A pillar of flames burst to life, whirling in heatless blue. It only lasted a few moments before fading away, revealing…

A young man in stylized leathers in greens and browns, in a pattern that seemed to resemble brush, or perhaps a hunter, if the Headmaster was any judge. Leather boots completed the outfit. Intense emerald eyes gazed out from beneath a head of hair that resembled a bird's nest. However, Albus had only a moment to contemplate how familiar those two features looked before the young man had leaped away, putting himself against the wall of the Great Hall and pulling out what looked to be a dagger of some sort.

There was a moment where Dumbledore could have sworn he had felt some kind of spell reaching out towards him before the young man backed away, but then there was nothing. Before he could say anything, the young man spoke. There was a feeling of that same magic reaching out though the words were at least understandable. “Who are you people and how did I get here? Where are my teammates?”

The Headmaster tried to placate the young man. “My dear boy, I assure you we mean no harm. My name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where you now find yourself. As to the circumstances of your arrival or the status of your teammates, I’m afraid I do not have any information for you.”

The young man seemed to consider the Headmaster for a moment before slowly nodding, the dagger lowering but not disappearing. “Can’t say I’ve heard of you and I’m familiar with most of the magical academies. You don’t appear to be training any adventurers so I’m assuming you’re a purely theoretical school then.”

Albus reached up to run his hand down his long beard before offering the young man a twinkling, grandfatherly smile. “My dear boy, there haven’t been adventurers in these lands in many a year. Also, I assure you, our magic is more than just theoretical.” The Headmaster withdrew his wand, though when he noticed the intense attention the young man was paying to it, he was careful to be deliberate in his movements. He hadn’t forgotten how fast the new arrival had moved, nor that he carried a blade.

“Expecto Patronum.” A bright white ethereal phoenix burst into life, circling the room before coming to rest between the two.

“Huh. A fellow summoner, eh? That’s quite the powerful aura on that one too. Never heard of a patronum familiar but then again, there are thousands out there.” The dagger disappeared and the young man nodded to himself. “Seems like you at least know some things of use here.” He strode from the wall, hand extended. “The name’s Harry Potter, bronze rank adventurer out of Vitese.”

The Headmaster’s smile broadened. “Did you say Harry Potter? Oh my boy, we have missed you these many years.” Ignoring the hand he went in for a hug. However, his arms enfolded only on air as the newly revealed Potter Heir seemed to nearly apparate away. It was only the lack of the telltale crack and his knowledge that the wards were in perfect working order that had him questioning what truly happened.

“I don’t know how things are here, but I don’t hug strangers. Good way to get a knife in the back.” The dagger from early seemed to roll through Harry’s fingers before vanishing again. “Also, I’m not your boy. I’m not sure who you think I am, but I’ve never met you and I’m certainly not on any kind of friendly terms with you. So I’d really like it if you kept your hands to yourself if you’re not going for a handshake.”

A form seemed to slink out of Harry’s shadow, coalescing into a large hound, what could have been a grim, if the beast were to stand six feet at the shoulders. Its fur was a hazy mass of shadows that flicked and flickered like the candles of the Great Hall. Harry reached up to pat the beast on one massive shoulder. “This here is Padfoot. He’ll be happy to hug you if you’d like.”

A spell flashed past the Headmaster to impact on the beast, which snarled and leaped forwards. The Patronus jumped to put itself between Albus and the huge grim, only for the creature to soar past him. There was a strangled cry from behind Dumbledore and he whirled around to see his Potions Master pinned to the floor with a snarling, drooling maw inches from the man’s face, one hand likewise pinned beneath a massive paw.

While Severus was struggling beneath the creature, Albus thought to turn around and confront the young man responsible for everything. A gasp from the crowd of students was the only warning he had before he felt the point of a blade digging into his ribs. Another hand reached around and wrapped around his hand and wand and he couldn’t quite keep himself from goggling at the sheer telemetry of someone trying to restrain him. The voice hissing in his ear was the only thing to break him from his shock at being manhandled.

“Alright, Mr. Wizard. We’re all going to just calm down. While I was attacked, I’m not going to hold that against you, since the person responsible has been subdued. However, if you continue with whatever ability you have on that wand of yours, I’m afraid our negotiations will have broken down and I’ll have to prove the point in a more decided way.”

The Headmaster caught the motion of several of the other professors out of the corner of his eye, yet he gave them a quick shake of his head. This was a volatile situation as it was already and while he had faith in Filius’s ability as a duelist, the others were not as proficient in a fight. Though Minerva was a deft hand with a wand as well.

Sighing, Albus relaxed his grip on his wand, one that had been with him since he had defeated Grindelwald and one that he had hoped to keep until his dying day. There was a hollowness that bloomed within him as the wand was pulled from his grip. He’d had two of the three hallows in his possession and a good theory on where the third might have been and now… now he would have to start over again. Perhaps once things calmed down he would be able to convince Harry to return the wand.

“Mr. Potter. I assure you that I have no ill will towards you. While the actions of my Potion’s Master are unfortunate, he was only trying to protect me from what has proven to be a dangerous and wild creature.”

There was a sigh behind him before Dumbledore felt himself pushed away. After coming to a stumbling halt, he turned to see another familiar wand flying through the air to the Potter heir. A silent summoning charm? Just where had Harry been and what had he been doing? The sound of Severus’s muttered curses heralded the return of the grim to standing at the boy’s shoulder, those dark eyes never leaving the prone form.

“Right now, Albus, the only dangerous and wild creature you need to worry about is me. Padfoot is completely under control and will only move to defend me or himself from attack. Now, why don’t you take your man in hand and get him to calm down before he gets himself in more trouble. I’ll give you the time.” Harry turned his gaze towards Professor Flitwick with a nod. “And while I understand you’re wanting to defend your Headmaster, sir, I’d appreciate it if you could keep your hands where I can see them.”

Filius kept his hands raised, a small smile on his lips. “Quite right, Mr. Potter. I think we’ve had enough defending people at this point. A bit more conversation seems more in order.”

After giving Severus a stern injunction to maintain decorum and handing the man over to Pomfrey to get looked over, Albus composed himself before turning back to the new owner of the Death Stick. “Now, Mr. Potter, while I agree with the need for conversation, I do not believe a crowded dining hall is the appropriate venue. Perhaps we can move to my office?”

There was a curl to Harry’s lips that could have been generously called a smile before the boy shook his head. “I'd rather have this conversation before witnesses. After all, I’m still the victim of a kidnapping by forces unknown.”

The general background whispering from the gathered students of three different schools grew in volume. The Headmaster looked around and sighed. “You do indeed have a point, my boy. Forgive an old man for forgetting in the midst of all the excitement.”

A thumping of wood on stone heralded the arrival of another wand, though it seemed like Alastor knew enough to keep that wand put away. “How do we even know the boy is who he says he is?” His magical eye seemed to focus on Harry for a moment before resuming its normal surveillance of the room.

With one hand on the hound, Harry reached into his vest and pulled out a leather wallet before tossing it to Albus. The Defense Professor snatched it out of the air before it could reach the Headmaster. “And what is this, boy?”

“Surely you recognize an adventurer’s badge? Surely it hasn’t been all that long since you retired from the field? Or are you just a survivor of a monster attack? I can’t see any other reason for you to look the way you do.”

Alastor shook his head. “The only kind of monsters I dealt with were the human kind. Took down more Death Eaters during the war than any other auror and don’t you forget it.” Flipping open the wallet, he saw a medallion made of bronze, etched with a crossed sword and rod. Beneath the medallion were a pair of bronze stars. “Never seen a badge like this before. Not from any organization I’ve heard of.”

Harry took a step forward and reached out a hand while keeping the other in plain view. Moody flipped the badge closed before handing it over. “That makes it official then. Everyone on the planet knows what an Adventurer’s Badge means, so this isn’t my planet. Wonder just how far afield I’ve been summoned.” Potter shook his head before continuing. “No matter. We’ll figure that out later. For now, any ideas on how I got here? I’m not seeing a gloating bad guy in the room, I'm guessing some sort of remote or delayed summoning.”

Albus waved a hand towards the Goblet of Fire. “A name came out of the Goblet, followed by a pillar of flames appearing. When the pillar faded away, there you were. I can only hazard a guess as to the two events being connected.” With a bit of his own wandless magic, the Headmaster summoned the piece of paper that had been neglected on the floor. After a quick glance, he moved to hand it to Harry. “It would appear that your name is there. It does not appear to be a signature so I’m equally curious on how it was used to select you for the tournament.”

“I beg your pardon, but did you say Tournament? I was summoned for some kind of game?”

Alastor scowled. “The Tri-Wizard Tournament. Last held over two hundred years ago. Started again by our illustrious Ministry of Magic. And you, Potter, seem to have been called to compete.”

Under the watchful eyes of the assembled students, Mood quickly summarized the concept of the Tournament, the three schools, and the chosen champions. Meanwhile, the dagger had disappeared and Harry had leaned up against the grim, arms folded across his chest. The chatter in the room seemed to ebb and flow with each new point the Defense Teacher made.

Harry nodded slowly. “So the most important part is that this Goblet has somehow bound me to compete in the Tournament and threatens to take my magic if I fail to follow through. That’s a bunch of garbage if I’ve ever heard it. You can’t take magic from someone. It’s bound to their soul. You can only suppress magic.”

The Headmaster jumped in. “I’m afraid, dear boy, that the history of the Goblet taking a person’s magic as a consequence of their actions is well documented.”

Potter scowled. “Then the rules of magic here are different than the ones back home. I’m betting you don’t have essences here…” He trailed off with a wave of his hand. “We can talk magical theory later. Right now, it would appear that I’m at least partially in your care. I’d like to discuss those details, as well as what we can do to discover why I’m here and who caused it. That conversation, however, is one we can have in private.” Turning to the crowd, he flashed them a smile. “I would still like some witnesses though, so how bout some of these students?” He pointed to three students seemingly at random.

Albus considered the three students in question. What were the chances that Harry would pick one from each school? With a nod, he went about gathering up the students and some of the Professors, most notably Alastor, Filius, and Minerva, and guiding them all to his office.

No one seemed to notice the rats scurrying into the shadows.

***

“You spin an interesting tale, Headmaster. While I can see some parallels between what you tell me about your world’s Harry Potter, my own story is quite different. For one, I’m eighteen years old, four years older than your missing child. Additionally, I had the company of a family friend when I was originally brought to the other world, so while I’ll admit it would have been nice to have been called back to the world of my birth, it is clear that this is not that one. And no, before you ask, I will not be sharing information on the family friend, as it is clear that this is not my world and I am not, as you put it, your boy.”

The Headmaster leaned back in his chair, the grandfatherly twinkly missing as he eyed the young man from over the top of his half moon glasses. “While that may be true and while we may have established that you might not be the boy we have all missed these many years, you are still Harry Potter. The Wizarding world would greatly benefit if you would find it in yourself to at least give the people the symbol they have been looking for. These are dark times, my boy. We could all use a little light in the darkness.”

Harry scoffed. “Doesn’t seem like you’re doing too badly. The castle appears well provisioned. I saw no signs of poverty or suffering. No signs of war. You don’t even need adventurers to keep you safe from monsters, so either you have another way to protect yourselves, or monsters aren’t the type of issue here as they are back home.”

Albus sighed. “Not all is as it seems. There are things in the world that the public has no idea about.” Dumbledore ignored the way that the two Heads of House looked at him as he continued. “Please, I ask you to consider doing what you can for the people while you are here. Considering that you are bound to compete in the tournament, you will be here til at least the end of it.”

The Potter Heir narrowed his eyes. “I believe we will have to agree to disagree on the matter of how much I may be bound by the Goblet. I’m willing to put that matter aside considering the larger implications of my kidnapping.” There was a pause before Harry smiled broadly. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll agree to be your poster boy, if you discover who it was that kidnapped me.”

The Headmaster took a moment to stroke his beard. “Very well then.” A silent banishing spell lashed out at the Defense Professor, who had only a moment to widen his eyes at the apparent betrayal before crashing into the wall, a wand skittering across the floor. Dumbledore had his spare wand in hand before stepping around his desk, several other spells wrapping around the wildly thrashing man.

“I’m afraid your time and usefulness is up, Barty my boy.”

Writhing on the ground, the newly identified Barty scowled up at the Headmaster, both eyes locked on the man. “Albus, what are you doing? Have you finally lost what little marbles you had left?”

Returning his wand back up his sleeve, Albus leaned down and picked up the discarded wand from his apparent friend. “I do what I must for the Greater Good, my boy. While you were truly a great teacher, it is of greater use for the Wizarding World to have its savior back, especially given what you know of your former master.”

Barty’s remaining eye went wide and his tongue flicked out to lick his lips. “Got it all figure out, do ya? You have no idea of what my master has planned! He’ll be back and stronger than ever. You don’t have your precious savior this time around either!” He squirmed around until he could scowl at Harry. “This one aint it and it doesn’t matter what you do to trick the public. The Master will deal with him when he returns.”

Ignoring the way the rest of the Professors and students were staring at him, Albus tossed a silent stunner at the bound man, then turned and made his way back to his desk. He did note that the student from Durmstang, as well as Miss Bones had had their wands out, though they had them pointed at the ground rather than anyone. The way the room stayed silent was just a testament to how stunned everyone was otherwise proving to be, even their displaced visitor.

“While I’m sure you all have many questions, I will tell you this. The man you all thought of as Alastor Moody is in fact, Bartimous Crouch, Jr. I know not how he managed to escape Azkaban, only that he has been impersonating Moody since the day he entered Hogwarts. I have been keeping an eye on him since I learned of it and have only left off revealing him due to his outstanding performance as a Teacher for the Defense Against the Dark Arts.

“As you’ve heard him state, the Dark Lord is returning. We needed all the students to have as much training as they could get.”

“But Albus, the children! You’ve let them be in danger this whole time?”

Albus looked over at Minerva, offering her that grandfatherly smile before shaking his head. “I was monitoring everything he did and at no time was he ever a danger to the students.”

The way her face scrunched up told him what she thought of his assurances. However, there was nothing she could do about things as they were and she wasn’t about to turn on him now, especially with the chance of Tom returning.

Turning his attention back to the Young-Man-Who-Lived, Albus nodded. “So, now that we have satisfied our side of things, let's go over what you need to do to give light and hope to the world in preparation for the coming darkness.”

***

Harry leaned back in the armchair in the foyer of the suit of rooms that had been given over to him. Everything he had learned about the Wizarding world left him thankful that he’d ended up where he had. These wizards were crazy if they thought that hiding their magic was going to work. It was only a matter of time until they were discovered, especially if they kept having their Dark Lords running amuck. Even worse, they needed a child to save them rather than doing it themselves?

Grunting in annoyance, he turned to the shadows. “What do you think of things, Wormtail?”

A group of rats peered out of the darkness before coalescing into a rat faced humanoid roughly three feet in height. “The humans here can barely even call themselves magical. Not an essence user in the bunch. For the most part, I’d put their power levels below even Iron rank, though I don’t know the extent of their abilities. My eyes have noticed a myriad of skills being displayed. The Headmaster does appear to be telling the truth though in that this appears to be a school for teaching their version of magic.”

The Potter Heir nodded. “I didn’t think he was lying to me but it’s good to get things confirmed. Did you get me some of their skill books?”

Wormtail chittered and shook his head. “I just said they aren’t essence users here. They don’t have skill books. You’ll have to learn the old fashioned way.” The rat summons waved forth a group of rats that deposited a collection of books and scrolls at Harry’s feet. “I’ve more eyes searching the castle. I’ve found a library and am combing through it for things we might be able to learn, though I’ve no knowledge to compare things to.”

Harry shook his head. “Don’t worry about the library until we can get a guide or a better understanding of this world’s magic. Perhaps I’ll be able to learn more about the extra skills that I’ve always had access to beyond my essence abilities.”

Picking up one of the books at random, Harry began thumbing through it. “What are your opinions on this tournament I’ve found myself bound to?”

Wormtail sat on his haunches and scratched an ear. “The entire castle is filled with rumors and information about this tournament. Other than the identity of your three opponents, I have uncovered nothing of certainty. It will take time to sort rumor from fact. Did your meeting produce better information?”

Harry shook his head again. “Though I have been promised a copy of the tournament rules sometime soon. They considered it too late in the day to get one made. There is supposed to be an announcement of my presence and participation tomorrow though. I’ll be presented to the school and officially brought into the Tournament then. Supposedly I’ll get the copy of the rules at that time.”

Another chitter escaped the rat summons, though this one sounded more angry than usual. “I do not trust the humans here. At least they treat their elves well.”

Harry perked up. “They’ve got elves here? That means we could learn more about them. Maybe we’ll be able to bring some back for Pops.”

The rat shrugged. “Perhaps. I shall talk to them more to discover what I can. Meanwhile, I hope you keep Padfoot and Moony close.”

A pair of growls sounded from the shadows. Harry smiled fondly at the two hulking shapes that stepped into the light. One was the massive grim from earlier. The other was even larger, hunched over until its claws nearly dragged along the ground. The werewolf had grown truly massive when they advanced to Bronze. Just how big would they both get when he eventually reached silver?

As the two furry beasts made their way over, he reached up to affectionately rub their muzzles. “Thank you both for watching over me. I’d call Prongs out too but he hates being indoors. Maybe I’ll let him run the grounds when we get a chance to explore tomorrow. Until then, I think it’s time for bed.”

The two summons slipped back into the shadows and a smiling Harry Potter headed for his bedroom. While he may not have intended to be here, he was going to make the best of his time here. Friends and family for Pops. Learning new magic. Maybe even finding a good way to train to advance his essence abilities. If only the rest of his team had been summoned with him.

***

Harry offered the three other people in the room a smile. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I understand things are a little confusing considering the way that the Headmaster decided to announce my being here, so let me clear some things up before we continue. First, yes, I am Harry Potter, but I am not the one you’re thinking of.” He held his hand up before they could say anything.

“Are any of you familiar with parallel world theory? Multidimensional travel? Okay, forget that. Long story short is that I’m another version of the Harry Potter that should be here. I grew up in a completely different world from this one and was summoned by a Death Eater for nefarious purposes. I also have no interest in the tournament, other than a means to train my abilities.”

Looking around the room, he saw the skeptical look on the girl’s face, a supporting one from one young man, and an unreadable expression from the other. “Okay, how bout we start with this. Hi, I’m Harry Potter. It’s nice to meet you.”

The supportive young man chuckled and extended his hand. “Cedric Diggory, Hogwarts Champion.” Harry accepted the handshake and turned to the other young man, who merely nodded. “Victor Krum. Durmstrang Champion.” After returning the nod, the displaced adventurer turned to the young woman.

She gave him a deeper look before extending her hand. “Fleur Delacour. Beauxbaton Champion.”

As Harry took her hand, he felt a sort of resonance from within her. “Not to be impertinent, but are you something extra other than human? Your aura doesn’t feel the same as everyone else in the castle.”

Fleur’s eyes narrowed and she jerked back her hand. “Do you have something against that?”

Harry offered her a smile. “Quite the contrary. Where I’m from there are a number of different races. I was mostly raised by one. I’m just not familiar with the ones in this world.”

Delacour continued to peer at Harry for a moment before slowly nodding. “I am a Veela. If you wish to learn more, we will talk another time. Do not believe any of the rubbish you read in the English books. They know nothing.”

Smile growing wider, Harry nodded. “Excellent! I look forward to learning more about you. About all of you. Supposedly this tournament was organized as a way to foster closer relations between your schools. As I’m not part of any of them, I can serve as a neutral party as well. Plus, I would love to learn more about the magic of this world. I can do a few things that are different from the magic of my world, so I’m guessing it’s related to my being a human analog of your Harry Potter.”

Cedric smiled. “Does that mean you’ve got a different type of magic from ours?” He drew his wand and gave it a wave, said some words and made some flowers appear, which he then offered to Fleur, who cooly nodded her thanks.

Harry returned the smile. “The wands of my world are usually just offensive weapons, capable of shooting out different spells or just pure magical bolts. My magic is based on my essences… well, that’s a conversation for another time. Instead, I’ll share a bit of it here.” He waved towards a corner of the classroom. A massive deer seemed to step from the wall. Standing taller than any of the people in the room with a rack that extended many feet in both directions, the stag leveled a gaze at the occupants. Its fur shimmered with a faint blue haze that had a palpable aura, like a storm on the horizon.

“This is Prongs, a magical summons. He was my summons and has been with me since my early teens. Not that he was nearly this big in the beginning.” Harry walked over and wrapped his arms around the muzzle of the stag as it leaned down and pressed its forehead against him.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

The other three looked between the stag and each other for a moment before joining Harry, a myriad of questions on their lips.

***

Twigs snapped beneath his feet as Harry deliberately made his way through the forest. A holly wood wand twirled through his fingers as he occasionally fired off spells that he had learned from his new associates. Nothing too powerful as yet as he was still learning the magic of this world, but he felt that he was progressing steadily. The feel of control he got from the wand made the spells he had been using seem easier to control, especially the summoning and banishing ones. The magic of changing one thing into another, transfiguration he had been told, remained to only work on an instinctive level with not nearly as much control as he would like. He would need to know more about the theory behind the abilities before he could actively direct them. For now he was focusing on spells.

A small rat scurried up his back and perched on his shoulder. “The creatures grow closer, Harry. We are definitely in the right area.”

Harry grinned. “Excellent! We’ll give Prongs something to play with while you bring more this way. Let’s hope they live up to the hype!”

The rat bobbed its head before hopping off his shoulder and darting away. Harry smiled fondly before coming to a stop, drawing his dagger into his off hand. Crouching slightly, he narrowed his eyes even as he searched through the branches. Finally he felt the auras of the spiders skittering against his senses.

Turning suddenly, he sent a wordless banisher into the spider that had jumped at him from behind, smashing it deeper into the forest with an audible crunch. Another spider leaped free only to get gored by Prongs who emerged from the shadows of a tree, his massive rack shredding the creature, even as his hooves caught another and sent it flying.

Spinning to put his back to Prongs, Harry waved at the broken body on Prongs’s horns, wrapping it in shadows that poured away to form a shadow clone of the body. The shadow spider twitched before leaping onto one of its fellows that skittered from between the trees. Harry ignored the sounds of crunching exoskeletons from behind him as he moved in to support his shadow construct with his dagger, slashing through legs to limit its movements. A moment later his shadow construct bit down on the back of the spider’s head and the creature collapsed at Harry’s feet.

The forest seemed to erupt with the sounds of screams and chitters. Countless eyes gleamed in the darkness before a veritable flood of spiders emerged from between the trees.

Suddenly a chain of lightning flashed past Harry, arcing between numerous spiders, filling the air with screams of pain rather than rage, the spiders spasming before collapsing. Many of them sank into the shadows, only for those shadows to rise up and spring upon their former allies, silent in the face of screams.

Two larger spiders pushed their ways through the branches. Where the others had been roughly the size of a large dog, these ones were easily six feet tall the way they crouched, mandibles clacking. Before they could move further, two shadows landed on them, resolving into the forms of Padfoot and Moony, the Grim and Werewolf smashing their prey to the ground before ripping into them with tooth and claw.

As more spiders launched themselves into the melee the ground of the forest seemed to shiver before a wave of rats swarmed over the new arrivals. Dozens of rats clung to each creature, biting and clawing and gnawing. It was into that swirling mass that Harry dove into, his wand and dagger flashing. Banishing, summoning, levitating, earth, wind, and fire. Nearly every spell that he had been taught in the new world spat from his wand.

All too soon the survivors of the brawl went skittering away into the darkness, though it was a spare few who made it. Harry’s shadow clones danced along the visible perimeter and his summons lumbered their way over to his side. All three of the larger ones were covered in gore and fortunately few injuries. While those injuries would heal with just the application of mana it was still hard to see his faithful friends hurt in any way. The rats coalescing into Wormtail’s larger form completely unharmed caused a small smile to cross his face.

“Looks like we learned a lot in this fight. We got to push ourselves, see how we compared to one of the monsters of this world, and got some new friends out of it.” Harry waved to his shadowy spiders, who abandoned the perimeter to circle around him with waving limbs. Chuckling, he leaned over to pat several of them on the head, their mandibles clacking together in what could be taken as a happy sound.

“I just wish I could keep you around. However, you’re a bit of a mana drain so…” He trailed off and reached out to draw back his mana. The shadows pulled away from the corpses they had used as a template, adding to the pile of chitin scattered around.

“And on that note, it’s time for the best part of being an adventurer. Loot!”

***

Harry looked around at the gathered champions. They’ve been meeting regularly since their first time together and were friendly, even if they weren’t friends yet. Well, Cedric was a friend at least. It was easy to like the Hogwarts champion. The young man was a genuinely good person who went out of his way to help others. The other two were a bit more standoffish, yet still seemed to be making an effort to get to know their fellow competitors.

“So, I told you that I’ve been going into the Forbidden Forest on the regular for exercise and to harvest the monsters and some of the other things I run into out there. However, last night I ran into something new. There are dragons in the forest. Four of them. Under the circumstances I’m betting they’re for the tournament.”

There was a gasp from Cedric though the other two each frowned. Fleur spoke up first. “My Headmistress already told me about the dragons.” Victor gave a quick nod as well.

Cedric seemed to look at the other two before sighing. “Am I the only one just learning about this?” He shook his head. “Never mind, doesn’t matter. What matters is that they’re putting us up against dragons. I suppose you two have already been working on plans since you were informed.” Upon seeing their nods, he turned to Harry. “Looks like it’s just us that need to plan. Want to join me in the library?”

Harry grinned and nodded. “Never expected to fight against a dragon at my level but could be fun. Let’s see what dragons are like in your world.”

“You’ve got dragons where you’re from?”

“Oh yes! They’re more intelligent and powerful than your average monsters and most don’t even consider them monsters…” Harry continued to expound about dragons as they made their way to the library.

***

Harry looked at the miniature dragon on his palm, the black model crouched and looking like it was just as ready to fight as the one that was waiting for him. From what he’d read it was the most ferocious of the four dragons. For a moment he pictured the fight and what could have been. The amount of challenge he could have gotten from such a creature would have easily helped him push through to the next threshold in his abilities. Alas, it was not meant to be as he wasn’t supposed to actually kill the beast, just secure a golden egg from it. If they weren’t really supposed to defeat the thing, why even have it in the battle?

Sighing, he focused on the miniature, watching as it sank into a shadow on his palm. It had some interesting enchantments on it that he was hoping to take apart and learn from. This world’s magic was fascinating. They did things with wands that would take a ritual back home. He was slowly working his way through the materials to understand how things worked here. His wand magic was coming along as well and not just the ones that were combat related. That wand slipped into his hand before spinning through his fingers, then vanished back up his sleeve.

Taking a deep breath, Harry banished thoughts of the future away to focus on the now, the combat with a dragon and how to best utilize his abilities, both essence and wizarding, to accomplish his goals. A small smile blossomed. Perhaps he would give the fine people a show.

Finally it was his time in the arena. Striding from the tent, he found himself in a rock strewn field of paths and valleys. On the other side of the arena crouched a much larger version of the miniature from earlier. He vaguely remembered seeing the dragon when he was in the Forbidden Forest but it was something else seeing it free of its cage.

Standing just outside the tent, he gazed across the field into the reptilian eyes, seeing the malevolent intelligence. This was a creature of spite and malice and suddenly Harry wasn’t as conflicted about what he was planning to do.

Raising his wand, he bathed an area nearby in shadows. “Come to me, Marauders!”

First to tear itself free was the Grim, Padfoot, standing taller than Harry himself even on all fours. The fur seemed to shift like the shadows themselves. Padding over to stand at his side, the familiar looked at the audience and offered a wolfish grin before turning a snarl at the distant dragon.

A multitude of smaller shadows popped out, skittering rats that circled around Harry and Prongs before pulling themselves together into the three foot tall rat-man called Wormtail, beady eyes intense on the beast before it. One clawed hand reached over to tug on Harry’s robes for a moment before pulling free with a dagger of his own.

Long, furry arms emerged from the shadows, bracing themselves against the still darkness before pulling the rest of the body free. The lanky body grew taller and taller, towering over both Harry and Padfoot. Claws and teeth gleamed in the torchlight and golden eyes scanned the audience that gasped at its emergence even more than some did at the dragon.

Finally, one last massive figure rose from the shadows. In contrast to the dark bodies of the other three, this one a shimmering blue in the form of a huge stag. Lighting seemed to surge between the extensive rack of horns adorning its head and one broad hoof stamped on the stone, the sharp cracking sound echoing through the arena.

Across the arena the dragon roared in challenge at seeing the number of challengers grow. The werewolf and Grim howled in response before lumbering forward in a shadowy blur. Prongs charged past them both, preceded by a bolt of lightning that slammed into the side of the dragon and nearly sending it tumbling with a scream. Meanwhile, the floor of the arena was a carpet of rats that dodged through the valleys and paths towards the nest.

Harry charged right behind his familiars, wand in one hand and dagger in the other, though there was a faint haze around the dagger, similar to that of the shield spell. Stunners and banishers erupted from the wand, shooting past his companions to add more damage to the dragon, though not nearly as much as the first lightning blast.

Dodging around a boulder to temporarily break line of sight with the dragon, he allowed a moment for his friend to engage the dragon, both Padfoot and Moony leaping onto the dragon, who managed to immediately dislodge the Grim and send it flying with a swipe of its wings. Prongs slamming into its side was a little harder to ignore.

Harry pointed his wand towards another particularly massive boulder, levitating it into the air. With the magic of home, he wrapped the boulder in shadows, charging it with his mana and then his magic before ducking past his cover rock and sending the boulder crashing towards the dragon.

The dragons scream ripped through the air. However, a more dangerous sound pierced through. That of a chain breaking.

Pulling itself loose, the dragon flapped its wings and took to the air, bathing all three familiars in flames before they could retreat, their cries rising to the air before abruptly cutting off as their bodies erupted into shadows.

Barely repressing his own screams, Harry forced as much magic as he could into his wand as he launched cutters at the dragon’s wings. He managed several large lacerations that forced the dragon to land, though it seemed to only make the beast mad.

Harry was fine with that.

It was no longer a game. Shadows seemed to envelop him before Harry disappeared from sight. A brief moment later he reappeared beneath the dragon, cutting spells and banishers already spitting from his wand into the soft underbelly of the dragon. His dagger flashed out, wreathed in shadows as he slashed through the back of one leg, then vanished, only to repeat the process on the other leg. Before the dragon could respond, Harry dropped into the shadows to disappear.

When he reappeared again it was on the other side of the arena, out of the reach of the suddenly hamstrung dragon. Without its wings or legs, it was forced to crouch, spraying fire haphazardly. Harry levitated several more boulders, wrapping them in shadows before sending them hurling at the dragon. They slammed into its side with a sickening crunch, only to be summoned and levitated again and again.

The audience grew silent as they watched Harry bludgeon a dragon to death.

By the time the dragon collapsed and stopped moving, Harry was panting with both fury and exhaustion. However, he wasn’t done yet. Stepping towards the corpse, he summoned his essence ability to form shadow clones, yet wrapped his intent with his wizarding magic. Shadows reached up to wrap around the body of the dragon, pulling it down until it disappeared.

With a grim nod, Harry sat down heavily on the stony floor. Suddenly he smiled as a pile of rats scurried out, carrying the golden egg. Raising the thing in one hand, he only hoped that the egg was worth the price of the reagents he was going to have to use to resummon his familiars. He only had enough in storage for one summoning each.

Staggering to his feet, he thought about what would be needed for the ritual as he made his way back to the champions' tent.

***

“I retrieved the egg and disposed of the dragon defending it. The body has been rendered down in such a way that it is impossible for me to return the corpse to you. However, per the terms of the Tournament, what happens to my foes is up to me. That includes what to do with the body. Just because that particular clause has not been used by the other champions does not mean anything to me.”

Harry glared across the tent at the Ministry officials who were blustering and ranting about the dead dragon. Sure he knew that the body had parts that could be harvested, just like back home. He didn’t care though. He had better uses for the body than some alchemy or wand materials.

Glancing to the other side of the tent, he did take note of the saddened and angry visages of the dragon handlers. At least them he could understand. They seemed to genuinely care about the dragons, unlike the Ministry personnel, who only seemed to care about the financial loses. Eventually he just shrugged at the officials.

“If you want to complain to someone, complain to the Tournament organizers, who agreed to include the dragons in the tournament, knowing what could happen. I’m perfectly within my rights to do what I have done. Now, if you don’t have anything new to say, I’m leaving.”

The rather portly man in the green hat seemed to grow even more incensed. “Now look here, boy!”

Harry whirled around and pointed his dagger at the man. “Call me boy again and you’ll be my next training dummy. Another thing your Tournament grants me is immunity when I’m doing training. That means that if I choose to use you to prepare for the tasks, I can do whatever I want to you. Before you bluster, find out what you’re actually allowed to do and more importantly, what I’m allowed to do. My patience with this entire affair has officially been worn out.”

For a moment the portly man could only gape in astonishment before stammering and backing away, though he seemed to be trying to order the men around him to do something. One lady in a monocle stepped over and whispered in his ears. Harry ignored that to walk out of the tent before stepping into a shadow and disappearing, heading to the castle. He had some rituals to perform.

***

The tall house elf nodded eagerly. “We be knowing just the place! The Come and Go Room would be what you need. Come, I shall show you the way.”

***

Harry looked around at the ritual inscribed on the floor and the piles of essences, spirit coins, and quintessences put in place with an experienced eye. He’d had to do this ritual a number of times over the years but never all three at once. Wormtail had also never been fully wiped out.

Settling down to finish the ritual, he called out the summoning aria to call his friends back to life, one after another.

***

“Was that really a wise thing to do, Harry?”

Harry sighed as he leaned against the wall of the classroom where he had gathered with the other champions. Looking over at Cedric, he merely shrugged. “Perhaps not. However, it certainly needed to be said. I’m still stuck here in another world, away from my family and friends and all the things I grew up knowing. The magic is different here. The people are different here. Even the culture is different here. You don’t even interact with the rest of the world! Just hiding away!”

Shaking his head, the misplaced Potter pushed off from the wall. “People seem to keep forgetting that I was kidnapped and dragged to this world against my will, then threatened with having my soul mutilated. Well I’m not like you people. I’m not content to just wait and see what happens. Dumbledore may have caught the person who brought me here, but we still haven’t dealt with the reason I was brought here, your Dark Lord. Not to mention supposedly being lauded as your Chosen One. I’ve seen nothing on that end from the Headmaster and especially not from your media.”

Cedric looked at the other champions for a moment before turning back to Harry. “What do you mean dealing with the Dark Lord? You did that as a child, or at least your counterpart did.”

Harry looked at Cedric for a moment before turning his gaze on the other two champions. Seeing a lack of recognition there, he scowled. “I knew something was up. You mean to tell me that the Headmaster has said nothing about Voldemort coming back?” Ignoring the way the three winced, he settled for a bit of cursing. Not much, he still had his professionalism to think about, but enough to vent some little bit of his frustration with the situation.

Once he had control of himself, he explained what had happened in Dumbledore’s office after his summoning, from the revelation of the Death Eater to his deal to be the Poster Child of the Light. Once everyone got over their initial fear of the situation, they all settled in to discuss the full ramifications of the Tournament and what their officials knew and weren’t telling them.

After a few minutes of talking, Harry felt that he was finally finding a place here. There was no telling how long it would take to find a way home, even if he could. Dimensional theory had never been something that interested him. Maybe, just maybe he could make something of his time here besides just studying magic.

If only he’d some essence stones in storage…

***

“Director Bones, I have to thank you again for accepting my invitation.”

Harry offered the woman at his side a grateful smile. He had been introduced to the woman by her daughter, who he had randomly asked to join him in the Headmaster’s office when he had first been summoned. The woman had been instrumental in helping him understand the Tournament and his place in this strange world. She was the one who had pointed out the clause that allowed him immunity during his training.

Taking a moment to consider his companion, the displaced Potter had to admit that the older woman cut an impressive figure. While her dress could be considered conservative, it managed to look quite nice on a woman with her attributes. Not that he had any ideas on what might happen tonight (at least that he would admit outloud). They were strictly associates, maybe friends. He was closer in age to her niece after all.

Banishing those thoughts, he instead focused on making sure he was presentable. The loot from his forays into the Forbidden Forest had been profitable. Besides being able to sell the venom, all the acromantula silk had proven even more useful. The stuff was remarkably comfortable and able to hold enchantments from both this world and his own. What little alchemy and enchanting he remembered from his world that is. Not to mention the scarcity of resources from his world. What he really needed was a way to figure out local analogs of the materials from his world. The suit he was wearing nearly wiped out the last of his stores, especially after the rituals to resummon his familiars. At least the suit was something that would stay with him forever, looked good, and carried potent magic,even if it was only iron rank.

Noticing Professor McGonnagall trying to get his attention, he turned his smile to her and followed her instructions to enter the ballroom. Time to show everyone he was just a bloodthirsty machine of destruction.

***

Harry scowled as Amelia walked away from the docks. It seemed that Susan was missing. Looking at the other two champions, he could tell that they were all worried about something as well. Making his way over to Fleur, he leaned in and asked her who was missing for her. After giving a start, she said she couldn’t find her sister. Cedric mentioned his girlfriend, Cho, and Victor said that Hermione was also absent.

“Looks like each of us has had a person taken away from us rather than an object like we originally thought. I think we need to seriously consider working together. I know this is technically a competition, but there are people’s lives at stake this time, more than just our own. My abilities, along with Fleur’s, are weakened in the water. I don’t want anything to happen to our people.”

Seeing the considering looks on each champion’s face, he added, “I just want everyone to come out safe. Being an adventurer means putting yourself between the people and danger. That’s what I signed up for back home. That’s part of who I am. It’s why I’m willing to fight Voldemort and why I agreed to go along with Dumbledore’s original plans.”

That seemed to close the deal and everyone nodded.

When the cannon fired to signal the start of the task they all jumped in together. Cedric cast a bubble head charm on himself and Victor, while Fleur did the same for herself and Harry. Harry then summoned a lumos with his wand, lighting the way for the others.

Harry wished he could call out his familiars. However, none of them were suited for being underwater. He felt uncomfortable without them watching his back. They’d been with him for almost as long as he’d had his essence abilities. Along with Pops, they were the only family he knew, more so even than the adventurers who had raised him after Pops found someone to help him.

Pushing thoughts of home and family into the back of his mind, he focused on the lumos spell, holding the wand behind him as he swam so as not to blind either himself or his companions. Following Victor, they all headed to what had been described as a merfolk village. Idly wondering how they compared to the merfolk back him, he kept watch on the surroundings, the water distorting the familiar shadows until they seemed strange and otherworldly.

It wasn’t long before the group spotted the underwater village. They had only had one encounter along the way with some grindilows but they had easily been scared off by a volley of banishing spells. Harry took note of the way the spells seemed to work differently through the water but at least they’d been effective.

As they neared the village he started to spot the merfolk. They were different enough from the ones back home but not in an unpleasant way. The denizens of the village kept their distance from the group. Harry wondered if that was because of the rules they’d been asked to follow for the tournament, or the fact that the four champions were working together and were a more formidable force than the merfolk expected.

Once they reached the center of the village they were able to find their missing friends and family. All four were tied to a large statue and appeared to be unconscious. Hopefully it was some type of magical stasis. They didn’t appear to be in any type of distress at least. A glint of something near them caught Harry’s eye though and he swam closer. It was a small cube that he immediately recognized.

An essence stone. More specifically the Magic essence stone. Magic was the first essence stone that he’d picked when he went to choose his own abilities. Why was there one here? How was there one here? He snatched it up and stuffed it into a pocket before joining everyone in freeing the hostages.

If magic was evolving in this world, that changed everything.