CHAPTER 11:

REPERCUSSIONS

Transcript of ECHO conversation between Harry Flynt and Dr Lilith Cashlin, 20/12/2989

LILITH: Harry…uhh, what do you want?

HARRY: Hi, Lilith. I'm…sorry, I just needed some help. Christmas…well, Mercenary Day if you want, is coming up soon. I just…I just wanted to know what I should get Tina.

LILITH: Tina?

HARRY: Yeah. Back home…Christmas wasn't a good time. Lots of family arguments. Dad jokes about that, but…my biological father had me buy some expensive and extravagant gift for my younger brother on at least two Christmases before I came here. I had a trust account, and it always had money, and it wasn't ruinously expensive…but I never got the same thing from him. My birth father, I mean. Not that I wanted stuff like my brother got, vouchers for the local bookshop were good enough…but I was made to feel like I was subordinate to that spoiled brat, despite being the heir. Like I was a servant to them. But you guys…well, I've already got presents for the Crimson Raiders, I went in with Dad on them, but I'm not sure what to get Tina.

LILITH: Oh. Well, I have a few suggestions. There's a new campaign pack for Bunkers and Badasses coming out soon. After the last session, I think she's a good GM, though she needs improving. Working from an existing campaign will help her. And Harry…you're young. You're what, 13? You don't have to buy presents for us, especially given what your biological father did.

HARRY: Lilith…you're family. The Crimson Raiders are my extended family. If Roland and, well, even Angel were alive, I'd be getting them presents too. As far as I am concerned, the Potters are not my family…

Once his temper had cooled, Harry had to admit to feeling a little guilty for his outburst. His anger was justified, true, but it should have been against James Potter, not Charlie. Charlie was only a kid back then, he didn't quite know what he was doing. And it seemed he had grown out of it.

And yet, Harry still felt the bitterness, the loathing, the envy. Being made to feel inferior, like Charlie was the heir, not him. Old wounds ran deep, and hadn't completely scarred over.

So, he took out his anger and rage on the training dummies, as Tina, Athena, Gaige, Hermione and Moody watched on. Some dummies, he saw the face of Handsome Jack. Others, he saw Vallory, Vasquez, Colonel Hector, Freddie, or Pretty Boy. And on others still, he saw James Potter's face.

The dummies in the DADA classroom, cleared of desks for now, could fire back to a degree, but Harry, using both his Maliwan gun and his wand in tandem, made short work of them, using cover fairly well. Once they were dealt with, he heard Moody growl, "I have to say, Potter, I'm impressed."

"It's Flynt, Flynt with a 'Y', Harry Flynt," Harry said pointedly, before turning to the mangled DADA teacher. "And that's high praise coming from you. James Potter and Moony would tell me tales of your prowess as an Auror."

"Yeah, well…you can definitely fight, and fight well. I guess being wherever you were gave you a lot of practise. I've seen Aurors who look like slugs compared to you. How much of that was Lupin's teachings?"

"Most of the spells I know, he taught me. I'm not so good with general Charms or Transfiguration. Most of my repertoire is pure Defence Against the Dark Arts. Moving quickly and marksmanship, though, that's more due to my dad's training. I didn't even use the Digi-Clone for that."

"Well, what do you know?" Hermione asked. "I mean, your spellwork was very impressive, but…do you know any Charms or Transfiguration?"

"The latter, not really," Harry said. "I know quite a few charms. Levitation, Summoning, Unlocking…I'd probably pass my Charms OWLS with a LOT of studying, but not my NEWTs. DADA is probably the only subject where I'm definitely close to a NEWTs level. In mundane subjects, though, well, I'd probably pass most of my A-Levels here. Ditto Tina."

Hermione shot Tina an appraising look. "What, girl? I'm crazy, not stupid," the blonde said.

"…I…I never said you were crazy, Tina," the bushy-haired girl said.

"You haven't been 'round me long enough, girl, to know otherwise," Tina said. "And what kinda name is 'Hermione' anyway?"

"It's Shakespeare," Athena said. "Well, actually, it's Greek originally, as it's a girl's name derived from the name of Hermes, but there was a character called Hermione in A Winter's Tale."

"Whaaaaat?" Tina asked, gaping. "Fo' shizzle? Since when did you read Shakespeare, Athena?"

"Fiona and Janey roped me into an amateur dramatics night at Hollow Point," Athena said. "We did Hamlet, but Fiona got me into reading more. Apparently Felix taught her about Shakespeare. What about you?"

"Meh, mostly read the tragedies, 'cause the comedies don't really have much funny shit in them," Tina said with a dismissive wave. "I liked Titus Adronicus. One of the oldest Mom jokes ever written down, and lotsa gore and shizz."

Hermione was giving Tina a bemused look of horror. "Never mind, Tina, Hermione. We grew up on Pandora, and, well, you know Mad Max?" Harry asked.

"Professor McGonagall did warn me," Hermione said, looking ill at ease.

"It's a violent world, bluntly. And those who try to tame it can be as bad as the bandits or the animals. Tina? Her family was sold to a corporation for use in cruel experiments, experiments Tina barely escaped, but not without scars. I was lucky in that my dad adopted me, and when he couldn't look after me, which was often, he chose the right people to do that anyway. Tina…she lost her parents, and by the time Roland found her and helped her, well…have you ever met a Lovegood?"

"Charlie introduced me to a girl called Luna Lovegood. She's…different."

"Well, Tina is like a Lovegood, only with a thing for explosives and alien beasties," Harry said. "And here's the thing: as long as you aren't her enemy, she is no threat to you. Just saying. Same with Gaige and Athena."

"I'm not worried about that, Harry. It's just…I wondered what you went through to become this way, Tina," Hermione said.

"Best you don' know the details, girl," Tina said solemnly.

"Maybe. But maybe you should know some details about things." Hermione turned her attention back to Harry. "Your brother saved my life."

"…What?"

Hermione seemed to gather herself, before she confessed, "I don't make friends easily. They're either turned off by my...well, bossiness, as they put it, or else they want me to do their homework for them. When I got the letter for Hogwarts, I thought things might be different. Instead, they seemed worse. Charlie and Ron were firm friends with each other already, but they seemed to get away with too much, and I got a bit stroppy with them. He was pretty spoilt then. But then, Halloween happened. I was trying to teach Ron how to use the Levitation Charm, and, well, he mocked me. Charlie had teased me in the past, but when he saw me running away…I heard him call out to me in concern."

"I'm not seeing the point," Harry said acidly.

"I'm getting to it. I was hiding out in the girl's toilets, all the way until dinner, but someone let a Troll loose in the castle, a teacher working for Voldemort. I got attacked and nearly killed, but…Charlie and Ron came to save me. They heard where I was, and knew I hadn't heard the warning about the Troll, so they came to fetch me…and they took on that Troll to save me. I saw something change in them both, Harry," Hermione pointed out. "We started to become friends from that point onwards. Charlie was somewhat like you seemed to think he was like before, Harry, I won't deny that. But he's become better. Coming to Hogwarts gave him a wake-up call. Your birth father might deserve your anger, but Charlie doesn't, not now. He's better than he was."

Harry looked at the bushy-haired witch, feeling angry at her words, her meddling in this, before sighing, running a hand through his hair. She didn't deserve his anger. She was trying to be helpful, and honestly, he was surprised by what he heard. He didn't think she was lying either.

So, he calmed himself with an effort, and said, "Maybe. I know it's unfair, Hermione, and James Potter is the one I'm angriest at. But I can't help but remember what Charles said, even if it was him parroting James Potter. It hurt me. It hurt me deeply then, and it still hurts now. And he can't expect me to act as if it didn't happen. Nobody can, nobody should. Maybe I overreacted, but frankly, I didn't want to see him or meet him. He didn't treat me like a brother then, and it's a tad too late to start now. If he's actually being a good friend to you, then fine, that's good, he's learning to be more than just the Boy Who Lived. Hell, if you've changed him for the better, that goes to show that you're a great friend, Hermione. But don't expect me to reconcile just like that." He snapped his fingers to emphasize his point.

"…That's fine. Your brother can be stubborn too. The amount of times I had to play peacekeeper between him and Ron…" Hermione sighed in irritation. "And I understand how you feel about your…about James Potter. The few times I met him, he made some comments about my parents, only to claim he was kidding…but I was sure he wasn't. I'd have preferred to meet your mother, she's a real inspiration to me, but…"

"Yeah…I wish you had too. Look…how about we call for a break, okay? I can see you're champing at the bit to ask Gaige about her cybernetics, and she'll show you Deathtrap if you want."

At this, Hermione's expression brightened, and she promptly went over to the young engineer, and began babbling an excited babble of questions…one which Gaige eventually matched, the two girls swapping ideas. Deathtrap was brought out, and Moody, who was watching on, raised a nearly-absent eyebrow. "The hell is that thing?"

Harry smiled. "That, Moody, is Deathtrap. He was originally designed as a security bot and anti-bullying system, but…well, Gaige enhanced him to the point where he's military grade. Gaige's bully stole his designs and plagiarised him, and she bribed the judges for their science fair so she got first place…and Gaige only got third. She made the mistake of pushing Gaige around, Deathtrap saw her as a threat, and, well…let's say Gaige miscalibrated his claws."

"Messy, huh?"

"Very."

Moody nodded. "And the Athena woman…she's a trained soldier. Good to see her practising constant vigilance. But you…you're impressive for one your age. I'm not convinced you need much training to get through this mess."

"Moony…sorry, Remus Lupin told me, you should never stop learning or training," Harry said. "Dad…Zane Flynt, he agrees with me. And constant vigilance is needed on Pandora. You think Death Eaters are bad? Between the wildlife, the bandits, and the corporations, they're…not nothing, but frankly, they're old news by comparison. They're a threat, to be sure, dangerous and lethal and tricky, but they also bleed like anyone else."

Moody stared at him, before he cackled. "That's a good attitude to have, lad. Don't get me wrong, for one as young as you, killing should be a last resort. But it should still be on the cards."

"I know. Still…you ever kill a Death Eater with a bottle of exploding hot sauce?" Harry asked.

"…Can't say I have. The closest thing I came to it was during a battle in one of Odgen's distilleries, what with all the Firewhiskey around and all," Moody said.

"Ooh! Ooh! Lots of burning and booms?" Tina asked. "Umm…Harry once told me you wizards had something called a Pensieve? Lets you see memories and all that shizz? Can you do me a flayva, and gimme a copy?"

Moody looked at her, before he chuckled a rasping chuckle. "I'd love to girl, but DMLE rules state I can't show Pensieve memories outside of the DMLE, or an authorised court of law. But I'll tell you what, next time you're at Hogsmeade, buy a crate of Firewhiskey. It'd be interesting to see you with that."

Harry nearly shuddered at the thought. But then again, fire-breathing animals were not uncommon on Pandora. It was more the thought of Tina, plastered and belching fire, that scared him. At best, she would run around the desert, half-naked, roaring that she was a dragon while waving her arms like wings, and to fear her fire burps. At worst…well, the worst case scenario that didn't end with innocents dead would probably involve their current HQ burnt down, and Tina getting into a fire-breathing contest with a Badass Fire Skag…

James Potter gripped the armrest of his chair until his knuckles turned white when he heard the news relayed to him from his visitor. That ungrateful bastard, infested with a Horcrux, and now, treating Charles like shit? However, James calmed himself with an effort. "I see. So, what do we do about it?"

"Charles was sent with Minerva in order to gauge Harry's reaction. I hoped for a more physical confrontation, but it seems, despite his anger, Harry is quite measured. We can't use it to our advantage as much as we want, sadly."

"Chance would be a fine thing," James spat.

"And there's more. My people at St Mungo's told me that Andromeda and her daughter brought in some of Harry's associates. Two of them are Muggle doctors, and both have had experience dealing with Sirens. It seems that Harry wants to see if he can revive his mother. Perhaps it is just as well. My attempts to siphon her power from her have proven less than successful. Even what little of the Eridian lore the Founders left for us suggests that a Siren can choose whom her powers go to, and while I could put her under the Imperius and kill her, that has little guarantee."

James grimaced. While there was a time where he considered Lily to be his, and nobody else's, her time in a coma, something he hadn't banked on, had left him dissatisfied. He realised monogamy was boring, and he wanted to be rid of her. But without her conscious or dead, he couldn't divorce her easily without a scandal…to say nothing of Snivellous circling her like a vulture. And if she regained consciousness and found out how he treated the living Horcrux…

He and his visitor had plans. Plans that would see them take their rightful place, astride the world, both magical and mundane. His wife's powers were key to some of them, but not all of them.

"Calm yourself, James," his visitor said. "At the very least, I can delay any legal attempts to cure her, or remove her from St Mungo's. And any illegal attempts, well…that will backfire. Those people seem like the sort to take the law into their own hands, after all. And public opinion is a fickle thing. I wonder how he will handle Miss Skeeter at the Weighing of the Wands. That being said…I do have an idea."

"Oh?" James asked.

"Indeed. The way he acted, according to Minerva, he doesn't consider you family. Perhaps this might work to your advantage."

As James listened to his visitor's plan, a smile touched his face. If that little bastard refused, then they could spin that in the media, turn public opinion against him. And if he agreed…well, James would get what he wanted, and then he could ensure the downfall of his prodigal son anyway. Either way, James Potter won, and that was always the kind of plan he agreed to. The only way to play any sort of game, after all, was to rig it so that no matter what, you came out on top…

CHAPTER 11 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry's coming to terms with the fact that his brother may NOT be as big a little shit as he thought he was, and James and his boss are making plans and twirling moustaches. As you do. But why do they want Lily's powers? And who is James' boss?

Also, note how Moody refused to share his memory. True, you know why he hasn't, but it's a good excuse, isn't it?

Review-answering time! WearyCurmudgeon: Of the various fics you were trying to suggest to Colt Cobra, the one where Ginny was his sister was, I believe, not a Harmony fic, or at least the one that sprang to mind wasn't. Chaos of the Potter Family by TheGirlWithTooManyIdeas has Harry paired with Daphne Greengrass and Luna Lovegood. That being said, you could have been thinking of another fic anyway.

No numbered annotations this time.