Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to the incomparable J. K. Rowling. No money is being made from this.

Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition – Season Seven – Round Five

Captain for the Tutshill Tornados

Round 5

In A Dimension Far, Far Away

Alternative Universes are already a popular writing trope but let's spice it up a bit. What if the characters are sent to different worlds? I'm currently very interested on theories about the universe and was very glad to come across various types that will surely make your head spin.

Captain: (Dimension beneath the Earth) Write about a secret world or society that exists and operates beneath the surface of the Earth.

Word count: 3000

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Harry looked out the window at the moon, something he'd taken the habit of doing since he'd gained custody of Teddy. A bitter smile pulled at his lips when he saw no moon, no stars—instead, magic dripped from the ceiling above like ethereal shooting stars.

He had been in Atelia for a month now. It was going as well as he had expected, which was why he stayed mostly at home, playing with Teddy in his backyard.

He felt a tug on his leg and looked down, smiling when he saw Teddy.

"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" he asked, picking up Teddy who shook his head, wrapping his tiny arms around Harry's neck.

"Want to go outside?"

Teddy nodded, and Harry smiled.

"Shhh, Teddy, please don't cry," Harry murmured as the tiny toddler cried his eyes out.

Harry had cared for Teddy for only two weeks, and it was the first time Teddy had cried like this. Teddy had been crying since the afternoon; now, it was well past midnight, and there was no sign of him stopping.

Harry continued rocking him, walking back and forth, and suddenly, Teddy stopped crying.

Harry froze in place, staring at the toddler bathed in moonlight.

Harry laughed, a hysterical edge to it. "This is what you wanted, Teddy-bear? A little moonlight?"

Since that night, every full moon, Harry and Teddy would spend the night outside under the open sky.

At first, he had thought that being underground would stop Teddy from longing for the moon, but he was still fussy when the full moon came around.

"Alright, Teddy-bear, let's go."

They walked outside, the darkness offset by bursts of magical light dancing around them like fireflies.

Teddy laughed, grabbing them and babbling as they burst into sparks in his hands.

If nothing else, Atelia was good for Teddy, and that was all that mattered.

Harry wrapped Teddy in a coat with little teddy-bears printed on it. He'd had to buy it when he saw it.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"'eady!" Teddy threw his arms up.

"Alright, let's go." Harry picked him up and walked out of their house, breathing in the fresh morning breeze, so different from the scents he was used to. Everything smelled of earth and magic.

No matter the looks he got when he went to the market, he always enjoyed the bustling street. There were small stores on either side of the street, colorful displays in their windows, and stalls littered the sidewalks—from strange foods to little, enchanted trinkets; however, what made it utterly different from Diagon Alley were the people. Harry couldn't even identify half the beings walking around. Teddy's absolute favorite was a store that sold enchanted plushies that was run by someone that had large butterfly wings and soft red skin. Harry would have called him a fairy based on his wings alone, if not for his size.

"Wizard," someone spat at him as he walked by.

Harry kept going, head held high.

"Wizad?" Teddy asked, looking at him. "'addy wizad?"

Harry smiled. "Yes, Teddy-bear. I'm a wizard."

"'eddy-bea wizad?"

"Yup, you're a wizard, too." He ignored the growls coming from some of the people listening. "A really special wizard, just like your mum and grandmother."

"Papa Mooey?"

"Ah, yes. Papa Moony was an amazing wizard, too. And he was really special because he was also a wolf."

The growling stopped, and Harry had to stop himself from smirking. These people were just as bad as most wizards, just as prejudiced, willing to judge him simply for being different.

"Wolf!" Teddy shrieked, laughing and clapping.

Harry found it utterly adorable that wolf was one of the few words Teddy could say correctly.

"Good morning, Harry, little cub."

Harry smiled at Malivalaya. He was a regular at her shop now, and while her children frowned at him every time he came in, Malivalaya always had a smile for him, even if it wasn't as bright as the one she reserved for Teddy.

"Laya!" Teddy cheered. "Cookie!"

"Teddy!" Harry said, without any heat.

Malivalaya laughed. Her weathered wrinkling around her eyes.

"Now, now, don't scold the cub. He just wants one of the best cookies in Atelia. Right, little cub?"

Teddy nodded as seriously as an almost two-year-old could, and once again Harry was sure he had the cutest son in existence—and no, he wasn't being biased.

"Here you are." Malivalaya held out a cookie, and Teddy snatched it up and started munching, getting crumbs everywhere. She turned towards Harry, the softness in her eyes dimming. "What will it be today?"

"Just a few groceries. This little one"—Harry tickled Teddy's tummy—"is out of his favorites. Considering the struggle it is to get him to eat any type of vegetables, I really need something to bribe him with."

Malivalaya came out from behind the counter. "Very well, the cub's favorites coming up."

"Nanas! Nanas!"

Teddy squirmed around trying to get to the bananas when he saw them.

"Behave, Teddy-bear, or there won't be any bananas after dinner."

Teddy froze in his arms. Slowly, he turned around, aiming impossibly large puppy-eyes at Harry.

"Nanas?" The wobbly lip came into play.

He shot a betrayed look at Malivalaya when he heard her chuckle.

"If you eat all your vegetables."

"Yucky." Teddy pouted looking away.

Harry rolled his eyes, knowing a losing battle when he saw one.

"Thanks," he said when she'd shrunk everything down. "What do you say when we leave, Teddy-bear?"

"Bye." Teddy waved.

"Bye, little cub."

Harry waved as well and walked out of the store. Again, he did his best to ignore the mutters and stares; however, just as he was leaving the market, his skin started prickling, his magic itching.

He had been on the run for too long to ignore his instincts. He pulled Teddy closer, surreptitiously casting a shield charm over him.

He raised his wand when he caught movement from the corner of his eye.

"Stupify!"

He heard the tell-tale sign of body hitting the ground, and ran for it.

They followed, and Harry knew he wouldn't be able to outrun them. He turned into an alley, back to the wall and shielding Teddy as best as he could.

Five men came into view, and Harry recognized one of them instantly. Jona, one of the guards that had been present when he had woken up in Atelia.

"What do you want?"

He kept his wand steadily trained on them.

"Give us the cub," Jona said, taking a step forward.

"Over my dead body!"

Jona smirked. "That can be arranged."

Faster than Harry thought possible, the werewolf tackled him, slamming him against the wall and pulling Teddy from his arms.

"Teddy!" he shouted, struggling against Jona's bulk.

"Quiet, wizard," one of Jona's friends growled, taking Teddy from Jona.

"'addy!" Teddy cried, struggling in the werewolf's hold.

"Don't touch him!" Harry struggled to pull free, and Jona punched him, slamming his head against the wall.

"You should never have been allowed here!" Jona shoved him against the wall, wrapping his hand around Harry's neck. "We're meant to be safe here! Your kind isn't welcomed! They should have killed you as soon as they knew you were a wizard!"

Harry clawed at the hand holding his neck, struggling to breathe.

"'addy!"

He could hardly hear Teddy's cry, the sound muffled and distorted. As his vision was turning black, the pressure around his neck vanished, and he crumpled to the ground.

"What are you doing?" a voice hissed.

Harry staggered to his feet, finding purchase on the wall behind him.

"Arwan—"

"Save it," Arwan snapped. "Give me the cub!"

Reluctantly, the werewolf holding Teddy handed him over to Arwan.

"'addy!" Teddy cried, twisting to look at Harry and holding his arms out.

"Shh, little cub, everything's okay. Let your daddy gather his bearings. You have to be strong for him, okay?"

Teddy whimpered, scrunching his little face. "Stong." He nodded.

Arwan smiled at him. "That's it, cub." He turned to glare at the five werewolves. "The council will hear about this."

"Arwan, you can't!"

"I can, and I will, Jona! You're meant to be a guard! You're meant to protect the people of Atelia! This behavior is disgraceful."

"He's not of Atelia!" Jona was held back by his friends. "He's a wizard who stole a cub!"

"He's a wizard who took in a child and loved him. Get out of my sight."

Jona snarled and stomped out of the alley, his friends following him.

"Thank you," Harry rasped, still propped against the wall.

His heart was beating out of his chest, he had never been so frightened.

Arwan turned to look at him, a frown marring his expression.

Harry stared for a moment, unused to such open concern for him since he had come to Atelia.

"There's no need to thank me," he replied. "This should never have happened." He walked towards Harry, reaching to steady him. "I'll help you home."

"You don't have to."

Arwan narrowed his eyes. "I insist."

Harry didn't argue, he was feeling a little shaky.

"'addy?"

Harry smiled, holding his arms out, and Arwan was quick to pass him the squirming toddler.

"'kay?" Teddy patted Harry's cheeks, frowning at him.

Harry kissed his forehead, breathing in his scent. "I'm fine, Teddy-bear. Let's go home, okay? We can have your favorites."

"Nanas!" Teddy clapped, his hair turning bright yellow for a moment.

Harry startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, seeing Arwan's bright blue eyes—and those intense blue eyes were familiar, he just couldn't place them—and gave a small nod when the man gently nudged him out of the alley.

He couldn't wait to get home and put the whole incident behind him.

The morning following The Incident—yes, Harry believed that the whole thing deserved to be capitalized—he was lying in bed, brooding.

After Arwan had left him on his doorstep, Harry had done his best to remain calm and composed. He knew Teddy had been terrified, and he hadn't wanted to worsen it by freaking out. However, now that Teddy was sleeping, and Harry had spent the whole night tossing and turning, he couldn't get what had happened out of his mind.

He knew he wasn't wanted here, but he had never expected them to attack him so openly. He had no doubt in his mind that if Arwan hadn't shown up, he would be dead.

He jumped at the loud knock on his door, getting tangled in his sheets and tumbling out of bed. A small war followed—barely won by him—until he was finally able to untangle himself.

He got up and went to the door, grumbling all the while.

"What?" he snapped, not even looking at who was waiting outside.

"Bad time?"

His head snapped up at the voice, eyes widening.

"What are you doing here?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to smack himself. Sure, be rude to one of the few people who doesn't seem to hate you.

Arwan's lips twitched. "I didn't mean to impose. If you're busy, I can come back later."

It took a moment for him to react. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he stepped aside. "It's fine. Come in."

"Thank you," Arwan said, looking around as he stepped in.

Harry saw his eyes lingering on the toys spread across the floor, the colorful pillows littering the couch and armchairs, and the bright turquoise accent wall—Teddy's favorite color. Harry fidgeted with the hem of his threadbare shirt, suddenly feeling underdressed.

"I like what you've done with the place. Feels lived in now."

He looked up, finding Arwan smiling at him. A true smile—honest and warm and friendly and something he hadn't had directed at him in months from anyone aside Teddy.

"You know this place?"

Arwan nodded, taking a seat on the couch. "It belonged to my family. We don't really use it anymore, obviously. Father thought it would be a nice place for you and the little cub to build a home."

"Your father?" Harry frowned, taking a seat opposite him.

"Meical Trahern."

"Oh." No wonder those eyes looked familiar. Now that he knew what to look for, he could see they were an almost exact match to the Head of the Council's.

"I'm not really involved much with the Council. It'll be a long while before I take my seat; however, Father told me about your situation. Well, at least a little. He didn't tell me how you were able to break through the wards and actually reach Atelia."

"He's here!"

He ran.

The ground disappeared from under him, and his heart stopped.

"I don't know. We were running, and then… I woke up in the infirmary. Your father thinks that it might have been Teddy's creature blood and my magic interacting with the wards. We may never know for certain.

Arwan leaned back, eyes never leaving Harry. "It was very brave of you to remain here."

Harry snorted. Bravery had nothing to do with it. "It was what's best for Teddy. I can live with them hating me. I'm used to it."

"You have to run, Harry!" Hermione shouted as she slammed the door open. "The laws passed!"

"What?" Harry stumbled to his feet, eyes going to Teddy sleeping in his bassinet.

"Ron just sent me a Patronus. The laws passed. They're coming for everyone with creature blood. They're coming for Teddy!"

"I can't run! I can't just leave and let them do this!" he argued, even as Hermione charmed a bag for him and Teddy.

"Don't you get it?" She stopped to look at him, tears gathering in her eyes. "This is aimed at you. They're targeting you. There are more laws ready to be passed. They aim to cripple you in any way they can. Please, Harry, just go. Don't give them the satisfaction of getting you."

Arwan frowned. "They don't hate you. Most of them had never even met a human before, or a wizard. They're afraid of you."

"Afraid of me?" Harry snorted. "I couldn't even fight off the werewolves last night. They could have killed me. I can see how terrifying I am to them."

"Only because you didn't use magic."

Harry shook his head. "I can't do magic if I'm unconscious." He ignored Arwan's skeptical look. "Besides, there are so many beings here that are so much more powerful than I am. It's ridiculous how utterly screwed I would be if I even thought about doing anything." Harry slumped in his seat. He wasn't surprised by this. This kind of reaction was something he was used to as well.

"'addy?"

Teddy toddled into the room, holding his favorite plushie.

"Teddy-bear." Harry got up from his seat, picking his son up. "How did you get out of your crib?"

Teddy giggled, leaned his head against Harry's shoulder and started sucking on his thumb.

Harry sighed; clearly, he needed to put wards around the crib to stop Teddy from being a little acrobat. He had no idea how Muggle parents managed without magic.

"We have a guest," he said when he saw Arwan's bright eyes locked on Teddy. "Say hello."

Teddy lifted his head a little, waved over at Arwan and went right back to leaning on Harry's shoulder.

Harry chuckled, rocking Teddy a little, and went towards the kitchen. "Will you stay for breakfast?"

Almost silent footsteps followed him. "If you don't mind."

Harry put Teddy on his high-chair, placing a small bowl of baby food in front of him, then turned and started puttering around the kitchen.

"Is there anything you can't eat?" he asked, glancing at Arwan who had taken a seat beside Teddy and was listening to his babbling.

"No, my species can eat anything."

Harry froze for a fraction of a second, enough for Arwan to notice.

"Go ahead," Arwan said. "I don't mind if you ask."

Harry turned around, once again fidgeting with his shirt.

"I don't want to be rude, but well… you look human." He looked away from the bright blue eyes. "Some, it's easy to see right away, like the werewolves or vampires or kelpies. And then there's those that are easy to see as not human or wizard, but I have no idea what they might be, like Lawana." The councilwoman dropped by every week and Teddy loved imitating her skin, eyes, and hair color. Just last week he had perfected the shade of blue of all three and Lawana had looked utterly smug.

Arwan's lips twitched, and Harry stopped rambling.

"I'm a Nuckelavee."

Harry's heart stopped, blood draining from his face.

"You—" Harry cleared his throat. "You don't look like one."

Arwan stood up, walking around the table, and stopping just before Harry.

Funny, Arwan hadn't seemed quite that tall before.

"We are shifters. We can take human form. It is our preferred form when not in the water and when we're not… protecting what's ours."

"I… I—" Harry cleared his throat again. "I see."

Arwan took a step closer, positively towering over Harry.

"Are you afraid of me now?"

Heart wildly beating in his chest, Harry shook his head.

"Are you sure?" Arwan leaned in.

Harry's eyes widened, his lips twitching.

Slowly, Arwan turned, eyes locking on the offending party.

"'addy." Teddy pouted, one hand still full of the apple mush Harry had put in front of him. "Nanas!"

Harry couldn't stop himself from laughing as Arwan's shoulders slumped, and the mashed apples slid down his cheek and neck.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He grinned at Arwan, pushed him towards a chair, and gave him a few napkins so he could clean himself.

He turned back around, half listening to Arwan gently telling Teddy that throwing food wasn't something that he should do, smile never leaving his lips.

Maybe, in this place under the earth with its magic dripping from the ceiling like ethereal shooting stars, he and Teddy could finally find a home.

A.N.: Thank you to my wonderful teammates for betaing :) You're all amazing!