There was a loud gong-sound, deep enough to rattle their teeth and it felt as if the floor itself shook. It would have awoken everyone in the castle were it not for the barrier of silence the Headmaster had erected around them. A very tall and pasty-faced man in a funeral suit appeared out of nowhere. “You. Rang,” he said in a deep voice.
They all stared at him, stunned.
Twilight recovered first — she might not recognize the being, but she did recognize the entrance and aura. She stomped over to him. “Discord,” she growled, which was much easier to do as a person than a pony, as she was surprised to realize.
If the wizard and witches had had any doubts as to the abilities of the strange creature the Equestrians called Discord, seeing him effortlessly blow through Hogwart’s protections, again, without them noticing proved it. No wizard or witch could do that, and never mind the creature’s ability to create trans-dimensional portals. Watching him switch from his butler form to a bizarre snake-like creature instantly without any intermediate steps was just as intimidating — one form one second, the other the next. It clearly was not an animagus transformation, nor a transfiguration of any kind. It was something different and unknown to wizards.
He, it, stood in front of them with a pony-like head — with an antler, a blue goat-horn, one long fang, different-sized pupils, a snake tongue, a goat beard, and white bushy eyebrows — a lion’s leg and paw for a right arm, an eagle’s leg and claw for a left arm, one feathered and one leathery wing, dragon’s right leg and a hoofed left leg. He had a horse’s mane, and a dragonic tail with a white tail tuft. If not for the oddities, he might be mistaken for a serpentine Chinese dragon.
They now had a fair idea of why the descriptions of the being that tore the hole in reality when the three girls had arrived back at Halloween were so contradictory.
“Moi? Moi?” He glanced around the room gormlessly, a trio of tiny images of him popping into existence with halos over their heads and looking just as surprised. “What could I have done to incur your wrath?” He innocently looked over at Fluttershy, puzzled.
“You knew where Harry was!” Twilight accused the draconequus with narrowed eyes and fury in her tone.
He blinked at her while a trio of tiny versions of him, floating in the air to one side, nodded and mock glared at him with their paws/claws on their hips. “I never said I didn’t,” he said wonderingly. “You never asked me to tell you where he was. All Fluttershy asked me was if I knew what had happened to Prince Harry or where he was.” The trio of tiny Discord’s turned back to Twilight and blew raspberries at her. “I simply told her I had nothing to do with either his appearance or disappearance, and that sometimes merely observing something changes it, didn’t I, Fluttershy?”
The pink-haired young woman blushed and nodded as everyone looked at her. She moved to hide behind Rainbow Dash. But she stared at Discord reproachfully.
“It’s not my fault you assumed,” a donkey appeared between them with a large plus sign and the word “me” beside it, “that I didn’t know where he was. You really should know better,” he said reprovingly to Twilight. Then he frowned at her as the trio orbiting him wagged a claw and shook their heads, “You have this terrible tendency to go off unprepared because you don’t know all the details. Or, worse, you think you know all the details.”
“You knew how worried I was, we were, you could have brought him back at any time!” she declared angrily.
The draconequus rotated until he was upside down, and stared at the three fillies.
Sweetie Belle hesitantly spoke up, “Um, actually, no he couldn’t.”
The other Equestrians, except her two friends, turned to her in surprise. “He was in the Triwizard Tournament,” she explained, “and bringing him back to Equestria before it was over would have killed him.” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom nodded.
They took a moment to remember what they had just seen in the pensieve.
Twilight turned back to Discord, pointing a hand at the three girls. “You knew where they were and didn’t tell us!” she yelled.
Again, he shook his head, “Oh, Twi,” he said pityingly, “you had Fluttershy ask only a few days ago, and I told her at the time that there are some things I dare not do without repercussions I cannot control. Whether or not they applied, here, is up in the air.” He laughed. “Besides, if I had told you a year ago that you really needed to brush up on trans-dimensional portals, would you have listened? And if I had told you I knew where he was, you would have demanded I bring him back immediately, wouldn’t you?”
Twilight took a surprised step back, shocked.
Then he sighed and smiled, “It was such wonderful chaos in both worlds! You and your friends running around in circles, and wizards and witches running around in circles. Upsetting plans and interfering with ongoing projects.” He smiled fondly at Harry. “It was quite astonishing what Harry managed to do simply by disappearing and reappearing. He hadn’t even tried to be difficult.” He gave a big sigh and a large, heart-shaped portrait appeared behind him with Harry and the fillies framed in it. “He and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are my favourite ponies. With them around I barely have to do a single thing!” He smiled at the girls and pony. The trio of avatars were offering a bag of popcorn to Pinkie Pie.
“The fillies were never in any real danger.” His eyes twinkled and he suddenly had a long white beard and was wearing a robe and half-rim glasses. “And look at what they learned! It was very educational, wasn’t it girls?”
The three girls nodded eagerly, snatching their wands for their holsters. “Lumos,” they intoned, and presented three wands with their tips glowing. The adult Equestrians goggled at Scootaloo and Apple Bloom casting magic. The three girls giggled excitedly, then the cast the levitation spell on the bottles on the table beside the bed, making them zoom around and twirl in the air. Each girl controlled a different bottle. Jaws dropped open among the Equestrian adults.
Twilight’s quill was scribbling furiously.
“Applejack, if I had told you there were opportunities for your family in Trotland, would you have done anything?”
Applejack could barely drag her eyes from watching her little sister cast magic like a unicorn, but she frowned and shook her head. She had to admit, she would have ignored the Draconequus. But her cousins already had written her about several mares and stallions now headed to Trotland to start their own orchards after seeing her letters about that country. She hung her head down.
“Rarity, new fashions in Trotland? Et tu, Brutus?”
Rarity turned and stared at Discord. He was wearing a toga and crown with a comically large knife in his back. It was true, they all knew, that she never would have gone to Trotland if not for their search for the three missing sisters. She never would have discovered the fashions that she had brought back and that were currently all the rage in Canterlot and Manehattan. Or that she was considering the requests for a store in Edinboerperd.
“And it goes both ways, Twilight. Trotland nobility is proud that a Princess of Equestria visited their humble little country, and stayed for more than just a day. They are thrilled she and her best friends, all extremely important figures in Equestria, thoroughly explored every corner of their minor country, demonstrating they weren’t just a tiny and ignored backwater. You created closer ties to each country and never even noticed! Imports and exports are jumping! Fortunes being made and lost! No one knows what to expect!” He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself happily. “Equestrian businessponies have started examining the country for opportunities, wondering what it was that prompted their Princess to explore it so meticulously — they don’t believe the cover story that you were simply looking for three lost fillies — not even for a second! And the tourists! The railroads have already scheduled a second daily run as everyone rushes to see what so fascinated their princess. Was it Fingal’s Cave, the Three Sisters, An Lochan Uaine, the moors, or the sands?”
He sighed happily. “Chaos, chaos everywhere. Ponies have completely abandoned plans in place for generations, started off in directions they had never imagined. It couldn’t have turned out better if I had planned it!” He chortled. “And it’s all thanks to Harry!” He gazed fondly at the pony, who had a row of draconequuses wearing cheerleading outfits across the headframe of his bed performing an over-exuberant cheerleading routine, pom-poms and all.
The trio of tiny draconequuses were hanging up a banner, upside down, that said, “Hurray for Harry,” while snow in a rainbow of colours drifted down across the room.
Again dressed as the Headmaster, with a long beard and glasses, Discord looked over at Dumbledore. “What will you do if a hundred ponies apply next year?”
Dumbledore looked startled. “Alas,” he said slowly, stroking his beard and contemplating the Draconequus, who was imitating his every move. “Hogwarts is an English school,” he concluded regretfully.
“Perhaps you’re right,” Discord said gravely in Dumbledore’s voice. “Maybe it would be better for Harry and the ponies to move the portal to Beauxbatons. After all, now that he has solved your riddle, there’s no reason for him to be here at all, is there? Especially considering how hostile the populace seems to be to him, both in school and out.”
The Headmaster, Professor McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey all glanced at Harry, startled at the thought of him not being in Hogwarts. When they looked back, Discord was gone.
Twilight walked in a tight circle, frowning and mumbling to herself. “Headmaster,” she finally said, and faced the wizard. “Show us the other two tasks, if you please.”
As the second task started, she just stared at the Headmaster. He shook his head wryly, “I promise you, the hostages were never in any danger. I assured them that they would be safe, that they would awaken when they were back above the water, and put them into a bewitched sleep. The mermen understood that their only purpose was to ensure that the champions took the correct hostages.” He smiled at her, eyes twinkling.
After the task was completed, she could only shake her head. It was clear to her that the mermen were not deliberately missing Harry when they threw their spears! They were not playing a game. Whatever the Headmaster thought the mermen had agreed to, it wasn’t what the mermen had agreed to do. Or his definition of safe was radically different from a pony’s definition! Not to mention the wizards had planned a major event in the tournament, and it was all underwater where no one could see anything.
The third task was similarly boring for the audience. With the hedges so high no one could see where the champions were, or what they were doing. Its only saving grace was the rapidity with which Harry concluded the task, barely giving the other champions more than a few minutes to get into the maze. That all three manged to get hurt in such a short time made her doubly proud that Harry had managed to finish it so fast before anypony was seriously injured.
By the time they finished with the memories of the aftermath, it was time for breakfast.
The girls didn’t want to leave, but Madam Pomfrey stated she was not going to host a breakfast crowd in the Hospital Wing. Reluctantly, they all headed for the Great Hall. The closer they got to the Hall, however, the more excited the girls became at being able to show off their sisters to their friends. And the two non-unicorns were showing off magic the whole way while the professors watched indulgently.
Twilight wrote and had Spike send a brief message back to Celestia that they had found Harry and the fillies, and would be here for a bit longer as Harry recovered. As long as the portal was open, she knew a message would make the trip.
The wizards and witches could only stare, amazed, as he appeared to destroy the scroll. The Equestrians couldn’t help but smirk at the wizards’ and witches’ expressions.
Twilight was so angry she barely noticed what she was eating, at first. If Harry had been awake they would have been out of this horrible place! The fillies’ reactions to hearing Dumbledore claim the school was the safest place in England clued her in that his concept of safe and a pony’s concept might have only a passing acquaintance — the intent might be the same, but the execution was not! It was clear from what little she had seen of the tasks that what the wizards’ called safe departed radically from what she thought of the same. Calling the school safe might be as effective as the Ponyville’s Mayor Mare claiming that the Everfree forest was a safe playground for foals, colts, and fillies!
Still, eating with her friends and not having to deal with the adult wizards and witches did help to calm her down.
She was not surprised to see that while the Equestrians all come under some scrutiny by the students in the Great Hall, Spike was by far the biggest hit. The murmurs of astonishment as the wizards and witches saw the dragon only increased as he obviously interacted with everypony, and answered their questions. Humans were quite similar to ponies, in some ways, Twilight reflected, ignoring that which superficially resembled normal and watching closely that which was different on the surface.
Still, she was gratified to see that so many seated at the table they were at were interested in her son’s condition. From what she had learned, Jonathan, Liza, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna (!) had been especially helpful in assisting her son, and that his room-mates had done their best to make him feel welcome. She made it a point to thank each of them, formally, for their efforts, and invited all nine to visit Equestria in the coming holidays.
She had several lists, now, none less than yards in length.
Afterwards, they headed back to the Hospital Wing. She was surprised when the nine witches and wizards followed them. That Harry had made loyal friends allowed her to relax a bit. For predators to allow a prey to become a good friend was unusual, especially considering the circumstances.
The girls, and Harry’s friends, brought the adults up to speed on what they knew. Fluttershy was absolutely delighted to hear how Harry had managed to improve the lives of the dragons here so dramatically. Twilight added a note that she should visit Dragonlord Ember. Or send her a letter. She might be interested in the plight of the dragons here.
The wizard and witches were surprised to hear that the colt had been so generous to the dragons with his gold. Twilight could see the adults frowning and whispering as they tried to figure out how he had acquired that gold. She was curious, too, but knew he would tell her when he woke.
Listening to the girls describe what they had seen and heard in the last eight months was enlightening, exciting, and rage-inducing by turn. This world had unicorns and pegasi, too, but they weren’t like the ones in Equestria. Then again, the bipedal wizards and witches had probably over-shadowed them. What would happen if they were taught about magic the way Equestrians were? Would they be equal? For the adults, it was probably too late, but the foals? There would be quite a few specialists in learning who would be interested in the answers to those questions and the implications for education and magical development, overall.
That Harry had adapted the wings spell to the new forms made her proud as she watched Scootaloo and Dash flit about the room. The armour they had shown her was also quite well done, for a colt of his age. An armourer would have done much better, of course, but to do so well relying solely on his memory was impressive. She was proud he had worked so hard to protect his herdmates. It was clear that their experiences had drawn them closer together.
In fact, he had coped rather well with the entire situation. He hadn’t gone into shock, as many ponies would have, and simply retreated to a safe location and holed up. Neither had he suffered a melt-down, as many colts and fillies his age might have done, and been uncontrollable as he lashed out in fear and panic. His attitude towards the adults could definitely have been improved, but was eminently understandable given the circumstances.
She was very glad she had asked Blueblood to teach him what to expect, and how to act in pony high-society, when the adoption had been formalized. Her library-secluded foal and fillyhood meant she was sorrowfully inept at such things. Plus, his ignorance in general about pony expectations and attitudes had made that training a must! She hadn’t wanted ponies disparaging her son simply because he did something that a born pony would know never to do. Not to mention learning how to see the signs that someone was merely using him as a stepping-stone to the princesses. She was still far more comfortable in her library or laboratory than out in official functions and hobnobbing with the nobility.
That that training had been so useful in maintaining his equilibrium during his time here was a tremendous bonus that would have Blueblood preening almost as bad as a pegasus being complimented on her flying ability!
She knew Blueblood would have a few of those disparaging remarks to say about Harry’s conduct here when they got home. Overall, though, she was sure, he would think Harry had done an excellent job of managing his relations with wizards without starting a war or becoming someone’s dinner.
Predators were always touchy about their perceived rank in society, especially when someone of a lower rank insulted them. Or they thought they might have been insulted. From her experience with the dragons and griffons, predators were quick to violence when displeased.
There were definite areas in which he could have worded things a bit more discretely, or simply not said anything at all. But he was still a colt, still learning. You couldn’t expect someone still in school to have the knowledge and skill of an adult with a decade and more experience in diplomacy.
Dumbledore’s treatment of Harry, both past and present, did not win him any of her confidence, or gratitude. She found herself extremely disappointed in how secretive he was. And he could have provided Harry with more support than just two students as tutors! Outside, adult tutors, could have been called in, if what she had been told about the magical contract was correct. She vowed that if she were ever in charge of a school, she had the perfect example of how not to do things! Especially considering the stories she heard about how he favoured students in one House over others, and allowed his teachers to show such unprofessional conduct as well.
She sat through lunch thinking about what to do with the portal. Its placement in the school was currently convenient, but not very conducive to the rest of this world, especially as it appeared to be hidden from ninety-nine point nine, nine, nine, nine percent of this world’s population! And the relations between this country and others in the world were not exactly very conducive to the free trade of ideas and materials. If there were things the Equestrians might be interested in purchasing, such as flying carpets that she had been told were forbidden to import to England, should the Equestrians move the portal to a more neutral country, or open up a second portal?
And the muggles, as they were called by the wizards. They had actually visited their Moon! Luna would be here the next day when she realized what Harry had told them years ago was actually true and not the fantasy of a colt. What else had they done that the Equestrians would like to learn about? How could she initiate contact with them without falling afoul of the wizards’ Statute of Secrecy? Should they find an unclaimed island and put the portal there?
She started a list of pros and cons for contacting the muggles, and if that should be as people or ponies. That they would be maintaining contact with the wizarding world appeared definite — the use of wands by pegasi and earth ponies was just too important to ignore! But it wasn’t something simple, either. They would need experts to analyse the spells available, and what would be appropriate. Not to mention finding suitable materials in Equestria. Would a pegasus feather work better or worse than a hair from a unicorn? Could any pony donate something to make a wand for a non-unicorn? Would a hair from Celestia be more powerful or better suited than a hair from, say, Joe?
She watched as Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom shared the recordings they had made with their wands. Sweetie Belle, naturally, had focused on the fashions they had seen in Hogsmeade, and assured Rarity that Harry had made recordings of Diagon Alley when they had visited there to get clothes.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo focused more on the castle and creatures they had seen. Several of their recordings were from the Forbidden Forest beside the castle, as well what they had seen in the lake. The giant spiders were an unpleasant surprise. She would have to make certain none of the offspring managed to sneak through the portal. Maybe a repelling spell just for insectoid creatures?
Twilight had watched carefully as Dumbledore had withdrawn and replaced memories all morning, and knew she could easily duplicate it. The pensieve, itself, would be much more difficult to replicate. She had scanned it several times while they were using it, and she thought she understood how it worked. It would probably take all day to successfully make one.
It would revolutionize justice in Equestria as everyone could actually see what had happened in any given circumstance.
By the time lunch came around, they had decided that the fillies would accompany their sisters home after dinner, to much objection from the girls. They insisted they had to be with Harry when he woke up. Only the promise they could return tomorrow had settled them down.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie had already disappeared, and Twilight was almost afraid to ask if she had returned to Equestria to discover she hadn’t. Fluttershy was at the edge of the forest, apparently talking things over with the unicorns. Dash and Scootaloo disappeared to visit the pegasi in the attic.
In the meantime, Twilight was having an interesting discussion with Harry’s friends on the worlds they belonged to.
۸-ꞈ-۸
Harry watched the early-morning light and shadows slowly move across the ceiling. He was comfortable, nothing intruded into his consciousness complaining of pain or discomfort. The bed was soft, the blanket warm, and the pillow nicely framed his head. It was quiet enough that he could hear himself and the person in the bed beside his gently breathing. He couldn’t see them, they were just a lump under the sheets. Their dark hair on the pillow was barely visible in the slowly brightening dawn. He was content to observe the ceiling overhead, without a thought or sound to distract him. It was very restful.
He noticed that his Hogwarts’ robe was hanging on a hook on one of the curtain supports.
He had no idea how much time passed, nor even when he had first opened his eyes. His companion in the next bed murmured something indistinct and rolled over, moving their pillow. In the brighter daylight of the sun rising in the east, he saw that the person had dark-blue hair with a streak of . . . pink? He frowned slightly. He turned the words over in his head. Dark-purple and pink hair. Dark-purple and pink hair. Who did he know with dark-purple and pink hair? Sweetie Belle had purple and pink hair, but those were very light in shade, not dark. And none of his friends in the castle had vibrant hair colours, except Ginny, and hers was red.
Castle? Friends? Why wasn’t he in his bed in the dorm? Slowly his experiences from yesterday filtered into his mind. The task, the graveyard, Pettigrew, Mad-Eye/Crouch . . . and passing out. Why had he passed out?
That was when he heard movement outside his curtained area. Someone was coming. He looked towards the curtains at the foot of his bed, and a moment later they were swept aside and Madam Pomfrey came in.
“Ah!” she said, pleased, “You’re awake!” She bustled over to his bed and waved her wand over him.
The person in the bed beside him suddenly sat up and stared at him wide-eyed.
He had just enough time to realize who had been sleeping beside him and say, “Mum?” when she leapt out of her bed and hurled herself onto his, hugging him fiercely.
Madam Pomfrey snorted, but had a wide smile as she tucked her wand away. “Everything appears healed!” she declared. “No scars, the nerves have all knitted back together properly, the fur has regrown, you should be just fine! I’ll notify the Headmaster you’re awake.” She headed back to her office.
Still hugging his mum, Harry was just happy she had found him and not taken two more years to do so.
His mum took only a few minutes to explain about the venom that he hadn’t noticed, and how she had finally managed to track down his location. And that he had been unconscious for three nights. His herdmates arrived a few minutes after that and gleefully joined the two on the bed, burying Harry in a people-pile. They were deliriously happy that he was finally awake — apparently they had been commuting every day to the castle.
His arrival at breakfast prompted much applause, later, with most of Gryffindor table standing. He tried to be as gracious as possible, but knew he was blushing almost non-stop all through the meal. There was a continuous parade of people congratulating him and wishing him well.
Afterwards, he headed up to his dorm to retrieve his trunk and thank his tutors. To say they were astounded at getting a tonne of gold each was an understatement. Everyone else wished they hadn’t been quite as standoffish as they had been. And wondered just where and how he had acquired the gold!
The Weasleys, his room-mates, and Hermione were hiding their smirks and grins.
He was astounded when his mother told him that the Headmaster had already accepted several students for the coming year. The fillies had already determined that, yes, the wands would work in Equestria, and that, yes, they could still wield those wands while holding them in their hooves or mouths. A monumental revolution was about to march across Equestria, and the rest of the world.
That Twilight wanted him to return to Hogwarts next term, with the fillies, to have a complete education left him gobsmacked.
“Celestia and Luna want to set up our own school for non-unicorns, and having all four of you well-grounded in this new wanded magic will be a tremendous help, so please consider it carefully!” she said. “We are in the process of hiring experts in wand-making to conduct experiments in creating our own, and we’re setting up greenhouses for all the unusual plants and animals that the potions used here require.”
Hermione, Ginny, and Luna, and his tutors had already secured permission to visit Equestria, so they accompanied them when they went through the portal mirror just before lunch. That he stumbled to the floor after passing through left everypony slack-jawed, He realized why when he stood up and towered over everypony. He stared at his hands, perplexed.
۸- ̬ -۸
Fin