A/N: Hi all, Chapter five already here. Please read and review, any help with errors and constructive criticism would be welcome.
Emperor Vanquest: Okay, so you asked about the timeline? I am kinda playing around majorly with the timeline, but yes, by the time of 1943, Steve was a full super soldier. Though, according to the Wiki, Steve took the Serum in 1943. So, I have played around with the dates a little for this. Harry fell through the Veil in 2000, and landed in Steve's apartment in 1941. So far, in this chapter, it is in 1942. And yes, the draft for the war began in 1941, sometime after the eighth of December, as that was the date America joined the war.
Anyway, thank you all for reading, and please review. Any criticism to improve my work would be great.
-Line-Break-
It had been roughly fifteen years since Harry had last sat in church. He distinctly remembered his dear Aunt Petunia dragging him into the local church in Surrey in an effort to exorcise his freakishness. Of course, it didn't work, and he had never willingly set foot in a church after that moment, until now.
It was January of 1942, the twentieth. He was amazed at how quickly time passed since he had met Steve and Bucky, Steve especially so. He still couldn't believe that it had been a year and four days since he had crash landed on Steve's coffee table and then saved said boy from dying from an asthma attack. Of course, it was a great way to quickly make friends, not that it happened often.
He sat in the back row of pews, a set of rosary beads clutched tightly in his hand as he prayed to whatever divine was out there, hoping to find some way to help Steve get over his lung cancer.
They had gone to a doctor shortly after Harry had made the discovery, and they had indeed confirmed, unfortunately, that Steve did have cancer. They were at a loss as to how he had gotten the cancer, as he had never tried smoking as he was too sickly to smoke to begin with. Harry had taken him to a wizarding healer, and he had confirmed Harry's suspicion that it had been passed on from a parent, and not caused by smoking or any other habits. Because of Steve's sickly life so far, he was not able to have any chemotherapy in order to halt the cancer, as it would kill him.
And they couldn't even get a wizarding healer to help with the cancer, as it was one of the few diseases that magic couldn't heal, even in Harry's original time.
Things between them had started to get slightly tense since Harry had found the cancer. When America had joined the war against Germany, a little over a month after the cancer was found, Steve had been adamant to enlist, to do the right thing for his country. He never took into account that he would be rejected because of his cancer, let alone all of the other problems that Steve had wrong with his health.
Harry frowned as he remembered the argument that they had had recently.
-Flash-Back-
Bucky, in an effort to cheer up Steve and Harry, had taken them to the Modern Marvels of Tomorrow exhibition. It hadn't worked much, as they were both still rather upset in regards to the cancer, and things had started to become tense between the two. Things had come to a head when Steve had found another enlistment office, and had tried to walk in and enlist when Harry wasn't watching.
He had been about to walk in when Steve felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, halting his movements. He spun around to see who the owner of the hand was, to see a disgruntled Harry standing behind him, looking very unhappy with him.
"What, exactly, are you trying to achieve here Steve?" Harry asked, his voice laced with power, demanding an answer. It wasn't often Harry used this tone of voice with anyone, especially him, but he was certainly not happy.
"I am trying to enlist, Harry. I'm pretty sure that was obvious?"
Both men failed to notice the well-tailored man watching the two of them from inside the enlistment offices.
"Yes, but how often do I have to tell you, they won't let you enlist? You are too sick to be going to war, Steve, and I don't want to see you end up dead because of it" Harry replied adamantly.
"You don't know what it is like, Harry, wanting to fight for your country" Steve returned just as adamantly. "You don't know what it is like to be dying, while no one can do anything about it."
"That's where you're wrong Steve" Harry said, quietly so no one could hear them. The well-tailored man was still able to hear them, however. "I do know what it is like to want to serve your country. I know what it is like to go to war, and war changes people, even the best of us. I still have nightmares of the war, Steve, you know that, don't you? I still see the faces of everyone who died trying to protect me, trying to fight for their freedom. Yes, you are right, I don't know what it is like to be dying while everyone around you can do nothing. But I do know what it is like to walk to your death, knowing that everyone you love may die because of your decision. I know what it is like to have your enemy laugh at you as you walk to your death, to tell you that nothing I do, even giving myself up willingly, was going to save the ones I loved. I know what it is like to kill people, Steve, and it is not something I want you to go through. Do you understand me?"
Steve looked at Harry with a steely look in his eye, still wanting to enlist. "This is something I have to do, Harry, and there is nothing that you can do to stop me."
Harry sighed despondently, knowing a lost cause when he saw one, spinning on the spot while flinging his hands into the air with a "Fine, do what you want Steve. I'll see you at the apartment." And he started walking off, back turned to Steve, not looking back. Steve felt his heart drop at this, not knowing what to do when in a situation like this, he had never been in a relationship before this. He noticed that Harry was walking in the opposite direction to where their apartment was.
"Where are you going, Harry? The apartment is in the other direction" Steve called out to his boyfriend. At least, he hoped he was still his boyfriend.
Harry stopped walking, holding his head up high, but not turning back to look at Steve. Steve's heart dropped even further. When Harry spoke, he could hear the grief and sadness, the longing and held back tears in every word he said. "I'm going to church, Steve. It seems that's the only place any one will listen to me."
With that, Harry continued walking, not looking back at Steve. With a heavy heart, Steve turned back to the enlistment offices, not noticing the well-tailored man following his hopefully-still-boyfriend.
-Flash-Back-
Harry couldn't hold back the tears any more at this point. He let them flow, tears running rivers down his cheeks, feeling as if he had lost his best friend, or in this case his boyfriend. He felt drops of his tears splash on his closed hands, still clasping the rosary beads between them tightly like they were a lifeline. He had never been particularly religious, but in this case, he was almost desperate.
"Please god, please help Steve" Harry started, his voice heavily laced with grief and loneliness. "I-I know, I'm not the most religious person in the world, and many would call me a demon for being who and what I am, but please I am asking you, help Steve. I can bear to see him die, or even going to war. The mere thought of seeing him dead is enough to give me nightmares." He heard the heavy wooden doors of the church being opened, as he paused briefly, before he continued, this time slightly quieter. "Please, I will do anything to see him live, even if it means giving up my title as Master of Death."
{Are you stupid boy? You can't give up the title of Master of Death so easily.}
The soft, silky, feminine tones of the Hallows made Harry jump slightly. It had been months since the Hallows had talked to him, and so it was slightly unexpected of them to talk at the moment.
{There is more going on here than you think, boy, and falling onto faith now is not what you want. I sent you here for a reason, and you are still needed here to help.}
"Yes, I know that, and yet you won't tell me what that reason is, will you?"
{No, you are right. All the information is not needed at the present time. But, I can tell you this. You must not let Steve Rogers die, under any circumstances. There is more to him than you know, boy, even from how intimate you have been. You may not have consummated your relationship with him yet, but you must understand that you will need to do it soon, for big changes are under way, for both you and him.}
"And yet you aren't going to tell me anything, will you?"
{No, at least not yet. However, look to your left.} Harry did so, before reeling back from what seemed to be a slap to the face. {Discreetly boy, okay. Now look to your left, discreetly. Yes, that's good. The man in the suit, he is here to help you, and Steve. He will offer you a way to heal Steve completely, rid him of his problems. But Steve must accept on his own. You must accept the offer of help to you, boy. You did not have the best life growing up with your relatives before you were removed from them, and it has left its mark on you.}
The Hallows were interrupted when the man they had mentioned walked over and sat next to Harry, smiling broadly. He exuded an air of calm around him, one that Harry couldn't help but be pulled into when he was next to the man. Harry smiled slightly, wiping away the tears that had been falling from his eyes. He waited, knowing the man would speak up first.
"Hello. I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but over hear your conversation between you and your friend outside the enlistment office. I would like to offer you some help."
"And what help would you be able to provide, sir? Steve has cancer, and no matter what we do, he will die soon. The doctors have said they can't give him any chemotherapy because he is too weak to begin with, so I don't see how you can help" Harry replied to the man, playing along so the man didn't know that Harry knew he had followed him.
"Yes, well I am a doctor. My name is Abraham Erskine, and I am working on something that can help him, you too, it seems. But I would like to ask, before I say any more, what did you mean that you had been to war? You are certainly too young to have fought in the First World War, and there have been no conflicts between the end of the war, and the current conflicts happening in Europe."
Harry stared dumfounded, floundering around for an answer, before the Hallows spoke to him again.
{Tell him the truth, he knows of magic. Tell him the truth, but avoid telling him about the Hallows. Tell him about you and Steve, he is more open minded than most in this decade are.}
"Well, Doctor, I guess I should introduce myself first. My name is Harry Potter, and I think it would be best to sit back, this is a long story…"
-Line-Break-
Steve had tried enlisting for the army, again, despite Harry's warning and words of advice.
He had been rejected, again, from being enlisted into the army, due to the illnesses riddling his body, and the cancer. Just like Harry had said, again, for about the tenth time since America had entered the war.
He was now lying in bed, alone. It felt weird to be sleeping alone in his bed, after close to six months since he and Harry had started dating. He knew things were getting bad with his health, and Harry was getting more and more nervous as time went on. Harry had told him once, in a simple offhand comment, that when he got nervous, he tended to shift into his Animagus form a lot more often, especially while he slept. Since it had been happening more and more often he had found out Steve had cancer, he knew something was going on.
He turned onto his side in bed, back facing the door, as tears leaked from his eyes. He didn't know why his pride got the better of him, or why he blatantly disregarded Harry's words when he knew they were true. He knew that he wasn't going to be enlisted, and yet he did it anyway. And he knew Harry was right. Church did seem like the only place where people would listen to him, and Steve knew he wasn't very religious. So to have Harry walk off on him, and to go to church of all places, Steve knew he had done something wrong.
Why, why did he have to be so selfish? Harry meant everything to him, and yet he pushed him away in favour of going to war, to more than likely walk to his death. He knew he was dying, and yet he had to be selfish and try to die on his own terms, not bothering to think about how Harry felt about that. If it hadn't been for Harry, he wouldn't be here at the moment, he wouldn't have been able to fall in love with the most beautiful man he had ever known. And yet he had to go and be so damn selfish to the most caring man he knew, he was sure he had blown it.
He heard muffled footsteps and voices, but didn't bother getting the door. He knew if it were Bucky or Harry, they would let themselves in. He certainly wasn't expecting to hear Harry as he opened the door, talking in what seemed to be German to an older man, also speaking in German. It took him a moment to understand what, exactly, they were saying, but none of what they were talking about was making any sense to him.
"Thank you, doctor, I'll be sure to talk to him about it" he heard Harry saying, in fluent German. It didn't surprise him that Harry spoke it, it was just the fact that he was speaking in German that confused him. "I know I will definitely take you up on your offer, but I'm not entirely sure about Steve. He seems pretty adamant to not listen to me at the moment."
"That is entirely okay, Mister Potter" Steve heard an older man reply, still confused to what they were talking about. "I understand that you will only ever take the Serum if Steve accepts my offer, so I won't hold it to you if you refuse because he does. But, from what I have heard about young Steve from you, he will assuredly want to take it. When will we be able to meet up again, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Well, it's Monday tomorrow, and I do have to meet up with my account manager tomorrow, but that won't be until around four in the afternoon. So, how about eleven thirty at the Empire State Building tomorrow morning, and I will bring Steve along. That is, if he listens to me for once." The last bit was said quieter, and slightly bitterly, than the rest, and Steve had to strain his hearing to catch it. He let out a small sob upon hearing the way he said it, not able to hold onto his emotions for much longer. He stayed quiet though, so that the two men didn't hear him.
"That shall be fine, Mister Potter" the older man said. "I will see you tomorrow, then it seems. Have a good night."
"You too, Doctor Erskine. I shall see you tomorrow with Steve" Harry returned, before closing the door, an audible click signalling the lock clicking into place. Steve waited for Harry to come to bed, so he could apologise, and to explain why he had done what he had done, and yet, Harry never came to bed.
When Steve woke in the morning, he was still alone in his bed, having cried himself to sleep when he realised Harry was not coming to bed that night. He was still upset about how he had acted the night before, and was sincerely sorry for what had happened. But He wasn't too sure about what Harry was feeling after how selfish he had been. Would Harry still be happy to be with him?
When Steve finally got up, he slowly made his way to the lounge room, where he knew Harry had slept the night before. He saw the black haired beauty sleeping on the couch, on his side with a ray of muted sunlight splashed across his closed eyes. He was obviously awake, but trying to get back to sleep, but with a groan, he opened his emerald green eyes, while his hair flashed between an angry red, bright purple and turquoise, before settling back to black. Steve knew this meant that Harry was annoyed, still tired and happy, all at the same time.
He had been slightly shocked when Harry had shown him his Metamorphmagus powers, but found it highly amusing when he tried to hide his emotions from Bucky and Steve, and his hair changed colour, showing how he was really feeling. He usually had tight control over it, however, and when he was waking up was one of the few times he wasn't in much control.
Steve just stood in the doorway to his room, staring at Harry, his love for the man written clear as day across his face. But he stayed silent, as he was still worried that Harry felt differently about him after the argument. Harry made his way over to the kitchen, setting the kettle to boil with a wave of his hand, as he pulled out bacon, eggs and sausages from the fridge, as coffee and sugar was spooned itself into a mug for Harry. He watched as Harry pulled out a frying pan and oil, and quickly set to cooking breakfast. Bacon and sausage started sizzling on the pan, while Harry whisked together eggs, salt and pepper, along with various other ingredients, to make the batter for scrambled eggs.
"You can come out, you know, Steve. This is your apartment, after all" Harry called from the kitchen, knowing Steve was there, despite not having looked in his direction the whole time he had woken.
Steve cautiously made his way over towards the kitchen, sitting on one of the barstools behind the counter, watching as Harry deftly moved around the kitchen, plates and cutlery flying around him as he did so. A mug of steaming hot coffee was placed in front of him, along with his medication and a cool glass of orange juice. Popping the pills in his mouth, he swallowed them down with a swig of juice, before moving on to the coffee to wake himself up properly.
It was when he finished his swig of coffee that Harry seemed to be happy, despite their argument the night before. And despite everything that had happened since Halloween. Harry spoke once he had finished his own coffee.
"I see you got rejected from the army again, Steve" he started. Steve could only nod, seeing as Harry was right about everything now. He was so stupid. "I could say it's a good thing, but knowing you, you're going to keep trying, so I can't say much." He plated up the bacon, eggs and sausages before passing one over to Steve, and pulling a second towards himself. Bucky had not come home that night, so there was nothing left for him to eat.
They ate in silence, the dishes used to cook the food cleaning themselves, sponges and wire brushes moving to clean off the grease by themselves.
"Do you still want to join the army, Steve?"
The question shocked him, not the spontaneity of it, but rather the contents of the question itself. If he said yes, Harry would leave, was the first thought that ran through his head. That was irrational. There was more to this than meets the eye, especially with the man from last night he heard with Harry. He pondered over the question for a minute, before he answered with "Why do you want to know? You aren't going to leave if I still do, will you?"
Harry certainly seemed shocked with the second question, his hair turning hot pink for a split second, before he quickly reigned in his emotions. He quickly replied with "No, I will never leave you, Steve. I've told you that before. I won't be happy that you would still want to join the army while you're as sick as you are, but I guess I should respect your decision. I did run into my war, knowing full well I would probably wind up dead because of it. But the decision is all yours." Here he pushed his food away, and checked his pocket watch. Steve did so too, noticing it was half past nine in the morning. Looking up from his watch, he noticed Harry staring at him, before Harry continued. "I'm interested, because when I went to the church last night, I met someone who has promised me that he can heal you."
"You mean he can heal my cancer?" Steve asked, shocked that someone could do such a thing.
"Not just your cancer, but everything else as well. Your asthma, vitamin deficiency, stunted growth. Everything will be cured."
"But there's a catch, isn't there?"
"Yes, there is" Harry said quietly. "He offered it to me too. Promised to help fix my stunted growth, fix my injuries from the war and from my adventures while I was at school. And I promised him that I would do it, but only if you did it too, because you need it more than me. However, the catch is, is that it is an experiment for the Army, to try and breed a race of super soldiers, to help fight in the war. So that's why I was asking. Do you still want to join the army, or don't you? Something like this doesn't come around often, Steve, and despite what I said last night, I suggest you take it. If you want to, be ready by eleven. We are going to meet the doctor at eleven thirty."
Steve didn't get to answer him, as Harry moved away, half empty plate moving away to wash itself as he got up, moving to their shared room to get refreshed and ready for the day ahead. He merely sat at the kitchen counter, pondering what exactly he should do. He knew Harry didn't want him to join the army, but he was going to die. The army wouldn't enlist him with all of his medical problems, so that option was out. But he could get into the army through this experiment, even if it meant being a guinea pig to some scientist. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
-Line-Break-
Harry led the good doctor and Steve through the wizarding district, heading straight for the bank, where he had booked a conference room for the three of them to talk in. He had also decided that he could get his business sorted out while he was there, so he was in a slightly better mood than this morning. Of course, he wasn't exactly happy with the way Steve had acted the night before, but he wasn't going to ignore him. At least, not forever.
Doctor Erskine stared around him, amazed at all of the wonders of the shopping district, hidden underneath the Empire State Building. Even Steve hadn't been this far down, only going to the pubs, and a few of the shops that were on the lower end of the scale, more for muggleborns than for purebloods. He turned on the two muggles, making sure to stare the two men in the eye, halting them in their tracks. "Whatever you do, do not stare at the Goblins. They are proud creatures, and can be easily offended if you stare at them for too long. Keep your eyes down, and don't stare, okay?"
Both men nodded, before following his instructions, as they walked through the large, heavy golden doors, emblazoned with the warning for thieves. If they read the warning, they showed no outward sign of having read it to Harry.
He quickly made his way over to an unoccupied teller, who was weighing large diamonds, as big as Harry's fist. The scratching of quills on paper seemed to echo across the bank, before the Goblin finally looked up.
"Yes, wizard. I do not have all day" the Goblin said, its voice laced with annoyance towards the young man.
Harry was quick to reply. "I do not mean to waste your time, Master Goblin, but I have an appointment with my account manager, Grimclaw, and have also booked a private conference room for twelve o'clock."
Before the Goblin could ask for identification, Harry had handed over two wands, surprising the Goblin, with widened eyes, before quickly doing the necessary tests, confirming that this was, indeed, the man in question. Handing back the wands, the Goblin quickly called out for an escort before calling out for the next customer.
Thanking the Goblin behind the desk, Harry, Steve and Erskine made their way through the mess of corridors, ending up in front of a familiar door, to Harry at least. When they were bade entrance, Harry was quickly inside, followed by the other two men, both of whom were questioning Harry at this point. Harry came to a stop in front of the desk, not making a move to sit in one of the chairs that sat in front of him.
"Ah, Lord Slytherin-Peverell, it is a pleasure to see you again" Grimclaw said from behind his desk, still writing furiously in the ledger. "Please, have a seat, all of you." Once they were seated, the Goblin continued. "What can I help you with today?"
"I think it is about time we shut down the brewery. It isn't turning a profit as expected" Harry started, getting straight down to business. "I would also like to increase funding for the broom shop. I understand they are the best brooms on the market now, and I want new ones released before the Quidditch World Cup. More than likely, the teams will want the best on the market, and mine are now the best. So I want to make them better."
"Of course, my lord" Grimclaw said, quickly noting it down. "How much would you like to increase funding by? The current stands at three hundred galleons a week."
"Make it five hundred than, I'm sure they can figure out what to do."
"Is there anything else my lord?"
At this, Harry looked over at Erskine and Steve, who were both staring dumbstruck by Harry being so…in command.
"I understand there are a number of charities for those with incurable diseases, correct?" At a nod from Grimclaw, Harry continued. "I would like to make monthly donations of ten thousand galleons to each and every charity researching cures for incurable diseases. I would also like to make a monthly donation of five thousand galleons a month to those refugees who are fleeing to America from Europe. Once the war is over, continue the donations for another two years, and then cease them. By then, Europe should be back on its feet."
The Goblin continued writing down on a piece of parchment everything Harry wanted done, before coming to an abrupt halt. "It will be done my lord. Is there anything else?"
"One last thing, and then that will be all" Harry said, if slightly hesitantly. He moved his hands up to the back of his neck, unclasping the short, thin silver chain from around his neck. Hanging from the chain was three lordship rings, those of the Potter, Gryffindor and Black lordships. "In my personal vault, there is a small wooden box on a pedestal in the center. Place this inside, and I would also like you to get the box that is inside it." He placed the chain and rings on the desk before the Goblin, before standing up. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, yet again, Master Grimclaw. However, I have booked a conference room for an important meeting here, so if you don't mind providing an escort, it would be greatly approved."
"Of course, my lord. It is done. And May your enemies tremble before you as you speak."
"And may your halls always be filled with gold." Harry returned, with a polite nod. He quickly turned on his heel, walking to the door, where another goblin was waiting, Erskine and Steve followed shortly behind him.
When they made it to the conference room, it was just after twelve, and so the Goblins were kind enough to provide lunch for the three humans. When they were sated with food, Harry quickly turned to Erskine.
"I am sorry for that, but I didn't have much business to attend to, so I thought it would be quicker to get it over with before we got started."
"It is quite alright, Mister Potter. Or should I say Lord Slytherin-Peverell?"
"No, just Potter is fine by me. Or Harry, if you want. Anyway, onto the reason for why we are here, shall we?" At a nod from both men, Harry continued. "Doctor Erskine, this is my boyfriend Steve Rogers (Steve choked on his drink when he said this). Steve, this is Doctor Abraham Erskine, he is the man I told you about that can heal you."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Steven" Erskine said, extending a hand out for Steve to shake. "I have heard a lot about you form Harry, but I must see for myself if you are the right person for my Serum. So tell me, Steven, why do you want to kill Nazis?"
Steve thought about it for a minute, before answering. "I do not want to kill anyone, Doctor. But they are bullies, and bullies should be stopped before they take it too far. If I had to kill them, I would, but I do not want to kill anyone."
Doctor Erskine turned to Harry, a smile on his face before he spoke to Harry. "Normally, I would not have chosen you for the Serum. You are powerful enough on your own. But, I see a man, powerful, yes, but scared of his own power. You would prefer to help others, whether you know them or not, rather than use that power to control, and all the while, you are scared of the power you hold. While Steve would be a great man, for having been weak his whole life and finally having the strength to stand up for others, someone like you would be a greater man for being afraid of the power he wields. I think, the two of you would be perfect for the Serum."
A Goblin walked in after that, carrying papers for Harry to sign, and a small, white wood box, which he immediately placed into his pocket after checking what was inside. He signed all the documents with a blood quill, ensuring that they were now binding documents.
Once the Goblin had left, Harry stood, shaking the good doctor's hand, a broad grin on his face. "Thank you, Doctor Erskine. It is a pleasure working with you. So, when are we going to get started?"
-Line-Break-
It had been two weeks since Doctor Erskine had accepted them for his Serum. Two weeks at boot camp, Camp Lehigh, and Steve felt like he was dying. Which he was. The cancer had been more aggressive then they had predicted, and was getting worse by the day. The good thing, though, was that it was now finally the day they would be taking the Serum, so he would be cured of his cancer, and everything else for that matter. He and Harry were in the back of a car, with Agent Peggy Carter, who kept staring at Harry with apprehension. He was slightly worried by the look, but Harry didn't seem to care.
The drive seemed to take longer than it should have, but they kept quiet the whole time. When the car came to a stop, Steve was a little confused. They were meant to be going to a lab, not a pawn shop. Stepping out and following Carter seemed like the best idea, however, and so he and Harry followed, a quizzical look on Harry's face too.
Once in the store, Carter gave some form of pass code to the owner of the shop, he didn't catch it, and followed her through the secret passage that opened up behind the owner. Harry clamped his hand on Steve's shoulder, making him calm down a bit, before they made their way into the lab itself. It was a large, round room, with two containers in the center on a lower level, with a viewing area on the level they were on.
"Ah, Harry, Steven, it is a pleasure to meet you again. Please, come down, we are just about ready" Erskine called out to them when they reached the railing. The two boys made their way down the metal stairs, quick to meet their friend. In the two weeks since meeting him, he had become a quick friend to the boys, sue to them being rather lonesome while at boot camp.
"It is a pleasure to see you again too, doctor. Have you still got some of that schnapps for us to share after this?" Steve asked the older man.
"I'm afraid I may have drunk a little too much last night. But, we can still share a drink, I am sure. Now, take off your shirts, and get in the pods, we are about to start."
The boys quickly shucked off their shirts, tie and hat, standing in the lab in nothing but their pants. They weren't shy people, but with so many people watching them, they were starting to feel awkward. Getting in the pods like Erskine asked, the doctor was handed a microphone to talk to the crowd.
"Testing, testing. Is this thing on? Good. Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, today is an extraordinary day. Today, is the day, we finally start the first stage of Project Rebirth."