Okay, so, here's the second chapter of Sweet Alchemy's revision. As always, there's no guarantee of this becoming a full fic.

I also have a few ideas for another potential crossover, with a Harry/Collei pairing, but that will have to wait until I finish the Sumeru Archon chapters. Let's just say that, for one of my ideas, Harry is going to view Nahida as a sister figure, and do everything he can to save her and Collei, the former from her cage, and the latter from her Eleazar.

However, I still am working on my Witcher crossover, and I want to get that published before long, to say nothing of my Harry/Raynare fic. Hope you enjoy...


SWEET ALCHEMY (REVISED)

CHAPTER 2:

THE STRANDED WIZARD

They'd hurried back to Mondstadt, though it was a fair trek that took some time. By now, when he had been stuck in the form of a raven, Harry had gotten used to the geography, even if he couldn't consciously realise why it felt unfamiliar. All he knew was that he was a long way from home, and from those he held dear.

But when that damned Abyss Mage had shocked him, well, it was like a lock on his form had been broken, along with a lock on his memories. Even now, they were still falling into place, and the thing that kept him from succumbing to despair was the knowledge that they needed to get to safety first. The City of Mondstadt was safe, more or less, so it could wait. Besides, Sucrose was painfully shy, and probably would want to wait until she was in more familiar surroundings before she got the story.

Thankfully, they soon made it to the vicinity of the city (well, more like a town), with a wall surrounding it. And it was here that Harry had his first encounter, as a human, anyway, with one of its inhabitants. Aside from Sucrose, anyway.

The girl that approached them was in red, with a hair accessory that looked vaguely like rabbit ears. She had long dark hair, amber eyes, and an energetic attitude. "Sucrose!" she called out. "What's the matter? Who is this?"

"…It's…it's a long story, Amber," Sucrose stammered and panted. "This used t-t-to be Shadow. His actual name is Harry P-P-Potter." The green-haired girl took some deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. "We just had to flee from an Abyss Mage in Dadaupa Gorge," she added once she had calmed down a little, the stammer absent now.

Amber frowned. As Harry understood it, Amber was the only member of the Outriders of the Knights of Favonius. This amounted to being a scout, from what little he had gathered. Despite being only a little older than Sucrose, Amber acted as an older sister figure to the green-haired alchemist. "An Abyss Mage? They've been more and more active lately, stirring up trouble with the local Hilichurls, but…ugh, Sucrose, I could have come with you."

Sucrose remained silent, scuffing her shoe shyly. Harry sighed. "Look, you know Sucrose isn't that great around other people, don't you? She prefers going alone, and she had me acting as a spotter. Honestly, I…it was sheer bloody luck that I changed back when I did."

"Back? So you were human originally? Ugh, never mind that. I think the pair of you could do with a meal, and I could do with an explanation while we're at it. So, we'll head to Good Hunter."

"Maybe…but I think for the explanation, we'll have to head somewhere quiet, and away from certain individuals." On Amber's questioning look, Harry sighed. "The Fatui."

"…Okay…"


Sucrose knew Amber was watching Harry like a hawk. Of the Knights of Favonius, she tended to eschew the etiquette in the handbook, particularly towards suspicious newcomers. Then again, Sucrose herself felt that the language in the handbook was more than a little awkward, if not twee. While it was fine being courteous and polite to strangers, the language sounded like something you'd expect in one of the bigger businesses being run out of Liyue or Snezhnaya.

Still, Amber gave him enough of the benefit of the doubt to allow him to order a meal of his choice. A portion of Sweet Madam proved to be to his liking, and he devoured it. Sucrose couldn't help but smile a little. While she had fed him when he was Shadow, and fed him well enough, it had clearly been a while since he ate as a human.

Even so, the meal soon came to an end, and they left for the training yard around the rear of the Knights of Favonius HQ. Amber wanted answers, and to be fair, so did Sucrose. It wasn't just curiosity, but a wariness she shared with Amber, to some degree. She did believe Harry could be trusted, considering he took on the Abyss Mage to help her, but she wanted to be sure.

"…Okay, so…I don't think either of you would believe my story, so don't blame me if you don't," Harry said after they arrived.

"And why is that?" Amber asked. "While a human changing into a bird is pretty weird, well, Fischl can fused with her Nightraven Oz using her Vision, so that's not so farfetched."

"He used magic, Amber," Sucrose said quietly. "Without a Vision, as far as I could tell. He used a wand."

Amber's eyes widened, and she seemed about to exclaim loudly, before she caught herself. "Seriously?" she hissed. "No Vision?"

"He used a wand, and some sort of spell to shoot fire at the Abyss Mage. It was an Electro Abyss Mage, so it caused an Overload reaction with its barrier," Sucrose said. "And then, he used some other spell to…knock it out, I think?"

"It was supposed to," Harry said. "It was probably unconscious already, but I wanted to be sure."

Amber rubbed her forehead. "…Okay. I know you're not the sort of person to make up stuff like this, Sucrose. But that begs the question…who are you, Harry Potter? And where do you come from?"

"…I don't come from Mondstadt," Harry said quietly. "…This is probably the part you won't believe me in, but…I don't come from Teyvat either. I come from another world entirely. And no, I'm not like Fischl with her Prinzessin thing."

Amber looked to Sucrose in shock, and then back to Harry. Sucrose could understand why she was so dumbfounded. It did sound like an unbelievable thing to say, and Sucrose shared that shock herself. And yet, Sucrose did know of at least one person who had travelled between worlds. "Amber…remember, Alice has been to other worlds."

"Alice?" Harry asked, even as enlightenment dawned on Amber's features.

"Klee's mother," Sucrose clarified. "Believe it or not, her mother is a world-renowned traveller, one who has been to many worlds."

His eyes widened. Urgently, he asked, "And where is she? If she's been to Earth, to Britain, then maybe she can take me back."

"Nobody knows where she is at the moment," Sucrose said gently. "She only sends letters back, mostly for Klee." As his face fell, she frowned. "That being said…Earth does sound familiar. I spoke to her when she encouraged Deaconess Barbara to become an idol…and she said a world called Earth was where she picked it up, along with a taste for something called…KFC(1)?"

Harry stared at her flatly, brought out of his morose state slightly by the statement, for some reason. "…What. A world traveller got into KFC, of all things?"

"What's KFC?" Amber asked.

"It's a fast food restaurant, it stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken," Harry explained. "But if I can find her, get her to take me back…"

"Harry…I said that nobody knows where she is," Sucrose said.

"And it's not like she left a forwarding address," Amber said, before sighing. "…Okay, you're right, that's a pretty unbelievable story, and honestly, I'm a bit worried that you were around one of my friends for so long, and her not knowing."

"Hey, I didn't have any real memories of my time back home while I was stuck as a raven!" Harry snapped angrily. "And it's not like I peeked on her while she was changing or sleeping or anything!"

Amber held up her hand. "Hey, I'm not finished yet! My point is…I'm just worried for Sucrose. Though to be honest, if you meant to harm us or just to lie to us, your story would have been something somewhat more believable than you coming from another world. Though that sounds like the sort of stuff that comes out of the Yae Publishing House in Inazuma. So, this is something we need to bring to Acting-Grandmaster Jean, and probably Lisa as well. If there's anyone in the Knights of Favonius who may know something about other worlds, it'd be Lisa. I mean, she was trained by the Akademiya of Sumeru, the foremost educational institution in all of Teyvat."

Sucrose frowned as something occurred to her. "I'd…I'd like to bring in Master Albedo as well. His mother is part of the Hexenzirkel, as is Alice. He may know how to contact her."

"Maybe. Harry, don't get me wrong, if what Sucrose said is true, you saved her," Amber said. "And you look like something Stormterror chewed up and spat out. I'm just worried about one of my best friends. Sucrose doesn't have that many. Look, Mondstadt is pretty welcoming to strangers. As long as you're truthful, I'm sure the Acting-Grandmaster will let you stay."

After a moment, Harry bit out in aggravation, "Fine." He sounded far from happy about this.

"Hey, don't worry, it's not like you're under arrest or anything," Amber said, as placatingly as she could. "We're just trying to get to the truth. Besides, at least your fronted up. It's just…the city's a little on-edge at the moment, what with the Fatui squatting in the Goth Grand Hotel, and the rumours of Stormterror stirring. And if you remember anything from when you were a raven, we're currently understaffed."

"Yeah, because your Grandmaster buggered off with most of the Knights for some reason, and Merlin knows where they are," Harry said. On their looks, he sighed. "Merlin's a famous wizard back home. Never mind."

"See?" Amber said. "As Shadow, you overheard a lot, and while you are probably a decent guy, we need to be sure. Besides, you should be thankful it's me and not Diluc doing this. Guy's paranoid as anything…"


Harry could understand their worry, he really could. But it still felt insulting and grating, after two years of being disbelieved about many things (but particularly his NOT entering the Tri-Wizard Tournament and Voldemort's return). At least Amber was more suspicious than outright insulting and condescending like Fudge or Umbridge had been. She was trying to be accommodating. Which was why Harry went along with it for now.

Which was why Harry had been brought to a rather large and well-appointed office, that of the Grandmaster of the Knights of Favonius. He was looking at all the books in there, and knew that Hermione would have loved it…assuming she was still alive. He fought down the stab of misery at the reminder of his friend, one who had gone down to a curse from Dolohov, the last time he saw her. And despite their friendship being strained that year, he still cared for her.

After Amber spoken briefly to Jean, the young woman had asked Amber to go and fetch Lisa. As she did so, Jean said, "Sorry about that. I am Acting-Grandmaster Jean Gunnhildr."

Harry nodded, shaking the tall, blonde woman's hand, Jean looking every inch the elegant female warrior. "I'm Harry Potter, and I'm afraid that I have a lot to say that's hard to believe. I'm guessing that's why Amber is bringing in this Lisa person."

"Lisa Minci, yes," Jean said. "Lisa is our librarian, but she's also a former scholar from the Akademiya of Sumeru. Amber already told me that you're apparently Shadow, that raven Sucrose adopted. Amber is…enthusiastic, and protective of Mondstadt and its people, our people, but I can see why she brought you to me."

"Yes, I know, I'm suspicious, just get it over with, okay?" Harry snapped irritably.

"Harry…" Sucrose said gently, trying to calm him down.

But he couldn't. He wouldn't. Instead, he subsided into sullen silence until Amber returned, with…was that a witch in tow? The languidly beautiful woman who entered had light brown hair framing beautiful features, but she seemed to be dressed in a stereotypical witch's outfit, if a bit on the saucy side, all in purple.

Jean cleared her throat. "Harry, this is Lisa Minci, our librarian. Lisa, this is Harry Potter, formerly known as Shadow."

Lisa raised an eyebrow. "Oh my…" she remarked, before peering at him.

"In any case, I need an explanation. Sucrose, would you mind recounting the events around Harry revealing himself?"

Sucrose did so, albeit in a timid, halting tone. After she recounted her version of events, Jean looked to Harry. "And what would you like to add?"

"That I'm a wizard from another world? That I don't come from Mondstadt, let alone Teyvat?" he snarked. And it got the reaction he expected, looks of disbelief from both Jean and Lisa.

Jean, after a moment, pinched the bridge of her nose. "…I just know this is going to be a very long story…and the sad thing is, I'd rather be listening to it than doing paperwork. So, please, explain yourself…"


After he had finished his story, abridged though it was, Lisa pursed her lips in thought. Eventually, she said, "I actually believe you, or at least that you come from this other world, this Earth. I have spent some time speaking or corresponding with Alice in the past, and she has mentioned being to Earth on more than one occasion. She certainly mentioned Britain as a country, and that there were hidden mages with innate magic rather than Visions. That does not prove you are trustworthy, of course, but I have spent time observing your behaviour as Shadow. I've also known more than my fair share of liars, even in the Akademiya. I personally believe you are on the level. That being said, you'll have to earn our trust, at least those of us in this room, along with Kaeya. Oh, and Diluc. Don't worry, Harry, you'll be fine. Mondstadt is a fairly trusting city, for the most part."

"As long as you're not one of the Fatui, or the ex-nobility," Jean muttered not quite under her breath.

Harry nodded. It was about as good as he was going to get. "Well, it begs the question…well, a couple of them. Where's Sirius, and where's this Alice person?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to either of those questions," Jean said. "Alice is often incommunicado, and considering we effectively have to babysit her daughter…well, Klee is a good girl, but she has a very shaky grasp of safety when it comes to explosives. As for your godfather…I haven't seen anyone matching his description, or that of his…Animagus form? I could reach out to contacts in Springvale and the Dawn Winery, but if he arrived in Teyvat at the same time as you did, I haven't heard anything around that time. And Mondstadt is only a small part of Teyvat."

"What's more, Alice did tell me something once," Lisa said. "Well, hinted at more than anything else. I'm not sure whether it is what she meant, but she did imply that travel between Teyvat and other worlds was forbidden by the Gods. Not the Archons, but by Celestia, to whom even the Archons must bow. She manages to avoid their attention, but I don't know if you've been so lucky, Harry. Finding Alice and your godfather doesn't guarantee your problems will be solved."

"Of course they wouldn't," Harry muttered sarcastically. He was, only barely, keeping a lid on his emotions. Anger, despair, the fear of his friends and those he cared for being at the non-existent mercy of Voldemort (if not dead already), to say nothing of being stranded, and Sirius being God only knows where.

However, he was startled when a gloved hand touched his own. He looked up to meet the eyes of its owner, none other than Sucrose. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to. Her expression, while marred by her social anxiety, was a gentle and welcoming one, an understanding one. It said, You're welcome here, even if this isn't your home.

Still, after enough of an interval had passed, he couldn't help but quip, "Sucrose, I hope you replaced or cleaned those gloves before touching me. I mean, you were handling those manky old bones earlier, after all."

Sucrose squeaked in embarrassment, her eyes wide, her cheeks flushed. Even as she stammered out a response (she had replaced her gloves before eating at Good Hunter, he knew very well), Amber couldn't help but chuckle, as did Lisa. Even Jean couldn't help but smile, and much of the tension in the room dissipated.

"Jean, I have an idea on how to accommodate our new guest, at least until he can prove his trustworthiness a little more definitively," Lisa said. "He can help me in the library, sorting things, ensuring the return of overdue items, and so on."

"Are you sure you're not just curious about Harry?" Jean asked. "His magic is unknown, to humans of this world, anyway."

"Well, that too. You can take a scholar out of the Akademiya, but not the Akademiya out of the scholar, or at least the good parts, I hope. Unfortunately, too many of the higher-ups despise curiosity and imagination. But enough of them. As you well know, I could do with a helper, especially one who is more amenable to unreasonable hours than I am," Lisa said.

Amber scoffed. "Unreasonable hours?" she muttered. "Just an excuse to laze about and drink your tea…"

"What was that, Amber dear?" Lisa asked, her smile and tone gaining an edge.

"Nothing!" Amber yelped hurriedly.

"That's what I thought," Lisa said.

Harry sighed. What the hell was he getting into? He just hoped that this would be only a first step in getting home, no matter how impossible it might seem…

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, here it is. Some suspicion, and an offer.

Now, why is Amber being so suspicious of Harry? Well, look at how she treats the Traveller and Paimon initially in the game. I think that she has a suspicion and paranoia that's actually fairly reasonable for Mondstadt. And as Sucrose is clearly one of her friends, something the Windblume Festival event makes pretty clear (especially as she introduces Collei and Sucrose), I think she's more worried about Harry hurting Sucrose in some manner. Of course, she isn't as bad as Diluc: I get the feeling Diluc would already be interrogating Harry in a dark room by now (as badass as he is, I honestly think he's also an arsehole of the highest order whose main redeeming feature is his devotion to protecting Mondstadt).

I like writing Lisa. She was pretty much my top waifu of the game, and is now second only to Ei, and by a narrow margin at that (and this is Ei after she's gotten a much-needed kick up the rear about her single-minded obsession with Eternity: prior to that, she pisses me off something fierce). In many regards, she reminds me of Akeno from High School DxD as a librarian.

I also wanted to make a nod to Alice and her apparent world-travelling, as well as hint that she keeps that ability hidden to some degree, if only from Celestia. After all, the Nameless Goddess at the beginning of the game seems to seal away the twins' ability to travel between worlds, and considering that at least one being linked to Celestia had travelled from another world, given the revelations at the end of the Sumeru Archon quests, that's rather telling, and suspicious.

1. There was an official tie-in involving KFC in the game, so I thought I'd add a nod to it in this chapter.