Harry Potter: Another Chance

Chapter 355: A Permanent Guest

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 355: A Permanent Guest

"What the... there's no way it's dead. I didn't do anything!. " Neville glanced at the Horntail, lying still on the ground and not moving at all.

"Perhaps it was choked by the chains?" Dumbledore suggested.

"I saw it moving just a minute ago..." Neville replied.

"Wait... something's wrong." Professor Silverbell was now staring at the sky.

Dumbledore sighed, clearly disappointed.

"Oh well... I was expecting this outcome. Hogwarts will cover the fines," he muttered.

"Don't pin this on me. It's not my fault!. Do you think it's easy to hold five dragons and not accidentally kill one?. " Neville protested.

"You could have asked for help." Dumbledore pointed out. "That was not part of the test after all."

The dragon handlers rushed into the arena to check on the Horntail, unsure if it had died. One handler ventured too close to the dragon's mouth when, suddenly, its eyes snapped open.

"Careful!" Charlie Weasley managed to pull his teammate away just in time before they could be bitten.

The creature woke abruptly and began thrashing around, forcing the handlers to restrain it and hurriedly guide it out of the arena.

"See? It was just sleeping," Neville sighed, relieved. Enough dragons had died today.

"Will you two listen to me?" Silverbell's voice rose, but he was largely ignored.

"You did kill the other one," Dumbledore pointed out.

"That one was extra, you don't have to pay for that one." Neville defended himself.

"Would you both shut up?!" the small professor shouted, startling them both.

"Professor? What's wrong?" Neville turned to look down at the enraged gnome.

"Look!" Silverbell pointed to the sky.

They all looked up and immediately noticed it too. That thin black line in the sky hadn't disappeared, even though the task had already been completed.

"Mmm...it is still there. But perhaps it just needs more time to close. Let's not panic yet," Dumbledore suggested.

"No, the professor's right. Something's wrong... I can feel strange magical oscillations coming from up there. It's almost like..." Neville's eyes widened in realization.

"What is it?" Dumbledore asked, concerned.

"There's something...or rather, someone approaching. " Neville said just as another cracking noise echoed from the sky.

The fracture didn't grow larger, but something...or more like, someone came out of it and began to fall onto the ground at terminal speed.

"I've got this," Neville said, flicking his wand. A bubble of air formed around the falling figure, slowing their descent.

"It's... her," Dumbledore said, recognizing the person as they got closer.

It was Victoria Black, eyes closed and motionless. Neville caught her in his arms before she could touch the ground.

"What's the meaning of this? Why is she back here?" he asked, perplexed.

Right after she came out, the crack vanished, as it had only remained open for her.

"That was close," Silverbell said, glancing upward. "If my theory is correct."

"The crack is gone now!" Dumbledore observed as the thin black line disappeared entirely, leaving no trace.

Neville looked up as well.

"The chaotic feeling from earlier... it's gone now," he noted.

Professor Silverbell glanced at the girl in Neville's arms.

"It appears like we were too late after all..."

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked.

"Do you not see it? Do you not understand how close we came?" Silverbell's voice grew tense with frustration.

"Let me make it clear." he pointed to Victoria, " Our world and hers just collided... and now, only one remains. She must have been caught mid-transition and, with nowhere to go, she returned here."

Dumbledore's eyes widened in shock.

"But... I thought you said this wouldn't happen for years!"

"I didn't account for a Convergence of this magnitude!" Silverbell snapped.

"So... we're the lucky ones," Neville murmured, looking down at the unconscious girl in his arms.

"And now we have to explain to her that everyone she cared about is gone... that her entire world no longer exists."

"It seems that way," Dumbledore said grimly, though he wasn't looking forward to that conversation. The girl already seemed to dislike him for some reason. His blue eyes turned to Silverbell. "Will this happen during the next task as well?"

Silverbell shrugged.

"There's no way to predict something like this so far ahead. We can only get readings moments before a Convergence begins."

"If that's the case, perhaps we should consider changing the remaining tasks," Dumbledore suggested.

"We can't do that. The tournament has to continue as planned," Neville interjected firmly. Changing it now could delay his encounter with the Dark Lord, and he couldn't risk that. The sooner they resolved this, the sooner he could move on.

"Besides, altering the task in this world won't affect what happens in the other realities."

"Hmm, I hadn't thought about it that way," Silverbell admitted, before turning to the headmaster.

"Wait, how does he know so much? Did you inform this boy about everything? Wasn't Potter enough?"

"No... that's... a bit complicated to explain right now," Dumbledore said evasively.

"You two can sort that out later," Neville cut in, gesturing toward Victoria.

"We have more urgent matters to deal with."

He was also eager to return to his own persona.

'I hope Neville didn't mess things up too badly and managed to keep the secret for at least an hour,' he thought briefly. Then he shook his head.

'No, there's no way he could pull that off.'

"Why don't you take the young Miss to my office and wait there with her, just in case she wakes up?" Dumbledore suggested.

"I'll call Severus and make the necessary arrangements..." He sighed heavily. This was going to be a very, very long day.

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