The Wizard of Pandora:
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Summary: After a great war between the Wizarding World and the Muggle world, the Earth has been lost; Harry dies a broken man, only to encounter Gaia, the spirit of the Earth. She gives the last Wizard of Earth a very important mission, she will send him to Pandora, and he will, in turn, become its protector against the humans who destroyed their own world and now seek to do the same to another. Will Harry be up to the task?
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Harry sighed as he watched the gate close,
"It's done, then," Harry thought sadly, "They're all gone…..I am alone."
Slowly turning, Harry took in the empty ruin that used to be the Department of Mysteries; usually, it was bustling with activity as Unspeakables went about their business, but now it was completely empty of all life, save one broken-hearted old man.
The rest of the Ministry of Magic was the same, entirely empty; as Harry slowly made his way through each individual department, he looked sadly at the desks and offices where once his friends had worked, where once HE had worked, now forever silent.
Once the gateway had closed, the process had begun, and already Harry could feel the tremors spreading throughout the Ministry. A unique spell created by the Unspeakables would soon cause the Ministry and everything in it to simply crumble to dust; Diagon Alley and every other place of magic were set to follow, and in twenty-four hours, all trace that wizards and witches had once lived on Earth would be gone. Being that most of the seats of magical government spread across the globe resided under the ground, there would undoubtedly be massive destruction across the Earth as buildings that had once sat beneath the foundations of the Muggle world simply ceased to be, but Harry didn't care at all about the untold deaths that would soon come; it was nothing less than the Muggles deserved.
As Harry came to the office that had once been his, he sighed sadly again before going in and taking one last look around; like every other part of the Ministry, his office was in disarray as the previous few months hadn't left much time for housekeeping.
As Harry slowly sat himself down, he felt the weight of his years finally begin to creep up on him; pouring himself a glass of Firewhiskey, Harry slowly leaned across his desk and picked up a picture frame that showed his wife and their three children,
"I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you…." Harry thought as a tear ran down his cheek, "All I can do is beg your forgiveness when I see you again."
Another tremor shook the Ministry, this time far more violently, and Harry gently placed the frame on the desk before taking another drink as the memories of what had happened swam across his mind.
XXXX
After Voldemort's fall, there had been peace; for twenty long years, Harry and those who had fought at the Battle of Hogwarts had done everything in their power to ensure that someone like Voldemort would never rise again.
Bit by bit, Harry and his friends had loosened the stranglehold that the Purebloods of the Wizarding World had had on society for centuries, creating a better world than the one that Harry and his friends had grown up in. There had been plenty of roadblocks along the way, caused by those who didn't like how quickly their world was changing, nor the fact that they were effectively losing the power that they had used like a weapon for generations. But, Harry had finally decided to use his fame (something that he had once hated above all things) to do some good, and became very practiced at using his power and fame like a weapon to force through new laws regarding fair treatment of Muggle-borns, creatures that the Ministry considered 'dark,' as well as a myriad of other new laws and changes. With the combined intelligence of Hermione, and the refusal to bow down to a dark lord ever again from the rest of the Wizarding World, Harry effectively brought the Wizarding World kicking and screaming into the 20th century.
Then came the thing that Harry and everyone else had feared; angry and afraid that their world was changing too fast, the Purebloods had rallied around a dark wizard who promised to halt the changes that had rocked the Wizarding World, Lord Baphomet.
Whereas Voldemort was subtle and attacked with secrecy, Baphomet attacked like a tsunami, killing and destroying everything in his path; in his first appearance, Baphomet had unleashed Fiendfyre on the city of London, causing the city to burn out of control for nearly a week before the Ministry finally managed to get it under control; but the end result was over three thousand dead Muggles, and almost five hundred dead magic folks.
The war only got worse from there, and Harry was forced to watch as so many of his friends fell to Baphomet and his followers; Parvati Patil, Seamus Finnigan, Percy Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Cho Chang, Kingsley Shacklebolt….
Each death was like a knife to Harry's heart; they had earned the right to live in peace and were trying to make the world a better place for their children, and yet were forced to fight in a war once again that no one wanted in the first place.
It had taken almost six years of blood and death before Baphomet and his followers were finally defeated, but then a new problem appeared, one that not even Harry could stand up to, no matter how much he might wish to.
Due to Baphomet's war, the Muggle world had discovered the existence of magic; the statue of secrecy was gone for good, for there was no way to hide how much devastation and destruction had been caused at Baphomet's hands.
Just as predicted, the Muggles turned on the Wizarding World, some for religious reasons, some for revenge for those who had been lost to Baphomet, and others because magic was a threat to their power and, therefore, must be destroyed.
World War Three had begun just days after the death of Lord Baphomet, and it was effectively the Muggles on one side, and the Wizarding World on the other; the giants were hunted to extinction, as were the werewolves, though the Muggles lost hundreds of thousands before the last wolf fell; the lucky wizards and witches were the ones who died in battle, rather than be caught.
Men, women, children, it didn't matter to the Muggles; if the person had the ability to use magic, they were guilty and summarily executed as a result. Burning was the most preferred way to kill those that the Muggles saw as evil, and there were so many fires in the past few years, including Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, and Harry's two children, Rose and Albus.
Harry had been apoplectic at the loss of his family, and in a fit of pure rage and hatred, he had unleashed a massive wave of Fiendfyre on those he felt were responsible. Still, he had not counted on how powerful his spell would be, and as a result, over half a million had died as the fire spread out of control.
Afterward, Harry had become much colder and much more ruthless towards those he viewed as the murderers of his family and people; to the Muggles, Harry had become the devil himself, and they had come to call Harry "The Emerald Dragon" due to Harry's green eyes and his propensity to unleash Fiendfyre on them with no mercy.
After five years of war and no end in sight, the various governments came together to create a plan to save their people from this never-ending path of destruction and death.
The Unspeakables had been the ones to devise a plan to save the Wizarding World and stop the war once and for all: Leave.
After several centuries of experimentation and discovery, the Unspeakables had discovered an entirely new realm devoid of life, but where magic flowed in abundance; in effect, a world where no Muggle could find them and where they would be able to live safely and start over.
The various governments had needed almost no time to consider this plan and had ordered the Unspeakables to begin the ritual that would open the gateway to this new realm; it had taken nearly five years, but at last, the gateway was created, and the Wizarding World began to ready themselves to leave; hundreds of magical creatures were captured and locked away in cages for transport, magical fauna was likewise harvested. The goblins of Gringotts emptied their bank of every single thing of value, leaving the bank empty for the first time in its history; the Wizarding World, in effect, took everything it had as they were not planning on coming back to, or seeing, Earth ever again.
Then, as the day came to leave, the Unspeakables found a problem that could not be fixed; someone had to stay behind to keep the gateway open while the rest of the Wizarding World escaped to their new world.
Someone had to continually recite the words that would keep the gateway open, for should the words stop being repeated, the gateway would close, and the ritual would have to be restarted, and who knew how long that would take, years maybe.
Harry had immediately stepped forward and volunteered; Hermione and Ron had tried to dissuade him, all his friends had, but they all found him quite adamant that it would be him and no one else; Harry had nothing left. His family was gone, his spirit was crushed from years of constant war. He was done.
This new world would be a place for the Wizarding World to start over, correct their past mistakes and build a bright and better future; it was not somewhere that needed a broken and angry warrior like Harry Potter.
The ICW, who would effectively become the new government in the new world they were going to, had promised Harry that his sacrifice would never be forgotten and that they would build a statue of him for future generations to see and remember that Harry had saved them all; Harry had almost laughed at that as he imagined what a giant statue of him would look like.
Then came the day to leave Earth behind; for days on end, Harry kept speaking. Hermione and Ron helped by giving him water to keep his voice from breaking and Pepper-up potions to keep him from falling asleep due to exhaustion as the long line of wizards and witches stepped into the gate with their various belongings, only to disappear a moment later; finally, there were only three people left, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"How can you just expect me to walk away and leave my best mate behind?" Ron had asked in a broken voice as tears ran down his face, "We're supposed to grow old together, mate. Old and fat and tell our grandkids lies about when we were kids ourselves."
Harry had laughed at that as his own tears ran down his cheeks before grabbing Ron and hugging his oldest friend for all he was worth,
"I'll give Ginny your love, Ron," Harry whispered, making Ron choke back a sob as he hugged Harry back, "And one day, when we see each other again, you'll have to tell me what this new world was like."
As Ron pulled away, Hermione took his place and wrapped her arms around Harry as tight as she could,
"You're the best friend I've ever had," Hermione had sobbed, "I don't know how I'm going to survive without you by my side. The three of us have never been apart…."
"We'll see each other again, Mione," Harry said with a happy sob, "One day, we will see each other again one day, and the three of us will never be separated again."
Hermione issued what sounded like a combination of a sob and a laugh as she pulled away from her first friend, futilely wiping her eyes as more tears took their place.
"You two best be going," Harry said, nodding his head at the gateway, which had begun to fluctuate due to Harry not reciting anymore, "They're waiting for you."
Ron took Hermione's hand and gently began to pull her toward the gateway as she sobbed even harder at the knowledge that she would never see her friend again; before they stepped into the gateway, both turned back one last time and gave Harry a final smile, which Harry returned, then they were gone.
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The office shook violently again as Harry drained the last of his glass, enjoying the way it burned down his throat; cracks had begun to form on the ceiling of his office, and he knew that if he didn't leave soon, he would be buried when the Ministry came crashing down.
"I'm going to die at work," Harry thought with a grin as he refilled his glass; as he took a sip, Harry snorted in amusement at the fact that he was the last wizard on Earth and that in a few minutes, he would die at his desk; the snort soon turned into full-blown laughter that had Harry coughing a few minutes later as he tried to regain control of himself.
With a final sigh of weariness, Harry raised his glass in a mock toast to his friends, those who had passed into the new world where they would be forever safe from the Muggles,
"Here's to you, guys," Harry said happily, "May your new world be better than ours was."
As Harry drained the last of his glass, the room shook again, and the ceiling collapsed on top of him, and Harry James Potter, the hero of the Wizarding world, The-Boy-Who-Lived, died.
XXXX
"Where am I?" Harry asked as he opened his eyes, "Oh no, not again!"
Harry was standing in Kings Cross station just as he had been so many years ago when he had let Voldemort kill him in order to save his friends; the station was empty, just like last time, and Harry half expected to see Headmaster Dumbledore somewhere waiting for him with his damnable twinkling eyes.
"Hello, Harry," a soft voice said, making Harry spin around and almost lose his balance; when he regained his footing and could see who had spoken, Harry felt his jaw drop in awe as he beheld the woman who had spoken.
In all the years of Harry's life, he had never seen anyone so beautiful; it was as though someone had molded the woman from the most appealing and beautiful aspects into one entity. The woman's hair was silver and hung to her waist in flowing ripples as though it were made of water; her eyes were dark blue and reminded Harry of the waters of the Caribbean; as she took a step closer, Harry tore his eyes away from her face to see that she appeared to be wearing a dress made of green leaves, while her feet were barefoot.
Looking down at himself, Harry saw that he was naked and issued an "Eep" before quickly trying to cover his private parts; the woman gave a small laugh at this, and her hand went to cover her mouth as a small smile spread across her face that made Harry turn red with embarrassment.
"Um….could I have some clothes, please?" Harry asked in a small voice that seemed to amuse the woman even more.
"You may, if you wish it," The woman replied in a voice that washed over Harry like a warm spring and left him feeling instantly relaxed.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked,
"This is the world between worlds," the woman replied as she waved her hand around them, "If you wish for clothes, then you will have them."
Slowly, Harry closed his eyes and wished for something that would cover his shame' an instant later, as he opened his eyes, he saw, to his shock, that he was wearing a long silvery robe that reminded him of the types of robes that Dumbledore used to wear.
"Um….thank you, Ms.….?
"I am Gaia," the woman replied with a smile, "Mother of Earth."
Instantly, Harry felt his jaw drop, and it took all his willpower not to fall to his knees; he was standing before a literal goddess, and for a moment, he didn't know whether to bow or run for his life.
Gaia seemed to read his thoughts as a smile grew across his face, and she once again hid her laugh behind her hand,
"There's no need for supplication, Harry," Gaia said warmly, "I think you're past the need for that, don't you?"
Harry nodded before taking in his surroundings again,
"So, I guess I died again?" Harry asked with a smile, "Does this mean I get to 'take a train,' as Dumbledore called it?"
"If you wish it," Gaia said simply, making Harry turn to her in confusion,
"What do you mean?"
"Come, let's sit and talk a moment," Gaia said as she moved regally toward a nearby seat before sitting down softly with all the bearing of a queen.
With no small amount of trepidation, Harry joined her, careful to keep a sensible distance between the two of them.
"That was an incredibly brave thing you did, Harry," Gaia said softly, "You've given your people a new chance; entire generations will grow up listening to stories of the hero who saved them all, Harry Potter."
Harry blushed under her words and, for a moment, was rendered speechless as he tried to swallow his sorrow at being left behind.
"I'm….I'm glad that they are safe…."
"They are, Harry," Gaia said with a smile, "Safe and happy, Hermione and Ron's daughter will name her first child after you. And he will live up to your name and lead his people into a golden age of peace and prosperity."
Harry nodded at that, not trusting himself to not begin weeping as he thought of his friends, happy that they were finally beyond the reach of those who had been hunting them for so long.
"But there are also consequences to what you did, Harry," Gaia said sadly, making Harry turn to her with alarm.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked as he shook slightly, fearing that he may have angered the goddess of the Earth.
"When magic disappeared from Earth, all the buildings that lay beneath it collapsed, causing unimaginable destruction on a global scale; millions died in the ensuing chaos, and millions more will die in the years to come from starvation, exposure, and war for the few remaining resources."
"Am I supposed to care about that?" Harry asked coldly, "Those people slaughtered hundreds of thousands of my people. Let them suffer."
"You don't mean that, Harry…." Gaia said softly, placing a comforting hand on his, "You are a good person, no matter how hard you try to hide it."
Harry said nothing and simply looked down in silence as Gaia continued in the same soft voice as before.
"It will take many years, but humanity will recover and become even stronger. And that strength will lead to my death."
Harry's head whipped up at that, and he looked at Gaia with horror as he struggled to find words,
"You're going to die? Goddesses can't die!"
"I assure you that we can, Harry," Gaia said sadly, "Without a common enemy, humanity will once again break apart into feuding and infighting as they suck the Earth dry of everything it has to offer. Nothing will be left in a hundred years, and the Earth will begin to die. I will begin to die…."
"Then why not do something about it!" Harry replied angrily, "Cause a flood or something! Go Old Testament on their asses!"
While Harry watched in confusion, Gaia laughed at that as though it were the funniest thing she had ever heard.
"Unfortunately, I no longer have that kind of power, young wizard," Gaia said with a sigh, "When your people fled the Earth, you took a great deal of my power with you. Now all I can do is watch as humanity kills itself and me along with it."
Harry felt the blood run from his face at the words, and a sudden wetness on his cheeks told him that he had started crying; a moment later, Harry was kneeling in front of Gaia with a heartbroken look on his face as he stared up at her.
"WE are responsible for killing you?! Please forgive me. I didn't know!"
"Peace, child," Gaia said softly as she placed a hand on his cheek, "I don't blame you; how could I blame someone so good for something like that?"
"But you're going to die! And it's our fault!"
"Everything dies, child," Gaia said simply, "Nothing is eternal, not even the ground beneath our feet."
"But there must be some way to stop it! Can't I do something to help?" Harry asked desperately.
Gaia looked down at Harry with a warm smile like a mother gazing fondly at her child, and Harry felt her love flow into him; it was so beautiful and so pure that it left Harry speechless.
"There is something you can do, Harry," Gaia said softly, "But it must be your choice,"
"What would you have me do?" Harry asked in a whisper.
"Many years from now, when I am gone, when the Earth is no more, humanity will spread out among the stars looking for another world to pilfer and destroy. They will find a lush and fertile world called Pandora, inhabited by an interminable amount of life, but all they will see is another world to conquer and suck dry. If you choose to, I will send you to this world, and you will be its protector to ensure that it doesn't suffer the same fate that yours will. But if you make this choice, it will be a very long time before you see your friends and family again."
Harry's thoughts raced as he considered Gaia's words; on the one hand, he was almost directly responsible for the destruction that humanity would inflict on her; on the other hand, hadn't he fought enough? Hadn't he given enough? Hadn't he earned his rest after all he'd done?
With a sad sigh, Harry knew which choice he would make; being a hero was as much a part of him as his own skin, and he couldn't let the Muggles do to Pandora what they had done to Earth.
As Harry looked up into Gaia's face, he saw her beaming at him as though she already knew his choice. Then, as Harry smiled back, she gently rose to her feet and raised him up with her.
"I will use the last of my power to deage you so that when you arrive on Pandora, you will be able to have the childhood that you were denied on Earth."
"But won't that be dangerous?" Harry asked, "I can't fight against the Muggles as a kid!"
"You will have a good long while to grow and learn before they arrive," Gaia said with a laugh, "And when they DO come, you will be ready for them."
"Alright then," Harry replied with a shrug as a strange blue train suddenly appeared in front of them.
"When you awaken on Pandora, you will encounter the beings that live there," Gaia said with a smile, "They are called the Na'vi, they will teach you how to live on Pandora, and in turn, you will teach them how to defend their world from those who will pillage it."
Harry nodded as he walked to the train; as he stepped inside, he turned to look at Gaia one last time with a sad expression,
"I won't fail you, Gaia, I promise," Harry said sadly as a tear ran down his face,
"I know you won't, Harry," Gaia replied, smiling, "I hope you enjoy your second childhood and defend your home when the time comes."
Before Harry could reply, the doors to the train slid shut, and the train pulled away; the last thing Harry saw before the bright light blinded him was Gaia waving goodbye with a sad yet happy expression on her face.
XXXX
"Well, this feels nice," Harry thought as he slowly began to awaken; as he opened his eyes, he saw that he was lying in what appeared to be a great forest; above him, trees rose to the sky and blocked out the sun's rays.
With a long yawn, Harry rose to a sitting position and took in his surroundings; he was definitely in a forest, and it was oppressively humid,
Man, it feels like I'm back in the Amazon," Harry thought with a wry chuckle as he remembered the battle that had taken place there.
As Harry scratched his chest, he realized he wasn't wearing any clothes, save for a brown loincloth that hid the most private parts of his anatomy; slowly, Harry rose shakily to his feet and looked at his body in shock and awe in equal measure.
He appeared to be a very young child, and even more amazing was that he had blue skin, and what's more, he had a tail!
On shaky feet, Harry slowly strode over to a nearby pond and knelt in front of it as he looked at his reflection in nothing short of shock; he looked to be about six years old, and even stranger was that he looked like a blue cat, and for a moment he wondered if he had accidentally shifted into an Animagus.
As Harry examined his reflection some more, he noticed other things about himself; he had what appeared to be a long black braid hanging down his back, four fingers instead of five, and what appeared to be tiny white dots all over his skin.
With a grimace, Harry took some pond water and tried to rub the dots off, only to discover that they were, in fact, part of his skin; finally giving up, Harry rose back to his feet and looked around in sudden trepidation.
Gaia said that he would need to meet up with the inhabitants of this world, the Na'vi and that they would teach him how to survive on Pandora, but he had no idea where to find them nor where to even begin looking. He had no idea what was edible and what wasn't, no idea where he even was, and no idea what kind of creatures inhabited this world that would most likely like nothing better than to turn him into a meal, given the fact that he was so small, Harry doubted that he would last very long without help.
The child in Harry chose that moment to have a panic attack, and Harry felt tears run down his face as he realized how much danger he was truly in; slowly, Harry made his way to a nearby tree before sliding down it, bringing his legs up, wrapping his arms around his knees and beginning to cry.
Finally, after a few moments of this, the adult in Harry regained control, and Harry angrily wiped his face before rising back to his feet,
"Shelter first," Harry thought determinedly, "Then food! One thing at a time!"
For the next few hours, Harry wandered aimlessly through the forest, gazing in awe at all that was around him; the forest was beyond beautiful, and every now and then, Harry would encounter a different creature that would scurry off before he could get a closer look at it.
The sun was beginning to set when Harry heard a strange noise that seemed to be getting closer; as he listened, Harry realized that it sounded like hooves, and immediately he began to think of horses.
Horses meant people, and people possibly meant the Na'vi and safety. Still, years of war had taught Harry that it was always better to be cautious than be caught unawares, so with all the speed that his little body could muster, Harry dove over a fallen log and waited for the horses to draw closer.
A few moments later, six horses appeared out of the brush, but they were the strangest horses he had ever seen; for one thing, they were silver and blue; for another, they were the size of an elephant with long necks and small heads.
But the strangest thing was what was sitting on its back; a giant blue cat-like creature looked like Harry, only much bigger and stronger. As Harry watched, the cat person jumped from the horse's back and seemed to detach its black braid from one of the horse's tentacles, making Harry frown in bewilderment. Could his braid do that?
"Why have we stopped?" One of the Na'vi asked as he prodded his mount forward,
"I have found tracks," the Na'vi who had jumped from his mount responded, "But they are very strange…."
"How do you mean?" Another Na'vi asked,
"They look like a child's," the riderless Na'vi replied as he knelt and examined Harry's footprint, making Harry gulp from where he was peeking.
"Why would a child be this far out? A Na'vi asked,
"Perhaps it's from one of the other clans?" The riderless Na'vi replied; a moment later, he rose to his feet and began to follow Harry's footprints. As he got closer, Harry began to panic; what would they do if they found him?
When the Na'vi was almost upon him, Harry jumped to his feet, causing the Na'vi to jump back in surprise at Harry's sudden appearance; before the Na'vi could say anything, Harry turned and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him as sudden shouts rang out from behind him.
Harry dove under logs and jumped over fallen trees as he desperately tried to escape his pursuers, who were rapidly gaining ground on him if the thunder of hooves was any indication.
A sudden explosion of brush made Harry stop in his tracks just in time to see a mounted Na'vi appear in front of him; turning to run back the way he had come, Harry saw that the other mounted Na'vi had finally caught up and Harry was now trapped.
The child in Harry took over again, and slowly, Harry backed up until his back was pressed against the bark of a tree as the Na'vi dismounted and warily approached him,
"I'm in trouble," Harry thought as fear rolled through him.
"We mean you no harm, little one," one of the Na'vi said softly as he approached slowly, "My name is Raziel. What are you doing out here? Where are your parents?"
For a few moments, Harry said nothing, simply stared in fear at the giants who were gazing down at him with suspicion; swallowing his fear at last, Harry replied in a small voice,
"They're dead…."
Surprise showed on the Na'vi faces for a moment before Raziel spoke again,
"Why are you out here all alone? Where is your clan?"
"They cast me out," Harry lied, knowing that a bit of sympathy might keep them from killing him, "Said they didn't need another useless mouth to feed."
Anger spread across the faces of the Na'vi riders at that, and for a moment, Harry thought he might have messed up with his lie, but then Raziel spoke again in a very gentle voice,
"You're out here all alone?"
Slowly, Harry nodded his head as he sniffled miserably; the adult in him knew that if it came down to it, he wasn't strong or big enough to properly fight the Na'vi, and the child in him was terrified that they were going to hurt him.
"Well then, I must insist you come with us," Raziel said warmly, extending a hand to Harry, who looked at it with surprise,
"I don't want to be in any trouble. You don't have to worry about me," Harry said softly as he stared at his feet.
"It's no trouble, child," Raziel said with a gentle smile, "And I cannot leave you out here all alone. My mate would kill me if she heard that I did that."
Laughter spread amongst the mounted Na'vi as Harry chewed his lip nervously and tried to decide what to do; Gaia had told him to seek out the Na'vi and learn from them, but he knew nothing about these people. They could be planning to eat him for all he knew.
With a final nervous shift, Harry slowly extended his arm and took Raziel's hand as the Na'vi watched with warm smiles.
"What's your name, little one?" Raziel asked as he gently pulled Harry toward his mount,
"H-Harry, sir…" Harry replied shyly,
"Come then, Hari," Raziel said warmly as he picked Harry up and placed him on the large horse, "We'll go back to the hometree and figure out what to do with you. Everything will be okay, I promise."
Harry nodded his head, causing Raziel to smile at him before he jumped onto the horse behind Harry and attached his braid to the horse's tentacle; a moment later, Raziel kicked in his heels, and Harry found himself desperately hanging on as the Na'vi tore through the brush.