Hello, and welcome to Within Shadow Is Light.

Now, a brief bit of background, I decided, on a sort of spur-of-the-moment idea, to do a Sonic The Hedgehog and Harry Potter crossover. How long it will last remains to be seen, but the simple tale is that it follows the events of Shadow The Hedgehog, or rather, it negates the final scene in which Shadow vows to leave his past behind. In this incarnation, Shadow learns that Voldermort also had a hand in his creation and as a result, sets out to bury his past once and for all, along with the usual suspects chipping in to occasionally help. I have also merged together the timelines of both franchises; since there was never really a designated time or date system in the Sonic franchise, this was easier than I anticipated. The timeline is as follows:

1926: Birth of Tom Riddle.

1932: Birth of Maria Robotnik.

1937: The United Federation secretly launches the Space Colony ARK. Its main purpose is to be able to monitor the movements and communications of Nazi Germany.

1939: The Second World War begins.

1945: The Second World War ends. G.U.N. is formed.

1946: Birth of Shadow aboard the ARK. The Black Comet passes Earth. Tom Riddle arrives on the ARK and departs after striking a bargain with Black Doom. Shortly afterwards, G.U.N. forces attack the ARK and kill Maria Robotnik. Gerald Robotnik is imprisoned and later executed by the United Federation having been accused of aiding Nazi Germany. Shadow is imprisoned on Prison Island.

1950: Birth of Julian Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik.

1973: Eggman receives his Doctorate.

1979: Birth of Hermione Granger.

1980: Birth of Harry Potter and Sonic The Hedgehog.

1981: Downfall of Lord Voldermort. The Order of the Phoenix disbands. Construction on the Death Egg begins.

1989: First battle between Sonic The Hedgehog and Doctor Eggman.

1991: Events of Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD and Philosopher's Stone.

1992: Events of Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets.

1993: Events of Sonic The Hedgehog 4, Sonic Adventure, Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban.

1994: Events of Sonic Adventure 2, Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire.

1995: Events of Sonic Heroes, Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix.

1996: Events of Last Story of Sonic Heroes, Shadow The Hedgehog, Order of the Phoenix and Within Shadow Is Light.

Needless to say, this story is AU and that I don't get anything from this except personal satisfaction when I eventually finish the damn thing.

And so begins our story: Within Shadow Is Light. I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or Harry Potter: they belong to SEGA and JK Rowling. The characters may be slightly OOC, but hey, this is fanfiction. The entire story is already planned out, but if you have any idea where you would like it to go, please do share.

"Expect problems and eat them for breakfast" - Alfred A. Montapert

Magic.

Shadow had previously laughed at such a childish notion, the thought that such a force existed in the world, a sort of psychic power that presided over creation. He had always believed in statistics, facts, mathematical numbers written down. This was before he had lost all of his memory, been double-crossed more times than he could remembered, and been forced to confront a demonic nightmare claiming to be his biological parent, of course. Now, he was ready and willing to believe in almost anything.

The thing was, magic would not have been very high on this list, but dying words had quickly sent him on a new and unexpected adventure. The previous two months had passed by in a blur of destruction and pain, chaos and fear, culminating in a violent and intense battle with the monstrosity known as Devil Doom. The fight had destroyed what had remained of Central City, the structures crumbling with speed. After a straight hour, Shadow, in his Super Form, had managed to throw the beast to the ground and had quickly set about removing the spaceship known as the Black Comet that had carried the thousands-strong force of Black Arms soldiers, off the planet. He had cast it back into space where he had shattered it with the Eclipse Cannon, attached to the ARK. Following this he had been prepared to leave his past behind, bury it far above in the stratosphere, but he had been forced to return once more to confront the being that had given him life.

000

"You did better than I anticipated," said Black Doom weakly as he lay in the rubble of a skyscraper, impaled on a steel rod from a window frame. His three eyes glanced down at the spike that was sticking out of his chest with various parts of his insides coating it and he half closed them.

"Better than anticipated," he repeated. Shadow looked down at him from his perch above on a piece of upturned tarmac.

"Why? Did you think that I would just submit to your will like that? I have my own will, and have no intention of acting contrary to it," he said angrily. "You believed that everything was correct with your master plan, yet you overlooked one important factor; me."

"It seems that I did," said Black Doom; Shadow was sure that he could detect a hint of sorrow in the voice and he leapt down to crouch next to the alien warlord. "I didn't expect you to rebel. In fact, I believed that the psychic connection was almost unbeatable."

"Well, I'm not exactly your spawn," said Shadow irritably, looking away. "You helped Gerald Robotnik create me, therefore, I am not wholly yours."

"That's not what I meant."

Shadow's head snapped round quickly but Black Doom was having a coughing fit, bringing up greenish blood with a tint of black to it. He tried to lift an arm to his face, but did not have the energy and instead sank further down the pole.

"Wait, what did you say?" said Shadow, looking outraged; normally, he kept his temper, but all of his emotions were beginning to come to the boil after a painful eight months. "Are you implying that he didn't even have a hand in creating me?"

"No, he was most certainly your creator. But..." Black Doom paused for a moment as he slid downwards again and his eyes shifted in pain. "I made a separate bargain with another party."

Shadow stared, stunned, as his mind kicked into overdrive.

"Another... party?" he echoed hollowly as he stared at the dying creature.

"A human," continued Black Doom. "A young man. He was possessed of some... divine power. Magic, I believe it would be called. He did things that I never believed could have been done by humans; shapes beyond the face of existence, disruptions of reality. He sought me out before the deal had been struck, and gave me a power, the power to be able to enter your mind."

"The power to possess me?" Shadow stated; the three eyes, for a moment of clarity, stared at him unblinkingly and the head slowly nodded.

"Indeed. He created a mind link with my blood and his own that would allow me control over you after your creation. He had promised that it would work; in return, the deal had been struck that he would receive something in return."

"What?" asked Shadow, although he felt that he might already know the answer; his suspicions were confirmed moments later.

"The Chaos Emeralds. He demanded the Chaos Emeralds. I promised that upon my return, I would deliver them personally." He coughed again and Shadow saw his eyelids drop.

"We both used the Emeralds to transform, you and I," he interjected and Black Doom nodded again.

"And, in your haste to rid this planet of my brethren, you blew up the Black Comet, where they rested. Which means that they have fallen to Earth again."

"Shit!" exclaimed Shadow, standing up and aiming a kick at a rock. He only swore violently on occasions of great frustration and the fact that he had managed to lose the Emeralds again was one of those reasons. He turned to Black Doom who was watching him intently.

"Such pointless emotions you have. If only you had let me guide you..."

"Never," replied Shadow defiantly as he crouched back down again next to Black Doom. "But you can still be of some use to me, if I am to discover my past. What was the name of this human?"

"Are you seeking revenge?" asked Black Doom quizzically. Shadow shook his head.

"No. I am seeking my freedom. Now tell me, who was this person?"

Black Doom's eyes closed; for a moment, Shadow had thought that he had already died, but they opened again slowly and he spoke in a raspy tone.

"Riddle. His name was Tom Riddle. Although, he did not call himself so."

"A moniker?" asked Shadow, intrigued that a human would take an alternate name; the only people he knew who had done that were generally megalomaniac dictators.

"A moniker. He was known as Lord Voldermort. That was how he introduced himself to me. I only found out his real name through probing his mind, although his shields were far more advanced than any I had ever seen."

Shadow stood and took two steps back.

"I could put you out of your misery," he said darkly. "But there is more that I would like to know."

"And know, you shall," said Black Doom. "Unlike you and I, who are now the last of our kind, he lives amongst a thriving community of people like himself. They are called wizards and witches; humans able to manipulate the powers similar to ourselves for their own use. They can conjure fire, water, read minds, create shields and so forth. They are a minority but all hold the power to smite down galaxies. In fact, with my death, I wouldn't be surprised if the wizarding world began to widen its influence. I was seen as some sort of demonic apparition that stopped them from progressing beyond their own reach. A folk legend, if you understand the term. I don't; I presume it means God in a foreign tongue."

"And this Voldermort, why does he want the Emeralds?" asked Shadow, folding his arms.

"The same reason why the Emeralds are desired by all others. Power. They are absolute power. They will bring the holder a certain level of immortality. You were created, the Ultimate Life Form, with the power of the Emeralds. Now just imagine what else that power could be used for."

Shadow mused for a moment and came to the conclusion that if this wizard, or whatever he was, had the Emeralds, he would certainly wield some power. And, if he had struck a deal with Black Doom, it would probably not be the power of granting goodwill to all men.

"So, where is he?" he asked as Black Doom let out a soft groan; he would not last much longer.

"In a collection of countries called the British Isles," the creature replied softly. "They are friends of the United Federation. It is where he resided, when I last heard."

"Which was?"

"Fifty years ago, you fool," said Black Doom softly. "And that is all." He sighed and looked down at himself again before he fixed his gaze on Shadow.

"This is the end. As my creation, Shadow, you have the honour."

Shadow nodded and he walked round until he was facing Black Doom directly. He stared with an intense cold hatred burning in his fiery ruby-red eyes. He clicked his fingers and a bolt of energy appeared in his right glove. Black Doom's gaze flickered to it before he looked Shadow directly in the eyes.

"Finish it."

Shadow slipped his arm forward and the bolt of energy pierced Black Doom's central eye and vanished into it. The eyes glassed over, the gaze fixed at something he could no longer see. A single line of blood began to slowly trickle downwards, vanishing into the top of the ornate jewellery.

There was no cry for mercy. Only the sound of silence.

000

That was a week ago. Now, Shadow stood in the hallway of G.U.N. Headquarters in a city in the British Isles. It was the capital, and it appeared to Shadow to be a more old-fashioned version of Central City, with the exception being that none of it had been destroyed. For reasons unknown, the Black Arms had focused solely on the United Federation and its surrounding countries; the British Isles was half the world away. Its people were nothing out of the ordinary: men in business suits, women in dresses, children laughing and playing happily together. It reminded Shadow of Maria, a painful topic which he doubted he would ever be able to touch on again. He had been fully intending to let it all go, but the revelation of a third wheel had meant that unfinished business still remained.

Getting out of the United Federation unnoticed had been a problem in its own right. Shadow was the hero now; he had triumphed where G.U.N., Sonic and Doctor Eggman had all failed in their attempts to halt the Black Arms, although admittedly, Eggman's reasoning had been less than sound to say the least. The media had been all over him. However, he had managed to divert most of the attention by announcing that he had been working with G.U.N. from the very beginning and that he had been in close connection with the Commander. The Commander himself had quickly realized what Shadow's intentions were and had formally made him a Captain of G.U.N as well as a Special Field Agent. After Shadow had explained his situation, the Commander had been able to organize a media blackout under the premise that Shadow was leaving the country on a mission. The storm had calmed and Shadow had left virtually unnoticed.

Virtually.

Sonic had been concerned for Shadow's welfare and had found him in London two days prior. Shadow's views on Sonic had changed considerably; their rivalry remained but after the traumatic experiences they had undergone in the past two months, Shadow felt more bonded to him. It wasn't just Sonic though, it was everyone; Rouge, Omega, Knuckles, Vector, the Commander, even Eggman. They had all been in it together and they had somehow come through unscathed. For that, Shadow's attitude had softened.

But not much.

He had told Sonic that he didn't need his help, which Sonic had muttered about. On the other hand, he had backed down and agreed to send Rouge and Omega to help him if he needed it. Shadow had been surprised that Sonic was willing to back out of an adventure, but then he had realized that he was simply waiting for the go-ahead; letting in Shadow's two closest friends, even if one was a robot and the other a thief, would make him feel less at ease.

And that was what Shadow needed, after he had read up on Tom Riddle.

Shadow had gained access through G.U.N. intelligence into a place known as Diagon Alley in the capital. He had gone quickly to a library and immersed himself in the section of Dark Arts and History. There had been no-one else there except for a teenage girl with large bushy hair, but Shadow had not paid her any notice as he had begun to study his latest enemy. There had been nothing about Tom Riddle in the books he had procured, but Voldermort had been all over them, none of it very good. From what shadow had been able to gather, Voldermort was easily considered to have been the greatest threat ever to the world of magic. His reign of terror had started roughly around twenty five years earlier had started to grow until, fifteen years ago, he had been defeated. Since then, he had vanished, although from what Shadow had learnt through newspaper cuttings, had recently resurfaced in the midst of Britain's turmoil over the UF's involvement with the Black Arms.

There was an interesting bit that Shadow kept on coming back to though. Voldermort had been able to smite magic-users wizards and witches with apparent ease. Yet he had fallen at the hands of a one-year-old child by the name of Harry Potter. The history books were unable to work out, although there seemed to be a story between all the muddled truths and half-facts. Shadow had left the library, taken all of this information and retired to G.U.N.'s headquarters in London, somewhere near the British Government's Base of International Operations in Whitehall.

He received a pleasant surprise when he got there. As he entered the conference room designated for his use, he found Rouge waiting for him, leant back on a chair, with Omega stood opposite her, his red lights fixed on the door.

"Target… processing… ally… identifying… Shadow The Hedgehog."

"I could have told you that much, you piece of metal," said Rouge irritably and Shadow laughed. She fixed him with an annoyed look. "You've got no idea how bad it is to spend two hours in a room with a robot who is programmed to shoot anything and everything with an IQ above minus thirty."

Shadow laughed again and walked over and sat next to Rouge. He set the various books and cuttings down on the table and firmly grasped her gloved hand.

"Sorry I didn't tell you I was going," he said, with a slight hint of remorse. "I just had to go."

"No problem," she said, smiling, returning his handshake. "But next time, I'd rather hear it from you personally."

"Sonic tell you?" asked Shadow as he sat down and leant back in his chair, glancing at Rouge. She nodded.

"I was at Headquarters and he gave me a call to say that you were in London. So I came and you can't leave Omega unsupervised; he'd blow up the entire country."

"I would not!" came Omega's grating metallic voice. He paused, and then continued a shade reproachfully. "Well, maybe."

"Yeah, precisely my point," said Rouge rolling her eyes; Omega shifted uncomfortably, if that was even possible for a robot whilst Shadow laughed again as he sat back up to look at the pair.

"Sorry to cut you two off, but if you're here, you may as well help me piece together this story I have here," he interjected as he began to spread out the various documents. "I found a whole load on this guy who apparently has some desire for the Emeralds-"

"It always comes back to the Emeralds," muttered Omega, as he moved over to the table to look at the top picture; one of Voldermort that had apparently been taken only four months prior, according to its date.

"That's mainly because they're stupidly powerful," said Rouge in an offhand tone. "You've seen what Shadow and Sonic can do with just one; I imagine that this… Voldermort, or whatever he's called could probably do either equal or more damage with one too. Heaven's knows if he gets all seven."

"Don't remind me," muttered Shadow as he pulled a book from near the bottom of the jumbled mess. "I scattered the Emeralds and don't even have one. For all we know, he may have one. Or Eggman might."

"Hey…" Rouge paused. "That's not a bad idea. Why don't we ask if the good doctor has one?"

"Are you being serious?" said Omega, and his tone suggested that he was less than willing to agree to this suggestion.

"Yep. We're not asking him to give it if he has one. We can just steal it if he does."

"But if he doesn't, then he will know they are missing too. Everyone bar us and Sonic believes that Shadow has the Emeralds."

"Sorry to disappoint you Omega, but Rouge has a point," said Shadow, musing over the idea. "If he does, we'll have saved ourselves no end of time. And, if Eggman starts looking for them, then we can get on his back and beat him to it."

Omega was silent for a moment before he spoke again.

"Very well. But I volunteer Rouge for this mission. If I go near him, he'll be dead too quickly for his purpose."

"Agreed," said Shadow, turning back to Rouge. "You haven't got a say I'm afraid, but how hard can it be for the world's greatest treasure hunter to find it?"

"You always know how to sugar-coat it for me," said Rouge, winking as she stood up. "I'll report back as soon as I know. Ta-ta, boys."

She walked out of the room, then stopped in the doorway.

"Will you guys want an extra set of hands sending in?"

Shadow shook his head. "I'm not giving Sonic the satisfaction just yet. Later maybe, but not now."

"Okay." She left the room and the door slid shut behind her, leaving Shadow and Omega to study the dossiers they had obtained on their latest target.

"Do you think that he will have an Emerald?" asked Omega quizzically.

"He has sensors and scanners all over the world. If one of them so much as gets near the border of his radius, he'll be on it. Like a child drawn to candy."

Omega was silent again and instead started mechanically moving individual pieces of the newspaper cuttings into a timeline. Shadow opened the book he was holding and flicked through the pages until he reached the section about Voldermort. He started to read, but was interrupted by Omega again.

"Shadow..."

"Yes?"

"What if this Voldermort already has an Emerald?"

Shadow stopped dead and looked Omega directly in the face as his mind started to kick up a notch. It was a possibility. What if Voldermort already had a Chaos Emerald? He shuddered as he remembered Black Doom's description and what all the books had told him. It didn't warrant thinking about.

There was a knock on the door. Both Shadow and Omega swung round to face it, and Omega instinctively raised his machine gun arm.

"Target acquired... door... proceed to destroy..."

"Well that's not very nice" came Rouge's voice from the other side.

"Sorry... Target... False alarm..." said Omega, who turned back to the table as the door opened.

"Either you were really quick," said Shadow as Rouge walked back into the room, clutching a newspaper to her chest. "Or you haven't even gone yet."

"It's the last one," she said; she sounded slightly breathless. "But we have a new target. I guess we don't have to go find where Eggman is because one of the Emeralds is right under our noses."

She dropped the newspaper onto the table where Shadow and Omega both peered over.

"What's a killer granny got to do with this quest?" asked Shadow confusedly.

"Not the headline, the box near the bottom."

Shadow and Omega lowered their gaze to an advertisement for a museum. Then, the both saw the picture of a familiar looking jewel.

"The green Chaos Emerald, guys."

"In London?" asked Shadow.

"In the British Museum. Part of an exhibition on rare and prestigious items." She gave a wink. "Just my type of exhibition as well."

"You work for the government now Rouge, you can't go around stealing everything," said Shadow, grinning as he traced his finger over the advertisement. "Although, you could try to get it officially sanctioned if you wanted to."

"Nah, where's the fun it that, boys?" said Rouge, winking again. "The entire thrill is not getting caught."

"But how are we going to acquire the Chaos Emerald?" asked Omega.

"We just ask the British to give it to us, on behalf of G.U.N.?" supposed Shadow

"They'll need an exchange of something. The British won't want to lose something like that" said Rouge.

"And I think telling them that they have a homicidal maniac who can use magic on the loose will not help matters" interjected Omega. Shadow and Rouge both looked at him incredulously.

"Omega, was that... sarcasm?" said Rouge, stunned.

"If it was, I think it was unintentional" answered Shadow, also stunned.

"There's something else," said Rouge, turning to Shadow. "G.U.N. only know of wizards because they have your testimony. What if the British Government already know?"

Shadow thought for a moment.

"That makes sense. The British Government must know because I was able to get to Diagon Alley and no-one battered an eyelid. Well, the woman in the library did, and said something about concealment tricks. And there was another girl in there, who kept on looking at me as if she seemed to recognize me..."

"People will, Shadow, after the Black Arms. Even if it didn't happen here, people will remember it." Rouge looked at the clock on the wall, which as showing the time as quarter past five in the evening. "I vote we go ask G.U.N. to organize a meeting with the British Government concerning this Emerald and see if they know what it's all about. Agreed?"

"Affirmative."

"Agreed."

"Excellent. Now, I vote that we go and get something to eat. Or rather I do, since you two don't need food to survive."

"I know I don't," said Shadow. "But I can't resist a good peppercorn steak."

A/N: Well, that's the first chapter done! This is coming along quite well for me. Credit to Tutups for their beta-reading, and thank you to you, the reader, for actually bothering to read this. Stay tuned for the next chapter, coming soon!