Wizards of Ancient India - Harry Potter Fanfiction

Don't mind the police officers. Just run

RIDING A PHOTON BETWEEN SPACE AND TIME WAS EASY. But when that ride was disrupted by a heavy weight – say, an unconscious male body – things got complicated.

Niranjana had no idea how the boy caught up. She hadn't seen him run towards her. She hadn't even seen him in the court. Yet here he was, somehow entangled in Niranjana's mantra.

The photon bulleted across space at the speed of light, taking the shape of Niranjana's spirit animal: a tiger. It glowed yellow like the sun, and travelled through a pocket dimension, a velvety blue void. Usually, her tiger was graceful, and poised. Light travelled in straight lines. But having an extra, unannounced passenger was not called for. The tiger tumbled and swerved in its path, sending Niranjana on her most unstable ride yet.

"Okay, its okay!" She tried to steady the photon, turning her neck to check on the boy. He was stuck to the rear end of the photon, attracted to the light like a magnet. If Niranjana could just shove him out of the way ...

She tried to pry his palms away from the glowing surface of the photon. Any second now they would arrive in India, probably crash land. Yay. Niranjana had never crash landed before.

Almost in slow motion, she turned to face backwards, trying to ignore the vertigo that swam over her, and pushed the boy away. But he just wouldn't budge – the attraction of the photon was too strong, thankfully, since it was the only thing keeping her seated ...

Niranjana, said Acharya in her mind, causing her to wince.

What now?

His voice distracted her from pushing the boy away into oblivion – she stopped herself quick enough to realize that she was probably about to kill him. Gritting her teeth, she hauled the unconscious boy over the back of the tiger instead and mentally prepared excuses for bringing a British tourist on her return trip to the school.

In a burst of white light, Niranjana's feet hit solid ground. As for the boy, he fell face first into a pond of mud. The sounds of the forest filled her ears, the sun high overhead, but she hardly had time to ponder her next step. The boy opened his eyes with a groan.

His voice was muffled from all the mud. Niranjana contemplated making an escape and leaving him there – but Acharya's voice rang in her head again. Remember your karma.

"Niranjana!"

"You're back so soon?"

Niranjana's twin brothers stepped into the clearing from amidst the clutter of trees, wearing excited expressions, their snakes hissing. Their smiles grew wider when they saw the visitor.

Neelkant grinned, the snake coiled around his neck. "Brought a friend?"

"No," said Niranjana bitterly. "I have no idea who he is. Got caught on the photon –"

"Yeah, sure," said Natkhat, his snake slithered on the ground at his feet, "that's what we'll tell Acharya."

"Although," Neelkant added, "you'd have to explain why you used a photon in the first place."

They both raised their eyebrows at her.

Niranjana did not want to tell them about getting captured and imprisoned by the British Ministry of Magic. "Nothing, I just –"

"Alright, then, keep all the excuses for Acharya." Neelkant neared the boy, who still lay in the mud. "You say he caught your photon? Unexpectedly? That could only mean one thing, Natkhat."

Natkhat nodded, grinning at Niranjana. "You're absolutely correct, Neelkant. He's dead."

As if on cue, the boy rolled over on to his back, groaning all the way. "Dead?" he mumbled.