//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Chaotic Return // Story: Equestrian Vacation // by Dragonboy111 //------------------------------// "Discord!" the two unicorns shouted in unison. The embodiment of chaos reached for a hat that appeared on his head, and he took an overly dramatic bow. "Nice to see my reputation still precedes me. Oh, and hello to you too, Twilight," he said. Harry and Twilight shared a nervous glance. "What do you want, Discord?" Twilight said standoffishly. "You wouldn't be here without a reason." "Me? Have a reason?" Discord pointed to himself dramatically. "Whatever do you mean?" When Twilight had no retort but to glare harder, he eventually relented. "Fine, fine. Yes, I do have a reason to be back here. "You see, for the past few weeks, I've become increasingly aware of some cross-dimensional 'leakages'. Nothing bigger than say, perhaps, a letter. But somepony has been making more dramatic changes recently, and I was hoping you might have a clue," he said in a knowing tone. The unicorns understood what he was talking about. Harry. "Is it bad?" Harry asked tentatively. The draconequus picked his big tooth out of his mouth to inspect it, then used it to pick at his other teeth. "Well, I don't think so. It's not exactly the first time something of this sort has happened. What is a first, however, is something trying to reach across our barriers." He popped his tooth back into place. Harry gulped. "The cup. It's trying to drag me back again," Harry whispered. Discord perked up at Harry's words. A detective's cap and a monocle dropped onto his head "'Back again'? What an interesting choice of words. Do you mean to suggest that you're the dimensional anomaly?" Discord tried to take a step closer to Harry, but Twilight blocked him off. "Harry's from another dimension. He was struggling with neglect and bullying, so I brought him here." "You brought him here? I suppose I should compliment you on such an accomplishment. Reverse-gravity sundae?" Discord held out an upside-down ice cream bowl, but when no one took it he let it fall up to the ceiling. "Right, it's all business with you. Well, I'm not sure what this 'Cup' of yours does, but I would appreciate it if weren't tickling the rules of the universe." Harry raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that your whole thing?" Harry asked. "Yes, and I dislike anyone or anything else that thinks they have a right to do it. And so, I'll have to send you back." Harry fell out of the bed in surprise. "What!?" "Discord, you can't send Harry back, he's recovering from a head injury! I was going to return him earlier, but I wasn't sending him back alone and unconscious!" Twilight protested. Discord rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then a lightbulb appeared over his head. He was quick to grab it and blow it out like a candle before eating it. "Oh, of course! Dear Twilight, you're right. We can't have him going back like this, so I suppose I'll just have to send both of you back together." "What!?" they shouted in unison. "Oh, this'll be so much fun!" "Discord, don't you dare-!" The draconequus paid them no heed as a very volatile-looking magic circle formed under his influence. Various runes, symbols, and... graffiti?... traversed the air as chaos magic filled the room. "Have fun you two!" he yelled with a wave. There was a bright flash, and Harry and Twilight were gone. The draconequus brushed a comical amount of dust off his hands. "This cameo had better be worth my time." A creak sounded at the door. "Twilight, Harry, I couldn't find the doctor. I—" Fluttershy entered the room. The first thing she noticed was that Harry and Twilight were gone. The second was Discord, who was poorly disguised in an oversized lab coat, rubber gloves, and a surgical mask. "Oh, uh, where are Twilight and Harry?" she asked. "Oh, uh, they just checked out." Discord fumbled for an excuse. "Really? I didn't see them on my way back. I must have missed them." She turned to leave the room, and Discord breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, and, Discord?" Discord froze up under her gaze, literally. "Thanks for checking in on Harry." And she left the room. Discord sagged in relief, his outfit melting off him. "Ugh, I need a vacation." Back at Hogwarts, things weren't looking good. Some time had passed, yet they were no closer to finding Harry. Dumbledore had done his best to keep Harry's disappearance a secret, having orchestrated several "appearances" from the Boy Who Lived in the form of an illusion of him on his broom in plain sight of everyone. Luckily Harry had vanished on the last day of the semester, which made things significantly easier to manage. But still, Harry remained unfound. In the time since then, all the teachers, the heads of the other schools, the Triwizard judges, and even the Minister himself had gotten involved. Harry's disappearance was a serious break from protocol. If they couldn't find Harry by the time the Yule Ball rolled around, the Daily Prophet and every other media outlet would have a field day with them. As of now, all the relevant parties were assembled in Dumbledore's office, which included the Ministry's judges for the tournament, the Minister himself, and several trusted aurors. They had been briefed on all the important information about the disappearance, with the exception of Harry's letter. They were currently reviewing anything and everything they knew. "The fact of the matter remains," said one auror. "How Harry Potter was kidnapped—" "We don't know that," interceded Bartemius Crouch Sr. "If it were anything less we would have heard from him by now," the same auror continued. "If it truly were a kidnapping, then where are the demands?" questioned Fudge. "Harry Potter is a celebrity. A target as high profile as him would gain any group notoriety, members, or a sizable ransom. If it is a kidnapping, as you are blatantly suggesting, what's their goal?" "Minister, might I suggest something?" Dumbledore asked. "Perhaps this group's goals are not getting something from Mr. Potter, but ensuring there is something he can not get?" he said cryptically. "Stop speaking in riddles! Tell us plainly!" Bagman demanded. Dumbledore straightened up, sitting a little taller. "The magical contract, that must be their goal. If Harry cannot compete, the Cup may find him in violation of the magically binding contract. After that, we don't know what will happen," Dumbledore concluded. Whispers and grumbles spread amongst the group. "Then we must find Potter before February 24th," said Kingsly Shacklebolt, one of the assembled Aurors. "We only have but one clue of what happened to Potter: a possible location of where he may be," Dumbledore said. The group grew uneasy. This was the first time such evidence had been mentioned. "However, I have encountered a problem. I have been scouring every book and map in the school, yet there has been no mention of the location's name anywhere." "What was it called?" Asked Crouch. "It is a rather odd name—" Dumbledore started before Fudge interrupted. "Does that matter? You have a lead! Whatever the name, we must have the Ministry archives examined for any mention of this place, if it exists. Then we must—" Fudge was cut off by the sharp ringing of some magical object on Dumbledore's shelves. "What's that?" The school Headmaster picked up the device, silencing it. "Something just slipped past the castle's anti-apparition wards, at the front gate," he said gravely. "We must hurry. Fawkes!" The red phoenix appeared beside him, engulfing the whole group in a red light. It felt remarkably like using the floo. When the light cleared, everyone was standing at the front gates of the castle. Those who were unfamiliar with phoenix fire stumbled. Dumbledore whispered to his familiar for a moment, before Fawkes vanished and returned with a rather startled Professor McGonagall. "What is the meaning of this, Albus?!" Bagman demanded indignantly. Dumbledore had only to point forward to silence him. There, floating in front of the group, centered in the courtyard was a dark void. A swirling mass of a black abyss that seemed to have been cut from the primordial nothingness that preceded the very universe. It pulsed in a sick imitation of a heartbeat, growing more erratic with each second. "Albus... What is that thing?" Fudge sounded terrified. "I don't know." Dumbledore drew his wand. "Be prepared for anything." Everyone else followed suit, reflexively whipping out their wands, ready for the worst. But they couldn't have been ready for what came next. Twisting in on itself, the void spit something out onto the cobblestone. Or, rather, someone. A human boy, one with dark hair and glasses, dressed in Hogwarts robes. A boy everyone knew the name of. Harry Potter had returned.