Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other character that J.K Rowling owns; I own the plot plus other unknown characters.
A/N: Hello, boys n' girls; long time no see … Well, not that long, but I have to say that I missed you all. I was thinking about how to begin the second part of my saga; and to tell you the truth, I have only few plot points that guides me. So, this part will be very, very short compared to the previous one. Now, on with the story …
New Life … New Adventure
It was a slow night at in Nevada, and a lone guard was starting to get bored with the idle patrol. He secretly wished for some action, but that also means wishing for trouble, so he kept his thoughts to himself and lighted his tenth cigarette for the night thanking his luck for not consuming all his cigarettes on his first watch. He lighted the match, but a sudden gust came out of nowhere and the fire he just lighted was blown out. He readied his M16 as he heard footsteps nearing.
"Who's there?" he called firmly, but no body answered. His hands clenched on the rifle as the sound of footsteps was getting nearer and nearer; and suddenly, a light-blue flat beam appeared out of nowhere and cleaved his head off his shoulders, and his rifle dropped along with his body.
"And stay down …" a cold voice echoed out of nowhere as the footsteps resumed, the next minute a death eater started to appear gradually as his concealment charm began to fade.
"That was it for the easy part …" the death eater said as he passed the main gates of what appears to be an abandoned plantation, but in reality, it was only a cover for one of US Army's top secret bases, Area 51. He transfigured his clothes into military attire similar to that of the fallen soldier, and changed his facial figures to resemble him, and then went straight to a nearby barn where found a small corridor leading to dead-end; he inserted his hand into a small crack in there, and the wall moved away revealing a high-tech elevator, he stepped in slowly, and the elevator began to descend until it reached a busy high-tech corridor in contrast to the scene outside. He walked with confidence executing a will rehearsed role, and followed the signs to the target zone.
"Hey, Alex; I thought you were patrolling the exteriors" a soldier called for the disguised death eater, and he cursed under his breath before turning around and answering casually "I am, but I was summoned down here. But don't worry, everything is quite out there"
"Even so, the exteriors must be constantly patrolled in case a nosy tourist has lost his way or something. I wish I could cover for you, I could use some fresh air; but unfortunately, I have to keep an eye on the maintenance guys while they perform their routine check on the aliens' chambers"
The death eater's eye gleamed as he heard the last part "The aliens' chambers, you say …" he replied slowly "I can do it for you if you want to cover for me"
"Deal … And you don't screw up on me" the soldier went to the elevator, and the death eater resumed his path not helping but to smile for his luck. He reached the aforementioned room and unlocked the door with a simple 'Alohomora' spell; he held his breath as he eyed the two corpses of the aliens
"At last, the bodies of the imps are mine" he muttered breathlessly, and unlocked the first cryogenic chamber and began to thaw the ice with a warming spell.
"What the hell are you doing?" a voice called from behind, and he snorted in fury as he turned around; he saw two men in overall looking upon him in confusion.
"I was checking the chambers, and I noticed some water leakage" he said the first thing came to his mind "Check it here"
He pointed at a puddle of water that was created by his warming spell, and the maintenance personnel stepped forward and leaned in front of it "Good thing you noticed it, we will work on it now"
The death eater exhaled in irritation as he glanced at his watch; he have only few minutes left before anybody notice the body outside. And as his mind was read, the walky-talky began to echo "All personnel, this is Patrol Two; Patrol One is down; I repeat, Patrol One is down; if anyone ever encountered Private McLowsky, make sure to report him to the nearest watch; he is an imposter; I repeat …"
The maintenance personnel eyed the walky-talky in horror, before looking back at the mentioned soldier. They saw him pointing a piece of wood at them while smiling maliciously; and the last thing they saw was a green spark shooting out of the tip of the wood piece.
The whole patrol force of area 51 was searching the compound after they closed it and made sure that there was no means of escape available; one of the searching parties was near the aliens' chambers and heard the commotion inside, they dashed toward the chambers, but all what they saw was the bodies of the maintenance personnel, and an open chamber of one of the aliens … And it was empty.
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Hermione moaned irritably when the alarm clock began to ring loudly, she blindly extended her arm and turned it off before sitting up lazily and then made her way to the bathroom; after that, she exited her room and heard a commotion in her parents' room while she was on her way to the kitchen. And, cautiously, she walked toward their room and eavesdropped on them.
"Dear, be quite in your tying; we shouldn't disturb Hermione" Emma said.
"I know, Emma, no need to tell me; but this bloody belt doesn't want to be fastened" Dan replied angrily; and she could hear her mother sigh before speaking "This is because you didn't arrange the clothes neatly; here, let me do it for you"
"You know, dear; I love you so much because you always solve my problems" Dan replied, and Hermione barely kept the laugh from getting out.
"I know, Dan; just don't make a habit of it. Now, let's hurry before Hermione wakes up"
"Going somewhere?" Hermione said as she opened the door and she saw that her parents took their time in preparing their baggage "Appears to be so …"
Emma looked at her husband with a scolding 'I-warned-you' look, before answering Hermione "Actually, Hermione; you know that our planned vacation is about to end, so we decided to move our flight forward so that we can arrange our matters at home early. Unfortunately, the only flight we found was early in the morning; in fact, we got only two hours to catch it"
"And you were not planning to tell me" Hermione replied with a hint of reprimand in her voice, and Dan stepped into the conversation "Well, Hermione, it was my idea actually" she shifted her scolding looks at her father, who continued on "I told your mother that you are felling tired and we didn't want to bother you; we know our way through the city by now"
"No you don't" Hermione retorted "You almost got lost last week when I called you"
"No we did not" her father replied "It was a planned detour because your mother wanted to see Hollywood"
"Hollywood was the other way around, dad" Hermione said coolly "I will take a quick shower and then drop you at the airport" she finished her sentence then made her way to her room not bothering for a reply. She collected her clothes and entered the bathroom. She turned the water on and waited for it to heat up, and as the water began to flow, her memories were, too
FLASHBACK
"Battalion, confirm your status" Harry's voice echoed through the wireless waves, and Hermione received it via her headphone that was issued to her by Dick per Harry's order.
"Secondary Phoenix, standing by" Ron replied via his own mic, and waited for further orders.
"Alright, South Phoenix is descending" Harry replied, and Ron leaned back at a nearby tree sighing loudly "Now, all what we can do is waiting"
"I just hope that everything goes smoothly" Hermione said with a nervous tone, and Ron chuckled lightly albeit nervously before replying "Knowing Harry, I don't think so"
As if his words triggered a jinx, a series of explosions were heard along with Vlad's voice across the ether waves "It's a trap, sir; death eaters"
"Good Lord!" Pierce, who was silent since the beginning, whispered hoarsely; Hermione's nervousness doubled as she addressed Ron "Ron, we have to do something"
"Yes, we have …" Ron said, then turned to his aide "Anna Maria, order the whole team to retreat to point alpha" The auror obeyed his command and they began to retreat as Hermione eyed him in disbelief before questioning in disapproval "Retreat?! Is that all you can do?!"
"Yes" he replied firmly "Harry is the high commander in this operation if you have forgotten, and he does not take disobedience lightly"
"But the infiltration has been exposed before its time, and we need to improvise and-" she said in a hopeless attempt to convince him, but he stopped her with a hand wave "Improvising will only gain me an appointment with the disciplinary committee"
"Not me …" Hermione said before beginning to walk toward the mansion, but then she felt a firm grasp around her wrists, and turned around only to see that it was Pierce who grabbed her.
"Herms, you of all people know what does it mean to disobey direct orders; it can place the whole operation into jeopardy" he said with a soft voice and a smile on his face.
"He is right 'mione" Ron remarked "If you knew Harry better, you would knew that he is like a lone wolf, he attack swiftly and painfully where he should be, other people will only impede him if they tried to help"
"But wolfs work in packs sometimes, and the results can be advantageous" she retorted stubbornly.
"That's right, but Harry will not be less than the leader of the pack; and will put himself in front of danger, as always" Ron replied patiently "You cannot change his style in a day and night, Hermione; just let him be and you will see how things go"
Just as he finished his sentence, Harry's voice echoed through the wireless "Assault teams, report your status"
"We are taking a beating, sir; and the death eaters are unreachable because they are on higher grounds" Vlad shouted through the headphone, and Hermione eyed Ron with an 'I-told-you-so' glance; he smiled at her and mouthed "Just wait …"
As he finished his words, Harry's voice echoed again "Assault teams; are you near the base of the wall?"
"Yes, sir" Vlad replied; then Harry ordered "Bring the walls down"
Ron, Hermione, and the whole team felt the tremor of the explosion from their far location; and Hermione stood dumbfounded at what happened.
"Do you believe me now?" Ron said calmly, although amazed with what happened.
"I do …" she said absent-mindedly "But I still feel uncomfortable; something bad will happen, I can feel it"
"Don't be so tense now, Herms. Nothing will happen; you will see …" Pierce remarked. And she muttered "I hope so"
They waited for full ten minutes before feeling a strong electromagnetic surge felling the atmosphere "What the bloody …" Ron said in astonishment, but the scene of fleeing death eaters cut him off.
"About time they showed up. Everyone, take your designated positions" Ron ordered the auror team, and some of them hid under the illusion charm, while the others hid behind trees. They waited until the death eaters came into range, then Ron shouted at the height of his voice "Now!"
Hermione couldn't count how many spells has been unleashed, but she was certain that no fly can pass across the field untouched. She saw different colored beams flying toward the surprise-taken wizards, along with several objects that appeared out of thin air like ropes, chains, and energy cords.
"Brilliant" Hermione said breathlessly as she eyed the now-fallen death eaters.
"I can say that myself …" Pierce retorted before punching Ron on his back "Good Job, Wes. I've never seen an ambush being executed in such perfect way even in our police force"
"Years of drastic training can come up with that" Ron said as he tried to regain his balance, then he heard a commotion closing up from afar "Another group is coming. Everyone, remove the detained death eaters and prepare your selves for another ambush"
The aurors obeyed his command and levitated the unconscious death eaters away from the path, and then they assumed their previous positions and waited. Ron eyed the upcoming group and waited them to be in range; but when they came up close he realized that they were the remaining aurors from other teams.
"Wait! They are friendlies" Ron stopped his team from firing their curses; and got out of his hiding only to face the first of the aurors; Vlad himself.
"Auror Weasley, sir" Vlad saluted him hurridly "Situation under control, but not entirely; there is …" he was cut by a loud explosion that came from the direction of the mansion.
"What the hell ..." Pierce said in astonishment; and Hermione noticed that someone is missing "Where is Harry?" she said in a shaky voice, and Vlad turned to her "That's what I was going to say; Auror Potter ordered us to evacuate and he stayed behind trying to contain the magnetic orb generated by the EMPA"
"By himself only?!" Ron said in a mix of anger and disbelief.
"Please, Ron; we have to go inside and get him, no one should be near this strong surge of magnetism; he could die … Please" Hermione pleaded with all her heart fearing that her savior might die.
"No, sir; Auror Potter insisted that no one tries to rescue him. He is so intent on containing this orb all by himself" Vlad said "As I soldier, losing one commander is better for me than losing both"
"And as a friend, losing Harry is something unbearable" Ron retorted "I'm going"
He took only two steps forward; then they all saw a fire blazing a short distance from them. Ron and Hermione ran toward the source of fire, and what they saw was surprising.
"Harry!" they said in the same time when they saw the unconscious Harry who was rescued by none other than Fawkes. Ron stepped forward and tried to enervate him, but he didn't get up. He then checked up his pale, unconscious friend while Hermione eyed him in fear praying silently "He is not breathing" Ron said in concern "And his pulse is weak; he must've used all his magic without reserve. I hope we are not late"
"What's happening Ron? Why isn't he conscious?" Hermione questioned with double fear.
"He used all his magic, and there is barely enough left to sustain his life" Ron answered, and Hermione dropped on her knees barely holding up her tears from spill "Oh, God, no; he can't die now, not after we won"
"Sir let me check him up" Sofia, who came along with the rest of aurors, said "I am the team's medic"
"No, you are injured and weak after that hard battle. I'll try to pass some of my magic to him, keep your fingers crossed" he placed his hands on his chest as if he was going to perform CPR, and Hermione saw a warm, bright beam moving from Ron's hands into Harry's body. After a minute of transition, they heard a groan coming out of Harry; she looked at him in sheer happiness but found that he still unconscious "Why isn't he waking up?" she asked in concern
"It will take time for his body to recuperate after such extraordinary magical exhaustion; it is an unusual situation after all" Ron replied, then sighed heavily "Frankly, I've never held much hope in resuscitating him; no wizard can withstand the pain and weakness of being stripped out of his magic, Harry is lucky to have such endurance. Anyway, I have to take him to the hospital for further follow up; Vlad, rally the aurors and order a clean up for the battlefield, I bet the muggle police will come and check the source of the racket unless they are deaf"
"I'll go with you, Ron" Hermione said anxiously, but her offer was turned down.
"Sorry, 'mione" Ron said "I have to go alone, regulations matter" he said before disapparating with Harry's unconscious body.
END FLASHBACK
Hermione sighed deeply before getting under the warm shower; she remembered everything involving that eventful night, even what the awestruck aurors told her about the dueling between Harry and Flint. Even though she knows what Harry did in her rescue night, she still gets fascinated by the simple description of magic.
She finished her shower and stepped out to her bedroom, and shuffled through her dresser for some clothes, and then her hand hit a hard surface. She pulled it up and the sight of the object reminded her of another event; it was a book she bought when Harry invited her to visit that magical alley, its name is Brimstone Alley as Harry told her. She found many eerie, yet fascinating things in that alley; the bank itself, the pet shops, sports shops, clothing shops, and even wandmakers shops; but what attracted her most was the bookshops. She bought this book along with several others; Harry insisted on paying for the books as she wasn't carrying any wizard currency.
'A gentleman, as always' she thought to herself. She leafed through the book quickly recalling the intriguing contents; it was a biography book about Harry written by a wizard historian, it contained many interesting information regarding the life of Harry Potter as a child, student, and adult. She got excited by the live pictures that accompanied the written details, and felt as if she was living the story more than just reading it, she flew with Harry in every Quidditch, she dodged the flames the horntail during the triwizard tournament, and she was hit by grief during the funeral of Dumbledore. But what intrigued her most of all was the dueling between Harry and Voldemort, she never felt excited and scared at the same time like she did when she viewed the only picture of that battle, and when she did, she realized that the power that Harry displayed during her rescue was merely one tenth of his real power.
She opened the last page and checked the magical counter that was entitled 'Harry Potter Net Income'. The author of the book inserted this counter to show the readers an estimate of Harry's wealth, the counter was magically charmed and connected to Gringotts accountant office so it can show an accurate and updated estimate of the net worth of Harry's wealth, and the figure were constantly moving upwards whenever she checked them.
But that was not what truly amazed her; the unbelievable fact that stunned her out of her mind was that Harry is a lord; his family members were and still considered lords of Wiltshire, and they own estates in several towns in the county. His grandfather and father before him were lords by heritage, and Harry has been appointed lord of Wiltshire also by heritage as he came to age earlier than invalidation of the hereditary peer decree by nearly one year.
"You are really something, Harry Potter" Hermione said while sighing deeply. She returned the book back to its hidden place not forgetting to glance over the other books she bought along with it. The first was 'Hogwarts: A History' that captivated her at the first sight, she found a list of alumni inside the book, and found out that Harry was the head boy of his class; she also found that Ron was a prefect. The other book was 'History of Magic', from where she learned a lot of facts about magic and the magical society; she also stumbled upon an appendix containing famous wizards and witches since the beginning of magic; surprisingly, she also found Harry amid the famous wizards; his famous alias was 'The-Boy-Who-Lived', and he was considered the youngest grand auror in the history of magic, and the strongest wizard in whole Europe.
She returned the books to their safe place, and put on some clothes before walking out of the room toward her parents'.
"I'm ready" she said as she entered the room.
"And we are all set" her mother replied while zipping the last bag.
"Then let's be on our way" Hermione said and picked up one of the bags.
-------------------------------------------
During the whole trip to the airport Hermione kept silent while her parents engaged in a conversation. While her body was driving, her mind was deeply immersed in the information she red about Harry. In al her life she never thought that one day she will meet a business tycoon face to face; in fact, she didn't like the idea as she already preserved a pre-impression in her mind about them as coward and cruel money fiends and vile old men. And the fact that Harry is a kind hearted young person, not to mention that he is the bravest man she ever met have thrown that pre-impression straight to the nearest bin. But then again, Harry had broken many other rules that are applied to normal people. They reached the airport, and unloaded the baggage. Dan went to put their baggage in the loading bay, which left Hermione with her mother; Emma noticed her daughter's absentmindedness, and tried to bring her back.
"Hermione, dear; is something bothering you?" she said in concern, which was enough to bring Hermione back to earth.
"Sorry, Mum" Hermione said "I was just thinking"
"Thinking about something …" Emma retorted, then smiled evilly and continued "Or someone?"
"Mum, you …" Hermione pointed a warning finger at her before dropping it and answering in surrender "Alright, I was thinking about Harry"
"I knew it" Emma said in victory "You already fancy him, I see"
Hermione blushed for a moment before chiding "MUM! It's not that; I was thinking about his biography and how he could acquire such traits in this young age, completely unbelievable"
"True" Emma said in a serious tone, before shrugging "But who said that his life was ever normal"
"What I mean, mother, is that he got everything a person can dream of; money, power, and youth; not to mention that he is a lord. Why does he have any interest in befriending me, a commoner? It's just like if I'm a chalk mark in his feats record; I feel so … Unimportant to him" Hermione sighed heavily "I don't want to be a charity case"
"Who said that you are, Hermione?" Emma retorted "It is him whom I pity" she said attracting the attention of her daughter.
"And why is that, Mum?" Hermione asked, and Emma smiled "Because you got the thing that he craves most"
Hermione looked at her mother in confusion "I got something Harry does not? What can it be?"
"Parents …" Emma said with a smile "No one leads a perfect life, Hermione, not even someone as successful as Harry can. One can conclude from the story that Ron told us about him that he never felt the love of a mother, nor the care of a father"
"But he got the Weasleys, and their mother is more than nice to him" Hermione retorted, and Emma nodded in approval "True, Mrs. Weasley is a wonderful person and she cares so much about Harry as I found that during the wedding; but she is not his true mother, she cannot sense his need or discomfort; only his true mother can do" she sighed heavily before continuing "You should pity him not envy him, Hermione; he lived all his live with one goal, to revenge his fallen parents; and everybody else expected him to lead them to victory disregarding his will and emotions, it is a sad life if you look at it from this perspective"
"I ca clearly see your point, Mum" Hermione sad in a gloomy tone; and Emma spoke to her brightly "Don't look like he has lost his life; he might have lost his parents, be he still can raise a new family" and she looked at her meaningfully "YOU can raise a new family"
Hermione stood gaping at her mother's bold remark; and Emma walked away with a smile toward her waving husband leaving her astounded daughter with a revolving mind.
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'YOU can raise a new family' Emma's statement twirled in Hermione's mind, who bid farewell to her parent's and returned to her car.
'I'm just afraid of that' she said in her mind; she always thought of just having a friend or two, a boyfriend, and a successful job; but the idea of having a husband was considered a bold move by her. She always claimed that having a family is not suitable for a police detective in order to cover her apprehension, and that statement angered her father every time they discuss the subject; gradually, this matter slipped out of her mind piece by piece, and the rest was buried in the depth under her complicated thoughts. But now, after she quit her stable job at the force, her mother triggered this sensitive subject again, and in the right time.
'Yes' she thought to her self 'Harry has helped me, comforted me, and literally saved my life, and this is the only way I can repay him'
'By tainting your friendship with unneeded entanglements?' Hermione practical mind spoke to her.
'By helping him raising a loving family, our family'
'I say that is much unneeded; you barely had any friends, and now you want to lose a rather good friend, maybe the best you'll ever find, by pressing him into a this matter. You will lose a friend and a lover, if there ever was one'
'Good point, but this is not the right time or place to discuss this matter'
'Like there will ever be one …'
'Enough, I don't have time for this nonsense; just stay out of my mind for the time being'
'I am your mind, silly'
'… Right'
And Hermione finished another silent conversation; she stopped in front of a medium-sized building and parked her car in place. She hurried up the ladders to the second floor, and then she stopped in front of an apartment where a nameplate is visible at the right side of the door, the name was 'Potter Investigations'. When Harry insisted on financing her private career, she also insisted on naming the office after him, as he was the real owner of the office. He accepted reluctantly, but not after she pressed him to it.
"Okay, time to work" she said as she pushed the door open, and the entry hall appeared before her with the secretary desk visible at the other side of the room.
"Morning, Amanda; busy as ever I see" she greeted her secretary who never left her eyes of the magazine she was reading.
"Hello, Detective Granger; it's good that you are here, A man, who never told me his name, is waiting for you inside" Amanda answered while here eyes were glued on top of her magazine, and Hermione's eyes widened "Inside! Oh no!" she hurried inside expecting the worse with the presence of an 'unusual' guest inside.
"Sorry, sir. I am terribly …" Hermione began apologizing for the mystery client, before stopping at her tracks and looking with widened eyes at the newcomer.
"Good morning to you too, Hermione" the mystery man spoke, and she jumped at him greeting him and hugging him fiercely "HARRY! It is you really; oh, I'm so relieved"
"'Mione … please … Breathe" Harry said with difficulty, and Hermione let go of him; he took a deep breath after that and spoke "I see that you have developed a Weasley's bear hug while I'm away"
She giggled before replying "Thanks to Mrs. Weasley on that"
Harry smiled and walked toward the remarkable bird and stroked its feathers "By the presence of Hedwig here, I assume that you have received my letter"
"I did" she replied "And to say the truth I was astonished by the way it came by, is it the normal wizard post delivery to use owls?"
"It is, although I have to admit that it is not convenient for nowadays" he said while stroking the snowy owl "But I cannot bring my self to think of life without my beloved Hedwig; she was the first true friend I've ever had, and it would be unfair to get rid of her after all she did to me"
He pulled some owl treat out of his pocket and gave it to Hedwig, who nibbled his finger in affection before starting to nibble her treat, and Hermione found the scene really fascinating. After he finished treating the owl; he extended his arm to her and she hoped on joyfully.
"Now, time to stretch your wings, love" he opened the window and Hedwig took off smoothly. Harry then tuned to the mesmerized Hermione, and smiled at her "I know this is an unusual scene for you, but you have to get used to it now that we've shared my little secret"
"I know, Harry; but I can't help getting fascinated" Hermione said, then she noticed that was missing "Harry, where are your glasses?"
He smiled and replied "I no longer need them" and his mind drifted in the flow of memories …
FLASHBACK
"This is not acceptable, Harry-kun" Tatsuya exclaimed in apparent anger as he disarmed Harry for the third time in their training duel.
"Sorry, sensei" Harry apologized "But my mind cannot stop thinking about what Flint has said …"
"What Flint has said is not of our concern right now" Tatsuya retorted sternly "In a duel, you must now think of anything, or else you will level many breaches for the enemy to take. Now pick up your kendo stick and let's start again"
The training went on for three continuous hours which left Harry in utter exhaustion; after a quick bath, Harry resumed in reviewing his memories about Flint's revelation. He turned to his mentor, who was polishing some swords, and asked him in concern "Sensei, Flint said that he would summon an undefeatable army using the EMPA's magnetic orb. Have you, by any chance, had any vision regarding that army?"
Tatsuya looked at him deeply before replying "So that explains it …"
"Explains what, sensei?" Harry questioned eagerly, and the elder took a deep breath and began talking "I told you before about my vision of the phoenix sacrifice, and that the darkness will cover the land before the ultimate illumination. Apparently, the darkness in this vision has faded as a result of your triumph over Flint"
"Does it mean that the prophecy has been annulled?" Harry said in confusion, and the old seer shook his head negatively "No, prophecies cannot be annulled, but they can be delayed. It appears that Flint is the one distained to bring the darkness to this land; and your effort of tracking him down has prevented him from doing so"
"So, it is a good thing after all" Harry retorted.
"Yes, it does mean more time for your training, which brings us to this important matter" Tatsuya replied, then leaned forward "I have been thinking for some time, and I came to conclusion that it is the right time …"
"Right time for what sensei?" Harry inquired cautiously.
"Training you on the phoenix techniques, of course" Tatsuya answered "It would be a shame that the descendant of the phoenix doesn't know any of these magnificent techniques. It will take some time to get adapted to, and some impediments will be discarded" and he pointed a finger at him "Like your glasses for instance"
"When do I start, sensei?" Harry said with eagerness, but was calmed down by the old sage "A minute, dashing. First we need to improve some of your close-quarter magic, and then begin training on something mandatory for an accomplished wizard; at least it is my opinion"
"And what is it, sensei?" Harry asked n confusion, and Tatsuya smiled and answered vaguely "You will know soon enough …"
END OF FLASHBACK
"Hello, Harry …" Harry snapped out of his deep thoughts by Hermione's call "Yes?"
"I asked you where you were during the last three months, but you seem to be distant" she asked him in eagerness; and all what he did is smiling and saying "Training …"
Hermione pouted and replied "Don't try to convince me that your so-called training was the reason for your sight correction, Potter" then she leaned and questioned "You didn't have a laser surgery, did you?"
He chuckled at her remark "No, not at all. Actually, I used some king of potion that corrected my vision in a magical way; and believe me; you don't want to try it"
"Ah, I forgot your magical potions" Hermione said nodding "I would like to read some magical potions books; chemistry labs were my favorite at school; oh, it brings back memories"
Harry smiles then remembers something "Speaking of memories, you once told me that you resisted mind control by a death eater …"
"Yes" Hermione said remembering obnoxious encounter with faux Harry "He tried to force me to kill my father. He almost succeeded, but somehow my mind didn't accept it"
"Impressive" said Harry as he looked at her in amazement "You know, Hermione; not all wizards can resist the imperious curse; and they can try to resist, but eventually they are forced to yield. Only the strong-minded can resist the curse fully, and they are merely a handful" then he looked at her with a smile "In other words, you have achieved an outstanding feat without even needing any magic to utilize, Hermione; and I am more than happy to help you in developing this new talent of yours"
Hermione looked at him in confusion during his explanation, but when he reached the part of offering his help she was astonished "So … That means I will be able to use magic?"
He shook his head and answered "Unfortunately, no one can develop magical abilities unless he has the magical essence within him, which you don't have. But I can teach you to resist mind probing, which will develop your resistance to any other kind of mind control"
Hermione couldn't contain her happiness; she can finally learn something extraordinary, and from none other than Harry himself. She jumped up and hugged him fiercely.
"Hermione … Please … Not again" Harry said as he tried to breathe; and at that moment, the door opened.
"What a happy couple, you are; I wish I had a camera with me" the person who stepped into the room said in a comical manner; and Hermione let go of Harry and blushed fiercely.
"Oh, hi Ron" Harry said trying to gain his composure after that embarrassing moment "How are you doing?"
"Not better than you, mate" Ron said with a cheeky grin "I came to say hello to Hermione only to see you two … Intimate"
"Nothing happened, Ron; I was just thanking Harry for something he offered me" Hermione said as she tried to fight the blush.
"He must've offered something tremendous for you to hug him that way" he retorted "And I, too, came to offer him something, but without hugs"
"What is it, mate?" Harry said as he tried to change the course of the conversation.
"The minister order your presence at the ministry as soon as you return; it appears that Flint has appeared again"
Upon the hearing of the name, both Hermione and Harry tensed, and Harry replied slowly as he walked to the door "I will be on my way, then"
After Harry walked out of the room, Ron turned to Hermione with a mischievous grin on his face "Now, tell me what Harry has offered you …"
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After exactly ten minutes, Harry was standing in front of the door that leads to the minister's office. He entered the room and greeted the secretary "Hello, Meg; I believe the minister ordered for my presence"
"Hello, Auror Potter; and yes, the minister is waiting for you inside" Meg greeted back and ushered him toward the office door. He entered the office and found the minister immersed in some paperwork.
"Minister, I am here per your request" Harry said, and the minister startled a bit.
"Oh, you're here at last, Potter. Have a seat" he ushered him a nearby chair which he assumed casually, and before the minister even spoke, Harry asked the first question "I hear that Flint has finally appeared, sir"
Minister Malone grimaced before replying "These are just assumptions, Potter. The accurate statement is that Area 51 has been stormed by an anonymous person"
Harry looked at the minister in confusion "I feel that I heard that name before, but I don't know when and where"
"Area 51 is a very famous military site in muggle society; it contains something that was presented in their movies … Aliens and UFO" Malone said the last words slowly, but that didn't reduce any of Harry's confusion.
"I still cannot find a relationship between this and Flint, sir" he said, and Malone sighed before explaining everything.
"You explained in your previous report on Flint that he was trying to open some kind of portal using the stolen EMPA; well, I think that he is trying that again, but this time by another method" his eyes narrowed as he said "The last of the imps …"
"Imps?!" Harry exclaimed in astonishment "But I thought they were extinct decades ago!"
Malone nodded "The Wizard World hunted these notorious creatures for their crimes against humanity; but some of them succeeded in escaping from our grasp and hid will among the ruins of their underground tunnels. Unfortunately, those who have escaped were imp shamans, the most dangerous of all the imps. They tried to open some kind of inter-dimensional tunnel that they tried to use to bring more forces of their kind, but luck was on our side as their tunnel collapsed crushing most of them save two powerful shamans" Malone closed his eyes before continuing "The Ministry confiscated the body of these two shamans, and stored them in Area 51 as aliens and the muggles took the bait and believed them to be so. Since then, Ministry officials from the Department of Mystery researched the bodies in order to develop the magical society"
The minister stopped, but Harry was still confused "But what does that do with Flint, sir?"
"During the infiltration of Area 51 by the unknown personnel, one of the bodies was stolen" Malone said, and Harry's eyes widened as his intelligent mind found the connection quickly "The imps used to open inter-dimensional tunnels; and if Flint was responsible for the attack, then …"
"He would try to open his wanted portal … Yes" Malone continued "And that's what I want you to prevent. Your main objective is to prevent Flint from opening his portal, and prevent any further infiltration of any unwanted personnel. Your second objective, however, is to protect the remaining body of the imp and retrieve the stolen body of the other imp shaman; we do not want to take any chances against an enemy like Flint, but keep in mind that it is a secondary objective"
"What if I couldn't protect the remaining body from plundering?" Harry said eyeing his superior with a significant glance, and Malone returned the glance with a similar one "If we couldn't keep the bodies of the imps, neither should Flint"
"I understand, sir" Harry smiled slyly, and the minister waved at him dismissively "Now, go and arrange your team for transportation. Your new HQ and the location of Area 51 will be disclosed to you upon your arrival to the designated town" he handed him a sealed envelope "Do not open this envelope unless you are in a secure area. It contains the location of the town, and it is rigged with an incendiary spell that will ignite it after ten seconds of opening"
Harry took the envelope and bid the minister farewell, he walked out of the ministry muttering "Sorry 'Mione; I think your training will be postponed for an unknown period …"
A/N: This is the first chapter; the second will take some time until I can gather my thoughts of the whole part. So, see you soon.
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