AN: We don't own any of the character portrayed in the story below. All Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and characters are the property of their creators. Any likenesses are purely coincidental. The timeline is an AU since instead of starting Hogwarts at age 11 they started at 15. Also, make use of modern technology and current events. Takes place year 4. Please Read, Review and if you enjoy this story favorite and follow. Rated M for Violence and language. The story will pick up soon just introducing the main characters for now and backgrounds. *means mental statement not said out loud. Sorry for the delay and thank you for your patience and continued readership.
Mayhem's Messenger
By: BROMBROS
Chapter 25
For the past two weeks, Harry had been busy, once the Hogwarts Express pulled away time seemed to fly.
The first thing he'd had to deal with after returning with Emma was the items Tomy had retrieved from the Rookery. Xeno had somehow been able to connect a listening charm on his robes to a Dicta-Quill in the Rookery, it was an impressive piece of spell work. The spell crafting behind it was familiar, but he couldn't place it.
As predicted the Goblins had been in touch. The families of those that had been hurt had been grateful for the Holly Head organization for paying for any medical cost, the trouble came from the families of the Death Eaters. They were trying to sue the organization for not having better security at the World Cup, or they had been at least. They had been in the process of petitioning the Wizengmot to push House Potter to settle. One by one the families had been "persuaded" to let the matter drop.
The Ministry had approached the Holly Head management and tried to get them to agree to settle for a smaller amount than what it would take to actually fix the damage. They'd taken the money and then told the Representative from the Department of Magical Sports and Games, Weatherby, that they'd be closed for the season as they didn't have enough money to completely repair the stadium and grounds. When the Representative mentioned the organization's profits from the event's proceeds he was informed that the money couldn't be touched till the damage was repaired, as it was held in trust by the Goblins. It was complete bullshit but the Ministry bought it, the next day they were able to find enough funds to cover the cost, however grudgingly.
While the Legal and Banker types were going at it Harry was left to his own devices. When he wasn't spending time with Tonks and Emma he was playing with the swords now sealed in his arms. He'd reached the point where he didn't need the verbal incantation, although he had accidentally skewered the rubbish bin to his office floor with Arthur's sword when he'd thrown out a Happy Birthday letter from Barclay's.
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Harry was in the library, looking for information on the family crest when there was a knock on the door. "Come in."
Tonks was the one to enter. "Harry, what are you up to?"
He placed the ancient parchment back into its storage cylinder and resealed it before turning to the world. "I'm looking into my family crest, the goblins apparently, don't have all the information on them. I had an interesting, accident with the tattoos on my hands the night Winky came to work here, I wanted to see if anything similar had happened before."
"Any luck?"
"No."
"Any interesting owls, besides the ones from Hermione and Luna. I would have thought Dumbledore would have tried sending you mail or getting you to go to Hogwarts, by now."
"I think he was going to attempt to try and talk me into going the day before the World Cup, he spotted me in the Leaky Cauldron but he really didn't get the chance to talk to me because of the explosion. The only people at Hogwarts that know the location of the manor are Snape who can't speak about it, Hermione and Luna who won't speak about it and Neville, he's been here, but he doesn't know the where that here is. I'm not worried about him trying to push Sirius and Remus into telling them, he won't want to isolate potential allies."
She pursed her lips before poking one of his earlier comments "What kind of accident?"
To answer her question Harry called forth Lancelot's swords. To Tonks, it looked like he just summoned them. "So, what, you summoned them?"
Harry sent them back. "Watch my palms." He then tried to have the swords come out slowly and they did. *Interesting maybe I don't always have to have them fully extended.*
"Holy shit they came out of the tattoos, point first." Tonks' eyes were wide in shock, she could know understand why he was looking for information.
"Do you know if the Blacks have anything like the tattoos?"
Tonks looked at him for a few minutes. "Ask Sirius, I was only just got named Heir to the family."
"I'll send him an owl later."
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For several minutes Tonks sat across from him staring at him, he wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for. He jumped slightly when she spoke.
"When do you have to be in Devon?"
"Tomorrow night. I have to get there the same time as the rest of the recruits. Conversely, I have the option of going to London and taking the bus with said recruits."
"How long are you going to be gone?"
"Fifteen months. Then I'll come home for a bit before I get my fleet assignment."
She swallowed before standing from her seat. "Try and get some sleep, Harry."
Harry watched the woman walk, unsure of why she seemed so nervous. When she was gone he turned on his computer and opened his email. The email he was looking for was a Metallurgical assessment of the composition of Arthur's Broadsword and Lancelot's sabers. It had been a task getting enough of a sample, he'd managed to cut several wet stones in half.
The techs at Kings College hadn't been able to identify what Arthur's sword was made of, but Lancelot's sabers were made of Meteoric iron with traces of Iridium. It explained why the swords were white, Iridium itself was silvery white, it was also flammable in small amounts, in large amounts, it was immensely resistant to heat.
At least they'd been able to identify something. The goblins weren't sure what the swords were made of, they were gifted smiths, but Meteorites didn't grow underground and they mostly forged iron. They used rarer metals like Mithril, Gold, and Platinum, but sparingly. It was odd for them not to know what Arthur's weapon was made of.
He sighed, shutting down and closing the computer, He'd thought that the reason that the swords decided that they wanted to hide in his arms was because of what they were made of. In Arthur's case, it might be, but Iron wasn't transmutable thus not enchantable, though, with Iridium as an additive, the only thing he could get his hands on, easily, that could handle comparable heat was crystallized Dragons Blood.
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He looked at the time and figured that he might as well go for another run as the lion with Max tonight before leaving, they were already planning on having a late dinner.
Max was able to keep up with him while he was walking but not when he went full tilt. He and Max were definitely hungry and thirsty when they got back to the manor.
Entering the kitchen he saw a smiling Emma and a slightly less despondent Tonks, sitting at the island. Winky was in the process of cooking a feast, she wasn't really sure where her Master was going, just that he wouldn't need her to cook for him for over a year, as such the island was nearly covered with plates of food. Something he'd make an honest attempt at remedying.
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Harry slept in the following morning. He had decided on taking the bus with the rest of the recruits, as such he had to be at the Armed Forces Career Office by noon. He'd apparate to Kings Cross station and walk from there, Handel street was only a few minutes' walk from there.
His checklist of what he was bringing with him was short, real short. His wallet, the clothes on his back, and himself. Everything else would be provided, but they'd make him earn it, especially the green beret when he finished administration.
Thirty-two weeks, eight months of physical training, infantry instruction courses, and more physical training. Should be fun
He made his way to the kitchen and made himself a plate of Steak-Frites, knowing food and sleep, would be a luxury in the coming months.
Eight months, followed by another seven of Officers instruction and Commando school. Followed by his first fleet assignment, which James had informed him that he'd be skipping and going right into the Special Boat Service training rotation.
Fifteen months total in the Potential Officer Course, of physically and mentally draining exercise. Including a visit to the Admiralty Interview Board.
The SBS training was another twenty-seven weeks of body and mind breaking training, including the Resistance to Interrogation phrase.
That was enough stress. He was adding the Tri-Wizard Tournament to it. Using time turners like he planned would be almost as stress full, again physically and mentally. He'd made certain that the normally fragile objects were reinforced and invisible to the muggle Sergeants running the course.
They were going to ride his ass hard enough, it would be in his file that he was a Seated Knight. There would be no deferment, they would demand his. It was how he preferred it really.
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When Tonks and Emma walked into the kitchen Harry was on his third steak. The Re'ems blood in his system increased his metabolism, Military rations would not be fun.
He waved to the pair before swallowing. "Morning."
Tonks plopped down next to him and leaned against him. Emma walked past, stopping to kiss him before continuing towards the coffee maker. He took a pull of his own coffee as Tonks stole a few of his fries. She smiled naughtily at him as she slid them into her mouth, one after the other. He turned towards Emma, adjusting his pants slightly.
"Have you figured out what you doing Harry?"
Harry nodded, finishing his meal before Tonks stole anymore. "I decided to take the bus from London. I don't want to give the Instructor Sergeants any more of a reason to single me out."
Emma nodded, turning back to her coffee. She watched Harry wrap his arm around the now smiling Tonks, the younger woman's melancholic aura from the previous night being all but gone.
She wasn't sure what had brought on the girls earlier mood, but it was all but gone. She watched Harry walk from the room with Max with a frown, she knew he would be saying goodbye to the overly large puppy.
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From the kitchen Harry walked through the foyer and sat on the steps at the bottom of the entrance, Max sat at his feet. He scratched the dog behind his ears, earning what passed as a groan from the animal. "I'm going to be gone for a while Max, I want you to keep an eye on things while I'm gone. Okay, bud?"
The dog responded by head-butting him. He chuckled as he conjured a tennis ball, tossing it down the drive, letting the Rotty tear after it.
He played with the dog for almost an hour before going inside to shower, Emma, joining him. Tonks was waiting for the pair when they exited, she helped him get redressed.
"What time are you leaving here Harry?"
Harry looked down at the clock sitting on the bedside table. "I need to be there at noon to catch the bus."
"Okay, that gives you an hour and a half. How are you going to the bus?"
"I'll apparate to King's Cross and walk to the bus, it should only take me five minutes at the most to walk there. Why Tonks?"
"I just wanted to know how much longer you were going to be home."
"An hour. Give myself enough time to get there and make the walk."
Tonks nodded as she wrapped her arms around the larger wizard. "Were you able to find anything about the swords?"
"I sent some dust, created by me sharpening them, out to be tested, The Muggle scientist couldn't identify what Arthur's sword is made of, but Lancelot's swords are made of Meteor-Iron, with traces of Iridium. The Iridium is what makes them white."
"What's Iridium?"
"A dense metal that can do a neat trick. Dust of the stuff can be ignited by air, at least if your not careful."
"So, in theory, you could start a fire by running one sword against the other."
"Yup. Like I said, neat trick."
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Luckily for Harry, his departure from the Manor had been relatively tear-free, though Tonks did try and squeeze him to death.
He apparated to an area of King's Cross that he knew would be mostly empty, the Hogwarts platform.
Stepping through the gate back to the mundane world Harry blended in with a group of young men who were exiting the Tube by Platform 9. Harry made his way out of the station, his supposed five minutes' walk taking slightly longer.
Harry arrived with ten minutes to spare, noticed that there were at least 29 other recruits already waiting in an easy line.
The group was a mixed bunch. You could tell the prospective Officers from the general recruits, they were wearing suits. He was the only potential officer that was dressed casually, he was also the largest there overall.
Over the next few minutes the size of the group grew, Harry could see a man wearing Sergeant's bars looking through one of the windows. He must have seen what he was looking for because after he stepped away from the window a garage door on the side of the building opened and a Land Rover followed by an Olive Drab bus exited, the door closing behind them.
The bus pulled in front of the building and the door slid open. Harry watched a man wearing cammies walk towards the group from the idling Rover. His uniform was bare except for the British flag and his name tag, "Price."
"My name is Captain Price. I drew the short straw in escorting to Lympstone. Anyone having second thoughts, step to the side, the AFCO Sergeants will speak with you further. Everyone else, on the bus."
Harry watched two men separated themselves from the crowd and walk to the side as the rest of the group walked onto the bus. Just as he got on the bus a young man two places behind him said something stupid.
"Yo Captain Price, how long is this bus ride anyway?"
Harry got a good look at the eyes of Captain Price, you're in for a lot of pain idiot.
The Captain got on the bus, "Well your friend here asked a dumb question, but more importantly you address me as Sir or Captain I don't answer to Yo! Do you get what I'm saying?"
"Sir, Aye Sir." mumbled the bus.
"I couldn't hear you!"
This time, the bus shouted back, "Sir, Aye Sir!"
"Enjoy the ride ladies this is the most rest you'll have while in training." With that, Captain Price stepped off the bus going to the rover, and the Sergeant that Harry saw got onto the bus.
"Welcome to my bus ladies I'm Sergeant Rogers you will, if you're smart, take the Captain's advice. When we arrive at Lympstone I will only give you lot a total of three minutes to get off my bus."
Harry settled back into the bench seat trying and failing to get comfortable, he was in for a 177-mile bus ride. *Just my luck the idiot who asked the question is sitting next to me.* Harry decided to be nice, "Just so you know the trip will take over three hours. Just be glad we only have four stops before we arrive at Lympstone."
"Okay, thanks. I'm trying to go through the officer's course. What about you?"
"I've planned on it myself, can I ask your name?"
"Dudley..." Harry blinked a couple of times.
"Your last name isn't Dursley is it?"
"Yup, how'd you know? Who are you?" Dudley was wondering who this young man, who was slightly bigger than him was.
"Well, it's good to see you again cousin." This time, Dudley had to blink, *This couldn't be his weak cousin that his parent sent away was it?*
"I only have one cousin, but you couldn't be him."
"I'm Harry Potter. It's been a long time Big-D."
Dudley could only look at his cousin and swallow. It was going to be a long ride.
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Three and a half hours later, Harry was glad to see the gates of RM Lympstone. Dudley had been having a one-sided conversation with him the entire trip. He learned about Dudley's time at Smeltings, his Boxing championships, Vernon's promotion at Grunnings, and Petunia's attempts at winning best garden in Surrey.
Harry's opinion of Vernon being promoted and Petunia trying to win an award differed from Dudley's. He thought it laughable that his Aunt was thick enough to try and win best anything and he was sorely tempted to buy Grunnings, just so he demote Vernon to the mail room, fat bastard could use the exercise.
When the bus came to a stop Sergeant Rogers stood from his seat behind the driver. "You have three minutes to get off of my bus and the clock already started."
Harry nudged Dudley as gently as possible to get him moving, evidently not gently enough, half of Dudley's ass was waving in the aisle. "Move it Dud!"
"Why'd you have to hit me so hard?"
"Sorry, now move your ass."
When the exited the bus there was no missing the yelled orders to stand in the yellow footprints, At attention. And make sure not to move away from your yellow footprints.
Once everyone had their own footprints, including the unlucky pair that had been on the bus when the three minutes were up, Sergeant Rogers spoke.
"Welcome to Royale Marine Lympstone. My name is Sergeant Jonathan Rogers, I'm one of the senior instructors here. Tonight you'll be separated into those taking the Potential Officers Course and those taking the Potential Royal Marines Course, for the first 32 weeks, with a few exceptions both groups will drill together. When I call your name you will pick up your ruck, step towards me, and enter the door to my left."
A dozen names, including Dudley's, were called before Harry's name was called. "Potter, H.J."
When he entered the door he was waved towards a desk by a clerk wearing Corporals insignia.
"Name?'
"Potter, Harry James."
"Prior Service?"
"St. Gabriel's Military Academy."
"Next of Kin?"
"My Fiancé, Hermione Granger, care of her mother Emma Granger."
From there he was directed towards a line against the wall. At the other end of the line, Captain Price was standing with a group of Medics near a set of floor scales. He briefly locked eyes with the older officer before he looked away.
It didn't take long for it to be Harry's turn at the scales.
"Name."
"Potter, Harry James."
"Age?"
"Eighteen."
"Allergies?"
"None."
"Eyes?"
"Green."
"Hair?"
"Black."
"Step onto the scale."
He heard the Medic mutter "260lbs." -117.9kg-
"Turn around, stand up straight."
Again he heard the medic mutter. "78in." - 6'5'' -
"Step off the scale, enter the green door."
The green door led to a room filled with rows of red cubicles. He was directed by another Sergeant to stand next to one at attention.
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After a while, Sergeant Rogers entered the room. "Gentlemen, welcome to the Potential Officers Course. As I said outside you will do some training with the Marine Recruits, but you will train on your own as well. The Officer program is a fifteen-month program and you will be busy throughout it. You have chosen to take the position of a Royale Marine Officer and lead other men in combat. We, as instructors will test you, physically and mentally, to see if you have what it takes. If at the end of the coming weeks if you are still here, you will have earned the rank of a Second Lieutenant in Her Majesties Royale Marines and I will salute you as such. Until then you will be pushed to your limits and you will learn to ignore them. At the end of this program, whether you wash out or graduate you will remember my name and the names of the other instructors throughout the various training modules, for the rest of your life."
He paused to catch his breath and let his words sink in.
"Tonight before you go to your bunks you'll be issued a basic kit, toiletries, and fitness gear. Tomorrow you'll be measured for and issued your Battle Dress Uniform. As you progress you'll be issued additional gear and you're expected to maintain it to our standards. Fall in for Kit Issue."
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Hermione and Luna were sitting at the farthest table from Madame Pince's desk in order to talk about Harry. They had the homework out both working on a three-foot essay about why you shouldn't mix the different Runic Alphabets without training.
"Do you need any more help with your essay, if not I'm going to see Professors Lupin and Black?"
"Why?"
"They'll probably help him get his name into the cup."
"Harry seemed certain that he would be participating. They might be helping him, but I doubt that they're the only party involved."
"I still want to talk to them. If there is someone else involved they should be told. You haven't seen anything?"
"My visions are iffy, at best, a great deal of interpretation is involved. I saw the sun. It might not have anything to with Harry at all. It could mean something to do with the Sun or someone's Son."
Hermione could see that her question upset the smaller girl so she changed the subject. "It probably means Harry's taking us somewhere nice next summer. How's the essay coming?"
Luna smiled up at her, "I just need to make sure that my punctuation is correct, then we can put the books back, then we can go see them together."
Hermione smiled and nodded to Luna. They both finished putting their books back into their bags before bringing the borrowed library books back to the shelf and walked out of the library.
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"Hey Moony, why are we helping Harry get his name into the Goblet."
"Because we were stupid enough to let an eighteen-year-old talk us into doing it."
"Lily's going to kill us."
"Conversely, we'll already be dead, but if anyone can figure out how to kill someone who's already dead while they themselves are dead, it's her."
"Not helping. How are we going to pull this off?"
"Don't know. Mad- Eye's the one putting the wards over the Goblet. All Albus put up was an age line. Not sure why he's not putting the wards up as well."
"Did Mad-Eye seem off to you?"
"He's always been off, but yeah. Even for him, he seems overly paranoid. Seems overly attached to his flask."
"Bring our concerns to Albus?"
"Minerva. She'll brow-beat the both of them if need be."
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While the two professors were thinking about how to accomplish this there was a knock on the classroom door. Sirius stood to answer, "I'll check it out."
Sirius left their office and was halfway across the classroom floor when he called, "Yes, who is it?"
"Professor Black it is Ms. Granger and Ms. Lovegood, can we speak to you and Professor Lupin for a moment."
Sirius called out, "Enter, doors unlocked."
The two young ladies entered and followed Sirius into the office. Remus hearing the footsteps opened the office door for them.
"What can we do for you, ladies?"
"Well, we were wondering how you were going to get Harry's name into the Goblet?"
The two men shared a look before Remus spoke. " And what makes you think we're doing something like that?"
"Because we're not inbred fools like a third of your students. And we know Harry. We know a portion of his overall plan, the two of you putting his name in the Goblet of Fire fits. Though we do think that he has means to get his name into it even if you weren't planning on helping."
"Any ideas?'
Luna was the one to answer. "No, though Pernelle Flamel was a seer, she might have seen something."
"That boy's got plans on top of plans. You leave the goblet to us. Have either of you heard from him?"
"The last letter I got was dated from before he left for Basic Training. That was two weeks ago, he's there by now. He sends his regards, by the way."
Sirius rubbed his face with his hands before he spoke. "How is he planning on being in two places at once. It's not like he can tell the Muggles that he has to leave training to compete in a tournament at a magical school."
He didn't see the look the girls shared, Remus did, but he didn't comment on it.
"Why don't the two of you head to the Great Hall, it's nearly time for dinner."
The girls nodded, walked to the door, and said, "We'll see you in the Great Hall in a bit."
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"Moony, it's been nearly a month since we brought our concerns about Mad-eye to Albus and Minerva. I haven't heard anything on it from Minerva but every time I see Albus he keeps saying Alastor has his complete and utter trust. So yeah I'm kind of pissed, Moody is acting even more paranoid and it's the day before the names are drawn. Have you heard from Minerva, Moony?" Sirius ranted.
Moony shook his head sadly. "I haven't but, I have seen her, in her tabby cat form watching the goblet to see if any underage students try to put their names in." He paused, "I just hope whatever Harry has planned, he can pull it off."
"Do you think the confundus will work?"
"The monitoring wards will pick up anything more advanced. We'll know for sure once his name comes out if it comes out. We'll just have to wait and see."
"True enough."
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The atmosphere at the Halloween feast was tense. Hermione could see that the majority of students were fidgeting. The older students especially, some of whom were waiting to see if their names would be called. They all wanted their chance at eternal glory, ignoring the fact that it could kill them.
The Hall silenced when the Head Master stood and approached the Goblet with Barty Crouch.
"Tonight, after nearly two months of waiting, we will meet our champions."
Behind the two men, the flames in the Goblet began to spin. After a few moments, a slip of paper was ejecting from the flames, which Dumbledore deftly caught.
"Our First Champion, From Durmstrang, Victor Krum."
Scattered applause escorted the second slip.
"Our Second Champion, From Beaubaxtons, Fleur Delacour."
More applause was followed by the third slip.
"Our finale Champion, From, Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory."
The applause for the homeschool Champion was, understandably louder than the other two schools.
The three Champions were escorted to an Ante-Chamber of the Great Hall.
The Head Master turned to follow but noticed some of his staff staring past him. He turned to see the Goblet had re-lit. The flames had turned green and were spinning furiously. The flames died as they forcibly ejected a fourth slip, which the Head Master caught, uncertainly.
For a moment he was silent, staring at the parchment, then he spoke, softly then louder. "Harry Potter, Harry Potter."
Some of the foreign students looked around, looking for someone to stand. The staff was busy trading looks. In the confusion Hermione managed to run from the hall, a few noticed her but paid her no mind.
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Hermione ran into the fourth year girls dorm and ran towards her trunk. She pulled out a piece of lose parchment and wrote a quick note.
"Tomy!"
After a moment the Elf appeared. "Yes, Mistress?"
"I need you to bring this to Harry. Wait for him to go to bed and then slip it to him. It's important Tomy."
"Yes, Mistress."
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Having spent the afternoon on a gun range, a shower after evening chow, was a good thing. He didn't mind the smell of cordite, but the Instructors would use it as ammunition. He wasn't about to give them a reason to bust his balls or make him do some outlandish disciplinary punishment. A prospective Officer had washed out after spending an afternoon sweeping up the sunshine. Apparently, he had thought it wise to backtalk Sergeant Rogers.
He sat on his bunk and noticed something sticking out from under his pillow. He pulled it out to see it was a note from Hermione, he'd watched her practice signing her name enough times to recognize it.
-Harry, you need to get to Hogwarts. Your name came from the Goblet of Fire. Please be careful. Hermione-