I stood at the driveway of Number four Privet Drive, hesitant to walk up and knock; knowing that when I did, my life would never be the same. A hand came to rest on either of my shoulders; Kaz on my right, Adamska on my left. They smiled reassuringly, silently encouraging me to go forward.

"Are you sure this is the right place?"I asked uncertainly, taking a nervous step back towards the car. The two squeezed my shoulders comfortingly as Strangelove exited the car, hands on her hips.

"Of course this is the right place. Do you think I would be so careless as to let them get away without a tail? Honestly! Use your head!"She chided. I smiled sheepishly.

"A-Ah, you're right. I apologize."

You know, it's funny. One would think in almost five years, Dr. Malia Prynce, also affectionately known as 'Dr. Strangelove' by the rest of my staff, would have mellowed out at least a little bit. But no. She's just as blunt as ever.

"Ah, I was wondering when you would arrive."She said as she continued typing away at the computer. I had barely stepped foot through the door of the lab when she greeted me as such, nearly causing me to trip.

"I hope you had a nice rest these last four years."She started once we'd sat down, steaming cups of tea sitting in front of us, "Unfortunately, now is not the time to reminisce. I've recently discovered something I felt prudent for you to know as soon as possible."

"And that something would be?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I moved to drink my tea.

"You have a daughter."

I nearly choked to death on my drink when she dropped the bombshell. Coughing to clear my throat, I stared at her hard.

"Come again?"

"You heard me, Jack."Strangelove returned, "You have a daughter. A magical one to be precise."

That caught me by surprise. So much so that I actually leaned forward a bit, curious as to what else she had to say.

"You may want to get comfortable for this, Jack. It's a long story."

DDDDDD

Very shortly after Strangelove finished her explanation, I was leaning back in my seat, a hand over my eyes. My whole life, a wizard and I didn't even know it. A pure-blood. An illegitimate heir to a prestigious British family. And a kid to top it all off. I couldn't help it. I started to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

"Jack?"Strangelove called after a minute of my hysterical laughing. I calmed down and caught my breath, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Heh, magic, huh?"I started, "Hell, psychics exist, so why not?"

"You're taking this rather well." She pointed out.

"Tell Kaz and Ocelot that they have some explaining to do."

It made for an awkward night, but here we are, closer than ever. I'm still confused on some things, but I suppose I'll learn as we go, right?

Right as I was about to step forward, a little child sized blur crossed in front of us, followed by a group of larger child sized blurs. I blinked, then glanced in the direction they had gone.

"Was that..?"I asked, wondering if they'd seen that.

"Looks like it."Kaz responded. I face palmed.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go after them!"I barked. Kaz and Adamska jumped when I raised my voice, then took off in the direction of the kids. Sighing, Strangelove started toward the house.

"Shall we?"

"You brought the forms, right?"I asked, trailing behind her.

"Of course. We want this to go smoothly, so we must do this in as legal a way as possible."She indicated the file she carried, then sighed.

"Right..."

"Just… let me do the talking, alright?"She asked, casting me the look. I gulped and nodded. She knocked.

She heard them. She heard them long before she saw them. They were always bumbling about, always so loud and stupid that she had ample time to hide or hole up in the library. Dudley had always been a mean, nasty little boy, and only got worse as he grew. He got whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted from his parents. He was never punished for things that were obviously his fault. It was always pinned on her, no matter what it was. Not that it surprised her anymore. He was their son, and Kazue? She was just their freaky little orphaned niece that unusual things happened around. They never believed her when she said she had no idea what had happened. Hell, they never believed her on anything. When Dudley trampled through Aunt Petunia's freshly planted violets, he'd blame Kazue. Greasy fingerprints over the freshly cleaned windows? Kazue did it. Everything was always her fault, no matter if she did it or not.

Often, as she'd sit awake at night in her cupboard, Kazue would wish for someone to come and take her away from her miserable existence there. That someone would love and want her. But she'd learned, despite being so young, that true happiness was but a fairytale. That no matter how she wished that some tall, scary man would take her away and protect her from all of life's evils, it was just a pipe-dream.

But now was not the time to dwell on things never to come. Now was the time to run like hell.

Dashing down the street, Adamska kept a close tab on the kids; Kaz bringing up the rear. With a permanent limp from the broken leg, he'd never be as fast as he once was.

He almost barreled into Adamska when he stopped short, staring over the other man's shoulder at the group of boys cornering the tiny girl.

A rather rotund boy stepped forward, a nasty grin adorning his chubby face.

"Thought you could get away, eh freak?"He asked, driving the small child further into the corner, "Well not this time."

The boy began cracking his large knuckles and his friends followed suit, laughing manically.

That, apparently, had been enough, for Ocelot made himself known.

"Alright, kids. That's enough."He said, crossing his arms as he stared down at them, giving them a good view of his eerie gray eyes and the revolvers at his sides. The boys yelped, jumping back and staring at the two men in alarm.

"Cripes, Dud, book it!"Another boy squawked and they ran off. A smart decision. The two men stared after the little cowards as they vanished around the street corner, then approached the still cowering girl.

She was curled in a ball, staring up at the two intimidating men. She was grateful that they'd chased Dudley off, but she'd probably wind up with a few bruises for her unusual luck. That was how it always went. If Dudley didn't get his way, she was punished.

"Are you alright?"One of the men asked, startling her. He had silver hair that was combed back neatly. His warm gray eyes calmed her some. Kazue nodded, yet said nothing.

"That's good."Said the other man. This one had blond hair, neatly slicked back. His eyes were hidden by sunglasses, "Say...You don't happen to know where Petunia Dursley lives, do you?" At the mention of her aunt, Kazue tensed. She nodded, frowning as she tilted her head in curiosity.

"We need to deliver something to her, you see. Can you lead us to her?"The blond asked gently. Kazue nodded and started down the street. Adamska smirked at Kaz. It was a clever ruse. Make up a reason to escort the girl home so she didn't suspect anything. She'd be in for a nice surprise when they got there.

That is, if things didn't go south.

I narrowed my eyes when we were allowed in. The entry of the home had pictures of the family adorning the walls; the husband; who I could hear snoring away somewhere on the second floor, wife, and their abnormally large son. There were none, however, of the little girl we'd come to collect. I don't know why, but something about this whole thing just rubs me the wrong way.

We were shown into the den. Strangelove took a seat on the sofa while I opted to stand behind her in a comfortable parade rest. We were left to ourselves for a bit, the clanking of china and silverware in the kitchen indicating refreshments hastily being put together.

Steaming cups of tea were sitting before both women just a moment later. The horse-like woman glancing at me warily, eying the pistol in the holster strapped to my leg with more than a bit of trepidation. When her gaze returned to my own, I smiled grimly. She gulped, then focused her attention to Strangelove.

"Will your companion not have some tea?"She asked nervously. I rolled my shoulders once, but said nothing. Strangelove took her cup and delicately sniffed at the tea, sighing in appreciation at the light scent.

"My colleague is more of a coffee man."Strangelove replied.

"I see."

Silence reigned for a bit as the two sipped at their tea. Once both of them had drained their cups, our hostess sighed as she refilled them.

"So what can I do for you two?"She asked when she sat back. Strangelove straightened, the file neatly laying on her lap.

"Mrs. Dursley, my name is Dr. Malia Prynce. I am here with my associate about a child living with you. A girl."She began. At mention of her niece, Mrs. Dursley paled considerably.

"If the brat is in trouble, I can assure you, neither my husband nor I have had anything to do with it."She automatically stated. Strangelove smiled placatingly.

"No, she isn't in trouble. Actually, we're here about her living arrangements. A child with her talents is ill suited to a home such as yours. We simply wish to rectify this problem."At this, Mrs. Dursley paled further.

"T-Talents? You don't mean…."She stammered before glaring, "You're with them! Well, if you want the little brat, you freaks can have her. Never wanted the little waste of air anyway!"

I stiffened, glaring daggers at the aggravating woman. Before I had a chance to say anything, however, there was a knock at the front door. Mrs. Dursley got up, staring down her nose at Strangelove, and not daring to meet my glare as she passed.

She returned a moment later, Kaz and Adamska behind her. Hiding behind Adamska's leg was a tiny child. A little girl dressed in shabby clothes several sizes too large for her. Her hair and eye color were identical to my own. She was far too small for her age, and perhaps I was seeing things, but I could have sworn I saw a dull yellow hand shaped bruise on her arm as the sleeve shifted when she peered up at me curiously.

"Ah, you're here. Good."Strangelove said, smiling, "And you've brought the little one. That will make things much easier." Opening the folder, Strangelove removed a form and offered it to the horse-faced woman. She took it uneasily.

"That form will transfer full guardianship, both regular and magical, to him," the AI developer indicated me over her shoulder "After today, you'll never have to see her again. All you have to do is sign."

"I'll never have to hear from you people after this?"Dursley asked, her nose raised in distaste at our presence.

"That's right."Kaz responded for Strangelove, causing her to stare at him pointedly. He shrugged. Mrs. Dursley appeared as if she was considering our words, possibly wondering if they were genuine.

"Fine."She relented, and signed the paper, "Now get the brat's things and leave." I was seriously considering giving this woman a lesson in manners, but I refrained. She was a civilian. When Dursley left the room, I dropped my stance and knelt in front of the girl.

"Where do you sleep? We need to get your things. You're coming home with us."I told her, and a tiny, almost imperceptible smile tugged at her mouth. She led us to the stairs; or rather, the cupboard beneath it. She tugged the bolt back and opened the door. What I saw made the edges of my vision turn red.

Inside the cupboard was a crib cot covered by a threadbare sheet and a fraying, filthy baby blanket. A pile of clothes lie in the corner. Along the shelf behind the cot held a mash of broken toys; all arranged in a neat little row. And if I looked carefully, I could see smatterings of old, dried blood here and there. As if the child before me; before us had been thrown into the cupboard more than once.

What really threw me over the edge was a little sheet of paper taped to the inside of the cupboard door reading "My room" in a child's scrawl. These people had kept a child in a cupboard. A tiny space. They forced her to live no better than… What did Kaz call those things? Hob goblins? Attic trolls? Whatever they are. Either way, these people forced a little girl to live like a pauper when they pampered themselves frivolously. It made me want to puke.

All the girl took from the cupboard was the old baby blanket, and a teddy bear that had a damaged arm. When she stepped out of the small space, she looked up at me expectantly. I smiled tightly and placed my hand atop her head in an approving manner, rubbing her hair gently. She needed a bath.

What I didn't expect was the flood of images that sprang forth in front of my eyes seconds after touching her. Several acts of abuse and neglect that made my blood boil in rage; so much that the house was shaking.

A hand on my shoulder calmed me somewhat. I turned to meet Kaz's gaze.

"Calm down a bit before you shatter something, boss. You're still untrained, remember?"He reminded. The rattling stopped slowly as I tamed my anger. I let a breath out through my nose and nudged the girl toward the door.

"Let's go before I do something I won't regret."I told the others over my shoulder. Kaz and Adamska shared evil grins.

"We'll be right behind you."Adamska said. I shuddered. I really don't want to know what those two have cooked up. Perhaps I should feel sorry for the Dursley family. Then again, maybe not. So as Strangelove and I got into the car, I didn't feel the slightest bit sorry for chuckling at the obnoxious, indignant squawks of the Dursleys getting their just desserts.

"Do I want to know what you two did to them?"I asked when my comrades joined us in the car.

"Probably not."Kaz said, smirking.

"They deserved it, though."I stated.

"Yep."Adamska grinned, spinning one of his revolvers.

"Then we're done here."I pulled the girl, Kazue, Strangelove said her name was, onto my lap. She stiffened, then snuggled into my fatigue jacket, apparently tired. She wouldn't wake up until late the next morning.

"This is Ahab. Requesting pick-up at the RV ASAP."I called over the radio.

"This is Pequod. Roger that, boss!"The answer was immediate, though I could hear the hum of music in the background. Heh, Pequod always did favor those outrageous headphones of his.

The drive to the airport went by quickly. Traffic was light for this time of day, so I suppose we were lucky. If London was anything like the states, rush hour was due to start up any minute.

Leaving the car in the parking lot for the company to retrieve, it was a short walk through security to the helipad where our ride home awaited us.

Home…

Can we truly call Mother Base home? It is little more than a glorified oil rig out in the middle of the Seychelles. I'll have to fix that. Resources, R&D, recruits… Oh boy, where to start..?

I must have dozed off sometime after departure, because Kaz was shaking me awake right as we touched down. I scratched the back of my head sheepishly before following the others out, mindful of the sleeping little bundle of munchkin clinging to the side of my field jacket like a limpet. I was all too aware of the stares the few recruits we had were giving me. Yet for some reason, I didn't mind. It's not every day you see your CO on base with a kid on his hip.

Like Diamond Dogs, I have a feeling that this little one has a bright future ahead of her. I'm glad we found her. Life will be that much more enjoyable with her around here; make mother base that much closer to truly being home.

Well, here's looking at you, kid.

To a brighter future!

And that's a wrap for part 1! Part 2 will be up soon! Reviews are appreciated. As I currently do not have a beta-reader for this story, things are still subject to change. As always, thanks for reading!

Novice, Out!