Last time Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were invited to Washington D.C. for a Halloween party among American wizards. They met with Phillip Rothheimer, Dirrector General of the American Magic Administration. Harry then learned that while he, Ron and Hermione were trying to stay one step ahead of Voldemort and The Death Eaters back in the day, a nightmare had been unleashed upon the rest of the wizarding world in the form of a plauge that left thousands of witches and wizards dead. On a lighter note, Harry and the others then found out that a grand announcement would be made at the party. 'Nuff said, on with the show!
Chapter 2: The Project
Halloween, 2003
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny spent the rest of the day seeing the sights of Washington D.C. Their first stop was the Capital Building, followed by the White House, then to the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian Institute, just to name a few. Ron had to practically drag Hermione out of the Library of Congress when it closed for the evening.
Halloween dawned clear and crisp, with a promise of good candy hunting for the multitudes of costumed muggle children that night. Unfortunately, candy wouldn't be much on Harry's mind for tonight. No, this Halloween, Harry and his family would be having a different kind of fun.
There was a bit of a mix-up before lunch. Ron thought that the evenings festivities would be a costume party. Fortunately, Hermione was there to prevent Ron from making a complete ass of himself again.
"The invitation clearly says 'formal attire'," said Hermione as she held said invite in front of Ron.
"And this is not formal?" Ron asked as he showed off his costume of a 16th century buccaneer.
"How thick can you get, Ron?" Ginny asked, "mum should have named you 'Thick-Thickety Thickface!'"
"I was joking," said Ron. He then quickly changed into tuxedo robes, which he liked a whole lot better than what Molly had him wear for the Yule Ball.
"Much better, mate," said Harry. He would also be wearing tuxedo robes, but of a different style, while Hermione would wear a orange and gold gown, and Ginny had a red and black dress all picked out.
That evening they met up with Chris and Samantha in the lobby of their hotel. Chris was also in tuxedo robes, while Samantha was wearing a strapless blue and green gown.
"Everybody ready?" Chris asked, which Harry and co nodded, "excellent. Off we go them." With that they exited the hotel, where a limo was waiting for them. They got in and the car headed for the AMA building.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question, Samantha?" Hermione asked.
"Depends on what kind of question," said Samantha.
"It's nothing to do with your work," said Hermione, "well, I sort of does. I was just wondering, what was it that made you and Chris decide to be Aurors?"
"Well," said Chris, "I guess it was you guys. Me and Samantha, we grew up in the same neighborhood in San Francisco. And before you ask, no, we're not dating."
"It's not that the AMA has a 'no romantic relationship' policy," said Samantha, "Chris and I are just friends. Anyway, Chris and I were still in school when Voldemort came back. Like the rest of the wizarding world, we were scared nearly half to death, especially when the plague began killing off witches and wizards left and right.
"Our families took refuge in the mountains, hoping that the sickness wouldn't get to us, which it didn't, thank god. But we were stuck up there in a handful of cabins in the Rockies, waiting for the world to get back to normal."
"But we knew it would never be normal again," said Chris, "we knew that the world was changing, for better or worse, but it was changing. We were up there for months, waiting."
"But then we heard that the plague had run its course," said Samantha, "but it was another month or so before we returned to civilization. Thousands had died from the sickness in America alone, while tens of thousands world wide were dead as well.
"But then we heard that Voldemort was dead and the Death Eaters were defeated, all because of a handful of brave witches and wizards, with you, Harry, at the center of it all."
"When things calmed down enough for us to finish school," said Chris, "Samantha and I knew what we wanted to do with out lives."
"And you became Aurors," said Harry, "well, I'm glad to be such an inspiration to you."
"Not just us," said Samantha, "I've heard that hundreds of witches and wizards all over the world decided to become Aurors and be a deterrent against evil, and all because of you, Harry, you and your companions."
"Can you believe this?" an astonished Hermione asked.
"Of course I can," said Ron in slightly smug tone, "we're celebrities."
"Of course you are," said Ginny in a disapproving tone.
"There's something I'd like to know," said Harry, "where do American wizards and witches go to learn their trade? I'm sure there's a couple of schools…"
"A couple?" Chris asked in a slightly exasperated tone, "with a county as big as this, and you're saying there's a couple?"
"The east coast has eight schools alone," said Samantha, "with four in the mid-west and a lot more elsewhere. California has two, one for L.A, the other near San Francisco."
"That's where we went," said Chris, "Ravenloft Polytechnic, which, in my humble opinion, is the best magic school in the world."
"I mean no disrespect," said Ron, "but Hogwarts is the best in the world, end of discussion."
"I'm with you on that," said Ginny, while Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement.
The limo stopped at the AMA building and everyone got out and went inside. Harry and the others followed Chris and Samantha into a large reception hall on a different level of the complex. The walls were adorned with flags from just about every country on the planet. The room was lit by hundreds of floating candles and jack-o-lanterns. In the center of the room was a raised dais that was, for the moment, empty.
Harry could see hundreds of witches and wizards, mostly Americans but here and there were representatives from other nations; China, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Thailand, Japan, Australia, Canada…just to name a few.
But then Harry saw several muggles at the party as well, and not just any muggles. Hermione, who happened to be more informed on global politics than Ron, Harry and Ginny combined, identified several American Senators and Representatives, as well as the governor of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the mayor of Washington DC.
"I've never seen so many muggles and magic users in the same room," said Ginny, "and having a good time."
Harry had to agree with Ginny. The general atmosphere of the party was one of, to say the least, a really good time.
It was then that Harry noticed someone he knew; Neville Longbottom, and with him was none other than…
"Hanna Abbot!?" Ginny said in a surprised tone.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny then got reacquainted with their classmates from Hogwarts.
"How long have you two been together?" Hermione asked Neville and Hanna.
"About a month or so," said Neville, who looked happier than he'd been in a long time.
"And what a month it's been," said a very happy sounding Hanna.
"I always thought you and Luna would get together," said Harry.
"I thought Luna and Dean would get together," said Ron.
"Luna and I are just friends," said Neville, "have been and always will be. As for her and Dean, that really didn't work out."
"As for who Luna would up with," said Hanna, "as her yourself, she's over there."
Harry looked to see that indeed, Luna Lovegood was also at the party. Launa, wearing her most outlandishly styled outfit yet, was with a wizard whom Harry would learn to be Rolf Scamander, grandson of Newt Scamander, world renowned wizard naturalist and author of 'Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them.'
It was around 9:00 when everyone began gathering towards the middle of the room, where Rothheimer stood next to raised dais. The conversation among the guests quickly died away as everyone waited for the Director General of the American Magic Administration to speak.
"My fellow witches and wizards," said Rothheimer, "It gives me great pleasure to introduce you all to the fruits of many years of hard work. As you are aware, the question of whether or not muggles and magic users can live and work together has persisted since the dawn of time, and for countless years the answer has mostly been 'no.'
"'No,' because by their very nature, muggles tend to be afraid of magic because it is something they do not understand. Time has proven that people as a whole tend to be afraid of what they do not understand, and fear, unfortunately, is far too easy to become hatred.
"Throughout history muggles have feared and persecuted magic users and other magical creatures, just because we're different. We in turn have isolated ourselves from the rest of humanity, only venturing into their mists when necessary. It is this fear and hatred, on both sides no less, that has lead to some of the worst acts of magic the world has ever seen. We all know of the atrocities committed by Voldemort and others like him, but that's aside the point.
"On the other hand, many outstanding magic users originated from the muggle world. I can name dozens of muggle-born witches and wizards who have become successful, despite the efforts of those who think muggle-born witches and wizards aren't worthy of having magic, but that's also beside the point.
"My point, ladies and gentlemen, is that all of humanity, wizards and muggles alike, have allowed fear and hatred to keep us apart for far too long. My point is that there is another way, a better way for all of humankind. That way is the Harmony Project, and that way is why we are here tonight."
The reception hall was filled with the applause of the assembled guests; Hermione and Harry were clapping with the loudest.
"Yes," said Rothheimer once things got quiet again, "The Harmony Project is such a venture that will, in time, heal the rift between magic and non-magic users. It will be a long and difficult journey, one filled with many perils and risks. Yet every journey isn't without danger, and this journey is well worth any danger."
Once again the guests applauded Rothheimer, this time with Ron and Ginny clapping as loudly as Harry and Hermione.
"And with any journey," said Rothheimer, "the fist step is sometimes the hardest. I won't bore you all with the details on how we managed to convince any muggle to cooperate with this project, but the truth is, it wasn't easy.
"How does one convince a muggle that not only is magic real, but that he or she now has the opportunity to help such magic users? Like I said, it wasn't easy, considering that there are still many who view all magic as evil, that magic users, particularly witches, are agents of the devil. Well let me tell you all something, not only were my parents magic users, my mother was a Roman Catholic, while my father was Jewish, whose best friend was a Muslim. If they could get along, why can't the rest of us?"
This time the room burst into laughter followed by clapping.
"Why couldn't we have a Minister of Magic with a sense of humor?" Ron asked.
"Then things would have been boring for us," said Harry.
"Anyway," said Rothheimer, "the hard part is over, we have volunteers of both muggles and wizards, handpicked from all over the world. So now the true test begins; to see whether or not magic and non-magic users can live and work together, and the place where this great experiment is to take place is this," Rothheimer then drew his wand, stood to one side of the dais and cast a spell, "Ladies and gentlemen, witches and wizards, I give you…Synchronicity!"
The dais now showed a large image of a city unlike anything Harry had seen before. The city was planned out in the shape of a pentagram pointing up so that it aligned with a compass. The top point was mostly residential, with houses and schools, as well as a few playgrounds. The upper left and right points were obviously commercial, with various offices and workshops, as well as various markets and consumable goods stores. The lower points were full of nearly empty space, with a few buildings that Harry really didn't know what were. In the center was a large park.
"What you see before you," said Rothheimer, after the assembled guests finished applauding, "Is the end result of nearly ten years of planning and construction. This city, Synchronicity, is where various volunteers, half wizarding, half muggle, will spend the next two years living together.
"Synchronicity is capable of supporting 15,000 men, women and children. Yes, there well be families involved in this project, for our children are the focus of the future. As for the nearly empty areas in the southern parts of the city, those areas have been left blank to provide construction room for the various side-projects that will be employed during the two years."
Rothheimer was then flooded with questions from the assembled guests. He answered the first half-dozen, such as when Synchronicity will be built. "It has already been built," answered Rothheimer, "And the first of his inhabitants have already settled in. The rest of the city's citizens will be fully moved in before Thanksgiving."
Another question was where Synchronicity is. "The city is located in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia. It's exact location is classified and has been made Unplottable. Further protective charms and wards have been places to prevent any innocent bystanders from wandering in, as well as making sure the rest of the world doesn't learn of it existence. We're still a long way from world harmony, but the first step has been made."
Rothheimer then turned the questions to his P.R. staff. Harry then saw Rothheimer coming towards him.
"So," said Rothheimer, "What do you think?"
"I think it's wonderful," said Hermione.
"'Bout bloody time someone thought of something like this," said Ron.
"Like you could have thought of something better?" Ginny asked.
"Well I think this is exactly what the world needs," said Harry in an impressed tone, "If fifteen thousand muggles and wizards can get along for two years, then maybe, just maybe, the rest of the world can get along in peace."
"I knew you'd like it," said Rothheimer. Just then an aide came up to the director general and whispered something in his ear. Rothheimer's expression went from happy to shocked to angered in less than two seconds.
"Tell them I'll be right on it," said Rothheimer to the aide, who then hurried out of the reception hall without attraction attention.
"I take it something really bad just happened," said Ron.
"You have no idea," said Rothheimer in a grave tone, but then his expression brightened somewhat, "But maybe you can help alleviate the situation, especially you, Harry."
"I may," said Harry, "But it depends on how serious the situation is." Despite the confidence in his voice, Harry knew that despite his best efforts, trouble had once again found him and his family.
"One of the principal wizards on the project has been killed this evening," said Rothheimer, "murdered."
"Any suspects?" Hermione asked. Already she, Ron and Harry were intrigued as yet another mystery was shoved in front of them.
"I can name at least a dozen wizards who would profit from such a death," said Rothheimer, "While there are multitudes of wizards who wish to live peacefully with muggles, there are still those who see muggles as little more than animals."
"You don't have to remind me," said Harry. Instinctively he thought of Draco Malfoy, but immediately Harry thought otherwise. Since the final defeat of Voldemort, the Malfoy family had retreated to private life and so far had kept their noses clean.
"It's worse than that," said Rothheimer, "What happened tonight is only the latest in a series of bizarre murders."
"Series?" Ron asked.
"Three in the past seven days," said Rothheimer, "With tonight's death being the forth. All of them were witches and wizards associated in getting the project started."
"What made them bizarre?" Hermione asked.
"That's what making this whole mess a dilly of a pickle," said Rothheimer, "But I'd rather we not talk about it in the open. Meet me at Auror H.Q. in half an hour, I'm sure you'll find answers there, as well as many more questions." With that Rothheimer and his staff left the room. Harry had to admire the way Rothheimer was handling his departure; stopping on the way out to briefly speak with several VIP's and making apologies for leaving so suddenly, business before pleasure after all.
"Why do I get the feeling that we're about to get in over our heads again?" Ron asked.
"That's never stopped us before," said Hermione, "and who knows? This may turn out to be nothing dangerous at all."
It was then that Hermione realized that Harry, Ron and Ginny were looking at her as if she had just said something stupid.
"Since when has anything we've ever done been without any danger?" Ron asked.
"I can name several," said Hermione.
"And here I thought that this would be a fun Halloween," said Ginny.
"There'll be other Halloween's," said Harry, "but…"
"I know," said Ginny, "an Auror's work is never done. I suppose you'll want me to go back to the hotel, while you, my bother and sister-in-law solve another mystery."
"Well, you could," said Harry, "but…"
"But I could go with you," said Ginny in a slightly sly tone, "help solve the case, just this once. Who knows, maybe my being there could really make a difference."
"Yes," said Harry in an all too happy tone, "just this once."
The end of chapter 2. Next chapter, our heroes begin their investigation of the murders. Who is behind these horrible acts and why? Reviews will be rewarded with Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties. See you next time!