WHO SAVES THE SAVIOURS? (REVISED)

CHAPTER 2:

TEA AND SYMPATHY

If you asked Harry Potter where he thought he'd be when he became an adult, then he wouldn't have said that he was drinking tea with Morgan le Fay, albeit a version from an alternate timeline where Fae ruled Britain (and a timeline or Lostbelt that should never have existed). And someone who, incidentally, knew all too well what the hell he had gone through. Not just because she had seen his memories, but because he had seen hers. Only snippets, but enough to confirm what Totorot had written in her books.

True, he was surprised to see her wearing trousers and a shirt that made her seem…well, normal. Her pale complexion, silvery-white hair, and icy blue eyes were striking, as was her beauty, but she'd not warrant more than maybe a double-take on the street in such an outfit. Yet she was a Fae who was over four thousand years old, and even if one took into account the times she slept between the Calamities she stopped, she was still centuries old.

Of course, if he thought about Morgan le Fay, he would have imagined her as some sneering, hateful woman, vamping it up. The woman in front of him, despite being beautiful enough to play the role, had a lugubrious expression on her face. And if her memories and Totorot's books were correct, she had cause to.

Harry had actually been put onto Totorot's books by Hermione during their third year. He'd devoured them surprisingly quickly, especially at the Dursleys' home. And to think, that Portkey Snape set up to send him to some random arse-end in Britain dumped him not far from 'Abigail Spinster', as Totorot wrote under.

Snape…just thinking about that greasy-haired bastard made Harry's blood boil. Him and that Umbridge woman were second only to Voldemort on his shitlist. The Cruciatus was not enough for what that bastard did to him out of spite towards his father. Changing his appearance, locking away his memories, cursing him to be hated by all and sundry…

But then, Harry was sobered up by the thought of his friends. For all that the Weasleys, Hermione, Sirius and Remus had ghosted him during that summer, and for all that he was angry with them for it, he hoped they had survived. Hell, while Orkney was out of the way, he'd seen enough in the papers to know that, in hindsight, maybe Voldemort had been defeated. Certainly, there was a rise in terrorist attacks that dropped sharply some months ago.

"You're worried for your friends, are you not?" Morgan asked, her voice having a Scottish-sounding burr(1). On his startled look, she hastily added, "And before you ask, I'm not reading your mind. I have just seen a similar expression on others' faces and my own when worried for my own friends and comrades."

Harry nodded mutely. "I wish I could comfort you," Morgan said. "However, we do not know enough about your friends and their situation. Indeed, I am bemused by the fact that there are two differing branches of magic-using humans in this timeline. I have memories of a Magus called Beryl Gut in my mind, I am not sure whether you saw anything like his memories."

Harry shook his head. "I didn't see anything relating to his memories."

"For which you should be grateful. By your terms, not only is he a ruthless mercenary, but he was a sadistic psychopath who moonlighted as a serial killer," Morgan said, before shuddering. "My Servant self, who granted me her memories, also gave me his, to recreate him. It's complicated, involving how that form of time-travel worked."

"…Servant?"

"Magi have the ability to summon the spirits of figures from myth and history as a form of familiar, which, in their notions of arrogant superiority, they call a 'Servant'." Morgan scoffed. "Many Magi are as arrogant as they are amoral. But Totorot met with a Magus, a very powerful one, known as Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, who is a reasonable man, even a friendly one. It's possible that he may know something about Voldemort and his current status. He is a figure of some authority, he may keep abreast of events in the wizarding world. With your permission, we'll contact him."

"…Okay. But give me some time to think. I…I'm just trying to come to terms with…well, everything."

"Of course. Take your time," Morgan said.

Then, a young woman's voice rang out. "Mother? Where are you?"

"I'm in the study, Baobhan Sith," Morgan called out.

"With the human?"

"Yes. His real name is Harry Potter."

The door soon opened, and Harry was soon confronted by the next new Fae he had encountered. He'd seen them from a distance, but he hadn't actually met them. At least not yet.

This one appeared to be a girl in her late teens, or perhaps her early twenties. Her figure was slender, clad in crimson, white and black gothic clothing, almost vaguely princess-like. Crimson hair framed beautiful if vaguely feline features. Her ears were pointed, while her aqua eyes had pupils that were slits, like a cat or a reptile's. The effect should have been sinister, but she actually seemed wary of him, a little skittish.

Morgan patted the couch next to her, and the girl sat down. "Harry, this is my adopted daughter, Baobhan Sith. Baobhan Sith, this is Harry Potter, the true identity of Tobias McGoohan. We can trust him, I believe. Totorot did, and from what I have seen, so shall I."

Baobhan Sith seemed a little sceptical, but she nodded to him. "Hi. Sorry, I'm still getting used to this timeline," the Fae girl said.

"Don't worry, I'm still getting used to having my memories back and sharing a house with Fae," Harry said with a shrug that was meant to be nonchalant.

"Worry not," Morgan said. "You do know I bifurcated myself?"

Harry nodded. It sounded like an immensely dangerous thing to do, but he saw how Morgan, of two minds of what to do next (either to rule Fae Britain, or leave the Lostbelt and seek a new life), made that literal, using a complex ritual to divide herself. The part of her that wished to rule (and probably oppress like a tyrant, given how Morgan felt) stayed in the Lostbelt. The other half was the one sitting in front of him.

"I left instructions with my other half, to send me any Fae whom she believed to be loyal and altruistic here. However, it seems her standards were rather high. Baobhan Sith and another, Melusine, were sent here shortly before you were taken in. Barghest was sent here a few years earlier. I have been sleeping for over three-quarters of a century, in this timeline at least, to recover from not only the bifurcation, but travelling into this timeline. I also wished to see a more modern world, the one I glimpsed in Beryl Gut's memories. However, the Lostbelt has experienced over two millennia since then. I would have thought she could have sent more." Morgan shook her head. "Alas…my other half has become a tyrant, as I feared. But there are forces arrayed to stop her. I can only hope it's Chaldea who does so. They would at least have mercy. The Fae would not."

"Chaldea?"

"An organisation opposing my other self," Morgan said. "If you saw a girl in armour called Mash Kyrielight in my memories, then she used to belong to Chaldea. My other self sent her back in time. Don't ask me why. If I didn't need to put her into stasis to prevent a temporal paradox, I would have brought her with me. I didn't risk cloning her as I did with Ector or Totorot, or as my other half did with Baobhan Sith and the others. The Fae here are the originals of their kind. My other self has grown in power to be able to send them here with less depletion of her power."

"…So, what do you want to do if not to rule?" Harry asked.

"That, I am not sure of," Morgan said. "I am well aware that my counterpart in timelines like this was a cruel and spiteful woman. And while I admit to sharing some of those qualities, ruling or dominance is not my desire. You saw into my memories, Harry. I have no desire to be a tyrant, I divested myself of such desires in my other self. And being a saviour is a thankless job. The public of Magical Britain may not be quite as fickle as the Fae, but you know what I speak of. Fae need a purpose to live, and I mean that literally. My purpose was to be the Avalon le Fae, the saviour of Fae Britain, and its redemption." She scoffed bitterly. "The Fae would never atone for their ancestors' sins, or their own. Only a select few would have the capacity, and the others…they wouldn't care."

Harry could believe that, given the memories Morgan he had seen. The massacre of the Rain Clan because they dared to harbour, raise, and educate the Avalon le Fae, the continual betrayals on fickle whims…and he knew what Avalon le Fae was meant to do. Ensure the Fae repented for what their ancestors did to the deity Cernunnos and his priestess, and what they did since. A nigh-impossible task.

"Case in point…what they did to me," Baobhan Sith spoke up suddenly, if quietly. "I tried to be a helpful person, but…they took advantage of me. And I'm also a type of Fae that feeds on human blood." As he looked up at her sharply, she waved her hands hurriedly. "I did it only to the consenting! I wasn't like the other Fae! But…to those other Fae…it was like I drank sewerage." She shivered.

"Harry," Morgan said softly, but getting his attention all the same. "My other half told me what those monsters did to her. Even what I went through pales by comparison, though I doubt my daughter would appreciate my elaborating in front of her due to her trauma. And I knew her a long time ago, as one of the few Fae to thank me for saving Fae Britain…and do so sincerely. I had even wanted to take her with me to this timeline, but could not find her at the time. I wish I had made more of an effort. Baobhan Sith deserves sympathy, not scorn. And she does not need to feed on human blood to survive, she is not like a Dead Apostle, or as you would know them, a vampire. It is merely a means of boosting her magical reserves with ease. You are safe with her in this household."

Harry returned his gaze to the red-haired Fae, who was looking at him anxiously. She didn't look like a vampire or a malevolent Fae. She looked like a skittish young woman, afraid of him. "I'll take your word for it," Harry said. "But you do know how hard it is for me to accept this on face value, right?"

Morgan nodded solemnly, and to his surprise, so did Baobhan Sith, albeit more morosely. "Baobhan Sith," Morgan then said quietly. "Go and see if Totorot needs anything. We'll talk later."

Baobhan Sith nodded, before getting up, and shooting Harry a rather lopsided smile, albeit one filled with sadness and anxiety than anything sinister. After she left, Harry asked, "What the hell was done to her?"

Morgan scoffed. "Hell would be an appropriate term. Fae are immortal as long as they have a purpose to live for. However, the Fae took advantage of her kindness, or else tortured and killed her. She was reincarnated over and over again, subjected to the same fate. In her last incarnation, she was forced to become the maidservant and concubine of Grimalkin, a Fae who ruled Darlington in the Lostbelt. You can imagine if only a little what she was subjected to. She broke, and unleashed a Calamity, killing Grimalkin and turning Darlington into a ghost town, inhabited by the undead. She died, unwilling to reincarnate, but my other half resurrected her, adopting her as her daughter…and sent her, along with Melusine, to me once they accepted my offer, keeping clones for herself. The fact that my other half sent her here, however, gives me hope for Baobhan Sith."

"Why?"

"My other half cannot believe almost any Fae could be virtuous, so any who catch her eye must be exceptional indeed. I believe she has too-high standards, but still…if she sent Baobhan Sith to me, then I believe Baobhan Sith could be a good person. And so far, I believe that to be the case. She is, like us, a victim of our own societies."

"And the other two?"

Morgan chuckled. "Both Barghest and Melusine are rather chivalric knights, especially Barghest. While cursed, it seems the transit between worlds has removed their curses, from what I have seen. And Barghest's curse in particular was concerning. Both have their idiosyncrasies, including where humans are concerned, but they seem to be moral enough. They wouldn't kill humans just for slighting them, if you're worried about that. Barghest believes that the strong should rule the weak, true, but she also believes that the strong should protect the weak and ensure they grow strong in their turn. A rather refreshingly moral take on what you would call Social Darwinism in this timeline. Melusine, on the other hand, loves a good battle, but she's not needlessly violent. Then again, technically, she's not a Fae. Rather, she is a transfigured lump of draconic flesh emulating a Fae. It's a rather long story. There is a reason these three were chosen by my other half to be her Tam Lin."

But then, Morgan suddenly stiffened. "There is a foreign magic presence at the edge of the Bounded Fields. Not a Magus…a wizard or witch perhaps?" She hurriedly went over to a window, and looked out through the curtains. "Harry, come here please. I've seen her in your memories, but I want confirmation. Do you recognise this woman?"

Harry did as he was asked, and looked out. He nodded at the familiar form of one of his teachers, and for all his issues with her, if there was anyone in his corner and capable of telling him what he needed to know, it'd be her. "That's Professor McGonagall, a teacher at Hogwarts…assuming it isn't someone imitating her. But how could she know where I am?"

"Do you trust her?"

"…Not that much, but certainly more than I'd trust Dumbledore," Harry said. After all that old man did to keep him in the dark, to say nothing of letting Snape have near-free reign, he didn't want anything to do with the old man.

"Very well. If her intentions here are benign, do you wish to speak with her?"

"…I need to know what has happened while I was here," Harry said. "So yes. As long as she's not here to drag me down to the Wizengamot for yet another kangaroo court for whatever reason…"

"I doubt it will come to that. I did get an impression of her from your memories, but while she could have done much more for you, any problems you have with her may be down to her workload. But if she dares do anything to threaten you…"

"Oh great, I've got a fairy godmother now," Harry muttered.

Morgan chuckled bitterly. "I think you are a bit old to have a godmother named for you. Besides, I do not turn pumpkins into carriages. That's rather boring. Turning pumpkins into other things tends to be more fun."

"Like what?"

"During the Autumn War, I helped save Uther and his army by turning a field of pumpkins into what you'd call landmines in this modern era," Morgan said with an unnerving smile. "Ah, I remember one particularly nasty King Clan commander who'd threatened to rape and then kill me at that farce they called a parley stepping on one." She brushed at her shirt absently. "A rather large piece of him fell onto my coat and smeared his filthy blood all over it. Would you like to accompany me outside, or would you prefer I go and discern what she wants first?"

After some thought (as well as trying to get the mental image of Morgan creating landmines from pumpkins out of his head), Harry said, "Could you go out and check, please?"

"Of course." Morgan met his gaze. "Harry…I know you may find it hard to trust me, or indeed anyone after all you have been through. But I will help you as much as I can. In many ways, we are alike. Forced into being saviours for Britain, without any say in the matter. Yet who saves the saviours? Perhaps this is where my search for a purpose has brought me. I will go and discern what this woman intends with you, and how she was able to track you down. Hopefully, it will not come to any…unpleasantness…"

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

Morgan and Harry have had a talk, and now McGonagall is here. Ooh, will things go badly?

So, fantasy voice casting for the Fae…

MORGAN: For this story, I honestly think, after some thought, that Anne Yatco, on the basis of her playing the Raiden Shogun/Ei from Genshin Impact, would do well as Morgan. Yes, I know she has Katelyn Gaunt as an official dub actress in Fate/Apocrypha, but she's PHH Morgan. Plus, there's plenty of role parallels between Ei and Lostbelt Morgan. As an alternative, Aimee Ffion-Edwards, aka Ranni from Elden Ring, is a possibility. Then again, given that I say she has a Scottish accent, maybe a Scottish actress should be used…

BARGHEST: As with Out of the Strong Came Forth Sweetness and Unnatural History, I choose Colleen Clinkenbeard, with her 'Rose' voice from The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic for Barghest's battle voice, and Momo from My Hero Academia as her 'noble' voice.

MELUSINE: Again, as with Out of the Strong Came Forth Sweetness and Unnatural History, I choose Anairis Quiñones, with her Lynette voice from Genshin Impact being her 'casual' voice, and a more childish version of Feixiao's voice from Honkai Star Rail for her battle voice.

BAOBHAN SITH: For this story, I think Brianna Knickerbocker works, based on her performance as Hu Tao in Genshin Impact and Kumoko in So I'm a Spider, So What?

HABETROT: I hadn't really cast her in Unnatural History, so here, she's played by Corina Boettger, aka Paimon from Genshin Impact. But with a slightly deeper voice.

ECTOR: For this story, Marc Diraison, playing basically a less belligerent version of Guts from Berserk.

1. Lostbelt Morgan grew up in Orkney, and for the sake of argument, we'll say she has a Scottish accent.