Ch. 3 — Cultural Clash
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Ch. 3 — Cultural Clash
Twilight sighed. The fillies looked at her curiously. That colt was such a hooful. Ever since he and Sweetie Belle had learned to teleport he was disappearing or appearing unexpectedly. Fortunately, his range was short, barely covering the extent of her castle’s Map Room. She looked around the plaza in front of the Town Hall. Where was he hiding?
He wasn’t in obvious sight, so she closed her eyes, cast a detection spell, and waited for the return echo. But none arrived.
That was odd, he wasn’t in the plaza. Had he run off as soon as he teleported? He never did that. He always stayed around to see his friends’ reactions. She stood, then hovered in place.
«Harry’s playing hide-and-seek, again.» She shook her head. «I don’t have time for it right now, so see if you all can find him? Okay?» She looked down at the fillies, who nodded in understanding. She flew a quick circle around the plaza on the off-chance she might see him, but he wasn’t in sight. That colt! She shook her head, and smiled. He was such a delight, sometimes. And always a challenge.
She went into the Town Hall to present the performers for the next scheduled concert.
Scootaloo looked around hesitantly. «Girls?» she said. «Something isn’t right. He didn’t finish his ice-cream.» The three looked at the bowl on the table. It was over half-full. The brisk temperature outside prevented it from melting, but it still wouldn’t last long.
Apple Bloom grabbed the bowl and hoofed it to a passing filly. «Here,» she said, «Arr coltfriend ran off and left this. Why don’t you finish it so it don’t go to waste?»
«Thanks, Apple Bloom,» said Petunia Paleo, dressed as Daring Do. She immediately sat and started in on the delicious treat.
«Yer welcome,» said Apple Bloom.
Sweetie Belle looked at Apple Bloom as they started across the plaza. «That was mean. He might come back, soon.»
She shrugged, «Then he shouldn’t have taken off without warnin’ us. ‘Sides, he can always get another, if’n he wants.» She looked around the plaza. «We should split up and meet back here in half-an hour. Ah’ll check the tree-house.» She turned and took off at a gallop. Galloping was faster than flying, as she didn’t have nearly the experience that Harry and Scootaloo had racked up on their wings. Besides, she was an earth pony and preferred to keep her hooves on the ground, thank you very much — as she constantly reminded them.
«I’ll ask the Guards at the castle,» said Scootaloo, taking off in a swirl of wings and arrowing out of the plaza.
«And I’ll just trot in circles, I guess,» Sweetie Belle muttered. She cast a detection spell down the alley beside her. Nope. No ponies down there.
۸- ̰ -۸
During the Headmaster’s explanation about Harry’s history, according to the wizards, Scriffy served drinks and snacks. Harry was offered tea or pumpkin juice, and he chose tea. The first time each of the others sipped at their alcoholic drinks, fire-whiskey they called it, and then exhaled flames caught him off guard. While he knew his mum would disapprove, he still wondered if he could get a taste — and shooting flames from his mouth like Spike did looked like fun.
Not having had much of a dinner, Harry demolished his biscuits rather quickly. Seeing that, Scriffy brought him a sandwich. Harry carefully peeled it apart to check, and was happy to see it was merely peanut-butter and strawberry jam.
“I think,” Dumbledore said, “we can wait on hearing where you’ve been the last few years until tomorrow, when we’re more alert. In the meantime, we need to decide where you will sleep.”
“We have four Houses in Hogwarts — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each is grouped according to their traits.” He leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands across his stomach. “Gryffindor values courage, bravery, and chivalry.” Harry frowned, he didn’t know that last word. “Hufflepuff values hard work, patience, justice, and loyalty. Ravenclaw values intelligence, creativity, learning, and wit. Slytherin values ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness.”
Professor McGonagall stood and retrieved the hat from the Headmaster’s desk as he was saying this.
“The Sorting Hat,” he continued, eyes twinkling, “will determine which of the four would best accommodate and support you during the Tournament.”
The Professor stepped over to Harry and started to put the hat on his head.
Harry leaned away. “Oh, no, you won’t!” he declared firmly, with a bit of panic, and put a forehoof over his head. Tensing his legs and wings, he glanced out the window to make sure nothing was in the way.
The woman stepped back. “I assure you,” the woman . . . witch . . . said sternly, “it is perfectly harmless.”
“So is the Alicorn Amulet until you put it on!” stated Harry, eyeing the hat and the others suspiciously. “My mum warned me about things like that. They look completely innocent, maybe even helpful, but then they change you. So, nope, not going to happen.” He shook his head no for emphasis. And placed his other forehoof over it.
Professor McGonagall looked back at Dumbledore.
Bagman cleared his throat. “Actually,” he said apologetically, “If you officially sort the boy into a House in Hogwarts, well, that would give Hogwarts two champions, wouldn’t it? And he has already said he goes to . . . ,” he turned and looked at Harry directly, “Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?”
Harry nodded, and kept his eyes warily on the hat, and where it went.
“The magic in the Goblet might even interfere, again, if you tried,” he concluded. “Not to mention that Maxime or Karkaroff would object. And quite firmly, I suspect.” He didn’t look unhappy at the prospect. He was also on his third small glass of firewhiskey.
The other three looked at him.
“Hm, yes, I expect you might be right,” the Headmaster said softly, and looked contemplative. He absentmindedly motioned to the witch. After a frowning look at Harry, she placed the hat back on the wizard’s desk, and returned to her chair.
“So. Minerva, Severus, where do you think we should place Harry,” he glanced, with an amused expression, at Ludo Bagman, “unofficially?”
Harry grimaced. “Harry Potter Sparkle!” he said, and emphasized the last two words.
The wizard nodded amiably at him.
“Neither Beauxbatons nor Durmstrang have room in their conveyances,” said Professor Snape blandly. “In view of their own champions, and in such close quarters, they would probably resent his presence even more.” His eyes lingered on Harry in a fashion that the pegacorn found disturbing.
Harry listened attentively, with his eyes narrowed.
“Considering the rivalry between Houses, Hogwarts’ students wouldn’t have that issue as long as he wasn’t placed in Hufflepuff,” he continued. “But Slytherin would be challenging, considering his appearance.”
Harry’s eyes narrowed to slits as he stared at the wizard. What was wrong with his appearance?
The Headmaster stroked his beard, nodding slowly. “Tell me, my boy, do you enjoy reading and learning, or consider yourself a witty person?”
Harry sighed. If all wizards were like this, and he had a vague feeling they were, this was going to be a long eight months. “I am not a boy, I am a colt! And I am a pony! Specifically, from the unicorn tribe,” he said exasperatedly.
He took a steadying breath. “And, no, not really. I do like to learn, but I’m not what anypony would call a quick wit. And I’d rather use magic I know rather than read about magic, just for the sake of knowing it as my mum does.”
Although, her reading had led to the discovery of quite a few interesting tricks he had been happy to learn. Such as the wings spell, or Hayscartes’ Method that was currently all the rage at Celestia’s school — and driving the teachers mad with how fast it improved comprehension. They were still tweaking their new lesson plans from last year’s rout.
The witch looked at him. “Do you think you are brave? Do you think yourself courageous?”
Harry looked at her and shrugged. “Again, not really. I do what I have to do when it needs to be done.”
The adults exchanged evaluating looks. Bagman rubbed his chin and said, “If definitely not Hufflepuff or Slytherin, then my old House, Gryffindor.”
Dumbledore and McGonagall nodded agreement. “And if Har . . . ,” Dumbledore corrected himself. “If Mr. Potter desires to switch at a later date, then we can try Ravenclaw.”
Harry growled, then said. “Sparkle!” and glared at the Headmaster. From their startled looks, they appeared as if they had never heard a pony growl, before.
Bagman chuckled. “Yep. Definitely Gryffindor.”
Professor Snape subtly rolled his eyes, Harry saw.
The Headmaster lightly slapped his hands on his desk as he stood. “Excellent. Professor McGonagall, will you see to getting Mr. . . . Sparkle settled for the night.” He glanced, smiling at Harry, “And then tomorrow morning take him to Diagon Alley for a wand, clothes, and school supplies? I’ll have Scriffy get his books.” He looked at the other two adults. “Ludo and I have a few things to discuss.”
Professor McGonagall stood, and waited for Harry to join her.
They had barely returned to the hallway when she stopped and looked at him curiously. “I’ve heard you call yourself both a unicorn and a pegacorn. Can you explain?”
He shrugged. “The wings are temporary magic, from a spell my mum cast. It makes me a pegacorn, a unicorn with wings. So, for a time, I have the abilities of two tribes of ponies, unicorns and pegasi. Add a colouring illusion, a slit-eye illusion, and fake armour, and I have appearance of Nightmare Moon. She is an alicorn — a pony with magic from all three tribes.” He paused thinking, then landed.
“They won’t last long, mum said, probably only until midnight,” he explained. “She could have made them last much longer, weeks, but she said that was indulging. And would confuse the ponies who didn’t know me.” He carefully stood on his hind legs. He sighed dejectedly. “I cannot cast the wing spell to last an hour, much less all day, myself, and repeated casting would leave me exhausted before lunch time.” He stood still for a moment.
“Which leaves me with walking. That normally isn’t a problem. But, if I’m really stuck here for the next eight months, I should probably practice this.” He glanced down. “I don’t want to see only black robes at your thigh-height for the entire time.”
She studied him a moment, her brow furrowed. “Isn’t that difficult?”
“Yes. But I’ll get used to it in time.”
She resumed walking again. “Aren’t you worried about falling?”
“Little nudges with magic help a lot. And takes far less magic than the wing spell. And it will decrease as I get used to two hooves.” He sighed.
She nodded her understanding.
“What are you dietary needs? I need to know so I can warn the house-elves.”
“House-elves?”
“Scriffy is a house-elf.”
“Ah. I eat anything you do, except of meat.” He gave a shudder. “Almost all the animals in Equestria can speak. I refuse to eat something that can ask me not to eat it. And the food I remember eating here? Well, imagine your reaction if you travelled to a world where they served you a roast person. No matter how much they assured you that it was from a dumb animal, what would be your reaction?”
The professor gave him a long look with a sick expression. “I see.”
“Fish are okay. The pegasi where I come from love fish and hay-fries . . . chips.” He paused, thinking. “Uh, kippers and eggs would be good, too,” he said, remembering that English favourite as well. “Baked goods, vegetables, fruits, sugars, hay, and straw. Basically anything you could serve to a pony or horse, here.” He smiled. “I like daisy and strawberry jam sandwiches.”
The stairs between the third floor and the seventh were a bit of a challenge, but nothing he couldn’t manage with the help of magical nudges and the hoofrail.
She looked at his “armour” and down at his hooves. “You are much quieter than I would expect.”
He looked down, “Oh, I forgot. A silencing spell so nopony could follow me as I moved around in that big hall.” He laughed nervously. A moment later, the familiar clip-clop of his hooves was heard beside the tip-tap of the professor’s shoes. And the mild scraping and creaking of his “armour.”
She smiled a bit. “We’ll get you into something more comfortable than that tomorrow.”
He looked at her puzzled. “Why? I’m a pony. We usually don’t wear anything. We normally only dress up for special occasions . . . like balls or fancy plays. Or,” he frowned, “Halloween. Of course, the Guards always wear armour similar to this, but that has cushioning and comfort spells.” He glanced down. “I could easily add them to these, anyway.
She stopped again and looked him up and down. “You were a boy before you went to this Equestria. Surely you remember?”
He snorted and then frowned. “To hide your privates, and for warmth in winter.” He stared back at her. “Ponies aren’t particularly concerned about the first, our being on four legs and having tails takes care of that. Our fur, of the second. For unicorns, if really necessary, we can use warming spells. Pegasi are extremely resistant to cold. Comes from flying up with the clouds where it’s freezing more frequently than not.”
She stared at him. “Unless you intend to wear the armour at all times, your tail will provide precious little modesty with your current stance.”
He looked down at his belly armour. “Ah. Of course. Yes,” he said, contritely. He had intended to wear the cardboard, with suitable reinforcing spells, but there was no need to advertise that fact.
“And it will help you blend in, too,” she added.
They resumed walking.
“Can you change back to being a human?”
He sighed. “I’ve never tried. No reason to.” He shrugged. “Don’t know how, anyway.”
She stopped and turned to him. “Turning back to human from your animagus form takes a bit of practice. Some people accidently get stuck in their form and need help. We have a spell to reverse the animagus. It sounds like that might have happened to you. Would you like me to cast it? It would make your stay here easier if you were once more human.”
He stared at her a long time. Could he trust her? “Show me the spell.”
He watched carefully, puzzled, as she went through the movements with her wand. He was startled when she said there was an incantation.
“It does nothing if the target is not an animagus,” she reassured him. She cast the spell at a nearby suit of armour to demonstrate. “And once you return to human, you can call forth your animagus form easily by remembering what it was like and pulling on it. After the first few times it becomes almost instinctive. Watch.”
It happened too fast for Harry actually to see the magic, like his mum could do, but she suddenly began to shrink until he was looking at small cat. He could certainly feel the different elements used in the magic, however. With a lot of practice, he would get close to his mum’s skill at that. He stepped back a few paces, frowning.
She returned to human.
“There, you see?” She ruffled her robes. “Normally, it’s a long and arduous task to master the change. We only teach students interested in it after they complete their OWLS, their Fifth year, and they usually master it just before they graduate in Seventh year.”
He stood, silent, thinking. He thought about his magic in his horn, and slowly traced the lines back to their beginning. He thought about his hated childhood. What he had felt like, what he had looked like. He . . . pulled on that image.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Again, nothing happened. Not even a twitch of magic.
Then he had a thought. What if he couldn’t change back? He didn’t know how he had changed in the first place.
He looked up the professor. “Let me see the spell matrix, first.”
“Spell matrix?”
He frowned at her. “How do you describe the spell in books, if not with a spell matrix?”
She blinked, “Oh, you mean arithmancy.” She paused. “I will get you an arithmetic description tomorrow, but I don’t think you’ll understand it. You haven’t the training nor experience.”
“Possibly,” he said dryly. “But we won’t know until I see it. And if you can explain it, maybe that will tell me what I want to know.” Unless she had a spell to make him a unicorn again, he wasn’t going to let her cast a spell to change him.
At the end of the corridor on the seventh floor, they stopped in front of a large portrait of a very fat woman in a pink dress.
“Good evening, Professor McGonagall,” the portrait said, smiling and nodding her head. She outright stared at Harry.
“This is Prince Harry James Potter Sparkle,” Professor McGonagall said to the portrait. “He’ll be staying in Gryffindor for the foreseeable future.”
The fat lady nodded.
“The entrance to the Gryffindor Tower and Common Room is protected by a password, Mr. Sparkle,” the professor said sternly, turning back to him. “See that you remember it. If you forget, you will have to wait out here until someone who does know the password goes in. At the moment, it is Caput Draconis.”
The fat lady was still smiling as the portrait opened towards them to reveal a circular hole. Harry stared. Really? Really? They had a portrait that reached to the floor, and the entrance behind it had a step-up double the height of a normal stair? And it was round? He shook his head as he flew up and inside at the Professor’s urging.
It was a round room, about seventeen yards in diameter, with copious windows, squashy armchairs, a large fireplace, and done up completely in hues of red with touches of gold. Despite its size — almost as big as his mum’s original Tree Library home — it still managed to convey a feeling of welcoming cosiness. On opposite ends of the room were two wide doors.
Unfortunately, the Common Room was not empty. Almost immediately, he had nearly everyone’s attention, dozens of Gryffindors. He saw one person open the door on the far left and yell up the staircase it revealed. A girl by the door on the far right copied him. Harry reflexively tossed up a shield in front of himself at all the attention. He wouldn’t have done this at home, but the wizards left him on edge. He just had this . . . feeling that someone was going to attack him.
Professor McGonagall followed him and cleared her throat. Everyone looked to her, even as more students scrambled down the stairs. “I would like to introduce to you, Mr. Harry Potter Sparkle.” She gave him a glance.
He looked around at the many curious expressions he saw. There were many puzzled ones, as well. And a small number who looked upset, for some reason.
“Because of unknown circumstances,” she went on, “the Goblet of Fire has chosen Mr. Sparkle to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, representing Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” That got a lot more curious looks before they turned back to their professor. “Unlike the other participants, however, he has no accommodations. In the spirit of cooperation, we are extending the courtesy of allowing Mr. Sparkle to stay here, in the castle, until further notice.
“He has not been Sorted, as that would make him a Hogwarts student. We are unsure how the Goblet of Fire would react to that. We are placing him in Gryffindor Tower, for the moment. Depending upon how he fits in here, we may move Mr. Sparkle to Ravenclaw.”
Harry got the impression that she did not want that to happen as she once more scanned the room, and frowned. “That would be regrettable,” she said sternly. He noticed she stopped and stared at several students in particular.
“We don’t know Mr. Sparkle’s skill level with magic, yet, so we will be placing him, temporarily, with his age group, the Fourth Years.” She glared at the students around the room. “I trust you will treat him with the same courtesy and respect you have for every other student in Gryffindor.”
For a moment, Harry was sure she simply was going to leave at that point, abandoning him to the timberwolves, figuratively speaking.
“Mr. Weasley,” she said sternly. “Please escort Mr. Sparkle to the Fourth Year Dormitory.”
A red-headed boy, the youngest of the four he could see, pushed his way to the front. He looked at Harry. He held out his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Ron Weasley.”
Harry reached out his right hoof and pressed it against the boy’s hand. “Hello,” he said, formally, shaking their combined hand/hoof like he used to do when meeting other people when he was a human here. “As you heard, I am Harry Potter Sparkle.” He let go.
“ ‘Cor!” the boy said, looking at his hand wonderingly. “How did you do that?” He looked up, a gobsmacked expression on his face. “You grabbed my hand!”
Several other close enough to hear what he said gave the two of them startled looks.
Harry just looked at him and shrugged slightly. “It’s how ponies pick things up,” he explained.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.
Ron looked at her guiltily. “Right. Follow me,” he said to Harry as he turned and started for the left staircase. A gap formed in front of them, and everyone watched as the two made their way across the room. Harry noticed five other boys join in behind them. Three were about the same age. One wore a scruffy and untidy uniform and had a white complexion with sandy-coloured hair. The second had dark hair and dark skin. Because he had a long neck, he was a bit taller than Ron Weasley. The third was short, chubby, and had blond hair. The other two were obviously related to Ron, as they were both tall with red hair and freckles.
Being followed by wizards he didn’t know or trust made him nervous, and he couldn’t stop glancing around. Fortunately, his bigger eyes were more to the side than a human’s, and so he didn’t have to turn his head nearly as far in order to see behind himself. Ah, the advantages of having the over two hundred seventy-five degree vision of a prey species!
Someone scrambled to open the door for them, and a few minutes later they were at the top of a long spiral staircase — they were obviously in a tower. Seven floors worth of stairs, Harry was sorry to see. Only the attic was higher.
There were five four-poster beds, hung with deep red, velvet curtains. The neatly-made bed closest to the door and without a trunk at its base or cluttered with clothes and junk, had to be for Harry. He crouched, jumped onto it, then turned around and sat. He watched as the other six gathered at the foot of his bed.
Ron stood at the bottom of the bed. He looked around for a moment, then said, “Well, uh, these two are my brothers, Fred and George Weasley.” He pointed to the two tall red-heads, one after the other. “They’re twins.”
Immediately, the one he had named Fred, said, “Oy! I’m George!”
And the other said, “I’m Fred!”
They both grinned widely and stuck out their hands.
Harry blinked and withheld the sigh he wanted to let out. He leaned towards them and held out his hoof and shook the hand of first one, then the other one. He murmured, “Nice to meet you,” to each in formal tones.
Both looked at their hands and frowned comically.
Ron continued, unfazed by their antics. “This is Neville Longbottom,” he said, indicating the blond-haired boy. “This is Dean Thomas,” and pointed to the dark-skinned boy. “And this is Seamus Finnigan,” who was the sandy-haired boy.
Harry shook their hands and said, “Hello,” to each.
Then they stared at each other. It was clear they had questions. It was also clear they were unsure how he would take to them asking the question. Then there were the conflicting feelings that they felt, as he later discovered.
First, the solid-black, winged, horned pony wearing armour almost from head to hoof looked more than a little intimidating and dangerous. Second, what they could see of the pony itself looked cute and cuddly.
He sighed. What he wanted to do was go to sleep. It was late and he was getting tired.
But his armour took priority.
He looked at the boys gathered in front of him. “Do any of you have a quill and ink I could borrow?”
They exchanged puzzled looks. “Yeah,” Seamus said, and walked over to his desk and after a moment’s rummaging returned with the two items.
Harry took them in his magic and took off his helmet. He shook his head, and ruffled his mane with his magic. He flipped the helmet around and then studied the quill a moment. It would have to do. He carefully drew the spell-runes to change the cardboard-with-metallic-paint into something tough enough to take a straight blow from a sword swung by Big Mac or Bulk Biceps and turn it into the equivalent of a friendly, on-the-shoulder style, tap.
He started adding the spells he wanted. He hoped he remembered the strengthening and comfort spells accurately. They were rather tricky to get to work together. If one didn’t work right, he hoped it was the comfort runes. He’d rather the armour not be cloth-like flexible rather than only as strong as paper.
While he was doing that, the others watched and asked questions.
“Hm?” he said distractedly, “Oh, this isn’t real armour. It’s just a costume. What I’m doing now is making up for that.”
The twins were especially interested in the runes and one ran out and returned with quill and ink and started taking notes.
“I was at the Nightmare Night festival in Ponyville,” he continued.
The boys laughed.
“Ponyville? That’s stupid! You’re pranking us, right?” Ron said. “How dumb is it to name a town after yourselves?” He looked at the others, grinning.
Harry didn’t look up. “Well, then, how much dumber is it to name an entire island after yourselves — the Isle of Man? I imagine, if you looked, that there is even an island or town named Wizard or Witch, somewhere.”*
He was met with an awkward silence.
“So, er,” Seamus said, “Are all the . . . uh, ponies . . . where you come from black and have both wings and a horn?”
Harry, concentrating on his runes, absentmindedly explained the three tribes and what each could do. He also explained about alicorns and how Princess Celestia ruled the sun while her sister, Princess Luna, ruled the moon. He noticed, but didn’t comment on their disbelieving expressions about the alicorns. And further explained that he wasn’t an alicorn, just a unicorn using a wings spell — which temporarily made him a pegacorn.
“Show us,” said Fred, who claimed he was George.
Harry glanced at the red-head. “No.” At their expressions, he added, “Not now. It’s exhausting, and I want to finish the armour tonight. Besides, you would find them extraordinarily uncomfortable under your clothes. And you wouldn’t be able to fly.”
“What if we help?” George said.
“You’ll get done in a third of the time!” said Fred.
Harry regarded them unsurely. Could he trust them to do it right? He shook off his shoes and greaves, and showed them the rune-sequence he wanted them follow. He would check after each individual rune-set until he was satisfied they could do it. Even if they messed up a couple, he would still be ahead of doing everything himself.
It was time consuming. There were the weight reduction, warming, cooling, sweat wicking, camouflage, self-repair, re-sizing, and weather resistance spells. Not to mention the magic-shield spell that covered them. Then the armour extension spells that extended those spells to cover the areas between armour pieces had to be painted in a continuous stream along the edges. Even with using magic to dry the ink immediately, it was still time-consuming. If he did the runes right, the armour would last centuries. It wouldn’t be as sturdy as professionally designed and cast armour, but would be a darn sight better than mere thin cardboard!
He hesitated to use the don’t-notice-me-field runes. Runes, not being spells, did not have a built-in exclusion for the caster. He was unsure of the owner-exclusion runes that would prevent him from losing the helmet, or other armour, immediately after he let go of it.
The camouflage would have to suffice. He would have liked to use the illusion set, but he wanted Nightmare Moon, not the standard Guard Stallion White. And without knowing the exact runes for that, it was pretty impossible to achieve. He set the helmet aside. He would write the impervious rune, to protect the cardboard and other runes, later, after he had had time to wear the armour and check that the runes were correct and that he didn’t want to add any.
At the promise of wings for a short while, even the others decided to pitch in. The four Fourth Years worked with the two Sixth years checking their accuracy. Harry only had to correct one or two small errors.
With six of them working at it, they were finished far sooner than he expected. He soon had both twins standing by the heating stove, wearing only their underwear.
“These wings won’t last long, maybe fifteen minutes, or half an hour at the very most,” Harry warned them as he slipped on his armour. The differences between before and now were easily felt. Definitely not as stiff. “I’m tired, already.”
The armour’s runes would charge completely overnight. The end result wouldn’t be as sturdy as real, magic-reinforced steel armour, but would be far better than mere cloth or cardboard.
“You can do them again, later . . . ,”
“. . . until we learn the spell ourselves.”
Harry shrugged and closed his eyes to concentrate. Once he had the spell firmly in mind, he looked at Fred and cast the spell. He could immediately feel the drain.
The others gasped in shock at seeing wings manifest on the wizard. He had decided to use the other variation of the wings spell.
“ ‘Cor”, said Fred, looking over his shoulder at the wide-spread, red-feathered wings. He gave them a tentative flap and rose an inch or two. The others crowded around him, stroking the wings and admiring the interplay of hues.
“My turn,” said George, abruptly turning to Harry.
Harry took a deep breath, and cast the spell a second time. He wavered in place, still sitting on the bed, and yawned widely. He watched groggily as the two twins flew around the room. He looked at the other four, who were also watching them with big grins and wide eyes.
“I’m sorry, I’m too tired to do more tonight. Tomorrow, okay?” He could feel himself slurring his words.
He didn’t even wait for their acknowledgements, he just curled up on the bed and fell asleep, barely remembering to take off his glasses.
Later, they told him about flying down to the Common Room and back into their rooms, to the surprise and envy of all who saw them.
۸- ̫ -۸
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Oh look, 300 likes already and still a scheduled chapter to do
.
Poor tkepner's fingers are going to rise up in rebellion at this abuse if it keeps up.
Fun stuff bit of a slow start but I think I look more forward to the Ponyville side then the Hogwarts side. Crusaders + Pissed/Panicked Mama Sparkle is going to be fun.
Let's not forget the planet named 'Earth'.
9828109
Not really. Most is already written.
Well that went well. I bet when he was forcibly summoned it locked into pony form. Now I wonder how Hogwarts will handle this new champion and how Harry will react to the first task.
Well not sorted but placed with the Gryffindor's by convenience
Harry refuseses to turn human. I hope he keeps that up.
I also hope that it won't take forever for Twilight and co to find their boy.
So incoming Lesson Zero Alicorn Twilight on the way once she realizes Harry has been foalnapped?
9827964
Honestly I'd be okay with it being done in a month
Daily updates if you got them ready are more then fine with me.
9828109
Luckily for him, as I understand it he has a habit of maintaining a ten-chapter buffer. we're still straining it though...
In one of the castle guest suites? Bagman's not sleeping in a dormitory if memory serves...
You're already at 319, tkep!
You're gonna be typing all month at this rate.
*~offers ointment for those burned fingertips~*
I don't think its nescessary to specify a different language being spoken when it's the only language being spoken in that scene.
9828148
Consistency.
9828116
I like this slow start. Reminds me more of the Potter side of things in the books. Though I am excited about how Twilight and the CMC figure out something is really wrong.
When you get out into the American Midwest, you start getting strange place names. Like Flush, Kansas. Peculiar, Missouri. There's a bunch of Westmoreland/Westmorland cities and counties around. A few hundred towns and counties named after Indian tribes. Several named in ways that defy logic because the locals wanted to encourage people to come there, even if nobody knew what the place really was. Hundreds named (something) Springs, even if there's no springs.
Now somehow I realized, that suddenly, all Harry potters fics have stopped updating for one reason or another, and all started at the same time If Wishes were ponies ended, we just got this new one, hopefully all starts again :D.
In theory Snape should be much softer on Harry, mostly because he no longer reminds him of James (and green eyes are good too). So he will only pick on Harry as much as on other Gryffindors. Of course being a little pony in a school is a big attention magnet, which Snape dislikes too. (But what kind of monster picks on little pony children? I know the "Snape" kind.)
It is a bit strange that your second big fimfiction is also a Harry Potter crossover but not a sequel to the previous one. But I like it so far!
It's far, far worse than that, Harry.
Humansville, Missouri
Manville, New Jersey
Ladyville, Belize
I could extend this list for pages, but I think this makes the point adequately.
I'm just waiting for some wag on a county planning bureau of some sort to name a new community Muggleville...
...though I will answer Harry's question with the following:
Warlock, Texas
Given the difference in living in a magical culture and learning magic at a school while hiding it at other times. I imagine this Harry is ahead of where he was in canon and possibly the other 4th years. I imagine a horn will hurt more than it helps.
I wonder how long it'll take Twilight Harrys been foalnapped and how they'll react when they do.
Not sure why Hufflepuff was out as that'd seem like the best place to put him. I'malso sure there are other places to put him teacher's quarters and the like or as another reviewer said isnt Bagman staying somewhere on campus?
9828144
Ah but what if everyone who liked Iwwp liked this thats 1,000 limes and 10 chapters.
9828269
Then Mr. Kepner's in trouble.
9828269
Because Cedric was in Hufflepuff, who all cheered at the selection of their Quidditch captain and might have been a bit MORE biased against Harry then the other Houses?
9828332
Ah I forgot that detail.
Love the new chapter! I also have an amusing thought to share.
YES, twilight IS Harry's mom and will most likely be VERY upset he was taken. BUT thats not the ONLY thing the wizards will need to worry about. Harry ALSO has powerful ponies that probably see themselves as his Aunts in his life. AKA Celestia, Cadance, and Luna. Just imagine what THEY would/will do. And this isnt even yet taking into account Twilight's friends and Discord. Heck what if Twilight's MOM aka Harrys Grandmare found out LOL
9828345
Oh did it? Whoops! I must have missed that. How embarrassing...
9828336
Ah, I see now, sorry about that. Its embarrassing to miss something so obvious...
9828336
Still, thanks for clearing that up
By the gods Harry have the twins wings. He has no idea what he wrought on Hogwarts
Twilight Sparkle arriving in Hogwarts to see her son facing a dragon:
9828269 Not sure how much internal magic witches and Wizards have or are they always using the ambient magic around them. That will determine if Harry's horn is a benefit or hindrance though it seems there was much more ambient magic in Equestria in "If Wishes were Ponies...."
9828332
In canon that is.
However, Harry didn't go to Hogwarts, As far as the story goes, he has no association to them. He really is from a 4th school. Little chance of the Potter stinks badges.
Though that's depending on if Draco's going to be an ass or not.
Speaking of which, since Harry never went to Hogwarts, what happens to the Main HP storyline? Like if Hermione survived the troll or if GInny is even alive after the Basilisk attacks. Or what about Sirius? Do changes apply or will you keep it Canon?
9828400
Oh yeah, I can just imagine her going supernova even worse now that she is an Alicorn. A lot of pants will turn brown at Hogwarts I can tell you that much.
"I tip my hat to you, good sir... I'd say grate minds think alike, but mine is so dirty that I wouldn't wish it on anypony."
Is there a reason they keep saying pegacorn because the brony part of me is getting angrier and angrier about it
There is a Chinese proverb says 'don't give tiger wings'. Giving wings to the twins is akin to giving Pinkie Pie wings. I feel very sorry for Minerva.
9828359
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZY5DBmgC_A
9828401
The general rule in wishes was that Equestria had more magic than Earth. Now logically this should have meant that the ponies are significantly weaker on Earth and Wizards are stronger in Equestria but in reality, magical strength apparently stayed the same regardless of where you were. So... it could really go either way.
Dumbles, could you please be a just little bit more obvious in your attempt to try and enroll Harry into Hogwarts? You don't exactly go out and buy school supplies for a different school just because you go there for a sports event. And a wand? Harry's a unicorn, he's got a wand stuck on his forehead.
Subtle, this Dumbledore is not. Let's hope Harry sees right through it.
9828332
That was mostly because of house rivalry and Hufflepuffers believing that Harry wanted to steal their house's fair and squarely earned moment of glory by once again throwing himself and Gryfinfor into the spotlight. None of that really applies here.
9828405
Hermoine would never even have gone into the dungeon in this timeline, since that was the result of Ron ranting about Hermoine to Harry with her in earshot. Likewise Lucius might not have have had the chance to smuggle the diary into the school yet. As for Sirius... he might be even worse of in this timeline, given Harry's disappearance. If he even escaped at all.
9828437
Would you prefer an Unipeg?
There is a difference between Equestria’s definition of an Alicorn as having the magic of all three tribes, and a Pegacorn, which is a unicorn with wings or a Pegasus with a horn. A Pegacorn, by definition , only has TWO powers of the tribes, not all three.
P.S. What’s an Earth pony with wings or an Earth pony with a horn called? Can’t be Pegasus or Unicorn because they ALSO have Earth pony strength in the mix, and the other two tribes do not. Thoughts, anyone?
Harry is teaching and has only been there a few hours yep this is going to be a grate story.
9828496
To be fair since the competition last the rest of the year all the visiting students attend classes at Hogwarts so Harry wouldn't be any different. They're just going the extra mile since all he has is literally the clothes on his back.
9828401
He doesnt seem to have had any difficulty casting so far.
9828514
Personally I'd still call them a unicorn, pegasus and earth pony. Harry doesnt really have the powers of a pegasus he's simulating some of them with a magic spell. Even in canon the conplex and draining fairy wing spell Twilight used on Rarity only gave her flight and cloudwalking we don't see any other weather magic like a sad Dash making a cloud rain purely by lying on it. The cloud walking spell doesnt even give flight to the recipient.
9828534
Oh right, I'd forgotten about that.
9828457
Dead Wizards Walking?
9828487 9828540 He is tired at the end of the chapter. None of the Harry Potter books seem to address something like the pony's well spring of magic, Actually if a pony has thier well spring and access to the ambient magic in both Equestria and Earth the only thing making them weaker on Earth would that lack of ambient magic there. That does mean logically wizards and witches should be stronger in Equestria but how much would be the question
9828567
Well, tkepner does not hide his bias well so I fully expect the ponies (including Harry) to have an overwhelming advantage over the wizards at every turn. If this somehow turns out completely different from wishes I will be pleasantly surprised.
Gotta wonder what's Dumbledore is on, the child you lost track of, is pulled back from god knows where as a little pony prince with seemingly extensive magical training; I think I'd be a bit more curious.
Thanks for the new chapter! I can't wait to see Twilights reaction!
Lets see: We have one more extra update for upvote, and a scheduled update tomorrow, right?
So that's daily until friday, and then another 100 for saturday's update ...
Why not just release one chapter a day and be done with it? :-)
9828514
Wow never thought of that! Thank you for explaining this to me
9828560
Oh yeah, that would be an understatement don't cha know! I would not like to be in their shoes once Twilight finds out what they put her son through.
9828514
Earth Pegasus and Earthcorn?
Not much room for definitions, unlike 'alicorn', 'unipeg' and 'pegacorn'.