Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Halo. Some parts from Halo: The Fall of Reach
Soldier
by
LilaKatze
,.,.,.,
0614 Hours, August 28, 1987 (Military Calendar) / Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, planet Earth
Harry sat very still inside his cupboard, doing his best not to jostle his broken arm. Bruises littered his small body, some old and yellow, others swollen and fresh. His head swam with the pain of it all, and he bit his lip to keep from crying.
I shouldn't have done it, he thought to himself. But I was just so hungry! It was in the rubbish bin, they wouldn't have missed it. He supposed it was just his rotten luck that Uncle Vernon had caught him eating the stale piece of bread. His uncle had flown into a rage, slapping him and screaming that he was an ungrateful freak and that he didn't even deserve trash. He had thrown Harry into his cupboard with enough force to break his arm.
Tears threatened to spill again, and angrily Harry blinked them away. The young boy already knew crying wouldn't help anything. Why did my parents have to die? he asked himself. Why did they leave me with the Dursleys?
Harry heard the upstairs floorboards creaking. Heavy, thumping footsteps shook his little cupboard as Uncle Vernon went down the stairs. His heart began to race. His uncle would definitely make him do extra chores today, and with his broken arm, he knew he couldn't finish them. If he didn't finish his chores, his uncle would hurt him again. He began to panic.
I wish I could be somewhere else, he thought desperately. Somewhere safe...somewhere where I can belong and get strong so that no one can hurt me anymore. Somewhere far away so that the Dursleys can never find me. He focused his entire mind on the thought, wishing with everything he had, and with a nearly silent pop, he was gone.
,.,.,.,
0615 Hours, August 28, 2517 (Military Calendar) /Slipstream Space-unknown coordinates
There are not a lot of things that startle Dr. Halsey. After all, she worked with spooks everyday. But when a child appeared out of thin air inside her ship while it was in the middle of a Slipspace jump, she was considerably startled. The lieutenant beside her was much less composed.
"Holy Mother of Christ!" he yelled uncharacteristically, stumbling backwards.
"Toran, what on earth just happened?" asked Halsey, both eyes fixed on the boy. He was unconscious and clearly injured, one arm at a strange angle and a large, hand-shaped bruise across one side of his face.
"I am not sure, Dr. Halsey. I do not have any explanation as to how that human child appeared inside of this ship. All systems are normal."
Dr. Halsey furrowed her brow. Well, first things first.
"Prepare the medical bay to receive the child."
"Yes, Dr. Halsey."
"Lieutenant Keyes, please assist me in carrying the boy to the medical bay. Take care not to further injure that arm."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, by now much more collected. He gently picked the child up and followed Dr. Halsey to the aforementioned bay.
Dr. Halsey puzzled over the sudden appearance of the boy. Teleportation technology was no where near the level necessary to get a person across a planet, let alone on a ship in Slipspace. Especially when the only people aware of her current location were the people on the ship and a few ONI spooks. Furthermore, even the technology used now relied on special markers to guide the teleportation. There where none on her ship.
She briefly considered the Insurrectionists, but shook her head. If they had that kind of technology, then they had already won.
A strange, Slipspace accident? If so, the probability of the boy somehow ending up on her ship was unthinkably low. There had to be some kind of explanation for this...perhaps the boy's story would shed some light on the matter.
They soon reached the medical bay, and within minutes Dr. Halsey had him connected to a series of diagnostic machines.
"Severe malnutrition, dehydration, rachitis, scurvy, bruises on face, neck, shoulders, arms, and torso, broken arm, exhaustion, previously broken leg and ribs, inner ear infection, damage to eyes due to strain, this list goes on and on..." Dr. Halsey narrowed her eyes. "Clearly this child has been abused and neglected. Toran, please prepare a solution of nanobots, antibiotics, and nutrients to repair the damage this child has sustained."
"Understood—"
"And please prepare a small, nutritious meal for when he wakes."
"Yes, Doctor."
While a nearby machine buzzed, the doctor took a syringe from a nearby cabinet and carefully filled it with liquid from an unmarked vial. She then cleaned a small portion of the boy's arm and injected the liquid into him. His breathing soon slowed as he entered a very deep sleep. She then inspected his arm through an X-Ray screen and set it.
The machine beeped and ejected a bag of cloudy liquid, as for an IV drip, and the scientist expertly set up the drip up and inserted the needle into a vein in the child's arm.
"He should wake in approximately twelve hours, enough time for the nanobots to have nearly finished their work. In the mean time, Lieutenant, please set up a secure connection to the ONI headquarters."
"Yes, ma'am," said Keyes, leaving for the bridge. Dr. Halsey stayed behind, watching the boy. This time she took in the rest of his appearance. He was very small and skinny, clearly from undernourishment, with very pale skin and messy black hair. A jagged scar marred his forehead.
Out of curiosity, mostly, she took a sample of his blood and scanned it for the genetic markers she had flagged for the SPARTAN II program. The scan read positive on all counts. She raised an eyebrow.
This was getting stranger by the second.
,.,.,.,
1830 Hours, August 28, 2517 (Military Calendar) /Slipstream Space-unknown coordinates
Slowly, Harry opened his eyes, blinking as the harsh fluorescent lights momentarily blinded him. He felt strange; nothing felt painful, stiff, or numb, and he was lying on something extremely comfortable. Hope sparked in his heart. Had his wish been granted?
He looked around. Everything in the room looked clean and bright, and machines were everywhere. The walls and ceilings were made of metal, as was the door.
"Hello," said a voice. He faced the sound. A woman with long, dark hair and piercing blue eyes was standing next to his bed. "My name is Dr. Catherine Halsey. What's yours?"
"I'm Harry Potter," he replied shakily. "Where am I?"
"That's not important right now. Can you tell me where you're from?"
"Number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey," he said automatically. His school had made him memorize the information.
Dr. Halsey furrowed her brow. "What planet is that on?"
"Earth," Harry replied, puzzled. Dr. Halsey frowned. If he was from Earth, how did he get here?
"What is the last thing you can remember?"
Harry though back. "I was in my cupboard. . .and Uncle Vernon was coming down the stairs."
"Your cupboard?"
"Freaks like me don't get real bedrooms," Harry said matter-of-factly. Dr. Halsey felt a spark of anger.
"I'm sure you're are not a freak, Harry."
"Yes I am. Uncle Vernon says so all the time, and Aunt Petunia too."
The spark of anger intensified. "Well, they are wrong. I'm a scientist, and I say that you are not a freak."
Harry's face lit up. "You're a scientist? They talked about those in school. They said scientist do really important stuff, like finding the cure for cancer. Are you trying to find the cure for cancer?"
Dr. Halsey eyed him strangely. The cure for cancer had been found four hundred years earlier, and was now nearly unheard of. Was it possible that. . . ?
"No Harry. I'm working to stop a war."
"Wow. . ." he said, awed. "We were learning about a war in school too."
"Which war?" asked Dr. Halsey.
"I think it was called. . .Word War Two."
World War II, she thought, her suspicion strengthened. That war was so long ago that she doubted it was taught in any elementary school.
"When's your birthday, Harry?"
"July 31st. I'm seven years old."
"What year were you born in?" she tried again.
"1980," he replied confidently. Her eyes widened.
"Are you sure?"
"Yep! 'Cause I heard on the telly yesterday that it is August 27, 1987, and 1987 minus seven is 1980!"
"I see. . ." she replied. "Toran, please locate Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, Earth for me."
"Searching. . .subject no longer exists, Dr. Halsey." In the background, Harry looked around for the disembodied voice.
"Explain."
"Subject destroyed in the 21st century during a set of mysterious bombings."
"Who lived there at the time?"
"One Vernon Dursley with his wife, Petunia, and son, Dudley."
Harry felt nervous. Were they going to send him back?
"More on the bombings," commanded Dr. Halsey.
"A series of unexplained bombings targeting several seemingly random houses across a large region of Europe. The perpetrator or perpetrators were never found."
"Search for Harry Potter in that area and time period."
"Three records match: One, hospital stay for broken leg. Two, record in local primary school. States full name as Harry James Potter. Three, newspaper article on his disappearance in the summer of 1987. 96% likely to be the same person in all three matches."
"Is there any indication as to his physical appearance?"
"Yes. Both hospital record and school record state that the subject is a Caucasian male with black hair and green eyes. Hospital states age as five. School record states six. They are a year and a half apart."
"There is no birth certificate?"
"None found, Dr. Halsey."
"Very well. Thank you, Toran."
"You're welcome, Dr. Halsey."
Dr. Halsey sighed and sat down on the edge of Harry's bed. This was one hell of a mess.
,.,.,.,
1400 Hours, September 4, 2517 (Military Calendar)/Slipstream Space-unknown coordinates
Harry was sure that it had been the best week of his life. Dr. Halsey had explained that he had somehow traveled through time—apparently the people she worked for thought he had magic. Magic! It was unbelievable. She told him that he was on a spaceship—a real spaceship!—and that he was going to be part of a special program to become a super-soldier. Then he got to stand by a window and saw a lot of stars going by really fast.
He wasn't hungry anymore. Dr. Halsey said that not letting children eat food was wrong and illegal and gave him three meals everyday and some vitamin pills. She made him do exercise, too. It was more exercise than he had ever done before, and she made him do more everyday. He didn't mind, though. It wasn't as bad as all the chores he had to do before.
Best of all, Dr. Halsey told him he never had to go back to the Dursleys. Ever!
Now they were going to go into special freezer things that Dr. Halsey called Cryogenic tanks to sleep for a long time so that they could go to another planet. He was going to go to another planet! He was so excited.
He knew his wish had come true.
,.,.,.,
0530 Hours, September 24, 2517 (Military Calendar) / Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex, planet Reach
"Wake up, boot!"
Harry started, sitting straight up. He looked around, seeing the startled faces of other children. Then he remembered.
It was the first day of training.
"I am Chief Petty Officer Mendez," shouted one man. He was tall and stiff postured, with closely cut dark hair with some gray at the temples. "The rest of these men are your instructors. You will do exactly as we tell you at all times." Mendez pointed to one direction and said, "Showers are aft. You will all wash and then return here to dress." He opened one boy's trunk and showed them a set of grey sweats. "No slacking. On the double!"
Harry ran to the showers. He hesitated a moment before undressing—everyone could see him!—but on look at the instructor's baton and he stripped in a flash. The shower was quick, and cold, but it was far better than the showers he had to take at the Dursleys. He shuddered, remembering the stinging soap and icy spray.
He ran back to his bed and opened his trunk, hurriedly dressing. He noticed the name on his shirt said HARRY-014
"Outside, trainees," Mendez annouced. "Triple time. . .march!"
Harry hastened to obey the commanding man, marching out with the others. It was very early, but Harry was used to that, too. Mendez told them to get into rows, and they did.
Harry lost count of how much they exercised—it was more than he had to do on the ship, more than he thought was possible. At the end, he wanted very much to cry, but held the tears in. He was going to be a soldier. He couldn't cry.
The children around him looked to be just as bad off as he. Everyone's clothes were soaked with sweat, and he saw more than one person had thrown up. They rested in silence, and Harry gently massaged his aching limbs.
Then they began to run. Harry was used to running—after all, he was always being chased by Dudley and his gang. But Dudley got tired a lot earlier that Chief Petty Officer Mendez. Harry wondered if the man was a robot.
Harry forced to go a little bit farther. He was hungry and his throat felt like sandpaper, but he forced himself to ignore that and put everything into keeping up. Finally, the run ended in front of a huge building led to by a stairway. A lady dressed in white beckoned to them. She reminded him of a picture of a statue he had once seen—a goddess, he remembered. Little lights zoomed around her head. For a moment, he though she was actually a goddess, or perhaps magical like him, but then he remembered Toran and realized she was an AI. She introduced herself as Déjà, and told them she was their teacher. He climbed the steps and went inside. He found himself a spot to sit and devoured the crackers on his tray, then gulped down the milk.
Harry looked around. The room was large, and filled with his fellow trainees. Then the lesson began, and he was entranced.
During the lesson, he noticed the boy to his right was stealing another girl's crackers. He was filled with indignation. He was stealing, and wasn't even getting caught! The boy caught him looking. He brought a finger to his lips and handed him a cracker. Harry then shrugged. He understood hunger. Then he swiped the boy to his left's crackers and nodded to the first boy. He smiled.
"I'm John," he whispered.
"I'm Harry."
"Friends?"
"Sure."
,.,.,.,
0800 Hours, August 25, 2521 (Military Calendar) /Epsilon Eridani System, Reach Military Complex, planet Reach
Harry nervously knocked on Chief Petty Officer Mendez's office door. He had been called there for some unknown reason. As far as he knew, only John had been in Mendez's office. That was when he was promoted to Squad Leader. Harry wondered what was in store for him.
"Come in, Number Oh-One-Four."
Harry stepped inside and saluted the man.
"At ease."
He relaxed himself minutely, and took in the surroundings. It was a cozy room, with dark wood paneling and soft, warm lights. The smell of cigar smoke enveloped him. Mendez sat behind his desk, and Dr. Halsey stood behind him.
"Hello, Harry," she said,
Harry saluted reflexively. "Hello, Dr. Halsey."
"Do you know why you are here today, trainee?" asked Mendez.
"No, sir, I am not aware as to why I have been called here."
"You are doubtless aware of your status as a Wizard. We have witnessed several instances of your abilities throughout the four years you have been here: you stopped twelve stun rounds in mid-air during a simulation, caused and exploding mine to disappear and reappear a mile away, caused an instructor's hair to grow and turn bright green, I could go on, but I'm sure you get the picture. ONI tells me that this is accidental magic, stuff that children do before they gain control of themselves." Harry flushed. "They decided that, in order for you to get a proper magical education, you would have to go back to your time: 1991. Apparently, the current magical world is lacking in knowledge. However, with a few of their magical contact's help, they managed to construct a time machine—one that will only work with you, since you have already time traveled." Mendez stopped and nodded to Halsey to take over. She took something out of her pocket and laid it on the desk.
"This device will implant a tiny crystal under your skin. The crystal is a complicated transporting device, what my magical colleges call a portkey. It will take you to your natural timeline. When you say a certain word, it will transport you into the past. A different word will transport you into the future. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," Harry replied.
"Good. Please hold out your hand." She took the device and implanted the crystal in his palm. She then took something out of her lab coat.
"Please take this datapad. Normal electronic equipment will not work near large magical settlements, but this particular datapad will instead take magic from you or its surrounds as a power supply. On it are your instructions. Your mission is to gather data for ONI and get to as much training as you can in magic, especially if it can be used to fight or defend." She passed a trunk from behind Mendez's desk to him. "This holds some of the materials you will need. Others you will have to purchase." Dr. Halsey held his bright green eyes with her own piercing blue ones. "I know this is sudden, but I also know that you can handle this. The word to go to the past is combobulate. To come back is discombobulate."
Mendez grunted and passed him pistol. It was small, but fit his palm perfectly when he held it. "You are going to be in unfamiliar territory, trainee. You should be armed. There's ammo in the trunk. Do you have your knife with you?"
"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!" Mendez nodded approvingly. "Take care not to let your hair grow to long. I don't want you looking like a civilian." Harry nodded.
"Are you ready?" Dr. Halsey asked.
"I'm leaving right now?" Dr. Halsey nodded, eyes apologetic. "May I ask one question?"
"Shoot."
"Why com—why those words?"
"How often are you going to accidentally use them in a sentence?" she asked, smiling. Harry briefly smiled back.
"Alright then, ma'am. Goodbye." He took one last look around. "Combobulate." And he was gone.