A/N: This story started a year ago when I got into fan fiction, some how it started with WW1 and WW2 based HP stories. I also loved Jacob in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them: a muggle in a wizards story. I wanted to write my own muggle in a wizard's story, so here it is.
May 28, 1918. The start of my personal march through hell. We readied Springfields, checked our ammo and waited for the signal from the officers. I was serving in the 28th Infantry Regiment and stood to walk into America's first assault during the great war.
I walked behind the french tanks and flamethrowers. The same ones that I stopped from adding diesel to their gasoline powered dragons. We all followed the slowly advancing french artillery. It seemed that everything except for us foot soldiers was provided for by the french. As we reached Cantigny itself, the battle was well fought. We had taken few casualties and had repelled the Germans from their own artillery positions. We slowly began to fortify the town and prepare for the german's counter assault. The town was no more than 500 yards wide in the middle, and it slimmed down to meet its north eastern face at both ends. The north eastrn face of the town had been fortified in a flat line to slow the counter attack. Standing in the middle of the town gave a collection of small homes to the left, a church on the far reaches of the town to the right, and woods in between. I worried mostly about a german assault near the church and their eventual push through those woods.
The first counter attack followed those exact plans. Not an hour after we took the town, we pushed back a small german assault. We paid for that success with pain. For the next nine hours we were bombarded by artillery. This was not our first time, as the Germans took particular joy from bombing the green American divisions, but these were stronger. More ferocious. I saw an entire house explode, filled with men. A pause in the artillery signaled a counter attack, much larger than before but we still pushed jerry back.
After that attack came the reinforcement. I found out then that the Americans have something more powerful than a German tank. The 1st battalion of the 26th infantry regiment, led by Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. supplied us with more than just foot soldiers. Two officers, who did not seem fit for a battle, came with them. They were not given orders, but they milled about asking any of the soldiers if they had seen anything strange. As the artillery started again, I took cover near the two officers. I got close enough to see their names: Lieutenants Thomas Brunner and Walter Bowie. I also got close enough to hear what they were saying.
"Do you feel those explosions Thomas?"
"I do. Those aren't artillery. They've got to be the Reductor Curse."
"Roosevelt was right to have us requested, and MACUSA was right to let us go"
I knew that no matter what they were talking about, it went way above my rank. I had never heard of MACUSA before, but I had heard of secret OPs. Soldiers within the expeditionary forces that appeared to operate with you but really weren't part of the chain of command. They operated by a different set of orders, and a different set of rules. I knew a guy when we first came to the continent who swore he saw a Major run into no-man's-land with nothing but his walking stick and come back out unharmed the next day. That same man also drank any beer that someone wasn't actively holding, so I never truly believed his senses.
"The question is: how are they launching the curse with the artillery?" Lieutenant Bowie's voice snapped me out of my own thoughts.
"It's not parabolic, so they must be close enough to launch it straight into the town while making the timing match the artillery strikes," answered Lieutenant. "The best way to find them during the next barrage is with the human presence revealing spell. You think you can manage it?"
"It's been a while but yes. Just stick close to me because it will only show you the locations if you are near the caster."
Spells? Curses? Casters? They had to be codenames developed by this secret OP group called MACUSA. They were probably names meant to hide the true technology we were using. Maybe something fancy using radio waves. I was ready to move away from the two officers, figuring they'd make my CO tear me a new one for listening in, when the next wave of bombardment started. The barrage was shorter than usual, but at the first pause, the officers sprinted from cover in the direction of the woods.
"What are you doing?! You need to get back in cover!" I screamed after them, but the next barrage prevented them from hearing anything. In fact, I was the only one that had seen them go as many of the other troops were hunkering down among the houses to avoid the shelling. I assumed these MACUSA agents knew what they were doing, but they ran towards the enemy's line, with nothing but their sidearms. Once this barrage ended, I followed them.
No one stood guard in the woods. We had one man stationed in the church that could fire a flare to signal the rest of the town, but otherwise we counted on the Germans not wanting to bombard their own troops. The problem was even though I expected the artillery to begin again, it didn't. That meant a counter attack was coming. Likely through these woods. Precisely where the officers went. I ran harder.
I couldn't find the officers in the woods, but I did find the first German troops. It was a two man squadron. I hunkered down in a bush, watching the two soldiers from 30 feet away. They sat in a clearing, not hiding behind cover, and not even looking for idiots like me who advance during a barrage. As I looked closer, neither had their guns out and they both were holding … sticks? One of them was muttering under their breaths, pointed their stick towards the town, and light erupted from it. The light flew towards the town and made a sound that I knew was a house collapsing. One of the few left.
My realization that these were enemy troops attacking my regiment pushed down my confusion, so I tightened my grip on my rifle and led a solo bayonet charge. They heard me before I reached them. One pointed his stick at me, the same stick that leveled a house, and shot red light at me. I ducked to the right and hid behind a tree, dropping my rifle in the process. I pulled out my pistol. I figured that dodging could only work so well for so long, so I threw a grenade at them from one side of the tree while I dashed away from the other side. Distracted from the explosion, I was able to catch their flank. I fired three shots into the pair, one taking a hit to the leg and the other hiding behind light from his stick. The light however only pointed forward and we were fifteen feet away from each other. I took a risk. I stood my ground and fired as fast as I could with my side arm, but rolled a grenade towards them with my opposite hand. The shield using German could not fire that red light again while blocking and the other was trying to mend his leg, also with his own stick. The grenade rolled under the shield and took them both out. I reloaded both weapons and went to inspect the men. I tried to figure out what the sticks they were using, maybe the same technology those MACUSA agents had, but kept my rifle ready for the next pair that might come. What I didn't expect were Lieutenant Brunner and Bowie bursting through a bush with their own stick pointed directly at me.
"Sirs!" I saluted, but they didn't seem to know how to properly respond. "I followed you after you ran into the woods. The Germans are making a counter attack and I need to get you two back to cover."
"Did you kill these men?" asked Brunner, ignoring my report.
"Yes. They used these weird sticks that shot light. Like something out of a Melies movie."
"What did it look like?" asked Bowie this time.
"Well they shot a white light towards the village, after which I charged and then dodged a red light-"
"You dodged a stunning spell?" interjected Bowie. Brunner smacked him on the arm "Continue," said Brunner.
"Well I dodged that and then when I began firing one of them used this shield that blocked bullets. So I kept firing while I rolled a grenade under the shield and that was it."
"So you prevented them from changing spells, while still getting past their shield. You're a smart man, um, Sergeant Price."
"Thank you sir. Wait, did you say spells?"
"Yes I did soldier, and I am sorry but you'll be seeing another one very soon." Lieutenant Brunner lifted his hand containing his stick, "Obli-" He was cut short by a loud shout and a section of the forest floor turning into a pit instantaneously.
"Thomas! We have four zauberers coming at us, we don't have time to obliviate him. Plus he took two out on his own. We could use him" yelled Bowie as we ducked behind a bush. I was about to ask what zauberers were, but was silenced by a look from Brunner.
"Fine," whispered Bunner, "But once we're done, he's getting it. This is going to feel strange, but we need you in this fight. Homenum Revelio." I felt something pass over me, but my attention was drawn to the four outlines of what looked like men running in our direction.