Chapter 4: No Good Deed
"So he opened up to you," Xavier stated as Logan entered his office.
"Yeah," Wolverine replied, "after swearing me to secrecy."
"There must be something you intend on sharing with me or you wouldn't be here," Charles observed as Logan took a seat across from him.
"The kids had a shitty life and he's afraid it'll follow him here," he explained, "I can't give you the details, but from what I learned there is some basis for him to worry if he's found here."
"If they come, whoever they are, how much of a threat do they pose," the Professor asked, "could we repel them with our current defenses?"
"Depends on where they arrived," Logan replied, "they can teleport pretty much anywhere, project shields to protect themselves, read and control minds, contort their surroundings at will, fire energy projectiles…"
"Contort their surroundings, could you be more specific," Charles requested.
"Taking your desk for example, they could turn it into a living, breathing bear and direct it to tear your arms off, move it into the path of an incoming attack, or have it run around their feet like an exited puppy," Logan explained.
"That's an impressive list of abilities," Xavier commented. "Did Mr. Potter tell you how we could determine which of these potential attackers had what powers," the man asked hoping to draw out every bit of information he could.
"Yeah," Logan answered unhappily, "assume any attacker could have all of them."
Charles frowned in thought before his brilliant mind made some connections, "the second mutant gene Mr. Potter carries; it must grant the same abilities to all who carry it as opposed to the X-gene's many varied powers."
"And they've had thousands of years to figure out how best to use it," Logan added without thinking.
"Thousands of years and they remain undiscovered," Xavier observed, "Considering their impressive list of abilities, I suppose that it makes sense should they not wish to be discovered they could avoid it."
The man lost himself contemplating the many different avenues of thought this revelation had triggered only to come to a sudden stop, "Why hasn't Harry demonstrated any of these abilities himself," he asked, "he should have easily been able to free himself, at the least, from his captivity."
"He's untrained, and we're at the limit of what I can tell you about that," Logan warned.
Disappointed but not surprised, he returned his line of thinking to the defense of his own untrained children, "Did he tell you of any weaknesses we might use to our advantage?"
Logan groaned he was walking a tightrope with his promise as it was, coming up with an explanation for wands without breaking it was beyond him, "he did, but I can't think of a way to explain it without breaking my promise."
"I shall have to ask Mr. Potter directly," Charles said seriously, "the safety of the students at this school is paramount."
Harry arrived in the office a moment later, "you wanted to see me Professor?"
"Yes," Xavier answered, "Logan and I were trying to figure out how to defend the school should those who wish to harm you discover your presence, but we are at an impasse as he is unable to answer some pertinent questions without breaking his promise to you. I'm afraid that with the security of my students on the line I'm going to have to insist on some kind of answer."
Harry turned to his grandfather, "you knew this would happen," he accused before muttering something about Charles being too much like a headmaster.
Logan held the young wizards gaze, but didn't deny it. While he hadn't counted on it, Charles was too smart by half and he wasn't surprised the man had backed him into a corner so easily.
Harry turned to Xavier, "I sort of figured this might happen when I told Logan," he explained, "the only loophole I can find is if I don't tell you," he admitted reluctantly.
Charles nodded, understanding what Harry was asking of him. Slipping into Harry's mind he watching as the young man's memories unfolded before him, paying particular attention to the ones the Harry's subconscious considered important. The trio sat in silence for nearly half an hour as Charles learned exactly who Harry Potter was and where he came from.
"Thank you Mr. Potter," Charles began withdrawing from the young wizard's mind, "given the trust you've shown in me, I would like to return the favor by teaching you to protect your mind from even the most powerful of mental intrusions." Harry nodded and without a word left the room.
Wolverine made to follow only to be stopped, "He had considered this as a possibility, but he still considers what I did an invasion of his mind. He feels like things are spiraling out of his control. The best thing we can do to help him is to show him that he can trust us and do everything in our power to protect the school from a magical attack."
Logan grudgingly agreed, abandoning the thought of tracking down his grandson right then. "You should be proud of him," Xavier stated, "Some of the things he's faced I'd hesitate to send the entire team against, and he's done it with nothing more than courage and determination." The subject of Harry's past still being taboo, the pair moved on to figuring out how to defend the school should wizards attack. An hour later, they had a tentative plan offering additional protections for the school in place.
"Before you go, Logan, I would like you to inform Mr. Potter that we believe we have located the Grangers," Charles stated.
A look of disappointment briefly flashed across Wolverine's face, "I'll tell him."
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Harry sat alone in his and Piotr's room, a cordless phone in one hand and sheet of paper with the Granger's home and work phone numbers in the other. He'd been sitting there, his ticket home in his hands, for several minutes simultaneously working up the nerve to call, trying to decide how much to tell them about his disappearance and whereabouts, and whether he'd rather talk to her mother or father.
Not really coming to any sort of decision, he nevertheless turned the phone on and dialed. Two rings later a female voice said, "Granger residence."
"Um, hello, is this Hermione's mum," Harry asked, "This is Harry Potter, her friend from school."
"Hello Harry," Mrs Granger stated, "you must know Hermione is away at school."
"Yeah, I do," Harry replied, "I got in some trouble this summer and didn't really have anybody else I could contact," he explained hoping the woman noticed his meaning.
"I see," she replied neutrally.
"I was wondering if you might write her and see if she might let some of our friends know how to contact me," Harry pressed.
"I don't see any problem with that," the woman stated, seeming to catch on to what Harry was asking. "Surely you know that she's very busy with school and may not be able to get back to me for a while," she pointed out.
"I understand, ma'am and thank you," Harry offered before giving her the phone number of the school at the last minute remembering that Dumbledore had virtually cut off all of his communication during the summer for fear of owls being intercepted. He didn't believe that Death Eaters were likely to know what a phone number was, let alone be able to track Harry down with one. Thanking the woman again for her help, Harry disconnected the call; all he could do now was wait.
Across the Atlantic, Ophelia Granger hung up her own phone and finished writing a quick letter to her daughter. She was aware that Hermione's friend Harry had gone missing under suspicious circumstances and that now the Wizarding papers were reporting that he was a wanted fugitive. Attaching the letter to the snowy white owl that had come to stay with them early in the summer, the woman went to find her husband to share the latest news.
-~-~-~-~
Deloris Umbridge sat in her office contemplating her next move while the letter Ophelia Granger had written to her daughter crackled in her fireplace having never reached its intended recipient. She had hoped the Muggles had simply made a mistake and Potter had died with his family, or else ended up soulless in some hospital as an unidentified victim of the Dementor's kiss.
That the boy was still alive gave her pause; it was a difficult thing to disappear from the Wizarding world, particularly when they were looking for you. Briefly, she considered that Dumbledore or one of his lackey's had helped the boy disappear, but had the man been involved Potter would surely be in the castle. Besides, she monitored his communications as best as she could in the castle and he seemed to be looking for the brat as well.
There were a few questions before her; should she expend the resources to find Potter or leave him where he was, safely away from the Wizarding world, what to do with the Mudbloods family for interfering, and who to inform that the boy had finally resurfaced. Sadly, since the Potter boy hadn't actually broken any laws, she couldn't just stick the uppity Gryffindor's mother into Azkaban.
A terrible smile spread across the toad-like face of the woman as she had an idea. Throwing some floo powder into her fireplace in order to contact an Obliviator she trusted and set her plan in motion. Once she finished speaking with him, she'd have to get into contact with her dear friend Lucius Malfoy.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Harry's time was consumed with classes, tutoring sessions and extra combat practice in and out of the Danger Room whenever Logan could convince him. It was only as he woke up the following Sunday that he realized it had been over a week since he'd contacted Hermione's mother. He'd expected at least a return call by now knowing that Hermione wrote to and received letters from her parents at least twice a week during the school year.
Unwilling to put it off and ignoring the gnawing feeling in his gut that something was wrong, Harry entered Professor Xavier's office knowing the man would be expecting him.
"I've been wondering about the lack of response as well," the man stated answering Harry's unasked question, "I don't believe that a follow up call would be out of order at this point." The man glanced pointedly at the phone sitting on his desk.
"Now," Harry asked.
"No time like the present Mr. Potter," Xavier replied.
Seeing no reason to delay the inevitable, Harry pulled the paper with the Grangers number from his pocket, picked up the phone and dialed.
"Granger residence," a now familiar female voice answered.
"Hello Mrs. Granger, this is Harry Potter," Harry stated.
The line was silent for several seconds before the woman spoke again, "how can I help you Harry?"
Harry's mouth went dry, "Mrs. Granger, do you recall the conversation we had last week?"
"I'm sorry," the woman asked in confusion.
"Last week, I called you, do you remember?" Harry pressed.
"I'm quite sure I don't know what you're talking about," Mrs. Granger insisted, "Hermione speaks highly of you and I've always wanted to get to know her friends, but we've never had the chance to speak before."
"My mistake," Harry said in defeat before simply hanging up on the woman. "They got to her," he said looking directly into Xavier's eyes.
"Either that or she's being watched or in danger," Charles countered, "come with me."
The Professor led Harry to the elevator to the basement levels of the mansion and then down a hall that had been previously off limits. "Where are we going Professor," Harry questioned, his mind whirling. If they'd gotten to Mrs. Granger, they might have gotten to Hermione. Voldemort might already have taken over the Wizarding world!
"Calm yourself, Harry," the Professor ordered, calling him by his first name for the first time. "We are going to use Cerebro to find out just what's happening."
Professor Xavier led him into a large, domelike room with a bridge leading towards the center at the end of which stood a computer console and a helmet. "I need you to be still and keep calm," the man reiterated as he placed the helmet on his head. The lights in the room darkened and a projection of the world appeared around them. The view of the continents faded to a monochrome image of Ophelia Granger sitting on a sofa reading a book as the Professor directed his attention at the woman with a practiced ease.
A frown lit the face of Charles Xavier as he easily bypassed the rough memory blocks in Dr. Granger's mind; and what he learned greatly angered him. The Grangers had been eating supper when a man had simply popped into their dining room, wand drawn. Before the couple could react, both found themselves locked in place, unable to move and terrified.
The man who'd petrified them pointed his wand first at Mr. Granger hissing "Legilimens." Less than a minute later, he waved his wand in a complex pattern finally flicking it at the man, "Obliviate!" He then turned to Mrs Granger and repeated the process. As he was viewing said woman's memories, he sensed the violent assault on her mind, for that is what it was. Every memory regarding the woman's recent interaction with Harry, with her husband regarding her conversation with the boy, thoughts of any documentation of the event disappeared from her mind, as the man brought them together and bound them from her conscious mind with the Obliviate spell. Before he left, the man left the room and gathered the piece of paper that held the number to the school. He then released the body-bind holding the Granger's in place and disappeared with a muffled crack.
"Harry," Xavier said even as a map of England reappeared within the dome, "please get comfortable as it may take me some time to discover the chain of events that led to this situation."
Harry sat down on the platform to watch, wishing he understood exactly what the Professor was doing. The image of England shifted, zooming in on the west coast. A man appeared; a wizard if the robes he wore were any indication but before Harry could get a good look at him, the map appeared again this time zooming in far to the north. A squat woman vaguely resembling a toad sat eating in the center seat at the head table in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, Dumbledore's seat.
The image quickly changed again, this time to Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table talking to an unseen companion. The image changed once more, flying quickly back to London and the familiar form of Albus Dumbledore who suddenly jumped to his feet, his wand appearing in his hand as he warily looked around.
"Interesting," Professor Xavier commented, startling Harry by breaking the silence, "It seems your Mr. Dumbledore has some impressive mental defenses; I can count the number of people who can detect my presence when I don't want them to on one hand."
"Can you talk to him," Harry asked; here was an avenue for him to get home.
"I am," Xavier answered, "but he's understandably distrustful of a mysterious voice in his head."
Harry wracked his brains for a way to help. The only thing that occurred to him that might convince the headmaster to listen was to tell him something that only he might say, "Tell him I'll get him wool socks for Christmas." The monochrome image of Dumbledore's eyebrows raised slightly, the only sign that an unheard conversation was even taking place.
Several minutes of silence passed before the image faded completely and the lights in the domelike room came up. Professor Xavier removed the helmet and turned to face Harry, who climbed to his feet. "It seems as though much has changed in the last two months that you are not aware of, including that you are a wanted criminal by the Ministry of Magic."
"Why, how," Harry asked in confusion.
"I don't know," the Professor admitted, "Mr. Dumbledore will explain it when he arrives."
"He's coming here," the young wizard questioned uneasily.
"While I trust you Harry, I don't trust any other wizards so we will be meeting him elsewhere," Charles replied.
"We?" Harry stated questioningly.
"I need to be there as I initiated contact with Mr. Dumbledore and I somehow doubt that Logan will be left behind," Charles countered.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
"What's going on Albus," Remus asked as he, Sirius and Mad-Eye observed the aged wizard suddenly jump to his feet ready for a fight. Dumbledore didn't answer immediately, instead slowly calming himself and eventually sheathing his wand. "Albus," Remus called again finally bringing the man back to himself.
"I'm sorry Remus," Dumbledore said slowly, his face a mix of confusion and hope, "I've just had the single most interesting experience of my life." Seeing the looks his three colleagues were giving him, he endeavored to explain, "Though I'm at a loss as to how, I have just been informed of where Harry is."
"What?" Sirius exploded, "where?"
"Sit down Sirius," Mad Eye barked before turning to the silver haired wizard, "explain."
"I felt the subtlest of foreign touches in my mind," Albus began causing Moody's eye to begin rapidly spinning in its socket, ignoring this, the man continued, "when I reacted, the presence was actually surprised it had been detected. It seems Harry has fallen in with quite an extraordinary group. I don't have all the details, but we've agreed to meet in New York City tomorrow morning."
"Sounds like a trap," Moody spat, "a mysterious voice wanting you to meet somewhere where you are at a disadvantage, dangling the one thing that might get you there in front of you."
"I agree, Alastor; however the voice was able to provide some information that convinces me at the very least that he is or has been in contact with Harry," Dumbledore explained.
"I don't like it," Mad Eye pressed.
"Nor do I, old friend, but as you have already said, Harry is the one thing that would get me to agree to such a meeting." Dumbledore concurred, "Remus, Sirius, please be ready to leave in 24 hours. Alastor, I need you to remain and run the Order while we are gone." Left unsaid was that the job would fall to Moody permanently if they didn't return at all.
"Where are you going," Molly Weasley asked entering the room.
"I have some business with the International Confederation of Wizards to attend to;" Dumbledore lied smoothly, "Sirius and Remus will be joining me in trying to drum up some support among the moderate purebloods and werewolves."
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Dumbledore, Sirius, and Remus each palmed their wands in one hand and grabbed hold of an umbrella turned Portkey with the other, unsure of what to expect when they arrived at their destination somewhere in New York City. After an unusually long trip, they arrived in a plain grey room devoid of anything but a bare table and chairs.
While he hadn't known what to expect from their destination, Dumbledore recognized an interrogation room when he saw one. "Albus Dumbledore," an unfamiliar voice said as a man entered the room, "you wouldn't be trying to cross the border of the North American Magical Collective with a wanted convict and a werewolf without telling us, would you?"
Sirius paled, realizing that they had to be smack dab in the middle of a North American ministry building. Raising his wand, he decided at that moment that he'd die before returning to Azkaban. It was only Remus' firm grip on his wrist that prevented the curses from flying right then.
"Hello," Dumbledore said pleasantly, seemingly unfazed by the situation, "It seems as though you have me at the disadvantage; and you are?"
"My name is Paul Copeland, I am the magistrate of the New England region of the North American Magical Collective," the man who'd entered stated, "and I'll be asking the questions."
"I'm sure there is no need," Dumbledore began.
"Listen, the only reason you aren't all in a holding cell is that I'm not entirely sure that my staff can secure you Dumbledore," Copeland interrupted, "Now I would like to keep our conversation pleasant, so if you will please take a seat we can begin."
Reluctantly the British trio took seats across from the magistrate, "Thank you," Copeland added. "Now, Mr. Dumbledore, can you please tell me why you are transporting a wanted fugitive and a werewolf across international borders?"
"Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin are my attendants, and as such are afforded diplomatic immunity," Dumbledore answered sternly. "Our business is to locate Harry Potter, who disappeared early this summer," Dumbledore explained. At this pronouncement, the magistrate made some notes prompting the Mugwump to continue, "Despite the British ministries claim that Mr. Potter is a criminal."
"We are aware that Mr. Potter can't possibly have done anything that the British ministry is claiming as he's been here since late June," Copeland interrupted, "It's a pity that we were forced to point all of this out to the ICW as it painted your ministry a wretched and corrupt entity."
"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed.
"Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin are hereby granted diplomatic immunity," Copeland stated bringing the conversation back in line, "there is the matter of Mr. Lupin's condition, however. Even with said immunity, he still must register and be tagged."
"I'm right here and I'm a man, not an animal," Remus protested, "I'd just as soon return to England as opposed to being forced to wear a collar like a dog!"
"You misunderstand, Mr. Lupin," Copeland began, "While it's true that all those afflicted with Lycanthropy in North America must register and those who refuse are treated as dangerous criminals, we hardly intend to place you in a collar. We will not allow anything like the infamous Fenrir Greyback to exist in our country." Once he was certain that Remus had processed his statement, he continued, "Your tag, should you choose to remain, would be a simple piece of discreet jewelry, it purpose not to announce to the world that you are a werewolf, rather it is for your protection and the protection of anyone near you when you transform."
"How so?" Remus asked, reluctantly agreeing with required registration of werewolves.
"The tag detects any change from human form to wolf and when it senses such a change it acts as a Portkey to the reserve in whichever region you happen to be in," the man explained. "I feel that I must inform you that the reserves are not policed during the full moon. Further, the burden of medical treatment and transportation to your previous location following a transformation falls on the infected persons shoulders. These are our laws regarding Lycanthropy."
"What happens to the tag when or if I leave the country," Remus asked.
"The charms on the jewelry that prevent it from being removed fade within a week and the Portkey charm will only function within the boundaries of the North American Magical Collective," Copeland replied.
"That's actually much better than I expected," Remus said in surprise.
"Our oaths prevent any overt bigotry from being turned into law," Copeland offered, "though it doesn't stop those who continually push the anti-werewolf agenda from trying."
"Oaths?" Sirius asked, speaking for the first time.
"Service oaths that every civil servant from the President down must take before being inducted into office," Copeland clarified, "they're based on the British oath of office."
"There's a British oath of office," Sirius said, surprised.
"There was," Dumbledore interjected, "it fell out of use when Gnarl the Wizardkiller led the Goblins against the Ministry of Magic in 1878. They captured the ministry building and nearly every employee in a surprise raid. The oaths of office prevented the ministry from caving in to their demands and so Gnarl had every captive executed. An interim ministry was formed without the oaths, when the war ended two years later, the interim ministry stayed in power and the oath hasn't been used since."
"Forgive an old man his stories," the Supreme Mugwump stated, changing the subject, "we have business to attend to."
"Very well," Copeland stated, "Mr. Lupin, your decision sir?"
A half hour later Remus was registered and tagged and joined Sirius and Dumbledore in taking a hold of a hockey stick turned Portkey.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"When did you agree to meet, Professor," Harry asked while practicing tossing balls of electricity from hand to hand.
"Mr. Dumbledore had stated they would be here by now;" Xavier answered.
"How long we gonna to wait Chuck?" Wolverine asked impatiently.
"There's something different," Harry stated suddenly, jumping to his feet. Before his companions could ask what he meant, a swirling vortex of color briefly flashed into existence depositing three men.
"Harry," Sirius yelled spotting his missing godson and rushing to pull the teen into a hug. Pulling back he raked his eyes over the young wizard looking for any injuries before noticing the ball of electricity Harry held in his hand. "What the hell is that?" Closing his palm on the energy to absorb it back into his body, Harry looked to Logan and Xavier not really knowing how to explain it.
Noticing the byplay and that his own companions weren't in any rush to speak, Sirius asked the next obvious question, "Who are you?"
"I'm Charles Xavier," the Professor answered, "and this is Logan, Mr. Potter's maternal grandfather; Logan, this is Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black," Xavier introduced, recognizing the wizards from Harry's memories.
"Harry's grand parents are dead," Remus spoke up, "Lily's parents died in a car crash in 1978."
"I'm afraid that's not correct," Xavier retorted, "Mr. Potter's mother's guardians may have died in 1978. Her mother, Charlotte Evans, died of pneumonia in 1958; only a month after Lily was born. She was sent to live with her closest known relative, her half sister, Rose Evans."
"If you're Lily's father, why didn't you raise her," Remus pressed, questioning the stocky man.
"Didn't know 'bout her," Logan growled, not liking the implication that he'd abandoned his family, "didn't know 'bout Harry either until they kidnapped him to get to me."
"Who are they? And forgive me for asking, but you don't look nearly old enough to have fathered Lily," Dumbledore interjected, speaking for the first time in the conversation.
"Don't rightly know who they are," Logan answered gruffly, "Canadian government, shadow ops. Don't know how old I am either; but Chuck figures I'm over 100 years old."
"How is that possible," Remus questioned as the man looked several years younger than he did.
"We're mutants," Charles explained, "Logan's mutation, among other things, slows or even prevents him from aging."
"What's a mutant," Sirius asked, looking from Dumbledore to Remus for an explanation; though only the later seemed to have any idea.
"I'd heard rumors," Remus stated, "Muggles with magical powers springing up all over the world, but I'd always assumed that it was an explanation for magical events too large to completely cover up."
"We do not have magical powers," Xavier countered, "far from it. Our powers, while not well understood, are rooted in science."
"What's a Muggle," Logan whispered to Harry as the Professor gave the wizards an overview of what mutants were.
"It's a general term for people without magic," Harry answered his grandfather.
"Sounds like an insult," the man replied, unhappily.
"It can be," Harry admitted, "it depends on its usage, but from these three, it's simply a statement of fact about your ability, or lack there of, to perform magic."
"This has been a most interesting meeting," Dumbledore stated after Xavier completed his dissertation on the nature of mutation, "are you ready to return home, Harry?" He asked as he charmed the hockey stick that they'd arrived by into a new Portkey.
"No," Harry answered, prompting the headmaster to pause in his incantation, apparently having assumed his question rhetorical.
"I'm sorry," the Supreme Mugwump said in a questioning tone.
"I'm not ready to go back to Britain," Harry clarified, "for one thing, I'm apparently a wanted criminal and given my limited experience of ministerial justice, I'm not in a hurry to subject myself to it. Besides, I'm dangerous; I don't have full control of my powers yet."
"That's why we need to return you to Hogwarts," Dumbledore explained, "so that you can learn to wield your magic."
"I'm not talking about magic," Harry stated and the three elder wizards suddenly connected the dots. "I'd also like to discuss who my guardian is to be."
"You're a mutant?" Sirius asked, not having connected his godson's control of lightning with the information that Charles Xavier had provided.
"Yes," Harry answered simply, relieved that his godfather didn't pull away.
"I'm certain it's something we can work out, Harry," Dumbledore pressed, "you don't seem any different; how is it that you believe you are dangerous?"
"Anyone who touches my bare skin will be electrocuted," the young wizard responded, "I nearly killed my roommate when we first met. I didn't know about it then."
"Harry is making good progress," Xavier added, "I believe that a few more weeks training and he'll have a handle on it."
"That's going to hamper your social live," Sirius joked, eliciting a laugh from Logan and another from Remus.
Confused at to Harry's easy acceptance of the man Logan as his grandfather and what he deemed accidental magic as a mutation like the Muggles were claiming, Dumbledore met Harry's eyes and gently eased into the boys thoughts. He barely noticed the look of rage appear on the boys face when he had to conjure up a chunk of stone to block the bolt of lightning Harry had hurled at him.
"You only get one warning, Dumbledore," Harry hissed, sounding far too much like Voldemort to the man, "Stay. Out. Of. My. Mind! Or I'll make you regret it!" Enough electricity to cause his long hair to stand up danced across the boy's body as if to emphasize his point.
"Now seems as good of a time as any to ask what sort of compulsion you placed on Mr. Potter prior to his kidnapping," Charles added. Backing the men into a corner as he had would allow him a better picture as to their intentions towards his newest charge.
"What are you talking about," Remus demanded, "Dumbledore wouldn't do something like that."
Dumbledore was trapped, he knew it and he suspected Charles Xavier did as well and had deliberately engineered the situation. He had two options, deny he'd done anything wrong and possibly lose Harry's trust completely or admit that he'd done it and try to explain his reasoning and hope for the best.
"What is right and what is easy," he muttered quietly to himself before answering, "Thank you for your defense, Remus, but I'm afraid that Mr. Xavier is correct; I did place a compulsion charm on Harry just before he left Hogwarts last term."
Sirius' mind was whirling as he ran over the vast collection of compulsion charms he'd learned in his career as a Marauder; only a handful of the ones he knew seemed even remotely plausible and none of them painted a very good picture, "What charm did you cast on my godson?" He demanded.
"Obduco Captus," Dumbledore answered reluctantly.
Sirius was apoplectic, "you cast a spell designed to pacify prisoners being sent to the bloody Veil!" He exploded, "what in the name of Merlin were you bloody thinking?"
"I was," the Headmaster started before Padfoot interrupted.
"Scratch that, I don't bloody care what you were thinking," the marauder yelled, charging the man intent on breaking his nose and any other body part he could reach only to find himself suddenly unable to move. Dumbledore, seeing Sirius was ready to attack him and begun to draw his wand, only to also find himself completely incapable of motion.
"I would like to hear his answer," Charles Xavier said, his mind having easily incapacitated the trio of wizards; considering that Harry or Logan might attack the elderly man as well, he belatedly froze them as well.
"I did what I believed to be necessary," Albus stated when he regained the ability to speak, "Harry is one of Voldemort's highest priority targets; and given that he has routinely left the protections afforded by his living with his blood relatives, he needed to be protected, even from himself."
"And look how well those protections worked," Sirius growled.
"I couldn't have know that Harry and Petunia shared so little blood," Dumbledore defended, "had I, I would not have placed Harry with the Dursley's in the first place."
"If I may," Xavier interjected, "did it ever occur to you that the perceived need for such strong measures to prevent Mr. Potter from leaving his relatives might indicate there were problems with his living conditions?"
"I had hoped," Dumbledore began, "Well, no matter. Despite having the best intentions, I knew I was condemning Harry to a rough childhood when I placed him there."
"And you wonder why I'm reluctant to return to Britain," Harry added feeling betrayed. "Not only do I find I suddenly have a criminal record and can't return to Hogwarts or perform magic, but the blood protections that led to me living in Dursley hell were worthless. You knew what my childhood was like and did nothing but try to pacify me like a prisoner so I would simply accept the denial of my basic rights."
Unable to deny the truth of Harry's statements, the headmaster instead proclaimed, "This conversation has not, I suspect, gone the way anyone had imagined. I realize that my decisions and actions have caused you pain and have damaged the trust between us, Harry and I shall endeavor to rectify that to the best of my ability."
"To that end," the man continued, "I propose the following; I shall return to England and work on clearing your name, if Mr. Xavier is amenable to it, I would like for Sirius to remain and take up the mantle of Harry's guardian as were the wishes of Harry's parents." Dumbledore turned to Remus, not even having noticed it when he'd regained his mobility, "as I am unable to regularly leave Britain without arousing suspicion, would you be willing to act as our go between?"
Instead of answering, the werewolf turned his amber eyes to Harry, "Is that what you want?" He asked, Harry nodded and looked to Xavier who voiced his approval of the plan. Seeing that it fell to him, Remus turned to back Dumbledore, "if you can provide me with Portkeys as needed, I believe that it is the best solution for the time being, Albus."
"Of course," Dumbledore readily agreed. "Very well then, I shall take my leave then," he charmed the hockey stick as a Portkey and handed it to Remus, "simply tap it with your wand and say activate," he explained briefly before Apparating away without a sound.
After Dumbledore departed, Sirius looked around the empty warehouse they now gathered in and commented, "This doesn't look much like a school."
"It's not," Xavier answered, "men arriving in a whirl of light, even among mutants, isn't too common, and with the Statute of Secrecy, I believed it to be more prudent to meet away from my students."
"I suppose that makes sense," Sirius replied, "so, what now?"
"Now that introductions have been made," the Professor answered, "I believe we should depart for the school. It's about an hour's drive from here."
"That long," Sirius griped, "I wish I'd brought my bike."
"What kinda bike do you ride," Logan questioned, his interests piqued.
"I had a 1968 Triumph T120R Bonneville," the marauder answered, "I'd modified it to run silently, fly, and go a lot faster than was safe, not to mention that it didn't need petrol."
"Impressive," Logan complimented, "what happened to it?"
Sirius frowned, "I'm not sure," he replied, "seeing as I got sent to prison for thirteen years."
"You were in prison," an unfamiliar female voice asked from behind the small group.
Turning, Padfoot drew his wand automatically only to draw up short when an enormous blue hand firmly grasped his wrist, "I apologize for startling you Mr. Black," the large blue furred man stated, "allow me to introduce Dr. Jean Grey, Ororo Munroe, Scott Summers and I am Dr. Henry McCoy."
"Don't sneak up on me," Sirius complained taking the man's appearance in stride and shaking his hand to regain the feeling.
"I apologize," the redheaded woman, Jean Grey, replied, "but could you please answer my question?"
"He was sent to prison without a trial for a crime he didn't commit," Harry answered stiffly; he was obviously not a big fan of the woman.
If she noticed or minded, she didn't let it show, simply nodding at the explanation, "what were you accused of?"
"Murder," Sirius answered, put off by the woman's choice of subject, "they accused me of betraying Harry's parents' location to their murderer and then hunting down and killing one of my best friends along with thirteen Muggles."
Noticing the two wizards and his grandson were all frowning at her choice of topics, Logan commented, "You're making quite the first impression there Jeanie." Turning to Sirius, he picked up their conversation, "I've got an '86 Harley in the garage at the school, you think you can work some magic on it?"
Sirius smiled fondly, "I haven't worked on a bike in a long while, but I think I remember how."
"You can practice on Scooters bike," Logan joked, "don't want you messing about on mine until you're sure you know what you're doing." Cyclops began protesting before Harry tuned out their conversation.
"So," Remus began awkwardly, "a mutant huh?"
"Yeah," they teen answered, "came as a shock to me, so to speak."
"Well, you need a marauder name anyhow, might as well christen you now," the werewolf offered, "You have any ideas?"
"Fusion," Harry answered immediately.
"Well, doesn't really fit with Padfoot, Prongs and Moony," Remus complained.
"I'm not an Animagus either," Harry countered, "besides, it's already become my nickname at the school."
"How'd that come about," Remus questioned.
"Well, the way it was explained to me is that it's become a custom for mutants to take on a second identity as a show of solidarity with other mutants," Harry answered, "For instance Logan's is Wolverine, Mr. Summers is Cyclops, Ms. Munroe is Storm and Mr. McCoy is Beast."
"I guess I can understand that," Remus replied, "so why did you pick Fusion?"
"Well, we were thinking up possible names relating to electricity when one of the students suggested fuse," Harry explained, "and it just sort of hit me. Fusion is the ultimate source of energy, I'm part wizard and part mutant, a fusion of two different worlds; and I think it sounds wicked."
"So are you the ultimate source of energy then," Remus taunted playfully.
"He is rather powerful from what I've observed," Beast interjected.
"How powerful," the werewolf inquired.
"I hesitate to rank him just yet as he's so new in his powers and likely hasn't even approached his limits yet," Beast answered.
"There are rankings?" Lupin asked trying to learn all he could about the new world of which Harry was suddenly a member.
"There are," Xavier confirmed entering the conversation, "there are eight classes of mutants represented by letters from the Greek alphabet; Delta, Epsilon, Beta, Alpha, Gamma, Delta-Epsilon, Zeta and Omega in order of how commonplace they are."
"I am an Alpha class mutant for example," the Professor continued, "what that means is that I'm considered among the most powerful class of mutants and my powers are useful, completely under my control and without any noticeable drawbacks. Beta's operate at the same power level, but have flawed or uncontrolled aspects of their powers or minor to moderate changes in their appearance. Gamma class mutants are also of equal power, but have large physical changes or uncontrolled aspects of their powers that make it impossible for them to blend in to society unnoticed. To give you a practical example, Logan is a Beta and Hank is a Gamma. If Harry is unable to learn to control his power, he would be classed as a Gamma as well."
"So Harry is classed among powerful mutants," Remus marveled.
"The only more powerful class of mutants is the Omega class, which is exceedingly rare," Xavier replied, "Omega class mutant's powers have virtually limitless potential. They make up significantly less than 1% of the combined pool of Alpha, Beta and Gamma class mutants."
"Okay, so the Omega's are like the Merlin's of mutation, and the Alpha's, Beta's and Gamma's are akin to Dumbledore or the Founders," Remus clarified looking to Harry for confirmation.
"Sounds about right," Harry answered, "but this is all new to me too."
Nodding at Harry's confirmation, he pressed on, his interest peaked, "so what about the other classes?"
"The next classes are Delta and Epsilon," Charles lectured, "these mutants have significantly lower levels of power than the other classifications I've described. The difference between them is that Epsilon mutants have major physical changes that hinder them from simply blending into society; whereas Delta's do not, and often don't realize they're mutants at all."
"The last two classes are both uncommon, collectively representing less than 5% of all mutants. Epsilon-Delta class mutants aren't really mutants per say," the Professor pressed on, "for one reason or another their powers never manifest themselves. Finally, there is Zeta class; whose mutations entirely consist of physical deformities."
Sensing Remus was about to ask, the Professor preempted him, "Delta's are the most common, making up over 50% of all mutants, Epsilon's are the next most common at 20%, Beta's and Alpha's make up a little less than 10% each and Gamma's are about 5%."
The group loaded into a pair of vans, the first carrying the Professor, Cyclops, Jean, Storm and Beast, and the second held Harry, Logan, Sirius and Remus. Once they were well on their way, Remus turned his attention to the fact that six Muggles, even if they were mutants, knew of the Wizarding World. Logan he could understand as he appeared to be Harry's last remaining family and was therefore exempt from the Statute of Secrecy, but he was worried about the others.
"Harry," the man whispered, "breaking the Statute of Secrecy can get you in a lot of trouble!"
"I didn't, Remus," Harry answered with a smirk, "I told Logan, Professor Xavier read the information from my mind, and the others learned about magic from you, Sirius and Dumbledore."
"You don't need to whisper Bub," Logan said from the front seat, "I can hear your heartbeat over the traffic so no matter how quietly you talk, I'll hear you."
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
When Harry, Logan and the 2 wizards entered the mansion a group of students wondering why the Danger Room training sessions for the day had been cancelled greeted them.
Glancing thoughtfully at Sirius and Remus the man made a snap decision, "They ain't cancelled anymore, go gear up," he said. Turning to Harry he added, "you too, you've got an audience to show off for, and I'm not gonna go easy on you."
With a playful salute, Harry jogged off to his room to put on his new danger room kit, just barely hearing Remus nervously ask what the Danger Room was before he was out of earshot.
Arriving at his room, he found Colossus in the middle of changing for the training session as well. When the large teen noticed Harry enter, he asked, "Who were those men with Wolverine?"
"That's my godfather and one of my parent's best friends," Harry answered casually as he pulled on the tight leather bodysuit.
"So you're going home then," Harry's roommate questioned, pausing in the process of getting dressed to await an answer.
Harry finished pulling his arms through the tight sleeves before he paused to consider the question, "I don't know, Piotr. I thought there was a lot to go back for, but the longer I'm here it gets harder to come up with reasons to leave."
Colossus smiled, "I understand what you mean," the towering young man replied, "I felt the same way when I arrived. Even though I left my family, my friends, everything I knew behind, it felt right to be here instead."
Harry nodded in acknowledgement of his roommate's statements. At first, he thought his situation far more complex that Piotr's only to draw up short at his own arrogance the more he considered the words. His roommate left behind family that loved and depended on him, his friends and the only life he'd ever known. When he thought about what he'd given up, he concluded that Colossus had given up more by being here than Harry had to give up in the first place.
Clapping Harry on the shoulder, Colossus coaxed him out of thought, "Give them a show, my friend; show them that you are doing well here."
-~-~-~-~-~-~
Arriving on the observation deck with Colossus, Harry noticed Sirius and Remus standing near the window overlooking the metallic grey room.
"Sirius, Remus, this is my roommate," Harry said approaching the pair.
"Colossus, or Piotr Rasputin if you please," the large teen interrupted, stretching out his hand to shake theirs. "So you are Fusions family?"
"I'm his godfather, Sirius Black," Padfoot replied shaking the boy's outstretched hand.
"Remus Lupin," Remus introduced himself also shaking Piotr's hand, "I'm somewhat of Harry's honorary uncle."
"You have a strong grip, Mr. Lupin," Colossus observed, "it is good to meet you both. However as I am up first, if you would please excuse me I need to warm up."
"Interesting friend," Sirius commented as Piotr excused himself. "So this is where you've been spending your time then?"
"Not really, Sirius," Harry answered awkwardly, "I've only been here about two weeks."
"Where were you before," Sirius questioned, "Oh, right," he corrected as he thought about his own question, "Sorry."
Further conversation was halted as Colossus entered the Danger Room below. The dull grey of the metal transformed into a deserted park. Two large black vans screamed across the grass covered ground, one of them angling directly at Piotr.
"What in Merlin's name is he thinking," Sirius screamed as the second vehicle closed ranks making it virtually impossible for the young man to avoid being hit.
"Wait, Sirius, just wait," Harry instructed. A moment later, the liquid shimmer of organic metal spread across the body of Colossus, who seemed to Sirius to somehow be as large as Hagrid all of the sudden. The vehicle on a crash course with the boy swerved, but it was far too late and with an explosion of sound, its front end crumpled as it came to a sudden halt.
Sirius and Remus watched in slack-jawed awe as Harry's roommate not only easily took an impact that would have knocked an alpha giant down, but then proceeded to throw around the large vehicles like they weighed nothing. Wave after wave of vans and men with a variety of weapons crashed down upon the polite young man, and yet he stood strong, weathering and beating back the torrent of violence.
"You're going in there," Sirius croaked when multiple rocket blasts finally downed Colossus long enough for the Logan to end the simulation. Rather than answer, Harry smiled confidently and left the observation deck to warm up.
As soon as he was out of view of Remus and Sirius, the smile slid from his face. He'd seen his roommate in the Danger Room before when Dr. McCoy was running it and it was much easier then. He'd heard that Logan would push you to your limits during training, but he'd yet to see it until now. Steeling himself for battle, Harry stepped into the plain metal hued room and waited.
An empty street appeared around him; slightly damaged buildings lined one side while the other was a mix of twisted ironwork and rubble. The burnt out husks of destroyed vehicles were strewn everywhere; the road, the rubble, even one sticking half way out of a third story window.
An enormous amount of concentrated energy began approaching, shaking the ground as it did so. Up in the observation deck where Colossus had joined Sirius and Remus the teen exhaled loudly as a sentinel rounded one of the damaged buildings.
Harry looked up at the monstrous machine towering over him, ignoring the mechanical voice demanding his surrender and focusing on the core of the mechanical being. It was huge, far bigger than anything he'd previously been able to strip away from an opponent or even a dozen opponents.
The large robot raised its hand, palm forward and he could feel the build up of energy emanating from it. Grasping the power, Harry pulled it away from the sentinel. A huge bolt of electricity shot from the machine into him. He immediately realized the problem with the strategy as despite the momentary drain, the energy quickly began to build in the palm of his enemy.
"Bugger," Harry yelled, diving away from where he stood as a blast of energy flew towards him. Rolling to his feet, he concentrated the energy he'd absorbed from the machine and pressing it tightly into a ball he hurled it at the slowly turning robot.
The sentinel reacted to the attack, attempting to move out of the path of Harry's projectile. Unable to avoid the impact, the automaton took the hit high on its metallic shoulder. A loud hiss issued forth from the impact and the acrid smell of burnt electronics and ozone filled the air.
Not knowing how much of an effect his attack had Harry didn't wait to find out, instead he launched two bolts of electricity towards the legs of the mechanical nightmare causing it to topple to the ground.
Relieved that his attacks had been effective, he nearly missed the machine push itself upright with its good arm. An energy blast issued forth from the remaining palm cannon of the sentinel forcing Harry to dive for cover once again. Though successful in dodging the attack, chunks of exploding asphalt raked his legs and back as they passed over him.
Feeling rather than seeing the follow up beam of energy, Harry narrowly rolled away only for shrapnel from the ensuing explosion to tear through his flesh.
Reaching out and grasping the fluctuating energy core of the attacking machine, Harry put everything in him into heaving the energy from the beast. Energy crackled over his skin as he absorbed the liberated electricity. Climbing to his feet, he fixed his mind on the source of energy in the chest of the sentinel. Despite his efforts buying him time, the energy source seemed inexhaustible; no matter how much of the power he absorbed, it replenished itself within seconds.
Redoubling his efforts to keep the beast immobile, Harry approached the downed robot. Circling behind it, he closed to within feet of its power source. With a thought, a beam of energy formed and shot through the mechanical monster, slicing a cavernous hole through the steel frame and piercing the power core.
Instead of dying out like he'd planned, however, Harry felt the power source begin to surge; but the rapidly building energy had nowhere to go. Turning away from the impending detonation, he began to run. The chaotic energy released in the explosion washed over him, the shockwave throwing him roughly to ground, knocking the wind from his lungs.
Slowly climbing to his feet, Harry allowed a small smile to cross his face. Logan had thrown a challenge at him that effectively neutralized his most effective attack and he'd triumphed. The smile faded very quickly, however, when he felt three more sentinels approaching each from a different direction; he was surrounded. Summing up his feelings on the idea, Harry muttered, "Bugger!"
Drawing himself to his full height, Harry began pooling energy in his hands; pushing more into it than he had previously, he felt the tingle of electricity creeping up his arms. A force beam slammed into a chunk of rubble to his left. Taking that as an invitation, Harry charged towards the closest sentinel.
Up in the control room, Logan looked on at his grandson with pride. He'd taken down a sentinel on his first try. As he watched the teen begin running at the closest of the now three killing machines sent after him, he marveled at the speed the teen exhibited as he zigzagged through the rubble avoiding the rapid fire of the level 3 construct.
Approaching the towering being, Harry didn't slow down as he unleashed the pooled energy, having waited until the last moment to prevent the iron giant time to dodge. The huge bolt of lightning struck the sentinel in the chest, directly over its power core. Circling its feet, Harry manifested a tight beam of electricity, slicing through the monsters right leg.
Even as the defeated sentinel teetered and fell, remaining upright only due to the half-destroyed building it came to rest against, the others had approached. Feeling a beam of energy cutting through the air towards him, Harry's momentum left him powerless to avoid running directly into it. The crushing blow of the beam tossing him through the air paled in comparison to that of the impact he felt as he crashed through the exterior of a building.
Disoriented and in pain, Harry barely heard the flat tones Logan speaking over the intercom, "Not bad Fusion; two of four sentinels."
"I'm not done yet," Harry slurred, determinedly forcing himself to stand. "I can still fight," he continued in a more steady voice, his body already beginning to heal his myriad of injuries.
"Alright kid," Logan agreed from the control booth, "but one more hit and you're done."
"Mutant target: Fusion, exit the building and surrender or you will be terminated," the mechanical voice of one of the sentinels echoed through the room he now found himself in. Despite still being wobbly on his feet, Harry slowly took in his surroundings. He was a lobby of some kind. To one side of the building, through the destruction he could see the parts of the resting form of the sentinel he'd already defeated, leaning listlessly against the building. On the opposite side, he could see the feet of two more machines intent on his destruction and the only exit.
Staggering to get a better look and a possible shot at one or both of the robots that had him cornered, he had to jump backwards as the large hand of the one of the constructs punched through the building and attempted to grab him. The sound of groaning metal filled the air and the entire structure seemed to shift.
A crazy idea filled his mind and Harry unleashed a torrent of lightning into the palm trying to capture or crush him. Just as it had in his previous enemies, the overload of electricity shorted out the mechanics of the hand and arm of the sentinel. No longer able to contort its arm to remove it from the building without causing further destruction, the robot simply tore itself free, taking a full wall with it.
Again, the sound of groaning metal and crumbling concrete filled the air, slowly building from a low rumble to the thunderous sound of a toppling building. It was only then that Harry realized how little he'd actually thought out what he was doing; he was standing on the ground floor of a building that was falling down around him and the only exit he saw was blocked by what would soon be crushed sentinel.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~