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of the owner of the tent. The boy blushed and his mouth hung open in surprise.
Yndrasta was currently looking at the map in deep concentration. The woman wore an intricate silver armour decorated with various pieces of metal in the form of stylized comets. On her hips, a sheathed sword rested. A chainmail coat hung from her hips and a piece of long cloth dragged behind her. She had silver hair shaved on one side and small scars on her cheeks. Her head was framed by a piece of armour in the shape of a halo, coronated by a strange glowing forked symbol the boy didn't recognize.
But what caught the two children's attention the most was the pair of white feathered wings growing from her back. The two were folded and due to their size, dragged slightly on the ground. The most surprising thing was that they seemed to grow from her body, like she had been born with them. Luna abstained from commenting about it due to courtesy and Ron so as to not embarrass himself.
Lucian made a salute and waited for the woman to speak. The general stopped what she was doing and looked at her guests.
"Lord-Commander Lucian, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The woman looked at Ron and Luna. She arched an eyebrow and continued talking "Why are these two civilians in my tent? I'm busy with a group of Orruk Warclans of those 'Kruleboyz' that had given so many headaches to the Free Cities of Ghur".
The man grunted and began explaining the situation.
"I'm afraid we have a problem in our hands. These children appeared this morning in the streets of Azyrheim due to magic. They have come searching for their missing companion, a girl named Harriet with a bunch of others. Unfortunately, it seems they were all dispersed through the Realms and apparently one of them is currently in danger…".
The woman scratched her chin and hummed.
"A curious and unlikely story. Are you sure they aren't some sort of devious plot to infiltrate Azyr by Chaos?".
"I'm not lying. Sigmar himself ordered me to rescue this girl. A couple of days before, a corpse suddenly manifested itself into Azyr and a girl named Harriet was rescued from the maws of Shyish itself".
"What?! Why was the poor girl there?! What in all the Realms is the meaning of this?!" The woman ordered.
Before the man could answer her questions, Ronald began talking.
"We are not lying! Harry is my best mate! We need to rescue Hermione! She's in danger!".
"Silence. Explain yourself. From the beginning… I want to know what the circumstances of your arrival are" The winged warrior said to him.
Luna interrupted Ron before he could make a mess of the situation.
"Well…Harry is our friend from school. She is very famous, so a bunch of bad people want to hurt her. We were fighting a very mean snake-corpse-man in our world when suddenly, Harry tackles him through a strange stone-door and the two disappear" Luna stopped, waiting for the woman to digest the new information. Yndrasta listened to her without saying a word and made a gesture of encouragement "We though she had died because according to some of the people in charge say that anybody that crossed that door dies".
The winged woman looked at Luna's eyes, searching for any sign of lies. The warrior couldn't find any and wondered why that 'snake-corpse-man' would want to kill a child and if he was probably a Chaos aligned sorcerer.
"And why would you come here then, if your friend is dead" She asked her.
"Dobby, a friend of ours, told us Harry was still alive, so we decided to go and rescue her. The moment we crossed the archway, the lot of us ended up being separated. The golden men took us prisoners to meet good, bearded lightning-man. He said he would help us go rescue Hermione".
It took the woman a couple of seconds to understand who she was talking about, and her eyes widened. Yndrasta brought a hand to her sword but abstained from drawing it.
"How dare you speak of God-King Sigmar that way! I should arrest you both for invading Azyr and talking about Our Lord that way!" Yndrasta's face changed to one of fury and she exclaimed her outrage.
"Please, calm down. The girl speaks the truth. I saw the corpse she talks about, and know that Lady Potter met with The Lord of the Storm Eternal himself. Our Lord was the one that commended me this mission".
The woman abstained herself from rebuking. Yndrasta was surprised a human girl would have audience with the God of Storms himself, but it seemed she had not all the information available yet. She made a reluctant gesture to the blonde, and Luna continued talking.
"He gave us this pretty bracelets so we could talk to everybody, because we couldn't understand each other before" Luna dangled the glistening object in front of the warrior's eyes "We came so we could ask you to help us rescue Hermione, since he found out she was here in Ghour" Lucian cringed internally at the bad pronunciation the girl had used when talking about the Realm. Luna stopped and made puppy eyes to the woman "Could you help us, please?".
The Stormcast looked at the pleading her sceptically and sighed. The woman turned towards the Lord-Commander.
"Are they telling the truth? Are the two of them really from outside the Cosmos Arcane? It's a story hard to believe…".
"Yes. We held them on one of the rooms and inspected them for corruption. Lord Sigmar scried the Realms and found Lady Harriet and this Lady Hermione alone in Shyish and Ghur. Lady Harriet was rescued by His Orders".
The woman grunted and scratched her head.
"Very well. Do any of you know where this 'Hermione' is?" Yndrasta asked.
Lucian nodded and approached the table. Due to the circular shape of the furniture, it had its surface engraved with various landmarks to form a map. It represented the full scope of the Realm of Ghur, and various smaller maps were scattered around it. Lucian put his finger on one of them. It showed the surrounding areas of the camp.
"Lord Sigmar, God-King of All said that the girl could be found here. Apparently, she had been transported close to one of the many battles being fought here".
"Mmmmh… It seems she appeared on Sigmar's Cleanse. We must part post-haste. If she isn't found immediately we can't guarantee her safety…".
Ron and Luna looked at each other worriedly. He frowned and glared with determination at the map.
"Let's go! Hermione can be hurt or worse! She is smart, but I bet she has no bloody idea where she is!".
Lucian sighed and opened the curtain to the exit. He made a gesture and Luna bowed in thanks.
Yndrasta grabbed an intricate spear, with the same symbol from her armour at the base of the blade, from a corner in the tent and walked behind the three, being the last one exiting the place.
"Attention!" Outside, the woman began speaking to the crowd, catching their attention.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and began greeting their leader.
"Lady Yndrasta!" A human man greeted her.
"My Lady!" A squire bowed.
"Praise be Sigmar, Lady Yndrasta!".
"Praise be The Celestial Spear!" A human woman raised her sword in the air.
Yndrasta raised a hand, stopping them and making everybody quiet.
"Attention, everybody! Lord-Commander Lucian has been sent by Sigmar himself with a very important mission! I have been informed of the presence of a civilian in Ghur, transported against her will. It seems she has been spotted close to a battle against orruk forces. We march today to rescue her at once! Get ready!".
Without expecting an answer, Yndrasta and Lucian began walking, leaving the campsite behind. The soldiers hurried to follow them, taking their weapons and everything they would need. The group of duardin left their game and grabbed their battle-axes. The human soldiers grabbed their spears, arcs, swords, and mounts. The aelven warriors followed silently behind them.
Ron and Luna hurried to reach the Stormcast Eternals and stopped at Yndrasta's left.
The woman glanced towards the blond witch and found her smiling. She arched an eyebrow but abstained from saying anything.
"Thank you! You didn't need to help us… You are a very good person" Luna said.
"Don't thank me yet, girl. Your friend could be dead by now…" She warned her.
Luna shook her head and continued talking.
"No… Hermione's life isn't in danger. I got a feeling she is too important for Ghur to be dead" She said mysteriously.
When Yndrasta looked at Lucian in question, he shrugged.
"That's right! Hermione is awesome! If anyone could be alive here, it would be her. Bloody hell! I would be more scared to be one of those 'ourroukos' you talked about!" Ron said enthusiastically.
"It's pronounced orruks, Sir Ronald" Lucian corrected him gently.
Ron blushed in embarrassment and Luna laughed cheerfully. Yndrasta smiled internally but abstained from showing it on her face.
What strange kids, She thought.
XXX
Meanwhile, in Ghyran, Neville Longbottom laid his problem to Alarielle. His hand has stopped bleeding and only a slight sting remained reminding him of the wound.
Neville explained the situation to the aelf goddess the best he could. They were the most awkward twenty minutes of his life due to the fact that the beauty in front of him didn't change her expression in all the time he spent speaking to her.
"And then I was transported here moments before we met" he concluded his tale.
"Curious is your tale, Neville Longbottom, but I know of the girl you seek. I saw her with the Thunderer Himself".
"Seriously?! Awesome!" He cheered for a second but stopped. Due to her expressionless face, he blushed in embarrassment and apologised" Sorry…".
Alarielle made a gesture and began pacing around the room. He watched her strange wings flutter slightly and marvelled at them. He had never seen something quite like it. He had a very good knowledge of herbology, but that didn't mean he was all-knowing.
She turned towards him and closed her eyes. He opened his mouth but stopped when she rose a hand. Neville waited for five minutes until she was finished. Once she opened her eyes again the Goddess of Life began speaking.
"I have talked to Sigmar. It seems Harriet James Potter was sent to Hammerhal in Aqshy for her own safety. I can't bring you there myself but fortunately for you, whenever there's life, I can send you…".
Before he could understand what she meant, Alarielle hit with the base of her spear the ground and Neville's eyes widened in surprise.
The Goddess used her powers to twist and grow the grass around them into the shape of a gate. Flowers of different colours bloomed, and the thorn-covered branches of various plants and trees formed an archway.
"Thank you! I am grateful for your help!" He bowed, not knowing how to thank the woman.
The woman smiled a little and he felt his heart pitter-patter a little. As quickly as a it had appeared, her expression returned to one of indifference.
"I will find in Aqshy wherever your friend is, and all you will have to do is step through this portal" The formerly aelf woman gestured to the archway. Neville nodded. She concentrated and closed her eyes once more. Once satisfied, Neville watched as the place where the archway has formed, it filled with light, and the air twisted and collapsed on itself.
Woooooooooouuuuuuuummmmm!
A vacuum of emptiness sucked all the air of the room and Neville's ears plugged. The sensation only lasted a couple of second but left him a little bit dizzy. He blinked and looked at the archway.
The boy smiled and his eyes sparkled in wonder. He discovered that where once Neville could see the other side of the room with the spring and fountain, now he saw a new room.
It was a greenhouse and standing in front of him was a very familiar girl.
XXX
Harry followed the man across the vast interiors of the building silently. The plants and trees around them released pollen and spores to the air. The scent of the flowers filled her nostrils and calmed the nervous girl.
The two stopped when they reached a clearing far away from the entrance and for a second Harriet feared the worst. She was on a strange new world and for the conversations with Sigmar and Lehaanna it seemed that there were dangers across the Realms she was now aware off.
The man turned around and took off his hood.
It was a man in his forties, with tattoos covering his face and hands. He had blue eyes and a crooked nose. He had a grey moustache and beard. In his hands, a couple of rings with complex engravings carved on their surface.
"I am Darius Molièr, a caretaker of the Houses of Glass and all the life on it. Tell me your name, child. Why do you seek employment here?" His voice was calm and gentle.
"I'm Harriet, Harriet Potter. I was rescued by Stormcast Eternals from a Chaos Warband…" She explained.
"Are you aware of the incident that has happened here?" Darius asked.
Harry nodded and waited for him to continue. The man looked at her and studied the girl for a little while.
"Yes. It seems so… I am afraid you are a child without proper training in the care of living beings. But maybe there's something you could do here. There are many rooms in the Houses that need cleaning while we work, bring food for our meals and other menial tasks. It would be possible for you to work there and be paid with a small vial of Aqua Ghyranis every month and silver coins to pay your living expenses…What do you think, Harriet?".
She frowned slightly. It was a work that she could do. Due to the treatment her relatives had on her, Harry had been ordered to clean, cook, and do chores so as to 'Thank us for all the things we do for you'. Besides, Harry just needed to work until she could go to other parts of Aqshy and Ghyran and start her search for a way back to Earth.
"I accept" Harry said.
"Wonderful! You will start tomorrow. Come here when Hysh illuminates the gates of Hammerhal, and you will be explained your duties as to begin working immediately".
The man smiled and nodded. He made a gesture and the two walked their way back towards the exit.
The girl looked around her and watched the different tinted panels of glass that protected the plant-life inside the domes from the heat of Aqshy and the ash.
The two stopped halfway to the exit when a man approached Darius and whispered something on his ear. The man nodded and turned towards Harry.
"It seems I have been called to my own duties. Stay for a while if you like. I can assume you know where to go?" Harry nodded and he smiled. The two said goodbye to each other and the girl watched the man go, accompanied by the other caretaker.
Harry sighed and looked around her. People from outside the building strolled through it. Harry approached one of the flowers and touched the stem. She took a look at the plant and her eyes sparkled slightly.
The girl studied the flower and wondered what it would be called. It looked like a wine glass, with its red petals stretched from the base to at least ten centimetres in length. She caught a glimpse of liquid honey inside it that was of a luminescent blue colour. The smell of it filled her nostrils and Harry found it very pleasant.
Harry marvelled at the life this Realm, so hot it would be normally unhospitable, could have. She closed her eyes and images of its life cycle filled her mind. From the moment it had been a seed, to the pollination process, to the moment it would certainly die. A chill ran down her spine at the end and for a fraction of a second the girl imagined a flaming skull. Harry opened her eyes. Her emerald pupils glinted a slight purple colour for a second, but nobody noticed it.
So lost in thought she was that Harry almost couldn't catch the change in the plant-life around her.
Harry opened her eyes and they widened. Vines, roots, and flowers began moving quickly, reaching the paved ground of the building outside the patches of grass where they were usually contained. The girl was surprised when the trees and flowers formed an archway in a couple of seconds. She felt a surge of power coalesce inside the new formed gateway and a quiet explosion of light made her close her eyes. Once sure the strange phenomenon had ended, Harry opened her eyes again.
Harry's mouth hung open in incredulity. Watching the portal form from the trees and flowers around her was something magical. The archway glowed and the surface shimmered.
She had no time to ponder why all of this was happening. A familiar face approached from the other side and a grin formed in her face.
"Neville! What are you doing here?!" She exclaimed.
"Harry!" The boy smiled and exited the portal. He hugged her tightly and the two laughed happily "Hahaha! I found you! You're okay! We were so worried!".
The two separated and laughed merrily.
"You wouldn't believe what has happened to me! I came to find you, and here you are! Let me explain everything!".
"Please, tell me! What the bloody hell are you doing in Hammerhal?! And coming from a weird plant portal!".
They watched as the portal Alarielle had created was destroyed due to the quick whittering of the plant-life that formed it. People that caught sight of it wondered if it was the work of a Jade mage and continued their own stroll through the greenhouse.
"We were so worried! Once you and Voldemort disappeared through the portal in the Department of Mysteries we thought you were dead! But Dobby told us you were actually alive!".
"Dobby said that?" Harry looked at the boy in surprise. Neville nodded and the girl mentally thanked the house-elf.
"Yeah! Sirius was devastated! He even though of coming alone once Dobby told us!".
Harry felt tears in her eyes. Sirius love for her moved the girl immensely and she wished he would be there so she could hug him.
"So, you and Sirius came to rescue me?" She asked with a tender smile.
"Not only us! Hermione and Ron are here too! And Moody, Luna, mister Shacklebot, professor Lupin! Even professor Snape decided to come!".
"What?! Snape?! Severus Snape decided to come and rescue me?!" The girl looked incredulous. The man had always singled her out in class, punishing her for the most trivial matter. Harry couldn't believe he would choose to help her.
"And also, we brought Tonks! Bill and Fleur decided to come too. They said they wanted to help because you rescued her sister when the Tournament happened…".
Harry felt a tightening sensation in her heart. To think Fleur would be so kind as to go to dangerous and unknown places for someone like her…The girl smiled and thought of how lucky she was of having so many people come to her aid.
"But it seems we all got separated… I don't know where anybody is. And worst, I can use spells!".
"Yeah, me too…"Harry nodded "It seems the Realms or crossing the archway has somehow disabled us from using magic".
"Damn! Just our luck… But you are safe! The moment we find everybody else, we can return home!" He said enthusiastically.
Harry reluctantly smiled and began explaining her fear to Neville.
"I'm afraid we can't go to Earth yet. If everybody else except Professor Dumbledore crossed the archway and are still alive, Voldemort most likely could be. I can't go unless I stop him for good".
Neville looked at the girl and muttered a curse. He hadn't thought of that until now, but Harry was most likely correct. Voldemort being here was a problem. Nobody knew him so the man could start a new reign of terror there and make it grow before anyone could stop him.
"You are right…" He snapped himself from his stupor and continued talking "But you are not alone! We are here too! And we can stop that horrible monster from hurting anybody else if we are together!".
Harry appreciated Neville's effort to cheer her up. She patted his shoulder as a gesture of gratitude.
"Thanks Nev. C'mon, I think is best if the two of us put ourselves up to date…" The girl guided the two towards the exit.
Once outside, the boy's mouth opened, and his eyes widened in surprise. He felt the heat of the volcanoes, lava and Realm making sweat profusely the second they had exited the building.
Harry made a gesture with her hand and a cart like the one from before stopped in front of them. The two hopped inside and Harry turned towards the driver.
"To Grimnir's Rage, please…" She asked.
The two spent the journey looking at Hammerhal's streets and buildings being left behind in their route towards the inn. Neville, meanwhile, wondered what type of world the two had stepped into.
Meanwhile, in the Houses of Glass, one of the caretakers stopped in his tracks and approached the flowers. He frowned and paled. One of them had fallen to the ground. The honey had changed to a grey colour, the flower had begun releasing a rotting odour and it had lost all its petals.
The Alarian Tulip that Harry had touched before had withered.
XXX
Hermione on the other hand, was not having the best of times. The battle between greenskins, armoured warriors and other types of soldiers had made her flee for her life until she had reached a dense forest with all manner of trees and plant-life riddled with thorns, fungi filled with poisonous substances and man-eating beasts.
She felt the murky waters of the marsh, mud staining her feet and shoes, the sensation of wet socks and her curly hair frizzled and uncombed. The trees blocked the light of Hysh, making her harder to see her surroundings.
The girl lamented her luck. Without friends, magic, or resources to speak off, it wouldn't be long before she caught a disease or worst yet, died.
Hermione thought of how trivial her worries had been until now. How stupid had she been, not thinking of the possibility of this new place blocking her magic and making her a normal muggle for all intents and purposes.
Cccccccrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuujjjjjjj!
The girl stopped in her tracks. The sound of a tree falling to the ground alerted her of danger approaching and she panicked. Hermione looked around her and spotted a rock. The witch jumped towards it and hurried to it with the intention of hiding from anything that would have made that noise.
The sound of sloshing waters being displaced and metal plates of armour hitting each other filled her ears. The grunting voices of monsters echoed in the swamp.
"Gur'atal mvoar'tl cvn'ae nil'uw! Kragnos cno'an lvo-aj nbowq-k tas'tl ve! Coka-vau'io q'ui-e…" A gruff voice spoke.
"Gobsprakk oalp'tlv vnaw'er tok'man-kj!" Another said in the same unintelligible tongue.
The girl tried to look discretely to see how the owners of the voices looked like. She paled further.
It was an army of green-skinned creatures like the ones she had seen before, but lankier and with less muscle. The monsters had tusk the size of knifes growing from their underbite jaws. They wore leather clothes and rusted armour made from spiked metal. They had javelins, crossbows and spears with barbed tips and gazed cruelly around them. Some of them carried rounded shields with strange faces painted a bloody red colour.
She hid once more and trembled. Hermione prayed to anything listening that these monsters would not discover her. The girl couldn't imagine the unspeakable things they would do should they find a human hiding in there.
Hermione heard more voices and footsteps. She wondered how many they were. The orruks walked with purpose to unknown destinations. But not only them marched forward. Hermione stole another glance and saw troll-like beast with bluish skin riddled with fungi and wielding tree-trunks as clubs. Horse-sized lizards pulled catapults through the waters, struggling to advance, and exerting an enormous strength.
The human girl fidgeted and twirled a strand of hair in anxiousness. She hoped none of them could smell her fear and all the other scents she have.
Hermione heard their voices and footsteps moving away from her position and closed her eyes. In the end, the girl released a sigh of relief the moment she couldn't hear them anymore.
She got up from her position and peaked through her hiding spot. They were gone.
Hermione took a couple of steps and paused. Then a couple more. Paused again.
The girl released a sigh of relief and turned around. She couldn't go back the way the orruks had gone. Hermione looked at the direction they had come from and stopped in her tracks.
She found herself in front of another of those monsters. The orruk wore a coat of leather and an iron jaw. On its back, a sword and in its hands a barbed spear. It looked at her without saying anything.
"Urhga`jakm…?" It said. The orruk cocked his head and smiled viciously. It opened its mouth and released a scream that echoed through the swamp "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!".
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!
More voices answered back. Hermione watched as behind it, various greenskins ran towards her with their weapons raised. The girl cursed her luck It seemed that another group of orruks had been advancing a little far away from the last one.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" She screamed at the top of her lungs and began running away from them.
Hermione struggled to move through the muddy ground and felt the waters enter her shoes, weighing her down even more. She stopped for a second and watched horrified as the group that hadn't found her before turned back around and discovered the girl running away from their compatriots.
The pincer manoeuvre made Hermione choose the middle ground and begin running perpendicularly to them. She dodged branches, logs, and rocks in her mad flee. Her hair flowed behind her, and her eyes filled with tears. Hermione cursed not being more athletic. She could felt them gaining ground, and her mind filled with images of horrible fates awaiting her.
The orruks continued screaming, and some of them used their crossbows to throw dangerous projectiles against her, hoping to kill Hermione.
"No! Leave alone! I don't wa-Whoaaaa!" Hermione tripped with a rock and fell into the murky waters of the swamp, making her swallow a little bit of it. She spitted and cursed. Her feet hurt and she turned around.
The orruks stopped running and some of then laughed at the girl. Her face reddened and the tears began falling from her eyes.
One of them approached her and extended a clawed hand, trying to grab her. The rest yelled and encouraged their fellow orruk. Hermione waited to see what horrible fate awaited her and bit her lip.
"Torkap'an biru-age ao…" It said to her. She wondered what it had said to her "Yke-ao iapqw'ag tua-Aaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggh!".
But the monster couldn't continue his speech. Suddenly, an arrow lodged itself into its skull and Hermione blinked, not understanding what had happened. The orruk fell dead on the ground and the sound of people behind her walking and stirring the waters filled her ears.
"Taolr pai'bcvi urwegf alquy'teao!" The voice of a woman echoed through the swamp.
The girl turned her head around and her eyes widened. Hermione watched as an army of humans and some other races similar to them clad in armour stopped in front of her. Some approached the orruk group between the trees and others rode horses. At the centre of the assembly, Hermione found its leader. It was a winged woman clad in silver armour and using an elaborated spear in one hand.
Beside her, one of the warriors wielded a hammer and was wearing golden armour. The two were bigger than the other humans and Hermione briefly wondered what their race was.
The woman unsheathed the sword on her hip and pointed it at the other army. She looked at Hermione for a second and turned her head towards the orruks.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!
The orruks yelled their battle-cry and began charging toward them. Hermione whimpered and closed her eyes, knowing the monsters would ignore her and end up trampling her.
"Sigmar cbao'rqo!" Yndrasta yelled.
"Sigmar cbao'rqo!" Her army answered.
The humans, aelves and duardin charged.
Yndrasta launched herself in the air with the flapping of her wings. The woman's body lighted itself with the power of Sigmar, and her wings glowed a pure white. Her speed was tremendous. The woman stopped for a second and descended like a meteor, crashing into the swamp's waters with a thunderous explosion.
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!
"Aaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!" One orruk screamed in agony.
"Grrrrooooooaaaaaaarrrrrh!" Another yelled
Hermione's eyes widened and her mouth hung open. The impact of the woman's body to the ground hit various orruks, sending them flying. She watched as the woman's weapons released electricity with every swing, charring the bodies of her enemies and killing them instantly.
Ccccccrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaoooooooooooooouuuuuukkkkkkkjjjjjj!
But the most impressive thing was that Yndrasta had put herself between the defenceless girl and her pursuers, leaving Hermione unharmed and preventing them from reaching her.
Yndrasta's sword swept a couple of times, decapitating one orruk and gutting other. Her spear impaled a trio of orruks wielding serrated swords and their shields broke instantly.
Men and women armed with bows killed Yndrasta's approaching enemies, preventing her from being surrounded. The group of duardin with mohawks laughed ecstatically and whipped their axes with killing intent. An aelven swordsman moved quickly and killed one of the troll-like monsters, making his body fall with a thunderous noise into the waters.
Cccccccccccrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaoooooooooooooouuuuuukkkkkkkjjjjjjjjjjjjj!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!
Surprisingly the orruks continued yelling with vicious smiles. Some killed Hermione's rescuers and a troggoth squashed one of the duardin. Hermione stunned face snapped away when a couple of arms grabbed her, moving her backwards.
The golden warrior that had been beside Yndrasta ran towards the girl, hoping to drag her away from the conflict, followed by two familiar faces.
"Hermione! Come quickly!" The voice of a redheaded boy called her to attention.
She snapped her head and turned around. She saw her two friends run towards her, waving their hands.
"Yaaaaaaay! Hermione! We found you!" Luna's voice made her smile in relief.
Hermione caught a glimpse of the duardin bracelets but abstained herself from asking. She got up with Lucian's help and hugged Luna.
"Luna! Ron! I was so scared! I-" Hermione began crying softly into the other girl's arms. Luna patted her back and helped her walk away from the conflict to the safety of her rescuers.
"Tod'anw-riab vbo! Yndrasta ndoá-a baopq!" The golden warrior made a gesture with his hands and Luna nodded.
"Let's go! We have to get out of here!" Ron hurried them.
"What's going on?! Who are these people? I don't understand anything they say!" Hermione tried to make sense of everything.
"There's no time! We will tell you later! You need to get away from this crazy place!" Ron argued.
Hermione nodded reluctantly.
The three watched as Yndrasta and the rest of the soldiers helped them make a safe retreat. The orruks continued fighting them for a while and shot their ballistae and crossbows, killing some of the warriors helping their leader.
The Stormcast looked around her and found the orruk leader riding an enormous boar-like beast. It had an armour of similar quality to its brethren and on its back hung a banner made from a human's back. In it, the monster had painted different symbols. It had a long, serrated sword on its hip and looked around it with contempt.
Yndrasta took her spear and tensed her right arm, moving it backwards a little. She felt her power run down the weapon, charging it with glorious holy lightning.
Bzzzzp! Bzzzzp! Bzzzzp!
"Thengevar" She muttered the name of the spear and glared at her enemy.
The woman took a deep breath. The warrior calculated her aim and threw the weapon forward.
The spear moved through the air with the speed of lightning itself. The reflexes of the orruk were too slow to dodge the killing blow. The monstrous creature felt Thengevar pierce its chest, blowing the orruk's torso and burning its insides. The embedded magical spear had destroyed part of its spine and had at least half of itself exiting the back of the leader.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" It yelled, hurt by the weapon.
The corpse fell from the mount, splashing swamp water around it. The orruks stopped on their tracks. But the battle didn't. The humans, duardin and aelves used the opportunity to gain a little more ground and killing a couple of orruks around them.
"Bloody hell! She is awesome!" Ron exclaimed.
The boy couldn't believe how powerful the Stormcast was. The woman looked like a demigod, a one-man army. He doubted anyone could stop her and he felt a little crush develop in his heart.
Yndrasta, Lucian and her army walked backwards, preparing themselves to withdraw, having finally obtained their objective.
The orruks, without a leader, also fell back. Hermione watched as they retreated to the misty depths of the swamp, using the trees and fog as an escape method. The orruks left their dead behind, not caring for the lost weapons and objects.
Yndrasta turned around and raised her hand. Hermione and the other two children watched as the spear suddenly exited the orruk's corpse and floated back to its owner. Once in her hands, Yndrasta hung the weapon from her back and walked towards Hermione.
The girl waited for Yndrasta to reach them and bowed with gratitude. The woman nodded back and walked past them. Lucian smiled at the girl and followed his companion.
"C'mon, Hermione! We need to follow them! I want to get away from this creepy swamp as soon as possible…" Ronald said.
"Wait a second, Ron! I have so many questions!" The curly-haired girl tried to ask but saw the boy look longingly at her saviour.
Luna giggled merrily and jumped every once in a while with some of her footsteps. Her hair bounced in the air and her eyes shone in happiness.
Hermione sighed and followed her two friends back from where they came from.
In the end, Yndrasta's army had made possible the three children's reunion. Hermione only hoped they could find a way out of this world before something horrible happened.