Game Start

Harry browsed the game shelves loosely holding onto the one game he'd come here specifically for. He'd never been a gamer, not really having time the time what with the Dursley's and the Wizarding World basically controlling life, but now he actually had a chance to try it out and if he could meet his little sister in the game all the better. Nothing else popped out at him, though, so he brought his prize to the smiling attendant at the counter. The girl was much too chipper in his opinion but he was able to check out with little fanfare.

Cautiously, the wizard made his way back to the new apartment in T City, pulling up his hood to avoid being completely doused in the chilly rain. His purchase was safely tucked away inside his charmed jacket so that wasn't a worry. Instead he kept a careful eye out for any suspicious activity. He knew the war was over, intellectually, but his paranoia was a constant friend. Not that it wasn't needed what with the constant dodging of Death Eaters that just didn't know when to give up. They were the entire reason Harry had been literally all over the world, the Asiatic countries just being the last on the list of places during his three year running stint.

Oh Merlin. He'd had the shock of the lifetime as soon as he set foot in Tokyo, Japan. Surrounded on all sides, he'd freaked out- thinking of a Death Eater ambush- and started powerhousing through the local authority. Not that he'd know that's what they were at the time, of course. Eventually, he ended up fleeing all the way to Kyoto where he was taken down by the elite guard of the Emperor of the magical world. Yea, he had so not learned how to deal with Yokai, though he'd impressed them with his tenacity and ingenuity in spell usage.

Waking up pain free and in an overly opulent gold and red room decorated by moving statues of Japanese Kirins had shocked him enough not to attack the people surrounding him immediately. Lucky for him at the time. That's when he learned he'd basically been abducted by the Emperor himself-through his guards of course- because they thought he was some long lost child of the Chinese Emperor. Yeah right.

Well turns out they were right. Magical signature and DNA tests were conducted post haste, turning out positive. That… well it wasn't one of the most embarrassing meltdowns he'd had but it definitely ranked high on the list. Being the overprotective 'Hero' he also had to shoot down the idea that they reveal him to the public. Why? Because he was Harry bloody Potter that's why. And here's the scar for proof.

That hadn't gone over so well, Japan almost ready to declare war on Britain if he hadn't dissuaded them from their 'honorable' intentions. Merlin if he thought the Japanese were miffed, well… The Chinese had them beat by a landslide. That argument went down in the history books for longest correspondence with the fastest hawks ever. Harry won in the end if only due to the birds' exhaustion and refusing to deliver messages.

For the next few months Japan got to play host to the Heir to the Chinese throne and Harry, or Wang Fei as he was named at birth, got to learn a little -a lot!- about his history. He learned his birthday was actually August 1st at 2:33 am, he was stolen at barely 13 months, and was declared officially dead in his home country after three years of searching. His younger sister was born 1 year and 4 months after him- causing quite the celebration, she preferred to go by Doll, and his parents were actually quite nice when not worked up into a towering fury. He also was forced to learn of the past Emperors, political crap, and allied nations -including Japan-. His favorite thing to learn during his whole time there, though, was about the magical creatures and beings of each country, especially Yokai and demons from other countries, and the spars/lessons he received from the Royal Guard.

Overall it was the most intense but relaxing time he'd had since before Hogwarts and it gave him much needed time to rest from being hunted.

Eventually he agreed to move to China but absolutely refused to go near the palace just yet. He loved his time in Japan but being an honored guest was much better than being the Honored Heir and Harry particularly liked his freedom. There was also the fact that he couldn't quite kick his paranoia and saving people thing, so he couldn't allow the Death Eaters to get near his family even if they were warded to the nines with guards everywhere. He wanted to meet his family but didn't want to be trapped or cause any trouble just yet so… T City it was. It was fairly close to the palace and also had convenient marketplaces all around.

His apartment was in a larger building, not tall being only three stories compared to a lot of the skyscrapers around, but fairly spread out over some acres. Not too expensive but also not the hovels he was used to staying in. The stipend his parents sent him helped with that but only after they won the argument over money. It was his money too, they had said. Well, now 'his money' had also bought the newest game on the market called 'Second Life' and if he was lucky he'd be able to meet his little sister who also had an account. It was actually sort of cute how she raved about it in her letters.

"Right… now how in the world does this thing even work," he muttered turning the helmet over in his hands. Technology was not his forte at all. He despaired at seeing the wires and the helmet but if he wanted to do this and not look like a complete idiot to his friendly neighbors he had to do this himself. Sucking in a breath, he glanced over the manual again noting the little ports on the bottom of the helmet. He'd have to get it hooked up to the internet for the downloads.

"C'mon Harry! It's an instruction manual with step by step instruction! It can't be that hard!"

With having said that encouraging little tidbit to himself he grabbed the first wire, a light grey, with a weird shaped doofer on the end and glanced at the manual. According to this, the weird bit went into a wall for hardline internet or he could use a computer for wifi and forgo the wire entirely…. Well seeing as he didn't own a laptop just yet and he knew wifi was wireless internet -thanks Poland- he'd have to use the wall. The wizard vaguely remembered the landlady saying something about free internet in these buildings being included and there was a funny shaped outlet behind his bed. Couldn't hurt to try right?

With a little maneuvering the bed was pushed up against the wall of his bedroom, the dresser that had been there previously now blocking the door -but that could be dealt with later- exposing the funny outlet where Harry then proceeded to shove the funky end of the wire into. It was a perfect fit! Right, he could so do this. The other end was flat with a more trapezoid shaped head. That easily slotted into the helmet and he waited for the light at the top to start flashing green signifying that it was downloading. He sat on the floor and stared at it for a few good minutes, just waiting, before he finally gave up and looked to the manual for help.

The helmet didn't come charged. Of course it didn't. Now Harry just felt like an utter fool as he snatched the black wire from the bed. Once again he slotted the wire into the helmet port and dragged the pronged end over to the outlet a few feet away from the funky one. A red light flashed near the visor as soon as it was plugged in. Well, at least he wasn't a complete numpty then. The manual said it would take a few hours to charge so he left the helmet on the floor and walked into his small living room after shoving the dresser to the opposite side of the room. It contained a beautiful brown suede couch, a matching recliner chair and a coffee table. Where a telly might be in a normal house sat his inconspicuous trunk that contained mostly all he ever needed while on the run…. Plus a few extra rooms for brewing and libraries and such. He could have gotten a bigger place but this one bedroom apartment was perfect for him.

Passing through the living room, he made a beeline to the fridge, pulling out some fresh greens and veggies to make a salad. Now that he had a nicer place to settle and lower risk of Death Eaters tracking him, at least for a while, he could make himself something healthy.

Harry stared at the computer screen in front of him as the little boy chattered on about the different classes and how assigning your ability points was crucial to character development. The little instruction booklet in the game's case didn't have near as much information. It only told him how to work things and explained a few of the classes. This… was an overload of information.

Bao didn't seem to notice his new friend's glazed eyes but his mother sure did. She called for dinner making the small boy pout and Harry sent her a thankful look. A few days ago he hadn't been expecting a knock on his door and an invite to dinner, seeing as he'd only been here around a week and he didn't know any of these people. He politely declined but An Di could be a bloody dragon with her stubbornness. She was a force to be reckoned when she found out that he was alone in his apartment and usually just ate salad for dinner. He still had no idea how she'd figured that out as he rarely left but he appreciated the effort she put in for him and his therapist said he needed to to socialise more. He'd also done a thorough check -or as thorough as he could with limited resources as he so wasn't going to involve his new family- to make sure she wasn't an imperial guard or some form of threat to him. She passed with flying colors. The single mother was just a strong independent woman raising her son in a society that frowned upon such actions. He gave her props for that alone.

The only reason he'd finally given into her daily invitation today was that her son Bao Di was chattering behind her into a small phone about the awesome quest he had finished just that morning in Second Life. Wanting to learn more about the game, he agreed and, once the boy was off the phone, asked for tips. An 8 year old boy grinning manically was a slightly terrifying sight. He was dragged to a very worn laptop, under protest, trying to get the boy to release his wrist without hurting him. Then the info dump of massive proportions was dropped on his head and he forgot all about someone touching him. Harry swore he was going to be dreaming of stats in nightmare format tonight.

"So, what prompted you to buy the game Wang Fei? You don't seem the type," An Di commented laying the serving bowls on the table. Grilled whole fish, rice, and an assortment of grilled veggies was an absolutely heavenly smell.

"I have a little sister that I can't see right now. I wanted to meet up with her in the game," Harry replied.

"Oh how sweet of you," she giggled as Bao dug into the rice and snapped up some fish really quickly.

"After dinner I want to show him all the bosses! Mom, can I please!"

By the time he got back to his apartment, Harry was absolutely exhausted and had just enough energy to make sure everything was locked up. He barely missed tripping over his helmet as he dropped in his bed, the springs bouncing underneath him, and he was out like a light.

When he woke up the next day, it took him a minute to understand why he was still fully dressed and on top of his covers. With a grunt he pushed himself up onto his forearms, shaking off the last vestiges of the strange dream he'd had. He could honestly admit that was one of the best rests he'd had since coming to China even if it was filled with floating numbers and different character routes. Speaking of…

He turned his green eyes onto the helmet on the floor noting the steady green light that signaled downloading was complete. He glanced down at his sleep wrinkled clothing. Perhaps he could afford to be lazy for today. It's not like he had anywhere to be until the next semester of school started anyways. With a little bit of excited glee, he flipped over and kicked off his shoes and pants onto the floor before working on freeing himself of his button up shirt. If he was gonna be laying down for this he was going to be comfortable, one of the upsides of living alone. Once he had stripped to his boxers, he gently lifted the helmet from the floor and wondered if it was supposed to stay connected.

With a huff he set it down on his bed and picked up the discarded instruction manual and game booklet and flipped through them. Okay, so the charge would last for almost 24 hours if it was unplugged but it could be left in during gameplay. Charging and playing at the same time too often would start to damage the battery which could lead to small amounts of radioactivity… Wait. They seriously sold these things to kids!?

"Okay! Calm down Harry… Just don't play and charge it at the same time. It's not like you'll be playing for more than 24 hours a day anyway…."

With a decisive nod he searched for the internet wire instructions. Apparently he was supposed to leave it in if he didn't have wifi because the game needed to be connected as it was a MMORPG… Whatever that was. But internet was needed so he'd leave that cable alone, it was long enough to reach the bed with extra to spare. So he'd tossed the books onto the dresser, stepped over his clothes, and picked up the helmet again. With a pop, the charger cable came out and was dropped carelessly on the floor. He sat gingerly on the edge of the bed staring at the game helmet.

This was it. The first video game he would ever play and the machinery was a knowledge that was mostly lost on him. And then there was his magic which he had no idea how it would react. Technology was not the antithesis to magic as he'd thought during Hogwarts. Running through the very technologically advanced America, Poland, and Italy had proven that, and then Japan had proven his mistaken belief wrong on many occasions as well. Unfortunately magic could still fry machines and anything running on electricity if given in high enough doses that it wasn't ready for. The Emperor found that out the day of Harry's meltdown when practically everything technological short circuited within a mile radius.

The wizard really needed to stop thinking of all the negatives. This was his chance to see Doll!

But first he laid the helmet on the bed and did a quick check of the apartment. Everything was locked and secured, nothing out of place. It was finally time! Harry almost skipped back to the room but forced himself to only slightly speedwalk.

He took a breath grabbed the helmet and stuffed it on his head, wincing a bit at the tight fit- the padding still needed to be broken in- before carefully laying down. Slowly he drifted into unconsciousness as the game activated, completely missing the three shimmering orbs that sank into the headset.

Black. Everything was pitch black and for a moment the war veteran felt a peace he'd not had since his first introduction to the wizarding world. That peace was shattered with a blinding flash of dizzying blue as his surroundings melted into a white chamber that seemed to stretch for eternity on all sides.

Harry blinked dazedly, body tense and ready to fight, glancing at the floating chair that held a small girl wearing a helmet with wires coming out of it from nearly the entire thing. The different colored wires all went back into the chair behind her making her look like some macabre parody of some cheesy old sci-fi science experiment. The front had a giant three emblazoned upon it which meant absolutely nothing to Harry. She shifted, her curtain of long chestnut brown hair waving slightly, and smiled down at him. "Hello and welcome to Second Life! Here you will be creating your avatar and once it is made there can be no changes afterwards. Because it is supposed to be 99.9% realism guaranteed there will be no changing of genders or anything of that sort~," she chirped cheerfully with a small twinkle in her brown eyes.

She opened her mouth to talk again but paused cocking her head to the side as if listening to someone speak. After a moment her attitude became even more cheery, if that was even possible. "Wow! You are our one millionth player to create an account. How extremely lucky! The creators will give you wish in celebration so choose wisely!"

"Um…." Harry muttered in shock, "I'll choose my wish later."

The girl nodded energetically.

"Can I…" Harry paused thinking over the race options Bai had explained to him last night. While choosing the angelic race would give him the freedom of flight it was also the class that had the least amount of physical and magical defense. So that was out. He didn't really want to be human even if overall they had the most well-rounded stats. He wasn't… into becoming a beast either. Really the only choice he even remotely liked was the elves and that was mostly because of his fascination with High Elves during his schooling. It was a wonderful day when he'd stumbled across an ancient tome in the Black library that spoke of the Elvhen people leaving for another dimension. Actually that was pretty much the start of his fascination with all types of beings and creatures. That day he had been in such a fantastic mood that not even the cruciatus he had suffered in his dreams via Tom had brought him down.

The game elves had extremely high agility but, just like the angel race, had pretty terrible physical defense. The magical defense was decent at least. "... see myself as an elf?"

Slowly a form fizzled into existence in front of him and Harry had to admit that he liked it. His tan skin had lightened to a fairer tone and his hair fell slightly flatter but not enough to make a difference in the bird's nest of flyaway hair it normally was. His ears were long enough to poke out of the black hair. Other than that he looked just as tired and thin as Harry himself. It was pretty realistic.

"Would you like to either beautify or uglify by 30%?"

There was actually an option to uglify? Okay… "I'll do the beautify, I guess," the wizard said softly.

The girl nodded her head, even though Harry couldn't see it, and added the beautification to the bishie that was already in front of her. The end result had the small girl trying in vain to stem a nosebleed. Harry stared critically at the healthier looking avatar. For once… he actually looked like a normal person. A normal person that had a normal life with no nightmares or paranoia haunting his every step. It was oddly satisfying.

When the avatar opened his eyes there were twin gasps and a resounding thump behind Harry, startling him into turning around. The girl had fallen off the chair, the helmet rolling a small distance away. He turned his attention back to the form in front of him, keeping an ear open for the person behind him. The sclera were completely pitch black where there should have only been white. It made the elf's already glowing eyes seem ominous and his face took a more feral expression. It was disconcerting but slightly… awesome.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry! There must be a glitch in the system that I can have fixed right aw-"

"No," Harry interrupted. "I'd like to leave it like this. If you would please?"

He glanced up at the still blushing female slipping the fallen helmet back on clumsily. A thoughtful look stole over her face, and hesitantly she nodded. In a firm tone she said, "But if it gives you any problems Pm me. My name is Lolicat and I'm a GM, okay?"

Harry nodded and turned his attention back to the elf version of himself. There was just something saying that he should keep those eyes… and there was nothing saying there weren't muggleborns that played this game. He could not allow himself to be recognized in that case. He was being extremely risky in only barely glamoring himself while in China and that didn't even seem to apply here in the game world. So he needed to make him look different and while the eyes were definitely a distraction he needed something more.

"Ah! Could you turn the scar into a tattoo and elongate it through my eye and and to the bottom of my chin? Is lengthening hair possible?"

"Of course! And how long would you like it?"

"Hm… calf length please." It would be easy to braid out of his way and long hair was quite different than his normal rat's nest. The tattoo was perfect, looking nothing like how his original scar did. The hair was also nice; with the length weighing it down there was only a slight wave to it instead of the mess he was used to. "Can I change the color?"

"Well it's possible but…"

Harry turned to her with a raised brow, "But?"

"May I make a suggestion?"

"Please do. If I don't like it I reserve the right to reject it, though."

"But of course~! With your current skin tone and the way you're opting for a more intimidating look," Is that what he'd been going for? He'd just wanted to make himself unrecognizable, "I'd say to darken your hair. Right now it's very dark brown but making it black or blue black… no just regular black as the blue would contrast your eyes too much. Anyway, the dark would make your skin pop in a very pleasant way~!"

Harry mulled it over. He was trying to change his appearance entirely but.. This was the first time he'd seen himself so… pleasing to the eye. It was the first time ever that Harry actually enjoyed looking at himself. He supposed the previous two changes would sufficiently hide him from most common sense lacking wizards. Well… it wasn't like he wasn't already risking his hide with the glamors already. His paranoia could kiss his ass for once, he wanted to enjoy this game and search for his little sister.

"Alright," he agreed watching the very long hair darken. It was definitely very pretty to look at.

"Is there anything else now?" Lolicat had to try very hard to hold in her squealing. Lolidragon was going to be so jealous that she'd met a bishie on par with Prince, or even better considering his more masculine lean compared to Prince's distinctly feminine look. And she'd even gotten to help him, if only slightly, with his character design!

"No."

"Of course! Have you thought about what you'd like your wish to be?"

He hadn't. Not really. Harry had been too busy admiring himself embarrassingly enough. He'd never had the chance to be vain like this after all. It definitely had to be something non-restrictive and his mind flashed briefly to the angel class. It was like an epiphany and with a smile the soon-to-be-player turned to Lolicat and asked for wings.

It was such a strange request that she hesitated, but the full force of those pleading green eyes and that hopeful little smile did her in. She contacted the creators and was silent for a few minutes while Harry fidgeted impatiently, forcing himself to still. Fidgeting was movement that could give away your position.

Her eyes opened and she jerked her chin at the avatar. There just barely poking over the shoulders were the tips of what looked to be tiny bird wings. The wizard walked behind his avatar to study them. They were a beautiful brown that turned white at the tips but...they weren't quite what he was expecting…

"You'll need to level them up just like any skill. The more you use them the larger they'll get. This makes it fair to all the players, okay?"

That made a lot of sense.

"Alright. I'm done with my character then."

"Oh no you're not! You still haven't decided on a name," Lolicat exclaimed.

Harry looked startled at her exuberance, but nodded and started thinking. There wasn't anything he could think of that would fit. Obviously he was not going to use his titles from the wizarding world; that would be a dead giveaway. Hermione's voice popped up exclaiming his people saving thing. Harry shook his head. That would be a dead give away and Saviour of the Wizarding World was one of his titles.

But her voice nagged at him in the back of his mind. He'd always been the Saviour, even of the bullied and downtrodden. The wizard groaned and rubbed his eyes. Why was this so hard?

"Would you like some suggestions?"

"No, no… I would like to be named Savior." Hermione always did win those arguments in the end. And just because it was his screen name didn't mean anything! There was going to be no funny business in this game. "I'd like to start on the Central Continent, please."

Happily flouncing back to her chair, Lolicat sat and activated the player's life. "Oh yeah! All players stats are randomly assigned so you don't have to worry about that," she beamed cheerily as the man and his avatar merged and disappeared.

AN: Alright! So I got a few positives for the rewrite of A Prince! Looks like I'm going to be putting it on here as well as A03! Yay! So... Tell me what you think? Especially if you've read the first one! XD