Chapter Twenty-one.
Catnaps, Caffeine, and Caution.
California…
Harry had herd of it before, from days of Geography classes in primary school… long before Hogwarts.
It was located on the western shore of the continental United States of America, taking up the largest portion of its western shore of the three states located there. There were other things too, but it had been several years since he'd actually looked at any geographic reference books or done any reports from them. Studying magic had taken precedence in the years since so the discovery was very much like a slap in the face to him; surprising, and very startling.
There was a lightly unreal feeling to it as well, being there in Day's living room watching the backyard becoming brighter and brighter as the morning wore on. He hadn't herd of, or could ever clearly recall hearing of 'Fresno, California'. It didn't sound like 'Los Angeles' or 'San Francisco', or a few other cities that started with 'San' but couldn't remember the rest…
But he wasn't in England…
That was Six Thousand miles away!
"Hey Harry, you alright?"
Fred's question shook Harry out of his funk. He was sitting in the living room, which gave the impression that they were in a log cabin, on the long sofa that was next to the giant flat-screen television mounted to the north wall. Harry blinked in surprised at first, then from the growing light coming in from the windows that faced the back yard.
There was Hedwig, in her cage sitting on the low table before the couch, eyeing him with distain. George was across the way, next to the steps up to the Kitchen, stretched completely out in a dark leather recliner with an ice bag over his swollen nose apparently asleep. He couldn't see Ginny, but there was Fred leaning towards him looking very concerned.
Quickly, Harry turned to Fred and quietly told him; "We're in America."
"What?" Fred blinked after a moment of surprise.
"America…"Harry managed to force out. "The United States of America…We've aspirated over Six Thousand miles."
"Not possible." Fred flatly said
"Then what in hell are we doing in America?" Harry nearly wailed.
"Hiding from Scrimgeour and the Ministry until the start of term at Hogwarts, which is about a month and a half away." Fred quietly told him. "Now they're going to start serving up breakfast here soon…"
But Harry's mind raced. Six Thousand Miles, the concept was very overwhelming. They were practically on the far side of the World, and in moments—nobody had ever aspirated that far before, at least to the common knowledge Harry possessed. And there was Fred acting as if nothing was wrong at all. What the hell was wrong with him, Harry wondered. He figured both him and his brother would be insane with the desire of wanting to know how it was done. Yet, there he was acting all nonchalant about it. It made Harry want to yell out of sheer exasperation, until Fred sat down next to him and gently spoke into his ear.
"Look, Harry…I want you to understand, we did not aspirate here…Not in the least bit."
Harry gazed at him in disbelief.
"We came nearly halfway around the World by means of a Door."
Harry blinked.
"Door?" Harry repeated, still not believing.
"It's old magic." Fred struggled to explain. "Very old and very complex magic. Like Portkey's and Vanishing Cabinets, even the Foo Network, but without the complexity demanded for their creation—a complexity which only a Wizard or Witch equal to Dumbledore's skill could only attempt due to the difficulties. McGonagall figured it all out when Skywise set up the ones back at the warehouse, even mentioned that there were books on the subject in the restricted section of the Hogwarts Library."
Harry still didn't quite fully follow Fred, but something's were beginning to stick in his mind in spite the sluggishness there that was slowing him down.
"Look," Fred continued, "I know what you're going through, because Ginny, George, and myself all went through what you're going through right now when we first experienced it."
You went through this before! Harry wanted to ask, but his mind wasn't generating enough drive to do so. So all he did was gaze at Fred in the most amazed way he could.
"It's damn startling, let me tell you." Fred continued after taking a breath, "None of us were ready for it. Took George a whole day just to get over it."
Six Thousand Miles, yes it would take some time to get over having traveled that far in an instant, Harry started realizing, probably because of the shock of it…
There clearly was more to this man Day than what was seen at first. A Wizard, who both acted and lived like a Muggle in all aspects, yet could command powerful magics as if he lived with them his entire life…
Just like Dumbledore.
No, Harry paused, not quite. Not from the little snippets of life he had experienced of the man whose very decisions engineered his life to the present. He read Muggle newspapers and quite possibly other periodicals, the knitting magazines with the fascinating patters were in that bathroom and knowing what was occurring in the Muggle world tended to rule out more than just wanting to pass time while bored. There were parallels between the late Headmaster and the American, but Harry knew so little about both men that he couldn't really be so sure…
He leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes.
"Look, Harry, if you need—"
"No..no, wait a minute." Harry cut Fred off with a wave of his hand. "I just need…to rest."
Yes, sleep would do. A good long time in a bed, without interruption or the anxiety he suffered through while waiting for escape that kept him awake for hours at a time. The body demanded it, wanted it. But his mind wasn't going to allow him an easy reprieve, even for the moment, with its continuous nagging over many things; Horcruxes, Mrs. Weasley, Ron and Hermione, his throbbing hand…what Minister Scrimgeour had said about not needing him anymore, and what would happen should they meet again—especially if Umbridge was around, oh what he wanted to do to her if given the chance. The bits and pieces swirled angrily through Harry's mind with all the power of a violent storm, refusing to rest until they had been duly dealt with to their satisfaction.
Oh to have a Pensive of his own right now. He could pull that troublesome wad out of his mind with a touch of a wand to be stored later…
His wand, he suddenly remembered, did Mr. Weasley still have it? Would he give it back if he asked? After all this time, Harry had forgotten all about it.
And into this came the smell of eggs and bacon. Delightful, inviting, it wreaked havoc with the desire to sleep, pulling him back with its wonderful intoxications until he was awake and sitting up.
"Is there toast and jam?" Harry absently asked Fred.
We sent Harry and Ginny off to separate beds for their naps after the put together breakfast, full in both stomach and head.
Especially the Head…
The ideal of the Gate, or 'Door' as Fred called it, goes way, way back—as Skywise once told me. Instantaneous travel over thousands of miles, even light-years, if the Gate builder is sufficiently powerful and desiring enough, is quite dizzying to wrap one's brain around—even one that's full of Magic. But as exciting as it sounds, there's also a bittersweet side coming from the fact that such complexly demanding magical disciplines were cast aside for the simpler means of short-range Apparition and Portkey's.
Probably because they're 'simpler' to do, and much quicker to set up.
Perhaps now's the time for its rediscovery.
But for the moment, I find myself wondering what to do about the Twins.
They're giddy, and not from caffeine, which is quite understandable. It's tradition for the young Wizard and Witch, upon graduation from their respective schools, to make a trip around the world. It's meant to further their learning and understanding of the World which they live in, and of course get their 'feet wet' by experiencing Mundane Society up close and personally. But sadly, so many of them make it a very damn short trip because of the biased, preconceived notions learned at their parents and grandparents knees (and quite a few others) concerning the Mundane existence. But a lot of it is hit-and-miss, dependent upon which parts of the World they travel to. Those who manage to find the more pleasant and interesting route stay out longer receiving a more pleasant experience, than those who have the misfortune of coming case to face with all of that is vile and evil of the Mundane world. Facing that, I'd return home as fast as the wind too.
And instead of broadening the minds and horizons of the next generation, they'd steep them in ignorance and narrowed views.
Thank God I'm different.
But the three of us simply can't leave Harry and Ginny behind while doing a road tour of Fresno, as the Twins are eager to do. They never did the 'Tour' since their leaving Hogwarts was quite abrupt, and I didn't want to know. But it would be downright irresponsible, in spite the formable defenses around my home, if the three of us did the road while leaving them behind.
So, I start with what I figure would best keep the Brother's attention held until they've returned to the living…
I pull out the Sony Playstation. It'll keep their attention…
But as I explain the mechanism, there's a knock on my front door.
It's Nine-thirty on a Thursday morning. Christian groups don't start canvassing the neighborhood with their families until the weekend, and it's too early for anyone else to come banging. And since I'm expecting no one, my first concern is to wonder if the Ministry hasn't already made our location. Bone maybe, or a bigwig at the Bureau, but possibly just some clueless nobody there wanting to be a somebody to really blow everything apart.
At least the Brother's are savvy, it doesn't take much to get them ready for a fight though calling up my Browning aids in the understanding.
I position them in the hallway leading to the bedrooms, which is to the right of the entry Foyer twelve feet from the door. There's another knock as I position a Mirror-Pane to see who's there on my front step…
Two men; a bald barrel-shaped Black and a taller, muscular Asian with his busy hair parted down the middle standing behind him. They're in dark full business suits wearing dark sunglasses, total MIB, though the Asian's glasses have round lenses to the Black's sleek Ray-Band's.
The Black bends forward slightly while adjusting his Ray-Band's, smiling.
"Mr. Day, may we come in?" I can hear him say through the door.
The Sunglasses. He's seen me through the door with them.
The mailbox outside on the street says 'L. Phillip's Residence'. Right off the bat a lot of things come to mind. The problem is, I've dealt with many in my career so I'm at a lost to know where these two fit in the mix. And they know me.
It's the moments like this that make me wish I was in Tahiti. Not for any particular reason, except to not be standing where I was.
Oh well, too late to pretend.
"What are you selling?" I call back. An old stand-by I use. It's not much since they can see me, but what the hell…
"Security. Agents' Barnabus and Fredricks from the Bureau of Magical Affairs."
A few things came to mind, first and foremost was the fact that under Bone's agreement I and the crew were to sit watch over Potter. If this was a BMA Field Crew, then there was someone trying to make a name for themselves—oh is Bone going to blow over this.
And at this time, the phone rings in the living room.
Jeeze, what else is God going to throw at me today?
"We're here to check on a Mr. Potter." 'Mr.' Black continues.
Behind me, I can hear the Brothers become antsy.
I could argue it out with them from behind the door, hoping they'd get tired and leave. They'd return later, but their options are limited since I live in a mundane neighborhood—so no nasty magic, it'll be hard to explain what happened to the Officials. And I have a Mirror-Gate stashed in the bathroom of the fourth bedroom; it wouldn't take too much to slip back to London…
After the third ring, God hits me with a real whammy in the form of Bone's authoritarian voice leaving a message on the answering machine; "Mr. Day, I'm calling about Potter…Please respond immediately. Bureau Agents are on their way."
Of course I can't, I'm opening the front door for the Agents he sent.
"Shame he didn't call sooner." 'Mr.' Black remarks while entering, "Would've saved us a lot of hassle."
Agent Fredricks handled whatever needed to be said, even paying respect to the Weasley Brothers and removing his dark Ray-Band sunglasses so not be such an intimidating presence while showing his Bureau identification. Agent Barnabus on the other hand remained an immoveable presence in the foyer, standing silently while watching his partner and not removing his dark sunglasses.
The only other thing he did while there was to return Fred and George's wands to them, after taking them out of their hands when they pointed them at the Agents. An accident really, they came out of their hiding place with wands leveled at the Agents…
Agent Barnabus just motioned with his left hand, and the wands flew right to him.
"Sorry about that." Fredricks gently smiled to the startled Twins. "But seriously, you need to be more responsible with your wands… Someone might have gotten hurt."
After the wands were returned, and a call to Bone was made, Fredricks began stating the reasons why they were there.
"When Ambassador Bone herd that you had stayed behind in London, instead of immediately leaving, he became concerned for your welfare…Apparently, you've made it safely."
"Well there was some trouble at the Joke Shop." Fred put in.
"Were they able to Trace you?" Fredricks pressed him.
Both Fred and George looked confusedly at Fredricks, until Day explained what the Agent meant.
"Trace refers to a Sigel, or 'Mark'. It's a means of tracking people or things over considerable distance…"
"A Cicatrix?" George wondered.
"Yes." Day nodded.
George turned to his brother. "We would have felt it, wouldn't we?"
"Depends on how subtle it was applied, George." Fred directly responded, "It's like making a Portal Gate, a very fine art." Then to Agent Fredricks, Fred continued, "But they wouldn't have had the able to mark us when in our Joke Shop…"
"The Protective Magic's we applied to the entire building were either of our own making, or modified from existing protective spells." George added. "Any attempt to use any amount of Magic with in the Store's field, unless specified by us, would have lead to a multitude of embarrassing things occurring to the wielder…"
"Primarily to prevent thieves." Fred now continued. "But also extended to attackers."
"And vandals." George added.
"As well as spies." Fred also added. "My brother and I performed a lot of experiments there. We didn't want to leave our records behind."
Fredricks slowly nodded while listening to the Twins' explanations, but wasn't in anyway sympathetic when he directly responded to them.
"You two very nearly got yourselves caught, safeguards or not." He growled.
As the Twins recoiled from that, Fredricks then turned on Day. "How did you manage to nearly screw things up as well?"
At first, Day just blinked wondering. But as what he was asked began to dawn on him, he frowned as he replied, "Murphy arrived uninvited. We had to improvise."
Fredricks looked ready to yell, but Day cut him off. "Look, it happens. If the Ministry of Magic was a little more on the ball, we wouldn't have been able to even get close to Potter—even with Bone's help."
"Taking risks—"
"Is part of the job" Day tiredly sent back. "Don't you dare tell me otherwise, because there's always the chance, in spite how good the person is, for Murphy to make an appearance."
Fredricks just glared. For a while it appeared he'd yell back, or explode setting off a full scale argument that could only lead to a fight.
"Now, I'm sorry things didn't come to a neat and clean ending." Day continued. "But they came out good for us...As for where we came out of the Foo Network, that wasn't my ideal…"
Fred and George managed to smile slightly at that, which Day did see from the corner of his eye but didn't respond to.
"However, we are set." Day continued. "According to plan, Potter and those who can will be returned to London to board the Hogwarts Express—"
"Where the Ministry will be waiting." Fredricks remarked.
"What are they going to do?" Day asked. "Kidnap him all over again? He's gotta go back to Hogwarts."
"If you think Scrimgeour's going to make Harry dance for him," Fred suddenly stepped in, "you and that old shagger are in for a very nasty surprise."
"If Harry wouldn't work for him then, he damn well wont do it now." George added.
"Especially after what happened to Ms. Granger." Day put in. "Abuse of power never goes over well."
"It depends upon the reasoning." Fredricks casually remarked. "These days, nothing's below anyone…Anymore."
"Rules are rules." Day coolly replied.
Fredricks quietly regarded Day with a smile slowly forming over his wide face.
"I find that funny, coming from the likes of you, Mr. Day." He replied with a broad smile.
Day fumed back, silently.
"It's the irony, Mr. Day." Fredricks continued. "This whole matter of Harry Potter and Lord Voldermort is one big International irony. The Ministry employs devious means to secure itself, and we, through a thief like you, employ devious means to interrupt that. If it fails, everything gets exposed in a very ugly way."
Then he folded his arms across his chest with a sad sigh. "I guess there's something to be said about the best laid plans of mice and men in all of this."
Before the Agents left, Fredricks imparted a few facts to Day and the Weasley's; "There'll be Agents watching you and this place at all times. Real pros, you wouldn't be able to spot them even if they were standing right in front you buck naked with their hair on fire. So don't bother trying…"
But Day knew full well that the Twins would try. Already, they were thinking up ways of doing just that while listening to Fredricks with critical gazes on their faces.
"And one more thing." Fredricks added. And when he was sure of their attention, he revealed it—especially to Day.
"Witch Hazel got bounced right out of L.A."
Fred and George gazed sideways at Day, who frowned even more bitterly back at Fredricks.
"With San Francisco closed to her, there's few places she's can really go."
"New York." Day coolly responded.
"Not after that mess in Manhattan." Fredricks replied, unaffected. "It maybe forty years since then, but there are people back there with some long memories."
"You think she'll come up here?" Day then said.
Fredricks just slipped on his dark sunglasses and smiled back, "We'll be in touch."
Both He and Barnabus were through the door as Day breathed, "Yea, right…"
And as Day turned away, George asked, "Is this something we should know about?"
"And who's Murphy?" Fred wondered.
Day stopped and turned with a disgruntled look on his face.
12