Okay, so, here's the second chapter of Saudade. Remember, no guarantees that it'll become a full fic, but I do intend to do a Rising of the Shield Hero story one day...

SAUDADE

CHAPTER 2:

IT TAKES YOU AWAY

"You bloody fool, Albus Dumbledore!" Croaker bellowed in Dumbledore's face. "You bloody stupid fool! If it wasn't bad enough that you were keeping that poor boy incommunicado from his friends at a time when he needs emotional support more than ever, you left a damned Horcrux in his scar! I can understand keeping the prophecy secret from him, he's got enough on his plate already, but this? What the hell happened to you, Albus?!"

Dumbledore flinched back, taken aback by Croaker's sudden outburst, revealing that he knew one of the secrets he had tried to keep secret. They were in the kitchen, thankfully free of eavesdroppers. "How did you know…?"

"I used a spell, discreetly. I'd heard about the infamous scar, and wanted to see what was still present. Potter is the first known person to have survived a direct hit from the Killing Curse, and his mother may have used a ritual from the Department of Mysteries, so naturally, I thought I'd check. It took every ounce of my Occlumency ability not to react, let alone hex you within an inch of your life! If you had told us, we could have helped, Albus! Potter is far from the first-known Horcrux infesting a living being. True, they are rare, but we have had cases before, and we successfully removed them. It's a dangerous procedure, with a good chance of death, but it's better than using Basilisk venom or Fiendfyre."

"But…the Unspeakables are not known for working outside the Department of Mysteries, Saul, or for playing the political game…"

"A boy's life is at stake, a boy who shouldn't have been thrown into such a messianic mythos in the first place! You may not have encouraged the myth of the Boy Who Lived, but you didn't exactly discourage it. And hasn't that backfired? Fudge thinks you're after his bloody position, which honestly would be an improvement, though half the Wizengamot would be an improvement over that fat twat! That Umbridge bitch is looking to get herself set up as both DADA teacher and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts! And we have the Death Eaters hidden in plain sight, slipping them both money to listen to their lies! Thanks to them, half the bloody wizarding community worldwide thinks that, at best, you're a senile fool and at worst, a megalomaniac, and that Harry is an attention whore! And don't think I don't know about how much you dithered when Grindlewald was rising to power. Blood pact or not, you could have done more!"

"I KNOW!" Dumbledore yelled back suddenly, before he repeated, in a more quiet, broken tone, "I know. But do you think it is easy, making the decisions where so many lives are at stake?"

"…No, it is not. But it only makes your fuck-ups all the more egregious," Croaker said. "Don't misunderstand me, it's not like I can cast the first stone. I messed up with Rookwood, for example, not realising he was a spy for Voldemort until it was too late. And poor Pandora Lovegood…if I had agreed to help her out, little Luna would still have her mother, instead of Xenophilus. He tries his best, but he is too often credulous. I have many, many regrets. But you want to prevent Voldemort from getting the whole of that prophecy that drunkard gave you, and you didn't even consider consulting me."

"…You make it sound easy to trust you, Saul. But we don't know who Voldemort has suborned. And you sound like you do not trust me."

"True, that. But I care about what happens to Britain, and to that poor boy that they just toppled off a pedestal he didn't want to be put up on. So, you and I are going to have a long and hard talk about what I can do to help you stop Voldemort. The boy shouldn't have to fight, even if he won't have that luxury with that monster gunning for him."

"…But how good are his chances to survive that ritual?"

"…Fairly good. Not as good as I'd like, there's still a good chance of killing him, but…odds are he will live."

"…Thank Merlin," the old man said, sagging. "…Though that being said…I remember you telling me about that girl once, Raphtalia. At the time, you told me her magic was too specialised for her to attend Hogwarts."

"Which remains true. She knows a few spells, but most of her repertoire is in illusion magic, something to do with her magical alignment, which emphasizes magic using light and darkness. Raphtalia is as dear to me as…well, not quite a daughter, but perhaps a niece. I've tried to keep her away from the prejudices of Magical Britain, but…she yearns for home, Albus. Even despite what those monsters did to her, both from the Wave of Catastrophe and the humans who enslaved her, she wants to save it, including those she held dear. But she was also helping me work on possible ways to stop Voldemort and his cronies. That speaks volumes as to her strength of character, Albus. She may not join your little vigilante group, but there's no doubt that if Voldemort or his cronies targeted her, they would regret it…"

Harry had to admit, he was enjoying Raphtalia's company. For all that this current climate had everyone on-edge and a little distrustful, there was something about the girl that was earnest. Hermione liked her too, and Raphtalia patiently answered her questions, those she could answer. And he could at least sympathise with her desire to go home.

And for all his mistrust of Dumbledore of late, if he trusted Croaker, Harry could have some tentative trust towards the man and his protégé. Tentative, mind, as Dumbledore still trusted Snape too much, in Harry's opinion, and there was the revelation of Rookwood's duplicity Harry remembered seeing in Dumbledore's Pensieve. But he was going to give them a chance. Singular, though.

"Ugh, no, this isn't it," Raphtalia said, replacing a book and taking out another. "I mean, it was a bit of a vain hope to think the answer was here, but Mr Croaker said there might be. Outside of the Hogwarts library and the library at the Department of Mysteries, this is probably the best collection of esoteric magic lore in Magical Britain, so I am told."

"Esoteric dark magic lore, Raphtalia," Sirius said with a weary chuckle. "My family isn't known for being warm and cuddly. Still…I'm surprised you're in that much of a hurry to get home. These people sound worse than Magical Britain. Widespread slavery of your people?"

"As much as I don't want to give Melromarc any credit, Siltvelt does the same to humans," Raphtalia said as she flicked through another book. "But even then…I want to see if my friends are okay at least, and my big sister Sadeena. And considering the ritual Rabier was using had a time element, it's possible I have travelled into the past. Actually, I hope it's the case, because then…well, I may have a chance to save my parents, maybe even myself and my friends. And the Waves of Catastrophe…" She shuddered again.

"You were saying something about the Cardinal Heroes summoned to save your world?" Harry asked.

Raphtalia nodded, even as she replaced the book she had been flicking through. "There are many weapons of yore that empower the wielder with the ability to fight back against the Waves. But the Legendary Weapons, the Cardinal Four, are the most powerful. The Cardinal Sword, the Cardinal Bow, the Cardinal Spear…and the Cardinal Shield. The Four Heroes are summoned from another world, their aptitude chosen by the ritual and the weapons. The Shield Hero is loved by the demi-humans, having fought for Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden, but…well, the Shield Hero is not liked in Melromarc. I don't know whether there's a good reason, or that it's just hatred, but the local religion is called the Three Heroes Church."

"Charming," Harry remarked. "And you still want to go back?"

"Not yet. Or rather, while I want to go back as soon as I can, I'm not ready to abandon this country to its own fate. Voldemort and his followers remind me too much of that Rabier man and his cronies, hating people because they're different, believing us to be little better than animals."

"Much like how the Death Eaters view Muggleborns and Muggles the same way," Hermione mused grimly.

"If I can help stop Voldemort, even if it's a small contribution, then I will."

"That being said, bringing heroes from another world…are we talking ordinary people?" Hermione asked. "Wouldn't that be kidnapping?"

"…I never thought of it that way," Raphtalia admitted. "But that is the tradition."

"I don't know," Hermione mused. "I have a cousin in Japan who vanished some months ago. Nobody's found him. He just disappeared while at a library. He keeps in contact with his parents and brother, so it's not like him. I'm not saying he got taken to another world, but just that it's no laughing matter."

"I'll say," Harry muttered. "I pity the poor sod who gets summoned up out of nowhere and told to save the world. I have enough of that here already."

"Yes. Mr Croaker did set me straight about what being a hero means," Raphtalia said. "But from what he told me, about you holding off those Dementors swarming you, slaying a Basilisk, and holding off Voldemort…Harry, I am sure these things have hurt you, but a true hero is not someone who seeks out adventure. It's someone who does what they can."

"Well said," Hermione said. "Harry doesn't always seek out trouble, but it has a tendency to find him. But he rises to the occasion. He doesn't need that Boy Who Lived title. He is a hero, as far as I am concerned."

"…I appreciate it, both of you, but…I think seeing Cedric's body…it really hit home to me how high the stakes really are," Harry admitted. "And that hearing…Fudge and that Umbridge woman really had it in for me. I just want a quiet year for a change, but somehow, I know I'm not going to get it."

"I'm sure. Though the real worry is Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Basically, his yes-woman and the one who basically gets stuff done. And a nasty piece of work. Mr Croaker doesn't think she's a Death Eater, but she is…what's the word you would use? A groupie?" Raphtalia said. She grumbled as she replaced the book she was currently reading, before taking another one. When she saw it, she murmured, "Impossible…"

"What is it?" Sirius asked.

She held up the book, which had on it the title The Chronicle of the Four Heroes, complete with symbols of a sword, a spear, a bow and a shield. "I think this is the legend from my own world. Hermione, please get Mr Croaker immediately."

"But if it's your world's legend, how is it here?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, but maybe this is what I need to return home. Go and get Mr Croaker, please!" As Hermione hurried out, Raphtalia frowned in thought. "There have been rumours that people from this world specifically had ended up in my own. Mr Croaker told me once of a possibly apocryphal tale used to explain the mysterious disappearance of Ignotus Peverell for several years. But…"

Harry took the book from her, and flicked through it. "It's in English. Like, I see this different lettering for parts of it, but why would a legend of your world be in a language of our own?"

"Maybe it was transcribed by someone who travelled to my world."

As he flicked through it, Harry frowned as he came across an anomaly. "Raphtalia," he said uneasily. "After the first page, the Shield Hero's section is blank."

"What?" But as Raphtalia and Sirius hurried over, the book began to glow. The bookshelves surrounding them seemed to become yawning canyons…and the floor seemed to vanish. Harry caught a glimpse beyond a veil of unearthly light that surrounded him the horrified faces of Hermione, Dumbledore and Croaker at the door, before that light swallowed everything…

…And then, they were elsewhere. Somewhere dim. Somewhere cool and musty-smelling.

As he blinked away the afterimage of the light, he realised he could feel something on his arm. He looked, and stared. A wedge of dull metal, with an emerald gem in the middle, the same colour as his eyes he noted abstractedly, was attached there. A shield.

Nearby, aside from Raphtalia and Sirius, he saw a trio of other people, all with Oriental features, even if two of them seemed to have blonde hair. Each held a weapon: a sword, a spear, and a bow. They were in the middle of a magic circle.

And then, he heard a voice declare words he didn't want to hear.

"Oh heroes, we beseech you, save our world!"

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

Oh dear. Harry's ended up in Melromarc, and has taken Raphtalia and Sirius along for the ride. This can't end well. And just when Croaker may have gotten Dumbledore to get his act together, too…

No numbered annotations this time.