Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I'll never forget the night we left New York City. The Kraang defeated us. Leo and Harry got badly hurt. Master Splinter is…gone. Karai, and Hedwig are missing. And while our city was falling, Hermione, Ron, Luna, and Neville were forced to escape from Hogwarts. The castle, the nearby village, and we can only assume the rest of the magical world had now fallen to The Kraang… we lost.

We had nowhere left to go. So, we came to the old farmhouse, I grew up in, miles away from the city. A place where we could all be safe. The first thing we did was take care of the injured. Following Donnie's instructions, we placed Leo in a bath, using the water in the tub to his body hydrated. We found Harry a bed in the adjoining room, where Donnie administered what little retro mutagen he could manufacture before our escape. But while Harry is human again, he's yet to wake up.

Raph keeps a constant vigil, waiting for them to wake up. Though he does seem to have a lot of company in the form of Ginny more often than not. I hope I get to tease Harry about that one day.

Michelangelo goofs around a lot but he does a ton of chores around the house.

Wearing a sunhat, Mikey marches out to the henhouse, where he happily spreads feed for the chickens. Sadly, he didn't seem to bring a big enough sack, as the chickens start crowding him for more.

"Back off, chickens, that's all I've got" said Mikey, as he warily stepped aware from the chickens "Easy, easy."

The chickens suddenly start to frenzy, pecking at the orange turtle, sending him off running, screaming in terror as they followed after him.

But mostly he goofs around a lot. I think I remember Ron and Ginny mentioning that they had farm animals around their home, maybe I can have them help Mikey?

Fawkes, the phoenix that saved Neville, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Luna from the Kraang back at Hogwarts, was quick to age to full maturity. Luna told us that the phoenix was capable of producing healing tears, but par for the course for our current string of luck, the magical bird left without doing anything to help Harry and Leonardo. (Luna thinks it was because, he was worried about Dumbledore.)

So, Donatello built a lab in the barn, trying to create a mutagenic medicine for Leo. While Casey has chosen to put his skills as a mechanic to use trying to fix up an old pickup truck.

"One last drop and I think I've got it" said Donnie, working on his experiment.

Casey watched as the purple turtle added the finishing touches, only to break out in manic laughter as the whole thing exploded in Donnie's face.

"This thing is going to need a lot of work" said Casey, ignoring Donnie's glares, as he rolled under the truck he was working on. But just as he got started, one of the cinderblocks keeping it up came lose, dropping the truck on to him, setting of Donnie's own mocking laughter.

Hopefully we won't need to set up med stations for them too.

As for the remaining magical members of our group…well they're trying to hold it together.

They just found out the very people responsible for running their world were Kraang. No one's sure how long the aliens have been in control. Regardless we couldn't ignore danger of The Kraang finding someway to track their wands. They had no choice but to destroy them.

It left them shattered for a while but they've started to bounce back.

Hermione when she not trying to hide in her books has taken to watching the news, looking for any sign of Kraang activity in Europe, but so far there's been nothing. No one's sure what that means.

Neville has taken to using his natural green thumb to help grow crops. I think it helps him relax.

Whenever she's not working on decoding her mother's diary, Luna spends her time exploring the surrounding forest. She keeps coming back with samples so we assume she's trying to take a log of the local species.

Ron doesn't seem to have a set activity – from time to time he'll challenge someone to a game of chess – but usually he's just bouncing from activity to activity, trying to find some way to kill time. While he puts up a good front, I've noticed him quietly watching over Ginny at night. I think he's focused his efforts on making sure his sister stays safe.

And then there's me: April O'Neil. I spend most of my time training with the Turtles and writing in my ever-expanding journal. I miss New York, my sensei, Hedwig, my dad, I even miss Karai.

Hopefully, Leo and Harry will recover and we can all go home soon…if there's even a home to go back to. But life, as Master Splinter would say, must go on.

Even while hiding out from The Kraang, somethings will never change. Bird's will fly, fish will swim, and Mikey will find something to watch on TV. With little else to do that night the others decided to join the orange turtle in watching his new favorite show: Crognard the Barbarian. Except for Raph, who had returned to his usual post of watching over his injured brothers.

Raph had prepared for another depressing night, when he noticed Leo's eyes start to twitch, struggling to open. Immediately Raph cried out, summoning the others to join him in the bathroom, where he, Mikey, and Donnie watched joyously as their eldest brother finally returned to waking world.

"Hey guys" Leo said weakly, prompting Mikey to hug him tightly, ignoring Leo's complaints as his sore muscles still ached.

"Give him a break, Mikey" said Raph, pulling the orange turtle off Leonardo. "Come on, let's get you downstairs."

With some help from his brothers, Leo was brought down to the living room, taking a seat in a surprisingly comfortable old recliner. Once settled the blue turtle listened with a heavy heart, as his friends filled him on all that's occurred since his defeat at the hands of Shredder.

"So, we've been here for three months" Leo said in disbelief. "I can't believe I've been out that long."

"You really had us worried sick" said April. "Raph barely slept."

"It was nothing" Raph said dismissively. Though it touched Leo to be reminded how much his brother cared for him.

"What about Harry?" he asked.

"He still hasn't woken up" said Ginny.

"I've been checking on him daily" said Donnie. "Physically, he should be healed by now. So, I'm guessing it's more psychological than anything else."

"You saying, Harry's not waking up because he's having bad dreams?" asked Casey.

Donatello rolled his eyes at Casey's oversimplification of the situation.

"Maybe April can take a look at him?" Hermione suggested. "If Harry's problem is psychological then her powers might be able to help."

"I don't know" April said uncertainly. "I've never tried to do anything like that before. What if I make it worse?"

"I don't see how you could" said Neville. But the O'Neil girl wasn't convinced.

"Hold on guys" said Donnie, coming to April's defense. "April might have a point. If Harry's condition is because of psychological stress, we don't know how his mind will react to invaders. For now, its best we just wait."

The next morning Raph had taken it upon himself to start working with Leonardo, to help build back up his strength. Though the blue clad turtle was finding it hard to get around, relying on a crutch to help move his still battered body, as he followed his brother on a hike through the forest.

"Come on, Leo" Raph urged. "You've got to build up those muscles. You've gotten super weak."

"Don't rub it in" Leo said miserably. Following Raph down towards a riverbed, Leo lost his balance, dropping his crutch and leaving him clutching his injured leg in pain. "I – I don't think I'm ever going to be the same again."

But Raph refused to give up on his brother.

"Don't talk like that. That's not the Leo, I know. Now let's cross this stream."

Raph's confidence in him seemed to help, as Leo struggled to pick himself back up. Feeling his body protesting against any further exorcise, Leo took out a bottle of Donnie's completed mutagenic medicine, and took a swig. Only to immediately puke it back up.

"Leo, you ok?" Raph asked, rushing to his brother's side.

"I think it's that medicine, Donnie gave me" Leo groaned. "I'm not feeling too good."

"Let's head back. You need some rest."

As Raph helped Leo make his way back to the farmhouse, they failed to notice the remnants of the mutagenic medicine sink into the ground, leaving a faint glow in the soil.

Later that night, Leo sat by the fireplace as they all gathered in the living room. All except Ginny who had decided she'd take the first shift watching over Harry tonight.

"I just can't stop thinking about Master Splinter" said Leo. "Maybe he's not really gone. I mean we don't know what happened to Hedwig. Maybe she found him or…"

"We saw it happen" said Donnie. "Harry's core just went crazy. There was no trace of him."

"Maybe Leonardo's right" said Hermione. "Splinter was a great ninja master."

"The greatest in a century" said Raph.

"And I sensed Shredder survived" said April "If he could do it, there's no way Splinter couldn't too."

As everyone tried to hold on to the hope that Splinter was still alive somewhere, a sudden crash sounded from upstairs, followed by the power going out.

"Guys help!" Ginny called from upstairs. "It's Harry!"

Everyone immediately hurried upstairs as fast as they were able.

When they reached the room, they found Harry's body convulsing on his bed. Sparks of magical energy surged around him as his body started shaking uncontrollably, as Ginny struggled to hold him down.

"Raph, Casey, help me get him on his side!" Donnie exclaimed, as he rushed to his brother's side.

Ginny quickly stepped aside to let Donnie get to work. Following Donatello's instructions, Raph and Casey managed to get Harry on his side, struggling to holding him down while the purple turtle gave him a mild sedative. As the sedative did its job, Harry started to relax and the surges of magical energy came to a rest.

"Reminds me of when, Master Splinter first brought Harry home" said Raph, remembering the chaos the infant Harry's magic had caused. "Think you'll have to make him another necklace?"

"I don't think it'll help" Donnie sighed. "Last time something like this happened it was when The Kraang got their hands – uh, tentacles – on him. It might just be a subconscious reflex, a reaction to psychological trauma."

"Maybe I should try my powers" said April. "If his magic's going to start going crazy he could hurt himself or someone else."

Though reluctant, Donnie stepped aside letting April approach the sleeping Harry.

Ok I can do this. Taking a deep breath, April placed her forehead against Harry's and tried to focus her powers. "Harry, it's me April. Listen to me ok. I just want to help you."

The others watched anxiously to see if April would be able to help, only for the girl to let out a panicked gasp as she pulled away from Harry, as if she'd been burned.

"April, what happened?" asked Donnie, as he tried to help steady her.

April took a deep breath, calming herself before she tried to explain what she felt in Harry's mind.

"His mind's stuck in a loop" she explained. "He just keeps reliving what happened when Shredder stabbed him. And I felt a lot of guilt."

Everyone gave the sleeping Harry worried looks. None of them had even considered the idea that he'd remember what happened with the Shredder.

"Harry's magic shorted out the house's electricity" Donnie said at last, breaking the silence. "I'll go take a look at the fuse box. Hopefully it's not so bad I can't fix it tonight."

"In the meantime, I'll go get some more firewood" said Raph.

"I'll help" Neville volunteered.

While Neville wasn't exactly ready to be trusted with an axe in Raph's opinion, the Longbottom heir proved helpful in finding a downed tree – perfect for chopping firewood.

"Just hold the flashlight steady" said Raph.

Neville had no complaints there, keeping the light focused on where Raph had started to chop at the log. Even after the past few months it still surprised Neville just how many different tools there were to accomplish all the same tasks he used to do with his wand.

The Longbottom heir sighed mournfully at the memory of his wand. Sure, wizards were usually very attached to them – they were the focus of their magical abilities after all. But for Neville it was something far more personal.

Just then a shiver ran down Neville's spine as he felt something watching them from the shadows.

"What was that?" Raph wondered, also sensing someone or something's presence.

"Who's there?" Neville demanded, sweeping the area with his flashlight.

But there was no sign that anyone was there but them. For a moment, the boys were wondering if they'd imagined the whole thing.

"Maybe we're just being paranoid" said Neville.

"Yeah" Raph sighed. "Let's just take back what we've got."

Collecting the firewood Neville and Raph turned to start heading back to the farmhouse only to find a tall figure looming over them. The creature had glowing green eyes and its body was made up of mud, and grass.

Shocked by the monster's frightening visage Neville and Raph only had time to scream, as vines started extending from the creature's body.

With Raph and Neville failing to return the others went outside to see if they could find any trace of their missing members.

"Raph! Neville!" Mikey cried out, but there was no answer. "They've been gone for hours."

"If they could hear us, they would've answered back by now" said Hermione.

"Alright, we split up" said Leo, taking command. "Mikey and Donnie. Ron and Ginny. Luna and Hermione. April and Casey."

"Split up!" Mikey exclaimed. "Are you loco homey?!"

"April and Casey, go off alone. Together!" Donnie complained.

"April and Casey" Leo repeated sternly, through gritted teeth. He had no patience for Donnie's crush right now.

Seeing, Leo wasn't about to change his mind, Donnie had no choice but to back down, much to his displeasure.

"What about you?" asked April. It wasn't like Leo to stay behind.

"I'll wait here in case they come back" Leo explained, as he started to head back inside. Not like I'd be much help anyway.

April cast a concerned look at Leo's retreat form, before joining Casey to investigate the forest, with the other teams going off in their own separate direction.

*Hermione & Luna*

"You spend a lot of time out here, right, Luna?" Hermione asked nervously, flashing back to that fateful detention back her first year.

"Yes" Luna confirmed. "I've found many interesting things in this forest."

"Oh, like what?" the intellectual in Hermione was still alive and well.

"Well, the trees' bark would make excellent wood for wands."

Hermione started wide eyed at Luna, shocked to learn the Ravenclaw knew about wand-crafting. But before she could ask for more details, the sudden sound of a twig snapping, put the girls on high alert. Sweeping their flashlights over their surroundings the girls sighed in relief thinking their imaginations had gotten away from them.

But just as they started to relax, tree roots suddenly shot up from beneath them wrapping them in cocoons, the last thing they saw was a creature watching them from the shadows, its eyes glowing ominously in the dark.

*Ron & Ginny*

"Neville! Raph!" Ginny called out, though she didn't expect a reply. "Where do you think, they are?"

"No clue" Ron sighed. "Whole bloody forest looks the same."

Ginny gave her brother a look, knowing it wasn't just their missing friends that was responsible for his foul mood.

"They're going to be ok. And I don't just mean Raph and Neville." Ron arched an eyebrow, waiting for his sister to explain. "Harry and our family. I know you've been thinking about them, and it's got you scared."

"I'm not scared" Ron denied. He couldn't afford to be scared, not now.

"Of course, not" Ginny said sarcastically. "You just thought it'd be fun to make sure I'm never out of your sight. I know you're just trying to watch out for me, Ron but you can't watch me every minute of the day."

Ron sighed, he hadn't realized Ginny had been on to him. "Gin…I…"

But before Ron could explain why he'd been acting so over protective of late, vines suddenly shot out from the shadows dragging him into the darkness.

"Ron!" Ginny cried, as she chased after her brother, coming face to face with the monster that's been hunting them.

Ginny didn't even have time to scream before the creature's lumbering form reached out, capturing her in a cocoon of her own.

*Donnie & Mikey*

"You think they got lost, D?" Mikey asked worriedly. "Maybe they got eaten by rabid squirrels."

"I do not think that" said Donnie, sounding very on edge. "I'm just freaking because Casey and April went off on their own, alone."

"Why, because they forgot to bring a compass?"

"No genius. What happens when two teenagers that like each other, go out into the woods alone?"

Mikey took a moment to consider the question, when he noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye. Shining his flashlight, he found it was just a couple of squirrels that were nuzzling up to each other. At least they were until they turned and bared their teeth at Mikey, annoyed the interruption, frightening the orange clad turtle.

"Argh! They get eaten by squirrels!"

"Forget I said anything" Donnie sighed, getting back to the search.

Wondering deeper into the woods the brothers found what appeared to be an old supply shed, the door creaking as it was pushed by the breeze.

"Let's check it out" said Mikey, pushing Donatello ahead of him. "You first."

Donnie glared at his brother but decided it was better not to argue. Slipping inside they found the only source of light inside were four candles surrounding the bottle of mutagenic medicine, Donnie had made for Leo, almost like a shrine.

"Hey, D, check this out" said Mikey, shining his flashlight on the far corner of the room.

"It's the guys" said Donnie.

To their horror not only did they find Raph and Neville. But also, Hermione, Luna, Ron, and Ginny; all of them trapped in cocoons.

"We got to get them out of there" said Donnie, pulling out a kunai. "We have no idea what that stuff's doing to them."

"Donnie!"

Donnie turned to see Mikey in the hands of the plant creature. Brandishing his staff, Donnie charged the creature, taking a swing at the monster's head, only for it to catch his weapon, its leafy hide absorbing the impact.

Keeping tight grip on Donatello's weapon, the creature reached out and grabbed the turtle's face, giving him an uncomfortable reminder of Leatherhead's old greeting for him. Donnie tried to struggle as the creature's vines began to wrap around him, only having time to scream before he too was podded.

*April & Casey*

"I've always hated these woods at night" said April. "When I was a kid, I was sure monsters were going to creep out and eat me."

"Got nothing to fear, Red" said Casey. "No monsters here, unless you count Casey Jones."

Casey then let out a pretty good imitation of a werewolf howling at the moon, earning a punch in the gut from an unamused April.

"So, what's the deal, Red? You've been ice cold, ever since we left New York."

"That's not true…I mean, ugh!" April turned on Casey, glaring at him for his laidback attitude. "What do you want from me, Casey? Our families are gone, most likely mutated. Harry's mind is practically shattered. And New York is alien…ugh."

April's rant came to an end as she was suddenly struck with an intense headache.

"What's up, you getting some bad vibes, again?" asked Casey.

"I-I think something's watching us" April said nervously, scanning the area for any sign of danger. "We better keep moving. The sooner we find, Raph and Neville the better."

April and Casey continued their search until they stopped in their tracks by the sound of Donnie's terrified screams. "Donnie!" worried they immediately took off, following the sound of the scream. But cutting through the trees quickly proved foolish as April soon lost track of Casey.

"Casey!" she called out, but got no answer. "If this is a joke it's not funny!"

"Ah!" April turned to see Casey pinned against a tree by the plant monster, it's vines entangling themselves around his body, trapping him inside a cocoon of his own.

"No!" drawing her tessen, April threw the deadly war fan at the creature.

But to her shock and horror even when the fan embedded itself in the creature's skull, it proved ineffective. The creature simply removed the tessen from its skull, the injury healing instantaneously, and started moving towards her.

Not sure how she could hope to defeat the monster, April did the only thing she could, run for her life. But despite its size the monster proved more than capable of keeping up with her. Making it to the edge of the forest, she could see Leo struggling to train with his swords, when suddenly she felt the creature's vines trip up her legs.

Seeing her in danger, Leo tried to get to her, put with injured leg, he simply wasn't fast enough.

"Leo!" April cried, as the monster pulled her into the shadows.

"April!" Leo fell to his knees, as he realized his family could very well be gone. NO! I'm coming guys.

Pushing aside all doubts, Leo tracked the creature through the woods back to its shed, where he saw it adding April's pod to the others.

"Give me back my family, Creep!" he demanded, getting the monster's attention.

Tossing his crutch aside, Leo drew his swords. For a brief moment, he was self-conscious about his injured leg, but quickly banished the thought.

The Creep lumbered forward, reaching out for Leonardo, but the turtle dashed past the monster, countering with a swing of his blades. But the Creep despite its size once again proved quite agile, sidestepping the turtle's swords. Extending vines from its body, the Creep tried to capture Leo, the blue clad turtle quickly swung his swords, defending himself against the tendrils. But as the Creep kept up its attack, Leo's injury flared, costing him his footing.

Strangely the Creep paused in its attack, staring at Leo as concerned. Taking advantage of this opening, Leo lunged at the Creep, slashing it across the chest. Leo's eyes widened in shock as he saw a ghostly apparition of Harry, sleeping inside the monster.

The Creep's wounds quickly sealed up, and so confused by his discovery Leo was too slow to react, as the monster's vines struck out from its body, wrapping themselves around his limbs.

Leo struggled valiantly as the vines began tighten around his body. I don't get it. Why is Harry attacking us? Heck how is he even… that's when it hit him. Remembering that all this madness began after Harry's magical outburst. What April said about Harry's mental state. And finally, how the creature wasn't only sealing them away in pods but also how it stopped when it noticed Leo was hurt. This thing isn't trying to kill us, it's trying to store us away. Trying to protect us.

"Harry!" Leo cried. "Harry, wake up!" At the sound of his true name the Creep's vines paused, and the creature stared at Leonardo, listening. "It's ok, little brother. It's not your fault, Splinter's…missing. None of this is your fault. We're safe here. We're together."

Feeling the vines on him loosening, Leo took his chance and sliced clean through the Creep's body, exposing the ghostly image of Harry, his eyes slowly opening.

"You don't have to protect us. We'll protect each other, like always. You're home again brother."

The ghostly Harry's eyes opened, looking tearfully at Leo, like it's been ages since they've seen each other. At the seeing his eldest brother alive and well, the apparition faded away, and Leo could hear the others breaking free from their pods.

With everyone safe and sound, they returned to the farmhouse just in time to see Harry, stepping outside, looking as if he'd just woken up.

"Harry!" the Turtles cheered happily, while their friends just smiled at the sight of the brothers all finally being reunited.

Once everyone moved into the living room, everyone looked to Donnie for an explanation.

"Harry's magical outbursts must've imprinted his subconscious on the Creep monster" said Donnie, ignoring the sullen look Mikey's face at a missed opportunity to name a mutant. "That's why it never actually attacked any of us. It was driven only by Harry's subconscious desire to protect us. But without any actual context, it all it could think to box us away somewhere."

"Um, oops" Harry said sheepishly, while everyone but Leo seemed to be struggling to decide if they should be mad or not.

"Don't worry about it" said Leo. "You just wanted to protect everyone. We're going to need that will soon. Because we're gonna heal up and take the fight to The Kraang."

Everyone shared determined smiles as they were inspired by Leo's restored fighting spirit. Everyone's attention was then drawn to Mikey, as he jumped up onto the coffee table.

"I give that a big, fat, sloppy wet Booyakasha!"

Look out Kraang they weren't done yet.