//------------------------------//
// A Different World 
// Story: Harry Potter and the Crystal Empire 
// by Damaged 
//------------------------------//

I'd never get used to how the sun just dropped here. One minute it was hovering in a mid-afternoon-on-Earth position, the next it just plummeted below the horizon and was gone for the evening. 

"Well, that looks like your cue to head home!" Pinkie Pie said from behind the counter in the bakery we'd all inhabited since leaving the river. She was the most bright and happy person (or pony) I'd ever met, and there was a sense that nothing could ever make her feel down. 

Spending an evening talking about cutie marks while eating cupcakes and sipping milkshakes. I thought we'd be roughing it on our way to find the kirin. Given our marching orders, I raced to finish my milkshake—and it seemed the others did too.

We all finished together, the sound of bubbling slurps coming from the bottom of our straws. Letting go of mine, I couldn't hold back a laugh. "I win!"

Scootaloo let her own straw drop. "No way! I totally beat you!"

"Girls we—sorry, Harry." Apple Bloom cleared her throat. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, the milkshake-drinking contest was… a draw!"

We all stared at Apple Bloom, but it was Sweetie Belle who replied first. "You're just saying that because you finished last."

Staring at each other, I watched all their mouths curl into big grins and felt mine do the same. We laughed for the entire walk back to the library. Equestria was a different world, filled with different people (ponies), and for some reason I couldn't stop smiling all the time. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow? Or maybe in a few days when we're coming back?"

"Sure! But you have to tell us about everythin'!" Apple Bloom said.

Sweetie Belle nodded her head enthusiastically. "Especially if you get your cutie mark. Make sure to tell us all about it."

"Yeah. Just in case we can go too and get our cutie marks." Scootaloo shoved her hoof out. "Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

I shoved my hoof into the pile that the others made. "Cutie Mark Crusaders!" It was such a silly idea, but it worked here as it never could back on Earth. "I've got to go."

When I turned for the door to the library, it was already open with Addera holding it open. With her eyes hidden, it was sometimes hard to read her expression (harder still because her face was so different to a human's), but she didn't look angry. I walked inside.

"You had fun, Harry Potter?" Addera asked. 

I couldn't contain myself. Bouncing around in a circle, I let loose with all the energy I felt bubbling up inside—though not magically or thermally. "They're awesome, Addera. It's like Earth doesn't even exist and I can just ignore Voldemort, the Dursleys, and—and everything!"

Addera struck like the snake she resembled. Picking me up in her arms and hugging me tight. "Word was sent from Canterlot, the train will be waiting for us in the morning, Harry Potter."

I stuck my snout into the soft fur at her neck and shook with excitement. Yanking my head back, I looked up at Addera. "Did you work out how long it would take to get there? Will it be an all-day thing, or will we get there in a few hours? Which direction is it?"

"We don't know how long, but it is west, Harry Potter." Addera slithered along the wooden floor and to the stairs. "Twilight said we could sleep on the couch upstairs." It was kinda funny how deceptively fast she moved. We were at the top of the stairs before I could have even gotten halfway up. 

"Oh, he's back? Not still hungry are you?" Spike asked. 

I turned my head to see him sitting at the table with a comic in front of him, munching on what looked like gemstones. Not just small ones, big gemstones. He had some red stone that looked about the size of my hoof, tossed it in his mouth, and started crunching away at it. 

Okay, maybe dragons here were a little scary. 

"We, uh, ate." I watched as he had another bite, his mouth showing no damage for his impressive meal. "A-Are you eating gemstones?"

"Yup!" Spike almost spat out half his mouthful as he spoke. "I love rubies the most."

"We ate cupcakes and had milk shakes at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie was there, said we could have some for free on account of helping to save Equestria from Som—" A yawn stole the end of my sentence. I glanced around the room and spotted Hedwig looking back at me from the windowsill. 

A shiver ran through me at the sight of Hedwig. She looked amazing, standing by the window, and she was well-fed too. Spreading her wings, she dropped down from the window in a glide toward us, then gave a flap to gain her enough height to land on my back.

It was like the world imploded—or was it exploded? Everything was gone in a flash and then was back. My sight had never been this good. I was flying through the air with something clasped in my foot. 

'My memory.'

Well, that explained it. I was carrying something in Hedwig's claw. Hold up, did she just talk to me?

'Yes.'

That meant she could hear my thoughts. This is amazing! Relaxing, I let her (or her memory) fly us around for a while and let my thoughts focus in on what this meant. Just so you know, you don't need to answer everything I think about, okay?

There was no answer. That meant—I think—that she agreed with me. Okay, so we have been getting impressions of each other for a few days now, and we can actually communicate like this. Not that we weren't communicating before, but I mean now it's not just guessing what you want.

'Yes.'

There was more than just a word. I could hear her laughing in my head. Okay, so if we can do the weak stuff at a distance, and this when we touch, maybe we can focus enough to do this at a distance too? The connection is there.

All the while we were flying. Flying was everything to me, but with things as they are, I wasn't likely to fly without more duct tape. This? This was amazing. Thank you, Hedwig.

I came to with her nibbling at one of my ears and with Addera coiled around me. The room was dark. 

'Sorry.'

It's okay, Hedwig. Now, I think, I might try to get some real sleep. I closed my eyes and felt wings lift me high again. My feathers flickered lightly in the air, and though the dream was wonderful, I don't think it was mine. I just didn't care.





Flying. I'd been flying free with Hedwig all night. Everything else in the world could take a back seat when you could fly. I woke up feeling better rested than anytime in my life, and could swear I could taste rat in my mouth. I wasn't sure how I knew what rat tasted like to be able to identify it, but I guess maybe that leaked over from Hedwig too. 

Not that thinking a little more like Hedwig would ever be a problem, she was smarter than a lot of people I knew.

'Yes.'

On the edge of waking, with my eyes still closed, I could feel her huddled against me with Addera's coils around the both of us. Unlike the other owls, she'd never been afraid of Addera.

'Good snake. Shares meals.'

She shares her warmth, too, but I think that is more a case of her being great for keeping our warmth safe too. I just don't know how it works, but I'm always cozy and warm with her coiled up like this.

Opening my eyes revealed darkness still. When Hedwig moved her wing—thank you—I could see light above us. Light that was framed by Addera's face—with her eyes closed. "Good morning."

"The oddest thing, Harry Potter. When you slept, your heartbeats matched rhythm." Addera's tongue flicked out. It wasn't as thin as a real snake's, but it was thinner than what I'd expect a pony's to be. "Good morning to both of you."

'Tell snake good morning.'

I yawned and squirmed in her coils. "Hedwig says good morning. She likes you, you know." Warm and cozy, I wasn't planning to move unless forced.

'Nor me'

"You can speak to her now? That is quite the talent, Harry Potter, and quite a useful thing. With a clever owl, you will never be caught unawares." Not seeming like she wanted to move either, Addera used one of her hooves to rub at my ear. 

'That's nice.'

My head felt full of cotton wool—what with the ear rubbing—but I managed to hear Hedwig clearly enough. You can feel that?

'Yes.'

Her thought wasn't as direct as normal. Hedwig sounded like I felt—drawn out and relaxed. It is pretty good. She doesn't do it often, but when she does it's… It's good.

What finally broke an extended time of quiet for all three of us, was Spike cheerfully saying, "Good morning. Who wants pancakes?" 

"With cabbage in them, like last night, Spike the dragon?" Slowly, Addera uncoiled herself from around us to reveal that we'd been sleeping in the kitchen area. 

The light I'd noticed earlier was coming in through the windows. Windows that Spike now threw open to let a morning breeze in. "No cabbage in sweet pancakes. You can have your choice of blueberries, icing sugar, honey, or maple syrup on them. Oh, and I think we might have some ice cream."

'I'm going to hunt.'

Hedwig jumped off my back and spread her wings before flapping her way out the window. The whole trip across the kitchen only took her a few blinks of an eye and she was gone into the morning.

Spike gathered ingredients and then climbed up on his step-ladder at the stove. "Your owl isn't hungry?" I couldn't see what he was doing, what with my glasses not being on, but I assumed he was making pancakes. Aunt Petunia never made pancakes from scratch. Instead, she'd buy packets of easy-bake—just add water. He definitely wasn't using packets, but I couldn't see exactly what he was doing.

"She'll find her own food, don't worry. Where's my glas—" Addera's hoof appeared before my face carefully holding out my glasses. I shoved my face forward and she slid the glasses onto my face.

The world was back in focus and I smiled up at her. Addera was already wearing her own mirror-glasses. "Thanks, Addera."

A hooting noise distracted me for a moment, and when I looked in the direction my ears told me it came from, I saw a brown owl sitting in the window. Unlike with Hedwig, I couldn't feel this owl—so it was either a native owl or someone at the school had sent me a message.

"Good morning, Owlowiscious." The way Spike said it, I could gather that was the owl's name. It wasn't as refined as Hedwig, and this owl wasn't anywhere near as beautiful as she was either. Definitely an inferior owl. "Twilight should be awake soon. She was up really late studying some maps she found of the area you're headed."

"You're not coming?" I asked.

"Hey, I totally could this time! I'll ask Twilight when she—" Spike cut off as the sound of hooves came up the stairs from below. "Speaking of, here she comes. Good morning, Twilight. Let me make you some coffee."

"Mmmm…" Twilight didn't sound so good, and with her mane and tail looking like a mess, it was obvious she hadn't actually woken up yet. She stumbled over to the table and sat down, then rested her head on the table.

"Is she asleep?" I asked.

"Her heart rate has lowered, Harry Potter. I believe she has gone to sleep."

"More like never woke up in the first place. Twilight tends to get into habits so hard that sleep-walking is the nearest description for it." Spike pulled out a jumbo-sized mug and started pouring coffee from a pot on the bench into it. It actually took the whole pot to fill.

On the table, Twilight's head moved and she lifted her head just a little—her snout in the air.

"That's it, Twilight. Coffee. The coffee is ready," Spike said as he carried the gigantic mug over to the table. "She tried using magic to grab the mug a few times, but she's not the best at magic until she's already had coffee. Here you go, hot, delicious coffee." 

The moment Spike had the mug close to her snout, Twilight lunged. Her forehooves pinned the mug to the table like a cat with some poor creature. She shoved her snout in and practically inhaled the coffee.

"Three," Spike said. "Two. One. Aaaand…" 

Twilight's head shot up straight and she looked around. Blinking hurriedly, she focused on Addera first and then myself. "Good morning! Did you both sleep well?"

I stared at her. She looked completely awake, her mane and tail looked perfect, and I had no idea how she'd done it. "C-Could I please have some coffee too?"

Addera turned and glared at me from behind her glasses. "Good morning, Twilight Sparkle. We slept wonderfully. Not quite what we are used to, but we don't all have chilly castles and cold stones to sleep on. A warm kitchen was a treat." She slithered over to the table.

Following Addera, I sat up beside her on a chair. To my surprise, Spike set a smaller mug of coffee down before me. "That was fast. Thank you."

"With the way Twilight drinks coffee, an enchanted coffee pot was the first appliance we got here." Spike ran back to the stove. "Who wants the first pancakes?"

Before I could answer, Addera reached across and stuck her hoof against my snout. "Serve Twilight first, Spike the dragon, that way she can explain everything she found out last night to us while we eat."

Lifting up my mug carefully between my front hooves, I looked into the depths of the dark brew and inhaled. Just that one breath almost made my eyes water and my nostrils shrivel closed. Feeling more awake already, I tipped the cup and took a sip of it. 

The coffee tasted way stronger than anything I'd been allowed to drink before (which wasn't much). This had more flavor to it and felt far stronger as it burned its way to my belly. Warmth spread out from there, and before I realized it I was taking another sip.

I felt Hedwig as she returned. Before she even landed in the window I could taste the mouse she'd eaten and feel my full belly—that was hers. When she landed on the window, I shuffled myself a little so she'd be able to land on my back—which she did a moment later.

'I caught a mouse.'

The memories of her flying, hunting, eating, and even flying back poured into me. I couldn't stop them. Flying as Hedwig was great, but I knew time was passing and I couldn't stop the playback. Hedwig… Please stop.

Panic and worry flooded me. The memories snapped off and I felt her gently rubbing her beak into my mane.

'You didn't want?'

Not right now. When we're on the train would be better. Blinking away the aftereffects of her memories, I realized I was staring at a plate of blueberry-covered pancakes with a dollop of ice-cream on them. 

Everyone was looking at me.

"Sorry. Hedwig was showing me what she'd been doing, and it makes it hard to focus on other things." I hurriedly cast a Locomotion charm on the knife and fork before me before realizing everyone was still looking at me. "What?"

Addera hissed sharply. —Harry Potter, did you make that up?—

I blinked a few times and shook my head. "No… I mean, last night when Hedwig was touching me, I could see and hear everything she'd done flying back from Hogwarts. Just now she was really excited to show me the mouse she'd caught."

"That's a little more than what Fluttershy does, then. Is it just with Hedwig?" Twilight asked.

"This is, apparently, magic that has fallen out of favor with wizards and witches, Twilight Sparkle. Harry Potter has formed a familial bond with Hedwig. I know not the specifics, but that it gave the wizard or witch a mental bond with their familiar." Addera looked at me curiously. "In my day, it was seen as a way to control a powerful creature to do the wizard's bidding."

I gulped. The way Addera said it, that didn't sound like a nice thing to do at all. 

'It's okay.'

Not really. You didn't get a say in this.

'Neither did you. Guess we're stuck.'

That's the most you've ever said. Okay, so I promise, Hedwig, not to give you orders. Is that good enough?

'Yes.'

Talking to you isn't as time-consuming as when you show me things. I really want to see your hunting, but let's wait until they're not all watching us, okay?

Hedwig didn't reply directly, just giving me a whistle that I knew to mean she agreed. Of course, that knowing could be part of the familiar bond. What if I made her think she wanted to? What if—

'You think too much.'

I giggled—it was impossible to resist. When everyone looked at me with concerned expressions, I managed to suppress my laughter. "Hedwig just told me I think too much. She was right, but I was worried that I would hurt her."

Addera reached out to me with her hoof and tilted my chin up so I was looking at her and not Hedwig. "You are a good snake, Harry Potter, and I'm sure you won't hurt your friend."

While I was still trying to piece together why she called me a snake, Hedwig pinched one of the pancakes Spike placed before me. 

"What do you mean 'Good snake'?" I asked.

'She thinks you're her chick.'

"Slip of the tongue," Addera said. 

It was hard to see, but I noticed the little bit of skin I could see in Addera's ears was a little pink—she was blushing! Another thing occurred to me; Addera normally said someone's name when she spoke—she always did—but she hadn't just now.

'She's embarrassed. Hug her.'

What?

'Hug her now.'

I climbed down from my seat and pulled it with me as I edged around the end of the table so I was sitting beside Addera. Climbing back up onto my seat, I looked up at her only to see her looking back down curiously. Hugging her was easier said than done when she was thicker around than my legs were long.

"Harry Potter, what are you—"

Improvising, I simply walked on my seat so I was close to her, reared up, and hugged her as best I could. It felt better than I thought it would. There was a few moments of just me hugging her before Addera brought the end of her tail around my back to hug me in return. 

My emotions swamped me and I gripped Addera tighter still. Pressing my face against her scales, I couldn't stop myself from crying. I hadn't hugged someone like this in—I'd never hugged anyone like this. 

I didn't want to let go.





"C'mon. Keep quiet." Lucian Bole edged away from the portal as quickly as he could with Helena Fowley in tow. All the while, he scanned around the tents looking for where all the wizards were and, more importantly, where Draco Malfoy was.

"Let go of me!" Draco Malfoy was completely done with being pushed around. Turning a little to her side, she twisted a little further—just like she'd seen a horse do once—and kicked at Vincent Crabbe's flank. 

From there, and with her left side now devoid of anyone shoving her too closely, Draco drew her wand from her robes and pointed it at the ground before her. A spell she knew well from her practice with dueling, Draco cast the Snake Summons spell. Unlike normal such spells, however, Draco had a trick up her sleeve.

Spotting the snake and hearing the transfiguration charm—though she recognized it had been changed slightly—Jenny Sparks turned as she drew her wand and did the expected thing. 

Snake-Vanishing spells were the typical counter to what Draco had just done, and she wasn't at all surprised to hear Jenny casting it. When a puff of black smoke shot out at the snake and failed to vanish it, of course, that made it quite the surprise. "Good girl. Don't inject them unless they deserve it, remember?"

Wheeling around the other side, Draco broke into a gallop while the large reptile placed itself between her and her possible pursuers.

"That's gotta be Draco," Helena said at the sound of shouting. "Or, maybe Potter's friendly snake came through?"

"Nah. Draco. She was practicing that special Snake-Summoning spell. Come on, I can hear hooves close by." Winding around a tent, his ears twitching this way and that as he narrowed on his target. "There she is!" 

"Draco!" Yelling loud enough to get Draco's attention and—hopefully—not that of the wizards trying to deal with the snake, Helena lifted one of her wings out from under her robe and waved.

Freezing for a moment, Draco decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and ran over to Lucian and Helena. "What are you two doing here?"

"Grab onto me with your wings." Lucian barely had time to snarl out the words while he shoved his snout under his robes and pulled out his wand. "Hold tight—as if your lives depend on it."

With but a moment to realize what Lucian had planned, Draco flicked her wand and recalled her snake to its pocket within her robes. Knowing things were about to go from horrible to terrible, she wrapped one wing around Lucian's neck and held tight. "Do you have a license to Appa—?"

Helena gripped tighter and tighter as it felt like she turned inside out. Disapparition, however, was never the problem. Though it felt like she was being squeezed by a giant snake, she kept her grip and hoped against hope that Lucian knew what he was doing.

Lucian was three months away from being able to apply for his Apparition license. He'd been taking lessons as a side-class in school, and had it down pretty well. When Apparating solo, at least. There was something that drove Lucian Bole, however, and that was the same thing that had sent him out on this wild chase. 

His focus firmly on the back-alley in Hogsmeade, one he'd slipped away to many times to hide from teachers, Lucian's mind was a rock for the two girls to grip to as he shoved them all through the darkest place and finally onto the dirt path in Hogsmeade. 

Unlike Lucian and Draco, Helena had never Apparated before, and being slammed back into reality, though she didn't suffer any splinching, caused her to spend her lunch on the ground.

Draco looked at Lucian and could see her benefactor looked stunned—his ears tucked back and eyes wide. "Are you okay, Lucian?"

"Oi! What're you lot doin' there?" Orondo Cinch raised his wand and quickly worked a Wand-Lighting charm. "Who the bloody hell dressed little 'orses up?" He started forward to investigate the three equines, when one raised a wand and pointed it at him.

There wasn't a lot of excitement in the job of wandkeeper in Hogsmeade—not usually at least. All the students heading to school for the first time usually purchased their wands from his boss, Garrick Ollivander of Diagon Alley. As such, having a winged pony pointing a wand at him with clear intelligence in their eyes told Orondo all he needed to know. "Look, I don't want any trouble. If you need some 'elp undoing a Transfiguration curse, I know someone who—"

Curling one of her wings in, Draco held her wand in her feathers—still pointed at Orondo. "We can deal with that later! Take us somewhere warm!" Command came easily to Draco, particularly when someone she considered a friend (and what else could she really call Lucian after this escapade) was in trouble. 

Authoritative voices might have power, but Orondo was not someone to be swayed so simply. "I'll do nothing of the sort unless you tell me who you are."

"We're students from Hogwarts. Sh—He's Draco Malfoy." Helena was fighting with her nausea. "My name's Helena Fowley. Now take us somewhere warm before we find someone who will and get our parents involved."

Draco hadn't actually wanted to play on her name, but under the circumstances she wouldn't fault Helena. "Sooner would be better than later."

"Y-Y-Yes. Of course!" Turning Orondo started off down the alley toward its mouth. "This way. My shop's just around the corner." Though he planned to give them somewhere warm to rest, he also planned to contact Lucius Malfoy—it didn't do to make mistakes where his family was concerned. 

Struggling to move, Lucien felt stiff and sore all over. He'd strained himself two Side-Alongs, but he was determined not to slow them down. "D-Don't trust 'im," he managed to whisper to Draco, "an' don't tell 'im my name."

Orondo led the way out of the alley and, as he'd promised, to his shop. The building wasn't exactly the warmest, but he'd just been in the back area, so the stove there was still radiating some warmth. "Come in. Who's your friend?"

Helena opened her mouth to reply, but caught a jab in her side from Draco's wing. It wasn't code for anything, but she wasn't the stupidest Slytherin. "Harry Potter." The moment she said it, Helena regretted it. 

Draco pulled her own wing around and thumped herself in the forehead with it. "You've probably heard how great he is at everything? Particularly getting into trouble." As Draco told the absolute truth, she started to warm to the idea of besmirching Harry's name a little. "He got lost and we, being far better at getting out of trouble, took off after him. You can imagine how well that's gone?" Draco lifted one wing up and gave it a demonstrative flap.

It matched up to everything Orondo knew of Harry Potter. He'd heard, on many the occasion in The Three Broomsticks, various teachers swapping stories of what Harry had done in and out of class. "I can well imagine. If you'll give me but a minute, I'll contact your father via Floo and let him know your whereabouts."

So simple. So bad. Draco tried to think quickly to change the wandkeeper's mind, but before she could think of something, Orondo had grabbed up some Floo powder and tossed it on the dying coals of the big fireplace.

What surprised Draco most was the face that appeared in the fire. "Dobby?"

"You'll have to excuse Dobby, sirs, but his master can't come to the fireplace right now. Please try again later." The image of the house-elf faded and was gone. 

Loathe as Orondo was to deal with the three "Transfigured" students any longer than he had to, the unwillingness of Malfoy Manner to accept guests stymied even his attempt to identify one of his visitors. But, their story checked out. It wasn't unusual to catch the students of Hogwarts pulling gags on each other, and turning their friends into little horses seemed a good laugh. 

It had completely slipped  Orondo's mind that something stranger still had happened to Hogwarts itself. "Guess you'll be sleeping the night at The Three Broomsticks. Come on and I'll get you a room. I was just on my way over there when I spotted you."

"Can you not tell them who we are?" Helena was determined to not be dead-weight, and that meant accounting for herself well. "Only, it'd be ever so embarrassing if our parents caught us—well—having gotten into this much trouble? Don't worry, we'll put in a good word that you helped us."

The affected accent Helena used caught Draco between mirth and outrage. She wanted to demand Helena stop, and cheer for more at the same time. Draco opted to say nothing.

"S'pose it'd be worth my while. Alright then, anonymous whelps, follow me." Some wizards of his station might use the opportunity to berate or lord it over two pure-blood family scions and Harry Potter, but Orondo Cinch wasn't stupid enough to think that in just twenty years, when the scions were wizards and witches in their own right, he wouldn't have them doing the same thing back to him. It wasn't very wise to take advantage of a short-term situation at the cost of the future.

Draco and Helena both let out a sigh and, supporting Lucian as best they could, followed Orondo to the The Three Broomsticks and inside. The famous (to anyone who'd ever been to Hogwarts) pub was quiet that night, but for a few regulars sitting in one corner—huddled over their drinks.

Orondo walked up to the bar and let loose a sneeze. "On top of everything else, I'm getting a cold?"

"Here was me thinking you was Hagrid. Orondo, what with the horses following—Are those Hogwarts uniforms?" Madam Rosmerta looked over her bar at the three ponies following Orondo into her bar. "What's going on here?"

Some had warned Orondo that the publican of The Three Broomsticks was a wild enchantress who was better at pulling the truth from a wizard than veritaserum, and it was true. She had only to set her eyes upon him, quirk one eyebrow, and tilt her hip and he was opening his mouth to blurt the names he'd heard.

"Just a little mistake with a spell, Madam Rosmerta." Helena had seen enough boys fall sideways at a girl's looks before to recognize Orondo's situation. "We just need somewhere to spend the night—I'm sure Headmaster Dumbledore will sort out some galleons for it…" She looked finally at Orondo, who nodded vigorously in support of her words.

"Something's not quite right here." Rosmerta's eyes slid to glance at her regulars, then back to her visitors. "Out with it. If you keep your voices down, no one'll hear us."

"It all started," Draco said, "when Hogwarts up and vanished on us. We were out in the woods  helping Harry here with a problem when the whole thing disappeared with a pop. The magic left behind was horrible, and when we tried to work out what had actually happened, our spells went wrong and we—we got turned into ponies, ma'am."

Creating believable lies, Draco knew, meant weaving truth into them. She didn't for a moment believe that no one had noticed Hogwarts disappearing for a week, so slipping that fact into her lie made it much easier to swallow. 

Rosmerta wasn't born yesterday, however. She knew Draco was lying about something—she could smell the lies on his words—but what with Hogwarts disappearing and matching up with at least some of the story, she was willing to give three scared schoolchildren a pass. "Get upstairs with ya. Dump Harry in the first room on the right, and you girls take the second. I'll be up with a meal for the lot of you in a few minutes."

Adjusting her wing around Lucian's back, Draco hauled the bigger pony—with Helena's help—up the stairs and into the bedroom Rosmerta had requested. What surprised Draco was how strong her wings were. With her hooves planted on the floor, lifting Lucian (again, with Helena's help) didn't seem all that hard.

"Th-Thanks." Lucian felt about as good as the time he'd tried some of The Three Broomsticks' more adult beverages. His head felt thick, his body felt wrong, and the room seemed to keep moving in the wrong ways. 

Draco froze at the word. What did it mean to her to be thanked when Lucian had gone to such an extent to help her. It was insane how many laws Lucian had broken to get Draco out of having to see her parents, which made it even crazier. Lucian was a Slytherin, Draco told herself, he'll want something for this.

"Yeah yeah. Remember, you're Harry Potter if anyone asks, right?" Draco asked.

Blinking a few times rapidly, Lucian had a moment to nod, regret nodding, and close his eyes before he passed out.

"Come on. He'll remember what you told him. Now we have to face Madam Rosmerta." Helena started for the door, then looked back at Draco. "You know there'll be people talking if a girl spends the night in a boy's bedroom, right?"

The realization hit Draco so fast she started to spread her wings to get out before she remembered she was inside. "Why'd he do all this?"

Closing the door behind her with a wing, Helena was surprised at how much she'd learned about her new appendages in the last hour. "He's a big softy is why. Look past the fists and low brow and you'll see someone who isn't just smart, he's kind too."

Draco almost contradicted the answer. She hadn't had to deal with Lucian's bullying behavior before the whole mess started, but she knew well from other Slytherin students how rough Lucian played. Then it hit her. "He only beats up on boys?"

"I think it's more the other way around. He's only nice to girls, but don't double-cross him or he might just remember that you weren't one a month ago. He keeps his friends close, too." Helena walked to the next room and in the door Draco opened. "Thanks."

"Why did you come?" Draco asked as she closed the door behind Helena.

Helena thought over what she could say as she walked over to the bed. "I could say he made me come, but that's far from the truth. I felt cramped in the castle. I'd been looking forward to finishing the year, but then this"—she lifted her wings out just enough to make her point—"happened, and I had to get away however I could."

"So you're going to split as soon as we get out of here?" Draco walked to the bed, too, but was startled when the door behind her opened.

"I hope you like vegetable stew. I woke Harry up and he almost inhaled his." Madam Rosmerta looked between Draco and Helena. "Whatever lies you told me, you best hope they aren't dangerous ones. I'll be contacting your parents first thing in the morning to let them know what has happened. Eat up."

Draco stared at the doorway after Rosmerta left. "Well damn."

"Why didn't you—why don't you—want to go home? Your parents will get this sorted out, right?" Helena used her wing to hold the spoon, practicing a few times until she worked out it was more than capable enough to be used to eat with.

"And if it can't? What if I'm stuck like this?" Wanting nothing more than to turn her nose up at the stew, Draco found her mouth watering at the smell and started reaching for her spoon with her own wing—mimicking Helena.

"What about it? You think your parents won't—" Helena froze. Lucius Malfoy was several kinds of notorious as to how far in the air his nose was. "Your father wouldn't dis—"

"He would. I was his heir. Women don't get to be heirs—not according to my father." Draco's anger boiled for a moment and she contemplated throwing the bowl of stew at the wall. Her stomach, however, reminded her that she was hungry. 

Helena rolled her eyes and tried to support Draco a little. "Was his heir? Doesn't sound like the self-assured Draco Malfoy I remember from his first two years." 

"Yeah? Well, I'm not that Draco Malfoy anymore. If you hadn't noticed, I'm a—I'm a small, female horse."

"Who can fly without a broom."

Draco stopped her own comeback only by stuffing her mouth with stew.

"And who can beat Harry Potter in a duel." When Draco still didn't respond, Helena continued. "And had the guts to fight for Hogwarts against a worse evil wizard than You-Know-Who."

Finally seeing a point she could make, Draco spoke up before Helena could attest any further things to her. "Everyone did that, though. We literally all helped fight off Sombra."

"Not every second year was still standing, casting spells—not every Slytherin was still able to stand. They only drove you back, I heard, with weight of numbers. Something about a swarm of snakes some clever wizard summoned." 

"I wasn't going to use Bess. With those kinds of numbers, she'd get hurt." Draco lifted the side of her robe up and reached into one of the enchanted pockets inside it. 

Bess the snake slithered out of her home and wound her way up Draco's foreleg before settling in a triple-loop around Draco's neck. She leaned forward to find a feather start stroking under her neck rather than the more familiar finger—she wasn't concerned.

"What kind of snake is that? I don't think I've ever seen one like it." Trusting Draco to warn her if she was getting too friendly with the reptile, Helena leaned forward to examine the dull patterned creature.

Draco smiled at her friendly pet. "Of course you wouldn't recognize her. Father would only have the best for me. Bess is a taipan—an Australian snake. Excepting magical snakes, and water snakes, she's the most deadly snake in the world."

Helena knew better than to scream. She also didn't make any sudden movements that might startle the snake. She did slowly lean back so that Bess was as far away as two ponies sitting on the same bed could be. "M-Most deadly?"

"Well, she's an inland taipan. Her venom's more deadly than the others', but she doesn't inject much of it." Bess was one of the few things in Draco's life that had always brought her joy. Her father had purchased the taipan as a gift and a test both—a Malfoy who couldn't master a snake was no Malfoy in his eyes, and what better test than the most deadly snake (apart from magical ones, of course) in the world? What Lucius Malfoy hadn't anticipated was how attached Draco would be to the snake.

"You've had her a—a while?" 

"All her life and most of mine." Draco reached into another pocket with a hoof and lifted out a mouse. The poor little mammal was already still, but when Draco held it up by its tail, Bess struck quickly.

Draco wasn't the first student Helena had met who had a pet snake, though Bess certainly took the cake for most deadly pet in Hogwarts—now that Helena knew of her. "How'd you get a cloak to fit your pony body with all those enchanted pockets?"

Eating her stew while Bess at her mouse, Draco smiled. "I yelled at a wardrobe for an hour."

The answer seemed perfectly reasonable to Helena, though there was probably some muggles that might have trouble believing it. She kept eating her stew, but now she was a little more wary of Draco. At last she wanted to know something, "You summoned her into their midst, didn't you?"

"At Hogwarts? No. She would have gotten hurt. She would have also killed a lot of ponies." That none had died in the whole encounter was still a shock to everyone concerned—a shock and a relief. "Back at the camp with all the wizards? I needed something to distract them, and I knew none would think to do anything but a banishing on her."

"Which didn't work because she wasn't a magical construct of a snake, she was a real snake. She didn't bite anyone?"

"I asked her not to. She's a good girl, aren't you, Bess?" Draco smiled at Bess and used her feathers to again caress the snake's jaw. "She's really quite friendly."

"I'll take your word for it." What worried Helena, of course, was that she'd have to sleep in the same room as Draco, which meant sleeping in the same room as Bess. "Okay, this won't work unless I can pet her at least once. Is she friendly enough to let me pet her?"

"If I ask her to be. Will you let Helena pet you, Bess?" Draco asked.

Looking up at her companion, Bess hissed noncommittally. 

Draco smiled. "She said it's okay."

"You're a parselmouth?"

"Not at all. We're just friends."





Having an Imperius curse cast upon you was a horrible fate, by all accounts. Just imparting the spell upon on another being was a crime the wizarding world punished by life imprisonment. 

Yet Bartemius Crouch Jr. lived with that horrible magic worming its way through his head like a fat slug that devoured his freedom. Every idea he had to get free of his father's vice-like grip was eaten up by the spell and for hours after having them he felt empty. In a way, it was how the insidious spell worked to suppress those under its effects—it trained them not to think that way.

Bartemius—Barty—Crouch Jr. was not someone who gave up easily, or who took to such training easily either. Rather than avoid the emptiness the spell inflicted upon him, he used it as a tool to avoid his father's attention. He probed at his memories and thoughts, tested how far he could think about departing his prison before the curse took hold, and he huddled in the invisibility cloak he could no sooner remove than leave the house. 

"Mr. Crouch? You haven't eaten." When Bartemius didn't reply, Winky the house-elf approached him. "You need to eat."

"Why, Winky?" The curse let up when it was just Bartemius and Winky, or Bartemius and his father. While he hated his father with a passion that was only held in check by the curse, he wasn't exactly enthused with Winky either. For a start, she was his father's tool.

"Mr. Crouch wants to get free, doesn't he?" Winky knew Bartemius couldn't directly answer, so continued herself. "To get free, Mr. Crouch needs his strength. Opportunity rarely knocks twice, Mr. Crouch."

Fighting with himself to not focus on her words, Bartemius picked up the bowl of stew and started eating the delicious, hot meal. Each mouthful was bliss to his senses, and he let it distance himself from the monster his father had put in his head. 

Sitting beside Bartemius, Winky leaned herself against his invisible body without having to give his location a second thought. To her eyes, invisibility was a beacon.

A tingling sensation ran up and down Bartemius' left arm and settled over the dark mark there. He ignored it, as he had to, but when power flared in his limb, he arched his back and looked up into the air and screamed.

Jerking away from Bartemius, Winky looked around for what had attacked him. It took the house-elf several seconds of his screaming to realize the cloak around his shoulders and covering his head was no longer making him invisible. "M-M-Mr. Crouch!"

Hands curling into claws, Bartemius grabbed at his left wrist with his right hand and pulled it free of his sleeve. The mark on his arm throbbed and boiled with black-purple smoke. What startled him more was that he could look at and think about his dark mark without the curse eating away at his mind.

A profound sense of loss hit him, and without any other means he knew it signaled the true death of his master. Before grief could set in, however, a new power touched him. That black-purple smoke boiled around his arm and reshaped the dark mark into a horse's head—adding a red horn to it. A new master had marked his minion and freed the way for them to unite. 

Taking his first truly free breath since his father had denounced him and sentenced him to life in Azkaban, Bartemius Crouch Jr. stood up and cast his cloak off. "Winky, on behalf of my father I give you that cloak and invite you to join me as my servant."

The offer, the gift, shocked Winky. She stared up at Bartemius with mild shock and utter devotion. Starting to nod her head as a big smile spread over her lips, Winky gathered up the ruined invisibility cloak and bowed her head. "Of course, Master Cr—"

"Call me Master Barty, Winky." Power—new and raw—poured through Bartemius' left arm. "I need to get a wand and find this new lord—the horse-king."





Princess Celestia stood at one end of the large table in the stonework castle that had become part of the Crystal Empire. 

There would be room for nearly ten ponies down each side, though only four sat there—two on each side. Gemma Farley and Minerva McGonagall sat on one side, while Princess Cadance and Shining Armor sat opposite them.

At the opposite end sat Herbert Trencent and Richard Fellows. Both tried to focus on the fact they were meeting beings, not beasts. "Shall we begin?" Richard asked.

"Indeed. How goes your efforts at evacuation?" Princess Celestia wore her full regalia and didn't for a moment consider sitting. 

Herbert Trencent cleared his throat. "Our efforts go. We are grateful that you have not interfered, and plan to make a full report on what's transpired here—for our superiors—the moment we've compiled such. My colleague has convinced me that our best course of action is undoubtedly to find someone with the proper authority. Until then, we'll evacuate every wizard or witch, no matter their current form."

"That won't be necessary." Minerva had been wanting to interrupt the man, but her courtesy toward the Ministry held her in check. "I am the headmistress of Hogwarts, and I've already made my decision. I stay with this castle and teach what students put themselves forward to be taught."

Richard smiled and gestured at the room around them. "With all due respect, acting headmistress, but Hogwarts and its grounds are still part of Great Britain. My colleague and I aren't asking your permission to escort you back, we're—"

Princess Celestia imposed her voice on the conversation. "I find myself in full agreement with your government."

"Stop this." Princess Cadance, standing up, stomped her hoof on the flagstone floor. "The land the castle is now resting on belongs to the Crystal Empire. As the newly appointed rulers of the Crystal Empire, Prince Shining Armor and myself are the only ponies with the right to claim who may and may not remain here."

A shiver of excitement ran through Princess Celestia. This was exactly the kind of thing she'd hoped for, though Cadance's wording was a little upsetting to her own plans.

Shining Armor stood up in support of his wife. "As Princess Cadance just said, we are the rulers here by right of consensus. The crystal ponies were asked to vote, they chose us to lead them. We will continue to do so until they are unhappy with us. In the interest of friendship, we've extended friendship and citizenship to the current residents of Hogwarts, and any adult students who wish it."

Keeping from smiling only thanks to her years spent teaching students who constantly find ways to pleasantly surprise her, Minerva stood up and gave a short tip of her head across the table. "Thank you for your support, Your Highnesses. I hope Hogwarts can serve the students of the Crystal Empire and"—she turned to face the Ministry representatives—"and continue to teach Great Britain's wizards and witches. Should they be willing to come, of course. I do trust you're arranging for Hogwarts to be reestablished on the Floo Network?"

"Princess Celestia," Princess Cadance said while already on the offensive, "we will of course continue to welcome your presence as well as the presence of your Royal Guard."

"And too," Shining Armor said, on queue, to Richard and Herbert, "we welcome the presence of your people too. The Crystal Empire will be a fine neighbor to both your realms."

Richard Fellows let out a snort into the growing silence of the room. "They've got us. Oh, come on, Herbert, it's out of our hands anyway. We might as well congratulate them on this. I'm not precisely sure what governance your countries have here, but I personally wish you the best of luck."

"You still shouldn't say that, Richard. We should at the very least demand the return of every artifact and item belonging to Hogwarts as it stood as a school in Great Britain." Herbert Trencent had lost, and he didn't like losing, which meant he was going to be a little sore about it. "Starting with the furniture."

"Of course!" Gemma had been sitting back. She had no weight of her own to throw around in this meeting, and only represented the few students who had put their hands (although mostly hooves) up to remain at the school. "The Ministry is welcome to fetch all the furniture it requires from Hogwarts. I would warn you as to the implications of using magic to shift any of it, however."

This time Richard's laugh was more open. "Come on, Herbert. They're all much better at politics than we are. Let them play their games and we'll retire back to the Ministry and have them send someone who walks this walk."

Herbert Trencent, however, didn't make a move to get up.

"You can continue this line yourself, Herbert. I was sent here in case you had to deal with magical beasts. There are none here. Nor are there any beings requiring obliviation." Richard Fellows gestured to the door with his unlit pipe. "You'll excuse me, good people, but I must return to the Ministry and get back to work."

Stuck now, Herbert nervously watched his fellow leave the room and sighed. He was at a disadvantage if he stayed—Richard would be able to make a report without any opposing viewpoint. He was also not exactly enthusiastic about leaving as that would mean any decisions made here would be without Ministry supervision.

"My colleague has left me in a bind, and I'm sure you well know that. My duty is, first and foremost, to the Ministry. Though it may cost me personal prestige to stay, I am not so much of a politician yet that I can't put aside my personal gains to ensure the Ministry is properly represented here." Herbert might not have liked the situation, but he was a wizard dedicated to his job. 

The words had meaning to Gemma, but not quite the same as what the man had said. They betrayed division between his and his colleague's points of view, though it did show the man to be a little less of an idiot than she'd hoped for. "Perhaps we can be somewhat helpful to the Ministry in retrieving their property. If you submit a list, we'll be sure to deliver anything a teacher or student doesn't claim as their personal property."

Minerva was only starting to realize how cutthroat Gemma was. Slytherin, Minerva mused, had fostered some spectacular minds—and continues to.

"A school," Princess Celestia said, "is not something Equestria would ever see as a pawn. If Hogwarts requires any equipment I may be able to supply—to teach young ponies or humans—you can trust that I'll provide it."

A staring match started from one end of the long table to the other. Princess Celestia, however, had enjoyed a life long enough that she could out-stare a cockatrice without attracting snails. 

That she gracefully smiled at her counterpart at the meeting. "I'm sure that we'll both have some things to talk about regarding the disposition of Hogwarts, but ultimately it is a matter for the sovereigns of the Crystal Empire."

Shining and Cadance both gasped just a little at the phrasing and outright acknowledgment of their rulership.

"In that case," Minerva said, trying to recapture the conversation, "I believe we will await the list of items from the Ministry, and look forward to conversing with such a generous sponsor." She turned to look first at Herbert then at Celestia as she mentioned the actions of each. Once she'd acknowledged both external forces, she turned to look across the table at Shining and Cadance. "Your Highnesses?"