Training and Horcrux's
Elric led the three of them to an empty room, where in the middle of the room stood an altar with various runes and signatures on. Sitting on top of the altar was an odd looking floating ball, again runes in the shape of odd writing that glowed an odd golden color. Elric put his hand upon the ball, looking calmly at the three of them as though stating, put your hand on the ball. Harry hesitated briefly, but seeing no harm having touched Elric, followed suit by putting his hand on the ball, followed by both Tonks and Fleur.
Elric smiled slightly, before chanting in a monotone voice, 'Ablaris Iam'
The ball suddenly burst into light, expanding outwards, absorbing all four of them and transporting them to another area.
--
Harry landed on the floor back-first, landed on by Tonks and Fleur, both of whom didn't appear damaged by the fall, although Harry's body said a different story.
Harry groaned as the two girls got off of his back, a muttered apology from Fleur who was looking away from him, a grin from Tonks. Harry rolled his eyes as Tonks pulled him up, almost tripping over herself. Elric, meanwhile, who had landed firmly on his feet, simply watched the proceedings. Even then he hadn't shown any emotion, it was like it had been ripped out of him. Was that the case perhaps? Did these TechnoMages not agree with emotion? It was like from that show that he had once seen Dudley watching when he was younger, it was called Doctor Who or something like that, and he was fighting Cyberpeople or Delaks or something like that. He hadn't paid much attention, although that was probably because he had been assigned a job or been sent to his cupboard.
Once Harry, Fleur and Tonks had stood themselves upright amid the pile of trunks and bags, Elric snapped his fingers, causing the luggage to disappear.
At their question glance, Elric answered. 'They have been sent to your room, you will be permitted to remain here for one night only until the Council has decided if they will accept your request to learn from our people. Should you of course, be rejected by the council, you will have your memory wiped and will be sent back on a one-way trip to America. In that case, you will not be permitted to enter Canada again, in case you have broken the memory charm and wish to return and cause us harm.' Elric turned on his feet. 'Do you wish to eat, or would you rather see your room now.'
'Eat!'
'Room!'
'Whatever the girls want!'
Tonks glared at Harry, Fleur still not looking at him. Harry quailed slightly under the glare of Tonks, but seeing no reaction from Fleur, decided to take Tonks' advice.
'I think we'll eat then.'
Fleur showed no emotion of whether she was displeased or not as Elric nodded and led the three of them through a series of corridors. Eventually, they reached a small room where a table was set up with various foods on it. However, the table was only set up for three people.
Harry looked at Elric curiously. 'Won't you eat with us, Elric? I'm sure that we all have some questions we'd like to ask you.'
Elric looked at Harry, his face was still emotionless! 'I'm afraid not, Mr. Potter. I have already eaten my fill before I left to pick you up.' He bowed slightly to the three of them. 'I am afraid that I must be leaving now, when you have finished, someone will escort you all to your room.' Elric turned on his feet and left the room.
Harry shrugged, and turned to the table, followed by Tonks and half-heartedly by Fleur. Harry was feeling quite concerned about Fleur now, ever since the train she hadn't met his eyes, she hadn't spoken to him and it seemed as though she was ignoring him. Tonks didn't seem to have noticed, although she had looked at Fleur pretty oddly once or twice, but seemed to give no other thought to it.
As Harry tucked into several foods, most of them bland but healthy, he pondered on what would be taught by the TechnoMages, should they allow him to learn from them. To be honest, he couldn't wait to get started. All that he wanted was an ordinary life with Fleur and Tonks, perhaps somewhere hot where he could live out his days sipping cool drinks from coconuts, possibly in the Bahamas or even Cuba!
Fleur had long finished before Tonks and Harry, and she sat there, her head lowered, although Harry could faintly see her chewing her bottom lip in what appeared to be thought. God, but that looked sexy; of course, everything she did looked sexy, although whether the Vela charm helped with that, Harry didn't know. Oddly enough, the Vela charm didn't seem to have much impact upon Harry ever since their night together. Something that they'd had very few of. Hopefully that could change, he desired her greatly.
But why was she acting in this way?
When Harry looked up, he saw that Fleur had left, but Tonks was still there, watching him closely.
'What's up?'
Tonks shrugged.
'Seriously, what's the matter?'
Tonks looked at Harry, her expression a complete mystery to harry, although when it came to women, what man dead or alive could claim that he knew just what it meant? If any did exist, then Harry certainly wasn't one of them.
Finally, her expression changed, although what it changed to, Harry had no idea.
'Harry, you know that we're engaged? Well, you've gone and married Fleur already, but when's it going to be my turn? I know that you're under a lot of pressure, what with Voldemort and everything, but I feel like a third wheel with you two! I'm really sorry to land this on you, Harry, but you have to see it from my point of view, I just feel unwanted, like something that you use for amusement. And not even the good kind of amusement!'
Harry blushed slightly, while Tonks glared at him. Well, at least one good thing came out of this. He now knew exactly which emotion was on her face. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good emotion.
'Look, Tonks, I really am sorry about the way that you feel, but I promise you, we will get married, sooner if not later.'
'But when Harry, when?'
'I don't know, okay!' Harry snapped at her, his temper snapped in two. He was already pissed off by Fleur's behavior today, and for Tonks, the normally bubbly, friendly Auror to start going on at him, it was more than enough stress on his plate for that day.
Tonks stood on her feet in anger, her normally pretty face wreathed in anger, in disappointment. How convenient that now he knew the expressions on the face of a woman, it just happened to be a very bad moment for that. Tonks stormed out of the room, her face warping into new shapes that reflected her mood. Her cheekbones became more pronounced, her eyes sharper and her neck longer. For all the courage that a Gryffindor was meant to have, Harry highly doubted that any Gryffindor, even Godric Gryffindor himself, would dare to go against her. Merlin knows that Harry certainly wouldn't dare to do so.
Flinging his plate on the floor, uncaring of the mess that it created, Harry got to his feet and stormed to the door, looking around once he was outside, only to find himself face-to-face with a metal chest.
Harry, with no doubt was absolutely certain that his face would be quite a picture if he could see it, looked up cautiously. He gulped as he found himself face-to-face with a metal robot, its face artificially twisted and shaped to form a face of hatred and agony. Harry gulped from one look at it. Suddenly, it spoke.
'Harry James Potter?'
Its voice was totally emotionless, if he had been disturbed by Fleur earlier, he was literally crapping himself at the sight of this thing. Slowly, he nodded, not trusting his voice to not crack should he speak.
'You will follow.'
The robot turned on it's feet, and with a clanking noise that occurred every time the robot's feet hit the floor, it moved away, clearly expecting Harry to follow. Of course, Harry, who appeared to have no other alternative, followed.
As they walked through the different corridors, the robot didn't speak. Curious to whether the robot was a "ask a question, get an answer", kinda robot, he asked a question.
'So, what are you?'
The robot didn't break its steps, continuing its clanking walk. 'I am Terminator 4748, Squadron 35, Company 31, Battalion -'
'Forget I asked,' Harry muttered under his breath. Apparently the Terminator heard him, as it broke off from speaking. However, Harry couldn't help himself from asking more questions.
'So, where do the TechnoMages make you then?'
'Make us?' The terminator sounded confused, even though there was no emotion in its voice. 'TechnoMages don't make us, there hasn't been more of us for centuries.'
Harry was very much confused now.
'But then, how are you here? And who made you then?'
'We do not know. All that we know is that we were here for centuries upon end, we know that we existed long before the human race became what it is today.'
'So then why the hell are you here?'
'The best term for it would be in your human sayings, us Terminators and TechoMages, it is a...marriage of convenience.'
'So then what's your purpose meant to be here?'
'Our primary function is to make war and win. We escort the TechnoMages to dangerous places, and if necessary, we exterminate any potential threat.'
'Cool,' Harry felt that that was the only word that he could think of.
Suddenly, the Terminator stopped outside of a door, turning towards Harry. 'Your room.' It said, once again no expression in its voice.
Harry put his hand to the doorknob, just as the door opened from the other side to reveal a still-angry Tonks. At the sight of Harry, her eyes narrowed and she barged past Harry.
'Tonks!' Harry called after her, but she ignored him, stalking up the corridor followed by the terminator. He turned back to see Fleur standing there.
'What the hell is up with her?' Harry asked plaintively.
Fleur finally looked up at Harry. He almost took a step back when he saw fear in her eyes. 'What do you think is wrong with her, Harry? She's lonely. Think about what she's given up for you. She's given up her job in the Aurors, she's left behind everything that she knows, and she feels that she doesn't have the bond that we're both meant to have since we're married. Not to mention that she's in even more danger from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I know that you feel pressured by the war, but believe me, Harry; you weren't around for the First War. Whatever this Second War has produced so far is nothing to the First.'
'What happened during the first war?'
'I cannot tell you in words, Harry, simply because I don't know how you can describe pure terror, the anguish at the thoughts of your friends and family being attacked and killed. You were no more than just a baby then, Harry, I may have only been four years old when you were attacked by Voldemort, but even children at that age knew of the horrors that the war was producing. Tonks was seven years older, but she was directly in Britain at the time of the war, she, along with hundreds of other children, Muggle and Wizard alike, saw the horrors directly. Is it any wonder that so many of us turned out so screwed up when looking after our children? Molly Weasley mothers her children and keeps them close, directly because of the war and her irrational fears that danger lurks around every corner, and in every shadow.'
Harry looked at Fleur sadly. But once again, she didn't notice, as a soon as she'd finished speaking, her head had gone back down. Why was that fear in her eyes?'
'Fleur, what's up with you?'
She looked up again. That damned fear was still there! 'What do you mean, Harry?'
'You know damned well what I mean. You scared of something, and I think that it's me.'
Fleur looked startled. 'I - I don't understand.'
'Don't give me that! Ever since we got off the train, you've been acting odd with me. Not with Tonks, although she's looked at you oddly as well. And you can't deny it either. Just tell me what the hell is wrong!'
'Nothing!'
'Bullshit!'
Fleur visibly snapped. 'Alright! You want to know?! Fine, I'll tell you! You're a Parselmouth!'
Harry looked at her confused. 'What's that got to do with anything?'
'It means a lot Harry, why the hell don't you do some research for once in your life and find out about these things? Get some perspective, for Merlin's sake!'
Fleur stood up, her face angry and slightly pale. Without another word, she stood up and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Harry groaned and fell onto the bed. He'd forgotten a rule of his, if you piss of one person, don't piss off the other. It had been his motto during Hogwarts when he'd been friends with Granger and Weasley.
What a great day(!)
--
The next day, Harry now stood in front of several TechnoMages, all of whom were looking at him and whispering to each other. It was like going back to Hogwarts where the fan girls were. He couldn't escape the curse, it appeared.
Meanwhile, Tonks and Fleur stood behind Harry, both of them pointedly not talking or even looking at Harry. The odd thing was that neither of them were apparently talking to each other either. Either way, though, Harry planned to stay out of this. If the opportunity arose, then certainly he'd do whatever he could to make things up to both of the girls, but the damned thing was that he had no idea what Fleur's problem was, nor did he know what to do about Tonks. In short, it was a classical situation for Harry. Where was Voldemort when you needed him?
Finally, the TechnoMages stopped talking, and gestured to Elric, who had been standing to the side of the large circular room. Elric nodded respectfully, and the TechnoMages filed out of the room, leaving behind only Elric, Harry and the two girls. As soon as they had left, Harry turned to Elric.
'Well? What happened then? Am I allowed to stay? Or am I going to be forced out?'
Elric smiled slightly, which coincidently was the most emotion that he had shown since Harry and Elric had met.
'The Council have decided in your favor. You and your women will be permitted to remain with us for a short period of time.'
'How long?'
'A few weeks.'
'A few weeks?!'
'Yes.'
'That isn't long though.'
Elric smiled again. 'Harry, what we can show you will not take long. You have confused us for inventions and machines. Foremost, we are information. You want to know something, odds are that we will know already, and will use that information to our advantage. That, along with our Terminators, has kept us safe and alive for the centuries.'
'I...I think I see. So what training exactly do you offer me?'
Elric smiled mysteriously. 'You will find out soon. However, there is some disturbing news that directly concerns you, Harry.'
'What news?' Fleur asked, her interest apparently attracted.
'Follow me.'
--
Harry, Elric and the two girls now stood in front of a TechnoMage, one who looked incredibly old. He was sat on a chair, his hands typing away on what looked like a keyboard. Elric stood in front of the man, patiently waiting until the TechnoMage looked up.
'Master TechnoMage, we beg of you the information that you gained earlier.'
The TechnoMage looked at Elric. Is the one who the information concerns here?'
'Yes, Master TechnoMage.'
'Very well.'
Suddenly, a large screen appeared in front of Harry. Various items and writing appeared in a flash before disappearing in a flash. It took another few seconds before the information halted at a specific place. Harry let out a gasp as he recognized one of the items presented on the screen.
The diary of Tom Riddle.
'I assume by your facial expression that you recognize this object, Lord Potter-Black?'
Harry nodded, speechless.
'Is it the item alone that you recognize, or is it the information about the item?
Harry looked at the old man in slight confusion. 'I suppose it's both, really. That diary belonged to Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort. Somehow, he was part of that diary, and tried to come back to life by possessing a student at Hogwarts by sapping her life force. I stopped him by stabbing his diary with the tooth of a Basilisk.'
'Yes, your information is correct. However, things have changed. We recently received information from one of our operatives in England investigating this "Lord" Voldemort, and we found out about this incident. We believe the diary of Tom Riddle to be a Horcrux.'
Both Tonks and Fleur gasped, although Harry remained silent, not knowing what a Horcrux was. He looked at the two girls, hopeful that they would tell him, and hopefully forgive him while they were at it.
'I learnt about a Horcrux when I was doing research,' Fleur said, her face pale. 'They're one of the most darkest magic's that you can perform.'
'What does the magic do?' Harry asked, curious.
'It rips your soul apart,' Tonks said softly, her knowledge having been gained during Auror training when they had done a brief look at Dark magic.
'Is that bad?'
Fleur looked at Harry in mild disgust. 'It's the worst thing you can do. Voldemort must be mad if he intended to do that. It makes you mad and obsessive. It can guarantee you life for as long as one of the pieces of the soul survives, but it involves committing some of the worst things possible.'
'What are they?'
'I will not speak of it,' Fleur said, looking as though she'd like to be sick.
Harry shrugged, and turned back to the TechnoMage. 'So what do these Horcrux's got to do with me then?'
'As long as Voldemort survives, his one wish will now be to kill you or to take over the Wizarding world. And not just Wizarding Britain, but the whole world. America, Asia, Africa, you name it he'll want it. And then he'll turn on the Muggle world. It will be hell on earth, literally.'
'So these items,' he gestured at the screen. 'Are they like the diary?'
'Yes.'
'So if I destroy them, does that mean that Voldemort will die?'
'No.'
'No?'
'It will mean that Voldemort will become mortal, and if he dies, then he dies for good.'
'Well, if it's as simple as that, where are they?'
The TechnoMage smiled. 'They're across the whole world.'
Harry blanched. 'Anywhere specific?'
'Well, there's one in each continent, which mean's there's one in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, South America and Oceania. You manage to destroy them all, you will be able to kill Voldemort more easily.'
'So,' Harry was deathly pale now. 'Where are they all, specifically?'
'We know for certain that there's one in America, but where, we don't know. We haven't been able to find that out.'
'So how do we find it then?'
The TechnoMage frowned. 'I would suggest normally going to the local tribes of America, however, as there is a rebellion going on, the situation is less than ideal.'
Harry sighed. 'So what do I do until then?'
The TechnoMage smiled. 'Train of course.'
Hey guys, right, to sort things out, I recently watched the Terminator, Sarah Connor series and I decided to include them in the story, so I in no way own either Harry Potter nor the Terminator.
So please please please please!! READ AND REVIEW