Chapter 2: Mage

The next day, Dr. McCoy and Logan walked into Prof. X's office. "We finished checking out the kid, Chuck," Logan said, sitting down hard in a chair before the professor's desk.

"And?" Prof. Xavier asked, eyeing the two.

"The boy isn't the largest build in the world, and it seems that he has gone through times of starvation," Dr. McCoy said, "but other than that he is in excellent physical shape. I'm not all that surprised; my niece bragged he was the star of their house Quid Dock team."

"The kid does have potential," Logan interrupted, lighting up a cigar, "I see it in his eyes; he's a fighter. But he's also got a lot of suppressed anger that needs to be worked out. I'm sure Ican help with that." Logan smiled briefly.

"We've received his records, Professor," Scott said as he, Rogue, and Jean walked into the office.

Professor Xavier looked at the file filled with parchment and his eyes went wide, "Holy …" Xavier sighed.

The X-Men present walked around his desk and looked at the records of the new student. On the page Xavier was looking was a list of all the accomplishments Harry has made in his life.

"Defeated the dark wizard known as Voldemort at age …ONE! Defeated Voldemort a second time and saved Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at age eleven … shit, he's X-Men material alright …" Logan said with a whistle.

"What about you, Hank," Scott said, looking up at the blue furry scientist, "You get his records from the United Kingdom?"

"Yes, I certainly did," The Beast said putting on his reading glasses, "Ok … name, Harry James Potter, Age sixteen, born to James and Lily Potter on July 31, 1980 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Both parents deceased, died sometime in 1981. He is under the care of the Dursleys, Vernon and Petunia, and a Godfather, Sirius Black. Started at a unknown private school at age 11, apparently Hogwarts, and has attended since."

"Harry is currently exploring the estate; He will begin classes and combat training tomorrow." Xavier said, closing the file. Everyone nodded. "He's saved the world several times, though with the help of his friends, almost alwaysby himself. It's time we showed him he doesn't have to fight alone."

--

Harry walked outside the mansion. It was late afternoon, and the sun was bearing down. "Hermione …" Harry sighed, plopping down at the base of a large oak tree next to the estate's large lake. He couldn't believe the turn of events; his best friends have been hiding behind his back for Merlin knows how long, and then if it can't get any worse, he's a mutant too. Life is great.

"Dat ya woman, mon ami?" a voice from above caused him to jump.

"Wh-who are you?" Harry gasped at the man setting on a tree limb, looking down on him with crimson eyes. Then in one fluid motion, the man flipped through the air and landed at the teen's side. Harry looked him over. The man had shaggy brown hair, with a red bandana rapped around his forehead, and his body was hidden under a long brown trench coat.

"De name's Gambit, I live here," he said with a smirk, "You must be de new kid."

"Um, yeah, my name's Harry, Harry Potter," Harry said, smiling kindly, "You're a little old to be a student; do you teach here?"

"Pleasure, Harry, Harry Potter," Gambit said in a deep Cajun accent. "And … Gambit … Teach … ya funny, mon ami, Gambit don't teach … Gambit … just plays cards …" he said, raising his hand from his pocket to show an Ace of Spades held between his two middle fingers. "You never answered my question, Harry, Harry Potter. Is this Her My Ninny your woman?"

Harry blushed, "I … no … no, she isn't. it's a long story …"

"Gambit got time." The Cajun said, sitting down beside Harry.

Harry didn't know why he told him. He didn't even know this man. Maybe it was the fact he had to tell somebody or else he'd explode. But he told this 'Gambit' about his situation with Hermione and Ron, and his new friend here was actually a good listener.

"Ah, Gambit sees clearly," Gambit said, nodding after Harry was finished, "You liked dis girl, but you never knew ya other friend liked her too. Said friend went and asked said girl out. And they have been seein' and doin' … other tings behind ya back. Am I wrong?"

Harry shook his head.

"Ya have much respect for both your friends, and wouldn't have any complaints tim goin out, jus tim goin out behind ya back, upset you, yes?"

Harrynodded his head.

"You wouldn't go behind ya friends' backs, so it making her an untouchable prize just outside ya grasp," Gambit assessed, "Gambit knows how dat is all too well …"

"Thanks for listening, Gambit," Harry said with a genuine smile.

"No problem, Mon ami," Gambit said, "Now, Professor Xavier sent me to tell ya he needs to speak with you. Gambit tinks you better head on, Xavier tends to be a bit on the impatient side at times."

"Ok, see you around, Gambit," Harry said, waving goodbye before running back toward the mansion.

"Good kid …" Gambit said, watching him go, "Now, where's Chere,"

--

"You called, Professor?" Harry asked, walking into Professor Xavier's office.

"Yes, do come in, Harry," Xavier said, looking up from Harry's file. "I have been reading your file from Hogwarts, and I must say, you've done a lot of good things."

"I just did what was needed," Harry said, looking down to hide his blush, "anybody else would have done it."

"I'm not too sure of that, my young friend," Xavier said, "Good heroes are few and far between these days, but that is only part of why I've called you today."

Harry just nodded shyly.

"Harry, we've finished our tests, and we've discovered exactly what type of gifts you've received," Xavier said, grabbing Harry's attention.

"Well, it seems that your natural gift is telekinetic abilities, but the curse you received from Lord Voldemortwhen you were a child seems to have mutated you further. You have gained strong telepathic abilities as well as minor parasitic ones."

Harry, once he got over the fact Professor Xavier showed no fear in saying Voldemort's name, looked at the older man questioningly, "What does that mean?"

"Well, Harry, your natural ability of Telekinesis, which is the ability to move things with the power of your mind alone, is your strongest ability. The next strongest is your telepathic ability, which allows you to read minds and in some rare instances foresee the future, is strong probably because it relates to Telekinesis. Then finally your parasitic ability allows you to take energy from other living beings by making physical contact." Prof. Xavier explained, "When used on Mutants, you temporarilyadd their abilitiesto your own. The length in which you hold the ability is determined by how long you hold skin-to-skin contact. Rogue has a similar power, onlybecause of a childhood injury, she has no control over it, and can neverhave physical contact with another living being."

"Oh … ok …" Harry said, still not understanding.

"Don't worry, son," Xavier said, giving Harry a reassuring smile, "You'll figure everything out in time, and we'll be right there to help you along. But why I've asked you to come today is to ask if you'd be willing to take part in some advanced classes in developing your abilities, a program I've dubbed 'Generation X'. Most students do not become active members of the X-Men until after they graduate from the regular classes, but if you successfully pass the Generation X tests, you will become a full fledged X-Man."

"What does that mean exactly, Professor?" Harry asked, feeling strangely nervous and excited about the idea of being a 'X-Man'.

"I've studied your records from Prof. Dumbledore, andyou've already shown astounding bravery and courage in situations when anyone else would have run. When no one else would stand up to the man seen asthe devil incarnate in your world, you stood and faced him head on. Bravery and Courage, that's what it takes to be an X-Man and you have both of those qualities in abundance. I won't force you into it; you don't have to if you don't wish to. But I feel you would make a great addition to the team."

"Um, Professor, exactly what do the X-Men do?" Harry asked, feeling silly for asking the question.

"As you've seen Harry, the Mutants here share my dream of a world where mutants and humans,all humans,magical or no,live in peace and harmony," Prof. Xavier explained, "But not all mutants and humans agree with my vision. Some mutants use their power in personal gain and to try to rule over 'normal' humans. And then most humans naturallyfear what they do not understand; you probably already understand this as a wizard, but they tend to strike out and try to destroy such things. To explain, the purpose of the X-Men, quite simply, isto protect those who cannot protect themselves. Do you understand, my friend?"

"Ok," Harry said, giving a determined nod, "I'll give it a try."

"Very good …" Professor Xavier smiled, "Cyclops!"

The door of the office opened and in walked Scott, but dressed differently than Harry had seen so far. Scott was wearing a black leather body suit with blue trim, decorated with blue circles with 'X's in the middle of them on his shoulders and on his belt buckle, and a blackvisor with a singular, horizontal slit showing the same ruby lensover his eyes. "You called, Professor?" he asked politely.

"Yes, Cyclops. Harry here has accepted the invitation to the advance training, give him something to wear." Prof. Xavier said with a wink. "Oh, and Harry, I've assigned you a codename," he said, tossing Harry a set of dog tags.

Harry caught them and looked at the information engraved on them. It gave his blood type, birth date, nationality, and the codename, "Mage?" Harry asked, looking up, "I … I like it," He said with a proud smile.

"I'm glad. Now get a move on, you have a busy day tomorrow," Xavier said, shooing him out of the office.

Cyclops started to follow before looking back at his mentor, "Professor… are you sure you're not pushing the boy too fast, he's just been here a day, all the other members of the Generation X program have been here for months," He said withgenuine concern in his voice.

"Call it a gut feeling, Scott," Xavier said, closing his eyes, "or maybe it's psychic, I don't know, but I can tell when I look at the boy. He came here an X-Man."

"You know … I kind of get the same feeling," Cyclops said with a faint smile, "Excuse me, Professor, I have a uniform to get."

--

Harry and Cyclops walked down the hallway outside Xavier's office, but Cyclops suddenly stopped beside a wall, "Alice, welcome to the looking glass," He said as he removed a glove and pressed his palm to a square wall pattern.

'Identity Confirmed … Welcome Cyclops …' a voice said and the wall slid open, showing the inside of a rounded elevator.

Harry and Cyclops rode the elevator down a few levels before it opened to what looked like a set from Star Trek. The walls appeared to be made from stainless steel, and the walls, floor, ceiling and even doors were decorated with the sameX symbol. "Come along, Harry," Cyclops said, walking down the metallic hallway andcoming to a large door. Cyclops and Harry walked into the room before the two stopped in the center.

"Access code, 00348989-Gold," Cyclops said out loud.

'Access code accepted,' a voice responded, 'Awaiting further instructions …'

"Access uniform vault, C.N.: Mage, A.N. Potter, Harry," Cyclops ordered, and the room quickly came to life. A portion of the wall opened and a glass case slowly slid toward the center of the room, before coming to a stop before the X-Man and the would-be X-Man.

"Is … is this mine?" Harry asked, looking in awe at the uniform in the case.

"Yup," Cyclops said simply, "Jean's best work yet."

The black leather uniform was not unlike Cyclops', but instead of blue trim it had a combination of red and gold trim, and slightly different patterns but still with the distinct 'X' theme, although he did notice a lion set into the material near one shoulder. Harry quickly noticed a pouch on the hip that was definitely for his wand.

"Hope you like it," Cyclops said, watching Harry examine the uniform. "Jean worked all last night on it. If you don't, don't say a word and wear it anyway. If there is one thing I've learned, it's that redheads are sensitive girls, especially my wife. And if you hurt her feelings, she'll hurt you back … ten times worse."

"I'll … remember that," Harry said, gulping slightly andremembering Ginny's temper and her adeptness at the Bat-Bogey Hexvery clearly.

Cyclops then took the uniform off the rack and folded it neatly, "Here you go, Mage," Cyclops said, easily noticing how Harry's eyes lit up slightly at the use of his codename, "Wolverine will begin your tests bright and earlytommorow morning, so I suggest you get a good night's rest. The tests will take a few weeks. I suggest you stay here 'til their over with, be easier on all of us. Then once the tests are done, you can stay at Hogwarts someof the nights if you want."

Harry nodded and, proudly holding his uniform, the two started to exit"Oh and here, almost forgot these," Cyclops said, removing something from his belt. "Hank prepared these for you."

Harry looked down at what was in the man's hand; it was a contacts case, "Probably be better for you if you didn't have to worry about those things," Cyclops said with a smile, "Heaven knows what I'd do to get rid of this," he said, pointing at the visor.

The two then exited and went their separate ways once they got to the main level of the school. Harry walked toward his dorm room he shared with Kurt and two other boys with a smile on his face. It was unreal, the feeling he was getting at this time; he only felt it with Hermione. But this was different, this was on a larger scale, and he liked it. For the first time in his life, he was in a place where he wouldn't be stared at or whispered about. Here, he wasn't THE Harry Potter, he was justHarry Potter.

To Be Continued …

C. Cowboy: Next time, Harry begins the grueling tests with other young mutants under the merciless Wolverine. Will he become a member of the X-Men? And what's happening back at Hogwarts? Find out next time, True Believers!