Freewill. Everybody is born with it, but not everybody uses it. Your freewill is something precious. It

allows you to think for yourself, make your own decisions. There are only 2 known ways to lose

your freewill. You can be forced into slavery- or your senses can be enthralled and something

unknown can take you over- something darker and deadlier.

~~*~~

Dear Mr. Potter,

Let me take this opportunity to thank you for your services to the Ministry of Magic, more specifically the Aurors. Your information saved a whole street full of Wizards, and you will not be forgotten by those many people for as long as they live. You are a hero. But something else

in your letter has sparked our interest, here at the Auror Division. You said something about a

masked Death Eater in your letter. Maybe you don't realize the importance of his appearance,

so let me tell you. This masked death eater- Mr. Nobody as we call him here- has been with

the Death Eaters for about 2 months now. He is an extremely dangerous man (or woman, we

really have no idea) and we've been trying to track him down since the second we caught

wind of him. He is untrackable, untraceable and quite honestly we didn't even know he was

real until you reported his existence. Anyways, my boss, the head of the department has

assigned me to keep close contact with you always because you are, at the moment, our only

lead on this Death Eater. You will be payed for your services. Please write back as soon as

you can.

I will not sign my name incase this letter is intercepted.

A tawny owl sat, impatiently waiting for Harry to write a reply. Harry however was going over the letter in his mind slowly, thinking. He would say yes, of course, because he wanted to get rid of any Death Eater as much as the next person, maybe more. But something about the letter seemed wrong.

Why didn't the person sign? He or she had let out enough information that it could be easily- very easily- tracked down.

Harry was lurched our of his thoughts by the owl, which nipped his hand. Harry shook it, (his hand, not the owl) and glared. "Fine, I'll reply." He said, pulling a quill out of the desk. He softened the tip and dipped it in an ink pot.

Dear Sir or Miss,

I would be happy to help you in your search for 'Mr. Nobody,' but I would like to know just

who I'm working for. I don't want to find out that you're a spy for some other group I want

nothing apart of. Also, how much time will this take out of my schedule? Maybe you know

that I do have a job already, playing Quidditch for Puddlemere United. Anyhow, write back a

place where I can meet you. Also, I don't know what kind of a help I'm going to be for you, if

I don't hear him/her speak in my dreams. I suppose we'll cover that later though.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter

He folded the letter and sealed it in an envelope. The tawny owl took it in its beak and flew off.

Harry took a deep breath and slumped back into the chair.

"Harry why are you still here?" Came a call from the kitchen.

"Um, because it's Saturday?" Harry said.

"You have a game in 20 minutes you dolt!" Ginny cried, running into view. "Come on! Get dressed!"

Harry looked at the clock and blanched. She was right of course. He ran into the bedroom, tearing off his clothes and throwing on the Quidditch uniform. Ginny helped him lace up the regulation boots as Harry tried to fix the clasp on the cloak. "Damn thing…" He muttered. Ginny straitened up and took it out of his hands.

"I'll get it." She said, taking it in her own hands. She had it done in 3 seconds flat. "You are so

forgetful…."

"I'd never get by with out you." He said, leaning in to kiss her. At the last second he pulled out. "My glasses." He said, turning around and pulling them off. "Can you find my contacts?" "They're on the dresser." Ginny said, crossing her arms. Harry popped them in and turned around again. "How do I look?"

"Like a Quidditch player." Ginny said flatly.

"That bad, eh?"

"Uh huh." Ginny said. Harry laughed, looking down at himself.

"Are you going to be able to come to the game?"

"I don't think so."

"Okay." Harry said. "Well they'll be missing me." He kissed her twice, pulling away briefly and then turning. He disapparated then, leaving her alone in the bedroom.

"Where were you?" Oliver Wood hissed when Harry appeared in the locker room, with Harry's

broom in his hand. "And why do you have lipstick on you?" Harry blushed and wiped his mouth.

"The game's going to start in 10 minutes."

"I forgot the time." Harry said truthfully. "I got a letter and I was just-"

"Sure, sure." Oliver said. "We told Avery that he'd be filling in for you today since your so late, so go tell him you're sorry and that he can go home, unless he wants to stay for the game. See you out there- good luck. Remember, we're playing Bulgaria today."

~~*~~

"Ron, remind me why we're here again?" Hermione grumbled, walking down a crowded row.

"We're watching Harry play!" Ron said. "This is going to be a great game too. It's against Bulgaria!"

Hermione turned around to face him. "Bulgaria! That's Viktor's team!"

Ron glared and pushed her forward. As they sat down, Ron grabbed her hand and pointed to a gold band on her ring finger. "I put that ring on, not him." He snarled.

Hermione threw back her head and laughed. "Not jealous are you?"

"Of course- oh look! There's Harry!"

The Puddlemere team did two warm up laps around the stadium and then went down to their side of the stadium. Bulgaria then came out of their locker room and zipped around the stadium.

The head referee glided in the middle of them. He raised his left arm into the air, and the brooms

went up into the air. With his other hand he threw up the Quaffle into the air. He blew a whistle very hard and cheers broke out through the stadium.

Harry was in his normal position, above the field, circling slowly, his eyes scanned for the Snitch. He lost his train of vision when Bulgaria made the first points. He dove then into the game and as he did so, he saw his own face on the big screen.

"Look, they've got his itinerary!" Hermione said, pointing to the screen. She began to read out loud, "Harry Potter, age 22, 5'9 member of the team since-"

"BULGARIA SCORES!"

"Aw, no!" Ron said loudly and began booing.

"Hullo Harry." Came a low voice in Harry's ear. Harry snapped his head to the side, to see Viktor less than a meter away from him.

"Hi Viktor." Harry said in a strained voice. "I can't talk right now…" He pulled up and sped to the other side of the stadium. Viktor trailed him.

"How is Her-mon-ninny?"

"Married!" Harry cried going forward again to hover over the main action. "To Ron Weasley. She's in the crowd today with- OH!" He dove. Viktor dove as well.

"THE SNITCH HAS BEEN SPOTTED! THE TWO SEEKERS ARE NOW DIVING FOR IT,

BUT THEY MAY BE TOO LATE! THE SNITCH LOOKS AS IF IT MIGHT BE- HEY!

PUDDLEMERE SCORES!"

Harry whooped as he dove. He was much lighter than Viktor and was slowly getting a head of him. Harry could see the Snitch clearly now. It was right in the middle of those two- Harry groaned- Bulgarian beaters. This is going to hurt.

He gripped the broom tightly with his knees and let go of the broom with his hands. He flipped into a stop and grabbed the snitch, just as two Bludgers smashed into his ribs.

"AND PUDDLEMERE WINS! WHAT A SHORT GAME!" Cried the announcer wildly.

"HARRY POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH AND TAKES ONE FOR THE TEAM AS

WELL. HE DOESN'T LOOK TO GOOD- ARE THE MEDICS COMING?"

Harry fell off his broom from the pain just as a stretcher and two nurses appeared. They moved the stretcher over three feet and Harry fell into it.

Viktor flew over him. "Good game." He said and zoomed off.

"Good game." Harry winced.

~~*~~

"I wonder if he broke any bones." Hermione said thoughtfully when she and Ron arrived at home.

"Probably." Ron said. "He's broken every bone in his body I think, save his neck."

Hermione nodded. "It was a good, short game. I'm glad it didn't last any longer."

"Oh I wish it lasted longer." Ron said. "Tickets aren't so cheap. But I still had fun."

"When's Harry's birthday?"

"July 31st." Ron said. "I thought you knew that."

"I do." Hermione said. "I just was wondering…it's coming up…what should we get him?"

"We?" Ron said.

"Yes, we." Hermione said.

"I don't know." Ron said.

"Well think!" Hermione snapped. They sat for a few minutes in silence.

"How about…" Ron said. "How about a blender?"

Hermione snorted. "Nice try."

"What's your idea?"

"Well." Hermione said. "I was thinking we could throw him a surprise party."

"His birthday is in three days, that's not enough time to plan. And that's not a present either."

"Fine." Hermione said, crossing her arms grumpily.

"I like the idea of a surprise though." Ron said and paused. "What if we surprised him really early in the morning and then took him out for the day? We could…I don't know… do something?"

"We could go to Hogsmeade and have breakfast there and then go to all our old favorite places!"

Hermione cried. "It's perfect!"

"Ah, thank you."

"Excuse me?!" Hermione said. "It's not really your idea now, is it?" Ron muttered incoherently and walked into the bedroom.

~~*~~

Russet Café 1205 E Oakbrook Way- July 30th 11 o'clock AM

Back left-hand corner booth

Harry looked up at the sign in front of the building and then at the letter again. He was at the right place. He was a good 15 minutes late to this conference, but he didn't really care. Harry pushed open the door and looked around. The Russet Café was a Muggle coffee shop in England, painted bright colors with electric Christmas lights hanging around the walls. It smelled like coffee beans and baking bread and was overly air-conditioned. A dry-erase board boasted today's specials. Harry glanced at them before heading to the left corner in the back.

In the booth was a man without a face, because he was reading a menu. Harry cleared his throat

loudly. Slowly, ever so slowly, the menu came down. Harry's hands balled into fists as his face

contorted.

"You!" He hissed.

"Yes, me." James snapped. "I figured you'd do that. Sit down, you're getting looks."

"No!" Harry said, sitting down. "I can't do this if I'm working with-"

"Look Harry, I don't want to do this any more than you do." James said. "But this is what I get paid to do."

"Work with me?" Harry said incredulously. "There is no way! No! Anybody but you!"

"Ah, I can feel the love flowing between us." James said, sighing.

"Don't be stupid." Harry said, looking horrified. "I think I'm going to leave now." He stood up.

James grabbed his wrist. Harry yanked it away.

"Don't you want to fight Voldemort?" James said.

"Yes. Of course I do." Harry said, rubbing his wrist as if he'd been hurt.

"Well this is the closest we'll get to him, through Mr. Nobody!"

"Do you realize how absurd you sound saying that?" Harry asked.

"What would you call him then?" James said, finally looking angry.

"I don't know, but Mr. Nobody is dumb."

"Oh, what a comeback."

"That's it!" Harry cried. "I'm leaving! I can't do this!" Not caring if any Muggles saw, Harry

Disapparated. James looked defeated.

Harry appeared in his living room and started pacing.

"Harry, how was it?" Ginny asked, walking out of the kitchen.

"It was him." Harry spat, still pacing.

"Who?" Ginny said. "It was who?"

"My-"

There was a small crack and James Potter stood in Harry's living room. Harry yelled in surprise.

Ginny looked lost.

"ARE YOU MAD?" He yelled at Harry. "Disapparating in font of all those Muggles! One of them could have seen you and-"

"Why are you in my home?" Harry snarled, walking dangerously close to him. They were exactly the same height now.

"Look we hadn't finished talking yet!" James said, stepping back. He looked around the apartment.

"It wouldn't be so bad working together-" His eyes rested on Ginny. His sentence stopped abruptly.

"Oh shit."

"I was wondering if you would see her." Harry snapped, looking venomous. "By the way, I will

never forget that you asked my girlfriend out."

"I had no way of knowing." James said faintly.

"Harry let it rest." Ginny said lightly in the background.

"Ginny, maybe you'd better leave." Harry said, turning to look at her. "I don't know how long this is going to take."

"No, I think I'll stay." Ginny said, glaring at him. "I pay half the rent, it's my house too."

"Whatever." Harry said, turning around to face his father, who was staring at him bemusedly. "What are you looking at?"

"You've grown up." James said lightly.

"Oh, well spotted."

"You pay for your own house, you've got a live-in-girlfriend and you're financially independent."

"I've always been financially independent." Harry snapped. "Thanks to you."

James opened his mouth to say something back, but shut it quickly. He knew when he'd lost a fight. He walked to the door of the house. "Well I guess I'd better go tell my boss that you won't help us find the Death Eater."

Harry said nothing and watched him leave. Ginny tried to say something but caught herself in the middle of forming a vowel. After a few minutes of staring at the space where James had stood, she spoke up again. "You really don't like him, do you?"

"I really don't." Harry said, breaking his gaze to look at her. "He makes no attempt to get a long with me. I won't either."

"So you aren't going to do the job with him then." Ginny said, biting her lip and looking straight into his eyes.

Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His eyes clouded over as he thought. "Well." He said slowly. "I should. If it gets at Voldemort, I guess I have some sort of obligation….What do you think I should do?"

"Go find him before he talks to his boss, of course." Ginny said. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

Harry shrugged and appeared in the Auror Department.

A plaque listed everybody in the office.

After a moment of searching, his eye found "Potter, James B06" Harry disapparated to that room.

James was sitting at his desk.

"Look." Harry said. "I'll do it. Not because I like you, but because you're not going to get that guy without me. I can't guarantee that I will be that much of a help, but I'll try."

James didn't look surprised. "Good. I told my boss you agreed."

Harry pulled a face. "What?"

"You think I don't know you." James said lightly. "But I've talked to you enough that I know that you're just like me. I would never not take a job like this. I knew you'd come here."

"I hate you." Harry said. "That's all there is too it." He fell into one of James' chairs.

"Oh really."

"Don't get all smart ass on me, or I'll leave." Harry warned. "And if you know me that well you'll know that I keep my word."

"Sure." James said. "Well do you even want to know what you're going to be doing?"

"Yes." Harry said. "That might be helpful."

"Well it's pretty easy." James said. "All you have to do is have one of those dreams. And when you do have one you have to record it down, every last detail of it. You know what sort of things to look for, right?"

"Just tell me." Harry said.

"Well any news on attacks, any names of Death Eaters, any information that tells you anything about Voldemort's eventual plans, and of course, anything about Mr.- uh – The new Death Eater. Stuff like that."

"So basically any and all conversations I remember." Harry said.

"Yes." James said. "That's perfect."

"All right, so if I have any dreams I'll come strait here- or should we meet somewhere else?"

"I rather like the Russet Café, myself." James said. "That way I can have an extra lunch break."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Okay, well I'll let you know." He stood up. "Bye then."

He was almost out the door when-

"Wait!" James said. Harry turned around. "I'm sorry about the whole girlfriend thing."

Harry paled and walked into the office again, shutting the door firmly.

"Not so loud! Harry hissed. "Nobody is supposed to know about that. I'm expecting it to stay a

secret, okay?"

"Why?" James said. "That's awfully juvenile of you to do."

"It is not." Harry said. "You have no idea what it's like having the press down your back every day of your life. If I had a girlfriend I'd never hear the end of it. Plus Ginny's brother, my best friend, does not like the idea of Ginny being out with anybody who isn't her age and who is from this universe. He's very picky and I'm not in his line of vision for her."

"Oh, so it really is the right thing to do." James said, looking slightly shocked.

"I know how to take care of myself, thank you very much." Harry said walking to the door again.

"Not a word, okay? Sirius doesn't even know."

"Okay, calm down." James said. "If you can't trust your own father, who can you trust?"

"Oh don't make me laugh! Trust? You?" Harry snorted and then looked at James seriously. "Well, whatever you say, Professor Krikor."

~~ * ~~