"Fate Twice Defied" - Chapter 19 - Know Thine Enemy
A quick turn-around for this chapter. Good to have the creative juices flowing a little faster than a trickle. Question is, will it continue? I should mention, I do welcome suggestions.
Title: Fate Twice Defied
Chapter Title: 19 - Know Thine Enemy
Fandoms: Harry Potter/T: Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: Harry Potter/John Connor
Story Rating: PG-13
Chapter Word count: ~5,983
Warning(s): Spoilers for "Terminator: Salvation", coarse language.
Summary: The summer following 5th year, Harry Potter decides to start looking out for No. 1, and that included a change of scenery. Meeting another boy with similar problems, was NOT the idea. xover with Sarah Connor Chronicles. SLASH! eventual HarryxJohn
Disclaimer: See first chapter
Chapter Summary: Students return to a much-changed Hogwarts; Harry's Occlumency lesson with Snape is not what he expects; Voldemort's Death Eaters flex their muscles in Muggle London; Harry and Voldemort have a much more lengthy chat, and the Dark Lord has to question some of the things he learns from the Boy-Who-Lived.
19: KNOW THINE ENEMY
Before they realized, it was September 1st. Save for a few minor details, the temporary home for Hogwarts was complete, and in the early hours of that morning, it saw the first arrivals from Wizarding Britain.
It was decided that the students would be brought to the island via port keys, accessed at King's Cross Station in London. As each group arrived, they would be checked by staff to make sure they A) did not bring with them tracking charms or other methods which would expose the island's location, or, B) were themselves a direct threat to the school or its population-for many, this was a subjective opinion, as a number of people were allowed into the school that some did have an objection to. A large list of people already fit that description, and any who dared set foot on the island, would find themselves bounced back to England, without any memory of their attempt.
Once the last of the groups had arrived just before six o'clock pm, Minerva led that year's batch of first years into the great hall, from the large anteroom. It was one of the many things left virtually identical to the original school. That also included the four long tables and the staff table; it was decided that for the welcome feast, it would be best to keep things set up as they normally would be.
Minerva led the group of first years up the centre of the room, and lined them up in front of the dais, to face the rest of the school. She then placed a three-legged stool in front of them, on which sat a tattered wizard's hat. It lay there motionless for a few seconds, when a rip near the hat's brim opened wide as if it were a mouth, and it began to sing:
A millennia or so ago,
four wizards of great stature,
united together and built a school
to teach future witches and wizards.
Gryffindor took the brave of the lot,
while Ravenclaw took the smart;
Slytherin took the shrewd of the lot,
while Hufflepuff took the rest.
But how to sort them came the question,
and Gryffindor gave the answer,
"Let us use a cap such as mine,"
and pulled me off his head.
Instilled with brains, as I was,
I'm able to take a peak,
it'll only take a moment,
but I'll tell you where you belong.
Thus has been the standard,
for over a thousand years,
without fail through peace and strife,
Hogwarts remained unfazed.
This year we find that standard broken,
as Hogwarts thus lays empty,
for deadly foes are closing in,
and lay an inch from victory.
I must again repeat my warning,
deadly foes are closing in
we must unite inside her,
or we'll crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you..
Let the sorting now begin.(1)
"The hat always sings at the beginning of the year?" questioned John. Harry nodded, as Minerva summoned the first student, "Abbington, Justin." John watched as the small, dark-haired boy sat on the stool, and the hat was placed on his head. Moments later, the hat proclaimed, "GRYFFINDOR!" The table erupted into loud applause, as the boy made his way over to a vacant spot near the end.
"That's it?"
"It just has a brief look at your personality," said Hermione, as the sorting continued, with a small girl with honey hair taking a seat and donning the hat. It barely touched her head when the hat proclaimed, "RAVENCLAW!" The group once again applauded the girl, although not with the same enthusiasm.
After, "Warrington, Dean" was sorted into Slytherin, Minerva then called, "Fisher, Travis."
"Huh?" Travis was surprised.
"Well, if you're attending the school with us, it's only proper, mate," Harry grinned. Travis only shrugged, and stood up. As he made his way up to the stool, Minerva announced, "Mr. Fisher has transferred in from Nipigon Wizards' Institute in Canada." Travis sat down on the stool, and put on the hat.
"Let me see," came a voice.
"Huh?" Travis was slightly startled, he hadn't expected the hat to actually TALK to him!
"I mean no harm, Mr. Fisher, only to have a look. Now, where to put you… lots of courage there, but, ah, yes, I see much cunning, perhaps a little bit of deviousness present… you would do well in Gryffindor, but, no, I think you will do better in-"
"Wait. No, don't put me in Slytherin. I know Gryffindor isn't as good a fit, but… I need to help Harry and his friends," said Travis in a rush. He heard the hat let out a laugh. "It is rather ironic that you would protest against Slytherin. Do ask Mr. Potter about that. For now, let me sort you then," then spoke for the entire room, "Better be GRYFFINDOR!!" To which there was a great cheer from the red and gold table.
Smirking slightly, Minerva collected both the hat and the stool, while Albus stood up. "Good evening, or for most of you, good morning! I do hope your travel here was none too difficult, and I do apologize if that may have been the case. Now, I will have a few words for you, but in the meantime, do tuck in!" With that, the tables were instantly filled with numerous items that would fit at just about any time of the day. There had been argument as to exactly what to serve at the welcome feast, considering most students would have left London between five and six in the morning, the FOLLOWING day-keep in mind, it's twelve hours' difference from London to the island.
"Harry, that Malfoy dude's glaring holes in your back," said John between bites.
"Where has he been anyway?" questioned Ron, who had actually been polite and swallowed his food before speaking for a change.
"Merlin only knows… I mean, Snape is watching him, I guess," answered Harry, with a shrug, "Doesn't mean he's gonna be nice to me, though, no matter what Snape says… not that I expect him to."
"My warning to him still stands," said Travis, darkly, "He stirs up shit, I'll curse him a new asshole." He took a gulp of pumpkin juice. "God, this all you guys have to drink?"
"I guess, why?"
"Well, I mean, at Nipigon, we have Muggle soda drinks, juices of all sorts, you know."
"Travis, this is Hogwarts, even if we've been displaced. It's still served by the same house elves," answered Hermione, matter-of-factly.
"Well, they were serving us those things before."
"Dumbledore likely put a stop to it," guessed Hermione.
"I'll ask him. One of the points of this is to make some progressive changes, right?" said Harry. There were nods of agreement.
"So Mr. Fisher, you're gonna be attending classes with us?" questioned a fourth year girl further down the table.
"Yeah, I transferred from Nipigon."
"Welcome to Hogwarts, mate," spoke a third year boy from the Hufflepuff table across the isle. Travis smiled. "Thanks."
That seemed to be a cue for Dumbledore to again rise and stand at the lectern. "To our new students, welcome to Hogwarts! To those returning, I say welcome back!" He seemed to pause, collecting his thoughts. "This summer has brought about a truly mortal threat to both Hogwarts and the Wizarding world as a whole. Those threats have forced myself and the rest of the staff to take very serious measures to protect the integrity and security of Hogwarts, and most importantly, the lives of each and every person in this room.
"You experienced the first of those very grave security measures, given the extraordinarily early hour at which you needed to arrive at Kings' Cross station. It is imperative to the security of the school no one, not even yourselves, know the exact location of it. Do not attempt to uncover its secret, you will only be wasting your time.
"The next part of our new security procedures here at the school involve ill-will between students. Far too long, it has been allowed to continue, and in many cases, escalate. True, it is my own fault this has continued, but given the grave state we find ourselves in, that kind of behaviour will no longer be tolerated.
"Disputes that end up with injuries to one or both parties will be investigated, and the penalties severe." Albus looked directly at Draco as he spoke. "As a young man recently pointed out, British Wizarding society must change, if we are to prevent a future dark wizard from taking over where Voldemort will leave off. I cannot in good conscience allow that sort of future for those of you in my charge." He looked at Travis and Harry as he spoke those words.
"Further, there will be Aurors patrolling the school at all times. If you do see or hear anything suspicious, I expect you to locate either one of them or a teacher, and report it. Communication is an absolute necessity if we are to remain safe. I do also remind you that no one should be out of bed after hours, unless you have permission to do so. I do also expect you to adhere to any extra security precautions laid out by your teachers, no matter how difficult they may seem. It is truly for your safety.
"Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that magic is not to be used in the corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, including anything that can be purchased from Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. The full list of banned items has been attached to the caretaker's door." A murmur of voices filled the room, but Albus held up his hand. "Tomorrow morning, you will receive, along with your class schedules, a map of the school, as many things have changed locations.
"There is one staffing change this year, or perhaps two, although they are connected. I would like to welcome back Professor Lupin, who will be once again teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Black will be assisting him where needed, and Harry Potter has also informed me he will be continuing his Defense club he formed in secret last year."
Of course, no one really caught the last bit, as a gasp let up from the students. "Sirius Black?!" cried one. "What's that murderer doing here!" shouted another. "I thought he died…" came a third, along with dozens of other protests.
"SILENCE!" Albus bellowed. The room fell quiet. "I can quite assure you, Professor Black is innocent of all charges, as the acting minister of magic has declared. There is enough pensieve testimony to acquit him of all charges, and that will be done as soon as it is safe to do so." Albus paused again. "Given the state of the government currently, no amount of evidence to the contrary would ever grant Professor Black a fair trial. We are once again back to the old issues at hand: our society must forcibly be changed, or change will never happen."
"Indeed, Professor." Albus turned to see Amelia standing in the doorway to the antechamber.
"Minister." He acknowledged.
"If I might address the body," spoke Amelia. Albus nodded, and the acting minister of magic stepped up to the lectern. "Good evening, students. As the acting minister of magic, I do confirm the words of headmaster Dumbledore, in all aspects. We are truly in a state of war, as a number of you have realized personally. I do feel for your losses, it is tragic at any level.
"As all of you are a section of society as a whole, there will no doubt be issues among you. I warn all of you, as Albus already has, disruptive actions, dangerous actions on your parts, will be met with harsh consequences. Some of my best Aurors are present in the school, and have been instructed to deal with trouble decisively and swiftly. Do not test them, I implore you." With that, Amelia stepped back from the lectern. Albus quickly returned to it. "Further to some of the security changes within the school, a number of other changes have also been made, in the interest of better inter-house relations. You will see the first of those major changes as you arrive at your dormitories this evening, that being the removal of common rooms within them. As well, as you will find tomorrow morning at breakfast, the long tables at which you are now seated, will be replaced by a number of smaller circular tables. Feel free to sit where you like.
"With all of that said, if we all work together, we can still truly advance and gain another amazing year of magical education. And with that, off you go to your dormitories. Prefects, if you will…"
Harry, John, and Travis followed Ron and Hermione, as they led the rest of the house to the dormitories. Unlike the original Gryffindor location, it involved traveling DOWN rather than up. The dormitories for all four houses were on the outside of the building, with classrooms and public areas in the centre.
Ron and Hermione finally stopped at a familiar painting.
"Password?" questioned the fat lady in the portrait.
"The bold and the brave," answered Hermione, and the portrait swung open.
"All right, everyone, inside. There isn't a lot of room, so move straight to the back so everyone can fit," Harry directed.
Truly, it was a bit of a squeeze, as the 'lobby' for the dormitory was just that. There were only a few chairs and no fireplace, although it was tastefully decorated in Gryffindor colours. Once everyone was settled, Hermione began, "Welcome to Gryffindor house. Normally we would only hold the first years, but as you all do see, there have been some changes."
"Will there still be quidditch this year?" questioned a third year boy.
"Unlikely," answered Harry, "Given the circumstances, we don't have the room." More than a few faces looked disappointed at the word.
"As Professor Dumbledore announced at the feast, you will receive a school map with your class schedule at breakfast tomorrow. The school has changed a great deal as you have seen just from us walking here. Do try to remember how we got here."
"Why didn't he give it to us at the feast?" questioned Justin.
"We don't want anyone wandering the corridors just yet," answered Travis, "Take the time to get settled, get to know some of your classmates. Now's one of the times to do it."
"Why don't we have a common room, though?" Questioned a second-year.
"So you're forced to use the public common rooms," answered Travis, "At Nipigon, our dorms are set up almost the same as here. There's only a small lobby like this one, and the idea is that you meet up with your friends in the public areas of the school. It's meant to reinforce inter-house relations."
"But, what if we only wanted to discuss something with our own house…" the student challenged.
"People always find a way."
"Isn't that the truth," Harry muttered, while the questions continued.
"All right, let's get back on track," said Hermione, finally, "The dormitories themselves are set up the same as Gryffindor tower was. The boys' staircase to the left, the girls to the right. Boys are reminded they can't get into the girls' dormitories, the staircase is charmed to prevent it, so I suggest you not test it."
"So, what do we do now?" questioned Justin, trying to stifle a yawn.
"Now, it's time for bed," answered Travis, "You'll all need a good night's sleep, you'll have a full day of classes tomorrow."
Once the rest of the house had made their way up the stairs, Ron, Travis, Harry, and John made their way up to the 6th year boys' dormitory. They found Dean, Seamus, and Neville already settling in. The room was circular, with an old-fashioned stove in the centre of the room, and six four-poster beds arranged against the outer wall. A number of windows were charmed to reflect the outside, and the waning light of the evening.
"Now I strongly suspect none of you will be heading to sleep anytime soon," said Dean.
"And you'd be right," answered Harry, "I still have Occlumency with professor Snape, among other things."
"And I'll have prefect duty at nine," noted Ron, as he unpacked a few things from his trunk.
"I'll be heading to the library, and maybe track down my boyfriend," said Travis, with a smirk, then gestured at John. "Coming?" Harry had to suppress a smirk of his own, as he followed the pair out of the dormitory.
Severus' classrooms were at the opposite end of the building, 'To be as far away from Gryffindor as possible', as he had put it. The potions classrooms were also directly beside the greenhouses, as potions and herbology did go hand in hand, after all. At least there wouldn't be need to go outside in the dead of winter-not that that would really matter, being so close to the equator. Harry paused at the door to the potions classroom, then knocked.
"Come in," came Severus' voice. Harry pushed the door open, to find Severus was not alone.
"Potter," said Draco, his voice absent of sarcasm, which Harry noticed.
"Malfoy… What do you want?"
"To join your defense club, of course," answered Draco, matter-of-factly. Harry almost choked. "You must be joking! If you think…"
"Potter, if you will hear me out, gods you can be as thick as Weasel sometimes!"
"Don't call him that!" Harry shouted, then softened, remembering there was a third party listening in, "Why should I let you into our group, considering the absolute nightmare you've been to me and my friends? How many times you've called Hermione a mudblood to her face? You want me to just forget all of that?! I can't."
"Potter! If you'll just listen for a moment!" Draco yelled, sounding exasperated, "I was almost KILLED this summer due to my naivety! My G-- …professor Snape showed me exactly what it meant to be in the Dark Lord's service, and I know, I truly know that is not what I want to be."
"Wow, you mean to tell me that the ice prince of Slytherin actually has a heart? I'm half-impressed," said Harry. Draco nodded, and continued, "I know I've been downright nasty to you… but… I thought I was right and you were wrong-"
"Switching horses mid-stride, then? Why should I let you? How do I know this isn't some ploy on your part to undermine us from the inside out?"
"Look. Potter, I've lost everything. I have no family, and right now, most of Slytherin is looking like they're ready to murder me in my sleep."
"So you want me to save your skin. I'll need to think about this, see what Ron, Hermione, Travis, and my partner have to say about it. Professor, can you insure of his safety tonight?" Severus nodded. Harry turned back to face Draco. "Let me get back to you tomorrow, then."
"Now that you two are done, perhaps we can get to the real purpose of you being here-"
"He's learning Occlumency too?" questioned Harry. Draco nodded, and Severus continued, "Yes, and he's almost as far along as you are, Mr. Potter." Harry nodded in understanding.
Harry was glad when the lesson was over; Draco proved to be a horrible distraction, considering his revelations. Severus berated him on the less-than-par session, saying, "You must not allow yourself to be distracted, Potter. The Dark Lord will slice through your defenses like a hot knife through butter."
"I know, sir, I know!" Harry answered, frustrated.
"You are practicing on your own?" Harry nodded. "Do keep at it, and perhaps start working with Weasley and Granger."
"I will, professor."
"I do believe, then, our lesson is at an end for tonight."
"Now that school is starting up again, when should we meet again?"
"Thursday, same time," Severus decided. Harry nodded, bid Severus a good night, and apparated back to the combination library and computer lab. It was decided the two areas would do better combined.
"Harry! I thought we weren't going to be able to apparate within the school," said Hermione, surprised.
"Bill configured the wards to allow it internally, but not across the wards themselves, so he said," answered Travis, looking up from his computer.
"So someone couldn't apparate in from outside," John guessed. Travis nodded.
"There are also a few rules governing apparating into classrooms and so on," said Remus. He and Sirius were both seated at the large conference table that separated the library and the computer area.
"Welcome back, Professor," Harry smirked. Remus smiled, as did Sirius, and they turned back to the pile of parchment spread out between them.
"Don't you guys have an office for that sort of thing?" questioned Harry.
"We do, but it's more entertaining seeing what my godson's up to," answered Sirius, with a smirk of his own.
"Okay. Guys, you're not gonna believe the conversation I just had with Malfoy," said Harry.
"What did the brainless wonder have to say this time?" questioned Travis.
"He wants to join our defense club."
"He what?"
"NO, Harry, absolutely not!" Hermione declared.
"If you'll wait a moment," said Harry, producing his wand and summoning a pensieve from one of the private storage cabinets. "Let me show you…" He drew out the memory, and placed it into the pensieve.
"Still, Harry, we can't trust him, you said it yourself… what if it's a ploy to hurt us from the inside?" Hermione pointed out.
"At the same time, I don't want him dead either… I mean, there's been enough times I've wished him bodily harm… but never dead. And if we just leave him to his own devices, that's exactly what might happen… I guess it's my hero complex or whatever-"
"No, it's doing what's right," answered Sirius, "Your parents would be very proud of you, Harry."
"John… what do you think?"
"I don't know-is there a way to… to force him to be civil… what about making him take a wizard's oath or something?"
"It would have to be worded very carefully," Hermione mused, "But we could. Get him to sign a magical contract barring him from… certain behaviors."
"I strongly doubt that's gonna do any good," Travis snorted, "He's a bully. Plain and simple. If it were me, I'd throw him to the wolves. Think about it, Harry, if the tables were turned, would he give you any quarter?"
Harry thought about that for several moments, but came back to the same conclusion. "I can't answer that. All I know, is what I think, and what I feel in my heart. If he's killed by his house mates, and I could have prevented it… it's just not something I want on my conscience."
"Can't Snape protect him?" questioned Travis.
"It's not just at night," Harry pointed out, "And I still don't get why Dumbledore allowed obvious Voldemort sympathizers and future Death Eaters into the school in the first place!"
"His warning tonight was very clear, Harry," Remus reminded, "Any kind of attack on another student will be dealt with very severely."
"I don't see why the headmaster would want to take such a risk," said Marcus. He had been working with Cameron at a separate machine, but had obviously listening in on the conversation. He pulled up a seat at the conference table.
"He tries to see the good in everyone, no matter what their past, Mr. Wright," answered Remus. Marcus nodded, seeming to understand.
"We'll put him on a short leash," Harry decided, "Who knows, the slimy Slytherin might have his uses."
"Just hope I'm not the one saying 'I told you so'," said Travis, pulling out his pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out, and lit it.
"It's unlikely he'll try anything, considering at least one adult will be attending the club," Sirius noted, "Whether it be one of us, or Bill, there won't be an opportunity." Just then, Sarah rushed into the room. "You need to see the T.V." she said, looking very concerned. Travis nodded, gesturing at the centre of the conference table with his wand, summoning a large monitor. "What channel?"
"BBC News." Travis gestured a second time with his wand, and the desired station came up. At exactly the same time, the nearest fireplace flared up red flames, discharging a paper airplane that sailed over to the conference table. Hermione expertly caught it, and unfolded it, revealing the latest edition of the Daily Prophet.
"MUGGLE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT LEVELED" The headline proclaimed. The image accompanying the headline matched what they were seeing on the television: a mass of smoking wreckage that once was the British houses of Parliament. Surprisingly, the famous 'Big Ben' still stood, although the tower had sustained serious damage.
"…ABOUT AN HOUR AGO. WITNESSES REPORTED SEEING A SERIES OF DARK SHAPES THAT RESEMBLED SMOKE, AND WHAT WAS FOLLOWED MOMENTS LATER APPEARED TO BE A TREMENDOUS GREEN EXPLOSION THAT LEVELLED THE BUILDING. POLICE ARE SEALING OFF THE AREA, WITH FIRE AND RESCUE ALREADY STARTING TO COMB THROUGH THE SITE FOR SURVIVORS. THE HOUSE OF COMMONS AND THE HOUSE OF LORDS WAS LUCKILY STILL IN SUMMER RECESS, OR THE CASUALTY COUNT WOULD BE MUCH HIGHER… AND THIS JUST HANDED ME… YES… POLICE HAVE NOW CLOSED THE WESTMINSTER BRIDGE, LAMBETH BRIDGE, LAMBATH PALACE ROAD, ABINGDON STREET, PARLIAMENT STREET, VICTORIA EMBANKMENT FROM BRIDGE STREET TO HORSE GUARD AVENUE…"
"Bloody hell," Harry swore, as they watched the ugly footage.
"He did the same thing where I came from," said Sirius, "The year after the tournament. It pushed the Muggle government to…"
"Heavily invest in artificial intelligence," Marcus finished, "They purchased a bunch of state-of-the-art equipment from Cyberdyne's U.K. branch."
"How quickly are we talking?" questioned Travis.
"The attack happened November 11th, the equipment was operational by the beginning of 1996," answered Marcus.
"How did you know about that, Sirius?" questioned Harry.
"We knew that based on meetings with the Muggle Prime Minister. Or third-hand knowledge, at least."
"Thing is, what do we do about it?" questioned Travis, who then took a long drag off his cigarette.
"Nothing," answered Remus, "It's something that's half a world away."
"We will have to deal with Cyberdyne sooner rather than later, though. If they create Skynet, they have to be put out of business."
"Blanket memory charms, make sure no one can follow-" Harry began, and John burst out laughing. "What?"
"Dude. That's what mom said, like three years ago."
"Ah, but you didn't have magic on your side, Mr. Connor," Sirius smirked.
"Riiiiight. Uh huh… and from how I'm seein' it now, there's fucking wizards BEHIND Skynet in the first place!"
"But Sirius said it… you didn't have magic in your corner until now. We can make a difference," Hermione pointed out. John only nodded in understanding.
oOo
Harry's scar seemed to burst open, tearing him out of his comfortable sleep. In an uncomfortable case of déjà vu, Harry found himself, not in a comfortable warm bed, snuggled up beside John, but locked in the coils of an enormous serpent with red eyes-bound so tight he could barely breathe.
"Your defences have grown a little stronger, I'm actually slightly impressed," the snake hissed.
"Piss off," Harry wheezed.
"Oh, I won't take much of your time, Potter. You must realize, I could crush the life out of you right now, but what would be the sport of that?"
"Fine, what do you want?"
"This morning was only a taste of what I will do, Potter, as I now realize you are most likely somewhere on the other side of the world."
"And that's exactly where I'll stay, Tom."
"Do NOT use that name, Potter," Voldemort hissed.
"Or you'll kill me?"
"I think you know what I'm capable of, do not test me." Harry felt the coils momentarily constrict, making it impossible to breathe. "I could bring you to the brink of death, heal you, repeat the process, until you are but a shell. I daresay, your Muggle boyfriend might have objections to you being in that state, would he not?" The coils relaxed, and Harry drew in a deep breath, stars still dancing in front of his eyes. "N…no," he managed.
"That's much better," Voldemort spoke, as the snake suddenly vanished, replaced by his more familiar form. Harry carefully stood up. 'Concentrate', he thought, 'This is my head.' POOF! The stone room they had been in suddenly became a close representation of the old Gryffindor common room.
"Most impressive, Harry," said Voldemort, noting the sudden change of scenery, "You are learning."
"Snape's become a great teacher," Harry wheezed, still feeling light-headed from the lack of oxygen. It was getting better by the second, however.
"Indeed, interesting I am no longer able to reach him."
"And if not for this cursed connection we share, you wouldn't be able to reach me either." Voldemort seemed to think on that for a few moments, before saying, "It is our destiny, Harry. The offer I made the first time we met, it still stands."
"Why? Why would I want that? Why would I want to throw away everything I have, to in effect destroy the world? That's what you will do." Harry collapsed onto one of the couches, still feeling a little light-headed. Voldemort only nodded, and took a seat facing him.
"I doubt that very much, Harry. I only seek to improve our world-"
"By killing people just because they aren't 'purebloods'?"
"Muggles are a threat to us, Harry, surely you must see that."
"No, I don't. If anything, we threaten ourselves, acting stupidly. Muggles only act out of fear, fear of what they don't know. And your actions most definitely scare Muggles."
"Which is why they must be destroyed," Voldemort argued, "We are better than they are."
"Do you have any idea how ludicrous that statement is? There's nearly six BILLION Muggles on the planet. How do you intend to kill them all?"
"You lie."
"I swear on my magic," said Harry, gathering courage. This had been the longest conversation he had ever had with his nemesis. Voldemort only nodded, seeing the yellow hue envelop Harry briefly and vanish. The boy was telling the truth, and it was unsettling. Six BILLION Muggle filth walked the earth? "So, what will happen if we were to somehow kill them all? Which is very unlikely, but… let's say we do it… then what? There won't be enough of us to keep the species going, let along our magic."
"That is what you mean when you say, destroy the world?"
"No," answered Harry, causing Voldemort to start, "There is a fate much worse. Do you want to see it? One of my new friends showed me the future… our future. My friends are probably going to hex me for showing you this, but…" Harry sighed. Voldemort nodded again, and Harry thought very carefully of the memory Marcus had shown him recently.
The memory was clearly through Marcus' eyes, as he stood in the remains of a convenience store. Close by him, was a young girl of six or seven, maybe eight years old really pushing it. To his right, a roughly dressed black man with a beard was protesting, "It's our food, it's our fuel! It's not your choice to make!"
"Are you okay?" An elderly lady with white hair was asking. The young girl's eyes suddenly went wide, as the entire building began to shake, and moments later, something smashed through the back of the building, and snatched two of the people standing about.
As Marcus ran from the building, the culprit behind the attack became clear: a monstrous machine that more closely resembled a giant insect, with multiple arms for snatching people-and that was exactly what it was doing. Between blasting the scene with balls of energy, it was rounding up the fleeing humans, dropping them into some sort of hatch on its back.
"Star!!" A young man was yelling, "Star?!"
A group of humans attempted to flee in several hidden vehicles, but the machine seemed to account for that as well, as they were quickly destroyed by more beams of energy from the machine.(2)
Harry blinked again, cutting the scene short. "They kill wizards just as quickly as Muggles. Shortly after the turn of the twenty-first century, Muggle computers decide humans are a threat to it, and start exterminating us. The future where some of my friends have come from… we're barely existing."
"How… When…" The Dark Lord appeared disturbed by what he had just witnessed.
"You did it. Or one of your Death Eaters. I'll ask you again. Do you really want to destroy the world?"
Harry sat up with a start. 'What the hell was that?' he thought, his heart pounding madly in his chest, and his shirt sticking to him, he was covered in sweat. Yet, he did know what had just happened. The question was, would he regret what he had just disclosed?
oOo
Voldemort was actually shaking. His nemesis had actually scared him. Not that he would ever admit it, yet, what he had just witnessed was beyond his wildest nightmares. Muggles, unleashing machines that would utterly destroy the world? The boy's magical oath proved he was speaking the truth. Making his way into the library at Riddle Manor, not even bothering to listen to several Death Eaters groveling for his approval, he sat down heavily in a chair in front of the fireplace.
Perhaps, a little bit of research was in order. Find out exactly what kind of contraption would mimic that of Harry's memory. What was the Muggle word, technology? He vaguely remembered listening in on discussions between other boys at the orphanage… yes, that was what they called it. More importantly, then, to find out how technologically advanced Muggles actually were, as much as it loathed him to admit it. Know thine enemy.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:I've seen a few complaints at FictionAlley about authors not writing a sorting hat song at the welcome feast if they cover it. It's not the best, but it's better than nothing at all, I think. I did spend well over an hour working on it, just the same ;-)
Sorry, no school song, but as it was not sung in canon 6th year, I did not use it here either. According to JKR (ref'd through the HPL), the school song was not used during times of crisis.
Why the houses of parliament? It's Voldemort. He's making a statement. A very loud statement. Instead of the destruction of the Brockdale bridge earlier in the summer, he's waited until the start of the school year. Luckily-or unluckily, depending on which side of the fence you sit on, he doesn't know about parliament's break for the summer.
As for Harry's disclosure to Voldemort, the question is now, what will the Dark Lord actually do with this piece of information. Of course, never mind the reaction of Harry's friends, the Order, and so on… beware of fall out from this! *smirk*
(1) A couple lines of the sorting hat's song have been borrowed from OOtP. It just really suited for them to be repeated.
(2) Dialogue and descriptions taken from "Terminator: Salvation", © 2009. Warner Bros, etc, etc. I take no credit for its use.
Previous Chapter: 18 - The Messenger
Next Chapter: Student/Teacher
Table Of Contents
Title: Fate Twice Defied
Chapter Title: 19 - Know Thine Enemy
Fandoms: Harry Potter/T: Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: Harry Potter/John Connor
Story Rating: PG-13
Chapter Word count: ~5,983
Warning(s): Spoilers for "Terminator: Salvation", coarse language.
Summary: The summer following 5th year, Harry Potter decides to start looking out for No. 1, and that included a change of scenery. Meeting another boy with similar problems, was NOT the idea. xover with Sarah Connor Chronicles. SLASH! eventual HarryxJohn
Disclaimer: See first chapter
Chapter Summary: Students return to a much-changed Hogwarts; Harry's Occlumency lesson with Snape is not what he expects; Voldemort's Death Eaters flex their muscles in Muggle London; Harry and Voldemort have a much more lengthy chat, and the Dark Lord has to question some of the things he learns from the Boy-Who-Lived.
19: KNOW THINE ENEMY
Before they realized, it was September 1st. Save for a few minor details, the temporary home for Hogwarts was complete, and in the early hours of that morning, it saw the first arrivals from Wizarding Britain.
It was decided that the students would be brought to the island via port keys, accessed at King's Cross Station in London. As each group arrived, they would be checked by staff to make sure they A) did not bring with them tracking charms or other methods which would expose the island's location, or, B) were themselves a direct threat to the school or its population-for many, this was a subjective opinion, as a number of people were allowed into the school that some did have an objection to. A large list of people already fit that description, and any who dared set foot on the island, would find themselves bounced back to England, without any memory of their attempt.
Once the last of the groups had arrived just before six o'clock pm, Minerva led that year's batch of first years into the great hall, from the large anteroom. It was one of the many things left virtually identical to the original school. That also included the four long tables and the staff table; it was decided that for the welcome feast, it would be best to keep things set up as they normally would be.
Minerva led the group of first years up the centre of the room, and lined them up in front of the dais, to face the rest of the school. She then placed a three-legged stool in front of them, on which sat a tattered wizard's hat. It lay there motionless for a few seconds, when a rip near the hat's brim opened wide as if it were a mouth, and it began to sing:
A millennia or so ago,
four wizards of great stature,
united together and built a school
to teach future witches and wizards.
Gryffindor took the brave of the lot,
while Ravenclaw took the smart;
Slytherin took the shrewd of the lot,
while Hufflepuff took the rest.
But how to sort them came the question,
and Gryffindor gave the answer,
"Let us use a cap such as mine,"
and pulled me off his head.
Instilled with brains, as I was,
I'm able to take a peak,
it'll only take a moment,
but I'll tell you where you belong.
Thus has been the standard,
for over a thousand years,
without fail through peace and strife,
Hogwarts remained unfazed.
This year we find that standard broken,
as Hogwarts thus lays empty,
for deadly foes are closing in,
and lay an inch from victory.
I must again repeat my warning,
deadly foes are closing in
we must unite inside her,
or we'll crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you..
Let the sorting now begin.(1)
"The hat always sings at the beginning of the year?" questioned John. Harry nodded, as Minerva summoned the first student, "Abbington, Justin." John watched as the small, dark-haired boy sat on the stool, and the hat was placed on his head. Moments later, the hat proclaimed, "GRYFFINDOR!" The table erupted into loud applause, as the boy made his way over to a vacant spot near the end.
"That's it?"
"It just has a brief look at your personality," said Hermione, as the sorting continued, with a small girl with honey hair taking a seat and donning the hat. It barely touched her head when the hat proclaimed, "RAVENCLAW!" The group once again applauded the girl, although not with the same enthusiasm.
After, "Warrington, Dean" was sorted into Slytherin, Minerva then called, "Fisher, Travis."
"Huh?" Travis was surprised.
"Well, if you're attending the school with us, it's only proper, mate," Harry grinned. Travis only shrugged, and stood up. As he made his way up to the stool, Minerva announced, "Mr. Fisher has transferred in from Nipigon Wizards' Institute in Canada." Travis sat down on the stool, and put on the hat.
"Let me see," came a voice.
"Huh?" Travis was slightly startled, he hadn't expected the hat to actually TALK to him!
"I mean no harm, Mr. Fisher, only to have a look. Now, where to put you… lots of courage there, but, ah, yes, I see much cunning, perhaps a little bit of deviousness present… you would do well in Gryffindor, but, no, I think you will do better in-"
"Wait. No, don't put me in Slytherin. I know Gryffindor isn't as good a fit, but… I need to help Harry and his friends," said Travis in a rush. He heard the hat let out a laugh. "It is rather ironic that you would protest against Slytherin. Do ask Mr. Potter about that. For now, let me sort you then," then spoke for the entire room, "Better be GRYFFINDOR!!" To which there was a great cheer from the red and gold table.
Smirking slightly, Minerva collected both the hat and the stool, while Albus stood up. "Good evening, or for most of you, good morning! I do hope your travel here was none too difficult, and I do apologize if that may have been the case. Now, I will have a few words for you, but in the meantime, do tuck in!" With that, the tables were instantly filled with numerous items that would fit at just about any time of the day. There had been argument as to exactly what to serve at the welcome feast, considering most students would have left London between five and six in the morning, the FOLLOWING day-keep in mind, it's twelve hours' difference from London to the island.
"Harry, that Malfoy dude's glaring holes in your back," said John between bites.
"Where has he been anyway?" questioned Ron, who had actually been polite and swallowed his food before speaking for a change.
"Merlin only knows… I mean, Snape is watching him, I guess," answered Harry, with a shrug, "Doesn't mean he's gonna be nice to me, though, no matter what Snape says… not that I expect him to."
"My warning to him still stands," said Travis, darkly, "He stirs up shit, I'll curse him a new asshole." He took a gulp of pumpkin juice. "God, this all you guys have to drink?"
"I guess, why?"
"Well, I mean, at Nipigon, we have Muggle soda drinks, juices of all sorts, you know."
"Travis, this is Hogwarts, even if we've been displaced. It's still served by the same house elves," answered Hermione, matter-of-factly.
"Well, they were serving us those things before."
"Dumbledore likely put a stop to it," guessed Hermione.
"I'll ask him. One of the points of this is to make some progressive changes, right?" said Harry. There were nods of agreement.
"So Mr. Fisher, you're gonna be attending classes with us?" questioned a fourth year girl further down the table.
"Yeah, I transferred from Nipigon."
"Welcome to Hogwarts, mate," spoke a third year boy from the Hufflepuff table across the isle. Travis smiled. "Thanks."
That seemed to be a cue for Dumbledore to again rise and stand at the lectern. "To our new students, welcome to Hogwarts! To those returning, I say welcome back!" He seemed to pause, collecting his thoughts. "This summer has brought about a truly mortal threat to both Hogwarts and the Wizarding world as a whole. Those threats have forced myself and the rest of the staff to take very serious measures to protect the integrity and security of Hogwarts, and most importantly, the lives of each and every person in this room.
"You experienced the first of those very grave security measures, given the extraordinarily early hour at which you needed to arrive at Kings' Cross station. It is imperative to the security of the school no one, not even yourselves, know the exact location of it. Do not attempt to uncover its secret, you will only be wasting your time.
"The next part of our new security procedures here at the school involve ill-will between students. Far too long, it has been allowed to continue, and in many cases, escalate. True, it is my own fault this has continued, but given the grave state we find ourselves in, that kind of behaviour will no longer be tolerated.
"Disputes that end up with injuries to one or both parties will be investigated, and the penalties severe." Albus looked directly at Draco as he spoke. "As a young man recently pointed out, British Wizarding society must change, if we are to prevent a future dark wizard from taking over where Voldemort will leave off. I cannot in good conscience allow that sort of future for those of you in my charge." He looked at Travis and Harry as he spoke those words.
"Further, there will be Aurors patrolling the school at all times. If you do see or hear anything suspicious, I expect you to locate either one of them or a teacher, and report it. Communication is an absolute necessity if we are to remain safe. I do also remind you that no one should be out of bed after hours, unless you have permission to do so. I do also expect you to adhere to any extra security precautions laid out by your teachers, no matter how difficult they may seem. It is truly for your safety.
"Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that magic is not to be used in the corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, including anything that can be purchased from Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. The full list of banned items has been attached to the caretaker's door." A murmur of voices filled the room, but Albus held up his hand. "Tomorrow morning, you will receive, along with your class schedules, a map of the school, as many things have changed locations.
"There is one staffing change this year, or perhaps two, although they are connected. I would like to welcome back Professor Lupin, who will be once again teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Black will be assisting him where needed, and Harry Potter has also informed me he will be continuing his Defense club he formed in secret last year."
Of course, no one really caught the last bit, as a gasp let up from the students. "Sirius Black?!" cried one. "What's that murderer doing here!" shouted another. "I thought he died…" came a third, along with dozens of other protests.
"SILENCE!" Albus bellowed. The room fell quiet. "I can quite assure you, Professor Black is innocent of all charges, as the acting minister of magic has declared. There is enough pensieve testimony to acquit him of all charges, and that will be done as soon as it is safe to do so." Albus paused again. "Given the state of the government currently, no amount of evidence to the contrary would ever grant Professor Black a fair trial. We are once again back to the old issues at hand: our society must forcibly be changed, or change will never happen."
"Indeed, Professor." Albus turned to see Amelia standing in the doorway to the antechamber.
"Minister." He acknowledged.
"If I might address the body," spoke Amelia. Albus nodded, and the acting minister of magic stepped up to the lectern. "Good evening, students. As the acting minister of magic, I do confirm the words of headmaster Dumbledore, in all aspects. We are truly in a state of war, as a number of you have realized personally. I do feel for your losses, it is tragic at any level.
"As all of you are a section of society as a whole, there will no doubt be issues among you. I warn all of you, as Albus already has, disruptive actions, dangerous actions on your parts, will be met with harsh consequences. Some of my best Aurors are present in the school, and have been instructed to deal with trouble decisively and swiftly. Do not test them, I implore you." With that, Amelia stepped back from the lectern. Albus quickly returned to it. "Further to some of the security changes within the school, a number of other changes have also been made, in the interest of better inter-house relations. You will see the first of those major changes as you arrive at your dormitories this evening, that being the removal of common rooms within them. As well, as you will find tomorrow morning at breakfast, the long tables at which you are now seated, will be replaced by a number of smaller circular tables. Feel free to sit where you like.
"With all of that said, if we all work together, we can still truly advance and gain another amazing year of magical education. And with that, off you go to your dormitories. Prefects, if you will…"
Harry, John, and Travis followed Ron and Hermione, as they led the rest of the house to the dormitories. Unlike the original Gryffindor location, it involved traveling DOWN rather than up. The dormitories for all four houses were on the outside of the building, with classrooms and public areas in the centre.
Ron and Hermione finally stopped at a familiar painting.
"Password?" questioned the fat lady in the portrait.
"The bold and the brave," answered Hermione, and the portrait swung open.
"All right, everyone, inside. There isn't a lot of room, so move straight to the back so everyone can fit," Harry directed.
Truly, it was a bit of a squeeze, as the 'lobby' for the dormitory was just that. There were only a few chairs and no fireplace, although it was tastefully decorated in Gryffindor colours. Once everyone was settled, Hermione began, "Welcome to Gryffindor house. Normally we would only hold the first years, but as you all do see, there have been some changes."
"Will there still be quidditch this year?" questioned a third year boy.
"Unlikely," answered Harry, "Given the circumstances, we don't have the room." More than a few faces looked disappointed at the word.
"As Professor Dumbledore announced at the feast, you will receive a school map with your class schedule at breakfast tomorrow. The school has changed a great deal as you have seen just from us walking here. Do try to remember how we got here."
"Why didn't he give it to us at the feast?" questioned Justin.
"We don't want anyone wandering the corridors just yet," answered Travis, "Take the time to get settled, get to know some of your classmates. Now's one of the times to do it."
"Why don't we have a common room, though?" Questioned a second-year.
"So you're forced to use the public common rooms," answered Travis, "At Nipigon, our dorms are set up almost the same as here. There's only a small lobby like this one, and the idea is that you meet up with your friends in the public areas of the school. It's meant to reinforce inter-house relations."
"But, what if we only wanted to discuss something with our own house…" the student challenged.
"People always find a way."
"Isn't that the truth," Harry muttered, while the questions continued.
"All right, let's get back on track," said Hermione, finally, "The dormitories themselves are set up the same as Gryffindor tower was. The boys' staircase to the left, the girls to the right. Boys are reminded they can't get into the girls' dormitories, the staircase is charmed to prevent it, so I suggest you not test it."
"So, what do we do now?" questioned Justin, trying to stifle a yawn.
"Now, it's time for bed," answered Travis, "You'll all need a good night's sleep, you'll have a full day of classes tomorrow."
Once the rest of the house had made their way up the stairs, Ron, Travis, Harry, and John made their way up to the 6th year boys' dormitory. They found Dean, Seamus, and Neville already settling in. The room was circular, with an old-fashioned stove in the centre of the room, and six four-poster beds arranged against the outer wall. A number of windows were charmed to reflect the outside, and the waning light of the evening.
"Now I strongly suspect none of you will be heading to sleep anytime soon," said Dean.
"And you'd be right," answered Harry, "I still have Occlumency with professor Snape, among other things."
"And I'll have prefect duty at nine," noted Ron, as he unpacked a few things from his trunk.
"I'll be heading to the library, and maybe track down my boyfriend," said Travis, with a smirk, then gestured at John. "Coming?" Harry had to suppress a smirk of his own, as he followed the pair out of the dormitory.
Severus' classrooms were at the opposite end of the building, 'To be as far away from Gryffindor as possible', as he had put it. The potions classrooms were also directly beside the greenhouses, as potions and herbology did go hand in hand, after all. At least there wouldn't be need to go outside in the dead of winter-not that that would really matter, being so close to the equator. Harry paused at the door to the potions classroom, then knocked.
"Come in," came Severus' voice. Harry pushed the door open, to find Severus was not alone.
"Potter," said Draco, his voice absent of sarcasm, which Harry noticed.
"Malfoy… What do you want?"
"To join your defense club, of course," answered Draco, matter-of-factly. Harry almost choked. "You must be joking! If you think…"
"Potter, if you will hear me out, gods you can be as thick as Weasel sometimes!"
"Don't call him that!" Harry shouted, then softened, remembering there was a third party listening in, "Why should I let you into our group, considering the absolute nightmare you've been to me and my friends? How many times you've called Hermione a mudblood to her face? You want me to just forget all of that?! I can't."
"Potter! If you'll just listen for a moment!" Draco yelled, sounding exasperated, "I was almost KILLED this summer due to my naivety! My G-- …professor Snape showed me exactly what it meant to be in the Dark Lord's service, and I know, I truly know that is not what I want to be."
"Wow, you mean to tell me that the ice prince of Slytherin actually has a heart? I'm half-impressed," said Harry. Draco nodded, and continued, "I know I've been downright nasty to you… but… I thought I was right and you were wrong-"
"Switching horses mid-stride, then? Why should I let you? How do I know this isn't some ploy on your part to undermine us from the inside out?"
"Look. Potter, I've lost everything. I have no family, and right now, most of Slytherin is looking like they're ready to murder me in my sleep."
"So you want me to save your skin. I'll need to think about this, see what Ron, Hermione, Travis, and my partner have to say about it. Professor, can you insure of his safety tonight?" Severus nodded. Harry turned back to face Draco. "Let me get back to you tomorrow, then."
"Now that you two are done, perhaps we can get to the real purpose of you being here-"
"He's learning Occlumency too?" questioned Harry. Draco nodded, and Severus continued, "Yes, and he's almost as far along as you are, Mr. Potter." Harry nodded in understanding.
Harry was glad when the lesson was over; Draco proved to be a horrible distraction, considering his revelations. Severus berated him on the less-than-par session, saying, "You must not allow yourself to be distracted, Potter. The Dark Lord will slice through your defenses like a hot knife through butter."
"I know, sir, I know!" Harry answered, frustrated.
"You are practicing on your own?" Harry nodded. "Do keep at it, and perhaps start working with Weasley and Granger."
"I will, professor."
"I do believe, then, our lesson is at an end for tonight."
"Now that school is starting up again, when should we meet again?"
"Thursday, same time," Severus decided. Harry nodded, bid Severus a good night, and apparated back to the combination library and computer lab. It was decided the two areas would do better combined.
"Harry! I thought we weren't going to be able to apparate within the school," said Hermione, surprised.
"Bill configured the wards to allow it internally, but not across the wards themselves, so he said," answered Travis, looking up from his computer.
"So someone couldn't apparate in from outside," John guessed. Travis nodded.
"There are also a few rules governing apparating into classrooms and so on," said Remus. He and Sirius were both seated at the large conference table that separated the library and the computer area.
"Welcome back, Professor," Harry smirked. Remus smiled, as did Sirius, and they turned back to the pile of parchment spread out between them.
"Don't you guys have an office for that sort of thing?" questioned Harry.
"We do, but it's more entertaining seeing what my godson's up to," answered Sirius, with a smirk of his own.
"Okay. Guys, you're not gonna believe the conversation I just had with Malfoy," said Harry.
"What did the brainless wonder have to say this time?" questioned Travis.
"He wants to join our defense club."
"He what?"
"NO, Harry, absolutely not!" Hermione declared.
"If you'll wait a moment," said Harry, producing his wand and summoning a pensieve from one of the private storage cabinets. "Let me show you…" He drew out the memory, and placed it into the pensieve.
"Still, Harry, we can't trust him, you said it yourself… what if it's a ploy to hurt us from the inside?" Hermione pointed out.
"At the same time, I don't want him dead either… I mean, there's been enough times I've wished him bodily harm… but never dead. And if we just leave him to his own devices, that's exactly what might happen… I guess it's my hero complex or whatever-"
"No, it's doing what's right," answered Sirius, "Your parents would be very proud of you, Harry."
"John… what do you think?"
"I don't know-is there a way to… to force him to be civil… what about making him take a wizard's oath or something?"
"It would have to be worded very carefully," Hermione mused, "But we could. Get him to sign a magical contract barring him from… certain behaviors."
"I strongly doubt that's gonna do any good," Travis snorted, "He's a bully. Plain and simple. If it were me, I'd throw him to the wolves. Think about it, Harry, if the tables were turned, would he give you any quarter?"
Harry thought about that for several moments, but came back to the same conclusion. "I can't answer that. All I know, is what I think, and what I feel in my heart. If he's killed by his house mates, and I could have prevented it… it's just not something I want on my conscience."
"Can't Snape protect him?" questioned Travis.
"It's not just at night," Harry pointed out, "And I still don't get why Dumbledore allowed obvious Voldemort sympathizers and future Death Eaters into the school in the first place!"
"His warning tonight was very clear, Harry," Remus reminded, "Any kind of attack on another student will be dealt with very severely."
"I don't see why the headmaster would want to take such a risk," said Marcus. He had been working with Cameron at a separate machine, but had obviously listening in on the conversation. He pulled up a seat at the conference table.
"He tries to see the good in everyone, no matter what their past, Mr. Wright," answered Remus. Marcus nodded, seeming to understand.
"We'll put him on a short leash," Harry decided, "Who knows, the slimy Slytherin might have his uses."
"Just hope I'm not the one saying 'I told you so'," said Travis, pulling out his pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out, and lit it.
"It's unlikely he'll try anything, considering at least one adult will be attending the club," Sirius noted, "Whether it be one of us, or Bill, there won't be an opportunity." Just then, Sarah rushed into the room. "You need to see the T.V." she said, looking very concerned. Travis nodded, gesturing at the centre of the conference table with his wand, summoning a large monitor. "What channel?"
"BBC News." Travis gestured a second time with his wand, and the desired station came up. At exactly the same time, the nearest fireplace flared up red flames, discharging a paper airplane that sailed over to the conference table. Hermione expertly caught it, and unfolded it, revealing the latest edition of the Daily Prophet.
"MUGGLE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT LEVELED" The headline proclaimed. The image accompanying the headline matched what they were seeing on the television: a mass of smoking wreckage that once was the British houses of Parliament. Surprisingly, the famous 'Big Ben' still stood, although the tower had sustained serious damage.
"…ABOUT AN HOUR AGO. WITNESSES REPORTED SEEING A SERIES OF DARK SHAPES THAT RESEMBLED SMOKE, AND WHAT WAS FOLLOWED MOMENTS LATER APPEARED TO BE A TREMENDOUS GREEN EXPLOSION THAT LEVELLED THE BUILDING. POLICE ARE SEALING OFF THE AREA, WITH FIRE AND RESCUE ALREADY STARTING TO COMB THROUGH THE SITE FOR SURVIVORS. THE HOUSE OF COMMONS AND THE HOUSE OF LORDS WAS LUCKILY STILL IN SUMMER RECESS, OR THE CASUALTY COUNT WOULD BE MUCH HIGHER… AND THIS JUST HANDED ME… YES… POLICE HAVE NOW CLOSED THE WESTMINSTER BRIDGE, LAMBETH BRIDGE, LAMBATH PALACE ROAD, ABINGDON STREET, PARLIAMENT STREET, VICTORIA EMBANKMENT FROM BRIDGE STREET TO HORSE GUARD AVENUE…"
"Bloody hell," Harry swore, as they watched the ugly footage.
"He did the same thing where I came from," said Sirius, "The year after the tournament. It pushed the Muggle government to…"
"Heavily invest in artificial intelligence," Marcus finished, "They purchased a bunch of state-of-the-art equipment from Cyberdyne's U.K. branch."
"How quickly are we talking?" questioned Travis.
"The attack happened November 11th, the equipment was operational by the beginning of 1996," answered Marcus.
"How did you know about that, Sirius?" questioned Harry.
"We knew that based on meetings with the Muggle Prime Minister. Or third-hand knowledge, at least."
"Thing is, what do we do about it?" questioned Travis, who then took a long drag off his cigarette.
"Nothing," answered Remus, "It's something that's half a world away."
"We will have to deal with Cyberdyne sooner rather than later, though. If they create Skynet, they have to be put out of business."
"Blanket memory charms, make sure no one can follow-" Harry began, and John burst out laughing. "What?"
"Dude. That's what mom said, like three years ago."
"Ah, but you didn't have magic on your side, Mr. Connor," Sirius smirked.
"Riiiiight. Uh huh… and from how I'm seein' it now, there's fucking wizards BEHIND Skynet in the first place!"
"But Sirius said it… you didn't have magic in your corner until now. We can make a difference," Hermione pointed out. John only nodded in understanding.
oOo
Harry's scar seemed to burst open, tearing him out of his comfortable sleep. In an uncomfortable case of déjà vu, Harry found himself, not in a comfortable warm bed, snuggled up beside John, but locked in the coils of an enormous serpent with red eyes-bound so tight he could barely breathe.
"Your defences have grown a little stronger, I'm actually slightly impressed," the snake hissed.
"Piss off," Harry wheezed.
"Oh, I won't take much of your time, Potter. You must realize, I could crush the life out of you right now, but what would be the sport of that?"
"Fine, what do you want?"
"This morning was only a taste of what I will do, Potter, as I now realize you are most likely somewhere on the other side of the world."
"And that's exactly where I'll stay, Tom."
"Do NOT use that name, Potter," Voldemort hissed.
"Or you'll kill me?"
"I think you know what I'm capable of, do not test me." Harry felt the coils momentarily constrict, making it impossible to breathe. "I could bring you to the brink of death, heal you, repeat the process, until you are but a shell. I daresay, your Muggle boyfriend might have objections to you being in that state, would he not?" The coils relaxed, and Harry drew in a deep breath, stars still dancing in front of his eyes. "N…no," he managed.
"That's much better," Voldemort spoke, as the snake suddenly vanished, replaced by his more familiar form. Harry carefully stood up. 'Concentrate', he thought, 'This is my head.' POOF! The stone room they had been in suddenly became a close representation of the old Gryffindor common room.
"Most impressive, Harry," said Voldemort, noting the sudden change of scenery, "You are learning."
"Snape's become a great teacher," Harry wheezed, still feeling light-headed from the lack of oxygen. It was getting better by the second, however.
"Indeed, interesting I am no longer able to reach him."
"And if not for this cursed connection we share, you wouldn't be able to reach me either." Voldemort seemed to think on that for a few moments, before saying, "It is our destiny, Harry. The offer I made the first time we met, it still stands."
"Why? Why would I want that? Why would I want to throw away everything I have, to in effect destroy the world? That's what you will do." Harry collapsed onto one of the couches, still feeling a little light-headed. Voldemort only nodded, and took a seat facing him.
"I doubt that very much, Harry. I only seek to improve our world-"
"By killing people just because they aren't 'purebloods'?"
"Muggles are a threat to us, Harry, surely you must see that."
"No, I don't. If anything, we threaten ourselves, acting stupidly. Muggles only act out of fear, fear of what they don't know. And your actions most definitely scare Muggles."
"Which is why they must be destroyed," Voldemort argued, "We are better than they are."
"Do you have any idea how ludicrous that statement is? There's nearly six BILLION Muggles on the planet. How do you intend to kill them all?"
"You lie."
"I swear on my magic," said Harry, gathering courage. This had been the longest conversation he had ever had with his nemesis. Voldemort only nodded, seeing the yellow hue envelop Harry briefly and vanish. The boy was telling the truth, and it was unsettling. Six BILLION Muggle filth walked the earth? "So, what will happen if we were to somehow kill them all? Which is very unlikely, but… let's say we do it… then what? There won't be enough of us to keep the species going, let along our magic."
"That is what you mean when you say, destroy the world?"
"No," answered Harry, causing Voldemort to start, "There is a fate much worse. Do you want to see it? One of my new friends showed me the future… our future. My friends are probably going to hex me for showing you this, but…" Harry sighed. Voldemort nodded again, and Harry thought very carefully of the memory Marcus had shown him recently.
The memory was clearly through Marcus' eyes, as he stood in the remains of a convenience store. Close by him, was a young girl of six or seven, maybe eight years old really pushing it. To his right, a roughly dressed black man with a beard was protesting, "It's our food, it's our fuel! It's not your choice to make!"
"Are you okay?" An elderly lady with white hair was asking. The young girl's eyes suddenly went wide, as the entire building began to shake, and moments later, something smashed through the back of the building, and snatched two of the people standing about.
As Marcus ran from the building, the culprit behind the attack became clear: a monstrous machine that more closely resembled a giant insect, with multiple arms for snatching people-and that was exactly what it was doing. Between blasting the scene with balls of energy, it was rounding up the fleeing humans, dropping them into some sort of hatch on its back.
"Star!!" A young man was yelling, "Star?!"
A group of humans attempted to flee in several hidden vehicles, but the machine seemed to account for that as well, as they were quickly destroyed by more beams of energy from the machine.(2)
Harry blinked again, cutting the scene short. "They kill wizards just as quickly as Muggles. Shortly after the turn of the twenty-first century, Muggle computers decide humans are a threat to it, and start exterminating us. The future where some of my friends have come from… we're barely existing."
"How… When…" The Dark Lord appeared disturbed by what he had just witnessed.
"You did it. Or one of your Death Eaters. I'll ask you again. Do you really want to destroy the world?"
Harry sat up with a start. 'What the hell was that?' he thought, his heart pounding madly in his chest, and his shirt sticking to him, he was covered in sweat. Yet, he did know what had just happened. The question was, would he regret what he had just disclosed?
oOo
Voldemort was actually shaking. His nemesis had actually scared him. Not that he would ever admit it, yet, what he had just witnessed was beyond his wildest nightmares. Muggles, unleashing machines that would utterly destroy the world? The boy's magical oath proved he was speaking the truth. Making his way into the library at Riddle Manor, not even bothering to listen to several Death Eaters groveling for his approval, he sat down heavily in a chair in front of the fireplace.
Perhaps, a little bit of research was in order. Find out exactly what kind of contraption would mimic that of Harry's memory. What was the Muggle word, technology? He vaguely remembered listening in on discussions between other boys at the orphanage… yes, that was what they called it. More importantly, then, to find out how technologically advanced Muggles actually were, as much as it loathed him to admit it. Know thine enemy.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:I've seen a few complaints at FictionAlley about authors not writing a sorting hat song at the welcome feast if they cover it. It's not the best, but it's better than nothing at all, I think. I did spend well over an hour working on it, just the same ;-)
Sorry, no school song, but as it was not sung in canon 6th year, I did not use it here either. According to JKR (ref'd through the HPL), the school song was not used during times of crisis.
Why the houses of parliament? It's Voldemort. He's making a statement. A very loud statement. Instead of the destruction of the Brockdale bridge earlier in the summer, he's waited until the start of the school year. Luckily-or unluckily, depending on which side of the fence you sit on, he doesn't know about parliament's break for the summer.
As for Harry's disclosure to Voldemort, the question is now, what will the Dark Lord actually do with this piece of information. Of course, never mind the reaction of Harry's friends, the Order, and so on… beware of fall out from this! *smirk*
(1) A couple lines of the sorting hat's song have been borrowed from OOtP. It just really suited for them to be repeated.
(2) Dialogue and descriptions taken from "Terminator: Salvation", © 2009. Warner Bros, etc, etc. I take no credit for its use.
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