Chapter 6

Harry

Harry paced in front of Michael, trying to decide what to do. If he released the spell, Michael could press his advantage, having already hurt Sean (not that Harry minded much). Harry knew he was only able to incapacitate Michael because it was a 3-1 match. He instinctively knew Michael was a lot more powerful than him. Hermione would know what to do, he thought to himself. It was times like this he wished wizards used cell phones. But of course, she was busy at the Roswell library, researching the other person. Harry had never seen anyone do magic without a wand. It was more or less why he blamed himself for Dumbledore's death six years ago.

"Okay," Harry said. "Let's talk."

"No!" Ron yelled. "Are you mental? He might kill us!"

"If you try, we'll bind you again and forcibly read your mind," Harry told Michael.

"Why don't you do that?" Ron whispered. "Just use legilimency on him."

"Not yet," Harry hissed back. "He might use occlumency against me anyways."

Harry reversed the spell and Michael stumbled forward.

"Wizard?" Max asked. "What on earth are you talking about?"

He saw Ron and Harry exchange a glance.

"Who are you? How were you able to throw Sean across the room without a wand?" Ron demanded, his and Harry's wands back on Michael.

"A wand?" Michael shook his head. "Those are actual wands?"

"We ask the questions," Ron threatened. "How can you do magic if you've never even heard of a wand?"

Michael glared at the two men for a moment, then responded. "My name is Michael Guerin and I'm…not human."

"You're-what?" Harry's mind spun with the words. He could not comprehend them.

"I'm not human," Michael repeated, eyeing them. "But you are."

"'Course we are," Ron spat.

"What are you, then?" Harry asked. He felt his mind spinning, here on the verge of an important discovery. Michael's green eyes shifted to the ground, his dirty blond curls covering his face.

"I'm an alien," he said. "I'm from a planet called Oasis. Max went back to Oasis, but we can't exactly tell people that."

Harry's mouth dropped open and he was sure Ron was experiencing the same level of surprise at meeting someone from outer space. Michael told them everything-the 1947 UFO crash, waking up at age ten, finding their powers, Jones and Clyde.

"We killed Jones months ago," he said, finishing his story. Harry and Ron lowered their wands. "Sorry about your friend."

Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged.

"Can you tell me more about you?" Michael asked. Harry told him about the Ministry of Magic, how their wands worked, and the statute of secrecy. "You have an entire government?"

"Yeah, there's a lot of us," Harry said, smiling. "How many of you are there?"

Michael sighed. "Only a handful that we know of, but we keep finding more. We found three more last year."

The three men stared at each other, realizing how much their world had changed.

Hermione

Hours later, Hermione sat on Harry's bed, listening to Ron and Harry's tale.

"And what happened to Sean?" she asked anxiously. Ron told her that he had woken up, unaware of everything that happened and taken himself to St. Treadwell's, the largest magical hospital in New Mexico, for a checkup.

"He doesn't know yet," Harry supplied. Hermione bit her lip, trying to process everything she had learned. Aliens weren't just real-Harry and Ron had met one. As she thought of her conversation with Maria, something nagged her.

"Is Maria DeLuca an alien? Or know about them?" she asked.

Harry shrugged. "He didn't tell us who were aliens."

Hermione looked at the two of them, wondering what would happen if someone was an alien and a witch.

"We can ask her ourselves," Ron said. "Michael invited us to the pub tonight with his husband who works for some sort of mysterious company and would want to meet us."

Unease gripped Hermione as she listened. Although she did want to hear about aliens, she wasn't sure about an entire muggle company learning about their existence was appropriate. They were, after all, delegated to keep the secret safe, not expose it to more people.

That evening, the trio walked into the Wild Pony. Hermione wore a maroon tank top over jeans and a leather jacket. Harry was once again wearing those jeans that clung to his hips perfectly, paired with a white t-shirt. She felt herself blush as her eyes traveled along him when he wasn't looking, a move she had perfected during their school days. As they walked in, she saw Maria at the bar and waved at her. She could feel Ron ogling Maria beside her and felt slightly embarrassed. Ron was so predictable-she knew he had a thing for pretty bartenders.

"I'll get the drinks," he said and rushed to the bar.

Hermione caught Harry's eye and the two of them grinned and each other. Harry then slipped his arm around her waist (Hermione felt her heart race) and guided her to the booth with two men holding hands as they talked to each other.

"Hi," Harry said once they were within earshot. He and Hermione slid into the booth across the men and they made all the necessary introductions.

"Is your American friend joining us?" Michael asked and Harry shook his head.

"Aren't you worried about people overhearing us?" Hermione asked, looking around at the busy bar.

"Nah, it's too loud," Michael said dismissively. "Where's your drinks?"

Harry indicated Ron, who seemed to be talking to Maria.

"Well, what do you want to know?" Hermione asked Alex, leaning in.

Alex leaned in too, excitement alight in his eyes.

Maria

"Three butterbeers," said a British voice at the bar. Maria tingled with excitement. She turned around to see a tall ginger man at the bar with warm, brown eyes. She could see the strain in his neck as he tried to keep his eyes above her neck.

"You want what?" she asked, smirking.

He smiled and ruffled his hair, a nervous move. He hesitated, "Butterbeer?"

"What brand is that?" she asked and he shrugged. "British, maybe?"

The man jammed his hands into his pockets. "What do you have?" he asked.

She handed him the beer list and watched him scan it, confused. It made her wonder if this was his first time in the United States. Maybe she could show him around.

"Three vanilla bean assassins," he said with a giggle. She stepped to the taps and poured the drinks, put them on a tray and followed him to his table where she saw Hermione. The British accent made a lot more sense. Hermione was sitting next to the man from the night before and, to her surprise, Michael and Alex.

"How do you know each other?" Maria asked, looking between the two pairs as she handed out the beers before sliding into the booth next to Michael.

"They know who we are," Hermione said vaguely in response. Maria stared, confused and worried. Maria twisted her fingers nervously, wondering if Alex and Michael knew her secret.

"Luscious," the ginger-haired man said, breaking the silence. Although Maria suspected he meant the drink, his countenance suggested her might also mean her. She smiled at him, finding his interest in her rather appealing-she hadn't felt that since Dallas. Maria found herself debating whether or not to tell Alex, but was saved from making the decision when she heard her friend's voice.

"What are you doing with them?" came the indignant voice of Liz Ortecho behind her.

Liz

Livid. If Liz had to describe how she felt when she saw Michael and Alex at the same table as those men, she would say livid.

"Hey," Michael said, holding up his beer.

Liz stormed the rest of the way to the table, leaving Rosa and her roommates, Zephyr and Lilianna behind.

"Can I talk to you?" she hissed at Michael, ignoring the foreigners entirely. She pulled Michael out of the table past Isobel chatting at the bar with her favorite student Josefina Sanchez, all the way to one of the storage rooms. She tossed her raven black hair behind her shoulder and once again made eye contact with Michael, now noticing that Maria had followed them. Before Liz started to speak, Michael talked.

"I told them everything about us," he said. "I thought they were aliens, but they're not. They're wizards."

Liz opened her mouth and closed it back again, unsure of what to say. The throbbing she occasionally got behind her eye had returned. She rounded on Maria.

"And you know this too?" she demanded.

Maria hesitated, as if trying to decide what to say.

"Yeah," she finally admitted. Liz felt flustered, her eyes growing wide. Maria sighed, looking at Michael who shrugged.

"How do you know?" Michael asked, looking at Maria too.

"Well," Maria said, breathing in deeply. "They told me because I'm one too."