"What?" Harry exclaimed, "You want me to break into this vault? I think it's a job that you can do alone without my help and without magic and it's in Switzerland."
Mrs Jones shook her head, "Unfortunately not, screening of this vault has proven that it is being safeguarded by magical as well as non-magical means. We cannot do it by ourselves. The vault belongs to a man called Aloysius Drachenklaue, an Austrian industrial engineer and multi-millionaire. Our information has revealed without reasonable doubt that Drachenklaue is planning to plant one bomb in major capital cities all over the world. It is necessary that we get into that vault and dismantle the bombs inside before Drachenklaue has a chance to transport them. Harry, you and Alex will be saving hundreds or maybe even thousands of lives. We usually have nothing to do with the wizarding world or anything of the sort but this is quite an emergency, the ministry refuses to give us any assistance no matter how serious the situation is. This is our very last resort."
Harry still wasn't impressed by this and folded his arms in a typical teenage position of defiance – it seemed odd on Harry as Alex considered him to be so well-mannered and rather shy, "Then why send an underage wizard who hasn't yet fully completed his schooling? Is Drachenklaue secretly a wizard in disguise? How would he be able to have magic methods to guard his vault?"
Harry had asked the right kind of questions, Alex recognised Mrs Jones' eyes lighten-up as they often did when she was surprised by some of the things he had said. She turned to Mr Blunt, hoping that he could give Harry a good, solid answer.
Alan Blunt cleared his throat, "It is interesting that you ask that. We have only found out the answer not long ago. When our sensors first detected magic around Drachenklaue's fault in Switzerland we first thought that it was some sort of fluke but further testing proved that it wasn't. The magic doesn't seem to be too complicated, but it is still something our scientists haven't yet figured out how to undo. It is obvious that he isn't controlling it himself but is using naturally magic objects that can move in their own right without intricate control or accurate instruction."
Harry gave Alan Blunt a curious look but said nothing. Alex almost prayed that Harry would stay, even though there would be no way of Harry being able to do a runner or abandon him anyway. Harry didn't want to be in this situation and neither did Alex, there was no choice either way.
Mr Blunt continued regardless, "When we first came across Aloysius Drachenklaue's file there didn't seem to be anything unusual about him. He is an extremely successful man that had just recently retired at 67. He and his wife have a happy family with successful adult children and now also grandchildren. However, as we delved further into his history we found out that there was no real information on his birth certificate or other history before he applied to study engineering at the University of Vienna at the age of 16 – there's not even any sort of evidence to suggest that he ever attended school at all. We were also interested in his surname; it is very unusual to have a surname that means 'dragon claw', it seemed unreal at first. When we did DNA analysis on Drachenklaue it did not show that he had the genetic mutations necessary to be a wizard, only recessively. It suggested to us that he might have had magical parents and maybe other relatives but did not inherit magic himself. We also gained information that suggested he felt bitter about 'not belonging in the world of his estranged and deceased parents' despite having a privileged and prosperous life. We believe that Drachenklaue wants to blow up specific places that are significant to the magical populations of these capital cities out of festering resentment. It is possible that hundreds of people could die as a result, we have uncovered that he plans London to be one of the first cities he will detonate bombs."
Blunt gave Harry and Alex enough time to digest this information before going any further. Mrs Jones handed a folder that had 'CLASSIFIED' stamped in red across the front. She also showed the boys a picture of a man dressed in a black business suit; he looked borderline elderly with a smug expression on his face and he sat in on an expensive red arm chair in front of a fireplace, the room was obviously filled with the best of everything. They didn't need to be told that it was Drachenklaue.
"We need the both of you to work together, it's the only way." Mrs Jones continued, "After we brief you both on the specific details after lunch we expect you to go down to Smithers to get some equipment. Mainly for Alex, but I think he also has a surprise for you too Harry."
"Boys, after this MI6 is offering to send you both on a trip to the Alps for some fun skiing – provided that everything goes to plan of course. It will just have to be you boys on your own this time. There is no possibility that any other agents will be able to get past security underneath invisibility cloak."
'But how often does MI6 ever truly keep their promises?' Thought Alex skeptically.
Alex was accustomed to the tradition of seeing Smithers to be given some fancy new equipment before his next mission. Harry wasn't though and seemed amazed that some of the contraptions in Smithers' laboratory could function completely without magic but with complex planning and scientific knowledge. It was like Harry had walked into Alex's own Diagon Alley.
Within a few seconds Smithers greeted the boys with his usual jolly, good-natured attitude.
"Hello, Alex old friend and Harry Potter. I've got some great things for you, Alex, as well as a little something for Harry."
"Hi, Smithers." Alex replied with a wide smile.
"Hello," was all Harry could say.
Smithers' eyes rested on the silverly cloth that Harry had folded like a towel in his hands. The obese man's beady eyes began to irradiate immense curiosity.
"Is that the 'invisibility cloak'? The one you used to become invisible inside headquarters? Can I have a brief look? Do you also have your wand with you?"
Harry came closer to give Smithers a quick look at the cloak. He still kept it in his hands though; Harry was rather protective of it. Harry also briefly brought out his wand; he seemed to be uncomfortable sharing this with a muggle stranger. Harry then quickly put both of them away.
"Well, I never thought I get to see the day when I would see an actual wand and invisibility cloak," Smithers chuckled, "I've enjoyed putting the magic detector to use today, Harry. I look forward to the day when agents will be able to use magic to make themselves completely invisible – but that's a long way to go. We can't do it naturally like you can Harry."
"How can you detect magic?" Harry asked curiously.
Smithers put a finger to his mouth, "It's beyond top secret," He whispered, "If I told you I would have to kill you. Despite my happy demeanour I'm not joking. Between you wizards and the cheeky aliens, the government has a lot to keep quiet. Forget I said that. Seriously."
"Now Alex, I've got you the usual exploding ear stud, a couple of tranquiliser darts, the Gameboy and some more exploding gum as well. Harry, I've managed to get a small time turner to get you out of trouble if anything goes wrong. It was found by MI6 by chance. We believe that only someone who is magic can use it. So it currently has no use to MI6 at the moment, we would like it back when you're finished."
Smithers gave the boys their things. Harry began scanning the time turner intensely.
"Is it genuine?" Smithers asked concerned.
"It seems to be. My friend had one but I would have to try it out to be completely sure. Not here of course. There are specific rules when it comes to time turning."
"Ok. Now boys, remember to have fun."
Alex knew that despite everything it wasn't intended to be, one way or another.
Auctoris Note:
Please alert me of any spelling or grammar error that this piece might contain. I hope that this new chapter will push my total hits to this story to over 5000. Fair reviews are always welcome and justification would be liked :). ~Ann707