I apologize for the delay. There seemed to be something of a communication block between my editor and I. Everything I said to her went in one ear and out the other. And now, a message from the editor:

"I'm really sorry to all you fans out there who had to wait so long for this chapter! I've been so busy lately that I couldn't get to it right away and then I forgot about it! Just so you know Lea had this ready for me a few days after she put up the first chapter, it's my fault this wasn't up a while ago. Once again I'm really sorry but next time I'll make sure to get to it sooner and have it ready right away.

Juliette Fox"

I would also like to take the time to remind you all that this story is based off a picture drawn by Lizeth. I highly recommend you check her out.

H.A.D.
By Lea Cat
10/3/08

Artemis was rearing to go at sunrise. He paced the fancy hotel room he and Butler occupied restlessly. He took care to be silent as he paced; ever since Holly had pulled Butler from death, the mountain of a man had had more trouble with movement. He sorely needed the extra bit of sleep Artemis was providing him with.

At ten sharp, Artemis had his first cup of tea. It was how he started every morning and the clink of china sent wake up signals to Butler's brain. "Good morning, Butler," Artemis greeted his bodyguard and friend calmly, showing none of the anxious anticipation he was harboring. "We'll be leaving shortly after breakfast."

Butler only grunted in response, getting up to cook and serve breakfast. It wasn't as if Artemis would do it.

"Let's go out to eat," Artemis suggested before Butler could pull out the necessary tools. "Perhaps we could go somewhere casual. I don't feel like being refined today." Butler gave him a searching look. What exactly was Artemis's idea of being unrefined?

Butler soon found out at a diner down the street. It served burgers. The large man stared down at his large sandwich and couldn't help but ask "This is your idea of unrefined?" The restaurant still had waiters and the place was immaculately clean.

"They serve hamburgers," Artemis replied, as if the answer was supposed to be obvious. Butler sighed but didn't try to argue. Artemis was far too sophisticated to understand how low class 'unrefined' was supposed to be.

Darren stretched languidly on his bed as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do that day. Mr. Crepsley had given him a lecture upon his return to the hotel and then grudgingly allowed him to do as he pleased after finding out that Darren had fed on his own. To Darren, that meant sleep.

Because he took the time to mingle with humans during the day, and took lessons with Mr. Crepsley at night, he didn't get much sleep. So he slept whenever he got the chance.

He was just about to roll over and go back to sleep when he remembered Artemis.

Darren flung himself off the bed hastily, grabbing a pair of jeans and a tee shirt which he hastily tugged on. He just knew Artemis was going to confront the other boy of destiny today. He could feel it.

Artemis was special in a different way. He was going to change everything. The other boy would change things too. If they worked together…

Darren was very, very excited. He just had to be there. He wanted to help them create change. He wanted to make sure the change wasn't bad.

Today he had a date with destiny and he wasn't going to miss it for the world.

Something was going to happen today.

The air sang of it and Harry could barely keep focused on his work with all the excitement floating about. He vaguely wondered where it came from. He wasn't excited and neither were the Dursleys.

"Boy, take care of the garden!" Petunia shrieked at him. Harry almost reflexively ducked but managed to curb the instinct. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon hadn't hit him once yet this summer and all of Harry's senses were on the alert.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," he said, trying to hide the growing anger he could feel building up inside of him. Why should he have to suffer through this? Why him? He opened the front door and stepped into the rather humid outdoors.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, he allowed his thoughts to wander. When they wandered straight to Sirius something snapped, and Harry growled and sat down where he stood.

"I am sick of this," he snarled, putting his head in his hands. "I am sick of not knowing, I am sick of Dumbledore telling what I can and can't do and, most of all, I am SICK of my LIFE!" His head jerked up when he sensed the presence of another before him and stared blankly when he recognized the mature stranger from the day before.

"Pray tell, what exactly are you sick of?"

"—most of all, I am SICK of my LIFE!"

Artemis stared at the angry boy for a moment before warily approaching. He watched as the boy reacted to his presence with a speed that came from experience. "Pray tell, what exactly are you sick of?" He asked curiously.

The other rolled bright emerald green eyes. "Everything," he sighed. "I'm sick of everything."

"But why," Artemis prodded him, "What would make you so sick of everything?"

"I," Artemis watched in satisfaction as the other began to think. "I guess I want control over my own life."

"And you think you don't have it now," Artemis commented dryly. He held his hand out. "My name is Artemis Fowl."

"I'm Harry Potter," the other replied, grabbing his hand and shaking it. Harry seemed to wait for a moment to see his reaction before sighing in relief. "You're a muggle then."

Artemis couldn't resist raising an eyebrow. "Muggle?" he asked, the term unfamiliar to him. That almost never happened. It made him curious.

"Yeah," Harry said. "You don't have magic, so you're a muggle." He blinked before realizing he had just broken a Wizarding law. For some reason though, it felt right to tell Artemis about magic.

Artemis seated himself next to Harry, keeping eye contact the entire time. "How intriguing," he said. "Tell me more."

Harry gave him a strange, searching look before spilling everything.

Darren almost fell off the roof.

He was surprised that Harry and Artemis hadn't noticed him. It wasn't like he was trying to hide. He was also surprised that Harry was spilling his life's story to a complete and total stranger. Perhaps he felt their connection too.

As he listened to Harry's story of wizards and witches and a dark lord, he sorted his head out. Harry's story was outlandish, ridiculous, and sounded like something out of a children's book.

It also made a lot of sense.

Darren began to sympathize with Harry. To be thrust into such a large role at such a young age… Darren wanted to help Harry. He had the feeling he was supposed to. He wasn't sure what Artemis would do. Artemis seemed like the cold, calculating type, who wouldn't do anything to help anyone without payment.

So when Artemis said he had a proposal for Harry, Darren was shocked. This time he actually fell off the roof.

Harry yelped loudly when something heavy landed on him. He was so startled by Artemis's offer that he was completely unprepared for anything else to happen. Artemis didn't seem startled at all.

"Hello Darren, I was expecting you. I must say, you have the most interesting ways of making yourself known." Artemis tilted his head slightly at whoever was on top of Harry.

'Darren' scrambled off Harry hastily and Harry looked to find it was the other boy from the day before. "You and Harry aren't doing anything without me," Darren protested.

"I never said we were going to do anything without you," Artemis shrugged. "I simply said that I had a proposal."

Darren seemed put out for a moment before turning to Harry. "Uh, sorry I fell on you."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck agitatedly. "It's okay…I think. So Artemis, what was that about a proposal?"

Artemis's smile was smug and predatory, causing both Harry and Darren to shiver. "I believe you have skills that can help me. And I get the feeling you are more than what you seem," That last bit was aimed at Darren.

Darren blinked innocently, which might have fooled anyone other than Artemis. "More than what I seem?" he asked, amused. "You are strange. Alright, let's hear your idea."

"Wait, wait, wait," Harry held his hands out in the universal sign for time out. "You say you need my skills, but I can't use any of them because the Ministry has age restriction charms on my wand." Then something occurred to him. "Hey, what happened to whoever it is that was watching me?" The Order would never allow him to tell a muggle about wizards, let alone letting muggles walk up to him at all.

Artemis waved a hand. "Do you mean the man that was invisible? Butler took care of him."

"So that's why Butler isn't here," Darren mused.

"Nevertheless," Artemis continued. "Don't worry about your wand. I'll take care of it. We shouldn't speak of this here. If we could meet elsewhere…?"

"What about the coffeehouse?" Darren suggested.

"There's a neglected mansion a few blocks away," Harry said, hesitantly biting his lip. "Maybe we could meet there."

"Excellent idea, Harry," Artemis said, ignoring Darren. Darren began to sulk. "I trust that you both can find your way there at 7 o'clock tomorrow evening." Artemis stood, brushing imaginary dust off his suit. "Good day, gentlemen."

And without looking back, he left them behind.

Darren sputtered for a moment before turning to Harry. "Ah, I'm sorry, I never really introduced myself. I'm Darren Shan. You're Harry Potter." He held his hand out and Harry shook it with a dazed look on his face.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm Harry."

"So, about that mansion," Darren drawled, glancing about, "Which way is it?"

Harry silently pointed west. Darren briefly looked in that direction before glancing back at Harry. "Do you think he's serious?" Harry asked Darren nervously.

"Yeah, I think he's serious. Artemis doesn't really seem to have a sense of humor. Don't worry though; I think he's actually a nice guy under all that icy aloofness." Darren blinked when Harry chuckled.

And then Harry just had to ask "How did you get on top of the roof?"

Darren hurriedly stammered out something about trees and climbing before running off. He really didn't feel like telling Harry that he was a half vampire. Even with Harry being a wizard, he didn't know how the other boy would take it.

Harry found himself anxious by the time it was six. He couldn't eat any of the food the Dursleys allowed him to eat. Which was saying something, seeing as he hadn't had lunch.

He muttered an excuse before leaving the house at a quarter to seven. As he slowly walked to the mansion, he wondered what he should do about his tail. Obviously, he couldn't just lead them to the meeting place. He mused over several options as he began to approach the old mansion.

In the end, his problem was once again solved by Artemis. There was a thud as his tail was knocked out. "Hello, Harry. I suppose you haven't met Butler yet." Harry eyed the large man and wondered if he was related to Hagrid.

When Butler did nothing more than nod at him, he relaxed slightly. Artemis motioned for Harry to walk with him the rest of the way and Harry paced himself so that he walked beside the other. He waited until there were almost at the mansion before springing his question. "So, you said you could do something about my wand." He reminded Artemis.

Artemis smirked at him. "I did say that, did I not? Give me your wand."

"How do I know you'll give it back?" Harry asked suspiciously. Even so, he fingered his wand, ready to hand it over.

"How did you know coming here was the right thing?" Artemis countered immediately.

There was a moment of silence before it was broken by laughter. "Well said, Artemis!" Darren applauded high up from a nearby tree.

"Are you some sort of cat?" Harry demanded to know. "You're always up in high places!" He absentmindedly handed his wand over to Artemis who instantly began tinkering with it.

"I am more closely related to wolves," Darren told him very seriously. Harry wasn't sure whether he was joking or not.

"Here you are," Artemis handed Harry's wand back to him. "Cast a spell for me."

Harry hesitated. If he used magic and the Ministry found out, he'd be expelled for certain. He'd already used up his one warning. What if Artemis was really a Death Eater in disguise? What if his plan was to get Harry away from Hogwarts so that he was more vulnerable to attacks from Voldemort? What if—

"You're being overly paranoid," Darren's voice interrupted his train of thought. "Just wave the bloody wand. Since Artemis wants our help, I doubt he'd get you in trouble."

Harry took a deep breath and said "Lumos." When his wand lit up and nothing else happened, he let out a sigh of relief. He looked at Artemis curiously. "How did you remove the tracking spell?"

"After you so kindly informed me about the existence of a Wizarding society, it was child's play to find more information on it. I took the liberty of making an expedition into Diagon Ally and did a bit of investigating on the Ministry tracking spells and wands. I found that the Ministry tracking spells are cast on the wands after they are completed and the only way to remove them is for the wand to either be destroyed or for the user of the wand to actually be of age. Since the spell was cast after the wand is finished, I concluded that if I dismantled the wand and put it back together, the spell would classify it as 'destroyed' and would dissipate, leaving you with a functioning wand with no restrictions on its usage." Artemis smirked at the blank looks on Darren and Harry's faces.

Darren recovered first. "Could you, I dunno, rephrase that so that's its one sentence or shorter?"

Harry's silence on the other hand was because he was attempting to actually break down and absorb the speech. "So, in other words, all you really needed to do was take the wand apart. Doesn't the Ministry note that sort of stuff though?"

"Apparently not," Artemis shrugged. "I checked the records and noted that the Ministry doesn't keep track of stolen or destroyed wands. The only time they are alerted is if an underage spell is used."

"Wow, you really think things through." Darren muttered mostly to himself but loud enough for the others to hear as well.

"Could you come down from there?" Harry asked. "My neck is beginning to ache."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Darren hopped down from the tree and Harry flinched. He should have at least been a little injured in a fall that high, Harry thought. Artemis was correct in concluding that there was more to Darren than the joker face he put up. A glance at the genius in the group revealed that he had also noticed Darren's stunt.

To his surprise, Artemis completely disregarded Darren and focused his attention on Harry. "Harry, I want you to swear a wizard's oath that you will not reveal any part of my proposal." Artemis said.

"What about Darren?" he asked, his mind running over the reasons why Artemis might want him to swear an oath. Wizard oaths were serious things, he couldn't just use one any time he pleased.

"He already swore a different type of oath to me." Artemis lied. Darren gave him a funny look but one glance from Artemis had him nodding in agreement. Harry was so deep in his thoughts, he didn't even notice.

Harry dwelled on it for a moment before deciding that it couldn't really be that bad. "I swear on my magic that I will not reveal any part of your proposal." He swore, holding his wand up. His magic flared briefly in acknowledgement of the oath.

Artemis's smirk became an all out predatory grin and Harry suddenly felt as if he had made a deal with the devil.