Harry scratched his head. His back was stiff and it felt like he was coming off a brutal hangover, but that was the least of his problems.
He couldn't remember a single thing about the previous night. And here he was, not in his home but laying in a cobblestone street, dressed in his pajamas. The houses were every color from brown to red to white, while a sparkling river flowed through town a few meters away with sparkling see-through water. Harry groaned.
"Did I get drunk and Apparate to Lisbon? There's no way I'm still in Britain with this much color around…"
Lisbon didn't seem right either. The longer Harry looked, the stranger things became. He couldn't see cars anywhere, nor were the people wearing robes. So he wasn't in the Muggle part of a city, and he wasn't in a magical haven like Diagon Alley.
Then where was he?
Harry thought back to the night before, trying to recall anything he could. He'd finished a case that had been giving his Aurors trouble for a while now, taking to the field himself in order to catch one of the last Death Eaters who fled the Battle of Hogwarts. Walden Macnair had been on the run for years, and it left him as tough as nails. But he still fell quickly once Harry got involved. The whole Department of Magical Law Enforcement had been in a good mood after the arrest, which had been a long time coming. There had been a few drinks consumed, but that alone wouldn't have been enough for Harry black out.
He pushed himself harder, dredging up more memories. He remembered going home. He remembered stepping into his apartment, brushing his teeth, and tucking himself into bed. He was still in his pajamas now (a large Weird Sisters t-shirt and comfortable shorts) so he knew he wasn't imagining things. But what happened next? Did he fall asleep? Harry strained his mind, only for a sharp pain to stab through it.
He grunted, tamping down on the scream that almost tore from his mouth. Burying his face in his hands, Harry ignored the strange looks he was getting from pedestrians. He felt like his head was breaking apart! He hadn't felt pain this intense since he destroyed the Horcrux!
But this wasn't Voldemort. There was something different inside his head.
"DO YOUR DUTY!" boomed an echoey voice.
The pain disappeared immediately after, but Harry took a while to peel his fingers away from his face.
"Well that wasn't pleasant," he said with a grimace. "Wonder what it was?"
He probably should've been more concerned, considering something nefarious was seemingly ordering him around and capable of sending shooting pain through his head whenever it pleased. But Harry figured things would work themselves out. This was far from the craziest thing that had happened in his life.
"Whup!" he said, hopping up to his feet and stretching his stiff back. He stood with his hands on his hips. "I guess it's time to explore! There's got to be clues about what's going on somewhere."
O-O-O
"Toto, I don't think I'm in London anymore," Harry said.
He smiled. Hermione would be so proud of him, making references to Muggle movies. Unfortunately, he had a feeling not even his old friend would be able to make sense of the situation he found himself in.
Everywhere he looked something strange was going on. Harry had seen bikes that traveled fifty miles an hour without pedaling, powered by glowing orange crystals. He spotted artificial lights powered by glowing yellow crystals. He watched someone listen to a radio broadcast on a speaker powered by a small purple crystal. Are you starting to see a pattern?
He summoned one of the little crystals out of a shop's outdoor light, but the moment his magic interacted with it the crystal popped like a fruit being stepped on. Harry then had to run from an irate shopkeeper bellowing something about 'Lacrima.' That wouldn't be fun under normal conditions, but it was extra unpleasant barefoot.
When the shopkeeper finally gave up Harry found himself in a nice public park, which was where he still was now. He sat on a bench, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm," he said. "Yep. I've decided… I don't have a bloody clue where I am."
With a sigh, he dropped sideways onto the bench, using the back of his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He still had a roaring headache. The soles of his feet hurt from his getaway, and a nap sounded awfully nice.
A shadow appeared over him. Before Harry could lift his arm, someone grabbed him and dragged him off the bench.
He landed in a heap, blinking and fixing his glasses. When he looked up, he found two of the uglier men he'd ever seen standing there.
One was shaped like a gumdrop with a big shock of blond hair sticking off his head. The other was bald, wearing a coat that blocked the bottom half of his face. The fat one was laughing at him, making no move to hide who it was that pulled Harry off his bench.
"Can I help you?" Harry asked.
"Do you see this mark!" said the fat one. He held out his hand, showing a half-circle with pointed ears coming off the top, a line beneath it, and three triangles beneath that. "You know what that means!"
"I don't, actually."
The man looked offended. "That's the Twilight Ogre guild mark! Our guild runs this town, which means we own this park. Didn't you see the signs? If you wanna sleep here, it'll cost you five-thousand Jewels."
That wasn't a currency Harry recognized. He understood the way these men carried themselves, though. They believed they were in charge here. Probably this place's law enforcement, or something equivalent.
He wasn't sure if they were Muggle or magical, but it didn't really matter. He didn't want to pick a fight with the local Aurors before understanding where he was, and if they were non-magic police that was even worse. Harry didn't like using magic on Muggles when it could be avoided. It left a bad taste in his mouth.
"I'll just get out of your hair," he said, pushing his hands into his pockets and walking past.
"It's only five-thousand Jewels," the fatty yelled after him. "Don't tell me you can't afford it?"
"Of course he can't," said the bald one. "Why else would he be sleeping in a park?"
They laughed loudly, but Harry kept walking.
He returned to the street, happy to see that the original shopkeeper wasn't still searching for him. With nothing else to do, he chose to explore the city.
If he were a normal tourist, this would've made an excellent vacation. The city, which he managed to learn was called Magnolia Town, was beautiful. The streets were clean, the architecture was lively, and businesses were crowded. The cathedral in the center was magnificent. It was so tall and beautiful that Harry thought he should've heard of it before. He was beginning to get the feeling he'd landed somewhere very far from home.
As he wandered the town his headache finally faded. Unfortunately, as soon as it was gone, his appetite roared to life. Before long, Harry found himself outside a bakery, staring in the window at all the pastries and sandwiches in the display case.
There were so many. He spotted tarts, croissants, donuts, ham sandwiches, subway sandwiches. His nose pressed against the glass as his breath fogged up the window. Pedestrians behind him quickened their pace to pass him faster.
Sometimes, morals were such a drag. If he were evil, he could've tossed out some memory charms and walked away with everything in the store. If he was a little bit evil he could've at least taken one sandwich. On one hand, crime was a slippery slope. On the other hand…
Food.
Harry's glasses disappeared off of his face. He blinked, his world quickly reduced to blurry shapes. His eyesight had always been particularly bad. When he turned to see who had stolen them, he could only make out a purple blob where a head should be.
"These are lovely!" said a woman's voice. "Oh, my! The workmanship is exquisite, and I've never seen a design like this! Even the curvature is unique. What a work of art! What a treat to hold in my hands! I could look at these for hours!"
"I'm glad you like them. But I can't really look at anything right now, so…"
"Oh! I'm so sorry. Here, let me replace their weight against your nose."
When Harry's glasses slid into place, he found himself facing a gorgeous purple haired girl with glasses of her own. She wore a red cape-like garment over her shoulders with a blue dress beneath it, and— by Merlin, those breasts. Harry tried not to stare, but it was hard not to glance at them. Her chest was as big as Susan Bones's, the bustiest girl at Hogwarts, yet this woman had a slimmer build with an hourglass figure.
"I'm sorry," the woman said. "I just love glasses. Yours are so cute, I had to get a look at them. I didn't mean to cause a delay in your day."
She talked a little bit strangely, but she was much friendlier than those Twilight Ogre men had been. Not to mention the vast difference in how nice she was to look at.
"It's no trouble," Harry said. "Next time, just give me a heads up so I know I'm going to go blind before it happens."
"Next time? You mean you'll let me look at them again?!"
She immediately beamed at the idea. Harry caught a whiff of baked goods wafting out of the business next to them. This woman was already carrying a large bag with the bakery's logo on it. Suddenly, an idea struck him.
"How about we make a deal…" he said.
Ten minutes later, Harry was walking through the streets of Magnolia Town happily chomping down on a turkey combo sandwich. The outside of the bread was crispy, the meat was juicy, and every one of the toppings was excellent. It was the greatest sandwich ever crafted. That, or he was just really hungry.
He didn't even care that he was walking blind. His new companion walked just ahead of him, humming happily to herself as she turned his glasses over in her hands, giggling and squealing as the light struck them from different angles.
Harry had polished off his sandwich and was in the process of licking his fingers clean when he felt his glasses poke him in the side. He put them back on in time to see the girl wave.
"I'm Laki Olietta!" she said. "I should've introduced myself sooner. I'm a mage from Fairy Tail. You… might not have heard of us. That's fine! Lots of people haven't. Or they've forgotten."
The longer she talked, the more depressed Laki sounded. Harry jumped in to fill the silence.
"I'm Harry," he said. "Harry Potter. Say, what's a mage?"
Laki looked at him strangely. She was cute where her eyebrows scrunched together, Harry decided.
"It means I can use magic!" Laki said.
"So you're a witch."
Laki laughed. "What's that? I'm a mage."
"But you're a woman."
"Uh-huh."
"Who can do magic."
"That's right."
"...so you're a witch."
"No, a mage," Laki said. "That's why I can do things like this. Wood-Make: Fairy Flutter!"
She shouted the sentence and, to Harry's shock, a six-inch-tall wooden figurine appeared above her palm. It fluttered into the air on working wings, taking off. Laki giggled at his shocked face.
"Have you never seen Make Magic before?" she asked.
"I guess I haven't," Harry said.
That feeling was back. The one that told him he was a lot further from home than Portugal.
The city had been one thing with the way it was both high tech and low tech at the same time, all its technology running off odd little rocks. But he'd just watched a girl around his age perform wandless magic on a busy street, and nobody gave her a second look. Magnolia Town was too big to all be a magical settlement. When too many things stopped making sense, the only acceptable solution was a crazy one. Maybe… maybe he was somewhere else entirely from where he came from.
"Hey…" Laki said. "Do you have anywhere to go?"
Harry was tempted to be offended by the pity in her voice, but looking at himself he could see where she was coming from. His loose t-shirt and shorts stood out, and his lack of shoes or socks didn't look great. Combine that with the way he had to strike a deal for a sandwich, he probably seemed as impressive as an abandoned kitten.
"I'm between phases of my life right now," Harry said evasively.
"I know somewhere you could stay. At least for one night," Laki said.
"I don't have any money," Harry warned her.
"Perfect! Neither do we."
She grabbed his hand, leading him through the streets. Harry noticed that her hands were calloused. Despite her cute appearance, it was clear that this woman had dedicated long hours to training her unusual magic.
Laki took him to the edge of town. Just as Harry wondered if she was luring him somewhere to murder him, they found a trail through the woods to a run-down tavern with broken windows and laundry hanging out front. Laki let go of his hand, running ahead with the bag of baked goods from the store where they met.
"I've got food everyone!" she said, barging open the door. "And I found a friend!"
Harry followed her inside to find an interior as ramshackle as the outside. Most of the chairs and tables looked like they'd been repaired at some point by amateurs. There were eight people there not counting him and Laki, all of whom looked up as Laki entered.
"The bakery was selling friends?" asked a blue-haired man with grey mixed in.
"Of course not, Master! I found him outside the bakery," Laki said. "His name's Harry. He's nice."
"You only like him because he has glasses," said another middle aged man with brown hair. "Maybe I should get some. Then Laki would warm up to me, and pretty soon she'd be sitting in my lap, and we'd be—"
A root burst from the floor, picked up a chair next to Laki, and hurled it at the man, who went down holding his head.
"Wakaba!" said the blue-haired man. "Stay with me, old friend! Stay with me!"
It would've seemed more heartfelt if he set down his beer before mourning.
One by one, Harry was introduced to everyone. The early casualty was Wakaba, while his friend Macao was the fourth guild master of Fairy Tail, a collection of mages like Laki. There was Jet and Droy, skinny and heavy mages respectively who had their own magics. Bisca and Alzack were a husband and wife duo who dressed like Muggle cowboys. Then there was the curly haired painter named Reedus, and Macao's son, a boy named Romeo who had a permanent scowl.
"And all of you can use magic?" Harry asked, sitting with the others in a circle. Everyone had grouped up to greet him, pulling a chair around the largest table. The only one who wasn't interested was Romeo, who'd stomped outside as soon as he was introduced. Macao told Harry it wasn't his fault; Romeo was always like that these days.
"Of course we can!" said Wakaba, whose spirits had fully recovered (although a comical amount of blood was still running from a cut on his forehead). "We're a mages guild! Sure we aren't as strong as we were—"
He stopped suddenly as the mood took a nosedive. Harry looked around, feeling like a dark cloud had landed around him. Even Laki lost her smile.
"Nevermind that!" Macao roared. "You wanted to know if we're mages? Could a non-mage do this?"
Blue balls of flames popped into existence around his head. Even though he expected something shocking, Harry's jaw still dropped.
"That's incredible," he said. Which it was, without a wand. "What else can you do?"
"I can make all sorts of shapes!" Wakaba bragged. "Just watch."
The blue balls of fire pooled together into a bigger one. Then it took the shape of a net. A moment later, it turned into a cone. Harry frowned slightly. Although he didn't say it out loud, he couldn't help thinking, That's it?
Suddenly, Harry perked up. He heard heavy footsteps outside the door, not even trying to hide themselves.
"Do you have more guild members?" he asked.
The question caused a brief silence.
"Not anymore," Laki said quietly.
That dark atmosphere was back, but it wasn't allowed to linger for long. The door flew open.
"What's up, Fairies! Don't tell me you forgot what today is?"
Five men stood in the door, half of them armed. The one that spoke was in the middle. He was tall with two spheres of hair sticking out behind his ears and a huge sword strapped to his back. That wasn't what caught Harry's attention. He was holding Romeo by the scruff of his neck, right up until he threw the boy into the room.
Romeo crashed over one of the tables, groaning on the floor. Macao shot to his feet.
"Romeo!" he bellowed.
His flames turned into a bunch of menacing fireballs that looked ready to fire at the men in the doorway. At the last second, though, the flames extinguished.
"Good to see you remember who we are!" said the leader. "We're—"
"Twilight Ogre," Harry said.
He recognized two of the men. They were the fatty and the baldy that interrupted his nap on the bench.
"Hey, it's that guy!" said fatty. "The homeless loser found more losers to hang out with!"
The baldy that met Harry laughed loudly, the two of them giving each other a high five.
"That's right!" the leader said to Harry. "We're Twilight Ogre, Magnolia Town's biggest and best guild! We're the reason you has-beens still exist, Fairy Tail! It's time to pay up for the month!"
"You'll get your money," Macao said. "We haven't forgotten what we owe you. Just let me get it and you can leave."
"Rude! It's like we're not welcome here. You aren't being very grateful. In accordance with our terms, I'll be expecting fifteen thousand Jewels extra for bad manners!"
"That's insane!" said Jet. "We didn't do anything!"
"Says who? I'll have you know that little boy scuffed my favorite pair of shoes when he ran into me outside. See this?" The leader lifted his foot. "They're ruined!"
His underlings prowled into the room.
"You could make it up to us in other ways," said the fatty. "How about it, Laki? Twilight Ogre could always use more mages like you."
He reached out to touch the back of her neck, but before he could, a sack flew through the air. The leader of the Twilight Ogre thugs caught it. Inside, he found a thick stack of Jewels.
"There's your money," Macao growled, crouched next to his son. "It's all in there. Even what's extra. So go back to your guild and leave us alone."
The mage sifted through it before he looked up.
"Aw, man," he said. "You aren't lying. Oh well. There's always next month."
His thugs followed him, snickering. When the door shut, Fairy Tail's mages sat in silence. Laki was the first to notice the new absence.
"Harry's gone," she said.
The others looked around and noticed the same thing. The chair he'd been sitting in was empty, leaving no sign of him.
"I hoped he'd stay a little longer," she said, "but this makes sense. After all, who'd want to spend time in a depressing place like this?"
As the others hung their heads, no one noticed a shadow in the doorway. Harry, just outside, pushed himself away from the wall. He stretched, popping his joints. For the first time in this new world, he drew his wand.
It was amazing how much a little information could change things. Earlier, he thought that Twilight Ogre was the law enforcement in these parts. Turns out, they were just the strongest guild in town, acting out because no one could stop them. That was much easier to deal with! There was one surefire way to deal with any bully.
Whistling, he strolled down the dirt path toward the city, following the tracking charm he placed on the leader with that stupid hair. He had a sandwich to pay back.
O-O-O
Twilight Ogre's guild hall was tall and intimidating. It was built like a samurai lord's palace, only with a western-style gate and chains strung up all over it. An ogre head built out of jewels sat above the door. Despite a gaudy exterior, the inside was dark and dingy, with most of the members drinking raucously.
"Put down all the alcohol you want, boys!" roared a large man with glasses and a segmented chin. "This one's on Fairy Tail!"
Cheers erupted around the room. He sat down on a luscious couch in the middle of the room, an enormous mug of beer in his hand. Girls were hanging onto him in skimpy dresses, giggling and clinging to his arms. Across from him, the curly-haired man from the Fairy Tail guild hall snickered.
"You're so smart, Boss," said this man. "Anyone else would've run those Fairy's out of town. But only you saw how desperate they were. Look at us now! They pay us as much as an A-class mission every month, and all we have to do is collect until they have nothing left."
"I am pretty clever, aren't I Thibault?" asked the guild leader. "A real self-made mage."
"You're the best!" Thibault — the curly-haired man — insisted. "That's why Twilight Ogre is the best! We've got money, we've got alcohol, we've got women… And can even think of messing with us!"
Thibault was distracted by a sound like rain. When he looked down, he saw something land in his mug of beer. Thibault leaned lower, peering into the liquid.
"Glass?" he said.
A crash sounded overhead as the skylight finished fracturing and caved in. Someone fell from the roof. At the last second, the stranger's fall slowed enough that he touched down seamlessly. Despite being barefoot, none of the scattered glass cut him as he landed.
"You!" Thibault said, grabbing his sword. "You were at Fairy Tail! Did you come for revenge?"
All of Twilight Ogre's mages jumped up, preparing for a fight. Some of them were so drunk that they could barely stay on their feet.
The guild master held up his hand before they could go further.
The beautiful women clinging to him looked scared, but he had a confident smirk on his face.
"So you're from Fairy Tail, huh?" he said. "I don't recognize you. You must be new. You're making a real mistake. Fairy Tail owes us, see. When that guild was about to die, we loaned them enough Jewels to get by. Those fools could've left for any other guild, but instead they stuck around and took the deal. Get it? If you pick a fight, we'll just charge extra for damages. Even if you take down a few of us, you can't win! That skylight will already be extra. I'm thinking… a hundred-thousand jewels?"
His guild members laughed, right up until Harry said, "What damage?"
The glass shot into the air, even splashing out of Thibault's drink. The skylight repaired itself perfectly. There wasn't a crack left.
"What were you saying?" Harry asked.
Twilight Ogre's guild leader finally set his beer aside. He slid his shades down to look Harry in the eyes.
"Kid, I'm Banabooster," he said. "I'm the most powerful man in Magnolia. The last person who could say that was Makarov Dreyar, one of the Ten Wizard Saints— the strongest wizards in the kingdom."
"He sounds scary," Harry said. "You don't seem scary, though. You're just ugly."
For a moment, the whole guild hall was silent with shock.
"Call me ugly again—!"
"You're ugly," Harry said. "Really hideous. I've seen butt chins before, but I've never seen six of them on the same person. You look like something Hagrid would've taught about in Care for Magical Creatures. You look like a potions experiment gone wrong. You look like an eight-year-old's first attempt at drawing a person. You look like—"
"You're outta your mind!" shouted Thibault.
He jumped up, letting his beer spill. He drew his huge cleaver sword. With a battle cry, he leaped straight at Harry.
"I'm Twilight Ogre's ace! You think you can insult my guild master in front of me? Eat this. Strike Magic: Heavy impact!"
He swung his sword straight down, but Harry stepped aside. Thibault's sword left a deep gash in the floor. Harry studied the flakes flying into the air. They were stone. The powers these people called magics were like nothing Harry had seen before, and they packed impressive amounts of raw power. An average wizard would struggle to conjure as much fire as Macao did earlier. Thibault's swing just now packed force akin to a blasting curse, channeled into the arc of a cutting curse. Harry had a feeling these were fairly average mages by this world's standards. The more powerful ones could likely achieve feats Harry's magic would never be able to mimic.
But there was one glaring weakness. They were so limited.
"Strike Magic: Cleaver Arc!"
"Mollair." Harry said.
Before the sword struck him, his cushioning charm affected it. Thibault grinned as he saw his sword hit Harry in the chest.
His grin faded when Harry didn't move.
"Is that it?" Harry asked, picking at his ear.
To him, Thibault's strongest attack felt like nothing but a soft tap.
"I've got you now!" Thibault screamed, trying to save face. "Strike Magic, Wild Barrage!"
He swung and swung, raining down blows. Harry stood perfectly still until Thibault's own panting forced him to stop.
Banabooster shot to his feet, pointing at Harry. "Every member of Twilight Ogre is here! If you're determined to pick a fight… Get him, everyone!"
Dozens of mages charged Harry, who calmly assessed the scene, his wand flowing as he muttered incantations too quietly to hear.
One man spewed flames at him. Harry put them out with an extinguishing charm.
Another sped toward him with super speed. Harry transfigured the ground into ice, causing him to slip and land feet-up.
A bolt of lightning cracked toward him. Harry insulated his clothes and blocked it with his forearm.
A katana swung at his back. The blade popped off its hilt, leaving the attacker swinging a harmless handle.
Roots burst from the floor. Each of the tendrils turned brown and lifeless after a wilting charm.
One mage swelled to a huge size as he took on the characteristics of a bull. He swung his fists like massive clubs, but Harry conjured a sheet of elastic rubber and his fists bounced back, knocking himself unconscious.
As every single attack met its perfect counter, Harry slowly walked forward.
"Hey Buttchin-booster."
"B-Banabooster!" Banabooster stammered.
"That's what I said, isn't it?" The closer Harry got, the further the guild leader backed up. Harry smiled as dozens of attacks were nullified around him, leaving him in the eye of a destructive storm. "Don't blame me for this. If you walk around picking fights, at some point you'll find someone who fights back. If it wasn't me, someone else would've done it."
The large man hadn't even shown his magic. Harry was watching him carefully, ready to counter whatever he might throw out. Banabooster chose to run.
He sprinted to the front door, but it slammed shut in front of him. He yanked the handle. It was locked. With shaking hands, he grabbed the key and shoved it into the keyhole. The door didn't open. Harry was coming closer, walking toward him.
Banabooster finally showed his magic. Lightning sparked around his hand, although instead of being an elemental attack it seemed to increase his physical attributes.
"Boosting Magic: Stylish Exit!" Banabooster yelled.
He pounded his fist into the closest window. If he couldn't get out the exit, he'd make one. His fist hit the window… and bounced off.
"Sorry," Harry said. "I took a few precautions before making my entrance. You'll find the walls a bit stronger than you remember them. You said all your members are here tonight, isn't that right?"
Banabooster was looking at him now. The guild master of Twilight Ogre tried to look fierce as he prepared a last stand, but even that failed when his legs gave way. He slid down the wall with a whimper, shielding his face.
"We're all here!" he said. "Do you want to be guild master? I'll give it to you! You can rule Magnolia! Take my word for it— It's great!"
The rest of the mages had stopped attacking. Nothing worked, and now that even their master was cowering in front of the stranger they lost the will to fight.
Harry slammed his foot against the wall beside Banabooster's head. He was still barefoot in shorts and a t-shirt, which somehow made him more intimidating. If you get trounced by a guy in his PJs, it feels like he's not even trying.
"Why would I want to be guild master?" Harry asked. "Twilight Ogre won't exist tomorrow."
"The Magic Council won't let you get away with this," Banabooster said. "They disband any guilds that pick fights with others."
"Good thing I don't belong to any guild," Harry said brightly. He pushed the tip of his wand into the groove of Banabooster's main butt chin, tilting the sweaty man's head up. "I only have two demands. By tomorrow, none of you will be in Magnolia Town. You won't show your face here ever again. If you don't listen, I'll know. I know everything. Boo!"
The last part was delivered over his shoulder, toward the Twilight Ogre mages who were watching. They all jumped, causing Harry to chuckle as he faced Banabooster again.
"What's the second thing?" Banabooster asked.
"Nothing unreasonable," Harry said. "I want your money."
"All… All of it?" Banabooster said weakly.
"Of course not," Harry said. "I'm a generous man. I wouldn't want to take advantage of you. You can keep enough for a bus fare out of town. The rest is now mine."
The guild hall was silent. No one would look at Harry, not even Banabooster, who averted his eyes, looking at the floor. Finally, the guild master spoke quietly.
"What's a bus?" he asked.
O-O-O
It was completely dark out when Harry booted open the door to Fairy Tail's guild hall. He struggled inside, his legs shaking from the bag multiple times larger than his body balanced on his back. If it wasn't for Featherweight Charms, he would've been crushed under its mass a long time ago.
Only a few of Fairy Tail's mages were still there. Macao and Wakaba were almost as deep in their drinks as Twilight Ogre had been. Surprisingly, Laki was there with them. She even had a drink of her own. When she saw Harry, she sat up so fast that her chest jiggled.
…Harry wasn't trying to look, alright? They were just that big.
"You're back!" Laki said.
"I remembered that I don't really have a place to stay tonight," Harry said. "I thought maybe I could sleep here. Would this cover it?"
He hefted the huge bag onto the ground. It caused tremors through the floor when it landed. Gems and precious jewelry spilled out, along with huge piles of crisp bills.
Macao, Wakaba, and Laki looked at the pile. They looked up at Harry. They looked back and forth a few more times, their necks moving faster, until they settled on staring at Harry with their jaws hanging open. Harry rubbed the back of his head.
"What do you think?" he asked. "Is that enough?"