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There was a letter atop the pile of books by his bed, Harry saw, as he placed his new trunk at the base of his bed.
۸-_-۸
Mr. Sparkle,
Here are all the standard textbooks used in Hogwarts. The other champions in the tournament have an unfair age advantage over you as they are all seventeen while you are just fourteen. If you have any non-tournament-related questions, please feel free to ask any professor for assistance. Prefects are also available to help you. I wish you the best, and good luck.
After dinner this evening, please come by my office.
Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
۸-_-۸
How odd was it that the Headmaster had five names while most other people only had three? Did he have any brothers or sisters? And did they also have five names? Harry shook his head in resignation.
He started rearranging his things and packing away his books. The first compartment would make a decent depository. Unfortunately, it could barely hold all the books piled beside him, plus the books he had bought. He had room for only a dozen or so more. The other compartment was more than enough for his clothes, however.
Maybe he should have bought a three-compartment trunk? For now, at least, the small booklet of instructions would let him rearrange things to his satisfaction. He would see about trading it in, later.
And then began the parade of people coming in to meet him. First were the prefects, six of them, then the other students began to trickle in. The Weasley twins brought their friends and something called a Quidditch team with them — Oliver Wood, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, and Ginny Weasley.
Huh. Apparently there were almost enough Weasleys to make a sports team. Did Ron not like the sport and that was why he wasn’t on the team?
“Do you really know a spell that gives wings to people?” Katie asked, the rest of the team listening closely.
“We told you he did!” said Fred.
“Lee saw us!” said George.
“Or, it could be another prank,” Angelina said dryly.
Harry looked at her a moment. “I can cast the spell, but you’ll have to take off your robes to use the wings.” He raised an eyebrow.
Katie grinned, then grabbed the edges of her robes and started pulling them over her head. The boys in the room stared, speechless.
One of the prefects said, “Miss Bell!” in an outraged tone of voice. Another took a step forward and reached out a hand.
Then they saw that she was wearing trousers and an open-backed blouse. They still looked dreadfully scandalized.
Harry shrugged as she handed her robe to Angelina and stood in front of him, hands on her hips and feet slightly spread for good balance.
He recalled the spell matrix, and started pouring magic into it. Only a little though, he had feeling he’d be doing this a lot until the others had learned the spell themselves. Then there was a swirl of magic and a flash of light.
“Merlin!” someone breathed reverently.
“Yeah,” agreed a few others, in just as awed a tone.
Katie stood, astonished as she watched a wing stretch out, first on one side then the other. She said an amazed, “Oh, wow!” and touched them, slack-jawed in amazement.
“It’ll only last a few minutes,” he said, “So don’t go any higher than a few feet.” He leaned on the bed. “I imagine there are several of you who would like to try it.” He looked over at his four friends, who were all nodding frantically.
Fifteen minutes later, he was very tired and yawned wide enough to hear his jaw crack. There were now nine people bearing wings, only two of whom were still in the room. The others had quickly glided down to the more spacious Common Room.
Fred handed him a bottle of something blue. “Invigoration Draught,” he explained. “Restores your energy.”
Ron glared daggers at Fred. “Don’t drink that, Harry,” he ordered.
“No! Honestly!” protested Fred.
“It’s the real thing, Ron,” said George.
“Nothing added or changed!” declared Fred.
“Just an Invigoration Draught.”
They both held out their hands with fingers wide-spread to show they weren’t crossing any of them.
Harry looked at Ron, who reluctantly nodded his capitulation. Harry shrugged, then took the small bottle and drank it. It tasted like soap. He felt a brief pang of pain as he thought of his mum, and his herdmates.
Almost immediately, though, he felt his exhaustion recede and he felt as good as when he had first woken up in the morning. The only thing was, his magic still felt tired.
But at least he wouldn’t fall asleep on his plate of food at dinner.
“Now then,” Fred said as he took back the bottle and stoppered it.
“Would you please teach us the spell that you used?” finished George.
They both looked at him with pleading eyes.
Harry smiled. They had nothing on the fillies.
“Come closer,” he motioned to Fred. “Lean down.”
Fred eagerly came closer and leaned down until his head was level with Harry’s.
Harry leaned forward and pressed his horn against the wizard’s forehead.
He closed his eyes and concentrated. Here’s the spell matrix, he thought, and pushed it into his horn and up to Fred. Watch how it lights up, he continued, using his magic to touch the different sections, pulling and guiding Fred’s magic, until the entire matrix was glowing. Point it at the target, was his next instruction. He opened his eyes and looked, almost cross-eyed, at Fred’s face, and superimposed the matrix on it.
His magic was merely guiding Fred’s. He let Fred’s magic do all the heavy work.
Now pump your magic into it, was the next instruction. How much you put in determines how long it lasts. PUSH! He watched the magic flow as Fred started to glow and magic started to wrap itself around him, becoming thicker and thicker, tighter and tighter. Then he said STOP!
There was a bright flash of light.
Fred staggered for a moment. Harry braced him with his forehooves.
“What happened?” he asked, “Did you just put a spell in my mind?” He looked at everyone. “Something happened, right? Do I have wings?”
Harry giggled as the boy’s robes twitched and bulged. “Yep, except they’re under your robes.”
Fred looked at Harry, wonderingly. “You showed me the spell. You actually went into my head and showed me!” He glanced around the room. “That is so much easier than reading from a book or having someone just show you the movements and incantation!” He turned and staggered a step as he realized just how tired he was. “Wow, that takes a lot out of you, doesn’t it?”
Harry nodded. “It’s easier when you cast it on yourself, too.”
“How long will it last?”
Harry raised an eyebrow. “Don’t know. How strong is your magic compared to mine?”
Fred just looked at him.
“Guessing, I’d say for an hour? Maybe two?” Harry shrugged, “We’ll have to wait and see.”
“My turn,” said George, pulling his robes off first. He had on a pair of trousers, but no shirt.
Harry repeated the process. By the time he had finished, Fred had managed to get his robes off without messing up his wings too much and was slowly flapping around the room, just barely off the floor. He, too, had trousers but no shirt.
Harry leaned back against his bed. “That’s it for me. I’ll barely be able to lift my dinner.” He looked at the others crowded into the room, ducking the twins’ swinging wings. “If you’re still interested, I’ll show you tomorrow.”
The others were disappointed at missing out, but they all understood that when your magic ran out, it was done for the day. Tomorrow would have to suffice. They were tremendously excited at the possibility of actually flying. And doing so without requiring a broomstick!
He spent the rest of the afternoon reading about what had happened that fateful Halloween in 1981.
Dinner, a bit later, was pandemonium as the twins flew overhead and buzzed their friends. Seeing people fly with wings was apparently a real novelty. And the others who had had wings were bragging about what it was like.
The students from the two visiting schools seemed especially impressed.
It was weird to look up at the ceiling that reflected the waning light of the day and see the twins darting up above the magic illusion in one place and reappearing in another a minute later. He was impressed that the old wizard the previous night had been able to see him through that and his don’t-notice-me-field.
Mid-way through dinner, when the most students were present, Dumbledore stood and tapped his goblet to get everyone’s attention.
“I hope you are enjoying your repast,” he said genially, his voice magically carrying throughout the hall. “I’d like to make a brief announcement. Yesterday, the Goblet of Fire chose a Fourth Champion for the Triwizard Tournament. It was confounded into thinking there were four schools, not three.” He paused and looked sternly around the room. “Someone placed a parchment with Harry Potter’s name on it into the Goblet, under a fake school’s name. Thus, he was chosen as a champion. The intent of this person, we are sure, was to either kill Mr. Potter, or force him out of hiding, where he could be killed.”
There was a collective gasp of astonishment and horror at that proclamation.
“The Goblet’s magical contract, of course, means he must stay here until the tournament is finished. He will compete as a representative of Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.
“As he is not a student here, we cannot use the Sorting Hat to place him in a Hogwarts House. However, he has nowhere to stay. So, for the time, he is staying with the Fourth Year Gryffindors while he learns about magic and prepares for the Tournament’s tasks. Please make him feel welcome.” The Headmaster looked around the hall, again, smiling, then sat back down.
The hall broke into frenzied whispering, and many, many people staring at Harry. He just kept his head down and concentrated on eating.
It was his third helping of a dessert he had never heard of, Sussex Pond Pudding, when a Prefect came up to him. “Professor Dumbledore would like to see you after dinner,” he said. “I’ll show you the way.”
Harry nodded, and quickly shoved the last of the pastry into his mouth with his hoof. He quite enjoyed it. It had butter, sugar, and lemon slices in it — a bizarre combination of sweet and bitter that seemed to work quite well, he thought. He would keep an eye out for it. And get the recipe for the castle kitchens at home.
۸-_-۸
Twilight burst into the Throne room at a full gallop, ignoring the petitioners and nobles. The guards, however, were prepared and had unobtrusively cleared the way. They knew, from very long experience, what the panic-prone purple pony was like.
She slid to a stop in front of the thrones, gasping.
«Ah, my faithful friend!» Princess Celestia said. She looked up, amused, as Twilight’s friends started to trickle into the room behind the little alicorn. They were all in different stages of distress at the long gallop, except the hardier Applejack and Rainbow Dash. It appeared that the young mare had galloped the entire way from the train. Teleporting would have been faster, but her former student tended to forget she could teleport, or even that she had wings, when she was in a great hurry.
Princess Celestia looked to her white-coated, brown-maned seneschal, Raven Inkwell. «Court is adjourned until tomorrow.»
She turned back to Twilight as Raven echoed her words, loudly, to the room at large and the Guards began ushering ponies out.
The Princess turned her attention to Twilight. «I’ve studied the papers you sent. Have you anything to add?»
Still getting her breath under control, dancing in place in frustration and flexing her wings, Twilight shook her head. «No. No. Nothing more. I’ve gone over the site very carefully, and studied my memories thoroughly. I was holding him against me when he started to slide forward, and then he disappeared. I thought he had just teleported. He’s nowhere to be found. My strongest searching spell returns nothing. And we physically searched all of Ponyville, including your old castle in the Everfree.»
The Princess looked to Raven. «We’ll be back in a moment.»
۸-_-۸
Princesses Celestia and Twilight teleported into Ponyville Plaza. There were a few startled screams at the sudden flash of light, then all the ponies in sight began bowing.
«Show me exactly where you were standing, Twilight,» Celestia prompted.
Surprised by the sudden teleport, Twilight took a moment to orient herself. The workers were still cleaning up after the all-night celebration, so it wasn’t difficult to trot over to where she had been standing when Harry disappeared.
She turned in place a moment, then struck a pose. «I was standing exactly like this,» she said, looking at Celestia hopefully.
Ignoring the fawning ponies around her, the Princess’s eyes began to glow and she circled Twilight several times. The only thing she said was, «Don’t move, stay still. Position your wing to where it was when you were holding him.» She glanced all around the area, her horn glowing, looking at things only she could see.
Mayor Mare came galloping out of the Town Offices with several Guards. They rushed up to their ruler, but stopped and stood silent as they saw her concentrating. The Guards quickly understood what she was doing and began to clear the plaza and usher ponies out of the princess’s way.
The Mayor kept silent, not wanting to interrupt what was obviously a very important activity — normally, the Princess of the Sun would greet everyone and exchange pleasantries before getting down to business. Plus, she would have sent notice, first, and then arrived by Royal Chariot. That the princess didn’t even acknowledge her, the Mayor, further indicated how important their ruler thought what she was doing really was. And she never would have teleported in just before diner time.
Everypony watched as Celestia walked to the edge of the plaza, and again circled Twilight. Guards quickly determined her route and continued to get ponies out of her way as they realized she wasn’t going to go around them. She seemed not to notice anything except whatever it was she was concentrating on seeing. Looking around the plaza and studying Twilight at many different angles. She even took to the air several times,
Her horn glowed different colours at different times, as well.
Finally, she stopped her slow pace circling the plaza, blinked a few times, and walked briskly back to Twilight. «Done,» she said simply. She looked around at the gathering crowd of ponies, many of whom bowed in reflex as her gaze passed over them. «I apologize for interrupting your evening, my little ponies. Thank you for your patience.»
She looked at Mayor Mare, who took a step forward and started to say something.
Princess Celestia smiled warmly. «What I am doing is nothing anypony here needs to concern themselves with, nothing dangerous is about. Please carry on and know that I am pleased with how things are going here in Ponyville.»
The Mayor looked inordinately delighted at the praise as everypony else looked relieved.
۸-_-۸
Twilight blinked at the sudden change in light. Both princesses were in the Canterlot Throne Room, again.
Celestia stood quietly, her expression one of contemplation.
By now, all of Twilight’s friends had arrived. Raven had brought out a table, and they were sitting there, enjoying a bit of tea. And regaining their breath. A maid came in with a tray of cake slices.
Finally, Celestia walked over to the table and sat. She lifted her cup of tea and sipped. After setting it back down, she looked over at Twilight, who had been worriedly pacing in a small circle. She now just stared at the Princess, hope evident in her expression.
«Prince Harry Potter Sparkle is no longer here, in Equestria,» she stated simply.
Pinkie Pie gasped dramatically, «He’s been kidnapped by Fizzlepop Berrytwist as part of a nefarious plot by the Storm King?»
Everypony turned and stared at her. Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow in query.
Pinkie blinked and looked at her friends, puzzled at their blank looks.
«No,» Celestia replied calmly. «I mean he is no longer in our world.» She sipped some tea and took a delicate bite of the cake. It was easily half the slice on her plate.
Twilight gasped loudly. The others exchanged worried looks. Pinkie dramatically gasped, again, as well, «His spell went wrong and he’s trapped on Mars with Mark Watney?»
Again, everypony stared at Pinkie, who stared back innocently.
Celestia shook her head and addressed Twilight. «I found fresh traces of his home world’s magic in Ponyville Plaza.» She frowned delicately. «Not quite a teleport. Nor a summoning teleport. Something else entirely.» Her frown deepened. «There wasn’t a dark feel to it, so I don’t believe Harry is in immediate danger.» She looked out the windows and into the distant mountains. «It was almost . . . mechanical in nature. A powerful spell issued by a powerful artefact, perhaps. I could detect neither malice nor kindness in intent, just . . . duty. So, certainly not anyone seeking to harm him.»
She looked back at Twilight. «I have a vague direction, but the extra-dimensional magic is unfamiliar to me. I think Starswirl the Bearded did extensive research into dimensional portals, besides the one that Sunset Shimmer used. Perhaps her portal might provide some clues?»
Twilight stared at her wide-eyed, then face-hoofed. «The journal is in my castle in Ponyville.»
Celestia sipped again from her cup. «I will send a Guard to fetch it. And I will consult with Lulu when she wakes, In the meantime, the archives are at your disposal.»
Rarity sighed as she watched her friend gallop out of the room, with Starlight and Trixie right behind her. Spike clung determinedly and precariously to Twilight’s back. The unicorn glanced at the rest of her friends at the table. She looked over to Princess Celestia. «Is there anything we can do to help?»
«Not directly,» the Princess said sadly. «Just provide support.»
«I’ve been meaning to check on the Canterlot store for some time,» Rarity said pensively, looking at her friends from under her eyelashes.
«It wouldn’t hurt to check in our main distributor,» said Applejack, adjusting her hat and then finishing her tea with a single swallow.
«My party supplies do need refreshing,» Pinkie brightly said, «And the Cakes have been insisting I take some time off.»
Fluttershy looked up through her fringe and murmured, «I would like to check in on my little friends in the Royal Garden . . . .»
There was silence for a moment. The four friends turned to look at the fifth, who hovered by and stared out windows at the clouds. Once more, she was clearly lost in a day-dream.
Rarity loudly cleared her throat.
«Hm? What?» Dash said glancing back and around the room.
«Don’t you have something you’d like to do while we’re in Canterlot?»
The blue pegasus looked surprised for a moment. «Oh, yeah,» she said enthusiastically, «I’ve been meaning to take a look at the new training facilities for the Wonderbolts. They’re almost finished, now.»
Applejack face-hoofed.
Princess Celestia laughed softly. «I believe there is a cake with my name on it waiting for me in the kitchens, would you like to join me?» She finished off the slice on her plate, and delicately downed her tea. She rose to her hooves and quickly trotted from the room, followed by her Guards and the remaining Mane Six.
۸-ꞈ-۸
The trip to the Headmaster’s Office was quick. As soon as he arrived, Dumbledore introduced him to a very short Professor Flitwick and a stout Professor Sprout. To his immense surprise, Harry found that when he was on two hooves he was almost a full head taller than Professor Flitwick.* In fact, even if he were on all fours, Harry thought the wizard would barely be taller than him. Professor Sprout, on the other hoof, was only a bit taller than he was. He jumped up and sat down on one of the chairs, as he had the previous night, only this time by the windows.
The Headmaster and Professors Snape, McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, and Moody quickly took seats in chairs across from him that were arranged in a semicircle. They were seated around a low circular table.
“Well, Harry,” the Headmaster started, “Would you mind telling us how you ended up in Equestria?” They looked at him expectantly.
Harry stared at the group. He took a deep breath, and started channelling Blueblood. “First, Headmaster Dumbledore,” he said in the most cultured tone he could manage, “my name is Prince Harry Sparkle. I must insist you address me properly. I don’t know you, and I haven’t given you leave to use my first name. Now, if I were a student here, it might be proper to address me as Mr. Sparkle, and the professors and Prefects have been doing that.” He nodded at the professors in the room.
“On the other hoof, I am not in your school, and loose formality is not appropriate.” He regretted having used so much magic earlier. At least he didn’t have a hornache.
Professor Snape shifted in his seat and stared at Harry disdainfully. Then he said in soft, silky voice, “How particularly like your father you are, Potter . . . . He, too, was so very conceited. The apple did not fall far from the tree, I see.”
Harry stared at the wizard and raised an eyebrow. “Since he died when I was fifteen months old, I remember neither how he looked nor how he acted,” Harry said politely. “I will have to take your word for that.”
He narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at Professor Snape. “I can assure you, however, that before I found myself in Equestria my relatives would have beaten me quite thoroughly if I had in any way acted arrogant — or even merely competent — so your criticism is quite unfounded.” He didn’t miss the way Professor McGonagall had stiffened at the word beaten.
“It is a fact that I am the adopted son of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and thus a part of the royal family of Equestria. Everything I say and do reflects on the Royal Family at large. I have been instructed on how to conduct myself to bring honour to my position, and that I should not tolerate others demeaning or belittling my station through either their words or conduct. After all, it is to the rank that one bows, not the pony, thus any insults are to the Royal family as a whole and not myself.
“That you might interpret such conduct as arrogance shows your ignorance of proper protocol when dealing with a Royal.” Stupid wizard. He smiled. “As your training was obviously substandard in that regard, I cannot hold that against you.”
Professor Snape straightened and leaned slightly forward. His face coloured red, and set into an expression of outrage. Professor Moody snorted, and looked highly amused, as did Professor Flitwick. Professors McGonagall and Sprout merely looked shocked.
“Severus,” the Headmaster said quietly.
Harry could see the man gritting his teeth as he sat back in his chair and continued to glare at the unicorn.
“However, as you only have my word for that,” Harry continued in the same polite and calm manner, “I accept you are reluctant to address me thusly. In view of the fact that I was drawn here against my will, I expect you to treat me as you would any other visiting student to your school.”
There was a moment’s silence as they digested what he had said.
The Headmaster nodded agreeably. “Of course, Mr. Potter.”
Harry gritted his teeth. “Mr. Sparkle, if you please,” he said firmly. “As your heredity test showed last night, my family name is now Sparkle.”
The Headmaster nodded again. “My apologies, Mr. Sparkle,” he said. He studied the young pony for a moment. “Now, then, as I said before, would you be so kind as to tell us how you ended up in Equestria?”
Harry looked down at the table for a minute and composed himself. It had taken years of therapy and counselling for Harry to talk about his relatives calmly, and that day in particular. “There’s really not much I can tell you about that, except I was nine when it happened, in the early autumn of 1989,” he started placidly, and kept a tight rein on his emotions.
۸-ꞈ-۸
Dudley landed one last kick on Harry’s arse. “There,” he said with deep satisfaction, “Mom warned yeh ‘bout getting better grades on a test than me!”
Harry had known he would be in trouble the moment the teacher had handed him his test. He had seen his score of C-minus, and had known that Dudley had gotten a D.
Normally, he would have immediately set out for Number Four when school let out, and known that Dudley and his gang could never catch up in time. He’d still get a whipping from his uncle, but at least that wouldn’t be on top of what Dudley would try to do if he caught Harry.
But the teacher had decided to have “words” with Harry about his “inattentiveness” in class.
As a result, Dudley and his gang had ambushed Harry just as he was crossing the Little Whinging playpark. He had almost escaped them, except Malcom had already gone around to the other side of the playpark, and ambushed him. And thus, his current position on the ground just outside the official playpark and behind some trees.
Harry gritted his teeth and tried to breathe as shallowly as possible. For some reason they were being a bit more vicious, this time. Usually, they just punched him a few times, knocked him down, maybe kicked him once or twice.
In the end, Harry decided, it didn’t matter if it was problems at their homes or school, they were just taking their frustrations out on him. Or, more likely, they just liked doing those things to others, and they knew they could get away without penalty if they did them to him. He would have to bear with it as best he could.
“Let’s dump ’im in tha pond!” said Piers.
At first, they were excited at the prospect. Piers and Dennis began dragging him through the forest, by his feet. They deliberately went over as many rocks and tree-roots as they could, laughing each time his head bounced on the ground. The trip was punctuated by Gordon, Malcom, or Dudley giving him the occasional kick. When he tried to protect his head, it was his sides they kicked. And vice versa. Great fun — for them.
Watching him writhe in pain made them laugh uproariously. It wasn’t long, however, before he could hear some grumbling. Finally, the two dragging him dropped his legs to the ground.
“That’s good enough,” Dudley said, with a last kick at Harry’s head.
Dudley laughed. “And I’ll just tell the ’rents that you had a falling out with your ‘gang’ and they beat ya up. And dad’ll whip ya again, fer being in a gang!”
Harry heard them walking away, discussing how much fun it had been to beat up Harry and who they were going to harass next. He just stayed quiet and tried to catch his breath.
When he finally started seriously to think about getting up, it was late in the afternoon, and starting to get dark. He hurt everywhere. At least nothing was broken. He knew that feeling well enough.
His glasses, by some miracle, had managed to stay with him. And the tape across their bridge had held. He wouldn’t have put it past Dudley to throw them away out of pure spite. But even wearing them left everything a bit out of focus, like there were two of everything, just slightly offset from one another. Blinking hard didn’t fix it.
Getting to his feet was a major accomplishment, he felt, and took much longer than it should. His sides and stomach really hurt. He wasn’t sure where he was, but it had to be close to Number Four Privet Drive. He couldn’t stay here, though. He had to go “home.”
He couldn’t stay out all night, even if he might prefer it. His . . . relatives . . . got upset if he stayed out too late. Neighbours might talk if anyone saw him out alone late at night. It might ruin the Dursely façade of a perfectly normal family — although how they managed reconcile that with their telling everyone he was a dangerous delinquent always left him puzzled. Surely the neighbours could see the contradiction?
He just wished that there was somewhere else besides the Dursleys’ he could go. Miss Figg, his sometimes babysitter was right out. She’d just bang him straight to the Dursleys. He wanted somewhere where he didn’t sleep in a cupboard under the stairs, somewhere where he wasn’t punished for things he didn’t understand, or for getting a better grade than his lazy and fat cousin. Somewhere where he was safe — or at least as safe as everyone else. Somewhere where he could belong. Somewhere where he was considered normal.
He wasn’t making fast progress as he staggered from tree to tree. The world swam around him alarmingly, and made it difficult to keep to the same direction. Fallen tree limbs and trunks that blocked his path complicated things. He stumbled frequently and fell almost as often, and each time it was harder to get up. He was feeling sick to his stomach, too. One too many kicks, he fuzzily decided. Surely he should have come across a street by now, right?
He lurched from the current tree supporting him towards the next but somehow missed it. That was particularly painful for some reason, and he rolled across the forest floor. He could no longer stand upright and had to push forward on his hands and knees. Funny that, he couldn’t feel his fingers anymore. Actually, it felt more like he was crawling on only his middle fingers.
Vaguely, he knew something was very wrong, but it was becoming harder and harder to concentrate. And now there were three of everything. He definitely should have crossed a street by now. Even if he had gone in the wrong direction, he still should have stumbled onto a street or path of some kind. But the light was getting brighter ahead. Eventually he found himself on the edge of a field. He must have gone the wrong direction, passed through the Green Zone, and stumbled into one of the farms in the area. And hadn’t it been almost dark a few minutes ago? Or had the darkness in the forest fooled him into thinking it was later than it really was?
He collapsed as he reached the edge of the forest. Standing again was right out. In fact, he couldn’t even push himself up enough to crawl on his hands and knees. He started dragging himself forward, pushing, kicking, with his legs. If he got into the field, out from under the trees, maybe someone would see him — the grass didn’t seem to be all that high, he could almost see over it.
He liked the spring smell around him — moist soil and crushed grass. A good, earthy smell. The sun warm on his side. It was just the right place for a nap.
۸-_-۸
You accidentally made the whole chapter center aligned instead of just the first part. Might want to fix that for readability.
Edit: There, that's much better.
9832911
Thank you. For some reason, copying this chapter to FimFiction has been a bear, with underlining and centering problems (and I didn’t even USE underlining in the chapter!). the entire time.
I had to copy parts to NOTEPAD and back to clear things. Bizarre.
Well I think ol’Blue Blood is going to be in a world of trouble once his lessons to Harry come to light back in Equestria. With how Harry is acting and the fact that Harry has probably misunderstood some of the lessons I don't think Twilight is going to be happy when she finds out how he has been acting. I hope Snape gets a good wake up call about his attitude in this story as he is jumping to conclusions about things he has little to understand of.
Wow I'm really rooting for this kid.
Jesus christ where did you grow up that you believe 9 year olds could be this vicious?
9832321
I think neither of us is going to convince the other on this.
Incorrect, Celestia; someone could have (and did) used the artefact to drag him there in order to harm him.
...So the same method as If Wishes Were Ponies..., except that Harry never found the portal on Equestria's side? Alright, sure.
Harry the belief that you are so important that you can demand such formality is arrogance. These people don't know you why should they treat you as anything more than the child you clearly are and behave as?
9832960
Well somehow we have to feel sorry for this little twat.
On a seriouse note: Was there anything in the CANON that showed us the Dursleys hiting Harry?
And I mean real evidence not some head-canon implied stuff.
Like this seems to be a thing allot of authers do. You know really upping the ante because you really REALLY have to feel sorry for Harry, as if the Canon wasn't enough. I have read Harry-FFs where he was chainded in a basemend wipped with a bull-wipp and raped yes raped.
9832986
Nope there was some stuff in later books but prior to Hogwarts there is no indication of physical abuse. Yeah Dudley chased him but what he did when he caught Harry we don't know. Could be anything from wedgies and Indian burns to wet willies. It certainly didn't need to be as extreme as beating the crap out of Harry.
But yeah fan fic authors have a real fetish for Harry Potter torture.
9832960
It also raises the question of why the teachers, random bypassers, police, etc don't notice this happening.
9832981
I can see a case for respect the crown not the prince when they're acting this familiar after dragging him into another dimension. Though I would imagine Snape would have better control over his emotions than is shown here considering he's been a double agent for years.
9832986
It's a hard question. On the one hand we do have in canon examples of Petunia swinging a frying pan at his head, Vernon chokeing him and Dudley being to told to poke Harry with his smelting stick when he doesn't want to do a chore Dudley was just given. It's generally safe to assume if they do it once or in extreme emotions there are other examples off camera. On the other hand most of the examples are in the earlier Dickensien style books of "Orphaned child with cruel step parents" and it seems unlikely they'd physically abuse him too much as it could draw attention and ruin their "normal family" appearance.
9832981
He isn't demanding though, he's asking to be treated with at least some formality, and in Snape's case, respect. If the prince of a country walked up and you addressed them by name your in the wrong, that's what's happening here. Of course, Dumbledore's attitude is, in fact, inappropriate anyway.
It does not matter if they know him, the hereditary test labelled him Prince Harry James Potter Sparkle, they are fully aware that he isn't lying, and he is that important. Harry has full right to demand everything that he's asking for, and also consider, these people have kidnaped him regardless of their actions and reasons. Nothing about Harry's actions are wrong, he's asking to be treated as a member of the royal family he's part of that they know he is.
9833006
Yeah, this is the thing, I could understand minor physical abuse, you know stuff that could reasonably be kept hidden, but when get to the level people like tkepner enjoy portraying it just starts to get ridiculous. At that point, you just turn the Dursley's into 2-dimensional monsters who couldn't possibly have managed to raise Harry into adolescence without killing him at some point. Rather than the family who were obsessed with appearing to be normal. Not to mention Harry couldn't do his chores, which included cooking their meals, if they were regularly beating the crap out of him.
9833021
Which is arrogance, it doesn't matter if he's royalty he isn't part of any royal family that they would recognize. He's demanding to be treated a certain way because of his title while any decent person wouldn't care about formalities after all this is a private conversation, not a public event. The second you demand to be addressed a certain way because of who you are you are showing that you believe yourself to be so important that someone can only speak your name when given permission, that is arrogance.
You politely ask to be addressed a certain way and maybe they will comply but if they don't you can't just start throwing a tantrum over it like Harry is. They've been nothing but nice to him but he just continues to be an arrogant prick because they aren't bowing to his childish whims.
Ugh...Harrys' characterisation in this fic is really annoying.
At least there was a nice Maretian reference in there.
9833037
So if aliens come to our world their royal family shouldn't be considered? Cause that's quite literally what you're saying. The fact that your saying another worlds royal line shouldn't be acknowledged is terrible, it's actually Xenophobia... I think that fits better than racism at least.
You'd be right on the privet conversation part except Dumbledore addresses him improperly in public. He isn't asking to be treated differently due to who he is either, he's asking for his rank to be respected because it deserves and demands that respect. If the queen of England walked up to you will you go "Hey Elizabeth." No, you wouldn't because her rank demands a respect that that greeting doesn't have.
We are also talking first contact politics here, Harry is basically Equestria's royal representative on earth and that's not being respected. And also, no he has full right to demand you can't use his first name, it's his name. You do not need to politely ask someone to not use your name. No one has the right to use your first name until you grant it but that's been forgotten in parts of the world.
And guess what? It is not arrogance to prefer a person who doesn't know you not use your name, it's called your rank is above theirs. Dumbledore's actions would cause him issues with any government.
Added: Tantrum? What tantrum? What about this is childish the boy's a prince and he's asking that the be respected!
9833085
Harry is a child, if he wanted any level of respect he can only demand it after properly explaining things to people he knows know nothing about him. He's demanding respect he hasn't earned because he believes he's entitled to it, that's arrogance.
If I told you to call me prince would you do it? No because you have no reason to. And yeah he can demand to be addressed a certain way but to do so shows a level of entitlement he hasn't earned.
Harry is an arrogant prick who believes people should just automatically be willing to do as he says when he has yet to give them any reason to.
To put it another way have you ever been told by someone to refer to them as sir or madam or only by their last name and not immediately dislike them? Of course not because people who do that are arrogant assholes who view themselves as above you and noone likes people like that.
Just for funsies ...
My Little Pony The Movie
The Maretian
I hear a lot of people complaining about Harry and his angling for civility and respect but I think it's a good touch. After all, the trappings of society is as much a weapon and shield as any other power. This is a more politically trained and minded Harry that needs every advantage he can get in his situation.
I will warn against a narrative issue that I've been seeing pop up here and there involving Harry's knowledge of the world. Harry not knowing what's going on and needing to recall the English language but then immediately recalling French accents shortly after with perfect recall and no momentary confusion at least and the isle of Man reference are some examples. The first could be excused despite his difficulty initially to recall his base language, the second could be hand waved due to the proximity to Britain and basic geography he might have retained from explaining things to Twilight, but then there was him knowing the history of Britain vs. Rome for the wand maker. If he left at the age of 9 his grasp of the world would have been very shallow, especially with his living situation, and worse extremely diminished over time from not using it. So this comes off as a weak tool to make Harry appear smart/witty but makes no real sense and there are far better ways to portray that. He's already popping out advanced magic, runes, etc, so doing this starts to drift to Mary Sue realms of perfection. It'd have been a far better characterization if he recalled utterly false information because time eroded his knowledge or he just learned something wrong when he was a child. Like mixing up a fake TV show with a documentary cause children can have over active imaginations and mix things up.
9833037
I'd say a sticking point here is that this is not a private conversation but an official meeting between the school staff and a recently abducted student. The Headmaster told him of the meeting through official channels and has the heads of houses present to witness. This is a faculty meeting with Harry to address the circumstances, gain information, and possibly make long term decisions. Harry at that point, is asking for professionalism Dumbledore has been refusing to adhere to.
I wonder, is the author planning to continue If wishes were ponies? or has he already end it for good and now this is an attempt at a different angle for a crossover? will this one be as large as the previous one?
9833101
No, I wouldn't call you prince, unless, you know, you took a magical inheritance test that labelled you as such but that has no relevance here does it? And he has explained, but why should he have, these people kidnapped him.
And he isn't demanding anything for himself, he outright states that it's his rank that deserves respect, not him. And all he truly demanded was the mysterious man he'd never meet before address him in an appropriate way but no because that doesn't fit with your idea of how children should act he must be arrogant. Truth is, he's asking for the respect that he is entitled to as a person. Notice that the only time he says anything is when addressed as something other than Mr. Sparkle, he isn't asking to be called prince he is simply including his title in his name, as he should.
This has nothing to do with the rank for you, does it? It's all about his age, well even young royals are still royal. Harry's done nothing but act like an adult through all this, including his justified reaction to being kidnapped. He's clearly been more mature than Snape at least.
Snape is the only one being arrogant, Harry is not going "I'm a prince and you need to accept that." He's going "At the very least treat me like another student."
If I asked you to call me Mr. N/A would you instead use my first name? Because that would very quickly end the conversation right there. This is a formal setting which means formalities need to be respected, that's what Harry's asking for.
9833117
Yeah but Dumbledore is the one who called the meeting, he is the host. How formal or professional situation it is is up to him. Harry's demand for professionalism is his attempt to put himself above them to try and make clear that he is their equal or perhaps even their better even though they have no reason to think that. At this point, this is just a conversation between adults and a truly punchable child.
9833128
No, whatever Harry does or doesn't deserve does not change the fact that he is arrogant enough to believe he can demand anything in this situation. He's choosing to be an asshole even though these people are only trying to be civil with him. How they address him doesn't really matter because they aren't addressing him a certain way in order to be rude they are just trying to be friendly.
Harry is the asshole demanding he be put up on some pedestal in a situation that doesn't really call for it. And fun fact even if he were an adult I'd still say he was acting like an arrogant brat.
9833129
Hmm, that's a fair point, and I read some of your other comments and they have a ring of truth to them as well. I suppose my own interpretation was that he's a scared teenager stuck in a bad situation being told he has to suddenly compete in a deadly tournament and thus is defending himself in every way he knows how. He is quite literally wearing concealed enchanted armor at all times right now, so I assumed his maneuvering here and such was also a defense mechanism. So less an arrogant prick and more a scared kid doing the best he can. Could he do it better? Sure, but what teenager is a smooth operator in anything much less social nuances?
9833138
Alright, I can see your point but again he is being polite, he is not demanding, he is not arrogantly believing himself above anyone, he is asking to be addressed formally in this very formal setting. That is all. He doesn't even care if they call him prince (Even though he really should) He just wants Dumbledore to stop using his name, and it's exclusively his name. I reiterate, this is politics and as so it needs to be looked at as such, Dumbledore's refusal to even call him Mr. Sparkle is arrogant. Harry is also doing a terrible job on the political level though.
I can see your point but that doesn't change that he's asking for something he does deserve and is entitled to. Any member of any royal family deserves to be addressed as such. The exact level of importance Harry thinks he is is that of a royal which he is, that's not arrogence.
9833129
That's... not how formality works. You don't get to decide how casual you are with someone you have never met before just because you called the meeting. Being casual with someone is a a two-way street, where both sides agree on the acceptable way to call someone. The only exception to this is when someone is clearly higher up in the hierarchy and can thus decide what to call you because he or she holds all the cards. And even in those situations, a smart person would respect the preferences of those he is talking with, because a bit of politeness costs you nothing, but stepping on toes is a quick way to lose respect.
In Dumbledore's case, he is trying to treat Harry as if he is one of his students. Which Harry isn't. Harry is a stranger in all but name. Is Harry being stuck-up by insisting to be referred to by his title as Prince? Yes. But it is justified.
The Sparkle bit is a different beast altogether, since by Equestrian standards, Harry Sparkle is not a first name/last name, but a full name. Leaving out the Sparkle would be the rough equivalent of calling Dumbledore "Dumble."
Culture clashes are fun.
I really really like this story. A plus. Awesome. Keep up the good work.
Sorry, I lost it on this line. Nicely done, out of nowhere.
9832960
West LA.
Although they were probably older than 9.
To join in the discussion of "Arrogant?", consider that Mr. Sparkle has been taught to behave a certain way, and considers that normal, not arrogant. You cannot apply your social standards, that reflect how you were taught, to someone else that was taught differently.
Is "Harry Sparkle" his name? Is "Twilight Sparkle" her name? Is it first/last? I'd say it is two names, first and last, and that some ponies use two names, others only use one. Yes, he'd have some people refer to him as "Mr. Sparkle", and others refer to him as "Harry". I think that having people refer to him as "Harry Sparkle" would be a rare thing. Ponies use full names, like "Sunset Shimmer" rather uncommonly; yet other names like "Pinkie Pie" are used in full commonly. So it really seems to be a per-pony thing. I suspect that Harry would have inherited Twilight's preference, and treated it as two names, not a single name of two words.
9833138
Really? Kid, at the end of his conversation asked to be called Sparkle over Potter, and for them to not be so informal, as he is not a student at thier school.
This makes him a punchable in your eyes? He isn't telling them to call him highness, he is asking for them to use his proper last name to address him.
Or do you punch every doctor that asked for you to use their title, every person with a nickname they prefer and the like?
hmmmmmm..... understand harry potter or slap him in the back of the head, decisions decisions
9833024
9832960
I read the newspapers. Did you see the story about the two preteens who killed a six year old because they wanted to know what it was like? Or the nine-year-old girl who drowned her younger brother?
Or how about the child soldiers in the Congo?
And about family abuse? I think you need to check “The Encyclopedia of Child Abuse” out of the library and read it. When you finish throwing up, then we can have a discussion about how much abuse a child can take before authorities notice it.
And, by the way, it is only in the last two decades that people like teachers and police have been taught to look for and intervene in child abuse cases. Prior to that, you could literally walk into school with bruises, say, “oh, my dad hit me for knocking over the lamp and breaking it,” and no teacher would bat an eye.
“ in 1962, when an article appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association described symptoms of child abuse and deemed child abuse to be medically diagnosable. Within 10 years, every state had statutes known as mandatory reporting" laws.”
Before then? Children were on their own unless the abuse was really egregious and noticeable. And the parents always claimed it was merely corporal punishment.
England isn’t off the hook, either. They had good laws, but:
“2002: The deaths of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham led to the strengthening of legislation across the UK to protect children from adults who pose a risk to them.History of Child Protection
So, clearly, the previous measure had a few holes in them, didn’t they?
Is the portal the same as "wishes"? If so is that how twilight and the others will find/follow him?
9833278
Well, no one can say you don't put in the effort to justify your twisted PoV.
Yeah, group of kids raised in the suburbs totally = child soldiers.
So... yeah it is really unlikely no one would notice is what you're saying.
9832946
except Blueblood is correct...as Royalty Harry's conduct reflects on the nation and culture as a whole. The only reason Harry comes across as arrogant is his youth compared to the ones he is addressing, who should KNOW better. It's Dumbles who is in the wrong with how informally he address's Harry. If he respected boundaries then harry wouldn't have to act so bratty and stand-offish.
9832960
when where you last 9? 9 year olds are the worst...old enough to have learned to be mean and to young to have learned why you don't do mean shit.(watching a 9 year old rip ONE wing off a bug just to watch it try to fly while grinning madly showed me how bad they can be)
9832986
9832995
It's heavily implied with the whole "Harry Hunting" thing and the fact that a 7year old was in enough terror to teleport away. it's stated that it takes great distress for accidental magic to come out.
9833129
No, it's a conversation between abductee and his abductors, accidental or not they are in the wrong to be so informal with him when he HAS NO REASON TO BE REASONABLE!
9833223
pinkie pie is actually a nickname her real name is Pinkamena Diane Pie. I get what you mean but i wanted to clear that up
9833161
Theres also as mentioned earlier in this discussion the fact this isnt a meeting between student/headmaster but one between teenager ripped magically from their home then told they has to compete in an unknown competition by uknown people with no effort to contact his family and at least one to apaprently put him at risk by sorting him into a school. I imagine at that point most people would be grabbing for every defence they can e.g. I am Mr Giles not Rupert. Honestly im surprised hes already making friends and teaching spells that could be an advantage if kept secret.
9833363
However the question becomes how would other ponies react? Twilight wouldn't act this way, nor would Cadance. Luna would act defensive and would be aggressive but she would be seen as an adult and know how to temper her anger. Personally I would bet Celestia would simply start trolling the heck out of the staff of Hogwarts once she saw how much of their society works. The only pony would act this way would be Blue Blood and several of the other nobles.
No, Harry as Twilight’s adopted child is not acting how she would be happy with. Harry is acting like a brat becuase that is how is was erroneously taught. He is acting more like Draco then how we would expect a child raised by Twilight to act.
9833339
Unlikely? Unlikely? Unlikely? ARE YOU SERIOUS? Wanna know an interesting stat? for every case of child abuse that's reported 2 aren't, that's 66% if your wondering. There were 80,000 reported cases last year.
People don't care about the law, it will be ignored. And you know what law does to the people doing it? They get better at it.
9833441
Yes yes I get it. It happens in real life therefore, clearly, there was only one scenario that made sense for this story. Anything else would have obviously been implausible.
Dashie could get to Ponyville and back with the journal faster than some silly guard...
I have no problem with fanfic writers elaborating on Harry and the abuse he lived through at the hands of his supposed relatives...
As someone who survived child abuse, I can tell you its easy to hide it from the public at large and from family even easier. For most of my life my father mentally, physically, and emotionally abused me... and try as I might, no one would listen. See, my father was a pillar of the community and a head deacon at our church, so when I started to complain, it was pawned off that I had an overactive imagination or was a habitual liar. No one, not my teachers, priest, or family friends could believe that someone like my father was harming me in any way.
My mother was so blinded by religious brain-washing that she never questioned my dad's reasoning for anything he did, and my brothers didn't care as long as it never happened to them.
By the time I was 10, I had come to believe that the abuse was my fault and stopped asking for help.
Now you might be asking what this has to do with Harry Potter... as someone who lived through abuse, I could see/read the signs of it hidden throughout the books. It's one of the reasons I liked the books so much... Here was a kid who lived through abuse and yet made friends who cared for and helped him... friends, who looked past the hype of his supposed greatness and saw him through his low times.
I guess it's why I felt betrayed by Ron's actions in The Deathly Hollows, and believe highly in Dumbledore bashing for using Harry the way he did.
9833449
actually...it is the only scenario that makes sense for this story, because it would take dire straits for things to happen the way they do...in cannon? not so much but this diverges when Dudley's gang goes to far.
9833494
Yep the only way it makes sense... if you're some angsty teen. I think most people would agree that the emotional abuse shown the books would have been enough but we gotta have that violence otherwise it doesn't really count.
9833339
By the time the first book rolls around they’re about eleven, not nine. So in the US they’d be in middle school. I don’t know about you, but there were bullies who would hit in elementary. They didn’t necessarily belong to a gang, and got in trouble for things, but they existed and would repeatedly do things. Now Harry’s got his family, who are at least casually physically abusive towards him, telling everyone he meets that he’s a problem child. There’s his cousin, and his friends, and we know from the books “Harry Hunting” is a definite thing. We don’t necessarily know what happens, but they at least hit him enough to break his glasses or knock them off. Everyone is told He’s disobedient, he’s trouble, and without knowing the child they’re going to assume the family is telling the truth and be wary of the child. So when others start blaming him for things, they will assume the guardians were telling the truth.
As for “hiding the beatings”? It’s the UK. The average highest temp in the summer is a scorching 70F. They can stick him in long sleeves and pants the entire school year, and as long as they don’t break a limb or hit his face, they can claim anything he does is just “crying for attention” or a result of his “delinquency”.
Others have gone into the whole name thing, which I’m not even going to touch, except to say that I think Harry is in the right to be treated as any other student. My memory of the books isn’t exact, but if it serves, I don’t remember Dumbledore calling any student besides Harry by their first name regularly. It’s Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger and Harry. And he just wants to get the same respect as anyone else. Albus is trying to be informal with him, and that’s not what Harry wants. He has told him so repeatedly, and yet has to keep telling him.
Yes, The Maretian was good.
Hope we learn what happened to the Dursley’s and that they were arrested after he went missing
9833491
I can't imagine what you went through. But hearing how a Christian community ignored the signs. It makes me a little sad to be a Christian.
In this fanfic the fact that they beat him and nobody notice is justified by the various charms that Dumbledore put on him to not attract attention, i.e one of them is so than if someone want to bring him away from the Dursley they will forget about him. I have no idea if it is canon but I doubt it (i had to confess that I never read HP books/seen the movies. what I know of it come from internet osmosis).
Speaking of canon, someone can confirm if HP wizards in canon heal faster as is implied in IWWP (broken bones healed in a few days in it )
Harry should just start calling Dumbledore just "Albus" and see how does he like it.
loved the update, keep up the great work!