Disclaimer: I am not the owner of either the Harry Potter or Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha franchises.

August 30, 1995 (Midchilda calendar year 71)

Nanoha gazed fondly down at her home planet, visible just out the main viewport of the TSAB cruiser Asura. She smiled wistfully before returning her attention to the information being displayed on the screen in front of her. Earth had avoided serious attention from the TSAB since its discovery owing to the apparent lack of magically talented individuals, an observation recently proven to be false. The discovery of a magical community on Earth had been completely coincidental. Former Admiral Gil Graham had returned to England for his exile and had been out of communication with the Bureau for years until Aria, one of his familiars, had run across an anomaly in King's Cross train station.

One of the columns was a disguised dimensional transference device, leading to what according the the briefing, was assumed to be some sort of dimensional overlay, the locations overlapping those in the real world but existing half a step apart. The discovery had occurred shortly after an unexplained dimension quake in the area, and so the top brass had taken interest. Nanoha frowned slightly as she re-read her orders. She was to investigate the station and report back as much information as possible. Enter and investigate the wizarding world if possible, and not divulge any information about who she was working for. Fate would remain on the ship as backup. The orders were simple enough, but Nanoha was not an intelligence operative, nor was she a native English speaker.

When she had questioned her selection as an agent, she had been informed that as the only available mages in the bureau who had grown up on Earth, she and Fate would have the easiest time blending in. She grudgingly admitted to herself that they were probably right. A world where magic and magical technology were completely unknown to the common people would be completely alien to almost all of the Bureau's field personnel. Earth's level of culture and technology, likewise would be difficult to adjust to. Hayate, working furiously to put together her own unit, had been unable to get free of her other duties.

"Nanoha, are you sure you'll be alright going down there alone?" asked Fate, her expression worried. Ever since Nanoha had been injured on her mission with Vita, Fate had become even more protective of her friend. Nanoha wished that she wouldn't worry so much, the distraction had probably led to Fate's two failures of the enforcer exam before she'd finally managed to pass a bit more than a year ago.

"Yes, Fate-chan, I should be fine. I'm only doing a little sight seeing for now, right? Besides," she went on as she took Fate's hand in her own, "nothing bad can happen while Fate-chan is watching over me, right?"

Fate blushed and stammered, "Na-Na-Nanoha!"

"Ahaha," Nanoha laughed as she released Fate's hand and made her way to the back of the bridge, where the teleporter was. She exchanged a mischevious smile with Amy as she passed her station. She looked back over her shoulder and smiled at the still flustered Fate as she stepped into the ship's teleporter and emerged, moments later in a vacant bathroom stall in King's Cross station.

Quickly going through the motions of washing her hands, she walked out of the bathroom as calmly as she could and looked around, trying to figure out where she was in relation to platforms 9 or 10. It took a few minutes of walking around to find a wall map to use as a reference and only a few more from there to find the platform she wanted. She placed a hand up against the wall which had been determined to be false and reached out with her magic. She could feel that there was a barrier there, set to bar humans without prior knowledge of its existence from entering. Bracing herself, she pushed, and found that she easily passed through the wall.

On the other side of the wall, she found what seemed to be a completely deserted copy of the platform she had just been standing on. The area had a quaint feeling about it, though it was a massive structure, it was constructed primarily of brick. A gilt sign hanging off the wall designated this area as, "Platform 9 ¾." She quickly scanned the area and didn't sense any other people present in the platform area. "Raising Heart," she whispered, "are you picking up any other people in the area?"

"There are two people my master," replied Raising Heart as a small map of the area was projected, two glowing dots in an upper level office on the other side of the station representing the two detected individuals. Nanoha relaxed a little.

She quickly secreted herself behind a support column and attempted to contact the Asura. It was taking longer than normal to get a response from the ship, and Nanoha began to worry after a few seconds. It took almost a minute before she heard Fate's voice in her head, fuzzy at first but quickly becoming clearer. [...noha, stay where...are...tracing your...cation now. Okay, I think that should do it. It looks like our guess was correct and you're presently in a dimensional overlay overlapping with the normal world. We have your dimensional coordinates now, so you can call us in at any time if you need backup.]

[Thank you, Fate. Can you give me any more information?]

[It seems that there is another entry point nearby in London. It looks like the entrance goes through some sort of inn and exits into a market place or village of sorts. I'll upload the location to Raising Heart. Chrono thinks you should head there next.]

[Okay, thanks Fate-chan. Nanoha out.] Nanoha closed the mental connection and resolutely walked back out through the wall she had entered from. It was a walk of a little more than two miles to the pub that Raising Heart directed her to. As she looked at the building, Nanoha noticed something strange. It looked almost as though a holographic image of a decrepit storefront were being projected over the building's real facade. A battered looking sign identified the pub as "The Leaky Cauldron". Glancing around at passers by, she noticed that not a single individual seemed to pay the building any mind, and seemed instead to gravitate away from the entrance way without realizing it.

[What can you tell about the people inside?] she thought to Fate.

[There are a dozen or so people inside, all of them have some degree of magical ability. I think only one of them is higher than rank C, the rest seem to be pretty weak.] Nanoha considered this for a moment and, deciding that there was likely to be no danger inside, she opened the door and entered the building. The inside of the building was larger than she would have guessed based on the external appearance. The door opened into a bar area which was homey though a bit on the shabby side. The bar had the same quaint feel as the platform had earlier. The furnishings were all wood and the lighting seemed to come from candles and oil lamps rather than electric lights. All eyes in the bar gradually shifted toward her and conversations suddenly died as she shut the door behind her.

People began standing and reaching into their robes until an older man sitting at the bar rather loudly cleared his throat to get their attention and gestured for them to stand down. The atmosphere in the bar relaxed slightly, but Nanoha could tell she was still being watched, and the conversations now were hushed and suspicious. "Come here young lady, have a seat." The old man gestured for her to sit at the bar next to him. "I am Albus Dumbledore. Tell me, who are you and what brings you here?"

"My name is Nanoha Takamachi," she spoke slowly and deliberately, still unsure of herself despite assurances from one of the Infinity Librarians fluent in the language that her English was fine. "I am here on vacation. I have been traveling, visiting schools. I have always wanted to visit London." She noticed that Dumbledore was eyeing her a bit suspiciously.

"Your family let you visit a foreign country all alone? Forgive me for my presumption, but are you not a bit young to be visiting colleges? You appear to be no more than fifteen years of age."

Nanoha smiled in amusement, "I graduated early. My family trusts me to take care of myself," she replied.

"You are aware that the drinking age in England is 18, yes? Why walk into an old run-down looking pub such as this, it could be dangerous."

"I was curious. The front of the building had an interesting effect. Like a hologram being projected over it. Like I said before, I can take care of myself."

"You were able to see both facades at once?" his expression seemed to be genuinely surprised. He was silent for a moment, contemplation plain on his face as he looked her over. Her musculature, posture, and the way her eyes never kept still, constantly scanning her surroundings seemed to back her claims of defensive competency. Perhaps too much defensive competency, he thought. Despite her age, she carried herself like a soldier of some kind. Still, as her muggle clothing didn't cover her arms at all it was plain that she didn't carry a dark mark, and her personality seemed wrong for a death eater. She was a mystery, potentially a dangerous one, which Dumbledore quickly decided that he needed to solve. "Forgive me for my forwardness, but let me cut to the chase. Are you at all familiar with the use of magic?"

"What do you mean by magic? I have seen magic shows before. Are you a performer of some sort? Did you make the illusion outside?" She was playing innocent, allowing some of her native inquisitiveness to show through, and hoping that her accent would help to make up for her lack of acting ability.

"Ah, not exactly, no. As it so happens, I am the headmaster of a magic academy. What we teach is real magic. I can tell that you have ability, otherwise you would not have been able to find this place."

Nanoha did her best to look skeptical, "I do not wish to be rude, but are you feeling quite alright? I could see the building very plainly from the street."

The bar tender, who had been casually paying attention to their exchange interjected, "You best listen to him young lady. He knows what he's talking about." He then proceeded to float a tankard of pumpkin juice to the spot on the bar in front of her. Nanoha made some show of checking for strings or wires attached to the cup she'd been given and affected shock upon finding nothing there.

Dumbledore, amused by her reactions gave her his most grandfatherly look. "The illusion, as you called it, is an enchantment which hides this place from non-magical folk. As you are in town looking at schools anyway, would you be interested in visiting Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? We can provide you with a magical education second to none."

[Nanoha,] Fate's voice whispered in her head, [Chrono suggests accepting his offer to visit this school.] After a moment she added, [and ask if you can bring a friend with you. There's some sort of field preventing the ship's teleporters and communications from working in some places so I want to stay close by your location.]

[Okay, Fate. I'll see what I can do,] replied Nanoha, directing attention once again to Dumbledore. He didn't seem to notice her communication with Fate, and had resumed his questioning. Upon noticing his expectant look, she realized he was waiting for her response to a question, "I am sorry, could you please repeat yourself slower, my English is still not perfect."

"Of course, I was just asking if your family would miss you for the few days you're away, as electronic devices such as telephones do not function on school grounds," he said slowly, making sure to enunciate clearly.

"Oh, I understand. I do not think that it will be a problem. I will let them know that I will be out of touch for a little while and that there is nothing to be alarmed about. Can you tell me how long I am going to be away?"

"Around a week I should imagine, that would give you time to attend some classes and get a feel for the school. Should you choose to attend, the school year will conclude in the third week of June with one week vacations for Christmas and Easter.

Nanoha tried to look unsure, but she was having difficulty hiding her excitement at accomplishing one of her mission goals so easily. "Is it, I mean, is it safe?"

"Yes, Miss Takamachi, it is very safe. I can promise you that no harm will come to you while you are visiting. There is a bit of a journey however, so it will be a few days before you can return to London."

Nanoha felt that he was probably being truthful. "I guess I would be interested in visiting. I am here with a friend though. I should tell her that I am going to be going somewhere alone for a few days."

"Is your friend here looking at schools as well?"

"She says that she is, but I really think that she is more interested in going shopping and sightseeing."

[Hey, I heard that!] Fate exclaimed in her mind. Nanoha suppressed a laugh.

"Why don't you go fetch your friend and meet me back here for dinner in a few hours. I would be interested in seeing if she might also be a candidate."

Nanoha made light conversation for a few more minutes as she attempted to finish her pumpkin juice, before excusing herself politely and leaving the building. [Ne, Fate-chan,] she asked, [what did you make of that meeting?]

[Well, I think that you should think about taking an acting class if you want to continue doing spy work.]

[Critic. What could you tell about the people inside?]

[The magical signatures didn't change from outside. The old man you were speaking with was the most powerful one in there except for you. I'd estimate that he would be a C+ or B rank mage. The rest were all C or D rank. Sensors picked up a barrier of some type in the back of the building.]

[Where do you want to meet up?]

"Right here seems fine," someone whispered in her ear. Nanoha jumped and spun in surprise, only to find herself looking at Fate, who was suppressing laughter. "I'm sorry, the opportunity was too good to pass up."

"Mou...you scared me. So, what should we do until we're supposed to be back here for our dinner meeting?"

"Why, shopping and sightseeing of course."

Author's Note: I am very much aware that Nanoha's English speech sounds stilted and overly formal. Outside of a crash course from a military instructor, most of the conversational English she's heard has probably been from Raising Heart.

Also, I tried to set this up in as good a time frame as I could, but the discrepancy in the ages of the characters and the years the two series take place in was too great. So I'm bumping the Nanoha calendar back in time a little, just figure everything in MSLN and A's happened the same way, but with less cellular phone action.

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