Harry Potter and the Icemaidens

Diagon Alley, later . . .

"I hope ye didn't mind that, Harry," Hagrid apologised as he led the procession of eight children and seven human-shaped house elves through the magical gateway from the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley. It had taken the kids at least a half-hour to extract themselves from the crowd in Tom Dandridge's establishment so they could carry on their shopping. Harry and Rose had their hoods down; they had seen some of the crowd that had flocked around them head into the Alley while they had been consoling a happily-crying Rubeus Hagrid, so they knew the news was going to spread fast. "I don't know if ye know this, but I was the one who flew you out of your parents' place to take you to your aunt's home," he explained as they headed towards Gringotts. "I saw that your mom's body was missing, but never thought much about it afterward; the Aurors showed up just as I got you out of there, so I thought they later found her and buried her with your dad." He then smiled at Rose, reaching over to gently pat her shoulder. "But believe me, I'm glad that Glaston Tore was there for ye, Rose! Never met him or Ryuuji Hirosaki, of course; I started Hogwarts in 1939 and they had graduated the summer before. But by Merlin, they were a real pair of good people!"

Rose hummed. "Grand-uncle, weren't you expelled because of what happened when Myrtle O'Neil died in 1942?" she asked. "That business with the Chamber of Secrets?"

Hagrid blinked, and then he nodded, a sad look on his face. "Aye, I was."

"Isn't she a ghost now?" Marian -- a thin girl with hair the red of the sides of a fire engine or a London double-decker bus and dark green eyes -- asked.

Camellia -- she was a silver-haired girl with very pale blue-grey eyes; many often mistook her as an albino -- nodded. "Yeah. They call her 'Moaning Myrtle,'" she answered as they approached Gringotts. "She was in her fifth year, I think."

"A Ravenclaw," Hagrid confirmed as they moved up the stairs. "Very nice girl, too. I remember her. She was a muggleborn, but quite willing to fit in."

Before they could pass the goblins guarding the front doors, Harry and Rose stopped, clasping their hands together as they both bowed respectfully to them. "<<Greetings, noble warriors,>>" the Potter siblings chanted in perfect Gobbledegook as their companions -- including a wide-eyed Hagrid -- stopped, the girls bowing as they clasped their hands in turn. "<<May all your enemies fall before you and may your victories shower you with gold. May we humble patrons pass and enter?>>"

The guards both gaped in gobsmacked shock as people around them all stopped to watch this curious event, and then bowed in return. "<<Greetings, Dame Sheriff Potter, Lord Potter,>>" the one to the Potters' left declared. "<<May you always be victorious against your enemies and may your gold always flow. You may pass.>>"

Harry and Rose straightened themselves. "<<You have our thanks,>>" the former said as he offered his arm to his sister. "<<Be always vigilant.>>"

Twin toothy smiles responded. "<<So we will, Lord Potter.>>"

They headed in, the others following them. Hagrid pulled up the rear. Unseen by any of them, a small crowd had come in right after them, muttering and pointing at the Potter siblings. "Merlin, Harry!" the groundskeeper gasped, and then he ducked as Aesup shushed him. "When did you two learn Gobbledegook?!" he then hissed.

"Oh, Uncle Erlking taught us over the last few years," Rose answered as they got into the line for the tellers. "He manages Grandpa Glaston's estate since I'm his direct magical descendant because of what happened ten years ago."

Hagrid's jaw hit the floor. "Erlking?!" he exclaimed. Nearby, many people gaped in disbelief on hearing him utter that name. "Why, he's the most . . .!"

Rose froze him with a look. "Grand-uncle Rubeus!" she snarled.

Hagrid ducked her look as he immediately clammed up, waving his hands to ward off whatever Harry's sister was about to unleash on him. "Smart thinking, Mister Hagrid," Camellia stated as she gazed up at him, grinning. "If Rose let go on you, we'd be mopping up what's left of you from here to the Leaky Cauldron."

"Next!" a voice called out.

Harry walked over to the teller who had called out. "<<Congratulations on your promotion and the birth of your son, Senior Teller Nagnok. May your chests always be full of gold and may your enemies all fall before your blade,>>" he greeted him with bowed head and clasped hands. "<<Apologies for bothering you with my trifle business, but I desire to make a withdraw from my vault. Number 687, please.>>"

The goblin grinned. "<<My eternal thanks for your best wishes, Lord Potter. And may your vaults always be filled with gold and your enemies fall before you,>>" he greeted him back with a bow of his head. "<<And be assured, your business is never a trifle to those of us here in Gringotts. Your key, if I may?>>"

"<<Certainly.>>"

The key was handed over. Nagnok inserted it into a box on his desk, and then he nodded. "<<It appears to be in order,>>" he said before calling out, "Griphook!"

A younger goblin walked over. "Six-eighty-seven," Nagnok ordered in English.

"Of course, Senior Teller," Griphook -- a goblin with balding black hair and dark eyes -- declared before bowing to Harry, waving him to the doorway leading into the mines to the lower levels. "This way please, Lord Potter."

"My thanks, Vault Guide," Harry said as he followed him into the passage, and then he changed to Gobbledegook. "<<A request, if I may, Vault Guide?>>"

Griphook smiled. "<<You need not worry about your sister's true identity being exposed, Lord Potter. Unlike most wizards, Her Majesty's Magical Shire Reeves and those allied with them -- especially the late Sir Glaston Tore -- have always dealt with us honourably.>>" He then whistled up one of the carts so they could head on down. "<<In your language -- and in case we encounter those wizards who do have knowledge of our language -- we've been firmly instructed to address your noble sister as 'Lady Potter,' which is what she truthfully is in your native society.>>"

They got onto the cart and headed down. Harry whooped -- he just LOVED the cart rides here! -- and Griphook grinned with delight as they raced down to the sixty-eighth level of the mines, where the Potter family vault (as different from the Potter House vault, which was Number 108 near the surface) was located. They soon got to where they had to go. "Oh, man!" Harry called out in English as he disembarked from the cart as Griphook moved to unlock the vault. "Are you making them go faster these days?!"

"We are improving the spells to reduce the friction on the tracks without seeing them derail," the goblin admitted as he opened the vault. "I was on the testing team." Griphook made a slight wince as he gave Harry a knowing look. "I only wound up spending time with the healers twice before we put the system in place. Some of my fellow testers said I was cheating by using cushioning spells when I fell out of the cart."

"Lucky you," Harry said with a laugh as he loaded his money bag with coins.

"Will you be visiting your House vault as well, Lord Potter?"

Harry shook his head. "No, not now. But I will come back before I go to school to get the Family Ring and do the Inheritance Ritual. I'll make arrangements with Uncle Erlking." He then smirked. "Today's my birthday and the day I use to get ready for Hogwarts. I'll worry about the silly stuff later. But thanks anyway."

Griphook nodded. "Happy birthday to you then, Lord Potter. May you . . . "

He then stopped, his ears perking before he looked down and behind him. Harry turned, and then he blinked as he noticed the distracted look on the goblin's face. "Are you okay?!"

"I . . . " Griphook began, and then he shook his head. "I don't know, Lord Potter. I've only been working as a vault guide for a short while, so I don't know what all goes on down here, but I will admit I've NEVER sensed that . . .!"

"Griphook!"

He turned as a cart raced up to them. "Director Erlking!"

"Uncle!" Harry called out as Griphook bowed to Erlking as the latter got out of the cart and walked up to them. "What's going on?! Griphook here . . .!"

"Calm yourself, Harry," Erlking said as he peered down through the stone floor of this level of the vaults for a moment, and then he gasped. "Oh, my . . .!"

"What is it, Director?" Griphook asked.

The director blinked, and then he shook his head. "I can't say, Griphook. But I can feel that's from Vault 767. That hasn't been active in YEARS . . .!"

"That's Grand-uncle Ryuuji's old vault!"

Both goblins spun on Harry. "Are you sure of that, Harry?!" Erlking asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah! Grandpa -- well, Grandpa's spirit-imprint in the scrying room at the Reevetor! -- told me that he got that vault opened for Grand-uncle so he could save money from all the part-time jobs he did to support himself and store it there. He even quoted the vault number to Rose and I and said that Grand-uncle Ryuuji wanted it kept open just in case any of his descendants came to our universe on their Magical Quests." He then blinked. "Wait a minute . . . " He then snapped his fingers. "Uncle, Rose would have the key to that vault in her own vault!"

Erlking nodded in understanding. "Then we best see your sister, Harry."

* * *

"So what could this mean, Director Erlking?"

Erlking shook his head as Rose handed Griphook the key to Vault 767 so he could open it. Harry, Rose and their friends, along with their elf servants, were standing nearby. Rose had told him that Hagrid had gone down to get something from Vault 713 and said he would meet up with Harry at Cructan's for coffee in a couple of hours. "I can't answer that question, Miss Rivers." He had met the Potter siblings' friends on a visit to Reevetor Somerset on Harry's tenth birthday and found them as accepting of goblins as Harry and Rose were. "I was just a junior teller back then; I didn't have anything to do with setting up new vaults or being a vault guide. Still, to feel such a surge of energy come from a vault the Traveller himself once used . . . "

"It can't open, Director!"

Erlking glared at Griphook. "What do you mean?!"

"The key the Dame Sheriff gave me does fit in, but the vault door will not open, Director," Griphook said as he moved to turn the handle. "The locking charms and all the security charms are all intact. Nothing's missing from this vault. But . . . "

"Wait!"

Everyone watched as Rose reached under her cloak to draw her wand. "Let me try something," she said as she walked up to the vault, and then she aimed her wand at it.

Griphook gasped, his eyes wide. "Dame Sheriff! You'll . . .!"

"Ginkoujun: Cellarium Alohomora!"

The vault suddenly unlocked and began to swing open. Jaws hit the floor as they watched it open, and then Achelois nodded. "Well, that makes sense!"

"What do you mean?" Marian asked.

A shrug. "Ryuuji Hirosaki was the man who invented the Kokujun, Mary! You'd expect he WOULD use the spell HE created to protect his valuables!"

Erlking nodded. "A good point, Miss Runcorn . . . "

"Director. You better see this."

Everyone gathered at the entrance to the vault to gaze inside, and then their jaws all dropped on seeing what was inside there. Atop small piles of coin -- the vault was the storage place for a low-interest savings account that Ryuuji Hirosaki had obtained for himself back in 1932 that had been steadily collecting interest for all these years -- there was a white pyramid-shaped rune stone, now glowing. Its north and south faces, everyone knew, were marked with the Japanese kanji which was read as kokujun, literally "state shield." The east and west faces would be marked with the katakana (mixed on occasion with kanji indicating directions, the hiragana read to and meaning "and" [such was used for counties united from two smaller entities], and the kanji read as gun, which was the name suffix meaning "county") representing the Japanese way of writing the names of the counties of the United Kingdom. Since Gringotts was in the old County of London, the symbols would be said as Rondon-gun in Nihon-go. And now hovering above the glowing stone . . .

"Who's that?" Harry asked.

The energy over the Kokujun stone was forming into the image of a slender, almost needle-shaped, tower that reached all the way to the vault ceiling. Wrapped around it from the floor around the rune stone were four spiralling rings kept at a distance from the central "tower," wrapping clockwise as they ascended to the ceiling. And bracing around it were ground hoops that faced the cardinal directions, almost reaching halfway up to the ceiling. And in the middle of that image . . .

"It's a girl!" Rose gasped.

Welcome her . . .

Everyone tensed on hearing that chorus of haunting voices, and then Erlking bowed. Seeing what he was doing, Griphook and the eight human children there did the same thing. "Forgive us, Noble Spirits. But whom do you speak of?" Erlking pleaded.

She is our Guardian . . . she wishes to be with you . . . welcome her and let her be with you . . . until it is time for her . . . to return to us . . .

"We will . . . "

Harry blinked. Had he just said that?

"We will . . . "

Rose stared at her brother. "Big brother, did I . . .?"

"We will . . . "

That repeated six more times as the other children chanted that vow.

We are glad . . . farewell for now . . .

And with that, the image of the spiral-framed tower vanished. Everyone blinked, and then Erlking gasped. "Oh, my . . .!" he breathed before quickly straightening and drawing back. "Griphook, secure this vault. Return the key to the Dame Sheriff."

A nod. "Of course, Director."

As Griphook closed and locked the vault, Rose drew out her wand. Once the vault was locked, she called out, "Ginkoujun: Cellarium Impervius."

The vault was secured, and then Griphook returned the key to Rose with a bow and smile. "Truly a remarkable warding system," Erlking said with a shake of his head and an admiring tone in his voice. He did remember the one time he had seen Ryuuji Hirosaki. How respectful the Traveller had been to the goblins when he had come to their universe and did business at Gringotts . . . and how disgusted he was on seeing how other wizards had treated them. If what he just heard was real . . .!

"Harry, you and your friends just got started with school shopping, yes?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, Uncle."

A nod as the director waved the children and Griphook with him. "Very well, then. Try to complete it as soon as possible, then come back to the bank. I'll make arrangements to allow you all to travel back to Beckery Hill using our systems. If what I suspect is true, a magical heir of Ryuuji Hirosaki might be joining us quite soon and we must prepare for her arrival. I'll talk to the Chief Director about this."

"What should we do if she comes, Director Erlking?" Achelois wondered.

A chuckle as everyone boarded the cart. "Welcome her as your predecessors welcomed Ryuuji, Miss Runcorn! I believe we are in for most interesting times."

"And profitable ones, too?" Brianna asked with a grin.

A snort. "But of course, Miss Spinks! What can be better than profit?!"

Everyone laughed as Griphook guided the cart to the surface . . .

* * *

Cructan's . . .

"So did you all get your supplies?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, Grand-uncle. Even our wands."

"Though Mister Ollivander was really weird," Rose added as she moved to give a treat to the beautiful snowy owl that the groundskeeper had purchased for Harry's birthday at Eeylops Owl Emporium. They had both selected her name: Hedwig.

Hagrid blinked. They were all in a private room at Cructan's enjoying coffee and tea. All of the elves had been dispatched home by the children before they got here, which pleased Hagrid a lot; he had been really rattled when he had seen Lilian, heard her speak with Lily Potter's voice and be addressed by Harry and Rose as "Mama."

All of the new students of Hogwarts had trunks with them. They had got those with a built-in Reduction and Enlargement Charms system that would allow the owners to shrink and expand them without needing wands and thus risking accusations of underage magic use outside school. The trunks also came with multiple security locks and Harry had agreed with his friends that he would get them augmented with a Kokujun-powered ward lock once they all got back to Beckery Hill. All their school supplies were loaded into the trunks and the trunks were now shrunk down and in their pockets.

"Harry had a rough time getting his wand," Aesup stated. "I think Mister Ollivander went through two dozen wands before he got one matched up to Harry." She herself had got an 11 1/4 inch pine wand with a core of unicorn tail hair. She had also got an owl, a great grey from Canada which she named "Emille" in tribute to the sound made by the bell of King Soungdouk of Shilla (currently on display at a national museum in Shilla's old capital, Kyoungju), who had been a patron of Korean magical study.

"What did you get?" Hagrid asked.

"Holly, phoenix tail core, 11 inches," Harry replied. "Turns out that it's a twin to the wand given to the Dark Dunderhead all those years ago."

Hagrid blinked, and then he hummed. "That could be a problem."

"You're convinced he's still alive?" Brianna asked.

A snort. "Oh, believe me, I am! Some say he died that night. Load of codswallop, if ye ask me. Don't think he was even human enough to die that night. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time." A shake of the head. "Not really sure what to believe 'bout that. There were people who were on his side who came back when it was over, acting like they had been enspelled or something like that . . . "

Rueful chuckles escaped everyone around them as eyes rolled. "'The Imperius defence,'" Rose said with a snort, shaking her head. "The Dark Dingbat's still out there, Grand-uncle. If he was truly gone, all his marks on everyone would've totally vanished." As Hagrid gaped at her, she sighed. "I know some people came back to our side when it was over. People like Professor Snape for example. But there are a lot more who want the stupid dickhead to come back." She sipped her coffee.

"Not as many now as there were back in '81," Achelois mused with an icy smile.

The others nodded. "Oh, ye heard about that, did you?" Hagrid asked, shaking his head. "Stupid people! Minister Fudge stormed over to Professor Dumbledore's office right after they found that woman and demanded to know what was going on!" He shook his head. "Blimey! The professor literally told the man that You-Know-Who's people were going out to kill muggleborns before they could get to school! Couldn't believe that myself, but Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick -- he'll be your charms teacher, by the way -- confirmed it!" A snort. "Fudge didn't!"

"I heard about him," Harry said. "Don't like him."

"Then ye are pretty smart, Harry," Hagrid advised before he drank the rest of his coffee. "Damn! This is pretty good stuff! Wish I could have it at Hogwarts." He then smiled before reaching over to pat Harry's and Rose's shoulders. "It's good to see you again, Harry. And I hope to see you in a couple of years, Rose."

"Safe trip back, Grand-uncle," Harry said.

Hagrid nodded as he headed out of the room. The children remained in place, and then Harry moved to finish his coffee. "Let's get to Gringotts."

The others nodded . . .

* * *

Beckery Hill . . .

"Ah, Ragnok! How are you today?!"

Ragnok grinned as he took Albus' hand in his own and shook it. "I'm quite fine, Albus! You're looking well! Here for Harry's birthday party?"

"Indeed we are," Albus said as he indicated Minerva and Severus with his free hand. It was a considerable delegation from Gringotts that were now standing close to the Garden of the Galaxy. Atop Ragnok and several directors Albus didn't know by name, there was a war party, platoon strength in all, some carrying war banners that normally didn't come out unless they were launching a "rebellion" against the Ministry of Magic. "And yourself, Chief Director?" he wondered. "Why such a large party here today?"

Ragnok smirked. "We're making some treaties with the Gom Nation of the Mundus Magicus, Chief Warlock," he reported. "They like the way our armourers get to play with their materials, which they supply in considerable quantities to us, including materials they give us as gifts for our work. I suspect that there are rebellious clans among the Goms that might challenge their leaders sometime soon, so Nolli -- he's their elected monarch; they run their state like the Holy Roman Empire -- wishes to be ready in case they come at him with fangs barred and steel unsheathed."

"And there's no problem with your views of ownership when it comes to anything that leaves your forges, Chief Director?" Severus asked.

A shake of the head. "It's cloudy in this case, Professor. Were it made by our materials and our hands, then we own them. Believe it or not, the Goms understand that." The look in Ragnok's face was more than familiar to Albus and his companions. All three had known how goblins viewed the continued possession of goblin-made objects such as the Sword of Gryffindor long after the one the device had been made for had died. "But since they elected to provide their own materials to us, our laws become clouded. I suspect they would want us to establish a branch there so they could bank with us in their dimension, thus make the questions of ownership of our work simpler to deal with." A sigh before Ragnok gazed on the Garden. "Of course . . . "

"You would desire your own Garden for your own use," Albus agreed.

A nod. "Yes, Albus. You leaned of this beautiful creation five years ago. What do you think of it now?" Ragnok gazed at him. "Excuse me. I should rephrase that question: How would your Ministry view something like this?"

"As a resource they would wish to seize control of and exploit for their own purposes, no doubt to try to find some way to either conquer the Mundus Magicus so it could become a colony of the Ministry . . . or worse . . . " Albus shook his head. "It was a wise thing for His Majesty the King to have the Garden directly controlled by him through Glaston Tore. And one day soon, Rose Potter." He shuddered. "The power and the potential the Garden presents, if used right, would benefit so many." He waved to the Reevewick, where a group of seven smartly-dressed werewolves were coming towards them. "Hamilton St. John imports materials from Ariadne so he can constantly improve his version of the Wolfsbane potion. Elaine Buckshire is here studying us and allowing us to learn of her world as well. If only . . . " A sigh. "If I could, old friend, I would gladly give you Godric's sword in a public ceremony on the steps of Gringotts as a way of apologising for the years and centuries of constant abuse towards your people and your beliefs. But if I did that . . . " A wry smile crossed his face.

Ragnok grinned. "Don't give up your dreams, Albus. They . . . "

"Chief Director," one of the other goblins called out. "The Garden!"

Everyone turned as runes on the various trilithons lit up brightly as energy began to billow in the patio. A second later, a flash of light then exploded, nearly blinding everyone there before the energy faded, revealing a platoon of grim-looking Goms in full battle dress -- like Roman gladiators of two millennia before -- all around an older man in a formal toga-like dress, a golden wreath-of-laurel crown on his head. On seeing that, Ragnok hissed out a command in Gobbledegook as his own guards snapped to attention and placed their hands on their sheathed swords. He then moved towards the Garden, his back erect and proud as he stared directly at the arriving dignitaries from the Mundus Magicus. "Lord Nolli, I presume?" he called out.

The robed Gom stared at him, and then grinned, his fanged teeth glittering in the light of the Garden as he walked past his warriors to clasp the goblin leader's hand. "Chief Director Ragnok. We meet at last, sir. Your Tribe has done us many boons these last few years. I was more than pleased to accept your invitation here."

"And I was more than glad to give it to you, Lord Nolli," Ragnok said as he beckoned the Gom lord out of the Garden, his troops following. "I only but wish I could have received you at my office, but sadly, the humans on this world . . . "

A booming laugh. "Do not apologise, my friend! The naked apes that spit on and laugh at your Tribe's ways will wake up to reality sooner or later." Nolli then smiled as he looked down at Ragnok. "They may need to be pushed from time to time. Know that if you feel it necessary, we will be at your side, Chief Director. That I vow."

Ragnok nodded. "Your vow, I accept, sir."

As Albus and his friends watched, Ragnok then escorted Nolli over so that he could meet his junior directors and inspect the guard of honour. Remus and his pack had, by then, come up to join them. "Tell me, Remus: What has Ms. Buckshire explained to you about these people?" the headmaster then asked as he gazed on Harry's guardian.

"Like dealing with a pack of wild lunar feline therianthropes who don't take their potions, Albus," Remus noted. "I told you of what Hamilton said about Ian Boot's wife, didn't it?" After seeing Albus nod, the werewolf continued, "They're all like that. Their magic is raw and tailored for sheer brute force. Like the way the Soviets trained their wizards and witches before the fall of the Berlin Wall. If Greyback and his pack ever got caught by a patrol of Goms, I wouldn't give Fenrir any chances. They'd be ripped apart and eaten. Literally!" he then added with a grimace.

"Not that Greyback wouldn't deserve it," Nancy Skaggs added as she rubbed the place on her cheek where the rogue lycan leader had infected her.

"They're cannibals?" Minerva asked, a shocked look on her face.

"Yes, but it's only used in rituals," Remus replied. "They grew away from hunting members of other tribes on their world for food when everyone began settling down and created farms and towns over three thousand years ago. But some of the Tribes -- the Goms among them -- still believe that in consuming the flesh of your foe, you inherit their magic." A chuckle. "That's what makes them so feared on their world."

"I doubt anyone who tries to launch a fight with them ever do it a second time," Severus stated as he crossed his arms.

Nancy smirked. "They don't, Sev- . . . "

"Grandpapa!"

Everyone turned as Rose jogged down towards them, Harry and their friends right behind her. "Oh, hello, everyone!" Albus called out, and then he tensed on seeing the look of fright on their faces. "Whatever is the matter, Rose?!"

Rose stopped before him, panting. "I'm sorry, Grandpapa! But Mama and the other elves just started acting like they once did when the Garden turned on! And it's really, really, really bad! I've never seen them like THIS before!"

Albus tensed. "Didn't they take . . .?!"

Harry nodded. "They did, Grandpapa! But Uncle Hamilton's potion only works for one time whenever the Garden's used! Someone's coming here NOW!"

The headmaster took that in, and then he stared at the Garden. Before he could figure out what to do, a voice then called out, "Chief Director!"

Ragnok tensed, and then looked over as Erlking ran down from the Reevetor. "Who is that, Chief Director?" Nolli wondered as a tense look crossed the goblin's face.

"One of my senior directors, who should have BEEN here when you came! I do apologise for that, Lord," Ragnok said as Erlking came up to him. "<<You better have a very good explanation for your tardiness, Erlking!>>" he then snarled in Gobbledegook.

A deep bow. "<<Forgive me, Chief Director, for my terrible indiscretion, but there is a good reason for it,>>" Erlking replied. "<<Vault 767 is active again!>>"

Ragnok blinked. "<<WHAT?! WHEN?!>>"

"<<Just three hours ago, Chief Director!>>" Erlking said. "<<An energy like I've never sensed before began to emanate from the Traveller's vault. Dame Sheriff Potter had the key to Vault 767 in her vault as the Traveller so arranged with Sir Glaston Tore in 1939 before he returned home. I just learned of all this myself from the Lore Masters at their offices; that's why I'm so late coming here!>>" He took a deep breath before continuing, "<<When we opened it -- it was even protected by the Traveller's own ward spells! -- many spirits from his dimension called out to us!>>"

The chief goblin of Britain gaped. "<<And . . .?>>"

"<<CHIEF DIRECTOR!>>" one of the goblin guards screamed out. "<<THE GARDEN!>>"

Ragnok spun around, and then gaped as all the runes on the trilithons of the Garden of the Galaxy suddenly lit up like thousands of noonday suns as a geyser of energy exploded from the patio and billowed heavenward . . .

* * *

London, the Ministry of Magic . . .

"Director Bones!"

Amelia looked up from her desk. "What is it?!"

A panting Auror took a deep breath. "Forgive me, ma'am!" he apologised before pointing out the door of her office. "But all our magical detection sensors just went WILD a minute ago! A Class Ten magical event's happening somewhere right now!"

"Where?!" she demanded, her face paling, as she got up and followed him out of her office to the main work area. "Any information as to what it is?!" she added.

And her question was understandable. A "magical event" was the D.M.L.E. code phrase for something that defied normal analysis. It was classified on a scale from 1 to 10, rated according to the exponential total level of power unleashed. Class 1 events would be the energy output equivalent of the use of an Unforgivable. A Class 10 was at a scale that could, if it was directed in something like a Reductor Curse, equal the energy output of the most horrid explosive device the muggles had ever made:

A thermonuclear bomb.

"We can't localise it, Director!" Kingsley Shacklebolt -- who was the chief of the watch in the monitor room this time of day -- said as people stared at the holographic map of the British Isles hovering over the front of the room. "Our sensors can't take this!"

Amelia looked, and then she grimaced. "Can we learn what it is?!"

"Nothing in the record scrolls, Director," John Dawlish -- he was the junior watch supervisor today -- said with a shake of his head. "Nearest that this is coming to was what happened five years ago. That Class Four event we couldn't trace down."

She glared at him, which made the younger man wince. "There's a difference between a Class Four and a Class Ten, John!" Amelia snarled.

"Yes, ma'am, but the suddenness of this event and what Auror Dawlish is speaking of is EXACTLY the same!" Kingsley stated. "One moment, there's nothing at all. The next, our systems are within seconds of totally burning out!"

"Wait!" one of the monitor wizards cried out.

Everyone watched as the map of the British Isles -- which was now sparkling all over with pulsing dots of light -- suddenly light up brightly for a second before the hologram finally faded. A second later, everyone was staring at a blank wall.

"My God!" Dawlish gasped. "What happened?!"

* * *

Beckery Hill . . .

"<<WARRIORS! RING THE GARDEN!>>" Ragnok yelled out.

"What is happening?!" Nolli demanded.

The chief director of Gringotts in Britain sighed. "Forgive me, Lord Nolli," he said as the warriors all took up defensive positions around the Garden, each one taking post before the portals of each of the trilithons on the western side of the patio; there was not enough goblins to cover all of the seventy-two archways there. "But Director Erlking here just informed me that we possibly may be soon expecting a visit from Ryuuji Hirosaki's home dimension! If this is that person, we will welcome her with open arms. But if it is someone more dangerous, we must stand on guard!"

Hearing that, the Gom leader grinned. "And we will help you!" He turned to his own honour guard. "WARRIORS! SUPPORT YOUR WAR-BRETHEREN! RING THE GARDEN!"

Instantly, the bear-like humanoids in their armour split up, drawing their swords -- all goblin-forged steel, Ragnok noted with pride -- and moved into position to cover their host's warriors at the Garden. By then, Albus, the Potters and everyone else had come over to join them as the energy within the Garden began to form into the semi-solid shape of an impossibly high slender tower encased from all sides by clockwise-turning spiral rings that seemed to eat up a good portion of the sky over the Somerset Levels. "Ragnok! What is happening?!" Albus demanded.

"It appears we may soon have another Traveller come to us, Albus," Ragnok said as his eyes turned up to gaze on the image covering the sky over his head. "By all the Fates! If this is an image of the place where this girl's coming from . . .!"

All of the wizards save the children looked gobsmacked. "A Traveller?!" Severus gasped as many of them immediately drew their wands.

"Yes, Professor," Erlking said. "The spirits from this whatever-this-is that we're seeing right now called out through Ryuuji Hirosaki's own vault at Gringotts and told us someone was coming! It just happened hours . . .!" He then gaped. "Oh, my."

Albus blinked, and then looked over just as Nancy screamed out, "Rose! Harry! What are you two doing?! Get away from there!"

"Kitten! Cub! Get back here!" Remus yelled.

Instantly, seven werewolves leapt forward to try to grasp the eight young children -- all with wands drawn and determined looks on their faces -- now marching in line-of-review towards the western gateway of the Garden at a brisk pace. "WAIT!" Erlking cried out. "STOP, ALL OF YOU! THEY'VE ALL SWORN OATHS TO . . .!"

He then winced as a line of runes atop the western trilithon of the Garden then glowed bright as a bolt of energy lashed out to impact the ground right at Nancy's and Remus' feet, causing both of them to collapse into the dirt and their pack-mates to stumble all over them. Seeing this, Albus winced before his eyes widened. "Oh, my!" he gasped before turning to Erlking. "What oath did you mean . . .?!"

"ALBUS!" Severus screamed out.

The headmaster's head snapped over . . .

. . . just as a bolt of energy crashed down from on high to impact the centre of the patio, lighting up the whole inside of the Garden and making everyone gazing upon it blink several times. Almost just as quickly, the light began to fade, though the centre of the Garden was inundated with a ball of energy. As Albus shook his head to clear his vision, he then blinked before looking up. "Oh, dear . . . "

"What?!" Minerva demanded as she gazed on him, and then looked up. "Merlin!"

Others looked up. "Where did the tower go?!" Nolli demanded.

"No doubt, the gateway to the Traveller's world has been severed," Ragnok said.

"CHIEF DIRECTOR!"

The goblin leader spun around, as did everyone else . . .

. . . as they watched the energy in the middle of the Garden fade out, revealing a human girl Harry Potter's height, draped in a snow-white hooded cape that went to the ground and completely obscured her face, not to mention other details of her body and clothing, from all outside view. A more detailed look revealed that the cape wasn't totally white; stylised red crucifixes were embossed on the fabric where the girl's shoulders were located. Before anyone could formulate a question, say ANYTHING about what they had just seen, Rose Potter walked onto the patio, with Harry at her side and their friends right behind them, as they approached the girl now standing there. Their wands were drawn, but held to their sides in a non-threatening way.

Silence fell over the scene as the Potter siblings and their friends gazed on the newcomer, and then a pair of arms in a black button suit jacket came out from under the cape to pull the hood away from the newcomer's head. On seeing the face there, Minerva gasped, her eyes wide. "Oh, my word! Who is . . .?!"

"Chikage Hirosaki, I believe," Albus finished for his friend.

Minerva and Severus stared wide-eyed at the headmaster, their jaws dropped in shock. Before they, much less anyone else near them, could blurt out a question . . .

"Which one of you is the Magical Shire Reeve for this place?"

The acoustics of the Garden of the Galaxy carried that soft yet steely voice over all of Beckery Hill. The voice was laden with age, showing an abnormal level of maturity for someone who was clearly the same age as Harry and his future schoolmates. It was also devoid of any accent hinting at her land of birth; even to the end, Ryuuji Hirosaki's voice was touched with the soft, flowing cadence of his native Nihon-go even when he spoke words that would be considered high form at Oxford.

The one speaking those words was Harry's height, slender but without any hint of baby fat on her. Her hair and eyes were the same shade as what Ryuuji possessed: A lavender-purple shade in the former that seemed to fade to a deep chestnut in shadows; royal blue in the latter, with depths that seemed almost eternal. Her hair was long and currently tied in a bun on the back of her head, bangs of hair forming a wild halo from it. Her current dress was formal: A white button shirt, red tie with a white cross on it, a grey waistcoat, and black blazer over an ankle-length skirt with a split in the sides to her knees, laced boots over her feet. In a most curious dichotomy concerning how old she might be, the bun in her hair was decorated by two cartoonish bunny-head barrettes.

"I am," Rose then replied.

The newcomer stared at her for a moment as a slender eyebrow arched. "Indeed?" she mused. "Have they lowered the standards? Grandfather told me that you had to have at least five years of magical training under your belt before assuming such a post. Has Hogwarts lowered the age of admission since he was here?"

Rose blinked, and then she sighed. "Grandpa Glaston's dead. He used the Sousetsu-shi ten years ago -- which I was still in my mother's womb -- to save me from the man who came to murder her, her husband and my brother." She waved to Harry.

The newcomer took that in as she gazed on Harry, and then her eyes narrowed for a moment before she walked up, her hand reaching to his forehead. "I see," she then breathed out, a thin smile touching her lips. "One of Grandfather's jokes."

"What do you mean?" Harry wondered.

She stared into his eyes, and then her smile turned wry. "He teleports me back thirty-nine years into the past and across the dimensional barriers, arranging for me to meet a child with a Mark of Destiny on him . . . " -- She indicated Harry's scar, and then her eyes focussed on Rose. -- " . . . and another child forced to become the guardian of this Earth's only working gateway to the remainder of the Multiverse well before her time." A shake of her head before an icy, brittle laugh escaped her. "He wanted me to gain experience on my Quest. I think I shall gain it in spades."

"Are you mad at him?" Rose asked.

The older girl blinked, and then she shook her head. "No. We all have the power to become masters of our own destinies, a power that grows as we mature. But there are some things Fate doesn't allow us to control." She then blinked before she glanced past Rose to see the crowd of goblins and Goms at the line of the trilithons ringing the Garden. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked.

A cackle. "No, fair Traveller, you certainly are not," Ragnok said as he walked past the ring of warriors facing into the Garden, Albus and Nolli at his sides. "We were hosting Lord Nolli and his delegation, which just arrived from the Mundus Magicus to negotiate new trade treaties between our Tribes. Chief Warlock Dumbledore and his friends are here to celebrate young Harry Potter's birthday today."

"I trust the journey was not difficult, Miss Hirosaki?" Albus said.

A shake of the head. "No, Professor. When one is assisted by the spirits of almost five million people killed in a massive earthquake -- and its ugly aftermath in ALL its delightful complexities -- traversing between dimensions is not difficult." She then took a deep breath before bowing. "I am Chikage Hirosaki, daughter of Atsuo Minakami and Jalynda Hirosaki, granddaughter of Ryuuji Hirosaki and Yukiko Yukijou."

She gazed on him. "A humble traveller, seeking knowledge."

Everyone stared at her, and then a whoop escaped Achelois Runcorn as Jane Roper and Camellia Matthews howled with delight before everyone rushed over to greet her. Others began to cheer and clap their hands as a small crowd streamed towards the Garden from the Reevewick, curious looks on all their faces as they walked over to determine what was happening. Watching this, Albus could only smile as he watched Harry and Rose embrace Chikage -- they soon joined by their friends -- and then he looked to the heavens, a light smile crossing his face. "Many thanks, Nicole," he whispered . . .

The End . . . For Now

WRITER'S NOTES:

1) As many have done, especially in the wake of the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, this story is the beginning of my own outtake of the seven years Harry attended Hogwarts, encompassing as much of what had been revealed in those books while creating my own story based on it. Therefore, this story will be followed by seven others (I hope!) that will parallel each of the seven books.

2) You'll no doubt notice right away two things about this story. The primary one is that this is a crossover (as you will see in the title blurb just after the scene when Ryuuji Hirosaki and Tom Riddle parted ways in 1939). However, even if we're having characters from Sister Princess (for those not in the know, SisPri is a dating simulation game created in 1999 which transitioned to anime in 2001) and including ideas from Mahou Sensei Negima (a manga series that began in 2003 and is still ongoing, with anime series created from it) and the other series listed in the title blurb, this will be primarily set in the Harry Potter universe and should be seen as that.

3) There are four Harry Potter fan-fiction stories that heavily influenced me when I began to conceptualise this series during the time I was on sick leave from work in the autumn of 2009 (in that, I also mean the stories I hope to do that will follow this one). They are as follows (with where they can be found as of November 2009):

Steve Jester's Royal Prerogative

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4507443/1/Royal_Prerogative

Seel'vor's The Real Us

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4605681/1/The_Real_Us

pstibbons' I'd Rather Be A Mudblood Than A Mudbrain

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3598345/1/Id_rather_be_a_Mudblood_than_a_Mudbrain

Jeconais' White Knight, Grey Queen

http://jeconais.fanficauthors.net/White_Knight_Grey_Queen/index.php

Of course, there are a ton of other fanfic authors and stories out there that also may have provided inspiration for this story and its planned sequels. If I missed anyone that certainly belonged to the above-mentioned list, I do humbly apologise.

4) Corresponding with that, you'll probably want to ask the question: "What about (add person's name here)?" This will be most likely true when it comes to two characters that played a primary role in the fanfic stories I mentioned above: Hermione Granger and Pansy Parkinson. All I can say now is "Please be patient!" Though I am back to work (as I write this) -- thus I won't be able to crank out the next story quickly (I do work at a call centre where I sit in front of a computer eight hours a day, five days a week, and it does get pretty draining after a while) -- I will try to get to work on the next story, which will cover the 1991-92 school year for Harry and friends with the Philosopher's Stone (and since I'm Canadian and quite proud of that fact, I will use that title in lieu of "Sorcerer's Stone"), soon enough.

5) One note about the other series mentioned here: If you wish to understand more about Sister Princess or Mahou Sensei Negima for example, please consult Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/. It is the BEST Net-based resource of information possible and it will give you a ton of links to where you can get even MORE information.

6) Finally, accompanying these notes will be a character list; followed by a spell guide; a guide to terms introduced here; a pronunciation guide; translations for the Japanese, German and Korean terms in the story text; as well as a source guide for where each character came from. But to tell you ahead of time about Harry's female friends in this story: Achelois Runcorn, Aesup Mun, Brianna Spinks, Camellia Matthews, Jane Roper and Marian Rivers (and yes, they will be the modern "Icemaidens" of the title of this series) are my versions of six people listed in JKR's class list shown in the BBC TV special Harry Potter And Me, broadcast on 28 December 2001 (this, by the way, is where we get characters like Wayne Hopkins and Tracey Davis). Since the characters of Runcorn, Moon, Spinks, Matthews, Roper and Rivers didn't have their gender, given names or houses listed there, I gave them my interpretation (which I went crazy on when it came to Aesup since "Moon" is the most common Romanisation of the Korean family name "Mun," meaning "gate"). I hope you'll like them.

7) A note about the Romanisation systems I use for German, Japanese, Korean and Chinese:

German: To get around the umlaut problem with Fiction Alley, the umlaut-embossed vowel sounds will be always followed by an "e", i.e. ae, ee, ie, oe, ue.

Japanese: A modified revised Hepburn system which (for Fiction Alley) uses double letters in lieu of macrons over extended vowels, i.e. aa, ee, ii, uu. The extended "o" sound is always written as "ou."

Korean: A modified version of the McCune-Reischauer system which uses additional vowels in lieu of breves over the "o" and "u" sounds when they sound like the vowels in hot and could, respectively, i.e. ou, eu. The forced consonant sounds in Korean are always marked with an apostrophe after the consonant, i.e. k', t', p', ch'.

Mandarin: A modified version of the Pinyin system which replaces the umlaut-embossed "u" sound with "yu" (which is how it is actually pronounced, by the way). Since I can't use any accents on Fiction Alley, none of the normal accent marks will appear hear. Please refer to the story entry at Fanfiction.net (website address: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5540580/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Icemaidens) to see what I mean.

Enjoy and have fun!