Still not mine...

Chapter 7... (Take 2, Thanks to Cold Rage for pointing out my stuff up)

POV Change. This will be happening at different times during the story.

As we popped back into existence in what I guessed was the Leakey Cauldron I let go of Cody's hand and looked around. I wasn't very impressed. It was dingy and it had a smell of old beer, vomit and unwashed Men.

I shuddered at a memory.

Ewww.

I turned to Cody as she wished us to have a good day and to call her when we were ready to go home. She bowed and popped back to the Manor. While this was happening I was not even aware that I was still grasping tightly at the other hand that I held. I looked up at the man standing protectively above me.

When I was allowed to go to school, my only refuge at recess and lunch from my cousin and his gang off bullies was the school library. I had fallen in love with stories of gallant knights rescuing fair maidens from dragons and evil lords who wanted to rule the kingdom.

Hey, I'm Ten remember...

I would hide myself away every chance I got and read and re-read those books. While I was reading them, I pretended that I was the damsel and I was getting rescued. Only I was getting rescued from Their House. As the years went on I began to believe that there were no knights in shining armour coming to rescue me.

Then Alex came. He saved me from Them. To me he is my knight in shining armour...

Well ok. My knight in black body armour made out of Kevlar, but you get my point. He rescued me, and I know that as long as I am around him, nothing bad will ever happen to me.

I was dragged out of my day dreaming when I noticed the silence that had descended on the room we were standing in. I pushed myself even closer to Alex and I fearfully looked around at the customers in the bar. I was scared that someone would recognise me and Dumbles would find out.

Beth was whispering in my head that it was ok and that no one had even seen me.

I was confused by that statement and I actually looked at the people standing in the bar. What I saw made me almost giggle in relief.

Beth was right. No one was paying me any attention. Every single person was staring at my body guard. Now that I was paying attention to my surroundings, I could understand why there were a few looks of fear on some of the faces.

It was simple really.

Alex looked scary.

Ok, to give you an idea. Picture a guy dressed all in black who is just over 6 foot tall and is all muscle, who is hiding his eyes behind a pair of really cool looking Oakley's that have bright blue lens. His left hand is under his coat and behind his back and I realise that he has his hand either on or close to one of his guns.

Now you can see why no one paid any attention to the little midget standing beside him.

After a few seconds, Alex seems to realise that these people are not a threat as he removes his left hand from his coat and starts to gently guide me towards the exit that leads towards London.

I smiled to myself as I let myself be led out into the bright day outside.

My Knight.

###

As we left the pub and the weirdly dressed wizards and witches we turned right and started to walk towards London.

"What do you want to do today Little One?" Alex asked me as we slowly walked along the road.

"I'm not sure." I replied with a shrug looking up at him. I noticed that his head was constantly turning, and I realised that he was looking for danger as we walked along.

I got a warm fuzzy feeling at that realisation. Alex will always look after me.

"Of course he will Immie." Beth's voice echoed inside my head. "He is the Protector of the House Potter."

I blushed at the mild rebuke in Beth's voice and thought about what I had seen in books and on posters about London while I had been in school.

"I would like to go on the Eye and ummm. Can we go to Buckingham Palace, and umm that place with the wax people?"

Alex laughed, and I again got that warm fuzzy feeling in my chest. I made my first friend laugh, and it wasn't the cruel laugh of my Cousin and his friends as they teased me. It was a genuine laugh.

"Don't you mean Madame Tussauds?" he asked me.

"Yup that's the place." I replied.

"I think we need to need to go to a tourist information booth" he told me.

I nodded my acceptance and skipped ahead of him – though not that far ahead- happily enjoying the fact that this was my first trip anywhere and that I was with my first friend and it was a really nice day and I was just so excited and I didn't ever have to see Them again, and I had a friend.

"Wow." Beth's amused voice sounded in my head startling me. "It's a good thing that you don't need to breathe while you are thinking." She told me. "Otherwise you may have passed out from lack of oxygen during that little revelation."

I mentally poked my tongue out at my ring?

Mental protector?

Relative?

"How about family?" Beth suggested. I thought about it and mentally nodded.

"Yep, that could work." I responded. I her nod inside my head.

"Good, I'll be quiet now. Enjoy your day with Alex." With that she faded from my conscious and I resumed my skipping and looking into all of the shop windows that we passed.

I stopped skipping when I came to an intersection and looked up at Nelsons Column. The other reason that I stopped was seeing all of the people standing around and taking photos. I took a quick look behind me and saw that Alex was only a few meters away. I stepped towards him and latched onto his arm and he immediately pulled me against him.

"It's ok Little One." He told me softly. "Do you want to go around or do you want to have a look at Nelson's Column?"

I was tempted to go around and stay away from all the people, but as I was about to request it. I stopped and thought about it. I wanted to be brave for Alex. I turned towards the centre of the square, took a deep breath and started moving towards the column.

I still had a death grip on his hand though...

We didn't actually stop at the column, rather just walked straight past it. I did give it a quick look but I was more looking forward to just getting through the square without freaking out. After what seemed like hours, we made it past Nelson and through the square. We crossed the road and started walking down the Mall towards the Palace.

###

Alex had forgotten that because it was only June, the Palace was not open for visitors yet. That's ok. There was a guy selling disposable cameras near the gates, so Alex let me buy one of them and I took a few photos of me and him with the guards. I think I sort of embarrassed the guard a little bit because I asked Alex how come his uniform was so different to his.

He just smiled and with a nod to the guard – who didn't even move – explained that I had only seen his 'working rig'- he even used the finger things to show me, and that his ceremonial uniform was different to his normal one. The same as this soldiers working uniform was different to this one.

I said sorry to the guard, who winked at me before he resumed his position of not moving at all. How can they do that?

Alex said it was training. And he wasn't even supposed to wink at me. I had taken a few pictures of the Palace – Alex asked a stranger to take one of him and me. Yay my first photo with my first friend.

We stopped for lunch at a cafe and Alex let me order a hamburger and chips with a chocolate milkshake. I had never had a burger or milkshake before. They tasted so good. When I told Alex that this was the first time I had had these things, his face went blank and cold for a few seconds before he smiled at me and told me that with him here, I would be doing alot of first things. I was so happy.

After lunch, we went on the eye. I used up almost all of the film in the camera taking pictures of the different things I could see from so high up. It was like flying. While I was taking photos of everything that caught my attention, I was busy pointing out to Alex all of the things that I could see that I wanted to go and visit.

Alex smiled at me and said that although we wouldn't get to see everything today, we could come back at another time and look at some different things.

I smiled at him and gave him a massive hug. I like hugging Alex. I feel so protected. Oh yeah, his muscles are sooooo hard.

I hope he doesn't read this.

After the eye the weather started to change. Really black rain clouds had started to form. Alex looked at me and asked if I wanted to head home or did I want to see a movie?

Der. Movie of course.

He got us a taxi – he can whistle really loud as well – and we went to the Prince Charles Cinema. I asked him what was good as he had obviously seen most of these before. He said I would probably like Rocketeer.

I nodded and he bought the tickets and we went up to the shop and Alex bought me popcorn and a coke. Both of these I had never had before. Alex got the same as me and we went in found our seats.

It was awesome !

The sounds, the size of the screen, the popcorn. Wow. We are so going back there.

After the movie I was pretty tired so I asked Alex if we could go home. He nodded and we waited until there was no one left in the cinema and I called for Cody.

With an almost silent pop my friend appeared in front of me. She took mine and Alex's hand and we disappeared from London to appear again in the entry foyer of Potter Manor.

I gave Alex a kiss for taking me out today. He smiled and told me to go and have a bath and put my PJ's on and then to come down for dinner. I ran up to my room with Cody following me. As soon as I got into my room, I jumped onto the bed and told Cody all about my day.

She smiled at me and told me that she was happy I enjoyed myself, but I had better have my bath or I will be late for dinner. I jumped off the bed, pulled my clothes off and ran into the bathroom.

###

After Imogen had disappeared up the stairs I removed my coat and gave both it and the remaining money from the day to Zoe who had popped in just as we arrived.

"Master Alex, Lord Potter is in the study." I smiled my thanks at her and she disappeared with my coat.

I headed towards the study not really looking forward to talking with the portrait after this morning. I entered the study and nodded to the portrait of the last Lord of the House.

"Alex." He gained my attention. "I wish to apologise for my behaviour this morning. It was boorish, and beneath me. You have done everything possible to protect my family since you arrived here and I treated you like a potential thief."

"Apology accepted Lord Potter." I bowed to the portrait, and Charlus relaxed and sat back on his seat.

"So how was your day out with my Granddaughter?" Lady Potter asked me sitting forward in her chair.

I gave them a brief rundown and told them that they would have to wait to ask Imogen as I wanted to let her tell of her first day out. "There were no security issues." I finished and turned to the desk.

Once I was seated, I pulled out several sheets of paper and a pen from the top draw and I continued outlining my plan to free James and Lily from Azkaban.

"There is a Protectors office here in the Manor." Sam's voice echoed in my head. I stopped working and paid attention the voice in my head.

Does that sound as weird to you as it does to me?

"It is located just off the entry foyer on the left hand side of the main doors." She told me. "It was put in that location as everyone who enters the Manor has to pass you office to get anywhere else in the house." Saying that she went silent again and I refocused my attention on the real world.

I stood up and told the Potters what Sam had just told me. Dorea waved me off and told me to go explore, so I headed towards the entry foyer. I found a door exactly where Samantha said it would be. I pushed open the door and stepped into a fairly large office which had a large bookshelf on the inner wall and a large window that looked out onto the drive way on the wall opposite.

There was a large desk set close to the centre of the room facing the door. Off to my right there was another door and I poked my head in to discover that there was a small bathroom there. I went and had a quick look at the titles on the shelves and noticed that the majority of them were on combat and duelling techniques. There were also a few thrown in on basic potion making.

On the top shelf there were a set of books that were simply numbered 1 through to 47. Curiously I pulled the book marked 1 off the shelf and opened it to the first page. It took me a few seconds to decipher the calligraphy on the page. But once I had I realised that it was journal of Samantha and her time as the Protector of the House.

I queried my mental passenger about this.

"Yes it is." She replied. "The journals were filled out at the end of every day. These were put here to assist future Protectors in their duty to defend the Potter line. You will be expected to start your own journal as well."

I mentally nod my head at Sam's instructions and continue to try and plan the rescue of the Potters from Azkaban. I keep coming back to the fact that I need team 4 and a helo insertion to guarantee – as much as you can guarantee anything in a combat op – a safe return to the Manor.

I hear a thunder of footsteps on the stairs and realise that it must be dinner time and that Imogen is coming down to eat. I leave my plans on my desk and head towards the dining room.

When I enter Imogen is already seated and is busy telling her grandparents about her day in London. I smile at my principal's enthusiasm and I dish up some Sheppard's pie and vegies onto my plate and dig in.

When there was a break in the conversation, I ask Lord Potter about powering up the wards and he informs me that that has already been taken care of while I was unconscious from the attack the other day. He went on to say that the wards were almost at around ninety seven percent and if we could hold off on heading to the Island for another week, the wards would be at full strength.

I nodded and took my little green brain out of my pocket and put a line through the note on the wards. I called Cody into the room and when she appeared, I informed the little elf of the change in plans. She just smiled, and explained that the bungalow was ready now and popped out of the room.

I told Imogen that I had discovered the Protectors office and that from now on that is where I would be working from now on. I also told Imogen that tomorrow I would be working most of the day and when her face fell, I told her that I wanted to work one day on and one day off. This meant that we would go somewhere the day after. Her face let lit up at that and she happily agreed to the plan.

I also added a note about getting Imogen re-enrolled into a school. The Dursleys had pulled her out of her school after five years so she had missed the last two. I'll worry about that after I get her parents.

After dinner I left the Potters to their conversation and headed back to my office and continued going over my notes on Azkaban. It was friggin hopeless. When I was just about to launch my notepad through the open door, there was a small pop and Zoe appeared in front of me with a mug of tea and a small piece of apple pie – thank god they remembered my orders on serving sizes.

"Supper Master Alex." She piped in her high pitched voice.

I pushed myself back from my desk and thanked the little elf. After depositing my food on the corner of my desk she bowed and popped out. I leaned back in my chair and put my feet up on the desk and took a bite of the pie.

While I ate, I looked out of my window and over the front grounds and tried to clear my head. I gave this up as a lost cause after ten minutes. I swore to myself – for a change – and took a mouthful of tea and dragged my notes in front of me again.

"You need our intervention Alex?" the soft voice of Clotho echoed around the room. With a shimmer of displaced air, the leader of the Fates appeared before me seated in one of the chairs in front of my desk.

"I do." I responded waving my hand at the pages of notes. I was not even surprised that she came without me even calling for her. "I have gone over this mission dozens of times both in my head and on paper and I cannot see a way to do it by myself. I have checked with Lord Potter and he does not have the contacts anymore to be able to assist in this."

"I am also not known to UNICRATT in this world so I cannot ask for assistance. The elves also cannot help me as there are wards around the island that will only allow elves that are bonded to the island entry to the fortress."

I slumped back in my chair and threw my hands up in frustration.

"It is a six hundred mile round trip." I told her. "It's too far for a broom. Portkey's are useless as there are anti port key and apparition wards there. The form of travelling that you have given me will break through the wads but because I have not seen Azkaban before, I cannot safely apparate there."

I slump back in my seat again. I am not used to failing an assignment.

This might be ego talking – well ok it probably is.

But my team and I used to pride ourselves on accomplishing the impossible missions. By the same token, if I said I needed access to a resource to assist my team and I, it was given to me.

There was a light tap on the door. "Good night Alex." Imogen came into the office "My Lady." She bowed to Clotho who smiled and nodded at the ten year old. She walked round to my side of the desk and gave me a kiss on the cheek and a hug. "Thanks for taking me out today. I had the best time." She smiled and blushed.

"No problem little one." I replied to her returning the hug. "Remember, I have to work tomorrow, but the next day is for us. I want you to think about where you would like to go or what you would like to do ok?"

She smiled, nodded and raced out of the room again slamming the door behind her. I smile to myself and return my attention to Clotho.

"That little girl is quite taken with her knight." She tells me with a smile. I wave her off and take a last mouthful of my tea. Clotho rearranges her robe and then pins me with her stern gaze.

"My sisters and I have discussed your need for assistance."

Instantly I was alert and I leant forward in my seat. God I hope it was good news. Clotho did not keep me in suspense.

"We agree that you need the assistance that only your former team mates can provide. However, we cannot justify brining the entire unit of one hundred people to this dimension." She paused and her eyes drilled into mine.

"Four days after you and your team were killed, there was a co-ordinated mortar and suicide bomber attack on your base. During the attack a number of direct hits were made on the hanger in which your team was based."

I shook my head as the irony sank in. If I had survived the cave and the artillery strike, there was every chance I would have been killed in this attack.

Bugger. Talk about everything happening for a reason.

Clotho smiled at me showing that she had heard my thought and continued.

"We were not completely honest with you when we sent you to this dimension."

I raised an eyebrow at her wondering where this was going.

"Before you activated the portal that bought you to us, you were the last man alive in your team."

I nodded my agreement to her. She continued

"What we did not tell you is that instead of cutting your team's threads as soon as they came to us, we were ordered by the Higher Powers to put them into stasis in case you needed their help in completing your assignment in this dimension. We did the same with certain other members of your UNICRATT team that was killed in the mortar attack."

I flopped back into my seat in relief. I may actually now have a chance at rescuing the Potters.

"The people we have in stasis are your assault team, flight crew and the maintenance crew for the helicopter. They are being woken and given the same choice as you were with regard to helping in this dimension, or going on to the afterlife."

"Thank you My Lady." I said to the Fate. "Could you also pass on my thanks to the Higher Powers?"

Clotho nodded at me. "Now to continue." She paused and her eyes went out of focus. After about ten seconds her eyes cleared and she looked me in the eyes again. "Lachesis has just informed me that everyone has agreed to assist you."

I nodded my head as a weight seemed to fall off my shoulders.

"Tomorrow your team will arrive here at the Manor. The Higher Powers removed the hangar and everything that was inside it at the moment of the attack on your base. Tomorrow morning before your team arrive, you will go out onto the property and determine a suitable place for the hangar."

I nodded and grabbed my pen off the table and started taking notes on what I would have to accomplish before my team arrives.

"There is a condition to us helping you Alex." Clotho informed me. I stopped writing and a lead ball suddenly appeared in my stomach.

What now?

Thankfully, she didn't keep me waiting for long.

"Do not worry Alex, it is nothing bad. By us agreeing to change the fate of so many people and allowing them to live another life and to reweave themselves another thread outside of our control a balance had to be reached."

She paused to ensure that I was following her.

"When we sent you to this dimension, it was under the premise that you would get another chance at life in exchange for protecting Imogen Potter. Now that you will be having assistance to carry out this duty, the Powers have decided that your team will need to assist in four other dimensions before they can go on to the afterlife."

I opened my mouth to ask how the fuck that will happen when she holds up a hand to stop me.

"I will explain." She pinned me with a look and I closed my mouth. Seeing as I was not going to question her she smiled and went on. "After you and your team have finished in this dimension you will be moved on to a new dimension that is in a similar state as this one".

"As such, your ability to die has been greatly reduced. However, a bullet in the head will still ruin your day just the same as the Killing Curse. If your team are killed before you have finished you current assignment, they will be held in stasis until you move onto the next dimension, then they will be returned to you."

"This will continue until you have completed four more cycles. If after these cycles, you decide you would like to continue, it will be on a dimension by dimension basis."

I held up a hand to stop her while I made sense of everything I had just been told. "OK can I clarify a few things before we go on?" I asked her. She nodded her head at me and made a hand gesture to continue.

"How long do these cycles last?" I paused to gather my thoughts. "You have sent me here to look after Imogen and her family. How long will I be looking after them for?"

"Until she dies." Was the blunt answer from the Fate sitting in front of me. "The power of the Protector of House Potter only lasts as long as the person they are protecting lives. When they die, the bond holding the protector is broken, thus allowing them to move on. In the past this may have included continuing to protect another member of the house, but for you and your team, it will be until the person or group you are to protect dies, then you will move on to the next cycle."

"What happens if we fail?" I asked next. "Do we have to redo that cycle until we succeed?"

"I'm not sure about that Alex." She told me. "I will have to check with the Powers. It would make sense for you to have to re live the cycle, as the reason that we are sending you there is to prevent entire dimensions and billions of lives being lost. Hmmm." She broke off in thought.

"Do not worry about that Alex. I have faith in you and your team. It is not in any of you to quit. Your team will be here at one o'clock. You have until then to prepare." Without waiting for an answer, she shimmered and vanished from my office.

I slumped back in my chair again, trying to digest the last hour or so. Ok let's break it down. I grabbed out a fresh sheet of paper and started writing everything down that I had just been told.

Once I was finished, it now made a lot more sense.

Basically, my team and I are semi immortal. The Fates now own our collective asses, and will continue to do so for the next four life times.

Unless of course we choose to continue for longer.

Why do I now get the feeling that we have become mercenaries of the gods?

But if we are mercs, why are we saving people instead of just doing it for money?

Actually, we are not just saving 'people' as in one or two. We are saving entire dimensions.

So we are not mercs, then we are still soldiers.

We just don't work for the UN anymore.

Hmmm. Who do I see about getting paid?

"Enough AJ." I say out loud. "Get on with it. You got what you wanted." Saying that I turned back to my desk and once again, I replanned the incursion to rescue my Principals parents.

After two hours I had a pretty solid pan on how we would do this. We would use our standard three man leap frog formation. Basically, one group of three moves forward clearing approximately fifteen to twenty feet. Then they stop and the next group moves up behind them, leap frogs the covering team and moves forward, clearing another fifteen or twenty feet.

See, pretty straight forward. Except when bullets are flying and explosions are going off friggin everywhere, then it becomes controlled chaos.

After going over the new plan, I realise that I had better tell the Potters and the Elves that they are going to have visitors tomorrow. I rub my hands over my eyes and realise that I am buggered. Who knew that chasing an excited ten year old all over London could tire you out so much?

I leave the office and head towards the Master Study. Lord and Lady Potter are dozing in their portrait, but they stir as soon as I quietly cough to get their attention. Once they are awake and looking at me I bow to them both. After greeting them I summon Cody and ask her to bring Gordy and Zoe to me. Once three elves were sitting near the portrait I began to lay out my plans for tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.