February 28, 1992

Harry sat silently as he thought about yesterday's events. After Albus had left, he had been forced to speak to his friends when they had come back. Ron had woken up Hermione too who had been nervous wreck about the whole thing. He hadn't managed to calm her down, especially because the biggest question they had was what had happened to him in the first place. Luckily, he hadn't said much because he didn't honestly know much.

He had thought that had satisfied them but it apparently hadn't. They had let him rest for the rest of the day but now they were back in their club room and they had just sat him down with serious expressions on their face. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what they wanted to ask about.

"Harry…" Hermione started. Harry noticed that in serious matters like this, Neville and Ron seemed to default to having her be the leader and simply sitting on each side of her as some form of back up.

"Yes?" He answered back.

"Look, we know there are things you aren't telling us about. There always have been and it usually hasn't been a problem but… Yesterday was just too much! I mean, you stood up and then suddenly looked like you were in immense pain before simply blacking out and falling over. That's not a common thing even in the magical world. And judging by your calm reaction, even if you don't know everything you know somethings…"

"…"

"We're trying to be respectful to your right of privacy but… Harry, as your friends, we need to understand what is happening with you. Please know that you can trust us." Hermione pushed with her eyes watering. Ron nodded at her words and Neville continued to simply stare at him seriously. Harry looked at them before closing his eyes in thought. Did he trust his friends? Yes. But how much was the real question. Could he trust them to keep his secrets, especially everything about Ciri?

In truth, yes, he likely could. Harry wasn't blind after all. Besides situations like this, his friends often looked up to him and usually seemed to take everything he said seriously into consideration. They trusted him to help them even when they didn't know how to help themselves. Neville, for example, went against his families wishes to get a new wand with him at Harry's behest. He had trusted him and it had paid off. In essence, his friends were extremely attached to him and would like do almost anything he said within reason.

"Very well… You are right, there are certain things I haven't revealed. Things that I have kept extremely close to the chest. First, and what is likely my biggest secret, is that I have an extremely strong magical and mental connection with another person." Harry revealed trying to gauge their reactions to that. So far, the only thing he saw was confusion.

"What do you mean? Are you saying you have a magical bond with someone?" Neville asked. Harry blinked at that. A magical bond? He had never heard of such.

"What's a magical bond?"

"Pretty much what it sounds like, a bond between two peoples magic that connects them in some way." Neville explained. Harry frowned at that. He and Ciri were mostly connected mentally. The magical connection was mostly in the existence of that mental connection, none of their other actual magic was connected. At least not from how Neville described it.

"Maybe? I would need more details. Our bond is mostly mental but our magic is mostly separate. The magical portion is really just in the formation of the mental link." Harry said back.

"That could be one. As I said, they form in different ways. There's not really much information about them besides some basic facts like what I already said because they vary so much. The only common one is a wedding magical vow bond that some of the older families still use." Neville explained back.

"Hmm well, as I said, it's possible but I can't be sure. Anyway, I am connected to another person, she's a girl near our age named Cirilla, or Ciri for short." Harry explained once more. Neville and Ron looked interested all of a sudden and Hermione looked speculative.

"A girl? What does she look like?" Ron asked with some excitement. Neville nodded his head showing he wanted to know the answer to that to. Harry frowned at the sudden interest, though he wasn't sure why it bothered him. Either way,

He acquiesced to their demands and conjured an illusion of Ciri. He used her in her normal shirt and trouser outfit to showcase them. He certainly wasn't planning to show anyone what she looked like in her dress from the other night.

"Wow! You have a connection with some like that? She's super pretty!" Ron exclaimed as he looked at the illusion.

"I have to agree with Ron. She has a very exotic look to her with her hair and eye combo. Where is she from and are her looks natural?" Neville asked.

"She's from Cintra and yes her looks are natural though, no they are not common." Harry explained as he dispelled the illusion of her. He couldn't help but give a hard stare at Ron who had been drooling all over the illusion. He did not like that.

"Where's Cintra? I've never heard of it before." Hermione asked rejoining the conversation finally.

"Yes, well, that's the other thing. So, Ciri isn't exactly from around here. She's actually lives on a different world entirely." Harry said dropping the bomb. He waited for a moment but no one said anything. He looked and all of his friends simply stared back at him with blank expressions.

"…Neville?"

"Yes Hermione?"

"Is the existence of other worlds just something normally known in the wizard world or did Harry say something insane." Hermione asked. Harry frowned.

"It's not a common topic but it is believed that other worlds exist, we haven't managed to ever get to one as far as I know… So, yes, Harry just said something insane." Neville said back calmly without looking away from him. Harry just gave him a small glare in response to his words. Neville stared back unperturbed.

"Other worlds are believed to exist? I've never heard of that?" Ron said looking at Neville with confusion. Harry answered for him.

"They do exist, getting to them is just difficult, though, not impossible. That's what my ultimate goal is. I wish to find a way to leave this world and go to hers if necessary." Harry told them. Apparently, that was the bigger bombshell as all his friends suddenly look terrified.

"You're leaving!" Hermione yelled. Harry almost fell out of his chair at the unexpectedness of that reaction. He looked at her shocked for a moment before responding.

"Well, hopefully one day, though, I am not saying permanently or anything." Harry tried to reassure. That seemed to calm them down slightly.

"Merlin, mate. Don't scare us like that!" Ron told him in exasperation.

"I didn't think you would react like that when I told you." Harry said back.

"Our friend just told us he was planning to try and leave the world. What were we supposed to think? Jeez… I assume then you must be close with this Ciri." Neville mumbled though still loud enough for all of them to hear.

"Yes. I have known Ciri for years. She is the person closest to me."

"How often do you speak to her if she is on a different world?" Hermione asked.

"Almost every single day. I don't really sleep. We have a shared mindscape and when our bodies are sleeping, we go to it and simply spend our nights together." Harry explained.

"…You spend every night with this girl?" Hermione asked with what looked like suspicion for some reason. Harry just looked at her in confusion.

"Yes?"

"And what do you normally do?"

"Depends. She trains most of the time while I read or do work that I then bring to the outside world." Harry explained. Hermione's eyes suddenly lit up.

"That's how you make progress so fast on everything. You literally use the entire day to work! That is crazy. Your brain should need to rest after a certain point."

"I know but I rarely ever get mentally fatigued. I am not sure why." Harry admitted to her. It was something he had thought about as well and never could think of an answer for. He was forced to just assume it had something to do with magic and just leave it at that.

"Hmm, that's strange… So, that's all you do together?"

"I suppose that's most of it. The only thing we do other than that is relax and talk together. We just celebrated her birthday a night ago and that was an enjoyable occasion."

"How do you celebrate it?" Neville asked.

"I crafted an illusion where we ate dinner atop the highest peak on a snowy mountain range. Then we simply relaxed together and enjoyed the view."

"Man, Illusion's sound so nice. Every time you talk about that, I want to learn them myself. Imagining eating whenever you want and never worrying about getting fat." Ron drooled as he was lost in his own imagination. Harry, Neville, and Hermione all rolled their eyes in perfect synchronization at the boy's antics.

"The fact that Harry can literally manipulate any human sense at will and all you can think about is how much more food it would allow you to eat…" Hermione said to him in exasperation.

"What would you prefer I use such an ability to do? Make people live some sort of hell on earth?" Ron asked back with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but at least address the ability with the seriousness it deserves." Hermione shot back at him causing the red head to roll his own eyes this time.

"Whatever. Still, that must've been nice of you Harry. Did she appreciate it?" Ron asked. Harry thought back to the night and remembered suddenly the small kiss she had placed on his cheek at the end of it. He felt the warming of his cheeks signaling to himself that he was probably blushing.

"Yes, I believe she did…" Harry trailed off. Ron just nodded, Neville said nothing, and Hermione seemed to frown at his reaction.

"I think I understand so far. Does Ciri have something to do with why you collapsed the other day?" Hermione asked.

"I had forgotten about that." Neville murmured suddenly looking at Harry suspiciously. Harry simply shook his head at the accusation.

"She didn't, at least, not directly. Something tried to invade our shared mindscape. I believe whatever it was that tried it has done so before without us noticing because of my lack of knowledge in Occlumency. When the presence encountered my shields, it withdrew for a moment before crushing the barrier and proceeding into our mind. The reason I collapsed was from the sudden devastating mental attack I received from it." Harry explained. That didn't seem to calm his friends any.

"Presence? What do you mean? As in, not a person?" Neville asked, looking very confused.

"Exactly, it was almost like a mist that surrounds one in all directions. When it couldn't engulf us because of the shields, it destroyed them and proceeded forward."

"Does Professor Dumbledore know about this?" Hermione asked.

"He does. We have speculated that the presence, despite the pain it caused, we don't believe it wishes to actually harm me or Ciri in any way. Despite entering our mindscape, it didn't seem to damage our minds, or go through any of our memories. Professor Dumbledore confirmed the lack of damage besides the shields either."

"I didn't know that was possible, though I guess I only have the basics of Occlumency so maybe its more common than I thought."

"No, you're right to think it to be strange. When someone enters the mind of another against their will, even if they don't mean too, they almost always leave damage even if it's only a little. The fact that there was none can only suggest that the contents of either of our minds was not the goal of the presence."

"Then what could it have wanted?" Ron chimed in.

"I believe it was seeking to possess Ciri for some reason. I have not heard from her since the incident which worries me but she also must have dealt with the effects of the shields shattering even if she has no part in maintaining them. That being said, I have seen she has not made any new memories since the incident which leads me to believe she is still unconscious from it." Harry explained.

"If Ciri is our age, what would be the point of possessing her?"

"It could be anything but there are several things off the top of my head I could guess on motivations for possessing Ciri. For one, in her world, Ciri is a princess and the last of her line. Her kingdom was recently conquered by a larger one and she was forced to leave but the new rulers grasp is much weaker without her there. There's also the fact that her bloodline seems to be special in some way which may have people wanting her for that. Those are just the immediate ones as well. There are likely many other factors that could cause this that we have no idea. In essence, we have a lot of questions and not many answers." Harry groused quietly.

At that, all his friends went quiet and seemed to be in thought on what he had revealed to them. Harry briefly wondered if knowing these things would change their relationship. Would it hurt them to know he held someone in higher esteem then he held them? He hoped not. What he felt with Ciri was unique but that did not mean he didn't hold a great deal of care for his friends. He would do his best to safeguard them if it came down to him. Ciri was special simply because she had shown up when he was at his lowest and pulled him up. It didn't mean his current friends wouldn't have done the same but at the end of the day, they hadn't and there wasn't anything he could do to change that.

"Well, I can see why you're concerned for her if nothing else Harry. I think I speak for all of us when I say if this girl is a friend to you then she is a friend to us as well, even if we can't speak with her. I'll be sure to be on the lookout for ways to help out anyway I can as well." Neville said coming up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. Harry blinked at him in surprise as his slightly chubby male friend looked at him with such a serious expression. Ron took a step forward to nodding in agreement as he did so.

"Neville's right. We're in this with you. After all you've done for each of us there's no way we'd let you shoulder this alone. I'm not sure what Alchemy can do to help but I'll make sure to find someway to do it, even if I have to become a master in the field to do it." Ron told him as he patted Harry on the back.

With that, all that was left was Hermione who was still a few steps away from them. Her face was screwed up into a frown and she was looking up in thought. Harry watched her for a few moments until she finally looked down and made eye contact with him. He felt a bubble seem to appear in his chest, likely from the anticipation of the situation.

"Going to another world… That's something serious. The only story I've really read dealing with it was Merlin and Avalon but I didn't really take it seriously. It's going to take a lot you know." Hermione told him seriously. Harry felt a small grin spread on his lips at her confirmation of joining his little crusade. With that, she stepped forward and looked at him for a moment.

"Alright, group hug!" She exclaimed causing both Ron and Neville to groan and Harry to chuckle in amusement.

"C'mon, we we're having a good enough moment with…"

"I said group hug!" Hermione yelled this time with a glare quickly silencing the redhead boy who immediately jumped at the raised voice and moved into to acquiesce with the demand. Neville moved into do the same. Suddenly Harry was being wrapped up on both sides before Hermione happily joined in wrapping her arms around all of them. They stayed that way with several moments before finally pulling away.

"Good, now, first things first, we should probably figure out a way to communicate with Ciri."

"I can already…" Harry tried before he was stopped.

"No. I mean all of us." Hermione said. He frowned at that.

"All of us? Why?"

"We just proclaimed that she was our friend correct? Well, don't you think we should be able to communicate with our friend?" Hermione asked. That actually stumped Harry for a moment.

"Well… I suppose but how do you think we're going to accomplish that? She literally only exist inside my head." Harry pointed out.

"I'm sure we could figure something out. In the meantime, can you get me a book on Occlumency?"

"Of course, I have a few that you can peruse through." Harry told her.

"Let me know which you have and I'll see if I have any different ones that I could also lend. Ron, you should probably learn it to, even if only the basics." Neville told the redhead who frowned but nodded in acceptance.

"I guess I could give it a try. I hope it doesn't cut too much into my Alchemy time though." Ron said back.

"Security is important too. It wouldn't do if someone could simply go into your mind and just steal all your ideas and methods in the future." Hermione reasoned. Ron immediately frowned at her words and looked slightly worried.

"You really think someone would do that to me?"

"If you're serious about Alchemy, they certainly might. Remember, Alchemy is pretty rare and sought after. Most who partake probably have some ways to defend their knowledge." Harry threw in his own two sickles. Ron suddenly looked a little queasy but nodded.

"Got it. Guess I'll get on it."

"Good. Well then, I suppose…"

'Harry…'

Harry froze as he heard a distant voice in his head. Despite the muddled variant of the voice, he would recognize it anywhere.

'Ciri? Is that you? Are you okay? Where are you right now?' He immediately shot to her. His friends looked at him confused but he just held up his hand and asked them silently to wait. They seemed to pick up on his demand but still looked very confused.

'Calm down. Yes, I'm okay or, at least, I think I am. I just awoke in my room at Kaer Morhen. Geralt is asleep in a chair in the corner. We can talk about this later tonight, I just wanted to inform you I was alright since I knew you would be worried. I will talk to you soon." Her voice trailed into his mind. He noticed there was slighly more of a delay than there was normally but that could just be because she had just awoken from true unconsciousness for the first time in a long time.

'Of course, I will speak to you tonight.' He answered back knowing how annoying it was to carry out any meaningful conversation in this way. Though, in this one case, it'd almost be worth it just to speak with her. With that, he withdrew and came back to the outer world were his friends were still looking at him confused.

"Sorry about that. Ciri just woke up and she contacted to me so I would know she was alright." Harry told them. Immediately they all looked much more interested.

"Ciri? How is she?" Hermione immediately asked.

"She seems to be fine from what she told me. We haven't spoken that much so I won't know more details until we meet in our mindscape tonight." Harry explained.

"That's good to hear. Will she be upset that you told us about her?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head.

"Not likely. We avoid telling others mainly because we both agreed we would likely be viewed as either crazy or just plain differently. I know she's speculated on telling her guardian in the past but she has not done so last I checked." Harry answered.

"Seems a little weird that you would tell your friends before she would tell her guardian. Do they not have a good relationship?" Ron asked.

"They have a great one. It's just a lot to take in after all. Her guardian can sort of perform magic but is not an actual magic user so some concepts may not be as easily understood and accepted as they would be with you all."

"How can you be able to perform magic but not be a magic user?"

"It's complicated."

Several Hours Later

Harry opened his eyes as fast as possible and started to look around. They immediately settled on a figure sitting in a relaxed manner on one of the lounge chairs in the mindscape. He immediately made his way over to his friend before looking her over with a worried eye.

"Ciri, are you alright? Are you hurt?" He asked quickly as he watched her movies. She just gave him a raised eyebrow from her seated position.

"Do I look hurt?" She asked sarcastically.

"No, but the attack was mental so you could be in pain internally in a way that might not be noticeable at a first glance." Harry argued calming down a little seeing her usual scrappiness coming out.

"We're in our shared mindscape. Wouldn't you be able to tell?"

"Of course not. The shared mindscape is only a visual representation of a pocket space for our knowledge and experiences. Certain things such as what is currently being thought and felt cannot be shared." Harry shot back as he sat next to her. He continued only because he knew Ciri enjoyed arguments to some degree. He couldn't say he was of quite the same mindset but he didn't mind so he would appease her need if she wanted.

"Hmph… I'm fine. Besides being out for several days, I feel completely fine. After I awoke, I spoke with Geralt and he reluctantly told me that I seemed to go into some sort of a trance. He didn't really understand it himself. I didn't really have anything to add since all I remember was a strong pain in my head before everything going black." Ciri continued. Harry frowned as she recounted an experience extremely similar to his own.

"That is what happened to me as well. The pain you felt was from the presence that invaded our minds, shattering our mental barriers." Harry explained.

"Presence. You mean something was attacking us?"

"Possibly. Based on how it happened, I don't believe attacking or causing us harm was the actual goal of the presence, I think it was simply an unintended necessity to gain access to our mind."

"But why? Were they searching for something in our mind? Who would want to attack either of us?"

"I can't answer any of those questions, I can only speculate on a few things. First, I believe that you were the intended target. This seems to be further supported by the fact that you seem to have taken the brunt of the attack. I was only out for one day. Second, based on the fact that you blacked out right when it happened, it is completely possible that whatever this presence was, its goal was to possess you. This is supported further by what Geralt told you as well. I don't know how or why the presence did any of this though. I will try to fortify our shields further but it may be that if this happens in the near future, it would be less harmful if we simply let the presence in."

"And just let it possess me?"

"It's not an option I like but it can clearly get in either way, and one way causes extreme pain to both of us before then taking us out of commission. What if the next time it happens one of us is in the middle of battle. Being left incapacitated is much worse than the alternative." Harry tried to say rationally. Despite his words, Ciri didn't seem happy about his words.

"And there's nothing else we can do?" She demanded.

"Not anything I can think of off the top of my head. I may be able to come up with something later but for now… If you have any ideas, I would certainly be willing to hear them." Harry tried to encourage. They both knew when it came to magic, Harry was much closer to an expert but he would still give Ciri a say considering any decision made would directly involve her.

Ciri frowned as she looked away for a moment and seemed to be in thought about something. Harry waited patiently for a few moments until she finally turned back to him.

"I don't have any other ideas… Geralt did say that he would see if he could get in contact with someone who knows more on the subject, a sorceress maybe. What do you think about that?" Ciri asked. Harry blinked at the mention of one of the native magic users of Ciri's world before going silent in thought for a moment.

"We'll have to be careful. I'm not sure who this person is but there is a chance that in observing you, they may try and look at your mind. Even if they have no malicious intent, they will likely notice something about your shields. If that is the case, they may ask you to lower them willingly as well. I'm not sure I would be comfortable with allowing a stranger access to our shared mindscape. They would have access to both of us after all.

"I hadn't considered that. Still, if Geralt can trust them then I'm sure they're not going to do anything that hurts me."

"It's not just about pain. I have no idea how accomplished the people in your world are at the mind arts but there's a good chance that once there inside our mind they will have unrestricted access to any of our thoughts and memories. Are you telling me there is NOTHING in your mind you wouldn't mind a stranger seeing, even if they come recommended by Geralt?" Harry questioned. Ciri frowned before blushing.

"Alright, point…*sigh* Why does everything have to be so complicated with our lives Harry?"

"Your life more like. Nothing too chaotic happens in mine, I mainly just work on my projects." Harry shot back.

"Did you not have a giant try and kill you several months ago and then a Professor possessed by a Dark Lord do so soon after?"

"… Besides that."

"Riggghhhhttttt."

"Whatever… Well, I'm glad it was nothing too serious, besides the pain and the long nap, of course. I guess I should let you know the other thing."

"What, is it something bad?"

"Well… No? I suppose not bad."

"Then spit it out!"

"Right… So, you know my friends Neville, Ron, and Hermione, right?"

"I know of them. What about them?" Ciri questioned. Harry hesitated for a moment before pushing through his nervousness.

"So, I finally told them… About you." Harry braced not really sure what to expect her reaction to be. She simply blinked at him but otherwise showed no other major response

"Oh… How did that go?"

"Well, I think. They have declared you their friend and wish to meet you." Harry revealed as he thought back to this afternoon. And the conversation he had with his friends.

"I see… Well, they have their work cut out for them. So, I guess that means they took it well. I'm a little surprised by their reaction and how accepting they were. Didn't you say these sorts of situations weren't known or common in your world?"

"They're not. I think the fact that my Headmaster and guardian believe me goes a long way. Dumbledore is kind of the leading expert on all things magical most people believe"

"Believe? Does that mean he isn't?"

"Well, he is. The man is certainly a genius and likely has more knowledge spanning multiple topics than most people will ever have. But he certainly doesn't know everything as I have found in our conversations. That being said, I am trying to accomplish something that most consider impossible constantly, so… Maybe I am just crazy."

"You most certainly are. Most wouldn't consider trying to find some way to make a portal that leads to a different world and reality. That's a fairytale plot if I have ever heard of one."

"I suppose you would know. Fairytale or not, I will accomplish it and all my other goals."

"Oh? And how's your goal coming then?" She asked sarcastically. Harry turned up his nose.

"I have good knowledge in Arithmancy, Runes, and now an adequate knowledge in Rituals."

"The Ritual you created has nothing to do with going to a different world though."

"It doesn't need too; the point was to see if I properly knew what factors influenced Rituals as well as seeing if I could use Runes to further control and enhance the Rituals effects. The step may seem small since it does not directly relate to my control but it is actually a major one. Even further, I hope to use the Ritual on you one day."

"Me? Why?"

"Since your body seems to be highly magical, I am hoping to create artificial reserves that will allow you to perform magic."

"Wait really? You think it could work for me as well?"

"Yes, though I still need to reach you before I can perform the ritual. Even if I gave it to you to get someone else to perform it, you don't likely have the same resources and any change to a ritual can drastically alter it unless properly measured out."

"Still! That's pretty exciting. I would certainly like to be able to use magic finally, even if it's just the Signs the Witcher's use."

"You should be able to accomplish that and more but we shall see… Anyway, the point is, I will succeed one day."

"Sure, sure, sure… Anyway, make a sparring ring and conjure us up some swords. I've been asleep for several days and I want to use my muscles even if its in this fake world."

"Yes, Ciri."