Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter. Sorry it took so long.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 4- The Presidents
Harry smiles brightly as he watches Agent Barton come towards the table. Barton had returned home to America that morning with a Portkey and come to get them for their day ahead. It's been a day and a half since their meeting with the CIA Director, and today is the day they will meet with the the head of MACUSA and meet other important people to know for the struggle ahead. Barton had woken him up and brought him over to the Granger's safe house. As a pleasantry and a stress reducer before the day ahead, Barton had offered to cook them breakfast.
"Alright, magical friends. Here's a traditional American steak and eggs breakfast," Barton says as he serves Harry and the Grangers, filling their plates with scrambled eggs and a sirloin each.
"Steak and eggs?" Harry asks.
"Yup. In the military, astronaut program, and other similar organizations, on a day where things are gonna do down, it's tradition to have steak and eggs. Plus, it's just delicious," Barton says as he takes the pans and serving plates back to the sink.
Harry shrugs and picks up his knife and fork, cutting a small piece of steak and shoveling it onto his fork with a few pieces of eggs before taking a bite. He quickly smiles at the great taste of the eggs and the good sear on the steak. He nods excitedly at Hermione and her parents, who start digging into the meal. Dan looks particularly fond of it. Harry wonders if it's a tradition in the RAF too to have steak and eggs, since Hermione mentioned to him yesterday that her dad was once a dentist in the RAF.
"So, Agent Barton, what is the schedule looking like today?" Hermione asks as she takes another bite. She knows there will be a lot of things happening today, and wants to know what to expect.
"Well, we'll be heading to New York first of all to meet with the President of MACUSA and some of the heads of the different departments. Then, we'll be taking you to the Magical Mall, which is our version of Diagon Alley. After that, we'll be paying a visit to a place called Fort Bragg," Barton says.
"Do we have to go to all these places?" Harry asks, wanting to just spend time with Hermione.
"Yes. We have a lot we need to introduce you to," Barton says.
Hermione smiles at Harry. "It's alright, Harry. I know you wish for time together, but we will have plenty of it. Don't worry, we will spend all of tomorrow together if we have the chance," she says, smiling brightly at her new boyfriend. Harry smiles brightly back at her.
Right then, there is a knock on the door before it opens. A few moments later, two men wearing suits emblazoned with the crest of MACUSA enter the dining room.
"Greetings, Mr. Potter. My name is Grant Sanderson. I'm the Chief of Staff for President Smithson, the President of MACUSA," the first man says before gesturing to the other man and saying, "This is Calvin Richards, head of the Auror Office. We're here to escort you throughout the day."
"A pleasure to meet you," Harry says in greeting.
"The pleasure is all ours," Sanderson says, inkling his head slightly in respect before he says, "Well, let's be on our way. We have a lot to do."
"Who's coming on this trip?" Harry asks.
"Well, you, Miss Granger, and Miss Granger's parents will all be coming to begin with. The last place on our journey, however, is a place only you and Miss Granger can come to. But we'll get to that when it's time for that," Sanderson says. He and Richards then extend their hands, and Sanderson says, "We'll be taking you by side-along Apparition."
"Okay," Harry says. He takes Hermione's hand, and then takes Sanderson's. The Grangers take Richards' hand. A second later, they all disappear from the dining room.
For a split second, they all feel the experience of Apparating before they find themselves in a plain, unadorned room. The Grangers feel a bit queasy, but get over it after a second.
"Where are we?" Harry asks.
"We're in the White House. Most of the White House and its ground have wards around it to prevent wizards from Apparating into it. However, this room was constructed as a dedicated Apparition room to allow wizards to visit the White House. It is heavily monitored so that no unfriendly wizards get into the White House," Sanderson answers.
"Why are we in the White House?" Hermione asks.
"Because, President Smithson, as well as the Muggle President, President Clinton, are your first meeting of the day," Sanderson says. Everyone stares at Sanderson in shock.
"Come one. The Presidents are waiting for you," Sanderson says. He then heads for the door and knocks three times, at which Muggle guards on the other side open the door. Harry, Hermione, and the Grangers look at each other before they follow Sanderson out of the room, Richards bringing up the rear.
Sanderson leads Harry and the Grangers up through the halls of the White House and up several floors before reaching a set of doors. Sanderson looks back and says, "This is the Oval Office, the personal office of the President of the United States. President Clinton and President Smithson are waiting for you." Sanderson then opens the door and steps aside to allow the group to go in.
As they walk in, Harry and the Grangers eyes go wide as they see President Clinton and President Smithson sitting on couches in the office, waiting for them. They recognize both men. Both Harry and the Grangers remember seeing photos on the Muggle News a year back when President CLinton visited England, and Harry and Hermione remember seeing Smithson's photo in the Daily Prophet when Smithson paid a visit to London to meet with Fudge.
Clinton and Smithson both stand up as Harry and the Grangers enter the room. Smithson steps forward, being the one a bit more acquainted with Harry's story. "Harry Potter. An honor to meet you. I am President Jack Smithson, President of MACUSA. I've been waiting to meet you for a long time," he says, extending his hand.
"Thank you, Mr. President," Harry says, taking the hand. Smithson then introduces himself to the grangers and shakes each of their hands.
Smithson then turns to President Clinton. "Mr. Potter. Granger family. Allow me to introduce you to my boss, the President of the United States, President Bill Clinton."
Clinton steps forward, a smile on his face, and extends his hand as he says, "Welcome to the White House and to the United States, Mr. Potter. It's our honor to have you here."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. President," Harry says, in awe that a 15 year old like himself is meeting the President of the United States.
Clinton also introduces himself to the Grangers, then says, "Why don't you all take a seat, and we will get started."
Smithson, Harry, and the Grangers, take seats on couches and chairs, while Clinton takes a seat behind the Resolute Desk. Clinton then looks at Harry and says, "First off, Mr. Potter, I trust you have been fully informed as to the reasons why you were brought to the United States?"
Harry nods in confirmation. Clinton nods in response and continues, "Good. We have received word from Sirius Black and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Albus Dumbledore has apparently noticed your absence and summoned a meeting of Order of the Phoenix to begin a search for you. Also, Cornelis Fudge has apparently also used your disappearance to attempt to paint you out as attempting to flee Britain to avoid legal trouble for conspiracy, and is currently working on having a warrant issued for your arrest."
Harry feels a sense of anger, hearing that Fudge is so paranoid he's trying to paint Harry out as a fugitive just for leaving Britain. However, he quickly refocuses on the discussion at hand as President Clinton continues speaking, "We are currently working on running interference in the Ministry of Magic to prevent them from realizing where you've gone, while Black and Shacklebolt are ready to distract the Order of the Phoenix from learning your current location."
"What do you intend to do with me?" Harry asks.
Clinton and Smithson both smile a bit. "Well, for the most part, to keep you safe and allow you to continue your magical education. We will handle most of what needs to be done to combat your three enemies. However, we will need you to be ready to fight when it comes time to finally bring down Lord Voldemort. We will need you for that fight," Smithson informs Harry.
Clinton then speaks up and says, "Our major goal was to get you to safety and prepare you to eventually help us bring down Voldemort. However, we have a lot more we want you to learn, and a lot ahead of you."
(Number 12 Grimmauld Place)
Sirius sighs as he tries to tune out the arguing currently going on around the table in the kitchen of Number 12. Dumbledore had called a meeting, where he had informed the Order that Harry had disappeared from the Dursley's. The current yelling and arguing is what resulted after that statement.
Kingsley is sitting a few chairs down from Sirius. Seeing Sirius' expression, Kingsley decides to stop the shouting, and shoots off a couple of firecracker sounds from his wand, bringing the room to silence.
"Arguing is pointless. We have a serious issue at hand to discuss," Kingsley said.
Dumbledore, secretly grateful to Kingsley for stopping the arguing, then speaks up, saying, "Kingsley is right. With Harry missing, Voldemort will grow more bold. We must find Harry before it is too late."
Tonks then speaks up, "But you said that the Grangers also seem to have left from their house. Perhaps they convinced the Dursleys to let Harry go on holiday with them. From the sounds of it, the Dursleys would love any chance to get Harry out of the house."
"Perhaps, but nobody who has been on guard duty at Privet Drive reported seeing the Grangers," Dumbledore responds, and Tonks nods in response, conceding the point.
Sirius then speaks up. "I think the most likely choice is that Voldemort must have sent someone after him, and they took him. However, I concede that Voldemort would likely already be parading this victory around if he had done so, so perhaps not. Still, I will not stand by until we have found my godson!"
"We know you are worried, Sirius, and will do what we can to find him," Dumbledore, trying to placate Sirius.
Sirius bristles a bit at that comment, but Kingsley then speaks up. "Harry couldn't have left Britain on his own, probably not even England itself, unless the Knight Bus took him somewhere, and we already know that didn't happen. I suggest we focus our search on England itself for the moment. If we cannot find him in England, then I suggest expanding our search to likely sites where the Ministry or Voldemort could be holding him."
Dumbledore nods, completely unaware that this was Kingsley's attempt to get the Order to confine its searches to the borders of Britain to avoid them potentially turning their attention towards the United States. "I agree with Kingsley. I will plan out specific search patterns to attempt to locate Harry. Until then, I encourage you all to conduct your own individual searches. Kingsley, Tonks, Arthur, I want you to keep careful watch at the Ministry and listen for any hint as to whether or not the Ministry have arrested Harry."
Dumbledore then looks at Sirius and says, "Don't worry, Sirius. We will get your godson back." Sirius nods, a firm expression on his face, but inside his head he is laughing to himself while thinking, Good luck trying to even find him, let alone get past the US Magical Border Patrol.
And I'll end the chapter there. I originally had planned for this to be a bit longer, but decided to do the rest of the events I had planned for this chapter in a separate chapter, which will be the next one.
Next chapter should be up within the next few weeks. Until then, please leave a review, and stay tuned!