I honestly went to bed last night, after finished the upload for chapter one, just expecting to go to sleep… Instead, I found myself up until 4 in the morning, finishing off the second chapter. Not complaining, because I like it more than the first.

You ever have that thing, where you are writing something, and for the entire time you struggle to come up with ideas, only to finally finish it, then come up with all the ideas? That is what happened, which was annoying. I could change it, but the first chapter is growing on me.

Notice: I do not own anything belonging to the Harry Potter IP, nor do I take credit for Harry Potter Characters, world building or story, that all goes to J.K. Rowling and WB. The only things I take credit for are the things I add… just put this here in case. We cool? Cool…

Harry had been trailing the doe through an otherworldly forest for what felt like hours. Towering trees stretched skyward, their branches intermingling with plants that glowed with an ethereal light. The more he observed his surroundings, especially the three unfamiliar moons hanging in the sky, the more he was convinced that he was no longer on Earth. The environment was alien, yet hauntingly beautiful – a clear indication that he had somehow crossed into another reality. His mind raced with questions. If not on Earth, where was he? And when? Was this even the same universe he had always known?

'This place is truly beautiful, I can't deny that,' He thought to himself, walking past another ancient tree, 'But why am I here? That voice must have called me here for a reason, but why?'

The doe, which he had been following, suddenly halted. It turned to look at him, its vivid green eyes locking onto his. Tucked behind its ear was a flower that seemed to defy gravity, floating as if by magic. A sense of odd familiarity washed over Harry as he gazed at the doe, yet he couldn't quite place the feeling.

Harry cautiously approached the doe, curiosity glinting in his eyes. Extending his hand, he gently touched its head, marvelling at the softness of its fur. "What are you...?" he whispered to himself, more puzzled than ever.

'Wait… that flower looks like a li—'

Abruptly, an arrow whizzed past his face, close enough to graze his cheek and leave a shallow cut. Time almost seemed to stop, his eyes widening, as the thick red blood dripped from the cut. Harry's heart raced as he instinctively dove behind a nearby tree, his hand touching the fresh wound on his face. Peering out from his hiding spot, he saw the arrow quivering where it had lodged itself into a rock, leaving a web of cracks. 'That was too close,' he thought, a shiver running down his spine.

Cautiously, Harry scanned the area from behind the tree, searching for any sign of his attacker. The forest was still, with no indication of movement or presence. Confusion clouded his thoughts – who would shoot at him and why? Before he could process further, another arrow sliced through the air, narrowly missing him and embedding itself into the bark of his shelter. Harry let out a startled yelp.

This time, he caught a glimpse of movement. Perched on a tree branch above was a figure, shadowy and elusive. The figure clutched a wooden bow, and even from a distance, Harry could see the amber glow of their eyes, fierce and unyielding.

Trapped and out of options, Harry took a risky step. He cautiously emerged from behind the tree, hands raised in a gesture of surrender. "Hey there... I think we got off on the wrong foot," he called out, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible. "I'm Harry—" Before he could finish, the figure leaped down, delivering a powerful kick that sent him sprawling to the ground, gasping in pain.

"Not much for conversation, I see," Harry joked, wincing at the pain, only to be met with the sharp point of an arrow aimed directly at his face.

The attacker was a woman with pale, almost ethereal skin and eyes that glowed an intense amber. Her attire blended with the forest, adorned with leaf patterns, and her face was partially concealed by a mask. Blonde hair, crowned with flowers, framed her face. Despite the danger, Harry couldn't help but notice her striking appearance.

"How did you get here, human?" she demanded, her voice soft yet laced with aggression. "Are you scouting for an attack force?"

Harry, still reeling, managed a weak response. "Do I look like I'm part of some covert ops to you?" he quipped, raising an eyebrow.

Her response was swift – a boot heel driving into his stomach, expelling the air from his lungs. "Your presence here endangers my clan. I won't tolerate it," she hissed, her bowstring pulled taut.

"Wait, wait! Easy!" Harry gasped, attempting to calm her. "I'm not here to cause trouble. I got lost... fell through some kind of portal. There was a Doe and I followed it… I'm honestly not sure why—"

Her hostility momentarily paused as he mentioned the portal. "You saw a doe?" she asked sharply, her grip on the bow relaxing slightly.

"Yes…? One with black fur and green eyes," Harry replied, noticing her sudden change in demeanour. "What? Was it something I said?"

She swiftly lowered her bow and helped him up. "Nightfall here is dangerous. We need to move," she stated firmly, glancing back at him.

Harry followed, though confused by her abrupt shift in attitude. "So, one moment you're attacking me, and the next you're helping... because—"

His mind raced with a sarcastic retort, but he quickly silenced the thought. 'For the sake of your life, don't say mood swings! Don't say it, you can be a sarcastic super jerk another time!' he admonished himself internally.

"You were led by the Celestial Goddess," she replied simply, moving through the forest with purpose. "That's all you need to know."

Harry's curiosity piqued. "Your Goddess takes the form of a doe…?"

She shot him a sharp look. "She can take many forms. Mock our beliefs, and I'll—"

"I'm not mocking, just curious," Harry quickly clarified, raising his hands in a defensive gesture.

They continued in silence, the woman confidently leading the way. Harry's mind was abuzz with questions about this mysterious girl and the world he had stumbled into. His eyes landed on her pointed ears, raising an eyebrow.

Moments later, Harry spoke up, his gaze wandering through the dense forest. "So, what exactly are you? You're clearly not human," he asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

The woman gave him a look of mild annoyance. "If you really want to know, I'm an Elf. A Woodland Elf, to be precise," she answered, her tone conveying a sense of pride. She then deftly retrieved a knife from her boot, skilfully wrapping a vine around it, and flung it over a high branch, securing it in place.

Harry watched, his expression one of genuine surprise. "I didn't know there were other kinds of Elves, just house Elves..." he admitted, feeling somewhat naive.

She tugged on the vine, ensuring its stability. "House Elves are just a fraction of what we are. Humans have... altered their kind," she said, her words tinged with a mix of resentment and sorrow. "Your kind..."

Harry, feeling a twinge of guilt, rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "If you dislike humans so much, why are you helping me?" he inquired, genuinely puzzled.

She scaled the vine with effortless grace, pausing to look down at him. "The Goddess's guidance is not to be ignored. There must be a reason she led you here. Besides," she added with a slight sinister smirk, "it's amusing to watch humans try to navigate our world. Speaking of which..."

Harry eyed the vine, then glanced back at her, a look of disbelief on his face. "You're kidding, right?"

She smirked mischievously. "Better hurry before the night creatures emerge. They're not as friendly as I am," she teased, her eyes twinkling with sadistic amusement.

With a resigned sigh, Harry began his attempt to climb the vine, his movements awkward and uncoordinated, causing him to swing comically from side to side. The Elf watched, her grin widening as she fought back laughter.

"D-Don't worry... you're almost there," she called down, her voice laced with mock encouragement.

"A little help would be nice!" Harry called out, clinging to the vine as if his life depended on it.

Leaning casually against the tree, she watched him struggle, her smirk never fading. "No, you're doing just fine," she teased, enjoying the rare sight of a human out of his element.

For what felt like hours, Harry had trailed behind the Elf through the dense forest. Her movements were swift and graceful, a testament to her familiarity with this wild terrain. Harry, on the other hand, struggled to match her pace, like an elephant on a tightrope. Narrowly he had avoided several falls from the precarious treetops. Only his quick reflexes, honed through his time as a Seeker, saved him from a misstep.

'Forget Voldemort, this Elf is going to be the death of me,' He thought to himself, only half joking.

As they moved, Harry's thoughts churned. How had he ended up here? Like, taking a mysterious hand that appeared in an archway wasn't typically his style of recklessness. Sure, head had done crazy and stupid things in the past, but this was a new level.

Was the stress from the Triwizard Tournament influencing his judgment more than he realized?

Suddenly, a wave of panic surged through him, his mind locking onto one thought. The Tournament! He was bound by a magical contract to participate. If he didn't...

"I need to go back..." Harry's voice was edged with urgency, barely more than a whisper, yet it caught the Elf's attention. She looked at him, her eyebrow arching inquisitively.

"Going back to where we started would be rather futile at this point," she commented, a hint of bemusement in her tone.

"No, not there! I mean back to my world," Harry clarified, his voice rising with anxiety. "I'm bound by a magical contract to a Tournament. If I don't compete, I'll lose my magic."

The Elf stopped in her tracks, her expression turning serious. "That's barbaric. In my world, such a contract would be condemned as a war crime. Why would you agree to such terms?"

Harry shook his head, a mixture of frustration and helplessness in his eyes. "I didn't agree. I was entered against my will."

She let out a sigh, her gaze piercing. "Humans and their foolishness..." Shaking her head, she continued walking. "Besides, if such a contract was so binding, wouldn't your arrival here be considered a breach? Going to a world possibly millions if not billions of miles away? By that logic, you should have already lost your magic."

Confusion flashed across Harry's face. "I can't test that. My wand... apparently, it didn't come with me."

'If it did, I wouldn't have let you keep shooting arrows at me!' He added mentally.

"You mean your magical focus?" She seemed perplexed for a moment, then added, "Regardless, it's evident you haven't lost your magic, even without this 'Wand' of yours."

Harry, still bewildered, continued to follow the Elf. Why was she so sure? It was almost as if… A thought struck him, "Can Elves sense magic?"

She smirked, a glint of amusement in her eyes. "Clearly your smarter that I give you credit for, Human." She turned her head to face him, "Yes, we can. But more importantly, you're not dead. Losing your magic under such a contract would be fatal."

Harry stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening in shock. The gravity of the situation hit him – the Tournament was even more perilous than he had realized.

"Why would they make kids part of a competition that could kill you for backing out?" Harry's voice rose in anger, his frustration evident as his magic flared unconsciously. "The sheer idiocy of it!"

The Elf looked at him, her smirk now replaced by a look of understanding. "And now you see why my people are wary of humans," she said, her tone laced with a hint of disdain. "Let's keep moving. We're nearly there."

As they continued, Harry worked to calm his magic, sensing its uncontrolled surge. He noticed the Elf tense momentarily when his magic peaked. Had he frightened her? That wasn't his intention.

"About earlier, when my magic..." Harry started, unsure how to phrase his concern.

"You mean your little temper tantrum?" She couldn't hide a teasing smile.

Harry responded with a deadpan expression. "Hilarious. But I noticed you tensed. Did I scare you?"

She let out a laugh, but it seemed a bit strained. "Scare me? Hardly. You just surprised me, that's all. I didn't expect a human to possess such potent magic," She stared forward, muttering under her breath, "It's not normal, at all."

As they weaved through the forest illuminated by the ethereal glow of the trees, the moons in the sky began their slow descent towards the horizon. Harry found himself captivated by the enchanting beauty of this world. It was a stark contrast to Earth, imbued with a magic that seemed to breathe life into every part of the environment.

Eventually, they arrived at a small clearing in the woods, where a campfire crackled beside a river with a waterfall that shimmered like a cascade of crystals. The campfire's flames danced with a mystical blue light, under which a few fish were sizzling.

Harry watched as Selena placed her bow beside a log and sat down, letting out a weary sigh. She removed her mask, revealing her face in its entirety. Her features were as striking as he had imagined: pale skin, bright, expressive eyes, and delicate lips.

"Are you done staring, or shall I give you a moment longer?" Selena asked, one eyebrow arched, her tone laced with mild amusement.

Harry, slightly embarrassed, stumbled over his words. "Sorry, it's just... I realized I don't even know your name. I can't keep referring to you as 'The Elf'; that's a bit r—"

"Racist?" she interjected, with a slight tilt of her head.

He gave her a sideways glance, "I was going to say rude," Harry corrected quickly, a bit taken aback.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Rude works too," she conceded, returning her attention to her bow and adjusting its string. "The name's Selena, by the way. Don't ware it out, hu— Harry."

Harry smiled, 'Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all…'

I tried experimenting with more jokes in this one… I want it to be serious, of course, but I feel like Sarcasm is part of Harry's nature. And its part of my own. Anyway, reviews and Preview time! If I miss any out, I'm sorry in advance, the website was bugged when I uploaded it. I didn't even get a view counter until this morning… boy, the joys of uploading.

Reviews:

Knightmare's War: Glad you like it so far! I'm glad my subtle hints at Selena didn't go unnoticed.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, criticism is welcome as long as its constructive, and have a good day— or night? Hell, I won't judge you if you live in a timeless void…

Preview: (Subject to change, maybe?)

Under the starlit sky of Apex, with the soft glow of the campfire flickering between them, Harry looked across at Selena with a mix of curiosity and confusion. "A Starborn?" he asked, the word feeling foreign yet significant on his tongue. "What exactly is that?"

Selena's gaze drifted upwards to the celestial tapestry above, her eyes reflecting the distant stars. "For generations, the Starborn have been the stuff of legend, guardians whispered about in bedtime stories," she began, her voice taking on a tone of reverence. "They are said to be the custodians of Apex, holding together the Celestial and Cosmic balance of magic, hence 'Starborn.' They don't just use magic; they bend it to their will. I always thought it was just a fairy tale, but now..." Her voice trailed off as she turned her gaze back to Harry.

"But now?" Harry pressed, leaning forward, the embers casting shadows across his face.

Meeting his eyes, Selena's expression was a mixture of wonder and uncertainty. "Looking at you, with everything you have told me… I'm starting to believe that some legends are rooted in truth."