FicWad

Edited 1-15-2021 for ease of reading and to fix a few things I missed. No plot elements have been altered.

I own neither Harry Potter or Warcraft.



Chapter 6: In the Chamber of the Serpent or Hangovers so Magical they Don’t Require Alcohol

.........

Minerva McGonagall, in the last few hours, had admittedly dozed off. If there was one thing she knew how to transfigure after all, it was a comfortable chair. After a time, a sound jolted her out of sleep, looking around, she saw a trunk sitting on the floor of the cavern. When she canceled the shrinking charm and opened it, the Bronze dragon leaped out and stretched in his more feline form. “Ah, good to use this form again; I was stuck as a dragon maintaining the runic circle for the last few months.”

“Given that you’re now speaking English, I assume everything went well?” Minerva was certainly surprised at this, she did not expect what had been described to her to actually work.

A reply was cut off by a loud groaning coming from the bed. It seemed that all ten individuals were now waking in some significant amount of pain. Alarmed, Professor McGonagall rushed over, wand in hand. She was stopped from casting spells by a green head slipping out from under a blue wing.

“Wait! No spells! There’s nothing wrong, just too much information our brains haven’t processed yet. We need real sleep, and only real sleep.” Amusingly, it seemed the various dragons were taking her advice already and attempting to roll over and continue sleeping, hampered by various sticking charms. After a few moments, someone handed Harry his wand and he removed them. She noticed her students attempting to go back to sleep and intervened.

Remembering their plan, she levitated two teens off of the bed who looked thoroughly unhappy at her through squinted eyes. “If you can get us out of here, Mr. Potter, and lend me your cloak, I will allow you and Ms. Granger to sleep in the trunk on the way up to the tower. But first you must both re-clothe yourselves. Grumbling slightly, both teens simply slipped their now very ruffled clothing over their transfigured swim suits and climbed down into the trunk. Taking the offered cloak, the Professor reached for her broom, looking back at the eight dragons sleeping in what could only be described as a pile.

From what she’d been told the last few days she had expected a lot more friction between the two groups, but with apparently some time and Harry Potter they had grown comfortable with each other. She looked over and saw the cat-themed centaur smiling at the pile of scales, as it shifted slowly as various individuals got more comfortable.

“This reminds me of when I was a whelp, or a child to use a word you’d be more familiar with. We used to sleep in big groups like this after we wore ourselves out playing under the desert sun. Everything went well in the Dream. For their minds, seventy-three days have passed since they went to sleep, and now they just need real rest. As soon as you’re up I’m going to join them. Some of us would like to apply to your school, but we can deal with that after some rest. Would you like me to walk you out Professor?”

With that the old witch mounted her broom as the drake lifted the trunk on his shoulder and they walked out. When the first door closed behind them, Stine paused a moment. “I wonder… Đ: Open!” When the door opened itself again, he smiled. “Well, it isn’t quite parseltongue, but still a reptilian magical language and close enough. That takes a bit of worry away.”

There wasn’t much other conversation, the two simply keeping their own thoughts. When they reached the slide, Minerva expected to part ways, but to her surprise the drake simply dug his claws in and kept pace with her trusty but rather outdated broom.

At the top, Minerva checked the Marauder’s Map, trying not to get lost in the memories this scrap of paper brought back. When she was sure the room was clear, she slipped the cloak of true invisibility around her shoulders and disappeared from view; the trunk now shrunken and in her pocket. Stine was kind enough to open the door for her before closing it and sliding down the pipe by retracting his claws. Though he didn’t have the same problem as the rest, a warm bed called to him as well.

.........

Not long after, Minerva arrived in Gryffindor Tower, removing the cloak before waking the portrait. Deciding to leave an imprint of her magic around the common room, she spent several moments doing permanent conjurations of small objects, likely not to be noticed by the students much. (She did add a few new chairs, and a small table near the fire.) When she was nearly exhausted, she returned the trunk to normal size and convinced the two students to stumble up the stairs to their dormitories.

At nearly six in the morning, Professor McGonagall made her way back to her private quarters and called for an elf, at the same time she began crafting a modified howler. “Mimsey, I want you to deliver this to the Great Hall tomorrow during breakfast please. Don’t worry, it isn’t nearly as loud as Molly would send, I’m just using it to make a few announcements. Could you also arrange a small breakfast meal sent to me around one in the afternoon today? Thank you very much.” Now feeling more weary than she had since the end of the Blood War, Minerva McGonagall turned into bed after a quick shower and slept the sleep of the exhausted.

.........

The next morning in the Great Hall, rumors were starting to spread again: Harry Potter hadn’t been seen since dinner on Friday, and it was now Monday. To be honest, Ron Weasley had seen Harry in bed that morning, and figured whatever excitement he’d had over the last few days had really taken it out of him. Though he was disappointed he hadn’t been taken along when Hermione had, he remembered how his jealousy had flared last year and nearly cost him his closest friend.

Ron had been helping his brothers cover for the two of them, and even had a good idea of where his friends had ended up, as between his brothers and himself the only places they couldn’t get into were the Room of Requirement and the Chamber of Secrets. Ron hoped his friend had enjoyed his time away, because looking at the head table, it seemed like it wouldn’t be happening again soon. His thoughts were interrupted when a house-elf popped into the room, in front of the main table. He cringed when he saw that it was carrying a howler. As it started to smoke, the elf, visibly panicking, threw it into the air and disappeared. Thankfully when it started to speak it was, while certainly loud, lacking in the painful amounts of volume he’d heard from them in the past. Oddly, it spoke in the voice of his Head of House.

“I apologize for not being here in person today, but I experienced a rather exhausting night. I have decided to cancel all of my classes today, my students are instead to spend the time reading ahead in the next chapter of the book and practicing the wand work in the Great Hall. As for the reason of my absence today, I was dealing with a small problem caused by the magical fluctuations in Hogwarts Castle Friday night. First, fifteen points each to Mr. Potter and Miss Granger for creating such a stable expansion charm, complete with a hidden doorway, in a small mouse hole in the Gryffindor common room. However, I feel I should take ten points from each of them for being unlucky enough to be residing inside the expanded room revising when the ‘event’ occurred.

“For the benefit of other students listening to this, being inside a collapsing expansion charm is usually a fatal experience. When the surge of magical energy, which the Headmaster can explain in more detail, ran through the castle the two students in question were lucky enough to not die. Instead the two were trapped inside an unstable vast expanded space and disoriented mightily. Headmaster, I removed the students from the space, carefully collapsed the expansion and sealed the original hole. You may wish to check the castle’s wardstone for damage, however. In any case, I found the students and rescued them around five this morning, and while generally healthy they were in no shape to attend classes. Thus, as their head of house, I am excusing them for all classes today, though both will return tomorrow.”

After a bit of thought Ron decided that this was a load of bullocks. He just wished he knew how his friends had gotten McGonagall on board. Oh well, if she was excusing them for the day Ron knew they’d be tired. I’ll just check on Harry at lunch and see if Lavender will do the same for Hermione. Hoping he’d get answers later on, he went about his day.

.........

Around eleven that morning, Stine rolled off the drake-pile. He’d been getting actual sleep while inside the Dream, so he felt fine now. Deciding to make the most of his time, he gathered all of the supplies they had together in a small, empty room off of the main hall. Activating a new light orb he started unpacking everything they had, save the personal bags and the stasis sphere.

That would need to wait until they had enough meat handy to feed all the whelps, and a clutching Broodmother too. As he laid things out, he opened another trunk they’d expanded before leaving the Room. After examining it, he decided that it would work well for Alchemy supplies and perhaps some books. They only had three of the trunks handy, but that would have to work for now. Cataloging all their materials would take time, but should end up being a good use of it. The Twilight group had mentioned that they had been collecting anything and everything that might have been of use on a new world, but hadn’t organized it well.

Four hours later as he was placing some Adamantite bars next to a stack of Khorium bars, Stine heard a general stirring from the pile. Pleased to no longer be the only one up, he watched those that had ended up on top of the pile roll off, orienting themselves a moment before searching out the latrines that had been installed before their time in the Emerald Dream. When he rejoined the group, he noticed Aurogos reclining on his side on the floor as the resident healer used magic to pull bits of glass and some metal shards out of his shoulder.

Half an hour after that, the strange little creature called Dobby had provided a meal with a somewhat foul-tasting tea laden with what turned out to be a surprisingly effective Dragon-safe analgesic.

“Bless you Dobby, wherever you are!” Dalistraza remarked as she drank deeply of the brew despite the taste. Alira had sadly been correct, the pain they felt last night and now could only really be cured by sleep. Thankfully it was much reduced after some rest.

After the meal and some time of companionship they gathered in a circle in the main hall. Surprisingly, Ralion was the one to address them. “Okay, what needs doing first, and what can we wait on?”

Aurogos went first. “I more or less know the runes now to access the wardstone. Before I attempt to open it, I want to experiment with ‘Norse’ runes a little to get a better handle on them.”

Stine spoke up after. “I’m organizing our supplies, we have a rather large amount, but it’s varied and unorganized. It will take time, and someone who can make shelves.”

Still seeming to be taking command, Ralion turned his full attention to Stine. “Our Lord can handle that when he returns, probably with friends. Anyone that isn’t doing something else can help you. Dalistraza, can you put together everything you need for healing in one of the side rooms? Since we have the space might as well have that ready in case we need it. Take anyone you want. Is there anything else?”

Alira spoke up now. “Last night, as we were leaving the dream, there was something clinging to our Lord. Something evil has bound itself to him, closely enough that it even followed him into the Dream, but not so close that it was within the effect of Stine’s magic. My first guess is some kind of parasite that’s latched on and dug deep. It needs to come off, but I’m not sure how to remove it without killing him. If it followed his spirit into the Dream when I called for Harry, it probably won’t be an easy fix.”

Ralion’s response was fast. “Dali, you need to give him a full physical as soon as you can. Find out as much as possible, especially if he knows about this parasite. If he does not, we might not want to tell him.”

Acknowledging the objections with motions of his claws, he continued. “I know, but we don’t want the parasite, on the off chance it is self aware, to know we’re trying to remove it. It might burrow deeper, or leave him a husk. Harry Potter has already given us a lot of help, I’m not willing to risk losing him. We’ll tell him about it when we already have a solution ready to remove it, and I’ll take any blame for this myself. Are we in agreement?”

When he received eight affirmations, he broke the meeting up. Aurogos left to work on mastering the needed runes, and various drakes got to work. When Dalistraza asked him for help setting up the medical area, Ralion simply asked what she needed him to do and they got to work.

Between the two of them, they soon had the medicinal supplies placed on various shelves in the room that was once some sort of storage room. A desk and some examination beds might be useful as well, but would need to be transfigured in the short term, or built in the long term. Dali paused for a moment, remembering some of the Kaldorei’s structures she’d seen in Hyjal. Or maybe Alira could grow the furniture for us. But I’m sure even if she can, she’d need some trees and sunlight. I’ll ask as soon as we have access to the forest above.

“That’s all we can do for now. I have some tomes to look through in my personal bags, they might give me some ideas for treating our lord.”

“Alright, I’ll be over with Stine if you need me.” Dalistraza watched him go, reflecting on what she knew of him. Since they started chasing this group through the Eastern Kingdoms a lot of things hadn’t added up. She could believe that Tendrion had been passed over and not gotten the full corrupting effect, but his whole group had been different. Less aggressive, and more thoughtful.

The normal tricks to trap Twilight and Black dragons in ambushes did not work, and in fact the one time they thought they had the group, the hunters in turn had been caught in an ambush. In fact, they had charged into a clearing only for Tendrion to activate a runic trap. When they broke free, the mortal’s mounts had been scattered and their supplies had been stolen. Again.

It was actually a great way of buying themselves time, as Dali’s group had needed to stop and fly the mortals to where their mounts flew off to. (At the end of that adventure they were all grateful for the magic that mortal Stable Masters used to bind mounts to their owners. A useful bit of spell work, it would usually bring a mount to their master’s side, unless panicked, and gave one a direction to head if the mount was scared off.)

Compared to other Twilight drakes she had fought, Ralion and the others had also been much more disciplined. Also, while they were capable of violence, they never seemed to partake in cruelty. That priestess in Duskwood would have been quietly killed and the body never found if it had been any other Twilight group. And we would probably have never found their trail. I wonder if it was only Tendrion that made them behave differently.

.........

Upstairs, Ron and his two brothers had brought up a large lunch for themselves and the two that still seemed to be sleeping. Lavender was kind enough to check on her roommate and report that the girl looked completely done-in, and was sleeping in her clothes, shoes and all. Also, that she was in need of a shower. Harry was revealed to be much the same, though he had successfully kicked off his shoes before climbing into the bed, but still had on his socks. He also smelled like a shower would be a good idea.

Shrugging, Ron left a covered sandwich out for Harry and sent one up for Hermione with Pavarati. Since he and the twins still had class that day, they left the common room together. Divination wasn’t bad, but he guessed Umbridge, that despicable woman, would be in a right snit without Harry there. He was right. At least she seemed happy when Seamus told her that Harry looked like death warmed over when he’d seen him sleeping that morning. (Which was true, and somewhat worrying but not overly, since Harry was in his room and not the Infirmary. Umbridge continued to be worrying, however.)

.........

Harry found himself waking up in bed just after three in the afternoon. He immediately groped for his glasses, but couldn’t find them nearby. Getting up, he was briefly tempted to write the last few days off as a dream but was confronted with both a fading headache and the lingering smells his clothing had accumulated down in the Chamber of Secrets as proof he hadn’t. Not to mention if he could now speak Darnassian.

Quickly deciding on a shower as a priority even as he ate the slightly stale sandwich left out for him he grabbed some clean clothes and headed into the dorm’s bathroom even as he finished his snack. Remembering something about the effects of burning magic, he decided that he must have been expending a fair amount in the Emerald Dream last night, perhaps just as an out of body experience?

In any case, the hot water felt especially fantastic today, as it seemed to chase away much of the lingering pain. Alira had warned them that they would experience mental strain, though it was more painful than he expected. When he was clean, Harry sat down in the shower under the warm water and sunk into his mental plane. There were some cracks in the earth, with a green tinted water seeping up. (Also, the tower of Orthanc was angled less straight and more like a popular tourist destination in Italy.)

Since the fluid was the physical representation of his memories, Harry decided to spend a little time reconstructing the place. After all the effort spent in building it, repair was thankfully fairly quick and easy. He even added a figure to the top of the tower that would throw fireballs at intruders. After learning what he did about the mind arts, he simply didn’t feel safe walking around without a solid defense.

Half an hour later, he was walking out of his dorm, dressed and ready for what was left of the day. Sadly he was still unable to find his glasses. He found Hermione downstairs waiting for him. “Still hurting? A long hot shower helped me a lot.”

“I did the same, but the strain still hurts a bit. It shouldn’t be a problem after tonight though. I’m a bit sore from sleeping in my clothes, you can bet I won’t be doing that again. Where are your glasses?”

“No idea, I was distracted getting into bed last night, can’t be sure I had them then. I don’t know what I’ll do if they don’t turn up, I’ve had them for years now.”

Now having some idea about Harry’s home life, Hermione had a concern, “Harry, when was the last time you went to the Optometrist?”

She was vindicated when he asked her what the term meant. When he said he had just been given glasses by his uncle when he couldn’t see, and they weren’t new, Hermione was inwardly steaming. She had a sudden urge to send some curses to Harry’s Uncle just then. Taking him by the hand, she started leading him out of the room (A necessity just then, as it turned out his eyes were really bad at seeing things far from him.) intent on finding a Professor that was, as of yesterday, more helpful than she had ever been before.

Hermione found herself wondering if any Harry’s problems with schoolwork were caused by, or exacerbated by his poor vision. Her father got his eyes checked every year, and seemed to replace his glasses every other other visit.

.........

In the Headmaster’s office Albus Dumbledore was hosting Professors Flitwick and Sprout, both had come to visit him together to express some concerns about this year’s Defense Professor. Sprout was speaking, and Albus found himself fighting to pay attention. His wand had slipped out of the holster usually hidden by his sleeve into his pocket as he was listening to the Heads of House.

Albus felt frustrated more than anything as he listened to them drone on. Why don’t they just accept that I have a plan and let it be? I have better things to do than listen to them. His grip on the wand he’d won from his old friend and enemy Grindelwald tightened. He found himself thinking of how to word a compulsion to convince them to leave things as they were, not that he would actually use a spell like that on them.

Half an hour later, two Heads of House walked out of the Headmaster’s office with dazed expressions and blank eyes that returned to normal as they returned to their quarters.

Within the office they had vacated, Fawkes crooned a song of regret for his greatest failure, and the friend that he had watched slowly be consumed over the long years they had been together. He had tried so many, many times to destroy that abomination that was still in his friend’s hand and failed every time. His attempts had sadly ended when Albus had surprised him with a stunning spell after one failure too many, and the phoenix had awoken to find himself bound with dark magic.

In his head, Fawkes cursed whoever had crafted that abomination, he cursed Albus for his arrogance in ignoring the warning in the story of its creation, and he cursed himself most of all for his failure to protect a dear friend. Albus did not even realize he’d acted just now, the haze in his mind smoothing over the edges of the encounter’s memory. As far as he would recall, he had simply soothed their fears and they ended up agreeing with him on their own.

.........

Ron Weasley was very glad to get out of Defense that afternoon as ‘The Toad’ had indeed been even more of an aggravation than usual. He caught Hermione leading Harry through the hallways, as he’d been heading back to the common room to drop off his books and catch up with his friends to find out where they’d really been during the weekend. Rushing to catch up he saw Hermione smile at him, but felt a bit down when Harry didn’t even acknowledge him. At least until she spoke up.

“Hey Harry, Ron’s found us. Ron, Harry’s misplaced his glasses, and I just found out he’d never had ones fitted to him anyway. We’re heading to Professor McGonagall now, why don’t you come with us?” Ron let out a small laugh when Harry turned and waved to the wrong set of footfalls from another student going down to dinner.

“Sure, you guys heading down to dinner after? By the way, look out for ‘The Toad,’ she’s not in a great mood today.”

The trio enjoyed a bit of camaraderie as they made their way through the halls towards their Head of House’s office. With some effort, they made it before Professor McGonagall left to go to the main hall for dinner. Ron felt a little out of the loop when Harry, after asking if her office was private, and after a small flurry of spells suggested it was, suggested a trip out of the castle for a replacement set of glasses, and that she could take care of any business she might have in the Alley.

Ron began to get very nervous when Harry asked how their Professor’s Occlumency was progressing, and was told it was the art of protecting one’s mind after he asked. When Harry asked him if knew anything about Occlumency, he could only reply no. Harry just gave him a reassuring smile and spoke. “Not a problem, I happen to have a great book on the subject a mutual friend sent me, and I’ll help you learn it.”

Feeling rather confused, Ron asked. “Mate, when did you learn this Occlumency stuff?”

“Last night Ron, but it was a really long night. If you’re willing to work on it, we should have you up to date by Halloween easy.”

Now feeling even more confused, but pleased to be part of something, he just nodded his head. He followed his friends down to dinner, enjoying a rather nice meal. Ron was completely shocked when his best friend asked for people with better vision to let Angelina know he wanted to speak with her. A few moments later, as Harry was determined to prove his cover story by way of appetite alone, she broke off from Alica and Katie and sat down next to him when Ron made room.

As soon as Angelina sat down and got the whole run down over where his glasses were (“I don’t actually know. But right now I fear for their safety, and harbor few hopes for their safe return.”) Harry got to the point.

“Angelina, I’m sorry but I’m quitting the team. I have a lot going on this year, and I suspect our venerable Defense Professor will be making trouble for any group of which I’m a part. So, the team will be safer without me around.” When Angelina tried to argue with him, quickly followed by the rest of the house, Harry tried to be polite but firm. (He’d taken to heart some of the tips he’d gotten over the nearly two and a half months in the Dream last night. Discussion of nearly any type proved useful for learning English, and they’d had twenty-four hours a day to fill at that.)

When not only her, but the rest of the table began to try to argue with him at once, he slammed his hand on the table harshly enough to grasp people’s attention and continued. “Enough! One way or another, I have more important things to do this year. If nothing else occupies my time, we’ve had two years of incompetent defense professors, I chose an elective that turned out to be completely useless to me, and I’ve realized how little magic I actually know outside of what we learn in class.

“Not to mention, I know almost nothing about the Magical World, and much of what I do know is likely wrong. So, if I don’t want the rest of my life to either suck or be very, very short I have a lot to study. Now please, let me eat in peace.” Attempting to go back to his meal, he almost swore and drew his wand when he heard a ‘hem, hem’ behind him. Thankfully, before that voice could add anything else, another interrupted.

“Mr. Potter, that will be detention with me tonight. I think we can find something for you to clean, perhaps on the second floor?” Harry was rather glad Professor McGonagall stepped in at that moment. “And where are your glasses?”

“I don’t know Professor. I wasn’t terribly coherent this morning when I went to sleep, and I didn’t have them with me when I woke this afternoon. Do you mind if I eat before serving my detention? I seem to have missed a meal or two.”

“Go ahead Mr. Potter. I will be waiting for you at the Head Table. Come Dolores, the Elves of Hogwarts have been outdoing themselves the last few days with some new additions to the menu, and I for one am looking forward to the desert course.” Thankfully with that both Professor-shaped blurs moved back towards the Head Table.

From there, Harry busied himself with eating. There was a new dish he came across, and he seemed to be the first one brave enough to try it. It was actually the liver and blood stew, and it turned out to be rather good, very savory with lots of onions and garlic. Eating as fast as was polite, and not a small amount of food either, Harry soon found himself finished, and walking towards the Head Table. When a blur stood for it’s chair and moved towards him, he paused to ask. “Is that you, Professor?”

“Good heavens Mr. Potter, you really are in need of a pair of glasses. Something to worry about later unless they turn up however. I believe we can find something that needs cleaning on the second floor, perhaps you can spend some time with Myrtle.” Nodding, Harry hastened to follow the Professor.

Only once they were out of the Great hall and in a quiet place, Harry spoke again. “Professor, I’d be happy to clean out Myrtle’s bathroom if you could ensure it is empty and seal the door to keep it that way. I don’t want to offend any of the students.”

After a walk, she entered the bathroom, ensured it was empty, and then sealed the doors after Harry was in. Walking to the faucets, Harry pulled out his map and double checked, though he had to have the Professor do the actual checking. Once she confirmed it was clear, Harry opened the entrance, thought for a moment, then spoke. Ƥ: “Stairs!” When that produced a desired result, Harry tried again. “Lights!” Smiling to himself, he started down the stairs. Reaching the bottom with his Head of House next to him, he took a sniff of the air. “It smells much better down here, they’ve been busy.”

Looking up, Minerva realized the reason. “There’s two of the small floating rune stones like the ones they carved last night floating near the ceiling. It’s much better lit down here now as well. They are certainly skilled. Mr. Potter, Harry, I want you to be very careful in your dealings with them. Non-human creatures often do not think like we do, they often have very different aspirations than we do. There is a reason wizards and goblins have such a bloody history.”

“I’m aware of that Professor. Their goals right now are to survive and keep me alive, because I’m holding back the dark magic that would consume them. I’ve spent seventy-five days with them now, most of that with no sleep at all. I have a fair idea of what kind of people they are at this point. They’re all hurting, in one way or another, but they’re committed to continuing on.” Now, they paused outside the door to the inner chamber.

“All nine of them gave me their loyalty, though some had to fight hard to do it. I don’t know if you heard the full story, but there should be ten here. One of them gave his service for a very, very long time to a goddess in exchange for his friends having a chance to live, and Elune chose me out of anyone else on any world. I won’t let that sacrifice be for vain, and I won’t fail them. There is a massive amount of trust being given to me, and I will not violate it. Ƥ: Open!” Hopeful he had made a convincing case to his Professor, the door opened and they stepped in.

On the other side of the door Stine was obviously leading Ralion, Caliona, Talion, and Vespiona through some exercises relating to their second forms. Harry still couldn’t see much, but did see a red blur and a green blur come up to him, speaking in tones that while not human, were easily identifiable as female.

“My Lord, with your permission, Alira and I would like to give you a medical examination. If you have any health issues, between the two of us we can heal most things. I’m afraid when we woke up, I spent a bit of time removing glass shards and a piece of metal from Aurogos. It seems he rolled onto your glasses and wedged the pieces up under his scales, but he’s fine now. Your glasses on the other hand are useless.”

Giving a shrug, Harry just sighed. “Hermione told me that since they weren’t fitted for me, they probably weren’t that great anyway. And it isn’t like my uncle would spend money on me if he could help it. I was thinking about heading into London for a new pair, or go wherever wizards go when they need glasses.”

Minerva was suddenly struck by how little Harry knew of their world. Any further thoughts were stolen away when Dalistraza, who Minerva was simply referring to as the “red female” in her head, spoke up.

“Do you want your eyes healed? Because there’s likely a few ways we can do that, depending on what’s actually causing problems. In the worst case, we could always take eyes from one of us and implant them in you, then just grow new eyes for the donor. Transplant would be a last resort however, because it might not be possible to make them appear the same as your old ones. That could be hidden with magic, but then those that can sense magic will wonder what you’re hiding.”

Smiling, Harry gestured ahead of him. “If you’ll excuse me Professor, it seems I’m getting a medical exam. Dali, I’d prefer to keep my old eyes, one of the few things I know about my mother is that she had eyes like mine. Though, being able to see without glasses would be fantastic.”

As Harry and the two dragons moved off, Aurogos walked out of a nearby room. (He had actually been observing the humans since they entered from the girl’s bathroom and listening to their conversation. The nine of them were stuck with Harry, but they were hesitant to trust others.) As he walked up to the older woman he slipped into his mortal form, again appearing as a young man with blue hair.

Greeting the Professor, he guided the both of them over to a wall in front of where the four dragons were attempting to learn the Mortal Form. “I would offer you a chair, but sadly we are a bit lacking in furniture. Instead I will offer you a bit of rubble and ask you craft us chairs or a bench instead.”

Happy to show off her craft, both were soon resting on a large and comfortable bench against the wall. Since it was a little cold down here, Aurogos conjured a small flame and set it on the stone floor in front of them. At her curious look, he explained. “It isn’t truly fire. It’s just a little trick that provides warmth and light, it’ll last until it uses up the magic I put into it unless I feed it more. Now, I’d like to discuss enrolling us, at least those who can fit in easily into your school.”

Both drake and Professor looked over at the practicing group at the sounds of excitement. One of the drakes practicing had achieved their goal, and now resembled a light blue anthropomorphic goat, bearing thick horns that gently curled from her temples along her head, then turned slightly upward near the end. A pair of thin, dainty tentacles emerged from just below either ear and laid on her chest, just touching the top of her breasts. Her arms were long and ended in human hands with long fingers.

From the end of her tailbone a slender tail emerged, long enough to touch the back of her upper knee. Her legs bore the normal human shape above her upper knee. Below that, the leg continued briefly before it met an additional joint that bent the other way, becoming thicker before ending in cloven hooves so dark blue they were nearly black. Her eyes glowed a light purple.

“Vespiona will not be part of the group enrolling. Heh, she’s gonna have a lot of fun trying to get those legs to work right. At least it’s still a generally appealing form, I’ve seen the Draenei females get hit on by every race, including a very, very stupid orc. I almost felt sorry for what that woman did to him.”

“Is that a demon?!” Finally coming out of her shock, Minerva said the first thing that came to her mind.

“No. Also, remember that these forms are not the real us. The Mortal Form is similar to your people’s Animagus Transformation, just more… directed I suppose. No matter what form we take when we’re not dragons, we are dragons. I’ll tell you a bit about Draenei to ease your mind. First, they’re an old species, one of the older ones running about the cosmos.

“From what I know, about thirteen-thousand years ago, the Dark Titan, the Lord of the Demonic Burning Legion came to their world with an offer of power and knowledge in exchange for their loyalty. At that time, they were ruled by a triumvirate made of the greatest among them: Kil'jaeden, Archimonde, and Velen, known to his people as The Prophet. Kil’jaeden and Archimonde agreed to give their loyalty, but Velen was troubled and searched for the truth. He received a vision of his people transformed into demons, and led as many as he could to flee instead.

“Sadly, his fellow leaders would not listen. The refugees changed their people’s name from Eredar to Draenei which means “Exiled Ones” in their own tongue as they fled from world to world, looking for a safe haven. They’re good people, they have a quiet dignity to them and are steadfast allies if one treats them well in return. They’re also the only race of flesh and blood creatures that naturally lives as long as dragons do, as far as I know.”

Minerva thought for a moment. As far as she knew, her world had never been been tread by demons, save perhaps for the biblical ones. “How many different races have you seen? How many live on your world?”

“About twenty sentient species live on Azeroth; there’s some debate about the intelligence of certain races, and how we should count the various off-shoots of the elves. And if you find yourself thinking that sounds like endless war waiting to happen, you’re mostly right. It doesn’t help that our world’s been invaded by hostile entities four times now.

“Honestly, if not for that fact and the newcomers screwing things up even more, it wouldn’t be a bad place to live. There are some incredible places on our world Professor. I wish I could show you the Coldarra at sunset before the Nexus War, or what it was like flying through the Grizzly Hills at dawn. Twenty years ago before it’s fall Quel'Thalas truly earned the description of ‘The Golden Realm.’

“Dalaran, before the mages moved it was the gem of Hillsbrad, and some of the Night Elven settlements are so alive you could feel the power of the Wild thrumming within you the moment you stepped a foot in.” He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of the many places he would likely not see again. “For all its faults, it is a beautiful world. I just hope this world will be safer for us.”

Deciding to change the subject, Minerva got to the matter at hand. “Do you wish to enroll in our school simply to be near Mr. Potter, or are you interested in learning what we have to teach as well?”

In answer, Aurogos focused a bit of arcane energy into his hand. As it crackled and threw off purple sparks he gave his answer. “Professor, where I came from we used an apprenticeship system. There was a lot of competition for the best masters, so I studied from when I hatched to try and get a good one. I spent the first ten years of my life learning the basics, along with many other things, two years in self study, and twenty years apprenticed to the oldest master of the arcane arts that was still sane our world possessed. But even in the thirty years since, I’ve never stopped learning.

“Now, your world is very interesting to me because the ley-lines that run through it are extremely weak compared to back home. Can you guess why that makes me excited to study how your world’s magic developed?”

At first insulted, the Professor paused and thought a moment. “The only thing I can think of is an older journal I read a long time ago that discussed the benefits of control and power in spellcasting, and how one could be substituted for the other. The author firmly believed that a razor-honed control of one’s magic could surmount nearly any difference in power between two wizards in a duel. I admit to taking much of that to heart and expending much effort into learning to control my magic carefully.”

As they watched, the still-nude Draenei was slowly attempting to stand, as steady as a newborn deer. At least she knew how to use her tail to balance herself, though it was proving itself less substantial than her normal one.

“You are correct Professor. The magic I’ve seen so far on this world is different than what I’m familiar with, all so tightly woven and controlled. Applied magic on this world has taken the form of a scalpel compared to Azeroth’s sledgehammer. For myself, I am looking forward to learning spells here, then taking that tight control and applying it the magic I already know.

“I admit, much of our focus will be on supporting our Lord, especially as the staff of your school neglects that responsibility or actually works to heap stress onto him. I don’t know if you’re aware of our life cycle, but as drakes we’re similar to your teenagers. I was sent to war as well Professor, but unlike Harry Potter I wasn’t sent alone, I went with the full might of our Dragonflight beside me. It does not speak well of your leadership that your staff expect a largely untrained student to face the full might of your Ministry alone.”

Now remembering her conversation with Sirius, Minerva felt the need to argue at least a little. “I don’t agree with much of what’s happened here, especially with how this year is shaping up. But in spite of all that’s happened, the only thing we can do is to trust Headmaster Dumbledore! There’s no other way forward!”

Aurogos, while he would freely admit (to close friends, anyway) being a bit damaged from things he had seen and done, was no fool. All nine of them could read and write English as well as they could speak it, and he had examined and re-examined the text Sirius had sent and the notes pointing out certain areas for study.

Compulsions had been mentioned a number of times, so he had spent a good deal of time studying those sections. So, based on what he knew, Minerva McGonagall was either under the effects of magic or had become so dependent on the Headmaster that she no longer desired to think for herself. He decided he needed to borrow a mirror and talk to this man himself.

In order to change the subject he returned to an earlier topic. “In any case, those of us who become students will be behind your students in some subjects, and likely ahead in others. For example, I would be considered a Master in three runic languages, Dali could likely teach many things to your healers even as they taught her, and Stine is a hell of a lot more deviously clever than you would think. I wouldn’t mind being placed in the first year classes with the others, if you allow us to test out of them as fast as we master the practical components.

“After hearing Hermione explain what’s taught here, a lot of your theory is wrong. Don’t give me that look, my people have been studying magic for twenty-thousand years! And we’ve had writing that long too. Of course we’d have accumulated a little more knowledge than your people.”

Minerva had to admit that was a logical point, mankind’s magical research records tended to be incomplete to put it mildly. “So, if you’re willing to let us advance as needed we should be able to be legitimately in Harry’s year or beyond fairly quickly. I’d also request the use of self-study, especially for potions.

“I’ve heard about the lack of instruction in a dangerous art and I’m not going to burden most of them with a man that seemingly lives to spread misery. Even the Twilight group when they were lost in darkness were never cruel. Remember, none of us have been untouched by war and the misery that flocks to it, so it will be difficult to tolerate a man who spreads misery because he can.”

Both were momentarily distracted when another of the drakes in front of them seemed to almost grasp his second shape for a moment, his form twisting briefly before it flowed back into a Black and orange dragon. “I don’t think advancing you according to your skills should be a problem. There might be some concerns, but if I make it part of a binding agreement and surprise the staff they might gripe but wouldn’t be able to act.

“You’ll need a trip to Diagon Alley, but there is a problem. In England, and indeed much of the world, wand ownership is restricted to humans capable of casting spells. While your forms are impressive, I am not completely sure they could bypass all of the magic in place to prevent illegal purchases. In addition, wands and their owners are registered with the Ministry upon purchase, and it would cause problems with your lack of official documentation. Wands are essential to all the spell work we perform here.”

Aurogos thought for a moment. It didn’t speak well of then wizard’s government, but that fit with much of what was said in the Emerald Dream over the seventy-three days last night. “I wonder. Could the house-elf Dobby please show himself?”

After a pause, the small guy popped in. “Hello my small friend, I find myself in need of something that I can’t get on my own. Would you be willing to help me?”

After Dobby gave a very enthusiastic nod, the Blue drake gave his request. “I need to learn how to craft wands Dobby. To do that, I need three or four wands to look at and take apart. Can you find me some that have been lost and forgotten or that won’t be missed?”

With a huge smile, the little creature disappeared. “He’s an eager little guy. When I have a chance I want to look into the history of his kind, he bears a resemblance to several creatures from my world. I wonder if we’re actually the first Azerothians to step foot here.”

When the eager creature came back shortly with four wands of varying age, Aurogos picked up the one most obviously aged and examined it for a moment. His eyes began to glow blue, using one of the benefits of his flight to see enchantments. “Hmm, there’s almost no magic at all in the wand. Either it’s leeched out of the components, or the wand hasn’t been used in far too long. The wood has been shaped around the item, not bad craftsmanship. Hmm.”

Temporarily forgetting his audience he became engrossed in examining the item. After a few more moments, he accidentally made the older woman jump when he snapped the wand, not noticing as he examined the interior. “Hmm, it has a faded enchantment that would condense and shape raw magic, that was expected. But combined with this other one… Huh.”

Turning to look at the Professor, he spoke to her instead of continuing thinking aloud. “This is a well made magical focus, very exact. I’d say it even adapts to its user over time if used enough. I can make similar objects with a little practice, assuming we have the needed components with us. Excuse me a moment.”

As the Blue drake in a human form walked towards Stine, Talion finally got his form down, appearing as a male human in his mid twenties. He had black hair, and his pupils were circled with burnt orange. While he had managed pants on his first transformation, his bare chest and arms brimmed with a warrior’s muscles. This was the form of someone who had been fighting for a long time, and knew his way around physical weapons.

This illusion of a deadly predator in the shape of a man was shattered for the moment when he promptly fell over backwards. (Thankfully, both humans had shared their knowledge of the Cushioning Charm in the Dream, and a lack of balance was expected initially.) Once being acknowledged by Stine, Aurogos asked a question that was suddenly pertinent to their group.

“Stine, Ralion, I’m sorry to interrupt, but do we have a collection of shed teeth, claws and scales? Those of us attending the school will need wands crafted, and I think we can manage something with bits of us if we have Alira and Dali grow the wood around them while I add the enchantments. Even better if we have some arcane dust laying around.”

A few moments later Aurogos returned to the Professor who found herself watching the young man with the rippling muscles learn to control his new body; the blue female was ignored as she took a few hesitant steps off to the side. Aurogos raised a blue eyebrow and coughed lightly to get her attention. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I think we have all the materials we need to craft wands that have similar form and function to the ones you use. Would you be so kind as to create some examples of outliers so I have some idea what to make ours look like? Ours will probably be a little larger, but I don’t want them to be too out of the norm.”

A few moments later Aurogos began making notes and calculations as he examined the other wands and thought aloud, sometimes speaking with Minerva about the much more limited wands he had produced in the past. Time passed easily for them as Caliona and Ralion worked to achieve their forms, and Vespiona and Talion began to learn to move properly in their forms.

.........

Extending the barest thread of her consciousness through the portal, Elune perceived the Headmaster in his office that night, slowly running his fingers across the Elder Wand. Instead of touching his mind she reached out to the noble creature drowning in its own failure. Gently, she coaxed Fawkes into showing her the entire history of Albus and that dark weapon.

As the story played out, she could not ignore the parallel to another cursed weapon that had once consumed a prince. A prince that presented with the horrific choice of his kingdom falling to the massive numbers of dead that would soon spill out of a city of people he had sworn to protect, that that he loved, or soaking his hands in their blood had made the hard choice of killing some to protect many others. Arthas had been shepherded down a dark path, and Elune regretted not seeing where it would end.

Elune knew the origin of that blade the prince had carried when he exited that cave her sight could not pierce. Again she had failed; she should have had her priestess send an army of sentinels to Northrend to meet the Prince, she should have rallied the Kaldorei to war before it was upon their homes, she should have found a way to do something to save those elves that had chosen to walk under the sun. But… she dared not move against the Great Plan of the Titans carelessly. Her ultimate goal hung heavy on her shoulders, even now: the abomination of the Shadowlands must be ended, for the sake of all souls upon her world.

Her Herald wasn’t ready, his flesh and soul needed more time to heal, but perhaps action would soothe his soul more than anything else. For his flesh… Alexstrasza was the greatest healer their world had ever known, and while she served the Titans, she was both kind and predictable. With but a moment’s hesitation, her High Priestess was given a waking dream, imploring her to call the Red Aspect to her temple. To the other priestesses at the temple, she requested them to prepare to care for her Herald. In her private realm, where Tendrion slept, she hastened his transformation.

It turned out this little phoenix was more than she first thought however, as he was aware of her actions, using that thin tendril of her mind to perceive what was touching him. So to Fawkes she sent hope, a belief that things would improve soon, and the knowledge that there was yet a chance for his dear friend. With that, she withdrew from this place, lest her presence be detected by others. She had seen those sent here were alive and well.

Now, she focused herself entirely upon the drake that slept within her realm. Elune knew she was acting rashly now, but chance had given her an opportunity. Tendrion was needed below, he could begin to rally those she could not. She risked much now, but Elune decided to put her faith into the mortal whose mind she had touched when she called him to open the portal and those that stood with him.

Elune’s actions to come would distort the timeline the Bronze Dragonflight guarded so zealously, but the goddess knew that Nozdormu was also unprepared for the havoc a good man would pile against his ‘one true timeline.’ With two forces of change moving against Azeroth’s grim fate, the future just might be brighter. With just a little luck, the Bronze Dragonflight would focus on the visible, obvious enemy to their charge and leave her free to act. Even now, twenty thousand years after first hearing it, the Titan’s propaganda to Nozdormu still made her sneer. “There is only one true timeline.” As if free will meant nothing! Insufferable Titans, free will meant everything!

With luck (and a dream or two if needed) this world’s Loyal Lord would ready himself and come to Azeroth. She did not deceive the avian, Dumbledore’s chance was coming. Azeroth would be the fire that tempered the teen, and the ripples from her pebble would reach far indeed.

.........

The Elder Wand was truly a dangerous magical item. As was intended, it passed from one user to another over the centuries, leaving only death in it’s wake. Over two centuries ago, the dark lord of the time took possession of it and in his hubris sought to shape the wand into a horcrux. That attempt failed, and the greatly weakened man was slain soon after, but the wand grew from that attempt. When the man died his mind, magic and soul was consumed by the wand, and the Deathstick’s hunger grew.

Before, it had consumed a piece of every person that wielded or died by the Wand of Destiny, mindless in its task. Now, it could take more, and it began to plan. Before, it was a hurricane, a wildfire; it destroyed all in its path without thought or choice. Now, it truly became an evil on its own merits. And it became cruel.

.........

“Whomsoever takes up this blade shall wield power eternal.
Just as the blade rends flesh so must power scar the spirit.”

.........

AN: I haven’t really decided on Tendrion’s new appearance yet. I’m torn between something reminiscent of the dawn, the night, or sunset. Dawn or dusk/sunset will likely win out, for a number of reasons. Cannon doesn’t have a ton to say about Elune, so I’m casting her as an entity that truly cares about those walking Azeroth. Elune seems to be a ‘good’ deity: She is associated with healing, tranquility, harmony, and peace; but she is NOT a pacifist.

She gives her strength to those that call on her, provides healing, even gives her her chosen priestess useful warnings at times. In return her preferred offerings are rice cakes, (I picture Elune’s physical form sitting in her abode with a table off to the side with the offered cakes on it, and her stopping to snack whenever she feels like it.) with the occasional weapons and flesh of her enemies. (In the WoW Desolace quests, this amounted to killing demons, which are pretty much everyone’s enemies. If you ever think they’re your friend, they’re actually measuring your back for just the right dagger.) In cannon, if you need a higher power and you’re not evil yourself, pick Elune.

This fic isn’t going to be pro-Titan, I think the lore agrees with me that they are such eternal, monumental creatures that it isn’t possible for them to think of those tiny little things walking around their gardens as people, as creatures deserving of their respect and courtesy. Humans, elves, even their own creations of the Titan-Forged races are simply below their notice.

Maybe Eonar could be an exception, but I’m doubtful. Algalon’s purpose wasn’t to judge the world, evacuate as many lives as possible, then reformat everything, it was to judge and immediately flip the switch. For those not familiar with Warcraft lore, Azeroth had a system that alerted Algalon “The Observer” if there was a breach in the Titan’s defenses. He would then travel to Ulduar, scan the planet, and send out one of two reply codes. If the all-well wasn’t transmitted quickly, a hidden installation would immediately ‘re-originate’ the planet, reformatting the world to a blueprint and in the process killing everything living on the world. Algalon has done this before on other worlds. (“A million-million lives wasted!” Is a lot of people.)

Now, don’t get me wrong, the Titans consider the ‘little creatures’ to be useful at times, the problem is that they also consider us expendable. You can look up the 'Alagalon voice lines' on youtubt if you want to.

As for the Shadowlands? It seems to be in cannon, and will be in this fic, an artificial/engineered afterlife. It will be interesting to see who sees where I’m going with my plot first.

Reviews are appreciated!