Will You Ever Return to Me?

Chapter 4.

April 2003, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Harry walked into the principal's office, unsure what to expect. He both hoped and feared it would be something like last time. His conversation with Ginny did get him thinking and he--

Ahh, who am I kidding. I'm still in love with her, I always was. And Ginny would would be really mad if she, again, was pulled off her date for no real reason.

Well, all is not lost... she's dating him, not getting married, like with Malfoy. And they have that problem of the stalker ex-girlfriend, Tamara.

Harry couldn't help himself, but several times, he took to his hawk form and flew around the city, watching Ginny and Raymond Wilkins. If Ginny ever found out, she'd kill him. But Harry was quite disturbed by Tamara. What's the difference between you and her? a voice in his head asked. I'm not intruding into their lives, he answered. That didn't sound like much. He knew that he'd have done this tonight if Principal Wilson didn't ask to see him.

The door clicked behind him. Harry, knowing Principal Wilson's habits, sat down in a chair, and dozed off. He didn't have to wait as long as he thought he would, though.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter," the principal said. Only he wasn't under the effects of the potion. He was his real self, Samuel Hund.

"Good evening, sir," Harry replied. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, just tired--as I'm sure you probably are as well. What are your plans for the holidays?"

"I was going to visit my friends in Las Vegas."

"Good idea. Don't worry, you can still do that. I'm not here to give you an assignment."

"Then--"

"This... may be a coincidence, in which case, anything we do would be a colossal waste of your and my time. But I have a feeling it isn't."

"What, sir?"

"Do you have any idea why the Department of Magic isn't putting out wanted posters for Hund's major lieutenants?"

Harry never thought about this, or paid much attention. "Because they don't know who they are?" he ventured.

"In some cases, yes. However, they do know, or suspect--at least in the case of most. But they don't want them to know they know--thus, every document concerning the searches is secret."

"And of course, they tell it to you--"

Hund laughed. "Well, I do have my sources. The thing is, my brother never put much stake in other people. His underlings tend to be just that--people who dutifully obey his orders, but lack any real... fire of their own. With two exceptions. One, you already know."

"Bellatrix," Harry said. "Why--"

"Correct. She's his link to the remnants of Death Eaters, and other British Dark wizards. The raid on the Ministry last year was undoubtedly her doing."

"And the other?"

"We--that is, you and I, not the MLEA--knew of her for a while."

"Her?"

"Do you really think a man could impersonate Miss Weasley so well as to fool you?"
Harry nodded. "Wait--we know who'd behind--"

"It's my guess, which makes sense. Even if it's not her, she's someone to be concerned about." Hund put two photos on the table.

One showed a woman in her late teens or early twenties, with short smooth dark hair and icy green eyes. The other photo was of much lower quality, but there was no question--it was the same woman, only older, standing on some sort of rise, wand high, she was giving an order to wizards next to her.

"Helen Gertrude," Hund said. "The first picture is from eight years ago, when she was last seen--until now. The second is from the Baltimore riot. A Muggle took it in the midst of it all. The MLEA modified his memory once they got there, but didn't remove the film. When he developed it, he had no idea who it was, so he took it to the police. The MLEA eventually got its hands on it. Of course, they couldn't get much out of it. I learned about it, in part, because it caused an uproar between the Obliviators and the Magical Criminal Investigative Service."

Harry laughed. "I'd side the MCIS any day."

"Oh, right. You're not a big fan of memory modification. But back to our business. Helen Gertrude. There are some circles where she is--or was--very well known--and I'm not sure they'd like to hear that she's back."

"Huh?" Harry asked.

"Helen Gertrude," Hund continued, "is an unusual specimen. She's a witch, but she never went to any magical school. She obviously received magical training, but it must have been in the past eight years, as an adult."

"What difference does it make?"

"One, she won't be tripped by a lack of knowledge about the Muggle world. Two, given her background, she's dangerous even without her wand."

"Her background?"

"She was a fan of extreme sports, and had inherited enough money to indulge her hobby to the fullest. She was well known in these circles--and even other lovers of extreme sports were shocked by the stuff she did.

"One of her favorite activities was 'Skydiving Chicken'," Hund said.

"What's that?"

"Two people jump out of an airplane at the same time. The first one to open his or her parachute loses."

Harry opened his mouth. "People actually do that?"

"I suppose those of us who'd been through a real war don't think much of cheap thrills like that.

"She was prone to challenge people to such games. So, when she vanished, many felt relief. The running joke was, 'Helen Gertrude had won her last game of Skydiving Chicken'. But it is only rumors. We don't know what really happened to her--except, she clearly didn't die."

"And she's working with--your brother?"
"That's what it looks like. She had some leadership role in the Baltimore riot--maybe even orchestrated the thing on the spot."

"And you think it was her who was impersonating Ginny?"

"I think it's likely. It is something she'd pull off."

"And why--"

"Because you should know that Alan is not the only serious danger you might face. Now--" he gestured-- "you'd earned your vacation. However, in case you do run into something, let me give you these." He handed Harry a clear box of three capsules, colored red, white and blue. A silver pinhead was sticking out of one end of each capsule, a golden one out of the other.

"What are these?" Harry asked.

"Highly illegal gadgets that were used quite a bit in Vietnam," Hund answered. "They're tracking devices. You take the silver pin out of the capsule, and place it on the object or person you wish to track. You stick the golden pin into your wand, and it points to the silver one. In order to stop detection, the charms expire after a set time from the moment you withdraw the pin. Red lasts six hours, blue twelve hours, and white, twenty-four hours. Once it expires, there's no way for the person who was tracked to find out about it--the pins become ordinary pins, with no trace of magic. Just don't mix it up." He smiled. "Gold is more valuable than silver, so gold is the one you keep. That's how we remembered it."

"Thanks," Harry said. "But you said it might have nothing to do with your brother at all?"

"That is certainly possible. But Helen Gertrude was definitely in Baltimore on the night of that riot, so she still probably has some information that we will find useful."

Harry nodded, and pocketed the capsules.

"Good luck, Mr. Potter," Hund said as he was leaving. "You'll need it."

XXX

Las Vegas, Nevada.

Harry was quite nervous as he approached his friends' house. At least I look more presentable than I did last time.

He rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, Ron appeared. They stared at each other for a few moments.

"Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "Come in!"

"Hey. How's everything?" He looked at Ron, who had several fresh scars on his face. "What happened?"

"Frostbite," Ron answered reluctantly. "Long story." He strode over to the playpen. "Caroline, take that out of your mouth." He took the plastic toy away.

"Want mommy!" Caroline shouted.

"Mommy's busy right now. Daddy will have to do. Caroline, meet your Uncle Harry--"

"Ron--"

"I don't care what else happened--you're family."

"Thanks. Where's Hermione?"

"Away. I suppose it's a good thing they won't send us on a mission together again, but I'm worried. Last time, we ran into Hund--"

"You did?" Harry asked. "Where?"

"In Minnesota--not that it matters. He isn't there anymore. That's how I got these." He traced his scars with his finger. "He left us in the snow to die, after capturing our commander.

"And now, they think they can get more information by following this lead, so they sent Hermione, Padma--"

"Padma? What is she--"

"She's an Auror, and was sent to work with us--"

"So she did become an Auror." Harry smiled. "We were training together--until I washed out. Before... before I got sent to Azkaban."

"Oh. Well, they've been sent to New Orleans now, and probably won't be back till tomorrow at least." He frowned. "I know it's a bad idea for me to go because of Caroline, but I'll--"

"Ron, I got a week off my job, and I wanted to spend it with you. I'll go and try to help Hermione. Maybe that'll make her return quicker and more successful. I've learned quite a bit since we last met."

"You'll go there--"

"Yes. It's all about stopping Hund, right? Plus why should we both sit here and worry when I can do something about it?"

"But... you wanted to spend time--"

"With both of you. We should get Hermione back here for that. New Orleans?"

Ron nodded and embraced his friend. "Good luck. But Harry..."

"What?"

"I'm not sure how to say this... but Ginny's working for Hund now."

Harry laughed. "No, she isn't, Ron. That'd be an impostor named Helen Gertrude."

Ron sat down. "Are you sure?" he whispered.

"Yes. When did you--"

Ron gave him the date. "The night of the Baltimore riot?" Harry asked, and received a nod.

"Well, that settles it. Whoever it was, it wasn't Ginny. Ginny was with me. In Baltimore."

"In--you were there?"

"Yes." He sighed. "I hope we aren't about to get a New Orleans riot on our hands."

"With our luck?" Harry and Ron both laughed.

"Everything will be fine, Ron. I wish I could stay longer, but--"

"Hermione might need you. Go on. I'm not going to keep you."

Harry headed out the door. "I haven't been to New Orleans yet," he said.

Ron looked at him. "It's not like we get to see the best parts of the city on such missions."

"I just hope it doesn't turn out a big waste of our time. Hund's an expert on making us do that."

XXX

New Orleans, Louisiana.

New Orleans greeted Harry with pouring rain. While he didn't know exactly where Hermione and the rest were, he knew it had to be near the coast, since their target, as Ron told him, was at sea. That narrowed it down... somewhat. And his Animagus form was useless, as he would only get his feathers wet.

They would probably, Ron said, use some abandoned shoreline building as a staging area, Harry remembered as he walked down the waterfront. Thanks to the rain, he was the only person around. Harry wouldn't expect anything different. He could hardly see ten feet ahead, even with the water-repelling charm on his glasses. He was also as wet as if he had been swimming.

Thus, it was a major surprise when saw not one, but two people ahead of him. One was standing, looking towards the Gulf, her hair, tied in a long braid, swaying in the wind. The other was walking towards her with long, purposeful strides.

Out of curiosity, Harry wrapped himself in his invisibility cloak and waited. He nearly revealed himself by gasping, though, when the second woman approached. It was Tamara, Ginny's boyfriend's ex-girlfriend.

"You're late," the waiting woman said and turned towards here. Harry couldn't believe his eyes or his luck. It was Helen Gertrude.

"Sorry. The rain--"

"Do you have it?"

"Here," she handed something over to Helen. "I have no idea what--"

"Ours not to reason why--ever heard of that?" Helen retorted. "You'll get what you want. Alan doesn't make promises he can't keep."

She's working with Hund. Samuel was right. Harry took out his wand. "Lubrio," he whispered.

Tamara slipped and fell on newly slippery ground. As Helen reached to help her, Harry took one of the silver pins out of its capsule and struck it into a braid of Gertrude's hair. Then he immediately retreated. The noise of the rain masked any sounds he made.

"Thanks," Tamara said. "I still want to know when--"

"Alan is a busy man, Tamara. He'll get even busier soon. You're being overpaid for an easy job anyway."

"Easy--"

"Yes, easy. You can be replaced. I can be replaced. He can't. Without Alan, we're doomed. Everyone will end up like my father."

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before. I'm sorry, but I don't worship Alan Hund the way you do."

"That can change," Helen said.

"No, I doubt it."

Helen shrugged. "Doesn't matter. What matters is that you keep doing your job and not blab about it."

Tamara shook her head. "Do I look stupid? I just want some assurance you won't toss me aside once you don't need--"

"You can always be useful, Tamara. You got plenty of talent. And I already told you Alan never breaks his promises."

"And I should believe you--"

"If he did that, I wouldn't follow him," Helen replied. "Anyway, you should go home. You're soaking wet. I--and Alan--wouldn't want you to fall down sick. It'd make our job much harder."

"Yeah, whatever. But if I don't get what I got into this for--"

"You will. Trust me. See you next month, Tamara."

Tamara shrugged and Disapparated. Helen paused for a moment, turned around, and did the same.

Harry stuck the golden pin into his wand. It twisted and pointed out into the Gulf of Mexico. Harry shook his head, then, deciding he had no choice, cast a warming charm on himself and entered the water. Hermione could wait. He had only six hours before the tracker expired, and he needed to use them properly--corner Helen Gertrude, pump her for information, then capture her and turn her over to the MLEA. He noted the direction his wand was pointing at and began to swim.

XXX

It took Harry over an hour of swimming to get to his destination, which turned out to be a large motorboat. It was devoid of any lights, and Harry had made twenty fumbled attempts to climb on board before succeeding. It wasn't a full-blown storm, but Harry, having never been aboard a ship in the ocean before, still found it difficult to keep balance. Of course, the insides of the boat were sealed off to prevent water from the rain from flooding it. Harry quickly located the entrance, unlocked it with his wand, and climbed in, sealing it behind him. He then cast a drying charm on himself and looked around.

There was one exit from the compartment, and it led into a well-lit, carpeted corridor. Harry heard a familiar sound of the shower in the end of the hall. He grinned. In his Auror training, in lessons on confrontation, they emphasized that you had to make your opponent feel inferior. Being naked against someone clothed could do that all by itself.

Harry wrapped himself in the invisibility cloak and sneaked into the shower room. Helen was, as he surmised, behind the curtain, and her wand lay on the counter. Harry picked it up and snapped it in half.

The crack got Helen out of her distracted state. Harry whipped off his cloak and, as soon as Helen opened the curtain, aimed his wand at her chest.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "What do you want?"

"I'm the one who'll be asking questions around here. I want information."

"Just information?"

"You've got nothing I haven't seen, so yes, just information."

"All right, let me--"

"No. You'll answer everything here. I'm not going to give you a chance to get your hands on a wand--even if I did note the wards when I came in. Smart move on the part of Hund. Don't want Aurors to land right on top of him. Where is he?"

"I don't know."
"You're on a first-name basis with him. You must have some idea of what he's up to."

"If you were smart, you'd support him. If you knew what he was up to--"

"Well, the whole 'Kill Muggles for fun' routine turns me off. Excuse me for having morals. Where is he?"

"I told you, I don't know."

"When will he come back here?"

"I don't know that, either."

"What is Hund's plan? What did 'they' do to your father? Who are 'they'? What does Tamara want from Hund? What is she doing for him? What did he give you?"

That's a lot of information. Alan's plans are voluminous."

"I'm willing to listen."

"Look, why don't we get to the bridge, and I'll give you access to our computers."

"You use computers?"

"Alan finds it useful, and he likes to play games. Just let me get dress--"

"You can operate a computer naked, last time I checked. I wouldn't put it past you to keep a weapon in your clothes. Meanwhile, give me the short version."

Helen stepped out of the shower and walked past Harry under wand point. Harry followed. "To which question do you want the short answer?"

"All of them."

"The short answer? Hund wants to run wizarding America without Muggle interference. 'They' are the Muggle government, who sent my father to get killed in Vietnam. Tamara wants her boyfriend back, whom your ex-girlfriend took from her."

"They broke up before Ginny and Raymond met. And how do you know she's my ex-girlfriend. You don't even know who I--"

"Oh, please. You're Harry Potter."

Harry paused for a moment. "So you've heard of me."

"Yeah, you and everyone else on the planet. You're not going to get by on your reputation with me--or with Alan."

"How do you know my reputation wasn't earned?" Harry asked.

"Well, Mr. Potter, for one thing, you still have no idea what Alan really wants."

"Should I? Don't answer that. Have you been impersonating Ginny?"

Helen laughed. "Yes, I have. Yes, Potter, I killed your fiancée. Going to kill me? Want revenge?"

"If I didn't know Hund gave you orders to do that, if I didn't want revenge against him more, I would. I still might. Don't push me."

"And if you don't? If you do capture me and hand me over to the Department of Magic? Just what will they charge me with? On what grounds?"

"Leading the Baltimore riot and killing Megan."

"And the evidence? A low-quality Muggle photo? Your word? The word of an escaped convict who's supposed to be dead?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"You must realize that the only way for you to get justice is to kill me yourself. Otherwise, no matter what you do, you're letting me go free. Since you realize that, you'll kill me whether or not I give you information in our computer. And since you'll kill me anyway, I have no incentive to give you that information. So I won't. Alan will probably be upset, but he'll find a replacement, and his plan will come to fruition. And you can have your temporary feeling of justice served. However, I'd like you to take a look at this."

They were on the bridge. Helen tapped several buttons, and lit up one of the screens on the panel. Harry looked at it. It showed a blond-haired woman lying on a cot. "Who's that?"

"A prisoner, kept on board. "Now--"

And with that, the boat shook, and began to keel over to port. The glass windows on the bridge shattered, splattering the floor with shards, which were immediately followed by a torrent of rain. Two broomsticks fell out of the ceiling. Before Harry realized it, Helen grabbed one.

"You can chase me, and probably will catch me--but then, the prisoner will die when the boat sinks. Or you can save her--but I'll escape. What will it be?" She flew away.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry sent the curse after her, but she already vanished in the rain, and he couldn't be sure he hit her. Cursing, he ran out, hoping to make it onto the lower deck before it filled with water.

When he got there, the water was already waist-high. He waded through toward the door. "Alohomora!" he shouted. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

"Who are you? What're--"

"No time! The ship is sinking!"

Fighting the incoming current was difficult, and it took them far longer to get back to the top deck than it took Harry to get to the bottom. They were in chest deep water by the time they made it out to one of the windows. It was already underwater.

"Reducto!" Harry cried, and a stream of water rushed at them. Harry grabbed the woman, cast a Bubblehead Charm around their heads, and plunged into the water.

They swam out the window and headed to the surface. By the time they made it, only the stern of the boat remained visible, and it was rapidly sinking. Harry breathed heavily.

"Do we swim to shore?"

"No, we'll get out of the wards' range and I'll be able to Apparate. Why were you kept--"

"Can I tell that story once we're on solid ground?" the woman demanded.

Harry nodded, and swam away from the sinking boat.

Once they swam a distance that Harry judged was enough, he took the woman's arm. "Here we go," he said, and Apparated.

They landed on the New Orleans waterfront. There was a haze of lights in the distance from the city building, but the rain was pouring harder than ever. Harry panted rapidly. He was exhausted.

"Come on," he said, leading the woman towards what looked like an abandoned shack. "We'll dry there, and then consider what to do next."

They walked up to the shack, and Harry pushed the door open. He immediately found himself staring down a barrel of a gun, and an aimed wand. A light from another wand hit his face.

"Harry?" Hermione gasped. "Colonel Hemmings? How on Earth--"

XXX

"I don't believe it, I don't believe it," Hermione kept saying as Harry told her what happened.

"Hermione, I didn't do much. And she got away. She tricked me, Hermione. She said she'd give the data on their computer and--"

"Did you say they had a computer?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. I should have know, she gave in too--"

"Harry, never mind. Do you think there really is data there, or was Helen just lying?"

"She could have come up with a better lie." Harry frowned. "Besides, they definitely did have a computer there, and somehow I doubt that all Hund's using it for is playing games."

"Then we've got to recover it."

Harry laughed. "Sure. As soon as Helen got away, she'd go straight to Hund."

"Do you think she'd be that eager to report failure?" Hermione countered. "We have this chance, and we must take it. We have one broomstick with us. Harry, you take Padma where the boat sank, and watch out for her. Padma, you'll dive there, find the boat, and bring the computer back. Harry--" she handed him a box of playing cards-- "this is our emergency Portkey. We'll take a public Portkey back--we were here to get on that boat, but since we no longer can do that..."

"Hermione, even if Hund hadn't got there already, he might show up."

"Then..." she whispered, "distract him as long as you can, get to Padma, and escape, computer or not."

Harry breathed. He was tired, but he knew it had to be done. He nodded.

"Did Ron tell you we were here?" Hermione asked.

"Yes."

"I've got to thank him," she said.

"For what?"

"For not coming himself," she replied. "Go. Hund will show up eventually--every second counts."

Harry nodded. Padma got on the broomstick in front of him, and they flew off. Harry followed his tracker, which still hadn't expired. "So," he said, "you're an Auror?"

Padma smiled. "Yeah, I made it through. Surprised?"

"No, I had no doubt you'd graduate. Remember how many at Hogwarts talked about it? You're the only one of our class who actually got there."

"You would have, if--"

"If I didn't go crazy and ended up in Azkaban?"

"Well... you know, technically, I should arrest you now."

Harry laughed. "You're not going to, though."

"I missed you, Harry. There wasn't much company in the rest of the class. I threw myself into my studies to keep sane. And I really don't know what you wanted to accomplish by killing Malfoy. It didn't get you Ginny--"

"I didn't kill Malfoy."

"You planned to, though. Right?"

"Padma, I'm sorry, I had my reasons, but these are between Ginny and myself. We're here," he said and headed towards the water.

Pop. A figure on a broomstick appeared to his left. Pop. A smaller figure came into being on his right.

"Padma, dive!"

"Hermione said--"

"Dive! Get the computer! I can't maneuver with you here!" Padma leaped off the broomstick, cast the Bubblehead Charm, and vanished underwater.

"Well, well," Alan Hund said. "This is quite a surprise. Hello, Potter. It has been awhile."

XXX

Harry looked at the other figure, expecting Helen Gertrude. It wasn't her. It was Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Long time no see, Potter," she said. "Avada Kedavra!"

Harry flew up, forcing Hund to duck his ally's spell. He laughed. "Nice cooperation you two've got."

"Bella, where are your manners?" Hund rose level with Harry. "I think we both know what we're after."

"Yeah, we're after the same thing. But I've got an advantage."

"Oh?
"You can either take me on together--which gives Padma the time she needs. Or you can go down there yourself--in which case, you're risking Bellatrix being bested by me. You don't trust her, Hund," he said, making sure he was loud enough for Bellatrix to hear. "You don't trust her to beat me. And you can't send her down there yourself because she wouldn't know a computer from a mousetrap."

"Avada Kedavra!" Bellatrix, who came up behind Harry, shouted again. Harry dove, and Hund, once more, had to dodge the curse. He frowned.

"Think you're clever, Potter? Reducto!"

Harry barely escaped out of the way. "Stupefy!" he yelled. Hund avoided it.

"Not willing to kill me anymore?"

"Just saving my strength. Killing takes a lot of power. You fall into that--he pointed at the raging sea below--and you can't move, you'll drown. I don't see a difference. Stupefy!" He tried to stun Bellatrix, but missed her as well.

"I don't think you progressed far enough in Auror training to get to broomstick combat, Potter," Hund said. "Otherwise, you'd have remembered that--"

"Aguamenti Calorio!" Harry yelled, and a stream of boiling water hit Hund in the face. He screamed.

Bellatrix managed to get a killing curse off, and Harry, while avoiding it, caught it with the tail of his broom.

"--your broomstick is the weakest link. Goodbye--"

Padma's head appeared on the surface.

"Harry!" she shouted. "I got it!"

"Avada--"

"Stupefy!" Harry roared, hitting her before her curse went off towards Padma. He hit his target, and Hund dove to catch her. Harry, seeing the tail of his broomstick on fire, toppled off and plunged into the water towards Padma.

Hund had caught Bellatrix and aimed at them just as Harry grabbed Padma's arm and activated the Portkey.

They landed on the carpet in a well-lit spacious office. Hermione, Colonel Hemmings, Ron, the man who was with Hermione and Padma--Sergeant Anderson, Harry remembered--and a woman Harry never seen before stood around them.

"Padma!" the woman Harry didn't know exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah--except this guy disobeyed your orders, Hermione."

"Harry--"

"You told him to get us away if Hund showed up. He did, as did Bellatrix Lestrange. Instead of taking the Portkey, Harry told me to dive, and tried to hold them off."

"I did it, right?" Harry said.

"Harry," Padma said sternly, "your broomstick was about to be wrecked. If I lasted a moment longer--"

"We had to get that computer," Harry replied.

"Hermione, you should have known better than to give Harry an order like that," Ron said. "Does 'Get the Snitch or die trying' ring any bells? Well done, mate."

"Harry... if there's nothing of value on that computer, I'm going to kill you myself," Hermione said. "Lydia--"

"I'll take a look at it." She picked up the bulky machine. "Well, we won't be able to cash in on the warranty, that's for sure," she said. "Let's hope the data survived..."

"Meanwhile, you better tell us the rest of what happened to you," Hermione said. "I've got an idea that just might work."