Okay, so, this is the beginning of my revised Genshin Impact story, the one where Harry and Nahida are siblings in everything but blood. It feels better than the one with Fawkes/Serapsis, and feels better-paced with more of a focus on Harry and Nahida's relationship. I also decided to change the pairing from Lisa to someone else, whom you'll see in the second chapter.

I had the title below simply because I can't be arsed changing the prior chapters to reflect the 'original' version that I am rewriting. That, and I have changed the title a little, but I can't fit the full title on the chapter index, so this is simpler. The story's current working title is Knowledge is Power, but Imagination is Supreme. Hope you enjoy the first two chapters, as I am posting both at once...


THE DENDRO ARCHON'S SIBLING

CHAPTER 1:

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

He wasn't sure why he was here. He had Hermione trailing him from a distance, hidden beneath his Invisibility Cloak. But the letter spoke of things he had only shared with trusted individuals…well, save for one. And he'd taken that secret to his grave.

The letter had been signed by an individual Dumbledore had spoken to him about before, a mysterious woman with a mysterious power. It was this woman who, indirectly, confirmed that the girl he had seen in his dreams, a sister he had thought imaginary, was very real. Of course, the name itself meant little, as it was one that was not uncommon in Britain, and yet, this woman was supposed to come from another world entirely.

The letter had the meeting place as Dumbledore's tomb on the grounds…but that had been crossed off and the nearby shoreline of the Black Lake scribbled down in its place. He had to wonder about that. Why had she changed her mind? True, it was the school holidays, but the Black Lake's shoreline was a bit more open, and he was under the impression that this was a covert meeting.

He got an answer when he heard a strange screeching noise from the Black Lake, not unlike the language of the Merpeople living within it. He hurried down towards the piercing noise, which was coming from the meeting area, only to hear a cheerful voice yell, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

Something arced into the Black Lake, and sank without a trace. Seconds later, the surface of the lake bulged, forming a hillock of water, before it burst, spraying water and fish everywhere. The voice mused, "Oh my, a new record. Hmm…let's see…end recording…I'll send one to Tavish, one to Tina, one to the Mythbusters, one to Dorothy(1)…oh, and one to my daughter of course. Hmm, what about Michael Bay? Probably not, he's no fun."

Harry saw the culprit standing on the shore, folding up what looked like a camera. It appeared to be a young woman, dressed in red. Her clothes were flamboyant and eccentric, and yet, they also seemed fitting and elegant. She looked more like a female version of the Doctor than a witch. Short blonde hair framed impish and yet beautiful features. Oddly enough, her ears were long and pointed, like some sort of Elf's. If a Lovegood was a pyromaniac obsessed with explosives, then this woman would be it.

"Hmm…" she continued musing as she put the camera away. "I should talk to Rhinedottir when I see her next, let her know that the new formulation paid dividends, and…" She turned to face him. "Oh, hi there, you're early! Nice to meet you, Harry Potter."

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!" he demanded.

"…Blast fishing," she said, as if it was obvious. "I sent the warning to the Merpeople prior to the explosion. Oh, they'll get a bad migraine from the shockwave, but they won't get more than that. Honestly, young Albus stopped me from doing it last time after he saw the first one. I just arrived here, and young Minnie just gave me a letter Albus left me. A rather long letter, actually."

Harry blinked as the near-insane person approached him, and then gave him a hug. "…I'm sorry you went through what you did, Harry Potter. I…I have a daughter myself. I have left her with trusted people while I travel with my husband, though I made a brief detour to catch up with Albus before it was too late…only to see that it was. But…he told me a few very serious things in that letter. He said you talk with a certain someone in your dreams, right? Someone you view as a sister?"

"…Yes," Harry admitted reluctantly.

"And it was only thanks to me discussing Teyvat with Albus that he was able to tell you that she was real," the woman said. "…I didn't know the full truth about what happened to her. I'm sorry. I just thought those Sages kept her secluded, not caged like an animal. I'm…not a fan of the deities of Teyvat, especially the ones in Celestia. I have to be careful when I travel between worlds, to avoid getting their attention. But your sister didn't deserve what those bastards put her through. That being said, I tend to lack subtlety when I do things."

Harry looked to the fish floating on the surface of the lake near the shore. "I noticed," he said dryly.

"Oh, you're like those killjoys in Mondstadt. The City of Freedom?" She scoffed. "I wanted the ruins at Stormterror's Lair to look…well, more like ancient ruins. Nobody got hurt…well, aside from some Hilichurls…an Abyss Mage or two…and Dvalin's ears if that drunken bard was to be believed," the woman sulked. But then, she returned to a more serious demeanour. "…I also asked Minnie about you. She felt that you and some of your friends felt ill at ease, at a loss, since Voldemort perished. That despite your victory, nothing much has changed for the better. So…I thought you'd like an opportunity to have a new adventure…and to save your sister."

Harry blinked. "…What? You can really do that?"

The woman smiled. "I'm Alice, one of the founders of the Hexenzirkel. Even if I don't hold with those uptight masses in Liyue with their obsession with contracts, if I do give my word, I make an effort to keep it…"


That conversation was still echoing through Harry's mind a week later, as he flew by broomstick to Sumeru City, a town that was clustered around a vast tree. He had his Invisibility Cloak on, along with a lot of spells. A week after he made what was probably the most important choice of his life, and probably the first one he had made on his own terms for a very long.

Then again, given the opportunity he was being offered, it was no choice in the end. The main problem was who was deciding to come with him to Teyvat. While theoretically, he could go back, in truth, between his disillusionment with Magical Britain and the possibility of Celestia intervening, it was probably going to be a one-way trip, according to Alice.

The Lupin-Tonks family was a no-brainer: between Remus being a werewolf, and the daughter they had adopted thanks to Snape's last moment of spite towards his former master, they were on the out in Magical Britain. So too was Luna: the open-minded girl leapt on the chance to journey to another world. And she got along with Alice a little too well.

One of the last to commit to the journey was Hermione. Both Harry and Hermione's relationships with the Weasleys they had been dating had soured. Not to the point of truly destroying friendships, but even Molly, pushy though she was, realised that things weren't going well. In fact, it was Molly and Arthur who had encouraged Harry to make the journey to rescue his sister. Ginny felt this was a fool's errand, while Ron just wanted to stay as an Auror. Neither of them really wanted an adventure anymore.

Hermione, however, needed to consider things more. Her parents had not been pleased when their memories were returned almost four years ago, and had disowned her. Then again, Harry had learned that Hermione's home life, while nowhere near as bad as his own with the Dursleys, had not been stellar. For all the Weasley clan's faults, they at least treated each other like family for the most part, when the chips were down.

So coming to another world, while requiring a major commitment, was something she eventually agreed to. She was currently staying behind, along with the others, in Gandharva Ville, the place Alice took them to on arrival in Teyvat. Harry considered bringing them along, but in truth, he wasn't sure he wanted to risk anyone but himself on this, not after everything. Once he had finished this rescue, then that was fine.

Alice gave Harry some pointers on how to proceed, having some knowledge of the Sanctuary of Surasthana from centuries ago, and she made cryptic remarks about 'making arrangements' to help him after the rescue. Something about recruiting a lioness to help protect them or along those lines. She said she would have the recruit tell them the Marauders' codephrase. Though Harry wasn't sure he ever wanted to meet her daughter. Apparently Klee thought that a stuffed toy filled with explosives and blast fishing were suitable childhood pursuits.

He tried to focus on his sister, the one he was rescuing. She was not his sister by blood. Given that she was 500 years old, a deity, and living on another world, it was no mundane kinship. But from an early age, in that cupboard underneath the stairs, he met her in his dreams. They talked, they played, and for the longest time, she was his only friend, even if he thought her an imaginary one. She gave him comfort, she awoke his curiosity and desire to learn, she helped prepare him, albeit inadvertently, for when he learned of the reality of his life.

The first time he began to realise that she was real was when he and Dumbledore discussed the Mirror of Erised. He had seen his sister there, and Dumbledore had revealed something interesting: Teyvat was real. Once upon a time, he had met a traveller from that world, Alice, and she certainly knew of his sister. And for all the old man's many mistakes and secrets, Harry had to give Dumbledore this much: he tried to help Harry, and in that much if nothing else, he had succeeded.

He found himself drawing close to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, and carefully dismounted. It was night, and he managed to enter just as a monocled, bearded man exited. It took him a moment to realise that was Grand Sage Azar. He was tempted to go back and beat the shit out of the man for what he did to Harry's sister, but said sister might not want that to happen, and besides, he needed to focus on the rescue. Retribution would come later, and served cold.

Harry paused to take in the Sanctuary of Surasthana. He had to admit, it was beautiful, the inside, more of a work of art than a prison. Then again, its creator had created it as a sanctuary for herself, not as a gaol. And in the middle, suspended in a verdant bubble of energy, surrounded by chains of green light…

…It was her. It was really her.

He approached the bubble, gazing upon his sister for the first time in reality. She looked to be a young girl, her apparent age not even in the double digits. Clad in a short white dress with green elements, she had silvery hair and, oddly enough, pointed ears, like those of an elf. Leaf-like accessories adorned her hair.

Even if she wasn't a goddess, to lock away a girl like her was an act of cruelty. Harry felt his fist clenching at the thought of the Sages and their contempt towards their deity. A reckoning would come for them, but not yet. He needed to ensure his sister was safe and sound.

Harry looked around. If what Alice said was correct, the explosion-obsessed sorceress had basically messed around with a spare Akasha Terminal that she handed to him. Not to put on himself, but rather, to bring in and mess with the surveillance system. While technology on Teyvat was a mixed bag, magical technology had at least a surveillance system ready in certain areas, specifically in certain places of Sumeru City. Alice claimed it would do a video loop for a few minutes, long enough for him to save his sister, and get the hell out of Dodge.

The Akasha Terminal would also disrupt the locking mechanism. In other words, she should be free any moment. And sure enough, the chains of light vanished, swiftly followed by the bubble of green energy. His sister, who seemed to be either asleep or in a trance, seemed startled by its absence, floating gently to the ground. Her eyes were looking around, those verdant eyes with pupils that looked like crosses, like a weird cursor on a computer screen.

He hissed her name quietly. She whipped around, and looked in his general direction. Harry carefully lifted up part of the Invisibility Cloak, enough for her to see his face (but, if there were surveillance cameras in this place, he hoped they wouldn't see much, if anything at all), and placed a finger to his lips. Her eyes widened in delight, and she hurried over to him. He took her hand…and then Apparated…


…And appeared just outside Ganharva Ville. His sister swayed on her feet. "Ooh, that's Apparition, is it? Rather uncomfortable," she commented.

"Yep." Harry removed the Invisibility Cloak, and then knelt in front of her. Not as a sign of submission to the Dendro Archon, but simply so that he could meet her gaze without looking down at her. He found his sight being blurred by tears.

She was real. The girl who had been in his dreams for as long as he could remember, his sister in everything but blood, she was real. There were so many things he wanted to say, that he needed to say, but he couldn't think of what to say first.

But Nahida, Kusanali, Buer, the Dendro Archon and Goddess of Wisdom, immature though she was (relatively speaking), knew exactly what to do. She approached him with a teary smile of her own, and gently hugged him. And then, she whispered into his ear, "Thank you, Harry."

After a moment, he returned the embrace, weeping quietly. And there, they both remained for some time, caring little for the onlookers. Nothing needed to be said, not for now. Just the gratitude of a lonely goddess, and the relief of a damaged wizard…

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Nahida has been rescued…but that doesn't mean the Sages' plans or those of Il Dottore have been ruined. Far from it…

1. With this remark, I was alluding to Alice having friendships with a lot of explosives-related people and characters. The Mythbusters and Michael Bay are self-explanatory, but she is also referring to Tiny Tina from the Borderlands games, Tavish McGroot, aka the Demoman, from Team Fortress 2, and Dorothy Gale-McShane, aka Ace, from Doctor Who.