A/N: Thank you for your wonderful response and I hope my story lives up to your expectations. Enjoy!


Enemy Underestimated


Draco Malfoy. Of all the wizards in the world, it had to be him. My cover was blown. I had to get out. Now.

Before I could step back towards the door, the blank expression on Malfoy's face caught my eyes. It was as if he didn't even recognize me. Me? Harry Potter? The Boy Who lived? Talk about two wizards losing their memory. Fat chance that.

"Who are you?" Malfoy's voice was dry and hoarse. It seemed it had been a while since he last spoke. Either he was very good at acting or he had really lost his memory. And then suddenly, I heard a voice in my head. Potter!

Okay, so he was a good actor. And he knew. Then why wasn't he selling me out already? The Malfoy I knew would do anything to harm me. He was a death eater after all. Unless… unless something had changed in the last few months.

Malfoy! I responded. It was weird, really. I had never tried to communicate using Legilimency. The thoughts I projected into his mind were hollow and without emotion.

He didn't even blink an eye in response, which made me wonder whether I did it right or not.

I heard you, Potter. Now stop gawking at me and keep talking before these Muggles get suspicious.

I had momentarily forgotten where I was. The shock was still etched on my face and it didn't look good for my cover. I would never admit it but Malfoy was right, I had to start talking before I was done for good. "You- are you a... mage?" I said in the same flow of emotion while my eyes began to widen in shock. I hoped it worked. I was certain there would be cameras hidden in the room.

"If you mean a wizard, then... yes." Malfoy replied, a dangerous look coming over his face. I had to give it to him. He certainly excelled in the acting department. Come to visit me Potter? Should I be feeling honoured right about now? Malfoy was at his sarcastic best.

Haven't lost your touch, eh Malfoy? Muggles keeping you good company? Even two could play at this game. "Oh no...! You are one of those! S-stay away!" I said with horror, my voice slightly quivering for effect. This double talk was proving to be slightly difficult for me. Malfoy on the other hand, seemed untroubled.

I miss my manor but I will live. Their torture technique is a joke, though. Almost like a tickle when compared to the Cruciatus curse. Malfoy just gave a dry chuckle in response to what I said. "You look a bit scared. Come, have a seat." Malfoy offered but the sardonic tone was good enough to scare anyone.

Ah! So it seems you had an enjoyable stay. Don't let me interrupt your 'vacation'. I finally managed to entice a glare from Malfoy before it was gone in a blink of an eye."Stay away you-you murderer!" I exclaimed, digging my back into the door.

Don't mock me, Potter. It wasn't me who faked his own death and hid among the Muggles like a coward. I had to fight back the urge to hurt Malfoy with every last bit of restraint. He always brought the worst out of me. "I think you are mistaken. I am harmless, trust me. Come, let us talk." Malfoy was really doing an excellent job. If I played my part well, no one would have any inkling about what really was happening. Although, I was finding it difficult to make Malfoy cooperate with me. I knew this was going to be difficult.

And it wasn't me who became the only wizard to be captured by the Muggles. Didn't know you were so weak. This time, I got more than just a glare from Malfoy. Seven years was enough time to know my way around him and knowing what buttons to press. "I see why you want me to come to you." I relaxed my expression a little bit. "The doctor said you were heavily sedated and can't move."

Don't push me Potter or you will regret it. I had my reasons and that is all you need to know.

What reasons? Do you mean you let yourself get captured? Malfoy didn't respond and was blocking me out. Evidently, he was hiding something and didn't want me to know. Answer me, Malfoy.

"About that..." Malfoy said slowly rising off his bed with an ominous look on his face. Aren't you a desperate one?

I knew I couldn't get anything more out of him. Only thing I could do now was to ensure that my exit looked natural."Oh God!" I yelled as I tried to open the door. I acted as if it was locked. "Please don't hurt me." I said hysterically. I was breathing heavily to make my panic look real. "Let me out!" I began banging on the door without turning my back to Malfoy.

As he rose from his bed I continued thrashing the door. "Please, can anyone hear me? Somebody please help me!"

As soon as Malfoy was on his feet, I heard running footsteps outside the door. The door flew open as two soldiers began pulling me out while a third had some kind of device in his hand as he moved towards Malfoy. He knew what was coming and didn't resist. He looked in my eyes one last moment before the soldiers dragged me away.

See you soon Potter.

I heard a zap followed by a thud and then there was silence. What did he mean exactly?

***B***

Sergeant Willis held his face in his palms. This mission was a complete failure. They were back to square one with no leads to work on.

He raised his eyes to the surveillance team who were still working on their keyboards trying to salvage information from this disaster. Even after being armed with costly facial expression recognition software, precision microphone arrays capable of picking up almost inaudible sounds, high definition cameras and other high end machineries, the team still couldn't acquire any helpful information. All this effort was for naught.

"Sergeant, we have completed the analysis." The lead technician said as she walked towards him.

"And?" The sergeant mentally crossed his fingers.

"Our system picked up nothing suspicious. Behavioural patterns match with facial expressions as well as tone and voice modular frequencies. Also brain activity-"

Sergeant Willis interrupted her. "I don't mean to be rude but could you please speak in layman terms." He said with a tired voice. This was going to be a long day.

"Sorry Sergeant." The lead engineer looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, neither of them recognized each other. The assistant was scared out if his wits and the mage was having the time of his life."

The sergeant gave a dry chuckle. "Anything else?"

"There was something else that we found rather peculiar. However, I am not sure whether it has anything to do with our surveillance."

"Tell me anyway." Sergeant requested curtly.

"Our sensors picked up some high frequency static. We suspect it must be noise from one of the equipment in the room."

"How certain are you of its cause?"

"We are still working on it."

Sergeant Willis looked thoughtful for a moment before turning to the lead engineer. "Let us not make any assumptions at this moment. I want that noise or whatever it is, analysed. Inform me immediately if you find anything out of the ordinary."

Sergeant Willis stood up and walked out of the surveillance room.

There was one thing that had stood out though which gave him hope. It was unexpected and was not one of the goals of this mission but it certainly was worth a try. His tired expression changed sharply into a more focused one. This was his chance to make good of this opportunity.

The assistant must go back in.

***B***

"Here, take these." Claire said handing me some pills. "It will help you calm your nerves."

I looked scared and my body language indicated apprehension. I was doing a good job until now but it was getting tiresome. I didn't realize that a thing like acting could be so exhausting. I swallowed the pills with the glass of water and leaned back into the chair after closing my eyes. "I am sorry about what I did earlier. I shouldn't have wandered off unsupervised." I said quietly, although I knew it was not true. I was almost certain that it was all an elaborate plan which had been setup for me; or was it for Malfoy? In any case, my situation was getting extremely critical and I didn't know how I could wriggle my way out of it. My conversation with Malfoy had ended rather badly and the last thing he said to me sounded disturbingly like a threat to me. It seemed as if he was going to tell these muggles who I was. However, there wasn't much I could do at this moment. Escape from here was out of the question. I had to look as inconspicuous as possible until I was certain that my game was up.

"It's alright. Being curious is not a mistake." Claire reassured me with a smile. "Anyway, even I wasn't aware where they were holding that mage. I wouldn't have left you alone if I knew he was nearby." She certainly looked convincing but I knew how good she was at lying. On impulse, I used my Legilimency on her but I couldn't see anything. I tried harder but still no joy. Luckily for me, Claire seemed unaware of my attempt at mental invasion. I figured it didn't work on Muggles without a wand.

We were at the moment sitting in the lobby. After a few minutes of silence, I stood up followed by Claire. "I think I am alright now."

"Great! Let me show you where my office is." She turned around to lead me but her progress was halted when a few soldiers approached us. In the lead was the same soldier that I had seen earlier with the doctor. He seemed to have a higher rank if the number of arrows on his shoulder was anything to go by.

"Nurse Henderson, may I have a word with you?" He addressed her. The other soldiers walked past her and stood around me in a semicircle as if expecting me to make a run for it. Not that the thought didn't occur to me. This didn't look good. Did these muggles find out who I really was? Had Malfoy already spilled the beans?

"Claire, what's going on?" I called out with a hint of fear in my voice. She turned around to look at me and gestured to me to stay put.

"What is the matter Sergeant Willis?" She enquired.

"A word please." The Sergeant refused to say anything more besides a gesture for Claire to come forward.

She walked a few steps away from us and began conversing in whispers with the Sergeant. I glanced at the hardened faces of the soldiers surrounding me but there faces didn't have any emotion that I could work on and understand their intentions. Shouldn't they be hauling me in a cell next to Malfoy where he could gloat at my misfortune? It would be so like him anyway.

After a minute or so, she returned and stood right before me. "What I am going to ask of you is going to very difficult but I hope you realize how important this is for us."

I gave her a blank look. I didn't know what she was talking about. "If you could start by telling me what you want me to do..."

"They need you to go back in." She stated and then waited for my reaction.

I was taken by surprise. This was unexpected but not unwelcomed by me. I needed information and I was willing to deal with Malfoy's jibes and insults. However, I needed to display fear and obstruct them enough to make my act look believable. And that's what I did. "No! No no no, I am not going back in there. Are you out of your mind? He is a murdering psychopath; he would do me in the first chance he gets. I am not proud in saying this but I am scared of him. He gives me the chills. Please don't put me back in there, I beg of you."

"This is really important for them. They need some information from him and they think you are their best bet." Claire said, tilting her head in the sergeant's direction who was standing in the background, watching me like a hawk. I didn't like it in the least.

"Me?" I blurted out with a shocked look on my face, moving my eyes back to Claire. "What can I do when you all haven't been able to do? I don't even know what to ask him. I can't-"

"You just need to talk to him. Sergeant Willis has told me that the mage was very responsive when you spoke with him." Claire told me.

I scoffed. "If you mean him scaring the crap out of me was his way of being responsive, then I-"

"You had your say Nurse Henderson." Sergeant Willis' authoritative voice interrupted me as he marched next to Claire with his gaze never leaving me. His eyes hardened three fold as he spoke to me. "You have two choices. Either willingly cooperate with us or we will make you."

"That is not much of a choice, is it?" I retorted with anger. My dislike for him was increasing by the second.

The sergeant remained silent for a moment. "I would like to remind you that it was my team that rescued you from the abandoned hospital. If it weren't for us, you would have died of thirst and hunger."

"I guess that means I owe you my life and I should be willing to do anything for you to pay you back. Isn't that what you are trying to imply here?" My glare was withering but seemed to have no effect on the sergeant.

On the contrary, a thin smile spread across his face that reminded me of Professor McGonagall. "Aren't you a clever lad?"

I clenched my jaws to hold back my retort. It wouldn't be wise to push very hard. I just looked away and sighed in defeat; a sign to indicate that I had conceded.

"I am sorry Harry." Claire apologized to me but I didn't look at her. The soldiers escorted me past her and led me back to the same room. Well, this was going to be interesting.

***B***

The soldier pushed me in the back and closed the door behind me without a word.

I found Malfoy back in his bed but with both arms handcuffed to the bed.

"Ah! You are back! Missed me already?" Malfoy was in his elements. I wondered how he put up this act so flawlessly even in such trying conditions. My whole life has been an act, Potter.

Damn, I had forgotten to put up my mental shields. A wizard for company was something I needed getting used to. How did you know I would be back? "Y-you don't s-scare me..." I stammered with my back to the wall.

"I can clearly see that." Malfoy mocked me. I knew this audible conversation was just an act but that didn't stop me from thinking of ways for knocking him out cold. You are the only person I have spoken with since I have been here. I knew they would be forced to use you again to attempt to get something out of me. Very desperate, these muggles, aren't they?

Malfoy's cuffed hand gestures towards the chair next to the bed. "Have a seat, won't you? I cannot have you standing in the corner as if you are being punished for something." I warily moved towards the chair and quickly grabbed it before dragging it to the corner nearest to the door. Malfoy chuckled with amusement. "Suit yourself."

I obeyed silently. So tell me Malfoy, why did you get yourself captured? What reasons were you talking about?

"I know why you are here." Malfoy had a knowing look on his face. "They are using you to get some information out of me, aren't they?" I told you Potter, I had my reasons. I don't wish to go into detail, especially with a coward like you.

Don't you dare call me a coward. You know nothing about what I have been through. I put up a mask of astonishment on my face. "How... how did you..." I trailed off.

"Didn't you know? Wizards can read minds at will. And I can read yours." Malfoy's voice was certainly very intimidating. I have a lot of time on my hand. Care to share?

"You are just bluffing." I stated but with a hint of doubt. I knew what Malfoy was doing. He was going to force me to tell me about myself; a dirty tactic. Not that I had much of a choice. I needed to keep the conversation interesting and informative if I had any hope for a prolonged stay in this room.

"Am I?" Malfoy looked bemused. "Let me see what I can find in your head." He paused for a moment. "Ah! So now I know your name. Harry Green is it? An apt name if you ask me." Malfoy chuckled. Tell me more before I say something that isn't what you have told them and blow your cover. Something like you being one of us.

Damn you, Malfoy. "How did you do that?" I was finding it difficult to maintain the shocked look on my face as my insides boiled in anger. I had been injured in an accident after I left the Hogwarts Express and been in a muggle hospital for nearly four months. I had been in a coma ever since and regained consciousness only a few days ago. That is when these muggles found me. I have told them I have lost my memory and they think I am a muggle. Also I don't know what has happened in the last four months.

"I just need to look in your eyes and I can see everything. Wait! I can see something more." Malfoy gave a dramatic pause. "Your mind is all hazy and I can't look past a few days. You have been sleeping a long time haven't you?"

Harry quickly stood up, pushing his chair back in the process. "Can you- can you tell me about my past?" Tell me what has happened in the last four months. How did the muggles become involved in our war? What is Voldemort up to?

A crease appeared on Malfoy's forehead "I am afraid I cannot. I can only tell you stuff you know and remember."

I waited for Malfoy's reply but he didn't respond to the question I posed in his mind. And the look on his face told me that he wasn't going to answer either. This is not fair Malfoy. I told you about what happened to me. Don't you have the courtesy to tell me what has been happening? You have nothing to lose.

I don't remember making any such kind of a deal, Potter. "So tell me Harry, how does it feel to not know something that you so desperately want to know?" The taunt was unmistakable and his smirk was unbearable. Every fibre in my body was screaming for Malfoy's head but I somehow fought it off. Now was not the best time to accomplish my heart's deepest desire.

You haven't changed Malfoy. You are still the same insufferable bastard. However, you should know that I wasn't depending on you for information. I do have another source.

Who?

Hermione.

Malfoy's smirk faltered and his eyes widened in shock. Her-Granger is alive? Where is she?

I was slightly taken aback by the amount of interest Malfoy was taking in what I had told him. However, I was not thinking straight. I could have easily traded information with him but revenge had taken over and my decision was made. Bye Malfoy.

I started to swoon as I clutched my head. "My head hurts. What are you doing? Oh God!" I dropped into the chair with a moan escaping my mouth. With weak hands I struck the door. "Please, help me! I think I am... dying." I fell from the chair to the floor where I began to squirm in pain. Moments later, the door opened and I was again quickly pulled out by a couple of soldiers. They half carried me to the nearest operating room where a few doctors were already waiting for me. They surely moved fast.

The soldiers laid me on the operating table and left me with the doctors. I had to give an indication that I was getting better before they started thrusting needles through my head.

My moans subsided and I slowly relaxed my body. "Water..." I said roughly. This was getting fun. I was like an undercover Auror, working amidst Muggles. Imagine that.

One of the doctor forced a small pipe into my mouth from which I began to suck what I thought was water. However, the taste was odd and it was too late before I realized it. Darkness shrouded my vision and I drifted away into unconsciousness.

***B***

"Shadow One reporting. No hostile in sight." The speaker in the tank crackled as it pushed its way through the debris littered road. However, nothing could stop this beast of a tank as it crushed the obstacles in its path.

The small patrolling team of four soldiers cautiously moved forward with the tank in the lead. Two snipers were moving along the top of the buildings to maintain visual coverage. The remainder of the reconnaissance was carried out by the numerous sensors in the tank. This team belonged to AMF according to the black logo of on their apparels and tank armor. The sun was three quarters of its way to horizon and within few hours darkness was going to become their enemy.

"Shadow Two reporting. No hostiles-" There was a pause before the voice became urgent. "Enemy sighted! Two o'clock."

"Shadow One confirms. Three airborne targets flying in our general direction. Command, we need eyes on the target. It's too far for our scopes."

"Acknowledged, Shadow One. Optical scanner engaged." A small optical turret on the tank moved towards the location and zoomed in on the target. A clear picture appeared on a screen in the tank. "Enemy combatants confirmed. Definitely mages. Two on broomsticks and third on some kind of strange animal. Flying vector 6-2-2. Should be in range in fifty seconds according to target velocity. Orders are to shoot to kill. I repeat, shoot to kill."

"Rodger that." The snipers began preparing their weapons and aligning their scopes. It was time for some payback.

***B***

"This so boring." The death eater complained as he yawned while flying on the broomstick. "Why do we get such stupid tasks? It's not as if those filthy muggles would dare try to come in our territory. Those weaklings must already know their place by now."

The other two death eaters chuckled. One of them said "We know that Jones but something must have tripped those muggle wards. We have to investigate it just to be sure."

Jones just sighed and looked down and saw the progress of the death eaters on the ground as they moved in a net formation to cover a larger area. He was at least lucky to be assigned to fly. This summer heat was unrelenting.

Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted something move on the same road as the death eaters. He squinted but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Just as he was about to pull his eyes away, he spotted a large vehicle which was moving straight for the death eaters. However, before he could alert anyone, he heard two loud whistling sounds and the death eaters who were flying alongside him, suddenly fell towards the ground in a free fall. He knew they were dead before they even hit the ground.

Jones dived with his broomstick and flew in a zigzag manner making it difficult for him to be targeted. He didn't know what was happening but he had to alert the other death eaters. Something whistled past his head as he closed in on the death eaters. They had stopped moving and were looking up at him, waiting to hear what was going on.

Jones yelled. "Muggles are attacking us. They are-" A bullet pierced through his head cutting off his warning.

The death eaters on the ground followed the fall of their comrade from his broomstick with fear in their eyes.

***B***

"Target neutralized, Command. Ground assault is a go. Covering fire."

"Acknowledged, Shadow Two. Guerrilla team, move forward. Shadow team, do you have a visual?"

"Negative Command. Buildings obstructing line of sight. Shadow One?"

"Same here Command."

"Guerrilla team, approach with caution."

"Roger Command. Moving in."

***B***

"What the hell is going on?!" One of the death eaters screamed as he noticed the bloody hole where Jones' mouth was supposed to be.

"He was warning us about the Muggles. They must be attacking us!"

"They can't. They are pathetic and incapable of such a retaliation. We need to find out what's going on."

They all heard a sharp clank and quickly drew their wands and aimed it in the direction of the noise. However, it was only a metal piece which seemed to drop out of thin air and rolled over to them.

"What is that?"

A death eater moved in to get a closer look. "It's the size of a fist and oval in shape." He looked up at the others. I haven't seen anything-" There was a click followed by a loud and violent explosion of heat and fire, burning everyone within range.

The others who were further away were thrown to the ground as the shock wave hit them, making them bleed through their ears. Their whole body was pummeled with debris and their wounds were spitting out blood.

Those who could move got up with a dazed look on their faces and searched for their enemy through the smoke with their wands pointed towards their unknown assailants.

Suddenly four soldiers appeared out of nowhere through the smoke and sprayed them with gunfire from all sides. Two death eaters went down in a breath while the others quickly brought up their shields which easily stopped the bullets. A few death eaters returned fire from behind the shields and the muggle soldiers had to dive for cover.

Something came out of the smoke. Something huge. "Block this!" A loud voice resounded followed by a huge blast of cannon.

Their shield shattered like glass and the remaining death eaters disintegrated in the huge ball of flame before they could even vocalize their screams.

The last remaining death eater looked up at the sky with bloodied eyes. He was bleeding from his mouth and his nose and his whole body flinched in a desperate effort to stay alive. He felt numb all over as his blood drained from his wounds.

This wasn't possible. Muggles were nothing. They were beneath their feet; inferior beings they were. How did this happen then? Was the Dark Lord wrong?

His ears picked up movement as two people came within view. They were talking.

"This one is alive but barely." One of them said.

The other one removed a small hand gun and pointed at the dying death eater. "Let us put this mage out of his misery."

The death eater closed his eyes and the gunshot was the last thing he heard.

***B***

"Minister, we have good news." The director of AMF said over the phone.

"It better be. Hearing bad news has become monotonous for my ears." The crisp voice spoke from the other end.

"One of our patrol teams was successful in taking down more than fifteen mages. And that too without any loses on our side."

"That is indeed good news." The Minister sounded relieved. "Any prisoners?"

"Unfortunately no Sir. They had been advised to not take any chances and use every lethal force necessary to take them down. There were no survivors."

"I see." The Minister mused. "It's alright. This could serve to be a warning to our enemy to not take us lightly and stop their mindless attacks on our people."

"I sure hope they take it that way." The Director wasn't too optimistic about that outcome. He was expecting a much more severe response from the mages.

"If there isn't anything else..." And the line went dead. The Director replaced the receiver and dialled for his secretary. "Martha, arrange a meet with all the generals as soon as possible. Raise the priority of the meeting to 1B. Make sure no one is left out. We have a situation on our hands."

The real war was about to begin.

***B***

"Welcome back to the world of the living." I heard Claire say to me as soon as I opened my eyes. She looked apologetic and had a small smile on her face. "I am so sorry what you have been put through. And considering what has already happened to you, I won't blame you if feel angry. I am partly responsible as well. I didn't do enough to stop those heartless people." She sighed with regret.

I just grimaced and looked away. "It is not your fault and so there is no need for you to apologize. You have been only trying to help me since the start. I am very grateful for that."

Claire nodded with a relieved look on her face. "Not much of a first day on job was it?" She said with a sad smile.

I gave a dry chuckle. "I am afraid I didn't enjoy it much."

"That is putting it rather lightly." Claire glanced at her watch. "Let us get you out of here. It's almost time for my shift to end anyway."

With a nod, I stood up and stretched my body. "Let's go"

***B***

Ex-military commander, Jamieson Cole sat back in his chair with a confident smile on his face. And why wouldn't he be confident? He had the best team of handpicked soldiers working under him and armed with the best equipment available, they were going to be unstoppable. This contract was in their bags. There was nothing stopping them.

"Mr Cole, our team is two minutes away from target zone." Carl Hobson, the communication expert informed him. The commander nodded in acknowledgment and rubbed his hands with expectations.

The Colony general wanted results and he was about to give him that. Mr Cole had sent his whole team out to a suspect location which had been picked up on satellite. There were indications of suspicious activity in that area and they were certain that it wasn't anything human. It didn't matter whether it was past sunset. His team was the best and light was never going to be a problem.

The attack team comprised of two Apache choppers loaded to the brim with weapons, followed by two Titan assault tanks with super heavy armour and powerful battle cannons. And finally, trailing the tanks were an army of twenty five soldiers moving in a military truck, stuffed with ammunition and what not. Most of the soldiers were either ex-MI6 agents or top end military resources that he had recruited. However, it was the hunger for money that had helped him acquire them and that was what he was counting on. It was time they made themselves useful.

"Ground force deployed and moving in." Carl was saying. One whole wall of the control room had been covered with screens, some displayed live satellite screen grabs while some indicated the stats of his soldiers. A few of them even had mini cameras attached to their gear to obtain the live feed of the action.

That last screen was what the ex-commander focused on. Even with sitting miles away from the action, it gave him a real feel of how it used to feel like back in the days when he was active. His eyes temporarily moved to the wheelchair he was sitting in before returning to the screen. His time was behind him now.

The commander remained silent during the next few tense moments when his team scanned the area.

"No sign of the mages, Mr Cole." Carl said after removing his headset.

Mr Cole was hesitant for a moment. Was it a false alarm? Was all his effort to prove himself had gone in vain. No! The mages must be hiding somewhere. "Tell them to keep looking."

Carl nodded and turned to the screen and replaced his headset over his head to give the order.

A few seconds later Carl suddenly turned in his seat to address Mr Cole. "Something is wrong." The panic in his voice was evident. "You need to hear this." He said as he flipped a switch which routed the audio output to the speakers in the control room.

A voice crackled from the speaker. "I think we have been sent on a wild goose chase. There is nothing-" And then there was static.

"What happened?" The ex-commander inquired with concern etching his forehead.

"That was a few seconds ago from the microphones of one of the ground units." Carl paused before resuming. "There has been no contact since then with any of our ground forces."

"Including the tanks?"

"Yes Sir. Including the tanks." Carl looked slightly pale.

"It-it could just be a temporary drop in communication. It does happen when you are out in the field." Mr Cole said with a strong voice. He had to hold this operation together. A lot was on the line here.

The panic and shock on Carl's face didn't leave. "I thought that too until I checked the bio-stat monitor." He pressed a button on the keyboard to bring up a screen which displayed the individual stat of each unit in the field. Disturbingly, most of them had flat lined.

The ex-commander gasped. This cannot be! A total disaster! "Get me one of the choppers on the comm, quickly." After toggling a few switches and pressing some buttons, the communication expert indicated that they were online. "Hawk one come in. Hawk one come in."

"Rodger Control, awaiting orders." A voice spoke from the speaker.

"We have lost contact with the ground team. Do you have a visual?" Mr Cole was desperately hoping everything was just a result of some equipment malfunction.

"Negative Control. We are doing a perimeter sweep while the ground team is progressing towards the hot zone. It is too dark for an optical scan as well."

"Try to contact them through radio. See if you get a response."

"Rodger that." There was a pause before the voice spoke again. "Negative Control. Three attempts to hail them on our reserved frequency have failed to draw a response. Do you want us to move in to check?"

"You are green to proceed Hawk One." The ex-commander turned to Carl. "Do you have the video feed from the ground teams?"

"I am afraid not. The data seems to have been corrupted due to premature termination or possible damage to the recording unit in the field."

Mr Cole wasn't too happy to hear that. "What about thermal imaging? That should throw some light on what could have happened."

Carl nodded and brought up different screen which only had shades of red. "Those tiny red dots are our troops and this is... a few seconds before we lost contact."

They watched in silence as they scanned the screen for anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly, large number of new red dots appeared out of nowhere and disappeared within seconds from appearing. The remaining red dots ceased to move after that.

The ex-commander and the communication expert shared a worried look. They knew what that meant even if they couldn't explain what exactly had happened.

"We have a visual, Control." The voice from the speaker interrupted their dark train of thoughts.

"What do you see?" Mr Cole asked but with little hope.

There was a pause before the chopper responded. "It's not good. All soldiers are down and none of them are moving. I see smoke rising from the huge holes in our tanks."

"Holes in our tanks?!" Mr Cole exclaimed loudly. "Those are triple plated titanium alloyed armour for God sake. What could have done something like that?" He asked rhetorically.

"I don't see anything in the vicinity that-" There was a loud explosion that broke through the speaker.

"What was that?" Mr Cole shot a questioning gaze towards Carl. "Hawk One do you read me? Hawk One respond!"

"We are alright Control. There was a loud explosion and we are trying... Wait we have got confirmation." There was another pause. "Hawk Two is down. I repeat, Hawk Two is down." Even through the speaker, the voice sounded panicked.

"What happened?" The ex-commander asked frantically.

"I-We don't know. Radar is picking up a huge interference but our sensors are not picking up any electronic signals from the source."

What did that mean? What in the world was happening? Did he underestimate those mages?

The mission had become a farce; an utter failure. It was time to salvage whatever he could. "Do not investigate Hawk One. Return to base ASAP. It's an order."

"Rodger Control." Mr Cole was unaware of how drenched he was in sweat. There was a faint tremble that a naked eye couldn't see. "Control, we have a problem. The interference in the radar I told you about earlier seems to be tailing us. However, we don't see anything in our vicinity. Our sensors aren't picking up anything as well, besides the anomaly on our radar."

"Maintain course-" A huge roar broke through the speakers, interrupting the ex-commander's order. "What was that Hawk One?"

"We-we don't know." The voice was laced with fear. They could almost feel death lurking over their heads.

"What is it? What do you see?" Mr Cole questioned anxiously.

"I don't know." There was another ear shattering roar which managed to hurt their ears. "Wait! I see it!" The sound of heavy breathing came through the speakers. "It can't be. Oh God! No!" It seemed the occupants of the chopper were in full blown panic. Not that they could be blamed for it as they were staring down their death, literally.

"What do you see?"

"It's a drag-" The voice on the speaker was cut-off and was followed by static.

"A dragon?" Carl intoned with a whisper, after a bout of depressing silence.

The Commander didn't respond. He was in shock. His whole team was gone; dead, murdered by those mages. And what was more, they had a dragon.

God save us all!

***B***

It was time.

After checking through the peep hole to ensure no one was listening at the door, I quickly moved towards the corner of the room where I had earlier found a lose floor tile. I slowly pulled it away to take the phone out which I had hidden below it.

I moved straight to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I switched on the phone and waited for it to turn on. She was going to call any moment.

As soon as the phone turned on, it beeped. 'Low battery'

I sighed in frustration. "Please not now. Just hang on a little bit more." I tried to egg on my mobile phone and then realized how crazy it sounded.

The minutes started to drag and I began to worry. Did Hermione forget about the call she was going to make? Was she in trouble? Did she call early?

And the phone rang which I nearly dropped in surprise. I pressed the answer button and brought the phone to my ears, which were so desperate to hear her voice.

"Hello, Hermione?" I said with barely suppressed excitement.

"Harry" Came the instant reply. It was Hermione Granger no doubt. Finally, I had the chance to speak with her, with my best friend.

Before either of us could say anything more, I heard three consecutive beeps and there was silence. I tried to say something but Hermione didn't respond.

When I checked my phone, the screen was blank and the battery had gone dead.

I yelled in annoyance, uncaring of who could hear me. Fate was extremely cruel when it came to me. Now what was I supposed to do?