Harry Potter Through the Multiverse (Ch. 9)(Exclusive)

Harry Potter Through the Multiverse

Chapter 9

The Walking Dead Arc

“Bloody brilliant!” Harry said as he was searching through abandoned vehicles around the old quarry that the group had last lived by. In the bed of a white truck that had the name of a mining company stenciled on the side of the door, a thick-steeled locked box with a danger sign sat. Harry had first tried to open it with his hands, but even with his extra powers, he couldn’t do more than bend the steel handle. Thankfully, with the combination of his unearthly strength and a thick pry bar, Harry forced the door open after fifteen minutes of struggle. The door shot open, and it made a loud bang as it slammed into the box’s metal side. Inside the metal box were several smaller boxes that were filled with dynamite. Harry grabbed the boxes along with the spools of wire and the detonator box.

He stuffed them into the back of his SUV and continued his scavenging. The next car he scavenged didn’t have much. When he opened the door, the corpse inside turned its head and hissed. Its rotten hand lifted up and reached out for him. ‘How strange this is,’ Harry thought to himself. The undead was literally reaching out to eat him, and his heart rate didn’t increase by a single beat. A machete to the head ended their encounter, and he checked the small, red car. Not finding anything of value to him, he siphoned what little fuel there was in the tank before moving on.

Harry popped in a cd that he had found earlier in the day and relaxed to the sound of classical piano. After the barn incident, the group worked things out. Hershel had even come around to a more logical way of thinking in regard to the walkers. Maggie’s little sister had been having a rough go of it, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. Life at the farmhouse was actually pretty nice, and their little group had found some semblance of normality.

He had never told them the truth about himself, and he didn’t intend to. A few days ago, his watch indicated that it was ready to be used again. Harry could leave anytime he wanted to. He could feel that his time was coming soon. He just wanted to make sure that he left them in a good situation. Of course, he made sure to have plenty of “encounters” with Amy and Maggie. He would certainly miss those two whenever it was that he decided to go.

“Nice,” Harry said as he checked the trunk of another abandoned car further down the road. Inside was a large, forty-pack of bottled water. He quickly transferred it to his car before continuing. By then, the sun was already going down. He had already informed the group that he planned to be out late, so they didn’t worry. Harry was working overtime to make sure that the group had plenty of food, water, and supplies stocked so they would have a fighting chance once he was gone.

His scavenging carried on for a couple more hours before he decided to turn back. Since he was already in the area, it didn’t take long before he pulled into the long, dirt driveway. Immediately, he saw that something was not right. In the distance, the barn was blazing, and silhouetted in the fire were the shapes of dozens of walkers. Parked next to the barn was the RV, and there were walkers all over it. The groups’ various vehicles were driving around wildly while guns were constantly going off.

“Shit!” Harry muttered, pulled out his handgun, and placed it on the passenger seat next to his trusty shotgun. Throwing his ride into four-wheel drive mode, Harry, stepped on the gas and drove into the fray. Seeing two walkers on the right, he swerved and ran them down. “Oof,” he grunted as he ran over the fleshy speedbumps. Up ahead, he could see Hershel firing off a shotgun as a small horde came lumbering after him. Turning slightly, Harry plowed right into the horde, sending several flying through the air while several more were run down. Harry jammed on the break and turned the wheel, skidding as the SUV did a one-eighty. As he did, the side of his vehicle slammed into another couple of walkers, sending them flying back fifteen feet.

He had no idea where everyone was. He only hoped that they were safe. Harry’s job was to take out as many of these things as possible to give the others the best chance at escaping. As much as he could be an uncaring asshole sometimes, he had grown to like the group as a whole, and he didn’t want to see them suffer. He turned and a female walker lit up from his bright headlights. She opened her mouth and screeched just before her body exploded in a shower of guts and body parts. Harry smashed through a wooden fence and into an open field, his body bouncing around the SUV as he did. All around him were dozens, possibly hundreds of those cursed creatures. Grabbing his Glock from his seat, Harry fired out of his window with near-perfect aim. One shot ripped a walker’s head in half. Another shot hit the head of an undead child, sending its small body twisting through the air. He turned right sharply and saw the small hatchback almost completely covered in walkers. They were beating on the hood and doors, telling him that someone was definitely inside. Harry aimed perfectly and crossed the hatchback’s front like a T. His vehicle bounced as several were flattened beneath his tires while another flew over his hood and hit the right side of his windshield, shattering it. Again, Harry skidded to face the hatchback, and his headlights illuminated the inside of the car. Glenn and Maggie were inside, and there were still several more beating at the driverside window, trying to get at her. Harry floored it, and with a sickening crunch, he ran them over as well. As the hatchback began to drive again, Harry continued to fire at walkers until the bullets were spent.

Rolling down the windows, Harry grabbed the shotgun and used one hand to steer while the other fired shotgun blasts at any walker unlucky enough to come near him. Flashes of fire, sparks, and embers lit up the night sky as Harry rained down shotgun fire on the unholy horde. Without his enhancements, he would have found it very difficult to drive and shoot accurately, but thankfully, he was having no problems. The only problem was that it was getting difficult to see out of his dirty and smashed windshield. He could see vehicles leaving the farm one after another, and as he turned, he thought he saw someone running into the woods. There was nothing he could do for them now, so instead, he aimed for a large gathering of walkers and plowed them over. His vehicle went up on two wheels and slammed back down, causing Harry to collide hard with the door. He winced loudly as his shoulder began to ache. As smoke and steam began to pour from underneath the black hood of his ride, Harry knew that he wasn’t the only one to take damage. “Fuck!” he cursed. The old girl wouldn’t last much longer, he thought as he clipped another walker, tearing off its leg at the hip and smashing his left headlight at the same time. When he found a spot that hadn’t yet been overrun, he hit the brakes and stopped the car. It was sputtering and steaming, but it refused to die. Harry looked at his watch and remembered Luna’s instructions. He grabbed the correct knob and cranked it until it wouldn’t go anymore. The Space-Time-Turner was primed and ready. He was about to press the button when the flickering light of the blazing barn gave him pause. He stared at it for a brief moment, mesmerized by the dancing fire of the inferno. When he snapped out of it, walkers were already climbing all over his beloved Range Rover.

She gave one last choking sputter, and Harry lovingly caressed the dashboard with his hand. “Stay strong, old girl. We’re going on one last ride together,” Harry smiled wickedly. He fiddled with the cd player, and as soon as Bon Jovi began blaring through the speakers, Harry stomped on the gas and drove directly for the burning barn.

Harry could barely see as walkers were hanging onto every inch of his ride. One laying across his windshield finally rolled off, and he had a perfect view of the barn. The music blasted, and the walkers groaned as they held on for the ride of their lives. Closer and closer the barn came until Harry could feel the heat of its fire. Pressing the button, he disappeared from the front seat. The Range Rover slammed into the burning barn, and the pressure of the impact mixed with the heat of the flames caused several boxes of dynamite to detonate at the same time. Harry would have been proud if he was able to see his car, the barn, and several dozen walkers go up in a Blaze of Glory.

HPTTM

Harry felt himself falling, and he heard the shattering of stone as his descent continued. Like his first trip, his mind was muddled, and he found himself momentarily confused. It wasn’t until a deep, thunderous boom echoed over and over that Harry was able to pull himself from his haze. Suddenly, he was tumbling through the air, and down below the ground was getting ever closer. Harry panicked before he felt his magic lash out. As he hit the ground, the stone became rubbery, and Harry was launched into the air again. “AHHH!” he yelped as he hit the ground again, this time being tossed horizontally instead of vertically. He hit the ground a dozen feet away, his naked body rolling to a stop.

He lay there on his back, blinking his eyes. His stomach squirmed and grumbled, and the sudden chill he felt wasn’t pleasant. In fact, his back and ass had gone numb from resting on the freezing cold, stone floor. Hoping to regain the feeling in his ass, Harry pushed himself to his feet. After swaying from a sudden episode of dizziness, Harry pulled himself together and took stock of the situation. Once again, he was completely nude. He was about to complain when he realized something. He had just had a bout of accidental magic. “YES!” he hissed. He opened the wallet that was in his hand and pulled out his wand. He gave it a wave, and his body was suddenly covered in a freshly conjured layer of clothes. Harry gave his wand a quick kiss. Oh, how he had missed his magic. Being physically enhanced was great and all, but it was no substitute for actual magic. Keeping his wand in hand, Harry slowly spun around and gauged his situation. All around him was darkness. “Hello?” Harry called out. Hello … Hello … Hello … echoed back.

His first instinct was to say that he was in a cavern, but he immediately knew that wasn’t correct. Though it was vast and spacious like a cavern, there was enough light to see elaborately carved pillars in the distance. In front of him, there was an area of the ground that was more lit up than the rest of the room. Harry looked up and saw a pinprick of light. Wherever he was, there was a hole in the ceiling letting light down into the depths below. As he breathed, a heavy mist escaped his mouth with every exhale of hot air. Before he could start thinking about a way to escape, Harry heard the sounds of high-pitched yelping kind of like hyenas laughing in the distance. He furrowed his brow. The thought of hyenas in such a place was laughable, but still, the sounds were real … and disturbing. It wasn’t long until he heard an accompanying scurrying, like a billion cockroaches crawling along his bedroom wall. “What the fuck is that?” he asked himself in a quiet voice as he stared into the darkness in the direction of the sound. He thought he saw something. Squinting, he looked hard into the distance. Sure enough, something was crawling along the wall. Suddenly, that one thing turned into ten, then a hundred, then a thousand …

Harry stumbled back when something whizzed by his head. He waved his wand and conjured a massive ball of light. In an instant, the entire cavernous hall was lit up as bright as the midday sun. The yelping quickly turned to pained and angry shrieks, and hundreds of the creatures tumbled off the walls. THUNK! Harry jumped as something hit the ground only a few feet away from him. It was laying on its side and not moving. Harry used his booted foot to roll it on its back. Harry recoiled in disgust.

Whatever it was, was human in shape. That was the only thing human about it. It was dressed in a mixture of torn and filthy rags and roughly crafted, mishappen armor. Its face was a nightmare. Greenish, scabby skin was stretched across an asymmetrically-shaped skull. Its eyes were glazy and grotesque, and its mouth was open, revealing rows of sharp, rotten teeth. It had long, gnarled ears that were missing chunks of flesh here and there. Its lumpy head was mostly bald, except for a few wisps of pale, white hair.

THUNK!

Harry jerked again when another nearly hit him.

THUNK!

Another hit the stone floor a bit further away. Harry looked up and saw more bodies falling. ‘These things are falling from above,’ Harry thought. Looking around again, Harry could see that they didn’t like the light, but some were powering through and getting closer. Again, something flashed by his head, and he suddenly realized that it was an arrow. Harry swung his wand wildly and let loose a massive shockwave of magic. Hundreds of the foul creatures were violently thrown from the walls. The entire hall shook from the wave of magic. The walls trembled and cracked, and even one of the pillars which were as thick as a redwood was shorn in half. The top half of the destroyed pillar detached from the ceiling and slowly tumbled over. It hit the stone ground with an explosive force that nearly made Harry’s ears bleed. The ground beneath it gave way. Huge chunks of stone began to fall into the unseen abyss, and Harry once again was falling. This time, however, he was ready for it. With a wave of his wand, his falling was slowed. The beasts fell past him, screeching as they did. Down below, he could hear the sound of rocks and bodies smacking against a hard surface. As one gigantic chunk of a pillar fell past him, Harry heard it hit water with a deafening splash. Once he was close enough to the ground, Harry apparated the rest of the way.

All around him was carnage. Twisted and broken bodies of those disgusting creatures littered the rock-strewn ground. Down this far, the light from above could barely reach. Harry could tell that he was in an actual cavern now. The proper ground was made of natural stones, jagged and angular as though the Earth had just ejected them. In the middle was a river lake that was being fed by a waterfall cascading from a massive fissure in the far wall. In the opposite direction, the water of the small lake drained through a wide cave opening. Where the water went from there, Harry didn’t know. Just behind him was the mouth of another large cave. As much as he didn’t want to go into the cave, he had no choice. He didn’t know which world he was on let alone where he was on that world. Blind apparition was just asking for something terrible to happen. He was about to take his first step when he heard a deep, guttural growl come from deep within the cave. Then, the darkness of the cave slowly began to lighten. Harry felt vibrations in the stones beneath his feet. The light pouring from the cave’s mouth intensified, and Harry was suddenly filled with the unstoppable sensation of dread. His skin goosebumped, and his body shivered. Though he wasn’t the best at the Mind Arts, he was good enough to tell when something supernatural was messing with his head. Using Occlumency, Harry slammed his mind shield closed, and the sensation of dread disappeared. An infuriated roar bellowed from the cave.

Looking around, Harry could see no escape, and he was about to actually try some blind apparition when a fiery head escaped from the cave. A face of shadow wreathed in flame opened its maw and expelled its rage in the form of an ear-splitting roar. Its mouth was a dark void while its throat was a white-hot blowtorch. Twisted horns rose from its head and curled around the sides like some demonic ram. Two broken slits as nostrils and eyes that burned hotter than the flames of hell couldn’t even break the shadows that seemed to hide it from his sight. Wide shoulders exited next, and a cloud of black smoke billowed out, making the chasm stink of sulfur. Massive muscular arms came next, its skin ejecting flames that lit up the deep with a terrifyingly eerie glow. Then came the rest of its body. It stood up straight and proud, over twenty feet tall, and flaming wings unfurled. Its arms flexed, and in its hands was a flaming sword that was twice as long as he was tall and a fiery whip. As it stood there, Harry thought that the beast wanted to be looked upon … to be admired … but above all, it wanted to horrify him. For a split second, Harry had no idea what to do. The sheer lunacy of the situation caused him to pause. That was all the time it took for the beast to lift its sword and swing it down on him. Halfway down, Harry came to his senses and apparated further away from it. The sword struck the ground, sending shards of rock and sparks into the air. The beast roared in anger and pulled its sword from the ground. Harry glared at it, and his hand tightened around his wand.

The beast then began to charge, the ground shaking with every step. It roared again, and Harry fired. A bolt of lightning snapped from the tip of his wand and hit the beast dead in its open mouth as thunder cracked. Harry watched as its head snapped back, and it stumbled. Electrical sparks mixed with flying embers as Harry fired again. This time it was a steady stream of lightning. It hit the beast in the chest and tore a burning orange trench down its belly and over its thigh. It threw its head back and roared in pain. In retaliation, its whip cracked through the air toward Harry faster than he thought possible. Harry was barely able to throw up a magical shield when the whip struck it. The shield broke with a spectacular pop, and Harry was thrown to the side. He hit the stone ground hard, bouncing off one half-submerged boulder and landing on the lake’s bank. Sensing it, Harry apparated away just as the sword struck the ground where he had just been laying.

The twisted mind of the once mighty Maiar was confused. The puny magic-man wasn’t a Maiar or even a child of Eru, and yet it stood there pelting him with boulders that, surprisingly, hurt a great deal. Every time he swung his whip and sword, the little being would move and fire magic at him. A long, thick dagger of ice flew through the air and impaled him in the thigh. Momentarily, his flames wavered before they returned and melted the icy projectile. Screeching in anger, it charged again in Morgoth’s name. Just as suspected, when he swung his sword, the tiny creature disappeared. This time, however, he twisted around with a backhand that slammed into the little magic-man, sending him flying into the water.

Harry skidded across the surface of the water until the raging current sucked him down. Dazed and nearly out of his mind, Harry vaguely felt that his wand was still in his hand. He was sucked down deeper, and his body slid across the bottom. The frigid water quickly cleared his mind, and Harry blinked away the creeping darkness. On the lake’s bottom, thousands of golden coins sparkled. The water was so clear that he could see thousands of years worth of treasures that had, unbeknownst to him, fallen into the winding river higher up in the mine and were carried downstream to the hidden lake. Suddenly, the flaming sword pierced the water’s surface and nearly impaled him. Missing by a few feet, Harry was thrown around by the sudden maelstrom that the impact had created. Stones and treasures were kicked up and floated all around him. The water around him wasn’t icy anymore. In fact, it was beginning to grow hot. Harry suddenly knew that the creature was using his hellfire to try and boil him alive. His panic was cut short when he saw something silver fluttering in front of him. It glittered like ice by the light of the stars. It was like something he had used a long time ago to defeat another ungodly beast. Grabbing the handle as it floated by, Harry used his magic to shoot straight up out of the water.

Below him, the flaming beast was standing on the lake’s edge, leaning over with his demonic sword buried deep in the water. Placing the strongest Flame Freezing Charm that he could manage on himself, Harry apparated onto the beast's head just as it realized that something had gone wrong. As soon as he reappeared, Harry plunged the frozen blade into the beast's head. The charm shattered right before the flames extinguished, and both beast and man screamed in agony. The beast tipped forward, its body smoking as it fell dead into the crystal blue water of the lake, taking Harry with it. Harry hit the water and tried desperately to hang onto the sword as the current violently pulled him. Slowly, the sword slid out of the beast’s skull, and both Harry and the sword were sucked toward the cave’s mouth where the river began again. The pain was excruciating even in the icy water. The last thing he could do was place a Bubblehead Charm on himself as he was sucked into the cave. Holding onto both sword and wand, Harry was taken on a ride of twists and turns. His poor body was beaten against the rocky sides of the cave, but he refused to black out and let go of his weapons. After what felt like forever, he was spat out into a mountain ravine. The churning current eventually slowed until he was floating lazily down the river.

With the greatest amount of effort, Harry pulled himself onto the shores of the Dimrill Dale. With no energy left, he passed out.

HPTTM

A waifish blonde skipped along the water’s banks until she came upon him. Taking a good look at him, she sighed. Harry’s arms, chest, and face were severely burned. Luna shook her head, causing her dirty blonde hair to bounce around. “What am I going to do with you?” she signed. Dropping to her knees, Luna leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. There was a flash of brilliant, white light, and Luna was gone. All that was left was a newly healed Harry Potter still clutching his wand and sword.