Chapter 10: Journey to Discovery

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Harry Potter gulped at the intimidating scene before him.

A panel of eight people sat together in a row, stern expressions on their faces. They looked a lot like McGonagall had when she was reprimanding someone for something (which, as Harry recalled, was probably about half the time he had heard her speaking). Harry was just glad that it wasn't he who was the target of these looks.

Sirius, however, stood before them unflinchingly. He even had a half smile on his face. He seemed to relish this sort of attention. Remus, standing at his side, had a sober look on his face, but he did not appear to be the least troubled, either. Eon stood beside Remus, looking stoic and cool. For his part, Harry stayed in his place to the side, trying not to draw any additional attention to himself. Something along the lines of what Vernon Dursley would call "keeping quiet and pretending not to exist" except that this time Harry was the one not wanting himself to be noticed.

"Captain Sirius. The Council has approved your request to present Eon as a Potential to the Oracle. Despite having only been a crewman for barely the minimum required time, Eon's physical and mental scores are well within the acceptable range for a full crew member. Though he was freed much later than usual, that will not be counted against him. As a legal adult, he has the right to accept or reject your request." This was said by a stern looking older man with dark skin, a touch darker than Shaq's, with solid black hair. "However, your request to also bring Harry Potter, a thirteen year old child, is denied."

Sirius began to speak but another member of the council, this one with brown hair and a lighter complexion, raised her hand to forestall him. Her eyes were no less stern looking. "We will hear your appeal to our decision, but I must say that your very request makes us all wonder at your judgment as a captain of a hovercraft, Captain. You would have us send a minor, newly freed and just barely returned to health, on a perilous mission inside the Matrix? If you are reckless with whom you take as your crew and on dangerous missions, what else might you be reckless about?"

A third member of the seated council gestured towards Sirius. "You may make your appeal now, but bear in mind that your words will bear as much on the issue of your remaining an active ship captain as they do on the issue of your request." Apparently, he had no fans on the council.

Sirius gave a winning smile. "I completely understand, Councilmen, Councilwomen." The black haired captain swept into a bow. Remus rolled his eyes, though everyone's attention was on the flamboyant hovership captain. "If I thought someone were endangering young Harry, here, I'd respond just the same way, but perhaps with a bit more violence."

The council did not look impressed.

"You're not helping yourself with that wisecrack about violence," Remus whispered.

"Tough crowd," Sirius whispered back. "But I'll win them over."

"First of all, as to the matter of Harry's enlistment in the military, I understand that he is underage to serve as a full crew member. But, I must point out that service on a hovership has always been different from other areas of the military. While infantry, APU teams, and scouts have a minimum age of around eighteen, those whose minds who had been freed often began apprenticing aboard hoverships at much younger ages. During the War for—"

"We are not at war, Captain Sirius, need I remind you? And we do not want to take any actions that would lead to a renewal of war," the councilwoman who had addressed Sirius second interrupted him sternly.

"Thank you for reminding me of that important fact, Councilwoman…" Sirius grasped momentarily for her name, "…Amelia." Sirius smiled kindly. "But I was merely pointing out the fact that it is not uncommon for minors to spend significant time aboard hovercraft before reaching the age of majority."

"Captain Sirius, if you had merely requested to have Mr. Harry Potter, who has just joined the military as a cadet this past week, assigned to your ship for periodic training, we would have had no objections. But you have requested something far beyond that! You want to take him into an area of the Matrix likely to be heavily scrutinized by Programs, into obvious danger. That is not something we do with young cadets like young Mr. Harry Potter!"

Murmurs of assent could be heard from the entire council table.

"While I think you are overstating the danger in visiting the Oracle, you are right that I would normally not make a request of someone so young. But Eon and Harry are both exceptionally exceptional. So much so, that delaying for half a decade while his body grows hair in places that it currently doesn't have any could be costly."

At a gesture of Sirius, Remus clicked a few buttons on a clear glass console in front of him. "You have our reports on the hidden subsystem within Matrix Secondary Core 33.7?" The council responded with speculative murmurs and cautious nods to Remus's question. "The Programs have an entirely different purpose within this isolated and carefully controlled sub-section. It is heavily encrypted. Every attempt we have made to breach this security has failed. It is obviously a high priority for Them. We don't know what all is at stake, but if it is guarded this tightly, it must be of immense value."

The council members looked to each other questioningly. They were, of course, of this new and disturbing development. But they had no idea what it had to do with the request before them.

Sirius moved to put his hands on Harry's shoulder. "Ladies and gentlemen, let me present you with the encryption key." The entire council turned as one to regard Sirius with renewed interest. Their eyes slowly found their way down to Harry. "Both Eon and Harry Potter have de-encryption keys wired into their neural interface, linked to their brain stems. The Machines intended for these two free young minds to spend the rest of their lives trapped within that specific section of the Matrix that we are so interested in learning about. They are the only ones who can by-pass both layers of encryption to get inside."

"You might be wondering why we don't just start with Eon and send Harry to the Oracle after he has grown up a bit," Remus added. "And to tell the truth, if I hadn't seen what I'm about to show you, I might have agreed with you. This is from Harry's first attempt at the 'Jump' program. I'm sure you are all familiar with that that?"

Not all the council members were freed minds, some being natural born, but they had all heard about the "infamous" training program all rookies cut their teeth on. They nodded, and there were even a few chuckles. And then Remus played the video.

"This is a fixed angle, directly above the scene. Watch closely."

They watched what went on within the Construct program impassively. Then they got to the part where Harry prepared to jump, but instead teleported across to the other side. There were a number of gasps from the council.

Sirius looked smug.

"We have a lot of questions. The Oracle has been one of our best sources of answers over the years," Remus concluded. "If this video is any indication, there's a lot more to what's going on in that little program than we had previously thought. You've seen our reports about the 'magical world' they have set up. What we don't know is why they are doing it and what it has to do with these two young men. This is too important to wait on."

There was a moment of hurried discussion at the council table before one of their members said anything in response. "We'll need time to confer," the council member who had first addressed them said. The sternness and disapproval that had been in his expression before was now replaced by acknowledgment and respect along with obvious surprise. Sirius, Remus, Eon and Harry exited the room.

It was about nervous ten minutes before they were called back in.

"The issue you brought before this council was a serious one," the dark skinned councilman who seemed to serve as the general spokesman began, "and we found it difficult to balance the needs of the people against our duty to protect the young. Before we render our decision, we would like to hear from the boy in question. Harry Potter, what do you think of all of this?"

Harry gulped, looked briefly towards Sirius, and then turned back towards the Council. "Well, sir, I'm not really sure what to make of this. To tell the truth, it's a lot like suddenly being told on your eleventh birthday that you're a wizard and that your mum and dad weren't killed in an auto accident like you had been told, but that it was really some old Dark Lord who had done it." There were looks of confusion on some of the faces of the council members, but on others, looks of understanding as they realized that was actually what had happened to this young boy. It had to be a shocking, amazing, and painful experience all at once.

"But I do know this," Harry continued. "I'm grateful to Captain Sirius, and to Remus, and Eon, and all the crew of the Lupin for freeing me. And I still have friends in Hogwarts, that's the name of the magic school back in the Matrix where I spent most of my time," he added for the benefit who didn't remember the name from their reports, "I still have friends in there who don't even know what's happening to them. And well, I want to help them, and as soon as I can. And everyone else enslaved to those Machines. So, if there's a chance that going to see this Oracle can help, well, then I want to do it. And if it's dangerous, well…I don't care. Not really."

There were murmurs from the council, nods of approval, and whispers. After a few moments, the lead speaker spoke once more.

"One month," he said.

"Pardon me?" Sirius replied.

"Your request is approved, but you must wait a minimum of one month before you may set out, one month to train and prepare Mr. Harry Potter." The speaker paused, a steely look entering his gaze, "And if after one month he is still not prepared, you will take Eon to the Oracle alone and Harry will need to wait another three months before a second petition will be entertained. Is that clear, Captain?"

Sirius smiled. "Perfectly clear, Councilman. Council members. Thank you."

Harry's heart was racing inside his chest. He felt as if he had just passed some sort of test.

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Harry was panting with exertion, doubled over, gasping for air. He had never felt so tired in his life. Aside from waking up in the real word having found his body horribly weak from not ever actually having been used, that is. But this was different. This was the burning from having pushed his body to its limits, and judging from the pain he was just starting to feel, maybe a bit beyond. He had just finished running four kilometers in his best time, and that was after lifting weights, a test of his combat reflexes that involved hitting targets with a staff in rapid succession, and climbing a ten meter vertical surface.

The agony he felt in his side felt good to him. He managed to catch his breath enough to stand up straight, though he still rested his hand on his hips in his exhaustion. A trio of familiar faces came walking up to him and Harry grinned at them. Sirius, Eon, and Tonks approached.

"Well? How did I do?" Harry asked.

Sirius shook his head. "I'm sorry, Harry, but you failed."

All the good cheer left Harry in that instant, and he collapsed to the ground in a dejected heap. This meant the Council would not let him join the crew of the Lupin. It would be another 6 months at least, 3 months to petition again and 3 more months of training, before he could go to see the Oracle and the possibility of rescuing his friends trapped back in "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" would only get slimmer. He had tried so hard…

"You just don't have enough endurance, strength, or speed, Harry, I'm sorry. Your psychological exam and intelligence aptitude tests were all more than satisfactory, but your physical shape is just too far below standard," Sirius explained.

Harry nodded his head wearily, fighting back the tears that threatened to unman him in front of the others.

"Oh, come on, Sirius, stop teasing him," Eon chided. "He's going to feel horrible."

"Alright, alright. Like I said, Harry, you definitely failed the physical exam…if you were applying for the Elite Infantry Ranger program. For joining a Hovercraft crew you've passed with an 'average' rating."

Harry sat there for a moment processing what Sirius had said. Then his jaw dropped open and he had to put his hands flat on the ground to support himself. He half panted, half threatened, "Sirius, when I get my breath back, I'm going to get you. You know that, right?"

Tonks laughed. "Why do you think he told you right after you had collapsed from exhaustion?"

Eon wore a big smile as he helped Harry get to his feet. "Come on, my Gryffindor friend. Get up. You know you gotta cool down after exerting yourself so much."

Harry's respiratory system protested, but he still did as his friend bid him. He got back up and began walking along with his crew mates. Harry grinned to himself. Now that he had passed the tests set by the council, he would officially be part of the Lupin crew. Harry stretched his arms as he walked.

"So, what is this 'Elite Infantry Ranger' program I don't qualify for?" Harry asked as they walked.

Tonks took the time to explain this. "EIR is for training special infantry soldiers. They do things like explore Machine patrolled areas on foot looking for lost artifacts and technology, capture Machines for research, and serve as advanced scouting parties for VIP civilian groups if they venture beyond the city gates."

Harry looked thoughtful. That sounded dangerous…and important. "Have any of you thought of doing that?"

Tonks grinned. "They've only asked me to join about 20 times. Comes from being in the top 1% of all tested."

Eon added, "Not many people can transfer the physical skills uploaded into the mind into real life movement well. Tonks, here, is one of the best at that. Inside the Matrix I can beat her, but out here in the real world, no way."

"But I'd rather be with the Lupin," Tonks finished. "I think I owe it to those who have not been freed. There are a lot more of them in there than there are of us out here. Besides, even if Eon is better than me inside the Matrix, I can still take Sirius either place just fine."

"Okay, that's enough bragging for now, Nymphadora," Sirius teased.

"Nymphadora?" Harry asked quizzically.

"Don't call me," Tonks said, suddenly moving mid-sentence to land a sharp kick to Sirius's buttocks, "Nymphadora!"

Sirius hit the ground hard, but came up in a roll, still grinning.

"Oh, Sirius," Eon tsked as the young woman charged forward with uncanny speed and swept Sirus's legs out from under him. "That was not smart." Sudden yelps of pain were heard from the hovercraft captain. "We were just saying how Tonks is in the top 1% of physical skill test-ees. Not smart at all."

Sirius was now pinned to the ground flat on his stomach, one of his arms twisted backwards around behind him in a triangle shape. Tonks's knee was poking into the small of Sirius's back. Sirius's head was being pressed to the ground.

"Now," Tonks asked in a low, threatening voice. "What's my name?"

"Tonks! It's Tonks!"

Harry laughed, and as tired as he was from his testing, he felt really good.

"I think that covers mentioning Tonks's old Matrix name where she can hear you," Eon said good naturedly.

Harry nodded his head in agreement.

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The massive steel inner doors of New Salem opened slowly, revealing a narrow tunnel with the exit blocked ahead by a second metal doorway. Remus sat at the controls, answering the central tower communications and maneuvering the hovercraft into the passageway. The Lupin was a sleek ship with six large pads on the bottom and four smaller pads on the front, rear, and sides for maneuvering. The hull was covered with dark, light absorbing pigments.

Inside the ship, Harry looked out as the large mechas called Armored Personnel Units, or APUs, aimed their massive armaments at the center of the outer doors as the inner doors began to slowly close. The outer doors slowly slid open in turn, revealing a natural rock face leading into the tunnel system which connected into the massive sewer complex which interconnected the remains of the former human cities. New Salem had been created from what had once apparently been a mining complex on the border of the territory controlled by what would become the Machine City. It had taken five years to turn the complex into a base capable of sustaining a population of around twenty-five thousand, including the massive greenhouse which provided the bulk of the food.

The Lupin exited from the chamber, and Harry could see that the doors closing behind them were covered in rock to match the rest of the surface, making the entrance virtually undetectable. Harry could feel himself tense up. He was back out in the open world where the Machines controlled everything. At any moment a Sentinel could appear out of the blue and…

"Relax, Harry," Remus told him with a chuckle. We're not out in the wilds yet. These areas are closed off, monitored by camera, and patrolled by remotes. We will need to take a circuitous route away from the city before exiting one of several exit points into the Machine controlled space. We won't be running into any Squiggies just yet."

Harry took a breath and a smile found its way onto his face. Now that he knew they were not yet in danger he could enjoy the experience. He watched the scanners showing a visual of the underground passageways. Smaller monitors showed infrared and passive pulse-echo views of their surroundings. Remus navigated the twists and turns of the tunnel system with practiced ease.

"Will I be trained to pilot the ship, Remus?" There was an eager glint in Harry's eyes as he surveyed the controls to the ship.

"Eventually, Harry. It will be a couple years before you'll be allowed to actually control a hovercraft," Remus said regretfully, but then added with a little enthusiasm, "but we can get you into some simulations soon enough."

"Oh," Harry responded, a bit disappointed. It was impossible for a boy his age to see something like piloting a hovercraft and not want to try it out for himself. Right now.

"Harry Potter," came a gruff voice from behind him. Harry turned to see Alastor stumping over to the piloting section with his mechanical leg. "Why don't I show you how to man the guns? You never know when we might be caught in an ambush and end up short-handed. Would be prudent to have you trained on how to at least aim and fire then, wouldn't it? Constant vigilance! That's what I say."

Harry didn't have to be asked twice. He bounded over towards Alastor, more than ready to try his hands at the weapons system. He missed the wink the scarred man with a shock of white hair on his head shot the grateful pilot. The look of disappointment on Harry's face had been pulling on Remus's heartstrings and Remus was glad Alastor had come up with that suggestion.

"This here is one of our gun turret controls. Fires ballistic armor piercing rounds at high velocity. Each turret has a 120° range of fire. This," Alastor said pointing to the display, "is the targeting display." Alastor hit a series of buttons and a pair of red brackets appeared on the screen. "That is what will be hit if you were to fire right now. There are two ways on this system to aim. First, is this control stick."

Alastor moved the stick around, tracing a line on the cavern wall displayed on the screen. "It's the most precise way of controlling the weapons, but a bit tricky. Now, you try."

Harry took the control in his hand and the red targeting bracket jumped erratically despite Harry's efforts to keep the brackets in a straight line. "It's a lot harder than it looked when you did it," the thirteen-year old noted.

"Takes practice. But you'll get it. In the mean time, though, you can use the touch screen to guide the guns. Not as accurate, but a lot easier." Alastor demonstrated using his finger to move the targeting brackets around the screen.

Harry spent the next hour practicing using the screen and the control stick for targeting, the war veteran explaining the concepts of leading a target, tracer fire, and critical points in the ship's defense. He answered Harry's questions about munitions supplies, explaining how there was a massive stockpile that had never been used as the Machines had overrun the human defenses quicker than they had ever thought possible. When the explanations were done, as much as he wanted to, Harry didn't ask if he could actually fire a shot. While he wanted to blast some target with canon fire as much as the next teenage boy, he had no desire to give away the position of the Lupin to any Machine that might be tracking sound in the area.

It wasn't long before Harry lost all track of time. The hours had passed by and Harry was still "training" with the controls when he was suddenly startled from his concentration. "Hey, there, hotshot!" Tonks said teasingly as she ambushed him from behind, ruffling his hair playfully. After a moment of Harry ducking away from the older girl and Tonks mercilessly poking him in numerous ticklish spots on his back and sides, the two ended up standing together with their fingers extended menacingly in tickling position, grinning on the gunnery deck.

"How long have you been at that?" the older teen asked. At Harry's shrug, Tonks grabbed his hand and tugged him back towards the navigational control room. "Come on then! It's my shift as navigator and you're going to be my First Mate."

Harry shot Tonks a wolfish grin. "Be your first mate? Tonks, aren't I a little too young for that? I mean, I'm flattered you want me to be your first time and all but…"

Tonks turned a half-scandalized look on Harry. "You have been spending way too much time with Captain Sirius!" But then her expression changed, her mouth forming into a mischievous half smile as she changed from gripping his wrist and pulling him along, to her arm snaking around his shoulders. "Now that you mention it, though, Harry, I do like younger men."

Harry's grin disappeared and was replaced by a look of panic.

"Wait, Tonks…hold on…"

"Don't be shy, Harry," Tonks whispered seductively.

"Hey, I'm only 13. Well, I'll be 14 in a few months, but, still, I…"

The older teen couldn't hold her laughter in any longer. She let go of Harry, who quickly backed away, and then she snorted once or twice as she chortled, throwing her head back in laughter. "Oh, Harry, that was priceless…the look on your face…"

Harry's face flushed with a bit of color as he tried to regain his composure and his dignity and succeeding at neither. "Hey, it wasn't that funny."

"You did look pretty much like you were about to jump out of your skin, there, Harry," Remus's voice chimed in. "It was amusing."

The young man covered his face. "Oh, Merlin, not you, too…I mean…"

"Don't worry, Harry. Tonks and I will be the only ones to tease you mercilessly about this for the rest of your life. And maybe one or two others we let it slip to at strategically embarrassing moments." Remus pat the young man consolingly on the shoulder, then gave Harry a little wink and a conspiratorial whisper. "Never tease a teaser, Harry. Not until you know they'll be more embarrassed than you."

Tonks, serious once more, nodded to Remus. "I was just about to relieve you. Sirius in there navigating?"

Remus nodded back. "Well, I'll get some beauty sleep. We'll be coming up on our broadcast point in about six hours."

Harry and Tonks stepped into the ship's control room and Tonks took the controls from the ship captain. Harry took the chair next to Tonks and Sirius made to leave the two alone. Just before stepping through the doorway, Sirius turned back and gave some last minute instructions. "It should be a straight shot to our destination. We aren't expecting any Machine activity in the region, but if you come across anything, the tiniest blip on the screen, you sound the ship alarm and find a spot to hide the ship. Remus or I will be down to handle the situation. Got it?"

"Got it, Captain," Tonks replied soberly, but with a silly looking salute that put a smile on the captain's otherwise very Sirius face.

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The time passed by swiftly as Tonks piloted the ship through the complex system of interlocking tunnels. Harry's eyes took in everything, and Tonks was more than eager to explain what she knew of the history of the tunnel systems and how they had once supported the building complexes up on the surface. The pair joked and laughed as the miles stretched out. After a short companionable silence, Tonks turned from the controls for a moment and gave Harry an appraising look.

"You know, Harry, I was only half joking about you being cute," she said before looking back at the viewscreen. They were in a wide open section, with no turns or objects in sight.

"So, I guess I'm half cute, then?" Harry joked.

Tonks turned back to grin at Harry. "That's what I like about ya 'Arry," she said warmly, a touch of her accent returning. "You've got a right good sense of humor. And for a girl like me, that means more than what a bloke looks like. 'Course, doesn't hurt that you have such adorable green eyes."

"Come on, Tonks, quit having me on," Harry scowled slightly. "Once was enough today."

"No, I mean it, Harry," Tonks insisted. "We're both still a bit young, but in a few years I could definitely see us going out. Happens with crewmates a lot. Not as many females in the military, but overall women outnumber men three to two in Zion. Not easy for a girl, especially one on a hovercraft half the time, to find a decent guy."

"So you wanna put a claim on me early, is that it?" Harry joked.

Tonks smiled winningly, "Sounds like an idea. But really, I'm just saying you're a good looking guy—"

Harry noticed a strange blipping signal on the screen out of the corner of his eye. "Um, Tonks, what is that on the screen?"

Tonks turned back to the screen and swore colorfully. What had been a small blip on the echolaction screen suddenly became of mass of blips, all moving in a straight line towards the Lupin. The visuals scanner took a close-up of them and positively identified what they were.

"Squiggies!" The alarms of the ship went off and Tonks banked the ship downward to find some kind of cover in a cavernous section of the underground which may once have served as an underground storage facility which would have housed thousands of crates and vehicles. Now, though, it was nearly empty with only minor burnt out debris to offer as a place to hide.

The knowledge from his training sessions kicked in. Harry realized that tactically, they had almost no chance of surviving. Squiggies were hunter-killer robots with but one mission: exterminating human life. Out here in no-man's-land, they would not hesitate to destroy any ship they found, and Tonks had spotted the squid-like machines too late. If they hadn't already identified the ship, they were bound to investigate the motion and find them.

"Damn it!" Tonks shook with anger at herself. "I should have been paying more attention!"

Harry watched the signals representing the deadly machines growing closer even Tonks tried to set the ship down behind some debris that could offer at least partial cover. But he had a sick feeling that there was no way the machines could miss them.

"What's going on?" Sirius' voice broke in as he stepped into the control room. Moments later he saw for himself.

"Bloody squiggies jumped up out of nowhere. Harry saw them first. I should have been paying more fuc—"

"Language, Tonks," Remus's voice broke in as he entered the control center as well. "We'll talk about blame after we get out of this." Remus quickly assessed the situation. "Looks like a patrol of around twenty sentinels. All but a few are heading our way. The others are holding back out of EMP range."

"Remus, charge the EMP. The moment they start to attack we fire it," Sirius ordered. "Couldn't have happened in a worse place. Nowhere here to run or hide, and too many open angles to try and fight off that many with guns."

Harry Potter relinquished his chair, as did Tonks. His fists were clenched tightly together and his heart pounded within his chest. He had never seen Machines up close, not for real, but he had seen them in the Construct program during training and the things had given him nightmares after seeing what they did. He wasn't supposed to let panic interfere with his behavior in a crisis. He had trained for things like this. But the feeling of impending disaster swept through his heart and he felt as if he couldn't breathe.

Harry closed his eyes tightly and clenched his arms to his chest, his hands balled into fists. "Don't see us, don't see us, don't see us," he repeated over and over to himself. He didn't dare to look up.

The ship collectively held its breath, Remus standing by, his finger hovering over the red glowing button indicating that the EMP was charged. The power was cut to all the main systems to protect them from damage from the coming blast of energy. And then…

The machines stopped coming for them. One moment they were headed in a bee-line for the hovercraft, the next they began looping around, some even passing directly over where the ship was settled. Nobody made a sound and the attack never came. After several tense minutes, the machines simply moved on. After several more minutes, the Machines completely left the ship's detection range.

Remus audibly let out his breath.

"What's going on?" Eon's deep voice broke in coming in from the gunnery deck. "There were machines out there. It was as if I could even feel them, it was so intense."

Sirus shook his head. "They came. They saw. They went away. It was the damndest thing. And don't you dare tell me to watch my language, Remus."

"You think they mis-identified the ship as scrap?" Eon asked.

"Possible, but not very likely. Not as close as they got and not with some of them flying directly over us," Remus answered. "More likely they had orders from the Machine city not to attack us, though why that might be when we're out here away from Zion, I don't know."

From the back of the room, Tonks spoke up. "I'm so sorry everyone." Everyone turned to face the girl who had tears streaking her face. "I never should have looked away from the screen. If I had…I would have seen the blip before we got within range."

Remus walked over to the young woman and put a hand on her shoulder. "We're all okay. Calm down." He waited for the tears to stop falling from her eyes before continuing. "Tonks, how long did you look away for?"

"Several seconds," she answered, pausing. "I was talking with Harry."

Remus cracked a half smile. "Several seconds, huh? I think Sirius and I can both admit that we've taken our eyes off the screens for more than just several seconds before."

Sirius stepped forward. "That's true, but I'm not going to excuse your inattention, Tonks," he said, every inch the ship captain, "but I won't blame you either. We should all be as alert and attentive as we can when we're in control of the ship. But we all do let our attention slip here and there. It's not a good thing, but it is a human thing. We aren't machines. We're people. It could have happened to any of us. We all have to be more vigilant, as Alastor would surely remind us if he were here. As for you chatting here with Harry…"

That was when they all noticed that Harry was still back in a corner with his eyes closed, murmuring to himself. It took Eon walking over and shaking him for Harry to come to his senses.

"You alright, Harry?" he asked quietly.

Harry Potter nodded his head, taking in the sight of most of the crew in the room with him. Suddenly, his fear was replaced with shame at his reaction. He wanted to run from the room, but instead faced his friends, and apologized with a tremulous voice. "I'm sorry everyone. I know I shouldn't panic like that…"

"Oh, not you too!" Sirius rolled his eyes in mock-exasperation. "You and Tonks both need to learn how to properly pass the blame to someone else. Next time this happens, I want to see the two of you pointing your fingers at each other, proper like."

"Besides," Eon added, "not much else you could do in a situation like that. I thinking wishing it would all go away was about as much as you could have done." Eon gave Harry a good-natured thump on the shoulder. "This was your first near-attack on the ship. I about froze up my first time, not too long ago. You'll be fine, don't worry."

Harry nodded his head, grateful that nobody was blaming him for his actions and taking their comforting words as they were meant. But the feeling of guilt and shame was still there in his gut. With his fists clenched, he swore to himself that the next time something like this happened he would be ready to act. Then his fists unclenched and he felt tired.

With Remus back at the controls, the Lupin lifted back off the ground.

"Get some rest you two," Remus ordered. "We'll be in broadcast range in a couple more hours now. Hopefully, we won't have any more encounters like that on our way."

Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay. Had some academic writing to do.

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