OF ALLOYED HEARTS

CHAPTER 2:

A WIZARD AMONGST AUTOBOTS

Arcee could tell that this Harry Potter had gone through a lot of scrap, or at least he was putting on a hell of an act. She couldn't rule out the latter, but he seemed to think he was once human, and she'd seen the same look in his eyes in the optics of some of the test subjects the Decepticons had experimented on. Especially the likes of Shockwave, but Knock-Out was also infamous.

He was a lanky, scrawny thing, with a messy mop of black hair, emerald eyes, and a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead, faded. He also seemed to speak with an English accent. Analysis seemed to suggest he came from somewhere in the Greater London Area.

Looking at him, you couldn't say he was a Cybertronian or a hybrid. She couldn't sense any Energon signal. In fact, the only signal they found was in a tracking device implanted in his body, one Ratchet had extracted while Harry was unconscious, then sent via Groundbridge to some isolated part of the world. The Australian Outback, if she recalled the coordinates correctly. The tracker wasn't Cybertronian, though. It was human, albeit immensely advanced. They had images and schematics from scanning it that they were going to send to Agent Fowler, their liaison with the Unit:E organisation and thus the US Government.

She was sitting down next to Harry's bed, more for his sake than to rest her own legs. Bumblebee had left for his quarters. Meanwhile, Ratchet was bustling around, dividing his attention between the medical monitors and the comms array, ready to deploy a Groundbridge to bring Optimus and the others back home.

Home…Arcee nearly laughed bitterly at the Primus-damned irony. She'd spent far less time on Earth than on Cybertron, and it was one of the most alien worlds she had ever been on. Not that organic life was uncommon, or lifeforms in the general shape of humans or Cybertronians. And they had to remain hidden, from the humans and the Decepticons.

Yet while they were engaged in a war in the shadows against the 'Cons, fighting over the Energon that seemed to be showing up on this world…it was far less fraught than how it used to be on Cybertron. Before that world died, before their kind, Autobots and Decepticons both, were scattered across the cosmos in a diaspora. Even now, they couldn't be sure whether the Autobots here on Earth were the only ones left in the universe. Half a dozen, all told, while the 'Cons had more, even when not counting their Vehicon drones.

But this planet felt more welcoming in some regards. Less dangers, at least to Cybertronians, interesting varieties of organic life, and the culture of the humans was fascinating. She could see why Optimus admired them, even if she felt they had a dark side that rivalled the worst of their kind. Ratchet didn't think so, but he was a curmudgeonly old bot who was a little prejudiced against organics in general anyway. The others were other matters entirely to varying degrees.

"…So," Harry began, looking to her, "where do you guys come from?"

"Cybertron, or at least that's how our world's name translates to English," Arcee said. "It's a pretty long way away. What about you? I'm guessing from the accent you're from around London."

"I…used to live in Surrey with my…guardians," Harry said, his tone suggesting this was not a happy memory for him.

"Surrey, huh? We've been to Britain a few times. Used the Groundbridge to head over there. Plus, the TV shows are fun to watch during downtime."

"…Groundbridge?" Harry asked.

Before Arcee could reply, they heard Optimus' voice come over the comms. "Optimus to base. We need a Groundbridge at our coordinates."

"Understood, Optimus. Our guest is awake, by the way, and he's somewhat lucid," Ratchet said. "His name is Harry Potter. Hopefully, he'll be up to answering questions, but he looks traumatised. If my hypothesis is correct, and he's been the subject of experimentation, I can't blame him."

Arcee nodded in agreement to herself. For all Ratchet's distaste towards organic lifeforms, it wasn't the same as the Decepticons' contempt towards organics. He was a medic, and he detested seeing suffering in most life-forms, and he certainly despised the likes of Shockwave with his cruel experiments.

Optimus replied, "Acknowledged."

Arcee looked to Harry, even as she stood, carefully picking up his bed (the medical sensors being wireless) and carrying it to the platform Fowler usually used to speak with them, to allow for eye-level talks. "You're about to see a Groundbridge in action," she said, with what she hoped was a reassuring tone…

Harry wasn't sure what to make of this situation. Here he was, the guest if not the captive of alien robots. He was a fugitive from Magical Britain, and he was no longer wholly human. The only reason he was keeping it together was that Arcee at least seemed friendly. That, and he wasn't tied to this hospital bed. He wondered why they had a human-sized hospital bed in a base for giant alien robots, but decided that was a question for another time.

His thoughts were interrupted when a tunnel leading out of the chamber suddenly was filled with a swirling vortex of green light, like something out of Doctor Who or Stargate. It was a thing of eerie beauty. Eventually, a trio of vehicles came through: a crimson car with metal bull-horns as a hood ornament; a massive Humvee; and a large articulated lorry in red and blue, carrying a semi-trailer.

While the articulated lorry drove off with its semi-trailer into another part of the base, the two other vehicles transformed into more giant robots. The Humvee became a bulky, blocky robot in green and brown, while the car turned into a crimson robot with the metal bull-horns on his head. They moved over and peered at Harry. "So, he's awake?" asked the crimson one.

"Yeah. Harry, this is Cliffjumper, my patrol partner, and the big lug is Bulkhead. Don't worry, they're friendly," Arcee said. "Don't crowd him, you two."

They seemed friendly enough, and curious. It struck him repeatedly how…well, human they acted. In most science fiction he had seen, most robots acted coldly and logically, or else like ruthless destroyers. True, C3P0 and R2D2 from Star Wars acted very human, or at least emotional, with Threepio acting as a pedantic, nervous bureaucrat, and Artoo being childish, but for the most part, they were inhuman. Yet these ones…if he just heard their voices without the flanging, he'd think them to be human.

Of course, three years of being experimented on under McCullen's aegis wouldn't go away anytime soon. Even when he escaped, he found Dumbledore and the others waiting for him. And while he had no real reason to suspect his friends of any real wrongdoing, or Sirius or Remus…Dumbledore and Snape were other matters entirely. Even if McCullen had been lying, his time spent in his cell meant that he had time to think, to look back on his prior interactions with Dumbledore and Snape…and he found them wanting.

And the thing is, when he accused Snape of leaking that prophecy McCullen had claimed…Snape's first action was to fire a Stunner at him. If nothing else, McCullen told the truth about that much. He was so tempted to breathe fire on him then and there…except he knew that his friends, what few of them he had left, would be burned away. So he flew, using that dragon form to fly far away. He'd somehow cloaked himself.

He was shaken from his reverie when the articulated lorry from earlier drove back into the chamber, and transformed with that distinctive staccato buzzing and clanking noise he always heard whenever they did this. The robot that formed was primarily red, with a blue helmet-like head. Yet as much as it had been with Arcee, Harry was struck by the gentleness of the robot's approach. As if every step was calculated to be the minimum force necessary.

The robot then met Harry's gaze solemnly. Indeed, when he spoke (Harry recognising the voice from earlier communications), it was with a tired, weary and solemn tone, yet gentle, deep, paternal, and powerful. "Greetings, Harry Potter. I am Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots."

"Uhh…hi?" Harry said uncertainly, waving his hand in tentative greeting, and hoping this wasn't a rude gesture to alien robots. Though he thought 'Optimus Prime' was a ridiculous name.

Most of the Autobots chuckled, including Optimus and Arcee. Ratchet didn't, simply typing away at a computer. Optimus then turned to Ratchet. "I've loaded the Energon crystals into the refinery system. Thankfully, we have retrieved all of them. If the Nemesis returns, they won't find anything."

"A small victory if nothing else," Ratchet conceded.

Optimus then returned his gaze to Harry. In a way, he reminded Harry of Dumbledore, or how he used to view Dumbledore. He hoped that wasn't a bad thing. "Forgive me, but I needed to bring Ratchet up to speed on the situation. In war, logistics can make or break an army, even one as…small as this one."

Harry looked around at them. "I dunno, I think anything short of a nuke would only leave a scratch."

"You overestimate our durability, or the strength of our enemies' weapons, Harry Potter. But that is not what we wished to speak of. Arcee's report, and Ratchet's analysis of your physiology, have raised many questions that we would like answered. I won't force you to answer those questions, but keep in mind, the Decepticons may not be so kind. Starscream may have been scared off, but his cowardice is matched if not exceeded by his cunning and ruthlessness, and there are other Decepticons who may find a way to capture you."

"And if they do so, they will probably vivisect you," Ratchet remarked. "Cut you open while you're still alive."

"Ratchet!" Arcee snapped, even as Harry began panting in fear and distress, overwhelmed by memories of what happened to him at the hands of Minerva at McCullen's orders. "Was that necessary?"

"To emphasize the dangers the Decepticons pose to his wellbeing, yes," Ratchet said. "The boy is traumatised, true, but he needs to understand what may happen, and coddling him won't help. Besides, he's an adult by human standards."

"Even so, Ratchet, there are more tactful ways to put it," Optimus rebuked his subordinate, before returning his gaze to Harry. "But it is true. However, I give my word that I will do what I can to protect you, and, if I can, send you back home."

Harry scoffed. "…They betrayed me. I don't have a home to go back to. The number of people who actually care about me, I can count on my fingers and have enough left over to flip people off with both hands."

"…Could you please explain, Harry?" Arcee asked, sitting down next to him. "The fact is, you're an unknown factor to us as much as we are to you. Then, we'll explain as much as we can to you."

"…It's a pretty unbelievable story."

Cliffjumper scoffed. "Harry, you're amongst robots who are alien to your world, and can transform into vehicles. If you told people, they'd think you were crazy. Don't worry, we'll listen…"

Arcee was grateful to her patrol partner for that. It could have sounded like a threat, but Harry had taken it well. So, tentatively at first, he explained.

It turned out that he was a wizard, or at least what the people on this planet thought of as wizards. He did demonstrate by using a spell to bring one of Ratchet's tools to his hand, the medic and scientist amazed and interested despite his irritation. There was a whole hidden society of wizards and witches, and she knew Optimus would be making plans to discuss this with Fowler.

However, tragedy struck Harry early in life, too early. A warlock known as Voldemort (birth name: Tom Marvolo Riddle), someone who sounded too much like Megatron if not worse, had been terrorising the magical community of Britain. He attacked the Potter home, murdering Harry's parents, but somehow, Harry survived, possibly through his mother's sacrifice.

Harry had become famous before he turned two. Yet he was left, away from his fame, with relatives, relatives whom, given his tone and curt refusal to discuss them, hadn't treated him well. He only learned the truth when he turned 12 and gained an admittance letter to Hogwarts, a school for learning magic.

Yet Voldemort wasn't quite dead. Somehow, he survived as a wraith, a ghost. And four years ago, he enacted a plan that would allow him to regain a physical body. Harry was roped into a magical tournament against his will as part of an overly-elaborate (in Arcee's opinion) trap that ended with him and a rival being transported to a graveyard. Said rival was promptly murdered by the man who betrayed the Potters' location to Voldemort, a man Harry made the mistake of showing mercy to.

Voldemort regained his body, and then duelled Harry in front of his followers, the Death Eaters. Harry narrowly escaped with his rival's body in tow. However, the Death Eaters, who comprised much of the higher-ups in Magical Britain, framed Harry for the rival's murder. A farce of a trial ensued, and Harry was sentenced to life imprisonment in the wizards' hellish prison, Azkaban.

Only, one of the corrupt members of the Ministry of Magic, Dolores Umbridge, secreted Harry away, bringing him to a man called James McCullen XXIV, also known as 'Destro'. McCullen was known publicly as an arms manufacturer and dealer, whose family was notorious for selling to both sides if they could turn a profit, but privately, he had links to the magical community, running a secret organisation called Minerva. An organisation that was established by one of the wizarding world's most notorious figures, Gellert Grindlewald…and the man who allegedly vanquished Grindlewald, Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts.

Harry refused to go into detail about what happened there. All he knew was that he was the first successful subject to be hybridised with alien robot husks that McCullen facetiously dubbed 'Metaltrons(1)'. It was fairly obvious, given what happened, that McCullen had Cybertronian corpses in his possession: there had been a few battles on Earth in the past over caches of Energon left here in ancient times. He probably retrieved them from those battle sites, violating what amounted to Cybertronian graveyards.

However, one day, Harry was able to escape, after over three years of experimentation. He found Voldemort and many of the Death Eaters present, and transformed into his Predacon form, incinerating them. And when he escaped the facility, he found his friends and loved ones waiting…along with Dumbledore and Snape. And from there, things got messy.

All of which led to him ending up at that quarry. He'd instinctively fed on the Energon, somehow being able to absorb it. But he didn't know what he had become, only some sort of robotic monster.

As he said these words bleakly, and began to sob, that watery lubricant humans used on their eyes glistening, Arcee gently rubbed his back. "Harry, look at me." As he did so, she asked, "I know we only just met, you haven't had time to get to know us, but…do I look like a monster? Do the others?"

He looked around, before he shook his head mutely. "Then you're better than a few humans we've had contact with," Arcee said. "Some thought we were monsters from the get-go. No, I'm hoping that you're exactly who you say you are, a young man who's been through too much scrap for my liking."

"Indeed. While Pretenders and Predacons are feared amongst our kind for good reason," Optimus said, "whatever was done to you did not seem to remove your morals. You only attacked those who attacked you, and would have seen you dead or worse. Assuming, of course, you are telling the truth. I have lived for a long time, Harry Potter, and, sadly, fought for much of my life. That has been more than long enough to accumulate a lengthy list of mistakes and regrets, and I cannot say I can detect deception perfectly. But…I feel that you are. A Predacon would never think of something so elaborate as a cover story, and a Pretender would come up with something more plausible, and you have elements of both, it seems."

"…So what now?" Harry asked.

"Now, we tell you our story, in brief if nothing else," Optimus said. "And then, we can have you situated until we can discern what to do next…"

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. Harry's met the other Autobots and relayed his story.

In many ways, Optimus and Dumbledore are much alike. They're both relatively pacifistic and give too many second chances to the undeserving. However, I think Optimus would beat Dumbledore in some important regards as a leader. Firstly, fighting, while not a first resort, is also not a last resort for Optimus, and he will kill if necessary. Secondly, Optimus isn't as much of a hoarder of secrets as Dumbledore is, AFAIK.

1. This is my nod to Doctor Who: Dalek. With Destro taking cues from Henry van Statten, I thought I'd make a few other nods. In fact, Destro watched the new series and thought the name amusing, so used that as a placeholder name.