Now, for those of you wondering whether my Harry/Rias fic will see the light of day, rest assured, it is still being worked on, for now. Whether it becomes its own fic remains to be seen, but for now, let's get onto an idea I finally decided to try out.

Namely, a crossover with The Eminence in Shadow.

That series is a glorious pisstake on the cliches of the isekai genre, as well as morally ambiguous shadowy organisations trying to save the world. It's not as good as, say, Overlord or The Rising of the Shield Hero, but the first light novel volume was interesting enough for me to want to continue.

But I got to wondering...how would I do a crossover? And how would it work out?

Well, for starters, replace Cid Kagenou with someone who wasn't a near-psychopathic chuunibyou and who actually knew what was going on. Of course, you need to have someone who had potential to be majorly crazy-awesome. And I thought, what if a WBWL Lily Evans took his place?

The story takes place between events in the first light novel, between the first and second chapters. The tentative pairing is a harem. Harry will have Alpha, Beta, and Delta in it, along with, potentially, Hermione.

Anyway, while there's no guarantees of it becoming a full fic, I hope you enjoy it all the same...

EDIT: Well, thanks to the...feedback for the second chapter, I'm trying to revise and salvage what I can of this story. Hopefully, you'll see new chapters soon...

SCATHACH (ORIGINAL)

CHAPTER 1:

FAMILY REUNION

The warmth was all-pervasive. Had she been capable of coherent thought in her current state, she would have compared it to what could have been the primal warmth of the womb. It was certainly a far more comfortable state than the one she had suffered before now, of constant, unceasing agony, her body warped and bloated and shifting beyond all recognition.

At times, she dreamed. Of her once-happy childhood. The friendship she had with another of her people. And then, the dreams took an unhappy turn, with the death of her mother. The signs of Demon Possession on her flesh, and that of her friend. Her being forced into exile by those she once thought to be trustworthy. Capture by bandits, who wished to sell her, though to where, she did not know, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

And yet, in the depths of her agony and despair, even as her body had warped beyond all recognition, a small glimmer of hope had come. Someone in a hooded cloak had come, and wiped out the bandits. That someone came across her, and for a moment, she thought they were about to attack.

And then, something else happened, as emerald eyes met her own. It felt like her very life had flashed before her eyes, and yet, she somehow knew this wasn't the prelude to death. The presence was gentle, maternal even, a warmth she hadn't felt for an age.

She knew she was safe.

This eternity of dreaming receded, and she felt the warmth draining away. She was suddenly tipped out of the warm womb she had been, and began hacking up the warmth. It took her too long to realise she had arms and legs again, that her body had been restored to normal. Instead, she lay there, hacking up liquid like a landed fish, spasming and twitching as her lungs acclimatised to breathing too-cold air again.

But she was bundled into something warm. "It's okay," said a woman's soothing voice. "It's okay. I have you. You're safe, more or less. You can hear me? Don't try to speak for now, just nod."

She nodded her head. "You'll be fine in just a moment. I put you into what is basically an improvised life-support chamber until I could fix that. Breathing liquid is a bitch, though, at least when it comes to the transitions. In any case, welcome back to the world, Esther(1)."

Esther…a name she hadn't been called for an age. But also the name of the girl who was cruelly exiled from her home. Still, her eyes flickered open, only to squeeze shut. Too bright! Eventually, though, she rasped, "How…do you know…that name?"

"Legilimency. Short version? When I saw you in that cage, I…ended up reading your mind. I did the same thing to that bandit leader…only, that monster was no bandit at all. A royal guard, turned cultist…people like him make me sick. I'm not sure whether the Death Eaters are worse than the Cult of Diablos. But never mind about that. When I saw your past…I thought nobody deserved that. We'll look for your friend Elizabeth(2), but later. Anyway, let's get you clothed. This'll do for now. Don't freak out when you feel something on your body."

The girl shivered when she felt something warm, like living tar, envelop her body from the waist down. And yet, once it was finished, she felt comfortable in it, like it was a second skin. "What is this?"

"A special bodysuit derived from a local slime monster. Protects against injury, can be morphed into any shape, and it can be a handy concealed weapon. I used it on those bandits. I've set it to a default defensive state for now, no concealed weapons for you. Anyway, congratulations, you're the first person on this world, that I know of, to be cured of so-called 'Demon Possession'. How are you feeling?"

"…Great. Better than great," she said, opening her eyes and finally beholding her saviour, a woman with red hair and emerald eyes. "How did you cure me?"

"…It's a rather complicated process, though I think I can simplify it when we find your friend. She was showing the first signs of 'Possession' too. From what I can gather, it seemed to be both an excess of magical energy combined with some sort of foreign cell. I've kept samples. Long story short, I managed to fix that. And if I did it correctly, you won't have to worry about that again. Anyway, I should say…I'm not from around here."

"…You're not from Midgar?"

"I'm not from this world. Anyway, introductions are in order. I'm Dr Lily Evans, witch, researcher, and royally angry towards the Cult of Diablos. And you're…"

"Don't call me Esther," she said to Dr Evans. She cringed inwardly at interrupting her saviour, but she needed to make the point. "I…I don't want to be called that name anymore. Please."

"Huh? Okay, well, what name do you want to be called?"

The girl formerly known as Esther considered it, her thoughts too old for her mere ten years of age. "If I am the first to be cured…there's a letter from an ancient tongue. The first letter of that tongue. I…I wish to be known as Alpha…"

Harry Potter looked around at the tents sprawling around the farmland as he followed the figure of Saul Croaker. "Are they even trying to preserve the Statute?" he asked in exasperation. "That poor campsite manager is going to be braindead from repeated Obliviations if this keeps up."

"While that is unlikely, I do agree that they are being more than a little cavalier," the Unspeakable remarked. He himself could have passed for an Oxford don with his jumper over a white shirt and check trousers, slightly eccentric, but otherwise mundane compared to the other wizards. "Dear me, it feels more like Bagman organised this rather than Crouch. Bagman couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery."

"Isn't that a lot of wizards?" Harry snarked.

"Well, the grossly incompetent ones don't normally make it to government office," Croaker said. "Fudge is incompetent, true, but he has competent people under him, and he's rather savvy at navigating the murky, shark-infested waters of politics. Though not savvy enough, I feel. Anyway, our tent is this way. Your mother should be there."

"But is she there?" Harry asked. "I've barely seen her in nearly five years since she divorced Dad. I got letters, yes, birthday gifts, but…"

"But you know where she was now, Harry, on an important mission for us. We are called Unspeakables for a reason, you know. We investigate the fundamentals of magic, life, the universe, and, well, everything. Unfortunately, that includes many restricted areas of research, which are restricted for a reason. Now, enough talking about that for now, not with so many ears around who could hear our words."

Harry subsided into a sullen silence. He still found what Croaker claimed to be utterly absurd. And considering Harry had grown up in a wizarding household, gone to Hogwarts for three years until that prick of a twin brother fucked him over, and was now an apprentice Unspeakable, that was saying something.

The divorce between his parents had been messy and acrimonious, and his father had managed to win complete custody, what with him being a Pureblood. His mother had thrown herself into her work at the Unspeakables, and Harry had barely seen her from then on. For a time, he had wondered whether she ever loved him, and Charles had taunted him over that, the arrogant little shit, claiming she would replace him. A snake in lion's clothing, Harry thought.

James tried, he really did, but Harry knew that James had more time for the so-called Boy Who Lived than the spare. It wasn't quite neglect, but it was overly favouring his twin, and overlooking his twin's more unpleasant qualities. In a way, it was a relief to finally go to Hogwarts. They were Sorted into Gryffindor, true, but Harry could, in theory, find a new social circle.

In truth, his only real friends in his first year was a Muggleborn girl called Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom. Everyone else was too eager to meet the Boy Who Lived, or use him to speak with Charles. Well, Hermione was a bit like that, but Harry could tell that she was just an overeager Muggleborn, in a similar boat to his mother when she first went to Hogwarts, and yet to learn of the realities of Magical Britain. She was inquisitive, and oddly enough, he clicked with her.

In their second year, a Ravenclaw student entered their circle, by the name of Luna Lovegood. For all of her eccentricities, there was something endearing about the dotty blonde, and she became another friend. He pitied her for having the likes of Ron and Ginny Weasley as neighbours. The Weasleys in general were decent people, but Ron and Ginny were part of Charles' posse.

Of course, each year had its trials and travails. But Harry never expected to be expelled at the end of his third year, and all while doing a good deed. He'd gone to save Buckbeak from his execution, only for Charles to tattle on him to Minister Fudge, Lucius Malfoy, and Walden Macnair. Harry was soon expelled, despite Dumbledore's protests, for 'interfering in lawful Ministry of Magic business'. It was a fucking set-up by Draco Malfoy and his father to hurt Hagrid, and Harry was trying to ensure true justice prevailed. Instead, Charles tattled on him, his wand was snapped, and he was expelled, his prospects of getting a job anywhere in Magical Britain down to nil.

Harry was understandably bitter. He'd clashed with his father, who couldn't even muster up a reasonable argument against Charles but defended him anyway. Harry was on the verge of running away from home when, thankfully, Dumbledore and Croaker intervened, and gave him an offer that he didn't refuse.

In brief, Harry became an apprentice Unspeakable, working directly under Croaker.

It was there that Harry finally learned the truth of what his mother was doing, at least in part, and where she was. It was unbelievable. It was insane. And yet, apparently, it was true.

His mother was undertaking a mission for the Unspeakables on another world.

Not an alien planet per se, but a parallel world out of some fantasy novel. One where Elves and Beastkin or 'Therianthropes' lived alongside humans. One where the technology was close to Victorian in some elements, while medieval in others. The Unspeakables found a rift in the Department of Mysteries leading to that world, and Lily was chosen partly as, given that she was a Muggleborn, she was considered expendable by many, and partly because she was more likely to blend in.

In some ways, Harry was relieved, as it meant there was a reason for the lack of communication. It was hard to send letters across dimensions, after all. He did feel a bit annoyed, though, as he would have loved nothing more than to explore such a new world. That, and Croaker was keeping more things from him, supposedly on Lily's request.

His thoughts were banished as they approached one tent in particular, one reserved for the Unspeakables. As they entered, they heard a rather raucous girl's voice say, "But I'm boooorrred! Can we go hunt?"

"Del…I mean, Sarah, no, we cannot," spoke another girl's voice, calm and dignified.

"…Boss? Pleeeaase?" pleaded the first voice.

"It's just for a couple of days, Sarah," came a more familiar voice, one he hadn't heard for ages, one he had yearned to hear again. "Besides, they're finally here."

As Croaker moved to one side, Harry was soon embraced by the familiar form of his mother, Dr Lily Evans, who was sobbing softly. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm so sorry. I should've been there, I should have taken you with me, and to Hell with James. I…I…"

Harry was struck by that. "…Couldn't you have come back sooner, Mum?"

"…My work's been keeping me busy, and it's not like I could have written to you about it," she said, wiping away a tear, before indicating the other occupants of the tent, which, like the TARDIS, was much bigger on the inside than the outside. It was almost a mini-mansion.

The occupants in question were a trio of girls about his age, all three rather gorgeous with buxom figures. One was blonde with blue eyes, her air quietly confident. Another was, oddly enough, silver-haired with blue eyes framed by glasses. The third girl was dark-haired with purple eyes, her expression cocky, her beauty wild.

"Harry…allow me to introduce you to Esther, Elizabeth, and Sarah. Croaker?"

Croaker nodded, waving a hand at the tent's entrance. "Okay, sealed. Well?"

The girls took off rings, and simultaneously, they changed. Oh, they mostly remained the same, but now, he could tell they weren't human. Esther and Elizabeth now had pointed ears, while Sarah not only had dog-like ears, but a huge, bushy tail protruding from her rear, her eyes gaining slits for pupils.

"Esther and Elizabeth are Elves," Lily said. "Sarah is a wolf Therianthrope. And they all come from the world I have been exploring…"

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

Wait, what? WBWL fic, and Lily's been on The Eminence in Shadow world? WTF?!

Just so you know, there's no post-apocalyptic Earth arc. I haven't got that far in the novels, and besides, this is a story where Cid Kagenou is not a reincarnation of an insane chuunibyou. Instead, Lily is basically Shadow, albeit a version of Shadow who is sane, not a near-psychopath, and who actually knows the Cult of Diablos is real.

She's still crazy-awesome, though, in a Shadow-like manner.

1. I debated with myself long and hard what name to give Alpha, especially as her canon birthname hasn't been given. As 'Sarah' and 'Lilim' (Delta and Zeta respectively) are names of Hebrew origin, I decided to use those. I debated with myself what name to give Alpha, before deciding on 'Esther', which, while seemingly similar to 'Estella' or 'star', is also said to come from Hebrew letters meaning 'to remain hidden'. Fitting for a Shadow, no?

2. For Beta, I chose Elizabeth, because Elizabeth is the long version of 'Betty', which is not far from 'Beta'.