Italicized: POV/Flashbacks/Thoughts/Spell

Bold: Monster

POV: Claire Redfield | September 29th, 1998

Claire Redfield held her grenade launcher with a tight grip, slowly and quietly moving backwards as she covered her and Harry's six. They were moving through the third-floor balcony of the Main Hall, a few steps from the door leading up to the clocktower. Claire was thinking about everything going on, wondering what she was going to do. Chris was still missing in Europe, Leon was alone by himself in the basement, and Harry seemed like he was going to explode from sheer anxiety. He was aiming his gun everywhere, looking over his shoulder at every turn as if looking out for something. Claire knew what he was scared of...it was Nemesis. He had confessed that he didn't feel like he could handle Nemesis if they were to fight again so soon. If Harry was forced to fight the monster, he would have to do it with his arsenal of weaponry. If not that, then he would have to mutate and risk moving into his second form. She trusted him enough not to change forms unless it was absolutely necessary, but wondered where that line was located exactly.

After leaving the elevator, Claire used the silence they kept in order to think about their conversation. She had learned more about Harry in those twenty minutes than she had in the two and a half hours they'd known each other. She had already known he was an intelligent guy based on her conversation with him in the Main Hall, but the two hours between the two conversations had led her to acknowledge a few things. Harry Potter was handsome compared to her past boyfriends, and seemed to like her for something other than her physical appearance, though she supposed that was because she had been covered in dirt and grime for most of the night since the gas station, but she still appreciated it. He seemed to be a bit playful towards everyone, though Claire seemed to get most of that side of his personality. Harry seemed professional with Leon, and she hadn't seen him with Marvin, but she assumed Harry was the same with with him too.

It made her smile at how easily they had talked to one another in the elevator, letting out things about each other. It was also refreshing at their ability to hold their silence, even without the presence of Lickers. Even with the imminent threat of the Tyrants, Lickers, and Zombies, Claire felt safe with Harry, as if her inner self told her that whatever happened they could handle it as long as they were together. Maybe she was delusional...tired...maybe both, Claire didn't know. What she did know was that when they got out of this shitty city, Claire would be sticking around Harry, especially if they got stuck in the middle of another apocalypse. Hey, maybe he could help her find Chris with his magic. That was always a possibility.

"Sickle for your thoughts?" Harry spoke, spinning to the right as he slowly opened the door to the Clock Tower. At Claire's confused expression, Harry sighed. "Magical equivalent to penny...well, it's not, but for the phrase it is," Claire nodded, moving into the room as she surveyed their surroundings. She took a deep breath, and was about to respond to his question when their radios suddenly turned on. "Harry? Claire? Are either of you there? Hello? Come in...Ok, well if you're there, I've got the two parts and the gate leading to the sewers is open," Their radios weren't working, which seemed to be odd as the line went dead. After a moment, Claire turned to Harry, who was looking up through the stairwell at the clock tower itself. It was blown open to reveal the night sky above.

"Helicopter. Nemesis shot it down last night," Harry spoke. "So...penny for you thoughts?" He asked, bringing her out of said thoughts.

"Oh...just thinking about everything. The zombies...Tyrants...Lickers. I'm hoping that if I tell myself it's all a dream, I'll wake up tomorrow. Chris'll be safe..." Claire explained.

"Terrible. If this was a dream you'd have never met me," Harry said with a grin, his assault rife aimed upwards as he fired a shot, startling Claire, who had been watching him with a smile. She was saved an explanation as a metal safe fell from the sky, slamming through the ground before landing in the floor below them. The safe was snapped open, a small mechanical piece falling out before sliding along the wooden floor below. Right in front of the Tyrant's feet. "Shit," Claire spoke, aiming her grenade launcher only for Harry to grab her arm. "You'll destroy the part,"

"Good! We don't need it," Claire replied.

"But we do, Claire. The piece can get us down to the facility," Harry said. Claire frowned, looking between Harry and the Tyrant, who was coming closer to the hole in the floor. Claire sighed, placing the grenade launcher into her pouch as both of them pulled out their respective magnums. Claire with her Lightning Hawk and Harry with his Elephant Killer magnum. The two opened fire at the Tyrant, who reeled back in pain as he fell to a knee. Harry jumped down, pocketing his magnum as he reached up for Claire. She jumped as well, landing in Harry's arms as he set her down. He bent down, grabbing the Power Panel Part before putting a couple magnum rounds into the back of the Tyrants head.

"Come on, let's go!" Claire shouted as she opened the door to get out of the Lounge. Harry followed Claire out of the Lounge and into the Library, going through that room as the two ran down the steps of the still dust-covered Main Hall. There, the worst happened. Nemesis himself fell through the hole in the ceiling, landing on the ground. It was holding a minigun the size of one of its arm, activating it as the barrel began to spin. "RUN!" Harry yelled, pulling tossing his assault rifle away as he pulled out his wand, flicking it upwards as the minigun opened fire. It slammed into some sort of shield in front of Harry, protecting the two as Claire grabbed onto his shoulders, steading him while staying behind the shield.

Claire backed into the door, walking through it before slamming down on the 'B1' button. The elevator slowly descended, the gunfire ending as Harry released the shield. He dropped the wand, falling back directly into Claire's arms as she gently set him onto the ground. "Are you ok? Did one of them get you?" Claire asked, her hand resting on his abdomen as she looked him over for any signs of a wound. Harry smiled, shaking his head as he let out a small laugh, one that made Claire smile. If he could laugh after that, then she had a feeling Harry was fine.

"No...I'm fine. Just magical exhaustion," Harry replied. "Are you ok?" He asked.

"I'm fine. Not a scratch," Claire answered, pulling her hand away from his abs as she got to her feet, feeling a bit embarrassed as she turned to the buttons. '1F' and 'B1'. Nothing above or below that. Harry slowly sat up, using the desk to help get to his feet as he removed the Power Panel Part from his pocket. He held it up to the buttons, before twisting his wrist to the left. A small panel below 'B1' slid back and up, a small compartment appearing with the button 'B2'. Harry pressed it, the elevator going down once more as Claire frowned. "How did you know to do that?"

"Magic," Harry replied, grinning as he gave her a wink. Claire was tempted to roll her eyes, but smiled nonetheless as the elevator slowed to a stop. He gave her an actual answer. "My magic - though still weak - is calling me down here...as if there's something I need to find down here. It told me to use the Part to gain access to the facility beneath,"

"Ok...so we go through this place, if we find something than we take it with us or destroy it?" Claire asked. Harry shrugged, telling her that even he was unsure.

"Shit...my assault rifle," Harry spoke. "The Hammer was my favorite," He added as he pulled another assault rifle from his pouch. She recognized it from Chris' own personal armory. The Ravager. He cocked it, aiming it down at the ground. Claire pulled out her magnum, sticking with that as the two exchanged a brief nod, informing each other that they were ready.

POV: Harry Potter

Harry Potter moved out of the elevator, Claire shadowing his movement as the two moved down a flight of stairs. They walked down into a long hallway spiraling around itself, before Harry's magic leapt out at him. His head shot to the right, finding a large opening blocked by a steel crate. Behind the crate, Harry could make out a small figure, cowering in fear. Claire seemed to see the little girl as well, and beat him when it came to kneeling down and addressing the girl. "Hello..? Hey...It's OK. We won't hurt you, I promise. Do you need help? Here...you can take my hand," Claire held her hand out to the little girl, who appeared to be shaking in fear.

"You...need...help," The girl replied. Harry - with his enhanced senses - could make out what she said, but Claire seemed to have not.

"I'm sorry, I can't understand you," Claire spoke.

"You need help," The girl replied, speaking up for Claire to hear her. Harry frowned. He could feel something coming. Something dangerous. It didn't feel like either Nemesis or the Tyrant, confusing him. What else was down here powerful enough to activate his magical sixth-sense. "Why?" Claire asked. Harry raised his gun, looking up at the ceiling as the sound of footsteps appeared. He could hear the girl whisper 'He's right behind you' to which Claire froze. "What?" Harry spun around, his gun loaded as he came faced to face with a creature he had never seen before. It was a man, with mutations sprouting off of him. On the creature's right shoulder was a giant orange eye, which was watching Harry intensely.

"Oh my god," Claire whispered, quickly pulling out her grenade launcher.

"You've got to be kidding me," Harry voiced, immediately opening fire on the creature's eye. Claire fired a grenade at the eye, causing the monster to scream as it fell forward. It's giant right hand slammed into the metal catwalk below them, tearing it apart as all three were sent falling down to the lower level. Harry shot to his feet first, standing in front of Claire - who hadn't gotten up - as he continued to unload armor-piercing bullets into the things eye. He spared a glance at the ladder to his left, noticing that it was pulled up and latched with a small metal bracket. Harry aimed up at the bracket, firing at it as it snapped, the ladder falling with a clang! "Claire, get the girl out of here," Harry spoke, keeping up pressure on the creature's eye as Claire got to her feet.

"What about you?" She asked, firing a grenade at the creature - who seemed weaker as it got to its feet.

"I'll be fine. I'll be right behind you," Harry answered. "This things almost dead, another few clips should do the trick," Claire spared him a small frown, but nodded and put her grenade launcher in her pouch. She then grabbed hold of the ladder and quickly made her way towards where the little girl had been. Harry grabbed the ladder himself, pulling himself up with one hand as he continued to fire on the eye. The creature had completely gotten to its feet, rushing towards Harry. He had gotten up to the last step and was climbing onto the catwalk when a pain shot through his leg. Harry let out a scream, falling onto his face as the monster clawed down, pulling Harry's left leg clean off as Harry pulled himself forward.

Blood was pouring everywhere as Harry used the railing to pick himself up, holding onto it as he hopped forward on a single leg. He growled out in pain, watching as the leg healed over, stopping him from losing blood as it began to slowly but surely regenerate. The virus in his blood was being held back by his magic, which came at a drawback as his regenerative abilities were stunted. Harry limped forward, hand against the wall as he followed Claire's scent. He was glad that his senses weren't affected by his magic, something that led him directly into an elevator. Only it wasn't intact. The door was torn open, the elevator itself was gone, and the body of the Tyrant lay at the right. The Tyrant was missing a chunk out of the left of his torso. It was the creature...how had it gotten in front of him?

Deciding to figure that out later, Harry peered down the elevator shaft, and spotted the elevator. It was tipped at an angle, giving off smoke. It had crashed at the bottom. Growling in pain, Harry closed his eyes. He knew Claire and the girl were down there. He could smell them, but he couldn't get down there like this. So, he delved into himself, and began to carefully pull apart the chains he had placed on the virus within him. It rejoiced at the small amount of freedom it had received, lashing out as Harry's left side turned orange. The color spread down his left, and Harry watched as his leg began to suddenly regrow in front of his eyes. He was back, but didn't have the magical energy to restrain the virus. Shit.

Taking a seat at the edge of the elevator, Harry dropped down, landing directly on the elevator as he let out a grunt. He kicked open the panel at the top of the metal box, watching as it crashed down onto the ground a few inches from an unconscious Claire. Harry dropped down, kneeling down as he pressed two finger against her neck. The pulse was there, she was fine. Looking to his right, he saw that the little girl was lying on her back against the wall, her eyes slowly opening as she looked him in the eyes. She tried to back away, but was already pressed against the wall. "Hey, it's ok. I'm not here to hurt you," Harry told her. "Claire's a friend of mine...I'm here to get you two out of here,"

"I...Daddy'll come after me," The girl replied.

"He won't...I wouldn't let him," Harry replied. He pulled out his wand, holding it up to show the girl, who seemed frightened at the sudden movement. "I'm going to get the two of you out of here. Get you somewhere safe," Harry pointed the wand at the necklace on Claire's chest, whispering "Portus". He fell onto his hand, taking a deep breath as he turned to the little girl once more. "The name's Harry...Harry Potter. You?"

"Sherry...Sherry Birkin," Sherry replied, curled up into a ball as she hugged her knees.

"Birkin?" Harry question, receiving a nod. He let out a small chuckle. Of course. Leave it to William and Annette Birkin to leave their child in the middle of an overrun facility. Great. Just great. Taking a deep breath, Harry turned to Sherry, and spoke. "Sherry...Claire won't wake up for a while, and I need to make sure that the G-Virus located below us is destroyed and that a T-Virus vaccine is created. In the meantime, I need you to watch over Claire and make sure that she's safe until I get back ok? Can you do that?" Sherry didn't seem to believe she could take care of both herself and Claire, but gave him a nod as Harry grinned. "Good. Good. Could you come here and give me your hand?"

"Why?" Sherry asked defensively, scooting over into the corner.

"I'm taking you and Claire somewhere safe. Somewhere where those monsters outside can't find you. But in order to get you there, I need your hand," Harry replied. "I promise...you both will be safe," Sherry frowned, but cautiously used the wall to help herself get to her feet. After a moment, she stepped forward, offering her hand to Harry, who gently took it as he guided her next to Claire. "This is going to be a bit odd at first, but hopefully you won't be too affected by it. And watch out...you might have a rough landing," Without another word, he guided Sherry's necklace onto Claire's necklace, removing his hand as he spoke. "Portus," With a POP! and swirl of black, the two were gone, leaving Harry alone. Magical exhaustion hit him like a brick to the head as he fell to the floor, passing out.