The dagger pulsed like it wanted to jump out of Harry's hand. His scar burned hot enough he almost thought it'd split open. The masked figures closed in from the rooftops, their movements smooth, in sync, like one shadow split into many.
Naruto whispered way too loud, "I can take them."
"No you can't," Kakashi muttered, eye still sharp, one hand half-raised.
Harry just gripped the dagger tighter even though every nerve screamed to throw it away. His wand was still in his other hand but honestly he didn't even know what spell to try first. Stupefy? On… ten people? Not likely.
The lead mask tilted their head. "The key doesn't belong to you."
Harry snapped before he thought about it. "Yeah? Funny, it seems stuck to me."
Naruto snorted like it was the best comeback in history. Kakashi didn't react, but Harry thought maybe his eye narrowed, like a half-second of approval. Or maybe he imagined it.
The air rippled. One of the roof masks jumped down, landing so soft Harry barely heard it. They pulled out a curved blade, black edge catching no light. The kind of weapon that looked like it enjoyed drinking blood.
Harry's mouth went dry. His scar flared again. The dagger pulsed in rhythm. The shadows behind the mask figure stretched, longer than they should.
"Don't let them surround us," Kakashi said, low.
Naruto already had kunai in each hand. "Finally," he muttered, grin sharp.
The first masked attacker moved, fast, too fast, blade coming right for Harry. He ducked on instinct, wand snapping up. "Expelliarmus!"
Red light burst out, hit the mask square in the chest. The figure staggered back, not disarmed but shoved hard enough to crash into a wall. Naruto whooped.
"Nice one, Harry!"
Harry blinked. "You remembered my name—"
"Not the time," Kakashi cut in. He was already gone from where he'd stood, reappearing behind another mask with a knife at their throat. His movements were so smooth it almost didn't look real.
Another one jumped down in front of Harry. He barely lifted his wand before the dagger hummed louder and the air cracked like glass.
The figure froze. Just… stopped. Their blade raised, but their body wouldn't move. The glow from the dagger crawled up Harry's arm, silver veins under his skin.
"Oh no," Harry whispered.
"Oh YES," Naruto yelled, and threw a kunai that smacked the frozen mask right in the head. The figure dropped like a puppet cut from strings.
The rest of them hissed, all at once, sound like snakes through wood.
"The fracture key cannot remain unstable," the lead mask said, voice calm but colder now. They raised both hands. Shadows twisted around their arms, gathering like living smoke.
"Harry!" Hermione's voice flashed in his head. He wished she was here, she'd know what to do, she'd probably lecture him first but still—
He raised his wand. The dagger burned. The world tilted.
"Protego!"
The shield charm burst out bigger than it should have. Way bigger. It slammed into the shadows and shoved them back, rattling windows.
Kakashi's eye flicked toward him. "That wasn't normal."
"You think?" Harry shouted, stumbling as the shield faded.
Naruto rushed forward, kunai flying, yelling something about "believe it!" which made zero sense. He clipped another mask in the shoulder before getting knocked back into a puddle.
Harry barely dodged another blade aimed at his side. He fired Stupefy again. Missed. Tried Expelliarmus—hit this time, knocking the weapon from their hand. The dagger pulsed harder, almost happy.
Then the lead mask whispered something Harry didn't catch. The shadows under his feet stretched and wrapped around his legs. Cold shot up through him. He tried to kick free but it was like tar.
"Not good," he muttered.
Kakashi flickered into view beside him, cutting through the shadows with a knife that glowed faint blue. "Move," he said. Harry did, stumbling free.
The dagger's hum climbed. It was pulling again. He could feel it. Another door. Another world.
"Wait—" he said, but too late. The light cracked across the street like shattered glass. Naruto scrambled up, dripping wet, eyes wide. "What's happening now??"
The masked figures hissed again, louder, frantic. One shouted, "Stop him before—"
The dagger yanked.
The world peeled away. Rooftops stretched, shadows tore, voices blurred. Harry felt Naruto grab his sleeve. Kakashi's hand clamped his shoulder. All three were dragged together.
Harry's last thought before everything blinked out was, Hermione is going to kill me if I ever get back.
When he slammed down again, it wasn't stone. It was metal. Cold, humming faintly beneath him. Harry rolled over, gasping. Lights glared from above, too bright, too white.
He sat up.
Not a forest. Not a street. He was on some kind of platform, wide, surrounded by towering steel walls and glowing panels. Strange symbols flickered across the floor like runes, but not magical.
Naruto groaned beside him. "Ugh. I hate portals."
Kakashi was already on his feet, eye scanning everything, calm but tense.
Footsteps echoed.
From the far end of the platform, figures walked out. Not wizards. Not shinobi. Soldiers. Helmets covering their faces, strange armor, weapons that weren't guns but hummed like magic crystals.
Harry's scar pulsed. The dagger glowed brighter than ever.
One of the soldiers pointed. A voice came through, metallic, deep.
"Unidentified anomaly detected. Seize the fracture key."
Kakashi muttered, "Not again."
Harry swallowed. "Yeah… story of my life."
The soldiers raised their weapons. The dagger hummed, and Harry knew the next fight was already here.