Archer entered the Armory with welcoming looks from Trip, Malcolm, and Dr. Phlox.
"You wouldn't believe this, Cap'n." Trip stared at him, looking obviously uncomfortable. He pointed to Malcolm Reed, who is now holding the young girl's wand on his firearm hand. "Show him, Malcolm."
Malcolm, who was looking at the Captain, breathed, swallowed. He slowly raised his phaser arm, and then pointed the wand in midair.
The ship's lights were dimming and brightening, an indication of a power malfunction. Archer looked around him in surprise. T'Pol called out to the Captain through the com. "Go ahead." "I'm detecting the energy readings in the Armory. The systems in there are fluctuating."
"It's alright, T'Pol, stand by. " Archer ended the transmission.
A loud clang caught their ears. The weapons locker suddenly swung open; flinging the rifles at their direction. Reed immediately lowered the wand. And then the rifles dropped on their feet. The systems went back to normal.
"It only happens with Lieutenant Reed." Tucker added. "I thought it would work on me because I've got residue on my bum leg."
Phlox stepped up to Reed. He held his medical tricorder on the Tactical Officer's neck.
"I'm detecting a steady energy stream all over his nervous system." Phlox observed, "It only happens when he holds the weapon."
Archer stepped nearer, eager to hear more.
"Do you suppose it has something to do with the incident at the village?" Trip quipped, glancing at the Captain and then gazing at Reed.
"What incident?"
"When one of the bad guys pointed one of those things and then you were suddenly in pain." Trip said.
"I would not recommend exposure to that neuro-electromagnetic transmission to anyone, Commander Tucker." Phlox closed his tricorder. "It could have inflicted permanent damage to their nervous system."
Tucker stared at everyone. Just a theory, he thought.
"Captain, this weapon feels comfortably warm." Reed commented, hinting some amusement. "Though I feel a little dizzy."
"It must be just your body temperature, Malcolm." Trip hinted, his arms folded.
"It could be the energy." Archer paced around; thinking. "Have Dr. Phlox give you a full examination in Sickbay while holding that thing." He turned to Reed. "Resume repairs on weapons."
"Aye, sir." All said as he disappeared from the Armory door.
Hermione and Ron spent their afternoon in the library, after their classes. Piles of tomes seemed to create a wall around them; isolating them from the chatter of Ravenclaws who seemed to be huddled into apparently, a combined effort to finish their homework. They eyed Ron and Hermione cautiously, and then as they went on with their research work, they inched from the edge of their long table to the other, away from the two Gryffindors' direction. It seemed that they could feel the Harry Potter rubbed into the two like some sort of contamination.
Ron glanced at the Ravenclaws and then turned to his companion, "Weren't they at the nearer edge of the table thirty minutes ago?"
"It's as if they never heard what happened last two days ago." Hermione continued reading her copy of her fourth year Defense Against the Dark Arts book.
"So we teach each other Defense Against the Dark Arts, then we look for Harry, is that the plan?" Ron asked.
Hermione pulled a book about jinxes and hexes and buried herself in it. "Not just the two of us, Ron. We'll teach more people. This would be more difficult without Harry, though."
"What do you mean?"
"It doesn't seem fair if we don't offer the chance to other people, Ron. Yes, Ron, as long as Harry's gone, we're on our own. But after the rescue, we get him to teach them. He's the only one who can produce a Patronus, he's the only one who can throw off the Imperius Curse, and he can do loads of stuff that most grown wizards can't."
Hermione leaned to Ron; closing her book, and putting her finger through it to act as bookmark, "Listen, you know the first weekend in October's a Hogsmeade weekend? How would it be if we tell anyone who's interested to meet us in the village and we can talk it over?"
"Why do we have to do it outside school?" said Ron.
"Because," said Hermione, returning to the diagram of the Chinese Chomping Cabbage she was copying; folding the book's page to indicate where she left off. "I don't think Umbridge would be very happy if she found out what we were up to."
"Hey, is it true that Harry was kidnapped?"
It is Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker. Ron and Hermione looked at her expectantly. From behind her, the Ravenclaws stared at her, giving her the "Don't get near them!" look.
"It's true," Hermione stared at her.
Cho's eyes went downcast.
"Can we help you?" Ron asked Cho.
"Oh, no, that's fine, thank you." Cho smiled between stutters, then she pranced off. Hermione and Ron exchanged equally-surprised looks.
Dr. Phlox's examination on Lieutenant Reed had been completed. Malcolm emerged from the bio-bed, and sat up as soon as it stopped moving, wand still on his hands. Just in time, Archer had arrived to Sickbay with two from security. Before them is their prisoner, the boy from the castle.
Harry remained rooted to his spot as soon as they have stopped moving. Around him are an assortment of herbs, canisters, bottles, terrariums, and aquariums stored neatly in shelves and desks. Everything looks so clean. Most animals themselves look strange. For a moment, he thought whether the Muggles who work here have as much prodigious knowledge in potion-making as Severus Snape. He figured immediately, since he saw the Snake of Aescipulus drawn on both doors, that he had been escorted into the hospital wing of this Muggle starship.
"You're just in time, Captain." A strange man greeted the Captain with warm enthusiasm akin to that of Albus Dumbledore. The man is plump; his curly brown hair receding, though copious from the high forehead until just behind his ears. Strange growths and ridges bulge from his forehead, all of which are tanned at the tips. He looked like another magical creature, but sentient, like the goblins and the house-elves. Harry had never seen anyone like him.
Archer peered to the screen above the bio-bed, which showed a physiometric profile of Lieutenant Reed's nervous system. Normally, neural tissue would be depicted in green. This time it was blazing white nerves rested on the physiometric outline of Malcolm's body. The doctor and T'Pol, apparently, had not the time to program the computer how to display these energy readings.
"Captain, my analysis of this energy on Lieutenant Reed is complete. When he does not hold the weapon, all of this neuro-electromagnetic energy disappears from Lieutenant Reed's nervous system. But when he does, it reappears. Apparently, this weapon serves not only as an energy conduit, but an energy amplifier as well."
Harry listened, suppressing an offended look on his face. It's funny to think that these Muggles had come up with a very mouthy word for 'magic.'
"I have also examined Commander Tucker, Subcommander T'Pol, and the MACOs who have participated in all the landing parties. So far, only Lieutenant Reed displays such a phenomenon."
Pause. Archer pursed his lips and paced around Malcolm and the doctor.
"I believe there is someone who could deliver an explanation." Archer stared at the screen above the bio-bed, and then turned to Harry.
There was a loud silence. The Captain raised his chin to Harry in a Jonathan-ish fashion. And then he finally spoke. "I know that you and your people are a secret society, that you strive to keep this... technology a secret from the rest of the world."
Harry did not speak. He merely watched the Captain pace around them slowly and heavily. He may be a Muggle, but this Muggle isn't the sort that you could keep secrets from once he starts asking questions. Not for long anyway. Malcolm handed Jonathan the wand, and then he stood before him.
"There is another secret hidden from the rest of the world." Jonathan gave Harry a determined look so strong that it rivalled Severus Snape's penetrating gaze. The subtle twirling he does on Hermione's wand with his fingers was so disbelieving that Harry almost thought that Archer is also a wizard. "We also do not exist. Me and my crew."
Another secret society? Harry regarded all of them with unparalleled scepticism. At least Harry knows at last that the Order has nothing to do with them either.
"We're from the future. We will not exist until two centuries later, thanks to you." Archer drew up the proudest look on his face. He continued walking and talking in such a slow fashion. "And we're fighting a war that transcends many timelines at the expense of our enthusiasm. To win, we've been sent here to help you stop a certain terrorist who is capable of harnessing this... technology in say, terrible applications."
Archer held the wand before Harry, emphasising "this… technology." To Reed and Dr. Phlox, if all this talk about secret societies and this terrorist is not one of Daniels' revelations to their Captain, maybe they would share Ambassador Soval's poor opinion of him. Harry, however, could only think of one name: Lord Voldemort. How the Muggle Captain came so close to knowing the existence of a powerful Dark wizard, it is still up to speculation.
Harry finally broke his silence.
"He," he pointed to Malcolm, suppressing his disbelief, "He's a wizard."
Archer gave him a sidelong gaze, interested to hear more, but the scowl on his face indicated that he is definitely not satisfied with the answer. The two MACOs exchanged sceptical looks. Phlox raised his eyebrows. These are some un-Dursleyish reactions to witchcraft and wizardry. Malcolm, however, gave him a dark scowl that is definitely Dursleyish.
"How did that happen?" Archer asked.
Harry, "It doesn't happen. Sometimes a person is born with magical abilities-"
"So it's genetic?" Phlox supposed.
"Yeah, it sort of, runs in the family."
"Fascinating." Phlox commented.
"But none in my family are witches and wizards." Malcolm protested.
"Then you're Muggleborn."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Muggleborn, a wizard born from a two Muggle parents." Harry explained. "People who can't do magic."
Archer scowled, looking thoroughly offended at the term, Muggle. There was an awkward tension rising with the silence in Sickbay.
Reed cocked his head to his side. "Do you feel the same warmth on your hands when you hold a-?"
"Wand."
"Right. Wand." Reed's eyes kept narrowed.
"Yes,"
"Are you experiencing nausea, headaches, dizziness, or general uneasiness when you hold this kind of device?" Dr. Phlox added.
"Not with my own wand, no." Harry shook his head only slightly. "And that's not my wand. That's Hermione's, my friend." Spilling beans about the overview of the wizarding world before Muggles still does not give Harry the enthusiasm to explain wand-lore to them.
"I'm aware of that." Archer added, remembering picking Hermione's wand from her hands.
Harry stared at him.
"Your friends are fine." Archer continued. "Look, we know the role you're going to play in this…society. It is strange, though, that you and your friends are hiding aliens in your castle."
"Aliens?" Harry, "But that's impossible."
"We scanned your castle, and it says that you're hiding aliens in your castle." Archer interjected, raising his voice. "Those aliens are our enemies. They were not supposed to interfere with your society's history, not with ours, not with any history at all. And so I have no reason to believe that they're not allied with this terrorist. You should thank us. We got you before they did."
The attack on the Quidditch field, where all of the Gryffindors almost died. Are those people shooting laser beams at them the aliens Archer was talking about?