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The next day after a leisurely breakfast with Melody (fresh waffles, which Jean and Melody actually playfully fought over) the trio teleported to a empty spot Hedwig had found in a parking lot without security cameras on the outskirts of London, where Harry brought out his shrunk Huayra and enlarged it back to normal size. The trio piled in, and followed the roads to the address King William had given Harry in their meeting the evening before.
Harry looked over at Ororo and back at Jean, smirking in anticipation. "Everybody buckled up?" They both merely grinned back at him and he gunned the car's engine. His Huayra jetted forward, covered as usual by a subtle Notice-Me-Not ward, and he swerved in and out of traffic. Only once did he have to slow down, when they came to a bit or roadwork. What should have taken them travelling at a normal speed two hours and bit took them only forty minutes with Harry at the wheel. Soon enough they were in Staffordshire following the smaller roads to their destination.
Their destination was a large house set well apart from its nearest neighbors by at least five acres of mixed forest and fields. The area seemed old money affluent, like a place where rich people lived if they wanted to get away from crowds and didn't have to work for their money. It wasn't a place with a vibrant community or anything, but a private area, which probably suited someone who had a second life as a superhero rather well.
A voice came out after the first ring, reminding Jean rather strongly of all those old butlers in some of the films she had seen despite the suspicion in it. "Yes, this is the Braddock estate, may I help you?"
"Hello, this is Harry Potter and others, I was told you would be expecting me."
"One moment please." A moment later the voice came back, much less suspicious. "Yes, we've been told of your arrival, the gate should be opening now." A moment later the gate began to open, and Harry got back in his car and followed the slightly winding driveway towards the mansion they could see in the distance.
In said mansion Betsy Braddock, sister of the current Captain Britain frowned as she felt two unknown minds enter the mansion grounds. The fact that they both felt like women didn't quiet her suspicions, after all Vixen was a woman and so were some of her minions, nor did how strange the two felt to her senses help ease her suspicions. One felt as if it was a cloud made out of static, something she had never felt before. The other mind was clearly that of a telepath, but her defenses were very bizarre. "What the bloody…"
"Hello," said a voice from beyond the freakish tentacle trees. "Don't you know it's rather rude to try and get into someone else's head before you even meet them formally?"
Betsy scowled angrily, backing away from the tentacles that had just tried to grab her astral projection. "After the last few days of my fucking life, I think I've earned right to show a bit of caution and these tentacle trees here don't exactly give me a good first impression of you. Reminds me too much of some of the Japanese videos my last boyfriend liked to watch sometimes." That wasn't something Betsy would normally have admitted to even knowing about, but she was only five days removed from Slaymaster's assault, and was still taking heavy duty painkillers as her eye sockets slowly healed.
"Sorry, you're right about that, I didn't mean to sound like I was angry or anything. My name is Phoenix. And don't knock my trees," the voice went on more petulantly, "I like them. Though, eww, the idea of dating a boy who likes that kind of thing… Anyway, you should've been told about someone arriving today to ask you some questions about what happened? Well I'm with him."
"Him?" asked Betsy, "I only feel two female minds." Betsy's power was almost always on like a low level sonar system pulsing out from her mind through the astral plane which she could sharpen to a specific probe with a moment's thought. Now however she scanned around again, trying to find a male mind alongside Phoenix and the as yet unnamed female cloud of static.
Tension began to rise in her again, but the voice from the other side of the tentacle trees cut through her worry. "Yeah I know, he's got this weird mental defense that hides his mind somehow. No one can find it unless he wants them to. The other mind you probably feel is Storm, she's with us."
"Bloody useful then," Betsy frowned, but there was no more suspicion in it. "I... well, if you're here with ill intentions, my brother will deal with all three of you anyway. But, but it's nice to talk to someone else. Ever since, well ever since I was attacked, I've been stuck here, and its nice to speak to someone like this."
In point of fact Betsy was missing the ability to speak mind to mind with another person tremendously. She had been close friends with the other four telepaths that she worked with and it had been an odd day indeed when they were not all speaking to one another telepathically. There was now a void there, and even if this Phoenix woman was a complete stranger it felt great to meet someone whose voice could fill it, however temporarily.
Jean responded by sending a wordless wave of reassurance for a moment that took Betsy's breath away, and she wondered idly why her fellow telepaths had never been able to do something like that. She slowly began to sit up in bed, swinging her legs off the side. The two young women continued to talk mentally until Betsy heard her brother's voice in the distance coming closer talking quietly to someone.
Harry's first impression of Brian Braddock was decent enough. The man was a little older than him, and built more like a boxer or a wrestler then Harry who was built like a sprinter. In fact Brian reminded him rather strongly of Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor quidditch captain who had been so obsessed with the game, and had actually landed a job with one of the professional teams after he graduated. Like the Scottish Gryff, Brian was a solid mass of bone and muscle. He was tall, about 4 inches taller than Harry, with brown hair cut short like a soldier's, brown eyes, and an aristocratic yet friendly face, wearing a good, if old fashioned ruffed shirt and corduroy pants.
However that face was marred with grief and lined with care and worry. The man for all his size and apparent solidity seemed fragile at the moment, as if he hadn't been sleeping well. "I understand his Majesty thought you could help us Lord Potter, I even see his point about thinking that the assault on STRIKE was a prelude to something more, but I'm afraid we can't help you much. The only one of the attackers I saw personally was Slaymaster and he…" the man seemed to shudder and shrinking on himself. "He is no longer an issue."
"And a good thing too," Harry said briskly clasping his hands behind him as he followed Brian up the staircases of the mansion with Jean and Ororo following after. Ororo was looking around with interest, while Jean was merely walking along, most of her concentration on the conversation she was having with Betsy via telepathy.
Inside the mansion had been laid out similarly to Xavier's, with the main foyer dominated by a wide area around a single large staircase leading upwards. The decor was older, and much more expensive which was what Ororo was looking at, since she desperately needed ideas for her self-imposed task of redecorating the castle. In point of fact she had surrendered to the inevitable and decided to concentrate on the top two floors alone, and even then was losing interest fast.
Harry however wasn't here to take in the scenery. "The man was a killer for hire, and apparently very, very good at his job. The world is a better place without him, and even if you had captured him it's doubtful that he would've remained in prison for long given his skills."
"That may be true," said Brian hesitantly, "but I should still have taken him in. Everyone has the right to a fair trial, and no one should take the law into their own hands."
"Stop that," Harry said firmly as they came to a door on the second floor that Brian indicated was his sister's room. Since Betsy had been blinded a few days ago they should have had a live-in nurse, but Betsy had refused one and also refused to stay in the hospital, so she was back here, where she felt safest and the servants looked after her. Yet even with that Betsy refused to be waited on hand and foot, and was trying to get used to her blindness as quickly as possible.
"Sometimes," Harry said forcing the other man to turn toward him so Harry could look him in the eyes. "You must take a life to protect others. Killing in the defense of others is no murder it is sometimes the only way to truly make certain they don't hurt anyone else. Don't beat yourself up about it."
Brian didn't look convinced, but Harry let it go. He wasn't here to psychoanalyze the older man, and he well remembered how he reacted when he killed Bellatrix. Hopefully the man would get over it quickly.
Brian opened the door to his sister's room without knocking saying "sister dear, this gentleman and these two ladies are here to…"
"Brian you wanker!" Shouted a female voice from inside, "I'm not dressed you bollicking buffoon!"
Betsy had gotten into the habit of sleeping naked when she was around nine years old, and she hadn't ever broken the habit. She had begun to get out of bed as she talked to Jean but she wasn't able to move very quickly. Brian opened the door as she was finally reaching her dresser and reaching in for a shirt.
Harry took one look at her perky B cup breasts and her dark purple hair cascading down over her bare shoulders framing a face that despite the ravages of pain and the blindfold over her eyes was still beautiful and turned away swiftly. "Right, I'll just stare at this oh so interesting bit of wall here."
Jean walked swiftly into the room closing at the door behind her. "That's nice Potter, you and Mr. Braddock do that." When the door closed she turned back and moved toward Betsy quickly. "Here, let me help."
"Wanker," said Betsy growling angrily. "You'd think that my brother would've gotten used to knocking by now. Thanks by the way."
"Not a problem, and I think it's a man thing," said Jean, not commenting on the fact that she also had an issue with knocking. "Sort of like leaving the toilet seat up or something."
"Ahh, that is one habit I know I've broken Brian of," said Betsy a little proudly. "All it was took was several applications of permanent marker and hair removal solution in his shampoo when we were younger."
The two young women chuckled and Betsy looked toward where her guest was standing. Despite the fact that she couldn't see, her hearing was well up to the task of telling her where Jean was, and she flinched only a little as Jean pressed a shirt into her hands. A moment later the other woman took one of Betsy's hands and laid it on her shoulder, while pushing a pair of panties and pants into the purple-haired girls other hand.
Jean simply stood there, allowing Betsy to work out getting the panties and pants on like she had the shirt previously. After a moment she was dressed and nodded gratefully. "Thanks, I hate being like this, but being treated like some kind of useless invalid is even worse. It doesn't help matters that my coordination is shot to hell thanks to being as high as a ruddy kite on painkillers. You said your name was Phoenix, that has got to be your call sign or something."
"I can understand that," said Jean, "I can't imagine what you're going through. And yes, that's my handle I suppose. Sorry, but I don't know you well enough to want to share my real name. In point of fact you should probably think up on codename for yourself, if you intend to keep going with this whole superhero thing."
"Like this!?" said Betsy angrily gesturing at her face, where the blindfold covered what in reality were just two empty eye sockets were her eyes used to be. Slaymaster had ripped them out of her face while waiting for Brian to show up to rescue her. the fact she hadn't been able to fight back at all, that her telepathy had been utterly useless, rankled almost as much as her current predicament. That and the fear from the event came back to her every night. Right now she wasn't feeling very heroic.
"I think you could use telepathy to make up for it somehow," said Jean thoughtfully but shrugging. "But I'm not going to force you or even attempt to talk you into anything. We're just here to get your impressions of the attack as well as see if we can come up with any clues as to who might be behind this Vixen bitch."
"Someone has to be," said Betsy with a firm nod of her head as she made her way back to sit on the side of the bed. "She was…she's crazy obviously, but she should never have had the resources to infiltrate a government agency like she did, nor do it so well or get away with it! And there were a lot of odd things going on before my… my friends and I sensed what was going on, and after too." She paused looking at Jean. "I don't… I don't suppose you know if anyone else survived? My brother refuses to tell me."
Jean paused as she was about to turn to open the door and admit the two men and Ororo again, who had been a step behind the others, and stayed with them. "I'm sorry, but from what I was told you were the only one that survived. STRIKE's been utterly destroyed. From what Harry said, even its paper pushers are gone."
Betsy took a deep shuddering breath then nodded. "I was afraid of that."
"Betsy," said Jean, May I introduce Storm and Harry Potter. Before you ask no, he hasn't come up with any interesting codename or anything, we think it's rather arrogant of him, but he refuses."
"Oh please, you're just irritated that I refused to be named something stupid. Phoenix and Storm are all right, but your original moniker, Marvel Girl?" He said looking at Jean. Betsy started to laugh at the name which caused Jean to growl little, "Or Captain Britain?" He said shooting a look at Brian who shrugged his shoulders.
"Honestly people, how unimaginative can you be? And I'm not a superhero, I'm just a guy who would much rather be on his vacation right now but suffers from an acute sense of SPTS."
"SPTS?" Betsy asked curiously.
"Saving people thing syndrome." Harry replied dryly.
"In my defense," said Brian holding up a hand, "the costume I wear is the source of my powers for the most part, and it sort of makes its own name."
"It's not spandex is it?" said Harry looking a little leery at the very idea. When Brian nodded sadly he shook his head. "Yeah, you wouldn't catch me dead in that thing."
"And I reiterate," said Ororo looking at him with a rather saucy smirk on her face, "that you do have the rear for it. Although," and here her smirk widened noticeably, "certain portions of it would have to be let out to let you breathe a little."
Brian and Harry shared a glance then looked away coughing uncomfortably, while all three of the girls giggled even Betsy who even without eyes to see could follow that innuendo rather easily.
Harry however soon got down to business. "I realize this was a traumatic event for you Betsy, but we really need an idea of what went on, anything that stuck out as strange or unusual during of before the attack."
Betsy nodded and sat down on her bed, with Ororo and Jean on either side of her while Brian and Harry stood leaning against the wall as she began to speak. "Well, I told the inspectors most of this, but if I can help bring those arseholes to justice, I'll do it. I suppose we first thought that something was wrong when…"
The tale filled out the cliff notes that William had told him, and gave some details that even the report from MI5 that Ororo and Harry would see the next day didn't have.
Vixen, or whoever was behind her, had known that the telepaths of the psi-unit would see through her disguise, and had created orders to stick them all out in the field or on vacation days before she had begun to infiltrate strike in person. A few of them had died even before the telepaths had known that they had been infiltrated, and when they tried to pass it on to their fellow STRIKE members, none of them were believed. The psi-division was as new to STRIKE as that division was to the intelligence sector so none of the old hands put much stock in them.
"And on top of that, all of us were mutants, and well, I presume you know the attitude you can be subjected to if you're a known mutant." She turned her head in Jean's direction and Jean responded with a telepathic "yes" Betsy heard easily. "I shudder to think about what those mutants with physical mutations go through on a daily basis. It was bad enough with me, and well…" She gestured down at her body, not in an arrogant manner, simply as a statement of fact. Even as a glorified desk-jockey Betsy had kept up with her exercises and she knew she was good looking.
Harry shrugged. "We're in the business of hopefully changing that attitude. But those orders to put all of your division out in the field, that was the first clue you had that something was wrong? And is that your natural hair color?" Harry couldn't stop himself form asking that last one, purple was such an unusual color for hair, even stranger than white.
Betsy shook her heads, sending her long purple colored hair everywhere. "Yes it is and no I don't know why it's purple. And before anyone asks, yes I am part Asian. Let's just say that our father wasn't the most faithful of blokes, but was much better about taking care of the result of his liaisons. Thankfully I was the only one." She said all this in a droning sort of voice, as if she had been asked both those questions so often before she had developed a rote response.
"Anyway, no, the first sign we had was when Miss Weatherspoon's powers stopped working. The whole not being believed because of being mutants happened after that. The old gal said something about a dark cloud that reflected the present back at her when she tried to use her clairvoyant powers. But that was discounted as well, and she… she was the first of us to die."
Harry frowned. He knew a few potions that might be able to cloud a telepath or clairvoyant's mind, and maybe a high powered Confoundus could do the same thing to her entire mind. But something like that would be rather obvious, and something that effected just her powers? That smacked more of something much more specific, and Harry had only the vaguest ideas of how such a thing could have been achieved. Possibly some kind of sympathetic magic, old style witchcraft? But how could someone use that to target her powers specifically?
Betsy went on. "After that, well I suppose this will sound very outlandish to you all, but after that there was this strange… strange feeling I got when I tried to go back to STRIKE headquarters. I couldn't get within two blocks of it without suddenly turning around, thinking I didn't have any reason to go there."
"Actually," Ororo said thoughtfully, looking over at Harry, "That doesn't sound strange. Magical yes, but not strange."
Harry nodded grimly. "Yes, it definitely sounds like it. Was anyone at STRIKE proficient with magic?"
"Dr. Druid was supposed to join us in a few days," Betsy said promptly. "But I don't know what happened to him. Are you saying you use magic?"
"Oh yes. I'm both actually, a mutant and a wizard. But this is sounding more and more like someone with magic was behind all this." Harry shook his head. "I don't like that. Magic users are very rarely after mere political or financial gain. Some of them I've known would have launched the assault on STRIKE just to cause terror, but this is too… calculating for mere terror to be the goal."
Brian frowned. "My own powers are magical in nature, or at least that is what we think. The power of Merlin infused into my suit, but I am no expert."
"I'm beginning to think that is what we are dealing with, an expert I mean. Both at magic, and at hiding, not a good combination. Was there anything else? Did Slaymaster have the image of anyone beside this Vixen bint in his head giving orders?"
Betsy frowned but shook her head. "No, he might have in the end, but I was in no condition to go sculling through his head. And there isn't anything else I can tell you that wasn't in the report I gave the MI5 investigators. I wish I could help you more. Bloody hell, I wish I could get out there and kick some ruddy arse, but it'll be weeks before I'm used to getting around without my sight." Of course even with her sight Betsy knew she wasn't much of a fighter, but damn it, she hated being so fucking useless!
Harry frowned then reached out slowly, touching Betsy's hand gently. Betsy turned her hand upward and he clasped her fingers with his. "I'm sorry I can't help you regain your eyesight. The one thing that no magic, at least none I know of, can do is regeneration." He snorted. "I knew a magical policeman back where I came from that would've killed for that kind of thing. He had to make do with a peg leg and magical eye. The magical eye I could probably create for you," he said thoughtfully, "but it would take a while, it's not something I've ever done before." Creating something that could see would only be half the battle, making it able to act and send images to her mind like a real eye, that would be much harder. Not to mention the miniaturization aspect.
Harry hadn't actually meant to mention this and get the young woman's hopes up in case he was wrong and he couldn't create a new pair of eyes for her. But something about Betsy's plight and her fierce determination not to let it get her down struck a chord in him. He could also tell by their faces that Jean and Ororo both felt the same.
Betsy blinked her eyelashes over her empty sockets behind her blindfold in shock. "I, I never even thought something like that would be possible. It certainly isn't possible with today's medical technology. I… thank you. If you, I mean, I could never…"
"Don't bother my dear," Ororo broke in, putting an arm around the younger woman, who flinched for a moment the contact coming at her suddenly but then she subsided. "Just as my Harry said, he has a real problem with trying to help people. I just wish there was something Phoenix or I could do to help in turn."
Harry nodded and pulled out a set of potions he had been planning to use as samples. After a moment he pulled out a a tiny potion bottle that was a muddy orange color in its clear vial and nodded. "This potion will heal any nerve damage you've suffered in your eye sockets from what that bastard Slaymaster did to you, so you won't be in much pain from now on. I will warn you though it tastes like arse, and you'll have to drink the whole bottle."
Harry had taken about an hour to ask the elves to separate his available potions into one-use portions, and trusted them to have gotten it right. "I also don't know what reaction it will have with the pain-killers currently in your system, so I'm afraid you might want to wait a bit and let them run their course." He didn't think it would be anything bad, though it might upset her stomach, and if she threw up before the potion had time to get to work that would be very bad.
Betsy nodded and Brian took it from Harry gently, looking at it askance due to the color more than anything else. "Thank you for that sir. I'll take it as soon as I can."
"Harry if you please. No sirs in the frontlines and all that." He stood up rather reluctantly. "This Doctor Druid, any way you could tell me how to contact him?"
Both Braddocks shook their head but Brian answered verbally. "I'm afraid not, the good doctor has always been a bit of a recluse, and never really got involved with anything that was not magical in nature. He was very active in that role, but outside of it, never."
Harry frowned, wondering how to go about finding a magic user like that in an area the size of the British Isles who didn't want to be found. Perhaps Agatha or Steven can help me. "In that case I think I will be off, I have the unpleasant feeling that I'm going to be very busy shortly."
He looked over at his two ladies, who shared a glance then Jean looked at her watch and frowned. "I should get back to the institute now, to give myself time to get to school." That actually bothered her a little, because she wanted to stay and talk to the other telepath.
Betsy twitched at the school comment, having painted a picture of the other telepath that had her at least as old as Betsy herself, who was 23. She didn't say anything though and a moment later Tipsy appeared and took Jean off, causing both Betsy, who only heard the little creature, and Brian who actually saw him, to gape in shock.
After Jean had gone Ororo looked at the younger purple haired woman and smiled faintly. "I think I would like to stay here if it is all the same to you, beloved. I think young Betsy would like some company."
At that Betsy nearly sagged with relief. Not that there was anything wrong with Brian or the butler or the cook or the one maid the family still retained. But the first one was her brother, and not a great conversationalist since he killed Slaymaster to save her. The other three were in their sixties, and she had little to nothing in common with them that didn't involve embarrassing stories of her childhood. "That would be lovely Storm, thank you."
"I'll ask Lissy to keep an eye on you and take you back home when you're ready love." Harry bent forward, and kissed one of Betsy's hands, then leaned over Ororo and kissed her forehead before turning and leaving the room, with Brian behind him to escort him out.
The two women waited a few minutes then Betsy turned to where Ororo's voice had been coming from, an impish smirk on her face. "So, is that man as delicious looking as he is sounding?"
Ororo laughed, and their conversation went on from there.
OOOOOOO
While Harry returned to the castle the long way (driving a large portion of the distance then teleporting the rest of the way), Ororo was making a new friend, and Jean was racing from the mansion to Bayville High, Emma was not having nearly as much fun.
She was sitting in well appointed office in the security section of Shaw Mining and Metalworks in front of a large computer screen, her hands flicking and zooming through windows and programs and over stat-sheets faster than her two assigned watchers could follow. This was in fact deliberate; Emma was going faster than even she could follow to deliberately mislead the two anxious security force officials behind her.
Her cover here was twofold. For the security people she was merely a randomly chosen outside expert brought in to look at their software security. For those who already knew her identity, Emma was here using her family's famous computer worms (and it so rankled that even she didn't know where her father had gotten them from) to look for clues as to who was selling the companies secrets.
In this case those secrets had to deal with confidential smelting properties that were suddenly showing up elsewhere, and finding out who blew the whistle on the mining portion of the company recently. It turned out that several of the mining sites were not following federal guidelines for environmental safety. Now the company was hemorrhaging money in an attempt to cover it up or minimize the damage.
In actuality Emma was using her telepathic powers to winnow through the minds in the offices, looking for secrets, trying to find that little telltale sign of guilt or nervousness that could indicate something more than the normal everyday 'oh god the boss is coming' sort of fear.
She had been at it for hours already, and was just about to give up when she suddenly found a sudden spike of nervousness coming from a mining operation manager who had just dropped in for his monthly meeting with the local division chief. Well now, what do we have here?
A moment later, she knew who the whistleblower was, and why. The man was as venal and corrupt as they came, and it seemed as if he had done a monumentally foolish thing and decided to quit the company on 'moral grounds' and run for local mayor on an 'out with corruption' campaign because he felt it would let him enrich himself better than being a small scale mining manager would. With a sigh she wrote down some information then moved so she would be seen in the same room as the man to cover the full extent of her powers.
One down, one to go. I am so looking forward to getting out of here and shopping and having fun with Harry, Jean and Ororo. I can only hope the second spy falls into my lap as easily. If I'm lucky I'll be done here and moving on before Shaw even arrives. She snorted mentally. No, I've never been that lucky.
OOOOOOO
Harry looked through the screen of his laptop set up to call the Fantastic Four's building, and was surprised that his call got a response after only a few seconds. But it wasn't any of the Fantastic Four or even Agatha, it was Wyatt Wingfoot, Johnny's college roommate.
The Native American athlete smiled at seeing his old jogging partner. "Hello Harry, are you calling for some specific purpose? If you are I have to say that the Fantastic Four aren't here. Ben told me to tell you if you called that 'ya were right, but I'll try not ta let it get me down.'"
Harry smiled realizing that meant he had been correct in that the Inhumans were having issues above and beyond what had been described to him as a Royal niece gone missing. Still he was confident the Fantastic Four would be able to handle it. "Actually I was hoping to talk to Madame Harkness. I have some magical questions for her that I am unable to answer by myself."
"Wait here I'll go get her. But after you two talk, could I speak to you for a moment?"
Harry nodded wondering what that was about but he knew Wyatt well enough to know that the man would not waste his time. Wyatt was self-sufficient just like the FF, and actually had that most uncommon of things, good common sense. A moment later, Agatha's lined face appeared in the pickup. "A magical question that you cannot answer Mr. Potter?"
"More like a magical history question. And…" Harry said slowly his face falling slightly. "I think you should know what happened to my kind of magic users in this dimension. It's not a happy tale."
"It rarely is young man," said Agatha sighing sadly. "I will teleport to Steven's place, and then you can me pick me up there with one of those little creatures that I saw with you the last time. I would like to be told what their story is as well. Please note however, that I will be bringing Franklin with me. Without the Fantastic Four here there's only myself and Wyatt, and Franklin has recently begun to walk."
Reed was in the process of creating a mechanized nursing aid, but kept on going back to the drawing board, wanting to add more features and of course weapons. Eventually Susan would put her foot down as normal, but until then Agatha was on her own.
"And I'm useless with kids," said Wyatt smiling faintly.
Harry nodded then asked, "How exactly are you going to get through Dr. Strange's teleportation wards?"
Agatha smiled faintly. "We all have our own little secrets Mr. Potter."
Harry chuckled and let her go, looking forward to seeing Franklin as always. As Agatha's head disappeared from the pickup he turned back at Wyatt raising an eyebrow in inquiry.
Wyatt took this as his cue and asked, "I understand that you are mutant correct?"
"Well technically," Harry replied nodding a little. "My mutant power isn't exactly all-encompassing or anything like that of course, though its dead useful for me. Why, have you suddenly realized that you are mutant or something?" He said that jokingly, but he still had no idea where this conversation going.
Wyatt shook his head. "No, nothing like that. But as you know I'm a Native American of the Kewazi tribe. All the Native American tribes tend to keep in loose communication with one another and at various intertribal sporting events I've made several friends in other tribes. One of them, has a daughter who has started to exhibit… odd powers. In our culture there isn't any stigma against it, but there isn't anyone who can properly train her either, and I was wondering if you would be willing to take her on."
Harry paused thoughtfully. Now I could direct him to Charles and his place, or I could look at this and say okay so I've got my first student, but I'm not quite ready for that yet. "I'll be honest with you Wyatt, I'm actually in the process of setting up my company, and at the same time I'm also going to try and set up a school for mutants."
Harry would also of course be setting up his combat team that would include mutants, but their joining that would be up to the individuals entirely. He wouldn't even pressure them the way Charles unconsciously pressured the X-Men equating training to being on the team and needing to use their powers. "I'll be happy to welcome her at any point during the summer, but I'm not set up for it at the moment. If you want I could point you in the direction of a full-time school that could take her in right away though."
Wyatt nodded happily. "That won't be necessary, she's still in school after all, and her powers aren't so out of control that she's a danger to those around her or anything like that. And I feel certain that her parents would want to meet you formally before sending off their daughter to you."
Harry nodded, wondering if he would run into Charles at any point during this. He was becoming more and more concerned that Cerebro, the computer Charles used to find mutants just wasn't up to the task, and resolved that when he figured out how to do a magical equivalent to it, he would make certain it was up to the task. "I'll be in contact with the Fantastic Four in the next few weeks to set up a business deal with them and some other things too. So we can set up a meeting with her parents then. What's her name?"
"Danielle, or Dani as she likes to be called. Dani Moonstar."
Harry nodded and after exchanging some more courtesies the two logged off, and Harry turned away from the laptop after shutting it down. He thought for a minute then said "Cory?"
The house elf appeared in front of them, slightly taller and a bit more robust than most of the other house elves despite his young age. Cory was the one who had tried to teleport down from High Note to Hogwarts, and Harry had noticed that he seemed to be slightly more adept at teleportation in general then the rest of the house elves. "Master calls for Cory?"
"Yes Cory, I'm going to head to New York for a moment and I'd like for you to come with me. We'll be teleporting a rather elderly lady back here, and I know that my form of teleportation isn't very pleasant on the human body."
Cory nodded happily, and took Harry's hand. A moment later they appeared in Harry's workroom at the mansion. There was no one around since it was a school day and the last day of reviews and Charles and Logan had gone to some kind of meeting down in Philadelphia. From there Harry called ahead. He got a reply from Wong who responded that the doctor was in and they were dropping the wards for a moment.
They did not in fact drop the wards that blocked anyone trying to teleport directly in, merely the alert portion of them. Wong also opened the door leading into his master's domicile from that strange extra-dimensional waiting room that Dr. Strange had installed for people teleporting in on him.
Harry walked out of the room and spotted Agatha sitting rather smugly in a wooden chair with Franklin in her arms looking around from side to side with the sort of wide-eyed interest that only toddlers could show.
In front of her Steven stood trying to argue with her rather unsuccessfully. "All I am saying Madame, is that if you can get through my warding scheme so easily, other people might be able to use the same trick. It isn't safe."
"And I," Agatha smiling even more smugly than she had talking to Harry moments before, "am telling you that it would not be possible for anyone else to travel the route I do. It has nothing to do with the mode of travel but with the person doing the travelling."
Clea stood to one side with Wanda next to her. Watching the two sorcerers she shook her head, laughing. "You won't win this Steven, just put it down as a given that you can't keep her out and let it go." Not that Clea was all that sanguine about the idea of the elderly matron being able to pop in whenever she wanted (what if she did so when she and Steven were… busy?) , but she didn't see that it was something they could do anything about.
Harry took a moment to look at Wanda before moving forward to join the discussion if that was what it was. Wanda was dressed almost like Rogue used to, but with more red than black in her outfit, and without the fingerless gloves that Rogue used to fancy, nor was she wearing anything in the way of makeup. The bright smile on her face however was much more telling than her manner of dress, as well as how closely she stood to her teacher.
Harry smiled at the two of them and then walked over to Agatha and Steven who were still arguing despite Clea's words. "As amusing as this conversation is, perhaps we could move it elsewhere? I have questions I need to ask and I think you all need to see something."
As Harry took Franklin from her Agatha asked "see what exactly? You said you would tell us what happened to war wizards in this dimension."
"Yes." Harry sighed, shaking his head. "But like any history lesson, it is better with visual aids. And I think you'll both be interested in a little offer I have for you."
Clea shrugged. "Wanda and I were just heading out. We will see you when you get back Steven." With that she and her apprentice left and Harry turned to look at Steven.
Steven smiled faintly but warmly. "Clea and Wanda get along famously, young Wanda seems to respond to her stern yet caring nature, and the girl's magical lessons are continuing apace. We still haven't figured out how she came to have a magical core."
They had determined it was a sign of the Elder god of chaos Cthon as Clea had thought, but what it meant eluded them, and telling Harry about it would serve little purpose (and get the rather proactive young man very angry if Steven was any judge). "But the exercises both mental and physical that Clea has her doing have helped tremendously. Young Wanda can now control the outcome of many of her hex bolts, and her magic is much more under control in general."
Indeed Steven had been impressed and surprised by how well Wanda had taken to her magical instruction, as well as the rather disturbing power she could put behind those hex bolts. They allowed her to change the probability of the things she hit with them in surprising and devastating ways. "I must warn you," he continued, "I can't be away for very long. Something seems to be going on somewhere in America, something that has weakened the dimensional walls dramatically."
At Harry's raised eyebrows Steven shook his head, "Not enough to warrant me calling in extra help Harry." Harry nodded in relief, while Steven went on. "Nor does it seem as if it was deliberate, it seems more a byproduct of something else."
Harry frowned but nodded. Much like the Fantastic Four he was certain that Steven and Clea could handle whatever came up in their area of expertise. "That's fine I suppose, if you can't help me with my current issue simply giving me some advice would be preferable to nothing. And my proposal will still be a viable one."
Steven smiled. "That I think we can both do, and this proposal sounds interesting." Madame Harkness nodded as well, looking interested now.
"There are anti-teleportation wards up where we're going, and I'm the only person who can take other people through but I do have another mode of transportation available. Cory?" Harry said to the empty air and suddenly there was a small creature unlike any that Steven had seen before standing beside Harry.
He stepped back in surprise, but the creature merely bowed to Harry and said "Master be ready to go?"
"This is Cory," he said Harry said looking up at the other two magic users. "He's a member of a race called house elves that wizards created a long time ago to serve them."
Both of the other magic users frowned at the idea of someone playing God like that, and Harry nodded, understanding why they were doing so. He filled them in on the house elves and their bond to their Masters. Both Steven and Agatha looked slightly mollified after that but the idea of creating the house elves in the first places obviously still bothered them. It bothered Harry too sometimes, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Harry reached forward with his free hand, still holding Franklin with the other. The two older magic users place one hand each on his arm while Cory grabbed onto his pants. A moment later the four of them reappeared in the great Hall at Hogwarts.
Franklin looked around making excited babbling noises at the new and odd place he found himself in. He was not at all bothered by the odd mode of transportation, just as he had not been bothered by Agatha teleporting the two of them to Dr. Strange's place. The two sorcerers on the other hand looked a little queasy for second, but it passed quickly. They too looked around in wonder, their magical senses able to easily see the amount of magic in the very walls around them.
Harry waited for them to look around for a few seconds. Welcome to Hogwarts, the last and greatest edifice of Wizardkind."
Melody sat at one of the tables, trying to read a book that Ororo had gotten her and having only a minimal amount of success.
Harry walked over to her, patting the little girl's shoulder for a moment and introducing her to Agatha and Steven. While Steven had been involved in the breakout from the sanitarium he had actually not met Melody before, and he nodded politely at the young girl. Agatha looked at the girl a little thrown by her multi-colored hair but nodded cordially.
Melody looked at the two people who were full of classical music to her senses, a deep bass solo denoting intelligence and tested power in the man and a lyrical violin or string orchestra in the woman full of age and wisdom. But it was the toddler who grabbed her attention the most. His music was childish and lively, but deeper, richer, and much more playful than it should have been at his apparent age. She shot up out of her chair, looking up at the Franklin in wonder, who had turned his own head to stare down at her. "Hello there, I'm Melody, who are you?"
"OOOoooh," the toddler said, stretching his short stubby arms out reaching for Melody, whose wide eyes and multi-colored hair fascinated him.
A second later the appearance of a baby caught the attention of several of the female house elves who had been around the place and they stopped doing whatever they had been doing to pop in and look at Franklin. "Oh a little baby! Master, be we's able to watch him?"
Harry chuckled. He had seen much the same response in the first female house elf he ever met, a sad creature named Winky. All female house-elves just seemed to love kids of all ages, whereas males could take them or leave them. There were other differences of course, but this one seemed pretty constant.
"I suppose you lot and Melody can. Don't worry Agatha," he said looking over at the older woman, "House elves love to take care of children especially babies."
Agatha frowned. She was torn between asking if Harry could transfer one of the little creatures to her, and wanting to slap that idea down harshly. Using the little house elves for cleaning and cooking and other chores would probably build a sense of dependency. She would prefer that her charge learn to stand on his own two feet.
Yet on the other hand she was an old woman, and having another pair of magical hands around could be a big help. And it could also help Susan around the house obviously….
Agatha shook that thought off as Harry led Steven and her out of the great hall and up the stairs giving them a rundown of the history of what had happened here as he knew it.
Both sorcerers were horrified to hear about what happened to wizard-kind in this dimension, but Steven was quick to point out a few things. "They might have lived if they had reached out to the wider magical community, but then again possibly not. If this truly happened 300 years or so ago as you say I have absolutely no idea what the Sorcerer Supreme at the time or any of the other sorcerers could've done. I know for a fact that we wouldn't have been able to present a united front against these dementor creatures. Indeed I can name off the top of my head several present day sorcerers that would try to make deals with such as them, hoping to use the dementors for their own plans. And even a Sorcerer Supreme can only be in one place at once, though I know of at least six or seven spells that could've worked on them. The wizards' final stand saved thousands, if not millions of lives."
Agatha frowned. "I think myself and the coven of witches I was a part of in my youth could have held them off or possibly imprisoned these creatures, but I doubt we could have destroyed them without significant preparation." Neither Harry nor Steven looked at her askance at that, knowing that Agatha was indeed that old. "I could easily envision the evil things wiping out the British Isles before they were stopped, certainly none of the Celtic druids would have any spell that could stop them. Their spells were all based on working with nature and nature sprits, which would probably not have worked against beings such as these dementors."
Harry nodded. He still didn't agree with the way the wizards had gone about it, but his initial all-consuming rage at the callousness of the way they treated their kids during the act had disappeared, and he was able to separate his own experiences with the wizards back in his old dimension with the ones here. The name Dumbledore was still a touchy subject, but he was able to see the final stand of his wizards for the truly honorable thing it had been.
After that he began to explain why he wanted their help. First he told them about wanting to start his company selling potions and how he met the king, then the decimation of STRIKE and his fears there might be something more going on. Then Harry asked if either of them could recommend how to find the local magic user Dr. Druid.
Steven frowned a little, still uneasy about making magic known, however indirectly, to the world like that, but in the end it was Harry's choice, and if Harry's magic came out he had a built in excuse that would be believed by the majority of the populace. His instincts too were telling him that something major was in the works in the UK but his obligations in the US were also important. "I wish I could help Harry, my instincts agree with you about there being something or someone magical behind this, but I am leery of leaving the US for a long period of time at this moment. Still, I do know where Dr. Druid lives. He and I have consulted on a few matters in the past. We prefer to keep to each to our own patches of course, but as Sorcerer Supreme I do have overarching authority on any other-dimensional danger that crops up. He and I worked together a year ago against a group that called itself Mys-Tech, a group of seven demon worshipers who had sold their soul decades ago to a demon lord in return for immortality."
Harry sighed, wondering what it was about humans wanting to live forever. As a wizard he knew his own lifespan was connected directly to the size of his core, and that he could probably live just as he was now for centuries, but the idea of living forever did not appeal to him at all. The idea of outliving all his lovers was a sobering one even without that burden.
Steven went on. "I'll write up a letter of introduction for you, and I can tell you where he lives, though what wards you might run into I do not know."
Harry nodded. "That will be very helpful, but I also wanted to set up a bit of a book exchange between the three of us." He opened the door to the library and watched in amusement as both sorcerers eyes lit up with the pleasure of knowledge.
Steven looked around in wonder. While the library of the Sorcerer Supreme had more tomes than this, over a quarter of them were ancient and unreadable. Not a single book here looked as if it was going to fall apart if he opened it, and he noticed several titles that his own collection boasted, especially about wards and runes.
Agatha looked around smiling faintly as she noticed a few books with titles that interested her, but her coven had never put much stock in book learning. "I'd like your help to organize all this as well," Harry continued. "It's not organized right now, and it's a big job. In exchange you can take any two books so long as you let me copy them first."
Both sorcerers looked at him in astonishment. "What do you mean copy? Surely magically copying a book wouldn't last very long."
In answer Harry waved his hand and a book he had added to the library from his own came flying down. The title of it read 'Retaining The Written Word, a treatise on book preservation, copying and library spells'. "The wizards here and in my old dimension came up with a lot of spells designed purely to help them retain the use of books and scrolls."
Both of the other magic users shook their heads, never even having considered the idea of magic being used for such a plebian use before.
Over the next few hours the two sorcerers helped Harry go through the collection, and Steven was a major help in figuring out how the big book of students used what he called air leylines to search for students in the British Isles. It was the same basic principle the Eye of Agamotto used to find extra-dimensional dangers in the world.
Harry had never even heard of ley-lines in the air before. He knew that there were leylines between the stars, after all astronomy was an important class at Hogwarts. Of course by the time he went there ritual magic, the area most concerned with the placement of stars and the heavens, was nearly banned by the ministry, since it was a kind of magic they couldn't really monitor. Leylines in the air was a new one, but after thinking about it Harry realized it made sense.
While leylines in the air were not as powerful magically speaking as Earth leylines, they were even more plentiful, and moved invisibly through the air. They were also far more difficult to tie anything to given their very nature. Faced with the book of library spells however Steven was more than willing to exchange that for two of the most ancient tomes in the Sorcerer Supreme's library which could walk Harry through the same process. "But why would you want it? What kind of student are you going to look for?"
"I'm not going to make this a magic school Steven, I want it to be a school for mutants, a haven if need be. If I can figure out what to look for, the Big Book of Students should hopefully lead me right to them."
The two sorcerers exchanged a glance. The news these days was full of anti-mutant sentiment and pro-mutant sentiment in equal parts. Mutants, especially those with physical disfigurements, were very easy targets for those inclined to hate anything different from them.
There had been a few riots in China and in other countries, most of Europe and America were having similar issues, but thankfully in America it hadn't spilled over into violence yet.
The rest of the time passed with the three of them going through books, exchanging books, and generally organizing the library. Harry found several gems of information doing this, including a book that held Grecian runes he had never seen before that dealt with creating Time-turners, something that had been the purview of the Unspeakables, those useless arseholes, back in his old dimension. This alone was easily worth the amount of time spent organizing the rest of the library and even more.
With it he could figure out a way to add a time acceleration aspect to the wards on the farming areas of High Note. If he could come up with a way to make it so that he could produce two or possibly even three crops a year of the potions ingredients he might well be able to meet the worlds demands for his potions. Or course Harry also realized he would have to figure out some way for the elves to not be effected by them, but still, it was an amazing find that had Harry chuckling gleefully and rubbing his hands together.
For their part Agatha came up with several household spells made easy. Spells to help in cooking for example were interesting, since with Franklin around anything that could make her life easier in the kitchen was something she was looking out for. There were also several spells to monitor babies, which she was also very interested in. It was a strange thing to consider, but she and the coven that had trained her had never developed spells for relatively simple things like that. While many of them were things she could already do with her magic, these made it much simpler. She also was impressed by the books about healing spells and potions, an area where her own magic lacking. Oh she could heal herself via rituals and overtime, but actually healing herself quickly, or even mid-combat? While Agatha was no young sprout who was going to go looking for trouble, she knew that trouble sometimes came to find her, and healing spells like this would be very useful.
Steven however was much more interested in some of the books on warding, primarily because he really wanted to figure out a way to block Agatha's access. It was silly really as the old woman was no threat to him, but it was a motivation nonetheless. There were also several books of combat related transfiguration that he decided to peruse at a later time. While his own combat magic was excellent, transfiguration of the environment was beyond his normal abilities. Conjuring he could do on a small scale, but not quickly like these spells would allow him. Indeed transfiguration, solid state matter to matter changes, was an area where wizard-kind was simply head and shoulders above sorcerers.
One thing Harry noticed as they worked on the books about warding was that none of the books covered Norse runes for some reason. He asked Steven and Agatha about the lack and neither even knew there was a lack in the first place. It seemed that the Norse runic alphabet was never discovered in this dimension, which struck Harry as strange, since it was one of the more robust vocabularies out there. Not as easy to use or learn as the Grecian, with some truly odd effects if you messed things up, but powerful and durable.
About three hours after they had arrived, the library was organized and all three spell weavers were very happy with the day's work.
While they were doing this, Melody and Franklin explored the Castle together, with Melody insisting on holding hands with the toddler who, as they are wont to, toddled along. She laughed and clapped her hands when she noticed he seemed to have some power of his own. This was shown a few times as they walked around, mostly by his playing with her hair or hovering over the floor a few inches a time or two. This changed however when they reached their destination.
Melody knocked on the side of what had been the Hufflepuff common room in Harry's old dimension. In this one it was merely a circular room devoid of any furniture or anything truly remarkable, but it lead into the house-elf village, which Melody thought was the most fascinating place in the castle. Well, outside the hearthstone room, which she had been in only once.
Little houses, the same height as her small body were everywhere sticking out at odd angles from the ceiling, the corners, the walls, and of course there were more normal ones on the floor.
For his part Franklin had been very happy to be around this strange small person, not having met any other children before. Of course they were followed everywhere by 10 female house elves, but they had enjoyed themselves greatly. Now as he stared around at the little houses and all the strange funny looking people now coming out to great them, with even more popping in, he giggled, clapped his little hands, and not a moment later teleported himself and Melody up onto a house set in the ceiling.
This particular house was made like a hollow tree, with the top of the tree jutting toward the ground. The two children appeared in the hole in its trunk and looked around at all the house elves. Rather than be alarmed, Melody clapped her hands in delight, hugging a giggling Franklin to her. "Wow that was fun! You'll be fantastic at hide and seek when you get older!"
One of the female house-elves who had been watching them, an old grandmother elf named Delphi popped into the house right behind them, chortling. "Young mistress and guest should not be up here when the fun bes down there! Lookies!"
She pointed down and Melody looked and laughed. Below them the other house-elves had disappeared for a moment, then come back with several simple toys, small animals and people carved out of wood along with the toys Harry had bought her from Harrods that she kept in her room. Franklin took one look at the multitude of offerings, 'oohed' again and suddenly they were back on the ground.
For the rest of the day the two children played various games with the house-elves, chasing one another around the little houses, playing with the toys, in various games and generally having a lot of fun. Franklin used his odd powers to keep up easily, and the house-elves took it in stride being well used to seeing such things. It was possibly the greatest moment in Franklin's young life, and memories of it would stay with him for a long time. For Melody it was just another sign of how much her life had changed since Harry had freed her form the sanitarium, a memory to be cherished like all the others she had been making lately.
Harry and the others found the children there, though by the time they were done in the library Franklin was starting to run out of energy, a sight Agatha was well pleased to see. "Unfortunately I am afraid that we need to head back to California. Thankfully it looks as if the little man will be making an early night of it, so he shouldn't feel the effects of the time difference. Thank you for watching him my dear."
"You're welcome," said Melody chirpily then pulled out the toddler from one of that house elf houses and carried him over to the old woman.
Harry grinned around at the house-elves. "Thanks Melody and you all as well. Cory, if you could take our guests back to the place we came from? I'll see you two later." With a wave Harry bid farewell to his two fellow magic users smiling faintly at the amount of work they had gotten done today.
By this time it was around seven local time, and he asked the head elf cook to whip them up something, then spent a few hours with Melody listening to the young girl recount her time with Franklin. The stories she told made him wonder if Franklin was a mutant of some kind, and Harry found it strange Franklin's powers had already begun to show, but in general he wasn't too worried. With parents like his there was no way Franklin was going to be a normal kid anyway, and if they needed help with him in the future they knew how to contact Harry.
After that while Melody was getting ready for bed (Franklin had tired her out too) Harry spent some time assessing his current magical level, which he hadn't done since draining Diablo. He found that while his general magical level hadn't changed too much, it had gone up a bit, slightly more than when he had drained the first horcrux of Dr. Strange's.
In terms of power level Harry found his magical core had grown by at least three times its previous size since entering this dimension, being at a little over 800,000 UOM. Thankfully the change had been in bits and pieces, allowing his magical control to keep pace, but his control was a little wonky after he drained something. And whenever he drained something, it seemed as if it carried a bit of, for want of a better word, 'aftertaste' to it.
For instance when he drained some power Cytorrak and the Juggernaut, it seemed to add to the Magia Erebea spell automatically by augmenting his strength and durability for several days after before losing the 'aftertaste'. The power he drained from Diablo seemed to carry an extra charge to it when he attempted to transfigure or conjure something initially, before losing that 'flavor' and subsiding into the rest of his core. However he could still route more power into his Magia Erebea spell, and get the same result of augmented strength and durability. For some reason the same could not be said with the effects he got from transfiguration, possibly because unlike Cytorrak or his avatar, Diablo's magic had not really been his despite how long he had been alive, it had been given to him in exchange for his soul.
After that Harry put Melody to bed. Once the young girl was asleep he returned to the main hall and found Ororo there. Seeing his lady was wearing a frown on her face as she read something from a large binder he moved up behind her and began to gently rubbing her shoulders. "Is that the MI5 report, did you find anything interesting?"
Ororo had spent the entire day with Betsy and Brian, talking about all and sundry. While not as good as having a telepath around to talk to mind to mind, Ororo had been a breath of fresh air to Betsy. The potion Harry had left Betsy had worked, and the girl was no longer in pain, but still unused to being blind and grateful for someone near her own age to talk to that wasn't her brother. While she loved the big lump, he wasn't exactly a fantastic conversationalist at the best of times.
For her part Ororo was impressed by the purple haired woman. She was intelligent, possessed of a fierce independence, and an unwillingness to let her disfigurement get her down. By the end of the day the two of them had formed a tentative but real friendship, and Ororo was beyond angry at Betsy's maiming.
"Yes, you might say that. I've been going over the background information about this Vixen saafil kalb" Ororo lapsed for a moment into the Egyptian Arabic of her youth, using a term that meant 'loathsome bitch'.
"The background MI5 has gathered on her is rather extensive, though lacking in current information such as where to find her or where her operations in the city are. She came over from Africa with her parents, lived in the lower east side of London for a time with them until they died in a car crash leaving her alone. A few weeks after being put in an orphanage she ran away to live on the streets and from there worked her way up the local crime ladder, until she ran her own gang. She specializes in crimes such as drug running, armed robbery and hiring out her troopers as high-tech mercenaries, and is the head of a nationwide syndicate who might have ties to ."
She pulled out a picture from the dossier in her hands, handing it over to Harry. He noticed that the woman in the picture was black, with a thin body and a thin, pointed, almost fox-like face. She wore a pelt of some animal made into a cocktail dress, one of those silly feminine cigarette things in her mouth. "If they have so much information, why didn't the government move against her before all this began?"
"They could never pin her personally down it says, she was constantly on the move randomly, and the one time they got close enough to take her, her bodyguards were able to shoot their way out of the ambush. MI5 and Scotland Yard have shut down dozens of her operations, but her business is so profitable both in the UK and abroad that she is able to take those losses easily. Yet for all that, there is nothing here to indicate she could have managed an assault against the government directly like what happened to STRIKE."
Ororo shook her head. Putting those pages aside, she looked up at him, her eyes flashing with fury. "I definitely think that the king was correct that there is something else going on. Vixen wouldn't be capable of planning and executing an assault like the one that took out Betsy and the rest of STRIKE nor is she stupid enough to think she could get away with it. And there's more." She pulled open another report and thumped it on the table. "This one report from a, what do you call them, a bobby?"
"If by bobby you mean a policeman walking around town in one of their blue uniforms yes," said Harry sitting down next to her and taking her hand kissing it in a further attempt to calm her down.
This time it worked, and she went on much more calmly. "This bobby describes being on the scene both before and after. First there was nothing wrong, as if he couldn't even concentrate on the building it was so boring. Then three hours later a completely different description, after the assault had occurred and Vixen and her men had made their escape, he noticed a dead body in the doorway and the fact that several of the buildings windows had been broken. That corroborates what Betsy said happened to her. And there were several other civilian reports much like that one."
"On top of that there was no attempt to call in aid, all the communication gear in the building was reported as burnt out after the police stormed the building."
"So there is definitely something magical going on, as we feared," said Harry leaning back and frowning heavily. "I'm afraid we're going to have to do a lot of legwork on this one, love. I didn't sense anything while I was in London at Harrods or outside Buckingham Palace, and that plus what Ms. Braddock said means whoever is behind this is really good at covering his or her tracks. I might need to be right on top of it before I'll be able to figure out what is going on. I've got an address to go to see if I can talk to the resident magic expert, but I don't know how helpful that will be."
Ororo frowned for a moment. "Jean won't need to be at school for the rest of this week, I think we need to have her help with this too. Her telepathic powers should be able to pick up any stray thoughts or clues, that might help us find some clue your magical senses can't find."
Harry nodded. "That sounds like a plan. I'll head down to Wales first thing, then have Hedwig drop you a line and meet the two of you in London." Ororo nodded, and Harry pulled her into a deep kiss. "Enough of that for now love, lets go to bed."
Ororo smiled into his lips, and nodded eagerly.