Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter after a short break..

Let's get to it.

stacygrrl2002: First, how are wizards going to track him by Internet? Also, why are American magical news outlets just going to brodcast news of Harry's games around the world? As for your overall point, MACUSA didn't intend to keep Harry hidden forever. They're now hoping Dumbledore and the British Ministry will notice him. They want to see if they can draw them to try and pursue Harry into America so they can expose them.

Cateagle: Yes, it is in Texas. They talk about the team in the book Quidditch through the Ages.

Chapter 10- First Strike

(September 12, 1995)

In his office within the MACUSA complex, President Smithson is in the middle of a phone call with one of two ambassadors he recently sent to the headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards.

"When is your meeting with Supreme Mugwump?" Smithson asks.

"Tomorrow morning. However, the meetings we've had with officials so far have proven fruitful. The written testimonies from Black, Shacklebolt, and Potter have proven very convincing. We've managed to a get a few officials on our side for now. Whether or not we can convince the Supreme Mugwump, we'll have some surveillance on the British Ministry," the ambassador says.

"Very good. Keep me updated, and call me as soon as your meeting with the Supreme Mugwump is over tomorrow. Understood?" Smithson says.

"Of course, Mr. President," the ambassador says before ending the call.

President Smithson leans back in his chair, thinking about the current situation. Things are moving slowly, but surely. MACUSA and the CIA have been working to build a case against the British Ministry while beginning covert operations against Voldemort. Their next step had been to get to work convincing the International Confederation of Wizards of the truth of what was going on in Britain, both with the Ministry and Voldemort.

As Smithson considers his next appointment in a short time with the head of the Body for the Protection of Magical Species, his phone begins to ring. Picking it up, he answers, "President Smithson."

"Good evening, Smithson," he hears the voice of President Clinton on the other end.

"Mr. President," Smithson responds respectfully.

"What word from the ICW?" President Clinton asks.

"Still too early to give an overall result, but initial efforts seem to be working. Our ambassadors are confident that the Supreme Mugwump will be at least partly convinced, if not fully," Smithson responds.

"Good," Clinton responds. After a moment, he says, "Also, I received word from General Folgeman. Operation Dragon Breath is underway. He says time to target should be about 1 hour from now."

"Good. Even though this will be a good test, it'll be a good first real blow," Smithson says.

The two continue to talk for a few more minutes, discussing a few other topics, but constantly on Smithson's mind is the operation underway across the ocean.

(Almost an hour later, British airspace)

In his cockpit, Major Darrell Zelko carefully monitors his instruments. As he looks back out of the cockpit, he hears his radio come to life as a controller's voice calls over a restricted radio frequency, "Dragon-13, Sentry Alpha. Picture clean. Weapons free. Cleared to advance to target." The controller is aboard an American E-3 Sentry currently flying on a training mission over Scotland, but is secretly helping him on his mission.

"Sentry Alpha, Dragon-13. Copy. Weapons hot. Dragon Attack," Zelko calls back to confirm he is about to start his bombing run.

Zelko is a pilot with the 49th Fighter Wing, and is flying an F-117 Nighthawk. Zelko is a Gulf War veteran, and an experienced attack pilot. Now, he is flying on a top secret mission to start actual combat operations against Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

The CIA had managed to identify a hideout used commonly by the Death Eaters: Nott Manor, the manor owned by the Nott family. After presenting the information to President Clinton, Clinton had ordered an airstrike against the manor to destroy the manor and remove it's usefulness to Voldemort, as well as kill all Death Eaters currently hiding there.

However, there was one concern: violating Britain's sovereignty. Although Britain was a fierce ally, the CIA and President Clinton were concerned about Voldemort or Dumbledore having sources embedded in the British government, primarily through use of the Imperius Curse. They did not yet want to break the truth to the British government at large, but felt it was important for someone to know. Therefore, President Smithson had traveled to London and secretly met with Queen Elizabeth, who of course knew of the magical community. After explaining to her the situation and the need for secrecy, the Queen had agreed to keep the secret, and also granted her approval for covert strike operations to be carried out, provided they went completely unnoticed by the British military. And so, the airstrike on Nott Manor was cleared to proceed.

As it turned out, a number of F-117s were scheduled to deploy to Britain to exercise with the RAF. In secret, the Air Force had Zelko, one of the pilots scheduled to deploy, stay behind a bit under the excuse of mechanical difficulties. However, instead, he was given orders to carry out an airstrike on Nott Manor on his way to England. Given he was flying an F-117, the British could not track his movements, and would enable Zelko to carry out the airstrike without arousing suspicion.

Now, Zelko is just 5 minutes out from his target. In his bomb bay are a pair of 2,000 pound GBU-27 Paveway laser guided bombs. With their high explosive power and bunker busting capabilities, they were expected to be more than enough to destroy the building.

Zelko starts counting down the time left before he reaches the drop point. Zelko goes through a few of his systems, making sure everything is all set, and tests his targeting laser to make sure that it's ready to go. It takes him less than a minute.

Zelko holds his F-117 on a steady course as he approaches Nott Manor. Flying at 10,000 feet, he can just see the lights of the manor on the ground ahead of him. As he sees the lights of the manor disappear under his nose, Zelko switches on his targeting laser again. Scanning the targeting screen, Zelko quickly locks the laser onto Nott Manor and fires the laser, painting the manor in laser light.

With the manor in his sights, Zelko flips the switch to open his bomb bay. The bay doors fold open, revealing the two GBU-27s. Then, Zelko presses the pickle button, and with soft clanks, both bombs are detached from their racks and fall from the F-117. Zelko then closes the bomb bay doors before getting on the radio and calling out to the Sentry, "Dragon-13, weapons away. Proceeding to base."

As Zelko turns his F-117 towards the air base where he is scheduled to land very soon, the two bombs fall silently towards their target. Down on the ground, the Death Eaters at Nott Manor have no idea they are under attack. They hadn't even heard the F-117 over the night sounds.

With no warning whatsoever, after less than a minute of falling, both bombs impact the manor within half a second. The bombs impact within a 30 foot circle almost dead center in the middle of the manor. Both bombs easily break through the roof of the manor and through the upper floors before hitting the ground floor. The bombs penetrate about a foot into the ground of the main floor before their warheads detonate.

A little less than a mile away, two American wizards working with the CIA are watching the manor with binoculars and a video camera to document the effect of the airstrike. As they watch the bombs impact, a second later, they hear the sounds of both bombs exploding as they watch the sides of the manor explode outwards, fragments of wood, brick, and glass flying out in all directions as the fireballs mostly burst up through the roof of the manor. In about two seconds, the entire manor is crumbling to the ground.

The two wizards share a triumphant laugh and high five. One of them then gets on his radio and calls back to the site they're operating out of, "This is Felix-31. We have a good hit. Manor is completely destroyed. Expect no survivors. No sign the inhabitants were aware."

"Copy that. Very good. Clear to inspect the ruins once the flames have died down," a controller at the CIA hideout responds over the radio frequency.

Within minutes, news of the successful airstrike is at CIA headquarters at Langley. As he hears the news, Director Deutch is very pleased. The test has gone perfectly, and confirmed that the US can carry out strikes like this without alerting wizards and witches to the attack. If this success can be continued, the conflict will be relatively easy to resolve. But only time will tell, and Deutch knows Voldemort isn't stupid. Eventually, he'll think up counters. He knows that ending this conflict quickly depends on destroying Voldemort before he can get too smart as to what's going on.

And, I'll end the chapter there. It was a short one, but I mostly wanted to show how the US is starting to really move their campaign outside US borders. Also, this may not be the last time we see the US using F-117s to bomb targets in Britain related to Voldemort or Dumbledore.

Next chapter will be up in a few weeks. Until it's up, please leave a review, and stay tuned.