AN: I'm back a few days early. thanks for letting me take the holidays off. I was supper busy with buying presents and family stuff. but i'm back now. i\I will be posting every monday from now on. you might want to go back and re read the last chapter. this one starts in the middle of the day.
Harry pulled into the parking lot of the Italian restaurant and handed his car off to the valet. He led the group of Hermione, Neville, Susan, and Luna into in. They saw the grownups sitting at a big table in the back.
"You guys got here fast." Dan said looking at his watch.
"Traffic was light." Harry said taking a seat at the table.
"That and he drives like a devil." Luna said.
"Thank you little sister. Remind me again why we brought you over?" Harry asked with a smirk.
"Cause you love me. And it's your job as my big brother to look after me." She said without missing a beat.
"Right." Harry said with a smile.
They all had a nice lunch/dinner full of light conversation and laughing. Harry partook in some of it but for the most part he was reserved and thoughtful. He kept glancing at his watch as the meal went on. Each time he looked he talked less and less. Everyone at the table saw it happen and they knew he had the weight of their future on his shoulders. At a quarter to five Harry looked at his watch one last time and looked to Dan.
"We have to start wrapping up. We have to make it to the UN building in a half hour." Harry said.
"Why don't you guys go and we'll stay and finish lunch, we got it from here. We need to take the group clothes shopping and then we need to go pick up the people we left at the doctor's office. We'll see you back at the house." Emma said.
"Right, take my case and pay for everything." Harry said pulling out his black metal briefcase full of money and handing it across the table to Emma as he stood up.
"I will Harry, don't worry guys, we have it easy." Emma said hugging her daughter and Harry before she kissed her husband.
Harry lead Dan, Andy, and Hermione out to the valet and got his car. Dan rode shotgun and he offered Harry a small cigar. Harry took it and light it with his zippo as he drove. He took a deep puff and breathed out slowly which calmed his nerves. Dan plugged his phone into the aux jack and ELO's Strange Magic came wafting out of the sound system and that made everyone smile.
"Good, you're calm. Look kid, you have to remember we don't really need these people. All we're getting from them is a piece of paper that says we can do what we like, and that they'll help put the UK back together when the dust settles. If we don't get that then we go along with your plan anyways and we buy a few congressmen to get the permits and licenses to build SSI. Abby says it's relatively cheap to do. Anything we get extra is icing on the cake." Dan said.
"And it's not going to all be on you, I know legal talk and I've practiced some diplomatic law so I'll help you the whole way." Andy said.
"And remember, your Harry Fucking Steel. Biggest bad ass in the room. They fuck with you, you walk out and tell them to kiss your ass as you leave." Hermione said shocking her dad but in a good way. He was glad to see she was taking charge more.
"Yes love. I'm glad you're coming with. I don't know what I was thinking earlier when I was going to leave you behind." Harry said.
"You should know by now you're stronger with me by your side." Hermione said.
"You're right. Now give me some bad ass music." Harry said.
"Coming right up." Dan said. The Champs -Tequila came blaring out of the sound system and they all broke up laughing. Dan hit stop and AC/DC's Shoot to Thrill came on.
"Now that's what I'm fucking talking about!" Harry said sitting up in his seat and nodding his head along with the song. By the time the song ended they could see the UN building. Harry followed the signs for the parking entrance. He took one last puff of his cigar, flicked it out the window, and hit it with a wandless vanishing spell before it landed as he pulled up to the gate guard.
"Name." The guard asked.
"Harry Steel. I have a 5:30 appointment with Marcus Walker." Harry said looking at his watch. They were about twenty minutes early.
"I see you on the list. Park in the garage up ahead and you're looking for the ICW building on your left it the smaller building made of brick." The guard said as a second guard and a bomb sniffing dog walked around the car.
"Thank you." Harry said driving over to the garage. Harry found a spot and pulled in. As they were getting out of the car Dan stopped Harry.
"Hey kid, I think I know how to get these guys to respect you. Do you have your extra Sig p226 X-Five on you?" Dan asked pulling his out of his bag.
"I do." Harry said also pulling the big handgun out of his bag.
"Can you make a holster for it? Something we can clip on our belt." Dan asked.
"Mia?" Harry asked handing her the gun. She looked the gun over and made two leather holsters for the guns and handed it all back to Harry.
"There you go, it won't last long, maybe a few hours at most." She warned.
"We only need it for a few minutes. Harry put that gun on your hip. If they ask for your gun hand them that one, if they ask for your wand hand it over. You can still handle yourself if you need to." Dan said.
"What's the point of all this Dan?" Andy asked.
"The point is, they need us, they need us so much they are going to beg us to protect them and the UN. And we'll do it for free, if they play ball with us. The thing I've noticed since we've gotten here is the complacency. Look at the gate guard. He didn't check your IDs, he didn't check ours. He just nodded and let you through after the dog was done nosing around the car. We could have been anyone. The fact that we knew the name of someone on the list means nothing. With these bags we could have brought enough explosives into this building to level a city block. We're armed to the teeth. So if we can get into the office with this Marcus Walker fully armed then we should demonstrate just how easy he could have been killed. I think making the man afraid for his life and then handing him a solution to problems he didn't know he had will get us what we want." Dan said.
"And if they ask for the guns hidden under our jackets?" Andy asked.
"Then we play it straight." Dan said with a shrug.
"I like it. Let's go." Harry said leading the group out of the parking garage to the smaller three story brick building off to the side.
Inside the front door they fund a huge entry way bigger than the building was on the outside. Harry smiled as he looked around the 1950's style lobby made of marble and granite with brass everywhere. There was a large fountain in the center of the lobby with a big brass globe being held up by three brass wizards. There was a big front desk in the middle of the lobby manned by three big men in dark blue suits. There were four other men milling about the big lobby. Two men by the bank of elevators were dressed in the same suits with bulges under their jackets and earpieces in their ears. Harry clocked a guy sitting by a side door reading the paper. He was wearing a light gray suit but he had a bulge under his jacket and he watched them the whole time. He also saw a woman sitting in a side office with the door open. Harry approached the front desk with an easy smile.
"Hi, I'm Harry Steel, I have a 5:30 with Marcus Walker." Harry said.
"Right. You're on the list. Please surrender your wands." One the the guards said checking the list.
"Sure, hand them over guys." Harry said pulling back his jacket and handing over his gold wand. The guard took it and looked at it with shock. The guards level of shock went up as Harry pulled back the other side of his jacket and pulled the gun off his hip with slow and deliberate movements. He dropped the magazine out of the big handgun and racked the slide to clear the round in the pipe. Harry handed the gun over and put the loose round back into the mag and tucked the mag into his jacket pocket.
"I figured you'd want that as well." Harry said as Dan followed his lead and handed over his gun.
"Wand sir?" The guard asked taking the gun.
"I don't have one, I'm a squib." Dan said with a shrug as the two women stepped forwards and handed over their wands. The guard put everything into a felt lined bank box. He placed his hand on the scanner on the wall and a vault door opened. He set the box on a shelf and when he came out he handed Harry a small brass tag that said 54 on it.
"Thank's. I'm glad to see the vault, for a second there I thought you were going to keep our things at the front desk. That wand was as expensive as you can imagine, but what can you do? It's the cost of being an arch mage." Harry said trying to see if he could get a reaction out of the men. He got nothing.
"Mr. Walker is on the fifth floor suite 502." The guard said.
"Good to know. Thank you." Harry said leading the group to the elevators. He nodded to the guards standing by the doors as he called the elevator car. They stepped on and Harry waited until the doors closed to look at the group.
"It's worse than I thought. All those guys standing guard and not one of them did their job. You practically told them you could do wandless magic." Dan said shaking his head as the doors opened up to an average looking white hallway lined with glass doors.
They found 502 and Harry lead them in. They saw a good sized waiting room with two couches, three chairs, a wet bar, and a reception desk. Sitting at the desk was an older lady in her late sixties. She was dressed in a mint green Chanel suit and her white hair was done up in a beehive bun. She had thick horned rimmed glasses and she wore enough makeup for two faces but she had hard eyes. Eyes that followed them the whole time. Harry approached the desk with a smile on his face. He glanced down at her desk and saw a brass name plate that said Doris. He also saw a wand stuck in a pen holder on her desk and a ten inch long letter opener on her desk that looked sharp enough to eviscerate a man.
"Hi, I'm Harry Steel. I have a 5:30 appointment with Mr. Walker. We're early." Harry said glancing at the clock on the wall. It was just past five.
"Do you have any Identification?" she asked calmly.
"I do." Harry said deliberately reaching for his wallet quickly. Doris flinched ever so slightly. Her body tensed and her hand jerked for the knife but it stopped. Harry pretended not notice it as he brought out his wallet and handed her his driver's license. She looked it over and looked at Harry's face before she handed it back to him.
"Yes you do have an appointment, and yes, you will have to wait. Mr. Walker is out of the office at the moment. Would you like something to drink while you wait?" She asked with a friendly enough tone but her eyes followed them. Doris might be a secretary now but she wasn't always a paper pusher.
"A bottle of water if you have one." Harry asked hoping to see how she moved.
"There are bottles of water in the fridge by the wet bar." She said pointing to the wall next to the chairs on the other side of the room. It was obvious she was onto them or she, unlike the rest of the guards knew her job and took it serious.
"Thank you Doris." Harry said walking over to the bar. Dan joined him as Hermione took a seat in one of the chairs next to Andy.
"She's good. About a thousand times better than the lobby guys." Dan said preparing two cups of coffee.
"I know. I think we include her in the plan. If we don't there's a good chance someone will end up hurt. She's no paper pusher and she's not as old as she looks. She's old but she's powerful. She's got the reflexes of a woman half her age, and young very cold eyes." Harry said.
"Feel her out." Dan said walking away with the two cups of coffee and a bottle of water. Harry took a bottle and walked back over to the desk.
"Doris, how much does the ICW spend on the guard force downstairs?" Harry asked.
"Why do you want to know?" She asked suspiciously.
"Look, Doris, we both can spot a killer when we see one. Your eyes haven't left me or Dan since we approached the door to the office. I could lie to you and bull shit you. But the truth is I'm here because the UK is a mess and the only way to fix it is by killing a bunch of bad folks. I'm here to pitch your boss on the idea of backing my security company in a bid to clean up the UK and put it back together under the ICW's power. To prove we're not full of crap we were going to scare your boss into listening to our pitch by showing him how lax the security around the building is. Which it is. You and I both know it is. The guards at the front gate are a joke and the guards in the lobby are just as bad if not worse. So I was just wondering how much these clowns were charging the ICW for their terrible service." Harry said taking a sip of water from his bottle.
"Too much if you ask me." Doris said looking at Harry like he was a long division problem.
"Doris. I'm going to reach under my jacket and pull out the gun I have hidden in a shoulder rig." Harry sad setting down his water bottle on the desk and showing her both of his hands. She looked at him and nodded her head. Harry pulled back his jacket with his left hand and with his thumb and index fingers he pulled the gun out of the holster making both visible. He dropped the mag and cleared the round in the chamber and set the gun on the desk.
"Now I walked in with that and no one stopped me. In fact no one even asked to see my ID. We all have a gun like this. We also all have these bags as you can see? This is just a small sample of what's in the bag." Harry said reaching into the bag and pulling his HK416 rifle out of the bag and setting it on her desk.
"My god." Doris said shaking her head. Harry put the rifle back in the bag.
"We are wearing body armor, the guns are all enchanted to be silent and to hold 10x the number of rounds. With just the handgun and the armor I could have killed everyone in this building and it would have taken a good long time for anyone to even know what was going on. What's worse is I could have brought a thousand pounds of C4 or a tactical nuclear weapon in this bag and no one would have known. We came here today to talk about the problems we were having in the UK. But my god the problems you guys have here could be way worse. What happens if someone brings a nuke in a bag like this into the building and sets it off? It takes out the ICW, the UN, and half of Manhattan. What happens if that bomb goes off during a meeting of the UN?" Harry asked in a calm voice like he was talking about afternoon tea.
Doris looked visibly shaken at the thought. She stood up on unsteady feet and walked over to the wet bar to get a bottle of water. As she walked Harry found her gate odd. He looked at her shoes and saw men's black leather oxfords. That's when things started clicking into place in Harry's mind and his grin got bigger. It looked like he wasn't going to have to wait for the meeting he had a feeling he just talked to Marcus Walker.
"Marcus Duck!" Harry called out suddenly and Doris spun around looking for the threat before she locked eyes with Harry and smiled a defeated smile.
"Good work Mr. Steel. Or should I say Potter?" Doris asked pulling a small vial from her pocket. She drank it and in a matter of seconds a six foot tall large man with salt and pepper close cut hair and a goatee was standing there in a dress. He pulled a wand out of his jacket pocket and waved it over himself and the green suit turned into a dark gray suit, white shirt and dark blue tie.
"Steel if you please. The name has less baggage and more power. Or it will in about three to six months time. At that point Steel Security and Insurance will be up and running. It's my hope to have between 750 - 1,500 magical military trained men under my command separated into teams of between 6- 12 men. I plan on infiltrating the UK and starting a campaign of war and terror to take back the island from the two groups of fools that run it at the moment. It was my hope to come here today and secure the ICW's permission and backing in this war with a hope that after the island has been cleared of all the shit you guys would come in and take over until a new independent government can be elected. But now that I see the level of security you have here I think I'll also be taking over ICW security as well because, my good God, what you have now is both lacking and sad." Harry said calmly loading his gun and putting it back into his shoulder rig.
"I think we should step into my office and really talk. You see we know very little about the UK because ever since they pulled out of the ICW in the early 80's we've been prohibited from entering the Island in an official capacity and our spy network is only so good. We can only be in so many places at once. The ICW has no military, and as powerful as people think we are, we really have very little real power in the world. We have a network of 60 to 80 agents around the world and they are not spies trained in tradecraft. They are diplomats. We are a diplomatic service that tries to keep the piece between countries so the French magicals don't go to war with the German magicals because of trade deals over potion ingredients." Marcus said leading them through the door into a big office with a desk, a couch, three chairs, and a big conference table that sat twenty. They all took seats at the conference table.
"So what you're saying is you're not an all powerful group like the United Nations. You're more like a trade council?" Dan asked.
"Yes and no. We're chartered to police the magical world. We have laws separate from the rest of the world. We could have an army if we wanted one and we had the resources to build one. The truth is back in the 1950's when this all got started we were powerful. We had 500 agents all around the globe watching and spying on the magic world looking out for the next dark lord. We had an international Auror force of a 1,000 mages made up of a coalition of Aurors from around the world. We stood ready to fight the dark. We helped out as much as we could during the beginning of the cold war but the representative from the UK, Romulus Fudge put forth a decree that we should not involve ourselves in the problems of Muggles or draw ourselves into their war. It was met with mixed feelings but Fudge was a good talker. A week later the proposal was signed by most of the ICW representatives. That was in 1959. When we pulled out of the non magical world it spelled the beginning of the end of our power structure. With no wars being fought in the magic world and not being able to help in the non magical cold war the ICW security council slowly dried up. Member nations stopped pledging agents and Aurors. Then they stopped sending money. Then they started pulling out altogether. It started with the UK again. Fudge died in the late 70's and the UK didn't send a representative for years. Instead they sent a letter of withdrawal in 1982. With the UK out, a lot of her former colonies backed out like most of the African nations. And if they didn't pull out they stopped meeting their funding goals. And they stopped attending meetings. At this point the ICW is a toothless guard dog watching over the magical world's economy." Marcus said in a voice thick with exhaustion. As if the act of saying it out loud took something out of him.
"So you have no idea what's going on in the UK?" Harry asked.
"We have been looking at the UK situation from afar and we know in broad terms how bad it is over there. We heard from other European ICW nations that the UK is a nightmare. We've heard tails of a dark uprising. And the enforcement of a statue of secrecy. We've heard of corruption in the ministry and the double standards for wealth mages. We instituted a blockade of the UK but it's paperwork and nothing more. So, how bad is it?" Marcus asked looking like he didn't really want to know. As if knowing the truth would make it real and make it his problem.
"Bad. Lets just start with the fact that magical Britain still thinks they are members of the ICW. They think Dumbledore is the UK representative and oh by the way he's also the head of the ICW." Harry said sarcastically.
"My God. It's that bad?" Marcus asked sitting back in his seat.
"Oh, that's nothing. It get much, much worse than that. I started off with the funny part of this story." Harry said with a mirthless smile.
"I think I better get this on tape so I can bring it right to my bosses." Marcus said turning on a small camera in the corner of the room.
"Okay, lay it on me." Marcus said.
"Let's talk about Pureblood laws." Harry said going into a two and a half retelling of the events of the last forty years since the UK left the ICW. Hermione and Andy helped out where they could. In fact Andy talked the most in the beginning covering things before Harry was even born. By the end Marcus looked pale and sickly. Harry chose to end with the Order because he knew the marriage contracts sealed with rape would have the most impact.
"Fuck me sideways." Marcus said.
"That sums it up nicely. Now what can you do about it?" Dan asked.
"Not much. Like I said the ICW doesn't have an army, we barely have agents. We don't have the budget to hire an army and even if we did it's a gray area at best. The UK is not a member of the ICW." Marcus said.
"So if a private security company was to volunteer to take over the policing of the magical world you would accept our help?" Harry asked.
"Mr. Steel, at this point, I'd be willing to help as much as I can and I know I can get the rest of the ICW security council to sign off on your plans. We have very little to lose here. My question is what do you want from us?" Marcus asked.
"We want legal documents stating that SSI is protected under the ICW. I want a license to kill signed by the head of the ICW and the Security Council. I don't want to fight a war only for some government fool to turn around and put me on trial for killing a bunch of death eaters, murderers and rapists just to help their polling numbers." Harry said.
"I can do you one better. How would you like to be free of all laws except for the laws of the ICW? I think I can do that if you're willing to sign a piece of paper saying you work for the ICW as our independent contractors. If you'll be our boots on the ground around the world I can make it so you can do whatever you want, within reason. It does mean you will always have to answer our call. You would, in essence become the Security Council's military arm. But for this to work I think I might have to try to toss out the law prohibiting magicals from fighting in non magical wars. It's a law the US government has been wanting the ICW to end since the cold war. The US government have magical agents working for their spy services, but they can't technically have mages fight wars with magic thanks to that stupid law." Marcus said thinking out loud.
"That's fine but if we think a situation too dangerous or too much for SSI to handle then we reserve the right to say no. Now I doubt we'll ever really say no to too much but it's something I have to have the power to do. If, for some reason the company starts to go under in a few years then it would be in my best interest as well as the ICW's best interest to try to dig SSI out of the hole before we try to fight a war." Harry said after a brief conversation with Dan.
"That's fine. In fact it smart. But you will have to offer help when you can. For this to work you would have to become the ICW's fighting force just like the UN has troops you would become our troops. If something bad happens in an ICW country, a dark uprising, an infestation of dark creatures, a terror attack, a bad natural disaster, or something like that. You would have to look at the situation and think about where you can help and if you can help then you have to try." Marcus said.
"Agreed, but for that I want my men to carry ICW badges and be free of any laws in the world. That includes everything from laws against spying and murder to speeding and littering. For us to do the job of protecting the world we're going to have to step on toes. I want to hire a bunch of house elves as spies. No one notices a house elf. They can get in anywhere and they can set up magical bugs. We will report directly to you on all of our activities. We will confess all of our sins to you and if you think we went over the line you can punish us but I can tell you now, we're not going to go around killing people for the hell of it. This is precautionary." Harry said.
"That sound good to me. What else do you want? Lets get it all on the table so I know what I have to work with. So far none of this sounds bad for us. We're getting a private security company to work for us. What do you guys want and need to do the job?" Marcus asked with a smile as he took notes.
"Harry, we should add search and seizure to the list. If we hit a bunch of old pureblood homes we should be able to take their books and gold. The same with drug lords and mob guys in the future. We'll help out law enforcement but we get to keep the goods." Hermione said.
"That's a good point. I want to add that to the list. Is there a way you can make that legal?" Harry asked.
"There is if we word it right. It's also a good idea. It will also keep the company afloat. And show that you're willing to help local law enforcement with their problems. I like it. What else?" Marcus asked writing this all down.
"Military hardware. We need a way to buy military hardware at a discount like a government can. Things like weapons, ammo, explosives, airplanes, and helicopters. Things that require a military authorization. We also need the military discount when it comes to buying things like that. We can't rely on just our contacts. It would be nice to call up Sig Sauer and have them sell us 1,500 p226 tacops handguns at a good discount. It could end up saving us millions in start up costs." Dan said.
"Sounds easy enough. I can talk to a few guys at the Pentagon and get you some kind of pass to buy in bulk." Marcus said adding it to the list.
"How about Tax exemptions? We're going to need to buy or build a big office building here in New York. That's going to be expensive. If you can't pay us for the work we'll be doing for the ICW, can we at least get good tax breaks and exemptions?" Andy asked.
"I'll see what I can do. If we can't then we'll cover most of the cost of taxes and I'll see what funds we have on hand we can give you for start up costs. What else?" Marcus asked.
"We need access to troop records and things like that. We plan on hiring ex-military. We need access to their military records to see what their fitness reportes were like. We don't want to hire some loose cannon that likes killing and can't control his trigger finger. Especially if we're authorized by you to use deadly force. We want the option to kill. We don't need guys that like to do it." Dan said.
"Good call. I'll get you into the Pentagon to sit down with someone there. The same in the UK as well." Marcus said.
"We also need access to record for HR. We're going to need to hire a lot of staff to get the company up and running. We need agents, healers, researchers, enchanters, and office workers. We need access to background checks. Things like that." Hermione said.
"That I can do easy. I can also get you meetings with the top magical schools in the country so you can get names of good people to hire." Marcus said.
"I think that's a good start for now. Let's see where this gets us. We'll reconvene in a few days and see if we can get most of that. If you need to call me this is my number. I'm hoping to have a full time assistant soon. I just have to steal her away from the goblins. For now you can reach me at that number 24/7. We are going to be dealing with some personal matters for the next week but I'm hoping to make another trip to the UK soon. We have friends we left over there and I'd like to get them out soon. Before we head back there I'd like some kind of paperwork stating that I'm an agent of the ICW in case I have to shoot a few of these fuckers like I did last time." Harry said standing up and handing Marcus a card with his number on it. The fact that he made said card wandlessly was just putting the cherry on top.
"You'll be hearing from me in the next few days. I'll have ICW credentials for all of you. You'll be on the list for the building. You won't have to check your wands at the door or your guns. Not that you did." Marcus said laughing.
"It was easier to make my point with it." Harry said with a shrug and a grin.
"And you did. As soon as you have your company up and running I'd really appreciate it if we could be your first clients. The ICW would gladly pay you what we pay those ass clowns to do the job of securing the campus." Marcus said walking them out of the office. They saw a woman in her late fifties dressed in the same suit Marcus was earlier, but she didn't look like the woman he was pretending to be.
"So this must be the real Doris. It's nice to meet you." Harry said shaking the woman's hand. She had a nice grandmotherly way about her.
"Yes. This is the woman that runs my life for me. Doris get these people my card and also copy their IDs so we can add them to the system." Marcus said.
"Yes sir." Doris said with a smile showing the 'Sir' was sarcastic.
By the time they finished exchanging information and getting their guns and wands from the front desk it was half past eight when they walked out to the car. Dan called Emma to tell her how it went and to ask how everything was at home. They had just come back from the doctor's office after picking up the Longbottoms and Amelia. A nurse followed them home and helped them get Neville's parents into bed.
Harry drove towards his house and stopped on the way to get ten pizzas. By the time they got to the Potter it was just after nine. When they walked in they found the house mostly quite. It seemed like everyone picked a room and found something to do. Harry put the pizzas on the kitchen counter and headed off to the west wing to check on Neville's parents. He found Neville's folks laying in twin beds with IV lines in their arms and monitors hooked to their chests. A nurse with short black hair and a soft warm face was sitting between the two beds reading a book and checking monitors. She looked up when he walked in and smiled at him.
"Hi, Harry Steel. We've meet at Doc Carter's office earlier. Maria right?" Harry asked shaking her hand.
"Yes. You have a lovely home Mr. Steel." She said blushing.
"Thank you, call me Harry. How our they doing?" Harry asked.
"Good. They are responding to the treatment well. The healing tonic and protein potions are rebuilding their bodies. They've both gained about ten pounds in the last six hours but as you can see they are both still very frail and and underweight. They will need a lot of help when they get up." Maria said looking sadly at the two emaciated people.
"Well it's good they're getting better. Keep up the good work and don't hesitate to ask me for anything. You're a guest of my home. If you need something let me know and I'll get it for you. I brought pizza. Make sure you get a few slices." Harry said with a smile as he walked out of the the room. There was a knock at the front door as he was making his way to the east wing to find the rest of the group. Harry opened the door and found Walter the head mechanic standing their.
"Hey Walter, come in. What can I do for you?" Harry asked.
"A few days ago you asked me to look over your cars and tell you which ones were too valuable to let out of the building. I just got off work and I was free. I saw you were home and decided to come up and take a look." Walter said.
"Sure. Would you like some pizza? I just bought a bunch of pizzas and I was going to round up the rest of the house. After we eat I'll take you to the vault." Harry said leading Walter to the east wing. They found most of the women in the library with the exception being Dora. It was quickly becoming the place to gather for a quiet chat.
"We got pizza, come and eat before the guys devour it all." Harry said from the dorway.
"We're coming Harry." Hermione said.
Harry walked down the hall to the game room and found all of the guys and Dora smoking cigars and drinking as they played pool, darts, and air hockey.
"I got Pizza, come and grab a few slices." Harry said.
Harry lead Walter to the dining room and had the man take a seat as he brought out cans of soda and beer. The group filled in to the dining room in ones and twos. Harry took a seat at the head of the table. Soon everyone was seating at the table with a plate of pizza and a drink.
"Harry. Hermione and Andy were just telling us the meeting went well." Amelia said.
"Yes. I'm hoping to have documentation in a few days from the ICW. At that point we become untouchable. We can walk through the world without fear of being arrested if we have to kill a bunch of fools. Once we have ICW badges we can start making regular trips back and forth to the UK to start getting people out. I hope to get everyone we can out in the next two weeks. Then I want to take a nice long road trip around the US. It will give us a chance to see some of this big country, and it will get the rest of the group used to driving. I want to buy small office buildings in big cities around the country and set up portkeys to those places." Harry said.
"Good thinking. That sounds like fun." Emma said.
"It sounds like a waste of time to me. Why not just buy portkeys to these cities? It will save time." Amelia said. She didn't see the dirty looks thrown her way but Susan did. The girl shook her head.
"People have to get used to driving, because everyone uses a car to get around here. None of us younger guys can apparate. Besides, it will give us all a chance to just relax for a few weeks. By the end of July we're going to go into full training and building mode and that's going to grind us all into the ground. I want most of the company set up by the end of October. That way we can take it easier around the holidays and get a fresh start in the new year." Harry said.
"I'd like to go back home sooner than that. I'd like to establish a foothold over there. With no one to run the DMLE and no one to oppose the old man he's going to run amuck. Even if I still live here and commute to the UK everyday to work I'd like to go back and start the fight in the courts and the press. I think if we got the truth out there we could turn a few purebloods to our side before a war even starts." Amelia said.
"No Aunty! It's too Dangerous!" Susan said looking shocked.
"I'll be fine, I'll have the dragon hide armor and the gun. If things go bad I'll us the portkey and come right back here. I need to see if I can get a handle on my department. Also with the information Andy and the goblins gathered against the old man I'd like to start a smear campaign in the press using the quibbler." Amelia said waving off her niece's concerns with a dismissive hand.
Harry sat in silence for a few seconds as he played it out in his head. A part of him, the not so nice part of him said 'fuck her. Let her go and get killed like the rest of the closed minded foolish purebloods.' But the rest of him knew this was dangerous for no reason. It would tip their hand if she was caught and it would expose their planes to the enemy for not much ground gained. But did he really have a choice? She was a grown ass witch. Head of the DMLE and she had some amount of power over there. And who knows, maybe having a spy working behind the scenes with the goblins and the Aurors was a good thing?
"Amelia, as much as I want to tell you not to go back, I have no right to. I can ask that you use different hubs in the portkey network to get to and from the island every time you go. It will stop them from tracking you back here. I also have to ask you to wear some kind of mind shield. The old man is a master of the mind arts, if you ever find yourself in the same room as him make sure you're not alone. If you are, it's too late. With that being said, if you get the chance to kill the old fuck take it. Him being dead is worth more then anything you can do over there. Put a bullet in his head and portkey out." Harry said.
"I can do all of that. I really just want to walk into the ministry and see how it feels. The dark lord was too quiet before we left. You said you managed to shoot the old man. Who knows, maybe we have a window of opportunity here to sow the seeds of rebellion before either side gets back up. Just getting the information out there that the old man is not the Head of the ICW, that we're not even a member of the ICW, and the old man has been playing us all along might damage him. It will at least make him expand his political capital hushing it up and that will give you more time to build up your army." Amelia said.
"Like I said, maybe it's a good idea? Maybe it's a death trap? Maybe you get captured the second you walk into the ministry building and it blows our whole operation? Who knows?" Harry said.
"I have to do something Harry. I spent my life building a reputation and clawing my way up to a position of power. I can't just abandon my post now." Amelia said.
Harry just nodded and shrugged. They finished eating in relative uncomfortable silence. Everyone scarfed down their pizza as fast as the hot cheese would allow so they could get out of the room and the uncomfortable silence. When he was finished Harry lead Walter out of the room and down the hall to his master bedroom. He opened the vault and Walter looked over the small cars on the shelf.
"Just from looking at them I can say that most of these should not leave this vault. You have to remember I worked on a few of these. But most of this is from other Potters. If one of them died they willed their cars to Charles hoping he would keep them. He did, but he never spent much time messing with them aside from the enchantments on the engine and what not. So you do have a bunch of cars that you could daily drive. Especially with enchantments placed on engines and shielding. Technically you could drive all of these but milage kills price. Like look at this, this one right here is a 1920's Bentley race car, it's almost priceless. And I know for a fact that this one is a 1953 Chevy Corvette C1 with a serial number like 0005 or 0006. Again, priceless. This is new, is this…? Jesus Christ! It's a Mercedes 540k roadster. There are like six of these left in the world and Charles has it sitting here. Harry you have to open a car museum. People have to see this kind of stuff." Walter said.
"We'll put a display in the lobby of the SSI building and have a few of these cars on display. Maybe I'll find a bunch of classics and open a museum. How many cars do you think we can use?" Harry asked.
"What's your definition of useable?" Walter asked.
"Cars worth less than $250,000. And nothing so rare it would draw a huge crowd if it rolled down the street." Harry said.
"Right, well you have a bunch of stuff that fits that category. We're going to have to grab a bunch of these and bring them to the study to expanded them so I can take a look at the date codes and specs to make sure." Walter said.
"Do you think the floor in here will hold up?" Harry asked waving to the big empty space in the huge room.
"It most likely will but why take the chance? Can you make a box for me?" Walter asked and Harry conjured a box. Walter took it and setting a few car in it. He took a few minute to pick through the 64 cars and put 15 cars in the box before turning to Harry.
"I think this is it. Of this batch you might have a few rare ones. Maybe ten of these fit your requirements." Walter said.
"Good. Like I said I want to do a big road trip where everyone drives their own car. After they know how to drive and they know what they like we'll take them to Miguel's shop and get them a nice modern car they can beat on and drive everywhere." Harry said as they walked to the study. They saw a small group sitting around the Longbottom's sitting room. He waved Walter on and look in. He saw Neville, Susan, Emma, Andy, and Hermione in the sitting room. At his questioning look Hermione filled him in.
"Doctor Carter is in there giving them the first does of the cure." She said.
"Right. Then why does everyone look like you're waiting for a death notice?" Harry asked getting a few shocked looks from the women around the room.
"Harry!" Hermione said.
"What? Look you guys are doing this all wrong. This is good. We should be celebrating! You'll be getting your folks back in a few days! Come on Neville. I've got a 25 year old scotch and a cuban cigar with your name on it. Lets go." Harry said pulling his brother out of the room. He pushed the bigger boy out the door gently and looked back at the women. Most of them still looked torn, but Hermione shook her head a smiled.
"We'll take care of this." She said.
"Good. I love you." Harry said walking out of the room and meeting Neville in the hallway. He looked conflicted. Harry gripped his shoulder.
"Came on. I have Walter sifting through the cars I have to see which ones we can use." Harry said leading him to the east wing. Neville had a contemplative look in his eyes the whole way to the study. They found Walter under the hood of a silver convertible.
"How's it going Walter?" Harry asked.
"This is a good car to drive. There's evidence of structural damage that's been repaired by magic, ad the car has a rebuilt title. Also every car has a facts sheet in the glove box. Charles did this exact same thing we're doing now before he put the cars away. All we have to do is expand the cars and read the facts sheet." Walter said coming out from under the hood to look at them. He had a sheet of paper in his hand and a sad grin on his face.
"I'm starting to wish I was more detail oriented like my grandfather. This is a nice little car. What is it?" Harry asked dropping into the driver's seat and sinking into the black leather.
"This is a 1969 Mercedes 280sl Pagoda. With very low miles and enough enchantments to rival your Ferrari." Walter said.
"Hey Nev, you wanted a nice classic convertible, what do you think?" Harry said getting out and waving him over as he walked to the other side of the room where the bar was.
"It's nice, it's a bit small." Neville said sitting in the car. Harry walked over with three floating rocks glasses with scotch and three cigars.
"Then we'll give it to one of the girls. Or I'll keep it as a weekend driver. Here, take this and this." Harry said handing Neville a glass and a cigar.
"Thanks Harry, I've never smoked a real cigar before. Your little cigar was very strong. I've puffed on my grandfather's pipe a few times, and my gran used to smoke these thin cigarettes full of this nasty black sticky tobacco from the middle east." Neville said lighting the cigar with Harry's zippo as Harry passed a glass and cigar to Walter.
"I like them. I'm not a fan of cigarettes. I love the little cigars, but these big cuban cigars are very nice. And they pair well with this smoky scotch." Harry said shrinking the car with a wave of his hand and setting it on a cleaned off tool cart. He floated the next car to the open floor space and expanded it.
"Nice little classic Mark 1 Mini Cooper. Very much a drivers car." Walter said slipping into the little british racing green car with white hood stripes. He pulled the facts sheet out to looked it over.
"It's cute, I don't know if I could fit in it. But it's cute." Harry said.
"It's about the size of one of my shoes." Neville agreed with a smirk.
"We'll give it to Luna." Harry agreed switching out that one for a second Mini. This one was red with white hood stripes and a Union Jack on the roof.
"Now this one might not be a daily driver. It's a 1974 Mark two Mini Cooper S." Walter said.
"We'll put it in the maybe pile." Harry said shrinking it and expanding the next car.
They kept at it for an hour. By the end, every guy in the apartment was in the study drinking and smoking. They compiled a stack of cars for everyone to use and a stack of cars to put back away. They still ended up with a good list of cars. With the two minis and the Mercedes Pagoda they had a baby blue 1965 mustang convertible sitting low and fat, a 1967 Alfa Romeo GT junior 1600 in red with wide race tires, a white 1973 Datsun 240z wide body race car, 1968 plum red Mercury Cougar convertible with a big block V8 swop, race suspension, and fat tires, 1971 BMW e9 3.0 coupe in black, a 1968 Pontiac Firebird convertible in avocado green, 1987 Buick GNX in all black, and a 1961 Datsun 1200 roadster that was so small only Harry fit behind the wheel comfortably.
The guys all made a trip downstairs and traded out the three priceless classics for the eleven cars they found in the vault. When they got back to the apartment everyone went their separate ways but Neville hung back with Harry. Harry saw the look on his friend's face and lead him to the shooting room.
"I put a 150 round down range every night. It keeps me sharp. It's something you should start doing as well." Harry said.
"I'll follow your lead." Neville said.
"Okay, I like to run a multi target drill but let's set up a single target for you. While I do that why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" Harry said bringing a target closer.
"Harry, do you think my parents are going to be pissed at me for ending my line and taking the name Blackwell?" Neville asked.
"No, I think they'll understand it was the only way to get out of a marriage contract. How are you with that by the way? You understand what happened?" Harry asked waving him up to the firing line.
"I understand, Andy talked to me about it. So did my gran. My god Harry, My gran." Neville said setting the gun on the table and lowering his head.
"That's not on you either. It's on the old man." Harry said placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"But it happened and it's another thing to add to the list of shit I have to tell them. Hi I'm your son who faked his death to drop his family name, oh by the way your mother is dead. Also you we're left like that for fifteen years because I was too stupid to look outside the UK for treatment options. But don't worry we're living in the US in my friend's house because we're on the run from the headmaster and a dark lord. But at least Harry figured out a way to fix that. Not that I was much fucking help!" Neville ending his rant with a frustrated yell that broke him. He started crying. Sobs racked his body as his legs started to buckle. Harry conjured a couch and pulled the bigger boy into it.
"Neville. Take it from a guy that lives with the world's guilt on his shoulders. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault. And I know you don't believe me. You won't believe me until they wake up and tell you the same fucking thing I'm telling you right now. It's. Not. Your. Fault!" Harry said.
"But I traded in my father's name Harry." Neville said and Harry now knew what Dan felt like when they had this same fucking conversation a week ago. Neville sounded like a fucking fool. He bet he sounded worse when he said the same thing.
"And if you didn't you'd still be married to some poor girl you barely know and the old man would still have a Will that gave him everything if you died. How long would you have lived last night? Do you think he would have killed you, your gran, and your folks? I do. He must be hard up for cash with me gone. Your family fortune must have looked real good to him. You did what you had to do to get out from under the old man's control. You have less to be ashamed of then I do. I ended my family line and I was happy to do so. I was happy to not be Harry Potter any more. I like the name Steel. It comes with none of the baggage of my old life and all of the power and benefits of my new life. Your father is still a Longbottom. If you want, you can take your name back. I ending the Potter name. You ran away from the UK because it was a steaming pile of shit. You're living with me because it's fucking convenient. You just got here. You can find a place of your own as soon as your parents get up. But I want you to know you don't have to and I don't want you to. Neville we didn't have much family growing up. But now we're living in a house full of people we love and respect. Also that cock block Amelia." Harry added making Neville choke on his own spit he laughed so hard and unexpectedly.
"She really is the worst." Neville said.
"Snooty pureblood. I'm shocked Susan is so nice." Harry agreed.
"She was mainly raised by Hannah Abbott and her mum Mary. I met them, they're nice people. We need to get them out of the UK." Neville said.
"We'll add them to the list." Harry said nodding.
"Thank's Harry. I needed to hear all that." Neville said feeling embarrassed about his outburst.
"Neville. You're mum is my Godmother. If the old man didn't seal the will I should have grown up right by your side as your brother. I know I've been a shit friend to you over the years. I was being lead around by Ron and I didn't know it. But that's not the case anymore and I want to really try to be the big brother you deserve." Harry said.
"Big Brother? We're the same age. In fact we have almost the same birthday." Neville said trying not to laugh.
"Right, but I was born two hours before you. That makes me older. It also makes you my kid brother." Harry said.
"Kid Brother!?" Neville squawked.
"Right. It's good you know your title kid brother. Now let's finish the shooting drill so I can go drill my insanely hot girlfriend. Maybe someday you'll get to see a boob little bro." Harry said getting up from the couch.
"How dare you!" Neville said.
"Oh you like boys? We'll find you a nice boy then." Harry said waving his hand behind him and vanishing the couch dropping Neville onto his ass.
"Aw. You dick!" Neville said rubbing his ass.
"Come on, up you get Dorthy we have work to do." Harry said.
"You are taking this older brother bullshit too far." Neville said sweeping Harry's legs out from under him and Harry landed hard on the marble floor next to him.
"OH. You fuck!" Harry said rolling over onto his side to look at Neville.
"Not nice is it?" Neville asked getting up and helping the smaller man to his feet.
"No it's not. I feel mildly sorry for putting you on your ass." Harry said.
"Mildly?" Neville shot back.
"Yeah. I got a decade and a half of older brother ass whoopings to hand out kid bro." Harry said with a smirk.
"I have half a mind to shove your little ass in a trunk and lock you in." Neville said trying not to laugh as he looked menacingly at Harry.
"There you two are. You're goofing off in the gun range. The rest of the house is in bed." Hermione said walking into the room. Her hair was loose and she was wearing a heavy bathrobe and slippers.
"Sorry Mia." Harry said.
"It's my fault, Harry was helping me get over some stuff floating around in my head." Neville said.
"Oh, sorry to interrupt then. You two boys have fun. I have a book I can get back to." Hermione said turning to leave.
"Wait." Neville said taking three big steps and pulling her into a hug. "Thanks for looking after my parents with doc Carter." Neville said.
"Of course Neville. We have to stick together. You're family after all." Hermione said.
"Still, you sat there and took care of that when I couldn't." Neville said.
"You didn't have to. It shouldn't fall on your shoulders alone. Harry was right to get you out of that room. Also we moved your stuff to the African Safari room across the hall from your parent's room so the nurse could take a nap in your bed. So make sure you knock before you open the door." Hermione said.
"Okay. Thanks for the heads up." Neville said ducking his head a bit.
"Try to relax a bit, you're going to have a lot to do in a few days when they get up. You're going to have to get them walking and moving around. They're going to need time to recover. But we'll be with you every step of the way. You can count on us." Hermione said patting him on the cheek.
"Now you boys go back to what you were doing." Hermione said with a smile.
"I'll be there is a few minutes." Harry said.
"Take your time. Play with your brother. We have all night to play." She said walking out of the room and closing the door.
"You are one lucky man Harry." Neville said watching her go.
"Trust me baby bro, I know. Now let's get on with this so I can get it on with her." Harry said making them both laugh at his turn of phrase.
"I can't wait for Amelia to go back to the UK so I can get some alone time with Susan. We were just starting to figure out what we had you know?" Neville said picking up his gun and dropping the 190 round magazine out of the gun and picking up five 20 round mags off the loading table.
"So you two are not a thing yet?" Harry asked.
"I don't know? We went to Hogsmeade a few times last year and I shared a few meals at school with her during the school year, I spent some time in the puffs common room with her snogging, but we didn't label it. Then we spent last weekend at Hannah's house. It was a Hufflepuff party. We had a bonfire. Everyone got blasted on fire whiskey. We ended up fooling around under a blanket, you know, hand stuff. It was great. For one night, things were great. Andy showed up the next day and told us about everything. Ever since then we haven't been able to get too much time alone together. Maybe when she's not around I can sneak off with Susan and figure out what we are." Neville said blasting away at the target.
"I'll see what I can do. We're in a holding pattern for the next few days. We need to get paperwork from the ICW before anything can happen. We need to get your parents up so we can start rehabbing their bodies and magic. On top of that I have a laundry list of shit that needs to get done now so we can get going next week. I think, however that tomorrow, we can do a date night of sorts. Just us younger group. We'll go out to a nice place for dinner, we'll catch a movie, after that we'll get ice cream or something. I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to talk to Susan." Harry said setting up two targets and working on his MP5k shooting.
"You're a lifesaver Harry. I mean I think I love Susan but if she's not into me like that I'd like to know now before we go too far." Neville said.
"I feel you." Harry said nodding.
A half hour latter Harry walked into the master bedroom and found Hermione sitting up in bed wearing a white silk nightgown. She was reading a big book and petting Hedwig who was still a small dog. She looked up when he walked in and smiled at his tired look. She knew both of them were tired from the night before. Harry stripped down to his boxers and slipped into bed with her. Hedwig licked his face and trotted off the bed to the bench at the foot of the bed. Hermione set her book on the nightstand and rolled up on top of Harry's chest.
"You look tired." She said kissing him.
"I feel tired. We did a lot today." Harry said smiling up at her.
"Too tired to fool around?" She asked sitting up and playing with the straps of her nightgown.
"I'm never too tired for that. I'd have to be dead to not want that." Harry said pulled her back down and kissing her.
"Good." She said with a smile as Harry pulled her nightgown off over her head.