Hey, liking all this? Keep reading, and look out for a special appearance! Review! And, I am a true American patriot, not racist or rude in the slightest. Look out for a true American symbol, and I mean absolutely no offense by anything Vegeta or anyone else says
Chapter 58
"Thank god that's over." Pan sighed as the doors closed behind them.
"Except for the fact that Father owes that man a new camera." Trunks sighed.
"What else is new?" Hermione added.
"Don't worry, I'll cover the damages. Ahh, Ms. Corsa!" Griffin smiled as a blonde woman in her thirties dressed in brown robes and a clipboard in her right hand rushed up to them. She looked around nervously, making sure that there weren't any muggles nearby.
"Warren, at last! Hurry, the meeting's about to begin! Are these your… guests?" she frowned as she looked at Vegeta and the other saiyans.
"Yes. I want them in the VIP box. Now, hurry!" Griffin ordered.
"Yes sir." Corsa nodded as she turned and led them down a hallway.
"Things are looking bad. Many of the representatives are nervous. Warren… is… he coming here?" Corsa asked as they stopped in front of what appeared to be a simple brown door. Corsa then tapped the door in the shape of a triangle, and tapped in the center of the triangle. For a second, nothing happened. Then, the door glowed gold, and morphed into a large golden arch.
"Amazing…" Hermione gasped.
"Just like Diagon Alley…" Pan blinked.
"Yes, the builders did base the design on Diagon Alley, although this design is seen in many countries." Griffin chuckled as he walked through the arch, followed by the others. Once they were all through, the arch closed behind them, leaving them in a white hallway with portraits leading down on both sides.
"You can pull the cloak off now, Harry." Pan giggled. An instant later, Harry pulled the cloak off himself, reappearing next to King Vegeta.
"Do that again, and I will blast you!" King Vegeta snarled.
"It's him! The boy-who-lived!" Ms. Corsa gasped.
"Yes, I know. Now, come along. I need to get to my seat, can you get them to the VIP box, no problem?" Warren asked with a smile.
"Yes sir!" She saluted. Griffin chuckled before turning and walking down the hallway in a flutter of robes, disappearing a moment later.
"I've heard much about you, Mr Potter! You're a hero to nations everywhere!" Ms. Corsa gasped as she shook Harry's hand.
"Thanks. Didn't he tell you to…" Harry began to say.
"Oh, yes, of course! Follow me. It's not far, I can even give a little tour afterwards." Ms. Corsa said as she led the small group down the hallway.
"Father, what is your problem?" Trunks asked Vegeta, who was looking around with a snarl on his face.
"Don't you watch those pathetic muggle movies, brat? Everyone knows what these Americans do to guys from other planets! Why the hell do you think that I stayed away from this fucking continent?" Vegeta spat. Everyone sweat-dropped, save Ms Corsa, who frowned, King Vegeta, who nodded, and Trunks, who groaned and slapped his face.
"You've been watching too much Men in Black, father!" Trunks groaned.
"I prefer James Bond movies." Hermione said.
"Say… some of these guys look familiar." Pan frowned as she looked at the portraits as she passed them. Most of the portraits had men in it, who had white wigs on.
"I say, how rude! All Americans know who I am, did they not teach you anything in England?" one man snarled at Pan, causing everyone to look up at him. He had a white wig on, was dressed in a blue uniform, and looked very familiar, making Harry blink. Where had he seen this man before?
"You're George Washington, the leader of the Continental Army and the first muggle president of the United States!" Hermione said with surprise. Harry blinked. Now he remembered. He learned about Washington in his muggle school.
"Oh! So, all these men are muggle presidents?" Harry asked as he looked around.
"Not all of us are muggles, son." Harry turned to stare at a plump man wearing spectacles and a green outfit.
"Benjamin Franklin! The first wizarding president of the United States! I read your almanac, it was a brilliant piece of work!" Hermione gasped as she stared at Ben Franklin's portrait, causing the man to chuckle.
"Remarkable, I haven't encountered many in this day who have read my work. The youth these days… they don't appreciate a damn thing we've done." Ben sighed.
"Exactly!" Vegeta grinned.
"There he goes again. Honestly, Ben, the world has changed since we were alive, get over it!" Another man muttered as he glared at Ben Franklin's portrait. He was dressed similar to Washington and had a wig on.
"Thomas Jefferson! The third muggle president of the United States!" Hermione said with wonder.
"Jesus, is there anything she doesn't know? I knew she was brilliant, but this is ridiculous." Pan whispered to Harry, who chuckled.
"And you are?" Ben Franklin asked as he looked at Harry.
"I'm Harry, Harry Potter." Harry said.
"Potter?" Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, and several others in white wigs glared at Harry, who frowned.
"Ummm, Harry, there's something you should know…" Hermione said nervously.
"That wouldn't be any relation to General Cornelius Potter, leader of the British Wizard Army?" Ben Franklin glared at Harry, who gulped and glanced at Hermione, who nodded.
"I swear, I had no idea!" Harry gasped as he held his hands out.
"That was centuries ago, and Cornelius Potter surrendered at Yorktown with Cornwallis! He's no threat now." Hermione protested. The portraits muttered before nodding.
"Thank you. And Hermione, thanks for being as brilliant as ever." Harry grinned, still a little surprised at the revelation of his ancestry.
"Hmph!" Hermione sniffed as she continued down the hallway.
"Glad to see that she's back to her old self." Harry chuckled. Hermione ignored him and continued to identify the portraits as she passed them.
"That's Morman Mera, the 32th wizarding president. He was the president during World War Two, alongside Franklin Delanor Roosevelt." Hermione said as she pointed at a portrait of a man in his sixties, with black hair and a stern look on his face. He glanced at the group as they passed him, but simply snorted and looked away.
"He wasn't known for his politeness." Hermione said as she glanced at Harry.
"This way." Corsa interrupted as she stood in front of a flight of stairs, a few portraits gave a farewell wave as the group went through. Harry blinked. The hallway was very dark, save a bright light at the end. After several minutes, they passed through, making Harry blink in shock. In front of them was a gigantic circular room, filled with men and women in brown robes in chairs. At the very front was a brown desk, with the American flag on the right side of it. The room was filled with muttering between each other.
"Whoa… amazing! Reminds me of the Dark Council a little." Pan breathed.
"There's one from every state, as well as one muggle representative, who represents all the muggles." Hermione said, making Harry frown at her.
"Why one and not fifty?" Harry frowned.
"It's a lot simpler to keep the wizard world secret that way. Hang on, Griffin is coming in." Hermione said as the room went quiet. Then, Griffin emerged from the front door, with two honor guards on both sides. There was a black robed man sitting at a brown desk with a brown gravel in his hand.
"Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem." One of the guards said. Everyone stood up immediately and put their right hand over their chest.
"Hmph. Idiots stole my salute." King Vegeta muttered
"Do it, or we'll be disrespecting the United States! And you do that, and I'll hex you, right here!" Hermione hissed. Everyone gulped and quickly put their right hand over their chests, the only one showing any resistance was Vegeta, who did it with a wand in his face and with Bulla, Marron, and Pan giving him a death glare.
I pledge allegiance
to the Flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic
for which it stands,
one nation under God, Indivisible,
with liberty and Justice for all
"Wow." Pan whispered.
"Liberty and justice for all…" Bulla said softly as she looked at Pan and Marron, who glanced at her, with all girls clearly thinking the same thing: This was exactly what they were fighting for, what their rebellion had fought for.
"Oh please, like that's really true. Frieza took liberty and justice, stomped on it, and had it for breakfast." Vegeta snorted.
"It's not over yet! There's still the national anthem!" Hermione hissed. (I don't watch politics, but I think that it fits in here.) Then, Griffin flicked his wand, causing the air to glow blue and a recorded female voice began to sing.
Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream: 'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave: And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand, Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation; Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust" And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
When the voice ended the song, the room burst into applause.
"Sheesh, where's our Anthem?" Vegeta snorted.
"Ahh, yes. The song of our race. It's a sacred tradition." King Vegeta smirked as he took a breath.
"Don't… you… dare." Hermione, Bulla, Marron, and Pan hissed at the same time, making King Vegeta sputter.
"Father, you cannot sing to save your life." Vegeta muttered.
"What was that?" King Vegeta glared at Vegeta, who whistled innocently.
"Shut it, both of you!" Bulla hissed as Griffin raised his wand, making the room go quiet.
"Please be seated." He said. Immediately, everyone in the room sat down.
"Now, I'm sure that you're wondering why I've called you all here, especially with the holidays so close." Griffin started.
"That's an understatement, Griffin!" a robed wizard with a Texan accent interrupted, getting yells of agreement in response.
"Order!" the black robed man yelled as he slammed his gravel, making the room go to quiet mutters.
"Thank you, Thomas, for your opinion. Now, I know that we've been debating about the current situation in England for some months." Griffin continued.
"You-know-who took over the Ministry of Magic of England in August! They've been rounding up muggle-borns for six months! This is World War Two and the Holocaust all over again! You should know this better than anyone, President Griffin!" another man with a southern accent yelled as he shook his wand.
"I say that we get You-know-who before he gets us, like we should have done the first time!" another robed wizard yelled as he stood up, getting yells of response.
"And is he wrong? It's about time that someone did something about these mudbloods and filthy squibs!" a white man with a southern accent. The room erupted into roars of fury as other wizards stood up and roared at the man, immediately triggering the wizards around the man who had spoken to stand up and yell as well.
"Mudbloods are ruining America!" one politician yelled.
"It's pureblood bigots like you and Riddle that are ruining this country!" the other man yelled back.
"You've got to be kidding me." Harry gasped as the room erupted into chaos.
"There's racists everywhere, Harry. This is the same as when the United States entered a civil war over slavery in the eighteen sixties." Hermione sighed.
"This is madness!" Kiara gaped at the chaos.
"This is American politics." Hermione sighed.
"Well, someone looks happy." Harry sighed.
"Hah! Now this is entertainment! Blast him! Kick him in the balls!" Vegeta laughed as he looked over the edge of the balcony with an American flag in his hand.
"Father…" Trunks and Bulla groaned in embarrassment.
"ENOUGH!" everyone in the room froze as Griffin raised his wand and fired a blue light from it, briefly illuminating the room.
"This is ridiculous! My teenage daughter is more mature than all of you!" Griffin snarled as he looked around. The men quickly sat down and shut up.
"Damn." Vegeta chuckled.
"Now then, let's continue. We must, for the first time in one hundred years, prepare for an attack." Griffin said, causing gasps through the room.
"Yes, I wish it wasn't so, but I've seen it myself. Several of my good friends are dead from the attack on Air Force One, including several muggles as well. I managed to escape that hellhole, thanks to the heroic efforts of no other than Harry Potter himself!" Griffin chuckled, causing the room to erupt into applause. Harry blushed.
"Where is Harry Potter, anyway?" someone spoke up.
"In fact, that very man is here in this room. Once again, Harry, this nation gives you its thanks." Griffin smiled as a yellow light lit up the VIP room, causing Harry to turn deep red and he nervously gave a small wave as the room burst into gasps and mutters.
"It's him!"
"The boy-who-lived!"
"Champion of the 1994 Triwzard Tournament…"
"The only survivor of the Killing Curse…"
"Yes, I know. Mr. Potter will be available for comment later. Now, as I was saying, thanks to Mr. Potter's efforts, me and Bill managed to escape, and managed to cripple the enemy in the process. Tragically, a brave young man lost his life in the process. The identity of this young man will be kept confidential for the sake of his family. But, his sacrifice has brought us time. In his sacrifice, he destroyed thousands of their soldiers and machinery, in the name of freedom, and sent a message to Tom Riddle himself!" Griffin was answered by a roar of applause. Hermione sniffed and wiped her eyes.
"This brings me to my main point. Twenty years ago, the man known as Albus Dumbledore came before us with Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape to plead for our involvement before President Moxmon and the members of that Congress, which some of you were at, I believe." Griffin continued, getting some mutters and nods in response.
"And then Snape sliced Dumbledore's throat! We should have killed him the second that we learned that he used to be a Death Eater!" someone yelled, getting yells in response.
"Anyway… Moxmon and the Congress of that time turned Dumbledore down and refused to get involved. As a result, some Americans risked their lives and traveled to England of their own accord to help those under siege. Many… didn't come back. Many families lost husbands, daughters, sons… wives." Griffin sighed.
"He's talking about his wife." Pan said softly, causing the others to look at her.
"What are you talking about, girl?" Vegeta snorted.
"He told me, the day we chatted with Malfoy. His wife was a Ravenclaw who went back to England to fight the Death Eaters, and got killed by Riddle." Pan answered.
"I should have known." Bulla sighed.
"No wonder he feels so strongly about this." Harry muttered.
"Tell us, President, isn't it true that you and Tom Riddle used to be friends? And now, you claim to be his enemy?" the same wizard that had yelled the racist comment asked with a sneer on his face, getting mutters in response.
"There's something about that man that I don't like…" Harry muttered
"Sigh… you never learn, do you, Augustus Malfoy?" Griffin sighed.
"Malfoy!" Harry, Hermione, Pan, and the others choked.
"There's a Malfoy in Congress? Geez, are they in high places everywhere?" Pan snorted.
"That explains why I don't like him." Harry muttered.
"That's a lot of nerve, considering that your brother is Lucius Malfoy, a known Death Eater! You could be a spy for all we know!" the same man who had challenged Malfoy yelled back, causing roars of fury.
"You are out of order, Arnold Weasley!" the black robed wizard yelled as he banged his gravel.
"You've got to be kidding me." Vegeta muttered.
"I didn't know that I had American relatives…" Pan frowned.
"Ron and the other Weasleys never mentioned any American relatives, especially a Congressman." Harry frowned as he looked at Arnold, who did have a small resemblance to Mr. Weasley.
"Oh Anorld, you're not innocent either. You never made any attempt to help your brother, Arthur Weasley, at all. Did you go to England to fight, or even try to get him and his family out of the country, like many of us have done in both the first war and second one? After all, how hard would it be to send them passports?" Augustus chuckled. The room filled with mutters again.
"Now we know why." Hermione sighed.
"Don't talk to me about my family affairs!" Arnold snarled.
"Is that why you weren't invited to your nephew's wedding? Or did you get an invitation, but you were just too cowardly to go?" Augustus snorted, getting roars of fury.
"Let me kill that git!" Pan snarled.
"Enough! From both of you!" Griffin ordered as the man banged his gravel again, causing the room to go quiet.
"Now, we come to the decision. Time and time again, we have tried to remain neutral, with devastating results. Pearl Harbor, the Lusitania, the Atlantis Massacre… how many mistakes are we going to make? How many are going to die? They've already struck once! Those bastards broke into our nation, and rigged a subway train to explode in Philidalphia! And whoever survived the explosion, was slaughtered like an animal afterwards! Children, entire families, dead! Are we just going to stand by and take it?" Griffin yelled, getting furious roars in response. The man banged his gravel, making the room go quiet.
"Now then, all those for way, raise your hands and say ay!" Griffin said.
"This is it…" Harry said softly, feeling the same anticipation as his hearing back in fifth year. Then, Arnold Weasley and more than three quarters of the room raised their hands and shouted "AY!"
"All those against?" Griffin asked.
"Nay!" Augustus Malfoy and six others said.
"Yes!" Pan cheered as she hugged Harry.
"We did it! Oh Ron, thank you!" Hermione smiled as she wiped a tear from her face.
"Hello? Can I get a word in here?" the room went quiet with confusion as a figure in green armor pushed his way through the crowd.
"Who the hell is that?" Vegeta snarled.
"Excuse me, pardon me, coming through, just wanna talk to the big guy…" the figure muttered as he walked past Arnold Weasley.
"That armor… is that who I think it is?" Harry gasped.
"Harry?" Hermione frowned.
"Who are you? How'd you get past the security?" Griffin glared at the figure as he stood in front of the platform.
"Way I've been hearing it, you've been looking for me." the figure chuckled.
"Say what?" Griffin frowned.
"You needed a leader for your army who could take Cell on. I'm here to take that job. You might recognize me without this mask." Then, the figure took his mask off, causing everyone to gasp. Only one person had that kind of spiky black hair.
"Hey guys, it's been too long." Gohan chuckled as he glanced at the VIP box.
The gang's back together! What happens next? Review!