Maxville, Kansas

July 4, 2006

Peace Residence

Will had invited all his friends from high school to check out the fantastic firework show his parents put on every year. Warren was going to skip it in case he came face to face with the Commander. Last time he saw him he bursted into flames and almost burnt their house down. His mother had talked to them so 'the adults' could straighten things out, but now Will texted him when his dad was away, just in case.

He got a text that said 'Dad won't b home tonit. Mission cam up. U comin ovr?' From Will as he sat on a dumpster behind his apartment. He started to type a no when a familiar kid three apartments up caught his attention. Harry Potter was like most teens, but Warren had seen him do some strange things. He had superpowers, and whoever his birth parents where, (they could even still be alive for all Warren knew) they had left him with an aunt and an uncle who left him for dead years ago. Strangely, Warren always felt thankful for this. Harry was the brother he never had and made him want to be a hero.

"Potter!" Harry looked down from the railing he was sitting on.

"Hey Peace!" He yelled back down to Warren.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for the fireworks. I don't have much else to do. You?" For a minute Warren was just going to pretend he didn't hear him. Then he decided Harry should get something better than the cheap town fireworks.

"I was heading to a friend's house. Wanna come?" Harry's face lit up as he grabbed a jacket and ran down the stairs.

"So where are we going?"

"To my friend Will Stronghold's house."

"Don't you complain about him all the time?"

"Not all the time. His dad, on the other hand-"

"That must be who I'm thinking of." Harry had a point. Warren complained about 'that dumb Stronghold' more times then he could remember.

They headed off towards Will's house, Harry unaware of the familiar faces he would see there.

Stronghold Household

July 4, 2006

Before the party

Will was waiting for his friends to show up while his little brother Ron annoyed him as much as possible. The lights flickered so much, Will thought he would get a headache.

"Ron, stop it. You're 14, you 4 year old." Ron smirked at him as he swiped some chips off the table of snacks Will set up.

"Are these those hippie chips Layla and Hermione like?" He asked before taking one. Vegetarian food tasted awful and he couldn't figure out how they could eat it.

"We've been over this. If it's not made from animals it's vegetarian, and for the last time, don't call my girlfriend a hippie!" The lights went off and when they came back on, Ron had disappeared. "Ron? Ronnie? Come back out! Where did you go?"

"Ron run off again?" Asked a voice behind him. Will turned to see Layla with a fancy fruit basket, Hermione behind her.

"Yeah. I better find him." Hermione rolled her eyes as she watched her sister and Will stand there staring at each other.

"I'll do it. I'm better at it anyway." Neither one said anything as Hermione walked off to search for Ron.

It wasn't too hard. He was on the roof, crunching away on chips. With a small twirl, she teleported on the roof. Ron rolled his eyes at her.

"If it isn't the adopted hippie feminist."

"Better adopted, VEGETARIAN, and feminist then rude, mannerless, and a complete- Is that Harry Potter from school?" Warren and Harry had just made it to Will's street behind the flood of friends that Will invited. Ron looked to where Hermione pointed and saw she was right. His best friend, normal and ordinary, and a bunch of super powered kids? What the heck was he going to do! If Harry found out the biggest secret of his life, his parents would send him to… live in outer space or something.

"What's wrong with you?" And worse Hermione was still here. Wait, of course!

"Hermione, you know I hate asking you for anything, but I need you to help me-"

"You know I don't like using my powers unless absolutely necessary."

"That's the BIGGEST lie you ever told me."

"Alright. I love using my powers to impress people. Reading minds, erasing minds with new memories, building things with the wave of my hand, making object come to me with a swish and flick of my finger, putting protective force fields around myself, manipulating time, even changing my form to a different person! I love being a mentalist, I love being a technopath, I love having telekinesis, and I love teleporting everywhere. Is that what you want to hear?"

"Wow, Hermione, that sounds cool." Said a disembodied voice. Ron and Hermione looked around, but no one was there. "Relax, guys. It's me." Suddenly Harry appeared, and he laughed as they stared at him as though he grew seven more heads.

"You have superpowers?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Yeah Ron. Do you?"

"Of course I do. I'm a Stronghold!" Hermione coughed something in her hand, but Ron was busy talking and didn't acknowledge her. "I can take in light. Mom says it's called light manipulation. And I can fly and I have the power to annoy my brother and Hermione, but that's about it. What about you Harry?"

Harry told them how he could turn invisible and showed them the snowy owl wings that appeared when he flew and told them how his arms turned to swords, how he could breathe underwater, his ability to shapeshift into a stag, even his power to see ghosts. Then they sat on the roof and watched the incredible firework show. The three couldn't believe they all had super powers. Harry couldn't because Ron never let on that he ever was special in anything other than chess. Hermione wasn't as shocking, but he was surprised by all her powers.

They talked through the whole firework display. Hermione went on about how Layla changed the hero/sidekick choosing system at Sky High and how now you had to fight in a group of three to save the citizen against three others. This wasn't what she wanted, being a pacifist, but Hermione heard it was working well. Ron told them how he heard save the citizen was rigged with your worst fears.

"I'm telling you, I'm going to see spiders. Lots of spiders."

"Ronald, you don't have to worry until September. Until then, let's all agree to make the most of our summer. Together."

"All right Hermione. Only if Harry agrees, though. I don't want to get stuck doing girly things with you." Hermione sighed.

"I agree. It sounds better then what I usually do anyway." Harry said quickly.

"What do you usually do in the summer?"

"Bother my neighbor Warren Peace. Help my mom out at the Paper Lantern. That's about it." Ron and Hermione both had questions for him.

"You know War Zone? He almost burnt the house down!"

"I love the Paper Lantern! Your mom works there?"

"Peace is a real nice guy once you get to know him. And my mom owns the Paper Lantern. I work there sometimes but mostly I just keep our apartment clean. She tells me that's my job."

"Wait, I've met the owner," Hermione said slowly. Réalisation washed over her. "Harry, how come you never…" she trailed off, not able to find the words.

"Ok, so I'm an orphan. My mom found me when I was four outside the Paper Lantern. I was left for dead by my aunt and uncle, whoever they are." Harry said defensively.

"I was adopted when I was four, too." Hermione said, getting through Harry's defense. He looked a little shocked, but took it. Ron just looked at them. If both Harry and Hermione were adopted at four years old, and there were no videos or pictures of him until he was four, did that mean what he thought?

He forgot all about it as they moved on to other topics.

When Harry and Hermione left, they all were thinking of how awesome high school would be.

What they didn't know was how deadly it could be.