Chapter 1

"Come with me. Study all that you need to know and gain inner peace."

"... You're serious."

"Deathly."

Harry gives Mika a long look.

She probably doesn't know what she's offering him. What she's asking him to give up- what she's asking him to turn his back on.

His friends.

Adrienne.

Daphne.

A new life- a chance at doing things right.

"It is no easy decision, I am aware." Mika says, her eyes focusing resolutely on him.

"I doubt it." Harry grits out.

Because wouldn't that just be so easy? To put up his hands, refuse to get involved, wash himself of the consequences of leaving, to say 'not my problem' or 'for my immortal soul' and say that it was all in the name of a greater cause?

"No- I do know. Harry, listen to me. I had the same decision to make..."

"I seriously doubt that."

"When I found out that I was a Guardian, I realized that I had to give up my family and my friends and all of my hopes and dreams... for the sake of those I had never met.

It was by no means an easy decision, as very few decisions in life are easy. However- it was the right decision. You cannot risk your soul- it is far too important.

Remember that it is not only you who suffer the consequences of your actions: it is all those under your care. The future of your wards depend upon your decision this, and every consecutive, night.

Will you listen to me, and spare your wards unnecessary suffering?"

"You're saying that all the Guardians are weird hermits that never have contact with the outside world?"

"It is a choice that all Guardians of the past have made... and it is for the best."

"No."

"There is no need for hasty decisions..."

"You're the one who was putting pressure on me to decide! Well, I've decided! I won't leave everyone to their fates! I refuse!"

"You will bring untold misery upon them, Harry Potter, if you decide upon this."

"What- no more lectures about hasty decisions?" He spits at her.

"No good can come of you staying here- with these people who taunt and tear at your soul. Do not fight the collective wisdom that has been passed down..."

"No."

"You are being childish. Reticent."

"Maybe. I'm not leaving people to their fates."

"Ignorant."

"Excuse me?"

"If you believe that you can make a difference in their fates by remaining here, then you are being ignorant. At least, if you believe it to be a positive difference."

"So you would have me abandon all that I care about?"

"If you truly care for them, you would realize that you are being selfish."

"I do! I care enough to try! If that's selfish... well. I guess I'll have to live with that."

"You are dooming them! Can you not see that?"

"Fuck off. I'm sticking with the people I care about."

Mika's lips thin in irritation, but Harry merely concentrates on waking up...

And found himself back in his room at 4:15 AM.

With a groan, he ran his hands over his eyes, inhaling sharply the scent of wood and smoke and early morning fire.

He wished he could look at Daphne- see her smiling at him- have her reassure him that she's alright and that they'll mange to work things through.

BaB-HP-BaB

There was, Letatsi decided when she became aware of her surroundings, obviously something very wrong with her currently.

If only because she couldn't feel anything wrong with her.

She was still alive. She didn't feel particularly like eating little children or puppies or even anything more inherently evil than some maize and a few of those little sweet dough-balls that the bakery near her home made...

Was this what it felt to have no soul?

Because, really, it felt no different than usual.

Oh no- had it failed? Worse: had she never had a soul to begin with? Would she have led her people to their downfall without conscience or understanding?

"Morning, Princess!"

Statled, Letatsi jumped and whirled to see the Demon-hermit grinning like an idiot behind her.

"Scared of something, nae?" He smirked at her as he snapped his fingers, his eyes blooming a brief silver colour, and then there was a fire in the pit behind her.

"What is the meaning of this?" Letatsi asked as she pulled herself up straighter, demanding in a voice that was used to being obeyed.

"This?" He swept a hand at the cave they were in.

It was filled to the brim with various knick knacks (some she thought to be easily recognisable, like the miniature model Eiffel Tower, whereas some were less obvious, like the strange little statue of a lizard-snake-bird) and there were a lot of warm blankets in the corner, not to mention the fact that rugs covered most of the floor- except for the fire pit in the middle of the cave.

"Sorry, but being a Demon-hermit doesn't exactly pay well. Funnily enough."

"That is not what I meant- as you are fully aware!"

"You're not a morning person, are you?" He was mocking her, she could see it in his ruby eyes.

"What is going on? You said that you accepted my soul!"

"I did, Your Highness." The title was even more mocking than 'Princess' in his mouth.

"Then why am I still alive?"

The demon huffed out an irritable breath, even as he headed for the fire pit with an undoubtedly stolen sheep trailing behind him.

Which was another weird thing. Really- a sheep?

"Did Malesotho tell you anything, really?" He asked as he promptly sat down across from her and pulled the sheep into his lap.

"... Not about this." Letatsi hedged.

"Of course not." The demon-hermit sighed at her. Then he made a strange sign with his hand, before lightly flicking it in the direction of the pile of blankets.

A book came zooming out from underneath the pile and nearly hit Letatsi square in the face, though she managed to duck just in time, and then it fell lifelessly at her feet.

She gingerly reached out to poke the book with her toe.

"What is this?" She finally asked, unable to recognise the golden lettering on the cover.

"Your owner's guide, of course." He snorted at her (still stroking that sheep, in a decidedly creepy fashion).

"My owner's guide to what, exactly?"

"Your, say, 'pet demon'."

"... What?"

"It's not really technically like that of course, but the demon thing is amusing..."

"Then how is it? I sold my soul to you! It doesn't feel like I'm missing an integral part of myself!" She snapped.

"Se'el... I should have known better. Really. What was I thinking...? Naka ba nearm!(1)"

"Are you ever going to explain this? Have you tricked me in my hour of desperation?"

"Don't be stupid... well. More stupid than you have already been."

"Then you have tricked me!"

"Girlie, you're trying what little patience I have. And that's not a lot. I have promised to help you, for the pre-agreed price of your soul."

"And yet you say you are not a demon one minute- then then next you say you are my pet demon!"

"Look girlie, I cannot be called simply a demon, because that happens to be a very narrow and ignorant world view. I'm a living thing."

"Then you are a demon of sorts!"

"What is it with you people and little boxes? Did I not just tell you that I'm not strictly a demon?"

"You are confusing me!"

"Well excuse me for being a living being and not fitting into your little pre-approved boxes!"

"Gah! What are you then?"

"How do I explain this to you... There are different nations, as you are aware, yes?"

"Yes."

"I am from a different nation... and a different species. So I am almost like... an alien! You know, like in a Sci-Fi adventure? I'm the hot sexy alien with the awesome powers that the mere human doesn't have!"

"... Do you have a point, other than that you have bad taste?"

"Yes! Keep up: I am the... Spock to your Uhura, the Yoda to your Luke..."

"Then you are an alien? Where does my soul come into it?"

"Listen girlie: I said I'm like an alien. I'm not from outer space. Just from... space you can't access."

"... What? Like the back of my shoe closet?"

"The back of your...? you know what- I don't want to know. Have you ever heard of the fourth dimension?"

"Yes. It is what my brother used to blame when we were children and he lost his toy or his bag or his blazer or..."

"Wow. Your brother lost a lot of his stuff."

"We were ten. And I fail to see what this has to do with anything."

"Well... the fourth dimension isn't just an excuse for losing things. It's real."

"... Really now."

"Yes. And I am sort of, kind of, from there."

"How long have you been out here? Because it is clear that you have lost your mind. Or maybe I took a wrong turn at the northern most mountains...?" She mused thoughtfully.

The Demon Hermit huffed in frustration, before he put the sheep down. "Here Bill, hold on a second would you? We have a doubter."

"Bill...?" Letatsi asked, giving the sheep a disturbed look. Bill just bleated innocently back at her.

A flash of light and a cloud of smoke caused her to screw her eyes shut and wave her hand in front of her face in a vain attempt to dispel the smoke.

"Proof enough for you, Princess?" The voice sounded like it had a bit of a built in echo, deep and gravelly as it was.

When Letatsi opened her eyes, she let out an astounded gasp.

For there, perched in front of her was a huge, snow white dragon.

"... Bullshit." Letatsi found her mouth seemed to work without her brain at the moment because it was chanting It's a dragon, it's a dragon, it's a damn well DRAGON DEMON HERMIT! What have you done you stupid, stupid girl? over and over again.

The dragon snorted at her.

"So much for the purity of your soul, princess."

"So... you are not a demon- you are a dragon?"

"Psh. Narrow minded girl, who says that I cannot be both?" The transition back to human form was far less showy this time.

"How is that possible...?"

"Simple. I am both, and yet neither simply because I come from another world where I would simply be the same as all the other people there. Like your idea of a human being.

But here I am a bit of a bastard child of the dragon and a demon, because your tales are based upon encounters that your people have had with my people. See- simple." He smiled at her and started to pet Bill again.

"... Alright. I suppose. That still does not explain why my selling my soul would be an option..."

"Because, my people do not have souls of their own. We have... anti-souls I suppose you could call it."

"Anti-souls? You mean like anti-matter?"

"Hey, look- the Princess does have a brain. Yes. A bit like that."

"And...?"

He snorted at her again. "Na, na. Impatient, aren't you?"

"Yes. I am. It is, after all, my soul."

"I didn't eat it, if that's what you're worried about. But the meeting of a soul and an anti-soul... it allows me to access powers that I am otherwise unable to access by myself."

"Why?"

"Well... speaking of matter and anti-matter, you know that when the two collide a great amount of energy is released, right?"

"I also know it burns out particularly quickly."

"Ah, that it does. It is a finite amount of energy that can be released, much like the burning of one gram of coal can only release so much energy. The point is- you only have one soul, and so I only have one anti-soul. So we can only release so much energy from the collisions of our souls."

"I do not like where this is going." Letatsi growled.

"Oh, and I do?"

"What happens when we... 'use up' our souls?"

"Simple: we die."

"What?"

"Hey, I asked whether you were sure about this. You said you'd do anything. Why do you think I was so reluctant?"

"And if I decide never to... collide my soul with yours?"

"Ah, that is quite the question isn't it? The answer is simple: our souls are already in contact with each other, so they do burn little bits of each other off all of the time. Admittedly, not as much as if we were to combine them for the power boost, but it's still happening. So in total it will cut off about half of your life expectancy."

"... Oh." Letatsi said, hugging her arms around her legs and feeling as though she wanted to cry.

"Look, if you're going to cry, do it facing away from me. I can't handle crying women."

"You are terrible!"

"Demon, remember?"

"... Are these powers able to save my people?"

"Unless they have someone like me on their side."

"I do not believe so, they seemed completely human to me."

"Then there you go- no problem."

"... This can not end well."

HP-BaB-HP

Fleur Delacour sneezed.

It was a properly Veela-ish sneeze, all petite and quiet and pretty.

Which wasn't the point. The point was that this stupid British weather had gotten her sick.

Delicately blowing her nose into her lace-edged handkerchief, she huddled miserably in her nest of blankets and covers. There was no way she was going outside.

Not even for her doggy.

Oh blast it all.

The dog was still out there- and it had no shelter, no food, no medical attention...

She was going to have to go get the dog some food, wasn't she? But what? She could hardly go back to that dingy pub or people were going to start thinking she had a drinking problem.

Which was just... bad.

With a dramatic sigh she fell back on her bed, placing a hand on her brow and staring at the ceiling.

This was ridiculous. It wasn't her dog- and Madame Maxime would have her head if she caught her going near it again.

Oh, sod it all.

An irritated huff, and then she threw the blankets off herself and headed for her closet. She'd just bundle up and deal with any fallout later.

It was just a little cold after all. She wasn't some sissy who felt the need to overreact at every little sneeze.

Five layers later, she threw the boy's cloak over herself and braved the outdoors.

The little village looked much the same as the previous time she had been there, all little shops and brick faces with little winding roads and a few people strolling around. She supposed it could be called... quaint.

If you really wanted to.

Fleur really didn't want to.

It was cold and wet and windy and utterly miserable.

She hated this country.

And where was the damned dog? Didn't it understand that she was suffering for it?

A sudden movement to her left had her startling, before she recognised the dog. It was snuffling through trash and Fleur felt a little stab of guilt for her callous thoughts.

After all, this poor little dog was suffering from cold and hunger- and who knew whether it was sick or something?

She pulled off her one glove and headed in the dog's direction.

"'Ello leetle doggee! 'Ow are you? Are you 'ungry?"

The dog turned to her, tail wagging and (she could swear) a little grin on its muzzle, before it sniffed her hand and gave a happy little bark as it sat.

"Oh! You are such a good leetle doggy! 'Ow could anyone just abandon you? Who could do zat to such a lovely leetle doggy? 'Oo's a good doggy? 'Oo? Eez eet you? Oui? Oui?"

The dog gave a happy little bark at this and Fleur laughed as she scratched its ears. It really was a smart dog.

"Alright leetle doggy, let's get you somesing to eat, oui?"

Another bark and it ran past her to the entrance to a shop- a pet shop. Fleur smiled at it.

"You are ze smartes doggy I know! Seet, and I will be right back. Good doggy!"

The wizard behind the counter looked at her strangely when she asked for dog food, but it seemed that they did stock some since apparently there was a rather elderly family who bred Swiss Sheperds. No one knew why, but they stocked it up to eccentricities- which the Wizarding World had many of- and just got the damned food.

So it was that Fleur levitated a very heavy bag of dog food out of the store, smiling at the dog still sitting where she'd left it.

"Alright, Doggy, now we just need to find you somewhere to stay so zat I can feed you. Any ideas?"

The dog barked and headed off to a house on a hill. Fleur set off behind it, completely ignoring the strange looks she got.

The dog scampered between a hole in the fence and Fleur made a face. She doubted she'd get through there with all her layers on- so she systematically began to remove them, the dog waiting patiently for her all the while.

When she finally managed to squeeze herself through the dog led her around to a window which it had clearly broken into. This was easier to squeeze through and she sneezed again when the collected dust rose up around her like a vengeful hive of bees.

The place was absolutely and completely held hostage by the dust, she could see that, and she wondered why this place was abandoned.

The dog barked impatiently at her and she smiled at it.

It turned out that the dog had made itself at home in the only room which still had a bed, burying into the threadbare blankets.

Fleur tutted at that, and took a broken chair leg (it looked like the dog had taken to chewing the furniture to still its hunger) and transfigured it into a blanket.

Satisfied that her transfiguration skills were as good as ever (it wasn't her best subject, but she still got great marks) she began to systematically transfigure all the loose pieces of wood into blankets.

The dog seemed extremely pleased with this and barked a happy little tune as she worked.

Finally, Fleur was satisfied that there were enough blankets to prevent it from freezing to death, and with a wistful look she wished she was any good at household spells. As it was, she'd probably just kill them in some sort of dust storm.

"Alright, Doggy, let's feed you!"

Once that was done, and she'd filled another transfigured bowl with some fresh water, she hunched down and smiled at the dog.

"You know, we cannot just call you Doggy forever. What can I call you...? Merlin?"

A growl let her know this wasn't an option.

"'Ow about... Arthur? No? Mmm... Mordred?"

The dog snorted at this and Fleur threw her hands up in the air.

"You are such a barbarian! What do you want me to call you? Fluffee?"

The dog scrunched up its nose before making a snuffling sound.

"Or maybee I should just call you Snuffles." She said sarcastically.

The dog barked at this.

"You 'ave got to be keeding me."

HP-BaB-HP

Viktor Krum felt his nostrils flare in annoyance as yet another giggle broke the silence of the library.

This was ridiculous. He was used to living a pretty sequestered life, what with his parents being farmers in a part of the country where you had to fly for nearly a day to find someone else and being in an all boys school.

Another giggle and Viktor broke his quill.

Closing his eyes (he'd only been here what? Three days? And he was about ready to run and hide from these stupid giggles) and taking a deep breath he mumbled a spell to clean the mess.

Admittedly, he couldn't fix the quill. He'd tried it once before and nearly decapitated Andrei in the process. They'd agreed whole heartedly that broken quills were to be thrown away.

Speaking of Andrei- the bastard had ditched him that morning, saying something about a girl who wasn't a cross-dresser. Which was, even by Andrei's tortured artist rock star thing, weird.

But they had a potions essay due, and even if the potions professor hadn't seemed to have flown straight from hell on those robes of his, Viktor knew that he needed at least four days to make a potions essay work. And he needed potions to study anything sports related.

So he grit his teeth and surreptitiously tried to find someone he could possibly borrow a quill from. Not seeing anyone he stood, cracking his spine, and headed towards the bookcases that separated the little tables that students generally worked at.

There was a scurrying noise and some squeaks.

It reminded him of exterminating garden gnomes.

Admittedly, the 'garden' gnomes in Bulgaria were more like crop trolls, but the general idea was the same.

Viktor moved haphazardly through the bookcases. The bloody library was like a maze- and he always got lost in mazes.

Nothing. Empty. No one there...

It seemed it wasn't just at Durmstrang that a morning spent in the library was considered a mortal sin.

"Oh! Look at that! Isn't it amazing? Right, so... was it what you were expecting? Because I'm not really sure if it's what I was expecting..." A girl's voice caught his attention.

Finally! Some nerds!

Viktor took a hard left into the passageway... and stopped.

For there, sitting in the golden glow of the morning sun, was the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen.

She was chatting away to a dark haired boy, but Viktor found himself transfixed by her gentle curves and the way the light shone through the slight frizziness in her hair made her seem as though she had a halo.

Viktor only realized that he had been staring, open mouthed, when the distant sound of her talking trailed off and he found himself being glared at by the boy.

Clearing his throat nervously (for She was looking at him now) he shuffled over to their table and gave a smile.

Admittedly, he'd been told by Andrei that it was more of a sickly grimace and that he should stick to being the dark and brooding part of their duo, but what else was he supposed to do?

He'd never really had the chance to be interested in girls- his head was always in the clouds. Literally.

"Uhm, yes? How may I help you? I mean, I am a prefect so you can ask me almost anything." She gave him a small smile. Though she didn't seem very pleased to see him.

And she didn't giggle.

Or flutter her eyelashes.

Or flirt.

She just seemed mildly annoyed.

Viktor felt himself flush under her scrutiny.

"I vonder if you have a quill for me to lend?" He managed to get out.

"Oh! Yes- I always keep extras with me! And it's borrow- not lend. At least... oh, never mind." She said, digging a whole bunch out of her bag. "You can never have too many quills, which I'm really learning since I'm prefect this year. I could probably start my own stationery shop with the amount of people I've given quills to this year. And I always say: make sure you have at least two quills with you at all times, because if the one you're using breaks, then what? I mean, even you should keep extras handy. I seriously doubt that your fangirls keep good quality writing instruments around. And if you take theirs- then what will they do? Undoubtedly their hormones do all their thinking, and I don't really lend my notes out to strangers, so you could theoretically cause someone to fail! And wouldn't that just be terrible?"

"... Yes?" He asked quizzically as he took the proffered quill. His English wasn't nearly good enough to keep up with her mile-a-minute mouth.

"Yes. Well. You just think about that then." She nodded at him. "And ask your fan club to keep it down. Please."

And with that she turned back to the boy.

Viktor assumed that meant he was dismissed.

With one last longing look at the girl (what would it be like to run his fingers through her hair? Was it as soft and free as it looked?) he turned back to the maze of books.

He got lost.

A lot.

He wondered who she was.

Was her name as beautiful as her face?

He finally managed to stumble upon his own table once more, only to curse a blue streak at the sight that met him.

The contents of his bag had been thrown out onto the table- and anything of real value, including his introduction to his potions essay, had been taken.

Bloody fangirls.

HP-BaB-HP

The cloaked figure cursed.

Somewhere in this accursed cave there had to be a way to not only find the girl, but also to find the Gateway.

It was the third day the Figure was spending in this hell hole of a country, and patience was wearing thin from Masters and Figures both.

It was a shame the Figure was ignorant of any field tracking techniques, although there were other talents the Figure had that made it very valuable to Dark Lords.

Cursing once more, the figure sent a ball of fire towards a cupboard in the corner which had yielded nothing but clothing and other idiotic things.

The resulting inferno made enough light to see the ceiling by.

And there it was- the key to the Figure's quest.

Painted on the ceiling were the keys to the Gate- the Figure could tell by the basic design that all Gates seemed to have in common.

And so, by the light of the burning cupboard, the Figure built steps from the rubble strewn around the mouth of the cave and stepped up to touch heaven itself.

HP-BaB-HP

In seven corners of the earth, Guardians gasped in pain and despair.

In Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter rubbed absently at his shoulder.

In the Fourth Dimension, a snake smiled.

HP-BaB-HP

A/N: Uhm. I'm sorry about the lateness of this chapter... But real life decided to intrude and it got a bit hectic. It involved rabbit poop, my grandmother, copious amounts of fudge, laundry, cat orgasms and a bunch of London Tipton style clapping. So yeah.

I'm surprised at how many of you thought he should just leave. That's kind of mean (and, you know, bad for my plot line). But he didn't- he decided to stay and tough it out! Go Harry! Whoo! Sorry. Lack of sleep talking here. Also, if Mika is a bit pissy in this dream sequence then it's because Malesotho just died and Harry's being stubborn. I think anyone would get a bit worked up.

The Letatsi/Demon Hermit scene was fun to write. Though it had to be edited because I ended up going off on tangents about anti-matter and ended up at the Higgs... so yes. But I hope it's clear. If not- tell me and I'll rework it.

Awwwwwww... Viktor has a crush. On everyone's favourite know-it-all. Don't ask me why, but somehow it's love at first sight. And Hermione's a completely clueless and more than a little miffed at him and his fan club. Sweet kids.

Uhhhhhm... what more can I say about this chapter? A lot happened... but it was a bit... bleh for me. If you agree (or, you know, disagree is nice too) then please let me know. I beg thee shamelessly for reviews!

Thank you for all your favs/alerts/reviews! When did we pass that two-hundred mark? Really? You're so awesome to me...