POLICE STATE

Bakara Market

Muqdisho, Somalia

September 1st

2022 A.D.

This part of the world had always been prone to conflict. In 1993 even the powerful U.S. Delta Force and Army Rangers were forced to withdraw after a fierce battle that claimed over 1000 lives. Similar fighting erupted in 2006 and 2007 after Ethiopian troops stormed the city. Now, with the Wizarding world exposed, fanatics and rebel factions had all be volleying for power, claiming that they could handle the new situation better than anyone else.

The country had been torn into several pieces with several leaders. The most powerful of these was General Ali Al Hazem who controlled the bulk of the countries military forces. As many warlords had done before him, he had taken the city of Mogadishu as his command center. Now the entire city was controlled by army and militia forces, loyal to him.

It certainly wasn't the friendliest place in the world but it was where he needed to be at that moment. It was hot too, so hot that it was difficult to breath. Over 100 degrees, every single day. Of course, if you were part of the militia, you could easily get fans and ice for your drinks. Al was just happy that they actually refrigerated their beer.

Every now and than, gun fire would sound out. Over ΒΌ of the merchants at Bakara Market sold weapons. They would fire off a few rounds into the air just to show that the gun worked. There were also a few technicals patrolling the market. Any sign of trouble and they wouldn't ask questions, they'd simply turn their .50 Caliber machine gun onto who ever was responsible.

The stared nervously at Albus every time they passed the bar that he was sitting in. He was getting agitated. He had been waiting for 15 minutes already.

Just as he entertained the thought for simply forcing his way into the command center, a 4x4 drove up and stopped outside the bar. The driver called out in some broken EMMaay/EM dialect ushering Al towards the jeep.

Albus stood up and brought his beer with him. He jumped in the Jeep and they headed off through the Market.

It was quite unusual for a white man to be seen in the company of Hazem's Militia. Anyone that didn't know who he was probably mistook him for an arms dealer or something.

They drove past several military blockages and security check points. Although it was brutal, violent and illegal, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that this was the only thing keeping the region from falling into complete chaos.

Eventually they came to a huge building that looked like a palace that an Arab Sheikh might live in. There was security everywhere, including tanks and APC's on the parameter. The Jeep stopped at the gates and the driver talked with the main guard for a moment. Eventually, the guard opened the gate and let them pass.

Entering the palace was like entering another world. The marble floors had been buffered to a perfect shine and the whole place looked like it was cleaned about 3 times a day. It was air conditions and filled with gold plated items that Al was sure were probably real gold.

He was escorted up to a large open office with a big polished wooden desk in the center.

"Mr. Potter, Welcome to Muqdisho," General Hazem was well spoken but clearly originally from the area.

"Little late for welcomes, I've been here for an hour," Al stated.

"Yes, I apologize for keeping you waiting but I have many duties to attend to,"

"Running a country a little more difficult than you expected?"

"Stopping a country from tearing it's self apart is very difficult,"

"Well, you seem to be doing better than your friends up north. They're lopping the heads off anyone that's found with a wand, aren't they?" Al said simply.

"What can I say? They're uncultured," Hazem smiled. "most of them are expecting you to turn up and stop them at any moment,"

"I've got more important things to deal with,"

"Really? I thought you were here save the world?"

"I am and it's a lot more work than it sounds so can we get on with it please?"

"Of course," The General stood and ushered Albus towards a side door.

The door led them back outside the Palace and across the grounds to a small warehouse. Hazem's men opened the door for them and they stepped inside.

The whole place was obviously used as a freezer of some sort because the air was very cold.

"It is the only one you found?" Albus asked.

"Yes, I had my men sweep the entire area, not a sign of contagion anywhere," Hazem explained. "I've also asked around a little. There hasn't been anything like this reported in the country for at least that last 50 years,"

"50 years?"

"All the records after that were destroyed in 2006,"

"Huh,"

Hazem led Albus to a stretcher that was sitting right in the middle of the frozen warehouse. There was a sealed body bag sitting on top of it. One of Hazem's men came over and handed Albus a pair of latex gloves. He put them on and unzipped the body bag.

The corpse looked like it had been decomposing for the last 100 years. It had been drained of almost all of it's blood, fat and nutrients. The skin had turned black and jelly like. Albus pointed his forefinger at it's chest and traced a line down to it's stomach. A small incision followed his finger like the body was being cut by an invisible scalpel. Hazem looked very uneasy from seeing just one of Albus's talents.

He flicked his fingers and the incision opened up like it was part of an autopsy. Inside all the organs were shriveled and dead. Albus took hold of one of the rib bones and pulled. It snapped off like a twig. The bones had been drained of all marrow and fiber and were now as weak as toothpicks.

He pushed his hand inside the opening and felt the spin just behind the dead heart. Here the bones were ruff and brittle like they had actually been scratched away.

It was exactly the same as the other bodies. Something had literally consumed this man from the inside out, feeding on everything that made him alive.

The satellite phone in Al's pocket began to ring. He took off his gloves and answered it.

"Yeah?" The sounds of gun fire and shouting came through the ear piece.

"Al! It's Wells! Got a bit of a situation here, could use a hand!"

"I'm busy, your gonna have to deal with it your self," Al brushed off.

"I've also got some info about your little lightning rod!"

That got his attention. "Is it good?"

"You might be surprised,"

"Where are you?" Al asked.

"Liverpool. Just look for the rioters!" Wells yelled.

"I'm on my way," Al hung up the phone and turned to Hazem. "Burn it,"

He started walking towards the warehouse door.

"Hey! Should I be worried about this?" Hazem called.

"Yes," Albus exited the warehouse.

Potter Manor

Outside Petham

Kent, England

September 1st

2022 A.D.

Harry got up from his chair in the kitchen and answered the door. He actually took a step back when he first saw her. Even though he didn't believe it, the drunken man at the Leaky Cauldron had said some things that couldn't be ignored.

"Harry," Aurora said simply.

"Hi," He said simply.

"You want me to wait outside?" She asked causing Harry to realize that he hadn't actually invited her in.

"No, I'm sorry, come in," She stepped over the threshold and looked around for a second. "Err, Listen, thanks for doing this,"

"Al asked me to keep an eye on you guys beside, we're all heading in the same direction,"

"Yeah," Harry walked over to the stairs. "HURRY UP GUYS, AURORA'S HERE," He shouted.

Hugo and Lily came down first. Aurora immediately noticed that Lily's hair was different. She had always been a redhead but she seemed to have dyed her hair black. Together it gave her a very dark blood red tint, a lot like Lynx's hair.

"Love your hair Lil," Aurora smiled.

"Thanks, you don't think that Lynx will mind do you?" Lily asked quickly.

"I think she'll love it..., and so will whoever your trying to impress," Aurora winked causing Lily to flush red.

"Uhh, he's so dreamy!" Hugo mocked. "It's all I've been bloody hearing! Her and Rose talking about this mystery bloke!"

"Really?" Harry said with a smile and raised eyebrows. "and do I know this young man?"

"Shut up! There's no bloke! I just wanted to change my hair!" She hit Hugo on the arm and stormed away.

"Hi, Aurora," Rose smiled as she came down the stairs.

"Hi Rosey, so who's this boy that Lily's got a crush on?" Aurora asked.

"Sorry, I'm sworn to secrecy,"

"You know that I can just pull the answers out of your head right?" Aurora smiled.

"But...that's very intrusive!" Rose looked a little nervous, probably more so about her own thoughts being exposed.

"Where's James?" Harry asked.

"Still up there, being grumpy,"

"He didn't have to do this," Aurora chimed.

"I know, I think he feels obligated or something. Be the big protector while Al's gone or something,"

"I thought that was my job?"

"Yeah about that," Hugo jumped in. "Are you really taking over the D.A.?"

"That's the plan," Aurora said quickly.

"Sweet!"

"Don't get too excited Hugo. You lot will probably be it's only members after people find out," Aurora sighed slightly.

"Their loss," Rose smiled.

"Lily, go and get your brother will you," Harry sighed.

"JAMES! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!" Aurora suddenly screamed causing everyone to jump.

"I'm coming! Keep ya knickers on!" James moaned back.

Aurora suddenly looked slightly dizzy and flushed. "Harry, you got a toilet?" she asked.

"Sure, just down the hall and too the left,"

Aurora walked away quickly. She got into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Almost a second later she puked up all of her breakfast into the toilet. The sickly taste of bile in her throat made her feel even worse.

She looked down at her own stomach. "Why are you doing this to me?"

She quickly brushed her teeth and had a glass of water, trying to hide the fact the her morning sickness was driving her insane. She exited the bathroom just as James trudged his way down the stairs.

"It's 8:30 in the bloody morning! I don't see why we have to leave 2 and a half hours early!" He whined.

"Have you tried to get into London recently James? With all the road blocks and police checkpoints, It'll take 2 and a half hours just to get to the Dartford tunnel," Aurora said, levitating his truck out of the door. "has everyone got their transport papers?"

Rose, Lily, Hugo and James all pulled a small piece of stamped paper out of their pockets.

"Good, I don't want to have to leave anyone in Bromley,"

"Oh, Aurora, I don't suppose you -"

Aurora didn't wait for her to finish. She knew what she was about to ask. "Scorpius is meeting us at the station Rose, no need to threat,"

A huge smiled crept onto her face. Aurora gave her wand a few flicks, sending the rest of their luggage out of the front door. James, Rose, Lily and Hugo followed the luggage out of the door.

Harry looked at Aurora with a blatant vulnerability on his face. "Aurora, I've got no right to ask you for anything but...please protect my family,"

"I'll look after them," She smiled assuringly.

"I've got Auror's and Order members stationed at King's Cross and Hogsmead but all of the in between is controlled by the muggles," He explained.

"I know, we'll be fine Harry," They walked out of the house together towards a brand new silver SUV that was parked in the driveway.

"You talk to your wife?" Aurora asked suddenly.

"Erm...yeah, she's...err...she just wants some time to think," Harry mumbled.

"She still loves you. If she didn't, all she'd say to you was that she wanted a divorce. When she finally does decide to give you another chance, try not to fuck it up," Harry was a little taken back by that. It almost sounded like an order. Aurora just continued to walk over to the car.

"Where's Amelia?" James asked.

"At Hogwarts,"

"So your driving us to the station?" James looked quite surprised.

"Yes James, I'm driving you to the station," Aurora looked a little board by the questioning.

"Couldn't you have gotten a flying car?" Hugo queried.

"Yes, If I wanted to spend the next 10 years in Azkaban," Aurora hissed. She was getting very annoyed by the stupid questions now. "just get in the car Hugo,"

Harry hugged Lily and seemed to be having quite a hard time letting go. Aurora was glad to see that Lily and James's grudges towards their father had begun to fade. Harry wasn't a bad person, he had simply made a mistake and because of who he was, that mistake brought about repercussions that were a lot worse than what he deserved.

"You listen to Aurora, she'll look after you," Harry whispered. "I love you so much,"

"I love you too dad," Lily said soothingly. She seemed to be expecting him to let go at some point but he was taking his time about it. "Err...dad, your squishing me,"

Harry let go and jumped back. "I'm sorry sweetheart,"

James looked a little apprehensive as his father walked over to him. Harry hugged him just as he did with Lily.

"I'm so sorry for everything I've put you through," Harry said honestly.

"Talk to mum," James replied. It was his way of saying that he forgives him.

"Stay safe," He let James go and everyone got into the car.

Harry had never felt so alone as he watched the car pull out of the drive way and disappear down the road.

The journey had been pretty smooth sailing until they reached the outskirts of London. Just as Aurora had predicted, the massive tail backs caused by security checkpoints were forcing cars to crawl along at a snails pace. On top of that, the skies had started turning gray and dark and rain started to hit the windscreen.

Aurora would flip the radio channel over every time the news came on. She didn't want them to feel to unnerved by all the unpleasant events that were happening all over the world. Although there had been riots and protests, England had actually scene the least amount of unrest caused by the exposer of the wizarding world.

The Muggles had taken to protecting wizards and witches from their own kind with a lot of enthusiasm and most of the general population simply acted cautious and curious about the magical community. In other parts of the world, wizards and witches were being demonized as evil and unholy creatures, mainly by religious fanatics.

The religious upheaval was one of the main reason that security around the major cities had been increased so much. The government believed fanatics that were preaching intolerance were also behind several attempted bombings of Magical areas. However, with Magical and Muggle security working together, it was next to impossible to carry out any such plans.

By the time they reached the A2 into London, traffic was almost at a complete stand still. Every car had to stop at police blocks and show authorized transport papers. They also had to declare themselves as Magical or Non-Magical citizens.

After another 25 minutes of waiting, Aurora finally pulled up to the checkpoint. An armed security office walked over to the drivers side as she lowered the window.

"Papers please," He said. Everyone pulled out their papers and handed them to the officer.

He looked through the papers and noticed the AMC Tag on the bottom.

"Show me your wands please," He asked.

They all held up their wands for him to see. He turned back to the papers but stopped when he noticed one of the names. He looked from the papers to Aurora several times before walking back to the checkpoint.

Aurora watched him talk down his radio while subtly looking back at her. She reached over and opened the glove box in front of James. Inside was a 9mm pistol which she took out and cocked.

"Aurora what are you doing?!" James asked nervously.

"Just stay calm!" She hissed.

"What are you thinking?! He's a cop!"

"You willing to bet your life on that James?" Aurora said, holding the gun down by the door so it wouldn't be spotted.

The security officer walked back over to the car.

"Miss Lennox?" He asked. Aurora nodded her head slightly and at the same time, thumbed back the hammer on the gun.

"We're to escort you to King's Cross. You've been given priority clearance. Stay in the left lane and follow this car, he'll make you get there," He pointed to a police car in front of him where another security office was just getting in.

"Thank you," Aurora said, pushing the hammer back and safetying the weapon.

"Looks like Al's been pulling some strings for us," Rose muttered.

The officer walked away and Aurora put he gun back in the glove box.

"Aurora what the hell was that!?" James blurted.

"Just being cautious,"

"You were ready to kill a cop!"

"I'm trying to keep you alive James and I don't know who to trust! Unlike your brother I'm not bulletproof! You don't like it, fuck off and walk to Kings Cross!" She snarled.

James shrank in his seat. Aurora realized that she was letting her emotions get away from her again. It certainly wasn't the first time she had snapped at someone. Hormones of a pregnant woman have a mind of their own.

The police car in front started to pull away. Aurora followed behind it as it led them into an empty motorway lane.

"I was just saying...," James mumbled.

"I can't afford to just trust people at the moment James," She said trying to calm down. "and I might not be able to protect you all the time,"

"Well, that's why your gonna teach us how to defend ourselves, right?" Hugo tried to lighten the mood.

"That's right,"

"So your really gonna teach us how to cast a Patronus?" Lily asked sheepishly.

"Yes but it's not as easy as you might think," Aurora sighed.

"Dad learned his when he was 13 and I'm 14,"

"It's got nothing to do with age, Lil," Rose stated. "it's about determination and finding your inner strength,"

"You read that in a text book didn't you?" Hugo grinned.

"Yeah, so?!" Rose hissed.

"Just like mum! I wonder how long it'll be before your a flaking encyclopedia...," Hugo released what he had just said. "ah! For crying out loud!"

"Flaking?" James raised his eyebrows while Rose giggled.

"He can't swear," She sang.

"Shut up!"

"What do you mean he can't swear?" James asked.

"He told mum to fuck off...so she jinxed him and now he can't use any dirty language," She laughed.

"This is a violation of my civil liberty! The freedom of speech is mine by right!" Hugo growled.

"Clearly it isn't," Aurora smiled.

"I can't believe that Bikini did this to me! I mean Barely! Buzzard! Bromley! Ahhh for Ducks sake!"

The whole car burst into laughter as Hugo fumed in his seat. In fact most of the rest of the journey was spent trying to get Hugo in situations where he would try and swear and come out with a completely random word instead.

He really wasn't happy by the time they arrived at King's Cross.

After getting their things out of the car, they made their way through the crowed station into a designated cue for Magic users only. It led directly to the portal between platforms 9 and 10. One by one they pushed their way through the portal.

"Your early,"

Lincoln was leaning against the wall of the platform keeping an eye on the other people around.

"Yeah, we have priority clearance, apparently," Aurora said as Rose ran down the platform towards Scorpius Malfoy.

He was waiting next to his mother with his trunk sat just behind him. They immediately hugged and kissed like they hadn't seen each other in years. Lily smiled as James shuddered.

"Did you get the Vanishing Cabinets set up?" Aurora asked.

"Yep and I tested them and no I'm never doing it again!" Lincoln quipped.

"Vanishing Cabinets?" James asked.

"Yeah, One set up in the back of the Hog's Head, the other's in my apartment. Anything happens at School, we use the passageway in the Room of Requirement then take the cabinet to my place," Aurora explained. "just in case we need to leave quickly,"

"Cool," James smirked.

"I've got to do a quick check of the area and then I'll see you on board. Amelia's meeting you at Hogsmead," Lincoln said quickly.

Aurora and the others boarded the train.

St. Johns Shopping Center

Liverpool, England

September 1st

2022 A.D.

Armed Response Unit's were ready with tear gas and water hoses but were determined not to use it until they had to. The protest had started with only a few hundred people but the crowed had slowly gotten bigger and bigger and had now turned into a mob. Large picket signs that read: EM Magic isn't natural! /EM had been dropped in favor of violence.

Shop windows had been smashed and cars had been burnt out with petrol bombs. Wells was taking cover behind a police van as the crowed continued to hurl rocks and bottles at the officers. There simply weren't enough police to contain the situation as they were already spread thin all over the country.

A thunderous roar cut the air as the Colossus landed in the middle of the street, right in front of the crowd. He had only been there for about a second before people panicked and ran. They bolted in different directions and hid inside shops. None of them were willing to try and take him on.

"Our jobs would be so much easier if we had that kind of effect," Wells said walking over to him.

"You get demoted or something? Why are you handling riot control?" Albus asked.

"We're spread so thin that every department is doubling up on jobs at the moment. There is serious talk of bringing the army in,"

"That might not be such a bad idea," Albus said. "you said you had information for me?"

"I do," Wells ushered Albus over to his car that was parked a few feet away. He went inside and pulled out his briefcase. "I was wondering why your girl hadn't been spotted by Interpol or put on the national database...this is why," He handed Al a small print out. "your not the only one looking for her. The spooks are trying to grab her as well,"

"C.I.A.?"

"Yeah, couple of them caught up with her two weeks ago. She hit em with 3000 volts then disappeared,"

"Well, this is very interesting but it really doesn't help me find her does it?" Albus said in frustration.

"Look at where they caught up to her," Wells smiled.

"Maryland, so what?"

"Brazil, India, Maryland...recognize the pattern?"

Albus clocked it. "Fuck...,"

"Yep, the whole time you've been looking for her -"

"She's been looking for me!" Albus sighed. He had been such an idiot.

"My guess is that she'll head for next closest to her. One of your most famous appearances," Wells mused.

"The Dam,"

"Yep. If I were you, I'd try and get there before the spooks do,"

"Thanks Wells,"

"No worries," He smiled before Albus blasted himself back into the air.