Destiny Deadlock

Destiny Deadlock

Part Two

Minerva McGonagall walked into the library, setting down some books she'd borrowed from Irma Pince. It was the day before term started, and she was looking forward to her first lesson with the fifth year Gryffindor class. O.W.L. level Transfiguration would not be easy for some...like Neville Longbottom. However, she was reasonably confident that most would at least get an Acceptable.

She thought about the other classes. Professor Flitwick had expressed his feelings that his O.W.L. would come easily to most students. McGonagall had to agree: Professor Flitwick was never that hard on his students, so as to make sure all but the most detrimental slackers would receive passing grades.

Potions classes were some she had reservations about. Professor Snape, while brilliant, was notoriously hard on his students, and absolutely refused to let anyone into his N.E.W.T. classes without an Outstanding O.W.L. This had crushed many an aspiring Auror's dreams in the time that he'd been teaching. She mentally asked herself if it would be worth it to ask him to ease off of the fifth years. She discarded the notion almost immediately; it would be akin to trying to throw Hogwarts across the lake.

Then there was Defense Against the Dark Arts. She ground her teeth at the thought of Dolores Umbridge. That fat...toad had stated that there would be no practical lessons, and intended only to work with theory. McGonagall remained silent, however. She suspected that the Ministry witch had never heard the phrase "difference in theory and practice." That was the point of practical lessons, to ensure that students understood the theory and could apply and adapt it.

Shaking her head, she turned to leave, but paused as she noticed she was not the only one in the library. Karen, dressed in light blue robes that fitted her figure, was sitting at a table, reading A Recent History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot. Unlike A History of Magic, Bagshot's earlier work, this one gave detail to the last century or so of the wizarding world, including the rise and fall of Tom Riddle, also known as...McGonagall shook herself as she realized that she couldn't even think the name without shuddering uncontrollably.

Karen looked up, noticing McGonagall watching her. "Good evening, Professor," she said quietly. The android was somewhat shy and reserved around most of the staff. She had only really opened up to Dumbledore and McGonagall, despite McGonagall's initial misgivings about the young-looking woman. For some time after she had arrived, the elder witch remained suspicious of the cyan haired android, wondering if she was a tool of You-Know-Who's. But three months later, she knew that couldn't be the case. If she were, surely she would have acted by now.

Karen had helped the staff - most notably the caretaker, Argus Filch - patrol the grounds for anything unwanted. With Hagrid off to be an envoy to the giants, their groundskeeper was absent. This meant his normal duties had to fall to other people, and since no one matched Karen in strength, she took the majority of the work. Making sure that nothing happened, Karen was proving quite adept at the job. She also helped the house elves, who gladly appreciated the extra hand. Dobby had taken a tremendous liking to her, and the feeling seemed mutual.

"Tomorrow will be the start of term, Karen," said the professor.

"Yes," replied the android. She looked back to the book she was reading. "I'm amazed at this. The wizarding world has had it rough this past century, hasn't it?" she said mildly.

"That's an understatement," was McGonagall's response. "We lost a good many people to the thrall of You-Know-Who, and many more were killed by him and his followers."

"Such tragedy," murmured the android. "Is all human history so...barbaric?"

"At various points, yes," answered McGonagall. "But there are good points in history as well. The wizarding world is no exception."

"I suppose," said Karen reluctantly. "But still, does the tragedy outweigh the good points? What if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named becomes a menace like the world has never seen before?"

"Then we will do everything we can to contain his power," was the firm reply.

"And if you can't?"

McGonagall felt every year as old as she was. "Then God help us." With those cheerful words, she left, bidding Karen good night.

Karen stayed, returning to the book. She flipped the page, looking at the chapter title: "The Dark Lord's fall and the Boy who Lived." Intrigued, she read on, marveling at what she learned about this boy...

***

The next morning, Dobby was busy with the other house-elves, preparing for the evening's meal. The banquet was usually so extensive that it required much of the day to prepare. Even Winky, who still drank butterbeer often, was deigning to help for the feast this year. She was still melancholy over the deaths of her masters, the Crouches, so she was proving equal parts hindrance and helper. The other house-elves were very grateful when Karen showed up, offering to relieve her. Winky immediately scuttled off to a corner to be alone.

"Dobby is very glad you is coming to help us, Miss Karen, ma'am!" said the very likable Dobby. The other house-elves looked satisfied as well, if only for the fact that Winky was no longer such a disturbance. Karen was, in truth, concerned about the dejected house-elf, because she knew that alcoholics tended to have their lives cut short due to their drinking.

"It's good to work with you all, Dobby," she said. As she grabbed a pair of oven mitts, she asked, "Dobby, when we get a breather, I'd like to talk to you about something." Dobby grinned broadly, and with the android's help, the meal was ready in record time. The other house-elves decided to pass the time by cooking up things for students who might wander down to the kitchens during the year. Dobby and Karen retreated to a corner to talk.

"So, Miss Karen, what is it you is wanting to talk about?" asked Dobby.

"Fairly simple, actually," said Karen. "What would you happen to know about Harry Potter...?"

***

Hermione sat with her best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, as they ate their breakfast. Three weeks into the school year, all three of them had complaints of one form or another. For Harry and Ron, it was the injustice of Slytherins and Snape. For Hermione, it was her friends' study habits. But all three of them could agree on one thing: they despised Professor Umbridge. Currently, Harry was ranting about her horrid detentions, and Ron was agreeing. Hermione, due to years of practice, tuned them out. She looked up when she heard the mail arrive, and caught the Daily Prophet, as well as a Muggle newspaper. This served both to inform her of events and cut Harry's rant short.

"Anything interesting, Hermione?" asked Ron.

Shaking her head, Hermione folded up the Prophet. "Nothing but the usual denial. There don't appear to be any derogatory remarks, which is a small blessing. The front page happens to be another article on our beloved Professor Umbridge." This last bit was said with a voice dripping with disdain. Harry and Ron knew from experience that when Hermione disliked someone or something, it was universally dislikable. Hermione punctuated her sentence with a click of the tongue as she unfolded the Muggle paper.

"You know there's not going to be anything there, either," said Harry.

"I know, but it's interesting to see what's going on in the rest of the world," replied Hermione. As she scanned the front page, her eyes caught on something. Setting down her goblet of pumpkin juice, she narrowed her eyes as she scanned the article.

"What is it?" asked Ron.

"This is odd," replied Hermione. "According to this, an entire space shuttle went missing from NASA."

"What's NASA?" Ron asked, wearing a look of confusion. Fortunately, Harry pre-empted Hermione.

"It's the North American Space Agency, or something along those lines," he said. "It's partly run by the US military, which is why it's big news that an entire shuttle went missing."

Ron looked blank, and Harry sighed. "A shuttle is what Muggles use to travel into outer space."

"Oh," was all his friend said. Then he snapped his fingers. "Hey! What if You-Know-Who's weapon is in outer space?"

In stereo: "Don't be ridiculous, Ron." Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and Ron snickered. Harry continued. "Voldemort wouldn't be caught dead using Muggle technology."

"Quite right Harry, but I bet you wouldn't want to be caught dead late for History of Magic," said Hermione as she gathered her things, folding the paper up as she did so. As she headed out, she heard Harry and Ron groan. Truthfully, she didn't blame them; History of Magic was the dullest subject in the school.

They got to Binns's classroom with a minute to spare. As Binns floated through the wall, the only exciting part of the class, everyone prepared for the usual stupor. Only Hermione was taking notes.

As they discussed the goblin rebellions, she took note of some very interesting news. It seemed that the goblins had developed something that boosted the vitality of the user permanently. This had proven a problem for the wizards charged with taking them down, as the goblins were more powerful. However, the secret of whatever it was eventually fell into the hands of the wizarding world, and the goblins were routed soon thereafter. The secret had been subsequently lost, much to the regret of the wizarding world.

This was top among the notes that Hermione took, and as the class ended, she packed her bags, wondering what the secret had been. Harry and Ron seemed somewhat less keen, however. As she caught up to them, she heard them discussing a Quidditch match. She rolled her eyes. They could be such...boys, sometimes!

"Next up, Charms," said Ron. Hermione nodded, but before they could leave, they overheard a voice from the classroom that didn't belong to Professor Binns.

"How is the day going, Binns?" asked a cold, hoarse voice. Hermione's neck hairs prickled. It was the Bloody Baron.

"Well enough, I suppose," replied the professor. "I was actually fortunate enough to discover something new about the giant wars recently."

Harry and Ron looked like they wanted to leave, but Hermione checked her watch, and said, "We've got time, I want to hear this." Her friends sighed, but waited patiently.

"What was this 'something new'?" asked the Baron.

"It seems that during the wars, a group of half-giants who had chosen their giant side over their human heritage managed to get hold of several rare and expensive potion ingredients, as well as a spell book containing an ancient spell."

"What was that spell?" asked a third voice, which Hermione recognized as Moaning Myrtle.

"A spell that allowed the user to look into the future, and bring back a weapon of their choice. The spell required several charms as well as the aforementioned ingredients, but were it successful, it could be very deadly."

"So what did the half-giants bring back?" asked the Baron.

"A device called an atomic bomb," replied the professor. Harry and Hermione gasped, making Ron look at them oddly.

"I've heard of those," said Myrtle, her voice shaky. "The Americans used two of those on Japan a while back. It wasn't pretty."

"Nor would this have been, had it been successful," agreed Binns.

"What do you mean?" the Baron asked, somewhat confused.

"The downside to the spell is that in addition to the weapon of choice, someone is brought from the future with the potential to stop it. In this case, a Muggle man was pulled back as well, and, after some confusion, he agreed to help. The bomb was transported to the Ministry, somehow, and the Muggle managed to neutralize it."

"What became of him?" queried Myrtle.

"He died, crushed by a giant shortly afterward. It seemed the giants didn't take kindly to having their weapon rendered useless," the professor stated dryly. Hermione gestured to her friends, and they left.

"That is bloody dangerous!" snapped Harry, once they were away. "How could so dangerous a spell even exist?"

"I don't get it," said Ron. "What was that bomb thing?"

"It's the most powerful weapon on the planet right now, Ron," answered Hermione. "Just one is strong enough to level a city, let alone something like Hogwarts. And the Muggles have enough of them to incinerate the entire Earth's surface a dozen times over."

"If there's something worse than THAT," Harry stated emphatically, "then I don't want to know about it."

"I quite agree, Harry," muttered Hermione.

***

They made it to Charms only five seconds late, with a small reminder from Flitwick to be more mindful next time. They took their seats, waiting for the lesson. A quick glance darkened their thoughts as they saw Professor Umbridge, the High Inquisitor. Today, she was apparently inspecting Charms.

"Now then," said tiny Professor Filius Flitwick, "we learned last week how to use the water charm, Aguamenti. Today, we will be discussing variations of the charm. Can anyone hazard a guess as to one of these variations?"

Unsurprisingly, Hermione's hand shot up, narrowly missing taking Harry's glasses with it. When Flitwick called on her, she answered, "The Aguamenti charm can be increased in pressure, allowing the spell to cut through solid objects in a manner similar to a knife."

"Quite right, Miss Granger, ten points to Gryffindor," said the Professor. "That is the variation we will be practicing today, in fact. Once the supplies arrive, that is..."

Barely had Flitwick spoken than the door opened. Hermione looked up, seeing Karen walk in, holding several oaken logs. Hermione smiled inwardly, knowing that only Karen's mechanical strength allowed her to carry such burdens with such ease.

"My apologies, Professor Flitwick," said Karen, dropping the logs on the floor. "I was detained by a certain poltergeist." Several students winced in sympathy.

"Dare I ask how you chased him off?" asked Flitwick.

"I told him that if he continued, I would drag his ghostly hide to confront the Baron." This was met by a round of laughter from the students, and a chuckle from Flitwick. Umbridge, however, was regarding Karen with a mix of confusion and resentment. Karen noticed the toad-like professor and walked over to her.

"You would be Professor Umbridge, correct?" The witch nodded, her eyes never leaving Karen's. The latter pulled out a letter and handed it to her. "This came in from the Ministry. The Headmaster asked that I deliver it to you."

With that, Karen turned to leave, but then stopped, and looked over in Hermione's direction. Trying to follow her line of sight, Hermione realized she was looking at Harry, with a somewhat pleading look on her face. Then, Karen turned and left, leaving the logs behind.

Umbridge scanned the letter, then rolled it up. "It would seem my presence is requested back at the Ministry," she said, standing up. "Your inspection will have to wait for another time."

"Very well, then." Flitwick, for the first time the students could remember, had a voice laced with disdain. It appeared that the Ministry witch grated on virtually everyone's nerves. Umbridge, however, stayed a moment longer.

"If I might ask, Professor Flitwick, who was that young woman? I haven't seen her before..."

"She is a handywoman the Headmaster hired over the summer," replied Flitwick crisply. "She's an amnesiac, so it's hard to determine whether she's a witch or Muggle. There's evidence, however, that suggests she's immune to many spells, and isn't fully human." As that last part was said, Hermione noticed a rather uncharacteristic smile flit across the aged Professor's face. It looked...sadistic.

Umbridge, however, didn't notice. "Indeed?" was all she said. She left, as the trio breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Did I hear that right, Professor?" drawled a voice that grated on Hermione's nerves. It was Draco Malfoy. "The Headmaster is employing someone who could be a Muggle? God, this place is going to the dogs..."

"That's quite enough, Mr. Malfoy," snapped Flitwick. "Now, enough time has been spent, we must jump into the lesson..."

***

"Well, that was an interesting lesson," commented Ron. "I never thought I'd see Flitwick get mad at anyone, but he came close with Umbridge!"

"Who was that woman?" asked Harry. "She looked like she wanted to talk to me..."

"Dunno who she is, but she's one hell of a beauty," sighed Ron. "I wish I could get a girl like her..."

Hermione snickered softly. If Ron was going to make a fool of himself by falling head over heels for an android, she was not about to stop him. She was sure it would be rather amusing.

As they headed out to Care of Magical Creatures, she reflected on what little she knew of the android. Karen seemed somewhat shy, which was understandable. After all, how many androids would coexist with a society of witches and wizards? But then why had she looked at Harry the way she had? So many questions...Hermione resolved to find Karen and ask her.

They neared Hagrid's hut, where Professor Grubbly-Plank was waiting. They were continuing their lessons on bowtruckles, learning all they could. However, today the professor was staring up at the roof of Hagrid's hut, squinting due to the sunlight. Some other students had also gathered around, gazing up at the roof with expressions of wonder.

"Er, Professor? What's going on?" asked Harry when they got close enough. The professor merely pointed at the roof, and Hermione, squinting, could make out a distinct shape.

It seemed to be several feet in length, wrapped around the spire on Hagrid's hut. It had a bluish tint to it, and seemed content to just lay there. Soon, however, it unwrapped itself, and flew off, leaving the class disappointed. Hermione had noticed one more thing. It seemed to be somewhat translucent. She wasn't sure what the significance of that was.

"What...was that?" asked the voice of Pansy Parkinson. Nearly everyone looked at Hermione expectantly. She flushed a deep crimson under the attention.

"I...I don't know..."

Everyone's jaw became unhinged as they glanced at her in disbelief. She could guess what was running through their minds. And truth be told, it irked her that she could not tell them. She had earned a reputation for being a bookworm, although Ron had told her once that the Ravenclaws regarded her as a walking encyclopedia. She was secretly proud of her reputation, so being unable to tell someone what they wanted to know...it was irritating.

***

Later that night, the trio was sitting in the library, supposedly looking for answers to their essays. In truth, they were searching for anything matching the creature they had seen at Hagrid's earlier. However, the prospects looked somewhat dim, having had no luck in the normal areas.

Hermione sighed, and shook her head in frustration. Harry and Ron didn't seem as bothered, and soon engaged in a quiet discussion about Quidditch. Hermione stomped off to search for anything they might have missed. As she did, she heard a familiar drawl.

"Why don't you watch it?!" snapped the voice of Draco Malfoy. Glancing between the bookcases, she saw him holding Karen at wandpoint. Flanking him were Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson, all smirking at the android. Karen seemed to want to avoid a fight.

"I am sorry, I..."

Malfoy cut her off. "Save it, I don't want to hear it. I just want to know, are you a witch or aren't you?"

"I don't know," she said quietly. Before Malfoy could reply, Hermione stepped in.

"Shove off, Malfoy. Leave her alone, or I'll smack you like I did third year." With that, Hermione led Karen away from the glowering Slytherin. She led the android back to where they'd been studying.

"Brilliant intervention, Hermione," said Ron, grinning. Hermione flushed when she realized that she'd spoken loud enough for half the library to hear. Ron and Harry were looking at her in a way that was akin to someone observing a favorite idol.

"It was nothing," she said, sitting down. Karen did likewise, causing Harry and Ron to notice her for the first time.

"Oh, so he was tormenting you, eh?" Ron asked. He shook his head. "I swear, his anti-Muggle attitude can go fly a kite one of these days."

"From what I've heard about him from various sources, it would be slightly less likely than someone flying to the moon on a broomstick," said Karen. This got a round of chuckles out of everyone. "I'm Karen, by the way."

"Ron Weasley," replied Ron, holding out a hand. Karen shook it, careful not to grip too hard.

"Harry Potter," said Harry, also shaking her hand.

"Ah, yes, I've been wanting to talk with you," she said. Hermione glanced at Harry, and noticed his eyes were slightly narrowed.

"May I ask why?" he asked, trying to act as though it weren't anything important.

"It's just, I read about you in a book or two here, and they all describe you as some sort of hero," she replied slowly. "I wanted to know what you were behind the hero. I want to know about Harry Potter, the person; what it was really like to have gone through the things you have."

Harry hesitated, but he saw no lie in the young woman's eyes. He sighed, then nodded. "All right, so what exactly do you want to know?"

"Everything, but only until about this past June. That's when I came around, and I pretty much know everything since then," she answered.

"All right, but I can't tell you everything tonight," he said. "I'll tell you about my childhood, then my first year..."

It took a good two hours for Harry to relate the torments he'd suffered for ten years at the hands of the Dursleys, and then recall the events of his first year. He then skipped ahead a bit, detailing the Triwizard Tournament and Voldemort's return. Through it all, Karen, Ron, and Hermione listened, not interrupting once. Hermione felt deep down that it had to be painful for Harry, reliving such memories. But she also knew how telling about such things could also lessen the hurt. It was like feeling better after a good crying session.

When he was done, Karen shook her head in wonder. "Either you truly are a hero, or it's all dumb luck."

"For me, it's probably a combination of the two," said Harry with a lop-sided smile. Karen laughed, and Hermione privately wondered whether Karen's true persona was anything like this. Then again, how would I know what an android's persona would be like? she thought.

Hermione checked her watch and grimaced. "Come on, you two, it's almost curfew," she said. Harry and Ron got up, after saying goodbye to Karen, and the trio left. The other students also filtered out, and soon it was only the android in the library, reflecting on Harry's take of his life. He was certainly an odd one. Most wizards, she thought, wouldn't take that much hell from anyone. But then, Harry wasn't "most wizards," not by a long shot.

Karen then turned her thoughts to Hermione. The young witch had remained mostly silent throughout this whole meeting, which Karen attributed to her attentiveness to Harry's story. Karen reasoned that Hermione knew the story already, but wasn't one to turn down an opportunity to listen to great stories again.

Ron Weasley seemed like a kind hearted fellow, though Karen could tell in a heartbeat he was nothing like Harry. Rather, Ron's kindness seemed to stem from having a good family, according to what Dobby had said. While Harry's kindliness had been a response against the treatment he'd received, Ron's had the air of one who loved his family. Karen also thought there was a streak of protectiveness in him, and privately, she pitied any wizard that didn't meet with his approval when it came to his family...

Karen snapped herself out of her musings, and left the library. Heading for her quarters, she opened the pod, climbed in, and let it close. As usual, the oblivion of a dreamless sleep enveloped her. No one could disturb her this night.

***Notes***

Good God. I'm really trying to outdo myself here. Most chaptered fics I've written before tended to run about five pages. Now I've gone and doubled that. Well, what can I say, that's how it goes.

As before, everyone PLEASE do not reveal Karen's true identity if you've guessed it. Keep it to yourself, I don't care if you have to log off your account to keep yourself from posting, just keep it a secret. To you poor sods who haven't yet figured it out, just be patient.

Once again, I do not own any of the characters from Harry Potter, I do not own Karen (Namco does), and I am 500% certain this is my own work. Credit again goes to Grey Fox for his awesome Schnoogle crossover fic, Fusion of Destinies. I strongly urge you to read it. So go on. Read it. NOW. Or you can push the nice green button below that says "Review."