Title: Enter Adam
Author: Iphigenia
Email: SharLee224@aol.com
Pairings: Oliver/Percy
Spoilers: the first four books
Rating: R for language, sexuality, and gore
Improv: #13 trunk- master- elastic- cover
Sequel Info: Part of an unfinished but continually updated series, entitled, "A Portrait of the Wizard as a Young Man."
Summary: In the eternal city of Rome, Oliver, Percy, and Justin discover their roles in a never-ending battle.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Note: Following the episode, "Flying Free of the Nets," this series includes a slight crossover with Highlander: the Series. Although the concept of Immortality will be explained in later episodes, it may be helpful for the reader to go to any Highlander web page for a quick explanation. However, no prior knowledge of the Highlander series is required.
The taped conversation between Tancredi and Padway is from L. Sprague de Camp's Lest Darkness Fall. New York: Ballantine Books, 1939. Pages 1-2.
Not in the same universe as "Blame It on the Dance." The Hotel Splendide Royal is an actual hotel in Rome. Thanks to my wonderful betas, Angela, Faded Lush, and Teague. Enjoy!
Room 136, Hotel Splendide Royal, Rome
Local time: 600 hours
The tan, almost-lanky young man with soft brown eyes to match his short curly hair awoke to the familiar cool touch of metal on his wrists and ankles, as well as the equally familiar throb of a headache.
Coffee- he needed coffee. Groggily, he identified the metal restraints as basic uncharmed muggle handcuffs and willed his body not to react. So, he mused, Percy and Oliver were not taking any chances with him- Harry had trained them well in the art of interrogation.
Had Justin not been so fond of being tied up in the buff, this technique would probably have disoriented him quite a bit. As it was, he was actually quite comfortable; he pretended to remain asleep. That is, until a large amount of icy-cold water splashed suddenly on his face, causing him to sputter in a rather undignified way. He shook his head from side to side, feigning disorientation.
"Come off it, Finch-Fletchey," Oliver Wood's voice said, apparently having regained traces of, in Justin's opinion, a rather charming though intimidating Scottish brogue. "We know you're awake. Stop faking and have at it. Who are you working for? Tell me the name of your master." Master, Justin thought, was being a little over-the-top. The only megalomaniac who demanded his underlings call him Master was dead.
Justin wiped his wet face awkwardly against his shoulder, then cautiously opened his eyes and saw the two of them standing there expectantly in muggle clothes, the sun streaming in from the window to the side. He smiled wanly, smelling sex in the air. They were together again, as they should be. Before he could think anything else, however, he found himself obeying Oliver's order: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Cursing silently, he realized that he must have been injected with some obedience or truth serum while asleep. While Justin had planned on telling them the truth, he didn't want to tell them all of the truth. Well, he thought, coughing to delay further questioning, the serum, whatever it was, would pass through his body soon enough. At their questioning glances, he elaborated his Order membership by stating the current level five code word- "Elastic?" he asked hopefully.
They grinned, sharing somewhat of an inside joke. "Elastic!" came the enthusiastic response. His membership in the Order's Inner Circle prompted Percy to unlock Justin's restraints, give him something to cover himself, and motion him to a small wooden table neatly laid out with breakfast for three. Justin pulled on his boxers and tee, nodded his head in thanks, and sat down, pouring coffee for them. Giving Justin coffee was a sign of trust, since coffee actually inhibited the effects of both types of serum to some extent. Good, thought Justin, calculating rapidly that the serum (assuming a standard interrogation dose, regular coffee, and his body's unique endocrine system) would pass through his body in about six minutes- a very fast recovery rate, considering the average dose was supposed to last a full half hour. Still, he berated himself for not anticipating this technique.
Percy smiled as Justin carefully (and slowly) spooned three scoops of sugar into Oliver's cup, which was emblazoned with speeding Quaffles. "You've done your homework, I see," he said, accepting his own flying Snitch theme cup with only one scoop of sugar. "So, tell us, Justin. Why did Harry want us out of Britain?" Clearly, Percy didn't believe in meaningless small talk. "What the hell is going on?"
Coughing in surprise, Justin took a moment to reevaluate the youthful Deputy Director, who returned his stare with an unflinching blue gaze. Justin swallowed nervously, then the serum kicked in. "The war is already won," he said, attempting to resist the serum by being oblique as possible.
Oliver and Percy looked at each other, twin looks of confusion on their faces. "What?" they asked in unison.
Justin put down his Bludger theme cup and looked at them intently, praying that they had adequately swept the room for surveillance. The serum spoke, more rapidly now, beyond resistance: "You heard me correctly. The war is already won. Approximately one week ago, a carefully planted campaign of misinformation, together with an unexpected betrayal by the wizarding yakuza in Japan, led to an internal coup within the Death Eaters. Draco Malfoy killed Voldemort…"
Percy cut him off, dropping his cup onto the plush carpet. "The Dark Lord is dead?" he asked, surprised. Oliver looked similarly stunned and the cup lay there, the coffee staining the carpet.
Justin nodded in the affirmative and continued, allowing the serum to flow through him and guide his words. He spoke quickly, stumbling through his explanation. "Yes, I said that. Malfoy- Draco, that is- decapitated him, with, err, a large sword. In any case, the coup is the reason there has been a total Death Eater information blackout the past few days. The Ministry has no idea what has happened within the Death Eaters. Although our intelligence tells us that Ginny Weasley managed to escape with a few loyal followers to Ireland, the majority of the Death Eaters are now under Pansy Parkinson's control." Finally finishing, he sighed in relief and studied the pair for a reaction.
Not surprisingly, there was little, if any, reaction. Both young men were trained intelligence officers, after all. Oliver poured Percy another cup, then turned back to Justin. "Pansy?" he asked, his voice fairly even for such a big revelation. "What the bloody fuck happened to Draco?" Draco Malfoy had been the Dark Lord's trusted second-in-command when Oliver had been extracted from his cover about six months ago.
The serum inundated his senses, and Justin had to work a bit to remain alert. He wanted to remember every bit of what he revealed. "He vanished in the chaos that followed Voldemort's demise. Nobody has seen him since. Adam then ordered Oliver to send the letter to Percy…" He bit his tongue, painfully attempting to avoid talking about Immortals. He looked wildly about the room for his wand.
Luckily, Percy once again interrupted Justin. "You were ordered to send that? Who the bloody hell is Adam, Oliver?" he demanded, looking jealously at Oliver, pouting. The question was directed at Oliver, so Justin was free for the moment. In this distraction, Justin made another visual scan of the room. Yes, he thought triumphantly, sighting his wand lying in plain sight on the dresser. Satisfied, he returned his attention to the pair, who were still caught up in the uncertainty of a recently renewed relationship.
The formerly badass Death Eater spy flinched. "Yes, I was ordered to send that. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you earlier. Adam is my mentor." Justin heard Oliver audibly sigh as he clearly realized an explanation for Immortals would be needed.
"What?" Percy asked, confused once again. He looked really cute when he was puzzled. Much better, in fact, than the smug, knowing look that often crossed his face. Justin resolved to keep Percy as puzzled as possible.
Nevertheless, Percy's question did prompt the serum to begin to answer. Catlike, Oliver jumped at Justin and covered Justin's mouth forcefully with his hand, preventing Justin from answering. "Don't answer that," he ordered Justin. "We'll tell you in a minute, Perce. Justin, what I want to know is why Adam wanted Percy out of Britain." Oliver's dark brown eyes glared at Justin suspiciously as he released his mouth.
Justin rubbed his jaw, then spoke, again very quickly. The serum moved his mouth, forcing him to answer still. "Because Harry has been quietly manipulating Percy's brother Bill and Hermione not only into their current sexual relationship, but also into planning and executing a coup against the Ministry of Magic. Like the Death Eater coup, this coup was based on the usual formula: misinformation, lies, and deceit. Even if they knew about Draco's coup, the Ministry would still be unwilling to negotiate with the Death Eaters. In order to bring about peace, both sides had to go. This was the only way to save Britain. You've got to see that. Naturally, Harry wanted to prevent Percy from getting caught up in the ensuing chaos." Chaos, Justin knew, which would include the imprisonment and possible deaths of many prominent Ministry officials. He frowned slightly as he realized that Percy's father, Arthur, and brother, Ron, would be caught up in it, a fact which Percy surely would realize.
Percy gaped in shock, clearly horrified by the news of violent revolution within the Ministry- the very bastion of stability for hundreds of years. Or perhaps at the dark revelation that Harry had been behind such a cunning, manipulative, and downright Slytherin conspiracy. A shadow crossed his eyes as he assimilated this information. Recovering himself, he narrowed his eyes skeptically. "Wait a second. You expected no one to even notice, when the dust settles, that there have been two coups in a comparatively short amount of time? Won't that seem the least bit suspicious? I know coups are rare in the wizarding world, but the muggle-born should be cynical enough to sniff out this plot. Like Hermione, for instance." Percy's acute analytical skills had not been overstated. He had put aside his own personal questions- like, for instance, why Harry's supposed best friend Ron had been so carefully left out of this plot- and objections in order to identify the plot's main weakness in a matter of mere seconds.
The serum continued to spew forth information, taking it from Justin's mind and controlling his voice. "Oh, we've covered that eventuality already, Percy. Hermione is level five, too. She's agreed to pretend she was behind the plot 'for the good of wizarding kind' or some trash like that. We've already produced false documentation to that effect. No one need ever know who was really behind it. Don't forget, as far as the wizarding public is concerned, Harry Potter is still missing and the Inner Circle doesn't exist. The public knows nothing," said Justin, watching the clock anxiously. A few more seconds, and the serum would be neutralized. And this ridiculous interrogation would be over with, at least for Justin. While he understood their actions to be necessary and prudent- he would have done no less had he been them- serums like that were not pleasant at all. Even Hufflepuffs, Justin thought, are entitled to feel grumpy after serum-enhanced interrogations.
Suddenly, Oliver and Justin clutched their heads and looked sharply at the door, instantly identifying the presence of another Immortal. A sharp knock sounded lightly at the door. "Who is it?" asked Justin, hastily grabbing his wand and covering the door. Serum or not, he wasn't about to appear defenseless against a possible threat.
It was Adam Pierson. "For God's sake, Justin, leave me a bloody note next time. How the hell was I supposed to know you were going to approach them this soon? I went around nearly all the city of Rome looking for you," an impatient British voice, easily identifiable as Adam's, yelled from behind the door.
Justin opened the door, admitting a tall dark-haired man with a prominent nose and cheekbones into the room. "Well," Justin snapped, rather peevish. "It's not as though I had much of a choice in the matter. I woke up here." Percy coughed unobtrusively, reminding Justin of his audience. "Percy," the former Hufflepuff said, turning towards Percy. "This is Adam Pierson. He's also level five." The whole Order level thing, Justin thought, was a joke. There were really only two levels- Inner Circle and the rest of the Order. Levels one through four merely existed to give the others a sense of accomplishment and seniority.
The man called Adam greeted Justin briefly with a nod, then turned towards Oliver and Percy, his pale green eyes instantly analyzing and assessing Oliver's slightly rumpled condition. He smiled casually at Oliver, then moved his searching gaze to Percy, who blushed under the close scrutiny. "I see you two had quite a bit of catching up to do last night," Adam said, making himself at home in a nearby chair. "Pleased to meet you, Percy." He held out a rough, callused hand.
They shook hands awkwardly. Adam's arrival had turned the surprisingly casual interrogation atmosphere into the stuffy formality of a corporate business meeting. "No," Percy said, mechanically falling back on the conventions of society. "The pleasure is mine. Coffee? Tea?" He smiled, mask firmly in place. Justin rolled his eyes- Deputy Director Percy was back in business, a shallow mockery of the person with whom he had just been conversing.
The offer of coffee was greeted with a serious nod. "Coffee, please," Adam said, rolling up his left sleeve. "Black."
Having already anticipated Adam's request, Justin handed Adam a steaming mug of fresh Italian roast (no Quidditch theme on this cup), smiling as he saw Percy try to surreptitiously check Adam's wrist for a Dark Mark. Instead, Adam pulled a hunting knife out of his pants and proceeded to carefully cut deeply into his unmarred forearm. He pressed firmly as the sharp steel blade pierced his skin, letting his fresh blood flow onto the table.
"What are you doing?" cried Percy, alarmed, the mask slipping. "Are you a bloody masochist or merely suicidal?"
Adam merely nodded perversely and continued to cut intently. "Justin," he said, gritting his teeth in pain. "You can Accio the trunk out of my arm any day now! Preferably before my arm heals itself." Already blue sparks were beginning to lance across his self-inflicted wound.
Justin quickly jumped up and waved his wand wildly. "Accio trunk!" he called hastily. A small object, roughly the size of a marble, came flying rapidly at Justin, who, surprised at its speed, ducked. "Somebody please please please catch it!" he pleaded, wincing at his clumsiness.
The peculiar, marble-sized object would have continued along its trajectory had Oliver not reached out and grabbed the bloody thing mid-air, displaying his still-terrific Quidditch skills. "Eww!" he cried, realizing what he was grasping in his palm.
"Oh!" Justin said, grabbing Oliver's hand. "Let me see that." Obediently, Oliver unclenched his fist. Justin aimed his wand carefully at the object. "Engorgio." The object began to rapidly enlarge, causing Oliver to drop it rather suddenly on the carpet. What appeared to be a very bloody trunk, surrounded by a clear plasticky bubble, continued to grow until it was approximately the size of a small clothes trunk.
"Oh!" echoed Percy, quite shocked by the whole spectacle. He glanced at Adam and noticed that the cut had healed, but seemed content to hold on the questions. "Oh my." Percy, turning extremely pale, seemed shocked into silence.
"Fuck," said Oliver, a little less delicately. "You smuggled a fucking trunk out of somewhere in your bleeding arm? Are you crazy, man?" he asked, his Scottish brogue reappearing in full force.
"Actually," remarked Adam, coolly washing his arm and then the carpet with a wandless cleansing charm. "I'm not bleeding anymore, as you well know. And you would be surprised at the level of security at the Vatican Archives. I had to dust off one of Darius' old identities in order to gain access. In any event here it is." Trust Adam, thought Justin, to act as if nothing was amiss.
Luckily, that meant that Percy was once again befuddled. The adorably confused look reappeared. "Here what is?" he asked, poking hesitantly at the bubble with his finger.
Adam tapped the bubble with his wand, which had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. "Yesterday, Roger Davies- your former roommate, I believe, Oliver- was sighted here in Rome doing some research at the Vatican, apparently acting on orders from Ginny. Using a time turner, I simply went back in time to shadow him and copy whatever she investigated." The bubble disappeared with a loud pop. "Alohomora!" The trunk popped open.
Percy visibly stiffened at the mention of a time turner. "Isn't unauthorized use of time turners slightly, well, illegal?" he inquired, looking as if he was about to spew out all the rules and restrictions concerning time travel.
Oliver visibly rolled his eyes. "This is Rome," he reminded Percy. "Magic is illegal." He grinned roguishly and, waving his wand, cleared the table with a dramatic flourish.
Justin smiled as the Quidditch-theme cups zoomed around the room and winked out of existence. "Indeed. So, what did you collect?" he asked, sitting down at the table. Percy and Oliver followed suit.
Adam reached down into the trunk. "That's the odd thing. Roger seemed to be interested in two muggles- an Italian professor named Tancredi, and an American doctoral candidate named Martin Padway," he said, still digging through the trunk.
"Who?" Oliver asked. "Never heard of them. They're not very famous, I suppose."
Chucking slightly, Adam shook his head. "No. I ran a basic search-and-retrieve spell on everything in the archives relating to both of them and all I got were some basic legal papers, a large police file, and some cassette tapes." As he spoke, he took the police file and a tape out of the trunk and placed them on the table.
Both Percy and Oliver, having never seen an audiocassette, peered at the tape curiously. "Huh?" they asked in unison, looking doubtfully at the object.
Adam consulted a battered spiral notebook filled with cramped, indecipherable notes. "It appears to be a surveillance tape from the spring of 1934. The highly sophisticated intelligence branch of the Swiss Guard was watching Professor Tancredi. They recorded this brief conversation, which appears to have taken place in a car," he said, skimming his notes until he found the part he wanted.
"What's on it?" Justin asked, impatiently tapping his foot.
"Listen," Adam commanded, tapping the tape gently with his wand. The tape glowed blue, floating midair as the magnetic tape began to wind.
Over the numerous tape distortions, a man with a neutral Midwestern American accent- probably Padway- was talking. "You were talking about Etruscan inscriptions, and then about the nature of time, and then about Roman archareol..." The American was cut off by a sudden cacophony of horns blaring and brakes screeching to a halt.
A thickly accented but intelligible Italian accent – that was probably Tancredi- interrupted the American. "Ah, yes, the nature of time. This is just a silly idea of mine, you understand. I was saying all these people who just disappear, they have slipped back down the suitcase," the Italian said, apparently unperturbed by the muffled curses and profanities punctuating his words.
"The what?" asked Padway, sounding rather confused. Indeed, Justin mused, this was a rather bewildering conversation. He winced as another automobile suddenly and loudly screeched to a sudden halt.
Professor Tancredi clarified. "The trunk, I mean. The trunk of the tree of time. When they stop slipping, they are back in some former time. But as soon as they do anything, they change all subsequent history." Suddenly, it became clear to Justin as to the significance of the tape. Frantically, he flipped through the police file- a missing person's report, reporting the public disappearance of Padway seconds after this conversation, then Tancredi's interrogation records. Padway had simply vanished into thin air. The only witness, Tancredi, had been convinced that he had fallen down this trunk of time. The officials had dismissed the professor's claims as wildly ludicrous. But why had Roger Davies researched this random nutcase? Because, Justin realized, someone, probably Ginny, thought that there was some merit to the Professor's theory. Time travel. Ginny's intentions were clear. She was trying to go back in time.
On the tape, Padway had found a problem with the theory. "Sounds like a paradox."
Justin could almost see Tancredi shake his head emphatically. "No-o. The trunk continues to exist. But a new branch starts out where they come to rest. It has to otherwise we would all disappear, because history would have changed and our parents might not have met." Justin narrowed his eyes, dismissing the Italian man's conclusion. These were muggles; according to Merlin's famous law of magical time travel, there was only one true timeline- everything else was mere illusion. Time travel remained possible, however, because travelers affected the timeline in such a way that no one noticed. Thus, if Ginny traveled back in time, the present would suddenly adjust to that reality without anyone noticing.
Meanwhile, the two men on the tape were still working without knowledge of Merlin's well-known law. "That's a thought. It's bad enough knowing the sun might become a nova, but if we're also likely to vanish because somebody has gone back to the twelfth century and stirred things up...." speculated Padway. On the other hand, Justin thought, if a time traveler did prevent the birth of someone, that person would never know it.
Tancredi even had an explanation for his incorrect conclusion. "No. That has never happened. We have never vanished, that is. You see, doc-tor? We continue to exist, but another history has been started. Perhaps there are many such, all existing somewhere. Maybe, they aren't much different from ours. Maybe the man comes to rest in the middle of the ocean. So what? The fish eat him, and things go on as before. Or they think he is mad, and shut him up or kill him. Again, not much difference. But suppose he becomes a king or a duce? What then?" Justin rolled his eyes, dismissing these speculations.
Tancredi continued happily, ignorant of Justin's objections. "Presto, we have a new history! History is a four-dimensional web. It is a tough web. But it has its weak points. The junction places- the focal points, one might say- are weak. The backslipping, if it happens, would happen at these places." Here was the important part of the conversation. The real merit lay in Tancredi's apparent independent discovery of ley lines- the last known solid knowledge on ley lines, the mythical keys to time travel, had been lost millennia ago. If Padway had indeed gone back in time through one of these places, then Ginny's interest in the case was the location of the junction, not possible alternate universes. If she could locate this spot by tracking Padway's last known location, she could possibly reactivate the spot and use dark magic to guide her to the correct time.
"What do you mean by focal points?" asked Padway, sounding skeptical.
"Oh, places like Rome, where the world-lines of many famous events intersect. Or Istanbul. Or Babylon. You remember that archeologist, Skrzetuski, who disappeared at Babylon in 1936?" asked Tancredi. Justin made a mental note to check up on Skretuski's last known location in Babylon.
"I though he was killed by some Arab holdup men," said Padway, clearly skeptical.
The Italian sounded almost triumphant. "Ah. They never found his body! Now Rome may soon again be the intersection point of great events. That means the web is weakening again here." So, thought Justin, the focal point changes. That meant Ginny would have to track the focal point to its active spot. Where, wondered Justin, was it now?
"I hope they don't bomb the Forum," worried Padway. Adam held up a piece of paper with a smiley face. Incidentally, he had written, the Forum was bombed during the war.
Tancredi dismissed the notion. "Oh, nothing like that. There will be no more great wars; everybody knows it is too dangerous. But let us not talk politics. The web, as I say, is tough. If a man did slip back, it would take a terrible lot of work to distort it. Like a fly in a spider web that fills a room." There was more distortion, and then the tape cut off suddenly as Adam tapped it again with his wand.
The four wizards eyed each other soberly, coming to similar conclusions. Legend had it that a group of ancient Egyptians had mastered time travel thousands of years ago and used simple time turners to alter the near past (within a day). Recognizing the dangers inherent in true time travel, however, they had destroyed all knowledge of the theory behind it- even going so far as to obliviate it from their memories. Although only basic one-day time turners survived the Dark Ages, it now appeared that a mere muggle had possibly rediscovered true time travel. It was grasping wildly at threads, but they couldn't afford to let Ginny's forces continue their research if there was any chance of success.
Justin rubbed his eyes tiredly, as their mission became clear. They were going to preserve the timeline. "Fuck."