An Irrevocable Condition

Chapter 1

Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.
James Baldwin

Chapter 1

Harry woke up lying on moss, surrounded by ferns and one small man who blinked wide, blue eyes at him.

Hermione’s ritual had worked. Well, at least in so far that it had transported Harry to somewhere else from where he’d performed the ritual. If it was a whole new world remained to be seen.

The small man started talking excitedly.

“I’m sorry, I do not speak your language,” Harry said, suddenly overcome with anxiety. It had never occurred to him that moving to a whole new world meant he’d have to learn a whole new language. Yet in hindsight, it seemed rather obvious that English was not the common tongue in the multiverse. But even Hermione hadn’t mentioned it when she’s taught him the ritual. Either she had forgotten it as well, or more likely, she’d assumed Harry would realize this.

The small man nodded in understanding and straightened himself up, pounding on his own chest. “Bilbo. Bilbo Baggins.”

Harry got the meaning of that well enough. “Harry. Harry Potter.” He tapped himself on the chest a few times.

“Harry Potter,” Bilbo Baggins repeated and then leaned over to vigorously shake Harry’s hand. He seemed like a very good-natured fellow, for which Harry was more than grateful. The ritual hadn’t been able to necessarily deposit you somewhere safe, only somewhere in a new world. But so far Harry’s surroundings and Harry’s companion seemed safe enough.

Slowly, Harry managed to get to his feet. He was still wearing all his clothing and his backpack, which was another huge bonus. It meant that he still had all his earthly belongings he’d wanted to take with him. This included lots of gold and silver, plus a tent stocked with lots of food. Hermione had warned him to take enough provisions so he could survive on his own for up to a year if need be and Harry had listened to her.

Harry had to assume everything was still in place because he had a companion now who gently tugged on the sleeve of Harry’s brown leather jacket, urging him to come along. Harry wasn’t about to use magic in front of someone until he had a good understanding of how that individual felt about magic in the first place.

Bilbo was also a chatty fellow and he kept repeating words as he pointed at things. They made their way out of the small cops of trees where Harry had landed to a dirt road that seemed to lead to a settlement in the distance. The sun was setting and it was hard to make out how large exactly the cluster of small buildings he could see in the distance truly was.

Bilbo led the way with confident steps and Harry trudged along, slightly dazed that the ritual had actually worked. Bilbo was no more than three feet tall, but he was most certainly not a child. He carried a large pack on his back and a sturdy walking stick in his hand and he clearly had places to be. He also didn’t wear shoes but instead walked on large feet covered in hair.

Harry started suspecting Bilbo might not be human, but he had no idea what he actually was. He’d never seen a being like Bilbo before. Was he immortal? Was that why the ritual had dropped Harry off near him?

That was the only direction Harry had given while he’d performed the ritual. That he be transported to a world where there were immortal people Harry could live with.