ALICE: A Lesson in Chance Errors - PrinceMathias - Harry Potter (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Privet Drive was the same as it had always been.

Since he was eleven, the summer holidays had become a bit of a culture shock. Every time he expected it to have changed, to have irreversibly shifted as his entire world view had.

But it never did.

The identical houses with neatly mowed grass, the average household of couples with 2.5 children, the nine to five work week--

Suburban life seemed so strange to him now.

It felt even stranger to know that this was once all he had ever known.

Though it compounded every year, this summer the sense of disparity was worse. He had always felt like an outsider, different from everyone else. He had thought that that had changed, that he had found the place where he was not the odd one out. Now he realized that that had never been true.

He had never felt so disconnected from the world.

An entire community of people were probably panicking as they realized he had never lied but life on Privet Drive went on the same as ever. There was no undercurrent of worry and danger, no tense shoulders and quick glances.

Just normal, everyday life.

Harry hated it.

His last hope of family, of a home just for him was gone. Gone with a man through a veil.

This was a fact that kept coming back to haunt Harry.

It dogged his thoughts what seemed like every second of the day, the scene in the ministry playing back through his mind on repeat whenever he stopped actively thinking.

Harry was tired.

No matter the snide remarks from his aunt on his laziness or the frustrated shouting of his being a burden from his uncle could he find the energy to do much of anything, let alone care about chores.

In fact, Harry found it difficult to even get out of his bed.

So he didn't.

He would lay on the crappy secondhand mattress and stare up at the ceiling, trying his hardest not to think about anything.

And when even that failed to work, Harry would sleep.

It felt ironic that Harry would find relief in his dreams, as it was his dreaming that cost him his godfather in the first place. But when he slept during the day, the nightmares that plagued him of the past and the visions of torture happening somewhere else were absent.

His sleep was deep and if he dreamed at all, he had no memories of them except maybe a wisp or two of thought that quickly fled when he reluctantly awoke.

This was how he spent the first week of his summer break and he was-- not content, as that would imply any sort of happiness, but perhaps accepting of his new routine.

Hedwig, however, was not.

His beloved owl and his first ever friend had not taken kindly to Harry's new mood. When she was not out hunting for herself, the bird would constantly fret over him. And as much as Harry loved her, owl cuddles were not especially comfortable. Owls have very sharp talons and beaks which make it rather hurtful when they try to curl up on your chest or tend to your aptly named bird nest of hair.

Which is to say, it wasn't a surprise to Harry when he slowly awoke to sharp pain on his shoulder from what felt like claws digging into him and feathers nearly suffocating him.

No what surprised him was how comfortable he felt other than that.

There were many words to describe his bed in the smallest room of number four Privet Drive but comfortable was not one of them.

This was the thought that threw his lethargy from his body and the fog from his mind.

He was comfortable.

Something was not right.

He noticed immediately that he could barely see. Darkness was something he had grown up knowing intimately and he had long since adjusted his vision to see through the shadows of his dark cupboard. Which was useful for nighttime excursions in dark castles. And also in dark boxes, as it would seem.

Because he was in a box.

Not a particularly small one. It was vaguely the size of a human adult. As Harry was a malnourished teenager forced to grow up in a small space, he had quite the room to move and breathe in it in his opinion. If someone else were in his position he was sure they'd feel quite claustrophobic though.

But there was just him and an owl in the box.

An owl that was glaring at him.

“This is not my fault,” he said, feeling the need to defend himself from Hedwig's judging stare.

Hedwig just continued glaring at him, her golden eyes the only light source in the box.

Yeah, he admitted silently that he didn't believe his statement either.

Weird things that happened were almost always his fault. Even if he had nothing to do with it.

Which was the case this time. He had literally been doing nothing. There was no way for him to have caused this and she knows it!

His indignant look (pout) was apparently not very threatening as Hedwig gave him a very imperious hoot.

Which was Hedwig-speak for he had better fix this now or he would get a good pecking later.

Determined to not suffer a Hedwig lecture/tantrum, Harry soon began to feel around the box, looking for a way out.

It became quickly clear that the walls of the box were padded, with the padding he was leaning against being the cushiest.

Because that was another thing he noticed. He wasn't lying down as he had been when he fell asleep, but was propped against the back of the box so that his weight wasn't on his legs that were holding him up.

He was also not in the clothes he fell asleep in. Long, billowy sleeves swishing around quickly brought that to his attention. He was then reminded that he was without his wand.

This situation was just looking better and better.

Note the sarcasm.

Sleeping non-stop for a week was also not conducive to wandless magic. Who knew being overly rested to the point of forgoing food for sleep was unhealthy?

Probably Hedwig, he thought as she watched his attempt at a wandless Alohamora with ever-growing displeasure.

Giving up and resorting to repeatedly pushing on the box's walls ended up also being pointless and did nothing but got his weak body panting and his mind racing through the many interesting wizard curses he had learned in five years inside the boy's dormitory.

Slumping back against the soft cushioned wall, Harry stopped to think.

He was probably kidnapped (again) and locked in a box. Remembering Moody in a trunk his entire fourth year, he knew he could be there awhile if it was up to his captor.

The being redressed could be for multiple disturbing reasons that he pointedly ignored.

But why kidnap Hedwig too?

So he couldn't get help from her reaching out to his friends? If that was the case, whoever kidnapped him could have just killed her and been done with it easier, he would admit, no matter how even the thought hurt him. She could be being used as leverage, a hostage. But why leave her with him then?

And this was all ignoring the fact that Hedwig would not be caught quietly. If she went down, she would go down fighting and there's no way any confrontation like that could have gone down without him waking up to it.

Was he, then, drugged? Spelled unconscious?

He tried to remember anything at all but all he received in answer were the sound of hoofbeats and the feel of a carriage.

Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, he reached for his magic to try to remember again. The calm brought on by the feel of his magic brought one final memory to him; the feel of a warm hand holding his and the feeling of comfort and relief.

Which didn't make any sense. Physical contact of any kind was highly uncomfortable for him. Even Ron and Hermione's casual touches made him tense when he was expecting them. He wouldn't feel that sense of warmth he vaguely remembered from holding someone's hand.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a harsh nip and tug of his ear. Automatically reaching up to rub it and relieve some of the pain, Harry quickly heard what Hedwig was trying to warn him of. A voice, high pitched but distinctly male, was speaking. The cushioning of the box muffled the sound so that he couldn't make out the words, but they were not alone anymore, if they ever had been.

As his only suspects for his kidnapping were either Voldemort or one of his many lackeys, he tensed before loosening into a stance that would let him react fast. This would be more helpful if he wasn't still trapped inside a box.

The voice became louder as it's owner seemingly got closer.

A few moments of quiet.

And then the box Harry was in shook as a wave of pure heat went through it.

And then the wall in front of him was blasted off.

Blue flames licked inside towards him and he quickly gathered Hedwig to his chest to shield her from them as much as he could. He then looked for the origin of the magical fire before freezing.

Wide green eyes stared into the equally stunned blue of… a cat?

And then the cat opened it's mouth and shrieked.

“You're awake? Why are you awake?”

Now, a talking cat that stands on its hind legs and had literal flames coming out of its ears was hardly the strangest thing Harry had seen since being introduced to magic. But Harry was exhausted from a week of doing nothing and this was so far out of what he had tried to prepare himself for since waking up that he felt he could be excused for what he did next.

“You can talk?” he shrieked right back.

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

The day of the opening ceremony was the one day of the year where mischief will always happen. As such, Headmage and founder of Night Raven College, Dire Crowley, had long prepared many plans for an assortment of disasters. Vigilance on this most auspicious day was imperative for the entire staff if the school wanted any chance to continue running.

This is why when he arrived into the entrance chamber almost half an hour before the ceremony was to start, he was not overly surprised to see one of the coffin Gates to have been blown open. A quick inspection showed scorch marks to cover the outside of the door. The only other sign to be found was a lone white feather with enough magic on it to belong to an intelligent creature.

With the feather, tracking down the missing student would be relatively simple. Crowley only needed to follow the feather's magic to it's source. Far too easy for one as talented as himself.

Following the trail of magic, Crowley grimly noticed the liberal amount of scorch marks now adorning his hallways. That would have to be dealt with swiftly.

Soon enough Crowley began to hear a high pitched screaming and what sounded like a very angry bird. Turning down a corridor once again, he could now see the source of the disturbance.

A white owl, the owner of the feather, was attacking a flaming tanuki who was alternating between screaming and spitting blue fire from its mouth. Behind the owl was a scruffy child who looked as if he was trying to decide whether to step in and protect the bird or stay back and not get in its way.

Well, definitely not the strangest he had faced on an opening day.

A quick snap of his Whip of Love and the tanuki was both caught and gagged. He did not want to deal with any more screeching or uncontrolled fire. The owl stayed in the air for a few seconds, obviously debating whether to attack now that its prey was defenseless, before reluctantly returning to the distraught child and landing on his head. The bird glared at him, seemingly daring him to even try to harm the boy. As if Crowley would ever attack one of his dear students! (And really, he did not want to get on the bad side of what seemed to be a very bloodthirsty owl.)

“Now, what,” he began as he stepped closer to the trio, “in the name of the Seven is going on here?”

He went for an imperious look, purposefully making his eyes glow and his feathers ruffle as he approached them. He was about to open his mouth to continue his act when-- he stopped. Stopped walking, stopped bristling, stopped even breathing.

That wasn't just a child in front of him.

This close and without the active use of the two creatures magic filling the air it was all too easy to identify the child.

A changeling. And a newborn as well.

Immediately changing track, Crowley tried to look as non-threatening as possible while he was inwardly panicking. The child was tensed warily, green eyes glowing eerily as he watched his every move.

“Where are your guardians, little one?” he fretted, mind spinning to find a way to deal with this situation without it blowing up in his face.

A newborn changeling. Never mind the fact that Crowley himself hadn't had a changeling as a student in many decades, a newborn as a student shouldn't even be possible. The Dark Mirror would never attempt to take a newborn from its parents. Not only would it be harmful for the development of the child's magic, but the parents would cause absolute chaos in retribution for separating them.

Crowley had been keeping a very close eye on Silver since the boy enrolled for that exact same reason. Having Lillia as a student to watch him was the only safe way he had found. Though the boy didn't seem to be evolving passed fae-touched, if he ever did turn into a changeling Lillia would be an absolute nightmare to deal with. The thought alone sent shivers down his spine.

And here, right in front of him, was a scruffy little newborn and his familiar, both of which were staring up at him distrustfully.

The boy seemed to have taken offense at his question as he puffed up, an instinctive reaction to try to make himself more threatening.

“Who are you?” he demanded, completely ignoring his question.

Rather rude, but Crowley was used to that from his students. Not to mention the child was as threatening as a kitten. No, the threat of the little one was the same as a bear cub. If you see one, a mama bear is nearby and ready to rip you to shreds. Something Crowley really wanted to avoid.

“I, my dear child, am Dire Crowley, Headmage of this illustrious institution, Night Raven College.”

The boast was given with a proud smile and a short bow with flourish. His act usually would relax the common cynical brand of student Night Raven attracted. He did not mind seeming too dense to be a threat.

The act as usual had an effect. The hostility drained from the child, though his wariness refused to go.

“Why am I here?” the child finally asked after a short period of silence.

The elder fae's grin became stiff as he did his best to keep his voice light as he answered.

“That is what I am hoping to find out.”

The boy looked skeptical before his eyes widened.

“Look out!”

The shout is immediately followed by the small changeling's body knocking into his, only barely moving him out of the range of a stream of blue flames. Incidentally, the child himself took a bit of the attack, the ceremonial robes he was wearing catching fire.

The owl had taken flight beforehand and was now once more diving at the flaming tanuki, who seemed to have escaped while he was distracted with the boy.

“I will eat you, you stupid bird!” the tanuki screamed, letting loose more flames.

The child meanwhile completely ignored the fact that he was on fire as he called out a frantic “Hedwig!” to the bird.

Crowley himself was once more internally panicking as he did his best to put out the flames burning the child's robes.

It was, of course, at this moment that none other than Malleus Draconia appeared.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

The empty halls echoed with Malleus's footsteps. The short time prior to the arrival of the majority of Night Raven students in which only staff and dorm leaders were allowed on campus was probably his favorite part of the school year. It became considerably harder to get a moment alone to relax once the term began.

Right now, he needed the time to think.

Since arriving early to the college a couple weeks ago he had been having very strange dreams. At first they were so clouded he could get no information from them at all. But as days passed he would get flashes of insight; pain and desperation, someone crying out into a merciless void. Magic crying out for help.

That wasn't all. At times he would get glimpses of scenes that he couldn't completely comprehend, being too fast and short for any coherent narrative. But he caught some things like fiery feathers and the burn of venom, the cool pressure of being deep underwater, and even a flash of a dragon.

Malleus had never properly studied dream magic in the past and so had leafed through the library for clues to his dreams. Unfortunately the study was a lot broader than he had expected and he now had several large tomes to look through which may or may not have the information he was searching for within.

His latest dream was the most unsettling for Malleus himself. The crying out had reached a crescendo and Malleus had been overcome with an unusual desperation to help from deep within. He had forcefully pushed his way through the ever-present fog to reach the origin of the call.

It was a child.

Maybe in age the child would be considered older but the magic told a different story; pain and confusion and despairing loneliness. It was a child's emotions the magic gave off. One that didn't understand why it had been hurt.

And inside the dream Malleus knew the child. Inside and out. Everything he was and will be.

And so he offered his hand.

The child had been curled up into a ball and refused to even look at him for the longest time.

Malleus didn't take offense. He could feel the waves of emotion in the magic and knew the child was used to disappointment. So he waited.

And waited. And waited.

Until finally green, green eyes peeked up at him, piercing his very soul, searching for deceit.

Malleus just continued offering his hand and staring right back.

And then hesitantly, a small hand grasped his.

It was at this point that Malleus woke up.

It was disturbing to say the least. During his waking hours Malleus purposefully kept his distance from others but within the dream there had been no hesitation to reach out and comfort the child.

Honestly he wasn't looking forward to whatever the books (or Lilia) had to say about that and so instead of reading some more, he decided to take a walk.

The walk had been calming and pleasant.

Until he turned another corner and was brought out of his musings by the sight of fire, flying loose feathers, the Headmage, and a child. The child.

And suddenly with all of the possessive firmness of a dragon, his child.

It took barely a few seconds for a spell to douse the flames off the child and everyone other than the child to feel oppressive magic bearing down on them.

“What,” he began solemnly, “is the meaning of this, Headmage?”

Though his eyes remained on the others (threats, his mind hissed), he was constantly aware of every move the child made.

The Headmage fluttered around, carefully sidestepping past the child and used his whip to wrap around the fire-cat while beginning to make his excuses.

“Well I was on my way to begin preparing for the opening ceremony when I came upon these three,” the crow began muttering at this point and Malleus stopped paying attention for the most part.

Putting aside the fact that tonight was apparently the opening ceremony and no one bothered to inform him, now that the aggressor was tied up Malleus focused on the child. Bright green eyes stared up at him from behind a mop of pure black hair. The smallest of the ceremonial robes were still quite loose on the child and Malleus could feel his lips trying to twitch up into an uncharacteristic smile to comfort him.

With a little difficulty he kept his face impassive as he offered his hand once more, this time in the waking world.

“My name is Malleus Draconia.”

He could sense the Headmage stiffening but resolutely stared at the child. Said child was staring bewilderingly up at his horns.

“Um,” he said, reaching out, “Harry...”

Malleus nodded because the name sounded right and waited. Harry didn't appear to want to give out his surname but that didn't matter because at the moment his smaller hand touched Malleus's a feeling of pure warmth passed through them.

Harry let out a soft gasp as he breathed out, “It's you,” and Malleus knew for certain that the dreams were more than just dreams.

They were a tether between this child, his child, Harry, and him.

Somehow, without ever meeting in person, Malleus had fostered a changeling.

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

Due to the common infertility of the race, the fae have one other method to increase their small population numbers. This is through the process of turning a member of another race, generally children, into a fae through a form of magical adoption. This process is not without faults and many would-be changelings never undergo the transformation.

Fae, as previously discussed, are made entirely of magic. It would not be a lie to say fae are magic themselves. As such, their magic is more intuitive than other races and will react to their unconscious will. In the making of a changeling this means that the fae parent's magic will blanket their perceived child.

Whether the magic will take with the child and how much it changes them is entirely reliant on the child's natural magics and physiology. The child may be entirely resistant, end up as fae-touched, or completely change their race as a changeling.

An Excerpt from Fae: A Summary

The urge to be as dramatic as possible versus the need to be as well-behaved and mannered around the young fae duo at his back warred within Crowley as he stood in front of the Mirror Chamber's doors.

Whatever he had done in his long life to deserve this misfortune he wholly regrets.

There had never, in the history of the Valley, ever been a Draconia changeling. Until today.

And for the child to be Malleus's! It was unheard of. The young dragon fae was almost completely isolated.

But there the child stood behind him, awkwardly swimming in the ceremonial robes, with a snowy owl on his hunched shoulder. Harry, as the boy had introduced himself as, was giving the elder dragon fae not quite subtle glances every few seconds, as if astounded by Malleus's very existence.

Malleus himself was watching Crowley with a predator's gaze, daring him to start his usual mischief.

Clutching the fire-tanuki in his talons, Crowley decidedly took the safer option and opened the doors without fanfare.

Inside the ceremony had obviously wound down with the rest of the students completing the sorting. The dorm heads (minus Malleus, plus Lilia) were gathered in front of their own small groups of new students.

Speaking of Lilia, the moment the trio of fae stepped in, his eyes were on them and wide in shock. Crowley could hardly stop a little curl of schadenfreude.

“Now, now dear students,” he began, ignoring the rather rude mutterings from the dorm heads while he had been supposedly out of earshot, “I was merely fetching our wayward student.”

He shot a cool imperious glance across the students that was completely ignored. He turned to the Draconia duo and tried to keep his professionalism while holding a squirming weasel.

“Now step up to the Dark Mirror to be sorted,” he nodded at Harry encouragingly. The boy looked at Malleus before stepping forward.

“State your name.”

The boy took a quick once over of the crowd before replying, “Harry.” No surname was given and Crowley wondered if it was deliberate on the changeling's part.

On their way through the halls, Crowley had attempted to give a welcoming speech to the young changeling but was constantly interrupted by confused questions. Malleus had been completely unhelpful to Crowley and only answered some of the child's questions which would then spawn more.

Honestly Crowley wasn't sure if the Mirror could even sort the child properly, with the very nature of a newborn changeling being so delicate.

As if to acknowledge his thoughts, the Dark Mirror's voice was hesitant as it began it's assessment with, “The nature of your soul is… unclear to me.”

Harry blinked up at the mirror, frowning.

“Sorry, but what does that mean?”

“I sense that your soul is currently in flux. To sort you now would be a disservice to both yourself and your dorm. As of now, no dorm is appropriate for you.”

At this point Crowley's talons clenched and unclenched nervously as he stepped up beside the newborn. This series of events could lead to disaster.

“But surely there's a dorm that would suit him even partially?” he asked, hoping the Mirror would just let the child go to Diasomnia. Anything else was unthinkable.

But the Dark Mirror was as stubborn as always as it looked on solemnly with a resounding, “No.”

And then suddenly the tanuki was in front of them both, loudly proclaiming that he would take the baby fae's place.

When had he even let go of the creature?

Suddenly the thought was gone because then the little monster was producing huge flames right beside the newest Draconia.

And the child was on fire. Again.

Crowley very rightfully feared for his life.

Hedwig was, to put it simply, pissed off.

The cat had been a nuisance since it appeared. Sure, Hedwig had attacked first and asked questions never but the cat deserved it. How dare it set her chick on fire?

Crow-man was seemingly useless in keeping it in line. All he had to do was keep a hold of the beast but no. He just had to let it go.

And now it was attacking the other children!

Thankfully Dragon had quickly stepped up and pulled her Harry-chick to safety. Miraculously, despite Hedwig being quite certain he had been on fire, her chick had no burns. The only evidence he was ever on fire were his new robes being heavily singed in numerous places.

Hedwig was unsure of what to think of Dragon. His magic seemed similar to her own Harry-chick's, so she instinctively wanted to trust him with her chick. But he was powerful and a stranger and powerful strangers were never nice to her chick.

Crow-man himself was quite powerful and Hedwig had already decided she was not going to trust that man with her chick's life.

But now she had an annoying feline to end.

She swooped down to claw out the little beast's eyes only to have to swerve from a stream of bright blue flames. She dived again for the bratty cat only for it to scamper away, throwing more balls of flame behind its back as it went.

Swerving and ducking around fireballs, Hedwig determinedly pursued her prey.

Perhaps she should have been paying more attention to her surroundings because it was then that she felt a weight settle around her neck, knocking her to the floor.

She squawked as she tumbled to the ground, looking around at the thing around her neck.

It was a collar! A large metal shackle upon herself! Who dared?

“Hedwig!”

Hedwig shakily stood back up, trying to reassure her Harry-chick that she was alright. But her chick apparently was too distraught as he ran and knelt beside her.

The cat was still hollering up a storm, its fire seemingly put out for good for now, but her Harry's attention was only on her as he cradled her in his arms.

Her chick stood back up and squared his shoulders as he glared at a redhaired human child.

“Take it off. Now.”

The other child seemed shocked, outraged even, but Hedwig knew her chick well. When he was this angry, nothing good happened.

At least for those he was mad at.

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

Harry had been awake for less than an hour and he had already had an extremely long day.

Waking up in a strange place and being attacked by a talking fire-breathing cat was bad enough. Meeting someone he only saw in a dream was strange enough. Navigating the twists and turns in conversation the bird-masked Headmaster threw him in and Harry had just had enough.

And now someone dared to collar Hedwig?

Needless to say, Harry was pissed.

Harry cradled Hedwig to his chest, burning in suppressed rage as he stood up.

His eyes glued to the boy who had cast the spell. He had pure red hair and was Harry's height. He was also not paying attention to Harry at all, instead conversing with a few other students and the cat.

“Take it off,” Harry demanded, “Now.”

The red-haired boy's stern gray eyes flew to him as he began to frown harshly.

“The owl was just as much a disruption to the ceremony as the cat. You should really teach your familiars to be better behaved.”

Rage continued to bubble up within Harry as he took a step toward the other boy. Power began to accumulate in the air and the temperature raised around him.

“I said,” he intoned, “take it off.”

The redhead apparently did not sense the danger and did not take kindly to being told what to do.

“I think not,” he replied hotly, “I cannot ignore someone that so flagrantly causes a disturbance during one of our school's most renowned traditions and must be punished as such. To do otherwise would be to disgrace myself as the Housewarden of Heartslabyul.”

The boy's self-important words were grating, especially when he still refused to simply free Hedwig from the contraption around her neck. It felt like Harry was bursting with liquid fire as he focused on the boy. The one hand that dropped from cradling his precious owl curled as if they had claws. The saliva in his mouth pooled and heated up.

A step towards the boy.

The heat in the air hiked up further and little green flames started to appear and disappear.

“Take.”

Another step.

A feeling of oppression started to bear down on those in the room. More flames started to appear.

“It.”

One last step.

Green flames sprouted up from Harry's feet cast eery shadows on his face. The oppression became suffocating.

“Off.”

The redhead visibly faltered but continued to stand his ground until Harry felt a steady hand on his shoulder. Tension that he wasn't aware he was holding, released and the flames puttered out. A quick glance up showed that the hand belonged to the guy who from his dream, Malleus Draconia.

With a sullen nod the other short teen grit out, “Fine,” and suddenly the harsh metal pressing into his chest disappeared as Hedwig was freed from her shackle. Harry quickly brought his free hand up to smooth down her ruffled neck feathers.

Now that his temper was cooling he wondered at the form his accidental magic had taken this time. Fire was not usually his go-to, but pure destruction was. At least the pressure was as usual.

And the fact that his dream stranger could calm him with one touch was weird. Harry almost exclusively didn't like being touched. But Malleus's hand was warm.

And with the warmth came a surge of tiredness, the long day catching up with him. There were too many questions unanswered and uncertainties left. Harry had been doing his best to keep calm and gather information without giving any away but he was tired. All he wanted was to go back to sleep.

Lilia Vanrogue had just had the shock of his life when into the Mirror Chamber walks the Headmage, Malleus, and a newborn changeling practically reeking of Draconia magic.

This was surprising for many reasons but most importantly because Lilia had never seen the child in his life.

But there he was, as clear as day, small and powerful and so painfully young and vulnerable.

If the Dark Mirror had let the pup into Diasomnia everything would be much easier but of course it couldn't. That would just be too simple, wouldn't it?

Lilia would have to collaborate with Malleus and the Headmage to decide on place where the child could stay that Malleus could have constant access so that it wouldn't threaten his stabling magic.

And then the little monster let loose and everything in the room fell to chaos. Fire and feathers flew everywhere and when everything was finally calm, what was left was an absolutely furious changeling.

Lilia had never been prouder than when he watched Malleus calm his pup down with naught but a hand on the shoulder. But he could see the newborn was dead on his feet. The poor child would start to nod off where he was standing any second. As such, Lilia was quick to move to the Headmage's side and begin discussing plans for the changeling's safety.

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

Harry trudged behind the supposed Headmaster of the school he was in. His limbs felt like lead and his eyes were fighting to stay open. The only things keeping him focused on walking forward was the beating of Hedwig's heart against his chest where he cradled her and the strangely warm comforting presence of the dream stranger at his side.

Everything the group passed on the way to where he would apparently be staying was familiar but just slightly off. Like there was something that was just to the left of Harry's normal. He just couldn't figure it out as tired as he was.

He was brought out of his meditative state to the present when he felt the magic in the air thicken and a dangerously growled, “Headmage.”

While he had been out of it they had apparently left the school building behind and were now standing in front of the lovechild of the Shrieking Shack and Grimmauld Place. The building honestly looked like a muggle's depiction of a haunted house. There were even gravestones in the yard!

The Headmaster, Crowley supposedly, looked a few seconds away from outright bolting from them, but stayed still as he began explaining.

“I know this dorm isn't in the best condition, but it is the only place available that meets all of the conditions we need.”

The answer didn't appear to appease Malleus as he merely glared at Crowley. The horned man then turned to Harry and his expression gentled. An almost silent sigh left him as he turned and strode toward the manor.

What happened next was the single most impressive display of magic Harry had ever seen.

The magic in the air swelled as the area began thrumming with power and then the decrepit building began to undergo a total transformation.

New life was seemingly breathed into the house. Old rotting wood became healthy and strong, rusted metal now shined and windows were once again whole. The roof that had seemed almost caved in was straight and imposing. Even the outside gate was renewed.

Harry noticed that oddly the stone gargoyles on the house were given extra attention as their surface became perfectly clean.

The only thing that let one know that the house was the same one Harry had seen moments before were the scattered graves, and even they looked newly polished and well taken care of.

The teen had never seen magic on that scale before. The closest he could recall was the battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort at the Ministry. The reminder of that day soured the amazement Harry had been feeling only a few seconds before.

With his regret once again filling him, his exhaustion and lethargy fully kicked in. He numbly followed the older duo into the house, idly noting how clean and new it looked, before stumbling off to the first bed he was shown.

Harry was so tired. The excitement of the day had fueled him for only so long before his grief took him back under. And thus it was to the familiar cooing of Hedwig and the unfamiliar feel of a hand running through his hair that Harry fell asleep.

Grim was scared.

No, scared wasn't the right word. The Great Grim doesn't get scared!

He's just… apprehensive.

He had thought this would be his big day. The day he was finally recognized as the amazing mage he was and was accepted into Night Raven College.

But of course the one student who he tried to get a uniform from would be weird.

And he was. Weird, that is. Even the magic mirror had said so.

Grim could tell he was small but so very powerful. It was almost intimidating.

But the Great Grim doesn't get scared! He wasn't afraid of the shorty and he wasn't afraid of the rain outside the house either.

The Headmage kept calling him the boy's familiar. He wasn't! He wasn't some pet. He was the greatest mage to have ever lived. So what if he was a monster? It didn't change one thing.

But at least as everyone thought he was a familiar he hadn't been thrown out of the College. Instead he's left in the common room of the house as the boy falls asleep with the creepy horned guy watching silently from his bedside. The Headmage had left as soon as he could, throwing out a promise of stocking the fridge and bringing other supplies later.

Grim wasn't scared. He wasn't afraid that his dreams may end at any moment. He wasn't afraid of the quiet power waving off of the horned guy. He wasn't afraid of the sleeping shorty either.

He was just being careful, he decided as he curled up on the couch. Everything in the house was soaked with the horned guy's magic and the air still felt heavy so it was hard for Grim to relax enough to sleep.

His last drifting emotions were messy, full of caution and worry and confusion.

And yes, fear.

Some ways away from the building that had been ramshackle not even an hour before, a fae was having a breakdown in the middle of a store.

Sam, the owner of the school's shop just stood there awkwardly as his friends in the shadows writhed uneasily.

It's always uncomfortable to watch a grown man cry.

“A baby changeling!” Crowley wailed for the nth time as he broke down into even harsher sobs.

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

Divus Crewel could be said to be many things but one thing he was not was patient.

And yet here he stood, outside of the previously empty dorm on campus after knocking for the third time.

At the first knock he had heard a loud thunk and a shrieked yowl. On the second knock he had heard even more screeching and the sounds of wings flapping. Finally now on the third knock he heard hurried steps towards the door.

The door was harshly yanked open and Divus finally saw the troublesome pup he had been saddled with. The boy was panting hard as he stood leaning against the door. He was still in his ceremonial robes which were creased badly from a night of apparently sleeping in them. And he was small, Divus noted. Smaller than any other student he taught except for maybe Vanrouge.

Divus had not wanted to come here this early in his morning of the first day of classes, but Crowley had insisted. The man had begged off from the job citing some fae nonsense and demanding that Divus went in his stead.

Fae students were almost always members of Diasomnia so Divus had never had trouble from their brand of problems before since the dorm usually kept to themselves. But now he had this pup in his homeroom who was, from what he could understand of Crowley's chaotic babbling, apparently just whelped by fae standards. A true puppy, Divus thought in dismay.

“Um,” the puppy mumbled, “Can I help you?”

Divus held in a large sigh before leveling his newest most troublesome student with a firm glare.

“On the contrary, I am here to help you. Now follow me.”

Divus turned on his heel, striding away immediately without checking to see if the boy would follow his instructions. He had better if he knew what was good for him.

Thankfully, he soon heard the sound of running from the pup to catch up. Divus discreetly slowed his pace when he saw the pup having trouble matching his.

“Excuse me,” the boy said after a few minutes of walking through the grounds, “but who are you, sir?”

Divus cast a side glance at him, noticing the owl on his shoulder and the cat monster struggling to catch up silently, before staring straight ahead once more.

“I am Divus Crewel, professor of potions and alchemy. You will address me only as either Professor Crewel or Master.”

The boy looked bewildered before nodding jerkily.

“As for why I am being lowered to fetch you, it has been noted that as a student without a proper dorm you will not have the necessary equipment that is usually provided upon starting the school year. As such you will need to be fitted for a uniform as well as have any other supplies given to you now.”

There was no response from the boy other than an understanding nod as he was looking around apprehensively as they reached the castle that was the school itself. Divus was quietly thankful that the pup at least seemed well behaved. That was more than can be said for most of the unruly pups Divus had the displeasure of training.

Once inside, Divus quickly led the boy to his office and then ordered him to sit and wait. The boy awkwardly sat in the chair offered to students who visited during office hours while Divus left.

Harry looked around the office warily as he waited before looking down at the cat that Hedwig had been staring down the whole morning.

“What are you doing here, anyways?” he finally asked, making the cat's fur bristle at his tone.

“I'm going to be the greatest mage to have ever lived! But,” the cat said heatedly, before suddenly looking disheartened, “This stupid school doesn't seem to appreciate my greatness. No matter how long I waited, the black carriage never came.”

Harry somewhat recalled being told something about a black carriage the night before from the Headmaster but he didn't remember the significance of it. He decided to stay quiet and wait for the cat to continue as he seemed to not be done.

“But last night it hit me! The Headmage didn't kick me out because he thought I was your familiar or whatever! So if I stick to you, I'll be able to learn here!”

The cat seemed very proud of himself.

“Then,” Harry began before pausing uncertainly, sharing a look with a disapproving Hedwig, “you want to be my familiar?”

The cat frowned before crossing his arms in anger.

“This doesn't mean I'm some pet cat of yours, do you understand?! I'm just sticking to you to go here!”

That… didn't really answer his question but he decided not to push it. But there was one last question on his mind that he figured the cat would answer.

“What's your name?”

The cat blinked dumbly, seemingly astounded that Harry didn't know who he was before grinning proudly and striking a frankly adorable pose.

“I am the Great Grim, sorcerer extraordinaire!”

Harry's eyes widened as a fresh wave of grief passed through him. Grim. Like Sirius's animagus form.

Swallowing down the emotions as best he could, Harry gave a shaky smile as he replied, “Nice to meet you, Grim. My name is Harry Potter.”

Before Grim could reply, the professor came back in the room, looking around suspiciously as if Harry would have trashed the room in his absence.

The man was holding what Harry assumed was a uniform in one hand and a wand with… a dog collar attached to it… in his other. Floating behind him was a small trunk.

“The uniform is a Diasomnia uniform. Crowley demanded you wear one to appease Draconia or some other such nonsense. Inside the trunk is all of your school supplies.”

With a loud thud the trunk dropped onto the office desk. The man gave him a stern look as he started enunciating each word of his next sentence.

“Do. Not. Break. Them.”

Harry nodded quickly, quite used to irate potions professors. Unlike Snape, however, Harry's response seemed to be enough to mollify the man.

"There is a restroom down the hall. Go change in one of the stalls. Take the trunk back to your dorm. Your timetable is in the trunk. Do not be late, I do not excuse tardiness.”

Harry was quick to take the dismissal for what it was.

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

While the lifetime of fae are significantly longer than any other species, the fae themselves have different life expectancy depending on which type of fae they are. For example, the lifetime of dwarves are only three times as long as the life expectancy of humans. Meanwhile the most infamous of fae, that of the dragon, can live well over thousands of years.

This discrepancy leads to differences in the ages a fae matures through their life cycle. The most glaring of examples being the length of a fae's infancy. Using the prior examples of dwarves and dragons, a dwarf will reach older adolescence at fifty years of age while dragon fae will reach the same level of maturity at five hundred years.

An Excerpt from A Study of the Fair Folk

-

Fae are extremely protective of their young. A child fae will generally never be allowed to leave the territory of the fae's parents. Though as this is not always possible, those who do leave their territory are heavily protected. A fae will layer spell after spell over their young, both to protect them and to ward off others. All beings instinctively will feel the threatening aura coming from the child's parents and will generally leave the child alone.

An Excerpt from Fae: A Summary

Ace had heard all about life at Night Raven College from his brother. Joker was a Heartslabyul alumni and had given Ace a crash course on what to expect from the school. He knew all of the dorms' typical members and the best hidden spots around campus to hang out.

What he didn't warn Ace about was Malleus Draconia.

The opening ceremony had been a riot. Ace had gotten into Heartslabyul just as he had expected and had been entertaining himself by watching the other students. It had at first went great, there were so many characters among his classmates.

Everything changed when the Headmage appeared with none other than Malleus Draconia. Of course Ace had heard of him before, a prince and one of the five most powerful living mages in the world. He had even distantly known he was attending Night Raven. None of that knowledge prepared him for the man himself.

The scene that occurred when they arrived was downright hilarious and part of Ace had reveled in the chaos of it all. But his eyes kept being drawn to the Draconia who despite looking mostly calm seemed to loom over everyone. There was a constant undercurrent of danger that was assaulting his senses.

Much like how he was feeling now, staring at the boy who had arrived with the Headmage and Draconia. He looked awkward, standing in the doorway looking for a seat with a white owl on his shoulder and the amusing weaselly cat at his feet.

Everything in Ace seemed to tell him to stay away from the boy.

So of course he offered the open seat next to him to the boy.

The boy was obviously relieved as he gave Ace a smile before moving towards the seat. The owl flew off to perch on the back of the chair. The cat was grumbling under its breath.

When the boy sat Ace grinned at him mischievously which immediately made him give Ace a wary look.

“I'm Ace Trappola, first year Heartslabyul student.”

“I'm Harry,” the boy responded, “And I wasn't sorted as you probably remember.”

Ace looked at the boy, Harry's, Diasomnia uniform before shrugging it off.

“Got to say Harry, you sure know how to put on a show.”

Harry blinked, pausing briefly in his helping of the cat into his lap, before looking warily over at Ace again.

“I wasn't trying to do anything like that. It just happened,” he finally replied slowly once the cat was settled firmly in his lap.

“Well whatever you were trying to do, you sure did spectacular at pissing off Riddle. He was spitting mad for the rest of the night.”

Ace then grinned conspiratorially as he leaned in.

“And your cat, wow! Did you teach it to be such a nuisance?”

Ace sat back with his smug grin, waiting to see the fallout of his words.

Harry was having a tiring morning. He had barely had enough time to run back to the house he was staying at, drop off the trunk and return to the castle with his map, books, and timetable. And then he had to find the classroom. Thankfully he was quite used to map reading from the Marauder's map and any time he had issues, the portraits were quite helpful.

He also had to stop Hedwig from attacking Grim after every time the cat said something offensive. Which happened a lot. And he had to stop Grim from setting things on fire when he was slightly inconvenienced.

He had been thankful to finally reach the classroom. And then he had the misfortune of meeting a boy who reminded Harry distinctly of the Weasley twins.

It honestly didn't surprise Harry when Ace said something to set off Grim.

The cat had not taken being called a nuisance well. Or the fact that Ace said Harry trained him. Or the fact that Ace existed in his general space.

Harry had to quickly cover Grim's mouth to stop a stream of blue flames from assaulting the boy on instinct.

It was just as surprising to Harry as it was to Grim himself when the flames were immediately extinguished before they could reach Harry's skin.

Quickly putting aside the fact that Harry was now apparently fireproof, Harry turned to the lost Weasley triplet and said as nicely as he could when he was annoyed himself, “I would appreciate it if you did not insult Grim in his presence. He's a little touchy.”

The cat of course took offense to that as well. He whirled around in Harry's lap and looked up at him accusingly. Grim then opened his mouth, to give a tirade or a fire stream Harry didn't know as a loud smacking sound hit his desk, shocking them both.

“And I would appreciate it if your cat will behave itself in class, Mr. Draconia,” the potions professor, Professor Crewel growled, dog collar wand resting threateningly on Harry's desk.

Was he talking to Harry? He was obviously talking to Harry. But Mr. Draconia? Did he think he was related to the guy with horns from last night? Harry supposed there was a resemblance but he didn't think that was enough to instantly think they're related. Harry went to tell the teacher that his surname was actually Potter but Crewel had already turned around and stalked towards the teacher's podium.

“I welcome all of you puppies to Night Raven College. I am Divus Crewel, teacher of both potions and alchemy and I will be your homeroom teacher for all four years of your stay here. I expect you all to behave yourselves and not get into too much mischief while under my command. Do you understand?”

The classroom was stunned and there was quiet unease as a few whispers from classmates to their seat neighbors could be heard. Crewel apparently heard as well as his wand struck the podium sharply.

“I said, do you understand?”

There was quick straightening up as a chorus of 'yes sir's was heard throughout the room. The man nodded firmly.

“You will refer to me only as Professor Crewel or Master during your stay under my care. I will be the one who will be in charge of teaching you pups obedience during your Night Raven College years.”

Harry stared wide eyed at the man decked in black and white before sharing a glance with Ace and his familiars. Harry had a feeling his upcoming time at this place will be even stranger than he thought.

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

As the last bell rang to signal the end of lessons, Harry gathered his supplies with purpose, bidding Ace who had stuck to him like glue a polite goodbye.

The day had been easy, general greetings from each professor along with an overview of what their year in the class will be like. Syllabuses had been handed out and exam dates noted. Overall, it seemed like an actually good and structured school.

But the problem was Harry was not supposed to be here.

Just as he had when he was first introduced to the wizarding world, he went along with the flow, letting others guide him until he could get his own feet on the ground. And so he had waited, biding his time and observing his surroundings.

It was through his observations that he had come to the strangest conclusion yet.

Harry believed he may not even be on Earth anymore.

Though everything was familiar to him, things were just ever so slightly off. Like the fact that instead of wands as he knew them, everyone used pens with gemstones attached to them. Harry had spent his time in between lessons fiddling with his own pen with it's bright green gem.

Or how about the fact that there were people in his class with literal animal ears and tails? Harry had only ever seen things like that from the twin's prank spells, but from what he could tell, this was completely normal for them. Harry was sure if the wizarding world had such inhabitants he would have heard of them by now. The closest that he could even think of would be werewolves, who only had beast like appendages on full moons, and centaurs, who didn't have general lower human anatomy.

Then there was the fact that Professor Trein mentioned optional classes to learn animal languages. Harry's own ability to speak to snakes was so rare and feared because not just anybody could learn it. But he had clearly heard his new history teacher vocalizing in spits, growls, and meows with his familiar Lucius responding back.

The fact that he had not heard the word wizard or witch once in regards to the students was odd enough. They were instead called magicians or mages.

And then there was the biggest clue that Harry was somewhere very far from the reaches of wizarding England.

No one knew who he was.

His scar was on full display and there were no wide eyed stares at it or whispers of 'Harry Potter.' The teachers even had his name wrong.

He did get stares but the whispers were different. Instead he heard whispers of 'Malleus' and 'Draconia.'

Apparently whoever he had met in his dream was someone important. And considering the tones of the whispers, very likely feared.

It was highly unsettling to Harry.

So he was on his way back to the dorm house he had been led to the previous night. He vaguely recalled Malleus promising him he'll be there when Harry's first school day is over.

It was time to get his answers to everything swirling around in his brain and if he's lucky, a way to return home.

Anywhere may be better than the Dursley's but he can't just stay here. He has a whole world waiting on him.

Malleus looked up from where he was studying the magically refurbished gargoyles along the roof ledge when he felt his child draw near.

To leave his side early in the morning had been a trial in itself. Going through the whole school day was almost torturous.

Malleus was powerful. He knew this, and as such was not used to the feeling of anxiety. To feel this worried for the health and safety of his changeling while out of his sight was new and humbling.

Malleus had kept up magical awareness of the whole castle just to feel his child's young magic and ascertain he was well. But to actually see him again was a tremendous relief.

Harry was walking up the twisted pathway to the abandoned dorm. At his feet, the cat monster's loud voice was audible even from afar. The owl flew over his child's head before soaring towards Malleus. He blinked at the bird as it settled on the porch's guardrail and observed him.

Though his eyes stayed locked with the majestic bird's, Malleus kept his awareness on the approaching changeling.

His magic was slightly agitated, bristling as if preparing itself for a fight. It was worrying enough for Malleus to turn completely towards Harry.

Now that he was closer Malleus could see the resolve in the young fae's bright green eyes and the imperious set to his walk. This child was on a mission. And it seemed to include Malleus himself as the boy's eyes were set entirely on him.

The cat monster had quieted as they drew closer to Malleus and he could sense its fear of him. It was curious to note that the monster did not fear Harry at all even with Malleus's magic practically dripping off him. He was glad to see the spells he carefully layered over the child as he slept were intact and still strong.

“May we talk inside?” Harry asked as soon as he was within a human's hearing range to Malleus.

Malleus merely nodded before heading to the door and opening it for him. The child looked at the offered empty doorway before awkwardly smiling.

Once inside Malleus headed towards one of the armchairs and sat regally. He expected the child to take a seat as well, but he remained standing, back straight and expression firm.

“I would like to know where I am.”

Malleus stared, a little surprised by the child. He thought they had explained that well enough the previous night.

“We are at Night Raven College,” he answered after a few silent moments.

That answer seemed to not be what Harry was looking for as his magic spiked in agitation.

“No,” he said, “I know that. I mean where is Night Raven College?”

He was about to reply the Isle of Sages but something nagged in the back of Malleus's mind. In the last dream they shared he had known everything about Harry. Every single moment of his life, his thoughts, his dreams. Now in consciousness he may not remember everything, but he recalled very vague details. And what he remembered was unfamiliar in many ways.

Deciding to just answer him, he said, “The school is located on the Isle of Sages,” and gave a pause before adding, “In Twisted Wonderland.”

It felt a bit silly to say something so obvious as the name of the world but something in Malleus told him that was the right answer.

Harry looked at him, visually calm. His magic was another story. It was in distress and Malleus automatically let out a croon to ease the child.

He surprised himself with the sound and it must have surprised Harry too, as his eyes widened in shock. Some of the tension in his shoulders released however and his magic settled a fraction.

After a minute or so of contemplation, Harry asked his next question.

“How did I get here?”

“The Mirror would have brought you, as you were summoned as a student,” he answered, as patient as can be. It pleased something deep inside the fae that his child instinctively came to him for answers. So no matter how inane a question, Malleus would gladly answer it.

“The talking mirror, it's some kind of… portal?”

“Yes, though the school has personal mirrors for the dorms, the Dark Mirror is the only one on campus with the capabilities of transportation out of the school grounds.”

That seemed to interest Harry as he visibly brightened.

“And it can send you anywhere?”

Malleus blinked, slightly concerned by the question but answered accordingly.

“Yes, it should be able to. It is a priceless magical artifact.”

The child's magic lightened considerably as Harry smiled.

“Thanks. I'm going to go on a walk now.”

And with that worrying statement, he put his books down on the table and like a whirlwind swept out of the house, animals on his heels.

Malleus had a strong feeling that his hatchling was going to bring a lot of chaos into his life. He couldn't help but smile though. It had been so long since he was excited for the future.

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

The mirror chamber was where Harry remembered it. After five years of traversing Hogwarts's confusing halls, memorizing the layout of Night Raven was easy. Once inside however, he began to take in the scenery he had ignored that night. Now no longer dimly lit, it was easy to see the seven other mirrors in the chamber, each smaller than the Dark Mirror. He spared them a passing glance as he headed straight towards his goal.

Grim, who had been wheezing from trying to keep up with Harry's fast determined strides the whole time, plops down once they reach the mirror, utterly exhausted. Harry didn't spare him a glance as he focused on the mirror.

The Dark Mirror was pitch black, and the green flames from the opening ceremony were gone. The theater mask face however was still there, staring back at Harry.

“Send me back.”

The words were clearly a demand but the face looked unimpressed as it frowned at him.

“I cannot,” it said succinctly, daring to look even slightly bored.

“Why not?” Harry asked, trying his best to control his temper.

“It is impossible.”

The mask's words were flat and Harry balked. Not one to accept the impossibility of something, Harry demanded once more, “Send me back! If you can't send me back, send me to Hogwarts.”

The request was a reasonable one in the teen's eyes but the face in the mirror remained impassive.

“There is no place in this world.”

Harry had started to get that, thanks. But if it had taken him from his world, it should be able to send him back.

Hedwig chooses this moment to fly up and settle on the mirror's top. She gives a golden eyed glare down at the mask.

“Hogwarts, it's in Scotland on Earth,” he gritted out, determined to not lose this battle of wills.

The face was unperturbed by Harry's aggression. It merely continued to look at him as it repeated, “There is no place in this world.”

Several things happened in the next few moments.

One, Harry finally loses his temper.

Two, Ace, who had just seen Harry arguing with a mirror, had begun to walk over to him

Three, another first year student, Deuce Spade walks unsuspectingly into the mirror chamber to head to his dorm.

Four, Hedwig flies up in alarm.

Five, Harry's magic throws a tantrum.

What follows is a grand explosion of magic, blasting the three teens and a cat headfirst into the mirror which had seemingly glitched from the overflow from Harry's magic.

All that is left in the mirror chamber is broken stone, the mirrors and a panicked owl.

Meanwhile, all three boys and cat fall through the mirror and land in an uncomfortable tangle of limbs harshly on the ground. Deuce sits up and spits grass out of his mouth as he begins to sputter out questions.

“What was that? What happened? Where are we?”

Ace, who had been on top of him, topples off and onto the ground, groaning in pain.

And Harry who had been pinned under both of them immediately wriggles free to check his surroundings. He had learned from his trip to the graveyard to always be alert after surprise teleportation.

His eyes scanned his surroundings, taking in the vast greenery around him. Tall trees stretched for miles, and the only other landmark Harry could make out was a cottage a bit away.

Ace was annoyed as he sat up. He glowered at the other Heartslabyul boy and hissed out, “Did you have to move so fast? Who even are you?”

Deuce was visibly offended. “I'm Deuce Spade. I'm in your class. Have you not bothered to remember your classmates at all?”

Ace was completely unapologetic as he snarked back, “Right, and you've memorized everyone already. Tell me, what's my name?”

The other boy begins to stutter and Ace lets out a devious smirk, glad to be proven right.

Grim chooses this moment to finally let out his complaint as he yowls, “WILL YOU GET OFF ME?” from his spot under Deuce. The boy jolts in surprise and quickly stands, apologizing profusely to the magical beast. Grim pointedly ignores him and just begins making exaggerated pained sounds.

“We went through the Dark Mirror, didn't we? Do you know where we are?” Ace asked everyone, but his eyes rested on Harry who he had seen talking to the mirror before the explosion.

Harry grimaces. This wasn't the Forbidden Forest so his request to the mirror hadn't been answered. He had no idea where they were.

Deuce frowns at the question as he shakes his head no before his face brightens. “It doesn't matter where we are. We can just go back through the mirror!”

Harry looks over confusedly at the boy but Ace seemed to understand as he visibly relaxed.

“Right,” he says as he finally got onto his feet.

The two boys began to look around pointedly, searching for what exactly Harry wasn't sure, but whatever it was it was apparently absent as the relaxed expressions on their face quickly turned to horror.

“What? What's wrong?” he finally asked, annoyed at being left in the dark.

Ace looks over to him, panic beginning to fill his eyes.

“The way the Dark Mirror works is that if there is no standard traveling mirror to connect to, the Mirror leaves a portal behind. It shouldn't matter where we are, the portal we arrived through should still be here.”

But it was not, as was evident by the two boy's panicking.

Harry had a sinking feeling in his gut as he began to realize that none of them knew where they were, they had no secure way of getting back to the college, and no one except Hedwig even knew they were gone.

They were stranded and completely alone.

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

Ace had the (not so) bright idea to investigate the dilapidated old cottage by actually going inside. Harry walked as softly as he could so the rotten floorboards wouldn't cave in on him.

The entry room was small, and by that Harry meant everything was child sized. Seven tiny chairs sat around a tiny table along with a tiny everything else.

“I guess nobody lives here anymore,” Deuce said, frowning slightly. Ace nodded his head as he continued to snoop.

Harry turned and gave them the most deadpanned look. Did they really think someone lived in this rundown cottage? They could see even from outside that the whole second floor was caved in.

“I wonder why this place is in the middle of nowhere?” Deuce then questioned aloud.

Ace gave a huff as he agreed, “And why it was abandoned.” He continued to look around with a more suspicious look on his face.

Harry continued to stay on the most stable looking floorboards, waiting for the other two teens to finish their investigation. He bent down and scooped up Grim as he passed him, ignoring his protesting yowls. He would not let the cat get into any trouble in this very obvious deathtrap.

“Can we leave now? I don't think we're going to get anymore clues as to where we are from this place,” he finally pleaded, eyeing a particularly concerning board on the ceiling that looked like it might collapse at any moment.

Both Ace and Deuce were reluctant to leave the house, but eventually agreed to Harry's request.

Back outside, Harry let out a breath of relief and immediately coughed from breathing in so much dust in the shack. Grim escaped his hold in his moment of weakness and immediately began complaining.

“Myah! Finally we're out of there! My nose was killing me with all the dust. Why'd you go and grab me anyways? I wanted to look around too!”

“I know,” Harry said dryly as he looked around for any other landmark. In the distance he could make out what looked to be a cave. “Hey guys, let's check that out.”

They had found tiny child sized pickaxes in the cottage so maybe the cave was a mine or tunnel.

Ace and Deuce agreed readily and all four began to make their way over.

As they approached they began to make out what looked like an abandoned minecart toppled over on it's side. A few more pickaxes were lying around. There was a track that was obviously previously used for the minecarts heading into the cave, which Harry was now certain was a mine.

“A mine, huh? Do you think there are any workers in there?” Ace asked curiously, trying to peer into the dark opening.

Harry looked blankly at the other teen. Did he seriously think there was anybody in there at all? The mine was so obviously abandoned, just like the cottage had been. There were even no lights on in the tunnel!

“Should we check?” Deuce asked cautiously and Harry felt his soul trying to leave his body. These boys were completely serious.

“Are you crazy?” came the voice of reason from a very surprising source, Grim. “It's pitch black in there!”

Ace let an evil smirk cross his face as he looked down on the cat.

“Why? Are you scared of the dark or something?”

And that was just the words that would have Grim trying to prove himself not scared and Harry found his last comrade against this very bad idea gone.

Holding in a sigh Harry took out his new pen wand and cast a silent lumos.

With the tunnel now brightly lit by Harry's glowing magestone, the three boys and cat walked into the mine slightly more at ease.

Harry quickly began to wonder why the mine had been abandoned as there were countless shining gems everywhere in the cave. Harry thought they probably cost a fortune.

As the quartet walked further into the mine they began to feel the hair (or fur, in Grim's case) on the backs of their necks rise. An unnatural chill came over their bodies.

Something was there. And it was close.

Creepy laughter came from right behind them and all four turned around quickly to be confronted with a horde of ghosts. Harry was stunned. They looked nothing like the realistic and often terrifying ghosts he knew from Hogwarts but instead were in the shape of featureless white translucent blobs in various sizes. They honestly looked like something he would see in a cartoon.

Their nonthreatening appearance (to Harry) was belied by their mischievous laughter as they came closer to the four.

“Visitors! We haven't had visitors in ten years!”

Another ghost laughed lowly as he continued, “Make yourself at home!”

More laughter and another followed with, “You can stay forever.”

The fight or flight instinct finally kicking in, three of the four turned back around and began to run further into the mine. The fourth, Harry, readied his still glowing pen wand and fell into an easy to move stance.

He was getting ready to begin casting all he could think of to see what would effect the ghosts, but Deuce had finally noticed he wasn't with them and bravely dashed back, grabbed a hold of Harry's shoulder and tugged him behind him, running fast to catch up with the other two.

“Hey!” Harry complained as he finally began running with Deuce instead of being dragged.

Deuce just ignored him and continued running.

The quartet were chased by the ghosts and their eerie laughter for around ten minutes before it suddenly stopped. The only sounds around were their panting breaths.

“Did we lose them?” Ace wheezed, falling onto the ground as he stretched out tiredly.

Deuce looked around into the darkness surrounding their small area of light and cautiously nodded.

“I think so.”

Harry, slightly winded from the run but better off than both Ace and Grim from his quidditch drills, wasn't so sure. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something seemed off. The ghosts had been having too much fun to just abandon their pursuit so quickly.

He opened his mouth to voice his thoughts when a low dragging sound echoed.

“...oooness… Stooooones...”

All four looked up frightened.

Stones? What could that mean?

Finally into their small bubble of light came a monster. It was large with tattered red clothes and holding in either hand a lantern and a pickaxe. The most puzzling yet terrifying thing about it's appearance, however, was it's head.

Instead of a head, it had a giant glass ball filled to the brim with a dark substance. From the smell Harry would almost guess it was ink.

Whatever the creature was, however, it was very clearly hostile as it raised it's giant pickaxe in the air.

“Stooonesss… Aaaarrre…. Miiiiiiiine!”

And with a roar, it attacked.

Chapter 12

Chapter Text

Overblot is most dangerous in fae. As fae are so infused with magic that they could be said to be made of magic itself, the accumulation of blot can come at an alarmingly fast rate and the results are always catastrophic. There has been no account recorded of a fae Overblot that has not ended in multiple casualties.

An Excerpt from Fae: A Summary

Strong emotions of the fae are inherently dangerous, as their instinctive magic will usually respond without any conscious choice from the fae. While their magic may be harmless, the chance that it will not be is always a concern. The stronger the fae the more danger is present in regards to their emotional reactions. The fae must consciously keep their instinctive magic at bay.

Fae young are notoriously emotional and as such their magic is highly reactive. Because they have not gained the control over their emotions and magic that the fae are famous for, their emotional outbursts can be particularly volatile.

An Excerpt from A Study of the Fair Folk

Hedwig had been startled by the explosive response of her Harry-chick's magic. While she was aware her chick's magic was much more likely to act on its own compared to others', the strength of the response and how quickly it had happened was a surprise. There was usually a build up of tension in her Harry-chick before his magic reacted.

But this time his outburst was so fast and strong, Hedwig barely had the time to fly up out of the danger zone to survey the situation before it was suddenly over.

And her chick was nowhere in sight.

Hedwig ruffled her feathers as she began to fly out of the mirror chamber, pushing aside her panic. Panic will not help her Harry-chick.

Now where to go? Crow-man was definitely out. Bat-man was a possibility. But Hedwig thought she chose the best option when she singled out one magical signature to find.

Yes, she thought smugly as she raced through the air, Dragon would be the best to help her save her Harry-chick from whatever mess he was in now.

It was only Harry's quickly cast Protego that saved them from being crushed by an absurdly large pickaxe.

The pen wand felt awkward in his hand, the smooth metal so at odds with the feel of sanded wood that he was used to. The size was so much smaller as well and his grip was different.

There was no time on a battlefield to bemoan being unaccustomed to an available weapon however, so Harry forcibly shoved the thoughts aside as he took in as much information on his situation as he could.

All three of his companions were horrified and in obvious terror of the monster. He didn't think they'd be of much help. Harry suddenly wished he had a member of the DA at his side instead.

Turning back around towards the way they came, the other three began to run again, with much more urgency. Deciding caution was the better part of valor, Harry turned too and began to catch up with the trio.

The monster continued to pursue them for awhile, continually moaning about stones, but their pace far outstripped the heavy and large creature and before they knew it they were bursting out of the mine's entrance and into the sunlight.

All four almost collapsed as soon as they reached the relative safety of the outside. Loud panting was the only sound heard before Ace apparently had gotten enough of a second wind to begin complaining.

“Should we check? Whose brilliant idea was that?” he spat out at Deuce who looked up from his heaving to glare back at him.

“You're the one,” he said between heavy breaths, “who said there might be miners inside.”

Grim decided this was the moment for him to pipe in as he immediately growled, “And I was the one to tell you two bozos that it was crazy!”

Harry glared at his new familiar, still on guard. The monster might leave the mine to get to them.

Adrenaline was still high in the teen as he pointed his pen wand in the direction of the mine entrance, stance ready to move as he caught his breath too.

“Would you guys be quiet?” he hissed, straining his ears to hear for the monster.

That just turned the three's ire onto him.

“We wouldn't even be in this situation if it wasn't for you! If you hadn't thrown a tantrum to the Dark Mirror we never would've had to see that thing!”

Ace's shout was not quiet. It also pissed Harry off.

“I didn't do that on purpose! I just wanted to go home!”

“Oh, so the baby missed his mommy?”

Harry felt something the string to his temper that was already pulled taut finally snap as he whirled around and pointed his wand at the other teenager's face.

“Don't talk about my mother.”

The words were ground out as Harry glared down at Ace, green eyes glowing eerily.

Green flames once more licked at Harry's legs and the atmosphere in the air got charged and the already out of breath teens found it even harder to breathe.

“H-hey,” Grim stuttered out, “He didn't mean it. Right, explodey-head?”

The last words were given out with a harsh jab in Ace's side but the words had a different effect on the boy than intended.

Forgetting the danger of the baby fae in front of him, Ace whirled towards Grim and asked incredulously, “What did you call me?”

“You heard me,” the cat hissed out, “Now just agree with me!”

“No, no. What did you just call me?”

Harry literally growled, the sound coming up from his throat, as he watched this confrontation. It got the attention of all three of his unwitting companions. The flames at his feet flared higher.

Harry wasn't sure what he was about to do, so embroiled in his anger as he was, but whatever it was was derailed when the monster appeared in the mine's entrance, looming and as scary as ever.

Great, Harry thought sardonically, just when he lets his guard down it comes.

But at least now he had a target for his aggression.

Crowley was burying his head in his hands as he sat at his desk. Nothing was going right this year. There was so many precautions he now had to put in place and so many ways he could be eviscerated if he upset a possessive dragon.

He was just about to dive into research on safety wards to baby-proof his school when his office door was slammed open.

His head immediately turned to the intruder.

The small form of Lilia Vanrouge greeted him, red eyes glowing and face in a ferocious scowl.

“He's missing.”

Crowley didn't need any clarification on whom Lila was speaking of.

Ah, he thought dazedly, I'm going to die, aren't I?

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

Malleus had never felt as panicked as he did the moment he realized that his changeling had gone missing. Though Malleus was not well-versed in deciphering the language of birds, Lilia, who he had been with at the time, was proficient in the skill. And what Harry's owl had to say had the dragon prince's heart racing.

His child was missing.

An explosion of magic near the strongest portal on the Isle of Sages and suddenly three students are missing. His child is missing. And they could be just about anywhere.

Lilia had been quick to leave to inform the Headmage leaving Malleus alone.

If Malleus had the restraint to calm himself enough to think through his actions, he would have surely found various other ways to deal with the situation. As it was, he had never had to deal with these emotions and instincts, so he immediately brute-forced his way into finding the young fae.

Uncaring of any panic he would cause to others, he sent out an overwhelmingly powered pulse of magic to sense and locate the missing child. Fortunately Malleus felt Harry's magic quickly. At the very base of the mountain, the magic that he had already come to find so precious and familiar could be felt. Unfortunately, the magic was clearly agitated and writhing uncontrollably, desperate to protect itself like a cornered animal.

While locating him was easy enough, getting to him would be slightly harder. Even though most find the magic impossible to cast, the magic of the wards on Night Raven College's campus restricted teleportation anyways. As Malleus was one of the few who could teleport, the situation was vexing.

As he now had a location of his hatchling, Malleus hurried to the Mirror Chamber, Harry's owl dutifully following him.

The Dark Mirror had obviously just been through an ordeal, as the masked face within was scowling heavily, and the faintest crack could be seen in the mirror. The magic behind the Dark Mirror was ancient and left it almost completely invulnerable, but his infant changeling had managed to scratch the surface. An inappropriately timed surge of pride ran through him at the sight.

“Oh, it's you,” the Mirror petulantly muttered.

“Send me to the base of the mountain,” Malleus, ignoring the Mirror's temper, ordered.

The Dark Mirror just let out a huff before a portal within it opened up for him.

Once through the portal, Malleus was unsurprised to see the owl soar through behind him. Unfortunately for both of them, the Mirror had dropped them at the side of the road at the base of the mountain, well away from where Malleus had sensed his child.

The owl then gained his attention with a sharp hoot and the dragon fae could interpret enough from the bird's gesturing that she wanted him to follow her. Trusting in the owl's obvious loyalty to Harry, Malleus raced after the bird now speeding through the forest, swerving and dodging trees and branches as she went.

He would reach his child soon.

In Harry's defense, he had been angry.

That of course didn't assuage the palpable fear in the air as all three of his companions stared at him.

He knew he must look a mess, with black inky goop dripping from his drenched form onto the ground, surrounded by the remains of the monster. Harry reached down for the monster's red clothes and used it as a makeshift rag to at least try to get a bit of the mystery substance off of him.

The teen reviewed the battle in his mind as he scrubbed.

The monster had been resistant to magic. His first overpowered Expelliarmus did relieve the monster of it's equipment, but the just meant Harry had to dodge for his life as an oversized pickaxe and lantern came hurtling at him in record speed.

The monster wasn't even pushed back however.

Harry, still brimming with magic buzzing under his skin from his temper, had been quick to continue casting spells. But with every knew curse and jinx he threw, the monster persisted, swiping out with its hands now that its weapon was gone. Flipendo, Diffindo, even Confringo barely made a dent on the thing.

By that time, after slinging slews of overpowered spells, Harry had aimed for its glass head and used the strongest Bombarda Maxima he could.

The result, as could be seen by the wreckage around him, was explosive.

The other three had been rather useless in the fight. Though Ace had thrown some wind spells that buffeted the creature a bit and Grim had spat blue flames at the thing constantly, they're attacks had been mostly ineffective.

So watching him literally explode it had been a bit of a shocker to the assembled teens and cat.

Harry sighed as he finally dropped the cloth, giving up on getting any more clean with the dirty rag.

“What in the name of the Seven was that?” Ace shouted, apparently out of his scared stupor, which cause Deuce to blink himself back to reality as a slow smile crossed his face.

“You did it!” Deuce said wonderingly, obviously filled with awe at the sight of the downed monster and overflowing with relief that the danger was gone.

Grim just let out a “Mweh, heh heh,” and began boasting that it was mainly him that fell the beast but Harry finally let himself relax a little as he heard Ace begin to bicker with the cat monster as he surveyed the area.

It was only this cautious habit that let him have a little warning before he was suddenly enveloped in a pair of arms.

Harry waited for his instinctual flinching and stiffening and was surprised when it didn't come. Instead, it felt like something inside him unraveled, finally losing all tension and he had the entire concept of safety seared into his brain.

It was only this feeling that let him not panic at the rumbling growl he felt and heard from the chest he was pressed against.

“What happened here?”

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

In almost military precision, a tall freshman paced back and forth, speeding up with every turn.

Everything was spiraling out of control, and fast. Sebek was determined to help, but he just couldn't figure out how.

His first year at Night Raven College had only just begun and his entire worldview was thrown on its axis. He had looked forward to serving his Young Master Malleus during his time at NRC, while learning all that he could to further improve himself to better serve the fae prince.

But starting at the entrance ceremony, his plans were thrown out the window when in walked the Young Master with a Younger Master. Sebek had been so deeply thrown by the revelation of a new heir of the Thorn Fairy that he had been struck silent.

The Young Master had a foundling, nay, a changeling. Sebek had grown up with Silver and as such could tell the difference between the two. Silver's humanity clung to him like a desperate child, while this new Young Master was purely fae.

Harry was his new Young Master's name. Prince Harry. What a common name for one so magnificent.

But what chaos he brought! It had been barely a day and the Youngest Master had already drained himself of enough magic that he was brought to the infirmary.

Which brought Sebek back to where he was, outside the infirmary door, nervously pacing as he tried to determine what to do. Silver stood outside the door as a silent sentinel, aurora colored eyes watching him warily. Sebek pointedly ignored him.

When the news had first sunk in, Sebek had been honored to be classmates with the little prince. His hopes had been dashed when he realized they were in different classes, but Sebek had decided he would just protect the young changeling outside of class hours. (Unless he needed him during class, a situation in which the young half fae would immediately ditch his own class to assist the young prince.)

But Sebek hadn't even been able to approach his Youngest Master because of the constraints of the first day of classes and the speed of the young changeling in the halls. And when the school day ended the boy and his familiars both practically disappeared with how fast they fled the school.

Sebek had been saddened but had reassured himself that he would just try harder on the second day. But then his hopes were dashed as the Diasomnia dorm went into a panic when Housewarden Malleus up and left in a hurry, leaving Lilia behind to inform everyone that the little prince was missing.

Sebek had been beside himself in worry. It was the first day and already the Little Master was in danger and Sebek was useless.

The freshman cast another worried glance at the infirmary door before resuming his pacing.

Sebek wanted to be of help but there was nothing he could do.

All he could do now was guard the door with his life.

Harry was fine.

Which he was very adamant in telling everyone but not one person would listen to him.

So he had used a lot of magic to take down a weird ink monster. It was nothing. Harry had felt what magical exhaustion felt like many times and he was nowhere close.

But that didn't stop any and everyone from smothering him apparently.

After Malleus, the guy with horns from his dream, appeared, Harry had been bundled up in the tall man's arms and swiftly plopped into a medical ward. After a thorough magical examination and a handful of potions shoved down his throat, Harry was then interrogated with the other teens on his newest adventure.

Which, kudos to them for seeing to his medical needs first before interrogation. That was new for Harry.

Still, he would really appreciate it if the people asking him questions would actually listen to him instead of talking over him. Because he was fine. And the monster wasn't a big deal.

But from Ace and Deuce's description of the monster it was ten times the size he remembered it. And their retelling of the fight was so filled with hyperbole that Harry couldn't stop from rolling his eyes multiple times. But all of his interjections were just met with horror from the listeners and he was promptly steamrolled.

Harry was tired, all right? It had been a long day and now that the dust was settled he would just like to pass out and recharge. But apparently even that was too much to ask as everyone around him just kept getting swept up into the tiny details.

So he was covered in some black ink like goop. Why was that such a big deal?

So the monster he had beat was full of that inky goop. So what?

So he was obviously malnourished. Why do these strangers care so much?

Harry was fine and he would appreciate it if someone would believe him for once.

Lilia listened intently to the conversations in the room, interjecting rarely and only when necessary. Crewel was in a snit over the health of his patient, Crowley was panicking about Harry encountering a blot monster, the first year duo was obviously in shock and embellishing their tales, and the poor baby fae was near a breaking point.

But Lilia had eyes only for Malleus. Malleus who was unnervingly quiet as he listened to every word said. Malleus whose hands were gripping together tightly as his green eyes stared straight into the green of his child's. Malleus whose magic felt like the eye of a hurricane.

Lilia was definitely on edge. There was no telling how Malleus could react. As a new parent, to a newborn changeling, Malleus's instincts must be going crazy and for his changeling to be in the shape he was in and having been in actual danger? There was a reason no one sane messed with children of the fae.

The two dragon fae were both on the verge of some kind of breakdown and the fallout would be catastrophic if Lilia didn't handle this carefully.

“Malleus will stay in the infirmary with Harry for the night so the pup's magic can heal. Crewel, see to the other two first years and then everyone leave,” he said, his last word dropping in tone and sending a shiver down everyone else's (other than the princes) spines.

Crowley was quick to obey his orders but Crewel was surprisingly resistant to leaving his patient. But Lilia was uncompromising. The two dragon fae needed to be left alone, and soon.

When everyone but the two dragon princes and the animals were left in the room, Lilia saw himself out. He gave a fond look to his son who was loyally standing guard outside the door and couldn't even bring himself to chide the young half fae for stopping Ace for a lecture for some inane infraction.

The day was a rollercoaster of emotions and Lilia knew that nerves were running high.

Bidding his son and the young Zigvolt to head back to the dorms to retire for the night, Lilia took his son's previous position.

It would be a long night.