There was one thing that all of the students of the Xavier Institute for the Gifted could say about the Danger Room. It kept them on their toes, and in fighting shape each and every moment they had trained in it. The programs were varied enough where they could expect the unexpected. Harry dodged a set of lasers, and tucked his head. He used his agility to roll out of the way. He deflected two of the blasts. His attack had knocked out the attacks.
It had been an interesting last few weeks at the Xavier Institute. Harry had never thought he would have been able to fit in that well. Yet, he found his way to a brand new home. He had a brand new life, with many of the same challenges.
He deflected two of the attacks. It was important to learn to work as part of a team, and not as a solo act.
"Kitty, dodge to your left, and turn!" Harry yelled. Kitty nodded, and did what Harry had advised. Harry tried to get a handle of his surroundings, before he continued to yell suggestions. "Kurt, go to your right, and turn, and Rogue stay through the middle."
The lasers were deflected on that note. Harry thought he was coming into his own at spotting certain patterns in the Danger Room. He did give Logan some credit for changing everything up in the Danger Room. It would be foolish to allow them to grow complacent. There were a set of lasers, and the shower began to blast out them. The closing walls of the Danger Room nearly tripped them up. Kitty went intangible, and disabled them.
"We're not going to make it!" Kitty yelled.
"Of course we're going to make it," Harry said. Kurt ported in front of Harry. "Kurt, is Rogue behind you?"
"Present!" Rogue yelled, and she rushed forward. The Goth girl took a good look around. "Is it just me, or is Logan trying to make an effort to kill us every morning before breakfast? And lunch and dinner?"
Harry just offered her an encouraging smile. Kitty was the one that piped up immediately. "It isn't just you. I swear, just because he has a healing factor, doesn't mean the rest of us does."
"Keep focused!" Harry yelled at the top of his lungs. Which could be pretty loud, given that Harry was capable of some volume.
Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue did keep focused. They continued to dodge the attacks, bobbing and weaving around them. Harry looked at the clock. If they did not complete this program in a certain amount of time, they would fail in this Danger Room session. Harry did not intend to fail, even if he had to rely on the other team members.
"Kitty, disable, Kurt teleport, Rogue up you go," Harry said.
No one was going to call out Harry on his strategy. He actually managed to get them through most of the course. The energy rings were far ahead. The four managed to get through most of the Danger Room.
"Could you use magic to disable them?" Kurt asked.
It was Rogue who answered.
"Remember, Logan said that would invalidate the entire point of the exercise," Rogue said.
Kitty was the one that piped up next. "Harry would use something like that in real life though, so I don't know why it's not allowed."
Harry would have to concede that she had a point. Although, he did have to train his other abilities, in addition to his magic. The three of them continued to move forward. Each step they got closer towards the end of the Danger Room. Harry's heart skipped a beat. He made sure his team members made it through safely.
"Okay, we're going to the last leg, everyone stay together!" Harry yelled.
Kitty, Kurt, and Rogue nodded. The last hurdle did seem to be among the most dangerous. They had to keep moving. Harry led the group down the final leg of this training session in the Danger Room. It was a sharp turn. They could see Professor Xavier watching from above. Logan was watching as well. The expression on his face was unreadable.
"I think we're going to have to jump this one," Rogue told them.
Harry nodded. He would have to concur. Kitty and Harry rushed to the front of the line. It was Harry that cleared the pit first. His knees had been bent, and he landed on the ground. Harry staggered. He managed to adjust his footing. Kitty was the next one that had made her way over the pit. She closed her eyes. She could feel the floor tingle underneath her feet. This was pretty much a warning shot for her to go through. Kitty bent her knees, and sprang up forward.
Her balance was not as poised as Harry's. Most of it had to do with adjusting for the development of her powers. She was getting better. However, her footing was something that could use work. She nearly fell over. Harry caught her in his arms for a moment, just to allow her to readjust herself. The two shared a lingering stare. Harry looked at her, about to ask her if she was okay. Kitty nodded immediately, trying to remain cool under the situation. Kurt followed through next, and Rogue had brought up the rear. The four X-Men stood at the end, and they knew the finishing line was there.
"We're going to actually make it!" Kitty yelled in a triumphant voice.
Rogue shook her head. "Yeah, by the skin of our teeth."
"We can argue about how close, or how far we came later," Harry said. He took several steps forward, and reached the end. Kurt followed him next. Kitty followed him next, and Rogue had landed.
They waited for the light to go off. The Danger Room session had been completed. Harry shook his head. He thought he could have got through that a bit faster if he had been able to use the full scope of his magical abilities, or if he had done so by himself. Yet, he was rather pleased all things considered with how well his team had done. They had all kept it mostly together under fire.
This was the second time they did this particular Danger Room exercise. The first time they did it, the less said about that the better. This was a few weeks back. Harry thought Rogue in particular looked like she was going to crawl into a hole and die out of frustration.
"So how do you think we did?" Kitty asked, tugging on Harry's sleeve to get his attention.
Harry looked at her. "We did decently enough I think."
"Decently enough?'" Kitty asked.
"He means there's room for improvement," Rogue said to Kitty. "And I agree, there were a couple of times where we looked like we were kind of cutting it close."
Harry thought that a couple of times were something that was a generous assessment. However, they had improved from the last time. The last time they had failed this session.
Unfortunately, it was not Harry who was the one who had to give the final assessment of the matter. It was Logan who had that happy role.
Kitty, Rogue, Kurt, and Harry all stood, and the Danger Room doors opened. They had managed to all remain conscious throughout the entire session. Surely, that was progress?"
Logan stood outside of the Danger Room. He had watched the training session. There was always something that he would have done different. However, even he had to admit that they were doing decently enough. Under the circumstances, they could have done much worse. He saw the Danger Room doors open. Kitty, Kurt, Harry, and Rogue exited. Logan turned towards them. His eyes looked at all of them. Logan stared at them, and they stared back. There was a few seconds of silence before Logan decided to break the silence.
"Well, you didn't completely embarrass yourselves like you did last time," Logan said. He offered this gruff assessment, which the quartet took as praise. "Not too bad in there, but if this was real life most of you would be dead. You would have been skewed to bits."
Harry agreed with this. That is why they had these simulations, and training sessions. It was to iron out all of the kinks in the teamwork before they were out on the field. However, Harry did know one thing. More often than not there was a huge world of difference between a simulation and between actually being out. Harry learned that all of the training in the world would not prepare for the impossible.
"Next time, we'll get out there easier," Harry said.
"This session was way too easy on all of you, especially you," Logan said to Harry. Harry looked back at Logan, his expression firm. "You're someone who should be handling tougher things in there. You're going to get some solo time in the Danger Room on the higher levels."
Harry thought that he had did the best job he had in keeping the team together. The team had made it out of the scenario one hundred percent. No one had passed out; there was not even a scratch on them. To Harry, he thought everything had turned out rather well. Still, he had to agree with Logan, there was room for improvement. Teamwork was something that was the hardest thing to fine tune. If more than one team member was out of sync, then they would have to compensate.
"I didn't think we'd get out of there in time," Kurt said. "And I thought we improved."
"We did improve, it's just certain people here can't really see improvement," Kitty said.
Harry shook his head. "I told you we all did well. All I said was there is room for improvement. Trust me, if we had been a step or two quicker, we would have been able to finish that Danger Room session in quicker time."
Harry took a deep breath. He took a step forward into the hallways across from the Danger Room. Jean, Scott, and Ororo disappeared into the shadows. Harry took another step forward. Logan walked up, and had something else to say to them.
"I need to up the difficulty in the Danger Room," Logan said. "The four of you got through that a bit too easily."
"Easy," Kitty mouthed.
"In what world was that easy?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah, I didn't think that was too easy," Rogue said.
"Of course it wasn't," Logan said. He shook his head, and walked away.
"You really did think it was too easy," Kitty said to Harry. Harry just shrugged.
"Not really, but we're going to get thrown in with the wolves if we complain too much about it," Harry said.
Jean and Scott walked out around the corner. Harry stopped and looked at them.
"So, did you see that?" Harry asked them. Jean and Scott nodded. "So, what did you think?"
"I think you did well in there, Harry," Jean said.
Scott gave his input. "A little rough around the edges, but you're not as bad as you were a couple of months ago. Give it time and you'll be going through there so well that even Logan won't find anything to critique."
Harry actually hoped not, because he was always looking for ways to improve. Kitty just snorted at the very thought of Logan not finding something that they could improve on. Then again, the first time she was in the Danger Room, she blacked out after the training session. She had thankfully gotten better since then. Kurt and Rogue both walked off; to do homework they had lingering. For once in his life, Harry had actually taken the initiative and had completed his homework Kitty had assisted him on it, a little bit, but for the most part Harry had gotten it all done.
His grades in school had been improving, or at least he thought they did. It was something that was hard to figure out when he was comparing grades from a magical school to the grades of a normal school.
Harry sighed.
"What's up?" Kitty asked.
"Just thinking about that speech I have to give to the class on Monday," Harry said. "I'm not the best public speaker in the world."
"Nerves, everyone has those, don't worry about it," Kitty said. She added with a smile. "Just pretend that everyone's in their underwear."
"You do realize that you're in that class," Harry said. His voice remained calm. However there was a slight hint of a smile. "So, wouldn't I be imagining you in your underwear?"
"You mean you don't imagine me in my underwear," Kitty teased back.
Harry just gave her a smile.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Harry asked.
Before this interplay could go on any further, Kitty and Harry noticed something off to the side. They were about to head outside on the account of having their homework done, and just hang out. The two took a couple of steps forward, and saw a strange man with dark hair arrive. He was in the midst of a conversation with Professor Xavier. The two could not resist listening to the conversation.
"Sorry for not meeting with you sooner, Charles. There were extra-dimensional manners that demanded a great deal of my time."
Xavier responded. "No problem at all, Stephen. The responsibilities of the Sorcerer Supreme are something that demands a substantial amount of your time. You did read the message that I read you about young Mr. Potter."
Now Harry was intrigued that they were talking about him. Kitty stood up straight next to Harry. The two of them discreetly took a step forward, to listen closely.
"Yes, I have heard about him, and I have studied the mystical energies that surrounded his arrival to this plane," Strange said. "His powers have raw potential, but they are unrefined. It seems as if the magical education he had given had been the most rudimentary. It could have done him more harm than good as regards to his magical prowess."
Kitty looked extremely curious. She nudged Harry to ask him a question, but Harry hushed her.
"I believe that it would be prudent for you to talk to Harry himself," Xavier said. "Perhaps you can shed some light on his strange arrival in this world."
Harry shook his head, and acted like he had not been listening in just a second later. Kitty looked amused. Harry could not act innocent to save his life. Although she had really appreciated the effort, and the door opened.
"Ah, Harry, I was hoping you were still available," Xavier said to Harry. If he had noticed Harry was eavesdropping, he did not bring up the fact. "I wish for you to speak with a friend of mine."
"I'll wait for you outside, Harry," Kitty said. She offered him a smile, which Harry returned.
She figured Harry needed space. Perhaps he could find out the reason why he got here, and maybe a way to get back.
Kitty wondered if Harry would want to go back. She kind of hoped that she did not. She shook her head, and walked off.
'Stop being selfish, Pryde,' Kitty thought to herself. She shook those thoughts off.
She watched Harry leave with Professor Xavier.
Harry exited the room, and walked inside. He tried to not look too nervous, or as if he had been eavesdropping just few seconds ago. He spotted Professor Xavier the moment that he walked in first. There was a man that stood beside him, dressed in black robes. There was a golden amulet around his neck. He looked at Harry with a nod, and Harry wondered what this was all about. He had a feeling that he would find out all too soon.
"Harry, this is an old colleague of mine, Doctor Stephen Strange," Xavier said. Harry looked at him with a curious expression on his face. "He is the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth."
Harry was now intrigued. He figured there would be other magical users in this dimension. Logic dictated that there had to be. He just had no idea where he would have met them.
"Please to meet you, Doctor Strange," Harry said.
Strange offered a polite nod, and shook Harry's hand. Harry could tell this was a man of great power. He had assumed that Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard that he had ever meant. However, this guy just gave off the vibe that he was in an entirely different class that might as well have made Dumbledore look like a squib. Strange took a deep breath.
"I've been following your arrival here, as had the rest of the world," Strange said. Harry nodded, and waved his hand to give Strange the opportunity to continue. "Someone like you would have caught the attention of a lot of eyeballs. I was alerted to your presence, but I decided not to intervene unless necessary. I felt until the time was right, I would step back, and see where you would fit in with this universe."
Harry nodded. He had been here for a little over a month right now, and he had been settling in. The Sorcerer Supreme of all people had expressed that he had watched him. Harry had no idea what the responsibilities of the Sorcerer Supreme were, or how a person obtained such a title. He was interested in finding out.
"So, you just decided to meet up with me now," Harry said.
Strange shifted on his feet. There was a moment before he addressed Harry. "Yes, I sensed that there would be others who would be far interested with the raw power that you command. Your magical abilities are something that remain an anomaly. When combined with your mutant abilities, you are quite the unique young man indeed. Less than one percent of population in the Earth dimension would be able to obtain magic and mutant abilities simultaneously. The fact that your body would be able to contain such a power proves that you are in the top percentile of regarding power."
Harry nodded. It took a bit to sink all of these in. He thought that he had been powerful, or at least that's what people told him. His confidence of his powers tended to be all off the board. Then again, he could achieve things back in his world that many other people could only dream about. There were not many people who could master a Patronus. And not only master a Patronus, but master them in the face of all of those Dementors. Performing a Patronus is one thing, performing it under pressure while relieving your worst memories was another thing entirely.
"Magic is a blank canvas," Strange continued. "The possibilities can be endless, and only expanded by your own mind. However, it is very easy to allow your powers to run away from you. There are times where powers can be used for great things. And there are instances where powers can be used to corrupt."
Harry understood one potential example of how powers could be used to corrupt. Lord Voldemort was at the top of the list. That was one part of his universe where Harry did not miss. A part of Harry wondered what happened when he left. With no Harry Potter, he wondered if anyone stepped up and defeated Voldemort.
"I believe between the two of us, we can figure out how you arrived here, and if it is possible for you to return to your dimension," Strange said.
Harry took a deep breath. He was debating furiously about whether or not he wanted to return if the opportunity had presented itself. There was a doubt that the opportunity would even be there. He could actually be himself with no pressure of being the Boy-Who-Lived there. He did not have to be the Chosen One. In that world, the fame would be thrust back onto him. There were his friends, but they could not be the sole reason why he was leaving. They would be fine without him.
"With your permission, I will try and walk you through with your arrival through this dimension," Strange said. "I can assure you that anything that happens on this trip will stay between the two of us. I think that there are many secrets that should only be yours to declare when they are ready."
Harry looked reluctant. On the one hand, he was intrigued about potentially getting some tips from someone who appeared to be far more knowledgeable about magic than he ever hoped to be. On the other hand, he was not sure if he wanted anyone to know anything about what happened in his home dimension. Still, he was curious about one thing. How did he get here, and if he wanted to go back, could he?
"I think I would be interested in learning more," Harry said.
"I thought as much," Strange said. "I will be borrowing your student for the day Charles, and perhaps depending on today, we can make further arrangements regarding training about his other powers. I've been meaning to take an apprentice."
"It's no problem at all, Stephen," Xavier said. He wished he could offer any more insight with Harry's mystical abilities. If there was one person in the world that he could trust giving one of his X-Men that kind of insight, it was Stephen Strange.
Strange and Harry disappeared into a glowing purple light.
Strange and Harry arrived from the Xavier Institute. They popped up outside of a large manor house. Harry thought that it looked to be almost alive. Then again, there were times where Hogwarts seemed to be alive. The days where the stairways had shifted out from underneath them, where doors moved, and the fact that there were magical portraits that could visit each other. So seeing a building that was sentient did not faze Harry in the slightest. Harry stood, and waited for Strange to tell him where he was.
"Welcome Harry, to the Sanctum Santorium," Strange said. Harry nodded slowly. This was something that was completely new to him. "This is my official residence, and where I have cataloged a great deal of my magical research tomes. I hope that over time they will be of use to you, if you are willing to learn."
Harry took the step forward, and the doors swung open. It allowed him entry into the Sanctum Santorium. Strange walked behind Harry. There was a moment of silence. Harry looked around, and was impressed. There was an eerie presence within the fortress. Harry stood on his toes, and wished he had a few more sets of eyes. He wondered if there was a spell to allow such an effect.
"Be careful not to touch anything," Strange told Harry. Harry stood on his toes, and was once again careful not to brush anything. "While I do not doubt your capabilities, there are many dangerous objects that I have obtained. It is just a matter of keeping them out of certain hands of those who would use them for harm. And some of them are rather alive."
"That would explain the feelings that I have been having, "Harry said. Strange looked at the young wizard with a curious expression on his face. Harry decided to elaborate what he meant to the Sorcerer Supreme. "It's just when I stepped in here, I felt like everything in this place was calling out to me. It's almost like I understood it, but at the same time I didn't understand it. It's really hard to explain."
Strange nodded. "It is not anything out of the ordinary to feel those sensations. Magic tends to call out to the strongest of us. I would not be too off base with saying that the very nature of your mystical abilities have changed the moment that you arrived here."
Harry responded with a nod in the affirmative. Strange did not offer any more insight on the matter. The Sorcerer Supreme turned around and took a step towards a dusty shelf of books. He blew the dust off of the book, and read the contents of the book. Harry looked at him with a quizzical expression in his eyes. Strange shook his head.
"I simply needed to verify something," Strange told Harry. Harry nodded. He would accept that for now. "Now we must go through the method which you had arrived here. I know you arrived in the desert as if you had never existed. I must tell you that I am well versed in the methods of sudden appearances and disappearances. My status as the Sorcerer Supreme has allowed me to deal with the strange and the mysterious."
Harry could have figured out that Strange was someone that had his share of strange experiences, for lack of a better term. He threw all caution to the wind. Curiosity had got the better of him, and he decided to dive into the explanation.
"I was fighting a group of servants of a rather powerful dark wizard in my dimension. I had brought a group of my friends to help me. I insisted that they stayed behind but…"
"They wished to fight alongside you despite the dangers," Strange offered him.
Harry nodded. That was one way of putting it, he supposed.
"So anyway, they came with me," Harry told them. Strange invited Harry to continue. "All of us fought the servants of this dark wizard. They underestimated us, because I think they thought they would get an easy ride against young witches and wizards. A group of adult wizards arrived to help. One of them was my godfather, his name was Sirius Black."
Harry took a deep breath.
"He was blasted through a curtain, and disappeared," Harry said. "I had thought that I would follow him through the curtain, and try and find him. I felt….I felt like every inch of my body was on fire. Then I felt more at ease than I had ever been. It is hard to explain it."
"I have heard a legend about a mysterious curtain that could act as a passageway, I will endeavor to research it later," Strange said, and Harry looked on with a smile. He thought he would finally get some answers. "Is there anything else you can remember?"
Harry shook his head. For some reason, he decided to keep the mysterious flashes of memories that he had in his head to himself, for now. Learning to open up to people was a new experience.
"Everything from the moment I stepped through that curtain, until the moment I got here was a blank. It was four years ago that I left that dimension. Yet, I didn't age a day."
"A combination of time travel and interdimensional travel is very potent magic," Strange said. "One or the other can lead to a potentially dangerous experience. Combining both disciplines of magic can lead to magic that could rip someone apart."
Harry decided to address the elephant in the room.
"So my godfather…"
"I cannot say," Strange said, cutting Harry off before he could speak on anything. "Without knowing the full nature of how you arrived here, there is very little insight that I could offer. The mantle of the Sorcerer Supreme offers me a deeper insight on many matters of magic than most. There is much responsibility in wielding this position, and a constant job. However, I believe that this is a mystery the two of us can solve."
Strange remained calm and he looked at Harry. Harry sensed that the Sorcerer Supreme was determining how much to tell Harry.
"I believe that you have untapped potential Harry, but your power are rather raw," Strange said. "We can discuss what can be done to refine it over time. Presently, just relax, and we will try and determine what has gone wrong."
Harry did relax at that moment. Strange's spell allowed him to relive the entire experience.
"You were dead for a minute, but something occurred," Strange said. "You passed a test and instead of being sent beyond, you were sent to this dimension. I will find more about this veil, and will tell you more when I can determine."
Harry sat and waited.
"You may read that entire back wall of books while you wait," Strange told Harry. "I would need to supervise your attempts to perform any magic in any of the other books given the nature of the content."
Harry nodded, and Strange disappeared. He picked up the books, and began to read about the magic. It described sorcery that was far beyond anything that had been taught at Hogwarts.
Books did tend to be more worth a person's attention when there was material that was conveyed in an interesting and enlightening manner. At least that was what Harry thought when he had combed through the various books while he waited for Doctor Strange to return. He realized how many books he had been assigned at Hogwarts had been written in a dry-manner that really did not give the desire to read the books.
To him, magic should have come alive on the pages of the books he read. Although, how literal that statement would be, it would be something to be determined in time. While he did not know about half of the spells or enchantments on the pages, it would be something that he would have to learn in due time. There was also something else pretty interesting. The theory actually was more exciting than watching paint dry with the way it was conveyed. If he had learned magic in this way, he might have gone further and applied himself.
There was no use to thinking about what could have been. Rather, he would have rather think about what could be now. Some of the dark creatures described in these books were nasty, and Harry shuddered at the thought of having to encounter them.
Harry was so captivated with his reading, that he barely noticed that Strange returned. The Sorcerer Supreme walked up from behind Harry.
"I thank you for waiting patiently," Strange said to Harry. Harry nodded, to try and convey that this was not a problem at all. "I found some information about that veil you eluded to, and also it may offer some insight about how you have arrived here."
Harry's attention perked up just a little bit. Curiosity had got the better of him. He had nodded his head. How did he get here?
"Years ago, a mysterious gateway was created by a group of wizards in medieval times," Strange told Harry. Harry nodded, to indicate that he had his full attention on him. "The gateway was created to execute criminals that were too powerful to be killed by mundane means. A version appears to have existed in your world as it has in this world. The gateway would be the ultimate method to judge witches and wizards."
"You mean that it would actually determine whether or not they were guilty or innocent?" Harry questioned.
Strange replied with a swift nod. "That was the intended purpose. However, the creation of magical artifacts can be a tricky process. The gateway was intended to destroy anything that passed through in the case of the guilt. One might stand to reason that guilt had already been decided and assumed the moment that they had passed through the veil. None had been known to survive, even if there was a small chance that they could survive."
Harry just pulled a face. That was just the story of his life. He was always surviving things that no one else should have been able to survive. The Killing Curse was one thing, the veil was another, and he was sure that there were many other examples. His body should not have been able to stave of Basilisk venom for long enough for Fawkes to cry his tears. Maybe his real mutant power was that he was able to survive the impossible. Which meant knowing his luck, something utterly mundane would kill him.
He took a deep breath, and looked at Strange. "So I got here through the veil…"
"I believe the veil considered you to be different than anything that had ever come into contact with it," Strange explained to Harry. "Therefore, since you willingly walked through the curtain, it perceived you as innocent. With that perception, it allowed you to enter this universe. A universe that is very different from your own."
Harry took a deep breath, and looked at the Sorcerer Supreme. "So is there any chance at all that I would be able to return home?"
Strange looked thoughtful at that moment, and took a moment to consider this. Harry could tell that this was something that he spent most of his time trying to determine when he left Harry to his own devices.
"Theoretically speaking you could return," Strange said. Harry sensed that there was a "but" hanging in the air. "However, the trip back may in fact be even more dangerous than the trip you took to come here. You would have to return the same exact way that you arrived here, and there is a significant margin for error."
Harry pondered this matter immediately. He thought that was the case. Once again, he hoped that no one would walk through the veil. While he had the ability to survive these things, a part of him wondered if other people would survive. Given what Strange told him, that was highly unlikely.
"I can sense you have a desire to learn more about the mystical arts," Strange said.
Harry paused, trying not to seem too eager. He did not want to seem like some overindulgent child in front of the Sorcerer Supreme.
"Yes, I would appreciate learning more," Harry said. He spoke this statement in a matter of fact manner.
"Then I would offer my services to assist you along the way of your training," Strange said. "Now, there is magic that may be beyond your capabilities, at least at first. However, with hard work, and careful planning you can learn about the mystical arts."
Harry pondered this.
"If you are willing to learn, and if you want to think about this, I will understand," Strange said immediately.
It was something that he thought about. The past month he had been trying to figure out a way to continue his magical training. Experimentation would only get him so far without any guidance. Who better to get any guidance from than the Sorcerer Supreme?
"I accept your offer for training, Doctor Strange," Harry said.
The Sorcerer Supreme nodded, and turned around. He was hoping that Harry would accept his offer for training. That type of power should be trained up, and the untapped power would interest those magical users of lesser scruples. During his time of the Sorcerer Supreme, he had encountered many dark and dangerous forces. Even with his power, there would always be someone out there with more strength than him. That is why he sharpened his wits, and his resourcefulness.
"One of the most important aspects you can learn about magic is this," Strange explained to Harry. "Magic is all about testing the limits. However, there are times where if you try and tap into too much power, too soon, it can corrupt even the most noble of minds. The books are there for your disposal, but only these books on this shelf should be practiced without my direct supervision."
Harry nodded. He had a feeling that his training would just began. That he would learn more from Doctor Strange than from all of his teachers so far.
Strange looked at his library. It was something that he was proud of. There was only one person that he knew of in this realm who had collected as many books on the occult as he did, and that was Victor Von Doom. But that was beside the point.
Right now, he slowly gave Harry the benefit of some of his knowledge of magic. He did not want to overwhelm the young man on his first day. The Sorcerer Supreme had a feeling that he was still assimilating into this universe. And he was still trying to find his place.
Each day a journey began with many steps. Every day was a winding road.
The past few hours had been rather interesting and enlightened Harry a great deal. However, he was rather glad to return back to the Xavier Institute. He arranged to visit with Doctor Strange after lunch on the weekends for more lessons, if there was not any kind of catastrophe on either end. Given Stephen Strange was the Sorcerer Supreme, and he had many responsibilities, Harry felt grateful for any of the time that the man had taken out of his day.
Harry had a feeling that there was going to be another Danger Room session after dinner. He stashed away the book that he had been given about the nature of magic. Strange suggested that would be read it for the weekend.
Kitty popped up, and greeted Harry.
"For some reason, I thought you wouldn't be coming back," Kitty told him.
Harry looked at Kitty, with a teasing smile. "What, are you trying to get rid of me?"
Kitty laughed.
"No of course not," Kitty said shaking her head, and she stepped forward, to look at Harry. "It's just; Professor Xavier mentioned that this Sorcerer Supreme was going to see how you got there. And I figured that…well never mind. I guess you're still here."
"I don't know if I would go home right now even if I could," Harry told her.
It was not really home, really. His life was far less complicated here in this dimension, than it was in his home dimension. The lack of prophecy hanging over his head really did relax him just a little bit. He had made friends, and had created a new life.
"Do you miss them?" Kitty asked him.
Harry just gave a bittersweet smile. "A few of them, but really as long as go I've left, they likely already forgot about me. So I don't think about it too much."
Kitty stepped up, and looked at Harry.
"Well if they're truly your friends, I don't think they ever forgot about you," Kitty said. "I wonder if any of them tried to follow you."
Harry shuddered.
"Given how the veil killed everyone else that walked through it, I hope not," Harry said. Kitty looked at Harry quizzically. "Because the veil was a tool for execution, and most were supposed to die. Somehow I didn't. That's the story of my life."
"Only you would have some kind of negative spin on not dying when you should," Kitty said. Despite the fact she was shaking her head, she had a fond smile on her face.
Harry looked at her seriously. "Well it's not the part about not dying that bothers me. It's just…it's just complicated."
Kitty stepped forward, and instinctively reached for Harry's hand. Harry did not say anything, and did not call her on her actions. She placed her hand on his.
"Sometimes things don't have to be complicated," Kitty said. "You'd be surprised how totally simple life could be."
Harry just looked into her eyes. They stood outside, with the breeze blowing.
"One day, I hope to figure out how simple life is," Harry said. Kitty took another step towards Harry.
"Maybe we can figure that out together," Kitty told him. The space between them was mere inches.
Kitty and Harry shared a quiet moment outside. Kurt popped up at that moment, which caused the moment to be lost.
"Harry, good you're back," Kurt said. "See Kitty, you and Rogue were both freaking out for no reason. Well Rogue wasn't freaking out, more like a quiet brooding, but you get what I mean."
Harry's interest was piqued.
"I wasn't freaking out," Kitty told Kurt defensively.
Harry raised an eyebrow, but he had said nothing about it.
"I think Logan is trying to kill us before we have a last meal," Kurt said.
"Overreacting just a little bit, Kurt?" Harry asked him.
Kurt shook his head. "One hour Danger Room session before dinner and you think he's not trying to kill us? He wants you both in there, five minutes ago."
Harry and Kitty exchanged a look, and nodded. They had walked inside.
"We're going to have to continue this at another time, I guess," Kitty said.
Harry looked at her with a playful smirk. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Kitty thought that was the type of smile that stopped girl's hearts. She nearly lost control of her bearings, and phased through the ground. Thankfully, she avoided that embarrassment. It was time to head off to the Danger Room for a training session.