All Along the Watchtower
Chapter 15- Red Sky, Blue Flame
Harry's arm shot up; encased in a hastily erected shield to block the Mythril blade; but it only slowed the blow. Instead of taking his arm at the forearm it cut deeply and he jumped back, cradling the wound. "What the fuck was that for?" Harry said before jumping back to prevent his guts being spilled. He tilted his head in confusion; he suspected she'd try to kill him later on, preferably with a bed involved. Harry guessed she'd changed a bit in his time away and he turned to avoid the next strike and sidestepped another quickly; almost falling over.
Harry spun as she thrust at him but overextended in her hast and pulled the blade from the sheath on her back but an elbow caught him in the side of his head and he stumbled. He brought the blade up quickly in a one handed guard, keeping his injured hand close to his side. "Cho stop, I can explain-" Harry blocked the sweep to his left easily, keeping his eyes on her. "Look at me!" Harry demanded, his voice thundered, a desperate tinge loudening it to a hoarse shout.
She looked him up and down; a worn but finely tailored suit was ripped and tattered. He had the same wiry build, but strong with years of training and a hardened emerald gaze and she could remember when softness lay in it. But he was without one prime attribute, the reddened and angry scar which opened his mind to a mad man. That thought made her hand tighten around the hilt of her sword.
Kaden stepped between them and gently pushed her back. "It's him." Kaden whispered. "If you can't handle it, take your shit somewhere else I don't want it staining my floor when you take away your second chance."
Her eyes flicked him and the connection was instantaneous; flashes of fire burned her eyes and wails of pain scorched her ears before she snapped her eyes away. "Harry?" She muttered. As quickly as the thought came to her, Cho turned on the spot and with an ear splitting crack she disappeared.
xxxxx
"That's it, Harry's back but it stays in this room. We'll report to the Master, he and the Council how we take this ahead." Kaden finished and most of them Reapers head for the door. Only Rossi and Luca hung back. Kaden watched the exchange between Harry and Rossi as they smiled and exchanged pleasantries, the moment being sullied by Luca's staunch silence and hard stare.
"You got a problem?" Kaden asked him.
Luca just shook his head and turned to walk out.
Kaden shook his head "Don't go looking for her; she needs time to deal with this."
Luca turned his cold eyes on Kaden. "Do not tell me what to do."
"Just a piece of advice from someone who knows and last I checked it was Commander to you." Kaden snapped.
Luca glared as he turned for the door.
Kaden shook his head and moved back to Rossi and Harry.
"-in hell?" Rossi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ten years..." Harry said with a faraway look in his eyes.
"You guys catching up?" Kaden asked.
Rossi nodded. "Yeah, Captain."
Kaden sighed in annoyance; Rossi still called him Captain even after he got the top job. Kaden didn't even want the job even though it came with his new title of Master Assassin. Rossi was always the one who should have had the job, he was Connor's second for years on end and the natural successor but again politics often scupper even the best laid plans.
"What am I doing with myself?" Harry asked.
"Staying here for now," Kaden said. "I don't have a clue what my dad will want to do with you, you can't just come back from the dead!"
"He can't?" Rossi questioned.
"I can't?" Harry said as he grabbed the bottle of vodka from the kitchen.
Kaden sighed. "Think about it, why do you get to come back? Why do you get a second chance? What about everyone else?"
"I suppose." Harry reasoned.
"We'll need to be pretty inventive on this one." Rossi chipped in.
"Tell me about it." Kaden sighed in frustration as he rubbed his temple; he felt a migraine coming on.
Harry sat back, cradling the vodka and looking over the changes to the room. "So no one else has come back but me?"
Kaden nodded sourly. "You're the only one of seven hundred, what I'd give to have Jaden, Paul or Mark back, guess you'll have to do."
Harry swallowed hard. "Seven hundred?"
"Seven hundred and forty eight," Rossi corrected, taking a solemn drink. "The Chinese took a beating by a hundred Paradyne Sentinels in Jiangyin about five months back. They lost nearly all hands, over three hundred in two and a half hours, the Sentinels went in silent and by the time the alarm went up they had already killed four of the seven Masters and decimated every squad not out on missions. They killed the students, student's families, instructors, fucking groundskeepers; anyone who had anything to do with the Academy. Master Chang led the fight but it was hopeless and he was forced to abandon the Academy and took their remaining people, 'bout a hundred eighty odd and retreated to the closest Enclave just outside Okinawa in Japan. They're holed up there until we can figure what to do with them."
Kaden took over. "The rest have been casualties all across the board. The Ruski's lost two full cells, over seventy people but their Enclave's fine. Even then Master Pavlychenko wants his people evacuated in case they've been compromised but we've not got the space. The Spanish are good for now; the German are doing well but our people in Cairo are getting jittery. The Italians and the Institute are secure; we've even got a few of them like Luca here." Kaden explained. "Even with the help of the Hit Wizards we're getting the shit kicked out of us, the last thing we need is for us all to gather in one place. The American Academy's secure, just like ours."
"That's good at least." Harry reasoned, hiding his horror at the losses. Seven hundred? Harry thought; that was more than a third of the Orders' operational strength when he left and Kaden hadn't mentioned the casualty reports.
"Maybe but they've taken it just as bad as the Chinese. My Uncle Pete and his people are more concerned about saving their own ass than stopping the Dark Lord before he can gather anymore support!" Kaden muttered. "On a brighter note, Rossi's got you he got hitched!"
"What?" Harry almost shouted as he turned his eyes to Rossi who was smiling in a sheepish manner. "Who?"
"Cam." Rossi said, playing with the thin golden band on his finger. "I took you kicking it about as well as that shithead did." Rossi explained. "Cam caught me before I gave in after what happened with Connor and I decided that I didn't want to live one more moment without her. I spent enough time waiting on her waking up so when she did, I didn't waste any time."
Harry nodded, Camille and Rossi, he knew they had a thing he just didn't know it was all that serious. "That's good, I happy for you."
"Thanks."
Harry then rolled the glass in his hands patiently. "So let's hear it, what're you guys not telling me?"
xxxxx
Cho was sitting on one of the Academy's blue domed roofs with her legs drawn to her chest and her arms hugged them for warmth. The whistling wind was chilling but she barely thought to whip up a crosscurrent and re-direct it. The calm ocean of thought she used to calculate and execute her decisions was in turmoil, his arrival had whipped up a cyclone which didn't look like dissipating. Even the cool warmth of Blue Queen couldn't provide much needed clarity.
The loyal and steadfast sense of security she felt with Gianluca Auditore paled in comparison to the thunderstorm that raged within her when she thought of him. Every thought was of him, she couldn't help it. She wanted to see him; she needed to tell him everything. How she thought of him every day for three years, well the days she was conscious, was lucid enough to think or the drink didn't help her forget.
But she couldn't, because that step led to a fall. This Harry was real and that hurt to think of, cut deeper than any sword, penetrated deeper than any bullet, it was like a kick in the gut. He left her, he unravelled her carefully laid plans, he her look at the thin band on her finger in disgust, he even made her watch someone else carry his children and then he came back into her life and screwed it all up again.
When she thought about it, that was all Harry Potter had ever done to her, he screwed her life in every way imaginable. From his bright emerald eyes to the stupid glasses he used to wear. The way he slipped by her carefully woven defences and slid so easily into her heart before obliterating it. Cho supposed she hated him in a lot of ways, and resented him in more. She even half convinced herselfhe was better off dead.
But if he was better off dead, why did the necklace around her neck warm when she thought of him? Why did she still drive his prized possession whenever she could? And why did his sword still sit, dustless and impeccably maintained on an ornate rack in her room?
xxxxx
Harry had been trying to sleep for hours, at least three last count but even Harry could concede his sleep was mostly not trouble free and for ten years he hadn't slept a wink. He tossed and turned again, maybe it was the bed. It wasn't his bed, well not the bed he vaguely remembered. Harry rolled over and sat up, looking over at the clock. It read, 05:18.
He talked with Rossi and Kaden until about two; it was a long, revealing chat. Harry Sirius Potter had a little boy called Zachariah Adam Anderson and a little girl called Isabelle Lily Anderson. Harry still couldn't get his head around it, he was a Father. He refused to call himself their dad, because he wasn't. John held that role despite knowing they weren't his.
Harry didn't know what was wrong with him, he wanted to see his kids but he didn't, simply because he was another danger in their already dangerous lives. Harry was considering staying away until they were older. They could grow up and have reasonably uncomplicated lives and then decide if they wanted to meet him. Harry didn't even know if he'd survive long enough to see them turn five, he couldn't think as far ahead as seventeen.
There was still the problem of the Dark Lord. Harry knew he'd need time, his body was different. His scars were gone and any inhibitors they held upon his magic were gone to. He had his full power back for the first time since he was 15 and he had to learn to harness it properly before he could start tearing up the Dark Lord's Legion. If it came down to it Harry knew he had the power to supernova half the country in a glittering ball of flame and he was sure nothing, short of God, could survive it.
Harry however, was more than partial to surviving the run in -like he had the previous three- even if he knew it was highly unlikely. But he had more immediate problems, Cho only being one. Now that was enough to keep him awake for a few days.
"Fuck!" Harry said aloud, his head his hands. He was alive again, but he wasn't. He was set to become Grayson Steele, a son of the late Master Philip Steele, who in his day was well known for his practices when out on assignment. It wouldn't have been a stretch if a few of his true children crawl out his skeleton ridden closet. His new identity was the brainchild of Rossi and would be ratified by the Council in due course.
Instead of being the hero, he was going to be the son of an embarrassment to the Order. He got up from bed and got dressed and in less than an hour Harry stood outside his old room. He didn't know if he should knock or walk in. His name was still on the tarnished plaque and he could get in without his key easily. Harry shifted his shoulders, the leather jacket he borrowed from Kaden was a bit tight and he wasn't very comfortable in it.
If he was honest, it reminded him too much of the one Nathaniel wore on top of his meat-suit.
Harry shook away the thought and decided a little magic was in order. His hand slipped over the card reader and he whispered an incantation. The charm caused the light on the card reader to flicker a little before finally settling on green. The door slid open with barely a whisper and his hand instinctively reached for the light switch…
"What the fuck!" Harry exclaimed as he looked over his old room which he thought did a fair parody of a bombsite. The floor was strewn with clothes, rubbish and an assortment of other items he didn't feel like commenting on. Someone replaced the once rough grey carpet with hardwood. If there was one thing Harry hated in a room, it was cold hardwood flooring, it reminded him too much of the Hollow Manor. And to add insult to injury whoever took over his room had replaced his bed, dresser and if he was right, nothing of his remained. That was the only reason he came to the room, he wanted his own clothes and possessions.
Harry took another glance around the room, finding his eyes drawn to an ornate rack on the wall. On it laid the oversized blade and bejewelled pommel of the Devil Bringer. His eyes screwed up in confusion as he approached it, it should've been on the Remembrance Wall in the Training Hall along with a nice plaque and what he hoped was a semi-good picture. Harry reached for the pommel and gripped it tightly, feeling the blade's magic once again.
"Why are you here?"
Harry released the blade. "I'm more out of practice than I thought," Harry muttered to himself, not being able to sense his own sword in the room and now her.
"Why are you here?" She repeated impatiently.
Harry looked her up and down; it was like getting to know her all over again and he easily recognised the sword at his side. "If you didn't notice it's my name on the door."
Her wand was in hand instantly, after a slight flick she returned it to her pocket. "Now it's not, leave."
"You don't have to be a bitch about this, I didn't come back to rain on your happily ever after."
Cho laughed bitterly. "I'm with Luca now."
"Who said I came back for you?" Harry snapped back.
Cho took the statement like the blatant punch in the face it was, taking a few steps back. "Then why the hell are you here?"
Harry grinned. "Would it be pretentious to say I'm here to save the world?"
"Yes, we're doing fine without you."
Harry took his sword from the rack. "Whatever, I don't have to justify myself to you."
"Your things are in storage. Your other weapons except those pistols are there, your clothes too. Jack has one and Kaden has the other. I'll send the references when I find them." Cho said evenly, ignoring the barb.
"Take it I'm not getting the 'ballers back?" Harry asked as he the heavy blade onto his shoulder.
"I don't care." Cho said simply.
"I was stupid to think you could be grown up about this-"
"You asked."
Harry gestured to her blade. "How's that working out for you?"
Cho looked at the blade, it barely left her side for three years, the cool warmth it provided was too much for her to let go of. "It's important to me."
"You ever take it off?" Harry asked with a raised brow.
"It was my mother's; I prefer to keep it close to me."
The Old Man could have mentioned that, it was too much of a coincidence for him not to know, nothing got by him. "And the fact it dulls any feelings of indecision, remorse, pain, guilt-"
Cho looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Harry stepped closer to her; his hand went to her cheek. "You can lie better than that; you know exactly what I'm talking about. How it washes it all away. Cho I've felt it; I understand. I don't know where these things came from or what made them but they help us fight. They clear everything away and let us do what's needed, to focus on one goal. They don't exist to stop you from dealing with your personal problems." Harry implored, as his hand wiped away a tear.
"I need it…It stops the hurting." Cho said quietly, leaning into his touch. "I need it."
"I'm back, it's me Cho." Harry said gently. His hand left her face and drifted down to her hand. Harry's own sword dropped and he gripped his former sword in her hand, with a strong pull he dropped it and her face fell forward. His arms went around her as she buried her face in his shoulder. "Its' okay, let it out." She needed to vent. He had done so many times after using the sword, except his usually involved a gun or wand. The Devil Bringer was very different; it fuelled his anger and rage, encouraged his passions to run wild and forced him to destroy his enemies with the power he could bring to bear with those emotions. It didn't provide the calculating edge of Blue Queen, or the blind indifference to pain and suffering.
After a few minutes Cho stepped back. "You're back, it's you, I'm sor-"
Harry raised a finger to her lips. "I deserved it. I left-"
"-Stryfe killed you! You didn't leave me!" Cho almost shouted; her look maddening.
Harry shook his head regretfully; he had to tell her the truth. "I killed myself Cho but I-"
Cho's face was set in stone as she distanced herself from him. "Get out."
"What?" Harry leaned down to pick up his sword.
"GET OUT!" Cho shouted as she grabbed the ice-cold sword from the floor and her lightning crackled. Cho revelled in the cool warmth it provided and the calculating edge she had honed over the years.
Harry nodded carefully, knowing he had no more to gain so long as that damned sword was in her hand. He looked directly into her blazing crimson eyes as he went from the room.
She slammed the door behind him and Harry was sure there would be a tech down to fix it in the morning.
"That went fucking great!" Harry muttered to himself as he began the long walk to the nearest Apparition point and as it turned he ended up in a dive bar, more specifically the Hogshead. The bar his former Master owned. It was a remarkable source of information for the Operative Corp. Harry liked it for the whiskey; it was honest, tasting more like turpentine than whiskey, smelling like it too. It tasted as horrible as you would feel in the morning.
At least I'll be able to sleep. That was a nice thought, some good old shut eye for a weary man. A man much to weary to be the physical age of seventeen, when he thought of it he was more like twenty-seven at least. Harry sighed; he'd have to find her. Maybe she would have calmed down by then and he'd be able to pry that fucking sword from her and he'd be able to talk some sense into her.
"Ever think she doesn't need to know?"
Harry turned as someone settled next to him. "Why do dead people always show up next to me?"
"Come on, I'm here for a-"
"-of course you fucking are!" Harry dropped back the rest of his whiskey. "You ever think that maybe I don't want to know-"
"Come on man, I'm one of the guys-"
Harry stiffened, when someone agreed a deal their allegiance wasn't their own. "-no you're not, not anymore. Not now; you're one of them!"
"One of them," AJ sobered, he supposed, he was one of them now. "I didn't have a choice, I couldn't-"
"-you were never a fighter AJ, don't pretend now. Where's Allie?"
AJ shook his head in frustration. "Not here, now leave it and listen-"
"Where is she?" Harry asked.
"Heaven."
"Well get her ass down here, she's been with me through this; I'd rather take orders from her."
"It's not that simple Harry. Heaven's a big place, population of around forty percent of everyone who has ever lived on the planet!" AJ bit out in annoyance, he was trying to help. "She needs some time-"
"-she needs time!" Harry said incredulously, his voice rising to the point where other patrons began looking in their direction so he quieted himself. "What about me? You couldn't give me some time? Help make me forget!"
"It's a part of you now and Allie was on that line every day, not a day off in ten years; she even stopped seeing Kaden because she couldn't handle the guilt of leaving you down there and looking him in. She saw Angels torn apart; Demon's feasting on their energy, Allie even took a few shiners herself. She needs some time before she comes back."
"Well what about me? I don't get any time, I get shovelled a head full of shit and I'm expected to get on with it?"
AJ watched as Harry took a large drink of his whiskey, last he remembered Harry wasn't that much of a bitter drunk, more thoughtful than bitter. "Yeah you do, because it wasn't a fucking party up here either, I'm dead if you didn't notice. For God's sake, Danny and Jake, two of my best mates can't even walk anymore… do you think I wouldn't heal them if I was allowed? That I wouldn't give Ollie his arm back if I could? Wake up Spencer if I-"
Harry looked incredulous, "Then why don't you? Instead of sitting here talking to me, go out and do something," Harry pointed an accusing finger at AJ, "I'm sick of you bastards, you want to help me but you do nothing."
AJ sighed, "Harry, there are rules, we can't get involved with the mortal plane or we open the door for them to do the same. We skirted that line when we brought you back, if we did more our war would spill over and burn this Earth until it was a barren wasteland."
Harry laughed bitterly, trying to stop his shaking hand and he grabbed his glass tightly. "Tell them to go fuck themselves. I can't do this, I'm not strong enough yet, I can barely control my magic, I feel like I'm about to explode AJ!" Harry screwed his eyes shut and balled his fist again, stopping the magic from breaking the surface. It was too easy, without his scars to slow the flow of magic it took all his control to stop again.
AJ turned on his stool, studying Harry curiously. He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and snapped it away just as quick, oh shit. That was how they did it; it wasn't strictly against the rules but they would never create an abomination if they had a choice. But it made sense. Harry couldn't have been raised to Earth as Hell was on a different plane of existence but Heaven was a loophole as it was the final destination for any human soul, damned or not.
"Allie," AJ whispered.
Harry looked up, "What?"
"I have to find her," AJ said to himself, he had to find Allie; she would know what to do. AJ muttered in fluent Enochian, the language of Heaven. He cast a temporary binding spell; it would bind his magic to an extent, stem the tide so to speak.
Harry looked up as the shaking in his hand stopped completely. "Was that you?" Harry slurred as he swayed slightly.
"Yeah, just until I figure out what to do. Now sleep." AJ said and pressed two fingers to Harry's temple. He caught harry as he fell forward. AJ propped Harry up and pulled an arm over his shoulder and made his way to the back of the bar and up the hall to Master Dumbledore's suite.
xxxxx
Kaden Blackwood always figured himself to be a fairly decent guy at heart. That behind the bravado, careless demeanour and general asshole like tendencies he cultivated so vigilantly, lurked the quite, thoughtful kid who had all but died when the love of his life fell to a crumbled heap in front of him, dead. Even as he cleaned Lightning of blood, dirt and grime he held out some hope that maybe, somewhere; he turned out differently. That he was the careful balance of fire and ice, not the ranging inferno or frozen glacier he so often found himself to be.
That was his problem. He was one or the other, good or bad; he could never be in between. Not like Harry was. Kaden found himself on the wrong side of that line too much as of late; he had done terrible things in the name of the greater good, things which would haunt him until his dying breath. But did right and wrong matter in war?
Kaden placed Lightning on the end table next to his bed, not bothering as it slipped off and cut into the expensive flooring of his bedroom, Danielle would kill him for that when she got back. If she comes back, Kaden thought. No matter how much he tried to ignore his sources, Kaden held little hope that she would come back. That the ring she left on his bedside table would be back on her finger.
Kaden knew it was his fault, things where always his fault. If he was right the Fucked Up Fairy Tale was almost over, it probably was over and he hadn't noticed yet. Whether the final chapter was an email in his inbox or a letter in his post box, he simply hadn't bothered to find out. According to Danielle, that was the problem. Since Connor turned, his near death experience and subsequent three week coma, he lost any will to live. If Kaden was honest, he hadn't lost the will to live. He simply didn't see a point in fighting. He knew the Dark Lord or any of the Circle would wipe the floor with him in a contest of magic and Connor would destroy him with a sword.
When his brother turned, the thin thread of hope he held snapped. Kaden sometimes wished he didn't wake up in the end; at least he would be able to see Allie again. He hadn't seen her since Harry died. He knew it would happen eventually, that the others would drive the humanity out of her bit by bit, until she didn't care to see him anymore. Kaden hoped she could've held on longer, that when he went to sit next to her she would appear with her head resting gently on his shoulder.
It was one of those days Danielle left, as she accused him of loving a dead girl more than her. Kaden hated that ridiculous argument; he simply loved Danielle in a different way. Allie was the kind of love that was forever doomed to the pages of some trashy, overly tragic romance novel his sister's friends read with such vigour. He just couldn't let go that easy, he thought Danielle understood that.
Kaden sighed as he stood up and went to his wardrobe. He grabbed his favourite leather jacket, his wand and the old AMT of Harry's Chang gave him. Kaden made sure to pick up his phone as he headed out the door, it was around four in the morning but he could get a call at any time. Kaden made his way into the lift and waited until he cleared the Anti-Apparition Wards before he turned on the spot.
Maybe she would be there this time.
xxxxx
Waking up on Abe's couch wasn't the best plan he ever thought of. His drunken self had done spectacularly stupid things but none which had endangered his life quite as much.
Abe assumed him an imposter and threw him around the room at wand-point for ten minutes, demanding the truth and who he was working for. Unfortunately for Harry it was hard to convince his Master and it was not until Abe saw Enochian carved into his chest through a torn t-shirt he even began to believe the tale and it was not until he got confirmation from the Master himself that he relented and demanded a full explanation, preferring it to the censored version the Council would hear.
Harry walked down the narrow path with a blindingly sore head from the ordeal, past the rows of graves. Harry even noticed the place was larger than last he frequented it. Harry took a few minutes, as he stopped to read a few names he passed. He saw the clamouring of gravestones which identified Mark Tanner, Paul Grieg and Jaden Wilson and lamented them with sadness.
Harry saw him sitting, just twenty meters away, perfectly still with his head back as he stared off into the distance. Harry had found his friend in this position countless times, and he never understood why until a cold January morning when he saw a small brunette girl sitting next to Kaden, chatting away merrily as if the world wasn't tearing itself apart at the seams.
But this rather fine November's morning there was no girl, only a lightly sleeping guy wrapped in an old brown leather jacket.
Harry positioned himself at the gravestone across from Kaden and kicked his shoe a few times.
Kaden's eyes snapped open with a gasp of "-Allie?" Before he realized his mistake and pinched his nose in annoyance.
"You'll get a cold sitting out here all morning."
Kaden wiped his eyes.
"She saved me, you know?" Harry said as he looked at the black granite below his arse.
"Yeah, you said." Kaden replied as he stood up.
"Is she around?" Harry asked.
Kaden shook his head as he came to Harry's side, touching the black stone with his hand. "I haven't seen since you died, Danielle left round about the same time."
"I thought you said Danielle was just away for a while." Harry said with a frown.
Kaden shrugged. "Away, gone, left…is there a difference?"
"Suppose," Harry muttered, knowing there was a very big difference. "Danielle…she'll come back."
"I've been telling myself that too." Kaden said dismissively. "So why are you here?"
"The Council is meeting to discuss my situation, Abe wants me there and I want you there. Please mate, my temper's not what it used to be and you'll be better at handling them."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Kaden said giving his friend a sidelong glance.
Harry laughed a little. "Please come mate."
With one last look at the black stone Kaden turned away. "We'd better get ready."
"You'll see her again." Harry said, putting a hand on Kaden's shoulder.
"I know." Kaden said, wondering which girl he wanted Harry to be talking about.
xxxxx
The transition was complete. He was Grayson Steele and would be until a time when the Council saw fit to reveal his true identity. He was almost shocked by the dishevelled feeling of the Council. In his first audience with them they had oozed power, assurance and wisdom. Now, to him, they seemed to be disarrayed. That losing two of their number in Masters Hassan and Srna had knocked them from their pedestal and down to earth where the possibility of losing was a very real threat.
They informed him the Order was at less than half operational capacity and ideally would need yearsto recover losses and at least a few months free of fighting to clear the MIA and WIA lists.
Harry shook his head trying not to be bothered by the fact. The only problem he had with his new identity was that he was to be a Talon and not a Reaper. The Reapers' had no open spots and the Council wouldn't authorize a transfer to give him his chance at a return, they claimed it was time for him to grasp the mantle of command.
They claimed personal preference was not an issue or at least Master Chang had. Harry knew better, the bastard was as arrogant as his daughter but hid it behind supposed wisdom and a tempered demeanour. Harry knew the man disapproved of his relationship with Cho, that it a risk to her safety. Harry was sure her relationship with a member of the legendary Auditore family was much more acceptable.
Chang convinced the Council that he was to become the First Lieutenant acting Captain of the Talons until David Gladstone recovered from shattering several vertebrae in his back. He was in physical therapy and had been for months, but it was taking longer than expected for him to recover. The Doctors weren't optimistic about his chances of recovering fully, even magic had its limits. The Council claimed it was the perfect opportunity for the newly risen Harry to sharpen the Talons into the blade they once where under the former Commander.
That was another problem Harry foresaw, to many of his squad where green. Only his Lieutenants; having served under Connor had any combat experience. Harry longed for the comfort of his bed but he still had a lot to do. Going over review papers for his greener Assassins, assessing their strength and more obvious weaknesses through their instructors notes and recommendations and he had to pull a few smart requisition orders to gain his possessions back.
Harry pulled back the hood of his white robe and ruffled his hair in irritation as he walked the wide hallway. He approached the door of his office to find the name Grayson Steele, Acting Captain, Talon Squadron on the door. Harry knew the Glamour Charm cast on the silver ring around his finger took care of the physical alterations but it would take him a while to get used to the name. He opened the door to find it wasn't secured by a lock yet.
Harry suspected the intruder sitting at his desk had baulked at the simplicity while breaking in. Harry moved to his desk. He recognized the profile of the man from the night before. It was Gianluca Auditore da Firenze and Harry knew the exact reason he was sitting in front of him. Auditore may have had hair similar coloured to his own but that was where the resemblance stopped completely. Luca was tall with broad shoulders and a heavy frame along with his olive complexion, dark blue eyes and where Harry's hair was un-kept and a bit too long; Luca's was perfectly short and maintained. The only mark marring his face was a thin scar near the corner of his mouth.
"Captain Steele," Luca said evenly.
Harry slipped the ring from his finger and the light tan of his skin paled back to white as the rest of his features changed. "Try Potter, Auditore."
"Very well; Mr Potter. It would seem we have a problem to resolve." Luca said, clasping his hands in his lap calmly.
Harry shrugged. "Auditore let's be honest. I love the girl you're marrying. I love her that much I could let her marry you and be happy for her, but, I didn't come back to settle for second place."
"That is understandable." Luca agreed, keeping himself composed but he couldn't help the slight unease creeping into his mind. The statement was definite and left no room for argument, "But I'm afraid I have to ask you to step back. I love Cho dearly; I would do anything for her." Luca stated, trying very hard to stay calm despite the infuriating smirk on Harry's face.
"I'm sorry to say but I have to decline your offer. I've spent ten years of my life without her and I'll get her back. Whether it's now, a year from now or ten years from now it doesn't matter." Harry stood placing his hands on the glass desk and leaning forward. "You will do well to remember that and do yourself a favour; don't take it too hard when I win her back."
Luca sighed to himself, he abhorred violence amongst allies, it was wasteful and unnecessary but on some occasions it could not be avoided. He rose tiredly and stood to his full, impressive height. "You leave me no choice; I challenge you to a duel. Swords only, no magic or Element. To the death or full incapacitation."
Harry tried to cover hisoutburst of laughter with a light cough but failed miserably.
Luca looked confused. "Have I said something funny Mr Potter?"
Harry tried to regain his composure and couldn't help but grin. "You're kidding right?"
"I am serious Mr Potter; I think you will find that among men of honour a duel is the most efficient way to end a dispute such as our own."
Harry bit back a heavy retort about how honourless he could be. "Simply put, I know the runes you have carved into you. I had them once, so I know you can keep up. You're an Auditore which apart from making you a fantastic free-runner, also makes you a master with next to any bladed weapon in your hand, more so the two you have up your sleeves. I also happen to know magic doesn't run as strongly in your family as others, which has something to do with an inhibitor in your DNA. So this duel is something you can shove up your ass when you get out of this office. Now get out, I have work to do." Harry turned to walk back around his desk but Luca gripped his arm.
"I thought we could settle this as men-"
Harry's eyes darkened. "I told you to get out…" He said and an invisible hand plucked Luca's heavy form from the ground like a ragdoll and pulled him through the air, sending his heavy form crashing through the wooden door of Harry's office, splintering and cracking the wood to great effect.
Harry looked at the crumpled heap outside his office with indifference and repaired the door; someone would come across him eventually.