u/AnselaJonla: A burst of accidental magic takes five year old Harry Potter to Skyrim. Six years later he returns, with his adopted parent in tow: the Dragonborn.

Dovahkiin's Son

Harry sat alone in his compartment, wondering why they hadn't yet arrived at their destination. Then he began to wonder if the active nature of the trip meant they were going to be attacked, and he watched the skies carefully, ready in case of dragon wings.

He wasn't anticipating an attack from the compartment's door, which is why it took him off guard when it slid noisily open.

Harry leapt to his feet, fire blazing to life in hands held together, a firebolt charging and ready to fire by the time the stranger poked his head in.

"Woah," said the newcomer, an unarmed youth, staring at Harry in awe. "How did you do that?"

Harry let the spell dissipate. "As son of the Archmages, I've picked up a few things."

"Your hands are glowing."

Harry nodded in agreement.

"Why are your hands glowing?"

"In case a dragon attacks the train. I've got to be fast to interrupt it before it kills anyone."

Speaking of, Harry returned to his seat by the window and resumed his vigil.

"Um, can I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

"Yeah, go ahead."

"You're not going to throw fire at me or anything?"

"You're a child. Unless you attacked me, it would be a stupid waste of energy to try, even if I wanted you dead for some reason."

Why the locals made such a fuss about Harry surviving a single attack as an infant was beyond him. Everyone knew innocent children couldn't be harmed. Even now, he would only register as a threat to foes after his first attack. Which came in handy when one's house was regularly attacked by everything from giants to vampires.

Pincer rattled his claws from underneath the bench, and the new boy recoiled, drawing his legs up off the ground. "What was that?"

"Oh, that's my pet. Come on out, Pincer." The mudcrab scuttled out hesitantly, waving his pincers at the other boy in greeting. Harry returned his attention to the sky.

"It's not some kind of spider, is it?"

"No, he's a mudcrab."

"And he won't bite?"

"Of course not."

The boy fell silent for a long moment before asking, "What's so interesting out the window?"

"I told you, I'm keeping watch for dragons."

"You know there are no dragons in this part of the world, right?"

"That's what everyone said about Skyrim."

"But there really aren't any. And if they find one, they ship it off to a reserve. I know because my brother, Charlie, works with dragons."

Harry stiffened, turning his attention to the boy. "Which dragons, specifically?"

The boy shrugged. "I don't know. But it's in Romania."

"Hm." Harry turned back to the window.

"You don't have to worry, really."

"If it's not dragons, it'll be giants or vampires or wolves or bandits. Just because we're safe doesn't mean everyone is."

"The train is protected by powerful enchantments, nothing hostile can get at us."

Harry considered this a moment. "If we're not going to be attacked on the way, why haven't we arrived yet?"

"So we can get to know one another, probably. The train is magic, so it always takes the whole day to get there."

"Interesting. Well, if talking to you is what's required, then let's talk."

"My name's Ron. What's yours?"

"Harry."

"Harry who? I know a lot of Harrys."

"It said Potter on my letter, but I'm really more a Smith or Firehand."

Ron looked at Harry's glowing hands. "Yeah, I can see that. Wait, did you say Potter? As in the Harry Potter?"

"Yes, I suppose. Though I admit, the notoriety in this country is significantly stranger than back home. Back home it's all 'Archmage's son, son of the Dovahkiin, how many dragons have you slain this week,' and here it's 'oh, you didn't die when an adult attacked you unprovoked, hooray'? I don't get it, but cultures are different I suppose."

He glanced out the window by habit, saw nothing, and remembered that the point of this quest was to talk, so he turned back to Ron, waiting for a response.

The boy finally spoke. "You kill dragons?"

"Son of the Dovahkiin? Kinda our job to keep rogues in check. If they're not abiding by the laws, then they need to die. And ever since Alduin's brief rise, there have been all too many rogue dragons who think the nearest town would make a great breakfast."

Pincer clicked his claws disapprovingly. Harry patted him on his shelled back.

"How did you get that thing approved anyway?" Ron asked, glancing sideways at the mudcrab. "It looks like some kind of engorgement charm malfunctioned."

"Engorgement charm? Is that a kind of spell?" Harry leaned forward. "Can you teach me?"

"Yeah, it's a spell, and no, of course I can't teach you. That's what we're going to school for. Because we… well, because most of us don't already know much magic."

For the first time, Harry began to feel that this new country might not be so bad after all. If they had a whole new kind of magic he'd never heard of, no wonder his parents thought it worthwhile to send him here.

He couldn't wait to get started.