Author's Note: I've gotten a few reviews and PM's about the "Gun and Car Porn" as they like to call it, and how it's ruining the story. This story follows the Investigator Harry Steel universe and has the same feel. I am the type of person that hates when a writer throws something into a story and you can tell they have zero idea what that something is and what it does. I'm a strong believer in the idea of knowing what something is and being able to explain it. if you say Harry pulls out a gun and shoots someone it's a very open ended statement. was it a handgun? a rifle? shotgun? was it a half plastic Glock or a shiny chrome 1911? details add to the story and they matter. it's the same thing as a writer adding two paragraphs describing the look of Hermione's dress at the Yule Ball. both descriptions are important.
Also the story is called Fighting Back the Muggle Way, the title implies guns and cars. if you think this is going to be some whimsical magical story about how love and magic save the storybook land that is the UK magical world then this is not the story for you. when the action hit in two chapters, bullets will fly and people with die.
also, this story takes place Now in 2015 as i stated in the summery and the first chapter. that means Harry was born in 2000. His parents went to school in the 1990's. i did this for a few reasons, i wanted the world outside of the magical UK to have smart phones and high speed internet to really highlight just how backwards the UK magicals are. i also don't want to do a bunch of math to figure out what something cost in 1995 and figure out what movie was playing when or things like that because as you can see their are people that will take the time to point out when you get that shit wrong even when you didn't. they'll take time to remind you that smart phones were invented in the early 2000's and when Emma Stone was born to prove they couldn't figure out this story takes place now and not in the 90's. this is also the reason i fact check everything and add it t the story. because if i didn't add the rate of fire for the MP5k some one will tell me about it.
Lastly, the story take place, for the most part, from Harry's perspective. aside from the first chapter, which acts as a prolog to the story, pretty much the whole story follows harry. not the people back in the UK. not the Headmaster. not the order. you get Harry's story with a few very short scenes not witnessed by Harry thrown in to give the reader information. also there is a point to all of this day to day BS in these first half dozen chapters. each scene has some kind of relevance to the rest of the story even if it's to just show Harry growing as a person. it all adds up. there are very few wasted paragraphs in this story. trust me i'm working on chapter 12 right now and facts from chapters 4-7 are very important.
The first week in America flew by for Harry in a blur of activities and monumental events. The week started with the blur of activities that was Tuesday's shopping spree but the week only got busier after that as Harry fell into a routine that started with Wednesday morning when, true to his word, Dan got Harry up at half past six. He tossed the boy a pair of running shorts and a athletic shirt. He ignored the fact that his daughter was in the bed next to the boy, or the fact that said boy had his hand on his little girl's boob. Thankfully he didn't see anything a father shouldn't see thanks to the blanket. He was also happy to see the boy slip out of bed in the jeans he had on the night before. Dan left the room to let Harry get dressed. When Harry came out Dan could see he had his dragon hide vest on and he was pulling on his gun rig. Dan nodded his approval and handed Harry a towel and a small cooler.
"I see you have your vest and gun on. You should always have them on. I'm ashamed to say I left mine in my room. Now today I figured we'd start the day off with a nice slow run around the running track on the roof, then we're going to do a bit of PT, then we'll hit the weights before we hit the showers. Today I want to run you through the mini golf course a few times so we can get out on a real course in a few days. After that we have to set up the projector in the movie room. After that we'll be free after lunch. I wanted to talk to my daughter about fixing my leg. Is it really bad?" Dan asked as they headed up the stair to the roof.
"To have your bones regrown? It's the worst. I honestly think we should have Abby set you up with a real healer and see if there's a better solution to Skeel-e-grow. I'm not saying Hermione isn't the smartest mage I know. I'm just saying when it comes to the field of healing. A licensed healer might be your best bet. They might be able to cut your leg open, pull the pins, heal the bones and scar tissue, and seal you back up. I'd rather they did that to my leg without pain potion then to go through Skeel-e-grow again. It feels like bug crawling inside your limb eating away at your flesh from the inside. Besides I'd like to have a healer give me the once over now that I've been taking those two potions for four days. It might be a good idea for all of us to get a check up. If the UK is substandard then we should get a second opinion." Harry said as they stretched and warmed up for their run.
"Yeah. That's a good idea. Abby said we should call her if we ever need anything." Dan said leading Harry on a nice slow run around the 1,000 foot track.
"And I think we need tickets to see a quidditch match I'm sure there's a match tonight. Even if we have to fly to a nearby state. I want to train hard and play hard. We need to get into that country club so we can set up a tee time soon." Harry said easily keeping pace with the older man.
"We'll call her after breakfast. Now get a few laps in at a real pace." Dan said waving Harry on. The kid didn't need to be told twice and he took off. Ten minutes later the kid came blasting by Dan like he was standing still. Dan picked up his pace only to be passed again about ten minutes later.
"How many times did you go around?" Dan called out.
"Eight I think?" Harry called back over his shoulder.
"Two more and that's it for today." Dan said before slowing and walking out the rest of his lap.
Harry ran up to him and the kid was barely sweating. It was at that moment that Dan hated the boy for his youth. The feeling passed quickly and they headed back to the small patch of grass where they stretched. Dan lead Harry through a light to mid range PT session for twenty minutes and the kid was finally sweating hard. They chugged down some water and Gatorade as they headed back down the stair into the house. They hit the weight bench in the garage side of the study and Dan showed Harry the right way to use the weight after he saw the boy's sloppy technique. By the end of the session Harry was up to ten reps of 90 pounds on the bench. But where the boy really shined was the pull up bar. The skinny kid could do sixty pull ups before he got tired and had to drop down.
"You're quite strong for a skinny guy Harry. I'm shocked. You only weigh what. 135?" Dan asked.
"I checked last night. I'm 131. A big improvement over what I started at and the potions are making me bigger by the day. I think I'm almost 5'8" now." Harry said toweling the sweat off his head.
"I really need to get my hands on some of that stuff." Dan said as they walked to the other side of the house where their rooms where. As they got close Hermione slipped out of Harry's room in a bathrobe, slippers, and a towel wrapped around her head.
"All my things are in the green room I think I'm going to move into the master suit today if you don't mind." She asked Harry. Harry in turn looked to Dan.
"Hey don't look at me. You two are responsible as hell. You can't get pregnant right?" Dan asked his daughter.
"No, I'm on a potion that stops my reproductive organs from working for four months. It's 100% effective." Hermione said.
"Then I have no objections. To tell you the truth we figured you were already sleeping together. When you send your kid off to a boarding school you expect all kinds of shenanigans. The fact that you two nerds are still virgins is truly shocking. I don't mind. As long as I'm not going to become a grandfather any time soon." Dan said heading into his room leaving two red faced teens in the hallway.
"I guess I'll move my things into the master then." Hermione said.
"I'd like that." Harry said blushing harder before he headed into his room to get showered and changed.
Harry and Dan spent the morning playing through the par 62 mini golf course on the roof three times. By the time they came down at ten Harry shot a 60 and Dan shot a 58. But the whole point was to get Harry used to hitting the ball and reading the green which the boy could do now. They came down and had a beer as they installed the projector in the movie room. By the time they were done bumbling their way through setting up all the inputs it was time for lunch. They went out to eat at a small greek place that had really good potatoes and was right down the street from the healer's office Abby made them appointments in. They all piled into the Camaro this time. With Dan and Harry up front the three girls fit in the back easy.
When they got to the office they were pleased to see that the place stuck with the theme of American magical modesty. The office looked like any other doctors office. There was a receptionist at the front desk. A weighting room with outdated magazines. The medical forms were the same with a few exceptions. Questions like: have you ever been hit with a dark curse? Or what is your mage power level, and are you taking any potions at the moment if so what are they and do you make them yourself? Aside from that the office looked normal. The Grangers were set to go first. Hermione took her mum into exam room one and Harry sat with Dan in exam room two. A young nurse in pink scrubs came in and ran Dan through the normal battery of tests like blood pressure, temperature, height, weight, and power level. The exception being that she did it all by running a few diagnostic scans over Dan's body.
"This is your first visit with us was there something you came in for specifically or are you just coming by for your yearly check up?" She asked.
"Yes, there is something I'm here to inquire about. You see up until a few days ago I thought I was um…." Dan was trying not to say the word normal.
"You thought you were non-magical." The nurse supplied with a knowing smile.
"Yes. You see our daughter is a witch. But we thought she was a first generation witch. Then we came here from the UK a few days ago and a friend of ours tested us and we found out that both my wife and I have magic. I'm a squib and my wife is a witch. I was injured a long time ago in a military training accident and they repaired my knee and shin with a bunch of pins and screws. My daughter said I can have the bones vanished and regrown now that I have a core." Dan said as she ran scans on his legs.
"Yes. That is an option. I bit brutal if you ask me. It's the equivalent of setting fire to your house to knock down a few walls. It will work but the pain is not worth it. Dr. Carter will have a few other options but I can tell you now it's not that badly damaged. It looks like all the pieces are still in there so we won't have to grow any bones. We just need to get the pins out and mend the bones. I'm sure Dr. Carter can do it in a few minutes. Let me just tell him to prep the Operation Room." The nurse said.
"What's the recovery time going to be fore this procedure? Will I be able to walk around in a few weeks? Months?" Dan asked.
"Weeks? Dr. Granger, this is a simple procedure. You'll get a numbing injection in your leg. We'll do the extraction, heal you up, and in an hour you'll be as good as new." The nurse said walking out of the room.
"See, I told you! I've had loads of life ending injuries and I've bounced back from each one of them. Magic is truly wonderful." Harry said.
"No shit kid. One hour. I was in the hospital for weeks, then it took a long time to relearn how to walk." Dan said shaking his head.
"And just think, your daughter wanted to vanish your bones and have them regrown." Harry said.
A half hour later Dan sat on a small operating table with Harry and Hermione by his side. He watched in fascination as Dr. Carter cut his leg open from mid thigh to mid shin with a large razor sharp kitchen knife and pulled the layers of skin, fat, and muscle back to reveal the bones. Hermione got dizzy when she saw the bone and blood and had to leave the room. Harry gave Dan's shoulder a squeeze as the doctor started yanking the pin out and shattering the bones with a small hammer to get the screws out. At the sound of the bones breaking Dan felt himself go light headed but Harry squeezed his shoulder and that re-centered him. Once all the metal was out the doctor waved his wand over the bones and muttered a spell and before their eyes the bones mended. When he was sure it was fine he cast a few more spells and the muscles started to knit back together. Then the layer of fat. Finally he did it again and the layer of skin knitted back together and Dan was looking at his unscared leg.
"You do really good work doc. You even healed the scars. I wish I had you when I was bit by an acromantula. I still got the nasty scars on my right leg." Harry said.
"Really? It takes more effort to leave a scare then to do it right." Dr. Carter said.
"That old bitch! She did it on purpose." Harry said lifting his pants cuff to show off the jagged scars on his calf.
"I can fix that. Man you Brits have taken a beating. I have to heal a fire curse scare on the girl that was just in here." The Doctor said scanning Dan's leg.
"When you get a chance to look at me you're going to be shocked. My body is covered in battle damage." Harry said.
"Well, you'll spend some time on this table then." Dr. Carter said, and he was not wrong.
Harry ended up spending an hour on the table as Doc Carter cut him open, healed his bones and deep tissue properly and closed him back up. Not that he knew anything about it. He was knocked out. Dan was the only one in the room watching the procedure being done. Harry wanted all the scare gone, bones mended, and old wounds healed. The one exception was the scar on his upper left bicep where the basilisk fang went through his arm. He wanted that scar. It looked like a gunshot wound and the story was one of his cooler ones. He had handed a big stack of bill to Dan before going under and when he woke up they were on the 3 expressway in New Jersey headed for Metlife stadium.
"Hey kid. Have a good sleep?" Dan asked handing the boy a Monster when he saw him get up. Dan was driving and the girls were in the back.
"Yeah, how long was I out for?" Harry asked popping the top on the can and chugging half of it.
"Just over an hour for the operating room and almost two hours for the drive out to New Jersey. Doctor Carter said you were one of his worst cases." Dan said.
"Good to know, thanks for driving." Harry said.
"You kidding? I love this car. And we're here." Dan said with a smile as he pointed to the big football stadium.
The stadium played host to the New York Jets and the New York Giants during the football season. But during the summer it was the home to ten times ALQ champions the New York Dragons. Abby got them access to the bank's club level VIP box on the fifty yard line. They pulled into the VIP parking lot at five and they had two hours before the game started. They headed up to the box to check out the view and they saw they were just above the height of the rings at half court giving them the perfect view. A hostess named Becky in a green and gray vest came by when they got settled in and handed them menus.
"We never have to leave the box and they are playing the last game on the in room TVs." Dan said looking at the food list.
"We'll take the nacho platter for ten. Let's do the hot pretzel tray, and the six foot long party sub. How many beers come in the ice chest?" Harry asked the hostess.
"18 but we refill it when you're running low and we offer a sober charm at the end of the night." Becky the hostess said with a helpful smile.
"Great, in that case we'll take the ice chest of beers, you guys want anything else?" Harry asked the group.
"Just how bottomless is the bottomless picture of margaritas?" Dora asked with a grin.
"If we think you've had too much we have the right to cut you off but if three of you are sharing it then you should be fine." Becky said.
"I want that then. We'll split it between us girls." Dora said.
"Can we get Dragon's jerseys and fan gear as well?" Harry asked.
"You can order it off a list or the VIP fan shop is at the end of the hall." Becky said.
"I think we'll start with five jerseys." Harry said.
"We'll have your order ready in just a bit. Enjoy the game." Becky said walking out.
"Now this is the way to see a game. We definitely need to get one of these boxes." Harry said taking a seat by the bar and looking at the big TV hanging on the wall.
"So you play this sport Harry?" Emma asked.
"No, I used to play international style quidditch. I played seeker. I spent most of the game looking for a stupid little flying ball. That sport is so broken. This seems much better. With much faster play and way more scoring. This should be way more fun. This is like a football match in the air. Oh! And they play full contact!" Harry said watching a male Dragon's chaser shoulder check a female Vegas Vampire chaser almost off her broom.
"They play coed?" Dan asked in shock as they replayed the hit.
"In the Magical world we always play coed. Half the time the girls are meaner than the guys. Witches tend to heal faster then wizards. So they're more likely to go for a game ending move on another player. Besides they're playing with much better pads then we play with. Look at those things." Harry said pointing to the big life sized poster of a Dragon's player on the wall of the box. The player looked to be in hockey pads. In fact the jersey looked like a lightweight hockey jersey.
"That doesn't stop them from dying if they hit the ground." Emma said.
"The field is most likely cushion charmed. It's like landing on a big mattress." Hermione said.
Soon waiters with food carts started showing up. Becky popped in and handed Harry five big hockey jerseys made of lightweight athletic fabric. The jerseys were hunter green with gray numbers and names. On the font was the Dragons logo of a green dragon in profile in a gray circle. They had five different numbers and names on the back and each jersey was a men's 4XL.
"Why are they so big?" Emma asked putting on number five and it hung on her like a dress.
"Because it's easier to manufacture a million jerseys in the same size and have you custom fit them yourself with a spell." Hermione said hitting her mum with a spell. The jersey shrank to fit her.
"I love magic." Emma said looking at her jersey.
They spent the next hour and a half watching the last Dragon's game on the TV which they lost by 15 before the live game against the Seattle Sasquatches started. Play was fast, violent, and almost too hard to follow in person. Without instant replay Harry would have missed a few goals. The lines of chasers played like devils. They never let up and they changed lines on the fly without break. There was a shot on goal every thirty seconds. Something that was easy to keep track of when watching the game on TV but hard to watch in real life. Soon the girls had begged off and sat at the bar in the room to watch the game on the TV. By halftime even Harry had to admit his eyes were hurting. But he was having a great time cheering and booing with the crowd. The Dragons were down by ten at the half with a score of 53 to 43.
The halftime show was a fire show. A group of ten wizard dazzled the crowd with a flight of dragons made of fire doing battle in the air above the field. They were all impressed by the display but Dan and Emma were amazed.
"Can you teach me that spell?" Emma asked.
"I don't think it's a spell so much as control over fire. They might be Fire mages or arch mages." Hermione said.
When the fire mages ended their show the Dragon cheerleaders came out to hype up the crowd and the players took the field for the second half. Play seemed to drop in pace as the game progressed and the players got tired and battered. There were less shots on goal and more saves. By the end the Dragons lost by two points in a 75 to 73 point game that saw the Dragons rally at the end thanks to their keeper going almost lights out at the end. Becky came by at the end of the game and handed Harry a bill. He gave her his black bank card which she touched to a black leather folder and it flashed. Harry took the card back and handed her a five hundred dollar tip.
"Thanks Becky, this night was great." Harry said.
"Thank you for coming. This is your complimentary Team Quaffle. Drive safely." She handed him a white leather Quaffle signed by all of the Dragons.
"This is awesome! Look at this!" Harry said showing Dan.
"That's so cool. We should put this in the game room." Dan said.
"Good idea." Harry said leading the group out to the car.
"Here kid, you drive. I've had about three too many." Dan said.
"So have I. Hermione, can you hit me with a sober charm?" Harry asked.
"Sure." She said casting the spell as she got into the back seat where she promptly passed out between her mom and Dora.
Harry got on the expressway behind the large group of cars headed back into the city. Thankfully they were in the VIP lot and they could get out slightly ahead of the crowd. Still they were caught in traffic for three hours getting back across the Lincoln tunnel. By the time they got back to The Potter it was after midnight and Harry was the only one awake in the car. He pulled up into the garage and woke everyone up. They shambled into the elevator and as soon as they got into the apartment they headed for their bedrooms so they could pass out again. Harry led Hermione to their room and he sat her on the bed as he ditched most of his clothes. He left his boxers and t-shirt on. Hermione for her part shucked her shoes, socks, and jeans. She reached in under her shirt and pulled her bra off without taking off her shirt which confused Harry. They both slipped into bed under the covers and they were asleep in minutes.
The next morning came too soon for Harry. Dan woke him at half past six that Thursday and Harry protested as he rolled out of bed. They did a lighter workout that morning and swam laps in the pool instead of lifting weights because they were both feeling hungover. After breakfast Harry and Hermione drove to the wandmakers to get his new wand. The final price ended up being $22,500 but it was a work of art. Gold and diamond encrusted with carved dragon, basilisk and phoenix intertwined on the wand shaft. The handle had a gentle knurling and the six embedded emeralds. The tip came to a spiked point sharp enough to use as a push dagger. Harry paid the rest of his balance and added a three hundred dollar tip. They stopped off at the bank to see Abby after that. Abby was shocked to see him.
"Why didn't you just call. You didn't have to come down here." She said letting them into her office.
"It's a nice day for a drive." Harry said relaxing back into his seat in front of her desk.
"It is nice. We've been having a good summer. What can I help you with?" She asked.
"I was wondering if you can get us a box like the bank has for Dragon's games. How much would something like that cost?" Harry asked.
"For a club level box for the season? I think the bank pays about a little more than a half million. Do you want me to look into getting you a box? There are companies that buy boxes, lose money, and then they try to unload them for less than they're worth. I can probably get you a box for the next twenty or so home games for about $175,000. If the Dragons make it into the playoffs, which I doubt they will it's a really good deal." Abby said.
"I'll take it. I also want 50 sets of paired portkeys. I was going to buy 15 sets but I figured why not buy in bulk now so I always have them. How much will that cost?" Harry asked.
"For 50 sets? $2,500 a set. $125,000. I can get them to you in a couple of days." Abby said taking notes in a small black book.
"Good, we're also going to need to charter a flight to Paris in four days." Harry said.
"What time did you want to take off?" Abby asked making notes.
"The train arrives when?" Harry asked Hermione.
"One o'clock in the afternoon or there about. But Dora said she wanted to stake out the station before the train got there." Hermione said.
"Right, how long is the fight?" Harry asked.
"About three and a half hours. You want to get there at noon you're going to have to leave here at three in the morning because of the time difference. You know you can send a portkey to the Paris bank branch right?" Abby asked.
"Will we have enough time?" Harry asked.
"Sure, I can overnight it to Paris and you can pop over when you want. It would be a lot cheaper to have the bank hold your portkey then to charter this flight." Abby said.
"Can you send over a portkey to Paris and four to London? One for them to hold and three to hand over to Andromeda Tonks, Augusta Longbottom, and Amelia Bones." Harry asked.
"That's a lot of A names." Abby muttered making Harry laugh.
"That it is. All three stubborn women that are going to stay in the UK until the very last second to leave." Harry said.
"I can do all of that easy enough." Abby said.
"Do you need the cash or do you just take it out of my account?" Harry asked.
"I can take it out of your account. Also, I got you and Dan a meeting with the country club president at nine tomorrow, as well as a tee time for ten." Abby said handing his a post-it note.
"Awesome. Thanks Abby. Now we just need to hit up a driving range today." Harry said.
"Chelsea Piers golf club." Abby said writing down an address and handing him another post-it.
"Thank you Abby. You know, it's going to suck in a few days when I won't be able to just call you for things." Harry said standing up.
"For a small fee you can call the bank and they can give you the same thing. It will even be me from time to time." Abby said.
"I'm definitely paying the fee." Harry said.
"Where are you two headed for lunch?" Abby asked.
"We're not sure. We figured we'd drive around a bit and see what caught our eye." Harry said.
"Try Sushi Yasuda on 43rd street. The best lunch you can have. It's nice and light but filling and health. I'll call in a reservation for 12:45 for the sushi bar." Abby said handing him another post-it.
"Life saver." Hermione said snatching the post-it from Harry's hand looking excited.
"Thanks Abby." Harry said leading his girl out the door.
"Let's get going so we can get our date out of the way. That way you can get to your date with my dad." Hermione said leading Harry out of the bank to his car.
"Hay all joking aside, it's not a problem I spend so much time with your dad right?" Harry asked.
"No. I think it's cute. So does Mum. It's nice that dad has someone to hang around with. He hates his boring work friends, his old service friends don't like to golf or go hunting. Mum is not a sporty person. She's like me. She's happy to sit in the library and live in a book. Dad's always been a bit lonely." Hermione said with a sad smile.
"Well, I've never had an adult male to hang around with, but if you ever want me to stop hanging out with your dad you just tell me." Harry said.
"Harry relax. You're not cheating on me with my dad. You like to do guy stuff. My dad likes to do guy stuff. In a few days when Neville gets here I'm sure he'll be hanging out with you two and Susan will hang out with us. If anyone should feel left out it's Dora. she's too sporty to sit in the library, but too girly to hang out with you guys. I think you need to make time for her. Take her with you to Dragons games, and baseball games. Take her to lunch." Hermione said hugging his arm.
"I'll make time for her. I wonder what I can do for her. I feel bad that she gave up her life back home to sit here in America." Harry said.
"Well, Oliver Wood is going to be coming over soon, I remember she said they fancied each other back in school. I'm sure with a little help they can rekindle that old flame. I'm sure tickets to a Dragon's game would help." Hermione said with a conspiratorial grin.
"I'm make sure we're going to be out of town looking at my other houses on the day of a Dragon's game. It would be a waste for no one to use the box that night." Harry said in mock sadness.
"Yes it would be such a waste." Hermione said laughing.
The rest of the day flew by. After lunch a nice lunch with Hermione Harry and Dan spent a three hours hitting golf balls and working on his swing. When they got back Harry took Dora to a diner for burgers and shakes. They talked about life and how they were adjusting. She asked him about his relationship with Hermione and Harry told her in general terms what they did so far and she gave him advice about being more confident. Harry was embarrassed but she reminded him that Hermione loved him and there was nothing wrong with being confident about their relationship. After dinner they headed to the movies to see Jurassic World. When the movie let out Dora hugged Harry.
"This was fun." She said.
"It was. I'm sorry I haven't spent more time with you." Harry said.
"You don't have to spend time with me. I don't need to be entertained Harry. I'm fine. That being said, it's nice to have evenings like this." She said.
"Well, I know you don't have much to do and if you want to. You can go off and explore…" Harry started to say but Dora cut him off with a laugh.
"Harry, I love you kid, but you need to relax. More people are coming over in a few days and they are going to need help getting around. I'm going to have to teach Neville, Susan, and Luna how to drive. Odd's going to need a space to set up his paper. My dad's going to be coming over with the group. Not to mention Oliver. He was just coming up in the Auror Cadets and we were starting to talk again. I'd like to see where that can go. There's going to be a lot to keep me busy in the next few weeks. Knowing that you and Hermione can take care of yourselves and her parents will take a big burden off my shoulders and I can work on the next group." Dora said as Harry drove them back to the apartment.
"Good, and just so you know, when Oliver gets here, if you want to spend more time with him I've got property all over the world. I'm sure the Miami house has a beach. And I'm having Abby get me a box for the rest of the ALQ season. I'm sure Oliver would like to see a game. Or better yet, meet the team. I'm sure that can be arranged for the right price." Harry said.
"He would die. He wanted to play professional quidditch so bad." Dora said.
"I know. Oliver was the guy that taught me how to play. You don't think I want to get my old captain a spot on a team? There has to be a shity team in need of a lights out keeper. One season on a bad team to showcase his skills and he could play for any team in the league." Harry said.
"You think?" She asked.
"The keeper for the Dragons was good, but Oliver was always lights out. Without having to worry about blunders and just having to stop shots? He'd be a star of the league in a few seasons." Harry said as he pulled into the garage.
"Harry, thanks for taking me out." Dora said hugging him as they got on the elevator.
"It's no big deal. What we have to do is try to make this a weekly thing. Just you and me." Harry said leading her into the apartment.
"I'd like that." Dora said splitting off to head off to the library where the Granger women were encamped working on Emma's magic.
Harry headed into the shooting room for his nightly firearms session. Dan showed Harry a shooting drill to speed up transition to new targets and shooting on the move. By the time he locked up the house and shut off most of the lights Hermione was already sitting on the bed. She was wearing a white man's dress shirt that was half unbuttoned, boyshorts, and her hair was loose. She was reading a magazine.
"Hey." Harry said blushing slightly when he saw her.
"Hey. Why don't you take off your clothes?" She said with a mischievous smile.
"Yeah," Harry said setting his gun on the nightstand he dropped his gun rig and vest in the chair next to the bed. He kicked off his shoes, as he unbuttoned his shirt when she stopped him.
"Not so fast. I want to see you." She said setting her magazine on the night stand and sitting up on her knees. The sight of her kneeling on the bed, the way she was dressed, and with her hair willed and tussled was making his pants very uncomfortable.
"Okay?" He said in an unsure voice as tossed his shirt on the chair and stripped off his pants. He tried to do it slowly but was very unsuccessful. It looked awkward, uncomfortable, and at one point in the painstakingly long process he almost got tripped up causing him to stumble. Hermione tried to hold back a giggle but it slipped out Harry looked up, saw her smile and laughed. That's when he thought about Dora's words of advice. He grind and decided to act confidently.
"What? This not sexy enough for you?" He asked kicking his pants off in a awkward karate kick adding a "hi-ah" Bruce Lee sound effect that had Hermione rolling around on the bed laughing so hard she couldn't breath.
"Please stop. You're terrible." She said gasping for air.
"Yeah. Terrible-ly sexy. Oh yeah!" Harry said humping the air in his boxer, socks, and t-shirt.
"Please I can't breath." She said laughing.
"You like that?" Harry asked pulling off his shirt and making sure it got hung up on his face so he had to flail around to get it off. When he tossed it off he affixed a goofy sexy grin on his face that looked painful to hold.
"I can't, I don't know if I ever want you to touch me again." She said holding her belly.
"You just can't handle my sexy. It scares you how hot I am. I'm like fire. Magic fire!" He said making uncoordinated hip movements so off key it was shockingly impressive to be that bad.
"Please. For the sake of this relationship stop while I still think I like you." She said leaning forwards to grab his shoulders and pull him onto the bed.
"Fine. You're such an expert you show me." Harry said sitting on the bed and pulling off his socks.
"You want me to strip?" She asked looking shocked and excited.
"Sure, you can show me what I'm doing wrong." Harry said with a confident grin that made her pulse quicken.
"Okay." She said sitting up on her knees again. She looked into his eyes and saw the confidence there. It was sexy. He was such a powerhouse in everything he did when he had to react. When he was forced to play the part of Harry Potter, or Harry Steel now. But when it came time to be just Harry, he faltered. He was unsure of himself. To see him look at her with his confident eyes unlocked something deep within her. She felt herself flush, a fire traveled up her body and she shuddered ever so slightly. She bit her lip and saw Harry's eyes turn from confident to predatory. His smile became wolfish. She felt her body tingle.
"I thought you were going to strip for me?" He asked in a deep voice dripping with hunger.
"I, don't know." She said blushing.
"Why not?" He asked.
"Because, if I take my clothes off we won't be virgins any more." She said.
"Do you want to take your clothes off?" He asked without a hint of embarrassment or shame.
"So much. Do you want me to." She asked in a voice that wavered as her breath hitched.
"Yes. I do. I want you to. I always want you to." He said trying to show her he was ready. It helped that he was practically bursting out of his boxers.
"Oh Harry." She said practically diving on top of him and attacking his mouth. As she kissed him she fumbled with the buttons on her shirt until she got frustrated and yanked the shirt over her head and threw it behind her. Her shirt hit the bed side lamp, knocked it off the nightstand, and it crashed to the marble floor where it shattered.
"Shit!" She swore and that made both of them laugh. It broke the moment.
"I'll go fix that. You stay where you are. I'm not done with you yet." Harry said grabbing his wand off the nightstand and rolling off the bed.
He fixed the lamp with a spell and set it back on the table. He shut it off casting half the room in darkness. He walked around the bed and set his wand next to his gun. He got back on the bed and shut his light off casting the room into darkness. The only light in the room came from the soft glow of the wall sconces by the door and the bathroom. They threw off just enough light to see in the dark were the bathroom was. Harry reach out his hand and touched her. He found her shoulder in the darkness and they both let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. He leaned in and kissed her. It it was soft but still full of heat. She grabbed his arm and laid back in bed pulling him on top of her.
"You sure?" He asked.
"Yes." She said kicking off her shorts.
"Okay." He said he said regaining some of the confidence he had a minute ago.
That night they fumbled through their first time just like Andy said he would. But their second time was much better, and by the time they fell asleep in each other's arms. They figured out their fifth time was the charm.
The next day, Friday, Harry got up before his alarm went off. He slipped out from under Hermione and shut it off. He looked down at her sleeping form and he smiled. Her hair was everywhere and she made the softest little snores. He slipped back into bed and kissed Hermione's neck. She sighed and rolled over to look at him. He brushed her hair back out of her face.
"Hi." He said with a smile.
"Hi." She said matching his smile.
"So last night. I'm sorry about the first few times." He said blushing.
"But by the end I think we figured it out." She said before she giggled at the conversation they were having.
"I think I have twenty minutes before I have to get going." Harry said with a confident smile.
"But what are we going to do with all the extra time?" She asked with a smirk.
"Extra time!" Harry said indignantly as he attacked her sides making her giggle.
Giggling turned into groans, which turned into moans. Harry had just enough time to meet Dan out front of his room with a the cooler of water bottles, and a towel. He was slightly out of breath and when the older man looked at him he blushed. Dan shook his head.
"I don't want to know, or think about it. Let's just get to it this morning. We have a long day ahead of us." Dan said.
"Yes sir." Harry said.
"Oh god. Don't start acting odd on me now it will just confirm everything." Dan said and they both laughed.
"Sorry. I'll try to keep it in." Harry said.
"Good." Dan said leading the boy up to the roof.
After a light workout they got changed into light slacks and golf shirts. They had a good breakfast, and when Hermione walked into the kitchen she blushed when Harry kissed her. This made Dan shake his head and Emma grin.
"Don't start talking before we get up. We'll be out of the room soon enough." Dan said finishing his cup of coffee. Harry followed his lead and the two men practically ran for the door.
They headed out to New Jersey in Harry's car with their golf bags and shoes shrunken down to fit in his small trunk. They made it to the golf course at a little after nine thanks to Harry speeding and the light traffic. They didn't talk much at first but then Dan laughed.
"Look. I'm in an odd position here Kid. There's a part of me. The father of a daughter that is both disgusted and horrified. But there's a part of me that's your friend and I want to be happy for you. The biggest part of me, the part of me that's rational, is happy for you two. You're young and in love and you make eachother happy. And it's nice to know my daughter found someone that makes her happy." Dan said.
"Good. Is this where I ask you for your daughter's hand in marriage?" Harry asked looking over at the man with a smile.
"I suppose so. It's good that you're thinking about making an honest woman out of my daughter." Dan said.
"As soon as I think she'll be comfortable with me asking. I give it a few months at most." Harry said.
"Good. Now, let us talk of more important things. Like golf. Today is an important day for you. It is the first time you experience the lifelong anguish that is golf. There will be days when you can't hit the ball straight to save your life. On those days you will curse the game, curse the Scottish for inventing the game, and curse me for teaching you the game. But then you'll hit that one shot. Oh son that shot will change everything. That one shot will make you walk taller and you'll come back again just so you can curse everything again. At this point you might be asking yourself why you would play this most vexing of games? You play for that one shot. That one shot is everything." Dan said.
"That one shot?" Harry said testing the thought.
"That one shot. You'll see." Dan said.
They pulled up to the valet and got out. They checked in and headed to the clubhouse for bloody Marys. An important part of the golf experience according to Dan. They met with the president of the country club about becoming members. Harry let Dan do all the talking. Harry ran out to the car to get their clubs and shoes. They teed off at ten. Abby arranged it so they went out by themselves which was good because they goofed off enough to take twice as long as it should have taken. Dan was good but Harry was no slouch. Harry and Dan ended up 10 over and 6 over par. By the time they made it back to the clubhouse they agreed they need to become members. They filled out the paperwork and Harry paid the membership fees for the whole family. They had a late lunch and headed back to the city where the girls all made fun of their man date.
They stayed in that night. Abby stopped by at six and handed Harry a big stack of thin gold business cards that were numbered 1-50 in sets of two. She also handed him a few gold business card holders. She also had a green leather binder with the Dragon's logo on the front. Inside was more than half the tickets and parking passes for a box that was right across the way from the bank's box on the half court line. Of the 50 home games that season the binder had 26 left. The next game was two days away against the Miami Sand Sharks, who according to Abby was going to wipe the floor with the Dragons. Harry invited her to the game. But she begged off because she was going to be out of town that day. Harry handed her the first five portkeys and he changed the names on them. One was labeled Paris, one one was labeled London, three had names, Andromeda Tonks, Amelia bones, and Augusta Longbottom. On Hermione's suggestion he added three more portkeys so they could send other people to America if they needed to. Abby took the portkeys and left. Harry walked her down to the lobby.
"Good evening Mr. Steel!" Mike said in greeting.
"Hey Mike, just the man I was looking for. I wanted to ask you about portkeys. Specifically where the wards allow you to portkey in?" Harry asked.
"Well the building it warded pretty heavily. The only two places to land a portkey is in the basement parking garage and the portkey landing zone off the lobby. You have a few paired portkeys you want to set up?" Mike asked.
"I do. I have eight so far but I'd like to leave ten in there. Will that be a problem?" Harry asked.
"Not at all. Are these portkeys for your use or your family's use?" Mike asked.
"No. I sent six of them overseas they are going to be used as emergency lifelines." Harry said.
"In that case, we'll use the locked room in the portkey landing zone. Right this way." Mike said leading Harry through a door next to the front desk.
Through the door was a 20x20 foot room with a brass floor made of small one foot square tiles. As Harry looked closer at the floor he saw each tile was the lid to a box set into the floor. Each box was numbered like the apartments. On the other side of the room was a door made of heavy plate steel with a 2x2 foot barred window. Behind that door was a 10x10 foot room with the same brass box floor. Harry understood what the room was instantly. He peeled off the six life line portkeys and set them in a free box in the floor.
"You'll be alerted if a portkey is activated right?" Harry asked walking out of the locked room.
"Yes, we have a bell and a light the goes off above the door in the lobby when a portkey goes off. That room can withstand a few dozen blasting curses and the second we see a threat we hit a button under the front counter and Aurors show up in a few minutes." Mike said.
"Well, call up to the apartment if someone pops in." Harry said finding the Penthouse box in the bigger main room. He dropped five other portkeys in the box after labeling them with the names of his family and closed the box. Now his family could always pop back to the Potter building if they needed to.
"We will call you when we get new arrivals, and we don't let anyone out of the lobby unless we get the all clear from a resident." Mike said.
"That's good to know. Thanks for the heads up Mike. Hey you got a kid right?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, I got a ten year old daughter named Madison. Maddy." Mike said.
"Well I just got a Club box for the Dragons for the rest of the season. The next game is two nights from now Sunday at seven. Why don't you come with us and bring your little girl. We're going to drive out there and take a few of those portkeys back. The box seats twenty people and there's five of us. We order a bunch of food and we're right above play height on the half court line. If you want to come along we'll be taking two or three cars to get out there." Harry said.
"Thank you so much for asking. I think we'll come along. Do you think I can bring Steve's boy Tim along? He's nine and he loves the Dragons." Mike asked.
"Absolutely! Like I said we got the box for the rest of the year and it holds twenty. It's a crime to bring less than ten people out there. If you have a girlfriend, or if you know any other kids in the building. I might take a run out to the stadium tomorrow and set up a portkey so we don't have to take four cars out there." Harry said.
"Yeah, I'll think about it and let you know. I think Walter has a few grand kids." Mike said.
"Crap I forgot about Walter. He was supposed to come over that night to work on the car in my study." Harry said.
"I'll tell him to come along. We got guys that can cover for us." Mike said.
"Thanks Mike. And in the future if we can't make it to a game I'll let you know and let you take the pass. Or Walter. There are 26 games that are going to be played weather we watch them or not, so we might as well watch them." Harry said with a grin as he walked to the elevator.
"I'll call Walter and set it up." Mike said.
When Harry got back to the apartment he saw everyone was in the library. When he walked in he saw Emma showing off her grasp of the levitation spell.
"Good work. How many spell do you know at this point?" Harry asked.
"Ten. Hermione is the best teacher." Emma said hugging her daughter.
"I know, she taught me almost everything I know. Without her help I would have failed out of school years ago. What spells do you know?" Harry asked kissing Hermione as he took a seat on her desk.
"I know Lumos, and the blue ball flame, and the unlocking spell which is way too powerful to teach to kids." Emma said.
"Show me, let's have a little magic show." Harry said pulling out his wand.
"Okay," Emma said excitedly.
That turned into a magic show put on by all the mages in the house. Everyone brought something to the table and they had fun. After that Harry hit the range and went over the target transition drill. He set two targets 15 foot away and 20 foot from each other and practiced putting two rounds on one target and transitioning to the next target. He went back and forth until the two targets had one big ragged hole in the center. He spent ten minutes reloading his magazines and collecting the spent brass shell casing into a big barrel after that.
He did a check of the house and headed to bed where he found Hermione laying under the covers waiting for him. Harry quickly stripped and pulled back the blanket to get in and saw Hermione was naked. He ditched his boxers and dove into bed making her laugh as he kissed her. That night Harry proved that the morning's improvements on his first night's performance was not a fluke. He proved it four times and Hermione was unbelievably happy with his performance. He was electric. Every place he touched her sent shivers down her body to her center. She didn't know his magic was helping him please her. He was so worried about being good for her his magic was making sure she had a good time. They both passed out that night in a sweaty heap of limbs grinning like fools.
Back in the UK the Dark Lord was still in a coma, in his mind he was cursing his boy nemesis for severing the connection that was feeding power into his soul. Little did he know that Harry saved his miserable half life. Had they still been connected Harry and Hermione's night time activities would have tainted the connection with pure love and magic that would have made him die screaming.
It's odd how life worked out. For Harry to get away he had to kill Harry Potter. By doing so he severed the connection to Tom. If he was still connected to the dark lord his love for Hermione would have killed Voldemort taking one threat off the board. But Harry would have never hooked up with his best friend if he had still been stuck at his aunt's house and he would have never had the courage to admit he lived Hermione when he was still Harry Potter. In the end it didn't matter but somewhere in the world a seer was having an aneurysm thanks to the oddity that was circumstance.