Harry blinked as he stared around himself. He was back in the clearing. "I don't recall falling asleep - "

The sky above him cracked before turning black. The sun became a moon the color of blood - blood moon. The trees around him withered and died, crumbling into dust, and it suddenly felt both boiling hot and freezing cold all at once.

This was mildly disconcerting.

Voldemort's hand shot out and grabbed Harry by the throat. His red eyes narrowed dangerously. "What the actual fuck is wrong with you?!"

Harry's eyes widened. Voldemort never used that word - he considered it to be beneath him. For him to use it. . . This must be serious.

"Is there a problem?"

Voldemort's grip tightened around Harry's throat. "A problem?" he hissed. "So you can't even see it, can you?"

Harry considered it. "Is it because I went with Illya? Because I'm not going to - "

"I don't care about what you want to do with Illya. So you want a protege - fine! Mold her like Dumbledore molded you - fill her head with nonsensical delusions."

Harry frowned. "I didn't go with her because I wanted a protege. I went with her because she was suffering, and I could do something to help her - "

"Whatever," Voldemort said dismissively. "You saw your past self in her or something - I don't care. What I do care about, however, is the frankly absurd way you've been acting in the past few days."

"Absurd way?" Harry asked in confusion.

Voldemort released Harry's throat and stepped back, clenching his hand tightly into a fist while his red eyes seemed to pierce through Harry. "Let us analyze the events, Harry Potter. On the night that you arrived, you had been more than ready to kill Shirou Emiya if he had forced you to hurt innocents with the Command Seal. That is perhaps the only redeeming quality you have - you may dislike killing, but if you have to, you will."

Harry nodded slowly. "Indeed."

"Then why the hell is Illya still alive?" Voldemort spat. "You not killing Illya on the first night you met - that's understandable. You had just woken up after arriving in a new world, and you were up against an enemy you knew nothing about. Attempting to go for the kill when you don't even know the full situation is just asking for trouble."

"That, and she was a little girl," Harry supplied helpfully.

"But tonight," Voldemort continued, ignoring Harry, "You had the chance to kill Illya - don't lie, instead of Stunning her, you could've used any other spell - but you didn't kill her."

"Saber - " Harry began but was cut off immediately.

"I don't care what Saber thought. She has her own code of honor - so what? It's not as if you hadn't killed people before that the mudblood wanted to spare. Plenty of times, actually. In fact, you may have been the only person fighting against me other than Alastor Moody and a few assassins that didn't hesitate to kill first, ask questions later. Your friends from Hogwarts were using Stunning spells against the giants while you were busy Avada Kedavra'ing my entire backline! You may like diplomacy - hell, just like Dumbledore, you worship diplomacy and peaceful tactics, but in the end, when it doesn't work out, you can and you have resorted to killing."

"And when the time calls for it, I am still willing to kill," Harry promised.

"Are you? Are you really willing?" Voldemort asked skeptically. "Then why didn't you kill Illya tonight? After both Avada Kedavra and Fiendfyre failed to work on Berserker, you should've just cut your losses and cut down Illya. But somehow, Saber managed to convince you to spare her life and attack Berserker. And after that, for some strange inane reason you had this little mental breakdown - "

"I prefer the term revelation."

" - and then you suddenly decided to abandon Saber, Shirou, and Rin and join forces with Illya! Don't you see just how absurd that is?!" Voldemort cracked a knuckle, and something exploded off in the distance. "And see, if that was the only thing that happened, then it might be excused. A single incident is understandable - unlike me, you're not perfect. But no, it has happened multiple times since you've arrived in this world."

"Multiple times when I've behaved in absurd ways?" Harry frowned. "I'm afraid you have to elaborate."

"First off, you didn't kill Lancer. When he called a 'time out', you listened and stopped your attack. Can we just take a moment to appreciate just how foolish that was? Even if Lancer was cool with you and he wasn't going to attack - he could still be forced to attack you by his Master with Command Seals!" Voldemort flung his hands into the air. "All the Servants that you're fighting - they're all ticking time bombs! It doesn't matter how friendly or honorable they may be - their Master can and will force them to kill you and your friends."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "So you're saying I should kill someone simply because they have the potential to hurt me? You know that's not how I operate."

"Then what about Shinji Matou?"

Harry winced. "Ah. That."

"I can't believe you let him get away. I can't believe Rin let him get away. I can understand Shirou letting him - he's even more idiotic than you are - but you and Rin should have known better."

"Okay, so in my admittedly weak defense - I hadn't wanted to immediately incapacitate him because he might've pulled out some surprise."

"Surprise?" Voldemort said dubiously.

"He had confessed to placing the Bounded Field around school," Harry explained. "That meant we were on his turf." He looked to the side. "Besides, I can't really blame him for acting the way he did. He is, after all, incapable of both defending himself and providing his Servant mana to defend him."

Voldemort scoffed. "Oh please, don't give me that. Not even a year ago, if someone had been hurting others even if it was to save themselves, you would've stopped that person immediately without a second thought. Besides, I know you felt your little intuition warning you about him. Last time it reacted that strongly, you had been fighting Bellatrix. The Harry Potter I know would've incapacitated then interrogated Shinji the second he met him." He leered at Harry. "Which begs the question: what changed?"

"What do you mean 'what changed?'" Harry bristled. "I'm the same as before - "

"Are you blind? I have literally met blind people that can see more than you." Voldemort held up a finger. "First, you let Shinji Matou go even though by all rights you should've incapacitated him. And even now, you're planning on - what, relocating him? You're not even going to imprison him just in case he may be useful later! Have you forgotten that one time you held two of my Death Eaters hostage?"

"You want me to hold Shirou's friend hostage?"

"Don't give me that. You and I both know that Shinji is not Shirou's 'friend.' Moving on though, against Lancer, you stopped your attack. You let him go. There were literally fifty-six different other things you could've done that would've been infinitely better, but somehow you managed to choose the worst option!"

"Okay, but - "

"And then, for the coup de grace, when Illya and Berserker attacked, you used a Stunning spell on Illya. What the hell is wrong with you?" Voldemort breathed heavily. "Ever since we've arrived in this world, you've grown weaker and more foolish!"

"I object to that," Harry frowned.

"Overruled!" Voldemort snarled. "Before you came to this world and had been fighting Rasputin, you had been going for the kill. And then after we arrived. . . things went downhill from there, until you literally let an enemy walk away, no strings attached. And then, if that hadn't been bad enough - you joined forces with a mentally unstable enemy!"

"Illya's not mentally unstable," Harry defended.

Voldemort raised his eyebrow.

"Well, okay, maybe a little," Harry amended.

"Bottom line is, right now, you are acting like an incompetent Ministry rookie Auror who can't even distinguish between a Stunning spell and a Cruciatus Curse! So tell me, Harry Potter, why are you acting this way?!" Voldemort leaned back, awaiting Harry's answer.

And quite honestly, Harry didn't have one. Initially, he had been ready to dismiss Voldemort's claims - it wasn't the first time Voldemort had gotten mad at him for something he did. However, Voldemort raised several very good points. His actions have been steadily declining from the realm of competency and mastery to inexperience and naivety.

"You're. . . you're right," Harry breathed. "Why didn't I immediately incapacitate Shinji? While I wouldn't stoop to your level and use Legilimency on him, I should've at least interrogated him. He literally confessed to draining people of mana and placing the Bounded Field over the school. And I let him leave. And even now, instead of hunting him down, I'm in the Einzbern castle."

Voldemort nodded, gesturing for Harry to continue.

"And the fights against Berserker and Lancer. . . I could've handled it so much better. Against Lancer, all I did was reveal my abilities to Lancer without gaining anything in return." Harry paused. "I mean, I didn't reveal my entire arsenal, but he now has a general grasp on what I can do with Transfiguration."

Harry stared down at his hands. "And Illya - " Harry shook his head. "Nah, pretty sure I handled that perfectly. I know it probably doesn't mean much to you, seeing as you lack a heart and all, but Illya. . . she reminds me of myself when Sirius had died and I went berserk, so to speak."

Voldemort's eyes unfocused. "I remember that. I lost a good chunk of my forces to you." He grinned. "I would like to thank the people that stopped your rampage. It helped me out a lot."

Harry smirked. "But at the same time, because my friends helped me remember myself again, I was able to defeat you."

Voldemort sighed heavily. "For the last time, the only reason you defeated me was because of pure bullshit - namely, your Fading, resurrection, and the fact that it was a 2v1. To be honest, I would've been more afraid if you had been in your rampaging state."

Harry shrugged. "PoTatO, pOtAtO. In any case, while I admit I could've done things a lot better with Shinji and Lancer, against Illya - "

"You were equally as foolish, if not even more so," Voldemort growled. "You could've knocked out Illya. Those floating silver bird constructs were easily counterable, and you had already landed a Stunning spell on her once. Why, pray tell, didn't you just knock her out, Apparate her away from Berserker, and then try to be her friend?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak but then froze. Why hadn't he done that? Berserker couldn't have done anything to stop him, and Harry could've Faded through the silver wires and Apparated Illya out.

Voldemort must've seen the realization in Harry's eyes because he nodded approvingly. "Finally, you're starting to understand just how stupid you've been."

"Dear Merlin," Harry stared down at his hands in horror. "What's wrong with me?"

"Do you really want to know?" Voldemort asked.

Harry nodded.

"You've run out of luck."

Harry blinked. "Come again?"

"In your fight against me - and all subsequent fights afterwards (though I can't really call them fights) you only managed to win because of the sheer dumb luck you possess." Voldemort smirked. "It just so happens that you've run out."

"That's. . . not it."

"It is."

"Isn't."

"Is."

"Isn't."

"Isn't."

"I'm not falling for that one again." What could be the cause of Harry's degeneration? His mind feels fine, as does his magic and his body. He couldn't sense any external forces affecting him. Quite frankly, there should be nothing -

Ah.

That.

"Voldemort," Harry sat down on a couch that materialized underneath him and steepled his fingers. "I believe the reason is simple." He met Voldemort's curious gaze. "It's psychological."

Voldemort snorted. "Well, obviously. I can sense no obvious strain on your magic, and your body itself is in peak physical condition. Whatever your problem is, it's in your mind."

Harry nodded. "Quite simply. . . the beings in this world are too weak. Well, not weak weak," he hastily amended. "But - well. Saber, Lancer, Berserker, Rider are literal legends, yet none of them can even scratch me. They all use physical attacks for the most part, and against a wizard, physical attacks just aren't a good idea unless they're used in tandem with magic."

He paced around the clearing. "Without a wand, I can't exactly defeat them - I don't have enough firepower - but they can't kill me either. Hell, none of them can stop even my Apparition! Not to mention how it's just easier to Fade in this world."

"Fading should be easier in this world," Voldermot agreed. "Recall how Saber said that the Will of the Planet is constantly trying to erase a Servant from existence. Whenever you Fade, you are essentially removing yourself from Reality, and as such the process would be facilitated by the Will of the Planet."

Harry considered. "Huh. You may be correct. In any case, Fading used to have a massive strain on my mind and body, which is why I typically only used it in the last resort, but ever since arriving in this world. . . well, to put it in perspective, against Rasputin, I only Faded when all my other spells failed. But here, I Faded when my wand exploded. I could've done anything else - Apparate, create a small shield - but my instinctive action was to Fade out of existence."

"So you're saying your Fading, which was already bullshit before, has grown stronger?"

"Yeah."

"That's - that's broken."

"It is. In any case, I honestly don't have to worry about my life anymore - there hasn't been a single person I've met so far that is a legitimate threat. The only thing that can defeat magic is magic, and they just don't have magic or anything on its level. And that is what led to my degeneration."

Voldemort tilted his head questioningly. "How so?"

"I have unconsciously let my guard down," Harry clenched his fists. "Back in our world, I lived in a constant state of battle-readiness. But now. . . without a tangible - or even intangible - threat, I no longer need to live in such a state. It's similar to how even the strongest warrior would grow weaker in peacetime - only the process that typically spans years happened in a matter of days for me." Harry shook his head in bewilderment. "I don't even know why."

Voldemort snapped his fingers. "Your wand."

Harry frowned. "I don't have one."

"Exactly," Voldemort crossed his arms. "You've had your wand since you were, what, five years old?"

"Give or take."

"And in that time, you've been separated from it only a handful of times, and never more than a day or so. Most wizards form a strong attachment to their wands - the only time a wizard doesn't need his wand is when he's dead. A wizard's true power can only be drawn out by a wand. Wands, after all, single-handedly propelled wizards to the top of the food chain."

"I don't see how that matters," Harry said.

Voldemort sighed. "It matters because wizards subconsciously associate their wands with being powerful. I do it, Dumbledore does it, and you do it too. When we are wandless, it feels as if we're missing a limb. And we feel weaker - we are weak. People would say that a wand is a wizard's biggest strength - but at the same time, it's also our biggest crutch."

Harry nodded in agreement. "So the combination of those two factors - nobody being a threat and me being wandless - has led to my rapid deterioration."

"That, and the fact that your mental state has always been. . . slightly questionable."

"What do you - " Harry paused as he considered it. "Ehh, fair enough."

Most normal people don't snap and go on a killing spree when their godfather is killed. There was a reason why magical education started at 11 years old and not five. Especially with Dumbledore's unique training method -

Harry banished those thoughts.

"How should I fix this?" he asked. "I mean, it's not as if I'm going to go up to my enemies and give them a foolproof strategy on how to defeat me."

Voldemort shrugged. "I don't know how to restore your previous constant combat state. Now that you're aware of the problem, however, I imagine it'll soon restore by itself - the mind is a marvelous thing. If nothing works, I suppose you can always just let one of your friends die."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Y'know, the whole point of getting back to my previous level of proficiency is to make sure the people around me don't die."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Speaking of which. . . what exactly happened?" Harry inquired. "I don't recall falling asleep."

Voldemort shrugged. "I have no idea."

A moment of silence as they pondered on it.

"Ehh, I probably passed out or something. I had never used wandless magic to that extent, after all." Harry nodded and stood up. "I know I've never said this before, but. . . thank you."

Voldemort's eyes widened in surprise.

Harry chuckled. "If you hadn't brought it up, then my mental state would've undoubtedly continued to decline and I would've grown weaker and weaker - and I wouldn't have noticed at all." He scowled at the thought. Had he truly became that idiotic and complacent in such a short amount of time? It seemed impossible.

Voldemort smirked smugly. "Well, someone had to speak up about your irrationality, and it certainly wasn't going to be your friends." He paused. "I hope you're not expecting me to say 'you're welcome.'"

Harry laughed. "Naturally."

They stood there in silence for a moment.

"Well, I guess I'll go."

Voldemort nodded. "Do me a favor, and actually display some competence in your actions this time - " He froze before his image flickered. Harry frowned. This had never happened before.

"Voldemort?"

Voldemort's image stabilized, but something was decidedly off about him. It took Harry a second to realize it, but when he did, his wand automatically materialized in his hand. Voldemort was entirely emotionless - there was no arrogance, no amusement, not cruelty - nothing.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded.

Voldemort stepped forward, and Harry held back a wince. It was wrong - it was so so wrong; instead of the typical smooth, almost dancer-like movements Voldemort had, it seemed as if each individual muscle was being controlled by a puppeteer that didn't quite get the timing down right, resulting in jerky, uncoordinated movements. Harry could see Voldemort's muscles flexing at random intervals - contracting then relaxing immediately afterwards as if something was testing them out.

"- - -"

Harry frowned. "What?"

The thing that looked like Voldemort but was definitely not Voldemort paused for a moment - all of his muscles locked up rigidly - before each individual muscle strand on Voldemort's twitched consecutively, one after another, until there was something vaguely resembling a smile on his face.

"- - -"

Harry backed away slowly. "Voldemort, if this is your idea of a joke, it isn't funny - "

A small twitch of Voldemort's hand was all the warning Harry got before Voldemort blurred forward and his cold fingers were touching Harry's forehead, forcefully pushing down on it and Harry cried out as he felt a searing acute pain, which shouldn't even be possible in his dream -

And then everything went black.

XxX

"Harry? Harry. I command you to get up!"

Harry's eyes snapped open to see Illya staring down at him. He smiled. "Hello there, Illya."

"What happened?" Illya demanded. "Why did you pass out?"

Harry chuckled as he tried to sit up - and then his chuckles turned into a groan as his muscles protested. "Ah, it's nothing."

Flooding the body with magic was a great way to massively enhance one's physical capabilities, but it came with its drawback. Namely, a wizard will wake up sore as hell the day after.

Healing magic gently trickled through Harry's body, soothing the bones and muscles. After a moment, he was able to sit up.

Illya glanced at him suspiciously.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"All night. I couldn't wake you. It's morning right now."

Harry glanced out the window, where sunlight streamed in. "So it is." He blinked before looking down. "Did I sleep in your bed?"

Illya nodded. "Yeah."

Harry's head instinctively whipped around, expecting Rin to pop in any moment with her comments. Thankfully, she wasn't there.

He still couldn't believe that he didn't know the other meaning for the word sleep. Hell, he couldn't believe that Sirius never taught him it. Sirius had once taught him all the different ways to, ahem, tie someone up, but apparently such basic colloquialisms like sleep didn't matter to Sirius.

"Sella is already making breakfast for us. Come on, let's eat," Illya turned around and began walking away, clearly expecting Harry to follow.

Harry watched her bemusedly. She was definitely acting like a princess. Oh well. He was hungry anyway. He got up, cast a quick Cleaning charm on himself, and -

SMACK.

Illya turned around, confused. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Harry mumbled. He had just facepalmed rather audibly, but for good reason.

Last night, he had entered the Einzbern Castle and he hadn't done anything. He had literally walked into an unknown, potentially hostile territory, and all he had done was make his introductions.

Voldemort was right. Harry really had acted like a rookie Auror who only got in because of nepotism and bribery.

Harry sent out a pulse of magic to gather information about his surroundings - then froze. "Illya?"

"Yes?"

"Umm. . . not to be rude, but are you human?" She didn't feel fully human. She felt. . . she felt like Voldemort, Harry realized, after he had undergone numerous rituals altering his body.

Illya blinked. "I'm a homunculus."

Harry nodded. "Ah, I see - " He paused. "Wait. What?!"

Illya nodded. "Yup."

"Oh." Homunculi were considered some of the darkest magic in his world - not only did it require creating a body, but it also required creating an artificial soul. If creating a functioning body that a soul can inhabit was hard, then creating a functioning soul that can inhabit a body is virtually impossible.

However. . . death in this world operated differently. Perhaps souls did too? He'll have to look into that. Later, though. For now. . .

"Can I have a strand of your hair?"

Illya's eyebrows scrunched together. "Why?"

"I need to create a wand."

"A wand?" Illya's frown deepened, as if she couldn't comprehend the idea, but she plucked a strand of hair from her head nonetheless and handed it to Harry. "Okay?"

Harry took the strand of hair, inspecting it carefully. If Illya wasn't fully human, then it would be improbable but still possible that her hair could channel magic through it without burning out. "I'll be right back," he said before spinning in place and Disapparating out.

One quick trip to England later and he was back with a single wand-length twig in his hand. He went through the preparation motions mechanically, not daring to have any hope. Once the strand of hair was inserted into the small hole, Harry sealed it back up.

Illya watched his actions with confusion in her gaze. "What are you doing?"

"Observe," Harry replied simply before he looked down at the wand in his hand. "Hey, uhh. . ." this was way more awkward than before. "My name is Harry Potter. And - well, I've been acting kinda stupid for the past few days because I didn't have a wand. Also because of other reasons, but let's not dwell on that."

He could feel Illya's inquisitive stare on him.

"Without my old wand - a beautiful holly phoenix wand - it feels as if one of my limbs is missing, a limb that I cannot live without. And it would be great if I could get that limb back, and I think you can do it for me."

A single pulse went through his wand.

"I didn't realize it before, but. . . I miss my old level of competency and skill. I miss having a wand - being wandless had been horrendous," Harry paused. "And now, I need a wand more than ever. Because I have one more person to protect," he glanced at Illya, "And I need you for it. I know it's a lot to ask. But can you be my partner?"

For one horrible, gut-wrenching second, the wand remained lifeless in his hand. Then warmth traveled up his arm as sparks shot out of his wand - but unlike before, they were at full strength: brilliant red-and-gold sparks that lit up the room like dazzling fireworks.

It worked?

It worked.

Illya's eyebrows rose in surprise as Harry grinned exuberantly. "So. . . did you just create a wand?" she asked hesitantly.

Harry's smile widened. "I did. No, not just any wand - a good wand."

He waved his wand in one broad stroke, and everything in the room began floating and spinning in circles. "Ah, this is brilliant." Wands were definitely not appreciated enough by wizards. It was wonderful.

"Does having a wand matter?" Illya asked.

Harry chuckled. "Oh, trust me: it matters." He canceled the charm with a simple flick, relishing in the ease at which his magic was channeled. "Let's have breakfast."

Illya nodded, still slightly confused, but grinned. "Very well."

Harry had expected to have to spend long hours experimenting with different materials and runes to create a proper wand, perhaps even journeying to the Reverse Side of the World to procure materials. Instead, the perfect wand core was in front of him all along. Getting a proper wand was a lot simpler than he had expected.

He's not complaining though.

XxX

"Mistress, are you well? Did Harry do anything to you?" The second they walked into the dining hall - a large room with grand chandeliers and a massive table that seated twelve - the two maids had rushed up, promptly ignored Harry, and began questioning Illya.

"Need I stab?" Leysritt's broken speech was cold and emotionless.

Illya shook her head. "Nope. Harry passed out after he entered my room."

Harry winced. "There were extenuating circumstances - "

Sella laughed derisively. "Is that so? Perhaps the almighty Sorcerer is weaker than we thought."

Harry inclined his head. "You're free to have your own opinions." Incorrect ones, of course.

Sella's glare showed him just how much she appreciated his condescending comment. Harry simply responded with a polite smile with just a tinge of smugness in it. He had learned from Dumbledore, the master of condescension and patronization. He then turned his gaze towards the table, and paused.

Three plates at one end of the table. One plate at the other end, as far away as possible.

Illya saw as well. "Oh, come on. You can stop worrying," she said to Sella and Leysritt exasperatedly. "What is he going to do, poison me?"

Sella and Leysritt shared a glance and Harry realized that yes, they did think he might try to poison her.

"Move Harry's plate over here now," Illya commanded.

Sella gave a grudging nod as Leysritt reluctantly moved the plate over to the seat opposite Illya's. Leysritt, Sella, and Illya all sat on one side, and Harry sat on the other. He glanced down. Bacon, eggs, toast - a proper English breakfast. While Illya looked like a mix between Japanese and European, the two maids looked purely European.

"Are you two also homunculi?" Harry asked.

Leysritt nodded. "Yes."

"Our sole purpose is to take care of and protect Illya," Sella narrowed her eyes at Harry. "Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

They finished breakfast quickly - or rather, Harry and Illya ate while Sella and Leysritt pretended to eat while staring at Harry with a laser focus.

"What do you want to do?" Harry asked as the two maids cleaned up the table.

Illya smiled brightly. "Show me your magic."

Harry smiled back with excitement in his eyes. "Gladly." He finally had a wand again. He intended to make good use of it.

XxX

Harry grinned in exhilaration as he shot off spell after spell, relishing in the experience. He only cast spells that Illya had already seen a variation of before, of course. Dragons made of flames soared through the sky as great earthen pillars rose from the ground. A magical shield surrounded them - it let light in, but it didn't let light out, resulting in everything happening inside staying inside.

Illya was staring slack-jawed at this point. Harry's wand twirled and a great geyser of water streamed out from the tip before it solidified into ice.

After being wandless for so long, having a wand felt so good.

"Alright, I'm done," Harry waved his wand and everything went back to normal. The shield collapsed.

"Wha - what was that?!" Illya finally demanded in disbelief and awe.

"Multiple transfigurations, conjurations, and charms," Harry answered.

Illya shook her head, her eyes wide. "Those were. . . those were High Thaumaturgy spells cast with the same speed as a Single-Action spell - no, faster! Without any incantations!"

Harry blinked. "What?" He didn't understand any of that.

"Single-Action spells are spells that can be cast in a second. High Thaumaturgy spells are spells with power at least A-rank or above. How powerful are you?" Illya breathed.

Harry grinned. "Powerful enough."

Illya stared at him silently for a moment. "If you really wanted to last night, you could've killed me without me even realizing it."

Harry paused. "Just because I could do something doesn't mean I would."

Illya smiled. "Yeah, you told me already."

"That being said, however. . ." Harry flexed his fingers. "This Holy Grail War has gone on long enough and numerous innocents have been harmed already," He smiled dangerously. "Why don't you say we end it?"

Illya's eyes widened. "You mean - "

Harry nodded. "Yup. I can't keep on using non-lethal measures against Servants who attack me." He shook his head in self-loathing. "I should've done something to Caster and Rider when I first met them, but I didn't. I was foolish for doing that."

"Hmm. . . if you and Berserker combined forces, I daresay you two will be unstoppable," Illya smirked. "Very well. Who shall we go for first?"

"Someone I should've taken care of the moment I laid my eyes on him," Harry's wand spun lazily in his hand. "Shinji Matou."

XxX

"Okay. I can explain," Harry held up his hands placatingly. "It was an accident, I swear. For you see, I had hoped that you falling onto an iron spike from hundreds of feet up in the air would do some damage to you - or at least slow you down. I swear I didn't know that you would land that way."

Berserker slowly backed away from Harry, his entire stance defensive, his eyes locked on Harry, looking for any signs of movement.

"I really am sorry about that. It was an unfortunate accident." Harry sighed. "Look, I know we didn't get off to a good start. You tried to kill me, I set you on fire with the most destructive flames I know. . . but now that we're on the same side, we can work together, right? I mean, we both have a common interest: Illya's continual happiness and safety."

Berserker glanced at Harry skeptically.

Harry sighed. "Not you too. Is it really that weird to be kind and wish for a little girl to be happy?"

"Yes," came Illya's prompt reply. She frowned. "I don't think you fully comprehend the state of the world we live in."

Harry cocked his head. "You're right, I really don't."

"I guess we can fit in an impromptu modern history lesson before we storm Onii-chan's school," Illya mused. "Alright. So you already know that mages stay hidden in this world, right?"

Harry nodded. "Yup."

"Did you know that most mages hold no regard for human life, and they will do almost anything to further their own research?"

Harry's blood went cold. "What?"

Illya nodded casually. "Mages honestly don't have any morals. They don't see things like normal people do. All they care about is their own research, and ultimately reaching the Root. They can commit horrible crimes but they will not be targeted as long as the secrecy of magecraft is preserved."

Harry stared at Illya uncomprehendingly.

"Rin Tohsaka is a rare exception - her mage education was interrupted by her father's death. Most mages in the Mage Association are cruel and without empathy - some of them even make me look like a good person. I've heard stories of them razing entire villages to the ground to fuel their rituals or kidnapping babies for experimentation."

". . . and all mages are like that?!" Harry finally got out.

"With exceptions. Like Rin. And Onii-chan. And - " her expression darkened as she abruptly closed her mouth.

Harry scratched his head. "Well then. I admit, I did not know that." He shook his head in bewilderment. No wonder Illya thought it was so strange of him to just go with her.

"Well, let me just say that I believe in concepts like morals. And empathy. And kindness," Harry rubbed his forehead. "Wow - wait," his head whipped around at Illya. She didn't believe in concepts like morals and empathy and kindness because nobody had taught her them. Or perhaps someone once did, but the world around her forced her to discard them.

After all, for her to talk about the state of the world in such a casual, accepting manner. . . No. She may accept the society, but Harry will not.

Now he knows what to do after the Holy Grail War is finished.

XxX

"Out of curiosity, why do you hate Shirou so much?" They were back in Illya's room, Berserker having reverted back to Spirit Form (he didn't seem to like Harry very much). They weren't going to storm the school during the day; there were too many witnesses. Once school let out though, then Shinji would be fair game. Until then, however, they had time to kill, and Harry wanted to understand why Illya hated Shirou.

Illya's entire expression seemed to simultaneously darken and shut off all at once. "Because he took him away from me."

Ah, the pronoun game. Harry loved the pronoun game.

"Who, exactly?"

Illya stared up at Harry, silently examining his face. "Kiritsugu," she finally said. "Kiritsugu Emiya. My father."

And just like that, Harry's world came crashing down. "Wait, so you're actually Shirou's sister?!"

Illya blinked. "Why else would I have been calling him Onii-chan?"

"Okay, good point," Harry said slowly. "In which case. . . what happened?"

"Kiritsugu promised to come back. But he never came," Illya whispered, looking down. Then her expression turned hateful. "All because of Shirou Emiya."

Ohhhhh shit. This wasn't good.

"How was it Shirou's fault? He didn't even know that you existed," Harry reasoned.

"He's lying."

Harry scratched his head. "No, I'm pretty sure he's not. I don't think Shirou can lie, and if he does, then he'll undoubtedly be terrible at it."

"Then you're wrong," Illya said adamantly, her eyes hard. "Shirou Emiya took Kiritsugu away from me. Kiritsugu betrayed me and replaced me with Shirou. I hate them both."

"Okay. . . I don't know the deal with Kiritsugu. But Shirou didn't even know who you were; how was it his fault?"

"I. . ." Illya stared down at the floor.

"From what I know of Shirou, he doesn't seem to be the type who would willingly hurt his own little sister."

"I'm older than him," Illya murmured.

"And besides - wait, hold up," Harry mentally compared Illya and Shirou. "I'm fairly sure Shirou is older than you. You're what, ten, eleven?"

"I'm eighteen."

". . . no you're not," Harry denied.

"I am. Because of the modifications to my body, I have a distorted growth rate."

". . ."

This. . . this actually didn't change things all that much, actually. Harry wasn't one to judge based on age; after all, in the Wizarding World, there were numerous creatures that aged and matured at a different pace than normal wizards. "In any case, how can you hate Shirou? He didn't have anything to do with Kiritsugu leaving you."

"He did."

Harry shook his head. "He thought he was an only child. If you wish to blame Kiritsugu, then I won't stop you; I don't know what happened. But Shirou, like you, is innocent in all of this."

"No he isn't."

Harry sighed. "Then how was it Shirou's fault if he - "

"Because it was, okay?!" Illya suddenly shouted, whirling onto Harry, agitation in her eyes.

"How?" Harry asked calmly.

"I - I don't know!" Illya glanced around wildly, as if looking for something to back up her assertions, but there was nothing there. "It's all his fault. I hate Shirou. I need to kill Shirou."

Harry frowned. This made no sense. Illya wasn't listening to facts and logic. Why was she acting so irrational - oh no.

"Illya," Harry said urgently. "If it wasn't your father, then who raised you?"

Illya tilted her head confusedly. "Elder Acht."

"And did he say anything about the situation with Kiritsugu and Shirou."

Illya nodded. "Yes. He was the one who confirmed Kiritsugu's betrayal."

Damn it! Harry had to turn away so Illya couldn't see the sudden rage in his eyes. He analyzed the facts. Kiritsugu had left Illya at a young age to go live with Shirou. Mages of this world were messed up. The Einzberns wanted to win the Holy Grail War. Harry knew from experience that hatred and pain can strengthen a person, and the Einzberns definitely knew it too. Harry would like to think that they wouldn't brainwash a little girl, to direct all her anger and resentment into a single goal, but. . .

He needed to have some words with this Elder Acht.

For Illya, however. . . Harry doubted he would be able to get through to her. Years upon years of pain and betrayal and resentment and bitterness and mental brainwashing couldn't be wiped away by him - or anybody. Except for one person.

"I understand," Harry reached out and patted her on the head comfortingly, something Sirius used to do to him.

Illya brightened. "So can we go kill Shirou?"

"No."

XxX

Illya stared at the scene before them with wide eyes. "This is unfair," she breathed.

Harry nodded in agreement. "It is."

Illya's primary form of attack was creating familiars made from her hair. The familiars were autonomous and could act with a limited degree of sentience. They typically took the shape of a bird.

It also just so happened that the spells the Weasley Twins applied to their fireworks could also be applied to the familiars.

Another rock shot towards the bird, courtesy of Harry, and when it struck the bird, the bird exploded - or rather, the surface layer of magic surrounding the bird exploded. Charming an object to explode when struck with Stunning Spells is somewhat difficult. Charming an object to explode when physically struck is infinitely easier.

"If any melee attacker tries to destroy my familiars, then all they'll get for their trouble is an explosion in their face," Illya chuckled.

"Charmed to be unbreakable, its speed and agility increased. . ." Harry smirked. "And it could all be done in less than a second. I love having a wand."

His wand thrummed with agreement.

"And how long do your spells last?" Illya asked.

Harry shrugged. "As long as I maintain a magical connection with them." He paused. "I can inscribe runes that make them permanent." That's what the Weasley Twins - and indeed any magical item producer - did with their magical items. A simple rune would allow the spell to keep its potency for a length of time. A much more complicated runic array, however, would draw in ambient magic to power the spell continuously, as is the case with the Sorting Hat.

Illya shook her head. "That won't be necessary. You will, after all, remain by my side to maintain the connection."

XxX

"So what's the deal with Shinji?"

Harry cracked a knuckle absentmindedly. "I met him at Shirou's school. I had a really bad feeling about him. Looking back, I behaved in a monumentally stupid and idiotic way, and I don't really understand why I just let him go."

"What did he do?"

"His Servant drained the mana of students because he couldn't provide her with mana. He also set up a Bounded Field around the school."

Illya's mouth fell open. "He did what?!"

Harry frowned. "Is there a problem?"

"He's a bold one," Illya mused, ignoring Harry's question. "Are you sure he wasn't able to provide his Servant with mana? He seems like a proper mage."

Harry blinked. "How does setting up a Bounded Field around the school make him seem like a proper mage?"

Illya stared at Harry as if he was stupid. "The one rule of the Holy Grail War is that there can be no witnesses. If someone set up a Bounded Field at a school, then they were probably intending to kill everybody inside."

"What?" Harry hissed, alarm in his green eyes.

"Yeah. You said he couldn't provide mana to his Servant, right? So he was probably planning on killing everyone at the school to drain their energy and power his Servant." Illya tilted her head. "Didn't you know?"

"No! I didn't! There's no way that can be true! I thought the Bounded Field would be strictly defensive!" Harry shook his head in denial. "Besides, Rin was also there. If she knew that the Bounded Field was going to kill everybody, then why didn't she do anything?"

Illya shrugged. "I have no idea."

"But the Bounded Field is still up. We were unable to take it down. . ." Harry rubbed his chin. "And if the Bounded Field would kill everyone inside - " his eyes flashed with alarm. "Then it could be happening right now."

XxX

"I still can't believe he did that to us."

Shirou groaned. "I know. You've said it already. Several hundred times."

They were on the roof of the school again. Ditching class. Because they couldn't really concentrate on anything.

"I mean, what does Illya have that we don't?" Rin scowled. "She's a tiny psychotic murder machine with a gigantic psychotic murder Servant. And he went with them!"

"For the last time," Shirou said patiently, "He probably saw something that we didn't."

"Look, I understand what Harry thought. He's from a different culture, one where the wizards taught him to do silly stuff like treat enemies with kindness. But come on! How can someone still have morals like that after fighting in a war?"

Shirou coughed lightly. "What?"

"It makes no sense. Harry makes no sense. Illya tried to kill us, and he went with her. Even if she was suffering, couldn't he have done something logical, like knock her out, capture her, and then be kind to her?"

"You mean. . . you wanted Harry to induce Stockholm Syndrome in Illya?"

"Exactly!" Rin nodded. "It would've been genius. She would be happy, and, more importantly, she would've been loyal to us."

Shirou edged away slowly from Rin. "Umm. . . right."

"But nooo, he just had to go with her. Into unknown enemy territory. I get that he's powerful and all, but still! Does self-preservation mean nothing to him?" Rin sighed before turning onto Shirou. "This is all your fault, by the way."

"My fault?" Shirou protested. "Hold up, how is this my fault?"

"Because you didn't stop him? No - not just that: you encouraged him," Rin glared. "And now we're down one Sorcerer."

"Hey, I only encouraged him because I kinda felt bad for Illya too. I mean, the only way for a kid to become that murderous is if they went through a lot of trauma and tragedy, right? Besides, you and I both heard the absolute pain and betrayal in her voice last night."

Rin paused. "True enough. I don't know what the Einzberns did while training her, but it probably wasn't fun and games."

"I also wanted Illya to, you know, not want to kill me. And I thought that Harry could talk some sense into her," Shirou continued. He looked down. "Besides, if I thought I could, I would try to save Illya as well."

"But you couldn't."

Shirou sighed. "You're right. I don't even know who she is, but she wants to kill me."

Rin tilted her head. "She called you 'Onii-chan.' Is it possible that your dad had a kid without you knowing?"

Shirou frowned. "I don't know. He did go on trips quite often though. . ." he trailed off as horror entered his eyes. "Wait. Is it possible that Illya truly was his daughter? And he abandoned her?"

Rin narrowed her eyes. "If so, then her actions would make a lot more sense."

Shirou shook his head. "Nah, there's no way. If Kiritsugu had a daughter, then there's no way he would abandon her. Not a chance."

"Really?" Rin asked doubtfully.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah." And he spoke with such conviction, Rin didn't even bother trying to argue.

"Well, perhaps he didn't know about her existence - " Rin froze. "Wait. Your dad wasn't a proper mage, was he?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, there's no way he was a proper mage. You are living proof of that."

"Hey!"

Rin crossed her arms, deep in thought. "Which means. . . theoretically, if Illya was Kiritsugu's kid, and Kiritsugu was a rogue mage, then I doubt the Einzberns would allow Kiritsugu to visit Illya."

Shirou's eyes widened. "You think Illya's family prevented her own father from seeing her?"

Rin chuckled bitterly. "You won't believe the things mages would do. This is all hypothetical, of course. It's entirely possible that Illya wants to kill you because you resemble her worst enemy, or something."

Shirou sighed. "Yeah, I doubt we'll find out." He paused. "Say, what are we going to do about Shinji?"

Rin tapped her fingers against her thigh. "I didn't want to fight him yesterday because I didn't know what his Bounded Field would do."

Shirou frowned. "What do you mean?"

Rin raised her eyebrows. "You really are clueless, aren't you? If a mage sets up a Bounded Field at a school, with a dense population, then they're probably not worried about witnesses." Rin sighed at Shirou's uncomprehending stare. "Because the Field would kill everyone inside."

"Ohhh - what."

"Yup. Even though we definitely weakened the Bounded Field yesterday, it wasn't gone. I wasn't sure how powerful it would be, especially since there were only a few people left in school at that point, which means the magical energy would be much more concentrated and potent. Imagine having to split a certain amount of mana to kill a hundred people versus only having to kill five. So I didn't want to fight."

Shirou paled. "So this Bounded Field around us - is going to kill everyone inside if activated?!"

"Yeah. You didn't know?" Rin paused. "Of course you didn't know."

"How can you be so calm?!" Shirou leaped to his feet, warily scanning the surroundings. "He could activate it at any moment!"

"Oh please. There's no way Shinji would be that stupid. He already knows that we're Masters. He's the Master of Rider, remember? Rider already lost badly against Saber and Harry, and if he does anything at this school, since I'm here, Archer would also be an enemy." Rin gave a confident smile. "So don't worry. Shinji won't try anything."

Shirou bit his lip. "But Harry isn't here today."

"Yeah. It'll still be a 2v1 though; Saber and Archer would be present. . ." Rin trailed off as a thought occurred to her. "But Shinji isn't exactly the intelligent, patient sort."

Shirou nodded slowly. "If he saw that a Servant didn't come to school, he'll probably assume that he died or something. And that might make him confident enough to attack."

"And Shinji can just hide out in a classroom while the Bounded Field wreaks havoc around him, and Harry wouldn't be able to teleport in since, you know, he's not here." Rin locked eyes with Shirou. "Was Shinji acting strange in your class?"

"He was giggling a lot," Shirou recalled. "As in, he literally couldn't stop giggling - the teacher had to tell him to step outside. And he did shoot me several knowing glances and a few smug smirks. . ."

The color drained from Rin's face. "Oh no."

A massive tremor shot through the foundations of the school as angry red arcs of energy the color of blood rose from the ground. The roof shook violently as the tendrils of energy formed a barrier around the entire school, and Shirou could distinctly see a single giant eye forming at the very center.

"I thought we weakened the Bounded Field yesterday!" Shirou cried.

"We did!"

"This is the weakened state?!"

"I don't know! Like I said, I have no idea what this Bounded Field is! That's why I didn't want to fight Shinji yesterday!"

They rushed inside once the ground had stabilized and everything stopped shaking. Shirou immediately began gasping as breathing became ten times harder. "Why can't I breathe?"

Rin pursed her lips. "This may be more serious than I had anticipated. It appears that the Bounded Field is, quite literally, melting us."

"It's what?!"

"We need to take it down fast before everyone in this building is liquefied."

"What?!" Shirou's eyes widened. "Sakura!" And he went running off.

Rin sighed. "No sense of priorities," she muttered, before following him. But despite her words, she couldn't stop the pang of worry that sprung up in her heart.

XxX

"Nah, there's no way Shinji would activate it, right?" Harry reasoned.

"I don't know. Never met him before - what did you say his last name was again?"

"Matou. Shinji Matou."

Illya's eyes widened. "Any relation to Zouken Matou?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, his grandfather. How did you know?"

"Nothing," and suddenly Illya was serene again. She grinned. "Hey, can you show me some more magic?"

"Illya. . ." Harry stared at her, unimpressed at her attempt to redirect the conversation.

She sighed in resignation. "Fine. From what I know, while the Matou family does not produce mages anymore, what they lack in ability, they make up for in being absolutely deranged and psychotic. Mostly due to Zouken Matou. If Shinji was trained by him, then he will activate the Bounded Field with not a shred of remorse."

"Okay," Harry nodded once. He stood up. "Let's go."

"I thought you would say that," Illya said gloomily. "And if I commanded you to stay?"

"Then I would disobey you."

"Very well." A glint entered Illya's eyes. "You know, not a single Servant has been killed yet. Let's get first blood."

Harry hesitated before nodding, a dangerous gleam appearing in his eyes. "Rider needs to die. If she's capable of creating a Bounded Field that would kill hundreds of innocent people, then she deserves no mercy from me."

"That's the spirit," Illya cheered.

XxX

"Sakura! Sakura, are you okay?!" Shirou knelt down next to Sakura's unconscious body and checked for a pulse. For one horrifying second, he couldn't feel anything. Then he realized that he had the wrong spot. "She's alive," he called.

"Oh thank goodness," Rin breathed a sigh of relief before clearing her throat. "Not that I was worried, or anything - " Her head whipped around to stare at the skeleton creatures that were crawling out of a purple mist.

"Don't worry! I got it!" Shirou yelled as he dashed out, his pipe Reinforced and ready to go -

Rin simply blew the skeleton to pieces with a Gandr shot.

"Kill steal!" Shirou accused.

"Not the time," Rin hisses. "These things are easy to beat individually, but there'll be a lot of them coming for us. We'll be overwhelmed by sheer numbers."

Shirou held up his hand. "Then I guess we'll need our Servants. I'll summon Saber."

Rin nodded. "Do it." She hesitated. "Should we call Harry?" She took out the rock he had given her.

Shirou shook his head. "Not yet. We can handle this on our own. Besides, what if he's in the middle of something right now with Illya? I wouldn't want to interrupt him."

"You made that sound so wrong."

"What?"

XxX

"Bloody hell, what is that?!" Harry stared at the scene before him in horrified fascination.

Illya tilted her head. "It's a Bounded Field. A strong one at that."

"That's a Bounded Field?! That is nothing like a ward!" Wards didn't have red arcs of electricity rising up from the ground. Wards didn't cast an ominous dark red glow over everything. And wards most certainly did not have a gigantic eye staring down on everything.

"What's a ward?" Illya asked innocently.

"A ward is a - oh it doesn't matter right now!" He had Apparated slightly outside of the school (not directly onto the roof because he didn't want Archer to suddenly shoot him) and had immediately been met by the sight of a massive magical field surrounding the school.

"We could leave?" Illya suggested hopefully.

"Not a chance. You can leave if you want, but I'm going in." A wild smirk made its way onto his face. "Besides, I've been wanting to test out my new wand in a combat situation." His fingers twitched in anticipation. "It'll be so fun."

And he strolled in confidently past the boundaries of the Bounded Field - and then frowned. Was the Bounded Field. . . literally trying to dissolve him?!

His eyes widened as he abandoned his calm stroll and sprinted inside, releasing a pulse of magic to try and find Shinji. He winced from the feedback - the Bounded Field was overwhelming all the other information.

"So where is Shinji Matou?" Illya asked from beside him. She kept up with his sprint easily - clearly, she was using magecraft to boost her physical capabilities. Behind them, Berserker was walking, his giant strides easily matching their sprint. They quickly entered the main school building.

"I don't know," Harry clenched his fists. "The Bounded Field is interfering with my senses. I can't get a clear reading - wait, how is Berserker going to get inside?"

Illya frowned. "What do you mean?"

Harry gestured at the entrance behind them. "He's too tall for that - oh."

Berserker didn't even bother stopping and walked straight through the wall.

"What are you talking about?" Illya called. "Come on, let's go!"

"I'm not paying for that," Harry muttered before following. Inside, Berserker had to lean his head down to avoid hitting the ceiling. If a fight broke out, then Berserker would probably bring down the school, Harry realized. He just had to take down the enemy fast enough; a simple enough task, given how weak Rider and Shinji are.

"How will you find Shinji?" Illya asked.

Harry pursed his lips as he considered his options. He could conjure up some birds and apply charms so that he would share the birds' senses. Yes, that would work nicely -

Wait.

"Do you hear that?" Harry cocked his head and listened. He could distinctly hear some maniacal giggling coming from down the hall. The sound immediately made him feel extremely uncomfortable. "That way."

XxX

"By my Command Seal, I summon you, Saber!" Shirou yelled as the skeletons pounced. Saber materialized next to them a few milliseconds later and sliced the skeletons into pieces. She glanced around them, noting the corrosive effects of the Bounded Field, the unconscious students in the classroom, and the purple mist gathered on the ground.

Saber narrowed her eyes. "Remember when I told you it was too dangerous to go to school?"

Shirou winced. "You. . . may have been right."

Saber sighed. "I sense a Servant on this floor. You two should go shut down the Bounded Field before any innocent lives are lost."

"You sure you can handle Rider?" Shirou asked.

Saber raised her left eyebrow.

"Oh right," Shirou amended. "You and Harry already practically defeated her - " he stopped abruptly when Saber's expression darkened at the mention of Harry's name. "Err, we'll go shut down the Bounded Field."

Saber nodded. "I'll take care of Rider." She turned to face the skeletons already forming from the purple mist.

Shirou and Rin didn't waste any more time talking, instead rushing down as fast as they could.

XxX

Shinji chuckled from where he was sitting on the chemistry lab bench. Rider stood there across from him. Shinji smirked. "Ah, my own genius astounds me sometimes. I bet no other Master would think of something like this."

"Indeed," Rider said dryly. "After all, other Masters are capable of providing their Servants with adequate mana, so there would be no need to drain an entire school to bring their Servant's fighting capabilities up to a minimum standard."

Shinji shot her a glance. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Rider answered. "I was simply commenting on your unique plan - " She tensed up.

Shinji smirked. "Is that so - what the fuck?!" His eyes widened as a section of the wall collapsed and a literal giant stepped through, its angry red eyes seeking out Shinji. Then it roared.

A small whimper escaped Shinji. Then he felt something very sharp touch his neck.

"Good afternoon, Shinji Matou," Harry smiled from behind him. A small silver blade hovered in the air, digging into his neck. "It's been a while."

"Oh, can you show me how the wizards of your world tortures their victims?" A small girl, about ten or eleven with white hair, stood besides Harry, looking excitedly at Shinji. There was a glint of something in her eyes that disturbed Shinji immensely.

Harry sighed. "I would rather not, Illya. However. . ." the point of the blade dug in deeper and drew blood. Shinji went extremely still. "If Shinji here doesn't shut off the Bounded Field right now. . . then I shall have no choice but to demonstrate the intricacies of the Cruciatus Curse."

"Rider, damn it, do something!" Shinji yelled.

Rider hesitated. "It doesn't matter what I do," she finally said. "Harry is faster than me. I suggest you obey, Shinji."

Shinji growled. "Fine! Rider, turn off the Bounded Fie - "

"Destruction of school property? How delinquent of you." A new figure strolled in through the hole in the wall.

Shinji's eyes widened. "You're a Master too?!"

Souichirou Kuzuki removed his glasses, his movements elegant and efficient. "Hello there. I must admit, I am slightly surprised by you being a Master, Shinji Matou."

"And me?" Harry piped up curiously behind Shinji.

Kuzuki gave him an unimpressed stare. "You wore a white cloak to the school. Need I elaborate?"

Harry chuckled. "Fair enough."

XxX

"Rider," Saber greeted calmly. Rider had seemed to finally grow tired of summoning skeletons to attack her, and she had materialized from the mist, her chains in hand.

"Saber," she purred demurely. "I'm delighted see you - "

They both tensed up when they heard a loud roar echo throughout the school.

"Berserker?!" Rider cried out - no, it wasn't Rider; the illusion melted away to reveal Caster. "Why is he - Souichiro!"

Saber, for her part, immediately rushed down towards the source of the roar. If Berserker was here, then Illya was here. And if Illya was here, then Harry was here.

And if Harry was here, then Saber needed to have a talk with him.

XxX

"Are you here to take down the Bounded Field?" Harry asked.

"That was my original intention." Kuzuki looked around the room, taking note of the presence of Berserker, Rider, and Harry. "However, my intentions have changed." He slid into a stance. "I shall eliminate all of you."

Harry smirked. "For a mere normal human, you're pretty confident, aren't you? Sure, you may have good breathing and walking techniques, but face it: you're outclassed."

Kuzuki inclined his head. "You are free to think that - " He stopped and tilted his head, as if listening to someone. "Oh. Never mind. I see the situation with the Bounded Field has been taken care of. I shall take my leave now. Good day."

He turned around and began walking away, but the wall suddenly sealed up.

"Apologies, but I'm not going to let you walk away," Harry said, his wand in hand. "But before that. . . Shinji, take down the Bounded Field. Now."

I'm back.

I feel I must explain what happened with the last chapter. Essentially, when I was writing Chapter 6, I had been watching OPM and Naruto, and I guess that influenced my writing a lot. Hence all the "cycle of hatred" and "hero" stuff. Looking back, it simply did not fit, and was - well, bad. So I took out those parts. Feel free to re-read it if you want, but the chapter is basically the same - I just cleaned it up bit.

Anyway, for those of you who keep on saying that Harry's actions suck and make no sense - trust me, that was intentional (except for Harry revealing his abilities - that's simply because they're not important enough for him to keep secret). From Chapter 1 to Chapter 6, you all should've seen Harry become less and less powerful and more - well, stupid. Primarily because I can't imagine there not being any psychological repercussions for Harry getting thrown into another world without a wand. Also because of - and I'll stop there for spoiler reasons. I had also planned to end all of that the moment Harry got his wand. And so, from now on, Harry will regain his mental faculties and genre savviness until his mental state and actions are the same as in his old world - in other words, competent and rational.

Oh, and he got a wand. Finally. It only took, what, a hundred thousand words? Honestly, I had been planning on using Illya's hair from the very beginning. And for those of you wondering about the Elder Wand. . . chuckles.

I confess: when I had been first writing this, I had been extremely hesitant to write the characters of Shirou, Rin, and Saber. I was new, and I was worried that I would make them OOC, or sound bad, or something. However, after several months, I'm more confident now in writing them, so I'll begin developing their character and making them more genuine. Hopefully, you all will see improvements.

One last word on chapter length - they'll be shorter now. No longer will there be massive 20k word chapters - I'm keeping them around 10k, like A Shinobi Among Monsters.

Thank you all for reading, and please review :)

euphoric