AGENT POTTER: THE WIZARD OF W.A.N.D.
Ch.2 Warlock's Association for Nebulous Defense
Fluffy white clouds drifted lazily across the blue expanse of the sky as the hustle and bustle of Muggle London continued uninterrupted.
Harry sat idly at a café table, sipping his Earl Gray with relish, simply looking outside the window, as he waited for someone to show up. Someone from W.A.N.D.
Whom? He didn't know yet.
He had received a letter arranging this meeting the previous evening, just after he had returned home from his last day of work at the Auror office.
"Sir, can I get you something else?" The sharp voice of the waitress cut through his sight-seeing like a hot knife through butter.
"No, thank you. I am waiting for someone." Harry replied, flashing the young muggle lady a smile, making her cheeks pinken.
"Call me if you need anything. I am happy to help." She whispered, batting her eyelashes.
"Sure," Harry curtsied before looking back out of the window.
The traffic outside didn't seem interesting anymore though. His wait was becoming too long now.
'To be fair, they said to be here around noon. It is barely quarter-past twelve.'
Harry's attention was drawn to the door of the café as it was pushed open and a young blonde girl, wearing a green crop top and dark blue jeans stepped into the pub, her blue eyes roaming around the café.
'Daphne Greengrass.'
Her eyes sought Harry before she noticed him. Her lips quirked upward as she ambled forward to his table.
Pulling the seat opposite Harry, she took a seat without even asking.
"How long did I make you wait?"
"Good Afternoon to you as well, Daphne. If I say so myself, you look quite fetching in a muggle attire."
Daphne rolled her eyes. "Then I do hope I made you wait for a bit."
"Just enough for me to start my second cup of tea," Harry replied, taking a sip of the hot Earl Gray.
"Tea… how very British."
"I am British. And, if I ain't mistaken, so are you."
"I prefer coffee to tea, thank you very much." She replied, wrinkling her nose.
'Even Hermione prefers coffee to tea.'
"Should I order one for you then?" Harry asked, glancing at the waitress who was glaring at Daphne from the side.
"No, I am afraid that we are on a schedule. I would appreciate it if you finish your tea fast. We have places to be."
'Well, she has no appreciation for fine Earl Gray. A shame.' Harry thought before draining his tea, the hot liquid burning down his throat.
He took a tissue and wiped his mouth before signaling the waitress to come over.
"Yes?" The waitress asked in a clipped tone.
"The bill please."
"Sure. Your total is four pounds and twenty pence, sir."
Harry removed five pounds from his wallet before handing them to the waitress with a smile. "You can keep the change."
"Thank you."
"Not a problem. Let's get going, Daphne." Harry replied, getting up from his seat and offering Daphne his arm.
Daphne took it, flashing the waitress a smirk as they walked out of the cafe.
"Any reason why she was glaring at me, Potter?" She implored as the door of the cafe closed behind them.
"I do not and will not pretend to understand the workings of a woman's mind." Harry drawled. "Now, where are we going?"
"Keep holding my arm," Daphne replied, taking a hairpin out from her hair before breaking it into two.
Harry felt magic prickle his skin from head to toe. A moment later, Daphne's grip tightened around his arm and she twisted.
The commotion of muggle London faded into a vacuum of nothingness as everything went black.
A crushing force enveloped Harry's body as if iron grips were being tightened in his chest.
The very next second, the feeling vanished and he found himself in a pristine bedroom as he gulped in a lungful of air.
The side-along apparition was no less unpleasant than it had been when it had been performed on him the first time by Dumbledore. He preferred to apparate under his own power, or even better, fly to his destination on a broom if possible.
"I didn't expect you to bring me to a bedroom of all places," Harry commented as Daphne released his arm.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, Potter," Daphne snarked as she walked to the painting of a vase before tapping it with her wand.
The painting swung open, revealing a small safe fixed in the wall.
'Why are safes always behind paintings?'
Daphne leaned forward pressing her wand in one slit and her left thumb on another. "Agent Khione. Team V-I-I."
'Seven,' The number flashed in Harry's mind as the words, ACCESS GRANTED flashed on the small screen on the safe.
The lock clicked open and Daphne pulled the door of the safe open before removing a piece of rope from within.
"Khione, is that your codename?"
"Yes, it is. Named after the goddess of snow in Greek mythology." Daphne sniffed.
"How fitting for the ice-queen of Slytherin."
Daphne's head snapped toward Harry, something incomprehensible shooting through her eyes. "Where did you remember that from? It was a stupid name I got in my fourth year."
'Hermione remembered, not me. I didn't know anything about you except you were in Slytherin. I didn't even remember your name till you told it to me.'
"A stupid name, I assume you code-named yourself after?" Harry asked, giving her an amused smile, ignoring her question.
"No. I am quite adept at ice spells. I froze the balls of quite a few boys at Hogwarts in my time, including Draco Malfoy in my seventh year."
'I would've paid to watch that. A shame I missed.' Harry thought, ignoring the twinge of the slightest pity that rose in him for the blonde ferret.
"Let's go, shall we? I assume that is a portkey." Harry said, grasping one end of the rope.
"It is," Daphne replied before clearing her throat. "W.A.N.D HeadQuarters. Building three. Initiation. Activate."
The rope glowed blue and barely a moment later, Harry felt a painful tug behind his gut as his feet were yanked away from the ground and he spun around as the wind howled in his ears and the surroundings became a swirl of colors.
A few moments later, Harry felt his feet hit the ground again and he staggered before regaining his balance feebly. The putrid taste of vomit ran up his throat as his consciousness spun around in circles.
He placed his hand on the nearby wall and heaved heavily, trying to center himself.
'That Portkey was not normal. They don't last so long.'
"Are you alright, Potter?" Daphne's voice rang in his ears.
"Somewhat," He croaked.
"Happens to everyone when they travel by an international portkey for the first time."
'International Portkey?' Harry thought incredulously as the spinning slowed. 'She took me outside Britain without even asking.'
"But don't worry. You will get used to it after a few more experiences… which I dare say, will be by the end of this week"
'End of this— what the actual hell?'
"You mean to tell me that… you all travel by international portkeys all the time and traverse international borders without any authorization by the ministry or any other relevant authorities of the concerned countries?" Harry coughed slowly.
"We don't need it, Potter. We have more liberties than any normal witch or wizard. Creating portkeys, even international ones, and using them at our whim is rather unimpressive to some other permissions we have."
'If traversing international borders at a whim isn't impressive for her, I want to see what is.'
"Like?"
A smirk curled on her lips.
"How about absolute immunity from all prosecution laws in any country?"
'Immunity from conviction… That is not even granted to the ministers of magic and other diplomats. Even they are subject to the laws of their country and the punishments that come with breaking them even if they have diplomatic immunity in other countries.'
"Where are we?" Harry asked, seeing they were in a room with whitewashed walls and white tiles with black swirls at regular intervals as a design. That was it. There was nothing else in the room except the metallic door in front of him.
"HeadQuarters of W.A.N.D," Daphne replied. "Or well, one of its buildings anyway. This place is huge. Several departments and each team have their own building. This is the place where the initiation process happens for newcomers and standard equipment is provided for all Agents."
"Standard equipment. You mean there are… special ones as well?"
"Standard equipment are those that an agent has on them at all times during all missions. Rest are provided on request, as per what a mission demands." Daphne elaborated as she moved toward the door.
"Khione accompanying Harry Potter, new member of Team V-I-I."
A mist sprayed from all directions at them. Harry felt the liquid tingling against his skin before it evaporated and the door clicked open.
"What was the mist?" Harry shivered due to the cooling sensation all over his body, as Daphne wrenched the door open and led him down a corridor.
"The thief's downfall. You might have encountered it in Gringotts if you have visited a high-security vault, which you should have, considering you own the Black accounts now."
"Yes," Harry nodded, suppressing a shudder as the memory of his Gringotts break-in flooded his mind.
"Good. After you," She said, suddenly stopping at a door to their left and pushing it open.
Harry gave her a skeptical look and walked in, only to see De Luca sitting behind a desk along with two other men. One was a balding, old, pot-bellied, caucasian skinned man while the other one was a turbaned Sikh with a perfectly trimmed black beard and a stylish handlebar mustache. The man was bulky and muscular and yet had uncharacteristically warm, mirth-filled obsidian eyes.
"Mr. Potter. Welcome to the Head Quarters of W.A.N.D." De Luca said, greeting him. "Have a seat so we can begin the paperwork to complete your initiation in this body."
Harry grimaced, anticipating the dreaded process but took the offered seat.
The turbaned man removed a bunch of papers from a folder, giving Harry a smile that reached his eyes. "Hello, Puttar. Sign your name wherever I tell you to. Let us get over this fast so we can move to the fun stuff."
"Sir, it is Potter. Harry Potter."
"Oh, I know, Puttar. I mean, I know your surname's Potter. But Puttar means… son or child in Punjabi. My nephew is your age. I am Yash, by the way. Yash Singh. I am from Punjab, India."
The twinge of pride when he took the name of his nation was unmistakable.
"Pleasure to meet you, sir."
"Pleasure's all mine, Puttar. We will be on the same team, after all, once you sign all of this."
"Mr. Singh is our creature's expert on the team," Daphne's voice drawled from behind.
'If he's anything like Hagrid, he is going to be pretty fun to be around,' Harry thought to himself as he took the pile of paper from Mr. Singh's hands.
"You can read it before signing, especially the secrecy agreements," The pot-bellied man said in a nasally voice from the side. "It is your right, after all."
Harry nodded reluctantly, dreading to read this much stuff. He had gone through the horrendous experience once already when he had signed up for the Auror office. And this looked even thicker.
An hour later, Harry had skimmed through the majority of the documents and signed his name about twenty-five times already in addition to having filled out a form giving his personal details.
"— The Griffin was rather persistent on not giving back the snitch. Rather like nifflers in that area as far as golden shiny things are concerned. But absolute sweethearts once you earn their trust."
"What happened to the game then?" Daphne asked while the other two men leaned forward in interest.
"Another snitch was released, of course. But, the Griffin flew in and caught it in seconds. Finally, the match was postponed till the next week and the officials came in and led the poor thing back to the forest she had come from. We all… My classmates and I joked that the griffins, a house at our school as I said, had won the match cause their house emblem had scored more points than both the teams combined." Mr. Singh regaled, laughing uproariously.
In the past hour, Harry had found that Mr. Singh was exactly like Hagrid, only shorter in height. His love for magical creatures was equivalent to that of Hogwarts' friendly gamekeeper, if not more, seeing that Mr. Singh had authored a few textbooks on the subject as well. And, not to mention, rather famous in educational circles as well.
A perfectly normal, albeit extraordinary citizen of India to the outside world. No more, no less.
They couldn't be more wrong.
"Excuse me," Harry called before Mr. Singh could begin his third tale for the day. Harry had loved hearing the first two tales but he had already delayed his announcement for the past five minutes.
"I am done signing this pile and I have read the secrecy agreement. Now… you told me to wait before signing it."
"Ah, yes. You are not signing it with a normal quill. It is a magically binding contract. Once you sign it, followed by us as witnesses, you won't be able to tell anyone the secrets of W.A.N.D." The pot-bellied man said.
"So, it will be like a vow?"
"No. Vows, if broken, give punishment according to the breach of it. This won't allow you to tell it, despite whatever you may try. To anyone not of W.A.N.D. or aware of its existence, it will sound gibberish.'
'Interesting. At least it is better for secrecy than what Hermione thought for the DA. Edgecomb still babbled before suffering the jinx.'
"Here's the quill," The man said, pulling out a thin, long box from within his robes and opening the lid before presenting it to Harry.
A pitch black quill rested within, its site making the back of Harry's hand itch.
'I must not tell lies.'
The scars may have faded and their inflictor executed, but the memories remained.
"This is a blood quill, Puttar. We have to use it for the secrecy contracts as blood is what makes it binding." Mr. Singh said sympathetically. "You sign here first. Then we all will sign and, again, at the end you will sign in the other box, making the contract binding."
Harry took the black quill with a grimace before signing his name in the first box, ignoring the itching on the back of his hand before pushing the contact to De Luca who did the honors before passing the contract around.
When Harry signed his name on the last box, the parchment glowed as Harry felt magic wash on him. It felt like a small glass of chilled water had been poured over his head.
"The contract is now binding, Mr. Potter," De Luca declared and Harry kept the quill back in the box, not wishing to hold it for longer than necessary.
He curled his fingers into a fist, avoiding scratching the back of his hand.
'It will be gone in a couple of minutes. Scratching will only make it worse.'
"We are done here, Mr. Potter. Now, we move on to the other procedures, starting with a medical examination."
'The medical clearance for duty seems to be a part of W.A.N.D. as well. A shame. I was hoping to avoid those annoying things.'
"Let us get going, Potter. Believe me, they are saving the best stuff for the end." Daphne said.
'I wonder if it is a genuine statement or if she is being sarcastic.' Harry thought as he was led to a nearby room, which, as expected, turned out to be a medical ward.
Two healers dressed in white healer robes sat in the ward, playing a game of chess.
With a crunching sound, the black queen demolished the white bishop as the two healers stood up.
"A standard health check please for this young man." De Luca's voice rang, shattering the momentary lull of silence.
"New recruit, I assume? Please sit here. We will begin the checks shortly." One of them asked briskly in a deep rumbling voice before he turned to fetch a device from a nearby table.
"So," Harry began, as the two healers started their work. "Tell me more about the team… I mean, this team I am going to be in."
Daphne and Mr. Singh looked at De Luca who nodded, "So, the team has seven people, each with their own specialty. A team always has a fully qualified healer, a curse-breaker, a creatures expert, and two qualified fighters."
De Luca slowly began pacing around the bed Harry was seated on, his hands firmly held behind his back, as he continued.
"The remaining two, are for back-end support usually and only come out in the field in dire situations or the more difficult missions. The Healer is Agent Fern for us, who is also our dark arts expert. I am the curse-breaker, Yash is the creatures expert, and Daphne is our fighter, despite being a trainee. Our other fighter, Agent Cadros, recently retired after twenty-nine years of service… from both as the team leader and as a fighter in this team."
"And I am their replacement?"
"Yes. Cadros was a very integral part of our team. Cadros led us and was a phenomenal duelist. One of the best W.A.N.D ever had. She would've still continued had it not been for her spinal injury. She was healed but was told that her reflexes and movements would never be the same again… so, she left."
The sadness in De Luca's voice was unmistakable, especially with the unhealthy amount of guilt in it.
'Perhaps she took a curse meant for him. Or, was injured because of De Luca and had to leave the service.' Harry mused as the band tied on his arm beeped.
The healer removed the band and took it back to the table he had picked it up from while the other healer came forth with an empty syringe, making Harry frown.
Wizards and witches just pricked their finger if some blood was needed for testing.
"Excuse me, but only three drops are needed for the test. Why the syringe?"
"It is an extensive test, sir. Three drops of blood would be insufficient. Also, you will be administered a few potions that would need your blood as an ingredient." The healer replied in a practiced tone, making Harry blink.
"What potions?" Harry questioned sharply.
"A body-deficiency correction potion, an anti-poison potion, immunity elixir, and a special calcium potion to strengthen your bones."
"Don't worry, Puttar. We take them every year." Mr. Singh assured. "They taste horrendous though."
Beside him, Daphne scrunched her nose.
'They are telling the truth.'
Harry nodded at the healer, extending his arm. With a wave of her wand, a band tightly wrapped above Harry's elbow.
"You might want to look away, Mr. Potter, in case you are afraid of needles. You won't even feel it." The healer said, almost making Harry snort aloud.
'A needle has nothing on the things I have been through.'
He felt a slight stinging pain as the needle penetrated his skin. Fresh, viscous, dark red liquid began to fill the tube. A moment later, the healer pressed a small wad of cotton over it and pulled the needle back.
The cool liquid on the needle, soothed the stinging making it disappear within moments. The healer removed it and told him that he was to return in an hour for his potions and check-up results, along with De Luca.
"Let's go, Mr. Potter. Lots to do. We need to take your measurements and get you fitted with some good stuff."
"Good stuff? What do you mean?"
De Luca smiled at him mischievously while Daphne's lips had curled into a Cheshire grin.
"You will see. Now let's not waste time here and get to the tailor!" De Luca declared, marching out of the room with Mr. Singh and Daphne, making Harry hurry after them, down the corridor.
Instead of going into another room, Harry was led up the stairs onto the… upper floor.
'I don't even know where we exactly are.'
"Can anyone tell me where we exactly are?" Harry asked aloud, making the team stop in their tracks.
"We are in building number three of W.A.N.D H.Q, Puttar. Surely Daphne told you that."
A bubble of irritation formed within Harry. "Yes, I know that. But, where are we geographically? Britain? France? The States? India? Australia? Where?"
"Ah…" De Luca trailed off. "None. We are in the middle of nowhere."
"Excuse me?"
"This place has no name. Or, at least none we know of. We just call it W.A.N.D. HeadQuarters. The whole place is a small island in the Northern Atlantic ocean. The landmass nearest to us is Portugal and Spain in the East along with Morocco." De Luca replied. "It is a part of a three-island group that belongs to the ICW. One is W.A.N.D. One is a magical research facility. And one is the ICW special preserve for endangered magical species of flora and fauna."
Harry breathed evenly as he took the news. ICW was apparently more than a bunch of squabbling international diplomats. Much more than that. A top secret spy organization, a research facility, and a bloody magical preserve. Merlin knew what else they had.
"You have much to know, Potter. I am here for nine months and I just learned that," Daphne said, giving De Luca a glare.
"You never asked, Khione. Now, shall we?" De Luca asked, ascending the stairs, making Harry and Daphne hurry after him.
'This is much more comfortable than the Auror uniform. And better looking.' Harry mused as he checked himself out in the full-length mirror of the trial room.
He was decked in dark navy blue robes underneath which he wore a light blue shirt and a navy blue vest with matching pants, both of which were a touch lighter than his robe.
Turning around, he unbolted the door before walking out, where the rest were waiting, only to find them dressed in similar robes as well.
Even Daphne was wearing the same attire as them.
Harry's eyes roved over their forms. 'How did they all change their clothes so fast?'
"You look good. One of us." Daphne commented.
Harry gave her a faint smile before moving to wear his boots.
"Oh, not those ones," De Luca interrupted.
Harry looked at his shoes. Plain black Oxford shoes made of dragonhide.
'They would go perfectly with my clothes.'
Footsteps sounded as a short, petite man walked in holding a box in his hands.
"These are the shoes you will wear," De Luca declared, taking the box from the man and handing it to Harry.
Harry opened the box, only to find a pair of plain black Oxford shoes in them.
"They are the same shoes as the ones I have," Harry commented dryly.
"Only on the top. These are special. Enchanted shoes with a few additions." De Luca said before suddenly moving his feet. Immediately a four-inch blade popped out of the right shoe.
"Top of the line blade laced with a tranquilizing potion. Kick a man with these on and they will be incapacitated… or dead."
"In addition to the blade, it also has extra grip enchantments, a silencing charm, along with a special cushioning charm to take the impact of jumps. The boots are made from dragon hide, and thus are extremely durable… and also waterproof." The man who had brought the shoes added, glaring at De Luca, who raised his hands in surrender.
"No need to get your panties in a twist, Nicholas."
"Then let me do my job. I handle the footwear and I make them. Do not interfere in my work, especially after what you did to the last two pairs of special orders I gave you."
De Luca winced at that.
"Never in my dreams had I thought that shoes can be melted, that too, when you weren't wearing them. Who uses their shoes, enchanted shoes that were specially made for you, to test traps? You have a dozen things with you. And all you found were my shoes?" The man fumed.
"I said I was sorry."
"No, no, no. Sorry doesn't cut it. It took me hours to make and enchant them and you threw them at a fucking wall to test if it had traps. SHOES!? MY SPECIALLY ENCHANTED SHOES! YOU COULD'VE CONJURED A PAIR AND THREW THEM. BUT NO!"
By now, the man was holding De Luca by his collar, glaring daggers at him.
De Luca gulped.
"Don't worry. The bastard will be alright." A voice cut through his attention on the heated exchange, making his head snap toward the source.
Daphne had slid up next to him without even noticing.
'Either she is too good or I have gotten sloppy.'
"Oh, Mr. Singh is breaking them up," Daphne added, amusement shining through her eyes.
Harry looked back and saw that Mr. Singh was holding the man, Nicholas, a good couple of feet away from De Luca.
"Nicholas, you can make Leonardo wear a pair of biting shoes the next time he pulls such a stunt."
"I am never making a special pair of shoes for this man again in my life. He can buy anything he wants from outside!"
"Fair enough. I guarantee he won't do such a thing again." Mr. Singh assured. "Now, why don't you do your job and explain the robe to our new member?"
The man's head snapped toward Harry and he straightened up.
"Yes, the robes. It has three parts. The shirt and pants are one. They are normal clothes with temperature and color-changing charms. Nothing you won't find in a good magical clothing store. They can be worn without a problem in the non-magical world as well." The man began. "The second part is the vest which is made of specially woven dragonhide. It serves as armor. It has two pockets on the inside, both expanded to the size of a small bag, meant to store important items. It is tear resistant so a knife would not penetrate it."
Harry ran his finger over the said vest, feeling its material. It felt nothing like dragonhide, except that it was a bit thicker than a normal suit piece.
"Now, for the most interesting one. The outer robe. It is woven from fine acromantula silk and demiguise hair. It serves as an invisibility cloak as well as a normal one. It has several pockets. Three on the outside, six on the inside. All expanded indefinitely. You can store anything in them and never feel the weight or the bulk."
'Like Hermione's beaded bag.'
"It also has tear resistance to physical objects and mild resistance against magical spells. Mild resistance." He reiterated. "It will protect against a moderately powered Stupefy and a Diffindo. Do not expect it to do shit against other spells."
"Cool…" Harry trailed off. "Anything else?"
"Fire resistance. Normal fire like the ones non-magicals have. Do not try to use it against magical fires, and merlin-forbid, dragon fire or Fiendfyre. One idiot tried that and died, believe me."
"I absolutely do, don't worry."
"Good. Now, these clothes have one special enchantment. They can appear and disappear at command as long as you are wearing the pants and the shirt. This means you can change your clothing at your whim. For all the commands and enchantments, you can have this." Nicholas said briskly before thrusting a small pocket-sized book in Harry's hand. "The instruction manual, both for the robes and the boots. Read them without fail. Another set of uniforms will be delivered to you tomorrow. Have a good day."
"Come, Harry," De Luca said, pulling Harry out of the door as Daphne and Mr. Singh followed.
Once they were sufficiently away, a sigh of relief escaped De Luca's mouth.
"He seemed pissed off with you," Harry commented.
"I won't deem that with a response. Now, come on. We have a lot to do."
"What else is left now?"
"A lot of stuff. Believe me, it will take the whole week to get you through things. You did realize that despite not being a total trainee, you have a one-month training period."
"I did. But, to be honest, I still cannot digest the whole 'trainee' part. Daphne has been training for the past nine-ten months and I have it for a month."
"That is because we need to teach you to use the stuff we give you and hammer things into your head so that you do not break some vital protocols of W.A.N.D. But, you are already trained in fieldwork. You have experience in how to react in situations. You know how to go on espionage missions. And, you have two years of experience in it. Daphne was in the dueling circuit when we recruited her. She still is. She is good on the dueling stage. But, that doesn't mean that she would be good on the field as well."
"Oh. You won some league in Brazil recently, if I am not wrong?"
"The Brazil opens. Yes." Daphne agreed. "It was rather easy. There weren't any big names there. I didn't know that you followed dueling."
"I don't. I follow Quidditch."
Daphne narrowed her eyes. "The Brazil Opens wasn't a big league to be known unless you follow the circuit. Did you perhaps research about me?"
"Maybe."
"I will take that in the affirmative. Tell me, what else do you have on me?"
"Not much. A general overview." Harry shrugged. "Your marks from your years at Hogwarts. Pretty high, if I must say. Your family relationships, ranging from your great grandparents to your younger sister. The career counseling filed by Snape and Slughorn in your OWL and NEWT years. The sponsorship you received from Matthew Albertos, former dueling champion. The tournament results as well."
"Is the golden boy impressed with me?" Daphne drawled.
"It is a good record."
"But not impressive?" Daphne asked sharply.
'She has an ego.'
"My best friend is Hermione Granger. Be around her for as long as I have and impressiveness fades into commonness."
"Granger isn't a duelist though."
A snort escaped from Harry before he could help it.
'If you saw her fight, you wouldn't say that.'
"I have seen her fight Death Eaters by my side, Greengrass. Believe me, you do not want to be on the wrong end of her wand, international duelist or not."
Greengrass raised an eyebrow but didn't comment as De Luca led them to another room.
"Go in, Mr. Potter," De Luca said, pulling the door open.
Harry frowned before walking into the room. The room was devoid of furniture or windows. It was a huge square room that just had four white-washed walls and small plain white square tiles.
"What—" Harry was cut short as the door was shut behind him, making him whirl around.
They had locked him in the room.
'What the hell?'
His wand leaped into his hands and he pointed it at the door. The spell died on his lips as the walls, ceiling, and the floor of the room shimmered and whirled around. A moment later, Harry found himself standing in front of a small abandoned looking town block.
"Mr. Potter," De Luca's voice sounded from all around. "You see that abandoned building in front of you?"
Harry's eyes fell on the old, four-storeyed building standing in a distance in front of him. The building was old. Paint peeled from its outer, moss-riddled walls. The ground around it was full of overgrown weeds.
"There are four hostages being held in the building. You have to free them without them or you dying. The spot where you stand is the mark of freedom. Take down the adversaries in any way you wish. I wish you luck." De Luca said before everything became eerily silent.
"Well, he could just have told me that this is a test," Harry muttered, looking around the block.
There was no one around. Not a single animal, plant, or human. There was not a nary sound. No trickle of water, no cackle of fire, no howl of the wind or the sound of life.
Harry could hear his own heartbeat thumping in his ears.
'Hostage situation. Four hostages. I don't know the number of enemies. They could be ten or a hundred. But the location is the building. This is likely a simulation like the one the Room of Requirement could create. I can't cast revealing spells as it would alert the kidnappers to my presence when they glow. And I can't go in with my wand blazing.'
Harry took a deep breath before pointing his wand at himself. Magic leaped from his wand onto his body, imposing his will to fade into the background. To let light pass unobstructed through his body.
'I don't need a cloak to become invisible anymore.'
Without a sound, he moved forward a couple of steps before pausing and looking back.
'The area is all bare ground. My footsteps will be seen and they will give me away. But I cannot fly without a broom like Voldemort. And I don't have one on me right now. This test is definitely not as easy as it looks.'
The elder wand hummed in his hand as Harry's magic ran down its length, shooting onto his shoes.
'I do not want my shoes to leave footprints.' Harry thought resolutely as his shoes glowed with a faint blue hue, visible despite the invisibility.
Harry took a step forward and pressed his right foot onto the ground.
No footstep formed on it, making Harry smile.
He walked forward, completely invisible and soundless.
Stepping in front of the gate of the building, Harry looked around.
Four masked individuals sat there, playing a game of cards. The table was ladened with bottles of alcohol, cigarette stubs, cigarettes, and ash, with the cards in the center.
Harry sniffed the air.
'The air is devoid of smell but they are smoking. There is a ward here. And, if someone is bothering to put a ward to stave off smells from inside, this is a well warded place.'
He pulled his cloak out from his moke skin pouch that laid against his chest, before draping it all over himself.
He might not need a cloak to become invisible, but he couldn't bypass the wards with only his invisibility. He needed his cloak for that and its power to be completely undetected.
Harry walked forward under the protection of his cloak till the scent of burning tobacco and stale alcohol assaulted him.
He walked a few steps forward to get near the table before removing his cloak and stuffing it back securely in his pouch. He was still invisible and soundless though and the men picked nothing up.
'Now that I am in the field, it is time to start the main work. Swift and effective. Constant vigilance. And I cannot let them make a sound.' Harry thought to himself looking at the four men around the table.
Harry took a breath before twirling his wand. 'Muffilto.'
The magic settled around the area Harry wanted it to. With a swish of his wand, the chairs the men were seated on, turned into metal wires that bound the men instantly.
The four gave startled yelps as they fell to the ground, bound in metal wires but before they could do more, a beam of orange light hit each one of them, knocking them out cold.
'They won't be getting up now for several hours unless I personally enervate them, which I have no intention of doing.'
Harry walked around the table and entered the building, scanning his surroundings as he was trained to.
'Always scan your surroundings, Potter! Be aware of what all is in your vicinity. A good Auror is always aware of such details. They will save your life.' Gwain Robards's voice rang in his head.
He had not gone through Auror training camp but he had been taught a lot of things while on the field. His main instructor in his initial days was Gwain Robards, who was now the Head of the DMLE. All he had learned was hands-on work while in the field, fighting for his life.
Sunlight streamed in the room through the broken wood panes that covered the windows around the floor. The concept of doors seemed non-existent so far. The door frames stood without any protection, wide open for anyone to enter.
Harry looked around once more before entering through the nearest door.
The furniture in the house was old, and most of it, broken. But, it was clean. Squeaky clean for such a broken place.
'That means that they use this house. Probably every house in this building.'
Harry moved around the house, careful not to bump into anything. It was a small, one-bedroom flat with its own bathroom. The bedroom and the bathroom were definitely in use for an abandoned, run-down building.
Though, no one was there at the moment.
Harry moved on to the next flat, straining his senses to pick up the presence of someone around.
A loud crashing noise from upstairs drew his attention.
"Shut it, you bitch!" A man shouted as muffled screams sounded before the sharp sound of the slap penetrated the air.
Making a split-second decision, Harry climbed the stairs, abandoning his search of the ground floor.
"She is a feisty one, ain't ya? Be glad that da boss is paying us all a helluva to keep ya all hostage. But if ya don't shut up, I will crucio ya till ya faint. So, shut da fuck up."
"Boss wasn't happy with you yesterday, Carl. If you crucio her—"
"Crucio!"
The scream of a man penetrated through the walls.
"Ya are getting sloppy at the job if ya are saying that, Stebbins. Remember who ya are talking to unless ya want to feel that again." The other man growled.
Footsteps sounded from above and Harry stopped in his tracks. A moment later, three men noisily descended the stairs onto the first floor, where the commotion was happening, their wands held at the ready.
Without waiting, Harry followed them to a room where two men were standing guard next to a tied, gagged woman who was looking at the man curled up on the floor with frantic eyes.
"Was tust du, Carl?" A man whom Harry had followed growled.
"Fucken speak English, ya German bastard."
"He asked, what are you doing?" Another man replied.
"Putting Stebbings in his fucken place, that is what I am doing," The man, Carl, replied heatedly. "This bitch is making too much noise."
'Six people. One indisposed. Hostage in the middle. The man, Carl, is right next to her. If I stun a couple of others first, he may move to put the hostage at wand point. But if I start with stunning him, the others will be alerted immediately and attack.' Harry surveyed, before raising a silencing ward around the room. A fight would alert anyone who was upstairs with the other three hostages, wherever they were.
'The German. I will stun him. Disarm Carl. The force will slam him into the shelf behind, knocking him out. Then stun the other man who was in the room before dealing with the rest.' Harry decided as he moved closer to the German and shot a nonverbal stunning spell at his back on point blank range.
Before the man could crumple to the ground, Harry's wand snapped up, aiming at Carl. 'Expelliarmus'
The crimson beam of light tore through the air and hit the target square in his chest, flinging him straight onto the shelves behind with a sickening crunch.
Whipping his wand around, a beam of orange light left his wand again, hitting the other man in the face, making him fall on his back.
A wild beam of purple light flew a foot away from Harry's wand arm, and hit the wall, punching a hole through it.
'Obtuno'
Another orange beam flew from his wand and hit the fourth man in the abdomen before he could react.
"Protego!" The fifth man yelled, even before Harry could turn his wand on him.
A shimmering barrier formed between them as the man's eyes roamed around the room frantically, searching for Harry, sweat beading his forehead. His breathing was heavy with fear.
'Reducto'
The shield was blasted apart, and the man fell on his behind, his wand rolling out of his hand. Instead of picking it up, he began to back away.
'Idiot. Obtuno.' The man crumpled to the floor.
"HELP! HELP! INTRUDER!" The man who had been tortured, shouted out loud, making his voice ring around the room.
'It is futile.'
"INTRUD—" The man crumpled to the floor mid-syllable, as Harry hit him with the same stunner he had used on the rest.
A muffled sound drew his attention back to the woman.
Harry glanced at the door once and dropped his disillusionment charm before walking forward slowly toward the woman and removing the tape muffling her mouth.
"Chi sei? Per favore non farmi del male!"
Harry didn't understand a word she said but raised his hands and spoke slowly "I am here to help, ma'am. I am here to save you."
The woman took deep breaths, looking at him, her hazel eyes boring into his soul.
"Mio bambini…" She began again before pausing. "My child… two. Mine. Above. My husband… above child. Save them. Per favore, Signore."
'Her two children are held above and her husband is on the topmost floor.' Harry thought as fury welled in his gut. 'They are holding children.'
"Do you know how many?" Harry asked, gesturing to the kidnappers lying on the floor.
The woman shook her head, her burgundy curls flopping around her face. Curls of her hair fell on her eyes and she blew them away, looking pleadingly at Harry.
"I will free you," Harry whispered, before moving behind the chair. His foot fell into a liquid, making him pause.
He looked down and saw dark red liquid had pooled, flowing from Carl's head a couple of feet away.
'He's dead.' Harry realized, seeing the amount of blood flowing from his head. 'But he wasn't real anyway.'
With a jab of his wand, the blood vanished into nothingness and he moved to untie the rope holding her hands together behind the chair, before cutting the ropes on her legs.
The woman gasped in pain as she was freed from her constraints.
"I am going to save your family. Stay here. Take this to defend yourself." Harry said, picking a wand from a fallen kidnapper and handing it to the woman. "Hide behind that cupboard till I return with your children and husband."
"I with you. Save them."
"No," Harry said firmly. "You are in no condition to fight. You will hinder the rescue by putting yourself in danger. Stay here. I promise to bring them back safely."
The woman seemed defiant but nodded reluctantly after a moment.
"No coming out till I return." Harry reiterated and the woman nodded before going to hide behind the steel cupboard.
Taking a deep breath, Harry turned to the door frame. "Protego Horribilis. Salvio Hexia. Protego Totalum. Cave Incium."
A shimmering barrier formed on the door, before disappearing.
'She should be safe enough now,' Harry thought, looking back at the place behind where the woman was peeking from. He nodded at her before reapplying his invisibility and walking out of the door.
Time to save the rest three.
And… DONE! Here you are with the second chapter of Agent Potter. Hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews, and don't forget to follow and favorite the fic!
And… I just saw the favs and follows. And, I must say, thank you for the love! 600+ follows and 400+ favs! Damn. I love you guys.
I will try to write the next chap ASAP, but a nice nudge from you guys will be appreciated[Maybe by making this fic cross 1000 favs and 1500 follows before the next chap ;) ]
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A huge thanks to my friend, I_amaSWITCHbot for betaing this chapter for me.
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Guest: Umm… Teddy, as in, Teddy Lupin. Son of Remus and Nymphadora Tonks. Godson of Harry Potter. (I don't think he was mentioned in the movies. Not sure anyway.)
Pjoinheritancefan: Yes, you can say that. If you noticed… I did take a really good Kingsman element in this chapter.
123: Bunny in next chap. Promise.
Crux has been killed: Haha. No. Not happening.
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Also, join my server, House of HPfanfictioner66, to interact with me directly, and also, I will be posting the pictures of the characters there, so you all can get an idea of how they look.
Link: discord . gg / 4qfP3fxdQ4 [Remove the spaces please]
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As of this moment, I have five main stories. They are:
1. The Rise of the Last Potter My Novel length Harry Potter fic which is already 300k+ words long and it is a work in progress. Updated Regularly.
2. The Legend of the Son of Poseidon: A Novel Length Percy Jackson fic which is already 250k+ words long and it is a work in progress. Updated Regularly
3. Loved Ones Skipping Stones and Ice-cream: A fluffy Haphne one-shot. It is completed obviously.
4. SECRETS: Another romantic one-shot I published recently. Complete as well.
5. Agent Potter: The Wizard of W.A.N.D. - The thing you just read and I take this opportunity to remind you to follow and favorite the fic if you haven't. If you have, love you too ;)
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HPfanfictioner66