Useful Is Dangerous. by Voracity2

Useful Is Dangerous.

[Reviews - 0] Author Profile: Voracity2 Printer

Chapter or Story
Table of Contents

- Text Size +

Story notes:

This is an MCU?HP crossover. Because the tagging system is a bit messed up right now, I'll put this here. I'll rate it FRC so everyone can read it without having to log in because I know there's issues with it too. It is technically rated T probably.

Useful Is Dangerous.

Petunia Dursley looked at the charming seeming man across from her on the couch. "How did you hear about my nephew being orphaned?" she asked politely. She was sure she knew, it had been her husband.

"A few sources noted we should see if we could find him a good adoptive home among ours," he said with a smile. "Apparently he's a bit special and people are going to be looking for him." He sipped the tea she had given him. It wasn't bad tea, bit weak though. "We can easily move him to an area where no one can be watching for him so he's raised normally, happily, and successfully to carry out an adult life."

"My sister probably would have liked that," she said then cleared her throat. "She and I were not close. In fact, I had no idea she had a son before she died." She grimaced. "Then he showed up here."

"Hmm. Sometimes the social workers are inconvenient. They seem to have very inconvenient timing. But I can promise he'll be well looked after by my people. He'll have all he needs to deal with whatever life will throw at him."

She nodded. "I just want to make sure he'll be a healthy, happy child. I know here isn't the best place for him. My husband doesn't like my sister or who she married. Even at the wedding." She grimaced, looking at the two boys in the other chair. They were napping, thankfully not fighting again. The almost two-year-olds fought all the time. Mostly because of Vernon. "I just worry. The things that came with him said that there were things around him."

He smiled. "Yes, I'm aware of that world. We've taken in a few of the orphans from that dreadful war they had. Thankfully your sister was said to have stopped it for good." She nodded, biting her lip and staring at the children. "Our families are very good to the children we take in. We only take in children who have high expectations of becoming good adults who will make a difference in the world."

She nodded. "Lily would probably like that." She picked up her own son to put next to her and handed him Harry. Who woke up to blink at him and then fussed. "Harry," she chided. "He wants to find you a new family. Behave."

Harry stared at the man then blinked a few times. Then he went back to sleep because Vernon had given him things with the morning milk. Again. The man nodded. "He's a good looking, healthy boy so far." He smiled at her. "He will be well trained to be a good adult."

She nodded. "Lily would definitely appreciate that." She sighed. "I suppose it is for the best. Though I do worry about those who would come looking. What would I tell them?"

He shrugged. "Tell them that he has been moved to a group of people that will adore having him grow up among them."

"Then I suppose it is for the best, Mr. Dreykov." He handed over the paperwork. She read it over then signed it, feeling like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and that she was doing the absolutely wrong thing. But it would save her marriage.

Vernon had said that either Harry went or he would and the divorce would not do her good at all. She'd have to go to work to support her son. It would ruin her reputation. She hesitated signing the last one but she looked at her own son and did it for him, because that way he would grow up with a father and without some weird, freakish corruption around him.

She handed them back. "Let me get the things that came with him." She got up, going to the closet under the stairs that Harry had been staying in. It was still tidy, still very clean. It didn't even seem like the baby had been there yet. She handed over the basket and the note. "That was with him."

He read the note, nodding a bit. "I have heard of this Dumbledore. I will make sure he has no reason to look at you for Harry." He smiled, reassuring her. She nodded, hugging her own son closely. He left with the basket, the note, and the baby. Yes, the baby would grow up to be one of his best people.

***

One of his top trainers, who had magic, showed up to talk to him. "We have a bit of an issue." Dreykov, the head of the Red Room, put down his pen to stare at him. This man telling him about a problem was a big thing. "We have a genius."

"Interesting."

"No, I mean a true genius. Reading at three genius," he said, staring at him. "She came in already reading and is teaching others. She came in at the same time as that boy who I also train. Who is still immune to mind magics."

He blinked. "All right. We can put her under Melina."

"She also has a limp. The car crash did something to her knee."

He grimaced. "Is it fixable?"

"Yes. The doctor said it should fix itself as she ages."

"Then Melina can still train her to be a proper agent and her mind."

"Yes, I was hoping so. She shows much promise. She's teaching the other children already."

"Hmm. Maybe I'll allow that when she's older. They do have to learn how to read. Which child?"

"Hermione."

"Ah. It was a sad thing her parents had that car accident that orphaned her." He grimaced. "Dentists I heard."

"She already knew that."

"Ah, that sort of genius." He nodded. Dreykov sighed. "Will she submit to the training?"

"That I do not know. Melina could handle it however. But I doubt she'll be a full operative. Her mind's too strong. She may be one to infiltrate, one to solve. But she's mentally already very strong."

"Hmm. We are playing long term chess with the few magical orphans," he admitted. "That world must fall to our wills as well and that messy little war may pop back up. She could help handle that?"

"Yes, that would probably do her good. If she's old enough she could probably go in to teach things. She already does incidental magic without realizing it. Her books like to float because her wrist is still in a cast. Much like that one boy Harry does."

He nodded. "All right. Yes, we can work her into Melina's care so she can nurture our next genius." He stared at him. "I'll bring her later today?"

"Tomorrow. She has her last treatment for her knee tomorrow, which is why I brought this up today instead of last week."

He nodded. "Reasonable. Go." He waved and the man walked off. Dreykov considered his options on that one child. She could do a lot of good. A whole lot of good. Melina would channel it well for them. She had her mother before she had betrayed the Red Room.

***

The trainees were gathered together thanks to a slight emergency. All the trainers had fallen. Literally, even if they had been sitting at a desk they had all fallen. Many had died. A few were just sick from what looked like concussion damage even though there was no reason for them to have one. It was very odd.

The five magical children were gathered together in one area, though they didn't think it was them. There was no indication that they had done anything to them. The other trainees were all in the same room but the other side of it. The trainers were grumbling about missing training time so Hermione looked up then over at them. "Those who have homework could probably do that," she noted patiently. She gave one girl a pointed look. "That way the time is not wasted."

"That is not for you to order!" one complained loudly. "Shut up!"

"I'm the one who gave the homework," she said bluntly. "I thought you would've wanted them doing something constructive instead of sitting there but I'll let you handle it as a trainer," she said when he glared at her.

"I can make you disappear."

She nodded. "As you have others. I saw how you removed one last week."

"Shut up, Grenthal," another trainer ordered as she came in. She stared at Hermione. "You overstep yourself, child. Which one are you?"

"I'm Hermione."

She blinked. "Then you did at not lie at least." She stared at her. "Your senior trainer has let you get away with much too much. I will have to take that over."

Hermione shrugged. "If you wish to speak to Senior Operatives about how I was tasked with teaching the other trainees to read, that is not something I can do anything about. I am fulfilling the duties I was tasked with and gave a suggestion to the ones I'm presently teaching so they are not wasting the time here. Is that wrong of me to do?"

She stared at her. "Perhaps not," she admitted. "It is a good suggestion." She looked at them then at her. "But you are still mouthy and a problem, Hermione."

"Hmm. If you're certain, ma'am. I know the rules." She stared at her and wished she'd fall off the ship. Which didn't happen. Magic didn't work that way.

"I still say it was one of them that did it," Grenthal complained.

Hermione looked at him. Then sighed. "If just wishing harm caused people to die from it, then you would have died in the last ten minutes." She smiled slightly at him. "As I'm sure that others had that wish as well. Even though you tried to punish me for doing as I was told and punish me for the one who caused the car accident my parents died in, which I saw who did it," she said with a pointed look at that one, which made him go pale.

"It is not *our* fault that things go wrong. We do not have skills for that level of things yet." She smiled at him. Around them a shield went up, and it wasn't her doing. She could feel which one had done it. She was panicking hard about stuff and younger.

"Richard, please help Hannah calm down," she said quietly, glancing at him. "You four, turn around." They did and the shield didn't really go down. She stared at that trainer. "We bear a lot of punishments for things that are not our faults," she told that woman, who was a senior trainer. "Is it *our* fault we were born this way?"

"Yes," she said.

"So you think that I made myself come into being in this state?" She tipped her head. "That is not logically or scientifically possible. If it were, well, then we'd have wished that no girls ever got born again. No child determines their own birth."

"What do you know of birth?" she demanded.

"Watching some animals have some. So I asked." She stood up, staring at her. "I know how children come to be. I asked so I got told." She blinked a few times then batted at the thing going for the other girls. "No!" she shouted, then pointed at it. The spirit left after a look at her.

"Do not touch the trainees. They're not the reason you got removed." The ghost or whatever it was went after the one who had caused the car crash and Hermione watched him scream then shrugged. "My parents didn't do that when he made their car crash."

The female stared at her. "You are mouthy."

"But correct." She shrugged. "Correct is always more important."

"Your mother didn't scream?"

"No." She shook her head. "Never." She raised an eyebrow. "You probably knew my mother."

"I knew that."

Hermione smirked and charmed her magically. "Do you really think any of us who made it to her age scream at things like car accidents? Especially since she died three days later?"

The woman glared but huffed off. Hermione looked at the other trainers. "We don't have the skills to do that yet and it's clearly not us doing that. Can we go back to training now?"

"Why would you want to?" Grenthal demanded with a cold sneer. "You're not going to make it."

She waved a hand in the air. "If you're certain." He pulled a gun and pointed it at Hannah, who shrieked and hid. "Very good of you to threaten a child who has done nothing wrong," she said bluntly and moved in front of her. "You want to punish me and always have because I'm not the most physical. Don't get others to get me. That's childish."

He started to pull the trigger and couldn't. Richard and the other girl were staring at him. "Let him. He can make his own apologies to the higher ups later." The man stomped off with a yell about how he'd see her punished and removed. She shrugged. Instead he went to try to jump off the main deck.

Melina came in and stared at the five magical children. "You will all come to me for training this month, and you will not enjoy it," she noted, staring at Hermione.

"The thing that caused the falling showed up. It wasn't us."

"No, but your mouthiness has gotten others involved this time."

"Have I?" She stared at her stepmother. "By protecting one of the trainees from an unfair punishment because Trainer Grenthal is scared of us?" she asked quietly.

"You overstep yourself."

"I may be but I'm not going to let someone take my punishment for me."

"Hmm. Noble but dumb."

"Perhaps. But sometimes being correct is more important."

"Not right now it isn't."

Hermione smiled. "Yes it is. I will not allow them to punish others when they want to punish me. Especially for something they didn't do and neither did I. Did you want me to lie and take responsibility for things I did not do?"

"No." They stared at each other. "You will be strapped tonight."

Hermione nodded. "If I deserve to be punished for not allowing us to be blamed for what we did not do, then that is the decision of someone. I know my place."

"Do you?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Yes, we all do," Richard agreed, standing up and coming over. "They were willing to kill all of us for something we did not do. Is that what Father Dreykov would want done?"

"I have no idea. You can ask him if you think that's a good idea."

Richard grinned, showing off a missing front tooth. "I did that last week, Senior Operative Melina. When I was blamed for something that one of the girls had done. He agreed I should not be blamed for things that were not my fault and I paid the price for daring to ask." He stared at her.

"They should not know anything about that."

"It is not our fault. We did not put us all in here to blame us five for what happened."

Harry and Hannah got up with the other boy following. "They won't remember. At all. They might remember that thing but not anything about this. I accidentally froze them a few minutes ago."

Melina went to check that and came back, staring at him. "Why did you do that?"

"Because they don't need to know. We were told not to let the average trainee know. They were making it come out. Uncle Grenthal was the one who started all that so they'd all hear. It protects them from unnecessary punishments for him outing things that they should not know about."

She nodded once. "I can agree with that idea, Harry. However...." She stared at him. "You are also noble but dumb."

He nodded. "I learned it from the book that Uncle Maurice made us read for studies on morality."

She grimaced. "That man needs his head examined." She looked at Hermione. "Which book?"

"I got Beauwolf."

"I got Don Quiote," Harry and Hannah said together.

She snorted. "He is a dumb idiot," she muttered. The kids just stared at her. "You are all mine for the next month. And you're still in trouble," she told Hermione, who nodded at that. She glared. "I won't be nice."

"I know that. You weren't last time." She stared back. "Uncle Mikhail said that the only one he had to justify his actions to is God. I assume that's true for all of us outside of reporting on our actions."

Melina stared at her. "Not in your case."

Hermione tipped her head. "That is also fine. I always learn the lessons I need to learn."

"Usually without me having to pull out a strap." Hermione looked at the cause of the problems then at her guardian again. That ghost was back. It was staring at Melina. Melina turned and winced at what was there. "Go away. It was not the children's doing."

Harry walked over to look at it. "Get the ones responsible. Leave the rest of them to the rest of us, who have our own reasons," he said quietly. "We will handle them when they deserve it." The ghost stared at him then nodded and faded out again. Harry passed out.

"Oh, really!" Hermione huffed, going to check him. "Boys, get Harry onto something that's not the floor. His pulse is through the roof." They did that and Melina checked him over. She grimaced but considered how to undo the trainees. She tipped her head then looked at Richard, who nodded he could do that. They walked around to tap each one and send them to the cafeteria for lunch.

Melina gave them an odd look but it was working and the children were no longer frozen. She'd make sure they didn't remember today with some careful application of chemicals during their meals. While Harry was in the infirmary and she had a *talk* with Hermione.

Which Dreykov wanted to take from her but he did praise her trying to protect the other trainees. Hermione defended herself and her rights. It didn't matter much, she still came out with new scars on her back, which did not stay for very long. They healed themselves by that night.

He tried to redo them to make sure she remembered but anything he picked up to use on her ended up breaking. Including the gun. She just stared at him when he did that. He tried to hit her instead and his hand broke before it connected. So apparently that spirit was protecting her this time. He'd have to find a way around that mess.

The other magical children were sent to a special training area with the magical trainers to make sure they didn't get together with the other trainees again. Hermione, she stayed with Melina. They didn't need her to go that way.

***

An eight-year-old Hermione showed up with a knock at the office door. "Father, I need permission to be blunt and rude," she said, putting papers on the desk but not in front of him. "Because we have been studying the chemicals."

He blinked at her. "Which chemicals?" He knew this little game of hers, which did not amuse him but it did mean she had to give him bad news and didn't want punished for not doing what Melina couldn't do either. If he would or not mostly depended on what sort of bad news this was and what sort of mood he was in at the moment.

"I need the permission." She stared at him.

He stared back. She was so much like her mother, who had been one of his girls. That one had unfortunately gotten ideas and had left by mistake. He had shown her the errors of her ways and taken in this darling child because of that. "If I cannot give it?"

"Then you may lose all the trainees."

He blinked. "Then you have my permission. The chemicals they are now being given?"

"Yes. They're not stable." She put a few of the papers in front of him. "The formula as it stands is too unstable and it breaks down within weeks. Unfortunately humans have kidneys and they're gone within that two weeks. Faster in some who have more effective organs. It against the formula that you give them to make them stronger also does not work."

She put that one down. "It fights against each other and would destroy not only their girl organs, which are important for growth hormones at their ages that they get it, but also it would cause tumors." She stared at him. "You can have one or the other but not both in them.

"The original formula for the super soldier program is too strong for women. It actually warps the brain so that it renders them mindless little holes that sit in a corner and moan." She put that down. "Mother Melina said that you had seen that before.

"The way that she figured out how to warp it solves that but it will not work with the control formula at all. So you need one or the other. And the control formula is so weak it is broken down by the body within weeks. You can't find a way to make sure they get it continuously while on missions."

"We can," he offered.

She shook her head. "Time release can't go that way. It's too thin and leaks out. Using something to make them take a timed medicine won't work as it's not a doable thing for mission time."

"How would you know?" he asked. "You have not been sent on one."

"I go with Mother Melina on hers," she said, blinking at him. "And it's often a sudden bit of activity around a lot of waiting. Carrying a medicine that needs specific storage directions for temperature and dispensing is too complicated unless you've got them stashed in a house somewhere watching over someone."

She stared at him. "So you can have one or the other and the control formula is the bigger problem as it will cause issues in the long run. As it breaks down it creates an unstable ammonia protein that is eating their pancreas and gallbladder, which then causes diabetes. Mother Melina did the tests behind me to make sure I was correct and it is unfortunately true. She's waiting outside to speak on how you want her to proceed."

He nodded. "I can see why you wanted the permission, and you were not rude, but firm. I do appreciate that, Hermione." She smiled at that praise. "What if we wanted both?"

"The control formula will have to be completely redone. Make it more stable, less able to be broken down, less likely to cause other harm. An insertable one with a time release effect."

He considered it. "Melina," he called. She came in with a nod for him. "The tests were correct?"

"I ran it multiple times after she noted that metabolizing effect," she said. "It is correct. You can have one or the other. And warping the control formula is a problem anyway as even the original breaks down quickly. That's why they had to keep wiping the Soldier."

He nodded. "Hmm. Could it be redone in a reasonable manner?"

She shook her head. "Only if we start over."

"Then start over," he said. He looked at Hermione, who was a bit bouncy at her age. Then at Melina. "She is strong. Is she capable on missions? She admitted you have brought her to train her."

"I have. She thinks too hard about what is going on to make plans. She is definitely the sort who will teach future ones, but not available for missions. As I was, you only send me out on specific things where I do not have to do the most physical of work. Our strengths are mental and we handle things that we must."

He nodded. "That is true and you did need an heir." She nodded. Her last one had died recently by her own hand. "Will this one be following that one?"

"No and that one wouldn't have done that if she'd had a handler that was capable," Hermione told him, staring at him. "You sent her with someone who was more interested in her body than her working. It meant she failed because he failed. He should have been the one who died."

He blinked at her. "You are mouthy."

She nodded. "Yet I'm correct. Because that same handler has ruined six other of your Operatives. And lost one. That's the one who lost Natasha."

He grimaced. "I thought that was his brother."

Melina shook her head. "No. It was him and I do agree with her but I know well enough not to voice such opinions," she said firmly, glaring at the girl.

"You could forbid her the books for a month," he told Melina.

"She's the one teaching the Operatives things," she reminded him. "That's not possible. She needs them to teach the others because I do not have time for that." She shrugged. "Though she will be doing extra practices tonight. Won't she," she ordered. She stared at her. "And that pet thing that you found? It should go home."

"It is already home. It's eating the mice that were eating your experiment." She shrugged. "You complained a lot about the mice eating your formula so I found an owl who would eat the mice. She lives outside. She is not a pet but is trained to eat the problem mice around the farm."

Melina blinked. "Not a cat for that?"

"Birds are more subtle and don't take constant care. They don't have to become pets. They're also easier to train."

"Good point." She looked at Dreykov, who looked amused. "She is right. My experiment with the other serum is being attacked by mice. They think it smells like dinner and then they have seizures and mess up my lab. Having an owl that sometimes comes in through a window she opens to kill them can work well."

He nodded. "That's good. Will she someday be over training?"

Melina nodded. "It is the best use of her mind. Unless you have a long term project where she can use her greater mental strengths than her physical ones."

Hermione raised a hand, staring at Melina, who waited before looking at her. "Do we have results back from the magical testing yet, Mother Melina? I've been meaning to ask but you've been grumpy with a few of the Operatives."

She blinked. "I had forgotten I sent you for that." She grimaced. "I will beat him later for doing that spell on me." Hermione giggled. "I will ask him on the way home." She nodded at that. "Stillness," she warned. Hermione went still. She looked at Dreykov, shrugging a bit. "Did he tell you?" He found it to hand over. She looked then blinked. "Hm. Her and the other one. And one for the local school to spy there?" she guessed. He nodded. "That one boy her age?"

"He has a destiny, which is why I searched him out. We do not need that sort of war to impact our missions. His people will someday want him back for that destiny. Sending him to them would work well and he can also spy."

Hermione raised her hand slowly. "Is that something I should prepare myself for, Father? To go on a long term spying mission that way?"

"Yes," he admitted. "That would be a good use of you. That would also be your native magical people." He stared at her. She smiled. "They would not like you."

She shrugged. "They have nothing on Soldat."

"Point." He nodded. "They would have nothing compared to him training someone. Has he seen her?" he asked Melina. She nodded with a grimace. "He did not like her?"

"Her knee is still weak from the accident that made her an orphan. She thinks more than reacts. He tried to make her stop reading during her approved studying time to see what she did and she hit him with magic instead of fighting him. Which worked, it worked well, but was not what he wanted in a future trainee. He suggested she get a handle on that first. Then he'd work on her training."

He nodded. "That makes good sense. It's an unpredictable gift." He considered it. "For now, prepare her to go on a long term spying mission with Harry. He has been trained to do what he must and she can be his handler sort for that. We'll put a higher one nearby so she can report to them."

Melina nodded. "That would be good for her anyway." She took her protege with her to talk to her about her bounciness and her mouthiness. She really had to break that without breaking the genius.

Dreykov was amused, highly amused, but he was upset that his idea wasn't going to work yet. Melina or Hermione would make it work.

***

Harry was sent with the adult handler to be 'found' by his letter from the school. And then Hagrid when he didn't answer. The handler had said not to. If they had really wanted him, they'd find him. Hagrid hadn't realized that the handler wasn't his uncle so that was good enough. So he was on the train. Alone. Hermione was there somewhere. He knew she was. They had worked together a bit in the last month to get used to each other's ways.

The weird thing though, was that boy. He was talking about Harry being famous? Why was he famous? No one had told him anything about that. It was shocking and horrifying. How was he to fulfil the mission when he was watched by everyone?

Hermione came by with another boy, one who looked a bit scared, but she had taken him under her wing apparently. Harry was amused at that option to look more normal to the other children. Still, why was he famous? He'd talk to her that night if he could, or sometime in the next few days somehow. He had been warned they were separated into houses and they may be in different houses so they'd have to figure that out.

***

Harry and Hermione met in the common room, clearly sneaking into the other's rooms. He looked around then at her. "That boy Ron said I'm famous?" he muttered quietly in Russian, moving closer to her so no one could listen in.

She nodded slowly. "When the professor showed up to take me shopping, there were books about people with your last name. I noted them and she said it was an account of a tragic night but no one had any real idea what had happened so they were assuming. I got one if you want me to look into it." He nodded at that. "Are you all right over there?" she asked, staring at him.

"Feels a bit odd. I'm used to the dorm but there's no cuffs and Ron snores." She smirked a bit. "I know, it's weird though. And Ron has siblings."

She nodded. "I noticed that. More than one. Which does seem odd to us as we're us." She sighed. "I have the feeling that something very wrong is going on."

"Probably," he agreed with a grimace. "Isn't that why they sent us?"

"Beyond that, Harry."

"Point."

"I wonder if they realized you'd learn about your parents and I'd learn about mine?"

He shrugged. "I would've thought they took that into account. But Father is always right, even when he's wrong, as you know."

"I know." She grimaced. "Though he's often wrong in my experience. He chooses expedience over long term goals." Harry looked confused. "I'm being trained by Melina."

"Oh." He nodded. "I remember her. She's one of our greater researchers."

She nodded. "I was raised to be her lab helper. I've had a few times I've had to give him bad news because he'd yell at her and not at me as much. I usually ask for permission to be blunt and rude." She smirked a bit. "I would point out the problems but they sent us with Melvin, and that's his job. Though I am not going to tell him that you're looking into your family. Or that I am." She stared at him. "We deserve to know."

He grinned and relaxed, nodding some. "You seem so uptight when you're working."

"Of course, we're under view. Here, even if they're scrying us, they won't be doing it all the time." She heard someone moving on her side. "Go back to bed. I'll start the mapping this week." He nodded and went back upstairs. She picked up a book left on the table, reading the title and then bringing it back upstairs with her. The head girl for the house took it from her.

"That's a bit above what a firstie can do," she told her quietly. "Why are you out of bed?"

"Things are a bit odd. It's too quiet."

"That can happen if you're used to more noise at your house. Go back to bed. You'll get to the sixth year charms books soon enough, kid." Hermione nodded and did that. The head girl checked the common area but whatever kid had been found out of bed had probably been sent back upstairs by Granger. That showed promise for a future head girl spot maybe.

***

Harry was amused by the ghosts. He had seen a few others and was always polite with them. They tended to notice him fairly easily so that was great. Though none were with the Red Room so that was even better. He understood Nick's desire to belong to those he should be with, he'd felt that himself. Now that he was with them, he wasn't sure he wanted to be one of them, but he would handle that feeling while doing the mission. Feelings had no place in missions. It was an early rule they were taught.

Hermione agreed it was weird about him and was seeing what was going on about that for him while he scoped out the ones they might have to count on. She was cynical about how people were, he was less so but still critical in his judgement of their worth and uses.

Though Hermione was pretending to let the other children bully her for some reason that was annoying him. It did mean that she could do what she needed to do without other students helping her with it. But she was making enemies they might not be able to afford in the long run. It was annoying him greatly as he watched that happen.

***

Harry found the unicorn and stared at it. "I will not come near you," he said quietly in Russian. "I know you are a sign of innocence and purity. Of morals and high hopes for peace. And I realize I am not any of those." The unicorn stared at him. He stared back. "I mean you no harm though. Myself or her. Neither of us would harm you.

"You are not a target or the reason for us being here. You are welcome to ignore us if you choose." The unicorn wandered over and stared down at him. He stared back. "I will not harm you. At all. Though do try not to out her. She has seen things that I have not. Has had to do things I have not." The unicorn nudged him with her nose.

"Thank you. I won't try to pet." He smiled. "You are wonderful and we will protect you as well. All right?" The equine nosed him again then wandered off to get a drink. He found the creatures that were also in that same pen, also looking equine, and wondered what they were. He went to ask Hagrid, who was busy nagging Malfoy again about something while the others took notes. "Hagrid, what are the weird horse things?"

Hagrid flinched then winced. "It's because you saw your parents murdered, Harry. Only those who've seen death can see a Thestral." He grimaced. "Don't you worry none, they're nice enough."

"That's wonderful. Do they allow petting?"

"Probably, yeah. You could try the unicorn."

Harry grimaced. "No I will not. Just in case." He walked off to go pet the thestrals.

Hermione watched that and then mentally sighed. She hoped the unicorn didn't out her as being slightly tilted towards evil thanks to the training. She didn't want to have to hide from it or hurt it if it became critical. There was a special place in hell for those who hurt purity and innocence. And she was someday going to send every single Red Room trainer to it.

Madam Sprout, who was weeding some of the plants in front of the school during her free period, had heard Harry's question and winced mentally. People would make big deals about him not going near a unicorn. It would lead to questions. She went to try to counsel him and get the unicorn nearer to him. He stared at her. "People will talk."

"That's what people do." He shrugged. "Those same people probably wouldn't care about it happening to any other child." She winced at that but nodded that was true. "So up theirs to be blunt. I don't care about those who speak that way and they don't care about me. They just want gossip. Which can be useful as a tool to destroy those sort, but not all that much fun to deal with."

"I hoped we could derail that talking, Mr. Potter." The look he gave her spoke of long years of pain and she hated that. She wanted to hug the boy. She settled for patting him on the shoulder. "You are not the first child the unicorn has avoided."

He nodded. "I know and I'm okay with that." She nodded, going back to her weeding to hide that she wanted to cry. Harry Potter or any child should not have that sort of pain and no unicorn should ever avoid a child for any reason.

Hermione made that note for herself off to the side of her notes and moved on with the lecture's notes. Maybe she could find a way to let them seem more normal to things like unicorns. Though those thestrals did look soft so when they got to break up to look at the animals, she joined Harry in petting them. No one said a word about that. Which figured. She wasn't famous and didn't have a destiny. She did bow to the unicorn and get out of its way. She wasn't going to try to dirty it by touching it.

***

After that one charms lesson, he looked at her. "I know it's said you always have a book," he said quietly in Russian, staring at her. "But must you quote them? That boy will become a problem."

She nodded. "I need him to not pay attention to me," she said dryly then shrugged. "Things are weird and I am looking at the various problems, plus mapping the school."

"Okay. Let me know these things?" he asked, glancing around. "Do we know things yet?"

"Not many."

He moved closer. "Why am I famous?"

She grimaced then sighed. "Your mother's sacrifice stopped that last war. That's why you were orphaned."

He grimaced. "Then shouldn't she be famous?" He groaned at her nod. "It does make it difficult."

"Soldat would laugh at the very concept," she said dryly. "At both of us. Though he still thinks I'm not a fit trainee."

"No one else taught the girls what you have," he said with a smile. "We appreciate you for that, Hermione."

She grinned. "Thank you, Harry. Go to the library, do your homework, keep Ron from being a prat?"

"You picked up the local words?"

"Of course." She smirked. "It's necessary." She walked off to go back to her explorations. She had to figure a few things out. Including how she could get out of this ancient castle when she needed something more modern. She could not call to check in while in the castle, no technology worked. She had sent a letter to Handler Melvin to let him know that.

***

Hermione was really *done* with the complaining about things she had no control over. She finally snapped during one international phone call. "I am not able to run electricity to that school," she noted bitterly. "It is not something we have been taught.

"Perhaps if one of that particular set of teachers had told us that there was no electricity things could have been planned better and easier but I am not responsible for them not having electricity. I'm good but I'm not that good." Someone on that end of the call spluttered. "I have sent all the reports I should be sending to Handler Melvin. I have sent copies of them to Operative Melina, who is my direct oversight trainer.

"I have sent maps, I have sent operational notes, I have sent copies of the research we've done about what is probably going on. I have sent ideas on how to handle it when the threat finally shows its face. Because we have no idea what it is, it's not come into the open yet. We know it's giving Harry migraines. He's had a number, including a few that led to him being in the infirmary.

"The only thing we know for sure is that one corridor is blocked off by a rather large canine who is mean to everyone because it's protecting something. No idea on what, they just told us it'd be deadly if we went up there." She listened to the complaining. "Then sneak Handler Melvin up to the school so he can see for himself," she requested.

"I've done what I can, what I am trained to do, but I am not great enough to make the school have electricity or a phone service. It is not my fault or his fault that no one warned the ones planning this operation that there was no electric here. I'm sure they knew. It's well known apparently by all the other schools." Dreykov complained about her attitude.

She rolled her eyes and fed more change into the phone when it start to request it. "I am doing all that I can, and will continue to do all that I can. I will continue to send reports in, but if you need more immediate information we have to find a way to do that and I'm researching that as well, even though it's forbidden to ones my age.

"If and when I figure it out I'll make reports that way. To both Operative Melina and Handler Melvin because they both need to know things that are going on. Including that we take a class that's almost chemistry but it's potions." Melina moaned at that.

"So far I've learned a few good, handy potions that could come in handy in the field. I'm doing well in there of course, but there's things that you should hear that Melvin doesn't need to. Like talking about how to handle womanly issues in a place that has nothing to do that with. They don't even admit that tampons exist.

"It does rather put a crimp in efficient handling of those matters." Melvin sneered they could remove that early for her. She snorted. "Sure, make me waste my potential that way, Handler Melvin." He suddenly yelped. "Oh, sorry. Unintentional magic," she sighed.

The phone asked for more change. "I'm out of change. Let me go sneak back in. New reports went out yesterday." She hung up before the operator could come on to check on that call. That had happened the last call they'd had, which had been just about as bad. Why was it her fault they were so backwards!

She snuck back to the school the same way she got out, which was a longish hike but she'd done longer in her life so far. It was a nice walk through the Forbidden Forest though. At least she didn't have to do more than avoid the centaurs out there. Though she did stop to get a trial size box of tampons. She did need them. The school was absolutely primitive on those sort of things. She wasn't going to banish anything like blood anywhere it could be found and used against them.

***

Melina looked at Dreykov. "She's right. The magical teachers must have known if it's so well known. They didn't tell us so we could plan effectively."

Dreykov grimaced at her. "You are trying to spare that one."

"No, I'm being sensible," she corrected, staring back at him. "If everyone knew that and they didn't tell us, that's their failure, not Hermione's. Her reports have been full of information about the people, the layout, the problems there, the ways she's found around some of them, all that she needs to be doing until that one threat comes into the open. Melvin wanted them to sneak in, kill it, then sneak back out. Which apparently can't be done yet."

"Still, she is not doing well."

"She's doing better than most and she is only twelve," she reminded him. "Genius and twelve but still twelve and this is her first handling operation. You tossed her to them like she'd be a sacrificial victim to them." She stared at him. "Which I'm aware of why." He glared. She stared back, one eyebrow going up. Then she hit a button on the phone. "Send in Petrin." She let it go. He knocked then walked in a minute later. "Petrin, does Hogwarts have a phone service?"

"No. I thought you would have already known that. It is well known that they use quills and have no electronics. Are the children in trouble? The protections on the school mean that almost no one can get in there. I know Melvin said he tried and couldn't."

She waved a hand. She looked at him. "It has hampered them reporting in. We did not know so we sent them with a cellphone for that."

"Ah." He nodded. "The protections on the school would render it useless, maybe even when they're not local. There's no way for her to charge it. That school is full of what most consider *traditionalists*." He winced at the look Dreykov sent him. "The one I attended is better. It has electric heat. There has fireplaces from what I understand."

"Is there a faster way to get information from them?" Dreykov asked. "Beyond her finding change somehow and making a call after she sneaks out to a nearby village?"

"No, and I'm shocked she can get to a nearby village that would have a phone. Taking the day to hike that far would probably be noticed if she does it too routinely. They do use owl mail. That would be slightly slower than the average postal service."

"I've gotten one of those and by the date it takes a week. Is there another method of communicating? Something like the mirror thing they have in fantasy novels?"

"Yes but she won't be able to do that spell for years. It's not the age, it's the amount of magic in her. At her age, it's still partially blocked up because she hasn't finished maturing yet. I checked them both before they left. They're nearly there but not fully open yet. If she tries that before then it could actually kill her." She grimaced but nodded. "I can look for other methods. Have they found the Dark Lord's parts yet?"

She found the reports she had put on the desk to hand to him. He read it over. "Hmm. Harry's talent with ghosts liking him is still working. That could be good or bad. They'd report things to the headmaster." He kept reading.

"She's done an excellent job. That is a good foundation and a report on what happened during the last war so we know where he had ended and where he might pop back up. You did good with her planning training, Melina." He handed them back. "I'll ask the others if they have more ideas."

"She's a quick study at that. Is there some way Melvin could sneak in to get a report in person? He's just sitting in London being a prick."

"No. There's protections to drive away anyone non-magical and to keep out anyone who didn't attend there or wasn't from the local community. If we still had Thomas, he could have. He went there way back when." She grimaced at that one. She had killed him after finding him harming a student for no reason other than pleasure.

"Someone magic resistant might be able to but the only one I know of is Soldat." He shrugged a bit but grimaced. "No telling what those would do to his programming and control. Or his arm. I'll ask the others if they have ideas. The reports from the other schools are less encouraging." He handed them over. "They can't really warp the systems there so they're monitoring it for leverage points and will report in if one should open up."

"That is reasonable," Dreykov agreed. "How well known is their lack of electricity?"

"Everyone knows. It's like them using quills."

"They use those to write?" Melina demanded. "I saw her shopping list for school and it listed them." He nodded with a grimace. "Oh, dear. They're so very backwards." She rolled her eyes. "Ask Sarvent if he has any idea what may be coming toward those two so we can give them better orders?"

"The last I heard he said that the Dark Lord was a ghost or something. Which should be drawn to Harry."

"Yes, by her first report, his mother ended the last war by sacrificing herself to stop him and render him without a body or something. She wasn't sure exactly what or how."

He nodded. "Since he's still around he's got something sticking him here. They'll have to take those out first and then him. I'll tell Sarvent to work up a profile on him to gauge where he'll pop back up. That would give Hermione time to plan at least."

"Please," Melina agreed. "She has done as she should. Melvin's just sitting there lounging around."

"He's like that here too. Never pays attention to a trainee unless he can use them for something and has no attention span for longer term missions." He nodded at Dreykov and not getting any other orders left to pass those out. He had no idea they had sent the kids into that sort of problem area. And with a handler who was ineffective and an idiot as well. It was a recipe to lose them both. And they might need Harry.

She stood up. "I'll send a letter noting we're doing that and will send someone to check over their methods so far. Before the holiday break, and I'll be there to get her myself since they think I'm her mother." She walked off before he could grab her to punish her for standing up for the younger trainee.

It was dangerous to go against him or to anger him but he'd see it wasn't the girl's fault soon enough. He did have sense when he calmed down and thought about things. He just had that love/hate thing with Hermione. Still. Let him work it out of his system and he'd figure things out more tactically.

Though she did remove a lot of the trainees to external training in the woods, as she had been planning to do anyway. It was filed for tomorrow but she was conveniently here now and it'd save them all from Dreykov's temper. The few younger ones she had to leave, she stared at one female senior operative.

"Train the youngers," she ordered. That one nodded. "A mission has went in unexpected manners because of information that was not shared." That one winced but nodded again. "I'm going to do the woods training I had planned." The other former trainees who had made it to adulthood and training duties could watch over the younger children until that bout of temper passed.

***

Hermione looked at Harry once she got back, handing him the rest of the drink she had gotten for her hike. He nodded, sipping it while staring at her. "They're still mad we can't call."

"As am I." He nodded, taking another sip. "I think they were missing you." He glanced behind himself then at her.

"I saw her. She can yell, she is our head of house and we know that she has that right, but if I did not make that call, someone would try to show up to find us. Then would make a huge fuss when they couldn't." She looked at her head of house. "My mother demands I stay in contact with her as she doesn't trust this school to be good enough. If I don't, she'll start to file police reports to have me found."

"I think we could go against that. We could talk to her. I know you've sent letters."

"I have," she agreed with a nod. "She's off doing some charity dental work on the continent." Professor McGonagall winced at that. "She's highly upset that I can't call. Letters can be faked easily. Phone calls can't. As her own father had something to do with the government right after the war...." She shrugged. "She's a bit paranoid about all that stuff. Especially since that little bit of knowledge about her father nearly had *her* kidnaped once."

"Oh, dear." She nodded. "We'll help you get to a place you can place a call, Miss Granger. Where did you floo to?"

"Floo?" She looked confused. "I hiked to Tinesbridge."

"That's ten miles away!"

Hermione nodded. "Yes but it's the nearest payphone and source of tampons." She grimaced.

"You could banish such things."

She stared at her for a minute, seeming a lot older than she was. "And who could access that banished body fluid that is said to be able to affect the former holder if used in the right spells according to Professor Snape?"

"Oh." She nodded. "That is a good point, yes, though very paranoid of you."

"And yet... I have to handle bullies." She waved a hand in the air. "Including one of our seventh years who is jealous for *some* reason I have no idea about. I don't know why but it's pathetic and I'm tired of her too." She looked at Harry, who held out the soda. "No, you can have the rest, Harry, I saved it for you." She looked at the Professor. "I'm going to the loo if I may?"

"Fine. No more sneaking out. I will gladly help you get to a payphone every few weeks, Miss Granger."

"Please. That would help a lot." She smiled. "Thank you." She hurried off to pee. She hadn't wanted to pee in the woods. She had heard the centaurs patrolling and had to avoid them. She was doing fantastic on her woods lore training this year. She had barely passed it before but she had learned a lot about it recently.

Harry looked at the teacher that had followed him. Then he walked off finishing that soda and tossing out the can. The house elves could recycle it or whatever they did with aluminum cans.

Professor McGonagall went to make that report to the headmaster. They'd had other children who had paranoid parents and had handled it easily enough. They could handle this one as well. She'd visit with them over the holidays if she could. Just to ease the mother's mind.

***

Hermione felt the alarms she had put up go off and looked around, then nudged Harry with a toe and nodded. He glanced and then went to take the Winter Soldier to a safer place to talk to him and report on what was going on and how things were going.

Hermione followed a few minutes later, making it look natural. No one realized they were sneaking off to anything but the kitchen, when in fact they had a small area down near there that was a storage room they could talk in safely. She walked in and handed over her reports. "The next set of reports I'm sending in on Wednesday as usual, Soldat," she said quietly, staring at him. "We could use some tactical advice if you can give it."

He handed over the spare glasses he had carried in. "Operative Melina and Dreykov."

"Brilliant of you. Thank you!" She put them on and walked toward the corner she had protected to listen to them and tell them all that was in the reports that she could. A bit of it was for Melina for more personal reasons but if he handed it to Dreykov it wasn't a problem. She was fighting her anger at the blood purists and it was annoying to manage.

She listened to their new ideas and orders, nodding at them. "That would be more than acceptable, Father. Here, have Harry." She handed them off and walked over to the trainer that they all hated to have train them but were better when he did. "Do you have any advice on how to handle the lack of electricity?"

He slowly shook his head. "Not in many years." Then he winced and rubbed his head.

"Oh, that's not good." She did a calming spell and a healing spell on him. "Move your fingers for me please." He tried and two moved out of the five. "We need to get you away from here." She looked at Harry, who nodded he had reported that. She put a hand on his arm, getting a look. "There's a way but it's locked against students using it. We'll get you there."

He nodded once, going back to the more frozen persona. Harry handed back the glasses and helped her sneak him into Snape's office since it was closest and he wasn't in the school. They used his floo to send him to London so he could sneak off. Whoever was on the other side of his headset could instruct him in how to get to a better place for a pickup.

They snuck out and back up to their dorm, settling in to go over the new orders and mission obligations. Things hadn't changed too much.

***

During one of her reporting jaunts in the spring of their first year, she ran into someone she recognized. Though they didn't recognize her. She walked up to him once he was out of police notice for having stabbed someone in the side as he walked past them. "So, I assume you're my step-uncle," she said quietly. "As Bradlin was my former stepfather but he died trying to save my mother."

The man flinched, staring at her. "Who're you?" he demanded.

She stepped better into the light. "Hermione." She smiled. "Mother said our last name was Granger before the ones that had raised her came after her." She stared at him. "I remember Stepfather, he was a good man to me and my mother."

"He wasn't to anyone else."

She shrugged. "Many don't deserve that consideration." She tipped her head then smiled. "I was told that my present tenure at school would lead me nearer to family and I was to ignore them. Which...I don't think is a good idea so I'm expressing some self will against orders."

"Orders?" He stared down at her. "What orders?"

"The ones she escaped from came for Mother," she said quietly. "Because she escaped." He winced at that, so he had at least heard rumors. "But now I have an important thing. I just wanted to touch base with his family. He was a good man to me before they got him to get her. He treated me like his own child and was always reading to me. That's why I could read by two." She smiled a bit. "I didn't mean to freak you out."

"You didn't," he admitted. "I'll tell Granther."

She nodded, writing down something. "I'm there. If he knows about us he can send me letters. If not, I'll find some way to get regular mail. That school is so boring." She sighed. "But it's important and I must complete that." She walked off, disappearing quickly.

He sucked in a breath, going to report that to the grandfather sort who was over the family. He walked in and right to him. "Granther, I have news."

"It seems important. Are we under investigation?"

"Bradlin's stepkid stopped me to say hello. She recognized me I guess since I look like him."

The man stiffened, staring at him. "She survived?" he demanded loudly. The others in the room stared at them.

"She said he was a good man to her and her Ma before the ones who raised her got her for escaping 'em."

He winced but nodded. "I thought so. Couldn't prove it. What do you know of the rumors of one called Black Widow out of SHIELD?"

"Only rumors. Supposedly a super assassin and spy. Russian."

"Trained by a group in Russia," he corrected, staring at him. "Not their people. They have little girl and big girl assassins they train from really young. Bradlin's wife, she had been one and admitted that to me. She did say they wouldn't come near us if she could help it." He stared at him.

"I'm pretty sure those same ones that got her Ma have raised her. She said it's important but she hates whatever school she's in." He handed over that address.

"Hmm. Little bit has magic." He smiled. "I saw her when she was born. Little Hermione."

He nodded. "Not so little now. Teen, young teen, girl. Said she was told to ignore things like us but oh well." He grinned.

"I want to meet that one. Where were you?"

"Edinburgh."

"Hmm. She was probably away from the school for something then. I know it's in the middle of nowhere. One of your distant cousins went." He tucked that into his pocket. "We'll check on the Bit. She's probably a good girl. Her mother was smart. Genius in chemistry." That got a nod and he backed off with a slight bow. "You see her again, let me know." He nodded at that. "The rest of you too." They nodded at that, going back to what they had been doing.

He owed those Russian bastards for taking out his family member. He'd see what sort of girl she had grown into under their idiot plans.

***

The moment she got off the train, Hermione headed for Melina. She knew she was there somewhere. So was Melvin but she ignored him for now. She had done a tracking spell on the train as it pulled in to find her quickly so rushed right to her, grabbing her arm. "Mum, we have to talk. Right. Now," she said, staring at her.

"Why?" she asked patiently. "You're flustered. Is there another problem going on with those bullies?"

"No, Mum, but I'm pretty sure we're getting a visit by a teacher during the holidays."

"Did you flunk something?" she asked dryly but smirked at the younger woman.

"Of course not! But having to get me to somewhere that I can call every few weeks has tested some patiences."

"Oh, that reason." She nodded. "We prefer that since mail can be waylaid and does take a good bit of time." She stared at her. "By the way, one got shot down."

"I heard. I got a nasty note from the Ministry." She felt the professor and nodded behind her. "Mum, I'm sure you remember Professor McGonagall."

"I do." She shook her hand. "Let Hermione get her bag and we can talk with her hauling her own books."

"Fine," she agreed with a nod, heading to do that. It was the holiday break and she hadn't really packed all that much stuff to come back. Only the stuff no one should find if they searched her stuff. Including stuff that Harry could probably see but he wanted a few days off the headache to rest. They had to talk about that as well. When she came back Melina was looking amused at the older woman complaining she was paranoid. "I told her how you nearly got kidnaped once thanks to Grandad," she said quietly.

"Yes, I did," she agreed with a nod. "The world is a dangerous place these days for young women. Should she not be allowed to stay in contact with myself and other members of the family then I would have to make sure she transferred to somewhere that I found nicer and safer. Somewhere that a phone could operate like it does everywhere else these days.

"There's nomadic tribes in Africa that have mobile phones. Scotland and England are both well beyond that simple requirement." She stared at her. McGonagall wasn't cowed by her stare but she also wasn't going to win this argument. Melina would win somehow. Even if she had to play dirty. "How are Harry's headaches and did he not come?"

"No, he said he's resting his head for a few days. The headaches are getting worse and we're not sure *why* but they're all but debilitating in some ways. The potions they give him don't work and the tylenol I have for sprains and things isn't strong enough."

She nodded. "We'll see what we can find for you to bring back for his bad days. Plus make sure whoever had custody of him has him seen for that over the summer." She looked at the teacher again. "Is that allowed by your Ministry?"

"The nurse said it's nothing."

"Yes, she did while blotting the scar opening and spilling blood too," Hermione said dryly, staring at her. "I think she's a bit...compromised perhaps. I have no idea *why* or by who but I'm fairly certain that's not showing panic to keep him calm, that's actually lying to his face about it. Which means he won't trust a single one of you." She gave her a pointed look. Then looked at Melina again. "Can we have lunch?"

"Of course," she sighed. "Didn't you pack something to eat?"

"The house elves didn't make us anything and we're not allowed to bring food from the Great Hall. If we try, it floats back in." She grimaced. "There's a snack trolley if you have money but I didn't want sweets for lunch."

"No, I wouldn't either." She looked at the professor. "I'm sure you'll figure out how to handle that need." She walked off with the younger girl, glancing at her once they were in the car. "Are you well?"

"Yes, and I saw Professor McGonagall hit us with a tracking charm on the way out of the station. So expect a tabby cat to show up on the stoop sometime soon, Mum." She looked at her. Melina grimaced. That would hamper them doing a few things until they could find it and remove it. And block that teacher being nosy.

She drove them off, making sure Hermione got something healthy for lunch. She hated salads but she tucked into that one like she was starving. They had a lot to go over and figure out ideas on how to handle. She honked at Melvin with a cheery grin and a wave as they passed by him. "That man needs a colonic to his brain," she said happily with a smile.

"Don't tempt me, Mum. Really, just don't." She was finding all the tracking spells and removing them. There were a lot. On her clothes and books, on her wand, on her, on Melina, on the car.... They really wanted to make sure what she was doing this holiday break. "Skiing?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Malta for a conference but no beach time."

"Oh, that'll be fun." She smiled. "I might need a bit of shopping help. Things are getting tight in the wrong way."

"I can see that idea. They look tight in the wrong way," she said, looking her over. Clearly she had grown some this year. She heard a phone ring and glanced at Hermione.

"No, mine's set to not ring at all. That way no one knows if there's been a call."

"That's not a bad idea." She shook her head, finding her phone to look at it then huffed. "Answer Melvin." She handed it over.

Hermione called him back. "Yes, Melvin?" She found a few more tracking spells and a listening spell. "Checking for tracking spells at the moment. The Professor was not amused. Mum's driving so not sure." She looked at her.

"For the night, home."

"Home for the night then I'm told there's a conference." She blinked, going back to checking for things that shouldn't be near them. Including one curse that got thrown out a window. The thing the curse was on was a favorite bra that still fit but oh well. The other cursed thing, the matching panties, went out as well. "I need to beat our head girl's friend who cursed me to die horribly apparently." She hung up on his spluttering. "He's not amused either."

Melina glanced at her. "Why?"

"She's jealous for *some* reason."

"Oh, dear. Are you prettier?"

"No. She's more conventionally pretty and I'm a hot mess with my hair not being able to be fixed." She wound it back up again.

Melina shook her head. "We'll see if we can manage that problem as well. I know it's a pain when your hair isn't tended to. It tends to mat and knot."

"Yes it did. Thankfully one of the other girls in my year is pretty fashion focused so she knew how to get rid of them easier than cutting them out. Though we'd have to use the potions knife we have because we don't have scissors in the house."

"The more I hear about that school the less I like it." Hermione tossed out the other listening spells, making her grin at that little bit of hinting that there were problems. They'd talk for real while they were taking down an imbecile in Malta who sold weapons.

***

Harry had found out about his aunt. And the Big Lie that his aunt had raised him. So he went to look at said aunt over his first summer break. See why she had given him up to the assholes who had raised him. He spent a few days watching their routine, seeing who she really was. Then he moved in to talk to her. His aunt...she was horrified when she opened the door and spotted him.

"Aunt Petunia, long time no see." He stared at her then sighed. "Was it worth giving me to those ones who tortured me to get free of me? Really?" She gasped and backed up a few steps. He was fighting an urge. A deep, primal urge. He was in control though. He was fully in control of his magic and his actions. As he should be. "Was it worth giving the Russian government a new child to turn into a weapon?"

She swallowed. "I... That is not what they said they'd do."

"Hmm. Yeah, Father Dreykov lied. He still does." He stared at her. "Just so you know, you really probably shouldn't do that again to any other child. No matter why you did it. Does the world really need more child assassins?"

"You came to kill me?"

"I didn't even know about you until recently, so no. I came to see why you'd ever think to give a child, a harmless little boy, away to those who would make him learn how to kill people by the time he was five. Everything I've learned about my mother said that she wouldn't have if she had to raise your son." She went pale and shook, shaking her head. "So why?"

"It protected us."

"Ah." He nodded.

"Kept those freaks away too!" she said loudly. "All those like *you* and *your mother*, all of them had to go away finally!"

Harry shook his head. "They probably never went away since according to them you raised me." He stared at her. "It was in the papers the other day." She shuddered. "While I have no mercy I'm not here for you. Not today. Not at all. But they're still here and probably on their way here to check on things."

"I...I'm going to leave."

He nodded. "Have a good life. Whatever you made of it. As one of my trainers said, you only justify yourself to God." He walked off. She was shaken, crying and afraid. She had done it because she hated him for some reason. He didn't understand people that way. He'd ask Hermione but she'd want to go fix that aunt of his for giving him away. Really, he just saw the pathetic and didn't care. He had never known them and clearly they didn't want to know him.

Hermione got him later that night, sitting next to him and handing him a bottle of hard cider. "It might not have been much different."

"No," he agreed. "Probably not. She thought I'm a freak." He took a sip. Then sighed.

She nodded. "It wasn't good for us but it made us stronger. Strong enough to stop what we have to stop." She looked at him. "Though I get to hit Ron again, right?"

"If he starts his shit again, haul off and plug him," he said dryly. "He probably earned a broken face if you do."

She smiled. "Thanks. That's a great present, Harry."

"Welcome." He took another sip. "Think she'll tell?"

"I think she might try and then will go into hiding. Hopefully somewhere very far away." She took her own sip. "What do you want to do about Melvin listening in?"

He flicked his wand at him and erased that memory. "Nothing." He and she shared a smirk then went back to easing the stress for a bit. They'd have time with the Weasley family in two days. Which was... a lot to deal with. They needed a day off stress right now.

"What're you going to do about Ginny?"

"Huh?"

"She's trying very hard to keep you as a potential boyfriend."

He blinked a few times then grimaced. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"No, probably not. She'd probably never understand."

He nodded. "I can't hide that well in plain sight."

She nodded. "I know." She took another sip. "I don't think courting her would get us anywhere in the mission though."

"No, probably not. If she was a senior death eater maybe...." He grimaced. "Though they're all....really gross. I can't pretend well enough to even get close enough to try to play with one." She nodded with a sigh. "I'm hoping we don't have to work that way."

"Me either. The only tolerably handsome enough one is Draco's father and no, I don't think I can do that." They clinked bottles and let Melvin, their handler, wake up.

***

Harry, in his third year, met with a Mother Widow. He had snuck away from the school. Not that hard to do really. Getting to the city of Paris was a bit harder. She was there on a mission for her new people. He settled in a seat across from her, making her give him an odd look and a stare. "Mother," he said in Russian, making her stiffen.

"Peace. I'm not here for them. I'm here because I need some advice, Mother. What I am assigned to do is important. It will destroy the world if I am not successful. But the ones in charge are either very dumb, very blatantly dumb, or very concerning that they have plans that are nearly as bad. My gift is not tactics and my helper is not gifted that way."

She blinked a few times. "Which one are you?" At least this child wasn't a threat to her.

"Harry."

"Oh." She had heard rumors. "What is going on?" He handed her his notes he had made. She read them over, grimacing. "That one planning on that side needs help."

"We found one who can plan among the normals. He's helping me and my helper."

She looked at him. "Helper or handler?"

"Bit of both," he admitted. "Though she is not ideal. We've both...we've both found things and learned things that are not ....operational for the mission. She found her parents. I found mine. Many have told me about mine."

"That is something many of us wish we had," she admitted, handing them back. "Can you get away from the one planning?"

"The headmaster? If we switch schools? Which would screw the operation greatly."

She blinked. "Oh, dear. Who do you have with you?"

He smiled. "The fundamental rules of life for us? Operatives will do what they must, they will do it well enough, even if we are lost to it. We are not normal and should not do more than attempt that state for a mission. We must listen to Father, no matter what. And...."

"Hermione always has a book," she muttered then sighed and nodded. "Oh, dear."

"She is Mother Melina's protege."

"I heard." She stared at him. "What are your options right now?"

"It's starting again. I have reported that. Father wishes it to be stopped somehow before it spreads. If we go with what is asked of us, then it may not help and may destroy the world. If we do what we must, it may take years. The one who helps us by planning, he thinks it'll take years. Hermione thinks it'll take years.

"We can't find a place to sidestep it. So I'm stuck between Father and the headmaster's wills. Both agree that I may be lost to this one, but she'd handle it afterwards. And it'll have to be me by what I'm learning. So I have to die to solve a problem and then live to fight him afterwards. I am relatively stuck. That's why I found one who can understand what I'm trapped between but who has handled tough missions before so can give advice."

She nodded. "You seem to need much and so does she." She looked outside. "She followed you?"

"No, we both snuck off. Her to go research somewhere else." He looked out there but she ignored it and sent off another operative who had spotted her. That one could report in that they had seen her sneaking around but wouldn't hear about Harry or Natasha. Then she came in after explaining to her that she was off to research something important. She looked at Harry. "The key?" he asked.

She touched the scar that had frustrated all the teachers. It was too identifying of him so that was a hindrance to missions and it was magical but dark so had frustrated those teachers. "He's in there."

He blinked a few times. "What?"

She nodded. "The things your mother did, it protected you from him taking you over as a possession, Harry. So it must come out somehow. Which is a death. But there are ways to revive you."

He nodded. "That would be appreciated since I have to defeat him."

"That....he made you his enemy." She shrugged. "But we will help and back you up."

"Good. I like that. How would we do that?"

She shrugged. "I do not know. I have no idea. Or when would be the best time as it's a protection right now. Like our first year."

He grimaced but nodded. "All right." He looked outside. "She didn't leave."

"She's frozen. They gave her that stupid new formula that doesn't work. It locks you up if you're not under vocal command and she doesn't have one. She was stumbling when she saw me. I kindly eased it and called that in to our handler so he's on his way to gather her." She looked at Natasha. "I've hidden the window so he may not see in."

She nodded at that niceness. She kept watch, sneaking over when she saw their handler to explain what was going on and why. He took over vocal command and she unfroze the girl. Who reported she had seen her. "I'm off researching about the scar thing that Harry needed to know."

"Ah. That's fine." He nodded. "Not that I wouldn't sneak off from the school as well."

"It's not like I'm behind." She grimaced. "Draco has nothing on Soldat sneering at me for reading." She walked off. "I'm having tea to pay attention."

"Fine." He took that girl off to talk to her about her mission. Her handler was drunk, again. He was a common problem. He'd report the handler, report what had happened to her and he had taken over, and got her through her mission that same day. It had been going on too long by his estimation.

That got her back there so they could detox the stupid control formula and try the newer one that Melina had come up with. Melina took her from him that night to go over that. He gave her a report on how and what had happened, how Hermione had handled it and alerted him as was proper, and that she had snuck off to research a necessary ingredient in the mission, his scar.

She was pleased with that report. She'd get a detailed one from Hermione later on, when she picked her up for the holiday break for a new short-term mission. Hermione could share any doubts she had during it. It was important they were sure Hermione was loyal and working well in her assignment.

***

On the way back to Hogwarts that evening, Harry needed food so made Hermione go with him to a little café that looked like people liked to eat there. He glanced around then pointed at what one person was having that looked good. "Can I have that?" he asked in French.

The waiter nodded. "Of course. Ma'am?"

"Same, please," she requested with a smile. "Harry's hungry so we're eating before our flight."

He nodded, going to put in that order. That coffee...concoction that woman had ordered was very weird to an adult who drank *real* coffee but those two were young and that much sugar was something young people did before they learned how to drink real coffee or tea. And the cheesy bread was a normal snack anyway. Harry paid and he smiled at the tip he got from them.

Harry took a sip first and blinked then stared at it. "Huh. That's really nice. Try it, Hermie?" She took a careful sip then nodded slowly and put it down before digging into her bread. Harry liked that and finished his, and hers, which she didn't mind. It was a bit sweet for her.

But Harry, that was a new thing and he had found a thing he liked more than Hermione liked books. He'd have to figure out how it was made by asking the waiter before they left. Which Hermione took notes on for him so he had the recipe later on.

***

Hermione and Harry were watching the other schools appear, not acknowledging that they knew one of the younger Durmstrang students. Richard had grown up nicely. The girls from Beaubaxtons came in and they stared but there was no sign of Hannah. Which was a shame. They hoped she had been given to another group to train her and raise her better than the Red Room did to them. The other boy, they knew where he was, he was in one of the US schools.

Hermione reported that she had seen him there, as she should, and he could put in a report through her if he needed to. His own handler had died last year by what he had hissed when she had 'run into him' that night outside on the castle's roofline. He had agreed she could note that she had seen him. He wasn't all the way obedient any longer, like she and Harry weren't, so that was a good thing to agree on.

Richard got sent back when he wasn't chosen, though Harry was and their handler did not like that at all. He had ordered him to withdraw and got the answer he hated of Harry wasn't able to do that, it'd kill him. It would screw the whole plan. Their handler showed up at the local village during a day in town to talk to them. Harry had to defend himself, he hadn't put his name in there. He was rather trapped thanks to someone else having ideas.

No one liked that idea. Especially when the first task had a live dragon they had to get something from underneath. That had caused a huge fit among the upper echelon of the Red Room. Richard disappearing on the way home hadn't caused that much stress. Hannah's new group had rescued Richard when she had identified him to them. The other male magical trainee as well. They had heard about Harry and Hermione but that was too important to remove them from.

***

Before the ball Hermione was giving Harry a pep talk, kind of. Their sort of pep talk at least. "If the worst thing that happens on a mission is that you have to dance with a nice young woman, then we are blessed," she reminded him firmly. "It could be much worse. They could be expecting you to sleep with her, or to even take her out. You are whining."

He glared at her. "I am not! I have no idea how to do that."

"Then why did you not ask? We could have found out how to teach you to dance. If not, let her lead. She can probably dance. That would cover up your lack of preparation. What would the upper operatives say?"

"I think they'd say that it was dumb we're having a ball."

"That is not something we have any control over. The headmasters picked it, not us. We are just at their whim as we would be if we were on any other mission and there were people we had to get around. You know how to do this." She pointed. "Now go make someone happy with you! Me getting ready will take much longer and you're cutting into my hair time."

He grimaced but did as ordered, going to shower, get dressed, all that stuff that was mission prep. Though he didn't really have a weapon he had to check over first. He sucked in a breath. He had been taught how to entice a target to pay attention to him. He could do that with the twins he guessed. He'd just feel miserable about treating them like a target to be handled. Though he guessed a date was something of the same thing. He looked at Neville, who was grinning at him. "How do you dance?"

"It's not hard, Harry. Just don't trip over your feet." He waved him over once he had on all but his formal jacket, showing Harry how one danced like a gentleman. That helped him a lot. "Don't pay attention to your feet or you'll trip," he reminded him, letting him go. Harry nodded. "Also, relax. You know her. You have for four years. She's not going to bite you or eat you, Harry."

"If she was going to I'd know what to do."

Neville patted him on the arm. "That's messed up, Harry. Calm down, relax. Quit panicking. No one's expecting you to do anything tonight but show up, dance a bit, and not embarrass the school. Really. It's not like you'll be marrying her."

"Thanks, Nev."

"Welcome, Harry. Finish getting ready. Remember not to pour on the cologne like Ron does sometimes." He left once he had checked his hair, his skin, and his outfit, and grabbed the corsage he had grown.

Harry got himself into the mission mindset and did the same things, then went to find his date. Neville was right. No one was going to be paying much attention to him as long as he was there and not embarrassing the school. Hermione would have a lot more attention on her. Viktor was known to the press people.

They'd be paying attention to her and what she wore, how she handled herself. Harry could fade off after a few minutes. In that sort of things, the girls were trained better to handle such duties as operatives. Hermione probably had a lot of training in how to lure someone to her side. Though she hadn't done that with Viktor.

He was liking her just because she was her. Which people found weird. Very weird by the rumors. But Hermione wasn't the sort that would make him do bad things and could stop him if he tried. People were going to be paying a lot more attention to her.

Which meant that Hermione had to sneak off to get a gown. And had to sneak off to get makeup. And hair things probably. Maybe some light jewelry. Mission prep showed that the outfit was a very important part. Harry checked himself over again. Basic black formal robes looked good on him.

He came down to get his date, smiling at her. "Sorry I'm a bit late."

"You're nervous and it's okay, Harry. We understand and we know it's not a *date*." He grinned and nodded. "We'll figure it out. I took lessons on how to dance."

"That's good, because I didn't," he admitted with a nervous grin. "Neville showed me just now."

"That happens." She patted him on the hand, taking the corsage to put on herself so Harry didn't have to try to do that and stab her with the pin on it. She knew he was nervous. She could handle that for them both. "Wow," she said, spotting Hermione and Viktor. He blinked but nodded he agreed. She looked very good. He'd have to make sure that a picture went into the report this week. At least the one going to Melina.

***

Melina got that report from both teens. Which amused her greatly. Harry didn't usually do more than add a paragraph onto her report. This time he had a whole page. About a ball? She read it then went to Hermione's, staring at it. "Oh, I see. The damnable contest had a ball to celebrate Yule," she muttered. "Uh-huh." She noted the pictures and nodded.

"He did well enough, whoever helped him had good taste. I guess that's robes instead of a tuxedo." She flipped the picture, finding that one. Hermione's dress with her date, the formal picture from the paper apparently. She looked...nice. "It is not the sort I would have expected for a ball. I would have picked a bigger gown but that is suitable to her age I suppose."

She considered it, then nodded once. "She did look darling." A clipping from the paper was included of them dancing. Harry looked like he was stiff and had no idea. "I need to talk to him about how to prepare for such events," she muttered. "A male operative must be able to dance upon needs. Hermione looks smooth though."

She stared at it. The dress was appropriate based on what others were wearing and what Harry was wearing. It was cute but not sexy. It wasn't flirty but Viktor was not a mission point. This was just an incidental they had to appear at due to that stupid contest that Harry had been entered into. Thankfully Hermione was helping him prepare for the tasks.

Dreykov showed up for their meeting, staring at her. "What has been going on with the apprentice, Melina?" he asked as he sat down. "I know I have not paid much attention this month."

"Did you hear that someone entered Harry into a potentially deadly contest but he could not be withdrawn?"

"No."

She sighed but nodded, going over all that to the current point. "The headmasters decided there must be a ball to celebrate Yule due to the contest." She handed over the two pictures. "They did not ask for my help and probably not from Melvin either. He would have had inappropriate taste for her gown."

"That was a *ball*," he said dryly, staring at the pictures. She hummed but nodded. "Why?"

"The three headmasters demanded apparently." She grimaced. "She does look nice, apparently did good on the preparations as she knew how to waltz." She showed him that clipping. "Harry had no idea apparently but male operatives are not taught the same way the females are."

"True." He watched that small scene replay. "She looked nice enough. The dress is a bit juvenile."

"Yes, but she's a fourth year. That's what they'd expect her to wear, not a ballgown like we would assume at a coming out event."

"Point." He handed it back. "It does look good on her. She did not ask?"

"She probably didn't have time to ask."

"Yes, that damnable lack of technology," he said with a grimace. "Maybe after all this they will finally install a regular phone system there."

"Perhaps, but she said they use the fireplace for that." He rolled his eyes with a sigh. "And for traveling."

"How?" She shrugged. "Have her do a report on that so we may know for later plans?"

"I have it at home. I was not sure. They call it a network."

"Ah." He nodded. "Charming." He shook his head. "That war thing?"

"Hermione knows he shows up in the spring and they're on alert because there's still two tasks to be done before the end of that competition. Though Harry is not trying to win. He's noted he did not enter it, even though it peeved Melvin greatly that someone did it to him."

"Was it an opt in?"

"It was put your name on a slip of paper into a goblet. That picked the champions. Someone put Harry's name in."

"Oh. So we think it was due to that thing they're stopping?"

"Hermione was certain it was, yes. It was one of that one's minions probably. She's not sure which one. The goblet was in an open room for a whole day and not watched."

"Great." He grimaced. "Will he survive that?"

"We hope. The first one had him facing a living dragon on a nest to try to get an egg from under her, a specially marked one. That would give a hint to the second task, which is in February."

He winced. "That is very weird."

"Yes, but it let the school's mingle and meet. Which probably facilitated children meeting others of their own type for future marriages."

"Oh, that sort. Yes, that makes more sense." He grimaced. "Any other news?"

"Not much. I've sent her homework to work on that relates to physics and chemistry. She's sent it back but I haven't graded it yet."

"That's good she's keeping up her studies with you as well. Can they end it this year?"

"Right now, that being isn't even alive. He's some sort of spirit entity that can't be killed or touched. Now, there is some sort of thing that if Harry touches him it hurts him but it won't kill him. So somehow they have to figure out how to kill something that's already three-quarters dead."

He grimaced. "Can they?"

"She has a compendium of research on that. It comes down to what sort of being it is and having to trap it to try anything. It disappeared again their second year. Barely showed up the third year but his minions did instead." He groaned. "Exactly. If they can trap it they can try to kill it or at least keep it trapped. If not, they may have to wait for him to make a bigger play toward rebuilding himself somehow to end it. They are working on it. As I said, she has a compendium, it's about a foot thick."

"That makes sense for her. Has Harry seen it?"

"Yes, often. He's helped her build it." She shrugged. "We're stuck because he's not cooperating yet. She *thinks* based on statistics that he'll try something this spring to bring him back to life somehow. Not sure how. And that would mean that Harry may end up alone during it like he did her second year because she was frozen in the infirmary."

"How did that even happen?"

"Magical creature called a basilisk," she said dryly. "It froze her. It took them months to undo it. I ended up getting her a cat to lean on to help her with that issue. She spent four months that way, about three weeks after it got solved by Harry getting it and having Harry type luck issues during that battle."

He waved a hand. "That is unusual and a cat can be good for her I suppose. She can give it away when she comes back."

"Actually, the one I chose for her, it senses evil."

He blinked. "It does what?"

"It's a half-cat, half another creature, and that half senses evil." She smirked. "So it's helpful on the mission as well."

"That is interesting. Can we get information on those things?"

"Yes, I have her textbooks from her first few years."

"Ah!" He nodded. "Share with the teachers they would have if they were with us?"

"They took it in their own schooling but I will let them look through it for updated things. Though hers are out of date. They haven't been updated in years."

"So they're behind in many things! That makes absolute sense," he said dryly. "Maybe the rest of England will enjoy showing them modern things when they're forced into the modern world."

"If," she reminded him. "They've got to know about them at the higher levels of government. There's no way they don't. So they probably consider them like the Amish or Quakers."

"That could be. They seem alike only not as religious."

"They swear at Merlin."

He winced. "I will not ask." She smiled at that. "Though it is weird. We will make sure they do not carry that later in their lives."

"Please."

"What did she name the cat?"

"Crookshanks."

He blinked a few times. "I'm sensing a literary reference," he said dryly. "Are there other needs they have?" She handed over the reports. He read them over with a grimace. "That is good. They have identified others who are minions. Ones who were minions but have supposedly left. A weird teacher. Though many of their teachers are weird to me." He handed them back. "Let me know when they can get on with their missions so they can be properly reacquainted with their training."

"I would. As soon as I heard."

"Good." He went to his office to fume that the idiot, backwards people were stalling that great thing he had sent those two to do so they could get an in with their community. How dare they try to resist his will by being so backwards!

Melina settled in to write Hermione a longer letter as a stepparent would and then a mission statement to be included. Thankfully the owl that Hermione had let in to eat her mice could also take mail for her. It was nicely trained to do that now.

***

You must login (register) to review.

Site Info

Most Recent

Random Story

Other Sites

Skins