The Quantum Mirror
Harry Potter, Lone Traveler, looked curiously at the artifact that had been explained to him.
He had arrived at Stargate Command during a major crisis. It was a variant on a world he had visited very rarely, but he recognized that these people very often did help prevent the end of the world.
And although, he had helped with the current crisis, there seemed something … left out.
At odds end, he had accepted the tour that he had been offered of SG1. This included a view of a collection of artifacts. Harry was fascinated by the Quantum Mirror that was scheduled to be sent to Area 51 at the end of the month.
"How does it work?" Harry asked the SG1 team curiously.
Most of them looked at each other and shrugged. Daniel commented, "I just felt through it. I didn't get the instruction manual."
Harry chuckled. "You must have some idea."
Sam Carter replied, "Not really. We realize that there might be some system to control it, but we haven't tried. It was deemed dangerous enough that experimenting with it was deemed to dangerous for SG1. They may try testing it at Area 51, but it will be far from here."
Harry stepped forward. Jack cried out, "Careful!"
Harry turned and grinned. "You do remember who and what I am, right?" Jack looked blank for a moment so Harry added, "Not tied to a dimension? Travels to alternate dimensions all the time? You know – not someone who has to be worried about being stuck anywhere?"
At that, SG1's eyes lit up. Jack looked sheepish. "True. I kind of forgot."
Harry chuckled. "Don't worry. If I decided to try it, I'm probably one of the only beings in any universe that could do it safely – I can safely exist in the same universe as a dimensional alternate for weeks and months without fear of possible damage. That was something that seemed to limit travel, right?"
"From the very small amount of information we have, yes," Daniel said.
Harry nodded. "Let me try something."
Jack asked nervously, "You aren't going to cast any of your hocus-pocus, right? We don't know what that would do."
Harry rolled his eyes. "No. I'm just going to talk to it."
Jack looked at the other members of SG1. No one had a particular objection, so Jack motioned Harry to go ahead.
"Show me a world I've been to," he said to the Mirror.
Jack exclaimed, "What did you say?" even as the Mirror changed to view another world.
Harry turned. "What do you mean? I spoke English."
Daniel shook his head. "No. It sounded … well it sounded kind of like Latin."
Harry was surprised. "Wow. That usually only happens when I speak the language of snakes."
"Language of Snakes?" Teal'c asked curiously.
"Yeah. I can talk to snakes and reptiles – the product of a magical phenomenon when I was young. When I talk it or hear it, it sounds like sibilant English to me. Sounds like hissing to anyone who doesn't speak Parseltongue."
Teal'c considered this. "For a moment I thought this might be a language that the False Gods might speak as they look like snakes, but I have never heard one sound so."
Harry shrugged. "I'll try it the next time I run into one," he said with a grin.
Daniel was curious. "What did you ask?"
"To see a world I've been to."
SG1 looked suddenly comprehending. Jack said, "Well, try again. Ask to see a world that is too dangerous to visit."
Harry shrugged and did as asked. The view from the mirror looked quite inhospitable. Harry guessed that this was a world which was far too gone for his skills to assist. "Yeah. Don't want to go there."
Harry had a sudden idea he turned to his hosts. "If this works, I'm going through. I'm going to ask for a world I haven't been to that needs my help. If it changes to such a world, I'm going to try going through. If it works – it's been nice visiting and helping you guys."
Jack replied for all of them. "And we appreciate the help. Feel free to stop by again anytime." Harry nodded and shook each one's hand. Mischievously, he gave Sam Carter a full hug before quickly stepping back. She blushed a bit.
Harry had been tempted to cop a kiss or even a small feel – Samantha Carter was gorgeous after all – but they weren't close enough for her not to take offense. So he withheld himself. Even if it would have been kind of funny to see her get all flustered and slap him.
What could he say? He was a guy. And she had felt quite womanly in his arms – so yay for the hug even if he limited himself.
With a jaunty wave, Harry made the request and a world came into view. For some reason, it looked grayer than the others they had seen. But Harry didn't let that stop him. He quickly stepped forward and put his hand on the mirror. And suddenly he was gone. The SG1 contemplated that for a moment, noting the Mirror had lit up when in use – and then suddenly went back to normal. They put the cover back on and went back to their normal routine.
Sam was torn by being annoyed by their visitor having taken liberties – she had seen his amused look after the hug – and disappointed he hadn't taken it farther. It had felt quite nice in his arms, after all. She was also kind of amused by the flash of jealousy on Jack's face. It made her feel more womanly for just a moment.
Harry looked around at the empty field he had arrived at. Immediately he knew – there was something wrong with this place. He didn't know what it was, but he had never been to a universe which felt more … off … than the one he had just landed in. He stood there for a moment, contemplating just what was making him feel so uncomfortable.
As he did this, alarms and alerts were occurring in several places around the globe.
...
In the Vatican, a long-darkened seal lit up briefly, even as a saddened elderly man sat there, contemplating it. The brief light caused the old man to sit up and take notice. That seal had been darkened centuries ago – and had occurred when a massive, negative change had been felt by one of his predecessors.
His predecessors had tried for decades to repair the problem – but there had been no change. For it to light – even briefly – gave him hope, unlooked for: Something very new … or very old … was in the world.
...
At a Law Firm in another city half a world away, one of the senior lawyers listened as the Senior Partners had called and cried out a warning. He had been ordered to send out teams to investigate – using any means necessary. The Lawyer, who knew exactly who he worked for, quickly followed his orders. It was not good when the Wolf, Ram, and Hart were so disquieted.
...
On a more spiritual plane, the Powers That Be also felt the sudden shift in the world. While it did not cause them to suddenly feel pain or discomfort as it did the Senior Partners, it did feel as though a bit of their control was suddenly lost.
Long ago the Powers had locked out external influences, so that they could order this world as they felt appropriate. In constant struggle against the Senior Partners and their affiliates who tried to tip the balance toward Evil, the Powers That Be and their affiliates worked to maintain the balance, if not tip it toward Good.
To be perfectly honest, they had long ago left the idea of Good behind – regardless of their propaganda. Their goal was Balance. Give and take, winning and losing, Good and Evil – they could only maintain their control if there was a proper balance.
It was why they had negotiated the current Terms of Engagement with the Senior Partners.
Something, however, was changing things. They sent their Balance Demons out to investigate.
Harry was seriously feeling at odds in this place. Contemplating his next step, he concentrated on feeling for his connection to the Almighty so as to see if he could get some advice – or at least have a nice chat. He was shocked to find that that connection – one he had rarely used actively but always felt at the deepest level – seemed to be … muted. Blocked. Unavailable. This worried him greatly.
Taking his Holly Wand, Harry concentrated and cast a spell. His eyes widened as he noted that his Mmmr Patronus, instead of being of a golden color to show his connection to Aphrael, was just as pale and translucent as his Stag, which he also cast to verify.
This was very, very bad. He had never had his Divine connections blocked. He had an idea of why this Universe might need him. He tried one more thing: His Animagus form.
Changing into a phoenix, he started. And while it was difficult at first, he could see the effect of his Song on environment as he Sang. The grayish tint rolled back as though a film was removed – or reduced, anyway. It was still gray – but not quite as gray as it had been.
Knowing that he should not be caught unaware, he transported to a distance away and disillusioned himself, casting every privacy charm he knew. He then watched to see if anyone or anything showed up. Was this a world with a Wizarding world that could detect the magic he cast?
Seeing no immediate appearance of a wanded wizard or witch, Harry suspected there was no Wizarding community in this world.
After a while though, several vehicles appeared on the horizon and stopping in various places on the way, finally arrived very near the location he had cleansed somewhat with his Song. Harry noted that the vehicles did not go into the area – which was suspicious.
His suspicions were confirmed when he saw that the small trucks contained a mixture of humans and creatures which were not human. Suddenly, his eyes lit in recognition: Demons.
He was in a Buffy world – or so he hoped. If this was a world with Demons without a possibly known ally, he didn't know what he would do.
Concentrating on Sunnydale, or at least a local version of it, Harry concentrated and, thankfully, traveled …
Elsewhere in the Multiverse
Princess Danae of Elenia was sitting with her husband, Sir Talen; her mother, Queen Ehlana; and her father, Sir Sparhawk, Prince Consort and still, to his small annoyance, 'Temporary' Preceptor of the Pandion Order.
Ehlana and Danae were having fun teasing their respective husbands, as they broke fast for the day. For all of his worldliness, Talen still had some innocence and Danae often took advantage of it to keep him on his toes. Her father, Sparhawk, would watch this with amusement and allow his daughter her fun. And if it ensured Talen was kept respectful? Well, he had no problem with that.
Suddenly, Sparhawk noticed his daughter's eyes go wide, distant, and then worried in a very quick order. Signaling her, Sparhawk stood. "Okay. Talen? I need you to go to the Motherhouse and ensure that Khalad doesn't break too many more of my Pandions during their Lance training. Ehlana? I believe you have a meeting with the council – which I am going to beg off as I need to go into town to handle a few things. Will that be a problem, Majesty?"
Ehlana gave her husband a stern look and threw her bread at him. "You know I hate it when you start calling me that!"
Sparhawk grinned. "I know, Love. But the makeups afterword are always fun." On cue, Ehlana giggled, Danae rolled her eyes and Talen barely withheld his normal comment: "I did not need to hear that."
Pausing for a moment, "I hope that Danae can come with me?" Ehlana saw her daughter looking at her with expectant hope.
Ehlana rolled her eyes resignedly. "Go ahead. Steal our daughter again. Have fun." Danae squealed and, after quickly hugging her mother and giving her husband a thorough kiss, quickly went to dress for going into town. Sparhawk walked at a more sedate pace, following her. Talen and Ehlana watched.
Ehlana commented to Talen with a smile, "After all these years, Danae is still very much a daddy's girl. I think when she's seventy five and Queen, she'll still be a Daddy's girl."
Talen nodded. "I knew that when I married her. It's part of what makes her so adorable." He paused and gave his mother-in-law a slightly serious look. "Please don't repeat that to her. She knows I love her but if she turned up her adorableness any more than she normally does, I would be unable to operate."
Ehlana gave him a smirk. "I don't know, Talen. What can I get for keeping quiet?"
Talen sighed. "I've taught you far too well, Mum."
As soon as they were out of sight, Sparhawk quickly caught up to Danae. "What is it?" he asked. He had recognized the serious nature of her look.
Aphrael looked at her father with tears in her eyes, which startled him. "Someone's blocked my connection to Harry!" Seeing her truly upset, Sparhawk took the Goddess who had deigned to become his daughter into his arms to give her a bit of comfort. It took a moment for her to settle herself.
"I don't know how they did it – but Harry is somewhere that seems to block of my access to him. You know that it's love that keeps me going. Harry's is kind of a constant flow in the background – no matter where and when he is, in whatever dimension, I feel that little connection. It's still there – but muted. I need to go see Grandma to find out what's happening."
Sparhawk had long ago learned exactly who "Grandma" or "Grandpa" was. It had first been a bit shocking that there was a higher order of Godhood than he had been familiar with, but he eventually got over it. And so he nodded. "I'll sit with this body while you go visiting. Bring back something to justify it to your Mother and fix it with the Gate Guards. But go on and find out what's happening."
Danae nodded and, with Sparhawk turned away, split herself in the Danae and Aphrael in her Flute guise. Danae lay on her bed and Flute disappeared. Sparhawk sat and watched his sleeping daughter, worried.
Aphrael appeared near an older woman, sitting on a park bench, sewing. Looking up, she smiled. "Aphrael! What are you doing in town? She asked pleasantly.
"Grandma! Someone's blocking Harry!" she cried back in despair.
The lady's eyes widened as she replied, "Really? Now that's odd. Let me see what I can do."
Aphrael watched as her Grandma closed her eyes and concentrated. After along moment, her eyes opened and Aphrael could see the unhappiness on her face, as hidden as it was. The lady stood. "Come on, Dear. Let's go see what this is about."
Aphrael rushed forward and took her hand. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she concentrated.
Suddenly, in another place, two figures appeared. One was a small girl, beloved and feared by many in many places, and the other was a young man, serious of face, wearing a corduroy jacket and blue jeans. He walked forward, leading the girl, towards those he was visiting.
The two noticed and stood up. In unison they said, "Hello, Father."
"Hello, you two. I came to find out: Is there a reason why Our Traveler, Harry, seems to be blocked from Us?"
The two large figures sighed. If anyone had been present who knew the Weasley twins, they would have recognized the speech patterns.
"Sorry, Father, but Harry used"
"an Alteran Quantum Mirror."
"As soon as he did,"
"the connection cut."
"We don't know"
"exactly where he is."
The young man considered that. "What did he ask for?"
"A Universe where he hadn't visited"
"but that needed his help."
"We've been trying to locate him since"
"but we've had no success."
"We think that Harry is okay"
"and that he will fix the problem"
"but we were going to report"
"the anomaly to You."
In unison the two said, "Someone has hidden one of the worlds from all divine influence."
At that, the Creator of All was very much not happy. There could be few good reasons for such a thing and none of them made Him feel that this was anything that was good. Steps would have to be taken.
Concentrating, He called out, "Fawkes!"
Soon, a large bird appeared before the Creator, the two Elder Gods, and one of the youngest. "Fawkes? Can you find our Traveler?"
Fawkes opened his beak and trilled out a longish tune. God considered what he was being told. "You heard it for only a short time but it wasn't long enough to get a fix on it?"
Fawkes trilled in agreement.
God considered what he was told. "Okay. This is what I want you to do …" Fawkes listened carefully to his instructions.