This is now my most-viewed story on FFN!
I'm bumping the timeline back again. I guess I never officially established it in the story, just contemplated it in earlier author's notes. Also, this chapter starts a bit before the last one, then catches up to where ch 16 ended.
Severus watches Dumbledore pace back and forth, deep in thought. He tries to ignore his own headache. He hasn't slept since Potter went missing, and the situation has only become more complicated once they had finally found the boy and brought him to Hogwarts.
Minerva is still fuming, first about how Potter clearly fears magic, and now about the assassin. "Did you see the way the boy was clinging to his kidnapper! As if he was safer than us!"
"Despite how it may appear, I do not believe the boy has Stockholm Syndrome." Severus doubts either his colleague or employer have heard of the term. "Stockholm Syndrome is when a captive begins to feel affection or closeness to their captor."
"That's exactly what it sounds like!" Minerva exclaims, rounding on Severus. "He was treating his captor like a cuddly toy!"
"That man provided the boy with the best care he can remember." Severus tells them smoothly. "Even when he was going to hand the boy to his leaders, he assured the boy's wounds were looked at and provided Potter with food."
Minerva fixes Dumbledore with an intimidating stare that rivals Severus's own. "If Harry had been placed with a proper family to begin with, he wouldn't have this... Stockholm Syndrome. He shouldn't like someone just because they fulfill his most basic needs!"
"What the situation should or should not be is irrelevant." Severus tells her curtly.
"Indeed." the headmaster nods gravely. It is the first thing he's spoken since they were shown out by Madame Pomfrey, and he does not pause his pacing. "We have to deal with the unfortunate situation we are presented with."
Dumbledore is planning, that much is clear, but Severus is not entirely sure what that plan is. Does the old man still intend to Obliviate Barnes? Would he take the man's few remaining memories of his life before HYDRA, as well as the memories of Potter?
A memory charm would be quick and painless, unlike the method he'd seen in the man's memories. Severus still does not think it is a wise decision.
Severus would not be surprised if Dumbledore attempts to turn the assassin into his own spy.
Not that the assassin would be a very practical spy. Severus had not found any of HYDRA's plans in the man's head. The assassin was treated as a weapon to be fired at a target, not a high-ranking agent with classified information. Furthermore, who was to say that any plans to spy for Dumbledore would not simply disappear when the man's mind was electrocuted again?
Sending the man back to that environment seems needlessly cruel, and would gain nothing.
"You wanted to place Potter with muggles." Severus reminds the headmaster. "This man may be the most capable of protecting the boy."
"You want to leave the boy with an assassin?!" Minerva says. "Have you been confunded, Severus?! I thought Slytherins were supposed to be cunning and think things through!"
"I have considered this thoroughly." Severus's voice remains silky, but there is a steel blade hidden under the delicate fabric.
Even when the agents had used their control words similar to Imperio, the Asset had protected the boy.
Severus suspects there are agents hunting for the Asset and the boy, but the Asset had an easier time dealing with those than with Severus or Albus. There will undoubtedly be Death Eaters after the boy now that the blood wards are no longer in place.
"Let's keep him here." Minerva argues. "Hogwarts is one of the safest places, and he might come to realize magic is not scary."
"Or it will traumatize him into never wanting to encounter magic again."
"Harry will need to learn not to fear magic." Dumbledore's tone is final.
"You won't send him back to the Muggle world, will you?" Minerva asks suspiciously.
Severus knows there are muggle superheroes. Iron Man, or Tony Stark, in particular has funds and resources to provide for a child. He has muggle weapons capable of protecting the boy, but the man is a devoted bachelor, his lifestyle not conductive to raising a child.
Madame Pomfrey hurriedly pushes open the hospital wing doors. "They're gone!"
"Gone?!" Minerva echoes in disbelief. "We were right out here the whole time! They couldn't have gotten past us! I thought the assassin was restrained."
"Perhaps the boy freed him with accidental magic." Severus says as he strides over to the open window. That has to be the way they escaped.
Severus turns on his heel and quickly strides towards the castle grounds.
"Nighty's a bad dog." Harry the Handler gives a morose briefing as they approach the end of the tunnel. The boy reports how the dog was with the giant who "tried'ta squash you like Dudley,"how it did not fight the giant or help the Asset when he was flying.
"Nighty the dog is an enemy." the Asset confirms the report with a nod. The handler still appears surprised that the Asset listens to him. From what he'd seen at the Dursleys, Harry is used to listening to others, just as the Asset is.
The tunnel ends at the interior of a dilapidated house.
"It's not the Batcave." Harry the Handler scrunches his face the thick layer of dust covering every surface.
CHECK FOR THREATS.
The Soldier sees no recent footprints, indicating it is unoccupied and has been so for quite some time. He quickly sweeps the premises for occupants in other rooms or recording devices, but finds neither.
Harry the Handler follows him through the house, when it should be the reverse, the asset following the handler. The small handler swipes a finger through the dust on a table with one leg snapped off. "Aunt Tuna'll be so mad."
"Your aunt is dead, Harry." the Soldier reports flatly.
Good riddance.
Harry nods, tracing patterns into the dust with his finger. One pattern vaguely resembles a winged creature.
The Asset reports damages. "Functionality of the prosthesis is impaired 45%. The mind is malfunctioning. The Asset has visions of being a man named James-"
The name slips off his tongue, and he pauses. Was it James? The man on the train had shouted for a Bucky. The enemy asset had said the Soldier was Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, but that is most likely false information.
It needs to be wiped.
Rather than disappointment or anger at the forbidden visions, the handler appears awed. "The doctor witch said my daddy was James... are you... did you... not die?"
The Soldier's mind flashes once again to falling from the train. That was not a death, was not him. He was made as an Asset. When he refocuses, he slowly answers "The Batman did not die. Do you wish the Batman to be James?"
"James." Harry the Handler smiles slightly.
"New codenames are Batman and James." The Asset- James- nods in understanding.
"But you aren't my daddy. He was a freak an' you don't eat people." The Soldier remembers killing targets using a variety of methods, but does not remember ever being a cannibal. "'Cos you're a hero and re-scued me from da Dursleys."
"The Batman James is your asset. A soldier." The word hero has never been applied to him. Weapons aren't heroes, the people wielding them are.
The boy mumbles something that would be inaudible if not for his enhanced hearing. "I wish you were my daddy."
"You want the Batman James to be your father." James knows that fathers protect their children as he protects Harry the Handler, but children obey their fathers while assets obey their handlers.
Harry looks as if that might be too much to hope for. Instead of answering, he points a finger at the shoulder of the prosthesis with one hand, his other hand lifting his hair to show the scar on his forehead. "We both have red scars. I have a light-ning and you haf' a star."
He is not sure why the boy briefed him on this. He could understand his handler wanting to replace the star on the shoulder with a lightning bolt, to mark him as his own. Harry the Handler does not suggest anything of the sort.
The Asset James rotates the prosthesis to show the star better, and it makes a clunking noise, jamming slightly. The battle with the giant appears to have damaged it.
MAINTANENCE REQUIRED.
"The mission would be better served if the handler decommissioned the Batman James and used a new asset." The Asset James has been maintained and wiped in similarly dank rooms, but there is no sign of maintenance equipment in the dilapidated house.
"De-com'soned?"
"Stored. Put down. Whatever the handler decides."
Inexplicably, Harry the Handler laughs. "I can't put you in the cupboard! You're a gwown-up."
"The Batman James will malfunction more the longer it is out of cryo."
"You'll cry?"
"Cryogenic freezing stores the Batman James when it is not being used."
"You go in a... fwid'ge?" the boy looks around, and James realizes he means refrigerator. "I don't see one."
Recalibration is unlikely to occur in the dilapidated house.
"The enemies will follow," the Asset James informs his handler. Scoping the view out the window, he sees a small village. He searches through the dusty rooms. Harry follows him as if he is the handler once again. The boy bites his lip. It is clear he intends to ask something, but is hesitant to do so. Handlers are never hesitant to demand information from the Soldier.
The Asset James gives the boy his attention. "Did you have a question, sir?"
"Wha'you lookin' for, Mr. A'set James, sir?" Harry appears eager to be helpful, despite his hesitance.
"A concealment cloak. The enemy asset had a cloak that made him invisible." He finds a dusty old robe in a wardrobe, but the only concealment it offers is covering the prosthesis. The prosthesis is easily recognizable, concealing it aids with covert operations.
The dusty cloak is not as useful as one that makes the wearer invisible. Still, Harry the Handler smiles, telling the Asset James he looks like a superhero.
Pulling the dusty robe tight around his body, the Asset James covers their tracks, then breaks through the wood barring the front door. The handler clings to his robe as they make their way toward the village. There is no sign of a pursuit from the enemies.
The Asset James is on high alert. The enemy asset could be invisible, the giant could have escaped by now. He should have eliminated both of them.
"Can Nighty smell us?" the boy asks.
"Possibly."
AVOID DETECTION.
The Asset James easily slips into nooks among the old shops in the village.
Harry the Handler stops to gawk at a shop labeled Honeydukes. It appears to be a food shop, but the nutritional qualities of the foods are unknown.
There are eight occupants inside Honeydukes. Brightly-colored boxes float through the air, directed by an old man's weaponized stick. The old man is not Dumbledore, but the weaponized stick classifies him a threat.
Harry the Handler tugs the Asset Jame's robe, whispering about freaks, yet seems unable to tear his eyes away from the shelves.
The Soldier studies the shop's contents. Boxes containing chocolate frogs, cauldrons and wands line the shelves, there is a high possibility they are poisoned or drugged. A large barrel advertises "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans", which likely assist interrogations depending on the flavor. There are peppermint cream toads that reportedly hop in the victim's stomach.
Exploding Bonbons could be a useful weapon, since the Soldier lacks grenades, but are likely tampered with. They could backfire on the Soldier, for all he knows.
The Soldier remains unobtrusive, but the old man approaches them anyway. The Soldier readies himself for a fight.
"Can I help you find anything?" the man smiles as if to appear nonthreatening, pocketing his weaponized stick. The Asset James does not relax as the man bends down to Harry's level. "See anything you like, sonny?"
The boy hides behind the Asset Jame's robe, gripping the cloth tightly.
"You're Harry Potter," the old man breathes, eyes flicking to the lightning scar on his forehead.
"Harry Potter?" a woman from across the store gasps, dropping a box. The prosthesis clenches as, within 1.8 seconds, every eye in the store turns to the boy, who buries his face into dusty cloth.
AVOID DETECTION. MISSION COMPRIMISED.
"Take anything you want, Mr. Potter, and don't worry about the price." the old man glances at the Asset James as he says the last part. "Are you visiting, sir? I must say, I'd remember if I'd seen the Boy Who Lived in Hogsmeade before. You're lucky to have him."
The other customers crowd around them, shouting questions.
What, is Harry some kind of celebrity? The new voice queries.
The Asset James backs out of the door, tense, waiting for one of the patrons to immobilize him with a weaponized stick. The crowd follows them out, still vying for Harry the Handler's attention, but the Asset James has already slipped between two shops, quickly making his way out of the village with his handler.
He jogs and, for the moment, nobody appears to be following. Harry stumbles, and he picks the boy up, feeling thin arms wrap loosely around his neck.
"Where is the Batcave?" the Asset James needs intel. The Batcave is clearly a safe place, from the handler's other briefings.
"Um... Gof-fam City."
The Asset James frowns. He does not know of a Gotham City. He did not know about weaponized sticks or the castle, either.
"Where is Gotham City? What are the coordinates?"
"Aunt Tuna says 's not real." Harry scoffs. "Iwon Man's real, so Batman has'ta be!"
"What is in the Batcave?"
"All Batman's stuff! Batmobiles an' suits an' bat-rangs an' a big copmuter."
It sounds like a base. The Asset James could likely get maintenance there. A cop-muter is unnecessary, the Asset avoids police detection. Unless he meant computer.
"Sometimes I pr'tended my cupboard was the Batcave." Harry tenses again, relaxing when the Asset James does not punish him. "But it was jail, 'cos I was the bad guy."
"You are not bad. You are the handler."
'Bad's a bit of an understatement for most handlers. The Asset James scowls at the voice in his head. It is not his place to question or judge handlers, past or present.
Harry the Handler is silent. The Asset James hypothesizes that he is thinking of his strange abilities making him a freak.
"Your abilities are an asset to the mission. You are not a freak."
"I'm a A'set?" Harry gazes up at the Asset James in awe. "Like you, Mr. A'set James sir?"
The Asset James does not have his handler's abilities. He wonders why HYDRA hadn't tried to give them to him, but those abilities were likely why they wanted the boy in the first place.
He hikes another 9 km, unsure of how to locate the Batcave. The handler has not even provided a direction, so he cannot use the sun to navigate.
The Asset James needs to get Harry to a safe place, before they are ambushed again.
"He got Harry." Hagrid grits out with labored breaths when they find him, furiously struggling to lift a fallen tree and boulder pinning him down. "I tried teh stop 'im. They went to'ard the Whomping Willow."
Dumbledore quickly levitates the weights off Hagrid, who slowly sits up. "Thank yeh, Professor Dumbledore, sir."
The giant's expression turns murderous as he stands up, somewhat shakily, and goes to Fang. The dog Potter named Nighty is sniffing at Fang's fallen body, barking as if worried.
Fang is breathing as Hagrid hoists it up. "Once yeh stop the man, I'll tear him apart for hurting Harry."
"I do not believe he hurt the boy." Severus gets a shocked look from Hagrid.
"That man is a menace." Hagrid growls. Severus raises an eyebrow. Considering Hagrid's habit of picking up murderous creatures and treating them as harmless pets, he is surprised that the man is writing off Barnes so quickly. Not that the man is a pet, though he'd been treated worse than a beast by HYDRA.
"We must get Harry back." Dumbledore strides purposefully toward the Whomping Willow, waving his wand so the tree does not attack them.
Severus scowls as they travel through the dark tunnel toward the Shrieking Shack. "I believe Potter will view that as being kidnapped, more than he did when the Winter Soldier took him from the Dursleys."
"It's not kidnapping, it's a rescue." says Minerva in an affronted tone.
"The boy will not view it that way." Severus is certain that this plan will backfire. He shouldn't care. A day ago, he would have been thrilled to see what he thought was a brat taken down a peg.
He is certain that, whatever Dumbledore's plans, taking the boy from Barnes will backfire. Had they not noticed that the boy used magic to avoid being taken away? Minerva clearly saw how attached he'd been.
The Shrieking Shack is empty, without a trace of the soldier or the boy's presence. There are no footprints, and Minerva's muttered Homenum Revelio yields no results.
"Perhaps they didn't leave the grounds?" Minerva suggests, looking back at the tunnel.
"We'll split up. Severus, do you mind searching the village?"
Severus suppresses a sigh. He minds very much. All he'd like is to collapse in his quarters. He doubts he would even need Dreamless Sleep.
Instead, he stalks from the Shrieking Shack toward the rest of Hogsmeade. Clustered around Honeydukes is a group excitedly prattling about Harry Potter.
"The Boy Who Lived!"
"Here, in Hogsmeade!"
"Someone alert the Daily Prophet!"
"Strange bloke he was with," one wizard remarks.
"Which way did they go?" Severus scowls.
"Disapparated as soon as he left, didn't hear the bang though." the wizard frowns. "Seemed a bit touched in the head, that bloke did. He was all angry and-" the wizard's eyes widen. "You don't think he was one of... You-Know-Who's followers, do you?"
Severus does not think that the Winter Soldier can apparate, but given how difficult he was to track down in the first place, he might as well have.
The last thing he wants is to follow them on broomstick again.
So I got five chapters out before my break ended.
I finally started driving myself places alone. I only just got my license, like six years after most people do as teenagers. I drove two separate hour-long trips by myself yesterday, one in the dark, and it wasn't nearly as stressful as I imagined. But then I dreamed I started student teaching (as I will on Monday) got into a crash in a parking lot.
That doesn't have anything to do with this story. But I expect the updates will slow down. I've been completely neglecting my other stories, but I'm sharing those with exactly zero people so I guess it doesn't matter. And I neglected this for two years, so a few weeks is nothing.