The next morning saw Harry waking up his roommates in the Ravenclaw boys dorm earlier than they would've liked as he stretched, dressed in basic workout clothes, lights on in the entire room. "Shut those lights off," groaned Terry Boot.
"Can't exactly see what I'm doing in the dark, can I?"
"The hell are you doing," asked Michael Corner as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Going for a jog."
"Why?"
"Healthy body, healthy mind."
"One has nothing to do with the other," said Morag McDougal.
"Every single part of your body works in conjunction. Physical activity can help you concentrate, can give you better energy, make your mind sharper, and brings new ideas to mind. Not to mention certain girls like physically active men."
"Bullshit," said Michael. "Says who?"
"My mother." Harry grabbed his phone and a pair of ear plugs.
"What's that," asked Anthony Goldstein.
"My phone. It's a communication device that allows me to contact people I know, search the Internet, and listen to music." The Ravenclaw boys blinked, confused and Harry sighed. "You know those devices you passed on the way here? They're called computers. Think of them like massive libraries without the pages. Wait until one of the First Generation students wakes up and ask them how to use them."
"Why don't you tell me?"
"Because I don't feel like it. Good luck, gentlemen." Harry stepped out of the boys dorm and to the nearest camera.
"Oh," said a voice behind him. Harry turned around and saw Su Li standing behind him. "I didn't think anyone else would be up at this time."
"I like to get a workout going to start the day. Mom kinda helped me develop this habit. What about you, Ms. Li?"
"Call me Su. And, I really couldn't sleep. Thought I'd get some exploring done."
"Do you know much about your magic? Or technology for that matter?"
"Technology, of course. My weird magic, no."
"It's only weird the first day. Then it's the most natural thing in the world. I'll go into more detail later today."
"Mind giving a girl a quick tip?"
"Like what?"
"Yesterday, I saw you traveling through the cameras on the train."
"You can't do it until you get the pass later today. Sorry."
"What about you?"
"I helped set up the system. I have the 'Technician's Pass' so I can travel at will. But when you get the 'Student Pass' you'll be limited to Charging through the system during the day when classes are in progress until curfew."
"That's lame." Harry grinned and held up his pass before flicking a second from behind it. She looked at it and then him. "That's dirty."
"It's called business. There's going to be a demand, I have the supply."
"Maybe you should've been in Slytherin."
"To be honest, I'd fit in more here than there. I'm not nearly as cutthroat as some of the Slytherin businesspeople are."
"How much?"
"How much you got?"
"Don't pull that crap!"
"Sorry, but something this valuable is worth a pretty penny. Especially for our kind. Once you Charge for the first time, it's unlike anything you've ever experienced before."
"So then let us travel freely."
"Sorry, but the Charging was only allowed with the addition of rules for Charging. Only Technicians can travel at night for 'routine maintenance'."
"How do I become a Technician?"
"Apply and get familiar with the Gibraltar and try to get along with Holly."
"That's the A.I. that sits on your shoulder right? Hey, where is she?"
"I'm currently in the Gibraltar," said Holly from the camera as it panned to her.
"That's creepy… Reminds me of Hal-9000."
"I prefer GLaDOS, myself."
"Doesn't make it any less creepy, if anything, it makes it more so."
"Told you," said Harry.
"Yes, you did. Don't start."
"Start what," asked Padma as she walked out of the girls' dorm.
"Someone stated a statement Harry predicted would be made about my humor."
"Oh no. Harry please don't…"
"Fine. I won't."
"Won't what," asked Su.
"Harry has a thing he likes to do whenever he predicts something or makes a comment and ends up being right. To try and quell it, I started calling it by its acronym; HARF."
"HARF?"
"Harry is Always Right Foundation," said Harry with a smirk.
"Stupid acronym for a stupid idea."
"It is not a stupid idea! For every time I'm proven right. I earn a galleon."
"And how often is?..."
"Almost always," said a voice above them. They looked up and saw Luna hovering in the air on Static Skates.
"Are those my skates," asked Padma.
"I am not a crook." She flipped in the air and hovered upside down to speak with them.
"Put them back."
"But I'm having fun."
"Luna," said Harry. "Can't you make your own?"
"Too lazy."
"Give my skates back."
"Make me." She floated out of reach and Padma glared at her.
"While you do that," said Harry. "I'll be outside."
"Where can I get skates like that," asked Su.
"Make them or have another Beta make them for you."
"Which one am I?" Harry sent a small bolt at her for her to absorb and saw her eyes activate and turn blue.
"Looks like you're a Beta. Our nickname is Mechanist. Alpha's, like my Uncle Cole, Draco Malfoy and Millicent Bulstrode, are called Conduits."
"Given what the news showed you could do, makes perfect sense."
"Now, if there are no more interruptions. I'll see you ladies when I get back." H Charged through the system and landed in the Castle Server Room where Isabel and Filch were observing the monitors. "How do you like the system, Mr. Filch?"
"Definitely makes catching the Weasley's easier. Stop three prank attempts already."
"I take it you mean the twins, Fred and George?"
"They're the only Weasley's who cause mischief around here, so yes. Their older brother, Percy, is a model student. Don't know about their younger brother, though."
"I think keep an eye on him, just in case. Never hurts to suspect the worst, only to get the best."
"True, I suppose."
"You sure you don't need more staff here," asked Isabel.
"I'm not so old that I can't keep track of these screens alone. It's just trying to figure out how to operate these machines that takes up my time."
"This really is too much for one person to do alone. Why haven't others been helping?"
"The Heads of Houses help out, but they need more sleep than I do. And those damned Weasley's love making my job as difficult as possible."
"I imagine my father's group of pranksters wasn't much better," said Harry.
"Don't get me started with the Marauders. They were the worst. And they always evaded me! I never knew how!" Harry kept the information he'd learned from his mother's journal about the Map a secret, for now. He unplugged Holly from the Gibraltar and Isabel turned to him.
"Going for a jog?"
"And some climbing."
"Try not to fall! Don't want to scrape you off the grass if you do!"
"Hahah. Very funny. Almost as funny as this." Harry shocked her, messing up her hair before Charging to the outside cameras, her enraged screams being heard over the intercom, practically waking everyone up."
"Was it necessary to turn on the intercoms before leaving?"
"Yes, if only to hear that before my jog."
"You know you'll have to face several angry faces because of that."
"Not my problem they had their beauty sleep interrupted, or that they had their soundproof curtains open." Harry plugged in his earbuds, set his playlist to random and took off as 'Radio/Video' by System of a Down started playing. He started going around the lake, adjusting his pace with the pace of the song. He slowed at his favorite part of the song to a walk as the song slowed before slowly picking up speed. Holly made things more interesting and started turning into obstacles for him as he picked up speed. Harry grinned and welcomed the challenge without slowing, even using his magic to propel himself slightly into the air. As the song ended he idly heard clapping and ignored it as 'Stupify' by Disturbed started and he adjusted his pace once again.
Holly turned into a staff and Harry took hold before going through a kata he downloaded after getting the Tesla Staff. As he moved, he didn't register his body absorbing nearby electrons as he built up momentum. As he went through the final steps of his kata, just as the song ended, he gave Holly a flourish, causing a bolt of lightning to strike the ground behind him. Harry jumped and turned around seeing the small area of burnt grass behind him along with an inch wide hole in the ground. He pulled out his earbuds. "Did I do that?"
"I think so," said someone behind him. Harry turned around and saw Remus and Sirius standing behind him. "Nice show, Pup," said Sirius.
"Sirius? What are you doing here?"
"I asked him to be my assistant," said Remus. "Since he's not willing to go back to the DMLE anytime soon, and no one else wants to take in someone who'd spent ten years in Azkaban, I offered the position."
"And I accepted. Gotta do something while Amelia's at work," said Sirius.
"Isn't time apart counterproductive to rebuilding what you had," asked Harry.
"She said for now, we take things slow. Her trust in me was shattered and she needs time to build it up again before we try dating once more."
"Good luck with that, then. So, did you two notice what was happening as I was going through my kata?"
"It looked like you were building up static electricity while building momentum," said Remus.
"That's never happened before. I've done similar routines before."
"Has anything changed recently?"
"Maybe…" Harry described the event on the lake and Remus started thinking.
"What on Earth could do that?"
"Whatever it is, we need to find it before the next school year begins. If a student has a more violent reaction next year, there's going to be no one to save them unless we can control our magic to absorb without discharging in water. And it looks like it will take a few years to get the hang of."
"Has Dumbledore asked the Mer-people to search the lake."
"It's only been a day. I don't think so. And even then, the lake is massive. We probably won't find anything at first."
"Let us know if you need any help with it," said Sirius.
"I'll be sure to do that. For now, I think I should see if I can do some quick climbing before class starts."
"Climbing," asked Remus. Harry pointed to the roof of the school as he put his earbuds back in. "I don't think that's such a good idea."
"Sorry, can't hear you, music's playing!" Harry took off in a dash and began finding footholds in the castles masonry. Sirius and Remus watched as Harry made his way from the ground to the castle roof, all without slipping or tripping up.
"He apparently learned that from his uncle," said Sirius.
"I'm aware. There's footage of him climbing up thirty story buildings in Empire City. If Lily saw him doing this…"
"Oh, she'd be so angry!" Sirius turned solemn. "I'm going to find that rat bastard! And when I do…"
"You'll turn him over to the Aurors. You just got out of Azkaban a month ago. Don't be so eager to go back."
"You have to want him to pay as much as I do!"
"Of course I do! He betrayed us! Betrayed James and Lily! Got them killed! But we can't do anything other than apprehend him and turn him over to Amelia! You know this!"
"it's worse for me, Remus. The bastard framed me and had me locked in that hell hole. Ten years, ten years! All the while, he's been hiding, God knows where!"
"Just be patient. We'll find him. He can't hide forever."
"True. And it's not like he's stupid enough to hide here." (Insert evil grin here) Sirius looked up and saw Harry coming down using his Static Thrusters. "How much fun is that, anyways?"
"Almost as much fun as Charging."
"That's that teleport thing, right?"
"If you want to oversimplify, yes." Harry looked at his watch. "Still an hour and a half till breakfast. I should check on the other Technomancers. See how their first night here was."
"Wouldn't that mean gaining access to the common rooms," asked Remus.
"Simple with the Gibraltar set up. The 'Shielded Fortress', as Sam calls it, allows easy access into the system for Technomancers while the outer casing of the cameras prevents internal damage from electrical overload, and external damage from say a bullet. It also can project a wall of solid light, much like Holly."
"Only It has a limited range of how wide apart the cameras are spaced outside of the school. That feature was added after my body was formed and Cindy needed a new push for the Gibraltar for investors," said the A.I.
"How did you create hard light," asked Remus.
"We cheated," said Harry. "We inscribed solidification runes on the internal components for the projector. I had to find just the right spot for it to affect the light only."
"Impressive."
"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go change." Harry walked away and Sirius sighed when they were out of earshot.
"What's wrong, Padfoot?"
"Ever since Harry helped save me from Azkaban, he's been distant towards me."
"Why?"
"I asked his mother. She says it's because of the journal Lily left him, detailing her time in Hogwarts and her escapades with us. Says he has an Idiot Complex and that, because of how I was…"
"Was?..."
"Am… he can't relate to me."
"Give it time, Padfoot. We've only just reentered his life since Lily and James were killed, I didn't try and find him, you made a stupid decision to get revenge and put it before looking after Harry, like you were supposed to."
"I just wonder how long it'll take."
After changing into a suit, Harry went to the common room to check on his housemates first. He saw Luna still hovering upside down wearing Padma's Static Skates as Padma and Hermione stood beneath her trying to get her down. "What the hell did I miss?"
"Luna stole my journal," said Hermione.
"And won't give back my skates," said Padma.
"How did I miss this on the way in," asked Harry.
"You were probably distracted," said Su from a computer as she watched a video on YouTube.
"You know, I figured it'd be someone in Hufflepuff to waste time on YouTube. Not a Ravenclaw."
"All work and no play…"
"Right." Padma looked at Harry. "Can you get her down?"
"What makes you think I can?"
"She is your stalker."
"Wait, what," said Su.
"Luna's been psychically stalking Harry for a while, apparently," said Hermione as she jumped for her journal, only for Luna to raise herself higher. "Harry, please help!"
Harry sighed. "Fine, hold on." He climbed up the bookshelves in the common room.
"Harry! Don't climb on the shelves!"
"Do you want my help or not?!"
"What exactly is your plan," asked an older classmate as they came from the girls' dorm. Harry looked at her.
"Climb up to the chandelier, jump off and bring Luna down with me."
"Ooh, hugs," said Luna with a smirk.
"You shouldn't be climbing on the shelves. We do have ladders," said the girl.
"Not as fun." Harry got to the top of the chandelier. "Besides, I'm already up here."
"Get down!"
"Yes, ma'am," he said with a mock salute before jumping towards Luna and grabbing her on the way down, Padma's skates slowing their fall. Luna smiled at him as they landed and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you, Fancy Man."
"Give back what your stole, Psychic Girl."
"I borrowed these, thank you very much."
"Luna…"
"Fine…" she handed Padma her skates and Hermione her journal.
"Thank you." Hermione rushed back to the first year girls room to put her books away as Padma put on her skates. "Now please, if you insist on borrowing, and I mean borrowing not taking without permission, ask them first. I get the feeling I'll get in trouble with you without having to force you to the ground."
"Oh, are you psychic too?" Luna smiled as Harry rolled his eyes and turned to Padma.
"I have to check on the other Technomancers, and if there are any in Hufflepuff. Can you check on Neville and Draco, and make sure the Weasley twins will show up after classes end today?"
"No problem. Where are you going first? Slytherin or Hufflepuff?"
"Slytherin. If you don't see me after today, call Amelia." Hermione nodded as Padma rolled her eyes. Harry Charged to the Slytherin common room and paused as he saw the green, variant of his own common room. "Christ… I think I'm going to be sick…"
"Oh good," said a voice beside him. "I thought I was the only one with that opinion." Harry turned and saw Daphne and Tracey sitting in a chair. "This coloring is far too sickening for my taste."
"And yet, you probably wanted to be in Slytherin from the get-go." Daphne said nothing as she smirked and stood up.
"Why are you up so early, and why are you in our common room?"
"I always wake up early. What about yourself?"
"Tracey couldn't sleep. We've been up all night and were going to head to the nurses for Pepper-Up potions before class."
"I could always just shock you awake." Harry rubbed two fingers together, making sparks. Tracey gulped as Daphne rolled her eyes.
"Don't even think about it," she turned her hand ice cold and Harry saw wisps of vapor coming off it. "Or I'll freeze you where you stand."
"Just a day and already trying to figure out how to use your unique magic."
"Can't let you Technomancers have all the fun, now can I?"
"And here I am, left in the dust," muttered Tracey. Daphne went over to her and hugged her best friend.
"Sorry if it looks like that, Trace."
"It's fine." Harry let them have their moment as he noticed someone step into the common room. An older Slytherin boy saw Harry and glared.
"Who let you in here, Potter?!"
"It's MacGrath. And technically, I have free reign to enter the common areas for each House as there is a surveillance camera in each of them. I'm here running a routine check on the Gibraltar System, and checking on my friends and companions."
"Get out."
"Make me." Harry sparked his hands, making the boy back away sub-consciously. "If you can."
"Y-you think you can scare me with that little parlor trick?!"
"I beat Riddle with this, Mr. Flint. Yes, I know who you are. Your arrogance matches your father's down to the beads of sweat when you get scared. And I find it hilarious that for all your bravado, all your family's belief in 'Blood Purity', your father followed someone your family considered beneath them. A half-blood, just. Like. Me." Harry increased the sparks on his hands to extend over his arms entirely and Flint stumbled backwards before falling on his ass, eyes on the blue lightning. Harry's lightning turned red as he fired a small shock at Flint's head, knocking him back and scaring him to no end. Flint ran off back to his dorm room, a trail of urine left in his wake. Blaise came into the common room, carefully stepping over the trail of shame and fear.
"Remind me not to piss you off, MacGrath."
"Give it enough time and training, and you'll do the same."
"What was with that color change," asked Tracey, slightly afraid of the Technomancer betrothed to her best friend.
"It's what happens when Technomancers get angry. Our lightning turns from blue to red. The power output increases and allows us to put down enemies in single shots. Well, my uncle can. I still don't generate enough energy to do more than stun people with my basic bolts. I was only able to hold back Riddle slightly with my wand because it gives me a slight boost to my magic."
"It's still impressive," said Daphne.
"Not as impressive as Cole's. Here, let me show you." Harry went to the computer station for the Slytherins and pulled up YouTube. Harry showed them a video taken from New Marais of Cole in action. Daphne, Tracey and Blaise watched as Cole outmaneuvered First Sons, using his magic as offensive and defensive tactics. Blaise watched with fascination as he thought of how to replicate Cole's actions. Daphne and Tracey watched with awe as they saw the way Cole moved around, blushing lightly as they saw an exploding car burn away Cole's shirt and he just tanked the blast and healed by draining a street light.
They gasped as they saw a bolt strike a First Son who was sneaking on Cole from behind. The camera changed views and showed Harry, two years younger than he was, wearing mechanical goggles that seemed to move as they zoomed in on his targets. Harry cringed as he saw them. "Christ, I forgot about those. They were so goofy looking. They worked, but they also got in the way too much." Daphne saw Harry in the video shoot a bolt using a metal glove.
"What's that?"
"Oh, that was the prototype for my current Gauntlets. Arc." The three Slytherin students watched as Harry's hands were encompassed by metal gloves. "The first design was something I came up with on the fly once when helping Cole take on First Sons in Detroit. This was when First Sons tried setting up a second base, only the NSA got word of it. Other than that, it's been an ongoing war in New Marais. Lucy Kuo, Cole's partner and pseudo girlfriend, has been trying her hardest to limit the number of civilian casualties whenever the First Sons try to take out Cole." Harry shot a wire at a wall and sent a short current to it.
"That's what you used against V-Voldemort, right," asked Tracey.
"Call him Tom, or Riddle, or Tommy Boy. Anything but the name people are afraid of. Fear gives power. We need to take that power away." Tracey nodded. "And yes. Zeke, Cole's best friend, made this version of the gauntlets to pull enemies towards me, send a current through the wires, and, if I can figure out how to use it properly, act as a grappling line to move across rooftops better. Nullify." The Arc Gauntlets went back to their cufflink form and he looked at Daphne. "Is Millicent ok?"
"Far as I know, she is. Though, she may have had trouble sleeping like us." Harry dug into his pocket and handed Daphne a white card.
"Hand this to her, tell her to Charge you to the infirmary."
"What about me," asked Blaise.
"You don't have experience Charging, yet. Until I feel you've got a handle on it when the Technomancers meet up later today, then I'll hand you your card. Millicent is only getting hers with the stipulation that she only Charge to the infirmary with Tracey and Daphne."
"Alright. Fair enough, I suppose."
"Now, I need to check on Hufflepuff House. Can you remind Millicent to meet in the Great Hall after classes and before dinner?"
"Alright. I'll remind her."
"You ladies can come too, see what we can do. Maybe I can help you learn your magic from what Lucy told me she can do."
"She's like me," asked Daphne.
"Yeah. And I can get her here to help train you."
"Thanks!" Harry grinned and turned to the camera in the common room. "See y'all later." Harry Charged into the system and made his way to the Hufflepuff common room. There, he saw an older student alone in the common room, stretching.
"What the?..."
"Sorry. We really should add an alert system to these cameras whenever one of us Charges through."
"You're him, right? Harry Potter?"
"MacGrath," corrected Harry as Holly sat on his shoulder.
"Right, sorry. I'm Cedric Diggory."
"Nice to meet you."
"How are you able to get in here?" Harry held up his card. "Technically, I can enter each of the houses. It's part of my job as Technician. I monitor and maintain the Gibraltar security system and I also help with the computers in each common room."
"You mean those devices?"
"Yeah. Think of them as massive libraries where you don't need to check out or search for a book. Just access a search engine, type what your looking for, and you'll find it from various sources. And, because Technomancers have reworked existing servers, we have access to public databases in the Wizarding World. Ilvermorny, Ryuga Academy, Beuxbatons, and any school that has modernized in the last decade or so, especially in the last four years with the rise of Technomancers. We've been overhauling everything while also giving each other tips on how to better control our magic."
"Your magic is completely wandless, right?"
"For the most part. Everything we do involves modern technology. But, Betas, like myself, require special devices to correctly direct and/or increase our lightning attacks. For example, I can send bolts of lightning out normally, but they only stun people. My uncle can kill if he's not careful. With my wand," Harry pulled out his silver wand to show Cedric. "Because of it's base and core, can slightly amplify my magic to where my bolts become streams."
"Like what you used against V-Voldemort."
"Riddle. Honestly, I thought more people would switch to his real name since they were so scared of his fake one."
"You realize it'll take some time to do that, right? His name was only revealed last night. Rather abruptly, I might add."
"Well, you can blame Holly for that." The A.I. projection waved before turning to Harry.
"What would have had me do?"
"Let him get as close to his goal as possible before outing him. Not do it in front of every single student in the school. Voldemort would've killed someone if we hadn't stepped between them."
"We had the Gibraltar system up."
"You weren't plugged in to control the shields. You couldn't control them at the time. Besides, it was dumb luck that he didn't try attacking the students more. And that he only sent two cutting curses."
"Why did he only send two," asked Cedric. "You'd think he'd maximize his chances at trying to best you by sending out more than two attacks."
"Perhaps your earlier antics have affected him in some way," suggested Holly to her creator.
"What antics?"
"It's a long story," said Harry as Susan and Hannah came down.
"Oh, Harry," said Susan surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Susan. I came here to make sure the tech was working properly and if there were any Technomancers in Hufflepuff that I missed."
"Well," said Cedric. "One of those computer things doesn't seem to work."
"What?" Harry went over to it and found the computer completely drained. "So, there is a Technomancer here. And a hungry one at that." Harry pulled a radio out of his pocket. "Izzy."
"Go ahead."
"Can you go over the Hufflepuff common room footage and tell me if someone was near the computers prior to me getting here? I've been here for roughly 3 minutes."
"Give me a sec." Harry looked at the computer and sent a small charge into it to bring it back on. "Alright, Kid. Looks like a girl with short pink hair was in there before that cutie you were talking to."
"Focus, Izzy. And stop cradle robbing! You're…"
"Don't say it… According to Argus here, that's Nymphadora Tonks."
"Oh, Ted's daughter. And my distant cousin."
"Yeah. She's about two years older than you, I only say this because he says she's a Third Year."
"Alright. And since Ted is a First Generation, she's aware of technology. Wonder why she drained a computer fully."
"Looks like she was sleep walking. I'll give Ted a call, see if this is a common thing."
"Please and thank you."
"I know Tonks," said Cedric. "Good girl, thought she was adept at Lightning Magic. But to be a Technomancer. How did she never know?"
"Well, she's probably had some No-Maj devices on here to provide enough of a constant charge without making her feel the effects. A taser, more than likely."
"You mean that shock device she threatened people with the first day she was here?"
"That'd be it. Let me guess, after a bit, she figured out she could generate lightning in her hands and switched to that, keeping the taser as a backup?"
"Yep. Hit me with it at least once, and that was when I annoyed her."
"Good to know. Then you can go get her."
"Um… no. I can't. The dorms are enchanted to repel boys from entering the girls' dorms."
"I'll go get her," said Susan. "She's the one with pink hair right?"
"Or red. She's the Metamorphmagus from yesterday."
"Oh, her. Ok." Susan went to the girls' dorms and Harry looked at the camera.
"Hey, Izzy," he said to the radio. "Did the Gibraltar pick up where Riddle flew off to?"
"Took off heading North. Lost him when the smoke went through the trees. Don't know if he veered off course after that. Dumbledore said he asked Hagrid to see of the centaurs found anything."
"Ahh," screamed Susan as Harry smelled the direction she went in start to reek of ozone. Susan walked over, haired frizzed up with sparks emitting from a few strands as Tonks, yawning.
"Sorry, firstie," said Tonks. "But waking me up early in the morning is a bad idea." Harry went to Susan and drained the small amount of static electricity from her hair before Holly turned into a brush. Harry handed her to Susan who started fixing her hair.
"And that amount of energy from how much you drained tells me you're a Beta Technomancer."
"I'm what?"
"Like me. I take it you weren't paying attention to anything up until Riddle was ousted."
"That would be par for the course," said Cedric.
"Sod off, Ced," said Tonks.
"Don't call me Ced."
"And who's going to stop me from doing that?"
"Harry will."
"Don't drag me into your lover's spat," said Harry as he adjusted his cufflinks.
"Wait, you're that guy who fought Lord Moldy Butt, right?" Harry heard a snap and the chair Hannah was sitting on gave out from under her, making her yelp in surprise as she fell.
"Ow…" groaned Hannah as Susan hurried over to her best friend. Harry pinched the bridge between his eyes and looked at Tonks.
"I get the feeling you had that planned, dear cousin."
"What do you mean?"
"…Never mind. Yes, I fought Riddle. Harry MacGrath, at your service."
"Hold on, thought you were Harry Potter." Cedric smacked her upside the head.
"He is Harry Potter, Nymph. He was adopted, hence the name change."
"…What have I told you about my name?"
"Well it seems to be the only way of getting anything through to you." Tonks growled and purple lightning surrounded her hands. Harry looked at it with fascination.
"Whoa. I've never seen purple lightning from Technomancers before. That is odd."
"Perhaps it's a mutation brought about by her Metamorphic magic," suggested Holly.
"She gets like that when she's horny," yawned a girl from the girls' dorm entrance.
"Lena," shouted Tonks, air turning dark pink with embarrassment.
"What? You know it's relatively true." Harry blinked as she appeared right in front of him with a flash of sparks. "'Ello Love! I'm Lena!"
"You're a Technomancer?"
"Yep! Though I mostly go by my screen name in the forums."
"And that is?"
"Sorry, Love! Gonna have to wait on that!" She flashed away and back to the dorms.
"Hogwarts was a Dark Zone before we came here. How haven't you two been affected by the lack of energy?"
"Don't know what your on about," said Tonks.
"Technomancers need to have a constant current of electricity flowing through them. It's so our magic has a fresh charge, and so it doesn't cause adverse effects on us."
"Like what?"
"Alphas tend to have times when they can't contain their energy and it sparks everywhere. Betas tend to have a… problem with magnets."
"Meaning?"
"Harry got stuck to the metal walls in his private workshop back home for a day when he forgot to cycle his energy," said Holly. Harry adjusted his tie as Susan smirked at him.
"Ok, moving on!" He turned to Tonks. "Can you and Lena meet us in the Great Hall after classes and before dinner?"
"If I remember." Harry turned to Cedric.
"I'll remind them," said the older boy with a sigh. Harry thanked him, said goodbye to the Hufflepuffs, kissed Susan on the cheek and Charged out of the room. Susan blushed as Hannah smiled at her. Tonks looked at the camera.
"Blimey… I want to do that…"
"Merlin knows you'd probably be on time for once," said Cedric, earning a shock from Tonks. Harry landed in the server room and saw his mother speaking with Isabel there.
"Hey, Mom." Cindy smiled at him.
"Sleep well?"
"Probably better than the other first years."
"It's their first night in a new place. They'll be more adjusted in less than a week."
"I know. It was the same for me the first night at the company."
"So," said Isabel, leaning against a console. "I don't have a class, I'll be in the Reality Room."
"No you don't," said Cindy, grabbing the collar of her lab coat. "You have to set up your classroom, remember?"
"I don't want to…" Harry rolled his eyes as his mentor whined.
"Again, I thank you for adopting me, Mom. I don't think I'd manage being exactly like her."
"I don't think I'd be able to manage that either. One of her is enough." She turned to her boss. "You can't shirk your responsibilities here. You're a teacher again, act like it."
"Dammit…" Isabel sank to the floor as Cindy let go. "I knew I'd regret this."
"You'd regret this more if you couldn't help other Technomancers," said Harry as he monitored the Gryffindor common room, seeing Padma and Parvati speaking with Fred and George. He noticed Draco sitting close enough away that he could hear, but still go unnoticed by them.
"I know…" Harry spotted Neville walk into the common room and look up as Parvati smiled at him. Harry chuckled as Neville got flustered and tried running away. Harry pulled out his radio and switched frequencies.
"Padma. Give your radio to Neville." Draco glanced over to the girls as the radio sounded. Parvati and Padma smiled at the camera.
"Sure thing," said Padma as she walked over to Neville, handing him the radio. He saw her demonstrate how to use it and Neville do as instructed.
"Hello?"
"Hey there, godbrother. Sleep well?"
"Not really…"
"Understandable. Listen, if you didn't sleep, head to the Infirmary to get Pepper-Up potion for the day, got it?" Neville nodded, unused to speaking on the radio. "Alright. Now, I want you and Draco to stay still while Padma sends a map of Hogwarts to your brains." He saw Draco shouting in Neville's direction, making the boy flinch and the girls to glare at him.
"That's an order, Malfoy. Remember what happened at King's Cross. You want that to happen again, ignore me. If not do as I fucking say."
"Language," said Cindy as Harry's finger came off the button.
"Sorry, but unless Draco starts listening to me, I have to threaten him."
"There are better motivators than fear."
"I know that. But it seems like he's only ever responded in fear. Fear of his father, fear of disappointing his mother. Fear of his future and what it might hold. I recognize the look in his eyes. It was the same look I had before I started inventing."
"You had an outlet. He doesn't. You need to give him one."
"One problem, he's an Alpha Conduit. He doesn't have the same resources I had to change my mindset."
"Then find one for him. He needs a way to make his magic useful to him. You can't force him to do things with fear. It'll only blow up in your face. And given his magic, it may be literal."
"I say keep going the same route you have been," said Isabel. "Some people only respond to fear. Given his dad, he may be the same way."
"But you need allies, not enemies. It'd be better to treat them with respect, not fear. See them as equals, not underlings. I've noticed since you showed me the memory, whenever the subject of the future threat, Technomancy's role against it, and your place in the future, you've started to think more like a commander during war time than a child."
"Sorry if my mindset has been altered because of Kessler and his actions. Knowing I have to lead my people against the Coming Darkness could only ever have one effect on me. Kessler knew this. He knew what he was doing when he started his attack when he did. He knew how to manipulate things to the point where I would start being molded into what was needed."
"This has to do with right now, Harry. Not so far in the future, you're seeing Zed's dream come true."
"Ok, that one was a cheap shot," said Isabel.
"For now, focus on the here and now. Not on the distant future. If you keep your gaze on the future, you'll lose track of now and it'll hurt you in the long run. Focus on making friends, not reluctant allies, not fanatical followers, friends. The way you're acting right now, you'll be quickly associated with Voldemort." Harry paused as he considered his mother's words. He shook his head and turned to the monitors.
"I am focusing on the present. I need to help them learn about their magic right now." Harry glanced at the monitors and Draco's closed off appearance before sighing. "…But I suppose you're right. I shouldn't treat him the way I have. I just don't know how else to get through to him."
"Try introducing him to everything that technology has to offer."
"Alright, I'll see if it can work. Though if he keeps with this behavior…"
"I'll handle it," said Isabel. "Just leave it to me."
"Oh, this ought to be good," said Harry.
"Shut up. You should get ready for classes. We'll meet you in the Great Hall for your Technomancy class."
"Can we get Cole to help teach the Alphas?"
"He said 'It's all you, kid.' When we tried asking him," said Isabel.
"Worst. Imitation. Ever. Of all time."
"Screw you!"
"That's pedophilia…"
"Why you little…"
"No threatening my son, Isabel," said Cindy as she gathered her things and left the room. Harry grinned and Charged out, leaving an annoyed Isabel behind with nothing to smash.
(Author's Notes)
Sorry for the wait, back to week by week updates for this and RoSM. I also have updates for Kill the Conduit and Apex Legends: No Ultimate. Also I've got another story uploading soon. I had this written down a while ago and never got to uploading it. This was supposed to be my first story instead of Metaverser, but I kept putting it off. If you're interested, keep an eye out for SWTOR: Keeper of the Flame. This will be my take on the rise of a Grey faction of Force users set during the Old Republic MMORPG. Again, if you're interested, Read and Review. Don't forget to Review this story and let me know your thoughts, more than just two words reviews please. I'm looking at you, butterflypuss. Also, leave a suggestion for what you'd like Harry, or one of the other Technomancers invent. While the Alphas can't do anything mechanical with their magic, they can still do a lot of things with coding. Until next time, Y'all!