A pillar of flames burst to life, whirling in heatless blue. It only lasted a few moments before fading away, revealing…

  A chimera? The creature had the head of a pony, the body of a serpentine eastern dragon, complete with tiny wings, and different styles of limbs. Each leg was different, from a lion’s claw, to a bird’s talon, what could be called a badger talon, and a hoof. The thing even had a rack of deer antlers, though they weren’t the same size on either side! Even stranger was that the thing was floating above the ground, nearly curled about itself like a coiled serpent, only far larger, closer in size to Hagrid.

  The Headmaster had his wand drawn and leveled at the creature, ready to protect the students from whatever abomination that Goblet had summoned. Meanwhile, Hagrid was clapping and smiling. While the creature did not appear to be hostile, Albus wasn’t taking any chances. Suddenly though, the creature spoke.

  “Oh dear, this isn’t Equestria! Father, where have you sent me this time?”

  Dumbledore did his best to keep the shock off his face as he looked at the creature. That had been plain English, perfectly understandable. It hadn’t even been a magical effect, like some of the magical creatures could manage. Keeping his wand at the ready, he took a chance.

  “You are in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. What are you?”

  The creature uncoiled slightly to turn and look at the Headmaster. Glowing green eyes seemed to regard him for just a moment before what looked like a smile came to its face. “Hogwarts you say? Fascinating. This certainly isn’t the school I was told about from mother’s stories in the human world, so I dare say this is another place entirely…” The creature trailed off for a moment, its barbed tail swirling up to tap against its lips. “Oh dear, forgive me! I am a draconequus, like dear old dad. You can call me Harry! That’s what everyone else calls me.”

  Albus had to blink away his shock as he regarded the creature in front of him. “I beg your pardon, but did you say Harry? Would you have a last name, by chance?”

  Harry cocked his head to the side beside corkscrewing his entire body upside down to look at the Headmaster. “Ah, they do say hearing is one of the first things to go. A pity.” A soft sigh escaped the creature. “Oh! Dear me, yes, I do have a last name.”

  The Headmaster waited for a moment before asking, “What is your last name?”

  Harry offered an upside down smile, one with far too many teeth. “Why, it’s Potter! Harry Potter, says dear old Dad and who am I to argue with him?”

  There were a multitude of gasps from the assembled students, as well as from the Staff Table. Albus did his best to ignore everyone else while trying to factor in the Boy-Who-Lived’s strange appearance. With how comfortable Harry appeared to be with his body, it was clear that the Goblet wasn’t behind what had happened to the boy. That would have been a tragedy, to have such a monstrous appearance suddenly thrust upon him.

  Dumbledore slowly pocketed his wand while offering the draconequus a grandfatherly smile. “Harry, my boy. It has been far too long. You look a little different than the last time I saw you as a babe.”

  Harry swivelled around until he was rightside up, then contorted his body so that it appeared that he was sitting in midair. He even crossed one leg over another. “Oh, you knew me as a babe, you say? My my my, that does seem strange. I don’t remember seeing you in any of my baby pictures.” He snapped his fingers (which seemed a remarkable feat in and of itself, considering that he had a claw and talon rather than fingers) and a picture book popped into place, somewhat similar to how a House Elf would summon an object.

  The Boy-Who-Was-Not-A-Boy opened the book and started perusing the pages, nodding thoughtfully to himself. Occasionally he would pause at a page, smile, then move on. After a few moments, just before the Headmaster thought to catch the boy’s attention, Harry snapped the book shut. “Nope! Not one single picture of you! Father did tend to take a lot of pictures and not one single one featured you. Not a single human in the picture other than me at the beginning.”

  The Headmaster latched onto that last statement. “Did you mean to say you started off as a human? What type of magical disaster turned you into what you are now?” By this point several of the other staff had moved to stand around Albus, Minerva clutching her robe as she looked at the boy.

  “Oh, that was Father. Sure everyone says he was a disaster in the past, before he had been sealed, but that’s no reason to bring it up.” Harry shifted so he was laying on his side in midair, pony head propped on one claw. “He’s quite calmed down ever since he married mom. That was before I arrived though, a bouncing baby boy. Everyone was quite excited, once they calmed down that is.”

  Albus chuckled softly. “When you say arrived…” He trailed off, looking at the draconequus expectantly.

  “Oh, Father and Mom say I popped into the house, literally bouncing along the floor in a basket. Fortunately, Father was able to catch me with his magic and Mom recognized that I was human. She also recognized that I couldn’t very well go about as a human in Equestria. Everypony would freak out!”

  “So you know about magic then?”

  “Would be kind of hard not to, when I’m surrounded by it all the time. Several of my Aunties can use magic, as can I!” He curled upon himself for a moment before settling with his elbows on his coils and propping his head on his claw and talon. “Not to mention how absolutely saturated this place is! It’s positively bright with all that magic dancing about the place.” He reached out with a claw and drew one of the floating candles to him, before the thing started dancing around him. Those green eyes brightened for a moment with mischief.

  “That being said… this is too great an opportunity to waste time floating around and answering questions! We can talk more after I’ve had a chance to explore this lovely place you have! Tata!” Harry turned and slithered through the air towards the doors to the Great Hall.

  Severus stepped past the Headmaster, wand drawn. “Incarcerus!” Ropes went whirling across the room.

  Harry curled his head back to look at the incoming spell. With a snap of his fingers, the ropes turned into a coil of flowers, which he then somehow wove into a crown of flowers before placing them upon his head. With a smile, he turned back to floating right out the door.

  For a brief moment there was silence. Then the entire Great Hall erupted into noise and everyone chattered about Harry Potter, his body, and his magic.

  The Headmaster sighed and turned to his staff, gathering them up and dispersing them, some to wrangle the children, others to join him as he discussed what to do about the newly arrived Draconequus-Who-Lived.

  ***

  Harry floated along the hallways, pausing occasionally to admire a tapestry or suit of armor. After a few minutes he turned to face a pair of red furred humans who had been following him. “Oh ho? And what do we have here? A pair of curious questors?”

  The two looked at each other for a moment before turning twin smiles upon him. “We were wondering…” “If you were really…” “... Harry Potter?”

  The humans switched off parts of their statement between them. Harry swiveled his head back and forth for a moment before just splitting his eyes to watch one each. He returned their smiles with one of his own. “That is the name I was given, but is that truly who I am? Mother always said I was whoever I wanted to be, and I’ve always wanted to be Father.” He coiled upon himself, though his upper half leaned back as if lounging. “She always gave me the strangest looks when I said that.”

  The redfurs looked at each other for a moment before turning back to him. “I’m Fred.” “I thought I was Fred?” “Oh right right, I’m George then.”

  “Ah, people after my own heart. Lovely to meet you. Was that the only question you had or is there more that you wish to know?”

  Not-Fred nodded. “How did you end up like that?”

  Harry looked at himself briefly then turned back to Not-Fred. “Whatever do you mean? Floating? It’s not hard once you figure out how to do so.” He beckoned them closer. “I’ll give you a little secret.”

  The two leaned in.

  Harry leaned in. “Magic.”

  Harry rolled through the air laughing. Once he was able to get a hold of himself, he turned back to the two humans. “That really is the answer though. Use your magic. Make it do what you want. Intent is the key. Intent! Want it enough and you can do anything. Like this!” He snapped his fingers and one of the suits of armor leaped off its stand and started dancing down towards the Great Hall.

  The trio watched the armor for a moment before collectively chuckling. The humans turned to Harry. “Could you teach us?”

  “Hmm… never taught anyone before. We’ll have to see. Why don’t you show me around this lovely castle and tell about this world I’ve found myself in. I’m sure Father will be around once I’ve learned whatever it is he wants me to learn here.”

  The twins grinned and nodded and the trio set off down the hallway, exchanging stories, including how Harry had originally become a draconequus thanks to his adopted Father.

  ***

  “Albus, was that truly Harry Potter? What has been done to him?”

  The Headmaster leaned back in his chair behind the desk of his office and sighed. “I’m not sure, Minerva. I’ve never seen anything like it before. What did he call himself? A draconequus? In all my years I have never heard of a creature by that title. He appeared to be some sort of chimera, yet those are XXXXX creatures and highly regulated. There are only a few left in the world. They’re also much larger than the being that claimed to be Harry Potter.”

  Severus scoffed. “Does it matter if the creature is delusional? It should be captured for study.”

  Minerva leveled a glare at the Potion’s Master. “And what if the poor thing truly is our lost boy? Something happened to Harry all those years and this may explain things. If he was whisked away by whatever it is that he calls Father. He said he grew up around magic so maybe this Father of his was experimenting on him and that’s why he looks the way he does?”

  Filius was quick to speak up. “The boy didn’t seem to be in any form of distress. In fact he seemed quite energetic!”

  Pamona chimed in. “There was genuine affection in Harry’s voice when he spoke of his parents. While those parents were obviously adopted, since he said they found him, that doesn’t make them any less his parents. After all, he’s been with them for over a decade.”

  Dumbledore folded his hands across his lap as he looked between the various Heads of House. Having the Boy-Who-Lived return as an unknown creature was almost worse than not having the boy return at all. This wasn’t something that he could present to the Wizarding Public as their savior. They would never accept him. Turning to his deputy, he asked, “Do you think you could change Harry back to a young man?”

  The Transfiguration Professor pursed her lips. “Twould depend on what’s been done to him. Chimeras are notoriously resistant to magic. But if the lad asks, I could see if I could reverse what was done with him. I’m afraid any simple charm would be overcome by Harry’s sheer size. He’s nearly as big as Hagrid when he’s all coiled up like that. No disguise will change that.”

  Another scoff escaped the Slytherin Head. “Are we really discussing trying to turn that thing into a child? We would be better off rendering it down for potions ingredients. Who knows what could be made with that.” He looked around the room. “If you are too weak to do it, I can even just capture it and keep it alive while I harvest it slowly.”

  Albus shook his head. “Now Severus, no one is going to harm Mr. Potter, whether he be a chimera or not. We shall do what we can to corral him and discover the truth about his whereabouts over the years and then we shall see what we can do to help him recover his humanity. It behooves us, as those who would have been responsible for him during this time.”

  Filius brought up one last point. “And what about how he was summoned? The Goblet brought Harry in a pillar of fire. What does that mean for him?”

  Albus smiled. “It means that he must compete. Should make for an interesting contest though, if we aren’t able to change him back.

  ***

  A trio of redheads walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. Most of the other students had to do a double and triple take as they watched what seemed to be the Weasley Triplets take a seat at the Gryffindor table. They chatted animatedly among themselves and with their fellows, their usual method of parting out their sentences having gained a third member.

  Those among their fellow Gryffindores hadn’t seen the third member when the Twins were in the common room. However, their close proximity allowed them to see that one of the trio was not like the other. One sported bright green eyes that nearly glowed. Once you noticed the difference it was easy to tell the three apart. Well, easy to tell one of them apart, at the least. There was also a slight delay when that one was supposed to speak, though it was barely there.

  The younger of the Gryffindore Chaser Trio, Katie Bell, finally pointed a fork full of bacon at the spare Weasley. “And just who are you?”

  The newcomer leaned forward, waggled his eyebrows, then stole the bacon in a quick bite. Once he’d swallowed the food, ignoring the indignant girl, he smiled. “I’m hungry! Nice to meet you!”

  Guffaws erupted from the original twins, as well as some assorted laughter from around the table.

  Katie stared for a moment before putting her fork down. “Okay, fair enough. Though seriously, who are you? I think we would have noticed yet another Weasley around here. We have enough as it is.” She ignored the ‘Hey!’ from further down the table.

  Green eyes shimmered with mirth. “Well, I admit, I am a new arrival. These two took it upon themselves to escort a poor lost lad around this huge castle. I thought it appropriate to honor them by appearing like them.”

  Several jaws dropped for a moment before another student asked, “Wait, were you the creature from last night? I thought I might have dreamed that!”

  “Creature? How rude! I told those people at the big table that I was a draconequus. I’m sure I could be heard around the room though.” He paused, tapping his lips with a finger before continuing. “Maybe I need to work on my projection. Should I tell the room louder this time?” He raised one hand up as if to snap.

  The twins hurriedly reached over and wrapped a hand each around their third. “That’s quite alright, Harry. It’s just about time for us to all explain who you were anyway. Joke’s pretty much played out.”

  The newly identified Harry merely sighed. “I suppose if you think that best. I thought the joke was playing out just fine. You know the humans better than I do though.”

  Katie frowned. “So you really are a draconequus? And Harry Potter? But how?”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Harry the redheaded Weasley triplet leaned forward, looked around at all the students waiting on him, then winked.

  “Magic.”

  There were groans all along the table before a barrage of questions were shot towards him. Eventually their Head of House stormed over. “Mr. and Mr. Weasley, what is the meaning of this? What have you done to this poor student?”

  The twins turned to the Professor with matching smiles, one that was quickly mirrored by Harry. “Professor McGonnagall, may we introduce you to Harry Potter, Weasley extraordinaire!”

  The Professor clutched her robes with one hand while turning to the third member of the trio. “Harry, lad? Is that truly you?”

  Harry offered the Transfiguration Mistress a smile and a nod of the head. “Hello Professor McGonnagall, a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard good things about you!”

  “Dear boy, how are you able to look like that? I thought you were a chimera, transformed by whatever your Father did to you?”

  “I can look like whatever I want.” The Redhead Boy-Who-Lived tugged his hand free from the Twins, then snapped his fingers. There was a poof of smoke and where there had been a green eyed boy there was now a person sized draconequus, still sitting in the same position. A few of the nearby students scrambled away for sheepishly relaxing. “Father taught me. It took me a few years to figure it out so until then he helped me change so I looked more like him, since no one looked like me.”

  Mcgonnagall pursed her lips before giving a sharp nod. “So I see. There is apparently more to your story than you let on last night. Perhaps you would accompany me to my office and tell me the rest?”

  “I’m afraid, dear Minerva, that I would prefer that conversation take place in my office. It would be better if we all heard it together.” The Headmaster stepped forward, though no one had seen him arrive.

  Harry turned a smile on the Headmaster. “You remind me of Star Swirl the Bearded, though you definitely have him beat in the beard department. How long does it take you to maintain that thing or do you use magic? Is there a special salon that you go to?”

  Dumbledore returned the smile. “Ah, one of my many secrets. I’m afraid I cannot go into the details in public. Though suffice it to say, magic is involved.”

  The mini draconequus clapped and beamed. “Indeed indeed! Well then, shall I finish my meal first or is this something of an expedient nature?”

  Albus waved towards the table. “By all means, finish your breakfast. Time with friends should always be cherished. I’m sure that Minerva can show you the way once you’re ready.”

  ***

  “So your Father, a draconequus named Discord, adopted you after you popped into his home.”

  Harry shook his head. “It was Mother Fluttershy’s home, but essentially correct.”

  Albus nodded and offered the boy a small smile. “Of course, my boy, of course. I am just trying to get all the facts of your story straight.” At the moment, the boy was in the form of the smaller draconequus he had adopted at the Gryffindore table, and had taken a seat across from the desk. The smile never seemed to leave the equine face, as if the boy was perpetually amused by something.

  “Quite alright. My life may seem exciting, but it’s nothing compared to what the Mane 6 have gotten up to, and that’s without Father trying to help them along.” He gave a little sigh. “It saddens me that they never let me accompany them on their adventures, especially once they let drop that they had found a way to travel to a human world.”

  Filius spoke up, excitement in his voice. “Are you saying that those of your home had a way to freely travel between worlds?”

  Harry shook his head. “Not completely freely. There were conditions that had to be met for the portal to be active, at least at first. Auntie Twilight eventually figured out a way to stabilize the mirror but I’ve only heard about it, never seen it. Supposedly they take on human form in the other world.”

  “The other world? Do you not mean this world?”

  Harry tapped his lips with a claw before shaking a head. “I don’t think so. The magic here feels different from home. I’ve been told that magic works the same way in that other world as it does at home. With the differences in the rules of magic I would say this is a separate world. I’ll have to ask Auntie what she thinks. She’s the smartest of the Mane Six and the best researcher.” His smile grew wider. “I’ve never been quite so academically gifted. My magic has always been much more practical.”

  Albus leaned back and smiled. “Fascinating. And your Mother, this Fluttershy? Was she another draconequus? Are there many back home?”

  “Oh no, Mother is a pegasus. And Father is one of a kind. While I may look mostly like him, I’m not an exact duplicate. I’m also human, though no one holds that against me. They treat me just as they would anypony else.”

  “Do forgive me. It’s a little much to take in.” Albus felt fortunate that Severus was busy this morning, as there was no doubt that the dour man would have been butting in and questioning everything that Harry was sharing with them. He only hoped that the Potion’s Master would be able to control himself when confronted by the conundrum that was Harry Potter the Draconequus. It was clear that the young man was skilled in a magic that was unfamiliar to the Headmaster, though it bore similarities to the House Elves.

  “Oh quite alright! There are so many new things for me to see and do here that I feel a bit overwhelmed myself. Fortunately, Father has a habit of tossing people headfirst into events to help them learn. He does that to Auntie all the time and has done the same for me over the years as well. All in good fun though.”

  Harry looked around the room, between the three Heads of House that were assembled to listen to the explanation of his origins. He seemed to focus on Filius for a moment before there was a snap of fingers and a poof of smoke. Suddenly there was a much shorter green eyed half goblin sitting in the chair, feet dangling over the edge. Harry lifted his hands to eye level then looked down at how his legs didn’t quite reach the floor. With a frown, he snapped his fingers again. Suddenly his legs were much longer, feet touching the ground, yet his body was still as compact as before. The frown disappeared.

  “I bet you have your own chairs elsewhere, don’t you? Or can you float too?”

  Filius chuckled. “I do have some troubles at times but I’ve grown used to them over the years.”

  Harry stood and tried to walk around in his new form, though it was easy to see that he had some issues. Another frown and a snap and he was in the shorter form again. He seemed much happier and wandered over to sit next to Filius, a matching chair suddenly appearing.

  Albus considered the casual manner Harry had with magic. None of the staff and certainly none of the students made such free use of magic. Considering that spell casting was discouraged outside of class or practicing in certain areas that wasn’t surprising. Even most magicals weren’t as casual about things. Was this the power that Tom knew not? Only time would tell.

  “Harry, my boy, there is one other thing that needs to be considered.” The Headmaster then went on to describe the Tri-Wizard Tournament and how Harry was bound to compete due to the Goblet summoning him as one of the champions.

  Harry shrugged. “I suppose that makes sense. Never let it be said that Harry Potter backs away from a challenge! Auntie Rainbow Dash would never let me live it down.” One tiny hand reached up to tap his cheeks. “Though if I’m to properly participate in this tournament of yours, perhaps…” He trailed off and snapped his fingers.

  When the smoke cleared there was a much younger Harry Potter sitting on the chair, looking almost exactly how Albus remembered him from all those years ago. The young man closed his eyes for a moment before snapping his fingers one more time.

  This time a much older Harry Potter sat in the now undersized chair. He looked older than he should have been. Perhaps late teens or early twenties. Had he been wearing glasses he would have looked almost exactly like James Potter had when the lad had married Lily Evans. The gasp from Minerva said she recognized him as well.

  Those green eyes opened with a much brighter glow than usual, before slowly fading. They were still bright, though there was no longer an otherworldly glow behind them.

  “Okay! Let’s see what the human world has to offer!”

  ***

  Minerva pinched the bridge of her nose. “Mr. Potter. Please do the exercise over again and this time, use your wand. You will not learn this type of magic unless you use this type of magic.”

  ***

  Filius clapped as the pineapple tap danced down the table to join its fellows in their conga line. That each fruit had sprouted their own legs and tophats somehow also delighted the Charms Professor. That Harry managed to do that with his wand made it all the more impressive. Considering some of the things that he had heard from other Professors, he was just happy that Harry was giving it his all when trying to learn the new magics.

  ***

  Pomona looked around at all the plants wandering her greenhouse and pointed towards the doors. Harry shifted into his draconequus form and slinked away, not even bothering to float.

  ***

  Harry stared at the cat. The cat stared back at Harry. They sat that way for long enough that a group of students had gathered, the twins were in the back taking bets, and the owner of the cat was watching fretfully while biting her lips.

  Eventually a twitch appeared in one of Harry’s glowing green eyes. A moment later he blinked and frowned before sighing. Cries and cheers rose from the crowd as various bets were paid out.

  One of the young Ravenclaws laid a gentle hand on Harry’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Harry. Noone out stares a cat. Not once in recorded history.”

  The human shaped Harry scowled before glaring at the cat in question. “That’s just what they want you to think! It’s cattish propaganda!”

  The cat’s owner had scooped up the feline and was hugging the orange tabby to herself. “It’s okay Crookshanks, they just can’t admit how amazing you are.”

  Both the Ravenclaw and Harry turned to the girl in perfect sync, even blinking at the same time. Harry finally offered the girl a smile. “Never said they weren’t amazing! Opalescence is one of my favorite cats of all time! Oh, she belongs to Auntie Rarity. I’ve never beat her in a staring contest either, though. But one day…” He shook his fist at the heavens.

  The ravenclaw girl gave Harry another pat on the shoulder. “One day, Harry. I believe in you.”

  “Thanks Luna. Now, let us continue our hunt! Those snorkacks won’t find themselves!”

  ***

  “Mr. Potter. What are you doing?”

  Harry looked up from where he had three different tomes floating in front of him as he separated potions ingredients. “I’m looking into the qualities and properties of the various ingredients so I can know how they interact. It’s rather fascinating how some interact with others. Some are needed to counteract the effects from previous ingredients!”

  Severus looked at what was basically a clone of James Potter, only with Lily’s eyes. He wanted to hate the boy, wanted more than anything to render him down into various ingredients and see what he could make of them. However, those eyes and inquisitive nature reminded him too much of his dear friend.

  “Be careful not to try and make your own potion unless you have run things by me first. You could seriously hurt yourself and others. I will not have any dunderheaded experimentations in my class” He turned away with a swirl of his robes, ignoring the softly spoken ‘awesome’ from behind him.

  ***

  Harry looked around the tent at the other three champions. He hadn’t really had a chance to interact with them over the past month. Other than being briefly introduced to them and an even briefer meeting at the Weighing of the Wands, they hadn’t even been in the same room. He wanted to get to know each of them but he didn’t get a chance before the officials for the Tournament came into the tent to explain the First Task.

  Finding out that they were going to be facing dragons had him practically vibrating in place. He was so excited that he poofed into his original form, spiraling in place for several moments before coiling in midair. He glanced over at the other three champions, noting the wide eyes. “What, never seen a draconequus before?” When they shook their heads he happily went about introducing himself to them, giving them a shorter version of the explanation that the Headmaster had asked him to use should someone learn about his original form.

  Suddenly realizing he was supposed to keep that form hidden during the competition, he poofed back into older human Harry. Just in time too as the officials signaled the start of the task. As each of the other three competitors made their attempts, Harry spent the time with the other two getting to know them and eagerly answered any questions they might have had.

  When it was his time to face the dragon he eagerly stepped through the flaps of the tent. The arena was pretty boring though. Just a rocky terrain. The dragon on the other hand was everything he had hoped it would be. Large, spikey, and looking ready for some mayhem.

  Beckoning back towards the tent, he called the small model of the horntail. As it flew to his side, he took the time to examine the magic held within the model even closer. Setting the model down, he proceeded to duplicate the tiny dragon, as well as transfiguring many of the surrounding rocks and boulders into replicas. Soon he was surrounded by a flock of tiny dragons. It was tempting to join them as another dragon, but he managed to keep in mind the human magic and only used illusion rather than transforming.

  Finally the entire fluttering group swooped up and over the arena before dive bombing the dragon. Several of the duplicates were caught in the initial blast of dragonfire, but most managed to dodge and then swirled around the dragon’s head. Some latched onto the spikes and fire their own mini-blasts at the aggravated creature.

  Mixed in among the models and duplicates, Harry the illusionary dragon crawled on wings and claws towards the nest. He might have gotten away with it easily had he not been changing ‘sneaky sneaky’. Instead, he caught the attention of the dragon. Only a quick teleportation saved him.

  Realizing that his dragons were going to win even with numbers on their size, he enlarged a number of them until they were able to wrestle the dragon away from the nest. That let Harry make an easy way over to the nest along with several of the other models. Soon he had the golden egg in his mouth and wandered back towards the tent with a content waggle to his tail.