Chapter 5: *Chapter 5*
January 13, 2002
It had been 8 months since Harry had decided to commit his talents and life to be Nick's partner in crime. He could honestly say nothing had changed much since then. Except for traveling. When they had finished their mission to kill the rich asshole in London, he thought they would head back to the forest and continue his training. Apparently that wasn't going to be the case. Nick told him the only reason he chose that forest was that he wasn't sure if Harry would fully commit himself to the lifestyle at the time and didn't want to compromise any of his safe houses and case he didn't play ball. Harry wasn't going to lie to himself, the fact that Nick hadn't trusted him that much back then had slightly hurt. He got over it though realizing the logic behind doing such a thing since Nick, essentially, had just picked him up off the street one day. Still didn't make him happy though. Since then, however, Nick had said his true training was going to start.
Now instead of just cardio training, he was teaching him how to fight and protect himself as well.
"Listen to Harry. When in a fight you have to use your strengths while protecting your weaknesses. You are small right now and therefore harder to hit. You are also very fast as well. You need to use these two major things to your advantage. You have almost no true strength at least not until you get older. Until then, you have to use hit and run tactics you go that?" Nick finished as he looked at Harry expectantly.
"Yeah, I got it," Harry responded excitedly. He had been waiting to start being able to spar. Nick smirked back at him.
"Good. Let's get started. Now the way to fight that I'm showing you will capitalize on your strength and medical knowledge. You will launch quick jabs at pressure points to take down opponents bigger and stronger than you." Nick said. He threw a few fast strikes in the air to show Harry the correct form. After he looked at Harry to see if he understood.
"Alright, now you try," Nick told Harry as he took a step back. Harry gave a few experimental jabs like he saw Nick do a sec ago.
"No, no. You're moving your wrist too much when you throw the jab. You have to do it more rigid and quick. You need to commit more to the strike once it's thrown." Nick said as he grabbed Harry by his arm and fixed his movements.
"Now try it more like this…"Nick said. As Harry looked at Nick and saw the effort he was putting in to correct him and show him the correct way, he did something he hadn't done in years.
He smiled.
April 14, 2002 (Berlin)
Harry was running as fast as he possibly could. You may be asking why? Well, he was currently on a mission. The mission was pretty simple in his opinion. All he had to do was hang around outside of a warehouse and wait for a black market arms dealer to come out after he was done with whatever illegal deal he was currently in and then simply take over him and make him appear to go crazy. He would pull out his gun and started shooting everyone until one of his guards put him down to protect himself. This in itself was no problem at all. He never even had to come down from the window of the warehouse adjacent to theirs. Soon as the job was complete, he radioed into Nick and told him the job was complete. Nick congratulated him on his first solo mission and told him to get back to their base ASAP. That was exactly what he was doing. That was until halfway there and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. He was instantly alerted to his tail that he must have picked up. He ducked into a near bye alley and sprinted as fast as he could to get as far away from whoever was tailing him as possible. Just when he got to the other end of the alley he heard someone yell behind him.
"Hey" his stalker yelled at him. He glanced over his shoulder to see if the man was closing in. It looked like the man had taken off into a run but he didn't appear fast. Harry was sure he could outrun him with ease. That isn't what worried him however, what worried him was the stick the man had whipped out of his sleeve. Harry's eyes widened before he fully faced forward again and took off with renewed vigor as he realized it was a wizard chasing after him. He didn't stop until he was at the current hotel they were using after he was sure he lost the man. He went up the elevator and knocked on the door and waited for Nick to verify it was him before letting him. Nick swung open the door and quickly ushered Harry into the room.
"Are you okay? You look windowed?" Nick asked concerned.
"About halfway there, I picked up a tail. It was a wizard. Didn't get a good look at him but I think he had brown hair and was definitely caring a wand." Harry rushed out quickly. Nick immediately tensed up and put his hand on the pistol he had tucked into the side of his pants.
"Were you followed?" Nick asked seriously, preparing himself in case someone burst through the door.
"No." Harry shook his head. "I lost him about half a mile back. Plus I purposely lead him the wrong way before doubling back" Harry said as he watched Nick relax slightly.
"Good. We don't know if they are tracking you so we need to leave now. It should be fine since to mission is already been completed. Start packing." Nick said. Harry nodded and got to work on packing before he asked his question.
"So where are we going next?" Harry asked. Nick smiled at him
"Hong Kong."
Same time, (Hogwarts)
"I'm sorry Headmaster but I couldn't catch him. He was way too fast for me. By the time I pulled out my wand he was way too far ahead of me." The man said.
"That is okay Diggle. You did you're best. You are sure it is him though." Dumbledore said at the now identified man.
"Certainly. Black hair looked to be around 6 or 7 years old. It's the eyes that truly give him away. There as green as Lily's if not greener. Pure luck that I walked by him in Berlin. Funny thing was, I wasn't even looking for him. I had just gone to see a friend." Diggle said getting slightly off-topic. Dumbledore sighed
"Thank you, Diggle. That will be all. It seems I have to go to the Potter's house to give them the news." Dumbledore said as he stood up.
"No problem Headmaster. Give Lily my best. I hear she's due any day now." Diggle said as he prepared.
"I will. I shall hopefully see you soon." Dumbledore said as he disappeared through the floor to go deliver the news of Harry's current whereabouts with one thought on his mind.
'How in blazes did that boy get to Germany by himself?'
July 31st, 2002, (Japan)
Harry was turning seven today. He wasn't really happy or sad about it. For him, it was just another year under his belt. Nothing truly special about it. Nick himself was 28. He was currently reading up on mental defenses that wizards could make through a process called Occlumency. They could also look through memories through a process called Legimency. Harry made a mental note to make sure he used he didn't try to use his mental prowess on a wizard since there was a chance that not only could they block it but they could reflect it right back. He would have to look into finding a different way to use his mental power on wizards. For now, he closed the book and was going to go train in the courtyard. Harry wasn't sure what they were doing here actually. They didn't have a mission here and Nick had taken them to this old compound looking place in the middle of the mountains. Harry made it outside and went to the middle of the courtyard and started throwing jabs. Harry didn't get in fights very often, well not until recently anyway. After that wizard incident, Nick didn't let him use his magic on missions just in case that's how they found him in the first place. It honestly made missions for him harder but more should he say…exciting? He had done three missions since then by himself and it was exhilarating. He knew that he couldn't use magic to get himself out of trouble anymore and that forced him to make sure that he double and triple checked every move he made before he made it. Nick had him practicing stealth when they were in Hong Kong for a few weeks and how to blend into a crowd. This was easy for the most part since he was a child and most people didn't expect him to be up to anything bad but it wouldn't always be that way and like everyone, he was growing up and couldn't always rely on the fact that he was a child. So he practiced for a week while in Hong Kong until Nick had said he was at least decent enough but that he would still need work.
"You need to be a ghost in the crowd." Nick had told him. Harry sighed as he finished his first set of jabs.
"hey." Said a voice from behind him. Harry spun around fast to come face to face with Nick who was smiling down at him.
"Come here, I got something to show you," Nick said as he turned around and headed back into the living quarters of the compound. Harry followed him but kept on his toes in case this was one of Nick's stupid jokes again. As they made it to the living room, Nick pointed to the sitting pillow on the floor.
"Sit down and close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you," Nick said with his smile turning into a grin as he saw the tenseness he was causing Harry.
"Why? You're acting suspiciously again. Last time you did that, you dropped me in a lion's den at the zoo you said we were just going to 'visit'." Harry said, now glaring at Nick's innocent smile.
"You're complaining but did you die? No so what does that tell you?" Nick asked innocently.
"That you're probably trying to finish what you started then," Harry responded with a slight bit of sarcasm. Nick just looked at him surprised.
"Did you just use sarcasm?" Nick asked.
"Maybe. I guess you're a worse influence than I originally thought." Harry said semi-serious still with a hint of a smile on his face.
"Just close your eyes and sit down smart ass," Nick said and was back to smiling though this time he clearly showing his amusement.
"Fine. But if you slit my throat will my eyes are closed, I'll haunt you till you join me in death." Harry said as he sat down and closed his eyes. He could hear Nick chuckling behind him. Then all went quiet. It stayed that way for a few minutes and Harry didn't hear a single noise. He was starting to get concerned. Just as he was about to call out to Nick to see if everything was okay, he felt something fall into his lap.
"You can open your eyes now," Nick said now in front of him if he was hearing correctly. He opened his eyes and confirmed that Nick was indeed standing in front of him smiling at him. He looked down and saw a small box that was wrapped in a Japanese newspaper and topped with a bow. Harry's eyes widened as he realized what was sitting in his lap.
"Happy Birthday Harry," Nick said. Harry looked back at him, eyes still widened.
"How….?"Harry asked confused.
"You told me it last January right before we started sparring, remember?" Nick said before he smiled down at him and patted his head.
"I figured that it was time for you to have one. Hurry up and open it." Nick said impatiently.
Harry's eyes started to water but he sucked it in because he didn't want Nick to see him cry. He tore open the packaging and looked at the card box in his hands. He continued on and opened it up. He took a breath at what he saw. It was a knife. It seemed to be a flip-up knife with hilt being around 4 to 4 ½ inches long. He flipped it open to see the blade extend at least six more inches. The hilt and blade were both blacks. Right above the hilt and imprinted on the bottom part of the blade was a golden smiling skull that had little horns poking out the top of its head. Harry chuckled at the sight of it
"I love it," Harry said simply as he continued to eyeball the blade that was now his.
"I thought you might. The blade is made of titanium so it should be pretty durable. I thought we can incorporate it into your fighting to make you a little more lethal. I got a holster that you attach to your leg so you can put it there." Nick said as he looked at Harry with a pleased expression.
"And you know…" Nick started but before he could finish, Harry jumped at him and gave him a big hug.
"Thanks Nick," Harry whispered. Nick was surprised but nodded and returned the hug if a bit awkwardly. When Harry finally let go, Nick started to explain how they would implement into his fighting.
"Before I teach you how to use it, Harry, let me tell you something important. Never pull a weapon on someone unless you plan to kill them. Weapons are not toys. They are tools used to kill. You understand?" Nick asked before he started the training with Harry.
"Yeah, I understand," Harry said as he smiled again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that recently. He decided that he liked it.
"Good well will get started in the morning then. I'm going to sleep. Night Harry. Don't forget to turn off the lights." Nick said as he departed into the next room.
"Night," Harry said as he watched him depart. Harry decided he would go to bed soon too. First, though he wanted to go outside. As he stood outside and looked at the night sky he felt something pass over him. A rush of different emotions meshed together. He couldn't identify all of them nor did he try to, all he knew for sure at that moment was one thing.
He felt happy.
Same time, billions of miles and countless galaxies away from earth.
A creature was currently was making his way up a desolate mountain. This creature was covered in a hood that was dark as the night itself. He continued to walk up the Stone Mountain in total silence. It was as if the shadows themselves stayed quiet in this place. As he made his way to the top of the hill he reached what appeared to be a throne made of some unknown metal material. The creature kneeled on the ground in front of the throne and waited.
"Speak." A heavy deep voice said from the throne which was facing the opposite way of the kneeling creature to hide its master.
"My lord," the kneeling creature said. "The plans are coming together perfectly. Our spies have reported the boy has left his home and attached himself to another human male that appears to be an adult. This human does not wield magic and weak in the scheme of things. Just as the plan requires.
"Excellent." The voice from the throne spoke again. "Now all we need to do is wait and the board will be set with all the pieces in their rightful spaces."
"As you say my lord but if I may…" The creature said waiting for permission to continue.
"Speak." The voice said once more.
"Would it not be better to kill the boy before he becomes a threat after all the prophecy clearly states…" the creature tried to continue but was silenced.
"Silence you fool. I care nothing what some old fools once spouted. There is no human, no, there is no being in the entire cosmos that had the power to face me. Now be gone from my presence before I feel the need to have you replaced." The voice hissed at the creature.
"Yes my lord. My apologies for speaking out of turn. I shall take my leave." The creature bowed once more and then hurriedly left the throne and went back down the mountain. Once he left the voice spoke once more.
"Soon all the pieces will fall in to place and no one will dare challenge me. I will crush my enemies underfoot one by one and I'll start with you…Harry Potter."
Silence
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