[CHAPTER FIVE]

The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters was to Albus like a mini Hogwarts. Except that the large country house was cleaner and brighter than the Scottish castle could ever be even with magic. It was no fault of the house elves, Hogwarts just like being like that. The ancient look gave the castle character.

His portkey had dropped them outside the Ministry building at the Woolworth building where he'd used his influence to get them a ride to Xavier's school in one of the ministry cars.

He had been amused through the journey by Fury's reaction when the cars had squeezed in between other cars so they wouldn't be detained by traffic. The look of favorable exasperation the man had expressed when the car became invisible and levitated to reduce the time of their journey will forever be with Albus, but it was nothing compared to the look of greed that had flicked through his eyes when he'd regarded the expanded space in the limousine.

Anyway, here they were, standing before Xavier's grand château. The gates opened on their own accord as they approached. Dumbledore wondered if that was the work of engineering or a telekinetic gatekeeper. Seeing no one around, so surmised it to be technology.

They were met at the entrance of the building by a bald man sitting in a wheelchair. Behind him stood a stunningly beautiful woman with white hair.

"Director Fury," the man said. Albus noticed his eyes analyzing all his guests before he turned them to Nicholas. "To what do I owe this unnotified visit?"

"It'd be best if we speak in your office, Charles," Fury said.

"So this is not a social call, I take it?" Xavier asked and got a nod from Fury. He turned his wheelchair around and began to lead them into the building. "Follow me then, let's adjourn to my office."

They followed the two mutants and were led through the building. Albus took in the many sights it had to offer and would admit that the mix of technology and country home architecture made the place unique.

"Wonderful place you have here," he commented.

Xavier smiled politely. "Thank you..."

"Dumbledore, Albus Dumbledore," he responded and was surprised when the lady accompanying Xavier snorted. Even Fury was trying, and failing, to conceal a smirk.

Albus knew some found his name funny, he didn't mind as he was proud of the name, which by his efforts, have left a mark in the Wizarding World. While it would not be surprising for the whitehead lady to find it funny Albus didn't understand why Fury who already knew his name was also looking amused.

Is there an inside joke concerning my name that I'm not aware of? He wondered.

Xavier must have noticed his perplexed state at the reception his introduction got. "This is Ororo Munroe, she is a colleague. Forgive her reaction to your name, the way you introduced yourself is reminiscent of a pop culture reference." At Xavier's explanation Albus brightened up. The muggle pop culture was something he was familiar with, though not proficient in, due to him keeping up with the Muggle world by means of their numerous newspaper establishments. "In regards to the introduction, I believe we overlooked that unknowingly. My name is Professor Charles Xavier, I'm a Psychologist, and a pacifist when I'm provided the opportunity."

"The redhead's a witch currently under my employ, the other redhead is a magical director and Albus has already introduced himself," Fury said simply.

Albus frowned. "How rude." He admonished Fury and was sad to see the man didn't look the least affected by his reproachful tone. "Forgive Nicholas, Mr. Xavier. I don't think he's taken well to being led around spontaneously today. The lady beside him is Professor Patricia Rakepick, and the other lady which she shares filamentary features with is Lady Amelia of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Bones, she's also the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement if you are familiar with the Ministry of Magic."

"I have heard about your Ministry and somewhat have a connection to your world," Xavier said, and though Dumbledore so much wanted to pry he restrained himself. They needed Xavier to find Harry so he shouldn't upset the man... not until Harry's been rescued that is. "I must say, though, I never expected you to still be alive, Mr. Dumbledore."

Albus was very thankful that he didn't have one of his lemon drops in his mouth at that moment else he certainly would have choked on it. "Why would you expect me to be dead?" He asked, surprised. Did this man know him from somewhere before?

"An... acquaintance of mine had a run in with you during the Second World war," Xavier answered in a polite manner that absolved him of any thought that his comment had been unkind. "Erik told me about your prowess with a wand and by the way he described you, you were a bit past your prime even then."

"Ah! Well, a strong enough wizard can live up to two hundred years in a peaceful society. The lady who took my NEWTS exam when I was a young boy of seventeen is after all still supervising examinations till date," he explained. He had the attention of Ms. Munroe, Xavier, Fury, and even Rakepick but he didn't expatiate further. "So you are acquainted with Mr. Lenscherr? How is the young man doing these days?"

Xavier cleared his throat and the benign expression he'd maintained ever since cracked and Dumbledore saw something he'd ever seen in a mirror. It was a look of guilt at the fall of a friend. "Erik sadly lost his way, Mr. Dumbledore. We are not exactly on speaking terms nowadays."

"How unfortunate," Dumbledore said. Lenscherr had held so much promise. It's always a sad thing to see men with potential fall, to watch them succumb to the embrace of the darkness, depriving the light and humanity in general of the great deeds they could have accomplished.

Nothing more was said for the rest of the journey towards Xavier's office and when they got there Dumbledore found another acquaintance from the past waiting for them.

"James," he said in surprise. "Still as young and spry as ever I see."

"Do I know you, old chap?" James asked, confusedly.

"Eh, Logan here had a bit of a memory loss, Mr. Dumbledore." Xavier jumped in before things could go downhill. "I assume you knew him before."

"He and Steve Rogers assisted us in taking down many of Grindelwald's facilities and apprehending his Lieutenants during the war," Dumbledore revealed, looking at Wolverine in wonder. It was simply magical to see that the man hadn't aged a second since Albus last saw him. Things like these were among the few things that made him laugh at ignorant and misguided wizards like Voldemort and his Pureblood followers who could not see the greatness of muggles.

Xavier admitted them into his office and offered them seats. When he asked if they needed refreshments they turned him down as they were in a bit of a hurry. Every minute spent dallying meant that Harry spent longer in the hands of this Essex man.

"Enough with the pleasant talks, Chuck," Logan said. "Why did you telecall me and who are these weirdos? I recognize Nick of course, but who are the others."

"It must be true then that you can't remember me," Dumbledore said and all he got from the wolfish mutant was a scowl. "Do you at least remember magic?"

"I've had run-ins with a few wizards. Might have had a fling with a Magical Native once," Logan admitted. "They are your lot aren't they?"

"Indeed," Dumbledore said distractedly. He was busy going through James' mind to see the muggle born girl he'd had relations with. The memory was fuzzy because the mutant had been seriously intoxicated. But at least Dumbledore got a name—Helga Navikov. Albus was simply just curious to see if their time together had resulted in an issue. He'd like to see what a magical mutant would look like, especially one who may possess the healing factor and other abilities of the Wolverine. He made a mental note to investigate this Ms. Navikov later on.

"So what are you lot here for?" Logan continued his question, earning himself a stern look from Xavier.

"That's what we'd have gotten to if you hadn't started speaking, Howlett," Fury said. The Director and the impatient Logan were both glaring at each other.

Amelia shook her head at both men and brought her attention to Xavier. "We came here to request your help, Professor Xavier," she informed.

"My help?" Xavier asked, puzzled. "Well then, what assistance do you require from me?"

"Over a week ago, a young wizard was kidnapped by a man called Nathaniel Essex..."

She hadn't even finished when Logan let out a long string of expletives. Fury arched his brow. "You know him?" He asked Logan.

Logan growled. "Know him and would like nothing more than to put a claw in his chest."

"Maybe you can help us broaden what we know about Essex then," Fury stated more than asked.

Logan scowled and it was obvious to everyone in the office that he was holding himself from displaying his rage at hearing Essex's name. "Those who respect him, his allies, call him the Genegineer. His enemies call him Mr. Sinister..."

Xavier was the one to interrupt this time. "Are you sure that Sinister and Essex are the same person?" Logan nodded, looking anything but unsure. "Erik once told me of running into a Mr. Essex who had been a relief doctor in Hitler's concentration camps. Even then he wasn't a child. He must be really old now."

"As old as dirt, 'can always smell it on him," Logan confirmed.

"Could it be a mutation?" Ms. Munroe opined, looking from Xavier to Logan.

Logan shrugged. "Don't know, he could be. I only know that he's a telekinetic and a telepath. Nothing at your level Charles, barely able to do more than your average magical with both skill sets."

Dumbledore blinked and wondered if muggles thought levitation and summoning charms were telekinesis. In a manner of speaking they were and at the same time they weren't.

"Anything else you can tell us about his skills or how he thinks?" Fury queried, staring at Wolverine unblinkingly.

"He is an engineer, alright, both genetical and mechanical. He has techs that can do the most horrible things to mutants. I heard he is capable of energy projection but never saw it with my eyes. He's also been killed before but as he's still kicking we can assume it was double, probably a clone." Seeing the surprise on their collective faces he gave them a grave nod. "Yes, Sinister is so good that he's able to clone. He was the one who gave Weapon Plus the tech to clone Laura, Charles."

Xavier sighed and leaned back into his chair. "Some of this I know already about Sinister, but others like his real name I'm just finding out now," he admitted. He then brought his gaze to Amelia. "You said he kidnapped a young wizard."

"Indeed, Harry Potter," She said.

Charles eyes widened a bit and he placed his hands on his knees as though meaning to lean forward. "Any relation to Charlus Potter?" The bald Professor asked.

"He is Charlus' grandson," Dumbledore responded. He eyed Xavier with hidden suspicion. "Why? Do you know him."

"Harry Potter, no," he said, "but Charlus... Charlus I knew. He, Flynn and I were business partners. Though unlike us Charlus didn't own a company as he was too busy managing his magical assets. He did own shares in EMCOM, Xavier, and Stark though. Still does in fact, the shares are properties of the House of Potter."

"By Flynn do you mean the Kevin Flynn? The missing CEO of EMCOM?" Rakepick asked, looking very much shocked.

"Yes. Do you know him?" Xavier enquired.

The DADA Professor harrumphed. "Is there anyone who doesn't know Flynn?" She replied.

Xavier nodded in agreement. "So you said Essex took Charlus' grandson?"

Dumbledore barely resisted smiling. It was good that Charles Xavier was already thinking of Harry as his old friend's grandson. It will deepen his commitment in finding the boy.

"Indeed," Fury said. "With Albus help we were able to track them to one of the hundreds of isles in Canada."

"I can provide you with the coordinates," Dumbledore offered.

"That will be helpful," Xavier said, "but I must first know what part you want me to play in rescuing the Scion of House Potter."

Fury gave Rakepick a nod and she took over the explanation. "Are you familiar with the Fidelius charm, Professor Xavier?" The redhead witch asked.

Xavier nodded in answer. "Some of Charlus properties were protected by the Fidelius charm. Most of them were built here before the development of America, far before the colonization. Now some are in the middle of urban centers. When the Potters had noticed modern cities developing around properties, of which most are magical castles, they immediately did what they could to secure these properties and uphold the statute of secrecy later on." He paused and ran his eyes over their group. "Let me guess, this island is being protected by the Fidelius, isn't it?"

"Not the island itself but a Department K base on it. We are managing to fool the charm by concentrating on the dockyards and convincing ourselves that Potter is there," Fury said. He brought out a pager and showed it to them. "Our computers aren't fooled by the Fidelius as according to our magical experts the charm only affects aerobic organisms. If the address had been written on a paper before the charm was cast, or stored in a computer, they'd still retain that information but the second a person reads it they forget immediately. I'm being reminded by the pager every fifteen seconds about the base's location. Focusing on the dockyard just help me center my mind on the island itself before I'm then reminded of the base as soon as I forget about it."

Albus hummed in marvel. "Ingenious," he proclaimed, once more astounded by muggles' unconventional modus operandi.

"Indeed," Xavier concurred, "but this method is only advantageous if you know beforehand that a property is about to go under a Fidelius or if you had the address stored and stumble on it. Even then you will need a telepath to help you focus your mind on the location even with the brief reminders you'd set."

The bald Professor squinted at Fury in suspicion. Fury, noticing the look, only grunted to confirm the man's assumption.

"So what do you want Charles to do?" Ms. Munroe asked them.

"Since it's not the whole island that's under the Fidelius, we'd like if he could use the island as a starting point to find the base. And when he does that, he will not only confirm that Potter is there, but also steal the secret from his mind and share it with us," Professor Rakepick explained.

Xavier was quiet for a long while, making Dumbledore wonder if the man was going to turn them down. He was relieved when the man didn't. "I'm going to need Cerebro," he informed them.

"We thought as much," Rakepick admitted.

"I will call an Auror to wait for us at the Quebec Ministry," Amelia said, getting up. "We move once the Professor have managed to find us the secret."

"Hold on," Xavier said, "is Mr. Potter the secret keeper?"

"No," Rakepick said, confused. Then she blinked, seeming to understand where he was headed. "He must have been told the secret by the secret keeper anyway. And if one can get their hands on a paper written by the secret keeper, a memory of the secret being divulged, or a recording of the keeper voicing out the secret, then they will be clued in. What you will be doing is taking the memory of the secret being shared with Potter by the secret keeper."

"Ah, I never knew that about recordings. The memory aspect I assumed when you informed me of my role earlier," Xavier said. He shook his head and looked up at Director Bones. "Anyway Director, have your Aurors come here. We will be leaving with the Blackbird. It's much quicker. This way we will all leave together and not have to make any stop off."

The director blinked back confusion. "What is the Blackbird?"

"It's a jet." Was Xavier's simple answer. Simple it may have been yet it did nothing for the Lady Bones confusion.

Albus knew what a jet was so he tried to assuage Xavier of the burden of explaining aviation to a Pureblood witch. "They are swift planes, Amelia, and planes are like house sized hollowed out broomsticks that fly at..."

"I know what planes are, Albus," Amelia cut him off.

"What do they say about assumption," Logan whispered to Ms. Munroe, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear him. The black woman and Fury smirked while Rakepick snickered and Xavier could be seen to be barely holding back a smile.

Albus didn't get the reference but he made a mental note to look it up once he had the chance. There was after all a nice laptop, which he was still learning how to operate, in his private muggle cabin in the Caribbean.

Xavier gave Logan a look of exasperation and turned back to Amelia when the wolfish mutant sniffed and looked away at the admonishing look. "Just have your Aurors come here, Director. It will make our journey quicker and not hinder our coordination," he said to the woman and got an agreeing nod from her. She summoned a badger Patronus and sent it back to the British Ministry Auror department with a message for the Hit Aurors Captain. "Now will you all like to accompany me to Cerebro's control room?"

Xavier received no rejection to that offer. They all accompanied him, though because of their numbers it took two elevator rides, carrying different groups, for all of them to reach the sub central part of the chateau.

Located there was a circular vault door which Xavier opened with a device that scanned his eyes. Albus wondered for a moment if he could replicate such a security system with magic. But for that he may need to know what exactly the scanners take note of in someone's eyes.

Professor X preceded them in entering the room after motioning for them to follow him. The chrome walls and lighting gave the chamber a technological feel, but it was when Albus stepped into the room proper he was simply shocked. He'd of course read about the ENIAC, one of the muggles first electronic computers. As it appeared, this Cerebro was far more advanced than the ENIAC but was almost its rival in size.

He was so fixated on the computer that he missed Xavier rolling up to it and picking up a helmet that was connected to it. He settled his attention on the Professor as the man wore the helmet and closed his eyes.

There was stark silence as they watched the man do what he did best. Some held their breath as the anticipation increased the longer the man remained silent yet Albus noticed that both Ms. Munroe and James didn't look the least worried. They must have seen Xavier do this countless times.

"What are the coordinates, Mr. Dumbledore?" Xavier asked.

Dumbledore whipped out his wand and wrote the coordinates in midair while thinking the word Flagrate. The coordinates appeared on the air, written in fiery numbers.

"Thank you," Xavier said without opening his eyes. For some reason Logan grunted distastefully.

Albus gave him a quizzical look prompting the man to explain. "He used my eyes to view the coordinates. I'm not comfortable with people being in my mind," he said simply.

Rakepick gave him an amused look. "Who ever is?" She asked.

"I've found the island." Xavier's voice broke the chit chat.

"Can you tell us the secret now?" Fury asked.

"There is no secret. It is a modified Fidelius charm. At least that's what the current Director of the Department thinks. Sinister was the one who directed their hired mages on what to do when they applied the charm. Anyone in the building when the charm was applied don't need to be told the secret and as long as they never leave there is never a risk of them forgetting the base. None of them were told the secret and Sinister is the secret keeper."

"Fuck," Logan swore, earning himself a reproachful look from Amelia and Ms. Munroe.

"Didn't Logan say Essex is just an immature telepath," Rakepick questioned and Logan nodded, "why don't you just reap the secret from his head?"

"I don't reap secrets from people's heads," Xavier said, corrigibly. "I will see about taking the secret from his mind."

"Deceptive old men," Rakepick said in a low tone. Albus would never be able to explain why she was looking at him as she made that statement.

Suddenly a calm but sinister voice blared in all their minds like an audio playback. "Department K Project Titan's Base is on Cameron Island."

Albus nearly shuddered in revulsion at having someone go through his mental shields like they were intangible. If he had been reserving any doubts about Xavier's psychic might then that action just wiped them off.

"Damn," Fury swore, "I am going to get back at those bastard for messing with my mind "

"Oh my goodness," Xavier exclaimed, and tightened his hands on the armrests of his wheelchair.

Amelia Bones took two steps forward in concern. "What is it?" She asked, frantically.

"I knocked Sinister out when I was taking the secret but before then, through his eyes, I was able to see him and someone I considered a friend doing the most horrible things to Mr. Potter," Xavier said, eyes still closed. "And I may have worsened it by knocking Essex out."

"What are you talking about Charles we need clarification," Fury demanded, slowly getting worked up.

"Gamma rays, Nick, they are blasting the boy with gamma rays."

Receiving the clarification they sought the muggles in the room suddenly became deathly still.

"Eh, what are gamma rays?" Amelia asked. Albus was also curious to know.

"No time," Ms. Munroe snapped. She moved forward and placed a support hand on Xavier's shoulder. "What did you mean by you might have made things worse, Charles?"

"From what I'm getting from my friend's mind, the radiation blast should only have lasted for two minutes. Sinister was the one holding the lever that controlled the ejection of the radiation. Me incapacitating him made him unable to cut off the blast at the right time. Mr. Potter spent five minutes under it before my friend pulled the lever. From what I'm seeing through her eyes now Mr. Potter is still screaming when, according to her, he was supposed to stop once the blast had been cut off." Xavier paused then continued. "He's changing. Fury it'd be best if you begin the rescue mission as soon as possible. Logan, Ororo, go with them. Take Hank and the others with you. You all are going to need as much firepower as you can get because there is a slight chance that a magical Hulk might soon be gracing our world. In the meantime I will try to see if I can calm Mr. Potter down before he finishes changing."

Furry had his phone out immediately and started making calls. Amelia sent out another Patronus telling her Auror force to hurry up. Albus sent off his own Patronus summoning the Order of the Phoenix. He made a portkey with a conjured rope and called for Fawkes. When the bird appeared he sent it with the portkey to the Weasleys, where he had told all the members of the Order to gather in his Patronus message.

Logan and Ms. Monroe looked after Charles for a while before they both straightened and started heading towards the door. At that very moment, Xavier opened his eyes and they saw familiar green irises, then Professor's mouth cracked open and let out an unholy scream that reverberated around the mansion.