Harry has a different reaction to his near death experience at age nearly seven and become a right little Machiavellian Prince and, as his relatives tell everyone he's a hooligan, he starts bringing their falsehoods to life.
I don't own or derive any material benefit out of Harry Potter or Stargate. This story is not a crossover, though it will feature a certain general from Texas.
The plane journey is assumed. Not being American, I know nothing about San Antonio and may get things wrong, a lot. The number of planes shot down in Vietnam is conjecture.
Lord Arcturus Black had tried in the December 1987 Wizengamot meeting to continue the attack on Dumbledore. Augusta Longbottom was forced to declare that Dumbledore owing Houses Black and Potter money and items was a court matter and not for the full Wizengamot. That changed, when Lord Black declared a Blood Feud against House Dumbledore. The Houses that were part of the Potter-Black alliance joined in the Blood Feud. No-one joined on Dumbledore's side.
Lord Abraxas Malfoy's surrogate Lord Selwyn stood up to declare House Malfoy was no longer subsidising the Ministry. The ICW had announced they'd be leaving London in the New Year. That ended the income for the ministry and Lord Black's tax plan was hastily enacted. The Ministry got very interested in fining the Houses that had supported You-Know-Who. There were several Lords who wanted to add 'allegedly' to 'supported'. The votes went against them.
Lord Black almost had apoplexy as Minister Fudge demanded 100000 galleons from each of the 20 Houses in the Wizengamot that had supported Lord Voldemort. He'd even said the name. What had happened to the Fudge who had needed advice on what to have for breakfast? If this wasn't handled gently, Magical Britain faced another Wizarding Civil War. Fudge demanded the Wizengamot expel the traitorous Houses.
Lord Black rose, "Madam Chief Warlock, a point of order."
"Continue, Lord Black," Augusta Longbottom said, pursing her lips over the 'Madam'.
"Thank you, Chief Warlock. The noble titles of the Houses in the Wizengamot were granted us by the monarch of the day. Only the monarch may remove us from the Wizengamot. Suspension of the 20, until they have paid their fines. Since the Wizengamot will be shut down for not having a minimum of two-thirds members in attendance, if the fines aren't paid by the time of the next scheduled meeting, we will need to approach Her Majesty." Lord Black hoped he was calming things down.
Minister Fudge was quick to see the merit of Lord Black's suggestion and amended his proposal accordingly. 20 Houses were suspended and the Wizengamot rose. Lord Black knew that Abraxas Malfoy could pay a 2 million galleon fine, without breaking sweat. Lord Black wondered what the next move should be. He didn't really want Malfoy controlling 20 votes from outside the Wizengamot
A day or two later, Lord Black was surprised to receive the books and items Dumbledore claimed to have borrowed, along with one and a half million galleons. Lord Black cancelled the Blood feud. Dumbledore requested a meeting to plan a joint campaign against the Dark faction. Lord Black sent Dumbledore a letter thanking him for settling his obligations with Houses Potter-Black and informed Dumbledore that the Blood Feud was lifted, of course. Letters were sent to the Alliance members thanking them for standing with Houses Potter-Black. Lord Black was quick to point out that a meeting with Dumbledore was too soon. The Alliance should meet to determine its course of action.
The Daily Prophet was overjoyed that the side of Light was once more united. Lord Black cursed. Dumbledore had briefed the Daily Prophet. He was also pressing for mercy to be shown to Barty Crouch Senior and to restore his House and lands, not to mention Wizengamot seat, that had fallen to Lord Black. Lord Crouch had been a steadfast foe of He-who-should-not-be-named. Arcturus suspected that the writer of the article got paid by the word. It was a masterful piece of manipulation by Dumbledore. Lord Black had to counter immediately.
The letter Lord Black sent to the Daily Prophet acknowledged Barty Crouch's contribution as Head of the DMLE against You-Know-Who. Crouch was in Azkaban for failing to grant the Heir of a Noble and Most Ancient House a full Wizengamot trial and had been stripped of lands, title, seat and House for the Line Theft that constituted. The Wizengamot had enacted the Laws to prevent Houses conspiring against other Houses. The letter concluded that Albus Dumbledore had been against using veritaserum on all those who claimed to acted under the Imperius curse; only after Dumbledore had been removed from the Wizengamot was action taken against the Houses that had supported You-Know-Who.
Lord Black pondered Fudge. He'd gone from being a wishy-washy bribe-taking Minister into a reforming Minister not seen in a century. He'd executed Death Eaters, recaptured Crouch Junior who was kissed by a Dementor. He'd corrected the wrong that had seen Sirius imprisoned without trial. People had traced an almost impossible conversion of Umbitch, the unflattering nickname for Senior Undersecretary Dolores Jean Umbridge. At the beginning of Sirius' trial, she'd been antagonistic, sarcastic and as much a supporter of Voldemort as any marked Death Eater. The transformation had scarce been credible. The Daily Prophet had serialised her life. Her family was Pureblood and poor. Her father worked as a janitor in the Ministry. She hadn't refused to take the oath under veritaserum. She'd been Fudge's Auror partner. She'd been doing the paperwork for the pair, the night Fudge had arrested Sirius and forgotten to do the basic tests on wand and person. Death Eaters were criminals. Well, that was a welcome change to her previous view. She'd actually supported recruiting 200 Muggleborns to replace the Purebloods who'd resigned in protest. She'd yet to have a fashion makeover. She was still seen in her trademark hideous pink cardigan.
Fudge had captured and executed the animagus Peter Pettigrew. That made it 32 Death Eaters executed. Snape was in prison and Igor Karkoroff was currently Headmaster of Durmstrang. Requests to extradite the man for further questioning were complicated by not knowing in which Magical domain the Durmstrang Institute was located. Lord Black wanted Lucius Malfoy, Heir to House Malfoy interrogated under veritaserum. He didn't believe Malfoy's Imperius defence. Some 2000 wizards and witches had claimed that as a defence. Lord Black understood the cost of placing them all under veritaserum. He'd offered to fund it. He'd been turned down of course. According to Dumbledore, he'd have been fanning the flames. He'd love to interrogate Dumbledore on the witness stand under veritaserum, if he thought Dumbles wouldn't have a counter. Dumbledore probably did.
A couple of days later, Lord Malfoy paid 2 million galleons in fines. Lord Black was not happy. He immediately owled Cassie to find out what the 20 Houses had given up to House Malfoy. Fury was a wasted emotion, Lord Black told himself. His family was asking for a family meeting and that meant Cygnus was on the warpath. Walburga would have been all over him already had she not died. Her being cast out of the House Black would not have inconvenienced her one little bit. Perhaps, it was Pollux. Lord Black would need to have a family meeting. A month would buy the time Cassie would need for her mission. The Potter-Black Alliance would meet sooner, at least Lord Black hoped so. There were so many Christmas functions that it was difficult to get things done. Another thing Dumbledore had encouraged.
Sirius Black persuaded Minister Fudge to use 500000 galleons to settle some outstanding claims against Magical Britain held by the governments of Magical Ireland, Magical France and Magical Scotland. This had the knock-on effects of persuading Magical Ireland and Scotland to withdraw permission for the Magical Government of Wales, in exile, to remain in their territories. The Magical Welsh finally accepted the terms Magical Britain had placed on the table over 500 years earlier. Fudge had some good pictures of the event in the Daily Prophet. Sirius Black had some praise in the articles, too. Bagman had something positive to say at the ICW.
The children continued to meet on Saturdays. They were doing etiquette. Draco Malfoy knew all about that and didn't want to do it again. He stopped attending. The adults all had other things to do and they stopped coming, as well. The children didn't spend that much time on etiquette, much to benefit of Ernie MacMillan's temper. Hermione had discovered about House-elves and MACUSA policy on Muggleborn. She wasn't happy. She produced a seven-page paper on House-Elves under the byline Society for the Protection of Elvish Welfare. The others sniggered. Hermione hadn't cottoned to the fact that the initials spelt SPEW. The other paper was a 25 page diatribe against how the MACUSA worked. SPEW got postponed. The others couldn't dissuade Hermione from studying MACUSA. Harry tried to veto the idea on the very solid ground that he wasn't American and was never going to America. Hermione had countered by saying what had been done there, could be done here in Magical Britain. Even Susan had admitted that was a solid reason.
American wizards had a number of advantages that Hermione thought were most unfair. If an American citizen was charged with any crime, they could request a privacy trial held before the MACUSA President and prosecutor, if anything came up that the prosecution hadn't already included in the charge sheet, a two week recess could be demanded and that worked for each new item. An American wizard or witch could request a screen to prevent witnesses from knowing who was being accused. The details of the trial of an American Witch or wizard couldn't be reported until the trial was over. Harry thought those benefits were pretty cool. Hermione cited a dozen cases where the accused was able to nobble witnesses and so pervert the cause of justice. Foreign wizards and witches just got railroaded. MACUSA required that the accused proved their innocence. Harry didn't think that was fair.
MACUSA called their Muggles No-Mag as if this was going to make them feel better. Harry could tell that Hermione was being sarcastic. If a No-Mag and Magical married or had a child together, all the parties were executed. Harry threw up. Fortunately, Evanesco came in handy. Neville had thought that had Dumbledore informed the MACUSA about what he had known about Moldyshorts and asked for aid, the war would have been over a lot sooner. Hannah had agreed with him. Ernie had asked for proof that Magicals, No-Maj and children had been executed and that Dumbledore should have asked for help. Susan said she'd ask her aunt. Dumbledore had held a number of important positions.
The following week, Susan reported that Her Aunt was very busy, but was looking into the matters. Hermione delved into what happened if a No-Maj found out about magic and what happened to the magical that had let the information slip. The short answer was nothing good for either party. MACUSA didn't have a category of accidental. The minimum punishment the No-Mag would escape with was Obliviation. All of this punishment was contrary to the International Statute of Secrecy. Harry could see the steam coming out of Hermione's ears.
The following week, the children had a party and exchanged gifts. All but one of the gifts was eaten at the party. The gift that wasn't was Hermione's to 'Dearest James'. It was the current MACUSA Legal Code. Hermione said she got it at a heavily discounted price. Harry wondered why a seven-year-old would give another seven-year-old such a gift that was bulky and heavy. Of course, Hermione was eight, which made all the difference. Susan thought that Hermione's gift meant just how much James meant to her. Harry wondered, if he should pick out the rings now or just go straight onto handcuffs. Harry couldn't work out why Susan blushed or why Hannah was laughing. They wished each other a Happy Yule and went their separate ways. Harry lugged Hermione's idea of light reading back to 4 Privet Drive. He threw it into his mother's trunk and sighed in relief. School was done. There would be no more meetings until the New Year and the Dursleys were taking him on holiday on an airplane.
Harry spent all of Sunday reading Hermione's gift of light reading. The book said it was important to establish US citizenship at the beginning of the case. Harry thought that very sage advice in light of what Hermione said happened, if you weren't American. You could ask for a public defender, but the book didn't advise it. They weren't free. In some States the charges, monetary, were published in most, they weren't. Harry wondered how he could return the gist, without hurting Hermione's feelings. He wasn't getting any inspiration. Harry packed everything he had into his hand luggage, including £250 in notes. Harry would shrink his two trunks on the morrow.
Tuesday 22 December 1987 dawned like any other day in the Dursley household. Harry made breakfast and enjoyed eating it. He was ready for 8 am. The Dursleys weren't. It was 9 am before they left. Harry reached the terminal at 9:45 am and that was thanks to Vernon's insane driving and the absence of police cars.
Harry was directed to join a nice stewardess. The Dursleys had some paper work before they'd join him. That was what they had told him, anyway. The stewardess put his hand luggage in the overhead compartment and strapped Harry in. At 10 am, the plane taxied to the runway and took off. Harry loved flying. He then noticed that the Dursleys were nowhere to be seen. The Stewardess' name was Karen.
"Excuse me Karen, but did my relatives miss the flight?"
"You're the only one on this flight." She looked at the name on the docket. "Didn't they tell you, James?"
"No," Harry said. "They said this holiday was a Christmas surprise."
Karen locked at the docket and saw, 'James Hammond will be met in San Antonio by a member of his new family'.
"This says you're now James Hammond and will be met by a family member in San Antonio. That's where this plane is heading, after a five hour stop-over in Dallas, Texas."
"Thanks. I know where Texas is." Karen noted James was getting angry. Harry was getting angry. He then thought he could get so angry the plane would be destroyed. The other passengers didn't deserve that. Harry calmed down. "It is not the sort of surprise I was expecting."
"So I just saw, James. We're due to land at Dallas at 2pm local. I'm here to help you get to your destination and see you get your food."
"What's for lunch?" Harry asked. He'd have to get used to yet another name. James Hammond. He'd kept the James. There was that.
"Tuesdays is chicken usually. As it's close to Christmas, it might be turkey," Karen replied. Lunch was turkey. Harry enjoyed his diner. He loved flying. Harry slept after lunch. When he awoke, the plane was descending into Dallas, Texas. Karen had something to do in Dallas. Harry was on his own. First thing Harry did was change his currency. He changed £250 into $625. He spent $125 on clothes, including a pair of pjs. He changed into his new outfit, cowboy hat included and threw his Dursley hand-me-downs into the nearest bin. Harry sat down and waited for Karen to return. She did about an hour before the plane was due to take off for San Antonio. Since Harry didn't have a watch, he didn't know this. Harry had to attract Karen's attention. She didn't recognize him with his new clothes.
"New clothes, James?" Karen asked.
"Yes, my old ones were hand-me-downs and didn't fit properly. How long before the plane takes off?"
"About an hour, James. I spoke with your adoptive parents. Your new grandfather will pick you up in San Antonio. He'll have a 'James Hammond' sign, so you'll recognize him." Karen hadn't told Harry that she'd informed his new family that he'd been abused. He was a height that was typical of five year olds, not the seven that he was.
Harry was soon flying again. Karen chatted to him about the USA. Harry wasn't really listening. The reality of the day was that he was free of the Dursleys. That made him very, very happy. He did miss his friends, though. It was just as well that he'd got their addresses off them, in case they forgot him. He thought that likely.
In San Antonio, Karen escorted Harry through customs, handed him his documents and left him to his own devices. Harry was now a US citizen or rather James Hammond was. Harry put the documents in his backpack. Harry wondered around, looking for his new name. There it was. A man in a military uniform was holding the sign. Harry walked up to him.
"I'm James Hammond, sir."
"Hello, James, welcome to the family. The semi is this way." He set off, expecting Harry to follow him. Harry did. The man set a fast pace. He climbed into the semi and put on his seatbelt. The man set off.
"It's going to be about an hour 'til we reach your father's ranch. He's Fred, by the way. Your mother is Claudette and I'm Colonel George S Hammond USAF. You can call me George, son."
"Okay, George, son." Harry laughed.
"You're a comedian, son."
"What's USAF?" Harry asked, saying it as 'usaff'.
"USAF, The United States Airforce. I joined many years ago. I served in Vietnam, officially for the war years. Unofficially, I was there soon after I got my wings in 1964 until 1977, which was after the war ended. I wasn't a POW. My wingman was Jacob Carter. Officially, during the war we shot down 170 aircraft."
"That doesn't sound like a lot."
"No, James, it doesn't. There were a lot of Soviet planes and pilots flying there, too. Jacob and I flew a lot of sorties and combined shot down 500 planes. My flight notched up a thousand. The others were Hank Landry and Flight Sergeant Norman Walter Davis Harriman III. He was an ace mechanic, Still is. He joined April 1st 1964. For some reason the USAF decided that was his birthday and refused to change it. He goes by Walter Harriman. It's shorter and simpler." Harry laughed.
"I was promoted captain in 1969. On leave, I had an adventure that I'll tell you all about. I learnt I'd become a General and met some people from the future and an honest to God alien."
"Tell me more about the alien."
"Some other time. On return to Vietnam, I was put in charge of a squadron. Hank got shot down and spent 6 weeks before returning to our lines. I told him, if he wanted a vacation of that length, he only had to asked. My superior gave him a 6-week vacation. In 1971, I became a Major and became a desk jockey, flying a desk. In 1973, the US withdrew. I was promoted to full Colonel and seconded to the South Vietnamese airforce in charge of what you'd call a group. 50 Phantoms. The North Vietnamese conquered South Vietnam in 1975. They kept me on training their pilots in flying Phantoms. I returned to the US in 1977. Those planes proved their worth in the war China and Vietnam fought in 1979.
I commanded a group in the Granada operation. Last year, I was commanding it in an action against Libya. We were based in Italy. I got to spend leave in Rome and Naples. Great cities. Officially, the planes were all 'naval aviators'. Overrated or they'd just call themselves pilots." George laughed.
"I am currently based I San Antonio. My old friends are part of my group. We're currently transitioning to a new version of the F16 or Flying Falcon. The current President is Ronald Reagan, a former actor. You need to remember that."
"Oh, I will, sir," Harry averred. An actor could become President. Whatever next?
"My parents died in October 1979." Harry's ears pricked up.
"How?"
"In a car crash. Why do you ask?"
"A lot of people who could have looked me after my parents died between September 1979 and Halloween 1981, when they did."
"You suspect foul play?"
"Yes, I suspect foul play."
"My wife died last year in another car crash on the base."
"My sympathies, sir."
"I'll check out the cause of the death of my parents. It's no more unbelievable than meeting people from the future or aliens to think they were murdered."
"It doesn't bring them back, but you'd know the truth."
"That's very true, son. My son Fred is an accountant for a company not too far away. Claudette is a Civics teacher in the Middle school component of the San Antonio Christian School (SACS). You'll be in school component, Elementary, this year. You'll be in 3rd grade. Were the Dursleys Christian?"
"They were practicising Christians," Harry said; telling the lie easily. They went to Church on Sunday and practised being Christians the rest of the week. Vernon certainly believed in not sparing him from the rod. After the vicar had started on his 'Suffer not a witch to live' sermons, Harry had refused to attend.
George pulled into the long drive to what was the old Ranch house. Harry was excited. George pulled up and let Harry out. Fred and Claudette were home. Fred looked like George, with hair. Claudette was a beauty with raven black hair framing a heart shaped face, with sea blue eyes. Both were around 6'.
Harry shock Fred's hand, looking into his eyes. Fred was a forensic accountant for the CIA. He had secrets, too. So did Claudette. She was having an affair with a male teacher at SACS. Harry grimaced.
"Sorry, I'm not used to being hugged or crushed," Harry said. Claudette laughed. George had noticed Harry had grimaced before being hugged by Claudette. Something else he'd have to have someone check out. Fred showed Harry his room. It was bigger than Dudley's bedrooms combined. Harry liked that. New toys and clothes were laid out on his bed. It was a nice big one and new. Harry had books in a bookcase. Christian books and a bible that was large. His walls had the Pledge of Allegiance poster and the Lord's Prayer. School books for Grades 1 thru 3 were prominent. Harry had a feeling that Claudette would be making sure he was caught up with the curriculum.
What was he going to do about his new mother's affair? Harry didn't know. He needed to know why they had agreed to adopt him. That was going to be the evening meal conversation. Harry chucked his cowboy hat on the bean bag in the corner. He went down for supper.
Claudette served up. Texas meant steaks, if his books were accurate. They were. Fred then said grace, it wasn't a short thanks, either. By the time Harry took a bite, the food had cooled.
"What do you think of the food, James?" George asked.
"Well, George, I prefer to eat whilst my food is hot not cold. This is really great. You're a great cook, mum." Harry looked Claudette in the eye as he spoke. "Not that I'm not grateful, but why did you adopt me and make me a US citizen?"
"We've been having trouble getting Claudette pregnant. You're the answer to a prayer, son," Fred said. Claudette resented Fred. Harry caught. She blamed Fred.
"You're an answer to a prayer for me, too. Claudette, you don't sound local."
"I'm not, James. I came over with my parents from France, on holiday and stayed. I'm a naturalised citizen. My parents live in France, Claude and Juliette Graingon. Harry's ears pricked up, again. Almost sounded like Granger. That was a subject for a letter to Hermione.
"Thank you for answering my questions. You didn't have to. I have a confession. I was abused and I'm short for my age. I didn't eat very well or very much for many years. I can cook and I'm good at it. I'll show you my back." Harry showed them his back scared with criss-crossed belt marks. There were sounds of shock from the three adults. Pictures were taken of Harry's back. Harry didn't know it, but charges would be laid against the Dursleys.
Harry had a new home, toys, a nice big room and a former ranch to explore. He'd find somewhere safe to practice his magic. He'd ask about writing to his friends tomorrow. He'd been up a long time and it was time for bed. He wore the pjs he bought at the airport. For the first time in years, Harry felt loved.