You thought it was a High School DxD crossover, but it was actually I, DIO...whoops, sorry, wrong franchise. I mean, Transformers Prime.

Why call it Ddraig then? Well, there's a good reason for that. Originally, I wanted Harry in my previous attempt (posted in the Cauldron, anyway) Of Alloyed Hearts at such a crossover to be given the Cybertronian codename Albion, in reference to the White Dragon associated with the legend of Y Ddraig Goch, and as a reference to his British roots. Raidentensho also thought it was a good idea in a review for the sample chapters of Of Alloyed Hearts. Unfortunately, that plan fell through for a couple of good reasons...

1. The White Dragon that clashed with Ddraig is never given a name in the original myth, AFAIK. Albion seems to be a name given in either High School DxD or the Nasuverse, I'm not sure which came first.

2. Depressingly, at least one far-right organisation in the UK have co-opted the White Dragon as their symbol. Yes, you heard that correctly.

Of Alloyed Hearts fell through for other reasons, mostly not enough Harry/Arcee moments. I tried a few other ways to get it done, but eventually returned to the same concept, only instead of doing a Potterverse version of Destro from GI Joe, I decided to bring in Shockwave. True, there's some convoluted BS to getting it to work, but I think it might just do so.

That being said, before I continue, I have finally gotten a hold of a certain series. I've been binging episodes, and now, I think I'm ready to start some groundwork on at least one crossover. And it's one of those series that actually lives up to the hype. So far, anyway. And what is that series?

Arcane.

DDRAIG

CHAPTER 1:

ESCAPE FROM CYBERTRON

"So, I've gotta ask, if we're the ones being interrogated, what's with the 'Bot on the slab over there?"

Arcee would've cursed Cliffjumper's chattiness, but it was a question she wanted to know, even as Shockwave bustled around the interrogation room as Starscream looked on. True, she was restrained, but she was working on breaking said restraints as discreetly as possible with the lever on her wrist. Hopefully, she could break free before Shockwave finished his preparations for what she suspected to be a Cortical Patch. She'd never experienced one before, and she could go for the rest of her life without knowing. Being subjected to what passed for Airachnid's idea of 'interrogation' was already bad enough, and that sadistic glitch seemed to be in it more to cause pain than to extract information.

She did admit to being curious about that very subject Cliffjumper brought up, though. The frame looked to be Cybertronian, though she didn't see either an Autobot or Decepticon insignia. The body was crimson, the helm was black, albeit with a strange, lightning bolt-like mark on part of it. Whatever the Cybertronian was, he (she assumed he was male) was unconscious, their optics closed for now.

Shockwave merely shot him a look from his singular crimson eye, before returning to his work. However, Starscream merely smirked. "What makes you think he's an Autobot? Oh, I will admit, he's not a Decepticon…yet, but that's because Shockwave is yet to begin the conditioning."

"Starscream, your speaking of that project in front of the prisoners is illogical," Shockwave said in his deep, cold voice.

"And? They will be terminated once this interrogation has run its course. Be thankful I am singing your praises, Shockwave." Starscream turned and looked at them. "About an Orbital Cycle ago, an organic alien ended up on Cybertron, having found a way to survive despite a lack of oxygen needed for his species to survive. Shockwave here captured him, and an initial interrogation turned up some information. He's from Sol 3 in Mutter's Spiral(1), or, to give the natives' rather dull name for it, Earth. After that initial interrogation, Shockwave decided, 'waste not, want not', and used the alien for a side project."

It took every bit of experience and training for Arcee not to show her surprise. Optimus Prime's message did claim that the Autobot leader was on Earth, and only the unusual 'Con activity on Cybertron distracted Arcee from heading there ASAP. And yet, they found a native from that obscure world, here on Cybertron? She couldn't claim to know all inhabited worlds in this galaxy or any other, but she was fairly sure they weren't a space-faring civilisation, at least yet. The only thing of note was that apparently Cybertronians had left caches of Energon there during prior intergalactic wars.

But what did that have to do with the Cybertronian shackled to the slab? An unpleasant realisation flitted through her circuits. "You fragging aftport," she snarled. "You're starting to make Pretenders again?!"

"Improving the process has been one of my many projects," Shockwave said.

Starscream, meanwhile, chuckled. "As much as Techno-Organics disgust me, I will admit, the thought of a Pretender subverting our targets is an enticing one. I personally feel that this is one of Shockwave's better projects. Why, he even used the Cortical Patch to gain intel about Earth. The same thing he will use on you to gain the decryption code for that interesting broadcast we intercepted. Unfortunately, the process proved rather taxing on our new Pretender, and Shockwave would rather wait until the Pretender is awake and somewhat functioning, mentally-speaking, anyway, before imposing the conditioning systems to ensure the Pretender obeys us in all things. Delicate work, apparently, very dangerous." Then, struck by what seemed like a fit of anxiety, he asked Shockwave, "Shockwave…you ARE certain you can extract the decryption key without nullifying their neural network?"

Shockwave turned to glare at the Seeker. "I am well aware of the idiosyncrasies of the Cortical Psychic Patch, given that I created it. In addition, we have two prisoners to extract it from. I should not need both, but I cannot be absolutely certain. Logic dictates that two prisoners would improve the margin of error significantly. Now, be silent until I have finished the procedure."

The Seeker recoiled, only to glare at Shockwave's back. Arcee would have smiled at it, had it not been for the seriousness of the situation. That, and Shockwave was currently striding towards her with the other end of the Cortical Patch ready. She might survive the process, but the 'Cons would not only have the information they sought, but it would be a violation of her mind.

This, she thought as Shockwave approached, is going to suck…

The first sense returned to him was sound. He could hear voices, and while they spoke a language he hadn't heard before, he could understand them as if they could speak English. New voices. He recognised the deep, heavily-flanging tones of Shockwave, but now, he could hear others.

"…Thing away from me, you fragging one-eyed freak!" snarled a female-sounding voice.

"Leave her alone, damn you! Use it on me if you have to!" A male's voice, deep and strong.

"Do not concern yourself with her fate. Should her mind not survive the process without yielding the information, you will be next." Shockwave's voice again.

"Yes, so be silent!" A snivelling, nasal tone, sinister.

His eyes opened in time to see something horrible, that heads-up display he had seen after his transformation highlighting certain parts of the scene. His tormentor was currently shoving that Cortical Patch thing into the back of another robot's head. Said robot looked vaguely feminine, small and slender, her body blue and black with a few pink elements. She was currently shackled to the same sort of slab as he was. With a strangled gasp of pain, she convulsed, her blue eyes wide, staring right at him as the Cortical Patch went to work.

He knew it was an unpleasant experience. He'd gone through it himself. And he felt angry towards Shockwave. He wasn't sure whether the female robot was his friend or foe, but it reminded him too much of his so-called 'Occlumency lessons', especially as Shockwave had told him a little of what was going on on this godforsaken world.

He couldn't scream. He couldn't get loose. He was unable to move yet. Everything felt so sluggish. And he couldn't do a damn thing to save her. He couldn't do a thing to save anyone. Like too many thing in his life.

Seconds later, a control panel bleeped, and the smaller, slender and winged robot went to a control panel. "Ah, the code," he said. "Shockwave, I believe it worked."

Shockwave didn't reply, instead yanking the Cortical Patch cable from the female robot's head. A crackle of electricity filled the air, and the female robot convulsed, before going limp. "Arcee! You fragging cowardly pieces of scrap!" another robot, red with horns, shackled to a slab, shouted in anger.

"Oh, shut up, you pathetic excuse of an Autobot," the winged robot retorted. "I'm listening to this decrypted transmission."

"Go frag yourself, Starscream!" the red Autobot retorted. That's what gave the prisoner hope. If these two other prisoners really were Autobots, then maybe they could be allies, if only temporarily.

Then, from the control panel came a voice, followed by a couple of graphics showing a familiar set of maps. Too familiar. And the prisoner felt a chill of dread. The voice was speaking in a low, weary and solemn tone, yet gentle, paternal, and calm. "This is Optimus Prime. To all surviving Autobots who hear this message, I ask that you join me in a remote corner of the galaxy. The world we are based on is rich in Energon, and, I fear, may become a new target of the Decepticons' conquest before long. Our team is small, but strong. Join me at these coordinates, so we may plan to resist their efforts. Safe journeys."

And at this, the prisoner knew he had to escape now. Shockwave and Starscream had not yet noticed that he was awake. And now, he could feel sensation, of a sort, returning. He moved a little, felt the familiar sensations not just of movement, but of the power he had.

He needed to escape, to prevent them from targeting his world. But there was also a score to settle. Namely, with Shockwave, for what he did…

That was easily in the Top 10 of worst experiences Arcee had ever gone through in her centuries-long life. If she was an organic lifeform, she would be vomiting copiously. But Shockwave seemed to believe she was either dead, or close to stasis-lock. Which was fine by her. She heard Starscream crowing in triumph, and then Shockwave moving over to Cliffjumper. He was an annoying pain in the aft, but he was an ally. But would she be able to free herself in time to help him?

Suddenly, there was a roar of "DEPULSIO!" And she got to hear the panicked scream of Starscream as he smacked into a wall, followed by, presumably, Shockwave, given the grunt. She risked opening her optics for a moment, and was surprised to see the would-be Pretender suddenly appearing in front of Shockwave with a massive crack of noise.

A concussed Starscream was sprawled on the floor as the Pretender stood over Shockwave, muttering, "Bah-weep-Graaaaaghnah wheep ni ni bong."

However, Shockwave was struggling to aim his cannon when the Pretender snarled, "Let's see how you like being on the receiving end of this, Shockwave! LEGILIMENS!"

Shockwave froze, then convulsed and spasmed, a warbling roar of agony coming from the 'Cons' pet mad scientist. Arcee wouldn't deny that it was disturbing to watch, and yet, a dark corner of her Spark actually enjoyed seeing the monstrous Decepticon in such distress. Yet part of her was puzzled. The Pretender wasn't speaking in Cybertronian. In fact, it was one of the many languages in the language pack attached to the transmission Optimus had sent them. English. If he was from Earth, that was hardly surprising, but still…

Eventually, Shockwave subsided, the crimson light of his optic dimming, not quite going out, but dimmed. The Pretender's faceplate twisted into a snarl of disgust, before slashing out his servo with a gesture. "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

Shockwave was suddenly bisected, right through his Spark chamber, and his crimson optic spluttered, and them dimmed into darkness forever. The Pretender stared at the corpse, before kicking it, viciously with a scream of rage. He then destroyed the console that had been playing Optimus' decrypted message. However, he was surprised when Starscream got to his feet. Before the Pretender could react, Starscream fled, having decided that someone capable of killing Shockwave was not someone he wanted to trifle with.

"Cowardly bastard," the Pretender sneered, before turning his attention to Arcee and Cliffjumper. She was struck by the beautiful emerald glow of his optics. After a moment, he gestured with his servo again, and said, "Alohamora."

The energy shackles snapped open. As they got up, Cliffjumper asked, "How did you do that?"

"Magic," the Pretender said. "Now, keep in mind, I'm not sure whether to trust either of you, even if you're these monsters' enemies. But I need help in getting where I need to go. This bastard," he indicated Shockwave's bisected body, "has built a Spacebridge in a chamber below this city, Kaon, I think it was called. I can operate it, thanks to what I got out of his head, but if the Decepticons are going to Earth, then we're going to the same destination."

"…In other words, you're stranded, and need a way home?" Arcee asked. "I can get behind that. Besides, it's not like I can trust Pretenders, normally." She wasn't planning on joining up with Optimus Prime in earnest. She felt she could do more, hitting the 'Cons where it hurt throughout the galaxy.

But if Starscream remembered the coordinates, he'd launch a punitive expedition at least. And they needed to stop the Spacebridge from functioning, to hamper any invasion. Arcee wasn't going to turn her back on a 'Con attack on a civilised world.

Then, after a moment, she added, thinking out loud, "Then again, if you killed Shockwave, it's unlikely you're pulling a bluff. Shockwave was too valuable to Megatron for him to be killed, especially not to sell a cover story. Even Starscream wouldn't try that. So, do you have a name?"

"…Just call me 'Pretender' for now," the Pretender said quietly. "I want to get back to Earth first before I think of this as anything but a nightmare I won't be waking from…"

After 'Pretender' grabbed something from Shockwave's storage in that lab (it looked like a tiny wooden box), they headed for the Spacebridge, Arcee using her knowledge of some of the old tunnels and structures used throughout Kaon to get there. It helped that 'Pretender', thanks to whatever he did to Shockwave, knew where to go. Of course, it was only a matter of time before Starscream raised the alert.

Cliffjumper volunteered to distract the Vehicon drones manning the Spacebridge console, which was ready to send an army through to Earth, possibly thanks to Starscream giving orders. Arcee meanwhile snuck over, beginning to tinker with it, 'Pretender' coming with her. But that's when their luck ran out, Starscream bursting into the chamber.

But as the Vehicon drones made to fire alongside their superior, 'Pretender' said, "Cliffjumper, get out of the way."

Cliffjumper and Arcee made to protest, only for the familiar staccato buzzing and clanking noise of a T-Cog in action to emanate from 'Pretender'. And Arcee's optics widened at the sight of the winged beast in front of them. A Predacon, a small one, but a Predacon all the same, picked out in red, gold, and green.

"…Oh, frag me sideways," Starscream whimpered, to Arcee's delight. His expression would be something she would hold close to her Spark for the rest of her life. Cliffjumper dived out of the way, before 'Pretender' inhaled…

…And then breathed fire.

No, it was more than fire. It seemed to be alive. Shapes like organic animals or Predacons writhed and screeched within the fire, consuming all in its wake. Starscream shrieked and transformed before fleeing, but the Vehicons were not so lucky.

After a while, 'Pretender' stopped his attack, leaving small patches of flame, and sooty smoking piles where the Vehicons were. "Let's get moving!" Arcee yelled, trying to avoid the shock of seeing how devastating 'Pretender' was with his attack. "I disabled the Energon containment protocols! We've only got a short period of time until this Spacebridge blows!"

'Pretender' nodded. "Got it. Hang on," he said, his voice now deep and tenebrous, more of a force of nature than a voice now. He grabbed Cliffjumper by the waist, and then flew, grabbing Arcee by her own with another arm. Down the familiar sickly green swirling vortex that was the Spacebridge, they sped, until…

…In a flare of light, they were elsewhere. A twilit desert with mesas and rocky ground, a sun setting nearby. 'Pretender' flew from the vortex, before landing a considerable distance away. He transformed back into a Cybertronian form after letting them go. "How far do we need to be for a minimum safe distance?" he asked.

"This should be fine," Arcee said. "Most of the explosion will be on the Cybertron side of things, and I doubt it'll do more than destroy the room we were in. But the 'Cons won't be able to use the Spacebridge anytime soon, if ever."

Sure enough, the sickly green vortex began to ripple and warp, before finally imploding. Nothing was left to show a transdimensional portal existed. "So, where are we?" 'Pretender' asked.

"If we're where we're meant to be, it should be somewhere in Nevada, the United States of America," Cliffjumper said. "You from around here?"

"No, I'm…I was from Britain." 'Pretender' sighed. "Just as well I'm not there. It's a long story."

Cliffjumper looked to Arcee, before he shrugged. "It'll be a while before we get our comms back up to scratch. Starscream disabled them when he took us prisoner, didn't want us making escape plans without him hearing them. So, let's hear the long story."

"…Okay. But…let's see…can I go back to normal?"

He placed the tiny wooden box he'd been carrying on the ground. Suddenly, the sound of a T-Cog operating rang out again. But instead of becoming a Predacon, he shrank.

Afterwards, what was left was a small (by Cybertronian standards, anyway: he was about Mini-Con size, more or less) organic being with a messy mop of dark hair, lanky. Arcee noted the scar part-hidden by his hair, the same lightning bolt shape. And there were the emerald eyes, like his optics in his Cybertronian forms.

He looked down at himself, and nodded. "Okay, so, I can make clothes come into existence on me when I transform." He then chuckled to himself as he checked the box, and it expanded into something much larger. "I doubt that Shockwave would have been able to open this, not unless he managed to control me." He chuckled again, the noise cracked and crazed. Like he was barely holding onto his sanity.

Not that Arcee could blame him. Shockwave was a byword for infamy with his experiments. That 'Pretender' was remotely lucid or sane was a minor miracle.

The person in question sat down on the box, sighing. "I'm back on Earth. I'm really back on Earth." For a moment, he simply stared at the landscape, before he blinked. "Oh, right. Sorry. I'm back on Earth, so…you know what? I should tell you my name. I'm Harry Potter. Now, about that long story…"

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry was turned partly into a Pretender by Shockwave. And now, he's back on Earth. But how the fuck can he turn into a dragon? That breathes Fiendfyre?!

Oh, and Shockwave is dead. And there was much rejoicing…unless your name is Megatron.

Now, there'll be an explanation as to how Harry ended up on Cybertron…and there's an added twist to come to what happened. Let's just say the next chapter has its own surprise.

1. Earth is given this designation by the Time Lords in Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin. Certainly, Mutter's Spiral is mentioned at least once more in The Horror of Fang Rock. For the sake of this story, Mutter's Spiral means a spiral arm of the Milky Way rather than the entire galaxy.