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document.write(''); The Point of No Return

author: Elizabeth

summary: Cross-over between the X-Files and Harry Potter. When the X-Files are called upon to investigate strange activity in London, they get more than they bargained for when they run into the world's most famous wizard.

ships: H/Hr, M/S, D/S

rating: PG

disclaimer: I don't own HP and I don't own the X-Files. Sadly.

author's note: So, I'm aware that this is pretty bizarre, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway! For the sake of this fic, we're going to say that Harry, Hermione, and all the X-Files crew are about the same age.

chapter one: In Dreams She Comes

Fear. Pain. A red-haired woman. Green eyes. Running. A terrified scream: "Harry!" A flash of green. A baby. Another pair of green eyes. Raven-black hair. A scar.

With a start, Dana Scully was awake. She took in a deep breath, steadying her pounding heart, her eyes darting about the room. Her first instinct was to rise to find her son William; it took a moment longer to remember that William was no longer there.

Instead, her eyes settled on her other boy. Fox Mulder. He was slumbering peacefully, his face endearingly childlike under the moonlight. She had the sudden urge to wake him and tell him about the dream, but she quickly pushed it aside. Knowing Mulder, he'd come up with some far-fetched explanation and drag her around the world searching for the truth. He'd always been a little trigger happy, but lately he was even more restless than usual. Now that they were no longer part of the X-Files, Mulder seemed to have lost himself. He was antsy, she knew, and it was only a matter of time before he enlisted them on some ill-fated mission. It didn't really matter what the purpose of the expedition was; they all ended the same.

The phone rang, jarring Scully from her thoughts. Frowning, she wondered who could be calling at such a time. It wasn't the lateness of the hour that bothered her, but rather the fact that no one knew where they were. Since they'd gone on the run, Scully had only two contacts: Mulder, and A.D. Skinner. And Skinner would only call if there was an emergency...

With foreboding flooding her veins, Scully reached over in answered the phone. "Hello?"

There was a pause. "Agent Scully?"

Startled, she recognized the voice of her former partner John Doggett. "Agent Doggett? How did you get this number?"

"Skinner gave it to me. Listen, Scully, I need to ask you a favor..."

A few minutes later, Scully hung up the phone and rolled over to face Mulder, who was still slumbering peacefully. Typical male. Gently, she shook his shoulder. He tensed, then sprung to life. "Dana, what is it? What happened?"

"John Doggett just called." Scully informed him. "He wants our help..."

***

Scully spent the next morning cleaning up the hotel room. She was embarrassed to have Doggett and Reyes see the way that she and Mulder lived-motel room to motel room, no roots, no home-but at least the place could be clean when they came. Mulder had just stepped out of the shower when there was a knock on the door.

She felt inexplicably nervous. It was just Doggett and Reyes; she trusted them completely, and they had validated that trust time and time again. Still, she sought out a reassuring smile from Mulder before she opened the door.

There was Monica Reyes, tall and darkly beautiful, dressed in a low-cut brown shirt and black dress pants. Substantially more conservative was John Doggett in his customary suit, his face an odd mixture of hardened veteran and innocent boy.

Scully hesitated, not certain how to proceed. Reyes broke the awkwardness by coming forward and hugging her. "It's so good to see you. You look great."

"You, too." Scully smiled at her as she pulled away, then turned to Doggett. They hugged tentatively. "Long time no see."

"How have you been, Agent Scully?"

She smiled. Only Doggett would insist upon addressing her as Agent Scully though she hadn't been with the FBI for some time now. "I can't complain."

"Good."

Doggett turned to Mulder. There was an awkward moment as they shook hands, muttering a few pleasantries; the men had worked together on occasion, but there still wasn't complete trust between them.

Once the niceties were out of the way and everyone was seated, Scully glanced back and forth between Reyes and Doggett. "You said last night that you needed help on a case," she reminded them.

Reyes glanced over at her partner. "Yes, actually. The thing is, it's rather unusual, even for an X-file."

Scully frowned. "Unusual how?"

"Over the last several years, there have been unexplainable phenomena in London, centering around a certain area." Doggett explained. "There was one instance of a woman ballooning to massive proportions and floating in the air. There was also a report of a flying car at a train station. Those are only a handful of the strange occurrences."

Mulder's face hadn't changed, but Scully could detect his excitement. "Why does this concern us?"

"Like we said," Reyes continued, "these strange activities have been happening for years. A few years ago it all sort of culminated during what can only be described as a battle that occurred on London bridge. There were several reports of strange phenomena-unexplainable flashes of light, indecipherable incantations. By all accounts it appeared to be..." She glanced over at Doggett. "Well, wizardry."

Doggett frowned at this. "We still haven't determined the cause behind it."

Scully folded her arms. "But why does this concern the X-Files? Shouldn't the British government be handling the situation?"

"They've tried," Reyes informed her. "They've spent the last several years attempting to explain these occurrences, but they can't."

Scully smiled wryly. "So they called on the X-Files for backup."

"Exactly."

Mulder sighed and leaned back in his chair. "This is all very interesting, but I don't really see how it concerns Scully and me. We aren't the X-Files anymore, remember?"

There was a trace of bitterness in his voice. Scully glanced at him and frowned; this was just the sort of thing that Mulder had been waiting for. So why was he suddenly so reticent?

Doggett shook his head. "This sort of thing is out of my league. I don't really have what most people would call an open mind."

Reyes exchanged a smile with Scully.

Not noticing this-or perhaps just ignoring it-Doggett continued, "And while Reyes is much more liberal in her thinking, she doesn't really have much experience in witchcraft. There were really only two agents on file in the FBI who had at least some background in this sort of thing." He looked at them pointedly.

Mulder grinned despite himself. "Well, say it's true. Say Scully and I could help you. We sort of have this tiny little problem of having to pretend we're dead. Going on reconnaissance with the FBI won't exactly keep us low-profile."

Reyes smiled as though she had been expecting this. "We've already covered that with A.D. Skinner. He's arranged for fake identifications to be made, and you two will be traveling separately so that no one can link you to us."

Scully couldn't help but be impressed. "I'm surprised you don't have our bags packed and ready for us."

Reyes gave a light shrug. "Give us a few a minutes..."

Scully folded her arms, suspicious. "Why do I get the feeling that there's some ulterior motive behind this?"

Doggett folded his arms. "Skinner did mention something to the effect of it being our duty to get you out of this dingy motel room for a while."

Scully smiled. Good ol' Skinner. It would be so nice to get out of hiding for a while, to travel and be part of an investigation again. She loved Mulder and it was great to be with him, but it would be so nice to have other human beings to talk to...

At the thought, she glanced over at Mulder, realizing that he was watching her. She met his gaze and they communicated silently with one another, as they had been doing for the past several years. He was hesitant, she knew, but he could see how much she wanted this. Finally, he sighed and nodded. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

Reyes gave a half-smile. "Now that's enthusiasm."

Scully's mind was reeling, and suddenly she was all business. They had purpose again. They had a case. She hadn't realized until this moment how much she missed it. "All right. What else can you tell us? Do we have any leads, any names?"

"Only one," Doggett said, pulling a file folder from his brief case and flipping it open. "Through all the investigations, the British government was only able to come up with one name connected to all of these bizarre events: Harry Potter."

***

In London...

Harry Potter waited as his long-time best friend Hermione Granger finished the last of her papers. He'd been sitting in her classroom good-naturedly for the last half hour, but his patience was beginning to wane. Finally, it was too much, and he grabbed her about the waist, pulling her to her feet. "Come on, Professor Granger. It's time to take a break..."

"Just one more paper, Harry" Hermione protested as he dragged her toward the door, "I'm almost finished."

"You've been saying that for the last thirty minutes," Harry reminded her. "And we need to leave now before Ron and Luna think we're lying dead in a ditch somewhere."

Hermione sighed, relenting. "You're right, you're right--"

"As always."

She flashed him an amused look and continued, "I can finish grading papers when I get back."

"Grading papers on a Saturday evening, Hermione? My, you do live a varied and exciting social life."

Hermione smiled at him reproachfully. "It's no worse than your social life, Harry. Don't think I don't know that you spend your weekends on the Quidditch pitch. We're both horrible workaholics."

Harry flushed at this. How did she manage to keep tabs on him like that? Reluctantly, he sighed, conceding. "When did we become so pathetic, Hermione? Remember when we used to be saving the world every other weekend?"

"We still make a difference," Hermione protested, grinning at him impishly. "I'm teaching the world and you're...entertaining it."

Harry laughed but quickly felt the smile fading from his face. Was that what it had come to? Was he wasting his time playing Quidditch when there were so many other important things he could be doing? After finally defeating Voldemort all those years ago, he'd been offered countless jobs-at the Ministry, the International Wizarding Society, even Hogwarts. Did Hermione look down on him for not taking any of those more respectable routes...?

"Hey." Her voice brought him back to reality, just as it always had. "I didn't mean anything by that, Harry. You've been saving the world since you were born. You've paid your dues. It's about time that you had a little fun."

Harry sighed, then nodded. "Thanks, Hermione."

As they continued down the corner, she took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, and suddenly there was a whole new world of confusion. *It's natural to enjoy holding your best friend's hand*, he told himself. *There's nothing wrong with that, nothing weird...*

Suddenly, the lights in the entire building seemed to dim, and there was a low hum resonating through the corridors. Harry turned to Hermione, frowning. "What's going on?"

Hermione released his hand, hurrying to the window. "I don't believe it," she breathed.

Harry was growing more and more concerned. "What? What is it?"

Hermione turned to him, her delicate features narrowed into a frown. "There are Muggles on the grounds."

***

Scully was trying not to feel too touristy, but she'd never been to London before and she was fascinated. The accents, the sights, the cars. She felt positively giddy, and that hadn't happened-precluding drug or supernatural inducement-since college. Still, she somehow managed to keep a composed face, sensing intuitively that her fellow agents might become rather unnerved at the sight of a carefree and rambunctious Scully.

They'd stopped only briefly at a hotel to drop their things off-Scully and Mulder were none too eager to return to a hotel room any time soon-and spent the majority of the morning speaking to British government officials. While she was attempting desperately to cover her awe at their culture, Mulder seemed to have no such repercussions.

"Hey," Mulder said, interrupting one of the detectives from Scotland Yard, "can you do me a favor? Say something British, like shagging or brawly or bloody."

The detective merely blinked at him.

Later, as they headed to a home in London to do some investigating, Scully smiled at Mulder and reached out to finger the British flag baseball cap that he'd purchased. "You are aware that you're acting like an annoying American tourist," she pointed out.

He grinned at her and shrugged. "Your point being...?"

Scully grinned in return and turned her gaze toward the front of the car. She caught a brief flash of Doggett watching her in the rearview mirror, but his gaze was immediately redirected to the road, and she wondered a moment later if she'd only imagined it.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Dursley home. Reyes stepped out of the car, glancing down at the case files in her hand. "Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley," she read aloud, eyebrow raised. "Very...interesting names."

"Dudley?" Mulder echoed.

Doggett shook his head. "Now that's just cruel..."

They reached the front door and rang the bell. A moment later, a bone-thin, horse faced woman was standing at the door, eying them nervously. "Can I help you?"

Reyes stepped forward, giving a polite smile. "Mrs. Petunia Dursley?" The woman nodded. "We're with the American Federal Bureau of Investigation. We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions."

Petunia tugged nervously at the collar of her dress. "We aren't in trouble, are we? Dudley never stole from those children-those were all lies."

Mulder looked as though he could barely suppress his laughter. "We're actually here in regards to a man named Harry Potter. Ring a bell?"

"Never heard the name before in my life," Petunia said quickly, and suddenly she looked extremely nervous. "Besides, he hasn't lived here for years."

Scully raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you'd never heard of him."

Doggett cleared his throat. "Ma'am, you aren't in any sort of trouble, and neither is Mr. Potter. We just want to speak with him to ask a few questions concerning some paranormal activity."

A sudden thought seemed to strike Petunia. "You said you're with the government? So if Harry or anyone he knew was doing anything illegal or out of the ordinary, you'd put a stop to it?"

Reyes exchanged a glance with her partner. "Mrs. Dursley, I know it isn't easy to turn in a loved one, but I assure you that--"

"Oh, yes," Petunia said quickly, " it's terribly hard, but I'm sure it's for his own good." She grabbed a file folder from Reyes's hand and began to scribble down some directions. "You might not be able to see him, but he's there. And if he isn't, then there's plenty of his kind around..."

Back in the car, Scully frowned as she recounted the conversation with Mrs. Dursley in her mind. "That was...rather unusual." she said finally. "She sounded as though she couldn't wait for us to apprehend her nephew."

Doggett shrugged. "Maybe she's just a law-abiding citizen."

"I don't think so." Reyes chimed in. She glanced back at Scully. "Do you think it might be a setup?"

Scully sighed. "I don't know. But we should definitely keep our eyes open..."

Doggett pulled to a stop in front of an abandoned wasteland of some sort. There was a huge barbed-wire fence and various signs warning of biohazards. He frowned and double-checked the directions. "According to Mrs. Dursley, this is the place."

Scully sighed. "Looks like we have been set up."

She glanced over at Mulder and saw with some surprise that he was staring out of the window in rapture, as though he had never seen anything so magnificent in his life. "You guys are kidding me, right?" he sputtered finally. "Look at that place!"

Scully glanced back at the dump, then back at Mulder. "It's a dump, Mulder."

But Mulder was climbing out of the car, his eyes filled with wonder. He shaded his eyes from the sun, wandering closer. "I've never seen anything like it..."

The rest followed after him. Doggett looked over at Mulder dubiously. "You've never seen a dump before?"

"That's not a dump!" Mulder insisted. "It's a castle, and there's this huge tree and a lake...and what looks like some elaborate stadium..."

Doggett folded his arms, exchanging a glance with Scully before looking back to Mulder. "What's the game, Agent Mulder? There's obviously nothing there."

He looked over to Reyes to confirm this, but she had an odd expression on her face and was squinting at the area in front of her. "I'm getting a strange feeling from this place," she said. "Almost like...electricity? Not quite, but something like that...something almost tangible..."

Doggett turned his gaze to Scully. "All I see is a dump."

Scully glanced back, her eyes widening. "Agent Doggett." She motioned ahead.

Out of nowhere, it seemed, two figures had appeared in the midst of the dump and were watching them with obvious reserve on their faces. One was a pretty woman with thick, unruly brown hair, and the other was a tall man with dark hair and glasses.

***

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