Worlds Collide

Snape stood anxiously, deep in thought, staring at the gray stone floors. His classroom suddenly felt much colder, and it felt like a heavy shadow was pressing on top of him, weighing him down.

‘If Dazai did go to another universe, how do we get him back? Will he be safe?’

An uneasiness bloomed in his gut. His problem child was a complete menace and he didn’t know what was on the other side of that rift.

‘You better stay safe, Mr. Dazai.’ He huffed.

“Professor Snape, what do we do?” Hermione asked, panicked.

Snape turned to the group of Dazai’s friends. “I’m going to address this with the headmistress. You kids stay out of trouble.”

He briskly walked out of the room as the problem student’s allies watched his back.

“What should we do?” Ron implored.

They all looked to Blaise, their co-leader and Dazai’s trusted second in command.

Blaise made up his mind and looked at them with a grim expression.

“I’m calling an emergency meeting in the office. Get the twins and meet me there immediately.”

They nodded in unison and set off in different directions.

-

Their office had its usual familiar look, but one thing was out of place: Dazai was gone. The room appeared to be much more dull without him.

“Alright, this is my plan of action.” Blaise tapped the chalkboard.

“Hermione and Ron, you’re both in charge of looking for relevant information from the library. This will hopefully allow us to know exactly what we are really dealing with.

Draco, I’ll have you team up with Pansy and ask the other students for clues. Try to keep Dazai’s name out of it so they don’t become uncooperative. Take note of anything that could pertain to our situation and report back to me with your findings.

Fred and George, I’d like for the two of you to investigate around the school. Your knowledge of secret passageways should prove to be useful.

I’m going to collect all of the information you guys gather and try to piece the puzzle together. Everyone’s cooperation is very important for this to work out. Let’s meet here before curfew each night to bring forth our findings.”

“Sounds good.” Hermione stood up. “Ron and I will head to the library immediately.”

Ron nodded and stood up as well. The two of them quickly made their way out of the office. There was no sense in wasting time when their friend could be in danger.

“I’ll go look for Pansy, then. Any idea on where she could be, second in command?” Draco asked.

“I can help with that.” Fred pulled out the marauder's map. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!”

The map revealed itself. The name Parkinson, P was located on the Slytherin common rooms.

“Thanks. I’ll go get her now.” Draco hurried out after grabbing a notepad and pen off of the desk.

“Well, I guess Fred and I will patrol around the school and see if we can find anything suspicious.” George assured.

“Sounds good.” Blaise huffed. He tried his best to keep up with his usual blank expression, but his stiff shoulders easily gave him away. There was no hiding the worry he felt from the others.

“Blaise.” Fred put a hand on his shoulder. “We will get Dazai back!”

“Yeah! Have a little more faith in our boss. I’m sure he’s just fine.” George chimed in.

Blaise’s shoulders slightly loosened up and he forced on a smile. “You’re right. I trust Dazai.”

The twins nodded confidently and waved as they wandered out of the room.

The door closed, and Blaise felt himself collapse on the couch.

Dazai was gone and he couldn’t protect him. He overthought for a few more minutes before he got an idea.

“Instead of just sitting here, I’ll go press the professors for more information.” Blaise sat up. In an unknown situation, the best place to start is wherever you can.

He knew the professors knew something about what was happening. The question is: would they be willing to tell him?

“I’ll start with the headmistress.” After one more glance around the room, Blaise made his way out and shut the door behind him.

-

Once Fred and George were outside of the hounds’ office, they slumped their shoulders. Trying to stay visibly strong for the others wasn’t easy, however, that was what big brothers are supposed to do.

“Dazai is fine… yeah?”

“Yeah… he’s gotta be. We will get him back… right?”

“Right. I think we should start our investigation in the dungeons. Hopefully we can find clues there.”

“Good idea.”

-

Back to the alternate universe…

“This is the library.” Hermione pointed.

“I know Hermione, I’ve been here like a million times.”

“Oh… right…” She awkwardly giggled as she held the door open for Dazai.

When he walked in, he breathed in the air of a place he had sort of grown fond of. There was one difference though… The library was full of students.

He eyed the scene distastefully. He was used to it being empty thanks to it being a regular location for the demon student.

He clicked his tongue before quickly walking to a seat.

The high bookshelves filled with books stared back at him. Where to start?

“How about this section? It’s for ‘strange phenomena within the wizarding world.’”

Dazai smirked. “See, this is why I like having you around.”

Hermione returned the smile, feeling proud.

…

They were silent for a while as they combed through a stack of books that seemed promising at first.

Each time one of them thought they might’ve found something, they were immediately disappointed by the lack of information.

“This is getting us nowhere.” Dazai sighed as he closed yet another book.

“Don’t give up yet, Dazai. We’ve got this!”

He admired her confidence and perseverance.

“Hermione, this is where you’ve gone. Why am I not surprised?” The boy with the glasses from earlier appeared in front of them, with Ron at his side.

Seeing Ron at anyone’s side other than Dazai’s made him slightly irritated.

‘Ron is MY dog…’ he thought bitterly, but kept a smile on his face despite his thoughts.

“You’re still with that death eater.” Ron scoffed.

“Hey Ron! Did you miss me?”

“Why would I-?” He paused, bewildered.

“Let’s cut to the chase.” Dazai motioned for the two Gryffindors to sit down across from him. After they obliged, reluctantly, Dazai folded his hands.

“Now then, Ron, let’s skip to the part where we make our deal. You make a bunch of rules for me to follow in order to be your friend, then I proceed to break every single one, but you love me too much to leave me, and then you join my gang!”

“Join your gang-?”

“So is that a deal?”

Ron watched Dazai curiously for a moment. “What’s in it for me?”

Hermione huffed angrily at Ron, but the ginger boy half ignored it.

“Just like before, I’ll let you see my…” His owl! He didn’t have his owl!

“Your…?”

“I forgot, I don’t have my owl here.” Dazai admitted. “That was the bargaining chip I used in my universe.”

“You bought my friendship… with an owl?” Ron raised a brow. Don’t tell me, is this guy not into owls?!

“You even named her Featherbrain.”

“I’d never choose such a name!”

“That’s not the point, the point is you’re my friend! What is it going to take for you to be friends with me again?”

Ron stared at Dazai, seeming to not budge.

“Ron, come on! Dazai is a nice boy!” Hermione pushed.

Oh great, not the ‘nice’ crap again. Just the thought made Dazai’s face twist in disgust. He quickly placed his smiling mask back on before the others noticed.

“So you’re friends with Ron in your universe? Then what about me?” The boy with the glasses spoke.

“I don’t know you. I’ve never seen you before. You don’t attend Hogwarts in my universe.” Dazai responded with a raised brow.

The boy was surprised to hear that. “Oh, I see….”
He put his hand to his chin. “Ah, well, I’m Harry Potter. You’re Dazai, right?”

Dazai nodded and they shook hands.

“So, other than myself not attending Hogwarts, what else is different in your universe?”

So many things… “Well, the library is usually pretty empty.”

“I wonder why that is!” Hermione gasped.

“Yeah, it's a real mystery.” Dazai shrugged. He wasn’t sure if he should tell anyone about what his universe was really like.

He was public enemy number 1, and many feared him. As far as this universe goes, everyone is completely oblivious, for now. He could use this to his advantage.

“You said professor Snape was your favorite professor… Why is that?”

“Because.” Dazai started. Wait, why was professor Snape his favorite again? “He’s a sore loser, which is pretty funny to me. Also, he’s really fun to mess with! Brew an awful potion, and he makes the funniest face!

He can be a real pain though sometimes, especially when it comes to meddling in my personal life. I have enough people motherhenning me already, I don’t need him doing it too.”

The three listened to him, interested. “Doesn’t sound like the Snape here! Just the other day he smacked me on the back of my head for talking in class!” Ron sighed.

“Yeah, and he very obviously hates me. I swear he’s had it out for me since last year!” Harry spoke up next.

“He’s mean to everyone except for Slytherins.” Hermione said.

“In my universe, he’s moody to everyone, including Slytherins. Well, to everyone except me. He’s also softening up towards my friends. Weird guy… Although he’s not physical with anyone, he just makes angry faces and yells.”

“Lucky…” Ron pouted.

It is rather curious. If Snape had never met Dazai in his universe, would he be different?

Would his Snape have more physical punishments if he didn’t ‘know’ about Dazai’s home life?

He’d better try not to get on this Snape’s bad side too much while he’s here. The thought of seeing Snape smack a kid on the back of the head made him giddy, though.

“I’m so glad to have a few of my friends back.” Dazai sighed dramatically and laid his arms and head on the table.

“I didn’t agree to be friends with you, mate.” Ron scowled. “But, I suppose, maybe I could try to give you a chance since Hermione seems to like you.”

Well that was easier than expected…

Dazai sat up and looked Ron in the eyes. “Is this the part where you give me rules to follow in order to be your friend?”

“Ron will do no such thing!” Hermione scoffed and glared at Ron.

Harry chuckled and smiled at Dazai. “I guess this means we should be friends as well.”

Oh… becoming friends with a complete stranger? He didn’t even know this guy yet, but he seemed like an easy enough dog to train.

He returned the smile and nodded. “Sure.” The more allies here, the better.

“Oh, it looks like it’s time for dinner.” Hermione pointed to the clock. “I’ll put the ones we didn’t get to right here so we can read through them later.”

Dammit, he didn’t find any useful information. “Fine.” He sighed as he stood up.

The three Gryffindors were surprised that Dazai didn’t know his way around the school.

“Are we sure this guy wasn’t just lying to us?” Ron whispered, but Dazai overheard every word.

“I asked my Hermione to make me a map, but she still hasn’t done that yet.” Ok, so he didn’t ask her outright, per se, but he did insinuate that he needed one. It’s not his fault that she couldn’t read minds.

“I dunno… still suspicious.” Ron raised a brow and dazai giggled.

The great hall was abuzz with lots of chatter. Happy students were lined along the benches, filling their plates with food.

The Professors at their table noticed Dazai and his friends walk in, so they watched him curiously.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron all took their seats. Dazai stood awkwardly behind them.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Hermione patted the bench next to her.

“Ah, well…”

“Is that the boy we’ve heard about?” George spoke with his mouth full.

“He’s Slytherin, isn’t he?” Fred added as he looked Dazai up and down.

“Hey Fred and George! How are my favorite big brothers doing?”

Fred dropped his fork and George looked at Dazai confused. “Big brothers…?”

“Yeah! In my universe, both of you became my self appointed big brothers. We’ve pulled so many pranks together.”

They looked at each other, seeming to communicate telepathically.

“Well, Slytherin from another universe, why don’t you sit down and join us?”

“We'd love to hear all about the pranks we’ve pulled together.”

“Now hold on just a minute.” Percy spoke up.

All eyes turned to him and he cleared his throat.

“Alternate universe or not, a Slytherin should be sitting at the Slytherin table.”

“Aww, but my favorite prefect has had no problem bending the rules for me before.” Dazai whined and Percy’s eyes went wide.

“I’m your favorite prefect?”

“You think I’d honestly like Gemma?” Dazai mimed gagging.

Curious…

Percy watched him for a moment but was startled back to attention by all of the unaccepting glares from the other Gryffindors.

“I’m sorry, Mr…”

“Dazai.”

“Mr. Dazai. I’m sorry, but I can’t allow you to sit here. It would cause uneasiness for my other housemates, and I, as the prefect of Gryffindor, have to keep their best interests at heart.”

“Percy-.” Ron pleaded. Was he warming up to Dazai, or was he just wanting to keep a close eye on him?

“It’s fine, no need to apologize.” Dazai grinned. “I understand. No hard feelings.”

He turned his back to the Gryffindor students and walked away, despite his friends' protests.

He could understand where Percy was coming from. He hasn’t overcome the intense house rivalries in this universe yet, and these things shouldn’t be rushed.

After all, what United the houses in his universe was a common goal: eliminate the demon student.

This is only his first day here. The most important thing right now is to find a way back home as soon as possible, while also keeping himself safe.

Two objectives… he will have to start with making allies.

He walked to the Slytherin table and was met with unwelcoming eyes.

“Dazai, was it?” Draco asked, irritated.

“Aww, Draco remembers his friend’s name! That’s a good sign!” Dazai cheered.

“Cut the crap!” Pansy spoke up. Dazai shot a blank smile at her.

“I honestly couldn’t care less about what Pansy says.”

“Why you-“

“You can’t sit here with us.” Draco crossed his arms. “Why don’t you go sit with your Gryffindor friends, traitor.”

“They wouldn’t let me sit there…” Dazai whined as he switched to his second tactic. “And I was only hanging out with them per your orders… boss.” He smirked.

Draco perked up at that. “Boss…?”

“Yes! My boss! You ordered me to keep tabs on Gryffindor and report back to you with my findings… oh wait…” Dazai pretended to go into deep thought.

“I guess, that’s just our universe then? Aww, that means I went through establishing trust with them for nothing.” He sighed, dramatically. “Just kill me now, then. Get it over with. I failed you, my very own boss!” He whined.

Draco’s expression softened up a bit but Pansy and Blaise noticed.

“Draco… don’t fall for it! I don’t trust this guy one bit.” Pansy scowled at Dazai.

Blaise only eyed him with a curious, almost amused look. Dazai made a point to wink at him, but since one eye was covered, it only looked like Dazai was blinking.

Still, Blaise seemed to catch it. His eyes fell half lidded as he let them roam Dazai’s frame, searching for clues. All he could see, though, was a boy who was too thin for his height while covered in bandages.

“Let’s at least hear him out.” Draco spoke again.

“You can’t be serious? Hey, Mummy boy, why are you calling Draco ‘boss’, anyways?”

“Because he was so gracious and kind to take in a Slytherin muggle born such as myself.”

“You’re a mudblood?!” Pansy shrieked, catching the attention of the rest of the Slytherins. They eyed him, viscously.

Oh shit… he didn’t think about the fact that slytherins hated him to begin with because he was a muggle born.

Blaise looked in his eye, looking almost concerned.

“It’s ok though! Boss said as long as I serve him, I’d be fine.” Dazai clapped his hands together.

The other students looked to Draco for the go ahead to jump him, but Draco appeared conflicted.

“Get out of here!” Pansy threw a tangerine at Dazai.

There was a part of Dazai’s brain that was screaming ‘Danger! Danger! Get away!’ He decided to trust his instincts.

He picked up the tangerine and carefully set it back on Pansy’s plate.

“Ok, I’ll leave you all alone.” He said with his mask perfectly in place.

“Wait.” Blaise spoke up and every eye at the Slytherin table shot to him. “Shouldn’t you eat first? You don’t want to go to bed hungry.”

“Oh I’m fine. I had a big lunch.” He lied. He didn’t eat a whole lot in each sitting. The only reason he even ate at all was because of Blaise.

He didn’t believe him for a second. The smaller boy’s skinny frame spoke for him.

Before Blaise could object, Dazai turned on his heel and walked out of the great hall. Every eye in the room turned to watch him leave, surprised.

Among those eyes were the eyes of the professors.

“That’s your cue.” Dumbledore reminded.

“Fine.” Snape sighed as he stood up. ‘Where the hell does this child think he’s going?’

…

Dazai found the nearest bathroom and locked himself in a stall. He sat down and pulled his knees to his chest with a huff.

The floor felt cold underneath him, but he didn’t care. The bathroom was silent, and he was able to collect his thoughts after everything that’s happened so far today.

Sucking up to others was painfully exhausting. He hated every second of it. Unfortunately for him, no one here trusted him and he had to stay on their good side until he knew he was safe.

Still… those are his subordinates! He worked so hard to train his dogs right, all for it to amount to absolutely nothing here!

Ron loosening up to him almost right away surprised him… but he did mention something about Hermione. I guess those two established a better relationship during these few years.

Draco was an ever growing pain, so the tactic was to do exactly what he did in the beginning of year one with his own Draco.

Pansy will be a difficult hurdle to overcome, however. She seems to be in his ear about everything, manipulating him in Dazai’s place.

Then there’s Blaise, who appeared concerned for him. Why is that?

And this Harry Potter kid… just who is he? Why didn’t he attend Hogwarts in his universe? This mystery character caused Dazai to keep himself on guard. Who knows what this guy is capable of.

He decided the best course of action would be to get closer to Harry and learn as much as he can.

This is going to be a lot of hard work… Dazai would appreciate it if someone could just come and kill him already. Or maybe he should just try to end it all himself? After all, Mori isn’t here to stop him.

He sighed loudly as he put his head on his knees. This is exhausting…

The bathroom door opening snapped Dazai out of his thoughts. He stiffened and held himself perfectly still as he listened to the footsteps growing closer to him. His heart started pounding and he held his breath.

Who is out there? What did they want?

“Mr.Dazai?” A familiar voice called out.

The boy shuffled to his feet and opened the stall. Snape watched as one single crimson eye peeked out through the crack.

“Sir?” He asked.

“I was just checking on you.” Snape said.

“Oh, I’m fine professor, I just needed to use the restroom.” He opened the stall door all the way and walked over to the sinks. He’d better wash his hands since he pretended to be using the restroom.

“I see. Well, since dinner is just about over now, the other professors and I would like to have a meeting with you in the headmaster’s office.”

“Alright.” Dazai nodded as he put soap in his hands.

“I’ll wait outside the door.” Snape turned his back to him and walked out, which caused Dazai to feel a mix of emotions.

He wasn’t like the Snape from his universe. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

This Snape wasn’t asking him uncomfortable questions about his home life or his self harming… he honestly couldn’t care less.

It was a good thing… a good thing indeed…

Definitely!

He looked at himself in the mirror with a frown. It’s not often that he looks at himself. The bandages over his left eye were an eye sore, but they were somehow fitting for him.

His brown hair had grown greasy from his lack of bathing in recent days. The dark circles under his exposed eye weren’t doing anything good for him, either.

He looked tired. He looked unsightly.

And yet, Snape didn’t care.

It was a good thing! No more meddlesome professors or mothering friends.

A very good thing…

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Overthinking isn’t going to change anything. He took a deep breath and put his game face back on. Time for a meeting with the professors, which would most likely turn into something extremely annoying.

He squared his shoulders and walked out of the bathroom.

-

Professor Snape whispered some sort of password to the headmaster's office and they were able to get through with no issues.

When they arrived, Dazai found himself surrounded by professors yet again.

This time, however, he was in an entirely different world. Who knows what will happen.

“Ah, so this is Mr. Dazai. Pleased to meet you.” Dumbledore smiled which caused Dazai to grimace.

His dislike for Dumbledore was apparent to everyone in the room, but the old man just laughed it off. Snape glared at the boy, seeming to take offense.

“Sir, can we just cut to the chase already? Why did you send for me to meet you here?”

The other professors stared wide-eyed at Dazai. Did he actually just ask that of Dumbledore? The audacity!

The man chuckled and put his elbows on his desk. He set his chin on his folded hands and stared at Dazai with an assessing eye.

“The reason I called you in here was to determine what action Hogwarts would take about your arrival.”

“What action?”

“Yes. If I determine you to be a threat, you’ll promptly be kicked out. The safety of our students is our top priority.” Dumbedore started.

That’s nothing but bullshit…

“However, if I determine that you are no threat and really are from an alternate universe, then we shall resume your school life as normal until we can figure out a way to send you back home.”

Dazai nodded along. “Hmm, figures that you’d come up with something like that.”

“Oh? Why do you say that?”

“Because you’re pretty good at reading people, isn’t that right?”

“Guilty.” Dumbledore smiled.

“Albus, this kid doesn’t seem safe.” One professor started.

“We should kick him out immediately.” Another chimed in.

“Hold on a moment.” Dumbledore raised a hand.

“I’m in agreement with Albus.” Lockhart stepped up and stood right in front of Dazai. The boy took a step back, seemingly disgusted.

His reaction amused Snape. Seems that insufferable Gilderoy has enemies in the other universe, too.

“I propose we interview the boy. We can get to know him better by asking questions.” Lockhart held up a notebook and a shiny gold pen. This guy definitely had an ulterior motive.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Dumbledore agreed.

“But Albus, what if he lies?” Mcgonagall asked. She’s always been a good judge of character as well.

“We will cross that bridge when we get to that.” Dumbledore looked down at Dazai once again. “When did you start attending Hogwarts in your universe?”

“When my first year started last year.”

“You’re in slytherin, correct?”

“Yes sir.”

“Is it true that the professor Snape of your universe is your favorite professor?”

Snape choked on his own spit and started coughing uncontrollably. Dazai looked at him with a curious but amused eye.

“Yes sir, he is.” He replied without taking his eye off of Snape.

“And why is that?”

“Um, why are you asking me this?”

“It's just a simple curiosity.” Dumbledore hummed.

What is Dumbledore playing at here? Surely a man as calculated as himself would only ask questions that he had reason to ask.

Dazai’s eye squinted a bit as he tried to assess Dumbledore. All he found though, was an amused old man with a mask as tight as his own.

Dazai and Dumbledore were playing a game right now… A game of chess? A game of Shogi? Who knows… The specifics didn’t matter, Dazai just needed to win.

Would telling the truth be in his favor here? Something in his gut was telling him it would benefit him, despite how much he hates talking about himself.

Let the mask slip a bit for a better outcome… that totally goes against how he was raised. Some opponents sure could be interesting sometimes.

“Well, Professor Snape is a sore loser!” He already figured out what he liked about professor Snape, so all he had to do now was regurgitate the information.

He glanced over at Snape once more who glared at him. Dazai giggled in response and decided to keep going.

“I went to his house during winter break and we played cards! I made bets and whenever he lost, he’d get so frustrated! It was hilarious!”

Dumbledore’s face shifted a bit when Dazai mentioned that he went to Snape’s house. Seems the two of them were closer than he thought.

“Also, he’s really fun to piss off! Every time I’d brew an awful potion, he’d make the funniest face!”

“Playing jokes on your professors isn’t something to laugh about, boy.” Dumbledore lectured half heartedly. He was growing more amused by the second.

“Oh it’s fine, he gets me back. Like when I brewed a perfect potion and changed it to make it better, he not only gave me a perfect grade, but he gave me extra credit as well! It really hurt my standing as the perfect slacker!”

Snape’s glare fell a bit and he perked up. A second year brewing a perfect potion…?

“Do you brew those often?” Dumbledore asked, reading Snape’s expression.

“No, only when I purposefully get detention so that Snape will pay more attention to me.”

“Professor Snape to you!” Snape bit out under his breath, while the other Professors glanced around at each other.

Dumbledore smiled wide and nodded. “You’ll be staying in the Slytherin common rooms tonight. There are a few spare beds.”

Oh… Dazai passed the test?

Thinking it over, Dazai realized exactly what just happened. Dumbledore was baiting Dazai for information about his stay at Hogwarts. The only lead he has was the fact that he’s close with Snape.

He wanted to know just how close in order to determine if what Dazai spoke was fact or not. This man is definitely clever, just as Dazai thought.

“Sir, how in the world did you determine if he’s legit-?”

“Because I just know.” Dumbledore sighed. “Curfew begins soon, so you best be on your way now.”

Dazai nodded cautiously before leaving the room. He spared one more curious glance to Snape before shutting the door behind him.

“Severus, I’d still like you to keep an eye on the boy. Same with the rest of you. If any issues shall arise, come to myself or Severus immediately. You’re all dismissed.”

Snape felt irritated. There is no way in hell he’d be nice to a student! Although, Mr. Dazai did seem like the type to worm his way into people’s hearts. Apparently he had become friends with Mr. Malfoy and several Gryffindors in his universe as proof of that.

He sighed as he made his way back to his room.

Huh, that was strange… was he getting a headache?

-

Back in Dazai’s main universe…

“Hermione and Ron, what is your report?”

“Nothing.” Ron whined.

“But I have a feeling we are close to our first clue! We’ve gone through several fascinating books in the ‘strange phenomena within the wizarding world’ section of the library. It shouldn’t be much longer before we find something new.”

“Thanks for your report. Draco, did you and Pansy find anything?”

“We asked several students if they had seen anything strange, but none of them mentioned anything about a yellow portal or people going missing. We plan on asking around tomorrow as well.”

“Thanks for trying... Fred and George? Did you two find anything?”

“We searched all around the school-.” Fred started.

“But the only thing that stood out to us was something in Professor Snape’s classroom.” George finished for him.

“What was it?” Blaise asked.

“We messed around with the lights for a bit.”

“It took a few times before we actually noticed it-.”

“Very small yellow particles floating around in the air.”

“And they were swirling all around.”

“That spot you said Dazai disappeared at was the center of the swirling.”

Blaise put his hand to his chin in thought. “I asked the professors about this situation earlier, and after much pushing, the only thing they’d reveal to me is that the magic in our school has been unstable lately. Apparently the magic grows unstable when two different realities start to collide in a way.

The portal opened up as a result and Dazai was taken to the universe that’s pressing against our own.

If what you said is true about the particles, then chances are that the portal could open again! We have to figure out how to get it to open back up so we can get Dazai back.”

“Do you think Dazai could have reached this conclusion as well?” Hermione inquired.

“Knowing Dazai, I’m sure he will. Thank you all for the updates today. Let’s continue to work just as hard tomorrow too. This meeting is adjourned. Curfew is soon.”

Ron stood and stretched his arms above his head. “Man, I’m tired from all of that reading.” He waved to Blaise and Draco as he walked out with the twins and Hermione.

“It’s good to stay diligent! Who knows what Dazai is facing out there by himself.” Hermione scolded Ron as she closed the door behind her.

Draco’s smile dropped as soon as the others were gone and he turned to Blaise. “Hey, are you doing ok?”

Blaise looked him in the eyes for a moment before sighing and putting his forehead in his hand. “I’m worried… and stressed...”

“Make sure you get some much needed rest.” Draco patted his back. “I have a feeling that Dazai is fine. He’d probably be upset if you put your health in jeopardy to save him.”

“I know.”

“Blaise, if it gets to be too much, you can talk to me. We are all in this together.”

“Thanks.”

“We should probably get back before curfew.” Draco started towards the door. “You coming?”

“I think I’m going to sleep in here tonight.”

Draco looked surprised for a second before his face shifted to a fond smile. “Alright then. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Once Draco had left, Blaise laid on the couch and listened to the silence.

He stared at the chalkboard, written all over in white chalk.

It was nice to have a bit more information and it was good to know that the portal can be opened again.

‘But how?’ Was the question currently pressing in Blaise’s mind.

After several hours of searching, they only came up with this much. Hopefully they'll find more tomorrow.

Blaise worked through so many scenarios and theories in his mind and he didn’t sleep a wink that night.

-

In the alternate universe…

When Dazai walked into the Slytherin common rooms, he was met with a large group of angry Slytherins. Were all of them in the room at that moment?!

“Oh, hey guys.” He awkwardly giggled. He did not want to get beat up here. If they tried, he COULD just stab someone. Fear is a good motivator… for keeping them away from him, that is.

Oh who was he kidding? If he stabbed someone, he’d not only be kicked out but also arrested! He’d never get home at this rate. He could just kill himself, unless these people could manage to kill him first…

Part of him felt uneasy about dying in another universe, though. Would that mess the afterlife up for him?

Plan C it is…

“Draco!” Dazai cheered as he made his way over to the blonde.

Draco glared down at him. This didn’t seem good.

“Hey, friend.” He tried again.

Draco didn’t budge. “We have been wanting to talk to you.”

“Well I’m all ears for what my boss has to say to me!”

Draco’s eyes twitched a bit when he heard ‘boss.’ This guy is so easy to manipulate, is what Dazai thought. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t the one doing the manipulating this time.

“Did you decide on what we should do with this Mudblood?” Pansy growled.

Before Draco could speak, Crabbe and Goyle were holding Dazai’s shoulders down. This brought back a painful memory…

“What are you-?” Draco started.

“Let me handle this.” Pansy stuck her arm out in front of him.

“Pansy...” Blaise put his hand on her shoulder but she shook it off.

“Pansy! We need to think rationally-.”

“Shut up! He’s obviously trying to manipulate you, Draco!”

Maybe she’s not as stupid as she looks…

Despite Draco’s protests, she walked closer to Dazai with a scowl.

“Tell us what you are doing here! Depending on your answer, we might just let you go.”

“Pansy, you already know what I’m doing here. I got sent here from an alternate universe. A random portal appeared below my feet and-.”

Pain. Hot pain filled his cheek. His head was thrown to the side… surely he’d have some vertigo from this.

Dammit… Why did this have to happen AGAIN?!

“I don’t buy it!” Pansy squeaked loudly.

“Draco, I’m being serious. In my universe, you and I are-.” Another punch.

Dazai felt a familiar liquid quickly ooze out of his nose. He knew the blood would be staining his shirt. The more they hit him, the more difficult this is going to be to cover up.

He looked at Draco with a pleading eye, but the boy looked sort of conflicted. Dazai knew he was indecisive… Unfortunately, that wasn’t helping him in this situation.

“Blaise!” Dazai pleaded. The boy’s eyes widened slightly for a second at his name being called out. They made eye contact for a few moments before Blaise put a better grip on Pansy’s shoulder.

“Stop, Pansy.” He spoke firmly. He looked at Draco with an irritated look.

“Pansy, I decided how I’m going to deal with this guy.” Draco snapped out of his stupor.

He walked forward to stand beside Pansy.

“We are letting him go for now.”

“What?!” She shrieked.

“He had a meeting with the professors. If he had somehow won them over, then this situation isn’t going to look good for us. You’re forgetting that he’s been trying to manipulate professor Snape, too.”

“Professor Snape would never fall for such a trick! And besides, your father could just-.”

“We need to be smart about this.” Draco pleaded. She stomped, cursed, and signaled for Crabbe and Goyle to let Dazai go.

He fell to his knees and cupped his cheek. This situation was very annoying.

“Everyone, we are going to keep an eye on him for now. But, if he proves to be plotting something nefarious, then we will put him down immediately.” Draco announced.

The other Slytherins looked angry but backed off a bit.

“You, filthy mudblood.” Draco called out and Dazai lifted his head to make eye contact. “You better watch yourself.” He warned and walked to the dorm rooms.

All of the Slytherins retreated to their dorms after making one last threatening glare to him… everyone except Blaise who gave him a bored but curious look as he followed after Draco.

Dazai was alone, in pain.

His nose had crusted up enough to stop bleeding and it didn’t feel broken, which was good. It still hurts like hell, though.

This spot on his cheek would surely bruise. He’d have to steal some makeup to cover it up.

He sighed and stood, weakly. His head was spinning uncontrollably and he struggled to walk to the bathroom.

He was pleased to find that his sweater vest caught all of the blood, leaving his white shirt untouched.

He immediately started scrubbing the sweater vest in the sink. He remembered his Ron and Hermione in that moment…

“How am I supposed to get this blood off of my shirt?” Ron had whined.

“Soap and cold water.” Hermione and Dazai both said in unison.

Was their telepathy finally working or did he just do that good of a job training his dogs?

“How do you know that? Ron asked.

Hermione’s face flushed and she shouted “None of your business!”

Dazai had gotten blood out of clothes plenty of times! Most of the time it was his own blood… other times… “None of your business.” He mimicked Hermione, playfully.

“Ok then…” Ron gave them both a weird look.

Dazai cleaned the blood off his face and managed to get the stain out of his vest, too. He hung it up to dry and looked at himself in the mirror once more, which made twice in one day...

It was weird… he’d built a type of trust with both his Draco and his Blaise. Seeing them today…

He felt sick to his stomach. He felt… betrayed? But how could he feel betrayed when these weren’t even his real friends?

His breathing picked up and his heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest.

He had gotten cocky. Ron was somehow easier to win over but Draco was more difficult to budge. What was he missing? What could end up happening to him?

His hands itched for something to do. Something to fidget with. Something to cut.

He flicked out his knife and held it above his arm.

“Whenever these urges to hurt yourself arise, I need you to seek out a professor. Preferably either myself or Madam Pomfrey.” His Snape had said during his first year at Hogwarts.

Why was this popping into his mind now? This Snape wasn’t his and madam pomfrey was petrified…

Wait, in this universe…?

It doesn’t matter!

He promptly pushed away from the sink, closing his knife and putting it back into his pocket.

He needed to get out of here before he ended up hurting himself again. A change of scenery should help… right?

-

Sneaking out of the slytherin common rooms was very easy to do at night. He kind of pitied the other houses for that reason.

As he walked down the hallway with quiet footsteps, he rubbed in the makeup he swiped from the girls bathroom before leaving. He was thankful for a second time that there was a student with the same skin tone as him.

The air was cold and he shivered. He didn’t have his cloak to cover him this time, and it was colder at night. Damn Snape for taking it away!

He walked until he stopped by a familiar door.

The door to Snape’s office. Did his feet unconsciously bring him here?

“I need you to seek out a professor immediately.” Snape’s words echoed.

He refused to tell Snape that he wanted to hurt himself right now, however, Snape could serve as a good distraction until these feelings go away.

This wasn’t his Snape, but the man was pretty easy to win over in his universe…

But this isn’t his universe…

Ron was different, and so was Draco… There’s even a student here that wasn’t even in Dazai’s universe. This unknown difference caused him to feel uneasy. What else was different?

Deep in thought, he was startled when the door started to open…