Chapter 32
Things moved along for a few weeks. Students found themselves fascinated by either the magic or the technology they were now being exposed to.
Quite a few of those raised by staunch pureblood families felt more than a bit of fear as they looked out of the classroom windows at the Vauxhall Bridge, visible from the new building.
Having only been exposed to Diagon Alley and other magical areas, they had never seen so many people moving in one place. And that didn't even begin to take into account the vehicles, especially during rush hour.
Harry was suitably distracted by the girls, Fleur or his latest project, a magical MALP. The girls were a bit jealous of Gemma, Fleur and Harry as they were no longer in school. It was also clear that Fleur and Harry had been getting a fair bit more passionate and they wanted that too.
It was on Halloween that Harry's luck struck again. It was just after classes had finished when the castle went into high alert. Suits of armour stepped off their plinths and began herding the students and teachers to the Great Hall. From the Great Hall they were all sent to Vauxhall through a portal.
Down in the Chamber of Secrets Harry stood with the senior teachers, Tonks, Fleur and Jack O'Neill.
Poppy Pomphrey was working hard on Terrence Higgs who had a large hole in the right side of his chest. That wasn't the worst part. Two male members of the Pottery Club were nearby, dead on the floor. Several suits of armour were strewn about; twisted and melted.
But it was Terry's report, given through haggard and pain filled breaths that held the worst of the news.
"He-mione, L-sa, gone… t- AH! Taken."
"Terry, let me see what you saw." Harry said gently as he knelt down on his left side, Poppy still working furiously.
Terry just opened his eyes wide and stared at Harry.
"Poppy, what do you need?" Albus asked calmly. "Fawkes can-"
"Fawkes can't repair this much damage." She snapped, she was upset by what had happened. Children killed or kidnapped. "His right lung is gone! His rib cage with it. These are not the type of injuries I am used to. Give me curses and severed limbs and I can fix you. A blasting curse to the chest will kill you. Higgs should be dead!"
"I- I- I have an idea." Aurora offered. She, like the others was scared and shocked. She was standing very close to Jack who put a comforting arm around her. "On Atlantis, there are special chambers that will put him in stasis, like petrification."
"Wait!" Jack pushed her away slightly and held her by the shoulders. "What about Harry's snake? You said it could do that."
"The problem would be reviving him." Albus frowned. "In his current state we would not be able to administer the potion to do that."
"The chambers don't need that. You put him in and push a button. You want him awake? Push the button again." Aurora explained, her eyes locked on Jack's.
"Can Ember take us straight to them?"
"She can." Harry startled them as he joined the conversation. The little phoenix (who was now fully grown) appeared on Harry's shoulder. She then vanished in flame, taking Harry, Poppy and Terry with her.
Harry returned with Ember a minute later. He turned straight to Jack.
"Tell me Colonel, are you beginning to see the consequences of a unilateral action by your government?" He asked stonily as he pointed to the dead man in the corner wearing grey metal armour.
"I respectfully request permission to track down and return the kidnapped students." Jack stood at attention.
"If I need to find them I'll just have Ember take me to Hermione." Harry shook his head.
"Harry, you know you can't leave Britain." Albus reasoned.
"In a response to an act of war I can. I won't be going in alone and I won't lead. Colonel O'Neill will lead my men in this instance."
"I would be honoured sir." Jack responded, still at attention. "With respect though, I was hoping I could assemble my original team. They are familiar with my methods and orders. I also believe they would wish to rectify the mistake we made."
Harry stared at him for a few seconds. "Fil, take the Colonel to Lieutenant Macdonald. Have the Lieutenant aid the Colonel in contacting and retrieving his men and then they can join the rest of the Black Watch on my ship."
"Sir, did Mister Higgs see where they went?" O'Neill enquired.
"Lord Higgs, was unable to get an eyeline on the control panel." Harry said firmly. Terrence Higgs had earned this honour. Harry had originally intended to knight his old school mate for his work in the Pottery Club. A knighthood felt like an insult now.
Harry moved over to the circular dialling device for the stargate. He pressed the large red button three times causing seven of the symbols to light up. "The Alterans found that it was useful to have a 'redial' feature, if you will."
Harry stood on his ship with the members of O'Neill's team and the Black Watch, a single platoon of around thirty men and their commanding officer, Lieutenant David Macdonald.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a rescue mission. Several young school girls were taken from my castle today by enemy invaders. We are going to get them back. We will only engage the enemy if they stand in our way. Preferably we want to get in and out without raising alarms.
"However, once we have the girls back home, safe and sound… we shall return to where they were held… and we will destroy them."
He was rewarded by some blood thirsty grins.
"At this moment in time, Lieutenant Colonel Danson is organising a battle group that will join us on site. We will show these bastards the truth of what they have done.
"Lieutenant Macdonald is your CO for this op. But Colonel O'Neill will be leading. He and his men have faced this enemy and can help prepare you for what to expect. I'll leave you in their care for now."
He nodded to the Colonel and turned away to head to the bridge where Dudley was flying.
"You know we're going in with you." Dudley said darkly, his eyes glued to the view of the planet below. "They took Hermione and Luna."
With the same dark looks, Harry saw Neville, Greg and Vince sitting on the couch in the corner.
Harry had an army, navy and air force at his call. He had technology that was beyond comprehension of most life forms in the galaxy. He had magic in abundance.
But his initial plan centred around one snake.
Granted it was the magical basilisk, the king of snakes, nearing thirty feet in length and capable of crushing a horse with its powerful body.
But Blinky and Ember flamed straight to Hermione Granger, a good friend of theirs and Harry's.
Within seconds everyone in ornate room was stone still thanks to Blinky's ability to petrify. He had worked hard at Harry's insistence to be able to use his deadly gaze and not actually kill.
Ember flashed out and returned quickly with Harry and the boys. In a flash, Neville spotted Hermione and poured the Restorative Potion down her throat. Harry took hold of her and Neville moved on to the other Hogwarts girls. There were many females in the room, all of them were dressed in gauzy silk garments. Even the Hogwarts students.
As soon as Hermione could move she wrapped her arms around Harry tightly, her face buried in his neck. "I knew you'd come."
"These bastards didn't just kidnap my subjects, 'Mione, they kidnapped my friends." Harry told her, his face was set and his eyes promised death. "These other women, are they victims too?"
"I think so. Some of them don't speak anything close to the languages you shared with me."
"Portal's ready boss." Vinnie reported from near a wall where he and Greg had erected one of the frames.
"Dud, take Luna and lead the way." Harry ordered. "Hermione, Lisa, you and the other students try and get the other women through. Neville, Greg and Vinnie, you guard the rear."
"And you, Harry?" Neville asked.
Harry pulled his wand calmly. "I may not be allowed to 'foolishly risk my life in exploration', but nobody will stop me from annihilating a threat to my people."
It was only Ember landing on Harry's shoulder and Blinky curling up around Harry's body protectively that prevented Neville from arguing.
"Just wait for David and the Colonel." Neville instructed, he left no room for arguing.
Harry simply nodded in acceptance. "Of course, Sir Neville. Please work with your fellow knights, Sir Dudley, Sir Vincent and Sir Gregory to ensure the victims safety. I entrust you with the welfare of the realm."
Neville remained stoic, but his cheeks reddened slightly. He bowed low. "Of course, My Liege." He then turned and followed Greg and Vinny through the door.
Seconds later the soldiers of the Black Watch stormed through the portal and secured the room. They were followed by O'Neill and his team.
"Colonel, Lieutenant, I want this room secured. Once the Lieutenant Colonel begins his assault, we will begin ours a minute or so later. It's not like they will expect us to already be inside, after all."
"You sure about his, Ha- Sir?" David asked.
"These Goa'uld consider themselves to be 'gods'." Harry sneered. "They have their slaves well and truly cowed, no one but another Goa'uld would dare to attack them." He said sarcastically.
David and O'Neill worked together to have the men secure the doors and set up communications equipment and supply crates. Blinky had taken up position, coiled patiently in front of the door. If it opened then whoever was there would be petrified. The four-man fire team assigned to the door did their best to ignore the massive reptile.
Around twenty minutes later the platoon's senior Signaller indicated he had connected with the rest of the company. They were in orbit and ready to descend. Harry gave the order directly to the commanding officer and the assault began.
The sound of gun fire permeated the building, this was instantly followed by screaming and shouting.
"Does anyone know what they are shouting?" Ferretti asked with concern.
"Should have grabbed Daniel." Jack muttered.
"If you can grab someone, I can take the language from their mind." Harry offered.
"Adams, any viable targets?" O'Neill asked his man who was lying on the floor using a fibre-optic scope to watch the activity outside.
"It's a madhouse out there, sir." Adams reported. "The civvies have cleared the corridor but there are a lot of the armoured soldiers running around. I don't advise opening the door unless we are about to join the fight."
"Jefferies, what is the status of the frontal assault?" Harry turned to the signaller.
"A few injuries, no fatalities, sir. These people weren't prepared for an armoured assault. They can't find a place for cover that our heavy artillery can't decimate."
"We'll wait then." Harry decided. "If the tide changes, we'll make our move."
"Colonel, the foot traffic outside is tailing off." Adams reported from the door.
"Blinky, move back and give me clear line to the door." More than a few of the soldiers shuddered at the sound of Harry speaking to the large snake.
"Adams, as soon as you see a viable target, clear the door and get it open. I'll summon the person inside so we can get some better intelligence and maybe the language."
The platoon's staff sergeant immediately ordered two fire-teams to positions flanking Harry to give him back up.
"Get ready." Adams said quickly as he got to his knees and prepared to yank his spying device. The soldier then knocked sharply on the door and rolled to the side as one of the men guarding the door flung it open.
The large man with tanned skin and heavy greyish armour was stunned to see more than thirty men in the room with weapons pointed at him.
He was also stunned when Harry hit him with a stunner and a summoning charm.
"Very nice work, Adams." Harry grinned at the American Air Force soldier.
O'Neill and Kowalski had the man on his back and held down for Harry, the man was then petrified with a spell and enervated. The man's eyes were terrified.
Harry didn't say anything as he stared into those wide eyes. He then stood up. "You can interrogate him now, Colonel. I gave him our language.
Harry turned away from them and approached David. "Lieutenant, who would be the best people to give this language to?"
"Colonel Danson, the Butcher's Bill, if you please?" Harry requested as he marched towards the forward command post. He mentally steeled himself for the horrible news.
"I have three soldiers in critical condition, six with severe injuries and ten removed from the battlefield for treatment, sir." The man turned and saluted.
"No one died?" Harry was shocked.
Danson just grinned. "Plenty died, sir. Just none of ours."
"I think this is the first time His Majesty has been in a major battle and not suffered allied casualties." Lieutenant Macdonald offered his superior.
"Must have been a hell of a battle… sir." The Colonel frowned.
"It was… imagine your men, all untrained, armed only with pistols. They didn't even think to use physical combat." Harry shook his head.
"It was civilian against terrorist, Colonel." Jack spoke up quietly. He had seen the memories courtesy of Severus who felt they needed to understand the situation better when they had first come tumbling through the stargate. "The civilians were fighting to survive and the terrorists were maiming and killing for pleasure."
"You doing ok, Hermione?"
The fifteen-year-old school girl was still a bit shaky, but she gave a firm nod. All the Hogwarts girls were in the hospital wing under Madam Pomphrey's care.
"I'm really sorry." Harry said. "I should have just destroyed that damned thing as soon as we got it."
Hermione wrapped her arms around her friend as she sat in the bed in her pyjamas. "You couldn't. It had to be active so the Americans couldn't use theirs."
"Yeah, but that thing is now lying flat on the ground with a slab of enchanted metal over it." He growled. "Anyone tries to come through will hit the slab and drop back in, they will be instantly killed."
"Make sure you tell the President." She sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"What were you girls doing in the Chamber anyway?" Harry asked curiously.
"We were working on your MALP. We wanted to see use some of the equipment that wasn't in the lab."
He kissed the top of her head. "Thank you. I'm going to clear the Chamber of everything but the stargate. If anything does get through they will be trapped down there."
"What happened to the soldiers? Was there a Goa'uld there?"
"Most of the soldiers were killed. Incidentally, they are called 'Jaffa'."
Hermione giggled. "Like the biscuits?"
Harry just grinned in that mischievous way of his. "I bought shares in McVities and stocked the castle with them."
She whacked him playfully on the arm before her smile dropped. "Goa'uld?"
"Apophis."
"Ra's brother." She breathed.
"Whiny little pissant."
"Language!"
She suddenly looked very small and scared. "Harry… how many people died trying to save us?"
"Zero."
She looked at him in shock.
"We had some major injuries and a few are critical, but… the British Army is a well oiled machine."
"Tell them… thank you?"
"Absolutely."
Harry met with each of the girls personally. It went pretty much the same, some of them would need to be watched as David and Jack agreed they were showing signs of PTSD.
The other women that were rescued were scared. They were in a completely foreign place where very few people understood them.
Harry requested a special team that consisted of 'Grandfather Albus' and Nicholas and Perenelle, who were the most experienced with slaves and the like.
At the moment, the platoon was building a foreign base back on the planet they had come from. Jack had been opposed to the occupation, specifically a unilateral one by a non-American nation, but Harry had refused to leave the power vacuum there where another Goa'uld could turn up and start over.
The planet's stargate was dismantled and Harry tested the address to make sure it didn't have a second one. The only way off the planet was through one of Harry's portals or spaceships.
The portals currently let out into the Chamber of Secrets.
Harry was making use of the portal at that very moment to travel to the prison he had commissioned. Azkaban had been emptied, the Dementors were now the only residents and seemed quite content.
Harry stepped out to a view of deep space. The galaxy was filled with unused real estate and he had decided that he would no longer clutter his country with the monsters and criminals that society wouldn't let him kill. So he built a new prison on the dark side of the moon. The portal was locked to the one in the Chamber of Secrets, if anyone tried to break out they would be trapped in there until Harry could deal with them.
Harry wasn't alone for this particular interrogation, he brought a friend.
"Apophis, meet Jack. He killed your big brother, Ra." Harry said cheerily as he sat opposite the wannabe god.
The alien's eyes glowed with a light and he spoke in a deep unnatural voice. "Release me and I will make your death quick."
"Been there, done that, I would have bought the t-shirt… but they didn't have them in my size." Harry shrugged.
"For this I will ensure you live forever, my own personal toy to torment." Apophis smirked.
Harry turned to Jack. "Well… at least I won't be bored."
"You doubt my power?" The alien scoffed.
"One of us is a prisoner. The other is not." Harry smirked as he raises his free hands.
Apophis was chained to the table and chair with shackles made of the same material that goblins used on their dragons. But his mouth was still free.
Jack didn't have time to react as Apophis opened his mouth wide and a large alien worm shot out and straight at Harry's face.
He barely registered Harry's hand flick up and catch it mid flight. By the time Jack realised what had happened, his own body had instinctively reacted and he had his only weapon in hand, his combat knife.
"Jack, meet Apophis." Harry grinned.
The Colonel looked in shock between the slimy work and the unconscious humanoid… he had no idea what to do.
*clink*
"Do you recognise this?" Harry asked the large man on the opposite side of the table as he gestured to the glass container filled with liquid and worm.
"It is a Goa'uld. A mature one." The man said with a frown and a deep voice of confusion. "You should be careful. If it enters your mouth you-"
"Yes, yes. He will try and control me. He already made his attempt. Let me make formal introductions… Mister Teal'c, meet Mister Apophis." Harry grinned.
Jack and Harry were a bit confused as Teal'c seemed… disappointed. They had expected him to be happy for his new freedom, angry for treating his god like this or belligerent in denial that this worm was his god.
"You killed the host."
"The host is fine." Harry assured him. "This little git left him voluntarily. Besides, I can remove the bloody little parasite without harming the host."
Teal'c looked at them curiously. "I had heard tales that there were planets and people with the ability. The false gods were quick to squash them as heretical rumours. What planet are we on? Who are your people?"
"This is Earth, we are the Tau'ri, as you would call us."
"Err… Harry-"
"Who is he going to tell?" Harry turned to the worried Jack. "It's not like he knows the coordinates for this planet."
"Still-"
"I have many crimes for which I must pay." Teal'c said solemnly. "If you will not keep me prisoner here, then I will search for those willing to hear the truth about the… 'gods'." He sneered at the Worm in a Jar.
"Our medics say you have one of those in your gut." Jack grimaced. "Is it a threat?"
Teal'c slowly raised the hem of his prison issued t-shirt that he wore under a blue jumpsuit that he had left undone. Carved into the flesh of his stomach was a large 'X', from within a smaller version of Apophis peaked out.
"This is a goa'uld in larval form. It is too young for a host. The Jaffa were created to serve as incubators of the young goa'uld until they were ready for implantation. Your healers were most kind when they allowed me to keep it after I explained that its removal would kill me."
"I'm sure we can figure out something to replace the little devil." Harry said in disgust as he indicated for Teal'c to lower his t-shirt.
"There is a… group, of like minded jaffa." Teal'c admitted cautiously. "They fulfil their roles as jaffa, but they wait for the day when we can over throw the goa'uld and reveal them for the false gods they are."
"Sounds like you have a plan then." Harry said decisively.
Harry and Jack arrived back in the castle and headed straight to Harry's quarters.
"YOU IDIOT!"
"OW!"
Harry was jumping around on one foot whilst holding the shin of the other. Six angry females were glaring at him.
"I am your bodyguard!" Tonks growled. "It is, however, impossible for me to guard your body… IF I'M NOT WITH IT!"
"I was surrounded by more than thirty of Britain's finest!" Harry protested.
"And how many of the universe's scum were surrounding them?" Pansy demanded from where she stood with Gemma, Tracey, Daphne and Fleur.
"I don't know! I was locked in a room hiding from them whilst a couple of hundred more of Britain's finest bombarded the shit out of them!" Harry grumbled as he sat in his chair.
"You were in their line of fire."
Harry frowned at Gemma.
"Neville told us what was happening when he and the others brought the girls home." She frowned back.
*BANG*
"HARRY JAMES POTTER!"
Seeing Amelia and Minerva standing at the door to his rooms looking murderous… Harry simply wanted to cry.
Harry stumbled out of his quarters nearly an hour later, his ears ringing.
"We had a deal Potter!"
"Why won't this day end!?" Harry wailed as a pissed off Ragnok came storming up.
"We gave you the banking rights and we had the rights to fight our combined enemies."
"I'm sorry! Ok?" Harry snapped. "My friends were taken and I just reacted. I'll have someone set up a system where you automatically get notified if I encounter fighting."
"If this happens again-"
"Dobby!"
"Master King Harry Potter Sir calls Dobby?" Harry was certain that Tracey was the one coaching the little elf on long and un-wieldy titles for him.
"Can you get me the long box on my desk?"
Dobby vanished and then returned with a foot-long thin wooden box.
"Thanks, Dobs."
The elf vanished.
"Here." He thrust the box lengthways to Ragnok. "I haven't forgotten our arrangement, I've even been working on weapons for you."
Ragnok looked at the box eagerly… he never noticed Harry had left.
It was a short sword, made in the style of Gryffindor's sword, but scaled down for a goblin. But it wasn't just a sword… Ragnok could feel his magic flowing easily through the blade.
Harry had given him a focus, a wand. Ragnok frowned. Why would the boy give him a powerful- ah… right, Britain's magic couldn't hurt the brat.
Still, the thought was nice.
"What you did was very noble, Harry. But more importantly, it is simply a part of your nature."
"And yet, I still get told off for trying to do the right thing." Harry grumbled to Filius as they sat in his honorary uncle's rooms and sipped butterbeer and firewhiskey, respectively.
"You need to consider things from their perspectives." Seeing Harry about to protest he held his hand up. "I'm not saying they are right to berate you in such a manner, especially for these types of action, but you have to realise that they do not understand. They have no frame of reference."
"Gemma was nearly claimed as a sex toy by Flint. Tracey, Pansy and Gemma were used by their fathers to seduce me. Daphne was kidnapped and is technically a slave." Harry retorted.
"Incidents that happened several years ago and which you yourself have ensured had no impact on their lives. To be honest, it would appear that they are using their circumstance to their benefit." Filius futilely tried to hide his smirk behind his goblet.
"Watch it Uncle Fil. I'll start attending all of your classes. First to seventh years."
Filius actually paled a bit. The thought of what his rapscallion of a nephew could do in his lessons was not something he wanted to contemplate.
They sat in silence for a few moments, sipping their drinks.
"I can't tell them to stop. I can't tell them off." Harry said in a quiet and forlorn manner. "I swore I'd never treat them like slaves or possessions-"
Filius stood up silently, his wand in hand as his nephew finally succumbed to the sleeping pills he had spiked his drink with. Magic and potions didn't work on the King, it took a lot of non-magical drugs to have an effect. Filius knew his little Harry needed a break. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders… the weight of the universe even.
He levitated the sleeping king to his own bedroom, Harry would sleep soundly tonight without distraction. Filius needed to have a talk with a few people.
Harry was moved to his own bed. Dobby and Ember had helped Filius move him so that he didn't wake up and get worried. The girls and Fleur spent a lot of time talking about the lecture that Filius had given when he laid into them and a people like Tonks and Amelia.
They had never realised that Harry's position as their 'master' was causing him so much conflict. They hadn't realised just how much Harry had to censor his wording around them to prevent himself from inadvertently giving them orders.
"Potter doesn't realise that, although Miss Greengrass and myself are bound to his will, our opinions and personalities are not." Severus explained. The girls had asked him to come and help them figure things out as he was in a similar position. Yoshiko had tagged along.
"Sev loves to moan and complain about Harry-kun." Yoshiko grinned. "But then I just strip and remind him that he's the reason we're married."
The girls giggled as Severus blushed in mortification. "Can we please stay on topic and away from our personal life?" He begged his wife.
Yoshiko ignored him and addressed the girls. "The best way to deal with this situation is to say that Harry is the slave and you are his mistresses. Treat him like he treated you. He gave you complete freedom. He encouraged you to follow your dreams. He defended you with his very life."
"Harry's dreams come with the risk of a painful death." Pansy scowled.
"And what would Potter do if you had a dream like that? Elephants are known to stampede after all. Would he forbid you from being around them?" Severus asked.
"He'd build Pansy a suit of armour and probably a way of communicating with elephants just so she could be happy." Daphne sighed.
"So we need to find a way to make Harry's dream less of a risk to his health." Gemma said thoughtfully.
