Guess what this chapter is going to have, I'll give you a hint. Character development
Disclaimer: Don't own Potter, support the official release
Three years earlier
" You will forget everything about your previous existence, you will forget your last name, you will learn all we teach you, you will obey everything, and finally you will Always protect your target", said the Magical head of external affairs in America.
"Sir, with all due respect I'm seven and my dad just died, I'm in mourning", Mark struggled to say. The department of external affairs had adopted Mark quickly after his father's accident, they told him that he was powerful and he needed protection. He was scared about all the changes, but he kept a stiff upper lip.
The chief himself was a tall strong-shouldered man with brown eyes, who had a stern yet stressful look on his face. He looked as though he could easily terrify any intern, but Mark wasn't startled.
The chief sighed and said, "Look, we took you in so we're your guardians now. We know you're scared but things will work out. All you need to do is listen to us and give us your faith. You have an important destiny and that can only be fulfilled if we help you."
"But why do I need to join some crazy magical group? My dad never even told me about all this magic stuff!" Mark cried out, "I don't understand any of this. It's all so strange".
"I'm not surprised your dad didn't tell you, he probably didn't know. For now I will tell you the basics, but you have to know that you are important to us and you are important to your country", answered the chief.
" What am I going to do now though, I mean, I understand that I have to work with you, but what do I need to do and where will I go?"
" Don't worry about any of that, we have a plan, you are going to be in a small warlock camp for the next three years. It is primarily for military training, but it will serve our purposes well enough. Oh, and there's one more thing, have you ever heard of the boy who lived?" he asked.
"Oh course not", Mark answered (How could he know that if he only just learned about magic?).
"The boy who lived was going to be murdered by the latest dark lord to plague Europe, but something miraculous happened. About six years ago the baby boy somehow not only survived the killing curse directed at him, but deflected the blast back at the caster Voldemort. The US agreed to help Great Britain in the defense of the boy; hence, we sent a field agent to defend him, but it is now evident that soon he will go to school and we need you to be ready to befriend him. It's quite convenient really; you fit all the needed qualifications. All you have to do is obey every word I say ".
"Yes sir" the child said quietly.
After the initial discussion with the chief the young American went from lonely child to tough war dog. He spent the three years in the hardest possible training conditions that wouldn't kill him. Then he thought he was ready, but he was wrong.
The Present
Severus Snape thought moving his humble domicile closer to the boy would not interfere with his alignment towards him. He was wrong although he didn't really care. He always thought the spawn of James Potter would invoke a feeling of utter hatred, but for some reason the memories of Lily made him feel almost nothing but compassion. It was enough to make the potions master sick to his stomach.
"Where are we?" the taller runt said. Snape assumed this one was roughly the same age as the child. He also had been unconscious, but I suppose unlike the child, his injuries were stress related.
"That is for you to find out later, I don't want to reveal to much to the boy", Snape muttered, trying to be as ineligible as possible.
"Who are you? I wasn't told anything about another agent in the area" the conscious boy sounded annoyed, it didn't take this one to recover from a loss.
"Well, I suppose I'm not an agent and unlike you I'm certainly not American" Severus never did like Americans and I suppose finding out they sent incompetent agents just solidified his aggression.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the runt said "and by the way I meant your name with the 'who are you' comment". This one was annoying;
"I am Severus Snape, Potions Master, and Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now that I've introduced myself it is your turn". Lets see the runt top his introduction.
"Do you rehearse that in the mirror before bed or something, because it is really good in a sad, overly proud kind of way of course. I do wonder what you might be over compensating for though."
This was the last straw Snape actually turned red at the comment. He knew he couldn't just toss the kid out, but he could make his life a living hell. "You insignificant little prat! I have a mind to report you to the aurors for unneeded interference!"
"Unneeded interference? I'm on an important mission directly from one of your British higher ups", Mark said proudly.
"Which one?" Snape asked.
"What?" Mark replied.
"Which higher up of our government sent you here?" Snape asked knowing he found a weak spot.
"I don't know", Mark answered, knowing he was defeated.
At that point both enraged parties turned their heads at the sight of the small boy awaking from his stupor.
"Obliviate" Snape said as he made a fast twist of his wand. The child would be much better off if he had no memory of this occurrence. "Well now what mister Snape, " the little prat muttered in an annoyed matter. Of course it didn't matter Snape already had a plan formulating.
"First off it's Professor Snape, and your name," the older wizard sneered.
"It's Mark", the little punk said before Snape revealed his plot.
Harry woke up in what is perhaps the oddest place he could consider. He was napping in the park. Normally any child would see this as a simple act of relaxation, but to Harry it was taboo.
What if anyone saw the freak of the neighborhood in plain site? The other children would be merciless to him; they could and would do any of a number of horrible things to the young child. But there was something odd; he was perfectly all right in the late sun. Not a single person had harassed him. Then he noticed the child standing over him.
"Who are you", Harry Potter said to the mysterious boy standing behind the bench.
"Oh, I'm Mark, I saw you asleep on this bench", he sounded distinctly American, so Harry called him out on it, "what's an American walking around in the middle of an English town at this hour. Nothing against you, but it is quite odd".
"How does everybody know I'm American? Uh I mean I thought my accent was pretty good." He looked a bit frazzled; so Harry took pity on him how many times does he have a chance to make a friend anyways?
"I could help with the pronunciations, your accent isn't bad just to heavy for your age. It makes you seem like your trying to sound British instead of being naturally British. Along with that you just don't use any of the local street language."
"Well I suppose that makes sense, hey by the way aren't you supposed to be home now?" the agent asked
Oh no! Harry forgot all about the dinner. He needed to be in his cupboard by time he got the guest arrived or he might be locked out again! "Wait a second, how did you know that I need to be home?" Harry was a bit unnerved by this fact, but the boy quickly said,
"Um, ah, you talk in your sleep a lot". Well he didn't know that, he supposed it is possible. I mean Harry can't hear him self sleep. Maybe Dudley could help with that.
Wait Harry had to move!
"Hurry up kid! I thought you were in a rush!" his new acquaintance yelled.
"Oh yeah, let's go". The other boy was more helpful than Harry first assumed, he knew all shortcuts to Harry's house that he didn't even know. And Harry knew all of the best routes back from his chases by the other children.
Within no time they reached Harry's house and the boy was safely in his cupboard. With all the excitement Harry found he couldn't stop shaking. Just think, he, Harry Potter, the neiborhood freak, finally found someone that didn't instantly despise him. He wondered if he would see him again. He had a feeling he would.
"That worked better than I thought it would Snape. Your talent for memory charms is really outstanding" the young wizard commented.
"Yes I do believe that should keep the Potter boy blissfully ignorant for the time being".
Snape had trouble hiding it, but he was excited, apparently he didn't do much fieldwork. Mark wondered what the future entailed now that his only real option was to trust Snape, because he had no magical means of contacting the agency.
He must admit though, it was very convenient for a Hogwarts teacher to show up out of the midst. He had to be wary, unlike Stan, who he knew he could trust; Snape was a foreign agent with unknown allegiances. From Mark's research during background training, Snape was to be especially watched. It is true that the Potions Master barely escaped falling with Voldemort at the end of the war. Even after that Snape always seemed reclusive towards the other teachers minus the headmaster, who Mark had no file on.
"Child if you are to stay with me I think I should know your name", Snape said interrupting Mark's train of thought.
"The name's Mark. The last names confidential"
How was that? I kind of didn't know how to make the flash backs well. If you didn't get it, I was going for I kind of dream sequence. By the way the reason that Mark doesn't have a last name isn't because I didn't think of one, it's because he is related to someone. I wonder whom?
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