So, my previous idea for a Harry/Karlach story has tanked, for now at least. But I have ideas for that pairing, and I'm working on them. However, I decided to revisit a franchise I haven't done a fic for for a long time, and a pairing I had considered, but was struggling to make work.

The franchise? Code Geass. The pairing? Harry/Cornelia.

Making a Harry/Cornelia story work was fraught with difficulties. Canon Cornelia may be beautiful, but personality-wise, she's a repulsive and arrogant xenophobe whose main saving graces are her love for her sister Euphemia (as well as Nunnally and, before she realises he is Zero, Lelouch) and her genuine loyalty to her own immediate subordinates in the Glaston Knights. Yet the potential is there, and I was inspired, as noted below, by her characterisation in a lot of Nemesis13's Code Geass fics, especially Never Alone, which comes highly recommended from me. I'm also doing a soulbond fic, to have Cornelia's character shaped away from her canon characterisation, at least inwardly, but still be recognisably be the same character. She's still a ruthless pragmatist in battle, but she's nowhere near as xenophobic as canon, at least around those she trusts.

I tried doing such a fic before, but it didn't go anywhere. I chose to reuse the same title as said fic, which is Latin for 'Victory comes from harmony'.

Unlike some of the posts I've done lately, this will only be a single chapter. A second chapter, if and when I write it, will be posted at a later date. And there's no guarantee of this becoming a full fic. But I hope you enjoy...

VICTORIA CONCORDA CRESCIT

CHAPTER 1:

REUNION IN REALITY

"Are you sure this will work?"

"No. Cross-dimensional travel is difficult enough at the best of times. Throwing a soulbond into the mix, though? That complicates things even further, to say the least. But…we started this before…the riot. I hoped it would be a way to ensure Delphi was safe, but…"

"Those monsters got to her first. They murdered a child, just because of their parents. They're as bad as Voldemort in my mind."

"Yes, you made that abundantly clear during your rampage. We haven't got much time left. Hopefully, we can finish this before the Ministry figures out we're helping you escape. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I ever will be. But…do you think I will be able to find her?"

"With any luck, we will…"

Cornelia li Britannia was known by many epithets. The Second Princess of Britannia, the Goddess of Victory, the Witch of Britannia. She was seen by her allies as a perfect mixture of grace and ruthlessness, Athena born anew in human form. Her enemies saw her as a ruthless monster, soaked in the blood of thousands.

Yet few knew or cared to get to know the true Cornelia. The woman behind the general, the princess, the Witch of Britannia. Aside from her sister Euphemia, her trusted subordinates General Andreas Darlton and General Gilbert GP Guilford, and a scant few others, few else knew.

Then again, when you were a high-ranked member of a royal court infamous for its backbiting and ruthlessness, letting vulnerability or true feelings show was a recipe for suicide, either literally or politically. She remembered well the day when her younger brother Lelouch had an audience with their father, Emperor Charles zi Britannia, to demand to know why the Emperor had halted all investigations into his mother's death. She wished she could have stopped him, assuming she could have stopped him, but at the end of it, Lelouch and his sister Nunnally were stripped of their royal privileges and sent to Japan, nominally as political hostages, but as decoys, to lull the Japanese into a false sense of security.

Cornelia was disgusted with herself with her lack of action on the matter. The most she did was, encouraged by someone surprisingly dear to her, she approached Lelouch shortly before his departure and confessed to him what little she knew. That Lady Marianne had dismissed all but a small contingent of the guard detail, with Cornelia herself encouraged to stay away. Which meant that Marianne knew her killer, and either thought herself to be safe, or knew something would happen, and was trying to avoid too many casualties.

Lelouch was angry at first, but after what happened in the throne room, he had tamped down on his anger quickly. Lelouch may have been an impulsive child, not helped by his sorrow and rage towards his mother's murder, but when he was calm, he was a genius, Cornelia had no compunction about admitting that to anyone. He was an expert chess player by the age of 10 (second only to Schneizel in the family, though the Emperor wasn't known to play of late), he was well-versed in political and military history, and he had a keenly analytical mind. Lelouch went to Japan with perhaps one of his burdens leavened.

And yet, he died along with Nunnally, or at least that was the claim. Either murdered by the Japanese out of spite or revenge for the invasion, or caught up in the chaos of said invasion and killed by Britannian troops. Or worse, targeted deliberately by whoever was behind Marianne's assassination. For the Emperor to dismiss the investigation into his supposedly favourite consort, the killer was potentially influential. Of course, she wouldn't put it past her bastard sperm-donor to dismiss Marianne from his mind if she died. Hell, he could have ordered her death himself, depending on what was behind it all. Perhaps Marianne discovered a secret that the Emperor was willing to go to any lengths to cover up.

It was sickening. Cornelia found she had no love for the man anymore, or indeed most members of her family. Oh, she held a friendship with her personal Knights, and she trusted them, but Euphie was her sister, and about the only member of that incestuous pit of vipers she considered a family that she trusted or truly loved.

Oh, she did hold affection for Clovis, but the man's vapid and vain nature irritated her at times, especially given his actions as a Viceroy. Schneizel, she respected for his intelligence and administrative ability, but the man was a snake in the grass of the highest order, a ruthlessly pragmatic chessmaster who was more powerful than their oldest brother, Odysseus. And Lelouch and Nunnally, the only other siblings she would be happy to admit she loved, were either dead, or in hiding, and as hurtful as it was, she could understand it if it was the latter.

The only reason she even considered the possibility that they were still alive was down to, well, an imaginary friend, of all things. Or so she had believed for much of her childhood. These days, she wasn't sure what to make of this boy, now a man grown, who appeared in her dreams every so often. The stories he told were fantastical, like something out of a children's fantasy book mixed in with some alternate history novel. One where the Holy Britannian Empire never existed, with the British Empire never having fallen to Napoleon's imperial ambitions, having simply decayed into the British Commonwealth.

Anyway, this imaginary friend was sceptical, having had, apparently, experience with a not-dissimilar scenario, where a man who betrayed his parents to a terrorist had faked his death and framed his godfather. And that was fair enough, as no bodies had been officially recovered of Lelouch and Nunnally, the Japanese, now the Elevens, having apparently cremated them after shooting them. Cornelia wasn't sure they had survived, but even so, it was a small hope, even if it might be a vain one.

Of course, there was the matter of trying to investigate Lelouch and Nunnally's whereabouts discreetly. Unfortunately, it was a near-impossibility. Leaving aside trying to avoid alerting her father to any such investigation, there was the added complication of Clovis being the Viceroy in Area 11. Another royal either visiting or even sniffing around could be seen as a powerplay, and while Clovis was a vacuous moron in many regards, including (in her opinion) governing Area 11, he had enough intelligence not only to be an art aficionado of actual serious repute, but he was a master of rhetoric (even if he could do to tone down the ham), and he was savvy enough to play the political game within their family well.

Still, she at least suspected she knew where to start looking, thanks to Euphemia's own thoughts on the issue. If there was any possibility that they were still alive, then they'd probably be attending if not boarding at the Ashford Academy established by Reuben Ashford. Another ally of Lady Marianne's who was marginalised after her murder, he would shelter the vi Britannia siblings, if they were alive and made it to him. They'd had five years since the invasion to consolidate their position if they were alive.

Cornelia shook her head even as the G-1 mobile base command vehicle approached the Johannesburg Settlement. She couldn't dwell on the past, on the imaginary, and on the dead. She had work to do, here in Area 2, formerly South Africa.

This incident was one she felt could have been prevented. The Viceroy was a noble of Britannia with many connections but little aptitude. Cornelia knew that said Viceroy, a man by the name of Skimpole(1), was one of Clovis' cronies, though even that fop was a more competent Viceroy than this idiot.

Said idiot had gone on holiday, only for his private jet to be destroyed mid-flight. His Deputy Viceroy, Wonse(2), had put Area 2 under martial law. However, Cornelia knew that Wonse was suspected of using his PMC to masquerade as terrorists to foment unrest (then again, said PMC was suspected to be composed of terrorists from Area 2). And just as the coup d'etat began, someone had sent some incriminating files confirming not only that, but Wonse was responsible for what befell Skimpole.

By all accounts, Cornelia wasn't that surprised. Wonse was apparently a competent if ambitious administrator who unfortunately fell afoul of politics, and was forced to be Skimpole's dogsbody while the hedonistic noble spent too much money on lavish parties and monuments to himself. Wonse had been treated badly, and now he was biting back. Cornelia would feel more sympathy if there hadn't been innocent people on Skimpole's jet, and the debris hadn't killed a dozen people in a town below(3). Numbers or not, they were still people, even if she was only in a minority in royalty and nobility who believed that, at least in private.

And when Wonse was contacted by Cornelia to explain himself, he shut her off. Repeated attempts to get him to explain himself were met with either silence, or a terse 'Everything is under control'. But she was here under orders, and had sent digital copies of them to Wonse. No messages, video, audio, or textual, had been sent back. In fact, for the past three-quarters of an hour, there was an ominous silence. And such things were never a good thing. Oftentimes, they were a calm before a proverbial storm.

She intended to use her mobile base and the Glaston Knights as a distraction, before sending special forces units into the Viceroy's residence. Most people expected her to go charging in with Knightmare Frames, but the mechas, while immensely useful in outright combat, were still limited in other ways, especially when collateral damage was a possibility. She doubted that Wonse would face her in outright battle. Oh, he'd throw his PMC at her, but he'd probably either flee or threaten to kill any hostages he claimed.

Still, Cornelia was going to give him one last chance to explain himself, or rather, declare his treachery and something of his intentions. Which was why she activated the comms again, Guilford and Darlton flanking her command throne. While static greeted her, the comms line was active, and in fact, there was faint audio. Muffled groaning? It didn't matter, she needed to make her intentions clear, and try to winkle out his own.

"Deputy Viceroy Wonse, this is General Cornelia li Britannia. I know you can hear me. You have one last chance to explain yourself, or I will be forced to consider you a traitor to the Britannian Empire."

She wasn't really expecting a reply. But she got one. And they weren't the nasal tones of Wonse.

"Wait a moment, is that really…? Shit!" hissed a voice quietly. A little more loudly, she heard the voice say, "Okay, so, Cornelia? If that's really you, Wonse is tied up thanks to his work. Oh, and so are his cronies. I dunno whether I got them all, but I got most of them, I think. They make it look easier in Die Hard. I'm just trying to undo whatever the hell this guy did to…what do you call them? IFF systems?"

Cornelia paled. The voice was familiar, and yet, it couldn't be real. Darlton spoke up, the gruff, scarred general saying, "Identify yourself! Who are you?"

"…Look, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but…Cornelia? I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Darlton and Guilford turned to look at her in shock. That phrase, spoken to her by that imaginary friend, had become a secret codephrase between her, her two generals, her sister Euphemia, and the vi Britannia siblings. It was a sign of trust. "Mischief managed," she murmured softly.

With her thoughts all awhirl, she said, more loudly, "If you are who you claim to be…stay where you are. I am sending in my men. Do not make any aggressive moves."

"Sod that, Cornelia. Once your people come in, I'm coming to you. I'm heading to the G-1 when it happens. Don't worry, I won't make any aggressive moves when I come to you. Just don't shoot at any animals approaching. Now, excuse me a minute, I'm almost done dealing with the IFF systems…"

The communication system shut off then and there. "The impudence…" Darlton muttered, before looking to Cornelia. "Who could that be?"

"I don't know…but I have my suspicions. Still, in the end, if those suspicions are correct, we have an ally who stopped Wonse himself."

Except, she thought to herself, it couldn't be him. He was just an imaginary friend, wasn't he? One she never grew out of? And yet, she had just heard his voice. The same one as in her dreams. Did she dare to hope he was real?

About an hour later, the battle, such as it was, was almost over. Her special forces units were sweeping the Viceroy's Palace, the PMCs were in retreat or dead (too many had sallied forth in Knightmare Frames, hoping for a death or glory charge), and her men had suffered minimal casualties. In other words, a successful mission. Wonse and many of his allies had been found chained up.

Except, Cornelia thought, they hadn't found the mysterious man who called them. The one whose voice was too damned familiar. She hadn't hallucinated it, Darlton and Guilford heard the voice, even if they didn't recognise it like she did. But did she dare to believe it was him?

She returned to the G-1's hangar for her own personal Gloucester. After docking it and disembarking from it, she prepared to make her way to the con, when she heard footsteps coming down the gantry. But she couldn't see anyone. She pulled her swordpistol from her holster, ready to aim and fire, but for now, kept it only at the ready. "Show yourself."

A faint chuckle came from seemingly thin air. "You know, if I was really a terrorist or rebel targeting you, Nelly, I wouldn't on your command. Still, Moody would've been proud of you."

And with that, he appeared, shucking off some garment that turned into a cloak of silvery folds that cascaded onto the metal floor of the gantry. A lanky figure that, on first blush, resembled her Knight, Gilbert GP Guilford. But in reality, all that they had in common was the slender frame, dark hair, and glasses.

He was about her age, in his mid-twenties, lanky, vaguely scarecrow-like. His clothes were not shabby, but they looked rumpled. Handsome features were framed by a messy mop of black hair, while his emerald eyes, though tired and hollow-looking, met her own gaze with relief and happiness. And there, on his forehead, faded but distinctive, the lightning bolt-shaped scar, partly hidden by his fringe.

After a moment's indecision, Cornelia came over to Harry, holstering her swordpistol. Normally, she should be capturing him, forcing him into custody, hell, kneecapping him and dragging him to the brig, and those were the nonlethal things. Yet him knowing that phrase, looking just like the one she had seen in dreams for most of her life, using a cloak he had mentioned before.

"…You're real?" she asked, gently placing a gloved hand on his face.

Harry Potter, her imaginary friend, gave her a sad, weary smile. But it was also a smile that spoke the same sentiment, relief and happiness that they had finally met in reality. "Yeah…I'm real, Nelly…and it's really good to meet you at long last…"

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Cornelia and Harry have a soulbond, and have finally met in reality. We'll get into the details of what happened, but this Cornelia, inwardly at least, somewhat different to her canon counterpart. She's still a cold pragmatist in battle, and ruthless, but she's not really a xenophobe, or at least far less than the Britannian norm, and she actually cares about innocent lives. This is due to Harry's influence.

I was heavily influenced by Nemesis13's take on Cornelia, particularly in what I consider to be their best Code Geass work, Never Alone. In some ways, I was a little influenced by stories like Anzac A-1's Code Geass: A New Signature- Britannian Military Route, Ripped Away by AD Fields, and AZ23AJ's Code Geass- The Desert Fox. But I also felt that those stories lacked a certain something, and I actually conceived of the basic idea of a Harry/Cornelia fic long before I even heard of these stories, though Nemesis13's stories were another matter. I don't like stories that have a protagonist on Britannia's side, but gloss over Britannia's xenophobia and brutality.

I can't think of Harry being able to be part of something as regimented as a proper army. He tends to be anti-authoritarian and iconoclastic. That's part of the reason pairing him with Cornelia is difficult. That, and canon Cornelia is a goose-stepping Nazi in all but name, with only one or two saving graces, at least in the first season. But the former is rectified in some way by Harry ending up in a more irregular role, outside the usual chain of command. As for the latter…well, that's what the soulbond is for.

1. Harold Skimpole is a detestable wastrel and self-proclaimed manchild in Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House. Although superficially charming and seemingly oblivious, deflecting criticism by claiming he is a child in the ways of the world, he's actually a calculating, sociopathic mooch whose actions lead, albeit indirectly, to the death of at least two people in that novel.

2. Wonse is named for Lupine Wonse, Lord Vetinari's treacherous aide from the Discworld novel Guards! Guards!

3. I added this detail because I wanted to make Wonse's attack on his superior be not unlike the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie. All on board the aircraft died, and eleven people in Lockerbie itself died from debris crashing into the Scottish town.