Scion of Sorcery, Dimensions of Destiny

Disclaimers: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its associated characters: all rights belong to JK Rowling. I do not own Doctor Strange, the Avengers or any of their associated characters: all rights belong to Marvel. I do not own any other crossover references used in the story: all rights belong to their respective creators. I do own any OC spells explained at the end of a chapter.

Key Pairings: Harry/Daphne; Stephen/Christine;

Normal Speech

'Thoughts'

'Mental Speech'

/Parseltongue/

Prologue: Time Will Tell

Where was he?

He didn't know.

How had he gotten there?

Okay, that he knew…

SoS

The last thing he remembered was preventing the full, corporeal spawning of the Demon Lord, Nightmare, no thanks to the feeble-minded Wixen of Magical Britain, who'd ambushed him at the ritual site in Stonehenge, using their lesser, foci-driven magic to try and dissuade him from taking on the King of the Nightmare Dimension.

There had been one or two who'd recognised him and, at one point, he even remembered someone, perhaps one of those who didn't want to destroy him or lock him up in their joke of a prison, calling for him to run, to return to America or one of his other bases.

How that person knew of them, he didn't know, but, at that moment in time, he had other things to focus on.

In a fit of his maniacally-driven laughter, undoubtedly fuelled by the nightmares of the Magical British surrounding their war with the man-child known as the Dark Lord Voldemort, Nightmare unleashed his dreamons on the Wixen, no doubt intending to feed on their fears and negative thoughts and dreams to further increase his power.

Doing the only thing he could to try and protect the Wixen, despite their stupid attempts to incarcerate and knock him away, Doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme of Earth and Master of the Mystic Arts – and Muggle, as the Wixen accused him, still deluding themselves into thinking he was just going to surrender to them – threw himself between Nightmare and the Wixen, conjuring his most-powerful shield.

At the same time, he called out the power of the Eye of Agamotto, hoping that he would be able to use the Time Stone to halt Nightmare's assault, before he collided heavily with the wave of dreamons.

The wave of explosions sent Stephen careening into the stone circle, smoke, ash and magic unknown, coupled with a dark-green hue from the Time Stone all rising up around him as he was blasted back by Nightmare's might and magic.

Then, the world went dark…

SoS

Fire.

Darkness.

Terror.

Stephen could see it all, feel it all and sense it all, watching with bated breath as the smoke and ash cleared around him; when it did so, however, his eyes widened as he saw a mass of shapes and shadows, illuminated by some eerie, otherworldly blue glow that seemed to fill every fibre of his being with dread, awe and duty.

Somehow, he didn't know how, but somehow, Stephen knew he was seeing something that was not yet to come.

But what was it?

As he tried to pierce the Veil, attempting to see beyond the shapes and shadows, Stephen heard an unearthly wail, coupled with an explosion from the blue flames that flooded every corner of the darkness.

Over the explosive force, Stephen was dimly aware of a voice screaming;

"WHAT…WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHY…WHY'S EVERYTHING HURTING? PLEASE…SOMEONE…MUM…DAD…SOMEONE, HELP ME!"

A sea of terrified cries was the only response the screamer got.

Then, Stephen's whole world was consumed by blue fire…

SoS

"Hmm…interesting…"

Snapping out of his dream…vision…premonition…whatever that was, Stephen looked up to see Nightmare hovering over him, his body semi-corporeal, while his dark-golden-green eyes seemed to be shining with a mixture of amusement and anticipation.

Struggling to his feet, Stephen grunted as a wave of fresh pain washed over him, forcing him back to his knees, though he did not lose consciousness, least of all before one who could use such a state against him. Instead, he conjured a crutch with the Mystic Arts, leaning on it weakly before he pointed a shaking, weak, bleeding hand at Nightmare, who looked back to Strange with a menacing smile.

"Still trying to defy the inevitable…such fire in you…hmm…shame that fire may one day go out, eh, Strange?"

"What…what was that?" asked Stephen, watching as Nightmare's body seemed to fade away, earning a cry of alarm from Stephen, "No…wait: stop! Come back…tell me: what in the name of Agamotto was that? Nightmare…NIGHTMARE!"

As the Demon Lord's laughter filled his ears, Stephen felt the darkness envelop him, drawing him back into unconsciousness once more…

Though not before Nightmare laughed at him from just beyond the realm of the dreamers;

"This is not where we say goodbye, dear Doctor…let's just call it…until our next appointment, where I sense a prescription of pure terror even greater than either Dormammu or I waits for you, Stephen…ta-ta now!"

Nightmare's malefic laughter swallowed Stephen's consciousness as he plummeted into the abyss…

SoS

"NIGHTMARE!"

"Godric's Heart!" cried a new voice, startling Stephen as much as he had evidently startled them.

When he turned to apologise to the voice, Stephen saw a woman kneeling by what he saw was a bed, his chest, arms and one of his hands wrapped in bandages, while a thick, cloying smell of disinfectant told the once-proud physician that he was also covered in some sort of medicinal balm. The woman, meanwhile, was both surprised and relieved, as was evident by the smile she gave Stephen before she reached behind him and eased him against a set of comfortable pillows.

"You frightened me there; you've been tossing and turning for a while now, Doctor Strange…or do you prefer Stephen?"

"Stephen is…is fine, I suppose," replied Strange, groaning softly as he eased into the pillows before he asked, "You must be one of the Wixen who didn't try and take me out for trying to save your realm from that monster…thanks…again, I suppose, seeing as how I guess you've also given me safe haven from them."

"I couldn't let the Ministry lock you up just because they don't understand your way of magic," argued the woman, whom Stephen then saw had red hair and bright green eyes, which shone with warmth as she rinsed off a cloth, before dabbing at his head as she added, "You'll be safe here for a bit; my boyfriend and I set up this place as a retreat. Only either one of us knows the location; personally, I never thought I'd get to use it, what with the war and him and me trying and failing to get ready for our wedding and everything…"

"Congratulations," said Stephen, coughing once before he nodded, "I…I owe you my life, it seems…thank you, Miss…"

Smiling at him again, the woman handed him a glass of water before she answered his unasked question;

"My name is Lily…Lily Potter, I guess as it's going to be soon…and you don't have to thank me. Trust me, I've got a bit of a saving-people thing; heaven forbid my kids, if I have any, should inherit that from me…"

So, the adventure begins – and, this time, is ALL ONE adventure split into "phases" but still all one adventure – and we see how it all began, so to speak, but what does Stephen's mysterious vision mean?

What did Nightmare mean about them meeting again and what was it about the vision that seemed to tell him it was time to pack up and get the heck out of Dodge, if not the mindscape of the Sorcerer Supreme?

Keep Reading to Find Out

Next Chapter: A short time later, a now-married Lily Potter has a terrible truth to share with her husband, but where bad news spawns, it looks like something good is going to come of it…or is it?

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PORTRAYALS:

Lily Potter – Zooey Deschanel

Nightmare – Mark Hamil