Chapters are going to come out more quickly during the beginning, slow down once I get through my little backlog, and slow down even more around dungeons, because I have to do a lot of planning to figure out what the dungeon looks like, what its gimmicks are, and how to make it sound exciting to travel through it. Videogames are surprisingly difficult to make engaging through writing alone! It'll be a little while before we hit the first dungeon, though. Also, belated disclaimer because I forgot: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and The Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo. Anything I directly borrow from those IPs is not mine.
Harry dreamed of red eyes. They hung in a void of deepest black, staring at him. They didn't appear to belong to anyone. In fact, the eyes didn't look human at all. Wide and swollen, they were surrounded by a thick golden border that gleamed unnaturally in the shadows.
"I'll have my wish, soon," a voice whispered from nowhere and everywhere at once. "No more Hyrule, no more sacred maidens to hold the seal, and no more heroes to stop me." An eye appeared right in front of Harry, fluttering on batlike wings. It seemed to grin. "I will be a god!"
Harry jerked awake. He sat up, breathing hard and looking around wildly. Where was he? Was there more evil smoke?
A familiar, brisk voice cut through Harry's panic. "Lie down, Mister Potter. There's nothing to hurt you in the Hospital Wing."
Stunned, Harry stared at Madam Pomfrey. When had she gotten there? He frowned, considering that thought. When had he gotten there? Last he remembered, he'd been lying on the floor in a church hidden in the Chamber of Secrets.
Madam Pomfrey pushed him down gently, but firmly. "No getting up, Mister Potter. You've had your nose broken, been chilled to the bone, suffered magical exhaustion, and been struck by who knows what kind of Dark magic."
"Can't I just go back to my dorm?" Harry asked. He'd had a very trying evening. The least he could do was spend the rest of it in his own bed.
"Not yet, no," she said, ignoring his whine of protest. "The Headmaster will be in to speak to you shortly. I daresay he's been eager to have a go at you since Professor Snape brought you here, especially with all the strange goings-on."
"Snape brought me to the Hospital Wing?" Harry asked incredulously. He couldn't even fathom such a thing. The Bat of the Dungeons, actually showing a modicum of human compassion toward the boy he hated most? Preposterous!
"He found you while patrolling the dungeons for students out past curfew. You were unconscious and propped up against a wall, so cold you were turning blue. He assumed you'd been spooked by a Dementor and took you here."
"Bizarre," Harry marveled.
Madam Pomfrey frowned sternly at him. "He is a professor, Mister Potter. You'd do well to remember that." A groan came from one of the other beds in the ward—one surrounded by a white curtain, and the nurse bustled away to her other patient.
Professor Dumbledore swept in not long after, garbed in custard-colored robes patterned with swimming blue ducks. He took a seat at Harry's bedside and peered down at him through his half-moon spectacles. "Good afternoon, Harry," he greeted. "I imagine you had quite an adventure the evening before last."
"A-Afternoon, sir?" Harry put on his glasses and looked out the window. The constant storm raging around the castle had stopped, leaving it bright and sunny. "I've slept for a day and a half?"
"Whatever happened to you, it left you quite tuckered out," Professor Dumbledore said. "Do you recall what happened?"
"I'm not sure something did happen, Professor." Harry sat up and hugged his knees to his chest. "Are you sure I didn't have a nightmare? With all the Dementors around, it seems like it'd be possible."
Professor Dumbledore's lips pursed at the mention of Hogwarts's new guards. "Luckily, it isn't. They stay far enough from the castle that they only have an effect on those traveling in and out." He sat up straighter, the twinkle returning to his eyes. "Furthermore, I doubt a mere nightmare would leave you with such an impressive souvenir." He nodded toward something that sat at the foot of Harry's bed.
Harry followed the Headmaster's gesture and gasped. There was the sword! It was now sheathed in a worn leather scabbard, but that jewel-tipped grip was hard to miss. He scowled at the weapon, tempted to give it a kick.
"It's a rather curious blade," Professor Dumbledore commented, drawing Harry's attention back to him. "It seems loath to leave your side. Any time someone tried to take it to be studied, it vanished from their hands and reappeared in yours. Eventually, we just had to run all the diagnostic spells on it while standing right next to you." He chuckled.
"Did anything turn up, sir?" Harry asked. "Is it…evil?"
"Not as far as we can tell," Professor Dumbledore answered. His expression grew somber. "Unfortunately, there isn't much we could do if it were. The sword seems impervious to any form of magic it's exposed to. According to the diagnostic charms, it didn't exist." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Harry. Whatever magic the artifact has, it doesn't correspond to anything we've ever come across. The curse doesn't appear to be harmful, however, so—"
"Curse?" Harry squeaked. He inspected himself in a panic. All his limbs were there and intact, he didn't see any boils or rashes, and his guts seemed alright. His nose wasn't broken anymore, either. "What did it curse me with? I feel fine."
With a sad smile, Professor Dumbledore gave his wand a quick swish. The curtains surrounding the three beds nearest his immediately retracted. "You'll want to see for yourself, I think," he said quietly.
Harry stood up, with a wince at the soreness in his legs, and went to investigate. It didn't take long to realize what had happened. He stopped in front of the bed across from his, gawking in disbelief at his own face.
This other Harry didn't look like the smirking, yellow-eyed one he'd seen before. He was exactly like the usual Harry, but for the stripe of red that colored his otherwise black hair. Harry went to each bed, his heart pounding harder with each eerily familiar face he saw.
There were four of him. Five, if he counted the shadowy one not currently in attendance. Each was marked by a streak of color that corresponded to a House at Hogwarts: yellow, blue, and red. Did that make him…?
"Green?" Harry murmured to himself. He hopped back into his cot and demanded of Professor Dumbledore, "The sword multiplied me? How? Why?"
"'How', we don't know. The sword's magic is ancient and powerful, and that is as far as our knowledge stretches. I've asked Professors Flitwick and McGonagall to do some reading on the subject," Professor Dumbledore replied. "As for 'why', I believe your explanation of what happened may give us both an answer."
Though doubtful, Harry sat down on his hospital bed and told the Headmaster about the snake, the smoke, and the stranger. He struggled to recount everything honestly, embarrassed to have gotten so caught up in such a spectacularly bad idea. "I'm sorry I went back to the Chamber, sir. I don't even know why I did it. Maybe I was so tired from practice that I didn't think," Harry said. He had to consciously raise his voice above a sheepish mumble. 'And now I've gotten cursed for being such an idiot,' he thought with a sigh. 'Hermione's going to lecture my ears off, and I've earned it.'
"I'm glad you understand the danger you put yourself in, though disappointed you broke curfew to go on this adventure. I'll be taking twenty points from Gryffindor," Professor Dumbledore gently admonished.
Harry cringed, though he didn't complain. At least it hadn't been detention with Snape. If he'd been awake when the Potions Master had come across him, he and his clones would have been scrubbing cauldrons and pickling toads all term.
"Now, I believe I know the purpose of this sword," Professor Dumbledore said. "You say it was holding something under it? A great darkness of some sort?"
Harry nodded.
"Then this blade must have been a binding to hold that darkness in. A seal that had weakened enough for some of the darkness to seep out, but a seal nonetheless." He stroked his beard in thought. "My guess is that the snake came to you because the binding was so fragile. If it broke, the sword might have been destroyed—and with it, any chance of banishing the evil it held at bay."
"So it's a good sword?" Harry asked. He still wasn't feeling very appreciative of the thing that had cloned him while he'd been unconscious. Hell, it had been the sword that had knocked him out in the first place!
Professor Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, it is most likely a 'good sword'."
Harry crossed his arms and gave the weapon a skeptical glance. "Do you know what kind of evil it was keeping in that pedestal? All I saw was weird smoke, and then that shadow-me."
"Ah, yes, that." Professor Dumbledore's eyes seemed to dim as all cheer left him. "All morning, the staff and I have been receiving reports of odd happenings across the castle. The Slytherins have an infestation of large snakes and man-sized shadowy hands in their dorms. Monstrous pig-men appeared in the corridors around Gryffindor Tower. Bats of some unknown type have been flying through walls and swooping at students and teachers. Suits of armor have come to life and doubled in size to patrol the hallway outside Miss Myrtle's bathroom abode. Rock-spitting creatures and gobs of electrified green jelly are crawling all over the castle grounds." He sagged in the chair. "Most magic bounces off of these beasts, though a few daring students have learned that fire spells can do some damage and physical force is fairly effective."
Harry gaped at the Headmaster. How could there be monsters all over Hogwarts, one of the most well-defended places in the world? Sure, one troll had been let loose by a Voldemort-possessed teacher and a basilisk had been in the castle from the start, but this was outrageous!
"What about Hogwarts's protections, sir? Isn't there something that can keep these monsters out?"
Professor Dumbledore shook his head. "They appeared within Hogwarts and are animated by a magic that existed long before the Founders spun their web of wards. More than that, the monsters or their master appear to have affected the wards; no one and nothing can enter or leave the castle grounds." His expression was grim. "The Dementors were repelled by the foreign magic, so there is no danger of them attacking students. However, these new creatures have taken up that job quite handily. They will attack any person that comes within range, and few are equipped to fight them off. If not for the wards, we would have begun letting students return home."
Harry's eyes were drawn to the sword. It had caused him so much trouble, and yet…"I think I know what to do," he said. The sword was specifically designed for this sort of thing, and it happened to be bonded with him. He knew he could handle this sort of thing; what was a bat or a pig-man compared to a basilisk? Who knew, maybe fighting these things would help teach him how to defend himself if Sirius Black ever came a-knocking.
"Urgh, what the hell happened to me?"
The red-haired Harry was waking up. Madam Pomfrey, who'd been puttering on the other side of the room to give Harry and the Headmaster some privacy, hurried over to tend to the other Harry.
"Can't you see I'm fine?" the boy snapped when Madam Pomfrey ran one too many diagnostic spells over him. "Honestly, it was just a—Merlin's balls!" he swore when he took notice of Harry. "There's a 'me' with green hair!" His red eyes were as round as coins.
Harry clapped a hand over his bangs and then glanced questioningly at Professor Dumbledore. The man gave a slight nod.
"You look like me with a red hair stripe," Harry told the boy. "Your eyes are red, too."
"Really?" The boy grinned. "Wicked."
Another Harry roused. The one with a stripe of yellow in his hair stretched and scanned the room with wondering, honey-colored eyes. "There's four of me?" he gasped. "Oh my, I don't think I ever should have followed that snake." He smiled fondly. "It was awful cute, though!"
"'Awfully', you mean," another voice drawled. The blue Harry sat up. "Grammar, you know." He looked over at Harry, who tensed under his judging sapphire stare. "So you're the original, are you?" he asked. "I never pegged myself for a Slytherin."
"I'm not a Ravenclaw, either," Harry shot back.
"Don't argue with yourself, Mister Potter. You'll disturb my other patients," Madam Pomfrey scolded.
"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey," Harry and his blue twin said contritely.
"Hmph." The nurse went to run spells over the yellow Harry.
"So you lot are me? Same memories and everything?" the red Harry asked. "You know what happened, then?"
The other three Harrys nodded.
"You all get a sword out of it, too?" Red Harry picked up the sheathed sword that lay that the end of his bed. The jewel in its hilt was red, but the weapon was otherwise identical to the one that sat at Harry's feet.
Harry's eyebrows shot up. "The sword multiplied, too?" He turned to Professor Dumbledore, who wore an amused smile. "Professor, do you think we could make more copies of the sword? Maybe give it to the teachers so they can fight off the monsters?"
"No, I'm afraid not. The sword appears to have only one master, and that is you, Harry."
"Does that mean I get to fight monsters?" Red Harry asked with a wide grin. "I've always wanted to use a sword again. Sticking it through a snake's mouth wasn't near as cool as this!"
"'Nearly', you mean. You know this, Red," Blue Harry said with a roll of his eyes. "I can't say I look forward to hacking at things with a sharp metal stick. It seems childish to me."
"We are children," Yellow Harry pointed out.
"Which is why this shouldn't be our job," Blue Harry rebutted. He looked put out when Madam Pomfrey came to buzz over him with her medical spells.
"We knocked out a troll first year, beat Quirrelmort, and took down a great bloody basilisk second year. We're the best men for the job, I say," Red Harry insisted. He raised his sword, glee sparkling in his eyes. "This is so cool."
"So says the resident Gryffindor," Blue Harry scoffed, waving Madam Pomfrey off. "Say, Professor, we aren't all going to Lions' Den, are we? Wouldn't that cause an uneven distribution of the third-year class, not to mention force students into a House they're incompatible with?"
"For now, until you've gotten more acquainted with yourselves, I think it best that you all stay in Gryffindor Tower. Your dormitory will be expanded to accommodate all of you," Professor Dumbledore said. "After that, I can take you to my office to be Sorted." He stood up from his chair. "Come along, Misters Potter. You'll need a teacher escort to brave the journey back to your dorm."
The Harrys took up their swords, slid the straps over their shoulders, and followed Professor Dumbledore out of the Hospital Wing. Even Blue Harry, the most reluctant to mingle with Gryffindors, was eager to escape the stifling confines of Madam Pomfrey's territory.
The halls of Hogwarts were eerily empty. A few clusters of students could be seen, each led by a teacher and scampering quickly with wands at the ready. Harry constantly turned his head, wary of monsters. Though he'd used a sword to beat the basilisk, that had been less skill and more luck. He really had no idea how to handle a sword, and he was sure he'd fare badly if he came across a pig-man or huge suit of armor at his current level.
A hand touched his shoulder and Harry jumped, his feet actually leaving the ground. When he whirled around, he saw Yellow Harry giving him an apologetic smile.
"You don't have to be so worried, Green," the boy said. "We've got Professor Dumbledore with us. He's a great wizard. He'll keep us safe."
Harry forced a friendly expression to placate the optimistic boy. Silently, he wondered how much a wizard's magic could do against one of the creatures, even if it was Professor Dumbledore's magic.
He got his answer when a group of shadowy bats phased through the wall and then swooped at them like diving falcons. Professor Dumbledore made a sweeping motion with his wand and a wave of flame cut through the small swarm. All but two vanished in puffs of purplish-black smoke. Red Harry delighted in unsheathing his sword and swatting the survivors out of the air.
"See? It isn't hard to use a sword at all!" he proclaimed once the bats had disappeared.
Blue Harry snorted. "Oh, yes, all praise the mighty Bat-Slayer. Those tiny flying rats never stood a chance." He ignored the scowl Red Harry sent his way and serenely glided past him.
"I think he's the Slytherin," Red Harry muttered to Harry. "He sounds like a smarter Malfoy, I swear."
Harry nodded in agreement. He'd rather the blue Harry was the Slytherin than himself. Despite what the Sorting Hat had said back in first year, he didn't feel like a scheming Snake at all.
The Harrys made it to Gryffindor Tower without further incident, though they did get to catch a glimpse of three seventh-year Gryffindors pummeling a huge, muscular, pig-faced man with Beater's bats before Professor Dumbledore ushered them through the portrait hole. "I do hope you'll keep out of trouble, boys," the Headmaster said sternly before dashing off to help the seventh-years.
"This school year is going to be brilliant!" Red Harry crowed. "I can't wait to have a go at one of those things!"
Harry, who had come to notice the entire common room was gawping at him and his clones, tapped Red Harry on the shoulder. The boy glanced at him curiously and then seemed to realize he was the center of attention. "Oh. Er, hello," Red Harry said with an awkward wave. "Didn't see you there."
The common room unfroze. One fifth-year was the first to speak, summing up everyone's thoughts quite succinctly. "Potter, what the hell?"