Harry's head swam. One minute, he was standing in a gleaming white port town, breathing fresh air, with a warm midday sun beating down on him. The next moment, he was gasping and choking in the middle of icy cold space on some unknown moon, trying as hard as he could to find oxygen and struggling to get the stopper out of the small bottle of air. Within seconds, he had managed to pop it off and the little bottle poured out a steaming cloud of pure air. He gulped and panted as the cloud enveloped the large tableau of blue-grey rock he found himself standing on. A dome of a light grey smoky mist soon covered the platform of lunar rock, and to Harry's great relief he immediately noticed a warming sensation; evidently the air was enchanted to keep them all from freezing to death.

He took a minute to catch his breath and clear his head, and he was stunned by what he saw. He was most assuredly no longer on Azeroth, at least not its surface, as the giant, spinning planet was several hundred thousand miles below him, a splattering of brown and green land on a sea of blue, set among a backdrop of an inky black curtain dotted with bright little holes. It resembled Earth, though it was a bit smaller, and Harry immediately thought of home. He had lost track of how long he'd been gone - had it been a week or a month? - and he wondered how Ginny and Ron and Hermione were doing.

The platform of rock he was standing on also contained a pyramid of four large metal machines, all humming and all connected by a strange, glowing electricity. The dome of air seemed to end just inside the ring, as if it were keeping the air in place. Moments later, the remainder of his party materialized from nowhere in a large circle around him. Harry supposed he had been sent ahead to prepare their destination.

"So, what's the story, mate?" said Splatterpaw, sniffing the strange air. "We're on the moon or summat? Ain't that a treat! What's our move?"

"Er," began Harry. The truth was, he really didn't know. "I suppose we should...er... assign strategies, I guess."

The others nodded. "I will stand in front and keep the monster's attention," said Malchior. "My natural armor will protect me."

Sharla knocked a hand on her armor. "Well, me armor ain't natural, but it's some o' the best around. Built like a Dwarf steamtank."

"Alright. Is there a Healer?" asked Harry.

"Very strong with most holy Light," said Doruu. "Doruu will pray for friends. Light answer prayer, mend wounds, soothe pain."

"I, too, am versed in the arts of restoration," said Indilwen. "Elune's child shall grant me his blessing."

Harry nodded his assent. "Alright. What else do we have?"

Negragh waved an axe. "I like to look 'em in the eye as I slice 'em up," said the orc.

"Hehe, me too, brother," chimed in Axle.

"I'll rip 'em to shreds, mate," snickered Splatterpaw.

"Not if I do it first!" sneered Anna.

"Jinju be perfectly alright from back heah," said the troll.

"My effective distance also exceeds close range," commented Gibble.

"You know I'm much better with long, hard things," said Raewen coyly. "Short sticks just aren't my style."

Harry did a quick head count. "Alright. The way I see it, we've got two protectors, two healers, four close-range fighters, and four long-range fighters. I say we split up into two groups. Half and half," said Harry. "Let's go around the circle, starting with...you." He pointed at Doruu. "Group one." He continued sorting until Malchior, Doruu, Splatterpaw, Axle, Gibble, and Raewen were in the first group, and he, Sharla, Indilwen, Negragh, Jinju, and Anna were in the second.

"Everyone, use your strengths together," said Harry, feeling a bit foolish at how pretentious he felt. "We're all in this together, like it or not. This isn't Horde against Alliance. This is everyone against some...thing that wants to destroy us. It doesn't want us to suffer. It doesn't want to take what we have. It just wants us, and everyone and everything we know and love gone. And I will not let that happen."

The battle cries were tremendous, and Harry felt an enormous surge of pride and affection for his comrades. "Just one question, pal," said Axle. "How do we get this party started?"

Harry had to admit he hadn't thought that far in advance. The question was soon answered for him, though, with a giant rumbling that shook the surface of the moon, sending dust flying everywhere.

"FINITE ENTITIES," came a sinister, booming voice. "YOUR EXISTENCE IS NO LONGER TENABLE. YOUR INTRUSION INTO MY DOMAIN NECESSITATES YOUR IMMEDIATE REMOVAL."

"No!" shouted Harry. "We're not letting you get away with this!"

A swirling mist appeared in the center of the dome. "THE ELECTROSTATIC BONDS IN YOUR MOLECULES WILL BE RENDERED INERT. YOUR ATOMS WILL DISSIPATE INTO THE VOID AND THE STORAGE MEDIUM OF YOUR COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS WILL BE ERASED."

"What?" yelled Negragh.

"He said we're gonna die," explained Anna.

"Show yourself, Saros!" demanded Harry.

The voice paused a moment before responding. "YOUR AWARENESS EXTENDS TO MY DESIGNATION. THIS IS UNFORESEEN, BUT YOUR PROPOSAL IS ACCEPTABLE," it echoed. The swirling mist gathered itself in a blurry vortex and slowly formed into a vaguely humanoid essence. It was a golem, nearly twice Harry's height, made up of an incalculable number of the same void orbs that Harry had seen in his nightmare fantasy. Each orb was also made up of a number of smaller orbs, which were in turn made up of even smaller orbs, so that the entire being looked like a giant handful of black and purple marbles.

"MINISCULE BEINGS, I AM OF THE COSMOS, TIMELESS AND INFINITE. YOUR STRUCTURE AND ESSENCE ARE SUBOPTIMAL. REFORGING THE UNIVERSE REQUIRES AN AMOUNT OF ENERGY ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE HIGHER THAN ANY CONVERSION ATTEMPTED BEFORE."

"But you'll be destroyed, too!" shouted Indilwen.

"INCONSEQUENTIAL BEING! DO YOU BELIEVE ME CONSTRAINED TO YOUR LAWS OF PHYSICS? ONCE THE MATTER CONVERTERS HAVE REACHED CRITICAL MASS, THEY WILL BEGIN A CHAIN REACTION IN WHICH ALL MATTER AND ENERGY WILL COLLAPSE UPON ITSELF, AND I WILL BEGIN ANEW. ONLY NOW HAVE I OBTAINED THE FINAL EQUATIONS. THEY EXIST ON A LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS TOO ADVANCED FOR YOUR MICROSCOPIC FLESH TO COMPREHEND," stated Saros.

"That is patently untrue!" cried Gibble. "We gnomes can comprehend nearly anything!"

"YOUR CHALLENGE IS ACCEPTED." One of Saros' orbs flew off and inserted itself onto Gibble's forehead, where it melted into his skull. Gibble grabbed his head with both hands, yelling in agony, shaking and struggling to absorb the knowledge. His eyes turned as black as space for a moment. Harry was afraid Gibble wasn't going to be able to handle it, but he saw Doruu silently mouthing a prayer, and Gibble's eyes cleared and he relaxed.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" said Saros, annoyed. "YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THESE MATTERS IS TOO LIMITED. YOU ARE UNFIT TO RETAIN SUCH KNOWLEDGE."

Gibble only shook his head and smiled. "Gnome intelligence is second to none."

Saros turned in Harry's direction. "YOU ARE THE ONE DESIGNATED HARRY POTTER. KNOW THAT IN YOUR IMPATIENCE AND BLIND TRUST YOU HAVE LED YOURSELF AND YOUR SYSTEM OF OTHER MORTALS INTO OBLIVION. THE ONES YOU DESIGNATE AS THE DRAGONFLIGHT HAVE PERPETUATED A MYRIAD OF FALSEHOODS."
Harry was angry. "What are you talking about?"

"THE CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE DIFFERENT EVOLUTIONARY STRUCTURES OF THAT PLANET," responded Saros. "THE DRAGONS INFORMED YOU THAT THERE WERE ONLY TWELVE PRIMARY RACES, AND THIS DATA IS MISREPRESENTATIVE. THERE ARE SO MANY, MANY MORE THAN THAT." Another of Saros' orbs detached itself from his body, and another orb fell into its place.

It grew in size and form, until it was a glowing transparent blue. Suddenly, a shape formed in the center of it. A large sort of panda bear was walking on two legs, wearing a straw hat and martial gi, and wielding a thick cane.
"THIS ONE IS CLASSIFIED AS A PANDAREN," said Saros. The Pandaren disappeared, only to be replaced by a large bison man, shaggy and fierce. "THE TAUNKA, FAMILY TO YOUR TAUREN ALLY." Malchior looked surprised at the mention. The taunka was replaced by a fat walrus man - or woman, it was hard to tell - with long drooping tusks and a bushy mustache. "THE KALU'AK. WALRUS PEOPLE OF THE NORTHERN BIOME." Swish. Enormous spiders with what may have been human-like bodies. "THE NERUBIANS. AGGRESSIVE SAPIENT SPIDERS." Swish. A half humanoid, half lion creature. "THE RAMKAHEN. LION PEOPLE OF THE DESERT REGION." Swish. A muscled, stout dwarf-like creature. "THE EARTHEN. FORMED EONS AGO FROM MATRICES OF INORGANIC MATTER." Swish. "I get it!" yelled Harry. "What does this have to do with the dragonflights?"

"THEY TOLD YOU THAT IN ORDER FOR YOU TO SUCCEED, IT WAS NECESSARY FOR YOU TO COLLECT AN ITEM REPRESENTATIVE OF EACH OF THE MAJOR RACES OF AZEROTH. THIS WAS A FALSEHOOD."

"I don't believe you!" said Harry.

"IRRELEVANT," boomed Saros. "IN PRECISELY EIGHT TRILLION, TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINE BILLION, FIVE HUNDRED FORTY-EIGHT MILLION, TWO HUNDRED THIRTY-THREE THOUSAND PERIODS OF RADIATION OF THE HYPERFINE LEVELS OF AN ISOTOPE OF CESIUM, THE MATTER CONVERTERS WILL REACH CRITICAL MASS. I WILL CONVERGE THEM AND BEGIN THE CHAIN REACTION."

Gibble's mind was working furiously. "That's fifteen minutes from now!" he exclaimed.

"AFFIRMATIVE," said Saros. "YOU HAVE THAT PERIOD OF TIME TO PREPARE FOR OBLIVION."

"NO!" shouted Harry. "Maybe the dragons did lie. Maybe they sent me on a stupid wild goose chase. It doesn't matter! I don't care! I won't let you do this!" snarled Harry, drawing his wand. "This ends now!"

"IGNORANT HUMAN," said Saros. "THIS ENDS FIFTEEN MINUTES FROM NOW."

Harry had finally had enough of Saros. He raised his wand and signalled his compatriots. Malchior and Splatterpaw disappeared, to be instantly replaced by their bear and cat forms. A small altar appeared, its sconce filled with glowing white water, courtesy of Doruu. Indilwen's eyes glowed, and Harry suddenly felt stronger and smarter, more in tune with his own movements. He felt an invisible hand guiding his wand hand, and he smiled; he was sure he wouldn't miss with his spells. Negragh roared, "LOK'TAR OGAR!", and everyone, Harry included, echoed him. He didn't know what it meant, but it felt good to say it. Sharla's shield glowed a brilliant gold. Axle's daggers were dripping with sick green poison. Jinju's four totems were at his feet, and three small orbs of lightning were orbiting around him dutifully. Anna was busy with a deadly spell of her own, drawing an unholy purple circle and summoning the spirit of whatever she could reach to inhabit the nearest deceased body. Gibble had finished his summoning, and his tiny black imp Pagzip was preparing one of its little fireball spells. Harry's nerves were on edge, but he steeled himself and took a deep breath.

"NOW!" shouted Harry. The two groups rushed at Saros from both sides. Malchior sprinted faster than any bear Harry had ever seen, and began swiping and tearing at Saros' void spheres. One of them came loose, only to be replaced by another from inside Saros' body.

"Don't keep aiming at the same spot!" commanded Harry. Reluctant though he was to be chosen as a leader, now was not the time for modesty. "Change it up!"

Axle darted in and out like a ghost, daggers removing orbs, spreading out in a fan of knives. Sharla pounded relentlessly with her lethal mace. Splatterpaw's claws raked orbs away. Raewen's arrows landed, again and again, each one shattering orbs where they struck. Anna and her...whatever creature it was, that looked and smelled like a corpse, were slicing and gnawing at any loose part of Saros they could find.

"Keep it up!" encouraged Harry. His own spells, his Diffindo and Sectumsempra and even Crucio, were scoring direct hits, and they seemed to be making some headway in removing his orbs. But to Harry's dismay, the loose pieces of Saros' form were regrouping and floating back into his body, regenerating him.

"YOU ARE NOTHING," boomed Saros. "YOUR DISMAL EFFORTS WILL ONLY DEEPEN YOUR DESPAIR. YOU HAVE ELEVEN MINUTES."

"You have to destroy the orbs, not just remove them!" yelled Harry. "Group one, pull off all the orbs! Group two, pick a partner and destroy them!" Group two, Harry's group, did as he said, and soon each member was paired up with someone. Harry found himself with Negragh.

"Don't go in a pattern, Negragh!" said Harry. "He'll see it coming! Mix it up and make it random!"
"Got it!" came the reply, and Negragh started interchanging his slices with his slashes, his thrusts with his chops. He spun his axes in a whirlwind of fury, daring Saros to come near him.

'ENOUGH!" said Saros, and Harry was thrilled to hear a note of temper in the elemental's voice. "YOUR INTERFERENCE IS BECOMING NOISOME. YOU SHOULD HAVE SPENT YOUR LAST FEW MOMENTS ACCEPTING THE INEVITABLE. NOW I MUST EXACT A PENALTY." Saros sent a multitude of orbs out in every direction, several of them connecting. A chorus of painful cries erupted, and Harry winced. But Doruu had been one of the lucky ones not hit, and she was more than up to the task of purging the corruption of Saros' orbs. Renewed, they all doubled their efforts, and Saros was getting noticeably thinner.

"FIVE MINUTES REMAIN," said Saros. "THAT IS ALL THAT STANDS BETWEEN YOU AND THE ENDLESS NIGHTMARE OF THE VOID." He sent out more orbs, many more than previously, but Harry had predicated that Saros might try again, and he was ready.

"Start moving!" he shouted as soon as he saw the first orb move. Everyone sidestepped or strafed, and only poor Splatterpaw was hit this time. Doruu's prayers were working miracles, and with every jab, every crackle of energy spent, Harry felt one step closer to defeating Saros. Saros then did something that sent a chill through Harry. He sent four orbs up in a pyramid, and they began to rotate and spin. At first, Harry thought it was going to emite some sort of beam or something, but it only formed a small vortex. Then, to his shock, the vortex began to suck the air from the bubble into itself; Saros had discovered the purpose of the bubble.

"Hold on, everyone! Things might get a little weird here!" Thinking quickly, he cast a series of Bubble-Head Charms over everyone. Soon, eleven faces looked back at him, each staring as if they had been stuck inside a fishbowl.

"Engorgio!" The Bubble-Heads grew until they enveloped everyone in a thick envelope of protection, leaving their weapons and sharp claws free, and no sooner had Harry completed casting the spell around himself than the pyramid of orbs had finished removing all the oxygen from the area, and everyone was looking at the backdrop of stars once again.

"TWO MINUTES REMAIN," said Saros, and Harry was incensed.

"Pull out all the stops!" shouted Harry, his voice sounding strange and muffled. "Don't hold anything back! If you have any special tricks or last-chance moves, this is the time to use them!"

Jinju uttered some words in a foreign language, and Harry felt a burst of heroism flood over him. He furiously sent spell after spell, crushing Saros' orbs in a flurry of magic, and he noticed that the others were following suit, frenetically slashing, slicing, and searing.

"ONE MINUTE REMAINS. WHY DO YOU RESIST? WHAT MAKES YOUR EXISTENCE SO WORTHWHILE?" asked Saros, his form weak and diminishing.

"EVERYTHING!" screamed Harry. "EVERYTHING WE HAVE, OR WANT, OR THINK, OR FEEL, OR SAY, OR DO IS WORTH DEFENDING! EVERYONE WE LOVE AND CARE FOR IS WORTH DYING FOR!"

"INCOMPLETE DATA. WHAT IS MEANT BY LOVE?"

"There's no data because you can't quantify it!" snarled Harry. "It isn't data or facts or numbers or anything like that!"

And suddenly, everything Harry had done over the past weeks had fallen into place. The things he had learned...the experiences he had been through...being torn from his home and thrown into a world he barely understood...nearly being blown up...being sent into the middle of a frozen wasteland...it all clicked. He knew what he had to do next.

"But I'll tell you what love is!" said Harry. "Love is strength! Strength to admit when you're vulnerable!" Harry pointed his wand at Negragh, who floated to a position just outside of Saros.

"Love is tenacity! Fighting for love makes it mean something!" Anna was next, floating to a position opposite Negragh.

"Love is generosity! You give love, you get love!" Axle floated up and above Saros, forming a triangle.

"Love is curiosity! Finding out the good and the bad and loving no matter what!" Gibble was next, completing the square.

"Love is honor! Always keeping your word!" Sharla took a spot down below Saros.

"Love is bravery! Putting yourself in harm's way to protect the ones you love!" Malchior was across from Sharla.

"Love is passion! Never doing things halfway!" Raewen floated directly above Malchior.

"Love is compromise! Putting their needs above yours!" Splatterpaw was on Saros' side.

"Love is wisdom! Learning from each others' experiences and listening to them!" Jinju floated to a position behind Saros.

"Love is patience! You plant a seed of love, you nurture it, and you watch it grow into love that lasts forever!" Indilwen was on Saros' other side.

"Love is kindness! You do things for people you love just because it makes them happy!" Doruu's position was above and behind Saros.

"AND YOU?" said Saros. "WHAT IS LOVE TO YOU?"

"Love is..." started Harry. "Love...is magic." He floated himself into position, facing Saros, in the same twelve-sided figure that had brought him there, with Saros in the core, surrounded by all of them. He remembered his first kiss with Ginny, how he had felt in tune with her, with himself, with the whole world, and cast his spell.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The world exploded.

Harry would recall later not really knowing how he had returned to Azeroth, except that he must have, at some point, remembered what he was doing and used his rune stone to teleport them all back to Theramore. What he did remember was Alexstrasza, Chromie, Kalecgos, and Itharius beaming at him, shaking his hand and clapping him on the back. Even the dark-skinned elf woman managed a half-smile and a courteous nod.

After he had said his goodbyes to all his friends and they had left, he turned to the dragons. "I must beg your indulgence and apologize for the subterfuge, Harry," said Alexstrasza, semi-seriously. "Naturally, there are a great many races living and sharing this world. But the simple fact was that we were presented with a challenge unlike any we had ever encountered, and we did not have the slightest notion on how to proceed. That is why we chose you. You have been through many challenges in your short life, yet you do not give up hope or run from adversity."

"If I had ever given up hope or run away, I wouldn't be the person I am," said Harry.

"That's true," agreed Chromie. "And you wouldn't be where you are now."

"Speaking of which," said Harry. "Can I go home now?" I'm sure my wife and my friends are going nuts looking for me."

Chromie shook her head. "Don't forget, Harry, I'm a guardian of the timestreams. I can have you back before you left."

"That...won't be necessary," said Harry, grinning and remembering his third year at Hogwarts. "But five or ten minutes after would be great."

"The world of Azeroth owes you a great debt which it can never repay," said Alexstrasza. "But I believe we can offer you a small token of our gratitude."

She produced a beautiful silver ring, inlaid with a dozen bright, glittering gemstones: a garnet, an amethyst, an aquamarine, a diamond, an emerald, a pearl, a ruby, a peridot, a sapphire, an opal, a topaz, and a turquoise. "This should serve as a reminder of what you have accomplished here today, Harry. One stone for each friend. And you need not worry about embarassing explanations - once you put it on, only you will be able to see it."
Harry took the ring and slid it on his right ring finger. It fit perfectly, and felt smooth and warm. He smiled. "Thanks."

"And do not concern yourself with the fortunes of your friends," said Itharius. "One day, you may see them again."

"I think he's deserved a rest first," said Chromie. "Ready to go?"

Harry nodded. "Ready."

There was a single flash, and Harry disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. He appeared in Kingsley's office, coming out of the fireplace, slightly out of sorts. "There you are, Harry," said Kingsley. "I thought you were coming right over."

"I, er, had to make a ... detour," said Harry.

Kingsley nodded, thinking he understood. "I see. Let's get a bite to eat, shall we?"

Harry had never been so hungry in his life.

A/N: And that concludes our little epic. Thank you all so much for reading along! Special thanks to the players of Malchior, Indilwen, and Splatterpaw for allowing me to use the likenesses of their characters. There is a planned sequel in the works, not to fret! Thanks again!

-Gryff