Title: Bonjour, France!
Author: Gia
E-Mail: divinechild18[at]hotmail[dot]com
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: None. Actually, one or two implications, but that's really nothing.
Time: 6th Year.
Summary: Harry, along with two Order Members travel to France to do a special job. Harry must go under the illusion of a child, but things don't go well for young Harry.
Disclaimer: I own not a thing.
Author's Note: Side-story to "Marhabah, Egypt!". Harry mentions doing a job, in that story, so I'm writing it here.
Arabella sighed, looking at the other few aurors who were with her. Several were Order members, Sirius Black and Severus Snape. If the mission went as smoothly as discussed over the meeting, then it should be a snap.
However, one individual's current condition was weighing heavily on their minds. Harry Potter. Correction, one young Harry Potter. Only a handful of people had ever seen Harry when he was one, and the time after was absolutely zero. To suddenly see a child-like Harry in their midst was a definitely a shocker.
But even with that niggling at the back of her mind, she still felt some unease about the situation. She could tell Sirius felt the same, and even Severus seemed slightly tensed. This wasn't Harry's first mission or anything, so Harry at least had some experience with how things went. Still… the entire atmosphere was charged with something.
As soon as they stepped through the automatic doors, one thing was obvious. This place reeked of wealth. The marble flooring covered with velvet rugs, onion-shaped chandeliers and polished gold, and the faraway sound of tinkering glass was a dead giveaway to the luxury that the Elysa Luxembourg promised. Melisande's assuring squeeze of his hand brought Harry back from his staring. Smiling down at him, Melisande lead Harry to three plush couches that were off to the side. She made a show of affection, tapping his nose lightly as she told him, in French, to wait there.
Harry watched as the two make a beeline for the counter. Now it was his part in the mission, he'd need to keep a look out. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, Harry decided not to look around discreetly. It would be better to pretend to look around exuberantly, he being a five or six year old. He only glanced a few times at the counter, hoping there would be no complications. His attention, however, as distracted when a women, around the age of 60, sat beside him. She smiled kindly down at Harry, prompting Harry to do the same.
"Bonjour le petit garçon, attendez-vous ici pour vos parents?" Hello little boy, are you waiting here for your parents?
Harry tilted his head, wondering if he could spare this time to talk to this woman. Shrugging inwardly, he nodded to her. The woman smiled again, and turned to her purse as if she was searching for something. Curiosity overriding any other sense of suspicion, Harry watched her actions.
"Oh! Voilà! J'ai quelque bonbon pour vous!" She produced several brightly colored candies. "Ici, prendre quelque bonbon! Mon petit-fils a aimé ceux-ci!" Oh! Here! I have some candy for you! Here, here, take some candy! My grandson loved these!
Harry felt a stirring of distrust but he squashed it down when he met her sincere gaze. He let his small hand reach out and grasp one of the candies. He quickly unwrapped it, and plopped it into his mouth after a split second's hesitation. "Eh.. Merci beaucoup… Madame.." he spoke hesitantly.
The woman beamed happily at him and seemed ready to say something but a man approached them, possibly her husband, who said that they could go to their rooms now. The woman nodded, smiled once more at Harry, and left. Harry watched the old married couple and wondered if his parents would've been like that. Squashing down a small sense of sadness, Harry finally realized how long he'd not been paying attention.
Head snapping up, he allowed his eyes to scan the lobby area. Nothing seemed to be even remotely suspicious, and yet Harry felt like he had missed something. However, everything continued smoothly, Melisande and Oliver returning to Harry and leading him to their suite. Harry found himself to be slightly disheartened that the mission was almost over. Almost. They still had to secure this unknown package in the teddy bear and make it outside the hotel without any mishaps. It was all easier said than done.
It wasn't long before they reached their suite, and they wasted no time in searching for the package. There was always a chance that they're objective would not be there, there could be a mix-up with places, absolutely anything could go wrong. Fortunately for them, however, as soon as they stepped inside the room they knew everything was proceeding smoothly. So far. Harry took the initiative and went straight towards the bed. Atop its soft covers sat a tiny, cardboard box. Hardly worth noticing to a casual onlooker, but Harry knew that it was something more than just an ordinary box. Harry paused long enough to reach under the bed and search for that large teddy bear.
It was a trivial thing, but Harry felt the tiniest bit of relief when he knew that it was clean under. He had a fear in the back of his mind that there would be something there reading to grab his hand--
A hand landed on his shoulder. "Harry?"
Harry nearly screamed but managed to shut his mouth. Melisande looked down at him concernedly, "Is the holder there, Harry? The bear?"
Harry nodded slowly, and pulled it out from under the bed. It was large, well large in Harry's case if you took in his stature, and white. It was one of the oddest teddy bears Harry's scene, which wasn't much, but that's not the point. 'This will most certainly attract attention..' Harry thought dryly. Couldn't the holder have been a more… discreet one? Shrugging to himself, he handed it over to Melisande. She lifted the small wooden box off the bed and gently placed it inside the bear's back. She muttered a quick spell, and Harry could've sworn he heard the sound of something being zipped.
Oliver, who had been looking around the room, came back. He was smiling reassuringly to the both of them but didn't say a word. It seemed talking now would only break the spell of importance that was on them. Checking that everything was set, they immediately headed out of the room. Altogether, the easiness of this mission was starting to get to Harry. The closet thing that Harry could define as odd was the meeting with that woman who gave him candy. And Harry was starting to have doubts on whether that was to be considered odd in the first place.
They passed down the stairs, walking through the lobby. Harry, who had earlier been passed the teddy bear, hugged it close to him. As silly as it was, he derived comfort from the inanimate toy, and wondered at why he felt so anxious. The vulnerability of child really wasn't surpassed, it seemed, and Harry found himself wishing they were already outside and done with it. Before they could completely cross the middle of the lobby and elderly couple blocked their way. It took Harry a moment to realize that it was the same aged woman who had offered him candy.
"Oh! Excusez-moi! Êtes-vous les parents d'Harry?" The woman asked kindly.
Harry smiled up at her, ready to tell her that they were, until Melisande put a restraining hand on his shoulder. He froze and looked up at her. Melisande was staring coldly at the couple, as was Oliver. Harry couldn't figure out why they were acting hostile to this nice woman who had given him candy earlier. 'Why would they..'
It suddenly clicked in Harry's mind.
"Oh! Excuse me! Are you the parents of Harry?" That was what the woman said, right? It was painfully clear. 'How did she know… my name?'
Oliver glanced between the people who blocked their paths and tried to come up with a plan without endangering the tourists inside the hotel. The question was whether they could make a run for it now, or try talking to them. Perhaps an aging potion took care of their disguises, or a simple glamour spell. Regardless of this fact, both Oliver and Melisande knew they had to get out now.
"If you will excuse us," Oliver countered, dropping all pretenses of French. "we must be going now."
"I'm afraid," the elderly man began, "that we can't allow that."
"Harry? Come here."
Blinking owlishly up at her, Harry found himself shrinking back. The woman was smiling kindly, but Harry was aware that she wasn't who she appeared to be. He clutched his teddy bear closer to his person, and shook his head defiantly.
Melisande narrowed her eyes and pulled Harry beside her, sidestepping the couple. Oliver followed the motion and two were making a brisk walk to the doors. Harry turned to look back but Melisande tugged insistently on his hand.
"Don't turn around Harry." she whispered urgently.
Gulping, Harry nodded, if possible, tightening his hold on the bear.
Just as they started on the steps, there was a loud explosion from behind. The tourists and personnel who were inside screamed and debris was sent flying in all directions. Harry's eyes widened as he took in the destruction. In the middle of the lobby was a gaping hole, and there were several bodies that lay around it. None of them appeared to be the couple that accosted them before so they weren't safe yet.
Regret washed over Harry as he realized that some of the innocent tourists had gotten hurt, and judging by the unmoving bodies, killed.
Oliver pulled out his wand, urging Melisande to do so. He suddenly put his finger to his ear, and he didn't bother keeping his voice down. "There's been a breach. We need help immediately!"
Harry gasped, using all his strength to push Melisande down and knock Oliver down. It was just in time, because the smoke created by the explosion shielded the spells that were heading their way. The only reason Harry had a chance to see it coming was because he immediately saw the boots that were definitely deatheater ones. Only managing to send Harry a thanking expression, Oliver heaved himself up and erected a magical shield.
"Come on! We have to get out of here!"
There were the sounds of cracking as the shield was impacted with numerous spells. Harry wished he had his wand with him so he could return the favor be remembered that it was his duty to keep the carrier safe. The three wasted no time in hurrying out, the sound of the shield dispelling urging them to go faster.
The roads weren't empty, much to their disappointment, but they were aware of the Order members standing across the street. The explosion was hard to miss by the muggles, who were slowly gathering. Aurors were already apparating in, sending the wizards and witches out to modify memories. Everything was chaos.
Clasping the hands of each other, Oliver led the way between the cars that were stopped in traffic. The windshield of car next to them shattered loudly, the bits of glass shooting at the three. Neither of them had time to duck, but Melisande proved to be faster and quickly banished the sharp projectile away.
"Reducto!" Someone yelled from the hotel.
Yet another car was smashed by the curse, but the three were making fast progress. The order members, by this time, had finally decided to return fire. They couldn't get a better target earlier on because Oliver, Melisande, and Harry were in the way. Not to mention the traffic in the street. However, with some quick wand work by the aurors, the traffic was thinning, save for a few cars speeding by.
"Accio teddy bear!"
Harry cried out when the bear was suddenly ripped from his arms and he quickly let go of Melisande's hand in an effort to retrieve it.
"No!" Harry cried, reaching his hands up.
The bear stopped in mid-flight, just out of reach from Harry.
The couple appeared in the entrance, no longer looking elderly. The faces were unknown, but being dressed in deatheater attire, hoods down, didn't matter to any of the Order members or aurors who arrived on the scene.
"What's going on?" the woman shrieked, pointing her wand directly at the bear.
Harry realized that it must be his accidental magic kicking in, and tried concentrating on the bear. With slowness only achieved in a game of 'tug-of-war', the bear slowly inched downwards into Harry's grasp.
"What are you doing? Help me!" The woman shrieked at her partner.
The man raised his wand but was forcefully thrown back when Oliver fired a jinx. Aurors were quickly heading in her direction. She grimaced but held up her wand, firing red sparks into the air. It quickly became apparent that it was a signal of sorts because six other deatheaters apparated into the scene.
Harry, who was busy focusing on the teddy bear, didn't see the arrival of deatheaters.
Just as the bear rested in his hands, he was thrown back by a curse. He groaned, wincing at the numbing pain spreading through his body. The Order members who were present saw this and immediately reacted. Four of the six deatheaters that appeared were brought down before they could even raise their wands.
Remus, who was one of the Order members that arrived when help was called, charged forward towards Harry's prone body. He nearly cried with relief when he saw that the box was merely dazed, although his back would definitely be bruised. It was almost mocking that the teddy bear retained its impeccable white color.
"Come on Harry!" Remus called gently, half pulling, half carrying Harry up. The boy adamantly declined being carried, and urged Remus that he'd run with him. Biting his lip and knowing that Harry wouldn't be moved, the two immediately stood and started running.
The barrage of spells flying over there heads continued unimpeded. Any muggles present were already unconscious, and even more aurors were setting up barriers and concealment charms so that the commotion remained unnoticed.
The woman, along with another deatheater fell to the stunning curse, but one deatheater was holding his own. He looked exceptionally young, probably one or two years past graduation. His obvious youth and seeming innocence was tainted by the cold expression on his face. He managed to send two exploding curses quite a far distance, creating twin craters to the back of the Order members. With the majority of the aurors suddenly occupied, the boy's eyes zeroed in on Harry's small figure.
He reached into his robes, pulling out a small gun.
Harry stiffened, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. "Remus!" he gasped, reaching out to tug on the man's hand.
The young deatheater took aim, and fired.
--BANG!
Harry cried out, falling forward. Remus, who was half-way in the act of turning around, found his arms full with Harry. Harry's young face was distorted with pain, as his tiny hands grasped his ankle. Remus glanced up, immediately taking in the deatheater's position. With a roaring yell, Remus snapped out a curse.
"Diffindo!"
The deatheater screamed in agony when a horizontal slash appeared across his chest, easily cutting through his robes.
Remus wasted no time in carrying Harry back to the safety of the shield that the Order erected. Harry blearily looked up into Remus' concerned face, and tried telling him that the bullet barely grazed him. Remus merely shook his head, and Harry realized he couldn't hear anything. His eyelids suddenly drooped, and Harry knew no more.
"WHAT HAPPENED!!?" Sirius yelled, taking in the aurors and Order members that were occupying several beds in the infirmary. One particular patient was what riveted Sirius to the spot. Harry.
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips at Sirius' loud voice but let it slide. "Nothing serious… Sirius." she looked confused for a moment before shaking her head. "Harry only fainted from the shock. A normal reaction I assure you."
Sirius nodded, dully taking in what the nurse said. He slowly approached Harry's bedside, and brushed his bangs away from his forehead. "Alright there, Harry?" Sirius called softly, smiling down at Harry's face.
Not expecting a response, Sirius nearly jumped when Harry's eyes cracked open.
"Sirius?" Harry sat up slowly, wincing at his sore back. He suddenly looked around frantically, taking in the other occupants of the infirmary who sent smiles his way. "What happened? Is everyone alright? What about the teddy bear?"
Madam Pomfrey wasted no time in coming to his bedside, putting a soothing hand on his shoulder as she guided him to lie back down. "Everyone's fine Harry. The teddy bear's," her eyes shone with mirth, "safe."
"Oh." was all Harry said. He pushed the blankets off himself, and let his injured ankle dangle on the side. He propped up his other leg so he could rest his head on his knee.
"Harry?" Sirius asked worriedly, wondering at Harry's sudden silence.
To everyone in the Infirmary's surprise, Harry started… crying. Moderately loud, giving him the appearance of a true five year old. Then again, to everyone in the room, Harry was a five year old, thanks to Severus Snape's potion of course. It took all of Madam Pomfrey's medical restraint not to coo over Harry. It was hard not to.
"Why don't you take a nap for awhile, Harry?" she asked kindly, pulling out her wand idly.
"Er… I'm not that sleepy.." Harry began slowly, eying the wand she was holding and sniffling.
"Really?" Madam Pomfrey asked nonchalantly. Before Harry could reply, his eyes immediately fell shut and he was soon snoring softly.
Sirius, who was watching the entire scene play out, gave a dramatic gasp when she using a sleeping charm on Harry.
"Poppy!" he pretended to swoon.
"I'll have enough that Black," she retorted, her smile giving away that she wasn't angry, "I didn't need Mr. Potter fussing over the events. I need to work on my patients first."
Sirius smiled, shrugging lightly. "Your Infirmary."
"How right you are." she said with a grin.
Two hours later, the entire Infirmary was empty, save for the bed that Harry was sleeping in. Just at the moment, though, Harry woke up. He was slightly disoriented, shaking his head to dispel the aftereffects of the sleeping charm. He sat up, again adopting the position he had before Madam Pomfrey had taken the liberty of making him fall asleep.
Sighing, he found himself blushing with embarrassment when he remembered his actions. 'Ugh! I'm such a baby..' Harry sighed again, swinging his leg back and forth unconsciously.
He was brought from his self-deprecating thoughts when people walked in. To be more specific, Albus, McGonagoll, Remus, Sirius, and Snape.
"Harry, my boy, awake already. How are you feeling?"
Harry flushed. "Fine, Headmaster."
"Good, good!" Albus smiled when both Remus and Sirius came to Harry's side. Severus rolled his eyes, but kept his hold secure on a steaming cup that he held in his hands. "Severus has brought the potion that will return you to your natural state."
Harry's eyes widened and then broke into a smile. Severus walked forward, handing Harry the cup, and watched with clinical precision that Harry down the entire contents. Harry didn't have to wait long for the effects to kick in and was grateful for Sirius and Remus' steady hands on his back. The feel of being back to his old self was a reassuring feeling.
Albus smiled, clapping his hands together. "The mission went accordingly, everyone. Now," his eyes twinkled, "who's ready for the next one?"
A/N: Finally! I'm done with this story! XD Just another addition to my Mission series, although I'll still have to complete that 'Olla, Spain! one.. --.. I'm trying to tie up the loose ends with my stories here. Ah well, I enjoyed this story while it lasted. These little stories for my mission series are enjoyable! They definitely give me a release from all the grueling plots and long chapters. Yes, my chapters are usually short or not up to par when it comes to my stories in mission series.
Although Marhabah, Egypt! was definitely a lengthy piece. I definitely had fun writing that one. I suggest you should all check that one out! XD Well, let me know what you think of this story in a review!